Fuel SMART,Train HARD, Run FAST.

Nice easy 9 miles on Bountiful Blvd. Tired to run most of it on grass patches and felt good. AP at 8:15.

This am I took my heart rate and it was elevated and I knew it would be since I didn't feel too well over the weekend. Resting HR at 42 bpm and 20 secs after getting up at 50. Supposedly this is a more accurate way to gage your rate so I took a rest day.

This morning I woke up to lots of wind and rain, so I left out the door a bit overdressed only to find it wasn't too cold. Ran 10.40 down main and felt pretty good. I'm tired of this run eliciting just over 8 min pace and decided to push the last bit to get under 8, just for a confidence boost. Splits were 8:14,8:29,8:27 8:01, 8:22, 7:55, 7:52, 7:03, 7:50, 7:26, 7:59 (.40)= 7:57 AP. The last hill made me feel like I was crawling so I need to work on that.

Not a momentous run, but I needed to get out of my rut for this morning run I do most often and start challenging my average pace a little. 

Today I went to the gym for some cross training. I ran 1 mile for a warmup then did 35 minutes on the elliptical. Afterwards I did 2x4 mins of row, "Allie's 10 minutes of planks" with alternating sides, and rolled my muscles out. Boring workout day.

Wow! It was really cold this morning. My skin needs to callus up a bit more for winter. I left the house later than usual this morning because Steve was home and could take the kids. So nice to have him around to help:)

Left a bit overdressed but it was pouring (quite literally) freezing rain that later turned to snow just above where I was running. I didn't have a set amount of miles to run, but needed to be back by a certain time, so I let that dictate my mileage. Ended up running 16.5 with an AP of 7:50. I ran from my house down Main to the new Farmington shops on the other side of the freeway. I really wanted to take the trail back for some flat running, but knew I was running out of time and worried I wouldn't be able to easily get home due to some closures. Splits were 7:50, 7:52, 7:31, 7:35, 7:39, 8:12, 7:35, 8:03, 8:26, 7:48, 7:57, 7:28, 8:07, 8:05, 8;09, 7:39, 7:50 (.5). Felt good, but the hills in the later half took some toll on me. Planning for a fartlek on  Saturday while I'm running around in the snow in Idaho. Yes!

I was a big running slacker over the weekend due to camping in the Tetons. I caught and ate my first fish! I hate fish, but want to like it. So that will one of the goals for 2012. Eat and tolerate fish. Blah. Not excited about that one.

AM-Today I did a fartlek of 5,4,3,2,1 mins at 10k-5k pace.  The junk I ate over the weekend certainly took its toll this morning during the workout.  Paces were: 6:07, 6:00, 5:56, 5:45, 5:30. The faster paces actually felt more comfortable than the 6mi/mi pace oddly enough. I need to challenge my paces more often it seems. I would like to think I could run these shorter races this fast right now, but I need to transition my training from marathon to 10k training for the winter.  I think I am going to start focusing on 10k pacing after the half this month up until spring.

Afterwards stretched out with 10 mins of planks alternating sides. These are never easy for me.

PM-6 miles down 400 with lots of rain and wind.  Loved it!

Happy running!

Gosh, I was up so many times last night from my husband's pager going crazy! That's the last night I sleep with  him while he's on call. It's funny how I'm more concerned about my sleep for running the next day than I am him going in a full day off of no sleep. Running makes me selfish. Anyone else? What's the cure? Empathy? Sympathy? I got nothing.

My joints were bugging me today, so decdided for cross training. 20 min row machine, 20 mins stair cimber, 30 mins elliptical, 20 minues of core and weights. Hope to do a easy run for PM.

Today I ran 10 on Davis' rolling hills. This is a love/hate course for me. Loves: The scenerey, safe road, long stretch and familiar. Hate: rolling hills, hard to get a steady pace/cadence, steep climb there and steep decent on return, millions of deer with thier babies, scared cougars are going to pounce on me in the dark and having to stop to wait for traffic at busy intersections. Huh, looks like the hates out weigh the loves here, but I still love it overall for some reason:) As a side note, saw 11 deer this AM.  

