Run Derneld, Run!

Weights

Weights and 10 minutes on StairMaster. Didn't feel anything in the ankle the entire time on the machine, yay! (55 floors)

Weights and 15 minutes on StairMaster. Felt almost nothing on the ankle all day. (86 floors)

Weights and 20 minutes on StairMaster. (115 floors)

Ran 4 miles on the treadmill. Felt pretty good until the very end. Now there is some tightness in the same achilles. I'm hoping that it is due to not using keeping weight off the tendon for the past week, not because there is residual inflammation. I really want to get back to running!

25 min on stationary bike. 7.6 miles in 25 minutes.

25 min on stationary bike. 8 miles in 25 minutes.

25 min on stationary bike. 7.5 miles in 25 minutes.

Ran a mile after the bike ride. Didn't feel quite perfect, but I don't think I made anything worse.

Short walk and 2.6 mile run. Short strides seem to be safe.

Good easy run. Taking short controlled strides doesn't bother my achilles at all.

A completely normal run this morning. Now begins a slow return to my normal training. I still have 13 weeks until the SLC marathon, and I will gauge my performance in forthcoming workouts to see if sub-3:10 is still a feasible goal.

5.6 easy miles on the treadmill in the morning (5.6 in 44:49)

2 miles on the treadmill before dinner. Watching Salvation on Amazon Prime (2 in 15:57)

Treadmill for 10 minutes at work, then the gym had to be closed down for maintenance. So I went outside to run for the first time in 2018. In short sleeves. In southeast Idaho. In the middle of January. Where did this weather come from? (1.14 in 9:38, and then 5.03 miles in some other amount of time)

Treadmill at home while dinner baked. (2.6 in 20:25)

Buildup to 8.4 on the treadmill (6.4 in 49:24)

6.3 miles before work in 49:31

3.9 easy miles before dinner in 30:31.
 

90 minute run with five 5 minute bouts at threshold pace. Felt pretty good, but I would've been pretty exhausted if I had gone another 30 minutes. (12 miles in 90:59)

6.6 easy miles at lunch time (6.6 in 50:25)

2 easy miles before dinner (2 in 15:57)

Something I've noticed coming back from 3 weeks off of running. My speed seems to be mostly intact, from the short fast bouts I've attempted. The big difference is I feel sore after almost every run, as if I've done a killer workout each time.

Decent workout at lunch time. 6x5minT w/ 1 minute recoveries. T pace = 6:40/mi. (7 miles in 49:51)

2.6 miles before dinner (2.6 in 20:23)

6.2 in 49:41 at lunch time. Some quad tightness.

2.6 in 20:30 before dinner.

6.5 in 49:53 at lunch time. Had 6 strides in there, and I ended the last one with a very gradual slowdown to cool off.

10 minute warmup

7 miles at goal marathon pace: 7:09/mi

1.3 mile recovery

6 miles at goal marathon pace: 7:09/mi

1.2 mile recovery

Wow! This workout was really hard. I don't think I overdid it, but I was pretty whipped by the end of it.

7.6 easy. 1 hour flat. Early morning

3.7 in the mid afternoon. Sadly, Eat the World was only 6 episodes long. (3.7 in 29:35)

6.5 miles in the early AM w/ strides. 

2 miles before dinner. Tight hamstring.

6.4 in the early AM. Hamstrings are not comfortable.

Turned out to be a good day off in the afternoon. My hamstrings are still tight, and my family is all sick except for me.

6.5 in the early morning. (6.5 in 49:59)

4 before dinner (4 in 31:07). Watching Lost City of Z

6.4 in the early AM. Felt weird at the end of it, and the feeling went away completely 5 minutes after I stopped running. (6.4 in 49:35)

2.6 easy before dinner (2.6 in 20:30)

Basketball with the EQ at 9pm. This was my first time trying a sport other than running in years, and I was quite terrible. Luckily it was with a fun group.

Ran outside at lunch time today. SE Idaho has been having an amazing winter. (7.03 in 59:15)

Mild aerobic builder in the early morning. (15.7 in 2:00:25)

I've been recovering slowly from soreness all week, and I'm not sure why. Going to skip my afternoon jaunt and get a longer rest.

4.4 in 35:00 @ 3% incline. Didn't have as much time at lunch today.

3.4 in 25:45 w/ 6x30sec strides w/ 1 min recoveries

Lunch time workout. 5x1 mile at threshold pace. Averaged around 7:00/mile. Definitely NOT back where I was pre-tendinitis. I feel like I'm relearning how to run fast. (7.04 in 53:18)

6.48 in 52:01 at lunch time. It was a progress easy to moderate run with a few strides. I was pleasantly surprised to not have any soreness from yesterday's workout, considering how little hard effort I've been doing lately.

5 in 38:44 on the treadmill before dinner. Feeling really good today.

6.33 easy at lunch time in 53:06

3 easy before "dinner". Just a five-minute rush to mix edible things and eat before scouts really. Still good though.

Easy-moderate long run. Slowly accelerated to goal marathon pace (7:09/mi) and then back down (19.8 in 2:30:40)

Easy after lunch on treadmill. (10.7 in 1:22:14)

6.3 easy miles at lunch time. (6.3 in 49:26)

2.6 easy before dinner. Really fun night with family! (2.6 in 20:14)

5.5 easy with strides at lunch time. The first 5 minutes had to be on the hamster wheel since the power was out for some construction work. Also some strength training. (5.5 in 42:26)

2.7 easy before dinner. (2.7 in 20:58)

Early workout (for a work day).

5x1mile @ lactic threshold (9-9.1mph) w/ a strong last minute on the last one (one minute at 6:00/mi). This workout felt surprisingly easier than I was expecting. I was tempted to go harder, but this is the level of fitness I was at pre-tendinitis, and I decided to log this one the way I would expect it to go, and then try a little harder next week. This got me pumped!

6.4 easy at lunch time. (6.4 in 49:31)

2.7 easy in 20:18. Right before our Valentine's Day dinner. We do V-Day dinner before or V-Day, and we do it with out kid, but still fun. Tried out Arugula Deli, a more unique restaurant that is pretty good. I had a delicious quinoa beet salad. (2.7 in 20:18).

