Seeking a better country...

Another TM 10k

7 on the TM.  I got hooked on "Justified" and it passed the time nicely.

Outside!  3 mm of snow, accompanied by wind, I guess, was enough to scrub the air.  I devoured great lungfulls of air.  2 miles with Nena, then I dropped her home and ran the usual 10k route.  I found one person to chase, and visited for a mile.  

It was really cold, and it turns out I wasn't 100% properly clad to be in the wind for that long.

Finally, a somewhat legit week.  If I'm going to run SLC marathon with Russ, I probably should train a bit.  Here I am, sans a boston qualifier, but planning on going in 2015.  Double digit mile run on the docket for next Saturday.  Just by making the plan, I am causing it to snow.

7 am  5.5 tm miles, during the packers/niners game.  I wasn't running fast, but got through the 3 hour game in under 1 hour.  

To the south farmington chevron and back.  double digits!  Why has it been so long?  Why does it feel like I'm falling apart?

Barely under 10 minute pace.  No juice.  

Not as bad as Monday.  Still, 53 minutes for 6 miles is pretty pathetic.  Jack watched PPG with me.  He found every throw pillow in the basement and piled them up onto the couch so he would have a well cushioned nest.  He didn't like that I fast-forwarded past the opening and closing credits.  "Hey Dad!  Why you do that?"

Out of the soup, onto the treadmill.  I spent this entire run out of the 6's.  Running 8:40 pace for 5 miles shouldn't make me feel satisfied, but there you are.

12 on the mill. Air quality is so poor I wouldn't even consider running outside. First 6 miles @7 mph, the 7.5, 8, 7.5, 8, I don't know. I got a couple faster miles in there. Or not as slow miles, anyway.

Watched the NFC championship game. For a change, Seattle was on the good end of bad calls. If harbaugh didn't consistently make such an a-- of himself, I'd feel bad for the 49ers.

Obviously, the run wasn't very remarkable.

Boring TM 10k.  7 mph.  Hey, a couple weeks ago it was 6.5.  It sounds like the state reps are making lots of noise about air quality in advance of the session.  That's a big step up from last year...

TM.  1 mile wu, then 1 mile at 8,7,8,7,8, 1/2 mile cooldown.  Anna was watching Biggest Loser with me.  Tami came home and sent her to bed.  She obediently went down the hall to her room, er, went down the hall and waited for 20 seconds before resuming her seat in front of the TV.  She should have listened for footsteps on the stairs, because Tami hadn't left yet, and that little girl caught an earful.  Being a youthful night owl isn't easy.

Another 12 miles on the TM, thanks to poor air quality.  Don't ask me if AQ is any better inside than outside.  Pick your poison; particulate 2.5 or Radon.  

The last 2 Saturday runs feel great two days later.  It's monday now, and my legs feel snappy.  But after the run and yesterday, I feel very unstrung in my pelvis and sacrum.  Coming apart at the seams, I guess.

I think the inside of my nose stinks.

It appears to be a Monday night habit.  Tonight I watched Chicago PD...just like most other cop shows.  Corruption?  Immoral cops?  Torture?  Decapitations?  Sure, it has it.  I'm surprised they went to abducting one of the cop's kids in the 2nd episode; seems a bit premature.

7 mph, 1 hour, no stopping.  Tami broke the fan earlier in the day, so it was hot and stinky.  Generally, I favor moving over stagnant air.

I'm supposed to be at work by 7 am now, so morning runs will mostly be out of the question, except weekends.  Bummer.  Hopefully I can get things changed to 8 am when the weather gets nicer.  I'd hate to miss out on April and May mornings altogether.  I'm so glad to be on this side of the solstice.  

Treadmiles.  I think I watched batman.

Treadmiles.  These shoes are over 600 miles, but they are the most comfortable pair in the closet at this time.  I need to get some road miles in.

7 more treadmiles.  I got home by 9, hit the mill at 9:30, off by 10:30.  I cashed in one of my daughters coupons for cheggs, and watched American Idol with the ladies till 11:30.  'Twas a long day, but I'm glad to get the run in.  I'm feeling good again.  Saturday run, anyone, if it isn't snowing?  How's that for a hedged bet?

7 treadmill miles.

It's too hot inside my house,

At least for running.

8 am  I got out the door with the plan to run over 10 miles.  I wanted to jump into the sweetheart 5k to get in some faster pace miles, but I'm definitely not in any shape to be racing.  Either I left to late or ran too far north to make the race start, so I joined the runners about .5 miles into their race.  The race was a nice diversion from 9-11.  My challenge in the later miles seems to be mental more than physical.  No fuel, which was dumb.  I would have felt better with any hydration and something midrun.  Two pieces of toast weren't up to the challenge of 13 miles.

Why is the stoplight

Always so short when you want it

to be much longer?

Shirtless treadmill runs

Don't prepare the chest region

for 13.2

More fun on the treadmill.

I got this run started, but quit in the middle.  I couldn't breathe, and my legs felt dead, like zombie dead.  Mentally I wasn't in it, and decided "Why bother?"  I don't know if being flu-ey over the weekend is still messing with me.  One excuse is as good as another, so I'll take it, I guess.

Little girls on bikes,

Two year old in the stroller.

First time out this year.

Mid February,

First lightning of the young year.

Thunderous booming.

I can't decide if the first and third lines of the 2nd haiku should be exchanged.  Either works.  We stopped to say hi to turkeys, geese, peacocks and cats.  A mile later we paused at Reading to play on the slide.  Clouds loomed threateningly to the south;  luckily they didn't  track our way.  I love my kids.

Long run with Andy.  14 turned into 17.  I felt pretty wiped out.  I was glad to have some company, because I wouldn't have gone this far on my own, and it was good to take down a mental barrier.

5 pm  When the thermostat says it's 57 in Feb, I cannot resist a run.  This one included one stroller, 2 bikers and one wife.  We were plenty slow, including a 20 minute stop at walmart to buy rolls.  Ridiculous.

7 on the mill while the girls watched ice dancing upstairs.  I have deliberately avoided the olympics vortex this year, and after watching a bit of skiing and bobsledding, I regret it.  It's not a horrible place to spend some time, especially with time shifting.  Alas, it's almost over.

tm miles.  I tried a little harder than usual, and managed 7 in 56:30.  I need to start working out, not just running.

I ran w/ Tami for 3.5 ten minute miles on the Davis track while my son played tennis.  They drove home, I ran.  13.2 total miles.  By the end of the run, I got the overall pace down to 8:20.  Conditions were very good; temp was nice, no wind, and at the end of the run my phone had 1% battery remaining.

A family friend living in Ohio who has season tickets to the Jazz?  Yup.  So I got home pretty late and squeezed in 4.

5:30 pm  Baby + 2 girls for a 10k+.  What a beautiful evening!  Of course one of the bikes needed repair before leaving, but we made it home shortly after sunset.

7 on the mill.  This time I managed to finish in under 56 minutes..beating the 8 minute guy, for once.

Tami was gone all day with the baby.  I got up and started smoking pork shoulders for later.  Then cut the bathroom so I could roll it later.  (We've lived in the house for 10+ years, and still the half bath wasn't quite buttoned up.)  Spent the rest of the morning playing with kids, nagging about chores, doing laundry, etc.  I finally got Jack down for a nap and started thinking about the long run for the day.  It's been a long week, with sleep definitely lacking, so I didn't want anything too heroic.  I ended up doing BST to Freedom hills, with a road return.  Last two miles were 7:21 and 7:09; numbers I haven't seen in 6 months.  Rain was threatening, so I did a couple more inside.  Showered, finished the bathroom, went to a nephews play, and pulled pork.  Good Saturday.  

7 not even 9 minute miles.  I'm coming down with something.

Slow, treadmill miles.  Back is very sore, the run didn't help.

To Freedom Hills with 3 girls on bikes.  While they played at the park I did 3 switchbacks.  It felt good to put in a quality effort.  Then my wife called.  I was 3 miles from home and supposed to be there so she could take my daughter to federation.  Oops. 

