faster with age

     Went out for a run just before dark. The road was all snow covered with loose snow and more was coming down. The footing was very poor. I felt like my feet were sliding back at least an inch every time I pushed off. I ended up averaging 9:57 pace for 8 miles and felt beat at the end. I enjoy running in the snow if I don't worry about my pace although some snow conditions are a lot easier to run in.

     Ran 10 miles in the morning. The road still hadn't been plowed and the footing was still very poor. It was a lot of work just to keep my pace around 9:30. With about 4 miles to go I came across a stray dog. He was friendly and wanted to run with me but after 2 miles I was afraid he would follow me all the way home [which I didn't want]. He was a very overweight lab cross and he was really sucking wind and seemed to be struggling to keep up. He started to fall behind and I started working harder to put a gap on him. I ran the next mile at what felt like tempo pace but it was actually only 8:30. By then the gap was large enough that I guess he finally gave up and must have stopped at a dairy up the road were there are some other dogs. At least it gave me some incentive to push harder with that poor footing. I still only averaged 9:15 pace for the run. I feel bad for the dog and I wish he had some ID so I could help him get home. I'm just a softy and get attached to easily to dogs which makes it hard to get rid of a stray that comes home and we definitely don't need any more dogs. I really feel more worn out after theses runs with bad footing even though I'm running such a slow pace.

     Ran 11 miles this morning. The footing was much better and I actually had a 2 mile stretch of dry pavement. The dirt roads that I like to run had hard packed snow from some vehicle travel and was a bit slower but not even close to as bad as the soft snow surfaces I was running on last week. Overall pace was 7:54. I threw in a couple of striders in the last 2 miles. It felt so much easier than running 9:30 pace on that unstable snow last week.

     Went for 10 miles today at an easy relaxed 8:38 pace.

     I took my son to mutual and the young men were all going to run the mile for their physical fitness merit badge. I went out and ran with them in the dark.  I just stayed with the lead pack which was quickly down to 2 boys and after halfway was down to 1. I just finished up with him in 6:38. I was surprised that any of them could run that fast but he told me his coach from the high school wrestling team has them running regularly.

     My Garmin battery was dead this morning [must have left it turned on yesterday] so I went without. Just ran 4 miles and enjoyed the warmer temps [just below freezing] and the light falling snow. Very peaceful.

     Played basketball pretty hard for an hour late pm.

     I wanted to do some tempo miles today. It was -10 deg this morning and I normally don't mind running in that but I always seem to run slower when it's that cold. By 10 o'clock it was nice and sunny but still only -1. I went out at 2:30 when the temp had climbed clear to 13 deg. Still a bit cold but 23 deg warmer than this morning. I ran the first warm up mile in 7:45 then averaged 7:08 for the next 2 miles. Then I started the tempo and averaged 6:46 for the next 6 miles. Overall average for 9 miles was 6:57. I felt pretty good with the run considering I didn't think I was up to it in the first couple of miles. I think I was just a little sore from basketball last night but seemed to loosen up after 3 miles and felt good after that.

     The house thermometer read -15 deg and the car read -16 when I took my son out to catch the school bus this morning. I added a second layer on the bottom and an extra layer up top. I wore some wool gloves that were a little thicker than the light wool ones I usually wear. After about a mile my hands and feet started to get cold which never seems to happen. After about 1 1/2 miles I could feel my hands at feet quickly warming and by 2 miles my hands were too warm and I had to switch to my lightweight gloves and remove the extra layer up top. I finished with a whole lot of ice on my goatee and eyelashes but very comfortable. Today was just a short recovery run at 8:49 ave pace.

     Ran 14 miles this morning. It was 1 deg when I left which actually felt quite warm compared to yesterday's morning run which was 17 deg colder. Had to switch to my lighter gloves again at 1 1/2 miles then had to take those off after 3 miles and ran the rest of the way without. The sun never came out because of the cloud cover but there was no wind. First 6 miles I ran at 8:16 pace. Picked it up a little after that and averaged 7:40 pace for the next eight. Last mile the fastest at 7:13. Overall pace for 14 miles was 7:56. I was amazed that 1 deg could actually feel that warm. Even my garmin was very slow when changing screens yesterday.

     Went out for 11 miles in the afternoon. I felt a bit slow for some reason. May have been partly because of the large lunch I ate about 30 minutes before running. AP 8:16

     10 miles. Kept it a real easy pace. AP 8:46

     5 easy miles at 8:45 ave.

     PM  Played basketball

     Did my weekly tempo run today. I have a 2 mile section of non snow covered blacktop so I just ran back and forth on that. I did 2 miles in 7:34 and 7:13. Then since the temp was around 33 deg I took off my long pants and wore shorts for the tempo. I ran the first 4 miles of the tempo at 6:41 ave. I took about a 4 min break then ran another 4 at 6:34 pace. Average for the 8 mile tempo was 6:37 overall. Average for all 10 was 6:47. I felt sluggish in the beginning. But felt surprisingly good for the rest of the run. Must have been the switch to shorts.

     My son was out of school and it was the last day of the duck hunt so we went down on the river and did a little hunting. While we were down there I slipped going down a steep part of the river bank. I didn't fall but I caught myself awkwardly and felt a little tweak in my back. The same little tweak that has meant problems several other times. It felt ok shortly afterward but gradually got worse as the day went on. I decided I had better skip my run.

     Was planning a 15 miler but my back was still a little sore. I headed out but it was not feeling good at all so I quit after 1/2 mile and decided I was doing more harm than good. It's a good thing I quit because it felt much worse after the run than it did before.

     Back was still a little sore today so I decided not to risk making it worse by running again with painter 1/2 mar coming up this weekend. I had to skip Saturdays long run which would have been my second run of 13 miles or more in preparation for the race. I guess I'll have to settle for one at 14 miles last weekend. I went for a 20 mile bike ride to avoid a forth day of nothing. It was a nice ride all on snow with warmer temps up around 32 deg. I seem to have a habit of getting injured going into races.

     My back was feeling a bit better and I thought I would be able to do a run but after lifting a stuck snowmobile it got feeling worse and I decided to bag another run. I started a high dosage of ibuprofen today.

     My back was feeling better [probably the ibuprofen] so I decided to try a run. It loosened up and felt better after the first 1/4 and felt good for the run. I hadn't started with a plan other than just see how it felt. I went 7 miles total and felt like going farther but ended there and played it safe. I did a few striders in the 5th and 6th miles and ran the 7th mile in 6:39. Overall ave pace was 7:37. My back is still feeling good this evening which gives me confidence that I will be able to do Painter's 1/2 this Saturday. I skipped basketball tonight just to play it safe.

     Ran 5 miles today without ibuprofen and my back felt good. I just ran an easy 8:23 pace and was glad to get in a second run before the race after missing 5 days including what would have been my last long run Sat. No run tomorrow and I should be good to go Sat.

          We were really looking forward to the trip down to St George to get a break from our cold winter weather so it was a little disappointing when the forecast was for possible rain and snow and temps in the 30s not to mention the possibility of bad roads the whole way. We were getting heavy snow when we left on Friday and we narrowly made it over Sardine canyon [which was terrible and is a whole other story] only to hear on the radio that it had been closed just as we got to the other side. The rest of the drive was no problem at all. The temp for the race was around 35 deg and overcast but no wind or rain so quite nice racing conditions. 

