Clyde's Comeback!

Planned on running today. But just never got a chance. We had company and with all the hype of the day there just wasn't time. In the end it turned into a nice day off of running and the legs were thankful for the rest. 

Out at around 8:30 a.m in SNOW. About 3 good inches blanketed the town last night. So I was dealing with ice, slush and in places where there were no tracks... some nice fluffy snow. Kind of fun to run in... like once or twice a year. 

Another lap around the B-hills loop this evening. I'm getting sick of this whole winter thing. I know I shouldn't complain but I really just like spring and fall. 

B-hills loop again this morning. Cold.... tights, gloves, hat, and coat. 

8.7 mile run tonight. Ran down River Road to the trail by the river. Then up the river to where it washed out to inspect the damage. It looks like there's no way to ever have the trail there again. Then I ran back down to River road and over by Summit, around Stone Cliff and back home. 6:50 avg. 

Freeway loop this morning. No watch but the pace was EZ and slow. Kind of felt tight in the hammies. 

B-hills loop backwards today. Felt slightly better as I got out the door... however the run seemed to last forever. 

Club run tonight at the DC. Good little run. We ran up the trail 3 miles to where it was washed out and then back around by the B-hills side on the way back. Pace was up tempo but not fast. Legs felt better than they have all week. Only problem was that I was needing a big boy potty stop. 

Freeway loop this morning. Legs continued to feel great with no real pain. That I was loving. I wasn't loving the stomach issues that carried over from last night and forced a stop up in the rocks to take care of business. But other than that the run was good and it was a little warmer... just a little. 

Ran the new STG half course with Dave, Logan, Steven, and Aaron. Chilly at 27 F but runnable. We were going to really tempo out the second loop but didn't really get the legs rolling. Hit some Tinman miles and one 5:22 but not the planned "full loop at tempo". Stomach still having the same issues that I had since Thursday. 

A.M. B-hills loop this morning. Kind of draggin as I made my way around. Almost didn't go but glad I did once I finished up. 

P.M. B-hills loop in reverse this evening. I picked up the pace and tried to get the legs turning over a little. 6:13 avg for the run.

B-hills loop extended up through St. James. Got out earlier than usual and it was dark for most the run. Chilly too! I thought after last nights harder run that the legs would be dead this morning but I felt really solid. I ate too much pizza last night so I had to take a trail side potty stop but other than that it was a great run. 

8.4 miles again this evening. Ended up getting out later tonight so both runs of the day were in the dark. I don't like running in the dark that much. Anyways same loop as this morning but in reverse (counter clockwise). Legs seem to be holding up pretty well the last couple weeks. Hoping to see some progress on the race side of things in the STG half on next weekend. 

Treadmill miles this morning. Wasn't in the mood to run and Mik'L had to leave early. So the outcome was a short indoor effort. EZ to slow pace too. 

B-hills extended through St. James tonight. It warmed up a little today and so it was shorts and a light shirt. Felt pretty good but the week is wearing me down. 

B-hills loop this morning. Fought myself to just get out the door. Then once running I wanted to loop back home after 2 miles. But somehow stayed on the bus all the way around. Feel pretty flat and a nap will be a must today as I've slept like crap for most of the week. 

9.5 miles tonight at the club run. We ran the big river loop from the DC. Pace stayed pretty up beat from the start. Ended up finishing the run with some pretty fast miles. I'm not sure what the splits were because I had no garmin but we were rolling. Ended up hitting the entire run with an avg of 6:23 per mile. 

B-hills loop at around 1 p.m today. I couldn't get myself out this morning and was glad I waited. Took Myler over to grandmas so I could get out. The sun was out and the weather felt good. I however felt dead. Had some serious neural fatigue today. Anyways glad to have the rest of the day to recover and rest. 

Club run at the DC. Ran the new half course again. Pretty good run just kept it nice and smooth. I didn't really feel like picking up the pace during the last loop with the guys so I just drug it around a lone on the final couple miles. Felt good to run 6:30 pace and not go sub 6. Ended with a 6:53 avg for the run. 

The highlight for the day was Logan locking his keys in his truck for the second straight day. Then we found some "tools" laying around the DC construction site and Dave popped it open with some wire. We all cheered. 

Ran the summer tempo loop out around the fields. But I took the Mesquito trail and then down below Dino tracks I took the trail back up to the main road that connects to River Road. I didn't run until around 1 p.m and it was so so nice. Almost took my shirt off. Didn't push the pace but kept it solid to avg 6:43 for the run. It felt really good to go out in shorts and a "t" and be comfortable. Actually saw kids paying in the river down across from Summit Club. Got home and it was 64 F. Oh and I just heard the ice cream truck driving around... maybe jumping the gun a little there. 

Middle B-hills loop. It was a nice morning at 37 F. Worked my way around and kind of felt labored. Mik'L rolled my legs last night with the stick and it may take a day or two to bounce back after that beating. 

Pushed Myler around the same loop as I ran this morning. Legs felt way better this afternoon. Temps are amazing and it has given me major spring fever... sad because I know it will get cold again... at least once or twice. 

B-hills loop extended out to river road all the way up the trail. Kind of a up and down run. Felt a lot better than the last few days but still couldn't get any flow. My tempo and stride seem off. Not sure how to fix the form right now. But it was a great morning and I chased a coyote up the trail right when I got down to the river. He was just walking up the trail like a domestic dog and let me chase him for 20 yards before he cut down into the willows by the river. 

A.M. Pushed Myler around the inner B-hills loop.

P.M. Ran with the club down by the river

Ran around the inner B-hills loop with Paul. Temps were chilly but nice and runnable. Most likely it will be about the same tomorrow for the race. Legs felt pretty good but no ready for an all out half... sad for me. But it is what it is so I'll take what I get tomorrow. 

Well I'm plesently pleased with the race this morning. Haven't felt very racey and thought going into today that to be able to just run a 6 min avg or a 1:18 would be rathter tough. Big goal was to break 1:15 and just get a nice start to the racing year. So goals complete and that's satisfying after having so many races NOT go that way.

Temps were pretty good (a little cold for me at the start but I'm a baby). I just wanted to run the first lap of the course relaxed and then on the second shorter lap try to kind of race if there was anything to give. I stuck to the race plan and it worked. Coming into the second lap I upped the effort and started to grind out the remaining miles. I was sitting in 8th place with 5 miles to go about 5 seconds behind Dave H and 10 seconds behind Logan F. As we started back down the river trail by River Road I picked up the pace but I think everyone did. I held that effort to the one hill and was still back about the same on the guys. But once on top Logan started having a ankle problem so I went by him and tried to get him to come. Then just tried to work through the first lap people to finish off the last two miles. I caught Dave with about .7 to go and we basically just ran equal effort to the finish with me only beating him by like 5 seconds.

Happy with the place but more happy to have worked through an entire race. The time is ok for me this time of year... and I'm not a very good half marathoner anyways. Looking forward to doing more races this year and racing myself into decent shape come summer and fall.

B-hills loop extended up the river trail to River Road. Legs felt pretty good after the race. Quads are a little sore, left hammy is a little sore and my right ankle is sore too. But none are of any real significance. Thru about 7 miles this morning I actually felt great. The last two my quads started to feel fatigued and tight. So in hind sight I should have only did 7. 

Hope to run nice and EZ miles through most of the week or until fully recovered. Plan to keep the mileage around 70 for the week also. 

P.M. Inner B-hills loop this evening pushing Myler in the jogger. Just tried to keep it smooth as to not overdue the legs. Tightness is starting to move out but my ankle is still sore. Not sure what that's all about. Maybe from running at tempo in the lower profile shoes I guess.

Looped out into the fields and around Stone Cliff. Back up River Road to the gas station and then into B-hills and up around back to the house. Pace was EZ but felt smoother than the norm lately... a good thing as I've been feeling pretty robotic. 

P.M. 6 miles this afternoon. Pushed Myler around the inner B-hills loop and extended around the intermediate school. Did the loop in reverse. Nice to be out in sun. 

B-hills extended around River Road and the intermediate school in reverse. Legs felt more sore this morning than any day this week. Right hammy was beggin for some pain pills or something. May not run again today unless the afternoon is just to beautiful to pass up. 

A.M. 4 EZ miles on the treadmill this morning. I decided to drop shift things back down a notch this week. I'm pretty flat right now and need to stick to the EZ plan and stay closer to the 70 mpw I originally planned to do. 

AH EEEEZZZZ!

A.M 2- Loaded Myler and the doggies up in the big jogger and ran over to the park. Let them all run and play for about a half hour and then ran them home. Ready for a little nap.

P.M. 10.6 miles tonight with the club. River loop and stuff. Good group out tonight. Days are getting longer and temps warming up. Had to hit a potty stop in B-hills.

Middle B-hills loop. Slow and EZ in the darkness of the morning. It felt pretty cold too but was 32 F. I'm guessing the humidity made it feel cooler. Right hammy was pretty sore and tight. 

Big workout this morning with a bunch of the guys. We met at my house and did my 10 mile tempo/freeway loop x2. Hit the first lap in 1:10:13. Just tried to run easy and catch up with all the guys on this lap. But about half way through the pace did start to get a little faster than EZ. 

On the second loop I had planned on doing a tempo. The only person who was going to do the full loop with me was Aaron. We took off from my house and Steve came with us for about 2 miles but was only doing 5 miles on that section. We hit solid splits most the way. I didn't want to go "all out" but rather run comfortably hard. Through 6 miles Aaron was only one minute ahead of me. But as we went through the hills of B-hills I was working too hard and faded a little more. He ended up beating me back to the house by 2 min's 10 sec's. I still ran a PR on the course hitting the 10 miles in 58:33 or a 5:51 avg. Last time I did this tempo at the end of December I ran a 59:25. So some good progress even with the race still in my legs from last week. Aaron and I both were pumped about the workout as the course is not easy... really not easy on the second and tempo lap. 

B-hills loop extended up the river to River Road. I've been trashed all weekend after moving this tuff shed and then painting, restoring, landscaping ect around it. Then the big workout on Saturday followed by a full day of more work on the shed and moving stuff into it. Needless to say I didn't want to start the week today. But I got out and made my way around the trail. Actually started to loosen up and enjoyed the morning running. Hope to keep my head above water this week and just get in somewhere between 65-85 miles. Not sure whats going to happen as we're just busy little bees right now. 

9.1 miles around the same loop as this morning. I had some unexpected time open up this afternoon. My mother-in-law called and wanted to watch Myler... so I ran. Pretty windy on the first half. But it helped push me home on the second half. 

B-hills river loop again. I was dead this morning and limped around at about a 7:35 avg. Just couldn't get the legs to go. Mik'L rolled my hammies last night so that's part of the reason. Ready for spring!

It was too cold and windy to take Myler out in the jogger this afternoon/ evening. And by the time Mik'L got home from work I had lost the desire to run. So we went to Smashburger instead. 

Normal old B-hills loop. It was chilly at around 20 F. I shouldn't complain because it's way worse in other parts of the world or even state. I was bundled up with lots of layers so I really didn't get too cold. The layers however made it harder to run. 

5.2 miles on the treadmill this evening. The wind was just howling out and I didn't want to mess with it. I had decided the outside temp wasn't too bad but the wind was. Anyways I was LOL while running because I was watching Tropical Thunder on FX. There was some pretty funny parts. 

4 miles on the treadmill. It was 16 F outside at first light and I made a business decision to stay inside this morning. The treadmill sucked but I wasn't going to go very long anyways. 

10.1 miles around the river loop from the DC with the club. 6:37 avg for the run. Had some stomach issues and had to do a trail side...

Ran from my in-laws. Dropped Myler off to play with Grandpa and then hit basically the same loop as last nights club run. Couldn't get into any kind of groove and felt really flat. Pace felt slow and I was surprised to see I still ended with a 7:00 min avg for the run. Nothing fancy today other than the weather is a lot better than earlier this week. 

Big Workout at the DC. Meet up with a good group of local yocals. The workout was to do 6x 4 min's @ LT pace with a 2 min recovery. So we did around a 5 mile warm up around the trail and through B-hills then started the sets from the freeway down into Bloomington. Dave and I hit all our sets at around a 5:15 avg and Logan and Aaron were a little faster than us. I didn't keep the splits separate but rather just let the garmin run continuous the entire run.  A pretty solid workout from start to finish and then a longish cool down back. 6:51 avg for the entire run.