Two girls, one boy and 30 mph winds.  Half the run was pretty easy, the rest was a struggle.  By the time we got back to Main Street Annabelle wouldn't say a word.  All our eyes were full of dust and pollen.

To Farmington and back again.  Very sluggish.  I need more sleep than I am getting.

Out and back on the Virgin river trail, including dodging construction equipment.  I saw a few swimmers, which was helpful in scouting locations for a trip in April.  Stayed the night with Russ's parents.

This was supposed to be the spectrum 10k.  I had an entry, but as I was pulling into Ivins to park, my son called.  "Dad, Jake left his bag in your car."  I turned around and headed back to bloomington CC to take his shoes and racket, just in time for him, but I missed the race.

Out and back on the virgin river trail.

Boring treadmill miles, only a little bit harder than usual.

Can't remember any details.  I'm not keeping very good track lately.  I need to rededicate.

Just needed to get one in.  Shortest run in a while, but it did the trick for mood enhancement.  

Spent the day at Boondocks with my girls.  Should have run earlier, but decided to stay in bed resting, if not sleeping.  

Home from my mom's after Sunday dinner with 4/5 sisters.  It was a bit cold.  I scared a flock of deer on the golf course.  Cars seemed to be driving quite rapidly for a Sunday night.

I realized today I can't run SGM to qualify for Boston in 2015.  I guess it's going to have to happen at UVM or Desnews.  I'm not wild about UVM, other than the extra shirt.  Maybe I'll target Desnews, but as poorly as I've been running lately, I kind of want a backup marathon before the qualifying window closes.

First "workout" in quite some time.  I've mixed in some nominally harder efforts on runs, but tonight was another story.

1 mile warm up, 2 miles tempo, 1 mile easy, 2 miles tempo, 1 mile cool down.  I was shooting for 6:50.  Splits ended up 6:58, 6:53, 6:58, 6:35.  I used a straight, flat, 3 mile section of legacy from Parrishto Glover.  

I used my phone for gps, and a garmin would be better, since I only get pace feedback once per mile, hence the marginal pacing.  I gave myself a headache.  I'm taking that as a good sign.

To the pond and back, with a nice pause in the middle to throw rocks and sticks into the water.  Thanks for coming, Jack.

Bonus miles with Tami.

Tail wind out, hard wind coming home.  Thanks to Tara, Andy and Becky for the company.  After a long run, it feels like all the attachments to my sacrum are elongated or missing.  Two days later, everything is back to normal.  Does anybody know strengthening exercises?

9 miles, 8-8:10 minute pace.  We set up all the kids around the treadmill and watched amazing race + cosmos.  Jack moved 20 throw pillows into a fort/stack around Ash, and Gabe lay on the floor soaking in all the noise.  Remarkably, he didn't get stepped on.  

This workout popped up on my training plan, and I wondered if I had any business attempting it.  4 mi 6:18 pace, 800m jogs in between.  I ran to Viewmont to warmup, and ducked inside for a drink of water to wash down a 5 hr energy.  First one was pretty relaxed.  I watched 200 m splits to be sure I was on track; 6:12.  Second was about the same, but I gave away too much time in the first lap, and overdid it trying to make up the difference; 6:16.  Third one is the toughest, because by now I'm a bit tired and know I still have one left, and can't give it all up; 6:14.  Last one; 6:15.  I got to the sidewalk that goes to the door of the puke zone.  Tami arrived after the 3rd one, so we ran together after the intervals and made our way home.  

Every time I finished the 3rd lap, I was right at 4:45, so the pacing was good.  I made a new blood blister on my left toe.  12 hours later, I'm still smiling about the workout.  I must be a runner of sorts.

Gorgeous, GC run.  Headwind out, tailwind back.  Turned around at Harmons; ate a bit of pizza, some grapes and had a drink.  The view of the entire valley from the rail trail was incredible, with lots of new green, backed by brooding cloudy grey skies.

Bonus miles!  I was running on ATV tracks behind green valley, and found a a bearclaw poppy trailhead.  The map indicated 2 miles to the next place, so I figured on an out and back.  The actual distance was 4, so my 8 miler became 12.  Luckily mtn bikers frequent the area, and there were abundant dropped water bottles for me to drink.

7 again, out and back from Green Valley.  I didn't want to get lost, but I tried.  The desert is formidable in its quietude.

After an eventful morning kept me from an a.m. run, the day's festivities finished by 8 pm.  I headed up Dixie Drive, and met a friend for 4-5 miles, then ran home alone.  It seems St. George has an incredible concentration of trails and paved paths.  

A few miles on the marathon course.  Okay, now I want to run St. George.  I started between Dammaron and Diamond valley, ran down the 18 to Snow Canyon, then took the paved path down the canyon to Snow Canyon Parkway, then home again on Dixie Downs.  The first half of the run was resplendent.  The rest was fine, but marred by car noises.  

All the downhill beat up my legs.  2:05 to complete the miles.  

Monday night run with 3 kids.  We stopped to see a bison, cow, peacock, duck, turkey, etc.  Then at Reading the girls wanted to spend some time on the playground.  I ran a couple laps around, and when I got back, Jack had no pants.  I guess he peed them, and was climbing around the equipment naked from the waist down, completely ignored by his big sisters.  It was below 50 degrees, so the poor kid was shivering with chattering teeth.  I wrapped him up in a blanket and got home as fast as possible for a warm bath and chocolate chip cookie.  

The girls got a stern lecture; parenting at its finest...

3 on the mill, then 5 outside.  I was waiting for the girls to come watch amazing race with me.  After 3 miles of no-show, I decided to take the run outside on such a beautiful day.  Late April can even make the BST look resplendent.  The valley of newly green trees in the declining light was a sight to appreciate.

I ran the last 16 miles of the SL Marathon with Russ.  He was holding on well until mile 17, when dizziness forced a slowdown.

I gotta be honest, I was a little bit glad, because it was a lot of work keeping the pace he was shooting for.  Hats off to Russ for trying to BQ on an honest, altitude course.

After following the marathon all morning, I was definitely in the mood for a run.  I didn't get out the door till after nine, though.  I've been in this 10k rut forever, so I went farther than usual, to skater park.  I hate running the frontage road sections.  There are parts with no shoulder, and the cars are so close by.  I didn't really light myself up very well, so it was a relief to climb the hill back to quiet Main Street to come home.  

Water is on at the parks in Centerville, glory be.  I'm sure it'll take Farmington until June to accomplish the same thing.

Thank God for nights like this.  It was cold and fragrant; mostly flowering plum.  No moon shone, so the stars were on full display.  The darkness figured into the run at about mile 5 in Farmington.  I tripped over an uneven patch on the sidewalk, and pulled something in my lower left back catching myself from falling.  3 90% effort fartleks; and this on a day when I ate cafe rio for lunch.  It might be a winning combination...

My back was sore right after the run, and hurts this morning.  I also wonder if it has to do with my shoes being cooked.  I haven't done a great job of tracking mileage on them since the marathon.  Currently, they only seem to be around 300, but it could be 400.  That might be a lot for kinvaras...

I got as far as the next door neighbor, and aborted.  Stabbing pain every step in my back.  Curse you, uneven sidewalk!  I'll try again tonight.

Saturday was pretty rainy.  My wife thought they would cancel the race.  I told her trail races don't get cancelled because of weather.  We showed up, along with 40 other people to run a 5k or 10k.  I hoped I could win, but didn't have any reason to think I would.  The race started.  I ran with Tami for a bit.  She said, what are you doing?  Get going!  Try to win!  I guess that first 20 seconds was my warmup.  So I started chasing people.  We climbed, then traversed.  A 13 year old kid was leading for the first 3 miles.  I kept wondering when he was going to tire.  Right around 3.5 I passed him and briefly led the race.  Then we had to climb to firebreak road, and then up to the v.  I relinquished the lead, and figured I'd sit on this guy and pass him in the end.  The descent was wet, so nobody was able to go too fast, me included, but I was hearing new footsteps.  Some 27 year old guy was just bombing down the hill.  Finally we got to a wider section, and he passed both of us.  I gave chase, but to no avail.  On the way back to the start, I smashed through every puddle in sight.  Why avoid them when you are 100% soaked?  

