Long May You Run

14 out and back from home, about 4 miles were along the Legacy trail.  1:55:34  8:15 ave.  Wasn't going to run this fast but it just kind of happened.  Last two were 7:53 and 7:31.

10 miles, 1:25:37  8:34 ave.  B Street route, along 11th ave, behind Capitol.  Wore shorts, yipee!

5.15 am miles  46:39  9:08 ave

4.65 pm miles  40:52  8:47 ave.  worked late, no extra miles, ran straight home.

6.15 am miles  53:11  8:39 pace

10.1 pm miles 1:30:46  8:59 ave pave.  B St route, 11th ave, behind Capitol, home. 

Went to bed at 9 last night, I love when that happens! 

5.65 am miles 53:18  9:26 ave

7.1 pm miles 1:07:11  9:28  B St. route 

really feeling the miles this week.  Lyman, if you see this post, this is "unforced" slow running.  I could not run faster if my life depended on it.  Slow, grinding pound today. 

6.15 am miles  56:33  9:11 ave pace

6.15 pm miles 55:55  9:06 ave pace

dead legs.  rare Friday afternoon run 

20 miles 2:49:31 8:29 ave pace.  For some reason I wore my Kinvaras today.  Turned out to be a good move.  Once I hit Legacy trail it was snow packed.  Had i been in Crocs I would have turned back and only logged an 11 mile run.  The snow pack was perfect, only about and inch or two deep.  The triangular cleats of the Kinvaras dug in nicely.  beautiful day for a run, it was nice to wear sunglasses.

4.65 miles 43:58  9:28  

slow and tired today.  No energy or will to run up B Street and make this the usual 7 mile run.  It's good to have Monday behind me.  There's another run waiting for me in the morning. 

6.15 am miles 55:01  8:57 ave

10.1 pm miles  1:34:36  9:22 ave pace  B Street, 11th ave, Capitol route.

Usually I feel terrible when I run this slow, it means I'm beat up in a major way but for some reason I felt pretty good, I'm actually a little surprised I was running this slow.  The morning run felt about right. 

5.65 am miles 52:42  9:20 ave

10.1 pm miles 1:36:06  9:31 ave.

Oh yeah, good and beat up.  I guess starting out your week with a 20 miler takes the spunk out of you.  This afternoon was wonderful, I could see all the way to the point of the mountain from 11th ave.  Clear days like this have been rare lately.  However, the act of running was a little on the painful side but a good workout.  I'm a firm believer that running on tired legs builds strength and speed, at least for me. 

5.15 am miles

5.15 pm miles

No watch today, i'm sure I was slow.  Cut the pm run short.  It was still light when I got home, what a treat. 

5.15 am miles.  No watch, beautiful clear morning.  Looking forward to a relaxing weekend.  4 NFL games, a little college basketball and the US Marathon trials.  I doubt we'll be leaving the house this weekend, except for a run or two.

5 miles on the track.  41:55 8:23 ave pace.  Beautiful Saturday, sunshine and everything.  I almost did not run today but I couldn't hold back.  I'm very tired but I figured 5 miles wouldn't hurt.

It looks like i'm going to lose a big toe nail, or is it bigtoe nail or big toenail?  Anyway, it's starting to die.  I ruined it on my 20 mile run last Sunday in my Kinvaras.  I knew at mile 15 I was in trouble.  Luckily, even though it's sore, it's not an issue at all in my Crocs.  I guess that's what I get for wearing a stupid 90 dollar running shoe!

Well, the Olympic marathon trials are about to start, then a couple of NFL games plus a little college basketball.  I think the Jazz are playing too.  I've got a heck of a workload that probably won't end until about 11pm. 

4.65 miles.  direct route home from work.  42:04 9:03 ave.  No desire for extra miles today.  Skipped B Street mountain.  Didn't run Sunday.  I accomplished my goal of watching all the NFL games and not leaving the house with the exception of a little 5 miler late Saturday morning.  Rough re-entry into the world today, glad to be home, safe and sound.

5.15 am miles, no watch.  Cold morning.  The type of hand warmer/mitten type thing I wear makes it practically impossible to wear a watch.  No problem, it's nice to just run.

10.1 pm miles.  Took the B Street mountain.  No problem today, well rested with low miles on Fri, Sat, Sun off and Monday was also a low mileage day.  I want to hit about 75 miles this week which means I'll have to make time for a 20 miler on Saturday.  It's looking like about 80% right now. 

5.65 am miles 49:39 8:47 ave.

10.1 pm miles 1:33:29 9:16 ave pace B Street route.  My achilles tendons were very sore.  I think it was the ace ankle wrap things.  At least I hope so.  I felt much better once I got home and took them off, and saw my wife.

5.15 am miles  47:19 9:11 pace

5.65 pm miles  49:48  8:49 pace

Nice warm day.  Shorts!!!!

Cut the pm run short, had a few chores at home to take care of.  The reduced mileage is welcome as well, especially if I run 20 on Saturday. 

5.65 am miles 51:13  9:04 pace.  Warm morning, shorts again.  I'm still thinking about 20 tomorrow morning.  If it's windy, I might bag it.  I hate running in wind.  What will probably happen is that I'll head out from home for an out and back, I'll hit the 5 mile out mark and say "well, just 5 more" then before I know it I'm involved in a 20 miler. 

20 miles 2:52:05  8:36 ave.  The way the wind was howling this morning while I was still in bed had me thinking I was going to bag this 20 miler.  I don't like to run long in the wind.  It had died down by the time I got out of bed at about 5:15.  It was warm and breezy so I figured the run was on.  Rain and wind was in the forecast so I didn't want to do an out and back.  I decided to run at the track so if the wind kicked up I'd only be dealing with it half the time.

The first hour was warm and calm.  The rain started to fall lightly, stayed that way for a while and the last 4 miles were in heavy rain.  The last mile was my fastest at 7:50, the prior 4 were eights.  My body is thanking me for doing this run on the soft, flat surface of the track.  I'm thinking of staying away from the B Street mountain for a while and do more miles on the track. 

