Trails!

Ran from In-laws past T-ville High School and to the Parkway. On the way did a fast .5 mile fartlek. It had a .2 mi section of downhill with the rest flat. Did the .5 in 2:41 then a slow .5 recovery in 3:46. Wanted to do another but I talked myself out of it. Instead, ran a fast finish to catch the 7:00 guy (6:38 mile and a 3:46 .58 6:29 mile pace).

Total Time: 1:14:03 (7:00)

Ave Hr: 164

Post Edit: Nike Pegasus = 513 miles

1st Day with Asics GT-2110 shoes

Randomly ran around the neighborhood. Hit the river trail and High School and fairgrounds. I felt tired and sick. I caught the cold my son had this weekend.

Total Time: 53:57

Ave HR: 152

Decided to try another run on the Pegasus shoe and my legs felt the pounding from lack of cushioning.

YESCO to End of Paved River Trail and back. Easy Pace. Nice and warm today. Just another day, blah.

Total time: 1:12:58

Ave HR: 159

Went back to new pair of shoes Asics 2110.

Ran home from work winding through neighborhoods to make it 5+. Still trying to kick the cold. Not feeling good.

Total Time: 36:30 (7:07mi)

Ave HR: 161

Yesco to Logan High. I am STILL felling under the weather and had a hard time breathing today. My ave HR was about 5bpm high for the pace I ran.

Total Time: 51:00

Ave Hr: 162

Ran a new run with Paul. I liked the new course. It was on rural roads most of the time so traffic was minimal. It was kind of cold (23 F) and windy. I am STILL struggling with my cold, but I felt better today than yesterday. We were just behind the 7:00 guy with a mile to go, so we hit a 6:36 pace for the last mile to show him who's boss. Total Time: 1:16:24 Ave Hr: 167 (still a tad high, even for me)

Ran the Airport Loop with Dan. I was feeling a lot better today after taking a day off yesterday. However, half-way through my run, my left foot started to hurt. It hurt at the highest point in my arch. It is still tender to the touch and I have to walk with my weight on the outide of my foot for it not to hurt. It feels like it is bone but I am not sure. Today was the third day using my new pair of shoes, and I have been wearing a new pair of nicer shoes around work. I am hoping it is because my work shoes are not supportive enough as that is easy to fix. I REALLY hope it is nothing more serious like a stress fracture.

I am open to suggestions as to what to do to diagnose/treat it.

Total Time: 57:09 (7:07)

Ave Hr: 162

Mileage on Asics GT-2110 to-date: 62.6

Ran a couple of easy miles on Dirt Roads by Work today. I wanted to test the foot carefully. I woke up with no pain today so I hoped for the best. I wore more supportive shoes to work and wore my older running shoes during the run(Nike Pegasus rather than my new ones (Asics GT-2110, as they might have been the problem). Every step I took during the run caused the arch to hurt. It wasn't real severe, but I felt mild discomfort. It didn't change in intensity during the run.

After reading the comments from Nick and Andy, I agree with them that it is most likely not a Stress Fracture. I think it is some kind of a pulled tendon or ligament in that foot. I plan on taking it easy, and maybe take a few days off if it doesn't get better soon.

Total Time: 23:27 (7:13)

Ave Hr: 160

Post Edit: I feel that it is not the running shoes but rather the "Everyday shoes". They lack any arch support whatsoever. I will wear better everyday shoes and see if there is improvement. I feel that it is better today than yesterday, but far from 100%. I will play tomorrows run by ear and see what happens.

No running today to let foot heal. It felt fine sitting, light discomfort walking, and I didn't even try and run. Taking a day off was probably good because I had an ear ache and went to the doc for it. Double ear infection. Lovely. My body is falling apart one piece at a time.

Still Felt Lousy.  Foot getting better.  Head going to explode!

I am very pleased to say that my foot feels great!  I decided to go for an easy 4 to test it out.  It started to twinge a bit by the last mile but I think it is almost better.  My left ear still doesn't work (Infection and is plugged).

It sure felt great to get out the door finally.  Even if it was only 15 degrees for a high today. 

Total Time: 28:49 (7:12mi)

Ave HR: 162

Ran an easy 8 to test out the foot.  It started to get pretty sore after 5 miles, so I quit @ 8 miles.  I ran on the Jordan River Parkway again.  Afterward, I went to the store and got some padded insoles that claim to help arch pain.  I have been wearing them all weekend and my foot feels great.  I think I will try them in my running shoes monday.

Total Time: 59:01 (7:23mi)

Ave Hr: 163

23.25 miles for the week.  Not very good at all.  I am feeling better from the Ear Infections so if my foot cooperates, I will have a better week next week.

Tried the new In-Soles for the run today and my arch hurt from the get-go.  It wasn't a sharp pain, just a dull throbbing when my foot was planted.  It didn't get worse during the run and in-fact might have gotten better as my foot got partially numb (cold or pain I dont know what caused the numbness).  I feel I can run on it but I know the pain is a sign of a problem.  I don't want to take time off running to let it completely heal, but it might come to that.

Total Time: 36:04 (7:13mi)

Ave HR: 161

Ran a modified Gossner Loop with Dan.  I wanted to experiment with different speeds with my foot so we did a mile warm-up then did 1 fast mile in 5:55.  It felt much better during the fast mile than the entire run.  We ran the rest of the run between 7:15 and 7:30's.  My theory is that landing on my heel stretches the (tendon or ligament) sore part and running fast causes me to land more forward on my foot.

Total Time: 42:27 (7:04mi)

Ave HR: 168 (181 during fast mile)

Ran a short 3.5 miles this afternoon.  I took the last 2 days off to let my foot heal.  It felt great today before the run so I thought I should test it out.  It felt pretty good.  Not 100%  yet but, no pain.  I wanted to take it easy getting back into it so that it doesn't re-injure itself.  I plan on running tomorrow longer and we will see what happens.

Total Time: 25:00 ( 7:09mi)

Ave HR: 159

Finally!! A run that didn't hurt the foot.  Ahhh, life is good!  I ran with Paul on a run that took us all over Logan.  Our pace jumped around a bit depending on the conversation, but it was a great run.   I think my foot is finally getting better.  Maybe I can bump my mileage back up to 50 mpw again soon.  This week was depressing for me to look outside and long to run, but know that it only makes the foot worse to do it. 

I signed up for the Striders winter series this week and I am also 95% sure I will do the LDR circuit.  I am looking forward to getting my butt kicked in these races, but what better motivation to improve is there?  I hope to see a lot of you there.  All of that will get me ready for an attempt at a sub 3:00 marathon at Ogden.

Total  Time: 1:06:24 (7:10mi)

Ave Hr: 165

Ran the YESCO-Logan High run with Dan.  It was such a nice day to run here in Logan.  My foot felt great, during the run and since.  I think I am out of the woods.  I plan on building my base back up to 50mpw and then throw in some tempos and hill workouts.  This run was supposed to be an easy 7:15/mi pace, but we both felt good, so we stayed ahead of the 7:00 guy pretty easily.  I would call it a medium run if I had the category (even though it was still slower than marathon pace).  I forgot to wet my HR monitor (as I have to do when the weather is cold) before running so my first mile showed that I was having a heart-attack before it settled down to the correct values.

Total Time: 48:26

Ave HR: 171 

Ran the Airport Loop with Dan today.  We started out pretty fast as we felt good but then, we had a hard time once we hit the dirt road section.  It was covered with snow and had poor traction.  In all, a good workout.

Mile Splits: 6:47, 6:35, 6:36, 6:54, 7:09, 7:29, 7:23, 6:54

Total Time: 56:01 (6:58 mi)

Ave Hr: 167

Recovery Day.  Easy 5.1 miles from work to the house via the fairgrounds.  Work was stressful today so it was nice to have an outlet. 

Total Time: 37:52 (7:23 mi)

Ave Hr: 155

Didn't make it out running today at work so I had to go at 6:00 tonight.  I didn't eat lunch expecting to go anytime and I felt really tired as a result today.  All I ate was a banana until after the run.  I need to do better.  With some serious work, I was able to negative split the run (by 25 seconds is all).

Total Time: 57:17 (7:09 ave)

Ave HR: 164

Easy 6 miles (Gossner Modified) with Dan today.  It was another one of those days at work.  I am feeling wiped out.  Long hours and an increase in mileage really wear you out.

Total Time: 44:25 (7:23 mi)

Ave HR: 159

The key to winter running is doing it in the mountains.  We (Paul and Dan and myself) had sweet weather/air conditions today as we ran in Blacksmith Fork canyon.  I felt lousy today and wanted to curl up on the side of the road and cry.  I did my best to maintian a decent pace and not slow them too much.  I just didn't have it. (Overtain? Too much too fast? Too hard on easy days? Or a combination?).

I am pleased that my 1/2 marathon time today was the same as my 1/2 during the TOU marathon.  Any 1/2 my run today was uphill.  We started around the 6.5 mile mark and ran up near the start and back.  I thought about catching the 7:00 guy for about 30 seconds and then gave up and fought to beat the "going to the hospital on a gurney guy" who was laughing at me just biding his time...

Total Time: 1:33:18 (7:07mi)

Ave HR: 166 (170-172 uphill = 6:50mi pace effort with 7:05-7:30 times) (160-170 downhill which were about where they should be for that pace (6:45 - 7:00mi)

Ran the YESCO-Green Canyon Run with Dan.  I felt much better than Saturday.  Medium effort throughout.  Mile splits were around 7:45 going up the hill and 5:45 coming down.  This course is one of the hardest that I do, but I usually feel pretty good about it after.

Total Time: 1:04:54 (6:57mi)

Ave HR: 164

Ran to Logan high and back with Dan.  We decided to shock our bodies to run faster than the usual 7:00 pace.  We started out with a slow first mile (7:12) and then ran 0.52 mile in 2:56 (5:41mi pace). Then about 1.5 miles at 7:10-7:20 pace recovery. Then 0.51 mile in 2:50 (5:35mi pace).  At that point we were right about 7:00 ave for the run, so we made sure to stay ahead of the 7:00 guy (7:30. 6:58, 6:46 miles to finish)

Total Time: 48:17 (6:53mi)

Ave HR: 166 (hit 182 max during 2nd interval)

Gossner 5 easy.  I forced myself to go slow and easy for a recovery day.  I think it was needed.

Total Time: 38:57 (7:47 mi)

Ave HR: 153 

Paul, Dan and myself decided to put ourselves through pain for no reason other than to see how fast we could go.  Sure it was to help train for the 5K and 10K coming up but, really, it hurts why do I do it?  I do it for the PR, of course.  Last night in preparation for today, I looked back at my old High School days of running (it was the only time in my life where I ran consistently...until the middle of last year).  My 3200m PR was set as a sophomore in a whopping time of 11:32.  So, my goal today was to beat that time by running 2x's 5:45 miles.

We (Dan and myself) started from work and ran an easy 2.37 miles to meet Paul at the start of a quiet road.  After moaning and whining and prolonging the agony, I shut up and ran.  Wow, it hurt.  I love to run, I hate to race.  All I want to do is quit.  I hit the first mile in 5:32 and was all alone (Paul way ahead, Dan chomping at my heels).  That second mile was murder.  I stopped when my Garmin beeped its second mile.(5:53 for mile #2).  Giving me a total time of 11:25.  Fine, it was worth it to PR.  My heart rate climbed to 186 with an average of 184 for the second mile.  My max HR is in the low 192's so I must have let my head win the battle of the pain.  I know that with some workouts geared towards pushing back that VO2 max threshold, I can do much better.  I need someone to pull me along that second mile as well.  

We ran back at a very easy pace for a total of 7.5 miles

Total Time: 54:32 (7:15mi)

Ave Hr: 161

Airport Loop with Dan.  Felt Ok today, not too worn out from yesterday.  We did 6x20 sec striders (~5:00 mile pace) in the middle of the run.  We got smoked by the 7:00 guy during the icy 5th and 6th miles but caught him by the end of the run.

