A clydesdale no more!

Didn't feel as good as I did yesterday.  Very strange. 

Just a few miles lolly gagging along the LPT.  Felt decent until 1.5 miles to go when I started to feel very pukey.  Had to stop for a minute to let my stomach settle.  Felt fine once I got going again.

Nice run with Kam and Tara.  Maintained a relatively leisurely pace.  I'm a little disappointed in my mileage this week.  I guess that I should call it a recovery week and be happy with it.

A few easy miles then 2 miles at 6:35/mile just because I haven't run anything remotely close to a decent pace in a very, very long time.  Faster paced miles felt really good. 

Pretty uneventful steady state run.  Maintained a consistent pace other than 1 mile towards the end that I ran a little quicker.  A little disappointed with the effort the quicker mile took.

Kept the pace nice and easy for the most part.  Ran the fourth mile at half marathon pace just to liven things up.  This is part of my attempt to break out of this year long funk.

Got dressed for my run and decided that I really didn't want to run this morning.  Sat and thought about it then headed out the door.  My knees and ankles bothered me for the first couple of miles then I felt a lot better.  Turned out to be a good run.  Ran out to Farmington Bay to get a feel for the portion of the Bountiful Half that will be on the dirt road.  Other than it being stinky and humid it should be good.

I didn't get the results I desired today but I did get the results I deserved.  I have got to stop pretending that my physical state is not declining.  This is my "home" race as it goes along roads I run on very often so I couldn't pass it up.  It was a super small race (maybe 100 finishers).  The first half is predominantly downhill (with a few extreme downhill sections) and the last half is pancake flat.  My plan was to run around 6:40/mile during the first half and around 7:00/mile for the second half.  The start was at the mouth of Mueller Park canyon.  I was happy to be in a place that I was familiar with and I knew where the secret bathrooms were so I could avoid the POP's.  Legs felt lethargic at the start of my warmup but much better at the end.  The race started and I took off way too fast - average pace was sub 6:00 for the first little bit.  My mindset still has not changed from when I could actually run at a decent pace.  This has gotten me into trouble at a few races.  Settled into 3rd place behind BJ Christensen and another guy that was not far behind him.  After 2/3 of a mile of good downhill we turned onto Bountiful Blvd. for the only uphill section of the race.  Hit the first mile in 6:40 and the second in 7:01 which is right where I wanted to be.  Turned onto one of the incredibly steep downhill sections and was passed by a few people.  I wasn't going to kill myself on the downhill so I let them go.  Tried to be smart with the downhill but, in hindsight, I pushed too hard.  Meandered through Bountiful and hit the half in 44:00.  The course flattened out at this point and I started to struggle.  My achilles tendons were killing me and I could feel a blister forming on my left foot.  I think I once heard about not wearing new shoes on raceday.  Apparently this is good advice.  I thought having the fresh cushioning of new shoes would help with the downhill but my foot was slopping around inside the shoe since it hasn't had a chance to form to my foot.  Hit the Legacy Trail at mile 8 and my split was 7:30 and I knew the race was over.  It's hard to overcome that mentally.  Stopped to try and get my foot in a different position in the shoe and it seemed to help the burning.  Once we hit the dirt road in Farmington Bay I could see one runner coming back and another that was not too far away.  I tried to pick up the pace but couldn't get my legs to respond.  I did end up passing one guy but never made up any ground on the other even though his pace had dropped significanlty as well.  Averaged 7:30 ish on the dirt roads.  The absolute worst part of this race is at mile 11 when you make the final turn onto a long straight away.  You can seriously see the finish line for 2 miles.  Ended up finishing 4th overall.  The guy who finished second must not have been a registered runner.  Had I known that, I may have been able to push a little harder and finish 3rd.  If nothing else, I got a few faster paced miles as a workout today.

I have definitely lost what little "edge" I had.  There is absolutely no desire to push once I get a little tired.  I need to be more realistic at the start of races and be a little more conservative.  I am strongly considering dropping out of the Huntsville marathon.  3:15 would be a realistic goal and I'm not sure that is even something that I want to entertain.  I may pace the full marathon at Big Cottonwood on Sept 22 (as a birthday present) instead.  Thoughts/opinions?

Along with Nebo, I will be adding the Bountiful half to the list of races not to run if you are in the middle of training.  After 3 days off, my legs are still killing me.  Kept the pace nice and easy and just got through the run.

Fifteen mlies along Bear Lake Blvd.  Felt horrible for most of the run.  Just couldn't get the body to move right.  I am 93% sure that I am going to drop out of Huntsville.  My training has been awful and I am just not in the place that I should be to run a marathon.  Trying to do the smart thing.

Last minute fill in for the 2 hour pacer at the Top of Utah Half.  The average pace (9:09) is a little slower than I am used to so I was concerned about keeping the pace in check.  Took 3 miles to lock into what it was supposed to feel like.  At that point were were 10 seconds ahead of pace.  Kept that cushion the rest of the way until the last mile when we slowed to encourage the runners just behind us to pass us and beat 2 hours.  Ended up crossing the finish line in exactly 2 hours (actually over shot but 1/10th of a second).  Cooled down with Rachelle, Allie and Kelli for 3 miles.  

Saturday night I ran/walked the Sundae Run at This is the Place with Becky and her kids.  Had no intention of participating but decided to hang out with them.  Ended up running quite a bit more than I expected with her daughter.  We probably ran half and walked half.  I skipped the free sundae at the end.  Partly because I didn't pay the entry fee and mostly because I saw a picture of me at the lake.  Holy cow have I put on a lot of weight.  I really need to find the will power to commit to healthier eating.

I've been a faithful Adrenaline wearer for 8 years and I think my feet are finally tired of them so I bought a pair of Lunar Glide's for cheap at Running Warehouse to see if they could be a replacement. They felt a little mushy for the first couple of miles.  I could tell they were putting a little extra strain on my achilles and tibias.  If I can get past the initial adjustment it might be a good thing to work these areas differently.