A Balance, Redefined

Well I posted yesterday’s run and my running goal for the year on the discussion board, now comes what happened last night. My family and I were driving to a New Year’s Eve party at about 4:30pm and were in a car accident. I have a very sore neck, back, and arms. I have bruising across my shoulder. My wife has bruising across the entire left side of her face, her lower legs and one of her arms. My daughter had minor bruising on her one leg and on the side of her face. My father-in-law suffered a severe cut (~10-12 in) across the top of his head and lost about half of his blood volume. He also broke a few bones in his neck, spine, and at least eight ribs. Thankfully, we are all still alive. He is still in the ICU but should fully recover from all of his injuries. I can only thank God that no one was killed. There were two other cars involved and both of the people in those cars appeared fine. Please pray for my father-in-law to have a quick and complete recovery.

Assessment run to determine the damage. Good news is Rafael seems to be improving. Though he is still in ICU. I ran on plowed streets in a nearby industrial park. First mile was very slow and then I settled into a 7:35 pace for the remainder. My neck was sore whenever I tried to look to the sides. My lower back was tight on the second half. And it turns out that I did hit my right knee on something. It had a bruise and felt a little tight. However, my breathing was good and it does not feel like my ribs bruised much from the safety belt.

I have to take it one day at a time. The worries and stress of the aftermath of such a serious injury have plagued my sleep. Everyone seems to be holding up fine but you can tell there is still a lot of healing to be done. I did see Rafael sitting today and he was moved out of the ICU tonight.

Today was such a hard day. I left Chicago to come home. It was hard leaving my family there. I didn't sleep well...

I wanted to try and get out of my mind for a little and just feel my body. It is hard because often I go running to think things through but at this point I just want to be able to spend a good hour without thinking about anything. It didn't work but the run still felt good. It was nice to know that I could still put in a good run. The pace was slow as I'm still sore and there was a good 2-3 inches of fresh snow on the ground. This was actually nice as a good 2 mile stretch of the run still had "running poweder". By the way back some others had gotten to the snow but not many.

After another night of poor sleep I slept in a couple extra hours this morning. I ran to SH and then MM 5-9 and back. It started snowing at about mile 2. It wasn't too bad though. Still taking it easy. My knee felt better but my lower back is still very tight. Avg. 7:54 HR 141 I was a little bummed as this week was supposed to have been 70 with some faster miles in the mix but I can only thank God again that I'm still running and everyone else continues to improve there conditions. Rafael may either come home tomorrow or be transfered to a rehab facility. He did make it up a flight of stairs the other day so that is great.

Crazy day. Still can't sleep. Can't seem to get my mind to relax. Didn't get out for my run until about 7:30pm. Ran from lab to City Creek. It is pretty in the dark with the snow and very relaxing with the stream. I pushed one down hill mile just to distract myself and proove to myself that I could. Avg. 7:48 HR 148

Same run as yesterday but earlier. I was feeling much better. My back is mostly back to normal, my neck is still a little tight, but otherwise I felt good today. Both faster miles were downhill miles 3 and 6 of the City Creek out and back. Avg. 7:24 HR 153

I had a long day at work, steady 8am-6pm. Then went for my run about 6:30. Just ran to SH and did loops. The first two were solo counter-clockwise. There was a guy going the other direction about the same pace so I turned back and did the second two loops clockwise with him. (James training for Boston). The final loop I did on my own and back home. No “fast” miles just a quicker steady pace today. Avg. 7:12 HR 152 The night was rough and I had trouble sleeping again. Didn’t get down until after 12:30… It seems like every other night has been tough since I’ve been back.

Another long day in work. Made it out for my run at about 6:30pm again. Mixed it up a little. Ran to SH and did every other loop at pace or faster (6 total). Started CCW then ran into James again on the second hard loop. Switched to CW for the final hard loop and an extra easy loop. Spoke with James a little about my training. Made me realize that I’m back to preinjury fitness. I’d told him that most of my mileage was at about 8:30 pace or slower but actually I’ve steadily improved since Oct ’06, and am now doing 7-8 min range with 10-30% of my weekly mileage at or below MP. Avg. 7:15 HR 150

Very random run from home. Meant to get up but still can't seem to get to sleep before midnight so I ran after work. Just went up and down blocks trying to hit blocks I haven't run on before. It was very slippy out in spots that slowed me down. Also, my legs are a little tight from the good week of mileage so far. Avg. 8:02 HR 148

Got up at 6am without an alarm but decided 7am was better. I wanted to get at least 7hrs sleep. Made my way into work. Saw Chad running on Foothill. Set some stuff up and then went for my run. My plan was to run up City Creek from Popperton Park. I made it to 6 miles (2.5 past the gate house). However, from that point on there was no plowing. I made it a quarter mile in the knee high snow and decided to turn back. So I added on the extra miles by running into Memory Grove up past the Temple to the Capital Building and back. My legs felt pretty good. My quads were still tight like last night but it wasn’t as slippery out. I wnet a pretty even pace minus one quicker mile (into Memory Grove) and one slower mile (up to the Capital Building). Overall I was very happy with the week. This is my highest mileage week since Sept '06. Avg. 7:41 HR 151

Felt fine. Cooler by the end of my run, didn't start until about 6:30pm. Just ran MM 2-9 and directly back. Avg. 7:31 HR 138

Typical Monday for me, went in thinking I would get 100 things done and fell short at 75.  I also had some fun trying to get to work as I locked myself out of my car. Don’t ask. Let’s just say it is not a good idea to have 5 things in your hands while you are trying to close the trunk of your car… I did however manage to get into work on time though.

Wasn’t sure what I was going to run today, thought anywhere between 5-8. On my last loop around SH I ran into James again, so I tacked on an extra loop with him and took a slightly longer way home so I ended up with the 8 miles. Trying to talk him into joining the lab. He sounds slightly interested.

I felt fine during the run. I have to remind myself to be patient. I felt so good last week with the 80 that I keep thinking let’s do it again but I’ll try and take it slow. I still have a little over three months to race day… Avg. 7:33 HR 146

Today I finally woke up at a normal time and got out of bed after waking up. This was the first time in two weeks… So, I got into work early with the plan of running at 10am. Started off the day on the wrong foot though and was pretty grumpy by the time I headed out the door at 10:45am. Dealing with accident related issues is just not fun. Then to make things more interesting the weather was having fun with me. About 0.5mi mile into it, it started snowing and was fairly windy. By the looks of the flags it was about 10-15 mph winds. My plan for the workout was to do 2-mi on 2-mi off. Between the weather and the lack of training with the accident I decided it would be best to plan to have the on miles on “easy” ground. So I did my warm-up starting from lab of two miles relaxed. Then I hit the first mile of my “on” headed downhill. I didn’t look at the Garmin the full mile, I just went by feel. I did have a crosswind with the snow blowing everywhere but not much snow had stuck on the ground yet. I hit 5:34 (descent 178ft), the second mile was more downhill but the first half mile was the hardest with a brutal headwind, the second half had a tailwind into Memory Grove 5:34 (yes the same split, descent 211ft). Then I turned up City Creek for about 2.5 miles. I then turned around and let loose, again not looking at my Garmin (except at the mile beeps). By this time there was about ¼-1/2 inch of snow on the ground and there were slippery spots but not too bad going downhill. Miles were hit at 5:21 (descent 242ft) and 5:19 (descent 179ft). To squeeze in the third repeat I just took a half mile recovery, not the best plan but I was curious to see what I could do with minimal rest after the 5:19. It truly amazes me that Paul, Sean, and Logan kept that pace and faster to qualify! That first mile for my final on session is the one up towards the fire station from overlooking City Creek. The uphill was not the problem, it was the snow. By then it had drifted to about 1in in spots and the traffic had made sure to make it nice and slippery, 6:46 (Ascent 206ft). The final on mile was a little better as on the descents the slipperiness isn’t as bad 5:47 (descent 233ft). The last repeats obviously slower but tougher miles, more weather, and very little rest so I was happy with it. Overall, I felt GREAT! It was nice to get out and get some good leg turnover. I finished off a mile cooldown and called it quits. Not sure why I wrote so much today, curious to see if anyone will comment and just nice to do a workout again and have something to write about rather than I ran 10-miles again today and kept the same pace yeah… Avg. 7:00 HR 165

A good run after a long day in lab (~12hrs). I’ve continued to have problems focusing and it just makes things take so much longer. For the run I met up with James at SH and we ran SE of the park, random streets and back. My legs felt very good considering the tougher workout yesterday. I’m happy with my progress at this time. I ended up with 9mi, was only planning on 8 but I can live with it… Avg. 7:49 HR 140

I forgot the best part of the run. I checked the weather on the way out the door and it had the windchill as 1F and at the end -4F. Let’s hear it for winter!!!

Legs are a little tighter today, left glut and right knee. This is perfectly expected though and nothing too serious. Ran to City Creek, down to Memory Grove, up the stairs to the capital building, then down Gravity Hill and back to lab. Got up early despite a bad night of sleep. In work by ~6am out the door  a little after noon. The weather was warmer, 10F windchill. I actually had to stop and strip a layer. Avg. 7:25 HR 152

I was getting a little ahead of myself on mileage this week and with the slight twinges yesterday I decided for a day off. So I just ran three treadmill miles (8:00 pace) right out of bed and did some stretching situps pushups etc. Feels good. Now on to work and hopefully a relaxing weekend...

First of all congrats to all those who raced the Painter’s ½ today. A great showing by many bloggers especially Logan!

Got up early, planned on running at 5:30, didn’t get out the door until closer to 6:30… I did a course run today. Headed straight to MM7 (1.75 mi from my door). My plan was to keep it very easy and run out to a little past the 14 mile mark. On the way out I kept to plan and only pushed Mile 14 as it was my first time on that stretch and it was a nice descent. I saw all the mile markers except 13 and 14, the last official looking one is mile 10. Then I turned around and picked it up a little but still kept the breaks on. This was my first 18-miler since before TOU. On the way out I only saw 2 other runners but on the way back I saw between 30 and 35. Overall I had a good run and my legs felt strong. By the end of the run the weather was very nice (I can’t believe I just said that for 30F but it felt great). Avg. 7:15 HR 152

The great news for the day is that my family got home!!! It had been two weeks since I’ve seen them and 4 wks since they’ve been in UT. It was nice having them around the house again and watching Kaitlyn play with all her new Christmas toys.

I was planning a family run with the nice weather today but Sandra understandably wasn’t up for that yet. So after Kaitlyn went down for the night I headed out. I wanted to run on the BST but the trail was so bad. It took me 9:43 to get across the mouth of the canyon over all the snow and ice. So I looped down back west and stair-stepped back to the marathon course picking it up around mile 9.5 back home. Avg. 7:41 HR 143

PM run. Meant to do a double today but the snow changed my plans. Shoveled and got into work by 6:30am. Went home a little early to shovel again. Good upper body work today. Then went for my run a little before 6:30pm. I forgot to charge my Garmin so I was "free" today. SH loops and random streets.