6.6 with strides at lunch time. (6.6 in 40:18)

5.1 before dinner. I guess we are in a quinoa mood. Today's dinner was quinoa with roasted butternut squash, zuchini, and red onion. (5.1 in 40:18)

Good workout today. 15 miles at goal marathon pace (7:09/mile) on the treadmill. The ice outside is mostly gone, but the wind has made me a chicken. I was feeling most exhausted about 5 miles into this workout, then started feeling steadily better throughout the rest of the run. 

6.6 with strides at lunch time (6.6 in 49:50)

2.9 easy before dinner (2.9 in 22:32)

Solid workout at lunch time. 3x(2miles threshold with 2 minute recovery). This was a tought workout the last time I did it, which was in my last training cycle for the STG marathon. It went really well, and I even picked up the pace in the last mile of the last split with a good kick. Normal pace was 6:40/mi. Last mile was 6:34-6:20/mi, with the last minute as a 6:00/mi kick. (7.3 in 50:03)

3 easy miles before dinner. (3 in 23:57)

6.3 easy at lunch time. Definitely feel slightly sluggish after yesterday's workout. (6.3 in 49:31)

3 easy before dinner.

Opened up my running bag at work. Found that I had packed a shirt, boxers, and...another shirt...oops! No running today

Good easy long run, slowly picking up the pace while staying comfortable. Felt really good (20 in 2:32:16)

Easy 90 minutes. Kinda tired though...

In Tucson for a week of training. Running on the Santa Cruz River Parker. 8.04 miles in the morning with strides. 8.17 in the evening.

9.05 in the morning on the Santa Cruz River parkway trail with a fast final mile.

4.34 in the evening in the neighborhood around the Tucson temple. There were some good hills for incline training and the temple was also beautiful. It has a Jerusalem-like dome design.

Woke up to a power outage. Finally came on at 6am. I went to the hotel gym and used the loudest treadmill I've ever heard for 5 miles.

2.6 during lunch break (2.6 in 20 minutes)

Moderate pace in the early morning on Santa Cruz Parkway. Was not satisfied with my performance for the level of effort I was giving (10.04 in 1:17:41)

Ran up and around Tumamoc Hill after training ended early today, which was the last day of training. The hill was steeper than I expected but it was good elevation training that I don't get from running around my house in Idaho. Tucson is a beautiful place. I will be sad to leave, but so so happy to be back with my family tomorrow. I will have to take them here for a winter vacation sometime (5.43 in 47:46)

On a side note, I got dinner at a place called WhataBurro, which is hilarious! (If you're familiar with Whataburger) The burritos (that's what they sell) there are actually pretty good. I recommend going there so you can say you've had both a whataburger AND a whataburro, because what better thing to brag about is there?

5.08 in the early morning, to have enough time to catch an early flight. On the Santa Cruz Parkway trail again. Goodbye Tucson! (5.08 in 40:12) Interestingly, this wasn't much slower than yestermorning's run, but felt so much more relaxed.

6 on the treadmill at home after lunch. Watched some of Raiders of the Lost Ark (6 in 46:20)

90 light minutes in the morning with Indiana Jones and Hidden in the Heartland. (12.2 in 1:33:18)

30 light minute in the afternoon around 3. (4.1 in 31:52)

6.6 easy with strides. Didn't feel 100%. Took the evening off and had such a good time with my wife and daughter after a slightly frustrating afternoon at work (6.6 in 49:55)

Lousy workout: 1 km, 1 min recovery, 1 mile, 1 min recovery, 10 minutes, 2 min recovery, 1 mile, 1 min recovery, 1 km. All at threshold effort. Averaged around 7:10-7:15/mi. Did some lousy strides afterwards. Just a lousy couple of days I guess! (8.02 in 1:00:09)

Running outside the past two days has been very nice. What a great winter! (6.02 in 50:02)

Treadmill before dinner. Pretty tired from yesterday's workout (3.9 in 30:45)

6.3 easy at lunch time. (6.3 in 49:24)

No evening run. Helping Cheyenne with cub scouts.

Feeling better than yesterday, although I have had one coughing fit that felt like a bug. Surprised when I had to come into work today. Got to use the gym in the early morning. Did some strides. Felt good! (6.6 in 49:58)

Easy before dinner (2.6 in 20:29)

I wasn't sure about today's planned workout, but decided to try it anyways. Cheyenne and Ellie have both been congested/had sore throats this week, and I think it may have slightly crept on me too. I occasionally (like 3 times a day) get a hacking cough. I didn't have the energy to finish what was supposed to be 13 miles at M pace, so I settled for just an hour. 11 miles total in 1:20:16

Wasn't going to run anymore today, but it is March 10th and it is 44 degrees with little wind in Idaho Falls. Had a really good recovery run, and I'm feeling better about resuming training next week. Just six weeks out from SLC! (5 in 40:38)

Yesterday afternoon was the start of a very sudden onset of powerful flu symptoms. Fever and chills through the night. Didn't get out of bed for half of Monday. Then I had a big lunch and dinner. Now I am over the bad symptoms, and just have the annoying weird ones. I will at least go to work tomorrow, and may even go on a short jog. It is amazing how fast I got and how bad I felt, contrasted with just 12 hours before and after. I'm really grateful it wasn't the 2 week flu that's been reported in the news lately. I really feel for those people now, as I had never had a bad flu til now (and being this short, it really wasn't THAT bad).
 

Just weird symptoms today, but I feel great. I did a short run at lunch time OUTSIDE (it's supposed to get over 50 degrees here in Southeast Idaho today, wow). I was even sweating in my beanie at the calm pace I was using.

6.4 in the early morning at work gym. Feeling pretty good! (6.4 in 49:19)

Easy after putting Ellie down for bed. (3 in 24:03)

Easy while watching PBS doc on China. Such a long intact history, pretty neat! (12.3 in 1:36:59)

Stayed home to attend in-town training today. After I got home, I took Ellie for her first stroller run of the year. Kept it pretty short, as I was tired, and we both wanted to eat. (1.68 in 15:00)

Easy run learning about China. (9 in 70:18)

4.3 easy in the early afternoon. (4.3 in 34:28)

72 min aerobic builder with 20 minute cooldown (12.1 in 1:30:23)

6.4 with strides (6.4 in 49:19)

Really tired this afternoon. Need to sleep more...

3x5minutes threshold pace. Was going to do 6 but started coughing again... ended with 2 miles at M pace instead. Not feeling bad, but my fitness is definitely lower since getting that flu... (6.9 in 49:51)

Easy 3.3 in 25:49 before dinner. Water heater is leaking!