Total Time: 56:06 for 8.03 miles (6:59mi)

Ave HR: 166

Ran a loop into Millville today with Paul.  We took it easy and I enjoyed the run.  It was still pretty cold this morning (5 degrees) but it warmed to about 20 by the end of the run.  50 miles this week.  I plan on 50 again next week.

Total Time: 1:35:56 (7:16mi)

Ave Hr: 164

Ran the YESCO- End of Paved River Trail Run with Dan today.  Wanted to get in some MP miles to see how they felt.  I decided to do the last half at MP to simulate being tired.  My goal was to run 7:00 miles out and 6:30-6:40 back.  I had the following splits:

Mile 1: 6:57 HR: 152

Mile 2: 6:55 HR: 165

Mile 3: 7:00 HR: 164

Mile 4: 7:02 HR: 164

Mile 5: 7:08 HR: 165

Mile 6: 6:38 HR: 171

Mile 7: 6:37 HR: 172

Mile 8: 6:34 HR: 171

Mile 9: 6:34 HR: 172

Mile 10: 6:16 HR: 173

It was such a great day to run.  Long sleeve shirt, shorts, no gloves, no hat.  I couldn't resist a fast finish.

Total Time: 67:39 (6:46mi)

Ave HR: 166

I wanted to go long today to get my mileage in so that I can take it easy this weekend for the race.  I ran with Dan, Paul, and Jon for varying sections of the run.  It was an easy pace.  I am feeling pretty wiped out right now.  I will go easier on myself the rest of the week.

Total Time: 1:39:45 (7:36 mi)

Ave Hr: 156

Ran a "new run" today "YESCO-Green Canyon Short" with Dan.  We are both pretty sore so we took it easy.

Total Time: 50:48 (7:15mi)

Ave Hr: 157

Ran Modified Gossner 6 today.  My legs felt really tired and slow.  We did 8x20 second striders (12-13 mph according to my Garmin 305) during the run in prep for the race Saturday.  Another beautiful day in Cache Valley.

Total Time: 44:54 (7:26mi)(6.03miles)

Ave HR: 156

Played over an hour of Racquetball after a year drought.  I sure missed it.  My touch was off, but it all came back quickly.  I call it equal in effort to 3 easy miles.

I ran 3.15 as well with 3x20 sec striders during the run.  I felt better today than yesterday.  We will see about tomorrow.

Run Time: 22:02 (6:59 pace)

Ave Hr: 158

I ran Striders 5K race this morning in Ogden.  I liked the course, hated my time.  It was all hills.  I heard some people say that it separated the men from the boys.  Well, those hills turned me into a little boy whimpering and whining all the way home.

The Race started with a beautiful overcast sky and very plesant temperatures for February.  I felt fine for the first 400m until the adrenelin wore off.  Then I remembered why I was a "casual runner" for so many years with no racing.  Racing Hurts!  I started out right where I wanted to be for the first 1/2 mile.  Then there was an incline that seemed to get steeper with every step.  There was a large pack in-front of me by 20 yards but I decided not to chase.  I shouldv'e because they stayed the same distance in front of me for quite a while.   I ended up by myself, which means I slowed down gradually without noticing.  I hit the first mile (~100 foot gain) in 6:08.  Too slow...  I think I sort gave up mentally at that point and refused to push harder.  My HR was around 184 with my pace between 7:00 and 8:00 miles going up the first hill.  I just couldn't get the gas to speed up.  We had a small break at 1.5 miles with a 7% grade downhill.  My breathing was so anaerobic that it didn't help.  My HR stayed at 184 and my pace dropped to 5:00 mile for the hill.  The next up-hill was only 4% but it hurt.  My HR climbed to 187 and I couldn't wait for it to end.  Part way up the hill, I hit mile 2 in 6:22 (12:30).  WAY-WAY to slow but what can you do??  Now for the downhill.  It was a 10% grade that forced me to flail my arms and try and not face-dive into the asphalt at a 4:20 mile pace.  I did finally catch someone at that point and pass him.  He was my only position change for 2 miles.  I dug as deep as I could from then on and pushed thru the 3-mile mark (5:45) and finished in 18:54 according to my watch.

I really wanted to post a good time today so I am dissapointed in that, but I know that I did about as good as I can hope for after a winter of base mileage and little Lactic Threshold and VO2MAX miles.  I think I need more hill workouts too to get stronger.

Official Results Link:

Official Results:  18:53.1

18th Place Overall - 6th Place 25-29 age Group  

Watch Time: 18:54 (6:06 mi)

I do feel good about the effort.  After some thought and looking at Sasha's predictor I do feel better about the race.  I found out many of my weaknesses during this race and I plan on addressing many of them this summer.  I look forward to killing myself in the 10K.

I ran a mile warmup and ran the course backwards after for a cooldown.

PM Ran 3.45 miles in the late afternoon because I was bored and my legs had tightened up.  Felt good.

I decided to start running in the mornings now as that fits better into my schedule.  Of course, the day I do it, the roads are all covered in ice.  It rained all day yesterday and froze overnight.  I had a VERY hard time keeping my footing and pushing off.  That said, I do enjoy running first thing and getting it done.  That way it isn't overlooked if something comes up during the day.

I was feeling fine from the Race on Sat so I decided to do a tempo workout.  I ran 2 miles as a warmup (7:14, 7:06) and then set out to do 5 6:30 miles.  I did fine considering the conditions of the road. (6:32, 6:30, 6:31, 6:30, 6:34)  I then finished out the loop with some easy miles around 7:30 pace.  I ran a new loop out to Young Ward to the River Trail and home.  Flat but quiet.

Total Time: 1:10:36 (6:58 ave)

Ave HR: 165 (174 during tempo)

New run into Providence up Canyon Road to Sego Lilly and back.  Easy Pace.  Felt a little sore at first but loosened up fine.  Did 4x20 second striders during the run on sections of downhill.  Still pretty chilly outside at 6:00. (27 degrees).  I think I will run in Providence more as the hills are excellent to train on.

Total Time: 59:03 (7:17mi)

Ave HR: 157

Nice easy day today.  Ran to the Top of Center Street in Providence and back.  That is one nasty hill.  500 foot climb over 3.5 miles.  400 of the 500 in 1 mile stretch (13% grade ave).  I took it pretty slow during the steep section.  Did 6x20 second striders during last half of run.  I am feeling refreshed and ready for a big day tomorrow.

Total Time: 52:33 (7:30 mi)

Ave HR: 156

Today was a race against the snow...I lost.  It caught me about halfway thru the run.  It made it tough to see, but other than that it was fine.  It wasn't heavy enough to make the road slick.

I started with 2 miles as warmup (7:23, 7:18) then did 3x4min at Critical Velocity (CV) pace (pace that you can hold for 40 mins -Mine is around 5:55 mile pace) with 3 min rest (8:20mi) in-between each rep.  The first two were on a pretty flat course but the third had about a 2% incline over the last 2 mins.  My ave pace over the 4 min fartleks were 5:56, 5:55, and 6:05.  They were hard and I was sure glad that I was done. 

I ran a slow mile up to the millville bench to recover and then pushed the pace the rest of the way towards home.  I decided I wasn't done after-all and decided to do one more 4-min CV in Providence.  It was on a road that had a net loss of ~2% so it was pretty easy. (5:53mi pace).  After that, I cruised home at around 7:00 pace.

10.4 miles total - House to Providence to Millville to Bench to Canyon Road to Providence to House.

Total Time: 1:12:12 (6:57 ave)

Ave Hr: 165 (175 ave during CV's)

I took a page out of Paul's routes and ran a Landfill Loop from my house.  Nice easy recovery pace.  Hamstrings are really tight today.

Total time: 45:00 (7:30)

Ave Hr: 154

Ran with Paul and Dan today in some sweet weather.  I felt average and ran average.  Felt good to get a longer run in to finish a good week of training.  I felt pretty sore and tired once I hit 10 miles into the run.  I need to keep pushing that point back further and further in preparation for the marathon.

Total Time: 1:36:08 (7:02 ave)

Ave Hr: 161

55.25 miles for the week. 55 scheduled for next week with the 10K on Saturday.

Last night we had a little scare as my pregnant wife went into labor.  She is not due for another 6 weeks so we didn't want another premature baby (our first was 5 weeks early).  Long story short, we were able to stop the contractions and not have the baby yet.  Needless to say, we didn't sleep much as we spent the night in the hospital.  Everything is fine now and I was able to get out for a run this afternoon.

I ran the Young Ward Loop.  2 mile warmup (6:55, 6:50 paces) then a 5 mile Tinman tempo at a goal pace of 6:30 for 5 miles.  I hit 6:29, 6:28, 6:28, 6:28, and 6:27.  I still felt ok so I kept up a comfortable pace for the last 3 miles (6:35, snowy/slushy mile on the paved river trail in 7:21, and a 6:41 last mile.  The .15 was a cooldown at 7:15 pace.  Overall, I felt really well considering the 3 hours sleep and stress level.

Total Time: 1:07:48 (6:41 pace)

Ave HR: 166 (172 during tempo miles)

Easy miles through Providence foothills.  Feet were sore today for some reason.

Total Time: 62:46 (7:52ave)

Ave HR: 149

Ran the Young Ward Loop - out via Landfill and back via Willow Park to add a few miles.  Comfortable pace between 7:00 and 7:30, uneventful.

Total Time: 1:30:16 (7:06 ave)

Ave HR: 160

Canyon Road in Providence.  Easy Run.  Did 2x20 sec hill surges and 8x20 sec striders during the run.  Legs felt very heavy during the striders.

Total Time: 61:01 (7:29 mile)

Ave Hr: 156

I woke up to lots of snow today so I decided to avoid the cars and truck splashing slush and I ran on the River Trail and on Logan River Golf Course.  The Golf Course had enough snow that it buried my feet and made running difficult.  The river trail was in better shape but covered with snow.  Footing was tricky so I went REALLY slow.  It felt good just to get out at least.

Total Time: 46:31 (8:52 ave pace)

Ave HR: 146

Stiders 10K Race today.  I had a plan for the hills, and I did pretty well sticking to the plan and I think it payed off (my plan was to not die on them).  I started out at a comfortable pace for the first mile. (That pace is only comfortable for about a mile anyway)  My garmin beeped well before the first mile marker, but those are my only splits so I will share those.  Mile 1 in 6:11 and I was right on track.  The hill at mile 1 was a bummer and I struggled to change gears to come back down it.  I enjoyed the flat and slightly downhill section right before the second climb.  I was able to latch on to someone and work together up the next (monster) hill.  It got pretty ugly for me up that climb. 6:17 second mile and 7:09 third mile.  I had a hard time speeding up on that flat section at the top of the climb.  It took a couple of blocks of steady downhill to finally go. 5:45 and 5:47 mile splits for miles 4 and 5.  Scott passed me during those fast miles and I didn't have the guts to push harder and stay with him.  The last uphill was tougher than I thought.  I feel like I went strong up it, but my mile split was a dissapointing 6:12.  I was able to close the gap to a couple of runners that got away during the downhill, but they pulled away again on the last downhill. Grrrr.  I was too tired to care enough to kick more as we ran another lap around the building.

I measured 6.28 miles for the course so that last .2 (.28 measured) time was 1:35. My finish time was 38:59 (6:16 mi).  17th overall and 7th in my age group.  I am pleased with the result and I even ran the last 5K pretty close to a PR time.  My HR was almost the exact same as it was during the 5K (between 180 and 187 with an average of  181)

Ran an easy 2 to warmup and 3.55 to cool down. 56 miles for the week.  Next week I will bump it up to 60 and hold for a couple of weeks.

