Fuel It Right

TM miles from home.  Hiit afterwards.  I haven't done a Hiit workout since Sunday(I think) and I can feel it.

Felt good but probably should have taken the day off.  I can feel a bug coming on.

To workout or not, that is the question.  Feeling better but not 100%

Might do a workout tonight... We'll see 

Starting my 30 day challenge today.  Ran 4.5, did fit test, and finished with a mile.  My run felt pretty good.  I think it served as a decongestant.  I should have done only a mile warm up, fit test and then finished my miles because I was really tired during the test.  Oh well, my numbers at the end of the month will look amazing now.  

Night spin class.  Pretty good sweat.  Hiit afterwards.  Lots of arms. Had to massage my aching deltoids afterwards :0)

49:00 AP 8:10 

Night run at home on TM.  Through in some 800's @ 7:50 ish's w/ 400 rests.  Felt good.  Hiit after.

Morning spin class.  Another sweat fest.  Lot of hills!

Heard about the Bod Pod down at BYU on facebook.  Made me curious about my fat % so scheduled an appt to go get it done.

Body fat- 15.9%

Weight- 100.784

Resting Metabolic Rate, kcal/day- 1022 

Makes me wonder what I was last fall after training all summer. 

AP 8:45 40:00

HiitReps today(my arms shake lifting 4 cups of water). Followed by morning TM to get a few miles in.  Feeling good this week :0)

AP 8:06

1 mile, Hiit, another mile, 2 mile tempo @ 7:30, 2 miles 

Hiit

TM.  Took it easy today.  I think AP was around 8:40

probably could have pushed harder, but wasn't really motivated. At least I went.

AM- Didn't make it spin so did a boring 45 min at the home gym then TM.

PM- Hiit arms 

TM

1 mile warm up, hiit, 4 more miles w/ a 1.5 miles @ 2% incline

PM spin class. Did a hiit workout before.  It was a lot of weighted squats and lunges so I was thinking I would be dead during spin.  Pleasantly surprised to have quite a bit of energy.  Finished it off with a loaded smoothie when I got home.  Fought off my cake craving but I will probably have to go get some before the end of the week :0)

AP 8:00

I did somewhat of a pyramid workout. Warm up mile @8:45ish. 8:00, 7:45, 7:30, 7:50, 8:00. Pretty tough workout for me. Felt good though.  

PM spin class w/ a hiit workout before. Holy legs on fire! Tough leg workout all around.

AP 8:41

Hurt my neck last night by simply raising my arm above my head.   I've been stretching and massaging it a bit and it doesn't seem to be so bad but will need to be careful the next few days.  I need one of those massage wands.  Planning on snowboarding tonight but double thinking that :0( 

AP 8:55

I haven't been on the pavement for quite some time. The sun was shining and it felt so good. My weather app said it was 17 out.  I think it was off a lot cause it felt pretty warm. Loop from home East and South.  Lots of hills. I really need to get off the treadmill more.  Hills felt super hard.

AP 8:32

TM. super exciting. 

Morning spin. I had a few minutes before the class started so got on the TM for a mile. The class was tough but good. 3 more miles after the class. tried out some new shoes. It kinda felt like they made me run on the outside of my foot so a might take them back and exchange.

AP 8:05 56:39

TM at home. 1 mile warm up,7x800 @ 7:24 pace w/ 400 rests, 1 mile cool down. Felt decent.  The last one was harder but doable. Breaking it up into 800's makes the time go by so much faster :0)

AM- Hiit

PM- Spin + 30 min before class.  It was an endurance ride mostly but still a good sweat. 

1 mile, Hiit legs and shoulders, 2 more easy miles.  I actually woke up @ 6:30 today.  Lets see if I can keep it up.

1 mile to try the nike's one more time. They do seem to make me run too much on the outside of my feet so I will be taking them back. Hiit weekend style. 2x4 min of a few total body sculpt moves. 8 minutes and I was dripping sweat. Good times. 

AP 8:36 51:39

AM- Hill intervals on the TM.  Felt good.  Hiit 4 x 50 sec on 10 sec off.

PM- 1 hr yoga class. My back needed that. 

AM- Hiit 

PM- Tried out my new shoes before spin class.  They feel good but during spin my knees were sore.  Not sure what was causing it.  Shoes or something else.  I never have knee pain so it was weird.  

AP 8:11 53:13

3x800 @ 7:19 and 3x800 @ 7:24 with 400 rests(last rest was 800). I was really tired today. Probably from workout last night.  Tough run.  Knees still sore but not really when I'm running. 

Hiit legs with Carly. Rode the bike while she did a few miles on the treadmill. Good workout. We sweat it up!

AM- 1 mile before, spin, 3.5 after. Felt sluggish at first but was able to pull through and felt strong most of the time.

AM- 6 x 800 @ 7:19 w/ 400 rests.  I was tired and this was tough but I made it through. May do some hiit later.

PM spin with Hiit full body before- arm emphasis, bonus legs 6 min. Damn it feels good to be strong. 

Didn't wake up soon enough to beat the snow so I went for the treadmill. Downloaded a movie to get me through.  Started with a 3 mile warm up. 5k @ 7:19(2 min. @ 7:13 towards the end). Finished off to make 11 miles.  The 5k was hard. I tried the 7:13 to see if I could push harder and probably should have kept it there to the end, but I was pretty hammered when I finished the entire run.  The movie was a nice distraction.

AP 8:33

Easy miles.  About 2 miles @ 3-3.5 incline.  Listened to half a of Rich Roll podcast interview with Brian MacKenzie. He is a CrossFit Endurance Coach. Pretty interesting listen.  They talked a lot about the misconceptions of his program and the benefits of it for endurance athletes of all types. I already believed in Hiit but it bolstered my belief.  I'm looking forward to listening to the 2nd half and finding out more about his program.

Before my run I did  the same fit test I did on Jan 14:

The results weren't as good as I was hoping but it does show improvement.  I will do this again in a month or so. 

