Here comes the sun, little darlings!

This morning was perfect for running. Not too hot- low 80's, slight breeze, a little on the humid side, but for August in AZ, I will take it! My workout today was 20 miles with the last 10 in under 70 minutes.  I was feeling so great and the workout went really well! Yay! I ended the 20 miles with a 6:06 mile, with a  few miles in the low 6: teens, and the rest around 6:30 pace. I had  only one mile above that at 6:52 when I stopped for the restroom and to refill my water bottle. SO happy this went so well. A great confidence booster!

I could not have done it without my early girlies Susan Loken and Tanaya Gallagher. Susan is going to get her Olympic Trials Qualification at Twin Cities on 10/3, I am trying for mine the following weekend 10/10 in Chicago, and Tanaya will be looking toward Long Beach Marathon the following weekend on 10/17! We are all coached by John and when we can all get together to run, there is nothing better! It is so motivating to run with these two lovely ladies. Susan is just a wealth of knowledge and encouragement. She is just such a strong runner and this will be her third time going to the Olympic Trials. I have also really been trying to emulate Tanaya as she is such a calm, low-stress runner. I need to get there!   The question now is... 3 OTQ's in a row? I predict yes.

Last week I got very off-track with my core-performance workouts and my regeneration. School is kicking my little behind. I have been so busy to make sure my kiddos have a fantastic year! I have been going in to work on the weekends, which is ok with me. I can work in my classroom in my comfies with my coffee,  jamming out to Tom Petty!  So, no complaints here. I just need to learn to delegate my time better. This week my goal is to get all of my gym workouts in (unless I am feeling super fatigued)

Cooler weather, football season, I am SO READY FOR YOU!!! (30th birthday, you can come too... I have a feeling it will be a great year!)

Runningly Yours,

Hit cruise control and rubbed my eyes..

AFC!!! I finally have a free minute to write about the America's Finest City Half Marathon that I ran on Sunday, August 15th. Leading up to this race, I was super duper busy getting ready for the new school year. In a way, this distraction was probably a good thing as I didn't have time to stress and get nervous for the race. On Friday Aug. 13, after 2 weeks of prepping my classroom and meetings, I met the majority of my new first graders and their parents at "Meet The Teacher Night". It went so well, but I was SO tired when it was over. I got home that night, tried to get into 'race brain' and went to bed.We left for California on Saturday morning, ran 6 miles, ate lunch, went to the expo, drove the course, and finally arrived at the Bandido condo at around 5pm. After dinner I pretty much went right to bed!

Race day: Matt dropped us off at the elite athlete pick-up area.

The weather was PERFECT! There was some windy spots, but it was cool and cloudy. I *LOVE* California. My race plan was to get through 10 miles in 60 minutes and then try to hold on as much as I could for the remaining 5k.  The first 2 miles were rolling hills coming out of Point Loma, there was a bit of downhill after that. The rest of the course was mostly flat and fast except for the hill right at the end going into Balboa Park. Holy smoke, I didn't think I was going to make it. It was over a mile long!!!

I finished in 1:19:41. A new PR for me! I finished 8th female overall and 2nd in my age group! I was SO happy to be in the top 10!!! My team mate Susan Loken came in 9th female, we were SO excited!!!

Race results here

My Official Race Pics

My Splits:

I had the course measured a little long per my Garmin, so I probably missed the tangents. I had a 6:02 average for 13.23 miles, my official results were 6:05 for the course with their measurement of 13.1. I ran my goal, under 60 minutes for the 10 mile split and under 1:20 for the 13.1. I am SO happy with how consistent I ran- besides the wacky hill miles.

Mile 1-5:59

Mile 2- 6:05

Mile 3- 5:51

Mile 4- 5:30- downhill

Mile 5- 5:53

Mile 6- 6:04

Mile 7- 6:00

Mile 8-5:58

Mile 9- 6:02

Mile 10- 5:55

Mile 11- 6:06

Mile 12- 6:43- HILL!!! YIKES!!!

