Philippians 4:13

6:30am...very little sleep last night after one of the worst days of my life.  I took my daughter to swim team practice and ran from the swim center on a cold, windy and snowy morning.  Wet stinging snow and good wind from the NE.  Through downtown, into Freeman Park and around the river a couple of times then back to the swim center winding through the numbered streets.  11 miles in 1:30.  Just a run to get my head right.  (Ride 3)

Thanks Gray for your help and concern yesterday and also to my other running friends.  Sorry.  Mid life crisis or depression?

7:30am...slept in a bit and went out before church. I took Moxie out for 5.5 miles then dropped her off and fueled up a bit (thanks PowerBar!). I went back out and did a river loop to finish off 18 miles this morning. Nice morning but the roads/paths were inconsistent and a mix of slick and snowy mostly. Glad to get this one done, just in the knick of time before church. (Xodus)

I was supposed to leave for a business trip this morning on a very early flight.  I got to the airport to find that my flights were canceled and they earliest they could get me out was tomorrow...after my meetings are to take place.  So, no business trip.

Got home and decided I still had time for a short run before work.  5 easy untimed miles in warm weather.  (Ride 3)

7 miles at lunch in 50 minutes on a warm but very windy day, felt like I was running into a wall a lot of the time.  Slow going out but a bit faster coming back (6:50ish) with the swirling wind.  Sure wish it would help you as much as it hinders you.  (Mirage)

4:15am...7 miles with Moxie on a warm but a bit windy morning. Nothing fancy, up and down Sunnyside at about a 7:35ish pace.  Maybe a tempo at lunch today then into a small taper for the race on Sunday.  (Tangent 4)

Finally got out for a run after work (a busy day of meetings).  5 miles in 31:20 (6:16 AP) with about 0.5M warmup and 0.5M recovery mingled in the run at points.  Disappointed in this tempo, I wanted to be closer to or under 30 minutes.  Never could get a good rythm as my pace was all over (4:47 - 6:40!) during the intervals...need to focus.  Hoping for better pacing at MTF 15K.  (Tangent 3)

4:30am...5 easy untimed miles with Moxie on Sunnyside on a nice morning for a run.  Little sleep last night so a bit tired for this run.  (Ride 3)

6.25 miles at lunch on the greenbelt.  Cool and windy (going south, a lot warm coming back with the wind).  Ran about half of it with Gray and had a good chance to talk.   (Mirage)

4:30am....5 miles on a warm and windy morning with a few sprinkles.  Got it done between two good rainstorms.  I did not bring Moxie (she was really bummed) as I didn't want to deal with a dirty wet dog this morning.  (Ride 3)

No morning run today.  Heading to Fountain Hills on an early flight.  I will get a few miles in later today on the course (hill part) of the M2F course.  Pool time here I come!

I got to Fountain Hills today to spend the weekend with my friends (thanks for hosting me Rachel!).  After getting to the house, Rachel took me out to McDowell Mountain Park to preview the course.  I ran the course from the park entrance to the finish line and back.  The downhill doesn't look as big as on the profile and the rollers were a bit bigger than I thought but manageable.  Ended up running som of it at race pace but mostly a good tempo taking it easy on the uphills (6:28, 6:10, 6:05, 6:58, 6:38, 6:47, 6:50)..  Overall 7 miles in 45 minutes with a 0.5M warmup and 1 mile cooldown.  Good to see the course.  Now to enjoy the warm weather for a few days.  (Tangent 4)

I slept in (a little) and hooked up with Kory Wheatley for a run (he drove over to FH from Glendale).  We had a great easy run on the M2F course and just talked and caught up on life and family.  Really happy to get to see my great friend, thanks for the talk and great example of being a Christian man it helped a lot.  8 miles in about 1 hour.  Had a coffee and chatted a bit at the Fountain park then back to the house.