Skipped my run at work to attend a guest lecture from a professor on sleep deprivation, something I need to resolve...

Treadmill at home in a new pair of race shoes: Saucony Guide 10 (4 in 31:13)

Easy at lunch time (6.3 in 49:51)

Easy before dinner (3.3 in 26:15)

6.3 easy in the early morning at work. (6.3 in 49:30)

5 easy before dinner in the new shoes (5 in 39:38)

Today was supposed to be a 2.5 hour run, and was going to be progress back towards my marathon that was going to be in 4 weeks. It ended a little over an hour through, with repeated stomach aches, bathroom breaks, and then the white flag. (8.5 in 66:24)

I went online and switched from the full marathon (SLC) to the half marathon. I'm not sure whether I'll do another spring marathon. I doubt it, as I don't want to pay late prices and I think I need a break anyways. I will definitely be signing up for STG when registration opens in less than a week, and I will carefully be training for that. This training cycle had a lot of setbacks, but I also had many consecutive training cycles prior to this one with almost no issues, so I can only be grateful. Officially switching to the half marathon was relieving for me, as I can now calm down and stop worrying about a goal race. This half will be competitive, but also FOR FUN. I will be doing it alongside family and multiple friends, and it will mark the beginning of a week of vacation. 

Easy 50 minutes with some strides. Felt really good. Must be partly the relief of not being committed to a marathon anymore... (6.5 in 50:03)

Easy 3 miles before dinner (3 in 24:00)

Workout with a satisfying outcome today. It feels like it has been a while since a workout went this way for me. 3x5 minutes threshold pace (6:40/mi) with 1 minute recoveries, 3x3 minutes VO2max pace (6:23/mi) with 2 minute recoveries, 3x400m mile pace (6:00/mi) with 400m recoveries. I got a little frantic towards the end of some of these sets. After finishing, hindsight told me it was mostly mental. I could definitely benefit from developing some more mental strength for running.
 

6.5 easy this morning with some strides. This week I retired two pairs of shoes, each with about 1500 miles of running in them. They served their purpose well, and now one of them will become a comfortable pair of shoe-like socks. (6.5 in 49:58)

Tonight I am catching an overnight flight to Ft Lauderdale. Spending a long weekend with mom and grandparents in Miami.

Overnight flight from Idaho Falls to Ft Lauderdale. Then a 2 nap at my aunt and uncle's and a day in Miami with grandparents and cousins. Went running on the lake trail in front of Baptist Hospital with my mom and aunt. Nice easy pace that slowly warmed me up. I sure do sweat a lot more here though! (7.1 in 56:25)

On the Baptist Hospital trail again in Kendall, FL. Mom and Zully accompanied again. (10 in 1:20:42).

Feels nice running at sea level.

Longer run by myself. Explored around the area. Ran on the underline trail that follows along US-1 under the metro rail, as well as around University of Miami and downtown Coral Gables. Lots of nice areas here. A lot of roads aren't really runner friendly though, and you have to start pretty early to beat the traffic (14.39 in 2:00:35)

Easy on the treadmill with some strides. When I started stretching after my run I felt really lose, like I didn't really need the stretching. It has been a while since I felt that good. I realized I have perceived myself as feeling good after recent runs when in fact, I did feel even better a few months prior. It was comforting to know that I still am recovering, since my performance in workouts has not been as satisfying (6.5 in 49:58)

2.5 easy on the treadmill before dinner (2.5 in 20:00)

Easy running out in the fresh open air. Wind simmered down to a nice breeze (6.26 in 50:55)

Okay workout. 6x5minutes at lactate pace with 1 minute recoveries. Decided to not look at my watch and just go by feel. Didn't go as fast as I'd hoped, but I felt motivated, worked hard, and felt good afterwards. I also went to the church farm tonight and boxed and stacked potatoes for almost 3 hours. I am going to be hurting tomorrow. 6.81 in 51:27

6.24 in 50:06. I felt really really really sore today, but I went at a calm pace, which turned out to be much faster than what it felt like. Not looking at my watch has been good for me.

Early afternoon treadmill. Basically on cruise control the whole time at 8:00/mi watching Suits. Felt decent. Hoping to do 1 hour steady at 7:09/mi (8.4 mph) tomorrow for a workout.

15 minute warmup. 1 hour at steady marathon pace (7:09/mi). Felt really good and never got nervous that I was overdoing it. I am getting excited about the SLC half marathon in two weeks. It will be my first real race in over 6 months, although I still have reservations due to poor training experiences in the recent months. I am determined to have fun regardless!

6.3 easy miles in the early morning at work. Cranked up to 2.5% and 8mph slowly and slowly went back down during the last 10 minutes. Just something really slight as there will be some small climbs in the upcoming race and I have literally been running in a pancake flat desert.

2.79 easy pushing Ellie in the stroller. She was so excited to go!

Easy in the morning with the same uptick as yesterday at the end. Feeling super good. (6.3 in 50:02)

Running with Ellie before dinner. She is loving it! (2.74 in 25:25)

Conservatively executed workout this morning: 2x10minutes at threshold with 2 minute jogs. One 5 minute bout at threshold followed by a 1 minute jog and 5 minutes at another hard pace, but not quite as hard as the other sets. I wasn't feeling 100% and didn't want to completely wear myself out on a workout 10 days before a race. I hope to feel better during one other small workout planned for next week before the race. (7 in 50:47)

Another great stroller run with Ellie! (2.76 in 24:58)

Easy in the early morning (6.3 in 49:13)

Decided to do nothing this email. It might've just been in my head, but I thought my Achilles might've felt a little warm throughout the afternoon. It wasn't very noticeable, but why take the risk when instead you can go eat out for dinner and celebrate your wife finishing her penultimate semester of school today! Went to eat at a Mexican restaurant that is constructed to look like a castle on the outside. Not sure why that is but the vegetable fajita was satisfactory.

Another easy 50 minutes in the early morning. This time I did a slow build and decline up to marathon pace and back down, then a small 10 minute hill (this was all simulated on the treadmill). Felt really good. One more long run tomorrow morning, and a workout planned for Tuesday. Other than that just calm cruise control journeys from here until race day!

