Justin Park

Sasha introduced me to the blog several years ago and for the longest time I've really enjoyed reading the blogs and race reports of several of you fabulous Utah runners out there. But to this point, I haven't done so much as a lick of my own tracking/blogging. Admittedly, I've historically done a very poor job of tracking my own workouts and miles. So, being the New Year, I figure what better time to make a resolution and and see if I can start doing a better job. Afterall, measurement is supposed to lead to improvement, right? I figure that using this sort of public forum will help keep me a little more honest and regular as opposed to if I were just keeping a private log.

For anyone who cares to look at my posts, I'm warning you that they're going to be quite boring. Especially these first several months while I'm particularly busy with work (CPA). I'm a fairly unsophisticated, run according to feel-type runner. I aim for 6 morning runs a week (rest Sundays) and prefer to stick to my handful of bread-and-butter workouts and follow a general pattern of alternating treadmill days with outside days. So here it goes...

AM - 50 minute treadmill run at the Life Centre. Still on holiday from work today so I slept in and got to the gym later than usual. Could hardly find a parking spot because of all the resolutioners and (not to my surprise) one of them was on my favorite treadmill when I first walked in. Did a few slow laps around the track to warm-up, then some stretching, and did a set on the Gravitron. Didn't have to wait too long for my mill to open up. Workout went as shown below (easier to show this way rather than in paragraph-form):

- First 5 minutes at 9.5 mph, 0 incline
- Next 5 mins at 10 mph, 0 incline
- Next 20 mins at 10 mph with progressive incline (first 3 mins at 1.0 incline, next 3 mins at 1.5, next 3 at 2.0, 3 at 2.5, 3 at 3.0, and 5 minutes at 3.5)
- At 30 minutes into the workout, back do to 0 incline, still 10 mph
- At 35 minutes, up to 10.5 mph, still 0 incline
- At 45 minutes, went to 11 mph, 0 incline, to finish things off.

5:55 average pace

After some cool down, did another set on the Gravitron, then some lunges and stretching, and then called it a day.

I like this workout because it has a good little mix of incline and then some faster running toward the end. Its definitely enough to get the heart pumping and a good sweat going. Hardest part is at about minutes 27-30 while at the 3.5 incline. I usually start feeling it pretty good about then. Sometimes I'll chicken-out at about this point and backdown, but I was able to stick it today which makes me feel good for this time of year. I like to think that this run helps my mental ability to tackle hills.

A.M. - Standard Little Cottonwood out-and-back. Was out the door around 5:30 this morning since I had to be at a training meeting in Salt Lake at 8:00. This is one of my favorite staple runs. I leave my house and run south to Sego Lily Dr. Then up and over and back north to 10000 South and up the big hill and around Granite Park. Then up through the neighborhood to Little Cottonwood Rd and eventually to the park-and-ride up near the electric sign (at just over 4 miles). The way back down follows essentially the same route with a slight variation. Total elevation gain is around 585 ft. I felt pretty good today and finished the run in 57 mins flat. Gave a good effort, but wasn't pushing too hard. First 4 miles were all in the low 7s (uphill). Miles 6, 7, and 8 (downhill) were 6:00, 6:00, and 5:50. Average pace for the whole run was 6:32 which is faster than normal (usually closer to 7:00).

Haven't been sleeping well the last week or so, and last night was particularly bad. Funny that you can have those and still feel decent on the run. Must just be the stress of going back to work.

A.M. - Treadmill workout at the gym (35 minutes). All zero incline:

5 mins at 9.5
10 mins at 10
10 mins at 10.5
10 mins at 11

5:50 average pace.

A.M. - Standard Cottonwood out-and-back. Exact same route as Tuesday. Didn't feel quite as peppy as Tuesday, but pace was actually a touch faster (56:12; 6:29/mi).

A.M. - 50 minute treadmill workout at the gym. Pretty much the same progressive incline and touch of faster at the end workout that I did on Monday. Challenging, but felt good. This workout does a good job of working me and seems about right for my level of conditioning right now. For the next little while, I'm not really too interested in stepping it up much beyond this level.

Hey, for anyone reading this, I've got a question... 'Not sure if this is the best place to ask this or if using the discussion board function is better... So, I really like this pair of Adidas Aegis shoes that I'm currently using. They are a good light-weight neutral performance trainer-type shoe (around 9 oz, I think) that fit/feel good. Quite frankly, they're probably the trainer I look forward to using most. Right now, I only use them for about every other treadmill workout. However, when I get about 30 mins into my run I start getting a 'hot spot' under the ball of my right foot (never the left) that gets progressively uncomfortable through the end of the workout. I wanna say it almost gets to the point of a blister. But once I'm done, get the shoes off, and shower, its fine. I don't have this issue with any of my other shoes and really don't want to have to give up the Aegis because of it. The problem has probably been happening to varying degrees over the past 2 months. I use good wicking socks and have various different types. I lace my shoes conventionally the same way on both sides. I started using the shoes back in June and they hardly look worn since they've only been used for mill workouts (although they do have a fair amount of miles on them by now). The only things I can think of are that maybe the shoes really are wornout (though they don't look to be) or I have some kind of biomechanical inefficiency that's causing the problem. Most of my current arsenal of training shoes (see above) are slightly heavier and of the performance stability category. Not sure if that has something to do with it.

I'm thinking of putting a couple strips of tape on my foot to see if that helps.

Anyone got any thoughts/suggestions?

A.M. - Little Cottonwood out-and-back on partly snow/slush covered roads. Although I could do without the wet shoes and high volume of traffic on some of the roads (folks heading up to the ski resorts), I love running in this weather. There's a special serenity about it, especially when you get out in the dark early morning hours (57 mins; 6:50 ave/mi).

Rest day. Walking to and from church was the extent of my physical activity today.

A.M. - 60 minute treadmill run at the gym. Went as follows (all flat today):

5 mins @ 9.5mph
10 mins @ 10
30 mins @ 10.5
15 mins @ 11
+ cool down, Gravitron, lunges, stretching

I think this is the first time I've done 10 miles since October.

A.M. - Short scamper through my neighborhood today. Was up super late last night and didn't get out the door until super late (44:30/ 6:50/mi)

A.M. - 45 minute treadmill run at the Life Centre. Mixed it up a little from the norm and did some incline intervals (3 mins on; 2 flat). Went as follows:

0-5 mins: 9.5 mph, flat
(next 35 mins were all at 10 mph)
5-10: flat
10-13 - 2.5 incline
13-15 - flat
15-18 - 3.0
18-20 - flat
20-23 - 3.0
23-25 - flat
25-28 - 3.5
28-30 - flat
30-33 - 3.5
33-35 - flat
35-38 - 4.0
38-40 - flat
40-45 - flat, 10.5 mph

A.M. - Extended Cottonwood route. From my house up through the neighborhoods and on to Little Cottonwood Road (south side) up to the park-and-ride at the mouth of the canyon. Then down the north side to Wasatch Blvd and back past La Caille up to 9400 S. Then winding down through the neighborhoods to as far west as Roseboro and then up the hill back home. This is one of my favorite routes to do in the warmer months. Today was cold (~20's), but pleasant. It's a bummer that our state isn't getting much snow yet, but I do not miss the icy roads. The Garmin died about mile 9, so not sure what my overall time ended up being, probably 1:25. Felt good.

A.M. - 51 minutes on the treadmill:

0-5: 9.5mph, flat
5-10: 10mph, flat
10-30: 10 mph, with 3 minutes each at 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0 and 5 minutes at 3.5
30-40: 10mph, flat
40-51: 10.5mph, flat

Good run, but the incline worked me over pretty good today.

A.M. - Same route that I did Tuesday. My wife likes taking the early workout shift on Saturdays including some elliptical machine at home and then down to the gym. So I slept in and didn't get out until late morning. Cool weather, sunshine, nice morning. Relatively slow relaxed run. Ran without the Garmin today. One of these weekends I'll need to work it out with her to where I can make it to Jake and Andrea's group run. Sounds like there were a lot of folks there today. I'm excited to watch the trials today....Go Paul!

Rest day. It was cold and windy; didn't even walk to church today.

A.M. - 50 minute treadmill run at the gym. All flat:

5 mins @ 9.5 mph,
5 @ 10.0
30 @ 10.5
5 @ 11.0
5 @ 11.5

Felt great, but it was, afterall, a flat treadmill run. I put a strips of tape under the balls of my feet to see if that would help the hot-spot problem I've been getting lately when I wear my pair of Aegis. It didn't really help and I'm thinking its because I didn't have enough tape. I'll try more next time.

A.M. - Nice and easy standard Cottonwood out-and-back route. Nice and cold and crisp! No watch.

A.M. - 60 minute treadmill run. Went as follows:

0-5 - 9.5 mph, flat
5-10 - 10.0, flat
10-25 - 10.0 mph with 3-minute intervals at 1.0 incline, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0
25-30 - 10.0, flat
30-50 - 10.5, flat
50-55 - 11.0, flat
55-60 - 10.0 flat

Felt alright despite the fact I didn't sleep very good last night.

A.M. - Standard cottonwood out-and-back. Finished in 59 mins and change. 6:50 ave/mi.

A.M. - Modified and shortened version of my Cottonwood out-and-back run. I've been working on a busy audit engagement the last couple of days and we're pushing to hit a tight deadline. As a result, I was up way too late last night, slept in, and didn't have time to get in much of a run. I was happy to be able to even go today. Anything is better than nothing, of course. About 45 mins and 7/ave mi.

A.M. - 55 minute treadmill run at the Life Centre. Today was supposed to be an outside day and I was looking forward to doing my 12-mile course. However, by the time I got up and was ready to go, it was raining and kind of windy outside and didn't look like it was going to let up any time soon. So I decided to wuss-out and just go down to the gym. 'Was okay with it since yesterday was supposed to be an inside day, but I ended up going out. The gym was particularly warmer than usual, but fortunately I did seem to notice it much during the run. Run went as follows:

5 mins @ 9.5 mph, flat

5 mins @ 10.0, flat

20 mins all at 10 mph with progressive incline, 3 mins each at 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0 and then 5 mins at 3.5

back to flat for 5 mins, still 10.0 mph

10 mins @ 10.5, flat

10 mins @ 11.0, flat 

Cool down, graviton, lunges, stretching.

Wanted to stick it out strong for 5 more minutes to make it a round 60 mins, but I didn't have the will power today. Overall, a good run. Felt good. I'm happy that nothing about the body is bothering me right now (knock on wood). I pray that it continues that way.

Congrats to those who had great races today down in St. George (Fritz, Holt, Superfly, and other). I'm jealous. Here's to a great year!

Rest day. Walked to and from church.

A.M. - Shortened Cottonwood out-and-back. Same as this past Friday.

A.M. - Little Cottonwood Road run. Much of the run was on snow covered roads. I felt very labored during the run and could tell I was coming down with something. Had flu-like symptoms much of the day (chills, achiness) and debated whether to go into work, but ended up going in and was fine.

A.M. - Woke up feeling quite a bit better this morning, but not fully back to normal. Luckily I was able to get a good night's rest. Went to the gym for a treadmill run with not too high of expectations, but felt pretty decent during the run. Went as follows (all flat today):

5 mins @ 9.5 mph
25 @ 10.0
15 @ 10.5
6 @ 11.0

I've been feeling much better today, so whatever was ailing me yesterday seems to have taken its course.

A.M. - Standard Cottonwood out-and-back with a slight twist at the end off my normal route to make it an even 9. Pretty slow run again, but felt substantially better today than the last couple. Had to take a pit stop around 5.5 which is unusual for just a normal run.

A.M. - 60 min treadmill run down at the gym. Started off a little sluggish and was afraid I was going to be in for a long haul. Fortunately, I snapped out of it after 5 or 10 mins and ended up having a decent workout; the best this week. Went as follows:

5 mins @ 9.5 mph, flat
5 mins @ 10.0 mph, flat
Next 30 minutes was a progressive incline all @ 10.0 mph. Five minutes each at 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, and 3.5 incline
5 mins @ 10.0 mph, flat
10 mins @ 10.5 mph, flat
5 mins @ 11.0 mph, flat

+cooldown, gravitron, lunges, and stretching.

A.M. - Extended Cottonwood route: Up to the park and ride in Little Cottonwood, then down the north side of Cottonwood Road and back south to 94th via Wasatch Blvd. Then weaving and winding down through the neighborhoods to as far west as Roseboro. Then up the hill back home. Felt good. Finished in just under 1:23, about 6:50/ave mi.

Rest day

A.M. - 50 minute treadmill run at the Life Centre. I had to travel up to one of my clients, a mining company, near Green River, WY this morning, so I was up a little earlier than usual to get the run in. Went as follows (all flat today):

5 minutes @ 9.5 mph
10 mins @ 10.0 mph
15 mins @ 10.5 mph
15 mins @ 11.0 mph
5 mins @ 11.5 mph

cooldown, gravitron, quick set of lunges, light stretching, drive to Wyoming!

Long day. Lots of driving, but luckily I didn't have to stay the night up there. 

A.M. - Standard Cottonwood run with a slight variation about 3/4ths through so I could end up with at least 9. Finished in just over an hour 6:48/ave mi. A couple of the last miles on the way down were just under 6-min pace.

A.M. - 60 minute treadmill run down at the Life Centre. I just felt like an easy cruise today, so I set her a 9.0 and flat and let 'er go. Just me, my thoughts, and some good tunes on the iPod.

