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

Four miles followed by 30 minutes of exercises and stretches from the physical therapist.  I hate the PT routine, but that's what I have to do to be able to do the running which I love.

I'm going to try to report my miles again.  I quit blogging last winter.  Since then I've done the Boston Marathon (3:11), Utah Valley Marathon (3:10) and the Bryce Canyon 1/2 (1:24).  I wish I would have written my race reports.  Next one will be Top of Utah.  I've had a rough summer with injuries so far so we'll see how this goes.  I just want to feel good and really enjoy the race like I did at Boston.

Not exactly all easy.  Ran a 9 mile mostly trail loop up Provo Canyon with Josse and Melody.  Up behind water tower and down by Timpanogos Park.  Start and end at my house.  I love that I live so close to the canyon.

4 Mile loop with my brother Mark @ 7:16 pace

Stayed over night at at a cabin near Strawberry Reservour for our ward's youth conference Friday night.  Got up at 6:00 a.m. to run to run 18 miles.  This run turned out to be much more difficult than I anticipated. 

I ran an out and back, 1 mile down the dirt road to the main road and a very hilly main road by the reservour.  Hills the whole way, not so bad on miles 2-5 and miles 15-17.  Miles 6 to 14 were mile long ups and downs.  The last mile up the dirt road to the cabin I stopped a couple of times to walk several steps.  It wasn't much steeper than all the other hills it was just mile 18. 

At mile 15 1/2 I wished I had turned around after 8 and only gone 16 and going up the dirt road at the end I decided if someone from the ward drove by on their way to the cabin I would hitch a ride, but no one came.  I'll sleep well tonight.  Average pace 7:36 min/mile.  (lots of fluctuation on the ups and downs)

Four mile run in Provo Canyon.  7:16 min/mile pace.

Ran with Melody and Josse 10 total with a 4 mile temp in the middle.

Trail run part easy, part hard.

I did my long run today.  No time to go on Saturday because of my brother-in-law's wedding.  Ran 14 miles alone, up and back the Provo River trail then met my brother for 4 more.  I forgot to factor in my stop to stretch and had to book it back down the canyon to meet him when I said I would.  Coming up the Center Street hill at the start of mile 18 I felt like I was hitting a wall and Mark said, "Let's catch this girl."  (Some random girl we don't even know)  I informed him I was in the "just keep running" mode.  14 miles @ 7:22 pace and 4 miles @ 7:11

4 miles with my brother @ 7:11 pace.

10 mile run with 3 tempo @ 6:10 pace down Provo Canyon

10 miles easy part trail wtih Melody, Josse, Rebecca and Suzie.  Average around 8 min pace. 

Ran with Mark 4 miles @ 7:11 pace

Ran 18 with Josse up Provo Canyon and back.  My watch battery went out after only 8 miles.  Guessing we went about a 7:45 pace. 

Easy 5 miles with Melody and her friend.  Now I can't remember her name.  I have to really make an effort to remember names.  I guess I didn't make a big enough effort this time.  Iced in the river.  7:49 pace.

3 on my own and 8 with Josse followed by a nice sit in the river.

10 easy miles in the morning with friends.  Just under 8 min pace. 

My 3 year old daughter wanted to hike the "Y."  I told her I would take her when her brothers went back to school.  Well today was the first day of school and she remembered.  We went around noon in the heat.  I thought it would be easier to push her in the running stroller than piggy back her.  It took me 40 min to get up.  My claves were burning and I was exhausted.  We sat at the top throwing pebbles down the "Y."  I threw a real small one and said, "I coudn't even see where it went."  She said, "It went in the water!"  (Utah Lake)  It took 35 min to go down, breaks on the whole way.  Going down with the stroller was more stressful than tiring.  I don't recommend the stroller.

4 miles with Mark at 7:12 pace.  Started feeling sick with a head cold later in the day.  I haven't had enough sleep.

20 miles from my house up Provo Canyon & South Fork Canyon and back.  Slept in and left my house at 7:45 a.m.  Cool on the way up, but hot on the way back.  Average 7:36 pace. 

4 miles with Mark @ 7:12 pace.

Ran 10 miles, from my house to Bridal Vale Falls and back.  I pushed my 3 year old daughter in the running stroller so this was really much more of an effort than the pace shows.  Average 7:59 / mile.  Then I did 4 hours of yard work.

Same workout as Tuesday.  10 miles up/down Provo Canyon.  Pushed Elsa in the stroller again.  Average 7:54 / mile. 

Went an easy 4 miles later in the day with my daughter in the stroller. Ran into a friend I hadn't seen for 15+ years and walked for about 1/2 mile to talk to her.

