I'm retired from racing. Really.

AM- I've heard of New Year Resolutions, but is there some type of Mid-Year Resolutions?  I ask because I normally don't see anyone during my morning run, but saw NINE runners in a 2 mile stretch on Planet Walk this morning.  9 runners, all before 6 am.  Plus I saw 2 more other places, plus a group of 5 middle-school age kids setting off fireworks- again, before 6 am!?!  It was the strangest morning- every 30 seconds, we would see another runner coming towards us.  Anywho, ran 5.5 miles with Paul.  I'm tired- need more sleep.  Good thing my holiday starts tomorrow.

AM- In Idaho Falls- met Jeff Shadley and we had a nice run.  Good weather.  We ran the 4th of July 5k course, then ran over to see the VERY full Snake River, looping all over town.  Very conversational pace.  16.5 miles, 1:57:58 (7:09 avg).  Felt good, though the last few miles were a bit harder as my legs reminded me that they carried me 28 miles just 5 days ago- endurance isn't quite back yet.

PM- 3 easy with Marci.

PM- 5 miles along a lake with Tom Borschel, a trail runner extraordinaire who lives in IF.  We talked for a good hour afterwards, despite a rather windy thunderstorm.  Good to meet you, Tom.  Now I'll push for a new 5k PR tomorrow.

Today was my first non-Striders 5k in probably 3-5 years or more.  Even though I am just barely hitting peak mileage and have done minimal speedwork, I was hoping to break my high school PR of 16:53.  Given my marathon mindset, I tend to go out too slow, so wanted to do 5:05 or 5:10 first mile and hang on from there.  Warmed up with Marci and Jeff Shadley.  There were some decent runners (a bunch of HS kids, and a recent college grad who did a 27:00 8k).  The race annoyingly started 15 minutes late.

Mile 1 went out fast like I hoped, though it is definitely downhill.  I was in about 11th place at the 1/2 mile mark and about 8th at the mile- 5:10.  Perfect, though Jeff had fallen a bit behind so we couldn't trade half miles.   Mile 2 is flat, then uphill, then flat.  I was running by myself, about 10 seconds behind the lead pack.  A few guys fell off pace and I passed them, moving into 6th.  Mile 2 was 5:28- slower than I hoped even with the uphill.  I caught a young guy here and he got right behind me.  I tried to put some distance, but he wouldn't drop.  With about a half mile to go, he surged and caught another young guy just in front of us.  I did my best to reel them in, but couldn't quite make it.  Mile 3 was 5:23- slight uphill, but still a bit slow.  I felt I could maintain this pace forever, but didn't have a higher gear.  Last .11 was 32 sec (5:01 pace).  Total time was 16:35- 18 second PR, and 6th place overall.  I'm pretty happy with my time- I think with some speedwork I can take another 15-30 seconds off.  Jeff was just over 17 min.  We grabbed a water, and I felt completely recovered within a minute or two- probably a typical experience for a marathoner after a 5k.  If this were a 10k, I'm sure I would have caught at least 2 more guys.

Ran back .5 mile and saw Marci- she was thinking she would run 30 min, but shattered her old 26:00 PR with a 25:09- nice job, babe!  

Now off to food and fireworks.  Happy 4th, everyone!

AM- 7 easy.  Felt good, ran a bit faster than my normal morning run.  BW in the heat later today.  Glad I finally broke my 5k PR from HS, though I would like to take another 30 seconds off later this year...

PM- Big Workout.  Supposed to be my first track workout of the year, but my legs didn't feel like they had 5:30 speed in them, especially given the 85+ deg temp.  I ran from Merlin Olsen park to First Dam and a bit as a 4 mile warmup.  I then did 2 tinman tempo miles, intending to run to the LHS track.  But my lack of pep convinced me to just keep the tempo going for 5 more miles, averaging 6:10-6:15 pace.  5 mile cooldown.  Pretty tired, but glad I got something in.  Now I just have to convince Paul and Cody to do a track workout Wed morning.  I'm moving my Thursday BW to Wed cause I found out today that I am leaving Wed for Florida on a business trip of undetermined length (1-3 weeks?).  Running 95 mile weeks in Florida in July is going to suck.

PM- 9 easy on the River Trail while Marci pushed the stroller on the gravel portion.  May be my last trail run for a while.  Wore my very-infrequently used 800's.

AM- Big Workout- first track workout of the year for me.  Like Cody said at the end, it was a puker.  Literally.  Cody and I met at 5:30 and ran to PW, meeting Paul along the way.  We did about 4 miles warmup, then 2 miles of tinman tempo (well, kind of- 6:20-6:30). 

