I love burpees

started the day teaching core fushion - didn't do most of it

Well today was great and not so great.  i wanted to run the course for the sand hollow marathon and get a feel for the hills.  i started at mile 5 where it turns off the main rd. 

So i started out and i was simply amazed how great my legs felt. i'm running the lake to lake relay this weekend and knew my miles weren't going to be more than 10 then.  so i wanted a semi long one.  Anyhow, i was easily running 7:30 -7:40 - which is always a shock the week after running a race.  The hill the leads to nemisis felt pretty long, and i'll have to be mindful that it's longer than it looks.  i charged down nemisis, and ran the rolling hills in sand hollow.  I love it!  my legs were flying.  i was just cruising up the hills at 7:10, and was hardlly breathing. 

At mile 8 i turned around and that's where things went not so great.  I started getting a pain in my side - it felt familiar cause that is what i had felt on sat during miles 9-13 of my race.  i thought it had been a side ache.  it was now apparent that i had done something to my ab muscles on my right side.  too much turbokick and zumba??? i don't know. 

anyways, so the pain increased as i ran, and at several points i had to stop and walk.  when i massaged it, i could get it to go away for a bit. when i ran uphill it went away.  it got worse on downhills (abs stretching out more).  By mile 14 i was pretty frustrated, but last 2 miles felt ok.  it was there but bearable.  I still managed to finish with a few 7:10s.  my miles 9-11 were 7:40s and then nemisis was 8:20ish.  13-16 were low 7s again.  So i was very happy about my fitness level today - especially post race and up hills!  I wasn't planning to push my pace today, but had just gone with what i felt.  I am very worried about the ab pain.  I can't tell if its the rectus abdominus, or obliques, but it'sjust on the right side in the middle.  it was bad enough to make me stop a few times.

7:30 average pace today

i trained big loser contestants, and then taught my class afterwards.  the pain seemed manageable and i didn't think to much of it.  hopefully it's not bad!  i plan on taking tomorrow off of running

iced and massaged the part that hurts on abs - brrr - seems to be 2 spots.

I woke up today and realized that i was supposed to sub a turbokick class - dang it.  so much for taking a rest day.

abs bugged me at times but not horribly.  They felt worse afterward than they did beforeand kind of ached all day.  after icing  several times and pounding the ibuprofen, they feel much better.  i'm worried about the relay this weekend - though i'll only run it if i'm feeling ok.  i've got to remember it's not as important as my marathon!

On a side note, i put a wrap around my belly - kind of corset - like - and tried running back and forth in the back yard.  it seemed fine, though i obviously couldn't breathe as well.  I'm going to get a sub for zumba, and then bike tomorrow.  i may try wrapping it to keep it warm and compressed and then running a few miles to see if it's ok.  I really don't think the ab tear is extremely serious because i'm still able to do so much with little pain.  hopefully good news tomorrow.

Yay!  i ran today!  it was on the treamill, and the first 2 miles were super slow, but i wrapped my abs and went for it.  I could feel them at times, but definitely not jarring like tuesday.  i sped the last few miles up (8 min, 7:30, 7:00, 6:30, 6:08) to see how they were doing at faster speed.  seems to be ok, so i'm staying on for the relay.

I decided that i was going to get it done today, even if i did have to wrap abs again - (ugh makes it hard to breathe).  Jim didn't have to be to work til 10, so i was in heaven being able to get my workout in without my kids.  I had 2.5 hrs before he'd drop isaac off, and i wanted to let my abs rest from running a little more. soooo i did a little triathlon.  i got .75 miles of swimming in, then jumped out to go to renee's spin class.  i was not positioned on the bike right, cause my knee and hip felt awful.  i kept having to stop and stretch it out.  soo, i don't feel like i pushed very hard, but did get an hour in.  i ran out of time at the end and only got 2 miles of running in around the track. abs were there, but not too bad.

met up with my ladies to decorate the van and discuss strategy for tomorrow's race.  i didn't think we'd have to try too hard to win tomorrow. little did i know......