My foot hurt all day yesterday and into this morning, so I decided to go easy today and hopefully go harder tomorrow.  I think I made the right decision as the roads were all icy and I had a hard time ice-skating faster than 7:30 pace anyway.  Other than the foot, I felt pretty good.  My HR was a tad high on the run today as I think I needed the recovery day from the race on Saturday.  My right foot hurts on the bottom of the right side (in the middle).  Yeah, there.  I think that it got bruised somehow (camber of the Road??).  It started to feel better as I ran on the opposite side of the road today.

I ran a new run through Providence and River Heights.  Some hills, but nothing terrible.  I like that run as a recovery run.

Total Time: 59:14 (7:24ave)

Ave HR: 161

I waited until the snow stopped and the roads were clear to do my run today.  I had a 6 mile tinman tempo during a 11 mile run scheduled today so I decided to run the trusty Young Ward Loop.  I decided to run the 6 miles at 6:25-6:30 pace.  I felt fine after the 6 miles at Tinman Tempo pace so I decided to keep a sub 7 pace all the way home.  It is funny how easy 6:45 pace is after running 6:30's.  I dipped to 6:15 pace during the tempos accidently and it felt like I went anaerobic doing so, so I think that is my threshold pace(6:15-6:20).

Mile 1	6:41 (warmup-slightly downhill)	AVE HR 150
Mile 2	6:22	169
Mile 3	6:25	171
Mile 4	6:24	172
Mile 5	6:27	173
Mile 6	6:23	175
Mile 7	6:24	174
Mile 8	6:36	171
Mile 9	6:51	170
Mile 10	6:48	168
Mile 11	6:44	168

Total Time: 72:11 (6:33 ave)

Ave HR: 169 Max HR: 177

It was way too cold to run this morning but it was too late, I had already committed.  It was -6 degrees F.  I had to keep wiping the frost off my eye lashes so I could see.  I ran the Providence Canyon Road run nice and easy.  I was feeling a bit tired still from yesterday's workout only 13 hours earlier.  My foot is still hurting too.  It hurts every step for the first 2 miles then the pain goes away until the next day.  Weird.

Total Time: 61:37 (7:30 ave)

Ave HR: 158

I ran thru Millvlle and Providence today.  I ran two miles to warmup then did a faster mile in 6:41 to get into a groove then I did 4x4mins @ CV pace.  I did the first one into the wind at 6:00 mile pace.  The second was uphill at 6:05 pace.  The third was flat and with the wind at 5:58 pace. The last one was downhill (luckily as I was beat) at 5:44 pace.  I ran the rest of the miles at a decent clip (meaning as fast as I could will my legs to go when they are tired and sore).

My foot still hurts from last saturday.  I think something might really be wrong.  It hurts only during the first 3 miles of the run and then it feels better (numb maybe).  I hope it starts to get better soon.

Total Time: 1:17:04 (7:00 ave)

Ave HR: 163

Very easy run on fresh new snow.  It was soft but slick.  My body needed a major rest day.

Total time: 51:24 (8:34 ave)

Ave HR: 148

I think I underestimated the cold today.  I was dressed for 20 degrees and above and suffered for it.  The run felt good..my hands and cheeks didn't.  I started to sound like I was at the dentist getting teeth pulled.  My cheeks were numb just like with novocaine. 

Paul gave me some tips for my suspected PF injury.  I hope that I can have some improvement soon without losing mileage, but we will see.

Total Time: 1:59:12 (7:55 overall)

Ave HR: 146 (very easy pace)

I massaged my calves to death this weekend and occasionally iced my foot when I felt a bit of inflamation.  It felt really good after not running on Sunday, so I decided to continue with my scheduled monday run.  It felt pretty good in the morning, I tried to warm it up before taking off on the run.  It hurt a bit during the run, but felt better than on Sat and much better than last week.

I ran the Millville and Providence hills loop with more clothes on today.  I overdressed this time, so as not to be hypothermic this time.  Started with 2 easy miles warmup (7:18, 7:13) then wanted to run a tempo 5-6 miles at 6:30 pace.  I started out just right for the first two miles, 6:30 and 6:30.  Then the uphill started (6:42 with same effort).  The next mile killed me as it was a progressively steeper hill (7:41).  The next mile, I was at 6:30 pace for the flat half and then it climbed again for 1/2 mile (7:00).  The next mile started at the peak of the hill and was a fast downhill that started to hurt my foot so I layed off a bit (6:14).  The last three miles home were slight downhill and at a comfortable pace. (6:25, 7:05, 6:50).  I feel good to have got that one over with.  The uphill section was meant to help me for the striders 10 Mile race but we will see.

Total Time: 75:26 (6:52 ave)

Ave Hr: 163

My foot hurt worse today, especially on the downhills.  I considered cutting the run short but didn't.  I ran through Providence and River Heights at a nice and easy pace.

Total Time: 59:15 (7:24)

Ave Hr: 152

My foot was feeling better today (maybe from the ACE bandage wrap job on it last night) but I decided to lower the intensity and keep the mileage up and see if that helps.  So today I changed my fartlek run to a general aerobic run.  My goal was to stay ahead of the 7:00 guy.  I did have a chance meeting with Paul on the river trail.  Only the dedicated run when its cold and early.  Dedicated or stupid, who knows??

Total Time: 1:16:26 (6:57 ave)

Ave HR: 160

Easy miles in Providence Hills.  Did 2x20 sec hill surges and 4x20 sec striders.  Foot felt about the same as yesterday.  The rain during the run was a nice change from the freezing temperatures and snow.

Total Time: 59:28 (7:18 pace)

Ave HR: 158 

Easy Pace on Landfill Loop.  Body felt very fatigued and sore.  I did some rock-climbing and a pull-up and bench-press competition on Wed night and it all caught up with me this morning.  I am very sore.

Total Time: 46:29 (7:44)

Ave HR: 149

Striders WRC 10 Mile race.

It lived up to its hype of another killer race.  After an easy 2 miles to warmup we hit the road.  The weather cleared up enough to make the race almost ideal.  It was breezy and maybe 5 degrees cooler than I would like, but ideal.  Not as many big names came to this race but there were still plenty of people there.

There were some course issues that made the course too short, so I will report my splits based on my Garmin.  By the way, it came out to be about .1 mile short.

Mile 1	6:03	Little up Little Down
Mile 2	5:24	All Downhill, people still pulling away from me
Mile 3	6:04	Rolling Hills
Mile 4	6:16	More Rolling Hills
Mile 5	7:03	Start of big hills
Mile 6	7:10	Uhh... hilly
Mile 7	7:43	Kill me now!!
Mile 8	5:42	Finally!  Downhill again
Mile 9	6:13	Slower than I wanted, people that I passed on uphill passed me back during this mile.
Mile 10	6:07 (ave)	Passed the people back on short uphill and kicked hard.  I passed a guy in the last 100meters.

Finished in 1:03:01 (6:18 ave Pace). 

Ave HR: 177 Max HR: 186 (during last .25mi) 

12th Place overall and 5th in Men 25-29

Official Results are here: RESULTS

I feel really good about it as I was able to work the uphills ok.  I still couldn't rip the downhills like the people around me. That may be something to work on.  My foot issue was not much of a factor.  I don't think it slowed me much if any.  It is nice that we have a break before the next race as my body is trashed right now.

Some people on the Blog had some GREAT races and Congrats to them.  Especially Paul and Ted.  They both ran very well.

Cooled down with some more miles.

Ran the Providence - Millville loop this morning.  Daylight Savings made it pretty dark and made it seem really early.  I was feeling ok after the 10 miler on Sat and decided to try and do a tempo run.  I started out easy with two miles in 7:19 and 7:11 then had two hilly miles to the top of Providence 7:23, 8:17.  I went hard up the hills but not quite MP effort.  As I crested the last of the hills, I decided to run hard the rest of the way home and see how it went.  There were a lot of downhill miles that made it easy and made me lazy so that when the flat miles snuck up on me, I wasn't working hard enough.  I went, 6:29, 6:08(downhill -felt like 6:40), 6:36(flat miles now), 6:33, 6:21 (really focused that mile), 6:33, and 6:34.  I walked around the block when I was done to cool down.  It felt pretty good considering how my legs felt.  They were pretty sore and tired by the end of todays run.

Total Time: 75:25 (6:51 ave)

Ave HR: 163 

Ran some easy miles on my Providence - River heights loop. 

Total time: 62 min

Ave HR: 149

Nibley Loop via paved river trail.  Easy pace, flat course.  Foot was feeling a bit better today than yesterday.

Total Time: 63:34 (7:29 ave)

Ave HR: 153

Ran the Young Ward Loop this morning.  I wanted to do another tempo instead of a fartlek to give my foot some more time to heal.  It felt pretty good today actually.

The Goal was to do 2 miles under 7:00 then 5 @ 6:30 then the rest under 7:00.  I went: 6:59, 6:54, 6:29, 6:31, 6:31, 6:30, 6:30, 6:55, 6:58, 6:58, 6:52.  I felt like I was working way too hard for all my miles.  The 6:30's felt like 6:15's and the ~7:00's felt like 6:40's.  It was tough and I am wiped out now.  It feels good though to still hit my goal times inspite of feeling sub-par.

Total Time: 1:14:05 (6:44 ave)

Ave HR: 165 (170 ave during 6:30's) 

Top of Center Street in Providence and Back.  Easy recovery pace.  Felt Good, I am pretty tired this week.  I need more sleep

Total Time: 53:20 (7:37ave)

Ave HR: 152

Nothing like an easy long run on muddy trails to soothe the soul.  I feel the best I think I ever have felt after a  15 mile run.  I got pretty dehydrated but that is my fault for not carrying any water.  We started from the Canal Trail and ended up at the campground and wandered back.  Other than a few close calls on the ice I made out ok.  I was the muddiest at the turnaroud so I won that prize ( I wasn't allowed insideour house until I hosed off first).  It sure was nice to sleep in today and run with company (Paul, Jon, James, and Dan...aka the Bible Boys).

Total Time: 2:07:07 (8:27 mi)

Ave HR: 155 (high as a result of heat/hydration)

60.5 Miles for the week and I was able to hold that mileage now for 3-weeks.  Time to shoot for 65.

I was not looking forward to today's workout and it didn't dissapoint.  I ran a Young Ward loop via the Landfill.  I started out with a 7:01 mile then did a mini 2 mile tempo (6:25, 6:28) then jumped right into some 1000m repeats.

I only approximated the 1000 meters as I didn't set the Garmin to metric beforehand.  I did 6x1000meters @ goal pace of 5:55 mi with 2-min recovery in-between.  I know I could have gotten by on less recovery, but I wanted to try and hit my times and not crap-out.  I went:

.63mi in 3:44 (5:56)

.62mi in 3:43 (5:57)

.63mi in 3:46 (6:01)

.63mi in 3:44 (5:56)

.63mi in 3:43 (5:56)

.62mi in 3:42 (5:55)

After the last repeat, I ran an easy mile in 7:43 to recover then tried to stay below 7:00 miles the rest of the way home (6:57, 7:00, 6:55, 6:45 pace (.5 mile)).  I was wiped when I got home, but I was glad that was able to get pretty close to my goal pace.

Total Time: 1:24:52 (6:47ave)

Ave HR: 163

Very Easy miles past Logan High, up the Blvd and onto the canal trail.  Footing was challenging on the trail in the dark so took it really easy.  I stopped at Logan High Track to do 4x100m striders.  They felt, but my legs are feeling pounded lately.  The foot is doing great though.

Total Time: 1:14:39 (8:04mi ave)

Ave HR: 150 

Its a Girl!!!  6 lbs 14oz 18.5 in Healthy Girl.  I am the proud father of a boy (now two years old) and a tiny little girl.  We couldn't be more pleased with how everything worked out.  Both Mother and Daughter (Lily is her name) are doing great and were sick of me hovering, so they kicked me out of the Hospital for a run. 

Ran an easy 8 around Providence and River Heights.

