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...

7.2 miles this morning. Took it nice and easy and really felt good. I had a lot of extra "build up" in the system from all the Super Bowl junk I ate yesterday but that made it's way through. The hamstring felt really good all day yesterday and maybe only a 2 out of 10 for pain this morning. I'm going to start hitting doubles again this week so I guess here we go...

We had a little planning session on Saturday night where we talked about the Squaw Peak 50 miler. For the next 16 weeks that's the goal.  

7.2 miles this afternoon. The same loop as this morning. I did the inner GS loop counter clockwise both times. So I had to deal with the long sandy hill. It was good though cuz it helped me keep the pace slow and just try to work on smooth form. Now for some good stretching and a ball workout.  

7.2 miles this morning. The same loop I've done the last two runs. I really don't love this run but just stumble into it and it works. The hamstring hurt a little more this morning. I didn't get my leg cures workout in on the ball yesterday and it really makes a difference. Now to finish off all the little painting projects around the house.

6 miles this afternoon. What a beautiful day. It was 65 or better this afternoon and it felt like 75. This is really the nicest time of year. In fact you don't really need it to be any warmer during the middle of the day- the mornings are still kind of chilly. Anyways I ran from the house out into the fields to one of our properties to meet Mik'L and do and inspection. I felt really good during the run and even hit a couple sub 6:30 miles after I got warmed up. Then I finished and got in the truck and we did inspections for the next hour or so and I butt really started to hurt. Right at the end of the leg or bottom of the bum. Ouch! It's not the best to finish a run and jump right into a chair... or set.  

7.5 mile run this morning. I was really tight from last night and went extra slow today. I did the middle GS loop clockwise. I'm getting closer to being done with my painting projects. The house look good and way different. Mik'L likes it and thats all that really matters. 

5 miles this evening up around the GS church. I had a billion things going on today and really didn't want to go but found a way to get out of the house and keep the mojo flowing. I felt a lot better tonight than I did this morning. Anywho it was a pretty good run and I'm glad I got out.

Big morning workout. I was going to reward myself and have a play day and then it kind of turned into wanting to run. I went out to ride the Zen trail out in Green Valley and the basic loop is 5.8 miles however depending on where you park it makes things longer. So from where I parked it ended up being a 7.6 mile ride. I had a blast riding it and didn't go all out but went fast enough to get some air when at all possible. The ride took 1:16 and while peddling back up to the Jeep I decided to run it again. So a very fair gauge would be to give myself 2.5 miles worth of running for the ride.

Then I started the run. I grabbed an apple and a drink and hit the trail. At around the halfway point I was way ahead of my biking pace but thought the coming downhill would even us back up. However I ran the loop in 1:05 and I wasn't pushing the pace at all. Kind of weird how fast you feel your going on the bike and how slow your really going. The whole day was amazing with perfect weather. Now to recharge and get ready for this evenings club run.  

 8.8 mile run this evening in 1:09 with the club. We went up into GS and hit the trail up to the powerline and then over to the trail that runs back to Washington. From there we just made our way back to the store. I kind of hit a wall tonight. In total today I didn't eat more that 700 or so calories. After my bike ride/ run and then another run I most likely burned over 2,500 or more and then just the calories I'd burn for normal life on top of that. So long story short about half way through the run tonight I was starving and my body needed fuel. I made it back to the store but only had enough energy to go to Burger King which is right around the corner and load up on calories. Not the best post run recovery food but in this situation it worked. 

7 mile run this morning. I really didn't fee the glow to go out today... and will not do a second run. I'm already way over the weekly mileage and tomorrows long run will add plenty. Today I did the mall loop and stopped by the running store to order my new BabyJogger from Steven. Then I made my way back and extended a little around Middleton to hit 7. Now to rest up for a big one tomorrow.  

Nice big workout this morning. We all met at my house at 6:30 a.m and headed up to take on the Broken Mesa. There was 8 of us when we left but after that things separated a little. The first few miles were in the dark... luck for me I have the trail memorized and it wasn't an issue- plus they had been out there with a bulldozer doing some work so it was graded flat. 

The trail climb from my house at around 2,800 to 5,100 and some change. We went out and back to the trail head by turkey farm road and it's exactly 11 miles from my driveway. Dave and I were out in 1:40:55 and back in 1:30 flat. So a big negative split but that is due to the major loss in elevation.

We all managed to trip and fall. I took a spill at mile 9ish on the way out and cut my hand up. But no one went down harder than Greg. I didn't see it but when he got back to my house I cleaned him up... it looked like a pretty good crash. Sorry Greg!

It turned out to be a really solid workout. I felt better than I've felt in a long time and at times seemed to be running completely pain free. Happy, happy, joy, joy! This one will be a good endurance base to have in the bag for the year.

 Good times and great oldies.  

11.2 mile run this morning. This turned out to be one that I will not soon forget. When I left the house the skies looked stormy but nothing was really happening so I went over into GS and then over to the Millcreek trail that we ran down the other night on the club run and then across the powerline and down around Middleton to the house. It was basically a very light drizzle up to about the top of the Millcreek trail. Then for about the 3 or so miles down the powerline it turned into a heavy rain and I was now soaked. This was all still just another day out on the trail but when I hit the trail that starts back to Middleton things just got "Buck Wild". The wild really picked up and so did a snow/ hail mixture that was coming in the direction of my eyeballs. I had shorts on and my legs just suffered a fierce beating and for the next two miles I just tried to stay alive basically running in a white out. When I got home I was just as soaked as if I'd just jumped in a pool and all the skin on my body that was exposed to the elements was bright red and starting to swell. Anyways I lived but it really sucked and that 11 miles or so felt like 20. I may do a short run this afternoon on the TREADMILL because I'm not going back outside today- Thank You very much.  

4 easy miles while rocking out in the garage on the treadmill. Ironically I was listening to Bob Dylen's "shelter from the storm".  

13.5 mile run this morning. I didn't know where I was going to go this morning when I left the house and ended up drifting over into GS and then up the trail that put me at the base of the Icehouse trail... Next thing I knew I was climbing it and on top of the mesa until I decided that I had enough uphill and then I went of the trail to my left and did some cross country stuff until I ended up coming out in the canyon behind the turkey farm. Then I just went over to the road and came back home. Interesting that the 13.5 miles took 2:02:30!!! I've done 20 mile runs that took less time. These trail runs don't trash you like out on the road but it sure takes a lot more time to get the mileage in. I did find a cool trailer hitch/ ball thing laying on the side of the dirt road and I'm going to drive up there now to see if it's still there. Finders Keepers!

11.3 miles this morning with Nate. We did the loop around GS, Poweline, and industrial. Then I did a short little extension around Escalera and back home. It looked like it was going to be cool but once we were out running I was pretty sweaty. The hamstring kind of bugged today so we'll have to monitor it a little the next couple days. 

6 miles tonight over to the church and back. I went the long way over and did YM and YW (Broom Hockey) and then ran back the same way with Taylor. I had to twist his arm to get him to do it but in the end he did good and was glad.  

7.2 miles this morning. I felt like poo. The hamstring was tight and everything else kind of jumped on the bandwagon. 

