A clydesdale no more!

Cool and a steady rain.  I played basketball with a couple of guys at work yesterday and my legs are sore because I used my leg muscles in ways that I'm not used to.  It is probably something I should do more often. Because of the leg soreness, I kept the pace pretty easy.  I never felt like I could get my looks to move the right way.

My intent was to run 15 miles but my girls had a soccer game at 9 and I didn't get out the door soon enough.  Since I didn't meet the club this morning and it was a torrential downpour I kept the pace really slow because I just didn't have the motivation to run fast.  I averaged 139 bpm for the entire run so I probably kept the pace slower than I should have.  Other than the rain, the run felt very nice this morning.  I almost forgot.  At the request of Teena and Smooth I opted to run shirtless this morning.  It was quite a sight. 

I was up most of the night with a sick kid.  I fell asleep sometime around 4:00 and didn't wake up until 6:30 which is too late for me to get a run in and still get the non-sick kids off to school.

Woke up at 3:30 and worked for a while so I was pretty tired.  I never felt like I could get my legs to move right.  Nothing hurt or felt uncomfortable they just didn't want to move.  The pace would feel better when I actually concentrated but I don't like to think while I run so it was pretty clunky for most of the run.

Warmed up with 3 super easy miles then immediately moved to tempo pace (I usually take a break for a couple of minutes before speed works).  The pace was pretty consistent and it felt good the entire time.  My splits were: 6:32, 6:29, 6:28, 6:28.  The last mile was a little more work than the first 3 but still felt good.  Cooled down with 2 more super easy miles.

My legs were beat up this morning.  I thought that after a few miles they would loosen up and I could get in 7 or 8 but it just didn't happen.  I guess I'm not quite ready for higher mileage every day.

There was a little dip in the temperature and my hands froze during the run.  It took about 5 miles before I started to feel like I was running normally.  The first few miles my feet were especially slappy but felt more smooth the last half of the run.

I was really tired when I woke up this morning and my stomach felt a little unsettled.  Finally convinced myself to drive up to the rec center so I could get in 9 miles before the club run.  During the first mile, I had a lot of aches and pains that flared up.  My groin was really bothering me (no Kathie it was not a burning sensation).  After the first mile everything started to feel better.  I maintained a relatively easy, steady pace.  Met with the club and ran 6.2 more miles.  Jim wanted to run some hills in preparation for WBR so we ran from the rec center up to Davis Boulevard.  I actually felt really good during this part of the run.  Going uphill was work but it felt good.  Coming back down, I felt pretty comfortable even though we were pushing the pace in some sections.  

I could not get into a flow this morning.  Nothing felt quite right during the run then I had a really nasty hot spot on my tibia during the last mile.  Just one of those days, I guess.

My ex was taken to the hospital last night for diabetic ketoacidosis and I was at the hospital until 2 a.m.  With only 2 hours of sleep last night I knew that running too much this morning would be a mistake.  Felt as lousy as I expected but am glad to get a few miles in.  She will be fine.  She just needs to spend a couple of days there to get her body back on track.

Felt a little better this morning.  I have been trying to make Wednesdays speed days but I wasn't feeling it today so I just ran easy.  Maybe tomorrow.

I felt alrightish this morning.  I decided to take it easy this week and not worry about a speed workout.  I was able to maintain a decent pace during the run and the effort felt good.  Had some funny twinges in my legs but nothing too serious.

I was up late again last night and got out the door a little late this morning so I wasn't able to get in a full run.  I think that the lack of sleep this week has finally caught up with me because I had absolutely no energy during the run.  Kept the pace easy and just enjoyed being outside in the nice weather.  My ex is out of the hospital so things should get back to normal now.

Wasn't sure if I would be able to get in 15 this morning but I'm tired of making excuses for cutting runs short so I vowed to go the distance.  Felt good the entire run.  The pace was slow but that is part of the plan while I try to build up the weekend mileage.  I will probably stay at 15 on Saturdays for a couple of weeks then jump up to 18.  The weather was amazing this morning.  It was good to be out there for 2 hours alone with my thoughts.  I also had fun watching everybody riding the SLC 100 mile bike ride (5 miles of my run were on the course). 

I just couldn't get going.  Nothing felt right this morning. Just trudged through the miles.

