I'm retired from racing. Really.

AM- 6. As tired as I am right now, I'm really debating the whole run vs. sleep benefit. Sleep might win tomorrow.

Thinking of yesterday's terrible workout, I think part of the problem was due to the stress of the day and the layoffs. A lot of my coworkers said this morning that they got home last night and felt like a truck had run over them. Just a bad, stressful day. So hopefully that was the problem.

PM- 7.5 easy.  My legs are starting to feel better- hopefully another easy day tomorrow will have me ready.

PM- 5.5 easy miles.  Now it's race time- hopefully it won't be windy like last year.  Although the weather predictions right now call for snow and wind.  I figure that will just keep people away and earn me a higher place, more food, and less people in the port-o-potties.

Striders 1/2 marathon. Cold and snowy at the start, occasional blustery wind thru mile 9, then the mother of all headwinds to the finish. I had been fighting a cold all week and had a bummer of a Tuesday workout, but felt I could do ok.  Splits were 5:39, 5:52, 5:56, 5:58, 5:56, 6:05, 6:05, 6:17, 6:27, 6:20, 6:50, 6:47, 6:44, .1 in :38.

The first mile was a bit quick but felt ok.  I ran with Jeff MacArthur thru mile 5, then he made a huge move, had a great race, and caught 2 people, beating my by 2.5 minutes.  I ran alone the rest of the way, with the closest guys 2 min ahead and 1 min behind.  I did ok till about mile 8 then started tiring.  The huge, strong, steady headwind from mile 9 to the finish absolutely sapped any remaining strength, making it a slow, slow slog to the finish.  I think the wind in the last 4 miles was stronger than last year's, which is amazing- it was so strong it was literally knocking my upwind leg into my other leg mid-stride... never had that happen before.  The sad part is my time this year is 45 seconds slower than last year, even though we had a headwind the entire race last year and I had practically been on my deathbed the week before with an illness (although I did have someone to work with last year to conquer the wind).  Pretty lousy race- the highlight was food and hot cocoa at the finish, followed by about 45 minutes warming up in Paul's car- we were shivering popsicles at the finish.

I just have to believe that if I keep putting in the miles and working hard, eventually things will improve.  Oh yeah, and quit getting sick, which has happened about 2-3 times/month since December.  Not kidding.  It's getting really old by now.

Lots of good food at the finish, and ran 3 miles cooldown with Paul and Cody.  10 min pace.  To add some adventure, the parking lot was a muddy field, so we helped push 3 or 4 cars out before heading home.  So of course we were covered in mud and spread it to Paul's car.  Sorry. 

I have been getting headaches this week and started getting one after the race.  During the drive home, it became incredibly, incredibly painful- by far the most excruciating headache of my life.  By the time we got home, I could hardly stand or open my eyes, and almost threw up.  Excruciating pain.  But I felt better a few hours later after drugs and a nap.  I truly empathize for anyone who gets regular migraines- I can't imagine what it would be like to experience that every day.

For the record, the weather at Striders 1/2 stinks- strong headwind 2 out of 2 years.

PM- Today was ultramarathon training.  How, you ask?  The trails are still snowy.  True, but a key component of ultramarathons is being able to refuel mid-run.  Seeing as today was Pizza Monday at Planet Fitness, the training program fell into place.  I showed up, ate 2 pieces of yummy Pier 49 sourdough pizza, ran a few miles, ate more pizza, ran, etc.  By the time I was done, I had run 10 miles and eaten almost 5 pieces of pizza.  My stomach didn't feel great, but I wasn't close to puking or anything like that.  Training was a success.

AM-6.5 easy.  Disappointed last night wasn't a more exciting game.

PM- 10 miles from the start of the canal to a little ways up the singletrack on the River Trail.  Felt good, though my shoes are worn out resulting in some ankle/achilles pain.  Something strange happened, though... I got passed on my run.  By a girl.  Wearing an iPod.  And she didn't look like a USU track star or anything- she was wearing some mid-calf length exercise pants.  That has never happened before- I rarely get passed during a workout, esp. by a girl (I'm not bragging or being judgmental, just saying how it is).  She blew by me at the start of the canal trail and put a good 30 meters on me in less than a minute.  I was curious and figured this was one of three things: A) She was doing some fast repeat (very unlikely), B) she was just starting her run and sprints out of the blocks, or C) she really was that fast.  I kept her in sight and after about 3 minutes she was definitely not getting further away.  Then she rapidly started coming back to me (I was doing ~7:15 miles).  Within a half mile of when she passed me, I passed her back and she was definitely huffing and puffing.  Apparently B was correct.  It was an enjoyable run, though, and I must mention to the Rooster that there is still a lot of snow/slush on the river trail.  Passable, but wet.

