track fan

42:38 ... I wanted to run more like 7-8 but I am completely out of time ... rushing to the airport.

Take Care bloggers!

no running -- we lost this day - we stepped on an airplane from LAX on Wednesday afternoon and landed 14 hours later and it was 10:00PM Thursday!  We did not get to our hotel until nearly 1AM Taiwan time (1PM on Thursday US time). 

No running today - we had an early morning, and with no sleep and the long flight I just felt too run down.  There is a very old treadmill that is housed in the bar up on the top floor.  It does not look like it has been used (or calibrated) for many years ... I am planning on giving it a try tomorrow. 

Running outside might not be an option, there is no sidewalk and it is treacherous for foot travel of any type - I know there is a bicycle path somewhere, I am just not sure I can find it in the dark (before the traffic starts) -- I think this exploration will have to wait until I don't have to be at the workshop so early.

So -- the workshop today was interesting.  Most, well all, with the exception of Dean and mine, of the talks are in Manderin - but the slides are in English.  Many of the more technical statistical terminology is also in English - so we can mainly follow along.for the big picture, just not the minor details.  The time changes hits really bad about 3-4 PM here -- it is really really hard to pay attention (or pretend to pay attention).  We are "invited presentors" which means a big deal here, everyone treats us like royalty.  The students line up every morning on either side of the hallway as we go into the conference room and bow and run to get us tea ... it is a little disconcerting at first ... but just started bowing back and saying good morning in Manderin and they smile like crazy.  They are very cute.  I hope they (and everyone else) think our talks are worth the hoopla!

45 mins on the treadmill ... it was pretty harsh.  The treadmill was old, there was no tv, no radio, no fan, and it faced a wall with a painting of a beach ... but, I was happy to have found the time (and energy to run!).  After the first day of speakers (all Taiwanese) today was mainly some friends (from mainland China) and Dean!  It was also my birthday.  I actually ran 46 mins (since I turned 46).  I was thinking about all the St. George and Portland runners (but you guys did not run until about 12 hours after my run).  You all did SOOOOO well!!  Congratulations.

Still pretty tired.  Haven't had time to do much of anything except go to the workshop and eat.  Tomorrow is my talk, and the end of the workshop. 

I had to share the treadmill with Dean today -- so I ran 25 mins and then I worked out on the elliptical machine for another 20 mins while Dean ran on the treadmill.  The elliptical machine was actually in worse condition than the treadmill!  Again, it was so odd to be working out in the bar (next to the pool table) -- very very hot in the room.

My talk went well and the workshop seemed to be a success.  The University here paid for our plane tickets, room for 4 nights, and an honorarium.  They paid us in Taiwanese dollars after the workshop minus money for the next four days worth of tour and an extra night in Taipei ... the Taiwanese money is in dollars ... about 1000 NT = 30 USD, so it looks like a whole lot of  money!!

Later in the afternoon (after yet another huge meal - more on this later) we went to the National museum.  The museum has a whole bunch of mainland Chinese artifacts that were smuggled out of the country during the revolution.  Very very cool things, some of them about 3000 years or older.  It was very crowded, the shear population density takes a little getting used to ... still pretty tired about 3PM, but getting better every day. 

~50 with Dean on a bike path running alongside the Dunshuei River.

We saw a bunch of crabs run across the path!! People, for the most part, were stunned to see Westerners, but were friendly (just stared a lot).   This is a college town (but, as most "towns" in Taiwan very dense in the city-center), so I am sure it is not completely unknown to see non-Asians, it is still pretty rare.

Great run, great to be outside, even though it was a little scarey running back to the hotel on the road!  We had to bob and weave from scooters, bicycles and cars, no sidewalks. 

Run at about 5:30 AM (partly in the dark) on the road around Sun Moon Lake --  very pretty.  Not too much traffic, so it was safe!  Plus it is very very rural here, so not nearly as scary anyway.

Very hilly loop (about 800 meters/lap) -- ended up turning into a short Lydiard style hill workout - Dean did some "bounding" every other lap -- looked funny but I am sure it was a good workout.  I just tried to run faster!  Dean said it was an 'efficient' workout (short time but very intense).  We were at about 9000 ft at the top of a mountain!

Ok ... this is funny.  We got up at 3:30 AM to take a train to the top of Alihan mountain (different one from yesterday - on the other side of the island: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alishan) so we could watch the sunrise -- apparently is one of the "must do" things in Taiwan.  Anyway - it was too dark to run before we went - so we decided that we would run back to the hotel from the sunrise.  Well, the whole thing took about 2 1/2 hours (to get from the hotel to the railway station, and then up to the veiwing area, + standing around waiting time).   The sunrise was pretty, and about 3 mins after you could see the top of the sunrise our tour guide came up to Dean and I and in broken English said "Ok, there's the sunrise -- you go run now, go go go)" - so we had like 2 seconds to get our warm-ups off and he is standing there waving us 'to go' ...  I was laughing so hard I could barely run -- this basically summed up the whole tour: ' let's hurry up, get on the bus, go to somewhere - a temple, a famous view or site' -- enjoy for 5 mins and then 'let's hurry up ... we need to get to the next place' ... so this whole, wait for 2 1/2 hours and get 3 mins to enjoy it was just par for the course.  