Mile 13-6:18- So hard for me to get going again as the hill tapered off during this mile.

.23- 5:52 pace

Hangin' out Post-Race:

Next I have a few weeks in the high 80's for mileage.  I am not going over 90 miles before Chicago but Coach has higher mileage planned for me leading up to Boston if all goes well in Chicago. I have a 13.1 mile time trial on my 30th birthday weekend- happy birthday to me, lol!!! My goal for that time trial is to run under 6:00 per mile for the half marathon distance. It will be a good exercise in mental strength!

So,  it is still a million degrees outside and my daily schedule is pretty much run, eat, school, eat, sleep. Rinse and repeat. I have been working really long hours this week and weekend, you would not believe how much there is to prepare for in first grade!  But, I am just trying to get as much rest as I can and am trying to be OCD about keeping germ-free!

Run strong!

Runningly Yours,

Time to move on, time to get going…

Sooo.... about that race today. Yikes.  I woke up this morning and I just did not feel excited, nervous, anxious, all of the things I usually feel before a race that get me pumped up.  I slept on the way to the race and didn't even play my good luck songs. I was just 'off'.  It showed during the 5k today. I just didn't have the urge to dig deep, or push myself to move it.  I ran an 18:20 time. 30 seconds SLOWER than last months' race. Oh well, it just wasn't my day. I also ran 80 miles this week, so I think I was tired.  But, I  have to move forward and focus on AFC. Like my BF Ter reminded me, lucky I was feeling 'off' today and not next Sunday when it really matters! (Well, I am hoping I am not 'off' next Sunday too) Now  I get to taper for AFC. I will still run 64 miles this week, but the drop in mileage will hopefully freshen those legs up!

Runningly Yours,

I did it!!!

It was a dark and stormy morning in Scottsdale, Arizona. I ran 2 miles in sane-person running shorts with Tank. Came home to drop him off and Matt offered to ride his bike with me for my last 8 miles. The lightbulb went on in my head..... I CAN TRY OUT MY BUNHUGGERS!!! It was getting ready to storm so I knew there wouldn't be too many pedestrians out. It was 5am on a Saturday, so not too many cars either. I also didn't think anyone would catcall me if the hubs was with me. The bunhuggers and I were in business.

Let me tell you, it was like wearing racing flats. I just felt faster and streamlined. I know it is in my head, but hey, whatever works. My inner Deena came out during my 7x100m strides, and I only got a *few* surprised looks from the poor elderly men on bicycles. Oh yeah, I also ran by a group of about 20 from our local running store. awesome.

But, I was wedgie free and they were super comfortable. They are on for AFC!!!

Runningly Yours,

School, racing, and bunhuggers… yep.

This last week has been busy and exciting. I am back in my classroom and have it all set up and ready for 27 new first graders. I will take a video of my room tomorrow, it's so cute! There are a million and one things I still need to do, and even though they all don't NEED to be done before the first day of school on August 16th, my type A personality will have everything set and squared away. Once those kiddos come, it will only get busier!

I ran an 80 mile week this week. I had a great 20 mile run on Thursday and I averaged a 7:16 pace. I negative split the run and the last 10 miles were sub 7 minutes or very close to being so. I also had an awesome track workout on Tuesday. I ran 10 x 800- the Yassos. MWC told me to hit 2:48 each one. They were all 2:46 or under! I was very happy with this workout. The 'theory' is that your average time for 10 Yasso 800's will be your marathon time or close to it. I don't know how valid that is, but I will go with it! I looked back at my log from February when I had this workout- the same exact one.  I ran pretty much what I ran on Tuesday, but I feel good about Tuesdays' because it was a bazillion degrees out.

On Sunday I have my last ARR summer series 5k at South Mountain. This is definitely my favorite of the 5 races, so I am excited for it and hope to PR- run under 17:50.  Next week its all meetings, all week, at work. We have meet the teacher night on Friday night and I am so excited to meet the little guys and gals! I leave for San Diego Saturday morning, race the AFC 1/2 marathon on Sunday morning, leave right after the race to come back to Phoenix and prepare for the first day of school! Whew, it will be a stressful week! I need to remember to stay hydrated and relaxed so that I don't bomb my race because of stress.

