Elite Jogging For Dummies

Striders Winter Series 10K.  It was one of those mornings where it was very difficult to figure out what kind of race it was going to be.  Jack was up much of the night crying and I didn't sleep well and I woke up pretty tired. The weather looked like it could be good, but wind was a threat.  I had a decent warm up, five miles on part of the course,  saw the monster hill that greets you at mile 4.5.  Just had to race it to see how it would go.

The leaders in this race included basically the same group as at the 5k: Jon, Cody, Ben V. Tim Wight, and me.  We started together and then those guys pulled ahead in a fairly close pack.  Mile 1 in 5:38.  I perceived that the pace seemed a little aggressive, so I just sat back 20-40 meters to see how things would develop.  Mile 2 in 5:12, that seemed quick, even given the big descent.  Mile 3 split was 5:38. Just after mile 3 the lead group slowed noticeably.  I didn't really make a move so much as they all sort of slowed down and I kept my pace (maybe added a little bit) and took the lead. There were a few attacks from Ben and Tim that I recall. I didn't think about all this very much. I knew that the race would sort itself out on the hill.  Mile 4 in 5:48.  On the hill, Tim was putting in a good fight.  Close to the mile 5 mark I could hear he was having some issues and I just tried to keep running my race.  Mile 5 in 6:29 (it's a big hill).  I couldn't hear any footsteps at this point. The hill continues until about mile 5.75.  I couldn't hear any footsteps at this point either. Mile 6 split in 6:29 as well ( that was a surprise, I thought it would have been a little quicker).  Then just tried to keep it up through the finish.  I feel I did a better job today than a couple of weeks ago in the 5k as far as having a good balance between executing a race plan and responding to the realities of the race as it unfolded. 

It was a great showing for the FRB Racing team with a 1-2-3 finish.  I'm excited for Jon and Cody, both of whom had great races.  Also congrats to Andy, Brent, Sylvie, Dee and any others I missed. We were fortunate to have very good racing conditions today.

Cooled down on the course after the race, ran in Heather's cousin Annette, for a total of 3 additional miles.

Once I got home, Heather and I headed to Delta for the Snow Goose Festival. We saw some geese, but the weather was mostly bad.  We found a great shop that sells rocks and minerals, however. We bought a piece of tiffany stone and a piece of honeycomb calcite.

Easy five miles with Heather and Jack (in the baby jogger, of course). It snowed a couple of inches yesterday and last night but this morning was clear.  We ran through the cemetery, which is beautiful after the snow. We saw 20 or so deer.  Heather said that if we ever moved she would miss living next to the cemetery as much as anything. It is a peaceful place. 

Easy run this morning on the Ensign Elem. loop. I can still feel a little bit of Saturday's race in my legs, but it just seems like normal fatigue. Congratulations to the FRB racing team for the awesome performance at Del Sol. You guys are amazing. 

This morning all I could think about was running uphill.  That thought was enough to trump speedwork with the Black Sheep or a tempo run.  So I ran from home over to Red Butte Canyon and ran up to the gate (still some ice and snow on the road).  Then I headed over toward Dry Creek via the Shoreline trail.  It's the first time I've been on this section of trail in months--it was good to be up there again.  I dropped down to 11th Ave through Popperton Park and then headed then up up up to 18th Avenue.  From here I connected on to the Shoreline trail again for a loop around the meadow.  Now it was time to descend to home via 11th Ave, Virginia and 4th Ave. to home. 

This morning I headed out around 5:45 with a plan to head up toward the H Rock and then down to Wasatch Blvd for the return. I meandered through the St. Mary's neighborhoods and turned downhill just before the dirt road that heads to the H Rock. I startled a couple of deer on my descent when I detoured onto a trail in a small gully, but I ended up making friends with one of them. On the return, I headed through This is the Place park. The snow is all melted and it's all runnable now. Nice to have those access points as an option again. For the rest of the run I just tried to stay consistent, pay attention to my breathing.

AM: Made it over to Radda at 5:35, enough time to get in three easy miles before joining the group at 6am. We ran the canal route, which is easily accessible now. After the mansion tour, ran three spicy miles. First mile was a long uphill because I missed the turnoff (I forgot to check the split). Then back down to the rolling hills of Wander Lane for two more miles, 6:02 and 5:52. I still need to concentrate more on staying in the groove in that second mile, but overall this felt pretty good. We ran 9.3 together. Johanna Nielsen is back in town from Paris, this time for good. I should try to get her on the blog so she can join the team. She is coming off of injuries, but is speedy, speedy.

