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Spent the past weekend at the Founders Title Folk and Bluegrass Festival. No running. Folk and bluegrass people like to stay up all night and jam. Serious sleep deprivation!

My longest run since starting back up 6 mos. ago. Felt great.

I just joined the blog today. I've been lurking around here for a couple of months and have gained a lot of inspiration/motivation from all the great runners here. So thanks and may you stay...forever young! So far I've run exclusively on trails and/or dirt roads. I'll have to face the roads eventually as winter draws near. Hopefully I'll be fast enough by then to outrun the mad person behind the wheel! My pace has probably not been faster than 10mpm. I've ordered a Garmin gps watch, should have it within a week, then I can more accurately log my mileges/pace.

     Ran on the "Fire break road" this morning, with the dogs. I've had to cut back the dogs mileage this Summer, they've slowed down considerably. Dogs age more rapidly than humans, so you gotta keep an eye on them when they get to being six or seven years old.

     This route on the fire break road is one I use most often, it's on the East side of the valley, so the ridgeline protects me from the sun until about 8:00 or 9:00 AM. It's a very hilly dirt road, I'll have more stats about the ups and downs once I get the gps out there, next week. Once the snow hits though, the road is un-runable. Today I struggled with lead legs and no energy. It always seems to pay off when I tough it out on days like this.

After four hours of fitful sleep, I decided it was easier to just get up and get the run in. Started at 5:45 AM. Weekly long run on the "cattle road" which takes me out to the bird refuge. I like to call this course "the dykes" because it's a marsh land with miles (and miles) of dykes running through. Awesome place to run. Got to see the business end of two skunks this morning and more birds than I can wrap my mind around. Just guessing on the mileage based on my time. Felt great though, had enough strength at the end to do a couple of surges in the last mile. So glad to be running again! 

Re co ve ry:  Hurts so good. Nice and easy on the fire break road (hilly).

6:30 am, took the dogs up on the fire break road. It took three miles until I felt loose. I'm going to give the ol' six days a week thing a try starting this week...three down three to go. Sunday is my long run and Saturday is for rest.

Reading through this blog has really inspired me to train better, and to develop my mental strength on a whole different level. Thanks to Sasha and all the runners on this blog for generously sharing their experience and support.

6:45 am ran on the cattle rd/dykes. Nice, partly cloudy morning. There was someone in an old fashioned airplane, an open cockpit etc. flying around out there. There are no power lines or buildings, so it must be a great place to fly. He was flying pretty low to the ground and flew right over me a couple of times. Pretty cool. 

First run with my Garmin...yeah! The bad news is, it looks like I've been over estimating my mileages, just by a little though. I may go back on my log here and adjust my previous entries as I re-run the courses over te next week or so. But yeah, I love seeing my pace as I run, and I especially love having an accurate distance, since I run on trails mostly. 

7:00 am. Ran on the junior high field. Each lap, if I hug the outer perimeter, equals a half mile. Just did three today, trying to get through doing my first "six day week" without hurting myself. Tommorrows run will make six. I anitcipate, after my run tommorrow, that the heavens will open up, and the answer to all of lifes questions will be revealed to me. Actually though, I really feel good about my training so far, and I look forward to getting my aerobic base built and solid.

Today's splits were 1st mile 10:30, 2nd 10:12, 3rd 9:01 Total 29:43

6:45 am. 4 miles on the fire break rd. Four tiny hours of sleep last night. I've always been kind of an insomniac but this week seems unusually sleepless. Todays run makes six days in a row, first time in my life I've done that. I feel really good. I plan to do it again next week starting on Sunday. I may cut back a little on my long run though. This is new territory for me and I want to be cautious.

I must say when I first started reading these blogs I was very skeptical of the six day a week theory...but after reading through the blogs for several weeks I began to see some of the advantages of training this way. Looking back on my logs for my previous three marathons ('95, '99' '03) I wonder how I even managed to finish those races. I see that I was trying to get by on as little training as possible, running three or four days, 25-35 miles a week...silly me. So I'm encouraged by my newfound training ethic, and motivated. Even though I'm 44 yrs old, I think that I can improve on my marathon PR (4:21) significantly in the Fall of '09.

Boy, we are a lucky bunch.

No run today. Lots of sleep.

Woke up at 6:00 am, the wind was still howling, didn't sleep well anyway, so I "slept" until 8:00. Really didn't feel well, nothing specific, just slight nausea, malaise etc. But I got out on the run anyway. Struggled the whole way, extremely slow pace but I finished. No gas in the tank but another deposit in the bank.

Ran on the cattle rd./dykes. When I ran years before I used to run out here and I never saw another runner until today. We passed running opposite directions. Very fit looking, having a better run than me no doubt. I wonder if he's on this blog.

I felt 100% better this morning than yesterday.

Fire break road. Lots of hills. Pushed an even pace throughout. Felt it.

6:30 am. Cattle rd. Felt really good. This is why I run.

6:30 am. Cattle rd. My mile splits are improving, but I'm not really trying to run faster, so I hope I'm not over doing it. For me, the last couple of weeks have been a big increase in mileage, and so far I feel good. I'm resisting the urge to run more and faster, I just want to get a good aerobic base going without getting injured or sick.

One of the many benefits to running six days a week is that I can count on the run...I know I'm running the next day...what am I trying to say? Before, I would run one day, be tired the next morning, not run, not think about it etc. Very inconsistent. Mentally (and aerobically) it just makes more sense, if you're serious about being a runner, to plan on running every day, and actually it's kind of relief to know I'm going to get out tommorrow for another run. Kind of  an all or nothing approach to training.

