Here we Go

So I finally got a chance to go running this year. I have been going stir crazy, but it has simply been too cold to take my young son out in the stroller when I have time to run.  Today's run was quite fun.  I went out too fast the first mile and it nearly broke my resolve, but I slowed down and hit my target time.

Great run at the Fieldhouse tonight.  I ran at a consistent 9:13/mile pace for the entire run.  I was getting pretty winded near the end.  The holidays were not kind to me.  Almost no running combined with fudge is not a good combination for my physique. 

River Heights loop with my little guy today.  It was warm enough that I dared take him.  Run felt great even though it was a little chilly.  The sun when down while I was out and the temperature dropped more than I expected. 

Nice easy run on the treadmill at the Fieldhouse.  The plan was to go outside, but the weather wasn't very nice today.

Nice quick run at the Fieldhouse today.  I hit the treadmill and had it set on a 2% incline for most of the run.  

Great run around town today.  With the nice weather I took my son and we went for a run up to campus.  We took the hill climbing route I have.  Even added an extra one on the way back coming up from the Dugway toward the temple.  Nice slow pace at about 10:00/mile.  

Nice run on the treadmill today.  I started to feel a little burned out near the end because I hadn't eaten anything today. 

Did a bit of interval training today.  I traded off doing a quarter mile at a quick pace with .1 miles at rest pace.  Did the last mile at around 9:00/mile.

Nice quick run in the Fieldhouse today.  First 1.5 miles was at 8:48/mile pace.

A little bit of interval training at the Fieldhouse.  

Nice run today.  I actually ran around the gym at my church since I was watching my son.  Learned the hard way that running 1.5 miles barefoot after not doing it for a year can really be painful.  Hopefully these hot spots will cool down.  

Nice quick run today.  I started off at around 8:00/mile and kept that pace for about the first 1.6 miles.  After that I backed off to a little under 9:00/mile.  Felt great overall.

Nice easy run today.  I planned to hit 3, but my knee was acting funny.  I didn't want to push it and end up hurt.

Nice run up the canyon with my brother and son.  It was a icy, but not a bad run overall.  

Great run today.  I had to wait for my wife to pick me up from the gym so I ran a lot longer than I planned.  It felt great though.

Nice run over through River Heights/Providence/Logan.  Did my hilly route.  

Nice steady run on the treadmill for about 30 minutes.  

Quick run over the top of River Heights and back home. I ran today in 7:30 pace. The entire run took me about 15 minutes. It felt awesome.

Ran up to campus and back on the road near the temple.  The first half was at 7:30/mile pace.  The second half was a little slower at around 8:30/mile. 

Today I ran into some problems. I started out a little bit stiff, but it didn't seem too problematic until I hit about the mile mark. My legs absolutely locked up at this point. My calves honestly haven't heart this bad since the marathon. I really don't know what happened. My plan was to run 4, but it became quite clear that was not going to happen.

So I'm pretty sure that I've got stress fractures or something. My muscles aren't the least bit sore, but I can barely get through a short run without intense pain to the point of not being able to walk around for about an hour after a run.  I'm probably going to go see a doctor for this before too long.

Felt really sick while running today.  Cut it short.

Started the day off with 4.4 miles on the treadmill.  It is kinda nice at 8 in the morning. Not much competition for treadmills.

Later today I went on a a loop through River Heights with my brother to add 3 more miles onto the day.

My plan was to run outside tonight, and I even started to.  However the snow and wind got the better of me at about 0.6 miles, so I headed in.  After that I ran another 3.4 miles on the treadmill at a pretty quick pace.  Felt good overall.

Ran my hill route today, but turned around short of the 2 mile mark because I was getting pretty cold.  The sunshine made it look much warmer than it actually was due to the nasty wind.  Still it felt good to be outside running again.

Nice run on the treadmill today.  Did the entire thing at 8:35/mile pace.  It felt great.

With the beautiful weather today I had to go outside.  My son and I ran around the Island area.  Couldn't believe how warm it was.  Gotta love springtime.

Beautiful run up past 1st dam and up to the beginning of the River Trail.  It was still snowbound so we didn't keep going.

Quick run over River Heights.  Nice weather out today.

Ran along Canyon Road to first dam and back to my buddy's house.  Felt a little weak today.  I don't think I'm getting enough carbs to keep up with my running.

Ran about the first two, but then ran completely out of gas.  I seriously felt like I hit the wall during the marathon.  Definitely need more carbs.

Ran in my old shoes today because I forgot my new runners.  I haven't ran in these shoes since the marathon, and that was a mistake.  I have a pretty good sized blister on my left foot.  Pace at 8:49/mile with a nasty headwind for the first 2.1 miles.

