Running skirt

I really, really want a "running skirt". I think they are super cute, and um can my legs look like that if I wear it too? I love that they have pockets to hold my carb booms, bigger pockets than my regular shorts. But $50 for one piece of clothing...I'm really trying to convince myself or my husband why I really, really need that. Pronto. It's worth it, right?

New Running Shoes

Time for new shoes, my other ones have had it. I got the same ones again which are Brooks Adrenaline. This time around I had color choice, so of course I chose pink. Hopefully that will bring me a little extra luck.
Just finished my 6 mile tempo run and today it wasn't that bad. I think maybe theres something to "muscle memory". Once my legs got going at that 7:40 min/mile speed I was able to withstand it okay. I just kept thinking as I was running, okay you can do this, only 20 more like this. haha. Yeah right.

14 miles makes me tired

14 miles, half way point and it kicked my butt this morning. Left at 6:30am with Cameron (my sis was visiting so she was able to watch the kids for us.) We did a route full of hills and more hills with the last few miles um again guess where, yes straight up hill. Cam ran 10 with me and I made up the other 4 on my own. I like having him as a partner, sometimes. Of course we got in a "running fight" today. I had to yell at him about "Road etiquette" which didn't go over well. I just think that when bikers are pounding straight up the hill and we are running down it that "we" should both get over to the side so they don't have to swerve around us. But I'll stop now since he reads this blog, but thankfully with all the endorphins pumping through our body, not to mention pure exhaustion it's hard to stay mad at each other. Good times. :) As far at my training run speed is going I'm just feeling a little frustrated. Running at an 8:20 min. mile for 26 miles is just seeming more and more out of reach. Today I averaged between 8:40- 9:30 min. miles and that's just not good enough. I know that I have to take the hills into consideration and also know that I still have 2 months of training to get better, but I just don't know if I can. :( So on that thought I'm feeling a little down, but in no way I am giving up. If only there was an easy way to improve my time...

7 mile tempo run

Wednesdays, my hate day in training. Today I ran 7 miles in 57 min. 3 of those miles were run in 7 min. 13 sec. Ouch. All I can say is it's over and now I'm ready to eat, like a lot for breakfast. The hunger pains are coming on strong and my shredded wheat is calling to me...:)

12 miles

Yesterday I woke up at 6:30 to run my 12. Of course I didn't get to bed till 1am since I was having some issues with my itunes and needed to get my music in order for my run. Cameron announced that he wanted to go and run with me (I think the most he's run in the past few months is 4 or 5 miles). I told him okay, but that I'd leave him if he was too slow. ;) So tired and very tired we left by 6:45 for the 12 mile run. It's been averaging over 100 degrees the past few days and I could feel the heat after my first mile. Training in heat is so much harder than the cold runs I used to do. So, we picked a loop with of course lots of hills, but lots of beauty too. As much as hills kill me (and I do mean KILL me)I love to run so close to the mountains and to have such gorgeous views. We saw a mommy deer with her little baby and ran maybe 10 feet from them.
My hubby was an excellent running partner and we stayed together for the most part. Running with someone makes such a difference. For the SLC marathon I had a training partner and she was great to run with. She was running in the Ogden marathon a month after mine, but still came and ran a part of my marathon with me. When I reached that struggling point around mile 17-20 she was there to keep me going. I really need to find a partner to run this marathon with. Cameron registered for St. George, but didn't make the lotto, so now I'm on my own. The last few miles we were running uphill and so we separated then, but he stayed strong till the last few. He's a natural athlete and I was pretty impressed that he could just go and run 10 no problem. So my 12 miler down, now in the weeks ahead it really starts to get fun.

Tempo Run

I've had an emotionally tuff week...just some personal issues I'm dealing with, but they have been bad enough to put a dent in my running. So Monday I missed my easy 3 mile run, but that's okay. I ate a box of chocolates instead from my sweet aunt. So anyways back on track today. So the tempo run. Can I just say that if I had a choice to do a 6 mile tempo run or run double that (13 miles) at normal speed I wouldn't even think twice about choosing the 13 mile run. It's bad. Today the workout was a warm up mile at a 9 min pace and then 4 miles in a row without stopping at a 7:40 min/mile. Then a cool down mile for a total of 6 miles. I chose to stick to the treadmill today because with that speed and all the hills outside (not to mention my chocolate binge the past 2 days) I was sure to be found on the side of the road. So treadmill I did and it was brutal. But surprisingly to myself I did it all. I guess once your legs get used to running that fast they just keep going or at least I kept telling my mind to make them go. I'm feeling better and running definitely helps my mood, my stress, and my life. I'm just so glad that tempo runs are only once a week.

Training...4 weeks in

I just finished week 4 of training for the St. George marathon. 12 more to go till its here. And I'm feeling a little overwhelmed. After running a 3:52 at the SLC marathon in April I felt great, well actually I felt amazing. So much so that the thought of that magic number 3:40 entered my mind and has consumed me. I want Boston and I want it bad! So in order to shave those 12 min. off in my time I am really going to have to work. Maybe a little harder than I am now. I am doing a pretty competitive training program, that tells me how fast I need to be running. The problem is that I live in these horribly hilly mountain roads and it makes training at a faster speed so much more difficult. Sooooo....I'm trying. My "long runs" need to be done at a 9:11 speed which is easy to stick to as long as the miles aren't straight uphill, which they often are. So yeah, working on that. Wednesdays are tempo runs where I'm sprinting my miles, and that kills me too. I'm thinking I may have to take those tempo runs indoors to the treadmill to eliminate the hill work. So at least tomorrow is Sunday, my day of rest.