A clydesdale no more!

Just a go through the motions, get the miles in run.  Felt really lazy with no desire to push the pace.  

The plan was to run the SL 1/2 course but the wind scared us off.  So sick of running in the wind. Just ran a quick 5 miler and we will try the course tomorrow.  Felt good after a couple of mile warm up. Still not 100% but almost there.

Previewed the SL 1/2 course with Becky.  It seems like a good course although we skipped the final hill going up State Street.  While the majority of the run was at a comfortable pace, I pushed a couple of times going down the hill and it felt very good.  We did get lost once because the course description was not accurate.  Anybody familiar with the course?  Coming down 2700 South, the directions say to turn North on 1100 East but that is not possible.  Do you turn at Highland?  Averaged 8:49 for the run. 

Another cold Monday morning. It was 29 degrees when I headed out so I bundled up with extra layers.  It took a few miles to warm up but felt decent for much of the run.  My left hamstring feels really tight.  Hopefully it will not turn into anything serious.  I suppose stretching every once in awhile would help.

Not feeling very fluid this morning.  After 3 miles I was able to lock into a decent pace and held it for the rest of the run.  Still very clunky.

Warmed up with 3 easy miles then ran 4 at tempo pace.  Much like last week, my warm up was so slow I was concerned about being able to transition into a faster pace.  Was surprised that I was able to get into a decent groove pretty quickly.  First mile was 6:32 then ran a 6:24 for the second.  Third mile finished at the top of an overpass and it really did me in (6:35).  Took a short break at the top then finished with another 6:24 (aided).  Felt good during the last mile so I should have just gutted out the fatigue and not taken the break. Lesson learned.

Nice and easy recovery run.  Legs feeling dead which is expected after yesterday's tempo run.

Alright Mother Nature, you have proved your point.  I usually like these kind of snow storms.  Giant flakes gently falling and very peaceful.  When it is in April, I could do without it.  Since it was snowing, I through my jacket on at the last minute so I could stay semi dry.  It may have been a mistake because it was too warm.  Felt pretty blah throughout the run but I got it done. 

Just a run. Felt faster than it was.  Legs felt decent for the first few miles but I was a little disappointed in the splits.

Legs felt dead today.  Ran 2 miles at HM pace just to put some snap in the legs (6:35, 6:30).  A little fast but they felt better than the slow miles.

Not a good run.  My achilles tendons are starting to flare up again and I felt overweight and out of shape.  Strange morning.  Opted for a shorter run in hopes that the body would feel better tomorrow.

First 3 miles were not fun.  I had no energy and the hail was blowing straight into my face.  Once I warmed up and got past the bad weather, I felt better.  I'm still not feeling as strong as I would like to. 

Just an easy run with a few strides thrown in to wake up the legs.  The strides felt good.  I need to start doing more of them.  I could definitely feel the deficiencies in my form during the strides.

Salt Lake ½ Marathon

I have felt so slow lately.  I really don’t know what my problem is.  I just haven’t felt strong.  Maybe it’s this old age thing.  I am in my fortieth year which may be the culprit.  My goal for this race was to break 1:30 with an outside chance of 1:28.  The course was fast enough and the weather was absolutely perfect for a race so this would be a perfect opportunity for a good time.  Not taking into account how long it would take for Trax to get us to the start (we were in the same train car as Teena – what are the odds?), we got to the starting line 10 minutes before the gun went off.  Just enough time to drop off our bag and find a tree.  I didn’t have time to run my usual mile warm up.  This may have actually been a good thing and I may forgo it in the future.  The horn went off and the race was underway.

