I am one with the levee and the levee with me

It's been a rough week, and I let my training suffer.

Anyway, easy 8 today, about 7:20 pace. Got drenched in the rain and loved it.

AM - Easy 3 this morning. Ran a little ways up Slate Canyon, out and back.

I'm doing the goose egg again this week, since training was so poor last week, so every day I don't run, it's a $10 goose egg to the blog. $10 isn't much, but it'll do the trick.

PM - Added another 5 this evening, 35:17 total time.

AM - 3 easy miles, same route. 22:20 today. The left lower shin is giving me some pain, I need to get some ice on it.

I went and watched the UVU meet on Friday, one of my good friends was running. It's got me daydreaming about racing again. I had forgotten how much I miss cross country, I wished I could be running. Ah well, track will come fast enough, I suppose. But hopefully when I'm out of college and moved away there will be cross meets I can get into.

PM - Added 6 more miles in Provo Canyon, 42:39 total time. I need to run up there more often, it's beautiful.

Just one run today, so I headed up the Provo Canyon again. It's beautiful again today. I took things easier than yesterday, total time of 58:45.

AM - Woke up with the alarm this morning and laid around in bed, my groggy morning self thinking I was crazy for wanting to forgo sleep for a run.

I managed to crawl out of bed and get my running clothes on, then sat around contemplating how much I hate mornings. Finally I got myself out of bed and did the 5 mile Slate Canyon loop.... turns out it wasn't so bad. I left my watch at home and took it easy - sometimes that's what it takes to not focus on pace. I figure I ran between 7:30 and 7:45 pace, and things felt pretty good. Slapped some ice on my shin afterwards; it's probably time to get a new pair of shoes.

PM - Added 3 easy miles on the Canyon trail. The shin felt better, not perfect, but better. I iced some more tonight.

I'm excited about ramping up the miles again. This week has been kind of a sudden increase, but sometimes that's what I have to do to get myself going again. I look forward to racing again.

Had a midterm this morning and some other things in the evening, only ended up with 3 measly miles. And my watch died in the middle so I didn't even see what my time was.

Ran up to the Bonneville Shoreline trail for a 9.5 mile loop. Total time about 1:14:30. Took it pretty easy on the hills, I don't think I'll run this trail many more times. I enjoy the hills, but the trail beats up my legs a little bit.

AM - Ran my 5 mile Slate Canyon loop, 35:41 total time. My legs don't feel particularly zippy today, but otherwise things felt fine.

PM - Added a second lap around the loop and tacked on a 6th mile for a total time of 43:02.

AM - 5 easy miles around the regular loop - 36:38. I'm getting a little bored of this run. There aren't very many good places to run this side of Provo, but I don't have the time to drive anywhere else.

AM - Got started late so had to cut this run to 3 miles. Bummer.

I used my new Brooks Adrenalines I bought yesterday - the shin was starting to act up a little worse, I was getting worried.

PM - Added 5 miles tonight. The shoes seem to be helping, I noticed quite an improvement on this run. Very little pain in the shin, I should be 100% pretty soon.

Some nutcase just about hit me tonight, I was a little peeved about it. Normally I'm understanding when people don't see me when it's dark, but this time I was wearing a reflective shirt and bright yellow shorts, plus I was under a street light right in front of their house as they were pulling into their driveway. Don't know how they missed seeing me, but I had to jump out of the way to keep from getting hit.

AM - Easy 6 around the loop with an extra mile tacked on. There's a little soreness in the shin still, but the shoes do seem to be helping. I expect it to heal up in the next week or two.

PM - Got in a late night run, 3.1 miles down the old Springville highway.

I stayed up pretty late working on a project, so I ran 3 when I got home, then added 6 more later tonight.

Met up at Sasha's house this morning. One of the things I love about running with Sasha is I'm never sure what the run is going to be. He ran a 10 mile tempo at 6:00 pace and invited us to join. I'm still a few weeks away from doing any serious tempos, but I joined in for 3 and was glad I did. The first mile was rough, the legs didn't want to move... it was like breaking rust off really old hinges. But miles 2 and 3 went by comfortably, and I think we were just under 6:00 pace for those 3.

I wanted to add a few more miles, but I'm still a little worried about the shin, so I cut it off when I got back to Sasha's house.

Sasha's blog says the third mile was 5:46, even better. I'm pleasantly surprised at how the 3 miles felt - apparently I still have scraps of my aerobic fitness left to work with.

No morning run, I had another late night getting ready for an exam. Bleh, I'm sick of school.

Anyway, I got out for a 9 miler, and it felt better than I expected. 65:44 total time, about 7:20 pace. Actually, I'm estimating the distance based on time... if I get around to it I'll measure it out, but I'm sure it was at least 9.

Anyway, the shin's doing alright, it gave me a little more grief today than I thought it would, but I put the ice on it, and I should be doing okay.

AM - Easy 4 miles towards Springville - 29:45.

PM - Added another 3 this evening. Meant to go further but ran out of time. 7:30 pace, more or less.

AM - I don't have an exact distance on this run, but I ran pretty close to 7:00 for 55:45, so somewhere around 7.9 miles. The legs were a little tired, but it felt good.

PM - Added a short 3-miler. I feel myself getting back into shape, and it's exciting. I'm planning to race in mid-November and am looking forward to it.

Ran an out-and-back 10, holding about 7:00 on the nose for the majority of it. It felt really good, running is starting to be really enjoyable again.

Single 10 mile run tonight, 1:12:30 total time. Had a little pain on the inside of my left knee so I'm icing it tonight.

12 mile long run tonight, I definitely feel the fitness returning. I averaged about 7:00 and it felt great. Last winter I remember my training pace was dipping under 7:00 until I started into tempo runs and such, so it's probably time to start adding in the tempos in the next couple weeks. I race mid-November and should be in reasonable shape.

AM - Ran with my brother this morning for 27 minutes. It was his first run in awhile, and I think it hurt. We were doing about <7:30 pace, too. After, I added another 20 minutes. My legs are a little sore, but the shin is better and the knees aren't bugging me much. I'll hold this week at 60 miles, then start increasing again from there. PM - Added a short 4-miler.

AM - I planned to do more than 5 this morning, but I was having serious stomach issues so I cut it short. I don't think it's Crohn's related, but it did not feel good. I haven't been eating or sleeping well, so I'm sure that was the cause.

PM - Added 4 miles this evening. The stomach is feeling a little better.

AM - Ran down 800 N to the river trail and followed it for a little bit. Total time of 49:15, I should have been about 6.9 miles for the run. The shin is hurting again a little bit, but nothing a little ice can't fix.

PM - Added the 4 mile route down the old Springville highway.

One run today - 9 miles in 63:34. The lack of sleep has reached new heights and I was seriously feeling it on this run. It's funny, my legs felt very sluggish but I found myself having to consciously make myself run slower than 7:00 pace. Anyway, I'm gonna go shower and lay down for a nap.

Got some sleep last night and the run felt 100 times better. Did the same 9 miles in 62:34 and it felt great. I'm still having pain in my shin, although I don't always feel it while I run. I'll feel it going down stairs, and it feels very deep. I don't like it.