relentless forward progress

am - 10 from scouts with the crew :)

pm - 5 & change in the grass. schweaty

am- 13.1 up over the golf course to canal road the back on the half course. ran a couple pick ups on the return. 7:00

pm - very easy grass loops at sunset. 8:08

am- My Mom came up this morning and we ran the highline canal road together. so much fun. Mom is a positive energy powerhouse. she loved the route. it was a great time. 11:05

pm - Golf course loop with a 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 tempo on the return. 4, 3, 2, 1 jogs in between but I kept them fast. 5:35 avg for the T minutes. Hot and muggy afternoon. Legs felt great after the recharge this morning. 6:40

am - easy at the park. 7:30

pm- late miles, all I had time for today. headlamp and rain :). 6:58

easy miles on the canal road. beautiful morning. 7:20

I traveled to St George last night with 7 friends and fellow freaks :), Matt, Scott, Zak, Fritz, Reed, Toni, and Dan. Matt wad kind enough to let us utilize his family's condo, awesome thanks Matt! I know it sounds cheese but there was some magic in the air this morning when we left to run part of the course. We all had slept well and I had a feeling it was going to be a good morning.

The plan was a 5 mile warm up, 15 mile tempo at MP, 2 mile cool down. We started at mile 2 of the course, the condo is right off mile 24 so it worked out great.

The warm up was a little fast (6:45 avg), and then we stopped just before Veyo hill and the climbs for a quick stretch and last minute hydration. We left bottles at miles 5, 11, & 17.

When it was time to start the tempo I laughed as Matt, Fritz, Scott, and Zak dropped us hard and I focused on running my own workout. So awesome though to see those guys fly :). I started a little conservative on the hills and just eased into it.

By the 5 mile mark into the tempo I had dialed it in and just went off effort, only checking the watch as it beeped the miles off. The bottles worked great and I took a gu with each one. It went fantastic. When the sun came up we still had cloud cover so it was nice, although muggy and still 75 degrees.

15 mile tempo in 1:26:33 (5:46 avg) :)! I felt in control and within myself the whole time which is a good sign at the end of a 90+ mile week.

Confidence is high with 4 weeks to go. It's all about being smart and respecting the process for 2 more weeks and then throwing in a proper taper. The whole gang ran excellent today, fun to see. Thanks very much Matt and Scott for driving!

Knocking on the door of a big pr :)

lunch - 5 very easy. 8:11

pm - cruise around spanish fork after work. legs feel good considering the big workout but I still dialed it back. Ran into an old friend out long boarding with his kids, pretty cool :). 7:20

lunch - ez 5. 7:21

pm - unplanned progression run on the canal road. It just happened by itself and I was cruising pretty good by the end. 7:40 - 5:50. The return is uphill and the route is dirt so it turned out really good. Nice to have the legs decide to come back so quick :). 6:45

lunch - easy 5. 7:50

pm- ran pipeline to grizzly to fire road down the wrecked single track (from the rain) and back to Wills. hilly fun in the dirt. 4 mile tempo up on the fire road. 1200 vert. 7:20

lunch - easy 5

pm- easy miles in the grass and dirt around the sports park. had a good reflection run and was filled with gratitude. at the end of the run there was a very large man laying on his stomach watching the softball game in the grass. he was on his phone and didn't see me coming. i scared him to death when i hurdled him :). it was a great run :).

slept way in :) & then ran a little shake out after a check up with the chiro. running Spanish fork half tomorrow as part of a long run/tempo. Should be fun.I hope it rains for the race. 7:15

Picked up the win on tired heavy legs but the effort was just about right. fun day :). more later.

Even though I ran easy on Thursday when i woke up Friday my legs were still depleted. I worked 52 hours Monday-Thursday plus doubles every day so I was beat.I took it really easy Friday but I could feel that the race would be a good hard effort regardless. perfect really at this point late in the cycle :).

I woke up, ate, and walked the 3 blocks to the start/finish (home town races rock). I was happy to see Kassi at last minute registration and got some warmup miles with her, Josse, Toni, and another very nice girl that I can't remember her name.

We got back in time to go to the start and with lots of people still over in the park and talking they suddenly said runners to your mark, and the gun went off. I didn't even have my watch ready lol, oops.

We were off and there were some people that wanted to turn on to center street and almost lead the masses off course. I was in a pack up front and shouted "go straight!!" and just kept on course.

Within a half mile there were three of us and one guy was seriously drafting tight right on me.... at a half mile into the race... uugghh. He looked to be an experienced faster in shape runner but I couldn't believe anyone would draft that early. So I swerved around and he stayed right on me :). I finally slowed up to 7ish pace until he came along side and then picked it up again. We ran side by side through mile 1 with another really nice kid in 5:50.

My plan was to run right there the first 3, surge the hill just before 4, run strong until the big hill section and then pick it up on the return for a good MP tempo at the end of a long week regardless who was there or leading.

Things didn't quite turn out that way :).

At mile 3 I was all alone and my legs were toast. Lactic was building and I wasnt even at pace yet. I felt like I was close to the red line already. It was a little frustrating for a minute but I quickly calmed down, adjusted my attitude, and decided to make a day of it effort wise.

