Seeking a better country...

TM with Jack Bauer and 2 of my kids.  The later you start your run the later you finish your run.

7 a.m.  TM 10k, 53 minutes.  Here comes the ox cart, oh how slow.

11 TM miles.  The football game got boring, so we switched over to 24.  I never got back to any of the games, which is an anomaly.  In the past I've been very fired up about wildcard weekend, watching all four games.   I guess my enthusiasm is only 12% of what it used to be.  My viewing partner is off to college, so that may be the missing ingredient.  Oh, thank goodness.  The blog helped me understand why it will feel like something is missing all week.

9 pm  TM 10k.  I was perusing the recent credit card statement, and noticed that amazon finally snuck Prime membership past my watchful eye.  I decided to keep it since the last three seasons of "24" are available.  With the NFL winding down, my TM viewing is now secure for another 58 hours.  That will get me through the winter, for sure.  Incidentally, I watched the Seahawks/Redskins game.  53 minutes for the whole thing, and man, Russell Wilson is a gamer.

7 am  Biggest Loser Progression run.  They seem to have the show back on track, which is great.  I love a show that provides family wide inspiration, and demonstrates how to work, change, show compassion, etc.

56 minutes, so better than usual as of late. 

Another 53 minute TM 10k.  It got a bit snowy over the weekend, so I was pretty busy Thursday night through Saturday afternoon--67 driveways.  Yesterday I forsook TM running for a hike in the mountains.  3' of feather light powder made for some tough climbing.  It was a great way to spend a couple hours.

8 miles up and down PCH by Corona Del Mar and Newport beach.  I missed my route and didn't get down by the beach as much as I hoped.  Things are a lot smaller on Google maps than they are in real life.

44 laps on the short track atop the boat.  I never ran to the sound of barking sea lions until tonight.

A mile with my wife and a couple by myself until the boredom almost killed me and I jumped into the pacific ocean.  Instead I walked down the stairs for an ice cream cone.

Our trip, drive home, followed by sickness and nonstop snowstorms really cramped my running style this week.  Since Sunday afternoon I managed to do 60ish driveways.  

Today at work I was running back and forth between the laser room and R&D lab, and it felt so good to move my legs fast.  I knew it was going to be an evening for the TM and 24.  Nice and easy.

Outside 10k, to Farmington and back.  I wore shorts, 2 shirts.  That was perfect.  The lack of gloves was a mistake.  Air quality was already sketchy, but it was nice to be on the road again.  I had an iPod in for the first time since the Huntsville Marathon.  Some of the songs on my playlist are like old friends.  Foo Fighters Walk came on, so when I got home we watched Thor.  I love weekends.

Easy five on the tm.  It was more than nothing, but not by much.

 I think I'll step into the Sweetheart 5k to see how far off the wagon I have fallen.  I bet I can run under 21 minutes, but it'll be ugly.  Then again, maybe I'll make pancakes that morning instead. 

Yet another treadmill run.  For a change, I worked a little bit harder.  1 mile warm up, then 1 @ 7mph, then 2 @ 8mph, then 1 @ 7 mph.  It's kind of startling to make year to year comparisons...

I'm tired of being sick all winter.  The last few years I felt like superman.  I got maybe one cold that effected me for a grand total of 3-5 days.  This year, I've snagged every single thing the kids brought home; colds, GI problems, pukes, etc.   I guess my luck ran out, or, was all the extra running in years past giving me a souped-up immune system?

I didn't realize the sweetheart 5k was this Saturday.  I think I'll pass, especially if the AQ doesn't improve.  If it does snow, I'll have work to do anyway...making a few hundred bucks will be more gratifying than finding out how bad my 5k conditioning is.

5 TM.  Junk miles, 8:45 pace.  Good for something, I suppose.  It's Friday, baby.  Can't wait for the snow to hit!

BST to Freedom hills, home on the road.  This winter isn't much like last winter.  The actual road is under 1.5' of snow and ice.  Footing was horrible between Parrish and Ricks Creek; I mostly had to walk.  This was a good thing, because my fitness is as horrible as the footing.  I seriously considered abandoning the effort, but pressed on, hoping to find something that eludes me this year.  Alas, I didn't find my mojo.

But it was a beautiful morning.  The skies were mostly clear, obscured only by clouds, not smog.  Just before Lone Pine Creek, I heard an eagle cry twice.  

Biggest Loser run.  I did a pre-programmed hill work out, which got pretty gnarly.  The speeds are always too low, but I finally utilized the 15% grade capability of the treadmill.  Much better than usual workout, and a much better season of BL.

Flu

flu

sick of sick kids, sick self

Enough of being sick, with weird headaches and stinging eyes.   I'm taking tamiflu, and I can't tell if it's doing any good, or if I'd be getting better the same amount on my own.  

Was this run a good idea?  Probably not from a physical standpoint, but it was useful mentally.  Temps crawled all the way up to 40.  Shorts in February; I was glad for my gloves.  Regular 10k to Farmington and back.  I've been on this route so many times, it's like visiting an old friend.

Huntsville emailed and will comp my entry this year.  That email stirred something dormant; for the first time in a while I felt the excitement.   2 marathons on the calendar now...Skyline and Huntsville.  They'll be a study in contrasts.  

Biggest Loser 5ks.  First was was nice and easy, 7 mph.  The second was a bit less pedestrian, 8 mph.  They mostly fixed the show with the red line.  I love that the dead weight goes home, rather than lingering around because they aren't a threat.  Please go home, Gina.  Take your bitter, crying face and go on home.

10k to Smash.  Should rename the show trash.  For some reason, these were really difficult miles.

Woot woot.  I took my green shoes over 600 miles on this run.  Atmospheric conditions were a bit unstable as the run commenced.  By mile 3 it was snowing very hard.  Fortunately, it was a cross breeze for the bulk of the distance.

I ran with a guy named Ray for a little while, and another lady who was starting her 12 miler as I finished up the last 2.  I felt bad that she had to be out in the muck for 2 hours.  Runners are crazy.

Another weak week; but I did shovel 75 driveways on Thu-Sun.  My upper body and core/back are plenty worked out after this winter. 

On Monday, work kept me till nearly midnight, so I had to put this off till Tue.

The blog motivated me to do a workout, not just grind out some miles.  I ended up with a 2 mile warmup, then 4@ 7 min pace, and 3 to cool down.  I covered the display with my shirt, and didn't look at it through 3 commercial breaks on Biggest Loser.  At that time I only had .5 left at harder effort, so it came in okay.  It's a good thing I don't have any races planned in the next couple months; I'd just be disappointed with the results.

So I've been thinking about perceived effort and suffering.  I think I'll tailor my workouts to target suffering for an amount of time.  After a certain point, it's just about how much can you ignore or set aside the pain, and if I don't practice, I won't have game on a race day.

Ugh.  Gina didn't go home, and even worse, she won immunity.   

Another 10k on the tm.  I wasn't feeling particularly inspired, and it took me 55 minutes.  They are miles, but I'm not very proud of the pace and effort.  For tonight, it's all I mustered.

It's weird not having a spring marathon breathing down my neck for the first time since 2009  Maybe that's the problem--nothing tangible to work toward.  But that's fine, sometimes life intervenes.  If running is reduced solely to a mental health exercise for a little while, so be it.  For March I'll set the goal to run 4 times per week, and be closer to 30 than 20 mpw.

Jack came with.  The sunshine tricked me into thinking it was warm enough to bring him.  It wasn't.  He kept taking his gloves off.  "Uh-oh!!"  Then I would put them back on.  Seconds later, "Uh-oh!!"  This happened around 2 dozen times, so it was hard to get any consistent rhythm...which was fine, because lately I like stopping and taking a little break every half mile or so.