Anyhow, I ended up third.  My prize was a scraped WRC water bottle.  At free races, you get what you pay for.  

I should have pushed up the hills and tried to build a lead there, but I think that kid would have passed me no matter what.  I could have won the 5k.  Big fish in a little pond, quite literally.  

On a separate note, I wore a compression sleeve on my left leg only as an experiment.  The result is, my right calf is in knots and I'm limping on that leg, and my left calf is absolutely fine.  

4th sunday dinner at my moms.  I decided to run there.  I stashed clothes in the car so I could get a shower, and headed up the trails.  Skirted the gun club, worrying that some drunk redneck would take a shot at me.  Passed by unscathed.  Passed the B, and ran up the road to stone creek.  Tried to follow the creek for a while, but ran out of trail quickly.  Stepped in the creek, oops.  Got back to the blvd, and ran south to the end of the golf course, then turned around to be on time for dinner and a late easter egg hunt.  I found $24 in my easter eggs.  

My back is not bothering me on runs, but doesn't feel good for sitting by the end of the day.  I'm glad that tweak from wednesday is sorting itself out.

2 with my daughters,  one ran, the other roller-bladed.  We held hands.

9 pm.  2 on the treadmill, then 1.5 with my daughter, then 4 on my own.  It was nice and brisk outside.  My arms were freezing.

A few hilly, mostly flattish miles with Tara.  It feels good to finally get over the 16 mile hurdle. 

LPT with Tara and Andy.  My son had region tennis, so I skipped work to watch the match, hence the bandwidth for an early morning run.  They won in 3 closely contested sets vs. Davis.

8 on the treadmill, after my daughter's final 9th grade concert.  She played the piano and sang.  I realized I get a two year break from jr high activities.  But as far as jr. high concerts go, this one was pretty entertaining.  

 I wanted to get 10-12 miles in before the race, and try running hard on tired legs.  Due to an alarm snafu, I only made it to 6, though.  The field was very small, dominated by a high school runner who finished in 16:50.  I managed to hold off his girlfriend at the end.  It was a good race, and a decent effort.  I definitely cost myself sub-20 by floating at times, but I knew there was nobody to catch, so why push?

After I finished, I ran back the course to find my daughter who ran on a whim.  She finished up around 36 minutes, very proud of herself for "only walking two times on the hills, if you don't count the water break." (and the walking just before the final turn to the finish...I guess that doesn't count either)  Still, I'm always glad to have her along.  Older sister was coughing up a lung from a long bout of bronchitis, so we ppd her 2014 5k debut until Memorial Day.  

Thus ends a weak of running.  I should be peaking for UVM, instead I'm dragging my butt around for a mere 27 miles.  My back is really sore, and I'm having some misgivings about this race.  But the die is cast, the money is spent.  I'll just do my best, and likely as not, be found wanting by a small margin.  Hopefully I can shore things up for the next couple weeks and at least get to the starting line feeling healthy.

5:50 pm  Regular 10k x 2.  The first lap was with Jackie-doo in the stroller.  He spent the first 15 minutes singing some mash-up of "Let it Go" and "Scripture Power" at the top of his lungs.  Then it began to rain lightly.  The singing turned into complaining about getting wet.  We made the turnaround and came back, waving and shouting hello to all the dogs.  To entertain the lad, I picked up a stick, which he used to hit all the mailboxes and utiility boxes he could reach.  His aim wasn't very good.

I dropped him home and headed out for lap 2.  'Twas quite cool and windy, especially with the aforementioned rain.  This lap went more quickly, as I turned up some music, and didn't have to push him.  

5 in the morning, 5 at night.  Just like a newlywed.

pm run with Tami.  We went to the track.  She did stuff, I did stuff, including a 21:48 progression 5k.  Not that great, but well under goal marathon pace on a perfectly flat course.  Plus it felt pretty easy until I kicked in the last couple laps.

There were a lot of bugs, so we couldn't stop running.

Long run tomorrow:  home to Liberty Park, around 19 miles.  State Tennis Semi and final matches.  I hope my son plays twice!

Long run today with Ash on her bike, and Andy for 11 or 12 miles.  We eventually made it to Liberty Park, finding there is no good way to travel east/west through Salt Lake without hitting a lot of red lights.  The starts and stops during the late stages of the run weren't much fun.  I feel encouraged by this run, as it was a solid pace for totally flat (mostly 7:45s), and I felt well enough afterward--we even mowed 7 lawns this afternoon.  

Ash did her longest ride ever, and drank a super size pina colada slurpee to celebrate.  She's such a good sport.  I told her when she gets old, if she ever decides to run a marathon, I will ride a bike along side her and carry all her drinks.  She didn't seem to care about the offer very much. :)

State Tennis was fantastic.  My son split his matches, taking second place in 1st doubles, as a sophomore, no less.  The rest of the team performed well enough that Viewmont repeated as 5A champions.  

The Liberty Park drinking fountain is to die for, but the wood chips kept ending up in my shoes, so I ran on the ruts in the grass.

Alone in the moonless dark stopping to drink at the park the bugs couldn't penetrate my force field.  Stop leaning on that net, you soccer playing weirdos.

I wanted some downhill miles on the legs, so I went to the top of stone ridge to start up a client sprinkler system, then ran all the way home.  Most of the miles were flat, but 4 were downhill, but too steep.

After a tennis team dinner, Jack and I struck out in the stroller for skater park.  He wanted to practice his kickflip-indy-nosebone-tail-grab-540.

But it got dark.

And I didn't bring his skateboard.

And he's two.

So he sat in the stroller, cuddled up in the blanket his grandma made for him, and commented on the cars, lights, parks, buses, and stars.  

Sometimes running feels so good.  Sometimes it's frosting on a sweet cake of a day.  Sometimes it's the air freshener spritz on a day that's a complete turd.  

I'm glad I got a breath of sweet scented air today.

Just a short run before work.  I was only 15 minutes late.

Somehow, I need to get on track with sleep.  I'm only 6-7 hr guy right now, and it's taking a toll.  I nearly doze off every day driving to and from work, and I'm sure it's hampering my running.  Gotta be to work at 7...can't get to bed before 11 most nights.

Long run with Gaby.  He fell asleep after a while, and didn't seem to mind the rain very much.  (to Farmington pond and back, via Lagoon trails)

3 years in a row.  One of these times I'm going to stay for my free pancakes.  Three of my daughters ran the race with my mom.  They were around 35 minutes.  

My warmup consisted of walking from the parking lot to the starting line.  The most enjoyable part of this race was the part of the course that crosses over on itself.  The bikes, scooters, and rollerbladers left in advance, so at about 1.2 miles there was a lot of collision potential with all those  wheeled participants merging with the faster runners.  

It is becoming clear to me that I am undertrained for a reasonable shot at a 3:10-3:15 marathon.  Under these conditions, if I ran 10 marathons, I could get one 3:13, one 3:17, seven 3:20-3:30's and one 3:30+.  I'll find out in 2.5 weeks.

Another 10k with Jack in the stroller.  He had a train whistle that he blew enthusastically for most of the run.  I wanted to break the train whistle.  

Ran from the front door of our cabin at Aspen Grove beyond Sundance.  The trip down the hill was considerably easier than the return journey.

I wanted to do some running on the marathon course, but I couldn't arrange transportation or company.  Better to spend family time than waste hours getting in a complicated run in.

While all my inlaws and kids slept away the beautiful morning, I ran to Stewart Falls and another waterfall near Aspen Grove.  Of course, I missed out on the game-playing the night before.  It's always a trade-off, I suppose.

