High Speeds

Today did 3x2 - 11:10 (up), 9:55 (down), and 10:59 (up). We got out a little earlier due to Matthew's baptism later that day, so it was pretty cold. Total of 16.

We were in St. George today, and my younger siblings did mile time trials. Both Stephen and Matthew got a mile record of 6:06. I did an interval chasing them - ended up with 4:43.

Repeated the 3x2 workout. Things went a little better than last week - 10:56 (up), 9:50 (down), and 10:46 (up). Total of 16 miles.

Today tried doing 2x1 mile fast again.

This time it wasn't as cold - I got 4:35 (68, 69, 69, 69) and 4:36 (67, 69, 72, 68). Had some tight muscles in the left leg afterward but not as bad as last time.

Did 3x2 with two intervals uphill and one down. There was some snow on the road - not enough to make a workout impossible, but enough to be a nuisance. My splits were 11:07 (5:28, 5:39 up), 9:58 (5:01, 4:57 down), and 10:46 (5:21, 5:25 up). By the third interval some of the snow had melted, which really helped.

Today did 2x1 mile down the canyon. The first was 4:36, according to target. For the second one my target was 4:32. I started out fast (66) and with a quarter to go saw that a record was in the cards. Kicked in 64 seconds and got 4:26.8. This is a new down-the-canyon record for me.

Snow kept us from doing a decent workout today, so we did easy pace for the long run.

Today the longest ice-free stretch in the canyon was 1K, so I did 10x1K, alternating down and up. It had been a while since I did this workout, but it turned out well. Uphilll  I got 3:24, 3:12, 3:16, 3:13, 3:12. Downhill my splits were 2:59, 3:00, 2:59, 2:56, and 2:58.  Ended up with around 14.5. The wind was blowing down the canyon, so I'm especially happy with the uphill intervals.

Did a mile pickup in 4:45.

Today the canyon had too much snow for a workout, so we did 6x800 meters uphill. The half mile up the old Carterville road from Center Street to our house has some pretty steep grades. My target was 2:30 - I was a little slower on most of the intervals, but got it on the last one (2:34, 2:35, 2:34, 2:33, 2:32 and 2:27). The first quarter was usually around 74 seconds, and the last one around 80 seconds (it has the worst uphill). 

Did the same 2x1 mile down the canyon. The weather was great - 50+ degrees. Got 4:36 and 4:31.

Today did 4x2000, alternating up and down. There was a fair bit of snow on the trail, but I was able to get 5:59, 6:38, 5:59, and 6:27. Total of 16 miles today.

Tried 2x1 mile down the canyon - the wind got in the way. Ended up with 4:40 and 4:34.

Today we got a fair bit of rain and snow. I was going do do the usual 3x2 workout, but after the second interval was too wet and cold (10:51 and 9:57). Did 10 in the morning, followed by 6 later in the day. During the 6 miles I did a 2 mile pickup in 10:12 (2:43 first half mile in the snow, followed by 5:00 pace for the last mile and a half as the trail got better). So in all I still ended up with 6 miles at tempo pace.

Did the 2x1 mile down the canyon workout - 4:34 and 4:27.

Did the 3x2 (up, down, up) workout again. Finally hit all the target times this time - 10:28 (5:06, 5:22) up, 9:49 (4:53, 4:56) down and 10:21 (5:02, 5:19) up. I've done this workout a number of times, but this is the best performance so far.

Wasn't able to do a workout today due to a tight hamstring from Saturday.

There was snow in the canyon, so I did 6x800 uphill near the house. Averaged around 2:32-2:33, the last interval went all-out and got 2:26.

Today did 12x400 down the canyon with 1 minute recoveries. My target was 64 per interval. Ended up with 62, 62, 63, 64, 66 (hill), 65, 65, 65, 64, 64, 64, 62.

Today did 2x3 miles, down (14:52), up (16:38 - 5:26, 5:35, 5:37). The wind blew down the canyon, so there was a headwind going up. Total of 17 miles.

Tried to repeat the 12x400 workout from last week - my right hamstring tightened up and I wasn't able to hit the target pace of 64 seconds per quarter. Still tried for 4 or 5 intervals, but once the pace dropped to 68 per interval I decided to cancel the workout.

Retried the workout from yesterday - muscles are still tight, so no dice.

