Kerry's Running Blog

Fairly good run this morning, even with a little less sleep that usual. Temperatures were in the low 70's or high 60's with some high clouds partially obscuring a nearly full moon. No hint of a breeze. My legs felt good, but I was a little concerned about some pain in my left ankle that  would come and go. There were times when I thought that I should cut the run short, but then the soreness would disappear. I finished feel strong and walked up to the house with my faithful home teacher who was also just finishing up with a run.

Slept in a bit this morning because I needed to take the day off to take our SUV in for repairs (we went to a movie last night and it wouldn't start when we came out). It was very warm and humid starting out, but over all I was feeling pretty good. Average pace for the run was 7:45. First mile (warm-up) was 8:25 and the other seven miles were 7:54, 7:34, 7:50, 7:47, 7:30, 7:15 and 7:42. Total ascent for the extended Kohler's loop is 682 feet and total descent is the same.

Warm, humid morning with temperatures in the high 60's to low 70's. Mostly cloudy with an occasional breeze. I took it real easy starting out, as my ankle and achilles tendon were quite sore. Within a couple of minutes, it didn't bother me at all. I'd had some issues with my ankle on Wednesday, but didn't have any problems at all on Thursday. After a good warmup I picked the pace up, but didn't want to push it quite as hard as yesterday. When I cross my lactate threshold (which equates to a HR of about 164), not only does my breathing get a little more labored (exhales are a little more forceful), but I find that I'm thinking only running. If I'm lost in thought about something else, it's almost always an indication that I'm below that threshold. When I go above 90 percent of my maximum HR, my muscles start sending a lot of hate mail to my brain and I usually have to repeat some mantra to block it out and keep myself going.

Ran with Laureen on our usual Saturday morning loop. We passed 49 runners and bikers along the way and found exactly 60 cents in change. A nice morning all in all.

Got out the door a few minutes earlier than usual. Temperatures very comfortable with clear skies. I don't think there was even a  hint of light on the eastern horizon as I sat on the front step and put my shoes on. The quarter moon was high in the sky and the stars were very bright. Yesterday I felt a little bit of soreness in my left ankle, but this morning everything felt fine. The first half mile of my warmup was very slow, but after that I began to settle into a nice rhythm. My legs felt great and the miles just passed by almost unnoticed. I pushed it a little harder the last couple of miles, but was happy that I was feeling so good at the end. I'll probably mix things up a bit before the half marathon on Saturday.

It doesn't look like there's any chance of getting in to Hobble Creek. I stopped in at Runner's Corner on Saturday and the girl at the counter said that the waiting list already had 200 names on it. Dang! I'm sure there'll be a rush on it next year. Maybe they'll have to start using a lottery soon.

I decided to try and sleep in this morning, at least until my alarm went off, so I was a little late getting out the door. Unlike yesterday morning, I noticed that the northeast horizon was already starting to get light, perhaps due to the fact that there was a little less moonlight this morning and the moon was a little higher in the sky. Sitting on the front step putting my shoes on, I was happy to see Betelgeuse just clearing Mount Mahogany. Orion was on his side just as if he'd been sleeping on top of the mountain. For me, it's a sign that the changing of first leaves is not that far away (sometimes we've seen the changing colors while waiting for the start of the Provo River Half which is held the second Saturday of August).

Fairly ordinary run this morning under clear skies and temperatures in the upper 60's. I felt a few extra momentary aches and pains, probably from having practiced soccer with my daughter yesterday evening. This morning I passed 22 people including Lloyd N, Doug S and Richard L (yesterday I only passed 14, mostly going in the opposite direction).

I had to laugh at an article I read in the sports section of the Deseret Morning News yesterday. It was talking about Josh McAdams, the BYU runner who recently won the 3000 meter steeplechase at the USA Championships, followed by a win at the Pan American Games in Brazil. The thing that struck me as funny as how he was described as being so short and stocky that teammates and others referred to him as "The Hobbit", looking more like a wrestler at 5'9" and 150 lbs -- which just so happens to be my exact height and weight! I had to tell my wife about that one as she and my mother-in-law rib me a bit about being too skinny. I guess it's all relative. The current US mile record holder for the 55 to 59 age group is my height and only weighs 122 pounds. 

I felt like I needed a physical and mental break this morning so I slept in an extra half hour and just ran easy for three miles. I felt pretty rested when I got up even though I woke up fifteen minutes before the alarm went off and I actually got to sleep about forty-five minutes later than usual. I hadn't really planned to taper much (if at all) for the Provo River Half this Saturday, but I'm just feeling like the rest and change of pace will do me good.

