Elite Jogging For Dummies

Easy miles with Helen and Heather to taper before 10k.

Deseret News 10k. First few downhill miles were conservative for this course: 5:09/5:13/5:35. I thought this would help me to have something in the tank for the Alp d' 900 South at the end of the race, but it didn't. I was 5:32/5:40 for 4 &5, and then 7:12 for the final 1.2. I couldn't kick until I could clearly read the word FINISH right in front of me. I lacked courage today, but still finished with a PR of 34:29. After the race, I ran back to the start with Adam Wende and John Straley. Also had a mile and a half of warm up at the start.

Easy recovery: Avenues to City Creek, 4th Avenue Return.

Home to Liberty Park for one loop on the wood chip path. Return via 100 south. Felt fine; took it nice and easy; 7:30-7:40 pace.

Got a late start this morning. Our power went out about 6:30 pm yesterday from the wind storm and we ended up hanging out with several neighbors out on the porch until 11:30pm. Power didn't come back on until 2:30am. Had to get up and deal with a beeping stove at that time.

So I got out the door about 6:30. I ran down 4th Ave, across Canyon Road, up around the Capitol, to Gravity Hill, north into City Creek. Took it easy for three miles up City Creek Canyon. Also took it easy for three miles down City Creek Canyon, running 6:50 pace most of the way down. Then zig zagged back down through the Avenues to home.

I read about Landis' positive test this morning and it's very disappointing. Like a lot of folks, I was right on that guy's bandwagon and thought his performance in Stage 17 was mind blowing. I'll withhold judgment until there is some final word on what happened, but it's discouraging. I mean, you gotta know you're going to get tested. No moment of victory is worth this long term stain.

Out the door at 5am so that Amy Sanyer could join me for a run before she takes off for Peru this morning.

We ran east up through Federal Heights, through the golf course to the Legacy Bridge, up through Fort Douglas, and into Reaserach Park, where we looped back to my house. Wished Amy farewell at my house (6 miles), and then I added a couple more easy miles.

I'm still slightly sore from Monday's effort, but coming along fine. I am considering stepping up the ice baths in the coming weeks to help recovery as the miles increase. It might also improve my mental toughness . .. getting myself into the bath initially takes an act of sheer will.

There were seven of us at the start of the run. We headed south from 15th/15th toward Holladay. We ran along Wander Lane to Holladay Boulevard, stopping at the Cotton Bottom to refill water bottles at the hand-pump driven hose on the side of the restaurant. On the way out, the pace was easy, about 7:30 or so. Once we turned around, Brad, Adam, Aimee and I picked it up a bit, clicking off a few faster miles at about 6:15-6:30. Brad peeled off at a gas station to "drop the kids off at the pool" and we continued our return via a less scenic but slightly shorter route, through the gully and back to 15th/15th. Our pace for the last 4 miles was about 6:50-7:00. Aimee peeled off at her house, and it was just Adam Wende and me at the end until the others caught up.

"Enjoyed" an ice bath at home afterward.

My wife Heather and I ran out and back on the Jeremy Ranch road starting at about 9am. It was fairly warm at the start and continued to warm up on the run. Still cooler than if we had run in the valley at that late hour, however.

Starting from 15th and 15th, I ran one mile solo and then looped back and met up with the group. There was some attrition at Foothill due to the lingering affects of the Spudman Tri this weekend. The rest of us continued on toward HCI, returning via the trail in Miller Park. These were not fast miles today; only in the 7 minute range at the fastest, but my legs didn't want to give much more this morning.

Speedwork at East High, 5:35 am. I had to get to work early, so I couldn't join the whole Black Sheep workout today. I started early and overlapped with them a bit toward the end of my workout. They were doing 12 x 400.

I started with a 1.3 mile warm-up through the neighborhood. Got back to the track and ran 4 x 100 meter strides w/100 easy jog.

Started the workout with 4 x 800 meters. My target was 2:40-2:45, which I only barely managed, running 2:46 a couple of times. I didn't feel great. I ran 400 meter recovery jogs between each.

Then ran 1 x 1 mile in 5:30. This felt better than all of the 800's.

Then two more 800's: These were better: 2:40/2:45.

I then ran 2 x 400 with the Black Sheep in 77 each with 200 meter recoveries. These felt easy. Josh Steffen was out with the Black Sheep today and he was helping to push the pace.

Then a mile cooldown.

I felt slower than I should have today and didn't nail my splits like I would have liked. I did have some problems with my watch, but I am usually able to stick to my splits more intuitively and keep things consistent. Strange workout for that reason.

I skipped a run on the Pipeline trail with a few folks so I could sleep in for a few extra minutes and save some driving time.

So, I was out the door at 6:15. It was nice and cool for the first time in what feels like months. Looked like we got some more rain overnight.

I ran down 4th Ave to the base of Memory Grove, looped back up 1st Ave, down 6th East to Liberty Park. I ran 3 loops on the 1.4 mile wood chip path at a very comfortable 7:30 pace. It's somewhat monotonous, but that path is very soft and gives plenty of shade. Then returned home via 6th East to the Aves.

Starting from 11th Ave & B Street, I headed toward City Creek Canyon with Brian Kamm and his son, Connor Kamm. Connor was a track and cross country standout at Skyline High and is on his way to run at Williams College in Massachusetts this fall.

Connor and I ran an easy pace up City Creek, with Brian a bit behind us. The conditions were excellent and the climbs toward the top felt modest. We turned around at the top of Rotary Park.

For the six mile descent down the canyon, I wanted to stay under 6:10 pace, and we did that, averaging closer to 6:00-6:05. The miles felt easy and I suppose I could have pushed harder, but this is just the the start of my downhill training so no need to blow out the quads on this run.

After finishing at the cars, we jogged back and picked up Brian about .4 behind us and ran him in.

From Cucina, JWood and I ran up through Federal Heights past the JCC and up onto the Shoreline trail. We turned left and ran up into Red Butte Canyon just as the sun was rising and it was spectacular. Descended down the road in Red Butte, into Research Park and circled back through Fort Douglas, the Legacy Bridge, and back through Federal Heights. My Suunto is being serviced, so no specific pace information today, but it was a very moderately paced easy day run.

Originally, I thought it was just going to be me and Sam, but it ended up that a group of six of us met at 5:45 and headed up to run the rail trail in Park City. We dropped beverages on the way at the Silver Summit junction (miles 5/13.5) and headed to the trail head in PC. As anyone who has run the rail trail can tell you, it's difficulty lies in the fact that you have a gradual, almost imperceptible loss of elevation on the way out, and then what seems like one long slow climb back to the finish on the way back.

Our miles were generally in the 7:30-7:35 range. When a couple of us stopped for a drink at Silver Summit, Adam Wende powered on ahead, so he ended up getting 21.0 by adding a few extra minutes to his run. He's getting ready for TOU and he looks strong. He was telling me about how he has a spreadsheet for all of his runs since '97 and he displays the results as a circular graph showing how far around the world he has traveled if you add the miles end to end. It's something like 24,000 miles, and I think that's landed him somewhere in the middle of the ocean right at the moment.

I finished my 19 in 2:31 and the last couple of miles were fairly strong and I felt decent during this run. Sam was also really strong; he's getting ready to run the Jupiter Peak Steeplechase this next weekend. We had no wind which can be deadly on that route, and the weather was mild.

In the evening, Heather and I met over at Sam's and a group of us headed up to Albion Basin for a hike up to Catherine's Pass for a picnic dinner. We got up there around 8pm, and got to see the sunset and some amazing electrical storms in the distance.

On our hike down in the dark, lit by our headlamps and a 3/4 moon, we heard coyotes wailing like mad and that was cool.

A few minutes later, we came across a couple of moose that were about 50 yards or so off the trail from us. It was dark enough that you only knew they were there because of the way their eyes glow up when caught in the light of the headlamp. We were fine, but decided to give them a wide berth and we hiked up on to a ridge to avoid them. It was fun.

Easy miles to stretch the legs.

More easy miles to stretch the legs; three loops around liberty park. They added new wood chip to some of the path and it's like running in sand. Nice and soft, but very slow.

East High track workout. Mile repeats were on today's schedule. I started with a one mile warmup, then 4 x 100 meter strides.

My goal was to keep the mile repeats between 5:35 and 5:40. And perhaps more importantly, I wanted to keep my pace steady throughout each mile.