Total Time: 58:46 (7:20)

Ave HR: 157

Thanks everyone for the comments and support!  Everyone is continuing to do well.

Today I took advantage of family sleeping over at my house to sneak out early for a run while everyone is asleep.  I didn't feel up to killing myself on a killer workout (my son is sick and I feel a hint of it coming on) so I ran more by feel today than specific times.  I started out easy for the first mile and then built in intensity.  By mile 4 I was running around 6:30-6:40 pace effort (I ran on lots of hills and for the uphill miles, it was slower and on the downs it was faster).  I ran about 4 miles total of higher intensity tempo work, but I wanted to do a bit of VO2Max stuff so I ran by Logan High Track and did an 800 pretty hard to see where I was at.  I ran the first 400 in 76 and then ran the next 400 in 80 seconds.  (Total 2:36) It seemed pretty hard, as I was tired, but I think I could shave 10 seconds off pretty easy.  My 800meter PR is 2:23 so I think I am getting close to that fitness level.  With some VO2max training I think I can go for my mile PR record this summer of 5:03 as that is a goal of mine.

Total Time: 1:27:06 (6:56 ave)

Ave HR: 163

Funny story:  Today while running in the morning frost.  I was running on the sidewalk and a minivan jumped the curb and hit a pole right next to me.  It was only 10-15 feet away.  Luckily it was not moving that fast.  I stopped and made sure everyone was ok.  The hispanic family was fine.  The windows were so frosted over I couldn't even see in them.  They obviously couldn't see out either.  I looked over the damage with them and laughed because the hood was rusted from the last time they ran into something.  I gave them a lecture about scraping their windows and some sob story of how they almost killed me.  They were more scared about me calling the cops and wanted to get out of there.  

I needed an easy day today so I ran the Landfill Loop.  My family is doing great.  We should have my wife and daughter home tonight.  My 2-year old son is still jealous, but will now at least look at his sister.  It sure is funny.

Total Time: 45:24 (7:33)

Ave HR: 149

AM: Ran with Paul at 9:00.  I tried to get up to run with Jon but didn't make it.  I am not getting enough sleep nowdays.  Pace was nice and conversational.  Did some striders on the USU track. 

Total Time: 57:12 (7:09 ave)

Ave HR: 157

PM: Ran with Paul and James in Blacksmith Fork Canyon.  We parked near mile marker 14 and drove up between marker 3 and 4.  We were dissapointed to see that we had a pretty stiff headwind coming down the canyon.  We had illusions of cranking out some mile splits similar to what we will get in the Striders 1/2 marathon but the wind slowed us down.  We wanted to do a warmup then do 4 miles fast.  James and I ran together on the fast portion while Paul pulled away effortlessly.  We did the 2.5 mile warmup with these splits: 7:15 pace for a half-mile (at that point we were on the TOU mile splits), 6:39, 6:35.  For our fast miles, I wanted to see what marathon pace and 1/2 marathon pace (on a downhill course) felt like (6:00 to 6:20's).

We went: 6:15, 6:03, ~6:20, 6:05.

We ran the rest of the way out of the canyon under 7:00 mile average.  I felt ok during the run.  I was getting dehydrated, and I had to take a bio break during the third fast mile, but felt better for a while after.  The last 2 miles were miserable.  I need to figure out a better system to keep my stomach in check.  

In all, I think I am on track to break 1:22 in the half with a good shot at breaking 1:20.  It was a tough week finding time to run this much, and I need more sleep, but I survived and it turned out to be a great week.    

Total Time: 1:14 (6:44 ave)

Ave HR: 165

Max HR: 182 (last fast mile)

67.3 miles this week (65 planned for next)

This morning after sleeping a handful of hours, I decided to run the First Dam Run 10K as a tempo workout.  I ran some easy miles to Merlin Olsen Park and got going.  I was shooting for 6:30 average for the run.

Mile 1: 6:22 Not a bad start

Mile 2: 6:36 Uphill and into the Canyon wind

Mile 3: 6:38 Half Up/ Half Down, the canyon wind was bad through here

Mile 4: 6:14 Downhill

Mile 5: 6:15 Flat

Mile 6: 6:20 Flat, was getting pretty tired and had to work pretty hard

Mile 6.2: 1:18 (5:57 pace) No kick, just pushed hard to the finish

39:43 for the 10K. (6:24 ave) 

That was 2 minutes slower than I raced it last fall, so I know I have a lot to look forward to this year with my times.  This is the year of PR's

Easy miles back home

Total Time: 1:23:30 (6:54 ave)

Ave HR: 162

Easy recovery run on Providence Hills.  Ran in light rain, was a lot warmer than I thought and was overdressed.  Did 6x100m striders during the run.

Total Time: 60:55 (7:26ave)

Ave HR: 157

I really wanted to get a few miles in this morning, but I couldn't as famly issues arose.

Easy run with the Del Sol relay guys in the evening.  Lots of fun, especially at dinner afterward.  It was nice to see Dave again and hang out for a while.  The run was cold and wet.  Perfect training for Del sol as it is obviously cold and wet in AZ (how do you lay on the sarcasm while blogging??).  I am getting excited.

Total Time:  52:00 (7:39 ave)

Ave Hr: 155 

Easy Run on Providence-River Heights Loop.  After running twice now (in 12 hours) in lousy weather, I am looking forward to sweating it out in AZ.  We leave tonight.

Total Time: 60:23 (7:32)

Ave HR: 151

Day 1 of the Relay Del Sol

Drove from St. George to Wickenburg all morning (6.5 hours due to construction and the traffic around Hoover Dam).  We had some good times in the van watching movies and joking around.  I was very sick of driving already and we haden't even started the race.  Our team started at 6:00 PM and since I was the last of the 12 runners, I still had quite a while before my run (technically my runs didn't start until Sat).  I got out and aided people and jogged a bit to stay loose.  No idea on mileage, but I will call it 2.

Day 2 of the Relay, but my work is just beginning.  Once we escaped from the cops (a story for another day), Van 2 (Laud, Chris, James, Ryan, Andy, and myself) drove to exchange 6 to wait until Van 1 showed up.  A band was playing and excitement was high.  We stayed in contact with Van 1 and knew that our team had lost about 4 minutes to Google, but it was early.  We had blown away from the other teams that had started with us for good, and didn't think about it again.  Our van ran some good legs with some of us losing a bit of time and some of us gaining a bit back. 

I got the baton at 12:32 AM and took off.  I was running all by myself with Google about 10 minutes ahead.  I had 3 miles of flat and then a gradual climb over the next 3.5 miles (Leg 12 = 6.9 miles according to the Garmin 305).  I started out pretty hot, full of energy and excitement.  I could also tell the lower elevation helped.  My goal pace (worst case scenario) was 6:30 average.  I ran 5:51, 5:58, 6:03, 6:18, 6:13, 5:59, and 5:33 (.9).  I felt like I had a lot left, but felt like I was working pretty hard.  I heard that I made up about 3 minutes on Google during this leg. 

Total Time: 41:58 (6:05 ave pace for 6.9 miles)

Ave HR: 183 Max HR: 187

We then drove to exchange 18 to catch some z's before our next legs.  Big mistake.  That exchange was at a location with 2 porta pots and dirt everything.  I didn't feel like sleeping in the dirt, so all six guys tried to get comfortable in the minivan.  Everyone slept a bit, but I think I only slept about 1/2 hour.  Bummer.  Van 1 came in flying and Google realized a race was brewing.  Laud ran an excellent leg.  Chris ran awesome, evan gaining time on his guy.  James ran a fast 10K for his leg and made up chunks of time, and we were loving it.  Ryan took off and also gained some time back.  Andy took off and man, that guy can run.  He passed people like they were standing still.  He came into my exchange only about 1:20 behind Google (well within sight of them). 

My leg two (leg 24) was 5.4 miles according to the Garmin, was at sunrise and had rolling hills, but finished with a climb of 150 feet over 3/4 mile.  I took off working to catch Google.  I knew I could close the gap.  I ran 5:45, 5:47, 5:53 (18 min 5K = fastest 5K I have run in years), 5:53, 6:25 (uphill), 2:27 (.4 = 6:17 ave).  I closed the gap to 20 seconds and handed off to Dave.  I know I could have closed and passed him, but I would have been too spent to run again, so I compromised and closed as much as possible while trying to save something.

Total Time: 32:12 for 5.4 miles (5:58 ave) (my actual time was about 2 seconds faster for each leg as I started the watch before I recieved the baton and stopped it after I handed it off, but I will record what my watch read exactly).

Ave HR: 186 Max HR: 195

After my leg, Van 2 drove to exchange 30 to wait.  It was now warm and sunny, we didn't have time to sleep, so we just hung out.  We were pretty pumped about closing such a large gap on Google, and we knew it was going to be a race.  Van 1 came into the exchange spent but they did their job minimizing the gap.  We knew it was up to us to close the gap ( 3-4 minutes, I don't remember).  Unfortunately, the Goggle runners ran their best legs on those first two legs and opened up a lead.  James ran an excellent leg, running a great time, but was frustrated by running on a stretch of road with a million stop lights.  He had to wait at all of them, losing all the time he was making up.  I am sure he will comment about this, but the course difficult due to the lights.  Ryan ran well, but also got stopped at a light and had trouble getting going again.  Andy ran a suicidal pace in the heat, and made up some time but we were down by about 12 minutes (2 miles). 

My last leg (leg 36) was 3.75 miles according to my Garmin.  Most of it was on paved trails along a Golf Course and Park.  It was very poorly marked with branches running off in many directions.  I ran what seemed like the right course, having to adjust a couple of times to get back on it.  My legs were so trashed by now it was a miracle they even worked.  I also had some serious cramping in my chest and stomach (full body side-ache) that didn't help.  The heat was so bad (for me at least) that my water-soaked shirt dried in the first .5 mile.  I am used to running in the snow and below freezing weather, not 80+ degrees.  I ran as hard as I could, but Google never came into view.  I do figure that I gained about a minute is all.

I ran 6:04, 6:16, 6:19, 4:37 (6:12 pace for .75)

Total Time: 23:17 (6:13 ave)

Ave HR: 179 Max HR: 185

We finished 2nd overall (71 teams) and first in the Mens Open Division with a time of 19:10:57  well ahead of our goal time of 20 hours.  Results are HERE. I am impressed we got so close to winning the thing.  Except for 2-3 bad legs, it would be a whole different story, but we put ourselves within reach of the victory.  Nice Running Team!

Not exactly sure how many easy miles I ran with warmups and cooldowns and aiding, but I will call it 8.

I figured out I ran 6:04 ave pace for the 16.05 miles.  I am very pleased with that result. As my worst case pace was ~ 6:30 and my expectations were closer to 6:10 - 6:15.

Ran and easy Landfill Loop this morning.  I was pretty sore yesterday, especially after sitting in the Van driving home for 13 hours.  I could feel major fatigue in the legs, but 7:30 pace was very comfortable.  I didn't enjoy being welcomed back to Logan with a run in the Rain/Snow.  I got soaked thru.  I will need a few more days recovery from the Relay.

Total Time: 44:54 (7:29 ave)

Ave HR: 156

Providence Hills Run (up 200E, down 100E).  Did 4x100m striders during run.  Legs felt ok until I did the striders.  The speed made them hurt.  I still need a bit more recovery from the relay.

Total Time: 60:25 (7:22 ave)

Ave Hr: 154

Ran the Providence and Millville Loop this morning.  I can't believe that my legs are STILL fatigued from the relay.  Man!!  I started out easy then pushed it pretty hard on the up hills and ran 1 fast mile at 1/2 marathon pace to see if I was a wimp or if my legs really are as tired as they feel.  I did 1 mile in 6:00 on a 1% downhill.  I briefly thought about doing two but the next was into the wind and had rolling hills (wimped out).  I ended up with a 7:18 next mile and that felt hard.  I felt like my HR was low but I couldn't get the fuel to run fast today.  I think I had better do something like 8 miles tomorrow and Friday to try and get back into racing shape.

