Long May You Run

20:23  ave 6:34.5 average pace.  1st mile 6:29  2nd mile 6:32  last 1.1 mile was 7:22 which  is a 6:42 pace.  I'm a little surprised that my fastest mile was the uphill mile.  I was very happy after that first mile because I thought my next two miles were going to be faster.  Didn't happen.  Kam said good morning to me has he passed me between the 2nd and 3rd mile.

This is the first time I've run this race.   Very impressive, 22 bucks if you register day of, nice microfiber shirt.  No chips, it's all manual pull tag, key ring thing.  Execution was flawless.  Results where in fast and accurate.  These people, the Rotary club I guess, did an excellent job.

Very nice finish line too.  This race is very well supported by the community, in fact, I think all of them knew I wasn't a Centerville boy. 

Beautiful day for a race, I had a great time. 

4.65 miles 40:36  8:44 pace.  Took Sunday and Monday off, it felt nice to take it easy, outside of  some yardwork, which was kind of pleasant, laid low and rested.  I'm planning one more long uphill - downhill body slam before the Desnews marathon.  I'll probably do this on Saturday morning.

5.65 am miles 50:52  9:00 ave pace.

10.1 pm miles 1:32:19  9:08 ave pace.  B Street route.  I'm tired.  

5.65 am miles

10.1 pm miles 

5.65 am miles.  48:24  8:34 ave pace.  Very happy that there is only one run today.

22 mile run from home to the top of City Creek and back.  This run was designed to emulated my Desnews marathon morning prep and time of day run.  I woke up at 2:00 am, ate my oat meal, drank two cups of coffee and watched my recorded version of Friday's Tour de France.  I went to bed at 8:30 to get as much sleep as I could.  My achilles tendon is very sore, so I taped up my ankles, slipped on my white Crocs and headed out the door at 5:00 am.  The running goal today was to climb rather slowly to the top of City Creek and then blast down at an aggressive pace and then hold a marathon goal pace for the last flat 3.5 miles home.  My "B" goal for this race is 3:19:59 (7:38 pace), this would be 10 minutes faster than my BMQ time which puts me in the second early registration wave.  I think I have a realistic shot at this time.  If I hit it, I then have to figure out how in the heck to pay for another trip to Boston, oh joy!

The slow climb to the top of City Creek was rather painful, the slow pace and steep uphill really stressed the achilles.  It was a beautifully cool morning, with my achillies aching I was concerned that I would not be able to do the downhill bomb I was hoping for, but I soldiered on.  

Mile splits up which was 11 miles.

9:22  9:16  9:13  10:29  10:36  10:31  10:05  10:16  10:29  10:43  11:28

Mile splits down

7:24  6:43  6:53  6:53  6:44  7:01  7:08  6:55  7:17  7:27  7:30

The pain subsided within the first mile down, then I went for it.  I kept glancing down at my Garmin to check my pace and I liked what I saw.  There were a few times I was sub six, in fact, 5:43 was the fastest I happened to see.  I wish I could do that on the flat, and for many miles, oh well.

I'm very happy with this run, It turned out better than I expected and it's a confidence builder going into the Desnews marathon.  I got the morning routine down and the downhill training seems to have me prepared.  The hay is in the barn!

For you bird people, I saw a lazuli bunting in City Creek, very beautiful bird.

Total run time, 3:10:28   8:39 ave pace.

Up time 1:52:28  10:13 ave pace 

Down time 1:18:00   7:05 ave pace 

2 super easy miles on the track about 10 minute ave pace.  Mainly wanted to get on my bike for a little spin.  Watching the Tour de France over the last 9 days has made me bike crazy, that and suggesting to another runner on the discussion forum to put his bike away and forget about it.  I feel like a hypocrite.  

4.65 miles 8:52 ave pace 41:14 total time.  Mondays are rough, re-entry back to work and still feeling the effects of Saturday's long run.

5.65 am miles 53:59  9:33 pace

4.65 pm miles 41:03   8:50 pace   

Easing back on the miles, I guess I'm tapering a little.  I can still tell I ran long and hard Saturday.

5.65 am miles  51:40  9:09  ave pace

4.65 pm miles 40:12   8:39 ave pace 

keeping it slow and easy, still feeling a little tired. 

5.65 am miles  51:33  9:07 ave

4.65 pm miles 40:31   8:43 ave   Another easy short day.  Had pesto for dinner made with fresh home grown basil.  Wow, been waiting a long time for this meal, looking forward to many more before "basil season" is over.

5.65 am miles 51:49   9:10 pace.  I doubt I'm going to run Saturday or Sunday, looking forward to the rest.

18.5 miles on the bike.  No running, nice easy weekend, got some chores done, it was very nice.

5 miles 92°  42:57  8:36 ave, hot day.  Hard to believe that I'm going to be marathoning in a week.  Gotta trust the training.

