track fan

44:54 tough 5 miles - much of it in 5-6 inches of snow - well when it wasn't in about the same amount of cold slush! Loved it though, really pretty and fairly peaceful except on the main streets. Only slipped and fell once on 400 S -- it was pretty funny, I hit hard but only on my knee and was thankfully wearing my wrist splint!

After the run I shoveled snow ... how many cross-training miles do I get for shoveling snow for 45 mins ;-)

Drive and run carefully everyone!

1:18:00

Nice run with Dean.  I was feeling pretty tired today -- so I slowed him down a lot - even so, he did not drop me on the hills - he is a nice guy. 

51:35 - long 5.5 but not quite 6.  Ran to Liberty Park and then tried to find an ice-free zone -- not easy.  Pretty slow going because of the slippery sidewalks and deep snow, but still a very nice day!!

On my way to Nashville for a few days.  I am on a dissertation committee - and our student is defending on Friday, yea!  Also trying to finish up some papers with some colleagues and a concentrated couple of days working will help us a lot!

40:59 - long 4.5 

nice day in Nashville - ran in shorts and long sleeve shirt! 

45:38 - long 5 (am not sure how long these runs actually are - but with the extra O2 (and less mileage as of late) I might have been running about 8:30's or so)

50:35 - another longer than estimated day -- felt really good despite the hills!

41:08 

 Last run here in Nashville, probably have run almost 1.5 miles or so more than I have estimated, but it really doesn't matter! 

The defense went well, we have let another PhD loose in the world!  Got a lot of work done this week, made real progress on a few papers that will be submitted in the next couple of months ... concentrated time really helps things get finished.

 Pretty sure the weather will make today a difficult travel day (raining here in the Southeast and snow there in the West)! Luckily, I have lots to do to keep occupied, now that I am on a roll work-wise!

Can't wait to see how Randy and Sean are doing at Nationals!

 

1:14:02  -- longer route than last week (by a few blocks, probably 1/4 mile or less).  Felt much better than last week - took the hills stronger and no notable pains.

This is my last "down" week, next week I am back in base ... hopefully in about 3 weeks I will be much closer to 50 miles/week again.

Beautiful day today -- Hope everyone has a nice Sunday.


 

1:00:31 - nice day, cold but very pleasant in the sun.  Hilly run up Wasatch Road from my office.

48:24 ran to Liberty Park + 8 x 100 w/1` recovery.

Sloppy mess in the park, especially the north side, mainly ice ... the only clear part was the sidewalk, which is a bummer - I hate running on the sidewalk!  But, at least most of the sidewalks were melted, where it wasn't it was simply treacherous.  It was a bit nippy today (about 17F when I finally got out the door - I took my time on my abs and weight workout this morning trying to let it warm up ;-) -- it never did).

Have a good day everyone.
 

1:02:04 -- I think it was the same distance as Tuesdays run (I couldn't remember where we turned around then!) - I was by myself this time, I either went a bit farther or 1:30 secs slower ... doesn't really matter much, that is the beauty of base!

It was much much colder than Tuesday, temp was probably the same, but the storm is blowing in and the air was frigid! Looks like it is going to start snowing any minute now!

Drive carefully everyone.

15 mins @ steady state pace (~ 7:47 - pretty cool since this has about 1 mile uphill, some parts pretty steep, others just a grind).  This was a "workout" (not really a workout, just a way to get in shape during base without peaking too early) described by Greg McMillan in Running Times this month.  I wasn't sure how fast I was planning to go - I just went by feel, working hard, but not so much that it was a "workout".  I have to say, I was pleasantly suprised ... but then again, it is pretty easy on "fresh" legs, we will see what happens once I am running more than 50 miles/week again.

Nice day today -- sun was out so it felt warmer than 22!!

Happy weekend everyone.

41:01 ... easy run to Liberty Park.  Still plenty of ice, and it felt really cold today ...

1:30:46  -- probably longer than 10, but not quite 10.5 (I was running about 8:45-8:50).  Nice run, up to 11th to City Creek Canyon and then up the canyon about 1.5 mile and home ... lots hills to make me strong!!!  

Nice day, about 30F and sunny!

1:11:45 --  up Wasatch Drive -- according to Anna's garmin it was 8.4 miles ... but sometimes "Bonnie's miles" calculations work for me, and sometimes against me ;-).  Anyway -- we averaged 8:35 pace which felt fast for an easy run for me (especially a hilly run), but I succumbed to peer-pressure, and felt pretty self-satisfied when we were finished!

Definately feels like snow!

42:06 with 8 x 100 w/1` recovery.

Note to self: "slush is pretty slippery"

not as bad as I had thought - 36F and raining/sleeting ... wasn't really that cold until I stopped running!

legs were a little tired from yesterday, but all and all feels pretty much like base training usually does.

1:00:45 - run up Emmigration Canyon (ouch) - a little bit shorter than 7 (6.9 according to Anna).  The Garmin-thingy said we averaged 8:52 pace, which is pretty good for a run that has a general incline of 512 ft over 3.5 miles ... I made Anna slow down a few times, but I don't think she minded too much!

