Marathon Top 10 Finishes: 7 Bridges ('15), Utah Valley ('13), Salt Lake City ('08), Top of Utah ('07), and St. Louis ('04). Ran around the equator (24901.55) in 4,388 days.
And my largest challenge to date, raise $20,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in honor of my cancer survivorship and in memory of those lost to blood cancer...
DONE! $26,403.70
Grew up outside Chicago and joined the blog while I lived in Salt Lake City. Now living outside Birmingham. I am married with two daughters. Wife thinks I'm crazy for doing marathons. And yes I am crazy I'm a scientist for a living...
Working till 1am and up early for our flight. Then a run in the flood planes of IL. It is nice have oxygen and moisture but there was a lot of water on the ground. I ended up going through ankle high water four times. Very tired but good.
Up till past midnight and up early. I had planned 15 for the day hoping for 16 on the DPR trails but between two nights of no sleep and even worse flooding out on those trails I ended up with 12 miles. Did most of my run in Lincolnshire instead and can you say too much money. I'm happy because the bike paths were nice with sufficient bridges etc. but wow talk about excess... I did try and brave the DPR N for awhile and went through one 50m stretch of calf high water. I made it through that but then I got to a river crossing I made it too the bridge but on the other side the water was quad high and I made it about three steps but opted to turn back when the current started to move me sideways (about mile 2). The rest of the run with soggy shoes was fun but I like it out there I just wish I could have been more on the trails than the bikepaths... Then being back in the midwest stopped and Dunkin Donuts and picked up a dozen and some good coffee. Scarfed 4, now 5 of them because the rest of the fam only wanted one each, yummy!
AM: Hope to get in some more mileage tonight. We will see. This morning was just a door to door commute run.
Avg. 10:07 yes 10:07... HR 153 obviously not rested...
PM: You have to love the summer. It is nice to be able to get the girls to bed and still run in the light. I also timed it perfectly so that I was at Tanner Park as the sun was half over the horizon reflecting off of the Salt Lake. My legs were sore and I'm still pretty tired but I ended the day in a much better mood than I started it. Avg. 7:54 HR 149 much better...
Well the day started off right almost. I was up by 4:30am due to another early riser. Then out for my run. In the back of my head I thought about doing something faster. However, it was very soon obvious that this was not going to happen. The run was good in that a fox almost ran into me about 1/2 mile into the run. Other than that the day had problems from there but tomorrow will be better. Avg. 8:42 HR 156 still too high for that pace.
At least today was better than yesterday. Got to sleep in to 5:05am but didn't stop working last night until about 11pm. I did the exact same run as yesterday but today I was able to move my feet a little. The work stress is still getting to me and I have an update meeting with my boss tomorrow so we'll see where I'm really at instead of worrying needlessly about it. Today was my daughter's 3rd birthday and I was able to go to school with her in the morning. Then after dinner we got to play at the park for awhile before bedtime. Now back to work... Avg. 7:33 HR 166
Opted for a trail run today. Got in extra early and a lot of stuff started. Then up Dry Creek. Saw a LOT of people (12 cyclists, 12 runners, and 7 hikers). The rest of the day went fine. Lots of work coming up, but when isn't there? This was the identical run that I ran last Wed in 10:12 pace so today was much better. Avg. 8:05 HR 161
Originally had planned 16 miles up and down City Creek. I had to work and wanted to get something in before. About 1/2 mile into the run I ran into 5 of the Black Sheep and joined them instead. They did up and over from City Creek to Dry Creek. It has a VERY hard climb in mile 3. The rest of the run went well and it was strange running in a group again. After they stopped at Cocina sp? I continued down the road to Memory Grove and back to my car at Popperton before heading into work for 4hrs. Then family time and back to work for another 1hr. Now home and some rest. Avg. 8:20 HR 151
Family day. Slept in and then took care of the girls so Sandra could sleep in even longer. Made breakfast and then just hung out around the house before going on one of two walks. The first was in Memory Grove and the second was just around the neighborhood. Also, got in an hour of playing in the backyard. Overall, a great day.
