Elite Jogging For Dummies

This morning I ran out and back to This is the Place and up to the St. Mary's hood (no golf course loop).  For the first time since the marathon, I felt I had finally regained full range of motion in my body, so my form felt much more at ease. Also, my hip, which had tightened up a lot after Saturday's run, didn't give me any big problems.  I spent a fair amount of time yesterday working the TP massage ball and that seemed to help. It's still something I'm keeping a close watch on, however.

Black Sheep Workout at East High. This was my first time back on the track in a while and I could feel it.  After 1.25 warmup, we ran 4 x 400 with 300 at intensity and 100m easy.  Then the infamous "Penny Run" which would take too long to explain, but basically it's an "equalizer" run that is designed so that everyone in the group should finish each interval together.  Thus, while Josh was running 700m, I was running 670-680m, and some were running less than 600m.  We did eight of these intervals and I am here to tell you they hurt. I have no track speed, and thus no 5k speed. I would like to push that VO2 element a bit in the next couple of weeks to boost my capacity and make the endurance work that follows more meaningful.

Met up with Josh and Megan on 3rd Ave at 5:45 and we ran the U/Ensign Loop with a 2 mile  extension up and down City Creek Canyon.  My quads are a little sore from the track workout yesterday, but everything else felt pretty loose.  

The plan this morning was to run out to 4800 South to pick up my car from Mike Bailey's shop, but it was raining and this particular car is not suited for wet weather so I had to figure out something else to do. In my early morning fog I even decided to lay down and try to fall asleep for a few more minutes. Didn't really work. Finally headed out the door around 6:15 with no real plan and a bad attitude.  It was raining and I was tired ... 

So I ran what can only be described as a meandering route out to the Harvard/Yale neighborhoods with lots of zigzagging and going down streets I usually don't run.  I guess mixing it up was the only way I could keep it interesting today.  It was one of those runs where you feel like you're stopping every five minutes for some dumb reason or another (bathroom, gear adjustment, etc).  As the run went on my mood improved slightly, but I still felt like BA Baracus.  I pity the fool who don't remember what BA stands for!

The skies were fairly clear this morning so I ran from my house out to Murray (4800 So./200w) to pick up my little British car from Bailey's.  After I got to Liberty Park, I basically ran on 5th East all the way out to 4500 South and then down to State, etc.  There is a serious camber on 5th East and I ran a lot on the sidewalk, which isn't my favorite, but it worked.  On the upside, the car runs great now and I look forward to getting it back on the road for a couple of drives this summer.

Met up with Johanna at  6:30 at Foothill Sbux.  We ran a north loop via Bonneville Golf Course, TiTP, Research Park, Fort Douglas, U, Federal Heights, Avenues.  Johanna keeps the pace spicy and although neither of us felt great, we ran fairly hard overall. My watch showed 1:34 for the distance and that includes a couple of times I didn't stop the watch when we stopped briefly. 

Easy family run with Jack and Heather. I pushed Jack. Heather turned around for 4 miles  so she could make her yoga class.  I added a little more and then turned around.  Jack and I stopped at Cucina and picked up a little breakfast, which we enjoyed on our back patio when we got home. It was a nice morning. Great to spend quality time with the kid. 

Easy miles this morning with Josh and Megan. We ran the Ensign loop, with an extracurricular tour around the Capitol building. There is a gravel path that runs nearly the entire circumference of the Capitol complex and it would make a good place to do some intervals one of these days.

 PM:  Ran home from work, 2.25 miles.
 

Black Sheep workout at Highland High track.  Warmed up around Sugarhouse Park, then grouped up at the track. Ran 800m of speed changes.  Then the meat was 12 x 400 meters, followed by 1 x 800.

 We ran the 400's in 3 sets of 4 with 100m walk between intervals and 1 lap easy jog between sets.

I don't have my watch with me, but I think I can remember most of the splits (I'll make any modifications later). Josh and I were shooting for 80s per 400 as a  goal, but ended up quicker.

Set 1: 75-74-75-74-71

Set 2: 77-73-73-73-73

Set 3: 75-74-74-74-71

Then 1 x 800m.  The goal was to run the first lap at the same pace as the slowest 400 from the prior set and the second at the fastest pace. However, we ran 76/76.  Too slow on the first 200 of the second lap.