     My main goal was to beat my last years time of 1:29:00. I was hoping I could go under 1:28 but my training hasn't been the greatest [although better than last years]. I took off and just tried to keep it somewhat comfortable. I hit the first couple of slight uphill miles in the 6:30s and the next couple slight downhill in 6:19 and 6:28. The 5th mile climbs the entire way beginning with a steep climb for about 100 yards. I hit that mile in 6:46 and was still feeling great. Things really didn't feel bad at all until the next big hill that starts near the end of mile 8 and then climbs for all but the the tail end of mile 9. I didn't remember this hill lasting so long and kept thinking we were coming to the end of it but as we turned each corner it just kept going up. I just tried to keep a good pace and not loose too much time. At just before mile 11 the course comes back to the bike path where you are now running back against a lot of runners. At this point I was running just behind the lead female runner and a couple of other guys. She was getting a lot of cheers from the runners going the other way. I wasn't feeling all that great anymore [probably due to my lack of mileage lately] and I didn't see anyone around that looked near my age group. I knew I was going to more than  exceed my expectations so I was content to just hang out where I was. The finish line was a welcome sight and as I was coming to the line they were readying the tape for the female winner to break through. I wasn't quite sure what to do so I just ran up onto the finishing mat all the way to the edge and stopped to stay out of the way while she ran through. My time ended up 1:25:24 [6:31 AP] which I was thrilled with. It is only 18 sec slower than my PR at Top of Utah 1/2. This is an unaided loop course with a lot of hills so much slower course than TOU.

     Splits:

1 -6:34

2 -6:38

3 -6:19

4 -6:28

5 -6:46  almost all uphill

6 -6:19  all downhill

7 -6:28

8 -6:36 Level until near the end climbs steep

9 -6:47 Climbs all the way with short steep drop at the end

10-6:29

11-6:37 slight uphill until the end

12-6:35

13-6:31

13.1-5:35 pace

     I took first in my age group for the second year in a row and 25th overall. They said they had 2,000 sign up for the race which met the limit and was way up from last year. This was probably my last race in that age group [as I will soon be moving into the 50+ category] but I think I could make a good argument that it was my best race to date.

     I ran 5 miles today on soft snow with very poor footing. 9:10 pace was about all I could manage. Everything is feeling good from the race and I'm sure I would have felt fine running the last 2 days but since I don't have any races in the near future I just decided to take a bit of a break. I'll probably keep things pretty easy the next few weeks.

     Played basketball for an hour.

     Ran another 5 miles today. The temp had dropped a lot and the snow and ice on the road had frozen up solid. Much better footing than yesterday. I wore my screw shoes both days but they didn't help much yesterday. Today they worked great. I still just kept it easy at 8:48 pace.

     The roads today were about 1/2 snow and ice and 1/2 clear. Just went for another easy 5 1/2 at 8:44 pace.

     Just kept it real easy again today. 5 miles at 8:54 AP. More  pavement was exposed today. Only about 1/4 of run was on ice and snow.

     Went for 6 easy miles today. The roads had just about gotten dry then it snowed most of the day yesterday and there is a lot of snow and slush again. It's a warm mostly sunny day though so it probably won't last long. AP 8:26.

     Just went for another easy 5 today at 8:26 AP. Plan to keep it easy for a while.

     Another 5 easy miles. 8:19 AP. Did throw in a few short striders.

     Left for San Diego yesterday afternoon and spent the night in Mesquite. Drove the rest of the way to San Diego today.

     I went for an 8 mile run on the beach from our hotel room. It was very nice running with the tide going out so the sand was damp and firm and the beach is quite flat. There are always quite a few people running there. It was nice with 60 plus temps. There was a south wind blowing which I started out running into so I had a nice tailwind coming back. My miles into the wind averaged from 7:30 to 7:45 pace. My tailwind miles were all 7:09 or 7:10. I did run part of it on the boardwalk but most was on the beach. It was a very nice run and felt easy in the nice temps and low altitude. Overall ave pace was 7:23.

     6 easy miles 8:15 AP

     Another 6 easy miles. After San Diego we were greeted home with a nice 5 deg yesterday morning and -1 deg this morning. Ran later when it had warmed up a bit yesterday but this morning was plain cold.

     Went skiing. Didn't run.

     Felt like I was coming down with something last night and today. Headache and low energy. I decided to skip my run.

     I felt much better today. I went for 7 miles and just ran relaxed. It was a snowy morning and warm. 2 of my miles were in a couple of inches of fresh snow that hadn't been driven in yet. It was quiet and soft to run in. My pace dropped by about a minute per mile at the same effort in the snow to well over 9 min pace compared to the wet blacktop the rest of the run was on. Overall ave pace was 8:38.

     I didn't get out until 11 PM. It was about 15 deg and crystal clear. Lots of stars. I ran the first mile in 8:12 and the second in 7:41. I was feeling pretty good so I picked it up to 6:54, 6:42 and 6:37 for the last 3. On the last 2 miles I felt like I was running around 10K pace but I wasn't even close to my 1/2 mar pace of 6:31 three weeks ago. I usually always run slower in the dark than it feels like.

     Warm temps with a very light snow falling. I went 8 miles with 3 1/2 on pavement and the rest on a little under an inch of fresh snow. The footing wasn't too bad and made for a nice run. Very quiet and peaceful. I started out quite slow and picked it up a little as I went and tried not to get slowed to much on the snow. AP 7:46.

     Just a nice easy 6 mile run with about half on snow. 

     Went for 15 miles on my mt bike this morning. I haven't done that too much this winter. It was mostly on snow that was warm and slushy yesterday but frozen this morning. That made it slow going but it was nice to get out on the bike anyway.

     Another slow easy run partly on snow that was more like frozen slush. I went 6 at 8:17 pace with 3 or 4 short pickups near the end. I've kept the last 4 weeks pretty easy with mileage in the 20s. I'm going to still keep the pace mostly easy and gradually add more miles.

     Nice sunny afternoon for a run. The temp was still a little below freezing but it felt warm with the sun. I did a 6 mile progression run going  8:14, 7:39, and 7:18 in the first 3 miles and 6:43, 6:37 and 6:26 for the last 3. Last 3 miles felt hard. Especially the last mile although 7:18 felt pretty good.

     Didn't get out until after dark. Went for 6 miles. It was crisp and cold [about 15 deg] with a nice bright 1/2 moon. Just kept it easy and relaxed.

     Ran 10 miles this morning. I ran up around the reservoir for the first time this winter. The snow is still quite deep so I had to run on snowmobile tracks. It was cold but sunny and gorgeous. The 6 1/2 miles that I ran on the snow I tried to keep the pace just under 8:00 which was probably around 30 sec per min slower than the same effort on pavement. I stopped for about 5 min at the turnaround point and just enjoyed the quiet. I had only intended to go about 8 miles but it was so nice I went 10. 7:49 overall ave pace.

      Ran this morning on the same route as yesterday just turned around a little earlier to cut it to 7 miles. Kept the pace real easy. Running on the snowmobile trail I was going almost a full minute slower pace [well over 9 min] than on the pavement. Overall AP 8:41.

     Went 15 miles on the bike this morning. There was about 2 inches of fresh snow and still coming down. The temps have been in the negatives the past couple of nights so the ground was cold enough that every bit was sticking to the roads. The snow had pretty much all melted from the gravel roads  before this last cold snap so the traction was good in the light powdery snow until I hit a spot where there was still some solid ice under the powder that made it so slick that when I hit it I went down so quick I didn't have time to get my cleats unclipped  from the pedal and went right down on my side still attached to the pedals. It was so slick I could hardly stand on it when I got up. I have usually ridden my bike a couple times a week all winter long and I usually get through the winter without going down or maybe once at the most. This year I've only been out about 4 or 5 times on the snow and I've already gone down. I've got a pretty sore elbow but other than that I came out ok. Other than the crash it was an enjoyable ride. I always love to get out when it's snowing as long as there's no wind.

     Went out for 7 miles about half on the snowmobile trail again. Today the temps had been much warmer plus there was a lot of new snow covering the trail. On one 1/4 mile section there's no snowmobile tracks but it has been cold enough that the frozen snow has held me up. Today on that stretch I was going in about 6 inches. I just kept the pace easy any a couple of those miles were over 10 min pace. My pavement miles were around 8:20 pace. 

     It was a really nice afternoon for a run [other than the fact that I had eaten a large lunch just before heading out]. It was close to 40 deg so I went with the shorts. I ran the first mile in 7:24 then averaged 6:41 for the next 5 miles. AP 6:48

     7 very easy just under 9 min pace.

