Cool Runnings!

AM - no running

PM - drove up to the Mesa temple to go see the Christmas lights with Sam and Joey.  While we were there, ran 1 mile with Sam in approx. 13:00, then ran another two miles with the boys in the double jogging stroller - average pace of 8:07/mile.  Walked around the temple grounds to show Sam the lights (Joey had fallen asleep), then came home, got the boys to bed and ran another 5 miles on the treadmill while Lybi ran outside.  Treadmill time was something like 40:39, average pace of  8:08/mile.  Felt good.  I really got into a good rhythm the last couple of miles.  I should mention that yesterday and today, my upper hamstrings were sore (I suppose from the 13 miler on the treadmill - incline of 1.0), but the run today shook out the soreness, and everything feels good now.  I am still feeling a bit of pain on the top of my left foot occasionally.  At some point I may get it checked out, but right now, it is more of an annoyance than anything else.

PM1 - ran 1 mile with Samuel in 13:15, then ran another .80 with Sparky in about 6:20. Then ran another 2 miles in 15:10. Going to run another 4 miles or so on the treadmill, including a 3 mile tempo, after the boys are in bed.

PM2 - Ran another 4.2 miles with Adam and Joey in the double jogging stroller, total time of 32:52, average pace of 7:49/mile. Whoosh! It's a little bit tougher to run when you are pushing somewhere in the vicinity of 100 pounds total (including children and stroller)! I am kind of tuckered out from the run tonight.

PM - ran 0.9 miles with Samuel, pushing Adam in the jogging stroller - he fell asleep.  Put Samuel to bed (a little later), then ran 7.1 miles on the treadmill to hit 8 miles for the day.  My goal this week is to run 8 miles every day, and then 10 miles on Saturday, either all together or broken up.  Since I didn't get to do my tempo run yesterday, I did it today on the treadmill.  Warmed up nice and easy, first mile in 8:30, second mile in 8:00, then started the tempo run.  3 miles at 6:18 pace.  Felt good, was able to control my breathing and form pretty good.  Form and breathing started breaking down on the last 1/4 mile, when I had increased the speed up to 6:00 pace (fastest our treadmill can go).  Then cooled down with 2.1 miles at 8:30 pace.  I am very happy with this run.  I really feel like my fitness has improved dramatically even since St. George, and if I ran a flat 5K right now, I would probably be capable of right around 18:00.  I also feel like I could have held the 6:18 pace for another 3 miles without problems, which would put me just over 38:00 for the 10K.  I am expecting good things this coming year.  I think I will be running WRC Striders with Lybi this spring to prepare me for the Shiprock marathon, which will be a month later.

PM - ran 8 miles on the treadmill after the boys went down, while Lybi was out on ward missionary visits.  Warmed up for a mile at 8:30 pace, then sped up to 8:00 pace for then next 5 miles.  Increased the speed to 7:30 pace for the last two miles to finish the run in 53:35, average pace of 7:56/mile.  I believe this is the first time that I have run 8 miles each day for the first 4 days of the week so far, a new record.  I am also planning on 8 miles tomorrow as well.  My body feels good, I feel like I have slowly gotten up to this mileage, and my body has been able to get used to it.  The achilles is starting to feel better, sometimes a little stiff in the morning, but I think running on the treadmill is probably helping.  The top of my foot is also feeling better.  It seems I just need to be careful during the day of the shoes I wear.  Some shoes tend to put too much pressure on the area and make it sore.

We leave Saturday for New Mexico to spend Christmas with Lybi's parents - the boys are super excited.  First they get to be with my parents for Thanksgiving; now they get to spend Christmas with Lybi's parents.  And three of Lybi's siblings will be there as well, so it will be quite the merry gathering.

PM1 - ran 5 miles, with a 3 mile tempo run. The horses were apparently neighing from the get-go, as my first mile was 7:04, quite a bit faster than I had planned on. Nevertheless, started the tempo run - 3 miles at 10K pace (6:20/mile). First mile was into the wind and cold, 6:23. First half of the second mile was with an unfavorable crosswind, then hit the turnaround, the crosswind turned favorable. All of a sudden it didn't feel cold any more! Second mile in 6:17. Third mile my legs were tired, my breathing was kind of ragged, I had thoughts of stopping at 2.5 miles but managed to convince myself to keep going. Third mile in 6:22. Cooldown mile in 8:01 - it felt downright slow! Total time of 34:15, average pace of 6:50/mile. Need to get in another 3 miles on the treadmill in a bit to reach 8 for the day (I don't want to have to run 13 miles tomorrow).

Ran another 3 miles on the treadmill to hit 8 for the day. First mile at 8:30 pace, second two miles at 8:00 pace. Incline, as always, was at 1.0.

Woohoo!  50 miles for the week.  This run was good in some ways, but tough in others.  Good in that I got it done, and it felt pretty good, especially after driving for 7 hours with the family to get to my wife's parents' house.  Tough in that it was much colder than I was used to (in the 20's in New Mexico) and totally dark with no streetlights (luckily I was able to wear a headlamp to allow me to see better).  Here are my splits for the 10 mile run:

 

Mile	Split
1	7:42
2	7:44
3	7:38
4	7:40
5	7:29
6	7:40
7	7:35
8	7:41
9	7:38
10	7:01

 First half in 38:13, second half in 37:35, total time of 1:15:48, average pace of 7:34/mile.  Negative split of 38 seconds.  Run felt good, I was bundled up real nice, but started to feel cold after 7 miles.  It wasn't until I got into the house that I realized why: I was soaked from sweat.  Afer a nice warm shower I was finally feeling warmer, and got to see the end of the Las Vegas bowl where BYU blocked a 28-yard UCLA field goal with 2 seconds to go to win the game.  Go Cougars!

I am ecstatic that I hit 50 miles for the week - I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to do it or not, and even during the run I had thoughts of turning around at the 4 mile mark, but decided (thankfully) to persevere.  I am feeling really good about my fitness and preparation for both Shiprock and next year's St. George (assuming I get in).  I am determined to not only qualify for Boston, but break 3 hours this year.