track fan

10 x :25 w/1` recovery

30` wu 30` cd

Beautiful morning (as usual!) - clear and perfect weather (about 71F).  Haven't been sleeping well because I have been staying up late watching the World Championships -- TeamUSA is fairing very well - All 3 guys made it to the 5000m final - Yea!  (although the Russians did well in the W's steeple -- I am pointing this out for Maria and Sasha's benefit ;-) ).

Slightly uphill on really nice service road near Red Butte Garden, decided to run a couple slightly downhill too since Big Sur has both uphill and downhill parts ... felt pretty nice on the faster bits, tried to work hard without making them feel too hard. Next week starts the stamina/speed portion of my training ... this week is going to be lower on the mileage side. My past training has suggested that I need to ramp up pretty quickly on speed, I can't handle it for too long without burning out. Although, I have been consistent with higher mileage for longer than I have ever done before, so I am hoping that it will make me stronger for the speed part of the training. Am hoping the hills and altitude are compensating for the fact that I am running much slower than I was when I left Tennessee ...

43:47, very easy recovery run.  many weeks my recovery runs are actually pretty painful because they follow tough workouts or high mileage weeks.  today was really not bad, and my legs felt really good.  I did concentrate on making it easy though, I am pretty sure that my coach wants an easy week, and I really do *try* to follow the plan for possible rewards down the road.  Though my legs felt really good, my body is super tired ... lack of sleep and a more-than-usual stressful work week is starting to take its toll.

I estimate (most of the time underestimate, I think) my miles ... I actually run by time not miles and have adopted the idea of "Bonnie miles" -- this is stolen from the U of Wisconsin team that runs "Badger miles" -- the rumor is that they basically run for time (on their non-track workout days) and then divide the time by 7 min/miles to estimate mileage.  Obviously, I don't divide by 7 min pace (though I wish) - but rather just estimate how I feel and guess miles by that (e.g., recovery days I try keep my heart rate/breathing nice and easy and estimate that to be somewhere between 8:45 and 9 min pace -- long runs and easy days I try to drop down to 8:30 - 8:45, adjusting for hills, heat, etc.).  I follow the concepts of the fast runners, and adjust it for my pace/level of training -- or at least try.  I am not sure that this translates into faster times yet, but I certainly feel stronger than when I ran all of my mileage the same pace, and mostly too fast, all of the time. 

Mixed news on the track front -- Tyson Gay and Allison Felix had great runs!!  Both Nick Symmonds and Khadevis Robinson did not make it out of the semi's ... I haven't seen the race yet but the heat that Symmonds was in looked to be pretty tactical, it wasn't like it was unheard of fast (unlike the womans 800 final -- that was impressive).

Happy Friday!

 

somewhere between 3.5 and 4 miles (certainly wasn't running sub 8 min pace but probably faster than 9 min pace) 31:34 -- really easy run. Last of the "down week" -- about 44/45 miles this week.

Next week marks the beginning of my race specific speed training ... cruise intervals, more tempo runs, and some fast finish long runs. I am both excited and somewhat nervous about what these workouts will show in terms of fitness. September is going to be tricky, a little more intense running and a whole lot of work travel (with early mornings and all day meetings).

Tomorrow we are planning to run in Mill Creek and then on Monday do a hiking/running combo somewhere near East Canyon - it is time to really enjoy our new home!

1:47:28 - ran on Jeremy Ranch Road -- what a great place to do a long run. Reminded me a lot of Magnolia Road in Boulder (except that it is downhill on the way out and uphill on the way back - and Magnolia road is the opposite).

Ended up running way too fast on the way out (when I realized there were some mile markers it was between mile 3 1/2 and 4 and I was running about 8 min pace) -- this was not good as I died on the last 2 miles -- it got hot and I was a little oxygen deprived (it is about 1500 ft higher than what I am barely "used" to in Salt Lake City). My return portion was nearly 2 mins slower than the going out and I felt really sick to my stomach (I think I was a little dehydrated). I really was not able to judge my pace well, despite Randy warning me that it was slightly downhill, I think it was in part because I LOVED the surface and got carried away and in part because there was a really strong headwind on the way out and I thought *that* was the reason I was breathing harder than I should have!

Anyway, I think next time we will drop water at the turn around point, and I will be more careful. All and all I really like the run and am trying not to judge my fitness level too much on one lousy run.  Very appreciative of Randy for pointing this place out to me!!!

ran for 50:17 -- probably a long 5.5 miles, but not quite 6 miles.  Ran to Liberty park did 1.5 laps on the grass (outside perimeter of the park). 

Legs felt suprisingly good after my horrid run yesterday.  I think I am losing my heat adaptation after leaving Nashville and running so early in the morning during the week.

Dean and I decided not to go hiking today - I really have too much work to do ...

1:28:37.

Ran Bonneville Shoreline Trail to Dry Creek Canyon up to just above the water tower/Terrace Hills trailhead. Felt pretty good, but it was pretty warm today -- I have gotten spoiled by the cooler mornings of last week, the past few days have been on the warm side. It is made even warmer by the fact that I am still wearing a brace on my wrist - I fell on this same route 2 weeks ago and cracked my wrist.  The swelling in my hand has gone down, and my arm is no longer black&blue, but my arm is still a little deformed.  The wrist brace feels weird and I hate to wear it, but until this heals I can't take the risk of falling on it ... so I am just going to have to live with it. 

Funny tidbit, upon reflection of my blog from Sunday - where I compared the Jeremy Ranch Road to Magnolia Road in Boulder -- well, not only is Magnolia road more uphill going out and downhill coming back, it is also much steeper, and at 8000ft versus 6000ft -- I guess really the only way that these two courses are the "same" are the fact that they are both dirt roads!

