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December 2008

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Location:

Littleton,CO,USA

Member Since:

Aug 04, 2008

Gender:

Female

Goal Type:

Boston Qualifier

Running Accomplishments:

I've run off and on (more off than on) throughout my adult life. Most recently I started running in May of 2007.

5K PR: Colder Bolder in December 2009 in 22:50.

10k PR: Bolder Boulder in May 2009 in 48:06.13.

1/2 Marathon PR: Canyonlands Half-Marathon in March 2010 in 1:43:20.

Marathon PR: Newport (Oregon) Marathon in June 2010 in 3:42:17.

I have completed two full marathons.

Short-Term Running Goals:

Get back to consistent running.

Long-Term Running Goals:

Sub 3:30 marathon.

Personal:

I grew up in Utah, but live in Colorado now.

I am married and am a working mother of four children, ages 9-19.

Favorite Blogs:

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Nike Lunarracer Lifetime Miles: 284.91
Brooks Adrenaline Trail Lifetime Miles: 574.62
Brooks Green Silence Lifetime Miles: 681.13
Brooks Adrenaline 10 (2) Lifetime Miles: 424.52
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
195.730.00195.73
Saucony Omni 6 Miles: 107.85
Night Sleep Time: 188.00Nap Time: 0.50Total Sleep Time: 188.50
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

Easy run on a treadmill. Average pace: 10:00.

It snowed overnight Saturday night and through Sunday afternoon. It was not a heavy snow and there wasn't a ton of accumulation, but it was very cold (20°) and icy when it was time for me to go on my run. The curbs and some sidewalks were still snow covered and icy. Even those sidewalks that had been shoveled were bad because the shoveling had left a thin film of snow behind, which had subsequently frozen. I hate to run on the treadmill and it takes extra time to drive to my office (where the treadmill) is and back, but it was probably the right decision this morning.

This treadmill displays mph instead of pace. I did 10 minutes at 5.5 mph, 10 minutes at 5.8 mph, 20 minutes at 6.0 mph, 10 minutes at 6.2 mph, and 10 minutes at 6.5 mph. I figure it averaged out to a 10:00/mile because it hit 6 miles at the same time it hit 60 minutes.

I hope I'm able to get outside tomorrow, but I'm not sure. The snow is melting off of the lawns, which is making the sidewalks wet. Then it will freeze tonight and might be icy again in the morning. I'll have to see what it's like.

Oh, I did week 2 day 1 of the pushups program. I really struggled to complete all of the pushups on the last couple of sets. I probably would have done better if I hadn't had an arm wrestling competition with my teenage sons last night. For what it's worth, I beat the 14-year-old (with both the right arm and the left arm), but I couldn't beat the 16-year-old. Last time I tried I could beat the 14-year-old with my right arm, but not with my left arm, so I think I'm improving.

Night Sleep Time: 6.50Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 6.50
Comments(7)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.020.007.02

Easy run. Average pace: 10:18.

Outside temp: 46°F

We are having an uncharacteristically warm morning, especially considering that it was well below freezing yesterday morning and is supposed to be really cold and snowy tomorrow. So I took advantage of the break in the cold and ran outside without having to bundle up.

I did the shred level 1 before my run.

I was up late last night because I had to make up some work time (and some work). I was working until 11:00 pm and then I had a hard time going to sleep because I couldn't stop coughing. The cold I had a few weeks ago went away, but now I've got another one and this one involves a dry, hacking cough that is driving me nuts.

They are predicting snow for tomorrow morning, so it might be another treadmill day. I'll just have to see what conditions are like in the morning.

Saucony Omni 6 Miles: 7.02
Night Sleep Time: 5.50Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 5.50
Comments(4)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.110.006.11

Easy run. Average pace: 10:39/mile.

Outside temp: 23°F

I've got this hacking cough that gives me occasional coughing fits during the day and keeps me up at night. I took some cough syrup with codeine last night in a failed attempt to get a decent night's sleep. This morning when I drove my son to seminary, I was nearly falling asleep at the wheel. Fortunately it's a very short drive. I jokingly wondered if it was possible to fall asleep while running because I went out on my run immediately after the seminary drive. Of course, I didn't fall asleep while running, but I was very sluggish. I suppose it's good when my sluggishness forces me to go as slow and easy as I really should be going on my easy runs.

I was actually a little too warm on my run today. I think I'll wash the clothes I was wearing and wear them again tomorrow because it's supposed to be even colder (the low from 10-15 degrees) tomorrow.

