I can do it!

I tried to sleep in this morning, but I only made it to 6:00 or so.  I stayed in bed until 7:20, then decided to go cycling.  So I dragged my husband out of bed, and we rode 26.5 miles.  I arrived back home just in time to rinse off in the tub and head off to the theater for my matinee performance.  :-)

I ran 5 miles with Ben this morning. We finished in 47:18.  I still wore the brace, and my arch still hurt, but it sort of numbed out by around mile four.  I'm just glad I was able to get a run in.  :-)

I was SOOO tempted to run today, but Ben urged me to take it easy, since I'm technically still "injured."  :-P  So I went for a fast ride instead.  I did 15 miles in about 50 minutes ALL BY MYSELF!  For someone who is a social exerciser, that's pretty good!  I intend to run tomorrow, injured or not!  Just a few miles....

Ben dragged me off to the track this morning.  I didn't want to go, since we stayed up past midnight the night before.  :D  But I know what's good for me - LOL!  I did three miles, with short sprints every time I went down one side of the track.  My Garmin wasn't charged, so I don't know what my time was, but I felt really good about the run.  Afterwards, I did a lot of stretching.  It was a good morning!

I woke up late, so I had to forgo part of my run in order to meet my friend Katie for our bike ride.  I ended up doing 2.75 miles in 24:38.  Not a bad pace for me.  Then we rode 24 miles together - it was an easy pace, but it still was nice to spend time on my bike.  :D

I ran a really slow 10.5 miles with Elijah and some friends this morning.  The arch is still really bothering me, but since I still seem to be able to run on it, I guess I'm not going to get too concerned about it....yet.  We'll see how the next week goes...

Britnee and I went for a short run this morning, doing 3.1 in 37:48 (run/walk alternating every 2 minutes).  Then, for my "workout," I did a 22.08 mile ride in 1 hour 21 minutes.  After that, I got in a 25 minute nap and went off to do two shows.  I'm sooo glad it's bedtime!!!

Elijah wanted to take walk breaks today, so we set the clock up to run five minutes and walk one...what was surprising was that we ran so much faster than we usually do WITHOUT walk breaks!  We finished the five miles in 45:02, which beats our "normal" time by about 2-3 minutes!  AND we both felt invigorated by the time we finished!  I love walk breaks.  :-D

Britnee, Elijah and I ran a 5K this morning in 36:43.  Afterwards, I hopped on my bike and rode for 30 minutes, covering 8.54 miles. 

This is my last week of overlapping rehearsals for "Aida" and performances for "Annie get your gun."  Next week, I will have my evenings back (for a week, anyway!), and then the week after that, we'll be in production with "Aida" and I will only have shows on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday nights through the middle of October.  I've been missing my evening swims.  I'm hoping to get geared up to try my first triathlon in November.  But first, the Saint George Marathon! 

Elijah and I tried a different route this morning, running 5 miles in 48:16 with walk breaks.  I was more tired today...not sure why, since I had more sleep than I usually get.  Oh well, good days and bad days, right?  I'm saving up my strength for the 15 mile race I'm doing on Saturday anyway.  I've got to run 20 that day...so I'm not sure if I want to do the extra 5 miles before or after the race, or maybe split the difference.  Hmmm....

I did three easy miles today. I was tempted to go cycling, but I think I will save it for tomorrow, since I'm not planning to run at all then. I need to save up for my 20 miles on Saturday. Even as it is, I will have logged 36 miles this week!  That's a bit of an increase for me, and I don't want to overdo.  I will probably only cycle 12 miles or less tomorrow, but I'll see how I feel...

I took the day off running today, since I have the race tomorrow.  I debated over whether to REALLY take the day off or not, and I opted to do a short bike ride.  30 minutes on the bike to get the blood pumping...I love starting my day with a little activity.  It was just enough!  I'll report on the race tomorrow...

Ben, Joshua, Elijah and I ran in the Pine Valley 15 mile race this morning!  Elijah and I were scheduled to run 20 for our training, and we figured this was a good way to get the miles in with built-in support!  So we ran 1.5 miles to warm up, then did the race.  There were aid stations every two miles, and were supposed to have pretzels and animal crackers along the route, with a GU station at mile 7.5.  I guess I wasn't paying attention, because I didn't notice the food, but when I got to the halfway point, there was no GU!  By that time, I had already run 9 miles with no food.  The course was honestly the hardest course I have ever run - steep inclines and declines on gravelly dirt road.  As we climbed up the huge hill after the halfway point, I started to feel pretty spent.  On our way back, I realized that there WAS food at the other aid stations, but I had run 11.5 before I actually got any in me.  I think it cost me a few minutes of time because I was feeling so weak and dizzy.  Anyway, when I finally got some sugar in my system, I felt a little better and was able to complete the race at a semi-decent pace, but my legs were hammered by the constant hills.  Elijah and I did another mile afterwards, and then I decided to call it a day.  I figure that 17.5 miles of steep hills and gravel roads are as good a training run as 20 miles of semi-hilly pavement.  :D  I felt tired, but was able to go straight to my final two performances of "Annie get your gun" and stay up until past midnight to strike the set.  Elijah and I ended up taking first in our divisions, and Ben and Joshua took second in theirs.  I came in fourth overall - I'll post the official times and placements when the website updates them.  I feel pretty good about the race - I know I could have done a little better if I had had food earlier on, but so it goes.  First place!  I never thought I'd see the day....maybe I AM a fast runner, after all...  :D