     Ran 10 miles up past the reservoir on snowmobile tracks again. The snow was frozen solid but because of all the melt that took place last week the footing was very uneven most of the way. It feels like it uses a lot of muscles differently just trying to stay balanced. It makes for a lot slower running but it is fun getting back in where nobody other than a few snowmobilers have been all winter. on one 3/4 mile section that hadn't had as much sun I was able to get the pace down around 7:50 both coming and going but there were stretches where I was running 9:30 or slower. 6 1/2 out of the 10 miles were on snow.The last 1 3/4 miles back on pavement I was running around 7:25 pace and it actually felt like the easiest part of the run. It felt like a good workout. Average overall pace was 8:08

     Went for 8 miles relaxed and easy. Felt yesterdays run for the first mile or two but after that things loosened up and felt good. AP 8:38.

      Really nice day. Temp was 43 deg and sunny. It feels so much nicer to run in shorts. I just went for an easy 7 miles and threw in 6 x 30 sec pickups in the last 2 miles.

     Finally got out for a run just before dark shortly after eating a large meal from Cafe Rio and then a gigantic brownie from Great Harvest. Not the best thing to do right before a run. I did a 7 mile run with the first warmup mile in 8:21. Then I ran 6 miles at 7:24 AP going from 7:47 on the first mile and down to 6:53 on the last mile. I've been counting miles under 7:20 as MP which is probably about where my fitness is at right now.

     7 miles @ 7:54 ave.

     Ran 12 miles at 7:54 pace. The snow was too soft to run the snowmobile track up around Winder Reservoir so I took a dry gravel road [that gets plowed all winter] toward Treasureton Res. There  is still a foot of snow on the Winder road but with these warm temps the snow should melt quickly. Hopefully in another three weeks that road will be dry enough to run on. I had a south wind come up on my way back and had to run the last 4 miles into a stiff breeze. I was starting to feel pretty tired and it felt good to be done.

     8 miles easy pace. Felt a little worn out toward the end. 8:49 AP.

     I went for 15 miles on my mt bike this morning. It's the first time this spring that the snow was gone and the road was dry. There was a strong wind blowing and the temp was in the 20s so it was a bit chilly. Most of the first part of the ride was into a headwind and it was hard to maintain 10 MPH. Nice to get that out of the way on the way out and was able to just fly coming back.

     8 mile run. just kept it easy and didn't pay attention to pace. I'm not planning for any races right away so just keeping the pace easy most days and gradually building up mileage. 8:32 AP.

     6 more slow miles at 8:37AP.

     I hadn't decided whether I was doing this race for sure until about 8:30 this morning. I'm not in any kind of race shape. I've just been running mostly low mileage slowly the past couple of months. Since it was only 20 min from home [which is about as close as races get for me] and it was only $5 dollars [$4 if you wore green] and my wife needed to pick up a few things in Logan and I still needed to get in my run for the day I talked myself into it. I didn't want to run it too hard but just get a good workout. When I decided to go it was 27 deg at home and fairly calm. The race started at 10 and we didn't leave until 9:00 at which time it had started snowing and the wind had picked up. When we got to Smithfield there was no snow falling and it was warmer but there was quite a bit of wind. My wonderful  wife went in and signed me up so I had time for a 2 mile warm up. 

     The first 1/2 mile is a pretty good climb and I just took it easy. We then turned and had a nice downhill for the rest of the mile which I finished in 6:31. The second mile was all downhill and really didn't push much and finished in 6:05. The rest of the race was all uphill. It wasn't too steep but directly into the wind. It started to feel much harder during this mile in 6:32. Last .1 at 5:47 pace. Not a great time but a good workout.

     Afterward I ran another 6 miles with Paul and Scott. It had started snowing and we started out into a pretty substantial wind. I was still wearing shorts from the race and was wondering for the first little bit if the shorts were a mistake running into the blowing snow but once I got warmed up and we got into some areas more protected from the wind it wasn't too bad. Glad I went.

     Yesterday evening I started feeling a bit of soreness in my right hamstring. It felt fine the rest of Saturday after the race and the first part of the day Sunday. I don't normally get any muscle soreness after a 5k. I started running this morning and it felt like it would loosen up and feel fine, but after less than 1/4 mile it tightened up and got worse. I quite running and decided I'd rest it and not take any chances on aggravating it further. I went on a 15 mile mt bike ride instead. It's a nice time of year to ride on some of the dirt roads around here. The ones that were plowed during the winter are dry now and nice and hard packed and smooth. They will probably start grading them soon and then there's a lot of loose gravel. My favorite roads don't get plowed and are still under snow

     My hamstring feels a lot better but I decided to give it another day just to be safe. Did the same 15 mile bike ride again. Had good energy and rode pretty hard both days.

     Tried running again today and the hamstring  felt good. I went for 7 nice relaxed miles. It had to be the nicest day of the year so far with the temp above 50 and sunny. The snow is going fast. I had a flock of sandhill cranes soaring overhead making their music. They are the first ones I have heard this year. Always a sign of spring. 8:08 AP.

     6 slow miles. 8:54 AP

     8 miles at 7:45 ave pace. During the 7th mile I ran 2x1/4 at 5:40 pace with 1/4 recovery in between. 

     Gorgeous afternoon. The temp was still only about 45 but nice and sunny. Just went for an enjoyable 9 miles at a relaxed pace.

     Ran 11 miles at an easy pace this morning. I was able to take my favorite route up past winder reservoir for the first time without snow this year. It's amazing that the last time I ran this 3 weeks ago there was still a couple feet of snow and I was running on snowmobile tracks. There are a few snowbanks still melting that make for a few muddy spots but all in all not to bad. With  the winding road and hills on this route, the distance always seems shorter than the straighter flatter routes that I run. I guess it's just mentally easier to have things always changing.  8:13 ave pace.

     Woke up to 3 inches of new snow this morning. I went for 10 very easy miles. I took the reservoir road and ran on snow all the way up. On the way back some spots had melted and were muddy. 9:11 AP.

     I guess winter doesn't want to let go yet. 3 inches of snow yesterday morning and 18 deg this morning. It is looking nice out now though. I went for a 3 mile run this morning and then 18.5 on my mt bike. I was able to ride my favorite loop for the first time this year with just a few muddy spots left but the snow mostly gone. The ice is off around the edge of the reservoir and there are some ducks and geese hanging out. I guess the geese are getting used to seeing me after running past the past 2 mornings and riding by today. The first day they spooked long before I got to them and flew out to the middle of the lake. The next day they let me get almost too them before they flew out to the middle again. This morning they stayed on the bank until I was right even with them [about 40 yards away] before they flew but they only flew out about another 40 yards. Maybe next time they'll stay put on the bank. They do kick up a lot of noise when I go by.

     This morning I ran a 4 mile warm up at 7:53 pace then did a 4 mile fartlek run with 4x400 with 400 rec. Then 2x800 with 800 rec. I kept the pace under 6 min on the intervals and I guess I was feeling pretty good because my recoveries ended up a little faster than I expected averaging in the 7:30s pace. Average pace for the 4 miles of fartlek was 6:36. Overall average for all 8 miles was 7:14.

     7 easy in blowing snow.

     We traveled down to Southern Utah yesterday and spent the night in Capitol Reef National Park. I got up and went for a morning run. I left the campground and headed south toward the Cassidy Arch trail head. It is a narrow paved road with gorgeous red rock scenery all around. There was almost no traffic. I only had 2 vehicles go by the whole run. The first mile climbed almost 250 feet followed by a nearly 150 drop over the next mile. The next 2 1/2 miles climb another 450 feet. Most of it during the last 1 1/2 miles where the road winds through tight curves as it climbs through the cedar trees and red sand and rock. The turns are so tight that there is a 10 MPH speed limit posted. Fun stuff for running. The road also dips back down several times to go through a number of washes. It tops out at Slickrock Pass at around 6000 ft. I ran another mile down the back side of the pass that dropped over 200 ft before turning and running back. The route was mostly sunny on the way back after mostly being shaded from the huge red cliff walls on the way up. I figured I did over 1000 feet total climbing [and descending] on the run and averaged 7:56 pace for the 11 miles. Very enjoyable and beautiful morning and breakfast was on the table when I got back to camp. What could be better than that? 

