May the Mass x Acceleration be with you

4 miles through Pleaseant Valley in 30:46 (7:41/mile)

Feeling pretty good today. I ran across an acquaintance from college days. She was a senior when I was a freshman, and she was going back to school, so was 30 at the time. It took a few seconds to recognize her, but we stopped and chatted for a few minutes. Beautiful sunny day, cool, but not freezing.

8:09 - 7:40 - 7:31 - 7:27

6 miles on Military in 47:08 (7:51/mile)

Splits: 7:48 - 7:39 - 7:53 - 7:46 - 8:04 - 7:59

3.1 miles around Mayfair in 25:12 (8:08/mile)

I wasn't scheduled to run today, but it was sunny out and I was feeling fine, so decided to take an easy stroll in the neighborhood. I figured I'd run 2 miles, 3 if I was feeling good.

Splits: 8:07 - 8:07 - 8:09

10 miles on Vickory in 1:18:43 (7:52/mile)

This was the longest run I've done in quite a while. I hate the fact that 10 miles is considered a long run for me right now. Other than that, though, I was pretty happy with how things went. The knee did pretty well, energy was OK, nothing to complain about. I see the first mile was unusually slow. Everything else was about normal, though.

I also cleared 30 miles for the week, the most in some time. Since the 3rd week of October

Splits: 8:32 - 7:55 - 7:53 - 7:51 - 7:44 - 7:46 - 7:43 - 7:42 - 7:48 - 7:50

7 miles on Military in 54:32 (7:47/mile)

I got busy on Monday, and it was pouring down rain and cold both Monday and Tuesday, so I ended up with 3 days off.

Splits: 7:48 - 7:39 - 7:57 - 7:46 - 7:41 - 7:47 - 7:56

Easy 4 on Military in 32:12 (8:03/mile)

8:14 - 7:51 - 8:03 - 8:04

6 miles on Vickory in 47:12 (7:52/mile)

Dry cold days continue. It was around 40 when I ran, mostly sunny, no wind. Pretty great day for a run. I was feeling pretty good in the middle miles, but forced myself to not run faster since I am running long again tomorrow.

8:20 - 7:52 - 7:41 - 7:47 - 7:48 - 7:44

12 miles on Vickory in 1:37:48 (8:09/mile)

4 days in a row, a pretty good accomplishment for me. That made this run all the more difficult, though. I was tired from the get go. At four miles I felt like I could stop right then. The plan was to run 10, but if I was feeling good I'd go for 12. But of course, I really wanted to do 12, so I did. I figured it didn't matter how slowly I ran, as long as I got the miles in.

I waited until 2 to run, hoping it would warm up just a tad more. I did get up near 40, but the run was long enough it was getting cold again, and darker, by the end.

Splits: 8:36 - 7:57 - 7:54 - 8:08 - 7:59 - 7:59 - 7:59 - 8:11 - 8:15 - 8:18 - 8:13 - 8:19

4 miles to Celebration Park and back in 32:09 (8:02/mile)

Feeling OK today. The knee did really well during the 12 miler on Saturday, but was tight all weekend. Today it was a little sore for about 5 minutes, then it loosened up and was fine the rest of the run.

Splits: 8:05 - 7:56 - 7:49 - 8:19

2 mile warm up in 15:53 (8:03 - 7:50)

3 miles at marathon pace or so in  21:16.1 (7:05/mile)
A little challenging for me, but a good run. The legs and lungs aren't used to running much faster than 7:30, so it was probably a moderate effort, but a bit harder than that on uphills.
Splits: 7:20.4 - 7:01.7 - 6:54

2 mile cool down in 16:16 (8:21 - 7:56)

6 miles on Military in 46:19 (7:43/mile)

Beautiful, sunny day, low 40s. I wore shorts, and took of the jacket at 3 miles.

My left achilles has been a little sore and tight since last night. Not sure where that came from since I didn't run yesterday. It was barely noticeable during the run today, but did make me forget about the knee.

I meant to go extra easy today so I would have the option of running long tomorrow instead of Saturday, but I'm afraid 7:43 pace is probably a little too fast for that. I don't know, we'll see how I feel tomorrow.

7:48 - 7:34 - 7:52 - 7:26 - 7:47 - 7:54

4.04 miles through Pleasant Valley in 31:53 (7:53/mile)

Just squeezing in a short run before heading to Whidbey Island for the long weekend.

Splits: 7:59 - 7:48 - 7:57 - 7:49

13.11 miles on Whidbey Island (Honeymoon Bay route) in 1:51 (8:28/mile)

Splits: 8:57 - 7:54 - 8:56 - 8:22 - 8:51 - 7:58 - 8:22 - 8:48 - 7:58 - 8:27 - 8:13 - 8:46 - 8:34 - 0:55

I had forgotten how hilly it is on the island. Pretty easy to tell by the splits where the hills were. I took it extra easy so I wouldn't run out of gas late in the run. This is supposed to be a relaxing weekend with friends. I was pretty zonked the rest of the day.

Easy 4.03 miles through Pleasant Valley in 32:47 (8:08/mile)

Short run after getting home from the island. My knee was a little tight and sore today.

Splits: 8:33 - 7:58 - 8:06.5 - 7:56

8 miles on Military in 1:03:37 (7:57/mile)

This was the worst my knee has felt in some time. Off and on sore. Hopefully the day off will help.

It was cold, but I had forgotten to bring pants or hat. It was probably around 37-38 degrees, but no sun. It still only took a few minutes to warm up, though.

Splits: 7:54 - 7:45 - 8:02 - 7:39 - 8:04 - 7:48 - 8:12 - 8:13

7 miles on Military in 56:16 (8:02/mile)

Feeling pretty good today, and the knee was much better than on Tuesday. I remembered to bring pants today, but I ended up being much too warm. Oh well.

Splits: 7:50 - 7:49 - 8:11 - 7:54 - 7:52 - 8:17 - 8:23

15.22 miles on Vickory in 2:03:03 (8:05/mile)

Maybe getting a little reckless here, bumping up by more than 2 miles, and only 6 days after my last long run. Problem is I am going to have a tough time getting in the long runs over the next three weekends.

Felt pretty good. The last miles definitely felt like a long run, but really not that bad or tired. The knee was pretty well behaved, and only one dog tried to threaten me. He was only knee hight, though, and his owner was there to stop him.

