Age is just a number.

AM-6 easy miles to get out and just enjoy the view. Easy easy effort at 7:30-8:00/mile pace at 60-70% mhr during the run.  Syracuse trailhead out and back. 

PM-Easy 6 miles after work at 7-7:15/min pace roughly.  Feeling looser now after this mornings run. 65-70% mhr. 

Indoor track today with 2x1.5 miles at 5:30-5:46/mile pace. One mile easy at 7/min pace. Just feeling the pace and then backing off.  Quick cooldown and then headed for some Mexican food at Cafe Rio. Oh yummm..  Dark Horse out.

AM-6 mile easy jog at 8:00-7:30/mile pace.  Recovery run on Syracuse trail.

PM-4 easy miles at 7-7:30/mile pace.  Treadmill.

Alternate sets of 3x3k and 2 miles in between at 6-6:30/mile pace.  Went into the workout almost right off the bat with a 6:42 warmup mile but then shifted gears on the second and clicked off 3:25 for the first 1000 meters of the 3k interval.   Felt good but eased up to 6:32/mile and then back up to a 6:03. Started the next set a little slower at 3:25-3:27 range and then back down to 6:02 and 6:36/mile pace for two miles.  Last set in 3:24, 3:24 and finally 3:22 with the kick for 100 meters at the end.  Not sure why, but everything clicked well today and I was able to have a very strong but controlled workout. 

Cooled down for a mile and then did a quick stretching session afterwards.  Jeez I'm so hungry right now I could eat a bale of hay!    Darkhorse out..

  12 miles total/ Indoor track.

AM-Aerobic resistance run at 80-85% mhr for most of the session.  Started as a progression run slowly building from 6:11 then to 6:02, 5:51, 5:48, 5:45, 5:40, 5:41, and 5:38 respectively.  Felt good during the entire workout, no hitches or pacing problems at all.  Pace sense is good and within a second or two of my chronograph.   Experimented with running barefoot during the warmup to bring out some flexibility in the ankle and lower calf areas. Stretching and strideouts afterwards.   While I was at work I kept thinking of my best marathon which was Ogden. And for some reason my memory of it was very vivid including right down to pace and motor sensation during the middle stages. It was some of the very best and most relaxed running I have ever done and on the toughest part of the course even.  Can it be repeated?  Just maybe.. One more time I keep thinking. The legs are fresh and the spirit is stronger than ever so we shall see.

      Darkhorse out..

Easy recovery run for 5 miles at 8/minute/mile pace. 60-65% mhr.  Kaysville loop today.  Some soreness in the gluteus and hip area however I don't know if  thats a good thing or not. Might be as my knee lift feels different at times.     Darkhorse out..

Easy to medium aerobic run at 70-80% mhr 6/min-7/min/mile pace.  Last 4 miles at 6-6:10/mile average pace.  Syracuse and Layton main loop.   Hopefully I can get in some 1000s tomorrow. That is if the track is not overrun by woggers... ie-walk/joggers. They have a rude tendency to walk three and four abreast on the track.  Makes you want to just run them completely over some days!    Darkhorse out.

Intervals this morning at the indoor track this morning. 5x1000 meters in 3:07-3:10 range and with equal jog rest period. Finished the workout with 6 more miles around 5:40-42/mile pace. Jog cooldown right after.  As the season progresses the plan is to keep the pace up, increase the volume, all while reducing the rest interval to a minute or less.   Very tough to pace and time properly as the track is a tenth of a mile in length and maybe a bit longer actually on the outside lane. Also had to contend with the usual New Years resolution herd out wogging on all lanes. Felt like Roadrunner playing a crazy game of chicken or something!!! Some people were even actually going the wrong direction..  Oh and umm yeah, it gets tight on the turns at anything faster than 5:20 pace or so.  I started to feel some pain in my ankle and tibial area later on so easy days for a week or so just to be safe on that one.   Stretched in the shower and raced out the door later.    Darkhorse out..

Easy recovery jog this morning on the trail. 7:30-8:30/mile pace range.  Just nice to go out feel my circulation coming back again.  A little stiff in the hip area but otherwise fine this morning.  Would have liked to have gone to Painters but I just don't want to race quite yet. It's not time.. my base building has not been as extensive as last year, however my years of running and competing has already installed all of my "plumbing" so to speak.   Now it's about getting physically stronger, faster and more efficient.  I am almost 40 and so now is the time to train intelligently all the while striking a balance between it and life in general.  I'm willing to bet I can run even better this year on quality vs sheer quantity.  Sometimes the body requires a changeup in the way things are done.  Besides the idea of slogging mile after mile of slow running does not appeal this time.    As the great Emil Zatopek once said;  "I already know how to run slow, I want to learn how to run fast".      Darkhorse out...

Easy 5 miles on the treadmill in 34:37.   Not into running late at night for some reason right now.  Tired from work also.. End of mileage cutback week.    Darkhorse out.  

Easy run after work during the evening.  5 miles easy at 7-7:30/mile.  Treadmill.