Lots of snow today.

It snowed on Saturday, preventing a workout, so I did one today. The workout was 2x4 down the canyon targeting 5:00 pace. I ended up with 19:55 and 19:53. Felt some tightness in the legs (right quad and left hamstring), but was able to push through it and hit the target pace.

Total of 16 miles.

Today did a two-mile pickup in 9:59.

The mile pickup today was 4:47 - the first time I've felt like going under 4:48 in a while.

The mile pickup was 4:45 today.

Did 12 in the morning with a 3x1 mile workout. Got 4:43, 4:38, and 4:37. Then added 4 in the afternoon with Jenny - it had progressed from raining to snowing at this point :-(.

Did a 6 mile tempo down the canyon in 30:06 - there was a fair bit of headwind.

Today did 2x3 - 15:12 and 14:44. For some reason was not able to get going in the first interval.

Tried a 4x1 mile workout. Having some tension issues - could only do 4:52 for the first one, then got 4:47 and 4:44. The last one was finally decent (4:38).

Paced Joseph and Jacob for a two mile interval in 10:50.

Did a pickup in 4:51.

Today did a 6 mile tempo in the Provo River Canyon. Had some knee problems, and the first two miles were 5:16 and 5:02. Was able to average 5:00 for the last 4 miles. Ended up with 30:18 overall.

My right knee was still hurting today from Saturday's workout - wasn't able to do a pickup, so just did 12 easy.

Reduced distance today to try to help the knee recover.

Today did a 4 mile workout in 19:47 (5:03, 4:58, 4:56, 4:50). My knee felt good during the workout, but hurt before and afterwards. Overall it felt better than at the start of the week.

Today did 3x2 down the canyon - 9:59, 9:55, and 9:18 (!). Tailwind - what can I say. This has been a pattern though - I am tight at the start of the workout and it takes a couple of intervals to loosen me up.

Today did 3x2000 in the canyon - alternating up and down. There was some tailwind, which is reflected in the splits - 5:56 (down), 6:49 (up). and 5:45 (down). Then I paced my dad and Chad for the last two miles or so of their half-marathon workout and ended up with some extra distance.

Did a workout - 3x2000 alternating up and down with 400m recovery. Splits were 5:58 (down), 6:38 (up) and 5:55 (down).

Taper for the race tomorrow.

Today raced my first 5K of the season. The goal was to get as close to 15:00 as possible. I started out in 4:44 for the first 1600, and then ended up with 8:59 at 3000. I then hung on for dear life - the last 2000 was 6:14, so 5:00 pace on the dot. With two laps to go, I slipped from 3rd to 4th place. I thought I wasn't going to catch 3rd place, but apparently he spent all of his energy passing me. I found another gear in the last 300m and regained 3rd place as we turned onto the home stretch.

This is a solid 5K PR for me, and it was nice to place in a race were I've typically been mid-pack.

Did a 3 mile pickup in 14:50.

Today did a mild workout - 3x2000 down the canyon in 6:06, 6:00, and 5:50.

Today did 2x3 miles down the canyon at slightly faster than 5:00 pace. Jacob Murri joined me for the workout.

On the road to Oregon today - ran 8 as a taper for the race tomorrow.

Did around 4 miles easy in the morning. We drove to Portland in the afternoon and got to the track meet about an hour before the 5K started. My goal for the race was to crack 15:00, and so I decided to go for broke and hold 70's for as long as I could That ended up being about 3000 - I was 8:45 for 3000 (a PR btw). Then I got a little scared and backed off - but held a decent pace to finish in 14:47.

Towards the end I felt some tighness in my right leg and had some difficulty kicking. However, I was able to find another gear in the last 200m and upgrade my place on the home stretch. Very happy with the result.

Got back from Boise today.

Did 4x2 miles with about 800 meters of recovery in between. Got around 9:50 for the first 3 and just sub 9:40 for the last one. My pacing wasn't even - I usually started out in close to 4:50 and then held 5:00 pace.

Today I had a morning final in quantum mechanics, so just did a 2 mile pickup in 9:39 and 12 miles.

Tried to do a 6-mile tempo down the canyon, targeting 5:00 per mile. Started out at close to 5:00 pace, but ran into some kind of governer (possibly due to the heat) and found myself gradually slowing down. I stopped when I was approaching 5:20 pace - ended up with 25:20 for 5 miles. Total of 12 today.

