Seeking a better country...

The 15 miler that turned into a death march.  I got up at 5:15, but it was still 70+ degrees.  What I wouldn't give for a cold front.  Do I really need to drive to Ogden Valley to have a comfortable run?  So this was nothing to write home about, but I completed it, the last three miles barefoot doing laps around the soccer field.  My legs were sure spent, and I needed more fuel than 16 oz of Powerade.  Once again I chickened out on eating my Gu-like substance, due to stomach ache.  I guess I need to accept that as part of the long run.  I had one early pit stop at mile 1.5 (rec center), and another at mile 5 at the golf course.

Tried out the used treadmill tonight.  It was nice to do it at home, although it's a noisy thing.  I watched X-Men.  I hope logging more miles on this surface will alleviate the pain in my lower left leg and iliac crest.  I wore some really old shoes.

Early in the morning, rising above the heat...

After staying up till midnight waiting for my son to arrive home, 6:15 seemed a bit early for the alarm to hit.  I didn't get on the road till 6:40, after a 10 minute snooze and some toast, etc.  Temp was 67; warm, but not awful.  Home to BST took me spot on 10 minutes.  Nothing like starting off with a 10 minute mile on 10% average grade.  I scared up one deer, and ran through a tunnel of dragonflies, darting back and forth through the canopy. 

I think I've hit a plateau.  All the easy gains in pace are done.  I'm really going to have to work in order to get faster.  Either that or switch to cycling or swimming or weightlifting to pick all the low hanging fruit in those sports.  Or is it just the heat making me so sluggish?  Or my crappy diet?  Meh. 

I got up at 5:30 to meet my sister for one of her long runs.  We started at Shriners, ran down to City Creek, to the top, and back.  It was not bad, temp wise.  The canyon was great, with very few cyclists buzzing by.  We saw 7 or 8 despite the fact it was a no bike day.  The water fountains at regular intervals were a blessing.  Shannon had lots of stops.  Our overall time was 2:55 with all the pauses to stretch and eat powerbars, etc.  The actual running time was 2:25, so the running pace was respectable, considering how many uphill miles.  The road up that canyon ends at 6100', so we went up a ways.  

I'm always surprised how important fueling is on long runs.  I had one gel at the 10 mile mark, and snacked on sour watermelons for the rest of the run.  The first half mile after a drink or gel are so iffy.  Will it stay down?  Ugh.  I'm glad to be done.  My usual spots hurt;  left hip and high ankle.  I think that ankle thing is just a shin splint.  A very low shin splint.  I don't know about the hip.  It might be time for a visit to the DC.  A retired orthopedist used to work at my job, but he got laid off, so I can't get a free consult from him anymore... 

The end of a heavy mileage (for me) week.  Ah.   

Cross training miles.  Two of my kids bought new bikes today, so we went on a 10 miler to try them out.  Everyone is satisfied.  I'm not sure...what is the biking to running mileage equivalent?  My butt hurts, and my right knee didn't seem to agree with the pedaling.