Splits: 8:19 - 7:55 - 7:51 - 7:53 - 7:53 - 7:55 - 7:47 - 8:04 - 8:36 - 8:02 - 8:07 - 8:01 - 8:12 - 8:11 - 8:26

4 Easy miles through Pleasant Valley in 34:24

Today was particularly slow, partly due to being tired from yesterday's long run, and partly because I had a bad case of low blood sugar which hit me just before half way.

Splits: 8:35 - 8:25 - 8:49 - 8:36

8 miles on Military Road in 1:01:16 (7:39.5/mile)

I want to rev up my runs just a bit. I decided I would just concentrate on keeping the average pace to 7:40 or under for now. That's a pace I can run comfortably and easily, but I have to intentionally do it. If I don't pay attention I will drift to a slower pace, not because I need to but because I get lazy.

Splits: 7:39 - 7:34 - 7:53 - 7:29 - 7:44 - 7:33 - 7:48 - 7:37

Easy 5 miles on the WTC/CH trails in 41:07 (8:13/mile)

It's been a while since I've run on the trails since they have been aggravating my knees. Decided to give it a try today and it went just fine. The mud puddles were small and easy to get around. Pretty smooth sailing.

6 miles through Celebration Park and the Bonneville trail in 48:11 (8:02/mile)

Feeling a little sluggish today. It was cool and dry and there were plenty of walkers out on the Bonneville trail.

Splits: 7:54 - 8 - 8:03 - 8:08 - 7:58 - 8:08

10.2 miles on Vickory in 1:21:08 (7:57/mile)

This was my pseduo long run for the week. I'll be at the BSF retreat over the weekend and there will be 0 time to run. Kinda disappointed how I ran out of gas after 8. I'm used to running 8 now, and it feels easy.

Splits: 8:17 - 7:58 - 7:57 - 7:51 - 7:45 - 8 - 7:57 - 7:46 - 7:56 - 8:04 - 1:37 (8:07)

4 miles on the Burnt Bridge Creek Trail in 31:11 (7:48/mile)

Stayed in Vancouver over night since the retreat is in Portland. That way I had time to slip in a short run beforehand.

8:30 - 7:32 - 7:29 - 7:40

8 miles on Military in 1:00:51 (7:37/mile)

I wasn't feeling up for running very quickly today, but managed to slip into the sub-7:40 pace without thinking about it. That's encouraging. After the first 2-3 miles I felt pretty good.

Splits: 7:34 - 7:36 - 7:41 - 7:28 - 7:35 - 7:28 - 7:48 - 7:41

Easy 4 on the trails in 33:20

16 miles on Vickory in 2:09:38 ()

We're heading to Disneyland this weekend, so I moved the long run up to mid-week this week. That way I only have about 1 1/2 weeks between long runs at both ends.

This was one of those runs where, 3 miles into it I was wondering how I was going to make 16 miles. I decided as long as I was not already dragging slower than 8 I should be OK, it would just be tough.

I forgot my Garmin at work and seemed to miss every other mile mark most of the time. Pretty consistenly decent the first half. There are some big hills in the second half that slowed me way down. The fourth 2-mile block was probably faster than that as it is the main downhill. I stopped for a potty break and forgot to restart my watch I guess.

Splits:
2 - 15:40
4 - 15:44
6 - 15:41
8 - 15:40 (approx)
10 - 16:42 (uphill)
11 - 7:50
12 - 8:44 (uphill)
14 - 16:36
15 - 8:45 (just tired)
16 - 8:15

5.1 miles through Pleasant Valley in 41:32 (8:09/mile)

Splits: 8:18 - 8:03 - 8:03 - 8:11 - 8:08

5.15 miles to Santa Ana River Trail and back  in 40:29 (7:51/mile)

Just got to our hotel at Disneyland and went out for a run. Perfect weather, of course. Sunny upper 50s

Splits: 7:59 - 7:44 - 7:55 - 7:51 - 7:45

8.15 miles on Santa Ana River Trail in 1:05:28 (8:02/mile)

Felt pretty good today, just taking it easy and enjoying the view.

Splits: 7:54 - 7:53 - 8:13 - 8:19 - 8:18 - 7:59 - 7:54 - 7:45

4.03 miles through Pleasant Valley in 32:47 (8:07)

First run in several days. I found this pretty tiring, and was sore afterwards.

Splits: 8:05 - 8:8 - 8:14 - 8:04

5.02 mils through Pleasant Valley in 40:31 (8:04/mile)

8:09 - 7:57 - 8:04 - 8:11 - 8:04

7.04 miles on Vickory in 55:58 (7:57/mile)

8:16 - 7:59 - 7:50 - 7;55 - 7:56 - 7:54 - 7:47

8.01miles on Military in 1:04:26 (8:02/mile)

7;56 - 7:50 - 8:16 - 7:54 - 8:08 - 7:54 - 8:09 - 8:11

10.2 miles to Interruban Trail and back in 1:21:53 (8:01/mile)

7:52 - 8:00 - 8:07 - 7:52 - 7:41 - 8:09 - 8:25 - 8:06 - 7:53 - 8:07

7.03 miles on Allison Lop in 55:30 (7:53/mile)

Splits: 8:13 - 7:43 - 7:59 - 7:51 - 7:52 - 7:52 - 7:46

Exhausting run. It's been several weeks since my last long run and I felt it. I wanted to go 18, but decided there was no value in grinding through .8 more miles on legs that were already sapped.

I felt OK through 8 miles, then I started to slow down somewhat. I was pretty wiped at this point. Then, after 14 miles I hit another level of tired and I was just crawling along the last 3.2 miles

Splits:
1 - 8:21
2 - 8:00
3 - 7:53
4 - 8:03
5 - 7:48
6 - 8:00
7 - 7:44
8 - 8:03
9 - 8:19
10 - 8:57
11 - 8:25
12 - 8:23
13 - 8:15
14 - 8:24
15 - 8:44
16 - 9:11
17 - 9:13

5.03 miles in 41:24 (8:14/mile)

Still pretty wiped from the long run 2 days ago.

Splits: 8:20 - 8:10 - 8:11 - 8:16 - 8:13

10 miles on Vickory in 1:21:33 (8:09/mile)

Feeling better. Still running slowly, though.

