I'm not crazy...I'm just bored!!

Legs still sore and cussing me when I walk, so I decided to play it safe and not run. I want to, but I think I might just do too much damage if I run. Darn recovery. Another low mileage week I guess.

Got up early (despite wanting to sleep) to meet some friends for a bike ride. Well, they'd said the wrong meeting place, but when I got back home and looked on FB I figured it out. They were climbing Rose Canyon though, so I figured I'd just bike from home and meet them. They were right at the end of my street when I got there - perfect. Then on the way back I'd said I was going to cut through the neighborhood and grab my water. Due to traffic they couldn't turn when I did, then lost me and waited, but waited at the wrong spot. So, I was chasing them while they were waiting for me. Finally at a point along Bacchus when I could see a good stretch I knew they weren't in front of me. I waited and saw them coming behind. So, I totally ditched them. What a crazy ride! Anyway, then we finished at Herriman HS and all went our separate ways home. I did a big loop home and finished with 21.0 miles. No pace, because I stopped the watch and forgot to start it, so I was about 7 miles behind that on my garmin. poo. Oh well. At least my legs feel functional now.

Heaven Help Me. I probably shouldn't have run this, but well I did. My legs are still sore and fatigued and my legs gave me the proverbial finger when I started running! I did loosen up a bit, but overall - ugghhh, it was a mental test for sure. 

I'd told the other Newtons there this morning that I was finally going to get to see my old friends - the 9mm paces - again today. They tried their darndest to make sure that didn't happen. The closest I got was 8:56. I was still WAAAAY behind everyone in the group. Dang Newtons. They're like gravity (hence the name) - always pulling you just a little bit faster. I can't wait until I reach terminal velocity! :)

There was, however, always one of them that was willing to slog along in the back with me. I was grateful for the company, but wasn't good company myself. Too much cardio effort to really chat much. I just wanted it done after about mile 3.

AP: 8:34; splits 8:56, 8:31, 8:33, 8:40, 8:55, 8:46, 8:26, 8:10, 8:26, 8:18

I think tomorrow...I'll bike.

Holy Hannah! Seriously, I don't know what possessed me to do this, but I did it. One down...a lifetime to go. I rode Suncrest. Not just once. A double traverse. 

A group of riders sent out an invite to ride from Riverton to Suncrest (up the Draper side) then over to Alpine/Lehi, turn and go back. I thought it would be a good alternative for a killer workout since my legs aren't liking me running on them lately. 

I was done by the time we got to the Chevron at the BOTTOM of Suncrest. But, I do what I set out to do...so I plugged along. You can't stop pedaling. Nope. You will die and never be able to start again. So, the only option was to keep going. I've run suncrest before and honestly I wanted to get off the stupid bike and just run it up...it would probably have been faster!! But...I couldn't stop :)

When I finally got to the top I wanted to yell out like an amazon, but I refrained - and did it inside :) Then, we went down the backside. Oh yeah...easy ride! The bottom came too quickly. At Timp Highway we turned and went back up. It was then I'd decided I didn't want to go down the back side and back up, but just the one ascent was good. Darn. Too little too late. The Alpine side was manageable and I could actually talk a little on the way up. Maybe I was warmed up too, but it wasn't nearly as bad as the Draper side!!! The last hill climb to the top was the worst. I just wanted it done. Then, we got the free ride down. Wheeee!

We went back a different way...down 14600S to 1300W, up the S curve then back to the cars. 30 miles. The longest I've ever ridden! My bike butt will be sore tomorrow :) Good thing I'm only running!!! I'm really excited that I was able to tackle this and just get it done. Now I feel like I can do anything! I may be slow, but hey...I get it done.

Legs actually feel better now and I almost want to go run :) too bad I have to work. Running will wait until tomorrow.

I'm getting some killer miles in this week...whatever. I guess it is all in the name of recovery, but the numbers sometimes get to me. I'm still feeling tired legs, not much soreness, but the ride yesterday probably didn't help the tired legs issue. I also have a couple little aches that aren't resolving how I'd like them to, so more rest (sleep) and less muscle/impact on the legs = swimming tomorrow. 