 Then another mile cooldown around Sugarhouse.

Unlike last week, I felt like I had a little more in my legs on the track today.  I think we can shoot for 20 x 400 in the next few weeks.


 

I saw a little bit of moisture in the air and the ground was a little wet and 46 degrees when I got up this morning. So I wore a hat, gloves and the Mountain Hardwear Ghost Anorak I picked up on sale at REI recently (it is an incredibly light and packable windproof water resistant shell). Well, I'm glad I dressed for weather because it only got nastier once I headed out the door. Wind, rain, a little bit of hale--this run had it all! My route was fairly random, a loop out to Harvard/Yale via the U and VA campus and then up to Research Park for a return on my regular Federal Heights route. My legs were pretty numb by about mile 7 due to the wind and rain. Then the rain stopped and it was a pleasant run home. Amazingly, my torso remained almost completely dry under the windshirt. I'm impressed with how it shed moisture. I wonder if it will be able to do the same thing after several wearings/washings.

 PM:  I ran with Jack from Steiner (where Heather went swimming) to our house.

Holladay mansion tour with the Radda crew. Course looks ready to go for Heart of Holladay with new freshly painted arrows on the ground. I won't be there, but I'm sure it will be a competitive race. The canal route was very wet from the recent rain. My shoes got a little soaked. 1:09 for the 9.3 miles.

 PM: Ran home from work and added a little tour on the trail in City Creek to extend the fun. My stomach felt awful. I ate too much late in the day.  That reminds me that I need to be careful with the food during WBR.
 

Just an easy run this morning--asleep as Sasha might say.  I ran the U/11th Ave loop.  Spent some time by the bank of the creek in City Creek canyon enjoying the sound of the surging run-off. 

Ugh, I just lost a long race report. I'll have to redo a full version later.

In a nutshell: Learned about this race earlier this week and since Heather and I were planning to be up at the Bear Lake cabin, it seemed to make sense. I also persuaded Jon Allen to drive over from Logan to join me. The race  had a lot of inaugural pains, such as a major problem with the distance. It was at least 7 miles, even if my Garmin was reading really long, as the times reflect. Jake Rushton won in 40 something. Jon was second, about 30 seconds ahead of me.  I was with Jake through 2 and then he gapped me. I was ahead of Jon through 4, when he surged and I had no response. I felt just fine, no complaints about stomach, body, or mind.  I just didn't have the turnover to keep up today. I had no punch at mile 6, as my awful split shows.  Jon ran really well and it was fun to race with him again.

It's a nice course; relatively flat with a few variations in the terrain, but nothing you could legitimately call a "hill." They need to start the race much earlier, get the aid stations set up early, get some mile markers in place, and most of all get the course certified.

Here are the splits:

5:34/5:40/5:48/5:53/5:52/6:10/5:53/0:53 (for .15)

These miles are from Monday 6/16, but not posted on that date due to technical difficulties:

 AM: 10.6 with Josh and Megan.

PM: 2.5 pushing Jack in the baby jogger from Steiner Aquatic Center to our house.
 

Worked out a decent new route this morning that I think will work with a few little permutations.  Headed out toward TiTP as usual, but looped back around Research Park, then up into Red Butte to the fence, down the trail to Shoreline. Headed north on the upper Shoreline trail and then back south on a new section of trail that begins at the switchback behind the JCC.  Then return via the U/Fed Heights, etc.

 Tons of wildflowers out this morning. 
 

I met up with Josh at 5:45 on 3rd Ave. We ran essentially the reverse version of the route I did yesterday, except that I steered us off course in a couple of places. Easy pace as we were both not feeling totally awake (not that we would have been running fast anyway). Running the trail gives you plenty of reasons to keep the pace moderate anyway. Plus, we were distracted by the fauna.

AM:  I ran the Holladay Canal/Mansion route with the Holladay crew.  Nice, relatively cool morning. Easy pace, 1:13 for the run.  The legs felt better today than yesterday.  On the return, I saw Bill Cobler driving on 2300 East. Funny, I thought he ran everywhere he went! 

