Kerry's Running Blog

It was humid this morning, the skies were overcast and the temperatures almost perfect for a run. Did the adventure park loop. I felt good starting out (like the wind was at my back) so I pushed the pace. My legs were a little heavier than on Friday and pace a little slower, but over all, the run went well. Weight after the run was 146.2 (body fat 14.7). My resting heart rate dropped back to 143 yesterday. I should be ready for Saturday.

Took it easy this morning. Skies were clear and the air was fresh from yesterday's rain. Looped behind the high school and back along the trail. A lot of leaves have fallen since yesterday and water is running again in the creek. Perfect day for a run. Did 4x100 strides to finish up the run.

Taper run on an overcast, but pleasant day. No aches or pains, but felt a big sluggish. Finished off with 4X100 strides.

Perfect day for a race. Loved running by moonlight with the cool temperatures. Started out with Paul, Cory, Tom and Kevin. We lost sight of Tom in the first mile (as he went on to a 3:17 finish). Caught up with Larry, Wayne and Kent and ran with them for a while. First mile warming up and dodging people in 8:19 (HR 136). Second mile in 7:59, HR edged up to 151 with the uphill section. Third mile 7:28 pace and with the downhill HR fell to 148. Was definitely holding back through these early miles to avoid the usual crash and burn around 20. Lost Cory at one of the water stops as he was having some plantar pain.

Covered the next four miles at a comfortable pace (7:28, 7:42, 7:24 and 7:16). HR stayed below 150. Started to feel some strain heading up Veyo and into Dammeron Valley. Managed 8:49 and 8:25 over the next two miles. We stopped for a POP break at the beginning of mile 10 and only hit 8:50. At that point the sunlight warmed us up a bit. Mile 11 in 8:43, mile 12 in 8:11. HR 152 to 155 heading up the hill.

We felt tired by the time we finished the climb through Dammeron Valley and it felt good to just let gravity take over. Mile 13 in 7:47, 14 in 8:04 (took another POP break) and 15 in 7:44. We pretty much held the same pace through 18 (7:43, 7:49, 7:50). As Paul was feeling the lingering effects of TOU and wanted to drop back, I plowed on ahead.

I was dreading the next part of the course as it was always during this section that things began to fall apart for me. I felt OK, however heading up the 2 percent grade and finished it in 8:27 (which was faster than I'd projected). The next mile was about the same (8:31). I checked my time at the 20 mile mark and was surprised to see that I'd hit my projected time for a 3:30 to the second. That gave me a burst of energy just as I was hitting the downhill section (7:36 for mile 21). For some reason, I slowed for the next mile (8:22) and my HR climbed to 160. I was starting to feel pretty tired, but the crowds lining the streets provided a big boost so I managed a 8:01 for mile 23 and for mile 24. After turning onto the diagonal, I was feeling pretty much beat. My pace dropped to 8:20 for mile 25 and to 8:50 for mile 26. Realizing that I'd slowed way down and that after all that effort I might miss qualifying, I pushed the last .2 mile as hard as I could (2:06) and finished in 3:31:49, slightly disappointed that I hadn't come in under 3:30, but just greatly relieved to know that all the hard work had paid off with a Boston qualifying time. It was such a great feeling to have reached that goal.

I've held off running for a few days because of some lingering pain in my left knee. As it was gone this morning, I went for a easy run just to ease back into training. Everything felt fine except for a little tightness in my right calf that seemed to cause some soreness in my right ankle after about two miles. Other than that, I feel like I'm ready to get going again.

Felt good to get out. Still a little bit of soreness in my right ankle. Pushed it a little harder the last mile.

Went out with Laureen. Beautiful fall morning. Mostly cloudy, but perfect temperatures.

I wasn't looking forward to going out this morning as it looked kind of cold and wet. It turned out to be almost perfect conditions for a run. I was only going to go out for about three miles, but it was so nice that I decided to head down around the pond. My legs were a little heavy starting out, but I was able to pick up the pace after a couple miles.

Cold wind (10-15 mph) out of the NW. Temperature in the low 40's. It seemed like a miserable day to go for a run as I was walking to the corner, but once I got going it wasn't too bad. When I turned south after the high school, I even started feeling a little too warm. After running around the pond and heading north, the cold wind felt good (although running uphill against the wind isn't my favorite thing). Felt good over all. No aches or pains to speak of.

It was only about 28 degrees when I started out this morning, but the sun was out and only a slight breeze from the south. I felt good, but I'd decided beforehand that I would just run easier today. I think I'm just about fully recovered from the marathon at this point. I'll just try to maintain a good base for the next couple of months.

Took off this morning at a little faster pace than I'd planned on. Maybe it was because it was a little colder or maybe it was the music I was listening to. Usual run through the Adventure Park. Started picking it up as I started up the hill and then picked it up again with a mile left to go. Felt good to run hard.

Didn't sleep well last night. Feel like I'm coming down with a cold (nasal congestion, headache, scratchy throat and so on). Instead of a run this morning, went for a walk with Laureen instead. It was perfect weather and I felt a lot better afterwards. Will try to get out for a run tomorrow.

Felt good this morning, even though I've been fighting off a cold. I wasn't sure that I'd be able to go the whole distance as I haven't been feeling that good, but my lungs and legs didn't complain at all. Ran the extended temple loop with four miles of uphill (average 3.3 percent grade). Averaged 8:37 pace for the whole run.

Beautiful morning for a run. The sky was clear and the temperatures were in the low 50's. Ran the adventure park loop with Laureen. A great morning to get out.

My cold is getting worse and so instead of running today, Laureen and I went for a longer walk along the trail and up to the mouth of American Fork Canyon. It was pleasant and sunny with no wind and just some high clouds.

Felt even worse today than yesterday. Took the dog for a walk when there was a break in the weather. I'm anxious to get back running.

Feeling a little better today, although I still have a cough and some congestion. Ran the adventure park loop with Laureen. Just nice to be out.

Had hoped to go out for a 7 to 10 mile run, but badly strained my back working on building some shelves in our cold storage room. Immediately iced it, took some Motrin and laid down. After a hot bath that night (with one of the jets directed right at my lower back) I was able to sleep and felt much better in the morning. It started to loosen up gradually on Sunday and by the end of the day I hardly noticed it at all. May try to get a run in on Monday.

It was hard starting out, as my lower back was still pretty tender and I couldn't stand up quite straight. The bouncing intially caused some sharp pains that forced me to alter my gait somewhat. It felt great to be out running again on a sunny fall day and gradually the aches and pains began to fade and I was able to go from about a 9:00 minute pace to 8:30. Towards the end of my short run I started to have some bowel discomfort, but I was just happy to have gotten out.

Starting out my back was still a bit sore and my form sort of resembled the last mile or two of a bad marathon (hunched over, shuffling). But things gradually loosened up and I was soon running fairly smoothly. I even managed to pick the pace up heading back along the trail. I'm optimistic that I'll be able to handle the five mile loop in a day or two.