AM- 5.5 easy.  Tired this morning.  New shoes.  I have had two pairs of 765's, two 766's, one 767, one 768, and now a 769.  Definitely my favorite line of shoes.

PM- 5 more.  I banged my knee today and it is kind of sore.

Funny story of the day- yesterday, Marci went running with the kids in the jogging stroller.  Midway through her run, our 2.5 year old looked up at her and said, "Mommy, run fast like Daddy!"  Kids say the darndest things :)

PM- Medium workout.  I figured I needed to do some hills, so I drove to Providence canyon.  I ran Deer Fence to Dry Canyon, up Dry a bit, back to Prov canyon, and down to Millville Canyon.  I had planned to do a few more miles towards BSF but found the trail closed "To protect wintering wildlife."  A handwritten note said it would open the second Saturday in April- that's in 2 days!  So instead I headed up the surprisingly steep and rocky Millville canyon- rather challenging.  Between that climb and the return climb to Providence, I was pooped.  The weather was a bit chilly and windy, with intermittent rain and even hail, but not too bad.  I saw 3 deer and only 1 person.  I am sure I will do this quite often to get me in shape for my trail runs, since it is hilly but snow-free (though muddy).  SportTracks says I did 2000 ft climbing, Garmin says 3200 ft.  It was a lot either way.  Fun but tiring run.  1:45:18 for 12 miles, which puts me at 8:50 pace.

I have to say, my XT Wings are awesome shoes- I can barrel my way thru anything and can run right over all rocks (short of ankle-twisting ones).  Great shoes.

PM- 6 easy, 2xPW with both kids in the jogger.  I'm gonna take Paul's idea and track stroller miles- I'm curious how many miles I do with it this year.

The 768's are officially retired.  They were good, good shoes and will be missed.

PM- Cody is injured, so I was on my own for my long run today.  I slept in so finally got around to my run around 3 pm.  Unlike most of my previous Sat afternoon runs, I actually was well hydrated and fed (though I could have done without the bean burritos last night).  Pretty mundane run, most at 7:30-7:45 pace.  Felt crappy till about mile 12, then started feeling incrementally better.  I felt good enough to run my last two half miles at 7:00 and 6:00 pace- and the 6 min pace felt easier than most of my slower miles.  Huh. 

Highest weekly mileage for the year.

AM- 6.5 easy. Doctor appt after work, so we'll see if I get in another run.

PM- Big Workout.  Due to the 38 deg temp, steady rain, and breeze, I ran on the treadmill.  4 miles warmup (at which point Paul showed up and ran next to me for an hour), then 4 miles at 6:15 pace.  Then the fun started- I raised the incline to 10% and did 1 mile at 10:00 pace.  Then another mile at 8% incline, then another at 10%.  One last mile at 8% but at 9:00 pace- 8% at 9 min pace is definitely easier than 10% at 10 min pace.  2 mile cooldown.  Today was definitely my best workout in a long, long time.  I felt moderately tired at the end (and my shirt was absolutely drenched), but was still running strong.  My previous workouts have been complete duds, so it felt good to run hard but not strain and not run out of juice.  14 miles, about 1:50:00.  I will definitely do more hill climbs like that to prepare for my trail races.

AM- Got in a full 7 miles this morning. Supposed to snow 18-36 inches in the mountains over the next few days- it may be a while before I can run most of my trails.

PM- 7.5 more.  It's snowing.

PM- Big Workout.  Figured I would be alone, but Cody surprised me by saying he was going to run in the afternoon.  Weather was about 38 deg, slight breeze, slight drizzle the whole time- just enough so we didn't get too cold or wet- pretty good, actually.  We did the North Logan hill loop.  5 mile warmup at 7 min pace, then 7 mile tinman tempo (goal of 6:15 pace). 

Mile 1 is downhill, 2 is up, 3 is all gradual uphill, 4 is rolling, 5 is slight down, 6 and 7 are fairly downhill.  Splits were 5:59, 6:29, 6:24, 6:12, 6:11, 5:54, 5:53.  I didn't feel great the first 3 miles and pretty much ran 2-5 meters behind Cody (though the same pace).  Felt better mile 4, then stopped for a potty break.  I felt very good mile 5-7- didn't really feel too tired by the end.  I wasn't watching the splits as we ran, but am pleased, especially with mile 6 (I never would have guessed it was that fast).  6:09 avg for the workout, faster than planned.  Felt good, esp. the second half of the workout and esp. given my hard workout Tuesday.  This is the first good week I have had this year in terms of workouts.  If the long run on Saturday is decent, this will easily be the best week of the year so far.  2 miles cooldown- 14 miles, 1:33:35, 6:41 avg for the run. 

