Age is just a number.

PM--Easy 6 miler after work.  Just easy jogging this afternoon.  60% mhr.

PM- Some more miles this evening on the trail.  4 miles very easy at 8min pace.  60% mhr or so. This is the down period of the week coming back up again in intensity as my two days off from work come up.   It's totally frustrating at times to not get the sleep or recovery I need just because of the weird hours I have to work at.  Just have to be creative and tough until I can find something less draining.    If any one has any ideas I'm open to any and every suggestion.  And by the way pay rate is not a big issue.  

Day off too tired from lack of sleep..

AM-3x5 min hard at 5k-10k effort going downhill and then flat for the last two miles.  90-98% mhr with 170 bpm popping up on the last quarter.  Quick cooldown and then a big 4 egg sandwich with fruit for recovery.  9 miles total. 30 min nap.

PM- Did a few very easy miles just jogging to speed recovery along.   

Easy 6 mile jog for recovery at 7:30-8/min/mile pace.  7th east out and back.   Day off tomorrow hopefully..  Enjoyed some Stevie Ray Vaughn on my MP3 player while I enjoyed the view coming back home.  Nirvana..   Happy 4th of July everyone!

I have come to some conclusions about different training methods amongst various groups of runners.  It's mainly genetic...   However, there are some ways although limited that you can excel and realize your full potential and I mean yours and not someone elses.   The Japanese method is a very good method but it is not for the working man who has a very physical labor oriented job. The time needed for recovery and refueling is rather impractical to say the least.   This being known, we turn to the past successes of blue colllar runners who in spite of their circumstances excelled at a very high level.    We take a page in history and turn our eyes toward  the 1985 London Marathon for our next study..  

No run today.       Just bbq and relax..

AM-Easy 8 miles this afternoon.  Kinda warm.. 

AM-8 miles medium at 80-85% mhr.  Very hot this afternoon.  I am experimenting with some garlic, fish oil and ginger in my diet in addition to the other changes.   They may have some very helpful properties in speeding recovery I believe.  The biggest is the reduction in inflammation from the fish oil which will theoretically speed recovery.  

PM-3 miles easy. 

Out to the quarry for 6 miles this afternoon.  Looked and felt like little Sahara.  I had run by the Zions bank sign and it said 106 on the way out 104 on the way back.  I don't think it was quite that warm but it was sure close I think.  Running 7 min miles and I was drenched after getting home.  Left an interesting John Doe impression on the chair when I got up to jump in the shower. Kinda disgusting..   Note to shampoo furniture also this week.

Another toasty 90 plus degree run up Dimple Dell road and down through the dry creek and back.   Pushed very hard for the last 4 miles.  Came home with those last 4 feeling like puke.  Felt like someone hit me across the chest it was so warm which made it hard to breathe on the last mile.  Afterwards I  drank a large slurpee, two large glasses of Orange juice and two glasses of water and still felt like I was a quart low!    

15 miles total on rollers and dirt.

Went to church afterwards. Our discussion in priesthood meeting was the importance of temples and how to  show our appreciation and dedication to them.   It has been along time since I have been there but I still see them dot the hills on my drive to work.  They still remind me of where we came from where we will be again when the time comes.

Easy 5 miles for recovery today on 7th at 7:30ish pace.  37:50 total time.   Like Paul says sometimes you can only write so much about a particular run I guess.   I do know one thing,  these little changes I have made lately have really started to add up health wise.   I think sometimes it might be somewhat of a placebo affect.   However, a doctor I know told me that a so called placebo affect is a physician's best friend at times.   The way I look at it is;  I'll take any help I can get whether it's mind or matter as it tends to have the same result most times right?  

But I still secretly indulge in chocolate covered orange sticks before bed to tame the sugar beast that refuses to be completely tamed.   No worry though because a couple miles of my fartlek session pretty much takes care of  the excess.. 

Ten miles up to 20th east and back.   Pace felt good in spite of the heat today.   1:03:13 total time.  Last mile around 5:46.  