Then Paul went home, I ate a Hammer Gel, and Cody and I started our 4x1600m workout, with 300m rest, goal of 5:45 pace.  I led on the first 2 miles and the last, Cody on the third.  First one was 5:41, though our watches consistently mile-lapped about 4 seconds before the end of lap 4, so it messed up the times a bit.  Second one was 5:44.  We grabbed a quick drink but cut the rest period 30 seconds short before number 3.  Third one was about 5:42 (watch issues), though I got a bad sideache and my stomach started hurting during this one.  Last one was pretty hard due to my stomach and side, but still got a 5:44.  Consistent.  I could have done one more if my stomach didn't hurt, but no need to overdo the first track workout of the year.

We did about 3 miles cooldown, and my stomach kept bugging me.  Finally, just as we got home, I puked a few times and everything came up.  It was my first running-related puke since just after my mission, when I ate a big Chinese takeout meal, then ran 3 fast miles with a college runner.  I felt much better after- went inside my house, got a drink, brushed my teeth, hosed down the street and my shoes, then went and ran 2 more miles to finish the workout.  Then I had a nice, cold glass of Nestle Quik, with no stomach issues.  I think my puke was either too much sugar on an empty stomach, or, more likely, something in the gel that didn't agree with me.  Either way, I'm fine now and heading off to Florida today.

PM- 3 easy with Marci and the kids before heading to the airport.

PM- 8

Late PM- 4 easy on the beach on a dark and cloudy night.  Just as I turned around, a family with flashlights found a big group of baby sea turtles just hatching.  Pretty cool to watch for a minute.  Needless to say, I tried to watch where I stepped on the way back, but didn't see any more of the little dudes (as Crush would say).  Cute little guys, smaller than the palm of my hand.  There sure are a lot of homeless guys who sleep on the beach.

PM- 8 on the treadmill while watching a huge, powerful, amazing thunderstorm rage outside.  They had to take my resting heartrate prior to letting me work out on base- apparently my heartrate is 41 during the middle of the day.

AM- Long run.  I want about 22 miles total today, but since I didn't start my run until after 8 am today, I was guessing I would break it up into 2 runs.  For the first day since I've been here, there are no clouds, just sunny and hot.  The first 10 miles or so of the run were a bit uncomfortable as my body adjusted to the 80 deg and almost 80% humidity, but by carrying water and taking some nuun I eventually got into a nice groove.  After mile 10 I just cruised along at 7:10-7:25 pace and felt like I could sustain that forever.  There were a fair number of runners at 8 am, but I was about the only one by 10:30.  Only got in 18 miles before I had to shower for work (though they ended up delaying that).  18 miles at just over 7:30 pace for the entire run, still feeling good at the end (which is rare for me on my 90 mile weeks).  Followed it up with a nice veggie and ham omelet, blueberry pancackes, and chocolate milk (of course) at IHOP.  Now, since they delayed my work and the shuttle launch, I think I'm going to take a nice nap.  I'll do another run tonight.

PM- 4 more on the beach.  This ties my second highest miles ever for a week.

AM- 5 on the beach just as it was starting to get light.  I'll have to take mileage this week as I can sneak it in.

PM- 7 while waiting to watch the shuttle launch.  It was delayed 10 minutes before launch due to weather.  I think it's reflective of my week- I came to Florida last Wed to support work that was supposed to start last Wed.  Instead, nothing has happened.  Current schedule is for it to now start this Wed.  One week of doing the best I can to keep busy, but not doing the work I came for.

AM- 9 miles on the beach at ~7:30 pace.  Even though I started before 5 am, there was absolutely no wind on the first half and it was very hot and humid- an absolute sweatfest.  I definitely overheated- it was hotter than when I was running at 11 am on Sat in the sun.  Huh.  More people on the beach, but the sunrise was not near as pretty as yesterday.

PM- 8 more at 7:28 pace before heading out for more work.  Covering 2 shifts today.

AM- 80 deg and 80% humidity when I started my morning run, and it was only getting hotter.  No wind for the first half of the run, with major internal overheating.  It was probably the most I have ever sweated in my life.  Ran out to Cape Canaveral pier.  By the time I got there, I was really hurting and crawling along at 8:30 pace.  I took off my shirt, wrung out about 12 oz of water (I don't know how a tech shirt could hold that much sweat- I thought they weren't supposed to), and tied the shirt around my waist.  After a big drink and wetting my head, I started the run back.  But, I slowly began to accept the beast.  Then I eventually embraced the beast.  My run went much better after that- I was even able to run some sub-7:00 pace.  15 miles, 1:51:40.  The heat index when I finished said it felt like 96 deg.

