Age is just a number.

Easy 18 miles today even though I thought I should go 20! So it  got a little hairy at the end for some reason. Just tired from the crash training I suppose. In running just like in life, you can not violate principles and universal laws without consequence. So we rest and hope for the best right now. I think taking Sunday off now might not be such a bad idea. Talked with Sasha about that one for a while and after some thinking and prayer about it, I came to the conclusion that I really needed to do this. I met up with quite a few people on the trail today that I know and even a few that I did not know including Brent and Sylvia on the blog. Very nice couple. I hope to get to know them better. Ran with Demetrio for a while and discussed training. It always helps to have a veteran such as him help me with goals and such. It was nice to just chat and run. Oh yeah, I even met up with a guy who was my neighbor as a kid and who also used to run with my Dad. That was also really cool as I have always had a deep respect for Tim. So all in all a good day to run.

Felt depressed today and I was bored out of my head so I went for an easy 10 miler that really seemed to clear my head. 7:30-8min/mi. No time taken for the run. South end of the JRT course.

 Busy today, so I had a hot and blistering 15 miler in the afternoon today on the JRT course today.  I staggered into the local 7-11 and immediately grabbed the largest cup I could find and filled it with Gatorade. Ah, nectar of the gods. Gator never tasted so good! 1:37:44 total time. 6-7 minutes/mi. Last mile before cooldown in 5:48 between mile 12 and mile marker 13. Gradual 2 mile cooldown. 70-85% mhr.  

Additional easy 5 mile run this evening to round out the day. No time. Compared to a normal workday, twenty miles of running is a breeze so I took advantage of the holiday to put in some training.

AM-Easy 4 miles this morning with a track workout later this afternoon. No time taken for the run.

PM-Track workout today complete with 16x200 meter intervals. Quick 200 meter rest at 6:40-6:30 minute per mile pace. Reps at 40, 37, 35, 37, 36, 37, 34, 36, 33, 34, 35, 35, 34, 36, 33, 36. Cut the workout short because of wind and rain. Nasty day today. 8 miles total with speed changes, warmup and cooldown. Really tough workout to do because of the high winds and rain so I pushed it on the rest to get it over with. I think it was good for something though as I was really getting into anaerobic territory.

Just an easy 6 miler today at 6:30-7 min/mi pace. Nice evening to run with the sunset. One of those easy thinking kind of runs. College route.

AM-Easy 4 miles at 7-7:30/mi. College route.

PM-Easy 6 miles again on the JRT course with pickups to marathon pace. Average 6:45/mi. Heart rate seems to be coming down again for a given pace. But its cooler on average now too.

Easy 4 miles on the college route. 118-124 bpm at 7/min per mile. 132-135 at 6:30/mile. Average 6:50/mile for the run. Felt easy and light today.

Marathon pace run on the 7th east and Trax loop course. This run after the first mile just felt better and better as I went, right up to the end.  Hit 5:45 split for mile 10 going slightly uphill at the fire station. Thankfully this is a significant improvement from the last MP run on this course for same effort level. THR-148-156 bpm. 56:51 for 10 miles. 1:16:50 total time for 13 miles. I did not even feel like I was gone long. Kinda like stepping into a time machine!

I read all the entrys on Alta Peruvian and you guys did a really awesome job. I decided to pass on it this year because I've read studies before where the residual muscle damage from such events can linger for weeks. So in order to be at maximum for the next two events I decided to skip this years party and to cut mileage gradually for the next two events. There is not much that can be done between now and St George that is going to make a hill of beans in difference anyway.

PM-6 miles easy on the treadmill.

Medium long run on the JRT course with 8 miles at 5:38-5:45/mi. Legs felt very light today for some reason. Gradual mileage reduction and day off  has helped renew my health and to capitalise on  previous work. 13 miles total in 1:18:24. Gradually warmed into this one today. Good workout.

AM-5 mile wakeup run. 6-7/min pace. Last mile in 5:41. 32:26 total time.

PM-5 miles easy at 7/min pace effort. No time taken, Just enjoyed the run.

Easy jogging today with TOU coming soon.  Felt good today. 5 miles total.

More easy jogging on the trail at 8/min pace.  5 miles total with some strides at the end to wind things out a little. 

3 easy miles at 7min pace with strides and 1 mile at 5:45. Sandy Parkway trail.

Not my best race today, but considering I had a 6 wk layoff with one month of crash training I'll take it. I ran with the Jon pace club for 17 miles and enjoyed every minute of it. I knew it was probably not going to be a PR magical day so I relaxed and listened to everyone banter and wisecrack all the way down the course.  As the 17 mile marker loomed into view I seperated from the pace group and did my own thing. Adam stayed with me for awhile and ran tough but he developed a side stitch and dropped off.  Put it into overdrive and cruised home at a fairly even 6-6:10/mi. effort.