Ran 5 miles for a warmup then did 4 mile tempo on the way back with 1 mile cool down. All the miles were rolling hills with some minor stops for traffic, last mile was downhill. Splits were 7:08, 7:20 7:09, 6:38. Felt pretty good and still had energy when I got home. Feeling stronger. Hopefully I have made some improvements over the month and will be able to challenge my PR in the half in two weeks.

This morning I was pressed for time due to having to go into work. I did 25 mins easy spin, 5 min planks, 5 mins row, stretched and went home. Having some tendonitis like pains in my left foot and right ankle. Need to minimize all this hill pounding I guess. Podiatry app set for Monday. He's going to tell me what I already know..RICE. Blah.

Early 7.5 down Main early this morning. Planned on more, but got called into work. 

Three mile hike up Muller Park with family. Ran down on the way back with the kids. Beautiful fall colors!

Today I had plans to run on the track, but at 6am  it was cold and wet, so I opted for the treadmill. After a 1.5 warmup,  I did an interval workout consisting of 1000, 800, 1000, 800, 1000, 800, 1000, 800 with a 400 jog inbetween each. Paces were- 6:11, 6:07, 6:03, 6:03, 6:00, 6:00, 5:52, 5:45. It was intresting again that the faster paces felt more comfortable. I should have started the pace around 6:00 and worked down. Next time. Overall workout felt good. 2.5 cool down for a total of 11 miles for the day.

Afterwards I went to the Podiatrist. He recommended custom orthotics. They cost $280! But the good thing is that they should last for about 5 years so that is worth the investment for me. After  wearing these puppies, I expect to be world class!:)

Today I met with my trainer who gave me a new workout routine. Most of the focus was on core and legs=1 hour of pain. Afterwards I did 25 minutes of intervals on the Arc Glider, a glorified elliptical.

This morning I had a 5k tempo planned but after a 3 mile warmup, my body would not go. Still sore from yesterday's workout and I didn't want to push it since I should be tapering now. So I ran to the gym and did 25 minutes on the ArcTrainer, then ran home. Pushed the pace a little on the way home to around 7 min pace. Altogether 6 mile run and 2 miles cross training.

What a fun run this morning! Met up with Kam and allie for a run up Muelller Park into North Fork for 13.5 miles. The fall colors were amazing! Great company, and muddy fun!

This evening, we took our kids up to Mueller park again for hiking and sight seeing. This time we had a goal to go all the way to what I learned yesterday was the  "faux" elephant rock. We came just short of it. I couldn't resist the urge to race down on the way back with the kids. Great evening and so pretty. Likely the last Sunday for this till winter:(

Easy 6 on by the temple with a group of female runners I met a few months ago. Slow pace, felt great.

This morning I went for an easy run on the treadmill. 7 miles at 7:40 average pace and 2x800 at 6:15 pace. 8 miles total. Hoping to be close to this pace this weekend. Good thing it's downhill, becuase it felt like I was sprinting on the treadmill.

Last night we ate at the New Yorker in downtown SLC for Steve's Alumni something something or other. I just know while I ate a lot of things I never thought I would before, I couldn't stop being jelaous of all the runners out the window and how much I wished I had on a pair of running shoes rather than a pair of tight panny hose.  We're all sick, aren't we? Anyway, a good night out, but would have been better if it finished off with a nice run downtown to work off that fillet.

Easy workout today consisting of 7 miles of cross traing between the elliptical and bike and 1 mile jog. 8 total.

What a fun, crazy race! Getting ready for this race was among the most challenging from nightmares about missing the race, loosing my keys, to being stuck in Utah County traffic right before packet pickup closing. All turned out well, and at least I got my nerves out early on:)

Woke up at 6:10 and put on my referee outfit. Left out the door and caught the buses by 7:00. I rode on the bus with a guy named Vijac who is working here from India and running his first race ever! When we got off the buses, it was COLD! Thank goodness for heated tents! It was weird being there by myself. I stood in a large crowed tent thinking, "this is so fun!" It really doesn't take much.

