Hostess 100

A runner friend of mine, Cory AKA Fast Cory recently decided to make his 10th 100 mile run a solo venture from Salt Lake City to Provo and back.  He named it the Hostess 100.  Little did he know that so many of us would want in on some of the fun.  A couple girlfriends and I headed out to meet up with Cory on my birthday, so it was doubly fun!  The Hostess Birthday party run!

Well, of course, I made myself cupcakes for my birthday and brought some to share!  Cherri, Cory and Jennilyn cruising up State Street.







What birthday run is complete without a Slurpee?





Maureen stopped to cheer Cory on!

Whaaaaaat's uuuuup!?




 

Best impromptu birthday gift ever!  Jennilyn found this discarded, deflated balloon tangled in some flowers on the side of the road.  She didn't actually mean to pull up the flowers, but hey... Bonus!  Thanks Jennilyn!

Then in the wee hours of the morning Cherri and I headed back out for round two.  Who doesn't love running in the middle of the night with friends!?













Day 1 7.12 miles 1:39 Day 2 9-9.5ish milesIt's pretty awesome to have so many fun running friends to help a girl celebrate her birthday (again)!  Cory finished that 10th 100 miles (CONGRATULATIONS CORY!) and you can read about it here.

Pipeline Date

Sunday morning I took Jeff up to the pipeline did great and I was finally feeling solid after my 33 mile jaunt in Corner Canyon. After we were done we hit up a breakfast place in Millcreek. Now that's what I call a fun date!

Trail troll!

 5 miles 

?? time

?? Pace

Post Party Recovery Run

These days, my post party recovery is much different than it used to be.  Recovery now includes a slower pace and less vert.  Recovery used to be a lot of ibuprofen and maybe a bloody mary...  How times change!

Millcreek is one of my favorite places.  One of these days, I really need to get up there and explore more of the area!

4.45 miles

1:00

13:29 average pace

Are Ya'll Ready for This!?

Eighteen and a half hours left before race start!  I've got my clothes laid out, my drop bag packed and my nerves in check.  Well, mostly!  I'm really excited and am feeling really great!  My knee feels totally fine (of course, I haven't exactly been running) and my allergies are subsiding.  Also, I was worried that my drastic forced taper would leave me heavier on race day, but I've actually lost a couple pounds!  Nuts!  Plus, no signs of visits from unwanted aunts (if you catch my drift).  Let's just hope I can sleep a little tonight!

GO ME!  

Daily Mile

Today was a great day!  My mom is visiting from California and we spent the morning shopping and then I went to the gym for some cardio.  I warmed up on the bike for a half hour and then headed to the treadmill.  After a mile and a half of running, I was feeling fantastic.  I walked for a quarter of a mile and then decided since my knee was feeling so solid, to run some more!  I am so excited for race day!  I can hardly wait!  But, I tell you what, I've been thrown every obstacle I can think of!  I've been hit with some major allergies and asthma today.  I will run this race and I will kill it!  Allergies, runner's knee, period and all!  Bring it! 

Warming up.

It feels good to get my heart rate up!

YAY!

3 miles

33:18

11:06 pace

Lift Stuff Up. Put it Back Down. Repeat.

I decided not to tempt fate and run again today, so instead I hit the gym.  I am thoroughly enjoying weight lifting these days.  Partially because I'm am seeing definition in my arms and shoulders that I have never had.  I won't lie.  I secretly want to be super buff.  Well, I guess it's not a secret any more.  I mean, I don't want to be as ripped as Dana Linn Bailey, but I do think she kicks ass!  Anyhow, to the point.  Today's routine:

Partial deadlifts
Decline bench press
Biceps (barbell)
Triceps (dumbell)
Hip abductors and adductors
Glute leg extensions (Not sure what they're really called, but who cares?)
Leg extensions

Training Week 14

Monday REST
Tuesday REST
Wednesday REST
Thursday Weight lifting 1.5 mile walk
Friday Yoga class
Saturday 45 min stationary bike (9.25miles) + strength training
Sunday 4.02 miles
Weekly Total 4.02 (I'm just happy it wasn't 0.0!)

Previous Weekly Total 468.89
Training Grand Total 472.91


Hey, did I mention...?

Light at the end of the Tunnel

This morning I woke up feeling better than I have all week!  My knee is feeling drastically better today.  I can walk with zero pain.  Stairs still make me wince, but not nearly as bad as earlier this week.  This simple switch was enough to take me from thoughts of a DNS (did not start) or DNF (did not finish) to visualizations of myself at the finish line of my second 50k!  

All week I've been resting my leg as much as possible, foam rolling, icing, using arnica, stretching and resting more, still.  Feeling so much better this morning I hopped over to the gym for a bit of a workout.  I felt so much better after getting a workout in!  I did:

Bench press

Lat pull downs

Dumbell overhead press

Hip adductors & abductors

Leg raises (very light weight)

Anti-inflammatory line up

Hello hip workout.  Help me out here, okay?

Plus, I went to the chiropractor, whom I love!  Seriously, if you are a runner in the Salt Lake area, look up Dr. Mark.  He has helped me though so many minor running injuries!  Plus, I did a little bit of walking today and am still feeling good!  Hooray!

1.5 miles 

Panic. No. Don't Panic!

Well, what do ya know?  My knee is still sore today.  Not as bad as yesterday, but still pretty bad.  I've been trying to remind myself that all of my training is done.  Nothing I do in the next two weeks will make or break race day.  I've trained hard. I've put in my time.  Now, I am forced to rest.  Sitting all day is not my idea of a good time, nor is an easy thing to do with three kids and a menagerie in the house.  So, I figure that today, on uber-rest day I'll make a list of things I can do each day.  I like lists.

1. Ice
2. Foam Roll
3. Stretch
4. Core Strengthening
5. Pull Ups
6. Push Ups
(if I can't run, I may as well...)
7. Blog about running

I'm also going to head to the chiropractor later this week.  Then, once my knee isn't sore any more I'll hit the gym for some weight lifting and bleedin' elliptical (can you sense my enthusiasm?)  Then once I'm feeling confident I'm not going to mess it up again, I'll resume running.  I really hope that day will be before race day.  But, if it's not, c'est la vie.

I'll just sit here and stare at my race medals with this bag of frozen cranberries on my knee.  Frozen peas or cranberries make the best ice packs.  

Do I seem calm?  I'm trying to remain calm.  I really am panicking, but only a little.

Daily Taper

I suppose I should taper this week.  Bah humbug.  That's okay, it gives me a chance to do more yoga!




3.1 miles
35:51
11:34 pace