I am having track withdrawals ... after 9 wonderful days of 2 hours (or more when I had time to watch my wcsn coverage) of track per day ... alas, no more track on TV.  The womans marathon was pretty cool -- they said it was over 80F and "humidity through the roof" at the start!!  I guess it was cooler than the mens marathon though. 

On another note, the USATF 20K championships this weekend saw the debute for Greg McMillan's new post-collegiate running team (http://www.mcmillanelite.com/) --  with two of the athletes on the team coming in 11th and 14th; congrats to them and the champions Dan Browne and Alicia Shay (formerly Craig)!

Results can be found here: http://www.newhavenroadrace.org/NH20K07.htm and the USATF write-up here: http://www.usatf.org/news/view.aspx?duid=USATF_2007_09_03_10_17_59.

Today is my standard day off ... I used to run every day with sporatic days off, I did not get faster, all I got was more tired.  So, now I take a day off every week ... my body generally appreciates it (and I can schedule really early morning meetings!!). 

I am battling plantar facitiis  ... a soft night splint (when I remember to wear it) works wonders, as does the painful tennis ball self massage ... but sometimes after I have been sitting at my computer for a while and I get up, I can't even put my foot on the ground.  I can't really tell if there is a specific shoe (running-wise) that seems to be worse than the others.  I rotate 3 pairs of shoes, going  from really low/lightweight trainers to moderate pronation control (Mizuno Inspire - for roads/sidewalks and after long runs when my legs are tired and lazy!).  I am a bit nervous to go back to my racing flats tomorrow - when I go to the track for my first speedwork in over a year!  I have done hill repeats and fartlek work, but I have not done anything faster than tempo pace in so long!  I can't seem to find any good articles that talk about what type of shoes might be "worse" (e.g., low profile versus more cushy) in terms of inflammation ... I am hoping someone on the blog might have some experience they would like to share.

1:30:13

  6 x 1000 w/200 recovery
(4:34, 4:30, 4:31, 4:31, 4:28, 4:31)
(average 7:12 pace)

3 x 200 w/200 recovery
(:52, :53, :49)

26:10 wu (my office to East High track)
23:38 cd (this was uphill mileage, very slow - took a slightly different route back to the office, evidently the shorter route!)

Not sure if the speed was threshold or speed -- somewhere in between I imagine (Greg calls these cruise intervals).  First time I have run faster than 1/2 marathon pace in over a year!!  Was a little nervous this morning, mainly because I did  not know what to expect. 

My schedule called for 6 - 8 x 1000 + 3 x 200, I wanted to do 7, but gave myself the option to do 6 if I felt like I was red-lining.  The pace was supposed to be around 10K pace (or a little slower 4:25-4:31 wo altitude adjustment) -- I was shooting for 4:37 high (adding in a little altitude adjustment - more like 3 sec/lap, working out to ~ 2%/mile based on NCAA altitude adjustment tables)  - somehow forgot what the final 1K split was supposed to be by the time I was on the track and thought 4:34 was slow (I did have my first 100, 200 and 400m splits right but did not do the math past that - I am a statistician not an accountant!!!) ... whoops. Ended up with 6 x 1K and then 3 x 200

 On my way to the track I was telling myself, "it is ok if you don't run fast, you don't have to race, you can just run to stay in shape - it is not as though you are headed for the olympics or anything" ... As I was finishing up my last K a PE class came out to the track.  The teacher/coach told me he had a class that was going to do 50m's - I asked if I could finish my last K and he said no problem.  I finished and was doing my 200's on the opposite side of the track from where the class was sitting ... I would run 200 and then jog back to my start.  Well, on my last one the class started doing their "warm up" lap -- the were about 30-40m's on me when I started my last 200.  I did not see it, but I was bound and determined not to let any of them pass me -- so here I am an woman with 34 years on most of them (at least) running like heck not to let them pass me, even though my legs felt like lead.  I am happy to say that: 1) they did not pass me - I still had about 20 meters on the closest kid, and 2) I guess my competatitve nature is not gone yet ;-).  silly, but I am sure it was funny to see the stupid determination on my face!

Anyway - I feel ok about the workout.  I am happy that I was able to run that fast for the first time in over a year, but I realize that it was probably a little faster than I should have been running (for this workout) -- I need to focus on slower pace for more time, next time!!

40:17 easy -- probably a little more than 4.5 miles, but certainly not 5.  Super slow and easy run on Bonneville Shoreline Trail towards Emmigration Canyon.  Fell again -- wasn't wearing my wrist splint because this trail is generally so easy -- but today I was scouting out new "trails" and somehow got on a steeper slope than I have been on, somehow my ankle turned and down I went.  I was so scared about protecting my wrist that I almost fell off of the trail and down the side of the hill!!   I think I successfully protected my wrist, but my hand is messed up (again!).  I really feel like a klutz ...

Work has been pretty tough the past couple of days, I am mentally exhausted ...

Have a great weekend everyone!

1:03:07

Ran down to Liberty Park and did 2.5 laps on the outside of the park.  Kept it really really easy.  I am very excited - this is the first week I have hit 50 miles with some "faster" miles.  It took about 1.5 miles to loosen up, my legs are a little tight.   All in all, feeling pretty good.  My hip hurts from my fall yesterday - and so does my arm - I might have to go in and see someone, just to make sure I did not do much more damage to it yesterday -- I am still kind of mad about it (the fall).  