Decided I needed a break. I slept in until 7am to get a full night's sleep and then worked from home. By about 3pm I needed a break and did a stroller run with Kaitlyn. We ran to and did four loops of SugarHouse Park then the long way home. Now back for a few more hours of work. Avg. 7:49 HR 157
Slept in again today. Then a full but productive day at work. Home loop after the girls were down for the night. Now another hour or so of work. Avg. 7:33 HR 159
Kind of a rough night followed but a tough day. Not a good combo. I think Kristen took getting make to our "old" routine to heart and woke up twice last night after a string of good nights. Then things just went slower than I would have liked. I'm still plugging away and have to stay focused on the future and not each day, incremental progress is still progress. Avg. 9:14 HR 136
So far so good. The night was fine and work is moving along. Started my run a little later than usual but ran into Chad and joined him for a trail run in Red Butte. It was great to run with him for awhile and catch up on a lot of things. Monday my knee had really been bothering me again but today it was finally feeling better again. Keep up the positive attitude and have a great weekend everyone. Avg. 8:16 HR 161
Good start to the day. I had originally planned for 16 miles but due to both work and family constraints I cut it to 14 and also did the second half hard to get done in time. Big deadline on Monday and I'm having to cancel some things I had planned for the weekend. But I guess that is the way it goes sometimes... The run was good though. After setting something up in lab I went to Popperton and started from there. Down to City Creek and then UP. The way out and up I did not see a single other person. Very strange for that time on a Saturday. I went to the picnic stop 22 and then turned to come back. Way out was 56:45, I was shooting for 56 so not too shabby. Also, on the way up there was a deer running along the road with me for a little bit. On the way down I was only planning 7s then I started running into people until it was a steady stream. The last 2.5 miles (6:16, 6:16, 2:33) down were fast as I got carried away, but it was fun. I would say there were really about 50 people running heading up. Then a relatively easy coold down back up to the car. One more stop in lab then breakfast with the family. My daughter and I made pancakes. Now typing at the computer with this brief break. Wish me luck... Avg. 7:19 HR 158
Well too much work this weekend but that is the story of this month. Finally went to bed at midnight and up after two wake-ups to start the work over again. Got some done but still have more to go. At about 3pm went for a stroller run with Kaitlyn. We did the Tanner Park loop stopping to play at the park for a little. Knee wasn't too bad considering the faster run yesterday.
So here’s the question, to comment on work or not. I guess
stress and sleep are a part of training so I’ll keep with the updates. Know
though that Saturday was a very encouraging run. Even more so that this morning
my knee wasn’t falling off. That being said I ended up working a total of 26
hrs between Sat and Sun and that is taking out breaks for running/family/sleep
and eat time. The bad part is I still didn’t “finish” the draft of the review.
I’m just under 5000 words and 13 double spaced pages (w/ title pg etc) so progress
has been made but the next two weeks are going to be even crazier than the last
two. The worst part is that this morning I actually set my alarm for an extra
1.5 hr of sleep and I was wide awake just before 6am anyway, at least my body
allowed one of those hours. Wish me luck. Commute run in via SugarHouse. Saw a full
grown male peacock walking down the sidewalk on 13th… There is a
little sanctuary there across from Westminster and I guess they can come and go
as they please. Avg. 9:14
Where to start? It has been a long week and it’s not over
yet. After my 4th night in a row up to/past midnight I decided to
sleep in. The extra sleep did help. Then I have a very good meeting with my
boss about the review and three other projects I’m working on. He is very level
headed and helps me get over my obsessions. I think know that I tend to have
too high of expectations for what I want to complete and have to focus on what
can be done. The talk helped. Then Sandra was heading out to book club so I had
less than an hour to get my run in. I decided to try running hard for a run.
This was my first “hard” run since the marathon. At least it was my fastest
overall pace. I did a truncated home loop. One warm-up three very hard and then
“cooled down” with two easier. I’m sure the better run also helped improve my
mood. Avg. 6:36 HR 172
Still keeping up with the positive attitude. Also, slept in
again so the last two nights I’ve had about as much sleep as the previous
three, what a difference. The other good thing was I took a night off of work.
One of my friends is returning to Germany this Sunday to become a fulltime
physician scientist and the whole lab got together for a dinner at Thaifoon in
the Gateway. It was a good meal and good to just joke around for a couple
hours. There is supposed to be another smaller party tomorrow that I may stop
by. Work continues to be just as busy but I’m taking a more easy going view
about it. Meaning, yesterday I had 6 things on my to-do list and only got
three. Typically I would have been upset about deadlines slipping away but now
it is just a realization that three is what could be done. Also, this week I
have the to-do list more so for the whole week rather than each day so I’ll
just work harder today… Run was up Dry Creek. Perfect spring morning with a
very light drizzle the first couple miles. Saw 12 cyclists but only one other
runner. Avg. 10:08 HR 129
Well I was feeling good about the night off. But then my
daughter decided she wanted to be awake from 2am-5am. I was only up briefly at
2am then by 4:30am Sandra asked for help. I got Kristen asleep by 5am and then
was headed into work. Now to catch-up on those missed items from to-do list.