Lot's of hilly fun on the fire break road today. I have now completed two-6 day weeks in a row.

Though I was gagged and bound and thrown into the trunk of the relaxy taxi seven months ago when I started running again, I think I can see a way out, but I have to be careful the trunk lid doesn't slam shut on my legs when I make my escape...to be continued...

Started run at 5:40 am. This is my longest run under this current effort. Everything went as well as I could hope for. Ran on the cattle rd/dykes. Average pace 10:10, my fastest mile was the last mile. I feel like I'm doing everything right so far, not over doing it, avoiding injury. Felt controlled most of the run, able to maintain form, and breathing easy.

Beautiful full moon out this morning.

6:30 am. First run "on the roads" since I started running again. Funny how the strategies I had developed years ago for avoiding traffic are seemingly hardwired in my brain. I've been a little anxious about running through the streets again but it all came back in an instant and I felt right at home. The big difference though is that I have a GPS! It's so great to know that no matter what twists and turns I decide to take while out on a run, I'll have an accurate measurement of my time and pace. Bueno!

My pace was slow. I felt good considering what for me was a long run yesterday.

I'm still trying to decide if I like the feature on the Garmin that starts mocking me when I dip below a certain pace. Lol!

6:45 am. Absolutely wanted to stay in bed this morning. I'm getting plenty of sleep. Yeah my legs are a little sore, this was just plain ol' fatigue I think. I have increased my mileage a lot recently, and this is only my third week of running six days, so I think it's catching up to me a little. It's hard to stay safe and not over do the mileage, especially when my mileage is only 35 miles a week or so. Must keep things in perspective.

Late start run on the cattle rd/dykes. When the sun hits those marshes the bugs start swarmin'. So I think I got my protien for the day. Felt tired but strong. My average pace was almost thirty seconds per miles faster than the seven miler I did out here last week!

6:30 am. Easy and slow, on the cattle rd.

Let's pretend that my pace on this run is a meal...a big heaping plate of "slow", now let's suppose that I decide to dash down to the store and get a pound of grated "slow" to pile on top of my plate. Then, not being satisfied with that, for my beverage, I mix up a gallon of 100% "slow" to quench my thirst! Finally for dessert, two...no, make that three, scoops of  organic, corn fed, free range..."slow". Therein lies the best description I can muster to illustrate my pace on todays run.

Bon apetit!

6:30 am. Ran from the house up Farmington canyon, along the fire break road and back. Didn't know what I'd do this morning but ended up feeling good so I made the climb, 500 ft in the first mile and a half, then lots of up and down for four miles, along the  fire break rd, then back down the canyon, then weaving through the neighborhood so I could get enough distance in to make my first 40 mile week! Yeah baby!

This is three weeks in a row running six days a week. I've increased my mileage from 25/wk to 40/wk. So I think I should make next week an easy week. Still running six days, but cutting back a little on the mileage.

I hope to stay motivated enough to keep laying down base throughout the Winter and coming out strong next Spring.

6:15 am. Man I love being out early on a run. The sleepers don't know what they're missing! Felt good today. Easy pace. Ran from the house to the cattle rd 2.2 mi, South on cattle rd 1.45 mi onto the bird refuge till I got to 5 mi. then came back, and added a couple of blocks in the neighborhood. 

Great start to another glorious week in paradise!

Congratulations to all the bloggers who raced yesterday! 

6:15 am. Tour of the neighborhood. Going easy this week.

6:30 am. Giving it to the hills on the fire break road.

6:30 am. Cattle rd/dykes. Nice cool temps this morning. If I can beat the sun, I avoid the bugs!

For some reason Joan Jett was singing "I love rock and roll!" in my head during the run. Strange because I'm not particularly fond of rock and roll. Not that I have anything against it, there is some rock music I do like, but I certainly don't need the phrase "I love rock and roll" ringing in my brain all morning. Almost as bad as "My Sherona". Good heavens, these people made money on these songs!

6:15 am. Cooler temps this morning, felt good. Ran around the neighborhood including a mile and a half on the Jr. High field.

I think the walkers I encounter in the morning are scared of me...not sure why...it could be my lightening fast pace (9:00-9:30 p/mile) or the heavy breathing...oh wait I know, it's the facial hair! I say good morning and get silence for a response. From now on I'm going to wait until I'm just passing and then say "Boo!" That oughta get a response.

6:15 am. 1.8 mi. to the jr high, 2.5 mi. on the field, then roundabout the hood home to make 6.13 total.

Felt pretty good today. Sure wish I had known then what I know now...

This ends four weeks in a row of running six days a week. It's like someone left a gift bag at my door full of all kind of goodies: a desire to eat better, better sleeping, less weight, more energy, the ability to become a better runner, a general feeling of well being, a positive, productive outlook on life.

Talk about schwag.

7:00 am. Ran with Chad on the Pipeline trail in Milcreek canyon. Nice to run with someone for a change. When we got to the trailhead at Birch Hollow, it started to rain, but a few minutes into the run it cleared up and conditions were nice. 

Oddly, my average pace for todays run was 20 seconds per mile slower than the six miles I ran Friday. Must have been the slow company...hah! Just kidding! I hope it didn't do Chad too much harm to run 2 to 3 mins. per mile slower than his usual pace. Thanks again Chad!

So I doubled my mileage from July to August! I feel good and will continue to run consistently, increase my miles, and keep looking for the magic pill that will make me faster!

Bonding with Mother Nature this morning. Cattle road with the dogs. Was going to go longer but turned around after 2 miles to return in a strong, cold headwind, combined with rain and even some hail. Fortunately there was a little thunder and lightning as well, so as to keep me from getting bored!