8.15 mile run tonight with the club. The regular parkway loop. My hamstring has been buggin overtime but I put some Wintercrest on and was able to handle it. I did however have to hit the gas station .5 miles before we were finished for a potty break. That BLT I had for lunch at Great Harvest was rockin out.  

I ended up not running today. The hamstring was still tight and I didn't want to push it and end up where I was 2 months ago. So goose egg I guess.

Kind of a bummer. The hammy is still tight and I'm not taking any chances. I'll start up again on Monday and try to keep my runs a little shorter in length but continue with the  daily doubles. We had an our annual meeting with Stone Cliff so I couldn't go out then even if I wanted to.   

8.6 mile run this morning. After a few days of a lay off I decided I'd get back out and try it. This run went like every other run I've done after a few days off. Kind of started out really tight all over, had stomach issues, felt kind of lurpy most of the run and took way longer than it should have. But other than that I felt pretty good and enjoyed the warm morning sun, with hints of spring everywhere. My hammy wasn't really that bad but I could feel a deep grind and I'll really have to watch it for a while. 

7.3 mile run this morning. I just missed a hail storm so that was nice. The hammy is tight but as long as I go slow and controlled I can get through a run. I'll try to keep single weekday runs under 9 or so miles and keep trying to catch 2 a day when I can. I'd like to just hang around 80 mpw for a month or so if the body will allow.  

7.8 miles around the outer GS loop tonight. As long as I take things slow I think I'm o.k (knock on wood). Last week I did 4 miles on the treadmill one night and got going a little too fast and I think thats what started the hammy hurting again. Anywho I felt pretty good tonight and was happy to see James H. out on his run too.

8.6 mile run this morning. I did the long GS loop in 1:10. It's slow going as most of it is on trails and uphill. Last night it rained most of the night and it made things pretty muddy this morning too. My hammy was tight and I started to wonder if this is even worth it anymore... It seems my drive to fight this injury is decreasing every day but I'm too scared to stop running for loss of fitness so the battle goes on. 

I'm kind of pumped to jump into some painting projects here at home today to take my mind off of running. I also tore the old gold and glass shower door out yesterday and the bathroom looks 10 times  better. Mik'L wants to switch all the gold fixtures out for brushed nickel... it does look a lot better so far.  

I got sick last night at the movie. Now it's for real and I feel like dying. 

Fighting a really bad head cold. Didn't see this one coming. 

Still feeling the symptoms but feeling better... until I tried to do something and then I felt like crap again. 

19 miles on  the bike- 1 mile actual running= 5ish running miles. 

After feeling really sick for what has seemed like days I finally felt like getting out of the house but not really feeling like running. My hamstring has been aching even on days of no activity so I'm going to have to scale back the miles. Anyways I went out on a Mt. bike ride in a rain storm. I left the house and road up the Middleton trail to the power line and then over to the base of the Icehouse... I couldn't resist the temptation to go up there. So I slowly made my way about a third up before slipping a peddle and coming to my first stop. Then I realized that I was still a little sick or something as I couldn't catch my breath and had to get off and sit on the ground for about 10 min's before pushing the bike up the rest of the step rocky portion. Once on the mesa I rode up to where we had watched the big deer heard a few weeks ago. There I parked the bike and hiked around for about 30 min's looking for sheds or antlers. I found three but they were all a few years old and crispy white. Then I rode up to where the trail splits to the Broken Mesa or Icehouse and I took the Icehouse over for a while until parking the bike and hiking around again looking for sheds. This time the only thing I found was a steady down poor of rain. At the farthest point away from the bike I decided I needed to get off the mountain because I was muddy and getting even more soaked. So I ran back to the bike and hit the downhill trail back to GS on the bike. I got completely covered in muddy water by the time I was on pavement. Then finally made it back around to the house... Kind of fun in a crazy way. But after being out for almost 4 hours I was totally trashed. 

The left leg (hamstring area) has really been hurting. Even on days I don't run it aches in the night. So I'm not sure what's going on but not running right now. 

I'm kind of flaking out here. Just can't get the body to do what I want. I'll keep looking to the future... 

On a brighter note it was amazing in STG today. It said it was 74 degrees at my house at 1:30 p.m.  I golfed 9 holes with my uncle Dave and I wore shorts and was hot! We did walk but not bad for February?

22.5 mile bike ride today up some nasty trails. Actually it was an amazing ride. I LOVED IT! I went back up on top of the mesa where I was Monday. I took the the Icehouse trail that splits off the Broken Mesa trail. Monday I was heading up it but it began to dump rain and I was still kind of sick so I turned around. Today I decided to take it all the way up to where it hits the Leeds road and then loop back down. I was killer because I climb from my house basically up to about 12 miles out. By the time I got to the top it had been two and a half hours. Then I bailed back down on the road to the water tank and then took the trail back into Middleton. I was flying all the way back and did it in like 45 min's. 

It was really cool to go do some more exploring up there. It's bigger up there than it looks like it would be from town. So I can explore my brains out and not run out of places. By the time I got back home I was pooped and hungry. I only ate a bananna before leaving and it wasn't enough to keep the fire going. 

The hammy is feeling better but I'm in no rush to run. I'm going to try and really work back into it slower this time...

Another 3 hour bike ride today. I had my garmin but it was being stupid so I'm not really sure how far I went. The only hard facts are that I left the car at 10:35 and got back to the car at 1:40. But it ended up being AMAZING anyways. 

If one couldn't tell I'm trying to fill my cup of playing before the baby comes (which is any day). I drove out to by Apple Valley to the Goosberry Mesa trail. It is a "Expert" level mountain biking trail that is a million types of awesome. I kept losing the trail here and there and that slowed me down time wise. Plus I kept getting off to take pictures of the 360 degree views. When I got out to the "point" where you can look off in every direction I ran into 6 other guys. They were from Onterio and when I said I lived in STG and had never ridden the trail before they about died. They went on to tell me how it's rated on of the top 5 slick rock trails in North America or something like that. They rode too slow and I had to pass them a few time (after I would stop to check things out).

On the way back I hit a rock the wrong way and pinched the tube causing a flat. So I had to get off and run while pushing the bike. So I actually did run for 1.3 miles avging 7:20 pace down the last double track portion of the ride.

What a sweet trail. If you've never checked it out you need to.  

7.2 mile run this morning. Went over into Washington and down around the new road that loops back up past Costco and home. I finally talked myself into getting back out. The hammy is still sore but runnable- so I ran. I'll try to get out once a day but not jump into "doubles" until I get a handle on things. 

Other than the hammy being a little sore I felt like a 300 lb man. My shape is slowly slipping to the way side. I guess if I have to start all the way over when this is all said and done then I will. Anyways it was nice out today,  until someone built a massive fire out in Washington fields and the whole town got really smoky. Now I have a head ache! 

30 min bike ride from the parking lot in Green Valley up to were I started the run. Then after the run I rode back to the Jeep but it only took 16 min's to get back because of the downhill. No jumps today. Last time I rode this trail I blew a tire by slamming into the rock doing jumps. Today I felt pretty uncoordinated and thought jumping the bike would led to some kind of drama.  

4.7 mile run around the Green Valley side of the hill and through the "gap" then around  and up Bear Paw and poppy then looped back to the bike. I didn't know where I was going or how far it would be when I started this run. Because some of the run was on pretty rough terrain it still took 42 min's to do the loop. I could never do that same loop again because I was winding around so much I'd never remember which trail I took. 