 Have a lot of work to do today -- but my hope is if I get a lot done today I can take tomorrow off from work, enjoy my run and relax!!

 Hope everyone is having a good weekend.

 

1:47:40  Jeremy Ranch Road.

Felt much better than last week.  First of all, I told myself I wanted to negative split the route, so I wanted to go so slow on the way out that there was no way I couldn't negative split, and secondly it was much cooler!  We dropped water today, which also helped a lot.  I did not negative split, but it was mainly because the first uphill section on the way back had a serious headwind ... I am talking a serious headwind, odd really because there was a headwind at the start but it kind of turned into a tailwind as the road went out ... luckily, I was feeling good and it did not really hurt me much (except for time ... 52:30 out, 55:01 back with last 3 miles nice and strong).

48:20 probably longer than 5.5, but not quite 6. 

It was almost cold this morning!  because of the weather I had to really concentrate on taking it easy so I wouldn't run too fast.  Legs were a little tired, but overall things were great!

1:15:57 (might have been a little shorter than 9 did wu and cd on the trails, some of which were pretty steep)

28:34 wu

12 x :25 about 3K race pace w/1` recovery

29:24 cd

Had a choice to run 60`-75` easy or do this workout -- decided that my legs felt pretty fresh and decided to do the workout - for next couple of months I can choose between some very short bursts of speed on Tuesday or easy runs -- I plan to do as many of these as possible.  These workouts are supposed to help leg turnover lactic acid tolerance ... so they are really good training for just about any training distance (Greg wrote an article about this in Running Times last year) - they sound pretty easy, and for the most part they are, unless you do the first few too fast, in which the last ones are pretty hard!!  The best part is they are short enough that there is no real penalty for doing them, they don't really trash your legs.  When you do them in the middle of the run they also seem to give you the added stimulus of running when your legs are a little fatigued.

It was so BEAUTIFUL today - perfect weather! Dean saw a tarantula yesterday afternoon on the trail!! yuck! he even poked it with a stick to see if it was alive!!!  I guess it would be cool to see, but I am afraid it would scare me -- and then I would fall off the trail!!

probably a little longer than 8.5, but not quite 9.

8 x :60-:65 sec hill repeats (~10% grade) up Federal Point Dr (?) -- about 200-225 m long

pretty hard, did first 2/3 way too fast and it made the last 2 hurt way bad.  first time I had done hill repeats since moving here ... feel so-so about the workout, much harder than I wanted it to be, but I finished and had a nice cool down (30` wu 22` cd).

45:00 ... a little longer than 5 (I had to add a little to make a bathroom stop). 

my "run up hills" muscles are pretty sore.  I have to say I dread seeing "recovery day" on my schedule, it usually means the run will be both slow and unpleasant - today was no exception to this rule.  In hindsite, yesterday I should have looked for a lower percent grade hill  (5-6%)and run for a longer time (90s) ... these short bursts of speed up a higher grade (~10% for 65s) are really more for 5K training ... but, with my general lack of speed right now I guess any increase in speed will be helpful. 

I believe that Lydiard used hill repeats as a way to transition from base training to speed/stamina training, and I had done a month of these in Nashville just before I moved here ... but yesterday I had the option of doing hill repeats or doing an aerobic capacity workout on the track - and I chose the hills because I thought it would help me measure where I am versus where I was 2 months ago.  But, the hill I used yesterday was quite a bit steeper (and Dean pointed out to me last night) so it really is not a fair comparison.  During the workout (especially the very painful last few meters of the hill) I wondered why I had chosen this workout !!  Anyway -- despite the pain, both physical and emotional ;-) -- I am hoping to eek some benefit from it down the line. Today was about recovery so that is what I tried to focus on ...

I will be traveling a lot over the next couple of weeks (including the fair city that is the home to Randy) -- this will be a challenge for training and in health - as the stress of travel, lack of sleep and dietary challenges is always difficult for me ... so the focus will be on staying healthy.  I have uploaded a picture (though a couple years old it is all I have right now) so if Randy sees me on the Rock Creek or C&O trail sometime the week after next he will say "hey Bonnie" ...

Have a good weekend -- good luck to all that are racing!

1:03:45 - long 7

 Legs are feeling a little tired today, might be because we slept in and I was hungry even when I started ... also, started out a little fast because I had to chase down the mailperson!

added on about 1/4 mile today, so it was a long 12 - 1:49:13

 Ran at Jeremy Ranch Road again -- had one of those runs that really tested myself -- winds were gusting (weather.com said 24-32 from the SW) the whole way after the turn-around.  This meant that not only was I running mainly uphill -- it was uphill into a headwind.  My legs got really tired!!  I did forge ahead and was happy - time was not really the important thing today - although since I added on it was a little faster than last week.  Mainly, I was glad the run was over!

48:51 ... 1.5 laps on the perimeter of Liberty Park, felt suprisingly good for the first 30 mins ... was a little tired the last couple of miles, but really not too bad for a Monday - particularly after yesterdays run.

1:18:47

Had to run the afternoon because of early morning meetings.  Ran on the Stone mountain bike trail -- very nice once you get to it, but running downtown Atlanta is pretty hairy, worse than NY city, these drivers are crazy and seem pretty oblivious to runners.  Can't complain though, I got my run in!!

Got home from Atlanta about 9:30 last night -- was not looking forward to this workout this morning!

