Artichoke's Running Blog (Ken Spence)

6.35 miles on Little Mountain Base double-track trail and back via Settlement Point.  2:00 p.m. run.  Gorgeous fall day!  Good hill work.  9:27 pace overall.  Good last mile or so.  Great sunshine and nice running temperatures.  Felt pretty good.  Left calf is much improved, right knee still a bit of an ache.

6:00 p.m. run.  Very slow and easy with Gina on Skyline Ave.  Dark due to time change.  I hate this time of year as far as running.  Nothing in daylight except Saturdays.  Oh well, I always get used to it after a few days, so I'll stop whining.  How cool was it that Meb won the New York City Marathon yesterday?  First time in 27 years that an American male has won it, that's as long as I've been running.  1982.  Wow, 2:09:15!  He put away Robert Cheryiot in the last miles, 4x Boston Marathon champion!   6 of the top 10 were Americans!  Ryan Hall also did great and was 4th, although he was disappointed, I'm sure.

5 miles at 5:10 a.m. in 45:43.  Pushed at moderate pace.  10:01, 10:01 going uphill.  Then 9:03 split up/down, 8:30, and 8:03.

6:15 p.m. run.  Very slow 4.5 miles with Gina.  Last run for her until Snow Canyon on Saturday.  It looks like we'll be running a very slow time, but that's okay.  Weather is supposed to be good.

Missed my run this morning, but came home from work early so was able to run with some daylight.  4.1 miles on double track behind Little Mountain.  9:10 average pace.  8:03 fastest mile.  Felt okay.  Gina has decided to bag Snow Canyon 1/2 on Saturday, not feeling up to it physically or mentally.  I'll still be going but will still be slow.  I haven't been able to concentrate on any speed work since before the marathon.  1:45 would be a very decent time, if I could manage that.  We'll see.  Rest tomorrow and heading down late afternoon.

RESTING before 1/2 marathon.

Snow Canyon 1/2 Marathon.  Great run, great scenery, great weather, great course.!!!!  13.1 miles in 1:40:51 or average of 7:42.  The first mile was like falling off a cliff, taking it easy still ran 6:49 that mile.  Remainder of splits:  6:59, 7:37, 8:33, 8:26, 7:23, 7:52, 7:34, 7:36, 7:31, 7:57, 7:42, and 7:48.  8th place of 32 in M50-54 division, 83rd of 340 in overall Mens and 106 of 843 total field.  Pretty sore tonight.  Way too much congestion in finish area.  Ridiculous clothing retrieval, otherwise a good event.  May do this one again.

9 easy miles.  4 this morning at 5:10 a.m.  Met Elaine for the last mile.  Is she going to commit to running again, we'll see.  5 more tonight at 6:00 p.m., 4 with Gina.  Very easy recovery miles today.

6:00 p.m. run.  5 miles pretty easy.  4 with Gina and 1 mile stretch at 8:05 to 8:40.  Dark but nice temperature.

5 miles at 5:00 a.m. with Tina.  About 45 minutes up and and back down Skyline via Loma Vista and Upland loops.  Good run.

5 mile run in the warm before the storm this morning at 5:10 a.m.  Almost 60 degrees.  Pushed 2 of the uphill miles at a moderate effort.  Met Elaine for the last 1.25 miles coming back.  Bad weather's a comin'!

5 miles at 5:00 a.m.  Much colder this morning.  Very light snow flakes and breeze.  Met Elaine with 1.25 miles left.  She staying with it so far.  Long run tomorrow.

12 mile solo run this morning at 9:30 a.m.  Like two different runs.  Sun with blue skies going up the hill.  Getting cloudy after 5 miles, turned around at 6 miles and headed into a cold north headwind in Pine Canyon.  Progressively colder and cloudier the last half with snow starting with 2 1/2 miles to go.  8:56 pace overall.  Fastest mile 8:08.  Slowest mile 9:38 on the hill.  Not a bad run. 

5 mile run at 6:10 p.m. in 43:55 or 8:45 pace overall.  Moderate effort most of the run.  Surges in two or three places.  7:55 final mile.  30 degrees, but no wind.  Felt good.  Icy in a few spots from Saturday's snow storm.

