Wheeler Farm Loops

AM - 14 miles easy on a nice winter morning. Met up w/ Fritz, ACorn, Collin, James, Allie, and ROB MURPHY at Highland High. We ran ~10 together and then I added on a few more w/ the Smoores as they ran home. The easier paced LR yesterday allowed my legs to bounce back really quick.

PM - 4 miles. Couple w/ Andrea and then added a little bit extra. 

Couple good links to share (Bam and Rob have already posted these): documentary on the 1976 Olympic Marathon, and a profile on Debbie Heald. 

AM - 13.5 miles. 4 mi warmup, 25 x 400m in 70.8 seconds average (55-60 seconds active rest), 3.5 mi cooldown. Splits: 70.0, 68.9, 69.8, 70.4, 71.3, 69.8, 70.1, 71.0, 71.3, 71.1, 71.6, 71.0, 71.3, 71.0, 71.4, 71.5, 71.1, 71.4, 70.9, 71.2, 71.3, 71.2, 70.9, 71.0, 70.2.

I had to go out to the Univ of Utah Medical Center at Daybreak for work this morning, so I figured if I was going to drive all the way out there, I might as well do my workout at the Olympic Oval. I've run there once before (last March on a morning where everything was covered in ice), and the one thing I know about this track is that if you hammer, your legs will feel like you ran a downhill race. Quarters seemed like the best idea for getting in some quality work without beating myself up on that track. I was looking to average under 72s... after the first seven reps I found my rhythm and then it just became a VERY LONG game of "let's see how close I can get to 71-flat w/out looking at my watch." Felt pretty good and like I could have dropped them down quite a bit in the last 1/3 of the workout, but like I said, that track is hard and I'd regret that tomorrow.

Really not a hard workout for me at that pace, more of a mental challenge..."8 down, 17 to go!"

After that session, then going to Daybreak, and then driving back up to Huntsman... I am starving!!! 

PM - 30 minutes of pool running w/ Andrea + hot tub + a good amount of stretching (for me). I love when bad weather corresponds w/  a scheduled afternoon off. Makes it a lot easier to follow through on the plan.

AM - 10 miles up to work.

PM - 5 miles down to the track + 12 x 100m strides. 

For your listening and learning pleasure: Alberto Salazar podcast on Competitor radio. One of FRB's finest had this to say about it... "Thanks for the tip on that Salazar interview. Great stuff! Getting into a rut, doing the same old thing, is a recipe for mediocrity in running and coaching. Also, the need to thoroughly understand what you are doing or having your athletes do is so critical."

AM - 11 miles up to work.

PM - 7.5 miles down to Sugar House. 

Minimalism.

AM - 16 miles. Warmed up 4 miles, 10 mile AT Tempo in 53:39 (5:22/mi avg), cooled down 2 miles. Splits - 5:25, 5:26, 5:20, 5:21, 5:20, 5:24, 5:21, 5:24, 5:18, 5:19. 

Too cold to run anything faster than MP this morning with the wind chill at -7 degrees. Brrrr. Actually not really too bad if you layer right once you get going.

I'm alternating between 2 types of aerobic tempo workouts - steady (like this one, where I attempt to keep the splits w/in ~5 seconds of each other) and progressive (where I'll start ~5:30-5:40 and finish ~5:00). The idea is to be changing the stimulus and not repeat the same thing more than once every 2-3 weeks. Felt like I was holding back in the second half and that I can probably do these tempos faster... but I have a lot of confidence in the plan I'm following so I'm not going to start pushing the envelope yet. Each one of these sessions means nothing on its own, they're all building blocks.

PM - 30 minutes of pool running w/ Andrea. 

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I know its not "family safe" to post the Suzy Favor Hamilton story that just broke... but holy moly... (and after reading more of the story, its pretty sad). So while on the topic of 1990s superstars, how about a little chat w/ Bob Kennedy. He's a family safe guy.

AM - 10.5 miles up to work, very slowly.

PM - 6 miles down to SHP and ran w/Andrea for a bit. 

Flying down to Arizona tonight for training camp the holidays. I also found out yesterday that I'll be going to San Diego for 4 days in January (work conference, but unfortunately I'll miss the winter series 5K!). Since we're not skiing anymore until Andrea is closer to 100%, I'll gladly take the opportunity to train as much as possible in warmer climates during the coldest time of the year in Utah. It works out pretty well.

AM - 14.5 miles. LT Reps: 3-2-1 miles (1/4 mi recovery). Splits - 15:03 (5:02, 5:01, 5:00), 10:06 (5:04, 5:02), 4:55. Warmed up and cooled down 4 miles each.

Got in late last night due to a flight delay and didn't get to sleep until after 1am, so I was a bit tired and didn't feel too sharp this morning. But still got in a pretty decent effort. Like I said the other day, these are all building blocks... and this is going to be an intense microcycle, so I didn't need to leave it all out there today. Nice to run in shorts and a t-shirt! 

PM - 8 miles. Ocotillo Loop.