AM- Couldn't sleep last night so got to the gym a bit earlier.  Ran 1.5 miles before, spin, then 2.5 more miles.  The last 2 AM classes I've been to has a girl that sits with her arms folded or sitting up, not holding the bars, almost the entire time.  I don't get it.  Why would you wake up in time to get to a 5:45 am spin class to not break a sweat?  Weird.

Did my workout a little differently today.  1 mile warm up. 6x800 @ 7:15. Instead of jogging between for rest I did hiit exercises.  I had 8 different exercises. I tried switching from running to floor work and back as quickly as possible.  I think it worked pretty well.  For the first 4x800 I did 2 minutes hiit between. Last 2x800 I did 4 minutes between.  Finished hiit by doing the entire circuit once through, then did 1 mile @ 7:10 and 2 mile cool down.  It was different but I liked it.  I was definitely sweating! 

AP 8:29

Easy miles. I usually do evening spin but I'm gonna try to ride outside on Saturday so switched it up a little.  Did 18 minute leg circuit and 7 min plank circuit after running.  Sweet sweat! 

AP 8:58

Out and back from home.  Couldn't really get in a rhythm today.  Everything felt weird.  My front hip area was hurting so my stride was off cuz I was overcompensating.  Don't think it's anything to worry about, but should probably get some good stretching in.  Lots of up hill today.  Made my way to Little Cottonwood Canyon and went about a mile up before turning around.  Today wore me out and I kept scraping my ankles with my shoes which caused some cursing along the way.  Glad that run is over and I can get on my bike in the sunshine tomorrow.  It better be sunny!

Started a 7 day plank challenge today.  My whole body is sore from this week. 

AM- Pretty tired this morning.  Made it through 2 rounds of hiit, total 16 minutes + planks.  Ran 20 minutes after.  Emigration or spin later.

PM- Decided to ride from home.  Wasatch to Millcreek Canyon.  Made it up a couple miles and then the road turned to a sheet of ice all the way across so I turned around(I was about ready to turn any ways).

I was sooo hungry when I got home from my ride. I grabbed some chips to curb my hunger and ended up finishing the bag.  oops!!! Then I finished a box of Girl Scout cookies to make it even worse.  Not such a good day food wise.  I did eat all my pre-prepared good food though so it wasn't a total wash but not great. I have too many treats laying around right now. Tomorrow is another day.

AP 7:53 55:16

I was planning on going to the track.  It was pretty warm but the wind was ridiculous so another TM run. 1 mile warm up. 3x1600 @ 7:08 w/ 800 between. After last 1600 I did a 400 rest then 800 @ 7:03.  10/50 for a total of 5 minutes of plank work after.

My knees are sore today.  Probably from my ride yesterday. 

My knees are super sore today.  After thinking about it more, I think it is from the squats I did on Tuesday.  I've never done them this way and my form must have been off.  You always remember how important form is when you do something stupid.  That is the only thing I did really different any ways.

PM- No hiit, no running, got on the spin bike to see how my knees felt spinning.  Debated, spun for about 10 min, got off bike, left class, debated more, decided to go back and do an easy ride. Did a few hills with the class then just rode my own ride.  We'll see how my knees feel in the morning.

My knees feel so much better today! So glad. They are still a little sore so I'm gonna take the day off and do a long run tomorrow.

5k AP 6:55(aided)  9.9 AP 9:10

Went and ran the 5k course of the race I'm doing on the 23rd. It's a down hill course and I wanted to see where I was at.  Parked at the finish and ran the course backward plus a couple. Started the tempo @ about 6.4 miles.

7:03, 6:52, 6:49, :39(total 21:24).

I'm happy with that. It was hard but I didn't really make myself that uncomfortable.  It's kinda scary to go there.  Should be interesting to see what happens in a couple weeks.  Finished with loop around the block. 

AP 8:15

My sun went away :0(  Ran in knee length tights and short sleeves though, so it wasn't horrible. No wind, so that was nice.  Easy miles from home.  Found a route that isn't nearly as hilly as the one I have been doing.  Killer of a hill to finish but pushed up it.  Felt pretty good. 

Josse worked on my legs on Saturday.  Knees feel pretty close to 100% 

Hiit afterwards.  

AP 8:20 Emigration 39:15

I thought I was going faster than that up Emigration.  I just wanted to see where I was at though.  A few laps around SHP after my ride.  Legs a bit tired.  Not really used to that long of a ride with a run after.  A bit windy up the canyon but not bad.  Beautiful day out! 

Just wake up and go!! I didn't wake up early enough to get out this morning and it was a struggle to get out the door after work. Ate way too many nuts and decided that taking the day off was a good idea.  Then someone knocked at the door(bible discussion group) and for some reason it gave me second wind so I got out the door.

Boy oh boy. This was not the funnest. My peanut baby in the belly didn't help and I started my 800's too fast.  Finished 5x800 with 400 rests and 3x very sloppy 400's.  Live and learn.

3:28, 3:30, 3:30, 3:36, 3:37, 1:34, 1:39, 1:46

Not the most consistent. I'm too used to the TM :0( 

AM- Hiit 10/30 for 12 min + plank/ab bonus 7 min. Tired but felt good.

Morning Hiit.  Made up my own. I was dragging but I got my sweat on. 3 miles on TM after.  It was so nice out, I was crazy not to go outside!

AP 8:29

Met Josse and the girls at the Shamrock Half.  I wasn't registered but thought it would be a fun run to get some miles in.  The plan was to run easy for the first part then pick it up to MP for the last 5 miles.  This course is not easy.  The first 10 miles is uphill with the last 3 mostly down with a few ups.  Time went by pretty fast especially breaking it up into 8 slower, 5 faster.

splits for 5 mile tempo  8:15, 8:22, 7:47, 7:59, 7:18(39:41)   AP 7:56

AP 8:33

Felt like I needed a good ab workout today.  Did a rep workout w/ 3x 1 minute of HR exercises mixed in to keep the HR up. 7x 20 rep exercises.  Felt good.  Followed it with 7 miles on the TM.  Yoga tonight.

