A clydesdale no more!

Very blah run.  Almost turned back home after the first few steps.  My knees are really aching and it takes a couple of miles for them to warm up.  Felt much better after 3 miles.  

The SL Trib is showing no love to the FRB.   There is an article about Josh Rohatinsky running the trials this weekend and it says there are 3 Utahns competing in the trials - no mention of Paul or Logan.  They probably pulled the information from the USATF site that is not updated.

Total Time: 55:05 (7:39/mile)

I've had every intention of running a tempo run this week but I kept putting it off.  Finally forced myself to put in the effort today.  Ran a 4 mile tempo run after warming up with 3 semi-easy miles.  The pace felt good after the first 1/4 mile.  Unfortunately my Garmin died halfway into the tempo miles.  I think that my first 2 miles were 6:35 and 6:25.  I tried to maintain the same effort for the last 2 miles but fear that I may not have pushed as hard as I should have without having the watch to keep me honest.  I'm guessing that I averaged no worse than 6:35/mile for the 4 miles.  Finished up with 2 cool down miles.  Got home and my son was pacing nervously on the driveway.  He has to be to school early on Friday's and I guess I cut it a little too close for his comfort. 

Total Time: 1:06:20 (7:22/mile) 

There is a new running group starting in the South Davis area and I tried to meet up with them.  I left the house a little late and the meeting place was 1 mile further away than I thought so I missed them.  I headed out in a direction that I thought they would be but never found them.  On my way home, the organizer of the group was at the meeting point so I was able to fill out the paper work to join the club.  Something is missing from my running right now and I hope that joining a group will help.  I felt pretty good during the run.  Held a pretty consistent pace from start to finish and felt good physically.  

 I was a little surprised with the results of the Olympic trials.  I figured that Ryan Hall was the front runner but didn't think that Brian Sell and especially Dathan Ritzenhein were quite ready.  I'm still trying to find out how the local guys did

Total Time: 1:29:04 (7:25/mile)
 

Felt really good today.  Pace felt smooth and comfortable.  It was nice to finally have a good run.

Total Time: 1:05:19 (7:15/mile) 

Failed speed session.  Warmed up with 2.25 easy miles then ran 3X1 miles at 5K pace with 1/2 mile recovery jog in between each.  I expected these to be under 6:00/mile but had a hard time holding the pace.  First mile in exactly 6:00 but didn't feel great.  Second mile in 6:01 and almost called it quits.  Ran the third mile in 6:10 and had a real hard time getting my legs to move.  It is very disappointing because nothing really hurts, I just can't convince my legs to move fast.  My diet has been pretty bad lately which is probably why I could run as well as I expected.  I plan on running a 5k race on Saturday and hopefully I will run better then.

Total Time: 1:03:31 (7:28/mile) 

Ran the Val Verda/Davis Blvd. loop.  Not sure how smart it is to run a hilly route the day after speed work.  Legs were a little heavy but I felt pretty good for the most part.  Opened it up on the downhill section and it felt good.  

Total Time: 1:14:34 (7:51/mile) 

Nice and easy recovery run.  Legs felt a little heavy so I kept the pace slow.  I was going to run along Farmington Bay but I heard a lot of gun fire as I approached so I decided it wasn't a very good idea.  I thought that it was too dark for the hunters but I guess I was wrong.  Continued through W. Bountiful into Centerville than headed back home.  It was a nice, peaceful run.  My left kidney has been a little sore.  I'm not sure if it a return of a stone or just a sign of dehydration.

Total Time: 1:05:08 (8:09/mile) 

I feel really wiped out.  I have no idea what the problem is.  I almost feel a little over trained but that's not possible since my mileage and intensity has been down for the past month.  I haven't been sleeping very well so maybe it is from lack of sleep.  Felt alright after a few miles but not as peppy as I would like.  I'm not expecting anything spectacular from tomorrow's 5K.

Total Time: 54:30 (7:34/mile) 

Went outside this morning and couldn't believe how nice the weather was.  The temperature was perfect for racing.  Although I didn't have a real great week running, I felt pretty good this morning.  Often times, when I am feeling poor leading up to a race I end up racing really well.  Warmed up by running 2 miles to the starting line.  There were a few really fast looking guys so I could tell that, despite this being a fun run, that there was good competition.  After looking at a map of the course, I didn't think that this would be a fast race.  The first mile has a slight elevation gain (38 feet), there is a good elevation gain during the second mile (83 feet) then the third mile really drops (125 feet).  My plan was to run 6:15, 6:30 then hope I have something left to take advantage of the downhill.  As it turned out, this is exactly what Sasha's course tool predicts.

