A Balance, Redefined

Well I can't believe the New Year is here. Has it really been 365 days? It was a slow start to the day. But started off right with my home made chocolate chip pancakes. Then an ok but slow moving day. After the nightime routine just did the small home loop. I was dragging and though the air quality was the best it has been all week had a rough time breathing. Avg. 8:27 HR 141

Met up with Cody this morning for a JRP run. I do not take enough advantage of this path and it does not look like the rest of SLC does either. I have to admit that when I pulled out of my driveway to about 1.5 in of fresh snow on the street, then going past the mall had it start raining on me I was second guessing meeting up for this run. But by the time I finally got to the parking lot (10 min late) the sky was clear and it was a nice 34F. It was good to catch up with Cody again. It had probably been since TOU that we got to talk. Overall the run went well. We started a little quick so the last few miles were rough but otherwise an enjoyable run with good company. SportTracks Avg. 7:31 HR 143

The weather was nice enough to go on a family run. I took Kaitlyn on a snowman hunt running up and down the blocks south of SugarHouse. We found so many we lost count. We even found a snow elephant. Avg. 8:12 HR 125

AM: A new year and a new outlook on Mondays. I wasn't up back on "normal" schedule yet. But at least earlier than I had been the last couple of weeks. It was about 25 degrees colder by "RealFeel" but considering it is Jan  not too bad. I just took it easy to the MG overlook and back from lab. Mi 6 Avg. 8:35 HR 128 

PM: Overall the day went well for a Monday. I did a quicker altered home loop. Knee was a little sore at the end but otherwise fine. Mi 6 Avg. 6:58 HR 153

AM: I have to enjoy the flexibility of my hours. I opted to sleep in this morning and got to see my girls before I started the day. However, because of the late start I ended up just doing the direct commute run. Mi 2.5 Avg. 9:26 HR 133 Ascent 481ft

Side note I just noticed that for my double yesterday my runs started exactly to the minute 12 hrs apart...

PM: Today went better than yesterday. Knee not as sore either. Air quality just horrible. Did another new variation of the home loop. Mi 6 Avg. 8:29 HR 132

A very long day, not bad, just long. Ended up going back into work after the bedtime routine and then decided to do a late night run to the Memory Grove overlook. I did it as a look this time and the capitol building looks nice at night. Fortunately the sleet had stopped earlier so it wasn't too bad out. Avg. 8:32

AM: Maybe because of the late night yesterday, the 8F windchill this morning, or the orange air day (down from red at least) this morning was a death march. I managed to slog through it and did a similar run as last night but as a commute run. Mi 9 Avg. 10:03 HR 130 Total Ascent 1,007

PM: Well I'm glad the dedication paid off and that I wasn't sorry for forcing the issue. The day went fine. Then I opted for a hard treadmill workout. I did one mile warm-up avg. 6:30, starting at 7 working down to 6 at a regular quarter mile interval. Then from there I played around with the speed I dropped down a little too quickly, hovered around 5:33, then dropped it again for the last little. Final 3 in 16:36. I was pushing it and it felt good. The last tenth of a mile was twice as fast as my run this morning. Mi 4 Avg. 5:46

AM: Weather channel had it at 5F with no wind. I dressed warm and it didn't feel that cold. I'm sure I was wearing too much but it was nice to get back from the run without a frozen nose or toes... Memory Grove work loop. Mi 8 Avg. 9:00 HR 137

PM: Very busy but good day. Did two miles on the treadmill to warmup for a good stretch and a few exercises. Mi 2 Avg. 7:03 

I didn't sleep well last night. But that didn't stop me from having the best run in a very long time. All pistons were firing. The goal was to run about 1 min per mile slower than goal pace. My A goal pace would be 5:55 for a 2:35 so I was shooting for 6:55. This is fairly hard to do as the portion of the race course I run on is the most hilly. Miles 3 to 14 and back (minus a little on the way back). This is probably my most common long run course so I'm becoming very familiar with these hills though. Total there is +1,145/-1,177 of elevation changes. I kept a pretty even effort and my pace more or less matched. I only had three miles slower than 7 min pace. My slowest mile was my first mile at 7:22. My fastest mile was my eighth mile at 6:28 which also had the most descent -141. Avg pace as a little quick but better than a little slow. Avg. 6:50 HR 162