I asked Josse what she was doing today and copied her. Mile repeats.  I have a great hill by my house that is similar grade to what will be in the race on Saturday so decided to use that for my repeats.  I didn't know if I should do 3 or 4 so just went off of feel.  The last one was super tough so decided 3 was good. Jogged home.  Who knew I'd end up finding a good use for this hill.

6:44, 6:38, 6:37

My legs were dead when I got home, but after resting for about 20 minutes they felt like they could handle a hiit workout.  The focus was legs today, but got in some good full body moves... Backward Lunge + Bar Stool Step Up + Kick Back= Totally Legit!! 18 minutes total time.

Spin. Simulation of the Suncrest ride.  Holy Hills.  Felt good to climb.  Did an arm workout before.  I have improved on my spider push ups slightly.

Woke up to get a track workout before school got in session.  Heard the wind, looked out the window and said nuh uh, then went back to bed... TM 6x400 @ between 6:30-6:40 pace, 2x200 @ 6:20 pace. I think. Can't remember now for sure.

Did the good old ab ripper x routine.  Saw how much stronger I  really am than I used to be. Feels good! 

 6:46, 6:34, 6:26, :36(6:09 pace)

Woke up to a blanket of snow but was still excited to go run today.  I ran this course a couple weeks ago so I knew what I was capable of and knew where the little ups were. Driving conditions were slippery so I was a little scared about running on the snow and slush. Made several calls to Josse flip flopping start plans.  We both made it finally and did a few miles to warm up.  Took a gel and water about 15-20 min before the start and we were off.  I took all the corners pretty easy so I didn't slip out and I just tried to keep a steady effort the whole time.  It was a decent effort and I felt pretty strong the whole time except for a bit of a side ache towards the end.  Down hill 5k's are super fun and I'll take a PR even if it is aided :0) I've never placed that well in a race so that's kinda fun too.

AP for the rest of the run was 8:23 about.  Ran the course + a little back to our cars with Josse.  She had to take off so I finished off with a few up and down Emigration.  The day turned out to be pretty decent with no wind and the sun came out for a bit.  So glad we did this today.  Had so much fun!

Lite hiit workout and a few easy miles to shake the legs out a bit.

AP 8:23

Got out mid morning.  Did my new route North.  I'm really liking this route.  Enough ups and downs but doesn't over due it.  Hiit afterwards.

Gym day.  Bike followed by run. Super special.

Did the hilly route from home.  Pushed on the way up more than I usually do. Sped up progressively on the down hill.  Felt tired but still strong.  Legs tired but tried a true Tabata style workout.  Um, I made it through 3ish rounds, kinda four.  This is no joke of a workout and I was just to tired to complete the 8 rounds I was planning on.  I will do it tomorrow with fresher legs.  I'm a little scared.

Alright. Round 2 of the dreaded Tabata workout.  Warmed up 1 mile on the TM and got right into the 5/20 Tabata.  17 minutes total(I should have finished out with 20, something went screwy but it was ok). It was still pure pain but it was good get out of my comfort zone.  It doesn't sound tough but 20 sec of REAL all out effort and just enough time to move to the next exercise is SUPER tough.  Good stuff. Finished with 3 more on the TM and felt surprisingly good.

Nice, easy recovery ride. Emigration.  Went with a friend that I knew was slower than me so I wouldn't feel the need to go hard.  Started pretty early so it was a bit chilly on the way up, but perfect on the way down.  Felt so good to get out today.  Went to Ruth's for the first time after.  Pretty delicious. 

59:27/8:32(7miles)

1 mile warm up, Hiit, 7 miles in just under 60 minutes.  Took the run pretty easy.  Hiit was pretty intense. 

1:04:10/8:01 

Went to the park and was planning on doing laps w/ 3x8:00, 2x7:30, 1x7:15 mile repeats.  Bathrooms were closed so decided to run towards the running store so I could use theirs. 1 mile warm up, 7:53, 7:29, 7:34, half mile rest, 7:41, half mile rest, 7:29, cool down.  Didn't stick to the plan and I couldn't hold the 2nd effort.  Might have helped to rest a mile between that effort.  Oh well, it was all flat and felt good to get some faster miles in.  Forgot all about the bathroom I was running toward. 

Made my way through Hiit then made it 2 miles up the hill and 2 miles back.  That's about it.  I just made it.

Evening ride part way up LCC from home. Wanted to go to the top but the wind started bothering me & didn't want to overdue it for this weekend.  Reached 46.5 mph on the way down.  Pretty sure that was due to the tail wind.  Glad the rain held off.

Evening. Easy. Hiit core.

Out and back from home on the easier route.  Easy. Threw in 2 mile MP temp 7:45, 8:11(up hill). Tired but felt good.

Evening Hiit legs.  I thought my legs would be dead but they felt fantastic.  Goes to show you don't know how you will feel until you start :0) 

Evening spin. Tough class. I need a fan right in front of me.

Hiit arms while I waited for class to start.  Looked at my biceps in the mirror as I curled weight. I felt vain. 

Easy miles. Same way as Wednesday.  Core workout with ab ripper x.  Concentrated on keeping my core tight the entire time.  Good workout.

Stayed at Josse's last night to run Provo Canyon.  We started at the base of Wallsburg and went up that road for about a half mile and turned back to head down the canyon.  It's been a long time since I've started a run in the dark and I forget how amazing it is to see the sun come up.  The purple/orange light against the snow capped mountain was quite a sight.  Loved it. 

15 miles at MP 7:36-8:09 

Cold and snowy so the TM it is.  Easy miles.

Hiit arms 

Morning spin followed by some TM miles.  I've been to this teacher once before and she LOVES the hills.  I like her.