1:52:11

5 x 2000 w/2:30 recovery (9:27, 9:25, 9:29, 9:33, 9:29) + 3 x 200 w/200 recovery (51, 53, 52)

This was a tempo interval workout (supposed to be about 10-15K pace), my interpretation of how fast they should be are comfortably hard - a little faster than a tempo run, but not by a whole lot.  The pace was a little slower than I have done in the past (averaged about 7:35/mile pace versus 7:29/mile pace) but I had never done 5 before, only 4, and if I add the 3% altitude correction (about 3 secs/lap for me) then it is about in the same ballpark. 

I am pretty happy, even though it was not quite as fast as I would like, because these longer stamina workouts are really tough for me (mentally).  I also was pretty excited about the overall mileage, though the last 2 1/2 miles uphill back to my office was a little hard (my legs were tired).  Being that this was only my second workout on the track in over a year, I am mildly encouraged.

44:13

Long 5 on Bonneville Shoreline Trail.  Felt suprisingly good today - uphills were a little hard, but in general I felt fine.  The travel and training has made me pretty tired, but I am working hard to eat well, stay hydrated and this weekend I will try to sleep.   

1:10:45

ran to liberty park (~ 1.5 miles) and then did 2 outer loops on the grass (~ slightly longer than 1.5 each) and 1 inner (~ 1 mile? - a little longer I would guess) and then home

Ran pretty easy, probably about 8:50 pace, sometimes a little faster when the grass was short!  Legs felt ok ... a little tight.  Have a pretty hard run tomorrow - so today I need to focus on rest and stretching.

2:01:14 (14 mile fast finish run, last 2 miles @ 7:30 or a bit faster)

actually 1/2 marathon pace.  Ran on the Jordan River Trail.  Started in Redwood Park and ran to Waldon Park and back.  Pretty strong headwind on the way out, but nice tailwind on most of the way back.  Very nice run.  I was a little hesitant about this workout after Thursday's run, so I had an alternate plan of running 12 miles with 2 miles at 1/2 marathon pace if I felt like it.  But I felt good, and was pretty happy with the effort today.  I did have a little blood sugar problem after my run last Sunday - today I actually used a cliff shot at about 1:15 into the run (something I think I have actually only done 1 or 2 times before ever, and then usually when I was running 16 miles or more).  I don't know if it actually helped during the run - but I felt a lot better after the run and I think it might have just been maintaining glycogen levels ...

Now I have to pack, I am leaving for DC very early in the morning on Monday and will be there all week.

45:42

Ran to Liberty Park and then did an outside loop.  Felt remarkably good today - despite the fact that it was rainy and dark during my run.  Ran pretty slow, mainly because I was nervous about crossing streets and such -- even with my reflective vest I don't trust these drivers in the light, let alone in the dark!!  

definately a long 7 in 1:04:19

Ran in DC with a woman I work with.  She has a 2:59 marathon under her belt, and although she hasn't been training consistently for a while, and I told I was going to be slow, she still pushed the pace somewhat.  A lot of city running to get the bike trail which is a pain, but slowed her down ;-).

All and all, feeling really good today, despite not getting much sleep last night.

1:07:20

3.xx mile tempo run on the Mall!  My friend from work had a Garmin -- I wanted to do somewhere between a 3 and 4 mile tempo run @ 7:17-7:35 pace.  We did longer than 3 miles, maybe 3.5 but since I wasn't sure exactly how much more than 3 miles I just am calling it 3 miles.  The pace was not as consistent as I thought it would be -- I have never used a Garmin before - but it was pretty cool have her call my pace out to me!  The first mile averaged about 7:30-7:35, the second mile was right on 7:30 and the third mile was between 7:00 - 7:12 ... I did not mean to do that and the 7:00 min part made me feel really sick ;-) ... but I was pretty happy overall, I could have run another mile if I had the time ... but we had to get back to pack up and get to our meetings.

Tonight I am staying with some friends - they live up in Maryland near Rock Creek Park, it will be a nice run tomorrow and I can't wait to spend some time with my friends here. 

long 5 in 43:42

Ran on the Rock Creek Trail -- very very pleasant run -- even though it was a little humid.  It rained here last night and so even though the temperature was much more comfortable (probably in the high 70's) the humidity made it a little hot, especially since I have become acclimated to the dry air of Utah and am sort of wimpy now in the humidity.  But, the run went well, I felt pretty good.

Lost my wallet yesterday and had to get my passport FedEx'd to me so I can get on the plane to come home today ... and I had to spend the day cancelling my credit cards yesterday.  The worst thing is that I lost my driver's license that is expiring next week -- and now I have to try to get my Utah license without another license to turn in ... so I think I need to go through the whole driving part of the driving test ...

1:13:26    -  long 7.5 in Liberty park (2 outer loops + 1 inner loop + 3 miles to and from my house).

 Wore tights since wet and 42 is colder than 42 ;-)  ran the whole time.  Legs felt ok ... not great, but not horrible.

2:21:52

short 17 (for this run I am rounding up, because I think was easily running 8:30s for much of the run, I ran with Dean for a couple of miles and it took me a while to slow down) -- I meant to go 16, but took a wrong turn!!

Ran on Jordan River Trail from Redwood Park to 215 (1:07) and back -- ended up racing some not-very-fast guy for about 2 miles past the turn-around. I did not mean to race him, but I passed him and he just would not stay off my shoulder (he kept speeding up), so I dropped him. Felt good actually ;-) - of course, I still had 7 miles to run so it probably wasn't the smartest thing, but I don't think I suffered much because of it. I was pretty tired at the end of the run (my longest run pretty much ever) but still pretty steady pace. I had about a mile left and I took a wrong turn (probably would have finished in about 2:13/2:14 without my wrong turn) ... feeling pretty good today!

