Cursed Realm of the Faceless Ghost

Last night was a late one, but I don't want to get out of my morning habit, so I was up early today. My MR10s are starting to show signs of their mortality--the rubber on one foot has worn through and I'm starting to run on EVA. I think I may retire them now. 

One of my classmates received an email confirming his spot in the Ogden Marathon. As of now, I haven't received one, so I'll make the preliminary assumption that I'm out. That's preliminarily lame.  

I was feeling pretty good this morning. I think my average pace ended up being a little under 6:45, which is a bit faster than I normally run every day. Probably because I let up a bit on Wednesday and Thursday. 

I'm not sure what to think about the Ogden Marathon. I went to the website to see if there was a list of names selected in the lottery, but all I found was a notice that accepted and rejected runners will receive an email on November 1. It's now November 2, but I haven't received an email saying one way or the other.  

I overslept this morning, and when I woke up it was too late for a long run. I decided to put off my run, thinking I would do a long run in teh evening. But by the time I had a chance to run, it was almost 11:00. Because my running motivation and energy are pretty low at that time, I decided to just do a symbolic three-mile run. This week is a bit of a step back, but as long as it's only one week that's okay. I'll blame my non-entry in the Ogden Marathon.

I also decided to retire the original MR10s. I figured it was time to let them go, so I pulled my second new pair out of the box. Once the two pairs I'm using now are gone, I'll never have another. I can't believe New Balance discontinued such a great shoe.  

Monday runs always suck, and today's run was no better. Maybe it was fast Sunday yesterday. Maybe it was all the candy I ate over the weekend. Maybe it was the long run I skipped on Saturday. Maybe it was the recent lack of sleep. Whatever it was, I felt pretty sluggish today. Tomorrow will be better. 

This morning I ran the same run I ran yesterday, and as expected I felt much better. And since I slept in a little bit, I was able to run in daylight, too (thanks, daylight savings!).

This afternoon I had my skin cancer removed. (Basal cell carcinoma--no big deal.) The process was more involved than I expected, which I guess should have been expected. They cut out a big chunk of skin, and then sewed me back together with a bunch of stitches. It sounds like it should hurt pretty bad in a few hours, but I've got some Lortab ready for that.

I need to keep the bandage on for a day, though, which means no shower until tomorrow afternoon and, consequently, no run tomorrow morning.  

I ran late tonight because my bandage wouldn't allow me to shower this morning. I went to the small Gold's on 9th East because they have a Cardio Cinema. Casino Royale was on--good movie. 

I went out for an evening run with my brother in law on the River trail. The pace was nice and easy, which was nice, since the stitches in my chest are driving me mad. We had to walk for a bit because of digestive problems (not mine). 

I got back on the morning track today. I was expecting to run at the gym after hearing the weather forecasts yesterday afternoon. But although it was windy outside and looked menacing, it was also surprisingly warm, so I decided to skip the gym.

I ran the shortest version of my mall loop, just as the sun coming up. With all the grey clouds in the sky, it was a pretty impressive view.  

I got a late start this morning, and by the time I made it to the gym it was about 10:00. Late morning is about the worst possible time for me to run. After four miles I was feeling to poor that I decided to call it quits. I ended up going back to run another three late at night (the second worst time for me to run). It probably didn't give me much of a training benefit, but after slacking last week I didn't want to end up under 30 miles for a second time. 

I've gotten into a bit of a pattern that makes it hard to get up and run early. I'm doing what I can to stay on top of my running, even if that means late nights. So I was at the Cardio Cinema again tonight. They were showing the Office (season 2), and I had forgotten how funny that show used to be. I was enjoying it so much that I decided to run farther than planned. But the employee who was there shut down the projector 20 minutes before the gym closed, even though there were four of us running in there. Super lame. So I ended up just stopping and going home, even if it was a shorter run than planned 

Late night run at the gym. It went as well as you can expect a run to go when you're trying to squeeze it in before midnight and you'd really rather be in bed. 

I ran at the gym again today, even though it was at 4:45. I guess it's that time of year when the treadmill is the default. I'm glad those new treadmills at the Orem gym are so awesome. I know I've said that before, but seriously, those things rock. I don't understand why most people are still using the old ones. 

The thing about running at the gym in the morning is that it's harder to get motivated to get out of bed early. That's why I slept in a bit longer than planned this morning, although not enough that I had to cut my run short. The good news is that I think I've broken out of the late-night-run cycle. Life is better  that way. 

I decided to run outside this morning. It was gray and wintery, but not as cold as it looked.

Second day in a row of running outside. It's wet and sloppy, but it's not cold, so I may as well take advantage. I headed out on the River Trail toward the lake but not all the way to the lack. 

I was up late last night and slept in this morning. So no run there. 

This evening I decided to limit myself to a token run, since I would be going long with Jun and Co. the next morning. Two miles turned out to be just right, because I left the car lights on and the car barely started when I came back. If I had run a third mile, I would have been calling AAA. 

After a very early night, I went out for a very early run with Jun and Co. I would say more about it, but I got three hours of sleep last night and I'm looking at another late night, since I have a project that I need to turn in before we go out of town tomorrow morning. So blogging isn't a priority right now. 

I really should run mountains more often. 

Ran the Mayor's Loop in Saint George. Six miles right out of the motel door. 

Same as yesterday, but in reverse. In the afternoon my brother and I went mountain biking on Bearclaw Poppy. I think that's the second or third time of been mountain biking this year. It was fun. I should do it more. 

I was planning to go longer, but instead I decided to run the same loop I've run for the last few days. My legs have been feeling pretty heavy for the last couple of days. It could be because of the food I've been eating, or it could be because my legs are still trashed from Tuesday's run. Probably it's both. 

Back at home and I already miss the weather in Saint George. Even though it's cold here, I bundled up and ran outside. I'd generally prefer to be cold than to be on a treadmill. 

I ran the same run at the same time in the same weather this morning. There's really not much else to say, although I did feel a bit better than I did yesterday morning. Which is not to say I felt great. Since last week I've been lacking that spring in my step that I thought was returning. It's been long enough that I don't think I can blame Lake Mountain any more, but then again, maybe I underestimated just how far my legs have degenerated. More likely is that I'm feeling the effects of  poor diet. I've tried to improve what I eat over the past couple of days, but there are two things to consider: 1) there's still a ton of candy around here and I can't stop eating it; 2) any changes in my diet will take some time to yield results. I can't just eat oatmeal today and expect to feel better tomorrow. 

Same loop, third time in a row, but this time in reverse. The full moon was beautiful. 

I don't know if it's the cold weather or just the semester catching up with me, but it's getting harder and harder to get out of bed and run in the mornings. I almost took a pass this morning, with plans to run in the evening, but I convinced myself that I lose less time running first thing. 

Also, it just feels better to start the day with a run.  

I waited till the last minute to decide, but I registered for the Ogden Marathon last night. We'll see if having a goal helps me train better. I put 2:50 as my expected finish time. I have no idea how that fits with reality. Also, it looks like I'll be pacing the 1:35 group at the St. George Half Marathon in a couple of months. Catherine is pacing the 1:55 group, so it should be a fun weekend.