Flu.  Spent the night puking, so the run went out the window.  By midafternoon I recovered enough strength to mow 8 lawns with my son.  Clear liquid diet for the day, other than two pieces of toast.  Mtn dew and jellybeans!

Very good 5 am run.  Early to bed, early to rise...

My legs feel great.  Tapering feels better than training.  Only occasionally do I feel excitement or aprehension about UVM; my expectations are pretty low.  I don't anticipate having a particularly special 10th marathon.  Even so, 10 is nothing to sneeze at.  

The plan:  7:20 miles through 20, then try to pick it up.  Or hold on. Or feign injury and get a ride home from my daughter.

Slept in till 6, ran a nice shorty, and got to work a half hour late.  Ash woke up in time to come with me, but she refused my offer.  We ran together almost every day last spring.  This year, she joined me only twice.  Big difference between 9 and 10.  Or maybe I'm a super mean dad this year compared to last.  I certainly cannot rule out that possibility.

Coming into this race, I knew I was undertrained.  I guess I underestimated how much.  I thought I could reasonably expect to run around 3:20; if everything went right, maybe even BQ.  

1st half was 1:38.  In every marathon, I typically go out fast and try to bank some time against the second half slow-down.  Today I was going to run even splits for the first time, and try to leave some in the tank for the end.  1st half was right on track.  The conditions were nice and cool.  There was no wind.  Effort level was pretty low, even climbing the hills.  I was a bit daunted by the prospect of running a negative split for the first time in my life, but it felt doable at the half.  A few miles later, the wheels started coming off, and the obvious deficiencies in my training became clear.

At 16, the mile split was again over 7:30, so I knew bq was out of the question.  3:20 was still reachable.  At mile 17 I took an "act of faith" GU.  I didn't feel great, and definitely didn't want the gel, but knew I'd need it to have a respectable finish.  Gag, puke, belch, etc.   It turns out I could have skipped.  During mile 18, my left hamstring started cramping.  By mile 19, the left IT-band was locking up.  It was Galloway the rest of the way, running for 3-5 minutes at a time, until the knee locked up and forced me to walk.  

Oh yeah, at the half it got really windy down the canyon.  Windy canyon and UVM seem to be synonyms.  It was discouraging, but had nothing to do with my slowing pace and lackluster second half.  I was pleased to see the organizers provided porta potties this year.  I didn't need one though, other than the start.

My daughter and friend were waiting for my slow finish.  I got my creamie, and made the slow walk to the car, forgetting to pick up my package drop.  

I should re-title this blog, "Regressing to the Mean".  After a nice fall marathon in 2012, I've laid an egg the last two times.  My heart isn't in the running.  I'm not looking for answers...I know what it takes to run better than this.  I just can't find the desire to make the extra effort.

Ash came with me to the baseball complex.  It took 3 miles for my left ankle to feel like mile 17 of the marathon.  frowny face.

How far is it from the bridge to elephant rock and back?  That's how far I went.  Nice run with my sister in law.  She is signed up for Richmond marathon in November.  

6 am, Freedom Hills.  There was a meet, but only Jasmine showed up.  1.5 mile warmup, followed by 4 switchbacks and a cool down.  I was lucky to catch her only 3 days out from running a 1:18 at AF half...I could barely keep up until the 4th one when she gapped me by a lot.  Toast almost reappeared on the 3rd.  An actual workout!

After it stopped raining, ran with Gabriel in the stroller.  He was pretty quiet.

5 before church.  It didn't cool off much overnight.  I was feeling 2 straight days of lawnmowing and yard work.

Ran to the baseball complex, and did three laps around the park.  Did pickups on the east/west sections of the trail.  It wasn't too hard, but better than nothing.

5 with my neighbor, and Jack in the stroller.  Neighbor just did his first ragnar and is pretty excited about relays and running right now.

The annual tradition continues.  

All evening the night before, I was going back and forth about racing this, or just supporting the kids.  During my provisional warmup at 6 am, I decided to go for it.  I need to get a workout in every week, so this week it would be a 3.1 mile tempo run.  I ran a couple before paying for my shirtless entry, and Anna's shirt included. $25

The gun went off.  I was off to the side and didn't get out very well.  As usual, little kids were bobbing, weaving and gasping all over the road, narrowly avoiding being trod upon.  After 2 turns that was all sorted out.  I passed a few people on the hill, Mile 1 6:40.  Okay.  I can live with 6:40 for that mile.  It's the most challenging mile.  But then I rolled along past the 2nd marker, and my split was identical.  Despite easier terrain, including downhill, I wasn't making up any time.  The third mile wasn't marked, but I pushed hard along main street.  I got passed once after the midpoint, but passed a dozen.  Ended up comfortably under 20 minutes.  

I grabbed my water bottle, and headed back to find Anna.  The warm temps and her lack of any training doomed her to a slow finish; she was much further back on the course than usual.  I told her you can't run your fastest every race.  It's too hot to run super fast on the 4th of July.  I was really proud that she wanted to run, regardless of her time.  

For my troubles, I got a safety and emissions at Big O tire, valued at $42.50.  Hooray for being barely fast enough to get a prize!  3 girls beat me; Jasmine, Cynthia and somebody else.

5:45 am

I'm giving 52 minutes of running 6 miles.  At 6 minute pace, that would be nine.  Ain't nobody got time for that.  6 minute pace, alas, I never knew thee.

But I ran a long and winding road/trail to the V.  To say it was cool and comfortable would be a lie, and I'm not going to lie.  

I was parched.  

Slow miles...fast miles... who can really say?  I'm going to log quality miles as fast miles.  The quality miles today were a unique form of torture, also known as hill repeats.  Glover Lane, Frontage to Main, 6x.  1st one 1:45.  2nd one 1:45.  Then the gapping/gasping started.   And the borderline hurling at the stopsign.  How silly of me to try and keep pace with Jasmine and Cynthia.  By the end, I'm sure I drifted to around 2 minutes.  The last rise is a steeper section that took me from 90% effort to 105%, at least it felt like it.  

If I'm going to be a runner, I need to act like one, at least occasionally.   Workouts instead of aimless meandering about.  This was another step in the right direction.

5:40 seemed way too early today.  Cloud cover kept temps in the 70's overnight.  I guess cool running is relative.  I ran my usual out on the 10k route, but came home the rollers route.  

New shoes arrived yesterday; that's usually good for a bump in enthusiasm.  I can't believe how many pair of lawnmowing shoes I have lying about now.  The ratio of shoes to lawns for mowing is extremely out of proportion.

p.m.  16 miles cycling with my daughter

6 am.  Tami and I ran together for 11, then she headed home, and I did three marathon pace miles, plus 1 cooldown.  

To what end?  I still haven't signed up for Big Cottonwood.  That's the drop-dead date to BQ.  I'm still trying to determine if I have a BQ in me this summer.  I suspect it's possible, but I'm not convinced it's feasible.  After UVM, I definitely have no interest in running another marathon unless I am 96% prepared.  

They say proper prior planning prevents possible problems.  Possibly.

5:30 am  BST to Freedom Hills, came home on Main with 3 marathon pace miles.  New pair of Mirage 3's felt pretty splashy.  They have glow in the dark substance in the shoe laces.  I've got flash, but no sizzle.

Gabriel was having a moment last night; didn't want a bottle, didn't want food, didn't want to play, didn't want to lay down.  So I put on my shorts and shoes and strapped him in the stroller.  He sat, silent and content for the 6.5 mile run.  

It was kinda hot, and the baby kept me out of the sprinklers.  That was the only drawback to having him along.  When we got home, he went to bed without a peep.

I crossed a dangerous threshold last night.  After I showered, I came out and fell asleep on the couch.  This has happened hundreds of times, but last night I hadn't brushed my teeth.  Yuck.  Just call me moss-mouth.

6 on thursday night.  I'm sure I went.  

15 miles, 3 hours.  It was pretty slow for my taste, but just right for Tami.  Last week worked out better with a faster finish.  We'll have to try that again next week.  Following the run, mowed a few lawns, cleaned out the garage, etc.  

