faster with age

It's the first day of may and it's 26 deg. and snowing. Wow.

 I don't know what's going on with my the back of my knee. This kind of came out of nowhere. It hadn't ever bothered me while running. I had felt a discomfort so slight I didn't pay much attention to it a couple of times over the last couple of weeks. Tuesday night and  last night it got worse untill it was painfull to walk. It only hurts to straighten my leg. I took some ibuprofen and it got a lot better last night. This morning it was a lot better. I think I could even run on it but I decided I had better not.

PM  I ran 1 mile with my son in 9:13. My knee has been a bit sore all day when I walk but when I ran with him it didn't hurt at all. I decided to go 2 more miles in 8:30 and 7:56 and it felt great. I guess I'll see if it swells up again tonight. If it dosen't I'll try some more miles tomorrow. I'm not even sure it's a running injury. It could be from biking. I've been working more on power through the whole pedal stroke and pulling up on the pedal puts a lot of strain on this area. I did bike on both of the last two days when it got bad. I never seem to get injuries from cycling. Unless I crash. So I didn't really consider that. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

As of yesterday I didn't know if I would be running today because of my knee. After yesterdays 3 miler it felt real good. It got a little sore by bedtime but nothing like the two previous nights. It felt pretty good this morning. Slight pain when I straighten it. I decided to go ahead and run.

It was a perfect morning. Sunny with a slight wind and close to 40 deg by the time I got out. It was 22 deg. 45 minutes earlier. I never felt one thing from the knee from the time I started running. I was planning to go at about an 8:45 pace but was running about 8:20. I had been planning to do my first 3 mile tempo run in months. Then Tuesday night the knee problem hit and I figured it was out. I felt so good this morning [ probably from the last 2 days being so easy] that I decided to go for it. I haven't run hardly any miles under 8:00 min. in a long time so I figured if I could keep it close to 7:00 pace that would be great.

 After running 4 miles at 8:20 pace I started my tempo. The first mile is on dirt and gravel and climbs about 80 ft. then drops about 100 ft. I figured I'd be doing good to get 7:10 on this mile so I was suprised to see I was at 7:10 pace at halfway after all the climbing. I finished this mile in 6:42 and felt pretty good. Now I hit pavement and flat and did my next mile in 6:32 and still felt good.  This kind af got me excited to be this far ahead of expectations and I sped up and did my last mile in 6:16. That last one felt like a race effort. I finished the 3 miles in 19:36 which is a 6:31 pace. I was very pleased with this and farther along than I thought I was.

More importantly neither my knee or my hamstring gave me any problem. My back still gives me slight pains after some runs but it keeps getting better. Overall pace for 7 miles was 7:34. did one more mile cooldown after.

PM did 2 miles with my son then 1 more myself  easy pace. I haven't felt one bit of sorness from my knee since this mornings run.

This morning was another beautiful day. I ran 11 miles at an 8:40 pace. My knee hasn't felt like one thing was wrong with it since yesterdays run. It's odd that I could have as much sorness as I did tues and wed and have it completly go away while running on friday. It was like I just ran it off. Don't you wish all injuries were like that?  Later I did a bike ride with my wife and son. I ended up going about 9 mi.

This was as nice a morning as you get. I went 9 miles average pace 8:28. My hamstring feels great , last weeks knee problem is completely gone, and my back is doing much better [just a little tightness after some runs]. This is the first time I have felt injury free since last Nov. when my hamstring first flared up. I look forward to adding some tempo runs.

PM   I ran 2 miles with my son at about 11 min. pace. Then went 4 more at 8:40 pace.

Another nice morning. I went on a 20 mile bike mountain bike ride. 18.5 mile loop on gravel took 1:12 . Rode a total of 1:20. Ran 2 miles at about 9:30 pace.

PM   ran 1 mile with my son in 9:50 then ran 2 more at 8:45 pace.

It was a great running morning at 50 deg. a few rain drops and the wind wasn't to bad. I finished just before the wind and rain got bad. After a 2 mile warmup at about 8:30 pace I did a fartlec run for the next 5 1/2 mi. running 5 x .62 mi. [1000 m.] @6:25 pace then 2:15 min. about 8:40 pace. After 5 of those I did 3:15 min. slow followed by 1 mile in 7:15 then 1/2 mi. cooldown. On the  1000s I did   4:04, 4:01, 3:55, 3:58, 3:52.  My average pace for the 5 1/2 was 7:09.

 PM    Ran 1 mile with my son then 1 more myself.

Went for 5 miles this morning easy. 8:38 ave. pace. Hamstring feels great after yesterdays faster running.

PM   ran 3 very easy miles about 9:00 pace

I went for a 20 mile mountain bike ride this morning. It was nice. About 40 deg. Shortly after my turn around it started to rain and rained the rest of the way back. It didn't rain too hard and was kind of nice. I was on a gravel road that didn't get too muddy. It took 1:26. I ran 4 miles afterward in the rain at 8:30 pace.

