Just do it

Decided to try something new today.  I went down to Highland Drive and just started running.  I had my ID card with me so after I went about 7 miles, I caught the bus and came back.  It was a pretty sweet deal!

Went the Hogle Zoo route today.  Ended up being longer because it was from my house.  Still feeling some pain in my IT band and legs.

Legs are still feeling a bit tired this week.  I was going to go six but I got back to the school at 5.5 and decided to just stop.  No big deal.

50 minutes on the stairmaster today.  I don't like cross training on that thing because it's hard.  The elliptical is easy... Guess that's my lazy talk comin out.

I ran 8 miles South on Highland Drive and back.  Actually when I got to 7000 South there was a massive monster hill that I didn't want to climb so I went east for about a half a mile.  My AP was about 7:50.  I figured I would keep this one slower.  I have run this distance before but it was at about a 7:10 pace so I think this run helped me because I was on my feet for a longer period of time.  I ended up running for nearly 2:10 and that's the longest amount of time I have ever run.

I had to make a bathroom stop at Subway.  That's what's nice about Highland Drive.  There is a bathroom basically everywhere.  I actually used my fuel belt on this one.  I brought two little bottles of water (belt holds 4), a GU, and 2 endurolyte capsules.  I took the first capsule at about 4 miles and had the GU at 7.  That tasted really gross btw.  It was the Lemon Lime GU.  I then took my 2nd endurolyte pill at mile 12.  I noticed that I was sweating a lot of salt (as I usually do) and my legs were getting pretty fatigued.  I think I could have used more endurolytes for this one.  The amount of water was about right as I finished it off before I got home.  

Last time I ran 16 I didn't have any fuel or endurolytes but it was also still in the winter time so I didn't really sweat much.  The temp was pretty cool out today but it was warm enough for perspiration.  Felt good to get my long run out of the way.  Thanks to BB for idea to do the long run today instead of tomorrow.  Tomorrow I commission in the AF as a 2nd Lt so it's a pretty exciting time.  Next week I plan to do 18 and then 20 the week after.  From there I will start to taper to the race.  We'll see how it goes. 

Ran twice around the perimeter of Sugar House Park.  My legs were feeling pretty tired from yesterday but I managed to maintain a 7:30 AP.  I commission into the Air Force today as a 2nd Lieutenant.  What better way to start such a glorious day??

Rainy and cold... Lameness.  I ran over to East HS and did 6x800 meter intervals at 2:40 splits (5:20 pace)  My shorts got extremely soaked and were falling off on the 4th one.  Had to tie them before the last two.  I also got some extreme chaffing on my frontal chest section.  

 Along with that these intervals were quite difficult.  Considering I just ended track season I didn't think they would be that challenging but I still got through them.  May have been due partly to the weather.  My shoes were probably super heavy.  Did about a 2 mile warm up and cool down as well.

Did some spinning today for my cross training.  It's been a long while since I threw on the Pearl Izumi clipless and went at it.  I went for 50 minutes.  I did 10 minutes of warm up and then I did 4 minutes buildup to 1 minute recovery 8 times.  I changed up between hill climbing (harder and slower) to speed (easier but faster) randomly.  Doing the workout that way made it much more enjoyable and I was getting a pretty good sweat by the end.  AFter that I did some core work and some leg work.  The leg work was very minimal and light since I am not wanting super sore legs this week.

Ran out and back along the Hill AFB perimeter road.  Was going to do 8 today but looking over my week I saw that I wasn't going to be hurting for miles.  I figured i would just go short today.  Also did some weight training.

Today was interesting. Got out of bed with a mind full of many thoughts. I figured I would go on my run to sort things out a bit. As I went to grab my Nike's to get the inserts out of them, I realized that I couldn't find them.  Then I realized I had left them in Layton...CRAP!  

I had to make the drive because I wasn't going to do my run without the inserts.  After an hour of driving I was back.  It was nice because I was able to make some phone calls during the drive to sort some things out and I was feeling much better afterward.  

