Clyde's Comeback!

This year started out like every year for me. I spent the day with the family "guys" in the annual New Years Day golf tournament here in STG. It's an exclusive tournament with 36 teams and a waiting list a mile long to get into. The golf portion is played in a scramble format with five players per team. 

We played pretty good shooting 10 under for the day. Besting last years 8 under mark and the 2007's horrible 6 under. Before then I didn't keep a record but one year like in 03 or 04 we took 2nd overall and was in the area of 16 under.

The day turned out to be really nice. Sunny and warm with no wind. I drove the ball great off the tee and hit the irons ok- I even hit a couple key putts too. I even birdied one hard par four without the help of my team. This hole is tough because it's a long uphill hole where your approach shot is blind. Then I holed the squeaky little downhill put to clam the solo birdie.

Anyways lots of fun for all and we even won some prizes too. Also USC plastered Penn St. as expected.  

Nothing today. But I did enjoy the Utah vs. Alabama game. Anyone else out there just hate the BCS?

This hamstring injury is redefining my life. I've got all this extra time... I'm not constantly sore... I can eat whatever I want and it shows up on my belly... and all of it sucks. I'm really longing for the days of endless miles. All I want to do is put on my shoes and let a 8 miler turn into 20... Poor me!

22 miles on the bike right at 3 hours. Well today I took a big bite into craziness. I got on the bike and was going to ride from here up Turkey farm road then then over the trail down into Dameron Valley and then loop around. Only when I got up the road to the trail turn off I couldn't remember which one it was so I took a trail that I knew.... the Broken Mesa/ Icehouse trail back around. I had water with me in a typical bike bottle mounted on the frame and I didn't use any of it until I left the dirt road and hit the trail... so right around 9 miles into it. Then I started up the trail and it was snowy but cold enough that everything was frozen so for the most part I was able to bear down and peddle up to the top of the Mesa. However the higher I got up the more snow I ran into. I thought as I got on top and hit the south facing side that the snow would soon be gone. Wishful thinking. I spent the next four miles or so coming down the mesa in 8 inches of snow. I was pushing my bike and trying to run... The snow was really crusty and in some spots I actually was able to just ride my bike across the surface and then it would suddenly brake and I'd almost go over the handle bars. This whole process took forever and I went for my water - only to find the entire bottle frozen. The wind had picked up and it was now snowing. I'm guessing around 15 degrees colder then down in town. I had climbed from 2,800 ft to over 5,300 ft. I actually started to think that things were getting kind of scary and the thought of spending the night up there pushed me even harder. Finally I got to the end of the snow and was able to push the pace a little more. As I was coming down off the Mesa I came across 3 big (4 point) buck's.  I could have kicked myself for not having a camera. It looked cool with them standing in the snow and the snow coming down in the background. 

Anyways I finally dropped off the trail and opted to go straight into GS and then home. That was enough trails for one day Thank You very much. It's been a long time since I had a 3 hour workout. Maybe years. I ran this trail on March 6, 2007 and it took me 2:40. Today on a bike with the snow I was right at 3 hours. I did go a little farther today (1.8 miles) but not much. 

As I was coming down the steep, rocky Icehouse trail I only stopped and put my foot down once. And at that point I had a big string of snot hanging down across my face. So the stop was useful (so I could wipe it clean) but to that point I had been pushing it like I was running for my life. I'd say on a scale of 1-10 this ride/run/snow/workout hits around 10. Other than Chuck Norris and myself I'm guessing there are only a handful of other people who could have pulled this one off.  

2 miles on the treadmill. Hamstring pain was around 5 out of 10. I may try it again tonight. 

I did some real running today! 

I did an hour of trail riding up by the Red Cliff's recreation area. It would have been a great ride other than I got a flat (slow leak) and kept having to pump it up and then peddle like crazy for about 10 min's and then repeat the process over and over. The good part was that I was in like a tempo mode much of the journey. I was huffing and puffing and must have looked like something else to the people on horseback who were out on the trail too. When I got back to the Jeep I thought maybe I'll try a little run. I wasn't really dressed for the occasion (I had some light weight hiking pants on, old wore out running shoes, shirt and a jacket). I slowly ran up around the campground and back to the Jeep for 2.1 miles of real (unaided by the treadmill) running. It felt really good to be a runner again. The hamstring pain was at a 5 again but a steady 5 meaning it didn't feel like it was getting any worse. So that was sweet! Maybe I'll try another short run tomorrow.  

2.5 miles of real running after the bike ride of one hour and fifteen min's. I went over to the trails behind Green Valley and did an exploring type of ride around the cool trials. I wasn't pushing the pace like yesterday but ended up being out there a while. It was cool to ride out there and see some of the sweet jumps and stuff they have made. I'd like eventually ride all the trails out there to gain a better understanding of the area. 