'Twas another brighter day than usual.  Enough snow has melted that I could roll up a few of the Christmas lights.  I waited till peak warmth at mid-day to run.  After fixing the girls' bikes, they bailed and said they didn't want to come with me.  So I ran alone to Freedom Hills Park.  When the switchback trail beckoned, I couldn't refuse.  Halfway up, the wet trail gave way to slippy, snowy trail.  Still, I continued on, slipping all over the place, running through the weeks at the very edge where the snow had melted.  Repeated the cycle three times.  Ugh.  Between the snow and my current fitness level, getting to the top was a threshold-type activity.  I could have used a drink; alas, it will be 2 months before the drinking water is available.  I ran home.

In the evening we went couch shopping.  I bring this up because 18 months ago I ran a first place finish at a 5k in Fruit heights.  The prize was a $20 gift certificate to Crown Burger in Layton.  I finally redeemed it.  The shake was great. 

I rolled over 300 on the tm with this run.  My wife and kids do a little bit of running on it, but I estimate I'm responsible for 80% of the mileage.  I tried to run my headache away.  Instead, I turned it up an order of magnitude.  It's weird how a run can take things either way.  I wonder depending on what...

5+ of the miles were under 8 minute pace, but not by much.  Glad to get them in, though.   

I guess this week 8 is the new 6.2.

After 5 miles in the 7-7.6 range, I did 2 @ 8, then cooled down for 1.  Jens joined me to watch the fire truck show.  (Chicago Fire)  When he was 2, we were hooked on 3rd Watch.  He would nap late in the afternoon, so he was always up with us at night.  Our tv was in a windowless basement room, so while we were down with Jens bouncing off the walls, throwing balls, wrestling, etc, the other kids were sleeping 2 flights up.   Now he's 15, wants to drive all the time, and doesn't bounce off walls, but crashes through them.  

Anyway, it was a funny juxtaposition of memories.  13 years is a long time.  I am becoming old. 

2 pm  My son had tennis lesson at Lagoon.  While he smacked balls around, I ran down to Parrish Lane and back via Legacy.  Tailwind for 5, then a stiff breeze coming back.  My wife's waffles are very light, even so, the eight I ate to fuel this run didn't feel so good.

Skiing on Friday was a blast.  My calves are sore, by which I mean my lower legs.  I don't own any livestock. 

Bye bye, Gina.  I'm not sorry to see you go.

 This Monday edition of the TM 10k was tough.  I'm sick again, but the throat culture was negative.  I was hoping for 2 lines so I could get anitbiotics and feel fine by Wednesday.  Instead, my immune system has to duke it out with yet another bug. 

Jack was up, so I rearranged all the couches so the TM was blocked off so he couldn't get a floor burn.  Jens wanted to watch Biggest Loser, which was good, cuz Jack is such a good climber, he was teetering on the edge trying to leap into my arms while I'm running.  We all survived, though.  That kid is so cute. 

I got to bed so early last night that I woke up with enough time for a 5-spot before work.  The slow miles are trying to get faster.  

Lately I'm watching FNL.  When I can do six miles in an episode, I'll be ready for marathon training.  I'm having second thoughts about Skyline Trail Marathon.  It's gonna get hot... 

Group run, Saturday 7:30 a.m. @ Pages Lane Trailhead of LPT.  10ish miles, easy pace.  Come one, come all.  There's a lot of roadkill, and the dump is taking on a lovely stank. 

Freedom Hills Loop, hard return.  

After work I got right back out on the road.  I ran straight up the hill to where the pavement ends; then walked up the steepest part.  I pushed pretty hard for 1/2 of this run, which isn't typical of late.  It felt good, getting reacquainted with hard breathing and burning legs.

4 days ago, I was walking around this area with the little girls.  There was water, puddles, rivulets and snow in abundance.  Today it was bone dry, aside from the most sheltered northern exposures.  

Around Mile 3, I ran into Kevin Smith.  He was in a 4 wheeler, staging some firewood for a scout camp out tomorrow.   I saw a couple with a dog walking/running.  I guess I was walk/running too.

The switchbacks are dry. 

Good run with allie and Tara.  Everything allie said accurately characterizes the morning's events.  Super fast pace, though.  I didn't have my garmin but we must have been cranking out like, 5:45 miles.

I ran to the post office for some nickel stamps.  When I came back, Tami handed me Jack and some dum-dums to take on a run.  I guess she wanted to get some stuff done.  I put him in his coat and stroller and off we went.  Within .5 miles he was saying "All done!"  So I gave him a sucker.  4 miles, 3 dum-dums.  He really enjoyed the run/suckers.  In the last half mile he starting singing the nonsense song that 20 month old boys sing.  I don't know the words; he doesn't either, but it didn't stop him from singing.  I would have run more but I was running low on suckers, and my left knee was doing a bit of it's own singing.

 I'm a bit dumbfounded by Danni's hairstyle last night on the BL finale.  Whoever thought that was a good idea should have a termination notice on their desk this morning.  

Slow, sweaty miles on the TM.

Another lame TM 10k, but much better than nothing.  For the life of me, I can't remember which shoes I wore.  I still haven't ventured into barefoot TM running.  I would definitely debut that at the rec center before I brought it home...

5, nice and easy with Chad.  Cold and windy.

Good morning freezing cold run with Tara and AndyB.  Good chatting, good pace, good times...26 degrees when I got home, just in time to take my birthday girl to the egg dive at the rec center.  My baby girl is 7.

.5 incline, 2 @ 7 mph, 2 @ 7.5 mph then 4 @ 8.5 mph.  .5 cool down.  Afterward, I went straight for the strawberry ice cream with an oreo.  The workout felt great.  I'm feeling much stronger than last month; no surprise, the mileage is back to a somewhat respectable level.  I was so revved up I didn't go to bed till around 1.  I'm certainly dragging this morning.

Easy 5 in crocs.  I love not buying new shoes.  Let me restate.  My wallet loves not buying new shoes.  

This was a dead-eye imperative run; my wife ushered me out the door.  I stepped off the porch, and pushed start on my watch.  First mile was 6:50.  Then I kept going to the 10k turnaround.  I got there in 20:50.  So at least that's sub-7 pace.  I came home easier, but the tempo had been set, so my pace kept drifting up.

 I think two differences between being a runner and a jogger is a watch, and signing up for races.  I've done a lot of jogging this winter.   

First herding cats run of the year, with Anna, Ash and Jack in the stroller.  We made it to Freedom Hills.  Anna's power-legs took her halfway up Old Haul Road.  Ash pushed her bike the whole slope.  I ran the whole thing.  They played at the park for a bit, but the setting sun and stabbing mosquitos chased us home before they were ready to leave.  Recovery cheesecake afterward.

Sunday morning run, with two girls on bikes.  I asked Anna how far she wanted to go.  Her reply was 4 or 6.  "What about 5?  How about we run 5?"  She then explained, "If we run to a tree that is 2 miles away, then it's 2 miles to get home, so that's 4, Dad.  If we run to another place, let's say the creek, and it's 3 miles away, then we can't run home in 2 miles to get five, so that's six.  See?"  I said, "What if we run to a tree that is 2.5 miles away?"  "Well, that's four!"  We didn't run to a tree or creek, but to the park, which is two miles away.  They played on the swings while I did a couple loops, and we came home to hide eggs.  'Twas a beautiful morning.

Out and back to Glover.  Jack came in the stroller, and he must have smelled yummy, because a  couple miles in we picked up a stray dog for a mile; it tired and fell back.  

It was a perfect night in terms of temp.  With two miles to go, we picked it up for a fast finish, except stopping for cars at Parrish lane.  My daughter's teacher is Mrs. Parrish and she's always talking about how she's famous because the creek, canyon and lane are named Parrish.  Kids are so smart.  Mtn Dew and ice cream recovery afterward, + 3  15-yr-old episodes of Law and Order.  (there was lots of laundry).  They sure don't make shows like they used to.  Jerry Orbach was versatile.

