track fan

AM: (12 miles , 1:44:32).  Ladder workout, aerobic capacity, 2M, 1M, 800, 400 w/800 recovery between each.  It was windy as all get-out today (worse than last week actually), but luckily the workout was shorter so it was not nearly as painful.  I was not sure exactly how fast to do the 2 and 1 mile, since the running calculator does not go into intervals longer than 2K.  After a consultation with MichelleL and Dean, I just decided to run the 2 mile at about 10K pace +/- 2 secs and then just make sure that all the subsequent intervals were cutting down about 3-5secs each time.  

2M: 7:02, 6:54 (4:41)

1M: 6:51 (5:12)

800: 3:19 (6:38 pace, 5:04)

400: 1:36 (6:24 pace, 4:41)

I am SO excited, this is the first time ever I have been able to hit Greg's prescribed 800/400 targets  - and I was in the middle of the range, not even the slower end. Yippee.  This was a fun workout, it was hard, but not nearly as hard as last week, even with the horrible, stupid, yucky wind.

PM: (4 miles easy).

I hope you all have a wonderful day.   

1:13:23.  Ran up Yeatman trail ... my mileage is slowly building up again, so I added on a new trail off of my regular one.  Pretty tough, very technical climb up a ridgeline, the switchbacks were very tight and the path was rocky (and steep).  Very nice trail to hike, probably not the best for running, I doubt I will do this one regularly.  My goal is to try really hard to leave work "early" (meaning just not late ;-) ) so I can take a short hike this afternoon and take some pictures of the wildflowers.  The cactus plants have buds on them, but they won't bloom until it gets above the 100's for a while - probably not until late June.  

I hope you all have a special Good Friday and enjoy your preparations for Easter.   

AM: (8 miles, 1:10:32).  Beautiful day!  I did not get out of work early yesterday -- I was so bummed.  SO, I am going to have to find a way to get some pictures tomorrow, maybe Dean and I can take an Easter hike ... if I can get my work done today so I can take the whole day off tomorrow.

PM: (easy 4).

Have a wonderful day bloggers! 

2:35:48.  48:27 (+20:23), 45:53, 43:31.  Ran the mountains in Saguaro Park West.  I added on about 2 1/4 miles during the first one (running out and back on a 1/2 mile road leading to a picnic area and trailhead.  Splits look better than they really were.  I felt really good the first and second loops, I am able to run much faster than I could last year, which isn't good sometimes, because I misjudged the hills and the heat (82F and sunny, no shade) -- by the last set of hills I had somehow done my usual "speed up" and I got a really bad side-stitch and started seeing stars.  Basically, I had gone out way too fast for the conditions and I paid for it big time.  The last two miles were a death march and I felt like I was going to throw-up big time (I walked the last 1/4 of a mile up the hill).  Even after I stopped and got some water,  I was way overheated and felt like really really bad.  I couldn't even take pictures of the blooming cactus.  I just had to get home to lay down.  When I lived in Nashville we called this run our "welcome to Summer" run ... somehow I missed it last year, thank goodness.  Anyway, it is over, and I have to get ready for my review session tomorrow - Wednesday I am giving a test, and the students are very worried.  I think 5 people dropped last week, one of the ones that dropped was one of my favorite students. 

I hope you have a glorious Easter Sunday bloggers! 

AM: (10+ miles, 1:29:44). I ran my usual 70` run and added on ... I found a new place to run trails! A little rocky, but mostly flat to rolling hills - beautiful (it is called "Sweetwater Preserve"). Unfortunately, it is about 5 miles from our house so we would have to drive there in order to make the most of the trail. It is a county "park" and there is a trailhead with a parking lot at the other end of the trail. Our end is near a residential area, and they do not take well to people parking on "their" road (and it is technically not a public road). I do have a colleague in my department who lives out that way, and I can always park at her house and jog from there to the trailhead. Anyway, I told Dean when I got home that he HAS to get better soon, he will absolutely adore this run! I felt much better today, and I am glad, I was a little worried after Sunday. But upon reflection and looking back at my training blog ... I actually ran over 4 mins faster on Sunday on ONE loop than I ever have - and actually ran it as fast as Dean usually does ... which in the heat was really really dumb (it was dumb anyway - Dean is a 1:19 1/2 marathoner and 17 min 5Ker when he isn't in good shape). I need to start running some 1/2 marathon runs to "slow down" a little, one of the negatives about running by time and feel rather than pace is that I really don't have any idea how fast I am going, and I think there are many times that I am running much faster than I know -- it doesn't generally make any difference on easy days, but on a day like Sunday, adding in heat, hills and a rather long run, it can be detrimental ... although if this is the worst of my problems I am pretty darn lucky (it isn't, but I am still pretty darn lucky).

