Wife of an avid runner.

I'm not as sore as I thought I would be after my long run on Sat.  I was pretty sore on Sun. but feeling pretty good today.  After about my first mile my right knee started hurting pretty bad so I stopped and stretched some more and then just kept running.  The pain went away and I was able to finish my 5 mile run.  The last 1/4 mile I increased the incline to 2% just so I could feel the burn more.  Actually it just decreases the monotony a little so I can push myself through.  I walked 1/2 mile for my warm-up/cool down.  Now, just in case I haven't gotten enough exercise, I will go out and mow the front yard.  5 Miles felt hard today.

This time I upped the speed some and ran the 3 miles at 5.5 instead of 5.  Wasn't too hard though I didn't feel like running today.  I'm a bit irritable.

Slowly but surely I'm getting into better shape.  Mostly because of this blog and the support I receive on here, I'm able to push through not wanting to run and do it anyways.  Without fail, I always feel great once I'm done.  I ran 5 today and walked .5.  When I came upstairs after my run there were cornflakes spread all over the kitchen floor.  I've just learned to expect trouble to happen while I'm on the treadmill!  Nothing a broom couldn't fix this time though.

Ran my 1st 10K race and did great.  Matt didn't run this race with me so it was the 1st race that I ran solo...he must've been holding me back (ha, ha!)  I dressed up in my 70's garb complete with two pigtails and a wonder woman shirt.  I went out and bought a waist belt last night with a water bottle so I could carry water since there weren't any aid stations.  It also held my son's Disney Mix Max so I could listen to music while running.  The weather was great and I didn't mind carrying the water.  Connor ran the 1 mile so I got to run with him for the first 1/2 mile until his turn around...he did great.  Jed, Jaxine and Evan also ran the 200M and had a good time.  Poor Matt was the only one left out, not getting to run a race though he did do the 200M with Evan but he wasn't signed up so I don't think he'll blog it.

I tried to just run what I felt and not pay attention to the GPS as much as possible.  However, for Burt's sake of me giving a "proper" race report, I had Matt set the GPS so I could see my mile splits once I finished.  I was just behind the girl who took 1st place for the women most of the way.  After the 1st mile she stopped and walked for a little and I passed her.  Then she caught up to me and passed me up again.  I felt a little bad that she got to rest and that I just kept running and she was still ahead of me.  After the race I learned that she stops and walks for 30 seconds after each mile.  Anyhow, I stayed just behind her again and then when she stopped and walked the 2nd time I stopped and walked too.  I just let her set the pace and she really pushed me.  We continued this until after the turn-around and then as we were passing a stream of water, I stopped and splashed my face with nice, refreshing cold water.  This got all over my glasses too and I couldn't see well for a while and she got a little further ahead of me.  I wasn't really as able to tell when she was stopping but I think my body picked up on the natural pace and I stopped and walked a bit after each stretch without looking at my pace or thinking about my time.  I just focused on my body and each step.

My legs were getting tired and I knew I was getting close to the finish and was just looking for the turn around sign for the mile so I could push the finish.  I guess they took the sign down and so I didn't see it but saw Matt and the kids on top of  a hill cheering me on so then I started pushing it...less of a push than the 1/2 was going to be but oh well.  My finish time and pace surprised me because it was faster than my 5K pace.  I thought I was going to finish in over an hour for sure.  Thank you girl in pink for pushing me :).  I also didn't have to waste energy in keeping up a conversation with Matt since I was running solo and the music helped.  Or maybe it was the shear energy coming from my Wonder Woman shirt...yeah, that must've been it!

 So, here are my splits (for you Burt)

1st mile 9:30

2nd mile 9:50

3rd mile 10:22

4th mile 9:11

5th mile 9:22

6th mile 9:34

last little bit (the push) 8:41

Man am I sore today and that was a very painful 5 mile run.  I did a little walking after each mile like I did in the race but I'm still sore.  Maybe Matt will give me a good leg massage tonight...hint, hint.

I was lazy last week but I really think my body needed the rest to recover.  Today I ran 5 and walked .5.  It felt really good and was actually not that hard to do.  I didn't need to walk at all and even finished mowing the lawn when I got done.  I'm going to have to repeat last week's training schedule this week since I really didn't do it.  I must say though that today I really enjoyed my run...just for that I'm glad I took last week off because I was hating it last week.

It feels good to be on track again.  I'm starting to get a little sore again because I got busy with the kids right after my run today and didn't stretch very well.  Guess I better go do some stretches.

I did it.  No excuses this week.  Even though I'm tired and don't feel great I'm just going to keep on keeping on.  I was able to finish my run.  It was harder than the 5 miles I did on Monday but it wasn't horrible.  I will get to do my long on Sat. outside with Matt because we are going camping for a family reunion...I do look forward to getting off the treadmill!

We were camping for one of Matt's many family reunions at Fort Buenaventura in Odgen.  I got up and ran 3 miles with his parents and sister.  Then I ran 6 more miles with Matt.  That's the longest run I've done to date and my legs are quite sore now but it was a beautiful run and I enjoyed it.

I was pretty sore yesterday from my long Sat. run but feeling pretty good today.  I was able to do the normal 5 mile run and .5 mile walk for my training.  It's getting closer and I'm getting more and more tired but I think I can make it.

I decided to do a little speed work today so I ran for 3 minutes at 7mph then walked 3 min at 3mph etc until I did 2 miles then I just ran the last mile at my normal 5mph pace.  It seemed pretty wimpy that I could only muster the faster speed for 3 minutes at a time but I will improve.  When I went back to my normal pace it seemed so easy which is a good sign.  Maybe the speed work will make my long run on Sat. seem easy because I'll do it at the slow pace.

I switched my running a little bit this week so I could run my long run today.  Matt is running a super long race tomorrow in Logan so I won't even have access to the treadmill until evening and by then I will be too tired to even make dinner let alone run.  So, this was my longest run yet and the longest I will do until my half marathon in a few weeks.  My legs are so super tired now, I just hope I can add another 3 miles to that distance.  The run itself went ok.  I had to stop at mile 7 to clean up a mess.  Jaxine came in and told me that Evan had pooped in the playroom...lovely.  So, I cleaned it and him up and got back on the treadmill for the last 3 miles.  In case you're wondering, that's not a good motivator in the middle of a long run.  I guess I will probably be doing a lot of stretching tomorrow but no running and I didn't get any blisters on my toes this time.

I really some days just want to quit my training but I'm less than 2 weeks away from my race and just have to keep pushing through it.  Today was 5 miles and it should've felt easier but my legs were really feeling it by the end.  Mostly I think it's just because I'm so tired all the time.  I sure hope my long run this weekend doesn't feel twice as hard as my short run felt today.