Splits: 8:17 - 8:06 - 8:15 - 8:21 - 8:09 - 8:00 - 8:07 - 7:54 - 8:17 - 8:08

10 miles on Vickory in 1:19:14 (7:55/mile)

Much better today, and the pace was more reasonable, too.

Splits: 8:07 - 7:57 - 8:02 - 7:58 - 7:50 - 8:00 - 7:47 - 7:51 - 7:56 - 7:47

5 miles thru Pleasant Valley in 39:56 (7:59/mile)

My runs may not be very fast, but at least I'm getting more consistent. The goal is 5 days a week right now. I tried to pick up the pace a bit the last mile.

Splits: 8:28 - 8:01 - 7:54 - 7:55 - 7:40

9 miles on Vickory in 1:13:07 (8:07/mile)

This was supposed to be a 14 mile medium-long run. My knee is back to its old tricks, though. It was a pain the whole time, so I cut it short. Also, I didn't have my Garmin :(

Splits:
4 - 32:26
4.5 - 3:59
6 - 11:59
8 - 16:36
9 - 8:08

10 miles down to and along the Interurban trail and back in 1:18:20 (7:50/mile)

So glad I ran today. My knee was bugging me all morning, but once I started running it felt fine, and the run felt great! Despite weather.com's warning the rain never was more than a light sprinkle.

Splits: 7:39 - 7:49 - 7:57 - 7:50 - 7:34 - 8:09 - 8:11 - 7:50 - 7:47 - 7:35

Zero running. I gave blood this morning, so no running until tomorrow.

Easy 6 miles on BPA in 48:59 (8:10/mile)

Splits: 8:00 - 8:01 - 8:12 - 8:17 - 8:07 - 8:21

8 miles on Vickory in 1:04:32 (8:04/mile)

Splits: 8:02 - 8:01 - 8:12 - 8:09 - 8:03 - 8:07 - 8:04 - 7:54

19 miles on Vickory and Allison loop in 2:33:43

Much better than the last couple long runs. I actually felt pretty good the whole time. The weather didn't quite cooperated. It was dry for 10 miles, then I got caught in a downpour. I managed to resist the temptation to call it quits early when I stopped off at home briefly at 12 miles.

I felt prety good and strong through 16 miles. The 17th I really worked at it to try to keep the pace at 8/mile. I managed to do it, but ran out of gas, so I just coasted the last 2 miles. I think if I was taking gatorade or some other carbs I might've been able to do it.

Splits:
8:25
8:00
7:54
7:58
7:46
7:57
7:57
8:13
7:57
7:58
8:04
7:52
8:10
7:55
8:05
8:06
8:04
8:31
8:51

Easy 3.5 miles on the trails in 29:49 (8:31/mile)

Supposed to be 4, but I was so tired I stopped a little early.

2 mile warm up in 16:33 (8:19 - 8:15)

4 mile light tempo in 28:58 (7:14/mile)

Closer to marathon pace, though there's no way I could run a whole marathon at that pace right now. Felt good, and each mile felt easier than the last.

Splits: 7:22 - 7:17 - 7:11 - 7:08

2 mile cool down in 15:48 (8:03 - 7:46)

10 miles through Pleasant Valley and Waller Road in 1:19:54 (7:59/mile)

The last 2 miles my Achilles started to flare up. Probably because I'm running in my old shoes.

splits: 8:03 - 8:01 - 7:58 - 7:53 - 7:45 - 8:13 - 7:53 - 8:04 - 8:09 - 7:57

14 miles on Vickory in 1:57:24 (8:23/mile)

I'm feeling a bit run down today. The run felt OK, just didn't have any energy and the pace showed it. 2 miles into it I thought about quitting, but decided I wasn't really feeling bad, just slow. Achilles was tight, but didn't not flare up like on Friday. I took yesterday off as a precaution.

Splits: 8:40 - 8:29 - 8:07 - 8:11 - 8:10 - 8:15 - 7:56 - 8:52 - 8:10 - 8:20 - 8:31 - 8:30 - 8:38 - 8:35

RHR: 53

Easy 4 through Pleasant Valley in 32:50 (8:13/mile)

Still feeling run down today. Achilles is fine.

Splits: 8:16 - 8:05 - 8:18 - 8:11

RHR: 55

10 miles on Military in 1:21:14 (8:07/mile)

I didn't have my Garmin so the splits are approximate. Still feeling a little run down, but better than yesterday.

Splits: 8:06 - 7:57 - 8:20 - 7:45 - 8:02 - 8:22 - 8:02 - 7:58 - 8:19 - 8:23

RHR 54

5 miles through Pleasant Valley in 39:59 (8/mile)

Splits: 8:12 - 8:01 - 7:50 - 8:03 - 7:53

RHR: 56

21 miles in 2:46:29 (7:56/mile)

Ran down Yakima to Wright park, used the bathroom and then ran back.

My goal on these long runs lately has been to run an easy, relaxed pace the first 2/3 or so and then just focus on trying to keep each of the last miles under 8, for as long as I can. Last week I managed to stay close to 8 through mile 17, then I ran out of gas and had to just jog the last 2.

I figured I should be able to do the same this week through 19, since that is how far I ran two weeks ago. It went better than expected. In fact, each of my long runs has gotten easier even as they have gotten longer. That's typical.

I managed to keep my average pace under 8 through 16, and then each individual mile under 8 was actually not that hard. The last two I even sped up a little bit. My knee didn't give me any problems either.

Splits:
1 7:59
2 - 7:53
3 - 7:54
4 - 8:03
5 - 8:08
6 - 7:55
7 - 7:55
8 - 7:50
9 - 7:56
10 - 8:02
11 - 8:15
12 - 7:48
13 - 7:58
14 - 7:56
15 - 7:52
16 - 7:48
17 - 7:54
18 - 7:50
19 - 7:54
20 - 7:54
21 - 7:45

RHR: 52

10 miles on Vickory in 1:18:04 (7:48/mile)

Felt really good today. It was around 60 degrees. I wished I had worn a short-sleeve shirt today. The knee has been doing pretty well since that one really bad day a couple weeks ago. I feel like I am returning to my old self.

