Clyde's Comeback!

Secret Street then DC. Another draggin type run. Just couldn't get into it and next thing I knew the run seemed to last all day. About 2 miles from the finish I realized I was over striding and so I started to use short and quicker steps. Seemed to help a little.  

4 miles this afternoon on the treadmill. Had to cram it in while Myler napped. Wasn't to bad- just watched PTI and tried some new shoes out. 

Regular morning run with the guys. I woke up at 4:30 a.m again... and decided to get out and do some before. Only to find Logan already out hitting it. So picked up some there. Then Billy joined us for the regular loop. Then Logan and I looped around Little Valley and I ended up with just over 15 for the morning. EZ pace at 7:08 avg for the run. 

5.6 miles tonight after Mik'L got home from the office. It was warm today but by the time I ran the breeze seemed to feel good and things weren't too bad. Came home and enjoyed French toast (a weekly fav in this house). With 11 chickens you gotta find ways to use the eggs. 

DC loop. Kind of tight and kinky but once I got going the pace was honest the whole route. It was 59 F for the low last night but once I got out running and the sun came up- it really felt warm. 73 F when I got home and I had my shirt off! 147.0 lbs and that's just about as low as I go. Nothing left to lose. Now I just need to maintain and stay strong. 

9.6 miles tonight with the club. It was 88 F on the drive over and 87 F on the drive back. So yeah... hot. Windy too so it was more like running in a food dehydrator than anything. Got done and had a think layer of crusted salt all over my body. Came home and all I had for dinner was liquid. 6:36 avg we started really slow and finished pretty slow.

Middle B-hills loop with a Secret St. finish. Kind of tapped out for the week and happy to have a EZ day. After the run I was 146.5 basically my lowest weight since high school. I could have pushed it lower too had I waited to drink until after mowing my lawn and my wife's grandmas lawn. Could have dropped another pound at least... but lets be honest. I'm not a wrestler anymore and didn't have to make weight. So I pounded lots of fluid. 

Finally finished with the morning run, lawns and other yard crap at noon and got my first shower of the day. I smelled great:)

Big Workout

Did my River trails tempo run workout that I've ran twice before. Once one month before the Modesto around Feb 17th and once a few weeks after on April 7th. My times from those two workouts were a  6:23 and 6:19 avg respectively for the 20 miles with 13 of it at a MP tempo.

Today was a little different. 1st I recruited Aaron to run with. Big help having someone else there. And we pushed the tempo out from 13 miles to 14.8 and ended up doing a total of 22 miles at a 6:06 avg.

So anyway you look at it today's workout dominated my past runs. And after today's run it pushed my weekly total to 103 which is a PR for the year too.

We got out of the hole faster than normal hitting the very first mile in 7:03 and then down around 6:35 for the next 4 miles to top off our first 5 mile warm up:) Then started the tempo at the regular place. Up on the trail that overlooks the river where it comes into B-hills. Took off from there to the truck stop and down into Bloomington.

Splits today- 5:57, 5:53, 5:54, 5:46, 5:40, 5:38, 5:28, 5:37, 5:35, 5:42, 5:46, 5:38, 5:47, 5:44, I didn't get the split for the last .8

Splits on April 7- 6:31, 6:15, 6:03, 5:57, 6:00, 5:45, 5:31, 5:42, 5:31, 5:58, 5:37, 5:39, 5:55

Ended up hitting the first 20 miles just under 2 hrs which is hard to do in a workout that's not down the STG marathon course.  Finished 22 miles in 2:14:09

Very solid workout for me on a flat or slightly hilly course. Nothing downhill for sure. I guess because of the even splits in the tempo and the length of the run and the fairness of the course this may be the BEST workout in my running history.  

cooled down for about 2.2 back to the house... actually when we got to the house we were at 21.75 and both of us decided we might as well do another quarter to square off the 22.

Felt kind of sickish this morning. Allergies have been off the hook. So running sounded horrible when I first got out of bed. But after 40 min's of milling around the house I was finally ready to go out. Once out it only took a mile or so and I felt really good for  a Monday. It was nice and cool and a beautiful morning to be out. DC loop and finished with the Secret Street. Lots of bugs in the air on the trail... but I didn't need to eat breakfast when I got home, so that was good. 