Easy on the treadmill after work (6 in 47:33)

Last longish run before race. Adjusting to the race shoes. (12 in 1:36:04)

Easy lunch treadmill (6.4 in 50:40)

3x1mile at threshold with 2 minute rests. Felt good, then shaky, then good again. (6 in 44:25)

First day off for family traveling. 6 miles easy on the treadmill (6 in 48:08)

Easy loop around Cottonwood Heights. Highland Dr, Creek Rd, Union Park Ave, Ft Union Blvd.

Easy shake-out in Cottonwood Heights (3.22 in 27:43)

Crappy race, but fun day. This was a disappointment, but I am glad I dealt with it well. I was super pumped after warm-up and when the race was about to start, and I felt great. I held my goal pace until mile 6-ish, and a pervading sick stomach feeling just wouldn't shake off. I felt myself starting to drag at that point, and I knew I was pushing myself too hard at that point to keep on a good pace. I decided to ease off and see if my stomach could figure itself out, and it never did! I suspect this race would've ended with fire and brimstone had I kept trying to keep a race pace. So yeah...from mile 7 to the end I gave a good jog. I felt a slight urge to pick up the pace when the 1:40 pacer and all his followers passed me, but just decided to roll into the finish line instead. Happy to say that I finished without too much stomach discomfort, and that I still haven't dropped out of or walked a half marathon. The rest of the day my stomach felt uneasy, and some of my family members who I've been hanging out with this weekend have bigger stomach issues currently, so I probably have something.

Easy on the treadmill with some walking and inclines (3.6 in 30:30)

Easy around Freeman Park and the river. I wasn't pushing it, but I was still kind of surprised by how slow I was going. Happy to not have any soon-coming races. (8.26 in 1:10:25)

Meant to go on this short morning run, then a goodbye run with my mom, but she wanted to get some more sleep before driving all day. Oh well :(

Easy 4.45 at lunch time. Some strength training as well

Easy lunch time running outside! (6.84 in 57:01)

Wasn't sure if I was going to get a run in today. Lots of things going on and I chose to use my early morning to finish Evicted: Profit & Poverty in the American City, by Matthew Desmond, then I left at 6:30am. to go grocery shopping. I ended up squeezing this run in between other things at 3pm and 5pm. I was still a little too full from lunch, but I took it easy and it was nice. (10.1 in 1:23:26)

If you are at all interested in the plight of povery in the US, I highly recommend Eviceted by Matthew Desmond. It won the pulitzer prize for general nonfiction last year.

Easy treadmill at home today. In town this week for training. (7.6 in 60:22)

8.9 in 70 minutes. Early morning treadmill.

9.6 in 75 minutes. Early morning treadmill.

10.3 in 80:47. Early morning treadmill.

11.5 in 90:14. Early morning treadmill.

Easy morning treadmill, slowly working up to a moderate pace. Then I mowed the lawn (16.3 in 2:07:33)

Really nice lunch run out in the desert. (7.36 in 59:20)

Also had a nice bday with cupcakes, song, phone calls, and board games :)

More fantastic weather at lunch time. Almost a little too warm. Expecting a very warm summer (for Southeast Idaho at least) (7.5 in 59:20)

Easy lunch time run (7.5 in 59:57)

Some strength training before dinner

Treadmill before dinner (5.5 in 43:24)

Long run watching Suits (17.6 in 2:19:12)

16.2 in 2:07:24. Easy early morning treadmill.

Happy Mothers Day to all of you wonderful mothers out there! Thank you for keeping this world intact :)

5.86 miles at lunch time. Had to go quick as it was a busy day (5.86 in 47:03)

2 mile warm up, then 45 minutes at M pace (7:30/mi). Felt pretty good, but I'm definitely not ready to run a marathon right now. Good thing it's not until October!

In other news, I signed up for the Idaho Falls Half (July 28). Happy to support Westside Elementary while trying out my first Idaho race. It's weird that I've been in Idaho for over 2 years and haven't participated in a race other than a fun run yet...

Easy lunch time run (7.38 in 59:15)

Easy lunchtime run (7.39 in 59:15)

Decent workout. Slowly getting back into workouts. 2 easy, 6 marathon pace, 1 easy, 4 Marathon pace, long cool down. (17.4 in 2:11:52)

Easy long run (16 in 2:07:15)

Easy morning run. Working from 2pm to 2am today at work to provide engineering and environmental oversight to some work. (10.8 in 1:25:40)

Workout after sleeping 3 hours...

2 miles easy + 3x1 mile threshold pace w/ 1 minute recoveries + 2 miles threshold pace + cooldown

8.8 in 1:05:18

Easy in the evening at the work gym (3.2 in 25:37)

Some strength training

Easy miles in the morning (8 in 1:03:30)

Easy long run in the early AM. (12.7 in 1:41:00)

Pretty tired after a weird sleep schedule (pulling night shifts) and longer morning runs. I think I will skip my 2nd workout of the week.

Easy run at work in the early AM. My left knee has felt strangely loose during two runs this week. They weren't consecutive runs, either. Weird. Also a little strength training for shoulders and core. (6.3 in 49:51)

Easy long run around Holladay, UT. South on Van Winkle, up Highland and then 2300 E, west on 3300 S, South on 700 E. Really pretty, but surprisingly few running paths so a lot of running on the side of the road. Seems like people are mostly out of town luckily.

Some wobbly joints again today. Left knee and right ankle. Approximate M pace effort... Not as good as I wanted (12.51 in 1:37:16)

Cut my lunchtime run after moving 100 feet. My knee was very uncomfortable (I would describe it as a "general discomfort") and I could not move with proper form because of it. Decided to wait and see how it would feel in the evening. Although still sore in the evening, it didn't mess up my form, and it seemed to relax during the run. I know I did a workout yesterday, but it wasn't THAT strenuous. The next few days should shed more light on the issue... (6.7 in 53:05)

Put a little incline and decline on this treadmill run, as the Idaho Falls Half is not very flat...