Didn't really sleep last night, so I slept in this morning. Luckily the temps have cooled a little bit and I can get a run in this evening without burning up.

Stay tuned...

Ran 14 miles on the bird refuge. Clear skies, light breezes, comfortable temperature. While happy to have run the distance, I'm a little dissapointed at how I just sort of bonked into the 13th mile. It might be a fuel issue. I'm not in the habit of carrying Gu's etc, and I was out there quite a while. Plus, all I ate today was some watermelon, then a couple of slices of wheat bread right before the run. I hadn't planned on running long today, the opportunity just sort of jumped out at me and I decided to go for it. I should probably look into eating on the run.

Recovery from yesterday afternoons long run. 6:15 am. from the house to the jr. high field for 1.5 miles then back.

Felt fine except for my right IT band flaring up after two miles. Will look for specific stretches on the net today. This has happened before, recently, and when I ran years ago. Same side. I wonder if it's something in my form or if the disparity in leg length might contribute to the problem.   

Resting...resting...resting...

If I don't get a run in tonight, I'll make up for it Saturday...

Ran tonight on the fire break road, a really hilly course. Felt great, no IT issues...whew!

If inhaling swarms of bugs could kill you, I'd have had my last supper out there tonight.

Tour of the hood. Made my way to the school field, 2 miles on the grass, then a meandering route back home. Really nice temps.

Felt great, especially after running just last night, a twelve hour turnover. This is new to me. Twice this week I did the late in the day/then again the next morning runs. It's my way of preparing my body for some two a days sometime in the not too distant future.

Slept late. Ran in the heat. Cattle road. Ran some on the Legacy Parkway trail.

I did try something while running today. I had very little energy for some reason and was just plodding along, my legs felt fine, my breathing was good, I just had nothing to make me go. I was frustrated at my lack of...mmmph, when it occured to me that I didn't need to accept things as they were. I told myself that I knew how to run faster, how to realign my form and move my legs quicker, so I thought why not? So for the better part of mile four I was running at a pace a couple of minutes faster than the fates wanted me to run. Then I got really tired and slowed back down. This experience was different than "pushing harder" or "picking up the pace". I've never really felt quite so inexplicably listless on a run before.  It was cool to feel so detached from my body, yet have my mind running my body, albeit only for a few moments, but it was exciting to me for some reason.

Ran late this afternoon in the heat on the fire break road. Been struggling the last few runs. Maybe it's the heat, or the increased mileage over the last month. I know I'll come out stronger if I stick with it so no big deal.

Ran from the house today. Couldn't sleep so I got started at 5:30 am. Felt much better today than the past several days. Made my way to the cattle rd and ran a couple of miles there. Also ran about a mile on the new legacy highway. It was an eerie feeling to be running on a highway, in the dark, with the road to myself...I felt a little like a pirate.

Ran 6.2 slowly on the fire break road, always a good hill, strength building, pace killing course. Took the dogs. (Note to Sno - this is an area where many people bring their dogs, off leash, for recreation, not like a residential street or anything)  :-)

 My dogs magically turned into goats this morning...scapegoats that is: had to stop a couple of times at the creeks (for the dogs), had to keep my pace extra slow(for the dogs), when I got back to my car I could've and would've run more but for the...yes, you guessed---dogs. 

A good run. My focus this week has been to forego my "long run" while I try to keep my daily runs at least 6 miles. I have, until now, been peppering my week with a couple of four mile runs but want to slowly bring all that up.  

Good run from the house to the parkway trail, out and back. I'm psyched because I can access the 14 mile long parkway trail by running just a mile from my house.

Easy run down to and around the parkway this morning. Long sleeves and gloves (yesterday too), has me thinking about how dedicated I'll have to be when it's below freezing every morning, and the wind's blowing, the roads are icy, the bed is warm and the furnace is cranking. Holy crap this is going to be fun?

6:00 am is getting awfully dark nowadays. When's that time change thing coming.

West and welaxation.

Ran from home to the parkway trail, turned around at 6 miles and came back meandering through the hood to make 13 miles. Good run. It took like six miles before I felt loose though. So I ran a negative split. Met a runner who caught me on the way back and she slowed to run with me for a half mile or so. She was running 18 miles today and is running New York marathon in November. I told her about the blog, hope she checks it out.

Lots of people on the new parkway trail today. Probably about half bikers, half runners, and a smattering of walkers with dogs etc. Not bad for a Sunday.

I'm hoping my body will allow an increase in my weekly milege. Hopefully I can get 50 in for this week. The non blog week ending with today run gives me over 46 miles. Feeling good.

From home to the field at the Jr. high for 2.5 miles then a loopy route back home. Felt really good for a recovery run. Full moon in the western sky.

A fun filled ride on the fire break road today. The pace was slow but strong. Felt reallt good today. The run was like a day at the amusement park, up and down, feeling the wind in my face, legs getting tired from walking around from ride to ride.

The last couple of miles I detached from my body and rode on the merry-go-round, but instead of carnival music playing in the background, it was Ozzy Osborne singing "I'm going through changes..."

Running is like drugs only much, much better, and less costly.

No run this morning, so I'll GET to run in the heat late this afternoon!

Please stand bye...

Ran out on the cattle rd/marshes this afternoon. It was warm but the cloud cover and friendly breezes helped. Felt good today.

I made a concious effort to run miles 4,8 & 10 faster than the other miles, mile 8 was the fastest  with the pace being a full minute and a half faster than my average for the run. So in a way, I had a "tiny workout".

Also happy to report my non-blog mileage for the week ending today is somewhere around 51 miles!

