A Balance, Redefined

Single: Got up early to beat the heat. My legs are still dead. This is a long recovery. No real pain just general fatigue which is doubly surprising considering three days off last week. Just did a modified Wasatch Dr loop ending up on the marathon course about mile 10 and running partway back on that and partway back on random roads. The first 5 mi of this run aren’t the easiest, especially with the wind coming out of Parley’s but then I got into a grove and just kept it easy again. The rest of this week is building back my mileage (~85) and then next week some speed followed by a race the following week. My right knee was tight after the run but by the end of the day my legs actually felt good. After church, some errands and lunch, I actually took a nap. This could be why my legs felt good. Mi 12-T2 Avg. 8:43

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 295 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 305 / / Saucony Rides #1: 305 / / Saucony Rides #2: 306 // Adidas Adistar (flats): 175

AM: This morning can best be described as SLOW... I guess however that shouldn't come as a surprise as that is all I've done since WBR. My legs just do not want to move and I have no need to force them into anything right now. I'll give them this week with a bump in mileage but modest to low intensity and see what happens. Memory Grove and back. There were so many people out this morning. I was surprised for a Monday. Mi 8-R1 Avg. 9:12

PM: I’ve been struggling for over a week now. Not sure what is up. My legs have just felt so flat. I wanted to get some turnover so I ran to the 80 overpass (up) and back (down) with a quicker pace on the way back. Stopped at Christine's water fountain for a sip before I turned around. I didn’t go MP but I did get in the 6:15-30 range for the way back. It is days like today that running downhill struggling to get pace that I’m amazed that SLC happened. However, true to plan I’m going to stick with just focusing on a mileage build this week. Mi 4-R1 Avg. 7:20

AM: Still tired but not as bad as yesterday morning. Ran from home today and just did three outer loops of SH and then an inner loop. Saw BC drive by on my last loop I’m sure he thought I was dying as I felt like I was. Even though I felt a little better than yesterday my quads were just so unresponsive. But I’ll be a turtle and focus on slow and steady wins the race. At least this week it does… Mi 10-T1 Avg. 8:40

PM: What a difference a day can make. During work I was in a mental daze as things seemed to be moving in sludge. But by the time I was ready to head home things were coming together. After dinner we took a family walk in the "nice" 96F weather. Then after waiting around for about an hour for things to cool down I decided it wasn't going to get any better and just went out the door. For the first time in over a week my legs weren't wrecked from the gun. On my way up Foothill (exact same run as yesterday) I decided I'd cook on the way back and try and melt the lead out of my legs. After a sip from Christine's fountain I decided it was time to go. The return has a nice amount of descent for the way back as I mentioned yesterday and I hit the first mile in a comfortable 6:00 (148ft d; 76ft a), then I decided to really let loose. There were a couple (very brief) spots that I saw 4:5#. However, the way I run back the last quarter mile is slightly uphill again and I slowed back to 6:## but finished in 5:35 (170ft d; 52ft a). It was nice to get moving again and prove to myself that the last week was just recovery and that there is still some speed in the old legs... Mi 4-T1 Avg. 6:54

AM: Very easy recovery run. Not that last night needed recovering from, but easy days need to stay easy. Mi 8-R2 Avg. 9:26

PM: More easy miles. I'll try something harder tomorrow. Saw Albert running in the other direction, said very brief hellos. He would be a good addition to the blog if we could get him... Mi 4-R2 Avg. 8:00 on the nose 

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 309 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 305 / / Saucony Rides #1: 309 / / Saucony Rides #2: 326 // Adidas Adistar (flats): 175