A.M. - Same route as Tuesday, but slower. Expected to feel a little better today than I actually did given the easy one I had yesterday. The body had other thoughts, so it was a bit of a slog...Probably due to the sleep factor (I know I need to take the zzz's more seriously and get consistent. It's all over the place right now). Oh well, I'm just grateful for the chance to get out and go. I always enjoy mornings like these and getting out in the cool morning air and running on the lightly snow-dusted roads.

A.M. - ~31 minute treadmill run at the Life Centre. Had intended to go an hour, but I woke up later than I should have and thus had a late start. Started with 5 mins at 9.5 mph and flat. Then 5 more at 10.0 and flat. The started progressive inclines;  3 mins each at 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0. Intended to go 5 at 3.5, but chickened-out a little more than 2 minutes in, so at about minute 27, I backed it down to 9.5 for 4 minutes and called it a day. Not much will power today. Oh well. I'm just grateful to have been able to run.

A.M. Standard extended Little Cottonwood run. Essentially the same route as last Saturday, but added an extra mile to get 13. For the extra mile, instead of turning north on Eastdell (2300 S) to come home, I kept heading east all the way to the top of Sego Lily (a nice little hill at the end), then north for a little ways and then down Karalee. I haven't ever went that way before, but I liked it. Didn't push real hard today, but my time and pace were faster than what I typically do this run in. Its a hilly course with lots of turns. Averaged 6:33/mi for the run with a couple of sub 6's and a few other low 6's. Felt good and a good run overall.

The last few weeks I've been ending up with right around 50 miles for the week. From my perspective, that's great for me for this time of year and I hope to hold it at that level for a while (time will tell as work ramps up the next couple of months). Over the past couple of years I've probably averaged 30-40 this time of year. Must be the psychological effect of using the blog this year and watching the mileage board. It amazes me that so many of you are putting up such big mileage right now. Perhaps that's been the norm, but I guess I'm just taking notice now. Its inspiring and explains why you are so good.

 P.M. - Added about a 22 mile road bike ride with friends Scott Tasker and Dayne Hassett. We rode from Scott and Dayne's neighborhood south on 700 E to just past 12300 S. Then up to 1300 E and out to the Draper trail. Then rode to the end of the trail. We then came back pretty much the same way except we stayed not the Draper trail all the way to the turnabout rather than riding 13th. Nice easy ride. It was good to get out on the bike. I love the silky smoothness of my Cervelo. Me and these guys and a couple others are doing the 2 day MS ride toward the end of June. We're going to go for the max of 100 the first day and 70 the second. It'll be fun, but lots to do to get ready before now and then...Running shape doesn't straight-translate to biking shape.

Rest day. Didn't do anything physical. Didn't even walk to church. Just went to church, watched the Superbowl and ate too much pizza and junk during the process.

A.M. - 60 minutes of treadmill fun. Good run, went as follows:

5 minutes @ 9.5 mph, flat
5 minutes @ 10.0 mph, flat
20 mins @ 10.0 mph with progressive inclines: 3 mins each at 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0. Then 5 mins at 3.5.
Then back to flat for the rest of the run, speed as follows:
5 minutes @ 10.0 mph
10 mins @ 10.5
10 mins @ 11.0
4.5 mins @ 11.5
30 seconds @ 12 for the heck of it.

Felt much better today than Friday when I last attempted this. I'm happy to report that my Aegis haven't been causing me to get that hot spot under my right foot for the last serveral times I've worn them.

A.M. - Little Cottonwood out-and-back with a slight twist so I could end up with 9. Nice and easy. Total time was a little over an hour.

A.M. - 60 minutes on the treadmill:

5 minutes @ 9.5 mph, flat
5 @ 10.0, flat
20 mins @ 10.0, with 5 mins each at inclines of 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 (was going to try and stick it out for 5 more each at 3.0 and 3.5, but wasn't feeling it today, so decided to wuss-out)
5 mins @ 10.0, flat
5 mins @ 10.5, flat
5 mins @ 10.0, 1.5 incline
5 mins @ 10.0, 2.0 incline
2.5 mins @ 10.0, flat
2.5 mins @ 10.5, flat
2.5 mins @ 11.0, flat
2.5 mins @ 11.5, flat

+cool down, gravitron, and a pathetically short session of stretching. Besides not being able to stick the incline like I planned, still a good run. Felt good despite not having slept well last night.

A.M. - Slow easy run same route as Tuesday.

A.M. - 60 of flat incline treadmill running at the Life Centre. My other two gym runs this week involved incline, so I wanted to take this one flat and a little faster. Went as follows:

5 mins @ 9.5

5 mins @ 10.0

25 mins @ 10.5

20 mins @ 11.0

5 mins @ 11.5

cool down, gravitron, stretching, off to busy season!

A.M. - Did the reverse Wasatch/Little Cottonwood Rd triangle this morning. I had intended to do 14 today by essentially doing the same route as last Saturday (except with the reverse triangle this time) and then tacking on a extra mile at the end, but about mile 9 my tummy wasn't having it and I knew I wasn't going to make it without a pit stop. Fortunately, I was close to home to make a quick stop (9.7 mi. at that point; 6:48/ave mi). Then went back out for another 4.4 more, but instead of finishing the originally planned route, I just improvised by twisting and turning on various roads in my neighborhood (6:40/ave mi for the 4.4). I hate having to make stops in the middle of a run, but occasionally the gutt has a mind of its own. Still a decent run. I plan on doing a 15-miler [uninterrupted!] next Saturday.

Rest day.

A.M. - 50 minutes on the treadmill at the LifeCentre:

5 mins @ 9.5 mph, flat
5 @ 10.0, flat
25 @ 10.0, progressive inclines of five minutes each at 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0
5 @ 10.0
8 @ 10.5
2 @ 11.0

cooldown, some Gravitron, lunges, stretching

A.M. - Standard Cottonwood Rd. route. No extra. Nice cool weather and relaxed. Averaged just under 7 minute pace.

I'm a little worried about the inner side of my left tibia. I've been noticing it lately. Not painful yet, but 'noticable'. It's kind of reminicent of the periosteal heave (as the sports doctor called it) that I had two summers ago at the same spot on the right side limited me for months and I'm convinced was a stress fracture. Something about my running style, the types of runs I'm doing, the shoes, or something must be putting extra burden on my lower legs. I'll be watching it closely and hopefully be disciplined enough to change things up, cut way back, or stop if it continues to progress. Not worth having a prolonged injury.

A.M. - 60 minutes on the treadmill. Was anxious to see how the shin/tibia was going to be today. I did a nice slow warm-up. I noticed it a little at first. Again, no pain, just noticable. After 10  minutes into the run, it was all but gone. Good news is that it doesn't seem to be progressing. I'll continue to monitor closely. Today went as follows:

5 minutes @ 9.5 mph, flat
5 @ 10.0, flat
30 @ 10.0, progressive inclines with 5 minute intervals each at inclines of 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, and 3.5 (final stuck it after going just 20 and 25 mins the last 2 attempts)
10 @ 10.0, flat
5 @ 10.5, flat
5 @ 11.0, flat

Stomach was just a tad off this morning, but not enough to impact the run. Lindsay mentioned that her's was off too. Isabelle was fussing on-and-off during the night and Linds thought her tummy could have been the issue. I wonder what we could have ate to cause it. I'm fine now.

A.M. - Standard Cottonwood Rd run with the twist on the way down to end up with 9. Went pretty slow.

A.M. - Didn't have time for much today. 5 miles on the treadmill in just over 30 mins.

5 @ 9.5 mph, flat
25 @ 10.0 mph, flat

A.M. - This was basically my bread-and-butter 12-mile course (Little Cottonwood Rd/Wasatch Dr.; normal direction for the triangle) with some extra miles toward the end. Rather than turning south at 9800 South and Roseboro Dr, I stayed on 9800 South going west all the way until it wrapped into Sego Lily Dr. Then it was about two miles of some good climbing to the top of Sego Lily. Then north to Karalee Dr. and back down (west) and then had to wind around the neighborhood a bit to get the last mile. I've never run this variation before, but I liked it, especially the long 9800 South part.

This morning's schedule was a little weird. I slept in until about 8. Lindsay hadn't got back from the gym yet. So I worked for a couple hours (gotta love the life of an accountant in February) and finally got out for the run about 11. I hadn't eaten anything except for a GU. I felt good and had a good run by my standards. Its probably thanks to the easy run yesterday. Average 6:18 ave/mi, only had one mile at more than 7-min pace (mile 3, uphill), and had 4 sub-sixers (5:52 ,5:49, 5:38, 5:30 for miles 6, 9, 10, and 11, respectively; all mostly downhill).

While I was out, I saw Carol Steppan from the ward out running. Also got a high-five from my buddy Will McKnight from out of his car window.

Rest day

A.M. - Good 60 minute treadmill run at the Life Centre:

5 minutes @ 9.5 mph, flat
5 @10.0, flat
20 minutes @ 10.0 mph with progressive incline. 3 minutes each at 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0, then 5 mins at 3.5
5 @10.0, flat
10 @ 10.5, flat
10 @ 11.0, flat
4 @ 11.5, flat
1 @ 12.0, flat

10 minutes on the stair machine for the heck of it, gravitron, lunges, stretching. Off to a nice long work day in the audit room down at NSP... Happy President's Day!

A.M. - Standard 8.7 out-and-back. Pretty slow (1:02 and change). Not great sleep last night and the tibia/shin was bugging a little more than usual. I self-massaged it good afterwards and it's felt during the day. Maybe just not stretched out enough. Going to have to see if running tomorrow is smart or not. Will be a game time decision.

A.M. - To help the shin/tibia out a little, I've decided to take a few easy days. Today was an easy treadmill, all flat:

2.5 minutes @ 8.0 mph
2.5 @ 8.5
~29 @ 9.0

Noticed the shin/tibia, but really not painful and not too bad.

Got home late last night to a mail package with my new pair of Brooks PureFlows. Used my St. George Running Center gift certificate from last year's SGM to get them. So of course I had to use them this morning.

Another relatively easy TM run (45 minutes):

5 minutes @ 8.5 mph, flat
5 mins @ 9.0, flat
5 mins @ 9.5, flat
10 mins @ 9.5 @ 1.0 incline
10 mins @ 9.5 @ 2.0 incline
10 mins @ 9.5 @ 3.0 incline

Cooldown, gravitron, lunges, stretching.

So far, I like the PureFlows. They are comfortable and fit well. I can definitely tell that they have a lower drop and are more minimalist-style than most of other current trainers. Of course, I'll need more time to determine how I really feel about them, but initial impression is good. I plan on making them my staple outside shoes for the next little while. I'm most definitely going to retire the DS trainers (which are really worn) and probably the Ravenna's pretty soon.

Tibia/shin felt about the same as yesterday. Doesn't seem like its progressing, which is good.

A.M. - Easy treadmill run again, not quite as much time this morning:

5 minutes @ 9.0 mph, flat
5 @ 9.5, flat
10 @ 9.5, 1.5 incline
10 @ 9.5, 2.5 incline
2+ @ 9.5, 3.5 incline

A.M. - Another relatively easy morning on the treadmill to nurse the shin/tibia:

5 minutes @ 8.5 mph, flat
5 @ 9.0, flat
5 @ 9.5, flat
5 @ 10.0, flat
5 @ 10.0, 1.5 incline
5 @ 10.0, 2.5 incline
5 @ 10.0, 3.5 incline

Shin actual felt even better than the last few days. Would have liked to have gone more today, but had a hard time getting up today and had to share gym time with Lindsay and then had a full day of work in Provo.

Congrats to those of you who had good races today!

Rest day. Walked to and from church and around the block in the afternoon with Linds and Isabelle.

A.M. - Real simple treadmill run this morning:

5 minutes @ 8.5 mph, flat
10 mins @ 9.0, flat
20 mins @ 9.5, flat

Tibia/shin was just 'ok'

A.M. - Yet again, another relatively easy treadmill run. A little more juice than yesterday though. Tibia/shin was almost not noticable most of the run, probably best that its been the past week. I'm really digging the Pure Flows. It's probably just in my head, but my leg seems to feel better on the days I wear them.

5 minutes @ 9.0 mph, flat
5 mins @ 9.5 mph, flat
5 mins @ 10.0 mph, flat
20 mins @ 10.0 mph with progressive inclines. 5 mins each at 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and 3.5.

Cool down, lunges, limited stretching.

Work is really crazy this week since were issuing a major client's report early next week. I'm expecting to work past 11 tonight and I'll probably sleep at the Provo Hampton tonight. Which means that tomorrow's run will be through East Bay somewhere.

A.M. - Spent the night in the Provo Fairfield Inn last night (Hampton right by my client was full). I liked the fact that I didn't have to deal with the normal 45 min commute this morning, but of course would have much rather been home. I did an out-and-back from the hotel which first went southeast out of East Bay and over the RR tracks to Main Street. Then a left on Main and on down to the intersection at 400 W and then back. On the way out, I counted at least two dead deer and a dead cat on the side of the road. It no sooner occured to me that the speed limit on Main was 50 mph and I was probably really stupid for running a large portion of the first half on the righthand side of the road (the shoulder of the road was pretty wide at least).

I didn't have the Garmin or my watch, but the run took a little more than an hour. Mapquest indicated it was about 4.7 point-to-point, so 9.4 total for the run. No a shabby distance compared to what I've been doing the past week. Tibia/shin was almost non-noticeable. I was wondering how it would be the first day out on the roads in over a week.

Another late one is on tap for tonight and I'm debating whether to hotel it again. Probably won't though.