I went straight from Layton to the Jordan River Parkway Trail on 17th South.  I ran around the field for a mile warmup and then after some stretches I did my workout.  I did an 8 mile tempo run with an AP of 6:38.  It was pretty warm and I probably could have used some fuel for that effort.  Kind of dumb on my part not to bring any gu or endurolytes.  I got through it okay but I was a pretty tired by the end.  I did a mile cool down, stretched and then went home!  Talk about a crazy morning! 

Went out and back along 11th East heading North.  Turned around at 100 South.  I didn't really like that route because it was quite hilly but it was a nice change of scenery.  I saw Judge Memorial HS for the first time ever.  Crazy.  Did some core and lifting afterward followed by a nice ice bath.  Good day.  Half Marathon at Hill AFB tomorrow.  Only cost 5 bucks!  There are shirts, food and aid stations! I love the Air Force :)

Well this was the first time I had run this one.  I found out about this race on Wednesday when I went to the fitness center.  Thought it would be a good way to get some mileage on the Saturday.  I told Becca and she wanted to run it.  It was only $5 giving us aid stations every three miles with cool finishers coins.  Not bad!  

We got there at about 6:50.  Becca jumped on the treadmill and I went and ran 4 miles. Then we went out to the start.  As you can probably tell by my time and the fact that I got first, it was a pretty low key race with a small field.  I didn't intend to go fast at all and I feel like I kept a good pace.  When we started I noticed one guy that looked like he would be somewhat fast.  We went out and he was holding about a 6:50 pace.  I was fine with that. 

We hung together for quite a while.  He was a cool guy that had just commissioned in the Air Force about a year ago.  The fastest we got was on a downhill portion and it was 6:30 so it was good.  At one point we hit the turn that started heading uphill and were struck with horrible winds.  It was tough to run into those.  We just kept trucking along.  I had a lot of energy still and was planning to break away for the win toward the end.  At about mile 8 though he fell off the pace and I was out in front by myself.  At one point we hit crosswinds and I was running sideways.  

Kept my pace up and finished.  It was a fun race and a good training run.  I won a $45 gift certificate to Outback.  After getting back I ran back to find Becca.  Not bad Hill... Not bad. 

Ran to East HS and did 8x800.  I was a bit concerned about how fast I could go today because my legs are still a bit sore from the 18 miles on Sat. I did 2 miles warm up out there and then decided I would run them at about 2:45 with 2:30 rest in between.  My first one was 2:48 and after that I kept all the rest at 2:45 or under.  It was a good workout.  

Did 50 mins on the elliptical

Weather is still crappy but at least the rain was extremely light until near the end of my workout.  I drove to Liberty and did a 10 mile tempo run at 6:40 pace.  That's about where I would like race pace to be at the marathon.  Well... It would be great if I am there.  That would put me at a 2:55 and I got a cool pace tat for that time from lovely BB :)  However I will also be happy if I run under 3:00.  I will also be happy if I finish :)  Figure it out yet?  I would love to get a 2:55 or under 3 but since it's my first I am not too set on those goals.  Finishing will be a great accomplishment in my book so that's what I am shooting for.  

I did 1 mile warm up and cool down.  The tempo run was rather difficult unfortunately.  I actually ended up with an AP of 6:37 like last week's 8 miler so that's good.  My legs were tired from the leg work I did yesterday in the gym.  This workout was going to be on Thursday but I am changing my week to do the long run on Friday instead of Sat and I wasn't too excited about the idea of a 10 mile tempo followed by a 20 mile long run.  So I switched it up.  All things considered, I am quite happy with today and know that my body will do well for the race.

I brought a power gel today.  It was in my pocket.  After 1 lap around Liberty I decided it was rather annoying so I threw it next to a tree by the water fountain.  I figured it would be ok there.  Sure enough I hit six miles right there and I can't find it.  PISSED!!!  WHO TOOK MY GEL????  I think everyone understands how angry a runner can become if someone messes with his or her workout.  I was so angry!  I went over to the trash can and there it was at the bottom... STILL UNOPENED!!!  Who the crap throws away an unopened gel????  Let's think that maybe someone left it there for a reason!!!  You wouldn't throw away a water bottle!  Well perhaps if it was just a cheap one but still!!  ANGER!!!  I wanted to get a sign saying "Thank you for throwing my gel away so I could fish it out of the trash can to eat it."  I would have taped the eaten package to the sign.  Yeah... Anyways... I was mad.