AM-5:45am "death march" slowest run in awhile. The good news is I got about 7 hours of sleep last night so I managed to get up at 5am. Still took me about twice as long as usual to get out the door but moving in the right direction. Started from lab to City Creek and back. Just north of the JCC I saw three deer run across the street in front of me. Then when I got to the cemetery the clouds thinned to let the full moon shine throw, very surreal. As far as the run went I never got my legs moving. I just didn’t feel any turnover. This was probably because my legs were frozen, according to the NOAA the temp was 3F. The pace was fine though as the run was just for mileage anyway. Avg. 9:03 HR 138

PM-7:00pm treadmill workout. I did 1-mile wu (8:00) then four miles just under pace (5:52). At the start it felt harder than I would have liked but then I got into a rhythm. I kept my heart rate in the low to mid 160s.

In work by 5:30am. Had a long day, didn't get my first breather until 2:00pm. Then went for my run at 3:30pm. My new "work favorite" to City Creek up 1.5 miles and back. I felt good. It was nice running outside in the sunlight even though it was a 10F windchill. I kept the pace "honest" but never really pushed hard. I did surge the uphills and the last mile or so to get an even pace for the whole run. Avg. 7:00 HR 158

AM-6:00am Morning jaunt around campus. I’ve been here for well over a year and I can still count on my fingers how many times I’ve been on lower campus. I got into lab a little after 5:30am, set a few things up, and then headed out the door. I thought about doing the City Creek run again but wanted to mix it up. The inversion was in full affect today and that was a bit of a downer. Other than that I just looped in and out of the buildings of lower campus then headed south on 15^th for awhile and back. Avg. 8:12 HR 140

PM-7:30pm Toward SH and then random blocks. Long day, only 6hrs of sleep last night and then 11hrs of work today. However, I do feel good. Avg. 7:40 HR 137

Not too much sleep last night. Only about 6hrs (again) then a 10hr day at work. I envy the professional athlete, to have time to focus solely on running. It amazes me the mileage some of you fellow bloggers get with families of 3 and 4 kids on top of your jobs… All that being said I think I’m holding up pretty well. I’m only going to go about 10mpw higher in total mileage and not for another 3-4 weeks but it is definitely tough on only 6-7 hrs of sleep per night. The good news is as of now I’m still finding time to get in my 60hrs per week of work, the mileage, and maintain family time.

So far this season has been about the mileage and it will continue to be that way until after the April marathon. I want to see what I can run on a solid base and work in some faster, shorter intervals for the subsequent marathon. Tomorrow I will test my speed at the SLCTC 5K but with the lead in my legs I’m more curious than having any plans. I think I’ll just try to hang on for dear life to the faster guys and see how long I can last.

On a separate note I called in my first order to the St. George Running Center and the service was great. The shipping was minimal and I got my shoes and accessories within 24hrs!

Oh yeah. I did run tonight, 5mi on the treadmill 8, 7:30, and then 6:58s…

I actually got over 7hrs of sleep last night! It was nice that the race didn’t start until 10am. I was very nervous about the race today. My legs felt heavy in the morning, the mileage this week was higher again and I was tired. When I got to the race Sasha, Ted, and Steve were there. Sasha gave me my team jacket and I went to get my number. I had a brisk 4 mile warm-up (Avg. 6:59 HR174) with three 50m pickups, each ending at about 5:20 pace. I finished this warm-up with James. During this time I planned that I would like to try and average 5:20 for the race with my main goal of doing anything under 17. I told this to Ted and he more or less seemed on board. There were some fast guys there I knew and a few I didn’t. In addition to the team members BJ was there and ended up winning. People lined up by mile one more or less how they finished. I felt like I was holding back a little during this time but hit the mile right on pace in 5:20. After the 180° turnaround I noticed that Albert (A Wasatch Athletics runner I’ve done a few workouts with) ahead of me was slowing a little and a second guy I didn’t know as well. I wanted to try and catch both. For mile two I slowed a little to 5:25. At this point I started to reel in Albert. With about a half to quarter mile to go I finally caught him but I couldn’t catch the other guy. The third mile was in 5:28. It felt much harder than the first mile but I should have put in a little more. Ended up finishing 6^th in a 16:53 by the Garmin for 3.13 with an Avg. of 5:23 HR 185. Overall I am very happy with the performance. I ran my 8^th fastest 5K ever and felt very strong doing so. I’m sure I have more in me and look forward to my upcoming races. I did an immediate 3 mi cooldown, half with my neighbor Mike and half with the team. Then after a little chatting with everyone I did another 4 mi cooldown on my own before heading into work. It was nice getting to talk with many of the team members. I haven’t had a chance to run with many of them more than once or twice in the past and it is good to get to know them face-to-face. For the cooldowns Avg. 7:52 HR 146  

My initial plan was to get up and run before church, but when my alarm went off at 5:23 I rolled over and turned it off. I needed the extra sleep. I’m glad I took it. Instead I went for my run during Kaitlyn’s nap. I went to lab and ran from there, went up City Creek just a little further than usual. There was a surprisingly large number of people out running, walking, and hiking. One of the hikers pointed out a bunch of deer up on the mountains. They really looked magnificent silhouetted by the snow and then at the mouth of the canyon was some raptor playing in the breeze coming down the true meaning of God’s beauty.

I felt great considering the race yesterday. I surprised myself and I’m happy with my progress. I really didn’t know what to expect so I was pleasantly surprised. My quads are sore but the good kind of sore. The pace today was easy to medium it was just too beautiful of a day to take slow. I got my run in right before the wind came crashing down so the majority of my run was in 45F no wind and mostly overcast I actually had shorts on and my sleeves pushed up. Avg. 7:21 no HR today.

AM-5:30am I didn’t get that good of a night’s rest. I went to sleep a little later than normal and woke up a couple times, maybe because of the wind? I ended up waking at 4:45am before my alarm and just got up. Went to head out the door for my run and was nearly blown back in the house so I went to the treadmill instead. Just 7:30 pace straight through…

PM-7:15pm Exact repeat of the morning run. Today was a take the candle lay it on its side and light both ends kind of day. To spice things up I then took a lighter to the side of the candle as well. All that being said I feel ok for now I just have to make sure I don’t push into the red, I’m definitely to the last few lines of yellow. Total, I only had about 5hrs of sleep last night and then worked an 11hr day, plus these two treadmill runs and shoveling the drive. The good news is between all that I snuck in dinner with the family and a little playtime before getting Kaitlyn ready for bed and putting her down for the night. Luckily I think I will be able to go to sleep early tonight and though I have a rough morning at work the afternoon should be relatively easier. Avg. 7:30 HR 130

A little more sleep than the night before, just under 7hrs. Could have had more but decided that some quality time with Sandra was more important. This “balance” of increased mileage is tough, doable but tough. I was in to work by 5:30am, out the door by 10:30am for my run, working again by 12:10pm. I’m taking a quick lunch now while I type this and back to it. I want to leave early today if possible (not likely as I just had an impromptu 0.5 hr meeting with my boss in the middle of typing this, which led to another 0.5hr meeting and now I’m actually an hour behind boo who for me…). My knee was tight from the double treadmill run yesterday but loosened up nicely on the road today. Same run as Sunday but colder and more relaxed pace. Avg. 7:45 HR 142

I’m definitely feeling tired now. But I took an “easier” day. I woke up at 4:55am with the intent of doing two runs today. However, with the snow I just ended up shoveling and heading into work. I had a solid morning of work from 5:45am until noon. Then I took a quick lunch and went back to work until about 3pm. Then I actually called my day early and went for my run and headed home. It’s strange that I work a 9 hr day and felt like I was slacking going home early… I got home in plenty of time to shovel my drive a second time and get some good playtime with Kaitlyn. My run was fun. Even though I was tired, I decided to do some speedplay. I did two miles off two miles on. No particular goal for the on just think hard and let the legs do the rest. I’ll only give info on the hard miles. It was snowing the entire run but the surface was not slippery. I did the same run as yesterday up City Creek and back. The first on mile started right at the Firehouse. 5:23 descent 166 ft, 6:17 descent 86ft ascent 124 ft. The next two started at the turnaround back down City Creek. 5:59 descent 235 ft, 5:34 descent 242 ft. The final two started back at the Firehouse 6:06 descent 199 ft ascent 95 ft, 7:44 ascent 279 ft. If the elevation change was less than 50 ft I didn’t bother noting it. Overall, I good run considering how tired I’ve felt this week. I can’t believe it is only Wed. Good news is even though I got up earlier this morning I still got about 6.5 hrs of sleep last night. Avg. 6:54 HR 157.

AM-11:30am recovery run. Do to my complaining about feeling tired this week (sorry) I slept in an extra hour. I feel much better today. Into work at 6:30am out the door for my run at 11:30am. Just ran down into Memory Grove and back. Saw two deer and a ton of people. It is great when it snows as the following day you can actually see the whole valley (no smog). 8 miles Avg. 7:58 HR 133

PM-7:20pm treadmill run. Just adding a few extra miles. The rest of the day went fine. 4 miles Avg. 7:47

AM-5:20am shoveling. I think I've shoveled more snow this week than all last winter... At least the snow was nice enough to stop while I was shoveling. It didn’t start back up again until I was about 2 blocks into my drive to work. Yeah shoveling two-a-days!!!

PM-2:15pm recovery run. I ran with a guy from work. He ran his first marathon at TOU this Sept and had taken some time off since. He is just getting back into it. In fact this was his longest run this year. He was planning on running 4 mi I was planning on running 5mi so we ran 6 mi. He hadn’t run to City Creek yet so we just ran to the overlook and back. Avg. 9:38 HR 116

5:45AM LSD. I awoke 10min before my alarm at 5:05am. It took me a while to get moving though and I wasn’t out the door until 40 min later and moving slow. It was colder than I would have liked. My initial plan was to do some MP work however my legs just didn’t feel up to it. I ran directly to the 3mi mark and ran on the course through mile 13 and then back part on the course part not to get the correct distance. Overall I was happy with the run and not too surprised that my legs were lead considering the high mileage this week. Two general comments both about other runners and concerns with cars. I saw a lot of people out during the second half of my run. The things that surprised me were one group of women running four abreast completely blocking a lane!? I’m all for getting my right of way but in my opinion that is just going to anger drivers and make them less likely to move over for individual runners. The other concern is people running WITH traffic. Just curious, I think this was discussed before but isn’t it safer and the law for pedestrians to go against traffic? I know cyclists are supposed to go with traffic… Maybe I’ll put this as a survey in the discussion section. Anyway back to the run the first 5 miles were run at about 8 min pace. The remaining 15-miles were run at 6:36-7:14 per mile. Avg. 7:14 HR 147

I almost forgot two important things. I wore my Amphipod belt this morning and started with 4 roomtemp bottles. By the end of my run I hadn't gotten to two of them and they were partially frozen. The second thing is I finally got back to one of the better training things I used to do, "icing". In the past I used to ice my legs after any run over 15-miles. I haven't done it in awhile, probably becuase it is so cold out to begin with. But today I thought it would be a good idea. Except instead of standing outside in my garbage can full of half ice and half hose water I just went for the tub and it actually worked a lot better. I took our meat thermometer and adjusted the temp down to 51F and sat there for 15 minutes. My legs are already thanking me though some other parts of my body were not at the time... 

AM-10am Feeling a little out of it today, mentally not physically. Just ran on the treadmill while I watched Kaitlyn play. Pace 8:00.

