I am one with the levee and the levee with me

1st run - I've got a little catching up to do on the blogging, but I got a few good workouts in during Christmas break. I missed a couple of runs, which wasn't good, but it was partly because my heart stopped for about 4 seconds while I was playing basketball with my family one day. Yeah, it stopped. It scared the living daylights out of me, but supposedly this is a normal phenomenon among athletes. Yikes!

Anyway, I ran 8 miles this afternoon in the glorious snow. 64:xx total time. I ran into Sasha on the trail running with one of his girls and chatted for a bit. I'll have to add a few more miles tonight.

2nd run - Added an easy 4 tonight. The roads were slippery - average pace was about 8:20.

AM - 3 easy miles this morning. Again, the pace was at least 8:15.

PM - I showed up at the track this afternoon to run mile repeats with the team. I think that my expectations for myself just got bumped up a notch. I've been doing these on my own at around 5:00/mile thinking that I was doing a good workout. Today I averaged 4:49.

So after my workout Saturday, my confidence was lacking quite a bit. One of these days I'll get around to blogging it, but I ran 2xmile on the short track in 4:50 and 4:46, and it felt difficult. I was worried that I had lost fitness from being at sea level and missing some of my workouts. Coach wanted the slowest guys to start at 4:52 and work their way down. I figured I might be able to average 4:55 for the entire workout.

I started with a few of the rear guys, and came through the first one in 4:52. I felt very sluggish and didn't think I could run another that fast.

The second rep felt much better, and I didn't pay much attention to the time, but just to stay with the guys I was with. 4:45 on that rep. I was shocked. A little too fast, but I didn't start to tire till the final lap.

The third one was more conservative, and we ran a 4:49. Again, I didn't start to tire too bad till the final lap. The fourth rep was a lot more difficult, and the last two laps felt closer to race effort. I lost contact with the two guys I was with, but finished in 4:49 and was happy with it. They were 4:45ish.

So I am very pleased with this workout. It gives me confidence that I can run considerably faster than last race. The team is running a tempo on Thursday, but I figure I'll sit it out in the interest of saving my legs for my last shot.

Mile reps (4:45 - 5:00 rest):

4:52

4:45

4:49

4:49

AM - Ran an easy 7 this morning. 56:10 total time. Ran into Sasha on the river trail and ran with him about a mile. My legs feel tired.

PM - Added an easy 4 tonight down 800 N.  

Something very bad happened today. I slipped on an icy sidewalk and hurt my knee. I had it X-rayed and it's not broken, but it's in a lot of pain. Lots of swelling. Too much to run on. I'll have to rest up and see if it will be usable by Saturday, but I doubt it. I asked the doctor about getting a cortisone shot, but she laughed at me. Yeah, laughed at me. No sense of urgency in these doctors.

So I swung by Eyestone's office, he didn't seem too concerned about it. Just let it rest and heal up, either I can run Saturday or I can't.

I'm bummed.  

No change in my knee from yesterday. I can't bend it more than about 15 degrees. I've kept ice on it as much as I can, but it's still swollen. I'll be able to run on it by late next week, if I'm lucky.

This isn't looking good. I notice very little improvement over yesterday - my range of motion is still incredibly limited. I'm keeping ice on it, but it is healing a lot slower than I'd hoped.

Anyway, I went to the track to watch the men's 3k. Brandon Hebbert won in 8:31ish. The guys I was with during the workout with finished in low to mid 8:40s. It was fun to watch. With luck I can be racing again in a couple weeks. ISU has a meet in 2 weeks, I'm tentatively planning to run it. Some UVU guys I talked to today are going to drive up and split a hotel room and invited me to come along if I'd like.

Some of the range of motion is coming back. I went to the weight room to use an elliptical, but didn't realize there are only 4... and I came at the worst possible time. I'm getting up early tomorrow so I can make sure to get a workout in. I tried a bike, but I couldn't bend my knee enough. I tried to jog a little, but it couldn't take the weight. It was frustrating. 

AM - Got to the weight room right at 6 so I could claim my elliptical. Did an hour on it, and managed to keep my heart rate between 140 and 145. I've measured it at about 140 on training runs, so hopefully this will help me preserve some of my aerobic conditioning. It's disgusting how much I sweat in stationary air.

I also dropped by Eyestone's office, and I didn't make the cut. Bad timing on this injury, I think I could have had a great race last weekend.

45 minutes on the elliptical tonight. I got there a little late, so didn't get as much time as I wanted. Kept the HR around 140-145 the first half, then up around 160-165 the last 20 minutes. I jogged about 100 meters, and things are feeling much better, but it's not quite there. My knee isn't lifting and my foot kind of drags on the ground.

