A clydesdale no more!

My wife went on a getaway with her friends so I had to do the neighborhood loop again.  Only problem was that today called for a 20 miler.  I wasn't really looking forward to doing 14+ loop around the neighborhood.  It actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  Usually when I run my long runs I end up so far away from home the return trip is sometimes daunting.  I just concentrated on the number of laps and trying to keep each lap under 11:00 minutes (7:45/mile) and it went by pretty quickly.  The other nice thing was that I didn't have to carry my fuel belt with me.  Felt good for most of the run and maybe should have gone a little further.  Will probably try to get a few miles in tomorrow.

Total Time: 2:32:19 (7:37/mile) 

Needed to get away for a head clearing run so I headed up to Mueller Park canyon and ran up to Elephant rock.  Didn't push terribly hard on the way up with the intent of pushing hard on the downhill.  It took awhile to get into a groove on the downhill.  Once I got going, I felt really good pushing the pace.  The trail is starting to wear out and a lot of rocks are exposed.  The footing isn't as good as it was the last time I ran it.  Towards the end of the run, I was trying to get around a couple with a dog and wasn't paying attention to my footing and I fell.  It didn't hurt too bad and only skinned up my knees and hands a little.  

Total Time: 58:36 (33:02 going up/25:34 coming down) 

Legs felt really tired after last night's run.  I'm not used to running at night and don't think that I refueled properly after the run.  Pace felt a lot faster than it actually was.  I'm really starting to question my running ability.  It just doesn't feel natural anymore.  

Total Time: 1:17:41 (7:46/mile) 

Feel much the same as yesterday.  Felt like I was hitting a decent pace only to have mile splits much slower than anticipated.  My mileage is up a little and I haven't had a day off in a couple of weeks which is probably what is causing the slow down.  I figure that this is a good thing and this is the time when I should be the most fatigued.  Only 2 more hard weeks of running then I can start to back off.

Total Time: 1:50:24 (7:53/mile) 

Easy, recovery run.  My run included the 5K course that I will be running in a couple of weeks just to get a feel for it.  I'm starting to notice the effects of the last couple of weeks of training - very hungry and tired.  My Garmin was dead and I couldn't find my watch so I have no idea how long it took.  I'm guessing it was between 8:15/mile and 8:30/mile.
 

Warmed up with 3 easy miles then ran a 6 mile tempo run.  I had a hard time convincing myself to start the tempo run.  After a couple minutes of procrastinating, I finally convinced myself to get going.  Once I started the run, I felt really good.  The pace felt smooth and in control.  I was able hold a consistent pace for the entire run (6:28/mile-6:31/mile).  The last 2 miles took more concentration but as long as I paid attention to my pace it wasn't too difficult to hold.  HR started at 158-159 for the first 3 miles.  Crept up to 162-165 during miles 4 and 5 and was 172 at the end of the run.  Finished with 1 easy cool down mile.

Total Time: 1:11:44 (7:10/mile)

Avg HR: 152 

Ran out to Farmington Bay and ran along the dirt road for a few miles.  It took 3 miles to warm up and start feeling good.  Once I got going I felt pretty good until the last 2 miles when my legs started for feel a little worn out.

Total Time: 1:15:50 (7:35/mile) 

This is the best time of the year to run.  Temperatures are perfect.  My plan was to run a few easy miles then start to gradually pick up the pace.  First 8 miles were pretty slow. Next 2.4 miles were a pretty good downhill and are pretty similar to SGM.  Decided to test goal marathon pace.  Pace felt surprisingly easy (6:40/mile).  Made a pit stop at home to get some Gatorade and wake up my wife.  Started out again and eased into the remainder of the run.  First 3 miles were at 7:30/mile pace.  Next 4.8 miles were at 7:00/mile pace with 2 of the miles at GMP (6:50).  Once again, the pace felt surprisingly easy.  Things are finally feeling like they are coming together.  Hopefully I will feel this good in 1 month.

 Total Time: 2:18:11 (7:36/mile)

Avg HR: 145

 

Easy recovery run.  Felt really good and the body was moving well.  Ran the 5k course that I will be running next week just so that I can familiarize myself with the course as much as possible.

Total Time: 49:09 (8:11/mile) 

Ideal running temperatures.  This cool down has been nice.  Hope that it holds up.  Started off with 3 comfortable miles then immediately transitioned into a tempo run.  Only ran a 4 mile tempo run because of the 5K this Saturday.  Splits were: 6:33, 6:27, 6:20, 6:22.  Felt good about the effort but my feet were a little slap happy.  Finished with 3 more miles at a comfortable pace.