     Later that day we went on a 4 mile hike from the camground over into Kohab Canyon.

     After spending a second night in Capitol Reef National Park, we packed up camp this morning and moved it about 75 miles to the east. We went on a 7 mile hike that dropped 750 feet in the first mile over sand and slickrock down into Horseshoe Canyon. Then we hiked up the sandy bottom of the canyon with patches of cottonwood trees and a few short stretches of running water with towering red cliffs on both sides of the canyon. We hiked past several panels of ancient Indian petroglyphs and ended up at what is considered to be one of the most impressive panels of petroglyphs anywhere in North America called the Great Gallery. We also hiked past dinosour tracks in two different places. It was awesome and worth every bit of the hike which was actually quite fun. We had a perfect sunny day with temps that only felt slightly too warm for a short part of the hike.

     This morning we went on a hike up Little Wild Horse Canyon. I have hiked several slot canyons before but this has got to be the coolest of all. It was our second time hiking this canyon but you could never get tired of this. It has long stretches of the canyon than are only 3 to 4 feet wide at shoulder height.

     Later in the day we went over to Goblin Valley [which is only 5 miles from Little Wild Horse] and did a bunch of hiking and exploring there. My son never seems to get tired of that. In Runners World magazine they feature what they call a "Rave Run" each month. A while back they featured Goblin Valley so I thought I had better give it a try before we left. I ran a loop around through a lot of the valley that ended up being just short of 2 1/2 miles. It was quite challenging running in some soft and some packed sand with lots of dips and small washes and some short steep hills that almost brought me to a walk. I wasn't running it too hard but I wasn't exactly taking it easy either and my pace ended up around 10 min per mile. It was fun and we had perfect weather again all day.

     10 miles easy. Very strong wind.

     10 miles easy again. Temps 20 deg colder than yesterday and lots of snow falling but actually much nicer than yesterdays run in the wind.

     7 1/2 miles this morning. Very windy and cold.

     Ran 8 miles this morning. I started with around 8:15 pace for the first 2 miles. Then around 7:35 for the next 2. The next 4 miles I did a fartlek run with 4x1/4 mile then 2x1/2 mile with recoveries of equal distance between. I kept the faster parts just under 6 min pace and the recoveries averaged just under 7:40 pace for an overall pace of 6:47 for the 4 miles. Overall pace for 8 miles 7:20.

     Woke up to 3 or 4 inches of new snow this morning. I waited until late morning when the sun was shining. There was no wind so it was pretty nice. The roads were snow covered but starting to melt. Just shortly before turning around, it was like a switch had been flipped and a huge wind came up out of the west. After my turnaround my next 2 miles were directly into the wind. The sun was still shining but the wind had to be blowing 30 mph and was blowing snow up from the ground and into my face so I could hardly see. My last 2 miles were a crosswind which made it much better but still not fun. 

     Ran 12 miles this morning. I started out with pretty good weather. It had been raining earlier but had quit. For the second run in a row a stiff wind started to come up just before my turnaround point. Of course when I turned back I had a direct headwind. The route I had taken made it so that 5 out of my last 6 miles were into the wind. It seemed to get stronger with each mile [20 + MPH]. I started getting some rain added to it in the last mile. The 8 minute guy was quickly gaining on me all the way back and I barely held him off at the end and finished with 7:58 overall pace. There was a clap of thunder just as I was getting back to the house and then the rain really came down. I made it just in time.

     3 or 4 more inches of snow this morning. 10 easy at 8:50 AP.

     8 easy

     The snow has finally stopped and the sun has been shining the past couple of days. The temp has only been 19 and 23 deg the past two mornings but it has been warming up nicely during the day. I went 9 miles total this morning. I averaged 7:52 pace for the first 4 miles then did a fartlek run over the next 5 miles with 2 x 1/4 mi  then 4 x 1/2 miles all with recoveries of equal distance. Averaged 5:55 pace on the faster parts and 7:25 on the recoveries for an overall ave of 6:40 pace for the last 5 miles.

      7:13 overall ave pace for 9 miles.

     Another cold morning with a lot of wind. Easy 7 mile recovery run

     Nice 10 mile run. It was overcast but the temp was up around 50 deg without much wind.

     Went for a nice 12 mile run this morning up past the reservoir. The temps were nice and there wasn't any wind when I ran [it's very windy now]. The ice was completely gone as of last Saturday and the loons that show up every spring are back. I love hearing there calls on a quiet morning. I kept a comfortable pace for most of the run then ran the last 3 miles at around 7:10-7:15 which I counted as MP. 7:45 Overall pace.

     8 more easy miles.

     The past 4 mornings I have woken up with my right hip sore.  It has gone away once I start running but was much more sore yesterday morning. Once I got a couple of miles into yesterdays run it completely went away. It was just as sore this morning so I decided I wouldn't run and rode my mt bike instead. It has always been my left hip that has given me trouble in the past so this is a first. I went 20 miles on the bike. It was a nice morning.

     My hip was still sore this morning but quite a bit better than the last two mornings. I decided to take off at least one more day and maybe tomorrow depending on how it feels in the morning. I went for another bumpy 20 miles on the mountain bike.

     My hip pain was much lower this morning so I decided to try a short easy run. I felt very little pain during and after the run but the last 2 times I ran it felt fine until that evening when it started to hurt and then was quite painful by morning.I guess I'll have to wait and see how it goes this time. 5 miles @ 8:24 AP.

     I saw a huge golden eagle soaring right over me close this morning. We get a lot of bald eagles here in the winter. We even see them perched in the trees by our house some times but I don't see golden eagles very often.

     We made a day trip up to Craters of the Moon National Park today. I got out early and ran 5 miles before we left. My hip was a little sore when I got up again but seems to be a little better each day. It felt pretty good during the run and hopefully I will be able to get back to normal training next week. Crates of the Moon was fun but was covered with a lot more snow than we expected We had a good time anyway and got in some hiking.

     Ran 10 miles. Threw in some 30 to 60 second hill repeats at the halfway point. 7:55 ave pace overall.

     8 miles easy.

     8.5 slow. felt worn out.

     Went 8 miles total today in the wind and rain that was sometimes changing to a wet snow. I ran 4 miles easy then did 4 miles of fartlek running 4 min fast, 3 min slow averaging around 6:15 on the faster parts. 7:35 ave pace overall.

     My hip seems to be doing pretty good this week although it is still a little sore when I first get out of bed.

     Ran 8 1/2 miles this morning at an easy 8:38 pace. My hip pain is mostly gone. Yesterdays 2 1/2 miles at faster pace didn't seem to affect it at all.

     After spending most of the day out on the tractor, I finally got out for a run late in the day. I was planning to go for around 13 miles. I felt sluggish without a lot of energy when I got started and it seemed like one of those days when even 7 or 8 miles was going to be tough. I had a couple of my earlier miles where my pace was getting close to 9 min and I just didn't feel like running any faster. After 5 miles I noticed it wasn't feeling like such a chore and my pace had picked up some without trying. As the run went on I kept feeling better and by the last 4 miles [which were mostly in the dark] I averaged around 7:45 pace without consciously pushing harder. It actually felt easy compared to the early miles and I didn't feel ready to quit at the end. 8:15 AP.

     Ran 11 miles at 8:14 ave pace. Did some short pickups while running up 5 different hills along the way.

     8 easy miles. 8:33AP.

     Legs very heavy. ran 8 very slow miles.

     Ran a 4 mile warmup at 7:50 ave pace. Ran 5 x 1000 m with 400 m recovery.  3:49 ave for the 1000s followed by 1 mile cooldown. 7:21 overall ave pace for 9 miles. Felt much better than yesterday.

     7 mile recovery run.

     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.

     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.

     20 miles mt bike.