Got sick over the weekend. Head, nose, body ache... the works. Sucks to drop days to sickness. 

Still sick!

Ugh... still sick. This is nasty. Guess I'll just try to enjoy the time off that I normally wouldn't have taken:)

5 miles tonight on the treadmill. I wasn't going to run today as I've still felt sick. But as the afternoon and evening rolled on I started to feel semi ok and couldn't stand it anymore. I went out to do a few miles to try and shake the kinks off and get ready to start really running tomorrow. The run was ok. My timing and balance are way off and my stomach is a mess... I guess it will take the rest of the week to work all the crap out of the system. 

B-hills/ River Road loop. Finally got out for a real run this week. It was a chilly 25 and I was hesitant to do so after being so sick all week. But I bundled up good and went out. Wasn't too bad either. My legs felt like it was the first run of my life so I've got some work to do just to get back to a week ago. 

10.7 miles with the club around the DC/ river loop. Still kind of sick and felt it most of the run. But a solid run even so. 6:42 avg. 

Freeway loop extended down into Bloomington and around Stone Cliff. Was dead the entire run. Having been sick all week and maybe still sick I was just trying to keep my head above water this morning. Saw Logan on his way to work in the little red truck or the LRT. Hit a 7:28 avg and it was everything I had to do it. 

I'll be in Orem this weekend so if anyone wants a Saturday morning run let me know. 

Woke up Saturday morning and kind of felt like I'd got sick again or really never gotten better. So I didn't run and we just went about the day with shopping and state wrestling. By 3 p.m we had a couple hour break from wrestling and  the weather was warm so I decided to run. Didn't want to deal with the traffic in Orem so I just did a half mile loop around my uncles neighborhood. The loop was almost .6 long so I ended up doing just over 18 laps I think. I lost count after 10 and just watched the garmin for distance after that. Nothing special but logging a few miles. 

B-hills/ River Road loop. Ok run. After a horrible week last week I'm hoping for a solid running week now. I've got a lot to work out with the stride and junk in the lungs. So I just took it EZ this morning and tried to keep the form straight. 

6.6 miles around the middle B-hills loop this evening. Legs felt pretty dang good:) Left ankle felt kind of sore for some random reason but mid run it started to feel fine. 

River Road/ B-hills in reverse this morning. Nice morning to run and watch the sun come up. Legs felt good. 

6 miles this afternoon pushing Myler.  Nice warm temps made it great to be outside. Legs kind of gave up with a mile left and for some reason just wanted to be done.

Regular B-hills/River road loop. My IT band was really sore and made me have a hop or limp for the first half mile and then it just went away. Weird. I guess I'm just too old for this stuff. Ran smooth and EZ hitting a 7 min avg. 

3 miles on the treadmill at noon while Myler was taking a nap. Temps outside are around 70 F but the wind is howling. 

B-hills/ River road loop. IT band was sore again when I started to run but within a half mile I never felt it again. Should I be worried or what? Not sure what that is all about. Other than that the legs felt really good and it was a super morning out after it was so windy and crazy last night. 

9.3 mile club run tonight at the DC. We ran the new normal river loop with no add ons. I didn't have my Garmin but the pace was brisk. I hit the first 1.7 at a tempo to speed ahead of the guys and get to the porta potty. Always a great stop!

B-hills/ River road loop again... I don't love this loop but I do like the distance. It's nice to just go out and not have to think about where I'll go to get the mileage I need. Plus I don't like wearing a garmin everyday. 

The run started out the way the last few days have. With a sore IT band and me limping along for about a half mile. Then it just works it's self out. I did use the foam roller last night but it even kind of hurt while I was in bed sleeping. Hopefully it's nothing serious because I don't have the right mind to fight off another injury.

Big workout in the rain. That could be the title of a one hit wonder song. We met at the DC at 7 a.m and got rained on basically the entire run. Logan's plan was to do 6x 5 min at MP or whatever we could push out. With a 2 min recovery in between. So we ran around 8 miles and then started the workout part. I only wanted to hit MP (5:40) and nothing faster because I just felt flat and still semi jacked from sickness... but the lads took it out hard every go around and all my splits were under a 5:30 avg... and those guys were 5-10 seconds ahead of me on most sets. So happy with the workout even though it was hard and wet and cold. Then we had around a 3.5 mile cool down back to the DC. 

Out and back 10 miler into B-hills this morning. Just feeling kind of flat all the way around. I've got a nasty cough and I can't seem to get all the green/yellowish junk out. 

6.6 miler around the middle B-hills loop this evening. Been working on yard stuff all day so I was really tired on the run... plus I ate spagetti O's too close to running. Just about barfed them up. 

Standard B-hills loop. For some reason I just didn't want extend out to River Road and then go up it. So I just did the old faithful loop. For some reason the other way feels like it should be much more than a mile longer. 

Couldn't get things going this morning. The calves have been sore from Saturdays workout but just overall kind of lacking motivation. 

P.M. I planned on going over to Hurricane and running with my uncle. But it just didn't work out so. I went to Wendy's and got a couple JRBC and a Dr. Pepper. Ended up being a good time for a no run. Kind of still feeling the sick bug. Myler has been sick all week and I think we just keep passing it back and forth to one another.

Middle B-hills loop. Mik'L had to leave early and didn't tell me so I didn't have much time this morning. I'll try and hit that loop again later on today. 

Hit the same loop this afternoon pushing Myler. He and I have been battling an ongoing sickness so I was kind of worried but the sun was out and I bundled him up good. This would be the only way to get a run in other than late night and I don't like to do that. 

Planted peas by seed in the garden. Also a bunch of other veggie plants under a mini plastic greenhouse I built on top of the garden.

Morning off... hope to hit up the club tonight. 

Club run tonight on the DC river loop then hit a little extension up around the half marathon route. Today was just what the Dr ordered... nice and EZ. I couldn't have gone very fast today and the guys helped keep the pace under control. Hit the last 2 miles around Tinman pace. I feel sick and if I don't get better I won't race on Saturday. 

Felt worse today than the whole week. On top of it I had to spend the day moving and painting and doing stuff to the new office... as we are moving our business into a new place. Felt jacked by the end of the day. 

Felt sick and too jacked to even run let a lone race this morning. Bummer because I was looking forward to having a couple solid halfs under my belt before I run a marathon. I just need to get better though.... sick of being sick. 

Kind of starting to feel better and maybe could have ran today. But I didn't just trying to make sure I get better and don't relapse again. This whole month has almost been a waste... no progress and most likely some steps back. 

Out and back into B-hills. The legs felt ok considering the sickness. Still coughing but the dizziness, fever and body aches are gone for now. Just hope to slowly rebuild the damage that has already taken place. The only good news is I haven't been running and have still been loosing weight. I guess that's a plus to being sick:)

8.1 miles around the standard B-hills loop this evening.

Ran a version of the B-hills loop with some fields stuff at the first. Feeling pretty good...

Pushed Myler this evening around the middle B-hills loop. Nice temps and the legs felt pretty good too. 

B-hills/ River road loop. Very nice and warmer morning. Felt decent and had enough time to go a little longer this morning. 

Club run tonight from the DC. Normal group of guys and Amber joined us for the first girl ever or at least in a long time to do the club run. Pretty normal loop and hit a 7:05 avg for the run. Kind of felt trashed by the end.

Out and back into B-hills. I didn't get to go out until late afternoon. We've been busy for two weeks moving our new office and today was the final big day. We got all moved in and now just need to unpack and organize. I'm basically trashed.

Ran the Lake to Lake Relay today with Dave, Dustin, Billy, and Stephen. Our little team ended up winning so that was fun but it was just some good memories in the van all day with the lads. 

Leg 5- 4.1 miles from Tonoquint park up over the hill and down into Bloomington. First 2 miles are basically flat then 3rd mile is up hill and the 4th mile is basically all down hill. Hit a 5:20 avg on this leg. Got out fast with a 5:09 opening mile and though I'd blow up later but the body answered every time I wanted to push. Felt pretty good until about .5 from the finish and then I started to dry heave the GU I'd taken before the leg. 

Leg 10- 6.7 miles. Like last year I got to run the final leg. This year it took a left and looped all the way around Sand Hollow res. First mile was half up half down, second mile was flat, third mile had a big hill (up the dam) and the rest of the leg was all flatish with a few rollers. But from mile 1.8 it turned to washboard dirt road.

Anyways before I even started this leg we had a big lead on the rest of the field... So I kind of didn't want to push it. Decided to start EZ and kind of do a progressive tempo. But it all ended up being at around Tinman pace. Hit a 5:50 avg for this leg. Was happy at the end because I kind of got a little push but didn't have to kill it to win like last year. Plus I really tried to hammer the first leg and wouldn't have had much more anyways if I wanted to have pushed the second leg.

It was a great day and unlike last year we didn't have pounding winds to deal with so it was very nice to be outside and almost everyone who ran the relay got a fresh sun burn. 

Only got in 4.2 miles of warm up and cool down in. Actually took my time too much before the second leg and didn't even get a warm up in because here came a Stephen (ask him about his 3rd leg today).

10.6 miles this morning out in the rain. Ran over to Bloomington then up the trail to River Road and back home. Felt really good for a Monday. 6:45 avg for the run. 

Inner B-hills loop this evening in the dark. It was windy and I don't like the wind. 

Regular B-hills loop. The legs didn't feel as zippy this morning as they did yesterday. I ran later last night and then didn't eat much of a dinner... then got up early and ran again. Hence I felt pretty flat and was happy to finish the run and be done. Then I could move into some yard project involving a shovel and a wheelbarrow. Now my hands are blistered- but it's done!

8.8 mile run this afternoon from the in-laws. I left Myler there to play with G-ma. Looped out around Stone Cliff and the fields then into little valley and back down River Road. Pretty good run and I kept it uptempo hitting a 6:50 avg. 

Regular B-hills loop this morning. It's Mylers 2 year old Birthday. We love that little boy so much. I feel so blessed to have him as part of our family. 

Another lap this evening. Just trying to push out mileage this week. Went to Pirate Island Pizza tonight for Myler's little party. He liked the pizza said they use good cheese. 

Middle B-hills loop this morning. The weather is great and the forecast looks grand. 70's for seven days!

10.5 mile run tonight with the club. Big group and very nice weather. I ended up having the worst stomach issues in my running history and had to do a couple road side stops. It was horrible. Hit some fast miles coming back up including a 5:13 8th mile trying to catch back up to Aaron and Nick.

B-hills/ River road loop. Kind of trashed and feeling the stomach crap from last night. But worked it out. Saw a bunch of guys running and they all looked pretty fast... maybe a college team. 

P.M. Messed around in Little Valley until it was time to come home. Didn't want to go on this run at all. I forced it for the mileage... kind of dumb I know. Spent the entire day building a playhouse for Myler. We bought it at Costco (massive thing with yellow slide). Anyways got a little more than half way done. What a job!

Big workout this morning. Had a big group meet at my house and we did the old freeway loop. Did the first loop in 1:11 just chit chatting and hanging. Tried to relax and not work too hard and save it for the second lap. 

Then we did a second loop after grabbing some GU and switching shoes. The plan was to do a harder tempo push on the second lap. We didn't go out too hard and hit the first mile in 5:59. Basically everyone stayed together until about mile 3. Then Nick and Aaron moved up, then Logan and Dave and I brought up the rear. By mile 6 I was still only 40 seconds behind Nick and Aaron and wanted to finish strong... But they kept hitting pretty good splits and I wasn't doing the greatest. I passed Logan around mile 8 (he got a blister). Ended up hitting a 5:47 avg and running the 10 mile loop in 57:46.  This was a PR for this course. I've ran it 4 times this way since December and my previous best was a 58:33 or a 5:51 avg. 

I was pretty happy because it felt like most of February I was sick and didn't get a lot of good training in. So it was nice to still see some progress.

Spent the rest of the day working on Mylers playhouse... it's still not done but we're getting close.

