A Balance, Redefined

Family morning run. Very tired and sore.

Sugar House commute run. Still very tired but not as sore. Did my Monday Morning Mile (MMM). It is always nice being able to move my legs again. The weather was actually a little warm compared to the 52F I saw on TWC before heading out. Still a pleasant fall morning run. Now on to another busy week. 

MMM = 5:41
Avg. = 8:12

The balancing act continues. Still way too busy. Problem is not too productive...

Because of scheduling and sharing the car I was home again at 10am and took my youngest on a stroller run. It has been such a long time that I've run with only one of them at a time. She felt so light. We just did a Sugar House loop and ended at my older daughter's school to pick her up before I dropped them off at home and headed back to work.

Avg. 7:54

This week is serving a number of purposes. First, just trying to stay sane as the work really begins to overwhelm. Second, trying to test my legs. It is nice to take some time off and that is really what most injuries require. However, I think just like I went overboard in my training to get hurt in the first place I may have gone overboard in the recovery. Biggest problem is that I am still not 100%. However, things continue to move in the right direction. With the faster mile on Monday and the higher mileage my legs still feel about the same. So my main conclusion may just be to choose a new set point to what "normal" feels like...

The highlight to the week came in that I got the chance to run with someone from the blog. Allie agreed to meet with me during her taper. My main reason for asking for the run was to take part in the excitement of her race prep and hopefully help calm the "taper madness". It was a good run and we had a great chat about the race and other running related issues. 

Random commute run.

Avg. 8:22

Planned rest day. Don't want to get too carried away. That's what tomorrow is for :)

It is amazing what an extra hour of sleep can do. Hiding from the world today. So the internet (and e-mail) will go off now that it is 9am. Need to get that grant DONE this weekend. Did start the day off right with a nice home loop.

Sub 5:30? YES!

Start the week off fast down 21st S and finish the week off fast down Sunnyside. I did my old home loop counterclockwise. Reminder to you non-UT people is that there are a number of aided runs around here. In fact it is hard to find something that is not either up or down hill. I did a mile warm-up to Sunnyside and then just let my legs carry me down. I did not look at pace until I heard the beep so I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the 5:26! My heart rate was about what it was for my last raced marathon as well (HR178). First time I've worn the monitor in awhile. Want to get a general idea of where I am at overall fitness level wise. So far so good...

Avg. 7:18 HR 166

Highest mileage week in 33 wk. It sure helped stave off the madness. This was truly a grinding two weeks for me. Yesterday at 1pm after a long talk with my mentor we decided that it made more sense for me to wait until the Feb 12^th grant deadline instead of squeezing out an inferior product for Oct 12^th. So I slept much better last night. It is amazing what stress can do and the release of it feels so nice. Not that the next four months won’t be grilling making the next deadline but just like there will always be another race, there will always be another grant…

Because this change was made so late in the week we were not able to replan the camping trip we had canceled early that week, but it worked out for the better. Last night was a great BBQ with two other couples from church and then this morning we did the free AHA 5K at Sugar House Park followed by the free Health Fair at The U.

On to running: I was still a little weary racing only having a few weeks of “ok” running under my belt. So even though the offer was on the table for one of the friends form church to watch the girls I opted to push them in the race. It didn’t hurt in the decision-making department that Fiddy and BJ were there as well as a number of other fast looking runners. So by pushing the girls at least I had one excuse if the race didn't go as planned :)... The organizer stated about 500 total for the timed run. I started about 10 or so rows back and then gradually made my way into place during the first ¼ mile. It is hard maneuvering the double stroller. About a ½ mile in I noticed there was another stroller runner a head, this one a single. I chose him as my target and picked him off by the mile mark. I also saw Bill Cobler on the side cheering with his team, a face I had not seen in a while.

After the first loop of the park I was feeling pretty good. There were a few people I targeted, in particular was a guy without a shirt on. I started gaining on him by West HS but then he pulled away on the uphill. During the flat part parallel to 21^st I started gaining on him and near the main entrance I passed him and didn’t look back. Just kept all the way through the people I was now lapping and along the pond to the finish. Since my wife was also running I did not have a Garmin so I do not my time or splits. The times should be posted on Monday. They did mention it but I wasn’t paying attention. The amazing part is that I managed to finish 3^rd. Now keep in mind the names I mentioned up top I do not think all the faster guys were registered because I am pretty sure there were additional people ahead of me besides Fiddy and BJ. So though the official place was 3^rd I think I was more like 5 or 6, they did end up putting Fiddy on the Official list so my new "official" place is 4th. In any case I am very happy with the effort, how the girls behaved during the race. (they really seem to enjoy the faster pace compared to our normal runs), and how I feel now.