Artichoke's Running Blog (Ken Spence)

About like yesterday with a 5:10 a.m. run for about 5 miles.  Met Elaine with about 1.5 left.  6:15 p.m. run with Gina on my standard route, turning around at 2 miles for 4 miler up Skyline Ave. and back.  She did pretty good on the hills, but we were quite slow.  Good enough for this time of year, just maintaining base mileage.  Sleep in tomorrow a bit.

6:10 p.m. run for 5+ miles.  24 degrees.  46:15,  9:10 pace.  Solo.  Full moon, light cold breeze.

5 miles tonight at 6:00 p.m.  Same route, same time, same pace, same temperature, same darkness.  Boy am I boring!  24 degrees tonight.  I'll probably wimp out for 5:00 a.m. tomorrow.  Maybe hit the treadmill or bag it until Saturday.  I'll bet Kelli toughed it out this morning!

Rest day.

10 mile run this morning.  I thought I was doing the smart thing by not running after I first got up in order to avoid the extreme cold.  So, I slept in until 7:30, had a leisurely breakfast and decided to run at about 11:00 a.m.  By the time I came upstairs to get ready to run, it was snowing!  (I thought the weather dude said it might snow this afternoon!!).  So, I ventured out anyway.  The snow gradually got worse until it was sticking to the roads.  I ran on the backside of Little Mountain, back to Skyline to the gate and then returned home via Loma Vista and Upland loops while the snow continued to stick.  Icy in spots, but generally the traction was good.  The Nike Zooms seem to have better lugs than the Asics 2140 I've been accustomed to.  Came home after 6 miles in 56:39 at a very easy 9:25 pace overall, stripped off the wet clothes and hit the dreaded treadmill for another 4 miles.  First time on that since about last March.  What do you think seemed longer, the 6 miles outside in the weather or the 4 miles on the dreadmill?  I started out at 9:00 minute pace on 1 or 1.5% incline, then increased it to about 8:30 pace by 1 mile and kept that until 3 miles.  The last mile I increased the pace by .1 mph each tenth of a mile from the 8:30 until by the last 10th I was going at 7:30 pace.  34:25 overall for the 4 miles, 8:36 overall pace.  More snow predicted for tomorrow and early next week.  Scheduled to run with Tina at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow.  Hope the streets are clear.

6 miles at 9:00 a.m. in 54:26 with Tina on snowy and icy roads.  Clear skies and sunny, but cold.  10 degrees starting out.  Multiple layers kept me toasty, but warmed enough the last couple of miles to determine I was over-dressed.  Fastest mile 8:18, slowest mile 9:49.  Good week at 44 miles this past week.  Will be a struggle at night this week with the cold and ice.  I see more treadmill days ahead.  Yuck!

5.1 miles on the treadmill in 42:44.  Easy first mile, about 8:30's the middle miles, picking up the pace gradually from 8:30's to finishing last tenth at 7:00 pace.  Moderate effort, felt good wimping out tonight.  The temperature was a tolerable 21 degrees outside at 6:00 p.m., but a slight wind and icy roads while walking home from bus stop made me turn to the dreadmill.  Not a bad workout. 

Cross training this morning at 5:15 a.m. between fairly easy 2 miles on treadmill and alternating with the exercise bicycle for 30 minutes with Elaine.  5.1 more miles tonight on the treadmill in 43:25, finishing at sub 7:00 minute pace the last couple of tenths.  Increased.1 mph the last mile or so.  Cold and slick outside tonight.

5.1 TM miles at 5:10 a.m.  Overall time 44:50.  Picked it up the second half.  Started at 9:30 pace for the first half and picked it up gradually .1 mph every tenth up to 6:50 pace the last tenth.  Felt good.  I hope the streets are clearer tomorrow night.  I've had enough of the treadmill, but sure I'll be back on it for while at times.

5:10 a.m. cross training session this morning with Elaine.  I did 3 miles easy on the treadmill and about 20 minutes on the stationary bike.  Tonight I did 4 miles on the treadmill at 6:00 p.m. Still cold out and slick roads, but I better be out on those roads by Saturday's long run OR ELSE!!!!  A bit wimpy tonight it was 17 degrees, after all, but there was a pretty cold breeze while I walked from the bus, so I hit the dreadmill.  Supposed to warm up on Saturday as far as the low for the day, so I'll keep my fingers crossed.

3 miles very easy on the treadmill in conjunction with some additional scross training on the stationary bike.  5:10 a.m. with Elaine.

10:00 a.m. run on a cloudy but warmer day at least.  It's weird to say the mid 20's is warm, but comparatively speaking it really seemed nice out this morning.   Did 8 very slow miles with Gina, but she had no real problems with it.  She hasn't done a long run in a few weeks and has been doing just a couple on the treadmill 2 or 3 days per week.  So it went fairly well.   Still snow and ice on some of the less traveled streets so we stayed on the main roads.  Did the town loop.  Down Droubay to 1000 N. then west past Main on the newly paved roadway.  Up around the old rodeo grounds to Coleman and more or less zig-zagged back to her place.  I did a  few more and finished with 12 total, very slow except the finishing mile in 7:52.  Good to be off that dang dreadmill!  But, more storms coming tonight, tomorrow, and into Monday.  Supposed to run with Tina tomorrow morning, but we'll see how the weather is.  Last week we were on snow-pack.  Oh, to live in Yuma, AZ this time of year!  Okay, well maybe not Yuma, but somewhere warm would be nice.  A good week with 45 miles.  That's great mileage for me this time of year and with this weather and especailly with most of it on the treadmill.