Kind of a blah run this morning. Did the middle B-hills loop in reverse. Had stomach issues before I even left the house and had to stop at the park for some business. Then overall the legs aren't sore from Saturdays workout but they are very heavy and unresponsive. 

6.6 mile this evening. Did the same loop again this afternoon. Both these smaller loops still gave me over 13 miles for the day but ended up feeling like a EZ day. Took it smooth but not fast. I got caught up in a daydream about running a marathon against Will Ferral in some 80's movie. But he was actually fit and a good runner. I never finished the dream so I don't know who won. 

Met at the DC with the circle of trust and Steven. We did the club loop twice with a couple little extensions to hit 20. We were all pretty trashed from the start so it was laxi taxi the entire run. Still ended up with around a 7:13 avg. 2:25:40 for the run. Now to do some yard work and enjoy the 78 F days we are having. 

Middle B-hills loop this morning. Kind of trashed- plus I had to stop at the park and use the facilities. It was a warmer morning with temps at 47 F before the sun came up. The weather has been wonderful but looks to be cooling off the next few days with heavy winds possible. 

6.6 miles this evening. Same loop again. I didn't feel that great. Not a sick feeling just a trashed feeling. 

I planned on running today but it just didn't seem to workout. Mik'L had an early meeting so I just decided to wait and do it all at the club run this evening. But then I learned that the BYU game was on at the same time and so I decided to skip club and was going to go out after the game... then after the game I was starving and decided to write this off as a good rest and recovery day. Oops. 

Middle B-hills loop. Had a lot of build up in my stomach from not running yesterday. It was a 5 star morning in the bathroom. Legs fell recovered but kind of sluggish. I'll run this loop again tonight to help freshen up for the race tomorrow. 

6.6 miles this evening. Trying to clean out the system and get ready to race tomorrow. My stomach is jacked... and I had a side ache most of the run. 

Bummer race.... but I'm not too upset about it for some reason. I had a bad tummy all day yesterday and didn't expect it to be ready to race today. Kind of hoped it would hold up but knew I was asking a lot. Took it out hard with the guy who ended up winning. I actually caught him at mile one and that split was 4:26. Then I passed him right there and lead for around a half mile but around 2.2 I got a killer side ache (just like Ogden 2008) and had to run the remainder of the race as road kill. Obviously the leader was long gone as I limped in. Then some old dude passed me at around mile 5 as I was barely going 6 min pace. I felt really sheepish about the whole thing. It just sucks getting passed when you know you should be almost done. From there I barely beat Steven Abraham Lincoln for 3rd. I wasn't trying to hold him off as I could barely run my side ache hurt soo bad. Anyways finished 3rd overall but was more bummed about the time and not being able to hold and hammer out a race. Felt like I was ready for a killer 10k. Even if I would have ran great I would not have won... the guy ran a impressive 29: something. I was hopping to run around a low 31:00 or with some luck maybe break 31:00. But not today!

Looped around Stone Cliff and then down the river trail into B-hills. Then back to the gas station and home. The wind beat me down this morning and with about 2 miles left it started to rain and I got soaked. My bum and quads are kind of sore from the hard downhill on Saturday. Hoping to have a nice consistent week. Nothing crazy mileage wise but just a solid week of running. 

6.6 miles this evening around the middle B-hills loop. The wind beat me down on this sucker. 

Same loop through the fields and around Stone Cliff like yesterday. I remember why I don't run out there much... way too much traffic. I almost to hit by about 10 soccer moms who were talking on their phones and driving too fast. Legs were dead. 

Middle B-hills loop on a trashed body and legs. I almost stopped and walked around mile 5. I'm not sure why I'm so dead but I'd like to move past this phase asap. 

A little better run this morning than what I've been having. Finally got some flow and didn't feel so robotic. But it wasn't stellar and I still need improvement to get back to a normal status. Ran the regular B-hills loop with temps a 35 F. 

Pushed Myler around the inner B-hills loop this evening. Legs were about as good as this morning. I think I need to roll out the quads. 

Did a longish run this morning because I don't think I'll run tonight. I want to watch the BYU game and get myself all Jimmered out. This morning I headed out early in the dark over to the freeway and down into Bloomington. Then I took the trail up to River Road and connected to the other trail back into B-hills and then back home. The first 10 mile felt ok but the last 4 were a lot harder than they should have been. I really don't know whats up with my system but I'm flat. Just don't have any git up and go. Hoping the night off will aid in my recovery. 

Didn't want to take a ZERO today. But Mik'L went out early and I had yard stuff arriving early on a delivery. Then it was go time all day in the yard planting, wheelbarrowing and the like. By the time I stopped I couldn't move and was just dead. I felt guilty about it through the evening but there was just no way I could have ran. 

A.M. DC loop this morning. Hit the first 5 miles in a calm overcast. But right as I hit 5 miles is started to rain and I got soaked by the time I was home. But other than that I felt better than the rest of the week and had a good run. I'll try another tonight and maybe hit some faster miles. 

P.M. Finally got a decent workout in... in a long time. Warmed up over around Stone Cliff and over River Road to where there is a port-a-potty by the trail. Thankfully took care of business there and then started into a tempo. The warm up was 5 miles long. Temp was 5 miles long. Down the river trail across the bridge, then over through B-hills past the golf course to were it intersects with River Road again. From there I did a 2.6 mile cool down back around the park and home. 

Tempo went well. I wanted to hit marathon pace for the 5 miles and not die too bad on the hills through B-hills. Splits were 5:40, 5:36, 5:50, 5:37, 5:50 for an 5:42 avg on the tempo. Hit a 6:24 avg for the entire run. Glad to get the legs and body going and finish off the week semi strong. 

Big Stone Cliff loop (same as last Saturday). Legs were heavy and the run seemed to take all day. I didn't have a watch of garmin but it was slow. Headed up to SLC for the day and won't get another run in. Going to watch the pathetic Jazz tonight in a box seat. I'm not too thrilled to be going but oh well. 

SLC- An out and back run this morning while up in northern Utah. We stayed at my wife's uncles home in the Draper area. I ran from their house over to a trail called the Porter Rockwell trail and then I took it north up to the Draper park before turning around. 7:12 avg just a relaxing run while out sight seeing a new area. I love good urban trail systems in makes running in the city fun. 

6.6 around the middle B-hills loop when we got home this afternoon. Nothing more than a shakeout after a long ride in the car. 

Middle B-hills loop in revers and down on the golf course as I went around. Legs had no go in them. I tried to focus on some form but I really struggled to even run. I think you could say I'm in some kind of running slump as this happens all too often lately. 

4.3 miles this afternoon pushing Myler around the "Big block" loop. It's basically a big loop of Little Valley. It was nice and warm outside and we both enjoyed the run. He sang Old McDonald had a farm most of the trip. 

Standard B-hills loop. I wore a Garmin to check the distance. I've only ran this loop like 300 times but somehow I started to second guess how far I clocked the mileage long ago. But it was the same and that was the highlight of the morning. 

10 miles tonight at running club. Did the regular loop then extended out to an even 10. It was 80 F + outside and for the first time of the year I felt hot. The body isn't use to running in the heat yet and it felt like work hitting 6 min pace the last couple. Ended with a 6:40 avg. 

B-hills loop. A splendid morning with warm, calm temps. I tried to just use it as a recovery run and not push the pace what so ever. Looking forward to hanging the rest of the day and enjoying temps in the upper 80's. Forecast calls for 86 F. 

4.7 mile warm up

13.1 mile tempo in 1:14:53 or a 5:43 avg

1 mile cool down

Big workout this morning. Dave and I were the only ones who showed up. Our plan was to run the first half of the STG marathon course at tempo/ race pace. We drove two cars up. Parked Dave's car at the halfway point on the marathon course and then took mine up to Brookside (4.6  miles south of the starting line of the marathon). We got a good warm up in from my car up to the start. It was A LOT warmer than I anticipated as 2 miles into the warm up I was hot and needed to drop all the extra clothing. We ended up running most of the tempo shirtless and still being hot. From the start of the tempo down to Veyo I just tried to stay relaxed but take any fast miles I could. We ran pretty well up to the bridge right before the Veyo hill. Then Dave moved into the lead and I really struggled up the hill. Just couldn't get the legs to turn over. Ended up hitting a pathetic 6:36 mile 8 which is basically all up the Veyo hill. From there up through the hills of in Dameron Valley I was around 5:52ish pace and finally caught back up to Dave just past the 11 mile mark. From there to the finish we both basically ran shoulder to shoulder grunting it out. There was a pesky little head wind that slowed down any fast finish we were intending on using. We both pushed to the mark and were very glad to be done. It felt a little harder than it should have but on a positive note it was a PR in workout form. Since last time I did this as a workout I ran a 1:14:59. So just a little faster today and maybe not as trashed as I was last time I ran this workout back in November. Anywho glad to get a solid workout in the bank and most likely my last hard thing until the SLC marathon in a couple weeks.

B-hills loop. As suspected my legs were pretty sore and just overall lethargic this morning after Saturdays workout. It seems they are more sore today than yesterday. Kind of that delayed soreness action that seems to take a few good day to works it's self out of your system. So I just tried to run with smooth form and not injure anything. 

Middle B-hills loop this morning. Great morning for a run. Legs still felt semi heavy and I struggled to get any smooth turnover. 

8.1 miles this evening. Just the normal B-hills loop. 

Regular B-hills loop this morning. Legs and breath are kind of short. I understand the legs still having some drag in them from last Saturdays run but really have no idea why I was out of breath running EZ. My allergies are really bad right now and that's the only thing I can think of...

6.6 miles this afternoon. I golfed 18 today at Sunbrook. It was pretty fun. I played good for the middle 10 holes. But it took a few to warm up and then after about 13 holes I was pretty tired and started to struggle. Came straight home and ran after. Hadn't had any lunch yet (3pm) so I was kind of depleted. But the run was ok. 

Club run. It was pretty windy out and at time seemed to blow us right off the trail. But in the end I enjoyed the run and am glad I didn't bail because the thought crossed my mind before hand. 6:56 avg just EZ going. 

Had a trip to April tonight. She rocked my world but I think with in 3-4 days I should be right where I want to be coming into SLC. 

Hit the treadmill this morning. Wanted to only do one run today but I'll have to squeeze another in later on. Rain and colder temps today. 

4.3 around the Little Valley loop. Legs felt pretty good last night and so so this morning. But tonight they were logs. Glad I'm not racing tomorrow. 

Met in downtown STG today to run the first half of the Ironman course. Logan, Aaron, Amber, and a bunch of other people showed. (sorry for not getting more there... Dave- thought you had a meet). The course is very, very hilly and it was raining at around 38 F. My plan was to run EZ and relaxed but still keep it honest. We ended with a 6:46 avg for the entire run. Never ran hard but kept it uptempo most of the run. Legs felt really good for a change. I'll take it too.

Did one loop on my 20 mile freeway/ B-hills course. Legs felt fantastic for a Monday. Everything felt great... hopefully a sign of good things to come this weekend in SLC. 

Another great run on a beautiful morning. Legs and body felt fantastic. Weight is right where I want it to be going into a marathon. Now I just would like the weather to work out. The bad news is I have no control of that. I wish I could slip mother nature a $100 to cover things on Saturday. 

Normal B-hills loop. Not as glamorous as the last couple days. But not bad either. Just a regular old run.  My stomach was  kind of jacked from taking some cayenne pepper last night to fight off a cold. Trying to decide on what shoes to wear this weekend. Type A's, Launch, or some new Speedstars. 

Middle B-hills run this morning while the sun was coming up. Kind of chilly but the temp said 47 F. Didn't wear a watch but just tried to really work on hitting good form. I feel my form is really off and I'd like to get something back before the race on Saturday. Planning some barefoot tomorrow in SLC. 

EZ 3 mile run in Draper by my wife's uncles house. Went to the park and did a little barefoot but the grass was wet.... so it was very cold on the bare feet. 

Pre Game

We drove up to SLC on Thursday evening so I didn't have to do it the day before the race and to try and get a little acclimated. So Friday morning after a short run Mik'L, Myler and I went and drove the course. I found this very helpful come race time. First, so I had a feel for the course and second because we picked out a couple spots where Mik'L would meet me and give me a drink and GU. Ended up picking around mile 9.3 by Olympus High and around mile 16 coming down Van Winkle. These turned out to be pretty good choices for me during the race and for Mik'L to navigate to.

