workout updates

June 25: Easy 5K at Zermatt Resort; 33:12, 6:38/km, ave HR 145. Felt a bit tired, but not bad.

June 26: 45 min elliptical at Zermatt. Felt good.

June 27-29: recovering from huge anniversary party on the 26th (25 years!) and prepping for vacation to Indiana. Stupid busy and stupid tired. Did nothing. Also, feeling pretty ill from not taking the escitalopram; have had to take 2.5mg every few days to just manage, but don't really feel great.

June 30: easy 5K in Grand Junction, CO, where we were camping on the 1st day of vacation. 34:05 for 6:49/km with ave HR??? Forgot my HR monitor :/. My Fitbit says 123 but that's not right...that must include a stop or 2 for photos/rest at 2.5km point.

July 1: rest day - camped in Salina, KS and thunderstorms kept us up much of the night. UGH! I felt lousy.

July 2: easy 6K in Indiana at Laurie's house. SO HUMID. 40:30 for 6:45/km with ave HR 147 according to my Fitbit. Seems close anyway.

July 3: Cross-training - rode Matt's bike outside for 45 min, and went about 19km (11.8 miles). Much more comfortable than walking in that humidity.

July 4: easy 6K in Indiana. Still SO humid. 40:55 for 6:49/km with ave HR 140 according to Fitbit.

July 5: felt lousy. Took another rest day. Just couldn't face the humidity!

July 6: Drove to Peoria, Ill., and met Ollie for lunch. Did 10K at his pace (1:20:53, 8:05/km), which was fine given that it was 27.2C (81F) and 54% humidity, which is high for me (and for Calvin, who tagged along). It was definitely cooler than normal for there in summer, but felt pretty hot to me. I have to do some heat training....(ugh). Maybe when I feel a bit stronger. Then we drove to Keokuk, IA to meet up with my family members (aunt, cousins, etc).

July 7: Finally some good weather! Did 9.5km at 6:54/km and ave HR 131 according to Fitbit, for what it's worth. It was 17.2C (63F) with 77% humidity. It felt really nice out. My legs got really tired at the end, and it was a bit hilly (60m elevation gain along the route), but so nice to do a bit of a nostalgia tour of where my grandparents used to live, and where my parents went to high school. Then we drove all day and camped in Ogallala, Nebraska.

July 8: rest day - driving home! Got home about 6pm and made dinner. Felt very nauseated/headachy/dizzy so took 2.5mg escitalopram. Felt better later in the evening.

July 9: Legs were really off from being in the car so much, but went out for a walk anyway. It was warm at 23.9C (75F) and quite humid for Utah at 54%, and my legs were definitely annoyed with me, and I felt sluggish. 6K at 6:58/km with ave HR 139. In other news, signed up for WMA 2018 in Malaga, even though I'm deathly slow. Maybe I'll feel better by then. Maybe I won't. I won't be last, so I'll probably compete. I'm having trouble getting excited about the trip to Spain, and sorta wishing I hadn't bought the tickets, except that my kids and hubby are super excited to go. Sigh....I was hoping this mystery illness thing would be better by now.

July 10: Knew I had to do some speed work, and am finally feeling semi-human from decreasing the escitalopram (though not 100% by any means). Jim had tasked me with a 5K fartlek at 85% effort for the previous day, but because of vacation did it one day late. Wow, was I ever slow, but hey, I'm just grateful I could do it. 33:30 for 6:38/km with ave HR 152.

July 11 (today): Cross-training. Rode my bike to work, uphill...about 25 min of good cardio. Then home (flying!).

Canyonlands 5-miler; feeling better

I've been feeling better since mid-February or so, which is great. I've been trying to get more sleep, but other than that I'm not sure what the difference is. It seems kind of random, as it has for the past 4 years, so I guess I'm just happy to be feeling better.

On Saturday (the 18th) I did the Canyonlands 5-miler. I was originally registered for the half marathon, but after the 2 weeks of fatigue in January I had to drop to the 5-miler. I was a bit bummed about that, but glad I could at least still do something. Calvin was slated for the 5-miler as was my friend Diane, so that worked well; plus, the weather was crazy warm on Saturday and the people doing the half really suffered at the end, so I guess it all worked out for the best.

