Yesterday, I was so sore from the race I could hardly walk. It got better throughout the day and I was able to go on a half hour walk that loosened things up a bit.
I got up today and it (meaning anything below the waist) hurt again. I decided to run on the flattest route I know...Young Ward loop. I started out at 8:00 pace and it hurt. After a mile I was loosening up and it turned into 7:30 pace with the same effort. By mile 5, I had loosened up enough that it became 7:00 pace. That made me happy. I will be able to run half decent this Wed after all. I ended up doing the last 5 under 7:00 pace with the last mile in 6:26. I think what helped were the 5x20 second striders that I did around the middle of the run. That woke the legs up.
Blacksmith Fork Freedom Run 15K (15 Miles) 00:54:30, Place overall: 11, Place in age division: 4
Slow miles
Fast miles
Total Distance
8.40
9.30
17.70
Blacksmith Fork Fredom Run 15K
54:30 - 11th overall
I was pretty nervous going into todays race, as I have never hurt so bad in my life as I did after the trail run on Saturday. I was feeling ok during the warmup, but still had muscles that were painful to the touch. I also wasn't sure how much muscle fatigue was lingering. So, needless to say, I was worried.
I was happy to do my warmup with James, Jon and later Logan. After waiting a bit, they got the show on the road. I started out with Jon and my plan was to hang with him as long as possible. James and Logan were in sight, but not in my league. My primary goal was to average below 6:00 pace overall and anything better than that is gravy. Jon got us started a tad fast, but still doable. My splits are according to the Garmin.
1-5:38 first mile - Breathing hard and running fast. Maybe 15th place.
2-5:51 - this mile felt better, but I am working too hard to get this split
3-5:53 - I don't feel the soreness anymore, only fatigue (18:00 at 5K point)
4-5:48 - Jon pulled away this mile. We passed (more like caught) two runners and he did so more convicingly as one stayed with him, the other with me.
5-5:45 - Jon still pulled away more, but I am not slowing down so not much I can do about it.
6-5:51 - Still hanging with Zak. He would surge then I would catch him over and over. (18:20 second 5K)
7-6:01 - This mile has half the hill. Ran it hard, but flashbacks of Sat filled my mind and legs
8-6:07 - Second half of hill, I couldn't speed up much after it. At the end the mile, I surged and dropped Zak for good. Jon is in sight passing a guy, but not catchable.
9-5:45 - Good downhill on this mile, trying to finish strong. Closed on runner in front of me but then he picked it up before I caught him.
9.33-1:47 (5:26 pace) - Not much of a kick, closer to a surge to the finish line. (18:10 3rd 5K)
I feel very good about the race. I ended up running strong splits the whole way, even though I didn't taper or really rest enough for today. My fitness is coming along. Now to bump up the mileage (70+ mpw) and try and get ready for Des News and Draper Days at the same time.
After the race, I cooled down with the boys for a mile and a half then ran back to Jon's house from Hyrum to pick up the scooter and go home. That ended up being 7 miles total. I then took off to Bear Lake for the afternoon and did some waterskiing and wave running.
Warmup - 1.4 miles
Race - 9.33 Miles - 54:30(5:50) Ave HR: 178 Max HR: 188
AM: Easy 5 miles on Planet Walk route. It was already 65 degrees by 6:00. That is hot for Logan. Yesterday I spend most of the day out in the sun working in the yard. Not a good idea when the temps are hitting 100+. It wore me out. Planning on running some more tonight...
Total time: 39:11 (7:51) 143 HR
PM: Met with Dan (yes he is alive, thank you for asking) and ran on River Trail up to the drinking fountain at second dam (actually 3rd - opps). Exactly 3.5 miles each way. Easy conversational pace. Still very hot out at 6:00 (97 degrees according to Yahoo).
Total Time: 57:00 150 HR
Note: with tomorrows scheduled 15 miler, I will be over 70 for the week. That will be an all-time high and even higher than my pre-ogden peak (68+ mile week in April).
