"If we don't suffer enough we won't remember it."

5 miles avg 7:26.  Ran into an old friend from High School that I haven't seen in years!  We went about a mile together.  She just moved back to Utah.  She was a swimmer in High School, but runs now and was keeping up a pretty good pace. 

Ran 10 miles with 6 x 800 meter intervals with 3 min recovery in the middle.  Interval times, 3:04, 3:04, 3:02, 3:02, 3:02, 3:02.  I was supposed to be at 3 min, but since this is the first time I've done speed work in about a year I didn't want to go too fast and end up sore.  Felt good.

10 miles up/down Provo Canyon avg 7:11 pace.

3.5 miles avg 8:44 pace.  I asked my 5 year old daughter if she wanted to come with me in the stroller.  Then my 8 and 10 year old boys wanted to come on their bike/rollerblades.  We were almost to the drinking fountain up Provo Canyon where we planned to turn around for 4 miles when my 8 year old son on the bike stopped and started dry-heaving.  I put my daughter on his bike, too big for her, and my son in the stroller until we got to the canyon parking lot.  Then they switched back and he rode the rest of the way home. 

22 miles from my house up/down Provo Canyon/South Fork with Melanie B and Julie C.  We started out uphill and into the wind running too fast.  Going up South Fork I wondered if I would be able to make it back home.  At mile 10 with one more uphill mile to go I thought about stopping and waiting for them to go the last mile up and back.  Maybe if I rested for 15 minutes I would be able to make it 10 more miles.  But I kept going and after stretching at the top I felt a lot better on the downhill.  I also got a big drink of water at mile 13 and loaded up on Powerade at mile 15.  After that I had more energy and finished feeling a lot better than I did at mile 10.  I think my up average was 7:26, so my down must have been 6:46.

I went to my 20th high school reunion later in the day.  We had a picnic in the afternoon with our families and a dinner in the evening for the adults.  I can't believe it's been 20 years.  I was so tired when I went to bed, and still the next morning.  I'm usually really good about getting to church 5 or 10 minutes before it starts, but not this Sunday.  My husband was already there and I just kept sleeping after the alarm went off so the kids and I were about 40 minutes late!  

4 miles with my husband on his bike.  Avg 7:09 pace.  Another long day as my brother-in-law was getting married in Salt Lake.  It was long for me and I'm sure seemed even longer for our kids.  Our kids waited in the "youth room" at the Salt Lake temple while we attended the marriage.  Later my daughter said, "I thought the room in the temple would be really really reverent, but instead it was really loud."  There were lots of  kids there.  Then the pictures took a long time and the kids were getting bored.  We went to the Lion House for the lunch and of course there was a lot more waiting.  We got back to the grandparent's home at about 4:00 p.m. and they had less than 2 hours to play with their cousins before more pictures and a reception.  On the way home I asked the kids what their favorite part was and they all said being in the "youth room" at the temple.  I thought this would have been last on their list.

10 miles avg 7:19 pace.  I woke up feeling like I'm getting sick.  I've eaten too many sweets the last several days and not gotten enough sleep.  Time to fix that!

4 easy miles. 

I took my son to his pediatrician and also made a Dr. apointment for me.  We have ongoing problems with our sinuses, and we both get sick at the same time.  The doctor thinks we have allergies!  (That are causing sinus infections) I spent all day considering this as a possibility and I think he's right.  I went for 6 months all through the winter without problems (thought I was cured), then in March it all started up again. 

I thought about the times when I was sick and not sick.  It's always worse on Saturday's after my long runs (up the canyon around the weeds) and the only time I can remember not feeling like I was struggling with a stuffy/runny nose off and on was when I was on vacation and during the times when we had a lot of rain.  I think I felt so bad this week because Saturday I did my run up South Fork, spent all afternoon on the grass at the park and the evening out at a golf course.  Couldn't breath when I went to bed.  Monday I spent hours at Temple Square around the grass and flowers and the evening at a reception at a green house.  That night I could hardly breath out of my nose again and the next morning I felt sick.  We also open all our windows at night to let the canyon wind cool the house off, which the doctor said is a bad thing to do with allergies.

Now I'm on a nasal spray.  I really hope I can figure out a way to control this because I'm so sick of feeling sick, especially in the summer.  No more opening windows, cut back on running up the canyon, etc.  This really sucks because I love the outdoors.

My husband Brent dropped Melody and I off up South Fork.  We ran 1 mile up to the start of the Provo River 1/2 Marathon start.  There weren't as many people there as last year.  Melody and I ran the race (unregistered).  I ran the first mile way too fast as I hurried up by Maryann Shauerhammer to say hi and tell her I like her hair cut.  Then I slowed down, but when I got out of South Fork my legs were tired.  I was also supper thirsty.  Perhaps it's the decongestants I'm on.  So I stopped and stood there drinking two cups at every water stop.  I treated this more like a long tempo run and my time was 1:27.  I didn't feel near as well as I did doing this same run at about the same pace a few weeks ago with Melanie, so that was discouraging.  After the race I ran a little with Melody and ran home for a total of 17 miles.

I ran 4 miles at about a 7:15 pace then two more with my sister who is in town from Oregon.  The two with her were at about a 9 min pace. 

12 miles avg 7:13 pace.  I ran a hilly route from my house out past Timp View High School, up by the Provo Temple and back.  I felt better at the end than the start.