I haven't tracked my shoes in months.  I have newer shoes, and I'm running in 2 pairs of mirage threes.  All my other footwear is cooked.  Today I wore my old kinvaras to work.  I haven't worn crocs on a run in over a year.  I don't know why...maybe I got sick of them coming off.  For one thing, my son left a pair in a hot car, and they kind of shrunk.

My annual desire to move to Flagstaff AZ is cresting.  I'm really sick of the heat.  

10 pm.  It was sultry.  Jack came in the stroller.  We took flags off the construction signs and used them to hit garbage cans.  He kept noticing all the diamonds (road and construction signs)  By mid-run, the tiredness took over and he stopped talking and hitting things.  Today my boy turns 3.  He's been a good running buddy since he was 3 days old.  I'm a very lucky dad.

I had to get up pretty early to get these miles in before a 7:20 t-time with my dad, mom and son.  The run was nice; it was actually reasonably cool in the shade of the mountains.  Either that, or I'm getting acclimated to the heat.

Golf didn't go well.  As someone once said, "a good walk spoiled."  Except I didn't walk.  Eaglewood begs for a cart.  Then my dad bait and switched me into a car-type project.  All's well that ends well, though.  He had cold Dew in the fridge, and made us pancakes for breakfast.  

It was strange to not spend a good part of the morning on the race course or at liberty park.  But sometimes a break with tradition is greater than continuing a tradition.  If you never let go of something, pretty soon you are tied down all the time.  At certain points, enough is enough.

Feasibility study for Cottonwood marathon.  I've been dancing around commitment like a nervous bachelor for months.  If this 20 miler went well, I would plan on doing the next one.  Price goes up for the race on August 15th, so that will give me one more look in a couple weeks.

I got up at 5 am, ate some toast and got out the door by 5:30.  I carried powerade and jellybeans to drop at the 2.5 mile area, and carried fruit strips for fuel.  My course was out and back to Farmington City Hall 2 times.  It is exactly 5 miles from my door to the drinking fountain in the park near the pool.  

Garmin A died 3 miles in.  The first 10 miles were around 8 minute pace, probably rarely dipping under.  The course is nonstop rollers, and with 20 miles to go, I didn't want to start out too crazy.  

I got home after 10, drank some powerade and grabbed a different garmin to try.  It held out for the remainder of the run, which was really the litmus test.  I ran the 5 miles to the fountain again, just over 8 minute pace.  

15 miles into a run is a great time to start some MP miles.  16-19 were 7:39, 7:02, 7:54, 6:59.  Cooled down for a 9 minute mile to wrap up the 20.

Signals are mixed from this workout.  Yeah, I got 20 in.  But only 20% of the miles averaged marathon pace, the rest were 40-60 seconds slower.  My pacing is horrible, but that's kind of understandable on a rolling course.  

In two weeks, I'll find a long canyon to run down.  That'll give me a better idea on comparable terrain.  

4 out and back on Legacy, with Gaby in the stroller and Ash on the bike.  I knew I should stay east to keep out of the sun, but stubbornly held to the plan.  Indeed, it became hot and sunny.

I tried to get Ash to sing "Working on the Railroad" like she used to when we'd go together.  No dice.  I guess 10 is some kind of a threshold for singing silly songs while riding a bike.

The rain showers beckoned me outside to the BST.  I was lazy and got dropped off, rather than make the climb.  The evening meal was sitting high; I should have planned better.  

I didn't go very fast, and it stopped raining within 2 miles.  Still, it was nice to get out in the evening and have temps in the high 60's instead of the 80's.

Walked in on a little kid at the restroom.  Somebody should learn to use a lock.  

Out and back to the bridge beyond elephant rock.  After that bridge, the trail starts heading west; that's where I turned around.  Tami came too.  We ran 2 miles up together, then down from the rock together.  Tough climbing.

Out and back up Teton Canyon.  I ran up for 50 minutes, and took nearly as long coming down.  I should have fueled.

Running along the creek in that setting was hands down, the most beautiful run I've ever done.

5 miles, including a 5k in conjuction with my mother's family reunion.  In an extremely shallow field, I brought honor to the pink clan by winning the race.  The course was very short, or the stopwatch timing was way off, (or both) because I know I didn't run a 17:30 5k at altitude.

8:30 pm.  There are only a couple of times a year where an opportunity like last night presents itself.  The clouds were blowing in from the south, threatening, just as we finished helping a neighbor load the U-haul.  I came home with my son, checked the baseball scores, and the rain started, intensified, and persisted.  After wasting 10 minutes of the hardest downpour, I got into an older pair of shoes, and headed out.  By 3 miles, the rain stopped, but it picked up again in earnest for the final mile.  Great run.

Marathon training plan for the next three weeks:

8, 9, 8, 20 (find some downhill)

8, 9, 8, 9, 14 (find some downhill)

8, 9, 8, 9, 20 (try to finish fast)

That should get me to a taper window.  

4 with Tami, and Jack in the stroller.  He was in a bad mood, but the run sorted him out.  We started out with clouds and a bit of rain, and ended with muggy, steamy, sunny conditions.  

Days like this in August are a treat.  

2 mile warmup, then 8x800 with 1 minute recoveries.  Goal pace was 3:00.  Well, Jasmine and Cynthia are in a different class than me.  I held on for the first one, then lagged 5-15 seconds behind their breakneck speed.  After 4, I desperately wanted to play the old man card, and take one off, but I couldn't wimp out.  I started keeping my own time at this point, and was gratified to find we were well under 3:00, so I relaxed a little bit and let them run away.  I finished out the set, and kept them around 2:55, +/- 4 seconds.

Sprinklers on the 3rd turn of each lap kept us nice and cool/soaked.

What a killer workout.  2 mile cooldown. 

Afterward I was so wiped out/lazy, I didn't make it to work till 9.  It was nice to be home in the morning to feed and bathe some kids.

Farmington and back with a lap around the park.  Baby Gaby was fussing, so he came along for the ride.  I inadvertently left Anna behind.  She was so eager to come along she talked Tami into bringing her to meet me, hence the park lap.  Lucky I brought my phone.  Usually it stays home.  Hot out.

Long run.  Met Jasmine and Cynthia 4 miles in.  We ran on Legacy to Shepherd land, then back on Main Street.  They dropped off at Glover, I continued solo home, then back to Smoot Park for tennis practice and a soak in the creek.  Garmin died, so I had to map this one.  Overall pace was under 8 minutes, including stops.  Last couple miles I timed, and was at 7:20 pace, working very hard.  I am tentatively encouraged by this run.  One more 20 miler in this truncated training cycle...

Ran home from dessert at my sisters, over by Lewis Park.  I wanted to get my legs moving and flush out the aftermath of Saturday.  I think this was a pretty harmless run.

Work is at a lull for now, so I'm getting in later and leaving earlier with no ill-effects.  Longer mornings and evenings at home are wonderful.  It makes it so much easier to get the requisite sleep when adding mileage.  

Baby Gaby was having a hard time, so we all went for a run to dinosaur park.  He sat quietly the whole time.  When we got home his mood was considerably improved.  The girls, however, were another story.  One even went to bed without dinner.  I hate when the day ends with an argument about toast.

After they all went to bed, we watched Dead Poets Society, in memorium.  

At 7:20, it started raining again.  Run #3 this year in deluge conditions.  The opening mile was pretty fast, but my shoes started getting heavy, and the cookie dough was sitting high in my stomach, so I slowed down a bit, even walked all the way up Old Haul Road.  One of my 18 year old neighbors was sitting at the park in the bowery "chatting" with a pretty girl...good way to spend a rain storm.  I ran up the switchbacks to BST.  By now the rain had stopped, but I could see it coming down in several locations in the valley.  I started playing the lightning game, but every interval between flash and thunder was over 20 seconds.  

