Relentless

morning - 11.25 Parkway.  Ran over to school for practice, then we hit the Parkway - had to jump out a little early to get back home.  Then finished up with the dog and Laney around the block.  (Stratus bee 536.15)

afternoon - 11.75 Dino Tracks/Sand Hill.  Very nice run up in the desert today.  Had a long day working in the yard, but I still felt pretty good.  Ran Dino, then up to Sand Hill and climbed that beast and brought it home.  (Cumulus white 581.3) 

morning - 14.1 River Trail.  Ran over to PVHS again for practice and then went down onto the trail for fartlek work.  5 sets of the same workout from a few weeks ago - 2min hard/1min easy-1min hard/30sec easy-30sec hard/30sec easy.  It is a strong little workout.  Brought it on home after practice and then took Molly around.  (Stratus grey 46.1)

afternoon - 8.3 Grapevine to Coral Canyon.  Headed out onto one of my fav. runs, out into Grapevine and took it over the hill and out into Coral Canyon as long as I could before needing to bring it back for dinner.  Have been trying to stretch, roll, and ice legs good to keep feeling good.  (Landreth black  470.6)

morning - 14.65 Green Springs/Shoe. Took Green Springs route to practice and then we ran Shoe (new name for Mosquito/Staheli/Sandberg) and then brought it home and took dog around. (Stratus black 240.1)

afternoon - 10.9 Bracken's Loop.  One of my all-time favorite runs - but also one of the hardest runs.  A lot of sand (pretty much the whole thing) and a ton of climbs.  But away from everyone and everything with a lot of amazing rock formations.  In one of the dry stream-beds, some water surfaced for about twenty feet and was running and starting to pool in places.  It was nice and refreshing.  (Landreth  700.75 - first pair of shoes ever over 700)

morning - 12.  Ran over to school for practice and caught the DI warm up with the team.  Then I ran around barefoot on the turf for about 1.25 as they did their 400's.  Finished off with DI cool and then home.  Grabbed Laney and the dog and went 1.25.  (Cumulus gold 277.65)

evening - 8.75 Club run.  Steve, James, Clyde and I went down to Mosquito, up Dog Pound, across the bridge in Green Springs and then back to the store.  Just a nice chill run and enjoyed the company.  (Landreth orange  37.75)

morning - 11 Fire Station desert.  Ran to practice then Austin and Lara and I ran out in to the desert above the Fire Station.  Ran home and added a mile with the dog and Pyper and Laney in the stroller!  (Stratus bee 547.15)

afternoon - 8.3 Grapevine to Coral Canyon.  Same run as last Tuesday afternoon.  Started pretty chill w/ no watch so I didn't worry about pace.  Trying to have some sort of legs for tomorrow's run.  But ended up starting to flow a little better toward the end as I thought about some of my goals.  (Cumulus white  589.6)

AM - 42 Utah Hill x 3.  I really don't have a lot of weekends where I can prepare for the 50 - even though it is still a few months away - so I decided to get something big in today.  Picked up Steve very early and we started the first loop.  The dark kept it a little slower and actually hid the hills a little.  Finishing up the first lap, James and the others went by - we started a little slow and the slower pace made us late.  Moved into the 2nd lap and it went pretty good.  Then moved into the 3rd lap and switched directions and it went pretty solid as well.  Total time from the first step to the last was 6:18 including refueling/drink stops/bathrooms- for an average of 9:00.  Nothing crazy, but this type of running, I found out, is much different than anything else I've done.  It's not about pace, it's about getting it done.  It was kind of surreal running that long.  I thought about EVERYTHING one could think of.  Named every stinking climb (and there were a ton).  Cheered myself at notable milestones - 22, most miles for a week; 28, longest timed run; 31, longest mileage run; 40, 2 miles left; 41, 1 mile left; 42, done!  Legs and mind were the big concerns, but I am actually pleased about how I held up all around. Hydration and fueling were solid.  Ate bread and honey each time back at the Jeep and had plenty of Gu's and Shot blocks.  Could have used just a little more gato and water on the last loop.  (Landreth black 512.6)

This was the end to a monster week for me - 150+ total (previous high was 133), today's crazy run - and I feel pretty solid, a little tired but I think I could easily stick another 8 onto it and have a solid 50 miler (especially on fresher legs and a more racy atmosphere).

Goals for next week: Chill out a little (our meet this coming weekend will slow me down), and start off the last quarter of the school year well.