Running

16.01 in 2:10:59. 8:11 ave pace.

Miserable, miserable run.  Started at the base of Provo Canyon at 7:45 in a light, steady run.  Ran up 8 miles, and then back down.  I was good for about 5 miles and then it just got miserable.  I was soaked.  My legs got cold and stiff.  There was hardly anybody on the trail, so that makes things kind of boring.  I like to have people to catch up to.  It felt like I was carrying about 20 extra pounds of weight because my clothes were water logged.  After the run I was squeezing a ton of water out of my gloves, hat, short, and shirt.  Miserable.  I gave in to the weather on the way down.  Just couldn’t keep a good pace.  I did hit the 8 mile mark about 2 minutes earlier than last week.

Lifted and ran 4.30 on the TM.  These were good quality MP miles.  Will try to put in a lot of miles next week.

Ran 1 mile away from the house and walked back to the house.  Right achilles is very sore and extremely painful.  Probably won't run again until Wednesday or Thursday.

Lifted weights for about 35 minutes and then rode the stationary bike for 30 minutes.

Lifted 35 minutes and then 37 minutes on the stationary bike.

Lifted for about 35 minutes and then rode the stationary bike for 35 minutes.  I will try to run tomorrow.

10.31 in 1:31:19. 8:52 Pace.

First day running since Monday when I had a ton of pain in the right achilles.  Felt so good to run.  I went slow and was scared to death that I would have the pain come back.  Felt pretty good, but not all the way normal.  I think I will try and run again in the morning and see how things feel.

I decided to play it safe and not run this morning.  The achilles feels pretty good right now, but not completely normal.  On a better note, I graduate with my MBA from the UofU tonight.  So glad to be done with school, and this should open up some more time to get more miles in.

11.69 in 1:30:19. 7:44 pace.

I'm pretty frustrated.  I could tell after about 1.5 miles that the achilles was going to give me trouble; and it did.  Started at the base of Provo Canyon and ran up to Vivian Park.  Got to Vivivan at about 48:51; that included some water stops and bathroom breaks.  I was pissed about the achilles and so I took out my frustration on the run down.  Splits:

Mile 7 - 7:01

8- 6:34

9 - 7:48 Pit Stop

10 - 6:12

11 - 7:12

.69 - 4:27

I will ice the achilles today and tomorrow, and my guess is that I will trouble running on Monday.  I still plan on running Ogden next week, but I feel like I've certainly lost some fitness over the last 3 weeks.  Frustrating.

Swimming.  Down and back 66 times in about 36:30.  Will swim some more tonight and lift.

I'm done blogging for this week because I won't be running again until the marathon on Saturday.  It just gets me frustrated to record no running miles.  I will swim and lift the rest of this week and hopefully my achilles will be fine for the marathon.

Not sure what the marathon has in store for me.  I'm pretty sure I would have come close to my BQ mark had I not started having the problems with my leg.  Obviously the miles have dropped a lot over the last few weeks.  We'll see how it goes.

5.06 at 8:11 pace.

From everything I've read, I should keep running even though the achilles has given me problems. I felt pretty good on this run. Went south from Willow Park. It was pancake flat. I'm making a more concerted effort to ice and stretch.

4.0 easy on the treadmill.  Achilles didn't feel as good as the prior day, but felt ok. 

First off, a great race and a little over a 22 minute PR.  After the SLC marathon last month I thought I had it in me to hit my BQ mark of 3:10:59, but over the last 3 weeks I’ve struggled with my training due to a sore right achilles.  Only put in about 20 miles last week and about 30 the week before, so I was not very hopeful for a good result today.

I felt great for pretty much the whole race.  I used the course tool on the blog and was going to try and hit the following splits based on the tool:

Mile 8    57:42

Mile 13 1:35:00

Mile 17 2:05:03

Mile 24 2:55:05

Mile 25 3:02:27

I was right on target (and a little ahead) for each of the above splits and seeing this just helped me feel more confident as the race went on.  I felt especially good from about miles 15 to 20, and then I started to struggle, but I was still able to hold a descent pace.  The downhill in the canyon helped, but I think I overestimated how much it would really help me. I realized I was going to have a hard time hitting the BQ mark at about mile 24.  I was struggling both physically and mentally.  Here are the splits:

Overall, I couldn’t be happier considering how little I have trained over the last 3 weeks.  I was able to push through some pain and this race really gives me a lot of confidence that I’ll be able to drop my time even more as I go throughout the year.