Got to the weight room bright and early this morning for an hour on the elliptical. They wouldn't let me in until I shaved (what do they expect, who shaves that early, anyway?) and I feel extremely resentful for it. Mostly because my only option of shaving without missing the workout was to use their butter knife razors and watered down shaving cream. It felt like taking a potato peeler to my skin. Anyway, HR stayed at about 135 the first 20 minutes, then 142-147 the last 40 minutes.

I'm itching to run again. Tonight I might try a short one. I can bend the knee more than 90 degrees now, but it is still stiff. Maybe a slow shuffle would be sustainable.

45 minutes on the elliptical this morning. Tried to run tonight, but could only make it about one block.

Got an hour in on the elliptical. HR 140-145. This has got to be the most boring form of exercise ever invented. It's driving me insane. I ran a few strides but decided not to risk making it worse. I'm still optimistic, maybe by the end of this week I'll be able to run again.

Another hour on the elliptical. I might try to run a little bit tonight, but I don't want to push things. I had trouble getting my HR up to the normal levels. I was working harder than last night, but it was difficult to keep it about 140. 

Ran a couple of miles today. The knee is stiff and hurts a little but seems to be working okay. I only ran 2 miles to see if it would hurt it, help it, or if the knee would care at all. It's Saturday that I'm typing this, and the knee doesn't seem to have cared. I'll try a few more miles tonight.

I should be supplementing this with the elliptical work, but 1) I'm not sure if the elliptical is helping or hindering the knee recovery, and 2) I hate the elliptical. I've taken a couple days off and the knee seemed to do much better. I'm afraid that if I keep forcing myself out of bed at 6 am that I will quit everything altogether. Since walking on got shot down, I think I'm going to turn my attention to the marathon. 

4 miles! Woohoo! My knee actually felt better today after yesterday's run, so I pushed the run to 4 miles. Not pain-free miles, but it wasn't bad. I probably won't go past this until I've made better progress, but this is starting to look better.

I'm a little surprised at how bad this injury turned out to be. I thought I'd only miss a couple days. This has been much worse than I'd hoped, but at least it's getting better. With any luck, I won't have to sue that gas station after all ;)

Ran 3 easy miles today. My knee has stopped hurting when I walk, but there was still considerable pain when I ran. I think I can try to do a few miles a day and see how it goes. I stopped doing the elliptical because the sleep deprivation was getting to me. And I hate gyms. Especially the BYU gym.... my high school had a nicer one. 

Anyway, it was great to get a few miles in. 6:50 average pace - I was so just excited to be running. I felt heavy and slow, but my legs and breathing didn't feel too bad.
 

3 easy miles

Saw an ortho last week and think I've fixed my knee. 

5 easy miles today, about 7:30 pace average.
 

5 miles

5 miles

5 miles

My calf has been bugging me a bit, so I took it easy yesterday and today. 

Today my running came from a rugby match. I got recruited a couple months ago to referee - it's a cool game! Anyway, I worked both BYU games today, combined total of 120 minutes. I don't know exactly how far I ran, but it was at least 3 miles. Plus the 100m sprint to my car to keep from getting beat up afterwards.

Easy 3 miles. Easing myself back into training.

3 easy miles.

3 miles easy.

4 miles easy. Felt pretty good for being out of shape.

Refereed the BYU women's rugby match today, followed by UVU's B team. I'm calling it 2 miles, although I'm sure it was more. Felt pretty wiped out afterwards.

Added 4 miles this afternoon, enjoying the sunshine.

4 miles easy.

Same as yesterday.

Same. One of these days I'll do something different.... and it will be shocking.

5 miles tonight. I said I was going to switch it up. And it was thrilling.

Only 3 miles today. That 5 miler seems to have been a little too exciting.... something just doesn't feel right in my left knee (I fell on my right knee earlier, so different issue). It feels like a tendon is catching on my back stride. I don't really know how to explain it better, but it didn't feel right.

The knee was a little sore today and still doing the same thing, so I kept it short and easy. Maybe it's ITB related? Feels much different than other ITB problems I've had, but is about in the same spot. The pain isn't serious but feels like one of those things that could become serious. Seriously.

Ran an easy 4 miles. Both knees were a little sore, but after some heat and stretching they were feeling better. I haven't been stretching much lately.... maybe doing more of it will get my knees more healthy.

I was super short on time today, but managed to get in a quick 3-miler at about 2am. It was delightful.

5 miles!!!!! 

Big goose egg today. No excuse, I just didn't do it.

5 miles easy.

4 miles

5 miles!!!!

5 miles, 7:30 pace

Big fat goose egg again today. I've got to start planning better... I was up till late working on homework and passed out with the book in hand.

This is getting exciting!

6 miles, easy.

I refereed 3 games today and am totally wiped out. That's 2 hours and 40 minutes of fairly continuous running... I'm calling it 5 miles so far. I usually figure each men's game is 2 miles, but I'm rounding down today. Haven't decided if I'll get out for another run yet.