Met with Paul and James and ran from Canal Trail up to Guin...something Malibu campground and back. Easy pace up (8:30). Harder down. Hit about 2.5 miles at 5:45 pace and the rest sub 7:00. Good workout. I was wiped out. Good to get in a big mileage week (71 miles). I will probably drop it a bit (60-65) next week and recover as I think I need it. Good company - good times. My Garmin freaked out during the run down and I hit some 7 second miles in there. It showed up as 346 mph. Wow
This morning I ran the Providence Hills loop adding a mile up Providence Canyon (10.3 miles total). Sleepy until the turn-around and then had some gravity-assisted fast miles. (6:07, 5:53, 6:35). Rest of the run was at easy pace.
Total Time: 1:17:06 (7:29)
Ave Hr: 151
PM: Met James and Jon at First Dam and drove up to Jardin Juniper trail. I haven't been on this trail for years, but I remembered it well. I didn't go to the tree last time, but we checked it out today. Slow pace up the hill dodging Moose and trying not to overdo it. Coming down was a blast. I was motivated by knowing that there was a bathroom at the bottom waiting for me, so I let it fly for a while. ~55 min up and ~36 down. My watch read 10.06 miles and looking at the history, it looks like it didn't cut out at all, so I believe it. Sorry Jon, the satellite gods are usually pretty close.
Recovery run on the Landfill Loop. Started slow and felt better throughout. I am pretty tired from all the running yesterday, but it was worth it. Tomorrow I will hit the track..
AM: Workout Day. Did a warmup to the Planet Walk then ran tinman tempo pace for 3 miles. Ran 3/4 mile on trail and then turned around and went back (2-reps). I went 6:27, 6:27, 6:30. It is kind of hard doing a tempo on that trail as there are too many sharp turns on bridges and all the stopping and turning around. After the tempo, I ran easy over to Logan High and started a VO2 Max ladder. 200,400,800,1200,800,400,200. I wanted the 200's and 400's hard with the 800's and 1200 at about 5:30 pace. The recovery was 200m (100 walk, 100 jog).
I went 35,74,2:48,4:12,2:49,72,32
Paul showed up in time to join me for my last 400 and 200. He helped push me when I was hurting. He also joined me for my easy pace back home. In-all a decent workout for how tired I have felt lately.
Total time: 1:13:31 (10.1 miles) (7:17 ave) Ave Hr: 159
PM: I am in the Young Mens Presidency in my ward and a optional requirement for the Duty to God award is to run 3 miles in under 30 mins (14-15 year olds). So today was the day. We ran on the Planet Walk from the start to the half mile marker and back 3 times. We didn't have too many show up to try but those that did ran pretty good. The fastest was 22:30 and the slowest was around 40 mins. I ran with the fast group for a half mile then waited for the last guy to hit the turn-around then ran hard to catch up with the leaders again. I caught them around the mile mark and ran the rest with them. After they finished, I ran the last mile with the slowest guy to help him along (13 min pace). In all, I got in 4.1 miles, most at easy or very easy pace. The fastest boy is going to join the Logan Cross Country team as he shows great potential (running 22:30 with no training whatsoever).
AM: Easy Run to Logan High via Golf Course to do some timed striders on the track. I decided on doing 4x200 and 4x100m fast to work on leg turnover. I did them alternating and with 100m rest between. I went 34.7, 16.5, 34.4,16.3, 33.7, 16.1, 34.1, 15.9. Easy jog home. 4.5 miles total -36:26 (8:07) 151 HR ave
PM: Ran with Paul on the River trail. Not an easy pace for that trail, but an enjoyable run. Last mile 6:12
Met Paul and Jon @ first Dam and carpooled up to Franklin basin for some mountain running. We ran on a quiet dirt road up in a beautiful part of the mountains. The road was a relentless up hill all the way to the Gibson lake turnoff. I had a hard time right from the get-go but ran hard to keep up with the guys. 8:30-8:45 up the road seems slow, but it kicked my butt. Once we turned around (@ 8 miles) the going got easier as now it is downhill. We started clicking off 6:30 miles. Paul and Jon kept speeding up and my water-filled camelback drove me insane! I need to find an alternative to that thing. With 3 miles to go, they were sub 5:45 pace and I was 6:00 pace and was losing ground quickly to them. I did my best with whatever gas I had in me to finish (6:20 pace) , but I was spent.