I attempted week 2 day 2 of the pushups program before the drive to seminary this morning. I was supposed to do at least 13 in the last set, and I only managed 9. I guess I'll try day 2 again on Friday and stay with it beyond then if I need to and only move up to day 3 after I can successfully do day 2.

My plan is to do 18 miles this Saturday, but I'm not sure I'll be up to it. I guess I'll just see how it goes.

Night Sleep Time: 6.50Nap Time: 0.50Total Sleep Time: 7.00
Comments(3)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.000.007.00

Easy run. Average pace: 10:24.

Outside temp: 17°F. A thin layer of snow on the ground with light but continuous snow falling. Winds 10 mph from the NW. (I'm getting the temperature and wind information from motionbased.com.)

I slept in the recliner last night, which helped me not cough as much, so I got a little bit better night's sleep than I have been. I also took the cough syrup with codeine last night.

I got up this morning and did the level 1 shred. I did "girl" pushups on the first set of pushups, and rested during the second set of pushups in the hopes that I'll be able to complete week 2 day 2 of the pushups program tomorrow.

I wasn't sure whether I should run outside or go run on the treadmill, so I got dressed for running outside, but put clothes for running inside in my bag and took the bag with me to drive my son to seminary. But I decided to save time and run outside.

I dressed the same as I did yesterday with the exception that I wore two thin pairs of gloves today (just one of them yesterday) and I added a scarf today. I was sometimes too warm and sometimes too cold, depending which way I was going with respect to the wind. The only part of me that felt just right was my feet, thanks to the smartwool socks. However, yesterday I noticed that one of my smartwool socks had developed a small hole in the toe. I don't know the first thing about darning socks, but I just stitched up the whole with some regular thread last night.

It wasn't too slick, except in a couple of places. There's one small stretch of sidewalk that's at the bottom of a hill and is north-facing where the snow from the last storm didn't get shoveled and hasn't melted. The old snow was frozen into bumpy ice and there was a layer of new snow on top of that. I got to that patch of sidewalk and started slipping and realized what the situation was, so I just stepped off onto the shoulder of the road and was fine there. Also, it was a bit slippery when I would cross streets that were intersecting the road I was running on, because the cars driving on the roads made them slippery.

I was interested to notice that in most of the places I ran there was a set of footprints that had preceded me. I was out between 6:00 and 7:00, so other people were out even earlier. I also noticed a bicycle track. I think you'd be crazy to ride a bicycle in this weather.

Saucony Omni 6 Miles: 7.00
Night Sleep Time: 6.50Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 6.50
Comments(6)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.130.006.13

Easy run. Average pace: 10:40/mile.

Outside temp: 15°F, about 1 1/2 inches of snow on the ground.

It actually felt warmer this morning than it did yesterday because the wind was more of a factor yesterday.

The snow was powdery yesterday and crunchy today. My shoes hitting the snow made kind of a squeaky sound with each step. I ran on the sidewalks along a couple of major streets and the snowplows had been down those streets yesterday and dumped bumpy, crusty snow on the sidewalks, so running on that snow was almost like running on a bumpy dirt trail.

I think I overdressed a bit. I could do without the scarf, I think.

My self-created and self-imposed training plan says that I should run 18 miles tomorrow. I think it will be a little warmer tomorrow than it has been today, though I'm sure the snow will still be on the ground. I'll probably give it a go, but I think I'll try to run slower than I have been running on my long runs and then even though it will take me longer, maybe I won't be as wasted.

I'm thinking good thoughts for Snoqualmie, her marathon, and her FIL.

Night Sleep Time: 6.50Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 6.50
Comments(1)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
18.100.0018.10

Long run. Average pace: 10:32/mile.

Outside temp: 46.4°F (average), 53.6°F (high)

Whose crazy idea was it for me to run 18 miles today? Oh, yeah. It was mine. I might have to rethink this plan I head to run 18 miles once/month. In any case, I'm thinking of starting a training plan in three weeks and it doesn't go up to 18 miles for a while, even though it's a fairly high mileage training plan.

I ran the Highline Canal Trail again. Most of the snow melted yesterday, but there were still some snowy/icy spots, especially in the first 1/3 of the run. By the end of the run, the trail was quite muddy.

I tried to go faster the at the end because I wanted to be done. I did the last full mile in 8:59, but then I slowed down for the .1.

