Relentless

morning - 9.5 Hell's Hole.  I was up and ready to go to Clyde's this morning, but on the way out Elin woke up and Ally was already gone.  I should have just let her get over it, but instead I tried to get her back to sleep and she wasn't having any of it.  So I ended up missing the run and it kind of put me into a bad mood for the morning.  For practice we ran hills in Hell's Hole.  I've said it before, but it is just kind of a bummer that I can't hang on those like I used to be able to.  (Barefoot '12 71.5)(Rocket 376.25)

afternoon - 7.75 Dino Tracks.  Went out and got a little trail running in today after working on the basement for quite awhile.  At first I almost got in a huge rainstorm and then it died out and got very hot.  The sand up in the desert wasn't bad at all though because of the recent rains.  (NB 110 282.5)

AM - 14.5 Parkway/Tortoise Fence.  Still struggling to get out of bed and get any workouts in.  Just kind of in a rut; but I am trying not to beat myself up over it - easier said than done.  Ended practice with 8xbarefoot striders and then went and got Pyper and Laney and we ran 2 on the grass.   (Barefoot '12 75)(Kinvara3 47.5)

afternoon - 6 DI/AC.  Did DI with a bit of an extension before practice and then AC.  A bit warmer than the last few weeks.  Lifting and plyos after.  (Altra 341)

AM - 15 Little Valley. After dropping off Ally for her run, I ran around Little Valley for a bit trying to find the right kind of hill for our workout today. When the team showed up, we hit 3x30 second 7x1min. I felt a little stronger than the last few runs, but I still have this dang head cold that is plugging me up and messing with me left ear. The whole team looked really strong though. Ended with some grass miles at the park and then one more with the girls when I got home. (Barefoot '12 79)(F50 275)

AM - 19.75 Quail. James and I ran one of my favorite road routes this morning. Had a good run with a solid pace throughout (except for the first five which we thought weren't too bad but ended up being the usual slow start). Along with the decent pace (6:30 pace/effort) I threw in 3 at MP, which was a first in awhile. It felt quite good and was too much of a strain- now just add 23.2 more of those! (Oregon 410.25)

Week ended good. I think I am just thinking too much about things beyond my control and stressing myself out. Add that to the dogday's of summer and I just wasn't enjoying running like I want. So glad it ended on a good note.

Goals for next week: I think I may race this weekend, so if I do, I would like to give as good an effort as I am in shape for. And basically just enjoy this last week before school. Also an XC meet this week, so it will be fun to see where the kids are.

AM - 18.75 Parkway/Middleton.  Ran the Parkway before practice.  Then we ran out into Middleton and up on the Red Hills Parkway by Pioneer Park.  On the way back we hit 3 miles of tempo.  Mike was back in town (finally!) and was running well, so we led the pack throughout.  Then finished with the two miler around DogTown for our 12 miler.  Ran home and then with the dog and girls.  (Barefoot '12 79.5)(Connect 255.5)

afternoon - 6 DI/AC.  Ran DI with the extension and AC for practice with weights and ploys.  (Zero 24) 

AM - 11 Hell Hole/Dirt Mile. Out for a few slow easy miles before practice down along the river and an easy 4 at practice today. (Boston 868.5)(Barefoot '12 80)

afternoon - 5.5 Grapevine. Junk... Injury time. Planned on my 7.5 miler up to Highland,but just starting up the hill, my left calf went nuts. It had felt tight the whole morning and the first of the run (because I couldn't take care of because of kids club), but I hoped it would loosen up. Anyway... first few steps up the hill it sent a shooting pain right up my calf. I walked a few steps and stretched and then tried to run again. A weird grind happened in the very bottom of the muscle and about dropped me to the ground. I decided to turn back and limped, walked, hobbled back. That in itself was very painful and tedious. So icing, compression, rolling, Wintercrest hoping it will loosen up. Best case just a way right muscle that kind of spazzed out - worst case a blown up calf muscle. Hoping for the former, but it hurt bad enough that it could be the latter - lame. (NB 110 288)

My leg is screwed up. So bummed. I tried to limit my movement around the XC course because it killed, but that was way hard - not my style. So crossing my fingers that staying off and treatment until Monday will work. If I'm lucky. Team did pretty well at the meet though, and Rylee ran her first 6th grade race and that was a lot of fun to be with her.

Nothing today - a lot of pain.

Again nothing.  Sometimes I think there is some improvement; then it will hurt a lot.

Went down to watch Allyson run the Provo River Half.  She did a great job and ran a new PR - breaking 2:00 for the first time ever.  Was a bit bummed not to be running.

Obviously the week wasn't great.  Seems to be turning out to be a bummer year leading up to SGM.  