Slept in to get a full recovery. Then after church and lunch went for a run in the "nice" winter runner. I even went in shorts. It was chilly to start out but felt fine over the whole run. I just went south and back. Mi 8 Avg. 7:59 HR 140

AM?: May try for a two-a-day. We have a job candidate in so I have an extra meeting. Then the students come back today so I have all three of mine to manage today. At least I get to finish off the day with a dinner out. We'll see what I'm up for after a belly full of curry... Modified commute run. Mi 6.75 Avg. 9:36 HR 132 Climb +1019ft/-698ft

Ran into Albert Wint on the way into work. It is always good to catch up with him. Then continued on to work. I was later than I thought and cut my run shorter than initially planned. The day went down hill from there and I ended up pretty sick to the stomach by 3pm. I think it was bad leftovers but not sure. Avg. 8:18 HR 140

10 hrs in "bed" but not much sleep. At 3pm yesterday I got food poisoning like symptoms that lasted until 2am. Woke up feeling much better and after a day of hydration just ran south and back. Avg. 7:55 HR 132

AM: Commute run. Felling much better than yesterday. Altered the course a bit. Mi. 6 Avg. 9:09 HR 147

PM: Treadmill workout. Always great to get moving after not feeling well. Did ~2 mi warmup and then 5 miles at sub-6:00. I varied the pace from 10.1 mph and increased 0.1 each mile for four and then each 0.1 mile for the last mile. Mi. 7 Avg. 6:07

So where have I been. Let's say hectic work and life, so it goes. Running is still moving along just not the blogging side. The air is starting to drive me nuts, we need environmental reform!

I ran to City Creek and had it to myself for the whole run. The only person I saw was arriving as I was leaving. Still got into work and started before 9am. Overall, the best start to a day this week. Mi 12 Avg. 8:03 HR 136

Another tough night of sleep. But this morning was much harder to get up. Did end up watching two movies that friends from work had lent me Wall E and Mama Mia both cute movies. Today I decided I didn't want to add to the damage the valley air has been doing to my lungs so I ran up Emigration over a little and back. Saw a number of people out doing the same. Fun run. Took it very easy, goal was even effort both ways.

Out Avg. 8:37 HR 145 (~10 mi up 0.5 dwn)
Back Avg. 6:50 HR 149 (0.5 mi up ~10 dwn)

4 bpm difference, I'll take that...

A lot of sleep and some rest. Just took the day very easy. Church with the family and then a few errands. 

AM: Active recovery, 6 mi, Avg. 10:11, HR 131. Another night of sleep. Took a total of 50hrs off and slept nearly 18 hr in the two nights. I never felt bad but didn't want to take a risk after Saturday's "fun". Since it was the holiday, I got in a little later, helped a student set-up and then went out for my run. We finally had a dusting of snow, this helped clear out the air a little and made it so I could run up Dry Creek. With the snow there was a little traction on the ice sheet that had formed on the trail. It was a nice and easy run. My Garmin had a hiccup with the elevation and had the first 1/4 mile at sea level so the summary said I run had 5494ft of climb in the first mile, I'd say I'm a beast doing it in 10:21 :)...

PM: More active recovery, 6 mi, Avg. 8:38, HR 143. My legs are pretty tight, mostly my right quad. Ran random blocks.