Total Time: 1:25:20 (7:10 ave)

Ave HR: 158 (Max HR 173 on uphill miles, 172 at end of fast mile)

Ran to Merlin Olsen Park and did 4x100m  striders on the grass.  Then ran the first dam 5K course then ran home.  Miles were easy paced, but felt hard.

Total Time: 1:03:45 (7:58 ave)

Ave HR: 144

Easy Miles on Paved River Trail.  I did 4x100m striders during the run.  I almost didn't go this morning, as I have felt I needed the rest, but went anyway.  I figured 3 easy miles is better for me than nothing.  I actually felt pretty good during the run.  I think I will be well rested for tomorrow. 

Total Time: 25:15 (7:25 ave)

Ave HR: 149

I had a couple of goals coming into the race.  The first was to run sub 1:22.  The second goal, recently set being to run sub 1:20.  After this week of training and knowing how flat I have felt since the relay, I knew today was make or break.

After a brief warmup I started out just with James and settled into my pace.  So far so good, crossing the first mile (actually 1.1) in 6:26.  Actually I felt fine thru the 5K point (according to my garmin) in 18:15.  About that point, I got a sideache and I had to slow to breathe thru it.  I watched James pull away.  I was pretty bummed about it, because I knew I could run with him, but it wasn't going to happen today.  I crossed the 10K point still looking ok in a new PR of just under 37 min. At that point I was starting to unravel.  My legs were super fatigued and couldn't get them going.  One foot in front of the other for the next few miles.  I was slowing more and more and by mile 11 I was way over 6:00 pace and in the 6:40 range.  That was frustrating.  I ran with Taha for a while and we whined and complained about how we suck and should have been much faster then we were.  He left me for a while, but then by the end of the race, I reeled him in again.  I got a second wind when I saw the finish line, but too little too late.  1:21:45.  I was happy I still beat 1:22.  I think I left my legs in AZ.

I was glad that Paul ran so well as he is deserving of that honor.  I know many other bloggers ran a great race and placed well.  I learned a few lessons today.  1.  Pre-Race BBQ Hamburgers give you a stomach cramp at mile 4.  2.  I need to figure on longer recoverys between key races.  3.  I am a wimp and give in too easily to my doubting mind when I think my body is falling apart.

Here are my mile splits based on the mile markers:

1.  6:26 (long)

2.  5:53

3.  5:56

4.  5:53

5.  6:06

6.  6:08

7.  6:06

8.  6:12

9.  6:40

10.  6:17 (short)

11.  6:42

12.  6:38

13.  6:14

13.1  :29

Total Time: 1:21:45 (6:14 ave)

Ave HR: 180 Max HR: 188

This is my 1/2 marathon PR as it is the first one I have run.  Also, it is my unofficial 10K PR as well so I have to be pleased with that!

Ran a short cooldown and hit the road with the family.

I got some good rest yesterday and felt pretty decent today.  I started out nice and easy and by mile 5 I was running 7:00 miles easily.  That is a good sign for me.  I ran the Providence-River Heights Loop. 

Total Time: 57:50 (7:11 ave)

Ave Hr: 155

Today I ran the Young Ward loop via the Landfill and the Paved River Trail.  I didn't feel great going out the door, but I am glad I went as I felt better once I got going.  My goal today was to run 7 miles at goal MP (6:30ish) and then be strong through the rest of the run.  I ran one mile to warmup at 6:56 pace and go to work.

Mile	Pace	Ave HR
2	6:30	164
3	6:32	166
4	6:24	168
5	6:28	168
6	6:26	168
7	6:26	167
8	6:25	167
9	6:35	166
10	6:35	165
11	6:43	165
12	6:41	164
12.5	6:35	165

After the 7 miles tempo, I decided to ignore the watch and just run at what felt comfortable, while still trying to maintain sub 7.  I was pleased when I heard the mile beep and checked the times to see that I wasn't slowing down too much.

I feel really good about the run as it shows to me that I can hold 6:30ish pace for at least 1/2 of the marathon.  Two months ago I thought that 6:30 was too fast but not now.  If I can keep my HR below 170, I can run for quite a while at that pace.  I do hate it when I feel much better during a training run than during a race, but I will live.

Total Time: 1:22:03 (6:33 ave)

Ave HR: 165 Max HR: 170

Recovery Day.  I ran and picked up Paul and we ran a River Heights Loop and then I tacked on some River Trail.  Felt good to go slow.

Total Time: 1:03:50 (7:59)

Ave HR: 145

I ran the Providence - Millville loop today hitting all the hills.  I started out at about 7:00 pace and then pushed up the 200E hill thru the neighborhoods to canyon road.  I was pretty tired as a result of pushing so hard.  Once I hit the top, I jumped into a fartlek.  3 min hard 1 easy.  I was shooting for 6:00 pace as if it were flat.  Some of the sections had some good downhill, so those sections were faster.  During the second fast section, I caught up to a guy running at about 7:00 pace.  I had seen him before running in Providence.  I asked if he wanted to join me and he did.  His name is Mark Jorgensen and he claimed a 3:10 marathon PR.  I looked him up on Athlinks (3:10:41 @ TOU in 02).  He is training for Ogden.  I think he could break 3 hours.  He kept up with me for 3 miles or so before he had to go home.  It was nice to have some random company.  I invited him to join us for our long run saturday and he said he would.  After he left, I did 1 more fast 3 mins and died.  I coudln't keep the pace on the slight uphill I was on.  I decided I was done at that point and went home.

#1 .53 mi in 3:01 (5:43 pace)

#2 .52 mi in 3:04 (5:54 pace)

#3 .58 mi in 3:14 (5:37 pace) good downhill here, and got talking and forgot about the time.

#4 .52 mi in 3:00 (5:46 pace) Mark's last one

#5 .47 mi in 3:00 (6:30 pace)

I ran the rest of the way home at about 7:00 pace.  I was wiped.  Looking forward to an easy day tomorrow.

Total Time: 1:16:31 (6:53)

Ave HR: 164 Max HR: 181

Easy 5 miles on an old favorite (Paved River Trail via HS Park).  Nice n' easy

Total Time: 39:20 (7:52 ave)

Ave Hr: 145

Ran to Pauls house and met up with the Logan crew (Paul, Jon, James, Dan, and newcomer Mark).  We took it pretty easy for most the run with a fast mile (Mr. Garmin said 6:06).  We ran up Logan Canyon to the campground and back.  Nice run to train the body to burn fat.  I was feeling low on fuel the whole second half.  I ran home from Pauls house after the run

Total Time: 2:52:13 (8:05)

Ave HR: 150

Paul, I had a bit of a heart rate drift towards the end as predicted.  I drifted about 10bpm.  Dehydration and fatigue.

Good week for me as I hit my goal of 65 miles.  I plan on 70 next week.

I ran my Young Ward via Landfill loop this morning.  It was perfect weather for running, just a bit chilly.  I wanted to be close to my time of last week as that was the fastest time I have run on this course.  (Last week it was 1:22:03).  I started out easy with a 6:57 and then a 6:42 mile.  After that, I began a Tinman Tempo (goal 6:30 pace) and the rest of the miles were between 6:20 and 6:33.  In all, a great run.

Total Time: 1:21:26 (6:30 ave)

Ave Hr: 165

AM:  Providence River Heights loop at recovery pace. Just another day.

Total time: 60:16

Ave Hr: 149

PM: Borrowed a jogging stroller from Dan and took Jaxon on a run.  I went naked....no Garmin, no watch, no checking the clock coming or going.  I had no idea how fast I ran.  I went mostly slow, but Jaxon kept saying "Faster".  So I had a few pickups thrown in.  A good run, except it was too soon after dinner, with too many cookies afterward.

Ran a couple of loops on the paved river trail and around Willow park.  It was a nice morning for a run.  Warmer temps and fresh rain.

Total Time: 62:57 (7:40 ave)

Ave Hr: 148

I wan't feeling great this morning and the snow didn't help.  I was soaked thru pretty quick into the run.  It must have been wet snow.  I ran up the University Track running with miles between 7:00 and 6:30 pace.  I felt lousy so I decided to try and do 800m hard and see what happened.  I ran 3x800m with 200m jog recovery.  I went 2:41, 2:45, 2:47.  It was awful.  I nursed my wounded body back home with miles between 6:50 and 7:30.  My body is tired from the mileage increase, so fatigue was to be expected.  Glad that run is over.

Total Time: 1:18:24 (7:00 ave)

Ave Hr: 161 Max HR: 182 (during 800ms)

Landfill Loop from Home.  It was sure nice to get out and enjoy the quiet morning.  I have my running batteries re-charged after runs like that.

Total Time: 45:57 (7:39)

Ave Hr: 149

Ran Blacksmith Fork canyon with Paul and James.  It was a great workout. We ran up 9 miles at 7:15 ave pace then James and I ran some MP down.  Paul did laps around us, and ran some serious stuff, but I am pleased with my effort.  We ran 4 miles (6:25, 6:35, 6:21, 6:29) then did an easy mile then ran 4 more (6:33, 6:24, 6:28. 6:17).  A cool down and 19 miles it is. 

According the the toy, we started at 4700 ft and climbed to 5300 ft and back.

Total time: 2:12:34 (6:57 ave)

Ave HR: 164 (170 during the faster miles)

Thought I needed 19 to get 70 this week, but I counted wrong.  I would go do more but I have been doing yardwork nonstop since 12:00 and couldn't crawl another mile.

Young Ward loop this morning.  Med-easy effort.  Started out easy and did a bit of a progression run (7:30's down to 6:56 as fastest mile).  Felt better as the run went along.

Total time: 1:12:20 (7:09 ave)

Ave HR: 155

Ran to Paul's house and we ran together up the University's track.  We met James there and James and I did 5x1000m  with 200m recovery.  I wasn't sure the pace I wanted to go so we just took off and did what felt right. I originally thought that 5:50 to 5:55 mile pace would be fine.  We ended up going much faster than that.  We went

3:31 (5:32 mile pace)

3:35 (5:39 mile pace)

3:35 (5:39 mile pace)

3:34 (5:39 mile pace)

3:20 (5:14 mile pace)

I felt pretty good today.  Legs felt fresh and ready to go.  I did get some lactic acid buildup by the last 2, with the last one burning pretty good.  I was very pleased with the workout. 

Paul finished with his at about the same time and we ran back home at an easy pace. 

Total time: 1:37:13 (7:25 ave)

Ave Hr: 153 Max Hr: 181 on last interval

Providence Hills Loop this morning.  Nice morning for a run.  I am loving spring.  My legs were sore from yesterday so I went nice and easy on the hills...both up and down.

Total time: 64:15 (7:53 ave)

Ave Hr: 146

Landfill Loop with 6x100m striders.  My body needed another easy day today.  It was nice. 

Total time: 46:07 (7:41 ave)

Ave Hr: 147

Very easy miles on Paved River Trail.  Hopefully this will loosen me up a bit as I have felt tired and sore.

Total Time: 27:32 (7:58)

Ave Hr: 142

Striders 30K in Eden Utah. 1:59:12 (6:23 ave) 8th overall

I had a goal of breaking 2 hours for this race and I acheived that goal so I am happy.  I ran much better today than in the Half-Marathon a few weeks ago.  I was actually only 1 min slower on my 1/2 marathon split today on a hillier course. 

I started out with Bill C. and Ted L.  We ran 2 miles together and chatted about this and that.  They were going a tad faster than I wanted to go so I let them pull away.  James and Bob (HRH) came up on me and gave me some company.  We ended up running most of the way together.  We had Dustin there for a while and also Nathan too.  It was sure nice having some company to pass the time.  That made a big difference over the course of the race to run with people.