Ran 20 miles out and back route up/down Provo Canyon and South Fork. My GPS watch wasn't charged so I ran the same as last week so I would know the distance. 1:16 1/2 min going up for a 7:40/mile average and 1:07 1/2 min coming down for a 6:45/mile average. Felt tired but good. Then I did 4 hours of yard work. I'm tired today (Sunday)

4 miles with Mark.  Today I actually got him to go easy.  7:30 / mile.  I'm still tired from Saturday.

I guess I over did it on Saturday.  I think it was the 4 hours of yard work after my 20 mile run that did me in, the shoveling, squatting, and lifting (sod and heavy rocks).  I have pain in my left quad and right achille's tendon, just like before Utah Valley in June. 

So today was an easy 8 instead of the 10 or 12 I would have liked to have done.  8:12 / mile.

8 easy, lots of little aches and pains.

4 miles at about 7:30/mile pace

10 discouraging miles. 

At mile one my left knee all of the sudden hurt so bad I thought I was going to have to walk home.  This was the same pain I delt with after the Utah Valley Marathon.  I haven't been doing the Physical Therapy exercises like I should the last few weeks.  Only 1/2 the routine twice a week instead of the whole thing three times.  Am I going to have to do this stupid exercise/stretching routine my whole life!? 

I stretched and ran a few more miles, stretched again, ran a few more, stretched again, and ran a few more.  I actually felt good the last two miles so that was encouraging.  I wanted to go 16, but settled for 10. 

8 mile Provo Canyon part trail run with Melody and Rebecca.  It was nice to sleep in a little and go in the light.  It seemed late when we got done.  Minimal knee pain.

6 miles with Melody and Josse. 

8 miles up/down Provo Canyon while my kids were at school/youngest in preschool.  I didn't feel well, hopefully it was just because of the heat.  It was very hot by the time I went.  Or it could be because I was up with my 3 year old girl for two hours in the night and only got 6 hours of sleep, one hour sleep, up a few minutes, two hours sleep, up for two hours, then three hours sleep. 

4 easy miles.  It seems like all I'm able to do is easy.  I feel like I'm getting a head cold.  Hopefully I can get myself well rested and feeling better by next week!

4 miles with Mark and 3 miles with my son on his bike.  We ran to the cemetary to see my dad's grave. 

Nothing! Slept in and was going to go later, but the only time of day I had to run it was raining and my little girl would have been soaking wet in the stroller.

Easy with Melody, Marie & Josse

4 miles easy and ice in the river.

4 miles easy with ice in the river.

I ran the Top of Utah Marathon Saturday.  This was my 13th marathon.  1/3 of my marathon's have been total desasters, 1/3 have been only ok, and 1/3 have been really good.  This was one of the really good ones, 3:03 is a new PR for me.  My previous PR was 3:07 at St. George.  I'm hoping for more really good ones as I've learned from the desasters and only ok's.

My goal was to be in the 3:03's or under.  The mistake I usually make in the "only ok's" is going out too fast and crashing the last 6 miles.  I planned to run between 6:50 and 7:00 min/mile pace the first half in hopes I would be able to keep my pace around 7:00's, not slower than 7:30's at the end, and I did just that. 

I felt a little discouraged the first few miles as there were so many women in front of me I couldn't even count them all, 10+.  I decided to just focus on my plan and how I felt and not worry about everyone else.  Around mile 6 I passed a woman and continued to pass someone about every 2 miles, but for more than 1/2 the race I really thought I had no chance of placing.  (I was 1:29 something at the 1/2.)

At mile 16 I passed Marryann and asked her what place she was in.  I found out I was in 5th.  I flet good and kept my even pace, passed another at mile 19 and another at mile 22.  I think it was around mile 23 I passed Ali.  She was struggling, a bad race for her is a great race for me.  That put me in 2nd place which was where I wanted to stay.  The first place girl was way out there, no hope of passing her. 

I was uncomfortable for a long time, but didn't get the "shutting down" can't take another step feeling until into the last mile.  Going up the hill on the little road between Main St. and 100 E. about 3/4 mile from the end (yes it is uphill but you would probably only notice it if you were running the end of a marathon) I really struggled, whole body shut down, felt like everything was cramping up.  However after I turned the corner and headed back downhill things got a little better. 

I had my watch set on the mile split average and just focused on each mile.  I didn't even look at my cumulative time so I was really excited when I saw the race clock at 3:03 and could tell I was going to finish before it hit 3:04.