Lake to Lake relay!!!!  I was looking forward to a stress free race day today, and hanging out with some fun girls:) 

I started my day today at 5 am with very little sleep (thank u evan and isaac for your middle of the night play session that kept me awake).  I dragged myself out of bed at 5 am to be at Ambers' by 6.  We wanted to run a little before, but it didn't happen. We were too busy striping our faces, using our hair dye, and just getting ready.  i loved how it looked at the end:)  we were the red sheebraz (zebras - get it), though we did have people ask us if we were cats????? we must have been really drunk drawing on those whiskers.

so my team did so great that day!  the start was fast, but kari kept up the ladies. brooke also ran a great split.  we got a couple warm up miles in which made me happy.  but  by leg 3, amber had some work to do. she really put us in a good position - it didn't look like any teams were going to be too competitive.  i just wanted to have fun, get some kills, and run some good tempo miles.  i wore my ab wrap for my leg cause it was so downhill and those seemed to hurt it the worst.  it did constrict breathing a little, but glad i wore it.  i ran these legs last year in the same race, but my computer crashed sometime last year and didn't have the times to compare it to:(  i do remember that on this particular leg i had averaged in the 6:20s, so i had a goal of beating that.  this leg was gradual downhill, so i pushed myself a little.  here r my splits

1 - 6:15 - a little uphill in there

2 - 6:07

3- 6:02

4 -6:09 - flattens out

5 -6:09

.19 - 5:37

6:08 average

I was pretty pleased with my splits cause it was pushing me, but i didn't get any leg tiredness.  this really tells me that i'm already in a much better position than i was last year;) 

michelle took it away and killed it of course. we were way ahead and everyone was looking good til leg 6.  poor kari took a wrong turn, and ended up adding almost 5 miles onto her 4 mile leg.  We knew after 40 min had gone by that something was wrong.  we just had to sit and wait til she figured it out cause it was all on trail - we wouldn't be able to find her anyways.  after 1 hr and 20 min, amber went looking.  thankfully she eventually came in, but we had given up on the idea of first place.  amazingly she had still kept her determination  The next team had came and gone at least 30 min before then. 

but there was always hope, so we started our second legs with new determination.  Brooke made up some good time, and then amber busted out another great leg as well.  we were gaining on people we thought had been long gone.  By the time amber finished leg 8, we were back in 2nd place!  The blue team had left right when we had gotten there, so they had a good 8-10 min on us still.  i had the "hardest" leg, though it really didn't feel too bad.  i drank a 5 hour energy right before and wonder if that helped???  not sure what the % grade on that was (at least 10% is my guess), but it was pretty steep - and bumpy!  i did have fun trying to avoid sprain an ankle from all the deep ruts in the dirt. at one point on the hill i looked down and i was in the 6:40s.  wow, wasn't expecting that.  i didn't really feel the uphill til the last part of my leg where it has a longer hill that seems to have stretched on. 

1 - 6:45 - up that hill - happy bout that;)

2 - 6:50

3 - 6:26 - rolling hills - still in the dirt

4 - 6:48

5 - 6:51

so average 6:43 - last year i know that was in the 7:20 range - though we did have wind then.

when i got in i found out that blue team was now only 3 min and 40 sec ahead of us.  really!  we were pretty sure michelle would catch her, but stacy (their runner) was holding her own and fighting for it.  they started going around the lake and then we couldn't watch any more.  in those last 2 miles, michelle beat her and victory was oh so sweet.  the day had been so much more challenging and so fun!  go team sheebraz!

i had some good talks with some great runners, and am inspired to do more and be even more committed. 

 first thing is, i need a training schedule.  i  don't know what to follow, or what to do this year.  right now i'm focused on a getting a good time (and place) at the sand hollow marathon.  yes it will be a pretty challenging course, but i think it's do-able. i don't know if a sub 3 hour will be possible on that course cause of the monstrous hill at mile 18, but i would love to get a 3:05 or better.  that would be fabulous.  3:10  would be great.  i am confident that i can beat my time at st. george marathon.    3 weeks baby!

secondly, after my chat with michelle and amber, i'm realizing i need to change my mental thinking about what's possible for me to acheive.  i know sometimes i stand in my own way.  i has some great splits today, and prob could have held that pace for a while.  i'm going to work on setting higher goals and working harder for them. 

soooo, im inspired and tired today - i need  a nap.  great day though

only 1 hr of zumba today - had brother in town and got some subs for my classes

cholla creek trail - ouch this hurt today!  the wind was blowing too and going right through my clothes. so i was planning on 11 or 12 miles today, but i ran too slow and got 10 in.  i used it as a recovery run and just did what i could do.  by last 2 miles my legs loosened up a little.

taught core fusion and then strength at night.

didn't make it to spin cause brother was visiting, but got 8 miles in on the treadmill at night.  so glad i did!  I had a massage early in the day, and my legs were definitely sore from it.  I'm trying to hit over 50 miles this week, so hopefully i do it!