This was another perfect running morning. I went for 1 mile with my wife. Then I went for 9 miles with the first half at 7:48 pace and the last 4 1/2 miles at 7:04 pace. Overall pace for 9 mi. was 7:25. My hamsring seems to be doing great with a few faster miles.

I got drawn for St George. Yippee!!

Another nice morning for running. Temps were in the 40s. I did get some light rain and a little hail but not much wind. I went for 10 miles and ran the first half at a 9:00 min. pace and the second half at about 8:00 pace. overall ave pace at 8:27.

PM   Did another 3 mi. at very easy pace> It was very windy.

This morning started out a little cold and breezy. I had to bundle up a bit but it was sunny and didn't turn out to bad. I went for a 20 mile mountain bike ride that took 1:22 then went for an easy 3 mi. run at about 8:50 pace.

PM   Did one mile with my son in 9:31 then did 3 more at about 8:55 pace

I guess I'm going to do the 5k down at Ogden this weekend. I wanted to do the 1/2 mar. but because of my earlier injuries I delayed getting signed up and when I went to sign up a month ago it was already full. My son was planning to do the 5k and still really want's to. I have barely done any speed or tempo running so this morning I ran 6 miles with 2 fartlek miles in the middle with 8x200m at 6:00 pace w/200 rec. at about 8:05 pace. Overall ave.pace for the 6 miles was 8:01. I'm not expecting much at the race. I'll be happy if I can break 20 min.

PM   Ran 1 mile with my son in 10 min. then 1 more in 8:48

I went for a 15 mile mountain bike ride this morning. I had a very strong headwind going out that made for very slow going but really cruised coming back. It took 1:09.

I had been planning to do the Ogden half marathon for the last few months but because of a nagging hamstring, I waited to see if it would be recovered enough to run it before I signed up. I decided about 4 weeks ago to go ahead and run it but when I went to register they had already filled up. My son had been wanting to do the 5k and still wanted to go so I decided to do the 5k also. I got my 5k PR last year on this course at 19:40 and that is the last 5k I had run before today. I didn't go in expecting much after battling injuries that kept me from any fast running for about the last 7 months. Most of that time I had to keep my pace above 8:30 and a lot of running above 9:00 pace to keep the hammy at bay. I didn't know what to expect going in and thought I might be happy to just go under 20 min. I figured a pr would be great but not likely as last year I had been doing a lot of speed work.

My son and I got to the start line about 6:15 and I did a couple of warm up miles. At the start of this race you have over 800 people starting on a very narrow road for about the first 400 meters and then you turn onto the bike path. I took off quick at the start to not get trapped behind to many runners when it narrowed down. I hit my first mile in 6:04 which I thought might be to fast but I didn't feel that bad.My second mile was 6:16. At this point I realized I was likely to pr. I may have been slowing slightly when I hit the last straight mile of road. I started to gradually pick up the pace the farther I got and past a few guys along here. With 4 blocks to go[1/2 mile] I picked it up a bit more. When I had 1 block left I really went for it. I had a guy ahead of me that I thought could possibly be an old guy like me and I sprinted all out the last 70m and got him by 1/2 a second. He turned out to be the winner of his age group which was a couple younger than mine. My third mile was 6:08. My garmin had the race at 3.13 miles and my last .13 according to garmin was 30 seconds. I figure my actual last mile was 5:48 to 5:50 with my last 200 figured in [ the first 1/4 of mile 3 my garmin had me at 6:20 pace and I sped up quite a bit from that point on. ] My final time was 18:59 which not only whomped on my old PR but came in just under my long term goal of sub 19 min. Not by much but I'll take it. I was 11th overall and took 1st in my age group.

My son only ran about 20 miles over the past 6 weeks in preperation and he ran it in 29:16. a 9:27 pace. He didn't push real hard just ran comfortable and had a great experience. He can't wait to do another.

It was fun to meet a few of the bloggers and fun watching the stream of them that came across the finish line in the top 12. I can't wait to get out and set some more PR.s this year.

I did a 9 mile run. The first halfpace was 8:27. Second half pace at 7:29. I was going to do a Pm 4 mile run but ended up working til after dark on a pipeline to replace our irrigation ditches. A lot of kneeling and up and down that my knees and legs aren't used to left my knees a little sore. With this hot weather we have got to get it finished quickly. I may have more days like that this week. didn't even get time to blog.

I did a mt. bike ride this morning. It was a very nice morning. Calm with temps in the 40s to start which felt good after being out in the sun all day yesterday. I went for 20 miles on dirt roads in 1:23. After I got back and got my son on the school bus I ran for 5 miles at an easy 9 min. plus pace.

PM  Did three more easy miles.