The game

Road up to the start with my siter-in-law who was running the half. We ended up getting up there at about 6:15 or about 45 min's before the race started. It was nice for the first round of potty stops because there was no line but later on the masses showed and I wasn't so lucky. Talked to Walter for a while and then we did around a mile warm up and eventually picked up Steve A and jogged a little more... went potty behind a tree and then made it to the start. The weather was almost perfect. Just a little warm but with the overcast it made it so the sun never came out and then it didn't really get hot later on anyways. Plus NO WIND so that was a win too. Before the gun went off we spotted the Kenyans and decided "oh well for the win" and that we'd just run to have a good race and have fun. So the race started and I really just tried to run EZ and not get sucked in with the halfers who also started with us.That plan worked until Sugarhouse park where we split from the halfers and I found out that I was in 3rd behind the two kenyans... and I was only like 40 seconds back. So from here to mile 10 I talked myself into going to get them. I was totally convinced I could and so I just kept it smooth to the half. Hit the half around 1:15:10 and felt fantastic. Had never left my comfort zone and really thought negative splitting was doable. But this only lasted one mile. Just after mile 14 as we hit Van Winkle street or expressway I started to struggle. I was expecting to run 5:35ish pace through here all the way down and about died when I saw a 6:10 17th mile appear. I was working through a side ache at 14ish and had to slow down and from then on I just never could get the legs to turn over. I was kind of bummed to drop such a horrible second half and almost a 5 min positive split when I had planned while driving the course to run it equal  or a little negative. I kept my head above water until Liberty park but from there on in I really felt like I was sinking fast- well I actually was. But looking back though the splits it wasn't as bad as it felt. I was fully expecting to see a couple 8 min miles especially the 25 up State St to South Temple. That about did me in. But I was pumped to hear some of the crowed on State St say I was 2nd??? Didn't know or care where the other guy had gone. (later found out he was just a pacer and dropped at 18)

Happy about the race overall. Time suffered a second half blow but I didn't come to run a PR effort race. Just a good spring race/ workout to get a little confidence up for the upcoming race season. Hopefully in 8 weeks at UV I'll be able to pull out all the stops and run for blood.

Splits by the mile

1. 5:39

5:35

5:18- Never felt like I was running that fast... but it was some good downhill.

5:23

5:41

6. 5:52- Around Sugarhouse park kind of a fun mile!

5:53

5:51

9. 6:00- See my wifey here and get some Gatorade and GU (I actually had them mixed)

10. 5:41- I think I hit the 10 mile mark in around 55 mins

5:41

5:55

13. 6:06- Not sure officially but I think I hit the half in 1:15:10

5:36

15. 5:47- All three of these were downhill on Van Winkle. I expected more:)

16. 5:53

17. 6:10

5:56

5:52

6:03

6:06

6:03

23. 6:18- Around Liberty Park and now dodging all the half marathoners...

6:14

25. 6:38- Up State St and entirely uphill to South Temple. I really thought this was a 8 min mile so when I got home a 6:38 didn't look too bad.

26. 6:14

Final .2 in 1:10 or 6:04 pace.

 Happy to have spent my 32nd Birthday running a marathon. I got the positive race I needed so that was a good B-day gift. Not sure if I got any prizes as we jumped back on I-15 and came home... and being home is a nice gift too.

87 F here at our house in STG today. 

Inner B-hills loop. I've been way less sore than any other marathon... ever. I can feel soreness but more equal to a Saturday workout rather than a full marathon. Nonetheless I told myself last week that no matter what I'd take this week very EZ and try and recover smart. Too many time have I jumped back into training and have felt like I was in slump plus got sick for about the next month.

So today's run was nice and EZ and the rest of the week will be similar.

Spent the rest of the morning watching the Boston Marathon. Mik'L had it going when I got home. She paid to have it stream on our computer. It was so fun to watch. Fun to see Ryan Hall do so well along with all the other super fast times. The woman's race was a thrilling finish in which we were yelling at the screen like a football game. The little American girl almost did it! Then most of all it was AWESOME to actually see Paul Peterson run the last 100m or so and finish his AMAZING 2:17 PR marathon. He was waving to the crowd and smiling all the way in. Good stuff for sure.

Inner B-hills run with Brother and Sister Harmer. Nice and EZ pace on a beautiful spring morning. One potty stop for me at the golf course. Legs feel pretty good too. 

5.5 miles this afternoon with my uncle around the inner b-hills loop. I pushed Myler as well.  I wasn't planning on going twice today but planned to go with Paul then after that Don asked me and I said yes before realizing about the other run. But both runs were really EZ. 

Pushed Myler around the middle B-hills loop. Felt pretty good too. Enjoying the recovery week just as much or more than the taper week. 

Club run. I did the mile down to the gas station and back waiting to see if anyone showed. While doing this Ty drove by. So it was just she and I. We hit a pretty honest pace against a good headwind over to above the river. Then she was having some chest issues and so she stopped and I kept going around the loop. Once I got down into Bloomington by the driving range she came back around the other way and was feeling better. We then ran back to the DC. I extended around the parking lot to hit an even 10 miles on that loop. Legs felt pretty good for a harder than EZ push tonight. I didn't have a watch but would estimate we were in the 6:45 avg range. 

Ran my tempo loop course this morning... but not in tempo gear. Still kept the pace a little faster than EZ. Legs are continuing to show signs of a good recovery. And I'll continue to milk out this nice recovery phase before stepping back into training.

I woke up Saturday morning with a spitting headache and basically had it all day. Just never found the desire to go out. I kept telling myself to just do 5 miles but then I was like it's 13 or nothing... ended up being nothing. But a great cap to the end of my recovery week. 

10 miles on the freeway/ tempo course. I just took it smooth and EZ. Although it was really hard to get anything going today. There is zero soreness in the legs but that doesn't mean they feel like running. It will most likely take a few days of the heavy legs to feel it again. 

7 miles this afternoon over in Hurricane with my uncle. Pace was slow but consistent. This was the longest I've gone with Don. He's doing great. 

Actually pre blogged that I ran my normal loop but then went out and ended up doing the DC/ River road loop. So a couple more miles than the original post. It was windy in almost every direction.

6.6 miles this afternoon but with the wind it was at least a 10 mile effort. Really had to work to keep the legs moving into a strong headwind for about 4 of the miles. The rest of the run was in kind of a crosswind. So it's hard to say how the legs really felt. 

River Road/ DC loop. It was fairly calm this morning. Thank heavens... I couldn't take another windy run right now. Kept the pace faster than EZ but not tempo. Legs are kind of tired from the sudden increase  back to training mileage after the last couple weeks of tapering and recovering. But I'm sure they'll work through it. I wore gloves because it was like 44 F when I left but by 5 miles with the sun out and beating down I was overheating. 

5.6 miles tonight around the inner B-hills loop. Legs felt kind of tired but they turned over well out on the street. Just trying to take it one run at a time. 

Middle B-hills loop this morning.

10 miles on the normal loop extended to 10 in in the parking lot. It was hot and my legs were tired. So by the halfway point I was close to cutting across the bridge and calling it. But I kind of pushed through. No watch but it was pretty slow. 

Out into the fields then across River Road around the trial and back home via the gas station on River Road. A pretty good little loop right around that 10 mile length. Legs felt heavy and slow but ended with a 7:04 avg 1:11 for the run. I guess the first 3 really were slow at just under 8 min pace. The headwind heading from the fields west down into B-hills kind of trashed me. Came home and was under 150 lbs so I'm pretty dehydrated... guess I'll put down a few Powerades today. 

4.4 miles this afternoon around the Little Valley loop. Windy and hard to run in. 

Planned on running 20 miles out at Little Black mountain with Logan. I set my alarm for 6 a.m and got up... Logan never showed. I guess he got home a lot later than expected. Once he wasn't coming I wasn't into doing it a lone. Mik'L and I had to go to Vegas for the whole day so I just decided to back off and rest as I've ran hard all week. Plus we got out of town a little earlier. 

Legs felt like it was a Monday. No not a fantastic Monday a regular Monday. Heavy, slow and kind of clumsy. The left hammy really got tight at the end of last week and despite Mik'L rolling it out twice over the weekend (and not running on Saturday) it's still pretty tight. 

 9.3 miles tonight. If the legs felt slow this morning then they felt fast tonight. I kept finding myself rolling a long at around 6:15 pace and had to continually slow down. Ended with a 6:54 avg. 

River Road/ B-hills loop. It was such a beautiful morning. Glad I could be out running. Nothing too impressive to mention other than how grand the morning was. 

9 miles this evening. My plan was to do a mini workout of 800's. But I didn't want to go to the track so I started running around my hood and tried to come up with a location to do it. Once I got over by the Little Valley Elem School I saw their outside walking path/ track thing. It's like of a big, squareish, paved path that surrounds the grass field. So I warmed up some more and measured it off. It would take a lap and a half to hit .50 of a mile. My warm up concluded at 3 miles.

1. 2:29 @ .52 - I never got an exact place to end so every time I ended a little over. During the warm up this seemed like a good place to do this workout. But the first time I came into one of the 90 degree turns at tempo I realized it wasn't.

2. 2:28 .51- Legs really don't know how to run fast workouts and are really questioning what's up.

3. 2:28 .50- I'm thinking that maybe I'm not as recovered as I thought from SLC. Just feel flat.

4. 2:28 .50- This felt slow and I was happy with the time by the end.

After each set I'd jog .25 back around to the start and it took about 2 min's.

3 mile jog back round Little Valley once I got done. Legs were heavy and slow.

Did this run in my old retired Ohanas.

Normal B-hills run. Legs were really really heavy this morning. After a small taste of a track style workout last night they were in protest of running this morning. So it was a slow one. 

Pushed Myler around the middle B-hills loop this afternoon. It was pretty warm so I wore a hat to keep the sun off my head. The breeze picked up about half way around and it kept me from over heating. 

B-hills/ River Road loop. I was completely trashed this morning. Hammys were tight and legs were tired. It seemed to go on forever. 

Club run tonight. I got there and did a couple or so while waiting. Bill and Aaron finally showed and we did the regular 10 mile loop. It was hot I was not- pace was slow. Ended up feeling pretty good by the end... even the tight sore hammies did ok.  

Around Stone Cliff and into B-hills. Right knee was really sore all night but felt alright on the run. 7:05 avg

Long run this morning. I just did two loops from my house that were 10.6 and 10.5 miles each. Looped out around the schools in Little Valley then over the DC back up the trail and hit River Road home. On the first lap I dropped over to the restroom on the golf course and didn't on the second loop. Hit 1:14 on the first lap then a 2:22 total time. So a little faster on the second. Never went into tempo gear and just felt smooth and EZ all morning. It was a beautiful on too. Hit an overall avg of 6:45 for the run. Came home after the first lap and switched shoes and got a drink with some GU. Mik'L was all hooked up with the bike trailer and was going to ride with me on the second one pulling Myler. But just over 2 miles into it she was struggling to keep up and I told her to just turn around. Had a solid run at the end of a a pretty hard week. I've felt really trashed all week and today felt super. Proly should have did a tempo workout. But the miles were good enough this time. 

DC loop this morning. Just felt avg for a Monday. Not really crappy not really great. Worked my way around the loop and tried to keep the hips square and the arms in good position. Really trying to get the form as smooth as possible before UV. 

Didn't run this evening. Myler broke his leg today and had to get a cast. I could have gone out in the evening but it was just one of those times where I needed and wanted to be home. Poor little guy. 

Ran the middle B-hills loop this morning with Taylor Stout. He's been wanting to get together for a run so we finally got one in. I didn't have a watch but he said we hit a round a 6:50ish avg for the run. Felt pretty good but had to stop at the park and do a potty break. Felt super after that!

P.M. 10.35 miles- Interval workout. 5x .50 out on the river trail. 3 mile warm up and 3.6 mile cool down with .25 rest between each set. 

1. 2:27-Heading East from the bottom of the river trail back up to River Road. Had a tailwind but also had some incline.