PM: (easy 4).

I hope you are all having a beautiful Spring week! On the road to Boston or wherever life takes you!!

1:02:54.  Nice run up the Yeatman Trail.  Because of my new schedule I will only be running on this trail once this week -- I did something I never thought I would do ... I carried my camera.  It was quite a sacrifice I tell you (I barely wear a tiny watch when I run, let alone carry something).  I will try to upload some pictures for tomorrows blog (flowers go well with tempo runs I think).  I am not sure they will do the beauty justice, but I will give it a try.

It has been much cooler than Sunday all week, go figure ;-).  I can tell I will need to start getting up earlier very soon (sigh).  

 I found out yesterday that I will be going back to DC (again) in June, I think this might be a new record for NIH grant reviews that I have been asked to do this year.  Either I am beginning to be seen as an expert in something or (more likely) NIH contracts people think they have found an easy mark ;-).

I hope you all have a great mid-week day, enjoy the sun and take a deep breath -- unless of course, you have allergies, in which case, enjoy the sun from the comfort of your climate controlled environment ;-).

 AM: (12 miles, 1:36:33). 31:38 wu + strides, 28:37cd.  5 mile tempo run (target range: 7:04-7:24), actual: 7:21, 7:18, 7:16, 7:13, 7:08.  They did not feel "good" and actually they felt a little harder than I wanted them to feel, but I was never truly uncomfortable.  All and all, not bad.

 PM: (4 miles easy).

 Last night I was testing my ability to upload desert wildflower pictures to my blog ... while I succeeded (eventually), I actually think they look better (while not professional) in a larger format, so I decided I would post the link instead.  I hope you enjoy them, they really don't do the beauty justice, #1 I am not very good at taking pictures (or at least I can't seem to capture what my eyes see very well) and #2 the poppies open up when it is warm, but when it is warm the sun is too bright to really get how vibrant the yellows are ... but, anyway - I hope you get some idea.  It is just really something when out of a brown, fairly barren, place (which does have a natural beauty of its own, albeit a little different from lush green places) comes such amazing splashes of color.

Have a wonder day bloggers, enjoying whatever nature surrounds you.

1:02:43 1:11:59 -- I think this is what I saw on my watch, boy oh boy did I have to update, I forgot I ran 8 instead of 7 ... I may have to update. I am horribly busy today, I am woefully behind on preparing for a talk I am giving in an hour, and Friday is meetings day. We are having a fundraiser for the college (college of public health) tonight ... I had to buy make-up and stockings, since I generally don't have such ammenities.

Have a wonderful Friday and weekend bloggers!

AM: (8 miles, 1:10:37).  Same route as yesterday - more than 20F hotter (since I ran later).  Kind of getting used to the heat, but it is not pleasant.

The work party was about what I had expected.  It was a really big affair, lots of very rich people spending/donating a lot of money ... it was for scholarships and they had two students (probably the ones most likely to make everyone cry) tell everyone about how the scholarships changed their lives ... one was a "lost boy" of Sudan and the other was a young woman whose father was a drug addict who died of AIDS when she was a teenager, their family spent a lot of years living in their car and in motels.  Both of the students have great ideals and are planning on changing the world now ... it was very inspiring. 

PM: (4 miles easy).

Now I have to grade midterms, it is not fun, they did not do well at all.

I hope you have a great day bloggers -- rest and enjoy, I hope spring is starting to spring where you are too!
 

2:16:14 (1:12:22/1:04:52). Was supposed to run the last 2-4 miles at 1/2 marathon pace. Because I am still acclimating to running in the heat again (it was 80F and sunny again today when I finished) I decided to run the first 12 as slowly as possible and then ease into pace, running the last 2 miles at 1/2 marathon pace. I started running faster at mile 12, but did not get a split as I was trying to run by effort - based on my later splits I am assuming this was at 7:50-8:00 min pace. My last 3 miles were: 7:43, 7:22, 7:08. I was pretty hot, but did not feel nearly as bad as last week. Though I did get pretty bad cramps within about 10 mins after stopping and getting water ... so I timed things just right. I usually takes 2-3 weeks to "adjust" to running in the heat again, hopefully next week will be even better. I really hope so, since in about 3 - 4 weeks today's high (~86F or so) will be the low. Sigh, oh winter where art thou? ;-).