Here are the splits according to my Garmin, however, it wasn't that far off from the mile markers this race (Bad Tangents started to add up).

Mile 1	6:09	HR Ave = 169
2	6:15	175
3	6:13	175
4	6:20	178
5	6:22	175
6	6:21	176
7	6:24	176
8	6:27	176
9	6:22	177
10	6:17	179
11	6:11	177
12	6:16	175
13	6:22	177
14	6:21	178
15	6:34	178
16	6:32	179
17	6:44	179
18	6:45	181
18.69	4:10 (6:03 ave)	185

I ran well keeping pretty even splits until about mile 14-15 when I ran out of gas.  That is when James pulled away and it was Bob and I to the end.  I had to keep surging to stay with Bob as I would drop back every 1/4 mile or so but then realize I can stay with him, and it is all mental.  I did have a bit of a HR drift over the last 5K, but it could have been the hills not me.

Good Job to Paul for winning...again and winning the circuit.  The fastrunningblog had a great showing with most of the top 10 runners are on the blog.  We did miss Chad and Scott, but I hear they went 1& 2 in the 5K they ran this morning.  Good Job everyone!!

Oh, I was dry-heaving after drinking 30 oz of Gatorade at the finish line.  Not fun.  Closest I have come to losing it after a race (I have a stomach like a rock normally).

Total Time: 1:59:12 (6:23 ave)

Ave Hr: 177 Max HR: 187

4th in age group, but since Paul won that bumped me up to win a 3rd place medal!

Easy run on Providence - River Heights Loop.  My hamstrings are really sore and tender to the touch.  My HR was a tad high.  Other than that, felt fine.

Total Time: 61:32 (7:42 mi)

Ave HR: 150

Very Easy 3.5 Miles wit Jaxon in the stroller in the evening.  Hammys are getting better.

Providence Hills loop.  Felt half decent today.  I pushed it really hard up the 1 mile of steep hills to get it under 8:00 mile for that mile.  My HR climbed to 178 going up.  The rest of the run was easy.

Total Time: 60:36 (7:23 ave)

Ave Hr: 155

Ran to Paul's house and ran with him on the Canal trail loop.  Parts of the run felt easy, but most felt like I was working too hard.  Legs are feeling their usual delayed fatigue from the race.  Nice morning for a run.

Total Time: 68:04 (7:28)

Ave Hr: 152

I woke up to some serious rain and I decided to go back to bed.  Oooo it felt so good.  I had to wait until the afternoon to get my run in.  I decided to actually run a "workout" today so I put my game face on and got going.

I ran the Providence - River Heights loop as a Tinman Tempo (at MP effort).  I had to push it pretty hard in sections to keep the pace up but overall I did great.  8 miles in 51:44 (6:28 ave).  Ave HR was 164.

I was going to push Jaxon in the stroller but it started to sprinkle and get colder so I decided not to take him. I immediately turned around at the house and ran the river trail loop (3.4 miles) easy.  It took just over 25 min.

Very Easy run in the morning.  I ran the landfill loop in 47:58 and had an average HR of 142.  A much needed recovery run.

Long Run with Paul and James.  We started at the Canal Trail (dugway) and ran up to first dam.  We ran up the switchbacks to the Bonneville Trail and over to Green Canyon.  At that point the snow started and the run was becoming quite unpleasant.  Yep snow.  It was 80 earlier in the week now it is snowing.  Paul and I ran up past the end of the road about 3/4 mile past where the singletrack starts.  James turned around and went home pretty close to the single track trail (as he ran long yesterday too).  We hit 9 miles at about 9:00 mile ave, but it felt much harder as we had climbed to ~6500 ft (from 4600 ft).  The snow was accumulating quite well at that point (1-2 inches maybe).  Once we truned around, we realized the wind had been blowing up the canyon and now we were running into the blizzard-like weather.  It was cold and miserable.  I had a hard time seeing as the snow was blowing in my eyes, boo hoo.  Once we left the canyon, the weather cleared up nicely.  We picked up the pace at the end with the last mile (flat) in 6:51.  Today's run was all about time on my feet, not pace but it still is depressing to feel like you are working hard, but still running 8:00 miles.

Total Time: 2:30:19 (8:21)

Ave Hr: 151

AM: (6 miles) Landfill loop with 6x100m striders.  Wasn't feeling especially spry.  The striders were pretty sub-par.  "Looks like sombody has a case of the mondays.."

Total Time: 44:38 (7:26)

Ave Hr: 146

PM: (3.5 miles) River Trail pushing Jaxon in the stroller.  Easy pace, great weather.  Legs felt better this afternoon.  No watch.

Bad News:  I didn't get in the Lottery for the St George Marathon... Bummer

General Aerobic run on my Providence Hills loop.  I had some gravity assisted and gravity impeaded miles, but overall, I beat the 7:00 guy.

Total Time: 57:17 (6:59)

Ave Hr: 159

Good News:  It turns out that the list I read was incomplete.  I did get in!  Sub 2:40 training starts June 1.

Easy run on paved river trail and over to Logan High School.  Ran into Paul there doing mile repeats. I wanted to get the feel of a 5:00 mile for tomorrows time trial so I ran 1 lap with him at his mile repeat pace (76 sec).  I then ran an easy 400 and caught him on his last lap of that repeat and ran one more fast lap (75 sec).  They felt ok, but I only did 1 at a time not 4.  I do have confidence that I can break my PR of a 5:03 1600 meter run.  Looking forward to tomorrow...

Total time: 54:31 (7:47 ave)

Ave Hr: 154 Max HR: 182

I have always wanted to break a 5:00 mile.  I ran a 5:03 1600m in high school and figured that would be as close as I got.  Today I got one step closer to that goal.  I set out to run a sub 5:00 1600m today on a track.  I met up with Paul and James this morning at the USU track and did a nice warmup.  The plan was to have Paul pace laps 1 and 3 and have James help throughout.  I have to say that I tried hard and ran well, but fell short...barely.  I ran 5:00 exactly!

Splits: Lap 1 - 74.5

Lap 2 - 76.5 (2:31 800m)

Lap 3 - 76.2

Lap 4 - 72.8 (2:29 800m 5:00 total)

Max HR 188 (Should be pretty close to my actual max HR)

I felt like I gave it my all and am pleased that I set a new PR (9 years later).  James thinks I should have tried for 4:50 so that even if I fell short of 4:50 I would've made sub 5.  I think he is probably right.  Maybe next time...

Thanks James and Paul for the help! 

Another great morning for running.  I ran a random route based on how I felt at the given intersection.  I spent much of the run on the paved river trail and on the golf course.  Very easy pace

Total Time: 49:00 (8ish)

Ave Hr: 146

Perfect conditions for the Smithfield Health Days Fun Run.  I haven't run a 5K in a while so I decided that today would be a perfect tune-up race for Ogden next week.  Plus it turned out to be a fast course with a gradual uphill (200 feet climb) for the first half and the same downhill on the way back (Out and back).

I didn't expect a lot of competiton in the race.  Especially because I saw Carson Campbell (4th at TOU 2006 2:32-ish) jump into the 10K and not the 5K.  The 10K started first with Carson and James the obvious favorites for 1-2.  The 5K started 5 minutes later with the first 1.5 miles on the same course.  It was the usual start with the kids in an all out sprint.  Once they were out of the way (100 meters or so), there were only 3 high school kids out in front.  Dan and I ran pretty strong the first mile together and reeled in the high school guys.  It was fun passing all the slower 10K people as they commented about how bummed they were that the 5K people caught them.  Sorry guys..  I was feeling pretty good once I pulled into the lead, so I decided to keep pushing and see what happened.  I did ease up a bit in the third mile as I knew I would win, but still pressed for a PR.  I ended up only 7 seconds behind my all-time cross country (HS) PR with this being my Road 5K PR.  I measured the course to be 3.07 on the Garmin, but it is supposed to be certified.  Close enough for me.

17:33 (5:39 ave)

Here are the splits:

Mile	Time	Ave HR
1	6:02	177
2	5:51	189
3	5:18	192
3.1	:20	193

My HR was much higher today than it was on thursday during the mile time trial.  I figure that the up-hill pushed it up there and then I just maintained it.  Makes me wonder about how much harder I could run the mile as my max today was 195 as opposed to 188 on thursday.

Dan still ran stong and finished 4th overall and 1st in his age group.  He had to stop for a bit for ...a bio break and that hurts on a race as short as a 5K.  Other than that, he met his goals for the race.

James ran really well and was way ahead of third place and not too far behind Carson.  James could be around 2:40 at ogden next week.

Oh, bonus!  I won $20 for first overall.  My first ever prize money! 

Ran 2 mile warmup and 2 miles of cooldown.

Race Results are HERE

Landfill loop nice n' easy.  Joints were a little sore, but other than that, feeling good.

Total Time: 44:35 (7:26 ave)

Ave Hr: 149

Why am I so tired and sore during a taper?  I didn't feel like getting up this morning, but I did anyway and ran a miserable 5.  I ran my 5-mile river trail loop.  Slow.  I did losen up a bit as time went on but my joints are sore.  I am sure I will feel better tomorrow.

Total Time: 38:56 (7:48)

Ave Hr: 147

Last day of anything other than very easy miles before Ogden.  I felt much better today on my run.  It could have been the hour and 15 min walk I took last night.  Today I ran my Providence - River Heights loop.  I ran mile 4 at race pace.  It felt good.

Total time: 58:45 (7:21)

Ave HR: 155

Met up wtih Paul and ran on the Paved River Trail.  Nice and easy pace.  I am feeling ready to go.

Total Time: 38:34 (7:43)

Ave Hr: 149

One last easy run to shake out the legs.  No watch.  Ogden here we come......

I have been looking forward to the Ogden Marathon for some time now as I have wanted to prove that I can run faster than my PR of 3:11:20 at TOU.  I had a lofty goal of sub 2:50, but knew that if all pieces fell into place I could run even faster than that.  Unfortunately, that didn't happen, but I am still pleased with an 18 min PR.  Good to get the 3-hour monkey off the back.

I ran 2:52:45 - 16th overall and 4th in my age group. Results are HERE:

After a brief warmup and some standing around, the race started out nicely, close to being on time and in ideal conditions.  My splits are according to the course markers.

Mile 1: 6:08 - Maybe a tad fast, but on a nice downhill

Mile 2: 6:23 - A tad slower than what I was wanting.

Mile 3: 6:14 - Right on pace now.

Mile 4: 6:16 - I ran for quite some time (till mile 17) with a student from Weber

Mile 5: 6:16 - Still feeling great

Mile 6: 6:17 - Sun is out full bore and I am now noticing it.  I was drinking from almost every aid station or dumping cold water on me as I knew I would need to stay hydrated and cool.

Mile 7: 6:14 - I don't remember anything about this mile

Mile 8: 6:14 - No more downhill now ...bummer

Mile 9: 6:37 - Too slow on the hills

Mile 10: 6:17 - Over compensated a tad.

Mile 11: 6:34 - Was trying to figure out if it was worth it to take a bio break as I felt the need pretty strong thru here.  Ended up not stopping.

Mile 12: 6:23 - Felt better this mile

Mile 13: 6:33 - Net Uphill mile I believe

Half Marathon: 1:23:10  - Was shooting for 1:23.   I am happy but I can tell that I am getting pretty tired and am having to work way to hard for the times.  But I can run 1:26:50 for the second half and meet my goal. 

Mile 14: 6:23 - Was energized running thru the crowd at the half start

Mile 15: 6:49 - Up the big hill and back down the other side.  Was not as hard as I thought it would be.  Still very uneasy about my energy levels.  I have taken 3 gu's by now and power aid at most aid stations to try and keep my legs going.  I dumped water on my head at every aid station from here to the finish (there were a lot of stations..that was nice)

Mile 16: 6:30 - Losing it slowly

Mile 17: 6:37 - I got dropped by my running buddy.  Just couldn't go any faster.

