relentless forward progress

ez on the trail after work. 7:12

 Easy with Scott, Matt, Mike, and Toni. I turned back early with Toni to stick to my planned 8. A little chilly but a great morning. Saw Marie, Josee and girls on the way back. 6:56.

After the banter the other day I became fascinated with a dose of Irish history. I can tell you Bam I think the story is awesome so the blog name is not mocking at all. :)

Easy run with Matt and Scott around Matt's hood. Matt and I did 6 and wished Scott well as he continued on. Threw some strides in at the end. The 5k tomorrow should be fun. It will be good to see where I'm at with almost zero prep and to have a starting point. Maybe Matt can carry me :). 7:06

This is the first 5k I've ran since last July and I was fairly unprepared but I needed to have a baseline to move forward with. This was a fun race. Lined up with team mates Matt and Trevor and soon enough we were off. There was a pack of 5 that went out very quick and then I was in the 4 person chase pack that was about 3 meters back at the half mile point. By the 1 mile marker I was about 10 meters behind the lead group of four and all the guys with me had faded back so I was all alone the rest of the race. I saw one of the guys on the lead pack fall off at the 2 mile mark and made it my goal to try and catch him but it didn't quite happen. I faded a bit on the last mile which is about right considering I haven't done much of anything speed wise and that I was solo. I was hoping to be under 17:30 but it just isn't there yet. Trevor won the race with Matt a close second. Good day for the team. Course was a bit long and I ended up 5th in 18:20.

I'm happy to have a starting point now. I know that I have lost some fitness this year but I am in a good place and it will come back quickly as long as I stay patient. Though I did a bunch of Xtraining through my injury it's still not running miles and short races like these reveal everything, I've only ran just over 400 miles this year. Right now it's all about respecting the process and being consistent. As long as I can do these things and continue to be smart with my workouts then the rest will take care of itself. Structurally I feel very strong which is a good sign. Feeling excited.

I had a great time with Matt today. Matt is all class and it definitely made the day so much better to do this with him. Very cool to see so many friends and people from the blog out running and racing. Awesome to see James running today although I didn't get to talk with him. Always good to see Allie as well. One of the additional highlights for me was when I was picking up some post race food at the finish and this voice said "hey quit eating all the oranges." I looked up annoyed and smiled when I saw that it was my wife who had came up to surprise me.

Also of note: it was so cool today to see Kodi kill the half and talk with her after. I get all excited when people from my hometown rock races. I hope I am in shape to race her at a couple local Sanpete County races this summer.

Easy recovery run on the dirt and grass loop out at the sports park. Very nice day. 7:44

Did the short timp trail loop in the rain after work. Just enough rain to knock the dust off the trail and soften the top layer up, so nice. Climbed 1000 feet and took the loop easy. 7:45

3 ez at the sports park until the freezing wind and rain won then a short drive to the gym and 3+ ez on the tm with 5x:30 strides. 7:00

 Easy 2 mile warmup.  Progressive 12 x 400. 82, 81, 82, 80, 78, 78, 76, 76, 75, 74, 72, 69. 400 recovery jogs between at 7:45 pace. Easy cool down. These felt really good and in control. I recovered quickly on all of them. The goal was just to do all 12, next time out they will all be a little faster. 6:40

 Very easy hour on the Murdock trail with Spencer after work. Very nice to talk and run in such nice weather. 7:25

 Easy 10 on the Murdock from Matts with the usual suspects. Great conversation about watches, frogs,  Valentines, and kiwis. Perfect morning. 7:10

This was a very small but fun and well organized race in my home town. It was to help raise money for playground equipment for the new elementary school. My wife is gone for the weekend with her Mom and sisters and I'm down visiting my Mom for mothers day so we all decided to run.

Ran an easy warmup on the first part of the course with some strides. The course is at 6000 feet and is a hilly out and back with a lollipop hill turnaround. I was happy that the distance was on and that it was going to be challenging.

It turned out much better than last week and I won the race in 17:59. I probably went out a little too conservative but I'm happy with the effort and that it was faster than last weekends race. My son Lincoln ran a PR today and my Mom ran really well so it was a success. It was really cool to be able to win the race with my Dad and my two littlest children at the finish.