6.12 mile run at 9:00 a.m. with Tina.  Icy roads from melting snow at 34 degrees starting out.  Glad for th spikes.  Pretty slow and easy today.  Mile 3 at 7:54, but all the rest in the 9's.  Snow started flying pretty good the last mile.  A pretty good week given all the TM miles.

Two 4 mile runs today.  Same route.  Solo this morning at 5:10 a.m. fairly easy with spikes.  Then with Gina tonight at 6:15 p.m.   Very slow at about 11 minute pace tonight.  32 degrees.

Bagged the run this morning.  Didn't sleep well and needed the extra hour when the alarm did go off.  Ran Monday night as well as Monday morning, so no real loss.  Probably need a day to rest anyway.

5 miles at 5:00 a.m. at a moderate pace.  45:46, or 9:09 pace overall.  Fastest mile at 8:17, so not really blistering, but a decent effort going up Skyline Ave. and back home via Loma Vista and Upland loops.  33 degrees, so not bad after last weeks cold spell.

5 easy miles at 5:10 a.m.  Met Elaine with about 1.25 left.  Didn't push it at all.

4 easy miles at 5:10 a.m.  Caught Liz and Roland going up Skyline.  Met Elaine with 1.25 miles left.  9:00 a.m. run scheduled for in the morning.

Nice 12 mile run this morning in the sun.  We are just barely out of the smog layer.  9:00 a.m. with Gina for 8 miles.  She did great going up the hills!  We were slow, anywhere from 10:30 pace to 12:00, but it was a very nice weather run for a change on dry roads.  We even saw a couple of other runners out today, which seems to have been rare lately.  My last mile heading home was at 7:21 pace.  Dipped under 7:00 minute pace for a bit.  Felt good to open it up after those slower miles.  I got registered for Painter's 1/2 marathon yesterday.  It is a week later than usual and doesn't conincide with the Martin Luther King holiday weekend this year.  Looking forward to heading to St. George in the dead of winter again.  Last year I walked the entire route with bruised ribs from my fall on the ice 2 days before.  I'm being more careful this year on the icy roads.  A pretty good week.

4 miles easy this morning at 5:10 a.m. and foggy.  Solo, Elaine didn't show. 

5 miles this morining at 5:10 a.m. with Tina in about 46:00.  A bit foggy in spots and a bit icy on the upper end of the road on Skyline.  Otherwise a good run, pushing the last couple of miles some.

5+ miles on the TM in 46:50 at 5:10 a.m.  Ran easy for the first few.  9:30 to 9:00 minute pace.  Gradually increasing until finishing last 1/4 at 7:20 pace down to 6:55.  Felt pretty good this morning.  4 to 5 inches of snow since yesterday afternoon.  Hope to be on the roads tomorrow morning after sleeping in some.  Merry Christmas to all the bloggers.

9 miles in 1:19:12, 8:44 pace overall.  9:00 a.m. run with Tina.  Sunny, but cold.  200 West loop down to Pine Canyon Road and up Droubay to Smelter Road and home via Vine Street.  Fastest mile at 7:40 pace.  Tina can really push those downhills when I'm wanting to run a bit easier.  Slower 9:30 pace the last 3 miles coming back up the hills.  Icy roads in spots, both of us wearing spikes today.  A good thing early on, not so great the last half on drier roads.

Christmas Day.  No running.

12 mile run this morning at 9:00 a.m. with Tina.  8:56 overall pace.  Sunny day, but not too warm.  It was cold going up the Smelter Road hills when we were in the shade of the Oquirrh Mountains.  Tina did 10 miles with me.  We had a 7:33 mile coming down the hills.  Felt good to open it up a bit.  She was supposed to take it easy on me.

2 miles TM at 9:30 pace this morning at 5:10 a.m. cross training with Elaine.  Plus 20 minutes on stationary bike for 5 miles.  Additional 3 miles on the TM later tonight.  Started at 9:30 easy pace, with gradual pick-up throughout, finishing at about 8:00 min. pace for the last 1/2 mile.

With Elaine at 6:30 a.m.  2 miles on the TM at 9:30 pace or a bit faster.  Cross training on the stationary bike for 20 minutes or 5 miles.  Second run with Tina at 10:00 a.m. in the snow and starting to stick.  I thought the weather guy said Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday for the storm.  53:33 for 6.06 miles, 8:50 pace on icy/snowy roads.  A bit slick.  Should have worn my spikes.  Not bad with the Nike waffle soles, but Tina had better traction with her spikes on today.  I'm sure I slowed her down some.  Tina lost her spikes somewhere along the route.

9:00 a.m. 6.23 mile solo run at 9:47 overall pace.  Snowy day, icy roads.  Wore my spikes and I also found Tina's missing spike that she lost yesterday at about 1/2 mile or less into my run.  She'll be happy.

14 miles this morning.  2 on TM at 6:30 a.m. with Elaine and 20 minutes on stationary bike for about 5 miles.  Then 12 miles on the roads with Tina at 9:00 a.m. in 1:46:18, 8:51 overall pace.  Sunny, clear skies, no smog in sight.  Still cold, but much better than it's been.  Route: Droubay Road loop to Pine Canyon road then back down to Main and over the viaduct into Overlake and back road up to 1000 North.  200 West up to 200 North back to Main and up to Vine and on home.  Tough finishing on the uphill, but glad to get in 14.  Fastest mile was at 7:44