That's right, just 1 mile

7 miles tonight, about 7:15 pace. It felt fantastic. 7 miles is kind of a barrier to me between where the early "injury prevention" buildup ends and the serious mileage buildup begins. Hopefully in a couple weeks I'll be back up to 60+ mile weeks. 

7 miles, headed down the river trail. Caught some of the rain tonight.... I love the rain! 7:00 avg.

7 miles, 7:10 pace.

Been sick and was traveling, so tried to rest up today and yesterday.

Did 3 miles and almost died. You think I'm exaggerating, but I'm not. Chest hurts, coughing too much.

Did a rugby match today, felt awful afterwards. Running a fever of about 101, so saw a doctor and got some antibiotics. He thought I might be developing bronchitis. Think I'll take some Nyquil and pass out for the rest of the night. I love Nyquil..... I buy the cherry flavor and listen to "Red, red wine" while I drink it. ahhhhh, I'm too easily amused.

7 miles. The antibiotics seem to have worked. I don't feel perfect, but good enough. 7:02 pace.

7 miles !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm excited about it. I feel out of shape, but it was a great day. Didn't have my watch, but 6:50-7:00 pace.

Did a couple of rugby games, 2 miles. 7 mile run tonight. 

What would be a week of training without a goose egg? Had a presentation due Friday morning and spent the night working on it. Thought about going on a run around 3 am, but fell asleep instead. I'm lazy. That's why I'll never be great.

Standard 7

8 miles

8 miles

8 miles

8 miles, although it didn't feel great. I'm sore all over, which doesn't make a lot of sense. I don't think I'm sick. So I took this run pretty easy, maybe 7:30-8:00 pace. I got passed for the first time in my life on a training run, too, and even though I know it's not a big deal, it bothered me. It still bothers me. People should know better.

The knee I fell on back in January is giving me some problems. Nothing serious, but the level of irritation is up. Not sure why, but I don't like it.
 

Easy 8. Was out around midnight, freaked out some kids who must have been high out on the trail. Made my day.

Nice way to end the week. I need to stop having goose-egg days, though. So next week, if I miss a day, it's $10* to the Fast Running Blog. No reason not to have a less than 50 mile week next week.

*Barring injury and sickness, or other acts of nature/God that are out of my control. Whether or not they are in my control will solely be judged by me.
 

8 miles. 7ish pace.

Felt adventurous, so I extended the run to 9 miles today. I'm feeling pretty good, for the most part. That knee I fell on is still tender... I've been putting the heat back on it. It doesn't feel like it will cause any serious problems, at least not at this mileage, but I do worry that it's still hurting.

8 miles.

Easy 9. 7ish pace.

9 miles. I got stalked by some guy in a pickup truck for a couple miles. Really creeped me out. If anybody knows a guy about my size with short, light-brown hair who drives a brand-new diesel Ford F-150 with a chrome tool box in the bed.... please ask him to stop stalking boys on the trails.

Goose egg worked. I almost didn't get out tonight, but I thought, well I can do 3 and avoid the penalty. Once I was out, I figured I'd at least make a decent run out of it. So I ended the week at 50. 

9 easy on the river trail.

AM - 7 miles

PM - 3 miles

9 miles

9 miles

7 miles

2 miles. Disappointing finish to the week. Finished moving in the morning, had rugby in the afternoon, then drove to Washington and was completely wiped out by the time I arrived.

I'm in Washington this week. 10 miles easy on some of my old trails.

AM - 6 miles easy

PM - 4 miles easy 

8 miles - 53:07

6 miles

AM - 7 miles

3 easy miles.

10 miles. This was my favorite run of the year... I got a break from the wind today and got to run through the rare Eastern Washington rainstorm. It was dark and dreary and wonderful. Ran through the orchards and desert and loved every minute. The smell of wet sagebrush is the one thing I love about my hometown. Dry, dusty smelling sagebrush is no good, it was to be wet.

The wind was back today. I went and ran basically the same trail as yesterday.... not as good. Dry and dusty and windy. Bleh.

I drove out to another of my old runs. It follows a four-mile road through the middle of farmland to the base of a hill called Jump Off Joe. No word if Joe survived, but it's quite a climb from bottom to top. We used to do this once a year in high school - the road from the base to the top is about 1.5 miles long and climbs several hundred feet. One of these days I'll measure it.

I thoroughly enjoyed the run, and the climb confirmed to me that it is as bad as I remember. 11:57 was my time, 10:10 back down, so maybe it's a touch longer than 1.5 miles. I don't know. But fun day.  

Started out through the orchards again and tried to hit a canal road, but I couldn't find it and ended up running through the middle of a wheat field. It was actually more enjoyable than you might think; there's something about sort of barren wasteland that I like.

Stopped by a high school track on the way back and did 6 x 100m strides. Splits: 15.7, 15.8, 15.2, 14.1, 13.8, 13.4. 

Drove back to Utah today. Got in late, but headed out for a few miles before bed. 65:03 total.