AM: Right leg still a little funky. Plan this week is just easy through Saturday and then try a harder longer run with the week of rest in me. The weather was crazy this morning. Started with slightly clear skies, 20+ mph but warm (Weather Channel said 39F/29F WC). That was for the first two miles. Then it started raining, turning into sleet, hail, and finally large flakes of snow. The final few miles were very pleasant. Even ran into Chad and talked briefly. Mi 8 Avg. 9:47 HR 136

PM: More easy miles. Still not feeling that hot. Mi 6 Avg. 9:31 HR 143

Slept in this morning and had a fairly good day. The run felt the best of the week but still a little "off". Mi 10 Avg. 7:33

AM: I am just not feeling it.Continue to not get up with my alarm and right leg is still tight. Trying to stretch it out as best as possible but I've felt off since Saturday's run. It wasn't that hard so I do not get it. Mi 5 Avg. 9:43 HR 142

PM: Sometimes not training is harder than training. After looking over the last few days I decided I have to step back from my mileage goals and focus on my training goals. At least for now it looks like 70mpw are better than even low 80mpw. We'll see how this changes but I'm taking tonight off and cutting back for tomorrow. Hopefully that will make things good for the workout Saturday, if I can still muster it.

I'm continuing with my reassessment of my body and schedule. It appears that my body does not like 80 mpw. It is strange that I could do 70+ for seven weeks in a row with no problems. But with only two weeks at 80 mpw I seem to be collapsing. This could be work/training stress combo but at least for now I’m going to plan to stay under 75 for the remainder of my marathon training for April and focus on intensity if I need “more”. We’ll see how this goes, I’ll change as needed. Because of the 40+ mph wind gusts I opted to run on the treadmill. Avg. 8:00

I think my leg is a little worse instead of better. Even with the low mileage days the previous two days. I'm just frustrated at this point. I did two miles on the TM as a warm-up then I stretched and did the home loop. My right leg just didn't want to loosen up. 2mi @ 7:10 6mi @ 7:27 HR 146

I've decided I'm going to take two days completely off. I'll see how my commute run goes on Tuesday...

Still in pain, just did PT and weights.

Still in pain, just did PT and weights.

Tried to run into work. Did not feel good at all. PT and weights.

Saw Robin today. She gave me an extra exercise to work into my PT and referred me to an orthopedic specialist. PT and weights.

Attempted the commute run but had to stop due to pain at campus. PT and weights in the evening. Ortho visit not until Mon. PT and weights.

I thought rest was supposed to make pain go away. Today I swear is worse. PT only.

PT and weights. About the same.

PT and weights. About the same. Looked over all my running since moving to SLC. Tried to find a theme for these injuries. My body doesn't seem to like >80 mpw. If this resolves quick enough I'll stick to between 50-70 and still try to run SLC in April. If not I'll scrap the race and maybe shoot for Utah Valley?...

Saw David today. I was not in the best mood about the visit. He seemed to diagnose me in the first 15 sec and that was that. He gave me another 5 stretches/exercises to do and some heavy duty NSAID... We'll see. My wife reminded me that he is the expert and too take his speed and confidence as a good sign that it is nothing worse. He gave the me go ahead to try running on Thur. PT and weights.

I'll say it felt a little better this morning. I made it all the way into work. It is hard to say if it was the drugs or the stretching though. I'm supposed to do them 4-5X per day and so far so good. I'll just keep looking forward and hope that it was just this SI joint misalignment and will go away as quickly as it popped up on me... 

Weights and PT, restless night's sleep.

AM: As per the ortho's suggestion I ran today. The first four miles I was tight and sore but at least I wasn't limping. The last mile I finally started to loosen up but he had told me five so that is when I stopped. 

PM: PT and weights. FYI, PT is all core and lower body and the weights are only upper body.

Stressful work day, partial PT.

Very strange run. First mile felt good. Then second mile my hip started to tighten. I stopped and stretched and my hip actually felt work. But by the next mile my hip had loosened again at the expense of my knee. By the fourth mile things were starting to settle down. At the 5th mile I ran into my neighbor how is training for an Ironman and ran the last mile with him. Overall, I think most of the aches were just working the rust out of the joints. We'll see how I feel tomorrow...

Some PT in the PM.

Not too bad. I was a little worried. My knee is still sore but the hip is not bad. 

I did some cross-training today.  Went to the pool with the family. It is only the third time I've gone swimming in the last three years. Mostly playing around but I did swim 16 laps. It felt hard but it also felt good...