Today was really a day of reflection for me on my run, there are so many people in need of thoughts and prayers. The death of the Polish president, the death of the coal miners in Kentucky, and so many of our bloggers are going through their own personal trials. And yet, so many of us are blessed and getting ready for personal triumph (or like seeaprilrun have already triumphed! yea!) in a little more than a week! Good luck everyone!

One more thing was that I watched Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story last night. Though there were some parts that were a bit over the top, in general I just can't believe that anyone can watch that movie and not want to revolt. Seriously, sickening amounts of greed.

One more thing -- I just finished reading this months Running Times article on Sammy Wanjiru -- holy shmolie -- that man is TALENTED. At 18 years old he was running as fast as most elite athletes run 2 years post college (26:41 min 10K)! Given that he is only 22 it is likely that he will surpass Bekele and Gebs times by the time he fully matures. Truly remarkable.

AM: (8 hilly miles, 1:09:47).  Last 5` @ 5-10K pace ... very invigorating stuff ;-).

PM: (easy 4).

Busy day, as usual.  I want to stop and smell the flowers, but I am too overwhelmed with stuff.  

Have a happy day bloggers! 

1:04:32.  Beautiful day on the Yeatman trail.  Decent day in class today ... so it is good.  Bad was we just found out we will be getting a cut in pay during the next fiscal year (technically we are state employees, even though 50% of my salary comes from NIH grants) [NOTE to any academics out there in fastbloggosphere: it is a "furlough", this is just a way to give a pay-cut because as you know you can't actually take "days off", even on the weekends).  I personally think that this is bad in part because it is going to be a distraction in getting our jobs done.  Politically, I think the moment the email went out today there were a slew of lawyers that swooped down and started filings similar to the ones that state workers in California have (by the way the state of Arizona is in far worse trouble than California) ... also we have a state tax increase that is going to be on the ballot in 2 months -- and this is a 'warning' of even dire measures if that tax does not get passed.  All and all, it is a  messy, yucky thing that everyone is crying, yelling, whispering, etc. about ...like I said, a distraction.  ho hum.

However, I am going to be grateful that I had a great day of running, I am relatively healthy, have some awesome fastrunningblog friends who are going to rock Boston and can't complain about much (well, I can, but I won't ;-)).  

Have a good middle of the week bloggers!

AM:(14.5 miles, 2:02:26). 29:01wu +strides/28:55cd. 6 x 1mile w/800 recovery. Aerobic capacity intervals -- I wasn't really sure how fast to run these, the intervals are a little long for a true speed workout, and the over time being out was long as well, so I settled on 10K to 10K +10 secs (7:00-7:10 pace). I really thought of this an endurance (stamina, if you will) workout, the hardest thing about it was the time on my feet. Anyway, splits were:

7:01 (4:29), 6:58 (4:31), 7:06 (4:33), 7:05 (4:31), 7:04 (4:07), 6:59

Fitness check, when I did these last year, before my Carlsbad 1/2 marathon, I did 5 x 1mile in : 7:09, 7:05, 7:09, 7:08, 7:06. I really am not expecting to PR next month, at least not by much, but it is good to see I have gotten just a little faster after focusing on 10K speed this year, it gives me hope for a good marathon next year!

I actually was out there through 3 different groups of people doing workouts. First were the fire department guys who were walking with weights on their backs - these guys were kind of a pain because they were walking 2-3 across in lanes 1 and 2, which means I had to swing out into lane 3 to pass them. Then there was a guy, much faster than me, who did a ladder workout of some kind - seemed like 400-800-mile-800-400. Finally, there was an army guy getting ready for his 2.5 mile run (I know this because I talked to his coach while I was cooling down).

It was warm out -- I was seeing stars again by the time I climbed the dreaded hill home.

PM: (4 miles easy).

Have a good day bloggers.

1:20:18.  Ran with my friend Merry and another teammate of Merry's. Both of these woman are much faster runners than me (Merry just ran a 3:18 marathon - and she is 55; Melissa is a 36 min 10K'er).  I made them promise if I ran with them it would be a recovery run -- there were a few times they just took off from me (I just ran the same as I always do), and then they would realize I wasn't there and slow down ;-).  It was nice.  There is a 10K race coming up and we ran that course (it is brutally hilly, I mean truly about a 1` to 1:30 time cost course, I am glad I am not trying to race it) and then added on.  I was going to put 8.5 down (since I usually round down), but I need to get over my phobia about not having round numbers in my mileage ;-) -- since Merry had a garmin I am writing what it said -- I hope the .7 makes through the day without me logging back on and rounding it to 8.5 ;-).

