Kerry's Running Blog

Ran with Laureen this morning at her pace. Started off heading north along the trail to the mouth of American Fork Canyon, then up Canyon Road to the church. At the church we took off on the trail that runs east of the subdivision and then picked up the canal road back home. It's always nice to go out with Laureen. It rained the night before so it was especially nice. I had to get back for a conference call at 8:30 so I pushed the pace the last mile and a half.

Fairly routine run this morning except I came across a little dog that had been hit by a car. As I was looking to see if it had a tag, a lady pulled up in a van with the dog's companion. She had been looking for the owners but apparently they had recently moved. She wrote down their name on a little card and I told her that I would try to find a phone number for them. I looked it up when I got home and called them, but the number had been disconnected and it didn't give any forwarding number.

Good run this morning. Slept in a half hour because we stayed up a little late and don't have to go in to work today. Began pushing it after a warmup mile (done just under 9 minutes), just over 8 on the uphill sections and 7:30 to 7:50 on the flat to downhill sections. Overall time was 49:18.

Surprised that I felt a little stiff starting out, but it quickly went away. I felt some occasional pain in my right achilles tendon yesterday, but didn't feel anything this morning to speak of. The trails through the Adventure Park and along the creek were littered with debris from yesterday's storm. One large tree was blown over blocking the trail at the south end of the pond and another tree was blocking the trail around the north end of the creek trail (we lost three good size branches from our trees).

Felt pretty good starting out even though it was close to 90. Clouds moved in and cooled things off, but the wind also started to kick up. Pushed it after warming up for a mile. It felt good running uphill and into the wind, but once I turned the corner and the wind was behind me I suddenly started warming up. The last couple of mile I could feel myself starting to overheat. I eased back a little the last half mile. The sweat was just poring off after I got home.

A little cooler this morning after last night's rain. Clear skies and everything smelled so fresh. Someone has cleared the path around the pond of the dead tree and path along the creek. Didn't see Laureen or Janet this morning.

Felt pretty good starting out and like I'd do well today. Just over 8 minute pace to warm-up, then dropped to 7:44 and 7:15 for the downhill sections. Maintained just over an 8 minute pace through the flat and uphill sections and made it to the water stop (just before 7 miles) in about 53 minutes. Felt good after the brief rest and pushed it for the next couple of miles, but started to feel like I might have overdone it a bit on the uphill. Recovered a bit after the uphill in Alpine and the second water stop. Maintained a pretty even pace to the light on 48 and then tried to see if I could do a sub-eight minute pace on tired legs (just barely as it turned out). Felt pretty tired the last mile and slowed to about 8:30 pace. Average pace for the whole distance was 8:10 which is exactly my goal pace for St. George. Total time was 2:02:38.

I'd planned to do the usual 5.24 this morning, but just as I was leaving the house I noticed two boys in their late teens and dressed in dark tee shirtsjust meandering down the street towards the park. One of them was holding something to his side that looked like it might have been a can of spray paint. I'd never seen the kids before and knew they weren't from our neighborhood. I put the paper up on the porch and just slowly walked behind them. They kept turning around to see where I was. I slowed even more and picked up some garbage by the side of the road and put it in Clarke's garbage can. They were still walking very slowly and they looked like they were going to head down the trail along the creek. I started jogging west past the park, but stopped just around the corner to see what they were up to and about thirty seconds later I saw them run towards the pavilion in the park. They must have seen me at that point because they immediately stopped running and slowly walked over to the bulletin board like they were interested in something posted there. There wasn't much to read and it was almost comical how non-chalant they were trying to look when the only people out at 5:30 in the morning are obviously exercising or on their way to work. I ran north to loop around to the house and call the police dispatcher. After I gave them a description of the boys and then resumed my run. I didn't see them again after that and about a half an hour later a police officer called me on my cell phone to report that he was at the park, but didn't see the boys or any sign of vandalism. That wasn't too surprising as I was sure they were long gone and that they realized they were being watched. I suggested he might look around the elementary school for them. I looked around for them on my way back home but didn't see anything.

Felt good this morning, almost like there was something pushing me from behind. My weight continues to drop and I'm feeling stronger going up the hills. Saw a three point buck this morning on someone's lawn. He was about fifteen feet away and looked like he was ready to bolt, but didn't know which way to go. The house was along a busy street but it was starting to get light enough that he might have made it out of there OK.

Nice run this morning. Clear skies and pleasant temperatures. After I got out on the road I noticed that I was wearing an old pair of running shoes that I've been using to work in the yard. I guess that's one of the hazards of getting dressed in the dark. They weren't as comfortable as my regular shoes, but they at least had some tread left on them. Saw a family of racoons in the park this morning. It won't be long until they're coming for the corn in my garden.