This morning it was 41 deg. with a light rain. I got 100 yards from home and realized I had misjudged the amount of both wind and rain and decided shorts weren't going to cut it. Went back for some long pants which was a good thing because the rain got a lot worse. I felt a little beat this morning, legs felt heavy. Some of it may have been the soaking wet running shoes or the 5 lb soaked sweat shirt, my shortage on sleep this week, or all of the above. I went 9 miles at an easy pace.

PM   Easy 4 mile run.

This morning it was in the 30s with a very strong north wind. I went on a 24 mile mt. bike ride. My first 5 miles were into the wind which was very slow going. I had to use a gear usually reserved for steep hills most of the way. It was fun cruising with the wind at my back those last miles. I didn't get into much rain but I hope it rains the rest of the day. We sure could use it. Total time 1:44

I had to travel down to salt lakeearly this morning and was there for the day. I ran 4.3 miles and felt a bit sluggish. It might have had something to do with the 3 1/2 hours of sleep I got last night. Overall pace 9:11

I hadn't planned on running this race until thursday when I realized I would be in salt lake friday. My wife and I decided instead of going home friday night that we'd stay the night at my parents house in sandy and hit the race in the morning.

I just ran my PR in the 5K last week in Ogden and I had heard this was a fast course so I thought maybe I could PR again. The first mile is a good downhill. The first 2/3 of the second mile is still down but not quite as much. Then you have a gradual 1 mile climb followed by a quick 200 meter downhill Then about 1/4 mi. flat to the finish. The first mile is the fast one and I did it in 5:35 The second mile I did in 5:58 I never got passed after the first 1/2 mile but I passed a few during this mostly uphill third mile and finished it in 6:06. My garmin had the race at 3.13 so my last .13 was 36 seconds [4:46 pace according to my garmin.] My official time was 18:18 but it was not chip timed and I started about a second back at the start line and they round up the finish time. My watch had 18:16. Last weeks time was 18:59 for a 41 second  PR. I beat last weeks PR by 43 seconds today but it is definatly a faster course. I was 2nd in my age group.

2 mi. warmup before race. 1/2 cooldown after. and 5.7  after I got home.

My wife and I went on a 10 mile nice easy bike ride up around the reservoir. Had a little light rain but it was real nice.

This morning it started to rain just before I got started. It was really nice running with the temps in the upper 40s and not much wind. The only problem was that instead of turning back at 4.5 miles to make it a 9 mile run I was feeling good and went out an extra mile. I was running on a dirt road up by the reservoir and in the time the extra mile out took, the rain had soaked up the ground enough that right after I turned back the mud started to stick to the bottom of my shoes until they felt like they had tripled in weight. After a couple of miles like this the road got more of a sandy base and I scraped off the mud. It was great again after that. All in all it was a very enjoyable run. I didn't pay attention to pace along the way just enjoyed. Went 11 miles at 8:24 pace overall.

PM   Went 4 miles at just under 9:00 pace.

This morning I headed out on the mountain bike only to find out the roads were still to muddy. Sticky mud can jam up a bike to where it won't even go.I got back home after 4 1/2 miles and switched for my road bike and went another 19 on the highway for a total of 23 1/2 miles in 1:31. After I got back I did a 4 mile run at 8:32 pace. The temps were nice without much wind. Did my voting. 

PM    Ran 4 miles very easy pace.

We keep getting these real nice mornings for running with temps in the upper 40s and very little wind. Don't know how long that will last. It could get hot real soon. after all it is almost June. This morning I ran 9 miles at a relaxed pace. Overall pace was 8:28.

I took my road bike this morning and went for 21 miles. I did 7 miles easy and 14 miles at a tempo type effort. Overall time was 1:14. It was a nice calm morning. Nice ride.

I went out for a short run that turned into an adventure. I live on a farm and was running on the property with my dogs when they started barking at something down in the trees. I ran down to have a look and saw that they had a feral cat cornered. The cat then proceeded to jump onto my thigh [ I was wearing shorts] and latched on. It seemed like it was stuck to my leg forever as I was trying to shake it loose and knock it off. I think one of the dogs finally pulled it off. I have about 17 bleeding  puncture holes and several scratches mostly just above my knee and some on my calf and shin all the way around my leg. I went ahead and finished up my run with a little higher heart rate. By the time I got back I had blood running all the way down to my shoes. One of the wound has some deeper holes and are spaced about the same as canine teeth would be and may be a bite. I think it bit my finger also but didn't leave a wound. I'm going to check with my doctor and see what he thinks I should do. Gotta love a little action now and then.

PM  Did 2 more miles at 8:17 pace then 1x100 meter strider.

This morning I went for an 8 mile run. No "When animals attack" events today to report. Just a nice plain uneventfull morning run at an 8:31 pace.

PM  3 more easy miles around 9 min. pace. 

A georgeous morning. Slept in a bit then went on an 11 mile run. The temp was about 60 with a nice light breeze and sunny. Ran up around the reservoir at 8:24 pace for the first 4 miles and 7:33 ave. pace for the next 7 miles. Average overall pace 7:51. Felt real good.