6 miles behind the Capitol.  54:50  9:08 ave.  After 20 yesterday I felt surprisingly good.  What a beautiful day, got to wear sunglasses!  I probably could have gotten away with shorts but I knew I'd be running short and slowly.  5K next Saturday so I'm only going to log about 50 miles this week.  I want to have fresh legs and run well during the race.

4.65 miles 40:42  8:45 ave pace.  Glad to be home.  Tired, didn't feel like running at all but it's the only way to get home.

5.15 am miles 48:39  9:27 pace

4.65 pm miles 41:51  9:00 pace

Keeping on the low mileage plan this week. 

5.15 am miles 

4.65 pm miles 39:58  8:36 ave 

5.65 am miles 48:59 8:40 ave pace, no pants today, yipee!

5.65 pm miles  48:41  8:37 ave pace.

Stopped by the track and ran 2 x 200 and 1 x 400 at a 6 minute per mile pace.  I wanted to feel some fast pace so I would know what i'm in for on Saturday.  My legs felt better than they have felt in a long time, should be race ready.  We'll see.  

4.65 am miles slow and easy  43:51  9:26 ave.

I'm a little worried I didn't have the fire in my legs like I did yesterday.  I only ran .75 miles hard and fast yesterday, I hope I didn't drain too much juice.  Need it for tomorrow. 

The goal was sub 20.  As usual, the running gods keep messing with me in order to keep me motivated.  I knew i was going to be close but I didn't get the extra second that was lost somewhere on the course.  According to my watch i was 20:00.10.  I didn't write up my report yesterday because I was hoping that the official time would have me at 19:59.  My watch time is always the exact same time as the official time, but I held out hope anyway.  

First mile 6:18.  This was perfect, I could not have asked for a better 1st mile, this is exactly what I wanted.  A 6:25 pace was my measuring stick.  I felt really good after this first mile, I felt like I could maintain this pace the rest of the way, maybe even pick up a few seconds.

When I got to the turnaround I was at 3:32, which still close to a 6:25 pace (only two seconds off).  I felt like I was speeding up the 2nd half of the 2nd mile because I was slightly closing the gap on the people in front of me, plus it felt a tad faster.  2nd mile was 6:28.  One of my age group competitors was was about 20 feet ahead of me the whole time, of course I was trying to catch him.  This was unusual because he is always at least a minute faster than I am.  I was encoraged because he was not gaping me, in fact, I gained a several feet on him during this mile.

 3rd mile, I know I only have about a 5 second buffer for my sub 20 so I'm giving it all I've got.  I'm still gaining on my competitor, he's maybe 15 feet ahead of me with about a half mile to go, I'm hanging on with everything I've got.  I think I'm slowing a little bit because I'm passed by two other runners.  This is discouraging but at this point I'm trying to hang on to my sub 20 and my AG competitor is beginning to gap me.  I hit the mile marker, 6:33.  My 5 second buffer is gone and now it's a 10th of a mile race with the clock to get back under 20.  It's a tie, I finish in 20:00.

This is a course PR for me so I have that to be happy about.  Looking forward to the 10K and trying to pick off one of my AG competitors.  I love this series for that reason.  You become familiar with your competitors and it's fun to race against them.  I love racing, competing and getting beat more often than I win.  It keeps me training hard and coming back for more.  A top three finish and a ribbon does not look likely this year but I'm sure as heck going to try! 

10 miles on the track.  1:27:07  8:43 ave.  Another day in shorts, what a weird winter we're having.  

10.65 miles 1:33:28  8:47 ave.  6 miles of this run was on the track.  I'm going to lay off B Street for a while, it's really beating me up.

5.15 am miles 45:33  8:51 ave

10.65 pm miles 1:35:38  8:59 ave 6 miles on the track.   

5.15 am miles 49:23 ave 9:35.   fatigue setting in.

10.65 pm miles 1:39:07  9:18 ave.  Yes, big time fatigue.  This run was a weight lifting session.  Each step was effort, no flow, no bounce just pushing dead weight.  It also felt like I had a 75 pound backpack.  

5.15 am miles

4.65 pm miles.

No time to post the time and ave pace but it's very very slow.  I'm very beat up.  Looking forward to only one run tomorrow.  Yeah Friday. 

4.65 slow easy miles. 20 tomorrow?  I'm planning on it.

20 miles out and back from home 2:55:58  8:48 ave pace.  This is a flat route.  I'm happy with this run.  Reducing my mileage on thrs and fri was a smart thing.  My achillies tendons are very sore and pretty much hurt with each step, oh well, not much I can do about that except block it out, which I'm getting pretty good at.  The rest of my legs felt great, good strength and power.  I really could have laid down some impressive (for me) splits in the last 4 or 5 miles but I decided keep the leg juice in my legs.  It's doing more for me mentally knowing that I could have finished at about a 7:30 than actually doing it.  I started out slow, the first few miles were 9:10 then I settled into about 8:45 for a bunch of miles and finished the last few at about 8:30.  As I left the house this morning an owl flew over my head and landed in the top of a pine tree across the street.  Wow, it's not often you get to see and owl in your neighborhood.  Now I'm going to ice my achillies and have another tall glass of chocolate milk then drink a bunch of coffee.  Life is good.

6 miles on the track.  56:03  9:21 ave.  What a weird run.  I felt totally disoriented the first 3 miles.  My arms and legs didn't seem to work in unison, I even felt a little dizzy.  My first 3 miles were 9:54  10:03  10:01.  10 minute miles? Yeah, something was wrong and it felt weird.  4th mile 9:19 then things changed almost instantly.  I felt great, strong fast and light.  8:28 the 8:17.

4.65 miles 40:43  8:46 ave pace.

5.15 am miles 46:09  8:58 ave

4.65 pm miles 40:59  8:49 ave

Starting to settle into "running shoes", I've been out of my Crocs for a few days now, no particular reason, just doing something a little different.  I think running in Crocs has built up my leg muscles much better than traditional shoes.  I feel stronger in running shoes. 

4.65 am miles  43:03  9:15 pace

4.65 pm miles  41:56  9:01

slow slogging today, very tires.  Going at it slow, easy and short so I'll be ready for the 10K on Saturday. 

