Cursed Realm of the Faceless Ghost

More running at the gym, more feeling not so good. But there was a Clippers game on, so I stayed longer than I would have otherwise. One of those miles was on the 15 percent grade--the rest were on the flat at a mellow pace. 

More treadmill miles. There really wasn't a theme to this run. Some of it was slow, some of it was fast, some of it was in between. 

I didn't get out early today, and by the time I had time to run, I didn't want to. I convinced myself that it was much colder than it was, so when I finally went out the door I was dressed like an Eskimo. It was a pretty uneventful little run, and by the end I was too hot.

Today was my birthday, so I decided to celebrate with a long run. I decided to take another crack at the Canals Loop. Third time's the charm, and today I finally finished.

It's amazing what a difference the weather can make. Much unlike my last two attempts, today was 40 degrees and sunny. Other than some heavy death mud in the last ten miles, some route-finding troubles near the end, and an uncomfortable trip under the Bangerter Highway, I managed today's run without a hitch.

My pace was relatively casual, and I took a ten-minute break at the halfway point to sit on a curb and drink a Mountain Dew and eat a Cowtail. Even so, I felt pretty beat by the end. I guess I'm not really in shape to run this kind of mileage. But all things considered, I'm pleased that I can do it at all.

PM: Catherine pointed out that all I needed to do was run 4.8 miles more to hit the magic thirty on my thirtieth. Despite how exhausted and sore I was, that was tempting, so I went to the gym in the evening. The soreness in my legs and pain in my right foot worked themselves out pretty quickly, but I was fried. After one mile I couldn't imagine four more. I went to the bathroom and felt better, so I went back to try again. But I felt awful right away, so I called it a day and quit.

I have regrets, and I keep second guessing myself. I hate not finishing what I set out to do. But sometimes there's no reason to push too hard, and tonight was one of those times.

I was going to run longer, but my left ankle still hasn't recovered from Saturday, so I settled for a mellow thirty minutes. I was surprised, actually--not that I was still hurting from this weekend, but that the pain was on the left leg. I was sure my right foot would be downfall, if anything. 

I decided to try one of the programmed treadmill workouts tonight, and it was pretty cool. Basically, I spent 30 minutes at 10:00/mile while the treadmill undulated from 9 percent to 15 percent with lots of stops in between. Never easy enough to really recover, but never hard enough that my life flashed before my eyes. I'll probably do it again. 

More easy miles on the treadmill--45 minutes this time. My left leg still hurts a bit, but it's getting better so who cares. Really, there's not much to say about my run tonight. But how about that Duke game? What a finish. 

I wanted to run more, but my left leg still hurts, so I decided that the wise thing to was to stop before things get worse. I still ran the extra 0.1 to even out my mileage for the week, though. 

Anyway, other than the distance, my run was as planned. Alternating between half miles at 9:15 and quarter miles at 5:20. I figure that if I'm running the intervals fast, I may as well keep the recover very slow. Especially since I haven't run fast for a long time. 

Three reasons I chose to push the stroller rather than putting in an honest 5K effort:

1. Elliott needed a new PR
2. My leg still hurts and I don't want to make things worse
3. I'm an out of shape wimp and I don't want to push myself 

Some reasons are better than others, but they are what they are. Ultimately, I'm happy with my decision to run the race with Catherine and Elliott, as the family approach is much more enjoyable and there's no way I was going to PR (or come close) even if I tried. I'm absolutely certain I would have taken second overall, though, so I would have won a giant Valentine teddy bear. I can live with that sacrifice. 

The race was fun. It's hard to maneuver through a large starting crowd with a stroller, but Elliott and I managed and we caught up with Catherine after a quarter mile or so. From there on the crowd was pretty thin, so we had no trouble. Elliott got cranky a couple of times, probably because she wanted me to go faster (or maybe because here face was cold), but she was in good enough spirits at the finish line to pop a wheelie as she crossed, almost taking Catherine out in the process (sorry, Catherine). We finished in 23:07, a huge PR for Elliott (her first race was 26:44), and Catherine's fastest since the baby. 

In the evening I made it out for another run at the gym. I was at the Gold's in Orem, so I decided to take advantage of the mega-incline treadmills. After a twenty minute jog, I cranked it up to 24 percent and hiked at about 20:00/mile for forty minutes, with the last four or five at 30 percent. According to the computer I climbed a little more than 1900 feet. I didn't feel great, but that's life.

Also, Sprint may have just proven itself at least as dirty and underhanded as our last wireless provider. Sigh. If anyone's interested in buying a two-month-old Galaxy S2, let me know.

Last week was a bit of a bummer as far as my running goes. I'm trying to do better this week.

