Hurt? Hippie & Hope

So obviously from my desperate last post I have a problem :(. Pretty sure I have piriformis syndrome or as my Team Athena Coach calls it Dumb A** syndrome. This is the same thing that caused me problems before Boston in 2010, although then I ignored the signs until it literally prevented me from running for the 3 weeks before Boston. So since then it has been fine until this training cycle when I upped my mileage quite a bit. I tried to be smart and started seeing a sports chiro regularly for maintenance. But then he was out of town and I ran hard a lot while he was gone. 10k, 22 miler, yasso 800's, hilly 18 miler, you get the picture. I think I just got behind and have been trying to get back to a happy place with my butt ever since.
 So with my marathon scheduled for the 19th my taper took on new form. There have been decisions made not to run, then decisions to run, doubt, fear, peace, you name it I have probably felt it. So there has been pool running, ellipticalling, swimming, and some running. I have done my best to keep my fitness up and I think I have done a pretty good job. I have a backup plan and have secured a bib for the Utah Valley marathon on June 9th.
 So I had plans to run the Hippie Chick 1/2 this past Saturday as a training run and my butt had been feeling better so I got the okay to run it. I planned to run it with my friend at an easy pace and just have fun. It was fun but I did not run it all at easy pace. I ran the first 4 miles easy with my friend and then she was in the zone listening to her iPod and she wanted me to go. So I started running what felt good. Smart? Anyway it felt pretty good and I was keeping a pretty good pace, right around 7min/mile. I ended up finishing with an average pace of 7:30 according to my Garmin which measured the course a little long. After finishing I went back for my friends that I could. I had the opportunity to meet Tasha from Healthy Diva It was fun to visit with Amanda from Runninghood on the ride to and from, she is hilarious! In hindsight I should have probably slowed down and run with them but Amanda told me to not second guess what I did so I am moving forward.

 Now comes the hope and faith part...as of right now I am going to run Windermere on Saturday. I am not going to be dumb, I have a plan. If my body is not cooperating I will slow way down and use it as a training run or DNF(this would be tough for me to do but I will try and be smart). I know many people think I am crazy but I feel this is what I need to do. Time goals may go out the window in fact while I want to run fast I really don't want the clock to define my success.

Desperatlely looking for....

A race bib for the Utah Valley Marathon! I will blog the full story later but short version. Fighting some injuries and don't think I will be able to run the marathon I am registered for on the 19th :(((. I am distraught about this but am trying to find another good option. Utah Valley is sold out but they allow bib transfers until May 25th so I am looking for a bib. If you know of anyone that wants to sell their bib, I would love to pay them for it! Spread the word I figure someone has to know someone, right? Crossing fingers and toes and anything I can :)

ClubSport 10K

I better hurry up and blog about this or I will forget what I want to say :) I swear I write so many blogs in my head while I am running and then never get around to actually blogging.

Okay just to clarify how I feel about shorter distances and track, they scare me!! I do not have a background in track or Cross country. I did not run in highschool in fact I really did not like to run. So why did I feel the need to race a 10k? Well I feel like I am trying to be the best runner that I can be and so I knew that doing this would help me push myself and help me to know where I am. Oh, and I really wanted to face my fear :) So with many reservations and fears, I registered for my 1st 10k race in over 10 years.

I was not planning on tapering as I am at the peak of my marathon training. in fact, not only did I not taper but I had some pretty tough workouts during the week and was kind of wondering if I was even going to be able to hold a respectable pace.

I woke up before my alarm and was feeling pretty good about running strong. I was going to run my own race and run as strong as I could whatever that turned out to be.

The race started at 8am and I got there around 7am. It was a beautiful morning, although chilly and foggy. I knew that once I started running it would be the perfect temp and the sun was burning off the fog. I was immediately greeted by Paula (the race director) and after catching up with her for a few was escorted to packet pickup. :)

I ate part of a bagel and got ready. I went out for a 2 mile warmup, got back, put my jacket in my checked bag and headed out to the start line. It was 2 minutes to the start which was great timing. Not really enough time to get cold or nervous. I chatted with a really nice girl next to me and then we were off :)

Mile 1: 6:24, I think this was the only accurate mile on my GPS. I had really debated on whether or not to wear it. I really wanted to run this race by feel. I was beginning to wonder what I had done, I knew it was going to hurt a little :)

Mile 2: The course was winding through a neighborhood and into a park with some thick wooded areas. I remember thinking that I could just make this a good tempo run and pull back a little but I just kept pushing.

