Jamie

Easy run this morning...total time was 1:00:22.

Best thing about this morning:  my back and lungs were feeling pretty good.  I am enjoying my group runs.  It's good to have people to meet up with (now that Sarah's gone).

Ran with Michelle, Tom and Amber today.  For our speed work-out, we did 8X800 repeats.  I was a bit lazy on a couple of the repeats...I'm finding it difficult to be motivated without a marathon to train for.  I almost don't care.  I enjoy being a bit speedy one day out of the week, however, pushing my limits is another story.  A part of me feels like I'm done training for the season, having already run St. George last month.  Anyhow...

#1  3:05

#2  2:58

#3  2:57

#4  3:01

#5  3:02

#6  3:07

#7  3:32

#8  2:52

Michelle led most of the time.  She's pretty intense and I sometimes wonder if I ought to be more serious...and putting in more miles.  I think I am fairly content with what I'm doing for now.

Suggestions from Sasha:  Mon-Sat your day must not end until you've run at least 8 miles. The pace does not matter, as long as it is comfortable. If you feel good, go more. A tempo run of 3-5 miles once a week at 6:40 pace is a good idea. A couple of other days do strides (quick pickups for about 15-20 seconds) in the middle of your easy runs. Try to race frequently.

Good run this morning.  Easy eight with "MAT" (Michelle, Amber, Tom) and MaKenzie.  Time 1:10.  Acronym(s) seem to be catching on.

Apt with Dr. Gordon.  125lbs in his office with jeans and t-shirt (shoes off).

123lbs at Tammy's.

Phillip decided to take the day off of work, which allowed me to run up in Provo today with Michelle, Sasha, and Ted.  It was great to join an experienced group of runners.  Everyday, I learn more about those I run with (on a personal level...and as athletes who share one of my passions).

Warm up at 6am with Michelle for about 20 minutes; I'm guessing that it was about 2.25 miles. The following are some of the times recorded while running the course (thanks to Michelle):

Mile/Split:

#1 7:15

#2 7:30

#3 6:54

#4 7:15

#5 7:08  With a turn around

#6 6:58

#7 6:33(?)

#8 7:03

#9 6:58  I begin to struggle during the next mile. Michelle is in front...Ted and Sasha oblige to pace. Sasha mentions that I ought to close the small gap that is developing...that it will help me stay with them. I find it difficult to muster the umpf.  (From Michelle's log entry, she made it sound as though she was struggling just as much. There certainly is something to be said for experience and metal determination.)  Sasha attempts to relay to me the course "turn around point" as they begin to pull away.

#10-13  I've misunderstood where the turn-around point is.  I approach the bridge past Macey's but didn't remember Sasha saying that it should have been that far and that I should cross over the bridge. (To be honest, there is a fair amount he said to me that I didn't hear.  In part because of his accent and also because I was not longer running right next to him.)  So I turn around, just short of the bridge wondering if they had jumped up onto State Street.  I figured there was a chance that I might see which direction they were taking back. I never do see them but continue on State back to Sasha's house.  I see them; they finish in front of Sasha's home the same time I do.

I finish the tempo in 1:30.

Sasha believes that I'm close to 13 miles for my distance...perhaps just short.  He believes I'm under a 3hr marathon pace.  That's a bit hard to believe...

Note:  Ran around 11miles back on the 22nd of October (I think with Michelle), which is the longest run I have done since St.George.  Dropping my miles has probably hurt my endurance a bit but I am still satisfied that I worked hard and had a great time rubbing shoulders (at least for most of the run) with amazing athletes!  Hope to do it again soon.

L.A. Freeway today...loved it (as always).  I lead and felt strong the whole time; it's been too long since I last ran this trail.  Perhaps three months or so...I have missed it.  Ali joined me.  She pushed herself hard on the up-hill.  For no more than she's run it, she kicks trash on the hills!