AM - Met at Sasha's house for an easy 8.

AM - Met at Sasha's house for an easy 8.

PM - Added 4 miles down the river trail at just under 7:00 pace.

AM - 8 easy miles with Sasha and the gang. One 6:00 mile pickup, but otherwise pretty standard run.

PM - Added an easy 4. 

AM - Started the day with an easy 6 from Sasha's house.

PM - Added an easy 3. 

I got a call last night from my brother in Springville. One of his neighbors has been putting on a race for the last few years, and my brother and his wife were helping out this week, so they invited me out to run it.

I was impressed with how well the thing was put on. The story behind it is that one of the race organizers' kids was killed in a car accident a few years ago, and they organized a scholarship fund in her memory. They use the race as a fundraiser - the website is here.

Anyway, the race starts in a little park just outside of Hobble Creek Canyon, and as luck would have it, there was a stiff breeze blowing out of the canyon at the start of the race. Spencer Gardner showed up, and as the race got under way, I tucked in next to him. I remembered his name from some of the state meet results, and he was wearing some BYU gear, so I figured I might have a chance against him if he wasn't in top shape but that he'd blow me away otherwise. Well, I don't think he was in top shape, but he still blew me away.

The first mile was with the wind at our backs, and Spencer took it out hard. The wind was just hard enough that the air seemed dead still around us. I stuck right on his shoulder, trying to test if the pace was his honest 5k pace, or if he might break later in the race. I thought if I could make it to two miles with him I might have a shot. One 90 degree turn to the left about a half-mile in, and the cross-wind was still favorable. I tried to make small talk with Spencer, but got a cold shoulder. A couple other high school kids hung with us through a half mile but dropped off and left us alone after that.

The first mile finished at the top of a lenghty uphill, and he threw in a surge or two as we approached it, and I stayed glued to his shoulder. I knew the pace was too fast for me, but hoped that he would crack first. He didn't. We climbed the hill, maybe 200-300m long, and passed the mile. My watch said 4:54. Probably a bit short, I would have expected something closer to 5:00. He surged again at the top of the hill, and again I stayed stuck to his shoulder. Just after the mile, the course turned left again, this time straight into the wind. I started grunting a little, hoping that he'd think I was done and ease up a bit, but no luck. I tucked right behind him, but he made a terrible wind block, and pretty soon my grunting was just out of sheer pain. We were getting close to halfway, but I couldn't keep the pace and the deadly gap began to form. I tried to close it, but my legs were getting heavy and I couldn't respond. By mile 2 he had 10-15 seconds on me. The watch read 10:29... mile 2 was probably a bit long, but I think the overall distance was close to correct.

By this point, the course had looped back to the first hill, and the wind wasn't bad going down. A right turn at 2.5 put the wind square in my face again, and I cursed it all the way to the finish. The watch read 15:52 at mile 3, and I covered the last bit in 24 seconds for 16:16 final time. I believe Spencer finished 19 seconds up.

I hate getting beat. Hate it, hate it, hate it. Especially when a guy gives me a cold shoulder. The audacity!

But overall I'm satisfied with the run. Obviously the course was a little short; 24 seconds for .1 miles is not quite right. I'm guessing 10-15 seconds overall, which puts me about where I expected given conditions, fast start, etc.

I stuck around for the kids' races after, which were honestly the best part. They had races for ages 2 and up... quite entertaining. Especially for you bloggers with kids, I highly recommend this run next year.

As a post script, gmap-pedometer.com measured the course as about .03 miles long. By its measurements, the 1-mile mark was exactly right, 1-2 was long, 2-3 was right, and 3-finish was short.

PM - Added 4 super-easy miles.

AM - Easy 8 at Sasha's. Calves are pretty sore, quads and hamstrings feel tired, and my arches hurt.

Just for fun, I went back to gmap-pedometer to do a much more anal measurement of Saturday's race and found it to be 3.079 miles. Mile 1 and 3 were in the right spot, mile 2 was a little early, and 3 to the finish was .079. A straight conversion would put me at 16:22.

PM - Added an easy 4 down the river trail. 

AM - Bought some new shoes yesterday, working on breaking them in. New shoes always cut into the bottom of my ankle for a week or so. Met at Sasha's house for an easy 8 at 8:00 pace.

PM - Added an easy 4 tonight. 

I'm having alarm issues and slept through it for the second day in a row. This time I woke up at 7:30 and had missed the run at Sasha's.

Went out a little later for a tempo run. My aerobic base isn't really there yet, so I figured I'd go at 5:30 pace until it was harder than tempos should be. I'd hoped for 5 miles, but decided to cut it off at 4. Mile splits as follows:

5:32

5:32 (11:04)

5:34 (16:38)

5:28 (22:06)

Cooled down for a bit on the trail, then added 8x100m strides, first two in 16.5, next five bouncing between 14 and 15, and final in about 13.6.
 