Then after I got back to the Jeep I ran an easy 2.5 miles up around Sunbrook GC. It felt pretty good. Pain still a steady 5 out of 10. The wether today was really nice- blue skies and no wind. I think it was around 52 degrees or something but it felt like 65.  

90 min's of trail riding today on the "Zen" trail. I've been wanting to ride this since I got the bike and finally got to it. Amazing! What a fun, technical, and beautiful ride. The weather today wasn't as good as yesterday but other than that everything was perfect. 

2.5 miles of running. After the ride I did the same run as yesterday up on the mesa above Sunbrook GS. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the pain was only at a 4 out of 10 today. It's taking a lot of time but I'm slowly healing. Smiley face.  

I got up and went over to the DC at 7 a.m to ride a long side the guys on the bike. We went around the Painters course for right at 13.1ish miles (depending on tangents). I froze to death on the bike. My hands and feet really suffered and most of the time I asked myself why? But in the end it was fun to get out with the guys again after a long spell. Logan came a long too on his grandpas bike. There really wasn't much effort to the bike riding today so no miles rewarded. More of a social event. However  on the bike my hamstring was  like a 1.5 out of 10 for pain... It felt really good today and I decided to leave it alone until next Monday when I'll try running again. 

6.5 real running miles this morning. I did the standard GS loop and the hamstring held up really good. When I started the run I had no  pain at all then a mile into it I was feeling around a 4 out of 10 and it stablaized there. I was happy to start a new chapter of my running life and get a real workout in after an injury. Hopefully I'll be able to work things back to where they were....

70 min bike ride up above Green Valley but ended up running/ pushing the bike the last 1.5 miles because I blew a tire. I went over this big rock jump and was about an inch short of making it across the gap.... anyways my rear tire hit the sharp rock on the other side and it blew a hole in the tube (3 places) and on in the tire itself... that whole deal sucked. 

5.7 mile run around the DC/ Bloomington Hills loop. After my bike ride went sour I came across town to do my run. The city trails are nice to run on and it was a beautiful morning. The weather is sending some hints of spring and it just makes you want to stay outside all day. The run was good. Hamstring pain was around 4- just about like it has been. Hopefully I can continue to work into things without anymore setbacks.  

I just tried to run nice and easy but was really surprised to see that it was an avg of 7:05 pace... 

7.8 mile GS/ powerline trail loop with Nate. We left at 7 and it was chilly out but not too bad. I was happy with the hamstring as it never really felt bad at all. Some soft, background pain that was right there at a 4 or maybe even a 3.5 out of 10. We ran a nice conversational pace but still hit the loop in 59:38. Sometimes when I'm not coming off an injury I don't even run it that fast. I guess the plus to backing off the mileage is being really fresh and spunky. My quads are a little sore but that is from the running I did yesterday while pushing the bike. It kind of put my body in strange position and wasn't conducive to proper form.

Anyways it was a good run and fun to get out with Nate.

Nice club run tonight. It's been a while since I've been able to run with the guys on Thursday night and today was a nice on to come back on. Last time I checked it was Jan 15 but it felt like a spring afternoon. We all had shorts and tees on other that Steve who was wearing tights for fashion reasons. Anyways we left the store and looped over the new overpass and into GS. The pace was a little fast at first but we moved into a nice conversational stroll. My hamstring felt really good with pain around 3.5 or so. I just want to be extra careful to not do anything risky or dumb...

I'm excited for the race on Saturday. Hayden was putting down claims of a sub 1:06 so that should be fun to watch. Plus Logan and I are going to be the pacers on our bikes so I'll have a front row seat of all the action as it unfolds.  

Nice little DC/ Bloomington Hills loop this morning with Paul. We ran right at 9 a.m to see what the temps would be like for tomorrow. It was nice and we just took it easy. Now to enjoy the day and maybe do some hiking in Zion.

I went over to the Painters half marathon today to watch all my buddies run and to be a pacer on my bike along with Logan. It was a lot of fun watching the race unfold from the bike view and I didn't miss racing at all. It was even more fun seeing everyone run so well. I ended up doing a little running around down by the finish and then the 13.1 miles on the bike... so I'll give myself .5 for the day. The weather was perfect today. With highs over 60, blue skies, and no wind. 

This evening at our house a few of the club members and Paul and his family got together to celebrate life. It was a lot of fun. Lots of BBQ, salads, desserts, and way too much personal information. Oh my STEVEN! 

Up to the water tank and down around the industrial park. It was a nice morning and I really enjoyed getting out on the trail. Running completes me most days and lately I've been feeling very incomplete. 