Lisa Pratt (BYU) showed up for the workout and brought a former BYU cross-country friend with her (by the name of Kristie...don't know her last name).  It has been a while since I've seen Lisa at the runs.  She would have been ahead the whole time, had Kristie been a stronger hill runner.  Lisa dropped back for Kristie, about a mile from Rock Canyon.

With the up-hill done, I decided to set my pace into cruise-control and get back to the park.  I was to meet-up with Phillip and his family right after my run (Gina's in town).  Ran from the Rock Canyon parking lot back to my car in 16:?? minutes.  Should have paid more attention to the seconds on my watch.  Ali wasn't up for the speedier down-hill (she dropped back a bit and I didn't see her again until she finished at the park).

Total time: 1:17:52  Moderate effort.  No muscle soreness this week.  Haven't been sore since St. George...perhaps I ought to do something about that!

Easy 10 today; met at Tom's house.  Tom ran the first 7 miles with the rest of us (Josse, Amber, and Michelle).  We added on another 3 miles after that.  One week pregnant.

Total time 1:23.

Sacred Yoga Practice with Rainbeau Mars: Vinyasa Flow

1. Beginners

2. Pure Tranquility

3. Pure Power

4. Pure Sweat

Easy 8(+) today with Ali; we did the IFA loop.  Felt good to wake up and run at 6am.  Time 1:09.

Easy 8( +) by myself.  Slept in and ran in Spanish Fork.  I love a great nights sleep.  Don't know the exact number of miles; I randomly chose streets to run on.

Haven't had any problems with my lungs since my new meds have taken effect.  It has felt great to have my full lung capacity for the last few runs.  Time 1:07

Met up with Tom and Michelle for a 4 mile tempo/speed workout today.

Warmed up for 25 minutes.

Ended up liking the route:

Going up the hill on Scenic Drive, stop on the east corner of the first street (where you are able to make a left) and turn around.

Run down the hill (north) on Scenic Drive.

Left onto Center Street (west) and through the Main Street traffic light.

Left onto 630 West by S.F. High (south).

Left onto Main Street (north).

End at the North corner of the Library (just short of the Center Street traffic light).

Mile Splits:

#1  6:14

#2  6:20

#3  6:41

#4  6:29 

time: 25:44 (average 6:26)

Effort was somewhere between Threshold and VO2 Max.

Cool down 32 minutes.

Most of the run was with Ali.  We split around mile 6 and I added on a bit.

Time 1:05.

Ran with the S.F. group today.  Slept in a bit and met them at the Bishop's Storehouse at 6:30am.  Not certain that the distance is accurate, but it ought to be close.  Time 1:19.

Kim Lee invited everyone over for a yummy breakfast; Tom's birthday is tomorrow.  It was good to meet Kim and some of the other runners.  I'm enjoying our runs...thought that post St. George might get boring.  I'm so glad that it hasn't and that I'm meeting interesting and fun people almost weekly.

Ran the Uneventful 1/2 with Sasha, Ted, Michelle, and Tom this morning up in Provo.  Warmed up about a mile before joining everyone else.

Started the run slower than last time.  Moved into what felt like a comfortable tempo.  Hit a few threshold miles...then the last part of the run was labored breathing just under 7 minute pace.  The group hung back a number of times toward the end (to help me) and I needed it.  Last mile was 6:50.  Two weeks pregnant.

Sasha's advice: a faster leg turn-over and focus...don't let my mind wander.

Today's time was very close to my time for the second half of St. George.  But in the marathon, the second half felt much easier.  The hills in the marathon certainly helped; the Uneventful half course is fairly flat.

I was surprised that it felt as hard as it did for the time (1:34:29 - average of 7:13).

Note:  I'm guessing that the last time I ran this (a week and a half ago) I was a good half mile short of 13.1 miles.

Easy run with the Spanish Fork group.  Time 1:10.

Crazy day...I knew it would be.  I'm sad to admit that I didn't get my run in.  Ugh.