4.5 miles this morning at 5:10 a.m. very easy.  Last 1.25 miles with Elaine.  She's getting back to it slowly, but has a good attitude even with the colder weather she's starting back with. 2nd run tonight for 10k or 6.2 miles at 6:00 p.m.  Pretty easy except last mile decent at 8:35 pace with some uphill.  3.75 miles with Gina on Broadway, Droubay, and Smelter Roads and back.  Very easy.  32 degrees.  10.7 total miles today.

6:15 p.m. 5 mile run tonight.  38 degrees.  3 miles with Gina on the track.  2 additional miles for me.  Very easy.  Fastest mile was 8:39.  Peaceful night without traffic was nice.

5:10 a.m. run for 4.89 miles.  Last 1.25 with Elaine.  Late run tonight with Gina  at about 8:00 p.m. at the track for 4.87 miles.  Total of 9.75 miles very easy today.

5:10 a.m. run.  Cold but no wind.  Up Skyline with Upland and Loma Vista loops.  Felt pretty good.  Met Elaine with 1.25 miles to go.  Pushed mile 4 a bit.  Long run tomorrow, but storm is coming.  Very windy tonight outside.  8:00 a.m. run scheduled with Tina.  We'll see what happens.

A great run with Tina this morning.  8:00 a.m.  10.26 miles in 1:24:53, 8:16 pace overall.  40 degrees, but the weather held off for a 2nd week in a row.  Splits:  8:29, 7:39, 7:57, 7:59, 7:58, 8:19, 8:42, 9:02, 7:58, 8:36.  Felt good to push it a bit. A good week at 45 miles.

5:45 p.m. run.  5 miles in 45:55 or 9:11 pace.  Pretty cold at 28 degrees.  Pretty much a wandering route to avoid the icy roadways.  Skyline-Broadway to East Elementary- back down to 200 North, loop around high school back to 100 West and home.  Not a bad run, all things considered.

5:45 p.m. run. Same distance as last night but at about 1 minute faster overall. 44:52 or 8:58 pace. Progressively faster with each mile, of course the last 2.5 was downhill.  First run in new Nike Zoom.  I guess my 20 year boycott of  Nike is now over.  Shoes felt fine, but a bit less cushion than the Asics 2140 I've been running in.  We'll see if I can get the mileage anywhere close to what I used to get with the original Nike Pegasus  I used from about 1984 until 1992.  We'll see.

Resting today.

My annual Turkey Trot race this morning.  A good race, put didn't place.  (That even rhymes!).  In the past years I've been placing in the top 3 of the M 50-54 division, but not today.  5/17 in M50-54 and 50/534 total field.  It's my last year in this division, so maybe next year.  A couple of speedsters have moved up to my age division.  My Garmin showed the distance at 3.88, compared ot 3.72 for a 6K, so my pace was at 7:12 overall, which I felt very good about.  Pace at each mile:  7:36 and 7:49, going up, then 6:44 and 6:33 coming down to Memory Grove.  A great event on Thanksgiving and nice weather the last several years.

9:00 a.m. run with Tina for 6.68 miles in 55:30.  8:20 pace.  Pushed the downhills a bit. Felt good.  10:00 a.m. 7.28 mile run, with Gina for 5.  Very slow and easy pace.  13.96 total miles this morning.  Nice and sunny 45 to 50 degrees, but clouding up towards the end.  10 scheduled for tomorrow morning.

9:00 a.m. run.  Sunny but still cold.  Slight breeze from the north.  10 miles very slow at about 10:35 pace with Gina.  First long run with her in several weeks.  She was feeling it at the end, but otherwise a decent run from Tooele to Stansbury with an extra mile to the west of the finish at the church.

9:00 a.m. run with Tina.  Sunny and cold, but a nice, clear day here in the valley.  8:20 pace overall for 6+ miles.  Splits: 8:51, 8:35, 7:37, 7:57, 8:30, and 8:32.  Pushed in a few places.

I don't feel too "Fast Running Blog" worthy today.  9 miles over two runs, but very, very slow.  5 miles at 5:00 a.m. in 48:58, the last 1.25 with Elaine.  4 tonight with Gina, to and from the track, with 3 miles at the track.  She wanted to run flat and easy and so we did.  About 11:00 minute pace.  35 degrees and a slight breeze made it feel colder.