Good week! I slacked a little on my runs during the week, but I have started adding weights, core work and my physical therapy exercises to my daily routine, so I think that's a good mix.
On Tuesday evening, I did an awesome trail run. Ashley joined me for 3 miles of it. I pushed myself hard up the hills and did some speed work on the way home. I felt strong. I'm really excited about the improvements I'm starting to see. Robert Merriman inspired me! As usual. Oh, Robert Merriman....
Four miles on Thursday in the rain/snow. Cold. Nothing fancy.
This morning I did my longest run to date! I ran down Emigration Canyon to Liberty Park. 18 miles! My friend, Hilary, slept on our sofa so she wouldn't have to drive up from Utah County. We went to bed by 10 and were up at 6. We drove over to Liberty Park and met up with the group. We crammed into the vans and drove to the top of the canyon. It was perfect weather for a long run. As a joke, we were running in honor of Joshua's deceased goldfish, Midas. Hence several people wearing orange. Hilarious.
The canyon portion of the run was actually a little tougher than usual. The gradual downhill is always nice, but today, the wind was AWFUL. I don't think I have ever run in wind quite that bad! But that's okay. It just adds to our training! I kept up a decent pace for most of the canyon portion. I ran most of it with Meridith, and she runs a tad faster than me. I was a little worried that I'd gone out too fast, but I ended up being fine.
Blurry pic, but proof we ran together! I love Meridith! She is a blessing in my life!
Joshua, Kasie and I also ran together for a bit. U2's 'Where the Streets Have No Name' came on Josh's music, so we had to stop for a second and experience the sheer awesome-ness of that song.
At the bottom of the canyon, Robert, Mark, Sonja and Hilary were waiting for us. We try to all keep track of each other on these runs, despite being difference paces. Robert and Mark ended up staying with Kasie, Meridith, Joshua and I until we hit Liberty Park. We made a smart decision to walk down that steep section of 800 South. Last time I ran it, it completely killed my legs. I still had about 7 miles to go, so I am glad I played it safe!
Once we got to LP, I started to struggle. I couldn't get my legs to move very well on the flat terrain. It's crazy how difficult flat feels after running downhill! We rested for a few minutes, got some fluid and fuel in us, and then set off around the park for 4 laps. A few laps in, my friend, Dane, met up with us. He is in town for the weekend, and I was happy to get to see him! He ran with us a bit, and I was happy to have him with me for my last few miles.
I love Robert Merriman!
My watch got messed up in the canyon, so it was always about half a mile behind. So my numbers aren't perfectly accurate, but I know I ran 18! My legs, hips and feet are tired, but other than that, I actually didn't feel too bad when I was finished! Robert Merriman and I calculated that if I could keep up the pace I was at, I could finish a marathon around 4:30. I'm trying not to go into it with ANY time expectations, but that made me excited to hear! I'm getting stronger and faster, and I'm loving it! I'm aiming for an 11:20 avg pace at Ogden, and I was able to do this run at about a 10:53 pace! Very excited to see what seven more weeks of training brings!
This run put me at 103 miles for the month. Crazy!
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