I am in SLC again for the festivities. I left the in-laws for a run down to the Parkway. The roads were deserted and everyone seemed to be sleeping off the effects of partying. I liked it.
T-59:00 (7:23)
* I officially signed up for the Poky 50 Miler. It is suppossed to one of the hardest 50 milers in the country. Not a great choice for a debut, but tough beans. Who said 2010 was going to be easy?
Adam Wende was kind enough to meet me at the Parkway for a run today. I was planning on the old IPOD to keep me company, but he is much more entertaining. The time flew by. That is until the final 5 miles where my wheels came off. It could have been as a result of my fueling from last night (2 crab legs, a lobster tail, and a few jumbo shrimp to top it off). Very yummy home-cooked meal if I do say so. The trail today was covered in about an inch of fresh stuff with patches of hidden ice lurking under. The weather turned out awesome as I drove through sleet to get there, but ended up running under clear skys the whole way. Today's run was a great way to finish out a long tough week of long work days, and lots of festivities. I need a vacation now.
6 degrees today. I do have to say that it was much colder at my house than up on the East Bench. I guess there is something to be said about the expensive lots up there. Warmth.
Today's run started off with good intentions. The plan was 10 miles with 5 at MP. My stomach had other intentions. After multiple pit stops and some dry heaving, I threw in the towel and went home early. Not a fun morning. I figure it was the Famous Daves leftovers I ate last night.
So, I dont know if it is the training or the -3 f temperature or the 10 lbs of clothing I lug around with me on my runs, but I have not been able to run fast lately. Today was supposed to be a harder workout but I couldn't get the body moving. I have been in slow motion lately and it irks me. Yeah, Yeah, I know winter training is hard and things will get better if I ever see the sun again, but still....
Today we took a quick excursion to SLC for another family gathering (last one I swear). Since I was running alone I figured it would be nice to wait until I arrived in SLC to run in the warmer weather and in the daylight. That was a good call as it was 20 degrees warmer by the time I ran. I hit the road leaving from my parents house in Cottonwood Heights and headed up to Big Cottonwood Canyon. Once I hit the mouth, I headed south on Prospector Dr and continued on Top of the World drive to Wasatch Blvd. I followed Wasatch past Little Cottonwood and past Bell canyon until just past pepperwood neighborhood. My plan was to make it to the 8.5 mile mark in an hour and then turn around. It was close 60:40 at 8.5.
The way back was colder as it was into a headwind, but I tried to push it to try and make it home in under 2 hours. I was doing ok, until mile 13 or so and got pretty tired. Two hard miles right at the end almost saved it, but I was 5 seconds slow. I was ok with that though as there was lots of tough hills in this run. Great workout.
4 degrees and in a thick soup. I was able to escape the soup by running up into Providence and Millville, but as soon as I dropped back down off the hill it was nasty again. Not fun at all.
Warm but pretty slick from the skiff of snow last night. I was dragging up the hills, but felt better going down to finish with a decent pace. Providence Hills
I was finally home for a saturday. First in a long time. That means my Honey-Do list is long, but at least I get to run with the guys. I started at 6:35 and went out for 3.25 by myself. I headed back home and picked up Paul and we went out for 7.5 before picking Jon up for the final 8 miles. I was tired before I even started running with Paul. That transformed to "completely dead" before Jon even started. Poor Paul was forced to run slower than 7 min pace for the first time this year. I feel real terrible. Really, I do....
Providence Hills loop with extension to Providence Canyon. I had some more stomach issues and was glad to make it to the POP. Other than that, it was uneventful as usual.
AM: Very stupidly, I attempted to run on the ice rink outside. Yes, it was stupid. Pure ice with the few random slush puddles. I was lucky to break 9 min pace on this run. Should've stayed home. 6 miles
Today's weather and road conditions were much better today so I took advantage. I ran up to Lundstrom Park via Old Main and back. I tried out my new shoes the Books Launch and loved them. Good old Brooks, always putting out a good shoe.