Mile 1: 5:40 /800 meter jog

Mile 2: 5:37 /800 meter jog

Mile 3: 5:37 /800 meter jog

Mile 4: 5:32 /800 meter jog

Mile 5: 5:36 /800 meter jog

Then one more mile to cooldown.

For the most part, I managed to keep my splits very steady. The only deviation usually comes in the first lap where I always start a little fast and pick up a few seconds, but then settle into an even pace for the remainder.

Avenues to the Capitol to 3 mi mark up City Creek Canyon, back down at 6:36/6:31/6:27. Caught up with John Straley for a mile (he was running to work) and then headed home via 4th Ave. Fairly sluggish today.

Fort Douglas/Research Park Loop. Easy.

Easy run to taper for Provo River 1/2

Provo River Trail Half Marathon. Finished 3rd overall behind Sasha and Ronald Greenwood. My time was 1:15:29, which improved my PR for this distance by a couple of minutes. The course has a lot of downhill, so I do take the result with a grain of salt. But I will take it!

The race started surprisingly slow with no one wanting to get out front. So I did that for the first quarte mile; well, until Sasha came blazing by (he had begun at the back of the back so he could start the timing equipment) and that was more or less the last time I saw him.

Sasha was followed by a young guy in what looked like gym clothes or basketball clothes.

Then Ronald Greenwood and I traded places through a couple of miles, trading third. We came upon a group of runners that were jogging up the hill and they joined Ronald. Ronald picked up the pace with them and they were off. These guys, I think there were 4 or 5 of them, all continued to run bandit through the end of the race, I believe.

I passed the gym shorts guy (who was very nice when I talked with him after the race) at the turnaround after running back up the canyon after Bridal Veil falls. I then started to run down the bandits, but the Sasha and Ronald were long gone. I kept my pace steady through the bottom of the canyon, and heading toward Riverwoods. Mile 12 is a labrynth of parking lots and office complexes that confused me a lot (I almost ran through the drive up teller at bank), but I did manage to follow the orange cones in the end. I tracked down the last bandit at 12.5 and tried to hold through the finish.

I went down to this race with Casey and Straley, who also had very strong races. Mark Holland finished 8th as well. I need to check on the final results, but Ingunn had a great race too.

Easy miles to move the legs after racing.

I am in Los Angeles now, having flown in yesterday for a week of work/vacation. I'm staying with my friend Tory at his house.

This morning I got up at 6am and drove out to Studio City, where I used to live, to run up in on the Betty B. Dearing trail, where I used to run consistently when I lived here. Most people think of LA as a vast concrete wasteland and they are 90% right, but the other 10% is spectacular. The little portion I'm talking about here is the Santa Monica mountains, which divide LA from the San Fernando Valley. I lived for four years on Laurel Canyon, right at the bottom of the Hollywood Hills and right next to the trailhead going up into an extensive network of side canyons and trails.

Starting at the trailhead off of Laurel Canyon, I ran up through the single track trail into the meadow and then continued on the spine of the mountain. I crossed over Coldwater Canyon, and then dropped down into Franklin Canyon, which is protected parkland/habitat area. It's amazingly close to a lot of chaos, but remarkably isolated and there is a lot of solitude to be found there. I was disturbed, but not surprised to see that a few more hilltops had been leveled and replaced with hotel-sized mansions. I ran down through Franklin Canyon to the Hastain Trail, and climbed another 300 feet before turning back.

It is a challenging run wih lots of climbing-but one of my all time favorites anywhere in the world.

The solitude of yesterday's run found its exact opposite with today's run. It's Tuesday, so speedwork, but where to run today? The plan was to head over to John Marshall High School to run on their track, but when we got there, school was in session and gym class was in full effect, so we decided to look elsewhere. We couldn't find anything close, however, so back to JMHS. This school is in the Los Feliz neighborhood in Los Angeles, and is the site where the movie "Grease" was filmed.

The "track" is an unlined dirt path that roughly circles a multipurpose playing field. I ran a warm up mile, and discovered from my time and effort that the track was about 40m short of 400 meters, so it would be a little awkward keeping track today and my times below are not based on any accurate measurement.

I ran a 4 lap warm up , followed by 4 strides. Then

1 x 4 laps in 5:05/ 2 laps easy

1 x 2 laps in 2:20 /1 lap easy

1 x 4 laps in 4:55 /2 laps easy

1 x 2 laps in 2:18 /2 laps easy

1 x 4 laps in 4:52 /2 laps easy

4 laps recovery

4 laps walking with Tory.

Tory ran 9 laps and then we walked together. He's just getting back into shape and it was great to be out there with him.

The funnies thing about this run was the setting itself. About 20 minutes into my run, out come the kids for another period of gym class. They milled around for a while and then started jogging some laps en masse. These are city kids and I stood out like a sore thumb, but it was so much fun to be out there among these kids.

Easy miles in Tory's neighborhood. We started out running up into Elyrium Park, which i s a small enclave leading up into the hills, but the trails fizzled quickly and we ended up coming out on a street within a half mile or so. The interesting thing there was the skunk that was about 10 feet off the trail (didn't get sprayed).

I ran up through the neighborhoods and checked out the Mt. Washington area, which reminded me of Pasadena.

Big travel day; I drove from LA to Orange County for lunch with my brother and then on to San Diego where I picked up Heather from the airport, and we drove up to Carlsbad, where we're staying for a couple of nights.

Saturday won't make a good day for a long run, so I had to get it in today. Heather and I went out this morning at 7am or so, and headed out along the Pacific Coast Highway, running south toward Encinitas. Heather turned around at 5 miles out and I pressed ahead. I ran past the surf shops, bars, campgrounds, motels, beach houses and assorted small businesses that line the PCH in this area. The run felt great through 15 miles, when I started to break down a bit, but I picked up the pace and pushed fairly well from 16 through 19. Most miles were about 7:30-7:40 pace, which felt hard on the pavement/concrete I was running on. I was pretty wiped when I got home, and dripping wet owing to the humidity.

An early easy run before getting on the road to head up to Newport. I ran north from Carlsbad up into Oceanside, and turned around when it stopped being scenic. I headed back south through Carlsbad on the PCH to Cannon Road and then back to Carlsbad. Legs felt decent considering yesterday's longish effort.

Today I ran on Catalina Island, having traveled here yesterday for my friend Adam's bachelor party on another friend's large boat. I got up around 6:30, and headed up a steep single track trail, gaining altitude rapidly. After about 1000 feet of climbing, I ran into a buffalo in the middle of the trail. I startled him when I dropped into a small saddle. We had a staring contest for a few minutes, during which he was absolutely still. There was really no way to get around him, so I headed back down the mountain and up a fire road where I did some surges. It was a gorgeous morning and the view over the ocean was spectacular.

Felt sluggish for the first few miles of this run, but managed to get it together eventually. I ran from home and did three laps around Liberty Park, easy.

Speedwork with the Black Sheep, starting at the Rose Garden at Sugarhouse Park. We ran a loop around the park and then to the Highland track.

Part A: 1 x 800m/accelerating strides on the straightaways, easy on the curves.

Part B: 8 x 800m with 400m jog recovery between each. My goal was to hold 2:40 pace throughout, but it took a few to get me there. Here were the times:

1. 2:49

2. 2:45

3: 2:37

4. 2:40

5. 2:39

6. 2:41

7. 2:40

8. 2:40

Part C: Finally, we ran 1 x 1 mile. The goal was to run sub 5:40, and Josh Steffen, Brad Anderson and I ran 5:26 or 5:27 depending on which of us started the watch at the right time.

Then a one mile easy cool down.

In the morning, an extremely moderately paced (i.e., slow) run around Capitol Hill, the Avenues and the University. In the evening, Heather and I went out for another 2.5 miles of slowness.

From home, up around Capitol Hill and up to the 3 mi. mark in City Creek Canyon. It was a little windy at the bottom, but not so bad in the canyon. It was also cool up there! It got slightly chilly in just the singlet, and it's clear that a change in the season will approach fairly soon--even though our days are still warm. I messed up timing my splits on the way down, but I surged for a couple of minutes and it felt decent. I was slow again zig-zagging back down through the Aves to home.

Amy S. is back from 17 days in Peru and we ran easy this morning together and she told me about her adventures. Cool trip.

Hobble Creek Half Marathon, 1:12:38. 5th place overall, behind Superfly.

