Philippians 4:13

4:30am...6 miles with Moxie in between thunderstorms.  (Kinvara)

4 miles at 12:30pm on the desert.  27 minutes on sunny and hot (90 degrees) day.  (Cortana)

4:30am...8 very easy miles with Moxie.  I had a hard time getting up and going today but was glad I didn't give in to the laziness.  (Ride)

I got out right at 11am for a lunch run (before it heated up).  I was thinking I was going to try some intervals or a tempo, but my head, legs and stomach did not agree on that.  1 mile easy, 1 mile at easy MP, 3 miles at fast easy pace, 1.25 miles and easy MP for 6.25 miles in 42:10 (6:44), not what I wanted today.  (Cortana)

4:45am...easy 10K with Moxie.  I am having a really hard time getting out the door for my morning runs this week.  (Ride)

6.3 miles in 45 minutes around the greenbelt at lunch today.  This felt very easy but I just could not get in a good groove. I started off easy, built up a bit to 6:40ish pace then just had to leave it about here for the rest of the run.  Just go with it and run another day.  (Cortana)

Committed to TCM and the US Master's Marathon Championships in October. I bought my plane tickets, have the hotel (a great deal due to connections...thanks, you know who are!), registered with the race and USATF, got travel money from the race.  So, Minneapolis here I come (Steve, looking forward to running with you again...Walter, come run this one and skip SGM!).

I slept in and went out around 7:00 for a longer solo run.  I ran 13.1 miles solo (first time I have worn my IPod in a long time!) in about 1:28 through SRL and around the greenbelt  to John's Hole Bridge and back.  Ran into Deborah, Shelley and Gama.  After getting home, Justin and I went out for 2 miles in 16:30 then I finished off the 17 miles in 1:59:50. 

On the last stretch, I had to rescue a kitten from the middle of the street which had been hit by a car and was missing an arm.  I grabbed it and took it 0.25M to the vet down the street for them to take care of it...not the best way to end a run.

7 miles after watching the women's olympic marathon.  6 miles with Moxie, then one with Justin and Katelyn.  (Ride)

Took off for our week of camping...the kid's at Luther Heights Bible camp at Alturas Lake and Kami and I just outside of Ketchum.

I did a 6 mile run on the Harriman Trail with Moxie while Kami biked with us.  From North Fork campground up through Wood River and back.

Later, we hike up to Mill Lake...a good 5 mile round trip up a good grade.  Beautiful and all to ourselves!

Kami and I wanted to bike together on the Harriman trail from the campground to the Galena Lodge.  We put Moxie in the camper but she yelped for 10 minutes so we brought her along.  We biked from North Fork to Easley, then Moxie and I turned around and Kami kept going to the lodge.  Moxie did a 15 mile trail run  (I will count the 15 miles as 5 easy miles) and Kami ended up with 19 miles up the whole trail.

Lunch at Galena lodge then we drove back to camp.  I did another 8 miles running on the trail before calling it a day. 

I got up early and did  7 miles on the trail.  After lunch, we hiked up to Norton Lakes which is a solid 4.25 miles of good climbing up to a beautful lake.   A cool cloudy day which was really nice.

Afterwards, as we were making dinner I punctured my hand lightly with a knife (but it hurt!).  After dinner, we were sitting talking and I was checking out how much my hand hurt when I started to get light headed.  The next thing I know, Kami was behind me yelling for help as I passed out and my eyes rolled to the back of my head.  A quick trip to the emergency room diagnosed me with Vasovagal syncope due to dehydration, low blood pressure and low heart rate.  This was the first time I had had and issue due to being in good shape!  Pretty scary event, especially for Kami.

Due to the events of yesterday, we took it a bit easier today.  We dropped Moxie off at doggie day care inl Ketchum then rode the gondola to the top of Mt. Baldy to bike.  We biked down the single track of cold springs trail for about 12 miles of pretty technical and exposed trail. 

We rode the gondola back up to the Roundhouse restraurant for lunch and Kami decided that was enough single track for the day.  We enjoyed the leisurely lunch, then biked 8 miles on the WoodRiver paved pathway through Ketchum to Warm Springs lift area for a total of 20 miles of biking for the day (I will count as 7 easy miles).

