relentless forward progress

 3 mile warm up. 400, 400, 800, 1200, 1600, 1200, 800, 400, 400 easy cool down. Dialed it back today to make sure i finished strong. This felt good. 78, 76, 2:43, 4:12, 5:45, 4:06, 2:36, 73, 68. Recoveries were 400s except after the 1200s and 1600, those recoveries were 800. 7:45 pace on the way up, 7:30 pace on the way back down. Fun workout. Didn't feel strained and left some in the tank. Now if i race on the 4th i should be ready. 6:36

easy miles. too hot after work so I went to the gym. 7:36

10 miles from Mom's in the rain on dirt roads. Such a great run. This was all I had time for. 42 out, 31 back. Pushed 3 miles hard on the return and then jogged it in.

easy miles in the wind and rain. 7:33

 Out and back down by the lake after work. So hot today. Needed this after a not so fun day at work. 7:04

 Very easy 8. 4 around Orem then went by the store for the Mizuno run. Tested out the Sayanora. It was a small group and short run but it was fun. I was hoping to win the  shoe raffle but not today :). 7:45

Met a large group of guys at the soccer park this morning. Scott, Matt, Mike, Zack, Karl, Steve, Toni, Spencer, Reed, and a new guy Ryan. Warmed up before the run started with butt kicks, skips, and hops and an easy mile around the park. Kept it easy today because Scott talked me in to going long tomorrow morning with him :). I did throw a mile pickup in but it wasn't anything fancy (5:42), just shaking the cobwebs off. Very fun morning. 7:06

pm - grass and dirt loop shakeout in the rain. finished with a smile, the rain was refreshing. so was the 3 hour nap I had today :). 7:24

Met Scott for a long run today since he is out of town tomorrow and the rest of the gang is racing. We had an excellent run in the rain. One of those where the conversation is great, the pace is quick without feeling like it, and the tempo was spot on. Spencer and Toni started with us. Scott and I were alone after mile 6 as they had turned around for work etc. We cruised the first 10 miles talking and then ran an 8 mile tempo (for me, i don't know that Scott broke a sweat) at 5:55 avg. Puddle splashing good times. Really happy with this, especially after the double yesterday. Most grateful. 6:36

  After a fun day with the family at lavender days I got out for a very easy 8 in the grass.  Slept in this morning and just enjoyed the day. Trying to be smart with some races coming up. I'm finally ready to see where I'm at. 8:02

 Another easy 8 on the trail. Very hot out at 4 but just cruised and enjoyed it. Legs feel good :). 7:40

11 easy down to the lake after work. Wow it was hot. I jumped a watersnake on the trail and saw a bunch of weirdos. Weirdos don't wave.. they should, I'm quite friendly. Perhaps the training beard scared them. I registered for Des News half today. Butterflies :). 7:09

Got my wish as the clouds rolled in right as work ended. I was so

excited that I threw a 4 mile fartlek in the run. Various speeds and

distances, it went well. Nothing too hard due to tomorrows workout. Ran

out in the country roads today. Farmers wave because they are cool :). 6:49

The mad scientist had a doozy on the schedule today and I was kind of dreading it. But then a friend said something in a message this morning that changed my attitude so I attacked it. Workout was 10x 1200 with 600m recoveries. Consistency was the plan so I settled on a pace (5:25-5::30) and went for it. 2 mile warm up. Ran very consistent splits 4:04, :06, :03, :05, :05, :03, :04, :06, :03, :01. Recoveries were all at ~7:40 pace. Easy cool down. This was a good workout with the half next week and I finished feeling tired but not wiped out. Money in the bank today. 6:25 avg

 Recovery miles witty Scott Hansen down by the lake. Easy cruiser chat miles. 8:10

am - Ran the Thanksgiving point loop with Reed and Matt this morning. Easy miles and great conversation are the best way to start the day. Finished up with 3x :30 strides. Fun morning with the guys as always :)! 7:15

pm - 100 degree shakeout in the grass. 3x loop to make everything happy. 7:30

Warmed up a mile + hops, skips, & butt kicks before the guys arrived. Ran the canyon with Matt, Mike, Toni, and Ty. We kept it easy the first 10 and then all ran different pushes on the way back. Always so much fun with these guys. Very thankful for mornings like this one. I'm really enjoying training lately :). 6:45