Happy Friday bloggers, I am so glad the week is almost over! 

AM: (8 hilly miles, 1:10:55).  I can't believe how good I felt today.  I did not sleep as long as I should have (I got to bed late because I got home from work late and Dean and I were up late discussing life and work stuff -- ok, we were talking about statistics I will confess).  It was hot, and it was hilly, but I felt nice and relaxed and was breathing out of my nose the whole way, and I still finished almost 2 mins faster than I usually do ... AND then -- I went and took some pictures of a cactus that is blooming down the road ... I will post tomorrow, hopefully.

PM: (4 miles easy).

Have a wonderful Saturday bloggers!  I hope all the people racing in the SLC 1/2 today had wonderful races -- and you Boston folks, stay cool and think positive thoughts! 

2:14:04.  I ran my "flat" route for the last time for a few months.  It was overcast today, and I got out earlier than I have been (since it is hot now again) so it was more pleasant than my long runs have been for a few weeks now.  But, when I saw my schedule, I told Dean where I was going to run, and he did not like it.  There are a lot of bushes around the trails at this place, and he was worried about snakes.  You know, it is not that he doesn't love me, but he generally never worries about me, no matter where I am running alone and even late at night ... sometimes when it is really hot and get out late in the morning he worries a little, but this time he was pretty worried.  SO ... I was a a little worried too.  And then, of course, 3 mins!! 3 mins!! into the run I see a snake! It was a rattlesnake, not quite as big as the one I saw last year, but he was moving right across the trail.  I stopped until he was pretty far from the trail (I don't think he saw me) and then walked far out into the brush until I passed him, and then kept going.  The whole rest of the run I was hyper-vigilant, every stick was suspect!  The worst times were when I was climbing out of washes, they are usually pretty steep, lots of bushes and trees, and many of them have sharp switchbacks which means there are blind corners - and then, of course since it is uphill I am running pretty hard to get up - and even if I saw a snake I am not sure I could stop quickly.  The good news is that we are not prey for them, so it is not like they are waiting for you to run by, you just have to avoid stepping on them, or startling them -- which is easy to do if you scan the trail in front of you.  But, Dean is right, this trail is not good for running this time of year ... best to wait until October or so ... sigh.

Lot's of cactus are in bloom, I took some pictures during my cool-down walk -- I will post the link tomorrow.  

Have a wonderful Sunday with your families!  GOOD LUCK BOSTON RUNNERS! 

So proud and happy for all of our Boston bloggers!  Congratulations!!  Now go rest!

I am posting new flower pictures here ....

AM: (9 miles, 1:14:25).   30:52wu + strides/29:06cd.  2 mile tempo (7:16, 7:10).  My tempo range is 7:04-7:23 and I wanted to stay closer to my 1/2 marathon pace (7:20); this wasn't hard, but I was working to stay on pace. It was very hot and though I was trying to stay on the slower end of the range, I wanted to get out of the sun so I found myself speeding up a little just to be done.  I was happy to see this workout on the schedule today, I feel like I am in good shape but I just don't feel like I have dialed in my 1/2 marathon pace yet - and with less than 12 days from the race it makes me nervous.  I am so dialed in to 10K pace these days that I really feel I need to spend a lot more time at 1/2 marathon pace so I can get into the groove early on in the race.  On Thursday I have my last workout that "counts" - and while I feel like I am actually in better shape than I was last year, I am not nearly in as good of 1/2 marathon shape as I was last year.  Thursday I am supposed to part of the workout at 1/2 goal pace - and I have no idea what to expect.  So, I will assume about the same as last year and hope like heck that at mile 9 I can drop it down a notch and use some of my new found 10K speed -- haha, such that it is ;-).

PM: (4 miles easy). 

Such an exciting day yesterday!  Our fastrunningbloggers had a great day!  Paige Higgins (a McMillan Elite runner) was the first American finisher at Boston -- and was just signed by Saucony -- which means now she can train full-time and prepare for the Olympic trials!  

I hope you are all having beautiful Spring days!! 

53:43.  Beautiful day, a lot cooler this morning since a storm is blowing through.  I forgot how much nicer 66F and cloudy is from 80F and sunny!  Ran up the Yeatman trail.  Pseudo-taper is upon me ... I have a lot of aches and pains too.  Two more track workouts and one more fast finish run and the rest of the days are easy and shorter than usual.  And yet, still, aches and pains.  Funny how our mind works!