Single: I knew ahead of time that today was going to be my busiest of the week. In addition to having lots of lab work to do Sandra is hosting an even at our church tonight. So I got up a little before 5am to get into work early. I had one thing to do before my run but that had turned into three things by the time I finally got out the door. So in the end I didn't get out the door until 8:30 and it was already pretty warm. My plan heading out the door was 2x2mi beyond that I wasn't 100% sure of what I was up for. I've obviously been pretty flat since WBR (if not since the marathon)... I headed up and over toward Popperton Park and started the first two mile surge along the cemetery after 1.5 mi warmup. For the first mile I was just thinking 6 or below and I hit 6:00.30 (a 38ft; d 103ft) can't get much closer to 6 than that. For the next mile I was thinking 5:45 pace (It is an aided mile 2nd half of the FireHouse mile plus into City Creek). When I looked at the split I was happy to see 5:40.72 (a 27ft; d 134ft). I then took a mile "recovery" up into City Creek (8:35 a 230ft; d 25ft). One of the benefits of doing workouts on your own is changing midstream. Up to this point I was thinking about shooting for the remaining miles at 5:45 but with the extra descent on the next pair and with how good the first two felt I decided to shoot for a 5:20/5:00 combo. For the first mile of the second 2mi surge I kept looking down and seeing 5:10-15 then I'd let up and be around 5:30-35. I watched my pace very closely as I wanted to make sure I had something in the tank for the final mile. I ended up hitting the mile in 5:20.94 (a 37ft; d 230ft) and was very happy to see that. I then decided I was not going to look at my Garmin a single time in the final mile and just kept moving. My thought was to give everything left in the tank. It was warm and despite having the help of the downhills for the previous miles I was feeling it. I really felt like I was flying and was so tempted to check my pace but I didn't. As I was nearing the gate to Memory Grove there were a lot of people and a dog got startled and ran right in front of me and froze. I almost ran over him but manage to dodge around him (remember I'm going close to if not faster than 12mph).  As I went through the gate I was really getting tired especially as you loose the nice downhill and even have the slightest of ups (at least by the Garmin) but knew I had something like a 1/4 mile left. I managed to keep pushing but knew I was starting to loose it. The final mile was 5:06.37 (a 104ft; d 271ft). I then turned around ran back up to the City Creek gate for a drink of water and then back to lab for a total of 5.5 mi cool down, too bad the weather didn't know it was cool down time as it felt so hot especially the stretch along the cemetery. Overall, I was very happy with the workout. Though I didn't hit my target for the final mile I'm sure if the dog wasn't there it would have been pretty close. Mi 12-T2 Avg. 8:00 yes that is right two runs in a row at exactly 8 min average...

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 309 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 317 / / Saucony Rides #1: 309 / / Saucony Rides #2: 326 // Adidas Adistar (flats): 175

Single: Happy 4th of July. Got up for the neighborhood breakfast with the family. Then the kids parade. During naptime I had to go into work for about an hour and then went for my run right at 2pm. Ran into Scott B and stopped to talk to him for a moment and then did my Parley's loop. Ran into a BQ guy training for Des. Ran a quarter mile with him just chatting then continued on. Overall a nice relaxing holiday run. Temp said 95F but it didn't feel that bad. After the run more family time and then a small firework show for Kaitlyn as we knew she wasn't going to make it until 10pm especially after skipping her nap. Mi 7-T2 Avg. 7:48

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 309 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 334 / / Saucony Rides #1: 309 / / Saucony Rides #2: 326 // Adidas Adistar (flats): 175 

Single: Chad picked me up at 5:27am and we headed over toward Millcreek. After a little over 2-mile warmup we headed up to the very top of the road with a fairly large group (well over 10 runners). This was my first time being up there and I was amazed. I had gone up a few other times but never to the top. It sure makes a difference. We started at 6700 ft and it was still 52F when we started. The run was a loop through some of the most beautiful country I've seen since I've been here. There were so many wild flowers and there was actually tree cover. It was cold enough up there that there were two places we had to run across small patches of snow. The first six miles were all up hill. According to the Garmin we topped out at 9687ft. I think this is the second or third highest I have ever been. The view was amazing and we were looking down on the hot air balloons in Park City that were above us last weekend. The conversation was good and I spent the majority of the run talking to Chad, Steve C., and a new woman who's name I of course forgot (an intern at The U.). Overall it was a great run and the view and nice dirt path made this one of my favorite runs of all time. Total uphill by the Garmin was just over 5000ft. Once back to the parking lot I went back up for another 2 miles to get 16 for the day and 85 for the week. Mi 16-T1 Avg. 9:18

Next week I'm thinking 85 again and then I may back off a little for Des 10K. Today I wore the wrong shoes (T1) and they were completely trashed by the end of the run. Light weight trainers are no good for rugged trail running.  

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 325 retired / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 334 / / Saucony Rides #1: 309 / / Saucony Rides #2: 326 // Adidas Adistar (flats): 175