10 miles down the trail today. 1:12:06.

Went out for an easy run this evening. About halfway through my Achilles suddenly started shooting me with sharp pains. It lasted for more than a quarter, so I stopped and tried to stretch, but that made it worse. Not wanting to hurt it further, I stopped to walk, but walking was worse. Tried walking backwards, sideways, tumbling... nothing worked. Finally I tried a quick shuffle, discovered it was painless, and within a quarter mile I was back up to 7:20 pace with no pain. Weird. It's not giving any pain now, so I'll throw some heat on it tonight and see what happens tomorrow.

Ran an easy 10 tonight. The ankle felt tender, but didn't get worse with the run. I iced it all night and it seems to be feeling better.

AM - 8 miles easy from Sasha's house. Ankle is tender, but not bothering me much during the run.

PM - Easy 4 down the river trail.

Got out a little later than normal for an easy nine. 

AM - 9 miles down the river trail. I banged my left knee on something Monday and it was hurting quite a bit during the run. I iced afterwards, but it has been hurting since.

PM - Headed out for the second run, but there's too much pain in the knee. It wasn't unbearable but felt like it could quickly become so, and I decided to play it safe and try to get it feeling better.

I'm taking today off to rest up the knee. Kept ice on it for about 4 hours last night and must have killed enough cells that it doesn't feel as bad today. Still, I want it feeling better than it does now before I put any serious stress on it. If I feel adventurous I might try a mile or two tonight, but the best things will probably be to let it rest.

Tried to run.... too much pain. Made it about 3/4 mile.

I showed up to the cross country practice this morning in hopes that I might be able to run a little. I started doing some leg extensions and it seems to be helping. We only did a few miles, and the knee hurt a little but was bearable. If I can get it to keep improving while I put in a few miles a day, that would be ideal. We'll see. It doesn't feel fantastic right now.

Easy 3

Easy 5. The knee seems to be feeling better, so I went a little further on it. It was fine for 3 miles on asphalt, then the 2 on grass were somewhat painful. 

Most of the kids have gone to a running camp in Montana, so I've been running with the few that stayed behind. One is a freshman who looks like he's got some talent. A 56 quarter in 8th grade, and he has an easy, natural stride. With some mileage under his belt, he'll be pretty good. He just looks like he's made to run. 

Easy 3.8, about 7:30 - 8:00 pace. Knee hurt a little... apparently the grass wasn't so good for it.

AM - 4 easy miles

PM - Took a couple of the guys on a 4 mile tempo. We were told to go out hard enough that we could come back at a faster pace, without killing ourselves. First two miles were 11:48. We stopped for about 4-5 minutes, then came back in 11:01. I was shocked at the 11:01 as I was sure we weren't running a second faster than 6:00 pace. I was running with a 17:00 5k guy, and he was struggling about 3 minutes into the return trip. I can't figure it out... I'm 99% positive that we were running 6:00  pace or slower, but my watch was running each time I glanced at it and it's never given incorrect times before. I'm left scratching my head as I don't think I'm suddenly magically in the kind of shape that 5:30 pace feels that easy. 

In any case, the knee felt okay. Not great, but okay. 

AM - Easy 3 this morning. The knee felt fine till I got on some grass. And then it was fine after I was off the grass. I figure I'll try 45 miles this week and see how it goes. I made an appointment for physical therapy, so hopefully I can get it behind me. The leg extensions I'm doing are making my legs uneven... my right hamstring is especially feeling it (the left knee hurts)... so I guess it's important to strenghten other things as well.

On another note, the dynamic of this high school team is interesting. This is the first time they've had so much talent (2 sub-9:20 guys, a 9:30 guy, and 3 others between 9:45 and 10:00, plus 2 or 3 others who have sub-9:40 talent, barring injury). But they've gotten in the habit of running hard every single day. Example: The 17:00 5k guy I paced last night ran this morning's 3 miles at 6:30 pace. That's his standard training pace. The top guys rarely run slower than 6:30 pace, more often hanging around 6:15. They were only running 30-35 mpw this spring but want to work up to 60-70 mpw this summer, and it seems to me that they run the risk of hurting themselves out at higher volumes. I'm not sure how to get them to slow down, but I think this team has some serious potential if they don't kill themselves first.

PM - Coach had the boys doing a flag drill tonight, so I joined them for a few. I ran barefoot through the grass, more than anything to test my knee had sprint pace, and it seemed to hold up fine.  

7 easy miles by myself. Couldn't get out later, so I ran through 95 degree heat... very painful. My knee acted up on me a little towards the middle of the run with up and downhill stuff, but nothing horrible. It's getting better.

Met with the guys in the evening for an easy 6 but somehow ended up with 5.5. Oh well.