Quick run on the treadmill.  Wasn't feeling super good so I cut it short.

Great run in the fieldhouse today.  Quick pace of 8:00/mile.

Nice treadmill interval training today.  Ran my jogging pace at 8:30/mile and ran at 7:30/mile.

Beautiful run up through River Heights and onto the foothills above the Island.  Great day for a run out in the sunshine.

Ran the River Trail near the Stokes Nature Center today.  It was beautiful and dry for the most part.  There were about 5 muddy spots throughout the whole run.  

We did the better part of the River Trail today.  Started midway up and then went up and back and down to Second Dam before coming back to the car.  It felt great.  Beautiful weather and only a few wet spots along the trail.

Amazingly quick run over River Heights via a new route.  I averaged 7:12/mile over the course of the run.  It was pretty awesome.  I felt great when I was done, but I was a little bit winded.

Got really winded today.  Wasn't really feeling it.  Ended up walking about the last mile of my run.

Quick run over River Heights along part of the TOU course.  Beautiful day, but a little big chilly.

River Trail from Stokes up to the Switchbacks.  Beautiful day for a run.  Averages 10:00/mile pushing the stroller on the way up and 8:00/mile on the way back down.  Not a bad day overall.

River Trail again.

River Trail again.  Went with my buddy and brother.  Achilles bugged me yesterday a bit, but felt much better today.

Treadmill run at 8:00min/mile

River Trail again.  9:00min/mile on the way up and 8 on the way back.

Nice run. Averaged 8:30/mile for the day.

Ran the Temple Fork road toward Ephraim's grave.  We didn't quite make it because the stroller was a little heavy to be pushing up the steep grade.  Really pretty up there.  

8/mile today.

Ran with River Trail with my wife. We walked the other two miles.

Treadmill run this morning at the Fieldhouse.

Quick run up River Trail.  Took about 35 minutes round trip.

Treadmill run.

Treadmill again. Ankle is giving me trouble tonight.

Quick run through River Heights.  Didn't want to stress my ankle too much since I am planning to do all of Green Canyon on Saturday.  Pace for today was 8:12/mile. 

Quick run around Logan. Ran from my house to the Library and then through River Heights.  It was quite warm and beautiful for a run.  Too bad that the canyon is all muddy. Today would have been perfect for a canyon adventure.

Green Canyon run this morning.  It was absolutely beautiful up there.  It was a little wet the last mile, but not too bad.

Nice run from my buddy Tyson's house to First Dam.  Really picked up the pace on the way back.  I felt sick afterward because of how fast we had gone on the last 2 miles.

Great run up the River Trail today.  The first two miles I too pretty easy and ran at about 9:00/mile.  The last two miles I really opened up and gave it all I had.  There was one runner on the trail ahead of me that I wanted to catch if possible. 

I focused on my hamstrings to see if they could give me a little more power in my strokes and I really opened up.  Ended up doing about 7:30/mile while pushing the jogging stroller during the last two miles.  That felt awesome.

Slow easy run on the River Trail today.

Ran to the library and back.

Treadmill run today.

River Trail run. Nice easy pace at around 8:30/mile.

Ran the river trail today.  We did it in about 8:00/mile pace.  It was pretty awesome.  It was a beautiful day for a run.

Ran from my house up to the base of Old Main and back.  Felt great.  I ran it at a consistent pace of 9:00/mile for the entire run.  

My brother and I went and ran the Jardine Juniper trail.  It started out a little bit rainy and it soon turned to a light snow when we got to the second bench.  This area was super muddy, but that simply slowed us a little bit.  When we got to the top it was actually sunny. 

 On the way back down we had a little excitement.  On the section of the trail just above the river I actually went down hard.  I cut up my hand and knee pretty good.  Luckily since we were just above the water, I ran down to that and got cleaned up.

 Overall it was an exciting run. 

I did a short run today to attempt to loosen up my legs.  My gluts were super sore today from the run on Saturday and really didn't want to move like they should.  

Quick run around the west side of Logan. Nothing too exciting other than I found a really creepy house on 4th north.

River Trail.  Averaged 8:30/mile.  

Breaking in a new pair of shoes today.  These are very milimalistic with almost no heal drop.  I decided to give them a shot because they have so much room in the toebox.  Hopefully they don't let me down. 

Pretty quick run today averaging 8:25/mile with the stroller. 

Ran the River Trail today, but I definitely pushed it too hard.  On the uphill portion I ran at 8:30/mile.  I was super happy with that.  While riding the runners' high I took off down the trail.  I pushed it as hard as I could.  This probably wasn't the wisest move since this was probably the hottest day we have had all year.  I averaged 7:00/mile on the downhill section. 