A.M. - 35 minute treadmill run at the Life Centre. Made it home late last night and got a few hours of shut-eye in my own bed. Felt okay today. Shin was good, but not much time for many miles:

5 minutes @ 9.5 mph, flat
5 mins @ 10.0, flat
20 mins @ 10.0 with progressive incline, 3 minutes each at 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, and then 5 mins at 3.5
2.5 mins @ 10.0, flat
2.5 mins @ 10.5, flat

It's about 11:20 right now and I'm heading over to the Provo Fairfield Inn again. Tomorrow will be another run through East Bay, probably the same route as Wednesday, assuming I get out of bed. Looking forward to not working quite so late tomorrow night and maybe, just maybe, a longer run on Saturday morning before I come back down here. Tis' the season!

A.M. - Down in Provo this morning. Did the same route as Wednesday. This morning was colder than Wednesday though. A little breezy and the roads were dusted with snow.

A.M. - Standard Little Cottonwood Rd/Wasatch run. First time with the Pure Flow's on the road and I'm still liking them. I had hoped to go a little longer, but I had to be down to work by 9:30 this morning and had to share the morning workout time with Linds because she wanted to go to the gym... Bottom line, I didn't get up early enough = ). Felt good. Shin/tibia is doing fine. A little over 1:21 for the run; 6:40 ave/mi. pace. Hoping for 50+ miles this coming week.

Rest day. My physical activity for the day consisted of a walk around the block with Linds, Isabelle, and Gidget (the in-law's dog).

A.M. - 45 minute treadmill run at the Life Centre. Went as follows:

5 minutes @ 9.5 mph, flat
5 mins @ 10.0, flat
20 mins @ 10.0 with progressive inclines; 3 mins each at: 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0 and 5 mins at 3.5
10 mins @ 10.0, flat
5 @ 10.5, flat

Energy was okay, but not terrific. I was just glad to have at least stuck the incline part of the workout today, but didn't have much after that. We worked until after 1 AM on Saturday night (Sunday morning) and I had difficulty falling asleep last night, so that's probably why I didn't have much juice today. My left shin (the one that I've been watching) was just fine, but the outter side of my right shin got tight towards the end of run. I'm not worried about it.

A.M. - Windy morning, but not too cold. Wore shorts and compression socks. Legs felt pretty peppy despite the fact I had to drag myself out of bed this morning and was later than I should have been. Did the old Little Cottonwood road out-and-back with a touch extra to get in 9. Finished in 59 minutes and change; 6:30 ave/mi. with a few sub-sixers on the downhill, with the wind portions. We got a fair amount of snow this afternoon; tomorrow is a gym day. 

A.M. - 45 minute treadmill run at the Life Centre. Felt pretty good. All flat today, as follows:

5 minutes @ 9.5 mph
5 @ 10.0
15 @ 10.5
15 @ 11.0
5 @ 11.5

Can I rant for a minute?.. So there's this certain treadmill at the gym that I run on 90%+ of the time (i.e. 'my treadmill'). Although many of the machines in the place are practically the same, I've been going there long enough to know which ones are, in my opinion, the better ones. And there's this one in particular that's my clear favorite. As a matter of practice, the first thing I usually do when get there in the morning is drop off my stuff on that treadmill as a means to 'reserve' it. Then I'll warm-up and stretch for a couple minutes before getting on. I don't think I'm out of line for doing that because there are always plenty of open machines. So its not like I'm preventing someone else from using a treadmill.

So, I got there this morning noticed a lady was on 'my mill'... No problem, happens all the time. By the time I'm done warming-up and stretching, there's a good chance she'll be done. If not, I'll resort to option 2. Sure enough, a couple minutes later she was done. I broke from my warm up for a minute and went and put my stuff on it; iPod and keys in the little cubby under the controls, water bottle in the bottle holder, towel and headphones over the side arm rail. Should be pretty clear to someone that the treadmill is taken, right?! I went back to warming up for about two minutes and no sooner was I coming back that I see this older fellow walking like its no ones business on my treadmill.

You might say to me, suck it up and find another one. Well, that's what I did, but I was peeved. I thought, what nerve this guy has to take my treadmill when there are at least 10 others he could use, with equally good line of site to the TV and perfectly fine for walking. Couldn't he see my stuff? Plus, wouldn't he have noticed a pattern by now of a dude with relatively long hair (me) pounding on that machine at about the same time every other morning? I walked over there and without saying anything and began gathering my stuff from around him in a deliberate manner. He acted a little surprised, but continued his walking for another 20 minutes. Fortunately, my second favorite mill was open...The run cooled me down (figuratively). Pay attention people! He's lucky he played the naive card with me, because had he tried to prove a point to me for 'reserving' the machine, he would have gotten a piece of my mind and it wouldn't have been very nice.

A.M. - Same route as Tuesday. Had to dress warmer this morning though. First half going up was a little slower than Tuesday, but coming down was faster. Felt good today. 6:25 ave./mi for the run with the last 4 sub-6 and the last mile at 5:27.

A.M. - 5 relatively easy on the treadmill in 31 mins:

5 minutes @ 9.0 mph, flat
5 @ 9.5, flat
5 @ 9.5, 1.0 incline
5 @ 10.0, 1.0 incline
11 @ 10.0, 1.5 incline

A.M. - 15 mile run on the same route that I did 3 weeks ago. Its basically my standard 12-mile Little Cottonwood Road / Wasatch Blvd course with an extension down 9800 South all the way to Sego Lily Drive, then to the top of Sego Lily, and through the neighborhood roads to get the 15. I was happy with this run. It was probably my best outside run to-date this year. Finished in just under 1:33 with 6:10 ave/mi pace. Mile 2 was the slowest (6:50 up 10000 So) and the stretch between 5 and 12 was pretty solid (albeit mostly down hill): 6:05, 5:41, 6:05 (up Wasatch to 9400), 5:59, 5:41, 5:30, 5:32 (down 9800), 6:09 (start of climb up Sego Lily). Miles 13 and 14 were definitely the toughest. Was wishing I had some water and a Gu by that point.

Was a beautiful morning today. Shorts and turtleneck, but could have done without the turtleneck. I'm still really liking the Pure Flows, but the outsole, especially the mid-foot outer edge of the left side (where I strike) is already starting to wear through. These things don't even have 50 miles on them! Runner's World touted durability as a strong point. This is a common problem with all of my outside shoes (not the ones I use exclusively for the treadmill). I think its just due to biomechanics of how I run and the fact that I often running on chambered roads. Though I try to be careful about mixing up the sides of the road that I run on.

Next week is Moab 1/2. I'm not expecting much since I've never run better than like a 1:17:50 on that course. Its the truest course I run all year. I'll be fun to finally do a race.

I need to do some work from home today, but I'm really tempted to take the Cervelo out for a spin this afternoon. We'll see how the day goes.

P.M. - 40 mile bike ride along Wasatch Blvd and foothill up Emigration Canyon. I wanted to scope-out where Rob, Fritz, and Walter did their long run today! = ) I didn't make it up as far as they did though. One thing's for sure, I'm definitely not in bike shape right now. The last 10 miles were brutal. The big hills on Wasatch were humbling. I've only been getting out on the bike an average of once a month lately, so what can I expect, right? I've got a lot to do to get ready for the 2-day MS ride in June.

Rest day. Really didn't do anything physical to speak of.

A.M. - Good treadmill run this morning:

5 minutes @ 9.5 mph, flat
5 mins @ 10.0 mph, flat
30 minutes @ 10.0 mph, progressive incline with 5 minutes each at 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, and 3.5
5 mins @ 10.0 mph, flat
5 mins @ 10.5, flat
5 mins @ 11.0, flat
5 mins @ 11.5, flat

A.M. - Little Cottonwood Rd. out-and-back. Very strong wind gust this morning out of the south made for an interesting run. Took it slow and easy.

A.M. - Relatively fast, flat incline treadmill run for 45 minutes. I wanted to get the feet turning over one last time before Saturday, but not put in too many miles.

5 minutes @ 9.5 mph
5 mins @ 10.0
10 mins @ 10.5
20 mins @ 11.0
5 mins @ 11.5

My wife and baby are both sicker than dogs right now (colds). I'm hanging tough with no symptoms yet, but its probably just a matter of time before I wake up with the old tickle in the throat (knock on wood). It'd be a miracle if I could make it to Saturday morning unscathed.

Tomorrow will be an easy standard Cottonwood out-and-back and then another short easy TM run on Friday.

A.M. - Little Cottonwood Road out-and-back. Nice and easy (~6:47 ave/mi.).

A.M. - 35 minute easy treadmill run at the gym:

5 minutes @ 9.0 mph, flat
10 mins @ 9.5 mph, flat
15 mins @ 10.0 mph, flat
5 mins @ 10.5, flat

I woke up with the tickle in the throat this morning. Actually more like a sore throat with a vengence...Perfect timing (sarcasm)....I knew this was going to happen! My baby and wife have been really sick this past week and I just didn't see myself being able to avoid it despite trying to be careful. I guess that's what I get for thinking pessimistically.

Fortunately, I don't feel too crummy yet. Just the sore throat. Hopefully it doesn't progress too much by tomorrow morning.

Last night, for the fun of it, I looked up my past times for the Moab half:

2007 - 1:21:37; 25th place (one of the 'lull' years)
2008 - 1:19:23; 21st place (another lull year)
2009 - DNS (got wasted in busy season that year and didn't even go down)
2010 - 1:17:41; 12th place (course PR)
2011 - 1:18:14; 10th (terrible headwind, even the mighty Paul only managed a 1:12 = )

Goal for tomorrow is a course PR. I think the fitness is there, but I think the wind is going to be a factor again and hopefully my cold doesn't progress too much.

Heading down to Moab in a couple hours. It'll be fun regardless of the non-controllable factors.

Short Story – Like last year, another very windy race. Although I ended up with my best overall finishing place (6^th overall), it was another lack-luster time. Despite my cold and the wind, this course seems to get me every time. Still very fun. Definitely glad I made the short trip down to do the race and get in a ride on the Slickrock.

Long Story – Before you read any further, I apologize for the long-windedness of the following. It won’t hurt my feeling if nobody reads beyond this point. It’s mostly personal for me to journalize the experience.

I left work mid-afternoon yesterday to drive down to Moab. My wife and baby have been very sick the last several days, so I didn't want to drag them down. So I made the trip solo. The trip is becoming somewhat of a tradition. I've looked forward to it as kind of an 'end of busy season' getaway (although this year, my busy season is only about half over). For the past three years, I've been too cheap to arrange a motel, so I've either tented it, or taken my dad's Tahoe and slept in the back of it (all the motels/hotels in town really jack-up their rates on race weekend). This year I decided to do the Tahoe. I'll usually take my mountain bike and, energy-pending, I'll go and bike the Slickrock after the race. That was the plan again this year.

I arrived into town about 7:45 last night (the town was booming) and b-lined it over to the race charity pasta dinner since it was only supposed to go 'til 8:00. Made it just in time and after a quick bite, I headed over to the expo. While there, I ran into Walter Brown over at his pace team booth. I spoke with for a few minutes and he indicated he was going to race (not pace) the race. He said he was going to use it to gauge whether he’d shoot for Boston next month. Walter and I are usually pretty close in races, so I figured our paths would cross again out on the course (I was right). The expo had a listing of race participants hanging on a wall and I tried to scope out the fast guys and other folks I knew. Among them, Ewen North (several time winner of the race), B.J. Christensen, Josh Steffan, Karl Siebach, and of course, Walter.

I left the expo and scouted out an LDS church to park the Tahoe. It was within walking distance to Swanny City Park (the finish area and bus pick-up). I was taking a bit of a risk setting up there because they had signs up saying no overnight parking. I feared a cop might come and make me move in the middle of the night, but it was worth the risk since I didn't want to park on the road in front of someone's house or go a campground and deal with the sand. I slept about as well as I could have hoped for being sick and being in the back of a Tahoe. Not a great night's sleep, but good enough. Was kind of in-and-out much of the night. The sore throat got real bad at one point that it actually woke me up. Fortunately, the stuffiness wasn't really setting in yet and I didn't feel too crummy.

The race was slated for a 10 A.M. start and we were supposed to be on the buses by 8:15. I got up a little after 7, got ready, and walked to the convenience store down the block to get some hot water to mix my oatmeal. Then up to the park, hit the potty, and had to wait a little while to catch a bus. The wind was already gusting pretty good out of the south confirming my fears that we’d likely be doing battle with it throughout the race. As we drove out of town to the Canyon, the wind didn't seem that bad. Even the first 5 or 6 miles going up the canyon, it didn't seem very strong. That was promising, but once the canyon opened up around mile 6 or 5 (and the rest of the way on up to the start), you could tell the winds were strong.

It just so happened that I ended up on the same bus as Walter and was sitting just behind him. He educated me about his pace team (American Flyer's) which to this point I had knewn little about. It's a really cool thing he's doing. He's a cool guy. He told me he knew B.J. Christensen was planning to go out the first few miles at 5:30 pace and then try and put the hammer down the second half of the race. Walter's strategy was to try and hang with him. I knew that I wasn't up to going out at a 5:30 pace right of the coral, especially on this course and with the wind. I tend to do better when I go out conservatively and kind of work from behind. So that was my plan for today.