Easy 10k with Jack.  2 suckers kept him pretty calm.

After aerating lawns all day with my son, it was time to enjoy the outdoors in a different way.  Jens rode, I ran.  We wandered around the mountainside, from the V to the B to the temple and back down.  We were out for 90 minutes, so I'm giving it 10 miles.   My gps is dead, and mapmyrun.com has no idea where we were bushwhacking.

We finished at the perfect time; watching the sun set from high above the city. 

Yard worked all day.  This really cuts into running.  I didn't feel like a morning run after Friday night's extended jaunt.

Ash had her birthday on Saturday.  Since then she spent nearly 10 hours on her new bike.  We struck out together on a quest for Freedom Hills.  She wanted to see how well she could navigate the steep hill on Old Haul Road with gears.  (and her "power legs")

She went up the whole thing.  Flush with victory, I baited her into trying the switchback trail.  We slowly ascended to the Shoreline trail.  She appreciated the view, and rode very tentatively over the uneven, rocky road.  It was a perfect pace; I was feeling lousy, with sore hip and horrible lungs.  We came off the BST early; she had enough of the dirt road.  The bike and 9 year-old performed flawlessly.   

Bonus:  the water is on at the park.  Hooray for drinks and bathrooms. 

TM 10k.  Jens wanted to do a nighttime flag hike in the face of the wind; it would have been epic, but stupid.  Instead, I overate dinner, complete with mint chocolate chip ice cream afterward.  Despite waiting around till 10 p.m. for the fullness to subside, I was compelled by the late hour to get running.  I picked up the pace for the last 2 miles, but they were still slow.  

side note-  lately it's taking at least 3 miles for me to warm up.

Pretty much the same run as last night.  I ran the extra .8 so I wouldn't be repetitive.  

Work today was fine, in the bland, nothing went horribly wrong sense of fine.  But I did come home with a headache.  Not a throbbing one, but more of an insistent tapping sort.  It wasn't the kind of headache that you can ignore, but at the same time, not one to require much attention. 

I watched my son's tennis for a bit, then came home to change.  After reading motivational running quotes all afternoon, the plan was a repeat of the 5k time trial from last week or the week before.  A perfect afternoon, temps were wonderful and the sun shining.  

 I walked out the door, stepped off the porch and pressed start.  Mile 1 was 6:50.  I didn't feel great.  My creek split was 14:2x, about 30 seconds faster than last time.  Of note, just before the creek, things started feeling good, but it only lasted about 90 seconds.  The reversion back to feeling like a 5k wasn't so great.   Why can't it keep feeling good?

Final time was 19:52, a minute improvement.  After laying down on a random lawn to forestall puking, I got up and ran slowly home.  

Water is on at the c-ville baseball complex.  It's such a good time of year for running!

Finally,  Centerville City Trails Committee is sponsoring a run on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail tomorrow morning at 9. A 5k and 10k course will be marked.  This is not a race!!  Meet at the Parrish Lane Trailhead. Good times will ensue, I guarantee it. 

Rolling around on the trails east of my house, easy pace with challenging climbs.  I was worn out from all day mowing lawns yesterday. 

These green shoes of mine are headed to the 700 mile mark.  I wore them in Boston last year, and wanted to wear them again.  8.5 on the TM.  I couldn't muster much speed.  Today's events are a bit of a sucker punch.  I feel bad for all the runners who worked so hard to reach the pinnacle of recreational running, only to have their accomplishment overshadowed (justly) by the actions of some craven individual(s).  Of course, my sorrow ratchets up an order of magnitude for those traumatized, injured and killed by the bombs.  What a weird day.

Another treadmill 10k.  I don't know when I arbitrarily decided that runs under 6.2 miles were not worth doing.  2 @ 7 mph, then 4.2 @ 8 mph.  That's a fairly easy 7:30 pace.  I finished in time to stay up way too late watching dumb tv shows with my wife.  

No mission call for my son today; next week for sure.  Daughter finds out about class officer elections today.  There is all manner of baited breath around here.

TM progression run.  1 @ 7, 7.5, 8, 8.5, 2.2 @ 9 and cooldown to 7.  10k time was 46:30.  I even had the incline at .5  Everything went well until my son came to get an explanation of police entrapment.  I breathlessly told him we'd have to talk about it later.

My appetite has been through the roof lately.   

I'm glad to see some Boston Marathon race reports.  It's a shame the way the bombing overshadows remarkable performances.  I'm glad the injury and death toll is as low as it is.  Obviously, it's horrifying for those who were maimed and killed, but just for sake of perspective, in 2010, the daily homicide rate was 44, and the daily suicide rate was 105.  I guess there's plenty of sadness and sorrow to go around, whether it coincides with a marathon or not.

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/homicide.htm 

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/suicide.htm 

7 easy @ 7 mph.  This run felt like a poem.

Loop on Main to Glover, back on LPT and Parrish.  It was a bit moist.  I felt bad for the marathoners.  The temp was perfect for racing, but the humidity was probably a tad excessive.

To Reading and back.

9 p.m.  TM 7@ 7.4 mph .5% incline.  Just get on and run steady for 57 minutes.  It bugs me that I didn't find a number like 7.6  or 7.7 mph so I could be under 8 minute pace.

Cookies and cream recovery.   

8:45 p.m.  7 @ 7.4 mph .5% incline  57 minutes

I started and felt pretty bad.  I determined I'd take a little walk break at the end of the first inning.  60 pitches and 9 runs later, 40 minutes had elapsed; I worked through all the mental softness and just finished up the run without bothering to stop.  Stupid baseball game.

Mtn Dew recovery, no trouble falling asleep.

Probably no run tonight.   

8:00 p.m.  Just asI lay frantic Jack in his crib with his precious "bobby", did I notice the lonely treadmill.  I didn't eat dinner, so it was a good night for speed.  (relatively speaking, of course, both in terms of speed and good)  7-8-7-9-7-9-7 mph, 1 mile each.  It's much easier to run 7 than 9.

Recovery Oh's cereal.   

This morning my back is sore.  It doesn't seem accustomed to running faster.   Once again, hopefully no running tonight.

7:00 p.m.  To Reading and back with Jack.  He liked the birds and planes and treats.  I better not bring him too much or he'll end up with rotten teeth.

7:20 a.m.  I started out planning to head North on BST to get 12ish miles.  I saw a guy coming along 400 E. that was travelling at a pretty good clip, and we ended up running together for 8 miles at the back end of his 21 miler.  Ben Wxxxxx.  He's shooting for a 3:30 at Ogden, so the pace was comfortable 8mm, and company was enjoyable.  After he left, I ran marathon pace or better in a quest for some water.  Alas, I came up empty at both the golf course and West Bountiful Park.  

Ash wouldn't come with, even though she is always begging to go for a morning run/ride.  She was too interested in watching pony videos.  What's with little girls and cartoon ponies? 

 So, a pretty good run, my longest in a while.  I ate 2 toasts before heading out, but no fuel during the run, until I ate a really dry pack of smarties with less than a mile to go, when I was disappointed by locked bathrooms and inoperable fountains at the park. 

6:30 a.m.   I heard a noise at 6:15.  My daughter was being hazed for a jr hi election.  Rather than go back to sleep, I found Ash (who had been up for .5 hrs) and talked her into a run.  Just as we were leaving, she informed me, "I want a donut."  Obediently, I found $1 and put it in my pocket.  