Embrace the beast.

PM- 6 more at 7 min pace.  I brought 4 tech shirts, 4 socks, 3 shoes, and 3 shirts to Florida.  I have discovered that, despite my best efforts to hang them up all over the hotel furniture, they do not dry between my runs.  Needless to say, it is a very enjoyable experience to put on the already wet clothes for each run, and my hotel room could probably be used as a gas chamber for executions.  I'm surprised the hotel maids even try to go in anymore.

AM- 7 easy.

PM- 3 more. Feet hurting a bit so it's nice to take an easy day.

AM- Last run on the beach.  The wind was great today and gave me a headwind in both directions, plus it wasn't too hot today.  Started out planning to do 8 miles, but felt good so ended up doing 10.

PM- 8.5 more.  Heading home in the morning.

Back home at last.  Well, at least until I leave again tomorrow for Colorado.  But the top of my left foot is continuing to hurt and getting worse, so I am scrubbing today's long run in hopes it gets better by next week.  Dang it, there goes the 95 mile week I was on pace for...

I'm back.  Much to Marci's surprise, going all week without computer and the FRB did not kill me.  I flew home from 2 weeks in Florida and turned around the next day for a family reunion in Colorado.  Finally returned home on July 24- tonight will be only the 4th night sleeping in my bed this month!

No run today- resting the foot.  Although I did 1 barefoot mile on the grass while playing frisbee at a family reunion. 

AM- 16 mile run near Winter Park, Colorado.  Needless to say, after 2 straight weeks of running at sea level in hot, humid Florida, running in 40 deg and 8700 ft in the mountains of Colorado was quite the change.  The temp was nice, but the elevation change was very apparent.  Ran on a nice gravel trail and some excellent singletrack.  Though the non-stop hills added to the elevation woes.

PM- 4.5 mile run, 2 mile crosstrain.

AM- 14 miles on the nice gravel "Granby to Fraser" trail.  Only planned on 13 miles, but saw a park with water near the turnaround, so added more.  I definitely need to drink more water at this high of altitude.

PM- 7 easy.  The house we are staying at is midway up a mountain, so all my runs finish with a nice uphill slog.

No run today- drove from Colorado to SLC.  Foot and legs needed the rest.  But my foot is feeling much better- running 100% on dirt/gravel this week certainly helped that.

Deseret News 10k today.  First time running it, though I have read many race reports and knew what to expect.  I arrived back in Utah yesterday after 3 weeks away.  Woke up at 3:53 am- early.  81 deg when I got in my car- very warm for a race.  Ran a mile at the house, about 2 more at the start.  4 stars.  Saw a few bloggers (though not as many as expected) and lined up for the race.  My old 10k PR is somewhere between 33:00-34:00 from college- kind of sad I don't remember exactly.  Post-collegiate was last year's 34:37 at Garland on an out-and-back course.  I was hoping for a 33:00-33:30, though the heat put that in doubt.

This race is stacked and starts off very fast, though some people at the front definitely should have been further back in the pack and kind of clog things up.  First mile was 4:59 downhill- my first sub-5 mile in years, I think.  Then 5:07 second mile.  Ran a bit with Ben Van Beekum on this stretch, though he and Adam RW quickly pulled away and put about 20 seconds on me way too easily.  Third mile should have been 5:20, but I did a 5:35- wow, way too slow.  My legs were fine, but breathing was labored and body has some definite general slogginess.  At this point I was just behind 2 women (who I thought may have been the top women, though they ended up being numbers 5 and 6).  Passed them, then one of them passed me back- ended up being Michele Suszek.  She and a guy were about 10 yards ahead of me and holding steady.

Mile 4 was 5:37- about 20 seconds slower than I wanted.  I knew sub-34 was unlikely.  Running down the parade route was rather nice, though more downhill would have been nicer.  There was a fair amount of cheering aimed at Michele, though I appreciated it, as well.  Mile 5 was 5:32- I started to get a second wind, and my endurance kicked in, seeing as mile 5 is usually slower for everyone than mile 4.  At this point I passed Michele and a few guys.  The only aid station was on this stretch, and I gratefully wet my mouth and my head- the heat was very noticeable, though running in Florida certainly had helped a bit.  Mile 6 was pretty bad- 5:54.  I passed another guy but had someone fly by me.  Just wanted to finish.  Last .2 was 1:20, with a final time of 34:06.  41st guy, 10th in my age group, plus 4 women [way] ahead of me.

