I can do it!

Oooooeeeeee!!!!  I'm SO sore today!  This is somewhat exciting to me, since I very rarely do anything that gets me sore anymore...nice to know that I am still capable of challenging my muscles a bit.  Maybe I need to add "hiking" to my repertiore more often.  :D

So, I told my husband that I was going to take a rest day today, and only bike 20 miles.  he said that didn't sound like a rest day to him....which is funny because HIS rest days usually consist of a 20 mile bike ride and some P90X, just for fun!  I'm trying to remember when it was that I became as crazy as HE is...

I "slept in" until 5:45 this morning, then got up to teach bootcamp, which today consisted of a half hour of really good stretching and a half hour of pilates.  After that, I met up with my friend Helen and we did a very slow 20.2 miles on the bike, keeping to the bike path so that we could stay on flat ground, and we finished in 1:13:55.  It was purely a recovery ride, so no "pushing it" was allowed.  I really think I'm done for the day, since I took a nap this afternoon and now I feel like the tin man from the Wizard of Oz...all rusted over.

I still felt like I needed a recovery day today, but I wanted to find out if my legs were going to work for a long run tomorrow...so I hopped on the treadmill to do a mile run, and ended up being just fine - yay!  I ran the mile starting at 5.0 MPH and gradually increasing to 9.0 MPH, finishing in 8:35, then cooled down another 0.1 mile, finishing my treadmill work in 9:18.

Then I went to an hour of Zumba!  :D

I was thinking about copping out on my long run today by just doing 7 miles with my friend Helen, but then I remembered that I have a half marathon in two weeks, and I haven't run any real distances since Ogden marathon!  Luckily for me, my friend Katie called yesterday and wondered if I would run 13 miles with her today, with the understanding that I HAD to go her pace...she needed the company.  It was actually a relief to hear that I would be forced to go slower, since I've had a tendancy lately to run too hard on tired legs...consequently, there have been no long runs in a while.  We decided to run 10 miles, then finish up with a 5K race that my neighborhood was sponsering for FREE!  I invited my whole family to run the race with us, and even the babies were able to participate, since Ben did HIS long run after Tarzan last night, running from the theater to home in the middle of the night!  So he was willing to "run" with the small ones, even though we were both pretty sleepy from being up until after 1:00 this morning.

Katie, my daughter Britnee, and I left just after 5:00 AM and did an 8.6 mile loop, then ran to the start of the race, where we met up with my family.  We casually ran the 5K, except I got a sprint in the last half mile, then we had to run another 6/10ths of a mile to get our 13.1 in.  I finished my half-marathon distance in 2:07:30, which was perfect for an easy long run...plus I got to see all of my children cross the finish line and get handed a medal!  My 5-year-old said, "Mommy!  I WON!!!"  He only ran about a mile before he jumped in the stroller with the baby, but Ben said my 8-year-old ran 2 full miles wothpout stopping!  Not bad for having no running training at all.  I guess I may need to actually start taking my kids running....they've been begging for quite a while.

The great thing about today was that I felt fantastic after the run, which, in my opinion, is how a person should feel after a long training run...I really helps add to my confidence for upcoming races.  Today, I feel just a little bit like I'm a runner again - LOL!  What an awesome morning.  :D

We decided at the last minute to drive up to Enoch for their Freedom Run...a low-key, small race in a great little town!  I wanted to do a brick workout somewhere where the weather was a little less HOT, so we talked our friends Ryan and Helen into joining us, loaded up our bikes, and registered for the 10K.  My plan was to RUN, not RACE, and I'm happy to say that the field was so small, I wasn't even tempted to push it!  So it was a great, easy run for me.  My garmin said 6.41 miles when I crossed the finish line, and my time said exactly what my garmin registered...56:42.

