Christina's Running Blog

I did some squats and then a spin class at the gym.  The instructor really knows how to give an intense workout!

I met with Renae and Coach for speedwork (or I should say interval work).  The Pope came too--he is still resting his knee injury, so he ran a few warmup laps with us.  

We did 4 x 300 meter repeats. 

1- 62 seconds

2- 65 seconds

3- 66 seconds

4- 64 seconds

It was a nice workout.  I remember last year I was running them between 75 and 85 seconds, so it's great to see improvement! 

I did an upper body workout as well as 20 minutes on the stairmaster.  I think I'll take Friday off since we have a long run on Saturday.

I met with my runamok friends for a long run in Emigration Canyon.  Some went ahead and ran 22 miles, since they are training for Salt Lake or Boston.  We were pretty spread out, so we had water stashed along the way.

I ran with T-1 most of the way.  The last couple of miles were tough, so we sang U2's "Pride" to motivate us to the end!  We were singing at the top of our lungs, and I think a few people who were out running stared and wondered, but we felt so much better and were able to finish!

I had a guest pass to Lifetime Fitness, so I met with Coach, Alicia, Traci Morris, and Miriam for a squat/leg workout.  It is such a great gym! I have a membership to 24 hour fitness, but it doesn't have a lot of the equipment that this gym has. It has some really great squat machines and leg machines.

I met Coach and Miriam for 3 loops around Sugarhouse Park. It was snowing!  I thought spring was here, but at least the snow didn't last too long.  We talked about how fun the Ogden relays are going to be!

Today was a core and leg workout, followed by a spin class.  Kim is one tough instructor! She is going to run the Salt Lake Marathon in a couple of weeks.  I wonder if she'll take it easy on us next week since the marathon is so close.  Probably not!

I met Coach, Renae, and Alicia for interval work at the Olympic Oval.  Marie was going to meet us, but she had someone coming to her house to do some home remodeling.

We jogged 4 laps around the track, then did 4 50 meter sprints.  Then we did 6 x 300 meter intervals.

1- 66 sec

2- 66 sec

3- 66 sec

4- 66 sec

5- 68 sec

6- 65 sec

Afterwards, I went to the gym to do some core work.  I ran into my spin class instructor there.  She was teaching an aerobic class that also focused on weight training.  She convinced to give it a try.  Basically, we used a step to do some cardio, then worked all the major muscle groups.  I was pretty wiped out by the time we finished.

After I left the gym, I went to Emerald Smoothie and bought a low-carb chocolate/peanut butter/banana smoothie.  It was just what I needed to pick me up again!

Core workout, followed by upper arm workout.  Did 20 minutes on the elliptical machine.  Then I hurried and got ready for work.  I ate a subway sandwich while I was driving to work, but I spilled mustard all over my jacket.  I was pretty bummed.  I think mustard stains, so I'll need to figure out how to get it out.  I should wake up earlier so I don't need to rush so much, but I am recovering from a long day yesterday.  I worked from 5 a.m to 2 p.m., then had to go back from 7 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.  It was truly a very long day!

17 of us met for Coach's Kearns workout: Bill, Craig, Walter, Alicia, Miriam, Scott, Jason, Esther, Marie, Jennifer, T-1, T-2, T-4, Andrea, Johnny, Murphy, Renae and myself.  Renae was our sag wagon driver, but was able to run with us on our interval repeats.

We met at the Smith's on 4700 S and approx 40th west.  We did a 3 mile warmup, followed by 10 sprints in a church parking lot.  Then the real fun began!  We did 6 repeats around the block in a neighborhood (approx 650 meters).  Then we ran to another neighborhood and did 6 more repeats of 350 meters.  The last challenge was 6 hill repeats (about 200 meters).

We ran back to Smiths with a downhill tempo mile.  I clocked mine at a 6:45 pace.

It was definitely an intense workout, but it's so rewarding to see each other improve and get stronger as the season progresses!  It was so much fun to be with my friends and endure the challenges together.

Tonight we're going to Murphy's house (aka Andrea and Johnny's house) for a Boston Send-off barbeque to wish our Boston-bound runners off for a great race!

Normally I run Monday mornings, but I'm still tired from Saturday's run.  I went to the gym and did core and leg work, then 20 minutes on the stair master.

An upper arm workout at the gym followed by an easy 20 minutes on the elliptical.  I'm saving my energy for the Salt Lake half on Saturday.

It was such great weather for a race--not too hot and there was some wind--which was nice when it was blowing in the direction I was running.

I must admit my expectations were a little high going into the race.  I heard it was a fast course, so I was thinking fast as in Provo River fast.  However, it was more challenging than I realized.

1- 9:02   I ran with Andrea and Alicia.  Due to their being 10,000+ runners, we did some weaving in-between people.

2- 8:50

3- 8:41   Andrea and Alicia ran ahead at this point.