Total Time: 1:12:51 (7:17/mile) 

Was planning on doing a basic 13-14 mile run but decided to run up Eagleridge Drive at the last minute.  It's a good, punishing run that I haven't done in quite a while.  Felt pretty good going up even though it was slow (10:00 min/mile).  Ran the middle miles, which are rolling, at a comfortable pace.  On the downhill miles, I realized that I really had to start moving so I could get home in time to take my son to school.  It was going to be close and I had to run about 6:15-6:30/mile on the downhills to make it.  I just let go and let gravity do it's thing.  I made it home with 2 minutes to spare, although it was more work than I was planning on today.  I ran 4 minutes faster than the last time I ran this route.

Total Time: 1:45:00 (7:37/mile) 

Super slow recovery run.  Yesterday's hilly run and impromptu tempo run took more out of me than I thought.  My left achilles and right tibia are pretty sore.  

Total Time: 1:01:01 (8:22/mile) 

It took a few miles to warm up.  Really never got going even after I was warmed up.  Ran out to Farmington Bay and back.  It was very dark this morning and I had a real hard time seeing.  I'm hoping that I start to feel better before Saturday's 5K.

Total Time: 1:18:11 (7:49/mile) 

Just a plain old general aerobic run.  Threw in a few strides to sharpen the legs.  The form felt good and abnormally smooth.  

Total Time: 1:01:52 (7:44/mile) 

This race was run in the memory of the girl who was hit and killed by a car while running in West Bountiful in January. I really wanted to run this race even though it didn't fit very well into my schedule. The money goes toward a scholarship fund set up in Trudi's name and I think that they raised $15,000. Even though I didn't know Trudi, I think about the accident a lot while I am running. The day it happened, I was only a couple of blocks away and could hear all of the emergency vehicles.

Since this was a fun run in a small town I knew that there was a chance that I could finish towards the top. The course is along roads that I run almost everyday so I consider this my home course. My plan was to attack the first mile because it is slightly downhill, expect a slight slow down during the second mile because of a slight incline then hold on during mile 3. At the starting line, there were only a couple of people that I was worried about. One was pushing a stroller but looked real fast.

The gun went off and I was immediately in the lead. No one really went with me so I just focused on the lead car and plugged along. It was kind of fun following the lead vehicle because I was able to pretend, just for a little while, that I was a decent runner. I could tell that I was pushing harder on the first mile than I normally do because my breathing was a little more labored. Hit the first mile marker in 5:38. This was 10 seconds faster than I wanted but felt alright. At the half way point, another runner came along side of me and easily put a little distance between us. He was moving really well and I could tell that he was just running fast enough to hold the lead but could run faster if he needed to. Second mile split was 6:08 which was exactly what I was expecting. My legs started to burn and I really didn't have the desire to push hard. The aggressive start came back to bite me hard. Third mile is mostly flat and I ended up running that in 6:17. Very disappointing to say the least. Finished the last 0.15 (the course was long) at a 5:46 pace to finish in 18:52 -- 4 seconds slower than my PR which means that my PR streak ends at 8. First place was less than 10 seconds ahead of me and 3rd place (the guy pushing the stroller) came in probably 30 seconds after me.

There are two ways I can look at this race. I can either be very disappointed in my inability to tough it out at the end or I can be happy that I tried an aggressive pace and was able to hold on for a decent time. I'm somewhere in the middle right now which is an improvement since I typically have a negative view on my race results. I haven't done a lot of speed work lately other than tempo runs which I think is why I was unable to hold the pace at the end. Also, as I was getting ready for the race, I discovered that somebody stole my check book and has written $2,000 worth of checks. Being on the phone with the bank for an hour before the race certainly didn't do a lot to get me race ready.

Today was about time on my feet.  I really wasn't concerned about my pace.  Ran out to Lagoon and back home.  Added a few miles at the end to get close to 3 hours of running.  Got a late start so it was a little warm towards the end of the run.  Legs were a little dead from yesterday's race.  I spent a lot of time during this run thinking about that race.  I really believe that my downfall was the lack of V02 max runs.  I haven't really done anything faster than tempo pace in a couple of months. Because of this, I was unable to move into the level of discomfort that comes with VO2.  My mind would only accept the lactate threshold level of discomfort.