Splits: 8:02 - 7:51 - 7:51 - 7:46 - 7:45 - 7:58 - 7:44 - 7:48 - 7:42 - 7:38

rhr 54

Easy 4 on the trails in 34:13 (distance approximate)

Feeling a little tired, but otherwise good.

rhr 52

2 mile warmup in 16:01

4 mile light tempo run in 27:44 (6:56/mile)

My Garmin was out of juice and I couldn't find my recharger, so I had to go with my regular watch. As a result, I probably ran a little faster than I would otherwise have done, since I couldn't really check my pace except at the mile marks. Still felt good, not too hard. Harder than a marathon pace effort for sure, but not a very hard tempo pace.

Splits: 7:02.6 - 7:01.8 - 6:49.8 - 6:49.7

2 mile cool down in 16:01

6.02 miles on Vickory in 47:02 (7:49/mile)

15 miles on Vickory in 1:59:44 (7:59/mile)

Shorter long run. The first half went fine. Then the rain came, along with the wind. Just as I started up one of the main hills of the course. The rest of the run I ran from storm to storm. Yuck!

Splits: 8:06 - 7:51 - 7:47 - 7:52 - 7:45 - 7:42 - 7:30 - 7:55 - 8:23 - 8:03 - 8:15 - 8:05 - 8:08 - 8:22 - 8:00

10 miles in 1:19:49 (7:59/mile)

2 mile warmup, 4 miles faster, 2 mile cool down in 1:00:15 (7:32/mile)

On the first faster mile, which includes uphill, I forgot to run faster. This was not meant to be a tempo run. Just trying to break out of my rut.

Splits:
Warmup 7:49 - 7:39
4 miler: 7:47 - 7:14 - 7:19 - 7:12
Cooldown 7:52 - 7:23

23 miles in 3:05:09 (8:03/mile)

Woah this run was hard. Well, the last 2 miles was hard. I did my usual thing of just trying to keep around 8/mile through 16 or so, then focus on each mile being faster than 8. I made it to mile 21 1/4. Then I hit the wall. I could feel it. Everything in my legs just drained out and within about 100 meters I was running way slower. Check out those last two splits, even with some downhill!

Splits: 8:08 - 7:56 - 7:48 - 7:51 - 7:40 - 7:52 - 7:39 - 7:53 - 8:01 - 8:27 - 7:51 - 8:00 - 7:57 - 7:53 - 7:54 - 7:57 - 8:21 (uphill) - 7:45 - 7:59 - 7:55 - 7:58 - 8:47 - 9:36

Easy 4 on the trails in 33:22

10 miles with a marathon-pace/tempo effort. In 1:15:39

The goal was to run 2 mile warmup, 6 miles at a light tempo, 2 mile cool down. However, the 5th mile is a fairly long, steep hill, and by the time I got to the top I was slower than 8, so I jogged the rest of that mile and called the run two long intervals - 4 miles and 2. I think that was a good adjustment, and it went well.

Splits:
Warmup: 7:46 - 7:51

Workout:
4 miles : 7:28 - 7:16 - 7:04 - 7:12
Recovery: 8:22
2 miles: 6:58 - 7:06

Cool down: 8:36

Easy 4 through Pleasant Valley in 33:11

7 miles on Military in 54:56 (7:51/mile)

All splits under 8!

7:53 - 7:39 - 7:56 - 7:51 - 7:46 - 7:59 - 7:52

5.06 miles on Vickory in 40:27 (8:00/mile)

I had a plan to run 14 miles today with some faster pacing over the second half. However, after 3 days off I wasn't feeling it. Also my knee was bugging me. So, I cut it short and moved the longer run til tomorrow.

Splits: 8:11 - 7:58 - 7:52 - 7:59 - 7:57

12 miles on Military Road to Interurban trail and back in 1:30:01 (7:30/mile)

Makeup for yesterday. The plan was to run the first 2 miles easy, then speed up to around 7:30 pace for 8-10 miles. My thinking here was, if I could run that pace easily for 10 miles I might be able to handle 7:40 in the marathon.

Felt good right off the start and just kept going. However, the uphills in the second half costed me and I ran out of gas in the 11th mile. Better to take a cool down mile anyways.

I'm pretty sure I could handle a 7:30 pace through 21-22 miles of the marathon. However, I don't want to race it and don't really want to hurt that much. 7:40 pace definitely seems reasonable for an easy-moderate effort.

Splits: 7:31 - 7:19 - 7:32 - 7:17 - 7:15 - 7:09 - 7:35 - 7:28 - 7:22 - 7:17 - 7:28 - 8:52

6 miles on Military in 46:26 (7:44/mile)

Feeling good today

Splits: 7:36 - 7:38 - 7:57 - 7:34 - 8:00 - 7:43

Easy 4 miles through pleasant valley. I didn't take a watch so don't know what the pace was

6 miles on Military in 46:53 (7:49/mile)

Seem to be running under 7:50 more consistently. Weight is down about 8 pounds from 3 months ago, too - from 185 to 177.5.

Not sure what happened those last 2 miles, but I ran out of gas. Was actually unusually tired all day.

Splits: 7:41 - 7:38 - 7:55 - 7:33 - 8:04 - 8:02

Easy 4.15 on the trails in 34:49 (8:23/mile)

No running. Instead I spent about 8 hours potting plants for upcoming sales.

4.05 miles easy on the trails in 33:30 (8:17/mile)

Feeling pretty tired from yesterday's PotAPalooza.

3 miles, checking on my plant sale signs, in 22:56 (7:39/mile)

I threw in a mile of marathon pace effort at the end and found it was surprisingly easy to run 7:10.

Splits: 7:52 - 7:54 - 7:10

Not an ideal day for the day before a marathon. I was having a plant sale and had an unexpectedly large crowd of customers. As a result, I was on my feet from 10:30 until around 3:30, with little rest. Also got a sunburn.

Good sale. Bad taper.

Tacoma City Marathon in 3:33:32 (8:09/mile) (I should've run 1 second slower!)

I set a new slow for marathons. Not worried, though. I approached this race as just for fun. After a year of injured running, I was just glad to be able to run the full distance. The main reason for running was because my brother was in town from St. Louis for the marathon. Unfortunately, he beat me. My PR is 18 minutes faster than his, but not ready to race.

I kind of struggled with this concern in the weeks leading up to the race, but decided it wasn't worth the stress to try to beat him.

We ran together much of the race. It was a fun time just to be able to do that. My parents, wife and niece were at several places along the way to cheer for us.