I'm excited to run with the club on thursday and saturday.  i need a little push from some fast guys.

I ran with the race team today, and it was a great run!  Mostly anyways.  i knew i might b in trouble cause i hadn't ate lunch until 2 and we left at 5.  But it was great push, and running with them made the middle paces feel a little easier. 

Well i was going to treat this run like a tempo run, though it was just a recovery run for everyone else:)We gradually sped up, and by mile 4 or 5 we were running in the high 6 s.  they started bringing it in at mile 6, and i tried to stay with them.  i felt really free and solid that mile (6:08) but then my stomach officially sta having problems, and i couldn't push through it (or find a bathroom).  i slowed to 6:26, and then 6:28 for last 2.5 miles.   so slower than i wanted it to be that day, but it was great to have the company and people to push me.

I had to train someone and then head to teach zumba after that - i was wiped out.  my tummy was still hurting and i had zero energy!  a lot of faking it.

Swam .75 of mile with monica, and then went of a run in perfect weather outside.  a nice slow recovery run.  it felt amazing:)

swim workout - w/up 20 laps, alternate slow, med, fast laps

a nap today is high priority!  i'm so wiped.

I got more than 50 miles in this week and i'm totally happy with that!  with my crazy schedule that's a huge accomplishmeent.  For Utah Valley marathon i'm going to shoot for 60's and 70's when i'm not training so many clients.

K so I'm happy with today's run.  Met up with the guys on the race team, and amber and ran 20 miles.  10 easy pace and 10 tempo (well 9 then i jogged the last one in).  we averaged 7:30 on the first 10, then 6:40 on the next half.  It's been so great running with the guys and amber cause they keep a great pace.  we lost them when they sped up of course, but amber kept me going.  I was surprised how solid i felt the whole time - now that i know the course i'd like to push it even harder next time, but i was really happy about our pace.  It never felt too hard, and was good for me mentally.  by mile 19 i could feel it in my gluteal region ( a few hills on this), and it started to feel a little stiffer.  we pushed in with a 6:20 something on the last mile.  Anyways, I'm feeling ready for my first marathon of the year!

halfway in i started to feel that spot on my abs, but as long as i focused on not leaning back,especially downhills, it didn't get worse.  it's sore today, but i'll massage and ice and hopefully it's fine.  if i can make 20, i  can make 26.

I had some gatorade and 2 gels on this run - though i could've used more. 

zumba, turbokick, zumba  - 3 hours - cardio

I was really excited to run in the beautifual weather today!

i started out with core class, and made them do a little more pilates and yoga.  it felt good to stretch out a bit myself.  Lots of balance and ball work - so my core muscles got worked!

I finally got out to run at 12 - my neighbor volunteered to watch my kids  - otherwise it would've been all on the dreadmill.

I ran towards la verkin through cholla creek and stopped on 3 different steep hills.I ran 800m up, 800 m jog at the top, and then 800 m back down the hill. My first, steepest hill up averaged a 6:55, 2nd was 6:49, and 3rd was 6:48.  On the downhills, i averaged 5:30, 5:23, and then the 3rd less steep hill was 5:48.  I got pretty worried cause my downhill sprints  were making my abs hurt again.  on the 2nd hill, it even felt like it was twinging.  By the time i got down, it was a little hard to breathe and i had to massage it a bit.  ahhhh. My abs were sore the rest of the time, but not too horribly.  got to call april and have her work it out.

So 11 miles in today.  My regular pace seemed pretty slow today - it was slow!  Don't know why.  I need someone to push me i guess.

I trained my 2 big loser contestants at night, and then taught flex.  I'm getting good at not doing most of it since my body was already exhausted!

