Kerry's Running Blog

September 2007

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Location:

Cedar Hills,UT,USA

Member Since:

Apr 08, 2006

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Age Division Winner

Running Accomplishments:

5K: 21:39 (2006) Half marathon: 1:33:45 (2006) Marathon 3:31:49 (2006)

Short-Term Running Goals:

Lose some weight and get back into racing shape. Run more races this year.

 Next race: St. George Marathon

Long-Term Running Goals:

Stay healthy and in good enough shape that I can more or less keep up with my youngest daughter.

Personal:

My wife Laureen got me into running. She went into the St. George Marathon Ten Year Club last year and I should go in this year. I have two daughters (15 and 21).

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Cumulus12 Lifetime Miles: 10.65
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
141.0444.424.010.00189.47
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
20.000.000.000.0020.00

Had a great run up Provo Canyon with Paul, Tom, Will, Wayne and Larry. A young woman named Sheena missed her group at the bottom of the canyon and so we invited her to run with us. At Vivian, Tom turned around to go back and Larry, Wayne and Sheena turned to go on to Pine View. Paul, Will and I continued up to Trefoil.

The leaves were starting to turn at the top of the canyon and temperatures were just perfect. When we got down to South Fork, Paul and I stopped for water and Will ran on ahead as he had to get back. We ran at a pretty comfortable pace and met up with Will with a little less than a mile to go (he was having some problems with his knee). It was terrific seeing everybody again. Long runs with your buddies sure make the miles go by quicker.

My Garmin was having problems so I just left it in the car. Paul's watch said we made it to the top in 1:34 and back to the start in around three hours. 

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
3.400.000.000.003.40

I'd hoped to get some mileage in yesterday, but ended up sleeping in a bit and then found there wasn't enough time before leaving for a family activity. I didn't feel too bad about that as I've put in a lot of miles the last two weeks. My legs felt great after Saturday's long run and I was able to keep going all day without any noticeable problems. This morning I was having some bowel discomfort which caused me to stop and walk a time or two, but other than that I felt pretty good. As Laureen has been recovering from some illness and injuries, we're planning a long run for Saturday (which will mean I'll have to miss the race). I've got to take my daughter up to Midvale that morning at 8:30 so we're planning to start well before dawn. I'm planning to have at least twenty-five miles by then, so this drop-back week should still give me around forty-five. Next week I'm planning another big mileage week. Even though I was happy with how I felt on Saturday's long run, I want to be ready to go farther and faster by the time SGM rolls around. I haven't checked my weight for a week or so, but my resting HR has dropped down to the low 40's, high 30's which is where it usually is when I'm close to being in top shape. If I keep my mileage up without injury and get my weight down to 145 or so, I'll feel like I'm about ready for St. George.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.014.000.000.008.01

Perfect running conditions this morning. Temperatures in the low 50's after a thunderstorm rolled through yesterday evening. Legs felt great, although there was a little soreness in my left upper hip. Started pushing the pace at the four mile mark. I probably should have brought my headlamp as there were sections that were pretty dark with debris from the storms of the last couple of days. Saw Venus coming up over the mountains in the east. It was so bright that for a few minutes I thought it might be some kind of aircraft. The last mile and a half it was light enough to see the road surface. Finished around 6:25.

Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.014.000.000.008.01

Felt great this morning. Temperatures were in the low 50's and the skies were clear. There was enough of a crescent moon in the east that faint shadows could be detected along the darker stretches. I picked up the pace to catch a slower runner in front of the high school and then held that as I headed southwest towards Highland Glen Park. As I came to the traffic light by the Highland City Offices (at the four mile mark) I picked up the pace again and held that the rest of the way. Venus was a little higher in the east this morning, but set a bit as I ran towards the mountain. By the time I finished it was about a finger width above Mount Mahogany. Weight was 148.8.  Still need to lose a few more before St. George.

