Clyde's Comeback!

Nice easy recovery run around the River loop this morning. I saw Logan at practice with his cross country team but decided to just press on. Legs feel pretty good I'm just dead throughout the rest of the body. The heat is killing me this summer. 

7.5 miles tonight with the club around the Bloomington loop. I felt pretty flat tonight and it didn't help that Dave and Logan wanted to be aggressive on the way back. I just can't get totally hydrated this summer. Once we got back I downed a 32oz gatorade and it didn't even start to quench. Other than that it was a good group tonight and we dropped a lot of sweat and spit on the trail.  

Ran with Paul around the River loop extended this morning. Felt better than I thought I would. Nice morning here before it gets crazy hot. Now I'm off to 7,000 ft and an enjoyable, cooler weekend in Torrey. 

I got sick Friday with an upset stomach and didn't know if I was going to be able to run today. I didn't eat dinner Friday night and no breakfast at all Saturday morning. But I still had a record 7 Big bathrooms before the race. I felt like going over to the start and then deciding wether or not to race. So I got in a 5k warm up and there was a decent number of runners there and the energy talked me into doing it. Two guys went out at like 4:40 pace but it only lasted about a quarter and then I slipped into the lead and quickly had all the breathing room I wanted. I ended up finishing 4-5 min's before the second place guy so there was no pushing. The course was slow. First mile was in 5:29 and maybe a 5:10 effort. The next mile was uphill at 7,000 ft the elevation killed and I hit a 6:08 with an honest 5:25 effort. Then to finish this should have been the fastest mile with the wind finally at our backs and using a slight downhill but I only ran a 5:50 with maybe around a 5:40 effort. I felt dead at the end and almost barfed. The tempo I did earlier this week was as fast or faster with about 50% of the effort. So the time was pretty weak for this race but the effort was much better and despite not feeling too good the night before I actually ran o.k. Cooled down with a couple moreish and called it a day. 

Ended up wining three pair of good running socks and a $25 gift certificate to one of the local burger and shake joints. So it was worth my $10 entry fee. Glad to not worry too much about running today and just chill up here in to cooler air.  

Did the Teasdale loop this morning. Felt like I was dragging and that time was going to be really slow. But I still hit the 8 mile mark at an hour straight so not too bad. The temps were cool and I could have used gloves for the first 5 miles. I'm continually amazed at how out of shape the altitude makes me feel up here. Running is a struggle. I guess I need to move up here for about three weeks to open up the lungs. 

4.1 miles on the treadmill this evening back at home. Had a fun weekend and a nice drive home today. After arrival I built a little deck that overhangs the stream behind our house. So you can sit on it and dangle your feet off into the water. We'll see how well it holds up when the hight water moves in... but for now it's pretty nice. Anyways after that I didn't want to got out and run. The treadmill wasn't too bad either as I just watched the middle section of Funny People with Adam Sandler- the movie is just ok.  

Tempo Tuesday with Logan, Dave and Steven Abraham Lincoln Hooper Pope Abercrombie and Fitch. We started at my house and did the same loop as last week. 3 mile warm up over to Stone Cliff. Then 5 miles at Tinman Tempo- it ended up being a little faster as we hit a 5:49 avg durning the tempo. Felt pretty good until the last mile as we climbed out of the river and into B-hills. The pace felt horribly slow on that mile but we still ran a 6:03. Anyways I'm happy to be getting some workouts into my training. I hate them durning but love having them in the bank. Finished with a 4.6 mile cool down back to the house.  

3.5 miles on the treadmill this afternoon. Didn't feel like doing much but did get on for a half hour. Legs felt pretty good once I got going but I still didn't want to stay on long.  

Started out with a lap around the Knolls and Rustic because I ran into Logan at the park. So we did that lap together then I did the regular River Loop with a short extension by the house. Felt great out this morning with temps @ 66F. That's great for a July morning. 

5.5 miles this evening around the inner B-hills loop. It was 100F out but I soaked my running hat in water and once I got going it wasn't too bad. Finished with a nice gatorade slushy that I made in my new Magic Bullet from Costco. Ice+gatorade power+water and you got a 4 dollar slushy for about 10 cents.  

Started out by doing the first 6 miles of the river loop but then circled back through B-hills and the Knolls to finish. I tried to stay slow and easy the entire run and it worked because I only hit a avg of 7:40. Kind of felt wore out and dehydrated. I'm going to work on getting a nap in today. 