From house to the LPT. Easy on tired legs and fatigued body.

For the first couple of miles I was being chased by little giggling hairy gnomes who were wacking my quads with rubber mallots!

Good run around the neighborhood, including 3 mi. around the jr high field. Todays average pace for the run was the fastest this week.

I humbly enter the realm of the 50 mile week with hopes that I can maintain at least this throughout the winter. In October I'll increase the mileage to 60/wk.

It was eight months ago that I decided I needed to get off my rapidly growing arse and excersize again. So, it's taken some time, but now I've acheived an important milestone, in my mind ,of running 50-60 miles a week. In a way, I feel like I'm just getting started really. 

I've lost over twenty pounds since January...I hope to never find them again.

Have a great weekend everyone and good luck to all the TOU people tommorrow!

Processing...processing...processing...

Got a late start, 8:45 am. The sun was shining and it was a little warm. Ran 1.5 mi. from home to the LPT (Legacy Parkway Trail) and out on that to 6.25 miles, got on the cattle road and headed back for about 3 miles, then back onto LPT for a mile, then home.

Felt pretty good about todays run. Left hamstring, right behind the knee, was tight from beginning to end. I think that plus the heat contributed to my average pace being about 25 seconds slower per mile than last week on essentially the same course. I persevered in spite of the discomfort, and that feels good. 

Ran on LPT this afternoon. Sunny, 70 degrees. Tailwind out, headwind back.

Today is officially dubbed "Crazy Day".

First off, my average pace for todays "recovery" run was a half minute faster per mile than any of my previous runs thus far. I wasn't trying to run faster, it was just there...crazy!

Second, there's been a standoff at a home literally one block from my house. All day, swat teams, police, spectators, and all kinds of news vehicles, have been crowding the neighborhood, while "Brian" sits in his pickup with a couple of loaded weapons. Earlier, shots were fired, but no one was hurt. Also, he originally had his wife and kid in the house with him but I guess he let them go. Scary stuff...and sad...crazy!

Makes me grateful for my relatively peaceful existence.

No run this morning, I'll have to get a run in tonight. That's two days in a row with no morning run. It kind of feels like cheating when I don't run early in the morning. Plus I miss starting the day off with a run. I hope to get back on track tommorrow morning.

The standoff one block from my house endly badly last night, shots were fired and the guy did not survive. Jury is still out on wether or not it was self inflicted or cop inflicted. Either way, the guy is gone. I heard the shots last night from my backyard, and my heart just broke. I think that's why I didn't sleep so well last night.

Ran this afternoon. Feelin' the love on the fire break rd. This always a good hilly workout. Pretty much ideal weather, overcast, 68 degrees.

Picture Julie Andrews on a mountain top singing "The hills are alive...with the sound of James getting his butt kicked..."!

Looks like another late afternoon run for me today. I'm not too stressed about missing yet another morning run. These last two months I've run far more than at any time in my life. I'm putting my body through a lot, and there is plenty of adaptation going on. I got to bed real early last night, and slept in till 6:30 this morning, and I feel really good. So I'm looking forward to today's run, I'm just missing the buzz I get to enjoy throughout the day after a morning run.

Ran 11 miles on the cattle rd/marshes. It was hot, 85 degrees.

Delivered no less than 4 horseflies to their heavenly mansions!

 Ran this morning from the house to the jr high field.

_ouch!

Great morning run. From house to the LPT and back. 55 degrees and clear. Crescent moon and stars. Felt so much better than yesterday, although I didn't really warm up until 7.4 miles into the run.

Ran from home to the LPT, out and back. Started at 5:30 am. Clear skies, mid 50's, no breezes. Everything clicked for me today. I had planned on going 15 but felt good so I added a mile. Negative split of 10:37! I know that sounds crazy, but I went out really slow on purpose, then around mile 8 something just took over,  it was cool, like auto pilot, and that lasted until around mile 11, then the rest was work, but I felt like I had full strength and energy throughout. My fastest mile was mile 14.

When I got home I still had .3 mi. to make 16 total so I ran around the yard with the dogs to make it up.

This is what I'm talking about!

Easy recovery run on the cattle road this afternoon. 83 degrees, clear skies, and horseflies.

Slow 7 on the fire break road this morning...

When I woke up this morning, running was NOT AN OPTION. But I went ahead and did it anyway.

I've been a little flu-ish, or mono-ish the last couple of days and last night the symptoms started getting really bad, so I went into major rest mode. Went to bed geriatric style. When the alarm went off at 5:30, I woke up feeling much better but decided to play it safe, not run, and make up the run on Saturday. However, around 10:30, I saw a chance to steal away from work for a couple of hours, so I ran...in the heat...on the LPT. Nine miles, good pace, good times.

5:30 am run from home to the LPT out and back. It seemed extra dark this morning. Felt very good today. Passed a cyclist who seemed quite upset that I didn't have a headlamp...

Didn't run yesterday, just wasn't in the cards. Hopefully I can run tommorrow to get six days for the week.

I had a delivery to Log Haven in Millcreek Canyon today, since I live 40 miles away from there I don't get to run up there much anymore, so I took my running gear, made my delivery then ran on the Pipeline trail from Burch Hollow. I almost wussed out because of the rain, but decided to run in honor of the bloggers who ran SGM this morning. Only six miles but it was a blast! Rain, fog, fall colors, puddles, rocks, and fun.

Got started at 11:30 am today. Easy, relaxing run from home to LPT (Legacy Parkway Trail). Mostly sunny, temps around 50 degrees. Felt really good the first 9 miles then sort of slid of the track. The nice thing about this aerobic conditioning is, even when I'm not feeling so great, my body can still maintain the run.