There was an occupied car parked on the dirt road looking out over the valley, and momentarily it occurred to me to check on him to see if the occupant was all right.  Didn't do it.  Haven't heard about a suicide victim east of Centerville, so I'm glad I didn't knock on his window.  By the time I got back to Deuel Creek, it was raining hard again.  Lightning game interval was down to 5 seconds.  I got nervous and headed for home throught the graveyard.  Awesome run.

It was Jack's turn to need a run.  On the way home in the dark, I said "Choo Choo!" really loud.  He got mad and started to sob inconsolably, because I was "waking up the people."  I've never been able to ignore a reaction like that, so I did it a couple more times.  He wouldn't stop crying, until I told him I was sorry.  Immediately the flow of tears stopped,  "It's okay, Dad."  

What a weirdo.

From a running standpoint, this one was tough.  He's getting to be a lug in the stroller, and my legs are as tired as my appetite is revved up.

It didn't cool off overnight- 71 degrees @ 5:45 am.  Oh well.  I thought there would be some strong sprinklers to run through, but that was a fail, too.

I'm really grinding this week, struggling on these runs.  14 miler tomorrow, contemplating up and down City Creek Canyon.  I need to get some downhill miles.

Big Cottonwood Canyon with Andy.  Becky, Amy, and Chantall came along and shuttled with us.  

I got cold hands in August, although I had to drive to nearly 9000' in elevation.  I ran this route last year for the drop 13 half, but it was good to get some continuous downhill on the legs and reaccquaint myself.  I wish it felt easier; my cardio was fine, but after 10-12 miles, my back was starting to feel sore.  This isn't crazy steep, other than a couple short sections, but it's continuous downhill, other than one short, meadow stretch.  I need to get back to the mouth of the canyon and run the wasatch blvd section.  

I skipped compression sleeves on my calfs/calves, and they are sore compared to last week.  My lateral glutes hurt a bit, but not so bad. 

Big props to Andy for the course suggestion and logistical support. He even brought me my spectacles after I stupidly left them in his car.

I slowed everybody down today at tempo tuesday.  Even so, 9 miles is pretty good.

Nice, flat and downhill run from summerwood to bountiful blvd, to BST, and home.  The western sky was beautiful.

It made me want to put together and adventure run in 6 weeks or so...Eaglewood Golf Course to Farmington Pond.  With the exception of the first couple miles, it would all be on trails, overall distance around 15 miles.  I would do it in the late afternoon/evening time so runners could watch the sunset, and with any luck like tonight, the lightning.

Jack in the stroller, all four girls on bikes to Freedom Hills.  While they parked, I did three switchbacks.  Sunset was only a 4 or 5.  It got pretty dark for the ride home.  

Nena starts college next week.  It's another "things will never be the same" kind of milestone.  Bittersweet.

20 miles on Saturday, hoping to do most of it in City Creek Canyon. 

After my wife's alarm went off around 5, we were treated to a violent microburst with heavy rain, hail, thunder and close lightning.  We were almost persuaded to scrap the run and go later.  I'm glad we didn't.  

Long run on Bonneville Blvd, 11th Ave, Virginia, South Temple, then up and down City Creek Canyon.  Map my run doesn't have good info on the road past a certain point, so I'm a little bit unclear on the overall distance.  I'm going to call it a solid 20, since half of it was up hill.

I caught up to a guy early in the run, and did the whole run together.  2:52 including pauses to drink here and there.

No more long runs until the marathon.  I'm not sorry about that.  

Out and back to Farmington along main street.  It was pretty windy, but getting somewhat cooler.  Came home around 10:15 and watched John Adams.  The early episodes were much better than that later ones.

I awoke with sans alarm at 5.  Got out the door by 5:20, and did 8 boring miles.  Running pace was just under 8:00, but I did lay down for a rest in a driveway at the turnaround.  

The morning was still and dark, with more buses running up and down main street than cars.

7:15 pm.  Gaby came along for the ride.  He's funny how he slumps in the stroller, completely relaxed.  We dropped Ash at a back to school party.  Just after we left, one of the party-goers fell off the trampoline and broke her arm.  Some party.  

This was one of those runs where I spent the whole time telling myself, "Well, the first mile often doesn't feel good.  Hmm...it's normal to take a couple miles to get feeling good.  You'll feel fine after the turnaround...The last two miles are going to feel great."  It took that long; 4-5 miles to get warmed up and feeling groovy.

Beyond the final 20 miler, I didn't give much though to the final weeks before the marathon. I'm planning on 14ish tomorrow, then 10 next week, but how much in between?  This week I have felt sluggish and tired; I think dropping back to 4 days running is fine.  I'm sure it is; missing a midweek run 2 weeks before a marathon isn't make or break stuff.  Overthinking.

Another long run, another tough route.  Tami, Joanne, and I started at the top of Summerwood.  We ran to Mueller Canyon.  Partway up the canyon road, Tami fell back and sent us ahead.  We ran out and back to Elephant rock.  Nearly at the bottom again, we met up with Tami.  I split off at the boulevard and headed north, while they continued west to do 22.  I came home on the BST, faster at the end.

17 < 20.  Also, Elephant Rock climb < City Creek Canyon, so I was able to do something else the rest of the day.  Turns out it was Lagoon with my little girls.  We finally coaxed Ash onto some of the more scary rides.  She enjoyed Fire Dragon, Spider, and Wicked for the first time.  (smile)

After a long afternoon helping the neighbor rip out bushes, then doing some paid work, Jack and I left just before dark on what promised to be a very easy paced run.  That boy never stops talking.  It cracks me up that he quotes Wallace and Gromit shorts.  "Everyone knows the moon is made of cheese."

The yard work has me hurting.

Mile repeats.  The first two were good, after that, the wheels fell off.  That's what you get for trying to hit 6's with 1 minute recovery.

Better than seven 8-9 minute miles pushing a jogging stroller in terms of training, though.

Bill delivery.  4 bucks worth of stamps, so now I can waste money on lunch at Smashburger.  

Poor Jack climbed out of the stroller to visit, then when he got back in, it tipped over backward.  He cried pretty loud.  47 seconds later, no more tears.  I wish all problems were so easily solved.

8:30 pm  Final workout, 75 minutes running at marathon pace.

The challenge was, do it on the flat ground of Legacy trail.  In the end, I held it together.  The effort level was higher than my typical runs, but it wasn't through the roof.  Ideally, this pace would feel like an 85% effort.  Tonight it was more like 87 or 88%.  

The downhill miles will be comparitively much easier.  I hope I've done enough to make it to the out and back portion on Wasatch with enough left that I can stay close to 7:15 pace for those 7-8 flat miles.  If I can keep those under 7:45, it will be a good thing.

So not much running to do this week until Saturday.  5 on Monday, 3-4 on Wednesday.  I don't know what makes sense for a week before, but I don't want anything hurting at the start line.  Right now my neck is hurting from a Saturday trip to Lagoon; whiplash on the bumper cars and wild mouse.   Better a sore neck than a sore back,  I guess.

5 after dark.  Tami was supposed to come, but she didn't feel well.  Easy pace.

6 am.  Dinosaur park and back.  Easy pace, stewing about the marathon.

Shoes...should I wear the 10.5 or 11?

Cold start...it'll be in the low 40's at Brighton, rising to 65 by my anticipated finish.   I'm concerned about keeping warm, and my wardrobe choices until things warm up a bit.  Gloves definitely.  I want to end up in a tank top, but to start off, that seems too cold.

Race nutrition...I'm going with fruit strips.  Gels make me pukey, and I've had good luck with these on lots of runs this summer.  Only 40 calories per strip, and they are more trouble than gels, but needing to puke for half of a race is also inconvenient.  My son is going to meet me at the mouth of the canyon with Mtn Dew, so that'll supply some calories and caffeine at mile 15 and 22.5.  

Eager and anxious.  

Easy miles with Jack along for the ride.  Turns out touching is not Jack's love language.  At one point, I reached up to tousle his hair.  He growled at me, "Stop scratching me and petting me!!"