PM- Hiit legs/core 

TM. 1 mile warm up, 7x1 mile w/ 2 min jog between, cool down. 7:47-7:41, last fast mile was 7:35. Used candies from the front desk to count down my miles.  Worked well. That was tough.

AM- Hiit. Legs toast from last night. Planning on spin later.

2:57:32/8:27 

Went and stayed with Jos again. Met Mac and Aubrey at the Hobble Creek Half finish and drove up to the golf course. We ran through light drizzly rain, sleet, down pour rain and light drizzle again, but it really was beautiful up Hobble Creek with the dust of snow and the how green it is looking up there.  I'm glad I saw it :0) And the down pour was somehow very calming.  It was really quiet.  All I could hear was the rain and my footsteps.  Ran up Hobble Creek 7 miles then turned around and did 5 MP, 5 min jog, 4 MP, 4 min jog, 3 MP and then just ran.  The plan was to do 2 and 1 the same but it was pretty miserable by the end of this run and I don't know that I could have. 12 at MP, I'll take it. Changed to dry clothes in a hidden corner.  Good times.

7 miles up 8:52-9:17 pace

5 mile tempo: 7:45, 7:48, 7:48, 7:46, 7:43.  5 min jog back up

4 mile tempo: 7:53, 7:50, 7:58, 7:55.  4 min jog

3 mile tempo:  7:56, 8:03, 8:10.  Cool down

Evening run.  Did the Runners for Boston Run at Salt Lake Running Company. Ran 5 miles before to Liberty Park and back, then met Jos, Mom, Rachelle and their friends. They had a little ceremony before.  It was a 2 loop course.  There were people cheering from the balconies.  I think some of them were drunk but they had spirit. Had a good time. 

I went out thinking I would do a harder workout but I could tell it wasn't going to happen and I wasn't on the right kind of route to make it happen so I scratched the plan and just ran.  I will do the workout on Thursday.

Evening ride up Emigration.  It was so nice to get outside on the bike.  I was frozen when I got home but it was worth it.

1 mile wu, 5@ 8:00, 5 min jog plus a little rest on top of that, 5@ 8:00 but I had to take a short break in the middle.  Hiit after.  I was really tired for the second MP miles, but also enjoyed the feeling of pushing through it.

3:16:50/8:57 

up and down emigration then the down to east high and around the neighborhood and back to the zoo.  not happy with it. the end.  Should have pushed harder on the down at least. I doubt I'll ever run all the way up this canyon again, but here are the splits just in case I want to refer to it:

7 miles up canyon @ 9:40-10:38

(down)8:20, 8:15, 8:01, 8:01, 8:24, 8:03, 8:14, 8:19, 7:54, 7:49

(back up) 9:45, 9:03, 9:08, 8:32, 8:44 

Easy miles from home.  Didn't necessarily feel easy.

Little Cottonwood Canyon. Haven't done this whole thing since last year.  Had to push but it felt good. Very windy on the way down.  I was frozen when I got home.

1:22:56/8:18

Liberty Park. 1 lap around park then out and back on the flat road, 7:39, 7:28, 5 min jog, started the 2nd HMP miles heading back to park but the headwind was too much so I turned around and kept going away from the park. 7:36, 7:41, 3 min jog, 8:05. Took Josse's workout for 2x 2 mi @ HMP and 1 @ MP.  I was a little tired.

Easy miles from home. Again, didn't really feel easy.

Emigration. Super easy. I was gonna do a couple easy running miles but my calf has been tender the last couple days so I thought a ride would be better for today. Man oh man, it was nice out this morning.  Cool, crisp and no wind.  Amazing.

1:36:56/7:24 

7:33, 7:12, 7:33, 7:11, 7:11, 7:19, 7:26, 7:19, 7:29, 7:29, 7:31, 7:19, 7:10, 1:10(7:15)

I wasn't sure what I was going to do today.  I was pretty tired all week but I still felt like I could push through to at least do what I did in Striders so that was my goal.  Stayed at Josse's and met up with a bunch of fine ladies to drive to the top.  This was fantastic to not have to wake up super early and ride the bus.  Ate some coconut flour banana bread. a hard boiled egg and milk for breakfast and some banana right before the race. It was cold up top but I was actually comfortably warm.  Did a little warm up and striped down.  I wasn't nervous at all.  Probably because I was just thinking of this as a training run.  I was sooo nervous for Striders.  I started out way too fast in Striders so this time I wanted to be conservative.  I started just behind the 1:35:00 pacer and stayed right there to see what it felt like.  I didn't feel like it was smart to keep up with him so started just running my own race.  Took all of the first 3 miles pretty comfortable and then started to work a little once it flattened out some.  I think this worked well for me to not try and push those down hill miles too hard.  I tried a flask out today to see if I would want to have it in Ogden.  I really liked it.  I took a shot at mile 6 and then again a few miles later.  I don't know that I needed it but it didn't hurt.  I had a bad stomach after the race.  Not sure if it was from the extra gel or just from running faster. I also used compression socks for the first time during a race.  I kept having little twitchy pains behind my knees and upper calves but I think i like them.  I am barely sore. 

I feel like I ran well.  Comfortable but still hard and had enough to push at the end.  This way of racing is still new to me so I was scared to push harder and burn out, but I was thinking while I was running and now that I could have done more.  I'm still happy with the result.  I needed this race to go well to build some confidence for Ogden.  I felt really good the whole time and hope I can feel this good in 2 weeks.

Easy from home, north route. Would have been perfect to go 6. Not really sore, just tired.

Hiit 

opted for 6 today.  Felt decent. did the hilly east route.

Core work 

Big Cottonwood from home.  Legs pretty tired but felt good to be on the bike.  SUPER windy on the way down.  I was a popsicle when I got home.

