Wheeler Farm Loops

AM - 10 miles easy w/ Andrea on a beautiful Sunday morning, then treated my legs to an ice bath.

PM - 4.7 miles easy. Spent the day watching football (stupid Bills!), reading, and alternating between laying on the couch, floor, and bed. My job on weekends (during non-training hours) for the next month is to be as lazy as possible. 

We went to see Like There's No Tomorrow last night. It was entertaining, but wasn't as good as last year's Warren Miller film. That's actually a good thing because I am consciously trying not to get excited about skiing yet. I want to enjoy this perfect weather as long as possible! 

AM - 12.6 miles, up to work... first 7.5 w/ Andrea.

PM - 8 miles. Ran down to Sugarhouse, then did 8 x 300m @ 5K pace (Average 52.9 seconds) w/ 100m between reps.

Need some feedback on the Spooky Fast 5K we were planning to do on Halloween weekend. After some tinkering w/ the training schedule and thinking about the overall plan, Andrea and I really need to use that Saturday morning for our "dress rehersal" 13 mile tempo, since its 3 weeks out from Philly. Plus, Andrea isn't allowed to run faster than half-marathon pace until her hamstring is totally healed up. So for those of you that want to run, there are a few options...

1. Have the race on the afternoon of the 29th (I'm happy to sit in a chair and do the timing)
2. Do it one of the following Saturdays (Nov 5th or Nov 12th) 

Maybe we can just try to come to a group consensus? Any input is appreciated!

AM - 8 miles on campus, slow and easy.

PM - 12 miles. 10 Mile Tempo Run in 52:30. Average pace = 5:15 / mile.

Andrea and I did this workout as an out & back out on the Frontage road along I-80, past the airport (where the SLCTC does the winter series). I felt really smooth and controlled on this run. Very nice confidence booster. Splits were 5:20, 5:21, 5:20, 5:18, 5:17, 5:11, 5:13, 5:13, 5:11, 5:06. I guess I got a little excited at the 180 degree turn after 5 miles, then just kept it rolling. A few more solid marathon-pace workouts like these over the next couple weeks, and I'm going to be feeling really good about my chances in Philly.

Warmed up 1 mile + strides, cooled down 1 mile just as a gorgeous sunset was kicking into high gear.

AM - 11.8 miles. Campus/Sunnyside/Wasatch. Nice easy run in the dark. Our fire alarm or carbon monoxide detector decided to start doing the "low battery beeping" at 4am this morning... c'mon!!! Didn't they know we did a big workout last night?? Now none of them have batteries! Take THAT stupid machines!

PM - 8.6 miles. Watched the last 4 races of the state XC meet, then Andrea and I went for a run around Sugarhouse Park and the surrounding neighborhoods.

AM - 10.2 miles, JAJA run!

PM -10 miles. Short workout to bridge the gap between the Tuesday tempo and this Saturday's long run - 5K Tempo + 4 x 400m. Splits were 16:22 for 5K (5:16, 5:16, 5:13, 37), then 70, 69, 68, 67 for the quarters.

Last month's Running Times had a nice article about "citizen runners"... guys working full time who are still at the upper echelon of the sport. There was even a little sidebar that mentioned Paul as one of the very few USA guys who had qualified for the trials while working a full time job. The main article, though, was about Yuki Kawauchi. Its filled with awesome quotes...

If you train two or three times a day and have free time between runs then you just waste it playing video games... people can't survive just doing one thing all the time, so I think it's important to have a balance between hard work and hard running.

...I'm old-school. I run, I work hard, and I like it. I read up, thought about what I needed to do, and found what works for me. There's no reason Americans can't do the same thing. It's worthwhile spending money on things that will help your training, but spending money itself isn't going to make you better.

AM - 9.3 miles, nice and slow. Ran 4 w/ Andrea, then up to work.

PM - 8.3 miles home. 

She's baaaaaaaaack.... 

AM - 22.1 miles, Long Run / Tempo Run on the Jordan River path. Had a great crew this morning - Chad, James, Andrea, Emily B, Devra, and Mae (not sure if I am spelling her name right). The first 11 miles were pretty easy as we ran as a group (7:01 per mile average), then I did a 10.5 Mile Tempo on the way back. This was originally intended to be a progression run on the way back, but I hit marathon pace almost immediately, and since it felt smooth I just kept it rolling.

Splits for the second half of the run were 5:29, 5:20, 5:21, 5:19, 5:17, 5:14, 5:15, 5:24 (had to come to a complete stop to get out of the way of some bikers), 5:14, 5:12, and 2:35 for the last half-mile. Total time for 10.5 miles was 55:40 (Average pace = 5:18 / mile). Then I added on a little bit more to run back to Andrea, and ran back in with her as she was finishing up the last quarter-mile of her tempo finish.

This was another excellent confidence booster for me. Once again, it felt very smooth and controlled. I love tempo runs! They are definitely my strength, even when I'm cranking out 140 mile weeks. And the fact that I am hitting sea-level marathon goal pace at altitude is a good sign. My legs will be ready for the pace, but it should feel even easier at sea level.

Four weeks from tomorrow!!! 

PM - 3.4 miles shakeout