Easy miles at lunch time, then some weights (4.2 in 32:40)

Went for an outdoor lunch run today. Risked getting caught in what looked like some potentially heavy rain. Turned out to be 10 drops of rain at the most. Ran for an hour, and the knee is feeling better each day. Avoiding workouts for now... (7.42 in 59:20)

Well I went back against my own plans and did a workout this morning:

2 mile warm up. 6 sets of 1 mile @ lactic threshold with 1 minute recoveries. 6 sets of 200 meter repetitions with 200 meter recoveries. 1 mile recovery. 2 sets of 1 mile @ lactic threshold with 1 minute recovery. Long cooldown. (17.3 in 2:08:24)

Long run, with undulating hills, on treadmill. (15.6 in 2:04:03)

It is starting to get warm here in SE Idaho. Easy day. Knee still feels a little weird. Other than that, just some little aches and pains that make me feel old...my work's annual mileage competition began on June 1st. Categories are: walking, jogging, swimming, biking, and steps. There might be an overall category as well which combines the first 4. Last year I got a $25 gift card to Bill's Bike & Run for winning the jogging/overall categories. Hope to win something again this year! (7.33 in 59:38)

Easy on the treadmill in the evening (5.4 in 42:29)

Easy out in the wind (5.8 in 49:29)

Then on the tready (2.6 in 20:55)

No running today. Just some long walks. Ankle is having new issues.

40 minutes of strength training in the morning.

More strength training this morning. A little from yesterday's. May attempt a small run later today.

6 easy at lunch time. Didn't cause any noticeable discomfort, but walking a few hours I did feel a slight something. Might take tomorrow off.

Short Saturday treadmill run. Stopped before my ankle did anything bad. (8 in 1:04:08)

Easy lunch run with some strides. Felt a little bit in the ankle but very little and a lot less than Saturday, which wasn't even that bad either. Been doing a lot of yard work to compensate! (5.9 in 45:48)

I had slight ankle discomfort yesterday and decided to call it off again. The past week and this week are going to be pretty low mileage. I also fasted from lunch time yesterday to lunch time today (24 hours total) for my sister who recently got out of the hospital. The last hour of those 24 hours was spent running. I've never run at the end of a fast like that. The only thing I noticed was increased fatigue at the beginning of the run, but I felt better at the middle of the run, and started to feel tired again towards the end. (5.98 in 49:36)

Quick treadmill jaunt with some hills. Less time today. (4 in 31:18)

No ankle pain during/after the lunch run today. Pretty happy about that.
 

Great easy-paced long run today. The greatest thing was that I didn't feel any ankle pain. I was ready to stop at any moment if I felt anything, and I didn't ever get any sensations, so wahoo! Didn't do anything special in the run except some hills. About 1000 ft elevation gain overall. (16.4 in 2:10:18)

Figured out how to watch Netflix from another country with a VPN. The last episode of Suits isn't on my amazon prime, but it is on British Netflix (makes sense that Britain would have it, considering Megan Markle's recent move to Britain). Anyways, I did a long run again today and felt pretty good, but not as good as yesterday (17.9 in 2:21:03)

Easy lunch run with strides(6 in 48:43)

First workout in a while. I'll ease my way into 1-2 workouts/week.

3x1T (7:04,7:12,and 7:02) with minute recoveries. Later, during cooldown, 6 comfortable strides. Followed it all with some strength training. Felt really good, and I felt I could do a little more but that this was enough after a long hiatus. The splits on the miles were pretty consistent, considering the wind speeds. (6.16 in 46:45)

Weird morning. My normal work day involves getting up to a 4:30am alarm. Somehow I woke up at 12:30am this morning, and didn't even pay attention to the hour. I had a hot breakfast, and walked to the bus stop to catch the normal 5:24am pickup. Only then did I realize that it was actually 1:20am, not 5:20am...so I went back home. Wasn't ready to go to sleep right away after eating breakfast and getting ready. Did a few things, then went to sleep. Slept through my normal alarm and woke up at 5:27am (3 minutes after the bus passes the stop). So I just called it a morning at home, went running, and walked to catch one of the mid-day busses. So yeah...it was a weird morning and a very early breakfast. (7.8 in 1:01:38)

Lunch run. Kinda tired. Legs were complaining, even at a pretty light effort. (6 in 49:00)

Early morning treadmill run (at work, since lunch time is already scheduled with other things). Did some strides at the end. Ready for a marathon-pace workout tomorrow morning. (6.5 in 50:46)

Took Ellie out running in the stroller to and from Reed's Dairy for our weekly Daddy-Daughter Date. She really enjoys the trip, and always wants to see the animals both before and after having an ice cream cone. (0.98 miles to, and 1.14 miles from)

2E + 6M + 1E + 6M + 2E. M = 8.2mph. (17 in 1:27:50)

Little fore-ankle sensitivity on mile 5 in the second split. Last about 3-4 minutes and then subsided.

Early morning on treadmill (6.3 in 49:31)

Early morning short run with strides (4.2 in 32:03)

Pre-dinner short run (4 in 31:38)

I've recently found satisfaction watching YouTube videos from the bookstore Politics and Prose. They have interviews with high profile authors. Today I watched an interview with Masha Gessen on her new-ish book "The Future is History". I highly recommend the interviews, and there are a lot of them. Lots of National Book awards and Pulitzer prizes on there.

Went early so I could do a workout:

3 sets of two miles at threshold pace (6:49/mi, 6:44/mi, and 6:40/mi) with two minute recoveries in between. Felt really good, better than I have felt in a long time doing something like this. (8.1 in 57:01)

Easy with strides (7 in 53:51)

Great workout this morning. 2 mile warm up. 6 sets of 1 mile at threshold pace with 1 minute recoveries, immediately followed by 4 sets of 200s at repetition pace with 200 jog recoveries, immediately followed by 2 more sets of 1 mile at threshold pace with a 1 minute recovery in between. 1 mile easy, then 4 sets of 400s at repetition pace with 400 jog recoveries. Cooldown for about 2.5 miles. (17.2 in 2:05:32)

Easy paced long run on the treadmill. Almost done with Suits. Divided the run into three big hills. About 600' total. (16 in 2:06:59)

Early morning run with some strides at the end (5.99 in 46:07)

Pre-dinner run with hills (5.5 in 41:38)

Just a few miles to know that something is wrong with in my left shin. Not sure what it is, but running makes it worse. (3 in 24:03)

Still not back to running.

10 minutes on the stationary bike and weights.

3 miles on the stationary bike (10:28). Then strength training.

3.7 miles on the treadmill. Stopped right away when I started feeling what could've been inflammation (3.7 in 29:33)

Test run. Cancelled a long run. (1.6 in 13:08)

In town training through Wednesday. Early morning treadmill. Felt discomfort in the last 5 minutes (9.1 in 1:12:26)

6.7 miles in 53:24. Didn't want to push it.