I need more of these runs as they seem to be my weakness in the marathon. I can run "fast", I can run long, but I can't hold the effort for both. Hence "the wall". I will keep doing long runs working on running faster the second half and the wall will be pushed further and further away, but some days are frustrating. Having this week as my highest mileage week ever (72 miles, 1 more than last week) also didn't help.
On a happy note, I have now been running for a year this month and I have had some great improvements since then. At that time, I was running a 20 min 5K (compared to 17:30 ish now) and 7:30 pace had my HR in the 170's while now it is in the 150's for the same effort.
Ok enough boring stats. Long story short, I am looking forward to a good summer of training to smash some more PR's.
Morning run out to the TOU course. Two mile warmup to get to the 21 mile marker (7:41, 7:14). Then ran backwards along the course building into MP over the first mile. After that, it was ~MP until I hit the 17 mile marker and turned around and hit the same miles now going the right direction. I did ok except for mile 18 to mile 17 (see *) where I lost focus a bit and slowed down. (6:44, 6:28, 6:29(downhill), 6:46*, 6:28, 6:44 (uphill), 6:30, 6:20). Once I hit the 21 mile marker again, I crusied on home at sub 7 pace. I am planning on front loading this week so I can rest for Draper Days this sat.
Easy run this morning. I ran up to first dam via the Canal Trail. I had a hard time getting going. My body wouldn't let me break 8:00 pace until the 4th mile. I think I was still asleep or something. I didn't worry about it though as it is an easy day, so I listened to what my body was telling me. I have been training hard for the last month or so building in mileage and intensity and I am concerned about overtraining. I want to run well this weekend at Draper Days and also at Des News 10K so I think I will take it easy the rest of this week and use it as a recovery week. I think I am getting a cold and some of the stresses lately are getting to me. So I must be "on the edge" with my body.
Went to Incubus in SLC last night. Great concert, but it was a late night returning to Logan at 1:30 am. Slept in as much as I could get away with at work and that forced my run to the afternoon. Ran over to Paul's house and we did a providence loop in hot weather. I drenched myself three times with hoses and I still was overheating. Ran home after dropping paul off. Afterward went with the family to the pool and had some fun.
Met James and Paul on the Canal trail and we ran up to the fork to spring hollow on the singletrack and back. Easy chatting pace. Felt pretty good after taking it easy yesterday. Might just get some life back in the legs afterall...If my new blister heals.
Draper Days 5K (3.1 Miles) 00:17:08, Place overall: 16, Place in age division: 6
Slow miles
Fast miles
Total Distance
9.35
3.10
12.45
Had to run the Draper Days 5K today as my last name is Draper and if a race is named after you (and I guess a whole city too right?) you should at least show up. They even had a parade.
I ran 2 miles of warmup with Sasha, Scott, and Paul. I was feeling pretty good other than my blister on my heel. I stuck some moleskin on it and just delt with it. The start looked pretty stacked as expected, but I was ready to roll. The weather was warm, but the sun was not out so it wasn't as bad as it could have been. I do think it hurt us a bit. Paul said his car thermometer read 82 (+- a few) at the start.
Nice fast first downhill mile in 5:09. I felt ok, in control, but I knew that was going to get tougher. I think by this point I was around 20th overall.
Second mile was a net gain, no monster hills, only a slight incline most of the way. I hit this mile in 5:45. That was slower than I wanted, but I was hurting.
Third mile had a hill in the first part then some down and then back up. Probably about the same difficulty as the second mile. I enjoyed picking a few more people off during this mile. I hit the marker in 5:43.