AM-6:30am easy miles. I woke up at my “back to normal” 5am. Looked outside and decided I was not shoveling twice today so I just went into work. Set up a couple of experiments and got them incubating then headed out the door at 6:30am. Did my now usual City Creek run to a quarter mile past the 2-mile mark and back. The roads were slippery in spots and just plain sloppy in other spots but it was somewhat runable. I actually saw 6 other people on my way out including Josh Steffen whom I hadn’t seen in a few months. He looked like he was going at a very nice clip considering the surface conditions. However, I didn’t see a single other person on my way back… The weather really brought out the wildlife. Just before entering the canyon I saw a fox cross the road about 50m in front of me. Then just after the 1-mile mark I saw a herd of ~12 Elk. At first I was confused what those huge deer were doing and when I got closer I realized they were Elk, I’m not used to seeing those. Then almost exactly a mile further up I saw another herd of ~12 Elk. This time closer to the road. It was funny I was busy watching them on my left and I heard a twig snap to my right looked over and there were two of them standing there about 10ft from me. They took off in the other direction and my heart jumped a bit. They are fairly large and their antlers are a sight to see that close. Then finally on my way out of the canyon I saw a small group of ~4 deer. Overall, a relaxed easy run. My left glut was a little tight but otherwise I felt fine. 12mi Avg. 8:19 HR 133

PM-7:15pm easy miles. The day started out the right way but went downhill from there, all work related. After Kaitlyn went down for the night I had to get out for a few extra miles. Just a SH loop. 5 mi Avg. 7:54 HR 148

AM-5:45am easy miles. I'm keeping with the idea of SLOW and STEADY this week. I'm feeling the increased mileage now and don't want to over do it by stresses myself in too many other ways. It was crazy cold this morning, single digits straight temp. There wasn't too much wind which was nice but when there was my nose tingled. I did a very slightly different run this morning and ran down into Memory Grove up to the State Capital and down the otherside of the canyon before heading back to lab. 11 mi Avg. 8:31 HR 149

PM-7:30pm guess what? more easy miles... Just picking them up and putting them down. SH loop. 5 mi Avg. 7:50 HR 131 

One run today. Easy with some MP work mixed throughout. Started a little later this morning closer to 6am. It was another Wild America run. As early as a half mile in a saw some deer. I think this is their home because I always see them there, just behind the JCC there is normally 2-4 deer. Then a cool deer experience in front of the Shriner’s Hospital. There were two deer right on the sidewalk. When I passed one just stood there and watched me while the other pranced along the sidewalk even with me in the street until I turned at the stop sign. By about two miles it started snowing, just that little pellet snow. However the wildest animals I saw were after about 3.75 miles. I saw a Chad, Josh, and his wife (I don’t know why I’m so horrible with names). They were heading out of City Creek as I was heading in. I didn’t even recognize them until Chad called out. Then again at almost the same spot as the other day I saw two Elk at 1.5mi from the gate. On the way out I saw a single deer on the north face of the canyon and the three deer at the start of the run were still behind the JCC at the end. I think I see so many animals for a bunch of reasons. 1. They come out while snowing. 2. They are out early. 3. They are often in the same places and once I see one I pay extra attention in those areas. 4. I’m usually running alone and enjoy looking for them. Anyway enough about Wild America on to the run.

My plan was for 5 miles at MP mixed throughout the run. At first the snow wasn’t too bad and the pacing was going well. MP1 5:54 MP2 6:07 MP3 5:53. However, by the time I was coming down City Creek the snow had already accumulated to about ½ inch and was getting slippery so I decided to forgo all 5 miles and only got in one more MP4 6:10. Overall I was happy with the run. My wife had given me a massage last night and my legs were feeling the freshest they had all week.

12mi Avg. 7:46 HR 147

One run today, medium miles. My nose was a little stuffed when I went to bed last night and as my daughter was a little under the weather earlier this week I decided it would be best to get a full 8hrs of sleep. It is amazing what ~25% more sleep will do for you. I ended up getting into work a little after 7am and after a couple experiments and a meeting went out for my run at 11am. It was perfect timing as it was snowing at the time. Good news is it stopped by mile 2 and didn’t really accumulate on the roads. I did the State Capital version of my City Creek run. Going into Memory Grove I saw a couple of the Black Sheep but no wild animals today… My gluts are still a little sore/tight but after an encore massage from Sandra last night it was not too bad. Avg. 7:25 HR 149

I think I’m going crazy. Whenever I think I have a schedule set I go and change it. I think the important thing for me to remember with my training is that I do what my body tells me not what I type or say… Less than an hour after posting a response to Training with limited time/sleep  by Michelle I decided to change what I said and sleep an extra hour anyway. Then I went into work and worked first, not running until 11am. I did the same 6-miler as last Friday but this time with one mile HARD. For the hard mile I chose the aided mile (from the Firehouse to the Overlook with a 212ft descent). For that mile I only thought “faster than 5K pace” and didn’t look at my Garmin until the end, 5:03.46 HR 177. This is my fastest mile in … Overall, it felt good and I’m looking forward to the 10K tomorrow. Total 6 mi Avg. 7:12 HR 150

Today was a great running day. I went into the race ambitious and more or less lived up to my expectations. It is the most confident I’ve felt running in, I can’t remember how long. The training is finally paying off. Consistent easy high mileage…

I was treated to a third massage this week by Sandra and it really did the trick. Yesterday’s speedy mile also helped boost the confidence level and pain threshold. I went into the race wanting to try and maintain 5:30 pace. About the same group was there again (minus Ted, I sure hope he is soon 100% again). I did a two mile warmup with Sasha and Steve and one mile on my own. For the race I ran the first two miles with Albert. We were shooting to NOT go faster than 5:30 pace and we succeeded, 5:39. During the second mile I felt like he was going to pull away and that he was pushing the pace but we barely broke 5:30, 5:29. After that I picked up the pace and he fell back a little, but by the next marker I had actually slowed again 5:37. After the turnaround I really wanted to catch the two guys ahead of me. One of them was a Running Advantage guy that I didn’t catch in the 5K and the other was a guy in gray. So I bore down and passed them both, 5:27. The next mile I was feeling on fire and only slowed a little 5:32. The final mile I could feel the wheels starting to come off so luckily it was the last, 5:34. The final 0.24 was in 1:14. Overall, I finished 5^th in a 34:33.53 for 6.24 miles at 5:32 pace with a HR of 183. After the race I immediately changed into my warm-ups and trainers and reran the course plus an extra little to round off the mileage. I am very happy with today and only have minor aches and pains to show for it. I looked back and this is my 4^th fastest 10K ever. I had two track races my senior year in college faster and my Des 10K time last year. So this was my fastest non-aided 10K in almost 8-yrs!!! I am VERY happy with it. It did play a toll on my body as the rest of the day I had stomach problems. I shook stuff loose running that fast… I was able to spend the afternoon with my family but am sitting at work typing this up now. Hopefully I’ll get home at a decent time to get some good sleep. Overall, today makes me that much more hungry for the team relay in Phoenix the end of the month and my marathon in April…

Thank you everyone for your support. My stomach returned to normal by the time I got to work last night. I also made it home at an ok time and got 8hrs sleep, we even were only 5 minutes late to church. When Kaitlyn went down for her nap I headed over to Popperton (sp?) park and ran to City Creek. I know you are now in shock. How could Adam run to City Creek. Oh wait I do that almost every day now. I like the sound of the stream… No animals today though as I wasn’t running until noon. I did see the most people I’ve ever seen walking and biking. I took it as a recovery run and more or less felt ok. I ran to a quarter mile past the plowed road and back. Then went sledding with the family. Unfortunately I did have to work tonight and didn’t get back until about 10pm. The mileage is paying off for my running but work is getting tight and this week is looking like a mess at work already so we’ll see how I squeeze in the miles. Avg. 7:44 HR 140

Today was and still is a busy day so I have to make this short. Slept 7hrs, ran at 11am for 8mi to Memory Grove. I ran faster than I was planning as I only had 75 min free today to run and shower Avg. 6:45 HR 155 (four of the miles were between 6:18 and 6:20). Worked from 6:30 to 5:30 minus my run. After Kaitlyn went to bed ran another 6 at SH Avg. 7:32 HR 136.

AM-11am. This may be my only run for the day but I’m logging it as an AM just in case. Yesterday destroyed me mentally so the mental stress was almost physical today. I actually woke 20 min before my alarm. I started work at 6am not too early but it was a long morning. I got out for my run at 11am and just wanted to relax. I headed south for the first time in a long time. To and around the zoo and then toward the BST, I thought it would be clear after three days of above freezing temps but I was wrong. Luckily only two miles of my run were on it. During the run I actually wore shorts and a short sleeves, the bank said 51F though NOAA said 41F. In any case after two miles I was warmed up and I was feeling good. I ran into a women training for her first post-child marathon (SLC) and ran one mile with her, actually my fastest of the run 7:02. Also, I was very surprised that I actually saw deer today. They were right on Sunnyside in This is the Place. It was funny they didn’t blink an eye with all the car traffic but both stopped to watch me run by. One of them was even still there nearly an hour later at the same spot. I continue to believe that running is the best physical and mental therapy. By the end of the run the “work stress” from the last 36hrs had cleared and I’m feeling pretty good about the day now. My heart rate was pretty high but I had just had a cup of coffee and the “excitement” of the lab ordeals. 6hrs sleep 12 mi Avg. 7:42 HR 174

Today has been my best mental workday in almost two weeks. I had to get up early to get some stuff done before a 7:30am meeting. I was in lab by 5:30am, got the stuff done, got the meeting done, got my run and shower done and was back in lab before 10:30am. Good start to the day. The rest of the day has been much lower key. As far as the run went just back to basics nice easy miles. I was concerned with the forecast so I did all my miles in one run again. Just nice and easy up City Creek and back, no animals today but there were a lot of people walking… My heart rate was back to normal. 12 mi Avg. 7:53 HR 137

AM-8:00am. Last night I hit a bit of a hitch but it seems to have gone away as mysteriously as it appeared. Last Thur when I was putting stuff in my locker I stood up and my back spasmed. It hurt on and off the rest of the night but was fine the next day and perfect for the race. Then last night when I was rolling out my legs with “the stick” it did it again but more intense. Sandra rubbed it a little, I rubbed in some Tiger Balm and then put a heat patch on it took some IB and went to bed. This morning it was still achy but by about 7am the pain had subsided. I decided I had to break up my run today so I headed out right as the wind storm hit Salt Lake. I know Brent talks about commando points, but I want crazy points or just plain stupid points for this morning’s run. The temp was ok (with the wind), but into the wind it felt like a 30 degree shift down in temp. There were numerous times I had to stop and a minute because it was white out conditions and my lashes frooze together. That being said I mostly just wandered around campus so I didn’t have to deal with cars not seeing me. The U is good about plowing the sidewalks on campus. 6 random mi, Avg. 8:51 HR 140.

PM-7:20pm easy miles. The rest of the day my back behaved. My wife thinks it has to do with work related stress and is probably correct. Today was less stressful and it didn’t bug me. I also noticed that my sleep was less on Tues night with a good 12hrs of work... Last night I got 7hrs and only worked 10hrs – 1hr for the “wind run”.  Tonight’s run was SW from home and back as a loop. 6 mi Avg. 7:57  HR 131.