Zig-zag commute run in. Avg. 9:17 HR 140
Nothing too special. Ended up stopping by that farewell party for only 1hr last night. But it was a good break. Today is a typing day so back to the computer. I'm now trying something my boss suggested instead of trying to multi-task each day multi-task per day. Meaning a few days a week do only bench a few days a week do only writing. So far so good. Only problem is it is Friday and there are still a few bench items but they'll have to wait until Monday now... The weather was great and I ran into Memory Grove and back via the ramp. Avg. 8:26 HR 146
Slept in a little so I missed the run with the Black Sheep. Thought the extra hour was needed. Run was easy south. First four miles very easy, chatted with "random runner" about his training for his first marathon. He was wearing a Law Day 5K shirt so I started the conversation if he knew Chad. He didn't, we ran together about 2 mi then he turned down 33rd S. and I continued on and looped back via the marathon course. Left foot a little "funny" today but knee was ok. Always something right :)?... I hope everyone enjoys their holiday weekends. Avg. 8:02 HR 138
Today was a rest day. I opted to go on a hike with a friend instead of running. The morning was very busy and I got in the hike to the "Living Room" and beyond (1795 ft climb in 2-miles; 1161 in the 2nd mile alone), then made breakfast with my daughter, some work and church all before noon... I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday weekend.
What a beautiful day. Up early and into work. Ran to and a
little up City Creek. Almost no one out at 6am, really nice to have the road to
myself. Then worked a little and out for a coffee break on the nearest peak from
lab. The view today is just amazing. Now back in lab to finish off the final
edits on the review before I sent it off to my boss again. Avg. 8:26 HR 139
Well I got that review article back in my bosses hands a little after 1:30am this morning. Total it is just under 8,000 words and I read at least the abstracts of over 100 other papers. It was a good learning experience. It is a summary of how obesity affects the heart. Specifically, Lipotoxicity of Heart. I'm sure there will be at least one more round of edits before the Sunday due date but it is shaping up. Unfortunately Kristen did not get the memo that it was going to be a hard night and after two nights of sleeping through the night she was up twice in the 5 hr I did try and sleep. So a slugged through the day. Overall, things are coming alone, a talk and poster by Mon and two more abstract by next Friday then back to "normal", whatever that is... After the girls bedtime I headed out for my home loop. I pushed the pace a little but my knee was feeling the fatigue of the day before so I didn't push it too hard. Avg. 7:13 HR 156
Overall, a good start to the day. In early and two
experiments set-up before 7am. Then out the door while the first experiment was
on the instrument. Up Dry Creek and over to City Creek via the BST back on the
roads, a little over 7 mi of the run was on trails. I saw a ton of beautiful
flowers and a number of birds including two hummingbirds and this little bright
blue bird. Knee was a little tight but not sore. Back to lab and worked another
hour or so before eating lunch while walking on the trails some more. This is
something I should do more often; at least for the week we have nice weather.
During the walk I saw a deer just up the hill from Red Butte. It was a little awkward
eating while hiking but a good use of a half hour. Avg. 8:51 HR 148
A little sleepy but otherwise feeling good. Knee is less sore and the work continues to move along. The weather was yet again perfect, luckily I got the run in now it will be upper 80s today. I did a Memory Grove/Chad's house loop. Very slow going on the way back. Avg. 8:37 HR 151
Overall another good day. Started off by sleeping in. No that is not a typo, I slept over 8hr last night! Then we all went to SugarHouse for Strut Your Mutt. It is a dog parade and Kaitlyn enjoys seeing all the dogs. We even got to pet a 5-month old Saint Bernard and Bullmastiff. Then it was into work for a few hours. After which I took Kaitlyn on her longest run before dinner. It was a great day for a run until the wind picked up. We had a lot of fun though. Got a little nervous as two vultures circled overhead as I tried to push the stroller uphill against the wind. I'm sure they thought I was going to die... The rest of the run was great and we even stopped to help contribute to two girls with a lemonade stand. Avg 8:00 HR 145
Good start to the day so far. Up early to get my run in, breakfast with the family, an hour of work on my talk for tomorrow lab meeting now off to church, today is the last day with an 11am service then we switch to only one service for the summer. I ran a new loop from home. Part of the loop was on the Des 10K course, some around Liberty Park then over and around SugarHouse Park before heading home. The baby geese were out and Liberty and the ducklings were out at SugarHouse. Also, I saw another hummingbird in a very beautiful iris garden. They must have had 10 different colors of irises in their front yard. Knee tight but nothing out of the "ordinary". Avg. 7:54 HR 138