5.15 am miles  46:46 9:05 ave pace

4.65 pm miles 40:19  8:40 ave 

keeping mileage low. 

4.65 miles, no watch, easy run.

Pretty much a perfect race day.  No wind and mild temperature.

1st mile 6:50

2nd mile 6:48

3rd mile 6:49

4th mile 6:46

5th mile 6:45

6th mile 6:41

.2 end  1:18  (6:30 pace)

My race plan came together perfectly.  This is exactly how I wanted to run this race.  The only minor quibble was that I wanted to be about 3 to 5 seconds per mile faster, but don't we all?  I've been running this race for about 8 consecutive years.  Today was a course PR for me and white ribbon 3rd place finish.  Call me crazy but I'll pour my guts out to win a elementary-school-3rd place-spelling bee-style ribbon.  I'm very happy!

6 miles out and back from home in the light rain.  55:32  9:15 ave pace.  28 days of consecutive running.  I wasn't trying to do this but I just realized it's been a long time since I had a day without running so I went back and counted.

4.65  40:28 8:42 ave pace

5.15 am miles 45:53  8:55 ave pace

10.65 pm miles 1:33:51  8:49 ave  6 miles on the track.  Rested after a few days of low mileage.  Lets see how I feel by Thursday, I doubt it will last.   

5.15 am miles 47:03  9:08 ave

10.65 pm miles 1:35:29  8:58 ave

Put the Crocs back on today.  Either my legs were tired, which they are, or the Crocs take more effort to run in.  If that's the case, it's a great training effect. 

4.65 am miles 42:23  9:07 pace

10.65 pm miles 1:37:16  9:08 pace  6 miles on the track

4.65 miles  44:32  9:35 pace.  The week has taken it's toll, I'm very tired and beat up.  Was it just me or was the blog down Thursday night?  I've been on a pizza rampage.  4 slices last night and 3 more for lunch today, I feel like an undisciplined slob.  It's so easy to listen to your body when it's saying "eat more pizza, your body needs it".   

20 miles out and back from home.  2:51:08  8:33 ave pace.  Started out slow, 9:17  9:01  8:53  8:51 8:35 and then stayed between 8:30 and 8:45 until mile 16.  I wanted to do the last 5 at 8:00 or faster.  Mile 16 was 8:03 and felt great, I had good strength and thought I could hold it, maybe even go a little faster.  Mile 17 I lost focus and ran 8:15, after getting focused mile 18 was 8:00.  I decided to go harder for the last two.  It almost felt like I was racing, really good focus and feel, everything was working well.  Mile 19  7:48 then and mile 20  7:24.

4.65 miles, slow and easy.  41:14  8:52 ave.  i actually felt like I ran slower than this.  I took yesterday off and it was the first day off after 30 continuous days of running.  I didn't do a darn thing except sit, eat and nap.  I still feel like a slug and now I'm going to eat chocolate chip cookies.  Ever since last Thursday I've been eating like a pig.

5.15 am mile 46:21  9:00 pace 

4.65 pm miles 40:58  8:49 ave pace.  didn't have the desire to run extra miles.  I feel kind of strange, I think I need some reduced mileage.

I haven't felt right since I woke up Sunday morning.   

5.65 am miles  49:00  8:40 ave pace

6.65 pm miles 57:55  8:43 ave pace

Feeling much better.  Held my mileage back today, cut the afternoon run short by 4 miles.  The winter series races and 20 milers on non race Saturdays are starting to wear me down.  I'm going to hold my mileage back tomorrow too and Fridays are always short.  Need to be 15K race ready Saturday.

5.65 am miles   50:14  8:54 ave pace

4.65 pm miles 41:19  8:53 ave pace.  Very very tired, no extra miles.  Hard to imagine that I will be race ready by Saturday, but one way or another, I will be. 

4.65 miles, no watch.

Wow, 10 years in a row for me, for this series.  I thought It was somewhere around 8 and I wanted to double check so I went back and counted.  2003 was my first year.  My 15K that year was 1:21:10, ave pace 8:43 and second to last in my age group.  I love this series and I love my 10 shirts and 10 wooden "metals".

Diversion over, now for this years 15K.  I'm writing this the day after and I already read everyone's race report so I don't feel like I need to rehash how windy it was.

My time was 1:04:17, 6:55 ave pace.  This is only 3 seconds slower than last years PR.  Not bad considering the less than Ideal conditions of this race.

I took 3rd in the 10K and knew this was the best I could do against the competition in my age group.  The man I had to beat for 3rd was Erich Kuster, and I liked my chances in the 15K.  So at the beginning of the race I sought out where he was and marked him.  My strategy was to hang with him for most of the race and then throw the hammer down on him in the last mile or so.  (It worked for the 10K)

My splits going out were 6:57  6:57  6:44  6:48  (32:00 flat at the turn around) and here is where it gets interesting.  Erich was about 25 feet ahead of me and that's right about where I wanted him.   Up to the turn around I kept him about 10-20 feet ahead of me, everything was going well.  Shortly after the turn around an Ironman passed me.  I knew he was an Ironman because it was on his calf and he ran a little ways in front of me on the way out and I passed him about a quarter mile before the turn around.  I was very happy to see him pass me because I knew we were running about the same pace so I jumped in his slipstream and he wound up pulling me all the way up to Erich with ease.  When we passed Erich, Erich said "I'm going to hitch on to this train".  So the three of us ran together for for the next 2.5 miles each taking turns pulling into the headwind.  It was great while it lasted, we would each pull for about 3 minutes and rotate.  It was Tour de France on sneakers. Our splits were 6:59 6:56 and 7:03.  Unfortunately I got dropped at mile 7.  I just couldn't hang and those two began to gap me.  About a half mile later, Erich got dropped.

I still had Erich in my sights and was not going to give up.  I wanted that silly 3rd place white ribbon.  My next split for mile 8 was 7:00.  I was closing the gap on Erich but very very slowly so I gave it all I had and honestly thought I would catching him the last mile or within the last three tenths.  I wound up with the fasted split of the race trying to catch him, 6:43.  Not bad for the 9th mile of the race going into a stiff headwind.  The last .3 was 2:10, by this time I knew I was not going to beat Erich so I probably slowed a little even though I knew I was very close to a PR.  2:10 is the equivalent to 7:13 so I really pooped the bed this last third.