Single: New Template. To save myself time I’ve put this in a word document. Then I’ll just update it and cut and paste it for the blog. I have to say there is a very good discussion on shoes and their effects on running in the Forum now under Running Shoes. It got me thinking about a few things. First, I haven’t done anything barefoot since St. Louis, probably won’t for another couple months but it is a great idea. Second, how to change and mix up your shoes. More or less for the last 5 years I’ve only worn NB, except for my racers that have been mixed around. However, NB keeps changing their shoes and I’ve had enough. I wore 8 pairs of 833 in a row and I’m just about finished with my 6^th pair of 825s, I really do not like the 826 so now I’m switching back to the DS-Trainer and giving Saucony a try again with the rides after some suggestions from fellow bloggers. Anyway on to the day in training. I nearly got 8hrs of sleep last night, so didn’t start work until 7am. Luckily today is the lightest day of the week for me. So I’m taking a moment to write this all up with the extra dialog. I decided I wanted to re-run my workout from last Friday. I wanted to 1. Prove it wasn’t a fluke 2. Increase pain threshold 3. Increase confidence level. I did the two mile warm-up easy to the Firehouse then took off. I was thinking one thing and one thing only, sub-5:00!!! Guess what, I did it!!! 4:55.51 same aided mile, slightly different start (181 descent), but as people said last week who cares my legs were still moving me. I’m on cloud 9 about this one. Mi: 6 Avg:  7:26 HR: 154

AM: Mi: Avg: HR:

PM: Mi: Avg: HR:

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 12 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 0 / / Saucony Rides #1: 0 / / Saucony Rides #2: 0

Single: Got up at 5:45am but didn’t get out the door until closer to 7am. For these longs runs I like to make sure “I’m empty” before I head out. I knew I wanted to go long today but I tossed around the idea of doing some at MP. After checking the weather and seeing wind chills in the single digits, I decided to just go out and shoot for 7:00 pace. I started off a little slow but for the most part tried to keep all the miles within 30 seconds of target; my slowest mile 7:43 my fastest mile 6:29. At the turnaround I was about 2-3 minutes off of the 7:00 pace so the return was a little quicker. The course was to the 4-mile mark and run the SLCM course to the 14-mile mark. I came back mostly the same way without the additional loop of SH. Last night I slept about 6hrs, but I took a nap for the first time in a long time. Also, for the first day since returning from Chicago I didn't go into lab. I needed the day off after the last two weeks of stress. That and my boss gave me some bad news about the lab. Due to the government cutbacks on domestic spending (especially education and research) the lab is most likely going to have to down-size and cut-back on our use of resources. This doesn’t directly affect me as I have my own salary support but it will have an overall affect on the lab which may affect how long it takes me to progress to the next step in my career. That being said I’m fairly optimistic that we’ll get through this but it is still hard to believe that a chair of the department is having a hard time getting funding. It is however the trend since the current budget cuts have stifled the NIH and U.S. progress on the global field of scientific development, in my opinion… Enough of my political rant. Mi: 21 Avg: 6:59 HR: 153

AM: Mi: Avg: HR:

PM: Mi: Avg: HR:

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 33 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 0 / / Saucony Rides #1: 0 / / Saucony Rides #2: 0 / / NB825 455

Single: Another night with 8-hrs sleep! We weren’t even late to church this time. After church a little family time and then when Kaitlyn went down for her nap I went into lab for an hour and then my run from Popperton up City Creek and back. The rest of the day with family and then back to lab after dinner. Nothing special on the run, my legs feel good despite the continued high mileage. Yesterday officially marked the halfway point of my marathon program. Up to this point I’ve already run nearly as many miles as for my entire 18-wk program in ’01, ’02, ’03, and ’06. If I keep to plan I will run ~40% more miles than before TOU and ~25% more miles than the 18-wks leading up to Regionals my senior year in college. Mi: 12 Avg: 7:26 HR: 154

AM: Mi: Avg: HR:

PM: Mi: Avg: HR:

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 33 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 0 / / Saucony Rides #1: 12 / / Saucony Rides #2: 0 / / NB825: 455

Single: Mi: Avg: HR:

AM: 11:00 am easy run. Only 6-hrs of sleep last night, I think the news from Friday is wearing more heavily on me than I first thought. I’m just trying to regroup mentally and it does have a physical toll. I did get into work by 5:45am. Funny thing this morning. The deer came to me! There were three deer outside the loading dock of my building! This did turn into a tragedy though. When I did get out for my run a few hours later there was a dead deer right off Medical Dr. near the golf course and I can only assume it is one of the three I saw. Today I started my day in the lab and didn’t get out for my run when it was finally warming up ~30°F. I just did a Memory Grove out and back. Mi: 8-NB Avg: 7:43 HR: 142

PM: 7:15pm easy run. The rest of the day was more of the same. The mood around lab was almost tangible. If anyone has an independently wealthy relative (or is themselves independently wealthy) and they want to donate to diabetes and cardiovascular disease research give them my e-mail :’) All that being said my runs have taken on the added bonus of stress relief and it helps a lot. I did a figure eight SW from my house. It was a nice evening still around 30°F. Mi: 8-R1 Avg: 7:37 HR: 134

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 33 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 0 / / Saucony Rides #1: 20 / / Saucony Rides #2: 0 / / NB825: 463

Single: Mi: Avg: HR:

AM: 6:30 am easy run. Only 6-hrs of sleep again last night, I also woke up a few times so not that well rested. This morning I started my day with a run because I knew the day was going to be hectic, I’m glad I did as it is 4:45pm and I’m sitting down for the first time since I got back from my run… Much cooler this morning (~20°F), not that cold but it felt cold compared to the last few days. I decided to mix it up again and ran to SH from lab via the Olympic Torch 15th E and back 19th and Foothill. Mi: 8-R1 Avg: 8:05 HR: 143

PM: 7:20 pm easy run. The rest of the day went ok. The dust is starting to settle in lab and it looks like I will only loose one leg and not all my limbs to the budget crunch. Nice relaxing evening run. I went “old school” and did my “home loop” the run I did more or less everyday when we first moved here. Mi: 8-MB Avg: 7:41 HR: 129 (It is interesting to note that almost without fail, on the 2-a-days my evening pace is faster but HR slower).

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 33 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 0 / / Saucony Rides #1: 28 / / Saucony Rides #2: 0 / / NB825: 471

Single: 11:30am easy run. I managed 7-hrs of sleep last night. Got into work by 6:15am, did a bunch around lab and then had meetings from 8-11… The first meeting set things in order for the next few months. At least for now two projects are on hold. However, the remaining 4 projects MUST be done soon. I’m feeling better about the whole situation but it is still affecting me some. Finally got out the door at 11:30 to be met by a wonderful haze that almost blocked the valley view much less the mountains, yuck! To add to the “yuckiness” of the run the deer from Monday was still there. However, I did see a deer foraging despite the late day run (right across from the salt stock pile). The other thing was I saw was the most other runners out on a weekday since I’ve been running City Creek. It must have had to do with the late start. Mi: 12-R1 Avg: 7:43 HR: 139

AM: Mi: Avg: HR:

PM: Mi: Avg: HR:

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 33 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 0 / / Saucony Rides #1: 40 / / Saucony Rides #2: 0 / / NB825: 471

Single: 10:30am medium run. I managed 7-hrs of sleep again last night. Got into work by 6:00am, was immediately assailed by paperwork with the “new changes” and some accident follow-ups. Barely made it out for my run at 10:30am and made it back just in time for a meeting I had to attend. A little bit too close so I was pushing a little more than normal but not hard. Nothing too exciting for the run. I over dressed and that was about the highlight… Into Memory Grove and back. Definitely feeling the fatigue. My plan this week was to front load (taking a page from Bill Cobbler’s book) and do lower mileage today and tomorrow to be relatively rested for Saturday’s 15K. This has worked for the first two races of the series and is my plan for my build-up to Del Sol next week. Mi: 8-R1 Avg: 7:15 HR: 146

AM: Mi: Avg: HR:

PM: Mi: Avg: HR:

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 33 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 0 / / Saucony Rides #1: 48 / / Saucony Rides #2: 0 / / NB825: 471

Single: 11:30am easy run. The usual 7-hrs of sleep. Had a very mentally draining day. Still dealing with the stresses of the car accident… Ran with a couple guys that work in my building, we ran to the City Creek gate and back. I was into work by 5:30am and despite the accident stuff managed to have a decent day. I’m excited about tomorrow and plan on running 5:40 pace. We’ll see though as my head is definitely not on straight this week. During the run we saw 14 deer across from the cemetery on the way back to campus. Mi: 7-NB Avg: 8:32 HR: 135

Single: SLTC 15K. I started the day a little sluggish. When I got home yesterday I realized that do to the “stuff” I was dealing with at work I completely forgot to eat lunch. Also, I didn’t sleep well. I was in bed for 8-hrs but… All that being said I started out the day right. I met a new blogger Fiddy (James Moore), I gave him a ride to and from the race and really enjoyed our conversations throughout the time. We got to the race with plenty of time to warm-up. We did an FRB warmup with a good number of people ~3-miles at 8:22 pace. Then to the race. I spoke with James and Albert about going out at 5:40s and both sounded interested (at least until the gun went off). I stuck to plan and watched them go out at about 5:20. I hit mile 1 in 5:39, I was on my own the entire race and not feeling 100%. I was having to work a lot harder today to keep -5:40 pace than I had to keep 5:30 the race before… Miles two and three were both in 5:41. The turnaround was a rude awakening for me, there was a minor headwind but with how I was feeling it didn’t help in the motivation department. At about mile 4 I started to reel back in James but was not feeling “it” 5:37 (fastest of the race). Mile 5 was 5:38 from there on out things just didn’t work for me. I felt fine I just couldn’t convince my legs of that. Miles 6 and 7 were 5:45 and 5:49, yuck. My initial plan was to “take it easy” at 5:40 pace through mile 7 and then pour it on. However, my legs didn’t get that memo. Mile 7 was the slowest but the last two were not that much better,  5:42 and 5:46 with a 1:54 for the last 0.34. The good news is that despite not being there mentally or really feeling like I was racing today I still managed a 15K PR. The fact that this is only the second 15K I’ve run may have had something to do with that. But in all reality I’ve very happy with the time. With all the complaints I could add about the week I still managed to run 5:42 pace HR 182. Considering I was shooting for 5:40 pace I’m happy with it. The “funny” part is that I took the exact same place as my last 15K 2^nd age 7^th o.a. After the race there was a FRB-team plus cool-down of ~6 miles. The second half I ran with James. Avg. 8:15 HR 138. I then had to go into work to make up some missed time. Total for the day 19. Mi: 10-D1

AM: 1pm medium run. Typical Sunday routine, church, family time, a little in lab and then a run. I wanted to split it up as the weather was very windy and I wanted more afternoon family time. However I would compare this run to cheating death. I got to the park and my car temp said 57°F outside. I was wearing shorts and a long-sleeve as it was VERY windy. By about mile 2 the wind had become very chilly. By mile 3 it was drizzling. By mile 4 it was hail/sleeting on me. My extremities were going numb. Mile 5 was just numb pain. The last two miles were mercifully with the wind. When I got back to the car it read 37°F a 20° drop!!! Ran the Memory Grove/Capital loop. I ran it much harder than I would have for a recovery run but I was just in survival mode. Mi: 7.2-NB Avg: 6:51 HR: 150