My first leg of the WBR started at about 7:20 pm.  It was a 7.4 mile climb up to Avon pass on a dirt road.  The uphill grade is a challenge, but it's actually quite runnable. It's also shady, which was a change from the first four legs, which looked like a hot death march.

At the end of mile 2, I noticed what appeared to be some kind of tan colored wild beast lurking in the grass next to the road up ahead of me about 150 yards. A Cougar? Bobcat? Wild Boar? Wolverine? Sabertoothed Jackalope? I was not feeling like I wanted to get close too to find out and slowed down considerably and even stopped briefly for a moment. I thought it might just be a dog, but I didn't see any humans anywhere nearby.  When our van pulled up along side me, I pointed it out, they drove up and saw the fearsome creature. It was a dog. And not a particularly wild or fierce one.  It was just enjoying the early evening, snitffing the flowers and watering the soil.  I lost at least a minute in this adventure.

So I kept climbing, and despite my not-quite-Wild Kingdom hiatus, I started to pass a few runners and finished the leg fairly strong.

Here are the splits: 1) 6:40; 2) 7:40 (dog mile); 3) 6:40; 4) 6:35; 5) 6:40; 6) 7:00; 7) 7:34.

So total time was 51:34, which was a little more than a minute off of my projected time. I would have hit it pretty easily without my slowing at mile 2.

I handed off to Jon who took off at a rabid pace and tore down the backside of Avon pass toward Huntsville.

I'll give myself a mile of easy running for the little warmups and cooldown in this section.

WBR Leg 17.  I started this leg at about 1am.  The route winds along some rolling hills toward East Canyon.  I felt very good through most of this leg, although I was not always hitting the splits exactly where I wanted them. This is, ultimately, an uphill leg--and fairly long.  In fact, both Sasha and I measured it as over 6 miles (it was supposed to be 5.9).  But the moon was out and the cool temperatures were ideal.  I passed many runners.  I was a shade over 37 minutes overall.  Here are the splits: 6:09, 6:05, 6:03, 6:00, 6:07, 6:23.  The last mile had the most climb.  My stomach did not feel great, but otherwise no real complaints.  I tried to run as hard as I could.

Leg 29: We had about an hour or so of sleep at exchange 24 before it was back on the road for us in Van 1.  My leg, 29, starts at the overlook above Jordanelle reservoir and drops down into Heber.  It's a 4.1 mile downhill cruiser, with a very steep 8% grade.  My projected pace was 5:11 per mile overall.  I knew that sounded way too ambitious, especially given that the last 1.5 are fairly flat and there is even a little hill in there.  But I wanted to give it my best shot.  I wish I had started faster, I think that's where I lost the most time.  I didn't really feel warmed up until I was into the second mile.  Splits: 5:21, 5:02, 5:17, 5:40.  

And then I was done! We had a great race overall. We were competitive, but mostly it was just fun to be with some great runners and great guys.  Thanks Paul for driving us around! My Van 1 compatriots were Mitch Zundel (who ran amazingly), James Barnes (who beat all his projections), Dustin Ence (who also beat his projections), Jon Allen (who smashed his projections) and me and Steve Hooper (who had to balance out the other guys by merely "looking good" even if we weren't running as fast as projected.

I'm in Las Vegas for a couple of days for a conference, staying at the LV Hilton.  I woke up this morning around 6am and headed out for a little run. It was already way too hot by 6:30.  I managed 5.5 miles before time ran out and I had to get ready for the conference. 

PM: After the day's presentations, I went to the workout room here at the hotel and ran 4.5 on the dreadmill, er treadmill.  It was 186 degrees outside, so running indoors was the only practical option. It wasn't too bad when it was all said and done, but while it's being done it seems to take forever.

Still in Las Vegas. I ran two three mile loops around the Hilton and the Convention Center and a third 2 mile one, starting at 5:56 am. It was already in the mid 80's and only got worse. This route had four virtues: 1) it was flat; 2) only one intersection to cross; 3) partially shaded on the convention center side; 4) included part of the "walking track" ( a semi-rubberized surface) around the Hilton.