Sasha did extremely well today with a 2:28 run! Frankly I'm a little envious. And then there was Hobie... Oh my what a run. Rocketing in at 2:16!  Overall one of those days when you look at that like a magicians trick and say, How in the heck did he do that? Congratulations to Hobie Call  who is now quite possibly World Class stuff.

AM-Easy 12 miles on the standard parkway and bench route. No time, slowly warmed into 7:30/mi pace effort. Legs felt a little depleted but other wise fine. Actually felt better after it was over!

PM-Easy 4 miles at 7:30/mi pace on the treadmill this evening. Felt relaxing while watching the tube.  Legs ok just a bit tight in the hamstrings. I am surprised that I held up this well after running a marathon in Nike Mayflys!

AM-Easy 10 miles out to the JRT trailhead and back. Slow aerobic running today only. Legs are feeling better  but I could definitely use more sleep or the day off.  After spending this last weekend at the races I really do not want to go back to work. Spending time with all of the bloggers and getting to know them has really inspired me to look for something more in life. School and a different job is pressing on me more and more all of the time. I know that I am capable of much more than where I am at both in my profession and my running. Time to break out and make the changes no matter how difficult they may be. 

PM-6 miles at med aerobic effort. 6:20-6:45/mi.  Sandy parkway trail.  Felt better this evening after a couple of miles. I know that this is somewhat risky after a marathon doing training like this, however a little overreaching is actually beneficial if the background has been there in the past and it is not continued for too long. But it may be a case of too much too late. I guess we'll see how it works out at St George.  Something tells me that this race is going to be special no matter what happens though.

AM-Had to be up awful early today, like 4:15 am in order to get the run in with having to drop off a vehicle and getting to work earlier for a CEO arrival. 10 miles total this morning in 1:04:56.  Uptempo on the return trip. 6-7/min/mi. 7th east route.

PM-Easy-medium effort run on the treadmill tonight. 6 miles total at 6-7/min/mi. Progressive from mi 2-5. Very slow warmdown to help maximize aerobic gain.  Strides at the end for turnover. Training heart rate seems to have improved a couple of beats per minute.  Noticed improvement in resting and standing heart rates as well.  RHR-36 bpm. Standing-40-42bpm. 6min/mi at 1% -142-144 bpm.  Overall decreased effort tonight for the run. Good sign especially this soon after a marathon.  Recovery is not quite as good as after Salt Lake, but I am still making gains it seems which really excites me for the possibility of a really good marathon in St George. Knock on wood right?

AM-2x2 mi in 10:48 and 10:44. 1 mile easy in between. Comfortably hard. If there is such a thing! Worked into the second going slightly uphill at 5:29 and then down in 5:23. THr-158-160 steady. Short on time this morning so only 8 miles total. Felt pretty good to get some faster paced work in.

PM-6 miles easy around the parkway. No time.  I can't believe it's dark already, even in the mornning.  Winter is approaching like a downhill freight train.

AM-6 miles at 6:45-7min/mi. Out towards the JRT and back.  41:16 total time.  Headed out for my second run now.  Got a new pair of  Air Zoom Skylon for the marathon. Anyone ever wore these before?

PM-Crazy 10 mile fartlek tonight. Warmed up at 7min/mi pace for a mile then gradually progressed to 6/min pace over the next and before I even knew it I came up to my quarter mile markers on the Sandy Parkway after coming out of Draper.  Decided to run this one comfortably but quick. 1:18, ok thats only one though I said to myself so lets do a half mile and see how that feels.  I ran by and scared some lady out of her mind while she was on her cell phone. Ooops.  Hit my chrono as I flew by the next pole, 1:18 again, hmm this is really weird I should not feel this good clicking 78 sec quarters on this part of the trail.  Keep going! I said to myself.  Being dark now, the intersection looms into view,  Click it again and I fumble with the light switch, 1:17! Slightly down on this one though. I remember what Paul said about the TOU half marathon, "It was like a video game.."  Decided to back off because now I was in traffic headed toward home. Ok, I'll try my 1.5 mile stretch for the last long surge just to make sure I'm not deluding myself.  Ran it semi hard like the first miles of the Ogden marathon. I felt like laughing out loud and saying to myself, oh man this is so cool! I ran up 7th east and then down 114th into the Falls in 8:02 for 1.5 miles. And it felt like I was running on a cloud.