During the race my main strategy was to run as slow on the uphills as felt comfortable - no pushing. Then on the flats and downhills I just coasted to catch back up with my brother.

The heat climbed throughout the day - hottest day of the year so far by about 10 degrees. The last few miles were pretty tough, but as tired and hot as my brother and I were, we still were passing other runners left and right, many of whom were walking.

All in all, I'm fine with the race. The course was not as easy and fast as advertised. It is a net downhill, but all of Tacoma is rolling hills, and there were a few pretty tough ones, too. The last mile was mostly uphill, but a 1/4 mile downhill into the finish. My legs didn't run out too badly, but when I tried to speed up those last couple miles my head got woozy, so I held back and slogged through.

Splits:
1 - 7:53
2 - 7:44
3 - 8:02
4 - 7:57
5 - 8:14
6 - 7:52
7 - 7:38
8 - 7:37
9 - 7:52
10 - 7:35
11 - 7:37
12 - 7:46
13 - 7:52
14 - 7:59
15 - 8:06
16 - 7:50
17 - 8:04
18 - 7:58
19 - 8:32
20 - 7:58
21 - 8:20
22 - 8:19
23 - 8:35
24 - 8:42
25 - 9:23
26 - 9:54
26.22 - 1:42.6

Short run to see how I was feeling. Feeling pretty good the first half, but sluggish the 2nd half.

5.02 miles in 40:09 (8/mile)

7:53 - 7:46 - 8:09 - 8:18 - 7:53

3.01 miles to setup signs. Also ran up/down Golden Given hill in 23:23 (7:46/mile)

Feeling pretty good now. Decided I need more hills, so am going to throw in this hill when I do this loop.

7:48 - 7:43 - 7:47

4.73 miles through Pleasant Valley in 37:33 (7:50/mile)

Not sure why this was so short of 5 miles.

Splits: 7:54 - 8:05 - 7:45 - 7:35 - 7:52 pace

6 miles in 46:06 (7:41/mile)

Trying to get my pace a little faster on normal days.

Splits: 7:35 - 7:32 - 7:43 - 7:35 - 7:48 - 7:54

Easy 2.56 miles in 21:12 (8:17/mile).

I ran out to the rhody garden, walked and ran through it, and then ran back.

8 miles on Military in 1:00:59 (7:37/mile)

Feeling good today.

Splits: 7:33 - 7:14 - 7:49 - 7:23 - 7:43 - 7:30 - 7:57 - 7:52

7;15 AM

2.85 miles on my sign route in 21:33 (7:34/mile)

I run around and setup/check on my plant sale signs

Splits: 7:35 - 7:33- 7:35 pace

7:50 AM

5 miles through Pleasant Valley in 37:18 (7:28/mile)

Quick run, feeling good. Usually I am so sluggish in the morning, but doing pretty well today. Didn't meat to run quite so quickly. I am trying to speed up and not allow myself to just run a shuffling pace of 8. I want to get more used to these quicker paces.

Splits: 7:44 - 7:32 - 7:29 - 7:20 - 7:14

12:15

8 miles on Military in 1:03:43 (7:58/mile)

Felt pretty wiped today. I guess being on my feet all day for four days of plant sales tired me out!

Splits: 7:51 - 7:44 - 8:06 - 7:52 - 8 - 7:47 - 8:10 - 8:15

11:15 AM

6 mils on Military in 45:08 (7:31/mile)

Earning my taco salad today.

Splits: 7:47 - 7:22 - 7:38 - 7:18 - 7:34 - 7:27

7:00 AM

3.15 miles in 22:55 (7:16/mile)

Felt good for an early morning run ;) Had to put that in there for those of you who run at ridiculously early times when people are supposed to be sleeping.

Splits: 7:24 - 7:16 - 7:15 - (6:40 pace)

5 miles through Pleasant Valley in 37:22 (7:29/mile)

Quick run, sunny, cool.

7:40 - 7:35 - 7:25 - 7:26 - 7:16

I was supposed to go 10 miles today, but I was feeling a little worn from the plant sale, so decided to postpone that until tomorrow. Instead I just ran an easy 5 on the trails in 40:36 (8:07/mile)

Supposed to run 10 today, but then I remembered it was blood donation day. No running for 24 hours. So much for trying to ramp up this week and get back on track. Oh well, good cause and all that.

They checked my pulse, which was about 55 at the time. Nurse asked, "Are you a runner?" She said if my pulse were lower than 45 I couldn't give blood. Didn't know that. Also, if my iron gets much higher I won't be able to, either. I guess I'm just too healthy!

2.75 miles setting up signs in 21:21 (7:46/mile)

Still feeling a little worn out from giving blood I guess

6 miles on Military in 48:25 (8:04/mile)

I'm still feeling run down. Hopefully will be doing better by the weekend.

8:04 - 7:38 - 8:08 - 7:45 - 8:21 - 8:28

2.9 miles checking on signs in 22:09 (7:38/mile)

Still feeling a little run down, so didn't add the hill.

7:40 - 7:37 - 7:38 pace

8 miles on Military in 1:02:31 (7:49/mil)

Not feeling too good today. Stomach has been bothering be a little since last night. I was hoping the run would help, and it did, but I was pretty much wiped the rest of the day.

Now it is time to start getting back into decent shape. Hopefully will get the mileage up to 50+ with the occasional workout. My plant sales are finally done, so hopefully I'll have more time/energy for running, and for logging the runs.

Splits: 7:32 - 7:35 - 8:03 - 7:40 - 7:51 - 7:45 - 8:04 - 8:02

10 miles to Interurban trail and back in 1:18:25 (7:51/mile)

Since I was feeling better today than yesterday, and the 8 miles went pretty smoothly yesterday even though my stomach was bothering me, I decided to do the 10 today. Went smoothly, plenty of energy for the distance. I short run would've been too easy. Mostly sunny today, but I still managed to get caught in a downpour for about 10 minutes.

7:42 - 7:57 - 7:57 - 7:44 - 7:34 - 8:18 - 8:08 - 7:54 - 7:45 - 7:25

Kind of a light tempo run, or a short marathon pace run maybe.

2 mile warm up in 15:29 (7:45/mile)

4 mile light tempo run in 28:41 (7:10/mile)

A little slower than I'd hoped. I did work for several hours in the nursery yesterday so was probably a bit tired from that. Also, I did a pretty good job of not pushing very hard. Just a casual light tempo effort.

