relentless forward progress

am - Met the early crew of Spencer, Reed, Dan, Toni, and Scott at Scott's place for some cold miles. We started out slow but it was a good morning and you could feel the energy build so we threw some fartleks and strides in and then cruised a few miles at a good clip. This felt great after Saturdays long run which is a good sign. 6:45

Pm- 512 flights on the stairmaster. Happy with the day.

This is a bit wordy so if you're not in the mood for a long one you can skip it ;), otherwise thanks for reading. I did a ramping hard effort on the stairmaster after work tonight. The adductor/groin thingamajig was a little sore so no run today. It was a really good workout and I was a gross mess afterward. 567 flights.

I read a great article today in the times about Kilian Jornet. It's an excellent read if you have the time. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/24/magazine/creating-the-all-terrain-human.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

There is a quote in there that I really like. Kilian says, "The important thing is not to catch something. What matters in life is the pursuit and everything we learn along the way. The important thing is to keep moving."

I really needed to hear this. I don't know why it struck me like it did but I felt much better afterward. This whole injury and cross training and stressing and trying to stay in shape has worn on me some, even though I have learned from the experience. But after I read this quote I decided to go back and review some old stuff. I looked at my training from my first marathon at TOU and the lead in into it. At the time I really didn't have the best idea what I was doing but it turned out great, I had fun along the way and it was a special experience. I did the same review with the St. George training. It went better as I had learned some things on the journey, applied some techniques that my body responded well to, met and ran with awesome training partners and people, ran my tail off, and it was also a very fun and special day.

I think I had become a bit caught up in the pending "result" of Boston and stressing on it instead of taking a step back and knowing that everything will be ok. I did that today. The training has been far from perfect, but I have tried to make the best of it. Even though it's been difficult if I look at the whole of the cycle I believe that I am better trained than I was on the first marathon. I may not be in St. George 2012 shape, but it's ok. It's going to be a life experience. After all, it's the Boston marathon :).

I am now very excited about it. No more worries. I'll do what I can the next couple weeks. I agree with Fritz in his belief that late training is not death bed repentance. Especially in regards to a persons mental "edge". If those last couple workouts are what that person needs to get them in the zone, then the workouts are more than beneficial, they are essential. I can't wait to soak up the Boston experience, finish strong, and with a smile. Thanks so very much to those who have been a support, an inspiration, and a safety net.

 Just turning the legs over in prep for tomorrows run. Ramping speed and resistance turned this elliptical session into a nice progression.

am - Met Scott and Toni for some early canyon miles in Provo. It was great. The moon was bright enough you almost didn't need the headlamp, didn't turn it on until up in the canyon. 44 degrees :)! Easy up to the park then threw a fartlek in on the return. 6min on 5 off, 5 on 4 off, 3 on 2 off, then 1 on 1 off x4 and an easy cooldown. "On" paces descending from 5:47 - 5:15. The hill at the end of the 4 minute on was "fun", but other than that it went really good. Scott looked light and smooth on his ladder workout today. Very fun morning! 6:55

Pm- 10 miles medium effort on the elliptical. I found my tired legs and I'm pretty happy about it :). 

 Slept in today and then headed to the gym. Did a 9 station circuit training session and then went to my first spin class. It was fun and a great workout. Lots of good energy. Legs feel really good now and ready to go long tomorrow. Today is my birthday so I'm going to eat cake guilt free. I'm going to have an extra piece for Bam.

I covered 18 but just counted it as an easy hour of running miles. 

 Met a good size group at the soccer park this morning. Melody! Scott, Reed, Dan, Toni, Randy, Dave, & Chris. Double out and back route that we did in December. The first 10 were relaxed. It was awesome to have Melody with us today. She gave us all some great advice for Boston. So fun to run some miles with her.

After the first 10 we made a pit stop at the park and then started up the canyon for the second out and back 10.  Picked up the pace pretty good. There was a nasty headwind on the way up and  it was cold. I stopped at the water fountain for a drink and everyone kept going so it became my mission to try and reel them in before the turn around. This resulted in a great push up the canyon for me, the wind made for some character building sections. The run back down was much easier but still fast. Reed and i ran the last couple together. 

Then we all ran some grass loops easy to cool down. I put some strides at mp in as well and ended up with a great run. Huge confidence boost for me. Very thankful. So fun to run with so many great people. 7:00 avg