Some PT, maybe weights later. Unfortunately have to work today :(

Not enough sleep. The day went ok though. Tried to run but turned back after 1/2 mi due to knee pain.

Have to get into work. Felt better than last night but still not "good". The day at work was just as busy.

Caught up on sleep. Work was slightly better. Just as busy but moving in the right direction. Tried a treadmill run. Knee about the same as on Monday. Follow-up with the ortho tomorrow...

Commute run to doctor's appointment. My knee was sore but not as bad as Monday. 

The appointment went better and worse than last week. Better in that I got more looked at, worse in that I need more looked at. I spoke with two people again and had a bit more "tested". Hopping on my right leg was not any good for my knee or hip. So I got x-rays. There were no major breaks but there was a calcification or bone fragment in the hip near the injury. Potentially a ligament pulled a piece of bone away...

The conclusion is that if the fragment is causing the pains it could be removed surgically. However, we need a few more things looked at. I have to stop running for now. It is very frustrating as now when I'm walking I do not feel pain so I think that I can try and run again but it is one of those pains that gets worse with running rather than better.

The next plan of action is an MRI on the 19th, then I'll meet with the doctor again to discuss the results and the next plan of action... So probably no updates until Mon the 22nd...

Went out last night for a guys night...

Went to the SLC 10K. Got to cheer on Fritz to another victory and Albert to a solid third place under windy and rainy conditions. The highlight though was the fact that since I was already registered for the series and we hate to waste money my wife ran with my number. It was her longest run in 4 or 5 years and she still managed to break an hour. The down point was even just running her in the last quarter mile hurt my knee/hip. Today's knee pain was both on the outside as well as the "runner's knee" type pain.

A hike with the family in Memory Grove.

Knee still bugging me but otherwise ok. Hip is surprisingly not giving me problems.

Walked into work. 2.5 mi.
Felt "ok".
Continuing with PT stretches but only 2 or 3 times a day instead of 3 or 4 like last week.

Nothing note worthy.

Commute walk into work. 2.5 mi.
Knee not as bad as it has been.

Hip MRI tomorrow though most of the pain is in my knee...

Very busy day. The MRI went fine. We'll find out Monday what if anything it tells us. The only thing bothering me since last Thur is my knee though so I'll be curious what they find in the hip. I already have a different doctor in mind for after Monday's follow-up.

A fun and busy family day. In the morning I got to play around the house. Then have a two hour family swim (I swam 8 laps 25 yd b/f and another 12 laps after). Hard to believe that is just over a lap of the track. It sure felt a lot harder. After that went to a wedding with my oldest and danced a little.

Knee a little more sore. Most likely the swimming and not the dancing as we only danced three songs. But not too bad. I'm looking forward to trying to run again this week.

Thank you to those who are still checking in despite the full basket of eggs. Maybe I could have a big breakfast cook off at my house this weekend?...

So here are the findings of the exams.

1. The x-ray the previous week revealed an os acetabuli

2. The MRI from Friday revealed: a) mild osteoarthritis, b) degenerative anterosuperior labral tear, and c) a prominent anterior femoral head neck bump and neutral acetabular version, predisposing to femoroacetabular impingement.

There is a lot of information on the web about this and below is one quick explanation with a good link to additional info. The arthritis does not bother the doctor at this time and he said surgery may be required as outlined in the link below. The next appointment is with the surgeon on March 24th. In the meantime the current ortho said I can run as pain allows... I'll focus on stretching and strength training to get myself in as good as shape as possible before a surgery and just have to wait to see wait the second physician says.

