A clydesdale no more!

The Salt Lake Running Co. offered a free 5k as part of the grand opening of their new store.  Pfitz had a race on the schedule for today so I signed up for it.  I have been doing more speedwork lately and I am in the middle of the taper so I was hoping for a good race.  The course was almost perfectly flat.  The weather was 40 degrees with a light rain.  Everything was lining up for a fast race.  Warmed up by running the course plus a little.  As we lined up there were only 2 guys that looked very fast.  One was Jeremy Holt who I have run with a lot and knew we were close in fitness level.  He said he only wanted to run 6:30 pace for a tempo run but I knew better.  We started and another runner and I were immediately in the lead.  I was running very comfortable and the pace felt really good.  We were behind police escort and I couldn't help but think of Teena and her run behind the police escorts in Boston.  After 1/2 mile, Jeremy pulled up along side of us and the 3 of us were running side by side.  Kind of fun to be running in a group behind the police escort.  I was amazed at how easy the pace felt.  It even felt a little slow but I intentionally held back.  My stomach was bothering me but everything else was perfect.  I started to notice that I run with very tense shoulders.  I focused on relaxing them and the pace came easier.  Hit the first mile in 5:56.  The other guy started to drift back a little after 1.25 miles so it was just Jeremy and me.  At the turnaround, I noticed that my pace was starting to slip.  Tried to focus on relaxing but it didn't seem to help.  Jeremy put about 10 yards on me and I couldn't respond.  My legs felt great and my breathing wasn't labored.  I just couldn't shift into a higher gear.  Mile 2 came in at 6:05.  Mile 3 was much of the same.  I felt fine but the pace continued to slip and Jeremy continued to gap me.  Mile 3 was 6:10 and the last 0.1 was at 5:39 pace for a final time of 18:48.  Overall not a great performance but on the bright side I felt great and think I could have held 6:10 pace for quite awhile.  I have no explanation as to why I could not shift into a higher gear but I am happy with how easy the pace felt.  The fitness is there, I just need to be more race ready.  Finished the day with another 2.7 miles.

A very peaceful run on a beautiful morning.  The weather was nice and cool and the pace was comfortable.  Form was a little clunky but that is expected the day after a race. 

Total Time: 2:10:17 (7:40/mile)

Started the run and my legs felt tired.  I'm used to having a full day's rest after a long run so I moved tomorrow's recovery run to today.  Felt better after 3 miles and considered doing the full run but decided the short easy run was the smart thing to do.

First 3 miles felt like they were in slow motion.  Really couldn't get the body to move right.  Dropped the pace to the low 7's and it felt a lot better.  Still felt a little clunky.

Total Time: 59:10 (7:24/mile)

"Warmed up" with 2.25 easy miles then ran 3X1 miles at 5k Pace (6:00/mile) with 1/2 mile recovery.  A little longer recovery than usual because of the taper.  It seemed colder today than it has been the past couple of days and I could really feel the cold during the first repeat.  The first one came in at 5:58 and felt fine but not as comfortable as I had hoped.  Ran the recovery at just under 8:00/mile pace which was probably a little too fast.  Ran repeat #2 in 5:51 and it felt good.  Recovery was more reasonable at 8:40/mile.  The last one felt like the last mile of my 5k on Saturday.  Breathing was fine and the legs did not burn but I could not get them to turn over as quickly as I would have liked.  The last 0.2 was up an overpass and I was at exactly 6:00/mile pace before hitting it and finished at 6:02.  I thought I would feel a little stronger today.  Overall, it was a good run and did not beat me up too much. Finished with 1.75 cool down miles.

I'm starting to think about my goal for the marathon and do not think that I am in sub3 shape right now.  I wasn't able to do it 2 years ago when I was in better shape physically (although I was an emotional mess) and am afraid if I go for it again this year I will blow up at the end again.  I think that 3:03 (7:00/mile) is reasonable and will probably target that.

Slow recovery run.  Mind is not in the right place so it was kind of a blah run.  I'm going to try to break in a new pair of shoes for the marathon.  I probably should have started doing this 2 weeks ago.  Hope I can get them ready in time.

Freezing cold run.  I had to run an errand so I incorporated it into the run.  Miscalculated my route and ended up running a little extra.  I'm starting to notice my right achilles.  Hopefully it is just part of breaking in the new shoes.

Total Time: 1:02:04 (7:40/mile)

Not exactly the way I wanted to feel for the last Saturday run before the marathon.  It was early and cold and I could feel lots of little aches and pains throughout my legs.  Hoping to get some snap back into my legs in the next week.

