Blake Bennions running

A little over half a mile uphill on the treadmill and then some quick miles. All there was time for today, been a busy week.

A little over a half mile uphill on the treadmill and then a little over 5 and a half miles at 6:30 pace.

Retraced my route yesterday because my Garmin didn't get location until the last half mile yesterday. My Garmin had estimated 5.4 miles but it said 5.65 today with location for the whole run. Pretty happy with how 6:30 pace felt yesterday. Today I went at an easier pace and then did 8x200m at the track, I ran 3 at mile pace, 3 at 800m pace, and 2 building up to a sprint. Pace was a little slow, my legs were tired.

Felt great today, I sped up over the first 7 miles and ended up going pretty quick. My goal today was just to run 10-12 miles and run however fast felt good. I ended up running sub 38 for a 10k to end the run and 18:20 for 5k towards the end. I'm feeling pretty confident for the trail half marathon in 2 weeks. Maybe I should have done that 15 mile trail race that was today.

Nice recovery run. A little sore from yesterday but not too bad. Yesterday's run felt good enough I'm considering jumping in a half marathon in January or February and trying to go 1:20 then.

Perfect weather today, a high of 72 this late in the year is pretty great. Tonight we went on a family walk and I started running a few minutes in, Whitney has been getting mad when I leave the house to go running at night. We went to the track and and I ran while Becca walked with Whitney. I warmed up a little over a mile and then did 10x200m with 4 at mile pace, 4 at 800m pace, and 2 building up from 5k pace to sprinting.

The 200ms went really well, I ran 35-36 for the first 4 and then 32ish for the next 4. Last 2 were pretty good as well. I think this 200ms and threshold/tempo runs plan is a good one. I'm excited for these trail races the two weekends after this one. Need to decide which shoes I'll wear.

Quick run after mowing the lawn.

Just had time for a little uphill running on the treadmill, Annie and Ryan came to visit this weekend. Whitney loves having visitors, twas a good weekend.

Probably too late for uphill training to help for the race on Saturday but figured just a little wouldn't hurt either.

Warmed up a bit on the treadmill and then did just over 6 miles outside. The cold is finally here. Although it got up to the high 50s this afternoon when I took Whitney on a walk. By the time I could get out to run tonight it was in the mid 30s. Didn't feel too bad honestly, I actually took my jacket off and just ran in my short sleeved shirt after the first 2/3 miles. I think the association I built up between the cold and my time in Quebec is finally wearing off, I don't hate it nearly as much as I have in recent years.

Also did 6 strides at the track, I think I'm getting my stride back. I tried following through and using my calves to push forward a little more and my Garmin said I was going 4:40 pace and it felt pretty easy. I think in general getting back to a bigger stride will help me get faster again.

3rd place at the alley trail marathon. I forgot to clean off my trail shoes and ended up doing the whole thing in my trainers with very worn down tread. The race had 3000 feet elevation gain and the course was wet and covered in leaves. There were switchbacks and lots of sharp turns on the downhills... I really missed my trail shoes.

I led the first 10 miles but my feet started cramping up the last few miles and while I'd hoped to shake the competition with a fast first lap (they got rid of the extra $100 for fastest first lap this year:(), it was a pretty competitive field and new guys with smarter race strategies and more endurance came alive later in the race.

Still ended up winning my race entry back, a gift card to the local running store, a cool hat, and a plaque/trophy. Also had no injuries and pushed through bonking out pretty well. I wouldn't even say I bonked out because mentally I was unphased by it and my body just slowly went out on me over the 2nd half of the race. Always a great day when you start your morning off with a fun race like this, taking top 3 is the cherry on top!

Very sore this weekend. Today I did a 2 mile shakeout run and mowed the lawn. I felt better and better over the course of the run/mow. I think this week will mostly just be getting back to feeling good for the 11 mile trail race on Saturday. It's fun to be racing again.

Previewed the course just a bit and walked to the fern cliff state park waterfall with Becca, Whitney, and Ryan and Jill's family.

2nd place at Broken Boulder. Warmed up just a bit getting to packet pickup and then back to the car to switch out of my sweats and into my trail shoes. Race was a ton of fun. I ran with the guy who won for most of it, Chris. I was a bit faster on the flat sections and uphills but I was a little lost on the course and he was familiar with it, so I didn't want to push too far past him. He was faster on the technical parts so I kept getting worried when he put a bit of a gap between us on those.

Chris got out of sight around mile 3 and I almost got lost but luckily we were pretty close to an aid station and I spotted it before I took a wrong turn. The trail cleared up and I was able to catch back up to him, we traded off leading on a massive hill that went on for about 3 quarters of a mile after that.

Around mile 7/8 there was a super technical long stretch and he tapped me by a lot on that and I lost sight of him for the rest of the race. I need to get better at technical sections, they're particularly difficult out here because they're always covered in leaves... Maybe summer trail races will be easier for me haha. Very happy I was able to do this race!

Got sick on the drive home from Illinois the day after the trail race. I generally try to run as soon as I feel good enough whenever I'm sick, I feel like it helps fight off the illness. Yesterday I wasn't feeling quite good enough but today I did 4 miles on the treadmill. I sped up to 10 mph for mile 3, I really want to get in shape for a sub 1:20 HM. Today didn't feel great, but my treadmill always feels like I'm running faster than it says I am... And I'm sick.

I feel way better than yesterday, just a cough and bit of a sore throat. I wasn't nearly as sore after this race, and my ankles felt good even though I rolled my ankle and landed on them funny a couple times during the race.

I'm signed up for the warm up Columbus half marathon in February, hopefully I'm feeling ready for sub 1:20 by then but if not I'll start out around 6:20-6:30 pace and work my way down.

Feeling better but still not 100%. Did 8/9 strides at the track. I think right now I could run a half marathon in about 1:22/1:23, sub 1:20 in February is a little ambitious. I'm confident I could average 6:20 for 13 miles this weekend and potentially speed up in the 2nd half of the race.

I'll have to see how training goes over the next few weeks, I'll try doing a 10k at goal HM pace before I head out to Utah and if I can do that without feeling like I'm dying by the end I think I have a chance.