It was a really hard workout. I'm beat.

I took an ice bath but I was a wimp about it. I probably didn't have the water as cold as I should have. The ice melted really quickly after I put it in. And I only stayed in the bath for two or three minutes. But now that I've tried it and lived, maybe I'll be more hard core about it next time.

Saucony Omni 6 Miles: 18.10
Night Sleep Time: 6.50Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 6.50
Comments(5)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
3.560.003.56

Recovery run. Average pace: 10:52.

Outside temp: 48°F

I've been pushing myself really hard the last couple of months and I'm pretty worn out. I've had this cold/cough and the long run last Saturday was really hard for me. This week is supposed to be a cut back week and so I decided to cut back more than I have been doing. I decided to cut back nearly 50%. So I planned to run between 3 and 4 miles this morning. It was a good thing, because I overslept. I set my alarm, but neglected to turn it on. So my son showed up in my room at 5:57 saying that he needed a ride to seminary. He's supposed to be at seminary at 6:00, so I got up and slipped on some flip-flops, my glasses, and my coat, and drove him to seminary. I probably needed the extra sleep, so it was good in that respect.

After I got back home, I finally managed to complete week 2 day 2 of the pushups program. I suspect that week 2 day 3 will take several attempts as well.

It was relatively warm for my run today, but it is supposed to get colder as the days go one, with snow starting in the afternoon and continuing through the night, with 3-5" of accumulation by morning. I'm seriously considering running on the treadmill tomorrow.

I didn't take my mp3 player with my on my run this morning and I had "Infant Lowly, Infant Holy," which we worked on at choir practice yesterday, going through my head the whole time. I'm fairly stressed out about the choir program. We've only got two more practices before the performance, and we're not really solid on four of the five pieces we're singing. We're okay on one of the five because it's very simple.

Night Sleep Time: 7.50Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 7.50
Comments(5)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.250.004.25

Easy run on the treadmill for 45 minutes.

We've got probably about 4 inches of snow and it's still coming down, but slowly now. I don't mind running on about an inch of snow, but if it's deep enough to come up to my ankles when I step in it, I don't want to run in it.

I watched the local news while I ran on the treadmill, but the sound was muted so the closed captions were on. The closed captions were mostly good, but sometimes confusing and sometimes amusing. In the traffic report, there was something about I-70 and Iraqi. I really can't figure out what they were saying that caused the closed captioner to type Iraqi. And then later they must have been talking about the ski town Telluride. The closed captioner typed tell your ride. I got a chuckle out of that. Other than that, the run was pretty boring. Watching all the school delays and closings scroll across the bottom of the screen, and the same weather report and traffic report over and over was not too exciting.

My kids have a one hour delay this morning. That means that the elementary school doesn't start until 10:00, so I've still got them home for another hour.

Saucony Omni 6 Miles: 4.25
Night Sleep Time: 6.50Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 6.50
Comments(4)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
3.500.003.50

Easy/moderate. Average pace: 9:41.

Outside temp: 19°F

For some reason the cold temperatures in the morning don't seem as cold to me as the cold temperatures in the evening. I was out last night to go to my son's HS orchestra concert and I was freezing walking between the car and the building with my winter coat on. Then this morning, with just a long-sleeved tech shirt and a fleece hoody, with the temperature lower than it was last night, I was fine, even before I started running.

It was supposed to be an easy run today, but I felt good for some reason. Maybe because I've taken it really easy with short mileage the last two days. And I was doing short mileage again today, so after I got warmed up a bit, I decided to push it just a little bit. My splits were: 10:33, 9:41, and 9:17, with the last 1/2 mile at 8:50 pace. I felt really good and would have kept going if I had had the time, but I had to get home and get the kids off to school and get ready for work.

The roads and sidewalks were mostly clear, with a strip of snow/ice of varying widths between the sidewalk and the road. Sometimes I went on the sidewalk and sometimes on the road, but I had to go fairly far out in the road to get beyond the ice in some spots. There were patches of ice here and there, especially where parking lots exited to the road I was running on. I had to jump over lots of small ice patches, and at one point I hit a big ice patch and started to slip, arms flailing and all, but I managed to get my other foot down and regain my balance and I didn't fall. We're supposed to get some more melting today, so the roads should be fine tomorrow and for the rest of the week. The next storm is expected on Sunday.