Tough day to run -- but I was happy we got a run in!! 

treadmill -- better calibrated than the last one, but this is still my first of a handful of treadmill runs, I have to say -- it is tough!!!  I am so bored AND it is so hot on them!

Treadmill!!!!  Today we get to spend 20 hours traveling and get home 2 hours after we leave!

1:15:24.  Ran to Liberty Park and did 3 + laps on the outside grass in the snow.  Felt pretty good for not running more than 50  mins (most runs about 45 mins) while in Taiwan and traveling for 20 hours yesterday.  I actually ran every day but the first day while on the trip -- this does not sound like much, but some days were pretty hard to find time to run (I will have my blog updated tonight or tomorrow) - not to mention there were not always safe places to run!  But, overall, I did my best and managed to get a run in every day!  It was strange flying in from the tropics to a snowstorm!!

Anyway - I hope to get about 50 miles in this week and be back up to 60-65 by next week.  Our furniture will be packed and moved a week from Thursday and we will be leaving Salt Lake a week from Friday ... I am sad to be leaving you all, but we will still have the blog, and from a lot of the reading I have done -- it sounds like some of you will be in Tucson for the marathon??? I will be there - I was planning on volunteering or maybe doing it as a training run for PF Chang's the next month ...

Happy Sunday bloggers. 

AM: (9 miles, 1:20:33).  33` wu 13 x 100m w/1` recovery 32` cd.  Felt pretty good today,  a little tired at the end.  My watch died in Taiwan (I think it was the humidity ... ) so I am using one of Dean's old heart rate monitor watches, I am not very good at it, and the buttons are strange, so I don't have exact split times but basically I ran :25 on and 1` off.

PM: (~3.5 miles) 

Tiny bit longer than 7 miles (1:04:06).  Ran up from my office to Wasatch Drive and turned around at 1700 S (32`).

I am a little worried, I have been battling (and losing) PF for almost a year now ... my foot always hurts when I get up, always hurts for the first 5 mins of every run, and always hurts when I get up after sitting in my chair at work.  Well, yesterday it was so painful all day that I almost bagged my PM run.  I was limping - and it hurts so badly that it hurts even when I am not stepping on it.  I was planning on waiting until I got to Tucson to see a doctor about it ... but I might have to try to get in this week.  Please oh please just let it be that I need to stretch more (even though I stretch 30 mins every morning as it is).  Ok, that it is it for the complaining .. back to work.

AM: (10.5+ miles, 1:28:20). Steady state run on the grass at Liberty Park. I was supposed to do 8 miles, but since my mileage was so low while I was in Taiwan I decided to hang back a week and make sure I did not lose too much fitness ... so I did 6 miles @ SS pace

21:22 wu + (4 x 1.5 mile loops on the grass): 11:40 ( 7:46 pace), 11:41 (7:46 pace), 11:35 (7:43 pace), 11:30 (7:40) + 20:29 cd.

I was encouraged - despite the fact that my foot felt like it was burning the whole time! I was wearing an arch support band, and I hope that it was just too tight (and not something worse). Overall, the pain is not worse, but not better either.

PM: (3 miles, 27:41).  I ran out of daylight.  Ran as far as I could on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail -- since I can barely keep from tripping in full daylight, I decided to cut the run short to avoid a full header downhill in the dark!  I ran a little bit on the roads to make it a full 3 miles, but my heart (and foot) just wasn't into running another 1/2 mile uphill in the dark.

1:04:46.  Same run as Tuesday - albeit a little slower!  I am a little tired from the mileage (given two weeks of 35-40 mpw) and the workout yesterday.  But, after taking a load of ibuprofen (which I am not supposed to do because of my GI problems) and icing for two days 3x/day, my foot feels a little better today.  I am still limping (when I am not running - running is the only way it stretches out), but not nearly as noticably as the rest of the week.

Happy Friday bloggers! 

AM: (54:32, 6 miles). Slow run to Liberty Park + 2 laps on grass and home.

PM: (3.5 miles, pre-blog).  

Foot does not hurt as much, although it still hurts more than it has all year, now it "burns", pretty much all the time.  I think that the tendon is so inflamed that it is pushing on the nerve.  As soon as we get to Tucson I will try to get into to see someone. Hopefully I can hobble on it until then.  It does not hurt as much when I run (after the first 5 mins or so), just pretty much all the time otherwise.   

Tough day - nonrunning-wise.  Things are not going well with our house here in SLC.  We are going to have to do a major repair (and I do mean major) before we can rent it out. 

We are going to be running at Jeremy Ranch Road tomorrow for the last time, it is sad. 

1:36:45 -   Jeremy Ranch Road.

I felt my adductor "strain" on Saturday (on my PM run) -- I was very worried.  On Sunday, I could feel it, and it got worse by the end of the run, but I did not want to abort the run.  Finally, the last mile I felt it "seize" and I had to stop and stretch.  I was pretty sure it got worse with both intensity and hills.