The bus dropped us off a third-of-a-mile or so down from the start line with about an hour to spare. I was one of the last buses up there. The area was packed with people. I spent the next 20 minutes in line for the potty and then started walking to the start. I was noticing some discomfort in my left shin (the same that was bothering me a few weeks ago and was starting to rear its head again a little this week), but I was pretty confident it wasn't going to be an issue during the race (it just might be in the ensuing days!). Up at the start line, the wind was gusting very strong. The organizers made us hurry and get our gear bags in the trucks. It was a bit cold being in just the singlet in shorts. I saw Karl Siebach and talked with him. He was hoping to have a good time today, but was doubtful now because of the wind. I think he told me he was going to Boston next month too...Another great runner to represent Utah this year!

Spent the next 15-20 stretching, jogging, and doing a couple strides. Then it was time to make my way to the start. I saw all the expecteds up at line and several other 'fast-looking' dudes I didn't recognize.

The Race - Mile 1. The gun shot and we were off and running. The first mile of this race has the most elevation loss of the course. So you're immediately on a downhill at the start. The wind wasn't that noticeable at first as everyone was jockeying for position. Ewen, Karl, Josh, B.J., and Walter were in the front group and were quickly building a gap on the rest of us. Walter was doing exactly what he said he was going to do by setting up shop behind B.J.'s tall body and using him as a windshield. One guy, who I didn't recognize, was clearly taking the lead and was looking extra peppy. I later learned he was Jeffrey Eggleston of Flagstaff, AZ, (who ended up winning the race handily). Before too long, I started to settle into a group with about 4 other guys. I didn't know any of them. I found myself doing a lot of the pulling right off the bat, which I didn't want to do. We crossed the first mile mark at 5:35 which would be my fastest split of the entire race. I started gauging myself to Walter who was probably 15-20 seconds up on me by the first mile mark.

Mile 2 - A little ways into the second mile, the downhill flattens out and the road turns east and out of the shade of the cliffs. The next few miles are kind of in a more wide open area of the canyon. The head-wind became significantly more noticeable. It felt like the guys in my group were a little slower than my speed, but with the wind getting stronger, I didn't want to run alone. So my options were either to work with them, or try and bridge up to the next set of guys, which would probably expend more energy than I could afford. I decided to stick with them for the time being. Again, I found myself pulling a little more than I thought was my fair share, so I purposefully slowed down so I could fall in behind one of the other guys for a while. At the first aid station I grabbed a swig of Gatorade and also some water. The second split had already slowed to a depressing 5:52. I knew the next few miles were flat and would be windy, so I wasn't very optimistic we could pick up much speed.

Mile 3 - Pretty flat mile. My group was hanging together and we caught another dude with long dark hair and we all kind of fell in behind him for the next mile or so. The road curves south again during this mile. It was windy, but wind aside, I could tell I wasn't on my A-game today. I was feeling okay and determined to still give it my best. Walter was at least 25 seconds in front of me at this point, but he was already starting to fall off the back of B.J. We hit mile 3 at 5:55, already knocking the doors of 6 minute miles…what's up with that!?

Mile 4 - Another flat mile. The course starts to curve southwest here which is the general direction for the rest of the canyon section of the course. Suddenly, the wind didn't seem as bad. Our group was cruising along pretty comfortably at this point but we still weren't going very fast. We crossed the mile at 5:47. The gap to Walter was holding at about 25 seconds.

Mile 5 - Wind was back and this mile has a gradual hill. Me and one other guy (I think his name is Zak James; apologizes if I'm wrong) emerged at the front of our group and it wouldn't be long before we started pulling away from the rest of the group. The mile was 5:57. We may have gained a few seconds on Walter here.

Miles 6-9 - Still fighting the wind. For these miles, it was just me and Zak working together. I was doing most of the pulling. Mile 6 has another little hill and then some down (5:48 split) and mile 7 is mostly down (5:53; should have been faster). Miles 8 and 9 have some gradual rollers (5:50 and 5:47, respectively). At some point during mile 8 or 9, we got just a small taste of a tailwind. Walter was still up ahead of us and running pretty close with another guy who I believe was Jack Dasilva. By the end of the ninth mile, their gap on us had been significantly reduced. I didn't know what place I was sitting in, but was pretty sure it was in the top 10.

Mile 10 - This mile has the biggest uphill of the course for the first half and then it drops off the face of the earth to the end of the canyon. I started to pull away from Zak at the base of the hill. Then towards the top I caught and passed Walter and Jack, although I didn’t do it with much authority. Once on the downhill, I wanted to start pushing the pace and leverage gravity. I was able to at first, but I could hear Jack, Walter, and Zak breathing close behind me and once we hit the 10 mile mark (5:57) I was feeling pretty tired. I thought it was only a matter of time before they passed me and I wouldn't have anymore gas to counter.

Mile 11 - The downhill flattens out and the course goes off the road temporarily and onto a concrete path. You're only on the path for a few hundred feet as it takes you under the river bridge and then it quickly curves south and brings you back up onto the right side of the main road leading into town. Walter and Jack were still breathing close behind me. At the end of the path section, Jack passed me. I latched onto the back of him and we started working together. Once on the road, this is where it got really hard. This part of the course is fully exposed, mostly gradual uphill and straight into the wind. I didn't hear Walter or Zak anymore, so we must have been putting some space on them. This split was a dismal 6:07 and there would be no more sub-6's the rest of the race.

Mile 12 - The hardest mile of the day. A long stretch of exposed, gradual uphill, and headwind as we drudged forward towards town. Jack and I were taking turns. Jack was leading as we neared the right turn before the 12-mile mark. He hadn't been pulling for very long, but motioned for me to take the lead seemingly conceding to let me run off ahead of him. I moved ahead, but wasn't confident that I would put much space on him. We crossed the mile at a pathetic 6:26.

Mile 13 - Now on the side road (5th West, I think), the first ~0.6 of this mile is straight before turning left onto 4th North for the final stretch up to the finish at the park. I could hear Jack breathing not too far behind me. Split was 6:09.

Final 0.1 - The final kick wasn't spectacular, but I held of Jack and crossed the line in 1:18:12, a mere 2 seconds faster than last year. I was tired, but not wasted. Jack crossed about 10 seconds later and Walter was another 30 seconds back. Zak wasn't too far behind. Another lack-luster time on this course, but if there is any silver-lining, it was my best finish in terms of overall placement (6th).

I spent a little time talking to Walter, Karl Seibach, Zak, and a few other guys. Later, I spoke with Keith Barton. Everyone had similar feelings about the race…The wind sucked (or blew) and adversely affected everyone's times. Jeffrey Eggleston ran out of his mind and won the race by a large margin (1:10:08). B.J was second place finishing in just under 1:14. Josh Steffan (1:14:24), Tyler Sewald (1:15:11), and Karl Siebach (1:16:02) were place 3 through 5, respectively. I later learned that Ewen North had dropped out. He commented to me that "it was just too much," referring to the wind, I'm sure.

I stayed just long enough to get a little food, stretch, get my stuff, and see the results posted. I was 4th in my division and they only give awards to the top 3, so I didn't get anything. I walked back to the truck and talked myself into believing that I still had enough energy to go tackle Slickrock. Much to my surprise, the Tahoe battery was dead, but fortunately I found some fellow racers to give me a jump and I was quickly on my way. Thanks again! (If you're out there)

Slickrock. It was extremely windy at the trailhead and I was beginning to think I was crazy for trying to do this. But it’s a violation of personal law to come down to Moab and not ride a bike. The ride was windy most of the time. I felt like it kind helped during the first half when you're heading mostly north. I felt surprising good and nailed most all of the climbs including my one and only attempt at the Bottleneck. There were quite of few people out, including the usual Boy Scout groups. I was on the road heading home by a little after 3.

All-in-all, a good day. I wasn’t particularly pleased with my time, but also wasn’t very surprised by it. My past history on this course, my cold, and the headwinds had the odds stacked against me. I was happy with the 6^th place finish though. Now, I have the Salt Lake half to look forward to in a little over a month and I hope to put in a better time there.

Rest day. Cold has really set in. Our whole household has it. We were quarantined at home all day.

A.M. - Easy miles on the treadmill in 35 minutes. My cold has really set in now. It was one of those rare morning where my motivation to get up and go running was extra low. But I did it, and felt good in the process, so that's a victory:

5 minutes @ 8.5 mph, flat
30 minutes @ 9.0 mph, flat

A.M. - Standard Little Cottonwood Rd. route out to the park and ride and back. My cold is still in full swing. This was a very slow run.

A.M. - 35 minute treadmill run at the Life Centre. I felt like garbage when I woke up this morning. The run was okay though. By this afternoon, I definitely started feeling better. Though I think my cold has turned the corner, I'm sure the stuffiness will linger for a few more days.

Treadmill went as follows:

5 minutes @ 9.0 mph, flat

5 mins @ 9.5 mph, flat

5 mins @ 10.0 mph, flat

20  mins @ 10.0 mph, with inclines (5 mins each) of 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0

A.M. - Normal home course route, but had to cut of ~1 mile due to time. Again, another slow run. The cold was still really inhibiting.

A.M. - Can I even count this as a run on this blog?! The cold is still very much with me. I intended to do 5-5.5 miles easy on the treadmill today. Started out fine at 9 mph for 5 mins, then 10 mins at 9.5 mph (all flat). It was hard to breath and I couldn't stop coughing. I tried to kick it up to 10.0 mph for a few mins, but the coughing really got out of hand. I'm sure people were watching me thinking to themselves that I had black lung or something. After only ~2 mins at 10.0, I kicked it back down to 9.5. The coughing persisted and after only a minute or so, I hit the kill switch and went home....Stupid cold.

A.M. - Another really slow run on the old out-and-back course. Would have loved to have gone longer, but time constraints, my cold, and my left shin (its acting up again) were factors contributing to why that didn't happen. 

A.M. - 35 minute treadmill run:

5 minutes @ 9.0 mph, flat
5 mins @ 9.5, flat
5 mins @ 10.0, flat
15 mins @ 10.0, with five mins each at 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0
5 mins @ 10.0, flat

A.M. - Shortened standard home route. Real slow. Leg is really bugging this week. I'm going to take it easy and baby it for a while.

A.M. - 35 minute TM run at Life Centre:

5 minutes @ 9.0 mph, flat
5 mins @ 9.5, flat
5 mins @ 10.0, flat
20 mins @ 10.0, with five mins each at 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5

6.5 on the home course.

6 miles. Similar route as yesterday, but a tad shorter.

Standard out-and-back up little cottonwood road.

Rest day.

Since the pain in my left shin is persisting and running (even the light load I've been doing) is not helping it, I've decided to completely lay off running for a while. I plan on giving it at least a week and then reassessing at that point. There is still hope for the Salt Lake Half, but I'm not going to force it if it isn't right for me. Its a bummer, but I'm going to keep this setback in perspective. I'd rather back-off now than be forced to in a few months when it'll be more important for me to be in groove.

Went to the gym this morning and messed around for 45 minutes on the elliptical. The rest of the week will probably be similar. I'd love to (and need to) get out on the bike, but work is pretty suffocating right now.

Had a late night and consequently didn't get up early enough to workout. Fortunately, I'm working at a client located relatively close to home and my gym. I was able to break away during my lunch break for 45 minutes on the elliptical.

30 mins on the elliptical.

Stressful week going on with work. I'm having a hard time falling asleep at night and getting up in the morning. Had an early meeting at work and Lindsay wanted to go the gym. I couldn't get up to take the early shift so I missed the morning workout. It doesn't help that I'm not running right now causes its making my motivation to stay active go to pot. Fortunately, I was able to make it to the gym this afternoon for an hour on the Stepmill and a few other little things. Felt good. Good workout to use some different muscles.

Again, couldn't get up today. It's been the same story all week. Late nights, stress. My system is jacked-up. If I don't watch it, this is going to become a bad habit. Made it to the gym after work for a quick 30 mins on the elliptical. I'm glad the weekend is here. I hope to be able to take the bike out tomorrow. Good news is the leg have been feeling progressively better. Virtually unnoticeable when I'm walking. I notice it a bit more when I'm weight-bearing, but there's no pain. The time off running is definitely helping. I might experiment a little on Monday, but my gut is that its not ready yet. We'll see. 

50 mile bike ride to the top of Emigration Canyon and back with my buddy Scott. I would have loved to have run this morning, but when that's not an option, a good ride is great consolation. Beautiful day, great friends, awesome.

Total rest day... Not like I've been doing much lately anyway!

Gave it a whirl on the treadmill for a couple of minutes. Though I was able to go without any true pain, there was discomfort and it just didn't feel right. I hopped off after just a couple minutes and hit the elliptical for 35.

My leg situation seems to be improving (slowly...) with the rest I've given it. I can put my finger on the exact spot where the pain is localized, on the mid-inner part of my left tibia. Definitely the most tender when I'm applying pressure right on it/massaging it. I don't feel any protrusions or strange textures or swelling; just a deep localized tenderness. Not sure if its a bone issue, soft tissue tear, or what. The only thing I know to do is to keep taking it easy until it tells me I'm ready...Just have to be patient.

A.M. - 40 minutes on the Stepmill

A.M. - 30 minutes on the elliptical.

A.M. - 45 minutes on the Stepmill

30 mins on the elliptical after work.

A.M. - Decided to give it a go again real easy today. Leg's still not all better yet, and I could feel it running, not painful though. Just took it real slow. I tried one of the new snazzy treadmills at the gym. It looked nice, but they've programed them to limit your time to 25 minutes... lame. Moreover, it wasn't very smooth either. Real loud and slap-sticky. With two minutes to go, I think something broke on the machine because it really started making funny sounds. Needless to say, I'm going to stick with my favorite Life Fitness one. The run went okay, but I'm not ready yet to start building back-up. Salt Lake Half is definitely out. I may see if they'll let me transfer to the bike tour thing because I don't want to just throw my fee away.

