No Turning Back!

It's really spring now!

In the last day or two, the green leaves have started to break out and it doesn't matter anymore that there's a forecast of 7 inches of snow on Tuesday, it's spring and that's all we know, that's all that matters! We're moving forward.



Yesterday I did an easy ten miles at the lakes, I needed some time to be alone in my thoughts, and an easy run where there was no one to push me.

It didn't really look like spring yet at the lakes, nothing was very green, and there was fresh snow on Longs Peak and the Mummy Range.



This morning, I met Wheaties Boy at the cemetery to do a 15 mile tempo run. I started off a little stiff and sore after the past few days of trail running and a hard mile on the bike path on Thursday. But after a few laps, my pace came down into the 8s and even though I was pushing it, I wasn't hurting too bad. My legs were more sore than tired.

We wrapped up 15 miles in 2:10, a nice 8:40 average talking pace on the dirt surface of the cemetery, with my final mile in 7:52, without working too hard. When you feel refreshed but not dead after a workout, you know it's a good one.

I've needed some kind of confidence booster lately, as I've been struggling so hard since Delano. Now I feel like a two week taper with a lot of good, solid rest is all I need. I got a total of 75.8 miles this past week which didn't kill me. Anything I do from here on out isn't going to help me get fitter, and doing too much can only hurt me. So I'm done, just easy jogging, keep the legs fresh, from now until Ohio, and avoid the dreaded taperworm.

I have a plan for North Coast, and I'm going to stick to it. It starts out SUPER CONSERVATIVE. I'm actually going to look like I'm dragging ass out there for the first 6 hours. But I'm pretty sure if I take the opposite approach of what I took at Delano, I'll have a successful performance. And I'm very excited to be wearing my Team PI gear for the first time in a race!


Plus today Wheaties Boy let me try one of the chocolate cherry Clif Shots with mega caffeine and I thought it was the best tasting gel ever. I'm going to use those during North Coast instead of relying solely on my usual Starbucks doubleshot espresso, because I usually end up needing a trip to the bathroom soon after the doubleshots, I'm slightly lactose intolerant.



The leaves are coming, flowers are blooming, and typical of Colorado, it's supposed to snow in the next 24 to 48 hours. Spring. Bring it on!

Work Hangover Wednesday: Heat Wave!

This is no hot flash, it's a heat wave!

Work was slow this week, I ended up getting downstaffed on Tuesday and got home at mid-afternoon. So at least I wasn't as completely wiped out by today as I usually am. It was a good week for it to be slow, for me.

I felt so irritable this week. Sometimes things just get under my skin. I think it's hormones. Really, that's not just an excuse I'm using, for being a bitch. I feel very much on edge and have little patience for bullshit. When I'm like that, it's better not to have to deal with the public.

Usually I'd be running my tempo run with Wheaties Boy tonight but he's starting his new job at Pearl Izumi and had to be there tonight, so I did my tempo run this morning. I didn't sleep well at all last night, and woke up at 8 am today. I couldn't get my butt out the door until 10, with the girls, and then I headed over to the cemetery to do tempo.

It was nearly 40 degrees when I went out the door and 50 when I got home. As I left the neighborhood I was pleased to see this big grader/skidder/whatever you call it...heavy equipment moving down the street, I don't know what that thing is called- the Great Antarctic Ice Sheet remover? Whatever it's called, I was happy to see it. Maybe the city finally got wise to the fact that our entire neighborhood is a skating rink.

The cemetery is tricky because the loop is only 0.98 miles and I used my GPS to determine exact whole miles, so I ended up running a little bit extra as a result. It makes it a challenge to know where the exact mile mark is, but I can hear my phone talking to me with the Map My Run app.

During my run, I was still cold, even though the air is so much warmer than it's been lately. I wore capri tights and one long sleeved shirt, though I did wimp out mid-run and put my Moeben sleeves and gloves on. I got a total of 13 miles with 9 of those miles at tempo pace, one mile in 7:33, 5 miles from 7:45-7:55 and then dying at the end in 8:36 pace average for the last 3.

It's hard to push myself by myself, but I can do it. It does help to run with someone faster. But I guess it's learning that mental toughness for speed again. I wouldn't exactly call what I'm doing speed. But it is, relative to the 10 minute miles I used to run.

I tried taking a nap, but no luck. I went out for another 6 miles tonight with the group at Runners Roost and we averaged 8 1/2 minute miles, so at least I wasn't completely dragging my butt all day.

Tomorrow is the groundbreaking event for the Cancer Center, I'll have to squeeze my runs in around that, but I'll make it work.