 It was nice today. 80 degrees here at the house at around 2:30 p.m. I took my shirt off for the bike ride and run and now my upper body is bright pink... I got fried. The first sun burn of the season and it's March 3. Actually last week I got pretty fried on my arms during some bike rides but this was shirtless.  

An out and back run today up over the trail and down into GS to the new park (restroom) and then back home up the trail. My hamstring was only a little sore and for the most part the run was perfect. But coming down the trail into GS my tummy started to go nuts and I barley made it to the potty... Man I'm not sure what I had in the system but it wasn't happy. Perfect spring day other than the breeze... but I guess that the difference between fall and spring. Fall is just perfect weather and spring is great when the wind isn't blowing.  

Stomach flu... what gives!

I'm kind of a gluten for punishment. Today I went back up on the mesa and had the time of my life. Well maybe not. I took the bike and had Mik'L haul me up to the watertank in the truck then biked from there up the road to where the trail head. Then up the switch backs to the top. This took about one hour and twenty min's from the time Mik'L dropped me off. As I was working across the top I felt like thins were strange and right before I really started to drop off on the downhill I blew a tire. Ef! No problem I'll just pull it off and repair it with my trusty trail patch kit- NOT. I bought this crap-o-la junk thing a Wal-Mart and it jacked me up. So the glueless patch kits don't work! Now I'm 9 miles from anywhere and stuck up on the Broken Mesa with a bike I don't want to leave up there but it would be A LOT easier if I could just run home. So I push the bike down off the sucker running where at all possible. I start to go cross country off the trail to try and save time but every time I do it costs me even more. I finally made it back to the watertank and met up with Mik'L who I had called. Total time out- over 4 hours. But hey I found one fresh deer antler. The crazy thing is that I kind of want to go back tomorrow morning....

Just over 15 miles up on the mesa again. I love going up there. It was a perfect day and I packed my backpack up with goodies and went up for about 4 hours looking for treasures. I found the other side to the deer antler that I found the day before and also something else even better but I can't say on here. After going back and forth up there on the bike. Yes I was just making my own trail. I finally got down to the "last" tree where we stashed water and stuff on the group run. It was here yesterday that I made friends with a coyote. I saw him from around 200 yards away and then he started to run... so I whistled and he stopped and laid down. So I kept walking (pushing the bike) to him and kept whistling and got within 25 yards. He was big. Long legs. At first he looked like some kind of weird kangaroo thing. Anyways I thought I'd go back and see if he was there again but he'd moved to better hunting grounds without me coming around. 

When I got down closer to where you drop off the "cut" I decided to go down the trail (it's really not a trail) that drops onto Mustang Pass. I rode down that and managed to not kill myself then did the little trail loop over to the road and then finally back home.

I'm actually getting some pretty good workouts out riding the mountain bike. These 3-4 hour trips are fun but are keeping me pretty fit. I realized today that my left leg/ hammy (the one that has been hurt) has about 25% less power peddling than my right leg. This has to carry over to running too. No wonder when I run that everything else starts to hurt- hips, back, right leg, ankles... I'm a mess.

It's a BOY! 9lbs 4oz and all  kinds of hair and back fat. Myler Clyde Behunin (like a mile runner) was born at around 10:30 p.m Monday night. 

I didn't run at all today but feel like I just finished a ultra. Mik'L got me up on Monday morning at 1:30 a.m as she was having contractions. We monitored it at home for 2 hours and then went in to the hospital at 3:30 a.m. They got her going from the git go and she had the epidural by around 5. Then we spent the day waiting for her to fully dialate. After she was ready we pushed for hours on a couple occasions and it was finally made clear this boy wasn't coming out the old fashion way. He was too big and mommy's insides were too small. So at around 10:30 p.m she went into surgery to have a C-section and we finally had our little boy. We really wanted to  have him the old fashion way for a number of reasons but it was physically impossible as determined by two doc's.

But he's healthy and strong so far and cuter than a bugs ear. We feel so blessed right now to finally be parents after almost 8 years of marriage! 

Another day here in the hospital. Instead of getting in any kind of workout I spent the day on my butt and eating fast food that family brought over. But I'm not really bothered with fitness right now. Our little boy is doing really, really well. He has tons of hair. The whole head is covered with long black hair and then he has black hair all over his arms, back and shoulders. He looks like a truck drivers baby... not a stay at home, skinny little, running guys son.

Hospital all day. I'm starting to get some cabin fever at this point. Baby is doing good. His head got some small injuries during the labor and it is a little infected so we have to watch it so he won't have to go to the NICU.

We finally left the hospital around noonish. Glad to get home and relax. I'm getting really fat!

Well a hard morning today as last night was the longest night ever. We managed to get about one hour of sleep from dusk to dawn. Our first night home wasn't so special. But today ended up being pretty good around the house and the little guy seems to be doing just fine. 

Today was the completion of a long week. A good week but a long week. We've had tons of company and lots of learning/ changes. So I never even ran once all week long. I also didn't ride the bike or do any other kind of workout... Not the best but what do you do?

I also found out that not running isn't healing my hamstring. It is still hurting so I'm going to have to do lots of PT and other things to work through this.

The good new is my little boy is SO CUTE! 

I finally got out to run again. It was weird walking out the door in short shorts. I thought when I left the house that I'd be dead in one mile but I did the GS tail loop and really felt pretty good. I guess there is a little shape left. The goal for the week is to just get one run (regardless of length) in every day. It's been a few weeks since I've pulled that off. It was simply amazing out on the run. I didn't go until 10 a.m and it just feels like heaven outside. I had the shirt off and while coming down the trail into Middleton I thought "it feels good to be a runner again"!

A nice little run around town. I went out and was going to take it nice and slow but it was hot out and with hundreds of girls driving by and honking how do you run slow? So I did the 8.25 in 59:07. Not flying by any means but faster than a out of shape/ hurt guys should be going. I ran to the banks to do some deposits for F1 and when I got to the teller windows the deposits were all sweaty... sorry teller girl. Then I made my way back via the store. 

Happy Anniversary to the Hoopers... 9 long years Kendra says.

Did the GS loop today at around 2 p.m and it was warm or maybe hot. I got home and checked the temp to see 83 degrees in my yard. Loving it! I can tell my shape is pathetic right now and it kind of sucks. But the only thing I can do is try and get out every day and change things. I've been running really gentle to try and keep the hammy from acting up. So far this week it's feeling pretty good. So I'll take that to the bank. 

Club run tonight. It's been a few weeks since I've been out with the guys and have been missing a good run. We just kept it nice and easy down to the river then up through Washington to the top of GS and then back- I just turned at the gas station and came home so it was a little farther but not much. Hammy is tender but not killing. I just have to keep the pace slow and really watch things for a while before I'm out of the woods. I really miss being in great shape and having the ability to run as hard and far as I want every day... but everything happens for a reason. Right now I'm loving being a daddy and the NCAA basketball tourney helps things out too. It was 86 this afternoon in the back yard!

Did the church loop this morning. Just short today due to time. I felt pretty good but had to just take things gingerly. I can feel that if I opened up I'd really hurt things again. It is hot... I love nice weather but hot weather is hard. At 4 p.m it was 88 degrees. 