Felt really good this morning (7.92 in 1:04:48)

I need to run outside more... (8.8 miles in 1:10:30)

Just can't ankle it. Did a lap around the neighborhood.

Had a really nice run around the green belt today. Weather was great. Feet felt great. Had breakfast and then had a temple date with Cheyenne. Fixed some windows and the refrigerator. Good day! (13.4 in 1:42:30)

Went to work early. Ran a mile outside before incoming traffic picked up, and the gym opened. Then used the treadmill until the start of the day (1.03 in 8:20 and then 4.2 in 32:52)

Early to work again. A little sensation in the ankle. Nothing alarming, but I stopped anyway and switched to strength training. All running was outside. (3.7 in 30:00)
 

Came to work early. Made a last-minute decision to do a workout this morning, on an "track" comprised of several low-traffic roads at work (they are no-traffic roads at the time I went). 

4x0.8T w/ approx 1 minute rests. This is all approximated. I didn't want to use the lap timer on my garmin and just did this by feel. It went pretty great, and I estimate that I ran a 7:00 pace on the sets. Did 8 strides afterward. (6.03 in 45:00)

Easy run around the neighborhood after work. Even with the heat it felt good to loosen up muscles that were surprisingly sore from this morning's small workout. I'm so grateful that my ankles could stand even a small workout. I'm hoping (again) that the ankle issues are past. (4.12 in 33:52)

Early into work today. (5.65 easy in 46:07)

Came in an hour early and got a good run in. First outside, then on treadmill as foot traffic picked up for the start of the day. (10.35 in 1:22:35)

Did some tempo paced bouts, but overall I had no gas this morning...my body was happy doing an easy jaunt and didn't really respond to anything fast... so there was an attempt at: 20min tempo, 3 minute recovery, 15 minute tempo, 2 minute recovery, 2x400m repetitions with 400m recoveries, 1 mile threshold

Stomach ache. 10.05 in 1:22:43

Early in. 5.97 in 45:58. I included a 12-minute threshold-paced run in this towards the end. Good short push a few days before my half marathon this weekend.

Early in. Ran 4.82 outside then went in on the treadmill before the fire alarm went off due to burnt toast. Did a perimeter lap with Jack and had a nice talk. Not sure about total distance so just guessing (6.5 in 54:00)

Early in. Easy pace that slowly got faster as I warmed up. Feeling pretty good!

4.45 in 36:49. IF half tomorrow and more extended relatives coming to visit. Should be a fun weekend! Today Ellie and I walked to Reed's Dairy for our Daddy Daughter date. She walked the entire way without being picked up (she's 2). What a trooper!

This was not my best race, but it was a wonderful return from months of nagging injuries. It was so nice to have a race day with no stomach issues, no ankle problems, and no unexpeected family emergencies. 

I don't remember everything I ate the day before, but there was definitely a lot of brown rice, peas, black beans, and a LOT of cheap winco whole wheat bread. The morning of the race, about 2.5 hours before start, I had a piece of toast (made from the same cheap bread) with honey and a little bit of peanut butter. I don't always log my day-before-race food choices, but I felt the need since I didn't have any stomach issues this time. Maybe this will be useful information to build off in the future. 

Cheyenne drove me the 5-minute journey to the bus pick-up a little after 5. The race suffered from a volunteer shortage, and the race actually started BEFORE all the buses arrived. Therefore I looked online after the race to find that I had actually finished in 12th place and not 7th like I had initially thought. The age group medals were awesome. The race was Christmas-themed for no apparent reason (who needs a reason to celebrate Christmas in July though?) and the awards were ornaments indicating the age group rank you achieved. 

The first 5 miles of this race are a fast downhill, but manageable. I actually did a lot better on this than I intended. I finished the first mile in 6:03 and did not feel like I was going that hard, and I am fairly used to the feeling of racing downhill. I slowed down, as expected, when the course leveled out, but I didn't get that terrible fatigue that you get when you burn yourself on the downhill. Another runner and I played tag for a significant portion of the race, and he helped me perform better than I probably would have.

Like I said this was not my best race, but it was certainly one of the greatest reliefs I've felt in a while.

My garmin measured the course at 13.72 miles (the course was different from previous years due to construction), and I also did a warmup and cooldown. I'm writing this the evening after the race, and feeling pretty good.

Early in. Short easy run, then lots of stretching and some strength training. Feeling a lot sorer than I expected from Saturday's race. All the soreness feels like normal muscle soreness. I don't suspect any deeper injury...time will tell though!
 

Early in. Ran on the treadmill, and did only as much as my body was willing to do. (4.6 in 36:24)

Early in. 5.22 in 41:31. Picked up the pace towards the end towards a moderate effort. Felt really good. Taking Thursday and Friday off this week and travelling through several rural parts of Utah to visit family!

Morning run in Provo. Not rural, but it was a good halfway point and a chance to catch up with good friends. Did a lot of hills. Rock Canyon trailhead and Y trailhead included in those hill climbs. Also ran past the new engineering building at BYU. A much needed addition for the growing body of engineering students there. (8.81 in 1:20:08)

Morning run in Wales, Utah. Really nice run in Sanpete valley (12.1 in 1:38:46). The Manti temple sticks out noticeably even over 10 miles away and not even at night. Also went hiking with Cheyenne and Ellie in Maple Canyon. Hiked to Lookout Arch. Ellie is not used to hiking and was pouty. We'll have to take her more often, as this was a pretty easy trip (1.6 miles).

