Why Not?

Ranfor 60:00 up Dutch Hollow Road and the back down. It was rocky and the footing wasn't great, but it keptme out of the wind and in the sun. Another run of no roads, it was all dirt and gravel and rocks. It doesn't get much better than that. The first 2-3 miles were the toughest and of course that made the last 3 or so the easiest. Good for the legs and good for the head.

Let's hope it warms up tomorrow so I can do some speed.

Out for now.

Steve

Snuck out at lunch for a workout as I agreed to play in a soccer game tonight at 6:30 with Erica. Not sure if I'll be running much after the game, but during the game will be good..

Lunch Run: Went out to Soldier Hollow.  1 mile warmup.  1 mile all out uphill. Broke 6:00 which is actually pretty good on the course. Jogged 1 mile on flat land. Then 2 mile all out, the first pretty level, the second one mostly downhill. Okay, it was really downhill. Ran about 10:20 for the two miles -- right about 4:55 for the downhill 2nd mile. Jogged back to the car for a cooldown -- About 5.5 total. 

Weather is back to being all around great for running.

Out for now.

Steve

PM: Erica and I went running for about 25 minutes. We took it pretty easy, and ran with Sammy. Nice or the 2nd run of the day.

Ran in SLC at the Jordan River Parkway. What a great place for a long run. Mostly flat with some winding curves and some very nice sites. Lots of people out there too. Erica played soccer at 8:15 in West Valley so I finished up with the last 4 on the surface streets making my way to the soccer complex. This was my longest run in a while and I felt very good for the first hour and 10 minutes and then got some heavy legs in the last few. All in all a good day though. No major aches and pains and my longest run in quite  a while.

Out for now.

Steve

Ran a new loop east of Heber out toward Timberlakes and the farm country out there. It was a really great day to run and I took it easy. Ran with Erica and Sammy for almost all of the way -- they make me take it easy. The loop was uphill for the first 3 miles, then some downhill, then flat.  Overall, it was very relaxing and enjoyable.

We ran for about 1:10, but I'll round down and call it 9.

2.5 in the AM with Sammy Dog. She was tired from yesterday. The warmest morning since I have been here, I think it was almost up to 45 degrees when we left the door. Soon, I'll be shedding the hat and gloves -- can't wait.

To the track tonight -- I'm not excited, but it's only once a week.

PM:  Warm afternoon, around 75 with a little wind. The warmest day since I've been in UT. Did a mile and a half warmup -- felt terrible and considered postponing the workout til Tues. But I know how that goes, so I didn't want to postpone.

5x800 with 400M (2:15-2:30) recovery:  The first one was rough 2:38 and it was all I had. 2nd one was not much better, got down to 2:36.  By the third one I hit a rhythm and ran a 2:34, my easiest one of the day. The fourth and fifth were a bit of a struggle as I tried to keep taking time off. 4th one was in 2:31 and the last one in 2:28.  Splits were pretty even throughout, a couple times I got out a little fast. 

Total for the day: 9 Miles

Ran what I'm now calling the Heber East Loop -- just under 60:00. One of these days I'll actually take the car out and measure the distance. Took it easy for the first 4 miles -- ran with Sammy Dog until Erica picked her up in the car -- and then hammered the last 5 miles of the run.  I'd guess 6:15 pace for most of it, 6:00 pace for some of it. It is mostly downhill with just a small grade.  The weather was right, and the legs felt pretty solid.

Out for now.

Steve

AM:  Ran for 23 minutes with Sammy Dog. I was cramped up at the start, but felt better as the run went on. Another great morning for running. About 45 and sunny. Back to the trails this afternoon if I can find the time to drive out there.

Steve

PM: Didn't make it to the trails due to house shopping. We are looking in the Heber area, and have some good options now. Anyway, didn't get out until about 8:15 at night and ran for 42:00.  It seemed to take me about 25 minutes before I felt decent, then it was great after that. I took it very easy and didn't push it today.

Out

Ran at Dutch Hollow. Tried some new trails. The weather was very good -- not too warm and not too cold. Ran 45 minutes by myself and then 36 minute with Erica and Sammy. They made me take it easy, and it was a good thing. Total time was 1:21.  I felt pretty strong throughout the run, the trails were a nice breakup from all of the road running I've been doing.

Out for now.

Steve

LunchTime workout at Soldier Hollow:

Had an hour for lunch so I decided I'd take advantage and go to the closest place to run my Friday workout.