Pushed Myler around Little Valley and out into Silkwood. Can't believe how many houses are out there now. Crazy how fast entire sub divisions go up. Kept the pace super EZ plus the wind was pounding and with a jogger that makes it tough. Tried out some new Salomon running shoes I won at the Red Mt 30k.  The XR Mission. Felt ok not super awesome. But if they don't work out as running shoes I'll just keep them for regular life because their kool.

DC/ Secret St loop. Same as yesterday. Although today was a drag. Just could not get going. Legs were noodles and heavy from A to Zed. Hammy has been rather painful for about 4 days. Mik'L keeps rolling it out but it may be time to visit April and get things sorted. 

3.6 miles on the treadmill this afternoon. It was hot out and I didn't feel like going out in the sun. Plus I needed to get caught up on some PTI so I stayed in. Ran very slow and just kind of enjoyed watching TV and forgot that I was running. 

Wed morning run at my house with the lads. I did 1.4 before. Then the normal loop where the pace seemed a little faster than the body wanted to move- but I did feel much better than yesterday. Nice run under a bright moon before the sun came up. Then Steve and I went back out for just under 4 more. 7:06 avg for all the miles this morning. 

Glad to be done for the day. 

Inner B-hills loop extended through the secret street. Just low on energy and ambition this morning. Overall the run was about a 2 out of 10 on the quality mark. Achy and tired I just put it in "D" and slowly made my way around. Hoping for a better showing at club tonight. 

9.6 miles tonight with the club. It was 96 F when I drove over and 93 F on my way back... in the shade. Most of this run is in the wide open sun plus wind. Needless to say it was hot and the wind blew and I really felt horrible. Just didn't have anything in the legs. The last two miles seemed to last forever and killed me off. 6:44 avg

A variation of the DC loop but only because I dropped down around there. Everything before and after was different. Felt really trashed right out of bed. Didn't feel great on the run but not horrible like last night. Legs kind of feel like they need a break. I think the added heat of late is zapping the system. Just caught the 7 min guy at the finish for a 7:00 avg on the run. 

Met at the running store and shuttled up past Leeds with a bigger group. Steve and I ran nice and EZ almost all the way down. We did start a little fast because of a ripping tailwind but never pushed the pace at all. Got some good downhill miles in prep for Ojai. I feel that my once great downhill legs are long gone and I've basically forgot the hidden art. Today didn't really help relearn as I never wanted to go very fast. Feel pretty spent and glad the week is over. 6:28 avg for the run. 

DC loop with a Secret st finish. Kind of sort of this morning. Noting great nothing too bad. Just going through the motions. 

Middle B-hills loop this afternoon and secret st at the end. The high for the day was 98 F and I went out at 4:55 p.m so pretty much caught the hottest part of the day. Just took it super EZ as to not tap out the system early in the week. Ended up feeling pretty good when I got home. 

DC then the Secret St. Really kind of in a rutt right now. Just draggin on almost every run. The marathon at the first of June can't come quick enough as I'm ready for some kind of break from the day to day grind. Another week and a half and then I can start the taper... oh how sweet that sounds. The overnight low was only 68 F so it was warm out this morning and I'm preparing for a very hot afternoon.

Morning run here. Steven Abraham Lincoln Hooper was my only companion this morning. I won't hold it against Logan and Dave for not coming. Better they rest up and recover now. Steve and I busted out a new DC loop. Kind a little tour up and around St. James place and then around the DC. We extended around the park and with the couple I did before Steve got here I was at 15.1 once we got to the house... PERFECT. Because that's all I wanted. Felt a little better after not running last night. Cooler temps this morning helped too at 57F. 

DC loop. Nice morning- calm and around 61 F when I got out at 6:20 a.m. Relaxed for the first 2.5 and hit a porta potty. Then tried to work on my form for the rest of the run. Smoother, quicker, and more efficient turnover. This naturally made the pace faster. No watch but the pace was honest all the way back around. Form is kind of in a rut. Just feel mechanical. Sucks because 3 weeks ago I was feeling on top of the world with running and it's seemed to kind of slip through my fingers the last couple weeks. In the next couple weeks before Ojai I need to rally the troops and try and get some MOJO back. 