At the finish I got to talk to the guy that I drafted with, Nate Marcotte and of course Erich.  This was probably one of the most fun races I've ever had.  It's fun to know who your competition is and be matched close enough to have a duel.  If I weren't chasing Erich, I would have run slower today for sure. 

Turns out, what I thought was a battle for the white ribbon was actually a battle for 4th.  Water showed up, bumped Rob Murphy from Masters winner to AG 1st, Taha Mahamood  2nd and Bill Cobler 3rd.  You four gentlemen are way out of my league. 

Even though the conditions were bad, that meant they were bad for all of us.  I was excited to compete for the white ribbon.  I'm glad I did not know about Walter prior to the race.  That would have changed the dynamics of the race for me and I would not have even tried for a PR due to the wind.  What a day, what a race!

Today's workout involved jelly beans, M&M's and a 3 hour nap.  Later in the day I brought in 2 boxes of Easter decorations from the garage and filled the bird feeders.  That's it.

4.65 miles 40:36  8:45 ave pace.

Mondays are rough, good to be home. 

5.15 am miles 8:46 ave pace

11.9 pm miles 1:45:24  8:51 ave pace.  felt like a bona fide  runner this afternoon.  Had some energy, rhythm and focus.  I know I'll feel like trash in a few days so I enjoyed it while it lasted.

5.65 am miles  51:47  9:10 ave pace

12.65 pm miles 1:49:34  8:40 pace.   Coldest run of the year.  Wind and snow but I had to get it done.  I'm only going to be able to run about 10 total tomorrow and Friday is always minimal so this was my last day to log some miles between now and Saturday.  I'm glad it's over and done with.

5.15 am miles 46:53  9:06 pace.

4.65 pm miles 42:39  9:10 pace.  Extremely beat up.  Kept this run short.  I wan't to be able to do 20 on Saturday. 

4.65 easy slow miles to work.  Should be okay for tomorrow's 20 miler.

20 miles out and back from home.  3:04:42  9:14 ave pace.  This is embarrassingly slow.  I had the wind at my back on the way out and in my face on the return.  I ran 9's going out and 9:30's back.  I hope this run does me some good because I sure didn't enjoy it.  I had no drive to run fast and the headwind didn't help.  Everything hurt.  Now that I'm back and settled in with an excellent cup of french pressed coffee I feel like I didn't even run.  I'ts probably because I ran so slowly it didn't take anything out of me.

I tried a new form a nourishment, Belvita something breakfast/cookie/biscuit thing.  It worked well.  This is the first time (this training year) that I took any kind of nourishment, I almost always don't.  My go to nourishment in a marathon is Fig Newtons.  I'm contemplating switching.  Fig Newtons have served me well so I don't even know why I'm even thinking about it.  My coffee cup is now empty and I need to get up for more and I'm not coming back so this is it.

Bad 20 miler in the books!   

4.65 miles 37:45  8:07  ave pace.  felt like a million bucks.  Warm day, 60°, shorts.

5.65 am miles 50:22  8:55 pace

10.65 pm miles  1:32:07  8:40 pace.  Cold, wind and snow.  Last Tuesday was miserable like this.  what is it with miserable Tuesdays?  Glad it's over, pretty good workout. 

6.15 am miles 54:39  8:53 ave

10.65 pm miles 1:31:53  8:38 ave pace 

5.15 am miles

10.65 pm miles 1:37:20  9:08 ave.  Very tired and beat up.  I was up until midnight last night, only 5 hours of sleep and I'm really feeling it. 

5.15 miles, no watch.  It's late, 9:30pm Friday night, I'm going to bed.  Life of a middle aged man.

10 miles out and back from home.  Short sleeves and shorts, spring is here!!  1:30:34  9:03 ave.  Planing about 85 miles this week, ending with a 20 miler on Saturday.

7.65 mile 1:06:56   8:45 ave pace.  shorts and short sleeve shirt.  Spring is here and will be all week.

5.15 am miles 47:19  9:11 pace

10.65 pm miles 1:35:03  8:55 pace  might be time to go back to the Crocs, these Kinvaras are chewing up my big toe.

5.15 am miles  47:25  9:12 ave pace

10.65 pm miles 1:35:57  9:01 ave pace.  Nice to be in Crocs again. 

5.65 am miles 51:31  9:07 ave

10:65 pm miles 1:38:24  9:14 pace.  rough grind, more like a weight lifting session.  typical Thursday in a relatively high mileage week.  Tomorrow will be light, I'm looking forward to it. 

4.65 easy slow miles.  No watch

21.1 miles. 3:11:12  9:04 ave.  There was a lot of uphill (and downhill) and wind.  Glad it's over, now I'm heading out for some Guinness on tap and a burger.

4.65 miles 41:47  8:59 pace

5.65 am miles 52:06  9:13 pace

10.65 pm miles 1:35:13  8:56 ave  Very tired.  Almost cut this run short I felt so tired.  Don't know why, I had a lot of sleep last night, only ran 4.65 miles yesterday and took Sunday off. 

5.15 am miles 45:49  8:54 ave pace

10.65 pm miles 1:36:17  9:02 ave pace.  Nice warm day.  Tired and beat up.  I must be getting close to marathon day. 

5.15 am miles 48:53 9:30 pace.  Wow, I knew I was going to be beat up and tired, this is really slow.

10.65 pm miles 1:38:13  9:13 pace.  I wasn't sure If I could hammer out 10.65 today.  All week I was thinking I might cut this one short today, but it looks like I made it.  Friday is a short day and I'm probably not going to run Saturday.  If I do it will only be a few miles. 

5.15 am miles to work.  No watch, easy run.