4- 7:54   This was the downhill stretch on 2100 S.

5- 8:17   I saw Andrea and Alicia when they made it through the turn-around point.

6- 8:28

7- 8:11   It was starting to feel hot and I was running out of gas.

8- 8:16  

9- 8:20  I ran by John with Salt Lake Fit.  I couldn't really hold a conversation since I was breathing too hard.

10- 8:53  Liberty Park.  I really felt like I didn't have much left in me at this point.

11- 8:34

12- 9:10  I had the "Rocky" theme in my head.  I wanted the race to be done!

13.1- 9:43  I did a little push at the end.

All in all, it was a good race.  I was a little disappointed with my time, since I wanted to be under 1:50, and my Moab Half was also a 1:52, but I need to consider the amount of people that were there and it wasn't as fast of a course that I expected.

It was fun meeting up with Coach, Jude, T-2, T-1, Andrea, Alicia, Marie, Miriam, and Johnny afterwards.  Esther ran her first marathon today--a 3:18!  She got first place in her age division.  She hit the wall at mile 20.  Amazing performance!

Core and leg workout followed by 20 minutes on the elliptical trainer.  My legs finally are feeling better after the half-marathon.  That wind was pretty brutal on Saturday.  I've been fighting with allergies ever since!

I met Coach and Marie at the Olympic Oval.  We did a one mile warmup.  We planned on doing some 200 m intervals, but we got on the topic of our race performance at the Salt Lake Half Marathon.  Coach decided that we should just run some more easy laps while he talked to us about race strategy and race performance.  He felt that a mental workout today was more important than our speed effort.  Some important points he brought up:

-Leave the watch at home.  Too many times in a race, we focus on our expected times and our splits.  Doing this makes us more tense and therefore, we're preventing our bodies from performing at optimum levels since we're so focused on the pace that's on our watch.

-Do focused workouts.  If you are doing a speed workout, focus on doing the best sprints you can.  If you're doing a hill workout, work hard on the hills.  Don't be so consumed with total mileage covered for the day.

-Don't beat yourself up.  Both Marie and I commented that we weren't happy with our race performance on Saturday.  Marie said it really affected her mood and was grouchy with her family.  Coach told us that we need to reward and celebrate our success--we both finished in the top percentiles in our age group.  There is no need to be negative--it will only harm and discourage us in the end.

-The week before a race, focus on the effort you've put into your workouts.  The race is the time to put our efforts to the test.  If you're focused in your workouts, you'll be focused in your race. 

-Relax.  Don't tense up in a race situation.  Your body will naturally do what its always done.  You've been here before. 

Coach offers some very valuable information.  I need to hear it repeatedly--I think for my next race (Ogden Relay) I'll not wear a watch.  I've never done that before! 

Coach commented that many of us in our group out-perform him in workouts, but when it comes to races, he outperforms us.  He wants us all to learn how to race more effectively, since that's where the rewards are.

Afternoon:  My friend Sadie and I ran a couple of miles in the park with her dog Benny.  She has done one marathon.  She signed up for St. George this year.  I hope she gets in!

Evening:  I did hill kills with Tracy, Johnny, Andrea, Murphy, and Jaxton.  Beautiful weather! 

I did some core and upper body work at the gym.  Then I met Dori for a four mile run.  We were going to run outside, but it was snowing!  So, we ran on the treadmill instead.  I'm surprised I lasted 4 miles on a treadmill since I've never really liked treadmill running.

I met my friends at the Smith's parking lot at 7 a.m.  I live a couple of miles away, so I ran there instead of drove (I guess I'm trying to be more "green")! 

We ran on the parkway for a mile and then did a tempo mile back to the parking lot.  We did 8 sprints and 7 intervals during our run.

Afterwards, we walked over to Elite Massage of Utah which Terrilee Rydalch owns.  She and Coach did a stretching seminar for us.  They emphasized the importance of stretching every day.  Coach gave us all slant boards, mats, and chairs so we have no excuse not to stretch!

Tracy C. drove me home.  I was pretty beat and did not feeling like running two more miles.  We also stopped at the Health Fair at TOSH and got some pulmonary testing done.  The doctor there told me I have hyperactive lungs.  He was impressed with Tracy's results.  He told her with lungs like hers, she's capable of a 3:30 marathon!

Three loops around Sugarhouse Park with Coach and Miriam.  It was difficult getting out of bed this morning!  My cats were laying on me and did not want me to get up. 

I did some stretches after the run.  Coach says do them at least once a day, no excuses!

I ran 4 miles on the treadmill.  Then I did a core and leg workout.  It was hot inside the gym today!

I met Coach and Marie at the Oval.  We did a one mile warmup and 8 x 200 m repeats.  We didn't time them.

I went to the gym to workout on the elliptical machine and to do my stretches.