1/2 mile warmup

1 mile uphill hard, about 5:35-5:45. I left my watch at home, so I used my phone, which only counts in minutes, so I tried my best to count the seconds until the 6:00 mark after I stopped. Fortunately, the miles are marked

1 mile recovery

2 miles all out, one is rolling is, the other rolling hills and then the last 600 or so downhill. Ran somewhere around 5:30 for the first mile and somewhere around 5:05-5:10 for the second one. My goal was to break 11:00 and I did that, so I'll take it.

1/2 mile cooldown and back to work. I hope they don't mind a little sweat. I put deodorant on, that should be good enough, right?

Steve

Nice run with Chad, Adam and Josh. Met some new people. Great sights and some nice variation in the run. It was great to just take it easy. Things went well except for one bathroom break in the middle. Another nice run to file away and try to remember how to get to the trails.

Out for now.

Steve

9 miles in the AM with Erica and Sammy. My legs felt like logs. Finally feeling some pain the legs, shins, and such. I ran on the side of the road and avoided the pavement for the most part. It was a great day to be outside and get some sun though. Sammy went for a swim and we put in a solid 66:00. I was happy with that.

Back to the track tomorrow if the weather holds off, otherwise it will be Tuesday.

Out.

Steve

Cold, a little rainy, and windy.  And a little bit of snow at the end. We'll just say that it wasn't great conditions. I can handle these days every now and then though with the promise that the rest of the week will be better.

Anyway, the workout was the same as last Monday. I would have went for 6 800's but it was getting dark, windy, and cold by the end.

1.5 mile warmup

5x800:  2:37, 2:37, 2:36, 2:36, 2:31

1.5 mile cooldown

Out

Lunch Run:  3 miles with Sammy. It turned into a bit of a tempo run. I felt great and the legs were really clicking. We ran the last two miles just over 6:00 pace.

PM: Basketball Game -- running most of the game.  Then 28 minute run following. I don't really know how to log it. I'll give myself credit for 3 miles at the basketball game.

Supposedly good weather tomorrow. That might mean some trails for me.

Out for now. Steve

AM: 3 miles before work with Sammy dog. A little chilly in Heber. I twisted my ankle last night at the basketball game. Felt fine yesterday but it's a little sore today. Nothing I can't run onn, but it's a bit bothersome.

PM:  36 minutes by myself at Dutch Hollw, then another 30 minutes easy with Erica and Sammy. We ran uphill for the first 15 minutes -- it was tough. Basketball took a toll on my legs, but they loosened up after a while.  1:06 in the PM

31:00 run after work with the dog. The weather was great and my legs felt good for the second half of the run. Maybe that's because the 2nd half was more downhill.....

Ran for another 25:00 after dinner and after watching The Life of Dan (or something like that) with Steve Carell. Plotted out where I am going to run mile repeats in the AM. I really like running at night -- especially in the summertime. Maybe I'll have to find a way to fit that into the weekly routine, at least 2 night runs.

Steve

AM: 3 repeat miles up the side of highway 189 between Heber and Midway. Ran on the bike path beside the road--great for running, no stops, no traffic.

5:17 for the first mile, mostly flat, no wind. A little chilly.

5:20 for mile #2, a little uphill right at the end.

5:22 for mile #3, felt in rough shape for the 2nd half, mile was a little downhill and my slowest.

A good AM run / workout. Might be doing some camping this weekend, so had to get the workout in early before we leave.

6 total

 PM: 4 miles easy with Erica and Sammy. Ran up a canyon and then back down plus some trails. My legs felt pretty good.

Steve

Longest run of this year. 18 miles at Park City Rail Trail with Adam W. The weather was great and he even gave me a GU packet at 9 miles. We went downhill on the way out so it was almost all uphill the way back. We still negative split. I believe we were just under 1:09 for the first 9 and somewhere around 1:07:30 for the last 9. (Check Adam's blog, I'm sure he has the splits).

Went camping Saturday / Sat. night / and Sunday. It was nice and relaxing.

Steve

AM:  3.5 miles easy around the campground. I didn't feel like running hills today so I used the morning as more of a shakeout / AM run. My legs were heavy from yesterday and the hills really aren't too fun.

PM: 5.5 miles. Easy on the way out, a bit harder on the way back -- around 6:15 paces for the last 3 miles. I felt great, never breathing hard the entire run. Must finally be getting in shape.

Out--

Lunch Run:  3 miles with Sammy Dog. It was hot!! Almost 80 out here in Heber. I think we went right from winter to spring. Good to get some sweat going though. Workout tonight, might be after dinner once it cools a bit. Half marathon race at The Homestead Resort on Sat.

Steve

PM: Track workout.... 3 sets of 4x400M , 200 jog between reps, 400 job btwn sets

1st set: 73, 75, 75, 74 

2nd set: 75, 75, 73, 73

3rd set: 73, 72, 71, 63 (all out)

Never felt great -- probably still feeling the 18 from Saturday. But I was able to finish. Ran later at night (around 8:30) so it was cooler. A little windy, but overall nice.