10.63 miles from home.  1:31:56  8:39 pace

5.65 miles 50:54  9:01 ave pace

5.15 am miles  46:50  9:06 ave pace

10.65 pm miles 1:36:42  9:05 ave pace.  Looking forward to starting my taper.  still have a lot of miles to log this week and planning a 20 on Saturday.  I doubt I need another 20 miler, I think this will be my 6th one leading up to the SL marathon, but I need to do this mentally. 

5.15 am miles  46:37  9:03 ave pace.

10.65 pm miles 1:35:03  8:55 ave.  This is probably my last 10 miler after work until I start training for something else.  Bittersweet.  Oh, and I ate too much pizza tonight so I figured I'd go all the way and top it off with a little candy. 

4.65 am miles 44:31  9:35 ave pace

4.65 pm miles  40:43  8:45 ave pace

very tired 

4.65 am miles 43:11  9:17 ave pace

4.65 40:15  8:39 ave

5.15 am miles  46:26  9:01 ave

4.65 pm miles 39:44 8:33 ave 

It's sure nice to be back in Crocs.  I guess I'm tapering.  I didn't run Sat or Sun.  Dead tired.  I felt a little bit of fire returning in my legs, not much, but a little. 

5.15 am miles  47:58  9:19 pace

4.65 pm miles 41:16   8:52 pace

4.9 am miles.  dentist after work, no pm run, more rest.

5.15 am miles

6 miles out and back from home.  47:58  8:00 ave.  Ran a little progression 8:51  8:40  8:04  7:41  7:27  7:16  It felt good to be down in the 7's.

4.65 miles 39:29  8:29 ave pace.

5.15 am miles 45:01  8:44 ave pace

5.65 pm miles 47:45 8:27 ave pace

I'm starting to feel strong, the taper seems to be working. 

4.65 am miles 42:37  9:10 ave 

4.65 pm miles 41:11  8:51 ave

Tired and sluggish.  Going to bed early tonight. 

4.65 am miles  40:25  8:42 ave

4.65 pm miles 40:10  8:38 ave 

4.65 am miles

4.65 miles, no watch.  After reading about Boston and the effect the heat had on everyone, I'm getting very concerned about the Salt Lake Marathon.  Saturday is supposed to 80°.

4.65 am miles 41:18  8:53 ave pace 

4.65 pm miles 38:45 8:20 ave pace

4.65 am miles 41:02  8:49 pace.

4.65 miles.  Show time Saturday!

Race Division was 40-49  13 of 136,  71 of 985 overall 8 of 66 AG

1st half 1:39:24  2nd half 1:44:02  4:38 +split 

Strategy: Run no mile slower than 7:50 (except 25-26, nasty uphill kick) Stay between 7:48 - 7:35 if I feel good feel free to go 7:30, don't do the 1st half too fast, save some juice for the last 6, it's going to be hot.  I knew I could run slightly better than 3:25 (my BQ time), that was my minimum goal.  I felt I could beat it by at least a few minutes, really wanted, and half expected 3:20-3:21.  Hitting 3-high teens, 3:18-3:19 not totally out of the question.

Perfect morning, about 50°-52°  First half of the race was very cool and shady.  I happened to line up by the half marathon 7:37 pace group for the 1st 4 miles which is about want I wanted during the first few miles, I didn't want to start too fast and it looks like we both did, shame on the pacer and shame on me.  If I would have let him go, I would have though I wasn't runing 7:37 but he never adjusted his pace.  Maybe he told his group he was going to go out fast because it was down hill.  Oh well, I was still happy because this pace felt incredibly easy.

1 7:20

2 7:24

3 7:16

4 7:16

5 8:05  1st mile away from the "7:37 pacer" and into Sugarhouse Park, A little slow for what I wanted, I think I took the uphill a little to slowly.

6 7:01  Way overcompensated for a 8 minute'r

7 7:42

8 7:47

9 7:50

10 7:52

11 7:16

12 7:41

13 7:59  I was exactly 3 minutes ahead of a 3:25 finish and felt strong and powerful.  I was way happy and was having the race of my life.  I've run enough marathons to know that this feeling does not last but I felt confident in my abilities today but still concerned about the looming heat.

14 7:47

15 7:27

16 7:34

17 7:35

18 7:41

19 7:48  Getting ready to tell myself to throw the hammer down but the hammer is curiously heavy.  The "last 6" is hitting me harder than expected and catches me off guard.  The heat didn't help either, it's 

20 7:51  I'm happy to be still be following the "no slower than 7:50" rule but I know I can't keep it up.  

21 8:10  Now I'm focused on running each mile as fast as I can, knowing I'm chewing into the 3 and a half minute "buffer" I've built up trying to hit a low 3:20.

22 8:13  Still hanging on, knowing I have a good chance at surviving sub 3:25. 

23 8:07  Giving up about 15 seconds a mile is making me nervous but still feel incontrol.

24 8:06  Very happy to have maintained my "new" pace.

25 8:22  I knew I was going to give some time here, it's uphill, hard and hot.

26 8:40  Half of the this mile is the steepest of the uphill, but as soon as you crest South Temple you can see the finish line and it's a downhill sprint.

.2 1:31 (7:31) 

I'm happy with my time, I'm confident it's fast enough to get me into Boston.  I just need to decide if I want to spend the money to go.  There is no way to do this race on the cheep.  This race is a new PR for me, I'm happy about that but based on my 5-10 and 15K I should be faster in the marathon.  The predictor tables all show I should be 3:15.  This might be a good topic to put on the discussion board, it looks like I'm lacking something in my training. 

Hopped on the bike to channel my inner Tour de France.  Nice to go spin on sore, tired legs.  Afterward, drove downtown and checked out the tulips and walk through the City Creek Center for the fist time.  What a beautiful day.

4.65  42:07  9:03 pace

4.65 am miles  42:31  9:09 ave pace

4.65 pm miles   39:56  8:35 ave pace.  legs still a little sore.  There's not going to be much more running this week, I will probably take the weekend off or at least Saturday.  

4.65 am miles 41:38  8:57 ave pace

4.65 pm miles 39:22  8:28 ave pace 

still a little sore, there will be very little running for me Fri, Sat, Sun and Mon.  Looking forward to it.  This should conclude my recovery, I just need to be careful about my eating.  I've gained 2 pounds since the marathon, I don't want any more. 