Met the Newtons for our Urban Trail Loop. We had a good little crowd there and had a good time discussing the benefits and drawbacks to the new Obesity medication that was just FDA approved. On NPR on the way home they said "diet and exercise aren't effective." What the...what?!? man alive...anyway, back to running. 

I forgot to switch the garmin from biking mode after yesterday, so this run was a 'bike' on the garmin. Thus, no splits - just an AP, which kind of bums me out. I really think I had some 9's in there this morning!! Now, I don't get to see them :) But, I enjoyed my time the last couple miles just running with Christine and getting to know her better. I let the boys duke it out for the win today.

AP: 8:52

**********************RHPC RUN*********************

If any of you would like, you're more than welcome to do the RHPC (Red Hot Pink Chicks run on July 7th. Just a fun get together, down on the Provo River Parkway. We're planning on starting at 6:30 from the Riverview Park in Orem/Provo. We do a half distance, but there will be no markings or whatever...so do what you want (more or less). We have a pot-luck feast afterward if you'd like to bring anything to share. We will provide paper products and a big jug of water at the end, but no trail support. If you want more details let me know and I'll happily provide them. Oh, and guys...you are more than welcome, hey even ENCOURAGED to attend. IF you can handle the pink :)

This week is more like RADswimming and RADbiking :) So, since my calf wasn't too happy yesterday the last couple miles I decided to be nice. I haven't hit the pool like I should, but figured it was no big deal. So, since I had a free day and hubby home (we're jetting off for camping here quickly) I thought I'd go and swim. 

I did some math a figured out the IM swim is 3.86KM or 4221.3 yds. Since all our pools are yd pools I needed to figure out how many yds I'd be swimming at the half IM in August....I wanted to do a timed test swim (no stopping!). So, 1/2 of 4221.3 is 2110.65, then it is easier for me to keep track in touches (25yds, not a full lap - just a length), so divide that by 25 and I got 84.4 'touches'. Ahhh, perfect. I'll do 85 and call it good.

I started out at the pool and the first 20 flew by. BUT, by 40 my goggles were hurting my head SO bad I had a headache and felt like my head was going to implode. I needed to fix them. In order to simulate my IM swim I didn't 'stop' time or swimming, but in the deep end I took my goggles off, and dog paddled to the other end (no touching the bottom! I'm in the middle of the lake :) ) - still moving. I did this back as well to give my head a little extra break, then got back at it.

Just before 60 they pulled the lap lanes. Crap, crap, crappy crap. I ended up stopping at 60 and having to walk over to the other side of the pool to swim the 'short' way. I asked the guard and he said it was 22yds not 25. poo. So, I watched time and it was one minute exactly before I got swimming again. As I swam I figured out I'd need to do 3 laps and 9 yds extra to make up for the shorter distance. Well, I had 1/2 a 'touch' I'd added on, so I could throw the 9yds into that 1/2 a touch and just add 3 more. Poo. 88 now instead of 85. I was getting tired.

My face and  hurt, my throat was dry (too much breathing out no water in) and I wanted to throw up. I was SO done. I just kept thinking of feeling like that in the middle of the lake with no where to stop...had to carry on. I did do one more goggle rest/dog paddle lap as well (around 70). Then, the last 8 touches I could finally see the light and I picked up speed to just get done! Best 300 EVER! :) When I finished I was at 45:30, so taking away the minute for the detour I did 44:30 - almost exactly the 45 min I'd predicted. Now, to move up from that!

Things I learned in the pool today - I need new goggles. Ones that don't hurt my head. Secondly, I need more endurance work in the pool. I can get through 1/2 the swim no problem, but around the 2/3rds mark I really struggle. The end is always better, because it is the end. But, I need to get more used to swimming without stopping and breaks.

Very wonderful, educational day in the pool. No running workout by any means, but a day when you learn and grow in any sport is a good day!

Oh, and as a side note...this half IM isn't going to be as 'easy' as I thought! People that complete full IMs....holy whoa, they are awesome!

Ever have a destination run? Somewhere you've always thought would be awesome to run? Well, the first time I remember going to Logan (just a few years ago - when I was a wee baby runner) I passed Mantua lake and thought "Man! I'd love to live here and wake up and run around that lake every morning. It is just gorgeous up here!" 