Rachel and I went out for 2.5 miles easy from the house around the fountain and back.  Nice finish to the morning.  Now to get our numbers and spend some relaxation time and time at the pool to be ready for the race tomorrow.  Nice! (Boost)

Ran the Mountain to Fountain 15K this morning.  What a fantastic race.  4th Master (just out of the money), 1st in age group, 23rd overall man (3 women beat me, very strong runners!).  I feel really good about this race and felt that I raced it well.  More to come.

Rachel drove me over to the community center for the elite check in.  Met up with John, Derek Delancey and others.  Chatted with Ricardo for a little bit.  On the ride up sat and talked with Derek, John, Ricardo and Brett Bernacchi and enjoyed the viewed.  We warmed up with all the elites and I had a chance to meet and talk to Sarah Hall, Katie McGregor, Carlos Trujillo, Susan Loken and a few others. I saw Rachel and Janet as well and we got ready to go. It was a beautiful morning...sunny, light wind and about 53 degrees.

Went out right on target and hit 5:45 for the first mile.  The field was spreading out and I was running by myself in mile 2.  Hit second mile in 5:25 so I was on target.  I was a bit behind a group of 3-4 people at this point and picked it up to latch on and ended up in the lead of this little group.  Mile 3 in 5:24.  Cruising down the hill and crossed 5K at 17:15 then mile 4 at 5:24.  On to the rollers.  Our group was still mostly together and the woman in the group (Ariana) started to pick in up and a guy from Tuscon and I were going back and forth.  Hit the rollers fairly well from mile 4 - 6.  5 - 5:47, 6 - 5:37.  There is a good hill just past the 10k mark (34:54) and then the big half mile climb from 6.75 to 7.25 (mile 7- 5:55).  Ariana was still ahead and I was duking it out with Lucas as we hit the hill.  We passed Nicole Feest and I encouraged her to latch on and she couldn't.  As we crested the hill I poured it on to drop Lucas and chased down Andrew (Tuscon guy as well).  We were right with each other through mile 8 (6:05) then at the turn and downhill I opened it up again for the next mile to go 5:40 for mile 9.  I crest the hill on Saguaro and really just push hard to the finish and nearly catch Ariana and keep Andrew from trying to creep up on me.  I start saying my mantra "God give me strength" on the last 0.3M at about 5:03 pace to finish strong at 53:07.  I set the course record for 45 year old men today!

 I feel reall good about the race and felt that it was a good indication of where I am.  I feel that I ran a smart strategic race and was able to pass 4-5 folks and battle it out with the Tuscon guys by running smart early.  If I had run a bit faster early I may not have had the charge late to get those two great runners.  If I could have been up with Derek and trying to stay with him my fade could have been much worse than it was and likely would have had no kick.  

Afterwards, get a masage and go for a light jog with Nicole and John and have a nice chat (Nicole even made me feel humble by indicating she had no idea I was a Master's runner...thanks Nicole!).  I did this part totally backwards...beer, massage, cooldown jog.  Enjoy the beautiful weather and awards/party, have a bit of chow and talk to some of the folks.  This is a great race and I will definitely come again and bring Justin next time!

Talked a lot with the guys from the Banditos Running Master team that won Boston last year.  They are coming back so it should be fun to see how we compete, hopeful that we will be right there.  Great guys (Ricardo and Brett) so it will be fun.

Based on McMillian, this is a good indicator of 2:39-2:40.  I need to put in some good work the next few weeks to try to solidify the training. Based on RW, Age graded time equals 48:40.

Now for some pool and relaxation time..ok call it a nap! (Tangent 4...these worked and felt great!)

Went out for a solo run on a beautiful morning.  5 times around the fountain and back to my friends house.  8 miles in 1:01 with one pickup mile to slow MP just to shake out the legs.  A transformative run for me spent in prayer and figuring some life issues out.  A Wow run for me.

4 more miles with the running group helping assess the kids form and giving some pointers on running efficiency and technique.  Around the fountain twice and back.