1:28:30 

Got a ride to the top of Emi and ran down to Liberty park.  Started w/ a .75 mile warm up then did 5x1mile repeats with 2 min jogs between at 5k pace.  Not sure what my 5k pace really is but I held this pace for all 5(6:45-6:53) and it felt good.  Last one was getting tough but I had a little tail wind which was nice.  I tried for a 6th but it wasn't happening.  Slowed the pace for a mile or so then decided to do one more faster mile since it was still down hill. Jogged to the park and did one lap on the wood chips.  Then sat with the ducks in the cool morning awesomeness.  I am happy with my run today.  I can tell my legs want a rest but I felt strong and pretty good the whole time.  I'll have to remember to put in splits later.  

40:25 

Emi.  Nice tail wind.  Felt pretty decent.

1:47:53/8:59

Little Cottonwood out and back. Took the uphill as hard as I could, which wasn't very fast but I didn't feel bad about it this time.  Ran 6 miles out, turned around and did a 3 mile tempo. 7:47, 7:52(hill), 7:44. Finished out the last 3 down hill pretty comfortable.  

Super easy on Wasatch.

TM. Easy miles.  Through in a few mile long inclines.

AM- Hiit 

PM-Another Wasatch ride.  Took a friend for his first ride so it was even easier than Sunday.  Going up 3 flights of stairs when I got home made me a bit tired though.

AP 1:06:56/8;22 

Liberty Park. A couple laps around the park easy. Took off on my fav flat road for tempos.  7:56, 7:41 then back to the park for another lap on the wood chips. Felt pretty good.

Well, let's see.  It is now July so I'm gonna do my best to remember what went on during this sludge fest.

Stayed with Mac and Jos on Friday night.  We picked up our packets and did a few things before getting to the hotel.  After we got all settled the rain started coming... and coming and coming.  I brought no rain gear.  Awesome.  We woke up and it was still raining.  We headed out and some nice ladies we saw at the elevator felt bad for us and went back to their room to get us trash bags.  So saved me before the race.  Ditched the bag at the start but could have kept it.  It rained almost the entire time.

This was the first race I used a pace band.  Had a flask full with 4 gels, a few saltstick capsuls and a little water + a 5 hr energy.  We started the race and I felt pretty good for the first 3, my paces from my pace band seemed easy.  By mile 6 my legs were already feeling tight and I was not feeling confident about the 20 miles I still had.  I tried to distract myself with how gorgeous it was despite the rain.  So green with low foggy clouds.  It was absolutely beautiful.  I was just trying to stick to my paces.   By 8 I decided a potty break was in order and used the facilities provided.  My shorts were so wet that I ended up running out with a cheek still hanging out cuz they would not move.  I finally got them adjusted and was proud of myself for making up the time spent in the potty and still making my split for that mile.  Finished out the road before turning for the tough rollers between 9 and 13.  My legs were really tight and I was feeling the miles.  Made it to the half way point and took my 5 hr energy and a good gulp of water.  I was pretty cold and not thirsty.  Man, I was tired.  Started to feel the 5 hr kick in and felt a little better.  Made it to the turn into the canyon and was grateful for some downhill miles.  By the time I got out of the canyon I was feeling really done but knew I had to hang on for the last few miles.  2 miles to go and I didn't know how I was going to do it but I kept going.  Held on the best I could and was so happy to see the finish line and everyone there to see me.  It was so nice to be done.  I made my BQ goal and got unexpectedly emotional.  This was a tough race! And I will never wear Kinvaras for a marathon.  I think that is one reason my calves got so tight. 

1-7:46, 2-8:05, 3-7:48, 4-7:59, 5-8:02, 6-7:52, 7-8:03, 8-8:03, 9-7:59, 10-8:01, 11-8:05, 12-8:06, 13-8:07, 14-7:59, 15-8:07, 16-7:58, 17-8:03, 18-7:47, 19-7:54, 20-7:56, 21-7:52, 22-7:50, 23-7:49, 24-8:06, 25-8:12, 26-8:28, 3:13 for .39(8:22 pace)

In Kingman from the hotel.  Hiit before.  On my way to the Grand Canyon in the morning :0)

In the Grand Canyon. Hiked the 10 miles to Havasu Falls and the camp ground. I about died carrying my super heavy pack but I made it.  Seeing Havasu Falls as you make the last descent is pretty amazing. I learned a lot about the art of packing and that LIGHT is essential and also having a pack that fits you well.  I have a bruised back so I paid to have my pack carried out for me.  There's no way I could carry it out and I am fine with not! Now for relaxing in the hammock and getting ready to hike around tomorrow.

Did some day hiking to Mooney Falls and Beaver Falls.  This place is so AMAZING. I love it! Took tons of great pictures and loved being able to hike in the water for a lot of the time.  Stayed nice and cool.  The trail is pretty cool too. Red rock and walking through torso high vines is rad.  Made it to Beaver Falls and hung out in the water for awhile before we made our way back to Mooney falls.  The mist coming from it was a perfect temp after hiking all day.  Such a nice day in the Grand Canyon.

Hiked out of Havasupai. We started at 6 am so it was shady for most of the way. Hiking out of the canyon was so easy! Paid to have our pack carried out for us and I loved being able to just enjoy the surrounding and not think about how bad my neck and back felt. So fast and enjoyable.  Ran the last 1.5 up the hill at the end.  Felt good to get a little bit of an effort in.  I ran into a kid that had Rainbow flip flops on and his mom was wearing some Luna sandals.  I'm gonna look into these as trail hiking options.  Trail running shoes didn't cut it for this trip. Had so much fun but ready to go home. 

Emi up 35:13 

Emigration at a decent effort

Out and back on easy route from home.  A little tired.  A little worried about running a marathon next week.

Big Cottonwood Canyon from home.  Tired but felt good to get 30 in.

Pretty slow

Mostly flat from home to 700 E and down to Draper area.  Different doing flat riding.

I think I did 5 today.