Splits: 7:09 - 7:04 - 7:20 - 7:08

2 mile cool down in 15:47

Easy 3.5 miles on the trails in 28:30.

Brought the camera to take pictures of some trees and plants in the woods.

Easy 1.5 in 12:23

This was supposed to be a 12 mile "long" run. For some reason I thought I could knock that out pretty easily, even after working pretty hard in the nursery for four hours beforehand. After 3/4 of a mile struggling to run 8:15 pace I decided my time would be better spent working more in the nursery, so I did.

12 miles on Military Road in 1:33:57 (7:50/mile)

Finally got my 12 miler in. The hills in the second half got to me, but other than that it was pretty smooth sailing. The right knee is only a minor aggravation now, and the left knee doesn't bother me at all.

It was a beautiful sunny day, upper 60s, still a little muggy today, but much better than yesterday for running.

7:57 - 7:44 - 7:59 - 7:37 - 7:35 - 7:33 - 7:54 - 7:48 -  7:41 - 7:38 - 8:09 - 8:23

Easy 4 on the trails in 34:51

Feeling pretty tired today. I guess 12 miles was longer than I thought for my current condition.

Easy 4.04 miles through Pleasant Valley in 32:41 (8:06/mile)

Still feeling the fatigue from Monday. Crazy. Oh well, at least nothing's hurting too much.

Splits: 8:18 - 7:59 - 8:06 - 7:59

2.03 mile warmup in 15:12 (7:37 + 7:24 = 7:31/mile)

4 mile tempo run in 27:31 (6:53/mile)

I wish it wasn't as hard of an effort as it was to get under 7, but I'm glad I did it. Only on the uphills was I very tired. Even at the end, on the flat the pace was pretty comfortable. Compared to last week, this was harder effort, but quite a bit faster (28:41 vs 27:31). Still about 3 minutes off where I was last year in April, but oh well. Progress.

Splits: 7:00.4 - 6:49.5 - 6:59.3 - 6:42.7

2 mile cool down in 16:26 (8:13/mile)

Easy 1.63 miles checking on signs, in 12:33 (7:41/mile)

A little tired after yesterday's effort.

4 miles around neighborhood in 30:37 (7:39/mile)

Feeling a little better today. However, my knee started to hurt quite a bit over the last half mile of the run.

7:43 - 7:31 - 7:34 - 7:50

Easy 3.02 on the trails in 26:18 (8:43/mile)

Feeling realy sluggish today, and my right knee was still pretty sore. So, instead of running the 12 I had planned on doing I just did an easy 3.

10 miles to Interurban trail and back in 1:18:02 ()

A little slower than I'd hoped overall. I also was hoping to get the run done before the rain started. No such luck. At about 4 1/2 miles it started. I was concerned about chafing so I took off my shirt. Ran about 2 1/2 miles like that, with people looking at me like I was nuts. A couple times I stopped under a tree for a bit to wait for a downpour to lighten up. The rain steadily worsened and I noticed I was just under the tip of a long, columnar black cloud that was slowing moving the same direction as me.

At one point, with about 3 miles to go I was standing under some trees. I heard a few rumblings of thunder. So, put the shirt back on and started off again. It was like a sheet of rain. If I had been running in the shower I would not have been any wetter. Yet it kept getting worse and worse. As a result, I ran pretty fast for a couple miles. Alll of a sudden it stopped, relatively speaking, and the last 2 miles were run in peace with just a few sprinkles.

Splits:
7:41
7:49
8:01
7:53
7:34
8:06 - uphill
8:12 - uphill
6:59 - Heavy downpour
7:38
8:09

Easy 3 to Pleasant Valley and back in 24:55 (8:18/mile)

I hate runs like these. Not hot, but muggy. Ran right after eating some cinnamon rolls and a frappacino. Hypoglycemia set in. Knee hurting. Overall, ucky run.

Splits: 8:17 - 8:09 - 8:30

8 miles on Military Road in 57:44 (7:13/mile)

Faster tempo run today. The goal was sub-7:20, then decided sub 7:15. Felt pretty good. Only the uphills are a challenge at this pace. Not hot yet, but very muggy. My moisture-wicking t-shirt was completely drenched.
This run suggests that sometime in the next 12-16 weeks I should be ready to run a sub 3:10 marathon.

Splits: 7:16 - 6:59 - 7:34 - 6:59 - 7:11 - 7:06 - 7:20 - 7:19

4 miles through Pleasant Valley in 31:17 (7:49/mile)

Hot today, got up to 90.

6.5 miles on Military in 50:31 (7:46/mile)

Another scorcher today, but not as hot as yesterday. I think the high was around 89 at home. The biggest problem for me was that I forgot my hat, and my moisture wicking t shirt wasn't evaporating.

Overall the pace was relaxed, but I threw in some strides in the last mile, first time in forever I've done strides.

Splits: 7:51 - 7:39 - 7:55 - 7:36 - 7:59 - 7:42 - 3:49

8.55 miles on Weyerhaeuser Way, towards Interurban Trail, and back in 1:06:57 (7:50/mile)

Feeling better in the knee this week.

Splits: 7:48 - 7:46 - 7:55 - 7:42 - 7:59 - 7:53 - 7:45 - 7:52

12.05 miles on Vickory in 1:32:46 (7:42/mile)

Decided not to run in the Four on the Fourth race today, since I didn't want to. Instead, after some work in the nursery I ran a long run. It stayed cloudy and cool in the morning, so by noon was still not too warm yet.

Splits: 7:59 - 7:46 - 7:48 - 7:44
7:42 - 7:43 - 7:43 - 7:42
7:35 - 7:31 - 7:38 - 7:31

5.02 miles through Pleasant Valley in 40:05 (7:59/mile)

Splits: 8:03 - 7:56 - 7:54 - 8:03 - 7:58

2 mile warm up in 15:25 (7:43/mile)

4 mile tempo run in 27:28 (6:52mile)

Way harder than it should've been. Either I am extra tired today, or I haven't improved much in two weeks. Kept everything under 7.

Splits: 6:59.4 - 6:49.3 - 6:58.2 - 6:41.7

2 mile cool down in 16:40 (8:20/mile)

Easy 5.03 miles on the trails in 42:15 (8:24/mile)

Easy jog, still a little tired after yesterday's run.