Here are my splits: 5:20/5:20/5:14/4:55 (short)/5:39(long)/5:15/5:49/5:23/5:58/5:51/5:37/5:40/5:59 (for the last 1.1)

My strategy was to push hard through he first six downhill miles and see how it went after that. I slowed considerably after that but stayed pretty strong. In the last mile, Clyde passed me and I didn't really mind, I was looking forward to finishing and just wanted to focus on hanging in there for the rest of my race. The last few miles were tough!

Ran a warm up mile before the race and Casey and I added another four extremely easy miles in Mapleton after the race.

Easy miles with Casey and Jan to stretch the legs after racing.

I had an 8:15 dentist appt. so had to cut my run a bit short this morning. I ran from home and did two loops around Liberty Park, easy. I was fairly sore and a little sluggish. Since I had to cut it short in the morning, I added 2.5 after work here in the neighborhood.

Speedwork @ East High Track with the Black Sheep. On the menu was 10 x 800 @ 2:40 pace with 400 meter jog recoveries after each.

Ran a mile warm up and then an 800 with accelerating straightaways.

For the main course, here were the 800 times:

1. 2:41

2. 2:42

3. 2:37

4. 2:38

5. 2:39

6. 2:40

7. 2:40

8. 2:41

9. 2:41

10. 2:39

The last couple were tough. Josh was hanging in there with me and we (well, at least I) had to push hard to keep the final 800 under 2:40. Then one mile to cool down.

A 7:30 a.m. meeting at work meant I would have to split workouts today. So, I was out the door with JWood at 5:45 for an easy 6 miler to City Creek and 11th Ave.

After work, I added another 4.75 in the gorgeous Morris Meadow on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail at sunset.

Here are a few things I listened to on the evening run on "Lil' Trooper II", my iPod Nano: The Editors/Hot Chip/Mew/Love is All/TV on the Radio/Tapes 'n Tapes/Camera Obscura/Danielson/The Pipettes/Arctic Monkeys/Belle & Sebastian

Met up with Jed Burton at the post office on Sunnyside at 5:45 and we ran up Emigration Canyon, easy pace. Jed told me all about his Park City Marathon race and I'm excited to see the momentum that win will create as he takes the Grand Slam through TOU and STGM.

I didn't track any splits today, but our pace was easy all the way around, though we did pick it up a bit running down the canyon; controlled moderate pace.

From home, I ran a loop that went through the U, past Steiner to 13th So., up to Wasatch Blvd, Bonneville Golf Course, the Zoo, Research Park, Fort Douglas, Federal Heights and home. This was a nice loop that puts together bits and pieces of lots of other routes. Kept the pace easy, but added some surges on the downhill stretch through Federal Heights at the end just to practice the downhill form.

Bear Lake. Heather and I drove up to the cabin last night and got in fairly late, just enough time to eat a bit,chat with the rest of the family, and go to bed.

I wanted to get out the door before 6am, but Heather wanted to run with me, and she doesn't like the early hours on the weekend, so we didn't get out until before 7am. We drove down to Pickleville and parked, then ran for an hour on some lonely roads. It was cool and already sunny. We got in about 7.5 together. Heather headed back up to the cabin, and I headed north along the lake road through Garden City and turned around just after crossing the Idaho border. It was then a long 6.5 back. I got very hungry and stopped and bought a banana and a gatorade. That helped me avoid a bonk, as I don't think I ate enough carbs last night. I pushed the last couple of miles to 7 minute pace. Came back to the cabin, took an ice bath, then had a massive plate of eggs, pancakes and potatoes. I always say, the best part of running is the overeating!

From home to Liberty Park for three easy laps and then back home.

Track workout @ East High. Today was was not a "speed" workout in the true sense, but it was a long workout that tested threshold stamina, endurance and attention to form. Bud James, the Chicago coach who designed my marathon plan, described it as an "important workout for the mind as well as for the body."

Here's the design of this ladder workout:

1 mile, 1200m, 800m, 600m, 400m with 400m jog recovery between every interval. Three sets of this. All done at 6 minute pace. So, not fast but pretty long.

I started with a mile warmup and then 4 x 100m strides.

For the first mile, I went out slow, as usual: 6:10. After that, I didn't fall off 6min pace. Most of my splits were at 87 seconds or so. It would take me too long to write all the splits for every interval, but here's what I did on the second set:

Mile: 5:55

1200: 4:28

800: 2:57

600: 2:13

400: 1:27

I did a one mile cool down after the third set.

The biggest challenge in the workout for me was finishing the 400, jogging easy, and then digging back in for the mile. The pace was not a problem, it was more a matter of breaking down the workout into individual laps instead of thinking about the length of the workout as a whole. That approach seemed to work today.

From home, I ran the U/Foothill/Zoo/U loop, easy. Sort of stale, definitely feeling yesterday's workout.

From my house, Jed Burton and I ran to City Creek Canyon via the Capitol. We ran easy up to the top of City Creek, but kept a pretty honest pace even as it got steeper. We ran into Brian and Casey shortly after we turned around at Rotary Park. They had started at the Sunnyside post office and were out running 22. Brian's pacing at Wasatch this weekend and Casey's headed out of town, so they're getting in the long run today. Anyhow, after chatting with those guys for a minute, Jed and I started our descent in earnest. The plan was to run at marathon pace (or faster) for four miles, from miles 12-15. We hit mile 12 in 5:56, mile 13 in 5:47, mile 14 in 5:46 and mile 15 in 5:18. That last mile was certainly not my marathon pace, but it felt good to get that kind of leg turnover. We cooled down the last 1.4 back to my house.

Avenues loop, easy.

Lake Tahoe. I arrived Friday for the wedding of two of my good friends. I got up at 5:30 and headed out into the dark Sierra morning at about 5:50, running south from Tahoma to Sugar Pine Point State Park on the bike path. Ran part of the General Creek trail, then headed back north through Tahoma to Tahoe City, staying on the bike path. The sunrise over the lake was unforgettable. The bike path alternately hugs the lake shore, parallels the highway, or weaves through tall stands of towering pines and redwoods. The elevation is about 6300 feet, so that added some challenge as well. I felt pretty good through 10, suffered a bit through mile 14, and then picked it up from about 15 to the end. My pace was not quick, about 7:30. I was pretty beat at the end. I waded out into the cold, cold lake for a few minutes after the wedding rehearsal and that helped a bit.

Lake Tahoe. Adam & Helen's wedding was last night; it was a blast. Stayed up late, but not too late. So I got up at about 7am and ran for an hour. Headed south again from Tahoma to Sugar Pine Point, around the grounds of the Pinewood Lodge, and along the path on the lake shore. Another gorgeous morning. Climbed back across the road and onto the General Creek trail. I wish I had more time to explore that area; it's double track and fireroad with pine needles underfoot. This area was also the site of the cross country ski events during the 1960 winter olympics. After exploring the General Creek area a bit, I headed back to Tahoma on the bike path.

From home, I ran to Liberty Park (via downtown) for three loops and back home.

East High track workout with the Black Sheep.

Started with a 1.2 mile warmup around the neighborhood, followed by 800 meters with strides on the straightaways.

The workout went like this:

Part A: 6 x 800 m. Wanted to keep these @ 2:40 pace.

1. 2:40 w/ 200m recovery

2. 2:39 w/ 200m recovery

3. 2:37 w/ 400m recovery

4. 2:41 w/ 200m recovery

5. 2:42 w/ 200m recovery

6. 2:37 w/ 400m recovery

Part B: 3 x 400 at sub 80 seconds.

1. 80 w/ 200m recovery

2. 78 w/ 200m recovery

3. 76 w/ 400m recovery

Part C: 1 x 1 mile:

1. 5:27

One mile cooldown on the track afterward.

Refresh your browser to see a picture of me in my new macrame track suit wearing my iPod.

From home, I ran about 3.5 miles to Foothill Village to hook up with a few folks, and then we ran about a 7 mile loop up around the Zoo, to Steiner, through the Yalecrest neighborhood and back to Foothill.

Added another 4.5 tonight with Heather.

Tried another variation of the run Jed and I did last Thursday. From my house, I ran up to City Creek Canyon via the Capitol. Took it easy up to the mile 2 mark and then started a 5 mile tempo run. I ran the first mile uphill, gaining 150 feet, in 6:50. It felt hard, but I was not very fast. Turned around and started the descent. Next miles were in 5:50/5:39/5:39 and 5:23, dropping about 700 feet over these miles. Cooled down back home via 4th Ave.