2. 2:20- Still heading East and getting some tailwind but also had some incline as well. My best set and everything else was junk.

3. 2:35- This was half heading East to River Road then some North across the bridge, then turning back onto the trail heading to the DC. I knew this one would be slow with all the turning and hill.

4. 2:38- Heading West from the Dr's free clinic back to the DC. Got pounded by a headwind and couldn't believe how slow it was.

5. 2:39- I vowed to make this one faster after the 4th was so slow... but the wind killed me. I was solid for about .2 and then felt like I was running up river against a swift current. It was a battle and I also got a pretty good side ache right as I finished this set.

Got a good workout in. The times were... whatever I guess.  But the effort was there. The only thing I don't like about running these interval workouts out on the road/trails rather than the track is that I never know where exactly the finish line is. So by the end I'm trying to run and look at the garmin at the same time. Between now and next weeks workout I'll come up with a better solution... or just go to a track. 

Tried to just keep this EZ to recover from last nights workout. I didn't have to try too hard as the legs really were dead and after only a few miles they were asking to stop. But I just slowly made it around the River Road loop. The smell of fresh rain really made it a perfect brisk morning. 

6.6 miles this afternoon with my uncle while pushing Myler. The weather has been wishy washy but for the run this afternoon it was just about right. Pace was slow but steady. Don is making progress as we hold a faster pace now than when I first started running with him and he can make the whole loop without walking. 

EZ morning loop around the middle B-hills run. Kind of achy this morning. But felt really good by the finishing miles. 

10 miles tonight at running club. It was 87 F and I'm not use to the heat. Aaron and I hit a 6:46 avg and the run was pretty good. The legs felt above avg for this time in the week.

.2 when I got home over to Paul's and back. 

River Road loop. I really didn't want to run this morning and almost bagged it. Got out and drug myself around the loop. No watch but I'm guessing it was under 7 min pace. I just wanted to get it over with so I let the groove pull me. Need a good foam roller and stick session. 

Solid long run this morning down the STG marathon course. I was planning on doing the first half of the course as our mock race but the guys seemed to just want to run 20 miles down. It was good because I could use the downhill training too. 

Hit the first 10.1 miles in 1:05 or a 6:31 avg. Dave and I were just chill talking and enjoying a pretty good running morning. Dustin hung with us up past Veyo hill and we slowly crept the pace up. 

8 mile tempo at a 5:27 avg. We started the tempo not wanting to kill it. Didn't want to have a big recovery. Hit the first few miles smooth and EZ. We never took it into full tempo. By the top of Winchester Hill I was feeling saucy and wanted to try and really get rolling all the way down. The legs felt really, really solid. But by around 16.5 into the total run my right foot really started to hurt. I was wearing a (out of the box) new pair of Nike Lunaracers. They felt super through 15 miles but then slowly on the right inner front pad of my foot it started to kill. It felt like there was a small lump coming through the bottom of the shoe. Anyways around 7 miles into the tempo I decided to keep rolling until mile 8 and then shut it down so I didn't end up with a big blister or other injury. Then we just jogged back to Dave's car. Hit a 6:31 avg for our 2.1 mile cool down.

Felt great about the day. Kind of bummed the shoes didn't work out as I had thought I'd found my new marathon racing shoes... now I've got find something else. I stopped the tempo soon enough that I don't think my foot will hurt much more than today.

River Road loop this morning. The quads are really sore. No doubt their more sore now then after SLC marathon a few weeks ago. I guess I needed more downhill training than I thought. This morning I just tried to keep the legs moving in smooth flow as to not do any more damage. Almost cut it short at around 5 miles but decided to do the whole loop. We'll see if I run again today. 

9.1 miles this evening. Same loop as this morning. In hind sight I shouldn't have gone so far today. The quads are really sore and I just kept thinking they'd loosen up... but they didn't. However the weather was cool and fairly nice other than some wind. So I decided to get in a few. The lunch I had was riding dirty today. 

Middle B-hills loop. Quads are sore and I have a good blister on my little toe on the left foot. Something else left over from Saturday's run that I didn't realize until Monday nights run. I popped it last night and this morning it hurt. Can't believe how sore the quads are. Nothing else is but they more than make up for anything else. Won't be doing 800's tonight... have to wait until the soreness moves out. 

9.2 miles this afternoon. I dropped Myler off at my in-laws house and just ran from there. Looped into B-hills around the DC and all over eye yi yi. Legs finally loosened up a little. But any downhill made the quads hurt. Still held a solid clip and I didn't have a watch but I'm guessing it was under or around 7 min pace avg. 

River road loop. Ran into Scott a couple times during his run. I was a little blowy but overall a good, cool morning to run. I'll take the cooler weather as long as it lasts. It seems once it gets hot the summer lasts for ever. Legs felt pretty good but not ready for any type of workout. 

8.1 mile run this evening. Regular old B-hills loop in revers. Windy but I didn't try to push any pace so it wasn't too bad. The cool temps made the run worth it. Things feel more like the end of Feb than the middle of May. 

Club run. I didn't run this morning. Met at the DC for the regular loop with the regular guys... but it wasn't a regular run. We were greeted with a downpour. Plus the pace was fast all night. We hit a 6:29 avg for the run and did some faster stuff back up the trail. My legs couldn't take it. Quads were shot by the end. Hope to get them recovered and feeling good again. 

EZ run with Taylor this morning. Did the River road loop at a 7:14 avg. My legs are really hammered... just haven't recovered from Saturday and then last nights hard push didn't help. So I was glad to take it EZ and chit chat with Taylor. It was a great morning which started off with some fog and had the nice smell of rain- as it rained a little last night. Now I'm going up to Provo so I'll see ya in the 801!

Long Run. Up at 4:30 a.m. and running by 4:50. We were up in Orem staying at Mik'L's aunts house so I did an out and back from her house up the Provo Canyon. From the aunts house to the mouth of the canyon it's exactly 3 miles then I ran up the trail until it ended then got on the road and went through the first tunnel and a little more then than hit 10 miles out in a 7:03 avg. On the way back I stayed on the road to practice up for UVM. Hit the 7 back down to the mouth of the canyon in  a 5:53 avg. I didn't want to do much more than Tinman effort. The first 2.5 miles were flat or uphill and a little over 6:15 pace. So I really didn't get anything in the 5:30's until around 3 miles in. Coming back down the road ended up being about .3 shorter than going up on the trail so when I got to the mouth of the canyon I just stayed on the road heading to Provo until the garmin clicked to the 7th mile. Then I had to back track until I was heading back into north Orem.

Finish the last 3.3 miles cooling down at 6:30 avg. 

It was a really peaceful and super morning to run. One of the most laid back 20 milers I've ever ran. Seemed like I was a sleep and woke up with only the cool down left. Temps were perfect and just a little breeze in my face coming back down the canyon. Felt good.

Ran my tempo/freeway loop but in EZ gear. Legs really felt like it was a Monday. Heavy. Still worked them pretty good and looped the hilly course under 7 min pace but nothing record breaking. Getting really excited for UVM. One more week of real training then one week of  lesser mileage and then the full taper/race week. 

10.1  miles this morning. Great morning run on the DC/ River Road loop! Just cruised around the loop on pretty juicy legs. They wanted to roll but I held back. I may try some speed this evening. Temps conditions were picture perfect. I love good runs. 

10.3 miles this afternoon/ evening. Workout*** My plan was to run the same loop as this morning but during the loop do a 1 mile and a 2 mile at LT pace. So I warmed up for 2.5 miles around the park and into B-hills. Then did the first mile in 4:59. It was flat and rolling with a net elevation drop. Then I jogged a couple miles to the river by the DC. From that bridge I did a 2 mile up the trail to River Road in 10:33 (5:09, 5:24). Then just over a 2 mile cool down back home via Mik'L's friends house just above our house to stop and see Mik'L and Myler. So that made the loop .2 longer than this morning.

The first mile felt really solid and could have been much faster as I was trying to run hard but not all out. Then on the second set I was starting to get hot. Temps were close to 90F out in the sun and I was sweating up a storm. Felt like I was Logan or something:) The first mile was solid and I was really pleased to see a 5:09 then I knew I'd have to work as the second mile has some little climbs in it and I was feeling the heat. Slowed but not too bad considering the change in course. Nice little workout to get the system use to threshold pace with hopefully no real recovery time down the road.

EZ recovery run around the middle B-hills loop. Kind of tired and allergies are horrible. My nose won't stop running for 2 straight seconds so I have to just stuff it full of tissue all day. Hope I don't get sick like I usually do when it's this way. 

Nice morning run around the DC loop. I had to listen to the old bones last night and take the night off. The body was just drained. I was also drugged with allergy med's and laying in bed was basically the only option. Anyways it paid off as I felt refreshed this morning. No watch but a nice solid clip around the loop. Legs feel pretty good too. 

EZ run with the club tonight. I just tried to stay loose and catch up with the guys. It was nice to see Logan's face again. It was also nice to cut the run off and take the short cut across the bridge. It was hot. Just under 90 F.  

Big Workout this morning on the Upper half of the STG course. 3.1 mile warm up. Then 13.1 miles from the starting line to the halfway point. 1.5 mile cool down. Meet up with Dave and Logan. Dave and I were going to try to hammer the workout and Logan was just doing it as a fun run. It was cool with a little tail wind and I felt really good today. PR'd on the course hitting a 1:12:22 or a 5:31 avg. Legs could have turned the second half over pretty fast too. Last time I didn't this workout I ran a 1:14:55 or so. So a big improvement. Some of it was the cooler temps but I'm hoping some of it is a big improvement:) This was the fastest I've EVER ran this section of the course. 

Splits.  

1. 5:18

2. 5:26

3. 5:14

4. 5:13

5. 5:23

6. 5:09

7. 5:13

8. 6:22

9. 5:49

10. 5:52

11. 5:56

12. 5:38

13. 5:18

.1 33 seconds or 5:25 

Ran the normal Teasdale/ Torrey loop up here at my uncles. Legs felt really good for having did the workout yesterday. No soreness. Started out slowish with a friend and ran with him just over 5 miles then I finished the loop solo. Legs kept wanting to cruise at 6:30 pace but I kept reeling it back in. Hit one mile at 6:22 but nothing faster. Really glad the legs aren't jacked. Other than the regular altitude/ lack of breath the run was great and weather was too. 

Good Monday run with Harmer. Around Stone Cliff and back through B-hills. 7:15 avg. I pushed Myler for the first mile then we ran into Mik'L who was finishing her run and I sent him with her. Temps and conditions were great. Good to get Paul back out on the pavement hope to keep it a weekly thing. 

No evening run. Took the boat out to Quail Lake most of the day. When we finally got home I was done and had no desire to run. The wind blew most of the day and it just seems to sap the energy out of you. 

Middle B-hills run this morning. Started out feeling like a million bucks. Just cruising a long feeling light as a feather. But about half way through the run reality set in and it ended up being just a regular old Tuesday morning run. I'll try and get a workout in tonight. 

5.5 miles tonight pushing Myler around the inner B-hills loop. We had crazy day and my planned workout tonight got pushed out of the mix until tomorrow morning. So Myler and I enjoyed a smooth, relaxing jog together. He got his cast off today but still wont walk on it. Poor little guy is getting some big teeth in the back too and it's bringing on a pretty heavy fever. 

Biggish workout: Did the same 10 mile DC loop as last weeks workout with a 1 mile, and 2 mile tempo in the middle. My stomach was unsettled this morning (has been all week) so I didn't know what would happen once the tempo started. But after a 2.5 mile warm up I started the first mile in the same place I did it from last week. 4:54- it felt choppy but I was surprised with the time.  Jogged from the finish of this mile over to the River Bridge by the DC and started the 2 mile set from there to River Road. 2 mile in 10:19 (4:58, 5:21). This set felt a little more smooth and not as choppy as the first mile set. But I still slowed more than I wanted on the second mile with the little hills. Overall I'm pretty pleased. Big improvement from last weeks sets of 4:58, 10:33. However today I did it in the cool morning and last week it was in the afternoon at around 90 F and last week I'd already ran 10 miles that morning... 

No run tonight. It is our 10 year anniversary today. Mik'L had meetings until after 8 and so when she got home we just wanted food. Ordered some pizza from the factory and ate way too much. 