8 miles tonight with the club. Did the Bloominton loop with a little at the end to square it off at 8. Good group out tonight to run with Hayden on his last run before the mission. He's been a good kid and should do great out in the field. It's been fun running with him over the years. As we got on the trail back up to the DC everyone took off and I dropped my keys. So I spent the next two miles trying to reel them in and hit a couple miles at 5:30 pace up to the freeway where we put it into cool down mode. It was kind of fun picking it up and on tired legs it turned out better than I thought it would.  

Same run as yesterday morning. Only today Logan joined me for the first 4.5 before he had to go to practice. It was hot out from the start with the over night low only hitting 80F. But I felt better than yesterday and without working at all went from a 7:40 avg to a 7:30 today. Most likely I'll pack it in for the day and rest up for tomorrow mornings long progressive run. 

Did the southern parkway loop from my house. We started at 5 a.m and it was already 87 F. Sucked! I mean when your running in the darkness of morning and it feels that hot and humid already you know your in for a treat. After a 6 mile warm up we did basically a tinman tempo for 6 miles hitting an avg of 6:04 for that section. Then we rejoined forces to head back and ran at EZ cool down pace for a couple but I had a little mini golf tourney to get to so I picked it up to 6:40 pace for the last 5.5 miles. I was feeling pretty good this morning and the 6:40's on the way back home felt effortless. It was nice to feel good for once. Didn't play as good of golf as I'd have liked and kind of burned out 6 holes into it after it really got HOT. Then we met the wives and kids at the park and had a BBQ at noon on one of the hottest days of the year. The heat sucked but it was still a fun outing the the elders quorum.  

Did the parkway loop with Paul H this morning. We cut in on the road by Flying J and then back home keeping the run shorter than it was on Saturday. Temps this morning were about 10 or so degrees cooler than it was Saturday and that was great. We ran pretty honest hitting an avg of 7:21 for the run and having around 10 miles at or under 7 min pace. I felt great for a Monday and hope to ride that wave all week. Good news is that I'm done for the day. 

Tempo Tuesdays. We did the same loop as the last few weeks only we did 6 miles at tinman tempo. Bill showed up a little late so we got about .2 extra jogging back to pick him up. So on the 3 mile warm up it was already about 90 F and we all could feel it. I knew this was going to be a factor on the tempo. After a potty stop and some quick stretching we were off. We've hit this tempo a little fast the last couple week and agreed to keep it closer to 6 min pace today. So that's what we did and I think ended with around a 5:54 avg. I felt pretty good and much better than last week even with the heat today. The last couple miles of this course make you work for it and I was glad that we were done but still felt very much in control. I can feel a big difference in just 3 weeks of adding tempo workouts. Getting stronger and able to battle the mental struggles much better. 

6.5 mile middle B-hills loop. I went at 4:40 p.m and it was 105 F. Yeah it was hot. I took my two hand held running water bottles filled with ice water and a hat soaked in water. This made it doable. I took a swig every half mile or so but by the time I had a mile and a half left the ice water had totally turned to HOT water. I got through it and in the end it was't too bad- compared to being horsewhipped. 

Looped to the DC and then up the river trail to River road and back home. It was cooler this morning than yesterday and much appreciated. My legs felt kind of flat but not dead. As I was crossing the river by the DC the stake president came riding by on his bike and we said hello. Then one mile up the river trail he was off pushing it. He said he blew a tire right after the DC. Sucks it was going to take him a half hour to push it home. 

4 more miles tonight on the treadmill. It was still 99 F in my garage but cooler than the 106F out in the sun. Ran nice and slow hitting the 4 miles in about 34 min's.  

Did the river loop and had to add a little extra for a potty stop. I felt like death today. Actually last night after the treadmill I felt horrible and it continued thru this morning. I was dizzy and light headed on the run for at least the first 3 miles and then I kind of found some balance. I haven't slept well the last few night and need to get caught up on some rest. Hopefully by tonight I'll feel better or else I'll have to skip the 5k.

Chelsi's Run 5k tonight at 10 p.m.

I drove over at 9 p.m to meet the guys early for a warm up. On the way over it was 104 f and it just felt deathly HOT and humid. I thought there is no way we should be racing. We did just under a 4 mile warm up with a good big group from the club and more then I extended to be even at 4.  

