Run fast

Stairmaster.  I spent 30 minutes of the workout consciously pushing harder with my left leg.  You would think that should help my imbalance but I have yet to see measure results.

I got to the gym at 7:40 hoping there would still be spots for the 8 AM spin class. There were already 5 people on the waiting list so instead I ran 11 miles on the TM in my biking shorts and then I went to the step and strength class where I got to do lots of jumping, hopping, balancing and other contorted movements.  It's a good thing I was at the very back of the room because I was usually going the opposite direction of everyone else.  This will take some practice.

Great run in the Northwestlike rain with Kevin and Scott.  We started at 6200 S., went south along Wasatch Blvd, through Tanner Park and back through Millcreek and Holladay.  We were a bit worried that the weather could make a turn for the worse but it turned out to be perfect temps and running in the rain was actually quite nice.  For a brief moment I was reminiscing about my short stint in Seattle and the rainy long runs in the Bay Area.

We kept the pace semi brisk (averaged 6:37) but just slow enough for constructive and entertaining conversation.  The time flew by and fortunately my right knee didn't act up too much. Phew! 

Knee is sore from yesterday.....soreness WILL go away.

Brick workout at the gym.  65 minute spin class with 4 sets of intervals then 5.5. miles on the treadmill.  My knee feels better the when I run faster so towards the end I got it down to around a 6 min pace.

A few days ago I put my fins and swimming suit in my car.  Today I took the fins and swimming suit into the gym.  The next step is to use them.

PM: PT 

I woke up late on purpose so that I couldn't run too far and hurt my knee.  6:30 avg. pace around Sugar House and a couple of laps around SHP.  Shorts weather!

8100 meters on the rowing machine in 38 minutes then 4 on the stairmaster.  My rowing stamina wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Fun run with Scott, Kevin, Mike, DAN, and Reed.  We met in AF but decided it was too windy so we drove up to the Parkway in Riverton. We did a 10 mile out and back to the south at about a 7 min pace then started our tempo.  There was a strong southerly wind going north so for the first 5 miles of the tempo we took turns leading the pack. Our splits were about 5:38, 5:44, 5:35, 5:35 and 5:32.  This was a pretty solid effort into the wind so at the turn around I think we were all a little weary of hammering it back to the cars.  Heading back we ran 5:19, 5:22, 5:25 then decided to back it off for the last two.  The last two were about 6 and 5:45 making the average for the whole run 6:19.  One of these days I will try taking it easy in the warm up to see how that affects me on the more important tempo at the end.  I think the faster pace left the knee feeling better than it did after my long run last Sunday. The real test will be how it feels tomorrow.  Tough runner award today goes to Mike to stuck in there for our blistery 5 miles into the wind.

Ran around Millcreek with Jake, Nate, John and Collin.  Apparently traffic laws don't apply on Sundays because we cut off a cop while jaywalking across Highland Drive.  Crosstaining and lots of PT at the gym afterwards.  Except the achy knee I felt surprisingly good.

rowing machine then the stairmaster at the clean and more spacious 24 hour gym.  Andrea and I were boycotting the treadmills and running today.

One mile on the TM at the end of another uneventful stairmaster workout.  I wanted to run today but the knee needed another day of rest :(

2 mile warm up, 1 at 5:30, 2.5 at 5:15 then 1 mile at PT.  Strength imbalance is improving and I have a few more fun exercises such as hopping up the stairs.

SWIMMING and PT at the gym.  I think this was my first swim in at least 1.5 years.   Fortunately I haven't forgotten how to do flip turns and my rowing has kept my arms in decent enough shape that I didn't drown.  The best part about swimming is that I know I am not agitating injuries, most likely I am helping them, and the downside is that it takes forever to get anywhere and it's hard to keep track of my laps.

1.5 warm up, 1 at 5:12, half mile at 6, 1 mile at 5:05.  Canyonlands Half tomorrow!

For all but the ~73 minutes of the race I had a great time down in Moab for the Canyonlands Half.  I drove down after work on Friday with Brandon and Scott and stayed in a $27 room in Green River.  For $27 you can imagine how nice it must have been.  It did have a color TV, refrigerator, microwave, running lukewarm water, and electric outlets. Everything else isn’t worth mentioning. We got to bed early, left for Moab at 6 AM and arrived at packet pick-up a little before 7, just before the crowd arrived.  We then napped a bit in the car, met up with Kevin, then boarded the buses at about 8:15.  It’s a good thing the buses leave so early because we really needed that 1 hour and 20 minutes to sit around before the race, which started at 10. At about 9:30 we stashed our bags and did a short warm-up as we climbed up to the start line.  At 9:50 we got to start line and quickly figured out who would win, Patrick Smythe, an All-American from Notre Dame who has run ~62 minute half marathon.  He recently moved back to Salt Lake City for graduate school and is coaching the Westminster cross country team.

