Craig Hudman - Simply Live

So the good news is that my ankle held up really well, bad news was that I could really tell I haven't been running. This really wasn't driven home until around mile 18 when me calves started cramping really bad and I more or less couldn't run.

First half of the race was great, body felt great, ankle felt great, energy was sky high, pace was very comfortable and I was not working at all. At mile 2 I somehow got caught up with a serious dough head. Between miles 2-4 I bet he about ran me off the course 4-5 times. The last time a decided to throw an elbow up just to let him know I was there. He promptly apologized but I was still kind of ticked. At mile 5 we came up on another guy who was doing some crazy weaving back and forth so I decided to dump both of them at that point.  I was comfortably sitting in 6th until mile 20. Half split was 1:23:14 dead on where I wanted to be. I still felt fresh. Had a bit of a garmin incident right here but it didn't bug me too bad. I settled in on my pace and was just cruising. Mile 20 there is a bit of a hill and I had been fighting cramps for about 2 miles by then and it just really sucked at this point. I made it up ok, but it just kept getting worse. By mile 24 I was saying it would be easy still to get sub three but my calves had different ideas. So a pretty subpar race for me. I'm ok with the results. Wasn't sure how I'd do. I knew I hadn't done long runs like usual and no long tempo runs to speak of. Two weeks of more or less of nothing but spinning and a week before that of taking time off to heal up = not a really good race.

My ankle still feels pretty good, quads are great but my calves are still cramping as I sit here.

Not sure if I'm going to run the planned half in two weeks. 

No running today. I can tell I was in no shape to run a marathon on Saturday as I can still barely walk. The ankle that held up really good Saturday is completely blown up. Planning on resting for a few days and then start working back into things.

So this was the first run since the race and man did it hurt. Hips were really tight throughout the entire run. I was hoping they would loosen up at some point. Ankle was tender but it seemed to feel better as I went along. Calves probably just as bad as the hips. 1@7:30, 3@6:55, 3@6:35. Ran on a TM. I was afraid to get out on the road and have to bail.

Overall my body is still pretty trashed. Lack of running fitness over the last month has taken its toll but I'm looking forward to some lower mileage weeks and not having any type of running plans. I'm running the Shelley Spud Run half marathon next weekend but I'm doing it with my Bro-Lo and trying to pace him to a 1:35. Hopefully I can be as good as some of the pacers I saw come through at Pocatello, they were on. Scary thing is a 1:35 could win it or contend. 

I haven't ran with my dog in quite awhile but today he did really good. I think it must have been the slower pace and cooler weather. Went out for a partial loop of the course we're running next week on the Spud Run with the Bro-Lo so he could get some sort of feel for the hill and gravel road on the course. Took it pretty soft yet it seemed like work for me. Forgot the kids didn't have school today so I was able to ice my ankle for 30 minutes after I ran. That really felt good.

Bro-Lo run. It was supposed to be an easy HMP run for him, 8-9 miles 7:20-7:30 pace. Well, after two miles I had to take a roadside pit stop and he said he was going to keep going and just catch up. I didn't think this was going to be too big of deal but five or so miles later at a pretty good pace (around 6:30 with a hill) I finally caught him. He ran a bit faster than he planned and did really good but I was not prepared for that kind of run this morning.

I can tell I haven't been running and fitness has gone way down. Not too concerned I do need to detune it quite a bit to just enjoy exercising again. Instead of running two a days I'm planning on just going to the gym and doing something else biking, stair master, whatever.

Ankle was really soft again this morning. I thought I was getting better. 

PM - 13.5/45min Spinning. Around 32 minutes my left calf cramped so tight I fell off the bike and was rolling around with my leg half bent until it released. I'm sure it was quite the sight to behold. I was doing hill climbs and my calf had already gave me a few warning shots before this happened. It's pretty funny now. Good work out. Maybe I should go buy a rash of bananas.  

295 Flights of stairs / 45 min. based mileage off of calories burned. Ankle held up on this workout but I've had it in a brace all day.

I decided not to sign up for Boston, but, my wife was not happy with that decision. I got lectured for a day.

I signed up for Boston this morning.

I don't have a house or any idea of what's happening in the next 6-8 months but I do know I'll be taking my family back to Boston.

There goes the skiing season or at least March. 

My ankle is still very sore but I'm getting my legs back to a certain extent. I was becoming concerned about pacing my Bro-Lo on Saturday,but put in a pretty hard work out on tired legs this morning and feel a lot better about it. 11.6/6:48 avg.

15.90/45 min Spinning. Hill workout, same as Monday but I didn't cramp up at all and felt a lot stronger. Now I get to get ready to help out with Spud Run packet pick up today.

