Week # 8 Day Four Fourteen mile run

10/09/10. This was the 14 miler I was nervous about. I met up with James and Chad at 6am at one of the Trailheads in Boulder City. We started out at a good pace. We were all able to keep a good pace and still be able to talk. The first part of the trail had a lot of downhills. Once we got to the part where it met up with the Railroad tunnel trail Chad told us we were past 3.3 miles. He has his Nike shoe tracker, so at least we had a way to track our mileage this time. I was surprised we had already done 3. I felt pretty good, was able to keep up with them, and hoped the rest of the run went by just as fast. We got to the Railroad tunnels, and right before the 2nd tunnel I tripped on a rock. It felt like it happened in slow motion. I remember running, then I remember hitting the rock, and then I just started falling. I had my arms out like superman, and ended up sliding to a stop on my stomach/chest. I remember using the F word as I fell. I got up, brushed myself off, and discovered I had scraped my right knee up. Also had scrapes on my hands. My hands were burning, and then I looked at my bloody knee and decided to keep on going. Chad told me my fall was at mile 5.3. We kept going through the tunnels. At the end of the last tunnel there is a gate that is closed at night. It was daylight by this time, but it was closed. We had to turn around. On the way back Chad informed us we had gone 7 miles already. Halfway done ! I was still feeling pretty good, my knee was doing ok. We followed the trail back and James had an idea on how to make up the mileage we lost from the gate being closed. We decided to go down the trail towards the campground we started at last week. He told Chad to let him know when it was 9.2 miles and then we would turn around and finish the trail to where we started. We hit 9.2 and turned around. I was still feeling good. We headed back up the trail that we started on. Of course a good portion of it was uphill. Just a steady uphill. Wasnt too bad. Then we had a little bit of a downhill. Chad anounced we had gone 12 miles, then later 13. Then he said we've gone farther than a 1/2 marathon. I was thrilled. Once he said that though my legs were starting to ache. he then said once it hits 14 miles we're stopping. We ended up doing 14.13 miles in 2 hours and 29 minutes. I burned almost 15oo calories, and our pace was 10:33 a mile. It felt good to stop though. Overall I felt much better than last week's long run. I didnt eat breakfast last week, but this week I did and it made a huge difference. Next week's long run is 16 miles.

Week # 8 Day Three Four mile run

10/07/10. Four miles. I felt okay when I started. It was nice and cool again. I did my 3 mile loop but added the extra mile when I began by going to the other entrance to the housing community and back , then continued on my 3 mile loop. I was feeling good, and tried to stay at a good pace. I looked at my watch at the 3 mile mark, and it said 28 minutes. I was happy, so I tried to keep that pace. I had to slow down a little bit going up the final incline , but ended up finishing in 38:17. I averaged 9:29 a mile and burned 421 calories. I could've broken 38 minutes but I was tired at the end.

Week # 8 Day Two Six mile run

10/06/10. This was a 6 mile night. I decided to just do my 3 mile loop twice. I felt pretty good when I started. Its been a lot cooler out here so it makes a big difference. I ended up picking up my pace on the downgrades, and picked it up for the last mile. My time was 58:53 for 6.12 miles. My pace was 9:38 a mile. I burned 644 calories. It was dark when I was running, and I almost ran into a guy on a bicycle in the dark. I had my flashlight with me, but didnt have it on at this part. He didnt have any reflective gear or flashlights. We both kind of did a "oh no ! " and got out of each others way.

Week # 8 Day One Four mile run

Halfway through the training ! 10/05/10. This day was 4 miles. The outside of my left knee was still sore. I ended up doing 4.43 miles in 44:36. I just took my time for this run. I wanted to go easy since my knee was still bugging me. Not much else to report on this run.

Week # 7 Day Four 12 mile run

10/02/10 . I met up with James at 5:30 in the morning for this run. We met at Boulder Beach campground at Lake Mead. We decided to do part of the Hoover Dam 1/2 marathon course. This was also the first time using my hydration pack. Its like a Camelback, but I got the $19 Walmart version.lol. It did the job. We started out in the darkness at a nice easy pace. We kept checking with each other to see if the pace was ok. We started on a paved trail, and kept following it until we got a part where the trail that we were on lead to a gate, and the other way lead to another trail. We chose the wrong way, which made us go up hills, and stairs, across the Hacienda casino parking lot, and back to the original trail. If we had gone through the gate it would've led us right to the tunnels we were wanting to see. We just took the long way around. We made it to the Railroad tunnels. They were pretty neat. It was so dark inside of them, but luckily there weren't any rattlesnakes sunning themselves in front of the tunnels like some people have sighted. Or so I read online. lol. After the tunnels we kept going until we went past some buildings and finally ended up at a gate that said No Access. There was nowhere else to go, so we had to turn around. I used the Hammer Gel sample that I had gotten in my bag for the ET run about an hour into the run. It was pretty good. Getting the package open wasnt easy though. We were able to talk to each other during the run, but on the way back we both kind of just zoned out for a few miles. Then as we got to 2 miles left, our legs were starting to shut down. We kept saying " where's the damn sign for the campground ? ". We didnt know how far we had gone, James' GPS could not get a signal. It was such a struggle to keep running. If I had stopped at all I dont think I would've been able to start running again. Our knees were killing us, and we just wanted it to be over. We finally saw where we had started, and ended it. Our time was 2 hours and 16 minutes. James mapped it when he got home and it ended up being 11.5 miles. So we were 1/2 a mile short. Our pace was 11:50 a mile. I thought we had done better than that, but oh well. When we stopped it felt like we were walking bowlegged. It was crazy. We had a gatorade by our cars, and then made our way home. I was glad it was just a 10 minute drive for me. : ) That night I had to go to a baby shower/going away party for one of my coworkers. It was hard to walk. The outside of my left knee was killing me, and my legs were so sore in general. Sunday I rested.

Week # 7 Day Three 4 mile run

I have not updated in a while. I think I'm the only one looking at this thing anyway. lol. But I just do this to keep track of my training. 9/30/10 : This run was 4 miles. Did it in 40:36. I remember my legs were so dead that I could not have made them go any faster no matter how much I tried. I burned 422 calories, averaged 10 minute miles.

Week # 7 Day Two 6 mile run

http://www.walkjogrun.net/routes/current_route.cfm?rid=60875DC3-F04C-A6BC-5FA5634B165FCB96

Wednesday night was 6 miles. I ended up going past the apartments that I turn around at for my 5 miles route. I went to the end of the dead end road which was 3 miles. Then turned around and went back towards home. I started at 6:30 pm, and it was light out. By the time I was on my way back it was already dark, but I had my flashlight with me. I just tried to keep a steady pace, my legs were a little tired. I ended up doing 6.0 miles in 59:33. My pace was 9:50 a mile and I burned 622 calories. Overall I felt good. When I saw my time I was thinking " did I do the whole route? ". I even mapped it out again when I got home. I was just trying to keep the same pace, but then picked it up for the last mile. When I had 1/2 a mile to go I was soo tired, but I kept going. Felt good overall, but my legs are dead today. Tonight is supposed to be 4 miles. Then 12 on Saturday. Saturday I'm going to run with James. at 5:30 am at lake Mead. We're going to try to do the Hoover Damn 1/2 marathon course. Well 12 miles of it anyway. Wish us luck : )