WEB INFO:

1. Os acetabuli are bits of extra bone around the rim of the acetabulum (the hip socket). 2. Dysplastic bump at the lateral femoral head neck junction suggesting femoral acetabular impingement means there is an atypical (dysplastic) bump at the area where the head of the femur meets its neck that suggests that there is an impingement. That means that the ball of the femur (the head) doesn't have full range of motion within the socket and damage can occur when the extra bit of bone hits the cartilage surrounding the rim of the socket. This causes pain and can lead to arthritis. Sometimes it can be fixed with debridement (scraping the excess bone away). The link below has a nice diagram that shows the relationship of the parts to one another.

http://www.hss.edu/conditions_Hip-Mobility-Arthroscopy-Patient's-Guide-Femoro-Acetabular-Impingement.asp

I will have to say that the mental aspect of this injury is 100X more difficult than the physical. My hip felt fine during the commute run into work today but almost every step aggravated my knee. Another super busy day at work. 5 of the last 10 days I've gone back at night, I know I'm compensating for the not running. At least I do it in a productive manner. 

Another busy day. Just some stretching, PT and light weights.

Commute walk. It is harder to walk in slop than run in slop. We woke to >1in snow but it was gone by the time I got home. Knee still more sore than the hip. PT and strength.

I'm still not convinced that the labral tear is the whole story for my leg pain but here is an interesting take on the surgery the doctor talked about for me.

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/special_segments&id=7196725

Today was a good and bad day. It was great in that my wife raced the farthest she has ever raced and my daughter ran a full mile. It was bad in that it finally really sunk in how I've not been running. It was what it is. 3 miles walking and my exercises at least the day was perfect outside for our activities and I found out that our sushi restaurant of choice is keeping $1 nigiri and 1/2 price rolls through the end of May!

Low key day. Just stretches and PT. I have to admit the 50K CC Ski Race was very exciting. I'm not a die hard fan of the winter Olympics but that finish and just the fact that there were still 15 in it with 5K to go was pretty amazing.

Bad day overall. Fortunately all things come to an end, both good and bad and I survived the day. 

Commute walk into work. Felt ok in and most of the day. I good contrast to the constant ache I had in my hip and knee yesterday. Work also went much better though there is always room for improvement.

Ok day. Nothing to report. PT...

Commute walk in 2.5 mi.
Knee hurt, more of an ache than anything.
3 more weeks from today until I find out anything new...
I did have a Chad and Josh sighting. It was more a "hearing", I heard the sonic boom as they flew past moving at what had to have been sub-5:30 pace.

Best day of the week and Friday to boot.

My wife convinced me to try a short run. My hip hasn't hurt for awhile and though my knee continues to bug me, when hasn't it?
Sandra ran to SH while I loaded up the girls and drove there. After her second loop we joined her for a loop+. Of course my knee hurt but we both think that was our first run together as a family of four. The weather was perfect and despite the 3-4 in of snow yesterday it was warm and the road was clear and dry.

One is better than none. What a difference an n can make. My hip remained calm today. My knee was about the same but not worse. I opted for 1 TM mile before my PT and other exercises.

TM warm-up for PT. No worse than the day before... Long work night after though.

Commute run into work. I don't want to push my luck but opted to run instead of walking into work. My hip continues to behave itself. My knee does not. The good news is that things don't seem any worse after the runs.

I'll take anything that I can get. Hip still ok, knee still funky but not worse...

This has been a long work week. Each night I've had to work some... The PT continues to be in the evenings and just sticking with these small runs. My knee did fell a little more tight this morning. Just my commute run and then some stretching in the lecture hall. 

Too far too fast? Not sure. It could just be the hard work weeks. 8 of the last 14 days I've gone back into work after the girls went down. The good news is that I've gotten a lot done. However, my hip and knee were both fairly sore today. For my warm-up for my PT today I stuck with 1mi on the treadmill but opted to do it barefoot. Between reading Born to Run and and recently the Nature paper explaining the science behind barefoot running I'm going to try and bring that into my training regimen...

Can you believe it? I made it into double digits. I did a barefoot treadmill mile and my stretches. My calves are really feeling the barefoot...

I didn't want to get too crazy and took the day off after the high mileage of last week...

Farewell dinner for coworker and very full day, no run.

Post-doc candidate dinner and another very busy day. No run... I did play around with my daughter's in the backyard for a little and just that running was enough to aggravate my knee... One week from tomorrow for the doctor's update.

I manned up and hit the treadmill for my mile before stretches even though the late night. 