I went to see april today to massage my abs instead of going to spin - I'm so glad i did.  She quickly found that my obliques were not in the fan shape they were supposed to be, but all twisted up.  Sooo, after a painful 30 min, she managed to get them normal.  She said my back on the opposing side was also extremely tight and was pulling my hip on that side higher.  Hopefully it's all good now.

Got a nap in with the kids and felt ready to go for my run when jim got home.

Today was supposed to be recovery, but man i again felt sooo slow.  I didn't feel slow in my body, but when i looked down at my pace several times, i couldn't believe it was that bad.  I guess my body needed that pace today, so i averaged 8:10.  I ran the watertower trail, and then finished up around toquerville.  I'm doing tempo tomorrow, so hopefully the break i gave my body will be worth it.

abs were sore from the massage - they didn't seem to get worse during my run.  i could feel them, but it wasn't jarring.  hopefully they r ok.

got up this morning and just felt like running.  ran 2.5 miles on the tread

club run at night.  It was fun laughing with steve, amber, and aaron, and challenging running into the wind.  averages were higher, but i figure it was because of that. i definitely didn't have enough to eat that day, and my stomach was still bugging.  I need to figure this out!

sped up the last 3.5 miles or so.  i forgot my watch but amber ran a 6:30, and then a 6:10 with me.  i felt like i kept low 6's for the rest, and caught up to steve and aaron by the end.  My abs started hurting a bit on the last mile but not bad.

abs did, however, really hurt by the end of zumba that night.  dang it!!!!

rest day today.  k t taped my abs.  april thinks i strained them, and they are hard suckers to heal.  i will run tomorrow with an ab wrap on and see how it feels. 

One week until the marathon!  I'm actually excited and confident for this one.  now if my abs will just hold up....

I ran my last longer run until the marathon today.  I started from the marathon start, and did an out and back on the course.  I wanted to keep a steady pace, and throw in a couple of miles at marathon pace.  Well lucky for me today the wind was blowing at me for the first half.  no seriously  I was actually glad for it cause i wanted to mentally prepare myself that this is what it could be like next week.  the weather isn't looking too happy for next saturday, which usually means wind for sand hollow.  so if there is wind, i'm hoping we get it blowing at us for the first half.   When i turned around today i just flew!  so i averaged 7:29 today, and then did a 6:40 and a 6:34 for my marathon pace miles.  They felt easy:)

 I was hoping that by wrapping my abs, they wouldn't hurt.  it may have helped prolong it, but i could really feel them (painful) at mile 10. And i don't know what it is, but it always starts at mile 9.  well i made myself push through, and by mile 11 they had eased.  they were prob just inflammed at that point, but i think they will b able to hold out for the marathon.  i'll rest after that.  hoping that taper miles will help them to heal next week too.  this problem started when i started running in my new shoes (kinveras)  and i'm wondering how that could have caused it.  too much too soon in them?  I run once a week in them, but everytime i have since that race it's made it worse. i love them though! 

I woke up 3 am sick to my stomach.  ahhhh. threw a few times the next day and absolutely could not teach.  hopefully the rest is all good and helpful.

woke up still not feeling great...got a sub for my core class.

by the time night came around, i was ok.  got on the tread and did 8 miles, 2 at marathon pace.  i had my ab wrap on, but don't know if it helped or not.  obliques were a little sore by the end. 

kids now have my flu:(  lots of snuggling with them today and lots of rest for me:)  i massaged my abs a ton and got them to feel a bit better.  I went out and ran 4 miles just to get out, and everything felt good.  abs are a little sore again, so will dig into them tomorrow again.  can i do a marathon when they are in this condition?

I went to the chiro today and he got everything adjusted.  then i had hubby massage my back.  i really think my problem is coming from tight obliques in the back.  it was mighty painful.  I will really have to take it easy next week to get these things to heal.

I decided to run the marathon, but will have my husband check on me a couple of times to see if i want to finish. this marathon isn't worth injuring myself further.  I'm also hoping my lost fluids from the last couple days won't kill me.  I want to take it easy the next couple days - may not even run.

taught zumba tonight with half effort - good news abs were ok. I had my hubby massage my back (obliques) last night, and it seemed to have helped the abs, but back is way sore. I think that's what's causing the ab pain.