Nice run this morning with Logan. We met at the Dixie Center and ran down into Bloomington then out on the BearPaw trail. We though we might see Dave and the guys but only saw his Jeep. We made our way up the trail to the top and then down through Green Valley and back around to the DC. It was a picture perfect morning for a run. Plus unlike days of old we didn't meet until 8:30 a.m. So we got to sleep in as well. We both are trying to come off an injury and this was a nice smooth run to aid in the process. Total time was 1:40:19

Regular old GS loop this afternoon. It was windy but not too bad. I felt really Mondayish and fat but after getting going I ran pretty well. The hammy was mildly sore but runnable. Looking forward to getting the week going and again just being somewhere in the 50 mpw area. 

Up the trial to the water tank and back down turkey farm road through industrial then back to the house. Way too much junk in the system to run well so this one kind of sucked. I had some bad headwind and that sucked too. Anyways I was just glad to have gone out and got through it. The hammy felt pretty good- some small background pain but runnable. 

8.6 mile run this evening. Up to the new overpass then down into GS and home. Felt pretty good with just a hint of hammy pain. I'm sick of wind but that is what comes with this time of year. I through in some little surges at around 6:10 pace one of which was .75 miles long. I just needed to see if I could even go a little fast. It didn't hurt too bad but longer would have resulted in big pain. 

9.35 mile run with the club then .05 up to the mail box and back when I got home. I felt really good tonight. Hammy pain maybe only at a 2.5 or so out of 10. It was the best I've felt in a few weeks. I get really excited about running when it doesn't hurt to do my day to day easy runs. Anyways we will see how things play out the rest of the week with a long run on Saturday. We did the parkway loop from the store tonight and it was cool and windy but I still had on shorts and a tank. 

Glad to see that Pitt pulled off the will. Now I just need Memphis, Vil, Mich St and NC to all advance.

Ran the inner GS loop this afternoon. It was less windy today than it has been and that just made me feel good. Plus the hammy was at a stable 2 on the pain scale so I really felt good. Nothing real cool to talk about. I'll try a long run tomorrow on the course but with no temp stuff just nice and easy. I also have the cutest little boy ever and it's March Madness Baby!

Well today I ventured out on the STG marathon course for the first time since the gloomy day back in October. I've been wanting to go back and work through a long run down the course to see how things were and I finally felt like the hammy was good enough to try it. I didn't go very fast... I think somewhere in the ballpark of 2:25 for the run. It was good to get out. I had a potty stop and could have been done at around 17 but overall I felt pretty good. 

It made me really want to race hard again. I just want one more good (PR) type race. The frustrating part is it seems like the stars have to align just right for me to run well. There are so many variables that come into play on race day... oh it stresses me out just thinking about it. I guess for now I'll stick with my plan of easy mileage and try to really take this year off from really racing. At least for the most part. I may feel like something a few months down the road... 

I did the inner overpass loop this morning. It was actually a little cool. I was wishing I had taken some gloves. The legs felt pretty good but had a little soreness from Saturdays run. The calves for sure... But my hammy felt really runnable with only a little background pain. I'm crossing my fingers and maybe I'm on the way out of this crap. I'll try to keep the mileage at around 60 this week. However we are going to Torrey this weekend and I may not get all my miles in... we will see. I'd really like to do good ride up there if the weather is willing. 

GS loop with a Middleton extension. I worked outside most of the day putting together a basketball hoop in my driveway. It was a major project for me. Too many little parts and instructions- but I did get through it and it was fun to shoot hoops for a while. The run went pretty good. The same small background pain in the hammy but very runnable. I'm slowly starting to drop a few pounds- not to say I'm in shape.

The old overpass loop. I wanted to get a few more in today and maybe tomorrow because I might not get a long run in this week. The run was ok but I pushed a lot of wind and wind blows. I had a little more pain in the hammy today than the last few but nothing to blow a whistle on. 

Goose egg today. We had a busy day trying to get out of town. I was a little sore in the hammy area and just to be sure I didn't want to risk anything so blah... nothing today. 

A little run on the treadmill today. It was a blizzard most of the day and I don't have the motivation of years past to go out and brave the storm like before. So I just watched TV most of the day and then did a little shake out to get the heart rate up. 

Ran a 10k with a little extra on the treadmill this morning while watching GC. It was just way too snowy and blowy to go out. Anyways it has been fun to be up here in Torrey with the new little guy.

Extended GS loop this afternoon. It was just over 80 and a small breeze- Perfect! The breeze was just enough to cool me off but not hard enough to push me around. The run was semi comfortable with the exception of I have no lungs anymore. I'd really like to snap my fingers and be back in the shape of last year but I guess I haven't found my 3 wishes yet. The hammy was really good with only a 1 or so on the pain scale. 

Hope to get things going a little this week as the body will allow. Get the miles at around 65-70.  

GS loop extended around Middleton. Actually the same run as yesterday afternoon. I was kind of tight and robotic this morning. Things didn't flow at all and the hammy was kind of sore. This is an endless drama. But it was a beautiful morning and about 7 miles into it I saw another runner up ahead so I pushed the pace to pass and distance myself from this older lady:) I need to get in and have the hips squared up and the lower back snapped into place. 

Same GS loop extended around Middleton... it's working for me right now. I felt a lot better than yesterday and had minimal pain in the hammy. I just took it easy and enjoyed the beautiful morning. As I was making my way up the trial I could see a coyote weaving through the bushes about 50 yards in front of me. The neat part was that he hadn't noticed me yet. I had the wind at my face (plus I don't eat that much garlic) so he couldn't smell me. After I got even with him he saw me and look mad I'd caught him off guard but he keep his nose down and didn't leave his morning hunt. 

I tried to keep everything square and ran within my means to prevent anything from hurting later today. All I want to do is hold 5:20 pace for a half or even just go out for an easy 25-30 mile run. But I think those things will have to wait... however the second one might come faster than the first. 

Can't win with my training. My wife and I \are sick and most likely Myler is getting it too. 

Sickness kind of moved from the head to the tummy??? What the %^^&

I felt a little better today but not good enough to go outside and run. I did clean house in the family Easter egg hunt but we ended up splitting the loot evenly anyways. 

Up around the overpass and GS then extended through Middleton. It was a lovely morning- almost story book. I felt like I was on vacation or something it just was beautiful out. The running part was ok. My hammy hurt from the first step but still runnable. Time out 1:10:40

Same loop as yesterday. I wore the garmin today to make sure the distance was what I thought it was and it was spot on. Todays time was 1:10:50 and I had 1:10:40 yesterday but that was microwave time so most likely today was a correct and yesterday was a little slower than today...

Anyways the run was ok. Hammy was sore but runnable. I got the run done just before the wind and storm got into town so that was nice. Coming down through GS I was hitting 6:30 pace unpushed but thats really no highlight. I've been doing more core stuff than in the past and I'll try to keep it up with some consistent milage. Plus on Thursday I'll try and do my birthday challenge with Stevie boy so that should be fun.  

Church loop extended around Middleton. I did a few less today to give myself a modest taper before tomorrows long run. I felt really good today with less hammy pain than the last couple days. It's stormy and I finished before it started to snow!