Easy shakeout in the grass. Excited to race on Wednesday :). 7:35

Easy 8 with 4x :30 strides at goal HMP on the last mile. It was a breezy 102 after work, woohoo ;).  Got a little sweaty. I was thankful for the water fountain on Carterville. 7:05

Easy lunch shakeout with strides at hmp on the last mile. Ready to race tomorrow. 7:03

Tough but fun race today. The very loose plan was to run with Ben and see what happens. I've finally put together some decent weeks and had a few good workouts so I knew I was set up well to run fast.

Everything was going well. Me, Ben, Josh, and another guy were just plugging away running 5:30's no problemo. It was a lot of fun. I broke my 10k pr by almost 3 minutes. Just after mile 7 I started to get a nasty side stitch. Ben started to feel really good and was off. I tried to keep on his shoulder but I couldn't breathe like I wanted because of the stitch on the right side. I tried a few different tricks that have worked in the past but I just couldn't get it to go away and it steadily got worse. Josh soon started to pull away and the pain was making my breathing shallow and quick. Finally it became too much and I stopped to try the pinch and exhale routine. This seemed to work after a few tries and nobody passed me so I started to push again. The break mile was 6:10 and the mile after was 5:36. Then it came back with a vengeance and I had to stop again. This time Emily passed me along with a guy in a blue shirt. I was pretty frustrated but just did what I could to work through it and relax.

I started running again and it was hard to get it going but I finally got into a rhythm and started working on catching the two who passed me. I got them both just after the mile 12 marker and then saw Scott and Spencer which was a boost. With the smile back on I was able to push it in. The official results have me at 1:16:02. My watch was 1:15:59 for 13.18 miles.

I'm happy with the effort today and thankful to be able to overcome some unexpected challenges. No excuses as the stitch was just part of the race today but I figure it cost me about 2 minutes. I like where I'm at right now and still have a good amount of time build and strengthen before St. George.

It was a blast to get to see so many friends and bloggers today. Thanks to Ben and Josh for the motivation during the race and for pushing me while we ran together. For me it's such a cool thing to be able to run with so many of you who I have and continue to look up to. I am motivated to keep working away at it and know that I will be able to get better and reach my goals. Thanks for all of the inspiration and motivation. There are so many class individuals on this blog.

Oh, and seriously... how about Mr. Van De Kamp today!? Welcome back :)

Met Matt and Scott for the Thanksgiving Point loop. Felt really good after the race yesterday. It was good to talk it through with the guys and recall so many great performances from yesterday. Fired up and looking forward to another go at it at Hobble in 4 weeks. 7:20

Slept in and ran the golf course loop from my home solo. Plugged some tunes and cruised. Sure feeling good. 6:54

 Banked another 10 hours of sleep and got out late for another solo run. I want to stay off the downhill for another day or two. After the first mile i felt really good so i ran a steady state half at 6:30 pace. It was an easy fun route and i finished feeling good. I may get our for some grass later. 6:47

Wonderfully easy grass loops in the rain. 8:10

I ran the double bonneville loop after work. I've been neglecting the trails and it's time to start enjoying them again. 1200 vert and lots of fun today. 7:30

The goal today was a good tune up, to not over do it, and leave the workout wanting more. 3 mile warmup. 4x 2:30 @5:25, 10 minutes 5:42, 6x 1 minute 5:10. Last one was well under 5 pace. 3 minute jogs between sets and short jogs between reps. Felt really strong today. 6:36

 Rest day :). It was time. I ran the last 25 days and was due for a little lounging.  Finally broke 300 miles this month for the first time this year.  I've made some good progress after a tough injury period. Lots of good stuff ahead. Thankful to be healthy.