Ran this afternoon on LPT. Clear skies, mid 60's. Had planned on 6 miles but felt pretty good today so added on. Another good day to be alive.

Real nice and easy jog on the fire break road with the dogs this morning.

Started from house at 6:30 am. Clear skies, 48 degrees. Long sleeves, gloves, shorts. Took 2 miles to get to LPT, 3 miles out and 3 miles back, 2 miles back home. Felt excellent this morning.

This morning from the house, around the hood to the Jr. High field, then back around the hood, on the Lagoon trail, more hood, then home. A couple of tasty hills. Clear skies, 43 degrees. Shorts, long sleeves, gloves...and running shoes.

Drove to LPT and ran 7.5 miles this afternoon. Overcast, 47 degrees, NW wind at 9 mph. Tailwind going out, chilly headwind coming back...brrr! Short sleeves, shorts, gloves. My fastest average pace to date.

Got out around 1:00 pm for a run on the Legacy Parkway Trail (LPT). Light snow, overcast sky, 36 degrees. Long pants, short sleeves under long sleeves, gloves, hat. I felt over dressed but was thankful for the apparel after the breezes started picking up around mile six.

A really good run for me, Good pace. Felt energetic throughout the run. Legs started to get  a little crampy on the last mile or so.

This afternoon on LPT. Mostly sunny, 45 degrees. Shorts, short sleeves. Felt sort of worn out before the run today...feel much better now.

Ran south on the cattle rd 2 miles where I linked up to the LPT and continued south, then did a 180 and headed back north on the LPT till around 7 miles where I dismounted off the LPT and ran west down Glovers Lane to the cattle rd where my car was waiting, silently for me.

All around felt good. My right IT band flared up yesterday, but it behaved today. Perfect weather with sunshine and low 50's.

Six and a half hillacious miles this morning on the fire break road. Clear skies, 40 degrees. Long sleeves, shorts, gloves and hat.

Rare sighting of another runner out there, I saw her last week too. In the ten years or so that I've been either hiking, running or biking on the fire break road, I can probably count on one hand the number of other runners I've seen there. So it's always cool to see another.

Started early this morning, ran from the house to LPT out and back then back home. The machine worked well this morning. The moon played the role of mother natures' headlamp...batteries included.

Very easy run with the dogs, on leash, around the hood/jr high field. Running with two dogs on leashes is kind of un-fun. Dropped the dogs off at home after 4.5 miles and ran free to 6.25.

And so ends another week of running with James in Funkytown, USA.

Started around 8:30 am. Ran from the house to Legacy Parkway Trail, out and back home. Beautiful weather with clear skies and temps between 50 to 60 degrees. Wore short sleeves, shorts and gloves. Carried small, hand held water bottle. Gu at miles 6, 10, and 14.5.  Didn't feel warmed up until around mile 4, then pretty good until the tenth mile. Hit a pretty rough patch around mile 10, but knew that like the ravioli I ate last night, that I chased with a tall glass of chocolate milk, this too would pass. Struggled a bit until the last couple of miles, which were the fastest of the run.

Very happy to have run long today. Very happy it's done.

Run this afternoon on LPT. Clear skies and warm, 70+ degrees. Good recovery from long run yesterday.

Ran late this afternoon on LPT, out and back. Tailwind out, headwind back. Clear skies, 52 degrees.

No strength or energy today. Just a grin and bear it kind of run.

Slow, easy run on ye olde fire break road this morning.

It was cold (30 degrees).

I'm feeling rather trashed this week. Gotta take the good with the bad.

Tonight:

100 situps  /  20 pushups

I want to start doing situps and pushups more consistently so I'm going to post them here and hopefully that will help motivate...

Easy eight (point four) on the LPT late this afternoon. Clear skies, low 50's.

No run today. Run tommorrow.

The soles are the things on the shoes that make contact with the road...

Run from the house this morning to LPT with Chad. Clear skies, upper 30's. Good pace for me today. Excellent run. Excellent conversation.

My first 60 mile week.

Started around 9:30 am. From the house to the Jr. High. The first two miles with Annie, then I ran some more around the field and around the neighborhood to home. Nice easy jog. Beautiful weather these days. 

Standard out and back this afternoon on the LPT. Legs really needed the run today, they recommend (not too subtly) some new stretches I might want to try tonight.

The weather continues to fall into the perfect category.

Good run from the house late this afternoon to the LPT out and back. Great weather, a little warm at 68 degrees but I can't complain about that at the end of October. Right?

Same route as yesterday afternoon, but not as far. Felt great this morning in spite of the back to back runs. Clear skies, low forties.

I think I did some striders...maybe, I'm not sure. I did four 30 second "surges" with 30 second recovery inbetween. They weren't sprints, just faster and I tried to hold my form and relax. I just don't know if 30 seconds is long enough or what. It did feel good to stretch my legs out a little anyway.

Good run this afternoon on the fire break road. Clear skies, 70 degrees.

My pace on these hilly runs is non-existent, but I believe it's good to get in the strength work, plus sharpening coordination skills needed to negotiate around rocks, up and down hills etc.

This morning from the house to the LPT, out amd back. Partly cloudy, 60 degrees, slight breezes.

Legs really tired after yesterday afternoons trail run. After warming up though I felt pretty darn good.

My non-blogular mileage for the week ending today is over 61 miles. I'm looking forward to a day of rest tommorrow.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Rest today. I can actually feel my legs healing themselves. They deserve a good stretching tonight.

On the agenda today:

A little work

Get the yard prepped for Winter (a process I will probably not finish until Spring)

Prepare vittles for the coming week

Highlight of the day: I ate a pineapple.