I went out with Patrick, a guy from Westminster and a green shirt guy who I think won the race a few years ago.  The first mile came in at 5:08 which didn’t feel too fast because there is a steep downhill right off the start line.  Mile 2 slowed to 5:19 because of a small hill and miles 3, 4 and 5 were 5:23, 5:25, and 5:36.   Patrick and the Westminster runner put a gap on me at about mile 3, green shirt guy dropped off for some reason at mile 2 and a former UVU runner Zak James slowly passed me at around mile 4.  Mile 5 was really the low point of the race because I still had 8 miles left, my left leg was already exhausted and my splits were starting to slow.  Fortunately this was when Scott caught up to me.  He could have dropped me in a second but instead he slowed the pace slightly to let me catch my breath and to let me run behind him.  He did all of the work for the next few miles while I got back some of my rhythm.  I can’t thank him enough for that because if he wouldn’t have been there I am sure I would have lost another minute.  We were still together up and over the steep hill at mile 9 (which sucked all that was left in my quads) and down the other side.  Scott then pulled away and I really thought he would catch the Westminster guy who was surprisingly still running very strong.  I held on as best as I could for the last couple of miles and finished in 1:12:27 about 30 seconds behind Scott and 45 seconds behind the Westminster runner. 36 year old Zak who passed me at about mile 4 ran a very impressive 1:11:13 and Patrick Smyth ran away with it in 1:09:55.  This course has a net drop of 77 feet but since there is about 350 of climbing mixed in it is deceptively slow.  Of course I wanted to run a faster time but at least it was a great workout and just shows how much work I need to do in the next few weeks if I am going to be able to run well at Boston.  I have to thank Scott again for helping me out during those middle miles.  Without him it could have gotten really ugly.

After the race we chatted with Patrick and Zak for a bit while they looked for our drop bags then Scott, Brandon and I changed our shoes and ran back to Kevin’s campsite so Kevin could change his shoes too.  We then reconvened at the finish area and Scott and ran another 5 miles so we could finish the day with 20.  Unfortunately I think I ran one mile too far because with a mile left I felt the twinge in my right knee. I won’t run tomorrow to see if the day off will help.

After the cool down everyone had low blood sugar so we found a little café for lunch then we hung out around Kevin and Amiee’s campsite for the next couple of hours.  I iced my knee in the river and hung out with Kevin and Amiee while Scott and Brandon took a nap.   It was nice to get finally get some sun.

After the naps we packed up the car and drove back home.  Fortunately Scott and Brandon had lots of interesting stories to keep us entertained. They are great guys to say the least. 

Crosstraining and lots of PT and the hottub.  Legs and knee are a bit sore from yesterday's race.

11 sets of 1 legged hops up the stairs, abductors, squats, glute raises, and abs.

Here is a short article on Lagat's longevity.  Crosstraining again at the gym.  One more day to let the knee rest then I have to start running at least 10 miles, 5 days a week. If the knee can't handle that then....

1 mile on elliptical to warm up, 65 minute spin class with Amiee, 4 miles on the TM then PT and hot tub.  We'll call it 7 crosstraining miles and 4 running. PT included 20 one legged hop reps up the stairs, squats, abductors and glute raises.  I love hanging out at the gym for 2.5 hours.

Met Rob before work and ran north on Wasatch Blvd. and back.  Rob had already done 4 miles so he was able to take it easy on me.

Oh, big news.  BYU won an NIT game.  But does that justify a half hour discussion and the mention of Jimmer 10 times?  My job is very stressful.

11 miles on the TM with the last 5 at 6 min pace.  With the hamstring issue running faster would aggravate it but it's the exact opposite with an ITB problem.  Not sure which one I like better.

5 miles of running and stairmaster.  4 days of running in row!  I am becoming more optimistic about the knee.

Fun run with Jake, Scott, Mike, Rob, Jon, Kevin, and Adam H.  11 mile warm up around Holladay then 6 laps around SHP.  I pushed the first two laps with Jon which wore me out so I slowed and settled into a 5:50ish pace and cruised along for the last couple of laps.  Jake is definitely back from his post marathon hiatus as he powered up those hills like they weren't even there.  Scott, Mike and Kevin also ran strong. Just a so so workout for me but the bigger purpose right now with Boston looming is to get some real miles under my legs.  I know most people would say it's too late for that but I don't buy it and plus I have no other choice.  With that said, it's paramount that I hit at least 80 miles on my FEET for the next two weeks.

Great company to run with and best of all the knee wasn't any worse after the run than when I started. 

Ran with Kevin, Collin and Oliver (runner from Westminster) from Highland out to 6200 s., up to Wasatch Blvd. and back.  Collin looped back after 5.  We averaged 6:50 pace to keep the knee intact.  Felt pretty depleted at the end of the run but I was glad to get it done. 

Felt great this morning except for the knee.  I tried one mile on the TM but that was probably one too many.  Lots of ice and the roller today.

elliptical, 65 mins of spin, elliptical, rowing machine then PT.  Knee is no bueno.  Running 20 miles two days in a row this weekend was not one of the smartest things I have done in awhile.

Knee still felt very sore this morning so I was considering just rowing while I drove to the gym.  When I got there I decided to test it out and made it through a mile ok.  Continued on and slowly ticked up the pace as I started to feel it.  First 5 at 6:30, next 5 just under 6 and last mile in 5:15.  Didn't have time for PT so did the roller at work on the floor.  People are used to seeing people on the floor because we have a perfect pushup station.

Crosstraining today to ensure the knee is ready for tomorrow's long run.

Ran with Jake and Kevin half way up Emigration and back down through Tanner Park.  Averaged 6:37.  Now I am at work wearing compression socks, icing, rolling and pounding the ibuprofen.

Road my road bike outside for the first time this year down near Escalante and Boulder.  Great scenery.

Tried running in Torrey, UT but only made it .37 miles then had to turn around and walk back to the motel....I guess the run on Friday, or maybe all of the runs compounded over the last month, combined with the bike ride was the final straw for my knee (ITBS).  I am a bit smarter this go round so hopefully it won't take 4 to 5 months to recover.