AM-5 easy miles at 7/min pace this morning. Long run tomorrow so I want to be at least somewhat fresh for it. I'm just not sure where to run. It needs to be downhill in nature with maybe 1 or 2 sections that roll up and down. 

AM-17 mile MP run. Dimple Dell Cnyn loop to home.  I have run this one a few times before and it rolls enough in the middle to make you sea sick but it has a section which comes straight downhill and levels off only to come crashing downhill again for another 3 miles and then levels yet again for a cooldown mile.  Last  mile in 5:12, 1.5-2% downhill. THR-154-158 bpm. 1 mile cooldown afterward. Better splits by far for a given HR on this stretch. It's teasing and killing me at the same time into thinking an Olympic Trials qualifier at St George may be possible. I felt relatively strong on this run and could have went a lot farther but held back because I know the real race is only 2 wks away. Glad I did because I felt it later.  Funny thing is that my resting heart rate does not reflect it this morning. It was right around 36-38 bpm. I am a little stiff in some places though and the left knee is a bit sore also. Monitor that one for a while.

AM-Easy run in 40:56 for 6 miles total on the treadmill.

AM-Progressive AT run this morning for 4 miles in 22:04. Started out at 6:00/mi pace and wound out into the last mile in 5:15. Not as long as I wanted to but I figured at this stage the sleep this morning is worth more than the mileage. 8 miles total. No other data recorded. Just ran as fast as the body would dictate today. The idea I hope will be to run progressively shorter but faster runs to bring the body and mind to a sharp edge. I have in past experience been able to become more comfortable and economical with this kind of peak training provided the aerobic base is strong. Speedwork at the track tomorrow. Im hoping we run mile repeats again or at least 800s. I feeling pretty goood this evening so I think that by tomorrow I may be recovered enough to do that kind of workout. I had a good nap at lunchtime and have been really diligent on getting enough calories even if half were chocolate chip cookies. Heck, I ate a half gallon of Ice Cream and animal crackers after my run on Saturday. Its amazing what a fast 100 mile week will take out of you. Gotta run though it's getting dark and I go home when it gets daark!

PM- Went out for a brisk 5 miler tonight. Started out easy and it felt really good as I progressed further into it. 6-6:30/mi. pace with the last 2 in 10:56. I know that this goes against conventional training wisdom. But as long as your body feels good and you are recovering overall from week to week I say you should go with it. This sport is as much an art as it is science and to know thyself is to conquer oneself.  I know that may sound a bit corny but I  believe it to be true.

AM-Easy run this morning. I had a feeling that yestedays tempo runs would catch up with me a little. 3 miles at 7-7:30/mi. Parkway trail.

PM-Intervals at the track. 800m with 400m jog in 2:39 and 2:27-2:24. Cardiovascular system fine but the legs did not want to run fast. This tells me that that I need to get more rest somehow and move to taper more. Usually I can hammer 800s, however looking back at the training and the recent marathon it may have been like I said before, too much too late. 8 miles total.

Easy 4 miles on the treadmill at 7:30-8/min pace.  Tired today, but we press on . Heart rate a little high today so time to just idle the engines.

AM-Easy 5 miles on the treadmill at 7:30-8/min mile pace. Feeling a little better but heart rates and overall effort perception is off still. I don't want to risk overtraining so I will play it safe again today.

PM-Easy 5 miles on the parkway trail at 7-7:30/mi.  Things went a lot better on this run but I could tell that my horse was only interested in  getting out of the corral for a while.

AM-6 easy miles this morning at 7-7:30//mi pace.  Just taking it easy this morning again.

Provo canyon today with Ted aka Army Runner for a marathon pace time trial this morning. Sasha was sick this morning and decided to stay home and rest. Ted's horses were neighing rather loudly as he pulled out and we hit a 1:20 first quarter going slightly uphill! I told him our split and he then agreed to back off as he said it didn't feel that hard. Things leveled off a bit and we maintained a 5:35-36 pace the rest of the way home until the last quarter where we picked it up a bit to catch James who we had given roughly a 3 minute head start. 16:38 for 3 miles. Felt good as both Ted and I were still conversing off and on at times.  I could have done without the head wind but it kept the run challenging. With or without a qualifier I am still pleased with my running. Days like this help me to thank the Lord for just having the ability to run fast and be around  friends like Ted and Sasha.

Progressive run today on the treadmill to wind out some excess energy. 5:15-5:40/mi at 0-2% incline progressively getting faster and steeper. Felt powerful and strong even after yesterdays tempo.  7min/mi at 118-120 bpm and 6min/mi at 1% 138-142bpm. 9 miles total in 55:11.