I have actually been able to ramp up my long day just a little the past few weeks, from 8km to 10km, and so I decided to do 12km on race day. I did 2km out and back before the race started, and had the whole road to myself, which was absolutely stunning (at left). I got back just about 1min before the gun went off (perfect timing!) and then did the 8km of the race. My total time worked out to 6:36/km for the 12km, which was great considering how out of shape I am and also the hills and the warmth of the day, which I'm not used to yet.

Calvin and Diane had very good races and placed well in their age groups, I got Loren a couple beers at the finish line beer garden, and Grace enjoyed playing on the playground in the park, so we all had a great time. Plus add in some great food, swimming/hot tub at the hotel, and some amazing hikes (Saturday: Tower Arch; Sunday: Delicate Arch) and it was a great weekend. The only downer was the crazy 4WD road in Arches that totally tore up our car (eeek!); it was designed for high clearance vehicles but there was no sign advertising this and so we were in over our heads in our Rav4. Fortunately Loren was quite skillful so we didn't get stuck or roll the car (both very real possibilities on this crazy road) and the only damage was to our muffler. We got it fixed today for $182 so that could've been a lot worse.

More pics:

Delicate Arch

Pasta Jay's (Calvin's fave!)

***

Monday I did some elliptical to let my body recover.

Today I went out for a gentle 6K and my legs were still a little sore from the hiking, etc. so I wasn't surprised to be a bit slow at 6:48/km. But it felt fine and I plan on 8K on Thursday and 14K on Saturday. Fingers crossed to keep feeling good as I have a race registration for the Salt Lake Half in April and I can do it if things keep going all right.

Off to bed - I have been finding that extra sleep is very helpful with the fatigue thing.

follow-up since St. George trip

After I got back from St. George, which was SO restful, it took about 2-3 days for me to totally crash and burn. The fatigue hit me like a ton of bricks, and I have absolutely no idea why. I didn't overload my schedule when I returned, so...? Thankfully it was only bad for about a week, and I think maybe now I'm starting to feel better?

I've done a lot of elliptical lately, since I bought a used one for my house :), and the weather has been cold and nasty with a lot of snow. Plus I'm trying to take it easy on my body, with the fatigue and all.

So....the upshot is that today was the first day I racewalked since going to St. George, and it felt like it :(. I did 5K in 33:15, with some rolling hills (~20m), which isn't bad, but I was breathing SO hard, and my HR was up in the 160s. Sigh...all fitness gone. But at least I got to walk.

In other news, I went back to my Weight Watchers meeting on Saturday, after not going for 8 months. Yup, it was ugly. I had gained 15lb and am up to 174.0. Dang it. Well, what can I expect? I'm a recovering food addict and I have got to stay on track. So I'm back, and have work to do. I reset my goal weight to 160lb because I'm not walking competitively right now and that's a more realistic # given my fatigue. Back on the wagon - and I'm feeling great about tracking and monitoring food intake again :).

elliptical; 8K

I feel great. This weekend away has been very rejuvenating. I'm sure by the time I'm back home for a couple days I'll be tired again, but for now, it's good. I have to address that tired at home part - have been discussing strategies with Loren so that I don't get so worn out. I'm not good at asking for help, and that's a goal for the next month or two so that I can get through the daily routine more easily.

Exercise-wise, I did the elliptical yesterday for an hour, and otherwise relaxed, read a LOT of books (I think I've read 6 books this weekend!), watched football with Loren, and colored in the adult coloring book my sister-in-law got me for Christmas.

Today, I did 8km. My shins were sore (very sore! haha!) from the 10km on Saturday, but I knew it would still feel good to get out. Obviously I haven't been walking enough (though in part the shin soreness was from the hills). The rest of me was a bit sore too - core, mostly, but even my arms were a little sore. Geez. On the plus side, it tells you what a great total-body workout racewalking is. As for the 8km, it went quite well. I picked a much flatter route through neighborhoods, which wasn't as interesting as yesterday's route but was gently rolling, a lot like my typical workout at home. Still, it is very pretty here with the red rock and snowy mountains behind it, so it's not like it was boring. My legs (except shins haha!) felt good for about 6km and then were a bit tired the last 2km, but not too bad.

I'm enjoying the thaw-out from the cold and inversion (bad air) in Salt Lake. It was chilly for St. George this morning at 33F (1C) but the high temp predicted for Salt Lake is 30 today, so obviously I'm liking the weather here. I wasn't cold at all with long-sleeve, tights, and gloves, and the gorgeous sun felt amazing. In fact, I took off the gloves near the end of the workout; I'm sure it warmed up some while I was out.