Tried the tempo again - this time my pace was even slower (although there was headwind). Got 20:31 for 4 miles. Tried resting a bit and doing another 2, but was only able to hit 10:05 (4:58, 5:07).

I tried waking up super early to escape the heat - and it paid off! It was actually only a little above freezing in the canyon when I started the tempo. My time for 6 miles was 29:42 (14:56, 14:46 with a 4:51 last mile). Total of 12 today. 

Tried the full tempo (6 + 2). Ended up with 29:48 for 6 miles, with pretty even pacing. Then jogged up two miles and did another 2 in 9:43. I felt more tired during the 6-mile tempo than on Saturday, but evidently had some juice left.

Today tried to do a 2x3 mile workout down the canyon. My SI joint started acting up again and I was barely able to eke out 3 miles in 15:30. after which I decided to cut the workout short. Total of 12 today.

Taper.

Taper.

This race I was gunning for sub 1:07. I started out with the leaders - the first mile was 4:58, then 4:56, then I missed mile 3 and had 20:01 at 4 miles. During mile 4 (uphill) I dropped back from the leaders, and was in third place. The next two miles were 4:51 and 4:58 for a time of 29:50 at 6. A little before 6 my right leg started acting up - I have been dealing with an issue where the right leg has a restricted range of motion. This appears to be a combination of a locked up SI joint and some tight muscles, but something deeper might be going on. The result of this is that some muscles in the left leg end up having to do more work. I've been seeing a physical therapist, and that has been helping - so the issue has been more strongly manifest at the end of workouts.

  Past 6 miles I was in uncharted territory. I wasn't sure how my legs would hold up - and was worried that the imbalance between right and left would continue to worsen. I also started to feel the heat. Remembering some recent workouts  in which heat completely derailed me - I decided to start dumping water on myself at every aid station. This ended up paying off. The next mile was in 5:03 (34:53). Still ahead of 5:00 average - good.

Apparent disaster struck in mile 8 - I saw 40:12 at the official marker. That meant a 5:19 mile - which did not bode well for the next 5. Combined with the heat, my legs, and the course flattening out, I was very worried that sub-1:07 was out of the cards. I began envisioning doomsday scenarios of 1:10 or slower. To add insult to injury, I got passed in mile 9 by a guy named Sergio (who I later learned was once a 2:13 marathoner and US champion). Fortunately, the next two miles were 10:18 for a total of 50:30 at 10 (so mile 8 was probably a tad long). I did the math and realized that all I needed was 5:15 pace to the finish in order to crack 1:07.

However, the next mile was uphilll. I knew that if I slowed down too much on the hill, it would be difficult to make up for it later. So I hammered it. Mile 11 was 5:16 - basically on pace! Then came a downhill mile in 5:03 - after that I knew it was in the bag. I was a around 1:06 at 13 and came im at 1:06:33 - 4th place overall. Sergio gapped me by around 25 seconds.

There were a lot of moments during this race when a blowup seemed eminent - fortunately the training, prayers, and dumping water on myself paid off. I'm very happy with this result - and am excited to see what the future holds.

Came down with a cold after the half on Saturday - super glad that didn't happen any earlier. Limped through 8 miles today.

Still sick.

First day of full mileage and pickup since getting sick.

Why is it that every race with "fun" in the name is anything but fun? I was still feeling a little under the weather today, so for the workout I just participated in a church "fun run" (for those outside of Utah, church events are essentially neighborhood events). The course goes down Palisade, then down Carterville - and then back. My time was shameful - 10:39 (5:05 down, 5:34 up). I blame the cold, plus running 10.5 miles before the race with Chad and my dad.

After 1.5 miles and going up that massive hill behind my house, it felt like a bad dream where you're trying to run from a monster, but your legs are made of Jello and won't listen. The monster in this case was Jacob - but fortunately he too was struggling and so I wasn't beat by a little brother :). That day will come (likely when Matthew turns 16 - heck, even 14 might be enough). But not today.

Today retried the 2-mile "fun run" course by my house - this time was better: 4:55 and 5:25. Total of 12.

Did 4x1 mile targeting 4:40 pace - hit the target for all of them, and didn't go faster than 4:36 for any. The goal is to make 4:40 the new 5K and ultimately 10K racepace. The rest was 400m except before the last interval when I needed to run a little farther to reach the water fountain. Total of 16.