Today was the big birthday challenge. Simply run a mile for each year of my life. So I talked Stevie into joining me and we met up at 4:30 a.m. When I left the house it was raining and I was thinking it would make for a long run... but then by the time I met up with Steve it stopped and things turned out to be really great. The morning was calm and very peaceful. So the goal was to simply do 30 miles- not fast or cool just do them. I decided it would be best to met at the DC and we would do 3 out and back runs up the river trail. This way we had water and supplies at both ends... so every 5 miles we could refuel and that worked out really well. I only wore the garmin on the first outing because I didn't want to be bothered by pace and time. However we did the first 10 miles in 1:19:45 and the second 10 we ran harder and faster than the first then on the 3rd trip we ran about as fast as the first. So I'm guessing it took right at 4 hours of running time. I did have to take a few potty breaks (4 for the morning) and some other time refueling. 

It seemed the first 10 were the hardest. The second 10 was the fastest, and the the final 10 was the one I remember the most... After 20 miles I switched shoes just to keep the feet happy and I was glad I did. The fresh shoes felt really good. 

All in all it was a really good run. My hammy was just about as sore as it has been. Since I wasn't pushing the pace it didn't "flare" up and hurt more. So now I'm going to at least try and keep training for Squaw Peak in June. My motivation is to just do it and finish now- when I first signed up my motivation was to try and win or at least be up there... but my hamstring has put an end to those kind of goals.

Anyways it was a really fulfilling and rewarding birthday present to myself. I challenge everyone to accept the Birhtday Challenge and reward yourself too.

Just did a baby run today to see how things felt. I'm not sore at all. Or at least anymore than I've already been with the hammy. However it was very tight but didn't hurt anymore so that was good. It's funny how much different a run like yesterday is than a race. I think I've been more sore after the spectrum 10k then after running 30 miles easy yesterday with Steve. However I'm not totally imortal... I'm completley exhausted. I slept like a baby last night and when I woke up I could have gone right back to bed. So some good rest is in order. Then it's time to play my new Wii. My wife gave me a Wii for my 30th b-day and like a little kid I plan on playing it until it's time to go to bed.

The same overpass loop that I've been doing this week. I didn't go out until around 2 because my wife was in charge of our Stake track meet and I had to watch the baby. I didn't run any of the races there but kind of wish I would have did the mile. Our stake pres won the race in a time of 6:20... not to bad but I think even with the sore hammy I could have pushed a little faster time out. I felt pretty good today with out any lasting delayed soreness in the legs after Thursdays run.  

The new overpass loop. It's a good little run with some climbs but after 3.5 it's flat or back down- so you get the worst over first. I felt great for a Monday. The hammy was tight and a little sore but right on track with the norm. I was excited today on the run thinking about Boston. I was reliving my trips there and excited for the guys who were out there running this year. I got home right in time to start watching one hour into the race. It was very thrilling until the feed went dead with less than one mile to go for the gals... BUMMER!

Good job to the Bloggers who ran today. Great job Jeff and Greg! 

The old skool GS loop on pavement. Just a easy run this morning. I had just a little hammy pain and the legs were kind of playing hooky with nothing in them. I'll try and get a few more in this evening. 

Didn't go out again this evening because I'm doing a longer run early tomorrow morning and it is 97 freaking degrees outside! Hello it's April... 

Nice little workout this morning. Steve planned this workout on Webb Hill but it didn't pan out. We were going to go over and back like 6 times. However we started running at 5 a.m and the headlamps were not good enough to see on that trail so we started just going up and down the road. Then we added a loop around Bloomington Hills and then back up the hill. By this point Steve's quad was hurting and he stopped for the morning. So I did a loop over to the post office and down around Bloomington and back up and over Webb Hill to finish just over 20 for the run. 

I felt great today and it was such a nice morning! The moon was so pretty- perfect crest with a star right by it. I really wish I would have had a camera this morning. Plus several falling stars too. 

3 miles this morning with Myler in the jogging stroller. It was our first time using it and the first run for the little guy. In the end he was fast asleep. I'll hit the club run tonight too. 

 10 miles tonight with the club. I actually ran from the house over to the store and then just finished the run back home and it ended up being a straight 10. It was hot out. Right around 95 and that was the first really hot run of the year for me. By the last 2 miles with the wind in my face I was ready to be done. I had dried salt all over the body. A common symptom down here but right now I'm just not used to it. Anyways I pretty much beer bonged a Gatorade when I got home and then hit another in it's wake.  

The church loop today. I kind of felt a little blah today or maybe even a little yuck. So I kept the run short and will try and get some rest to get ready for a longer trail run tomorrow morning with Steven Abraham Lincoln Hooper Pope. 

The Utah hill loop. I met up with Steve at 5 a.m and we headed out into the windy crap. The first six miles were slow taking us 1:01 and then Steve decided he was done because of a sore quad. So did the first loop in 2:04 and refueled at the Jeep then headed back out for the second loop. I ran into Steve walking back in and he didn't look too good. This lap really sucked or blew with wind. It was pounding me as I tried to climb up the long hills. I just about turned back as I was getting so bugged with the wind. But I finally turned and wasn't getting hit head on (now it was a cross wind) and that felt so much better. Up on the back side by the powerline I saw a snake all laid out in the road. I didn't get close enough to see what kind but we'll guess the worst- that it was a rattler and it wanted to bite me. I stayed nice and hydrated and finished feeling pretty good other than just being tired of being out in the crappy wind. I ran the second half in 1:55 so around a 9 min negative split.

Glad to get a good week in with 2 longer runs. I'm feeling stronger and that makes me smile. Next week I'll cut the daily mileage down just a little and try and do around a 40 mile long run... if things go good. 

The the mini overpass loop. I thought maybe I'd feel sore from Saturdays run but I didn't. The legs were really heavy until about mile 4 then I was able to start running more fluid. It was a great morning to be out running with just a slight breeze and solid blue skies. I also found a good wrench off the side of the road. I don't use tools very often but this could come in handy somewhere down the line. It would run ya a good 15$ at Lowes. 

Kind of a fun but very crazy run this morning. I went up the Broken Mesa trail to the road then up the road to where it cuts over to the Icehouse trail and back down it to make the loop in 3:57. I started at 5 a.m sharp and had the head lamp on.... those things are way over rated. It took 1:05 to do the first 6 miles in the dark- lots of uphill and plenty of rocks. At this point I ws sick of messing with the head lamp and it was kind of twilighty enough to see so I left it at the junction in the trails where I picked it up later. This is a trail at best, not a dirt road or a 4-wheeler path. You can go down just about anywhere but somehow today I didn't. Lots of climbing basically 14 miles of it up to where I turned back on the Icehouse trail. In this area I got a little off target and had to go cross country for a couple miles until I ran into the road again. I turned off the road too soon and ended up in some private property. But I knew the general direction of where the Icehouse starts so I just made my own trial over and found it. 

It's been about 2 months since I was last up on the mesa and it's sure looks different now. Lots of grass and pretty flowers. Green all over. In fact when I was coming down the Icehouse trail I kept struggling to stay on it becasue of all then new vegitation- plus it's really old and hardly never used. 

 I took my hydration pack by Nathen sports and it works pretty good. I'm still not sure what I'm going to do for water during Squaw... Glad to get a good run in this morning. I love watching the sun come up out on a run in the desert.

