Running to stay sane

I decided to run a tempo down the Big Cottonwood 1/2 Marathon course this morning. I live right on the race route and it takes about 15 minutes to drive up the canyon to the starting line. Bryant dropped me off and I ran down (and I added 3 miles to make my mileage for the week). What a beautiful canyon! The river, mountains, rock, trees were breath taking! Loved it! But man, it was A LOT of downhill. I am going to be hurting tomorrow! 13.1 in 1:26:15 + 3 miles cool down at 7:30 pace.

On a side note, you loose more elevation in the Big Cottonwood 1/2 than in the entire St. George Marathon. No wonder my quads are killing me! 

Ouch, ouch, ouch! I probably shouldn't have run at all today but I felt like a little shake out run would help. 5 miles at a slow, slow, slow pace of 8:30.

Wow...still trying to recover from Friday's tempo down the canyon. 9 miles at 7:50 pace! Geez!

9 easy miles today at 7:30 pace. I'm still trying to make this dang quad heal! 

Finally...my legs are starting to feel better. Today's run was, dare I say...enjoyable?! I ran through the familiar streets of Murray and watched the sun come up over the mountains. The clouds were pink and I swear I could feel a little crisp to the morning air. Makes me sad that summer is coming to an end. My training plan called for an 8 mile tempo but I still feel like I need to play it safe and just did an easy 9.1 miles @ 7:20 pace. 

I met Emily at Murray Park this morning for an enjoyable 7 mile run. We ran over to Wheeler Farm and saw 2 foxes (no, we didn't look at ourselves in the mirror. They were actual foxes!). It was nice to have a running partner. Emily and I always have something to talk about so it's always fun to get together. Emily is one of my running heroes so I feel honored to run with her! 7.25 miles at 7:30. 

 On a side note, I went and saw Dr. Tom Fletcher yesterday for some ART on my quad. He's a great doctor and I like his approach to running. I go back again tomorrow after my 20 miler. 

Emily and I were talking today about caffeine...Does anyone use it? If so, what do you take/how much/when? I'm interested to know!

I had a great long run this morning! I ran one of my favorite routes up towards Big Cottonwood Canyon and then I headed north on Wasatch Blvd to Parley's Canyon. I call this run my "Earn It" run...meaning the first 11 miles are uphill so the last 11 are downhill. I have to earn those downhills. I saw a lot of friendly runners and bikers so I felt like I was constantly waving and saying, "Morning!" 22 miles at 7:39 pace. 

 I missed you Emily! :) 

Bryant did his first triathlon today at Jordanelle! It was awesome to watch him finish the Olympic distance. I'm so proud of him.

 I ran 4  easy miles around Kamas to make an even 60 miles for the week. My legs felt a little tired but overall I felt really good! I'm glad my 22 miler on Friday didn't take it out of me. Maybe I'm getting used to running 20+ miles! Yahoo! 

I need some running advice from all you professional runners out there ;)

I'm signed up to run the Big Cottonwood 1/2 Marathon on September 14th. I'm also doing St. George on October 5 (3 weeks later). St. George is my main focus this year. I'm really shooting for a PR and hopefully a sub 3 hour! I ran down the BC 1/2 course a couple weeks ago and it TRASHED my quads because it's so steep. I've had a strained quad since Boston so I've done physical therapy and been a little cautious with it. BC is right next to my house and a lot of my family and friends are running it. I was hoping to do well and enjoy my race. BUT I'm nervous I will trash my legs even worse than I did a couple weeks ago and mess up my race for St. George. But I want to run it so I can "impress" my family and friends (sounds pretty stuck up huh? Well, my family rarely makes it to my races so I would love to have them see me run. Make sense?) 

My friend Emily is running Emigration Canyon 1/2 on August 31. She is also running St. George so this will be her 1/2 race before the marathon. Emigration Canyon is not as steep as Big Cottonwood. I've thought about running this race with her instead of BC. I'll miss out on being with my family and friends but I'll still get a good 1/2 race in before St. George.

Do you think I should switch and do the Emigration 1/2 or stick with Big Cottonwood 1/2 and try to play it safe?