Question: For you barefoot runners, how long did it take your feet to callus over? Mine are covered in painful blisters...

Me and my blisters on the treadmill. No hip pain, just knee. Now back into lab. I had a rough day and want to get a head start on tomorrow...

Trouble sleeping last night. But don't feel exceptionally tired this morning. My run in was "ok". However, double the mileage double the knee pain. Strangest thing is that it didn't really start until after I stopped running... Just the commute run in. Another perfect running weather day.

Same barefoot treadmill mile. This was too long of a week. Now for some weekend...

Good family day with some backyard fun in the 60s!

1TM mile. 

1TM mile. Tired up too late last night.

2.5mi walk into lab. It is interesting how the pain shifts when I'm walking vs. running. Both hit primarily my knee but the walking leads to a slightly tight hip. This is well beyond the longest I've ever gone without training. It is not fun. I just hope I find out something tomorrow...

Well the big day came and went and nothing changed...
The doc was fine, after waiting an hour and a half for my 15 min...
Conclusion is no surgery at this time. With the overwhelmingly dominate pain in the knee it was decided to do PT (formally) for 6-8 wk and then come back.
So it goes.

Just my walk in. Bad mood day.

Today's better than yesterday. Scheduled by PT appointments. Had to wait until Mon the 5th and Thur the 8th. Will proceed from there.

I'm not sure what to update with...

Just wondering around with the family.

2-a-day!

AM: Commute walk.

PM: 1 mi BF treadmill.

Commute walk in.

Commute walk in.

Brrr... Very cold, windy, and snowy commute walk in. 10 mi of commuting this week!

Goose Egg Friday. Ate my now routine sushi dinner.

The mental aspect of this is so much harder than the physical.

Happy Easter All!

Spent the morning hunting eggs, then breakfast at church followed by a great service with a brass section and all.

Now just a normal Sunday.

Well today was a high mileage day. I got 2.5 mi into work commute walk, 1.25 mi into my PT appointment, 1 barefoot treadmill mi at the appointment and then the weather held for a 1.25 mi walk back to work. 

Overall, I enjoyed my PT visit. It was much, much more useful than all of the MD visits combined, both physically and mentally. I still have a long way to go on both fronts though. For now I have three new exercises to add to my routine and another two weeks to wait...

After 6 total mi on my legs yesterday I didn't want to push my luck. I just did my PT both in the AM and the PM.

My head is still betraying me and I've had such focus issues at work the last week and a half. Friends have come out of the woodwork though and that has helped. Also, the muscle soreness of the PT is a perverse kind a comfort. It is nice to feel my body working again. Now if my mind would get back in place...

Catch-up

update from excel

update from excel

update from excel

update from excel

update from excel and difference fix...

update from excel

update from excel

Family run to SugarHouse. Some knee pain.

Happy Father's Day!

I all. Thank you to the few of you who have been checking in on me. I have to admit this has not been a fun running year for me. However, now that it is almost half over it is time to take a little more action.

Update. Injury "accepted" on Jan 19th. Then time with an Ortho over the next 6-8 wk. Tear found in hip, inadequate diagnostics done on knee. After the 1st of Feb >95% of pain/discomfort in knee. Finally started PT and did that 1-2 times a day for 6 wk straight. Was starting to run again (up to 10 mi a week). Then went for a hike and set my self back to zero. Pouted for 3 wk with no running or PT. Then a 12 d trip. Just got back last week and decided that I was going to start up again this week. I'm just starting with my commute run into work each day this week and will be meeting with the surgeon for a follow-up and discuss if a surgery is still warranted on July 7th...

I  will try and visit some other blogs again and catch up with you all but it may have to wait until after July 1st as I have a number of deadlines that day...

Commute run into work. Knee pain but hip fine.

Commute run. Somewhat better. Important thing is NOT worse...

Commute run. About the same as yesterday. Work stress for my deadlines more pressing than the knee pain. The exercise outlet is really necessary this week...

Not as nice as the rest of the week but mostly due to work related stress... Commute run in.

Rest day.