Title for today's run: "Sorry I'm late, I got caught behind a couple of skunks"

My friend Sam and I met at 6am to run the Pipeline trail in Millcreek. We parked at Burch Hollow and headed out into the darkness. It rained a lot last night and was still raining when we started. So it was dark and wet, though we had our headlamps to help us see the bigger puddles.

We ran easy out to Rattlesnake, turning around before the lookout point because we were a little short on time. We ended up being very short on time, but for an unexpected reason. After turning around, we were running up-canyon looking at the changing colors and the low hanging clouds filling in a few of the side canyons under the overcast sky. After a mile or so of this scenic beauty, we rounded one of the bends in the trail and came up on a pair of skunks wandering casually on the trail in front of us. Ok, no big deal, we thought we would just wait for them to wander off the trail and we would pass them. Since there are no bail-out points from where we were on the trail, that was our only choice. But these skunks were apparently dedicated trail runners, as we followed behind for about 10 minutes as they trotted along the trail (I've been sprayed once before and lost a pair of good shoes to it, so I knew we should keep a little distance.)Finally, one skunk stopped on the right side of the trail, and the other on the left side. But they were still right next to the trail. It became clear we would just have to make a run for it and hope for the best. So just as a crack of thunder echoed through the canyon, we yelled like a couple of madmen and sprinted at top speed past the skunks and into the rain. (see VO2 max mileage) We didn't get sprayed and enjoyed the rest of the run back to Burch, laughing our heads off.

Met up with Aimee Larkin at 5:30 at 15th/15th. It was not raining when we started, but that didn't last long. After a few minutes the rain started and we figured it was going to be a very long morning. At about 4 miles out, it started to hail. We actually decided it would be a good idea to turn around and maybe go to Aimee's gym and finish the run on a treadmill since we still had a couple of hours of running ahead (it sounded like a good idea at the time). As soon as we turned around, the hail really started coming down and it stung our legs and faces. It hurt! So we took cover briefly under some trees and waited it out. We then headed out onto the road, which was now covered in an inch of slushy hail. After a few minutes, the weather improved. By the time we were within a mile of our starting point (15/15), the rain was gone. So we decided to turn around and continue back south again. We had covered about 6.2 at that point. So, we ran from Sugarhouse Park through the gully to 20th East and through East Millcreek, into Holladay. We ran Hollady Blvd, stopping briefly at the Carmelite Monastery where they had set up some of the cleanest porta potties I have ever seen in my life in preparation for the Carmelite Fair today. We then ran straight into the Old Mill area, picking up some extra mileage before turning back via the same route.

Aimee looks really strong. She's running for Wasatch Running Center now and hoping to make a good showing for her team at St. George (she's run 2:47 there and run the Trials). She sure looked strong today.

I felt pretty strong for the most part. Aimee actually kept the pace harder than I would have if I were alone; we were running most miles at about 6:40, many were faster.

From home, I ran through the University over to East High. I ran over to East for two reasons; first, I needed to to recalibrate the speed/distance footpod that connects to my Suunto. Second, I thought I might see my friend Casey who started from East this morning to go 23-24 out and back over Emigration Canyon. Casey's car was at East, but he wasn't. So I ran two easy miles on the track, both at 6:57, and reset the calibration. On my way back, ran into Casey near Steiner. He had a great pace coming down 500 So. and was on his way to finish the last couple of miles at marathon pace on the track. We chatted for a minute and I headed on home, easy.

From home to Liberty Park for three loops, slightly faster than usual.

East High track workout. Another "ladder" workout on the schedule today.

Ran 1 mile warm-up followed by 4 x 100m strides.

The plan was then three sets of the following: 1 mile/800m/400m at 5:35-5:40, 2:35-2:40 and 73 seconds respectively. All with 400m recoveries between each interval.

Here's how I fared:

Set 1:

1 mile: 5:38

800 m: 2:41

400 m: 73sec

Set 2:

1 mile: 5:30 (too fast)

800 m: 2:41 (paying the price)

400 m: 73 sec

Set 3:

1 mile: 5:37

800 m: 2:37

400 m: 75 sec

The second set was very tough. I really blew it on the mile. I came through 1200m in 4 minutes flat and had to slow down substantially so I wouldn't blow the rest of the workout. That sort of creamed my momentum and form in the 800, though I recovered in the 400m.

The last set was fairly solid, but not great. I thought I was going to nail 73 again on the 400m, and was surprised I was 2 seconds off the pace. Oh well, it was steady and I held my form. I briefly considerd doing another 400m to get the pace right but thought better of it.

One mile cooldown at the end.

Easy 8 this morning in the rain.

Heather and I added another 5.8 tonight. Great weather, cool and misty.

From home, I ran 3.5 miles easy through Federal Heights, the University, and Research Park, over to the post office on Sunnyside where I began a 5 mile tempo run into Emigration Canyon. The first mile has a nasty climb but levels out some, the next 1.5 is a steadier climb, but still a bit rolling--with a little bit of construction work to negotiate. I gained 350 feet in the 2.5 uphill miles. The uphill half was 16:10, the downhill half was 13:46 for a total time of 29:56 for 5 miles. Then recovered 3.5 easy back home.

G O O D L U C K

T O P O F U T A H

R U N N E R S ! ! ! !

It was a dark and stormy morning . . .

Sam & I took off from the Morris Meadow trailhead on the Bonneville Shoreline trail above the avenues at about 6:10. It was already raining, and a little windy, and a little cold. And still dark. We dodged puddles for a couple of miles, following the Steeplechase route, to the 6-Way Junction. We continued east on the easy part of the trail for another couple of miles. We noticed a little bit of snow on the ground, but didn't think much of it. When we turned around at 4 miles, the weather turned pretty ugly and we had some very wet rain/snow falling on us and the temperature dropped about 15 degrees. I was in shorts, of course, and soaked to the bone. So my easy trail run turned into a bit of a tempo workout trying to get back to the car. We took a shorter route back, finishing with 7.

I remember running Top of Utah in the snow in 2000 (I think it was 2000). It was a freak storm. Well, I guess at least the runners tomorrow should know what to expect. Start with a long sleeve shirt you can toss, and maybe go out with a couple of pairs of cheap gloves if it's coming down hard. Hopefully it will be just cool and overcast and nothing more.

Heather and I added another 2.5 before dinner tonight.

Out the door at about 6:30 am, thinking about all of the TOU runners shivering at the top of Blacksmith Fork Canyon. But if the sky down here was any indication, at least there wouldn't be any precipitation.

I ran from home through Federal Heights, the U, Fort Douglas and Resesarch Park, past the zoo, and up Emigration Canyon. I was going to turn around at 10.0, but added just a little more to get to the Pinecrest turnoff. The run back down the canyon was steady, I worked on form. Once I got to the post office, I slowed down for an easy 3.5 back home.

It turned out to be a bluebird morning down here and good running temperatures. I look forward to hearing about how it went for folks up in Logan.

Easy tour of downtown with Heather.

From home to Liberty park for one loop, then up 900 So. for some neighborhood touring on Gilmer Dr. before heading back to the Avenues via 1200 E.

I decided not to go to the track this morning, but to do a fartlek workout instead. I wanted to work on leg turnover on the roads and generally break things up a bit as the taper begins. I ran from home to the U, where I began the first of ten 2-3 minute surges, followed by 2-3 minutes easy. Ran south along 15th East for a bit, and then turned back north and into Mt. Olivet cemetary where I did several more intervals. Mostly felt strong, a few started to hurt. Tried to keep the pace honest and consistent even as the terrain varied.

Headed to Las Vegas for work this morning on an 8:20 flight, so little time to run this morning. Out the door at about 5:15, I did the Fort Douglas/Research Park loop. Sped up to marathon pace on a couple of miles. Return flight is tonight, but I don't think I'll have time to run again this evening.

Bonneville Golf Course loop. Ran a few miles at a tempo-esque pace, chasing Sasha's 6 minute guy.

H-Rock loop with a few Black Sheep.

This morning I ran the Jeremy Ranch Road toward East Canyon with Mark Holland. It was dark and cool when we started. As it got lighter, the stellar fall colors appeared and we had a gorgeous run. We talked a lot about SGM.

Out and back to Research Park. My watch was telling me 7:30 pace, my legs were telling me 6:00 pace. That's basically how it was today.