Happy Thanksgiving!  I enjoyed this race and hope to do it again and again.  Alexis and Luke ran their divisions.  Alexis was 11th Female for the 400meter.  Luke was 4th Male for the 100meter.  It ended up being a lot of fun...despite the cold temperatures.  I feel pretty good about my time but have a lot to learn about racing (my splits weren't as even as they could have been).  It felt like a good tempo run.  I took 5th Overall Open Women and 1st in my division (25-29).  Came away with 2 turkeys and a pie!  Bring on the grub; it's chow time!

Here's how this morning went:

Warmed-up (a very relative term) for about 2 miles.

Just after the start, the men and women merged into one body of racers and I saw Sasha.  He told me I was starting too fast.  It startled me and I eased the pace up.  I heard Ted and James (his son) behind me, just after the first quarter mile(?).  Paced with them for the first mile and felt comfortable.

#1  6:17  Wanted to pace at about 6:15, so I wasn't too worried.

#2  6:33  In the second mile, Ted mentioned that I ought to leave them and pick it up a bit. 

Into the third mile Sasha's chanting of "ta, ta, ta, ta" (from Monday) came to mind...and I sped up my leg turnover.

#3  6:14

#4  6:31  Paced with a guy ahead of me for the last mile (the next closest girl was more than a minute ahead).  Passed him but should have done it sooner.  Out kicked two men in the last stretch.  Next time push in from the corner and then hard at the straight-a-way.

6:23 Averaged pace.

Suggestions from Sasha:  Some thoughts. 3rd mile marker was off by about 7 seconds. So that would give you 6:21 for mile 3, and 6:24 for the last mile. Still even with this adjustment your pacing through the race is really odd. 1st mile was just right, 2nd way too slow, 3rd just right, last mile too slow especially considering that you kicked at the end. This is actually consistent with what I observed in the Uneventful Half. It seems that your mind drifts at times and you start running 20 seconds per mile slower than what your fitness would allow you.

To fix. Buy or borrow a measuring wheel (GPS is not good enough for this). Measure out a 3 mile course, as flat as possible, mark every quarter. Twice a week do tempo runs on it trying to hit every quarter not slower than any of the preceding ones. Start with 6:28 pace as a target (1:37 quarters), move it up gradually over time as the fitness increases.

Heaven help me; I'm not ready for these cold temperatures!  Decided to wait until the sun was up in the sky (because I could) before getting out for my morning run.  It helped.  Random (easy) loop in Spanish Fork...time 1:09.  Feel like getting out in the hills tomorrow, so I think I will!

Distance is approximate.  Trail run in 18 degree weather, burrr!  Up to the Rock Pile, Prayer Circle, out Dry Canyon, back to North Orem Soccer Park on the Bonneville Shoreline trail.  Planned on running farther, however, had a weird thing happen!  My vision went bad every so often.  Mostly because my contacts would not stay in place (because of the cold temps).  This was a first.  Moderate effort (occasional hard pushes)...was able to hang with the faster guys much of the time.  Leroy was slow today...perhaps because of the race this past Thursday.  I think it was the first time I have ever found myself ahead of him (only in the last couple miles).  I asked him if he felt okay...I think he was offended.  Oops.

I am missing Sarah; many times we ran these trails together.

Time 1:25

Fartlek workout with MAT (Michelle, Amber, Tom) and Ali this morning...good little group of speedsters! 

Warmed up a couple miles.

Ten fartleks each about 2 minutes in duration.  (Quite different than the fartlek workouts I use to do with Sarah.)

Not too cold this morning and it helped I think.  The moon was full; that helped more!  Michelle ended up taking a dip in the stream!  No...not the fun kind and a muddy one at that.  Just another reason I avoid mid-run potty sessions at all costs.  Sorry Michelle...your a tough little chicka, if that makes you feel any better!  And hey, no worries for you...practice makes perfect.  If I'm having issues, my run is (at times) a done deal until I can take care of business.  It's not pretty.  Three weeks pregnant.