We ran to Freedom Hills on a cloudy, 50 degree morning.  Her birthday bike with gears means I can't keep up with her, instead of the other way around.  I can still take her on the hills, though.  She played at the park while I ran a couple laps, then we came home by way of Dicks Market for a large Chocolate bar.  She even shared a bite with me; although, after I took it, I did get a bit of a sideways glance.  It must have been too big of a bite.  

New shoes.  The Kinvara 3's ($55 from Amazon...so cheap, it's almost like being sponsored) feel better to me than the 2's.  I think my pair of 2's had a manufacturing defect on the left arch support.  

My son's mission call arrived yesterday.  It appears it was stuck to another piece of mail, and was lost for a while.  North Mexico City is his destination, 4 months from now.  I'm proud of that boy every day. 

6:45 p.m.  I read enough motivational blog entries and old race reports to attempt a legit workout.  Mostly I was jealous of Britta's mile repeats.  I decided to double down my time trial from 2 weeks ago and run a 10k.  'Twas a perfect day; clear and cool.

Mile 1:  stepping out the door and heading north 6:48

Creek split:  (mile 2.1ish) 7:37

5k:  20:25.  I had run the headwind, downhill section, now I had to turn around and come home.  This time seemed a little fast; crash and burn coming right up.

5.2 miles:  13:26.  2 more 6:45 miles, with climbs, but tailwind.  I may have cut the course,angling across the soccer fields at Jennie P, rather than sticking to the roads.  I wish my garmin wasn't dead so I had real splits.

6.2 miles:  40:35.  Did I cut the course?  How did I come home (uphill) faster than I ran away?  I can't believe I pulled off the negative split by 15 seconds; I must have cheated.

Or did I?  That last mile was 6:43, faster than my first.

I've been thinking about this 10k for a couple months.  Using it as a fitness gauge, I concluded I wouldn't bother with signing up for a race until I could do it in 40 minutes.  Maybe I'm not as far away from being back in the groove as I thought.  I felt all right on the run.  I was definitely blowing hard, even groaning, but I managed to get it back under control, and stayed strong without a big crash and burn. 

.5 cool down 

8 p.m.  After mowing lawns with the boys for 3 hours, I ran from home to BST, over to the Davis Creek Reservoir, then down to Main, and south on home.  I felt all right, and the sunset was a keeper.  I got off the trails just as it was getting too dark to safely navigate, so good timing.  I didn't encounter many runners.  I guess they were all on dates.

zero running, but 6 hours of mowing lawns.  I gotta make excuses for following up a 45 mile week with a measly 23.

6 am  After dinner last night I fell asleep on the floor till 11:30.  The 4 hour nap meant waking up around 5:30 a.m. came naturally.  Ash was already rattling around the house, so I told her we were going for a run/ride.  Oddly, I was completely wiped out.  We stopped for a break at the creek, and once we made it to freedom hills, I sat on the bench and watched her play for 10 minutes instead of running laps around the park.  We came home a longer way, and by mile 6 I was awake and firing on most cylinders.  Despite the early start, I didn't make it to work until after 9.  Dragging, with a wonderful allergy induced headache and eyes I could rub for hours at a stretch.  Ahhh, spring.

8:30 pm  After 2 kids played and soloed in the choir concert, we drove home in pouring rain.  By the time I got changed, the rain dwindled to a sprinkle.  I wore my crocs for slipsliding around.  The sun was setting, beneath an opaque bowl of dark grey clouds, a magnificent, blaze orange orb.  By the time I reached my turnaround it was down, but as I came home,  the ambient light was greater than before the sun set.  The clouds were breaking up, and light was bounding about.

The birds really picked up the song after the rain ceased.  'Twas a nice frolic. 

7:45 pm    I asked if there were any takers for a run/ride, and my 17 yo daughter surprised me by coming along.  We enjoyed the clouds, sunset and conversation.  I threw in a little tempo at the end to show off.  I guess I'm a sucker for a pretty girl.

7 am  CrAsh came with to drop off bills on a circuitous route.  She's a good sport, and good company.  She pedaled up steep hills to Island View.  We also paid a brief visit to the graveyard.  I miss my garmin, but I found a good website or two detailing battery replacement.  I need to get one ordered and bring it to work where I can use the scopes and soldering irons.  If I could resurrect that thing I would feel a sense of accomplishment, as well as forgoing mapmyrun.com. 8 pm. 5.3 on the tm, just because. Which incidentally is a really good recent janes addiction song. Relatively recent, anyway. I shoulda gone outside.

Picking up the redbox after yard working 7 hours. Those should be x training miles. I ran to ricks creek, jumped in, the came home. Crocs were squeaky and shirt was muddy.

Fund raiser 5k with my girls.

The race started at 8, so I assumed if I got up at 7, we'd be fine.  What I should have done was got their stuff put together on Friday night.  As it was, we frantically ran around the house looking for shoes, socks, suitable shorts, and left around 7:45 for the starting line.  The girls rode their bikes so their legs wouldn't get too tired.  Ash sported an extra small shirt from Hobble 1/2 last year; Anna found something suitable to wear.  Nena also dressed to run.  She's been threatening to train for a half marathon at the end of the summer, but with a challenging academic schedule, she just hasn't found the time.  This race was to be her kick-off.

I lined up with the little ones at the back.  We planned to Galloway the 5k, with 4 minutes of easy running and 1 minute of walking, repeat as necessary.  

Everything went smoothly until Anna tripped on a crack on the sidewalk just before mile two.  Of course she splattered on her hands and knees, scraping them but not drawing any blood.  She cried for a couple minutes, but got right back to work despite her mishap.

With .5 to go, Anna was very tired.  I sent Ash ahead to finish at her desired pace; Anna stuck with me.  By now the run to walk ratio was down to 2:1.  She didn't believe that we were getting closer until we turned the corner and the finish line was in sight.  In a mad sprint, she dashed ahead, finishing in 38:11.  I came in a few seconds later, glad she hadn't tripped in her exuberance.  Ash finished in 36 minutes, Nena in 28.

I had no idea how they would do, but I'm impressed with their effort and determination.   

(recovery chocolate shakes pictured above) 

Both the little ones want to run a Memorial day 5k.  Woods Cross sponsors a free event, with pancakes afterward. Thus begins a dynasty of mid-packery.  

7 am  Legacy to Glover, Back on Main.

It was a day out of Oklahoma!  Oh, what a beautiful morning....

The LPT section that is set back from the road was particularly transcendent.  I counted a dozen different calls from birds, plus frogs.  The sun was up, but not hot.  The company was great; Ash pedaled with me.  Fartleks over the wood bridge section, with a little girl dusting me off on her bike every so often.  If I happened to beat her to an imaginary finish line, she would say, "I'm not racing, Dad."  By the turnaround we were thirsty, but needed a mile or so to make it to the skate park.  One water fountain was flowing, thank goodness.  

In the last couple miles, I picked it up, but left my partner far behind.  She was calling out for me to wait, so I did, and ran the last mile in slow.   

Mountain Dew recovery, and Happy Mother's Day.  

7 am  Ricks Creek and back with a Parrish Lane kicker.  Ash came along.

7 am  Yesterday I pried apart the garmin.  The battery looked fine, but there were corroded contacts.  I removed all the powder, cleaned things up and soldered a jumper between the posts.  I added a couple rubber bands to hold the two halves of the garmin together, and charged it.  It seemed to charge normally.  This morning I took it on the run/ride with Ash.  Everything worked fine.  I guess some water or sweat got in and caused some trouble.  The mode button still doesn't work, but I can at least see pace, distance, time and elevation.  I need to glue the halves back together with some bathroom silicone, just in case I need to get in there again.  That, and stay out of the water.  I like the sprinklers and hoses and whatnot, but with that garmin, it's a no-no any more.  So anyway, it was good for a run-time up to an hour.  I wouldn't trust it for a marathon just yet.  

 The bad news about having it is now I know for certain how slow I'm going.