At the hill at 4 I pushed hard and like I suspected I went over the line and my breathing went crazy. So I kept it right there the rest of the race. It was a good experience to force myself to try and make friends with very uncomfortable and I didn't break the rest of the way even though it was very hard.

The pace stayed very consistent around 5:50 with a couple slower miles on the bigger climb in the middle. I took a GU at 8 and noticed my shoe untied but didn't tie it until 11. I ran the last 2 faster and kicked the last half mile (2:23).

It was the very best thing to have my 3 little kids and wife right at the finish line when I was coming in. My little 4 year old daughter Nora was jumping up and down smiling and screaming. After I crossed I got a huge hug from my kids who normally won't get near me after a run, it was the best.

So not the race I wanted but a great workout and experience that I am most thankful for.

I was stoked for Kassi when she came in under the CR. Awesome!

The running club in Spanish is great. They make pancakes and waffles for everyone and their families after. It really is a very well done race. I got a sweet trophy and $100 and the win so I have tons to be grateful for.

I ran 5 to cool down and felt fine. My body was just tired during the race. one more big week and then it's taper time. I'm very confident that it's all going to come together just right for STG. I'm so happy to be healthy and strong with no niggles. I have the best training partners. It's going to be some real fun in 3 weeks!

Woke up Sunday with a stomach bug and I an't seem to get rid of it. This run felt easy but I had to stop 3 times. Legs feel good, stomach not so much. Skipped the lunch run today because of it. 6:54

On a positive note there was a perfect tulip right in the middle of the road on the return, like it had fallen out of a car or something, so strange. So I picked it up and ran it home for 4 miles, being careful to cradle it in my hand and run smooth as to not mess it up. Nora was very pleased when I gave it to her :).

lunch - easy 5

pm - highline canal after work. body still tired.

lunch - easy 4 with strides.

pm - 13 miles. I wasn't sure what to do for my workout today and was thinkng about it last night when I saw a late FB post from my friend Caleb, http://www.coachcaleb.com/ so I asked if he would dial me up a workout for tonight. Luckily for me he's awesome and he gave me a descending fartlek to chew on :). The workout was supposed to be 5 mile warmup the 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 minutes from MP down to 5k pace. Recoveries in between at 3, 2.5, 2, 1.5, and 1 minutes.

I ended up with a 40 minute warmup because the park was a 5.7 miles from home and I stopped and used the bathroom there before starting the fartlek. I did do a few strides at 5 miles just to get the legs ready first. Then went 6 minutes at 5:50, 5 at 5:40, 4 at 5:30, 3 at 5:25, 2 at 5:15, and 1 at 4:50. The 3 minute segment was an eternity :), and the 2 minute was spent on the dirt connector road. The hill at the end of that road was a bit of a momentum killer but I still got it done. The last 2 segments were a bit fast but I felt really good at the end and I was recovering quickly so it made it fun. Recoveries were 7:30-8:00 pace.

 It was a fun workout and I feel like it was a good deposit. Fall is definitely here. It was quite cool this afternoon and the mountains are beginning to explode with colors from the changing leaves :).

am - easy early canyon miles with the crew. Spectacular full moon lit the trail. 45 degrees & long sleeves.

pm - easy 8 at the park. 7:05

am - 10 easy with Caleb down by the lake.

Everyone came out today to run the last long before the marathon in 2 weeks. 13 of us went up the canyon for an easy 8 and then 8 mp tempo. it was a positive energy fest. everyone looked great today. I clicked off 8 tempo @5:43 which was a little fast but it felt great. Ready to roll. Do no harm from here on out. 2 easy in the grass with strides to finish it off today. what an awesome group, I couldn't quit smiling. 6:30

After a looong day I got out for a good canyon run after work. Exhaled the craziness and inhaled some awesome. Much better. Got a nice climb in too. Happy Monday! 6:53

Decided on the fly to take it easy and call it early to hang out with the kids. 7:45

Mini workout today. 3 miles warmup then 3x mile with 1/2 mile easy. 5:09, 5:03, 4:56. After the last one I ran a mile at ~MP (5:43). 1.5 mile cool down. Feeling good, legs were snappy after the easy day yesterday. 6:20

Easy miles with Matt, Zak, Mike, Reed, and Toni on a cold morning. it was actually snowing a little at bridal veil. 7:30

Took a much needed beating yesterday at the sports masseuse. Not the most pleasant thing but necessary. Started very slow and gradually picked it up. Finished feeling great with 8 x100 m strides at mp. 7:22

Last long-ish run with Matt, Mike, Zak, and Reed. It was cold :)! We ran easy with some tempo towards the end. It was fun to run most of the push together. I ran a 5k. 5:25, 5:27, 5:44. I backed off the last mile to MP. Everything feels good with a week to go. We stopped afterward to pick up some bottles for next week. I picked up and devoured a maple bacon donut that officially topped off the hay in the barn. Bacon for the win! Seriously so excited. Today I felt like a cyborg :).

lunch - 5 easy

pm - easy 6 in provo after work. There was a Poulsen sighting! After he waved my pace quickened by at least 45 seconds per mile :). nice day!