East High track. Started with an easy mile. Then 4 x 100m strides. Then 2 miles where I alternated hard and easy laps. On the hard laps, I brought the split down a second or two each time, down from 1:25 for the slowest to 1:19 for the fastest. Then one more easy mile. Felt ok.

Easy out and back through the University. I had a massage last night from Mark Oftedal and that helped loosen things up, I think.

Sasha--Mark said that he met you down in Provo recently at one of the XC meets. His son Eli is quite a phenom for a 9 year old. I'm going to try to make it to the state meet on Nov. 4 to watch the kids run.

Easy out and back down 4th Ave. with Heather. Picked it up a bit on the return mile.

It's a nice overcast autumn morning up here in Salt Lake, so even though I only had a small bit of running to do, I thought I would make it count, so I headed up to the Shoreline trail and ran the Morris Meadow loop.

At this point, the cumulative restrained energy from the bloggers on this site could power a small city. I look forward to catching up with some of you maniacs at the Expo this afternoon or at the race. The taper is almost over and tomorrow we get to run!

St. George Marathon: here are the particulars: Time: 2:37:53. Overall place: 21st out of the 4700+ maniacs that finished the race. Age group place: 5th. Pace: 6:01 per mile.

Here are the (probably very boring) details:

I decided to fly to St. George on Friday so that I could make quick return on Saturday afternoon for a friend's wedding reception. The skies were stormy and cloudy the whole way, basically, and it was quite an awful flight on the little turbo prop airplane. Two women were vomiting in a row in front of me. Another was crying like mad on takeoff and landing; I don't know what was going on there, but she seemed pretty miserable. It took me a couple of hours after I landed to get my equilibrium back.

I stayed in a condo with John and Jeff Straley and another runner named Jeremy. Loaded up on pasta, watched "Better of Dead'; got in bed at about 10:30.

Alarm went off at 4:10 am. We were out the door about a half hour later to grab the busses. I was surprised how few people were lined up, as it seems many many people took the bait for the prizes being given to early bus riders. The ride to the start was surprisingly quick.

The atmosphere at the start was great; lots of people with lots of energy milling around under the bright lights getting ready to race.

At start time, it was still plenty dark. I actually prefer this and wouldn't mind if the first half were run in the dark. Once it gets light in a marathon, unless it's cold out, I find that the sun can zap energy.

Right at the start I hooked up with Jed Burton, as we had talked about. We both hoped to run sub 2:40, a first for both of us. We ran easy for the first few miles; 6:05-6:10. Clyde joined us for a couple of miles before pushing ahead at about 5 or 6. That was the last I would see of him.

Jed and I hung together through Veyo, taking the climb nice and easy; hard enough to pass a couple of people, but not hard enough to do any damage. We were 7:14 for mile 7-8.

One thing on my mind during those early miles was the fact that my right shoe was not tight enough and my foot was sort of slipping around. It was starting to be one of those things that the more I tried to ignore it, the more it bothered me. So around mile 9, Jed picked it up a bit and I dropped back for a second and stopped to tie it. I figured it was something I should do early, rather than later in the race when I might not be able to stand up if I stopped. So I stopped, tied it once, decided it wasn't tight enough, and tied it again. Probably lost 40 seconds. Watched several people pass me. I got up and, taking a page from Sasha's book, decided not to chase them down in a sprint, but to regain the position gradually. Pushed through the hills at 9-11 feeling pretty good, slowly making up the time I had lost. Jed was still well ahead of me though, at least a minute. He had definitely picked it up it seemed.

My strategy was to get to the half way point feeling fresh so that I could unload on the second half. I got to the half in 1:21:45, which is about right where I wanted to be.

Jed was back in view now, running with Bill Cobler. This was an interesting dynamic as these two have been battling for the Utah Marathon Grand Slam this summer. Jed had a substantial lead on Bill overall and that would be difficult to make up today unless something went wrong, but I knew they were both going to let it all loose today.

Now the miles were getting much faster as we ran through Diamond Valley and into Snow Canyon. The grade is steep, but surprisingly runnable. I could run 5:40-5:50 without putting too much on the line, either in terms of energy consumption or physical damage. I just tried to hold the downhill form I have been working on this summer and keep it sane.

Out of Snow Canyon there is a hill around mile 19 and I caught Bill Cobler and a couple of others around that point. Jed had pressed ahead but I could see him pretty well. Some time around 21, I passed an ailing Mike Kirk. Things obviously weren't going as planned for him and he confirmed this when he told me he was "running with one foot." He kindly offered some encouragement to me to press ahead and I tried to do that.

Finally caught up to Jed after 21. We hung together again for a couple more miles as we descended into St. George itself. I figured we would stay close until the end, but Jed dropped back a bit and I just kept the same pace. Just tried to hold on for the last couple of miles.

At mile 25, I saw my two good friends, Mark Holland and Julie Cassidy; both of whom couldn't run the race this year due to injury, but who made the trip anyway. Mark has run 2:27 at St. George won the masters division; Julie won this year's Moab Half Marathon and Des News Marathon. They were giving me a lot of encouragement to keep it up and Mark's enthusiasm was a real boost.

I just tried to hold it through the last mile and the finish finally came into view. Crossed the finish in 2:37:53, a PR by 18 minutes over last year's effort at Chicago. Most importantly, it was just fun to run.

Jed was just behind me in 2:38:04, with Bill Cobler right behind him. My friend Casey came in at 2:55, finally getting the 3 hour monkey off his back, much to the relief of his wife and children. John Straley came in at 2:58:57, winning the 55-59 age group. He's an absolute machine. Aimee Larkin finished in 2:46, scoring her another entry at the Olympic Trials, I believe.

Just some light stretching and a bit of core work.

More light stretching and easy core work. Hamstrings have no more soreness. Calves feel fine. The residual soreness now is just in my quads and IT bands. I'll run a bit tomorrow, but I'm planning to take it very easy for at least a week. I have no reason to hurry.

***Thanks to Sasha for adding the new "Search" feature to the blog. As entries on the blog continue to accumulate, it will be easier to try and track down prior entries that included information about specific races or workouts, how people have treated certain injuries, or entries about specific places to run, among many other uses.***

Hooked up with a few Black Sheep at Foothill for a short recovery run. I didn't have any soreness, at least until we started running. I could still feel the quads and IT bands coming down Sunnyside by the Zoo.

A few easy loops around Morris Meadow was enough for today. The legs feel much better than yesterday. I'm trying to hold back from running too much as I think I'll benefit from more rest in the long run (so to speak). Stretching and core work have helped to let off a bit of extra steam.

Short loop through the University. Still a bit stale.

No running today. We had our law firm retreat up at Deer Valley and a group of us went out for a mountain bike ride on the Mid-Mountain Trail. It was fun; still some pockets of fall color. Heather rode really well also.

Easy trail run with Heather, heading east from Deer Valley resort; out and back.

Research Park loop. It was a really pleasant morning for a run; cool and misty and dark! While running up through Federal Heights, I passed a guy in a dark hooded sweatshirt and dark pants carrying two backpacks that looked stuffed to the seams. It was early and he wasn't walking toward the University. It dawned on me later when a cop was driving slowly through the neighborhood on my return that maybe this suspicious fellow was engaged in some criminal mischief!

The run felt much better today than anything last week. The legs have finally loosened up enough that my form feels natural again.

Heather and I added another 3.75 down through Memory Grove and back home tonight.

Not quite ready for speedwork with the Black Sheep yet, so I decided to just run easy and throw in some pickups. From home, I ran through the U over to East High track where I ran an easy 7:23 mile to recalibrate my Suunto t6. On the way back, I ran .75 hard/.25 easy. My last mile was right at 6 min.

Having read many of the blogs here about the Garmin 305 and seen the Garmin in action with friends, I'm definitely considering making the leap over to the GPS-based system, rather than the foot-pod based system that I have with the Suunto t6. For the most part, I love the watch and the training-effect information it provides, but I am also interested in the speed/distance precision that GPS affords. I've been hesitant so far because the Garmin models have traditionally been too bulky--like wearing a garage door opener on your wrist-- but I think the 305 is pretty moderately sized considering what it does.

Foothill Village/Research Park/Steiner loop with a few of the Black Sheep. The pace started easy; we finished with a couple of miles at 6:45 pace.