Before my run this morning I completed week 2 day 3 of the pushups program on my first try! I did 61 pushups! I think skipping the shred really helps. I'm too fatigued if I do the shred. You're supposed to take a test before starting week 3 to see what column you're supposed to follow in week 3, so I think I'll do the test on Friday morning and start week 3 next Monday. I might continue to lay off the shred until I get through this pushups program.

Night Sleep Time: 6.50Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 6.50
Comments(2)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.050.004.05

Easy run. Average pace: 10:14.

Outside temp: 26°F

This was just a short run early in the morning. I was done before the sun came up. I had to run early this morning because my husband got in a car accident last night. It was his fault. He's a little sore, but okay. I can't say as much for the car he was driving. So we had to go to the rental car place early this morning and get a car. I wanted to get my run done before we did that. We're waiting to find out how much his ticket is going to cost us and whether our car is totaled. The front part of the front end is pretty smashed and the car is 6.5 years old and has over 100,000 miles on it.

I ate cookies and ice cream last night because I was upset. I knew it was emotional eating, but I did it anyway.

Saucony Omni 6 Miles: 4.05
Night Sleep Time: 7.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 7.00
Comments(9)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
3.500.003.50

Easy run. Average pace: 10:28.

Outside temp: 26°F

I did a pushups test this morning to see what column I should follow for week 3 of the pushups program. I followed the second column for the first two weeks. If I managed 16-20 I was supposed to follow column 1 going forward, and I needed 21-25 in order to follow column 2. I barely managed 20. I could go forward with column 1 and week 3, but I'd like to try to stick with column 2, so I think I'll repeat week 2 this next week and then test again and see if I can manage 21 or more pushups in one set.

My run was uneventful. The whole thing was in the dark. I think I need to replace the batteries in my headlamp. It wasn't giving me much light, but it's not a big deal because there are plenty of street lights. There's still snow on the ground, but the roads and sidewalks are clear for the most part. There are still a few icy spots here and there, but less with each day. However, it's supposed to snow again on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, so I may spend some time on the treadmill the first part of next week.

I'm trying to decide where to go for my long run tomorrow. I'm planning to do 12 miles. I could do Waterton Canyon, which I've never done before, but I don't know whether it's still snowy there. I could do the Highline Canal Trail, which I've done the past few Saturdays, or I could stick to the roads in Highlands Ranch. I have a coworker who lives kind of near Waterton Canyon, I think. So I'll ask her how much snow she has at her house.

Night Sleep Time: 7.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 7.00
Comments(5)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
12.320.0012.32

Long run. Average pace: 9:52.

Outside temp: Motionbased says it was 46°, but that's at Centennial Airport, and I was quite a ways from Centennial Airport and in a canyon. I think it was colder than that.

I ran up and back down Waterton Canyon. It was a dirt road, that vehicles can drive on, but only authorized vehicles. I saw one truck. It connects to a fairly difficult mountain biking trail after the 6th mile, so runners typically turn around at that point, like I did today. I saw a lot of runners, and interstingly, most of them were women. It was shady most of the time and icy in some spots, but sunny in some spots. It was a little muddy on the way back down the cabin. The road goes along a river and at one point, there was a layer of ice on the river.

A woman that I know who is a triathlon coach recommended that I run Waterton Canyon as a way to practice downhill running in preparation for the Ogden marathon. But of course, in order to run down Waterton Canyon, I first had to run up Waterton Canyon. It never seemed very steep, but according to my Garmin, there was an elevation change of 3,000 ft. from the bottom of the canyon to where I turned around. The uphill never felt really hard and the downhill never felt really easy. However, I guess there was more of a distance than I perceived because my splits for the first six miles were all between 10:05 and 10:22, and the splits for miles 7 through 11 were between 9:36 and 9:48. I made a conscious attempt to run faster on mile 12 and ran it in 8:47.

My shoes are a little muddy.

I love Colorado.

Saucony Omni 6 Miles: 12.32
Night Sleep Time: 8.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 8.00
Comments(9)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.120.006.12

On the treadmill, mostly at 10:00 pace, but some of it a little slower and some of it a little faster.

Oh the weather outside is frightful. It was -9°F this morning, so I opted for the treadmill. I thought it would be foolhardy to run outside for an hour.