First 5 were ~7:10 ave
Last 7 were ~ 6:30 ave
T-1:21:30 12 miles (6:47) 160 ave
PM:
Full Court Basketball for over an hour. I got few blisters on the bottom of my feet from all the lateral motion. Shoot. (Pun intended) - Count as 5 xtrain miles
It was windy and warm (37 degrees). No snow yet, but it looks like it might start soon. The blisters were much better today, but I was super tired. I failed to re-fuel after running last night and I felt it.
Today's conditions were less then ideal, but you gotta do it anyway. The road was either pure ice or if I ran where cars had been, it was a ice-slush mix. It reminded me of running in sand. Good trail running training. I jumped onto the TOU course at mile 21 and headed back to mile 14 (top of hollow road) and back home. 7:30 pace out and 7:05 pace back.
PM: 5 slow miles on the Treadmill too soon after dinner.
I came down with a head cold today, but I dont think it affected me that much.
Warning, the following is PG rated....
In other news, I went to the doc today to discuss my diverticulitis I had last year and to discuss why I have the squirts so much lately too. I get it pretty bad 2-3 times a week with it getting worse with stress or a difficult run. The general theory is that since it is mostly running induced it could be something simple, like being dehydrated in the mornings before and during my runs causing my blood flow to drop and leave the intestines lacking. A low thyroid could do this too. I ran some blood work and hopefully that will tell us something when we get the results back. Another theory is that I have IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) and that is causing the problem. Some stool samples (yet to be taken) will rule out giardia or parasites or things like that. Other theories needed further testing (read Colonoscopy) before diagnosing it. I got some meds for the IBS so I can experiment with that to see what happens. Tomorrow, I will try the hydration theory first. Needless, to say, my runs have been eventful for a few months now (even since TOU) and its time to figure it out. What a crappy deal....
Providence and Millville Hills loop. I decided to go out and just give it a solid effort on both the ups and the downs. I only had 3 miles sub 6:30, but I still felt pretty strong. I had to make only one #2 break so that was nice. I drank probably 12 oz of water right before leaving the house but had nothing on the run. I mean really, who wants to carry around a water bottle in the snow? It was actually snowing today too.
Didn't get out until the evening today. Work turned me into a stress-case so I hit the road to clear my head at about 8:15. Just me and my Ipod (Muse and Franz Ferdinand) and the smothering smog. I climbed up into the tops of Providence to try and escape the gunk, but I couldn't quite get out of its grasp. What a dreadful day. The winter inversion depression. The run was nice though and I just ran without even thinking about my pace. Ended up with 1:20:20 for 11 miles (7:18) 155 ave.
-0 pit stops and no pill (I am sure running in the evening helped)
* Oh, and the Doc (actually the nurse) and I guess the only red flag raised from the blood work I had done was a high bilirubin count. About the only common issue with this wold be a blockage to the bile ducts. Possible but tough to believe as the root of the problem. The doc wants to do an ultrasound to be sure of no blockage, but I am not convinced yet.
The inversion very nearly has made me suicidal and I think Paul was worse off, so we headed up Blacksmith Fork Canyon to try and escape it. Before we left, I made it to my church basketball game. I played hard and scored 8 points so that has to be worth 2 cross-training miles, right?
I drove up the canyon a bit before Paul so I could get in 4 extra miles. I started at the Hydro Park and ran down to Left Hand Fork. I headed up the snow packed road until I hit Leatham Hollow. I ran a few feet on what would the Bear 100 course just so I could say to Jon that I have run more of the course than him this year. Ha. I got back to the car just in time for Paul to show up and together we blasted up the canyon. He was pushing the pace nicely and I suffered the whole time. We were rewarded with mostly sunny sky's and no inversion. The warmth of the sun was sweet. The only drawback was that there were 10 people for every elk that were at the elk refuge at Hardware Ranch. Lots of people everywhere. The run down the canyon was nice until I bonked and hit the cold headwind filled with smog coming from the valley up the canyon. I gave it everything I had for the last 5K and arrived at the car shaking and completely frozen and exhausted. 6:36 then 6:20 for the final 2 miles just about killed me. Paul finished a good 20 seconds ahead just jogging. A very solid run with lots of hills even just barely tying the 7 min/mile guy at the end.