PM: 6:45pm easy run. Much much better experience than earlier in the day. After spending a nice and relaxing afternoon with my family I headed out to the park after dinner. Exact same run as earlier but I parked outside the park to “even out the mileage”. I was dressed for the temp this time and not being wet or blown around by the wind really helped. The creek was full with the rain water and very relaxing to listen to. I was lucky enough to run into Chad. It was great getting to chat with him even if it was only for about 1.5 miles. I really have to get my schedule together so that I can plan runs with others again. The last two days were a great escape from my work/accident week of stress. Things really came together and between the nice relaxing family time today, getting to cook dinner both Sat and Sun (VERY relaxing to me), and getting to run with people though only briefly tonight., it allowed me to clear my mind and I look forward to this next week. Especially Del Sol. I almost forgot to mention that counting the week Mon-Sun this week (92-miles) ties my second highest mileage week ever!!! Mi: 6.8-R2 Avg: 8:07 HR: 145

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 43 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 7 / / Saucony Rides #1: 48 / / Saucony Rides #2: 0 / / NB825: 485

Single: 11:30am easy-med run. About the same weather as last night. However, it felt much better in the light. Ran up City Creek and back from lab. There were a lot of runners out but for the most part I just enjoyed the sound of the stream and focused on my thoughts. My main goal this week is to catch up on sleep for the relay. Last night I only ended up with 5hrs… Mi: 12-D2 Avg: 7:40 HR: 135

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 43 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 12 / / Saucony Rides #1: 48 / / Saucony Rides #2: 7 / / NB825: 485

Single: 7:00am easy run. Got about 7hrs sleep last night, into work by 6am and after setting up a few things out the door. A little chilly this morning but not too bad. I took it very easy today. I did the Memory Grove/Capital loop with a City Creek extension. Mi: 12-R2 Avg: 8:24 HR: 136

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 43 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 12 / / Saucony Rides #1: 48 / / Saucony Rides #2: 19 / / NB825: 485

Single: 2:30pm med/hard run w/ 2 @ MP. Got about 7hrs sleep again last night, into work by 6am. I had one of my busiest but most productive days in awhile, finally able to squeeze out the door in the afternoon. I cut the mileage a little shorter than planned but bumped up the intensity to “air out” the legs. Did two in the middle at goal MP (5:55) actually hit 5:56 and 5:50. Overall it was just such a perfect running day, light breeze, mostly sunny, and 49F when I went out the door. Getting excited/nervous about the race Friday. My third leg has the largest climb of any of the legs so I should get my climbing gear packed. I still have one thing to take care of in work tomorrow and one thing at home and then out the door when Logan comes by… I did the Memory Grove out and back. Mi: 8-NB Avg: 6:53 HR: 161

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 43 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 12 / / Saucony Rides #1: 48 / / Saucony Rides #2: 19 / / NB825: 493

Single: 1pm med run. Got about 8hrs sleep. Then finished packing after some morning family time. I did end up having to go into work for a couple of hours. Then ran the capital loop from Popperton. With the lower mileage this week I picked it up again. I’m nervous for this weekend. After looking at my third leg this is going to be a challenge. Logan picked me up around 4pm and we headed to get James. It was a great drive to St. George, the entire way we talked about running, racing, and training. After getting to St. George I met some of the other team members, Steve H., Clyde, Nick, and Dave. We headed to Las Vegas and slept at the Sahara. Mi: 7-NB Avg: 7:08 HR: ?

See post for Saturday.

Total Relay Distance 182 mi in 17 hrs and 4 min (my legs totaled 14.67 in 1 hr 24 min) 

Friday

AM: 8am easy run. Got about 6hrs sleep. Easy run with the team on the streets of Vegas. Then back into the van and to the start. Once we got there my nerves were really kicked into full gear. The racers had been starting since 9am that morning. When I watched the 4pm group take off I started getting antsy. I still had about 5 hrs to wait though so I was going to have to learn to cool my jets. Mi: 5-DS1 Avg: ~7:45 HR: ~140

PM: 9pm Leg 7 my first leg. I ran around the parking lot in the dark for about 2-miles. I was very ready to go. We had gotten updates over the last few hours and there was a team a lot closer than I would have guessed anyone would be. To make things worse I spoke to the guy from that team that I was going to be going up against. He asked what I was shooting for and I of course told him. Ted had me down for 5:52 pace. The guy said he was shooting for 5:30 pace. So it was on. James came flying in and passed the bracelet to me and I was off. My first mile had a 183 ft climb but I still managed a 5:38. I was a little nervous about burning out as this was my longest leg (meant to be 6.4 mi) but I didn’t want to let the team down. It was very dark and my first time running with a head lamp. Next mile had a good descent and I flew down it 5:14. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was in the zone! It was the closest to a “running spiritual” moment I have ever had. I would look down at the Garmin it would read #.4 or #.5 and then beep next mile! The third mile was about equal up 174 ft and down 157 ft but I kept a good pace 5:36. The fourth mile was more down 126 ft but still had 70 ft of up 5:30. The sixth mile I was finally feeling it and it had more climb 121 ft to 101 ft down 5:47 however I was almost there and knew I just had to maintain for the last 0.67 (little long) was in 3:52 (5:46 pace). When I handed off to Ted I was ecstatic I was jumping all over the place I couldn’t believe what I had just done. I beat my goal time by almost 2 min. I immediately got into the van and to the next exchange I cooled down for about 0.5 mi and then into the van 2 bananas 2 slices of bread a granola bar a Gatorade and tried to rest. Avg: ~5:31 HR: ~185

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 48 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 12 / / Saucony Rides #1: 48 / / Saucony Rides #2: 19 / / NB825: 500

Saturday

AM: 4am Leg 19 my second leg. Not as much warm-up this time. We had gotten some great updates and looked like we were in a solid lead. Also this was my shortest leg. The great news was the times the other van was throwing down but you’ll have to read their blogs… Logan and Nick are studs, is all I have to say. After trying to get some sleep but only resting my head I got up and “paced” around for about a mile. I got to the start and was anxious for James. However, he had a big climb (540 ft) and a long leg to get to the exchange. He handed off and I was cruising again. Nowhere near the type of experience I had during the first leg but still great. The camaraderie was great. It was so much fun cheering and being cheered on by the other FRBers. My first mile had a 241 ft climb with 158 ft of descent. I managed a 5:46. The next mile was about the same split but more level 172 ft up with 85 ft down in 5:41, the last 0.87 was mostly down and I tried to make up time and get the bracelet to Ted as fast as I could 134 ft down 67 ft up 4:34 (5:14 pace). I did a 0.5 mi cool down at the next exchange and the same refueling. I managed to drop another 1:30 from my predicted pace! Avg: 5:35 HR: ~192

PM: 9am Leg 31 final leg “the dreaded hill”. After some more great performances by the rest of the van I tried to get some sleep again put still only managed to rest my head for about an hour. Then off to the exchange. By this point we had passed all ~150 other teams so I was the first person at the exchange for the day. I chatted it up with the volunteers all nice people and then just waited for James. No real warm-up. The sunlight was out in full force and it was already warming up to about 70F. James came tearing into the exchange and I was off. I knew the first two miles were the “easy” ones and then the hill so I decided to hammer them and hang on for dear life to the end. First mile 89 ft up 81 ft down 5:32, next mile 182 ft up 156 ft down 5:41. Now the climb 156 ft up, 6:10 not too bad. The vans went by at this point and that helped motivate me. Next mile was 300 ft UP! 6:55. Final mile was still another 213 ft up but I managed to drop a few seconds for 6:32. The last 0.13 still up 66 more ft in 0:47 (5:54 pace). Handed off to James and jumped into the van. This was another ~1:20 off my goal pace. From this point to the finish every chance I got I was out of the van running around cheering in the last 5 legs. Avg: 6:09 HR: 180

Overall, I’m so happy I did this race. As you all know by now we won overall in 17 hrs 4 min beating the next team by 42 min and setting a ~2 hr course record! I was very happy with my times and effort. Ted had me down to run 14.66 miles at 6:05 pace which was a GREAT tactic by him to give us a few second fatigue leeway, it helped me mentally. By my Garmin I ran 14.67 miles (amazingly close Paul!!!) at 5:46 pace with a total of 2194 ft ascent and 1652 ft descent net up of 542 ft. I managed to give the team an additional 4 min and 40 seconds. Out of curiosity I plugged in my sea level college 10K PR into Paul’s magic spreadsheet and that would have predicted 5:57 pace so right now I’m running “better” than I did as a college senior!!! I’m so stoked about my training, thanks FRB!

Besides the running the relay was just a great experience. I met so many of the bloggers and had a great time. I had a good chance to get to know James B and Logan better on the way to and from St. George. Also, a good chance to meet Steve H, Dave, Clyde, and Nick to and from Phoenix. The race with Sasha, Steve A, Jeff, Kory, Ted and James W just rounded out the whole experience. James W, it was great of you to drive us. You kept the team moving and really helped a lot. Lybi the post race pasta and salad were great. The homemade bread by you and Sarah really hit the spot! I’m bummed I didn’t get a good chance to talk with Walter but there is always next year… There is so much I want to type here about the non-running portion but I’ll spare you all. I do want to put down a few things for my own memoirs.

The drive to and from everything was amazing! We truly live in a beautiful and diverse country. The change of scenery from hour to hour is just amazing! The condors we saw were just breath taking and to think there are so few of them left in the world. A few of the insiders’ comments I have to put down. Clyde’s story of which side are you on before his Subway came back to visit had me laughing so hard that my stomach hurt. IHOP was a blast. Last things-We started at 6pm, Poopy phone, and ZZ Top…

Recovery and sleep day.

Single: 7pm easy run. I thought about getting up early but decided one more day of rest was a better idea. Managed 7 hrs of sleep. The day was rough getting back into my work routine so I didn’t get a break to run during the day. Went out after Kaitlyn went down and did the BST loop south then west returning home via MM 9-7. My legs were very trashed but not in pain just lead weights with sore quads. Miles-R2 12 Avg. 7:41 HR 138

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 48 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 12 / / Saucony Rides #1: 48 / / Saucony Rides #2: 31 / / NB825: 500

AM: 11:00am easy run. Well I’m back to my routine. Early AM rise, had to get into work by 5:30am. Did a great amount of my to do list finally posted all my missing blog updates (I had typed them last night but didn’t get them on line) and then out the door at 11am for a Memory Grove out and back. Still a little sore. My plan this week is just easy mileage to recover fully. Very windy today (17-20 mph) but headwind for my downhill first half and tailwind for my uphill second half. Miles-8 R1 Avg. 7:43 HR 139

PM: 7:15pm easy run. Feeling better than this morning. Today was a much more productive day at both work and running. After Kaitlyn went down for the night I ducked out for an easy loop SW from home. Miles-7 D2 Avg. 7:45 HR 136

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 48 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 19 / / Saucony Rides #1: 56 / / Saucony Rides #2: 31 / / NB825: 500

“AM”: 2:30pm easy/med run. Another full work day. Got in at 5:45am so I managed an extra 15 min of sleep for 6:15. Didn’t get a break until a little after 2pm. Did the same run as yesterday. The weather was almost identical except the wind wasn’t as bad. My quads were pretty tight. I ran the exact same pace as yesterday. Miles-8 T2 Avg. 7:43 HR 134

PM: 7:15pm TM run. Still pretty tired. Just did a some extra miles on the treadmill. One 8, one 7, and then two 6. Felt good to get some turnover and work out the kinks in my quads. Miles-4 R2 Avg. 6:45 HR ?