Overall, I would grade my race a very pedestrian "C" today.  Well run race with accurate mile markers.  And it is a post-collegiate PR, though very aided.  I ran ok, but didn't have any kind of spunk or race day magic.  I can think of any number of reasons/excuses: no speed work or Big Workouts in 3 whole weeks, very poor sleep this week (hard to sleep with 2 young kids in the same room), lots of travel with different eating patterns, acclimating from Florida to high-altitude Colorado to Utah, lots of driving.  My legs felt fine and have no soreness, with my breathing being the restrictive factor during the race.  But in the end, it was just one of those days where everything doesn't click for whatever reason.  Oh well, no worries.

Next up- I hope I will be in town for the Jupiter Steeplechase in 2 weeks, then TOU 1/2 and marathon.  But I will likely be in Florida for 3-4 weeks in the next few months, so may miss some.  And my company just announced 450 more layoffs, so I have to work hard to not be in that group.

PM- 3 easy with the family.  End of a long, busy day.  Next week should be somewhere between 90-100 miles, depending how my foot and body feel.  This was definitely a recovery week.

AM- 6 easy on the golf course.

PM- BTW (Big Trail Workout)- this was supposed to be just a leisurely trail run with Cody but it ended up being quite the beast.  He was feeling his Wheaties today, while I felt pretty bad.  Cody was faster today on the ups, downs, and flats.  We ran from First Dam up the canyon to Guinavah Malibu (6 miles, 48 min), then ran up the steeper grade to the wind caves (1.85 miles, 22 minutes).  Then the fun started.  We thought we knew where the trail was to take us the rest of the way up to the saddle on the Birdenuix trail above Green Canyon, but ended up bushwacking and clawing our way up scree and prickly plants.  It took 30 minutes to go .5 miles to the top, with a vertical gain of 1200 ft.  Umm, yeah, that means 40-45% grade.  The Garmin was barely reading that we were even moving.  We found the trail about 100 yards below the top and were amazed how much easier and faster it was than bushwacking.  We took a break at the top to eat a granola bar and enjoy the view, then descended the rather steep trail down to Green Canyon.  My legs were screaming at me- definitely not as recovered from Des News as I thought.  Finally reached the bottom of the canyon and looped back to the start via Bonneville shoreline trail.  My legs are trashed and I am exhausted.  Total distance was 16.5 (or so), with a Garmin reading of 5000+ ft elevation gain.  2.5 hours on the nose.  Although it was technically a medium distance run, my legs were as tired as at the end of a 22+ mile long run.  Trashed.  But, like Cody says, any trail run beats a road run.  Good, yet very tiring way to start the week.

AM- 8.5 easy on the golf course.  Had a near-incident with a skunk.  I've always wondered how I would react if I got sprayed.

PM- 6.5 easy with the wife and kids, circling around Logan.  Nice evening weather for a run.

PM- Supposed to be a BW tonight, but I knew within about 5 steps that it wasn't going to happen- legs are still very tired and sore from my Monday run.  I can tell my legs got whimpy from my trip to Florida and lack of trail running.  Anyways, ended up doing 9 miles in about 1:15:00.  Slow and easy.

AM- Finally a BW.  My legs felt good today for the first time this week, and actually for the first time in 3 weeks.  My last BW was 3 weeks ago with Cody (4x1600m at 5:43 avg pace- first track workout of the year), then I left for Florida and have never felt great on any runs since then, including Des News 10k.  I haven't had any 20+ mile runs and have aborted several BW during that time, so was starting to get worried that 3 weeks of sub-par running indicated some bigger problem.  It was great to finally get in a good workout.

Warmed up about 4 miles, then 2 miles tinman tempo, ending up at LHS.  Planned 5x1600m at sub-5:40 pace with 300m rest (~2 min).  Ended up doing 6 repeats.  I had the LHS boys and girls soccer teams practicing nearby to provide me with entertainment, as well as occasionally having to dodge soccer balls or people on the track.  Splits were 5:33 (too fast?), 5:36, 5:34, 5:36, 5:32, and 5:26.  Felt great but working hard the whole time.  Cooled down 4 miles w/ 4 strides.  Total of 16.5 miles at 1:55:00.  It's great to play hooky from work and be able to do BW in the cool mornings rather than the hot, hot afternoons.

PM- PWWF 4.  I took McKinley to her first movie today- we saw Up.  Pretty good, though it was a tad long to keep her attention the whole time.  Fun Daddy Daughter date.

AM- 7.5 easy.  Trying to recover for a very hard long run tomorrow- plan is 23 miles with 10 at marathon pace.

PM- 3 more.  Walter came into town so I'll be running with him in the morning, which is nice since Cody is sick.