5.15 am miles 47:58   9:19 pace.  great night's sleep, over 9 hours.  woke up late so I had to run with a belly full of oatmeal and coffee.

4.65 pm miles  39:27  8:29 ave pace.  Felt better this afternoon, had a little spring in my step. 

5.65 am miles  48:16  8:33 ave pace.  I have not felt this good for a long time.  I hope this is a sign that my taper is working.  

4.65 pm miles  39:42  8:32 ave pace.  Still feeling good.  Looking forward to resting up the next few days and watching the Tour de France.  Tomorrow's stage is going to be exciting! 

4.65 am miles  42:38  9:10 pace.  Easy cruise into work, did not want to run hard.

4.65 pm miles 38:50  8:21 pace.  Pretty much done running until the race, if anything I might run a few interval half miles at the track at marathon goal pace or something like that.  Strickly psycological.

Could not have asked for better weather for this race, the sun was rarely out and it was nice and overcast for most of the race, most importantly at the end.  Heat was not an issue at all, and for that I'm grateful.  Waiting at the top of East Canyon wasn't too bad, I brought a blow up mattress, pants and a long sleeve shirt.  I needed more than the long sleeve shirt, I was cold.

The last time I ran this race was 2003 and it was my first marathon.  The course is a lot different so I didn't know exactly what to expect.  I wound up liking it but It's definitely not one I will make an effort to do every year.  However,  I like that it's easy in that it's a local marathon so there's brain damage involved with running it.  Roll out of my own bed, short drive to Energy Solutions Arena and I'm done.  No planes, trains, hotels and all that stuff.

My Boston run last April was not the race I wanted to have so I was anxious to get out and marathon again and actually post a time that was indicative of my capabilities.  I wore a pace band for a 3:19, that was my A goal, B goal was sub 3:25 so I can at least hit one of the early registration waves for Boston.  C goal was to just run a qualifying time.  I feel pretty good about my 3:23:55, it's a PR but It still might not be fast enough to win the Boston registration war.  Moreover, I need to figure out how to finance this little trip.  

So, here I go, the plunge from the start line:

1.  7:07

2.  6:51

3.  6:55

4.  7:26

5.  7:51

6.  7:58

7.  8:52

8.  8:24

9.  7:18

10. 7:41

11.  7:26

12.  7:23

13.  7:32

14.  7:35

15.  7:29

16.  7:44

17.  7:40  (at this point, only 15 seconds off pace for 3:19)

18.  8:08   (fogettaboutit) 

19.  7:52   (just hanging on, making sure I don't blow my sub 3:25)

20.  8:01

21.  8:36

22.  7:57

23.  8:06

24.  7:48

25.  8:08

26.  8:27

.2  1:45   (8:45 pace, yes I was sprinting)

The end of this race is tough, I had NOTHING left and hung on for dear life for my sub 3:25.  If I didn't have that carrot dangling in front of me the last 6 miles of this race would have been a lot different.  For the rest of the day I was extremely uncomfortable.  This race really kicked me hard and left me nauseated until about 5:30pm.  Feeling pretty good now and looking forward to going on an eating binge for the next few days.  Ice cream, cookies, candy, pie, donuts and chocolate malts.  Oh, and I'm probably not going to run on the weekends for a while and I'm going to finally put miles on my road bike and channel my inner Tour de France.  The rest of the summer is going to be WONDERFUL!

 Another thing, I ran this marathons in a pair of Crocs.  It worked out very well, I just might be done with running shoes altogether.  "Take That $100 Shoe Manufactures"! 

got our for an easy ride.  My legs are torn up from yesterday's marathon.  I haven't been this sore since my first few marathons.  Standing, walking, going down stairs, bending and getting up from the sitting position are all very painful and difficult.  Cycling was not.  It made me think about cycling as a cross training activity.  I was always thought the point of cross training was to more or less work the same muscles but without the impact.  I don't think I used any of my running muscles while cycling.  Or is the point of cross training to work different muscle groups?

no running, just a chocolate malt today.  I'm not running tomorrow either.  Still having trouble getting around.  I can't believe I'm still this sore, still walking down stairs one step at a time.

another day of recover and another milk shake.  This time from McDonald's with two big macs.  Being a slob is so easy, no wonder it's so popular.

5 miles out and back from home.  Felt nice to get out and run.  This is my first run since Desnews.  I spent 8 hours yesterday doing yardwork and re-finishing our wooden outdoor table and chairs so I was a little depleted to say the least.  I haven't been binging lately like I thought I would.  I ate my english muffins this morning without butter or jam, so I guess I'm back to my weight watcher ways.

47:54  9:35 ave pace.

The ball of my right foot is about to poke through my blue croc, the end it near for these old friends.