Comments(3)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
13.001.670.000.0014.67

Got up at 4 am to do a long run with Laureen. She's been hurting a bit lately, but seemed to run strong once we got going. There was no moon starting out so it was pretty dark, particularly heading south along 40th. About the second time we ran around the pond in Highland Glen Park it was starting to get light enough to see the pavement. After about six or so, we started to see a lot of people out walking, jogging or riding. Shortly after we started on the dirt trails on the mountain east of Cedar Hills, I left Laureen as I needed to get back and take Brittany up to Salt Lake for a goalball tournament and then take Amelia to her soccer game. It was a busy, but nice day all in all.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.004.010.000.008.01

Beautiful morning for a run. The skies were clear and temperatures were in the upper 40's. I was a little concerned on Friday because the arch in my right foot was quite sore during miles 12 and 13. I thought it might be a result of shortening my stride to run with Laureen, but I wasn't sure. This morning I didn't feel anything during the run and didn't even have the usual stiffness after the fifty minute commute into work (in fact, this morning I felt like I was ready to do another eight or so). I'm happy with the way I'm feeling this close to marathon and hope to make the next eleven training days very effective. I'm anxious to see what I can do this year.

Comments(6)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.012.000.000.008.01

Another perfect morning for a run. Tempertures in the low 40's under clear skies (no moon). I was just a little stiffer this morning starting out, but once I got warmed up, I felt really good. After reading Brent's blog from yesterday morning, I couldn't help thinking about large animals lurking in the dark as I ran through the park. It makes it a lot more fun to imagine all the hidden dangers and what I'd do if there was a cougar right in the middle of the path. Less dangerous, but more suspicious were the two boys I saw walking on the other side of the street as I came up on the Alpine Highway. They were in their early teens and didn't seem to be in a hurry to get some place (where would they be going at six in the morning anyway?) Last year I saw a couple of kids out about the same time of day, trying hard to conceal a can of spray paint, but I couldn't see that these kids were carrying anything. When I see kids wandering around the neighborhood late at night on a school night (or early in the morning in this case), I can help but wonder if their parents are fully engaged.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.014.000.000.008.01

Clear skies, temperatures in the high 40's, no moon. I've been thinking about Paul's post from yesterday where he reported on his marathon pacing. I tried the same thing this morning and concluded that the mitigating factors (e.g. second run of the day, lingering injuries, running during the hotter part of the day) he listed definitely affected his pace, since I know he's faster than I am. My results from this morning looked like this:

 Mile  Pace  Grade  Comments
 1  7:59  1% up  Felt relaxed
 2  7:36  1% up to 1% down  Felt relaxed
 3  7:25  1% down  Mostly relaxed
 4  7:26  flat to 1% up  Threshold pace

 

 

 

 

Over all, I felt good about the effort. I noticed that on the downhill section (mile 3) that I gradually sped up as I was feeling good. By the time I reached the end, I was breathing a little harder than I had the first two miles. For the final mile, I spotted a couple of runners about a hundred yards ahead and since I was feeling good, I decided to see if I could catch them before they made their turn south. I didn't feel like I was pushing it that hard, but I kept up the pace for the rest of the mile, which felt hard when heading up the trail towards home. One of the ladies was Jill W. I'm not sure who the other one was as it was still fairly dark.

Today gave me a pretty good feel for where I am fitness-wise and also how to gauge when I'm running at a good effort (even breathing, no sharp exhales, no stress). I'm sure the pace that will feel easy the first part of the marathon, will feel like an all out effort the last six miles but hopefully I can hang in there and get past the usual calf cramping and bowel discomfort.

Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.012.000.000.008.01

Clear, moonless sky. Temperature in the low 50's. Outside of a little PF in my right foot, I'm feeling really good. Even the PF goes away after a mile or so. Just eight more days of effective training before St. George. As always, I'm sure to regret not getting in enough downhill runs.