Easy 4.01 miles on the trails in 32:18 (8:04/mile)

14 miles on Vickory in 1:54:16 (8:10/mile)

Legs were tired after 6 miles. Not sure why. Of course I'm not used to running at the ridiculously early time of 7 AM :)

I am sick of these slow times. I am ready to get into shape!

Splits: 8:34 - 8:10 - 8:02 - 8:06 - 7:54 - 7:56 - 7:52 - 8:43 - 8:15 - 8:18 - 8:05 - 8:11 - 8:19 - 7:51

6.03 miles through Pleasant Valley in 47:19 (7:51/mile)

Feeling better today. It was warm but not hot yet.

Splits: 7:49 - 7:47 - 7:56 - 7:52 - 7:52 - 7:49

10 miles to interurban trail and back in 1:21:03 (8:06/mile)

Another slow-poke run today. Actually, I felt pretty good on the way out. It was pretty warm so I stopped for water at the mid-way point. After a brief pause I started up again and was quite a bit slower. Of course the return is mostly uphill.

Splits: 7:42 - 7:47 - 8:01 - 7:45 - 7:40 - 8:03 - 8:59 - 8:22 - 8:14 - 8:31

Easy 5.01 miles on the trails in 43:19 (8:39/mile)

It's nice to have shaded trails as an option on hot days. Slow and tired today.
My wife and I started the Whole 30 diet yesterday. Not so much for losing weight, though I need to lose some. Mostly just to eat healthier, more fruits and vegetables, no processed foods or sugar.

Splits: 8:24 - 8:29 - 8:39 - 8:56 - 8:43

2.1 miles on the trails in 17:04 (8:07/mile)

My pace is really dragging lately. My wife says she has way less energy, too, and a friend who is doing whole30 says she is having lots of headaches. I guess the body is adapting to getting less sugar and more complex foods. Hopefully that is why I'm running so slowly of late, but hopefully it won't last long as I have a faster-paced run tomorrow.

A few weeks ago I bumped up to 6 days a week and the knee didn't like it. So I backed down for a few. It occurred to me that I probably ran too far that 6th day. Usually when I add a new day I only do about 3 miles, especially when I haven't run 6 days in a row in more than a year (probably). So, I planned to do 3 today, but was just so tired I stopped at 2.1.

Splits: 7:50 - 8:20

7 miles on Military in 51:33 (7:22/mile)

This run didn't work out very well. Still dealing with low energy, especially on hills. I seem to get out of breath easily. This was supposed to be a 9 mile "steady-state" run, around 7:15 pace. It went OK through 5 miles, but I pretty much ran out of gas on the 6th mile, which is all uphill. I even stopped a couple times to catch my breath. Managed to do OK on the 7th mile, but decided it was time to stop with the effort. After that I walked and jogged the last two miles. Next time I will choose a flatter course for my timed run.

Splits: 7:19 - 7:07 - 7:27 - 7:02 - 7:15 - 7:56 - 7:26

2 miles of walking and jogging in 23:17 (11:39/mile)

I walked the first .8 miles, then I started jogging on the downhills and flats.

4 miles through Pleasant Valley in 31:31 (7:53/mile)

Feeling pretty good today, back to normal. 8:07 - 7:47 - 7:52 - 7:46

10 miles in 1:20:11 (8:01/mile)

Nice, relaxing 10 miles. I flip flopped a couple times on the run. Started out planning to go 10, then decided early on to only go 5 or 6. But by 2 miles I was feeling good, so switched back to the original plan. The goal was to cover the distance, so I kept the pace relaxed.

Splits: 8:10 - 8:02 - 7:59 - 7:48 - 7:52 - 8:03 - 7:56 - 8:04 - 8:10 - 8:06

6 miles through Pleasant Valley in 48:49 (8:08/mile)

Splits 8:38 - 8:12 - 8:06 - 7:55 - 8:00 - 7:58

8 miles in 1:05:41 (8:13/mile)

The run started out pretty good, but somewhere along the line I guess I ran out of gas.

Splits: 7:57 - 8:00 - 8:13 - 7:53 - 8:28 - 8:21 - 8:26 - 8:24

Easy 4 through Pleasant Valley in 32:24 (8:06/mile)

Splits: - 8:17 - 8:01 - 8:09 - 7:57

14 miles through Spanaway Park, out and past the Roy Y and back in 1:50:17 (7:53/mile)

Finally, a day where I felt almost decent. Its hard to believe I ran a marathon less than 3 months ago, though, as this felt long. Especially the last mile. I was pleased to be able to keep the pace around 8 or faster in the last few miles.

Splits: 7:59 - 7:41 - 7:52 - 7:57 - 7:59 - 7:56 - 7:53 - 7:58 - 7:40 - 7:53 - 7:59 - 7:56 - 7:43 - 7:50

6 miles on Military in 46:42 (7:47/mile)

Feeling pretty good today. It was cloudy and cooler for a change. I accidentally left my Garmin on all morning, so just before I went out to run it let me know the battery was low. Oh well, my regular watch works just fine.

Splits: 15:23 - 7:57 - 7:27 - 8:00 - 7:55

4 miles through Pleasant Valley in 31:39 (7:55/mile)

This seems to be my course of choice for shorter runs. Must be because it is mostly flat.

Splits: 7:53 - 7:50 - 8:02 - 7:54

10 miles on Military in 1:19:16 (7:56/mile)

More energetic today, at least for the first half.

Splits: 7:48 - 7:36 - 8:09 - 7:38 - 7:52 - 8:04 - 8:09 - 7:39 - 8:11 - 8:10

5 miles on Gas Loop in 38:45 (7:45/mile)

Splits: 7:53 - 7:40 - 8:03 - 7:34 - 7:35

4 miles through Pleasant Valley in 32:10 (8:02/mile)

I really hate running this late (1:50 PM).

Splits: 8:08 - 8:01 - 8:06 - 7:55

5.5 miles on the River Loop at Sunriver in 44:43 (8:08/mile)

We are at Sunriver for the week. I ran a casual, relaxing morning run along the river loop (Deschutes River). Lots of bikers, runners and walkers out by 9 AM. It was sunny and warmed up a lot. I think it was still upper 50s when I headed out, but was close to 70 by the end. The 5th mile was slower because I kind of got lost. I had to keep stopping and starting to figure out where to go.