Afterward it was so very nice I ran a hilly 8 mile loop from Mount Pleasant out to gravel pit road to Mountainville road and back. Sunshine, fields of green and flowers, and a slight breeze. I just couldn't help but pick it up the last few miles. A little more proof that I didn't run hard enough but I sure had a good outing. Took the kids to the carnival and now getting ready for a tasty barbeque. Happy Mother's day to all of the Mom's out there!

I'm very happy with the progress so far. I quietly ran 60 miles this week and won a (small) race :). I'm just going to keep slowly building it up and see what happens.

 Easy in the grass and dirt in Spanish Fork. 83 degrees... Really?

7:33 

I picked up a nasty cold. Was going to rest but then i read a bunch of stuff about running with one and got out for a new loop in SF x2. Felt fines after the first one do i did another. I am not a fan of the heat but it's sure nice out. 7:03

 Too sick to do much of anything. Rest...... 

 Off sick again. Can't breathe.

 Getting better finally but will take today to rest again. On the bright side my legs sure feel good :).

 Fun run from Matts house with Matt, Mike, Reed, and Spencer. My lungs still aren't 100% but it was so nice to get out. Ran Matts loop with "the mother" hill.  Legs felt like gold today. Then i came home, took the boys to school, and slept for 3 hours :). Naps are part of training too. 7:05

 What started as light rain turned into crazy sauce downpour by my turn around point. At parts on the way back it was the hardest rainstorm I've ever ran in. Matt and Mike soldiered on for 20, i was thankful for their company while I had it. I still have too much lung cheese for 20. Thankful for nipple band aids today. 7:05

 Easy miles after work. I have had bronchitis the last 9 days. Strange because i don't typically get sick and if i do it's over rather fast. Antibiotics and inhaler are helping. Nice to get out after a few days of rest. I actually made it the whole run without coughing, afterward not so much. 7:10

 Early 10 in the canyon with the fellas :). A little better today. Threw a few good surges on the uphill and just cruised the return. 7:03

EZ run with Dave and Jacob from Dave's place in Mapleton. Dave took us on a great route through and around town. We hit some dirt, some good climbs and road all in less than 9 miles. Very fun morning and the extra sleep was good. Some strides at the end finished it well. Dave has some serious wheels. 7:30

I can finally breathe again :). Perfect weather on this run around Manti area. Misjudged the route so i ended up a little longer than i wanted but it was great. Good climb coming back. 6:54

am - I paced my son Lincoln at the Run of Remembrance 5k in AF. It was so much fun. Lincoln ran a PR and was very happy. It was cool to see Matt and his family, Mike and his family, Dan and his daughter, Spencer, and many others. All the sons ran PR's today, so cool to see all the kids happy and pushing. Thanks Spencer for coming back and running us in. 

pm - Got out for an easy loop in Spanish water fountain hopping. Legs feeling better. My calf was sore yesterday but no worries it seems. Thankful it wasn't too hot.

am - slept in and ran a great out and back out in the fields in Spanish Fork. Calf sore. Took it easy but then loosened up and ran some strides at the end. 7:10

pm - easy 5 on the grass loops out at the sports park. 7:45

I got rid of 5 pairs of shoes today that are dead that I figure I really shouldn't be running in anymore. They all have well over 400 miles except the Virratas that were done after 300. 

am - 8 mile progression run, 1 mile cool down. New hilly route in Spanish with a pancake flat return. 7:20-5:45. Not hard, but good to step it down a little every mile. Great morning. 6:45

pm - ez shakeout on the grass and dirt loop route post rain storm. Very nice. 7:45

am - 10 with the crew up Provo Canyon. Another perfect morning. Started off with some great conversation and then just went silent, nothing but footfalls in unison and the birds.. very cool. Matt, Reed, and I took it easy on the way back but Scott was feeling good and ran a really strong 5k on the way back (15:31) and then looped back and ran with us the rest of the way in. Thankful for these runs. 6:55

Pm- 5 very easy in the grass. Got some deep work done at muscle works today so i needed this to flush the junk. Much better. 7:55 

Good size group turn out at Scott's this morning. We ran a great route from his home. Kept it fun and talkative the whole way. We've been spoiled this week with perfect running temps. Another excellent morning. I may take the afternoon off today. 7:07