This race was a test for me.  First to see how I could hold up doing 2 marathons within 3 weeks of eachother, and second to not use a watch and switch up fueling a little bit.  Stayed at my mom's last night.  Woke up and had almond butter toast with banana, milk and hard boiled egg.  Took an egg and banana with me to eat closer to the race.  We didn't actually have a lot of time before the race started from when I ate my first meal but I ate the egg on the ride up(Julie C gave us a ride to the start. She's a mad women but got us there in record time). We got to the start at about 5:30. Used the nature and ate the banana and had about 10 min to spare for the race start.  Perfect timing.  I had my flask again filled with non caffeine gels and 5 salt sticks and had my 5 hr energy for the half way point.

The race started and I just ran to what felt comfortable.  I ran this way the whole time but still felt like I pushed. At mile 4 my watch was full and wouldn't do anymore splits.  I turned it off and and wasn't going to worry about it.  I wasn't planning on paying attention to it any ways but then decided to try to erase some old stuff and just hoped I didn't erase my Ogden splits I haven't entered yet(success!). By the end I didn't have a whole lot left but enough to stay fairly strong so I knew I had put in about the right amount of effort for this race. 

1-7 Felt really relaxed. Just enjoyed running down the Wallsburg road.

1- 7:50, 2- 7:44, 3- 7:52, 4- 8:00, 5- 8:14,  6- 8:04, 7- 8:03

8-13 I took the hills super easy and tried pushing the downs a little more. Could tell I hadn't had any caffeine this morning.  Felt like I was fading.

8- 8:42, 9- 8:37, 10- 7:49, 11- 7:59, 12- 8:21, 13- 8:15

Took my 5 hour energy at the half way point.  Walked through this stop and got a good drink of water with it.  I started feeling the caffeine kick in pretty quickly and it felt really good.  Started feeling re-energized. 

14-around 23 were pretty good.  The last 3 I had to work for and stay really focused on keeping my feet moving.  I'm really happy with what I did today.  I was very surprised to see 3:38 on the clock when it came into view.  This was definitely a mental test and I feel like I passed.

14- 8:32, 15- 8:12, 16- 8:09, 17- 8:17, 18- 7:55, 19- 7:45, 20- 8:08, 21- 7:59, 22- 8:02, 23- 8:06, 24- 8:51, 25- 8:39, 26- 8:16

My splits aren't exact because of my watch issues but they are pretty close. 

Oh, and remember to cut your toenails. 

plus hiit.  ooo baby.

Millcreek from home.  This kicked my butt but felt so good.

Feeling a bit tired but I kinda expected that.

1:39:23/7:39

Started up Big Cottonwood Canyon with Josse and ran to my house.  Tough but good run. 

Memory Grove + City Creek + Avenues 

2775 ft of climbing

Hiit.  Full body. about 36 minutes.  

TM. The plan- 6 800's. Actual- 1 800 and 7 speratic 400's.  

Super slow but that's ok.

AM- Went up the Dog Lake trail from BCC for the first time.  Man, that's a gorgeous trail.  

PM Decided to ride up BBC and make it  to Mill D twice. 

TM 1.5% incline

1 mile warm up, 4 miles @ 8:00 pace, 1 mile cool down

6:59, 6:51, 7:04, 7:03, 7:03, 7:27, 1:33(7:39 pace) 

Pretty straight froward race today.  My goal was to run under 45:00 but had a whatever attitude.  I wasn't impressed with my running lately and my body is feeling the stress of life recently.  I figured I'd try for 7:00 miles for the down hill section and 7:15 for the flat and see how it went.  Turned out to be a pretty good strategy.  Things went well until the last mile where I kinda fell apart.  Mile 2 and 3 were a bit fast but still felt comfortable. I got a little scared that I'd pay for in the end.  My legs did feel fatigued but still strong. I just focused on my form throughout which I think helped. I think I could have held it together better, just didn't have the will.  A reminder that I need to work on my pain threshold to push through at the end.  All in all though, it was a good race.

 Easy miles. I didn't know it was possible to want to fall asleep while running 6 miles, but man, Eckhart Tolle's voice lolls me to sleep no matter what I'm doing.

Emigration Canyon + some add ons

up 39:00

Easy from home.  Kinda tired.

AM- Hiit 

PM- Flat around town. 

TM 1.5% incline- 1 mile warm up, (5) mile repeats at 7:41-7:49 with .5 recovery between, 1 mile cool down.

City Creek. Felt decent, legs a bit sluggish.

Woke up early to get in some miles before the Dash for Donations I did with Rachelle.  Started from SHP, took a nasty spill on Sunnyside and made it a few miles up Emi before turning around. Got back to the park and did another mile with Rebecca. 13 miles down, a 5k + 2 miles to go. YAY! Avg pace for 5k was about 7:30.. Those hills around the park killed me but with 13 miles under my legs I felt good about it.  Cooled down a little bit with Rachelle and Rebecca.  It was fun to run with them.  Good times :0)

Did a hike/trail run up to Sunset Peak in Big Cottonwood starting from Brighton.  Really pretty!

TM. easy miles while watching HGTV

Hiit. 2 seperate circuits. One for abs, one for arms.  Good circuits! 

Liberty Park.  Evening in the heat! I fell off my workout today.  The 3x2 mile repeats @ 5k-hmp turned into 2 @ 7:30, 1 @ 7:45, 800 @ 7:45 plus a couple more efforts and a couple laps around the park. I was fuzzy headed when I was done.  Um.. I'm blaming this on the heat.

AM- Hiit full body.  Lots of squats and lunges and push ups.  Love it!

8:50/2:21:12

Less hilly course from home with a detour.  The detour had a pretty major hill that I felt strong on.  That was a confidence booster. 

Easy ride up emigration.

Today's goal was to run 26 miles and have fun.  Had tons of fun in PC with the girls last night and wasn't nervous at all.  This was only meant to be a training run and that's what it felt like.  

