I'm retired from racing. Really.

Met Paul at the start of the river trail.  Ran to the end of the single track (just under 3 miles) in 3-4 inches of new snow.  Perfect winter trail running day!  Snow made for slow going (~9:00 min miles), but last mile on the way down was a bit quicker (7:30).  Great day for a run.  I had decided to start running full time again Dec 1, so it was nice to have some extra motivation in running with someone.

Ascend- 214

Planetwalk- 4 dark, cold, icy miles.  Fun!  29 min.

Omni- 437

6 miles around Logan and River Heights.  I wore a LED flasher I was recently given.  My wife told my daughter, "Look, dad has flash.  He looks silly."  I responded, "Would you rather have flash dad or flat dad?" 

766- 417

Planetwalk- pretty fast pace.  First 2 miles in 13:42, second 2 miles in 12:50.  Felt good. 

My plan is to do ~35 miles this week and next week, bump it up ~10 miles per week for the next 2 weeks of December, then do 50-60 all through January.  That way I should be in ok shape when Striders starts.

Omni- 441

Just under 3.5 miles with the wife and kid.  It was below freezing and dark, so we got some looks from people who obviously did not think we should have a kid in a jogging stroller when it is only 25 degrees outside.  Don't worry, the munchkin stayed toasty warm in her snow suit.

Omni- 444

7 miles in the dark with the kid and jogging stroller.  23 degrees.  Planetwalk and around the golf course.  Kid hardly made a peep.

Omni- 451

Canal trail.  First 4 miles were brisk, 29:11.  Well, brisk for how much I have been running recently.  I was working pretty hard but felt good so wanted to pick it up a bit on the way back.  4 miles home were 27:36, including the last mile in 6:20.  Felt good to be able to run.

Apparently my gender is unknown, according to my blog.  I think I'll leave it that way.

Omni- 459

Ran at 6:30 pm.  It snowed a bit in Logan today, then warmed up above freezing.  After sunset, the wet roads froze.  Then it snowed a bit.  This made for a very, very slippery run.  Planetwalk and golf course (as much as I could on the grass for traction's sake).

766- 423

Met Cody at the river trail.  Ran 2 miles up, 2 miles down in 31 min.  Great trail conditions, temp wasn't too cold.  Then I drove to 2nd dam and ran 2 more miles up on my own.  8 miles total.

806- 353

Good run today.  I ran around Providence a bit, then headed over to Providence canyon via Spring Creek Road.  I intended to run to Millville, but Providence canyon in the moonlight just looked like too much fun. 

I ran about 1 mile up the very snow-packed and somewhat icy Providence canyon (11 minutes for 1 mile- not too bad supposing it is almost 500 feet up in 1 mile, plus I was running on a slick surface in the dark).  Very pretty canyon and I could actually see quite well in the dark.  I'll definitely have to do it again this winter, though I may buy some yak-trax first.  Ran down via canyon road.  I found that mapmyrun.com now has topo and elevation calculations- they said I went up 1025 feet and down 1038 feet.  Hmm, guess I'm in the basement of my house now or something :)

9 miles total, 1:10:50.  Fun run, felt good.  Cold and dark.  Hopefully it snows a lot tomorrow- makes for funner runs, plus Christmas is coming!

Omni- 468

9 miles around Providence, Logan, and River Heights.  Found some good dirt trail spaces in and among the neighborhoods.

766- 432

Planned day off- didn't arrive home till ~10 pm.

Met Paul at planetwalk- ran it once, then ran some on the golf course.  It was snowing and everything looked pink thanks to the lights relecting.  It is always very enjoyable and tranquil to run in new fallen snow.  Ran home with Paul, then back for more running on the golf course.  Pace ranged between 7-ish on the paved stuff to slower on the grass/snow. 

806- 362

Skipped work today.  6 miles during the day (ah, glorious sunshine) on planetwalk.  Legs felt heavy and sluggish, but my pace was actually still decent.  Felt like 8 min miles, actually was ~7 min miles.

Omni- 474

15 degrees and snowing big flakes my whole run in Idaho Falls- 4 inches of new snow, and the roads were very slippery and snowpacked.  Ran a few miles around community park (7:02 pace), then ran to Tautphaus park.  Found someone had made a snowshoe track loop, so I followed that for 15 minutes.  Hard going in the new snow with crunchy snow underneath.  Then ran to the river and almost to the temple.  Ran home.  The way home was 7:20 pace.  Average for the run was around 7:15 pace. 