We walked around Ketchum for a bit then picked up Moxie and back for our last night at camp.

No running today.  We packed up camp and dropped off the trailer at the HQ for the recreation area before heading over the Galena summit to visit Redfish Lake for a spell and a lunch break. 

Then we picked up the kids at camp and made the long drive home to IF.

Got the kids up early for the Kids Tri Harder Triathlon.  They both swam 100m, rode 2 miles on the bike and ran a mile.  Justin finished in 12:40 (1st OA) and Katelyn in 20:27.

Afterwards, went for a quick 7 mile run in 45 minutes along Sunnyside before cleaning up after camping for a week (unloaded trailer, vacuumed, washed truck, etc.). 

Watched a bit of the Olmpics, bummed I missed so much of the track and field events.  We did watch the 5000m, 1500m and relays last night and can't wait to watch the marathon tomorrow morning.

We woke up early to watch the Olympic Marathon...what a race!  Congrats to Stephen Kiprotich of Uganda (1st place) and Meb Keflhezghi of the USA (4th place) on great races.  Motivated me for my long run today.

I ran a solo 18 miler through SRL and around the greenbelt through Freeman Park then down Sunnyside in 2:02:00 (6:46 avg).  Threw in some MP miles and ran out of steam at the end.  When I got home, I ran 1.25 miles with Justin and Moxie in 10:30 for 19.25 miles overall.

Now for a family birthday party for Justin who is now a teenager!

4:30am...slow easy 6 miles with Moxie.  A bit sore from yesterday's long run and hard to get up early again and face going back to work.  (ride)

6 easy miles at lunch in 46 minutes. A nice day for a run, but legs are still a bit tired.  (Cortana)

4:45am...hard to get up this morning after sleeping 9 hours each night last week while camping.  Got out the door a bit late and only had time for an easy 6.25 miles with Moxie before heading to work early.  Likely the only run of the day due to a busy schedule at work.  (ride)

4:30am...6 easy miles with Moxie. (Ride)

At lunch, I ran the Cady Tucker Run for Life 5 mile race in Freeman Park.  This is a safety awareness run put on in the name of a 12 year old who was killed by a diabetic driver 10 years ago.  The RD asked me to run the race and give a talk afterwards, which was a real honor. 

5 1 mile loops of Freeman park.  An honest rolling course on a day in which it was hard to breath due to all the smoke in the area from the fires.   I won the race in 29:12 by almost 6 minutes (Saige was second overall!).  Fun time with lots of people I know in an easy MP effort today (due to the bad air).  I am still hacking a little a few hours later!  For the win I won $100, not bad for a tempo run at lunch!  (Cortana)

6.3 miles with Rob Murphy on the Foothills loop early. Thanks for the hospitality Murphy's!

Flew to San Francisco for my uncle's wedding this weekend.  Spent the day sightseeing and walking around Fisherman's Wharf and riding the cable cars. 

Got back to the subway late and walked through the Mission district back to my uncles house.  Quite a walk in the dark on a hilly route...kinda made my family nervous but made it with no issues.  The rest of todays mileage is from all our touring around.

Lots of walking again around SF.  Rode the city bus from my uncle's house to downtown and walked to the Palace of Fine arts then to the Wharf to meet family.  Lots of miles again.

Bachelor dinner tonight with all my uncles buddies...a fun time!

8 mile run up to the top and around Bernal Heights park in San Francisco.  Quite a climb to the park then ran 7 loops around the ~ 1 mile loop.  Half up a 5% grade then the other half back down to the start.  Quite a hill workout today.

Rest of the day at the wedding and reception for my uncle.  A nice wedding and a big traditional chinese food reception...8 course meal of very real chinese food, a great time!

7 miles before church up on Bernal Heights again, this time running the reverse direction...the hills were not any easier.  Having a great time with family but ready to be home. 

No run today as we had to get up really early for our flight back to SLC.  Met up with the Murphy's for breakfast at Ruth's then the drive home and getting unpacked from the trip and getting Moxie.  We were tired and ready for bed.

