The Renegade

First run back from my brief resting period. I ran the canal trail after school today from Old Main, kept it easy, funny because I was running 6:40s pretty effortlessly, I wasn't trying to push it at all and it came naturally. That's a good sign because I was a little worried (maybe too worried) that I would lose some aerobic fitness, but obviously not. No pain whatsoever in the foot or achilles. Ended with a little bit of hills on Old Main and tested out the sharp turns at the bottom that are part of the HoCo course. They were not fun. I did a ton of core when I got home :)

AM: Drove to Ryan's Place after class for a straight three mile tempo. Didn't go down so well. I wasn't feelin the pace (started with a 5:45) and I just didn't feel strong at all. Started to get a side ache on top of that at like 1.5 so I decided to stop at two (that mile was a 6:00). Rested for like five minutes then completed the loop in 5:45. If I felt good I coud've done that all together and not felt too bad. I won't take this too hard, it is my first actual workout in two weeks (not counting the race). I'll go back like the week after next and try it again. 

PM: 3 mile run in the dark while it was raining, just an out and back to Willow Park. Loved it! More the rain then the dark though. I was wearing a long sleeve shirt and I got pretty hot. You never know what to wear here. 

Another after class run, this time at about 2:30. Started from the beginning of the Canal Trail and went out 3.5 miles, which got me almost exactly to the end of the Highline Trail. I could already spot some red leaved trees in the canyon. I love fall. I love Logan. Anyways I'm glad I ran earlier because I went to watch Cache-Box, and it rained insanely hard and delayed the boys varsity race, which sucked cuz I had to leave before it. Shoutout to Eric Nelson for getting that W. The run was 6:52 ap. Felt pretty relaxed.

AM: Slept in but my first and only class of the day was at 1:30. Did an easy but somewhat tired 5 miles on the river trail loop. 6:57 ap. 

PM: Did an easy 2 from the parking lot after class. I explored some indian trails and hit up the Canal Trail a bit. 7:37 ap.

AM: After class I made the short drive to Lundstrom Park and did an easy 3 on the Lundstrom Canal Trail and finished up on the grass. Not a good idea at 9:30 am, my shoes got soaked. 6:46 ap. I have to say it was a beautiful morning, I described it as "pristine" on strava. 

PM: My third track workout in four months! I did a 2 mile warmup to the track. Today was 6x400, full recovery, 4x200. After each rep was a 200 jog in a 1:30 rest, so half of what I usually did in high school, but it just made it more aerobic. 400 times were 76, 74, 73, 73, 73, 72. Those got somewhat tough, but only because I'm not accustomed to running that fast anymore, hard to believe I ran four 69s in a row, but this was less rest. Rested for about six minutes and then 200s in 29, 30, 31, 30. Those felt hecka fast. Tried to imagine myself as Galen Rupp coming around the last curve in a race. I found a tennis ball on the field and bounced it all the way home, it was fun.

Met up with Hayden at Z-park at 9:00, which was perfect timing because that's right when the leaders of the TOU Marathon were running by there. It's like the 22  or 23 mile mark. Since the course doesn't go straight at all after that we were able to catch alot the action. Could've seen more but we were trying to catch Strand and maybe run with him. We were at the mile 24 aid station and he wasn't coming so backtracked along the course bu then turned off of it, probably missed him. But we eventually found him with exactly a mile to go, along with half the xc team (they were volunteering at mile 25). He was struggling, kept getting cramps in his quad and had to stop at one point. But he finished in 3:04 which isn't bad for the race going downhill (figuratively, and literally I guess, but he really struggled). Hayden and I still had like 4 miles to run to get ten so we looped around the temple and headed back along the course to cheer on all the people still running. Fun run. Didn't feel as fresh as usual but the race made it a blast.