A clydesdale no more!

After a few hectic days at the end of a few super busy months, I finally crashed last night.  Fell asleep at 7 and woke up at 6.  Can't remember the last time I got that much sleep.  No time for a long run yesterday so I went out early this morning to get some miles in.  I was hoping for 20.  Started out and felt really good (11 hours of sleep will do that to you).  Headed to the LPT then ran south.  Got off the trail at Center Street and ran towards the airport.  Kind of cool watching the airplanes land.  The exhaust was not so cool.  Held 8:00/mile for the first 10 miles and felt very good.  As soon as I turned for home, my energy level dropped.  The pace was harder and I was starting to sweat a lot.  Slowed down a bit and just hoped to make it the rest of the way.  My goal was to make it to Legacy Park where I could get a drink of water and hopefully have enough energy to get home.  A mile away from the park, I knew I was done so I sent the distress signal to Becky for her to pick me up at the park.  My pace was holding steady at 8:15/mile but I didn't want to continue.  Could have, just didn't want to.  Not the best confidence building run.  I realized that I only drank 40 oz of Mt. Dew yesterday which is not the best hydration practice.  I also remembered half way into the run that the first long run in August has always been cursed for me.  This is the 3rd time that I have had to call to be picked up on the first long run in August.

Warmed up with 2 easy miles on the LPT then met Tara for some fast stuff.  We decided to mix it up and ran 3 minutes on and 3 minutes off times 6.  We averaged 6:00/mile for the "on" minutes.  It was a good, solid effort for me.  The last 2 were tough towards the end of each one and I started to get a little nauseous at the end of the last one.  A good indication that it was the right effort.  It felt good to get some 5k pace work in.  Cooled down with a couple of easy miles.

Reminded of why I do not run at night.  Super busy with work this morning so I didn't get a chance to run or go to the gym.  Went out for a few miles tonight on the Orchard loop.  Didn't feel right from the beginning.  At least I was able to get some miles in.

AM

8 Miles: I'm still waiting for verification but I'm pretty sure I broke the world record for sugar consumption yesterday.  I have no idea what the deal was but I just couldn't get enough.  Felt like I needed a run more than a trip to the gym today to help flush it out of my system.  Saw the gym folk on an extended run.  I'm curious what kind of adventure they were on.  Effort felt very good and the body was moving well.  Second run with the GoRun 2's and I really like them.  Six miles is probably my limit until my achilles tendons become more acclimated to the lower heels. 

PM

4.5 Miles: Becky signed us up for a cupcake challenge 5k in Eagle Mountain where your time is reduced by 2 minutes for every cupcake you eat halfway through the race.  When we got there we realized that we didn't register correctly so we were just running the 5k.  Since it was a super small fund raiser it really wasn't much of a race.  She walked with her kids and I decided I would just run it at 1/2 marathon pace.  Started the race at a very comfortable pace and was easily in the lead.  The only problem with this was that I had no idea where I was going.  I missed one of the first turns and didn't realize it for a couple of minutes.  Most of the people that I led the wrong way turned back on the right course.  Some guy told me that if we continued on it would hook back up with the course.  I looked back, saw the droves of people that I would have to pass again and decided to take his advice.  After 1/4 mile we were back on the correct course and way ahead of everybody.  At that point I decided that I would just continue on and have them take me out of the results because I probably cut the course.  Continued on at 1/2 marathon pace and felt very good.  Just cruised along enjoying the run.  Crossed the finish line (20:45) and told them what happened and to not count my time.  I probably only cut 0.05 out of the race and won by a few minutes but I didn't feel right claiming the "win".  In hindsight, I should have back tracked and run the correct course.  I have a hard time making the right decision during races.

In preparation for the Big Cottonwood marathon, Becky and Shantell wanted to run the last 9 miles of the course after a few of the downhill miles.  We ended up a little higher up the canyon than we planned which turned the run into a 17 miler.  I didn't mind because I wanted more miles today.  I was shocked how good the downhill miles felt.  Our pace coming down the canyou was a little faster than it should have been.  I hope it wasn't my fault.  The first couple of miles out of the canyon weren't too bad.  Once we turned onto Holladay Blvd. it started to get a little tougher.  There is one good climb right before mile 20 of the marathon course and another nasty one around mile 23 before turning down 4500 South.  The toughest part is going to be on Highland Drive.  It is a long stretch that is slightly uphill and is going to be a killer.  It is also visually unappealing which makes the suffering that much worse.  I think we all got a little dehydrated which made the run tougher.  Good practice for race day.