Also did 30 mins on the elliptical.

Wanted to go on a ride this afternoon, but the weather wasn't going to let that happen. Linds and I went car shopping.

Rest day.

Was up real late last night getting ready to issue a client's report today, so I missed the morning workout. Got the report out the door a little after 5 and was going to head to the gym. The weather was nice so I treated myself to a ride instead. Did about about a 32-miler from my house along Wasatch and up Millcreek to the gate and back. Felt wonderful. So glad to have the bike to fall back on when the running's stalled.

A.M. - 4 easy on the treadmill at the Life Centre. Five minutes each at 8.0, 8.5, 9.0, 9.5, and 6 1/2 minutes at 10.0. All flat. Leg felt okay, not great. I'm not ready yet.

A.M. - 30 minutes on the elliptical. Then headed up to Wyoming for Wednesday and Thursday.

A.M. - Stayed the night in a hotel in Green River, Wyoming on Wednesday night. The hotel had a small fitness room with an elliptical machine and a couple treadmills, so I had planned on spending a little time on the elliptical in the morning. Not to my surprise, a gentleman was on the machine when I got down there and he was early in his workout. My only option was the treadmill and I wasn't going to run. So I hoped on that baby, set it to a decent an incline and brisk walking pace, and tried to make the most of my time. I gradually ratcheted up the time and incline and ended up doing about 3 miles in in around 45 minutes. It actually felt like a relatively decent workout. Got a sweat going and the heart pumping a bit.

The hotel is on Wild Horse Canyon Rd and if you keep following the road (I think northeast) past the hotel, it soon turns into dirt and gradually winds and climb up through Wild Horse Canyon. Last year, when I was up here I ran up it and it was a cool run. Actually did see some horses and although its on the high plains of Wyoming, it actually felt like central/southern Utah because of the beautiful rocks. Wished I could have done it again.

A.M. - Early meeting in the office today. Got in 30 minutes on the stair stepper. If I were really concerned about maintaining some level of fitness, I should be making more of an effort to get in longer cross-training workouts. But in all honestly, my motivation has really been lacking lately without the running. That combined with work stress and discouragement with how long the leg is taking. It'll turn around. It always does. Getting back into shape is a large part of the fun anyways.

A.M. - Though I had signed-up for the half marathon, I ruled it out a while ago. My intention was to try and switch over to the bike tour so that my race fee wasn't a total forfeiture. But when my buddy Scott called me Thursday night about a Saturday morning group ride that was going to be longer than 26 miles and with a bunch of friends, it wasn't a hard decision how I wanted to spend my Saturday morning.

Sin confession: For anyone reading this, please don't hate me, but I admittedly supported a bandit in the race by convincing a co-worker to take my race bib and make use of it. So that 2:08 you see next to my name isn't me. Don't rat me out to the race director! I fronted the cost. I knew he wasn't going for a Boston qualifier or anything like that. I just didn't want my entrance fee to be wasted. Congrats "M" on a good first half marathon... Can't wait to see how you improve by UV 1/2!

A group of 7 of us (me, Scott Tasker, Brad Porter, Jon Miller, Dayne Hassett, Rob, and Russ) headed out from Scott's house at around 7 AM. All of these folks, except for Brad, is going to be on our MS team in June. We headed north on 7th/9th East and bisected the marathon course at Van Winkle (prior to the marathoners getting there), then bisected the half marathon course at 17th South. Just after we cut through, I saw one of the front runners. Looked like a masters runner and looked familiar, but I didn't know who he was (not Steve). We went up to 8th South and then turned west. As we were crossing State, we saw another fast runner. A shorter younger guy with purple shorts cooking along really good (sorry, I didn't recognize him either). That was the end of our encounters with the race. It really made me sad that I wasn't running in the half. I've really grown to enjoy this race over the last couple of years and had been looking forward to it.

We continued west for a ways and then north eventually getting onto the Legacy Parkway trail. We didn't go very far north though and after 25 miles, most of us decided that we wanted to get in some hills and to get in some semblance of a workout. We headed back east under I-15 and then started back south. We stopped at a gas station for a quick refill on the water and then headed down toward the capital. Russ wasn't interested in tackling any hills today, so he broke off from the rest of us and headed home. The rest of us climbed up past the capital and then up into the avenues and up and around the University. Then east to the road just east of the zoo. Through the Foothill neighborhoods and on the path over the freeway to Wasatch. Then south to 9400 with a couple good climbs up the hill just passed Big Cottonwood and the one just past La Caille going up to 9400. Then straight down the hill to Scott's house down by Mt. Jordan middle school. 

Fun, fun ride. We got in around 57 miles or so. Most was done at a leisurely pass since we had a wide range of bikers with different fitness levels, but the hills allowed it qualify as a decent workout. I'm feeling good on the bike. I need to be doing more of it too though. I think I'll be fine for the 100 and 70 miles for the two day MS ride, but if I get into Lotoja (odds not good, but will find out next month, really keeping my fingers crossed!), then I've really got to get serious and be much more consistent on the bike. Scott has been diligent about his riding and has been doing spin classes consistently. It's paying off because its easy to see his improvement. Rob, one of the guys from Scott's ward who rode with us, was a Cat 3 cyclist a few years ago and has done Lotoja several times. It was fun talking with him about his racing experiences and his thoughts on training.

This is going to be an interesting year. Assuming the leg gets better soon and I can resume training, I really want to build on last year's good running year. Last year, the only thing I was really focused on was sub-2:30 at St. George. I worked hard and was ecstatic when it came to pass. But this year I don't have such a concrete goal. We've got our second kid on the way in 3 weeks. I'd really like to get more use out of my expensive road bike and do decent in Lotoja if I can get in. There are a few other relatively big life decisions/changes that we're working on before the end of the year too. So things will be interesting. The danger, of course, is becoming too diluted in these various pursuits and ending up not really excelling at anything.

If I get into Lotoja and the leg still is giving me fits by the time June rolls around and its not looking like I can get the kind of training block that I want to for St. George. Then my fitness focus will likely be cycling. However, if the leg comes back on track soon (I think it will) and I don't get into Lotoja, running will clearly be the primary fitness focus.

Things will come more into focus over the next month or two and I'm sure things will proceed to work out as they are meant to be. 

Rest day.

A.M. - 40 minutes on the stairstepper at the gym.

P.M. - Took out the Stumpjumper for a quick ride up the home course; Little Cottonwood Creek Trail. The trail was free of snow all the way to the top, no surprise given the record heat weather. Didn't make it out the door until about 7, but got home just before sundown. Beautiful ride as always. Great way to end the day. 

40 minutes of elliptical.

40 minutes on the stepmill

25 minute test run. All flat 5 minutes each at 7.0, 7.5, 8.0, 8.5, 9.0. Felt alright. I want to think that progress is happening, but its soooo slooooow... I may try again tomorrow and push it a little more. Dang injury.

P.M. - 35 minutes on the treadmill:

5 minutes each at 8.0, 8.5, 9.0, 9.5, 10.0 (all flat). Then 5 mins @ 10.0 mph, 1.0 incline and 5 mins @10.0 with 2.0 incline.

Hardest run I've done in almost a month and first time all April that I've run back to back days. Progress...Leg felt okay, but still noticing it during the run.

A.M. - Shorten version of my standard Little Cottonwood out-and-back course...It's been about a month since I've been out on the roads. Leg felt okay. I was just happy to be outside running in the cool Spring air. Not sure if the leg is really ready to roll yet, but I'm getting impatient. Don't understand why this dang injury is taking so long. I feel like I've been being careful....Get better already!

Rest day. Walked to and from the school with my daughter. Messed around on the playground.

A.M. - Shortened standard out-and-back.

A.M. - 40 minutes on the stair stepper

A.M. - 35 minutes on the treadmill. I didn't intend for this to be a hard workout, and in truth it wouldn't have normally been. Unfortunately, I'm out of shape pretty bad right now and this one worked me pretty good:

2.5 minutes each at 8.0, 8.5, 9.0, and 9.5 mph, all flat

10 mins @ 10.0 mph, flat

5 mins @ 10.0, 1.0 incline

5 mins @ 10.0, 2.0 incline (getting worked here)

5 mins @ 10.0, flat (wanted to stay on the incline, but had to wuss-out, ah well) 

A.M. - early shift today so that I could make it to managers' meeting on time. 6.5 miles up the old standby. Leg was not feel'n great, and overall didn't feel that good on the run. Sorry to be a downer.

P.M. - So a couple weeks back, a respected blogger (and pretty fantastic runner), Mr. Scott Keate, recommended I go see this chiropractor dude (Dr. Rawlin) in Clearfield who specializes in M.A.T. to have him check out the leg. My appointment finally rolled around today. The visit probably lasted a good 30-45 minutes. Very energetic, charismatic guy, especially for it being 6 in the afternoon. Today was purely diagnostics. No treatment. He explained the philosophy of the treatment and ran a bunch of different tests on different muscles, group-by-group, looking for ones that aren't firing, and apparently I have several. I was a little surprised that little to no attention was given to my problem area. He basically did a full analysis of my lower body. He explained that as muscles become overworked they can breakdown and your body will cause them to shut-down (stop firing) to protect them from further damage. The body is an amazing machine and other muscles can adapt to perform a similar function of the muscle that has shutdown. Initially, you may not feel pain if the compensating muscles are doing a good job, but such adaptations cause additional stress on those areas and the problems can precipitate to various other muscles. Well-trained bodies can get away with this longer and to a greater extent. Eventually, things breakdown and pain ensues. He seemed to know what he was talking about. I have another appointment next week and that's when treatment will begin. Apparently, the trick is to find the few key areas that are thought to be the source of the problem(s). As those areas are treated, other areas that aren't problems in of themselves (i.e. the ones that are just out-of-whack because they're compensating) will begin to self-correct. Obviously I'm not doing the technicalities of the science (or pseudo-science if it doesn't work) justice. If the treatment works, improvement should happen very quickly. The jury is still out on this for me, but I'm anxious to get started to see if this is legit!

Dr. Rawlin is pretty sure the issue isn't a stress fracture. He even pulled out a tuning fork(!) and played around with it on my leg. Its not a perfect test, but according to him, its a good one and the results didn't suggest a S.F. Given that, I'm going to keep running.

A.M. - 35 minute treadmill run at the Life Centre. Very similar to Wednesday, just a tad more on the incline:

2.5 minutes each at 8.0, 8.5, 9.0, and 9.5 mph, flat

25 mins @ 10.0 mph with 10 mins of flat, 5 mins at 1.0 incline, 5 mins at 2.0, and 5 mins at 3.0.

Leg still about the same, but not preventing me from running and not noticeable altering my form. Handled today's run better than Wednesday's.

A.M. - Standard Little Cottonwood out-and-back. This is the furtherest I've gone in quite some time - yea!!! Felt fine. Leg is still the same.

Afterwards had a busy day in the yard and doing other things. I'm writing this on Sunday and I woke up and noticed my hammies are a bit tight. From Saturday's run, I'm sure. Nothing major, just noticing it because of the miles since I'm out of shape. They'll be good to go Monday.

A.M. - 5.25 on the treadmill, all flat:

5 minutes @ 8.0 mph
5 mins @ 8.5
10 mins @ 9.0
15 mins @ 9.5

A.M. - Little Cottonwood out-and-back

A.M. - Treadmill for 35:

5 minutes @ 9.0 mph, flat
5 mins @ 9.5, flat
10 mins @ 10.0, flat
15 mins @ 10.0, with 5 minutes eash at inclines of 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0.

Felt pretty worked towards the end of the incline. Shin is hanging in there about the same as it has been for quite some time. Irritating, but not enough to preclude running.

Best news of the day for me - Found out this morning that I got into LOTOJA!...Yea! 'Didn't think my chances of getting in were that good, but it worked, I'm in. 'Better start riding more.

Tomorrow is my long awaited appointment with Rawlin. It won't just be diagnostics this time. Crossing my fingers that it'll be the magic bullet.

My little boy is going to be arriving any day now. Today was my wife's last day of work (for a while). Exciting times!

A.M. - Standard out-and-back up to the Little Cottonwood park-and-ride. Leg was the same.

P.M. - Went to see Rawlin this afternoon, pretty interesting treatment. It's late, I can elaborate later. We'll see if I start feeling a difference.

A.M. - 35 minute treadmill run at the Life Centre. Very similar to what I've been doing. Just trying to slowly work in more incline:

5 minutes @ 9.0 mph, flat
5 mins @ 9.5, flat
25 mins @ 10.0, with 5 mins each at inclines of 0.0, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 3.0.

Leg shin pain is still there. Didn't notice a lot though during the run. I want to say that it feels like it shifted just a little; from the inner side of the shin to the front of it. Maybe from yesterday's treatment? Or maybe just in my head.

P.M. - 40 miles on the Cervelo. North along Wasatch Blvd and almost to the top of Millcreek Canyon. I was running out daylight and decided to turn-back about a quarter mile or so from the top. I was dressed lightly and felt fine temp-wise going up, but coming down, man... I froze my you know what's off! Quickly warmed up once pedaling again on Wasatch. I love this ride. Definitely will be a staple for the Lotoja training.