I was still tired and a little worried about how I'd feel for the last 10 miles.  This course was beautiful so I tried to look around and busy my thoughts with the surrounding and not the mileage i still had to cover.  It work for the most part.  The sun was behind clouds for a lot of the morning which made it seem nice and cool.  I loved seeing the hot air balloons taking off and the sun rays coming through the clouds.  Mountains and green pastures were so pretty!  I started to feel the elevation with my breathing.. at least that's what it felt like.  It started to feel labored but I kept it under control.  Glad I had a decent day and felt strong.

(1)8:42, (2)8:46, (3)9:03, (4)8:21, (5)8:12, (6)8:51, (7)8:37, (8)8:56, (9)8:43, (10)8:39, (11)8:55, (12)9:01, (13)9:00, (14)9:34, (15)9:44, (16)9:25, (17)8:29, (18)8:37, (19)7:46, (20)8:26, (21)7:54, (22)8:35, (23)8:30, (24)8:54, (25)8:58, (26.. .94)7:50

Probably should have run yesterday but I was feeling lazy.  Felt ok today, a little tired.

Millcreek from home.  Legs kinda beat but made it to the top.. barely.  Really nice up there though

7:45/1:25:09 

In the words of Josse, I sucked beans today.  Yeah, legs are a little tired.  It's the trend this week.

Started at the top of Emi and ran to Liberty.  5x mile repeats w/ 2,2,,3,4 min rests between.

fast mile times-  6:55, 6:53, 7:02, 7:22, 7:20

Fell off big time. 

Had an awesome time in Cedar City with some fine ladies(Rachelle, Kelli and Jen H.).  These ladies are amazing runners and it was an honor to run with them.  This was a good experience for my first relay.  Short and sweet.  We were sponsored by Magic Stuff.  I didn't even realize it was a company that I've been using for years.  Good company for creams and lotions for athletics and everyday use.  Kuddos to Rachelle and Jen H. for running an extra leg each since we were down a runner.  Overall time was 3:19:27, with the overall winners just 1:13 ahead of us and the 2nd place ladies team coming in at 4:06:43.  Everyone was impressed with us and wondered where this Salt Lake City team came from.

Leg #4- 2.61miles/18:28/7:13.  7:24, 7:10, 3:54(6:58 pace)  I'm definitely not used to short distances and it was a shock to my legs to start out trying at an all out effort.  I started getting my numb tongue that I get when I'm running too fast so I just tried to stay in control.  It started out flat/slight down hill, had a bit of a hill and flattened out for the reaminder. For some reason I thought this leg was 2.2 miles so I was spent by this point but I passed 2 runners so felt good about that.

Leg #8- 2.87miles/22:38/7:53.  7:39, 7:59, 6:57(8:01 pace)  This leg was a gradual uphill the whole way.  I'm not awesome on hills, but I focused on keeping the first place guy in sight and kept telling myself I was strong.  At about 1.5 miles in the course turned and I lost sight of him.  I later found out that he saw me behind him and took off. 

I woke up ready for a big week after my super rest week.  I started out feeling amazing and full of energy.  Well, that didn't last long.  Didn't feel aweful but didn't feel amazing either. Still feeling fatigued.  

I took an hour nap at work yesterday. I felt like I was on the set of Mad Men and it was fantastic.  I didn't wake up early enough to run outside, I thought it would be too hot so I headed to the TM for what turned out to be another downer of a workout.  I did a one mile warm up and started what was supposed to be 8 miles at MP.  I didn't quite end up that way but I finished and that is that. I was COMPLETLEY drenched from head to toe.  Gross.

Morning ride up LCC. Such a beautiful morning!  My legs definitely felt the burn but it felt good to be on the bike.  Made it to the Snowbird Entry 4 then turned around.  Next time will be Alta.

1:43:21/9:51 Trails up in City Creek. Such a beautiful morning and I was glad to be out. I'm still figuring out trails up here. Started with a 1 mile gradual uphill warm-up then got on the trail. It was nice and gradual so I was loving it. It dumped me off on the road about 3 miles of trail and I couldnt see a connection trail so ran another mile up just on the road and turned around. I need to work on my decending skills. I'm very cautious. Threw in 5 one min sprints with 30 sec rests at the end. .7 cool down. 

Emigration 40:09

Debated if I wanted to do this today or Sunday.  Today won.  My legs are feeling tired though.

1:46:22/8:06

Decided to do this race with a friend that was doing it.  I looked at the times from last year and figured I could do fairly well.  This course is tough! Flat as a pancake. The plan was to run 8's and just under til 10 and then pick it up if I had it in me.  Busses were supposed to pick us up by 6 and the race was supposed to start at 7:00.  I'm assuming they used the same busses for the full and half becuase they didn't get there until 6:30 and the race didn't start until 7:25.  Pretty annoying for a late starting race, plus it was already hot and humid.  Did a very short warm up and started.  My plan went well until mile 8 when I took a gel.  I was fading and I just didn't have it in me to push.  Let myself have an easy mile then was gonna pick it up again... Didn't really happen but I'm still happy with what I did.  3rd place behind 2nd by 12 sec.  Wish I would have know.  I probably would have pushed 15 sec harder.

7:54, 7:54, 7:56, 8:00, 7:53, 8:06, 7:59, 8:16, 8:09, 8:24, 8:14, 8:43, 8:01, :52(7:24 pace)

Banana w/ PB, hard boiled egg & milk before leaving, 3Fuel and E7 on the bus, 1 gel at mile 8.

Half mile or so after the race and 6 miles on the TM after getting home.

Met a friend to ride Emi. 3 miles up and back with the ride after.  Felt decent on the run. We were going to do Big Mountain but my legs were definitely tired so decided no to.  Pago lunch after.  So good!  

Emigration 1:15:39/7:33

Warm up from top of Emigration.  5xmile repeats with 2 min rests.

6:46, 6:44, 6:41, 6:44, 6:53

I'm happy with this compared to last week.  Felt much better today!

Cool down from zoo.

Bike around town from home.  Wasn't feeling it today so this was kinda leisurely.  All I could think about was the butternut sqaush soup I was gonna make.  It was worth the wait.