Hoping to hit around 45-55 miles this week and continue to slowly get my life back.   

Over to GS and straight up the trail to the powerline and then over and down into Middleton. Slow and easy this morning. Not feeling particularly great as the hammy was back to around a 4.5 or so for pain. However I've slacked off on stretching and some of the ball workouts the last few days. So I'll get those going again and it seems to really help. 

I got all dressed up early this morning and even stretched but as I was walking out the door I just didn't feel like going. So I came back in and got undressed and pushed it off until later in the day. Then around 11 or so this morning I went over to the DC and did a run on the way to the office. 

I went from the DC over by Flying J and then up and around Bloomington Hills to River Road. Then down to the trail off River road and up around Bloomington Hills back to the DC. It turned out to be a great run with very little hammy pain once I got warmed up. I never tried to push the pace at all but just focused on smooth, and straight alignment. I'd have to back off over and over again as I started to drop the pace below 6:30. I  ended up doing the 8.8 mile loop in 1:02:20 right around 7:05 pace avg.  

4 mile run this morning up into GS and back. Just did a few this morning to stay loose and then I'll catch a few at the club run tonight with the lads. 

8 miles tonight with the club. Nothing new though. We ran my standard GS loop only stoping and starting from the store. The hammy felt good and only had around a 3 on the pain scale. It was overcast but the temp was 67 at 4:30 before I went over to the store. There was a smell of rain in the air and it kind of seemed like spring.

6.5 miles around the paved GS loop. It was raining and I got soaked on the run today. I knew the trails would be a muddy mess so I opted to say on the roads. I also wanted a little shorter run today as I'm way ahead of my milage goal for the week. My brain thinks that if we are "running" then we should just do 80-100 miles a week. But the body needs time to work through some issues so I have to keep things in check. I'm feeling as good as I could ask with only minor hamstring pain. I'll see what a single run of 12 or so miles does to it tomorrow...

A foggy, soggy club run this morning. We met at the store and ran a loop through the fields and up past the river and back to the store. I felt pretty good but was kind of spent coming up the last hill. I never pushed the pace at all and just tried to keep the hammy from stressing. I feel good now and will monitor it throughout the day. 

0 miles today. I started this major project at the house. Mik'L and I have been looking at new houses pretty seriously for the last month or so and have just about bought a few... but we've talked ourselves into waiting (maybe 6 months maybe 2 years). So in the mean time we decided to fix up our house. Not that its falling apart but we just wanted to improve a few things. Well now I'm in full carpenter mode refinishing the kitchen, and both bathrooms. I spent from 7:30 a.m to around 9:30 p.m swamped in a new mess. So I'll just have to work a little harder the rest of the week to get things done and get out. 

9.2 miles-After a good morning and afternoon of remodeling I got out around 3 p.m to get a solid run in. I did the regular GS loop with a Middleton extension. It was blue skyes and really pretty out with the snow on Pine View Mt. The air was a little chilly but still had shorts on. The hamstring is feeling better every day! 

9.2 miles today. Same run as yesterday. It was really nice out this afternoon and the sky was eye popping blue! Yes eye popping! The run was ok although my hamstring was tighter than it has been the last few days. Maybe back to a 4.5 out of 10. I'll have to have a good stretching and ball session tonight. 

8 miles this morning up to the water tank and around industrial. I wasn't as tight as yesterday but still not really filling it. I was just trying to get it over before a long day of work on the remodeling project. I was also going to hit a little more today just to get caught up from missing on Monday. 

8.15 miles this evening with the club. We did the new overpass loop up into GS. Good turnout tonight and that always makes the club run nice. We just chit chatted the whole way and stayed relaxed but still hit the run in 1:01 and some change. Nothing to write home about but not bad for a recouping runner. I had to reward myself on the way home and stop at In and Out Burger for 2 cheese burgers and a fry. It always hits the spot.   

7.2 miles around the inner GS loop. Kind of tight like the rest of the week. Now to rest up for tomorrows long run... My first since forever.

19 miles this morning. We met up at my house (Bill, Nate and Walter was in town to join in) and decided to not do the Winchester loop so we did a "feilds/ Dixie Center" loop. After a little over a mile Nate's leg was acting up and he turned back so there was just the three of us. My plan for the day was to just listen to the body and not push things. We pretty much did just that. We hit a 7:33 avg for the run so the pace was always nice and easy. With running slow it made the run feel like it took forever but in the end I'm hoping it turned out to be a good endurance workout. My hamstring was tight throughout the run but never overbearing. Anyways it was good to get a long run back in my diet and finally get back to at least 60 mpw. I actually did this 60+ on only five days because I missed Monday so it was more like a 70 ish mile week...