Relentless

beyond early AM (12:44 AM - actually not a bad start time, because it wasn't too late or too early yet) - LEG 2 (13 for the team) Cave Creek. 7.05 miles. Tried to get a little nap at the major exchange, but I just laid there. Got up and jogged a bit of a warmup around the school parking lot a few times and figured it was time to go. (Stratus red 179.1)

By this time the team had secured a solid lead and I was just hoping I could maintain it.

1-5:33 I started out in a populated area: school, shopping, etc.. and felt okay about it all. Figured I would just ease into it. And this mile felt good. 2-5:54 I started the climbing again (this was supposed to be my hardest leg, rated Very Hard, because of length and a solid climb throughout). I really started to lose focus here. I was tired and just couldn't keep the pace where it should have been. 3-6:01, Oh crap a 6 minute mile. I am in trouble now. 4-6:02 More crap another one. I hadn't seen a soul now for over 2 miles, I hope I am going the right direction. I was going through a residential area kind of like Bloomington Hills (rolling ups alternating with more ups) and I was very hesitant about where I was going. 5-6:15 About 3/4 through this mile I finally caught someone. Way off in the distance I saw a blinking light, what a relief. 6-6:10 It's official, I suck and I want to quit. 7-5:24 I didn't feel that great, but I was very mad at myself for how poorly I ran and started to grind it a bit to try and bring it down. I thought this mile was a little quicker, but I was working hard to get there. 7.05 - Just pushed the pace on in. Cooled down for about 1 mile. I guess I gained about 30 seconds on my guy here even though I ran so bad. I guess he was just as spent as I was. (Ohana -8

Off to see Logan do his amazing thing - followed by Nick being just as amazing. It was very cool to see how real runners can just crank out amazing runs after amazing runs!

AM (6:00 AM) Leg 3 (#25) 5.3 miles Fountain Hills. Got up after about 25 minutes of sleeping and did another warm up. Hit the ol' MyoMed counter and hit some of the good stuff and ran a mile to get going (Stratus red -1. The Darkhorse came flying in and almost forgot to give me the band, and I took off. The first part of leg the leg was very cool. The sun was starting to come up and I was going through this park and around a neat lake, had a little downhill, and I felt good. 1-5:23 Hooray this is the end of this, keep pushing and make up for the struggle last time. 2-5:27 Kept it rolling. 3-5:59 Now I am tired and the thrill of being done is gone. 4-5:41 Trying to use the rolling hills, but I am too tired to use the downhill and the uphill is just abusing me even more. 5-6:19 More uphill. I saw my time going up and up and just thought, "Who cares?" 5.3-1:38 (5:51 pace) I see the end and am just so happy to be done with this. I can now pass off the race to people who can fly and I can crash! Cooled down about .5 miles and just got to enjoy the rest of the race. (Ohana 5-5.8

Everyone else did amazing and the team easily won - because of great runs from top to bottom. 17:04 total for the 182(?) miles an average of 5:38/mile! We jogged in with Steve at the finish after setting up the Keiggermeister!

After a great dinner at James and Lybi W's. (thanks guys and Sarah), we (our van) decided to get a few miles in. Made it up to Flagstaff and got a hotel room. Had a great dinner at IHOP - maybe the best time of the whole trip!
Steven Abraham Lincoln Hooper Pope, Just Makin' Memories, Oh My Steven!, Soccer and American Values, and many many more - Loved It!

afternoon - 7.3 Green Springs loop from PVHS with extension into Sandberg's. Ran with a decent crew of my guys - they ran well. Knee was a little tight, but held up. I needed the extra rest this morning and didn't run. So I planned on getting a few in in the evening, but I was too tired and yelling at everyone and needed to go to bed. So I'll pick it up more throughout the week. (Stratus 317.5)

AM - 10.3 Wendy's with double extension. Back up and at 'em this morning. Run was solid. Saw the average come down a little and more than half the miles under 7 which is good for me in the early morning. I am trying to convert my body to realizing that I need to get a good pace going in the morning as these runs are often my main workouts now with track in the afternoon. (Cumulus blue 77.05)

afternoon - 5xRiver Trail Miles. 10.2 total. Pretty crappy set of miles. I had hoped for some real solid times, but I most definitely had some left over fatigue from the relay. 1-5:36, 2-5:41 with a 1 minute jog between. Then I decided to go down the trail 1 more mile before hitting the next three, hoping the wind would help me out on the way back. 3-5:28, 4-5:41, 5-5:54. Not so sweet. Oh well. Icing up the knee as I speak. It has been a little weak and tired, but is coming around. (precision 328.2)

AM - 12 the new regular route on M/W/F at practice (a few laps until kids get there and stretched, then AC, then reverse 2450 up to Red Cliffs and around, laps again waiting for next group and then AC once more). I am tired! Sleepy and fatigued. I tried to incorporate 2 miles at Marathon Pace effort on the 2450. First was from school down the hill; it felt okay, but I knew I wasn't going MP (6:05). Second was flat section at bottom of hill for .5 and up 2450 for .5 ending at the park; slower but still tried to maintain effort (6:30). I was running pretty slow and tired by the last few miles. (Stratus red 191.1)

afternoon - 6 GreenSprings. I was absolutely tired and out of it. I was just exhausted, so I cut the run way short and just called it a day. Sometimes its just better to kill it instead of drag out the agony. Ave pace was 7:57 ahhhh! (Cumulus silver 435.15)