I did not come up with much of a race plan other than run by effort.  The big concern being that I haven’t been a very good judge of effort lately.  I just wanted to keep a strong, comfortable pace.  First mile was fast but it was a good downhill (6:18).  I felt comfortable and made an effort to hold back.  I have gotten into a nasty habit of going out way too fast.  The course flattened out and I was holding a decent pace through 2 (6;43).  Third mile was a big drop again and I felt like I was moving well (6:21).  Hit the 5k in exactly 20 minutes.  Yes, the course is that fast for the first 3 miles.  Mile 4 was 6:26 because of the nice downhill coming down 2100 South.  Hit a 180 degree turn during the 5^th mile and the course was nice and flat (6:44).  Mile 6 was 6:38 and I noticed how quickly the miles were going by.  At Moab, it seemed like each mile took forever even though the pace was similar.  Hoping this was a good sign.  Mile 7 came in at 6:40 and felt like I was slowing.  I was just waiting for the GU to kick in.  Still happy with the split as I knew anything below 6:52 was time in the bank.  Mile 8 was 6:45 and included a missed water cup at an aid station.  The cups were just on the table and it slipped through my hand as I tried to grab.  My only complaint during the race.  Cranked out another 6:45 during mile 9 and was focusing on a quicker turnover.  When my legs fatigue, I try to run a shorter and quicker stride and it seems to move some of the work from my legs to my lungs.  I thought I was slowing significantly so I was happy to see mile 10 come in 6:46.  Took another GU here to give me that little extra umph.  A couple of runners ahead of me were coming back so I started to push a little resulting in a 6:42 11^th mile.  All that was left was surviving the climb up State Street.  I focused on the stop light at South Temple and just plugged along.  It was slower than I thought it would be but not as hard (7:09).  Another runner moved by me and I was feeling a little spunky so I tried to hang with him.  I was feeling great and didn’t mind pushing,  Last mile was 6:07.  Pushed hard to the end and finished in 1:26:29.  Happy to finish 2 minutes ahead of my goal time.

Grabbed a bottle of water and headed out on the course to run the last little bit with Becky.  Saw Teena cresting the hill at South Temple and she was looking very strong.  Got to the bottom of the hill and was shocked to see Becky that early.  Ran the last little bit with her although I think she didn’t enjoy it.  I was pushing her and she later told me that she wanted to tell me to shut up.  I took that as a compliment and that I was doing my job in pushing her past where she thought she could go.  She finished in 1:46 – a 7 minute PR from a month ago.

The race was very good for me.  It helped with the motivation issues that I have been having.  Now if I could just do something about this extra 10 pounds that I can’t seem to get rid of.

I was short on time so didn't have time to get in a full run.  My right calf is really sore but everything else feels good.  Just your typical post race heavy legs.  It was a nice morning to be out.  A little cool with a light rain. 

Right calf and quad really hurt.  My legs were more dead today than they were yesterday so I kept the pace nice and slow.

The hurt is gone but my legs are still feeling heavy.  Another nice and easy paced run.

Ran to to the LPT.  I decided to stop giving into the tired legs and run at a slightly faster pace.  Pace felt harder than it shuold have but it did feel good to put in a decent effort.

Couldn't get the legs to move right.  Cut the run short because it just didn't feel right.

Yesterday was a busy day so I had to move the long run to today.  Decided to incorporate some rolling hills into the work out so I ran up to Orchard drive and followed that into Centerville then down to Main street.  I wanted to get some extra hills in and change things up so I ran up to Freedom Hills park.  Did a couple of loops around the park then turned and headed for home.  Stopped at my sisters on the way home to wish her and her family a Happy Easter.  Good, solid effort and it felt good.

My legs were very sore and I was short on time (again) so I could only get 4 in.  I'm very disappointed with how sore my legs are.  I didn't run that much or that hard yesterday.

Perhaps the strangest weather I have ever run in.  Started out in slightly cool weather which quickly turned into a light rain.  Shortly after I started, I was running in hail that was bouncing painfully off of my face.  I then found myself running in a light snowfall which turned into the largest snow flakes I have ever seen.  Finished up the run under a clear blue sky.  Mother Nature is schizophrenic!  The run itself was awful because my body refused to move properly.  The pace was embarassingly slow.

Warmed up with 3 easy miles then ran 4 miles at LT pace.  My legs did not want to join in on the fun.  After the first quarter mile, I considered making the turn towards home and making it an easy recovery run.  I had a lot of discomfort in my right tibia.  Not really pain but it felt completely dead.  Decided to just keep pushing along.  Legs started to loosen up a little and I was able to get throught the tempo run.  It was a little slow (6:35/mile avg) but it was good to get the run in.  Ran a slow mile to cool down.

Only had time for a quick recovery run.  Actually felt really good.

Ran out to the LPT and put in a few uncomfortable miles.  Felt very clunky.  I finished the run just before the really nasty weather started.  The temp was cool but it felt good.

Great run with Kam and Amy.  We are the 3 runners in van 1 of Kam's Wasatch Back ultra team.  I was supposed to meet them at the Memory Grove gate but I drove to the City Creek gate since I am incapable of following instructions.  I knew I was at the wrong place but didn't dare leave because I wasn't sure which direction they would be coming up.  Struck up a conversation with another guy waiting for his running partner and he told me how to get down to the other gate.  I headed in that direction and ran into them after about 1/2 mile.  The run up City Creek was great.  Had to turn around once the snow was too deep to run in.  Check the calendar, yes it is April 30.  Felt good while running back down the canyon.