Splits: 7:59 - 7:58 - 8:03 - 8:02 - 8:24

14.37 miles on the Benham Falls trail in 2:08:41 (8:57/mile)

I ran with my brother today, so the pace was quite a bit slower. Also, I slept late, so was only up for about 15 minutes before we headed out.

I love this trail. We ran through Sunriver for about 3 miles just to get to the trail, then the trail itself is 3.1 miles long. It meanders through a Ponderosa forest on a dirt path that is narrow enough we had to run single-file. Occassional bikes went through, but no other runners.

We were only going to run 12 miles, but when we got to 6 miles we were just 1/2 a mile from the falls, so we went on to at least see it. When we got back to Sunriver my brother thought we should go a different way back to the house, and this ended up being more than a mile longer.

On the run I tore up the backs of my heels pretty badly. My socks were too short, especially for a trail that was dusty and grainy. I could barely walk for the next two days and couldn't run again until Saturday.

Also on the way back, around mile 9, my foot caught a root and I fell flat. Most of the impact was in my chest, but my chin smacked the ground, too. Knocked the wind out of me. Since I was soaked with sweat, and I landed on a dusty trail, I was caked in mud the rest of the run. Thankfully, I had to scrapes or wounds, except on my chin, which was hidden by my new dirt beard. No after effects from the fall. Just those stupid heels.

It was warmer at the start, around 62, because it had been overcast all night. It stayed cloudy, though, so it never warmed up until after the run.

Just looked at the splits for the first time. I had no idea we were going that slowly. Well, my brother hadn't gone longer than 9 prior to this, and he is a bit slower than me. Also, we were at 4200' elevation.

Splits: 8:44 - 8:30 - 8:27 - 9:27 - 10:00 - 9:06 - 8:48 - 9:30 - 9:34 - 9:31 - 8:34 - 8:42 - 8:23 - 8:14

4 miles through Pleasant Valley in 30:46 (7:41/mile)

I'm bummed I didn't get to run more at Sunriver. Oh well, back to my usual routes.

Splits: 7:48 - 7:44 - 7:43 - 7:31

4 miles on Vickory in 36:52 (9:13/mile)

I've been wondering whether this Whole30 diet would help my hypoglycemia. Well, today I found that it didn't. Yucky run. I walked a lot of the 3rd mile, probably most of it.

Splits: 8:15 - 7:56 - 12:46 - 7:55

10 miles to the Interurban trail and back in 1:20:28 (8:03/mile)

Feeling good today. Heels are doing better, as long as protected by moleskin. They both still look like somebody took a bite out of me. The goal was to run at an easy pace. I'm going to try to start tracking the level of difficulty of my runs. I think this one was a 2, whereas most of my normal runs would probably be 3-4.

Splits: 7:46 - 7:54 - 8:05 - 7:48 - 7:42 - 8:36 - 8:26.5 - 8:11 - 8:05 - 7:54

Easy 4 miles on the trails in 34:22 (8:36/mile)

Just a casual, relaxed run with very little effort, i.e. a recovery day.

8:31 - 8:36 - 8:39 - 8:37

6.4 miles around Parkland in 50:57 (7:58/mile)

Today's run was meandering. One of the reasons I love having a Garmin. I dropped off the car for an oil change and then ran back home, except I went in the opposite direction for 2.5 miles, so I could get in a decent run.

My knee started to hurt quite a bit around mile 3.5. I found that by shortening my stride the subsided pretty quickly and wasn't a problem the rest of the way. I'll be keeping that one in mind.

Splits: 7:40 - 7:55 - 7:59 - 8:06 - 8:00 - 7:59 - 3:18

10 miles on the BPA trail in 1:22:08 (8:13/mile)

I haven't run on the BPA trail in quite a while. Not sure why. It rained for most of the run, just a light but steady drizzle. When it wasn't raining it was so humid it may as well have been raining. I was soaked by the end. Pace was easy and felt good.

Splits:7:55 - 7:54 - 8:13 - 7:59 - 8:07 - 8:21 - 8:55 - 8:16 - 8:29 - 7:59

4 miles through Pleasant Valley in 32:19 (8:05/mile)

Easy run, felt good. No rain. Still a little muggy, 65 degrees at 8 am

8:15 - 8:12 - 8:17 - 7:36

My mileage isn't very high yet, but I made my main goal for right now - getting back to 6 days a week. Today was the 7th day in a row. I won't be running tomorrow.

15 miles towards Roy and back in 2:03:12 (8:13/mile)

Feeling good. Easy, relaxed pace. The sun stayed behind the clouds most of the time, so the temp was comfortable, too. A little bit tired that last mile.

Splits: 8:17 - 8:12 - 8:21 - 8;16 - 8:20 - 8:04 - 7:58 - 8:21 - 8:13 - 8:02 - 7:56 - 8:24 - 8:21 - 8:12 - 8:16

Easy 4 miles on the trails in 35:58 (9:00/mile)

Nice, relaxed run, just enjoying the outdoors in the woods. I'm a little surprised I was this slow. On the other hand, I almost never run the day after a long run, so I'm glad to be able to do that at any pace.

The knee has gotten a little worse, but I'm pretty sure that is not because of running. I spent 12 hours over two days crammed into the backseat of a truck and my knee was killing me the whole time.

Splits: 9:07 - 8:48 - 9:05 - 8:59

6 miles on Military Road in 47:33 (7:55/mile)

That dang knee is still aggravating me, but short strides are still doing the trick.

Splits: 8:01 - 7:39 - 7:54 - 7:41 - 8:09 - 8:06

8 miles on Vickory in 1:03:25 (7:56/mile)

This run started out so slow and sluggish. I intended to run 10, but decided early on to do 8 today and 10 on Friday, since I'll be in the car all day on Saturday. By the end, though, I wished I had kept going to 10 as I finally hit a groove and felt good.

Splits: 8:29 - 8:07 - 8:09 - 8:05 - 7:46 - 8:02 - 7:54 - 6:53

Easy 4 miles through Pleasant Valley in 34 minutes (8:30/mile)

Really slow, easy.

10 miles in Vickory in 1:17:47 (7:47/mile)

Cooler day, windy, kind of muggy though. I'm ready for a day off, followed by an easy week.

Splits: 8:02 - 7:56 - 8:03 - 7:49 - 7:40 - 7:54.5 - 7:55 - 7:35 - 6:55