Tried a 2x2 mile workout targetting 9:20 or 4:40 per mile. The first interval was something embarrassing like 9:41 - ran into some kind of governer/mental block. Which makes sense, because I've been focusing on the half marathon and doing most workouts at 5:00 pace recently. I was close to calling the workout a bust and trying again another day, but decided (with some encouragement from my daad) to still do the second interval - with the goal of going under 2:20 for the first 800m no matter what. The second interval redeemed myself somewhat - 4:40 first mile, and then 9:29 for the whole thing.

Will do this again Saturday, and will start the workout earlier.

In preparation for Murray Fun Days did a 2x2 mile workout with full recovery - 9:21 and 9:17. The pacing was fairly even - the second interval was a negative split (4:40 first mile). Total of 16.

The standard for my daily pickups has been raised from 5:00 to 4:48 - the goal is to make that the new 10K and half marathon pace. 

Today did 12x400 in the canyon, alternating down and up. The target for downhill was 66, for up was 68. There was headwind going up with complicated things a bit - got 66, 66, 67, 65, 65, 66 on the downs and 70. 72. 72. 68. 69. 69 on the up. It took a couple tries to figure out how to sprint effectively uphill - hence the speedup after the third uphilll interval.

 I've always found the name "Murray Fun Days" rather ironic. The course is anything but fun - with a late 8 AM start, direct July sunlight, and about 1.5 miles of uphill :-). I ended up getting about the time I expected - 15:35 or about 5:00 average per mile. The pacing was even too - 4:58, 5:01, and then 6:36 for the last 1.1 miles to the end. That ended up being good enough for first. I've won 5K's before, but this was the first one with a police motorcycle escort, so that was cool :-).

I felt like the limiting factor for me was the same as in Utah Valley - this imbalance between the right and left legs. It felt like I was going to trip if I went any faster. I could tell some stabilizer muscles in the left leg were doing more than their fair share of work - and when they tired out I couldn't speed up past 5:00. I felt like I had the muscle power and glycogen to do it, but the legs wouldn't cooperate - kinda like a car with a good engine but misaligned wheels or messed up transmission.

I've been seeing a physical therapist at a place called Fyzical (would recommend). That's been helping for sure - I've been able to hit some great times in the last few months - but there is still some monkey business going on that's keeping me from 100% performance. Today the exact same thing happened as in Utah Valley - I wanted to go faster and felt like I had the juice, but the monkey business got in the way.

In any case - happy with the result and excited to see what the future holds! Next race is Des News (half).

Did 3x2 down - 14:45 and 14:47.

Did a 6 mile tempo down the canyon - 5:09, 4:58, 5:02 (15:09 3 mile), 4:55, 4:53, 4:56 (14:44 last three miles). Total time was 29:53. I'm happy with the negative split. It didn't look like I was going to crack 5:00 pace at the half-way point - especially after that 5:02 mile, but I was able to run the 5:00 guy down. Ended up with 18.5 total.

Did 4x2 in the canyon - 9:59, 9:58, 9:43, 9:47. Total of 16 miles.

Today did 2x3 for the workout - 14:49 and 14:47. Total of 18.

Taper.

  I initially wanted to run the 10K, but when I talked to the eilete althete coordinator, he told me that the 10K field was already stacked and I should try my luck in the half. The 10K was stacked - with Jared Ward in the field. However, the half wasn't much better :-). There ended up being 5 guys who went under 1:05 - including Connor Mantz who decided last minute to run. 

 The first 6 miles of the half are down Emigration Canyon, and are pretty steep downhill. The first mile was 4:38 - then three miles was something like 14:08 and 6 was in the ballpark of 29:30. To put that into persepctive, the first 5K and 10K were faster than my respective flat PR's. I stayed with the leaders until about 6.5, at which point my legs suffered a meltdown. This issue has popped up before in workouts - after a certain point I have a hard time controlling my left leg - some stabilizer muscles tire out. I think this is caused by an imbalance I havc where I'm unable to bring my right leg as far forward as the left one.  Physical therapy has helped keep the problem under control, but it's still there.

