It ain't Chinese algebra!

Started with 4 easy miles to loosen things up. My right hip is still not right--guess I'll be going to the chiro soon for a "tune up." Speedwork today and the plan was 3x1600 with a 400m jog between each.

1:10	-
1:17	2:27
1:15	3:42
1:15	4:57

Very surprised with how easy these felt, thus the quick 1st quarter. The 70 didn't feel hard at all, but I eased off on the 2nd (a little too much), and then kept it consistent until the finish. 400m jog.

1:12	-
1:13	2:25
1:14	3:39
1:13	4:52

Again very surprised at the comfortable pace these were, especially with a slower first lap. 400m jog.

1:12	-
1:12	2:24
1:13	3:37
1:11	4:48

What the....? This was my Junior Year PR in HS--how funny is that? I just wanted to stay consistent through 1200m, then see how I felt on the last lap. I felt great, so picked it up slightly and finished the workout right as the wind started to pick up. To be honest, I figured the battery in my watch was on it's last leg and wasn't giving me accurate info. Who knows? I then ran 3.5 miles easy, plus 1 mile barefoot in the grass. I'm very pleased with everything at the moment and hope that I can stay that way for 32 more days.

Rotterdam (136)

Bike 2 miles

P.S. I checked my watch against 2 others I've got at home and it's equally accurate as the others, so I guess today's workout is legit. Good stuff.

Pool workout this morning. 46 laps, but no watch so no time. Felt good.

Bike 8 miles

Started the run with 2 easy miles to Cedar High School, followed by 5-10 minutes of stretching. The plan called for a 10 mile run at marathon pace, but I'm still not sure what that's going to be come May. I'm confident that I can run at 6:00/mile pace, but I want to go faster, but how much? Anyway, most of my tempo runs have been in the 5:30-5:40 range, so I decided I'd be happy with 5:45-5:50 pace with zero miles ran above 6:00/mile pace. I didn't reach my goal....

I ran about 3 miles through the streets of Cedar, between CHS and SUU, before heading west on HWY 56 to complete my WalMart Loop and get a few hills in the course. I felt very comfortable to start with (5:43, 5:44, 5:41) but then the loop/hills started and I slowed some (5:51, 5:51, 5:53), then mile 7 was 6:08 on the worst uphill. Ugh! Frustrating! Finished off the loop, plus up to CHS and back to SUU (5:35, 5:43, 5:21). I'm happy with the finish, but my pace was all over the place and that 6:08 ticked me off.

Finished the workout with 1 mile barefoot in the grass.

Total Time: 57:28

Pace: 5:45

Y2 (66)

2 easy miles, 1 of which was barefoot on grass.

Bike 4 miles

I wasn't feeling the run this morning. We ate dinner somewhat late last night at Texas Roadhouse and then didn't get into bed until late, so I didn't welcome the alarm this morning. I hit snooze and nearly missed out on the run, but my head cleared up and I realized I needed to leave or I wouldn't have time to run before work.

My body didn't feel like anything fast. Neither did my mind. I fear that I may be slipping like I did before St. George last year. I seem to get a little burned-out the final few weeks before a marathon and I may have begun my downward slope. Hope not. I'll try and relax and re-focus the next couple days.

Anyway, I started off with some 8:00 miles (which I was perfectly fine with) and gradually brought it down to 6:11, 6:01, and 5:56 for my last 3 miles. Overall, the pace was still slow though..... Oh well, at least I ran.

Total Time: 1:48:33

Pace: 7:14

Red (267)

My highest mileage week ever!

5 easy miles to warm up, ending at SUU's track for a speed workout. The plan was 10x400m with a 400m jog between each. The rest intervals seemed too much, so I cut them back to a 200m jog (between 90-100 seconds). Goal was 70 on each and splits were as follows:

• 71
• 69
• 69
• 68
• 68
• 68
• 67
• 70
• 69
• 68

I wanted to do some barefoot running but it was simply to cold, especially with the rain we got last night. Instead, did another easy 3 miles around town.

Sinister (149)

Bike 4 miles

No time for a run or swimming. 

Bike 5 miles

3 easy miles to warm up, followed by an 8 mile tempo and 1 mile cool down. The workout wasn't great this morning. I woke up to February and finished my last 3 miles in snow and wind. I couldn't feel my hands/fingers/legs/etc. You get the idea. Where did April go? I ran the WalMart Loop again, hoping to get the same as last weeks time (5:45/mile average), but it didn't happen. Oh well....