Goals for next week:  run?!

morning - 2 AC(short).  Ran with Colton out toward Arctic Circle and back.  I stop in at the PT and had him look at my leg before to evaluate if it was a tear.  He said it didn't have the misshaped look of a tear and he could feel anything, so probably just a nasty knot that may have set off some nerve stuff.  Felt decent this morning, but there was a lot of tightness and I won't do anything else today despite really wanting to get out and just "run it out".  (Landreth blue 824.65)

I read some of Meb's stuff about his training and overcoming injury this spring that has given me a little hope.  Sure I am not at his level, but I have a very large base and perform pretty well even when I haven't hit a lot of hard stuff (like this winter's halves), so maybe 6-7 weeks of hard work can take me to a decent time still.

morning - 4.5 2xDI.  Warmed up and cooled down with the boys.  A little better than yesterday... maybe?  (Triumph 843.5)

AM - 5 Parkway.  Out on my own today as school starts and the kids have all sorts of different schedules.  So I went running and was able to see the fam before the kidos headed off to school.  Leg felt good.  Still a fair amount of pain, but so much better.  Running was actually enjoyable.  Maybe I'll join the team for their cool down this afternoon.  (F50 280)

afternoon - 2 DI.  Just cooled down with team after their workout.  It is plenty hot out.  Leg felt okay with the double (albeit a very short double).  (Kinvara 669.75)

AM - 3 AC.  Usual morning practice run with the team.  Felt decent in the leg.  It is slowly starting to improve.  (Oregon 413.25)

afternoon - 4 Dog Pound.  About the same as the last few runs.  (Kinvara3 51.5)

AM - 3 AC.  Super hot out this morning.  Blah.  Leg: sameness.  (Free 674.45)

afternoon - 4 GS.  Team had an easy run, so I joined them.  Didn't hit the 200's after as to not put the stress on the calf although it is improving a little each day.  (Connect 259.5) 

AM - 10.5 Wendy's.  Up pretty early to get the run in before heading off to the meet.  Right off the bat I noticed a big improvement in my calf.  Although there was still pain every step, it much more isolated to the area instead of having the whole calf beaten with a baseball bat and then thrown into a vise.  So that was nice.  Then I noticed that my paces for the first two miles were pretty decent and I started to think maybe I would throw in a little tempo.  So amped it a little to test it out and thought about the risk of pushing it against the gain of a tempo and then decided to do it anyway.  So 6 miles of Tinman pace and it felt great and relaxed and not hard, but quick just like it should.  It was quite fun.  Then cooled down a mile with the dog.  (Rocket 386.75)

I can't say the week was a total waste because my only goal was to run and I was able to do that - with improvement, and with the leg feeling actually runnable today.

Goals for next week:  Keep it feeling better so I can get some workouts it. 

AM - 6.25 6x3mins.  Ran with the girls on their workout today.  We did a Pizza warm up and cool with 6x3mins (w/ 3 mins rec) on the 800 loop.  Felt nice to get a little quicker running in.  The calf was a little iffy at first - it really bugged me during the night last night, so I was worried - but then it wasn't even bugging.  The girls did great.  (Hyper Speed 2 196.5)

afternoon - 8 2xDI 6x3mins.  Ran a little more than I wanted to - hard paced.  Just did the warm/cool with the team, and I had just planned on running around as the team did their workout.  But then one of the Varsity girls had no one to run with so I ran most of her workout with her; then, the Varsity boys looked as if they could use a push so I jumped in with them.  Their pace was harder than I wanted to run today, but it actually felt pretty nice to get out and push a little and help them out.  Hopefully it doesn't have too much of a negative affect on tomorrow's tempo.  (F50 288)

AM - 13 Tempo.  Logan agreed to meet me at Clyde's and run our Tempo Loop early this morning.  I had hoped to get around 6 maybe 7 miles of tempo in, but I was a little tired as we started out and the heat (over 80) with the humidity really drained me - it shouldn't be that brutal at 5:00am.  So we just got 5 of tempo in, but the pace was solid since Logan was there to pull me along for most of it.  Next week I would like to add two more miles to it.  Leg felt pretty good once it warmed up, but was a little iffy at first.  I'll take this afternoon off and let it, and me, rest a little.  (Rocket 399.75)

AM - 6 AC/DI.  Hello, rain.  I heard the storm come in last night, but I had no idea how much it was raining until I went out to practice.  At home it was like a sheet of water - the gutters were overrun and the roads were totally flooding.  Over at school it was a bit less, but still a downpour.  I wondered how many kids would be there, but most still came out.  Pretty awesome how dedicated a lot of these high school kids are.  (Hyper Speed 239.25)

afternoon - 10 River Run.  Good news... its raining still.  Started back just as we started practice and didn't relent throughout.  Ran the River Run with an extension out on Mosquito.  During the run hit 5x1/2 mile fartleks.  Pace was between 5:40 and 6:00.  Just a nice stretching out of the legs for me and the team.  Leg is getting a little better each day.  (Boston 878.5)

