Run fast

First real run since August 5th.  Met Jon Kotter at the zoo, ran 7 up Emigration, met up with Nate Ogden then we ran back down.  Both of them are now my neighbors so they will have to teach me a thing or two about running fast.  Jon and I talked a lot about marathons and we joked that based on Nate's 5k time (13:51) he should be running in the low teens.

Finished with 16 miles, 2 afterwards on the stairmaster then hamstring PT.

11 miles on the TM and 5 on the stairmaster.  I would have rather been outside but the TM is a softer surface and I can stop before I get carried away running a big loop.  Averaged around 6:45 and felt fairly smooth.

Jeremy Ranch run with Brandon, Matt, Scott and Jake then trotted around the BMX bike course at Trailside Elementary with my nephew. That place is a kid's paradise with soccer fields, concrete skate park and amazing BMX pump tracks and downhill courses.

Great way to spend Labor Day.

A little sore from yesterday but more tired than anything else.  I will try to mix in some faster stuff this week to test the hamstring. 

Free! 5k this weekend at the U.  It's basically the same route as the Law Day run which isn't flat.

http://healthsciences.utah.edu/carma/education/5K/index.html 

Ran out to my office along Holladay Blvd and back home. I was trying really hard to run 7:30s but I ended up going too far so I had to speed up on my way back.  I wore the Nike Free 360s and I think 13 miles is about the max I am willing to wear to them on the road.

PM: 2.25 miles at the gym on the TM the hamstring PT. Mixed in quite possibly my first ever 8 minute mile on the treadmill.  It was very nice.  

8 is new the 6:30 with the hope that 5:18 becomes the old 5:25.

I wore the Altra Instincts which I am really starting to like.  The bigger toe box fits my foot perfectly.

4 miles to and from the gym and 7 miles on the treadmill.

PM: 2.25 miles on the TM and hamstring PT 

Cross training day.  Hope to get in a good tempo run tomorrow down south.

Great run on a perfect fall day with Scott and Matt. We started at the park in Orem, turned up South Fork road, and turned around at the 10 mile point a mile or so past Vivian Park.  That is where I wish I had a camera because the leaves look amazing  We averaged 7:13 on the way up and from there we started our 10 mile marathon'ish pace tempo.  In the first couple of miles I got just ahead of Scott but from there our paces were basically the same.  Matt was taking it a little easier to preempt another hamstring issue. Both these guys are sure to have great races at SGM.

Splits: 5:05,5:11,5:08,5:25,5:14,5:12,5:12,5:22,5:26,5:24. Tailwind going down but hard to know for which miles.

Felt a couple tweaks from yesterday so I chose the gym today. Then pent 2 hours cleaning gutters which was more exhausting.

12 easy miles around Millcreek and Sugar House. I might get an ear full today because I am the only Ute fan in a room of 13 people. Even more the reason the Utes have to beat BYU this weekend.

PM: 3 cross training and PT

10 miles in 59 minutes on the treadmill. 7,6,5:50,5:40,5:30,5:18,5:18,6,6,5:15

Run felt just ok but at least it got the heart rate up for bit in the middle of the week. 

Then 2 miles on the stairmaster. 

Ran through Millcreek and Holladay.  It was almost cold enough to wear stretchy gloves.

At 7-Eleven you can show your support for the presidential candidate by buying a red Romney cup or a blue Obama cup. I have yet to see someone buy a blue cup.

PM: 4 cross training and pt at the gym

60 minutes on the treadmill and 12 minutes on the elliptical.

PM: 2.5 miles crosstraining and PT. The evening crowd have bigger muscles while the morning crowd are cardio folks.

I took a blue shirt to the gym accidentally so I had to make an extra trip home to swap it for red.

Good luck to everyone running the race tomorrow. 

Ran from Wallsburg to Orem with Scott, Brandon, Matt and Brandon. Perfect morning for a run and a great crew to run with.  Started what was supposed to be a tempo at mile 10 but hamstring didn't like that so I backed off after 2 miles. Caught back up with Scott at mile 15 and everyone regrouped. I was planning to just jog it in but the hamstring loosened up a bit so I put in a few more quicker miles with Scott. After we slowed everything was going well until abruptly the lower part of my hamstring seized up and I came to a stop.  I thought I would have to call it day and get ride back but after some stretching I managed to gimp in for the last 2 miles.  I hate runs where I finish and know I did more harm than good.  So it's back to cross-training for several days to see if I can salvage my wussy hamstring.  

Brandon, Dan, Scott and Matt all looked great and even had the energy to tack on another mile while I anxiously was looking for TOU results.  Congrats to everyone who ran the race!  I look forward to reading the race reports.

Last but not least, GO UTES! 

Frustrated with the hamstring so I took it out on the stairmaster.  The lady next to me brought in a portable fan with an extension cord so the sweat was more under control.

I am still recovering from what could have been the biggest collapse/debacle in Ute football history.  Phew! 