9 Total

42 minute run around Park City, ran some on the rail trail, some on roads, some on trails. My legs are shot and it was 82 degrees out so it was darn hot.

Also played basketball, we only had 5 players and then one guy fouled out, so I did some more running there. I am logging that for 3 miles.

So 9 total. 

AM: 2 miles easy with Sammy.

PM: A rainy, windy and COLD 6 miles with Erica. She ran 2xmile to get ready for a 5k this Saturday at the Homestead Resort.  She ran pretty well, 6:40 for the first and 6:55 for the second -- very solid considering the weather and that it was her first workout of the year (excluding soccer games).

8 total

Out

Lunch: 3 miles easy with Sammy. What's up with this weather?

Night: 3 miles hard by myself. What a great night to run after the rain.

6 total

Steve

Lunch Run:  3 miles relatively easy

PM: 40 minutes as easy as I could go. Probably about 5 mi.

Racing Homestead Half MArathon tomorrow AM.

Stev

Homestead Half Marathon

Half the course was road, the other half was the trail along Deer Creek Reservoir. It was a very tough course with many hills and the wind was pretty rough. The first 3 miles were somewhat downhill, the next 3 quite uphill, and then we came back. So it was an out and back course. The last 3 miles uphill with some wind in the face were not real fun.  There was about 4 different climbs of well over 100 ft in this run and another 5 or 6 climbs of over 50 feet. It was tough. The race is also run in Midway at the Homestead Resort, about 6000 feet.

I ran with another guy for the first 5 miles. We hit 3 in 18:00 -- a definite surprise for me, as I was taking it easy and my goal was to run 6:15-6:30 on the roads and 6:30-7:00 on the trails. I let him lead through 5 miles, and then passed him at the 5 after the pace slowed to over 7:00 (although that mile gained about 250 feet of elevation I was told later)

I hit the halfway mark in 42:45 -- right about 6:30 where I wanted to be. I felt pretty good and ran the next couple hard to put a gap on the guy behind me. I had about a :30 second lead at halfway. There was a huge uphill followed by some nice downhill, then 3 miles of pavement all with a steady uphill grade to the finish. The last 2 miles were hell for me, my legs were junk and I was struggling to run 6:30 on the pavement. I ended up running the 2nd half in 42:30 (15 second negative split). It was decent. I know that I'm not yet in very good shape.

That said, I won the race and was happy with how I ran, especially on the hills and from 7-10 I was pretty strong. My pace was solid considering the course and conditions.

15 miles total -- didn't have it in me for the long cooldown today.

AM: 9 miles easy on the Heber East loop with Erica and Sammy. My legs continually felt better as we ran along. Oh, I forgot to mention. Erica won the 5k yesterday too. So her legs were a little heavy as well.

9 tot.

9 miles on the trails at Dutch Hollow. No workout today since I raced the half on Sat. Workouts may be shifted to Tues-Fri, or Wed-Fri or whatever seems to feel right. I will still try to get some 800's and some mile repeats in this week.

My legs felt strong in the second half of the run. No lingering pains from the half -- I'm thankful for that.

Out

Lunch Run: 3 miles with Sammy Dog. What a beautiful day outside!

PM: Speedoworkout: 2xMile at faster than 5k race pace. This was the first workout where I ran almost 100%. I don't know why but generally I have been doing more at pace stuff with more volume. Today two miles hard:  5:03, 4:58. Flat course, some crosswind but nothing bad. I felt after the first one that the 2nd would be faster. I felt pretty strong for both and was pleased with the times.

Later: Basketball. We played terrible and lost. But I got some miles in.

10 total

32 minutes with Sammy, then 28 minutes by myself. I was very tired at the end, probably from lack of food. The weather has been excellent though. It's great to just be outside doing anything on days like today.

9 Total

55 minutes total.

Ran up from Soldier Hollow toward Cascade Springs. When I say up, I mean way up. It is a climb all the way. Ran pretty hard, something like a tempo uphill, although I doubt I was breaking 6:30 pace.

The way back down was glorious, and very scenic. Next time I will mak it further.

8.5 miles

AM: Ran with Kent (I think) Michelle, and Josse. We ran about 5 miles warmup -- mostly uphill -- from Vivian Park to the Girl Scout Camp. Then we ran 6 mile tempo run -- about 37:00 for 6 miles, the first 3 being downhill, the next 3 flat. I felt great. Michelle and Josse ran very well.

about 5 miles cooldown.

16 total