After losing contact with the leaders, I limped for probably half a mile at around 5:30 or 5:45 pace. I was then able to speed up to around 5:10-5:15 pace and held that to the finish. I got passed a little before mile 8, but latched on. Then we both got passed by the guy who ended up in second place. I went after him for about a 100 meters, then dropped back, but was still able to pull away from the frist person who had passed me. 

I ended up with 1:05:19 - 6th (!) place. This is roughly equivalent to my Utah Valley performance. It was cool to run 4:40 pace with the big boys for the first 6 miles, and to pretend I was faster than I am :-). I'm happy that my crash pace was 5:10 and not 5:20, (or worse). I think that if I can get this issue with muscular instability/imbalance resolved, then I'll see a breakthrough in performance. It was a good race - and a good way to fnish out my time in Utah. I'll be moving to Texas for grad school in a week - so stay tuned!

Des News recovery.

Des News recovery.

Did only 8 as my legs are still recovering from Des News. Was able to do a pickup in 5:08.

Total of 12 miles in the neighborhood in Colorado.

Did 10 in the morning in Lubbock, and then added 2 more at night in Georgetown, TX.

Today was at a ranch with some family - so the course was different than usual. I initially planned on only 12 miles, but got lost on my way back and ended up running for a total of 1:48:00. Given that I did two three-minute pickups at 4:48 effort, and that my base pace was at least 8:00/mile that puts me at 14 miles (minimum). Probably more, but oh well.

My legs didn't feel quite as sore today, so that was good.

Today did a workout of 6x400. I was supposed to target 66, but ended up hitting 63 high for most of the intervals - I think my last one was 62.5. Total of 12 miles today.

Legs were pretty sore after the workout yesterday - my usual 1K pickup was 3:04. Total of 12.

Legs were still sore from Monday, so no pickup today. Total of 12.

Today did the 6x400 workout again - except this time I actually did 66's instead of 64's. The dfiference was that my legs weren't crazy sore afterwards. Total of 12 with an evening run of 3 miles.

First true long run in Texas. Did a total of 16 miles - all in one go. The workout was the same as usual - 6x400 with 400m recovery, targeting 66. Other than a slower first quarter and a faster finish, everything was one pace. Ran almost all the way to the end of the Walnut Creek Trail - discovered more hills :-).

Did 9 miles in the morning on the Southern Walnut Creek Trail. The workout today was 6x400 with 200m recovery, targeting 66. I was a little sluggish on the first two intervals, but the rest were on pace - 67.0, 67.7, 66.4, 65.5, 65.4, 64.6. Did 3 more in the evening.

Did another 6x400 workout - same target of 66.

Did 16 today - had a friend (Noah) run with me for the first 12. He did the 6x400 workout with me. I was targeting 66 - he ended up doing 69's or 70's as this is his first workout in a while.

Today did 8x400, targeting 66's. There ended up being a few 67's and high 66's - my legs were sore and I was feeling sluggish. Total of 12 miles (9 in the morning, 3 in the evening).

Attempted another 8x400 workout in the morning - was too sore to crack 70 second quarters, so called it off after a few intervals. Skipped the evening run to recover.

Took it easy today to give my legs a chance to recover.

Did a two-mile tempo targeting 5:00 pace - ended up with 10:02 (4:57 and 5:05). The distance wasn't exact, as I was relying on mile markers on a trail.

Today did 8x400 with one minute rest. The target pace was 66 - I ended up running 66 and 65 for more intervals - so better than a week ago.

Today did 2x2 miles on the Walnut Creek Trail. The first interval was better than last week - 9:54 (4:55 and 4:59). The second interval started well (4:54) but then I ran into the same instability issue I had in the Deseret News half - all I could do for the last mile was 5:21.

I was going just by the mile markers - so it's probable that the course is a little off. Also, the heat and humidity really take a toll. So it's hard to tell exactly what shape I'm in. Hopefully as things cool off it will get easier, but we'll see.

Today did 8x400 - alternated between 64 and 66 (the course I ran had a slight grade, so I changed directions).

Did the same 2x2 mile workout from last week. According to Noah's GPS, the course we ran was 50 meters longer than two miles. My times were 10:01 and 9:57. That probably translates to 9:54 and 9:50. It was significantly cooler today (70 or under, I think) as opposed to 80. That definitely made a difference. Total of 16.