I spent some time yesterday downloading a couple of audio books from the local library's website and putting them on my mp3 player. I started listening to The Good Earth this morning. I remember hearing my mom mention the book when I was a kid and I've never read it, so I thought I'd give it a try. Listening to the book helped to pass the time on the treadmill, but I was still watching the clock and waiting for it to be over. Once it got light outside it was kind of fun to see the houses across the street all covered in snow with smoke coming out of all of the chimney pipe things. I'm sure there weren't real fires in the houses, just exhaust from the furnaces, but it looked kind of cool.

I didn't want my elementary school kids to stand at the bus stop too long, so I was going to keep them in the house a little longer than normal and send them to the bus stop just in time. But we cut it too close and they missed the bus so I had to drive them to school. I guess I better send them out a couple of minutes earlier tomorrow.

Night Sleep Time: 6.50Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 6.50
Comments(3)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.460.005.46

On the treadmill again today and I went a little faster than yesterday, with more of it at 9:14 pace and about 5 minutes at 8:56 pace.

It turns out that our car is totaled, and so we have to buy a new car. We don't know yet how much we're going to get from the insurance company for the old car. I really didn't want to buy a new car right now, but oh well.

Also, it turns out I dropped my cell phone in the driveway last night when I was getting stuff out of the trunk of the car. It sat in the driveway over night and I might or might not have run over it this morning when I drove to work to run on the treadmill. It doesn't appear to be crushed, but it's not working.

I've just got all kinds of hassles and expenses that I didn't want right now.

Saucony Omni 6 Miles: 5.46
Night Sleep Time: 6.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 6.00
Comments(9)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.420.008.42

Easy run. Average pace: 10:16/mile.

Outside temp: 17°F.

I finally got back outside. But I have been enjoying listening to The Good Earth while running on the treadmill the last couple of days and I wanted to listen to it on my run today, so I brought along my Sansa and wore my headphones even though the headphones are kind of uncomfortable with all of the cold weather gear. I put the Sansa on my arm before I put my outer jacket on, and so then I couldn't access it to change the volume during the run, which was unfortunate, because I needed it a little louder once I got out into the traffic. Still, I could hear it, but I had to focus on listening and as a result didn't pay a whole lot of attention to my running. I did try to watch out for patches of ice and for cars. What I'm trying to say is that the run passed quickly and relatively painlessly because I was engrossed in the book.

I think we're going to have to go car shopping tonight. I'm not excited about it at all.

Also, I went to the Spring store yesterday and swapped out my old phone for a new one, but the new one doesn't work. I've got to go back there again today. What a hassle.

Night Sleep Time: 7.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 7.00
Comments(3)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.100.006.10

Easy run that kind of turned into a tempo run. Average pace: 9:55/mile.

Outside temp: 16°F

I ran outside while listening to The Good Earth once again, which took my mind off of both the cold and my pace. However, after about three miles, I realized that I was running quite slowly due to lack of attention to my pace, so I picked it up a bit and ran the rest a little faster. My splits were 10:18, 10:24, 10:44 (notice how I was getting slower), 9:44, 9:17, 9:09.

I've got a working cell phone now and we've got the paper work from the insurance company to settle this car thing. We did a very little car shopping last night. We're interested in the Toyota Matrix. My husband plays the string bass and we need a car that can carry a bass. I think this car can do it, but is still a small, economical car. I don't want to buy a bigger car than I have to. My husband drives a long way to and from work and we need a car that gets good gas mileage.

Saucony Omni 6 Miles: 6.10
Night Sleep Time: 7.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 7.00
Comments(2)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.120.006.12

Easy run. Average pace: 10:07/mile.

Outside temp: 32°F, with a thin layer of snow nearly everywhere, and some slick spots, particularly when crossing streets where cars have been driving.

To look at my split times (10:41, 11:00, 10:39, 9:57, 9:19, 9:13), you would think that I started pushing the pace after the third mile. But it was actually a fairly consistent effort. The elevation profile for the route I ran looks like an upside down V. It's mostly uphill for the first half, and then mostly downhill for the second half.

As I've mentioned before, I've been listening to The Good Earth during my runs recently. This book takes place in China before communism and there is some discussion now and then of binding the girls' and womens' feet. I was thinking about how Chinese society put such high value on small feet for woman and the lengths they went to achieve that, but then I realized that we also value small feet for woman to a lesser extent in Western society. Last time I bought running shoes, the guy brought out a pair for me to try on. After I tried them on and liked them he revealed that he hadn't wanted to tell me before because it might prejudice me, but they were a wide width. I thought that was kind of silly. I just wanted shoes that fit right and felt good, especially since they were running shoes. I didn't care that they were a wide width.