A.M. - Little Cottonwood/Wasatch 12 miler. Furtherest I've gone in quite some time. Leg felt okay. Can definitely still feel it, but it didn't seem that bad. Wore the Garmin for a first time in a while. A little over 1:20 for the run; 6:37 ave/mi. Felt good to get some moderate distance.

It wasn't looking like the baby was coming today. Wife's contractions were not that bad and irregular. I was out running errands and got a call about 3:20 that the water broke. We got to the hospital at 4 and the baby arrived just before 5. So a good labor and delivery, much like our first. I hope this kid (doesn't have name yet) can run as fast as he came into the world! Mom and baby are doing great.

Rest day

A.M. - Took the day off from work today to get baby and wife home from the hospital. Pawned my daughter off to my mom for a little while in the morning to squeeze in a run. It was a warm late morning run down at the Life Centre. Seems like a ton a people had the day off, because the gym was packed...Maybe its the norm though. I'm hardy ever there mid-morning during the week.

5 minutes @ 9.0 mph, flat
5 mins @ 9.5, flat
40 mins @ 10.0 with 20 mins of flat, 5 mins at 1.0 incline, 5 mins at 2.0, 5 mins at 3.0, and 5 mins flat to finish out (wanted to do 5 more at 3.5, but didn't have the will).

Leg's not feeling too shaby.

P.M. - Was up late last night stressing to get through some things for work. Between that and baby waking up often, I think I got about an hour's worth of sleep. Consequently, I missed the morning workout. Went up to Clearfield to see Rawlin for treatment visit number 2. It was good only lasted a half an hour. I'm kind of doing a half-work from home thing today. Tomorrow will be back to work full swing. Made it out for a run at noon. Standard Little Cottonwood 9.1 miler. Finished in just under 59 mins ~6:30 ave/mi. It was pretty warm out, but breezy too which helped. Felt pretty good. Today is the best my leg has felt on an outside run in a long time. Rawlin's MAT treatments must be doing something positive.

A.M. - 35 minutes on the flat treadmill was all that I could do this morning. Possibly the residual from the lack of sleep Monday night? Possibly a little dehydrated? Whatever it was, the run was a bit of a struggle. Leg was bugging a little more than it has lately. Felt like it took a step back in the healing process. Its too bad because its been feeling pretty good as of late, especially yesterday. Run went as follows:

5 minutes @ 9.0 mph

5 mins @ 9.5

25 mins @ 10.0

P.M. - Got home about 7:20 and decided there was enough time to sneak in a quick mountain bike ride. Got to the top of the Little Cottonwood trail and back home just before 9. Perfect weather. 

A.M. - Shortened version of the Little Cottonwood out-and-back. Late night again last night and up late this morning. Another slog. More energy than yesterday, but not much. Averaged ~7 min/mi. and I sure I didn't go much below that at any point.

A big nothing today, dang-it. Up until 6 A.M. last night.... Don't ask. Life and work just got the best of me today.

A.M. - Extended Little Cottonwood/Wasatch run. Could feel that I hadn't been 15 in awhile. The march up to the top of Sego Lily felt tough. Overall felt good though. Good run. Noticed the leg a little at first, but it warmed up and I was fine.

P.M. - 42 miles on the bike starting from Scott's house to Solitude. Good ride, perfect temps. Big Cottonwood has a nice dose of hills, but not overly intense at the pace we were going. Went with Scott, Dayne, and Robbie. The 2-day MS ride is in just a little over a month.

A.M. - 7 miles on the old out-and-back. 6:36 ave/mi.

A.M. - To the park-n-ride and back. A little under 7 min ave/mi.

A.M. - Normal course out-and-back

A.M. - 35 minute Life Center run:

5 minutes @ 9.0 mph, flat

5 mins @ 9.5, flat

25 mins @ 10.0 mph with 10 minutes flat and 5 minutes each at 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 

A.M. - Was up way, way too late last night making the final push for a big project I've been working on. Consequently, there was no way was going to make my normal morning run today.

P.M. - Left work at a fairly decent hour and decided I wanted to mix things up for a run. I was planning to get some moderate distance Saturday morning, so I didn't want to expend a whole lot tonight.  I busted out the old DS Trainer's and headed over to the gully for a run on the wood-chipped trail. Went nice and slow and felt good. It was good to change things up.

A.M. - Extended Litte Cottonwood route with the climb to the top of Sego Lily. Exact same run as last Saturday. I wanted to go a little further, but the wind and rain were really acting up toward the end and I honestly just didn't have the drive to keep going. I may have underestimated the hills with last night's trail run, or maybe the cumulative lack of sleep is catching up. Overall, a good run. I'm happy to say the leg is doing alright.

The end of this project I've been working on marks the unofficial end to my 'busy season' at work. So I'm anxious to start concentrating more on running (and cycling) and building up my weekly mileage. I think the leg is good enough to allow me to do that. Unfortunately, my fitness is quite a bit behind where it was this time last year because of the injury set backs, but that's okay. I'm expecting the UV 1/2 to be somewhat of a humbling experience in two weeks.

I've got to go pick up the bike from the shop today (tune-up) and am hoping to get a ride in. The way the weather is though, that is probably doubtful. 

P.M. - Wind was raging this afternoon and I knew a road ride was going to be miserable. I opted for a mountain ride instead, which proved to be a good choice. Up and down the Little Cottonwood Trail twice. About 19.5 miles all in. Leg felt good and tired by bed time. 

Rest day

A.M. - 60 minute treadmill run. Leg is doing well:

5 minutes @ 9.5 mph, flat
25 mins @ 10.0, flat
20 mins @ 10.5, flat
10 mins @ 11.0 flat

P.M. - 50 mile bike ride along Wasatch Blvd to the top of Emigration Canyon and back. Originally, I had planned to go with my buddies, but they were going to leave a bit later than I wanted to and I had some family plans later in the day that I needed to get back for. I changed plans on them at the last minute and texted them and dared them to try and catch me. They, in turn, dared me to catch them on the way back. A couple of them had their wives with them and were going to be going slower than usual. Most of my ride was uneventful and I didn't think about our little text exchange again until about mile 43 while riding south on Wasatch when I rode up from behind them. We chatted for a minute and I sped off in a hurry to get home. Not two minutes later, my dang left crank came flying off! It was still attached to my shoe at the pedal and I'm lucky I didn't turf it. I had just picked-up my bike from the shop on Saturday after having a tune-up and drive-train cleaning and those guys must not have tightened it right when they were putting it back together. Needless to say, I had to stop and would have been up a creek (I'm an idiot and wasn't carrying tools). Fortunately, my friends weren't far behind and they had the necessary hex key I needed to put my bike back together. Lucky coincidence for me and thank goodness for good friends who were there when I needed them.

A.M. - Standard Little Cottonwood out-and-back. Leg is still doing good, but I was lethargic and slow today. Pushed it a little on yesterday's ride so I'm sure that's what its from.

A.M. - 60 minute treadmill run at the Life Centre:

5 minutes @ 9.5 mph, flat
5 mins @ 10.0, flat
20 mins @ 10.0 with progressive inclines of 3 mins each at 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0 and 5 mins at 3.5
10 mins @ 10.0, flat
15 mins @ 10.5, flat
5 mins @ 11.0, flat

This is one of the better treadmill runs I've had in quite some time and I was pleased with the effort overall. Fitness is lacking though as I was feeling pretty worked. Leg is doing great. Unless it starts getting worse, I'm going to stop commenting on it in my posts.

P.M. - Had another appointment with Rawlin this afternoon. I'll have at least one more next week and that might be it. Given the positive things that have happened with my leg, I am a believer! Thank you Scott Keate. Was able to get home just before 7 and got out on the bike. Rode to the top of Millcreek Canyon and back. Just over 40 miles round trip. Was dark when I got home.

Good day.

A.M. - Little Cottonwood/Wasatch route in a little over 1:23. A little tired from last night's ride.

A.M. - I woke up late and on the wrong side of the bed this morning. Down at the gym, started my run as follows:

5 minutes @ 9.5 mph, flat
5 mins @ 10.0, flat
10 mins @ 10.0, 1.0 incline
30 seconds @ 10.0, 1.5 incline. Then the shoe came undone and I stopped to tie it.

Started back up for a couple mins at 9.5 mph, flat. But at that point I lost the will to continue. I wasn't feeling great and I was late for work so I cut my loses and left. A little frustrated. Total 3.7 miles (Aegis)

P.M. - Decided to get a little redemption this afternoon. Was working down at Tahitian Noni today down near the Shops at Riverwoods in Provo. Used my lunch break to go do a little out-and-back on the Provo River Trail. It was warm. Probably 80s, maybe high 70s. Luckily there was a bit of a breeze. 7.25 miles; 6:48 ave./mi. (Ravenna 2)

A.M. - Long run. Longest I've done since last September. Did the extended Little Cottonwood Rd/Wasatch Blvd route and then the standard 9 mile Little Cottonwood run to the park and rid and back (minus the first mile). 6:48 ave/mi. Felt alright. Stomach was stirring a little, but it held up and I didn't have to make a pit stop. I started a lot later than I should have (~9 A.M.). Next time I'll need to get up earlier to beat the traffic and take advantage of the cooler temps.

P.M. - 40 mile ride to the top of Millcreek and back. Same ride as Wednesday in almost identical time. Felt good. Temps in the canyon were perfect. I really like this ride.

Good day.

A.M. - Rest day. Walked to and from church.

Dave Holt and his family came to my church today because he was up staying with his in-laws (who are in my ward). He looked great for having just conquered Squaw Peak on Saturday. Nothing but respect for the guy.

A.M. - Today was supposed to be a gym/treadmill day, but becasue of another late night last night and an early morning meeting today, I just had to get done quicker. Did the standard 9.1 mile out-and-back and man was it a slog. Real tortoise-like. Not surprising given what I done to myself the last 48 hours (decent size run and bike on Saturday, Fast Sunday, sleepless Sunday night). Looking forward to the pillow tonight.

Wow, I've really fallen off the logging/blogging wagoon the last little while. It's 6/17 when I'm writing this. Better the blogging than the running though... Luckily, I've been writing it down.

A.M. - Treadmill run at Life Centre:

5 minutes @ 9.5 mph, flat
5 mins @ 10.0, flat
3 mins @ 10.0 at 1.0 incline - treadmill stopped about here for some reason...aggrevating. Hopped on a different one, but lost some momentum/enthusiam...

12 mins @ 10.0 with 3 minutes at inclines of 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0 (wanted to do 5 more mins at 3.5, but it wasn't happening today)
5 mins @ 10.0, flat
15 mins @ 10.5, flat
2.5 mins @ 11.0, flat

47.5 mins is all I could muster today.

A.M. - Treadmill run again. 60 minutes:

5 minutes @ 9.5 mph, flat
5 mins @ 10.0, flat
17.5 mins @ 10.0, with 3 minute inclines of 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0 and 2.5 mins at 3.5. Couldn't stick 5 mins at the 3.5 like I wanted to

7.5 mins @ 10.0, flat
15 mins @ 10.5, flat
10 mins @ 11.0, flat

Better than yesterday, but not quite what I'd hoped for. I normally don't like doing the 20 min progressive hill set so close to a race, but I was a little peeved about yesterday (I'll have to stay peeved until the next try too since I didn't hit it again). It shouldn't really matter though come Saturday.

A.M. - Modified extended Little Cottonwood Road/Wasatch triangle. Started on my normal 12 mile route, but when I got down to Eastdell Dr. and 10000 So., I went south on Eastdell and straight home rather than heading North and west down 9800 So. and back around. Ended up with 9.5 which is enough distance for me today. Energy was pretty good today.

A.M. - Little 35 minute treadmill run before the race tomorrow, all flat:

5 minutes @ 9.5 mph
20 mins @ 10.0
10 mins @ 10.5

Felt sluggish today. Probably because my body knows a race effort is expected tomorrow.

Today was "Impact Day" for my work. Its a Firm-wide service day that all the U.S. Deloitte offices do each year. This year, our office volunteered at Globus Relief doing a variety of tasks. We got done in the early afternoon and I carpooled down to the race expo at the Marriot in Provo with a couple of my work buddies (Mike Mansfield and Bill Park) who were also signed up to do the Half.

Had a decent night's sleep and got up around 2:45. Got ready and grabbed a little breakfast (oatmeal and PB) and headed out to my friend Sheila's house to pick her up and then to Southe Towne Mall to pick up my work buddy, Mike. At least where I live (Sandy), the wind had been ragging until late Friday night, but at this point, it all seemed calm. We drove downn to the Provo Towne Center Mall and met up with my other work buddy Bill and got on the buses. This was to be Bill's first half marathon and Mike's second. Also Sheila's first half although she's done a marthon and several 10-K in the past and was a state qualifying-level high school track runner.

Once up Provo Canyon at the bus drop-off, it was the apparent the wind was back and was definitely going to be a factor. It didn't seem too strong, but it was blowing straight up in the canyon into our faces and I was having fears of Moab all over again. Hit the potties and got in a very small amount of warm-up and light stretching. Saw and talked to a few people I knew, including Ryan Jonson. The weather wasn't as cool as I expected it to be (because of the warm wind from the south), but the temps weren't bad.

We made our way to the start and I noticed fast guys Brad Osguthorpe (last year's winner and course recordholder), Kyle Perry (last year's second place finisher, I think), Iain Hunter, and several other fast, or at least fast-looking, guys. Last year I had set my half marathon PR here, but I was doubtful a 1:10 something effort was going to happen today given the headwind, and more importantly, my lagging fitness compared to last year because of the recent injury. That said, I was feeling pretty good. Energy all right and no noticeable aches or pains. The right knee had been feeling a little off earlier in the week, but was fine now.