Easy 5 miles today with last half mile at 6/min pace eaxactly down at 2% decline.  144-150 bpm at the end. Total time-35:24.  100 degrees for the temp this afternoon.   Found my old heartrate monitor finally.   Seems of course the heat really drives the heartrate way up. Duh! From literature I have read I guess it can be as much as 20-30 beats higher than normal for a given pace!  I really believe that this is a better way than the 6-10 sec wrist method.  The hr just drops too fast and gives erroneous readings unfortunately.  So wearing it in the marathon and then getting various readings will hopefully give some insight on future training.   

Easy 8 miles easy effort.   Out to the hospital via 7800 south and back.  Last two miles at sub six minute pace.   Careful not to get over 150 bpm again. 

16 miles burning up to Little Cottonwood and back down to home. 3x4 miles progressive effort up to 10k pace and then backing off for a mile at 7 min pace-8/min pace.   Hard as possible without getting too anaerobic at the end.   4 miles at 70-80% mhr and 12 miles at 85-95%mhr.  Last 4 mile repeat in 22:23.

Not bad considering the heat..   92-95 degrees farenheit.

Change can be a difficult thing sometimes, either a path to growth and self improvement, or a sad journey of regression and self pity.  It's been difficult to read the newspaper and all the race reports today,  heaven knows I would have given anything to have been there.    However it just was not meant to be this year.   

Thats ok though because  I have this strange feeling come over lately brought about by a renewed sense of faith that everything has it's proper place and time you know.  And it is this;  I am strong. I am healthy with no serious adversities.   There is this very large feeling of personal power beginning to well up inside that is almost like a quickening of sorts, like when your headed down the highway and the engine is beginning to finally wind up to it's mechanical potential.   

Time to run. 

PM-7 miles with hills.  3.5 miles up in 24:57 and 3.5 miles coming home in 19:33.  Felt easy for some reason.   92 degrees.  Late afternoon. 4 mile jog later.

PM2-4 miles easy at 8/min pace.

AM-17 miles down through the Jordan River tail and around to home.  7:30-6:43/mile pace.

PM-4 miles of easy jogging down to the trax rail corridor and to old Midvale/Vincent drug. 8-8:30/mile pace.

Easy 10 miles in the foothills by the resevoir this afternoon.  Rolling up and down. Starting to finally get used to the heat I think.   1:05 total time.   6:30-40/mile average.   Felt really good again today.  

AM-10 miles with 5 coming back down from 2300 east to home.  26:38 for the 5 mile AT back.  2.5 in 12:33,  then leveling off  flat with 2 in 11:02 and then down 2.5% for the last half in 2:31.   26:06 total time. 95 degrees.  Course PR.   Can't believe I'm running like this now in the heat.   Amazing what a little sleep can do I guess..  

PM-5 miles easy jogging at 8-8:30/mile pace.  Some AI type stretching in the hamstring and glute areas to help get loose again.  Huge dinner at the China Gourmet as a reward for todays effort.  Put away two plates of salad and shrimp and then two more plates of rice and sesame chicken and fish!

Ten miles for a double hard day to promote blood volume and permit a longer recovery stretch until Saturday.   Five miles up in 34:13 and five miles down 26:23. Overall a 6:03 average pace for 10 miles. 85-90 degree temp.    God bless and have a good evening.

AM-Easy 5 miles at 7:30-8:30/mile.   Recovery day even though I  still felt pretty good.  Held back and stayed off the hills as much as I could today to give my legs some easy mileage.  7th east out and back.    Beautiful morning today.  It might be a bit warm but that's ok because winter will be here soon enough.    

 PM-Decided to allow some downtime this evening.

AM-Got up early because my work schedule is flipping to an overnight for one day.  I have to be careful on the intensity before and after otherwise I end up getting over revved and then I can't sleep!   Sounds strange I know but my body works like that.    However, we adapt and we survive right?  6 miles total at 6:30-6:43/mile.   Quarry bend and 13th east loop.  I like to go high in mileage and intensity at the beginning of the week and then come down in the middle before a final spike on the weekend.  I think this pattern works really well for me.  Kind of taking the hard-easy method a step further I suppose.    Practiced form drills on a slight decline monitoring heart rate at different stride frequencies and knee angles etc.  Form can not be really changed all that much, but I have found like posture it can get sloppy if you don't pay attention to it.

AM2-4 miles easy at 8:00/mile pace.  Not as warm today but still in the 80s.