Light workout prior to tomorrow's race. I felt some spring in my legs this morning, which was encouraging, but I also noticed some soreness in my right hip and quad when I sped up the last mile. It must be a result of practicing soccer with my daughter. It'll be interesting to see how it goes tomorrow. Most of all I don't want to come away with an injury.

The official results have been posted and I was happy to find that I'm now classified with my correct gender. Instead of placing in first in the female 55 to 59 (and possibly being a contender for the Athena award as well :), I actually placed fifth in the male 55 to 59. I'm reasonably sure my splits were:

1	6:53
2	6:53
3	6:42
4	7:02
5	7:06
6	7:25
7	7:46
8	7:19
9	7:18
10	7:20
11	7:33
12	7:25
13	7:41
.1	6:34 pace

When I showed up early Saturday morning to pick up my bib, the guy looked a bit puzzled and said that he thought that was a female number. So I went over there and sure enough they had it. I asked one of the volunteers about getting changed to a male {insert joke here} and he said he could take care of it. A few minutes later I had a new number and was apparently considered to be male for all practical purposes.

The race itself went well. My heart rate monitor wasn't working so I ran what I thought was an aggressive but sustainable pace. I didn't start out with any body I knew, but I soon was running about the same pace as several others as one minute they'd be a couple of steps ahead and another minute, I'd be slightly ahead. I talked to the girl that was running the closest to my pace and she was targeting a 1:30 finish. The guys just behind me were targeting a sub-1:35. I told them I wanted to beat last year's time of 1:37. After about five miles they slowly began to pull away, either because I started to slow down a bit or they were thinking they needed to speed up because they were only pace to run 1:37.

I thought about taking an eGel at the aid station just before heading up the hill, but I wasn't feeling just a little bit of stomach discomfort. I took a water and headed up the hill. For a few minutes I felt like I was plodding along, but then I started feeling energetic and actually enjoyed the climb. I was trading places with Wayne at that point and Greg was just ahead of me at the turnaround.

Most of the rest of the race I really felt quite strong. The miles seemed to go by quickly and there wasn't any time that I felt overly tired (that might have been an indication that my daily eight miles runs had built up my endurance or that I wasn't pushing myself hard enough). By the end I didn't feel like I could run any faster, but I definitely could have run further. By the official clock I took off about two minutes from last year, but by my watch it was closer to one minute. I didn't hear a gun or any indication that the race had begun except that people started moving.

When I checked results after the race, it showed me back in the 55-59 female division. I emailed Curt to explain the problem, but I got a notification that email address on the trailrun web site wasn't valid. They apparently got it figured out, because the posted results are correct. I guess I'm back to just being a hobbit. 

On Sunday morning my calves and ankes were feeling tight and sore after the half marathon, particularly going down stairs. As my achilles tendon on the left foot has been giving me a bit of trouble, I thought I'd see how it felt before heading out. Yesterday, it was even more stiff and sore than it had been on Sunday, but this morning I was surprised to find that it hardly bothered me at all. I decided that it'd still be best to take it easy this morning so I only ran 3.4 miles and except for a little lingering soreness in my quads running down a short steep section, my legs felt great and even had a bit of spring in them. If they still feel OK tomorrow, I'll start back on the eight mile routine.

Ran up and down the soccer field a number of times with Amelia, passing the ball back and forth. She's slowly building up her endurance as well as improving her soccer skills. I really enjoy the times we can find to practice. Her coach is a real nice guy, but doesn't seem to have much free time. So far they've had one practice and one game with another game scheduled for Thursday.

Partly cloudy with temperatures in the 70's. Didn't push it too hard this morning as I just wanted to make sure I was fully recovered from the half marathon. Didn't notice any significant aches or pains, but there were times when I just felt tired. Weight this morning was 150.4. I was a little concerned after the run when I turned my knee the wrong way and felt a sharp pain on my left inside knee. It went away but I felt it a time or two again. It's probably nothing, but the pain was coming from a place that's been sore from time to time.

As my left knee was bothering me off and on throughout the day yesterday (especially going down stairs), I thought I'd take it easy today just to give it a chance to fully recover. During the night it hurt enough to wake me up every time I turned over, so I decided to skip this morning's run. With very little time left to get ready for St. George, I want to get as much training in as possible, while staying injury free. Walking around this morning and going downstairs, the knee feels OK. I'd like to try a shorter run tomorrow and then a longer run on Saturday if possible. Since it seems to be aggravated by downhill running, I'll probably avoid that for the time being. With a little luck, I'll be back on track next week.