My speed was about what you'd expect right now at 6:45/km. I'll take it. Average HR was 141. Here's the fitbit data. I forgot my Garmin, remember? :)

attempting to get back in action

It's been a month (!) since I've posted, but I really have been trying to get back in action. That was only slightly derailed by holiday company and planning, as I got exercise pretty much daily, whether 5-6km racewalking, or 30-45 min elliptical, or cross-country skiing (yay! fun!).

More problematic was the first week of January, when I 1) got a severe stomach flu, and 2) 2 days later had my tooth implant installed (previously scheduled). That did set me back a bit. But last week I felt like I was able to ease back into things, and better yet, I'm now in St. George for the weekend for some MUCH needed R&R with Loren and without the kids (left our housemate Kenzie to watch house and dogs, and my parents are watching the kids). It's excellent. I think we are going to have to do this more often. Not that I don't love my kids, but they are a lot of work, and every mom needs a break sometimes.

So yesterday I did an hour (! the luxury! to have an hour!) on the elliptical and then this morning I decided that since that had felt pretty good I'd try 10km racewalking. The 10km went pretty well, though I tracked it in two separate instances on my Fitbit because 1) I forgot my Garmin (grrr!) and 2) I misread the Fitbit and thought I was at 10km when really I'd just taken 10000 steps on my walk, which was 9.16km. So then I had to do an extra 0.84km to get the 10km, but I was motivated. I really wanted that 10km under my belt.

Keep in mind that it was VERY hilly (there's nowhere flat that's convenient here), and that I'm *very* out of shape and about 15 lb over racing weight. Therefore, I was super slow. But it's something, and I'm out there again.

Total time was 1:03:20 + 6:15 for 1:09:35 (6:58/km). Wow, that's so slow. ***MUST NOT GET DEPRESSED*** yelling to myself. ***YOU GOT OUT THERE AND THAT'S WHAT MATTERS***. [end of rant]. My average HR was pretty low - the first 9.16km it was 134 according to my Fitbit, but that HR monitor is NOT as accurate as my Garmin chest strap, and that seems low for how I felt.

My legs felt good for 7km, then quite tired the last 3km, which is totally reasonable for how little I've RW lately. My left foot was a bit sore at the end of the walk, on the lateral side. Will keep an eye on that.

Here's a photo. I really did enjoy myself :). And the weather is SO much better here than in Salt Lake! It was 45F (7.2C) and overcast with an occasional slight drizzle, but that is really nice in my book --- my last walk in SLC was so icy that I was terrified. It's been as cold as 2F (-17C) at our house, so 45 feels delightful.

decent 8K

Yesterday: Yoga for runners, the hard version, followed by lounging at Seaport Village and Coronado Island. Tough day ;). Flew home last night and managed to get to sleep by 11pm, which isn't too awful, but it was later than I'd have liked.

Today: when the alarm went off at 5:50-ish I wasn't at all ready to get out of bed (darn time zone thing - that is 4:50-ish in San Diego!). But I managed to get up and get out the door for 8K with Calvin and the dogs. That part was awesome. I love having company, and since Kelly isn't training with me much with all her wedding preparations, it is nice to have Calvin along (and we put on the SAME shirt, coincidentally! (our Cold Turkey 2014 shirts)). The weather was great too - warm! 6.1C (43F) and calm and cloudy. My legs were feeling a bit sore in the glutes from the yoga (good!) but it didn't seem to hurt my workout at all. In fact, Calvin noticed I was speedier today, and I was. Not that I was fast, but finally I did 6:30/km again! I did the 8K in 52:04 with ave HR 144; however, the HR would've been higher had I not had to stop FOUR (yes FOUR) times for dog poop pickup. Geez. Stupid dogs! It was like they saved up all weekend for me to come back and take them racewalking or something.

Oh, and some good news: pain level today was frequently ZERO, though it was also 1/10 for a good part of the walk. Still, it's better. I am working hard on technique every time I'm out there.

Garmin data here. 