Mile 18: 6:21 - Was looking forward to this mile for so long that when I saw my split, I was bummed as it had a great downhill and I couldn't take advantage of it fully.

Mile 19: 6:40 - Down the canyon but still slowing down....Oh boy

Mile 20: 7:01 - I have lost it now.  I can't move, I actually almost passed out here.  I was wobbly and almost stopped to walk, I was so out of it.

Mile 21: 6:55 - Still slow, but I can see straight now.

Mile 22: 6:47 - Trying so hard to go under 2:50...Can I do it?

Mile 23: 6:39 - I had hoped to stay under 6:30's thru here and can't go any faster

Mile 24: 7:22 - Somewhere in mile 23, my body shut down and mile 24 was pathetic.  My HR dropped with the pace, but I couldn't get the body to go.  I am in survival mode.  I know now that 2:50 is not happening, but am still giving it my all.

Mile 25: 7:33 - Same thing

Mile 26: 7:09 - I know I am almost done, but no gas in the tank.  Sasha ran me in for a good half mile.  That helped me a ton.  What a great gesture!  I was grateful for the support

Finish: 1:18 (6:00 pace)  Wow I hurt.  I need water....HR climbed up to 188 on last mile.

I would say that the "wall" met me around mile 18 or so.  I was able to keep moving, but not at the pace I wanted.  If I had gone out slower, maybe I could've avoided the wall, but I had to put myself out there to try and go for it.  I did what I had set out to do and the chips didn't fall into place for a sub 2:50.  However, I am sure I ran my best possible race for the day and I am very pleased with it.  Who can argue with such a large improvement over less than a years span? Last year at this time I was running < 15 miles a week and couldn't have run a 10K under 40 minutes to save my life.

I was very happy for the other bloggers who did so well.  So many people ran well in-spite of warm temperatures.  Good job to everyone, but especially to Paul who deserves the validation of his hard work and gets to see the fruit of his labors.  What a day!

Still Recovering....I am sore, but not as bad as TOU last year.

I might run some tomorrow.  I am only slightly sore now.

I was pretty itchy to get out running yesterday, but I put it off until today.  It sure felt good to get out and spin the wheels.  I took it easy, even running without a watch.  My calves still bother me, but other than that, I am ready to get back into it.

Felt pretty good this morning so I ran whatever my body felt comfortable running.  I ran the landfill loop in 41:22 (6:53 ave).  My HR was about right for the pace so I think I am mostly recovered now (160 ave).

Providence - River Heights loop easy.  I was feeling a bit sluggish which seemed normal.  I was not expecting it to be 50 degrees at 6:00.  I got pretty sweaty in my long sleeve shirt.

Total time: 59:07 (7:24)

Ave HR: 158

Met up with Jon, Paul, James and Dan to run up Temple Fork to the sawmill and back.  I felt really good today and had to limit myself to only this single run as I felt like I should be running more (as it is a Saturday).  I didn't really have time anyway, as I had to help family move immediately after the run followed by 3 hours of yardwork.  After all that, I am too tired to have the desire to run more.  Recovery week is over now.  Time to get some speed back in the legs to run some 5k and 10K's this summer.

Total Time: 59:44 (7:55 ave)

Ave Hr: 158 

Took advantage of not working today to get in a long run.  Now the rest of the week, I can focus on more speed and less mileage.  I ran from the Canal Trail up Logan Canyon trail to the Malibu campground and back.  I felt pretty good, but still didn't push it too hard.  I was struggling for the last 3 miles though.  I am pretty beat now.  I am leaving to Pineview Resevoir right now to play.

Total Time: 1:56:07 (7:41 ave)

Ave Hr: 165

Easy recovery run on the Paved River Trail.  No Watch.

Warmup to Logan High track to do 5x 1000m repeats with 200m recovery at approx goal 10K pace (35 min).  I was shooting for 3:30 for the repeats.  I went:

3:29

3:30

3:30

3:27

3:26

They felt pretty decent.  I was sure glad when the last one was over.  I am kind of unsure of what workouts I need to do to build 5K and 10K speed.  I figure that some threshold workouts can't hurt.  Any ideas on what I can do to race well at the 10K and 5K level this summer?

Total Time: 50:51

Ave Hr: 156 Max HR: 184 (last repeat)

The garmin refused to wake up this morning.  He was insistant to sleep in.  I had to leave without him and run naked as a result of his stubborness.  I ran my Providence hills loop easy.  It was a beautiful crisp morning.  Who can complain about this weather?  I got home and lo-and-behold, Mr. Garmin woke right up and mocked me.

Ran on what Jon has dubbed the Planet Walk.  I decided to throw in a fast mile to keep things interesting.  I was able to run it in 5:53 with my HR climbing to 181.  The rest of the run was between 7:30 and 7:45 pace.  Nice morning.  I might get out for 3 more tonight.

Total Time: 36:33 (7:19 ave) Ave Hr: 153

I don't feel like typing a lot today, So thanks Jon for the info from the run.  Copy/Paste is sure nice.

Paul, Cody, Dan, and I (jon is writing this) met at 1 pm for a trail run.  Yes, it was hot- 88 deg in Logan when we got back, so I figure it was 75 or maybe even 80 deg on our run.  We did the Beaver Creek to Sink Hollow loop, which I had never done before.  Nice run, but too many ATV's and dirt bikes for my liking.

This is me now.  I felt ok until about an hour into the run.  Then ran out of gas.  I did get to enjoy myself on some technical sections of the downhill, really just letting gravity do its thing and trying not to twist an ankle.  We took care of the 8 min guy blowing by at low 6:00 pace.  Great way to end a pretty decent week of training.  (53 miles)

Business trip to Orlando messed up my schedule this week, but I didn manage some miles.  Before I left for the airport monday morning I ran the landfill loop.  I ran a mile warmup then did a 4-mile tinman tempo with my miles between 6:18 and 6:31.  I then did 4x200m sprints on a stretch of empty road.  6.5 miles total 39:37 for the 6 miles without timing the sprints.

After sitting on planes and in airports all day, I was looking forward to a couple of miles in the Orlando heat.  A co-worker is trying to get into shape so he joined me for 2 miles (easy for me hard for him) in 21:40.  He was done so I ran the two miles again in 13:53. 

After a long day of work and no play, my co-worker (Kevin) and I ran two miles together in 20:04 just missing the 10:00 guy.  Quite the improvement in one day.  I ran some more miles afterward exploring a bit.  4.5 miles by myself in 34:19.  I sweat like a pig, but it was worth it to breath oxygen in large quantities.

After 12+ hours of traveling home, I was needing a run to clear my head.  Too bad it was raining.  Oh well, live with it.  I ran up Center Street in Providence.  I wish I had more time to run as I was feeling better as the time wore on.  I decided to pick up the pace on the way back and ran 2.5 miles at 6:15 pace.

Total Time: 42:12 (7:02)

Ave HR: 158 

Ran the Providence-Millville loop today after work.  I ran 3 miles as a warmup at 7:30 pace then did 9x2 min fartleks with 30 second jog recovery.  I thought I did 10 but I guess I miscounted and only did 9.  The 2 mins fast were between 5:40 and 5:50 pace effort.  They varied due to terrain.  I was feeling pretty sluggish today, but still managed to run close to what I wanted.  After the fartlek, I ran 1.5 miles easy (7:30 pace) back to the house and picked up my son for a run in the stroller.  We did 3.4 miles on the planet walk pretty easy.  I am feeling pretty tired right now so it must have been a decent workout.

While running on the Planet Walk, I ran into Paul and ran some more with him.  Nice an easy pace today around 8:00 mile ave.  I am feeling pretty worn out, but am still looking forward to the Heart of Holladay 5K tomorrow.  Hope to see some of you there.

Heart of Holladay 5K

17:37 official time (5:39 ave)

I warmed up today with a mile and a half.  Some of it with Sasha and Braden.  I was feeling pretty good today.  I think I have fully recovered from Ogden and am ready to race again. 

First Mile in 5:35.  Right on track

Second Mile in 5:36.  This mile had a bit of a downhill and I tried to take advantage of it as much as possible.  Sweet neighborhood to run thru.  I think I set a 2 mile PR today with this split (11:10).  Much faster than my time of 11:25 set on Feb 1, 2007.  Heart rate averaged 188 this mile.

Third Mile in 5:52.  I was alone and struggling up the hill at this point.  I slowed too much on the hill, but it felt like I was trying my best.  I did recover nicely after the hill and was able to pick up the pace again.  Heart rate averaged 190 this mile.

.1 in  34 seconds.  Gave it a kick at the end.  I missed my PR by 4 seconds, but this course was certified and the other wasn't so this is more official.  Give me another month of training and I hope to be around 16:45 for Draper Days (faster course).

I actually liked the course and the weather was just awesome for the race.  Maybe only 5 degrees warm for my liking.  350+ entrants in the 5K with some big names showing everyone how to run fast. 

I went back on the course and ran it backwards afterward and ran into Sasha running a "tempo race" by himself.  He decided to run the course again and try and beat my 17:37 time.  He was at the two mile marker and a couple of seconds ahead of my split.  I decided to run some with him and see how long I could hang on.  We ran the hill together and did about a half mile with him.  I think I went quite a bit faster with him then when I raced it.  I was spent at the top and wished him well for the last .6 left.  He ended up running about 17:20 (have to check his blog).  The rest of my cooldown was easy.

I was impressed with the quantity of prizes at the finish.  I won a half hour massage and a bean bag thing that you heat in the microwave.   

Tinman Tempo on Young Ward - Planet Walk Loop.  Ran first two miles as warmup in 6:58, 6:48 then wanted 5 miles between 6:20 and 6:25.

I went 6:22, 6:20,6:21,6:20, and 6:18.  After the tempo miles, I tried to stay around 7:00 till the end (7:00, 6:55, 6:47).  Over the last 2 miles, I did 4x100+ meters fast.  I am not sure the distance on those as I just picked a spot in the distance and ran to it.  Overall, the run was difficult but I felt pretty good throughout.  I am planning on running 60 miles this week, so I plan on running about 10 a day.

Total Time: 66:50 (6:37 ave)

Ave HR: 165

Providence Canyon Road Hill run this morning.  8.1 miles in 61:04 (7:33 avg).  Ave Hr 154. My body was tired but then I got going by mile 2.  I am loving the weather at 6:00 am.  Perfect for running.  I am also getting used to seeing other walkers/joggers out now.  Where were you in January, you slackers!

PM: 3.5 miles on Planet walk with Son in Stroller.  I took it easy, but it still felt hard.  Warm weather.

Had a hard time getting out of bed and an even harder time running today.  My body screamed "GO SLOW", so that is what I did.  Providence - River Heights loop.

Total Time: 60:54 (7:37)

Ave Hr: 153

Toughest Workout for me in a little while.  I ran up to the USU track (4.5 miles) at about 7:20 ave pace.  Then did 6x800m repeats with 200m slow jog recovery.  I wanted them between 2:40 and 2:45 (goal 5K pace).  They hurt right from the start and took some willpower to get through.  I went 2:43, 2:42, 2:43, 2:44, 2:45, 2:43.  After a drink of water, I ran home at 7:30 pace.

Total Time: 1:36:36 (7:23)

Ave Hr: 158

Had a lot on my plate today.  Didn't have time to run, other than at 4:00 in the afternoon.  It was way to hot to even think about running.  I am very glad don't live in Vegas anymore.  I will suffer thru Logan winters just to not have to run in the heat.

I ran on the Canal Road near the in-laws house in Taylorsville.  Ran naked, even worked on my tan.

Today I ran from my parents house in Cottonwood Heights to my in-laws in T-ville.  I ran up to the 7-11 then ran thru the Old Mill and down 6200S  I worked my way west and ended up taking Winchester all the way there.  I suffered in the heat as I got a late start.  I started out running sub 7 pace and ended up close to 9 min miles on the last hills during the last 2 miles.  I was pretty wiped. 