7 miles this morning pushing Myler on the river trail. I had planed to go from the top to the bottom for a total of 9. But on the way down I decided that I'd turn around at 3.5 just to make sure it wasn't too much for me and the little guy. He ended up sleeping the entire way. 

The running went ok. I was a little shaky at first but the second half felt pretty good. The hammy was kind of sore but not hurting. When we got back to the truck I decided that the distance was just perfect for what we needed today.

A nice little family workout this morning. I loaded up the jogging stroller and Mik'L's bike and we went down and did the river trail. I pushed Myler and Mik'L road along side. It was really nice out- no wind and perfect temps. Myler did the usual and slept almost the whole trip. 

I felt really good and dispite pushing the jogger we still cruised along at around 7:20 pace. I felt some small hammy pain when I'd start going a little faster- but then I'd just slow down and felt really good again. Anyways a good little outing... maybe next time we can bring the dogs!

As I just finished off the month of April with 252 mils for the month.... last year in April I had 440... it seems like a different world.

Did the Utah Hill loop again- twice. It is 13.8 miles and I extended on the last one down the road to keep round numbers. I started at 6 p.m and it was still pretty warm 85ish. Did the first lap in 1:52 and my wife met me at the Jeep before I stared the second loop. On the second loop the garmin battery lost it's life so I don't have any time or splits. But I have to think it was as fast or faster than the first loop because on the downhill sections I let the legs go and was running pretty hard. The bad news is I'll be sore after this one where as I wasn't last time I did this workout. The action happened about 5 miles into the second lap when I came real close to getting slammed by a real rattle snake. I actually didn't see him until I was one step past but then I heard the rattle buzzing and I turned around and screamed. It did one of those movie things and lifted it's head off the ground about a foot and a half. Oh man the rest of the run my eyes were wide open scanning the trail for any of his buddies. I did have to do the last 7 or so in the dark with the head lamp. 

The hammy felt good until about 3 miles left and I tripped. I didn't go down to the road but "sufed" it out. However during the action I pulled the hammy pretty good and it was achy on the way back. Hopefully it won't be a major issue again....

Did a run from my house over to the in-laws this evening. Had a busy day with family stuff and had a really bad day with eating. Junk, junk and more junk. Heading out I was worried about how my legs would feel after last nights long run. But as I got into it the legs felt pretty good but the tummy hurt the entire run. I just wanted to barf. The hammy flet ok considering... it was a little sore and just tired. The rest of the legs were fine other that some soreness in the bones... hard to explain but it just felt like the bones hurt. I still ran pretty hard over here hitting 7:22 pace for the run.

Did the GS/ Overpass loop. I felt like #$#%$^&%& today. The hammy was sore and tight from last weeks mileage and when I tripped. But on top of that today everything else just was off. The legs felt like planks and I had little control over the neural drive. So to be ture- the pace was slow. Anyways I'm just glad I somehow got out because I could have wrote it off pretty easy today.

I don't have any big plans for the week. I'd like to get a 30+ mile run in but I'm not going to force it. We'll just see how the week boils out.

An uneventful half this morning with Wildbull and Mike around the Painters course. It was actually a really good run and even better morning. The pace was smooth and easy as we just took our time and enjoyed things. I kept trying to keep Billy tied down but he finally broke free and ran away from us. Hammy was pretty sore for the first 2 miles but it wasn't hurting in the end. Thats always a good thing and I'll take it. 

Did the "now" standard morning loop. It sucked. I guess I did more damage last Friday when  tripped and pulled the hammy than I realized. Last night it hurt all night in bed. I went out and the pain was back to around a 4.5 or so. I haven't felt like this for around 2 months!!! Hopefully it's not full blown. I was also battling a bad case of neural fatigue and that could have had something to do with why this mornings run sucked so bad. I guess for now I'm just listing myself as day-to-day and it's too late to cancel for Squaw so if I feel good that week or day of the race I'll do it. If not I'll pass.  

Standard loop tonight. I didn't get a chance to get out until 9:30 p.m tonight. It was dark but the moon was fuller and it made for a pretty relaxing run. My hammy felt a lot better than earlier this week only around a 2 on the pain scale. I'm looking forward to the day this doesn't hurt anymore but the kicker is- is I really don't know for sure what is wrong. Is it my hammy a tumor, tendonitis, neural fatigue, cramps, who know? I'm too stubborn and cheap to go spend money at the Dr. for it so I guess your guess is as good as mine. 

Got up early and went out for a longish run. I can't really call it a long run while training for this 50 miler but it still is longer than the regular run. I started at the DC and left on the Painters course but then ended up running through Bloomington Hills a few times looking at houses. Then I came back to the trail and dropped down into Bloomngton and looked at a few more houses before making my way back up to the Jeep. I had a feeling I'd run into Scott this morning and sure enough right by the freeway bridge I ran into him on the trail. We chatted and then once I started going again I was stiff... so instead of extending to 20 miles like I had planned I just ended back a the Jeep. 

I felt o.k but not amazing by any means. The hammy was really tight and forced me to just run nice and easy and to focus on really good form. As bad form really jackes me up now-a-days. Anyways I feel pretty good now and will plan on trying another longer run tomorrow to go back-to-back and see how that goes. 

Met up with the club at Brentwood out by Hurricane. They were going to do a loop out by Sand Hollow Res so I joined for the first little while. For some reason I was thinking I'd get in more with the guys but when they turned it was only out 3.8. I had done one mile before we all left to get the "bathroom" out of the way. So when I spit with those guys I didn't know where I was going to go. I ended up going over by the south side of the lake and taking the new paved road back over into Hurricane. The wind was a nightmare in the valley by the lake but when I dropped over into Hurricane it wasn't even blowing- I know that will blow your mind in it's self. Then I made my way down to the main drag and over to Micky D's to go to the restroom and take a GU. I was at 16 miles there so I went up the hill and down into Sky Mt then back around the bottom way to Brentwood and it ended up being exactly 20 mile from Jeep to Jeep on the loop. 

I felt pretty good today. The hammy wasn't as tight as yesterday and I was able to run a little faster. Not much as I purposely slow my self down all the time to minimize the wear and tear.

Regular loop this today. It was a nice peaceful morning out and I couldn't help but think that there isn't a better way to start the day. I passed Dave this morning after a little over a mile. He was most likely finishing his 25 for the day. I felt pretty good with very little pain in the hammy. I kept the pace super slow and didn't push anything out that would stimulate pain.

I'll try and catch the daily loop for most of the week with a long run (36-40 miles) planned on Saturday up in Zion.  

A family outing this morning. We went down to the river trail and I ran while Mik'L rode her bike while pulling the bike trailer with Myler inside. We found this really nice Burley bike trailer on Craigslist and it works great. Right now while Myler is small we can just put the car seat it's self in the trailer. Then when he gets a little bigger it will work the conventional way. It was a really nice morning out and we were able to move right along at 7:30 pace for the trek. Instead of going down to the DC we turned at the bridge at River Road and took the other trail down to the bottom of Bloomington Hills then back. The hammy was o.k and at a stable 2 for the pain scale. 

Regular loop. No hammy pain until mile 5 then it was around a 3 for the rest of the run. Nice morning. 