Easy run up to the University where I did a series of lite-tempo surges over 3.4 miles around campus. It wasn't marathon pace, but it wasn't easy pace either. I was running 6:25 pace at best. Felt alright for my first effort at quicker leg turnover since the marathon.

H-Rock loop with the Black Sheep. There is a 600 foot climb from Wasatch Blvd. to Skyline Drive in about 3/4 of a mile, but otherwise this run is very mellow.

A group of about 10 of us met up at 7:15 off of Bear Hollow Rd. near the Canyons resort in Park City. We ran a very cool loop that hooked together a few trails I had not run before. I'll have to go back and piece it all together, but we ran sections of the Mid-Mountain trail, Holly's Down, Rob's Trail, and a couple of others. We looped back to our starting point from one of the lodges on the north section of the Canyons.

It was 28 degrees when we started, but we warmed up quickly with a 3 mile climb, gaining 1500 feet. We reached a saddle and then had a very gradual and winding 5 mile descent on some great single track through pines and aspens. Not many leaves left, but still very pretty. The views on this run were great.

I put a little bit of effort into the climb, but for the most part it was just easy and conversational. It was a good group of folks to hang out with for this autumn run.

Bonneville Shoreline trail from the Morris Meadow trailhead. Easy on the way up, gaining just a little less than 900 feet in the 3 miles out. Picked it up on the way back, but kept it in control. Another beautiful fall morning.

From 15th and 15th at 5:30 with a few Black Sheep. We ran the route to top of the med school campus. The pace got somewhat aggressive from Research Park to the Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI), with me and Casey K. running pretty hard for a marathon pace mile to the turnaround point. Easy for the first couple of miles on the way back, and then picked it up to marathon pace for the last mile home. This is supposed to be an "easy" day, but this particular group today, including Mark Holland and Aimee Larkin, makes it into more of a tempo effort.

Speedwork with the Black Sheep on the roads around Red Butte Garden. We did a mile warm up and then 4 hill repeats on the entrance up to the garden that are pretty steep. Then 4 laps of a one mile route that includes about .70 of hard running, and .30 of recovery, and includes a mix of flat and hill running. Then a long hill surge, followed by an easy recovery.

Glad to have survived today's run. Sam, Jan and I started at Cucina on 2nd Ave at 6am, with the plan to run the loop on the Bonneville Shoreline trail from City Creek to Dry Creek and back down to Cucina. Jan turned back a few minutes into the run because of a nagging achilles problem. Sam and I continued on toward City Creek.

Now, the last couple of runs Sam and I have done together included getting hung up behind some skunks in Millcreek Canyon and then getting caught in a September blizzard up on Shoreline. Today, it started fine, we had a nice ascent up City Creek, through the meadow, and up past the turn off to Terrace Hills, following the ridgeline trail. There was some lightning in the distance, but we didn't think much of it. That is, until we were suddenly blinded by a tremendous flash of lightning right in front of us, accompanied by a huge crack of thunder. We both hit the ground immediately. Sam swears the bolt was less than 50 feet from us. I have never seen a flash of light so bright that wasn't plugged in to something. It was just freaky--we were way too close to getting fried! Since we had about 4 miles of ridge running ahead of us, we decided, without any discussion, to turn around and head back. On our way down toward Terrace Hills, we had another jolt just a bit behind us; again we both hit the ground. After a few minutes of running for our lives, we got to the relative safety of the Terrace Hills road and ran back down to 11th Ave., Virginia, and to Cucina from there. Crazy morning!

Met up with Amy S. at my house at 6am. We ran up to campus at the U. I wanted to run a tempo-like run on the Run Like Health 5k course. The course is like a maze that weaves all around campus. Very difficult to follow. Lots of quick, sharp turns that are hard to navigate. I doubt there are any straight stretches more than .25 mi. Also, there is construction in the middle of campus and I can't tell at all where the course is supposed to go. The race should be an adventure for that reason. Sasha would have a field day with the course certification issues. Both times I have run the course, I have had 3.4 mi on my Suunto, but I'm sure I didn't follow it exactly. The RD is a friend of mine and he's a great runner and a careful guy, so I'm thinking he should have it figured out and well-marked, but it will be a challenge. Did my little 3.4 mi "tempo" run in 20:22, slow, slow, slow. I would be surprised if I break 18:45 on Saturday.

After the little course navigation, ran a couple more easy miles back to my house with Amy. Oh, also, it felt a lot like winter out there today.

Finally, I would like to get some feedback from the blog on my new running nutrition plan. The front desk at work has a jar of candy corn and I have made it my mission to eat a handful everytime I walk by. I just know I'm going to see some amazing results if I can just keep up that kind of discipline through the holidays.

Research Park loop. Pace was comfortable.

Run Like Health 5k This is a small race on the U of U campus. I mentioned in an earlier blog this week that it's full of twists and turns, and also includes about 150 feet of climbing and an equal amount of descending. So, not really fast. The course marking was great, though, and the RD rode out in front on a bike to lead the way. I started out way too fast. Looking back, it feels like I took off the way that you see kids take off when they run their first road races. You know, full sprint for 100m and then suffer for the rest of the race. Well, I went out fast enough that I was out in front right away. There were a couple of other strong runners in the field that are friends of mine, and a few former high school runners that are students at the U. Anyway, I got out in front and just tried to hold it. The first mile has a gradual descent and then a bit of climbing. I hit the first mile over at Rice Eccles Stadium in 5:16. Way too fast given the technicalities of this course. I feel like I spent the rest of the race paying for that first mile. The second mile retraces the second half of the first mile and then continues north through campus. Second mile split was 5:47. I was about 200m in front at that point. Just wanted to hold on for the last mile, which is basically flat for the first .75 and then descends for about the last quarter. Third mile in 5:45, and then whatever the change is for the last .1 After the race it took a few minutes to get my breathing back. I had that nasty 5k feeling in my lungs, if you know what I mean. So, I finished first in 17:22, average pace 5:38. Kevin Tuck was second in 18:02. He's a strong runner and a solid guy. Hope I can hook up with him for a few runs in the coming months. I got a gift certificate to the Runners Advantage store for my effort, which is great because I dropped a pair of gloves in the toilet after the race. Before the race I ran an easy 2 and after the race an easy 5.5.

Easy downtown route with Heather.

From 15th/15th, I ran the HCI loop with a few Black Sheep. I took it fairly easy today.

On the return, via the trail in Miller Park, Kathryn gave Derrick and John W. the bright idea to hide in the brush and wait to jump out and scare Casey and me when we ran by. They got us pretty good, though I think I did avoid shrieking like a 6 yr old girl. Time to think a bit about payback!

Speed/hill workout with the Black Sheep. It was pretty ugly; 27 degrees at the start and I was underdressed. We started at Foothill Village and warmed up into the St. Mary's neighborhood above Wasatch Blvd. We did 5 x hill repeats on a very steep street (approx 35 sec), recovering on the downhill. Then 5 x hill repeats on an even steeper and longer street (approx 40-45 sec). Then we did 5 repeats of this loop that started flat and then climbed a bit. I didn't have my footpod, so no exact measurements, but I think it was about 500m. Those hurt. The upside was that I was no longer cold.

We cooled down back to Foothill Village and added a bit more mileage en route. Christy T. also led us through a few plyometric exercises at the end.

Bonneville Golf Course loop. My watch says this route climbs 689 feet, and descends 663 feet. Since I started and finished at my house, my guess is the real number is somewhere in between. Nice fall morning, very light out now at 6:30 am.

Tried the Cucina loop on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail again with Sam this morning. It was blissfully uneventful; no lightning, skunks, or ice storms. The temperature was surprisingly warm.

Tried a different variation of my route to get to Bonneville golf course. Once there, I ran on a couple of fairways, which is great. Running across the driving range to the secret exit from the golf course is a little more treacherous because of all the golf balls, but it was light enough out that I could see them all fine. I did have to stop during the run more than I would have liked, i.e., bio break/cars etc. . ., but overall I hope I remember to try this route again another time.

Met up with a few of the Black Sheep at 15th/15th at 5:30 am. We ran an 8 mile loop up around Steiner, to Foothill, down 23rd East to the Country Club, and then zig zagged back through a couple of Sugarhouse neighborhoods. Most of the group headed back to the cars after 8; Aimee Larkin and I continued on for another 2.4. We averaged just under 7 min for the 10 miles.