5x1km

Yesterday: was supposed to cross-train but spent all day on the plane to Houston for the USATF (USA track and field) meeting (yep, the Utah Association actually sent me here as a delegate!); when we arrived we were starving and ate, then had to rush to the 5-7pm opening session of the convention. After that Kathy (the Utah Association RW chair) and I had dinner with her nephew and didn't get back until 11:30pm...so yeah, no cross-training other than walking around downtown a lot.

Today: 5x1km. Went to a small park near our hotel and did ~1km loops around the park, as measured by my Garmin, which was wildly inaccurate on those loops. I honestly don't know exactly how far it was, since every time it measured differently :(. BUT the good news is that I got in a good hard workout and felt good and am recovering well. Garmin data here, and my estimated 1km times were 5:38.7, 5:18.3, 5:17.7, 5:34.4, and 5:41.8. Ummmm yeah...that was how my watch measured the 1km. Not accurate at all. The truth is probably somewhere in the average of those times. Maybe! My HR was maxxing out at 168 on the last few, so I know I got a good workout. I have no idea how fast I actually was, which was somewhat freeing. Sorry, coach, but when one travels it's unpredictable what kind of workout conditions you'll have. Tomorrow I'm going to have to do the treadmill because we have to go early, and for safety reasons we will stay indoors. I hate the treadmill...but it's only one day.

The good news is that after that hard workout my legs felt good, even though we SAT in the SAME ROOM from 11am-5pm with only one 30 min break. I didn't have any problems with that, and that would've killed me with pain 12-18 months ago, so at least progress is happening. Yay! The meeting has been pretty interesting and informative, for the most part, though like any meeting it's had its dull moments. Still, I'm learning a lot and thinking of things we can do to promote RW in Utah when we return.

10K

Yesterday: 45 min on elliptical. I had a good amount of muscle soreness from yesterday's race. Hills! Not used to them!

Today: 10K racewalking in St. George, Utah. We came here on Thanksgiving, in the afternoon, so that Calvin could play in a soccer tournament. It's warmer here than at home, but it's cold here too. Today it was 34F (1.1C) to 37F (2.7C) during my walk, but it was sunny and not windy, so that was good. It was actually decent out. It's quite hilly where we are staying, so I got another hill workout in. I was pretty fast considering the 110m (360ft) of elevation gain (and loss) on the out and back course. I went downhill to 2.5km, then uphill to 5km, then the same on the way back. The first and last km were ridiculous --- so hilly I could barely racewalk up on the way back, but I managed to walk legally.

Total time 1:03:02 for 6:18/km with ave HR 146. That's pretty good on those hills!

Photos are from today's walk. It's pretty here with all the red rock.



Garmin data here. 

16K - Chicago Lakefront Trail

Loren and I are now in Chicago for me to attend the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting and present a poster. We left the kids in my parents' capable hands, and the house and dogs in the care of our awesome house sitter, and here we are.

The meeting didn't have much going on until 1pm today, so today was the ideal time for my 16K. I was thinking to do 16-18km, but my legs were definitely still a bit tired from yesterday's speed work, even though it was short, probably because of the fast 200s that I haven't done in a while. So at about 10k today I was pretty sure 16k was a good distance rather than 18k. The weather was good for fall here; 40F (4C) and windy. The wind was in my face on the first 8k, at a steady 19kph (12mph) plus gusts, which was definitely enough to slow me down and tired me out a bit. The lakeside scenery was beautiful though! For my international readers, a bit about Chicago: though in the middle of the country, it's next to a huge lake (Lake Michigan), and is the 3rd largest city in the US, behind New York and Los Angeles. It's pretty cold here in the winter, much colder than Salt Lake, though it doesn't snow as much as in Salt Lake. It's also famous for being windy here, and the city's nickname is "the windy city". But in October, windy or not, it's lovely --- at least it was today. And it's also only about 180m (590ft) above sea level, and very flat, perfect for RW. The Lakefront Trail here is an amazing paved trail along the lakeshore, and it's something like 20 miles (32km) long, adequate for almost any kind of training.

The trail was busy today with tons of runners, walkers, and cyclists; the runners were pretty good, as I only passed a handful in the 16K. During the first 8K into the wind, my legs felt decent, though it was nice to stop at the turnaround and get a few photos. I noticed the wind at my back right away when I turned around, and in fact I managed to negative split the workout, probably due to the tail wind; my legs were tired then. The first 500m was NOT right (3:45? not that slow...) and neither was the last 500m (2:42? no way!) so I figure that along the river walk my Garmin had a bit of trouble. But close enough.