Left the house about 5:20 with Laureen. She wanted to get a long run in this morning before it got too hot, but that meant starting out in the dark. And it was dark this morning. No moonlight whatsoever and not even a hint of light on the horizon. She's been having some soreness in her legs so we started out very easy. We dropped off some water and then ran along the canal road, which is a bit of hazard even with the light from my headlamp. Laureen was feeling pretty good and even remarked how much she liked running in the dark. We ran up north of the high school and dropped off so more water and then headed southwest into Highland Glen Park. After looping around the pond and heading up the hill on the west side of the park we parted company as it was light enough to see by that time and I needed to get back and get ready for work. It felt great to run after a few days off and I gradually increased the pace heading up towards Kohlers and then heading east towards the mouth of the canyon. I noticed a little stiffness in my hips and upper thighs, but no soreness in my knee. I pushed the pace even more as I rounded the turn and headed back south. I couldn't believe how good I felt. I finished the run with a good strong effort. I think I should be good for 55 or so miles this week.

Clear, beautiful starry skies this morning. No moon. Temperature in the low 60's. Even though I was wearing my headlamp, I never turned it on just because I enjoyed running in the dark. I guess I'd be in trouble if there was some new obstacle along the route, but for the most part I could run it with my eyes closed. Felt good this morning. A few fleeting aches and pains, but nothing of any consequence. Not so many people out this morning (maybe because it's the first day of school).

I really didn't feel very motivated when I got up this morning, but got out the door anyway. I had a few minor aches and pains getting started, the most worrisome being some plantar pain in my right foot that stayed with me through the first mile. I kind of plodded along for a few miles and then stopped for a potty break in the park (I had to run a bit out of my way because the first bathroom was locked). After running up the hill out of the park, I gradually started getting a better attitude and even thought, what would I rather be doing right then. Running effortlessly in the cool morning just as it was getting light in the east. I was thankful just to be healthy enough to do that. I might be putting in a lot more effort than just staying fit requires, but pushing one's limits brings a lot of long term satisfaction. Less than five weeks of effective training time left before St. George (and then maybe I can spend a few mornings sleeping in :)

Today's run was a lot better. I just kept reminding myself that at least I'm not running on a treadmill in a stuffy little room in India (thanks for the encouragement, Tom :)  The PF in my right foot gave me a bit of trouble throughout the day yesterday, but this morning it was barely noticeable. It might have helped that I started out fairly easy to give all the muscles and tendons a chance to stretch out. Temperatures during the run were in the low 60's with some dark clouds and occasional flashes of lightning in the south. I was glad to find the gas station open across from Kohler's because I really needed to make a pit stop this morning. I really felt good this morning and feel like I can start to bump up the tempo mileage next week.

Beautiful clear morning with cooler temperatures (high 50's to lower 60's). Had a few more aches and pains this morning, but they were all gone by the first mile. Instead of focusing on what I was giving up (sleep in a nice soft bed), I just tried to be more aware and grateful for what I was gaining in return. It's sometimes too easy to take your surrounding for granted and hard to appreciate the things that you see and do every day, but as I tried to do that, I not only enjoyed my run more, I actually started running faster just because I could.

Started out around 5:20 and finished when the sun was up and it was starting to get warm. Felt pretty good over all, but was dragging a bit after we came down off the mountain trail. At our last water stop we met Dustin Bybee who's on BYU's cross country team. He was about an hour into a 14 mile run. He said he was anxious for the season to start as he'd been preparing hard all summer. He said that his wife was a runner too and that they'd like to run St. George maybe next year. It was fun chatting with him. We finished out the run and then enjoyed some fresh peaches off the tree. All in all, a great way to spend a Saturday morning.

I sure enjoy having a chance to rest on Sunday (even though I get up even earlier than other days). I felt refreshed and ready to go this morning and pushed it a little harder as I thought about Paul and Nathan's breakthrough performance on Saturday and Tom's dedication to putting in a hard training effort in less than ideal circumstances. It really helps to have running buddies that are not content to rest on their laurels.

This morning's run had a little bit of everything. Just before I left the house I went out back to look at the lunar eclipse. Just a thin rim was visible at that time (about 5:20). As I started on my run, the clouds were partially obscuring the moon, but I had a great view of Sirius just coming over the mountain in the southeast. I seriously considered skipping this morning's run and hauling out my reflecting telescope, but I didn't want that excuse to show up on one of Sasha's top ten lists :)

I noticed that there were a lot more people out today. Maybe they got up to watch the eclipse as well. Just before I made the turn to head north on 48th west, I saw a spectacular shooting star that came from the northeast and shot towards the moon in the southwest. I couldn't help but think that was some sort of omen. Especially when it was followed a few moments later by flashes of lightning in the northwest.

