Bring on the challenge!

Did 4 miles in 33:34 this morning.  Felt good, especially after the SLOW run yesterday.  My legs were ready to to actually be worked out this morning :)

Thought I was only going 5 miles this morning, until mile 3 was WAY slower than the rest!  Just went and recalculated it on mapmyrun.com and found the actual distance.  I feel a little better now :)  Did this distance in 44:13.  Felt pretty good.  

Did 3 on the treadmill this morning.  Not my fave, especially when it's so nice outside, but the kids were up and hubby was gone this morning.  Tomorrow is a day off, then Saturday the long run.  Probably just 10, since the half marathon is next week.  

Did the sprint workout on the treadmill.  

Did 4 miles in 33:11 this morning.  I'm fighting a stupid cold, too.  Seriously, who gets sick in the summer time???  I haven't been sick all winter and now this?  Think I'll take the rest of the week off and see if I can rest up for the weekend.  I've been so excited about the Utah Valley half on Saturday, just hope the cold feels better.  Plus, the weather is supposed to suck. . . ah, well.  My hubby reminded me that Michael Jordan played one of his best games here in Utah with the flu. . .how could I forget that?  Maybe that's the motivation I need :)

YES!!!!  A new personal best!!  I was hoping, but I wasn't sure if it would actually happen today.  

Thankfully, the weather cooperated, for the most part.  We got lightly rained on for a bit (but the marathon, which was farther up the mountain, got poured on), but the cooler temperatures felt great for running.  Not so great waiting at the finish line for my sis and my hubby, though :)

The race came down Provo Canyon and down University Avenue in Provo.  Down the canyon was great - lots of downhill.  Once we hit University Avenue, though, it was mentally challenging, at least for me.  That was the last 6 1/2 to 7 miles.  It is just a LONG STRAIGHT road. . .need I say more?  They had the traffic very well controlled for the race, so kudos go out to all the help.  I thought the aid stations were very well placed and well stocked, too. 

Not necessarily my favorite race, but I'm so excited to have set a new PR today!  I also came in 6th in my age group, just missing placing by 1 1/2 minutes.  I'm quite pleased :)

Now to recover and get ready for Ragnar next weekend. . . :)

Sprint workout on the treadmill.  Legs still a bit tired from Saturday, but it felt good to stretch them out again.  Backed off a bit and alternated between 9's and 8's.

Did 4 miles in 33:14.  Felt tired, but I guess I wasn't too bad off!  Legs almost recovered from Saturday.  

Okay, I am officially EXHAUSTED!! Don't know why I am typing this instead of going to bed!  Ragnar ended today.  It was AWESOME!!  I did leg 6 in van 1.  Our start time was 6:50 a.m., so we got up at 2:45 a.m. in order to make it to Logan on time. 

My first leg was down Avon Pass, 6.9 miles.  Everyone has been telling me to "have fun with that".  Now I know what you all  meant!  I love downhill, don't get me wrong, but that was BRUTAL!  Would have loved to enjoy the view, but I was too busy concentrating on where I was placing my feet.  Very steep and I was just flying down the hill, but one wrong step would be a disaster.  Luckily, I made it down to the pavement, where my legs had turned to jello.  The last 2 miles on the pavement were difficult because of this, but I managed to make it to the exchange in just under and hour.  Unfortunately, van 2 was not ready so I had to wait in the chute for about 5 minutes for someone to show up!  Oh, well, live and learn :)

 My second leg started around 8:40 p.m. heading up to East Canyon, 8.1 miles.  This was the leg I was worried about, #1 because it was mostly uphill, and #2, because I was already tired from my first leg.  However, for the most part, it was really not that bad.  I was actually glad of the change from downhill to uphill to use other muscles.  And, the uphill was more rolling uphill until about the last 2 miles.  Then, it got steep, and I got tired (and hungry!)  Made it to the top in about 1 hour and 20 minutes.  I know my first 5-6 miles were probably between 8 and 9 minute miles, but those last 2 killed me, so I averaged 10 min/miles on that one. 

Went to Oakley after that to have a pancake breakfast at midnight :) and get some rest.  Unfortunately, I'm not a great camper, so I didn't sleep much before we were back up again at 3:30 a.m.

My last leg was through Heber.  It was 3.1 miles and relatively flat.  I decided to go all out on this one and see just how much more my body could give.  I made it to the exchange in 25:20, so I was quite pleased! 

Then, we headed up to The Canyons to await our 2nd van.  Our total team time was 31 hours and 20 minutes.  This was seriously so much fun!  (And, a bonus - I got to meet Sione from Biggest Loser at the finish line!  He's AWESOME!!) I definitely want to do it again!

But, now, sleep. . . :)