Philippians 4:13

A late night at church last night for meetings (and frustration) so I woke up a bit tired and had to get out early before my wife went to work at 6:30am.  Left ITB a bit touchy still and my stomach was not right from the start of the run.  11M down Sunnyside and back in cold and windy weather in 1:25:30.  A crappy run all around but at least I got it done. 

Got up early this morning and went out on a beautiful morning.  8.5M through Snake River Landing to Broadway and back in 57:15.  4M easy (~7:10 pace), then 4M at MP between 6:24 - 6:02.  Ran the uphill section at a 5:35 pace (in SRL) then 0.5M cooldown back to the house.  A much better run than yesterday and a good start to my roll back week to get ready for Ogden.

4:30am...6M in 46:39 in cool and windy weather.  Just a normal easy early morning run.  (tornado)

6M at lunch in a hurricane in 41:09!  The wind was crazy strong and seemed to come at you from almost every direction.  Just got 'er done though I wish it had been nicer to try and get some speed work in.  (Defyance)

1M while referreeing my son's soccer game last night...I was sweating by the end!

4:30am...almost went to the gym as I thought the wind was going to be nasty (we had 60 mph gusts throughout the night) but when I went outside it was actually pretty nice.  6.5M in 51:17 for a nice easy run, my knees were a bit sore at the start of the run but were not bothering me by the end.  Looking to be a nice day today assuming the wind doesn't pick back up.  (Tornado)

4.5M at an average 6:02 pace (first 2 miles sub 6:00 then had to battle wind all the way back) on a beautiful day...sunny, 40 degrees and a breeze.  Nice run though I was hoping for a bit faster.  After I stopped and was walking back the building I got a bit light headed...time for fuel!  (Defyance)

4:30am...6M in 47:30, slow and easy on a cold morning (23 degrees!).  Nothing special, just getting in the miles. (tornado)

4M at lunch on a cool and windy day in 26:12 in between meetings so I didn't have much time.  (Defyance)

1M while refereeing my son's soccer game...they played great against another good team and won 2-0.

4:20am...6M on a cold (28 degrees) and very windy morning.  For the last 2 miles I had to deal with a freezing rain that really stung when it hit my face and eyes.  The weather isn't supposed to improve today so I will see if I actually feel like getting out at lunch today.  (tornado)

I didn't have much time at lunch so a short 3 loops around Freeman Park plus a little for a 3.5M run in 23:20 for a 6:40 average.  Only in Idaho...I had sunshine on me and it was snowing!  Cold windy conditions but I was overdressed.  (Defyance)

I slept in today and went out for my last longer and harder run before Ogden after taking the kids to school and letting it warm up a bit.  The sun was out and it was cool but not bad so I got to run in shorts and long sleeve shirt.  1M easy (7:00) then I hit the rest at slow to moderate MP (6:20ish to 6:10ish) running through Snake River Landing and doing the rollers 4 times.  10.2M in 1:04:52 (6:21 average) for a good run.  

Busy day with Kami and I am getting a massage this afternoon which I hope helps loosen up things. 

Likely my last run for the week as I have an all day Scouting activity with my son tomorrow starting at 6am!  

Today was a total "Dad and son" day.  Got up early to get to the Scout Jamboral in Blackfoot with his den.  Later in the day, we went to dinner and went to see "Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief" (since he just got done reading the book).  Overall a great day to focus on my son...and no running.  It was nice to have the break and just have a great time.  

6:00am out the door for early taper week run.  I am not feeling too sharp and didn't finish this run too encouraged.  1M warmup in 6:46 then into MP miles...not nearly where I wanted them.  Only got between 6:20 and 6:02 (progressing to mile 6 as the fastest) then a 0.25 cooldown for an overall time of 39:54.  Just didn't feel like I had another gear and my form didn't feel efficient (I felt like I had to concentrate too hard to keep easy running at MP).  Hopefully the taper will leave me refreshed for Saturday. 

7M on a wonderful day at lunch...50 degrees, light breeze and sunshine (calm before the storm that is coming in tonight!).  1.5M easy warmup, then 0.25M at 5:50 pace before starting into4x0.5M repeats.  Times on the repeats:  1-2:41, 2-2:38, 3-2:43, 4-2:43.  Felt pretty good, form felt great and the effort was manageable but hard.  Thought about a couple more, but decided to let my body rest.  I did another 0.5M at MP then ran back to the office with Dan, including a sprint for about 0.2M to the end peaking at a 4:42 pace.  Overall time of 46:30 for the run.  Now full on taper!

5M in 36:38 (7:20 pace) on a decent day for running...50 degrees, overcast and a light breeze (I got in just before the rain started).  Nice easy recovery/taper run. 

Ah, taper madness!  4M in 28:28 at lunch on a warm but overcast and windy day out on the desert.  Phantom taper pains in left knee and right hip at the start but totally gone by the end of the run.  I picked it up the last 1/2 mile to focus on form, turnover and power and it felt nice and relaxed.  Looking forward to Saturday now!