Off to the airport later to head home.  Going to miss the sun and warm weather but I miss my family.  Thanks Clausen's for such a great weekend...coming back next year with the whole family!  (Boost)

4:15am...8 untimed miles with Moxie along Sunnyside.  Some water/ice mix with snow on the grass.   Yesterday morning I was running in shorts and no shirt in the sun, now in the cold dark with gloves, tights, cap and fleece...what a change.  Another great run to figure out a few things.  What a difference a week makes...(Ride 3)

4:15am...7 easy untimed miles with Moxie along Sunnyside on a cool morning.  (Ride 3)

5 miles in 32:20 at lunch on a nice day.  Late run, but needed to get out to work off some work stress. I felt a bit of a tweak in my knee around mile 4 so I pulled the pace back in a bit. (Mirage)

4:30am...6 easy untimed miles with Moxie along Sunnyside on a cold (24 degrees) morning.  Still felt a bit of a tweak in my knee so I will just take the runs easy today. (Ride 3)

6.7 miles in just under 47 minutes on a beautiful day around the river.  I ran about 2 miles with Dan just chatting then he turned back and I went a bit longer and picked up the pace to comfortable pace (6:40ish pace).  No tweak in the knee.  (Mirage)

Boston Bib numbers are out..1218.

I skipped a morning run to get some extra sleep and went out at lunch time in the warm weather.  Shorts and longsleeve shirt to start and ran shirtless for about half the run.  4 miles out and back along Sunnyside with Moxie then solo through SRL and around the greenbelt and back.  14.5 miles in 1:37:30 (6:43 AP) with about 4 miles thrown in at MP or better (5:30-6:15) including mile 14 at 6:08 pace.  Overall a great run, my front side mechanics feel really good and the power and turnover are clicking together better than they have in a long time.  Looking forward to the 15K in a week and then Boston!  (Boost)

I did not get any sleep last night (I saw EVERY hour from 10pm - 3am).  Finally decided that I was not going to get anywhere, so I got up just past 3am and was out running at 3:30am.  11 VERY slow miles around the greenbelt through SRL.  Running on fumes and in sleep walk mode.  (Ride 3)

Off to Lava Hot Springs for my daughter's first IF Cutthroats swim meet today.  

6am...took Moxie out for 4.5 miles along Sunnyside then dropped her off at home so I go back out with Curt for a run.  We did a loop around the river through SRL and back for 10 miles then I added on a few more to finish off 18 miles on a very nice morning.  I was still a bit tired so this was just a long slow run.  Had fun talking with Curt and hope to have a fun on the nice weather day today.  (Ride 3)

Very tired again this morning so I slept in.  It was windy out but should have gone because today it is supposed to rain and stay windy!

Yep, should have gone this morning.  When I started it was just windy but by about 0.75M in started to rain (sideways), then snow (sideways), then stinging hail (sideways), then blizzard!  5.25 miles doing laps around Freeman Park, then I had to go in.  Pace was good considering the conditions (probably because of them so I could finish faster).  Had to hide under a tree at one point due to the hail, but ran out after the HUGE thunder clap!  Ugh!  (Mirage)

4:30am...7 easy untimed miles with Moxie along Sunnyside on a cool but calm morning.  Only run today due to work schedule.  (Ride 3)

5am...interval run this morning.  I was meeting John for this one but he overslept and showed up for my last interval.  Saw Andrea and Corwin out on the Sunnyside path and ran some of the intervals with Andrea trying to help her out.  Overall did about 4 miles of intervals at between 15K - Marathon pace range (5:27-6:05), last 2 1-mile intervals at 5:35, 5:40.  Nice morning for a run!  Felt like the goal pace for this weekend's 15K is in the works.  7 miles total this morning.(Boost)

Lunch run with Dan on a cool but nice day around the greenbelt.  5 miles with Dan at 7:35ish pace then 1 mile around the park solo picking it up to 6:30 pace.  6 miles total in 44:30 (7:25 AP).  (Mirage)

4:30am...7 easy untimed miles with Moxie along Sunnyside.  Very easy for first half, sped up to easy for second half.  (Ride 3)

6 slow miles at lunch on the windiest day that I have ever run (30mph with gusts to 50mph!).  That kinda just sucked except for the bright sunshine.  (Mirage)

I decided to sleep in and skip the morning run when I saw it was 18 degrees outside.  I went to spinning with Kami after dropping off the kids at school just to give them a rest before this weekend's race.  Easy fast spin focusing on the strategy for the race.  I will count this as 5 easy miles (28 km in 56 minutes).