44:10

Beautiful morning for a run.  Legs were a little tired today -- felt pretty good for the first 3 miles, but the long uphill home was struggle -- tried to focus on recovery ...

1:30:12 -- long 9.5, but not quite 10.

very hilly run on BST to 11th to City Creek - up the canyon road to the bathroom ;-) - and back. 

I swear it felt like we were running 8:30's up Bonneville Drive from the canyon!!!  But, the darn garmin-mile-thingybob said we were closer to 8:50's!! 

1:25:11 probably a little bit longer than 9 miles

Today I change age groups (45-49), I am not sure how I feel about it - both glad to be the youngest in the bracket and completely shocked that I am in this age group! I think I have a bug of some kind. Tuesday I struggled much more than I should have (if Anna's garmin-thingy was right) and today I had a rough start, I just felt like I was working harder than I should have been for the pace I felt I was running -- maybe it was just because it was a steep uphill up Virginia, but I am going to stock-up on the vitamin C just in case.

I had a hard time finding a hill with the right grade I was supposed to run 8 x 60-90 secs up a 6-10% grade. I ran up to Poppington Park and tried the Virginia Street behind the park, but that felt way too steep (there was no way I could run for more than 40-50 secs up that hill) -- so, I tried a little farther down, and still it felt a little too much (even though I was able to run for 63 secs pretty fast). Finally, I decided to run over on 11th towards the U (where I ran them last time -- but this time I started farther down the hill). Mapmyrun still has this at a 20% grade, but I doubt that is right ... but I am pretty sure it is 10% or more. Anyway - I ran 6 more @ 62-63 secs ... I feel ok about the workout, though not sure, if I am not sick, how I am feeling right now about my chances for a good race. I guess I will see how the track workout goes next week.

44:28 - one loop at Liberty Park.

Felt better than yesterday -- I am thinking I have been successful at fighting the "blog bug".

1:15:36  -- longer than 7.5 (because I had to make little detour to the restroom).

 Pretty chilly today (about 39F and raining like crazy, I got a late start).  I was thinking about all you bloggers running in St. George today - I hope it wasn't too windy there, it was pretty windy here, but by the time I started my run all of you were finished with the marathon ... I hope  you all did well!

2:06:21 fast finish long run (last 2 miles @ 1/2 marathon pace -- actually 1/2 marathon pace effort since this was a hilly run on the grass)

Ran 7 laps in Sugarhouse Park (outside on the grass) + approx 1 1/4 mile inside to make it a little more than 14.  Ran much faster than when I ran this as a long run in August.  Splits were (16:34, 16:26, 11:22 (inside loop to bathroom),16:28, 16:24, 16:11, 16:31, 15:02 + :31).

 Legs are shot ... the grass and hills really takes a toll, my reasoning is that this is a really good workout, works on strength and mental fortitude ... I hope I am right otherwise it just is a lot of pain ;-).

Some great races this weekend, congratulations to all the bloggers!

49:09 -- maybe a little longer than 5.5, but not quite 6.

 ran in Liberty Park  - felt pretty good today, a little tired but better than I had anticipated!
 

1:15:55 -- long 8.5

So, today I could have either done a 75` easy run or a fartlek workout (10 x 1` w/1` recovery). I was set on the easy run, so I decided to run to City Creek Park and then up 11th and around the cemetery. Well, after I had run about 20 mins I realized that I felt pretty good and was going to do the fartek instead!

Ran a few 1` sprints up Bonneville Drive and then a few on 11th. Ended up stopping at 8, instead of 10, because I was going uphill (not steep but pretty steady) and after Sunday I really wanted to guard my legs a bit. I have a workout on Thursday that I am dreading  (3 x 3000m) -- and I did not want jeopardize that workout at all ... and, I was happy with any neuromuscular conditioning that I can do ... these short fartlek's aren't supposed to take much out of your legs, and can really help with finishing speed ... so, some are probably better than none!!

1:44:20 tempo interval workout

YEA!!!  Thanks to my friend Anna I had one of the most encouraging workouts I have had in a long time, if not ever.  It felt pretty easy -- the last 800 was a struggle to concentrate, but not difficult.  I could have (uncomfortably) run one more. 

3 x 3000 w/3:30 recovery (14:16, 14:07, 13:59 -- pace: 7:36, 7:32, 7:28) + 3 x 200 w/200 recovery (48, 51, 50) 

2.5 mile wu and 2.5 uphill cd

43:12  - very easy run to Liberty park and home.  Suprised at how well I felt, but got pretty tired on the uphill run home (I think I ran too fast to the park -- the downhill, the cold, and the suprise at my legs all pushed me a little to much!!).

Feel suprisingly good today - I guess I should have run faster yesterday in my workout ;-).

1:08:44 -- easy 2 outer loops and 1 inner loop at Liberty park -- whoops, I ran a little faster than I meant to ... despite the fact that my legs actually were a bit more sore today than yesterday.  I need to really take it easy tomorrow because I only have 3 more key workouts left in this phase of training (then I am in "sharpening") -yipee.  I am still fighting this darn "cold-thing" - I am ahead but it is ever lurking.

Hope everyone is good in bloggerland. 

2:03:32    

Jeremy Ranch Road.  Still have not negative split this run - today was 2 mins slower back than out -- even with a headwind I was a bit disappointed.  The only good thing was it was a good effort and I finished pretty strong.  The extra 2 miles added 3 more hills so it was a good training run.  Weather was beautiful!

48:21 - easy run at liberty park.  I feel horrible today.  Fatigued like crazy.  Not just running hard and tired, or lack of sleep and tired, but deeply fatigued.  I am hoping that it is just a caloric deficit - we ran late in the day yesterday and since I took Dean out to dinner last night for his birthday we skipped our usual fairly large post-long-run meal.  I am going to try to eat lots of fruit today ... I do not want to get sick right now!!