I was puzzling this morning over the fact that when I run through the darkest part of the park I can still see the road clearly enough to avoid broken branches in the road and even see large cracks. There was no moon and the eastern horizon wasn't even starting to get light. There is a glow in the north from the lights in Salt Lake County, but that hardly seems like enough to make things visible in a heavily wooded area. Kind of strange. 

Comments(4)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.012.000.000.008.01

Mostly cloudy and warm this morning. Left the house around 5 am as I had to get back for a meeting (my daughter's annual IEP) at 7:15. I was a bit surprised to find more people out and about than I usually encounter so early in the morning. Legs felt really good, but I didn't want to push things too hard before tomorrow's long run. We're planning to head out for a 20 miler at 4 am. When we get back from that we have to take Brittany to Salt Lake for goal ball practice and then rush back for Amelia's soccer game and then head back to Salt Lake to pick up Brittany and take her to her Jiujitsu class. Then, as I'm the stake clerk, I have to hurry and change for a stake presidency meeting with Elder Pocock, followed by a two hour leadership meeting, dinner with the stake presidency and Elder Pocock, followed by the evening adult session. I think I might have to stuff my pockets with fireballs to keep going (a trick my former stake president taught me for staying alert during a long day of meetings). I'm already looking forward to sleeping in a bit on Sunday morning!

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
20.020.000.000.0020.02

Laureen and I started out at 4 am like last week. The tour of Manila, Pleasant Grove, Highland and Cedar Hills. Legs felt good at the end, but was glad to finish. Long day of family and church activities turned out much better than expected. I'm actually feeling energized at the end of the day.

Comments(3)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.004.010.000.008.01

The first step down the stairs in the morning is usually a good indication of my lingering injury status. Most of the summer I've had to brace myself for some sharp pain in my left knee, hip flexors or right ankle. Often, the pain or soreness is gone by the time I reach the bottom, but this morning and most of last week, I've felt nothing. I'll take that as a good sign. What doesn't seem like such a good sign is that my weight was up a little over a pound from last week (after a 60 mile week and really watching what I eat!). Oh well, I had a good run this morning. I was kind of waiting to see if there was any lingering fatigue from Saturday's long run before deciding whether to push it or not. I thought I'd wait until the four mile mark before I made that decision. As I was approaching the turn on to the Alpine Highway, a young woman  passed ahead of me going north at what looked like a pretty good pace. As I rounded the corner heading north, I realized after a minute or two that she wasn't gaining on me, so without giving it another thought I started to pick up the pace. I could have surged a bit an caught up to her rather quickly, but I didn't want to try to keep that up the rest of the way to Kohler's. As I closed in to about ten feet, a dog suddenly started barking nearby and it freaked her out a bit and she turned around and saw me. When it's so dark, you naturally wonder about strangers so I just said good morning in a friendly voice and passed her. It would have been nice to have somebody to talk to inasmuch as we were going roughly the same pace and going in the same direction, but it wasn't going to work with a young woman. I thought about the reports that I'd read recently about some guy up in Bountiful that's been targeting early morning joggers. I didn't want this young woman to have any reason to doubt my reasons for being out at that time of the morning. After passing her I continued to pick up the pace and finished strong. Saw lots of people out this morning including Lloyd N., Jill W and the bishop and his wife.

One thing I forgot to note on my blog entry for Saturday was our encounter with a group of hunters in the foot hills above Cedar Hills and Pleasant Grove. We had run into a couple of guys earlier that were in hunting vest and looked like they were scouting things out and it may have been the same two that we saw about a half an hour later on another trail. They were outside their truck at that point with their shotguns. We headed off on another trail and as we rounded a corner we saw two more pickup trucks with hunting decals in the rear windows. We didn't think too much about it until we heard a shot off in the distance, followed by another shot less than fifty yards away. The fact that we couldn't see who was shooting or what they were shooting at made us think that maybe we ought to turn around. We didn't hear or see anything else as we headed back down the mountain, but we were wondering what they might have been hunting and whether it was even legal in that area (many of the trails are fairly popular with hikers, runners and mountain bikers). That's something I need to remember to check on.

Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.004.010.000.008.01

I was planning on taking it easier this morning, but just as I was getting ready to turn on to the Alpine Highway heading north a young guy passed in front of me going the same direction. Yesterday I was thinking it would be cool to have somebody to talk to along that stretch and it was like central casting sent somebody to meet me there EXCEPT somebody forgot to tell him to leave the iPod at home! He seemed quite absorbed in his music so I just picked up the pace, said good morning and passed him. Oh well, at least having somebody there pushed me to run a little harder along that stretch and I just kept it up the rest of the way home. Felt great this morning despite a few fleeting aches and pains. Beautiful clear skies this morning with temperatures in the high 40's to low 50's.

Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.012.000.000.008.01

It might have just been my imagination, but the stars seemed even brighter this morning. Venus was spectacular as usual and I even saw a couple of shooting stars. It was a routine run in many ways, but a bit unusual in other. Shortly after passing the high school I saw someone's motion detector light come on across the street and about five seconds later three deer came running on a collision course towards me at full speed. I stopped and they passed about ten feet ahead, but I waited for a bit to see if there were any others coming. A minute later some furry little creature scurried across the road in front of me (it might have been a rabbit or a skunk). I was going to turn my headlight on just to give any other creatures fair warning that I was coming, but just about then I got something stuck in the bottom of my shoe that made a very odd clicking noise, loud enough that it would give anything in the immediate area ample warning. When I got into the park there were a couple of animals fighting just a little ways off the path, with sudden loud shrieks and then softer whimpering, following my the sounds of branches breaking. I think it might have been racoons, as I've heard something similar before (it definitely wasn't cats). The rest of the run was fairly uneventful. Legs felt good overall. Temperatures were in the low 50's under clear skies.

Comments(6)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.012.000.000.008.01

Clear skies, slightly warmer temperatures. I felt a bit of soreness in my instep on my right foot laying in bed this morning, but it really didn't bother me during the run. This, of course, is the time of year when I become hypersensitive to every ache and pain. Feeling great overall. No shooting stars this morning, but someone did shoot off a large firework somewhere in American Fork around 5:45. People are strange.

Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.000.004.010.008.01

Fairly warm, clear skies. And dark. Took  it fairly easy for the four miles, pretty much lost in thought and then picked it up at the four mile mark, realizing that this is one of my last effective workouts before St. George. Felt pretty good, but realized that I couldn't have kept up that pace forever. I guess I'm as ready as I'm going to be. I'm just happy that all my injuries seem to be healed up at this point.

Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
14.300.000.000.0014.30

Beautiful, clear morning. Pleasantly cool for the whole run. A bit of a canyon breeze right at the mouth of the canyon, but nothing outside of that. Laureen and I left the house about 5:30 (after I drove around to drop water off). We were both amazed by the number of runners we saw this morning. We expected that this close to St. George that we'd see others out and about, but there were two or three times as many as last week. This week we only ran down to Harvey Blvd. before heading north (cutting off a few miles in the process) and we didn't extend the run along the mountain trail, nor run further west along the canal, but outside of that it was basically the same run as last week. Laureen was running stronger, which I was happy to see. If she does well this year at St. George it'll all be worth it. I was hoping to add a few more miles on, but we needed to get back to take the girls to some early activities. With the light rain and cooler temperatures in the afternoon, I was really hoping to get out again, but there was just too much to do.

Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.241.000.000.005.24

Cool morning under clear skies. Temperatures in the high 30's. I was surprised to find some tightness and a little soreness in my left ankle this morning. I shouldn't have taken yesterday off. I needed to get my daughter to school early, but I could have found a way (I felt some extra regret after seeing how nice it was following overnight showers). I felt pretty good by the time I finished, but I need to make sure that I get out every day this week.

