faster with age

     Ran 15 miles at 8:34 AP. It had been cool and rainy but the rain stopped for my run and it was pretty calm which made for a nice run.

      10 miles at 8:37 ave pace. It wasn't as cold as it has been but the wind picked up pretty good while I was out and I had to run the last 2 miles into a 20 mph headwind.

     6 mi easy

     The temp was 18 deg this morning. I'm still running in my winter gear in May. Crazy. I ran 4 1/2 miles this morning then did the next 3 miles running 200 m fast then 200 m easy then another 1 1/2 miles easy. Overall pace for 9 was 7:34.

     Another nice and blustery May day. There was a cold wind this morning and some snow blowing around. This week I've been dressing no different than I do in the middle of winter in sub zero temps. Went 6 easy miles.

     6 easy at 8:18 AP

     7:30 race this morning. The temp was 32 deg on the way down to Smithfield.  Not sure what the temp was at the start of the race but at least it was warmer than the other mornings this week that have been anywhere from 18 to 27 deg. Got free entry for winning my age group last year. I ran 2 miles warmup and was ready to go. The first half of the race climbs up Smithfield Canyon [around 230 feet] then turn around and run right back down to the start. I hit the first mile in 6:35 then the second was 6:21. It seemed like the second should have been faster since it was only 1/2 uphill. 3rd mile was 5:38. I picked it up pretty good the last .1 and when I got close enough to see the clock it read 18:50. I went all out the last 10 seconds to come in under 19 min and it was turning 19 just as I crossed the line. My watch also said 19:00 flat but it wasn't chip timed and they had me at 19:01. I was pleased with that time on a tough course and I never really felt like I pushed it all that hard and felt pretty relaxed the whole way. Last year I did it in 19:25. I ended up 5th overall and first in 50 to 59 age division [my first race over 50] and free entry for next year.

     Pm ran another 8 easy miles at 8:29 AP.

     I went out this morning planning to go 8 or maybe 10 miles but it was so nice out and I felt really good so I ended up with 12. There is supposed to be another storm moving in this afternoon and for the next few days so I took advantage the nice day while I could. I kept it easy and really didn't feel like I had done a race Saturday. I've been feeling a bit low on energy on a lot of my runs the past 2 or 3 weeks so it was nice to have good energy today. It was tempting to run faster but I kept it to an 8:11 overall pace and just enjoyed.

     6 easy miles at 8:33 AP.

     Very nice morning for running. I started with a 4 mile progression run starting at around 8:10 first mile to 7:09 4th mile. Then I did 8x200 with 200 rec over the next 2 miles. 2 more miles at 7:23 ave pace. My energy level seems better on all my runs this week than it has been for the past 2 or 3 weeks. 7:26 overall ave pace for 8.

     6 easy miles on a very nice morning. Maybe we'll finally get a few nice spring days before the temps go straight into the 90s.

     I would have liked to run the half today but it has been sold out for months so I ran the 5K. We spent the night at my parents home in Sandy. The temp was in the 40s for the 7 o'clock start. The first 400 meters of the course is on a narrow road and then turns onto a bike path. There were around 850 people in the race and I wanted to make sure I wasn't behind too many people once I hit the trail so I took off pretty quick.By the time I hit the path I was in 4th place which was a surprise. I expected somebody to pass me that I could latch onto but nobody ever did. The 3 ahead of me kept getting farther ahead so I was on my own. I hit the first mile in 5:55. Halfway through the next mile, the next guy in front of me started to come back. Once I caught him he seemed to slow and let me pass then fell in behind and started drafting. I picked up the pace a bit and he hung right with me for a while but eventually I could tell he was dropping. I finished mile 2, which always seems to be my slowest in a 5k, in 6:06. Almost all of the final mile is pancake flat and completely straight up grant street. I felt like I could run a little faster here than on the bike path which has a lot of twists and turns and ups and downs but it does seem to last forever since you can see the finish line the entire way. It felt like I had a slight headwind here for a ways. The next guy ahead of me was up 40 seconds and the guy behind me had dropped back so there was nobody to push me. I ran the last 1.11  [according to my garmin] at 5:56 pace and finished in 18:38 and 5:59 ave pace.

     For finishing 3rd overall I got a nice plaqe and then was surprized to also get a $200 Suunto HR moniter watch and a free pair of Aascics running shoes. I have never placed near that high in that large a race but I guess all the best runners were in the half or full mar. My 5k pr is 18:16 but that was at the Magna 5k wich is a much faster course. When I ran that time 2 years ago I had run this same Ogden race the week before in 18:59 so I think this course is around 35 to 40 seconds slower but my time was only 22 seconds slower. I think I could make a good argument that this could be my best 5k. I have a goal to set all new PRs now that I'm 50.

     It was a nice day today. Finally feels like spring. I went for 13 miles starting out averaging 8:10 for the first 4 miles then 7:39 ave for next 9 including the last MP mile at 6:52. Had good energy and felt no leftover fatigue from Saturdays race. I felt like I pushed  harder Sat than the race the week before. My average heart rate was 172 at last Saturdays race compared to 167 the week before. My best 5ks in the past my ave HR has been 174-175.

     7:49 AP

     Easy 6 mile run this morning at 8:49 AP

6 easy

     Went for 10 miles up past the reservoir. Nice morning with temps in the 40s.

     15 mile run. The temp was nice at about 44 deg but there was a 20 mph wind blowing. It ended up being a tailwind all the way out so I got to fight the head wind all the way back. It got especially bad the last 4 miles. I was tough just to keep a 9 min pace and I would get hit with gusts that would almost stop me. It really beat me up and the last couple miles were really tough. Very glad to be done.

     8:18 ave pace.

     Got out to run around 5 pm. No rain and a nice day. About 1 mile into the run I was passing the house of a 14 year old neighbor and friend of my sons that saw me and came out and joined me. He just finished up with jr high track season where he ran the 800 and some relays. He wondered how far I was going and I told him 13 miles but he could turn around any time. He told me he was going the whole distance. I asked him what the farthest he had run and he said he had done a total of 4 miles once in practice but usually 2. We were running about 8 min pace and he seemed to think we ought to be going a little faster. The first mile he finished with me was 8:02. We finished the second mile and the pace had slowed to 8:44. I told him he could turn back any time but he insisted he was going the distance. The next mile we finished in 9:11 [there is a pretty good 1/4 mile hill in this mile]. At that point he decided he had had enough and turned back. from that point I ran the next 9 miles at 7:49 ave pace.

      6 easy

     PM  I haven't riden my bike for a few weeks and it felt good to get out for 12 miles just before dark.

     Ran 3 miles at 8:04 ave then did 5 miles at 6:52 ave. It was fairly windy and I had a tailwind for the first 1.5 miles of the tempo part and that was actually my slowest part. I got feeling better going back into the wind. I guess it just took that long to get used to the pace. 7:19 overall ave pace.

     Since the roads would be muddy again I did the same 15 mile run that I did last Saturday except I had a headwind going out and a tailwind coming back. Much nicer to have the tailwind when you're tired. The wind wasn't as strong as last Saturday. Overall pace was 7:54.

     Ran 12 miles up around the reservoir. I usually don't see anybody but there were a lot of fishermen today being a holiday. I averaged 8:11 pace for the first 6 miles on the way out and 7:43 on the last 6 miles for 7:57 overall ave pace.