Kick over the last .11 wasn't enough to pass anyone, but I also held my own. :31 (4:37 pace) for the last .11 ---17:08 official time. Huge PR over my last 5K (Heart of Holladay in 17:37) but that course was harder. According to sasha's predictor I should have run this race in 17:15 for it to be an equilivant PR effort. I exceeded that so I am happy with my results. One of these days I will break 17, just not today.
16th overall and 6th in 25-29 age group.
Ran back to the start (2 miles or so on a paved trail system) with Paul and changed shirts and then ran back to the finish in time for the awards. I won't steal Paul's thunder but he ran well too. After chatting and such, we grabbed a $3 Lions Club breakfast and then attempted to run the course backwards back to th cars. We made it to the parade route and tried to get around it, but ended up back on it again and just gave up and ran through the parade dodging flying candy and lunging children.
Post Draper Days - Pre Des News easy run. Did the trusty Planet Walk with no watch. I felt pretty good, not spectacular, but I should be fine for tomorrow. Did a couple of striders as well.
Deseret News 10K (6.2 Miles) 00:34:49, Place overall: 49, Place in age division: 9
Slow miles
Fast miles
Total Distance
7.00
6.20
13.20
Deseret News 10K
I was not thrilled to get up at 4:30 for a race, but what can you do? I made it to the starting area in plenty of time to hit the port-a-pot before the long lines. I met up with the usual Logan guys + chad and did an easy 2 miles to warmup.
The race started off as expected, with old ladies in front and kids sprinting. Once that got ironed out, I settled into staying close to James. He slowly left me in the dust. This course is pretty dang fast with the first 5K loaded with downhill. I went thru the first mile in 5:14 and felt in control. I repeated the effort and was rewarded with another 5:15 second mile. I felt like I was on cruise control as occasionally during the flatter sections, my pace slowed and I wasn't able to get the legs moving. Its a good thing the course is downhill, as I didn't have much pep.
The third mile was much slower as the major hills stopped. 5:39. On a good note, I passed thru the 5K point in about 16:30 - a PR for the distance, but it cost me. I actually planned on going that fast in the hope that I could hang on for a great time, but it just didn't materialize. My fourth mile was run in 5:39 again, but I was losing it.
I think that about at this point, I went on auto-run and didn't make any effort to push the pace. I kind of slipped into mildly-painful mode instead of death-march mode that I need to be in. I need to get past the pain threshold. My fifth mile was a "stellar" 5:49. I did enjoy making faces at the parade folk camping out and had thoughts of cruel ways to wake them up (losing my stomach contents on them, stepping on the sleeping bags while singing BINGO). I think I was losing concentration or something. I tried to pick it up the last mile to catch the group in front of me, but I had nothing. 6:04 for the 6th mile and that made me mad. Mad enough to give a bit of a kick even though no one was around me. 1:08 for the last .21. My watch read 34:49 but the official results say 34:51.
Overall, I fell I had a good race. It wasn't what I had hoped for, but not too far off. I figured I would be between 34 and 35 minutes. I think I left some of my race at Draper Days last sat. I can't complain about a 3 min PR even if it was on a favorable course.
Things to work on: Focus and have positive thoughts. I think I need to incorporate more shorter tempos (3 miles really hard) to train myself to push past the pain threshold.
Total Time: 34:51 (5:37 miles)
Ave HR: 181 Max HR: 193
Place 49/2034 Age Group 9/128
After the race, Paul, James, Chad, Adam and I ran up to the zoo to try and cheer on the marathon guys. We totally missed them (Sasha, Steve O), but saw many people suffering along so we counted that. Ran about 5 miles for the cooldown then drove over to Chads house for some grub. Thanks Chad!
Post Edit: After reviewing the Online Results (as compared to the results printed at the race, my time has been adjusted to 34:49 (chiptime). I will now call my official time 34:49
Still felt sore this morning from Des News so decided to run on my flat loop (Young Ward Loop). Started out at 7:30 pace and as I loosened up sped up to 7ish pace. Very muggy out. I thought I was in the south or a rain forest or something. Very unusual for Logan.