The gun went off and Brad, Kyle, Iain, Ken Richardson, and Conner Maitz quickly formed the lead pack and start slowly started pulling away. I was in the second group with Ryan Jonson and one other faster-looking gentleman who's name I didn't know. The wind was immediately noticable. The lead group didn't put much space on us the first mile and they appeared to be working mostly in a single file line, drafting aganist the wind. I ran with Ryan and the other fellow for about the first mile and towards the end of it, I began pulling away. At that point I was alone and in 6th place and that's the way it would stay the rest of the way. First mile split was 5:38. A far cry from last year's 5:24 ave/mi pace, but okay since I usually prefer to start races a little on the slower side and work into a faster pace. Last year's start was slower too. But I could tell I was already working harder than I wanted to and speeding it up was going to be a tall order.

Wind still in the face pretty good for mile 2, 5:39 pace. The lead group is building their lead. I never intended to catch them, but hoped someone might eventually fall off the back that I could use as bait. But that wasn't going to happen.

Miles 3 and 4 were both 5:57. In my opinion, the wind was worst at this point and also had a little bit of a incline here. Effort feeling pretty hard. Getting a little discouraged as I knew I wasn't going to be anywhere close last year's time. Oh well. Let's try and salvage something decent and not embarrass myself.

Mile 5 was 5:38. Better than the last two. Wind was still there, but there was some pretty steep decline here.

Miles 6 and 7 were both 5:30. Now that I'm lower in the canyon, the winds don't seem as bad, but are still present. Lots of downhill that I'm trying to take advantage of. Feeling pretty good, but not totally smooth. Though this pace is closer to what I want, I just can't find that faster gear. Current fitness level, wind, and the energy I'd already lost battling the wind the first few miles were all factors.

5:34, 5:32, 5:36 for miles 8, 9, and 10 respectively. Last part of the Canyon and on to University. More of the same. Feeling better than the first few miles now that the wind has eased up, but not able to go any faster. Feeling good and like I'm moving okay, just can't find any speed.

At mile 11, there's a small climb that slowed me up some: 5:44.

5:38 and 5:35 for miles 12 and 13 as I cruise home towards the line. Crowds were plentiful and supportive.

Crossed the line in 1:14:20 per my Garmin. Mileage showed slightly off at 13.16.

Got a little food and a quick massage and ran back out on the course to help run in my friends. Saw Sheila first, she ended up just under her goal of 1:45. I was surprised because she injured her hip a little over a week again and hadn't been running much since then. I ran back out and got Mike and ran him in. He broke 2 hours which was his goal and a substantial improvement over his first half (Salt Lake a couple months ago). Went back out and got Bill who ended around 2:05, about what his goal was. So all of them had good races.

Stopped at this point and met up with Sheila to watch the top marathoners come in. I was particularly interested in seeing if Scott Keate and Riley Cook were going to get their sub-2:30's today. Both are in incredible shape and tearing things up this year. But I had some doubts knowing they'd be contending with the same wind I had just fought. Unfortunately, my suspicions were confirmed and the winners (who weren't Riley or Scott) didn't even cross until around 2:29. About 10 minutes off last year's winning time. I watched as Jon Kotter (2:31:56), Byrant Jensen (2:32:00), Jordan Perry (2:35:51), and Scott Keate (2:37:27) came in.

Then I headed back out on course to find my work buddy Jason Clegg. He had been training hard for this, his first marathon. He's lost a ton of weight over the last couple years, has been meticulous about his training and diet, and has put up some good half times. He was hoping to get a BQ. A tall order for a first marathon, especially in today's conditions.

As soon as I was on course, I saw Sasha coming in. About a mile in, I saw Walter Brown who looked pretty roughed-up. I decided to try and help him in. Not sure if I did or not. Sorry if you didn't want that Walt. Good race though buddy.

Headed back out again to find Jason and passed several other folks I recognized: Craig Green, Seth Wold, Steve Anderson, and Dan Varga. Sorry if I missed anyone. It soon became apparent Jason won't be getting his sub 3:10. At this point I was mostly doing a slow jog, but would stop and walk for parts. I finally meant Jason at about mile 23.5. He looked pretty rocked. Calves cramping. I took his water belt and we battled on towards the line. He was in quite a bit of pain, but showed a lot of perseverance to keep running with only short walk stops at aid stations and a few other points. I tried to keep him cool poor water down his back. He ended up crossing the line in 3:45. Certainly a commendable first marathon time, but I know it wasn't what he'd hoped for. Hang in there Jason. Rest up and get back on the saddle buddy. You'll have substantial improvement on your next one.

I accumulated ~9.3 miles per the Garmin helping people. Some of that was walking, I'm going to say a mile and a half give or take. So almost a total of 21 running miles for the day.

I have a couple other thoughts I want to add to this later....

Rest day. Strolled daughter to and from church. Later on, strolled my boy down to in-laws for dinner (~1-1.5 miles). Caught a pretty cool little lizard on the way down. Kids loved him. Let him go in the flowerbeds.

A.M. - 60 minutes on the treadmill down at the Life Centre:

5 minutes @ 9.5 mph, flat
15 mins @ 10.0, flat
20 mins @ 10.5, flat
15 mins @ 11.0, flat
5 mins @ 11.5, flat

Good workout by my standards. I was a pleasantly surprised by the good effort so close to Saturday's race. But that's why I love half marathons as they don't require a lot of recovery time afterwards.

P.M. - 40.25 mile ride to the top of Millcreek and back. I love this ride!

Good day. My 3 week paternity leave is off to a good start.

A.M. - Little Cottonwood Rd/Wasatch Dr triangle route. Reverse direction.

P.M. - Mountain bike ride. 2 times up and down the Little Cottonwood Creek Trail. Wanted to get some pedaling in today, but wanted to switch it up and hit the mountain today. My mountain bike's seat is softer (~20 miles give or take)

A.M. - 51.5 minute treadmill run at the Life Centre. Somewhat of an interesting run and, in the end, a bit disappointing. I was a little pressed for time this morning as my office was having its annual golf day. I needed to make it to Bountiful Ridge Golf Course for a 7:30 AM tee time. Original plan was to get in about a 10-mile/60-minute run. Legs were feeling somewhat heavy last night and in the morning mostly due to the afternoon bike rides the last couple days. Initial plan was to get the run done quick, but at the same time not go too hard:

Started with 5 minutes @ 9.0 mph, flat
5 mins @ 9.5 mins, flat
5 mins @ 10.0 mins, flat
Feeling in a pretty good groove here, so decided to go to 10.5 mph.  My mindset at that point was to stay there for 15 mins and then bump it up to 11.0 and see if I could hold at least that the remainder of the run. The 15 mins at 10.5 went fine, but toward the end, I was having doubts about being able to hold 11.0, so instead of going up to 11.0, I backed down to 10.0 for the next 10 mins.
Thought I'd try my luck again and went to 10.5, but after 5 mins, my body was telling me it didn't want any faster than 10.5 mph today. So I back it down to 10.0 again. At this point I was feeling a bit discouraged and feeling pressed for time. So after about 6.5 mins at 10.0, I chicken-out and decided to call it a day. Total run time of about 51.5 mins for ~8.6 miles. In retrospect, I should have stayed easy/conservative from the start. Would have felt better about the run had I got the 10 miles.

P.M. - Golf day and lunch ended around 2'ish. My work buddy Aaron and I had brought our road bikes so that we could do an easy flat ride on the Legacy Parkway Trail. Unfortunately, would couldn't convince any of the other road bikers in the office to join us. Many of them were going to be participating on the Deloitte Ragnar team Friday and Saturday and didn't want to risk blowing their legs on a bike ride. Aaron got on the trail around 5th South, rode south for a while and then headed back north just past the Frontrunner station. We kept the ride relatively easy, but there was a pretty good headwind while going north that increased our perceived level of effort. 26.5 miles.

A.M. - Modified Little Cottonwood out-and-back. With Ragnar tomorrow, 9.5 fairly easy seems just about right for me today.

Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay - This is the 4th (consecutive) year that I've done this run. Kind of hard to call it a race as it is more of a social event than a race. The first two years I participated (2010 and 2011), I ran with my work team. It was a lot of fun. But my friends convinced my to defect over to there team and that's what I did last year and this year. We were by no means in it to win it. The team consisted of some good buddies of mine and their spouses and a few other extended family members of those folks. We qualified as a co-ed team meaning we had a lot of girls. Our team name was "Wish We Were Runners"... Very dumb name and not very representative if you ask me, but someone picked the name long before I joined the team and it has just kind of stuck. This was my first year being in Van 1 and I was 'Runner 1' (Legs 1, 13, and 25). My leg involved running the most miles of any of the 12 runners (~21 miles total), but my legs weren't necessarily the hardest or most technical.

Leg 1 - 7.7 miles (rated "Hard" in the Ragmag for the relative length, I think?) - My team had a 6:45 A.M. start, so we were one of the first teams out on the course. The earlier start times are generally given to the slower teams, so you can see that neither we nor the race organizers had high hopes for us pulling out a competitive time. I was happy to have the 6:45 start. It meant I could run my first leg close to the same time I'd usually be doing my normal morning runs and I'd get to run before things started getting two warm. The gun sounded and everyone in my start group of ~30 runners headed northeast out of the USU stadium. I didn't go out real fast, but took the lead before we even reached the end of the track. Knowing that our team was never going to be competitive, similar to prior years, I didn't want to approach my Ragnar legs as an all out race. Any fast running I was going to do would just be negated by some other team members' slower pace, so why kill myself? So, my strategy was to run reasonably fast, but not go all out. At the same time, there wasn't any excuse for me to get passed by anyone as I didn't expect anyone real fast to have started the race the same time we did. The fast runner teams would all be starting later and I theoretically wouldn't be running against them unless they caught up to us which wouldn't likely happen, but if it did, it wouldn't be until the late stages of the race. For my first leg, I knew the first 1.5 miles or so would be the most difficult as they were mostly uphill heading west to the Bonneville Shoreline trail. Once on the trail, the route would continue to ascend for the next ~0.5 mile and then start dropping off the face of the earth for the third mile. Miles 4 and 5 were on the road and almost all downhill. Mile 6 flatted-out and had a pretty decent little climb. The last ~ 1.7 miles were mostly flat with little up at the end. I felt good and ended with an average pace of 6:03 for the leg. Total time of 46:42. I think I had ~57 kills on the leg (all of people who had started in earlier heats) and didn't get passed (Kinvara).

Leg 13 - 8.5 miles (rated "Very hard" for the relative length and steep decents, I guess). We took over the race again at about 3:30-3:40 in the afternoon up at Snow Basin. Temperatures were quite warm at this point (low 80's I believe). The first 0.25 to third-of-a-mile starts by running a steep incline underneath some chair lifts. There was a faint trail, but not much of one. I wasn't able to move very fast through this section. Once at the top of the lift, it was virtually all downhill from there. You make your way out of a little parking lot and onto the road and then its just a drop off the fact of the planet for the next 7+ miles. There were a few flat and slight uphill spots, but for the most part, it was steep downhill. Additionally, there was a bit of a tail wind. I just let gravity and the wind carry me and had several splits well below 5:30. The only negative factor was the heat. I felt very hot. But I tried to hydrate at each aid station and averaged 5:28 for the leg. I measured it as actually being 8.5 miles compared to the stated 8.2 miles. I passed 52 people and didn't get passed. My body would later pay a little bit (but not too bad) for all the pounding downhill on this leg (Kinvara).

See Saturday entry for my report on Leg 25.

Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay - Leg 25 - The last of my three Ragnar legs. Run at about 2:30 AM in the morning after less than 2 hours of sleep. Started to move okay, but he legs were tired and I really didn't feel the best during this stretch. The portebello sandwich from Redrock that I had about 10:30 PM didn't seem to have settled as well as I hoped it would have. The route was a relatively flat and should have been easy. I only pulled out 6:13 ave/mi. for this one.

Rest day. Strolled my daugther to church, but got a ride back home afterwards.

A.M. - Up pretty early this morning to fit in the run before a 7:30 AM tee time at South Mountain (golf day with one of my clients). Standard Little Cottonwood Rd/Wasatch Dr triangle route, normal direction.

Had a bunch of stuff going on this afternoon including grandma's 80th B-day party. So no afternoon workout today.

A.M. - 60 minutes on the treadmill:

5 minutes @ 9.5 mph, flat
5 mins @ 10.0, flat
20 mins @ 10.0 with progressive inclines, 3 mins each at 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0 and 5 minutes at 3.5
5 mins @ 10.0, flat
10 mins @ 10.5, flat
15 mins @ 11.0 flat (wanted to do the last 5 at 11.5, but didn't have the gas)

P.M. - 40.25 ride to the top of Millcreek and back.

A.M. - Extended Little Cottonwood Rd/Wasatch triangle route, normal direction, with climb to the top of Sego Lily. ~6:50 ave/mi.

P.M. - 50 mile ride to the top of Emigration (Little Mountain Summit) and back.

A.M. - 60 mins at the Life Centre. Legs felt a little fatigued (I think from the biking the last couple of days) so the plan was to go relatively easy and play it by ear.