Taylor came over this morning and we did a EZ little run. Went out by Silkwood and looped some dirt roads then came back. 7:20 avg. Just chillin like a villain.

10 miles with the running club tonight. Regular loop. Just a chatty 7:03 pace. Never picked it up- rather just ran 7 min avg the entire run.

Middle B-hills loop. I really didn't want to run this morning. I've been on a running high for about 10 days but today I really just felt blah. Didn't sleep at all last night... maybe 2 good hours. Looking forward to not running the rest of the day and just kicking it with Myler and Mik'L.  

Met Dave, Logan and Taylor at the DC this morning. Ran an out and back up to River Road then back down the other trail into Bloomington. I felt like junk today. Last week I felt out of this world and today I would have been lucky to break 3 hours had it been race day. Good thing it wasn't. Just kind of sore all over and achy. Had a hard time getting into any sort of flow. Anyways my garmin was acting up on the way out but our pace on the way back in was a 6:34 avg and Logan kept pushing the pace or I would have ran with the 7 min guy. 

 Long B-hills loop with Paul H. Out at 6 a.m (early for me right now). It was still around 66 F. Decided to go shirtless. Good choice as it was pretty warm for the run. We kept a EZ but honest pace until the last hill by the gas station. The slowed a little back to the house. Belly was kind of jacked from taking cayenne pepper last night to help keep the immune system up. Legs felt so so.  

6.6 miles tonight around the middle B-hills loop. Ran it in reverse as to hit the headwind first. Just tried to relax and let the body run whatever pace felt good. No watch but it felt faster than 7 min pace. Legs feel about where they should for a Monday before a marathon. Nerves are medium to high.

Last Biggish workout before UV. Did the same 10 mile loop course I've been doing with a 1 mile then a 2 mile tempo mixed in. I wanted to run this today but not dip into any race day magic to pull it off. So I decided to try and slow it down a little and just get around the loop. Again started with a 2.5 mile warm up and hit the first mile through B-hills and around to the golf course. 4:56- too fast. I wanted to be around 5:15 pace but somehow the speedometer wouldn't dial it up correctly. Effort felt pretty smooth so I didn't stress about it. Jogged a couple miles over to the DC bridge and then started the 2 mile. I though I'd really try and run smooth and EZ on the first mile and then maybe try gearing up a little on the last mile. 5:15- This mile was perfect. It was very comfortable and the body didn't try and go faster just because it could. 5:21- Another good mile. Upped the effort a little into the inclines and actually ran a PR for this mile (last week was 5:22).  Good overall workout without laboring the body. Now to really crank up the taper and rest up before Saturday.

Cooled down back up River Road and back home. Feeling pretty optimistic about the days to come. 

EZ run around the inner B-hills loop. Relaxed. Went to the golf course to use the potty. It was a blessing. Trying not to think about the race this weekend. 

Little Valley loop. Got the second straight horrible nights sleep last night. Woke up feeling like I got run over by a garbage truck. However once I finally drug myself out the door and got running my "running" body felt pretty good. Legs felt great, stomach felt great and the fresh air of the morning seemed to loosen up all my anxiety. Hoping to relax today- sleep good tonight and drive up north tomorrow morning. 

Had a accident yesterday. Who knew mixing bleach and toilet cleaner would create a toxic chloramine gas? I inhaled it while cleaning the potty and then spent time with poison control. It burned/iced/froze my lungs up so I couldn't breath. It was pretty scary for about 30 min's. It will slowly get better but it sucks that the marathon is tomorrow. It all makes sense to me know. I always clean the toilet this way but this time I was actually kneeling by the potty so it made the fumes worse. But in the past when I have felt like my lungs were wrapped with a rubber band now I know why... like last year at STG marathon. I cleaned the house and toilets the Thursday before the race.... 

Anyways I'm going to live. I'm actually going to go up and see what happens at the race. I've been too pumped up for this race to not show. I'm not sure what will happen but between now and then hopefully a miracle. 

Jogged over to the park this morning and then from there down to River road I tried MP. It was hard and I couldn't have did it for 26.2. Then kind of cooled down another mile. I had to see what would happen and maybe kind of help my lungs work the junk out of them.

Devastated doesn't do this justice.

"Sorrow is part of the game". Pat Riley

Normally I'd say this race was a bummer but it wasn't. My week leading up to this race was a bummer and caused me not to be able to bring the "A" game. So under the circumstances I ran ok to good up til mile 24... then the levy broke. Recap on the week. Bad sleep every night. No naps. Lots/ LOADS of extra stress (none running related). Then my little Chlorimine gas incident where I damaged the lungs on Thursday. Honestly the week sucked. And I only got 2.5 hours of sleep Friday night. I've been so tired all week but just can not fall asleep when it time to do so. 

However through it all we drove up on Friday, had dinner with some friends and I found myself on the bus at the right time Saturday morning on the way up the the start of the race. Had to wake at 2:30 a.m to do so.  Got a little warm up in, hit the porta potty, and chatted... then it was time to race. Before the race I was freezing. After the race started I was hot the entire way down.

Mile splits- I took mine off the garmin. I noticed on some of the guys reports that their watch spits were a little off mine. I also recorded the course long at 26.27

1. 5:52- Slow but good mile to warm up into the race.

2. 5:26- In a group with Sasha, Dave, Jake and the likes of Mr. Paul Peterson

3. 5:14- I had no idea this mile was this fast. Didn't feel that way.

4. 5:34- By now Jake and Paul have moved up and even Dave had pulled ahead. So it was just Sasha and I for a while.

5. 5:27- Having Sasha right behind you has it's perks. Like you can turn your brain off and let him handle the math. So he'd verbally post split times. Kind of nice. 

6. 5:34- Same as the last couple miles

7. 5:33- Last mile down to the turn. Now to get ready for the hills.

8. 6:07- I decided a month ago that when I got to these hills I'd just back off and run them EZ. Hills at altitude for a guy who lives at 2480 ft just kill you.

9. 6:13- Despite relaxing we run them pretty good and pick off a Kenyan who had passed up earlier. Plus once on top I was ready to roll again.

10. 5:27- I wish more of the course was like this mile. No rollers... just smooth good downhill.

11. 5:35- My wife her sister and Kendra Hooper were here. Mik'L gives me a water and a GU but I'd a ready taken a GU back at the top of the hill.

12. 5:54-  Sasha and I catch and go by Dave. I didn't remember any of these uphill sections from when I ran this race last year. I thought it was a free fall to the tunnel.... I wish.

13. 5:49- Trying to use any downhill and survive any uphill. Hit the half in 1:14:40 I think. Sasha goes potty right here and I go ahead of him.

14. 5:41- I knew that from the end of the tunnel to about mile 16 it was kind of hilly and slow. So I'm not pushing here just trying to get up all the hills for once and for all. 

15. 5:47- At the half I really think I can break 2:30 still. I'd just need to hit a 5:45 avg to do it. Body never felt horrible (until the end of the race) but never felt great. So I just tell myself "your doing it, so keep going".

16. 6:03- The hills are really getting to me.

17. 6:04- There was some downhill on this mile but some uphill too. And it slowed me!

18. 5:45- Finally I think it's time to kind of get into a little groove and try to just work on tempo and being smooth.

19. 5:30- Same effort as the last mile just more downhill.

20. 5:55- I still think I can get things going and break 2:30 but I can't have any more slow miles....

21. 5:57- As I leave the canyon I decide to JUST hit 6 min pace in and you'll run a pretty good race.

22. 6:02- Doing it!

23. 6:04- Still doing it...

24. 6:27- NOT doing it. The wheels really start to fall off here and I kind of just decide to "jogg" it in not knowing where anyone else is behind me. But then I think Ben passes me like I'm standing still on this mile. And there's no desire or physical way to go with him. I was DONE.

25. 6:24- Death march.

26. 6:43- With about a mile left in the race Sasha shows up. For about three strides I try to go with him and then fold. I was marching to a slow, painful death. 

last .27 in 1:56 or 7:03 pace. My wife says she's never seen me look that trashed at the end of any race. Boy did I feel it too.

So why the blow up... I really don't know. We started out fairly slow. After my workout two weeks ago where I ran the first half of STG in 1:12:20 and it felt good. I thought being under 1:13 for the first half of this race would be doable. But that was on a good day... this wasn't. I got really hot today. At every water station I took a cup and dumped it on my head. My wife gave me water bottles at mile 11 and 17ish and I basically dumped both of them on my head. And I was still burning up. I don't know. Pretty happy about how the first 23 miles went and pretty bummed about the last 3. I ran a 2:34 at SLC marathon in April and I'm in better shape now. Today should have been faster.

No running today. I feel pretty beat up. The quads are weak and sore. Spent the whole afternoon/ evening doing some drip line projects that I have been pushing off for a couple months. It will be nice to not have to carry water in a bucket and drag the hose around anymore to all the bushes and trees I've planted in the last year. 

I was going to run with Paul this morning but I slept right through my alarm. Maybe the first time I've ever done that. So mid morning I pushed Myler around the Little Valley loop. I felt ok the first mile but the rest of the run felt like the finishing miles of Saturdays marathon. Just had nothing and the quads are really weak and sore. Now I wish I hadn't even ran because it will most likely just delay the recovery. 

Ran the Little Valley loop this evening. It was still close to 100 F and between the heat and my body still being pretty trashed from the marathon- this was a hard run for me. Not only are the legs still sore and heavy but I've got some real overall general fatigue. Even the simplest daily tasks have seemed too much. I need a good 17 straight hours of sleep and I think that would help square me off.  

Ran with Harmer and Hughes on the middle B-hills loop. Pace was EZ. I'm still generally trashed and the legs seem like railroad ties. But I believe today felt better and there might be light at the end of the tunnel. 

Regular B-hills loop. Legs are still in the dead stage. Kind of feels like someone punched my quads and gave me a dead leg... but it just won't go away. This morning was the worst my breathing has been too since the chemical accident. I was way short on breath. Had I been running with anyone I wouldn't have been able to talk to them. Oh the joys... hoping to get back to normal soon. 

DC loop. Had to be at the temple at 7:40 a.m so I just ran a lone this morning early from the house. This run felt better than the rest of the week had but still felt like I was pulling a spare tire and then some. 

Busy day. Temple at 8 a.m. At the lake by 11 a.m. Home from the lake around 4 p.m. Then out to dinner with friends at 6 p.m. Not home until 9:30 p.m or so and then just died.

Left the house and headed out on the middle B-hills loop. Once I got over to the park I saw Logan with his team. I beckoned him to come and he said he needed 10 min's. So I ran a mile around the park and waited for him. Then we ran the loop. Legs felt pretty heavy and I asked what pace we were going. Logan said 6:40... faster than planned but good to see the legs can handle it. I'm guessing by the end of this week I'll feel normalish again. 

This weeks goal is to be around 70-75 miles.

P.M. Ran the middle B-hills loop again. It was at 5 p.m and felt really, really hot. Plus my lungs wouldn't open up and I just couldn't breath. I'm wondering how long this will last. I also decided I "blew up" my quads at UV. Their just blow up.

DC loop in reverse. Mik'L didn't get back from her run until later so I didn't get out until about 8. It warmed up but the run was ok. I could breath better than last night.
The quads are still blown up.

Pushed Myler on a out and back run into B-hills. It was hottish because we didn't get out until after 8 but my legs felt the slightest sings of improvement (which gives me hope). Myler sang me "wheels on the bus", "doggy in the window", and "give said the little stream". It made the second half nice. 

Inner B-hills loop. Just not really into running and don't really want to "jump" back into real training too soon so my mileage may be lower for a while. The body felt kind of stiff but overall the quads are working themselves out. 

10 Club run tonight. Today officially begins the HOT summer running. We've been really lucky this year to not have anything really hot until this late in the summer. But today it was the full metal jacket and then some. I pulled into the parking lot and my trucks digital gauge said it was 106 F. When I got out it felt like it was even hotter. We ran the loop in reverse and had a opening 2 mile headwind that felt like a blow dryer in your face. I did ok until about the last mile then I started to really feel the heat and dehydration. We ran it fairly fast too... 6:40 avg. 

