Running Yoga Mom

More running in Salt Lake. The cooler weather is nice, and the elevation difference doesn't seem to be affecting me as much as it used to. Yeah for that!

Still in Salt Lake, so I ran up 6400 West. That is a steep climb. I usually dread it, but I tried to look at it as something to be conquered. I think that helped. Ran with my brother which always helps me keep my pace up. 

Tempo/trail run. I ran 1/2 mile warm-up, then picked up the pace. The last three miles were sub-9:00. I was happy with that, especially considering the last 1 1/2 miles were directly into a head-wind. That was tough.

My last run in Salt Lake for this trip. I was alone for most of it since my sis was out running her 1/2 marathon. I headed up 6400 West, again, but kept going up for 1 1/2 miles! A headwind the entire way! After doing one big loop, I picked up my brother and ran up 6400 again. Not as far this time, but the headwind was stronger. That definitely tested my mental strength. I am happy to report that I conquered it. I'm stronger, now, because of that!

 My hamstrings are really starting to tighten. I need to work on that and make sure I make it to yoga. 

Easy, Monday morning 3. I'm really beginning to enjoy how quick and easy three miles is, these days. A nice wake-up for my legs.

Foremaster, today. It's getting easier. I love how running Foremaster helps me feel empowered to conquer Veyo. My legs are feeling it, now, but I still feel great overall. A little irritation in my toes, but not bad in my shins.

I was up at 3:15 to be running on the marathon course by 4:30. Yeah, it was early. I ran with my mother-in-law, starting almost at the bottom of Veyo hill. Not a good place to start running. It was tough to start on, but once I got moving I felt pretty good. My MIL thought I was torturing her by running at a 12:00 min. pace. Not so fast in my mind.

 The 3-mile rise from Dammeron was not fun, as always. It was, however, not too bad. I felt pretty strong. I was also very happy when it ended and we started downhill.

 I fell behind my MIL when we got close to the volcano. She was booking it! And, I knew with the Ledges and the final run through town, I would need to take it easy. So, I fell back but caught her right before the Ledges. 

The Ledges hill was great! I think my tough uphill runs in Salt Lake paid off. I felt strong and not really winded at all. If I can feel that good at mile 18 of the marathon, I will be thrilled and amazed!

 Downhill into town was as nice as always. I love that long downhill stretch.

When we got into town, I was prepared for my legs to feel heavy and get pretty tired. Didn't happen! I felt strong the rest of the way to the park. We even ended up running an extra 1/2 mile to make it to the park. I really felt like I could keep going. I was nervous this run would be difficult since the next closest distance I did was 14 miles two weeks ago. My body was ready for this. Training is paying off! 

I intended to do my usual 3 miles this morning, but decided to run four with my MIL. My legs were feeling a bit stiff from my Friday run, so I enjoyed getting them moving, again. My MIL's course threw in some extra hills along the way which is always good, even if I don't want to do it at the time. It ended up being a little over 4 1/2, though, so I felt a bit tricked. :) My legs are feeling great! 

Oy. Tough one today. My feet are a bit achy. I think I'm feeling the effects of the jump to 18 on Saturday. And, it was hot. No clouds, but it still felt muggy. Still did alright and kept my pace under 10 min/mile. That's a good training pace for me. I'm looking forward to a very short and easy run on Thursday before tackling 20 on Saturday.

Short, easy run before I tackle 20. Looks like twenty will be tomorrow, and I won't be by myself, like I thought. Whew! I could have done it, but I'm relieved to have a running partner for that far.

 I thought I was going to be running this one on my own; but, fortunately, my MIL came with me. I tracked out a course through the area online. I may not have picked this route had I known the roads better. The first 5 miles were almost completely uphill. And, not gentle Dammeron Valley uphill, but seriously climbing uphill for a lot of it. I was relieved to have mile 6 downhill. 

 Besides my legs being tired from all the uphill, I felt pretty good until mile 12/13. Then, I sort of tanked. My foot started to burn (I really have to get that checked out) and my energy felt sapped. I started to lag behind my MIL on a regular basis. She walked a couple of times to let me catch up. I think she pictured it similar to walking through an aid station. 

 By mile 18, my tank felt empty. My calves knotted up, my right hamstring tightened and started to hurt, my foot felt like nails were poking up through it, I was struggling to get air and I was almost out of water. I was beaten! I tried not to let it get to me, but I had lost my will to run. I am ashamed to admit that I walked the last mile. 

As I walked and tried to get my breath back, the world started to swim a little. It was not pretty. I was soaked with sweat and hurting. Even my back was tightening up. I'm sure that was from the struggle I was having everywhere else. I got to thinking and realized that my first 20-mile training run from my last marathon was awful, as well. Does my body have some sort of running threshold that I have to break through at 20 miles? Will my next 20-miler be better? 

I think I need to see a foot doctor to get some help with my foot. I don't want that being the thing that keeps this from being a strong marathon for me. I don't want to feel like I have to do another in the hopes that all the stars will align and I won't have one of those big glitches to hold me back.

Next week: easy week. Cutting back the miles to let my body recuperate. 

Nice and easy. I love how much easier the hills around my house are feeling. Not so much work; they're starting to feel comfortable.

Ran with my MIL. We kept a pretty good pace after the first couple miles. I wasn't intending this to be a tempo run, but our pace kind of turned it into that. That's probably not the best technique, but I had that idea in the back of my mind. I guess my body took that as the plan. 

We ran up the other side of Foremaster--the loooong side. It was tough, but I felt good having conquered that. Veyo should be no problem. 

Easy run. Kind of hot, but bearable.

A very hilly 10 miles. Washington Parkway is long and a big climb. Good preparation for the hills in the marathon. I had alarm issues, so I left 20 minutes after I planned. It was hot. It was very do-able, though. I felt good at the end.

I planned on running four. The first three were with some gals in my neighborhood who aren't running distance. After running with them, I headed out for what I thought would be another 1 mile. Turns out, it was over 1 1/2 miles. So, I added a little extra distance to bring it to five. It felt great.

I ran with my MIL. This was a good, consistent run. We threw in a couple tempo miles at the end of the run and felt strong.