"No one ever drowned in sweat."

What a beautiful morning! My wonderful husband let me sleep in AND go for a 9 mile run while he watched our kids! I headed out around 9:30am and originally wanted to do 10 miles, but those darn hills kept slowing me down! I was exhausted by the time I got back to my neighborhood and just didn't have the energy to run all the way up a steep 3/4-mile hill to my house. Maybe next Saturday...

Here are my splits for today: AP 9:16

Mile 1: 7:44 (all downhill), Mile 2: 8:49, Mile 3: 8:35, Mile 4: 9:05, Mile 5: 9:37 (heading back uphill), Mile 6: 9:11, Mile 7: 9:35, Mile 8: 9:46 ("I think I can, I think I can"), Mile 9: 9:48.

4.25 miles on the TM this morning at a 9:15 min/mile pace. For whatever reason, I did not want to be on that machine this morning. Luckily I caught a re-run of "The Biggest Loser" on and that saved me.  I hope they always show those re-runs at 6:00am...that might actually get me out of bed :) How sad is that?!

I needed a break from running today, and my arms were feeling a little flabby/weak so I completed P90X "Shoulders and Arms". Not having lifted weights in a few weeks, I know I'm going to be hurting tomorrow!

Will there be one week, just one week, where my kids sleep all the way through the night?!!! I guess I should have expected it though. I took my 1 year old in to the doctor for his one year checkup and he got 4 shots...not a happy baby. And my 2 1/2 year old got his first round of the H1N1, so needless to say, it was a long night. Hopefully tonight will be better and I can get up at 5:30 to run!!!

5.0 TM miles, AP 9:15.

12.0 miles with Kelli and Scott this morning around the Daybreak loop. I've never gone that far!!!! I was really nervous that I wouldn't be able to make it all the way, but I finished! I felt pretty good miles 1-7, but we hit a 2-mile incline and I struggled. My goal was to not stop and walk. My pace was extremely slow, but atleast I was jogging! Thanks you guys for a great run!

AP 10:01min/mile

Splits:

Mile 1: 9:20; Mile 2: 9:12; Mile 3: 9:26; Mile 4: 9:10; Mile 5: 9:11; Mile 6: 9:20; Mile 7: 10:07; Mile 8: 11:09 (wow, that's embarrasing); Mile 9: 10:46; Mile 10: 10:26; Mile 11: 10:46; Mile 12: 10:01

I went to put on my running shoes yesterday morning and wanted to cry b/c my blister hurt so badly! But after trying to stay off of it for a while yesterday, it felt much better today, so luckly I was able to run.

I had to work late last night so, I decided to sleep in this morning. Once I put my 1 year old down for a nap today, I tried to put on a movie for my 2 1/2 year old. Of course, he followed me instead of watching a movie. As soon as he followed me into our workout room, I thought that there was no way I was going to even get a mile in, but he was great! Thank goodness for resistance bands, push up bars, a stationary bike, and aerobics steps to entertain him :)

3.5 TM miles. Warm up for 5 minutes at 9:30. I alternated between a 7:30min/mile pace for 2 minutes and a 9:00min/mile pace for 2 minutes, until I reached 3.5 miles.

5.0 TM miles. Warm up at a 9:30 pace for 1/2 a mile. 9:00 pace for the next 2 miles. 8:30 pace for the next mile. 8:00 pace for the last 1 1/2 miles. My blister is completely healed so no problems there.

I'm getting really excited for Painters and gaining a little bit of confidence that I might be able to run it faster than originally planned. I felt really comfortable running at an 8:00-8:30 pace. Of course that was on a TM with only a 1.0% incline.  We shall see!

8.0 TM miles this evening. I was really nervous I wouldn't get my long run in today, but I was able to squeeze it in around 7:30pm. I'm just hoping that's not too late to keep me up all night! Kelli, I might be coming to your house for some children's Benadryl...

Ok, so I warmed up for 1/2 a mile at a 9:30 pace. The next 2 1/2 miles, my pace was 9:15, and the last 5 miles were at an 8:34 pace. No folks, that's not a typo! I really ran that fast for 5 straight miles!!! Then I cooled down for a 1/4 mile and had to hop off to read my kids a story before they went to bed. 

Now for all of you advanced runners that read my blog...what should I do next week before the race?

Woke up at 4:45am to run with the BBK's (my husband thought I was crazy).

3 miles, AP 9:27.  The slippery roads and being pelted in the face with freezing rain weren't too enjoyable, but running with someone is always better than running alone! I had to leave the group early to make it home in time for my husband to leave for the day so when I got home I hopped on the treadmill for an extra 3 miles at a 9:00min/mile pace.