For those living in Utah and who run in the morning, you may want to pause for a couple of minutes and watch the skies towards the northwest. The International Space Station will be passing from the northwest to the southeast starting about 6:12 a.m. It won't be quite as bright as Venus, but should be clearly visible.

Pass Details
Date: Wednesday, 26 September, 2007
Satellite: ISS
Observer's Location: Home ( 40.4117°N, 111.7625°W)
Local Time: Mountain Daylight Time (GMT - 6:00)
Orbit: 332 x 346 km, 51.6° (Epoch 24 Sep)
Sun altitude at time of
maximum pass altitude:
-13.3°

Event Time Altitude Azimuth Distance (km)
Leaves shadow 06:10:25 18° 314° (NW ) 926
Maximum altitude 06:12:23 68° 35° (NE ) 367
Drops below 10° altitude 06:15:12 10° 120° (ESE) 1,276
Sets 06:17:12 -0° 123° (ESE) 2,110

Comments(3)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
3.002.240.000.005.24

Clear skies, slightly warmer than yesterday morning with a full moon in the west. Temperatures in the high 30's or low 40's. It was fun to go out this morning with the moon out and the cooler temperatures. Legs felt great except for a little tightness in my right calf. It was beautiful running around the pond in Highland Glen park with the moon reflecting off the mirror surface. I really felt invigorated. As I came up out of the park and ran behind the high school, I paused just before turning onto to 48th West to watch for the International Space Station. It started out pretty faint in the northwest as it was over western Oregon and got progressively brighter as it climbed overhead. Within a couple of minutes it passed between Sirius and Venus and disappeared behind the mountain. It was cool to realize that the astronauts up there had traveled from Oregon to Colorado in just a matter of a few minutes, more than 200 miles overhead. After that I pushed the pace back home as I had to leave early this morning to drop my daughter off at the airport (and just because I felt good). Luckily I could see well enough through the trees along the creekside path to avoid stumbling over something.

Comments(2)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
2.003.240.000.005.24

Beautiful clear morning with a full moon high in the west. Temperatures in the low 40's or high 30's. I wasn't sure I was going to run this morning as I was not feeling well yesterday afternoon and evening. My joints ached, my head hurt, I was chilled and had no appetite. I went to bed early and felt fine this morning.

I left the house around 5:30 and stopped for a few minutes after turning on to 48th west to watch the ISS pass over. It was fairly faint and it's movement could hardly be detected until it got closer overhead (overhead being a relative term as it was hundreds of miles to the south). As it headed southwest it grew dimmer and then disappeared in Provo's light pollution. Starting out my right instep was sore and there was a little tightness in my calves, but after I stopped and started running again I didn't notice it all. I felt great and started to push the pace a bit as I headed down into the park. After looping around the pond and passing by restrooms and trailer I was surprised to see a couple of SUV's coming down the road into the park. Fisherman sometimes arrive pretty early, but something told me these weren't fishermen. I stopped for a minute to see what was going on. The vehicles stopped in the road and four or five people got out and went west on a little trail that leads to the back of some homes. I watched for a couple more minutes and saw them come back, get back in and then slowly turn around. They didn't seem too nervous or concerned so I figured that they were probably OK. As I took the longer loop to the south, I saw them drive out of the park going very slow and turn into the parking lot at Lone Peak. Kind of odd behavior, but then teenagers often do things that are hard to explain. I pushed the pace the rest of the way home as I had a little time to make up. 

Comments(3)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
3.002.240.000.005.24

The most extraordinary thing about today's run is how ordinary it was in almost every respect. It wasn't too hot or too cold. It wasn't too dark or too light. It wasn't too hard or too easy. I didn't run too fast or too slow. I wasn't overly rested when I got up, but I wasn't dragging either. I didn't see any creatures moving around in the dark. I didn't see any suspicious activity of any kind. I saw two ladies out walking, but it would have been more extraordinary if I hadn't seen anybody. My instep was a little sore starting out, but even that pretty much disappeared during the run.

Comments(3)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
141.0444.424.010.00189.47
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