Rob convinced Justin to run the Running with the Leopards 5k in SLC.  So we warmed up a bit around the zoo then I paced Justin to his 5K PR in 18:51!  I am so proud of him!  (Boost)

I ran the Hot Chocolate 15K in San Diego this morning.  Left early to drive to PETCO park then warmed up a bit and dropped off gear.  Really well organized start/finish area (huge!).  Talked with Todd, Eddy and Tim at the start.  Hilliest course (besides Race to Robie Creek) that I have ever run!  No way to get a rythm so just was using the course for what it gave you.

Splits: 5:51, 5:44, 6:09,6:15, 5:56, 5:39, 5:48, 5:59, 5:15, 1:24 (4:53 pace) for last 0.3M.  4th OA and first Master.  Really fun course and fun to race another one.  Went out conservative and was running in 7th place at mile 2.  Slowly started reeling in the runners over the next 5 miles on the hills (all young guys, several HS kids).  I caught 3rd place right before 7 mile mark but he pulled away on the big hill in this mile and I was never able to quite reel him in again (9 seconds behind at the finish).

A young kid caught up to me at 8.5 miles (right after a spectator told him to "go catch the old guy!") and I thought he would be able to out kick me.  I told him to go get 3rd place and he did not make a move.  So, I threw down hard right before mile 9 and he could not respond (us "old guys" can still run...even outrun a HS kid!).  Felt great to have a kick that big at the end and push for a good time on a difficult course.

4 mile cool down on the Harbor with Eddy (winner) and his teammates.

Overall a good day, satisfied with this one and another good prep for Boston!  (Tangent 4)

6:30am...5.25 miles with Justin.  Hilly run on a warm and misty morning.  Great to get out for a run with him, nice to chat and share the time. (Boost)

Up and out early 6 miles solo on the hills around the area.  Stopped back by the house and picked up Justin for 4 more focusing on uphill and downhill form.

6 miles of walking around the zoo and downtown area.  Due to the hills, going to count 2 more miles.

Slept in and went out a bit later for a solo run.  Most hills I have run on a training run in a while...compares easily to Sunnyside hill and beyond!

From our friends' house to Twin Oaks Blvd then up a huge hill to the Ridgeline Trailhead.  About 6 miles of trail running up and down at the top of the hill.  Ran into another runner (Jose) and ran 2 miles with him.  Then downhill back to the house with an out and back before heading in.  18 miles in 2:22 on a very tough run today.  (Boost)

5.5 miles solo on a hilly route then back to grab Justin and do it again.  A great time running and talking with Justin, so glad we can share this passion and time together.  (Tangent 4)

4.75 miles solo around the neighborhood then 3.5 miles more with Justin.  Slow and tired today.  (Tangent 4)

Slept in a bit then went out for 6.25 miles solo around the area and to scope out the college track.  

Went back and grabbed Justin then warmed up for 2 miles before his 1 mile time trial on the track.  He did awesome, ran each lap well and set a new mile PR!  Great confidence builder before heading into his first meet next week!  Cooled down for about 1.75 miles back to our friends.  Heading home today via the Murphy's tonight.  Not looking forward to leaving the warm weather for the cold back home.  A great spring break vacation! (Tangent 4)

Got to SLC last night and spent the night with the Murphy's. Rob and I went out for a run around Sugarhouse and around the park a couple of times for a nice 8 mile run.

We all went to breakfast at Ruth's then watched the Carlsbad 5000M race. Then we made the drive home in the pouring rain and snow back to IF. Glad to be home. Our pets are especially happy to have us home!

I did not get to sleep last night until after midnight, I skipped my morning run and slept in a bit.

7 miles in 46:30 at lunch on a nice afternoon.  Ran easy for about half the run and at a MP effort for about half.  Ran with Sage and Phil for a while nice to chat.  (Mirage)