Did 2x3 down the canyon - it was sooo much easier without the heat and humidity! I got 14:46 and 14:35 - better than I was expecting given my workouts in Texas.

In Utah with the fam.

Did 8 in the morning before leaving for Indiana (I'm doing the Fort Ben half). No evening run as I was tapering. Did a shake-out run of what I thought was two miles. Ended up getting lost and adding around 300-400 meters. Total time was like 11:31, so my two mile time was probably 10:30 or 10:15.

Ran 8 from Jon's house in Indiana. He was kind enough to let me stay with him for the race.

Did the Fort Ben Half Marathon out in Indianapolis today. I had serious leg problems - after about 2.5 miles my left quad started spasming. This slowed me down from 5:00 pace to around 5:30. For a little bit, I was worried that I'd have to DNF. Fortunately, things stabilized and I was able to limp in at a 5:29 average pace - and even pass someone in the last few miles to come in at 4th place.

While this race definitely didn't turn out how I'd hoped, it gave some good insight into what is going on with my lower back/legs. For whatever reason, the left quad ends up doing more than its fair share of work - until it gives out. This problem must have worsened since I've been in Texas - because the blow-up was a lot more dramatic than in Des News or Utah Valley. It also came after less than 3 miles instead of 6.

I'm going to try physical therapy again - hopefully between that and whatever exercises I can figure out on my own I'll be able to avoid a blow-up at Monumental. Definitely glad I did this race as a trial run.

Total of 16 or so with the warm-up and cool-down.

Today did a 6 mile tempo averaging 5:20 pace.

I was hoping to do an 8 mile tempo - after 4 miles I had to stop because of the heat and humidity. I then did another 2 miles interval, followed by another 1 mile interval in 5:09. The 4 and 2 mile intervals were at 5:20 pace - that's about my max when it's too hot and humid.

It was colder today - I was feeling good. Did 6 at 5:10 pace, then later in the run did another 3 at 5:10 pace.

Taper for 10 miler tomorrow.

Raced a small 10-miler in Buda, TX with my friend Noah. We went 1-2. It was pretty hilly - but I felt good.

Did an 8 mile tempo at 5:20 pace.

Today did 3x2 at 5:00 pace. Noah joined me for part of the workout. When we got back to the cars, I realized I'd left my keys 2.5 miles down the trail - and that we had to be at the church in 45 minutes #surprisetemporun. Did 5 more miles getting the keys at about 5:40 pace - we made it to the cleaning on time :-).

Did a 2-mile shakeout run in 10:35 - it was raining so I was afraid to go faster.

Taper for Monumental.

In Carmel, IN. Tapering.

This was essentially a repeat of Fort Ben - I started out fast (sub-5), then around 3 miles the quad spasm triggered. I slowed down to 6:00 pace for two miles, then gradually sped back up until I was doing about 5:10 for the last one. It was frustrating to say the least. I'd hoped that the physical therapy I've been getting would bear some fruit, but apparently not. I'll give it another month or two and then try something different. This is currently my biggest roadblock in running. 

I'm happy though that I was at least under 1:10:00 this time - baby steps.

First run after Monumental. Glutes were sore - did just 9 easy miles in the morning.

Did 9 in the morning, 3 at night. In the morning did 6 20-second strides. The evening run was 21:16 - I was feeling more energetic than usual.

Did 4x1 mile targeting sub-5:00. Got 5:02, 5:02, 4:57 and 4:53. My glutes still felt sore from the Monumental half marathon.Total of 12.

Did 9 in the morning + 3 at night. Did a pickup of a little over 1K in 3:04. 

Total of 9 miles in the morning.

Did 3x2 mile pickups. Ended up with 10:09, 9:59 (I didn't know where the interval ended - the first mile was 4:53 and I ran until I hit 10 minutes), and 10:27. In the last interval my left quad acted up again. Total of 16. 

I've started a new goal of increasing my daily mileage to a half marathon a day. Hence the unusual distance. Did  a 1K pickup of about 2:55.

Did 9 in the morning + 4.109 at night. Went to the gym as well to do strength exercises. Felt pretty tired after the second run.

My glutes were sore when I woke up this morning - so I ended up not doing a workout as planned. Ran 10 in the morning and discovered that in addition to my glutes being sore, my knees hurt as well. I suffered a lot more running 7:30 pace than I should have. Looks like I may have overdone it with the strength exercises yesterday. Ended up having to cut the evening run as I was still feeling some joint pain throughout the day.