     This was my 4th straight year running this race. It's one of my favorites. In my 5 years of running races, every race I have done has been a course PR except for this race last year where I was 11 seconds slower than 2008. I kind of blamed it on the fact that '08 had the normal tailwind [for this race] and '09 had none. This year I really wanted to beat that time [59:32 from '08] and thought maybe I could go under 59 min. The weather was perfect for racing with temps in the low 50s and no wind at the start. I went out and was hitting about the pace I wanted for the first 4 miles. Up until this point there had been no tailwind and in fact a bit of a slight headwind at times. The 5th and 6th miles are where the substantial tailwind usually kicks in and I was planning on a couple of faster miles through here but today It just turned into a stronger headwind. I felt pretty good on the big hill that's the last part of mile 7 and the first of mile 8 and I just tried to stay relaxed and save something for the last 2 miles after the climb. At the intersection the light turned red with nobody directing traffic yet. Another guy and I ran out to cross in front of the stopped cars,who started going about then, and we had to do a bit of dodging. I felt better on the last 2 miles than I have in previous years and came in at 59:00. I was hoping the chip time might have me under 59 thinking I may have stopped my watch a split second late at the finish or early at the start but Milliseconds timing only posted the gun times and no chip times. I was only about 3 seconds back from crossing the start mat after the gun so it's not a big deal but I'd be ticked if I was one of the people that started 30seconds or more back. Maybe they'll have it fixed in the next couple days and I could still have my sub 59. My splits were:

1-6:06

2-6:17

3-6:16

4-6:20

5-6:22

6-6:21

7-6:38 beginning of hill

8-6:32 finish hill then flat.

9-6:14

.32-5:38 pace

     I was pretty happy with the 32 second pr even with the headwind versus tailwind on my old pr.

     Enjoyed the pre-race BBQ at Scotts house last night and enjoy some good food and good company and the chance to meet some bloggers I hadn't before.

     It was a nice cool morning in the upper 40s. Perfect running weather. I took off hoping to get in at least 10 and possibly 12 if everything felt ok. I seemed to have no soreness from the race and felt really good. My mileage has been inconsistent and I was hoping to get some decent mileage the next few weeks. I resisted the urge to pick up the pace and just kept it easy. I felt so good I ended up going 14 at overall average of 8:13 pace. My thinking was that I was making up for no long run last week. Now I'm kicking myself for running that far right after a race of that distance. About the time I finished up my right hamstring and glute got sore and were sore the rest of the day. At least I didn't pick up the pace on the run. 

     During the run, I went past a camp by the reservoir. I saw a couple of pitbull cross dogs as I went by on my way up. They were eating and didn't appear to ever see me as I ran by and the people were still asleep in the tent. On my way back as I approached, the guy was out taking down the tent. I was looking for him to spot me so he could be ready to control his dogs if needs be but he never saw me. One of the dogs was nearby and saw me this time just after I was past but it didn't bark or pursue so I figured they weren't agressive. As I got a little farther down the lakeshore I saw a couple of young kids fishing with the other dog. There were a lot of trees and brush so they never noticed me until I was quite a ways past. Then this other dog spotted me and took of at a dead run up to the road and then after me. He was not barking so nobody even noticed he was gone. I'm thinking oh great! if this dog is agressive there will be nobody to call him off and the only people within any kind of earshot were little kids. I'm not afraid of dogs for the most part but this situation was getting my adrenaline going. I already had a lot of distance on him and he had a lot of ground to cover so I continued at the pace I was going hoping he would give up and go back. I was starting to look for a big stick or rock and was about to stop and face him as he approached but about then he stopped so I just kept running and he turned and went back. I was probably never in any danger but the unknowns of the situation was a bit spooky.

     Hamstring felt a bit better today but I decided to play it safe and skip the run. I went for a 30 mile ride on my mt bike. Climbing the canyon to Thatcher summit I had a strong headwind which made for a tough climb. Medium effort for most of the ride but really hammered the last 5 miles.

     Tried an easy 5 mile run to see how the hamstring/glute? felt. I kept the pace easy and it felt fine on the run. Later that day the soreness came back while doing anything that required much walking.

     A big zero for today. I figured I had better take another day off from running but was hoping to get out on the bike. Very busy day and didn't make it out. Hopefully tomorrow.

     Still having hamstring soreness. It seams as though just moving irrigation pipe each day is keeping it sore and re straining it. I thought I could at least get in a good bike ride today but my day started at 5:30 am and the first chance I would have had was 10:00 pm and I don't have a light for my bike. I had really planned to get in some good training this next couple of weeks with some good speed work thrown in to get ready for the Des news 10k on the 24th but now it seems I've had to shift gears and do nothing.

     Hamstring is feeling a bit better but I still don't want to risk a setback by running. I was hoping to get in a good 50 mile my bike ride but once again my day started at 5:30 am and it was 8:15 pm before I got a chance to ride. Since I only had a little over an hour I decided to make the most of it and ride hard. I did my favorite mt bike loop that's 20.2 miles. I finished in under 1:10 which is a PR for me on that route which is 7 miles of pavement and 13 on dirt with some of it quite bumpy and quite a few hills.

     Decided to try a run this morning. I ran 5 miles around 9 min pace. It felt pretty good during and after the run but a little sore tonight. I'll probably just ride the bike tomorrow.

     I went for a 45 mile mountain bike ride this morning. I did the loop that takes me through the Onieda Narrows for the first time this summer. I ride through 2 different campgrounds and both had the smell of campfires and cooking breakfast lingering in the trees. The longest ride I've done this year was 30 miles and the next longest was 20. My quads were feeling pretty tired by the time I was done. It seemed like I had a headwind 70 % of the ride but very nice ride.

     3 miles 8:53 pace. Pain slightly better

     Started a bike ride but felt a little soreness in my left quad from Wednesdays ride. Decided to cut it short and only did 5 miles.

     Got out for a run after dark. right glute felt a little better. Went 5 miles at 8:29 AP

     5 miles. 8:23 AP

     Couldn't get out until after dark. The moon was just large enough to give off some light. My hammy was doing alright so I ran up by the reservoir and went 8 miles. I was able to run on the dirt roads without light. Things had cooled off a bit so it was a nice run. My hamstring still had a little discomfort at the end but not bad. 8:20 AP

     I have a field of new alfalfa I just planted and in this heat it requires a lot of watering for the first 3 weeks. For the past 2 weeks I have been moving the pipe on the field 4 times a day starting at 5:30 am through the day then going out about 1:00 am to shut it off after the last set. Moving the pipe takes about an hour and a half each time and is a lot of work. It seems to make my hamstring sore and is probably slowing the healing process. My lack of sleep probably isn't helping either. I was planning a bike ride right after moving pipe this morning while it was still cool but I was dragging so bad with 0 energy that I took a nap for a couple of hours. I was surprised at the difference in how I felt afterward and after my next pipe moving session I got out for a 20 mile mt bike ride in 96 deg temps but actually had good energy and a good ride. Amazing what a little sleep can do.

     My wife's father passed away. We caught a plane for Pennsylvania this morning. 

     Today we took a ride up to the Pennsylvania farm house which is about a 50 min drive from my wife's parents home in Milford. There is a 2.5 mile loop that is one of my favorite places to run. It is a hilly dirt road through the woods and I ran it 3 times then added a little to make it 8 miles. My hammy /glute is feeling a lot better but not totally better so I'm still keeping the pace easy.

     Back at the home in Milford today I took off in the rain that had been falling all morning. It was actually a nice time to run because it has been quite hot with high humidity the last few days. I just left without anything specific about where or how far I would run. About 1 1/2 miles from the house I found a nice single track trail that went up to the Milford Knob lookout. It was about a 500 ft climb in 1 1/2 miles but very nice and runnable all but 1/4 mile that was too  steep.Then, after running back down that trail, I found a gravel bike path that followed the Delaware river and ran that quite a ways. I saw a nice 10 point [eastern count] whitetail buck that must have been quite tame because he didn't move until I was15 feet from him then didn't act to worried. I stopped and though I might even be able to get him to come to me but he slowly wandered off. He was near some homes with huge yards surrounded by woods. I continued exploring and the miles added up until I had gone 12 by the time I got home. That was probably a bit farther than I should have got because my butt/hammy was a bit sore the rest of the day but it sure was an enjoyable run. The rain came down hard a few times but was mostly very light.

