relentless forward progress

Easy cruise from work to Carterville and loop back. Nice day today. Happy its finally race week! 7:15

Put the super suit on for a final mini workout. 1 mile easy, 3 miles MP -5 seconds, 2 miles easy with MP strides, 1 mile cooldown. 

Had to stop after 5 and swing my leg out, my right foot had fallen partly asleep. I may go to the chiro tomorrow for one final tune up. 

It's all gravy from here until Saturday :). 6:35

A little out and back with the focus on form. Did some strides and some high knees and finished with a very easy grass mile. Legs are really coming around Mwuahahaha :). 6:40. Felt like i was crawling.

Just staying loose. 

Easy grass loops at sunrise visualizing the race. Ready to roll!

Official time 2:39:54. 1st half 1:21:40, 2nd half 1:18:14. I am so happy :). It's a 16 minute PR. So very grateful. Here's how it happened..

Even last night I had a hard time saying out loud that my goal for this race was 2:42, that I would be happy breaking 2:45, and that my stretch goal was to break 2:40. Its made me very nervous for a long time. I wasn't sure that I could do it. I got my answer this morning. The race plan was loose but had 3 essential elements. Run the first 7 conservative, starting out easy. Run the middle strong and smart. If the legs are there after the hill at 19 then set the barn on fire and burn it to the ground. I have trained in this manner for months and basically it just went perfect.

I woke up just before 3am. I ate a good breakfast and then went back to bed until 4:40. This worked very well with the 6:45am start. I usually don't eat much and i think i benefited from it today. My wife dropped me of at the buses just before 5. When we got to the start I went to use the port o potty and discovered super long lines. But fortunately I was able to enter the elite area based on my projected time. Very cool. I found my training buddies there and took care of all the pre race business.

Soon it was time to go. I ran the first 5k easy, during this time part of my right leg fell asleep along with my right foot. I have had some lower back issues but it had got better over the taper. I was concerned and Dan reassured me that it would be ok (He said smiling, "well there's only 22 miles to go" lol). Right before the Veyo hill it came out of it and I just felt awesome, I knew it was going to be my day and I took off. I ran the rest of the race alone. I ran the hill steady but not reckless. I did the same with the climbs from 9-12 through Dammeron valley. At the half I had recovered well and it was time to cut it loose.

The next 8 clicked off fast, I felt so good. Ran the first 10 in 1:02:25, the second 10 in 59:12. At 21 I started to feel funny and a bit dizzy so I took a :30 walk to reset. I had forgotten to take my GU! I had a 5oz flask that had 4 GUs mixed with water that I had been sipping on about every 25 minutes since 1:15:00 in. I had missed an interval. I took it just before the aide at 22 and washed it down and was off again. I knew the last 4 were going to hurt but was prepared in how i would deal with it. I took two more reset walks of :30 and :20 about a mile apart and I'm ok with it. There are improvements that can still be made in future races, i try and learn each time out, but a few seconds to feel better IMO are worth it.

At 25 I was full in the pain locker when Golden Harper saw me and jumped in to help :). He told me there was one more turn and then you're headed to the chute, you got this. He ran with me for a bit. When we ran around that turn the finish line looked so far away. Golden pretty much read my mind and said, don't worry its not as far as it looks, go get it!! I passed a lot of people that second half of the marathon and 2 more on that last stretch to the chute. With less than a 1/4 mile left I heard Golden yell out, "you're going to have to push to break it!". I put everything I had left in that last stretch and made it. Last 10k in 38:25. Sub 2:40. So happy.

This was a very interesting training cycle. I decided to put out a goal that scared me to death and begin working toward it. It was a long term goal but now i know its attainable :). I will continue to dream big and push forward. Also, the shorter modified taper worked wonders for me this time.

I am so thankful for such awesome training partners. Fritz won today in 2:21. Scott was 4th in 2:22 (12 minute pr). Matt ran 2:37 (pr). Dan ran 2:45 (pr). And Reed was 2:47 (13 minute pr). We have all pushed each other hard this summer and it will be fun with all of us going to Boston together in the spring. There were many great performances today from friends! Very grateful for my family and friends and all that they do. Now to enjoy some well earned time off and some fun before firing it up again for Boston :).

6:34, 6:13, 6:12, 6:04, 6:08, 5:51, 5:51, 6:37, 6:31, 6:20, 6:22, 6:13, 5:58, 5:59, 5:39, 5:26, 5:50, 5:51, 6:06, 5:53, 5:36, 6:21, 5:55, 6:16, 6:26, 6:13, .2 @ 5:51 pace

Easy system check on the grass and dirt in light rain. Everything feels really good. I've done a lot of walking this week but decided to play it safe and wait until today to run. My piriformis is still a little sore but i can tell its healing so no worries.

 This for me marks the start of trail season, and some weeks of no pressure fun while silently building strength.

I have never felt so satisfied after a race before. But.. :).. it seems the result has started a fire. I've been reflecting on it a lot this week. I'm going to pile the wood on it. I am going to do my best to be smart and stay healthy. I have lots of work to do. I'm going to get so much faster. Its going to be fun. It may not always be easy but I'm going to learn and adapt, learn and adapt. I'm looking forward to this new chapter. Thankful for every step...