Lifted my chest for about 30 minutes and then did the elliptical for 45 minutes. Legs are still pretty sore from the race and I've been extrememly tired. Achilles has been a little swollen since the race and it is tight.

Lifted shoulders and arms for 35 minutes and then did the elliptical for 45 minutes.  Quads and right achilles are still sore.

5.48 in around 51 minutes.  It was 9:28 pace.

Ran with my bro. Ryan who lives down the street from me.  We will try and make this a habit.  I've gotten out of the routine of running in the morning over the last month, and I miss it.  My legs are fine from the marathon.  The right achilles is very sore.  Will continue to take Ibuprofen and apply ice when at home. 

4.60 very painful miles at about 8:50 pace with Ryan.  The achilles is very sore.  Tried to run on the treadmill last night and couldn't do it.  Probably shouldn't have run this morning, but couldn't help it.  Every step I took hurt while running.  Thinking about giving up running for a while (2-3 weeks) and sticking to swimming and weight lifting. 

Swam 82 laps in around 44 minutes.  I beleive that is about 1.16 miles.  I'm not very fast, but it feels like it gives me a workout.  Wish I knew how to flip when I turnaround.

Hit the breaking point and was able to get in and see a doctor about the achilles.  Basically, it is what I thought......it's got some inflammation.  He suggested not running for 2-3 weeks and got me a perscription for an anti-inflammatory as well as some heel inserts.  Really, I'm willing to try anything as I can feel pain just walking the last few days.  I'll stick with swimming, weight lifting, and will try the stationary bike and elliptical if it doesn't cause pain.  Hopefully this goes away.

Swam at the Legacy Center.  160 laps in about 1:12:00.  That's right around 2.27 miles of swimming.  I was the only one in the pool from 6:00-7:00, that's because everyone else was out running.  I feel legit at the pool now because of my new swim suit.  I can't believe how much of a difference it makes.  I was able to swim so much faster.

Rode my brother's rode bike for about 20 miles.  Not a fan of biking......or the clip in pedals.

Will lift weights today as well.

Swam 176 laps at the L.C.  This is about 2.5 miles.  It pretty much takes me about 31 minutes to swim a mile.  I have no idea if that is really slow or what.  If I could flip turn I figure this would take some significant time off and I would be a lot faster.

Swim 116 laps at the L.C. Will try to lift and do stationary bike later today.
PM Lifted and rode the stationary bike for 37 minutes.

Swam 184 laps or about 2.62 miles.  Mile 2 took about 33:30, and that is the only one I timed.

Lift weights for 50 minutes.  Stationary bike for 45 minutes.  15 minutes on the elliptical.  No swimming today.  If I swim and lift on the same day it just kills me.

Saw the PT yesterday for the achilles.  I was amazed at some of the exercises my right foot had trouble with as compared with the left.  Just simply doing calf raises on my right leg was a battle.  It was a bit frustrating, the PT said that is just the body responding to the hurting area.  He said to go ahead and try running 2-5 miles on Saturday, but that if it hurts to stop.  I've had no pain now for about the last 4-5 days.

Swim 162 laps or about 2.30 miles.  Mile 2 was done in 32:15.

Lifted for 50 minutes and rode the stationary bike for 1:05:00.

Swam 166 laps, or about 2.36 miles.  Swam first mile in 31:15 and second in 32:15. Lifted for about 50 minutes and rode the stationary bike for 45 minutes.

The PT said to try running 2-5 miles today.  I went to Willow Park in Lehi and headed north on the JRP.  Went 2 miles and started feeling a little pain, turned around to go back to the car and then started feeling more and more pain.  He said to just stop if I felt any pain.  So, I stopped and walked the last mile back to the car.  Did 2.91 miles at 7:53 pace.  I know this is stupid to say, but I honestly start to wonder if I'll ever run normal like I did just over a month ago.  I know it will come, but it gets a bit frustrating.  Back to swimming and lifting for the next couple days.