I'll probably finish the book tomorrow. I've got to decide where I'm going to run tomorrow. I'm going to have to start early and I'll be pressed for time because I've got to run a final choir practice for our choir Christmas program tomorrow morning. (The practice is tomorrow morning, the Christmas program is Sunday morning.) I suppose I could run in the afternoon, but I know I'll have errands to run and things to do then. It'll be better if I can get the run done before the choir practice.

Night Sleep Time: 7.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 7.00
Comments(1)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
12.280.0012.28

Long run. Average pace: 10:18 mile.

Outside temp: 14°F

This was kind of a miserable run. I felt kind of crummy the whole time. I thought about cutting it short, but didn't. There was a thin dusting of snow almost everywhere, but the wind had blown it away in some places. I could see ice forming on the edge of my hat, and my gatorade froze. I've got a fuel belt with four little bottles, and I couldn't get the one with gatorade open, nor one of the water ones. Ice had formed around the opening, keeping them from opening. I did manage to get another one of the water ones opened. I unscrewed the lid on the gatorade and tried to drink it, but most of it was frozen. I had one sport bean, but it was frozen too. I've run in temperatures this cold before, but not on a long run.

This was not a great week for me in terms of running. I feel like I'm in a bit of a rut. Maybe starting official marathon training after another week will get me out of the rut. Or maybe it will wear me out completely.

But I'll be glad tomorrow after my choir program is over. And we're struggling with the decision of which car to buy. That situation will probably be resolved in a couple of days as well.

Saucony Omni 6 Miles: 12.28
Night Sleep Time: 6.50Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 6.50
Comments(2)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.270.006.27

Easy run on the treadmill.

2 minute warm up, 32 min. @ 6.0, 20 min. @ 6.5, 5 minute cool down.

The weather was such that I could have bundled up and run outside this morning, but since I didn't have to get anyone besides myself off to school or work, I decided to just come into work early, run on the treadmill and shower here, and then come upstairs to my desk. We're down to one car right now because we took the rental car back and haven't bought a new car yet, so I had to have my husband drive me here early this morning.

My choir Christmas program went well at church yesterday. We had kind of a rough start on the first song (Carol of the Bells), but it got better after that and we finished strong. I got lots of nice comments from people. I'm looking forward to taking the next couple of weeks off from choir. I need a break.

I took the post-week-2 pushups test this morning and failed on the 21st pushup. If I had been able to complete that 21st pushup, I could have started week 3 in the middle column. So at this point, I can repeat week 2 a third time, or go ahead with week 2 in the first column. I think maybe I'll do the latter. I really don't want to do week 2 again.

Night Sleep Time: 8.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 8.00
Comments(2)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.160.006.16

Easy run. Average pace 10:11/mile.

Outside temp: 20°F, a few icy spots but otherwise clear ground - it's supposed to snow later today.

This was an uneventful run that I spent listening to Tess of the d'Urbervilles. I've got to finish it this week because it is from the library and is due soon. Poor Tess. It's a very tragic story. I've read it before more than once, so I know what's going to happen, though I don't remember all the detail.

I'm struggling to be excited about running lately. Maybe it's because there is so much else going on with Christmas and buying a new car and everything. I start my official marathon training next week, so I'm hoping that that will get me psyched about running again. Maybe I'm just tired of running in the cold all the time. But I have to admit that the cold doesn't really bother me any more most of the time. It's just a hassle getting all the layers of clothes on to go out and run in it. But while I'm out there it doesn't bother me much.

Maybe my problem is that I run more or less the same distance on more or less the same routes all the time. I'm going to start varying my weekday distances more when I start the marathon training, but I don't have time on weekday mornings to go someplace else to run. I pretty much have to leave from and return to my house and there are only so many directions I can run from my house.

Saucony Omni 6 Miles: 6.16
Night Sleep Time: 7.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 7.00
Comments(4)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
9.070.009.07

Easy run. Average pace: 10:01/mile.

Outside temp: 20°F

The 4-6 inches of snow we were supposed to get turned into nothing. They claim that the clouds dried up over the mountains, and so we got no snow here in Denver. I would have liked to have a white Christmas, but still it's nice to run on dry ground.

I listened to Tess again because now that I've started it I've got to finish it. I've got about an hour and a half left. And then I checked out an audio book called Cold Sassy Tree because I had put a hold on it and it became available yesterday. So I'll listen to that after Tess, but then maybe I'll take Snoqualmie's advice and turn to running books. However, I'm limited on what I can get in terms of audio books by what is available on the library's website.