I bought a used treadmill yesterday ($75.00), and took it for a test drive today. Looks like it will do the job. It's weird to finish a run and not have that pounded feeling in my legs and feet. I think something is lost with treadmill workouts but it's better than nothing. I envision myself using it this Winter when the weather is ridiculous, and/or to add mileage during the week by running my second run of the day on the treadmill.

Great run from the house to LPT out and back, (Since I run this route so much, I'm thinking of just labeling it: RFTHTLPTO&B, maybe). Clear skies and 40 degrees this morning. Lighter out thanks to the time change. Felt pretty good after a slow warm up.

rfhtlpto&b  :-)

Left the house at 5:30 am to get the run in ahead of a storm forecast to come in this morning. Perfectly timed. Low to mid fifties, a headwind and spotty rain going out. A tailwind and continuous light drizzle coming back.

The first four miles or so were extremely slow, but then I had a good pace the rest of the run. Big negative split. This was one of those runs where I was enjoying myself during the run, felt strong and wanted to keep going but had to get home and get ready for work.

Predicting a decisive Obama win tonight...or mass corruption, confusion and a Supreme Court decider in two to three weeks.

Run from the house to LPT out & back this afternoon. 36 degrees, breezes, a little sun and snowfall. Typical Utah weather.

Aside from being over and under dressed, having to go to the bathroom, my eyeglasses fogging up most of the way, and my shoes needing to be retired, todays run was otherwise comfortable.

I went to bed early last night because I was feeling like I was coming down with something. Achy joints, stiff neck etc. I got 8 1/2 hrs of sleep, felt alright in the morning but by the end of the day I felt really quite ill. I got home and took a two hour nap and felt much better. I thought I'd play it safe and just run an easy 6 on the treadmill.

I'll probably take my rest day tommorrow and run short on Saturday. Then hopefully a long run (12-15 miles) on Sunday if I feel better.

Run from the house to LPT, out & back. Decided to get a longer run in today because the weather was beyond ideal for November. Low 50's, high thin clouds, mostly sunny. I felt like I was in some kind of time warp. It felt like an early spring day. Beautiful. It's supposed to rain tommorrow.

I felt really strong the first nine miles and then kind of woozy. Maybe remnants from the illness I felt the last couple of days. Then when the wonkiness went away, ye olde IT band on the right leg did it's little flare up thing. I find that if I change my stride, that is, run faster, the pain is manageable. I was able to finish the run. I'll have to give it a thorough stretching tonight.

Yay team!

Run on the treadmill. Mile six was a "tempo" mile I guess. Also threw in several "surges" or "intervals"  of 2 to 4 minutes throughout the run. I've yet to plan a workout, just run by feel. For example today I thought perhaps I'd do 6 miles easy as a recovery run after yesterdays 14 miler, as I was pretty tired today, and still feeling some linger illness from a couple of days ago, but I felt pretty good after a couple of miles so I went further and harder than I thought I would.

Running on the treadmill tonight was a lot like running in place, with a rubber belt moving beneath me. I couldn't shake that unnerving feeling that I was stuck...on a treadmill.

No run today...hopefully run tommorrow. Still not feeling right. I want to rest well tonight, do a bit of stretching, and hopefully wake up ready to go. We'll see...

50 pushups/100 situps

Run this morning from house to LPT, out & back. Nice weather, clear and upper 30's.

4 easy on the treadmill this morning. Feeling tired, running late etc. Hopefully I can run more tonight.

6 miles this evening at the jr high field with the dogs. Happy dogs.

Between the treadmill this morning and running on grass tonight, today was a very low impact day. Kind of nice.

Great run from the house down to the trailway, then out and back. Mostly cloudy skies, mid fifties, a light sprinkle the last couple of miles...perfect running weather. T-shirt and shorts in the middle of November in Northern Utah...awesome!

This morning from the house to LPT out & back. Really nice morning. 38F, clear skies.

Due to this lingering cold, chest, head? thing, I'm running five days this week rather than six. I've also been managing this little twinge thingy in my left knee that I haven't blogged about yet because so far it hasn't stopped or slowed me down. I've been icing every night and actually I didn't feel it at all during yesterdays ten miler...so I think in the sprit of caution, I'll take tommorrow off to give my system a good break. I'll run tonight so I can still get my fifty for the week though.

PM - 4 miles on the treadmill.

Started run at 11:37 GST (Garmin Standard Time). Weather, clear, sunny skies 55F.

Well, I've had so many good runs in a row, I guess I was due a bad run. I had wanted to run 16 to 18 miles today but this run ended up being a "progression" run. That is, I felt bad when the run started and it got progressively worse as I continued. I wouldn't mind so much if I knew what happened. My breathing and my energy level was fine. All the bad ju-ju was in my legs. Everything below the waist just seem to fall apart and I don't know why. Very frustrating!

Oh and I learned an important lesson while showering after the run...I wash my hair every couple of weeks with white vinegar...um, let's just say that vinegar and chafe zones don't mix very well.

SIx miles on the treadmill tonight, nice and easy like.

Haven't run yet today, so I guess I'm posting just for fun. Whew! This sure is fun! Anyway, I guess I'm not much of a morning runner. I was running in the mornings pretty consistently three months ago. Three months ago temperatures were in the 80's and 90's in the afternoon, so that was great motivation to get up early and run and avoid the heat. The last few weeks though, temps have been very cold in the mornings but warming up to mid fifties or so in the afternoons, so more often than not, I opt for the afternoon run in shorts and t-shirt, rather than bundling up in layers for a morning run. Plus, I've been running so much more these last few months than ever in my life, so the extra rest has been helpful. I do run a couple of days a week early in the morning just to remind myself that I can deal with the cold temps and early rising. I have a feeling though that when the weather gets really ugly, I'll be choosing the treadmill over an outdoor run...without the treadmill, I would be forced to face the elements, and would probably be a stronger runner for it. Either way, running whenever and wherever I can is becoming essential to my overall well being...

