Running Yoga Mom

Not enough sleep, once again. But, a great run!

I wasn't planning on doing 13 until Monday, but when my MIL planned a run on the marathon course, I couldn't pass it up. And, that also means I get to sleep in on the holiday! Yippee!

This was great downhill training for Bryce. By the time I hit 6 miles, I was feeling it in my quads. They never cramped up or gave out on me, but they definitely felt fatigued. But, I kept up a good pace and felt strong the entire run.

I'm trying to decide, now, what my running schedule should be for next week. I guess I'll see how much I pay for having such a high mileage week compared to what I've been doing. If my legs feel good, I'll do my usual mileage. If they suffer, I may go a bit easier and give them a little break. 

No Garmin, so I have no idea what my pace was. But, I felt pretty good. It was hot, but at least the heat wasn't killing me.

I enjoyed a little cooler temps this morning. Mid 70's sure feels nice after 85. The sunrise was beautiful, too. Great morning to run!

Ben took the Garmin, again, so I just ran a known route and tried to listen to my body. Coming up Foremaster gave some serious strain to my breathing, but I didn't feel like dying—always a good thing. My legs are recouping great from my high mileage week. Now, I just have to figure out how much to do this week to make sure I don't slack off but I don't overwork my legs for next weekend's race. 

Attempted a tempo run this morning. It wasn't so fast, but at least it wasn't really slow. The cloud cover was great. Temp was 80 & it was really humid (for the desert, that is), so that didn't feel great. But, I've knocked out 15 miles already, this week. I'm sleeping in, tomorrow. :)

I spent six hours in bed, but not enough of those hours were spent sleeping. Ugh. I don't like nights like that. I'm hoping for a nap today.

Ran down Smith's Mesa and into Hurricane. It's a beautiful run, especially watching the sun rise and the red cliffs light up. Love it!

 Both steep downs were good. I felt strong and in control. The ups were very doable. Slower than I'd like, but doable. And, I ended with 1 1/2 miles of up, so I think that's pretty good training for anything.

 Temps were normal for this time of year, but we had thunderstorms last night, so it was more humid today than Wednesday. It sure makes it tough when we're not used to that. I struggle with my air when it's that humid. But, once again, I did it! And, I didn't want to die. Always a good thing.

Slow and easy. My legs were sooo sore from all the downhill on Friday that I needed to let them rest. 

A bit faster and less sore today. So happy to be running in new shoes! They felt great. 

I went to the chiropractor last Friday. I've had a really uneven footstrike and found it's because I have some IT band problems. So, I've been working on that. Man, it's painful to roll that out. But, it's made a huge difference in my knee problems. I also learned that I have hip bursitis—that's why my hip feels bruised. That's just going to take some time. I ought to be icing it more... 

Tried to run it a little faster, and I succeeded a bit. Not super-fast, but not really slow.

On the advice of a college cross-country athlete, I ran one mile warm-up (9:20), one mile fast (8:20), and one mile cool-down (9:50). Bryce is tomorrow!

I was so excited and nervous for this race. I felt like I had trained better and more consistently than for any other half I've run, so I wanted/expected to do well. I didn't want to be disappointed. Fortunately, I wasn't!

Because of traveling to Panguitch Lake and race packet pickup, we didn't eat dinner until 9-ish. Not ideal, I know. And, we didn't make it to bed until 11:00. Once again, not ideal. I did get a great night's sleep Thursday night, so I was relying on that to carry me through. Didn't sleep well—pre-race jitters and all—so not a good night's rest Friday night.

 The start of the race was cold, especially for my St. George training. I knew it would be great once I got going, but my hands and feet were freezing. Fingers and toes turning numb and aching was the general sensation as I started. It took me right back to summer.

 Started out a little ahead of mid-pack and went out very conservatively (9:17). Took the first mile pretty easy. Ran with my MIL who was struggling with her breath for a while. 

Hit the downhill and picked up the pace. The next 4-5 miles, I varied between 8:00 & 8:15 miles. I felt really good but was a little nervous about the pace. I'd never run that fast for that long. My MIL and I discussed race strategy—do we just keep going all out and risk hitting a serious wall? Or do we pull back, run more conservatively, and risk running leaving something on the course. We opted for going all out.

As the downhill softened, I could definitely feel some fatigue in my quads. Thank goodness for some previous downhill training to show me that I could still keep it up with fatigued quads. The psychological battle really wasn't there for me—possibly a first. 

 Left my MIL at 8 miles when she took a long time at an aid station. I thought she'd catch up, but never did. She was within a minute or two, but I wanted to do all I could on this race and push myself, so I didn't slow. Is that a bad thing? I initially say no, but I still wonder. I just hate the thought, "I could have done more." 

Felt knee pain between miles 8 & 10. My IT band was so tight! Fortunately, I was able to run through it pretty well. I just kept thinking, "Dr. Miyasaki will be there at the finish line to help me." :)  It did help. And, he did, too.  

My initial goal for this race was 1:55:00, which I thought was a pretty solid goal. As I got closer and closer to the finish and started to realize I was way ahead of that goal, I wanted to push even more. The thought of solidly beating my PR (1:57:50) fueled me to keep pushing on the miles where I usually slow quite a bit. I was so stoked!

As I came to the final stretch, I gave my husband a thumbs-up. He wasn't expecting me so soon and I loved sneaking up on him like that. :) What an incredible feeling! I felt so much better than I could have imagined and ran far faster than I had hoped. I don't do nearly the level of mileage of a lot of runners, but the consistently higher miles than I used to do really paid off. I felt so much stronger and never tanked. I guess it proves what everyone says about getting better by running more. I may have to up my miles a little bit more to keep the improvement going.

Easy 3 after the race. I could definitely feel the downhill in my quads.

Ran up a serious 2 mile hill with an intense headwind. It was SLOW, but I did it. And, I fully enjoyed the downhill that followed. I followed up the run with some good stretching and yoga. My legs felt pretty good, but they're feeling a bit sore and stiff, now.

So slow. But, it was a little cooler and I felt pretty good. Just slow. :)

Ran with the running club this morning. I use that word "with" very loosely—my pace didn't match the others, so I was in the middle of the group and ran alone for the last 5 miles. It's okay, though. I'm used to running alone and going with the group helped me run further than I would have on my own.

It was pretty warm because of the cloud cover. That also makes it muggier than usual, so it was a tough one. I started out okay, but slowed a lot the last three miles. But, I did it. i didn't wimp out and cut it short. So, I'm happy about that. 

80° and 54% humidity—Ugh! No fun. I don't know how people who live in hot AND humid climates do it. I didn't wear my watch, so I really don't know my pace, but it sure felt slow. I did manage to fit it in between two rainstorms. I'm grateful for that.

Trying to get one last run in before leaving on vacation. I really don't know what vacation is going to bring as far as running—new roads, ridiculously high elevation, unknown wildlife... I'm excited to run in a new place; we'll see how it goes.