48:38 - as good of a 20 min steady state run as I could do under adverse weather conditions. There was about 7-8 inches here in the valley and it was still snowing when I got out this morning. I did 4 laps at Sugarhouse (plus about 800 meters to a snowbank for a pit stop) -- according to what I have read each lap was 1.4 mile (so my run was probably a little more than 5.7). My lap paces were 8:54, 8:42, 8:27, 8:00. With hills! The worst part about the hills today were the downhills - very slick. I really did not think I would be able to do a steady state run, and was just hoping I could find a place to run at all!

What made this incredible was sugarhouse and liberty parks were probably the ONLY places that you could run this morning. Salt Lake City does a great job keeping the roads clear and WOW, the park roads are plowed by 7AM ... honestly, I have never lived anywhere (and I have lived in many places) that did such a good job in municiple areas. I had a breakfast meeting in Sugarhouse and all week had planned on running there. I was not about to let a snowstorm interfer with my plans (though it did take me 15 mins to get out of my driveway - and I was pretty nervous on the back roads). Anyway, it was snowing pretty heavy when I started and I had to wear my new "get a grip" (kind of like Yaxtracs but with spikes that can be replaced) over my running shoes. It was very cool (both literally and figuratively). I was the first runner out there and the snowplow and I did laps together, I did not really look at my splits until after the run, and was very suprised when I found out that the laps were 1.4 miles! yea!

41:21 - to Liberty park one loop + a bit (run is probably about 4.8 or so) - pretty good, sidewalks were slick, but roads were good.

 We are leaving for San Diego today -- I had to dig out my shorts!  I hope we don't get "sunned in" and not make it back!

Merry Christmas everyone - in case I don't write until after the holiday.
 

Nice run with Dean on Fiesta Island. I did not think Dean and I would run the whole run together, but it was great that it worked out that we did! He is still getting over his weird knee "pop" before the Big Sur 1/2 marathon - and I am getting stronger again (from my down time - I felt like I lost a lot of endurance, but I seem to have gotten it back pretty well - which is cool.

Anyway - the run was really nice, it was on this man-made "island" - dirt/desert - the whole thing is a little more than 4 miles around, and we did 2 loops but 5 mins out-and-back and added on about a mile at the beginning to get to the "runners bathroom". Very nice. Dean estimated we did not quite run 11 miles - so I am calling it 10.5. It was about 60F and sunny.

No running, but I did 6 miles on the exercise bike (20 mins - about 18 mph average) + abs and weights ... nice! Usually I can only squeeze in 20 mins of weights in the morning - it is nice to have time to cross-train a little on my rest day!

Great Christmas Day run with Dean -- a little fast, but I was able to talk most of the way. The last 2 miles were pretty fast!!

Merry Christmas everyone, I hope you are having a wonderful day.

Nice, easy run (sans Dean!) on Harbor Drive, 10 x 100m w/1` recovery

legs are tired today -- am debating on jumping a race tommorrow - could be fast - but kind of would rather put in some miles instead.

1:20:42 Ran with my friend Lynn (also coached by Greg) -- we chatted like magpies the whole way -- really fun. Then we had a nice lunch/breakfast at a wonderful Mexican restaurant afterward.

This afternoon is a work afternoon for Dean and I - we are both a little behind in work and starting to get stressed about it; so we decided to spend some time working (while still enjoying the laid back atmosphere).

54:13 - 25' steady state run. I am typing this from my Blackberry so it will be short. Hope all is well!

57:41 -- nice run to Liberty Park 2.5 loops and back.  I wasn't sure how the altitude and hills would be after all those nice O2 filled flat runs, but all and all I was pleased.  I managed to run only 2 secs slower on the way home, despite the hills.  Quite sloppy out there today - with more snow on the way tonight.  

1:48:59 - yes, I know it is slow, but I earned every mile ;-).  Before I whine, let me share the good things about todays run.  Once I was running in City Creek Canyon it was simply beautiful, a complete winter wonderland, I did finally see some other people as I was leaving, but by and large it was me and the quiet.

Holy cow -- this run was not as bad as Nashville in the summer, but a close second.  I waited until about 11 thinking that the snow would let up, it didn't so I finally just went out.  It was pretty warm (34F), but I was not really prepared for how miserable it was going to be.  There was a 15-20 mph (I guessed here, I don't know exactly) wind that blew the snow so hard it was blinding (headwind, of course).  The roads were horrid, not many had been plowed yet so they were slippery.  Both of those coupled with the uphill nature of the run made for some pretty painful miles.  And, I did have to stop my run twice to help push some cars out of the snow.  Once I got to the canyon it was a little better, still slippery, but since I did not have to watch for cars, I could put my head down and keep my eyes out of the blowing snow, plus it was probably not as windy in the canyon anyway.  It was an adventure and I was happy just to run today -- although I did feel pretty bad by the end (my legs were really sore from the uphill slip-and-slide).  The only other thing that was annoying - there is one thing that hurts my plantar facitiis more than running - that is running with lumps of ice in the heel of my shoe -- mizuno's have a little cavity in the heel that is perfect for slush and snow to get caught in, and it hits perfectly in the painful part of tendon ... ouch!  Ok -- enough already with the whining -- it is beautiful now, from the comfort of my house - and heck, I had the nicest running weather last week and really shouldn't complain.

After I cooled down I shoveled snow - only one days worth, since Dean had done the hard job (last weeks) yesterday.  I also dug out my car so I can go to work in the morning ... I am tired now.

Stay warm, drive safely.