Maybe I'll Blog, Maybe I Won't

AM:  8 easy miles in North Logan. 

59:10 (7:17/mi.)

PM:  5.3 slow easy miles with one of the padawans.

48:49 (9:17/mi.)

A couple of notes on the last few days:  Things have been incredibly busy for me, and as a result I've neglected looking after myself the way I should and consequently missed a couple of days running.  Didn't get sick or anything, but wasn't eating enough or properly, and it was telling on my motivation and physical state.  Last night I opted to eat a good dinner and get to bed early rather than run.  I think sometimes as a runner I take the rest of my health for granted (If I can run 20 miles, I must be healthy, right?), but I need to avoid that and make sure I am getting enough sleep and nutrition, or the running will suffer.  So no more staying up late and not eating properly.  I don't want another repeat of August 2008.  I'm going to start doing doubles, partly to see if I experience any benefits in my performance, but also to get me out of bed early. 

On a possibly related note, my right leg has been experiencing some problems.  I don't think it's a structural injury, but I think I may be pinching a nerve somewhere.  I've been experiencing radiating pain going from my glutes, through my hamstrings, and to the medial side of my knee.  It seems to be triggered by driving, even relatively short trips of half an hour or so.  Not encouraging, since I have a 5-6 hour drive ahead of me next weekend plus the return trip.  I also spend several hours on my feet nearly every day for work, which might be a contributing factor, although I haven't had any problems with it in the past year that I've had this job.  Another possible cause might be that lately my groin area seems to get really sore under certain conditions.  Not like it's injured, but the kind of sore you get after lifting weights.  This seems to happen when I run two or three consecutive days in my new Adrenalines.  Did Brooks change something drastically in the new model?  I've never had that happen before.  The Cascadias (both old and new) are fine and actually tend to alleviate the soreness, which has not decreased after 200 miles in the Adrenalines.  So tight muscles there may also be a contributing factor to the "nerve problem."  Perhaps I will experiment with some different road shoes to see if it helps.  Anyway, I'll keep an eye on it.  

Easy run in the morning on the BST.  Left right after and went to Lava Hot Springs in Idaho and went tubing down the river and soaked a good while in the hot pools.  Very relaxing.  No pain driving.  :)

52:29 (7:30/mi.)

AM:  6.2 easy on Canyon Road loop.  Felt pretty good.  A little groin soreness.

43:39 (7:02/mi.)

Jardine Juniper after work.  It has really greened up there, and the wildflowers are out.  Beautiful run.  Felt pretty good.  Made it to the tree in just under 48 minutes going easy.  

1:23:25 (8:20/mi.)

Last week's experimentation with doubles was a spectacular failure.  For now I'll just stick to one run a day, unless for some reason I have to break it up.  It's not that it's difficult (it actually feels easier), it's that after doing a run in the morning it's much too easy to justify skipping the afternoon when it's hot out and I have other things to do.

Long run on the LRT because I didn't have time to drive anywhere more interesting.  Started out feeling blah, but it got better as I went along.  Many parts of the trail are under knee deep water, but I relished the ice cold splashing on my legs.  That really helped me feel good today.  I think I am getting more used to the heat now though.  The last couple of days I haven't been drained by the heat as much.  

1:57:28 (7:46/mi.)

Stump Hollow.  Jon and Cody, be jealous.  ;)   It was great.  Drove up after work and bishop interviews and started running just a little after 8.  Perfect time to go.  Temperatures were cool, but the evening sun was coming through the trees making it very nice.  Last time I ran this was with Cody during the deer hunt last year, so it was kinda drab.  This time it was very green with wildflowers everywhere.  Got to the Sinks just as the sun was setting.  Saw a herd of about 50 elk across the valley.  Made it back to the car just as the light was fading from the sky.  Beautiful evening for a run, and no better trail to run on.  Posted some pictures and a trail review on my blogspot.

1:25:54 (8:35/mi.)

AM:  Moderate to hard 10 miler on the roads out through River Heights.  Took it easy to start then built into a marathon pace effort and then cooled down slow for the last couple of miles.  Traveling home today right after work.  Hoping to do another short run in Hurricane tonight, since it might be cooled down by 10:00 PM there.  

1:09:56 (6:59/mi.)

Hurricane Canal and Rim Trail loop.  It was hot out!  But I handled it much better than I expected.  It actually felt pretty good.  I had, however, forgotten what a JOY it is to run through foxtails and cheat grass. (dripping with sarcasm)  I don't miss that at all.  The first tunnel on the canal is blocked by a cave in...I don't know if it was intentional or not, but it took me a good 20 minutes to find a way to hike around it.  Enjoyable run on trails I used to run all the time in high school.  I'm in much better shape now than I was then.  I remember those hills on the Rim Trail being much worse.  

1:41:16 (8:12/mi.)

18 miles out south of town.  Accidentally left my Garmin on overnight, so no time.  Enjoyable run.  Sure do like this low elevation.  It's going to be awesome come the SGM.  haha

Slow run to start the week.  Didn't feel so great.  I don't know whether it was the fact that it was 90 F at 9 AM or if it was the half can of peaches I ate before the run, but my stomach was just not happy about life.  Mornings are never great for me anyway unless it's race day.  Oh well.  Got the miles in.  

1:03:01 (7:08/mi.) 