10 miles 1:19:46  7:59  ave.  

4 easy slow miles out and back from home.  36:55  9:14 pace.

4.65 miles 38:34  8:18 ave pace

4.65 am miles 41:53   9:00 pace

4.65 pm miles 40:56  8:48 pace

keeping it short and easy, not quite ready to start doing anything with my runs. Enjoying not being a slave to the training log. 

4.65 am miles  43:58  9:27

4.65 om miles   40:26  8:42

4.65 am miles  40:26  8:42 ave

4.65 pm miles 39:34  8:31 

4.65 am miles 42:32  9:09 pace.  I really don't like my Fastwitch or Kinvaras.

4.65 miles first run after having the weekend off.  got lots of sleep and a little yard work done.

3 runs today  

4.65 am miles  40:09  8:38 ave pace

5.39 pm miles  49:55  9:16 pace  From work, up B Street, across 11th ave, down to Dr. office.

5.71 more pm miles  50:54  8:55 ave pace, downtown SL to home

4.65 am miles  40:59 8:49 ave

4.65 pm miles 40:19  8:40 ave.  yesterday's runs left me sore.   

4.65 am miles 40:21  8:41 ave pace

4.65 pm miles 39:22  8:28 ave pace.  Went back to the Adidas Cabatos, they felt pretty good, much better than the Fastwich and Kinvara.  I'm going to have a hard time wearing those out.

4.65 miles.  

4.65 miles.  Trying to decide what shoes to run Ogden in.  My white Crocs have the least amount of miles on them so it might be those.

4.65 am miles  41:20  8:53 ave.

4.65 pm miles  didn't time the run.  Warm day, 90°

4.65 am miles  41:02  8:49 pace

4.65 pm miles  40:20 8:40 pace 

4.65 easy miles

First time running the Ogden Marathon.  Wow, I wish I would have done this a long time ago, what a terrific race.  Paul (prlman), thank you for making this happen, who knows how much longer I may have put this off.  For about the last 7 or 8 years I've been running the Salt Lake Marathon and had no desire to run another marathon 4 weeks later.  

Now I have a problem, the Salt Lake Marathon is near and dear to my heart but Odgen is a way better marathon course.  I'll probably run Salt Lake as a training run and save my juice for Ogden.

Since I had just poured everything into SL Marathon a few weeks ago, I knew I didn't have it in me to chase a PR.  My approach was to go out easy, a little under 8 minute pace, check myself at the halfway point and then decide to either throw the hammer down or dial it back and enjoy the scenery.  

Halfway I was a few seconds under 1:44 (7:56 pace).  I felt good and decided to push for a negative split.  I barely made it at 1:43:46, negative by 14 seconds.

I'm not nearly as sore today (i'm typing this up Sunday morning) as I usually am after a marathon.  I'm about as sore as I am after a good hard 20 mile training run.  Stairs are no problem.  I don't know if the Ogden course agrees with my body or if I just didn't run hard enough to shred my legs.  Looking back, I don't think I could have run this any faster than I did.

1. 8:04

2. 8:04

3. 6:40

4. 8:25

5. 7:48

6. 7:39

7. 7:44

8. 7:45

9. 8:03

10. 8:05

11. 8:16

12. 8:12

13. 8:17

14. 8:10

15. 8:28

16. 8:04

17. 8:08

18. 7:38

19. 7:57

20. 7:58

21. 7:43

22. 7:26

23. 7:27

24. 7:55

25. 8:07

26. 8:04

.2. 1:39  (8:15)

The last two miles were very tough compared to the prior 6.  I love this course. 

222 out of 2385 overall

176 out of 1206 men

22 out of 134 AG  (I raced with under someone else's bib, this is where I would have finish in my AG) 

4.65 miles 42:33  9:09 pace.  Interestingly, very little soreness today, like yesterday.  My legs were dead and running was a chore, and labored.

4.65 am miles 40:29  8:42 ave pace

1.5 pm miles.   

10 miles out and back from home.  1:25:28  8:33 pace.  Ran a bit of a progression, from 8:54 to 7:57.  Felt good.  Time to get back into it after having 3 days off.  Achilles feel good, I hope they hold, i want to get back to hill running.  I miss it.  

10 miles out and back from home 1:22:03  8:12 ave

4.65 miles  38:19 8:14 ave pace.  Re-entry back to work after a long weekend, it was rough.

4.65 am miles  only measured a few miles, my pace was about 8:40

7.1 pm miles.  Finally back up B Street.  It has been a long time since I've run this route, good to be back.  1:01:19  8:38 pace. 

5.15 am miles 43:20  8:25 pace.   

7.1 miles pm 9:08 pace 1:04:50  B Street route.  Tiring climb up B street, almost took me 14 minutes, that's pretty darn slow.

4.65 miles slow and easy.  no watch.  ate too much food today.

16 miles from track to the top of city creek and back.  2:31:38  9:21 ave.  Ran with my nephew, getting him prepared for DesNews.  Perfect day, City Creek is beautiful, felt like a summer day.  We each drank a quart of chocolate milk and ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich right when we finished.  It doesn't get any better than that!  

4.65 miles no watch

4.65 am miles 41:31  8:56 ave pace

4.65 pm miles 37:52 8:09 ave pace

4.65 am miles 37:50  8:08 ave pace

7.1 pm miles 1:01:33  8:40 ave pace, B street route 

4.65 am miles  40:37  8:45 pace

10.1 pm miles 1:28:11  8:44 pace  B Street route plus 11th ave. 

4.65 miles no watch

7.1 miles 1:01:40  B Street route 8:41 ave pace.  Took the weekend off, ate ice cream, drank beer and took naps.  I was sure ready to run again, it felt good.

5.15 am miles 42:36  8:16 ave pace

10.1 pm miles 1:27:43  8:41 ave pace B Street route. 

4.65 am miles 37:50  8:08 ave pace

10.1 pm miles 1:29:42  8:53 ave pace.  B street route. 