After the race, we hopped on our bikes and headed back to Saint George via the Beryl Jucntion route.  At first, I felt so tired that I didn't know how I was going to make even 20 miles.  I kept stopping to eat more food, knowing that most of the time, my fatigue is nutritionally based.  Well, it took about 20 miles for me to feel "normal," but I finally found my energy, and felt really good the rest of the ride.  I made it 56.3 miles in 3:41:24...the last 12 miles or so fighting a headwind the entire way.  My goal was to do at least the distance of a half-ironman...so....mission accomplished!  I'm feeling really good now.  Time to take a nap. :D

I ran 5 miles with Britnee in SLC.  We did it in 47:41.  :D

I did the same 5 mile loop as I did yesterday, but I had to run by myself, since Britnee wasn't feeling well.  It took my 43:22.  :D

I ran 5 miles with Britnee and Elijah this morning.  We took walk breaks and finished in 48:06.  Then I went to bootcamp and did an upper body workout.  I feel great!  :D

I taught a plyometrics class this morning for bootcamp, which was really fun and got my heart-rate up quite nicely. :D

After class, I jumped on my bike and rode the Snow Canyon loop...the first time I have done the entire canyon in two years!  Wowie!  That was steep!  But it sure was fun to come down the other side!!!  I did 21.3 miles in 1:28:13.  My heart-rate average was 140, max rate 164, average speed 14.5 MPH, and max speed 37.7 MPH.  I got a little over-heated, so I ended up fighting a headache for the rest of the day...but I have survived!  I had planned on going to Zumba and Yoga tonight, and maybe getting a couple of miles in on the treadmill....but then I decided NOT to be completely crazy today, and call 2.5 hours of high intensity training enough for one day.  :D

I had a very late night last night, so I decided too skip out on bootcamp and sleep in.  I stayed in  bed until 9:30, which was LOVELY.  But I also missed a morning run, which was...not so lovely.  I thought about hitting the treadmill at the gym, but then figured that since I was going to the lake anyway, I might as well do a short run there, and just get directly in the water afterwards to cool down.  Bad plan.

I made it barely two miles before my head was throbbing from the heat.  The car said it was 109 degrees outside!  I thought getting in the water would cool me down, but instead, I just felt dizzy and couldn't swim in a straight line to save my life!  So...I only swam a half-mile, and called it good.  Anyway, I'm tapering....yeah, that's it.  :D

I don't know what's up with me, but I have NOT felt well since Tuesday.  I think I'm depleted from getting so HOT on Tuesday's ride, and running at the lake last night fifn't help, either.  I was teaching bootcamp this morning, but only one person came for class, so we ended up having a VERY mild yoga day, mostly consisting ofstretches (Oh, my muscles are SORE!) and a few easy poses.  Luckily, there were no complaints - haha!  I guess an easy bootcamp day every now and again is a good thing.

After bootcamp, Kim, Katie and I went for a very slow, easy, flat bike ride.  We did 18 miles in 1:05:40, and I never took it over 22 MPH.  I have felt "off" all day long, and I'm hoping that I'll feel better tomorrow, since we have the Bryce Canyon Half on Saturday.  Feeling "off" stinks!  Phooey!!!  :P

Since I've been feeling poopy all week and haven't gotten the runs in, I thought it would be a good idea to loosen up the legs a bit. I started slow, then picked it up...felt really good. I think I'm ready to race tomorrow! :D

I plan to go to Zumba class for an hour this morning, then hit the sushi bar to carb-up for tomorrow's race!  Yay!  :)

Fun Race!  It was one of those races where I felt really good the whole time.  I didn't set out to PR, but I think I did anyway.  The first 1.5 miles was slightly uphill, then we hit 2 miles of 8% downhill grade.  I had to take it easy so that I wouldn't stress out my shins.  I think I only hit an 8:20 pace on the steep downhill part.  But the rest of the race was mostly downhill, and by the time I hit the last couple of miles, I was running between an 8;00 and 7:30 pace.  What was interesting to me was that I hit my max heart rate of 181...not sure when, but I sure don't remember trying that hard.  My average HR was 144, average pace 8:46, and best pace 5:19.  I feel fantastic, and don't think I will have any soreness or stiffness after this one....which is exactly how I like to feel after I race!  I live to run another day - yay!  :D

I decided to run a 5K this morning as a recovery run.  Elijah joined me for a little while, but I got ahead of him after the first half mile, and didn't see him again until we arrived home (since he only ran 2 miles).  I have a teensy bit of stiffness from the race, but really not bad...it didn't affect my run very much, although I started out slower than usual.  I finished in 27:49.