Mile 3: During this mile I found myself winding around a park, there were some steep downhills that were covered in moss and I had to slow a lot, it was not worth slipping and injuring myself. When my watch beeped it said 7:10 and I actually said outloud, "Come On". My body felt like i was running faster but I tried to push harder.

Mile 4: Going down into the park meant that I had to climb out. I was finally starting to feel good and was no longer thinking about slowing down and copping out.

Mile 5: This was a great mile, wish had some accurate paces from my watch but it was way off. I was catching the girl in front of me.

Mile 6: this mile help some really big hills!!! I pushed and tried to help push others. Angie(the girl I had been keeping in my sights)was slowing and struggling on the hills so I started talking to her and trying to get us both up those darn hills. We did it and then stuck together. We turned back on tot he road and I realized that we were closer to the finish than I thought we were. I felt so good and felt like I was flying. I told Angie that we were going to give it everything that we had and I pushed harder:) I saw the clock and knew that I was going to break 4o. 39:48, 6:24 pace I was shocked!!!! Finished right in front of Angie and felt bad but we both were giving it our all.

I was not sure of my time so I stayed around for the awards. I ended up taking 3rd behind some very talented runners. Hallie Janssen (Olympic trials runner) took first in 35:something.

She was so nice and gave me some good advice.

I won a gift card which was a nice surprise :) I talked to Angie because I was feeling guilty about getting a gift card for beating her by 1 second. I needed her to know that I was not trying to beat her. I really was just trying to do my best. She was so sweet and told me that I deserved it and that there was no way she would have got the time she did without me encouraging her up the hill and through the finish. Runners are so nice :) Love this community.

It was a great experience :) A great way to wrap up a 77 mile week.

In other news, I got a new treadmill a couple of weeks ago:) This is what my little spot looks like.

I have hauled my Boston poster around for 2 years for just this purpose :) I plan on adding some of my race bibs and other inspirational things. This is where I did 12 miles of my 22 miler yesterday, watching the Boston marathon.

Kudos to all who ran and completed the race yesterday! Those were some seriously tough conditions. True character was shown :) In awe of your determination!!

I have to say thank you to Nicole for believing in me and always telling me that I can do things that I think I can not. You are always lifting and supporting others and it does not go unappreciated!!

Training, treadmills, and toes

Training is going well, my body is adapting well to my speed workouts. The first couple of weeks were a little rough. My legs hurt and I was having some knee issues but I went to the chiropractor and had him work things out before they became anything major.

Last week was my highest mileage week ever-80 miles.

It looked like this-

M-15 miles easy 7:58 pace

T-11.25 miles speed 12x400's

overall pace 7:22

W-10 recovery miles 8:00 pace

Th-11 miles hill work on the treadmill

3 mile warmup then mp the rest of the way.

Varied incline between 1%-7% for 3 miles then 1% the rest of the way.

F-ran double day-18 miles 8:10 pace

S-ran double day 15 miles 7:39 pace

The crazy thing about this 80 mile week is that all of my miles were on the treadmill. Not my choice but I had to run at some crazy times due to my hubby's schedule and my own schedule. I wish that I could run outside in the early morning hours but without a running partner I just done think it is a good idea. I was not able to meet up with Nicole at all this week :(. Do you like running on treadmills?

Speaking of treadmills, I am getting a new one :). My current treadmill is over 10 years old and is about dead so my hubby said that I could get a new one :). This will allow for better training and more options to breakup more of my runs and more early morning runs.

I am still intimidated by speedwork on the track. It is hard for me and I totally psych myself out. I have some major mental work to do. I have found that since I have increases the intensity of training and my mileage that it has also increased the amount of self doubt that I have. Do any of you find yourself doubting your abilities even though you are training harder?

Okay lastly I need some suggestions for good socks. This past week I have had several blisters. I have never had a issue with blisters but I am pretty sure that I need new socks. Do you have socks that you love? Please share, my toes will thank you :). My poor feet really do look like runners feet

I need a pedicure but is it worth it because I will just ruin it the next day?

Okay, off to bed. I am meeting up with Nicole for a long run outside in the morning:). Yeah for fresh air!!!!!

I actually did it!!

I actually finally made a decision on my spring marathon :)

The most exciting news of the day is that I picked and registered for a spring marathon!