Total Tempo Time: 47:02

Pace: 5:53

Rotterdam (148)

Morning in the pool. 50 laps, half freestyle, half "running."

A.M. 8 miles this morning, nice and easy. I wanted to do 20-22 today because I've got to play Army this weekend and won't be able to run tomorrow, but the weather didn't cooperate. We had 20 mph winds blowing through town and I just didn't want to fight them for 2+ hours.

This week has been pretty worthless, mileage-wise. Oh well. That's the way it works sometimes... I should be able to get a long run in on Monday morning.

Pace: 7:15

Red (278)

P.M. 3 miles before going to work. I ran to the football field and ran 2 miles barefoot, then back home.

Army pt test this morning. I tried to jog slow so I'll be fresh tomorrow, but I also wanted to run with Larson. We ran in 13:20, so it wasn't too bad. My last army pt test? Hope so....

Rotterdam (150)

I'm at the top of the mileage board with this run. The first (and last) time that will ever happen. Great run this morning. I'll write more later.

So the view from the top didn't last long. Oh well. About today's run! It rocked! I wasn't able to get a long run in on Saturday because I had to play Army, begining at 7:00 am, so I pushed back the workout until Monday morning. I was fine with that because it was 41 degrees this morning--my favorite temp for a long run.

Got up at 4:50 and ate 1/2 banana and 1/4 bagel and water, then 30 minutes more sleep. I was out the door at 5:50 and under way. I ran 5 miles around town, then did my 14 mile Cedar Knoll loop with Andrea following along in the car with water/gatorade, followed by another 5 miles around town. Here are my splits, followed by some thoughts:

Mile split	Total Time
1) 6:41	-
2) 6:21	13:02
3) 6:11	19:13
4) 6:08	25:21	Bathroom stop
5) 6:12	31:33	Gatorade
6) 6:11	37:44
7) 6:01	43:45
8) 6:17	50:02	Water/Vanilla Gu
9) 6:05	56:07
10) 6:14	1:02:21	Bathroom again?!
11) 6:04	1:08:25
12) 6:02	1:14:27
13) 6:16	1:20:43	Gatorade
14) 6:09	1:26:52
15) 6:07	1:32:59	Gatorade
16) 5:57	1:38:56
17) 6:04	1:45:00
18) 6:06	1:51:06	Water/Powergel
19) 5:58	1:57:04
20) 6:02	2:03:06
21) 6:01	2:09:07
22) 6:02	2:15:09
23) 6:11	2:21:20	Getting tired
24) 6:24	2:27:44	Need a drink, bad!

I started nice and easy, but by mile 3 I could tell that yesterday's Pizza Hut wasn't going to last the whole workout (it's so lame that the Army feeds us such crap for lunch, but that's a whole other issue). I found a bathroom just before mile 5 and felt much better from that point on. Miles 6 and 7 were downhill heading west on HWY 56 before turning south to loop around Cedar Knoll. Miles 8 through 11 were on the rolling hills around the Knoll, plus another bathroom stop right at 10. The uphill started about 11.5 and continued to mile 15 (hotel frontage road). I'm very pleased that I didn't fall apart here like I have in the past! I grabbed some Powergel (plain) and water just before mile 18, then took off for a couple more. The plan was to go 20, but I felt so good that I wanted to see how long I could hold this pace. I needed another drink all sorts of bad around 22, but I was in no-mans land, so I turned around and headed home to call it a day.

All in all, I felt great. This run was such a confidence-booster for Lincoln. My fitness wasn't even in this ball-park last year before SG. My runs were complete junk the final weeks in September. I can only hope that the temps in Nebraska are low-40's and that the humidity won't be out of control. I ran in my singlet and felt fine, but could have used some gloves until mile 14 or so. I ran in Asics Speedstars and feel really good about using them in Lincoln, much better than I did last year training for SG when anything over 14 was too much for me in such a light shoe. I think the gut issues were a combination of yesterday's Pizza Hut lunch and 64 ounces of Gatorade while at drill. Obviously, I would never eat like that before a race, but good learning experience to scale back the Gatorade as well and stick with water instead. I think that's about it. I'm pumped!!!!!