Ok, this workout was a time trial of sorts to get a feel as to where true half marathon pace may be at.  3x4 miles at 5:20-5:34/mile. First set at 5:18-5:24, second at 5:24-5:28, third starting with mile one in 5:19 and ending in 5:34 feeling some fatigue and a slowdown in pace. 2 442 meter lap recovery at 7:30/mile pace.   Took 400m marker splits to calculate pace and then get a rough estimate of total mileage.   A little grinding today..  Olympic Oval.

      Dark Horse out..

Easy six miles recovery on the treadmill at 7-7:30/mile pace. No incline, just getting the heartrate up and moving the legs today to circulate muscles.   65-70% mhr.   Dark Horse out..

Warmed up at a brisk pace today and dove right into the AT section of the workout starting at 5:30/mile pace and then working down to 5:16/mile pace at one point then an easy mile at 6:43.  Regrouped and started the marathon pacing part of the run. Mile splits as follows;  5:48, 5:46, 5:40, 5:42, 5:19 in order of running.

Pacing felt good and controlled, heart rate was lower this time with 5:40/mile pace at 146-150 bpm and 5:19/mile at 154-156 bpm.  100 meter sprint drills with cooldown and stretching afterwards.

Resting pulse-36/ weight-139 preworkout.  postworkout-137lbs.  Pulse down to 60 bpm within 5 min after the tempo session.   Indoor track.  Darkhorse out..

Aerobic resistance today on the track yet again.  First 6 miles at 6-6:40/mile pace then 4 more at 5:28-5:49/mile pace.   THR-122-126 at 6:30/mile and 134-138 at 6:00/mile.  146-150 bpm at 5:28/mile. Building blood volume with this pattern of training by omitting recovery run until tomorrow. 75-85% mhr.  RP-40-42 bpm. Weight-140 lbs.

Hard-semihard-easy every once in a while can be more effective than just hard-easy as long as the recovery is ample to support it. Not every time do you want to do this however because sustained over time and especially while building high mileage or undertaking sharpening, it can lead to breakdown or overtraining.    Darkhorse out...

Hard long run today-17 miles in the rain, ugh....  4 miles at MP, then speeding up to threshold, dropping down for a minute, then back to MP pace again.  Olympic Oval this morning. 80-90%mhr roughly.  Darkhorse out..

Excellent run on the track today with a 4 mile progression at the end.  Started at 6:30 ish pace and after 5 miles at 6-6:30/mile pace began the main part of the workout. Splits of 5:48,5:28,5:16 and 5:04 respectively.  Felt very strong and relaxed until I started to get to the last few quarters. last quarter in 69 secs. 10 miles total.   Quick cooldown and stretching afterward.   Darkhorse out.. 

THR-6:30/mile-120-124, 5:28-144-148, 5:16-152-156bpm, 5:04-162-164 bpm.

PM-4 mile jog recovery run at 8/min mile pace.

Recovery run of  6 miles on the Syracuse trail at 7-8/min mile pace.  THR-92-110 bpm.  55-65% mhr.    Darkhorse out..

Easy to medium 10 miles with rollers and steady elevation change.  6:32/mile avg pace.  Ogden marathon course.  Brr....   Felt good otherwise.  70-75% mhr.

Read some weekly buisness news and became depressed tonight.  Yikes!!  Almost a TRILLION DOLLARS approved in this so called "stimulus" package.  Nothing but spending, spending, and more spending!  Only 12 billion of it is really going to be seen in the near future anyway. No wonder not a single republican voted for this. Gadianton robbers all of them they are, especially people like John Thain and that crook Tim Gheitner.  I have so much to say about it but I'm going to hold back because it really does not relate to the blog anyway. I just needed to blow off some steam.     What is happening to our country?  

   Darkhorse out...

Time trial at the Olympic Oval this morning after work.  Short shift at work today made it possible to get to the oval and do my quality marathon pace run.  After a brief warmup on the cycle I shed my sweats and clicked my watch on the number line.  First mile at 6:24/mile pace and then quickly grooved into a relatively comfortable 5:48/mile effort and stayed there for about ten miles never going below 5:38 or slower than 5:50/mile pace.  After an hour of that, I then began to shift gears and push things down a little.  Down to 5:38, 5:36, 5:41, 5:38 again, strange how I keep hitting this split.  slowed to 5:50, 5:46, and then pushed again for the last mile with steady 400 meter splits of 1:22-124. Last mile in 5:32 roughly. Whew!! done..  Brief cooldown for a mile and some more spinning to massage the muscles a bit.  Feeling so good about my training this year.  There is a PR coming on, I feel it in my gut with the way I have been running this winter already.

Ran into Corwin Jackson and talked about our class reunion, his sprint coaching for USATF. Discussed some other things and took off.   Darkhorse out..

Aerobic resistance run progressing from 8/min to 6:30ish by mile 10 and finishing with 4 miles toward the end at 80-90% mhr.   Cool down afterwards with halfhour of stretching and massage.   Local shoe box track.  Darkhorse out..

Easy 6 mile recovery jog after work and untimed.  Neighborhood loop.  Weather is so nice and sunny that I wanted to go more but I'm really trying to keep recovery runs easy and not just another distance run.   The watch can be too much temptaion somedays so I decided to just leave ot home and enjoy the scenery.    Darkhorse out..

PM-6 easy miles while I planned out some intensity work for the next month.