Elite Jogging For Dummies

Skate skiing at Mountain Dell. My technique was decent today.

Easy tour of Fort Douglas/University. Limited time, limited run.

I had big dreams for an 8 mile run today. But since I woke up late, I had to settle for six. 

I met up with Josh and Seth Wold at 5:45 on So. Temple and N Street.  Seth was looking for guys to run with and he lives pretty close to Josh and me, so it makes sense. We ran the U/Federal Heights/Avenues loop with the Ensign extension (and a little bit of packed snow trail running).  Pace was brisk for this hilly route, but manageable. I had 1:05 for 9 miles, and that included the minute or so Josh and I were waiting to meet up with Seth. I actually felt better today than I have for a while--with my cold in retreat and the ab problem not giving me too much worry.  Good run overall.

Limited time this morning (had to roll out of the house with Jack by 7:30 am and then go to work). So, even though I was out the door at 5:45, I only had time for 6.5 miles.

Goose Egg. My cold seems to have come back, particularly in my sinuses.  Ugh. I needed the rest. 

The rest yesterday seemed to do me some good. I managed to hang in for 10 miles this morning with a crew that met at Foothill Sbux at 6am.  Got dusted by Johanna and Emily on the return. 

Skate skiing at Mountain Dell. Conditions were a little sloppy and the snow was thin, but my technique wasn't too bad. 

I woke up to rain mixed with snow. I headed out the door and ran up to TitP before circling back through the University. The roads were very wet, and so were my clothes, but I enjoyed this run. 

Workout (yes, a workout!) with the Black Sheep.  We met at Popperton Park. We ran 1 minute on, 1 minute off for a couple of miles. Then we did the classic "up and over" through the Avenues. Josh and Casey kicked my butt. 

Seven miles.

Eight miles. 

A remarkable 4.5 mile effort this morning.

Another remarkable 4.5 mile effort in the snow. It was supposed to net me more time for our planned roadtrip, but we ended up bagging it because of the storm. 

Skate skiing at White Pine in Park City.  Track was covered in wind drifted snow so it was more like hiking than skating.  It was fun and a nice day, but the skiing part was not so great. 

I had planned a monster 8 mile run, but I ran out of time. 

I ran a loop that took me out to This is the Place and back through the University. It was really icy out this morning and I nearly fell a half dozen times.  Interestingly, every time I was catching myself as I was about to fall, my little abdominal pain flared up.  The sudden tension on those muscles really triggered it.  Fortunately, it didn't last beyond the near-fall.

Yes, another 7 mile run. I really pack in the miles these days (not).  I had a decent run up around Federal Heights and then up to 12th Avenue. Usually, I would run this route up through the University I cut it short today so that I could head over to Memory Grove.

I have been thinking a lot about racing plans recently. Mostly, I have been thinking about not racing all. However, I do have a very slight inclination to run the Wahsatch Steeplechase in June. It seems like every year around this time I start to think about Steeplechase. It is a fun race on a very unique course. Since I live less than a mile from the start, it is also easy for me to train regularly on the course. Right now, it is a very snowy/muddy up there and it will be a while before I can get in any decent runs up toward Black Mountain, but I suppose the seed is planted. Also, Heather is due with baby number two the week after the race so perhaps the timing makes sense.

 For some reason, I cannot seem to get my head into training to race on the road right now. work is crazy and I do not have as much time as I would need do it right. So, maybe if I can get motivated to do something a little bit different, it will keep me going. Why do I still feel like I'm recovering from St. George?

Eight miles around the hood.  Still feeling okay this week. 

Another 8 mile run around the neighborhood. 

I met up with the usual cast of players at Foothill Starbucks at 6 AM. we ran the northerly route up through the University and up to 11th Ave. From there, we ran down to 11th Ave. and B street before turning around and heading back the same way. Spent much of the return route talking to Johanna about solving all of the world's problems. 

Six miles of skate skiing at Mountain Dell. I must be getting a little bit better because the hills that used to completely kick my butt now only partially kick my butt. I also don't have to stop at the top of every hill, which is a refreshing change. Still, it is very anaerobic. Also, I struggled a bit with balance issues at the start but seem to get better after a little bit of time on the skis. the thing I keep discovering more and more every time I ski is that the rhythmic aspect of skating is just as important as the power aspect. Being fit is not enough, there is a lot of fine motor skill that is required to skate well.

I managed to make it out the door at a reasonable time, 5:40 am, which gave me a little bit more time to get in a decent run. The weather was surprisingly warm this morning. In fact, my thermometer said 46° when I left. So it was my first run in shorts in 2009 (at least in Salt Lake City). I was breathing like a wheezing mule during the first 4 miles. After a pit stop I felt much better. 

workout with the black sheep. We met at 15th and 15th at 5:45 AM and ran over to the East side track. We did a very gentle workout on the track: 6 x 300m with 100 m recoveries followed by 2 x 800 m, hard on the straights and easy on the curves.  Then we did a bunch of drills followed by an easy run back to 15th and 15th. It was nice to be on the track for a few minutes and stretch the legs a little bit. I had occasional glimmers of the potential possibility that I may someday, perhaps, conceivably consider running fast again.

I ran a nice loop route is mourning the company up through Fort Douglas and over to TiTP monument. I ran up toward the mouth of Emigration Canyon and then back down Sunnyside before heading north through the University and the Avenues to home. 

I headed up toward Red Butte and ran the icy road up to the gate. I ran into a guy from Minneapolis who was in town for some computer training. He was running up the road as well. we started to chat on the way back down the road and I took him on a little tour of Research Park. we ran into Brian Kamm and Brian ran with us until we got back to the University, where our Minneapolis visitor headed back to his accommodations. I ran with Brian for another mile or so and chatted. Then I headed home through the University.

Very sluggish this morning, I don't know why. I was also pretty limited on time so it all came down to a short run. 

A 12 mile "long" run. I ran from foothill Starbucks with a group of 10 or so. We ran the lead route up to the fire station in the avenues and then down to the gate at the top of memory Grove and a little bit toward the capital. Then we turned around and ran the same thing back to Foothill. It felt good to run more than 8 miles and I didn't have any problems with the abdomen. Still, I feel horribly out of shape.