My traditional day off rest 2 days before the race just to let things relax.  Easy short run tomorrow before heading down to Ogden for the race on Saturday.  Feeling good, the niggles are not there now and everything feels loose.

1 mile walk in the park at lunch just to get out and enjoy the beautiful day and keep things loose.

Early morning shake out run of 3.1M in 21:30 just to keep the legs loose.  Heading out for Ogden after lunch!  Looking forward to the race!

Got up at 3:40am to get ready and head to the start with Pam and meet Andrea for the bus ride.  I knew it was going to be a warm day when the temperature in the valley was already 50 degrees.  Got downtown, got on the buses and made our way to the start.  I said some prayers on the bus thanking God for the strength to run and asking Him to bless all the runners out there today.  I spent time just chilling and talking with a few folks and just getting inside my head to be ready for the race.  Fueled with some PowerBar GelBlasts (these are awesome!) Had to make a pit stop right before the start so I didn't get in any warmup after having to stand in line for a while.  Met Fritz, Steve, Ben, Andy and Paul at the start and got ready to go.

At the gun, Fritz was off fast and I ran for the first 1-2 miles with Ben and Steve then reeled myself back in as they were going out faster than I wanted but I kept them in touch for a while.  I was running in 5th place (a kid named Mont went out with them) and managing to hold a solid sub-5:50 through 10 miles then I hit the patient phase of the race on the rollers above the reservoir.   Around mile 10, Bryant Jensen came cruising by me (he went on to finish second and catch all but first place) at a good clip.  Fuleing was mostly good with the aid stations and my PowerBar Gels, so I was feeling ok.  I hit the half around 1:17:30 and was feeling pretty good but it was getting warm and my hips were starting to get tight. 

Up the hill at 15 in an ok pace (6:30) then the rollers to the dam were ok.  I could still see a couple of the runners in front of me so I had some hope for the canyon.  As I hit the canyon, I tried to open it up and realized that my tight hips were not going to let me and my pace down the canyon sucked...where I should have been running 5:40ish, I was only able to manage around 6:00 pace.  I was still on 6:00 average pace through 22 but I couldn't get it into another gear on the downhill sections.  

The only good thing was that 5th place guy (Mont) was coming back to me quickly.  As we hit the pathway at 23 miles (where a spectator told me to "Kick"...kick with 3 miles left?), I was right behind him.  I took some deep breaths, trailed him for about 0.25m then surged to a faster pace and dropped him as hard as I could (I was hurting, but I knew he was hurting worse) and with authority to let him know he wouldn't catch me.  The last 3 miles were the normal Ogden finish (hot, dodging and weaving through walkers 2-3 abreast with headphones).  I turned onto Grant St. and just tried to push it to the finish.

5th Overall, 2nd Master (Steve A beat me by a little over 3 minutes, congrats Steve you did awesome today!  Looking forward to running with you again soon) in 2:39:02.  I am disappointed with my time a bit as I really wanted to get closer to 2:35, but I hit my C goal and still finished in the money so that was cool.   Felt like I was better trained than the time, but it was just one of those days.  I felt good through the half but whatever I did to my hips caused me to leave about 2-3 minutes out in the canyon.  I had a great time with friends then made it back to IF in time to watch my daughter's ballet performance.  

Congrats to all the bloggers who ran (especially Fritz and Amber Green on some smokin' top performances!).  

My splits: 1-5:36, 2-5:47, 3-5:45, 4-5:45, 5-5:49, 6-5:52, 7-5:50, 8-5:54, 9-6:02, 10-6:01, 11-6:16, 12-6:07, 13-6:17, 14-6:06, 15-6:30, 16-6:10, 17-6:10, 18-5:49, 19-6:01, 20-6:07, 21-6:10, 22-6:04, 23-5:54, 24-6:12, 25-6:32, 26-6:28, 0.2(0.31)-1:58.

Totally a recovery day and I need it as I am pretty sore.  I was playing tag with my family in our yard, reached to tag my daughter and went down in pile of pain as my left hamstring cramped hard!  So, didn't play too much more of that but I did have a great day with the family in the beautiful weather.

A beautiful day at lunch, warm and mostly sunny with a light breeze.  Nice and easy run with Dan to Pancheri and back for 6.1M in 46:07.  Everything was tight...calves, quads, hammies, hips, etc.  Really bad at the start and it got a little better but never to the point where I felt like I had anything.  Probably the most sore I have been after a race in my last 5 marathons!

4:15am...56 degrees and no wind for a 6 mile recovery run.  Still a bit tight all over in my legs, this recovery will be longer than my more recent races.  (Tornado)

3.1M on a warmish day with overcast skies out on the desert.  Just a short one to keep the legs relaxed but recovering...getting better!  (Defyance)

5M early on a cold, windy and wet morning.  It was pretty much pouring rain by the time I finished, good thing I was going short to keep the recovery moving.  Only run today due to work conflicts.  