Sure enough after I ate the gel and drank three swallows of water I was off.  My stomach started to make noises and I could feel a bubble of air move every time I stepped.  Not very enjoyable.  The rain also started heavier at about mile 8.  I felt like I was pace chasing the whole time.  I am not too comfortable with my pace memory for the 6:40.  I was looking at my watch every 10 seconds and felt like I had to keep adjusting.  Trying to pace of GPS watches is hard due to the delay. Another factor was that I stayed on the wood chips to lessen the impact on my legs.  That tends to make it a bit more difficult in my opinion.

Finished the run and came back to the training room.  I treated my legs to foam roller and an a cold whirlpool.  They are actually feeling really good now.  

Ran 6 miles on the treadmill today and it was extremely boring.  I just didn't feel like going out in the rain and I didn't think it would be that bad.  Oh well.  I also did some weight training and core after.

Probably one of the most horrible runs of my life.  My goal was to run 20 so that should already clue you in to some crappiness.  I had my fuel belt ready to go and started off on the Jordan River Parkway trail from 1700 South.  After about a half a mile I ran into a flooded part under the bridge.  I was able to get around it on the rocks.  Found another flooded part at about 3 miles.  Walked through a field and hopped two fences to continue on.  By this time my shoes were pretty soaked so that just made me angry.  Then at 4 miles I found a part that I would not get past.  Decided to give up on the path.  Went up and hopped the fence again and ran on the road.  

 By the time I got to 5 miles my achilles was getting painful.  This was very random considering I haven't had issues with it at all.  I was in a random place pretty far out so I was kinda lost.  By the time I got back I was at about 14 miles.  I was super stubborn so I kept running for 3 more.  I couldn't run Sat and I normally take Sunday off.  I went to watch BB run the Ogden marathon.  She ran it as a training run and did a great job!  

50 mins of elliptical.  Achilles didn't really hurt.  Did some light therapy and the cold whirlpool.  Hopefully I will be back running tomorrow or Wed.  Luckily last week I pretty much hit the peak of my training.  The 10 mile tempo run was completed at race pace and then I still got 17 miles in. I could have easily gone the full 20 at about a 7:15-30 pace had my Achilles not acted up.  These next 3 weeks are taper weeks.  I will admit that I got Achilles problems at the right time considering my running at this point isn't going to make a difference for the race.  I also did 18 miles the week before which included a half marathon in 1:33 and I felt great so I am confident that my body is ready.  Just need to baby the Achilles and be patient.  

Good news... No pain today.  My legs felt a bit heavy but that was probably due to some compensating and cautious running.  I will just need a couple of days to get back into the groove and not worrying about my Achilles.  I should be good to go now though.  These next 3 weeks are taper and then the marathon.  After that I plant to completely reset my body.  It will pretty much be the first break since the beginning of cross country which was before Sept.  I will take a week completely off from everything and then will spend a week cross training.  After that I have no idea when my next race will be so I will probably just stay at 30 mile weeks until I actually plan to race.  Then comes the speed work and what not.  That's my plan.  We shall see how it goes.

Tried to run a bit on a trail but it wasn't that great.  Felt some pain in the Achilles so I am unsure as to what is happening.  

My legs are feeling pretty crappy and I still feel the achilles slightly.  Perhaps it's just due to my lack of any speed work this week.  Just running 6 miles at a normal pace for 3 days in a row has made my legs a bit heavy.

Ran out and back in Layton.  Started on Antelope Drive just West of the big dip about 3/4 of a mile from Highway 89.  I ran about 6.3 miles out and then back.  Figured I might as well just add the extra .4 to make it 13 miles.

Heading out it was slightly downhill although I thought it was flat.  I was cruising at just above a 7:00 AP pretty much all the way.  I noticed the hillage when I started to come back.  I was feeling tenderness in my achilles and my high hamstring on the right leg.  I made it through ok with nothing debilitating though.  I was pretty dead by the end unfortunately.