Believe to Achieve

Watched the Boston Marathon Elite Women and Mens from start to finish live and could hardly wait to get out and run speedwork.  The adrenaline was in overload.  Ended up having only about 70 minutes to run before my kindergartner got home so did a crash course in speedwork.  Been a while since I have done a real speedwork.  This is what I spontaneously came up with:  Run to Manila Elem 1 mile then up to my other one mile mark from my house which ended up being another mile then did a mile of speed work back to my house (circle loop).  Repeated times three.  So nine miles. First set: 1- 7:53(half downhill,half uphill)  2-7:58 (all uphill)  3- 6:26 (half downhill)  Second set:  1- 7:13  2- 7:32   3- 6:19  Third set-  1-  6:56  2-  7:28  3-  6:14.  1/2 mile cooldown.  Goal was to run three miles fast and the rest at marathon pace.  Mile 2 in all sets  I purposely relaxed the pace to gear up for the fast mile coming up.  I think I like this kind of speedwork.  I do not run on treadmills.  I can't run indoors due to my allergies to chemicals.  Now I am at work and it is 430 am, no rest for the weary.  I hope I can manage a good run at Ogden.  Avg pace for 9 miles =  7:07. 

Ran a post daytime sleep run. Pace for 3.43 miles 8:38. Felt nice. No music run so I could enjoy all the sounds and smells of warmness!! Nice weather, YAHOO!!!!!

Hill workout. I was only going to do five miles since I got out at 115pm and it was quite warm out but then after climbing 1100 North for 2 and 1/2 miles then up the canyon trail for just over 1/2 mile, I came back down by the canal, where I felt a strong need to turn on to it which added another 4.38 miles. At that point I was averaging under 8 minute miles. Avg pace for awesome uphill workout 8:38 for 9.38 miles. Off to work, AGAIN!!!

A little (understatement) sluggish today from yesterdays hillwork and working all night. I sound like a broken record, but has anyone worked full time nights and felt their running didn't suffer?  I am trying to be creative and trying to overcome the difficult in working with sleepless muscles hoping it will make me stronger.  As Deanna Kastor said in the Spirit of the Marathon, "it is quite a concept to keep running while fatigued".  So there is hope for me to still get PRs.  It is mind over body.  I think I can.  It should be fascinating to experience.  Since I ran Antelope Island 32 miler having worked Wed and Thurs night shifts before had and did pretty well  I feel now I should be able to overcome anything.  Luckily, I got the Ogden Marathon weekend traded off so I now just work Sunday and Monday night shift the week before the Marathon.  This will give me some normalcy Tues, Wed, and Thurs night.  I barely sleep the night before a marathon.  I figure trying to run 7:40 to 7:50 will be harder than a trail run for 32 miles at 10 pace so I didn't want to be without sleep.   I was just lucky coworkers were glad to work it out for me.  Anyway...nice breezy and sunny day for an afternoon run.  Ran 3.32  miles at 9:18 pace.  Won't be running tomorrow.  Have a tempo run planned for Saturday Am with Melanie so I got to rest up as much as possible.  Off to work in a few hours.  Everybody enjoy a good nights sleep.....I will be taking care of newborns and their mommies.    

Oh yah!! Uh huh!!!  Glad the last long run before Ogden is over.  The weather held up too.  The rain cover from last night made the green stand out with the white clouds around the valleys and mountains.  So beautiful!!  Met Melanie and Kim at Lone Peak High School at 6am and ran a challenging course first thru the Highland park behind the high school then down Alpine Hwy for 3/4 mile then west almost two miles then north a mile to Freedom Elementary in Highland then East to 6000 west then north to go up and around Alpine.  Good hill there.  Melanie wanted hills since she has been treadmilling.  We ran thru town and over to 300 north in Alpine then to North Bench road, nice climb there up to Healey drive over looking Cedar Hills.  Then down a nice steep hill back to flat going towards Lone Peak on 4800 West where Kim headed back (she is not running Ogden) and we continued on the Golf course parkway trail up to AF canyon.  More hills and one steep one that is right there at the mouth of the canyon as you head south onto Canyon road.  We continued on Canyon until Cedar Hills drive then turned right there and then left down the farm road right past the fire dept.  Glad to have some downhill.  It was fun at  this point as we realized we were "part of" 5K race just starting out doing the exact same loop I planned for our ending.  We saw kids finishing with their parents with the mile (opposite direction as us) and then caught up to the 5kers.  It was a hoot.  Even saw my Bishop's wife standing by a cone waiting to direct the course.  She gave me a high five.  This was at miles 16 to 17.5 so it helped energize us.  Starting out on this run I was tired and muscles tight.  My husband as supportive as he has been had set my alarm for me, thankfully. I am still just lacking several good nights of sleep.   I didn't think I could keep up at first, my legs were so fatigued but I just kept at it and eventually finished quite strong next to Melanie speedster.  Ran 18.25 miles in 2:28:46  (8:07 avg pace).  I think that we did quite well considering the hammering hills!!!  This next week another tempo run planned for Monday (or Wednesday) like last weeks except I will do four loops so 12 miles.  Hoping there to have about a 7:05 average pace.  Two nights to sleep at a normal hour should help.