      We attended the funeral today

     We returned from Pennsylvania yesterday. I went for an 8 mile run and kept it easy. I felt good and felt like going farther but resisted after last Friday's 12 mile run left me sore later in the day. I felt good at the end but the soreness returned later in the day.

     Got out my road bike for the first time this year and went 30 miles.

     Just a short easy 5 mile run this morning. My glute/hamstring was sore [especially while moving pipe] Mon and Tues after running 8 miles on Monday. Probably still the results of the 12 miles I ran last Friday so hopefully 5 won't aggravate it. I'm planning to do a biathlon this weekend here in Preston but I don't expect much since my running the past 4 weeks has been pitiful and I haven't spent as much time on my bike as I normally do. It's a bummer because when my injury occurred I was running better than I ever have.

     I went 22 miles on my road bike this morning. It is only the second time this yearI , the first being Tuesday. I feel very unprepared for the biathlon this Saturday. I have hardly run any miles the past month and all of them slower than 8 min pace.

     Was going to do a short easy run of 4 or 5 miles but I could feel my but pain slightly and decided to quit after 1. I figured with a race the next day the extra miles couldn't help anything anyway and it wasn't worth a chance of aggravating the injury.

     Went out to "That Famous Preston Night Rodeo" with the family. We had thunder and lightning and then a huge cloud burst halfway through so I ran hard for the 2 1/2 blocks to where the car was parked and back to get jackets for everyone.

      Preston Biathlon today. This is one of my favorite races and the only race here in town that usually attracts some outside competition. In scoping out the crowd before the race I didn't see 2 of the fastest 3 guys that usually do the biathlons in Cache valley but I did see a few guys I didn't recognize that looked like they could be fast with fancy bikes and jerseys. When I got there I found out that the race would be done in reverse order of any biathlon I have done with the bikes going first and the run second. I didn't like the sound of that because I know any time I've ever gotten off my bike after a hard ride it's hard to walk let alone run. But in other biathlons, I can get on the bike after running a 5K or 5 miles maybe 10seconds per mile slower than all out race pace and not feel all that affected on the bike. In fact it feels good to switch the muscle usage around. The other problem is that drafting is not allowed and that's pretty tough to avoid in a mass bike start. There were 78 starting including teams. They started in 5 different waves using age groups to divide up. I figured my main competition wasn't going to be in my age group so it basically would end up a time trial for me.

     My main goal for the race was just to beat my best time from the race last time I did it 2 years ago of 57:41. My second goal would have been to beat my 5k time from 2 years ago but with the switch in the race order that was out of the question. My group started in the 4th wave and the 5th and last wave starting 5 min behind us was the 19 thru 30 age group which should be the fastest other than an 18 yr old ,Jesse Dunn, that has been winning all of the last few Biathlons in Cache valley. I took off in the lead of my wave but was surprised to quickly find myself 3rd place in my age group. By the time we were about a half mile in, they both slowed and I was picking up speed and passed them both easily. It didn't take long before I was catching riders from the wave that left 5 minutes ahead of us and then eventually from the groups 10 and 15 minutes up. It was kind of fun catching and passing so many people. I really had no idea how I should be pacing myself to leave enough in the tank for the run. I finished the 14 miles in 36:03 which is the fastest I have averaged in a bike race at 23.3 MPH. I felt like I hadn't used up everything and could have kept that pace another 10 miles. I got off and spent 1:03 min in transition switching shoes and guzzling some gatorade before heading out on the run. The running felt much worse than I ever imagined. I thought my legs would loosen up quickly and I would feel fine but it wasn't happening. About 1/4 mile in I had a 20 yr old kid go by me looking fresh. He was part of a team so he had just started fresh. This was the first person to pass me the whole race and it was frustrating because the pace was so slow and I just couldn't keep up. At around 1/2 mile my breathing was out of control and I almost felt like I could puke and I wasn't even running what I hope to be my marathon pace. Somewhere before the end of the first mile I finally started feeling not as bad and finished it in 6:49. Second mile I was getting a little faster but still not good and finished in 6:38. Around here I caught the kid that had passed me and went by him. mile three was my fastest at 6:30 which was my ave pace in my last 2 half marathons. This course is a bit long and I ran 5:25 pace for the last .17. Overall time was 57:58. That time was 17 seconds slower than my PR for this race but the bike course had a slight change which added 2 10ths of a mile which at my average speed would take 31 seconds. Also they moved the start/finish line for the run back a ways that added over 20 meters which isn't a lot but adds about another 5 seconds so I am considering it a PR by almost 20 seconds.

     I was second to Jesse when I finished but had to wait and see if anyone in the group behind would beat my time. One guy ended up close but not quite so I held onto second. I also beat all but one of the teams. I ended up with the second fastest bike time of the day. My pathetic run time was beat by several of the runners on teams but I was still second out of the indiviuals so I guess it was a tough run for them also. I have a new respect for people running a good marathon time after finishing a 120 mile bike ride in an iron man.

I wasn't sure how my glute/hamstring would react to the race Saturday but so far any discomfort is minimal. I went out for a short easy 4 miler after dark and everything seems ok.

     Decided not to run today and went 26 miles on my road bike.

     Nice and cool morning. I ran 8 miles and kept the pace easy. I picked it up a little on a couple of the hills. Everything seems to be feeling good so far although I still get just a little burn from the glute.

     Went on a good hard mt bike ride this morning. I was feeling good so I pushed the pace a bit. I was headed from my home to the summit between Preston and Thatcher and decided to try and reach the pass in under an hour which I have only made once before. It is just short of 15 miles from my house with about 5 miles paved and the rest on dirt. It gains about 1000 ft net elevation with a couple of good descents and climbs along the way. I really hammered toward the end especially up the last 2 mile climb that gains about 600 ft and made it in 59:01. I was 59:57 last time I made it. After a couple of min water break that I didn't count I hammered out the rest of the route and finished in 1:49:20 for about 30.5 miles which is a pr for that course.I can't do much hard running right now so I figure I'll try to go harder on some of my rides.

     !0 easy miles this morning. It was tempting to go farther but I need to have patience. Everything felt good.

     10 easy miles this morning. 8:22 AP

     8 miles easy at 8:39 AP this morning. I'm feeling pretty recovered from that glute thing but still playing it safe. I had something similar 2 1/2 years ago and I kept doing too much before I was ready and ended up dealing with it for 7 months.

     Went for 20 miles on my mountain bike around noon time.

     We flew out to Pennsylvania this morning. We had this vacation planned and already had tickets before we made our unexpected trip a couple of weeks back for my father in laws funeral.

     We got up to the Pennsylvania farmhouse just before dark and I hurried out for a run. I did 3 laps on my favorite loop there. It is 2.4 miles around and is very hilly the entire way It is dirt road all but about 1/2  miles. It is mostly wooded and a beautiful place to run. I have seen deer a bear a bobcat, frogs, snakes and always lots of small orange newts while running or bike riding here. The first lap I ran in 19:09 [8:00 pace]. 2nd lap 17:35 [7:22 pace]. 3rd lap in 16:43 [6:59 pace]. The last lap got quite dark.

7.2 miles total @ 7:28 AP

     6 mile mountain bike ride still up at the farmhouse.

     Still up at the Pennsylvania farm house. I ran 14.3 miles in the morning. I felt pretty worn out for the first half of this run and I think all the hills make it tougher when I'm not used to that. I got feeling a little better the second half after a short break. Ive only got 4 weeks to try to get some long runs in if I take a 2 week taper before TOU marathon. I need to build the miles up quickly on my long runs if I want to get in a couple of 20 milers before then but I also need to be careful not to re-aggravate my injury or start a new one. 8:38 ave pace.

     PM went on a 5 mile bike ride with my wife right at dark. Very nice ride

     We spent the day at the beach in New Jersey. I went for a 7 mile run on a nice bike path there.