Total Time: 1:43:02 (7:55/mile)

Just an easy run in the cool rain.  One of these days I will get to run in a short sleeve shirt.  On a positive not, my weight finally got to where I wanted it over the weekend.  Of course I will put on a couple of pounds later this week during carb loading but at least I was able to get to a good starting point.

7 miles with 2 at marathon pace.  After 3 easy miles I ran 2 at MP (6:49, 6:45).  The pace felt incredible.  It actually felt better than the slower miles.  Very happy about that.

Easy run at a comfortable pace.

Easy 5 with a few striders.  Starting to have feelings of fear and doubt.  I have to trust my training and have faith in my ability.

Fortune cookie from lunch: "Use your abilities at this time to stay focused on your goal. You will succeed."  My feelings of fear and doubt are now gone.

Last run is in the books.  Quick shake out run to loosen everything up.  I have a few sore spots that I need to roll out if I can find my stick.  Weather is looking good so it should be a great day tomorrow.

Met Teena, RivertonPaul, Rich Borget and some others for the ride up to the start.  Had a good time on the bus.  Paul said he wanted to run 6:40's to start and I thought that was way too fast for me (more on that later).  It was freezing at the starting line which is a great indication of fantastic racing weather. We couldn't have asked for better weather.  After a couple of POP stops, met up with Kathie, Smooth, Huans and Maynard and waited for the start.

After much deliberation, I decided that I would rather go down swinging while shooting for a great time instead of running conservatively and having a strong finish with a slower time.  My plan was to run 6:45/mile through 8 then back off through the hills.  The gun went off and my return to marathons after 18 months off was under way.  Half a mile into the race I glanced at my garmin and saw that my lap pace was 6:10.  Oops!  Way too fast.  I backed off a little but still finished the first mile in 6:17.  The strange thing is that the pace felt very comfortable.  I wasn't exerting myself at all.  I decided to just go with it and see how things turn out.  Settled into a more realistic pace and ran the next 3 miles in 6:40, 6:32 and 6:36.  Still a little too fast but the effort felt right.  At this point I got the "Lap Database Full" message on my garmin.  I couldn't get rid of the error message to clear out the database without stopping the watch so from here on out, I only have a few splits from memory.  Mile 5 was 6:37 according to a guy I was running with and I started to feel the effects of the pace.  Just tried to stay comfortable for the next few miles until the rolling hills start after 8.  My total time at mile 8 was 53 minutes exactly which means that I averaged 6:46 for miles 6-8 (the pace I should have been running from the beginning).  I felt like I backed off the pace for miles 9 and 10 but they both came in at 6:55 (10 seconds too fast).  The runners ahead of me were gapping me but I knew I had to hold back through this section.  Averaged 7:03 for miles 11-13 and hit the half in 1:28:48 - 3 seconds slower than when I ran this in 2008.  I started having deja vu.  I knew I wasn't feeling as well as I should at this point and was pretty sure that I was not going to finish well.  After the half, a female runner that had been running ahead of me most of the race went flying by.  Turned out to be Amber and she was running completely effortlessly and looked like she was having a great time.  Climbed the hill at 15 and on the ensuing downhill I couldn't get the pace below 7.  Was able to pass Rich at this point but I think we were both in survival mode.  The way I was feeling I knew that the sub 3 was not going to happen today so I made the choice to have a great time running on an amazing day and cheer on anybody that passed me.  I have no splits from here to the end.  Was still able to maintain a decent pace coming down the canyon but not where I wanted it.  Saw Allie at mile 22 and my family at mile 23 which always gives a little lift.  Played leap frog with a couple of runners over the next few miles.  My legs where completely dead but I was having a good time.  Whenever I was passed I would shout encouraging words to the runner.  Not sure if it helped them but it made me feel better.  Turned onto Grant and the nightmarishly long stretch to the finish.  Tried to work the crowd coming down the final stretch and pulled my girls onto the course to finish with me.  Crossed the line in 3:03:20 which is a course PR by almost 1 minute.  Not what I was hoping for but I have come to the realization that it is all about perspective.  I had almost the exact same experience 2 years ago and was absolutely devastated.  This time, I know that it is still a good time and can really appreciate still being able to run well.  After I finished I went back to the 26 mile marker to watch the harem come in.  Teena and Kathie looked great and unfortunately Smooth was attacked by Charlie again. 

What would I have done differently?  I didn't eat very well yesterday.  I had a late lunch/early dinner then went to the Bees game and didn't eat anything else until 11.  Maybe I wasn't as carb loaded as I should have been.  The biggest factor obviously was the fast start.  This course is very difficult to run right. 

While not my best performance, I can live with the result and really enjoyed the day. I feel like I am still on track for 2:55 at SGM.