At 9:00 am, I went to Cottonwood Complex to watch the youth USATF State Cross Country meet. My friend and neighbor Mark Oftedal's son Eli, age 9, was running in the Bantam race. I have wanted to watch him race for a while because he developing into quite a phenom. Today was no exception. He won the hilly and slippery 3000m race by at least 350m, maybe more, finishing in 11:31.

I also got to watch Sasha's 7 year old son Benjamin run in the same race. Benjamin had a cold, but looked very tough in hard conditions. It's clear he takes his performances very seriously. I believe he was about 15th; I'm sure Sasha will add some details as well. It was a lot of fun to watch these kids race.

From 15th/15th, a group of six ran towards Research Park, a few turned back at that point; Aimee Larkin and I continued on to HCI for the standard loop.

I had a massage and that seemed to loosen some things up. I should not have waited so long since the marathon to get on the table. It really does make a difference. It's painful, but it helps.

Black Sheep workout at Liberty Park. I divided the 1.47 mi loop into 4 segments of between .30 and .45 in length. After a one loop warm up, we ran 4 total loops of speedwork based on the marks. (I'm probably making it sound more complicated than it was).

On the first set, we ran the loop in 1/4 segments, stopping for full rest at the end of each segment. These were run at sub 5k pace. Josh Steffen and I were holding about 5min pace for the most part.

On the second set, we ran the loop in 1/2 segments, stopping for full rest at the end of the first interval. The group was supposed to run these at a fast 10k pace, but that never works as a guide and Josh and I held about 5:10 pace.

On the third set, we ran 3/4 of the loop, which is basically a mile and a small amount of change. Josh and I ran this mile in 5:17, and a couple of seconds for the remaining .01 of a mile. We jogged back to the start at the end of that one.

On the fourth set, we ran a full loop, 1.47mi. My total time was 7:50. I tried to catch my split at the mile, I think it was 5:15. So I guess I slowed a bit on the last .47. Most of the group came in at about 6min per mile pace.

Then a mile cooldown.

From home, I ran a loop that took me out to 13th So. and 2300 E. where I turned west, then zigzagged my way through the Harvard/Yale neighborhood back toward the U. This run felt decent, I think the massage really helped open some things up in my legs. Yesterday and today have both felt much better than anything I've done since the marathon.

No running; arrived NYC at 5:10 am (3:10 am SLC time), was in a daze most of the day, trying to shake off the jet lag. Heather and I are here for a few days, seeing some of the city and visiting with friends.

Heather and I went out for a short run this morning, just enough to move the legs for a few minutes, but it wasn't really satisfying. We're staying in Greenwich Village and we ran south from our hotel along 6th Ave (Avenue of the Americas) for about 1.5 miles. Frustrating with all of the stopping for people and cars. On the way back we did a few loops around Washington Square off of 5th Ave. and that's about .5 mi exactly. I ran a tempo-ish mile at about 6:20 pace. The weather is spectacular and has taken me totally off-guard. I brought all of this cold-weather running gear, but it's short sleeve running weather.

My friends tipped me off on a much better running route today. From our hotel, we ran west to the Hudson River park, where there is a pedestrian/bike path. Lots of runners down there. Once there, we ran north past the Chelsea piers, parallel with midtown Manhattan. Another gorgeous day. Not enough time to do anything long. This is just pure maintenance running, and could probably more accurately be described as sightseeing.

Going to try to run Central Park tomorrow morning.

Central Park. The sky was overcast and it was getting cooler when we started, and we were a little concerned it was finally going to get cold. But that was no problem at all on this run. I brought gloves and a vest, didn't need either.

Anyway, I easily rank Central Park on my short list of favorite runs. And all we did was run the perimeter; I didn't even get to taste any of the trails and paths that weave throughout the park. I don't know how long it would take to exhaust running in the park, but I think it would take a while. Here's what I liked: the fall colors are gorgeous, there are lots of runners out at all fitness levels, and there is virtually no vehicle traffic. There are also a few legitmate hills in the park that add some challenge. Also, you're far enough away from the city traffic that you can't really hear the metropolis that surrounds you.

Heather went out with me on this run and what I did was run out for a half mile or a mile and then run back to her for a moment to touch base and make sure I didn't lose her, and then just keep moving on. It essentially ended up as a kind of fartlek workout, I mixed up a lot of different paces on this run. The last two miles were pretty honest; 6:24 and 6:25. Everything else was a mix of easy and harder running. Mostly easy, though. We're not going to have time to run tomorrow, which is unfortunate. I wish we would not have bothered with running anywhere else at the start of our trip, but we had to do what was convenient. I hope I can get back to run more of the park at some point.

Two days off running, and it felt good to get out. I ran the Bonneville golf course loop. It's beautiful up there and running the fairways is great.

From Radda (2300 E.,3300 So.), I started with a group of five. A few turned back at mile 4, Brad Gale and I continued on to make an 8 mile loop. We ran the last mile in 6:02. I came across an interesting story about the Antarctica Ice Marathon I just finished reading "Endurance," the book about Shackleton's adventure in Antarctica and the thought of running this marathon is kind of interesting.

H-Rock loop with the friday Black Sheep crew. The run is very mellow, other than the 430 feet of climbing up 2100 So. to access the H-Rock.

Hooked up with a group of five at Foothill Village. We ran north through the golf course, the zoo, and the University over to the fire station on 11th Avenue, then back on a modified version of that route.

I ran an easy mile, then went out with Heather. We ran together for a short time, and then I headed up toward the Shoreline trail and she headed toward the University. I just wanted a short run to burn off some energy, but I did run the last couple of miles at 6 min pace.

Bonneville Golf Course loop, with 1900 E. and Steiner return route. I wore my HR belt today, something I have done very little this year. Average was 153. The first 5 miles were at a steady easy pace. The last three miles, I picked it up and averaged about 6:20. From the golf course on Wasatch, there is a nice descent down 1300 So. to 1900 E. that makes running north on 1900 E. feel much better.

Black Sheep workout. We started at Popperton Park (11th Ave and Virginia). We ran a one mile warm up. Starting from the firestation on 11th Ave., we did 2 minutes hard/2 minutes easy, running west, and then north down past the entrance to City Creek, and south to the Capitol. Easy jog down to Memory Grove. We did 4 hard sets of stairs between Memory Grove and 4th Ave. Then we did the Black Sheep classic "Over and Up," which means running easy on the flat numbered streets and running hard up the hilly lettered streets. The first few were not so bad. Josh and I were hanging in there, with Derick not far behind and the rest of the group a little bit back. By the time we were running between 9th and 10th Ave, I was getting anaerobic. Heart rate was up to 180. On the final stretch, between 10th and 11th Ave, I was wasted. My HR was 186 at the end of that long climb, and I think I only have a couple of beats to go beyond that for a maximum. It took a couple of minutes to catch my breath and jog it back to the finish. Kind of a brutal start to the morning, but fun.

From my house, a group of six of us ran the Bonneville Golf Course loop. It was a beautiful, warm morning and an enjoyable run.

I was too late out the door to hook up with the group, so I ran alone. First couple of miles were sluggish beyond belief. Thought a tempo mile might spice things up, it didn't. I struggled through it into the wind at 5:58. Thought a bio break might help, it didn't. Thought some downhill running might help, it didn't. Thought stopping at 6.5 miles might help, that did the trick. It's not as if I have been training hard, I can't really explain why I felt so sluggish today.

We're up at Bear Lake for at least part of the weekend. Thanksgiving was fun, but too many calories. Heather and I went out and ran on the dirt roads up and around the cabin this morning. Not much snow has accumulated, but we did run on the crunchy stuff for a while. I did some Rocky III style pull ups while waiting for Heather in a few spots. Also ran a couple of hard hill repeats, approx 45 seconds on a steep grade. I still feel a little worn down though my energy level is fine; both knees have been a bit stiff for the last couple of weeks and it's not getting much better so I need to figure out what's going on there.

Still up at Bear Lake. I went out alone this morning and ran a mix of dirt roads and pavement. The first 40 minutes felt decent, but nothing great. Started to get a little sluggish again, but I finally had a breakthrough as I ran a long flat stretch next to a field full of cows; I picked up the pace into the wind and ran a hard half mile. The last 30 minutes of the run were great. I finished in 1:10. It was a sunny, gorgeous 30 degrees.

15th & 15th run with a few of the Black Sheep. Ran hard in the middle up to HCI.