PM:  Ran home from work, 2.3 miles. 

Catching an early flight to go to Palm Springs for a wedding.  Out the door at 5:10 and all I had time for was 7 miles before I had to get home and try to get us out the door on time. Ended up having plenty of time at the airport waiting for the flight.  I ran a modified Avenues loop.  It was nice and quiet being out that early.

Palm Springs, CA.  Heather and I came down here for the wedding of my longtime friend Eric, a college friend and roommate.  The wedding was great, we had a really enjoyable time.

On Saturday morning (I'm writing this Sunday evening), Heather and I ran 7.5 together,  and then I did 6.5 on my own. We cruised through the neighborhood very close to our hotel and then found a trail behind the Palm Springs Museum of Art and climbed probably 800-900 feet before realizing that it wasn't going to get flat anytime soon and our time was better spent on the road if we wanted to avoid getting cooked on the trail without enough water.  So we dropped back into the neighborhood and followed a bike path that took us through a neighborhood with the most amazing collection of mid-century modern homes that I have ever seen. I understand that this architecture is not everyone's thing . . . many people prefer "homier" styles.  But man, I just go nuts over desert modernism. Later in the day we went back to the museum and looked at an exhibit of photos by Julius Shulman--one of the master's of modern architectural photography. Some of his best work is in Palm Springs.  Here are a couple of examples:

Between the change in daylight savings, and a long day of travel yesterday from the Westcoast, I didn't feel particularly rested this morning. Once I got out the door, however, the run was enjoyable. I headed up through This is the Place to the St. Mary's hood, around the golf course and return via TiTP.  

I had a work meeting at 7:30 this morning, so I had to get up pretty early (5:10) to get in the workout before heading into the office. It being Tuesday and all, I decided to take another crack at the Liberty Park tempo run. I warmed up 3.3 miles through the Avenues and downtown and then started the tempo run at 600 E/600 South and headed toward the park. The objective today was to run the second mile in under 6 minutes, which has been very difficult the last couple of times I did this. I don't know why, something about losing concentration. First mile 5:51. Second mile, in the park, trying to keep it together, sort of falling asleep, body feeling sort of sluggish, but 5:55, so I hit that mark. Then I felt sort of spent already, but with 2 miles to go. Third mile, another 5:51. For the last mile, I wanted to run 5:45, but ran 5:46. Then cooled down back to the Avenues and home for a total of 11 for the morning.

PM:  Three easy miles with Heather and Jack (in baby jogger).  The weather was great and I wore shorts.

I ran about a mile on my own and then hooked up with Josh and Megan for a 9 mile run.  I got to hear all about their Canyonlands races. Both were awesome. Josh was 7th overall in 1:13, Megan was 5th overall in 1:26.  Speedy!  After dropping those guys off at their house, I ran a little more to make it 11 for the morning. 

Although I am not going to be able to get in all the miles I would have liked today, I did have an enjoyable run this morning on the St. Mary's/This is the Place loop. It was 39 degrees out. One degree more and I would have worn shorts. But it was comfortable with light tights. I pushed a couple of hills, but otherwise not much to report performance-wise.

Tonight Heather and I are going to hear Michael Pollan at Abravenel Hall. The title of the lecture is The Omnivore's Dilemma: Looking for the Perfect Meal in a Fast Food World.

Eight easy miles this morning on the U/Avenues loop.  It started to snow a little bit after a couple of miles.  I would have been underdressed if it had turned into a blizzard, but things mellowed out after about 20 minutes. I enjoyed the clean feeling of the air moving in and out of my body.

Striders 10 Miler.  I knew that this would be a very different race than the 10k, and it was.  The first big difference was the field.  Adam RW and Walter both joined us, along with a guy Mike [I forgot the last name already].  They all beat me.  The other big difference was the solid race that Jon Allen ran today.  He ran smart and strong.