Forgot to start my watch again, at one point.  Time 1:18(?)

Ran 8(+) miles today with MAT.  Forgot to grab my purse while heading out the door.  Surprised that I was able to run okay without taking my inhaler before beginning.  Lungs were really tight in the first few miles and then slowly began to relax and open a little.  Ended up feeling a bit fatigued and tired following the run.  I am certain that I put my body under a good bit of stress.  Don't plan on doing it on a normal basis, however, good to know how I can expect things to go if I forget my inhaler again.  Didn't feel like the easy run that it should have been, but there is power in knowledge.

Time 1:11

Easy run this morning with Michelle and McKenzie.  Met at Loafer Elementary and ran to the ball fields in Spanish Fork and back.

I'm a bit of a mess this week...yesterday I forgot my inhaler and today I lost a contact.  Running half blind is quite a thrill, let me tell ya!

Time 1:30

Met MAT at the track today.  Michelle and Tom have a race Saturday so they did some pick-ups.  Amber has been fighting an injury; she took it easy.  There was a fierce S.F. wind today...especially toward the end of the workout.  I don't think I'll ever get use to it.  Brrr!

Warmed up for 25 minutes and then attempted a tempo run trying to hit all my quarters/laps evenly.  Didn't count laps in my head and had a hard time telling which lap I was on with my watch.

Ended up doing a few more tempo miles...for a couple reasons.  First, in getting my splits to be somewhat even, I was a lot slower than I had originally planned on being (1:37 quarters is what Sasha suggested I shoot for).  Second, this was a comfortable pace and it felt like I could have gone many more miles than I did.  From running the Uneventful-half in Provo, I can assume that another 6 or so, at this pace, is when I would start to tire.

The track wasn't as bad as I had remembered!  As a child, going in circles with my mom was about as boring as it got.  I'm glad it ended up being a positive experience.  I am certain it helped to have friends there with me.  Next time I'll work on making my splits faster (and once again more even).

#1  1:47

#2  1:46

#3  1:50

#4  1:50 

1st mile 7:13

#1  1:50

#2  1:45

#3  1:47

#4  1:47 

2nd mile 7:09

#1  1:47

#2  1:48

#3  1:51

#4  1:48 

3rd mile 7:14

#1  1:48

#2  1:49

#3  1:48

#4  1:47 

4th mile 7:12

#1  1:47

#2  1:46

#3  1:45

#4  1:47 

5th mile 7:05

#1  1:48

#2  1:48

#3  1:47

#4  1:49 

6th mile 7:12

#1  1:46

#2  1:46

#3  1:49

#4  1:29  (Picked it up one last lap.  I thought that I had already run my last quarter for the final mile and that this quarter was a bonus.  I was mistaken.)

7th mile 7:00

Cool down just short of a mile, with Amber, on the track.  I wasn't too interested in running home with a head-wind the entire way; Amber was nice enough to offer a ride.  Thank you Amber!

Time:  1:27

Suggestions from Sasha:  Tempos should not be comfortable at all. They are not all out, but you should push them and feel a bit scared about having to keep it for a while. Next time, hit the first lap in 1:37. Then the next one, and so on. Keep them at 1:37 for as long as you can. When you cannot, stop. Also, 6 miles is too long, especially if you are struggling hitting the right pace. I would say 2 miles at 6:28 pace right now would do more for you than 6 at 7:00 - 7:10. Also, try not to do those alone if possible, get Tom or Michelle to pace you, and absolutely do not let them gap you at any point. In fact, if this helps, make a rule that if they challenge you to a high five and you fail in the next 20 seconds, your tempo ends right there. Jog, recover, then try again.

Slept until 6am this morning...got to bed at 11pm (because of an Auxiliary Meeting).  Ran an easy 8.5(+) mile Spanish Fork loop with Ali.

Time 1:13