The gun went off and the lead pack quickly formed.  There weren't the usual young rabbits sprinting for the first 100 meters for some reason.  I settled into 8th place and the pack slowly stretched out and nobody was running together.  After about 0.75 miles, I caught and passed another runner.  First mile came in at 5:57 and I was really surprised.  Turned onto 500 South which is where the majority of the elevation gain is.   I slowly moved up on another runner and was able to pass him during the uphill.  Turned onto Orchard Drive and the big climbing is done but now there is a slight incline for another half mile.  I was slowly closing in on the runner ahead of me.  I eventually caught up to him just past the 2 mile mark.  Second mile was 6:31 which was exactly what I wanted.  I started to get really nauseous at this point.  The feeling only lasted for a few seconds.  We eventually turned onto 1800 South which is where the fun begins.  It is a pretty good downhill.  I could see another runner ahead of me but wasn't sure if I could catch him.  I could feel somebody moving up from behind so I tried to focus on my best downhill running technique.  I relaxed and let gravity do it's thing and was able to put some distance between me and the other runner.  Unfortunately, I wasn't making up any ground on the runner ahead.  Made one of the last turns and took a peek over my shoulder.  I was surprised to see 3 runners only a couple of seconds behind me.  Since I don't have a very strong kick, I started to worry a little.  I put it into another gear and started to move.  At this point I really started getting nauseous.  This usually makes me slow down but I refused the urge this time.  I kept going and made it through the finish line in 18:27.  Last 1.1 ended up being 5:59 (5:26/mile).  I got an unexpected PR and was finally able to average less than 6:00/mile in a 5K.  Just after crossing the finish line, the nausea overwhelmed me and I started to dry heave.  Fortunately nothing came up. 

Wife's at work and kids are at Grandmas so I decided to get a few miles in.  Felt really good this morning.  It's amazing how much better a good race can make you feel.  Yesterday's race seemed to snap me out of the funk that I was in last week.  

Total Time: 1:05:38 (7:30/mile) 

There was a very thick fog this morning and my legs felt just as heavy.  I think that the soreness from the race on Saturday finally kicked in.  Turned the run into a recovery run because I just couldn't get my legs to move.  It was kind of nice and peaceful running in the fog.

Total Time: 57:30 (8:13/mile) 

My legs are still really sore.  I'm surprised that they are this sore.  First couple of miles were rough but felt a lot better once I warmed up.

Total Time: 1:09:49 (7:45/mile) 

My feet were extra slappy today for some reason.  As usual, the first half of the run felt awful but I felt good once I warmed up.  It's getting really cold and I need to find my winter gloves.  The $1 throw away gloves aren't keep my hands warm enough anymore.

Total Time: 1:07:45 (7:37/mile) 

I've had a little discomfort in my chest for the past few days.  Nothing major but enough for me to make sure that I have my Road ID on my shoe.  I'm going to take it easy for a few days until I can figure out what the cause is.  I had a stressful week at work last week which is what I think is the source of the problem.  The run itself felt good but very cold.  

Total Time: 1:01:27 (7:41/mile) 

Still taking it easy.  My chest discomfort is about the same.  I think that I may hit the Instacare tonight just to make sure that nothing is wrong.  Actually, I made the mistake of mentioning the discomfort to my wife so she is insisting that I have it checked out.  I strapped on my HR monitor just to make sure that nothing is out of whack.  My resting heart rate was normal (43) and my heart rate during the run was pace appropriate (145-150).  