Now that I am typing this up, I feel a little sick to my stomach and super weak.  I have got a little bit of a headache coming on, so I am going to crash as soon as I get some food in my belly. 

A note on the shoes.   I love them.  They are so light and force me to avoid heal striking.

Took a day off yesterday because I still didn't feel very well from the day before.  Today was great though.  I decided to take it at a pretty easy pace today since I still didn't feel 100%.  The run felt great even though I'm still getting used to the new shoes.  I can tell that the zero drop is affecting my legs differently than my other shoes.  The leg that I injured a year ago is especially tender after a run in these shoes, but it is getting better each time. 

Quick run around town today.  Nice easy pace trying to break in the new shoes.

So this week didn't start out so well for running.  I was traveling in Arizona and didn't have the time to run while there, so this was the first run for the week.  My son also wasn't feeling very well so he didn't tolerate the stroller well.  

Nice short run again.  Carter still isn't liking the stroller.  Once the stuffy nose goes away he might enjoy it a little more.

Great run down here in SLC.  Ran from the house to Wheeler farm.  I averaged 8:00/mile over the course of the run.  Mile two was actually around 9:00/mile, but I must have made up for it on the last two miles. 

I didn't really feel like running today, and it definitely showed.  I could hardly get going.  I am also getting some weird pain in my gluts.  It comes quite sharply on occasion, and it is really annoying. 

Great run up on the River Trail today.  I have slacked a bit this week, but I was riding my  new mountain bike on the days I didn't run.  That has to count for something. 

So today I decided to go and run the Crimson trail.  This was a bit of an adventure.  I started off going along the Riverside Nature trail until I hit the east entrance to the Crimson Trail.  This was a much steeper route than I anticipated.  It was beautiful though.  I enjoyed the run along the top, but got a surprise when I got to the exit.  The bridge that covers the stream has been removed.  Now you either have to risk the flimsy little branches they have placed across the river or wade.  I chose to wade the river.  That water is COLD. :)

Quick run through River Heights. I wanted to see where the fire burned. It looks like it was a van. Crazy.

Ran up to Campus and back with my son.  It was a beautiful morning for a run.

Ran from my house to the USU Ropes course and back along Canyon Road.  It was a great run and the perfect temperature this morning.

River Heights loop.  Short easy run today since I really wasn't feeling very well.

Took a quick run up to the Library and back.  Wasn't feeling it today though, so I cut it short.

Ran up to campus and around the Quad.  Averaged 9:00/mile over the run counting the brief rest I made at the top of Old Main Hill.

Run through the Island and over River Heights.

Quick run around River Heights. Also biked 8.5 miles this evening up the Green Canyon trail.

Quick run through the Hurricane fields with my brother.  It was a little warm for my taste, but I'd better get used to that.

Took my wife and Sister-in-law on a run in SLC.  Went from the house to the 7-Eleven.  They did about two miles for this trip.  I did a second lap of it in order to get to 4.

Great run up the River Trail at the crack of dawn.  60 Degrees and perfect.

Modified River Heights loop since there was road construction on my normal course.  

My buddy Davin and I went for a run up Green Canyon this morning.  We planned on running the whole 8 miles, but at about the 3.5 mile mark, Davin through his hip out.  We decided we'd better head back rather than finish the last leg.  We had to walk a while back, but ended up running the last 2.5 miles or so.  Good final long run for Logan Utah.

Broke the treadmill after half a mile.  It may have been a little further, but I wasn't looking when it died.  Nothing else was available, and it was too hot to run outside today.

Was able to get a treadmill today for a quick run.  Averaged 7:40/mile on my run.

Today was actually my first outdoor run since making the move to Phoenix.  It was 95 degrees when I ran at 8:00 AM.  It was a little warm for my taste, but it was nice to hit the streets again rather than the treadmill.

So today was another day on the treadmill since it was outrageously warm at 7:00 AM.  Even still, I may have pushed it too hard.  I am having a hard time cooling off 3 hours after I finished.  I feel like I might not have had enough water during the run.  I've got to get used to carrying water even on my short runs down here.

Great run today.  I had a nasty blister from yesterday, so I switched shoes hoping that would help.  I ended up getting another blister.  I guess that is what happens when you have two bad weeks back to back.

Really wasn't feeling it today.  I cut my run short and did a little biking instead.  Did about 5.5 miles on the bike.

Nice run on the treadmill today.  I slowed down my pace since the humidity seems to make it hard to run quickly.  Ended up feeling very solid when I was done.

Nice run on the treadmill this morning in preparation for day 1 of medical school.  Still too humid for my taste, but I'm getting used to it.