Marathon #11

Last year I ran a very poorly executed race in Huntsville.  With a first half/second half split of 1:26/1:52, I finished in 3:18, and missed BQ on a day when I could have readily qualified if I had run smarter.  The good news was one of my oldest friends, Nate, did qualify.  That left me lacking a Q-time to join him in Boston in 2015.

So I put a half-baked effort into UVM this June.  But content to do only 85% of the necessary training, I ended up disappointed with a marathon PW  (personal worst).

Which set  the stage for Big Cottonwood.  After UVM, I vowed I wouldn't let another race get away like that.  I wasn't going to toe the line unprepared, and not give myself a legitimate shot at a decent time.  I worked  harder over the summer, and didn't sell the long runs short.  I approached this race with a high level of confidence, still knowing that it's a marathon, and any number of things can happen to upset the best laid plans and preparations.

My A-goal was 3:10.  My backup goal was 3:13.  I couldn't be slower than that and be sure of gaining entry to Boston next year.  I got one of Andy's 3:10 effort-adjusted pacebands and followed it religiously through the first 21 miles.  It worked like a charm; I was actually 90 seconds under pace at mile 20.   Me and JohnfromRoy had been running together for the entire race. Somewhere in mile 21, he remarked how heavy his legs felt.  Suddenly, I noticed how heavy my legs felt.  I looked up to see how far it was to the turn on Fort Union.  It looked to be as far away as Mordor.  The sun got hotter.  My throat got dry.  My mind went blank, and I started to feel dizzy.  I angled to the side of the road,  told him to finish strong, and started walking.  

While John gapped me,  I put the time to good use, and untangled my iPod.  A sprinkler by the roadside cooled me off a bit.  I made it to mile 22 and checked my accumulated time against the pace band.  1 minute over 3:10 pace.  Could be worse.  I turned on the music.  It distracted my mind enough to resume, and keep running.  My son showed up just before the turn with a Mtn Dew.  I slowed for a few swallows.  The sugar revived me a bit, but what really took over was the course.  Ft Union offered up some steep downhill.  Somehow, I was running, and running well.  Garmin was showing 6:50-7:10 pace!  That cheered me up, because I had given away all my cushion, plus a little more, on Wasatch.  

At mile 24 I did some math, and knew I could finish under 3:13, as long as I kept running.  Those final miles seemed so long. It's hard to explain after the fact, but my thinking and emotional state during those 15 minutes ranged far and wide.  The thing that simmers to the top is a feeling of intense gratitude for life and capability; able to run, strive, and even suffer. 

At the entry to the finish, I looked up from my reverie of pain, concentration, and music to see a familiar face.  Shouting my name, encouraging me to finish strong, was Nate.  He came up from Springville to make sure I took care of business.  

Today at work, observing me limping around, one of my co-workers asked me "WHY?"

I don't have a 5 second response to that question.  

5.5 years ago, I felt gloomy and dark.  In March, I went for a 2 mile run.  I loved the motion, the panting-scraping-sweating.  In July I ran a sub 20 5k.  On the 24th, I raced my sister at Desnews 10k.  That fall, I ran a half.  The next spring I ran my first marathon.  Over that year, my brain began to change.  

I often tell people, "Running is the most effective and least utilized anti-depressant."  

For that reason alone, I will keep running.  But beyond that, I run to affirm something ineffable.  To occasionally scrape up against TRUTH, perhaps in the late miles of a marathon, on top of a mountain, or at the crest of a trail.  To meditate while my body moves through space, to connect with a child on a bike, or in a stroller, or with a friend matching strides.

So Marathon #12 will be Boston 2015.  At least I will run for a course PR.  Maybe a PR.  Or maybe Nate and I will run a 4:00 Boston, like we joked on Saturday.  For now, I'll try to walk like a normal person.

First time out after the marathon.  Legs feel fine, left medial metatarsals don't.  Just a bit sore.

BabyGaby woke up at 4.  Strange, cuz he hasn't been up in the night for months.  Bellyache?  Earache?  Got him back down with clean pants, but he was awake again at 5:30.  On an unusually warm morning in late september, (nearly 70 degrees), we ran the deserted Sunday Centerville Streets, double yellow lining.  He never fell asleep, but never cried unless I walked.  How insightful, this nearly 1 year old baby, to know that walking while running is not a cause for celebration, but rather, sorrow.

Ash was up when we got home.  She made me german pancakes for breakfast.  I miss when she was my running buddy.

Slow, evening miles with Tami and Hannah.

Another July-type evening run.  Man, it is staying hot late in the year.  It took three miles, but I finally warmed up and had a nice finish to this run.  

My legs seem to have bounced back quickly from the marathon, but the joints in my feet are achy.  Tami wanted me to run St. George with her, and I had to defer.  I could do half safely, but if I ran another marathon in this condition, I think I'd end up sidelined for several months.

It was pretty rainy for a while, but warm.

The usual with Jack in the stroller.  Or was it Gabe?  I need to do a better job of keeping up on these entries.

some run or another

Bills delivered by Kam and Jack.  We stopped and watched the road repair crew.  Jack got to sit on the steamroller.

Ran from snow canyon to the finish with Tami.

It would be a lost run, but I happened to take my phone so I could listen to a baseball game.  Dodgers lost, of course.  8 minute pace on the usual course.

I'm starting to consider thinking about making plans to make plans.  For what it's worth.

1 mile on my own, then Jens came along for the usual 10k.  He did a lot of talking.  I didn't wear him out, but I made him tired.  The next two days he complained about how sore his feet were.  Pretty impressive to run 10k on a lark.  We didn't go fast.

Usual run to Farmington and back, with Jack. 

Cool sunday night.  He was bundled up with a blanket, but still a bit cold.  Long sleeves for me.  We chased deer, talked to the goats, and fed a couple of burros.  Seriously.  Gorgeous, shining fall evening.  I love when the first yellow leaves appear, and still contrast with the dark green lawns and later changing trees.  The sun was lighting everything up.

7 all by myself miles, while listening to the Royals take a commanding, 3-0 series lead.  The baseball playoffs sure aren't going my way this year.

It was a June run in mid-October, with such a warm night.

Instead of the usual loop, I ran up London and Aspen to BST, and flounced around in the weeds for a while.

Amazing, beautiful run in Vail, along the Eagle River.  Cold, water, leaves, needles, high-end real estate.  (one of these things is not like the other)

More of the usual, just because my back needed some relief after spending 8 hours in the car.  We almost caught a snake just east of Green River where Jack stopped to pee at the side of the road.  But I was too scared to reach out and take it by the tail. 

Lately I haven't done a comprehensive job of tracking my shoe usage.  It is a revolting development.

Cool to cold, dark to darker, along the usual path.  I notice I see less well on and after runs.  There were abundant stars, so I ensconced myself on the trampoline afterward to look at them.  It got old fast, so I went inside to watch game two of the WS instead.

I've never got much out of staring up at the cosmos.  A couple times I tried to watch perseids and leonids.  Pretty much I fell asleep, and was cranky the next day.   A couple weeks ago,  I got up at 4AM  to observe the lunar eclipse.  I guess it would have been more interesting if werewolves or waterbenders around, but to me it just looked like a brown tinged moon.  I can see that anytime wearing sunglasses.  I guess I'm stuck on earth.

I went to the track for a bit.  Ash came along on rollerblades, but the spongy track didn't work for her.  I got in a 3:04 800 and a 4:48 1200 before we went home. 

Actually, I dropped her off, and ran 5 more.

And got thinking about the hubris/feasibility of running a 2:55-2:59:xx  marathon at age 43 or 44.  I know thousands of guys that age and older run that pace all the time, but how many of them for the first time?  

10k 4-5 time a week isn't going to cut it, though. 

The first 4 miles involved a zombie chase 5k with my younger daughters.  We missed the start, so the zombies didn't know to chase us.  We ended up with 7 tickets in the raffle, and won one gift basket that included $20 cash, $25 to the hardware store, and some candy.  Not bad ROI on the $15 registration fee.