Did the Zen loop tonight on the bike. I haven't been on a good trail ride since the week before Myler was born so I was overdue for a ride. I was calling this 3 miles worth of running back around the first of the year so I'll just stick with that. It takes anywhere from an hour  and fifteen to an hour and thirty to do the loop.

I had a couple more encounters with some snakes... way too many lately. The first one was up at the top of the hill where you can look over Bloomington off the cliff and I saw this little green box that someone had obviously left under a big rock. So I went over to see what was inside. It had a rock on top of it and was kind of stashed so I thought there might be some loot... well I got closer and crouched down to grab it when I heard a rattle start and on the other side of the box was a little rattle snake all curled up. It scared the living daylights out of me. Another six inches and my had would have been slammed.  So I didn't look in the box- just got back on the bike and road off.

The next one was down on the southern side at the bottom I was going slow after coming through some rough stuff and saw this little (no bigger that a straw- wide or long) red and black ringed snake laying right in my way. So I just rolled the tire up to it slowly until he slithered away. Snakes are awful!

The ride was ok. I'm a little unpracticed and things weren't as smooth as when I've been riding a few times a week. But it was a nice little ride and curveball for the legs.  

7.2 miles this morning on the old GS loop. I haven't ran my good ol trail much in the last few weeks and was missing her. I had a nice run and the hammy pain was less than 2 so that is a nice start to the day. I'll try to catch a few more by my self or with the club tonight. 

Nice little morning run with Nate. We met up at the DC and did my "house shopping" loop from last week but extended it to hit an even 20. Beautiful morning for a run. We clipped along at a conversational 7:20 pace for the run and the hammy really never hurt. Smile! Now I'll use the stick good and rest up for tomorrows long run. 

Well we did the run of what I'll call The Last of the Mohicans run. It was so beautiful and at times while we were running a long the white ledges it totally felt like we were in that movie. 

The run started up in Kolob canyon and took at trail all the way down to where you climb up Angels Landing in Zion NP. There were 6 of us at the start but it was dark and Steve and I took off and really didn't see anyone after that. Steve's wife met us at around 14 for an aid station and then again at around 23. I between I packed water and GU. The first leg was the prettiest as we worked down two separate canyons crossing two different streams like 20 times. I stopped worrying about keeping things dry as it was not possible. There was about 10 miles of sand running and that sucked and really wore the legs out faster than they should have.

The second leg was around 8-10 miles long. I didn't keep track and it didn't have any sand thank goodness. However we did do around 2000 ft of climbing here but I ran well on this trail and ended up pushing ahead of Steve and the rest of them for good.

The third leg was basically the run down the West Rim that we all did together last November. By now it was hot out and it was around a 14 mile leg with only the water you could carry. I ended up rationing it out pretty good but got way hungry. Like way. Should have eaten more at the van... live and learn. I enjoyed everything until you start dropping. Unless you've been on the trail before you'd never understand but it drops, and drops, and drops and keeps dropping until your so sick of running down steep switch backs that you feel like just jumping off the cliff. After getting my feet wet on the first leg and then doing that kind of pounding I ended up with a good blister on my front toe.

My garmin lost a signal about 3 times so I don't have any real numbers. I was firmly at mile 30 in 5:05 before things went haywire. The distance was a little farther than we thought but then we did take a extra road on the first leg and then extended it down at the parking lot to be at 40.

It's a sweet run and we should get a big group from the blog to do it sometime or at least a portion... I was surprised to see so many people. There were camps and hikers from start to finish.

Anyways it's the longest run of my life to date. I'm thinking I could really easily leave it at that too and not do Squaw. But I'm sure I'll end up at least attempting it on race day. Steve also ran really good today. I was proud to see him finish within around 15 min's of me. I'm sure there are a few of the guys we started with today that are still up there running. Seriously they could have been a couple hours back. Oh it would be hot by now because it was hot when I finished.  

Did the GS loop backwards this morning. I wasn't going out when I got out of bed but then once I walked around the house a little things loosened up and I decided to go. I'm pretty sore though. I'm not sure the 40 miles was the big thing but it was the 40 miles with the steep downhill finishing 6 miles or so that really pounded me. As far as steep goes there really isn't anything that compares to those miles dropping off the top and much of it is a cement/ rock trail with no give. Very brutal to the legs. Any ways I'm kind of sore. 

No real plans at all for mileage or runs this week. I'll just take what comes and try to really heal up from Saturday.  

Normal loop. Like yesterday when I first rolled out of bed there was no way I was going to run today. But after a hour or so of moving around I felt like doing it. The run went ok. I'm still really sore in the quads. Not a sharp pain like after a marathon. It's more of a constant rumbling all throughout... also the hammy hurt a little 2.5 or so on the pain scale.  So I'm looking forward to working this soreness out of the legs this week so I can have one more solid week of training next week before the Squaw Peak 50 on June 6.  

Woke up feeling like crap so I decided to wait until the evening to run. Then all day long I was sore and the hammy was really sore so I just took a really hot bath and played Bejewled instead. I guess that counts in some circles. Kind of feel like a slacker today but I'm not going to risk getting really jacked up again- even if it means taking days off here or there. 

Woke up feeling a lot better than yesterday. So I got out early and did a little loop up by Grapevine and down through the chunnel under the freeway. Then around Washington and back to the house via the Middleton extension. The pace was scary slow but the run felt great. If things work out today I'll try and hit the club run this evening. 

Didn't go out this evening because I'd forgotten that Mik'L had a board meeting at 6:30 and I needed to stay home and watch the boy.  

Up at 3:40 a.m to get a rough run in before we head up to Orem today to watch the Dixie High baseball team play in the state finals. The run totally sucked. I ate like a pig last night so my tummy hurt. Then it was pitch black out on the dirt portions of the run and I was stumbling all over the place. Thats how bad I hate headlamps. I'd rather stumble around than have one squeezing my brain! Anyways got it in but it wasn't pretty. 

Well last week on Saturday I ran 40 miles. This week I pushed out 41... for the week. What a worthless pile of .... We were up for almost 24 hour straight on Friday doing the baseball game thing up at UVU and then coming back home all stressed and drained. So on Saturday I was just spent. I didn't really do anything until 3 p.m and then basically just ate and did nothing again until bed time. 

Glad to have this week over and glad that going in to it I had planned on it being a recover week. Steven only did like 25 miles this week so I feel  a little better about myself- not much though.  

Got together with Steve for a crazy holiday morning run. We drove up to Oakgrove campground and ran up the trail that goes up the face of Pine Valley Mt. So the run took us around 2:40 to do 7 miles... I've done marathons faster than that. I almost feel ripped off for only banking 7 skimpy miles out of one mutha of a workout. 

We started at 6,500 ft and climbed to 10k in around 3 miles. Then at the top we ran on the north side down in the trees for  a little ways but there was about 2 feet of crusted snow covering the ground so that kind of sucked too. We finally decided to flip around and go back down. I almost slipped and feel several times and it would have led to some serious injuries. Lots of rocks and a very vertical trail.

All in all it was a really good workout. The miles were not there but the time was and at elevation. The view from the top was spectacular to say the least. I decided after the run today that I'd better have some real trail shoes for Squaw.... the steep, loose trails are bad but the snow is even worse and rumor has it that we will have plenty of snow to run in on race day.... Why am I even doing this? 