AM - Went to therapy yesterday and was told I have bursitis above my knee cap and maybe a little tendinitis. Had ultrasound and shock therapy done and was told to keep doing the leg extensions for strenghthening. And lots of icing. I'll probably do some cross training next week, but I want to give it a few days to see if it will get better without cutting out running.

Anyway, an easy 5 this morning.  

PM - Added 42 minutes of biking. Heartrate at the turnaround was 132. 

Paced some of the freshman boys for a 2400m time trial tonight. 

You'd think that physical therapy would've strenghtened my knee, but it has suddenly become much worse. The pain feels like it moved to my IT band and I could feel it snapping across the side of my knee. Not good. I'm taking a few days off and seeing what happens... trying to train through is obviously not working. 

I've now run 4 days of completely pain-free running!!! It's fantastic.

So I took most of last week off, then saw the physical therapist on Monday. It was a different guy this time, and he seemed to have the magic touch. We spent the entire hour working on loosening up my hamstring and quads... and I ran that night without a problem. So moral of the story: Spend a little more time on my stretches. I'm loving it. 

Easy 3. 

Easy 4 tonight with the team out on a desert trail. After Saturday's goose egg, I'm going to have to reinstate my $10 penalty donation to the FRB. It's never failed yet.

5 easy miles. The boys ran a time trial tonight and I paced some of the freshman. Things are still feeling good in my knees.

5 easy miles by myself. I ran out on a farm road around dusk... it was gorgeous. It would have been an absolutely perfect run except that I got a Taylor Swift song stuck in my head for the whole way. 

Went with the boys on a run through a local canyon. Went out 3 miles on the Garmin at 6:30 pace and came back in 16:54. Mile 2 and 3 were 5:30 and 5:20 and I was pleasantly surprised that I haven't lost all my conditioning - I felt like I could keep it up for another 2 or 3. 

Also, it's clear to me that training at even the 4500 feet of Provo is significantly different than here. The relative ease or difficulty of different paces has obviously shifted from what it was at altitude. 

6 miles by myself through 95 degree heat. Not my idea of a perfect run, but you have to squeeze it in when you can.

Easy 6. Glad to have broken 30 miles for the week. The recovery seems to be going well.

6 miles with the boys, 36:48. Went out at 6:30 pace, last two miles coming back around 5:40.

The boys did some speed stuff tonight and I'm still prone to injury so I headed off on my own. I meant to go 7 but ended up with 8.5. Felt relaxed, running closer to 7:00 pace tonight.

Easy 6 out on my own. Relaxed 7:20 pace overall.

Tempo run tonight with the boys. 3 mile warmup and 3 mile tempo, slightly downhill, in 16:46. I don't have splits since our trails aren't marked, but it felt like 5:35, 5:40, 5:30 would be good estimates. 

6 miles easy  on my own.

7.5 mile run with the team. 7:15ish pace today. 40 miles is great for this week, and my legs are feeling great. Things are still a little tight, but my stretches seem to be keeping me healthy.

Easy run today. Ran with one of my old high school buddies who is back from college for a bit. 7:00-ish pace.

7 miles, 3 of them in 18:15.

7 easy miles out by myself at a really easy pace.

Hill workout today. There's a steep 1/4 mile hill closeby that we do these on. 6:30 pace is fast going up. 5 reps turned out to be a good workout. There was a rattlesnake on the trail that buzzed at us but we took care of it with some rocks. 

Alright, this is the first time I've had to pay out on my goose egg. $10 to the FRB for not running today. In my defense, it was my brother's wedding today and I was busy with family stuff till about midnight and was just too wiped out to get out.

8 miles out at Jump Off Joe hill. We just ran the 4 mile run to the base of the hill, 6:50ish pace overall. My legs felt tired and I tried to get the guys to take it easy, we've done a lot of hard runs this week. My body was telling me to rest, but it's hard to get these guys to go easy, they're very motivated.

Okay, I didn't really run 38 miles today, but I don't remember the actual runs I did this week since I'm behind on my log. I was on the coast fishing for salmon (which, btw, was awesome. 20 salmon in 3 days' fishing is a new record.) But I know the total for the week was 38.

We ran a time trial on the opening XC course for this year. This is my first cross race since 2004, and the difference between road or track racing surprised me. In high school I used to lump racing of any kind into all the same category, but cross is completely different. Imagine that.

The course record is 10:01, set by a kid who went on to run 9:10 for 3200m that spring. The 2nd fastest time was 10:36, run by another kid who ran a 4:14 1600m later that spring. So the course is fairly slow, running through deep grass, sand, uneven ground, sharp turns, and a couple of hills.  

We got out fairly fast, a pack of 5 or 6. I had hoped to do my job of pushing them, but they got out fast enough that I found myself in 3rd or 4th through the first quarter, 73 seconds. I continued to sit there, letting them push the pace through about 3/4 mile, passing 1/2 in 2:28. Approaching the mile, guys started falling off one by one till just me and Anthony were left. Anthony is only a sophomore, and he's going to be an incredible runner. I mean, he has super-star potential, it just remains to be seen just how much talent he has. He ran a 4:23, 9:31 1600m/3200m double as a freshman. Yeah. 