Up at 4:55 so I could get my run done before Mik'L went to her run at 6:30 a.m. It was a struggle this morning so short after totally depleting myself in last nights club run. Not to mention that the overnight low was still over 75 F in my yard and over 90 F out on the blacktop. It took about 3 miles to get going and then about 6 miles in I was done. Now I'll spend the rest of the day working out in the yard and heat laying 100 lb diamond blocks to build a retaining wall. 

Had my alarm set to get up and go run with the guys but... I woke up at 3 a.m and could barely hobble to use the restroom. So I decided to bag it. Turned the alarm off and went to bed. I had spent the last two days lifting 100 lb diamond blocks and making walls up and  down my ditch by the chicken coop. Now I was just too sore- running wasn't even an option. Plus I had to spend all day Saturday working on than project and others around the yard and house to get ready for a little neighborhood BBQ here. 

Not running ended up being a good decision because it was already peddle to the metal all day long until I went to bed at around 11 p.m Saturday night. I just needed that little extra rest to get through and finish off 3 straight days of very hard work. 

DC loop. Felt pretty good for a Monday. Because I didn't run on Saturday and Sunday I had lots of stomach build up so it was a 4 star morning. But legs are finally coming out of the rut after a good two weeks. 

DC loop this morning. It felt really hot. I ran by Logan and some of his team. We were going to do like a high five or a elbow bump in passing but I didn't want to shatter any bones so I chickened out. 

5 more miles this evening on the treadmill. It was 106 F and the wind was blowing at around 30 mph. That's basically a food dehydrator. I didn't want any part of it so I stayed in and watched some of the Sandlot. 

DC loop with an out and back 4 miler at the end. Up early and out running by 5 a.m but was depressed to see it was still 80 F. The run felt kind of sluggish at first then pretty good in the middle and by the end I was really dehydrated. I'm not adapting to the hot running weather very good this year. It's sucking the life out of me. Ever year it gets harder to do and this year is no exception. 

4.3 miles tonight around the Little Valley loop. It was windy and hot. I wore a hat soaked in water and a white tech tee soaked in water. I think it helped. 

Middle B-hills loop. This morning was a real struggle. Myler has been running a pretty high fever and I think I'm starting to get whatever he has. The body is just TRASHED. Hopefully I'll feel better throughout the day or else I just wont even go to club or if I do it' will be a slow death. 

10 miles at club. Temps were actually pretty good and under the circumstances I ran good for being as sick as I've been. Just started to feel really iky in the last 3 miles and had some unplanned stomach issues pop up onto of the rest. Still was happy it was only 92 and not 106. 

Ran from my house out through the fields the up to Telegraph and up through Coral Canyon- then down to the DMV. I left the house about an hour and 15 min's before the rest of the gang and they just picked me up on the way to Sandhollow. It was a sweet morning out on the Harmers boat and I actually got some good air on the wakeboard. Good times bra!

Ugh! It's so hard to run up here. I had planned to do a 15 mile run before this race and then see what happened. But then we decided to sleep in til only 30 min's before the race started and then I was pushed for time to get ready and warm up. Didn't have a watch so I didn't care about time. Just tried to run it fairly hard but not kill myself. It's really, really hard to run at this altitude. About a mile into it your legs get heavy and lungs are just on fire. Could hardly get the legs to go up the hill to the turn around. Anyways didn't get the mileage I wanted to today. Got a short little speed workout in. The first fast miles since the marathon. Won $30 at the burger joint so I guess we'll eat good for lunch. After the race we went to the parade and my family decided I should do the pie eating contest... the winner won $100. I was dead last out of 15 people. 

Up at 3:30 a.m to get this one going this morning. Ran the annual Steven Abraham Lincoln Hooper Pope 4th of July Spectacular. About 40 people got shuttled up to the start by the Upper Enterprise Lake. We got running about 5:30. Steve, Dave and I basically ran together the entire run. It was a pretty good morning. A little warm at the start because of some overnight cloud cover but then the clouds were nice later on in helping keep the sun off. We didn't push the pace at all and ended with a 7:15 avg. There are some really good uphill climbs that I'd forgotten about from the last time I ran this. Good steady run. After we soaked our legs in the cool stream. It actually worked wonders and felt really good an hour after. 

DC loop. Kind of humid but overcast so actually pretty nice. Quads are pretty sore. Guess I need to really work harder on my downhill training. I always just think that I'm too cool to do and downhill stuff... now I feel like it jacks me up more than anything. 

6.6 miles this afternoon. I kept thinking it would rain or something. But by the time Mik'L got home from work and I got out running it had cleared up and was the hottest part of the day. With the humidity the 100 F felt almost too much today. Plus the quads went weak about 3 miles in and it was a struggle all the way back home. Pretty grim. 

Did a loop out in the fields this morning. 7:20 avg... Yeah the 7 min guy kicked my butt today. I just feel like barf. It's hot and humid. I was doing ok until about mile 7 then the elements took their toll. Ended up dropping buckets of sweat all the way back home. When I got here my hands were all wrinkly like I'd been washing dishes. Got on the scale and was 146.5 lbs which is low for me. I really don't run well under 152 lbs. I've got to dig deep this week and hit some decent mileage because I'll have to start dropping it down again before I can do any kind of real workout- and I need a couple weeks with workouts before running the marathon in Alaska at the end of this month. 

No run this evening. Mik'L didn't get home until after 9:30 p.m. I was also pretty trashed so it was a good evening to have off. 

DC loop @ 7:15 avg. Felt a little better than yesterday morning. My quads are still really jacked. I'm trying to get into see April. But until then I've been using the stick. It seemed to help a little last night. I was able to get up and run a little better today... overall pace was just a little faster but overall effort was way easier. I didn't totally die after around 6 miles. Hope to recover enough today to be able to run at club tonight. 

9.7 Club run cut a little short. Felt so so for the first 5 miles then I started to fade off. Got really hot and thirsty by the time we got to the park at mile 6. Soaked my shirt and hat then tried to finish off the last 4 miles. Quads just locked up and wouldn't go any faster than around 7:30 pace on the way back in. Finished with a 7:08 avg. Everyone else was much faster. 

After last nights bad run I didn't want to even try it today. But it's kind of now or never in STG in the morning. You either go out early or regret it if you don't. Got running just after 5:30 a.m and felt slow. First mile was around 8:30 pace. Just tried to keep good form and not tear or injure anything. Finally got a little faster but not much. Finished with a 7:25 avg. I've got to get in to April to have my quads worked out. 

Ran the Painters course with a little extra this morning. It rained last night and made it kind of muggy but any rain in STG in the summer is a blessing. I thought I'd really struggle on this run because I have all week. But it seemed to go by fast and I felt pretty good. Ended with around a 6:54 avg. Nothing super but far faster than I've been running. 

Went to April tonight... She cracked the whip and I was in pain for an hour. Hoping she helped my quads to loosen up so I can run for real again. 

DC loop in reverse. It was a Monday run for sure as the legs were heavy and the stomach was full. However my quads did feel better than they did all last week. I'm guessing the legs were really heavy because April worked them over on Saturday and this was the first run since. Hoping to make some progress this week. But we'll see how I feel come Thursday night/ Friday morning. 

10.1 miles on the DC loop again this afternoon (same direction as the morning). It was cloudy most of the day and kept the temps down so I decided to capitalize on the situation and get a few extra miles in. Although once I got running the sun came out for basically the first 5 miles of the run then I got clouds again. Temps were still very reasonable for the time of year. I felt pretty good other than one potty stop at the golf course. There's no question I feel better than last week- both in the quads and general overall health as I think I'm finally getting over a 2 week bug. 

Around the Stone Cliff loop, then down into B-hills, back to River Road and around Little Valley before coming home. 7:10 avg. Felt semi sore but runnable. Just kind of tight all over. Had lovely weather and even a few sprinkles on the first couple miles. 

7.5 miles pushing Myler up in Cedar City. Mik'L had a meeting with one of our properties up there so I decided to drive her up and do my p.m run up there. We left from the Hampton Inn by the Wal Mart and ran back down a canyon behind the Wal Mart that drops down out behind west Cedar. Then we ran back up into town and over to the SUU campus. I don't think I've set foot on that place since I graduated back in 2004 so we did a little campus tour. Then back up around Cedar High and over the freeway and back up to where we started. The run was killer. A Lot of climbing+ extra altitude+ pushing Myler= one tired daddy. 

Up early to get my run in before Mik'L could do her's at 7 a.m. I basically did the same loop as I did last Saturday. Out to River Road, over to Bloomington, around Bloomington loop, back up the river trail to the DC, around Morningside, then down River Road back to the house. It was the first clear morning in a while and it wasn't really humid. So if you can call 65 F cool it was the coolest morning in weeks. Glad to be done running for the day and will enjoy the evening off. 

DC loop. Had a bad nights sleep and am dealing with some bad allergies. So just making it around the loop this morning was a victory. Feeling like I need a RedBull in life right now. 

10 miles tonight at the club. The boys started picking it up around mile 3. I have had 2 weeks in a row of awful club runs so I wanted to day to be good. So I just tried to latch on and go with Dave and Logan. It's the hardest I've ran since UV and the best run I've had in some time. Didn't push it really hard but made myself focus and leave the comfort zone. Once we got going it was a steady push all the way back around. Ended with a 6:26 avg for the run. 

Middle B-hills loop with just a little more added on to run over to the golf course potty. I was dead tired this morning and when the alarm went off I was deep in my REM sleep. Then I was rushed for time so I was out running in less than 15 min's from the time the alarm went off... hence I think I slept through the first 3 or 4 miles. Tried to hurry along to get home and get things in order before going to Sandhollow.  7:03 avg. 

Met up with Dave and Logan at the Navajo trailhead to do the Utah Mt loop run. We went out 4 miles to the junction and dropped water. Then did two upper loops and then came back to the cars. The temps were great for this time of year. We started around 5:30 a.m and it was around 68 F. By the time we finished it was warm up not too bad. Pace was steady. This loop is all on dirt/ rocky roads so you can't run it fast... plus there are  a lot of big hills to climb. I'm too lazy to check my garmin for the avg pace. Maybe later. 

Glad to finish off a solid week of mileage. Hope to cut it back next week and run a good 10k at Enterprise. Then really taper the following week before running the marathon in Alaska. 

Mik'L was sick Saturday morning when I got home from my long run. Vomiting, body aches, fever. It was harsh. I tried to stay away from her and help her at the same time. In the end I got it. Really sick Sunday afternoon and Monday. Wanted to die. It just felt that uncomfortable. 

Finally got a run in this week. It was kind of funky but I got it in. Your body is always a little slow to respond after being sick- today was no different. I had sections where I felt smooth and good and other sections where I had two size 16 left feet. I just couldn't get things going and then I could (back and forth it went this morning). Anyways hope to salvage my last real week before the marathon next week. Wont try and kill it but need to get a few miles under my belt. 

Had a semi dia-stomach all day and... Didn't want to run in the heat so I bailed on it this afternoon. 

Regular B-hills loop. It was a super morning. 64 F is just peachy for a July morning. Legs felt so so and stomach was about 90% better. Just glad to get out and feel the coolness on my baby soft skin. 

Club run this evening. Some folks didn't want to do my little river run (sad face) and other showed up who didn't know about it. So we just did the regular old loop. Nothing really fast but a solid push though out the run. I didn't check the garmin but we had to have beat the 7 min guy. It was hot tonight and more than anything DRY. I had a dry throat and mouth 4 miles in and was covered in salt by the end of the run. Got home and couldn't drink enough.

Ran the extended Painters loop that I've did a couple times the last few weeks. Legs felt sore and heavy for the entire run. Never really got into this one. My garmin wasn't charged so it basically served as a arm weight and judging from it's (time) this run was about 1:47:00 give or take. The morning was picture perfect. I left early and it was 66 F and got home just as the sun was coming up and it had dropped to 62 F. I think that's the lowest it's been all summer. Love it!

Kind of a fun race/ workout this morning. Different course from years past. This one is flattish with a few rollers. Overall pretty fun and fair. Now I want to go run it all out when I'm feeling good. Just because it's about the fairest thing around here. 