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 48 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 27 / / Saucony Rides #1: 56 / / Saucony Rides #2: 35 / / NB825: 500

Single: 2:15pm easy/med run. I got a full 7 hours of sleep last night. Work was full but not stressful. I was however short on time for my run so I “picked it up” for miles 5-10. I have a little bit of a cough. I think there was some sharing going on during the relay. But besides feeling a little extra tired I’m fine. My quads however are still sore. Sandra gave me a nice massage last night that helped but I still have a little more recovery to do. Just ran up City Creek and back. Miles-12 R2 Avg. 7:27 HR 144

NEW MILE PR

Single: 3:15pm Firehouse Mile. I went to sleep early to get 7 hours of sleep last night. I had a full day at work, in a little before 5:30am. By about 9am I had a break but not long enough to go for a run so I caught up on e-mail and checked some other blogs I’ve missed for awhile. Then back to work until 3pm. I’m glad I waited by the time I headed out the NOAA had the temp at 48F with only about 3mph winds. So I decided to give that “fast” mile another go. I’m glad I did. I did two miles warm-up via Dry Creek and Popperton. Then when I got to the firehouse I let it loose. I was running alongside a bike for a little and the guy commented nice pace. My new one mile record is 4:51.07 and HR 180. I had great temps, a minor crosswind, and 176ft of descent to help but it felt great. Then I continued to a 0.25 mile past the City Creek gate and back. Miles-8 T2 Avg. 7:30 HR 150

Single: 6am LSD. I went to sleep early to get 7 hours of sleep last night. I took a little getting ready (I always do for the long ones). Then out the door a couple minutes before 6am. I combined two of my long run courses. I headed out up Foothill to BST to Wasatch. Then at the turn up toward Solitude I headed NW to the 13 MM of the marathon course and ran miles 13-4 backwards and home. A nice loop I’ll do it again. I was overdressed as the weather channel had the temp at a 29F WC but it was not that cold or that windy. It did sprinkle on me from miles 3-15 though. My first 3 miles were slow >9, next two >8 and then I just kept the pace between 7:30 and 8. Nothing fast today but this week was mostly about recovery anyway (except for the mile yesterday). Miles-22 T1 Avg. 7:55 HR 136

Single: 3:15pm med/hard run. I was swamped today. I did manage my 8 hrs of sleep for a Sat night. Then to church, family errands, then I had to work 3 hrs. Finally made it to Popperton a little after 3pm and was short on time so I pushed a little harder than I was planning. However, once I was rolling I just went with it. My three miles down City Creek were about MP. It was a beautiful day and I got to spend another couple hours with the family before I had to work another 4 hrs... Miles-10 T2 Avg. 6:47 HR 161

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 70 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 45 / / Saucony Rides #1: 56 / / Saucony Rides #2: 47 / / NB825: 500

AM: 11:30am easy run. I had the usual Monday morning meetings but I was presenting today (part of the reason for the late night). With the time change and being revved up from the talk prep I barely got 6 hrs sleep last night. I ended up running with the guys from upstairs. I went out with them to the City Creek gate then added on a 0.25 mile past and played catch-up for the next two miles (6:14 and 6:28) after that I just went in easy with them. Miles-8 R2 Avg. 8:05 HR 152

PM: 7:15pm easy SH loop. First outer loop of the year. Ran into Bill Cobler and ran a little with him. It has been a long time since I've seen him, it is good to know he is running again. Miles-6 R1 Avg. 7:53

AM: 9:30am very easy run. I only managed about 6:30 hrs of sleep again. I was really dragging this morning and my legs felt like lead. Into work a little before 5:30am and out the door for my run about 4 hrs later. The run did not have its usual energizing effect and I just plodded along for the mileage, I can tell by my heart rate that I never was trying. My quads are pretty dead but I think it is just the time change and sleep disruption… To Memory Grove and back. Miles-8 T1 Avg. 8:18 HR 128

PM: 7:30pm med/hard run. I'm the absent minded professor today. I just never got into the groove after the slow start this morning. I realized I had forgotten something in lab, so after dinner I had to head back. Since I was already most of the way there I drove over to the City Creek gate and ran three miles up and three miles down. The up miles were about 8:00 the down miles were about 6:00 for a 42:02. Felt nice and finally got my head on straight, too bad the day is over now... Miles-6 T2 Avg. 7:00 HR 147

AM: 6:15am very easy run. I finally got 7hrs of sleep again. I’m feeling much better than yesterday. I did however redefine easy run this morning. I did Memory Grove out and back and think I probably could have walked it faster but that is fine, recovery runs are just that... In an interesting note I dressed before I got into work so that I wouldn’t waste time changing. So while I was setting up in lab I had my heart rate monitor on it read between 38-42 bpm! Miles-8 T2 Avg. 9:10 HR 125

Single: 7:15pm easy run. I was planning 12 in 2 runs but opted for the extra hour sleep. The extra work this week did pay a toll on me mentally. I did get another 7hrs of sleep and the day, though full, went relatively smoothly. My quads are still aching and haven’t been 100% since Del Sol, but the marathon is still a good five weeks away so I want them to feel tired the next three weeks. Miles-10 R1 Avg. 7:32 HR 132

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 78 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 65 / / Saucony Rides #1: 66 / / Saucony Rides #2: 61

Single: 3:15pm easy run. I hope you are sitting down. I got EIGHT hours of sleep last night! I slept in a little. Overall, it was a good day. I got three experiments done before 1pm, and then another three set-up with the help of my excellent student John. Went for my run while John finished two things and finished the final one when I got back… During the run I saw what I thought was a piece of toilet paper on the path just north of Dry Creek. When I got closer it started to run and then disappeared. I saw there was a hole there and while I was looking at it this little thing popped out saw me and went back in, it looked like a really small ferret. Out to Memory Grove and back from lab. Miles-8 R2 Avg. 7:40 HR 140

I had high expectations today. So far this year I’ve been very happy with my training and my races. Looking over the Striders WRS I showed up today with delusions of grandeur. I knew at least Chad, Jon, Cody, Ben, etc. where going to be there and anyone of them could give me a run for the money but I was feeling confident and wanted to give the win a try. In total I had three goals, 1) break 60 min on this tough course, 2) beat the aforementioned, and/or 3) win overall. So I came to the race with the mindset of winning. My initial plan was to stay with the leader until mile 7 and then give it my all to the finish. Problem was plans never work out 100%...

I started the day at 5am after only 6-hrs of sleep. I headed over to Chad’s and he offered to drive from there. We showed up with plenty of time to pick up our numbers, get ready, and get in a good 4+ mi warm-up, part of it was mile 5 of the course. After saying hi to everyone at the start we lined up. Some of the guys I hadn’t seen since TOU and it was good to see them again. In addition to the guys I knew there was one guy whom looked like he was ready to rock’n roll at the start. At the gun he went out and as one of my goals was to win I didn’t want to lose touch so I stayed a few steps behind him but went out ahead of the main pack. I was supposed to hit 6:00 for the first mile and ended up with a 5:48 so not too bad but still out on my own more or less. The next mile I hit exactly on, 5:21. At this point I could tell that the leader was not going to be slowing down anytime soon but I wanted to try and hold onto whatever minimal lead I had gained to save myself grief in the later miles (little did I know). The third mile was supposed to be 5:52 and I hit it in 5:50 so at this point I was sitting pretty and not feeling too bad. The 4^th mile had a bit of a climb meant to hit in 6:05 and came through in 5:57. I started thinking that sub-59 was in the works. However, now came the pain and suffering for the naive and uninitiated. Mile 5 started a 2.5 mile climb of nearly 775ft of total uphill with various minor downs. But I stuck to my guns and hit a 6:41 when all I needed was a 6:53. However, from here on out I could tell my mind was not pushing my body as hard as it needed. In fact I caught myself “not racing” and knew there was too much more in this race to be losing it at this point. I knew there would be some guys behind me hungry for blood (yes that is you Jon and Chad) and if they saw my weakness they were coming for the kill. However, the person to get me first would be Walter. I looked back and saw him at this point. I knew someone had been very close but not wanting to give away my weakness I hadn’t looked back until now. Mile 6 was supposed to be a little less painful and I was shooting for a 6:17 but only managed a 6:39 (Keep in mind I didn’t have all my projected splits memorized but I had a little idea of what I was supposed to be shooting for). This was not what I needed and now came the hardest hill, also at this time came Walter. The later was actually a great help. Him catching me really motivated me to kick it back into gear. I wanted a 7:04 up the hill and only managed a 7:16 buy I knew the next mile was supposed to be the easiest and I figured I was in the clear for a solid second place. However, then came the kicker. What I thought was Walter making a return appearance turned out to be Jon and man was he looking strong. He kicked my trash to the curb, I took one final attempt at him but he was gone. I managed a 5:11 (was only shooting for a 5:17) but he hammered me with a 5:02. At this point I was only hoping that I wasn’t completely out of it because I knew there were at least two more hungry wolves behind me. I really wanted to get back to Jon to at least give him a run for his money but the juice never came to my legs. Mile 9 was in a 5:46 and I needed a 5:34. The last miles “minor” uphill completely demoralized me at this point and I did my best to hold on to Jon but to no avail an abysmal 6:05, shooting for 5:32. In the end it was a good race, but I wish I could have given Jon more of a challenge the final two miles. (Next time buddy…) It was great getting to see a solid group of bloggers at similar abilities really pushing each other. In all honesty I truly believe anyone of us could have come out on top today, Jon just brought it home (Sorry James…). I didn’t make any of my three goals but it was a good learning experience. A real eye-opener for how much more work I have to do if I’m going to make my marathon goals but a good experience none-the-less. After the race I did about 4 mi with the crew and then tacked on a little less than 2 more to give me 20-total for the day and 90-total for the week. So all and all I’m happy with a tough effort on a tough course after a tough work and mileage week. Good luck to the rest of the bloggers at the half it seems like it is going to be a great race. Also, thanks to Chad for the ride and the helpful advice on the way back. I truly value your comments and am thankful for them. And I’m sure you’ll smash Jon in the half (just trying to add some spice to the series) I wish I was in the long haul with you guys… Mi-20 R2 10 Avg. for race 6:03 1:00:19 3^rd overall HR 183.