Anyway, I sat behind him, trying to pull up even with him, but he worked hard to keep me just a step or two behind. We went through the mile in 4:58, then slowed in the 3rd half, running through the majority of sand and sharp turns here. 1.5 was reached in 7:45 and I was still a step behind. At this point, I made a move to pull even, but he moved at just the same time and I remained 2 steps behind. 

Shortly after, I pulled even and continued to push the pace, but he matched me stride for stride. He cut me off around a corner, and I fell behind 2 steps again. Excellent move on his part, and I never regained the ground. We dashed up the final hill, and the steep downhill slingshot us into the final stretch. I came down the hill with awesome momentum, almost pulled even, but he began to kick hard. I maintained my momentum and sprinted but could not gain ground, and remained 2 steps behind through the finish. 10:09 to 10:10.

The next 5 were not far behind. This team is going to be really good this season, things are coming together well. Anthony is the strong #1 now, but there are 3 others who can push him, and the top 5 scorers should be a fairly tight pack.

I was happy with my run, considering my current mileage, but was surprised to be beat by Anthony. It's good to train with these guys, they're good enough to push me to some faster times. 

Hill workout. 5x400m hill. Averaged 1:40, 1:37 fastest.

10.3 miles, 6:39 average. Felt very relaxed.

Coach wanted this one run at a slower pace to get more of the guys bunched up together later in the race. He wanted 10:30 for two miles and then whatever we had for the last 800m. We had 6 guys within 30 seconds of each other, and 5:15 pace isn't all that slow a pace for this course.

We stayed bunched through about 1.75 and then the others started to lose touch with the top 2 guys and me. We went through 2 in 10:42, a little off pace, and finished with a 2:24 final half. 

AM - 3 easy miles.

PM - 8 miles easy with the team. 

9 easy, mostly by myself. The team did speed drills and I sat them out (sprint stuff makes me injury prone).

Rested up today. I had a pretty severe allergy attack today that laid me out most of the evening. I felt awful and decided I could really use the rest.

The national high school rankings came out this week, and it's pretty exciting stuff for our team. All summer we've had our sights set on going after Ferris HS from Spokane and Jackson HS from the west side of the state. On paper we should be about even with these teams. Ferris is currently ranked #1 in the country and Jackson #13. The defending national champions, North Central, also from Spokane, are at #14. Of course, preseason rankings are spotty at best, but this team is good enough to run with those top two teams. The head coach said he got an information request form from the guys who do the rankings, but decided he didn't want his guys focused on rankings and didn't fill it out. Ferris and North Central are our second race of the season, and the guys are totally stoked for it.

Anyway, 12 miles on my own today. Had a golf thingy with work so I missed the morning practice. Realized about halfway through that I had not been drinking nearly enough and finished severely dehydrated. The last 4 miles or so were not fun. Estimated pace at 6:45ish but rounding total mileage down to 12. 1:25:46 total time. 

AM - Got myself up at 5 am to run an easy 3.

PM - 3x3:00 repeats tonight, 2:00 rest, starting at 5:20 pace and working down to 4:45. Several of the guys were able to keep up, it was an awesome workout.

Easy 9

12 x 400m in a nearby park. The grass is long here, but it's slightly downhill and these run about the same as a track. 2:20 rest, which is a little high for me, but it's okay. First 8 in 67-72, the guys were begging to run faster, so Coach said to run 65, 64, 63, <62 on the last 4. I matched our top runner and #9 came through in 62. #10 in 60. I ran 60 on #11 and felt like I was standing still as 2 of our guys ran 55. Same with the last one. My hamstrings were sore for days afterwards...

9 miles easy.

8 miles easy.

6 x Carmichael hill. Long steep uphill goes to flat goes to long gradual downhill over one of the XC courses. Each one is about .7 miles. Started in 5:20 pace for entire rep, then worked down to 4:45 for final one. 

PM 1 - Ran easy 5 with team after work.

PM 2 - Ran easy 6 later on. Legs are tired. 

Hill workout tonight with the team. Close to 100 degrees today so we waited till evening. 10x90 second hill repeats, about 2:1 rest ratio, which was okay with me because I was not on my game tonight; a little dehydrated, I think. But the team ran great... they race the #1 and #14 ranked teams in the nation next week and are hungry to pick someone off. 

PM 1 - Met team after work for easy 7. 6:40ish pace.

PM 2 - Added an easy 3

PM 1 - Met team for easy 5.

PM 2 - Added super easy 5 by myself.

I ran the anchor leg of a local triathlon today... kind of a weird, but very fun experience. It's been a long, long time since I ran a 10k, so I was hoping to get a good gauge of where I'm at fitness-wise, since most of my recent workouts have been odd-ball high school XC type workouts.