Technology is more of a problem than a solution...

Another rest day. Some play with the kids but I did have a lot of work to do today as well...

Family run to SH. Felt pretty good.

Only about 4 hr of sleep last night, trying to finish stuff up for the July 1st deadline. I got it to a point that I could hand it off for revision so back to the other work today. Running comments on this blog will be minimal until I get back to training. For right now running is more of a mode of transportation than anything. Commute run.

Better sleep. Better day. Commute run. Knee not as happy but hip still good.

Better sleep still. Commute run. First non-orthotic run in awhile. Since I have converted to forefoot running through my PT the last months I do not see a need for them. The knee actually felt a lot better today than yesterday, about the same as Sunday. 

Nothing too note worthy. Made most of my deadlines so got rewarded with a new set... Commute run in.

Well a good end to the week. 

Yesterday I got my grant update submitted and word that another manuscript I had been working on was accepted. That puts my total publications to 13. I still need more first author manuscripts to hit the job market but it is progress.

So what about running. This is a running blog right? My outlook on running has been improving. It is frustrating that after 5.5 months of rest and therapy that my knee still hurts. However, it does not hurt any more. The problem is that it doesn't hurt any less either. I am fine for about a mile and then it starts acting up. It gets to its max by about 1.5 miles and the final mile stays the same. The aftermath is more or less just a little ache that is gone by the end of the day. I meet with the surgeon next Wed but am not sure what if any help he will be and am thinking about canceling to save the $25 co-pay... I'll think about it over the long weekend. What this really does is put the question as to what I want running to be? It has been such a huge focus in my life since about 1992 and has really just been a continuation of my love of physical activity starting in about 1983 (with soccer). That being said if I am truly honest with myself it has been about competition. But for the first time in my life I do not see competing as a realistic goal, at least this year. So for now I will do it to maintain my sanity and see if there is any improvement.

 Commute run in. Nice morning.

Happy 4th of July Weekend to All!

I hope you are all enjoying your weekends. The weather here is perfect and so far the weekend has been a blast. We stated today with a short family fun and then off to other adventures. I am VERY happy with my volume for this week. I want to do another 2-3 weeks here and then move on.

Wasn't planning on running today but between the perfect morning and the request from my wife for a family run how could I say no? 

It was a good run before we headed to church. Then a great afternoon walk to Baskin Robins for ice cream.

Happy 4th All!

I didn't want to push my luck. Today I needed a day off. We did a lot of fun family playing around and just a very little work. Tomorrow back to the daily grind...

A beautiful morning today. Commute run.

I had the car today but didn't want to break my streak. So I ran from work up and behind Red Butte. It was very windy and even a little chilly this morning. It felt nice to be off the roads and amongst nature. There were these little turquoise birds that kept me company. I actually wore my Garmin this morning but we will not discuss what it told me...

Bad night's sleep to a long day at work. Didn't get out until after the bedtime routine. Had to go back to lab so ran past Red Butte again. Felt pretty good. The weather was crazy. When I was leaving work it was super windy and raining. By the time I got back here it was nice and sunny...

Just as I got out of practice running, I also got out of practice blogging. That and my work schedule has increased (if that is possible). Mostly it was a coping mechanism for the lack of running but it has proven fruitful, so...

In any case today was actually a great run in. I ran into Megan and then Josh. It was great to catch up with them, if only for a moment. 

Commute run into work.

Longest run since February 6th!!! 

Since my wife has decided to run her first half marathon this fall we are training together. We are starting a mileage build with our family Saturday runs. We just went south but had a good time.

Surprisingly good feeling today after the longish run yesterday. I never thought I would classify a 6-miler as a long run... But at least my knee didn't fall off. Ran in between ran storms, so we actually had a little humidity.

Trying not to push my luck. I did drive into work today so ran toward and started up Dry Creek. I don't know when my last trip up that way was. But I think there was still snow on the ground... I saw so many people. This is doubly amazing because I hardly went a mile up the trail. Good to see that the running community didn't cease just because I hadn't been an active part of it :)...