For some reason, I didn't feel that great this morning. My left hip was a bit stiff and sore and I had some bowel discomfort going on. As I came up out of the Highland Glen Park I had an increasingly urgent need to find a restroom. Fortunately, I made it to the Chevron station at the corner in time. Outside of that distraction, my thoughts were occupied with my brother who suffered a series of mini-strokes yesterday. In each instance he had a sharp pain behind his left eye and was unable to speak, raise his right leg or touch his nose with his right hand. I was at the hospital during one of the incidents. They transferred him from Pioneer Valley Hospital to University so that a neurologist could see him. The doctor we talked to was a little concerned that he'd had several incidents in a short time and that we have a family history of atherosclerosis (my brother died at 44 from a heart attack, my father had bypass surgery in his early 50's and my grandfather died of a heart attack at 62). My brother text messaged me just before midnight to say that everything seems to be OK.

I was a little later getting home from my run, so I really had to hustle to get ready so I could take my oldest daughter to school. I was rewarded with an incredibly beautiful double rainbow in the west. The sun was up and shining through the clouds and a light rain was falling. It was quite an eventful morning.

Beautiful, warm morning for a run. Temperatures in the upper 60's. Full moon to make it easy to see where you're going. Left knee felt a little sore going down the stairs this morning and was a bit stiff starting out, but didn't have any noticeable aches or pains after the first mile or so. Felt fairly energetic this morning and started picking up the pace after passing the high school (about the two mile mark). Just as I was coming to the four mile mark, a couple of runners turned on to the Alpine Highway heading the same direction as me (only on the other side of the road). Without any conscious effor on my part, my pace picked up significantly. It never fails...if I see someone ahead of me that I have any chance of passing (even if they're on a bike), I start running faster. And after I pass them, I always figure that they're trying to pass me back so I run faster still. I know it's kind of a Pavlovian response, but it's kind of fun and it gets me to work harder. And just when I was starting to think about backing off a bit, another couple turns on to the road right ahead of me and off I go again. No sign of the bowel discomfort that bothered me most of the day yesterday.

Interesting run this morning. I was short on sleep last night and my right arch was sore starting out, so I figured that if it didn't start feeling better that I would just turn around at one mile. The soreness subsided and I thought that it wouldn't really do me much good to go back home and try to get back to sleep anyway. It wasn't as bright out as yesterday morning because the full moon was behind a big cloud. I was a bit surprised by a flash of lightning to the south, but it was far enough away that I wasn't much concerned. A few minutes later there was a very bright flash followed a few seconds later by a loud clap of thunder. It was kind of weird because there was lots of clear sky and only a few bigger clouds. Just as was approaching the seminary building a few drops of rain started to fall, which turned into a good downpour about thirty seconds later. I thought about heading back home, but there was enough clear sky to the north and south that I didn't think it could last very long. I stopped under a clump of trees to get out of the worst of the rain and waited there for maybe five minutes. There were only a few drops coming down by then so I decided to just keep going. I was pretty soaked, but it was a warm morning and I thought it wouldn't take too long to dry out. The roads were wet, but the air was fresh and invigorating.

As I was coming out of Highland Glen park there were a few more flashes of lightning behind me and to the west, but it appeared to be sheet lightning so I wasn't overly concerned. Even though there were a couple of big dark clouds around  there was a lot of clear sky to the north. By the time I was nearing the corner by Wells Fargo Bank it started to rain again. I ducked under the drive thru for a few minutes but decided it wasn't that hard so I took off again. It didn't seem that bad until a car would pass and its headlights showed how much rain was actually coming down. It felt great to be out running and I picked up the pace as I turned onto 48th and headed south. The rain continued until I reached the high school and by the time I reached Harvey Blvd, the skies were mostly clear overhead. All in all, it was a wonderful morning and I'm glad I decided not to cut it short.

Overcast skies. Temperatures in the upper 60's. I tried to take it fairly easy this morning as I'm planning on a 20 miler tomorrow. I may have taken it easy in any case as I wasn't feeling very energetic. I had lots of running around yesterday afternoon and evening and getting something good to eat was almost an afterthought. I was in bed by 10:30, but was tired enough to turn in by 9:00.