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 78 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 75 / / Saucony Rides #1: 66 / / Saucony Rides #2: 69

Single: Recovery run. Memory Grove-Capital loop with Temple Square extension. My legs were really trashed this morning. I did manage the full 8-hrs sleep before the normal Sunday routine. Ran from Popperton at ~1:15pm. Started off easy and got easier during the run. I’m glad I got in some miles as toward the end my legs were feeling better. Both quads and gluts are shot from the hills yesterday… Mi 10-R1 Avg. 8:29 HR 150

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 78 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 75 / / Saucony Rides #1: 76 / / Saucony Rides #2: 69

AM: Recovery run. This week is about rest with maintenance. I’m planning on about equal mileage but done in all two-a-days with a great focus on sleep (after last night). I was in work a little before 5:15am. Only had about 5-hrs of sleep. A lot going on again. My legs definitely let me know that I had raced on Sat. My left hams and right glut were very tight to start but felt “better” by the end. Just headed toward lower campus and back. Mi 4-R2 Avg. 8:30 HR 147

PM: Ready, steady, go. Still feeling sore but the nap helped as did keeping it easy. Ran to SH most of the way around and back. Nothing note worthy... Mi 6-R2 Avg. 8:32 HR 135

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 78 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 75 / / Saucony Rides #1: 76 / / Saucony Rides #2: 79

AM: Recovery run, continuing the theme of this week as-easy does it. I did manage ~7hrs of sleep last night. Into work at 6am, felt much better than yesterday. Legs still surprisingly sore but not as bad as yesterday. Didn’t get out for my run until about 11am, it was pretty nice by then. The breeze was chilly but good enough for shorts. Past the mouth of Dry Creek spring was in the air. There were so many birds and small mammals running around. Past Popperton Park my FRB shirt paid off as a car pulled up and said “Adam” it was Bonnie from the blog. Nice to see you out there! The rest of the run was relaxed. By the end my hams were feeling about normal though my right glut is still a bit tight. Mi 8-T2 Avg. 8:39 HR 141

PM: Beautiful weather, wish I could have gone farther. Sticking to recovery mode though. Mi 4-T2 Avg. 8:00 HR 163

PM: Asics DS-Trainer #1: 78 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 87 / / Saucony Rides #1: 76 / / Saucony Rides #2: 79

AM: Déjà vu, or more of the same. I have to keep reminding myself that this week is sleep and recovery. Two points of good news, 1) I got 8-hrs of sleep, 2) My legs felt like “normal” today. Got into work at 7:30am but today is the lightest day of the week so no big deal. I did the same MG O&B run as yesterday. Though my legs felt fine I was still not 100% I would say I felt more like 75%. I think the cumulative mileage/lack of 8-hr nights is paying its toll. I have to remind myself that when I was only getting 5-6hrs of sleep per night in grad school I wasn’t running 80-90 mi weeks. The good news is looking at my schedule I should be able to manage 8-hrs tonight and tomorrow night as well. The weather was beautiful today and it was hard to convince myself to turnaround at the 4 mi mark… Mi 8-T1 Avg. 8:15 HR 165

PM: Treadmill run. I know the weather is perfect today but I'm on daddy duty. I also had a quick comment about the discussion started on Walter's blog (sorry Walter). How valuable do people find their HR monitors? I notice most people do not train with them. For me this is a relatively new thing but I find it interesting. Previously I used the excuse of looking for signs of overtraining. However, I don't normally take my AM HR. But this week I noticed a strange trend in my HR during my runs. Considering the long recovery from the 10-miler and the extra stress outside of running the last few weeks I looked around for info on overtraining. Good news is it does not appear that this is what is going on for me (check out the following for an interesting discussion on this http://physiotherapy.curtin.edu.au/resources/educational-resources/exphys/00/overtraining.cfm). My question is if anyone else has noticed high starting HRs (180-200) that then taper to "normal" for me at the recent effort ~130-40. Sasha suggested skin contact and that is a good possibility except I hadn't noticed this before and all my previous runs this week it has happened... Except for this treadmill run. Ok enough rambling. Two more days of "recovery" and if everything is feeling normal again long run on Sat... Mi 4-T1 Avg. 8:00 HR 127.

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 90 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 87 / / Saucony Rides #1: 76 / / Saucony Rides #2: 79

AM: Moving in the right direction, but still some soreness. This is the longest recovery ever, from a 10-miler. I think as Chad pointed out, I’m probably still recovering some from Del Sol as well… I did manage 8 hrs of sleep again. Just added about 45min on each end and still crept into lab by 6:30am. My HR behaved itself again today. I’m not sure if this is because I made sure to wet the monitor before putting it on as per Sasha’s comment or because I’ve had a very easy week with extra sleep… Same run as the rest of the week MG and back at 10:00am. Mi 8-T2 Avg. 7:55 HR 135

PM: This is the first run since the race that I felt good. The weather was nearly perfect. Just did the SH out and back from home at 7:15pm. I just kept moving, twice I caught myself at 6:30 pace. I had to keep telling myself one more day of recovery. The deal I made with myself after all the aches and pains on Sun was nothing faster than 7:30 until Sat… Mi 6-T2 Avg. 7:36 HR 149

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 90 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 101 / / Saucony Rides #1: 76 / / Saucony Rides #2: 79

Rest day. No run.

Single: This has been a tough week for me mentally. It has actually been the easiest week work wise this year but running has been front and center in my mind… I think the race last Sat jarred me more than I first admitted. For two reasons. 1) Physically, is just took me forever to recover and 2) Mentally, it really drove home my marathon goal for April 19^th.

First, the physical has been strange. So far this whole year I’ve just had better week after better week of running. This last week however was the first BAD week. My legs were sore the whole week, I was tired the whole week, etc. Then Thur I finally felt “good” again and when I got back from my run my left foot/ankle screamed at me in pain when I got up off the couch. That was the real reason for taking Fri off. Then as mysteriously as that pain started it went away and by the end of Fri I was “ok”. My original plan for today was 22-miles with 10 at/near pace. However, not wanting to push my luck I only did 15 with 5 “harder”. I ran the mile to the 1MM then ran to the 10MM and back to the 7MM then home. MM 2-6 I took hard, with 3 the easiest on the course and 2 and 6 two of the four toughest. These miles weren’t at pace but felt like they were effort wise again not fun mentally. But overall I was just glad to get in a decent run after a week of doubt and nagging pains. Mi 15-R1 Avg. 7:20 HR 151

Second, the mental. As I look on the horizon and see the marathon only four weeks away, doubts fly through my head. I notice that Dave is having a similar struggle with this one, though for different reasons. My problem is since Sept I’ve only thought about SLC and I set my aim VERY high. A 2:35 is a 5 minute PR on a much tougher course. The thing that I think gives me pause is the amount of effort it took me to “not run MP” at the 10-miler last weekend and the “hard” stretch today. Granted the race was a tough course but I had good competition and it was “only” 10 miles. The other thing is that unlike all my other marathons I really haven’t done track or repeat workouts and in the past these have given me that mental confidence. So all this being said I’m feeling better about things right now I just wanted to vent. I’m still planning a 10xmile next weekend that is my old bread n butter marathon prep and I’ll reevalute then. I’m sure either way I’m going to run this marathon, I just want to go in there with my head on straight and something more than these flat tires I’ve been running on the last week…

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 90 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 101 / / Saucony Rides #1: 91 / / Saucony Rides #2: 79

Single: Happy Easter! Running wise still the same deal as yesterday, legs just not feeling “it”. I have gotten the most sleep the last 5 nights in as long as I can remember so at least I’m well rested. Today was also just a great day. Church, then an Easter egg hunt with my daughter, then lunch with friends, after a quick stop in lab, I ran up City Creek and back down not the smoothest of runs. But the afternoon was more playing outside with the family. It was just such a beautiful day! Mi 6-R2 Avg. 6:51 HR 160

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 90 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 101 / / Saucony Rides #1: 91 / / Saucony Rides #2: 85

Single: Today was a much better start to the week. 7-hrs sleep, in work at 7am, out for my run ~10:15am. Last week was the most 8-hr sleep nights “ever”. This week is going to be tougher for that as I have two deadlines, one Fri and one Mon that have to be met but seeing how much better I feel after the rest last week I’ll try and stick to at least 7hrs sleep. Today was just beautiful out. It was sunny, warm, with a slight cool breeze, just great to be outside and alive. I did my usual run to City Creek and back. The best part of today’s run was that my internal Garmin was reset today, every split I “called out” within 5 seconds. It felt nice going at the perceived pace as opposed to the death marches of last week. Mi 8-R2 Avg. 7:45 HR 140

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 90 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 101 / / Saucony Rides #1: 91 / / Saucony Rides #2: 93

Single: A few catch up matters. Saturday I did drive the course with Sandra. She wanted to see the full thing and find out places to “watch” and I wanted to see the second half. I’m glad we went for the drive the second half is very different from the first. Much flatter as I knew but also a good number of turns. Finally as people have warned the stretch on Van Winkle is a little mind numbing. Even driving it I thought it would never end… Overall, I’m glad we drove it and I may want to at least drive the second half one more time before race day.

Today was much like yesterday but my head was on straighter. Another 7-hrs sleep, in work at 7am, and then a very full day of experiments. I initially had planned two runs today but since I didn’t get my first break until about 3pm I decided to just do one run. I also decided that with the lower mileage now on my calendar and the lead in my head I needed some speed work. So I went to Memory Grove and up City Creek. I did 1mi warmup, 3 at "MP" Avg. 5:55 exactly, 3 easier, 3 at "MP" Avg. 5:39 down City Creek though, and then 4 easier. The effort was much harder than I would have liked for the mostly aided MP stretches but it was still great to get moving and feel like I could run. The weather was just fantastic! First shirtless day of the year! I love it when I get to break out the sunblock and have that scent in my nose the whole run. On another side note, I noticed that on the Garmin training center you can select running and it gives you a summary of ALL miles logged. So since the end of Nov when I got the Garmin I’ve run with it for 1148 mi at an avg. pace of 7:38 and HR 145. Mi 14-T1 Avg. 6:58 HR 160

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 104 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 101 / / Saucony Rides #1: 91 / / Saucony Rides #2: 93

Single: Sticking with the 7-hrs sleep, in work at 7am, and then a very full day of experiments. Never had a chance to duck out today. Ran SH loops at 7:15pm. The air seemed really thick today but otherwise felt "ok". Mi 8-T1 Avg. 7:50 HR 161

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 112 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 101 / / Saucony Rides #1: 91 / / Saucony Rides #2: 93

AM: 7-hrs sleep, in work at 7am. Today is a make-up from yesterday, meaning much lighter in work. Now just spending the day crunching data from the experiments for this week’s deadlines… As per the running plan for the week I did some more speed today. At about 10:00am I headed over to the course 1 MM, it is about 1.5 mi from my lab. At the mark I was planning pace through the 6 MM. I knew about what the splits were supposed to be but I only had mile 4 memorized and I was slow on that one. However, I just looked at the numbers and to my surprise the course tool would have me at 5:53.0 per mile for this stretch. I was the furthest off for the final mile and that one I hit 12 seconds under pace (I thought I was going slowly and overcompensated). I’m glad I hit that last one harder I averaged 5:53.5 for the stretch!!! Very happy about this. Could have I kept the pace for another 20 miles, probably not today but I wasn’t exhausted either. Then with about 0.5 mi to go for the run I noticed I could still catch the 7min guy for the total run. So I pushed that portion as well for a photo finish with the 7min guy 1:17:02. Mi 11-T2 Avg. 7:00 HR 157

Single: 7hrs sleep. Busy day never had a time to get out for my run. Squeezed in three miles on the treadmill at 7:30 pace after dinner. Mi 3-R1

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 112 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 112 / / Saucony Rides #1: 99 / / Saucony Rides #2: 93

