gym day.  Hip exercises in the PM.

lots of people out sick at work today so today pretty much stunk.  since when was having a cold sick?   I think I should require a doctor's note.

Woke up and felt like I had been hit by a truck.  My entire body is achy.  Still managed to drag myself to the gym to see if that would help.  Managed a pretty decent workout on the elliptical and a mile on the treadmill.  On the way to work I bought a 30 pack of Emergen-C and now I am pounding water.

Just went to a meeting that lasted 20 minutes and I swear it took at least 40.  In a fog.

B.J. Christensen posted this article on FB.  I generally agree but what this study doesn't explain is which is more efficient for people who don't already run on their forefoot. "The fact that all these runners were already forefoot strikes suggests that none of them were likely overstriding, which would make them less likely to benefit from barefoot running."

Barefoot Versus Running Shoes: Which Is (Surprisingly) More Efficient?

still very sick.  I am not sure if going to the gym was a good or bad idea.  The workout felt like it took forever and I felt very weak.

Ran 10 slowly around Sugar House but it felt like I ran at least 20.  This flu is sucking every ounce of energy out of me.  Now I am sure that once I feel better running 10 miles will feel like a walk in the park. :)

Feeling considerably better but I still took it super easy at the gym this morning to see if that will help.  My arm got tired carrying my coffee in from my car so it's apparent that I don't have all of my strength back.

I think I have turned the corner.  1 mile on elliptical then 7.25 on the treadmill.  Felt sluggish at first but was able to finish with a mile at around 5:30 (last 1/4 at 5 min pace).

Ran around Sugar House at around 7 min pace.  Getting close to normal.

Still hacking up a lung when running but what can you do.

PM: hips and a few miles at the gym 

Took it a bit easy today so I can run 20+ tomorrow.  Rob and I are meeting at 8 AM at Highland High in case anyone would like to join us.

Two weeks out from the Buffalo Run 50K means I need to hit the miles hard this weekend.  Bad timing for this flu thing.

Ran with Walter and Rob from Sugar House to the sharp turn near the top of Emigration and back.  I extended about 1/4 mile at the top and then tried my best to catch back up.  I was holding about 5:45 but their lead was just enough that I never caught them until they stopped for water at Ruth's Diner.  We started slowly from Ruth's but by the time we rounded the corner and could see the opening of the valley we were hitting 6s or slightly under.

Overall it was a good run and will probably be my last 20+ miler until the Buffalo Run in 2 weeks.  I still feel weakened from my lingering sickness but at least the worst is behind me.  Thanks to Walter and Rob for making the run less boring and for pushing me to run a faster pace than I would have done alone.

Ran through Sugar House, up to the Hospital, past the zoo, and back through Tanner Park.  Perfect temperature and a little breezy.  Getting close to the back to normal.

Ran over to the gym, 8.5 miles on the treadmill and back home.  The wind was super strong so I think I chose a good day for the gym.

JAJ - F run around Millcreek and Sugar House with Allie, Jake and Andrea.  I was more prepared for the abrupt turns this morning and actually like the unpredictability.  I still feel sluggish though and I am not sure if that comes from the lingering effects of the flu or something else like lack of sleep or nutrition...Hopefully I start feeling stronger soon because a 50k is kind of long.

easy run through sugar house.  spring has definitely arrived but it might be short lived.

Good tempo miles at a hotel near LAX.  I didn't see any point in running outside unless I had time to run in beverly hills, which I didn't. Used the blow dryer for the first time this morning which was pretty cool.

Ran through the Berkeley Hills just like old times.  Of course I saw an inordinate number of Toyota Priuses and awesome coffee shops.

Ran out to Emeryville along the bay.  It was about as windy as the day at Saltair for the 15k.  I think I earned my Peet's Coffee.

stationary biking.  Basically a day off to see if I can get some energy back into my legs before this Saturday's 50k.

stairmaster and a few miles on the treadmill.  maybe just maybe I am getting some life back in my legs.

Just ran with Jake around Millcreek because AJA were all MIA, i.e. in another hemisphere, injured reserve and being nice to the injured reserve..There is a new stretch of asphalt on the east edge of sugar house park so you won't twist your ankle in the single track.  Exciting.

Day off from running or anything involving my legs.  Instead I did some upper body weight training (if you could call it that) which I haven't done forever.  I am officially borderline pathetically weak but it was still fun.

I got in my trail running this morning so now I feel prepared for tomorrow.  By trail running I mean running down the south edge of SHP.  Should be plenty.  I also broke out my La Sportiva Crosslites which I haven't worn since Squaw Peak in 2010.  I wore them on the treadmill to make sure I wouldn't slip.

Today has been an interesting day. Barely made it to the start line on time even though I left my house at 5:30 (race started at 8), passed a Buffalo and Antelope on the course (go figure), ran the first half in 1:46:30 which I think is the 25k course record (probably doesn’t mean much), took two wrong turns on the course, BLEW up at about mile 26 (second half was 12 minutes slower than the first), earned two large blisters on my feet, and I walked up the hill to the finish which might have been a 3 percent grade.  Despite all of that I did win the race by ~6 minutes and now I have a spiffy statue of a Buffalo.