Black Sheep workout. Started at Steiner; ran an easy mile down to 1300 E. Then ran 2 x 800 on Guardsman. Ran over to the U and did the "Golden Mile" in 5:52. It was snowing and slick and I think we shaved a bit off (my watch said it was short by a tenth). Then we did three progressively longer hill repeats on the mall running through the middle of campus. The weather was a bit of a limitation, but we had a good time.

Woke up to several inches of snow at our house. So after shoveling snow, I thought it might be a good morning to put the gym membership that I won last spring to use for the first time. The gym is less than a block from work, so it's pretty convenient. I ran on the treadmill, which I do very, very infrequently.

Even with my iPod, I found that time passed very s l o w l y. I kept increasing the pace to make it a little more engaging. I ran mile 5 at 6:10 and then mile 6 at 5:58.

It was about 5 degrees this morning at 6am, I'm guessing. But I dressed right and ran up into City Creek where it was even colder, but fortunately no wind, which can be a killer on chilly days in the canyon.

Worked late, lingered in bed. Got out the door at 6:40 and ran the Research Park Loop.

Skiing today; no running.

Out the door late, I ran a south route that took me out along Wasatch Blvd. to 2100 So. and back via a more western route. Easy miles in the cold sunshine.

15th/15th to HCI. It was cold! My chin got kind of numb on the return.

***one more thing***

As the holidays are upon us and we think about giving back to those who have given to us in the last year, I hope my fellow bloggers will take a minute and send a donation to Sasha for running this site. Think about all the things you pay for on a daily basis that are much less useful than this free site. I am sure any kind of donation would be appreciated. The guy has 5 kids and a new house; let's rally and give them a hand this season.

I know this message will reach only the few folks that read this blog, so others may want to pass along a similar thought in their own blog if they agree with the spirit of this message.

I had an early meeting, so I did a fartlek/hill workout in the avenues instead of hooking up with the group. I ran through the cemetary to 11th Ave. where I started some surges, with the longest being about .8 miles at sub 6min pace. Then I did the dreaded "up and over" through the Avenues, which taxes my heart rate severely. I cooled down back to home via Federal Heights.

Bonneville Golf Course Loop. The first hole fairway has crunchy old snow that is hard to run on, but it's still a nice destination.

I had a little flare up in my left calf yesterday that I've been paying attention to. It didn't bother me much today; I think I just need some light stretching and easy pressure on it.

From Radda on 23rd E / 3300 So., we ran a loop through Holladay. Brisk easy pace.

Wow, what a sight this morning. I ran from home through Fort Douglas and Research Park to the Zoo and up toward Emigration Canyon. There was a slight wind coming out of the canyon, and the clear sky above the mountains was free of the valley haze. I was running east toward the mountains, looking up toward the ridgeline, when I saw this incredible meteor shooting through the sky. At first, I could just see white light--like a regular shooting star--but then it turned into this fireball that screamed through the sky at incredible speed. I could see bright orange flames! When it passed over the mountains, I literally paused for a second, bracing myself for the aftershock of its certain impact. Well, I'm sure it was probably entering over Chile or some place, but it seemed really close at the time. That certainly woke up my run.

From Foothill Village to City Creek Canyon and Memory Grove, return via 4th ave. and University. Surprisingly warm out.

From 15/15, we ran the HCI loop in the snow.

Liberty Park workout with the Black Sheep. Warmed up one lap on the road. Then one set of fast quater-loops, followed by one hard loop, and another set of fast quarter-loops. I felt decent.

Limited time this morning; I ran to the Subaru shop to pick up my car and then drove it home.

By the way, anyone interested in buying a 1999 Subaru Outback with 104k miles on it, let me know. I'm selling well-below blue-book price.

From Radda on 2300E/3300 So., a group of 10 or so started together; a few peeled off and ran 6, a few of us continued on and ran a slightly longer loop. Easy pace. Aimee Larkin and I agreed that we need to figure out how to make this route at least 8 miles. I feel a little lazy running less than 8 if I otherwise have the time to do it.

***Afternoon Revision***

My friend Jan gmapped the route we took today and it came up as 8 miles. http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=587672

So I guess I can feel good about the mileage today and continue to hope Santa gets me a Garmin 305.

Bonneville golf course loop. The rain and warm weather took care of all of the snow on the brief fairway portion, so I decided to give the route a try. Added a little bit more mileage up through Fort Douglas and Research Park on my way to Sunnyside. So warm out.

I ran from home to meet a group of folks at 9th/9th. From there, we ran down to Main Street, up through Main Street Plaza, up Memory Grove to the base of City Creek, up to 11th ave, east to Virgina, down Virginia to So. Temple, then winding back to 9th/9th. Nice chilly morning with some dry snow fluttering around. Aimee Larkin and I pushed the pace up most of Memory Grove, but otherwise easy.

HCI loop from 15th/15th. We had a special guest appearance from Johanna Nielsen this morning. She is in town from France for a few days, and is as fit as ever. She's planning to run the Paris Marathon in April. Really great to catch up with her.

Black Sheep workout in the cold. We met up at the entrance to Red Butte and ran a mile warm-up. John Straley was leading the group today and he loves to bring some prop for people to use. John has managed to incorporate the use of used pennies, potatoes, colored chalk, and many other props into the workouts. Today it was neoon glo-sticks about the size of a straw. The workout involved each runner using the glo stick as their own start/stop marker for a series of timed intervals, 80-90 seconds. Then we ran a few longer intervals through research park, with the longest being about a mile. Then a long cooldown. It was certainly chilly, but we warmed up pretty quick.

Zoo/Bonneville Golf Course loop. I ran into Brian Kamm above the golf course and he ran with me for about five miles and we got to catch up. Pace was easy.

A group of 8 or so ran from Radda (2300E/3300S) and did the expanded Casto loop. The pace was generally faster as Johanna joined us again. Casey and I did about a .75 surge at Mile 6.5 and that felt hard, but necessary.

Took a little more work than usual to stir myself out of bed. In fact, my wife was out the door before me for her run with our neighbor, which is pretty unusual. It was snowing and the streets were white and once I was out the door I felt fine. Footing on the snow wasn't great though, and when I would occassionally run across some dry patch it felt like running on grip tape. I've been listening to episodes of "This American Life" on my iPod on the last few solo runs and that has been very entertaining. The show I listened to today had a very entertaining story written by Jhumpa Lahiri. There was also a sappy David Sedaris piece that was not nearly as funny as his other stuff.

On my way over to Bonneville Golf course, I ran a couple of snowy fairways on the U of U golf course. Then the snowy fairways at Bonneville. This is usually safe only when the snow is fresh, as frozen chunky snow is a little treacherous. Anyhow, I enjoyed the contrast between white expanse of the fairways and the cold, dark morning sky.

A group of six of us took off from Foothill Village at 6:30. We ran a north route through the University and into the Avenues, up to 11th Ave, and down to B street and then back. We had a couple of surges, on 11th Ave. on the way back, and then again in Federal Heights.

Easy miles with a few folks around Liberty Park at 7am.

Then at 10am, I met up with Kim, Andy & Jan up at Mountain Dell and they gave me my first lessons in skate skiing. I picked up some gear a couple of weeks ago and it was my first time out. It was pretty tough, but I started to get a feeling for it. Most important, I had a good time and I'm very confident that it is a great way to get a cross training workout that translates very well to running.

Diligently set my alarm, planning to run before the xmas onslaught began. Maybe next year.

We had planned to do speedwork at sugarhouse park, but only a handful of people showed up and we all decided just to go for a run instead. I felt surprisingly spry considering that I have done my body no favors in the last several days of holiday merry making.

Bonneville golf course loop in the warm late December air.

Radda run. Easy, with a 1.5 mi tempo burst at the end, just for the pure excitement of it.

My wife got me a juicer for Christmas, which I've been using for a couple of days, although it leaves a monumental mess. This morning's concotion, straight from the recipe book of the Juiceman himself, included carrots, cucumber, kale, and some green bell pepper. It was surprisingly good!

AM: Bonneville Golf Course loop, easy.

PM: 10k of skate skiing up at Mtn Dell. Much improved this time.

From 9th/9th, I met up with Jan and Derek at 5:30 and we ran a few up in the Gilmer Dr neighborhood before meeting up with the rest of the group at 6am for a downtown, Memory Grove, 11th Ave. return.