After a 1.5 warm-up with stretches, headed to the start. It was strange; the start was about 8 feet wide, I was sure someone was going to die. But no one did.

I stood in the front when the gun went off. I realized I my watch was having issues, but recovered on time. However being so concerned with my watch, I didn't get out very fast and let two girls sprint way ahead of me. My plan for this race was a little different than usual. I have wanted to start branching out and trying to win races (but don't we all?) I haven't ever given that a concerted effort, but have always wanted to place high overall with a good PR. Today I wanted to win...or at least give a good effort. Since the first 5 miles were pretty downhill, I decided to push down these hills and hang on for the last half. Normally, I don't think this is the best approach, however, having trained on more hills than flat; this was the plan for today.

Miles 1-3 (5:42, 5:29, 5:18) Right from the start, the first place girl was a good 20 seconds ahead. The second girl was only 10 seconds ahead. I passed the second girl who wore a pair of underwear on the outside reading, "I love to toot. I was going to "toot" when I passed her, but it was early. I then set my sights on first girl who wore bright pink spandex. I knew I would eventually catch up, I just wasn't sure what to do after that:) These miles were comfortable but steep. 5k was right around around 17 minutes....cause it was downhill.

Miles 4-6 (5:32, 6:08, 6:38) Approaching mile 4 (3.5mi) I passed girl number 1 and held it for a few miles. It sort of freaked me out so I sprinted past her to look cool and in control. Inside I knew I was cool, just not in control. I looked down at Garmin around mile 4 and knew I was going too fast, but also knew I would be much slower on the flat area coming up. I took a caffeinated GU at mile 4 and continued to feel comfortable. Half way at the 10K my time was 36:08 a PR, a very heavily aided PR:)

Miles 7-9 (6:50, 6:40, 6:38) Hill is done. I felt it leave around mile 5 but for some reason thought it was supposed to stick around till mile 8. Big oversight. No, I guess according to the map, it is either flat or slight rolling and maybe dropping. It felt all up hill to me. Why? Because I sprinted 6 miles and paid for it here. It cost me first place. She looked pretty cool passing me at mile 7ish. I wasn't dying here, but obviously the pace was quite different and I felt like I was crawling in comparison. First girl took off and I let her because I had to. Around mile 7 I was joined by my sister and niece who ran a couple minutes with me. I turned off my IPod and realized I was breathing like a maniac, so I turned up the volume and kept on going! I would say these were the hardest miles, but they weren't. I kept trying to do the math in my head of how many miles were left, but apparently, 8-13=? I never did come to an answer, so I just kept on running:)

Miles 10-13 (6:47. 6:58, 6:47 6:57) Tired. I played lots of games trying to look ahead, with mantras (today's mantra was Shalane Flanagan, don't ask me why), and self talk...they helped somewhat. I really, really missed the hills. Pretty sure we were still going down slightly all the way to the end, but if felt more like rolling to me. At one point I thought about how I had ran a marathon just a month ago and how running a half, especially during that moment, made me never want to  run a full again. I got over it. The last .5 was mentally the most difficult, I knew I looked pretty bad coming in, but tried to "appear cool" this time.

First place went to Mary Ann S. She finished around 1:21:20 (unofficial). I finished second with a time of 1:22:34. A 1:11 PR for me:) Third place finished in 1:22:58ish.

Received a square glass trophy filled with Halloween candy, a cool finishers medal, and a very cool, but very small tech t-shirt! Great race, great day!

Lessons learned: Going out aggressive will make you pay in the end but may also give you a PR. Good? Bad? This time I say good. Next time, maybe not. 

 Nice walk around the neighborhoold for trick or treating. Started at 4:30 and stopped at 8:30. I was excited to get some good walking in today. My legs are still pretty sore. Jogged and walked here and there throughout the night to loosen up my legs. Other parents thought I was maybe a little over kill:) Kids were troppers! Now I want to throw away all their candy.