I've been feeling sickish all week coming off actually being really sick earlier in the week. So I didn't feel like really racing but still wanted to try and get the legs to turn over a little before I run the marathon up in Alaska next week. Mik'L and I road up with Mike and Billy boy- we got there early enough to get in just over a 4 mile warm up. 

Dave came up on the bus and we also ran in to Glen who was in town from Oregon. I knew I wasn't going to go super hard so I really wasn't stressed about it. Wish more races were like this. My garmin also just wouldn't work up there. I plugged it in last night but went to fire it up before the race and it just blanked. So I had no idea what pace I was going. 

The race started and Dave, Glen and I went out with Ryan right behind us. The three of us chit chatted for around a half mile or so and then those two headed out. I just hung back and Ryan actually caught up and passed me for about a mile then I passed him back around mile 3. I just kept the pace steady while not killing myself. As we came into town I was only about 25 seconds behind Dave and Glen and though that was pretty good considering I was kind of just chillin. But then almost right after that they more than doubled the gap and I watched them go away.

When I finished I had no idea what the time I had run or how fast the spits were. Just felt pretty good and then did 4 miles of cool down with Dave.

Fun morning even though we got up at 4:30 to do it. Mik'L ran the 10 k too and did great. Beat her goal time and ran under 10 min pace. Good job Kellers!

One mile on the treadmill then hit the DC loop after Mik'L got home from her run. Felt really good for a Monday. In fact it's the best I've felt in around a month. Maybe that little push in the 10k on Saturday helped snap me out or this funk I'm in. Hoping so with 26.2 miles to run on Saturday in Alaska. 

Ran this afternoon. The high today was 105 F and that's in the shade. Out on the blacktop it felt like my bones were boiling. I wore a wet shirt and hat and had to stop on the golf course to resoak them. Without the soakings I'd have been toast. 

Up at 4:30 a.m to get a run in before we head to Vegas to fly to Alaska. It was super hot and muggy. Temps said it was 80 F. It rained a little over the night and basically it just sizzled off the ground. Felt like I was running in Florida and not STG. I'm pumped to run in Alaska for the rest of the week. Hopefully I freeze my can off. 

We spent last night in Anchorage then got up this morning and went to the temple there. After that we drove from Anchorage south down the coast to a place where we went through a 2 mile tunnel. And after the tunnel the you came to a town called Witter and the road ends. We borded a ferry that carries about 40 cars, trucks or whatever and had a 3 hour ride to our final destination of Cordova.

While in Witter I had about 1.5 hours to kill befor the boat left so I decided to run. It was just amazing! A little village tucked in a canyon where the ocean  comes in. I ran up and down the road along the coast. The mountains around were covered in snow and spewing off water all over from the melting. There was mist in the air everywhere. Temps were around 60 with partly cloudy skies. Big fluffy white clouds with an amazing blue ski. This was a great run and I felt pretty supnky too so pace was uptempo. Alaska is SOOOO VAST!  

Ran here in Cordova from my wifes aunts house through town and down the Orca road. While running down the Orca road I saw a ORCA! Watched it's back and big fin surface and then go back under. This place is beautiful. Green, lush. Amazing veiws of snow covered mountains in every direction. All with either ocean or lakes at the base. It gets dark around 11 p.m and light around 4 a.m so sleeping isn't easy. One becaue it's light and two because you want to be out doing stuff. Mik'L and I went for a 4-wheeler ride at 9 p.m last night an it felt like 6 p.m at home. We road up the banks of a big lake filled with big Red Salmon. At every tributary coming into the lake there were fish everywhere. The watere was just as blue as the sky.

Anyways the run was out and back and kind of uptempo too. 6:40 pace. Felt pretty good.

Drove the marathon course today... not thrilled about it. There are stunning views in every direction but found out that the dirt road will be 14.7 miles of the course and it's really loose marble size gravle. I'm guessing it's just going to be brutal to try and keep any kind of pace and my feet are going to hurt because the there are soo many loose rock I'll feel them through the shoes. Hoping to not roll an ankle.

EZ run from the house down into town and back. Temps and conditions have been perfect. For running and fishing. We caught so many fish in the river last night and this morning that I lost track. Arms were sore for sure.

Not really that pumped for the race tomorrow. I'd rather be fishing and doing Alaska stuff. I'm just going to go out and have fun. Not planning on pushing it or stressing at all. So I may not even break 3 hours with that and the nasty gravel road. Anywho I'm so tired and I think we are going fishing tonight again until like midnight. Love it when the sun never goes down.

Pre race junk: I signed up for this race a few months ago and thought it would be fun to do while we were up here in Cordova Alaska. But after getting up here I got way too into the fishing, sight seeing, 4-wheeling ect and the thought of having to take time away from all of that to run a race sounded tragic. I've turned into an even bigger adult kid up here. There are way too many cool things to do outside and I can't control myself. Plus it gets light at around 4 a.m and doesn't get dark until after 11 p.m. So I haven't slept much all week. No time to sleep when  you fish until dark then spend 2 hours after taking care of all the fish we caught. And last but not least my diet up here has been off the hook. Mik'L's aunt is an amazing cook and I love to eat. Haven't stopped plus I've been drinking Mt. Dew to help take the edge off:) So anyways not the best prep the week of a marathon. But I didn't come up here to run the marathon. I came to do everything Alaska and as much of it as I could in the time we have here. I told Mik'L on the ride out to the starting line that I'd be lucky to break 3 hours with the way I felt... running faster just sounded out of the question.  

The weather was forcast to be rainy the entire time we were here but it's been amazing. The day of the race was the best day of them all. As we drove out to the starting line of the race we saw a moose walk out in the road in front of us.

The Course: It starts 26.2 miels (distance was right on after driving it twice). We started out in the flats or the Cooper river delta. Basically a massive drainage at the base of a massive mountain range. But it's flat from there all the way into town. Well maybe a 1% grade incline for the first 14 miles then a 1% decline for about 7 miles and the rest flat. The first 15 miles of the race start on a dirt (very loose gravel road) and it turnes to good pavement after that. You cross countless bridges and rivers as you make your way back into town. All of them bigger than any river in Utah (other than the Colorado). I've never seen so much water. It's all running off the mountains and the 4-5 big glaciers that are above the Cooper River delta. Then as you get 4 miles from town you start to come into a little valley that flows around a big freshwater lake and then the town is on the far side of the lake creating a little barrier between the lake and the ocean. This place is really amazing! Words do no justice...

The Race: I got to ride out there with my wife and her aunt who also got to drive right behind me for the first 22 miles of the race. This was for caution of any bears. And they were able to bring me GU and drink anytime I wanted. That was nice. We started and two guys went out ahead of me and that kind of flipped a trigger in my brain. I quickly matched their pace and basically from there to the finish was locked into a 5:50ish pace. It felt smooth and comfortable. I didn't feel like I was killing it, rather just enjoying the day. Had to stop at mile 11 for a big boy potty break that took 40 seconds of real time and maybe cost me a little more just becaue I had to stop and start. But still hit the half in 1:18:00. By the half I was getting really sick of the gravel and the long, long incline. It wasn't steep but there was no change in grade from mile 7 to 14 or so and it just got pesky. I'd dropped the other two guys after mile 1 and had no sight or sound of them by mlie 5. 2nd pace was 3:02 and would have been a new course record from the old 3:20.

Once on the pavement I wanted to try and get a little faster turnover with the slight decline for about 6 miles but my splits just stayed basically the same. Once you get to the lake there are some rollers into town and I slowed from 6 min pace to around 6:10 pace. Hit the second half in 1:18:40. So a pretty even split race for me.  

I felt good the entire way. Mile markers were right on through mile 19 or 20 and then my garmin went crazy when I dumped water all over myself so I didn't get anymore splits. Had a blast and am so glad I signed up and then decided to run the race. So pretty, so fun and I never felt trashed. Finished the race then went back to the house got ready to go fishing and we fished from noon to basically midnight. Never felt any hang over from the race. Really no soreness or the normal fatigue.

Sorry this is long for those who made it this far.

I fully intended on running today. The legs felt good I had the time but... it rained like crazy all day long in Cordova. So we spent our last day up here just relaxing and getting ready to fly out at 7 p.m.  For what would be a crazy long, painful trip home. 

Woke up Monday morning at 9 a.m. Flew out of Cordova at 10 p.m (scheduled for 8 p.m) Monday night. Got to Anchorage at 11 p.m. Flew out of Anchorage at 12:40 a.m Tuesday. Landed in Seattle at around 6 a.m. Then flew from Seattle to Vegas and landed there at 9 a.m Vegas time. Drove the two hours back to STG and was home around noonihs Tuesday. Then a few hours later we drove up I-15 for 1.5 hours up and 1.5 hours back to meet my Uncle and Aunt who were watching Myler. Got home around 10 p.m. and finally got to go to sleep. In all that travel time I really didn't sleep at all on the plane (I never can) then got an hour or so nap at the house here in STG before going up to get Myler. But all in all I was over come with the whole thing and totally trashed. Way too long of trip to try and pull off in the middle of the night. I'll never take a redeye again...

Long story short I couldn't run today:)

Finally after an eternal trip Monday night thru Tuesday evening I was able to sleep. I sweat a lot last night getting use to the warmer dry air but I did get some good solid rest. A start to what I need- hoping for more to come in nap later. 

Got up and ran the middle B-hills loop. Legs felt pretty solid. This was the first run since the marathon last Saturday and as I suspected I'm just not that sore... never was. Totally different from the marathon in June at UV where I was sore for 5 weeks after. Just took it EZ with no watch this morning. Didn't get out until after 8:30 so the sun was high in the sky. I dropped 8 lbs from last night to this morning after then run.

6.6 miles tonight around the B-hills loop again. It started raining right when I left so pretty good timing. It only lasted for about 1.5 miles but still soaked the front of me. I liked it. EZ going tonight running on a full stomach of freshly cooked salmon straight from Alaska. It's better than anything I've ever had before (salmon standards)

B-hills loop again this morning. Went early before the sun came up. Temps were ok. Not super great but not horribly hot. 75 F. Kind of felt tight most of the run- wore out too. Got too much to do with life and stuff trying to catch up after being gone. 

Hope to make it to club tonight. 

woke up and was only 150 lbs before thinking about a run. just felt horribly trashed and dehydrated. running wouldn't have been a wise choice so I packed it in for the day and decided I was still on somewhat of a recovery week. 

Good run with Dave this morning. We looped around the park and then out into Bloomington around it's loop and up to River Road and home. Kept the pace honest almost the entire run. 6:49 avg. Legs feel really good for only being one week after a marathon. 

Up early to run B4 Mik'L had to go. Ran the Tempo Tuesday loop to check distance and stuff. We'll have to stay up on the road down by Dino Tracks because the flood washed the trail out and it wont be restored for who knows how long. So just ran the full loop at EZ pace. 7:10 avg on a nice cool summer morning. 

Attention STG Runners: Tempo Tuesdays start tomorrow at 5 a.m at my house. Be there or be square. 

Tempo Tuesday week 1

We ran basically the same loop as last years tempo course other than over by the river we stayed out on the road instead of dropping onto the trail. Today the plan was to do the regular 3 mile warm up. Then 6 miles of tempo and a little over 3 miles of cool down. The warm up went quick and it was time to go. Temps were nice and cool for an August morning in STG. That was one thing we had going for us. I just got going and never looked at the watch. Felt smooth and in control until just after mile 4 and I started to get serious stomach cramps. I fought it off and did ok until about 5.3 and then it really started to hurt. Had to go potty bad. Held on to finish the 6 miles of tempo and then took care of business. Cooled down back home and have spent basically the last 2 hours in the bathroom. Something really jacked my tummy up... maybe it was the bag of BBQ chips I had for dinner last night at the lake or all the other junk food we ate out there instead of a real dinner. 

Oh well glad to get the tempo stuff back out. Hope to continue to build over the next 6-7 weeks. Hit a 5:39 avg for the tempo miles. Splits: 5:55, 5:33, 5:29, 5:47, 5:32, 5:40

The 4th mile is always slow as you climb up through the industrial park and there was a lot of on coming traffic. I thought this mile would have been way slower considering how bad the stomach was hurting. But looking at the splits I'm pretty happy with the morning.