This cold (the virus kind, not the temperature) is still hanging on. I was able to run in spite of it this week but it has been chipping away at my energy level. Going for complete rest this New Years day. Ironically, after two weeks or so of sub freezing temps, today is upper 30's and I'm not running.

Happy 2010!

10 miles / 1:31:40 / 9:10 avg.  Mostly sunny, 35 degrees, breeze out of NW. Cattle road.

Easy pace today because:

A: The cattle rd was packed snow/slush/ice.

B: Still battling this cold, (low energy, stuffy head, cough), and

C: I'm slow.

7.1 miles / 8:55 avg.  Sunny, 33 degrees. Clark/glovers lane.

Nothing there today. In fact, I ran progressively slower as the miles went by. Nice to get out and run though.

8.25 miles / 1:09:27 / 8:24 avg. Murky sunshine, 29 degrees. From work and about.

Splits: 8:53, 8:19, 8:14, 8:24, 8:25, 8:31, 8:21, 8:12 + .25 @ 7:40 pace.

11 miles / 1:34:45 / 8:36 avg. Noon-thirty.  Bluff trail, overhaze, 30 degrees.

Started off slow. At mile 3 (9:32) I was feeling that weak, dizzy feeling I get from time to time. I almost turned around and headed back at that point. I started feeling much better around 5 miles so on the way back I focused on running faster for miles 8 and 10.  As usual, optimism wins again.

Splits: 8:44, 8:54, 9:32, 8:53, 8:31, 8:35, 8:42, 7:43, 8:55, 7:37, 8:36.

5 miles / 8:43 avg. Bluff trail. Overcast, 39 degrees. Shorts weather!

Easy 8. 9:08 avg. Partly cloudy/hazy, 25 degrees. Bluff trail. 4 x 30 second striders in the last mile.

20 miles / 2:53:49 / 8:41 avg. Overcast skies, 30 degrees, light wind out of NNW. Ran all over Northwest Davis County. Fastest mile was 8:06, slowest was 9:08. Felt pretty good until the last couple. At approximately miles 8 and 16, was back at my car for fuel/hydration, although my total intake for the run was 3/4 of a banana and about 12 oz of water. I had plenty of energy throughout the run, just cramped up a bit towards the end. 

I reached 10 miles in 1:25:13 (8:31 avg), and 13.1 miles in 1:52:28 (8:35 avg.), and then finished up the 20 with an avg. pace of 8:41...so I slowed down quite a bit the second half of the run. Got to work on that. But otherwise happy, and grateful that I am still running and improving.

3 easy for recovery. 9:18 avg. pace. Sunny, hazy, 34 degrees. With the dogs.

7.5 miles / 9:19 avg. Drove twenty miles East up Weber canyon to get out of the gunky air of the valley. It was worth the drive as the skies were crystal clear and I could see for miles. Parked in Peterson and ran along "Old Highway Road", basically a frontage road. Had some good long steady climbs and descents both going out and coming back.  Still in recovery mode from Saturdays effort.

Easy 8 / 8:55 avg. Bluff trail. 30 degrees. Sucking in the worst air in the country.

AM - 6 miles / 9:25 avg. Had a rare morning off from work so I took the dogs to the cattle road and we ran 6 easy on  packed ice under hazy sunshine and 19 degree temperature.

8 miles / 1:06:28 / 8:19  Treadmill. Tempo run.

2 mi. WU

4 miles @ 8:00 pace

2 mi. CD

Another run, yeah.

Where once beer and bong delight,

Now endorphins do.

TMI, I know. But it's nice to have moved on in life and to have developed healthier habits.

13.1 miles / 1:51:57 / 8:32 avg. Overcast. hazy, 28 degrees. Bluff trail.

Took a long time to warm up today.

Splits: 8:44, 8:47, 8:46, 8:43, 8:43, 8:21, 8:22, 8:29, 8:43, 8:30, 8:29, 8:21, 8:08. + .1 @ 7:36 pace.

4.5 miles / 8:50 avg. Hazy sun, 29 degrees. 1/2 mile laps around the mystery field track.

Recovery mode for the first couple of miles then started feeling loose again.

9:40, 9:38, 8:21, 8:11, +.5 mi. @ 7:52 pace.

Easy 8. No watch today. Partly cloudy with warm sunshine peeking through here and there. 43 degrees. From the house, Clark/Glovers lane.

Warm enough to wear the pants that were not long.

7 miles / 58:24 / 8:21 avg. Treadmill. 

2.25 mi. WU

8 x 1/4 mi. @ 7:04 pace w/ equal dist. recovery.

1 mi. CD

3 miles / 8:37 avg. 

Me and Mr. Treadmillsen taking the short-n-easy route today, after work.

12 miles / 1:43:38 / 8:37 avg. Bluff trail/roads. Mostly cloudy, 41 degrees, wind 7 -16 mph.

In spite of coming back into a headwind, I still managed a negative split of 1:09.

Splits: 8:44, 8:42, 8:51, 8:55, 8:44, 8:28, 8:37, 8:36, 8:36, 8:38, 8:33, 8:10.

Rest day.

Started feeling a little funky last night. Didn't sleep well, and felt loopy at work this morning. Came home early feeling mildly lymph nodie. Just got up from a two hour nap and feel ...well, not worse really. So I'm not going to push it today ( I wanted to run long), and hopefully I'll be good to go tomorrow. After a 34 mile week, and two days off in a row, I'd better feel like a rock -n-roller.

8.7 miles / 9:18 avg. From house around noon. Mostly sunny, 36 degrees. Easy digression run.

8 miles / 1:07:48 / 8:28 avg. Early lunch run, from work and about the town. Overcast, 32 degrees. 

Mile splits: 9:02, 8:37, 8:38, 8:11, 8:31, 8:26, 8:15, 8:04.

I'm so excited about this I just had to share it with anyone who might read my blog today...

I get to run on the treadmill tonight!!!!!!

5.5 miles / 47:31 / 8:39 avg. On the TM. It was all I imagined it would be, and more.

10 miles / 1:26:24 / 8:38 avg. Hazy sunshine, 32 degrees. One mile boardwalk loops at the nature preserve. (Had the place to myself).

Intentional progression run. It's a challenge to try to increase you pace each mile by just a little, because if you increase too much from one mile to the next, it's hard to keep up.

Mile splits: 9:29, 9:02, 8:57, 8:48, 8:38, 8:38, 8:28, 8:15, 8:05, 7:57.

8 miles / 9:45 avg. A muddy slog out on the dykes of the bird refuge with the dogs. So muddy in some places I had to stop and re-tie my shoes because the weight of the mud was threatening to pull them off. A lot of fun! When I got back to my jeep, the moon had just risen in the East above snow capped mountains, and the sun was just sinking in the West. The moon looked extra white against the blue sky. The effect of all this color felt like turquoise on my mind. A beautiful evening.

Rest day tomorrow.

16 / 2:18:20 / 8:38 avg. Noon. Mostly cloudy, 36 degrees. Cold wind. Bluff trail / roads around West Davis County. Started out too fast with the first three miles at 8:18, 8:19, 8:10 then ran around MP (8:30) for most of the rest of the run with some 8:50's and a 9:00 for the 14th mile. The last mile was 8:33. Overall felt okay. Legs are a little weak. Probably from running mostly flat parkway trails most of the Winter. I should also add that I didn't take in any water or food during this run.

7 miles / 1:01:46/ 8:49 avg. 11:00 AM. Easy recovery run on the treadmill.