My teammates told me I'd get the hand-off about 4 minutes down on the top team, and their guy is a 38-ish 10k runner. Piece of cake, I thought, figuring I should be able to run 33:00. But when our biker was nowhere in sight 3:30 down, then 4:00, then 4:30, I started to think a win was out of the question. He finally came into view at 5:00 and I had the timing chip by 5:30 behind the lead guy, running in 3rd place by this point. The weather was perfect, the course was flat with generally gentle turns, and I was initially shooting for a 5:20 pace average, although now thinking that 5:15 might be needed to win.

I had borrowed a Garmin and was banking on being able to pace off of it but should have known the instantaneous pace would be inaccurate. It was bouncing between 5:10 and 5:25 for the first mile, jumping to 6:00 every time I went under a tree (is that normal?), so I really had no clue what I was running. The first mile cone came through in 5:41 and was obviously off... the watch told me I'd done 1.10 miles at that point.

So I tried to guess where 5:20 pace was and glanced at the watch every time I was out from under the trees. The 2-mile cone went by in 11:04 and I didn't catch the Garmin measurement. 3-mile cone came and went in 16:31 and I reached the turnaround in 17:08. It was an out-and-back course so I was able to measure 2:20 between me and 1st place, and the excitement of closing so much distance in the first half helped shake off some of the fatigue that was creeping in.

I passed 2nd place around mile 4 (22:04, I think?), realized I had a lot left in the tank and started to push it. I peeked at the Garmin every time I was in the clear and watched it drop from 5:20 to 4:58. I was getting nervous as I neared mile 5, straining to see ahead to my target... and he finally came into view around the mile mark (27:12).

He was 30 seconds up and I knew he was toast. I dug down a little more, not wanting to make it too close, Garmin pace creeped down to 4:53 (probably just under 5:00 in reality), and he was coming back to me very quickly. I caught him at 5.4 and had a straight shot to the finish. I held my pace to 6 miles, and the final bit was a moderate uphill to the finish. My watch stopped at 33:30 for 6.30, about 45 seconds up on 2nd place. I believe that makes 32:58 for a straight conversion to 6.2, which is okay. That's about where I expected to be.

I was not happy with the mile measurements... In retrospect I had no clue what pace I was running. I believed my Garmin when I was in the open during the race, but in reality it was reading 5 seconds fast or so. It's really not hard to certify a course, so why is it so hard to find one around here?

The good news is I had lots left at the end. I believe my last 2.3 miles was run in 5:00-5:05 pace, so I should be running my 10k considerable quicker. I'll have to find a certified course for the next one of these I do.

PM 1 - Hill workout at Richland again. Averaged about 5:00 pace for 5 reps - needed to do more but we started late and it got dark on us. Star senior had a much workout today.

11.6 miles today.

PM 1 - 3.5 with team.

PM 2 - 7 miles by self. 

1 run, 12 miles.

Tracy Walters Meet in Spokane tomorrow. Drove up our star sophomore late, brother got married earlier today. 10 miles late around Spokane. Ran by a hobo on the sidewalk who flicked out a knife as I ran by.... I think he was worried I was going to jump him, but I just about wet myself.

12 easy, mostly by myself.

We had a league meet in Yakima. Both of the other top contenders in our league were there, so this was essentially for the league championship. They took care of business going 1-2-3, which was a really good thing because 4 and 5 and 6 were sick and were way back. 

I tempo-ed the course as a workout afterwards - 5k in 17:05. Brutal course. 

Single run. Started out wanting to go 12 but it felt good so I kept going a little longer. 

I was out to do an easy 10 but tripped over a cement barrier I was trying to jump over. I really don't know what happened, but suddenly I was falling and landed on my knee. Luckily it doesn't look like I did anything serious, but I got a giant goose egg on my inner quad and I ended up hitchhiking back to my car. 

Easy 3. The swelling has gone down significantly and I could run without serious pain. Looks like I just bruised the muscle.

Shadle Park Invite up in Spokane this week. They run class races, so things are split up a bit. Our boys ran well... lumping the results together we had 3 guys in front of Ferris' #2. Excellent progress. Our 4 and 5 are still a little further back, but they're getting there.

I ran 12 easy, the leg seems fine. Bruised and swollen, but it doesn't affect my stride at all. 

Hill workout at Richland. 4x.7mile loop, averaging 5:00-5:05.

Added an easy 5 later by myself. 

Long day, only ran 6 with the boys, no second run.

6x600m repeats at our XC course. Started at 1:50 and chopped down to 1:36. Too much rest, not enough volume, but that's okay. It was hot today and coach has been worried about sickness.

Easy 12. I moved to a new apartment that's right on the Columbia River with a nice river trail that runs for miles and miles alongside. It's wonderful.

We were supposed to have a hard run today, but half the varsity team has come down with the swine flu so we took it easy.