A clydesdale no more!

It was very cold this morning.  I forgot how long it takes for everything to warm up running in the winter.  My ankle was especially tight.  I hope this will not be an issue throughout the winter.  Felt pretty good during the run once I warmed up.  I thought I was ready to ramp the mileage back up but I just discovered that I have a kidney stone bouncing around so I'm going to take it easy until I get it taken care of. 

Ran at a good steady pace and felt good throughout the run (after my achilles tendon warmed up).  Picked up the pace the last mile and felt good until I get below 6:30 pace.  Wasn't terrible but I didn't feel as snappy as I would have liked.  It was a slight incline so that may have been the issue.

Got in 3 miles before the club run.  Ran the first 2.5 with Trevor then he turned around and I finished the out and back.  Felt really good during the run.  Thinking a lot about everybody running SGM today.  I have never been so excited to see how others do. 

• Kathie, Kimmy, JeffC and Huans getting the BQ monkey off their back
• Fly, Cal, Paul and Matt going for the sub-3
• JeffL and Walter crushing their PR's
• Teena surprising herself with how well she does
• Smooth having more fun than anybody should during a marathon
• MarcE and Dale getting big PR's

Wanted an easy speed workout today just to get my legs used to 5k pace without wearing myself out.  Ended up only doing 3 X 1/2 mile repeats with 1/4 mile rest in between.  Hit each of them around 2.55.  I had nothing in me when I started the fourth so I bagged it half way into it.  Felt like I had absolutely no energy at all.  A little frustrating but I'm not too concerned.  Just one of those days.

Had to break out the running pants because it is getting cold.  Legs felt a little clunky.  No matter what I tried, I could not get them to move smoothly.  

Felt a little less clunky than yesterday but still not as smooth as I would like.  Held a decent consistent pace throughout the run. 

Went to the doctor yesterday because I was pretty sure I had a kidney stone.  Sure enough I have a 7 mm stone and since the ureter is only 5 mm it will not pass on it's own.  I'm going in for a lithotripsy tomorrow morning to have it blasted.  Because of this I am going to miss the 5k on Saturday so I decided to run the course today.  My thought was to push the pace since my next run won't be until Monday.  I had no energy and couldn't even hit 5k pace during the first mile.  Decided to back off the pace a little and just cruise through the rest of the course.  Mentally I'm ready to run fast but my body does not want to right now.  

Threw in a couple of quick miles before the procedure this morning.  No time to waste so I ran at 6:45/mile.  Felt really good.

Helped with the registration and timing at a local 5k.  I should have run it.  My back is sore but I feel so much better this time than the last time I had the lithotripsy done.  I'm sure my body would not have responded the way I would have wanted it to so it is a good thing I did not run.  I should be back at it on Monday.

Felt really good this morning right from the get go.  Right ankle and achilles felt good and left hamstring wasn't bothering me.  First time in a long time that I was able to run without a little leg pain somewhere.  Started out at 7:50 pace and gradually sped up to 7:00 pace.  Pace felt very comfortable.  I got a ton of sleep on Saturday (kids were away and I had an excuse for being lazy) which I think is why I felt so good.

It was windy and warmer than I expected so I was overdressed.  Warmed up with 3 easy miles then ran 3 miles at tempo pace.  I had a really hard time hitting the pace I wanted.  I even had the aid of a tail wind and still ran too slow.  First 2 miles were 6:35 and 6:27.  Turned into the wind on the 3rd mile and also had the overpass.  Ran it in 6:48 and knew I was done when I saw the split.  It took a lot more work than it should have.  Finished with 2 more easy miles too cool down.

Nice and easy miles.  I allowed negative emotions affect the way I felt physically.  I need to work on that.

Ran from home up to the mouth of Mueller Park canyon then back again.  Going up was much more work than expected.  I really need to add this as one of my weekly runs again.  I wanted to work on my turnover so I pushed the pace on the way down.  Forgot how important the arms are when running down hill.  Felt good for the first 2 downhill miles but then started to get a little slappy towards the end as my legs fatigued.

A nice uneventful run.  At mile 6 I stepped on an uneven section of sidewalk wrong and reaggravated the pain in my right ankle.  I guess 4 days of it feeling good was enough.  