The race details are kind of sketchy. For one my official time. My garmin somehow went out at around 2 miles. When I came across the finish line I looked at the race clock a few seconds after coming in and it said 15:51 but I'm not sure if it was right or wrong either. The only thing I know is that I was about 4 seconds behind Dave. I just updated my time off of Dave's post. He ran a 15:42 so I'm guessing I was around a 15:46.

Race went well for it being so hot. I mean the temp at the start was basically 100 f straight up but the streets seemed to be pumping heat up through our shoes and the air was just think like warm peanut butter. Honestly it wasn't healthy to be racing.

So from the start we went out chasing a 10 year old girl who honestly hit 5 min flat pace for over a quarter mile. It was pretty impressive. Even after we finally caught her she looked back and dug in for another .15 or so. So the first lap (1.55 miles) felt nice and smooth. Logan said we hit the first mile in 5:11.

On the second lap I thought ok lets just really race here and I did ok up until about 2.4 miles into the race but then out of no where the heat just slammed me and I started to really slow down. As we entered the last turn I was only about 3 steps back from Dave and he caught a nice clean turn through the crowds but my line got jammed and I ran into a little girl and had to actually stop then step around her and then get going again. So I lost a little time and momentum there for the finishing stretch. But I don't think I would have caught Dave anyways. He looked pretty solid and was in the zone on the last mile of the race.

So we finished and were just soaked in sweat. The heat was itchingly uncomfortable and I think most of us wanted to vomit. We all did another lap for a mini cool down and then came home at just after 11 p.m.

It was a fun race. My third time running it (every year now). Great to see so many people and non runners out supporting the event.  

I drug myself out of bed at 4:30 a.m this morning after not getting to sleep until about midnight last night after the late 5k. From 9 p.m last night to 7:20 this morning I hung almost 29 miles on the board. Now I'm ready to relax. 

Anywho Logan met me at my house and he ran the first 14.8 with me before he had to get to practice. We ran out into the fields then over by the dog pound in Washington to the River trail and then down around B-hills and to the house. The first 4 miles or so felt like death as both of us had stiff legs (mainly calves) from the race last night. But after the first 40 min's or so we warmed up and things felt pretty good. I took a record two Gu's for a road training run. But I needed it this morning. Last night before getting into bed at 11:30 p.m I weighed 155.0 lbs. This morning I drank 3 gatorades ate 2 Gu's and a banana and after the run I weighed 150.0 lbs. Basically a loss of about 8lbs over night and with the run.

After Logan left I still had a little more than 5 miles to do and thought I'd really struggle but ended up sticking it into a nice 6:40-6:50 gear and went out and back into B-hills to hit the mental mileage goal for the day.

 Now I'll spend the day relaxing when I can while watching Myler.  

Nothing special this morning. I had a stake golf tourney that started at 7:30 a.m and I needed to be there by at least 7:15 so I didn't have much time- and didn't want to get up way early. So I just did a simple DC loop and called it a day. Felt pretty good.  

Same run as I did last Monday with Paul. We met at 5:45 a.m and it was already 82F much warmer than last week when we did it- well about 7 degrees warmer. That proved to be a lot today as the warmth drained both of us rather quick. Pace was slow and we weren't in a hurry so we just milked it on in. I felt decent in the legs and could have pushed the pace harder if needed but there was no need or desire to go fast today. We're in the dog days of summer here in the STG and everyday is around 112 or so. The constant wrath of the heat starts to tax you even when your just sitting inside. I think I may go crazy this year- we decided we need a pool... hopefully we can make it happen. 

Tempo Tuesday. 3 warm up, 7 mile tinman tempo at an avg of 5:57, 6.2 miles of cool down. 

It was another hot morning with a nice big group to start with. We did our warm up and then started the tempo. We passed Summit Athletic Club about 1.5 miles into the tempo and the sign said it was 5:26 a.m and 91 F. I thought to myself this just sucks. The tempo was kind of a roller coaster. I really tried to relax through 4 miles. Then on the 5th I had to work but not as hard as expected. But the 6th was my worst mile as we ran the rollers through B-hills and I hit a 6:08 mile here (everything else was under 6 min's). On the 7th and final mile it's basically a gradual climb too and I thought I'd struggle but was able to focus and hit a 5:58 which really surprised me when I got home as went through the splits.

After we all jogged back to my house and cooled off. Then after the guys took off I did a few more in the Knolls to finish the day.