4.65 am miles 39:14  8:26 pace

10.1 pm miles 1:34:44  9:23 pace.  yes, I was feeling this last double of the week.  This was a tough run today.  9:23 pace says it all. 

4.65 no watch.  I thought this run today was going to be a grind, but it wasn't.  Yesterday's afternoon run really kicked me hard but I bounced back pretty well.

4.65 miles, super easy.  A little sick today, almost left work early.  Had a busy, fun weekend, did not make any time for running.  Looking forward to bed.

4.65 am miles  42:57  9:14 ave pace

4.65 pm miles 39:19  8:27 ave pace   feeling much better today after going to bed at 8pm.  Didn't have the get up and go to add miles coming home, which would be the B Street route.  maybe tomorrow.   Lunges after pm run. 

4.65 am miles  8:40 ave pace

10.35 pm miles 1:35:16  9:12 ave pace.  It seems like I ran faster than that.  B Street rout. 

4.65 miles

Road my bike to the track, did some short hard running and road back home.  The hard running part was 2 x half mile at about 5K pace.  1 mile warm up, half lap (200) rest and half mile cool down.  My splits were 3:03 and 3:16.  My goal was 3:07 and I wanted to do 3 intervals instead of 2.  I don't know if it was the near 100 degree heat or fitness level that made me quit after two?

6.15 afternoon miles  53:11  8:39 ave pace  hot day, high 90's.  Loving the heat, good thing it's a dry heat.

5.15 am miles  43:29  8:27 ave pace

6.25 pm miles 54:20  8:42 ave pace.  15 lunges.   87°

4.65 am miles 8:46 ave pace

6.15 pm miles 53:06 8:38 ave pace  88°  20 lunges.

4.65 am miles  41:02  8:49 ave pace

4.65 pm miles 38:11  8:13 ave pace 

4.65 miles

15.28 miles DesNews Marathon route.  Top of Big Mountain to Hogle Zoo.  8:48  ave pace.  Total time 2:14:27.  Ran the route with my nephew.  Has a good time and a good run.  I had a quart of chocolate milk and a pp&j sandwich for each of us at the finish.   That chocolate mike was sooooo good and sooooo cold, I easily would have paid a $100.00 for it.  Good day to be alive and healthy on the planet.

6.15 miles 53:46 8:45 ave.  Nice hot, dry day 95°.

4.65 miles 39:36  8:31 pace

No 4th of July race for me.  I went on a bike ride.  No traffic at all, beautiful late morning ride.

6 miles out and back from home.  rained all day, went out for a run right after it stopped.  I wanted to run in the rain, because I forgot what it felt like, but it just didn't work out that way.  It was very humid, at least for around here.  53:10  8:52 ave.

9 miles 1:16:24  8:29 ave.  Liberty Park 95° wood chip trail.  Nice hot day, tough to go 10 miles in these temps and 9 was plenty tough.  I sure enjoyed the fountain in the southeast corner at the end of my run.  Bee sting on my second toe, one of the hazards of running in Crocs.  A few times I jumped out the chip trail and ran along the grass next to it.  I must have scooped up a bee into one of the large vents along the front of the shoe.  Everything is fine now, no negative results.  At first, I thought it was one of the wood chips poking me but it persisted so I kicked off my shoe there was a bee glommed on the end of my toe stinging away.  

6.15 hot afternoon miles 

4.65 am miles 40:42  8:45 pace

6.15 pm miles 55:31  9:02 ave pace hot day 101° 

4.65 am miles  43:01  9:15 ave pace

4.65 pm miles 41:55  9:01 ave another 100° day 

4.65 am mile

4.65 pm miles.  Can't remember which Crocs I wore so I'm leaving out the shoe miles.  These runs were incredibly tough for me, like one of, or possibly the most difficult runs in a long long time. 

4.65 miles

11.4 miles 1:42:26  8:59  Ran the lower route of the DesNews marathon with my nephew.  Cool day, about 70°, no sun.  Perfect running conditions for this time of year.

4.65 miles 39:44  8:32 ave

4.65 am miles

4.65 pm miles 

4.65 am miles

4.65 pm miles no watch 

Ride to farmers market, beautiful day.

I ran this race with my 18 year old nephew.  We ran it at his pace and he did very well.  Perfect weather for July 24, cool, overcast and a little drizzle of rain for a few miles toward the end of Emigration canyon.  I was very worried about what kind of shape he would be in once we got to the last 6 miles.  He held up well, maintained a strong pace through mile 25 and gutted his way through the last mile, which damn near killed him but he did it. The last mile was about a 9 even but we where pulling 8 to 8:30 from about mile 19.  18 year olds hold up pretty well.  We ran the top of the race conservatively, I was holding him back to keep the splits no faster than low 8's in the steep parts and we took it easy going up Little Mountain.  I think we ran a smart race, he got a great time for his first marathon, finished 6th out of 11 in his age group and 139th overall.  I had a great time helping him through his training, running some long runs with him and pacing him through the race.  It's pretty much one of those big time family memories that will remain with me for the rest of my life.  His mom, dad (my brother)  and older brother ran the 10K and waited for us at the finish line.  Great day indeed.

splits

1  8:31

2  8:01

3  8:25

4  9:04

5  8:26

6  9:18

7  10:07

8  9:29

9  8:21

10  8:41

11  8:12

12  8:43

13  8:39

14  8:56

15  8:33

16  8:35

17  8:35  16 and 17 are averages, I missed mile marker 16

18  8:52  

19  8:18

20  8:18  19 and 20 are averages, I missed mile marker 19

21  9:05

22  7:52

23  8:48

24  8:28

25  8:30

26.2  10:47 or 8:59 ave pace 

4.65 slow afternoon run, legs pretty sore but not bad. 42:41  9:11 ave pace

4.65 am miles 43:41  9:24 ave pace.

4.65 pm miles  42:50  9:13 ave pace  I'm very sore and should not be running twice a day but I kind of had to.  I will probably not run for a few days.