Elite- 302

Supposed to run with jtshad today, but could not find my running gear last night despite looking for over an hour, plus crying kid didn't let me get to sleep till 3:30 am.  Sorry Jeff- hopefully we can hook up later this week. 

25 degrees, snowing very hard, and very windy (20-30 mph) here in Idaho Falls.  Perfect running weather.  Started off trying to chase my wife and her sister who were running to Wendy's (to buy a gift certificate, not to eat).  They had a 10 minute head start, plus I took a wrong turn that threw me off by a mile or so.  But, I caught up just before they got home, having found their tracks again.  I guess I was a hunter today.  Then ran to Community Park, did a mile (7:12), then home.  8 miles total.  Pace was good considering the stinging snow in my face (I need one of those face covers) and wind.  It was snowing and blowing so hard that my tracks at the park would almost be gone when I came around 5 minutes later.  I also found that if you run on hilly parks covered with 6 inches of snow, it is almost impossible to see hills and dips.  Great day for a run!  Came home soaking wet- I can wring out my fleece top.

Merry Christmas to Everyone!  It's a white one!

Elite- 310

11 pm on Christmas, still no run, but I wasn't going to miss it.  10 degrees out, 3 deg windchill, 8 inches of new snow from yesterday.  Christmas run!  I ran around neighborhoods looking at Christmas lights, including the appropriately named Candy Cane Lane.  There are few things more beautiful than new fallen snow on a bush with Christmas lights underneath, shining through.  I also sang Christmas songs to myself most of the run.  Love it.  Very peaceful and appropriate for Christmas.  The world was so still.  I didn't see another living soul for the first 20 minutes of my run, and only saw a handful of cars the whole time.  I think I may have just started a new tradition- Christmas night run.  I highly recommend it.

Elite- 315

11 miles on very slick roads, 11 deg with 5 deg windchill.  Community Park, then to the river with one loop on the greenbelt.  Roads were almost impossible to run on, with semi-packed snow that slipped on every pushoff.  The sidewalks were actually best, with most of them shoveled.  First mile was 7:25, then 7:15.  Last 3 miles in 20:11 (6:43 average, pretty darn good supposing the traction and cold).  1:20:11 for the run (7:17 average).  Good workout.

New shoes today- Adrenaline 11 

AM- Ran with the wife to Community Park, did just over 3 miles in the park (first 2 at 8 min pace, last at 7:30 pace- that was the fastest I could go due to very uneven and slippery surface) then home. Hard to run with any speed due to snow/ice.

10:30 PM- Figured out that the difference between me running 2000 miles this year versus not was doing a short run tonight. Since I needed a few more miles this week, I did it. Cold 4 miles in 31:00 on slick, snowy roads.

Elite- 321

Adrenaline- 15

Today was the hardest, slowest 13 mile run in my life. Did 1 mile warm up, then met up with Jeff Shadley and we ran the next 7 miles together. The roads were still slick so we ran on the sidewalk. However, it had snowed about 4 inches in the past day so they were no longer clear. We averaged around 9 minutes per mile due to the conditions. We were going slow enough that we could comfortably carry on a conversation, but were not slacking. I think we picked it up a bit to 8:30 pace for a few miles, but that was all. If it were a short run, I might have been able to run 7:30-8:00 pace, but not much faster. Conditions just didn't allow for it. Since it was a long run, I was happy with the slow pace. Jeff dropped off at mile 8 (thanks for the companionship, Jeff), and I did 5 more by myself. Just as he dropped off, the wind picked up enough so that it started cutting through my clothes and making the branches drop their snow on me. The wet also got through my fleece. And, I somehow ended up in a neighborhood that didn't plow sidewalks, so I was trudging through foot high snow.  All in all, the last 5 miles were less than enjoyable, and I was rather cold and tired by the time I finished.  But I got in the miles I wanted.  Hopefully this will be my slowest 13 miles ever.

Elite- 334

Met Jeff near his work and ran about 6 miles with him.  Cold and windy- internet said the windchill was -7 deg F.  A bit cold running into the wind, but actually warm running the other way.  Ran between 7 to 7:15 pace.  Then, ran 3.99 miles by myself along the river (according the mapmyrun.com), giving me 10 for the day.  1:13:40. 

Ended up with just over 2000 miles for the year.  I'm pretty happy with this.  I imagine I will be between 2500 and 3000 in 2008.  Should be a good year.  I am certainly in a lot better shape right now than I was at this time last year, including weighing about 15-20 pounds less.  I'm looking forward to it.

Adrenaline- 25