BST.  Ah yeah.  Feeling grateful that I have legs that can take me places.

Finally found a trail that was longer than a few miles.  It was nice.

Easy from home. A cyclist yelled at me to 'run on the other side of the road, lady' I yelled back for him to have a good day. I hope he does. He seemed angry. 

7:21, 7:01, 7:06, 6:47, 6:54, 6:55, 6:51, 6:53, 6:45, 6:38, 6:44, 7:04, 6:51, :50(6:04 pace)

Decided to do this earlier in the week.  Josse convinced me it would be good SGM training.  I'm always up for down hill and this is some crazy down hill.  

Had the trusted banana w/ pb, egg and milk before leaving and took some E7/3Fuel with me for the bus ride and 5hr energy.  Rode down with Josse, Mom and Rebecca.  The bus ride took forever and there were gauge alarms going off almost the entire ride.  The bus driver shining a flash light on them every couple minutes didn't look promising, but we finally made it to the start.  Rachelle's bus didn't...

Did a bit of a warm up with the sunrise coming through the aspens.  It was gorgeous!  Took half of the 5hr.  The race started a few minutes late due to the bus issues.  I started out with the 1:35 pacers and my first mile was VERY conservative.  decided to pull away at the first water station and just ran steady.  Gained on a few people and stayed close behind a girl that was pacing about the same.  Took water at every station and a gel at mile 8(i think).  I tried to take the rest of the 5hr at the last water stop but none of it actually made it in my mouth.  The race went this way until about 2 miles to go where I passed her and pushed to the end.  Passed one more girl and a couple guys.  Felt good with the effort and how I felt.  I don't think I needed to take the first mile so slow but I seem to do better with a slower first mile.

Recovery from home.  Legs sore but not too bad.  Legs pretty dead.

Started from home with the intention of doing LCC.  My legs were dead from the start so decided to do BCC.  Got a couple miles up and they were doing road work with one lane construction.  Didn't want to deal with it so I turned around and road around to make 20.  Wasn't in it today.

6x800 + 2x400 on the TM.. it was raining and I'm a wuss.  2 mile warm up, 800's between 7:10 and 6:53 w/ 400 rests. 400's @ 6:38 w/ 200 rests. I was worried I would pittle out so I started slow and increased speed a little for each one.  Felt good but still tired at the end.

BST. Feeling pretty wiped. 

53:00/8:50 

Easy from home

2:48:15/8:25

Spanish Fork Half Marathon course 1:46:00/8:05

Went down to Spanish Fork and bandited the half marathon course.  Did a few miles warm up and felt pretty tired.  Stuck with the 1:50:00 pacer throught until the hill then took off from him when the down hill started.  Tried and EFS flask that I liked and took half a 5 hr around mile 8.  I was not hungry becuase I ate so close to the race.  I held up better than I thought I would.

cool down between 3-4 miles.

2:56:36/14.8 mph

This was a super long slog around the entire Salt Lake Valley.  Not my favorite.  Getting stopped by lights sucks and we were stopped by lots.  Added tons of time and I'm not a fan.  It was good to get a flat ride in though.  Some parts of SLC are scary.

1:10:27/8:48

Easy day.  Started from home.  Just took it easy and felt surprisingly good. Now for tomorrow. eek!

1:44:20/8:02

I was seriously dreading this run.  I set 3 alarms and finally got up about 15 minutes after the last one.  The plan: 2x5 miles @ MP w/ mile jog between.  I thought my legs would just be super tired and I would struggle the entire time.  My legs actually felt pretty good though.  It went fairly well and I got through better than I thought I would.  Glad it is over though.  Started at LP for the warm up then went 2.5 out and back so I could get water between sets and not have to carry it.  I liked breaking it up this way.  Seemed less long.  The first set went well.  The second set was good for the first 2 miles then I struggled.

MP miles-

set 1: 7:45, 7:31, 7:43, 7:37, 7:35

set 2: 7:45, 7:44, 7:46, 7:44, 7:32

1.25 warm up, .75 cool down

51:04/8:31  38:20 up

ran up and down Emi then rode up and down Emi. That was a much needed hill climb. Felt good to pedal up a mountain. 

57:22/8:44

easy day with strides at the end. I'm liking feeling strong and not tired!

2:25:31/8:05

I did my long run today so I could ride tomorrow.  Started at the top of Emi, ran down the back, back up and around the bottom.  Felt really decent.

decent miles(from 8-18): 7:38, 7:29, 7:31, 7:28, 7:22, 7:28, 7:25, 7:22, 7:58, 8:09, 7:54(last 3 with ups)

Went up to a cabin above Oakley for a fall color bike ride.  The colors were not changing all that much but it was still a beautiful ride.  Started from the cabin and rode to Midway, ate and rode back.  The wind sucked on the 1st half but it wasn't bad on the way back.  Colors started popping by the end of the weekend.  So pretty!

53:09/8:52

Easy from home.  I can definitely feel that ride.  Not ideal but I will be better by next week... hopefully.

Still feeling really tired.  This run sucked!  Did what I could.

Plan- 6-8 @ MP 7:47, 7:44, 7:51, 7:55, 7:40, 7:44

There was some stopping and starting in there.  The ride was probably not a good idea so close to the marathon but I had fun so no biggie.

Evening spin. I had the classic "I didnt get my workout in this morning and I really don't wanna now" syndrome. Besides wantingt to just go home and be lazy, I have been tired all week and thought it might be better to have a rest day. Decided to see how it would go. I went 15 min early so I could leave early just for fun. Ended up feeling pretty good so I stayed til the end. 

LP 1:38:06/8:11

2x2 mile at MP w/3 min jog between

WU 2.7, 7:26, 7:24, 3 min jog, 7:26, 7:19, CD

After Tuesday's run, I really needed this run to go well. I started my warm up and I could tell my legs felt much better. I felt strong during the faster miles and my breathing was much more controlled. So glad, I was not liking being so tired.