5 minutes @ 9.5, mph, flat
10 mins @ 10.0, flat (feeling good here, bumped up to 10.5)
5 mins@ 10.5, flat (whoa! Legs don't want to go faster than 10.0 today, so I knocked it back down and held)
40 mins @ 10.0, flat

No biking today or tomorrow to rest my legs (and more importantly, my rearend) for the MS this weekend

A.M. - Wanted to do a long run this morning since I won't be running the next couple of days because of the MS ride. I didn't get started until 6:45 AM at which time is was already 75 degrees. By the time I finished, I think it was in the low 80's. So the run was quite warm. Also had to deal with that pesky southwest wind that has been plaguing the region for so long now. Ran very slow. Felt okay, but just didn't seem to have much spunk. Was happy to get the mileage in though.

Buddies and I are meeting at 5 to head up to Logan for the bike ride. We're staying at Russ's aunt's house. Awful nice of her to offer us her house for the weekend.

Harmon's Best Dam Bike Ride - Day 1 - 100 Miles. Blog entry to be redone again later. I had a bunch of stuff typed in, but accidentally hit something on my computer and lost it, irritating...But too late to try and redo tonight, so I'll do later.

Harmons Best Dam Bike Ride Day 2 - 75 miles. Blog entry to come later.

A.M. - 60 minute treadmill workout at the gym. Surprisingly good effort despite the big cycling miles the last couple of days:

5 minutes @ 9.5 mph, flat
10 mins @ 10.0, flat
20 mins @ 10.5, flat
25 mins @ 11.0, flat

Was happy to be able to hold this pace today. Endurance seemed to be good. I certainly didn't feel like I could take on inclines today. Maybe on Wednesday.

Had to go into the office today and tomorrow for mandatory training. No P.M. ride today as I want to let my back side recover a bit.

A.M. - Extended Little Cottonwood Rd/Wasatch triangle with the Sego Lily stretch. Warm morning (at least 75-78 degrees when I started at 5:45 AM). The pesky southwest wind continued. No watch, but I was going pretty slow. Tomorrow is supposed to be a gym day, but if I was smart I'd take advantage of the cooler morning temps and go outside.

P.M. - Yesterday, I reached $600 in total donations for MS which meant I qualified for the 'spokes club' jersey. Thank you to any reading this who contributed to my drive! Our work training got out early today, so I stopped by the Utah MS Society Chapter at Highland Dr and ~6400 So. and got my jersey. Its actually pretty good quality. I wore it for this afternoon's 40 mile ride to the top of Millcreek and back. Awesome ride, as always. Climbing legs are still feeling a bit tired from this past weekend which is to be expected.

A.M. - 60 minutes on the treadmill at the Life Centre. As suspected yesterday, it would have been a good morning to go out today, but my wife took the early shift and slept in a bit. So I decided to stick with the original gym plan.

5 minutes @ 9.5 mph, flat

5 mins @ 10.0, flat

15 mins @ 10.0 with progressive inclines of 3 mins each at 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0 (couldn't hold for the 3.5 today).

5 mins @ 10.0, flat

25 mins @ 10.5, flat (didn't feel like going any harder than this effort so I stayed here for most of the run)

5 mins @ 11.0, flat

Just an okay overall effort.

P.M. - 40 mile ride up Big Cottonwood Canyon to Brighton and back. Got a flat while screaming down the canyon, but was able to fix it quickly and get home just fine. I should be most grateful that it didn't cause me to wipe-out.

A.M. - Standard Little Cottonwood Rd/Wasatch Blvd triangle today. Was warm and windy throughout, as is the norm lately. Went real slow, it was a slog. I think the afternoon bike rides impact the quality of the next mornings' run. I want to go riding tonight, but I'm debating whether I will or not.

A.M. - 60 minutes on the treadmill:

5 minutes @ 9.5 mph, flat
5 mins @ 10.0, flat
15 mins @ 10.0 progressives inclines with 3 minutes each at 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0 (again, still couldn't hit the 3.5 today)
5 mins @ 10.0, flat
10 mins @ 10.5, flat
20 mins @ 11.0, flat

Similar to Wednesday's run, but today's effort was a little better.

A.M. - Long run. Two times around on the Little Cottonwood Rd/Wasatch Blvd triangle route. Once in the normal direction, once in reverse. Up nice and early today to beat the heat. Cooler and less wind than last week. 6:54 ave/mi.

P.M. - 68.5 mile bike ride up Emigration and East Canyon to the Big Mountain summitt. First time that I've biked up Big Mountain although I've driven it a million times going boating to East Canyon Reservoir with the family. It was a bit harder than I anticipated, but definitely a good ride and one I hope to continue doing. It was kind of an eventful ride. I got a flat on Wasatch (about 7 miles into the ride). I fixed it and rode to Millcreek Bicycles where they gave me a tube, adjusted my pedal tension, and got my tire pressure where it needed to be. It's so nice to have a good bike shop on the route! The climbs up Little and Big Mountain were good (although, as mentioned, Big Mountain was a  little tough). I saw a few other cyclists, but not as many as I would have normally expected, probably because of warm weather. On the last hairpin of the Big Mountain climb I caught up to a cool dude named Ben. We chatted at the top for a bit and I learned that he's a LOTOJA vet and has done it several times. He'll be doing it again this year as a Cat 5, which is the lowest racing category and also the one I'll be in. He is also doing the Ultimate Challenge in August which I'm also planning to do. So hopefully our paths will cross again. He shared some of his bike racing/LOTOJA wisdom which I'm grateful for and will gladly take whenever people are willing to share it with me. He was riding from Cottonwood Heights, so we ended up riding most of the way home together and we made one stop to fill our water. We rode mostly at an easy pace, but we pushed it a little in a few spots. On Wasatch Blvd on the way home at about 5500 S. there were a ton of cops, firetrucks, and ambulances, and a helicopter and they had Wasatch completely blocked off and wouldn't let us through. I don't know what the deal was, I've haven't bothered to see if its on the news, but maybe some bad car wreck or someone was stuck on the mountain or something like that. Needless to say, we were forced to back track to 4500 S. and then down to 2300 E. Ben and I parted ways at the Cotton Bottom intersection and I took 2300 E. and Highland home. Ride was good, but took quite a while to do. Sad thing is, it was a good bread-and-butter ride, but not long enough to constitute the type of "long ride" I need to be doing for my LOTOJA training. Somehow I'm going to have to figure how and when to work those rides into my training schedule.

Rest day.

A.M. - 60 minute treadmill run at the Life Centre:

5 minutes @ 9.5 mph, flat
5 mins @ 10.0, flat
20 mins @ 10.0 with progressive inclines, 3 minutes each at 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, and 5 minutes at 3.5
5 mins @ 10.0, flat
10 mins @ 10.5, flat
10 mins @ 11.0, flat
5 mins @ 11.5, flat

P.M. - 40 mile bike ride up Big Cottonwood to Brighton and back. Warm out, but good ride. Fortunately, the canyon is a bit cooler than the valley.

A.M.1. - Extended Little Cottonwood Rd./Wasatch Blvd triangle route. Reverse direction. Warm and windy again. Went nice and slow.

A.M.2. - 40 mile ride with Scott up Millcreek Canyon and back. Abe joined us for the first few miles but didn't go up the canyon. Pretty decent headwind coming down the bottom half of the canyon and on the long grind south on Wasatch. 

A.M. - Treadmill run. 52:45:

5 minutes @ 9.5 mph, flat

5 mins @ 10.0, flat

20 mins @ 10.5, flat

15 mins @ 11.0, flat

7:45 mins @ 10.0, flat (started getting a side ache for some strange reason and just wussed-out)

 P.M. - Cycle ride up Little Cottonwood Canyon to Alta (end of the paved road) and back. About 25 miles or so round trip although you don't have to pedal very much the way down (but I guess you make up for it with the pretty tough climb). Three canyons in three days.

A.M. - Standard Little Cottonwood Rd. out-and-back. Felt so nice and refreshing to get drizzled on by the light rain. No watch today. This will probably be it for me today as I want to try and keep a little in the bank for Saturday's race.

A.M. - 40 minute treadmill run, all flat:

5 minutes @ 9.0 mph
5 mins @ 9.5
10 mins @ 10.0
10 mins @ 10.5
5 mins @ 10.0
5 mins @ 9.5

Looking forward to tomorrow.

Hobbler Half Marathon

Finally! My first race this year with no big headwind (See Moab 1/2 and UV 1/2) and one that I feel somewhat decent about the outcome. I felt good this morning and really enjoyed the course. Fun and pretty well organized race. Definitely one that I'll recomment and look forward to doing again in the future. Finished 4th overall behind Kyle Perry (1:08:51), Fritz (1:09:23), and Seth Wold (1:11:19). Compared to the Moab 1/2 and UV 1/2 earlier this year, I felt a little more speed in the legs and can tell my conditioning is getting better. Obviously, the lack of the headwind today was a big positive factor compared to those races and this course is definitely faster than Moab 1/2 (but maybe not UV 1/2). Fitness is still not to the level that I was at this time last year, but it seems to be heading in the right direction. I had a good 8-mile cool-down with Fritz after the race. He is an absolute stud and I having nothing but respect and admiration for the dude. He put up another great race/time today, as expected.

Splits and brief narrative are given below. There's an obvious progressive slowdown that largely corresponds with the change in the race terrain and general fatiguing:

1 - 5:18 (Kyle, Fritz, Seth, and Steve Sumison quickly form the lead pack. I'm alone and 5-10 seconds back)
2 - 5:16 (cruising down the fork; steadily but slowly gaining ground on the 4th place Steve. I'm pretty confident I will catch him eventually)
3 - 5:19 "  "
4 - 5:19 "  "
5 - 5:12 "  "
6 - 5:22 (out of the fork and into the main channel of the canyon, briefly on a dirt path (slight loss of momentum) and then onto a paved path. I lose sight of Kyle, Fritz, and Seth but am still closing in on Steve)
7 - 5:21 (rollers)
8 - 5:26 (weaving path; took a GU at about 8.6, should have taken it a little earlier)
9 - 5:26  (more weaving path)
10 - 5:28 (back on the main road, pretty straight, slight down. I finally pass Steve Sumison here to take 4th place). 
11 - 5:35 (pretty straight, slight down. Was feeling good, split should have been faster, but my legs were losing speed. I can see Seth up in the distance whose fallen off the back of the other two. He's still aways up there, can I catch him?..)
12 - 5:33 (same as 11, but more pronounced decline, closing in on Seth)
13 - 6:00 (slightly up jaunt back up to the park, bad split, getting closer to Seth but I know there's not enough course to catch him)
0.1 - 0:59 (my Garmin measured this 0.19 miles)

Garmin distance: 13.19; 1:11:39; 5:25 ave./mi. I'm curious if anyone else measured the course a tad long? Maybe I just ran the tangents bad. Mile markers seemed to be pretty close except the last little bit.

 I should go out and ride tonight. I've got the energy, but my motivation is lacking.

Rest day. Flew to Denver tonight for a few days of work training. Come home Wednesday night.

A.M. - Ran on the hotel treadmill this morning. I'm staying at the Grand Hyatt in downtown Denver. I'm actually quite impressed with their gym and fitness equipment. Nice, solid Life Fitness treadmills with impressive media functionality. I didn't feel like going real hard today. 45 minute workout went as follows, all flat:

5 minuntes @ 8.0 mph
5 mins @ 9.0
5 mins @ 9.5
30 mins @ 10.0

The run felt good. The treadmill felt a little firmer than the ones at my gym and a bit faster too. My calves, especially the right one, is still tight from Saturday's race, but its not affecting my running and won't be a problem. It was raining pretty hard all morning and into the early afternoon. It's substantially cooler here in Denver compared to Salt Lake. The next few days are looking like they'll be a little warmer though. (7.2 miles; Mizuno Elixir 6)

P.M. - Went and ran on the Cherry Creek Trail this afternoon. Its a nice trail and its not far from my hotel. As the name indicates, the trail runs right along Cherry Creek. Nice, wide, cement-paved path. Lots of bikers and runners. Always grateful when there is a good place to run while traveling. Went nice and easy about 7:15 pace in right around an hour of running. (8.3 miles; Adidas Aegis 2)

I'm really feeling guilty I didn't bike on Saturday when I had the chance. The next time I'll be able to ride will be Thursday afternoon which will be more than a week from when I last went (Weds. 7/4). Not very good consistency for the LOTOJA training...I checked into the possibility of renting a bike while out here, but its expensive and just not practical. Oh well, good excuse to do a little extra running in the afternoons.

A.M. - Ran on the Cherry Creek Trail again. Just went a little further than last night. Nice weather this morning. (PureFlow; 10.25)

P.M. - Cherry Creek Trail again. Nice afternoon. (Aegis; 8.25)

A.M. - 50 minutes on the hotel treadmill, all flat:

5 minutes @ 9.5 mph
5 mins @ 10.0
40 mins @ 10.5

Going home this afternoon, yeah!

A.M. - Extended Little Cottonwood Rd/Wasatch Blvd triangle. Normal direction. Just under 7 ave/mi pace. Morning temp was actually more pleasant than I expected.

P.M. - 40 mile ride to the top of Millcreek and back. Felt great to be back on the bike again. Met a real cool guy from Highland/Alpine while going up, Joseph Lee. He's pretty new to road cycling like me and is going to doing Lotoja also. 

A.M. - Treadmill run at the gym for 60 mins:

5 minutes @ 9.5 mph, flat
5 mins @ 10.0, flat
12 mins @ 10.0, progressive inclines, 3 mins each at 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 (had hoped to do 20 full mins on incline, but just couldn't stick it today)
13 mins @ 10.0, flat
10 mins @ 10.5, flat
10 mins @ 11.0, flat
5 mins @ 11.5, flat