I decided to give week 2 of the pushups program a third attempt, and so I did day 1 again this morning. I'm okay with day 1. It's day 2 that I struggle with. My previous two times through week 2 I've had to do day 2 at least twice each time. But then I'm able to do day 3 with one try despite that it is harder than day 2. Go figure.

I have to work a half day today. I was going to take a vacation day, but I would have had to use a whole vacation day even though the work day is only a half day today. It's the same situation on New Year's Eve. I'm terribly late on account of my sleeping in and then doing a longish run this morning, but I'll just go for 4 hours and then come home. And I've got Christmas presents hidden at work that I need to wrap and bring home.

And we bought a new car yesterday. I get to drive it to work today. It's a gray Toyota Matrix.

Update: I finished Tess.

Night Sleep Time: 7.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 7.00
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Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.070.007.07

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Easy late morning run after opening presents and eating more than I should have. Average pace: 10:13.

Outside temp: 40°F.

Wind speed: ESE 10.4 mph (avg.), ESE 20.7 mph (max).

It was quite windy and I was sometimes too warm and sometimes too cold, depending what direction I was going with relation to the wind, despite that I wore my new smartwool socks, pants, and top that I got for Christmas. The socks aren't as heavy as my older smartwool socks and I would have done better with the heavier ones, but the new ones will be good when the weather isn't quite as cold.

The game console that we got for one of my sons, which is supposed to play old NES and SNES games, doesn't work. I'm going to have to deal with customer support and maybe send it back (I bought it online) tomorrow. I feel bad for the kid, but he's having fun playing Animal Crossing for Wii, which we also got him. (We already had a Wii.)

I got Daniels' Running Formula, so I'll be reading that.

Saucony Omni 6 Miles: 7.07
Night Sleep Time: 7.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 7.00
Comments(2)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.500.006.50

Easy run. Average pace: 10:00/mile.

Outside temp: 36°F. It felt slightly warmer than yesterday even though the temperature was slightly lower because wind was not a factor today.

I wore long pants, a long-sleeved t-shirt that was way too big for me, but was the only clean long-sleeved shirt I had today, gloves, and a headband to cover my ears. The gloves went off and on a few times.

I ran without headphones today, which I haven't done for a while, so that I could concentrate more on the running. Also, the headphones don't work well with the headband. It was a pretty nice run.

The ground was damp. I guess it rained earlier this morning. But it wasn't raining when I ran and there weren't puddles. We might get a little snow this evening, but I'll be surprised if we do, because none of the snow they have predicted for Denver lately has actually happened. I'm trying to decide where to run tomorrow. I'm planning to do 14. If the ground is very wet I'll stick to the roads rather than a trail because I don't want to run on a muddy trail. If the ground is dry, I'll probably go do the Highline Canal Trail again.

Night Sleep Time: 10.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 10.00
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Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
14.000.0014.00

Long run. Average pace: 10:12/mile.

Outside temp: 19°F. Wind: 9.2 mph WSW.

I ran on the roads in Highlands Ranch and Lone Tree instead of running on the Highline Canal Trail. I just didn't feel like running on the trail today. The trail is actually kind of boring because the scenery doesn't change much. Running on the roads I can at least measure my progress by what intersections I've crossed. But the roads around here are very hilly so I had a lot of hill running today on my long run.

I was going to listen to Cold Sassy Tree while I ran, but I had lost my place in the audio files and gave up trying to find it before my run. So I ran without headphones.

I thought for the first 3 miles that I had overdressed, but that's because I was heading east, away from the wind. As soon as I turned south I started getting cold again. I had taken off my hoody and tied it around my waist after about 1/2 mile, and left it there for the whole run, but my hat and gloves went on and off several times during the run, as did my neck gaitor, but I had a problem with the neck gator. When I had it on it would get damp from my breath and then when I pulled it down it would freeze and so next time I pulled it up it would be all stiff, but my breath would thaw it out and soften it up.

Next week is 20 weeks out from the Ogden Marathon and I start my official marathon training schedule, which I got from Run Faster by Brad Hudson. This schedule has longer runs on Wednesdays and Thursdays than I've been doing. I'm going to have to get up really early to get in 10-12 miles on those days before going to work. It will be okay next week because of the holiday, but after that, kids are back at school and I'll have to be out running in the cold at 5 am. I wonder if I'll still have the will to run after I finish this marathon.