I still haven't decided what I'm going to do the rest of the week.  I want to be ready, but I don't want to push it too hard.  Maybe 5 miles tomorrow, 4 Thursday, and 3 Friday???

5.0 TM miles tonight. Miles 1-4 at a pace of 9:10. Mile 5 at a 8:00 pace.

Is anyone else nervous about driving down to St. George on Friday that's running Painter's? It looks like the weather is supposed to be bad! Drive safely everyone!!!

I finished my very first half marathon!!!! Horray!!! I had such a blast and am so thankful to Kelli for pacing me. I wouldn't have been able to finish without her pushing me, especially the last few miles. She was WONDERFUL!!!

I didn't really know what to expect, being that this was my first half marathon.  I was nervous about pushing myself too hard in the beginning and thought if I did, I might not finish. Miles 1-9 were comfortably difficult, but around mile 10 my legs got really tired and I felt like they weighed 100 lbs a piece. I tried to pick them up and move faster, but after a few minutes of running faster, I felt like I was dragging again. It was SO frustrating!!! I realized after talking with Kelli that my legs just aren't used to going that far and aren't used to pushing at the end of my runs, so I am going to start working on that and incorporate progressive runs into my training for the Salt Lake half. I also need to run more hills, so I guess I'm lucky that my city and neighborhood are full of them! They're just SO intimidating!!!

I will post my splits later. My Garmin battery died right after the race and I don't have my charger with me.

I also had a near-death experience driving back home. Of course I checked the weather before I left because I hate driving in the snow and it said there wasn't any chance of snow and the roads were supposedly clear along 1-15. I left on Saturday around 5:00pm for my in-laws' house to pick up my kids. The roads were completely clear until I reached the 1-70 turn off/Cove Fort area on 1-15. As I was coming over a steep moutain pass, I drove through a few flurries into a full blown white-out in a matter of about 30 seconds. Of course I slowed down, but was going down hill and the road was suddenly completely covered in snow.  There didn't seem to be any tire tracks to even follow, so I had no idea where the road was (it was dark by now too). I started panicking and tapped my breaks to slow down, but I lost control of my car. I turned around in a few circles and then spun off a small cliff into a huge ditch and my car landed on it's nose (luckly it didn't roll). I thought for sure no one saw me slide off the road and that I would be stuck there for days. The ditch I fell into was so deep, you couldn't have seen me from the road. After realized I was okay and that I could move around I started freaking out b/c I couldn't find my cell phone. All the loose contents in my car were now down by my feet but it was so dark I couldn't see anything. Luckily someone started knocking on my window and said they called 911 and that help was on the way. I'm SO lucky someone saw me! We called a tow truck and crazy enough, only the front fender was damaged on the passenger side and I was able to drive to my in-laws. For my first car accident, that was very scary! It could have been much worse so I feel very lucky.  Only a few bumps and bruises and a stiff neck.

Sorry that was a long post! Oh, btw - does anyone know where to look for your official time for Painter's? I can't find race results anywhere. Thanks!!!

My car accident left me with a bad case of whip lash and a seat belt burn across my collar bone.  Tonight, I'm finally starting to feel like I can move my head from side to side without wanting to cry, so the plan is to start back at running tomorrow morning.  Wish me luck!

I'm signed up for the Salt Lake half and now the Wasatch Back and am considering doing the Riverton Half if I can talk my husband into it...running races is expensive! But SO fun!

6.0 miles this smoggy afternoon.  I'm starting to feel much better from my car accident almost a week ago, so I'm happy to be running again!

Today I tried to incorporate some hills into my run...when oh when do they ever get easy?! Here are my splits:

AP: 9:08

Mile 1: 7:54; Mile 2: 8:48; Mile 3: 9:35; Mile 4: 9:22; Mile 5: 9:06, Mile 6: 10:22 (at this point I'm thinking, "why did I chose to live at the top of a hill that is a mile long?"

5.5 miles on the TM tonight.

Mile 1: 10:00min/mile; Mile 2: 9:30; Mile 3: 9:00; Mile 4: 8:30; Mile 5: 8:00; Last .5 mile: 9:30 cooldown.

I really like this song I found on Itunes the other day, "Marchin On" by Timbaland featuring One Republic. It's got a good message and beat. Check it out if you get a minute.

I'm also preparing to begin another round of P90X on Monday. I'm actually planning on trying to follow the nutrition plan along with it this time. The last time I tried P90X, I followed the nutrition plan for about a week, but continued the workouts for about 7 weeks. I defnitely saw results, but I know if I was more careful about what I ate, I'd see a bigger difference. So, hopefully that doesn't mean I will pig out tomorrow! Wish me luck!

Oh, one more random thought/question. Does anyone know of any good running books they'd like to recommend? Thanks!