Morning run in Joseph, Utah. Went through Sevier. Followed the paved path into the canyon somewhat, following Sevier River. If I had gone a little further, I would've arrived at Big Rock Candy Mountain. That is an interesting place, with old train cars turned into hotel suites. We may have to try it out someday. (10.43 in 1:24:08)

Early in at work. Half outside on the 0.4 mile loop. Half on the treadmill. Did 6x30sec strides on the treadmill. (8.03 in 1:03:05)

Early in. Strides. (5.59 in 43:21)

Early in. 1.5 mile warm up outside and then to the treadmill for a short warm-up and a good workout. (10.04 in 1:12:40) 0.5E+3x1Tw/1minJg+4x3Iw/2minJg+6x200Rw/200Jg+CD

Early in. Stopped because there might have been some ankle swelling, but I'm not sure. (7.12 in 57:44)

Early in. 6 outside then 4 on treadmill. (10.05 in 1:19:40)

Marathon-paced run all along the green belt and around the west side of town early this morning. Started with a 20 minute warmup, then did 14 miles, by feel, at marathon pace. Was very happy to be able to hold an average pace of 7:30/mile with a "reasonable marathon effort". I brought my HR monitor and my HR generally stayed in the low 150s, which is where I want to be. It didn't go over 160 for any single mile, and the highest was 157 on mile 11. The path I ran was by no means flat but it certainly was harder than what STG will be in 8 weeks. Last year I finished STG averaging a 7:20 pace. If this workout wasn't a fluke (I tend to agree with the philosophy that no single good workout is a "fluke"), then I think it is not unrealistic to try and set a PR at this upcoming race. In the last 6 months I didn't have any aspirations like this with all the setbacks I'd been facing. Now I think I may have a decent chance at coming back to my previous best level of fitness. I've learned a lot from my injuries and illnesses, now hopefully I can exercise and eat more correctly to improve for STG! Pretty excited!

17.25 in 2:11:47 (that was 14 marathon miles in 1:45:07 averaging 7:30.5 per mile)

Early in. Strides on the treadmill. (5.1 in 39:25)

Early in. Very relaxed run on the loop. (5.62 in 45:14)

Warm-up on the road, then small workout on the treadmill. 2x2T with 2 minute recovery. Last 0.2 miles at the very end were a kick. T = 8.9 mph, kick = 10mph. (6.08 in 43:01)

Easy early run on the greenbelt. My dad and grandmother are visiting for my daughter's dance recital, so today is going to be a fun day! (10.22 in 1:24:14)

Early pre-road trip run. Some good strides at the end. (10.31 in 1:24:00)

Downhill training for STG. Ran from our Airbnb in Cottonwood Heights up into Big Cottonwood Canyon. Kept a pretty controlled pace going up and tried to open up on the way down. No joint discomforts, and I think this would've been the run for them to rear their ugly heads again. Turned around near the Lake Blanche trailhead. Estimated 1400' elevation gain (and then loss). (12.65 in 1:47:22)

Early in. Easy one hour run outside. (7.4 in 1:00:02)

Early in. 1 mile warm up outside, then to the treadmill. Another half mile of warm up. Then three sets of 2 miles at threshold pace with quarter mile recoveries in between. First set at 8.8 mph, then 8.9 mph, then 9mph. Last 0.2 miles of the last set were at 10mph. Good cooldown, followed by a little strength training and stretching. Really satisfying workout. Coming back just in time for STG. (9.71 in 1:09:21)

Early in. First 2 outside, then inside to get away from the smoke. (8.85 in 1:09:39)

Early in. Half outside and then half on the treadmill as foot traffic picked up. Finished with 6 strides. Pace went up more than expected throughout the run outside and on the treadmill with no perceived increase in effort. Feeling good. (9.01 in 1:09:14)

2 mile warm-up. 2x2 miles at threshold pace with 2 minute recoveries. Immediately went into 8x200 meters with 200 meter recoveries. Immediately went into 4x1 mile at threshold pace with 1 minute recoveries. I tried Maurten for the first time. It really is a nice product, but also pretty pricey. I highly recommend it if you are having trouble finding a suitable race fuel. This workout had me completely beat at the end. 2 mile cool down. (15.1 in 1:49:28)

Unhappy stomach. Felt tired still from yesterday so I just went at a relaxed pace without looking at my watch. The mile splits were in the normal range, so I figured it was okay. Stomach has been unhappy the rest of the day though... (8.71 in 1:12:04)

In town this week. Felt good enough to get on the treadmill and do an easy run with strides. My stomach was a wild roller coaster ride through part of Saturday and all of Sunday. Finally feeling like that's over. Hoping for a normal day! (8.75 in 1:07:04)

Early easy treadmill (10.4 in 1:20:27)

treadmill. Slow buildup to marathon pace. (12.7 in 1:36:34)

Early run on the green belt. (9.48 in 1:17:59)

Easy-paced long run this morning. Felt kinda tired, but I have been putting in good days all week and I opted to not carry fuel. This has been a mileage-focused week, taking advantage of the extra time I have in the mornings since work is in-town.(18.1 in 2:27:27)

Easy treadmill run. (10.3 in 1:20:27)

Easy-paced half marathon. Happy Labor Day! (13.12 in 1:47:20)

Early in. Easy with strides outside. (5.59 in 45:10)

Early in. One mile warm up outside, then half mile warm up on the treadmill, then a 4 mile tempo @ 6:40/mi(8mph) with a 0.2 mile kick (6:00/mi) at the end. Felt easier than expected. Just a few more things to do before the STG marathon on October 6th!

Early in. Easy run with 8 strides at the end. Feeling pretty darn good! (5.67 in 45:15)

Waited too long and decided to run inside to avoid delays crossing streets with the morning commuters. Felt really good holding the M-pace so the first 4.8ish miles were at 8.4mph (7:09/mi), the next 4.2ish were at 8.5mph (7:04/mi) and the last 5 were at 8.6mph (6:59/mi). The last quarter mile was a strong kick (6:00/mi). This is better than I did last year in similar treadmill workouts for STG! (16.2 in 1:55:53)

Easy run around the green belt. Then scraped paint off the deck for four hours. My back is going to be sore. Feeling good about progress in both running and the deck! (11.04 in 1:30:00)

Early in. Easy outdoor run with 8x30sec strides at the end (5.64 in 45:09)

Early in. 1.5 outside and 7.9 inside. Some strides at the end. Some incline. (9.36 in 1:12:48)

Early in. 1 mile warm up outside.then to the treadmill for 8 miles at M-pace (6:59/mi) on the treadmill. Felt very good and kept HR around 155 throughout, which I think is a good place. I think I am pretty close to qualifying for the Boston Treadmill Marathon, which I don't think is a real thing...(10.07 in 1:12:08)

Early in. 1 mile outside, then inside to get out of the cold wind. After 4 strides at the end, I felt a very uncomfortable tightness in my right inner thigh and stopped running immediately. Hoping I stopped soon enough and this passes with rest today. (7.65 in 1:00:16)

Early in. Took it very easy to avoid aggravating whatever I irritated yesterday. All is well (7.32 in 1:00:00)

Left at 4:30am for a 3 hour 85% marathon effort run. I delayed fuel for the first 14 miles, as I'm trying to get accustomed to that feeling of needing fuel. I was definitely ready for some! The workout turned out great, and I averaged just under 8:00/mi. Heart rate stayed in the mid to high 140s, which is where I'd hoped to see this long run be. (22.58 in 3:00:00). I'm writing this Sunday morning, and EXCELLENT WORK ELIUD KIPCHOGE, YOU ARE MY HERO!