Fairly hard elliptical workout and one mile of rowing.  Hamstring is still extremely tight but rolling and stretching seem to be helping a bit.

AM: 13.5 stairmaster. uber boring.

PM: 2.5 stairmaster and hamstring PT.  The roller is getting a workout.

Morning and evening at the gym again.  Tried one "Active Isolated Stretch" on my hamstring which seemed to help a big.  Also mixed in 1 walking mile on the treading at 5 mph. 5.3 mph is about my max.  

To put that into perspective, the Men's 20k Race Walk Olympic winner averaged a 6:20 pace which is 9.47 mph.  Crazy!

http://www.london2012.com/athletics/event=athletics-men-20km-walk/ 

My legs felt more tired and sore this morning than usual but they warmed up during the workout.  It must have been my blazing 12 minute walking mile or the ais stretches I did last night.    

I still can't believe that people can walk at a 6:20 pace. 20k in 1:18!

46 minutes and 6 miles on the rowing machine.  That's about as much fun as I could handle.  Then a few miles on the stairmaster.

I haven't run since last Saturday (tried but failed on Wed.) so I figured if there was any chance I could still run St. George I better start testing the hamstring.  Warmed up 2 miles on the elliptical then anxiously jumped on the treadmill.  Started super slow but eased into a 7 min pace and finished a little over 10 miles in 70 mins.  Fortunately I didn't feel any sharp pains throughout the run and the hamstring didn't feel much different at the end than it did at the start.  My legs did feel heavy after the run but always seems to be the case after taking several days off.

If I was healthy today I would have raced a half marathon and tacked on another 6.  That is a typical Saturday two weeks out from a marathon. But since I couldn't do that, I am tentatively planning a long run tomorrow, maybe up Emigration, to see how the hamstring holds up.  If I can come away from that unscathed, get in some decent miles this week and run a 5k next weekend, I will feel much better about giving St. George a go.  We'll see. 

Ran  from Highland High to the top of Little Mountain and back.  I was planning/hoping to only go 20 (assuming my hamstring would hold up) but somehow Little Mountain moved a mile.  Averaged just under 7 min pace to the top and ended the run averaging 6:40.   I probably should have taken it easier up and pushed the downhill a little more.  Oh well.  There was probably a 20-25 mph headwind coming down that didn't help.  Towards the end everything was getting sore and achy but that was expected.  Fortunately there were no sharp pains. When I see my PT tomorrow I will insist that he scrape my hamstring because I think it helps.

Coolest thing I saw during the run, besides the colorful leaves, was a one legged cyclist cruising up Emigration at about 20 mph. His quad was at least as big as my waist.

Easy cross training except for the two miles of rowing that I finished in 14:30.  

Afterwards I visited my PT.  He did a great job scraping the heck out of my hamstring for about 20 minutes and lecturing me about not stretching my quads enough. 

11 dry miles on the treadmill.  Hamstring is about 80% better than it was last week at this time. :) 

PM: 1 mile crosstraining and PT. If I have to see the Green Bay/Seattle final play again I will cry. 

Ran around the cemetery three times (1.5 mile loop) then through Sugar House.  I have lived near that cemetery almost my entire life but I think this was the first time ever that I have run through it.

13 sub 2:10 guys and two guys with sub one hour half marathons are running Chicago.  Country representation:  KEN 7, ETH 6, USA 1, JPN 1

http://www.chicagomarathon.com/CMS400Min/Chicago_Marathon/press_center/index.aspx?id=590 

PM: 1 mile cross training and PT 

Ran an out and back north on 9th east. Woke up late at 6:28, left the house at 6:32, returned at 7:37 and was out the door at 7:41.  I would have been on time to my 8 o'clock meeting but I had to wait a couple of minutes for the women at the 7-Eleven to restock the vanilla syrup.

Last three miles were at marathon effort but not quite marathon pace because of the hills.

PM: 1 mile cross training and PT 

Mostly cross training today to ensure the tweaks don't come back. I think my quad flexibility has gone from off the charts bad to bottom of the chart.

First race since Desnews. I figured I should lace them before I give SGM a go next week. This course was a super cool double loop course with lots of turns, rolling hills, dirt, and several varieties of animals.  Splits 5:09,5:18 and around 5:30.  The winner who finished about 10 seconds in front of me was quite intimidating because he was wearing a red, white and blue wrist band. Hopefully nobody shows up with one of those next week. Best of all my hamstring held up ok and I probably got my heart rate up over 170 which hasn't happened a lot lately. Oh, and for anyone curious to know, James is alive and well.

Spent the rest of the day moving out of my house to a different house about 2 miles away. It was exhausting but well worth it because now I will be able to say that I don't live in the same zip code as I group up. You will know it's my house because you get to step on a flagstone rock I won in the Mesquite Marathon on your way to the hose.

Leisurely run through Sugar House. Perfect weather and no traffic.