Elite Jogging For Dummies

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

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

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

1.2 mile warmup on the road

800m speed changes on the track

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

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

then 1.2 mile cooldown back on the road.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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