After the run I went to bootcamp and participated in a weight/interval day with some ab work.  I thought I'd take it easy, but I felt better than I had anticipated, so I went all out.  :D

This evening I went to the pool and swam 80 lengths.  It took me 42 minutes.  I felt really good.  :)

I decided to try a HIIT on the treadmill this morning before bootcamp, but my legs decided otherwise.  So instead, I did a warm-up for 10 minutes, gradually increasing speed, just so that my shins would cooperate, and then I ran another mile, increasing at intervals from 6.5 MPH to 9.5 MPH and back down.  I finished the 2 mile run in 17:16, then I "ran" out of time - LOL!

After bootcamp, I did a 20.7 mile bike ride with my friend Katie.  I had a hard time getting in the groove, so we stayed pretty slow for the whole ride.  It is just so blazing HOT!!!  We finished the ride in 1:20:36.  I'll probably spend the rest of the day recovering from the heat.  But if not, I'll hit the gym for Zumba and Yoga this afternoon.  :D

I was WIPED OUT today!  I had to teach plyometrics at bootcamp, but I felt like I hardly had the energy to move, let alone jump around.  So it was a pretty bad morning, and I skipped my run.  I thought I might try to get a short one in on the treadmill this evening, but I didn't get the job done.

I did make it out to the lake, however...Ben and Craig wanted to swim the dike and back, which is 2.2 miles, but I was pressed for time with a Tuacahn performance afterwards, so I only swam about 3/4 of the way and back.  I figure it was around 1.5 miles total.  The wind was crazy, so I had to fight the current and the whitecaps going out, but coming back was a BREEZE, so it was totally worth it.  :D

It was another really low energy day today. I thought about doing a HIIT on the treadmill, but I couldn"t make myself get up after my 1:00 AM bedtime last night.  So I just got up at 5:55 AM for bottcamp, and I taught a very relaxing yoga class.  Then I went back to bed until almost 11:00!  I thought about taking the day off, but then I started thinking about when I could get a long run in this weekend, and I realized that even if I get up at 3:00 AM, I would have to run in the AWFUL Saint George heat...so I decided that I needed to go someplace else to run.  And since Friday morning is out because of bootcamp, and Saturday we have a bike ride planned, tonight was the only night available!

So the bottom line is...I talked Ben and Joshua into joining me for a trip up to Pine Valley, where we started at the reservoir at 8:00 PM in the nice, cool, 80 degree weather, and ran down to Veyo - 16.5 miles - getting in some good downhill training for the Saint George Marathon, and finishing fast and strong!  I surprisingly completed my run in 2:29:50, far better than I had anticipated considering my total lack of energy this week.  I had almost talked myself out of going in favor of an early bedtime, but I'm really glad I did it now.  It was one of those runs where everything just feels right - not without the typical aches and pains of running, but where everything INSIDE just feels right, and my gratitude for a healthy, strong body is in abundance.  It was a very good run.  :D

after the ride last night, all I got in was an hour of Zumba...and that was enough.  :D

I was going to do a ride with the tri-club this morning, but when the alarm went off at 5:00 AM, and Ben didn't get up, I decided to sleep in. YAY!!! But when we got up, Ben and I decided to go ahead and do a bike ride anyway...so we drove up to Central around 11:00 AM, rode up to Pine Valley, then turned around and rode back to Saint George. We ended up with 53 miles in 2:56:00...or something like that. My garmin died around mile 48, so I had to use Ben's numbers. It was blazing HOT when we finished, but I felt pretty good about doing a long ride anyway. I CAN DO HARD THINGS!!!

I started out the morning with a 5 mile run at 5:00 AM. I ran with Ben, Britnee, and Elijah, but Elijah was going pretty slow, and I had to double back a bunch of times for him. I sent Ben on with Britnee so she wouldn't be alone in the dark. So my 5 mile run turned into a SIX mile run, by the time we finished. It took me 56:20. Dang! It's HOT in Saint George! By the time I got home, my head was throbbing. I'm a little unsure how I'm going to do a 10K race this weekend when it's NOT still dark outside, and the temps are higher. :S

After the run, we went to bootcamp and did weights and abs for an hour. I didn't want to, but I kept thinking about earning some sculpted arms, so I made myself do it anyway. It was worth it.