Elijah and I did a nice recovery run - 3 miles in 29:55.  :-D

I left home for my rehearsal at 9:00 yesterday, then arrived home at 11:30 PM...and it looks like I will be out until between midnight and 2:00 AM every night this week!  So I will proably have a REALLY easy run week.  I forced myself out of bed at 7:15 this morning, then did a short run of 2.55 miles in 24 minutes.  I tried running without my brace, just to see what would happen.  It hurt a little, but I'm thinking I'd better be smart and keep using it for a while longer so that I don't re-injure it.

I got home last night after midnight, so I slept in until almost 8:00!  Even though I'm sure it's all in my head, it feels too hot to run after eight, so I decided to go on a longer bike ride.  I rode up to Ivins and down around through Sata Clara.  I did the 25 mile ride in 1:31:41, including all stops.  The first 15 took me an hour, but I was flying home!  I really took it easy - could have gone faster, but I didn't want to this time.  :D

I "slept in" today...if you can call dozing between children's whines "sleeping."  So I was thinking that I wouldn't get a workout in.  But I ended up having a long break between rehearsals, so I was able to go to the gym this evening.  It was my first time on the treadmill in MONTHS, and I can't believe how much easier it was than before!  I did 3.1 miles in 29 minutes - no land speed record, but I always had to go slower on the treadmill before - it would just kill me to do over a 10 minute mile!  This time, I sarted at an 11:00 minute mile and ended at a 7:30 mile, and felt like I barely worked out afterwards - I love that!  After running, I did an hour of yoga, and went off to a rehearsal until 2:00 AM....whew!

I stayed in bed until 8:00 am after being out until 2:30 this morning.  Then I got up and hopped on my bike - and did 15.5 miles in 53:32 - not a bad start for my very LONG day.  Rehearsal until after midnight tonight...  :D

I was up until 1:00  this morning, but was able to get up at 5:30 am for a nine-mile run anyway.  Elijah and I ran with Katie and Kim, doing 4.5 miles out and back.  Elijah and I stayed with the girls for the first half, finishing it in 49:54, but we left them on the way home and did the second half in 41:53.  I feel pretty good about the run.  I think I'll try to get a nap in now, before I leave for another LONG day of rehearsals.  :D

I had a great run this morning with Ben! We did 5 miles with walk breaks every 6 minutes in 47:32.  I felt incredible and probably should have done more.  What a great way to start the day!

After a late rehearsal last night, I slept in and only ran a two-mile loop with Elijah.  Afterwards, I rode the 8.5 mile loop on my bike.  :-D

I totally slept in after staying up until 2 am after our first preview show of "Aida."  It was sooo fun last night, though!  This evening was the first free night I've had in weeks, so I decided to go out with Ben to meet with the triathlon club.  We went out to the lake, where I attempted my first open-water swim.  Maybe it's because I haven't swum in a few weeks, or maybe it was because there was no blue line to follow, or maybe it was because I don't have a wetsuit and there was no place to rest, but it was SO HARD!  I didn't even make it a half mile!  And everytime I looked up, I was going a different direction!  Also, my goggles kept filling with water.  So I called what I did "good enough," and went off to run a couple of miles while the others finished their swim.  Then we rode our bikes.  I paired up with the only other female there - Brianna - and we did 15 miles.  I think I must have pushed myself too hard trying to keep up with her, but I overheated and ended up with a terrible headache and nausea.  I was so sick I couldn't eat.  Then I started vomiting.  This hasn't happened to me in over a year-and-a-half!  Such a bummer.  I wonder how much of that has to do with the heat exhaustion I had several years ago - I just have to be really careful with my heart rate, or I get sick.

Yesterday's shenanigans have left me pretty weak.  I think I lost four pounds being sick!  So I'm taking today off, trying to get re-hydrated, and conserving my strength for tonight's performance at Tuacahn. 

Last night, about halfway through the first act of the play, I was performing a dance number when suddenly my calve went "POP" and I couldn't walk without pain. It felt like a perpetual charlie horse! I managed to limp unnoticably through the rest of the show, but by the time I arrived at home, I could barely walk! This morning I went in to a sports medicine specialist, and he said I probably tore the deep muscle in my calve...which means I'm out of commission for awhile. I'm soooo discouraged! I was planning to do twenty-two miles next weekend at the Trails race, which would really set me up for the marathon. Doc says if I'm REALLY good for the next few weeks, I MAY still be able to run the marathon in October. The problem is, I have to perform three nights a week through then! So I can't stay off my legs. Doc gave me a wetsuit-like brace to wear all the time, even under my costumes. I hope it helps. I feel really bad about this - just when I thought I was gaining so much momentum! Ah, well. Such is life.