PM- WPPWWF.  5. 

There is reason for much celebration and rejoicing in Cache Valley... the Planet Walk bathrooms are now open for the season!

PM- Long run with Cody.  We drove to Hollow road and ran up Blacksmith Fork canyon.  2 pm, sunny, about 60 deg.  We chugged up 11 miles in 1:19:19, stopping briefly for water at mile 9 courtesy of the hydro park.  It was rather warm and I was dripping sweat.  We could feel a wind coming up the canyon, which was not a good sign.  Sure enough, as soon as we turned around we battled a rather brisk, sometimes downright mean, headwind the whole way down.  I didn't really plan water/fuel for the run (silly me), and Cody mentioned on the way up that he wanted to bonk to prepare himself for the marathon.  At mile 15, he told me "mission accomplished".  Within a few miles, I started hurting pretty badly, too.  From there, it was just a slog to the finish, fighting the wind and tired legs.  We did a pretty good job staying about 7 min pace on the way down (some 6:40's), but slowed to 7:20-7:40 after mile 18.  We did pick it up the last one with a 6:52 mile.  Very, very tired by the end- not a run to remember.  2:36:51 for the run, 7:08 pace (1:47 negative split).  80 miles next week.

Mildly bad news- I hope. After steadily increasing my mileage and running lots of hills last week, my right achilles started to bug me last Wed, though it wasn't bad and I just ignored it all week. I can certainly run through it, but it is now painful enough that I noticed it every step I took yesterday. Since I don't have any meaningful races till June, I'm canning my 80-mile week this week and will rest it. I'm guessing at least 2 days, maybe more- whatever it takes. I've never had any achilles problems before- anyone know any good treatments outside the traditional ice, rest, and stretching?

Last day off. My achilles is still a bit sensitive, but tons better than last Sunday. I will start easy (6 tomorrow? 10-15 Sat), then jump back into my mileage next week but with minimal speedwork and hills. Keep icing and stretching, and then resume normal runs the week after, assuming no setbacks. I really think my killer treadmill hill workout is what caused this, since I hadn't done much hill work and my achilles was sore the next day. I need hills, but guess I better ease into it a bit.

PM- After 5 full days off, 4 PW miles at 7:10 pace.  Hopefully my achilles doesn't hurt tomorrow.

Striders 30k today. However, due to concerns of my achilles, there was no way I was going to race today. Plus, I'm not in a money position, the weather isn't great (how come the weather is great mid-week and crappy for the races?), and I didn't want to spend 7-8 hours away from home. So, I slept in a bit and ran with Cody at 7 am. We ran to the canal and up the Logan river trail to the start of the single track- 8 miles exactly each way. Up in 56:28 (7:03 pace- pretty fast for the up). We ran the 2 miles down the trail fast into a small headwind- 6:05 and 5:50, then relaxed the rest of the way home. 1:50:38 for the run (6:54 pace), 54:10 return (6:46 pace). Felt pretty good- achilles was tight the whole way, but not painful. We'll see how it is tomorrow. Cody's foot started hurting by the end. It was 40 deg and pretty nice the whole run- it started raining hard just as we got home, and quickly turned to a hard snow. Good timing.

PM- 9 miles.  Nothing to see here, folks.  Just move along... move along...

AM- 6.5 miles.  No need to gawk, folks, just move along...

PM- 9.5 miles on the Logan River trail.  Slow but nice to be running on trails.  My achilles is still tight, esp. running uphill.  The week off helped a bit, but not near as much as I was hoping.  So, I will keep running normal mileage, ice, and monitor- hopefully it will slowly get better, or at least not get worse.

AM- 7

PM- 5.  Had to hurry home to watch 4 kids.

AM- 6.5. Shoes are retired.  Actually, maybe I'll give them one more easy 4-miler just to hit the 500 mark.

PM- Let's see if Cody can figure this one out: ALP-MOP-C-FD-C-ALP.  7:30-7:45 pace on the 5 miles out, 7:00-7:15 pace on the 4.5 miles back.  9.5 miles in 1:10:06.

This makes 3 days in a row that I have gotten up at 4 am to run. It must be the high-mileage time of the year. Unfortunately, I am not getting to bed until 10:30-11:30 pm. Yes, I am dead tired right now.  Dead Tired.  But for some reason, I still woke up about 5 times last night, which is very rare for me.