Cursed Realm of the Faceless Ghost

I usually run early in the morning--before 5:00. But last night Nora had a terrible night and I was up with her until about 3:00, which means that even after skipping my run so I could sleep an extra hour, I got less than three hours of sleep last night.

When I got home, I for some reason thought it would be a good idea to run before dinner, since I knew it would be a bad idea after. So I put Elliott in the stroller and went out to do mile repeats. Even though I hadn't properly eaten throughout the day, and even though I hadn't slept the night before, even though my legs were trahsed from Saturday's run, and even though it was over 90 degrees once the sun came out.

Anyway, the run went as poorly as expected. In fact, it was even worse since I don't know how to pace myself. My schedule called for 5 repeats at about a 10K pace. I decided that today's run would be self-deprecating rather than aspirationa, and I planned to target a 6:30 pace. But I ran the first mile in 5:40 (oops), and when I tried so slow down for the next I still ran it in under 6:00 (double oops).

I ran the third in 6:30, beause I was trashed, not because I got any better at targeting my pace, and half way through the fourth I pulled the plug.

By that point, I was trashed--bonked, dehydrated, whatever. Fortunately, I had Elliott around to keep my company, and we managed to limp the last few miles home.

At the end I felt a lot like I do at the end of an ultra. That's not a good wayt to feel after four miles on a bike path :-).

Six easy miles, out and back on Carterville. My average pace was just under 7:30, which felt mellow enough, but my legs are still beat up and I'm feeling some effects of yesterday evening, so it was not as easy a run as it probably should have been. 

The training plan called for 800s and 400s today, so I went for a run up Rock Canyon, which is pretty much the same thing, right?

Actually, I think I already mentioned it, but although I'm using the same training plan I used for Ogden last year, I'm using it very loosely. Basically, I use it as a guide for mileage and to tell me whether I should be running hard or easy on a given day. I'd like to run some sort of trail race in August or September before shifting to full-time road training. So for now, if the schedule calls for a track workout, or something along those lines, and I'd rather run off road, I'll just make sure to include some climbing and call it good.

Today's run was good. Short, but good.  

I overslept by a little bit so I only ran four easy miles instead of the scheduled easy six. That's what I was supposed to do tomorrow, so maybe I'll run today's six then.

This was yesterday's planned run. I felt pretty good. Probably better than I would have felt yesterday.

I went to bed at 11:00 last night, and about 3:30 this morning Nora decided it was time for us to have some daddy-daughter time. So when I started my run this morning, I was a bit more tired than I would have liked. But even so I had a pretty good time.

I ran the Slate Canyon to Y Mountain loop, which was one of my regular routes during my first year of law school, and is still one of my favorites. Back then, I could run the loop in something like 80 or 90 minutes. Today, it was a touch over 105. That's significantly faster than I was last time I ran the same route, for what it's worth.

My "accomplishment" today was that I was able to run ("run") every step of the Slate Canyon dirt road, even if I was moving slowly. And to be clear, I use the term road loosely. As rugged and ridiculously steep as that road is, you'd need a pretty specialized vehicle to drive up it.

I planned to walk the final singletrack pitch when I got there, and that's exactly what I did. It was still a beast. If I recall correctly, it climbs at a rate of 1200+ feet per mile, which puts it in the same level of steepness as the west route up Grandeur Peak.

The descent was fine. There'a  lot of debris on the trail up high because of winter avalanches, and a lot of hikers on the trail down low, because today is Saturday and eveyone hikes the Y. Both things slowed me down, but not as much as I slowed myself down.

I cut the warm-up portion of today's run short out of time considerations, but I did the entire workout, which consisted of five miles at goal pace, with the last quarter mile all-out. My pace was in the mid 6:30s, which is a little faster than my actual pace from Ogden but not as fast as I want to run at Saint George. For now, I think it's sufficient. But I think it goes without saying that I'd like to see that pace improve over the summer as I get fit and optimistic. 