Spent a couple of hours trying to clear up an issue with the PowerBar Gels that I was able to get for a couple of marathons.  Unfortunately a lot of communication issues with the company and have to see what I can do to get all the gels distributed and enough for both events. 

4:15am...normal 6 mile run with Moxie.  (Ride)

As I was heading out for worked I checked on my wife's car which had been acting funny lately and determined there is an electrical issue so I had to take it in to the dealer this morning.

No lunch run due to being slammed from being gone from work so much lately and waiting to here back on my wife's car...new battery and new brakes (some of which should be covered by extended warranty).  I would run tonight but I have a church meeting...so a light mileage week.

Still trying to decide if I am going to run the Mesa Falls race this weekend.  My mind is just likely not there for a full marathon but I might be able to fake a hard half.  Or, just go for a long training run from home...hmm.

PowerBar came through and is getting the PowerBar Gels we need for both Mesa Falls and Pocatello...a good company with great products!  Now just to make sure I can get them all the RD's in time for the races!

4:30am...8.5 miles with Curt in 1:07.  We ran through SRL to Broadway and back.  Thanks for the company and great conversation.   During the run I had a slight twing in my right groin, but it seemed to go away after about a mile. (Kinvara)

Not looking like Pocatello will work as my son's XC meet starts at 10:20 and the race starts at 8am and is about 1 hour away from the meet.  Priority is on Justin's first meet!  Now, to run the the Mesa full or half this weekend, or not at all??

10K in 41:07 at lunch on a beautiful day.  Started with an easy w/u mile (7:05) then tried to run at goal MP for the rest.  However, everytime I would get to pace, my right groin would really start to hurt and is still hurting after the run.  Maybe my decision on Mesa has been made for me.  Splits: 7:05, 6:34, 6:34, 6:30, 6:29, 6:35, 0.2 - 1:18. (Cortana)

I had a hard time getting up today (up a bit late last night with my son's party) and my right groin was still aching a bit so I thought about skipping.  Feels like I have a grade 1 abductor strain.

Got out the door at 5am with Moxie and finished 4.3 miles before quitting.  Right leg/groin was a bit sore and I had to stop and walk 3 times during the run.  (Ride)

5.7 miles at lunch in 40 minutes on VERY smoky day, not a good air day.  Slow and easy (7:20, 7:12, 7:11, 7:06, 6:55, cooldown) with a few twinges during the run whenever I picked it up much. (Cortana)

Really conflicted about the race this weekend.  Told the RD that I was at best going to make the half and I will see how I am feeling tomorrow.

I slept in and didn't get out until 5:45.  I woke up wondering how my abductor was going to feel and it wasn't bad.  I ran about 3.5 miles at ~7:40 pace then ran into Curt doing a tempo run so I ran him home for 4 miles averaging about 6:45 and it felt pretty good (a few little twinges).  I went out to finish the run and ran with Andrea for a while.  I finished off ~10 miles and saw lots of runners out this morning.

I then went and helped with XC practice and their time trial today (1.55 miles).  We warmed up on the course to learn it and then I helped monitor and time.  The kids did great and Justin ran pretty well with a 12:36 for 7th place.  I will count about 2 miles during the practice.

I think that I am going to go ahead and run the half tomorrow.

I decided to go ahead and run the Mesa Falls Half this morning and just see how bad the abductor felt.  Got up and out the door at 5:45 to drive to Ashton, ID.

Once there, I stopped it to get my bib and bag and heard that Gray was going to run...sweet!  Stopped in at the breakfast area and said hi to some friends and saw Tyler LeBaron was running the half as well (2:30 at STG last year).   The HM course starts at 5760 feet, ends at 5260 feet so we are at elevation!

Hit the facilities a few times and got on the bus and rode up with Saige (for sure the winning woman).  Hit the PoP one last time, ran a warm up with Tyler then got to the start...but no Gray! 