6 miles out and back from home 52:00  8:40 ave

10 miles out and back from home.  1:35.11  9:31 pace.  Hot day today, probably upper 90's.  I ran at 2pm on a totally empty stomach.  On top of that, I have eaten very little since Saturday.  This run killed me, nutrition is very important.  If this were an out and back run, I would have cut it short at about 5 or 6 miles.  I weighed myself at 6am, after my run at 3:30 I lost 5 pounds.  

4.65 am miles 38:11  8:13

4.65 pm miles  40:37  8:44

to and from farmers market

4.65 am miles 40:27  8:42 pace

4.65 pm miles 38:31  8:17 pace

5.15 am run 42:50  8:19 pace 

4.65 pm run 38:36  8:18 pace

to and from farmers market

4.65 am miles

4.65 pm miles 37:43 8:06 ave

4.65 am miles 39:44  8:33 ave

4.65 pm miles 37:42  8:06 ave 

4.90  am miles

4.65 pm miles 

to and from farmers market

15 miles out and back from home.  Feels good to run again. 2:06:14  8:25 ave

4.65 am miles 38:18  8:14 ave pace

4.65 pm miles 37:55  8:09 ave 

5.15 am miles 42:05  8:10 ave pace 

4.65 pm miles 37:39  8:06 ave  pace 20 lunges.  The decrease mileage of the last month or so has been great.  I feel good and no pain or soreness in my achilles.  I hope it stays that way, I'm sick and tired of the achilles issue. 

4.65 am

4.65 pm 

4.65 am miles.  wore running shoes today instead of Crocs, feeling crazy I guess.

6 miles out and back from home.  49:38  8:16 ave.  I wanted to run a progression but I tapped out at mile 4.  disappointing run for me.  I wanted to get at or near my 5k pace, which is about 6:20.  6:59 was the fastest at mile 4 and it killed me.  The temp was in the low 90's but I still think I should have been able to get close.  I wish I could blame more on the heat but I'm reluctant to.  After mile 4, I death marched the last two miles at 9:30 pace.

8:27  8:00  7:11  6:59  9:27  9:34.

Time to put a little more into running.  Last two months have pretty much been a diversion from running.  It was a nice break but time to return.

No pm run, went to the coach's show.

4.65 pm 42:20, may have been 5.15, can't remember if I did a loop around the Delta Center.  Based on my time, I think I did.

4.65 pm 40:14  8:39 

13 miles out and back from home 1:49:34  8:26 ave, held the pace pretty steady but did the last one faster at 7:36.  Felt good today, probably the lower temp.

21.62 miles from the front of my house to the top of City Creek and back.  3:20:36  9:17 ave.  I'm not a good enough writer to express how beautiful this run was.  City Creek was amazing, sight, sound, temperature and smell.  All the weekend rain really greened it up too.  

4.65 miles.  feel great.  I rebounded very well from my 21 mile city creek run. 

4.65 am run only today.

4.9 am miles 43:37  8:54 pace

4.65 pm miles 40:36  8:44 pace 

4.9 miles 40:36  8:17 pace

6 miles out and back from home 50:04  8:21 ave

4.65 miles no watch

4.65 am miles 38:36  8:18 pace

4.65 pm miles 38:30  8:17 pace  

4.65 miles

5.15 am miles 44:12  8:35 pace

4.65 pm miles 39:56  8:35 ave pace 

One of my favorite races of the year.  I didn't run as fast as I was thinking I could, I can tell I've been running less mileage this summer.  Oh well, I'm having a great summer and had a great time at this race.  1st in AG is always good.  There were 12 men in my age group and about 407 overall.  This is a tough, hilly 5k.

4.65 am miles 

4.65 pm miles 38:28  8:16 pace 

no watch today

I ran this race as one of the pacers for the 3:35 group with Paul (prlman on the blog)  It was my first time pacing and I enjoyed it very much.  This is a good race and Big Cottonwood is beautiful this time of year.  The first 14-15 miles of this race is very fast, the next 11.2 is full of rollers and a few decent hills.  The last half mile of this race is a KILLER.  My pace over the last .2 miles was 14 minute mile equivalent.  It took me 2:47 to cover that distance.   ... I couldn't believe it either.  It is a very brutal, steep finish. 

7:14

7:14

7:45

7:28

7:53

7:57

7:30

8:05

7:47

7:21

7:55

7:45

8:01

7:56

8:01

8:49

8:19

8:59

10:05

8:07

8:43

7:53

8:44

8:59

8:26

9:05

2:47 (13:55 pace) 

first run since the marathon on Saturday.  That race really tore me up good.  This little run today was not very pleasant but it was good to get back on the horse.

4.65 miles, no watch, feel a little better today

tested out my brother's garmin.

Nice run home after a long day at work.  Beautiful warm fall evening.

4.65 am miles 39:11  8:26 pace

7.1 pm miles 53:44  7:34 pace.  B Street route, nice to do this run again.  This time seems very fast for me especially with the 1st mile and a half a steep uphill.  I felt really good but I can't believe I was running this fast, not that I'm incapable, just very surprised. 

6 miles out and back from home  47:42  7:57 ave pace.  I fell in the road today.  Hit the ground hard and fast, like someone tripped me.  Very strange.  A few cuts on my hand but that's it.  I landed on my hands and dropped my shoulder and turned into a beautiful roll.

4.65 pm miles

4.65 am miles

4.65 pm miles 

4.65 am miles

4.65 am miles

1 pm mile 

4.65 morning miles

4.65 am miles

4.65 pm miles 

4.65 am miles

4.65 am miles

4.65 pm miles 

4.65 am miles

6 miles out and back from home 51:35  8:36

10 miles out and back from home 1:25:03  8:30  ave.

9:07  9:07  8:53  8:48  8:45  8:35  8:23  7:56  7:48  7:40 

wound up being a progression. 

4.65 miles, nice cool autumn evening.  not many of these left.

4.65 am miles

4.65 pm miles 

5.15 am miles, cool morning rain. Nice fall day.

4.65 am miles 

4.65 pm miles 

5 miles 44:35  8:55 ave

warm weather. 

70° very warm for this time of year.

4.65 am miles

4.65 pm miles 

4.65 am

4.65 pm 

4.65 miles

5 miles out and back from home, ave pace was about 8:03