Quick run on the treadmill.

Nice run on the treadmill this morning.  I averaged around 8:34/mile this morning.  It was a little warm for my taste though and I ended up feeling pretty sick after finishing up my run. I guess I still need to acclimatize.

Quick treadmill run.

Quick treadmill run today.  I wanted to go further, but today it was a matter of time rather than lack of energy.

Quick run on the treadmill.  Averaged 8:34/mile.  I still need to change my hydration schedule here in AZ.  The running is a lot more challenging in the hot weather.  Hopefully next summer, I'll be more adjusted.

Treadmill run.  Biked to school today (4 miles), so I decided to cut the run short so I had something left for class.

Interval training on the treadmill today.  Ran a quarter mile at 8:34/mile and the a quarter mile at 7:30/mile.  Kept that rotation for three miles.

Speed training today.  Only had a few minutes to run.  

Lame run today.  I couldn't get going so I called it off early.

Easy paced treadmill run today followed by 7 miles on the bike.

Quick treadmill run.  I meant to go further, but it gave out on me.  That was fine.  I didn't like it very much either.

Today I only had about 10 minutes to run, so I decided I was going to do a quick warm up of a quarter mile then gun it and see how quickly I could actually run a mile.  I ended up running a mile in 6:56.  I'm honestly not sure if I've ever ran a mile that quickly before.  I probably could have gone faster, but I was satisfied with breaking the seven minute barrier.  

Nice easy treadmill run today.

Pathetic, I know.  This is what happens when you get your school workload doubled.

Quick run on the treadmill.  Better than yesterday.

Best run I've had since moving to Arizona.  I finally decided that I had to make time for a really good run to clear my head.  It felt amazing. 

Quick treadmill run at 8:00/mile.

Interval training.  My fast sections were at 6:18/mile.  Yeah buddy,.

Pace today was around 7:23/mile.  I'm sore, but I feel great for having a high speed run.  Interval training seems to be working.

Quick treadmill run.  Averaged 8:30/mile.  Today was just a run to get in some miles, nothing too fast.

New course around Glendale.  It was only 70 degrees this morning, so it was an amazing run.

Quick run at 8:00/mile this morning.

Average pace today was 7:13/mile.  I cannot tell you how excited I am about that.  That is flying for me.

Quick treadmill run.

Beautiful run outside this morning.  It was in the 60s and felt awesome.

Nice treadmill run today between classes.  It was nice to finally get a  good long run in.

Treadmill run.  It didn't go as well as I would have hoped.  I was really slow and winded today.

Beautiful run this morning before sunrise.  It was about 60 degrees.  Perfect fall morning for a run.

Quick run around town this evening.  Averaged 8:00/mile.  Not too shabby.

Nice easy treadmill run today after class.

Quick treadmill run. 

Nice easy run on the treadmill.

Nice easy run with my family.  I'm gonna get Paige hooked on running eventually.

Nice easy run with Carter in the jogging stroller.  The 70 degree weather was perfect for a nice morning run.

Nice long treadmill run today.  We are prepping for finals in school and I badly needed a break.  

Nice quick run on the treadmill.  Averaged pretty close to an 8:00/mile pace today.  It felt great. 

Nice run around campus.

Quick treadmill run.  I sprained my ankle a little bit this morning, so I took it kind of easy.  

Nice easy treadmill run to relieve the finals week stress.  It will be great when it is over.

Nice run here in Hurricane.

Another Hurricane run.

Easy run around Hurricane with my wife.

Wheeler Farm run today.  Great morning for it, but a little colder than I am used to.

Wheeler farm run today.  It was a little nippy, but not too bad.

Quick Wheeler Farm run today.  Averaged 8:15/mile.  I'm finally starting to get used to the high elevation.

Quick Wheeler Farm run again.  Nice Turkey Trot!

Quick and easy treadmill run.  

Easy early morning treadmill run today.

Easy treadmill run. 

Nice long run today.  I needed a break from studying and just went.  It felt great, but I was shot afterward.

Nice and easy treadmill run.

A little bit of speed work on the treadmill today.

Easy treadmill run after the anatomy exam.  Good way to relieve the stress.

A little bit of speed work on the treadmill today.  

Nice and easy treadmill run today.  

Quick treadmill run. Too quick, I nearly passed out.

Nice easy treadmill run.  Needed a long run after a really nasty Histology test.

Wasn't feeling it today.  

Quick treadmill run.

I believe this is enough to take me over the 600 mile level for the year.

Quick treadmill run.

Great day for an outdoor run.  Last day of the year and it feels like early fall.  Gotta love Arizona.