Got to bed a little later last night which made it a little harder getting up this morning, especially knowing that I'd be doing a tempo run. It's such a habit now that I think I could be sound asleep and somehow I'd manage to get dressed and start running. I always tell myself that if I don't feel well after a mile that I'll just take it easy for the day. Usually, I'm awake and ready to go after the first mile. This morning it just felt good to run. Even through the uphill sections my legs felt strong. I was breathing fairly hard, but it was just nice to be out.

Routine Friday run. Felt good. May have to miss Saturday long run because we're leaving early for a family reunion in Idaho. May try to squeeze something in before we head out.

Bumped up mileage for easy days from 5.24 to 7.06. Ran 8:41 pace overall with the last two miles at 7:41 and 7:57. Felt pretty relaxed although I had several twinges of pain in my right quad. I can't think of anything I might have done to injure it so it's probably just one of those random aches and pains.

Felt slightly more sluggish today than normal, possibly a result of bumping up yesterday's mileage.

Pretty good day today. Feeling slightly more fatigued that usual, but that might have been due as much to the warmer temperatures (and higher humidity) as to a bump up in mileage.

The easy miles didn't feel so easy today. I needed to give my brother-in-law a ride to work this morning and he had to be there by 7 so I skipped my morning run, hoping that it would be cloudy when I got home from work. No such luck. It was in the 90's and no shade to be found. After reading an article in Runner's World about heat exhaustion, I decided to take water and not push it too hard. I still got overheated about four miles into the run, but I poured the remaining water over my head and down my back as I ran back by the creek trail. Felt good, but was glad I didn't try to push it any harder in the heat.

Felt a little tired from after yesterday afternoon's run in the heat and from getting to bed so late. I definitely need more than five and a half hours of sleep. I wasn't sore or achy, just a bit sluggish. Ran a good pace the last couple of miles and ran up the hill instead of going straight to the creek trail.

Decided to skip the 17 miler I'd planned for today and ran with my wife, Laureen instead. We ran along the creek trail, around the golf course, in the hills east of Cedar Hills and then along the canal. It was just nice to spend the time together. It reminded me of why I started running in the first place. We got home in time to shower and eat breakfast before the parade. I wish I could work more of these runs in. I realize that I'm going to have to push it farther and harder next Saturday.

Felt good this morning except for a few minor aches and pains right at the start. The uphill section seems to get easier all the time. Pushed a pretty good pace the last couple of miles until I started feeling some rumbling in my bowels. Made it home without any major mishap.

It's starting to get hard to see the road now once you get away from the street lights. I might have to pick up a headlight (or drop some hints for my birthday). Had a little bit of a sinus headache this morning, but other than that felt great. Pushed it pretty hard after getting warmed up.

Usual Wednesday course, except I followed the Creek trail after running up the hill at the beginning. Caught up with Greg P. and ran with him along the trail. He looks good and seems to be running strong. He said he'd done a 13 miler on Saturday and was feeling just fine today. It was nice chatting with him for a few minutes. He and his wife are planning on running Hobble Creek.

Felt pretty good this morning so I decided to add on an extra mile. Ran a pretty relaxed pace for the most part with some fartleks thrown in for good measure. Pushed it harder the last couple of miles.

Took it kind of easy this morning with a 17 miler coming up tomorrow. Ran with a reflective vest as it's very dark heading up 48th at the start. I'll have to talk to Laureen about taking it in as just bounces all over. Lots of runners out this morning. Saw Laureen and Janet crossing the road by the entrance to the Adventure Park trail. Felt occasional soreness on top of my left foot.

Got started a little later than I had hoped as I didn't have a chance to put out water the night before. I wanted to start before 5:30, but it wasn't until almost 6:00 that I got started. Today, I just wanted to run a relaxed pace and finish strong. I kept my average heart rate at 149 (which felt very comfortable) and still maintain an average pace of 8:15 which is just three seconds off my target marathon pace. I took an eGel before starting and then stopped for water at about six miles. I took another eGel around ten and another water break about 14. I didn't feel that much fatigue or pain the last few miles, which made me happy. I really felt pretty wasted a few weeks back when I did a 15 miler at a slightly faster pace. I think the increased mileage is paying off.

It was really quite dark this morning with the cloud cover. Fortunately, I had some street lights for the first couple of miles. It was light enough to see the road after that. I ran a pretty relaxed pace for the first five miles and then picked it up at the end. No lingering aches or pains from Saturday's long run. Training seems to be going well and I'm getting closer to my goal weight.