AM - 8 Middleton. Slept in until 5:15! Run took a 180' from yesterday afternoon. Ran much better. (Cumulus blue 85.05)

evening - 10 Club Run on Red Hills Trail down to Temple and College and back to store. Good solid run, times weren't great, but neither is my running right now. (Stratus 327.8)

AM - 13.2 Wendy's-Green Springs. I knew I would be a bit slow, but a 1:40? I am in need of a little break. Just finish off the week and be done for a couple days. (Cumulus blue 90.35)

noon - 5 Washington Parkway. Nice easy run. Only 1 more for the week. (Precision 333.2)

AM - 21.05 Green Valley Loop. A bit early, but had to because of a meet. Run was okay, but not stellar. Tried to pick the pace up moving down Valley View and back into town, but could only manage 6:30's. Ave was 7:16. Hips were very sore as I finished and it made it hard to finish up, but they have loosened up now. (Stratus red 212.15)

A pretty solid week considering I only hit a 7 on Monday. Hopefully the weekend will let me finish off a bit of recovery.

Goals for next week: Hit some very good miles at the first of the week so I can back off a little to try and get a decent 10K Saturday that I am going to use for my speed for the week. 3 more SOLID weeks and then the taper.

morning - 17 Target loop, then mall run, then home. I guess it was morning, although it seemed like I should have called it AM because of the time change. A decent run. (Cumulus blue 107.35

evening - 5 Washington Parkway reverse. Ran the opposite way so I would have enough light on the dirt, but the sunlight just kept lingering and it was light almost the whole way. A pretty tired run. A lot of pain and fatigue in the lower abductors. It's could be a tough one tomorrow. (Cumulus orange 492.75)

morning - 17.1 Target loop, then Mall run (modified), and home by way of DogPound. Well it was a crapper, for sure. Very wiped out. I am glad it is finished. Miles will be cut back a bit now this week (to 15/day or so). (Stratus red 229.25)

evening - 5 Parkway w/ James. Felt much better this evening. Nothing too quick, but a nice enjoyable run. (Precision 338.2)

morning - 10.35 to PVHS, GS 5 w/ team, home. Felt a bit stronger this morning, but still not ready to race. (Stratus 338.5)

evening - 5 Parkway. Still feeling like I need a few days before I will be able to even attempt to run fast and race. (Cumulus silver 440.15)

morning - 8 to PVHS and then Staheli Hill and home. Cut out from the team and just headed home during the run since I will get 7 tonight. Still not feeling sharp at all. (Stratus red 237.25)

evening - 9.75 Club run on Spectrum course and to Mike's house. It was nice to run the course; not nice to run the 4 miles after. I was only planning/wanting/needing to run 7 tonight, and my body didn't think that the extra was necessarily a good thing. In fact when most everybody else decided to go get 10, I just sat there like a lump on a log. Hopefully I can get something in my legs for Saturday, or it's going to be a disappointment. Also, this is holding me back from getting mentally ready - I know it's not the most important race ever, but I would like to run well and test where my fitness actually is going into the last month before SL. (Stratus 346.25)

morning - 7.25 to PVHS then Sandberg's Pond w/ team and home.  Had a very fun run around the desert and the pond.  Found a frisbee and let the throwing of that lead us around for awhile.  Willy never caught any cows, but he did land in a nice pile of fresh cow crap when he tripped trying to catch the frisbee (we all had to stop we were laughing so hard!).  Broke in a new pair of Landreth 4's.  They felt pretty good.  I really like the cushioning for now.  It seems that the forefoot is a little wider - good for some people, but I didn't need the extra room.  (Landreth 7.25) 

1 mile warm up at the race finish. Then caught one of the last buses up. (Precision 339.2)

At the start line, warmed up just a little more (.3) and got ready to go. All the usual suspects were around and Clyde told me that a strong UVSC runner was around who had just run 15 flat 5000 on the track last week. We took off and Nick, UVSC, Clyde and I settled into a strong pace and worked around Jose, who was doing his usual thing, after a few minutes. I wanted a 4:40 first mile and hoped I could hold onto to something after that. 1-4:40, exactly what I wanted. Although it didn't seem like I was working hard, it was fast and my legs and mind started to pay on the second mile. 2-5:10, This mile was exactly where I wanted it as well, but Clyde tested me and pulled away by about 5 seconds or so here (Kind of unusual for him to push it hard after a hard mile 1). 3-5:10 again. I knew the third mile had to pick back up to sub 5, but I don't know I just didn't feel like it was all there. I did notice nick break the UVSC guy and thought that we would actually go around him, but he ended up settling back in and running solid. Clyde gained another few seconds here. 4-5:24 Up through the first neighborhood. I needed a 5:16 here and I lost a few. I tried to gain a few seconds on Clyde, but then he regained them on the down out of the neighborhood. I kind of resigned myself to the thought that I wouldn't catch him. 5-5:32 This should have been where I caught Clyde, but I think we were both in hard cruise/survive mode for this mile. At the end of this mile Nick and UVSC missed a turn and ended up cutting 2/3's? a mile off the race, which was kind of a bummer. 6-5:27 I had a little surge that gained me a second or two on Clyde, but then I lost the feel for it and settled again. But on the downhill out of the second neighborhood, I decided to try and give it one more push. As I did, I quickly began eating up ground on Clyde. 6.2-1:10 (5:58 pace) Coming off the roundabout, I was only 2 seconds behind him, but just then at about the mile marker, Clyde surged it and I didn't have it go with him and I just let him pull back away and I had a very slow finish.