So...After summoning up a *lot* of courage, I  bought bunhuggers. Yep, the underwear looking  bottoms that runners wear. This is cute, little, Deena Kastor in them. They will *not* look as cute on me, but you get the picture! (This one is from the Boston Globe)

I consulted my teammate Susan Loken about the bunhuggers. (holy cow, she is such an amazing runner, and check out her Chances For Children!)  She told me that the main benefit of wearing them is that they make you feel fast and we need all the positive thinking we can get as we try to Olympic Trials Qualify.  She said to just make sure you can run in them without your butt jiggling out! lol! I also consulted Sally (see below post of her awesomeness) who reassured me that I was fast enough to wear them (I didn't want to look like a poser) and that I need to run a tempo run in them to make sure they feel ok. *gulp*  Well, I certainly am not doing that alone in my neighborhood or on the treadmill at the gym (OMG!) so why not try them out at AFC?  hmmm... don't know if that is the best choice, maybe I will wear them under my shorts for a few runs first.  I am such a nut.

Oh yeah, I tried them on in front of Matt with my Brooks top and he said I looked like I was part of the Brooks Swim Team. Nice.

Happy Friday everyone!

Runningly Yours,

There’s something good, waitin’ down this road!

Just returned from a lovely 4 days up in the mountains in Heber, Arizona. The weather was perfect, cloudy and cool (for us Arizonans, cool is 80 degrees.)  with some rain and thunder. Matt and I had such a wonderful time! I had a 20 miler on Sunday and it went so awesome. One of the better 20 milers I have ever had. I practiced my race day nutrition, AND negative split the run. (Second half faster than the first half) I just felt AWESOME. Matt was so wonderful and rode a bike with me everyday while I ran. It is so nice to run and not have to carry a waterbottle!

I have been having some great workouts lately and have been nailing my splits during track work. Everything is going so well! My mileage is heading upwards, I have 75 miles this week and 80 next. I have been feeling great! On Monday, I will start going  back to school to start setting up my classroom. This is always such an exciting time, but I need to make sure I am still hydrating, fueling, and resting. I tend to get so caught up in school stuff that I forget to do these things.

Happy running everyone! The summer heat is *almost* over!

Runningly Yours,

Arizona RoadRacers Summer Series #4

Last Saturday was the 4th out of 5 summer series races. It was SO hot and humid at this race. It was 95 degrees at 6:30am with the clouds keeping the humidity in. Oh well, at least the sun wasn't out! My goal was a 17:45 which would be a 5:43 pace. I ran a 17:50, a 5:45 pace for the 3.1 miles.  A new PR and my first time breaking 18 minutes! I am super happy with that considering the crappy weather!  My splits were pretty even, with my last mile being faster than the middle mile. And each time I race these shorter distances, I am feeling better and better during the race. (i.e. not feeling like I have to stop!)

Race results

Sally Meyerhoff came in first female with a 17:11! She is an amazing runner and is going for the Olympic team in the marathon. Now, not just the trials, the TEAM. I really believe she is going to do it, she is SO fast!  Check out her blog here! She is also just the nicest, most inspiring gal!

In other news, I had the dreaded 3 x 2 mile track workout yesterday. This workout has been my enemy. I mentally, have such a hard time with this workout and have not had a lot of success with it. However, yesterday I NAILED IT!!! YAY!! I had 3 x 2miles at a 6:00 pace with 4 minutes rest in between. Each set was  under my goal time! YAY!!!  Confidence in this workout is restored!

**NEW DRINK ALERT** I was getting a tad sick of having chocolate protein shakes, So I came up with this gem- 12 oz skim milk,  4 oz black cherry juice ( the pure stuff is proven to decrease tissue and muscle inflammation), a banana, 3 ice cubes just to chill it, protein powder. So good!

Happy running!

Runningly Yours,