A few hours later, Tami and I did some trail running on the BST.

More good times on the usual route.  I called my daughter at BYU and talked to her while I ran.  She usually does most of the talking, and hasn't commented that the heavy breathing bothers her much.  'Twas pretty cold out; I wore gloves, and kept my shirt on.

Endless miles on the treadmill.  I guess it's time to get accustomed to doing this again. 

WS game 7...Madison Bumgarner, Pablo Sandoval, and Hunter Pence...historic WS performances.  Wish the Royals would have won, same with the Rangers in 2010.

It's a halloween tradition.  After the minions stop showing up at the door, go for a run and try to scare jr high kids that are out carousing.

Water was still on at the baseball complex...bonus!

I didn't find any candy in the street this year.

I'm not sure on the number.  Jens and I hiked quite a distance up the zig zag trail.  50 mph wind, hail, rain greeted us on exposed faces, almost blowing me off balance, and off the trail.  We continued up, into the trees, which provided a welcome wind break.  Across a narrow ridge, up, up, up.  We ran out of water, were getting cold, and didn't have many more gummie life savers.  So we abandoned our attempt.  He bombed down the trail like a mountain goat, stopping every 3 or 4 minutes to wait for me to catch up.  The first couple times I had excuses like, "I stopped to pee." or "I took a wrong fork in the trail."  He saw right through me and I gave up.  With a mile to go, I untied the key to the car, and sent him on home; he was eager to go play basketball.

One of these days I'll get to skyline drive.  Twinkies would probably get me all the way there, regardless of the weather.

7 on the treadmill, 600' vert.  Might be the last time with vert; the incline broke.

I didn't have the will-power to take off the cover and see what was wrong.  This happened once before, and it didn't end me successfully fixing the problem.  I can't deal with more failure at this time.

So NY marathon over the weekend.  The one storyline that interested me was Caroline Wozniaki or however it's spelled.  She bucket-listed the NY marathon, and 2 weeks after completing the ATP tour for the year, ran on Sunday.  She reported her longest training run was 13 miles.  Her time???  3:26:xx.  Pretty impressive to run sub 8 pace.  I guess tennis players (at least that one) are legit athletes.

tread mill

gotta take it apart today, because I can't stand the slapping noise with every single step.  I tried running on the back portion of the belt cuz it's quieter, but nearly fell off a couple times. 

exersice equipment is the #1 least used purchased item.  not at my house.  the thing sits idle 7 months of the year, but gets pretty heavy use through the winter.

The stroller got a flat a while back, so I haven't taken either boy for quite a while.  The upside, I can run wherever I want.  Found my way up to the BST via chase lane.  Walked all of the steep section, then traversed to Freedom Hills.  Scouted out a location for family photos; alas, we took pictures up against a brick wall instead.

Running feels hard lately.  Can't stop though.

It was an incredibly warm day for November 9th.  I snuck out of the back door, climbed the fence, and skirted my way to the soccer field, then down to west bountiful park.  Followed the creek down to Legacy, took the dirt road to the e/w section, and came home via 2 overpasses.  I showered and changed before anybody in my family noticed I was gone.  It was a good sunday afternoon "nap".
 

7 on the noisy mill.

The incline broke when a bolt sheared.  Should be an easy fix.  While I'm dug into it, I'll add some padding to reduce the slapping and banging with every footstep. 

7.5 miles in exactly 1 hour.  Not great pace, but not horrible.  Getting back into the treadmill groove.  I need to disable the fireplace switch so the kids don't make it too hot in the basement.

Watched x men 2 with Ash.  She liked it.

5 on the mill before meetings.  Glad I got them in.  The miles, that is.

It's time for some new shoes.  I missed recording a lot of miles, so I think I'm running in three different pair of shoes with 400-500 miles on them. 

The cover has been off the TM for a week now.  If I had a lathe at home, things would already be buttoned up.  I guess I need to borrow a pair of calipers and get serious about making some parts.

Luckily it's operational with zero incline.  7.5 miles, doing 7 mph for the .5 miles, then 8 mph for .5.

I had a dr. apt. on Tuesday.  Consented to a tetanus booster and hepatitis vaccine.  I'm  achy and feverish today.  On a scale of 1-10 my interest in running was 2.  But I figured I needed the mood enhancement.  5 in 45 minutes.  Objective met, and not much more.

When I run on the TM my feet get really hot. 

8 on the mill after 8 hours at work on a Saturday.  I took the girls.  They watched fairly odd parents all day. 

3.5 on the mill,  shortest run in ages.  I was supposed to go to school with my daughter today and was going to be late, so I hopped off before finishing. 

Turns out, I got bumped, and could have stayed on for more.  Oh well.

Beautiful, warm Thanksgiving morning.  None of the kids wanted to participate this year, so I got to race for a change.  I jogged to the start line for a warm-up; about 1.5 miles.  I forgot my watch.  

That's a great strategy for being lazy.  But I found guys to run with that were very conversational about their paces for a while.  They faded by mile 2.  Then I ran with a guy who BQed at St. George, running a 3:22 in his debut.  We stayed together for a couple miles, but he faded.  I passed a couple in the 5th mile, got passed a couple times.  By the last .7, I was humming pretty good, and catching up to a group of 5.  We overlapped the 5k course by now, and it was really tough getting around everybody.  I quit trying, and cruised in.  Lackadasical start and finish cost me 30 sec.

But really I was trying to get a benchmark of my (lack of) fitness right now.  I managed to run 6:50 pace, so there it is.  Today I'm really sore in my back, legs and feet.  Running 8 mph on the treadmill isn't like racing 9.5 mph.

Wonderful Thanksgiving!  I'm glad I raced alone, instead of skipping altogether.

4 out and back with the little A-girls today.  It's nice to have warm enough temperatures to have bike riding company for this run.  It didn't feel good, but we got it done, including donuts and donut holes at the end.  Hooray for Saturday.

On the treadmill, trying to keep pace with Tara's yearly total.  I'm falling behind.

I left work early enough to have a nice little jaunt up to the BST, to Northern Hills drive, then back home again.  Too much uphill and downhill at a time.  Gasp, wheeze, walk, recover.

The rain earlier in the day cleared the skies, and I was treated to a gorgeous sunset.  All the puddles out by the lake were one fire, glowing bright orange.

It's been busy at work this week.  Hubris took over on Saturday afternoon.  I took an ill-advised 14+ miler to Farmington Pond, via BST.

With three miles to go, I was hurting, but too proud to call for a ride. 

But seeing all the streams with their undiverted, natural flows was great.  Just after a side-by-side went zooming by in a cloud of dust and noise, I was treated to a dog-fight between a couple of red-tails.  Chasing, banking, diving.  The pond was pristine, with ducks, geese, and fishermen. 

Other than a sore butt and mildly disappointing pace, this run had a lot going for it.

Next time I'll remember to take that intermediate step between 8 and 14.

7 on the mill.  Stupid Patriots. 

Mental health run that served its purpose.  Boston is creeping up...

TM 10k.  54 minutes, slow.

55 degrees in mid-December?  I'll take April/October conditions anytime.

I was a lot better fueled for this run than yesterday, so it took 48 minutes instead of 54.  Also, running outside > treadmill

I didn't wear my glasses, and as I approached my house, I could see a massive dark spot inching across the road.  Got closer and gave a deer a start.  She really took off.

Run ranging all around, including swampy, weedy fields to get back to a trail after an ill-advised dead end.  Good Saturday morning fun with Tara and Andy.  It's been too long.

8 while watching amazing race with everybody.  Baby kept trying to get out and torture the birds.  4 miles @ 8 mph, the rest were 7.  Overall pace was 8 mm.  Need to be faster.  Maybe next month.

More on the TM.  Air quality is heading downhill.  I wish it would snow for my brother in law.  He needs some plow revenue.