6M on a nice morning, cool and mostly calm.  Still in recovery mode as I ran this one in just under 8:00 pace.  Legs feeling a lot better but still some stiffness near the end of the run and some tenderness on the bottom of my left foot.   As I went to work today, it was pouring rain...good thing I went out early, I hope it clears up for a lunch run.  (Tornado)

5M at lunch with Dan on a warmish but very windy day.  Nice and easy but ended up picking up the pace and the way back to finish in 36:30 (7:18 average)...legs are starting to feel good.  (Defyance)

11M in 1:18:20 (7:07 average) on a nice morning, warmish, partly sunny and calm.  I went out after taking the kids to school when Kami went out for her 22 mile bike ride.  Now for a day with Kami and the kids! 

7M in cold and windy weather in just over 56 minutes.  Legs a bit tired and my hips are tight again.  At least I beat the rain for this run, but I don't think we are going have that luck for my son's Scout activity this morning...model rocket launch.  

7M on a nice but cold morning to Snake River Landing and back in 51:17.  I didn't like bundling up, but at least it wasn't snowing like yesterday...what a day, cold, then sun, then snow, then sun, then snow, then sun, etc.  

Off to church today to have our vote on which church organization our congregation will have future affiliation with...one that uses the word of God to guides us to interact in the world or uses the world's view and personal experience to interpret the Bible's meaning.  I am voting for the former!

6M early on a cold and wet morning in 47 minutes.  Still just getting in easy runs to get the legs really back under me and work out all the niggles. (tornado)

I headed out for my lunch run and when I looked outside it was POURING rain, windy and cold (~ 29 degrees with wc) and all I had in my bag was shorts (I did have a jacket and hat!).  It was too nasty to want to tackle that weather and just too much time to get to the gym and back for a 4 mile run so I instead ran a couple of errands that needed taken care of.  Now to eat lunch in the warmth of my office...is this that much better?  Maybe a run later if the weather is better.

7.25 miles in 55 minutes on a cold but calm and clear morning, a big improvement over yesterday.  Hard to get going fast at 4:30 in the morning, but the last few miles were about 7:15 pace once I had woken up.  (Tornado)

5.25M in 35:53 late in the evening and traveling, going to a meeting, having dinner with coworkers and watching a couple episodes of "The Office".  Nice and warm with light breeze!  (Defyance)

7M early before a full day of meetings in 51:36.  I ran from the hotel to the watershed park and part of loop then back in warm (68 degrees) and light wind.  A good run, glad the park had some portapotties.

7M in 48:51 doing about 3 loops around the watershed park in hot (86 degrees) sunny weather after meetings.  I didn't want to run on the city streets, so I drove to the watershed park this time which was much nicer.

9M early before meetings and traveling home today.  1:08:18 for the run, hip twingy, foot sore, left calf tight...a sore run around the watershed park (4.5 loops).  Good to be heading home.

6 slow and sore miles early this morning in cool but calm weather.  I feel old and beat up...hip, foot, calf still sore.  (Tornado)

7M at lunch in 47:06.  1 mile warmup (7:12), then started to speed up to 6:25 pace for 2 miles, then cooled back down (6:45, 7:08) for the last 2 miles.  Legs felt a lot better, in fact the faster I ran the better they felt...time for a tempo run?!?!   It was cloudy and warmish but it started to rain for a while and I ran a little over 2 miles in a light then heavy rain.  (Defyance)

Got out early in the cold, wind and rain with the IF running group...first time we have run together in quite a while (just missing Deborah who is still working her way back from injury).   Everyone is working way back or through injuries right now but so we were not fast but it was fun running with them.  11M in 1:26 with about 3 1/3 mile pickups throughout the run at 5:15 or faster pace which felt good but hard.  We had to stop a few times to stretch (Andrea's hamstring strain was really bothering her) but overall a good run.

Now to do stuff with the family on this crappy day outside, maybe some games, movies and a few indoor chores (carpet cleaning? Ugh! but it needs to be done!).

8.1M in 59:30 on a nice morning...cool (31 degrees), calm and sunny!  Ran fairly steady and easy through Snake River Landing to Broadway and back on the east side of the river. From miles 1-3, I was kind of light headed but it cleared up when I just kept steady.

Nice start to the day, now for more time with the family.

Got up early and went for a run with an old high school buddy (Ron) who was in town to run the Poky 50 last weekend (only got 17 miles due to the blizzard and weather issues before they canceled the race) and his brother in-law Matt.  We ran 6.5 miles from Community Park through SRL then back through Tauphaus Park.  It was great catching up with an old friend, thanks Ron and Matt.   Went home and did another 4.5M from there and finished off 11 miles in 1:23.   A beautiful day today, maybe summer is really here?  

1M with my kid's around the neighborhood, Justin in 9:20 and Katelyn in 10:30!

 A short work week this week which will be nice.  Looking forward to our trip to Logan on Friday and Saturday for Kami to ride the 100 mile Little Red Riding Hood, her first century!