Elite Jogging For Dummies

Workout with the Black Sheep at the East High track (or the U track on East's campus, as Mike Kirk would note).  Started with 1 mile warmup on the road, which included two hill repeats in the middle of it that were steep and hard. Then to the track. John Straley was coaching today and he had a relay planned. We ran a 800m to determine the teams, pairing slower runners with faster runners based on finishing order in the 800m. The relay involved the first team member running  600m, and passing off the other team member, who would then run 600m.  While the other one was doing the interval, the other would jog 200m to the exchange point.  We did this five times, so 5  x 600m.  I kept my splits based on the first 400m and the second 200m, which were all 72-73 and 37-40, respectively. Marilee and I came in second and it was fun.  Then 6 x 400m with a progressive pace at each 100m, so the first 100m was easy, the last 100m was close to 95%mhr or so.  Then some cool down miles.  Special guest appearance from Darrell Phippen today and he was strong, particularly on the last 100m of the last intervals; good kick speed.

Three miles into the run, I stopped to stretch because my SI joint on the right side was acting up just a little bit. In the process of leaning over and stretching, with my right stretched out onto a fire hydrant, I suddenly felt a very strange sensation on the left side of my lower back, like muscles that shouldn't be touching one another were suddenly best buddies.  I knew this was not good.  When I put my foot back on the ground and tried to stand up straight, I couldn't.  I tried again, and with real effort, stood up straight. Ok, I'll just stretch it out a little, right? Nope. I hobbled three miles home, knowing I wouldn't be running for a few days.

No running, back troubles. And also a cold that came on over night.  Chiro visits not helping much.

No running, back troubles and a cold.  Slightly less discomfort in the low back. Ice helps most.  The big internal debate is what I might do in the Law Day Run

Law Day Run 5k. Knowing that this race was coming up today has made this week much more challenging. For most, this would just be a little 5k that could be skipped without consequence. It's a little different for me. See, this race has a "Speed Team" division that includes a team of 5 runners, at least 2 of them women. Total times from the runners are added together to get a team score. My law firm, Manning Curtis Bradshaw and Bednar, has won the Speed Team trophy (which is a very nice glass traveling trophy) every year since 1998. I have been on those teams since 2001. In the last several years, the role of recruiting the team has been my responsibility. I draw from the talent pool in the Black Sheep, which includes both fast men and women. The race is about 500 people, and usually our runners perform very well. The course is fairly brutal, a long climb from the front of the law school up through the middle of campus to North Campus drive up to the golf course, south on the flat section through the golf course, and then the downhill section back to the start. The tricky part is there are many, many twists and turns along the way and it is difficult to develop and keep momentum.

Coming into the race this year, I thought I had a decent shot of running well. Last year I won the race in 17:42. Then when I threw out my back on Wednesday, I knew it would be a different story. When I woke up with a cold on Thursday, I knew it really wasn't looking good. I didn't run for a couple of days, hoping that I could give my back some time to heal, and also get over this cold. Both were still bothering me this morning.

I would typically have warmed up at least 4 or 5 miles for a 5k like this, but I thought I would be better off playing it safe with my back and only ran a mile. I think that was a mistake. I should have run longer, particularly with the first mile being uphill. I agree with John Straley that a race with an uphill start requires thorough warmup, otherwise, you just start out wasted and can't recover until its too late.

Surprisingly, the back felt ok during the warm up, just gentle "thud" feeling in the low back, no radiating pain. Things looked up slightly.

When I saw that BJ Christensen was on the scene with a speedy looking buddy, I knew it would be a much different race. I would like to think I could give BJ a chase on the best day, but this was not the best day. When he told me he was running on a speed team for the Paralegal Division, the team trophy race looked more interesting too.

I recruited two teams for this year: Josh Steffen, Mark Holland, Megan Call, Aimee Larkin, and I were the first team. Sam, Casey, Kim, Lindsey and John Straley were the second team. CORRECTION: Sam was on the First team, Mark Holland was on the second team. 

I didn't know the othe runners on BJ's team. I think they were Westminster runners.