Just under 45 minutes on the treadmill. One mile at 9:00, one at 14:00 on the 15 percent, one at 9:00, and one more on the 15 percent. I ran the first quarter of the last mile at 12:00, the second at 15:00, and finished it off with a half mile at 12:00. 

Five miles on the treadmill, alternating the pace between 6:00 and 9:00, although most (four miles) was between 6:40 and 7:30. It felt okay.

Five more miles on the treadmill, this time pretty steady at 8:00 for the first four, with two half miles at 6:00. The last mile was a cool down at 9:00. I was bored by the end, and I would have run faster, but my leg still hurts enough for me to be cautious.

I did the hill routine on the treadmill again. It's a pretty good workout in 30 minutes. 

Three miles on the mega-incline treadmill at the Orem gym. Those things are fantastic.

Anyway, I warmed up with a flat mile at 8:00, then I cranked it up to 30 percent and hiked at 20:00 for ten minutes, then I lowered it down to 25 percent and alternated between one mile running and one mile hiking (same pace) for the next eight minutes, then I cranked it back up to 30 percent for another two minutes. According to the display, it was a bit more than 1400 feet of climibing in one mile over twenty minutes. Not too bad.

I finished with another 8:00 mile on the flat. 

Catherine, Elliott and I headed up to Salt Lake this morning for a run at Liberty Park with Catherine's brother Josh. We ran five laps on the paved route for a total of 7 miles in just over one hour. Pace was leisurely, at just over 9:00. I had a good time, and I think everyone else did, too. Afterward we stopped by Banbury Cross for donuts, the breakfast of champions. 

In the evening I went to the gym for some more miles on the mega treadmill. One mile on each end of a mile on the 21-25 percent grade. 

Five more miles on the treadmill--it's a bit of a pattern this semester. Tonight, I ran 2/3 of each mile at 8:30 and finished at 5:30. It helps me get some speed in and breaks up the monotony, too. 

I did the preset hills routine on the treadmill again, but tonight I lowered the speed to 11:00 and added three minutes to compensate. One minute per mile makes a big difference, and while the workout is tough at 10:00, it's pleasant at 11:00. 

Also, I wore the trail shoes tonight because I thought they need some love.  

Five miles on the treadmill tonight, dead steady at 8:00. Not sure what I can say to make that sound anymore interesting. 

Tonight I celebrated Black History Month during my run by watching the end of  Boyz in the Hood on BET. Martin Luther King, Jr. would have been proud. (On a more serious note, I enjoyed what I saw, and now I have to watch the whole movie. I hope it's on Netflix.)

Beyond that, it was another run on the hill routine. Three miles, but this time I slowed it up even further to 12:00, which is even more relaxed and pleasant than 11:00. Even that slow, it's a pretty excellent workout. 

In a month, we're going to see what happens when you try to run a 50K off of 30 mile weeks. 

I got a late start this evening, and by the time I was ready to run it was too late to make it to the gym. I ran into some serious motivation issues, because I was tired and it was cold outside and I didn't know where any of my cold weather gear was. I stalled for a couple of hours working on some law review stuff, but at around midnight I finally got dressed in what were essentially pajamas and headed out the door. Once I got going I felt alright, but because of the motivation issues I already mentioned I ran 2 miles and called it good. 

I was going to break 200 miles on my shoes tonight, but because I'm a slacker that will have to wait.  

I was going to run in Corner Canyon this morning, but at the last minute I changed my mind and decided to head over to Saratoga Springs to run Lake Mountain, but on my way over I decided to stop earlier and run Lott Canyon, instead. It was probably a good idea. I returned my Microspikes last week, and there was enough ice in the canyon that I'm sure the Lake Mountain road would have been a nightmare. 

Despite the ice, I had a good run, but it was too short. I ran some extra credit loops around the neighborhood where I left my car, but I got bored and hungry and stopped at 9.7 miles. That's not enough. I was planning to run a couple more miles tonight to boost my weekly mileage, but thanks to the freezing wind outside, I don't think that's going to happen.  

Another night on the treadmill with the preset hill routine. Thirty minutes at 10:00, but I decreased the level to 15, which means I spent the whole time between 5.5 and about 12 percent. Still a decent workout. 

If you get a chance, follow this link to the Altra photo contest. You should vote for Catherine's entry. It's the best picture there. And I say that objectively, of course. 

I got out late tonight, and I only had time for 30 minutes before the gym closed. I decided to start and finish with an easy mile on each end of two miles at tempo. It wasn't the best workout, but I think it was good enough. 

Another short night at the gym. This time I warmed up with an easy 10 minutes before cranking the grade up to 15 percent for another 20 minutes at an easy pace.