So i still cant believe i'm running a marathon on saturday! i haven't exactly rested as much as i could, or mentally prepared really. Maybe that will be really good in the long run cause i won't stress about it and will just go run. Maybe tomorrow it will hit me a little more.

rest day - wanted to get out and run a couple but got too busy

i apologize beforehand for the long race report.  This entry is not for the faint of heart, i'm just warning ya.

What a day!  The good news first.  Today's course was tough, and i walked away feeling good about it.  Even though there weren't a ton of racers today, i pushed myself and feel way  good about my race prospects for the rest of the year!

I knew last night that there wasn't going to be many ladies that would be tough competition.  My friend aimee is always tough, and i knew i'd have to keep my eye on her. But i decided to just try and run strong no matter what.  I had good, better, best time goals to meet.  since st george marathon was a disaster, i just had to beat that time (3:13). better would be sub 3:05, and best would be sub 3:00.  

 I had the flu earlier in the week, but had felt good the past couple of days and got lots of rest.  i was excited for this marathon though cause i love the course, and i was feeling strong everytime i ran it.

I didn't get the sleep i wanted cause jim was camping and i had to get the kids to bed on my own.  i had to foam roll everything and massage my abs cause i wasn 't feeling terribly fresh.  But lack of sleep never seems to get to me, and i felt ready when i woke up at 6 am.  The race started at 7:30, and it felt great to start it a little bit later.  I didn't get much of a warm up in, but the pace felt good after starting.  i wore my race singlet, capris, arm warmers, and compression socks, but the only thing that was freezing was my hands (the whole time).  Weather was in the 40s to 50s for the whole race.  The rain that we got later on certainly didn't help. 

I started out running the first 4 miles with steve hooper, and then he pulled away a little ( i love that this was his "training run")  I wanted to try and stay with him, but i wanted to make sure i could make it back and was being cautious with my ab injury.  There weren't any ladies around for a while, just a couple running center guys (james holt was behind for a while and joe (i think) out in front) and steve.  i pretty much ran on my own the whole time, and honestly really liked it.  It was great scenery and i loved just going into my little world on my run.  Had stomach problems after mile 8 - grrrr.  turned out to be more than i thought.

so here r my splits

miles 1-6 - terrain was slightly uphill to flat - pace felt pretty effortless

6:38 , 6:45, 6:31, 6:35, 6:43, 6:46

mile 7 - 6:50 first climb - hill was long but gradual - maybe 6-7% incline - kept my pace up it

mile 8-6:28 downhill -nemisis -  definitely could have cruised down it but held back cause thats what tends to bother my abs - pains were coming and going in my abs but never stayed - yay!

miles 9-11    6:40, 6:46, 7:19 -  legs still feeling good on the rolling hills, but, i started to have weird stomach problems. it wasn't my ab muscles, but felt like it was right underneath them.  i was also getting some runner's stomach (dangit) and knew a potty brake was imminent soon.  so that came at mile 11 - my hands were so cold it made the process slower than i wanted.  anyhow, thats why it was 7:19.

miles - 12-13        6:53, 6:46 - half marathon time was 1:28 - i was stoked and still feeling strong with the exception of stomach probs, got a drive by visit from my honey and felt reinvigorated

miles 14 - 16         6:53, 7:00, 7:06 - ouch  - hills are rollling up more than down and stomach is not feeling good - weird stomach pain getting worse along with runner's stomach - - the next girl is at least 2 miles behind me

miles -17-7:11  bathroom stop # 2, i made it snappy

mile - 18 - 8:31 THE WALL - seriously felt like i was running up one going up nemisis.  I don't know the % incline on that but it was nasty.  at one point my watch said 9 min mile!

mile 19 -20   6:43, 7:06 - got my legs moving again - terrain goes down then  up

mile 21 - 8;04 bathroom stop # 3 - felt sorry for the guy behind me as this was not a porta potty stop - emergency:(  i officially had no shame at the point - i did warn him though

miles 22 - 26    7:23, 7:13, 7:00, 7:06 - This was supposed to be slightly downhill into town, but didn't feel like it!  The rain had started pouring, and i was chilled to the bone.  If felt like i had weights on my legs but i was still moving.  Amber's word, Courage, kept going through my head.  i was wanting to slow so badly but kept going:)

mile .2 6:01 ran it in.  Felt great to take first!