I hope you are all having a wonderful day bloggers -- run well, stay healthy!
 

AM:(14 miles, 2:02:18).  27:23wu/29:00cd 8 x 1200 w/600 recover.  Another VERY windy day!   Greg wanted me to run the first 4 at target 1/2 marathon pace (7:20 pace or 5:30/1200) and then drop down the last 4 to 10K pace (7:00 pace or 5:15/1200).  The first 4 were much harder than the last 4, I wasn't paying as much attention to pace on the last 4, I checked my 400m split and then just relaxed into the last 800 ... whereas for the first 4 I check my splits every 400 ... weird.  Overall, this was much easier than my workout on March 26, those extra 5-7 seconds a lap make a world of difference! 

5:26 (3:25) (7:16 pace)

5:30 (3:23) (7:20 pace)

5:26 (3:21) (7:16 pace)

5:25 (3:26) (7:16 pace)

5:22 (3:28) (7:15 pace)

5:15 (3:25) (7:00 pace)

5:15 (3:28) (7:00 pace)

5:11            (6:55 pace).

PM: (easy 4).

It was so funny.  Yesterday, I went into work and it was about 75F, so I was wearing a cute summer dress, sandals and a sweater.  I left work at 8PM last night and it was 45F and raining.  I was freezing!!  Today it was 55F and cloudy (and windy) when I did my workout and I think it might have snowed last night in the mountains.  I love this time of year!  By this weekend it will be highs in the high 80's again.

Have a wonderful day bloggers!

57:43.  This was probably closer to 6.5 miles, but I was only supposed to run for ~50 mins so I am calling it 6 ;-).  Easy run up the Yeatman trail.  It is raining, snowing just up the road, and about 50F today.  Pretty nice day!  

Have a great weekend!!

AM: (6 trail miles, 54:35). Easy run up the Yeatman trail. We got an early start today so I could go up to Phoenix to see my friend and ART doctor extraordinare ... I have been having a lot of trouble of late, one whole side of my body from my lower back all the way down to my 2nd metatarsal of my foot has been hurting and tight. It is a nerve apparently ... John worked a little on my hip and and leg, and it feels a lot better, but unfortunately, John thinks it is just going to be that way as long as I run ... although he did show me some stretches and exactly where I should be using the trigger point ball, so I can get some pressure release myself. Then I ran into Alvina Begay and Emily Harrison from McMillan Elite - they were down from Flagstaff to see John. Alvina is running in the USA 25K Championships in a couple of weeks and Emily will be running in a fast 10K next weekend at Stanford (Cardinal Invitational - it will be live streamed, I highly recommend watching some of this meet, it is ALWAYS one of the fastest track meets of the year, here in the US).

THEN ... my day way made complete!! Dean and stopped by BURT's house on the way home. We got to meet the whole family!!! It was so much fun!! You would not believe how buff Burt looks now that he has been doing the PX stuff!! He is much taller than I thought he was going to be, and now I know where all his beautiful girls get their good looks (from their Mom), and why his lovely wife puts up with him ;-) - he is a sweetie. Seriously, his whole family is simply awesome, friendly, fun, and very nice and welcoming. I wish we could have stayed longer, but my stick-in-the-mud Dean had to get home to work, and I had to get back to run before it got dark. We got home late because despite wonderful directions from Burt, we got lost trying to find the "faster" way home (sorry Burt, I forgot to tell you what a lousy sense of direction I have, and Dean, unfortunately, listened to me instead of his instinct). All I can tell you, is all of you who are not on Burt's "bloggers I have met" list -- it is a must do for your bucket list.

He took pictures, and all I can say, is I am not photogenic and not nearly as scary in real life (am I Burt ?).

PM: 4 easy.

One more thing ... my heart goes out to all my running friends in Nashville today -- the Country Music Marathon was diverted for runners today because they had to run for cover in LP Stadium because of the tornado warnings.  Stay safe friends!  The same weather system then moved West and hit Mississippi hard, killing at least 10 people.
 