I spent an hour looking at stuff on the blog last night, and at this point I a flabbergasted I ran a 3:00 marathon at huntsville last fall.  I have an idea what I need to do to run a 2:52-2:58 marathon, but I'm not sure if I'm willing to pay the price.  I think it's as simple as miles per week.  If I was consistently in the 55-65 mpw range during July and August, that would be a good portent for a sub 3 marathon in September.  

Currently, 7 mile runs are no problem.  I would need to do 9-10 mile runs 6 days a week.  It doesn't seem like that big of a deal, but it stacks up.  With family, church, work and a broad lack of discipline,  it's easy to miss a day or two a week.  We've got a few major things on the horizon, and I don't know if it will be worth the sacrifice during those months.  I read so many motivating entries from runners of all stripes on here, and I know there are dozens and dozens of people who are equivalently busy that work harder.  Still sussing this out.

That stupid bird started again this morning at 5:15.  I resisted getting up until much later.  Close the window, lose the cool, fresh air, also lose the bird noise.  Quite a conundrum.

I finally rolled out with Ash at 7.  I made her run a mile, then she rode along with me.  I wore the crocs w/out socks, and was BETRAYED!!  By mile 3, a blister was rubbing on the rivet, so off came the crocs.  I tentatively made my way home barefoot.  Shoes tomorrow, and maybe an earlier start. 

6:45 am  After the blisters yesterday, I went back to the tried and true, 675 mile Mirages.  They smell like an old running shoe, but they lovingly envelop my feet.  Ash came with to Freedom Hills.  Ah, Freedom Hills, tucked up close to the foothills, granting shade until 9 a.m.  Ash played a bit while I ran a couple laps.  Fearing she would be late for school, and knowing a donut stop remained on the itinerary, I pried her off the playground equipment.  For the 2 miles to the store I ran hard; sweat even made an appearance.  Not the damp kind, but the droplets that run off your face kind.  

Then we came home.  Ash ate her donut in the driveway so she wouldn't have to share.  Then she asked me if there was any on her face.  It was pretty funny. 

7 am  Another morning meander with Ash.  57 degrees.  Plants like May.

The peacock and donkey we ran past make the bird outside my window pale in comparison.  I'm glad they aren't my neighbors. 

7:15 am.  I spent the week jealous of everyone running Ogden.  I wasn't ready for a marathon, but kind of wished to be there anyway.  Running events, especially the big ones, are a lot of fun.  I left right at the marathon start time.  I headed to BST, and when I looked up at the hills, I decided to run the zigzag trail up to the clouds.  There was a fair bit of walking.  I reached the clouds, and watched them funneling up the canyon.  Soon after, it started raining earnestly.  Within minutes I was soaked.  I only made it to the greasewoods before it seemed prudent to turn around.  Temps had dropped into the 40's and the rain was unrelenting.  Incidentally, did you know that trails become small streams in heavy rain?  My feet were completely soaked, and I began to notice my damp shirt.  I quickly removed it, hoping no damage was done.  Alas, I left it on too long.  I was gone 80 minutes, and the mileage is a bit of a guess.  I definitely wasn't doing 10 minute miles on the up, but it probably averaged out.  By the time I made it back to the road, I splashed through every puddle and gutter in sight.  Once you are soaked, you are soaked.  By the end my jealousy had morphed into pity for everybody slogging through 26 miles of wet roads and clothes.  Fun times.  

8 pm  Mood enhancement/streak preservation run.  100% successful.  If I don't get to run every 36 hours, I start feeling a bit dark.

6:30 am.  Typical out and back to Farmington, this time with my neighbor Dave.  If I ran all my easy runs with him, I would probably become a 2:50 marathoner.

7 am.  Ash came with despite the 48 degree start.  She spent the last half of the run telling me 9 year old girl ghost stories.  "I've got you where I want you and now I'm going to eat you..."

One of them about an evil doll was pretty creepy, though.

 pm  #1 was supposed to run 3, but she wimped out.  I decided to play with the foam roller, and got a lot of stuff moved around in my quads, glutes and hamstrings.  It wasn't pretty, and I was yelling, it hurt so good.  

7 am  Out and back to a little canyon south of the B.  It was my first time to this pretty spot.  I was going to run to the temple, but turned east instead.  There is a vehicle excluded road that runs up from the B for .75 miles before it ends.  One of the irrigation districts diverts nearly all the water from Stone Creek.  Anyway, it's quite a creek before the diversion.  I want to head up there with the girls to play sometime.  15 degrees warmer than yesterday, and Ash wouldn't come because she was re-watching those accursed My Little Pony videos.  She couldn't have made it up the hills anyway.  I got the average pace under 10 mm thanks to the return trip.  I was dragging on the uphills.  

7:15 am.  Got a late start, and Ash wanted to come, despite the 44 degree cold.  I brought knit gloves that she refused initially.  2 minutes later she happily put them on.  We ran to Ricks Creek and back, adding in some hills, despite her protestations.  She dusts me off on the flats and downhills, but I can kick her trash on any hill that's longer than .05 miles.  I lurve running.

6:45 am.  Lousy sleep, but Ash was ready to go.  We decided to visit the Bntfl. graveyard in light of Memorial Day.  We ran over there pretty easy; I don't like heading south.  There is a lot more traffic and dangerous crossings.  Paid a visit to my uncle, WW2 vet who died a few weeks after 9/11.  We had to negative split to get her home on time for school.  The course was in our favor, as most of the miles back were slightly downhill.  No time to stop for a donut.  She kept the dollar.

7 am.  Ash preferred staying home to play Hay Day, so I went a bit longer.  Home, to Farmington pond, easy.  I got to the pond, and decided to run around it.  I came to the stream, and attempted to cross.  Halfway across, I realized chances were slim of making it without stepping in, so I turned back.  Of course I stepped on a wobbly rock and soaked both my feet.  Since I was already wet, I ran through the stream and did in fact circle the pond.  When I got to 3 miles from home, my shoes were mostly dry, and I did 3 MP, hard miles.  Pace for the last three miles was 6:50ish.

At long last, a worthwhile workout.  I've been logging a lot of mindless miles, enjoying each one, but this felt like it had some teeth.  No music, but the sound of birdsong, shoe-slapping and ragged breathing.  

The nicest thing is, I wasn't totally wiped out for the rest of the day. 

9:30 pm  I got dressed to go for this streak preserving run.  We were waiting for my son to conclude a treasure hunt for his birthday presents.  9:30 became 10:30 before he was done, and it stopped making sense to go just for the sake of going, when a 5k was starting 8 hours later.  I took of my clothes and went to bed, thus ending my longest (meager) consecutive running days streak at 20.  The moral of the story is:  run in the morning.

It's actually a bit of a relief to nip it in the bud.   

7 am   5 of the kids signed up for the WX Mario Kart 5k.  When it was time to leave, only one came.  I lost Anna to a lack of finisher medals, Ash to pukes, Jens&Nena to laziness.  Grace toed the line, but couldn't finish.  Oops.

I didn't wear a watch, but ran hard.  I came in at 19:34.  I couldn't make a move on the guy in front of me, even though I saw him walking briefly.  On the bright side, nobody passed me.  I love how races string out.  I was trying not to suffer ill-effects of the flu, and felt glad to hold things together.  Grace got feeling bad about halfway through, and cut back to the park.  I didn't know this, and back-tracked the course for over a mile looking for her.  When I got to a family pushing a guy in a wheelchair, I concluded she was no longer attempting the race.  I finally found her wandering around the park at 7:50, so a half hour of fruitless searching.  I wish I could have found her in time to help her to the finish.   