Today the workout was 10x1000. My pacing was fairly uneven - the first quarter was around 66 to 67 for most of the intervals, after which I slowed down to 70-72. The first intervals were around 2:50 and 2:52 - by the end I was doing 2:58. I was able to stay under 3:00 for all of them, which I'm pretty happy about. Total of 16 miles today. 

Did 10 in the morning around Lady Bird Lake.

Back to the target distance of a half marathon. Did a mile interval in 4:48.

Tapering today for the turkey trot tomorrow. Did a mile interval in 4:47.

Last night I woke up with a high fever - so I wasn't sure how the race would go today. Fortunately, IbProfun did its job and I was able to run a respectable race. Started out a little slower than 5:00 pace - held it through 2 miles, at which point I was in 4th place. At that point my left quad decided to start acting up, and I was forced to slow down to 5:30 pace. I lost 4th place, but was able to hang onto 5th despite being unable to kick - 80 seconds was the fastest I could limp. It was close - I think 6th place was only a few seconds behind. 

With warmups and cool-downs, I ended up with 6.5 or so miles. The prize structure was different this year - turkeys went only 3 deep for overall, and they allowed the overall winners to double-dip into the age division awards. So no turkey for me :-(. First time that's happened in a while - but hey, given the circumstances I can't complain about my performance.

Still pretty under the weather - limped through 2.5 miles in about 8:30 pace.

Felt a little better today - did 8 miles at sub-8:00 pace.

Total of 16 today - did a two mile tempo at 5:10 pace.

Did 4 miles of tempo running at 5:00 pace. I had to break it up into chunks due to issues with my quad/back.

Did the same workout as Tuesday - ran into similar issues and had to break it up. Total of 4 miles at tempo pace.

Total of 9 today in the afternoon - had a final project presentation in the morining. Felt very tired at night and so did not do my evening run.

Did about 7 of my miles on grass.

Did most of the morning run on grass - I'm hoping this helps with the issues I've been having.

  Today did a workout - 10x1000. The workout was on asphalt - my hypothesis is that running on concrete has been aggravating whatever problem I've been having with the lower back/left quad. In one direction there was a headwind - the other direction had some uphill. I started out in 2:59 - then did 3:00, then I had a quad spasm about 600m into the third interval. At that point, I was worried that I would be unable to finish the workout. Before giving up, I tried increasing the rest between intervals from 200m to 400-600m, and it worked. I ended up running around 3:02-3:03 for the next 5 intervals. The last two were faster - 3:00 and 2:57.

  This has been my first decent workout since the Thanksgiving race. 

Most of the morning run was on grass.

Today I decided to do a repeat of the workout last Saturday - except this time I didn't have to break up the tempo. I went to the Walnut Creek Trail - which is where I ususally do Saturday workouts. It was raining, which slowed things down a little - but otherwise things were good. I had 15:36 at 3 miles according to the trail markers - which I know are a bit off based on Noah's GPS - so it was more like a 15:15. I really need to wheel that course. . . The last mile was ostensibly in 5:25 (there was a 180 turn halfway through) - again I don't know how accurate that was. In any case, I felt a lot more mobility, and did not encounter a spasm. Running on grass appears to be working. It appears that running on concrete is the problem, or at least a major factor. 

It's kind of funny - one week of running on grass did more than two months of seeing a sports therapist. Hopefully, it keeps working.

Did 9 in the afternoon with a mile pickup in 4:47. Felt weird at night - a little bit of a scratchy throat, so decided to cut the evening run.

Did a mile pickup in 4:47.

Repeated the 10x1000 workout from last week. This time it went better - in part because it wasn't 70F :-). I took 2- and 3- minute rests. The splits were 2:58, 2:58, 2:59, 2:58, 3:00, 3:02. 2:59, 2:56, 2:55, 2:56. Definitely an improvement from last week - running on grass and avoiding cement appears to be working. Total of 12.

It's not Christmas if you don't run 12 miles in the snow :).

Did 16 hill sprints of 250m (got around 44 or 45s for most of them). The sprints were in two chunks - 5 followed by a rest and then 11 more.

12 miles in the snow.

12 miles of fun in the snow today.

12 miles in the snow.