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

10 miles up/down Provo Canyon from my house with Melanie, Rebecca, Melody and Emily.  Average 6:52 pace.  This run felt hard.  I was tired going to the top, avg 7:05 when we turned around, then we ran fast down for about three miles, 6:24, 6:18, 6:24,  and slower the last two.  I didn't know what was going on, just that Melody and Emily were leaving the rest of us in the dust.  When we stopped at the drinking fountain 2 miles from home I said, "this feels like a tempo," and Emily said, "This is a tempo."   

4 miles avg 6:48 pace.  I have no idea why I ran that fast.  About 1 1/2 miles into the run, I thought, "I' m tired," and looked at my pace, an average 6:42.  This was supposed to be my "easy" run.  I slowed down after that.  I actually slept through the night, a straight 8 hours!  That only happens once a month or so.  I got woken up a lot earlier in the week with sick kids so it was nice to have a good night.

Melanie and I decided to run the dirt road that goes south from Hope Camp Ground near Squaw Peak.  Kim and Jane were running in Provo at the same time too and decided to come with us.  The camp ground is 5 miles from the turn off the Provo Canyon highway.  We started driving up but the road was closed.  It closed on Nov 1st.  We thought we might have driven a couple of miles and started running up the road.  Well it turned out we had only driven .7 of the 5 miles.  We finally got to the road we wanted to run on, after 3.5 miles at an exhausting 9 min pace, stopping every mile to rest, etc.  I'm not good on hills and had a hard time keeping up.  We ran about a 1/2 mile on the dirt road, which was still very uphill before decidinig to run down to where our other cars were parked by Will's Pit Stop. 

4 miles avg 7:05 pace.

Intervals at OHS track.  Melody, Emily, Rebecca and Amber had already started when Melanie and I got there.  We ran an 800, 1,000, 800, 600, 400, 200 with them then.  They had worked up to the 800.  We decided we hadn't run enough and did another 800.  We thought that still wasn't enough and did a 400.  Then we stood on the track for several minutes trying to calculate how many miles we had done of speed, we wanted 4.  Fatigue was seriously impairing my ability to do math at this point.  I finally decided we still hadn't run enough so we ran another 600 to get what we needed.  Our whole recovery time was spent just standing there trying to figure it out.  It was sort of a haphazard interval set for us, but I was exhausted at the end, so I guess it worked.

10 miles with Melanie and Melody from Melanie's house in Lehi.  Smith's route avg 6:46 pace.  I was so tired.  Haven't slept well this week because I keep getting up in the night with my son who is sick. 

Nothing today.  Yesterday after lunch I was so exhausted I tood a 2 hour nap.  When I woke up I felt like I was getting a little sick.  My son has been sick for almost two weeks now.  When he came home from school it was clear the antibiotic we started for him on Wed wasn't working.  I think he might have Pertusses/Whooping Cough.  I spent the morning at the hospital with him getting tested.  We changed his medicine and will know Mon whether that's what he really has.  I hope he gets better fast and that I don't get it.  He seems miserable.

14 miles with Melanie and Melody on Jordan River parkway trail, avg 6:52 pace.  I slept well the last two night so, although my throat hurts a little, I felt much better than on Thursday.  We just got a call from the doctor saying my son has Pertusses (Whooping Cough).  He's putting the whole family on antibiotics.  My son literally coughed into my face several times last week so when I started feeling sick on Thursday I knew I had whatever he has.  I'm glad I'm getting medicine for it before it gets too bad.  

2 mile warm-up, 6 x 800 meters, 3 mile cool-down.  800 times - 2:54, 2:53, 2:53, 2:54, 2:55, 2:57.

10 miles avg 7:00 pace

4 miles

16 miles with Melanie from her house in Lehi.  Avg 6:58 pace.  About a mile out we were already too warm and realized it probably wasn't going to rain.  We stopped where the running trail starts off State Street in Lehi to take stuff off.  I set down one of my shirts (plain black nice running fabric, but only $8 @ Wal-Mart), Melanie set down her gloves (new $12 warm gloves from Costco, not the usual $1 gloves we wear) and we both set down our ball caps.  We ran an out and back on the trail heading towards AF Canyon.  On our way back Melanie said, "I hope no one took my gloves."  I said, "Hopefully the pile of clothes is big enough that it's obvious we're coming back for them.  Or someone will think, 'I just hit the jack-pot!'"  Unbelievably when we got back to our clothes HER GLOVES WERE GONE!  I couldn't believe it.  Someone took her gloves and left the other stuff.  I guess my shirt didn't fit them, and our hats weren't good enough. 

10 miles.  Ran to Orem High track, 5 x 1000 m @ 3:40, 3:44, 3:43, 3:43, and 3:43.  Melanie and I ran home the long way stopping at the cemetery to see my dad's grave. 

4 miles

Melanie and I ran a Thanksgiving 10k race.  I was about to publish this as a race report, but I wasn't registered and I don't even know the name of the race.  It started at the factory outlet mall at 123rd south.  My splits were 6:21, 6:18, 6:40, 6:58, 6:44, 6:40.  Clearly I ran the first two miles too fast.  Fun anyway. Melanie would have taken 1st and I would have been 2nd if we signed up.  

4 miles with my husband on his bike.  We rode along the new trail covering the canal near my house.  It's a much better way to get to the cemetery. 

14 miles with Melanie and Melody up/down Provo Canyon.  I think our avg to the top was 7:07, but my watch got messed up so I cleared it and got our avg down at 6:36.  Melanie had our overall avg at 6:52. 

Melanie and Melody wanted to ice in the river.  I went along, but when we got there I didn't want to get in and decided to just sit on a rock and keep them company.  They took abotu 15-20 seconds getting situateded in the water, then I looked at my watch and said, "Ok, time of day 8:41."  We started talking and soon Melody said she was freezing and about done and Melanie agreed.  They started to get out as Melody said, "What time is it?"  I looked at my watch and said, "8:42."  We all laughed, "It's only been one minute!" Melody said.  I siad, "Well, it's probably been more than one minute, but less than two."  I was glad I didn't get in for only 2 minutes!  The water was probably 33 degrees.

4 miles and sit-ups, push-ups, pull-ups, squats, etc.

8 miles.  I was so stupid.  I planned to meet Melanie at 6:00 a.m. in Lehi and set my alarm for 6:25 instead of 5:25.  I got up, went to the bathroom and even started getting dressed when I looked at the clock all confused and realized what I had done.  I did my 5 x 1200 on the street, way more miserable by myself.

10 miles up/down Provo Canyon with Melanie, Melody and Emily, avg 6:46 pace.  Warm-up 4 miles to Bridal Veil, tempo down 5 miles to Riverwoods, cool-down 1 mile back to cars.  Tempo miles 6:07, 6:02, 6:08, 6:06, 6:10.  I felt really tired on the third mile then Melanie, Emily and I stopped at the drinking fountain for a minute.  Melody kept going.  I stretched and felt better on the last two.  I think we saw the fast group of men from Lehi coming down on our way up.  They must be really early risers. 

4 miserable miles.  My back was so tight and everything just felt yucky.  about 7:30 pace.