Easy morning run. Went longer than I initially planned. Got another day in town, yay! (11.59 in 1:35:05)

Early in. Very cold. Decided to do my stats project for school using data from my garmin, so that'll be fun. 8x30sec strides at the end, which helped with the cold. (5.29 in 42:12)

Early in. Short workout today, but felt like I could've added a couple more sets of this: 2x2miles threshold pace (9mph, 6:40/mi), with a 10mph kick at the last 0.2 of the second set. (5.9 in 42:04)

Early in. Cold windy morning. Some outside, then more on treadmill (5.75 in 44:50)

Early in. One mile outside, then 8 on the treadmill, w/ 8x30sec strides at the end. Getting pretty cold in the mornings out here... (9.05 in 1:09:19)

Treadmill workout. 2 easy. 2x2 threshold pace (6:40/mi) with 2 minute recoveries, then 2x1 threshold pace with 1 minute recoveries, 2 easy, 8x200 meters repetition pace with 200 meter recoveries, 2 easy.

Early in. 1 mile out in the frigid, then 1 hour inside with hills and strides. (9.04 in 1:08:00)

Early in. Easy 1 hour on the treadmill (7.94 in 1:00:00)

Early in. Easy with some strides on the TM (7.83 in 1:00:00)

Early in. One mile outside, then 6 on the treadmill. Ended early because I felt a slight twinge on my left ankle... hopefully nothing going on there. (7.09 in 55:07)

Early in. Very easy and short run. Not sure what was up yesterday with the ankle. Might just be the sensation of some chafing dry skin, but I really want to avoid any possibility of tendinitis! (4.03 in 34:20)

Very relaxed run this morning. It is a little warmer today, which is nice. (11.25 in 1:32:01)

Jogged across the neighborhood to help someone move into their home. Nice neighbors. (0.45 miles)

Continued sanding the deck, then switched to applying cleaner and scrubbing. 

Sunday morning report: I am actually pretty sore today. This week will be very relaxed and hopefully I can be at my best for next Saturday!

Early in. (5.49 in 43:48)

Early in. One mile warm up outside, then 3 sets of 1 mile at threshold pace with 2 minute recoveries in between. (5.77 in 41:46)

Early in. Very comfortable run. I ran 2 minutes at a perceived marathon effort. Was happy with the pace I saw on my watch, however inaccurate it may be... getting psyched up for Saturday! (5.47 in 43:02)

Early in. Wet and rainy outside. 4.4 on the treadmill with some short efforts, but kept it pretty light. Now it's just a matter of getting to southern Utah. (4.4 in 33:43)

Slept in. Easy 30 minute run in Cottonwood Heights, UT (3.5 in 30:04)

Well this was a great race, and I wrote about 2 pages of things I wanted to remember about, when my computer crashed. Don't trust a 5 year-old macbook. 

This was by far the best I've done. A few weeks ago, I decided that I had a sub-3:05 in me, and thought it would be cool to try and qualify for Boston, even if I didn't get a fast enough to time to actually register. I also decided I did not have enough to get sub-3:00, so I am pretty satisfied with how I predicted my performance today. The first half I averaged a 7:05 pace, and for the full race I averaged a 6:58 pace, which I think aligns pretty well with the elevation profile of the race. Weather conditions seemed threatening at the start line, but the rain actually let up a few minutes before the race started, and there was little or no precipitation throughout the race and cooler temperatures than I've seen in the other two years that I've run this race. The winds were also low to nothing. I am happy with how I performed today in all aspects that are important to me (mental, physical, spiritual). When I approached the finish line, I had a pretty weak kick, but I didn't necessarily fade either so I view that as pacing the race pretty well. I don't think I could have squeezed any more than 10-20 seconds off of my time today. 

Race nutrition before and during the race. Thursday: Breakfast was a can of tuna with cream of wheat. Lunch was quinoa with roasted butternut squash and zucchini. Snacks were carrots and a green apple. For dinner, Cheyenne and I split a Subway sandwich (turkey breast with ALL the veggies!) and some homemade no-knead bread that Cheyenne made that day. When we got to SLC, my aunt had made us a tuna casserole, which we had to eat since everything she makes is amazing. Also snacked on mini wheats. Friday (more grazing throughout the day than actually defined meals): after an easy 30 minute run, I had a little yogurt with a 1/2 cup of oatmeal squares (a Quaker brand cereal). Also splurged on some fresh-picked tiny tomatoes from my aunt's garden. Later I had some very hot quick oats mixed with peanut butter. On the drive from SLC to STG I had some more homemade bread (very herb-y), a green apple, and about 1/2 of a high-fiber bagel. At the expo, I had more than my fair share of the oat-y and nutty samples at the Clif bar vendor booth, and some additional samplings of honey stinger waffle at another vendor booth as well (perfect way to stay consistent with the "grazing"). For "dinner", 2 simple small Krusteaz pancakes with peanut butter and a little syrup. Later, 1/4 of the same kind of bagel with cream cheese. 15 minutes before bed: Significantly diluted hot chocolate made from the various ingredients instead of a mix (cocoa powder, cinnamon, and sugar). Race morning, a serving size of hot quick oats mixed with peanut butter. At the start line, a 1/3 cut of not-quite-ripe banana, an orange slice, and a cup of hot chocolate. I didn't eat or drink anything for 1.5 hours before the race started. During the race: approximately 1/6 of a gel packet at every mile marker, except I abstained at 3 or 4 markers where I felt like I definitely didn't need it. In total, almost 4 gel packets. Other than 2 gel packets, I didn't get anything except water at aid stations, and I got about 2-3 sips of water at EVERY station. I did the whole race with 2/2 breathing.

Very slow walk, catching up on GC missed during yesterday's race (2.5 in 50:00)

Early morning walk while catching up on GC with my phone. (3.5 in 1:10:00)

Legs started to relax in the last couple of miles. Felt good. (5.55 in 55:45)

Legs are feeling more relaxed every day (8 in 1:14:57)