Another good workout to have in the bank. Every week it gets easier to run tempo pace. The problem is every week we add a mile so I have to gut it out a little more. But I can feel things coming a long and am really excited to see improvements. 

I had to be in Cedar City at 7:30 a.m to pick up 5 new chickens for our flock... so I needed to get up early. I had the alarm set for 4:30 but Myler decided I needed to be up at 4 a.m instead. Running early like that for the second day in a row seemed to help the body get use to it. I just ran the tempo loop in revers. Kept the pace honest and finished in 1:31:10. We'll have to see if I get out again today.

Met Logan and Dave here at my house at 4:50 a.m to do another 7 mile tempo. But in thought leading to the event we decided with the race this weekend maybe we should only do one workout this week. That being the one on Tuesday. So we just ran the tempo loop in revers. It was particularly hard. I had planned on doing 3.5 more or so  to hit 16 for the day but after Logan and Dave left I couldn't get myself to go back out. 

I'm overall fatigued and the legs are pretty crampy. I need to get a nap in today and spend some quality time with the "stick" rubbing out my calves, quads, and hammy area. Hopefully with that and a mini taper I'll be able to cash in on a pretty solid 10k this Saturday.  

So yesterday morning I stepped on a nail. Well not a nail per say but a twig that jammed between my toes in the web of my foot. Then it broke off and left me with the biggest slivers I've ever had. Not to mention the most painful. I walked around on it all day yesterday and finally had Mik'L get the tweezers last night to do some "surgery" to extract it. It was beyond pain... just horrible but she managed to yank it out. 

But today my foot is pretty sore and most likely I'm going to take a full day of rest. One for the foot. Two because I'm trashed and maybe the heat of the summer is getting to me. Three because a little rest should help with a better race tomorrow. So there you have it a big fat ZERO for the day. Unless I get antsy this afternoon and I may do like 4 but it's unlikely.  

3.4 miles on the treadmill this afternoon. I got antsy and had to mow the lawn anyways so I did an EZ pace 30 min's on the machine. After the run and chores were done I soaked in the new swimming hole in the ditch behind my house. Very nice! 

Well after running down here in southern Utah for over 5 years I finally went up to this little race. Most the guys down here have ran it a few times but it never works out for me. Today it did and I'm glad I finally got to eat that breakfast:)

We got in 3 miles of warm up. Steve, Bill, Logan, Scott and myself. Then we got on the bus and road up to the start. I was trying to just be laid back about the race and not get too amped as I sometimes do. Was able to take care of my potty stops and that wasn't ever a issue during the race- so that's already a positive.

Main goal for the race was to go up and try to run a 32:00 ish min race. I thought I could but it would be hard. Ended up exceeding my goal by hitting 31:20 and realized I died on the last or maybe I could have come closer to a 31 flat.  

1. 4:52- Logan and I get out of the hole and just settle into a comfortable pace.

2. 4:59- Now we are just running together trying to cut the tangents just perfect and stay out of the cops exhaust.

3. 5:01- Hit a nice 5k but am getting myself mentally ready for the flat harder part of the course. Logan slides into the lead starts to run strong and I wonder if I can go with  him.

4. 5:13- Still feeling pretty good and starting to pass the walking 5kers. Logan is out in front as we take the turn into town. 

5. 5:18- Dug in on this mile and refused to give up. Wanted to run a 32:00 something and knew I could do it from here.

6. 5:35- This mile climbs up main street. I caught and went by Logan right at the first of this mile but he was just right behind through the finish. I felt like I was slowing down big time... and in hind sight I was. Wish I could have battled this mile better.

.2 slipped to 6:00 pace on the last little stretch as we turned into the park.

I was really happy as we finished. I saw the time and was pleased to have hit the goal. Not the race of a lifetime but a good solid, positive racing experience. That's what I need right now- so I'm happy. It's nice to see some of the training paying off. I know it's not record fast but I think if I'd have ran this race in 2007 I would have been faster today. Now to work on half's and the full. 

I was pretty sore all day yesterday and woke up just as sore or worse. So I wasn't sure I was even going to go on a run. I decided to head out and if at any point it started to feel horrible I'd turn around or walk back. However it felt better running than it does walking around the house (which is the case most of the time with running soreness). So I did the Bloomington loop just smooth and easy. Tried to run with good form and land soft the whole time. No watch so I'm not sure how slow it was but it felt pretty slow. 