 Happy Monday everyone!
 

1:32:37 (according to Anna's Garmin whatchamajiggy it was 9.7 miles) ... ran from our office to City Creek Canyon (partly on the Shoreline Trail) and back.  Felt much better than a couple of weeks ago on the same course.  I think I am on the tail end of the "blog virus".  My nose is running a little today, but I don't feel nearly as tired as I have lately. 

1:28:43 tempo run

I am resigned to having "not so good" workouts every once in a while ... today was one of those.  Anna and I ran from the office to Wakara Way to do the tempo run.  Ran fine for 4 miles, right on pace (about 7:34 - 7:40 pace) even up the hills.  Then I started feeling pretty bad - I thought it was just that I was tired, and then Anna told me we were running 7:14 pace, ouch.  Well, I thought that maybe I could finish strong and hold on ... instead, my wheels came off as we ran up the last hill ... and I trudged up the last 1/4 mile -- it was not so much my cardiovascular system that gave out (though I was hurting), my legs just wouldn't carry me up the hill.  So, basically I ran a 4.75 tempo run at or below my target pace, which is not 5 miles -- that 20 secs/mile too fast on the last mile really killed me.  Not to make any excuses, but I did have a massage last night which made my legs a little less responsive than I would have liked. 

I guess I will look forward, and hope I got some benefit from it, despite not being an "ideal" workout.  And, I will learn to listen to my body more -- I knew I should have backed off the hills a little bit -- I could have made up ground on the downhills.

44:45 recovery run    

 
I fought the temptation to push my run today -- as is often the case after a disappointing workout I felt like I need to work harder than usual (punishment or redemption?) ... when in reality, it is a time that one should really take it even easier than usual. 

Apparently the sinus/cold that I have been fighting against, and blaming on the blog (the blog virus) is actually going around work ... a much more logical place to lay blame ;-).

 Have a nice weekend, I am on my way to Deer Valley for a work retreat (what an oxymoron).

 

1:03:12  -- well they were slow miles, but really not that easy ... hilly loop around deer valley - 4 x around + a bit to make it about 7 ...  Snowing, windy and a little chilly.

2:09:52

Tried to run at Jeremy Ranch Road on our way back from Deer Valley retreat but the road was a muddy bog ... so we drove down to the Jordan River Trail -- started at Redwood park and ran to 215 and then back.  Last 2 miles were at 1/2 marathon - marathon pace -- felt bad.  I think I ran too fast on the way out (1:06:11/1:03:41; 8:16/7:57 -- but only the last 2 miles were fast, the other miles after the turnaround were more likely 8:45 pace) so the last 2 miles hurt more than they were supposed to ... was glad when I was finished.
 

48:18 - easy run around liberty park.  Was not nearly as bad of a run as I was worried it was going to be ... took it easy and enjoyed the morning, the mountains were snow-topped, it was cold (which I like) and was actually a very pleasant run.

1:12:45

Nice run up dry creek canyon ... beautiful weather.

1:35:28 (11.3 miles by Anna's forrunner-thingamajig)

4 x 1 mile w/800 recovery (7:17, 7:15, 7:13, 7:15) + 3 x 200 w/200 recovery

Pace at sea level for these is supposed to be 6:53 - 7:08, Greg said to give myself 6-8 secs for altitude so I did ... all and all I felt pretty good, I could have gone faster on the first couple but I wanted to make sure I finished feeling strong, so I guess I feel vindicated from my less-than-stellar workout last Thursday.  One more "key" workout to go and then I am ready to race ... I think.  I have been tired lately, and my calves are absolutely killing me ... so I am hoping I can hold out my fitness for another couple of weeks, I have been worried that I peaked too soon, I felt so strong until last week ... I did finally find an elevation profile for the 1/2 marathon -- it looks like a rolling course with a small overall gain of 118 feet with only one major hill (at about mile 4) -- so it could actually be a fast course if run smart. 

It was beautiful today - I couldn't feel my legs at the start, but once the sun came up (and I got warmed up) it was really nice!

43:02  recovery run up BST ... took it slow, felt pretty good!

64:13  long 7 -- did 2 laps in liberty park (about 3.6 miles?) + added 4 mins on to get it closer to 7.  Felt pretty good, although I was thinking today, running - in general - does not feel as "easy" as I would like it to ... no matter how slowly I run.  

1:46:05 -- Jordan River trail - according to the bicycling salt lake city book it was about 12.8 miles.  Ran from redwood park trailhead to germania park and then back (53:56/52:08; 8:26/8:08) - goal today was to run so slowly that at the end of the run I would feel like I was cheating to stop -- I can't say that is exactly how it felt, but I did enjoy the run and unintentionally ran the last few miles faster than it felt ... one more hard workout this week, a fast finish long run and then a peak/pace workout and then the race!  I am planning on really concentrating on rest/recovery/and eating well the next couple of weeks - it can't hurt ;-)

48:48 - easy run around Liberty park .... played a game, "how slow can I go" -- I was suprised to see it was about the same time as last week, it felt a lot slower!

1:01:46  10 x 1` w/1` recovery +wu and cd

ran on the Ute's practice fields (2 football fields laid end to end) -- very nice place for a fartlek run - wasn't really "fast-fast" just a little leg turnover workout.  Still not feeling as "rested" as I would like ... trying to focus on getting sleep and eating well.  Wish work was a little less stress right now, but somethings just never change! 