Heather has my watch with all my splits on it, so I can't give the full split report right now, but I remember a few. We went out at 6 min pace for the first mile, but Mike was already out front. I won't say anything else about him because I didn't see him much after that. He finished in 58 minutes. Adam was holding second, then Walter, then a pack of Jon, Cody, Ben and me.  Pace was esssentially conversational. Everyone knew from the 10k experience that the first 2 miles were not the place to try and shine.  Second mile was 5:21.  That's fairly quick, but it has a steep downhill. I think it was 5:12 at the 10k for me.  Nothing eventful through the 4.5 mile mark as everyone held their places more or less.  We hit the first big hill at 4.5. I thought I might make up some ground on the leaders, but didn't.  Plus Jon stayed with me stride for stride.  Time on the hill was 6:34 (compared with 6:29 in the 10k).  The next big hill begins just after mile 6. It's a relentless climb, essentially a full mile.  I was 7:11, I believe.  On that hill, the race really started to take shape.  Walter, Adam, Jon and I were within 20m or so.  Jon started to pull away.  I kept my pace but wasn't able to pick it up to follow.  Jon passed Walter, and then passed Adam.  He threw down a 5:02 for mile 8.  I ran 5:21--not enough to make any ground.  Around mile 9, I had Walter in sight and thought I could grab a ride to the finish, but he kept enough distance on me.  Mile 9 was 5:40.  Mile 10, which has a big climb, was 5:55. 

So, I was 5th today. But I had a really enjoyable race, had smile on my face for some reason most of the race. I think it was just the enjoyment of being away from the office and doing something completely different.  I ran hard today, but I can run harder.

I was out the door a few minutes before 6am with a plan to run 12. I  ran to Sugarhouse Park and did a loop around the park, then wound my way back north taking various detours along the way.

This morning I wanted to work on downhill turnover, which was a problem for me late in the 10 miler this past weekend.  I warmed up over to the U and then did 4 x 200m hill repeats just to get the legs moving a little.  Then some jogging on to Wasatch Drive for another .5 pickup.  Then I ran through Federal Heights to 11th Ave.  I started the first of three one-mile surges just before the fire station.  This has a nice downhill grade, not too steep.  First mile in 5:02.  Then jogging over to City Creek Canyon and up just past the one mile mark. I turned around to begin the second mile.  Again, this is a nice downhill grade, a few twists and turns but very runnable.  Second mile in 5:08.  Then some more easy running to the bottom of the canyon and down around the horseshoe before heading into Memory Grove where I began the third mile.  This is a very consistent grade, not too steep, just right for this kind of workout.  Mile 3 in 5:05.  Then easy running home on 4th Ave.  I ended up with a little more than 12 miles today which was a little more than I had expected.  More importantly, I was able to get the feel of fast turnover on the downhill sections. Breaking it up into three parts (rather than running a 3 mile tempo) helped me to focus on form during each one without breaking down too much. 

Out the door at about 5:40. I ran about .8 on my own and then hooked up with Josh & Megan. We ran the loop up around This is the Place, with a golf course extension. Felt like a lot of climbing when it was all said and done. Pace was easy, but an enjoyable run.

 I came across this list today (may have been posted by other bloggers, I don't know) of the fastest men's marathon times in 2007. Dustin Ence squeaked in to round out the list. I would say bloggers are well represented.
 

The weather outside right now looks amazing, but it was sure different on the run. I made it to Radda at about 5:50, enough time to run 1.8 before meeting up with the group for a nine mile run. At first the weather wasn't so bad, but then it just started to pour and we (Kim, Sam, Johanna and me) got thoroughly soaked. We did the canal route. My clothes must have weighed ten pounds at the finish.

 PM: Ran home from work, adding some distance on the trail in Memory Grove.
 

Strange run this morning--I didn't have a fixed plan where I was headed and ended up going up Red Butte Canyon. It was still dark and quiet up there on the road up to the gate. At that point (about 3.25 into the run), I took in the scene with the birds chirping, water rushing down the creek, daylight emerging. Headed down the canyon on the trail and connected with the Shoreline trail above the U. Once I got to the bottom of Dry Creek, I was compelled to run up that trail too, so I headed north up the canyon and took the big switchback that goes out to the overlook. Then headed back from the overlook, down the canyon, hit the metal pipe with a rock (took five tries), and then home via 11th Ave and the cemetery. I was out a long time for the distance I covered. Still, it was great to be on the trail for most of the run today. Helped to clear the mind.

 
I need to get a sweet beard like this.

I parked at the Foothill Sbux at 6am and ran 7 miles on my own before hooking up with the group at 7am for another 10 miles. It was surprisingly chilly this morning.  Pace was generally about 7:15, nice and easy.  There was a fair amount of climbing, as I dragged the group back up to TiTP on the way back.

