faster with age

     A nice and easy 6 this morning at 8:55 ave pace.

     PM  Went out on a nice evening 15 mile mt bike ride. Just made it between rain storms.

     Nice morning with no rain and temps in the 50s. I ran 4 miles at 7:46 ave pace then a fartlek for the next 3 miles. I ran 2x 1/4 mile fast 1/4 easy. Then 2x 1/2 fast 1/2 easy. I averaged 6:52 pace for those 3 miles. It felt harder than I expected.

     PM  Ran an easy 5 miles. 2 1/2 of it in Five Fingers.

     A nice easy 8 mile run up to the reservoir. A few rain drops with temps in the upper 50s. perfect running weather. 8:39 AP.

     Ran 5 very slow miles 9:10 AP. Had no energy for running and had planned on 7 or 8 miles but cut it short.

     This wasn't a race I was planning on but saw it in the newspaper Wednesday and since it was only $5 and we needed to go down to Logan anyway I figured it would be a great way to get in some faster for the day. After signing up I had some time and we drove around the very well marked course. I knew it was definitely a tough course and I couldn't expect a fast time. I think it had as much total climbing and dropping as Smithfield health days plus it had 14 corners to go around. 3/4 of the first mile was climbing while the other 1/4 was either dropping or flat [which was rare on this course]. I finished that mile in 6:11. The second mile climbed the entire way except for one short block that was downhill. I ran mile 2 in 6:30. The 3rd mile started uphill for a bit and then was downhill to the finish. I know it sounds like much more uphill than down and that is how it seemed but it was a loop course. I guess 2 of the downhills were short and steep and were over with quickly. I ran mile 3 in 5:55 and the last .1 at 5:06 pace to finish in 19:04. Halfway through the race I though there was no way I would break 19 min and wasn't running with a lot of motivation other than to get a good workout. I wasn't paying attention to my time and was surprised at my time. Just like Smithfield that I finished in 19:01, If I would have been paying closer attention I think I could have picked it up and shaved off a few seconds. It was a well orginized race and they had a ton of great raffle items. I won a gift certificate to the Iron Gate Grill and got a good workout so I'd consider it 5 bucks well spent. 

     PM   Ran 10 miles 7:58 AP

     Very nice morning for a run with pleasant temps and before the wind and rain started. I ran 10 miles up around the reservoir and just kept it easy and relaxed. 8:17 AP.

     PM    4 easy miles with 2 in five fingers.

     In the morning I went for 20 miles on the mt bike. Latter on I ran 1/2 mile in my irrigation boots while moving sprinkler pipe.

     Ran 10 miles this morning in a light drizzle for the first half. It was light enough that it was kind of nice. 8:09 AP.

     Went over to Weston Canyon to do some hill running. I ran 1 mile warm up then 3x3 mile intervals. The first one was 3 miles down the canyon at 6:40 ave pace. Then back up the canyon at 7:49 AP. Last 3 back down at 6:19 AP.  6:56 ave overall. Then hopped on my bike which I had stashed and rode back to the jeep parked at the top. The weather was crazy. It seemed like the sun would shine for 5 min then it would rain for 10 min then just overcast with no rain the next 10 min. I had a headwind while running most of the downhill. Thunder was rumbling the last 5 miles and shortly after I started driving home it really busted open and started raining good. I finished just in time. Good workout.

     Ran 17 miles. I averaged 8:08 pace for 8 miles then 7:47 AP for the next 9 miles. I hadn't had a lot to eat during the day and left on the run around 6 pm. It got pretty tough the last 2 or 3 miles where I think I was running out of fuel. I really chowed down after getting home. I was starving.

     10 easy miles at 8:11 AP

    Left for California. Spent the night in Ely

     Camped in the white mountains. We went on a 4.2 mile hike through the ancient forest of bristle cone pines and saw some of the  the oldest trees in the world including the oldest [called Methusela] at 4700 yrs old. At the end of the hike it was just getting dark and I hadn't had time to run so I had my wife leave me to run the 5.5 miles back to camp. I started at over 10,100' elevation and climbed for 3/4 of a mile then dropped almost 2,000 feet over the next 3+ miles followed by a rolling slight net uphill last mile. I haven't run down anything that steep in a while and tried to take it easy but it made my hips a bit sore and my quads were burning afterward. 7:43 AP.

