Chasing my Dreams

I got a good early start this morning, which was nice considering the heat once the sun came up. I felt like I was holding a decent pace for the first 8 or 10 miles, but it was in reality only 6:40s. After that I got this second wind almost and was able to gradually pick up my effort. I felt my left knee just a bit at one point, and my lower legs were sore the first half. I was able to close around a 6 minute pace. My right quad was pretty tight afterward.

Some easy miles on the BST from Dry to Millville Canyons. My legs didn't have it on the uphills today at all. My legs were pretty slow and stiff the first two miles or so as well. I really don't like all the weeds that rub up against your legs, so I don't know how often I'm going to run this trail anymore. There were tons of grasshoppers first thing this morning too because I think I was the first one on the trail.

Went out for an early morning fartlek out into Providence. It ended up being a lot more hilly than I thought it would be. As a result I was actually pretty slow going out, as it was hard to get moving on the uphills. I had some good efforts coming back, but man the big uphill sreally got my legs today. The early morning and not getting as much sleep as I would like probably contributes.

Some easy morning miles in West Point that hopefully did the body some good. I need to get more sleep though. I ran up to Tom's parents house to meet him and Fessler. We then did an easy 4 mile loop together. I put in another few more miles around and through West Point. Everything felt pretty good overall, but afterwards as I was elevating and stretching I realized that my back and hips had some sore spots, which must be from something non running related I did yesterday.

It was a rough morning as I couldn't get out of bed, and then it took an extremely long time to poop. Getting my legs going was pretty hard as well. I did 15 minutes warming up, then 42:15 of what was supposed to be a steady state effort. I was slow getting going, and then ended up runinng quite a bit of it too fast. Between the hills and my legs, I wasn't very steady. However, I averaged 5:43s for that segment. I then did 5 minutes of a cooldown. My butt felt the uphills, especially towards the end.

Ran with Tom on the Logan Canyon trails this morning. He thought the Spring Hollow trail was going to be runnnable, but it's quite steep and rocky. So we mostly had to run on the River Trail. The pace wasn't anything crazy, but it was still a good effort and something different for the legs. The first mile was pretty rough as my legs were tight and tired, and it took a while for things to loosen up

My legs were really tired today, especially after some of that crazy uphill yesterday. I was barely moving up the stadium hill, and all of the uphills were kind of rough on the legs. I ran by feel and ended up running a little faster than I thought. 6:42 average. I ended up having to stop at the Rec Center in Smithfield to poop. I did feel my left knee a little in the second half of the run as well. Over the last two miles, I felt like my body wasn't using oxygen quite as well as normal.

Ran the shoreline trail onto the highline trail with Tom this morning. We weren't flying, but it took two miles before my legs really had any energy. I could have killed Tom on the uphills, so I took them pretty easy. My legs still didn't have tons of pop. I did 4 more miles up Green Canyon, which honestly I think did my legs wonders. The gradual uphill worked the legs, and then I was able to relax on the downhill coming back. No real pains or aches today. 7:30s average. I didn't get the best night's sleep last night, as I kept waking up in the middle of the night. I also didn't eat lunch yesterday and wasn't as hydrated yesterday as I should have been.

I still didn't have the most restful of nights last night, which was a little frustrating in all honesty. I don't know why I can't sleep without waking up. I told myself I was going to make today a fairly easy fartlek. I wanted to push the bigger uphills though (partially to get after the strava segments). I ran by feel, which ended up being slower than I would have anticipated. I only noticed it on my fast parts, but I didn't feel like I was getting in my complete stride. It felt like my hips were stopping my legs from fully extending themselves almost. My watch said afterwards that my stride on the run was about a foot shorter than normal too. 

I still kept waking up last night. I was hopeful that my legs would feel better today, but they were still pretty tired and sluggish. I couldn't get them going any faster than 7 minute pace. I'm convinced this is probably a result of my shoes being worn out and my legs are therefore not able to recover from the pounding they are experiencing. I did 2 strides afterwards to try and get my legs back in check.

Based on how hard 7 minute pace felt on my 2.5 mile warmup, I wasn't sure how well my steady state effort was going to go, as they were still dragging. Once I got rolling though, I felt fairly good other than being warm. There would be moments of like 30 seconds where my legs would feel tired, but then it would go away. I did 45 minutes of steady state effort, and covered 7.58 miles in that time, which comes out to 5:56 average. The splits were 6:02, 6:04, 5:57, 5:57, 5:54, 5:54, 5:52, and 5:47 pace the last not full mile. An easy half mile cooldown back home.

Wasn't planning on the long run today before last night, so I was pretty happy with how this run went. It took me probably 5 miles before my feet and legs started to feel decent. It was probably around 8 miles in where I was able to pick the pace up a little as well. I had to stop at East Park to poop and then got a drink as well. On my way down 300 I ran into Fessler and ran with him back to his house. During the last four or so miles, my quads started to feel the microtears and tightened up some. My mouth was also dry at that point.