10 miles up/down Provo Canyon avg 7:20 pace

3 easy miles with two of my sisters, Laura from AZ and Kelly from OR, and by easy, I mean easy, avg 9:42 pace.  We ran from my mom's house (two doors down from mine) to the Orem Cemetary to my dad's grave and back.  I always admired my dad's work ethic.  He was the hardest working person I knew.  As I stood on his headstone stretching we talked about how his hard work and all the stress he put himself under may have contributed to his early death.  He died of brain cancer at age 60.  As we walked away we said, "See you later dad," and I said, "What if he was listening to us talk about how we think he worked too hard and made himself sick?"  I miss my dad.

I ran the Wasatch Wellness Run.  Provo Canyon School, where my husband works, was one of the sponsors and they paid my entry fee.  I ran from my house to the start of the race, 6.8 miles away.  When I told my son Canyon that was my plan he said, "You're going to run a 10k to warm up for your 10k?!"  I said, "Yes." 

I got there right before the race started and saw Maryanne in the bathroom.  I came out and told my kids, "Maryanne is here.  That means she's going to be first and I'm going to be second.  She'll get $100 and I'll get nothing."  I was ok with that, after all it didn't cost me anything to register and the shirts were actually really nice. 

The race started and in about 2 miles Maryanne was probably a minute ahead of me.  Far, but not so far I couldn't see her.  Then at mile 3 I realized I was getting closer to her.  The race went from 7-peaks, around the mental hospital, then around the Provo Cemetary then up 900 East, around Kawanas Park and back to 7-peaks.  At mile 4 going up 900 East, in the middle of 2.5 miles of uphill, I realized I was really closing the gap.  I thought, "If someone said, 'I'll give you $100 if you catch that girl,' I'd at least try."  I figured I could catch her, but didn't know if I could keep up if she sped up much.  At mile 5 right as the downhill started I passed Maryanne and she didn't seem to speed up.  I kicked it in the last mile, which was my fastest mile and took 1st!  Then I ran another 5 miles for a total of 18 miles today.

5 miles @ 7:11 pace.  My husband came with me on his bike, which was fun.  The kids had a sleepover at their grandparent's home last night.  I should have been able to sleep great, but I didn't.  The stupidest thing I kept thinking about was how rediculous my son's soccer coach is.  I read an e-mail he sent right before bed which said "BE THERE NO LATER THAN 1:15. " (45 min before the game starts) "If the boys are late, they will sit out the first half!"  I get that this is "competition" soccer, but they are 8 years old!  I could go on about the other things that bug me, this was just the latest. 

10 miles with mostly with Josse, Melody and Rebecca.

Yesterday morning I was thinking about how nice it is my quads haven't bothered me in so long. Then I was in and out of the car and up and down sitting and standing all day. Late in the afternoon I all the sudden had a pain in my quad as I got up off the toilet. I pulled a muscle going to the bathroom! It hurt really bad last night. I couldn't even run a few steps after dinner when I tried to kick the soccer ball with my daughter.

So this morning I got out of bed, put on my socks and shoes and ran down the cul-de-sac and back in my pj's at 5:20 a.m. before getting ready to run. I didn't want to get all dressed and drive somewhere to meet people and then not be able to run.

Fortunately it didn't hurt the whole time I ran and doesn't feel any worse now, so I think I'm ok. Some resting and rubbing today and tomorrow and I should be good.

10 miles avg 7:18 pace.  Was going to meet Marie, Rebecca and Josse but it didn't work out.  Marie sent text at 3:30 a.m. saying she wasn't running.  I headed out to meet the others at 5:30 a.m., but they turned off the street we were meeting on right before I got there.  I saw them but didn't realize it was them and kept running thinking they were still coming.  I stopped back home for my pepper spray and headed up the canyon, but it was so dark I turned around and ran down Univ Ave the other way.

5.5 miles avg 7:09 pace.  I slept till 7:00 a.m.  The other's were meeting at 6:00 a.m. and I didn't want to get up that early.  Luckily I ran into Melody and we did three miles together, as she was finishing up her run. 

20 miles with Melanie, Kim and Jane.  We started at Vivian Park and ran 4 miles up South Fork at 7:50 pace.  This was our "warm-up" but it wasn't really easy.  Then we ran 14 miles down Provo Canyon at "marathon pace" 6:43 pace.  We finished it off with a 2 miles "cool down" 7:28 pace.  My legs were tired off and on, but they actually felt the worst when we finished our marathon pace and slowed down for our cool down.  It seemed like I would have felt better to just keep running fast for two more miles.  I'm glad I got in 20 miles today. 

5 miles with Melody avg 7:22 pace, then ice in river.

12 miles up/down Provo Canyon avg 7:00 pace.  School started last week, but this was the first day of kindergarten and thus the first day I sent all my kids out the door to the bus stop.  I didn't quite know how to feel about it.  I guess I'm having a hard time realizig the "little kid" stage of over.  So I drowned my mixed emotions in a 12 mile run. 

I really enjoyed the first 5 miles then I felt like I needed to pee but when I stopped at mile 6 nothing came out, and I still felt like I needed to pee.  Then the realization "I must have a UTI."  Started running the 6 miles home and felt more and more miserable every mile.  With two miles to go I stopped in the bushes again and the little bit that came out looked like straight blood.  In a lot of pain at this point.  I drank until my stomach was full ( probably two water bottles worth) and ran the rest of the way home.  By the time I went to the doctor my pee actually looked like pee.  Still, the nurse said, "There was a lot of blood in it," and I thought "that's nothing compared to what was coming out of me two hours ago."