I finished in 1:41:45 for 6:21/km and had splits of 32:00 (5K), 51:19 (8K), 1:03:53 (10K), 1:35:35 (15K); the last 8K was 1:41:45-51:19 = 50:26 for a negative split :).

Garmin data here.  

10K

Yesterday: Was to cross-train, but all I could do was give my friend Holly a RW lesson (fun! see video of her above - she got it really fast! The top video is the first one, then some more pointers, then the bottom video, in which she is moving better); no gym or hiking really possible as we had to drive home from Carson City, NV. I did get in about 5K nice and easy (about 8-9 min/km pace).

***

Today: 10K, at 6:15/km if possible. I was so tired after the trip home but it wasn't as hard as I thought to get up. I took Sugar with me and she was happy to be out; I think she missed RW. My legs did well through 7km and then they were definitely quite tired, but I kept up the pace enough to do 1:02:20 for 6:14/km with ave HR just 149. It was one of my usual 10K routes at home, mostly flat but a slight downhill on the first 2km and slight uphill on the last 2km with 34m total elevation gain. I did have to push myself a bit to keep that pace but it wasn't too hard until the end, when my HR was more like upper 150s to low 160s. The weather was lovely at about 61F (16.1C), calm, and clear. I love summer.

Sorry for the short post but work was quite busy on my first day back and I ate lunch during lab meeting. Our lab is moving to a new building on Monday so it's crazy trying to do experiments and pack stuff up.

Garmin data here.

8K; 5K fartlek

I need to go on vacation more often. The stress relief has apparently been much more than I anticipated; my HR is lower (resting and training) and my RW performance has been really very good. Much better than at any time since getting sick in the spring of 2013. So the challenge when I go home tomorrow is to make sure that I somehow keep my stress levels lower.

***

Yesterday: 8K with my brother, Alex. He and his girls joined us at Clear Lake for some camping. Gorgeous weather - hot in the day time (up to mid-90s) but cool at night and perfect RW weather in the morning. Alex pushed me to go a bit faster than I normally would and I did the 8K at 6:14/km with ave HR 152. Alex usually runs 8:30 miles for an easy pace, so he slowed down quite a bit for me, but he didn't mind and I really loved the chance to work out with him.

Today: 5K fartlek, alone. Warmed up with Calvin, who was to run a mile for soccer (coach's orders; they have a tournament Thurs-Sat) but then did the fartlek alone. The campground we were at was mostly flat but on the Garmin it shows a bit bigger elevation change than I expected, at 51m for the whole thing. I'm not sure that's accurate; I'd have guessed more like 15-20m but who knows? Regardless, it was my best fartlek since Sept 2014 when I was on vacation in Alaska with my mom and did a 28:35 at sea level. Hmmmm, vacation + relaxation + low stress = good performance. Yep, lower stress is good. Anyway, I did a 29:07 for today's fartlek with ave HR 162. My fast 500s were 2:46-2:50 and medium efforts 2:59-3:08. Nice. I'm very happy with this progress and have to ensure it continues when I go home.

Garmin data here for 8K and here for 5K fartlek.

hiking; 15K

Yesterday: the only cross-training I can realistically do right now is hiking. Running gives me IT band problems, I don't have a bike with me, and don't have access to a gym. So that leaves hiking. Which, fortunately, there are plenty of opportunities to do. Plus it's making my glutes work hard and get stronger, which is fantastic. Yesterday we hiked to Bumpass Hell. Yep, you read that right! Back in the late 1800s a guy with the name of Kendall Bumpass (!) was showing some tourists the area, and cautioning them not to step in certain spots, when he broke through the thin crust, burning his leg severely. It's a volcanic hotspot and has all kinds of geothermal activity. Really very interesting place; a lot like a mini-Yellowstone, complete with vile sulfurous odor (Grace hated it and claimed she was sorry she came on the hike! The rest of us didn't like the odor but the place sure was fascinating). It was a total of about 5K with 178m elevation gain, so it was a good hike. Garmin data here. 