Every year we go on a campout with my hubby's family and this year we were at Box Elder CG - just about a mile away from Mantua Lake (reservoir). I wasn't going to miss this for all the fire in the world...oh wait, I almost did! :) I'd figured out the lake was 4 miles around on map my run - and that there was a nice running path around the lake, bonus! It looked a little tricky to get there from the campground, but figured I'm not directionally challenged and had 11 miles to burn to get there for at least ONE loop around. 

As we left about 3PM Friday afternoon we saw the first wisps of smoke from the fire. As we drove away (stopping a couple places on the way out of town) the sheer numbers of fire crews passing us and the billowing smoke was enough to start calling neighbors and getting on Herriman city's FB page. When we got to the campground I was about ready to turn around and go home, the evacuation area was 2 blocks West - but extended past us Northward. I live at the end of a dead end street...where there is a nice dry field, connected to the evac areas. If the fire jumped Rose Canyon Rd and headed North we'd be right next to the fire, because that field would be gone in a matter of seconds. This freaked me out the most. Thankfully, calls and texts from neighbors kept me dealing with things and some logical reasoning from my husband and some peaceful prayer helped calm me down and we decided to stay put. This didn't stop me from being glued to hubby's phone on FB all night (frustrating, because I couldn't see all MY friends stuff and comment, but still at least able to see news and city reports). The last call I got was around 9PM and my neighbor told me it looked like it had settled and she was no longer worried at all...and it all had stayed South. The only problem was, that by this time they'd thrown our neighborhood into the evac area. Well, we didn't have to leave, but if you left you weren't allowed back into the neighborhood. Some friends who were working or had hubbies working late got 'locked out' of the 'hood and couldn't get home. I think they did this more for crowd control than anything. If you know your way around you can sneak through my 'hood to the evac zones and to good views of the fire, so closing down the neighborhood just helped the emergency crews keep the people out that shouldn't be there and roads open for them to use more quickly. All this info really helped me sleep with peace of mind that all was going to be okay.

What didn't help me sleep was that 2/4 kids went to bed saying they felt like they were going to barf. Dumb camping treats! My kids aren't used to free for all junk food tables, they don't handle their sugar well :) So, any sound they made I woke up afraid they were going to barf in Paul's tent! (Prlman loaned us a tent big enough for the family! Thanks Paul!) Luckily, after 5.5 long hours of 'sleep' no one had barfed and I got up and ready for my epic lake run!

I made my way straight there, no detours or back tracking - booyah! Beautiful little dirt path to follow around, peaceful fishermen on the shore and I got to see the first light on the lake from the East side of the lake. Then, due to being close to the mtns I got to watch the sun rise....4 or 5 times on my 2nd loop of the lake. The last loop I went the opposite direction and my SIL that was with her family fishing, hoped on her bike and rode while I ran. Great company! But, it was getting hot, I was out of water and I hadn't eaten. The last few miles felt like a death march. I'm so glad I had Annette there so that my pride wouldn't let me quit! :)

AP: 8:50 (not bad for a nice little meandering 15 miles! - oh, and flat...SO flat!)

When I got back to camp my Father in Law got my breakfast ready for me and I had bacon, french toast, milk and orange juice. What a way to do it right! I'd missed all the food prep drama (and work) and gotten a great run in and waited on at breakfast, and ate in peace since kids had already eaten! Score a win for mom!!!

The rest of camp was pretty uneventful, until around 10ish when we saw the news that our neighborhood was out of 'lock down' and we would be able to get home! YAY! We also took our youngest 2 on a walk and found a little beach next to the creek that ran through camp. I waded in and sat on a log and let my legs get a bit of an ice bath...awesome!

We packed up and headed home. Bellies full of junk, bodies caked in dirt, skin all bitten by mosquitoes (oh, they were bad! my poor daughter went to the doc today (sunday) due to swollen ankles that hurt to walk on from them!), and a full 24 hrs of fun in the out of doors! Oh, and I got to check off an epic run from my bucket list.

Mantua Lake - awesome run! try it sometime.