Nice weather!! 

Happy November everyone!

1:29:39 (probably a long 10).  Today was my last workout until the race - yea!

6 x 800 w/400 recovery (3:30, 3:31, 3:32, 3:31, 3:31, 3:29)  + 3 x 200 w/200 recovery. 

Pretty stuck on 3:31, even though I really was focusing on 3:30's!  This week and last weeks workouts were the first speed work (5 - 10K pace work versus 15K and higher) I have done in almost 12 months and my very first ever at altitude, so I guess I am happy with it.  In the past I have run these too fast and really struggled the last couple, this time was the first time that I felt like I could have done few more (if I had too ... that is not to say I wasn't happy to finish ;-) ) -- so all and all, I am happy with the effort today!

A fast finish long run this weekend, a few 1000's on Tuesday and then race time, I am nervous and excited ...

I wanted to share a paragraph from the Big Sur 1/2 Marathon instruction sheet. It is cool there are corrals in this race -- though the range is pretty large, it is not often that Dean and I are in the same corral!!  I think the "A" corral are estimated finish times of 1:15 - 1:45 - but apparently they take this corral thing very seriously!

SEEDING AND CORRALS:  Half Marathon runners will be in designated corrals A through D based on predicted finish times.   Your corral letter is printed on the lower left hand corner of your bib.  All participants in the Team Competition will be in Corral       A.  All Half Marathon Walkers and 10-Mile Walkers will be in Corral E.  Look for the signs indicating the area of your corrals.  Except for Corral A these are loosely formed corrals, so please line up accordingly.  You may elect to move back to a different  corral but please don’t move forward.  Corral A will be a “hard” corral; only those with a Corral A bib will be permitted entry.       Be   sure to fill out the emergency information on the back of your bib.

43:28  -- really easy run around Liberty Park.  Nice morning -- crisp and clean, grass was covered in frost.  Was not as tired as I had anticipated, but was not easy either (from a neuromuscular level, cardiovascularly was great).

31:20 easy run down S Temple and back up ...

After a morning of many emotions, I got my run started late today, I did not feel as "fresh" as I had wanted ... luckily it was a very short run.

Congratulations to all the FRB participants in the Olympic Trials Marathon today -- great job getting there and running well.

It was an incredible race today ... stunning victory on the part of Ryan Hall (I was happy to have picked 5 out of the top 10 with 2 in the "right" spots, yea Brian Sell!).

I was so saddened by the death of Ryan Shay.  I was a fan of his when he ran the 10K for ND and also of his wife while she ran for Stanford.  My heart goes out to his family and friends.

1:44:20 - same run as last week except I ran the last two miles at 1/2 marathon pace.  Slower on the way out compared to last week (by about 10 secs), faster on the way back (54:02/50:18; 8:26/7:51) - really do not feel as "zippy" as I would like, I feel sluggish and my legs feel heavy.  The fast part did not actually feel hard, but it wasn't easy either - and I was really tired starting out.

47:43 - same Monday run as usual -- was going to complain about how hard this run was -- I just felt like I was slogging along - until I got home and saw that this was faster than usual (by about 30-45 secs) - it still felt slow!

1:17:00

5 x 1000 w/200 recovery (4:34, 4:35, 4:35, 4:31, 4:36) + 3 x 200 w/200 recovery (51, 52, 51)  -- sea level pace should be 4:25 - 4:31 pace so I planned to add 5 secs for altitude (these were about 7:20 pace).

did not feel as easy as I would have liked - until the last one, because the 4th one was too fast and when I dialed in the appropriate pace it felt pretty easy ;-).  

44:04 

easy run to liberty park 6 x :25 w/1` recovery.

the downhill felt great (to the park) - the uphill felt ok too -- I just took it easy.  I had to go later in the day because of some things that came up at work ... my legs actually feel better when they get a chance to wake up rather than roll out of bed and run!

So, I have no chance of winning this race, it is competitive enough that I will be lucky to be in the top 5 in my age group (I think the age group winner last year was a 47 year old who ran a 1:31:xx) - and still I am excited and nervous, I am writing this down for my own edification more than anything!  I have to realize, at this point, that I have done all I could have done - I was patient when I needed to be, I worked hard when I was supposed to, and I took it easy when it was time ... so, now, I just need to know that I can do is get some rest, eat well (and not trip over anything and break my arm or something stupid like that) and see where I am ... sigh.  The good news, it is only 13.1 miles - and even though I have had some spectacular race "meltdowns" it is not as long to the finish line as you guys who run marathons!

36:28

short run along the finish of the course. Looks like the last mile or two is pretty flat to downhill -- and beautiful, right along the coastline. We saw two deer! pretty interesting seeing we were basically in the city with the beach on one side and the deer on the other side of the coast highway.

Ran a little hard, as I was running with Dean, but not too hard as he was running pretty slow.

on my way out to jog for about 30 mins ... might not get a chance to update the blog until after the race as we are meeting up with some friends today -- the plan is to hang out - sit around and get caught up with our friends!

well, I am a little disappointed, despite being 3rd in my age group . The wind was really bad, and I had an unfortunate emergency pit stop at mile 6 (probably cost me almost 2 minutes as I had to jog to a tree) ... but, I finished. It was hilly, but that did not really hurt as bad as the wind ... at about mile 8.5 or so it turned into a tailwind, but man oh man the first 8 miles hurt bad!

The GREAT news was that Dean ran a 1:19:52 and won 2nd masters (and $300 - so dinner is on him!)! Pretty good for a guy who was complaining about his knee this morning (and almost didn't start) - he looked really strong on the back part of the course!