Warmed up for two miles then ran 3 hard miles at marathon effort.  Slowed down until the 7 mile mark, then ran 3 more fast miles.  Felt really good after I got warmed into the run.  Legs were complaining before I started from yesterday's drive, but I felt good once I got going.  Solid run today.  Posted some pictures from Friday's run on my blogspot. 

1:23:12 (6:52/mi.)

Not a good day.  Didn't get out until late at night, and then my knee was really giving me fits.  Driving for long periods just kills me.  Probably shouldn't have pushed so hard yesterday either...

40:17 (7:30/mi.)

Ran about 5 feet today and my right knee and leg were just not having it.  Bagged it.  :(

Green Canyon.  Felt much better.  Still just took it real easy.

1:13:06 (8:04/mi.)

Not a good run.  Was not in a good place mentally, and just couldn't motivate myself up Dry Canyon and South Syncline.  No energy at all.  Making matters worse I ran through a healthy patch of stinging nettle, and then ate it hard coming back down, banging my knees and left hand up pretty good and scratching my Garmin.  I was planning to do the whole Syncline Loop (~23 mi.) but it just wasn't happening.  Mentally I've been really weak the last few days.  I don't know what's going on.

2:18:18 (13:40/mi)

Longer run with Cody on his bike.  I started out feeling pretty stiff, but warmed up well.  It was pretty chilly at the Stump Hollow trailhead, but by the time we got to the Sinks it was pretty nice.  It was nice to chat with Cody, and I think it really helped me get into a better mental state than I have been in for the past few days.  I felt good about this run.  I wish I could run with Cody, or anyone else, more often.  I like alone time usually, but when you're struggling to get out it's nice to have someone to talk to and motivate you.  Felt pretty strong the entire way out, then at the Sinks we decided to go explore a jeep trail and let Cody run a few miles.  We found a pretty cool little road that looked promising for further exploration.  Great views of the backside of the Bear River mountains and even Bear Lake.  We could even see Logan Peak at one point, at an angle I'd never seen before which was kinda cool.  Cody's legs tightened up really bad coming down a steep hill, so we walked a bit and soon turned around.  I hope he gets better soon.  The way back felt pretty good.  I felt little fatigue, and the knee was mostly fine, if just a little achy.  Maybe I'll buy a truck sometime so when I drive it doesn't put as much pressure on the knee if I'm sitting up higher.  You know that you're a runner when your ability to run after driving drastically influences your vehicle choice.  All in all this was a great run, and hopefully will pull me out of this rut I've been in.  Thanks Cody!

2:10:54 (9:02/mi.)

Another good run.  I consciously tried to relax and not go as fast as I wanted to.  It was pretty warm out, as I slept in due to staying up too late last night, but it was tolerable.  I felt good and relaxed, and in a good frame of mind.  Hopefully I can have a good week.  Also, while I was running I was thinking about the next few months and how they are going to play out.  My training has not been up to my expectations the last few weeks, so here is my plan:  I'm still going to run the El Vaquero Loco 50k on August 13, but I'm basically going to train through it.  I'm going to run the best I can, but I'm not going to run to try and win any prizes.  If I do place, that's great, but I'm going to treat it as a really long training run and just enjoy myself and let the chips fall where they may.  I can always "race" next year.  I'm also going to try and get a friend to drive me up in my car, in an attempt to avoid issues with my right leg and knee.  It seems that if I'm just sitting in a car it doesn't bother me too much, but if I'm using the gas pedal and braking and stuff it puts more pressure on it.  So I'm going to try that.  The reason for training through Vaquero Loco is so that I can have a good race at SGM.  That is my "big" race for the year, and I really want to break 2:30.  In order to do that, I can't afford to take any big tapers between now and then.  I don't have time.  I also need to get some Big Workouts and longer runs in.  Training through Vaquero Loco will help me do that.  So that's the tentative plan.  Hopefully it goes well.  

1:32:59 (7:15/mi.)

Not technically a "run" in the strict sense, but I'm counting an 8 mile hike most of the way to Box Elder Peak (Wellsvilles) via Rattlesnake as a "sure-nuff" workout, especially where it took a big chunk of my day (drive time, lunch, etc etc) and I didn't have a chance to get another run in.  Unfortunately, we didn't make it to the peak because of time constraints.  That's the second time I've hiked the Wellsvilles thinking I was going to get to the summit and been denied.  The first time I was all excited and then we only did Mendon Peak which isn't even hardly a peak, let alone being anywhere near the highest thing on those mountains.  Lame.  I think a "Jon and Cody Memorial Wellsville Mountain Run and Bushwhack" is in order.  It'd be good prep for EVL anyway.  I just need to figure out how to shuttle myself.  

No watch.

Moderate paced run on the roads.  Didn't go far because I didn't have much time.  Should be ok for the week though.  Ho-hum.

1:00:46 (7:03/mi.)

BST out and back.  Nice evening for a run.  Watched the sunset from the trail en route.  

1:03:26 (7:41/mi.)

Long run up Green.  2.5 miles past the Yurt.  Just took it easy today, but I felt really great.  Much better than expected for my first 20 in a few weeks.  Views from my turnaround down the canyon in the morning were great.  I wished I had more time and energy to go farther.  I want to run Mt. Elmer again soon.  

2:56:45 (8:45/mi.)