No part of a 5k ever feels good, except later in the day when the pukey feeling has subsided.  Today I feel a bit more profoundly appreciative of having the capacity to run.  On Sunday I visited a fellow in the hospital.  He has spent the last quarter century paralyzed from the neck down, and when I left his room, I was just awestruck and uplifted having met him.  We visited for over an hour, and he never once complained.   We don't know how lucky we are.

7 am   Typical 10k, but with a bit of rain tossed in for variety.  Ash rejoined for the first time since Friday.  She's had the pukes, but is on the mend.  Still, her energy level is a bit low, so these miles were slower than usual.

7 am  Falling behind on blogging...

7 am  

6:30 am  BST out and back for 10, followed by 3 more with Jens.  He is going to join up for Top of Zion relay and needs to get into fighting shape.  I couldn't keep up; he was a bit fresher for miles 1-3 than I was for miles 11-13.  Plus I had Jack in the stroller.

7 am  Ash and I delivered some bills.  She was very sluggish and didn't keep up very well.  I sent her home when we had one left that was up the hill.  I didn't want to push her, and didn't feel like waiting for her to pedal up at snail's pace.  

6:30 am  Another in a long string of gorgeous morning runs with my favorite running buddy.  The temps have been amazing!  We ran to the park.  She played on the swings while I did laps on the grass for a couple miles, then we made the return journey, faster than usual.  To celebrate the early return, I washed the garage doors, and I even made it to work in plenty of time for a 9:00 meeting.

7 am  One last bill to deliver, then winding around, with a mile or two on BST.  Climbing looked a lot like walking, rather than running.  Yet another gorgeous morning.

10:30 pm  4 with Jens.  He's cramming for the TOZ relay.  I'm trying to figure out why I thought it would be a good idea to pace a half, WB utra, and TOZ regular team on successive weekends.  I could be addicted.  But it's not like I'm running UVM, too...so I think I'm all right.   

8 pm  5 with Nena.  We ran to the peacocks to put her in the five mile club for the first time ever.  Good luck to everybody running UVM.  Hopefully the headwind makes no appearance.  I'm irritated for you that the forecast high has climbed into the 90's.  

11:30 pm  After missing a Saturday morning run to facilitate yard-working all day, we went to Ironman 3 and visited with friends until they went home around 11:20.  Gus was waiting around, needing a run, so we went really late.  The road was irritatingly busy for the time of day.  I had to stop for cars 4 different times, which is generally unheard of.

7 am.  Freedom Hills, with a couple laps around the park, and a shirt soaking in the good sprinklers.  I came home the hilly way.  The 4th of July (and the local 5k) is right around the  corner.  At this point, beating last year's time seems unlikely.  What's worse is my apathy about this likelihood.

I've been doing a lot of runs, and I am enjoying myself.  The kids are coming along besides Ash, and we've got these relays and other events coming up.  But in order to have improved marathon performance, I need more workouts, not runs.  I'm barely working hard on a run once a week.  

So I'd love to get together with running partners more often for some tempo stuff.  Currently I don't have the mojo to tackle it on my own. 

7 am.  Breezy morning on the way home, with the stroller acting like a sail.  Jack pointed out lots of flags.

7 am  I got out the door, once again without my running buddy.  It wasn't the TV that kept her home, but Littlest Pet Shop.    Those things are so much fun.  She was busy cutting out little pieces of paper and making props for them; who can blame her?

The advantage of not having a running buddy is you can make lots of random turns.  Some of those turns head uphill, which makes running buddy less enthusiastic.  Before long I found myself on the BST, running around, wishing for water, although 'twas cooler this morning than the last two.  I got up on the wrong level, and thought I was heading south to Cheese Park and the drinking fountain; alas, I arrived at Northern Hills.  I came close to drinking out of a nearby spigot, but I was concerned the homeowner would get mad at me, so I returned thirsty.  I did pause at Parrish Creek to soak my shirt.  

Recovery jam toast. 

7:15 am  Ash came with.  I wore shoes, cuz I'm sick of running out of the crocs.  It doesn't seem to be a problem with the brown ones, but the blue ones fit a little on the loose side.

If I run tomorrow, it'll be a shorty; I must taper for the 1/2 on Saturday.  I'm 5-7% concerned about being able to pace the 1:35.  It should be fine, it's just been a long time since I've toed a serious line.  Probably nobody will show up wanting to run that pace anyway. 

I was up around 2:30 am to get ready for this pacing opportunity.  It ended up being a very good simulation for the no sleep Ragnar and TOZ in upcoming weeks.

The race started promptly at 6 am.  I spent the 30 minutes in the Silver Fork Lodge lobby, rather than the portapotty line.  It worked out very well.  I ate oatmeal and a pbh for breakfast, and drank most of a 32 oz powerade before the start.

We stuck with the suggested pace very well, and carried 10-12 different people for parts of the race.  Some would fall off, others would go on to finish a little faster than the 1:35.  One guy stayed with us for almost the whole race.  We had a woman named Marcie that stuck with us for the last half.  With 2 miles to go, I told her she could run in the 1:32 or 1:33s if she was willing to get very uncomfortable.  Josh, my pacing buddy ran ahead with her, and I stuck to the plan.  With around a mile to go, I stopped in the road and waved my sign to rally some people who were a little ways back.  We reformed a pack, and got most of them in under the goal time.

 Pacing was a lot of fun.  Around mile 9 I was feeling really good, and wishing I was racing.  I soon realized I wouldn't be feeling this good if I had been racing for the first 9 miles.  

Afterward I got some bonus miles retracing the course to find my friend Dave.  I missed him in the finish area, so those miles were wasted.

The canyon was beautiful, the temperatures were amazing, and I met a lot of cool people.  Runners are the best.  Hopefully I can secure a pacing gig every month or so.  It was good to get a workout in, and to have some folks to run with. 

In the evening, I ran with my son for 4 miles.  I hoped it would help my legs feel a little better.  The downhill is pretty severe, and my shins are sore, plus some sacral area.  I'll live, though. 

7 am.  Shake-out from Saturday.  I foam rolled a bit last night, and Tami worked over my right shin.  It was very uncomfortable.  Things feel better this morning, although the first couple miles were a bit...

Jens came along.  This was his longest run in 7 months.  He always flies past me when we near home; I can't match his sprint.  When we were .75 miles from home, I told him if I'm ever going to beat him home, I might have to pick it up a little earlier.  With a quarter to go, I gapped him a bit, just to see what he'd do.  At Porter Lane, I had to slow to wait for a passing car.  This gave him an opening to close the gap, pass me, and blast in for the "win",  as usual.  Then, much to my delight, he groaned, leaned over, and puked all over the flowerbed.

If I ever get serious about beating him home I'll have to run him farther, and start the fast finish with a mile to go.  I'm sure he won't be able to match that.  Honestly, I'm glad he's got some spit and vinegar in him, and doesn't want to lose.  

7:30 am  All this daylight is catching up to me.  I want to get decent rest for the next couple nights so I can pre-rest for Friday night.  Ash came on the usual loop to Farmington.  She stopped for a donut on the way home; I couldn't go in because I had been running through each and every sprinkler.  No, I'm not that sweaty, just soaking wet from the irrigation water.

9 pm  After spending the afternoon @ byu with my daughter I have decided it's a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there, especially during EFY and sport camps.  Hey, she got tickets to the BYU/Utah game, plus a hoodie so it wasn't a total waste.

We got home from Provo, quickly followed by a youth council induction for my son.  I skipped work and the morning run, so Jack hopped in the stroller and we went for an easy 7.  A nice cool-front blew through, (funny how those words rhyme) so this run was very pleasant.  

Ragnar begins tomorrow.  Our team certainly hasn't been micromanaged, so it's bound to be a sleepless adventure.  Rumor has it one of our 6 runners is having achilles trouble; I hope I'm not going to have to pick up extra legs.  30 miles is enough. 