Splits:

7:46, 7:43, 7:26, 7:42, 7:40, 8:57 (bathroom), 7:46, 15:14 (mile markers missing -- turnaround was at 7.5 miles -- was still windy and uphill until mile 9, which was where the mile markers seemed to be in place again) 7:51, 7:29, 8:13 (up hill again, but thankfully no wind!), 7:31, :43

40:25

Nice trail run outside of my office (had to sneak a run in between many meetings today) it has been a while since I have done much trail running, but it was a beautiful day and I enjoyed it a lot.  Legs felt really good (I guess I did not run hard enough on Sunday!) -- I have a couple weeks of easy jogging before I start doing anything "serious" again -- so I plan to enjoy the time! 

33:10

Ran to Liberty Park and home -- nice day, I love 30F weather!

43:09

 Nice morning - a little cold at the start but really nice near the end.  I actually almost slipped on some ice!  Thank goodness I was running so slowly!

about 43:00 -- ran 2 laps in Sugarhouse Park (31:25) and then helped my friend with a workout at Highland track -- she is getting ready for the Atlanta 1/2 marathon on Thursday and I was calling her splits for a 5 x 1000 workout in preparation.  Ran back and forth on the infield lots of times and ran her 200 recoveries with her.  Maybe longer than 5, but it not by much.

I am getting antsy to run again -- but Greg has me taking 2 weeks of down time ...

41:45

Same run as Thursday - with one loop around Liberty Park.  A little more than 1:15 faster ... I pushed it a little since my mileage is low right now and I figured a little stimulus wouldn't hurt anything.  Felt pretty good. 

32:08 - easy run to Liberty Park and back (ran about 1/2 mile in the park).

46:23 -- BST run - did two very  hilly mile loops in the middle of the run -- felt pretty good after an initial warm-up.  I don't know if it was the cold air, this "virus-cold-thing-whatever" I have been fighting for two months or that I went out too fast, but the first mile I was sucking air like noone's business ...

Nice day though, can't complain.

31:20 -- long 3.5 trying to take it easy because this is the last of my recovery weeks, but since I am not running as much I tend to run much harder! Felt really good! Tomorrow starts the beginning of real mileage again.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

53:03 -- nice run on the BST.  I did 3 of the same loops I did on Wednesday.  I actually kept track of my "splits" (segments actually).  The whole run is a trail run, lots of up and down hills and the footing (though not as bad as some trail runs) is very uneven.  Despite the uneven footing making the run generally slow I really do think these trail runs help strengthen my ankle and foot stabalizer muscles.  I don't have nearly the PF and achilles problems when I run on the trails as I do when I run most of my runs on roads and even worse sidewalks.  But, I do fall and break bones on trails so I guess there is a trade-off ;-).

So, the little loop I do is less than a mile long, sort of down hill on the first part, then flat to very steep at the end (so steep that it is really impossible for me to run up it fast at all) - the last 600 - 800 meters are a gradual to steep incline. However, I do try to use these uphill sections as a "weight" workout, focusing on form and body carriage so that I am using muscles effectively.  A type of mini-hill repeat.  Once at the top, it is a nice downhill recovery and generally feels pretty good (except after doing 2 or 3 of them!).  One thing about being in "recovery" mode the past two weeks, I really do feel I can push myself a little on some of my runs, because I don't have to worry about recoverying from difficult stimulus during the week - and how this would affect my key workouts.

Anyway - I hope to use these little "segment" splits to test my fitness over the next few months.  It took me 15:00  to get to the loop trail then I ran 3 of them in 8:12, 8:15, 8:12, and back to the office in 13:36 (the last mile is a very nice gradual downhill). I am not as concerned with pace per mile, because the trail runs are just so much slower in general for the effort required.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  I did, although being alone at work today is not much fun (no one else seemed to come in!).

40:58 - well, after all that "blog talk" yesterday about trail running, I hurt my knee yesterday!  It hurt all day and all night - luckily, it does not hurt much when I run ... so maybe I should just run all day ;-).  I am icing and using arnica gel ... I think it is from my achilles/PF - the bane of my running these days.   Despite the complaining, my legs feel good because of the low mileage and I am zipping right along these days (for me!).

1:02:31 - ran with Dean -- lots of hills up to 11th and then to City Creek Canyon and back.  Nice day!

45:13 easy run on BST (before snow starts falling - actually before the rain/snow mixture starts which is going to be worse!).  Two of the hilly loops.

43:02 -- took it pretty slow today because the roads were icy!  I even wore my wrist splint (that I generally reserve for the trails).  The wrist that I broke in September (on the trails!) has been really sore and swollen the last few days, I wonder if I will forever be able to predict the weather now??

 I hope everyone stays safe on the roads and warm!
 

48:47

Ran pretty easily to Liberty Park, did 2 3/4 loops and then came home.  I have been trying to run the same time from the park (uphill) as to the park and have been pretty successful lately.  It generally just means I take it easier the 1/2 of the run and then work harder (not too much, but  not back off) on the second 1/2.  It is nice to be able to do!  I hope I can keep it up once the mileage picks back up.  I am hoping to hit in the 60s as I rebuild base over the next couple of months.

 Have a great Thursday everyone!

44:58

pretty nice run up Emmigration Canyon -- hilly and tough, but slow enough to be nice.

I am having some issues with my quads ... they are way too tight and it is causing me to have pretty severe knee pain at the end of the day (after I have been sitting for a long time).  I need to use my foam roller and stretch more ... I am writing to embed the idea in my conscience mind!!

Have a nice weekend everyone.

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.