     We traveled over to Yosemite and went through Mammoth Lakes on the way. I was hoping to glimps Ryan and Meb and the boys out on a training run with no such luck. Probably the wrong time of day. We set up camp in Yosemite and got in some nice hikes and sight seeing. It's a gorgeous place. We saw 2 bears.

     Got up about 5:30 and went on a run from camp on a trail. about a mile in I saw something dark move of the side of the trail into some trees. I figured it must have been a bear but I didn't get much of a look. When I got down to where I had seen it. Sure enough it was a dark brown colored bear right off the side of the road. It went over a big log and ran off quickly into the woods. I saw a bear on a bike ride in Pennsylvania but this was a first while running. After 4 miles I wanted to do a tempo run. Everything was quite hilly. I guess I'm just not used to trying to run fast on the hills. I had a real struggle keeping a decent pace. My miles were anywhere from 6:38 to 8:05 on a mile that included a .6 climb of about 300 ft. My overall ave for 6 miles was only 7:16 but felt more like 6:40 pace. Overall pace for all 11 miles was 7:43.

     We got in a couple more nice hikes.

     After another night in Yosemite, I left on another early run from the campground. I didn't see any bears this morning but after stepping off the side of the trail to do some morning business I heard something crashing through the woods toward me. I then saw a doe come running right by me. I was wondering what spooked her because I was sure there were no people out there. I hadn't seen a sole on the trail either day I had run here. Then a coyote came running by in hot persuit. I have seen this happen before but I don't think a coyote could take down a healthy adult deer. I ran 8 miles total and just took it real easy. My legs felt trashed from the day before. Especially my hamstrings.

     Still in Yosemite we got up early, packed up camp, and headed for Sequoia Nat Park. We got in some more hiking and saw the largest tree in the world and 6 more bears including a sow with 3 cubs while we were out on a hike just before dark. We made sure she knew we were there but she ignored us and wandered down about 80 yards from us and started tearing apart an old log. We got some great pictures and my wife and son got a great adrenaline rush as neither of them had ever seen a bear out in the woods like that. The others we saw on the trip were all from the road. 

     Never found time for a run

     We arrived home from our vacation and I left on a run just before dark. I took a small flashlight for after dark since I would be mostly on dirt road but the moon was bright enough I never used it. first 4 miles were 8:11 AP. Next 8 I averaged 7:33 pace including a last mile just under 7 min.  7:48 AP

     Went for 20 miles on the mt bike. I rode pretty hard close to tempo effort. 

     PM 3 easy miles.

     9 easy miles 8:36 AP

     Went over to Weston Canyon to get in some up and down hill. I wasn't able to get out until afternoon so the temp was already in the 80s. My son came with me and ran a warm up mile at the reservoir then I ran the 3 miles to the bottom while he rode the bike. There was a substantial headwind going down so he rode in front so I could draft off him. I did the first 3 at 6:29 pace. after about a 4 min rest I ran back to the top at 7:32 AP. Another short break then back down at 6:17 AP. Ave pace for 9 miles of tempo was 6:46.

     Went 20 miles on the mt bike in the morning then latter ran an easy 5 miles. 3 1/2 of it in Five Fingers.

     Ran 17 this morning. I didn't feel to speedy this morning [probably because of the extra bike miles this week] so I just ran whatever pace felt easy. 8:17 AP.

     10 easy 8:16 AP heavy legs

20 mile mt bike in the morning.

At 3:00 in the afternoon I was in North Logan and was told it would be 45 min before my tractors starter motor [which was being rebuilt] would be finished. So I went a few miles up the road to the Skyview track to run a few since it would take more than 45 min to drive home and back. I didn't have running clothes but was wearing cargo shorts and a cotton t-shirt. The temp in the car read 96 deg. It smelled like cooking rubber or plastic while I ran. Not sure if it was the rubber coating on the track or the astro turf. Luckily there was a running drinking fountain and I stopped and soaked my shirt after every 2 miles and got a drink. I got in 6 total.

     Ran 7 miles. 5 at 7:42 ave. Then 2 miles of fartlek running 1/4 faster 1/4 slower. Averaged around 6 min pace on faster and 7:21 on recoveries. 6:42 ave for fartleks. 7:25 overall for 7.