Today was a hard tempo. I guess my legs are a little more tired than I thought they would be after my 22 miler on Friday. But I was able to finish! I have a 3 mile loop by my house that I like to run for my tempo's because it's 1.5 miles of a very gradual uphill and then 1.5 of a very gradual downhill. So I like to call it "flat". And there are no lights that I have to stop at.

1 mile warm up, 8 mile tempo (6:40, 6:27, 6:24, 6:40, 6:29, 6:30, 6:45, 6:28), 1 mile cool down.

I decided to try "Go Time" smelling salts (ammonia inhalants) before my workout today. Honestly, I didn't notice much of a difference. When I first smelt them, it was like "Wow, that's a strong smell". But that was about all the boost I got from them.

10 easy recovery miles today. I was suppose to run with Emily but she couldn't run at the same time I had to. I ran to the Jordan River Parkway and then on the dirt trail for 1 mile. Turned around and came home. Nothing too exciting but I've gotta get these miles in. 10.1 miles @ 7:30 pace. 

Side note, I signed up for the Emigration 1/2! I withdrew from the Big Cottonwood 1/2 race and they refunded all but $10 dollars. Emigration was $10 dollars less so I broke even. I feel much better about running this race. I think it will give me more time to recover for SG and won't beat my legs up as bad. Thanks for the advice everyone!

Another easy day. I ran one of my favorite routes along Murray-Holladay Blvd. Down Walker Lane. 9.25 miles at 7:22 pace. 

I felt SO tired yesterday that I decided today would be a cross training day. I rode my spin bike for an hour. It was hard NOT to run but I need to listen to my body. My hamstring has been bothering me again and I don't want to risk injury just to get my mileage in for the week. So I'll be 9 miles short...better than 26.2 miles short come race day!

I ran with Emily this morning at Murray Park. We ran our usual route to Wheeler Farm to get on some soft surface. My legs felt pretty good after a day of rest. Emily and I had some great conversations. This is one of the reasons why I love running! You become such good friends with those you run with. She also gave me some samples to try for a recovery drink and a drink to take while running. Thanks Em! 

I ran 16 easy miles with Kim and Tyler this morning out in Daybreak. That place is always busy with runners!  

I woke up before the sun to do my track workout this morning. It was pretty windy when I started but the wind died down towards the end. I decided to run a shorter distance since I'm doing the Emigration 1/2 this weekend.

2 mile warm up, 1 lap speed changes, 10x800 with (:90 sec rest). I wasn't super fast but I was pretty consistent with my splits which I'm happy about! (2:59, 2:58, 2:57, 2:57, 2:58, 2:58, 2:57, 2:57, 2:57, 2:58). 2 mile cool down. I wanted to run a few extra cool down miles but I had to be home to get Kaden ready for school.

I ran 10 miles with Emily this morning along the parkway and through some neighborhoods. My hamstring was pretty sore/tight from yesterday's track workout.

I really enjoyed today's run. I did 4.5 miles up the Big Cottonwood Canyon Trail and then 4.5 back down. I threw in 10x1:00 pushes to get my legs some speed for this weekend's race. I felt really good and enjoyed breaking in some new shoes.

Today was suppose to be an easy 7 miles. But it didn't feel easy! My legs are tried. I'm interested to see how this weekend's race goes! 7.3 miles @ 7:30 pace.

My baby brother is getting married today! Yahoo!

Emily and I ran a nice 10K through Holladay. Nothing too exciting since we have our race tomorrow.

Today was the Emigration 1/2 marathon. It was a small race but very organized. I really liked the course because it wasn't slamming downhill like most Utah races. The first 4 miles are uphill by Mountain Dell Golf Course. Then we ran down Emigration which is not nearly as steep as Big Cottonwood (I'm really glad I switched races!). The last 2 miles are flat. My goal for this race was to treat it like a tempo and just get some turn over. I felt really good the entire time and didn't feel like dying at the end. Emily ran this race too and took 1st and I took 2nd. I ran a 1:25 and I felt great. And the best part was I didn't get any blisters! Wahoo! Looks like this shoe and sock combination will be the one I use at St. George.