Single: 7hrs sleep. Thanks to Steve’s suggestion I met up with him for a long run this morning. Initially I thought about doing MP mi repeats, then I thought about doing a long stretch of MP work, in the end we just went long at a medium pace. It is funny how plans change. (In the end Chad it would have probably been good for you to have made the drive over, my bad.) I met Steve at the marathon finish line and then we drove to the 8MM. We then went along the course until about mile 17.5 when Steve realized he didn’t have the keys to his car. I was an idiot and saw them on the car seat next to his wallet and hid them both as to not inspire a car break in. Luckily Steve was at least on the ball and realized my mistake before we got all the way to the finish. So we cut back up 45^th to the 8MM and then cut over to 21^st and down to the ~21.5MM and continued the course minus the extra around Liberty Park. We got to the finish in 21.5 mi and then added on an easy 0.5mi to finish off the run. We did have some faster stretches, a few miles from the 13MM to the end of Van Winkle but it was VERY windy for that stretch making pace effort seem very tough indeed. We also pushed in the last mile and a half. The rest of the run we were lost in conversation. It was good to run with Steve and get to know him better. Overall, the run was a good effort and a nice distance, not the workout I had planned but I believe things happen for a reason and it turned out to be the workout I needed. I’m still very nervous about the marathon but the run today and seeing the rest of the course did help build up some confidence. Mi 22-T1 Avg. 6:46 HR 157

Single: Feeling pretty good today. Legs are tired but not sore. I have a lot of work this weekend so I was actually in this morning and am back after a few hour break with the family going to the Gateway Discovery Museum, it was a good break. In place of lunch I went for a nice run from Popperton to Capital Hill and back with an extension up City Creek. It was "snozzling" on me the whole way. My plan was just recovery miles, keep my HR under 140. I did go for a full 9 miles to get my 80 for my Mon-Sun week. After this next marathon I'll change my workout calendar so I can be in line with the rest of the blog... Mi 9-R2 Avg. 7:40 HR 131

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 134 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 112 / / Saucony Rides #1: 99 / / Saucony Rides #2: 102

Single: Didn’t sleep well last night. I didn’t get home from work until after 10:30pm. Then the last few nights actually I’ve had “strange” dreams. About 6hrs sleep and didn’t get a break in my day until 3:45pm for the run. The run did go well and helped clear my mind. I’m going to try to go to sleep early tonight as I’d like to do something quick tomorrow. Ran to City Creek and back. Mi 8-R2 Avg. 7:35 HR 140

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 134 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 112 / / Saucony Rides #1: 99 / / Saucony Rides #2: 110

Single: Well thank you all for humoring me with my April Fools’ Day entry. I’m sorry it has taken so long to get back to the real workout. The last two workdays have been painful. So the real deal with the 60 quarter workout is that the intro is all true, I just haven’t done the workout yet, maybe sometime this summer. I did get to sleep early to wake up early but because I had to be into work by 6am. I made my deadlines last week but now I have all this makeup work. I ended up working 9hrs not including the run break then a few more at night. So I didn’t get out for my run until ~3:15pm, this was fine as the weather was ok by that time. The workout was 2x3mi at MP. The course was lab to Memory Grove via a stint past Dry Creek and then up City Creek and back directly. Both MP stretches were planned on downhill sections so I figured I would watch my HR more than the pace but shoot for about 160-170 and 5-10 sec faster per mile for the aide adjustment so 5:45-50 pace. The run went well and I’m feeling much better than the last couple of weeks. However, it still felt a little harder than I would have like. Here is the workout in table form. Keep in mind that the values are only as accurate as the Garmin. The ascent and descent summed together equals -116 but everything I did was out and back…

Mi 14-R1 Avg. 7:29 HR 149

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 134 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 112 / / Saucony Rides #1: 113 / / Saucony Rides #2: 110

Single: As I just mentioned today was also a hard workday, another 10hrs, I still have more to do but I need to make sure to stay rested as well so I guess that is what tomorrow is for. I never got a break today to get the run in so I did the miles on the TM while on daddy duty. 5 mi at 8:00 then 1 mi at MP. HR during easy was ~125 and during MP was ~160. Mi 6-R2

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 134 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 112 / / Saucony Rides #1: 113 / / Saucony Rides #2: 116

Single: Another tough workday, in a little before 6am out a little after 5:30am, no break for a run. I had to run on the treadmill again as Sandra had an activity at church... Just kept it easy while watching Pirates... I don't know how some of you can run on the treadmill so often it drives me nuts. Hopefully tomorrow I can start the day with a run. HR was ~135  pace was 7:30 Mi 8-R2

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 134 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 112 / / Saucony Rides #1: 113 / / Saucony Rides #2: 124

AM (hopefully): I decided that I had to start my day on the road as I couldn’t take another treadmill run. Today was one of those body freakout days, phantom pains galore. My left foot was funny like a couple weeks ago and my quads were not feeling good, I blame the treadmill runs. I also forgot to mention (actually I was hoping it would go away if I didn’t think about it), that I went to Utah’s CDT this weekend with my family. That would be the Center for Disease Transmission or more fondly called the Gateway Discovery Museum. It was fun and my daughter enjoyed it but since then my nose has been running like a faucet. It was better yesterday but a little more today, gone tomorrow (I hope). This week was easier running wise but tougher work wise, the good news is that with the step back week and next week’s taper I still managed about 7hrs sleep per night with hopefully more on the horizon. Good luck to everyone running Striders tomorrow, it looks like the blog is going to have a great showing. Mi  6-R1 Avg. 8:40 HR 145

PM: Yeah, I made a 2-a-day. Today was the shortest workday of the week and I needed it, 7:30am-4:30pm. I was breathing much better late in the day. Just ran an out-n-back on the BST to behind This is the Place. Mi 3-R1 Avg. 7:41 HR 147

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 134 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 112 / / Saucony Rides #1: 128 / / Saucony Rides #2: 124

Single: Marathon course pace run. I drove out to where Steve and I turned off last week at 4500S. I parked near the 18 MM ran ½ mi out and back took off a layer and then headed out on the course. I had one more mile warm-up and then started pace to the finish. It was a tough effort, there was a 10mph headwind the entire way except the 1/8 of a mile on the south side of Liberty Park. My left foot and glut were both acting up a little. Good news is that my nose was behaving and breathing wasn’t too bad. After the pace portion I walked back to 400 S and then ran back to my car following the course in reverse. At Liberty Park I ran into a friend from work also training for the 19^th and stopped to chat for a moment. If today would have been the marathon I don’t think I could have done better than a 2:43. I just wasn’t feeling it. All that being said I’m fairly happy with the workout I was only 40 sec off pace for the whole segment, with the wind and having to adjust speed at intersections for lights/traffic I can’t complain. See below for splits. Mi 17-T2  Avg. 6:57 HR 154

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 134 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 129 / / Saucony Rides #1: 128 / / Saucony Rides #2: 124

No run today. I had a rough day yesterday. The reason why I didn’t have my full post was because I trashed my laptop yesterday. Let’s just say liquids and electronics don’t mix well. Fortunately, all work related info is backed up on at least two locations but my running stuff may be lost. To make things extra fun Kaitlyn had a slight fever yesterday and I woke up with a pretty sore throat this morning so I thought lets leave well enough alone and take the day off.

Congrats again to everyone who braved the wind yesterday at the Striders half!

Single: I struggled with if I should run today. I’m still not feeling 100% and was a little tired from last week. When all was said and done I worked 80hrs between Mon-Sun. The good news is this week should be a little lighter and marathon week I should be able to claim back some quality sleep. Last night was just another 7hrs. Woke up and my throat still had some issues and I just had that general flat feeling. By the time I got home I was feeling better and after dinner decided to brave a loop of SH. It felt hard. My left foot has continued to bug me on and off and my breathing wasn’t right. I’m going to try and get a little more sleep to night and continue to focus on a lot of water. My laptop was covered for accidental damage so it should be able to be repaired. I started to retype my workout from Saturday to get some comments but I’ll have to wait until tomorrow if I actually want to get more than 7 hrs of sleep tonight. Mi 5-R1 Avg. 7:17 HR 144

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 134 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 129 / / Saucony Rides #1: 133 / / Saucony Rides #2: 124

Single: Back to my usual 7-hrs of sleep. Feeling better today. Still congested but my throat wasn’t as sore. By the PM I was feeling good enough for a run. My legs were FLAT! My quads just didn’t want to go, so I pushed them into gear for 2-miles (5:56, 5:48) it felt good to go that quick after a few days of living as a sloth. It wasn’t easy but it wasn’t as hard as I was expecting either so that is a good sign. Mi 8-R2 Avg. 7:13 HR 152

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 134 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 129 / / Saucony Rides #1: 133 / / Saucony Rides #2: 132

Single: Things are more or less continuing to improve. I had planned a descent amount of sleep but then at 4am a noise in the kitchen (that turned out to be the ice maker misbehaving) woke me up and I wasn’t able to get back to sleep. Not that I would have slept much more but this way I only ended up with a little under 6hrs. The good news is that I got into work an hour earlier so I was able to take a break at about 11am for a run. I ran the course MM 1-4. My legs still felt tight but MUCH better than yesterday. Also, for the first day since Sunday I did not start my day with Dayquil. I still had some drip and am perpetually clearing my throat but feel much better. Anyway, for the run I felt fine. I decided I would do one mile at marathon effort, and being who I am I choose the fast mile 4. This is the fastest mile on the course but I had yet to hit the split without feeling as if I was pushing too hard. Today was different, even though I had four things against me. 1) Drippy nose, 2) Slowed for traffic at McDonald’s intersection, 3) Stopped for traffic at 2100E, and 4) A nasty 10+mph head/cross wind. Despite all that, I hit the mark exactly on Avg. 5:22 HR 170. I am very happy with the way it felt as well. The rest of the run back to lab was not as enjoyable as I had to turn and head back up the hill and then into the head/cross wind. (Kory, I look at it this way, the weather is getting that NE wind out of its system before next week so we can have a nice calm Sat morning). I stopped home for a quick kiss each for Sandra and Kaitlyn and then back to work. Mi 8-R2 Avg. 7:06 HR 150

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 134 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 129 / / Saucony Rides #1: 133 / / Saucony Rides #2: 140

Single: Today was a little bit of a backslide but not too bad. I did manage 8-hrs of sleep last night and I already got my laptop back from repair and there was no data loss. I’ll even finally update last Saturday today. The backslide came in the form of just not feeling as “better” as I had yesterday. I was congested enough again to take more Dayquil. The day however went smoothly but I ran short on time and only managed to get in 6 miles with miles 5 and 6 of the course as a inner/outer loop combo to SH. What is cool is that someone went through and remarked the course. It is now accurate at miles 5 and 6. Either I was completely blind yesterday or they did it sometime last night or today. What is not cool is the wind. It was not super hard but it felt like whatever direction I was running there was a headwind… Mi 6-T2 Avg. 7:15 HR 149

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 134 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 135 / / Saucony Rides #1: 133 / / Saucony Rides #2: 140

Single: Today I felt good again. I managed almost 8-hrs sleep and that always helps. Also, though it was cooler in the morning and the Weather Channel said 26F windchill with 10mph winds it did not feel that bad. I ran out to the new one mile marker and kept the pace easy to the two mile marker then I started my MP miles. The first is slight up then two almost all down then two rollers. Overall, I was happy with the perceived effort. I’m still thinking that 2:35 pace feels more like my half marathon effort than full but I’m hoping the adrenaline of the day will help compensate for that some. Then I spent the rest of the day with family and running errands. Now I’m in work for a couple hours but then hopefully another full night’s sleep. Mi 13-T2 Avg. 7:02 HR 159