running for my mind

Planned rest day today and I am excited to have it. Going to spend some time icing, sitting in the hot tub, and stretching. I have developed a couple of weird soreness areas that I want to work out. 

Both knees hurt a little but never when I run. The ache is right on the front of the knee and not down inside the joint. Also, my left foot/ankle had been sore. This is also a unique ache to me. I feel it more in the top left of my foot near my ankle. Because I am starting to log more miles I am going to get back in the habit of icing and I think these slight aches will subside. 

--runmehappy-- 

Nice  7.67 mile run with Adam and his brother this morning. It was a little longer than our typical weekday run but it felt really good. I really like that we have been running negative splits for nearly all of our runs lately.

I just got back from the park with the fam. We did a mile loop and then came home to let our daughter nap. Felt good to just walk the snow covered trail and stay loose.

 --runmehappy-- 

 5 mile run at about 11 o'clock in between my classes. 

This was my first "official" speed workout of my training. I set out wanting to get to the track on campus and run 5 miles with miles 3 and 4 at marathon pace (6:55). I got to the track, which was about .5 miles from where I started. Unfortunately the track looked more like a white field of snow. So, I decided to stick with the plan and still try and run my tempo 2 miles on the roads. I don't love to do this because it is more difficult than the track because of the ups and downs. It does make me stronger though. I was glad that I met my goals on miles 3 and 4 despite mile 3 having a 100ft climb. 

 --runmehappy--

4.36 nice miles. It felt really cold this morning but somehow I was feeling really good. I kept my watch under my jacket and decided to just run based on how I was feeling. I knew my first mile was a quick one but I just got on cruise control and held a quick pace. At about mile 3 I turned a corner and fell on the black ice on to my hands and knees. Luckily I was not going fast and didn't get hurt. Knees feel better today because I spent some quality time with the foam roller last night so I am happy about that. 

[update] I think a slightly pulled groin is manifesting itself now later in the day. I am pretty sure this happened when I slipped on the ice. Hopefully it is not bad and I will feel alright tomorrow morning for 5 miles with Adam. I have to remember that it could have been a worse result from today's fall. 

Easy 5 miles with Adam this morning. We were lucky to get out before the freezing rain hit. My commute that normally takes about 45 minutes took me an 1hr 45min today! I felt pretty good, but was a little sore from the previous two days I think. My knees were a little tight again. I need to be more consistent with the stretching/foam rolling. I will hopefully get a little yoga and stretching/rolling in tonight so I am more loose tomorrow.

(If you ever wonder why our 4th mile is always slower, it is because it is a gradual uphill. I looked today and it is about a 130ft climb.) 

5 easy miles with Adam. It was still a little slick out on the roads so we had to take it a little slow. I was happy about this because I wanted to try and stick to about 8 min miles. As it turned out our AP was 8:04. My left foot is still bugging me, but it is not horrible. I can feel it ache for the first half mile of a run but then it goes away. I then can feel it during the day a little when I simply walk around. Going to try and take tomorrow's run pretty slow and see how the foot feels.

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	40:22.2	5.00	8:04
1	8:43.3	1.00	8:43
2	7:59.9	1.00	8:00
3	7:39.6	1.00	7:40
4	7:56.3	1.00	7:56
5	8:00.7	1.00	8:01

11 easy miles this morning. I was amazed by how thick the fog was when I went out. I couldn't see street lights until I was within about 100 meters. Pretty unusual for SLC. 

I really wanted to keep my average pace around 8 min or so and just focus on form and feeling fluid. I managed to do that for the most part. Every so often I caught myself going a little faster here and there and I would have to slow up a bit. At about a mile and half left I looked at the time and realized I was supposed to be home in about 10 minutes so my wife could go spinning. So, I tossed the whole 8 min thing out the window and cruised home. 

Overall I felt good. My foot didn't really hurt and my knees were only a little tight. I will get some good stretching and foam rolling in today and enjoy my day off tomorrow. 

PMish- Just went on a 2.5 mile hike with the family. It was super nice to get out and breath some fresh Park City air and to see for a few miles across the valley by my folks house.