9.5 miles at club tonight. Horrible horrible run tonight. When I arrived it was 98 F and when I left it was 96 F. But that wasn't the worst of it. The wind was howling. It was coming from the SW so hard that it would totally stop us or throw us across the bike path. It just beat me up big time and that was in the first 2.4 miles down to the Man-o-war bridge. My quads were screaming. Tonight only Aaron and I showed so we still kept a pretty solid pace. But by the time we got to River Road and turned back into the wind I was done and now totally dehydrated. Ran to 9 miles. Then turned off the watch and ran/ walked it in. I can't remember the last time I had to walk a run in... Just felt horrible. Got home and my weight was 146 and basically as low as I possibly get. My wife is battling a fever and sore throat and I think I'm coming down with the start of something. 

St. James/ DC loop. Was totally dehydrated last night and drank like a fish. Still woke up at 5 a.m and had a super dry mouth and sore throat. Drank about 1.5 lbs of cytomax. Felt pretty trashed and kind of sick. But pushed myself out the door at 8 a.m after Mik'L got done with her run. The overnight low was 71 F and it was 74 F by the time I got out- then 86F by the time I got home. Just kept it super EZ and didn't overwork anything. 7:09 avg to finish up. Got on the scale after the run to see a new all time running low of 145.5 lbs.  Mik'L said I looked "grey" when I walked in the door. Now hoping for  a miraculous recovery so I can do a 20 mile workout Saturday morning... we'll see:)

Another long run bites the dust. Met up at the Summit Gym and did a 20 miler with Steve and Aaron. Started out into the fields and basically hit our summer tempo loop back over to River Road. Then basically another loop on the Thursday club loop down into Bloomington. Pace kind of just stared a little faster than normal and just kind of stayed uptempo all run. We had a lot of bathroom stops in the first 12 miles which made it hard to get going then stop then try to get going again then stop.... But by the time we got to the DC on the way down with roughly 8 miles to go we had our "issues" worked out and were able to keep a solid push back- down to Man-o-war, up to Pilot and back up the new trail to River Road. Had at least 12 miles at 6 min or faster pace with the last two at 5:25, 5:28 to finish off the tempo. Then one mile cool down. Ended with a 6:15 avg for the 20 miles. So all around a pretty solid run at the end of my roughest week so far this year- with kind of being sick and very dehydrated a couple times over the week. Just about to the taper. One week to go. 

7:04 avg DC loop in reverse. Legs felt ok but on the heavy side. Body is totally sore- to the bone.  We took the boat out on Saturday and I busted out the wake board. The lake temp said 69 F and I also had a new wet suit to try out. I loved both (boarding and the wet suit) and had a blast. But I forgot how jacked the whole body feels the first couple times out each summer- skiing or boarding. You just use muscles that normally don't get use. Nonetheless I'm hurting- abs, bi's, tri's, lats, neck, back, butt... oy!

So the run was so so. The bright side of the run was the Pegasus finally felt good after about 3-4 crappy runs breaking them in. 

4.9 miles tonight out around Silkwood and Little Valley. Just EZ in the hot afternoon sun and breeze. 96 F.

DC loop with a Secret St finish. It got down to 62 F this morning and was  only 64 F when I left the house at 7:35 a.m. But by the time I got home It was already up to 84 F and I felt pretty hot. The body still feels sore and even some soreness in the legs that wasn't there yesterday. But still had a good run. No watch but kept the pace uptempo as the form and spring in the legs seemed flawless (which was nice). Because even though I'm sore and tired when the form is sharp, the run is quicker and more enjoyable. 

3.6 miles slow on the treadmill this afternoon while watching PTI. 

Early morning club run from my house with the Circle of Trust. I got in 3.75 before Logan and Dave showed. Then we ran the new St. James loop extended around the park to hit 16.5 for the morning. Really dragged today. Got to bed after midnight and didn't sleep very good at all- then up at 4 a.m (alarm was set for 4:30 but I couldn't sleep). Plus the overnight low was still 72 F and I just felt hot, tired and uncomfortable all morning. Need to take and ice bath just to cool the body off.  