At the gun Tyler and I were running well down the trail part (miles 1-3, approx. 350 elevation drop) at about a 5:35 average pace passing lots of marathoners.  I was running easy and breathing easy but I felt the abductor a bit though not bad, this would stay the same throughout the race.  After running into the campground we have a flat mile or so then start into the hill that climbs pretty fast and continuously til mile 7 (climb about 300 feet).  Through here I let Tyler take the lead a bit and just ran very controlled and easy to save it for after cresting the hill.  Tyler had been breathing very heavily since the start and I was wondering how far he would last.  Average up the hill around a 6:30. 

At mile 7, we top off and hit the downhill rollers so I start to see what Tyler has left in the tank and push the pace up a bit.  We hit mile 8 at a 5:33 and just past here is a hill at which time Tyler indicates he can't hold the pace.  So I maintain the effort to ensure he would not catch back up and run the next 2 miles in 5:42 pace (downhill about 250 feet).   It was fun to have the company but good to break the competition a bit and start to go for the win.

At mile 10, my intestinal issues start to show up and I slow a bit as I am fighting the need for a PoP start but make it through mile 11-13 at 6:00 pace (mostly flat).  The home stretch is a bit long (0.22 on my GPS probably due to my bad tangents).  Chat for a couple of minutes, see Tyler finish then run to the PoP.

At the finish, I see the RD and he says congrats.  RD says he heard we were neck and neck at mile 7 and said he put his money on the young guy (since I had told him about my injury and Tyler had told him that he was going for the CR).  I guess I proved that old guys can still race well. 

Cooled down for about a mile back and forth to my truck and stuck around to get some food and chat with other runners then headed home for family time and chores.

Splits: 5:22, 5:40, 5:44, 5:55, 6:27, 6:46, 6:16, 5:33, 5:42, 5:43, 6:05, 6:00, 5:55, 1:15 (0.22M).

I met Curt for a longish run on a perfect morning and praised God for such a glorious sunrise.  We ran through SRL and around the greenbelt and home for a total of 11.5 miles in 1:24:30.  I went home and picked up Justin and Moxie and we did another 3 miles in 26:00 (Justin's fastest 3 mile run) all before church today.  A good start to a Sunday and a new week.

4:15am...6 very easy miles with Moxie on a beautiful morning.  Adductors felt ok, a little twing (in the left one this morning) but no real worries.

I helped out at the middle school XC practice this morning.  Helped with warmup and help keep the kids going on the two 10 min tempo runs.  One gal fainted and hit the pavement right behind me...she told the coach she had been having issues for a while and never told anyone.   Lectured kids on telling us about any issues before practice to ensure the coach knows about their conditioning before causing harm.  Justin did great as his pack leader and showed real heart today!  No lunch run due to helping at practice...I will work through lunch.

4:30am...easy 6 miles with Moxie, no abductor issues.  (Kinvara)

4:30am...slow and easy 4 mile run with Moxie for my taper.  Hoping to feel good and do well at Pocatello marathon on Saturday.  (Kinvara)

My traditional rest day before a marathon so I decided to sleep in and forgo an easy run early.  I might do a short run at lunch instead if I am feeling like it. 

I was looking up the Master's runners for TCM last night, what a tough group of runners!  It will be a challenge to break the top 15 let alone even think of top 10 based on the times some of the guys have put down, not even quite sure why they let me in the elite category.  My money is on Malcolm Campbell who is running so well this year (1:09 HM, 2:22 Marathon) followed by Tracy Lokken and Jason Ryf (David Williams, Kevin Castille could be in there too). 

An easy run at lunch, more mental to help offset bad mojo at work.  Focused totally on form and tried to put in minimal effort.  3.5 miles in 23:32:  6:47, 6:47, 6:37, 3:21 (0.5m).  Everything felt really good and very easy.  Good run to blow off steam and get ready for Saturday.  (Cortana)

4:45am...3 easy miles with Moxie to get her out and keep my legs moving.  Looking forward to seeing everyone run well tomorrow. 

Good luck at Poky to Marlin, Curt, Alana, Craig, Rob, Justin, Andrea, Lynette, Ron, Kory, Bill, McKay, Gray, Gary, Alisa, etc. (too many to remember!).

Drove down to Poky to get our race packets and spend some time with the Murphy's.  Kids had a great time playing together and we had a nice dinner and time talking with Anne and Rob before hitting the sack to get up early.