Total Time: 1:26:42 (7:40)

Ave Hr: 158 

Young Ward - Planet Walk Loop.  Treated it as an aerobic run.  Very cool morning here in Logan. 

Total Time: 1:12:07 (7:08 ave)

Ave Hr: 153

This morning I ran my Providence Hills Loop.  I started out easy with the first 3 miles around 7:30 pace.  I decided to hit the next mile hard (big hills the whole way) and broke 8:00 which put my HR up at 178.  At that point, it is a nice downhill the rest of the way home, so I figured I would keep up the effort and see what happened. (5:58,6:20,6:26,6:19)  I was catching the 7:00 guy with a mile left so I pushed it and beat him by 5 seconds a mile.  Did an easy .1 cooling off.  Not a bad workout for just running by feel.

Total Time: 56:09 (6:55 ave)

Ave HR: 160

Elevation 4500' to 5000' and back to 4500'.

PM: Took son on Bike for an hour ride.  Was more work than I was expecting.  I will count it as 2 miles even though it was comparable to 4 or 5.  We saw horses and cows and lots of dogs.

Ran past the Rec Center to the Blvd and ran on the Canal Trail.  At end of trail, kept going to the bridge at top of first dam lake and then followed same path home.  Not a bad route.  I think I will incorporate it into my staple of runs.  Only drawback was the 30mph winds coming out of the canyon.  I felt ok today.  I didn't push it so I enjoyed the run overall.

Can't believe that WBR is upon us.  I am getting pretty excited.  Not looking forward to running in the heat though. 

Total Time: 1:16:23 (7:39)

Ave Hr: 150

Landfill Loop very easy today.  My body and mind needed a rest.

Total Time: 47:32 (7:55)

Ave HR: 145

Wasatch Back Relay - Team Marathon GIS - 3rd Place Overall - 18:29:29 Results

We ran our guts out but couldn't keep up with BYU and Weber as they battled it out for 1st.  Weber ended up winning impressively by 11 mins. 

I was in Van 1 with (in order of legs) Sasha, Dustin, Chris, myself, Paul, and Steve.  I received the "baton" at at 6:54 pm at Exchange 3 with Weber up by ~15 min and BYU and Runners Corner about 2 mins behind.  It was around 90-95 degrees and that is hot for Logan.  In fact, it was the hottest day of the year so far. 

My leg was 5.14 (on the Garmin) miles long with rolling hills and a net gain of 152 feet.  I started out fast all amped-up and ran 5:41 for the first mile before I settled into a better pace.  Splits (5:41, 6:05, 6:26, 6:16, 6:26, :54 (6:16 pace).  I was expected to run 31:45 and I ran 31:48.  My HR was pretty high due to the heat and averaged 185 and even maxed out at 192.  I was very glad to hand off to Paul and collapse.

I ended up running around 2 easy miles, warming up and aiding other runners.

Leg 2 of the Relay was an easy 3 (2.92 measured) miles on a virtually flat country road.  I received the baton at 12:43 am and by then, BYU and Weber were ahead by a good margin but we still had a chance.  My leg (16) was 2.92 miles long by the Garmin and had a net gain of 43 feet.  I was expected to run it in 18:33 and did it in 16:59.  I had the honor of passing my first 2 runners on this leg.  I ran splits of 5:47, 5:56, 5:17 (5:45 pace).  Ave pace was 5:50, Ave HR at 180 max at 186.  I feel I ran well this leg beating my projected pace.  The cool weather and easy course had a lot to do with that. 

Leg 3 of the relay was a hard 5 (4.93 measured) miles at Jordanelle Reservoir.  It climbed, plateaued, climbed more, then dropped for the finish.  I was expected to run it in 32:09 and ran it in 31:00.  I received the baton at 7:17 am.  I had a great time passing TONS of people.  I don't understand how so many people were congregated on this one leg.  I swear there were groups of 5 and 10 running together all over the place.  I lost count after 30 people I passed by mile 3 and stopped counting.  My splits were: 6:38, 6:54, 6:11, 6:14, 5:03 (5:28 pace).  My ave HR was 175 and my max at 185.  I feel I could have run faster if my legs weren't already toast from the 2 previous legs.  Well, duh, of course that is the point of this relay.

I was sure glad to be done and enjoyed a breakfast of Pancakes and eggs and Bacon with milk and OJ at the High School.  It was warming up fast and felt sorry for Van 2.

Funny story...Sasha was out running and Van 1 got out to sing a pathetic ensamble of "BINGO" and afterward we went to shut the door...slam.   Nothing.  Slam... Oh ohh  the door wont close.  We fiddled and played with it during sasha's run but to no avail.  Bungie cords would have to do.

Felt Suprisingly Good this morning.  No soreness form WBR, only a bit of fatigue.  I bet it will show up in another day or so.  I ran my Providence Hills loop adding a mile into Providence Canyon.  I ran up to the water tank.  8:00 mile pace at turn-around.  Didn't push, just stayed at a comfortable pace both directions.

Total Time: 1:17:48 (7:33)

Ave Hr: 154

Did the usual easy run on the Providence River Heights loop.  I ran it backwards today and that mixed things up nicely.  I stayed up too late last night watching World Trade Center and had a hard time getting up.  Very cool morning for June (40 degrees).

Total Time: 62:03 (7:45 ave)

Ave Hr: 146

Decided to try a workout today, but struggled thru it as the delayed onset of fatigue from WBR hit me.  I started out on Landfill loop with a warmup mile in 6:54 then did 4 miles of Tinman Tempo pace (6:21,6:30,6:31,6:23).  That brought me to the Logan High Track where I ran 6x200 meters fast.  Sasha recommended this to me to help me get faster.  For me these are better than striders as it forces me to not slack off like I do when I run striders.  I ran them with 50-100m walk plus 100 meters jog in-between.  They felt like I was running 95% of my max. (34,36,33,34,34,35)  After that, I ran over to the planet walk and added some slow miles as that is all I could do (@8:00 pace). 

Total Time: 1:15:20 (7:28)

Ave Hr: 156 

Ran the Providence - River Heights run in my sleep today.  I was waiting for my body to wake up today and it never did.  I did hold 8 min pace sleeping though.

Total Time: 63:35 (7:57)

Ave Hr: 142 

No time for running today.  Went to a golf tourney in Bountiful early and had to work late.

Paul and I ran the Inagural Logan Peak Trail run this morning.  This was a course that Paul created the maps for and is working to grow in size every year.  There were only 27 runners.  I wasn't there to race it, but it was still very difficult and ended up being an incredible workout. Course Map  Course Profile

The course starts in Providence (4847feet) and climbed up to the Logan Portion of the Bonneville shoreline trail (aka Deer Fence trail).  We ran a short section on that trail and started up Dry Canyon.  The pace was confortable and conversational.  It quickly got steep and we ended up walking the steepest sections to save our legs for later.  We were hitting mile splits of around 15 minutes, including stops for water and photo ops.  Some of the guys around up were serious trail runners who were wondering who the yahoos were stopping and taking pictures every half mile.  We would run faster than them, but take more frequent breaks.  The race had 3 total aid stations where we hit two of them going both directions (up and down).  I was impressed with the quality of food at the stations and I took full advantage eating all kinds of fruit, trail mix, shot blocks, water, and more.  Paul and I spent close to 5-10 minutes at each aid station usually 2-3 times longer than everyone else, but I didn't care. 

By the 5 mile marker, we took the right fork up dry canyon and ran on the south syncline trail (8000+ feet).  There were some nice stretches of trail where we hit sub 7:00 pace.  I swear there was only 10 feet of flat trail the entire time.  We were climbing or descending the whole time.  At about mile 10, we started the last climb to Logan peak.  It was about 3 miles of un-relenting uphill where we walked a good portion (as it was faster then running).  I couldn't believe how difficult it was to breathe at that high altitude.  My legs were completely wasted by now from all the climbing.  One foot in-front of the other.

Finally made it up to Logan peak (about 13 miles into the run and at 9710' ) and enjoyed some food and the views.  I didn't really care about my place so I didn't mind that a couple of guys came and went while we enjoyed the top.  Hardest part is over now....I thought.

Coming down, the footing was challenging and some sections were too steep to go fast, but we did pretty good playing the part of the hare catching the tortises who never stopped.  Dropping off the top, we got to see all the people behind us.  I think we were 5th and 6th at the top with 2 (I think) people leaving before us making us 7th and 8th.  Once off the top, we took the northern syncline trail around the mountian.  There were still way too many passes to go over that I didn't have the legs for, but I did my best.  Paul was patient and didn't make me go faster then I needed to.  I do think that without him I would've ran 30 min to an hour slower.  We passed the people who left before us only to have them pass us at the aid station later.  Whatever.

By the time we circled around the mountain, I swear, we could've climbed another mountain based on the hills we ascended and descended.  I had to mentally kill myself to keep going and I swear, if there was an alternative way home, I might've given in and quit.  Once we made it back to dry canyon and familiar trails, we tried to pick up the pace and finish strong.  Flying (term used loosely) down the canyon, Paul took a swan dive into some rocks and ate it hard.  Ouch.  We weaseled our way past a few runners and finished strong.  Actually, we ran all but the last 200 meters together and I asked Paul if this was the 1 time in my life that I was going to beat him, and he gave in knowing it meant more to me than to him, so I sprinted the best I could and was so happy to be done.  I finished 4th and Paul 5th.  I don't think I could've run the race any faster, but if I had been racing we wouldn't have taken so much time at the aid stations.  I did have to get my moneys worth of food though.  Race Results

Incredible experience and is easily the hardest workout I have ever done and probably the hardest race ever.  Way more demanding than a normal marathon with over 7200 feet of elevation change.  Paul came in pretty close on his estimate of the distance, but it is hard to do from topo maps.  It was hard though to have run 25 miles and know that you have ~2 left to go.

Ave HR: 156 (160's climbing and 150's descending)

Ave Pace around 12:20 counting the stops 

Total Calories used: 6230

Water consumed: about 210 oz. and still got dehydrated.

After the finish, James and Jon were at there to keep me from passing out.  Thank you.  They took us down to the Logan river to ice our legs.  Felt very nice!  Some painful cramping occurred, but well worth it.  I ate some food back at the finish (provided) and came home and crashed.  I am still tired, but am doing ok now.

Here are some pics:

Starting Line

Heading up Dry Canyon

View from Dry Canyon (about mile 5)

Kind of a steep canyon

Logan is way down there..

We made it to the top

View of the peak from the North face

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.

Total Time: 72:04 (7:08)

Ave Hr: 154

Sore, slow, tired

62:28 (7:49) HR 148

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

Cooldown - 7 miles - 53:50 (7:41) Ave HR: 158

Easy recovery run on Providence Hills loop.  Didn't feel that great.  1:04:05 (7:54) 147 ave

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

Total Time: (fixed) 1:55:55 ( 7:39)

Ave HR: 152

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.

Total Time: 1:31:03 (9:02)  Ave HR 152 

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..

Total Time: 47:29 (7:55) ave 147

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). 

Felt Lousy and had no motivation to run today.  Decided on an easy 5-er with no watch.

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

6 miles -43 min 163 HR ave

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.

Total Time: 2:02:40 (16 miles @ 7:39 ave)

Ave HR: 156

Elevation change: 6600ft to 8100ft

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.    

Total Time: 1:23:16 (6:47 ave)

Ave HR: 160

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. 

Total Time: 79:08 (7:55)

Ave HR: 143

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.

Total Time: 52:08 (7:26)

Ave Hr: 160 = hot

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.

Taper for Draper Days.  Easy modified Landfill Loop.  Felt ok except for the blister on my heel.  That hurt. 7:45 ave

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

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.

Total Time: 1:12:50 (7:13)

Ave Hr: 152

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

Ave HR: 158 Max HR: 187