Wasatch back with team H2 OW.  Holly, Jorge, Josh, Jake, Stephanie & Andy.  Ah, the memories. 

I was runner 4 on this ultra team.  I had the easiest legs and least mileage of all the runner positions.

11:30 am start, which was much better than 4 pm a couple years ago.  We had people to chase from the get go.  Weather couldn't have been better.  In that respect alone, this WB edition was REMARKABLE!

Holly made running  44 sub 8 minute miles look easy, and wins the mileage award by a large margin.

Jorge spelled us off for 3.5 hours overnight doing 19.3 miles of unsupported legs.  We slept peacefully while he worked his butt off, not to mention tackling the entirety of Guardsman pass.

Josh took us up and down Avon, and climbed to East Canyon.  Arguably, this runner position is the toughest, and Josh killed it.

Not to be outdone, Andy finished off all our sets; snowbasin road climb, Rockport and the finish.  

Our "non-runner" driver, Jake, picked up 14 miles himself, & completed the lions share of the exhausted driving.   

I get the consolation prize for running flat miles in Ogden Valley, Morgan, and Heber Valley; 7 legs for 31.9 miles overall.  There were lots of people to chase, but only a few to visit with.  I was dumbfounded that 90% of the runners were using iPods, rather than enjoying the sounds of the run.  Most people didn't even respond to a "Good job", let alone converse.   I got passed 6-8 times.  I didn't figure I had any reason to latch on and keep up with people who were running 3 legs.  

We had good food.  I fueled entirely on Mtn Dew, Peanut M&M's, Ragnana bread and turkey sandwiches.  (and a few Smarties)  

We had one van.  It was nice to see the entire course, rather than skipping large portions.  The downside was the constant worry about getting to exchanges, and 36 hours of van time.    Fortunately it was a 12 seater with 4 rows, so we had room to stretch out a bit and relax after legs.  

We suffered several exchange snafus.  I waited for 10 minutes at Morgan High waiting for my team.  When I started getting super cold, I said "screw it" and ran the next leg.  Unfortunately, it took another 15 minutes for the van to backtrack with the correct runner.  Some volunteer or another directed them the wrong way, I guess.

East Canyon was crazy, but I slept through most of that.  I had a pretty good nest in the back row, and actually slept 3-4 hours 20 minutes at a time.  My longest sleep was an hour or so in a sleeping bag at North Summit High.

The highlight of the relay for me was a quick swim/bath in Rockport at 7:30 am on Saturday.  The water was a bit cold, but it was nice to get 5 legs worth of grime removed.  Nobody in the van was interested in joining me for some reason.     

We had no choice but to stick around for the finish, and I'm glad we did.  This was an incredible group of runners.  We had many fascinating political, metaphysical and religious discussions.  These were rennaisance people; intelligent, erudite and clever.   The conversation was so good I was unable to finish my book.  

Good times.  Another 7  legs completed.  I still need to do 3-5, 10-12, 17, 19, 22-24, 27-29, 34-36.   Crap, that's 17 more legs.  3 more ultras, I guess.

8 pm  I keep forgetting which shoes I wore.  I took the kids to Freedom Hills to play, and ran and frolicked about on the grass and trails.  When we came home we ate some grapes.  All in all, it was quite satisfactory.  

6:30 am.  Met up with allie, Tara and Andy for an elephant rock climb.  The elevation profile of this run looks like a capital letter L (with an extended side-ways stroke) rotated clockwise 135 degrees.  

 Afterward we sat in the river and made fun of something or another.  allie had 11 miles remaining to complete her training for the day, in her alternate universe where long runs (when I originally typed the word runs I transposed r and u.  It really alters the meaning of the sentence)  occur on Wednesday.  I need to get me one of those time machines.  It could really come in handy.  

 Someday, perhaps some portion of my ashes will be stored in a long urn.  I wonder if crematoriums really do that great of a job keeping track of who is who.  When you are just down to ash, dust, and bone fragments, it's probably hard to tell... (oxford comma for Neasts and allie, and the oft-departed Bam)

7 am.  Ash came with on her bike.   When crossing Parrish, we saw my BIL and his son, so we changed course and ran with them.  We ended up at Smiths for an ice cream cone instead of Dicks for a donut.  I only had $1, so she got a big one and I ate a kiddie cone in one bite.  I hate running south.  There is so much additional traffic.

4 pm.  Who runs in Escalante at 4 pm in 105 degree temps?  Nut-jobs doing this relay.  I kept looking up into the sky and seeing this cloud.  I willed it to move and block the sun, but it stubbornly refused until I was finished running.  The scenery was gorgeous, and the one farmer that was irrigating his weeds lost a bit of water when I soaked myself a mile before the finish of this hot leg.

2:45 am.  Leg 24 went from somewhere in Bryce to Hatch.  It was the middle of the night, temp in the 50's, so much better than the afternoon leg.  The moon was mostly cloaked by clouds, so this was an extremely dark, solo run.

1:30 pm.  Leg 36 went from North Fork Road to Clear Creek Ranch just outside of Zion NP.  Once again, it was sweltering hot.  I passed one runner, my only "kill" of the entire relay.  When I reached the inflated finish line, a gust of wind blew it over, and blocked me from crossing.  I backed up, and vaulted up and over the top.  Put a fork in me, I'm done.  TOZ > WB.  We had a great time running this small relay, despite the horrible heat.

It was so hot outside I opted for the close quarters of the treadmill. Ugh.

Got this one in the morning so I wouldnt be doing the 5k on totally dead legs, 10 hours later.q

7 am.  I registered early this year, and even bought the shirt, expecting it would be a nicely designed tech shirt, like it has been in the last couple years.  Turns out it was a crappy white cotton job; like a cheapo Old Navy 4th of July shirt.  Bummer.  At least the $20 is for a good cause.

So I warmed up a couple miles, and caught a ride to the start line with one of the race organizers who thought I was going to be late.  

The mad dash at the beginning left me far back.  I caught lots of people on the hill, and finished mile 1 in 6:34.  Mile 2 was 6:03, and includes most of the downhill.  I finished in 19:18, well off last years pace, but quite a bit under the 20 minute threshold; so the last 1.1 was 6:05 pace.  I would have been pleased with anything under 20.  I managed to catch up to Angie, Tara and Kristin in the end.  I think Angie nudged me at the finish line with a furious sprint.  I could have gone a bit harder, but it would have put me over the puking edge.  I would love to run this race with a competitive field on a cooler day and see how much quicker I could do it.  I soaked myself in somebody's hose just before the start, but I still felt hot and dry-mouth about half-way through.

All in all, a good start to the day.  I guess I can still fake a decent 5k.  I wish I had stayed around to help Tara clean up on the gift certificates.  Despite being 30 seconds slower than last year, 19:19 was good enough for the age group win and $10 at Don's Meats.  

Hiked timp. 15-16 slow miles, 4450 of vert. Gorgeous.

11pm. After a day of campaign signs, I was mad enough to need some running therapy. I ran to Leonard's grave in the Farmington cemetery, with stops along the way to fix signs and see what was missing. I'm glad people are so excited about my wife's candidacy, but I wish they would call us about getting their own signs rather than stealing the ones we already put up. Small town elections. What new devilry is this?

8:30 pm  Hot run with the stroller.  Jack and I dropped off a few bills.  He talked and sung for most of the run; eensy weensy spider, this little piggie, twinkle twinkle, ooo wee ooo, (like the Wizard of oz monkeys) calling out hello to everyone we passed.  My favorite was the random times he'd lean around and say, "Ah-luv-you-dad".  

7:30 am  After dropping off two girls for camp, I talked Ash into coming along.  All it takes is $1, so I gave away half of the proceeds of Monday's run just to get a little company, and she didn't even give me a bite of her donut.  We ran to Freedom Hills and back.  The slightly cooler morning felt nice, but still too hot for a shirt.  I soaked in all the sprinklers I could find.  