Supposed to hit 60F this afternoon, nice conditions for a run.  

Ran from the house up Farmington Canyon rd to the firebreak rd (aka Bonneville Shoreline Trail) south 2 miles and back. The first two miles of this course climb about 700 ft , then the course rolls for a couple of miles, then of course a big descent on the way back. Good run.

This morning from the house to LPT, out & back. Clear skies, 35F, no wind. Shorts, long sleeves, gloves and cap.

Felt better today than I have in a while.

We get this nasty inversion along the wasatch front when high pressure settles in and traps the pollution from automobiles and industry in the valley. It's especially bad this week, and it's just supposed to get worse until some sort of front blows in, probably not until next week. "They" reccomend no strenuous excersize outdoors, especially for the old and infirm, or infants, or asthma sufferers etc. I don't see how running indoors makes any difference. It's not like our houses are these airlocked oasis's of pristine air. So I'll keep running outside when I can. Maybe this weekend I'll journey to a higher elevation and find some clean air to run in. Sad that this is what we have to deal with.

Classic 6 on the treadmill this evening...house sweat...good times...

Drove to LPT this afternoon and ran 8.5 mi. Clear skies. 46F. A cold front moved in and has cleared the air out a little.

Resting tommorrow.

Got started at 9:47am GST (Garmin Standard Time :-)) Clear, sunny, low 40's, light breezes.

Feeling strong today. Legs feel beat up though, thinking it's time for new shoes.

How are other bloggers running on shoes that have 500 or 600 miles on them? I wonder if weight makes that much of a difference. I weigh 168 pds (lately). Could 20 or 30 pounds less body weight equal 200 miles of additional shoe life?  

Ran from the house to LPT out & back. Same route as usual. Shorts and t-shirt weather, this can't go on for much longer. Had a great run. Todays average pace was my fastest yet. I think I'm finally over the cold that's been dragging me down the last two weeks!

Fun run on the hilly fire break road. Sunny, 45F.

Like yesterday, my fastest pace for this course.

Drove to LPT and ran eight miles. Mostly cloudy, 47F, light breezes.

Made an effort to run mile 5 "fast"". Ended up with 7:14 (this is fast for me). This is the first real effort I've made to run hard. It felt really good. I think with more practice I can improve my speed quite a bit.

Avg pace 8:43/mi.   (let's see this come down...alot, by Fall marathon time).

I just looked at 8 yr. old Jennifer Pachevs blog...she's faster than me. I'm being chicked by an 8 yr old girl! Lol!     If that doesn't motivate me, nothing will.

Easy 5 this afternoon at the jr high field with the dogs.

I'm thankful for it all. Without the bad, the good would have no meaning.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Easy 10 from the house down to legacy park trailway, out&back. Partly cloudy, fresh post-rain, light fog 37F. Great morning for a run!

From the house to LPT out & back. Run started at 7:57am GST. Mostly cloudy skies, 47F. Crazy weather for last day of November.

All systems worked great today. Started to sputter around mile 10, but miles 12 through 15 felt really good. Mile 15 was the fastest at 8:34.

Thrills, chills, and hills on the fire break road this morning. Low 40's, clear skies.

Today the weather forecast calls for 54F and sunny...THIS JUST IN:  IT'S DECEMBER!

Standard 10 on the treadmill at home.

Warmed up 3 miles. Then 4 x 90 seconds at 8:00 pace with 90 seconds easy in between. Then a couple of more miles and another 4 x 90 seconds at 8:00 pace with 90 secs. easy. about 2.5 mile cooldown, with one 90 second @ 7:30 pace at mile 9. I tried to focus on relaxing during the intervals and running smoothly, breathing easily.

This is my first "workout", I made it up as I went along. I don't know if I did it correctly or if will help me in my quest to become a faster runner. I hope I can do similiar workouts once or twice a week during the winter while keeping my base up...it sure helped to break up the monotony of the treamill.

"The Be Good Tanyas", Chinatown, kept me company during the run. Thanks gals!

Treadmill love this evening...

Like a once popular feminine hair care product line, this run was Nice and Easy.

No run today.

Run tommorrow.

From the house to LPT out & back. Clear skies, 24F, light breeze.

Good run this morning.  Haven't been much of a morning runner lately and that kind of brings me down. I get so much more out of a run when I do it first thing everyday. So last night I tried on, and layed out all the various layers, gloves, socks etc. and that helped this morning when the alarm went off to get up and going. Miles are miles no matter what time of day you do them. But running in the morning sets the tone for the rest of the day and gives me a better outlook on things.

Sending out major positive vibes to Snoqualmie for CIM on Sunday...

From the house to LPT out & back this morning. Clear skies, 27F, no wind.

I usually don't run Saturdays but I skipped Thursday so I made it up today. Also wanted to get in 50 for the week.

Run from the house to LPT out & back. Sunny, low 40's, light breezes.

How could one not run on a day like this.

Looks like this is going to be a rest week for me. Hopefully not run more than 40 miles, maybe less. I realized that I've run 12 weeks in a row of at least 50 miles (two of those weeks were 60+ miles). This is the first time I've run this much, this consistently, so in the spirit of caution, and staying healthy, I'm cutting back for a week or two. Oh, and my right hip has been complaining the last couple of runs. I still intend to run six days a week, just less mileage. Probably on the treadmill tonight.

