Run fast

averaged around 6:15.  I might even sacrifice a day of spin class to stay on the mileage board.

75 minute spin class then 6.5 miles on treadmill with 1.5% incline.  I was only planning to do 5 but I was feeling fairly good and the guy next to me was going fairly fast.  Last mile in 4:55.  Now I am tired.

9 miles through Millcreek and Sugar House.  Took 5 miles to warm up.  That's not good.

60 minute spin then 5 miles.

Run up through Tanner Park, south on Wasatch to the 7 Eleven at the base of the canyons and back through Holladay.  ~6:30 pace.  Felt OK.  Most exciting part of the run was almost getting hit by a car turning right at 45th south.  Of course he didn't look right before he pulled out so I had to run out into the road.   I gave him the finger, the index finger.  Go UTES!

Run felt better than I thought it would after yesterday longer run.

I broke my streak of going to spin class on Tuesdays and decided to run instead.  The instructor must think that I got in an accident.

I felt pretty good considering the longer runs this weekend.  ~6:22 pace around Holladay and Sugar House.  I wore compression socks for the first time mostly just to keep my legs warm.  I think I am a fan.  The stretchy gloves didn't hack it though so next time I will have to break out the ski gloves.

Ran north to the U and back on 15th.  Stopped at the gym for 2 quicker miles on the treadmill.  ~6:35 average for the run. 

Ran up through Tanner Park, north to the Zoo, and back through Sugar House. 6:28 average pace. Perfect weather for running imo.

10 miles at 6:30 in the friendly confines of the gym.

Ran through Holladay.  I was later than usual so I ran into the mad rush at Oly High right went school was starting.  It appears that high schoolers still don't know how drive and many of them have nicer cars than me. 

Pre race tune up. All cylinders a go for tomorrow's marathon in Mesquite. 12 hour days at work this week, downhill course, no races since June 5, only 1 long run = ?????

Exciting or maybe just dumb.

Everything was going great until mile 10 when we turned south to run parallel with I-15. The next 16 miles with the exception of 2-3 were probably the windiest conditions I have ever run or biked in. Nick (fairly short) McCombs :) and I teamed up and took turns drafting for about 7 of miles until he dropped back with about 5 miles left. From there I managed a few quicker miles and then really suffered for the last 2 into the tornado. Someone should really consider putting in a wind farm and/or just changing the direction of the race depending on the wind conditions. I wonder what my time would have been if I ran the course backwards today. 1800 ft of elevation gain but 16 miles of it aided by a 20-30 mph tailwind...I don't think I'll try that any time soon. I will post my speedy and then not so speedy splits later.

Below are the splits.  The first 6 miles are obviously very fast.  I tried to hold back a bit during 4-7 because I didn't want to beat my legs up too early in the race.  I was also talking to Nick McCombs quite a bit during these miles which didn't make sense at the time because I thought I would be the one who needed to conserve energy for the later miles. 

Miles 8-10 had a few rollers but were still fairly fast.  Nick and I ran side by side.

At around mile 10 we ran under the freeway and turned south towards Mesquite.  After just .5 miles going that direction and feeling how much the wind was slowing us down it became apparent that the race and later miles could get ugly.  Miles 12 and 13 were especially hard (clocked a 6:04 and 6:30) because there was a long climb and the headwind must have been in the 20-30 mph range.  Despite these slow miles I still crossed that half point line in ~1:12:30.  I knew the second half would just get slower so I came to the realization very quickly that a PR was out of the question. 

After mile 13 Nick and I figured it didn't make sense for both of us to fight the wind so we started running in a line and switching the lead about every 3-5 minute.  Probably due to our mounting delirium and efforts to avoid the wind, we almost tripped each other at least 5 times. 

By mile 15 we started catching the half marathoners.  Passing them helped a bit mentally and it felt better knowing that we weren't the only ones suffering through the wind.

Around mile 19 was the first time I realized that I could actually win the race. Nick wasn't pushing the pace much when he was leading and I felt that if I surged in the next two miles I may be able to put a gap between us. 

My chance came sooner than I thought.  While Nick was leading up a hill at around mile 20 or 21 he started slowing considerably.  I jumped ahead, surged to the top of the hill and then ran down the backside as fast as possible.  I think that was the 5:36 mile I clocked at mile 22.  I didn't look back after that.  Miraculously at mile 23 the course took a turn to the NORTH (yes NORTH), which meant that the wind wasn't in my face for the first time in 13 miles.  That was a huge relief but sadly only lasted for .5 miles.  Miles 24 and 25 seemed unbelievably long, especially straight and no less windy than the last 13.  Fortunately for the last .7 the course turned back to the north so I was able to put in a last semi surge into the finish. 

Overall I was very happy with my effort and the finish.  I only wish the wind wasn't such a factor because I think I would have been very close to a PR (sub 2:26) or at least better than my 2:29 at Ogden.  Oh well.  To get a sense of the wind, Kyle Perry from BYU and the guy who won last's year marathon in 2:19 ran just over 1:11 in the half. 

 

I got kicked out of the spin class because it was full and I hadn't signed up.  Popular day for spin I guess.  Ended up using the stair stepper for 10 mins until it broke, 20 minutes on the elliptical, stationary bike for 40 minutes and ended with 10 minutes walking on the treadmill.  Legs are feeling better but not ready to run yet.  Looks like I won't be doing a Turkey Trot this year. :(

First attempt at running since the race.  Ended up with 9 miles easy on the treadmill.  By far the busiest day at the gym that I can remember.  I assume it has something to do with nowhere to go to shop and people wanting to feel less guilty eating for eating too much for dinner.  Oh, it was also fairly cold outside.

6:05 average with 1.5% incline.  I felt surprisingly good.  GO UTES!!!

30 mins of spinning then 7.5 miles on treadmill.  I only wanted to run 7 min miles but the machine wouldn't let me turn the speed back down.  Averaged around 6:30s.