It was an early, easy run this morning. I averaged 6:57s, but I honestly couldn't have ran any faster than I did today. My right quad was in pretty bad shape and was hurting pretty bad by the end of the run. I didn't realize yesterdays microtears were so bad. I did some scouting for deer without any luck. I did see a fox on the small road though!

Mostly just wanted to shake off the weekend as I didn't get enough sleep and ate way too much junk. It was actually a decent effort, and other than the uphills being hard, things were pretty good. My right quad started to tighten up in the last two miles or so. I almost stepped on a rattlesnake on the highline trail, which was a good wake up for my senses to say the least.

Earliest run I've had in a while, started at 5. Felt decent the first few miles, but I knew they were slow. Six miles in my right quad started to hurt pretty good. It never went away after that, and it made it hard to pick up the pace. 6:57 average. Also today I finally ran in some new shoes, Saucony Ride 9s. 

I decided with how my right quad felt yesterday, it was better to not try and do a fartlek today. I decided to get a good chunk of my run in on dirt as that would probably help my legs, which ended up being true. My legs felt significantly better and more relaxed when I was on dirt. The last two miles I felt good enough to pick the pace up a little bit. 6:48 average. Still getting the new shoes to feel good on my feet though.

My leg finally felt back to normal today, and with some decent rest and recovery yesterday I was able to have a better run than expected. It felt good and since I didn't have a hard effort this week, I let myself enjoy the run. 6:25 average. With the last three 6:15 and below. My feet hurt from the new shoes, and I remembered that my socks never seem to sit right in Sauconys at first. My inner lower leg muscles had some minor aches here and there, but nothing out of the ordinary. 

I had a hard time waking up, and then I couldn't get my poop flowing the way I would have liked before getting going this morning. It didn't really cool down at all, so the first few miles I was adjusting to the heat and waking up my body. My legs did really well and didn't give me any problems. My left shoe still makes my foot hurt, but it's not even really muscular, moreso hot spot type pain. I did have one quick stop where I tried to poop during the run, but not much came out so I kept trucking and it didn't bother me. The hardest part about the run today way the mental aspect over the last five miles. I needed someone or something to distract my mind, because physically I felt fine. 6:34 average

Got up early and pushed Dry Canyon in the dark, hoping to make it to Logan Peak. I wasn't sure if the trail went all the way, and it doesn't, so getting close is all I was able to do. Surprisingly, the few times when I stopped to hike on the way up, it felt better on my legs to run. I did feel the strain on my calves though. The worst part was that the trail was pretty grown in, and all the plants ripped up the legs and arms some, and I was super itchy afterward. 

In the evening after I got home from work, I did a 3.9 mile shakeout/de-stressing run. 6:28 average for that. It was hot, but everything felt good other than my feet. Partially because I ran in my work socks probably.

AM-Was planning on doing a fartlek, but two miles in when I realized that I was going 7:10 pace and it felt like a 6:20 effort, I decided to bag it and just survive the run. I had to start at 5 so I could get to work on time. Nothing really felt out of wack though. 6:58 average for 9 miles

PM- Did an evening shakeout with Tom, as he tested his legs. Unfortunately his legs are trashed, but I felt really good, and running felt pretty effortless. 4.2 averaging 6:54, but a good chunk of it was faster than that.

Slept in a little, which felt good. It was slow getting out the door this morning, but a great morning for a run. Ran the trails, and it was raining, which was refreshing. Saw a deer and some chukars as well. There was also a high school team up there that I passsed both ways. Things felt good today, and overall it was one of my better trail runs. 7:10 average, but I was approaching today as recovery anyways

I was really waning in motivation this morning, and almost didn't run. This is not like me. In all honesty my legs felt fine, however they didn't have a whole lot of pop as my run was still relatively slow. I didn't really care too much because I was mostly proud of myself for getting out the door, but I may have to cut back on the mileage. I think everything else in my life is starting to crash down on my running. 6:59 average

Ran in the evening after an early morning at work. I felt good for the first half of my run, but then about half way through I had quite the allergy attack. I've never had this happen mid-run before. I had everything from my nose, coughing, and sneezing. That really messed with my breathing ability it felt like. I averaged 6:47s, which wasn't quite as fast as it felt, so I don't know, but I honestly enjoy running, even though lately I haven't been running well..

Felt awfully wiped out when I woke up, so I just decided to call it a rest day. I struggled through some core work, but that was about it. 

Ran without a watch to try and help my mental state, which it did and I was able to enjoy my run more than if I wa paranoid by my watch. My left big toe tendinitis started hurting right at the beginning, and I felt it periodically throughout the run, generally on the uphills. I hadn't felt it at all before today, which is weird.. Otherwise everything seemed to be in line.

Ran hard. Trying to run away from some demons. Toe still hurts. Who cares.