1:58:24 (1:03:26/54:55).  Last 4 miles @ ~ 1/2 marathon pace: 7:34, 7:25, 7:18, 7:05, 1:20 (last 300 meters or so).  I got a later start than I wanted.  Despite having two days  last week were it did not get up past 65F, I knew it was going to get into the 80s today.  Sure enough, when I finished (at 11:30 AM) it was 79F with full sun (no shade on the run).  Luckily, I paced just right to run pretty comfortably -- yea.  today was all about practicing the last 4 miles of the race next week, get a little tired and practice running fast the last few miles.  With the heat, I would have been pretty happy with anything between 7:20-7:30 pace.  I actually start this run a little less than a 1/4 mile from the first mile marker, so my first mile split on the way back is always a little slow, since only about 3/4 of it is at actual pace (I use it to work my way into pace).  I have mile markers every 1/2 mile so I can keep on pace.

The reason I got a late start is that I was reading about the London Marathon, and about some of my friends experiences at the Country Music Marathon yesterday.  Yea for Andrew Lemoncello (one of Gregs athletes, from GBR who was a steepler in college), he ran a 2:13:40 debut at London yesterday!  On the womens side, Kim Smith (NZL) ran an awesome debut at 2:25:21!!!  It is going to be an interesting 2012 Olympics!

AM: (10.5 miles, 1:27:11). Cruise interval workout: 5 x 1000 w/200 recovery + 3 x 200 w/200 recovery. Target pace (4:18 - 4:25, 6:55-7:04/mile). 4:25 (1:10), 4:21 (1:12), 4:21 (1:15), 4:16 (1:15), 4:23 (1:16) + :48, :49, :49 (7:04, 6:56, 6:56, 6:51, 7:01/mile pace for the 1Ks + the 200s which really aren't worth calculating the mile split for).  So cool that I did the same workout as MichelleL today (again) -- although hers were WAY awesome and fast ... good thing was, if we had done this workout together it is short enough that she wouldn't "quite" have been able to lap me ;-).  I felt the same way afterward -- this is a fun workout, it is fast enough to be a challenge, but short enough that it doesn't really feel that hard.  And you certainly feel like you could do a few more.

I can't believe how badly I suck on the 200s, I guess it probably didn't help that I threw down a :48 first 200 on my 4th kilo ;-), I couldn't help it ... my competitive nature got the best of me, there was a guy who was jogging on the track and he jump on right behind me as I was finishing the last 200 meters of my third K, well when I hit the finish and jumped over into lane 3 to do my recovery he ran past and said, "I was right on your heels". Since my recovery was so short I started about 10m behind him, and I just couldn't help myself I just ran really hard to blow by him. I never did "slow down" the way I should have and hit the first 400 in 1:39, a little fast for what I was supposed to be running. The most annoying thing about this run though, was that when I hit the start line EVERY SINGLE TIME I got a huge bug in my eye, there must have been a swarm of them there -- it was pretty hard trying to concentrate on keeping my 200 split in the right pace when I couldn't see out at least one eye, after about the first 400 I could squeeze out a little tear and it would at least get it out of my field of vision ... but I swear, every single start!!

PM: (4 miles easy).

Happy Tuesday bloggers .... we are supposed to have our first 90F day today ... I am not really all that happy about it, to tell you the truth. But, it could be worse (it could be July and 120F).

52:21.  Nice, warm, run up the Yeatman trail.  I almost fell today, I tripped on a rock.  I am considering it a good omen that I was able to stay on my feet, even though I am a little worried that I pulled something in the attempt ... if I had fallen (my hands were about 2 inches from hitting the ground) I would have fallen on a huge bed of rocks ... ouch.  

I hope you all have a wonderful day -- I am quite busy today, but it is my last formal lecture of the semester so I am sure I will be in a good mood despite all the meetings!

44:42.  Easy, albeit a little hillier than I would have liked, run.  My foot was killing me yesterday so I went to therapist #2 to see if she could work the magic spot that John found last week ... now I have a big knot in my bum, but my foot feels better.  I told her what John had said, and she knew right away what it was.  My sciatic nerve is getting inflamed around the area of the piriformis muscle -- there are two little muscles below the belly of the piriformis and the sciatic nerve runs between them and the piriformis itself.  Somewhere in there I have some adhesions (knots) and it is all inflamed.  So the sciatic is causing my problems all the way from the hip area to my foot.  It is pretty painful - I guess I don't mind the knot in my bum as much as the pain in my foot ;-).  I am also hoping I can block this all out come Saturday morning ...

I am in a hurry to get some work done and then head to the airport.  Good luck to all the bloggers on their races this weekend -- I hope you have PERFECT weather in Utah and beyond. 

easy 30 (32:12 actually) - I ran the first and last 4 miles of the race course.  The winds were gusting ~20mph -- it was frightful. It is supposed to die down by tomorrow ...