AM - 7.25 2xDI/AC.  Ran the DI on my own sandwiched around AC with the team with a little extension.  Leg feeling a little better each day so that is nice, but it still hurts a lot during my sleep - waking me up many times through the night.  (Connect 266.75)

afternoon - 5 GS. Easy recovery run up into Green Springs. Not going to lie, my legs weren't spent, but the pace was nice. The a nice set of striders - I wasn't too quick, but the grass was great. I need to find time to get out there and do a bunch of miles on it before it gets to junky. Did some lifting today, but no plyos yet. (Barefoot '12 81)(Kinvara3 55.5)

AM - 7.25 2xDI/AC.  Same run as yesterday and felt about the same as yesterday; just a little tired but not too bad.  Not looking forward to waking up super early tomorrow - blah.  (Landreth blue 831.9)

afternoon - 5.5 Washington. Ran the warm up with the team, which I can rarely do with all the administrative work of coaching. The four into Washington and 4x200. I really don't like those and thought about using my calf as an excuse not to do them, but then decided that I could use the turnover - I barely got warmed up before they were over, but they were good for me. Now I am all jacked because of Michael's great race up north today - he nearly pulled off The upset and beat a top 25 ranked runner in the nation - yup he is looking really good! (zero 29.5)

AM - 19 Green Valley.  Up super early to run before heading up to SUU.  Ran the Green Valley run from school so I could get ready quicker.  Added a bit by dropping down to Vernon Worthen and then up the last few miles of the course.  I tried to push a little bit down Valley View and got about 5 miles in of Tinman.  Stopped off at the Dixie Center to fill up the water bottle and wanted to get moving again, but I was a bit tired and really didn't have a lot in me.  After stopping at the rock climbing park to get more water, I had a little more in the legs and picked it up the last couple back to school.  (F50 307)

It was great to get back to running a bit and trying to push a few miles.

Goals for next week: I have decided that currently breaking 2:40 would be a reasonable goal for the marathon, hopefully a good month can bring that down a few minutes.  So, having a good tempo session would be nice.  And of course, get the leg back to 100%. 

AM - 7 6x1000's.  Ran a little before the girls got there and then the workout with them with a Pizza warm/cool.  They did a great job.  We are really focusing on our pack development with our 1-3 and 4-9 girls and I saw some good positives today.  I like running these with the girls because it gets me moving - especially for a Monday - but without the wear and tear on the legs.  (Zero 36.5)

afternoon - 9 Vernon Worthen. It was HOT out today - car read 105 on the way home. Ran 8xbarefoot striders at the park, then back to school. Did weights, but no plyos yet on my calf. (Barefoot '12 82)(Stratus grey 1024.85)

AM - 13 Tempo.  Three warm and then Tempo with Logan.  It was much cooler and things went much better this week than last.  The first three went by nice and we just chatted and picked up the pace.  Then we just kept rolling and hit some solid times.  Didn't look at the watch and that was real nice - ended up with the first 2 at Tinman and then the next 5 at MP (5:42-5:49).  Clyde joined us for the warm and cool and that was nice to get the Circle back together.  Felt good about the improvement this week. (Rocket 412.75)

afternoon - 8.5 6x1000 (grass loops).  So I was pretty spent from this morning and wondered how I would do on this, but I wanted/needed to get out there with the boys and help them as much as I could.  Every one was a struggle and I had to really push to get anything done, but the times were pretty solid and the team was doing pretty well.  The 6th was I could tell I was done as my time fell 10 secs and I just didn't have anything left.  Then DI warm/cool.  A very long day and I am absolutely spent with life.  (Zero 45)

AM - 7 2xDI/AC.  Figured I would be spent and dead today.  Mostly just tired.  I'm sure my legs will be more spent as the day goes on.  Feel pretty dehydrated too.  It has been hot and I've been drinking like a fish, but I haven't caught up to it yet.  (Kinvara 676.65)
afternoon - 6 2xDI/laps. Just ran the warm and cool with the team and some laps while they did their workout. Just tired overall today. (Connect 272.75)

AM  - 10 Mall/AC/DI.  Not superb, not hideous.  (Oregon 423.25)

afternoon - 6 Fields.  Still pretty warm out, so we ran toward the double churches so that we could stop at the park.  On the way back we hit our 8xbarefoot striders there.  Calf feeling pretty decent.  Weights after - still no squats or plyos for me though.  (Barefoot '12 83)(Kinvara3 60.5)

AM - 5 AC/DI.  Slept in a little today since I'll be up a lot of the night with our teams Run-a-Thon.  So not much mileage, but I'll survive.  Legs are getting a little back in them; just in time to go where them out again.  (Landreth blue 836.9)

afternoon - 10 Fields. During our football game induced "time out" from our run-a-thon, most of the boys and I headed out for or long run with tempo. We got out just after five and it was still just gut-bustin hot. Everyone did stellar on their tempos and I couldn't have been more pleased. Mine was nice a nice Tinman for 6 miles with Mike, Casey, and Jason. I wasn't so sure I would up to it - still feeling the early week a bit, but I just relaxed into the pace and enjoyed having a good solid pace. (last Ohana 318.5)