I can do it!

This morning I ran with the girlfriends, 5.02 miles in 1:01:14.  Then I did a lower body workout, complete with a session of P90X ab-ripperX.  Then this evening, just for fun, Ben took me out cycling and we did an easy 32 miles in 1:54:26.  Based on my calculations, at the rate of speed I was going, I should be able to do the 56 mile bike portion of the Utah half in 3:20 or so...maybe a tad faster.  The question is, will my shoulders be able to handle it?  Darn weak girlie upper body!  This is a problem I will have to rectify ASAP. 

I was so tired today, I almost convinced myself to stay in bed this morning!   My body felt like it was exhausted from the workouts of the past few days, and I began to think that maybe I was just a LITTLE bit insane for getting out of bed and heading to the gym anyway for a HIIT.  In fact, my quads are still spasming - they've been jumping around since yesterday morning's workout.  So when I arrived at the gym, I gave myself permission to try out the treadmill, and then quit if anything felt too funny...I definately don't want to damage anything with a marathon on the horizon!  I started with a nice slow jog for a mile (10:43), then hopped off and stretched for a minute.  Everything was still working, so I jumped back on the treadmill and started the HIIT.  I gave myself permission to stop for a walk between intervals, but as I got going, I thought that maybe I could do two in a row, then three, and before I knew it, I was finished!  It was my first complete HIIT on the treadmill, without my cheater breaks!  Now that it is over, and I survived, I'm quite certain I need to up the speed.  I had started with a 6.0 MPH as my warm-up, then went from 6.5-9.0 MPH for my levels.  I probably should shoot for 10.0 MPH, but I'm always afraid of doing too much and pulling or tearing something.  That's why I've avaoided doing my HIITs on the treadmill to begin with!  But 9.0 MPH was definately NOT a "10" for me, so I'll have to rethink that.  I'm taking the rest of the day as a rest day, not because I wanted to, but because I have to go to a meeting tonight.  I probably need a mini-vacation for my muscles anyway.  :D

Oh my goodness!  I think something is seriously wrong with me.  I only exercised ONCE today!  Second day in a row!!!  :D

After another night of little sleep, I woke up at 4:50 to run 5 miles with the girls.  We did it in 1:00:10.  Then I followed it up with an upper body workout.  And then...I stayed home all evening and watched AVATAR for the first time!  We bought it when it first came out, but I never found three hours to plop down in front of the TV.  So I sacrificed my planned swim and stayed home instead.  And now...I'm going to go to bed at a decent hour!  And sleep in tomorrow until 7:00!!!!  I'm giddy just thinking about it.  :D

I did another HIIT on the treadmill today.  Yay!  I did a warm-up run of 1 mile in 10:04, then stopped to stretch.  Then I started the 20 minute HIIT, but this time I warm-ed up at 6.0 MPH, and topped off at 10.0 MPH.  It felt great to do a good sprint!  After the HIIT, I continued cooling down for another .16 miles, making my total miles for the day 3.6.  I want to do more with burst training, since the pro athlete we had dinner with the other night (Matt Lieto) said that interval work is ALL the training he does.  :D

Ben and I woke up at 4:15 so that we could do our last long-ish run before Ogden Marathon.  Tomorrow is the Ironman, so we didn't want to get up uber early to run and then have to be at the venue all day until midnight.  I'll probably still try to get in a HIIT on the treadmill tomorrow, and maybe the LBWO I'm missing today.  Anyway, we had a great run, doing 15 miles in 2:23:19.  My legs felt SO much better today than they did last week!  I think the treadmill intervals are really going to make a big difference in my running strength and speed - exciting! 

I did my HIIT on the treadmill this morning, beginning with a 1.01 mile warm up in 10 minutes, and then doing the 20 minutes with levels beginning at 6.0 MPH and topping off at 10.0 MPH. This time, I increased my levels just a bit so that I could do a full minute at 10.0 MPH. I ended up doing 2.49 miles in 20 minutes.  My friend Leslie told me that she does her level 10 at 11.0 MPH...I'm going to give that a try next time and see how it feels...scary!!!  I did a 1 minute cool-down at 6.0 MPH, for a grand total of 3.61 miles in 31 minutes.

We spent the rest of the day at the Ironman venue, running around and supervising all of our volunteers.  It was SO MUCH FUN!!!  The aid station ran like clockwork, and then we spent another couple of hours cheering for the last of the finishers until we were hoarse.  What a fantastic, inspiring day!  :D