I called my boys and told them I had my fastest race ever, took 2nd place and won $1,000.  My 8 year old said, "Can we have $400?"  He wanted to buy the Lego Deth Star.  I said no to the Deth Star, but said he and his brother could each get any $30 Lego ship they wanted.  My 6 year old asked for the Lego Deth Star too when I talked to him and said, "But you have the money!"  Again the $30 ship was all I was willing to do.  So we made a trip to Toys 'R Us that night.

I can't end this entry without saying something about my dad.  He was the one who got me into running.  We used to run together and he's the first person I always want to call when I finish a race.  He died 4 years ago of cancer.  He would be really excited for me.  I also feel like being able to run without experiencing any injury pains or problems was an answer to prayer and for that I'm really grateful. 

Ran 8 easy miles wtih Maire, Josse, Melody, Rebecca and Amanda. 

This was my easiest marathon recovery.  My legs were sore for a few days, but not so bad I couldn't walk the stairs normally.  I got better socks, so no blisters and I remembered to cut my toe nails so I'm not going to lose any of those either. 

The only thing bothering me is my head cold.  I could feel it coming on a few days before the race and and am just glad it didn't materialize until afterwards.  I think not getting enough sleep on Friday and Saturday nights is what finally really brought it on.  I was so tired when I went to bed Saturday night, but woke up in the middle of the night and it took a long time to go back to sleep.  Then I woke up early in the morning and couldn't go back to sleep then either.  I kept thinking about the race.

Nothing today.  Took Tylenol PM to try to get more sleep so I can get rid of my head cold.

9 miles up/down Provo Canyon/Bonneville Shoreline Trail.  The fall colors in the trees were beautiful.  Usually I wouldn't be able to do this type of run only a week after a marathon.  I felt really good, almost over the head cold too.

Easy 4 miles with Kelli and Amber.  Haven't run with them before. 

10 mile run from my house along University Ave to Provo High and back.  Pushed the pace since it seems like a long time since I ran fast.  Was slower and more tired than I thought I should be.  Avg 6:59 sec/mile

4 mile easy with Marie, Melody and Rebecca

Don't know what to call this run because it definately wasn't easy.  6 miles of trails that took over an hour and felt like 10.

Run with Rebecca & Melody Avg 7:51

Ran most of the way with Melody Avg 7:44

Ran 7 miles with Melody, Rebecca and Amanda Avg about 8 min.  Last 3 home alone Avg about 7 min.  Total run Avg 7:41

This was my dad's birthday.  He would be 65 years old now.  I rode a bike with my 3 year old daughter to the cemetary in the afternoon.  We sat by his grave and sang happy birthday. 

He was the hardest worker I've ever known.  It's really too bad he didn't live long enough to retire.  Of course he would still be working on something because that's the kind of person he was. 

Ran alone today Avg 7:22

10 miles with Josse.  Avg 8:03

6 mile run.  4 miles in the middle with 5 other ladies.  We had quite a group spanning the whole road at times. Avg 7:46

Slept in and worked out while my daughter was in preschool.  My husband had the day off work so he came with me on his bike.  Ran 1 mile warm up then intervals 1 mile hard 1/2 mile easy, repeat.  The first three intervals were up the canyon and the last 3 coming down. 

Interval times: 6:28, 6:39, 6:30,6:22,6:12,6:33

Finishing the last interval coming up the hill on 800 North in Orem I though "How does Nan run this fast for 26 miles!" 

Avg whole run 7:16

10 miles most of the way with Rebecca and Desera Avg 7:58

Nothing.  Didn't sleep well, thought about going later, but never did.

Slept in and went out around 9:00 a.m.  Ran 14 miles up/down Provo Canyon form my house.  Average 7:18 going up and 7:00 coming down for total Avg 7:09 pace.  I stopped my watch when I stretched/drank/took shirt off, etc. so I had a few breaks.  Didn't have any gatorade or gell and ran out of water to soon. 

At about mile 11 1/2 I wished I had only gone 12.  Then at the botton of the hill on 800 North in Orem, one mile from home, I stopped and stood there for about 15 seconds thinking about how if I had the cell phone I might call for a ride.  Last mile was about 7:25.  Felt like I was going to throw-up when I stopped in front of my house.  

It's been to many weeks since I've gone over 10.  I felt really good for 10.

Met up with some friends for easy 5 miles.

Ran alone while kids at school.  1 mile warm-up. 3.8 mile tempo 24:52, avg 6:35 pace, 1 mile slow then same 3.8 mile loop tempo 24:55, avg 6:36 pace, 1/2 mile cooldown.  Was happy to have the same time for both loops.  Felt better on the second one.