     Back in Milford PA today at my wife's parents home. I went for an 11 1/2 mile run. I have been finding some new routes to run around there and today's was the best yet. I ran about 2 miles to a trailhead  where I ran a little over 7 miles of very nice single track hiking trails. It climbs from the Delaware river at around 300 ft elevation up to around 1,000 ft in the first 2 miles then travels along what is called the cliffs trail to several overlooks with outstanding views. Everything is wooded there and the trail is completely shaded the whole way. Very nice run. I finished with an 8:30 ave pace but some of my climbing miles were over 10 min ave. There were only a few short spots where it was too steep to run and I had to hike.

     I came across a big 4 1/2 to 5 foot snake that I stopped and caught and messed with for a few minutes. I looked him up when I got home and found out he was an Eastern Black Racer. He was quite fiesty striking over and over at anything that got near him. There is a lot of wildlife out there that I don't often see including a large Painted turtle we found later that day while taking a walk with my family

     Spent the day traveling home from Pennsylvania after visiting a museum and the federal mint in Philadelphia. We got Philly Cheese Steaks for lunch from the famous Pats King of Cheese Steaks. They were excellent. We got rear ended by a nice Jaguar on our way to the airport and nearly missed our flight. It didn't do much damage to our rented SUV but it did some bad damage to the front of his Jag including a puncture in is radiator. I guess I should count the fast pace running I did through the airport to the last gate on the terminal and got there just as the standby people were getting up to take our spots and let them know the rest of my family was on the way. It was close.

     Ran an easy warmup mile then 2x4 mile intervals with 5 min break between. First interval I ran ran first 2 miles at 7:39 pace then averaged 6:55 for the next 2. Second interval I averaged 6:45 overall for the 4 miles. The pace felt pretty tough.

     20 mile mt bike

     Ran 18 miles this morning. Got out late and didn't finish until 11:30 when the temp was 85 deg. I don't have much time to get my long run distance up before TOU. My mileage since injuring myself at the beginning of July has been in the teens and low 20s until last week when I ran 39 miles. My long run went from 10 miles 2 weeks ago to 14 last week and 18 today. If I was doing the 3 week taper I'd only have next weekend for another long run but since I feel very undertrained [well below where I was before the injury] I'll probably only do a one week taper. I stopped and took 8 or 9  one or two minute breaks during my run today so the quick mileage buildup would be a bit easier on my body. I always seem to end up with back problems when I build mileage to quickly and it was quite sore yesterday. I started on ibuprofen and felt fine today. Ave pace was 7:43.

     Ran 11 miles this morning. Everything is still feeling pretty good. Kept the pace easy. 8:13 AP.

     PM  2.5 miles in five fingers.

     30 mile mt bike to Thatcher Summit

     Went over to Weston Canyon for some uphill and downhill tempo. Ran 2 miles of warmup at 7:41 pace. Then 3 miles down the canyon at 6:31 ave. 4 min break then back up the canyon at 7:19 ave pace. Another 4 min rest then back down at 6:22 ave pace. There was no wind on the first to intervals but I started to get an up the canyon headwind on the last 3 miles down. Average pace for the 9 miles of tempo was 6:45. Felt like a good workout. Now if I can just get through a couple of 20 milers and a couple more good tempo runs while also making big jumps in weekly mileage over the next 2 weeks without getting injured. That's not to much to ask, is it? Then hopefully I can run a decent marathon at TOU. I decided to skip TOU Half this weekend. I was worried about doing a half so close to the full on my limited post injury training.

     11 miles 6:55 AP

     Was planning to go 8 miles but my calf muscles were a little sore from yesterday. Probably the hard uphill I did. I cut the run to 6 easy recovery miles. Temp was 94 deg. 8:46 AP

     30 miles mt bike. Thatcher summit

     Ran my first 20 miler of the year this morning. With most marathon training plans this would have been my last with 3 weeks to go. I took quite a few short breaks along the way so it would be easier on my body and hopefully avoid the injury bug again. On my long runs the past 2 weekends I have run up past the reservoir then I hit the canal and take it for miles. Between these last 2 runs I have seen quite a variety of wildlife at close range. I have run right up on a few deer that were standing down in the canal watering. I also had 4 sandhill cranes and lots of ducks come out of the canal at close range. I've also seen a few pheasants, a flock of 18 sharptail grouse, a flock of 30+ Hungarian Partridge, a large blow snake, a garter snake, lizards, and numerous other critters. Ave pace was 7:39 not counting my nonrunning time.

     11 miles this morning. It had just quit raining and looked like it might rain some more so I took a light jacket but it never rained again and it spent nearly the whole run tied around my waist. Everything felt pretty good this morning so if I can make it through this week [which will be my peak before TOU] I should be able to get to the start line healthy. Kept the pace easy at 8:16 AP.

     I took the same 30 mile route on my mt bike. My garmin is dieing. 10 miles into my ride it said my average speed was 1250 MPH. I'm amazed it goes that high but I think it was slightly off.

     Went over to Weston Canyon this morning to get in some mostly downhill miles. I ran a mostly uphill warm up mile in 7:52 then started the 3 mile downhill section. I averaged 6:45 pace on this section then drove back to the top and ran it again averaging 6:44 pace. Then I ran back up but as soon as I started my left hamstring started feeling a little tight. I have never had an injury in my left hamstring but it felt tight after running on Monday. It felt about the same until I passed the second mile. I had been planning to run back down the canyon [where I had a bike hidden] but with a mile to go running up the canyon, I decided I'd better quit once I got to the top. After another .3 it was getting worse and I decided to walk the last .6. It actually got worse while I was walking but I had to get back to the car. After I'd been home a couple of hours it was feeling pretty good. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I averaged 7:54 on the 2.3 miles up the canyon keeping my heartrate around the same as the downhill.

     I wasn't sure if I would be able to run today after my hamstring problem yesterday. It felt fine today as if nothing had ever happened. Not sure what it was. It was like the muscle just tightened in a knot. I went 9 miles today at 8:13 AP.

     AM 25 miles on the mountain bike.

     PM 3 slow miles.

     Got in my last long run this morning. I went 23 miles and didn't feel to bad [considering the distance]. I took 10 or 11 breaks of 1 or 2 minutes each along the way at water stashes I had made or just at nice shady spots. On 3 of the last 6 miles I ran 7:06 to 7:12 and counted these as marathon pace. That's probably about the best pace I could expect after mile 20 in the marathon this year. Overall pace was 7:31.

     Ran 10 miles this morning at 8:11 overall ave. On the last 3 miles I did 6x30 second pickups [one every 1/2 mile].  My back was a little sore the last couple of days so I've been taking ibuprofen and hoping it doesn't get any worse. This always seem to happen when I build my mileage back up to quickly after a short layoff or cutback in miles due to injury. If I can get through this week, without it flaring up to bad on me, I should be ok with next week being an extra easy taper week. 

     26 miles on the mountain bike.

     Took my son bowhunting for elk after school and got in a couple hours of hiking. We didn't find anything but on a nice hike.

     This morning I decided to do a long marathon pace tempo run. It may not be the greatest idea to do 1 week before the marathon but I hadn't done one yet and figured it could help me out. I tried to do a 12 mile tempo last week but my hammy knotted up after 8 miles during a 3 mile climb. I decided to just run this one on the flatter roads by my house. It was 44 degrees  and raining a little but mostly pretty lightly which felt like perfect conditions once I was warmed up. I did the first 2 miles warmup at 7:45 AP. Then I ran a 4 mile course 3 times with 2 short breaks of 2 or 3 minutes in between. I was hoping for anything between 6:50 and 7:10 pace and didn't want to feel like I was pushing to hard. I averaged 6:52 on the first 4 miles. 6:44 on the second and 6:39 on the 3rd. 6:45 ave for the 12 miles of tempo and 6:54 for all 14. I was quite surprised at how comfortable the pace felt. Normally my intended MP before a marathon feels much harder to me. This run gives me a lot more confidence going into the marathon next week. Now my main worry is my lack of overall mileage and long runs. That could make that last 6 or 8 miles pretty tough. It would be nice to have gotten in at least four or more 60 or 70 mile weeks at this point. I guess I'll have to settle for 39,45,50,and 55 miles over the past 4 weeks and then teens and low 20s for 5 weeks before that. I've been adding in 3 or 4 hours of cycling a week so hopefully that will help. Felt real good about this run. Just wish I had time for a couple more like it before the marathon.