Total Time: 56:21 (7:38/mile) 

Went to the Instacare last night to get an EKG and make sure that my chest discomfort was not serious.  Instacares are limited as to what they can do and even more limited in what they will tell you (too much C.Y.A.) and even though the EKG looked alright, he couldn't tell me that there was nothing wrong.  I either had to go to the ER or wait until Monday to go to the Utah Heart Center.  The discomfort that I've been having isn't serious and I wouldn't even classify it as a pain.  My wife said that I couldn't run until I had it checked so I decided to go to the ER.  Working in the Actuarial department of a health insurance company, I know what a waste of money this is and really didn't want to do it but to put my wife's and my own mind to ease, I felt that it was the best thing to do.  Got to the ER and was strapped to a HR monitor, had some blood drawn and had another EKG.  They wanted to check the enzyme levels to make sure that there hasn't been any damage to the heart.  Blood test came back fine and I was sent home after a couple of hours.  I am going to the Utah Heart Center on Monday to have a stress echo.  One good thing that came out of the ER visit was that I was able to set a new HR PR.  While waiting for the blood test to come back, I was able to get my heart rate down to 37 b.p.m.  I think that the ER doctor was once an athlete (looked like a tri-athlete).  He told me that as a physician he couldn't give me the go ahead to run but if he were in my situation, he would probably still run (more C.Y.A.)

I wanted to hook up with the South Davis Road Runners this morning by running 2.9 miles to the rec center.  It is a new group and there aren't a lot of runners signed up yet.  There isn't anybody that runs at my pace so I ran alone.  It will be good once the group grows and hopefully I will be able to find somebody to run with.  I was able to find out what the 5k course for the Thanksgiving turkey trot is. 

I read somewhere about the Ryan Shay memorial 5.5 mile run.  It asked people to dedicate 5.5 miles of their run today to Ryan Shay and take time to think about life.  I decided to run the 5K course plus 2.4 miles at a little slower than tempo pace as my Ryan Shay run.  I ran the course in 20:44 then turned around and ran most of the course backwards at the same pace.  Felt good for the most part.  Chest discomfort is mostly gone.  After the 5.5 miles I stopped to reflect on some things for a few minutes.  Finished up by running another 2.5 miles home.

Total time:  1:19:48 (7:19/mile)

AM 

Ran the Davis Blvd loop and felt really good. What a great morning for a run. I wore shorts and a long sleeve shirt. Not the normal attire for the middle of November.

Total Time: 1:15:08 (7:31/mile)

PM 

Not sure how to count the afternoon miles.  Went to the Utah Heart Clinic for a stress echo exam.  Showed up, had the ultrasound then hopped on the treadmill.  You start out walking on a slight incline then every 3 minutes it speeds up and the incline increases.  There are 7 stages to the test and they said that they have never had anybody finish all 7 stages.  I took it as a challenge.  You have to get your heart rate to 166 bpm and they wanted me to go a little longer because they knew my heart rate would recover quickly and they had to do another ultrasound while the heart rate was elevated.  The first few stages were really easy.  I think that it wasn't until the third or fourth stage when I actually started jogging.   Once I hit the 6th stage my heart rate hit 166 and they asked if I wanted to keep going.  I said that I wanted to finish the test if it was alright with them.  During the 7th stage, my legs started to get tired and I could start to feel the effort.  They were curious to see what the program would do after the 7th stage.  Hit 21 minutes and nothing exciting happened so they had me stop at 21:07.  My heart rate got up to 183 bpm.  I think that I could have gone for another 2 minutes if we had the time.  Considering that the people who usually take this test aren't in very good shape I guess that it isn't a great accomplishment but I will take whatever victories that I can.

The test revealed that everything is perfect with my heart so I have nothing to worry about.  The discomfort is most likely due to inflammation in the chest cavity.  At least I now know that my heart is in good shape.

I was a little sleepy as I headed out the door today.  I also got started a few minutes late so I cut the run short so that my wife could get to work on time.  First few miles took a little more effort than it should have but I felt better as the run progressed.  My knees are a little achy which I think is due to the cold front moving in.

Man, is it cold.  Two days ago I was wearing shorts and today I got frostbite on my fingers.  I ran the course for tomorrow's turkey trot just to get a feel for how the race is going to be.  Between the cold and the course elevation, it will probably be a little slow.  The first mile should be fast but then the next 2 miles are slightly uphill.  Felt decent today except for my frozen hands.