Total Time: 2:58:38 (7:56/mile) 

Very easy recovery run.  My legs are pretty beat up from the last 2 days.  Ran without a watch and just took it nice and easy.  

It took about 3 miles to warm up this morning.  Both achilles tendons where really bothering me.  I think that it is due to the cooler temperatures.  Once I got warmed up, I was able to run between 7:00 and 7:15/mile pretty comfortably.  The shoes that I wore today feel like they are about done but I should have about 100 miles left in them.

Total Time: 1:21:44 (7:26/mile) 

Warmed up with 2.25 miles then ran 5 X 1/2 miles at 5K pace with 1/4 mile jog between each repeat.  Hard a real hard time getting started after the warm up.  Walked around the for a few minutes before starting the work out.  Splits were: 2:52, 2:55, 2:56, 2:54, 2:59, 2:56.  Really had to push at the end of the 5th one to get under 3:00.  Would liked to have been a little faster but overall I am pleased with the effort and splits.  Cooled down with 2 miles of easy running.

Total Time: 1:04:56 (7:38/mile) 

Easy recovery run.  Didn't wear a watch but pace was probably around 8:00/mile.  The shoes that I was planning on wearing in the marathon are causing a little pain on my right ankle.  It seems that my ankle is hitting the top of the shoe.  The pain goes away after a couple of mile so I am not sure if I should wear them anyway, trim the top of the shoe or buy a new pair.
 

Started with 3 comfortable miles then ran 3 miles at LT.  First mile was slow because I was just being lazy.  Second mile was right on pace and I ran the last mile faster to beat the 6:30 guy.  Ran another easy mile then ran 1 mile at marathon pace just to get a feel for it on tired legs.  Ended up running 10 seconds faster than marathon pace and felt pretty comfortable doing so.  Ran another mile to cool down.  My ankles and knees have been aching since last night.  This is most likely from the storm coming in.  I think that this is why my first LT mile was so slow.

Total Time: 1:07:16 (7:28/mile) 

Didn't feel all that great this morning.  My legs were really burning - especially my ankles and knees.  I turned 36 years old today so I guess that it is old age setting in.  About half way into the run, it felt like somebody flipped a switch and sucked all the life out of me.  I have no idea what happened but it wasn't very fun.

Total Time: 2:11:49 (7:45/mile) 

Had to break out my winter running gear this morning.  It was rainy and cold but I seem to run better when it's cold so it felt really good.  Threw in a few strides and they felt very comfortable and the form felt good.

Total Time: 57:55 (7:14/mile) 

Ran at a comfortable pace today but on a hilly course.  Felt pretty good.  My weight is starting to creep up a little so I need to try to keep that in check.

Total Time: 47:56 (7:59/mile) 

Today was the last hard workout before the marathon.  Warmed up with 2.25 miles then ran 3 X 1 mile at 5K pace with 1/2 mile jog in between each repeat.  The plan was to try to keep the pace below 6:00/mile.  Started out a little fast on the first one but settled into a decent pace and ran 5:50.  Started quick again on the second one but I didn't back off quite as much and ended up running 5:45.  For the last one, I decided to be a little more conservative at the beginning and run at more of an even pace and ran it in 5:55.  The last one didn't hurt as much as it should have but was still a good effort.  I averaged 10 seconds/mile faster than when I ran this the week before Boston.  During the warm up I was thinking that my fitness hasn't improved much since this spring but maybe this indicates that it has improved a little.

Total Time: 59:29 (7:26/mile) 

Nice and easy run.  Only mild fatigue from yesterday's run.  During yesterday's mile repeats I noticed that my right leg is noticeably weaker than my left leg.  I could tell the difference today as well.  I'm trying to figure out what would cause the discrepancy.  One thing that I came up with is that I occasionally run on a cambered road and my left leg is on the low side of the camber.  I think that this may have caused a leg length discrepancy which could explain the problem.

Total Time: 49:03 (8:11/mile) 

It was warmer than I expected so I was a little over dressed.  First 2 miles didn't feel great but then I settled into a decent pace and felt alright for the remainder of the run.

Total Time: 54:28 (7:28/mile)

Weather started out perfect but turned cold and rainy.  Took it easy for the first 11 miles then ran the last 2 downhill miles at goal marathon pace.  Just went by feel and averaged 6:25 for the 2 miles.  The pace felt really comfortable.

Ended the month with 285.3 miles on 28 days of running.  This is was a record month for me.  Hopefully this will translate into a good race next week.

Total Time: 1:42:59 (7:34/mile)