I felt terrible this morning.  My head felt very strange.  I have been taking penicillin for an abscessed tooth and I think that may be causing the problem.  Now I'm off to the dentist for a root canal.  What a great way to start off the day. 

I made a feeble attempt at a tempo run today.  After a 3 mile warm up I started into tempo pace.  First mile was 6:37 and second mile was 6:31.  At this point I was feeling light headed and didn't have a lot of energy so I bagged the tempo run half way into the third mile and just ran the rest of the run at a more comfortable pace.  The weather was nice so even though the run was bad it was good to be outside.

Another blah run.  My body is just not feeling like it should.  

I took Kathie's advice and ran a different route.  I threw in some hills to try to jump start my legs.  Ran from home up to Davis Blvd then back again.  Going up felt pretty good but coming down I couldn't quite get in the groove.  Still feeling kind of clunky but not as bad as the past few days.

I had some extra time this morning so instead of getting in extra miles before the club run I waited until the club met to do my full run.  I was up at 6:00 so I should have got the miles in early while it was a little cooler.  Met the club at the rec center but ran solo.  I from rec center to the mouth of Farmington canyon.  It was a really pretty run.  I felt pretty tired during the run.  I know that I have a long ways to go to get back to where I want to be.  Ran the 15 miles in exactly 2 hours (to the second). 

I debated whether or not to run this race because I have been telling myself for the past few months what terrible shape I am in. I am 10 pounds heavier than last year at this time and just have not been in a running groove for quite a while.  Since I'm trying to get a more healthy attitude toward running and not focusing on my performance so much I decided to run this race despite my fear of doing poorly.  Met Kathie at the start which was a nice surprise.  The course is accurate with no significant hills.  The only drawback is the 25+ 90 degree turns.  I thought that 19:30 was a reasonable goal considering the extra weight and lack of speed work. Lined up at the front with all of the high school kids and Tim (can't remember his last name but he runs 5k's in 17 min and usually wins this race).  The gun went off and I just hung back because I didn't want to take off too fast.  I was surprised how many people where ahead of me.  I didn't look at my watch at all and thought I was running 6:20/mile pace.  The pace felt good but I didn't have the desire to push it.  Hit the first mile in 5:57 with my HR at 161 bpm (first time I have worn a HR monitor during a race).  I was shocked at the split because it didn't feel that fast and I was still pretty far back in the pack.  During the second mile I could tell that my pace had slowed a bit but I started passing a lot of people.  Hit the 2nd mile in 6:11 and my HR was 175 bpm.  During the 3rd mile I just settled into a pace and couldn't find the desire to push hard.  There were a couple of runners ahead of me that I probably could have passed but I just didn't feel the urge to move to the next level of pain.  Third mile split was 6:15 and my HR was 178.  Finished the last 0.1 at 5:34/mile pace with HR hitting 181 bpm for a total time of 19:01.  Of course 18:59 would have felt a million times better but I was pleased with the outcome.  It is only 13 seconds slower than my time last year which surprised me.  Physically, I don't think that I'm too far off where I was the past couple of years it's just the mental aspect of racing that I have lost. I was nice to get a race in and past the fear of racing.

My legs feel pretty worn out from yesterday's race.  Kept the pace slow and felt lousy most of the run.  My right tibia is extra sore this morning.  I believe it is because my legs are not used to running fast and I tend to over stride a bit at 5k pace putting a little more stress on my lower legs.

I was dead tired this morning.  Not sure what the problem is.  I got out the door late and since I was so tired I decided to just put in a few easy miles.  I'm hoping that the easy run today will give me more energy tomorrow.

My legs are still a little dead but they are definitely improving.  I must be getting really old if a 5k can take that much out of me.  Just ran the usual 8 mile loop and maintained a consistent pace the entire run.  

I took my new racing flats for a test drive today.  I'm not fast enough to own a pair of racing flats but want to pretend that I am every once in awhile.  They were very comfortable and I liked running in them.  They are definitely shoes that I can only wear for races and speed work because my legs need more support for the majority of my miles.  It was a great run on the LPT this morning. 

Started with 7 miles at a snails pace before the club run.  Very small group today (only 4 showed up).  I ran the 5k course with Neil then meandered through the city then back home to get the miles in.  My legs were a bit sore at the start of the run (I think from running in flats yesterday) then felt better during the middle miles.  They started to feel heavy during the last three miles.  I guess that is all normal while I'm adjusting to the longer runs.