I went back and cooled down for 3.05 as I ran back to Ally and ran in with her. This was her first 10K and she did great!

I don't know what to take from this race. I felt that it was a good workout and a decent run, but I don't feel any more ready for Salt Lake than I had before. I don't feel fast at all and am a little disappointed with the time. I guess I just need to stick to the plan and let the mileage be at 100 and no more, and get some solid 800's and 1200's in over the next few weeks. Maybe that will get the leg turnover going and some positive things moving for me. (Ohana -9.05 - these shoes are shot. They have been great, but they are done. I got a rock in my shoe right at the start, and it developed a very strong blister by the end of the race.

AM - 8.3 morning practice. Laps and AC w/ Austin, part with Ruth, then 2450. But by the end I could really feel my cold/flu sapping any energy I once had out of me, so I called it quits in hope of being able to make it through the day. Blister didn't bug too much, just a little rubbing on the side of the foot. (Landreth 15.55)

afternoon - 7 Hospital Run. Not a great run by any means; marked mostly by coughing and hacking up crap from my lungs. But I made it through and Ruth probably won't ever run near me again. (Stratus 353.75)

afternoon - 11.25 5x1000 on River Trail and then 4 barefoot striders. The cough medicine knocked me out pretty good last night and I wasn't able to get up and run this morning. I hoped I could get a decent workout in with this cough. It went rpetty good considering - at least a step in the right direction, considering... Ran down to the trail and did the first on the first part of the trail 1-3:28, this is where I hoped I would be able to get all of them, so I was pleased. 2-3:30 Just a little slower, but things were going okay. 3-3:31 A pretty solid one, had a little better time until the steep (but short) climb by the post office. 4-3:31 Brought it back up the trail now and was still maintaining a pretty decent pace. 5-3:37 dropped a bit more than I would have liked, a sign that I was done - so I guess it was good that I was. Ran back to school and did some barefoot work. These would have been quicker had I not been sick, but the coughing and the soreness in the muscles was holding me back a bit. But it feels pretty good to pick up the pace. (Stratus red 247.95)

evening - 4 Treadmill @ 1%. It's been a long time since I hit the treadmill. I wanted to grab a few more miles, but still allow myself to be able to have rest and recover to get feeling better, so I just went four. Started with a mile at 7:30, then 7:00, then 6:30, and finally 6:00. Maybe I need to get back on the treadmill once in a while to force myself to hit some pacing like I did toward the end? (Cumulus silver 444.15)

AM - 11.3 morning practice: laps, AC, 2450, AC. Had a few heavy coughing fits and also some time where it chilled a little. Was pretty spent by the end of it. (Cumulus blue 118.65)

no run this afternoon - decided not to run w/ the kids at practice, then when I got home I just crashed.

Nothing today - I doubt for the rest of the week unless I start feeling better.

I just read this article by Frank Shorter and he said, "Finally, remember that the more consistent you are in your training, the less you must rely on a perfect training run every day." Which makes me feel a little better about having to miss a few days from being sick.

Another goose egg - even missed the track meet last night because I was so wasted.

Can't breathe = can't run

I am coming close to a pretty important crossroads. It seems that I am missing some very important workout time for tuning things up for the Salt Lake Marathon. I am beginning to think that maybe I won't be able to run it. I am leaning toward the idea that if I can't get at least two solid workouts in later this week, I will just pass on SLC. It is a tough decision. I know I could still run a solid time if I get better and am running again in say a week and a half. But I don't want to run just a solid time. I have put a lot of effort into this throughout the winter and more and have my sights set pretty high. If I can't run, I will just reevaluate. I would love to move back to Ogden, but with State Track, I just can't. What do some of you think (and don't just give me that sugar-coated bs of you'll do great and a 2:35 is great blah... blah... blah...)

Doc says pneumonia!
 

afternoon - 3 on track. Back at it. I figured my lungs would be a little spent, but that my legs wouldn't be too bad coming around - wrong. I felt like an old man. But my lungs felt decent. I didn't push the pace by any means and only ran laps so I could quit if I needed. But it was nice to get moving again. I think I'll bump it up just a little tomorrow. (Landreth 18.55)