Today: I asked the KOA campground hosts where a good place to run was (I rarely try to explain that I'm a racewalker...too much trouble) and they pointed me to a subdivision a mile down the road from camp that had all the infrastructure built when the recession hit, so then no homes were ever put there. It was a good place to walk. Paved roads, and no cars, with just a few dog-walkers out there with me. It had some rolling hills, but nothing around here is flat, so you get what you get: good training for Portland-to-Coast. Guess what though? It went great!!! I felt pretty good except for a bit of GI distress, which was solved for the most part by pausing to allow my innards to settle and drinking some water. But nothing severe, and my legs held up well, tiring a bit in the last 5k but definitely keeping good speed. I worked a lot on my posture especially when doing the hills - a good chance to think extra about form. On the last 5K, I really tried to book it up the hills, figuring that I'd get a rest when I was done and that I needed to push and see what time I could get. A good one! First 5K was 31:16, second 31:27, and third 31:13 for total of 1:33:57. Yup. Faster than 15K nationals in May. Happy me! I really hope this holds up so that I can keep training well. I am excited to get back in shape again :) :) :).

Garmin data here. 

***

After that, made breakfast (french toast) for the family, and then we went to Kids' Free Fishing Day at Grace Lake. Yeah, there's a lake named for our girl ;). It was challenging for the kids at first, but there were lots of people there to help them ('cause I don't know anything about fishing and Loren knew a bit more but not too much either!) and they caught 3 fish (Calvin) and 4 fish (Grace). Plus the people next to us gave us some of theirs; they like to catch fish but don't eat them. So we now have 15 smallish trout for dinner. Yum!

5K fartlek in Sunriver

We drove to Sunriver, Oregon yesterday to stay at my aunt and uncle's home. It's absolutely beautiful here, and in conjunction with our volcano theme we drove very close to Mt. Hood yesterday, saw the Three Sisters, and also Mt. Jefferson. Today we're going to go to the lava fields near Sunriver and also have some pool time :).  The photo below is of 3 deer I saw on my warm-up this morning. The high desert here is full of life.

This morning I did my 5K fartlek. There are great paths here for running/walking/biking, but it's like a maze, and I got lost at the 2km mark and had to spend a minute to get oriented (and was still a bit messed-up!). But other than that, the workout went well. My legs felt heavy on the warm-up and a bit tired from yesterday. The terrain here is mostly flat...sorta. Gently rolling hills in spots have a way of messing with the fartlek times. Garmin says that I had 10m elevation gain throughout, which I believe.

Everything was great through 3km, and then I got a bit tired, but was able to push reasonably hard and finish decently. The first 500m (nice downhill) was the fastest at 2:44.9, and the slowest was the last at 2:54.0. Medium-effort 500s are getting faster; they were 3:03-3:09. Total time 29:33, which I am happy with considering that my legs were tired from yesterday. Average HR was 159, which is also good. My resting HR according to fitbit has been going down as well, probably due to the relaxation effect from vacation :). It has been about 49-51 since going on vacation.

The elevation here is about 1270m (4200ft) which is very close to the same as it is at home; a bit lower. I didn't notice the altitude (that was a joke...been close to sea level for a couple days, which is not enough to become unaccustomed to altitude).

Garmin data here. 

8K in Cascade Locks

Beautiful weather at 61F (16C) and a bit of a breeze. It's been HOT here in the day but the mornings are delightful. Yesterday we took a train ride on the Mt. Hood Railroad, complete with great views of Mt. Hood, of course. My legs had a bit of delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) yesterday from the 14K, but just a bit, and considering that I sat immobile in the car for 6 hr after doing the 14K that is pretty good in my book.

Today I was a bit sluggish to start, and the route had rolling hills at the beginning and then steeper hills in the middle. Vacation means not being sure of a good route in the area, and so sometimes it's potluck. And sometimes the best you can get is, well, hilly. But I embraced it as good hill training for Portland-to-Coast next month, and so it was all good.

I did feel a little tired today, but I performed well and completed the 8K in 51:15 for 6:24/km; that with 74m elevation gain/loss in the out and back route, and average HR was 149. I took one photo but then my phone battery died; too bad, because the scenery was great. Cute little town and beautiful bridge over the Columbia River Gorge. I'll try to take some photos today when we pack up camp and drive through town.

Garmin data here. 

14K

Did 14K on the greenbelt in Boise, Idaho. We are on vacation, having left home and dogs in the capable hands of our live-in house sitter Luke, who was more than happy to have a piano to play and a cool basement to sleep in while we're gone (he lives in a converted attic - HOT!).