No running yet today. I've had horrible allergies and last night the allergies turned into a sore throat, and head cold. It does that on occasion when I have so much drainage in my sinuses. I feel like pooh today so not sure I'll get out- if so it will be tonight. Right now it seems like I'm really struggling to get any consistent training going. Maybe it's a sign I should ditch out on Squaw?

I'm totally sick. Had a high fever, sore throat, and everything else that goes with it. I told Mik'L this is the second sickest I've felt since we were married 8 years ago. The worst time I was really bad- like I thought I really was dying. Anyways this time has been pretty bad too.  I'm feeling a little better today but still very much a sick little boy. 

Lots of liquids, rest and lame daytime T.V.  

Still sick but feeling a little better. We had to go up to Cedar today for some property inspections and I was wishing I could have ran up there. It was so nice. I guess I need to buy a trailer house up there to live in during summer. After we got home I was trashed from my efforts and that was that. I'm getting scared and may be backing out of Squaw. 

I finally got out again this week. I decided this morning I was well enough to try a little run. There was a lot of spitting up junk out of the lungs- but that was a good thing, and the legs and whole body feel very run down. However I'm glad to have gotten out. We've got a lot going on right now so I'm stressed and not really tuned into running. We've submitted offers on a few houses and it's been very exciting and like I said stressful. So far nothing is set in stone but we are on the way to getting a new house...

Well I finished off a crap-o-la week with a 2 mile walk with the family this evening. Although I have gotten over the sickness I'm still feeling the hangover effects. Way tired and not motivated at all to do much of anything. I've written off running Squaw Peak over and over again but then somehow I keep talking myself into it. So I'm going to do like 15-20 on Monday morning and see how I feel by mid-day and then make a final commitment one way or the other. What a roller coaster. 

Early morning run down from the DC around the fields and into Bloomington Hills then back. I decided I'd do a longish run this morning after the last two weeks have been junk. Depending on how this run went and how I felt it would give me the info I'd need to decide what to do about Squaw. 

So I started out nice and slow trying to really warm up and give the body time to get going. Hit 8 miles in 1:00 right on then too a GU at 10 miles and turned around. On the way back I was feeling good and the form felt great so next thing I know I'm hitting 6:10's for a few. Along here I pass Dave and almost jump in with him as he was doing tinman but I quickly re thought the act and opted out. Got back to the car in 2:27 hitting around 7:18 min mile pace for the run. I felt really good and on days where I feel like I just want to stop distance running I should reflect back to how wonderful it was this morning to be out while the sun was coming up and getting a good workout in.

So I'm going to wait until mid day to decide for sue. I'll see then how I feel and where we are at with the house stuff.  

Happy Anniversary to Mik'L and I. 8 glorious years and an eternity to go. She's great and you all know she puts up with a lot with me. Love you little sweet pie:) 

Nothing yet today. I'm pretty sore from yesterday as I suspected I would be. My wife and I have decided that I'll have to pass on running Squaw Peak this week. With the last couple weeks of bad health I'm not really up for a 50 miler... One other thing is we bought a new house yesterday and will be starting the moving process this week and next. I've got a million things to do between cleaning the new house, packing up our stuff here, moving it all over there, and then starting block walls and landscaping over there. So outside of not feeling strong enough to run the race I just don't have time to think about it anymore. 

As for running in general I'll try and get myself healthy again with no races planned at all. My hammy continues to pull and ache and it really does me no good to log miles and miles because improvement is limited with the continued pain. Basically I won't be running fast until I can be running pain free. Anyways thats where I'm at right now. We are super pumped about the new house. For us it's going to be way nice and it's in a great running location with lots of flat options in every direction. Should be fun.  

I left Mik'L's truck over at the office last night just so I had to get up this morning and run over there to get it. This turned out to be a pretty good strategy as when I got up I really didn't want to run but had to stick to the plan. Once out the door I felt kind of sore and tight for the first 3 miles but after I warmed up I felt fairly good. Went down past Costco and over behind the animal shelter to where the Mesquito trail starts. I was going to take it across to the road but once I got most of the way across it the trail was all tore up and closed. So I had to back track and then finally got to the road. Hit the river trail down and then up to the office. Good run. 

It looks like we will be moving on this Saturday morning. Unless something crazy happens with closing and loan crap. But if things go as planned we would take any help we can get.  

Got up and did the old skool GS loop and maybe bid it a farewell. I've ran thousands of miles around that loop the last three years and for some reason just love it in a weird way. I can almost turn the body onto auto pilot and just let it go. I guess if this house doesn't close then I'll be here still and maybe keep running it for another 3 years. But things are moving along. 

As for a firm moving day we keep jumping all over the place due to the bank. I'd love to have any help but we may not know until the day before what day it will be. Totally sucks and we are just stressed about everything right now but I guess in two weeks we won't even remember what was going on.  

I'll keep things posted... 

Packed and moved some of the stuff today. We closed on the house at noon. The weather has been so nice. Cooler than I've ever seen it this time of year in STG.

Big move day. Up at 4:20 a.m to start getting things going. Some of the running club came and helped. Mike had a nice big 28 ft white trailer to haul stuff, and a flat bed on the truck and a flat bed trailer that I pulled. So we all met at 9 a.m at our old house and by 11:30 a.m we were unloaded at the new house. Great work guys we couldn't have done it without you! Thanks so much!

Finally got a run in... again. After a marathon moving weekend we are getting closer to having things squared away. At least everything in it's own room and all the big stuff put together. For some official funding reason we can't officially sleep there until tonight (Monday). So we've been staying at the in-laws the last couple nights. So this moring I ran from thier house down to the DC and around into Desert Hills and then  into Bloomington Hills and down to the river and back up to thier house. Nice run and even nicer temps. I loveing the weather we've had of late. Way cooler than the norm.

We slept in our new house for the first time last night and I got up and did my first run around the area. I just milled around a 4 mile radius of the house checking out the local streets and stuff. I'm way excited to be here. The location is going to be amazing for running, biking and pulling the bike trailer to the big park about a half mile away. The house is great and we feel very blessed right now. 

This moving stuff is draining. We finally got the last load from the old house tonight after going over and cleaning it out. Here at the new house there are 10,000 things to do. I've been trying to get the ball rolling on the landscaping. We have a little over a third of acre lot and it's almost too big. I spent hours this morning out weeding... Anyways I was way busy all day but not a chance to run as I was drained and it was after 10 p.m when I got home. One of these days I'll get back on some kind of schedule. 

Planned on running with the club but Mik'L and I had too many projects going on and ran out of time. 

I did a run that I'll call my DC loop. I ran from the house over to River Road and then over to the freeway by Flying J and around the DC trail back up to River Road. Then over around Stone Cliff and through the fields back home. Not a bad run but the hammy has been really tight the last 4 or so days so that sucked. Had to extend just a little around the house to even it up. 

Mik'L had an early morning board meeting so I was in charge of the little guy. So we did the baby jogger over to Bloomington Hills and around then back. It was a great run. I felt really good and the weather was nice an cool. We go home and then things kind of started getting windy and rainy. Myler slept the all the way but he loved it too. Hit the run at an 7:40 min mile pace. 

Now we are headed to northern Utah to go up and listen to my Uncle and Aunt speak. They just got called to be mission presidents in Northern Japan. They will do great!