Met with Jon at his house this afternoon for a workout. We headed out to Blackhawk Park (I think thats the name) via the Planet Walk. The park has a paved trail around its perimeter. By running 1.5 laps we measured .92 of a mile. We ended up doing 4x1.5 laps with full rest (2.5 min) between reps. Our goal pace was 5:30-5:40 a mile pace.
We stayed together pretty good as we are pretty evenly matched at this point. It sure helped to have someone to work off of. I went 5:07, 5:06, 5:06, 5:02 (which is about 5:35 a mile pace).
I felt a bit flat in the legs. My lungs and heat did fine, I was limited in my leg speed. I am sure that it has to do with Des News. Other than that, I felt pretty good. After the four reps, we ran back to Jon's house the same way at 7:30 pace.
Total Time: 1:14:38 (7:17 ave) including rest jogging/walking
Ran to Merlin Olsen Park and met with James for an easy run this morning. We ran up the Island to the Water Lab trail and back via the Canal Trail and the Blvd. Nice chatty run.
Met with Jon and James and drove up to the start of the Top of Utah marathon and ran on the course to Jon's house at mile 21.7 (according to Mr. Garmin). We tried to stay around 7:00 pace and did so coming in with a 6:51 ave pace. Some of that is due to the 6:27 mile and a 5:44 pace .6 to finish it off.
My blister/chunk missing in my skin caused some major problems by mile 10 as the moleskin lost its stickness and my sock was chafing. Eventually, Jon came up with an idea of suing his toilet paper AND the baggie he carries it in to cushin the foot. That worked like a charm as the friction was plastic on plastic not foot on sock/shoe. That got me through the run.
Overall, a good training run, one of my stronger 20 milers ever.
Total Time: 2:29:05 (6:51)
Ave HR: 153
Afterward played Ultimate frisbee with Jon and company. I wore the Garmin to see how much running actually occurrs during a game. We played for 1.5 hours and covered about 5.5 miles. Which comes out to about 16 min miles. No speed records there. I figure all the sprinting is worth 2.3 miles to round out my mileage to 25 miles today. Ave HR: for the time playing frisbee was 149. Not that bad of a cardio workout.
I love learning new routes and today was the day. Jon took me up to Rick's Canyon and Steel Hollow loop. Its a nice run up Logan Canyon. It was especially nice since it was still close to 100 degrees in logan but much cooler up the canyon. "Easy" pace throughout the run. As easy as it is climbing over 2000 feet in 5 miles. I was feeling especially sore from saturday. I think I overdid it a bit. 20+ miles + hours in the sun playing ultimate. I am more sore from that than any race this year, including the Ogden marathon. Oh wait, not as sore as the Logan Peak Trail race though, that takes the cake, but you get the idea.
This morning I ran out to the Planet Walk and tried to get the body going. I stared out at 7:30 pace and then tried to get going. It was a struggle to break 7 min pace over the next 3 miles. I ran into Paul warming up and joined him. We went over to Logan High Track and met with Logan and James for a speed workout.
I ended up doing 5x1000m @ CV pace with 1:30 rest in-between. The 1000's were supposed to be around 5:40 - 5:45 pace. I ended up just a touch fast, but close.
3:31 (5:33)
3:34 (5:40)
3:32 (5:36)
3:34 (5:40)
3:32 (5:36)
I was suprised I could do it when during the warmup 7 min pace was so difficult. I guess that is what a warmup is for right? I felt ok, I still have lingering soreness from sat but better than last night. It sure was fun watching everyone else run (as they all were well in-front of me the whole time). Logan and Paul were moving pretty good. They got a great workout in too. I did a few very slow laps after and then headed home at an easy pace.
PM: Rode my bike over to Logan High for an encore. Only this time it was on the grass barefoot and much slower. An easy 3.25 miles around the fields with 2x100m striders. I couldn't resist doing some striders while barefoot but after 2 it got old fast. Nice and windy out.