I will be running the Windermere Marathon on May 19th in Spokane. This just feels right! I graduated from high school in Spokane and although my parents no longer live there it will be fun to go back. I did not run in high school in fact I hated running. So funny how things can change :) The really fun thing is that I decided on my run today that I was for sure doing this marathon and then got home and found out through facebook that 2 of my really good friends from high school are running too! I am finally soooo excited about a race. Goals for the marathon, ?????, you know I can't make too many decisions in one day. In all seriousness I would love to PR, by how much, now that is the question I need to figure out.

I also joined Team Athena a couple of weeks ago. I have been running a few times on Saturdays with a group from the Team including Nikki Rafie, who is the coach and also winner of a few Portland marathons. It is a all womens running group with women of all ages and paces. The team meets on Tuesday nights for track workouts. Last night I went to my 1st ever track workout. Well it just so happened that last night was mile time trial night. Ughh, really? This was the going to be my 1st experience with track. I was really nervous and not looking forward to it at all but I thought it would be good for me. I have never raced a mile so I had no idea what to shoot for or what to expect.

After doing a good warmup with strides and drills we lined up to race this mile. Honestly I would rather run 13 miles. I know that is weird but I m a distance runner, not a sprinter.

I was going to try though, I was up for the challenge.

I did it, it hurt a little. I have not has the feeling that my lungs were on fire in a while. Not quite the time that I hoped for but a good place to start and it is nice to know where I am at and hopefully at the next time trial I can improve after doing some speed work.

I also got 3 new pairs of shoes :) 2 pairs of Brooks Launches because I love them and they came out with a new color combo the week after I ordered the other pair and I want to make sure that they don't run out of my size. I also ordered a pair of Brooks Pure Flow. They are awesome! I will be rotating between the Launches and the Pure Flows.

Today I saw on daily Mile that I ran 301 miles last month :) That is definitely a new high for me:) It helps that for 5 days I was in paradise (The Bahamas) with no kids and no responsibilities! I will leave you with a few photos from my fabulous vacay!

No decisions yet :)

So I have not made any race decisions for the spring yet, I just continue to train for a race. I really need to pick one. I intend to make a decision this week when I am lying on the white sandy beach in the Bahamas. So looking forward to not wearing gloves, long sleeves and running tights on my runs of the next few days.

Running has been going well. I ran 69 miles last week, and yes that 1 mile it would have taken to make it 70 does bug me a little. I am a neurotic runner, you know exactly what I am talking about :). But I decided to not be so neurotic that I jumped on the treadmill in my garage at 11pm. Instead I told myself tha t a number does not define me as a runner. Quality not just quantity is what it will take to get that new marathon Pr.

That is really it. Stay tuned for my decision and pics of my vacay :)

2011-unexpected success :)

Yesterday I ended the year with a great early morning 16 miler with the Team Athena girls. If it were not for them I would have ended up watching Felicity on my new Ipad (thanks honey :)) while logging more boring treadmill miles. It was really icy this morning and I was a little afraid of falling but the girls would not let me wuss out. It is so nice to have running partners that join in the fun with you :)

I logged my last miles of 2011 in my running journal and then added up all the miles :) Also hit a milestone of 71 miles this week :) No I am not in the middle of marathon training, nor do I have a race planned. Do I need to pick a marathon, YES!!! Anyway it was fun to reflect on the year and think about all that has happened and how those 2700 miles have kept me sane through motherhood, building a house, selling a house, and all of my party planning craziness.

My fancy running journal :)

2011 was a very successful year for me as far as running goes. I guess I realized that I have more potential than I ever thought I did. This year I got more serious about my running, I want to see what I can really do, how far I can push myself. I am starting to realize that I need to set some pretty big goals for myself. That is the only way I am going to reach my potential. I have met some pretty amazing women runners this past year and it is because of them that I have started to believe in big dreams.

My 2011 races

Del Sol Ragnar Relay female ultra team- we took 1st (huge challenge, very rewarding :) I ran 40 miles in 22 hours.

Run For Risa 1/2 marathon-1st female

Helvetia 1/2 marathon- 4th female overall, 1st in AG, PR 1:32:05

Sauvie Island 1/2 marathon 7th overall ( I think), 1st in AG, new PR 1:27:49

American Fork 1/2 marathon 2nd AG, new Pr 1:27:34

Hood to Coast Relay

St. George Marathon with my sister :)

Runaway Pumpkin 1/2 marathon 3rd female, 1st in AG

It was a successful year ad I am excited to see what 2012 holds :) My biggest goal is a new marathon PR. I am not quite done deciding what my racing is going to look like in 2012 but I am close. Maybe my next post :) Decisions, decisions :)