After bootcamp this morning I did a 15 mile bike ride with my friend Kim...even though it wasn't as hot as usual, we felt sluggish...so we just took it easy around the neighborhood, and finished in 58:26.

This evening, I went to the gym and hopped on the treadmill for a few intervals.  I warmed up starting at 5.0 MPH and adding 2/10ths every 30 seconds until I reached 8.5 MPH, and finished a mile in 8:59.  Then I did some intervals, starting at 6.5 MPH and increasing 1 MPH every minute to 9.5.  I repeated it 3 times, and on the last one I tacked on 30 seconds at 10 MPH and 30 seconds at 10.5 MPH.  Then I cooled down at 6.5 MPH.  All together, I did 3 miles in 23:50...no walk breaks.  :D

This morning I woke up at 4:45 to do a 5-mile run, but none of my training partners got up, so I ended up not running....something silly about being alone in the dark.  :D  For bootcamp we took our clients for a hike...it was pretty low-key, but about all that I wanted to do anyway - haha!

So this evening I decided to try to get a short run in on the treadmill before heading out to the lake.  I have some sort of weirdness going on in my right shin/soleus muscle, so it may be just as well that I didn't run in the morning.  I ended up doing the same warm-up as yesterday, then did 30 seconds each at 9.0, 9.5, and 9.0 MPH, followed by a minute each at 8.5, 8.0, 7.5, 7.0, and finishing it off at 6.5 MPH.  The two miles were finished in 16:35.  Then I went to the lake and swam approximately 1.2 miles in about 40 minutes.

This morning within 5 minutes I received a text from every single one of my clients, telling me that they would not be able to make it to bootcamp this morning...so I decided to sleep in. UNTIL TEN!!! When I got out of bed, I felt just a twinge of guilt, knowing that if I had gotten up, I would have already finished a good pilates workout and done 15-20 miles on my bike. But I also realized that I NEEDED to sleep...sleep is as important as any workout, and MORE so, when your schedule keeps you up late every night and requires an early morning wake-up call. So I had my wonderful morning breakfast shake, and I got a text from my hubby asking if I would join him on his lunch hour at the gym. Perfect!

I ended up warming up with a 2.5 mile run on the treadmill in 20:48. I still have that weirdness going on in my right leg, so I will probably take tomorrow off from running, and hopefully I'll be good for the 10K I'm doing on Saturday. It feels like a muscle spasm in my shin/soleus, but it may just be because of the speed-play I do on the treadmill...we'll see. So Ben kept running, and I decided to do an UBWO - 3 sets on each muscle group at a higher intensity level. I finished that, and still had some time, so I did some ab work, and then Ben and I had lunch at Great Harvest, and I ate that WONDERFUL Grilled Chicken Salad that they serve - soooo tasty!!!

My plan for the rest of the day is to guzzle tons of water, eat some clean meals, and maybe make it to Zumba and Yoga at the gym tonight. If I don't it will be okay, but I love Zumba, and every extra hour I spend doing cardio work helps to condition me for the long-distance endurance training I'm doing. Plus, I need the Yoga stretch.

All I did was go to Zumba class for an hour today.  I don't know where my energy has gone!  It wasn't as bad as yesterday, but I still felt wasted.  I thought about skipping it, but I felt obligated to get SOME form of exercise in before hitting the sushi buffet!  :D

Due to a power outage, we started the show late last night at Tuacahn, making my bedtime well after 1:00 AM. So I opted to skip the morning bike ride/10K race in favor of some much needed sleep. I thought about just taking another rest day. My body seems to be wanting more rest lately.

Instead, I decided to take my bike out to my 5:00 PM voice lesson in Ivins.  There was some cloud cover, which was nice, but I still got overheated by the time I arrived, and ended up with a not-so-nice headache while I was out there.  I have been SOOO tired!  It has been hard for me to summon any energy.  All the same, I ended up doing a total of 27.76 miles in 1:39:30.  Ben was kind enough to come riding with me, giving me some time in the draft to cool down a bit.  :D