Prerace Recap-

Left my house promptly at 5:30 just to make sure I had plenty of time to get my bid and to get acquainted to island.  Arrived at the gate to the cosway at 6:30 where I was supposed to find a parking lot with my bid.  I didn’t see the first parking (this is what I get for leaving early in the dark) and pulled into the second only to find nobody there.  Stupidly I continued on and 20 minutes later I entered the finisher’s tent only to find out that I had passed my bid and had to go back.  Fortunately I ran into a doctor, a smart person who also made the same mistake, in the parking lot and hitched a ride with him (thanks Dave). We got back to the parking lot with the bids by 7:10, waited in line for 15 minutes and made it back to the starting area by 7:45.  Plenty of time, right?  At 7:52 I got up to the start line and noticed a few little orange things on people’s shoes.  Hmmmm….are those chips?  “I wonder why I didn’t get one.”   Oh yeah, they gave me a big white bag with a bunch of junk in it and…..raced back to the car at sub 6 pace, found the chip, raced back to the start line at sub 5:30 pace  and made it with 2 minutes to spare.  Now for the shoelace check.  Left shoe good, right shoe too loose.   Tried to untie the knot but couldn’t do it before the race started.  Spent the first mile obsessing over my loose shoe but fortunately a hill at mile two caught my attention and I didn’t think about the shoelace again.  This is probably the longest I have ever written about a prerace mishap but I wanted to get it on paper to see if it will help prevent reliving this in a nightmare.

Race Recap-

Went out a bit too fast because I was worried that my loose shoe would slow.  Partly kidding but there is probably some truth to it.  Put some distance on everyone except two guys who were sticking within 100 yards or so.  One of those guys dropped back after mile 2 and then spent the next 8 miles or so going back and forth with a guy named Brad who ran for Cornell and Boise St.  I dropped him on the switchbacks at mile 9 but he stayed within sight all the way through the half turnaround.  Finished feeling good going through the first half in 1:46:30 but already knew that it wouldn’t be able to even split.  So then the questions became: how much time will I lose on the second loop and can Brad catch up?  At the turnaround (mile 16.25????) I took my third GU and managed to get down two tiny cups of water and Sprite.  I didn’t carry a water bottle and because it was heating up I think dehydration was probably already setting in.  I managed to hold a decent pace for the first climb but I had to resort to hiking on the super steep climb at mile 22 (8:39 mile) because my quads were nearing their end.  That hike just about did them in and my splits compared to the first started to suffer (see below).  From there I was still able to run the downhills fairly fast but anything with an incline was slow and painful.   I did my best to maintain some resemblance of moving until I reached the top of the switchbacks and then I tried to let gravity do the work until I hit the next steep incline at mile 29.  By that point my quads had nothing left so I speed hiked about half of a mile (9:18) split until I reached the peak.  After that I was sure someone would be gaining on my but there was still no one in sight.  It was a sufferfest for the last 3 miles and shameful for the last .25 because I hiked/walked up an incline that my 90 year old grandma (birthday is tomorrow) could easily handle herself.  BUT, I did run through the finish!  My garmin said 32.65…I could have gone without the extra 1.65.

All said, I am happy that I stuck it out and winning is always nice.  Would have been better to run strong on the second half but oh well.  In hindsight, I think I underestimated the hills on the course (not flat) and pushed them too hard in the first half.  I also know my electrolytes and dehydration were an issue because I had lots of salt on my face and arms after the race.

Post race was spent chatting with Brad from Boise, Lulu Walls (best volunteer at the race hands down), Jun, Smooth, Dan V. (2^nd 25k), Albert (winner 25k), another FRB’er and her friend (sorry I can’t remember names) and waiting for the 25k folks to get their massages. :) Fun time!

I got a few blisters, lost a toe nail and won a buffalo

30 minutes on the bike.

50 minutes on the bike then 300 hip abductor reps.  The 2 inch blister on the bottom of my right foot might be a blessing in disguise because now I have to favor my left leg.

60 minutes of biking.  The machine said I went ~35 miles which would be a world record.  Not quite possible.  

It's day 3 after the race and I think I have finally turned the corner, i.e. I could put on my socks without sitting down.  Tomorrow I should be able to take the stairs.

Biking and stairmaster for 60 minutes.  Running should resume tomorrow although I am in no hurry.

1 MILE of running on the treadmill, 40 minutes of biking and 12 minutes of elliptical.  The biking is tough on the hip but I think it's helping.  

325 abductor reps, calf raises and planks afterwards.

5 minute warmup then 11x 5 minute bike intervals (2 off, 3 on).  The 3 minutes on were at about 110 rpms and around 280 watts.  Great workout for my hip but fairly boring.  Doing a real run tomorrow!

Met at SHP and ran 16 miles with Kevin, Jake, Allie, new Adam and Rob for part.  My quads were still feeling it on the downhills but felt pretty good otherwise.  Great weather and good company for running.

Gym afterwards: 350 abductor reps, calf raises, planks, and butterflies

The word must have got out about the powerful jet in the hot tub because the last 3 times I have tried to use it an old guy was in that spot.  Bummer.