Started with 7 miles before the club run.  Ran the club's out and back course on Davis Blvd.  On the way back I saw Kathie ahead and tried to catch her but she was too fast.  Ran the course again with Jim so the pace was a little quicker.  Felt really good on the way out but started to feel it on the way back.  The hills were killing me.  Averaged 20 seconds per mile faster the second time because I had somebody there to push me.  The last half mile is downhill and I felt great on that section.  This indicates that I really need to work on my uphill running fitness.

Woke up to great running weather - mid 60's with a slight breeze.  Started with 3 easy miles to warm up then ran 4 miles at tempo pace.  First mile felt alright but not great (6:26).  Second mile felt better and came in at 6:24.  Really had to start working on the third (6:23).  Started to have thoughts of quitting after 3 but kept at it.  First 1/3 of the last mile was slow (6:31/mile pace) and I let self doubt creep in.  Picked up the pace to get my legs to wake up and finished the mile in 6:24).  Cooled down with 2 easy miles while being treated to a pretty cool lightning show. 

Very good run.  Weather was perfect and my legs felt good.  

Ran from home up to the mouth of MP canyon again for a good hill run.  Going up felt a lot better this week than it did last week.  I didn't push the pace but the effort felt good.  Coming down I tried to push the pace while keeping my form smooth.  The pace felt good although not as quick as I would have liked. Once I finished the big downhill my form on the flatter terrain felt a lot better. 

Nice and easy recovery run. Lower legs were sore but it is a good sore.

My knees felt stiff this morning and it didn't feel like they were bending at all.  I felt like Frankenstein.  Lots of thinking during the run.

Drove to meet the running club and it was a small group so I opted to drive back home and do an out and back route from my house.  The road where the running club met is only 7.5 miles and I didn't want to do it twice.  It was absolutely perfect running weather.  I ran a route that I haven't done for several months.  It was nice to have different scenery.  Kept the pace pretty easy and just enjoyed the run.  Left hamstring started to rebel the last mile because I haven't run 15 miles in a long time.  Just in case you were wondering, I can no longer stomach purple rain Gatorade.

Alright Kathie, here is the dream.  It wasn't naughty or anything.  I was with somebody on a park bench and she was in my arms and fell asleep while I was holding her.  I can distinctly remember the smell of her hair and look on her face.  I woke up with the most intense emotions that I have felt in a very long time.  Of course waking up to reality made the feelings that much more memorable.

Warmed up with 3 easy miles.  It was freezing this morning so I use the term "warmed up" very loosely.  Ran 4 miles at 1/2 marathon pace.  Maintained 6:30/mile pace throughout the run.  Never really got into the run  The pace felt fine and I didn't get overly fatigued but something was missing.  Cooled down with 2 easy miles. 

Got out just as the freezing rain was turning to snow.  The first few miles were uncomfortable but got better once the wind died down and it stopped snowing sideways.  Physically I felt a little worn out.  The pace was slow (8:00/mile) and felt like it took more effort than it should have.

Nice and easy recovery run.  Felt a little tired so a recovery run is exactly what I needed.

Ran the Davis Blvd loop.  It is about half the hill that I have been running but think my legs needed a break from the big hill.  My right ankle is acting up again and I think it is due to the cold weather.  Hoping it is not an issue throughout the winter. Really couldn't get into a groove.  The uphill was alright but coming down was very sloppy.

Garbage in - garbage out.  I drank too much soda yesterday and definitely felt it this morning.  Absolutely no power in my legs at all and felt pretty lousy all over.  Understanding why I felt this way made it easier to make it through the run.  

Started with my regular 9 mile loop before the club run.  Drove to meet the club.  Down time between the runs was about 15 minutes.  I'm not sure if this has any effect on the quality of the run but getting started for the second run is always tough.  Ran 6 miles along Davis Blvd. and a comfortable pace.  The entire run was at a relatively leisurely pace (7:45/mile).  Wasn't feeling great and wanted to give my legs a little break in preparation for the Snow Canyon 1/2 next week.

Thought I would share my Halloween costume.