From the start of the race, I just couldn't get it going, and had a nasty anaerobic feeling through the first mile. My energy level was just dismal. It wasn't my back that was hurting, it was my low energy from the cold (and lack of warm up). BJ and friend were 1-2. Josh was 3rd. Another runner was 4th, I was 5th. That was the order much of the race and that's how we ended up. BJ's time was an outstanding 16:23 on this challenging course. Aimee Larkin was 1st woman, Megan was 3rd. Between the two teams, we had about 10 runners in the top 20.

I shouldn't have been racing today, but I'm glad I went out. Not just for myself, but because we did manage to win the Speed Team competition. In the end, our women made the difference. So, I get to keep my job for another year.

After enough little setbacks in the past couple of months, I thought I had finally broken through and got back on track. Now, I'm in more challenging circumstances than I was in before! At least, the back injury is not necessarily running related. A cold, I think I can endure.

No running. I did walk a couple of miles with my wife and she smoked me. I can run faster than her, but can't keep up when we're walking.  Sore, congested.

Easy run in the meadow to move the legs and test the back.  Still getting over the cold.  Beautiful morning, but I didn't feel so hot overall.

Easy run back to the spot in Research Park where I tweaked my back a week ago.  I guess you could say I was facing my demons, but the demon was a fire hydrant, so . . . there wasn't a whole lot of drama.  But it's cool, that hydrant and I are friends now.  I promised to chase away any suspicious looking dogs if I'm ever in the area. 

 Felt 70%.
 

Run with the Radda crew.  My energy level was still a little dim and I still have some congestion, but feeling much better. No problems with the back, just a very light, dull ache on occasion.  Not sure if the electric stim and ultrasound have helped, or just time and ice.  Nice to run again. 

Climbed from my house up to the Shoreline trail behind the JCC and into Red Butte Canyon.  Stunningly glorious running; everything is so green now! I remember the dismal days of January when I was running in 7 degree weather everyday and it really wasn't that long ago.  Guess you can't get too hung up on the permanency of these things. 

 Lungs and sinuses still clearing out, but much better now. The back is just a little stiff, but not sore, and no issues while running. 
 

Cucina loop (Bonneville Shoreline trail) with a group of 10 -12.  Sam & I added an extension on the trail over past Red Butte for a total of 15.  The various sights this morning included wildflowers, tanks, and chanting zen monks.  This was my longest run since March 3rd, the week before the SI problem kicked in.  Man, that seems like a long time ago. No problems with the back today; still a little lingering congestion, but nothing significant.

This morning I ran a fairly hilly loop with the lowest point at Bonneville Glen/Miller Park (off 15th E) and the highest point up above the zoo.  Nice mix of terrain today. 

Black Sheep workout at Sugarhouse Park.  We ran one loop warmup (1.4 mi), then the workout started: 4 x 4 min, 4 x 3 min, 4 x 2 min, 4 x 1 min, at threshold/sub-threshold pace, with 1 min recoveries between intervals.  It added up to a lot of running this morning. 

Limited time for running as I am in a seminar all week.  Managed to squeeze in 8 this morning.

Still seminar-ing.  Ran 8 miles this early morning, added 3.5 miles of spiciness in the middle. 

Still rockin' the trial seminar lifestyle.  Eight miles early to Governors grove.

Still only had an hour to run this morning before the final day of this seminar, which is over now.  Congrats to all of the Ogden Marathon & Half Marathon runners, especially the victorious Paul Petersen. 

Got out the door at about 10:30 am and it was HOT! I ran up Dry Creek Canyon to the Bonneville Shoreline Trail.  Loved the shady parts, cooked pretty much everywhere else.

A little rain falling as I headed out the door, but it didn't last long.  Under the overcast skies, I ran through Research Park and up above the zoo. I saw an elephant over the fence.  On the return, I ran through This is the Place park (I usually stay on Sunnyside) and then up through Governors Grove for the return. 

Black Sheep workout at the East High track. John Straley figured out a way to incorporate decorated pennies, Sponge Bob Squarepants, and tremendous pain into this workout. It would take me a long time to explain the way the workout was structured, but here's the bottom line:

1.2 mile warmup on the road

800m speed changes on the track

7 x 700 averaging about 2:14, with most of the quarters in about 72

1 mile of accelerating 300's (jog easy 100, then accelerate each subsequent 100 for 300m)

then 1.2 mile cooldown back on the road.