Met Josse, Melody, Rebecca, Amanda for run.  Avg about 8 min

Met up with friends for easy run. Avg 7:47

Warmed up 2 miles, ran the BYU Homecoming Race, cooled down a mile, got my medal at the awards ceremony, then ran 6 miles home.

I was pleased with my time, as this is my fastest road race 5k I can remember.  (Avg 6:15 min/mile) Although I usually only do a 5k when I'm so out of shape that the 10k seems too long. 

This was a spur of the moment race for me.  I didn't even know about it until a couple days before and thought I wouldn't do it until I changed my mind right before I went to bed the night before.  I'm glad I did.  It was a fun morning.

4 miles easy my myself

Ran 1 mile repeats with Josse, Melody, Rebecca, Amanda, and Desera.  Our mile intervals were all on slight downhill with 1/2 mile recovery.  Times, 5:54, 5:54, 5:46, 5:56.  I'm not used to running this fast and my legs were sore the next day.

10 "medium" speed miles while the kids were at school.  Avg 7:03  I guess my little bit of speed work is working because what used to feel like pushing the pace feels more like "medium" now.

Ran early with the girls, 1 mile to Rebecca's house, 6.5 with them and a  mile back home. 

Ran the Halloween 1/2 Marathon.  This was a spur of the moment decide the day before kind of race for me.  I was a little concerned about how I would feel since I worked out hard earlier in the week.  The course was beautiful coming down from Aspen Grove above Sundance to the Riverwoods shopping center on University Avenue.  Quite often I don't see what's around me because I'm just looking down at the road in front of me, but this time I looked up a few times and really enjoyed the view. 

I wasn't breathing hard but my legs started getting tired the first five miles coming down the steep road from Aspen Grove to the main road in Provo Canyon.  Then the real work began.  I gradually passed everyone and felt really good for most of the way.  I struggled off and on at various times keeping up my pace. 

I was pretty excited to cross the finish line in first place, a little disappointed they didn't put up a tape for me.  I've never won a road race before so that was cool.  I got an engraved vase, and my neighbor gave me some flowers for it so that was nice.  The race started late and I had to grab my own cups off the table at the water stops most of the time.  There was no set time for the awards ceremony so over an hour later I finally just took my award and left.  But the course was great and the shirts are great.  I got a women's cut shirt that fits right.  That's a small miracle. 

My time was 1:22:38 (Avg 6:18).  My watch only registerd 12.9 miles and had my splits at: 6:07, 6:05, 5:56, 6:12, 6:27, 6:44, 6:43, 6:24, 6:21, 6:24, 6:39, 6:39, 6:01 (for .9) or 6:43 pace.  Now it's Sunday and my quads are sore.

10 miles with some hills Avg 7:00 pace

Run with the girls Avg 7:50 pace

4 with friends Avg 8:18

8 mile loop in Provo part trail run with some friends then ran home 7 miles alone.  Battery on watch went out so no idea on pace.  Went easy though.

5 easy with friends Avg 8 min

12  miles up/down Provo Canyon, 1 mile warm up then 2 mile repeats with 1/2 to 3/4 mile jogging recovery and 1 mile cool down.  First two mile interval: 6:37 & 6:39, Second two mile interval: 6:41 & 6:57 (spaced off and didn't realize how slow I was going, also tired of the uphill), Third two mile interval: 6:08 & 6:26, Fourth two mile interval: 6:17 & 6:21.  Learned I don't know how to pace myself very well on these because the second mile was always slower than the first. 

10 miles with the girls up/down Provo Canyon.

4 miles easy with Melody Avg 7:49.

Ran 2 miles to Melody's house then 8 with her.  Went up in the hills near Timpview and the temple.  Got a little lost in the neighborhoods and ran more hills than we wanted too.  Wasn't as easy as we planned it to be.  I was tired enough to take a ride home from her house afterwards.

Ran 10 miles while Elsa was in preschool.  Avg 7:12 pace

I was going to go easy, but now I'm not doing anything.  My little girl is too sick to go to preschool, so I guess I shouldn't take her out in the cold for a stroller run.  We have a doctor appointment this morning. 

I feel like I'm getting sick too!  Sore throat and sinus trouble.  I just hope it doesn't really turn into something because I'm runnng the Mesquite 1/2 marathon on Saturday and my 6 year old son is really excited to watch my race.

I ran the Mesquite 1/2 marathon on Saturday, finishing 3rd behind Amber G and some lady from Colorado who totally smoked us both with a 1:19.  I had a hard time getting going the first couple of miles because my ankles hurt really bad from the cold.  Then I just pounded out the miles without really thinking much.  I ran in 3rd place most of the way and could see Amber most of the time.  