Six easy miles on Carterville. Sometimes these easy runs don't feel as easy as they're supposed to. I imagine that wouldn't be the case if I didn't have to get up so early to do them :-)

Hill repeats near my house. After my run I headed to work, but along the way my car got totaled on the freeway.

I woke up with a sore neck, thanks to the accident yesterday morning. Fortunately, the bruise and cut on my shin from where I hit the underside of the dash aren't bothering me. 

Six easy miles on Carterville. That's become something of a routine for me. Maybe I should experiment with new routes, though. There's an incredible amount of dandelion fluff or something  piled up along portions of Carterville, and it can't be helping my allergies. 

More easy miles. I mixed it up by running a loop up into Orem by the mall. Other than that, it was pretty uneventful.

I ran the Little Baldy - Dry Canyon loop. I'm still losing time on the climbs, but I can feel that I'm getting stronger. What's really interesting is how much slower I am on the descents than I used to be.

Six one-mile repeats with quarter-mile recoveries. Average pace was somewhere between 6:15 and 6:20. Last time I trained for a marathon I was almost always on a treadmill, and I would have done these a lot faster. But right now I'm just focusing on effort rather than speed and these felt about right. I've still got 16 weeks to go, so I'm sure my pace will go up significantly between now and race day.

It's been a strange few weeks. And we've come to realize that we absolutely cannot be a one-car family, at least not as long as I'm commuting 40 miles each way.

Last night we went out resolved to come home with a new (to us) minivan. But our experiences at Velocity Auto and Karl Malone both reminded us just what a sketchy game the car market is. Not only did we have a bad evening, we ended up going home without a new car. 

One consequence is that I had to take the train today, and to catch a ride with my in-laws in Salt Lake I needed to catch the 5:50 train from Provo. But my bike was still at the station from the last time I took the train, and there was no way for me to get it last night. So this morning I woke up at 3:45, and instead of running my scheduled 6 miles, I ran 3 to the Frontrunner station to pick up my bike, rode it home, showered and changed, and then rode back down to the station.

I may go out and pick up a few more miles this evening. More likely I'll just call it a day and count it as a side effect of being a grownup. 

Five sets of two miles on, two miles off. The on intervals were supposed to be at a 3K pace, but I don't really know what that is or think about that (and I don't think my watch has a current-pace setting, even if I did care). So, I just run hard and call it good.

Easy miles. I'm still getting used to the squishy shoes. I think they're better for this kind of running, but there are some things about them that I don't like. Or maybe that I'm just not used to yet. I'll need some more miles to figure it out.

Easy run up the hill and past the mall.

Easy miles on the road--out to Provo Canyon on the River Trail, then back along Palisade and Carterville. I was going to go for a trail run, but I decided to get a little extra sleep instead. And by "decided" I mean slept through my alarm, apparently.

Not great. I overslept and had to run at night, which never goes well unless I get ready for it all day. Which of course I didn't. So after two intervale I was done and instead of doing more I just jogged it in.

Again I overslept, probably because I was up until almost midnight finishing last night's run. That meant I had only had five hours or so of recovery when I went out this morning. It went about as well as you would expect, and since I was already late I skipped the scheduled 7 and ran a little less. I thought I might go out for more this evening, but then I decided to skip it to see if I can get things back on track.

Overslept again. I thought I would try to make up the run in the evening, but that would have meant going out super late. So instead I decided to skip the run so I could get back on track tomorrow morning. 

Seven easy schedules. Back on track after what's been a pretty dismal running week so far. 

More easy miles. I've only had the Torins for a couple of weeks and already my beloved MR10s feel super hard whenever I run in them. 

Catherine ran the Lavender Days 5K this morning. Since that was at 7:00, it meant no morning run for me. I got out some time after 11:00, but as usual I felt terrible so I cut it short. And that's the end of a pretty lame running week.

Speedwork of sorts.