Easy run with Heather and Jack. We ran up through the U and up to the gate in Red Butte Canyon. Surprisingly warm this morning. We were way overdressed--fortunately the jogging stroller has a little basket where we could ditch our excess clothes.

Out the door at 5:50 am with a plan to run 12. I headed out past TiTP and into the St. Mary's 'hood.  I swear that my Garmin skipped about a mile in here, but whatever.  I ended up sort of weaving around the U and Research Park a bit on the way back. I was fairly sluggish early in the run, but seemed to loosen up after a while.

 Heather is going out of town from Weds to Sunday for a conference in DC, which leaves me in charge of Jack for most of the week. It will be tough to get in the runs with the baby, but I will hopefully figure out a way to make it work. If it's warm in the mornings, then I'll feel alright taking him out. Probably have to split up runs most days.
 

I had originally planned to hook up with the Black Sheep for a track workout, but I wanted to be able to get in a few more miles than that plan would allow.  So I headed out the door at about 5:25 with a plan to do a five mile warmup, five mile tempo, and five mile cooldown. The warmup miles were nice, I headed up City Creek and back around toward the Capitol before zigzagging up 1st Ave to South Temple and on to 600 E.  I was at 5.4 when I arrived at 600 So. where I started the Liberty Park tempo run. My goals was to run sub 5:53 per mile, which I thought was somewhat ambitious for me for a couple of reasons. First, I've only been doing four mile tempo runs on this route and adding another mile would be like . .. well, running another mile. Second, my legs are a little tired.  Okay, so the splits were 5:53, 5:56, 5:56, 5:52, 6:04.  I don't know what happened on the last mile.  Mentally I was really hanging with it, but the legs just weren't responding.  Overall, I felt good, though it was a little bit slower than I would have liked.  After the tempo run, I had a nice 5 mile wander back home.

AM--I made it out the door at about 5:50 and ran up to TiTP, and did the St. Mary's/Golf Course Loop. On the way back, I hopped on to the Shoreline Trail north of the zoo at the mouth of Emigration Canyon and headed toward Dry Creek Canyon. Great to be on the trail this morning, my legs appreciated the break from the pavement--if only for 4 miles of the run. Hit the metal pipe on the second try with a roundish rock.

PM--four miles with Jack in the running stroller.  The air temperature was nice, but it was windy. I think Jack tolerated it better than I did.  We stopped at Cafe Shambala on the way home and I picked up some Tibetan food for myself (I shared a little of the rice pudding with Jack after he had his carrot/oatmeal mush).

I had planned to run with Jack this morning in the running stroller, but the freak snowstorm changed that plan. So I went to work for a few hours and then ducked out to run at about 11:30. The air was still a little brisk and there was some wind, but I wore shorts and it ended up being a great run. By the end, the sky was as clear as a bell and from 11th Ave I could see all the way down to Utah County. It's interesting how the emergence of spring never feels more certain than after a March snowstorm. 

Still flying solo with Jack, so I drove out to my mom's house in Sandy this morning and she watched him while I ran for an hour. I basically just ran northeast on Dimple Dell Road. At about 3.25, I hopped on to the trail at Dimple Dell Park and ran along a nice flat wood-chip trail called the "Sleepy Hollow" trail.  I've been driving by this park for much of my life, but never spent any time there. I only saw a sliver of it this morning, but it looks like it would be worth exploring. I think a lot of people take horses in there and stuff, so I am imagining that early morning is the best time to check it out.  It was enjoyable to see a different view of things today.

Stayed out in Bluffdale last night to get more family help with Jack while I went running. I ran from the house to the Jordan River Trail and then north on the trail. Steady headwind on the way out. Ran into James Barnes out with his team. .  The return was nice, though I was a little overdressed. 

We received about 3-4 inches of snow overnight. It was easy to shovel because the ground was still relatively warm. After shoveling, I ran the Ensign Elem. loop. It was quite slushy out and I had to dodge getting splashed by passing vehicles. The descent down Memory Grove was memorable. Lots of fresh, untracked snow under the morning sky. Just easy pace this morning.

PM: I ran 4 miles after work. The sky was clear, but a little chilly. But I had a great run. I bounded through the still-untracked snow on the golf course and thought to myself . . . this is why I run!