I let out an audible yelp as I took my first few steps.  As I got going, though, everything felt good.  Typical soreness in my quads and hamstrings but everything else felt good.  Was actually able to run in shorts and a t-shirt.  I think the really nasty stuff is finally behind us.

Beautiful morning for a run.  Perfect temperature and a very slight rain.  Another easy run while I recover.  Will keep it easy this week then start to ramp the training up again next week.  Legs still feel heavy but there is no real soreness.

AM

I am going to run a few miles with somebody from work tonight so I only put in 5 this morning.  I looked out the window this morning and saw a pile of snow so I threw on my jacket before heading out.  I ended up being a little over dressed.  Other than a little tightness in my right calf, everything felt good.

PM

Nice and easy 6 mile run on the JRP with friends from work.  I think they are going to do this once a week and I may join them for the extra mileage on recovery days.  Nice weather and nice conversation.  I'm sure my heart was beating abnormally fast for the pace I was running.

I'm taking today off for no other reason than I can.  This week doesn't require much running and I'm going to take advantage of it.

Perfect running weather.  Still not much power in my legs but they are getting there.  

I'm a big wimp.  My plan was to at least hit double digits today but it didn't happen.  Went early to the club run and put in 6 miles.  Nobody else showed up so I just went home.  The kids have million things going on today so I figured it would be better to get a head start on things to eliminate some of the time stress.  That is so unlike me.  It was a nice recovery week although I wish that I had eaten better.  

As I was falling asleep last night I was thinking that I wanted to be sure to be out early enough to see the sunrise during my run (corny, I know).  Mother nature had different plans.  This was one of the coldest, wettest and dreariest runs I have been on.  The rain turned to snow toward the end of the run.  What month is this?  Despite the bad weather, I felt good and enjoyed the run.  There is still some lingering soreness in my hamstrings but I am starting to feel a little pep in my legs again. 

Apparently I used up all of my pep yesterday.  I was very tired this morning.  It took a lot of convincing to get myself out the door.  I can't get into the habit of skipping runs so I forced myself out the door.  Not the greatest run but it was a nice, crisp morning and it felt good to be outside.

Still feeling pepless.  Lots of little aches and pains in my legs.  Sometimes I forget how long it takes to start feeling normal again after a marathon.  It was a beautiful morning which makes it so much easier to get out the door.

It was one of those mornings.  A morning where everything seemed to be perfect.  The weather was ideal and I got to see the sunrise I have been waiting for.  I decided to make it a good, punishing run.  It has been a long time since I have run hills so I ran from my house up to Bountiful Blvd.which is a good climb.  I pushed myself going up.  I have missed the feeling of my legs and lungs burning and my heart pounding so hard it feels like it is going to come out of my chest.  Hit the top and stopped for a minute to enjoy the view.  Started backed down and the form felt good until the last 2 miles.  As I fatigued my form got a little sloppy.  Had that familiar light headedness at the end of the run indicating that I put in a solid effort.  It was a great start to the day.

My ankles were sore from running downhill yesterday so today was just a nice and easy recovery run.  Form was sloppy because of the ankle soreness.  Another morning of perfect running weather.

Met the running club on the LPT and ran 14 miles alone.  It was a little cool out this morning but was still able to run in shorts and tshirt.  Felt really good for the first 11 miles.  A lot of energy and the pace felt smooth and easy.  Of course I forgot to take my fuel belt again and I was low on fuel for the last 3 miles.  I'm surprised that I ran out of gas so early in the run. 

Total Time: 1:46:13 (7:35/mile)

Started the morning with a nice and easy 5 miler.  My right hamstring has been sore and I am starting to think it is more than just post race soreness.  Not too concerned but I will keep an eye on it.

Gracie really wanted to run the Woods Cross Memorial day 5k.  I didn't think she was ready and thought it may have been irresponsible for me to let her but figured that we could do the run walk thing if we had to and still do alright.  Emma didn't want to run so she rode her bike. Started the race a little too fast and Gracie did not make it very far before she wanted to take a walk break.  I thought we were going to be in for a long day.  Once I figured out what her pace was supposed to be she did a much better job.  I tried to keep her around 12:00/mile.  I would hold her back when necessary and encourage her to pick it up when she started to fall back.  After the first mile I think she got used to the feeling and realized that she could do it without stopping.  Other than a very short walk break during the second mile, she ran the rest of the way.  With 1/4 mile to go I had her pick it up to 9:00/mile then she sprinted the last 0.1 at below 7:00/mile.  She finished feeling like she had to puke which is what I was hoping for.  Final time was 34:46 which is great considering the only running she does is for soccer.  Emma had a great time on her bike.  It was a fun morning.  Was able to talk to Kathie who had another great race.  She keeps getting faster and faster.