At about mile 5 I thought, "I run this hard in workouts sometimes, maybe I should speed up since this is a race," however I put it off too long and around mile 10 realized there was no way I was going to catch 2nd place.  My thoughts were, "what's the point of pouring it on and exhausting myself for nothing."  I know this is not the right attitude.  I think my biggest mistake was not having a race plan.  I was a little disappointed in myself because I realized afterward that I could have done better and didn't.  Even if it wouldn't have made a difference in my place or prize I should have put forth my best effort. 

I felt good and had a great workout though.  It was fun to see the women finish the Marathon and my kids had a blast on the bounce house.

Splits: 6:33, 6:32, 6:19, 7:13, 7:16, 6:40, 6:41, 6:54, 6:32, 6:37, 6:47, 6:44, 6:34

My head cold is back.  4 easy miles @ 7:25 pace

8 "medium" pace miles up/down Provo Canyon. Avg 7:08 pace

I ran the Thanksgiving Day Earn your Turkey 4 mile run.  My splits were fairly consistant: 6:14, 6:13, 6:30, 6:14.  My third mile is slower than the others every year.  I think this stretch has a very slight uphill grade.  I was pleased my time was 24 sec faster than last year, although I was hoping for more like 40 seconds faster.  I got my turkey and my boys love turkey.

My kids also ran their races and seemed to have a good time.  My 3 year old got a ribbon for 5th place.  As she sat in the car holding it on the way to Grandma's house she asked "Did I win?" and the conversation continuted like this, "You got 5th place, so you were one of the winners" "So did I win?" "Well they have 5 winners and you got a ribbon for being the 5th winner," "So did I win?" "Yes Elsa, you won," "Oh."

Ran 4 miles with my 8 year old son on his rollerblades.  We took along a rubber stretchy thing I use for my exercises.  I held onto one end and he held onto the other end so I could pull him a little.  It worked out well although he was tired at the end.  Avg 8:30

Ran 14 miles up/down Provo Canyon.  I slept in and went around 7:45 a.m.  I didn't really feel like running, which is unusual for me.  Once I got out there I enjoyed it though.  There were patches of ice on the trial which were frustrating though.  I stopped / paused my watch, four short times to drink, one long time to stretch and two medium length times to visit with people on the trail that I hadn't seen in a long time.  So I took a lot of breaks and the average isn't as good as it sounds.  Avg 7:21 pace

10 miles @ 7:08 pace

10 miles with the girls @ 7:46 pace

15 miles with Josse & Julie C @ 8:05 pace.  Both my achilles tendons started hurting after this run.

10 miles @ 7:34 pace.  I thought my Achilles was better so I headed out on a run.  It felt fine for almost 5 miles, then I had a small problem.  I was 5 miles from home.  It hurt off and on all the way back and now I can't walk without pain.  I've never had this much pain in my Achilles before!  I wonder if running on the slipery uneven snow agrivated the problem I started on Saturday.

No running today.  I'm walking with less pain, so that's good.  I took Melanie's advice and warmed my legs in the hot tub last night.  It was only 6 degrees outside so I sat on the edge in my coat, hat, gloves, etc with my legs in.   My husband asked why I didn't just get in and I said, "Then my whole body will feel cold when I get out!"  I walked through snow in my bare feet to get there.  It's not far from the house, but next time I'm wearing shoes for the 20 foot journey.

2 miles on the treadmill.  Wanted to do more, but my Achilles hurt the whole time.  Now it's later in the afternoon and I'm glad to report I'm walking almost pain free.  So the little run didn't seem to agrivate it much.  I'm hoping to be better by monday.

1/2 mile on treadmill still Achilles pain.  It's more concentrated in one particular spot now.  I called Josse and she came over to rub and scrape my legs.  My husband asked if massage therapists did that and I said, "Well it's more of a physical therapy thing, so I suppose she's not technically trained to..." and my husband cut me off to say, "bruse the living daylights out of your legs!"  They look bad and the bruises hurt some, but overall I think it really helped. 

I think Josse needs to set a rate and advertise on the blog for her leg rubbing and scraping.  With all these injured runners that could turn into a good business for her.

Swam at the Fitness Center for 40 minutes.  I can't pace myself well swimming so I swim for about 3 minutes then I have to rest at the end of the pool for a minute and go again.  40 minutes includes the time I spent catching my breath on the side of the pool. 

Swam for 1 hour at Orem Fitness Center

Physical Therapy

One more Physical Therapy appintment.  This week it only costs me a $30 copay, next week I'll have to meet my deductable.  I'm hoping I can heal up on my own after this.