4 easy miles on the treadmill...at home...you know, a four mile treadmill run can be very refreshing, like a handful of Junior Mints.

Thanks to Ray Lamontagne for the audio delights.

This afternoon from the house to LPT out & back. Sunny, 35F, windless. Still shorts weather!

Mile splits: 1) 8:33 2) 8:31 3) 8:27 4) 8:19 5) 8:26 6) 8:16 7) 8:13 Avg 8:23

So, this is my fastest pace to date. I could've kept going too but I'm taking it easy this week. I don't know why all of a sudden today I can run much faster than usual, but todays run gives me confidence that by Fall of '09 I can acheive my marathon goal. It was such a good feeling, every time I looked at my watch I experienced some mild cognitive dissonance because my brain had never seen those splits before. I've been running the same pace range for so long that I automatically compute my splits when I see my time. Everytime I looked at my watch today, I had to pause my brain and reconfigure the math.

Another note, my increased speed today didn't really require any extra effort, I was just along for the ride, although once I realized I was running quicker, I was more motivated to keep pushing. Is this just aerobic conditioning doing it's job? Can I expect to increase my speed substantially once I begin adding speed work to my training?

Drove to LPT and ran. Flat course. Sunny, low 40's.

Todays run wasn't effortless like yesterday, but I was still able to run faster. This is a significant breakthrough for me this week.

7 miles/57:43/8:15 avg. pace

1) 8:36  2) 8:12  3) 8:17  4) 8:25  5) 8:11  6) 8:06  7) 7:56 

Easy four on the treaded dreadmill this afternoon.

The sounds of Live's "Throwing Copper" on the boombox. Hard to imagine that CD was released fourteen years ago.

Mid-day update: well, I haven't run yet today (looks like the treadmill tonight for me). BUT I have managed to polish off a can of Pringles potato chips (barbecue flavor). Love that sodium!

PM: Seasonal treadmill joy this evening. 2 mi. warmup, 6x90 seconds with 90 seconds easy in between,  5 @ 8:00 + 1 @ 7:30, then cooldown (kicked the last 1/4 mile). Total 6 miles.

Got out around 11:00 AM. 6-8 inches of fresh snow, 27F, it was still snowing lightly and a little windy when I started, visibility was an issues for a few moments during the first mile. Ran from my house to LPT then out & back. The parkway trail isn't plowed so I broke trail in the fresh powder for 8 miles (4 mi. out/4 back), when I got back onto the hard pavement it was very hard to find my stride as I'd been running in soft snow for the last hour. 

Slow pace but good effort given the conditions.

Three on ye olde treadmill this morning. Woke up late, probably the only run today. Supposed to take the dogs on an evening hike in the hills with some other dog buddies tonight. Should be cold...but cool.

pm:  7 more on the treadmill...treadmill...treadmill...treadmill...

Lots of treadmill this last week...some days I don't mind the weather/traffic of the roads, other days I just want nothing to do with either. But I'm determined to stay in condition over the winter, even if it means sacrificing myself at the altar of the treadmill more than I'd like. I'm already looking forward to Spring weather...and running with ten less pounds hanging on my frame.

Run from house to LPT out & back.  Sunny, 30F, slight North breeze. Shorts, short sleeves over long sleeves, cap, glove liners. Sun on my legs in the middle of December.

Good pace for me today given the slippery surface conditions etc. Brisk head wind on miles 4 and 5.

8 miles/1:08:48/8:36 avg. 

Nice and easy on the Legacy Parkway Trail this morning. Clear, sunny, 20F.

Thought I'd better run outside as the weather forecast calls for mostly treadmill over the next few days.

TM late this afternoon. Shorts, socks, shoes.

3 mile warmup. 10 x 2 min. @ 8:00 pace w/90 secs. easy in between. Cooldown. Actually after the sixth interval I ran an easy mile before doing the last four. The last minute of the last interval was at 7:24 pace.

Again, I don't know how much good these workouts are doing me. It sure helps to break up the monotony of the headmill though. It's a good time too!

10 miles/1:28:45/8:53 avg. pace.

Four on the treadmill this afternoon. Thus ends another glorious week of mileage accumulation in the pursuit of fitness...won't you join us next week when James attempts to keep his base mileage up through the dark Winter months...

Time to do some snow shoveling!

4 miles/34:32/8:32 avg

Run from house to LPT, came back on the cattle road. Overcast skies, 20F, headwind on way back...cold. Most of the surface was packed snow/ice. Like running in sand. Really felt the difference when I got back on the solid road.  Was nice to run outside today.

Treadmill.

5.1 mi./43:30/8:32 avg.

Run this afternoon on the legacy parkway trail. 1-2" of fresh snow over packed snow/ice. 28F, slight breezes, patchy sun.

I know that these aren't the best running conditions, but I've been surprised lately to not see any other tracks out there in the snow.

Easy on the TM today. After 4 miles, just for kicks, I ran for 2 mins. at a 7:00 pace...I think I'll stick to shootin' for an 8:00 avg pace for awhile.

Easy does it on the TM this Christmas day.

4.15 mi./37:43/9:05 avg.

Third day in a row on the TM...holiday madness! miles 4, 6, and 8 were run at an 8:00 pace.

10.5 mi./ 1:31:33/8:43 avg.

Nice weather for running outside today. Overcast, 37F, no wind. Shorts, two layers on top, glove liners. Ran from house...I guess I'd call this course the Glovers Lane Loop.

10 mi./1:26:29/8:39 avg.