Total time: 52 minutes & change.  Pace for the run was 6:37.
 

I flew home last night and was not in bed until 11 pm. Jack woke up at midnight and stayed up until about 4 am. He cried for a long time, then he just talked and talked. And talked. It's cute, but it was also late!

Met up with Megan at 5:45 on 3rd Ave and we ran the U / Ensign Loop with a city creek extension. It was so much nicer and cooler than Las Vegas. Nice to be home, even while sleep deprived.

 PM:  Heather drove up to Steiner to swim.  Jack and I caught a ride with her. While she swam, I ran home with Jack.  Easy 2.5 miles.
 

Met up at 23rd/33rd at 5:45 with the Holladay crew (a small group today). We ran the canal route. Man, it is started to feel like summer here, but after being in Las Vegas, I don't mind it much at all. At least we have trees here that provide some shade. Better than relying on the shadow of a casino to cool the air.

PM: I ran with Heather and Jack (with me pushing Jack) up to 9th Ave, then down into Memory Grove via the long switchbacks on the hillside. Home via 4th Ave. The air was cooler than expected. 3.25 miles in 32 minutes.

This morning I ran the This is the Place/Bonneville Golf Course loop.  On the return, there were about 40 people assembled in front of the Monument Cafe at TiTP, most dressed in something resembling Pioneer garb.  

PM: Mountain biking at Mueller Park with other attorneys from my firm.  We climbed at least 1500 feet on the climb, the ride was about 8 miles.  I know converting bike miles is all the rage, but much more difficult with mtn bike miles. I can say, by effort, though, that it's worth at least 2 miles.

I drove up to  Park City High School with Josh, Megan and Adam RW where we met up with Steve C., Walter, Jeff Mc, and St. George visitor Clyde.  The run plan was loose,something like "maybe 12-18." And let me tell you we kept it loose.  After two miles, Walter and Jeff ditched us. Either we smelled bad, our jokes weren't funny, or we were just too slow.

From the HS, we headed out through some nice neighborhoods over toward the bike path that parallels the highway.  It was very nice running back there, great terrain. At some point, we spotted a mountain and it occurred to us that if we just ran over that mountain that we could make turn the run into a loop course and make it back to the HS. Well, after trying a few different routes, and failing, we finally made our way to a road that led us to the base of the hill we needed to climb. We bushwacked our way up (it wasn't too bad, just sage brush etc.) and made it up to the top of the hill, ending up in someone's backyard. We weren't quiet, did not get shot or yelled at though. Next we got back onto some neighborhood roads, eventually making our way to the bike path along the highway.  It was a fun little adventure.

To our surprise, Walter and Jeff came out of nowhwere and hooked up with us. They had run 17 miles.  We had run about 14!  We then circled back toward the school.  Once we got there, a few of us ran another mile on the PCHS track, which is very nice, to make it 16.5 total.

Had breakfast afterward at the Eating Establishment. I had my butt kicked by a dish called the Hungry Miner. 

It was a good time.

I'm usually a Tuesday workout kind of guy, but hey, why not mix it up?  I ran three miles easy over toward Liberty Park. I started the 4 mile Tinman tempo at 500 South.  The goal pace was 6:10-6:15.  First mile was 6:14, and felt a little sluggish. I always have a hard time sustaining pace on the second mile once I get to the park, but I overcompensated a bit--6:07.  On the third mile, my Garmin was showing 6 min pace most of the way. So I had to back off and take a ride in the "Relaxy Taxi" as Josh would say. Split was 6:06.  Same deal on the fourth mile, riding a fine line between real effort and simply tempo pace, 6:02.  So the times were off and I need to find that Tinman pace zone and not be afraid to go with it rather than pushing too hard.  I think that switching from the park to a more variable terrain will help take the mind off the splits and put it more on the effort.

After the tempo, I ran another loop and a half around Liberty (watched the geese gobble up the millions of gnats that were flying around).  Then I headed back toward the Avenues, backtracking a bit to get to twelve miles.  Then I did 8 x ~100m on 4th Ave.  These felt surprisingly good, but I need to find a place to do them on grass.