The gang all got together (minus Reed) in Highland today for some very easy miles. This run was so much fun, everyone back together sharing thoughts and stories from the race. We all talked about what worked, what were some of the struggles, and what are some things to work on for next time. We saw Spencer running a local race and circled around to cheer him through the finish, then we all ran it easy back to Scott's. Except Dan.. :).. Dan is a cyborg and runs trails and pickups after a marathon because he can :D. It snowed down to about 8000 feet so the mountains are just gorgeous right now with the color change and the snow on top. Great run!

Beautiful trail today after work. Pipeline, great valley, fire road, and descent. It was fun. Took it easy and stopped for pictures a few times. Love this time of year! 7:35

Curls, push ups, crunches, bridges, planks, pull downs, rows, glutes,

100 ups. X3. Sufficiently worked. Wanted to run today but I think its

out of habit. Not really necessary and probably better to rest it so I

did this instead. Lower back/hip/SI/piriformis is wonky.

Can't get enough of the fall colors on the trails. Soooo nice after work

today, colored leaves all over the trails, thankful to be out in it.

Legs are starting to come back. Hope y'all had a great hump day! 1100

vert. 7:45

Early 5am group run up the canyon on a cold 30 degree morning. Actually

wore long sleeves, a hat and gloves. Not quite tights weather but close.

Fun to see everyone bouncing back a bit. The pickup mile wasn't quite

like it should be yet but it's getting there. Going to a new chiro today to try and get all this figured out. 6:46

Met at Reed's with Dan, Matt, and Scott and ran a loop in American Fork. I got mixed up on the directions so I was very thankful the guys waited for me. I went to a new

chiro yesterday and got a full service: stim, massage. stretching,

adjustment. Felt so much better today. This unintentionally turned into a

progressive and was lots of fun. 7:38, 7:02, 7:00, 6:59, 6:32, 6:34,

6:18, 6:13, 6:06, 6:25. Off for anniversary weekend. Have a good one! 6:39

Easy run with the guys in Highland. Good turnout this morning :), it's always fun. No tempo for me today, my foot feel asleep again and wouldn't snap out of it. Annoying but manageable. Must have a pinched nerve. Chiro again today should help. 6:52

I was able to squeeze in a Tuesday run with the crew this morning from Matt's house in AF. I left my sleeves at home because the temp said 55 and was greeted with a cold strong wind. I think this made Reed and I go out quick so we could get warm. It was awesome to have 9 of us out on a morning that would definitely discourage many, and it was a fun one. Great to make some new friends.

Still struggling a little with some muscle groups causing some nerve pinching causing my right foot to fall asleep but it's more an annoyance than anything. I started a program with a new chiro/PT/massage therapist that should help get it under control quickly.

I may tone it down some for a few weeks just to help expedite the process. No biggie, I was going to "float" until after Turkey day anyway before the Boston cycle. 6:55

Chiro/stim/massage session followed by some strength and stretch. Good times... The massage girl is a beast :).

Ran 2 miles to the chiro appointment. He wanted me warmed up to see if some of my trouble/tight spots would respond better than they have been. It worked really well. He also lent me a pretty sweet stim machine for the next couple weeks that I think will be very useful. I feel like it's getting a little better every day.

Afterward I went to the gym for some low impact work on the elliptical. Did 6 miles of level 12 hills and called it a day. I actually got my HR above 135. Ready for a run in the am with the crew!

Cold run from Reed's with the crew. Felt smooth today. Foot didn't fall asleep the whole time. I was going to do a 2 mile pickup and it felt really good... so I shut it down at a half mile instead of pushing it. Need to be patient. I decided not to race the 10k tomorrow, even though I really want to. 6:52

Did the double bonneville route this morning with Caleb. Ran it on the easier side which was fine for today. Chilly but very nice on the trails. Some dry, some wet, and some snowy sections made it most fun :). 1267 vert. I really like the Altra Superior so far. 8:15

Little progressive at the gym after the chiro session. 10 minutes @ 8.5 mph, 10 @ 9, 10 @9.5, 10 @10, 5 @10.5, 5 @9.5, cd. All at 1.0 incline. Felt good to get some turnover in. Lower back/pelvis muscle groups are improving every day. Legs feel great. 6:28

Easy around the sports park on grass, dirt, and paved trail. Gluteus medius is the word of today. It's still tight even after chiro and massage. I'm laying Here hooked up to the biostim hoping it helps. Frustrated tonight. 7:23

am- stretching and reflection:

I realized this morning that I had allowed myself to let a lingering niggle start to frustrate and begin to bring me down. I also realized that I am doing the things I need to do. I am addressing the issue, backing off when necessary, stretching, PT, chiro, stim, massage, icing.. etc. The thing that I need to do now is focus on being positive. I just need to do what I can when I can and enjoy it... learn from it.. and keep moving forward with a smile on my face. Hope to sneak a short one in later. This also made me feel better:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ylqls5pyxko