Yesterday was my day off and I went to my ART guy -- he said that the adductor and gracilis were pretty inflammed ... he worked what he could but told me to back off a little this week and see if I can get the inflammation  to go down a little.  It was most likely caused because I changed my gait last week when my foot flared up so badly -- so we worked on my achilles and PF too (it was very very painful).

 So - today I ran on the wood chip path in Liberty Park - I told myself I would quit if I felt any pain in my adductor/groin at all.  I kept the pace at 9 - 9:15 pace and it felt ok.  I got bored though and kept speeding up - it was hard to stay on pace.  I do have to say my stride felt really funny when I was running more slowly, and much more 'natural' when I hit 8:45 pace ... I am just SOOOO thankful I can run at all.  I iced as soon as got home -- I think I will do the same tomorrow and then see if I can up it a little bit on Thursday (either pace or mileage) - some time in between movers, packers and bathroom contractors.

Happy Tuesday bloggers. 

Packers are here and I have to finish packing up my office ... my leg is "better" but I am still trying to take it easy and stop running when it starts hurting.

Movers are here -- had to sneak away to get this run in! Thankful I could run today.

Ran with Dean - our last run together in Salt Lake City. Today we are packing up the cars and leaving. We will be having breakfast with our friends and neighbors ... it will be sad.

Ran with Dean along the Flagstaff urban trail - it was a tough day yesterday. We drove 525 miles after getting a late start (we had to get the contractor started on our basement/foundation problem so we can get our house rented out). Tonight we are meeting up with my coach, and friends here in Flagstaff ... the animals are having some tough times on this trip.

1:45:xx

Hello bloggers!!!  Wow, so much is going on since I have been away -- a new fastrunningbaby the biggest news!  We just got our internet connected!!

So, Dean and I ran with Greg McMillan on Sunday -- Greg ran the first hour with us, showing us some cool trails in Flagstaff.  They were nice - not too rocky, some small hills, but mainly pretty easy (except that they were at 7500 ft).  We dropped Greg off after an hour and Dean and I headed out for an extra 45`.  As usual, I ran too slow for Dean and he was complaining about his hip flexor for the rest of the day.  I was SOOO happy, my adductor barely hurt!  I have started wearing an arch band, and it helps my PF a whole lot - so I am not limping anymore on my runs (even the first couple of miles).  Yipppeee.

We decided to stay in Flagstaff an extra day, so we could have dinner with the McMillan Elite team tonight.  The mover did not call us, so we expecting our furniture on Tuesday.  The animals are having a few difficulties, but mainly because they have to share one tiny room with us and eachother (2 big dogs, a cat, and two runners -- a lot of stuff I tell you).

AM: (8 miles, 1:13:xx).  Nice run on the River trail from La Cholla to 1st Ave (I parked at the trailhead here because I had to drop the dogs off at day-care while the movers were at the house).  The trail is marked at 200 m intervals (sweet).  It is primarily ashpalt, but I chose to run on the packed dirt along side the trail -- part of the trail was even shaded!  Bathrooms/water about every 2-3 miles (sweet again).  Going West of La Cholla (towards our house) the path is hard-packed dirt on one side of the river (a wash actually, no water except during monsoon season) and ashpalt on the other.  Nice morning - I had to get going by about 8AM because the movers were at the house, it was about 70F and sunny.

PM: (3.5 miles, 31:xx mins).  Ran with Dean to the River trail from our house -- along a busy street a little over a 1.5 miles (my car registered about 1.7 miles).  There is a bike lane and dirt road so it is ok -- but I did not like the traffic much.  It was much warmer this afternoon!

1:01:53.  Ran from the house to the river trail, then headed West towards I-10 just to see what the trail looked liked -- most of the bathrooms are on the other side of the wash (since that is the paved part and the one that the bikes go on) -- it is pretty nice to run on hard packed sand though - it is a forgiving surface but not so soft as to be hard to run on.  Much warmer today -- probably in the 80's -- since we got out later (we got distracted with unpacking and looking for things!).

My adductor is hurting a little again -- I have a massage appointment scheduled for Friday, someone that a local running group suggested (there is a running group in the NW side of town - the wife is an olympic trials competitor and the husband is a marathoner as well -- good people to know as they know a whole host of people from PT's to LMP's and chiropractors).  I hope I can nip this little injury in the bud so I can train a little for the Thanksgiving Day xc race!!!

Miss you  SLC bloggers.

AM: (9 + miles, 1:22:05, 12 x 100m strides w/1` recovery).  Ran on the River path ... found a cool thing.  By crossing to the South side of the wash at La Cholla I can run entirely (the whole path is at least 11 miles one way - I think?) on dirt!  From La Cholla to I-10 the dirt path is on the North side of the wash.  No "official" bathrooms on the dirt sides (lots of virtual ones though), but water is available at least every 1.5-2 miles (very cool). 

preblogging because I am really busy trying to get unpacked today!

PM: (3.5 miles, ~30 mins).

1:00:21. Ran on the river trail -- on the dirt, very slowly.