I was sort of sluggish today, couldn't really get it into a rhythm. I don't think I ate enough carbs last night for dinner. Josh Steffen was on fire, however. Sam was a maniac in the 300s.

 Added another 3 miles tonight after work, easy, up through Memory Grove to 9th Ave.

Emigration park loop.  A peacock squawked at me through the fence at the zoo.  Didn't see any elephants today.  Return via This is the Place, which I have decided beats Sunnyside hands down.  Took the secret trail beyond Governors Grove back into Research Park.

 Pretty slow today, though the Garmin died at the turnaround so I can't tell you exactly how slow. My mid-quads were also sore from yesterday's track workout. That's a good thing. It shows I was actually working as hard as I felt like I was working.

Ran from Radda, but different route. Met up at  5:45 with  Sam & Aimee Larkin. We ran Sam's Haven Lane route, which covers about the first half of the Heart of Holladay route, but then detours even deeper into the woods for a veritable mansion tour.  My favorite part was this section where we ran along the shaded canal banks behind some 20k sq. foot homes.  Nice run.

Easy, glorious miles in Federal Heights/11th Ave./Memory Grove/City Creek/4th Ave.

Magna Classic 5k. I am continually impressed that in a race of only 100 or so runners, the field could be this strong.  Bill Cobler chalked it up to respect for Demetrio.  That may true, as well as the fact that the course is fast, on the Circuit, and money on the line.  Teren Jameson ran 14:10 for the win, a road PR for him for the distance, which says a lot about the race.

I got in nearly five miles for a good warm up.  The start of the race was fast--as expected.  I went out with the lead pack, but didn't hang on long.  I was 10-15 seconds off their first mile, hitting my split in 4:51.  From that point on, I was entirely on my own: the two leaders, a group of five, then me, and so it stayed.

I hit the second mile in 10:08, which meant approx. 5:20 for that mile.  Third mile is much tougher than the first two, there is something like a "hill," but more of just a gentle "rise," but enough to feel substantially slower.  Running on my own with no real prospect of catching the runners ahead, the most I could do was just stay strong, keep running my race, and try to keep making a run at a PR.  I don't know what my 3rd mile split was, but I finished in 16:16., a 24 second improvement on my PR here at last year's race. 

They had pancakes at the awards ceremony.  I rocked a couple.

The plan was just to run an easy 5-6 mile shakeout, but once I made it to City Creek Canyon, I decided I wanted to see this, that, and the other thing, so I ended up adding a few unexpected miles. Plus, it was a gorgeous morning.  Pace was just easy, easy, easy. 

Cucina loop (Bonneville Shoreline Trail--City Creek to Dry Creek).  I expected heat this morning, but it was actually overcast and nice.  The clouds cast a shimmery silver light on all the new leaves. This must surely be the greenest part of the season.  

Black Sheep workout. Warmup from Steiner over to the U campus and more warmup on the Golden Mile. Then 1 x 1200m (4:18), 2 x 800m (2:44/2:33), 1 x 400m (1:18) on different parts of the Golden Mile (some flat, some hills).  Next was 3 x 2 min hill repeats on the main hill running down the center of campus.  Then 6 x 1 min hill repeats on the same hill.  Cool down back to Steiner.

Emigration Park loop. 

Run from Radda at 5:50 am with Sam, Aimee and a buddy of Casey's named Frank. Frank actually meant to meet up with the 6:00 am group, but since he was new and didn't know better, took off with us. Frank's a fit guy, a triathlete, but I think the pace was not agreeable and he turned back about 4 miles into the run. He found the main group after they finished their run and they all had a good laugh about how we (Sam, Aimee and me) were trying to inflict pain on him. Of course not!

Anyway, we ran the Holladay Mansion Tour. We doubled back on the shady canal section for twice the shadyness and ran up to Wander Lane. We threw in some spiciness, but not much. Temperatures are great, running in the depths of Holladay is fun.