FIrst of all, Gray slept in or I would've got it handed to me on this really low key half marathon. Gray ran the 10K and won, Lynette showed up 10 minutes after the gun and still won the women's half marathon (gun time, not chip so she spotted the ladies a bit). Lots of friends and family running between 5K, 10K and half. All my kids ran in the events they put on to celebrate Spud Day. Hadley (4) ran 300M, Gabe (6) ran 400M (both yesterday). Nikki (ran with Chloe), Brytan 13 (1st AG), Jonah 12 and Chloe 9 (2nd AG) all ran the 5K and I ran the half marathon.

This is a course that is extremely familiar to me but I've never raced it before. Most of it is on my normal running routes.

Woke up this morning and remembered that I had to have a trailer at a water station for a bathroom so I hurried out the house to get it and not be late. I showed up expecting Gray to be there but was told he wasn't coming. Looked around and knew this was going to be a relatively easy race. I wasn't prepared to run at HMP because I was supposed to be a pacer for my Bro-Lo who backed out yesterday with an injury. Pretty sure I would've ran the 5K had he not asked me to run the half with him. Talked with Brock (1st 1/2 ended up 3rd overall), Corwin and a few others at the start and the it was time to run. 1 mile warm up through the finishing neighborhood loop so I knew what to expect.

(6:08, 6:18, 6:20, 6:16) Started out a touch fast then settled into MP for the entire run. Mile 3 has a bit of a hill but it's not long and gets over with pretty quick. I was solo on this from the starting line. No one even went out the first 1/4 mile with me. I could tell it was going to be a pretty quite race.

(6:22, 6:35, 6:20, 6:22, 6:18) Mile 6 had a pretty decent climb which I do 3-4 times a week so I was prepared and knew what to expect. I figured it would be my slowest mile. Everything was feeling good and the little grid kid football players were always cheering as I ran past.

(6:21, 6:23, 6:21, 6:16, 44s) Started losing it a bit here wasn't tired but needed a bit of pacing help. Mile 12 I came in on the 1st runner in the 5K race and used him to pace me home. He saw me and I think he thought I was a 5K runner so he kicked it down a bit and brought me home in what I wanted. Hit the last neighborhood and started to push it to the ended coming across before the 5K winner.

I earned $50 for my run today and made the home town proud. Not a flat course with the two hills and this is fairly difficult one as well, lots of little rolls, not like the down hill blazers you normally see. Ankle held up but I'm sure it will hurt tomorrow. My stomach is a mess again, just like Ogden Half. Overall a fun day. i was able to watch my family come across the finish line and give them hugs. Nikki, Brytan, Jonah, Chloe, Mom, Jamie, Parker, Charity and Karlene.

Easy run this morning with Nikki. Still having some stomach issues and almost didn't make it through this run. Beautiful morning, legs are feeling good but ankle is as soft as I had expected.

15.45/45min Around the world spinning work out. Getting used to the bike, not as bad as it was plus I think it might be helping to sustain me a lot more than I thought. The race Saturday was relatively easy on me and other than my ankle, everything feels great. Probably will keep on spinning a few days a week for the next few months while I'm in a easy phase. 

284 flights / 45min. Been moving the last couple of days. I think we're getting close. Now I just need to find a place to live. Ankle seems to be getting better with rest. It has sure been nice having kind of a lackadaisical training cycle. I'm going to enjoy these next few months. My sisters tried to get me to commit to running Just Cuz in November but I'm pretty sure I'm not going to.

15.66/45 min Foothills Spinning workout. So yesterday I find out that some kid at school was teasing my kid about me winning the Spud Run. I never thought that my running would have that type of effect on my kids. Now I want to go to the middle school and beat the punk kid. And to boot it's my oldest son and we've not been getting along to great these past couple of weeks. I feel so bad for him. Sometimes I wish he would just punch kids like that but I know that's not the answer and he's much better than me for not doing it and just walking away. Still for his feelings to get hurt over this kind of stuff is upsetting.

Nice run with Curt. I think I was pretty darn chatty this morning. Good to be out and run with friends. Coming home I passed my wife and her friends, I told them I could probably go another 5 miles pretty easy. Well, then I got home and had to get out of the car. It took a little to hit me but it was a pretty good hill work out this morning and I couldn't have done 5 more. So there it is I got quite humbled this morning. 

Around mile 7 I told Curt I could taste the smoke. I can't believe how bad it is right now. 

AM - Ran with Nikki. She did better than she has in quite a while. 

355 Flights / 45 min. Moved out. Now all of the running routes are gone. Dog is going to stay at a friends for the next while. This is not going to be fun.

Booked rooms for Boston today, now I need to figure out all my plans.

Saw this and since I run with a husky it has been the joke of the family. 

16.90 /50 min foothills spinning work. Almost all the way moved out and my wife is ready to get out of Dad's basement after 2 nights.

Beautiful morning for a run. Hooked up with Curt again. Easy pace, finished last mile or so with a bit of a push. Legs started to turn over good and it felt better than I thought it would. One day I'm going to wake up and my ankle will be better....or as Curt said something else will hurt. First time I've ran with my dog in town and man was he excited today.