Out into the fields and around Stone Cliff. Then down the river trails all the way to the freeway. Around Pilot and up the Brigham road hill- then back home. 6:54 avg for the run. Felt achy, tired and slow. But times were still as fast or faster than normal for an EZ run. Wanted to go explore down by the river and see what the fire did yesterday afternoon. Burned up all the dead growth along the river all the way up the hill and even burned across the foot bridge- hopefully they open it back up soon. 

6 miles around the inner DC loop for club. Steve, Dave and I cut it short leaving Aaron to run the second half a lone. Basically we all were acting like we were crippled 85 year olds. Can I say that it felt cool at 91 F?

DC loop. It started out with a low of 71 F and then add in a lot of wind. Just a slug match between me the course and the wind this morning. I'm not sure of the overall results but I know for sure I didn't win. Excited to be done for the day and hopefully can rest/ recharge before tomorrow mornings longish run. I'm running on "E". 

10 miles along the bank of Lake Michigan here in Milwaukee. Mik'L and I got a wild hair and decided to skip town on a random trip. Looked through some cheap flights and booked the trip in an hour or so. Then caught a red eye out of vegas last night. Flew to Detroit then over to Milwaukee. We got here at 9 a.m and were able to check in to the room. I went out for the run 6:39 avg and then we drove to Chicago to see the sights and visit an old  friend. Fun but extreamly long day. Time to sleep.

Did a non normal Sunday run. With the travel and craziness of it all I just needed to keep the system semi regular. Ran from the hotel over to the Brewers ballpark. Felt ok.

Biggish workout. One more before Ojai marathon next Sunday. Today I left the hotel and ran down to Lake Michigan. Then up and around  a park overlooking the lake until I was out 7 miles. Hit that 7 in a 7:02 avg.

Then did a 4 mile MP or so tempo at 5:44 avg. Felt really hot and muggy and this tempo didn't really go as planned. Sturggled the last mile into a pretty hard head wind.

1 mile recover

1  at HMP or so in 5:28

1 mile cool down back to the room

Really not the best run. Struggled in the hot muggy conditions. Plus we've been on the go for 3 days straight with a red eye flight. So the system is pretty wore down. Travel home today then rest for 4 days before going to Cali.

Flew into Vegas last night then drove back home... trashed. By the time I got in bed the wheels were gone and I just crashed. But sometime in the night a fire alarm stared beeping due to low battery life and after laying there in a coma for a half hour I had to go rip it down and I put it in the washing machine to keep the noise down. Anyways I'm tired and felt it on the run. Plus we ate a bunch of cheese before leaving Wisconsin yesterday afternoon and it was like a brick in my stomach this morning. Just got through some miles this morning. The main goal for the week is to rest. I do have an appointment with April today to loosen up all my aches and pains. 

7 miles this afternoon. I wasn't going to run again today but the scale said I was about 3lbs too fat. Thought a double for the day would help to clean up the system. It did. The run felt so so. The 93F felt pretty warm right out under the sun. Tried to take it EZ. Got home and had a appointment with April for my pre marathon massage. Feeling really tight and kind of sick. 

St. James loop. Tried to take it EZ and ended up with a 7:24 avg. But I'm not sure I could have gone any faster if I'd wanted to. Legs felt pretty much like hamburger after my massage last night. And I think I've got hand, mouth and foot. Most commonly found in children but affects adults with symptoms similar to a cold. It's been going around St. George for a couple weeks now. We know a couple house holds who's children have it. Anyways I have some of the symptoms and a couple unexplained sores on my wrist and chin... 

Spent most of the run contemplating pulling out of Ojai and maybe trying to get into UV next week. Ugh! Flights are already paid for so I don't know what to do. 

Inner B-hills loop extended on the Secret St. I guess just the typical taper junk. Heavy legs and felt like a turtle as I made my way around the loop. Came home and gave myself a hair cut and shaved the arms, legs ect. Feel clean and fast now- sort of.