I took gels at 5, 9, 13, 17, 23 - felt like i had plenty of water with it

that's part 1 of my day

Part 2 - I went in the building. and stomach immediately starts getting worse.  i tried to chug down some soda, and water, but it made it worse.  i wanted to wait around for friends to come in and awards ceremony, but i was about ready to lose it in many ways.  i got my sweet sandstone arch trophy (thank u) and $100 to classic sports (double thank u!). 

Got home, and things went downhill...fast. i was shaking from being so cold from the rain and went against my better judgement with a hot bath.  sorry but this is a tad gorey.  turn back now if you have a sensitive stomach! i was feeling pretty nauseated, but food and water were making everything hurt so much worse. Well to skip all gorey details, i ended up on the bathroom floor in the fetal position waiting for an ambulance to come.  my father in law had called cause i wasn't exactly functioning.  i would have protested but didn't have a choice. it felt like i was passing a kidney stone or something like it.  i have had pretty nasty runner's stomach before but this was worse.  Lets just say there was blood where there shouldn't have been.

so ambulance came (oh my gosh.....so embarrassing!!!) They had to coax me to get on the stretcher, and had a painful ride to the hospital.  by the time i got there, the i.v., antinausea, and pain meds had helped a bit.  the pain had been going for 5 hours, and they gave me a heavy duty stronger than morphine pain releiver and i felt like crying from the relief. 

I spent 7 hours at the hospital, getting many ivs and tests.  they determine that i had tears in the section of my colon that is in my upper abdomen, and that everytime food and water was passing through it, i was experiencing that pain.  i was extremely dehydrated on top of that. What caused it?  The doc said that i was probably down and out still from my flu earlier in the week.  throwing up and looseness, shall i say, can cause tears in the colon if they are bad.  Well they prob would've healed on their own, but the marathon made it worse.  it wasn't getting the blood flow that it needed to heal during the run, and it just made it worse.  then anytime food, water, gel, whatever were pushed through, i was in pain.  and i got so dehydrated cause i didn't drink enough cause it hurt. ok, so enough of the grossness!

2 crappy post marathon experiences in a row make me not want to do anymore dang it.  if anyone has input on other fueling options than gel in marathons, i would love to hear them.  I think it gives me stomach aches in races.  and i can't eat things while i run. i got dehydrated at st george, but felt like i had enough water this time during the race. i would love suggestions on runner's stomach solutions so i can feel confident in running another marathon without dying after its over!

good news is, recovery should be pretty easy.  it prob shouldn't take longer than the next week to heal things internally!

So great day, crappy day

quads are still sore, and still feeling nauseous. took the day off.

Got up and taught core fusion today - ooh legs were sore!  I hadn't foam rolled or stretched since the marathon - it really makes a difference.

I ran 4 really easy miles at a 9 min mile on the tread, and quads were definitely feeling it.  i wanted to do 5, but 4 felt like enough today.  I'm really trying to take it easy this week and listen to my body.

I trained my contestants, and taught flex tonight.  My right knee was bugging a little, but i think it was just my it band acting up.  Will definitely roll on the softball tonight!

I still wanted to give my abs and legs more of a break, so i decided to swim today. I felt good to push myself using different muscles. Today i swam for a mile,and then ran 3 miles around the indoor track at the rec. that's about all i had time for today. hopefully i can get a few more miles in tomorrow. I am enjoying the break though!

Ran the water tower loop today in the beautiful 75 degrees.  I started out without a plan cause i didn't know how my stomach would do.  And i ran pretty easy - 8:30 average.  Well stomach did start to bug after the first couple of miles, and it was off and on from there.  It was definitely bearable.  Its so hard to know when you can push and when you cant!  So by the end, i was doing ok, but not super happy about it.  i decided i was going to see the doc the next day.  I think the E.R. didn't get everything right, cause this pain feels an awful lot like my good old ulcer....except worse.  It's in the same spot - middle/upper stomach into the esophagus.  It makes me nauseous, and sometimes hard to breathe.  oh dear.

Taught zumba at night, and got through half of my class before my stomach was burning.  It would go off and on, but all the ab crunching and ab movement was doing a number on it.  Stopped by walgreens on the way home and picked up some peptid ac.  If it's ulcer this should help.