Saucony Omni 6 Miles: 14.00
Night Sleep Time: 7.50Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 7.50
Comments(7)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.250.006.25

Easy run plus 1 short hill sprint. Average pace: 10:13.

Hill sprint: 9.42 sec @ 6:18/mile.

Outside temp: 33°F. Wind 11.5 mph from the south.

Last night I was reading Daniels' Running Formula and he talked about how you should have a cadence of about 180 steps per minute and suggested that to learn to run at that cadence, you should try running at that cadence but shorten your stride length to maintain the pace that you're supposed to be running, rather than speeding up because of the increased cadence. So I gave that a try on my run this morning. I checked my cadence periodically throughout the run by counting steps for 15 seconds. I always got 44 or 45 steps in 15 seconds, usually 45. So that puts my right at 176 or 180 steps/minute. At first it felt more tiring and my shins were hurting a little, which is really unusual for me. After the first 3 miles, I picked up the pace a little while keeping the cadence the same and that felt more comfortable and the shin pain went away.

I did one hill sprint at the end because that is what is prescribed by the training program I'm doing. It seems kind of silly to me to do just one hill sprint, but whatever. I used the same hill that I was using a couple of months or so ago when I was doing hill sprints, only the marker I used to use was gone (it was liter anyway) and so I just guessed when I had gone about the right distance.

My training program says that tomorrow should be a rest day or cross-training. I think maybe I'll do the shred, which I haven't done for at least a month and then go for an easy 3 or 4 mile run. I've been running 6 days/week for quite a while now and I don't see any sense in going down to 5 days/week because the training program says to. The training program has 5 days/week for the first three weeks and then goes up to 6 days/week with the exception of three different weeks later in the plan.

Night Sleep Time: 8.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 8.00
Comments(4)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.040.004.04

Easy run. Average pace: 10:43.

Outside temp: 49°F. Humidity: 18%. Wind: S 12.1 (avg), 6.9 (low), 17.2 (high)

It didn't feel to windy during the run, but I can really hear the wind howling outside now. We're having an unusually warm morning, but a cold front is supposed to come in this afternoon.

I did the level 1 shred this morning. It was a pretty tough workout after not having done the shred for 5-6 weeks. I may drop the pushup program that isn't really getting me anywhere and go back to doing the shred, though it will be hard to fit in the shred with the longer daily runs I'm planning to do.

In any case, I plodded through my run today. I just could never really get going, though I did feel a little better on the second two miles than on the first two miles. Maybe I was tired from the shred, or from running with 180 cadence for 6 miles yesterday, or from staying up too late last night, or all of the above. I'm supposed to do 10 miles tomorrow morning, so I better try to get to bed early tonight.

Saucony Omni 6 Miles: 4.04
Night Sleep Time: 6.50Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 6.50
Comments(3)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.330.0010.33

Objective: Progression run - 5 miles easy, 5 miles moderate

Weather: 19°F, 73% humidity, no wind.

I really went to extremes this morning. I was supposed to do the first 5 miles easy and boy howdy did I do them easy - much slower than I normally do an easy run. I think I was holding back in anticipation of the moderate portion. My splits for the first 5 miles were: 11:20, 11:03, 11:25, 11:01, and 11:17.

For the moderate portion, I probably pushed harder than I should have. I defined moderate to myself as as fast as I could go while mainting a 3-2 breath pattern. My splits for the last 5 miles were: 9:21, 8:58, 8:58, 9:11, 9:09, and the last 0.33 was run at 9:29 pace. My legs are a little sore now, but not so much that it affects the way I walk. I'm supposed to do 8 miles easy, with the last 10 minutes moderate tomorrow. I wonder how that will go after what I did today.

Today is my oldest child's 17th birthday. I had to make a birthday breakfast for him this morning after I got done with my run, and I was very late to work as a result. But I'm working only a half day today, so it's fine.

I am wondering when I got to be so old. Ages 13-16 just seem to me to be teenage years and it didn't bother me that much to have a teenager (now I have two teenagers). 17 is still a teenager, but it feels perilously close to adulthood. It's freaking me out a little.

Night Sleep Time: 6.50Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 6.50
Comments(1)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
195.730.00195.73
Saucony Omni 6 Miles: 107.85
Night Sleep Time: 188.00Nap Time: 0.50Total Sleep Time: 188.50
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