A Lean and Hungry Look

Last day in Korea, maybe forever.  I wish we had such an incredible trail network at home.  I could do all of my long runs without ever worrying about vehicular traffic, cambered roads causing IT problems, sidewalks causing shin splints, etc.

Back home.  It was bizarre to leave Seoul at 6:30 p.m. Thursday night (Seoul time) and arrive home at 6:40 p.m. Thursday night (SLC time).  Friday was a long day at work, with my head buzzing from jetlag.  This morning's run felt awful.  Who knew that altitude and a little climbing could make such a difference after only a week of running over flat terrain at sea level?  I was going to run 10, but after a couple of miles it was clear that I wasn't up to it.  I ran over to 11th Ave and back and nearly collapsed running up Alta Street toward Shriner's.  Let's hope the jetlag is short-lived.

Brooke and the kids headed down to California for Spring Break, so I have no good excuse for not running first thing this morning.  I'll blame it on the lingering effects of jetlag.  Anyway, I was planning to take Maja running after work since she'd been on her own all day.  However, the storm was raging by the time I made it home and I didn't feel like battling it.  Instead, I strapped on the VFFs for an easy run in front of the TV to watch the Duke-Butler game.  I felt good and was thinking about stretching out the run a bit to see how long I felt comfortable in the VFFs, but I somehow developed a blister around 3.5 and called it at 4.

Woke up to 6 inches of snow and a beautiful morning.  I took Maja out to Sugarhouse and worked our way back along 16th and 17th South, trying to stay on back roads so we could run in the street.  It was gorgeous (especially because the snow won't last long).

Ran on the treadmill while watching Seinfeld. Nothing interesting to report.

Took Maja out after work in shorts and a t-shirt.  Gorgeous evening at the park--people were running, walking, cycling, barbecuing, playing frisbee, baseball, football, lacrosse, you name it.  A nice change of pace after the way the week started.

After a good start to last week, I missed Friday's run, then came down with some food poisoning over the weekend, so I ended up missing several days in a row.  This morning was one of the few times when I don't appreciate living in a neighborhood with streets lined by a canopy of mature trees--the snow and slush was falling all over me and I was kind of a mess by the time I made it home.  Small price to pay for the beauty the trees offer, though.

Maja is such a wimp.  If it's raining, snowing, or just generally wet outside, she won't run with me.  Considering how much she loves running, it's a testament to how afraid of water the poor dog really is!

Forgot to set my alarm last night, so I brought my gear with me to work and ran home from my client's office in Cottonwood Heights.  I wish the temperature could stay like this all summer--perfect for running.  Everything seems to be feeling good at the moment--it's rare that I notice any AT pain these days.  Knock on wood!

The advantage of running home is that I can't blow off my run the next morning.  I ran back to the client's office and drove home in time to shower and get to my office.  Should have worn gloves, as my fingers were numb for the last 4 miles, but otherwise everything felt great.  I pushed it a little on the way home last night, which is all uphill, so I relaxed today.  I thought I would be more stiff after having run 9 less than 12 hours earlier, but it felt great.

Jogged up past the zoo and did 6 hill repeats up Crestview.  I could tell it had been a while since I'd done hills or speed, but it felt good to shake the legs out a little.  The weather could not have been more beautiful, and the view from Donner Park makes it a great place for hill work.  After my reps were done, I warmed down by running up to Augusta, over to St. Mary's, down to Foothill and home.

I missed my Wednesday run because I stayed up too late on Tuesday watching the Boston Marathon coverage on Universal and couldn't get up at 5:15.  Brooke was leaving at 6:00, so I was hoping to run that night.  Her family came in town, though, so we ended up at my mother-in-law's house and it was a little too late by the time I made it home to get my run in.  I need to get back on a more predictable schedule.

This morning I worked in a little bit of tempo effort.  The pace wasn't too hot (between 5:30 and 6:30), but it was good to add some effort and turnover in.  It was a classic April morning out there, with light rain that had changed to snow by the time I finished the run.

It's been a long time since I got as wet on a run as I did this morning, but the rain has turned everything so green and beautiful that it's hard to complain.  I headed down to Guardsman and across the U campus, through lower Federal Heights and up to Popperton, then came back along the golf course road.  I threw a little tempo into the final mile, but otherwise took it easy. 

It was a crisp but beautiful out this morning.  I headed up to Wasatch, across Parley's on the trail, and down to Millstream and back for an even 10.  I kept the pace easy on the way out and started to pick it up a little on the way back.  Final 3 were at roughly MP effort (just over 170 bpm), with final mile of 5:50.  I wrapped up a This American Life on the way out, then turned on a Lionel Richie playlist on the way back.  About 10 seconds into You Are the Sun, You Are the Rain, I was back in the 80s on a Lake Powell trip with two other families in our neighborhood, the Caltons and the Irions, lounging on the houseboat while they played Lionel's newest release over the stereo system.  Not a bad way to tick off miles on a Saturday morning.

I've had a nice chest cold going for the past few days and have been trying to sleep it off.  I took Nyquil on Monday night and felt like I had a hangover until about noon yesterday, so even though I slept well, I'm still not sure the tradeoff was worth it.  Anyway, I didn't sleep great last night due to mid-back pain (we have a super-cushy pillow-top mattress that my wife is crazy about, but which doesn't always agree with me), but decided I needed to at least get the legs moving for a minute.  It hadn't really started raining yet, so Maja was willing to go out.  She wasn't very happy, though, when the rain started coming down after a mile or so.  My lungs were full of junk, I got a couple of blisters from the Nike Frees (happens about every other time with them), and my back didn't feel great, but I'm glad I managed to get out.  Hopefully this is the tail end of the cold and I can get back to doing a little speed next week.