     30 miles mountain bike.

     I went out planning on 19 miles but didn't like the way my back was feeling. I may have been fine to keep going but figured the potential downside of continuing the run was much greater than the benefits. Quit after 1 mile.Another minimal mileage week at 25.

     I have only trained twice on downhill for this marathon so I went over to Weston Canyon this morning. I'm taking Ibuprofen again and by back is doing much better. I left 2 bikes at the bottom and drove to the top so I could just run the 3 miles down twice. The first run down I averaged 7:19. The next 3 miles I wanted to be between 10k and half marathon effort. I guess my legs were feeling pretty good after 3 days of no running and I ran 5:56, 7:21, and 5:59. A little faster than planned although my heart rate stayed mostly in the planned zone. It drops about 400 feet total with most of it in the first quarter of the first mile and the last half of the 3rd mile. Not a lot of drop on the second mile. I had about a 7 or 8 mph headwind.

     PM   4.4 miles at 8:11 AP

     Went 20 miles on the mountain bike this morning. Had a bolt snap that holds and adjusts my seat on. I was going about 20mph on a fast section of dirt road when without warning it just went and my seat was instantly gone. Luckily I didn't crash but had to ride the last 3 1/2 miles home standing with the seat stuffed in my back pocket.

     Ran 5.35 miles and mixed in some fartlek. After 1 mile of warmup I ran 1/4 mile at 6:16 pace, 1/4 at 6:36, 1/4 at 6:18, 1/2 at 6:36, 1/4 at 6:28, and 1/2 at 6:28 pace with 1/4 recoveries at around 8:00 pace. Felt real good today. My back is doing good and I may actually get to go into a marathon injury free. 3 more days.

     7:25 pace overall

     Just ran an easy 2 miles this morning. With TOU tomorrow, I would like to have another 6 weeks to train but at least I'm not going in injured and not sure I can even finish like I did at SGM the last 2 years. I feel like I should be ready to do pretty good for 18 to 20 miles. It's a matter of how bad it gets after 20.

     This was the first time for me running the Top of Utah Marathon, even though it is the local race here in the valley, so I had been looking forward to it all summer. I had been running my best times this year and things were looking good until July when I came down with a  hamstring/glute injury that kept me from being able to run much through all of July and some of August. I only had time to top out at two 50 mile weeks and two 20 mile runs. I had also been biking and hoped that would make up some.I had hopes of going for sub 3 hours but knew it would be tough under the circumstances. I decided I would start out at a sub 3 pace if it felt good and keep it as long as I could. I started out running mostly in the 6:30s and low 6:40s and it felt pretty good for the first 8 miles. About then my right hamstring [the one I had injured ] started to tighten up a bit. By about 13 miles the quad muscle on the same leg was starting to hurt and I knew that with these problems this early that it was going to get ugly. I was 1:27:52 at the 13 mile check. I finished the canyon and hollow road still maintaining the pace I wanted but my right leg muscles front and back felt like a rock and was getting tighter by the mile. I saw my wife and son cheering me on here and it gave me a lift. I stopped at the 17 mile aid station and stretched a bit. It helped but it didn't take long before I was in a lot of discomfort again. From here on it just got worse with each mile and my pace continued to slow. I stopped and stretched 8 times between there and  about mile 24.5. It was a real battle the last 3 mile just to keep moving and I lost a ton of time. I was slowing down to 8 min pace but it felt like 10 min pace. The last mile and a half I decided I could finish without stretching anymore and it took everything I had to squeeze out a 7:49. I finished in 3:06:06. I was hoping to be faster and it was about 40 seconds short of my PR. This is definitely my best marathon though since my PR was at St George which is a  faster course. I took 2nd in my age group and beat the guy that won the past 2 years but a guy from Colorado came out and took 1st. Forgot to mention I saw a big bull moose at mile 6. Real cool.

splits:

6:29,6:37,6:38,6:35,6:41,6:45,6:42,6:41,6:49,6:57,6:55

,6:48,6:43,6:37,6:48,6:57,6:58,7:17,7:28,7:28,7:16,7:33

,7:50,7:59,8:17,7:49,7:17 pace

     Ran 1 mile just to see how everything felt. Everything seemed good. Just a bit of muscle soreness in my right calf.  I planned to pretty much take this week off. 

     Played basketball. Planned on taking it easy and not playing for long. It turned into 2 hours playing hard. Shame on me.

     Went elk hunting and got in 2 hours of hiking in steep terrain.

     I went bowhunting for elk in the morning and hiked for about 2 hours. In the afternoon I ran 4.25 miles at 8:27 AP.

     PM  After school I took my son back out hunting and hiked back into an area where I located some elk in the morning. We ended up getting a 6 point bull.  We got him right before dark and by the time we had him skinned, quartered and hung to cool it had been dark a couple of hours. It was a tough hike out in the dark. There is no trail and the dark made it hard to see the best routes to avoid heavier trees and brush. I carried one of the hind quarters over my shoulder to save a trip packing him out in the morning. I was exausted by the time we got home around midnight.

     After a much to short night, I got away early to pack out the elk meat before it got too warm. It was a mile and a half in, which doesn't sound like a lot, but it climbs 1000 ft and there is no trail and 3 or 4 round trips add up to 9 or 12 miles. I was able to do it in 3 trips carrying 85 to 90 pound loads each trip. The hind quarter I carried out last night saved me a trip but it was a lot more difficult to carry without a pack frame to strap it to. carrying that weight downhill was a little tough on my body. I'm still not 100% recovered from the marathon last week and I was definitely feeling it by the time I was done. No way I'm running today. My back was a bit sore after. Hopefully it doesn't turn into anything.

     Ran an easy 4 miles. Felt some fatigue left over from yesterday but everything feels good injury wise.

     20 miles on the mt bike

     6 easy miles

     Ran 8 miles. Last 2 miles into a very strong headwind and rain. 8:07 ave pace.

     5 easy miles at 8:18 AP.

     20 miles on the mountain bike this morning. Another really nice fall day.

     I decided to try a little bit of faster running this morning. The first since the marathon. I ran a 3.75 mile warmup at 7:49 pace. Then did 4.25 miles of fartlek running  6x1/2 miles faster with 1/4 mile recoveries. Averaged 6:52 on the last 4.25. Overall pace for 8 miles was 7:19. I felt a bit slow this morning but I don't seem to have any lingering injuries from the marathon. I do have a little back soreness but that's probably more from packing out the elk last week than the marathon. The last 2 marathons I did it, seemed like I spent several weeks recovering from injuries after the races. Mainly injuries that I already had going into the race.

     Went on a nice hike near St George.

     Spent the night in Mesquite. Went on a nice 6 mile run through some very nice neighborhoods along the east side of town. A lot of hills on the run. Later that day my wife and I went on a 6:1/2 mile hike near Zions Park. I ran 1 1/2 miles of the hike. It's tricky running on slickrock. We brought back some nice pieces of petrified wood. The weather was perfect.

      8.5 miles at 8:19 AP

    Ran 8 miles up by the reservoir again. There was a huge flock of sandhill cranes circling overhead that was so large and noisy that I could hear and see them for 75% of the run even when they weren't directly overhead. I like their sound. We have 4 of them that spend time in the fields around our house about every day. Kept the pace easy again at 8:01 AP.

     PM Rode 20 miles on my MT bike. I felt good and really hammered on this one. I thought I might beat my PR for this course but came in just short.

     4.5 miles 8:21 AP

     After a 3 mile warmup I ran 5 miles of fartlec. 6x1/4 fast with 1/4 recovery. Then 3x1/2 with 1/4 recovery. I wanted to run about 6:00 minute pace on the faster intervals and couldn't believe it felt that hard. By the time I got to the 1/2s I couldn't even keep the pace at 6:00 and ran them a lot slower. I think I may have had some fatigue from Tuesday.

     Helped a buddy pack out his elk and got in some good hiking.