7 am.  Ash wouldn't come, so I hopped in the car and drove to BST.  I couldn't make myself do that 10% first mile.  4 out and back to Farmington.  While passing the switchbacks, both coming and going, the same lady was at the top.  She's training for a 1/2 in October, and using that wreched half-mile to get into shape.  I told her she's on the right track.

I think rather than revisiting last year's switchback madness in prep for Huntsville, I'm going to come up with a challenging # of MP or faster miles to hit.  The switchbacks made me stronger, but I need to be stronger for more than 5-6 minutes at a time.  

I was nervous about snakes for the entire run, but I didn't see any. 

7:30 am  Skipping work for the day, so a slightly later start, and slightly longer run.  Home to the Frontage Road, then ran east on the little Davis Creek trail to Main Street, and came home.  If I was a girl, I would NEVER frequent that stretch of trail.  I wouldn't recommend it for bikes, either.  Goat-heads abound.

6:45 am.  Visited my friend Nate.  Jack didn't take well to sleeping in a strange place, and was up late, very late, very early and early.  He's a light sleeper, and thrashed around all night.  I got up around 6, thinking (foolishly) I could sneak out without disturbing him.  He followed me out within 5 minutes.  Luckily the other girls woke up to tend him so we could go run.  Oatmeal and a butterscotch chip cookie for breakfast, followed by 8 miles up Hobble Creek Canyon.  We turned around and came down easy for a mile or so, then picked things up for 5-6 miles.  Nate is 3 weeks removed from a sub-12 Ironman performance, and he handed it to me.  This felt like a race effort all the way, without most of the typical stops and pauses.  We kept things just over 8 minute pace on the climb, then dropped to 6:40-7:00 miles on the way down.

After a nice soak in the canal, we enjoyed scones, fresh raspberries, yogurt, omelettes and juice for breakfast.  The kids had a wonderful time, as did I.  Once you get past Provo and Orem, Utah County isn't too bad. 

 Post run, I was very wiped out, both from the run and bad sleep.  Whenever I go long and hard, my left sacrum attachment area is a bit tender.  By Sunday it was cleared up, so I'm not very concerned.  My feet fared well, but I need a new pair of shoes for this marathon cycle.  Nearly 500 miles isn't a good starting place, especially for pounding, fast, downhill miles.   

6:45 am.  Ash came.  She insisted on going to Smiths instead of Dicks, or in other words, ice cream cone instead of donut.  I hate heading south.  The roads are so much busier; all you can hear is the swishing of speeding cars, instead of birds and breeze.  But when my girl wants ice cream, she will have ice cream.  We got to Smiths, and on account of   "No shoes, no shirt, no service" I waited outside by the salt.  It took forever for her to emerge with our cones; very sloppy, melty concoctions.  I dumped most of mine; I wanted ice cream, not a McDonalds shake.  Then we ran home the long way to check on the campaign signs.  Our installation methods have improved, either that, or the wind hasn't been as strong lately.  

6:15 am  Freedom Hills via BST.  It was cloudy and a bit muggy, but NOT cool.  Ran home on Main, caught up to Paul and Chewie for a bit.

6 am  2.5 miles to Pages Lane Trailhead, to meet Andy, Tara and Shantell.  We did a 4 mile tempo; 7:15, 7:00, 6:40, 6:30.  Felt pretty hard.  Then I ran home.  Now I have a really good headache.

7:45 am.  Really, really slow miles with Ash.  We stopped for 2 drinks, at the turnaround, and the store for her donut.  She was dragging like a chain searching for dead bodies in the water.  I felt lucky to get her home.  It was a nice relief from Wednesday's tempo, though.

Slow-pacing the Legacy half tonight.  The hourly forecast says it'll be 83 degrees;  yuck.  I don't know what to do about a long run this week.  Maybe I'll just run home from the fairpark at midnight and call it good. 

10 pm.  Paced the Legacy Midnight half, 8:20 pace with Matt and Tara, then ran home.  It was too hot and dark.  One lady stuck for the last 5 miles, and got in around 1:49.  Pacing was fun, solo running after midnight, not so much.  I didn't have enough something, and the final miles were pretty rough.  I'm not sure the marathon is a good idea, but then, that's never been the case in the past.

8 am.  Anna came with.  We stopped to visit the park, the peacocks, the burros, the park, and the park again.  She is out of shape, but we had a nice time.  'Twas very hot by the time we got home; despite stopping at three parks, she was ready for a big drink at home.

7:30 am  Some runs never feel right.  This was one of them.  Pace was around 8:20, but it felt like a minute faster.  Cold shower when I got home was nice.  I need to stop running to check on all the signs.  It keeps bothering me when a sign is newly missing or blocked by a tool candidate. 

6:30 am.  I skipped Tempo Tuesday because I didn't want to be wiped out to run with Russ tomorrow @ desnews.  The alternate route was BST to Freedom Hills.  It was under 70 when I started, but the soak at the park felt great.   This was a much better run than yesterday and Sunday.

7:20 am.  I ran with Russ from mile 15 to the finish of the Desnews marathon today.  He turned in a solid performance, beating his pr by 8 minutes, and destroying his course PR by 2 hours.  I think one could really turn in a fast time on this course if it wasn't held in late-July.  The heat is too much of a factor, though.  Those uphill sections along Wasatch, 1300 E, and Foothill aren't much fun either.

Way to go, Russ!!

6:45 am.  Ash wouldn't come, so I took to the trails.  I wore a belt, and was glad to have 20 oz.  The trail was lonely and quiet.  I was only 15 degrees away from being comfortable; September can't come soon enough.  I came off the trail in Farmington, cutting through someone's backyard and firepit.  Bombed down the steep road, trying to toughen up the legs for Huntsville, then picked off 8 or 9 lady runners on Main Street.  Where are all the men?  It's always about 6:1 in favor of women harriers.  Finished up with a 6:38 mile, then lay down on the driveway to make a beautiful sweat angel. 

I hate showing up to work on Friday at 9:15, but it was worth it for this run.  The desnews race reports have been delightful to read...thanks, everyone. 

7:15 am.  For some reason it took me 45 minutes to eat a bowl of oatmeal and get out the door.  It never cooled off overnight, and my plan was to do a double today for a total of 12-14.  Once I got going, it seemed stupid to dread another run all day long, so I just kept going.  I got to Legacy and was nearly run over by dozens of bikers, and a crowd of crazy inline skaters.  I saw very few runners.  It sprinkled a bit, but not enough to cool anything off.  At Farmington State street I headed east, then followed the Lincoln Highway all the way home.  The final miles were tough, but felt better after I ate some smarties.  

It took until 7 tonight to not feel wiped out, and I considered going out for a few more.  Instead of actually running, I got on the computer to write about running.  What a chump.

A stranger runner I chatted with briefly today asked me if I was getting ready for a fall marathon.  Out of my mouth came the reply, "Why yes, I'm running Huntsville at the end of September."  I guess I better get signed up for reals.  I guess worst case I will miss the race on account of a new baby. 

7 am  Usual run to Farmington, but I came home a long way, including hills up to Firebreak Road.

6 am  Tempo Tuesday.  2 weeks ago the whole thing was too much, so this time I drove to the trailhead early, and did a truncated warmup, approximately one mile.  Jasmine, Tara, Andy and Shantell arrived, and we ran another 1/2 mile or so before picking things up.  The first 2 miles were 6:45 pace.  At the turnaround, Jasmine wanted to go much faster.  The back 2 miles were 12:28, so pretty quick.  We all regrouped and loped in easy to the starting point.  1 more mile to cool down.  I felt great all day.