3 mile warm up at 4:50 a.m

8 mile tinman tempo at 5:58 min mile avg

2 mile's nice and easy cooldown= priceless

I wasn't sure about this workout today because yesterday my legs were pretty sore and I was totally trashed. I figured I'd warm up with the guys and then kind of work into it and basically let them go off. We did the warm up and I felt ok. Then started the tempo and Dave and I eased into it chit chatting and hitting a 6:13 and 6:12 first couple miles. Logan was long gone. Then I stared to feel pretty good and started to work the pace down as we got across the river and up to the Costco road. Once on the road and trail I knew I needed a couple faster miles to get the avg back down and the legs responded nicely bringing me back up to only a second or so behind Logan by the bridge at River Road.

Overall a pretty good workout. We had some rain last night which dropped the temps about 10 degrees so that was the good. But it did make things kind of sticky this morning. But I'll take the sticky over the oven. Happy to have it in the bank.  

6.5 miles tonight around the middle B-hills loop. It was 104F but there was a slight breeze and a cloud here and there so it wasn't too bad. That is until I got home and then I started to feel pretty dehydrated and overheated. Glad it's done and that I have lots of cold Gatorades in the icebox.  

Hot and muggy. Logan and I did the Bloomington loop and around the mini Bloomington loop. We both were dragging it today and then we got dehydrated. The run pretty much sucked... I'm not even that happy to have it in the bank. Hope to recover for the rest of the week. Now we are headed off to go camping with the PV x-country team. Looking forward to the cooler weather even if it rains the whole time. 

3 miles up at camp. We drove up today and got all settled in then did a short little run over by the lake. It's hard to breath at 8,000 ft above the sea.  

12 miles this morning. We ran out from camp past the lake and over to a cool lookout point to the south. Ran with the boys until they turned back and then Dave and I added a few extra to hit 12. We both were grinning ear to ear because of the nice cool temps. It has kind of rained on and off so the air is moist, cool and smells great. 

5 miles this evening up the Powell point road above camp. We just went out and back. The way up felt so sluggish and I wondered why I was doing this to myself. Maybe I should have just stayed at camp and got a good nap in with Mik'L, Myler and the doggies. But once we turned around I started to feel a little better. It was downhill now:) 

11.5 miles this morning down the road to the paved road. We started with the boys and then after they turned back Dave and I ran down to the main road. On the way down we were hitting like 7:40 pace and I thought we would die coming back up. It's a constant climb with no breaks at all... but we ended up hitting sub 7:30 pace to negative spilt on the way back. It felt ok but still not getting enough oxygen to the brain. Had to extend a little to even it off at 11.5. 

5 miles this afternoon. Mik'L and I drove from camp 10 miles up the Powell point road to have a lunch and check out the views. On the way up only 2 miles above camp we saw a bear standing in the middle of the road. Kind of cool and kind of eire at the same time. The views from the top were amazing as you could see Escalante off in the background and even farther out you could see the Henry MTs and the East end of Boulder mountain. That part was fun because that is were we usually go camping. Then I got my golfing driver out and bombed about 10 older balls off the rim. It was fun watching them fly FOREVER.

I finally ran the remaining 5 miles back to camp while Mik'L drove the truck a long side of me. We were kind of still spooked from the bear and I had to run right by where we saw it.  

Dave, James and I drove out 9 miles from camp out past the lake and then down off a ridge back to the west. Then once we got out there we ran back to camp and picked up the high school kids and then they ran back to the vehicle with us. The first 3 miles or so sucked and I couldn't get the air I needed but then I started to feel very good and tried to kind of do a mini tempo back up to camp. I wanted to get back before 7:30 a.m when the team would leave and start running to us. I almost made it and saw them just below camp at the first cattle guard. Then I got a drink and stretched while Dave and James came in. On the way back I wanted to continue the tempo back to the suburban... Dave and I slowly worked into some faster miles but then with about 4 miles to go we started to worry about what direction some of the kids had gone and at the same time our legs started to go. Needless to say we ran back at around 7:20 pace when I'd planned on doing it at sub 6 min. You just can't overlook altitude. 

We had a fun time up at camp. Mik'L and I camped off in our own little camp and for the most part did our own thing. But I did have the pleasure of running with the team once or twice a day and also doing a couple little presentations to them. Good times and sad to be back home.