The greenbelt here in Boise is amazing, meandering along the Boise River right through the heart of the city, including past the stadium and Boise State. It's impeccably maintained with mile markers every 0.1 mile, restrooms, and water fountains. There were a couple races going on this morning but I was out early enough that I didn't run into them, thankfully.

The 14K went very well. I felt great until about 11km when my legs got a bit tired, but I was still able to finish strong with good splits. My coach is happy with the way things have been going, and so am I. Hopefully with more training I can increase my leg speed and get back in very good shape again, barring unforeseen relapses of the mystery illness.

Of note - lots of Canadian geese with their offspring, which were super cute. Also, some random runner high fived me as he went by :). That was fun. People here are very friendly and I enjoyed the gorgeous scenery and weather - 55F (12.7C) to start, clear, and calm. Gorgeous.

Total time: 1:29:55 for 6:25/km; was about 1:04:00 for 10km. A good, solid walk.

Garmin data here. 

sorta rest day :)

I went hiking today with the kids. Not hard, but my muscles are definitely sore from the race yesterday and so I definitely noticed the activity. But I'm a believer in working sore muscles just a bit - it actually seems to help ease the soreness if you hit the sweet spot. The 4-hr car ride home after the hike? Well, that, not so much...I drove my friend Diane home in her car (hubby drove our car home) because she fell at mile 7 and broke her nose, and really wasn't in good condition to drive. But there's none of the weird soreness, or very very little, so I'm not too concerned.

Other than the 3 mile (5km) hike and the drive, I rested. So, it was a sorta rest day :).

My coach actually gave me a schedule for TWO weeks. He hasn't done that in a long time, because I was too unpredictable. Here's hoping I can do it, and that things continue to go well. I'm pasting the schedule here in case I need the reference.

x-train tomorrow, 6km + 5 x 85% effort 200s tuesday, fartlek wed, 5 x 1km fri, 12km sat

the next week:
Mon 10km Tues 5 x 1km Thurs 8km fartlek Fri 6km + 5 x 85% effort 200s Sat 16km

Canyonlands Half Marathon 2015

Thursday: rest day

Friday: elliptical, 40 min

Saturday: Race day! I love this race - the scenery is amazing and it's always a great time. It is hilly by racewalking standards, but a great course meandering along the Colorado River and with so much red rock. Awesome.

I woke up feeling great and ready to go. It's cold at the start (probably 40F, 4C) and I had a coat and hand warmers and gloves and sweats, so I was OK. You have to wait around a while after they bus you up there (about 90 min) but I had put some Kindle books on my phone, so I was entertained. Usually I go with friends and have someone to chat with, but this time I came with just my family, and Calvin was doing the 5-mile race, so I was alone at the start (Loren and Grace spectated).

I didn't warm up. I was just going to do easy pace, so no need. My toes didn't thaw out until about 2 miles (3.2km) into the race, though! By the time the race started at 10 am, it was 12C (about 54F) and perfect race weather; by the finish on the highway into town it was warm but not too awfully hot at about 66F (19C). It was sunny and beautiful, and unlike last year there was just a slight breeze and not a horrid wind. Perfect.

I have done zero hills, though...and so while I felt fantastic through 15-16km, after that my legs just quit. They were DONE. Finished. Tired. No weird soreness, but I just felt like I hit the wall. The elevation increase along the course is 347ft, and the decrease is 424ft. Not too hilly by runner standards, but hilly by RW standards. Jim pointed out that this is probably why I felt so crappy. No matter. I had a great time anyway. Yeah, the last 5km was not too fun, but the rest was awesome, and I am enjoying getting away for the weekend with my family. Course profile here.

I was at 5km at about 31:30, and 10K by about 1:03. After that it got slower :). The course does have a lot more downhill in the first half, so this makes sense. I'm pleased with how I did, even though it was a minute slower than last year, because I am feeling OK (minus the achy/restless legs from overdoing it - but no weird soreness!) and I felt a LOT better in the first 15km than I did last year. Of course, there wasn't the wind, so it's hard to compare.

Total time 2:17:14 for 6:30/km with ave HR 158.

Lots of pictures below! I took photos while RW :).

Garmin data here. 

tutu guy haha!

race selfie - yup, taken while RW :)

inspirational!

Taiko drummers just after the big hill at mile 9

finishers!