Total Time: 1:09:09 (7:41/mile) 

“Warmed up” by running from home to the South Davis Rec Center (3 miles).  It was very cold.  Hung out inside the rec center until 15 minutes before the race.  Went outside and ran ¼ mile just to get warmed up again and decide how much clothing that I wanted to wear.  The sun had come out and it warmed up a little.  Decided to go with shorts, long sleeve under armour, my fastrunningblog t-shirt and one pair of gloves.  Lined up and noticed a few high school aged kids that looked like trouble.  My plan was to run 5:40, 6:15, 6:15 because miles 2 and 3 are slightly uphill.  The race started and once we hit the main road after a dangerous, winding start littered with loose gravel I settled into 6th place behind a bunch of younger runners.  Moved up to fifth place after ½ mile then into fourth place just before the 1 mile marker.  I really didn’t feel that great and knew that my split was going to be slower than I wanted.  First mile came in at 5:51 and I felt sluggish.  During the second mile, the first and second place runners were moving really well and third place felt just out of reach.  I continued to plug along and crossed the 2 mile marker in 6:15.  It was right on target but didn’t feel very fast.  At the 2.5 mile marker, I started getting the pukey feeling and could hear a runner closing in on me.  I started having the negative thoughts and did my best to fight them off.  Tried to push a little harder but just couldn’t hit the next gear.  I knew that if I could make it to 400 North in 4th place then I could probably hold off the runner behind me because it is just ¼ mile of downhill to the finish.  Ran the third mile 6:14 then cruised through the last 0.1 at 4:59/mile pace.  Finished in 18:47, which was good enough for 4th place overall and the first old dude.  I got beat by a kid from Box Elder High, a kid from Viewmont High and another young guy who said he is going to walk on to USU’s XC team.  While my finish time is almost exactly what I expected it to be, I am a little disappointed in my effort.  I struggled during the second mile mentally and still need to work on fighting the negative thoughts during races.  I won a bag, a t-shirt, a couple of Jamba Juice certificates and a Jamba Juice cup for winning my age division. 

I think that I ran too hard after my last 5k so I decided to take it very easy today.  

Total Time: 1:03:49 (7:58/mile) 

Ran up to the rec center to meet up with the South Davis Road Runners.  I'm still on my own pace wise but I think that I will keep going just to be part of the group.  The planned run was either a 3+ or 5+ mile loop.  I ran the 5+ mile loop and a pretty easy pace.  As I was heading back I noticed a couple of runners from the group ahead of me so I tried to catch up with them.  They were holding a decent pace so I couldn't catch them until the very end of the run.  I want to start building my Saturday mileage back up so I took the long way home to get the run up to 14 for the day.  Felt really good during the run except my hands froze.
 

Total Time: 1:45:54 (7:34/mile) 

Got a late start and had to cut the run short because we are going to decorate a tree for the Festival of Trees.  I felt really good except my chest was a little heavy.  My daughters have been sick the past week and I fear that I am starting to get what they had. 

Total Time: 52:05 (7:14/mile)

I was very tired when I woke up this morning.  I had a real hard time getting myself to get out the door.  It took 3 miles before I felt decent.  I'm waking up congested so I think that I am trying to fight off a little illness.

Total Time: 1:10:01 (7:47/mile) 

Got a late start so I had to cut the run short.  This seems to be a common theme for this week.  I always like the run after the first snow storm because everything is so clean.  The roads and sidewalks were very slippery so it was hard to push the pace so I took it easy.

Total Time: 1:03:50 (7:31/mile) 

Warmed up with 3 easy miles then ran 4 miles at tempo pace.  First mile was a few seconds slow but was able to pick up the pace for the remaining 3 miles.  Averaged 6:30/mile which was exactly what I was shooting for.  I felt good physically but struggled a little mentally.  It did feel good to get in a few quicker miles.  I finally found my good running mittens so my hands where actually warm during the run.

Total Time: 1:06:22 (7:22/mile) 

AM 

Just to be consistent this week, I got a late start and had to cut the run short. I planned on getting at least 9 in today so I am a little disappointed with the mileage. Maybe I can get a couple of miles in later today but it is tough for me to find time for a second run in a day.

Total Distance: 6 miles 

Total Time: 44:08 (7:21/mile)

PM

After picking the kids up from school, I decided that I would try to hurry and get in a few miles.  First I ran 0.5 miles with Gracie because she begged to go running with me.  Dropped her back home and headed out for a quick 4.  I'm not used to running in the afternoon and my body let me know that it was not happy.  I had a wicked side stitch for much of the run.  I pushed the pace during the last mile and was running well coming down my street (sub 6:00 pace) when I was attacked by a wild pack of dogs (a bassett, beagle and chihuahua) and had to stop so they wouldn't get too far from their home.

Total Distance: 4.5 miles

Total Time: 34:22 (7:07/mile for my miles and 12:00/mile with Gracie)