relentless forward progress

I slept in 11 hours and then ran easy around town. I love fall. The trail around the ball fields was especially fun with piles of leaves to run through. Scott lent me a garmin 205 to use until my 220 gets here. I think it's really cool. Fun to use the old brick style. 7:02

I had the pleasure of running baldy with Mike and Reed today. it was absolutely perfect. We met at the soccer park and ran the bst to battle then up to baldy. Tagged the summit after a bunch o' climbing. I was so excited for the return via great western and 33 that I nearly peed :). The whole return was Mario kart goodness but the section from baldy to the rock pile is some of the best single track I've ran, I was flying. We regrouped at the rock pile and then ran various track until we hit the markings from the race last weekend and cruised it back to the soccer park. Such a fun day and even better to enjoy it with Mike and Reed. 10:00 avg for the run, 4900 vert :).

Just some easy recovery miles. Soft grass and leaves, darkness, light snow, and a headlamp :). 7:35

Day off with lots of stretching, soaking, and rolling. Much better after.

Easy with Scott around Orem after work. 7:40

With the early crew. Spencer came today as well as a couple new/old faces. Fun! 6:49

Around town after a good sleep. 6:37
 

Tour around the outskirts of Spanish Fork with Scott and Spencer E. It went by really fast. A good route out river bottoms road, the east bench, and back through the fields on a perfect day. I cooked breakfast after. It was so nice to get together for some miles and some food :). We ran a few fast miles on the return. 6:42

Around Provo after work. Hit the little trail behind Matts clinic and Carterville on the return. 6:56

Easy grass loops in the moonlight. 7:30

Ran to the track for a 16x 200 workout. 4 mile warmup with 4x 100 strides, 2 mile cooldown. This was tough by myself but I got it done and am happy with how it went. 16x 200 with 200 jogs. 32 second average for a fairly consistent effort :). Ready for some food! 

Met Scott, Zak, Toni, and Reed for some early canyon miles. I was a little tired from the track work but it was great to get out. The stars at the turn around were fantastic. 6:56

Windy early run from Mikes with Mike, Scott, and Chad. Very strong wind in palces but it was a fun run. Felt very strong today.

15 easy around Spanish Fork with Scott and Spencer in the snow/sleet/rain. The no wind made it just about perfect. Like always, the run went by way too fast. I made a late simple breakfast for everyone that hit the spot. Thankful for days like today. 7:05

10 easy from Scotts with Matt, Mike, Scott, and Toni. It was a wow morning. Excited for this week. I have a feeling it's going to be a good one. 7:18

The Mother loop with Matt, Mike, Chris, and Reed. Reed and I picked it up good on teh last 1. Warm morning, not too many of those left. 7:05

Track work with Mike, Scott, and Spencer. The plan was 6x 800. After adjustment for me it was 4x 800, 2x 400, 2x 200. My body is not yet a fan of standing rest, it will be eventually though :). The 800's were 2:28, 2:25, 2:32, 2:30. 400's 72, 70. 200's 29, 29. This was fun. I'm learning and will continue these workouts, I will work on getting the speed right. I'm not yet :) as fast as the rest so I don't think it serves me well to stay in the pack at first, even though it's easier because I'm drafting. The fun is learning throughout the process. The guys all looked great and Mr. Nelson has some serious wheels! Warmup, strides, workout, cool down.

Early canyon miles with a good group. Light rain and snow but it was warm and fun. I put a couple half mile pick ups to get the blood moving. :) 7:05

Slept in and then ran around Spanish Fork on the flat hilly route in the wind. The wind was constant but very strong up by the canyon. It was a fun solo run that got gradually faster throughout but felt relatively easy. I decided to push the last mile and ran 5:16 after a bunch from 5:50 - 6:00. Feels good to feel good :). 6:19

Very windy in Orem so we bailed on the canyon and went to Lehi for a good run in less wind around the Alpine area. Mike, Zak, Matt, Scott, Chris, Reed, Toni, and I cruising. I took my new Garmin 220 for a spin and like it very much. Kept it easy today after the tempo push yesterday. The guys looked awesome on their push, i held it back today but still got 3 around marathon effort. The post run waffles hit the spot, thank you Mike! 6:47

5 hours of sleep in 2 days means that coach wife intervened before I could make it out the door after work :). Rest day, good food, and an early bedtime are now the action items for tonight. Wiser and prettier she is ;).

I had a bunch of online friends do this one today for a Turkey tune up so I decided to do it too. Hit the gym tonight and hopped on the TM for this. 30 minutes easy warmup. Then 90 seconds at 10mph, 60 seconds at 11mph, 30 seconds at 12mph, with equal time recoveries at 9mph x4. After the last 12mph segment I went straight into 2:30 at 5:20 pace since that is ~goal for Thursday. EZ cool down. This was fun! Best of luck to everyone on Turkey day! 6:31

Easy shakeout with strides but unfortunately I have a cold. On the fence about the race tomorrow. 7:00

Ran this fun race last minute not feeling well but still enjoyed the morning with friends. I decided to give it a go and knew within the first mile that i wasn't able to go fast with my lungs the way they were. Anytime I went faster than 5:45 I sounded horrible. I stopped after the second mile to clear phlegm and was going to drop but I decided to just run it in, no quitting. It was fun and I won a pie. I am much faster than this :), legs are fine.

The best was to see Mike run so strong. It was awesome :). The group miles before and after were great too. So thankful to be able to run and do so with great friends and people. Happy Thanksgiving!