dedication, perseverance, self-discipline

I need to leave so this will be quick.  Ran 8 miles in 1:04:12 then paced Julia through 1 mile in 9:23 followed by 3 more miles slow with Sasha.

I ran with Sasha, Josse, Daniel, and Matt this morning.  We met Matt a little over a mile into our run.  We ran out and back for a total of 8 miles in 1:01:02.  Daniel and Josse were done at this point, but Sasha, Matt, and I turned and went back out again.  Matt headed back home after 2 more miles and Sasha and I turned around to head back for a total of 12 miles in 1:32:41.

Well, last night my replacement didn't show up at work and I couldn't leave until someone else came, so I got stuck there until about 11:30 when the manager came in to relieve me. So, I got less than 6 hours sleep because of it and I am super tired now. I also got assaulted earlier in the evening by one of the guys I take care of, so it made for a wonderfully terrible day at work.

Anyhow, I ran with Sasha, Daniel, Hyrum, and Matt (for about a mile). We were with Hyrum for about 2.5 miles and then we started a 5 mile tempo with Daniel starting at 6:00 pace for the first mile and then hitting 5:58, 5:57, 5:51, 5:46, for a total time of 29:32 by my watch. I felt really tired this morning, and although the last 2 miles were slower than marathon pace they were at a marathon pace effort. We ran about 1 mile of the tempo with Matt as he met us on the trail and ran with us for a bit. After finishing and dropping off Daniel, we ran back to Sasha's house and then did a few laps around the block for 1.05 miles to finish up with 10.05 for the day. Total time 1:14:16

We took it really easy this morning.  I ran to Sasha's house and then we went out to the 8 mile turn around and came back to the start of the 5 mile tempo.  After this we went out again for 1.75 miles and then I ran back to my house for a total of 13 miles.  Total time 1:46:44

I ran with Daniel and Sasha this morning.  We met up with Matt about .75mi into the run.  We ran out to the 8 mile turn around and headed back until we got to the start of the 5 mile tempo.  At this point Daniel kept going and the rest of us turned around and went out 1 mile before coming back to Sasha's house.  Matt turned for home a little after our final turn around.  Total time 1:18:38.

My calf is still making improvements over how it felt last week.  It is still not 100% but it is close.  I think that with the knots that I had in it, that there was some pressure being placed on the nerves in my leg, which caused the funny feeling and the pain that I felt.  Now, I just need to let a sore spot on my other leg heal.  I got that from being kicked in the leg when I was assaulted at work on Tuesday.  It is already feeling better, but it is still somewhat tender to the touch.

Todays race was pretty low key.  It starts in the Provo Canyon on the river trail and it heads up past Bridal Veil Falls before heading back down the canyon to one of the parks off of the trail.  We got to the start and I was surprised at how windy and cold it was.  Back at my house it was so nice that I didn't think to bring an extra shirt to warm up with.  Anyhow, there was a nasty headwind coming at us down the canyon, so we decided to trade leads in order to minimize the effect of the wind on us until the turn-around when the wind would be at our backs.

So, the race starts and Sasha and I go out with this guy we met at the start named Bryan.  Sasha and I traded leads at one minute intervals, while Bryan mostly hung back behind us.  We went through 1 mile (all mile times approximate because some of the markers were off) in 5:42 followed by a 5:58 second mile (11:40).  Just before the 2 mile mark, Bryan made a move and took the lead for a minute or two.  He then fell back a little but still maintained contact with us until about 2.5 miles.  We hit the third mile in 17:53 (6:13).  I am pretty sure this marker was off and if I were to guess I would say we probably ran it about the same speed as the second mile.  We turned around and started heading back down the canyon just after 3 miles and with the downhill and the wind at our backs we really started to move.  We hit the 4 mile mark in 22:44 (4:51).  I think this mile was short, as the 3rd mile was long but it was still in the sub 5:10 range pace wise.  Just past the 4 mile mark Sasha started to fade and I upped the intensity a little more in order to drop him.  I started to grunt a little as I worked on dropping him, in contrast to Sasha's moaning, and I think it worked.  I might have started the grunting too soon because I starting hurting a little the last mile, but it wasn't a big deal.  I hit the 5 mile mark in 27:46 (5:02) and from there I just worked on maintaining pace through the finish.  I didn't catch my split at the 6 mile mark, but it took me 6:00 to make it from the 5 mile mark to the end which averages out to about 5:00 pace assuming the total distance was correct and the distance from the 5 mile mark to the end was also correct.  I finished in 33:46 followed by Sasha in 34:25, and Bryan in 36:28.

After the race we did the timing for the other runners, and then we went out to get the rest of our miles in for the day to finish up with 18.