Total Time: 2:27:44

Pace: 6:09

Y2 (90)

Swimming pool this morning.  I debated sleeping instead, but I'm glad I went.  My legs were tight this morning (but not sore), so the water workout really loosened things up.  I "ran" 20 laps (10 in 13:02, 10 in 12:28), then did 26 more laps in 23:16.  In all, just under 50 minutes.  

Where has the nice weather gone? I ran in low-20's this morning and the wind made it feel colder than that. Ugh! Nice and easy today. Pace never went faster than 7:00/mile and sometime dropped around 8:20/mile. The body feels pretty good.

Pace: 7:52

Red (289)

Bike 2 miles 

Running a long run on Monday seems to have thrown off my week. I keep forgetting what day it is, and as a result, what type of workout I should do. Strange how dependent I've become to a scheduled running routine (i.e. speed on Tuesday, tempo on Thursday, long on Saturday). Anyway, normally I would have done a tempo today, but instead ran some hills throughout "the cove." About 5 miles of constant up and down, then 3 miles to SUU's football field to run barefoot. 2 miles barefoot running--feels so good.

Pace: 7:34

Red (297)

Bike 5 miles

Bike 6 miles

3 easy miles for a warm up, followed by a 5-mile "tempo" and 1 mile cool down. It was a rough one this morning..... I'm feeling pretty tired (fatigue from Monday?) plus the wind was unforgiving. Anyway, it turned out to be a challenge just to stay below 6:00/pace. Oh well.

Total Tempo Time: 29:01

Pace: 5:48

Sinister (158)

Highest mileage week ever!

Bike 3 miles

Pretty good morning, although cold as can be. Weather.com said 20 when I left, 21 when I got back, which seems about right because I couldn't feel my fingers. You'd think I'd learn...

My plan called for a 13 mile run, but I wanted to make it 15 so I could compare it to last years training before SGM. 2 weeks prior to running the SGM I ran 15 miles (on a very aided course down Cedar Canyon, starting at Woods Ranch), then ended at SUU's track and did an 800 to see what kind of speed I had after a long run. Anyway, today I ran a much tougher course around Cedar Knoll, then did an 800 as well. I'm happy to say that I'm feeling much stronger this time around and can't wait for Lincoln!!!

Disclaimer: This time I ran 1 mile to warm up, then 14 miles, thus the discrepancy in time.

	Pre-SGM	Pre-Lincoln
Total Time	1:32:50	1:24:57
Pace	6:11	6:04
800	2:38	2:30

Anyway, so I'm feeling pretty good. I actually think I could have ran a faster 800, but a 2:30 is fine. I ran my first lap and realized I hadn't started my watch, so I stopped, rested for 30 seconds, then ran 2 more laps in 2:30. If I'd started my watch correctly the first time, I'm sure my time would have been similar to 2:30 anyway, so no big deal/

Rotterdam (165)

Bike 6 miles

Very busy day. No run.

Bike 2 miles

Nice and easy today. I ran north past the armory 4 miles, then back the same direction. I finished at the SUU football field and ran 1 mile barefoot, then .5 mile home. Nothing special, just relaxing for the next ten days. I might throw in one more speed workout Saturday or Monday, but other than that, no hard runs.

Total Time: 1:16:05

Pace: 7:36

Red (306)

Bike 2 miles 

30 minutes in the swimming pool. I "ran" 20 laps in 25:04, then another 4 laps to reach 30 minutes.

Bike 8 miles

Nothing special this morning. I tried to keep things slow, but my legs are itching to race. Just one more week of relaxed running and I think I'll be good to go!

Pace: 7:14

Rotterdam (170)

Bike 2 miles

Another okay run. I didn't feel great, but I didn't feel horrible either, so I'll take it as a positive. Windy again today, so it was extra-rough on the uphills but not bad on the down. From my house I ran 3 miles up Cedar Canyon to warm up, then turned around and came back in the same general direction but with a few turns here and there to add on some miles. Ended up doing 5 miles at tempo speed because of the downhill and wind at my back. I looked down at my watch once and saw 5:02, then immediately slowed down because that's not at all what I wanted to be doing today. Anyway, finished at the football field and ran 1.5 miles barefoot and another .5 home.

Tempo Time: 28:16

Pace: 5:39

Sinister (167)

Great weather today, which made for a nice run. 2 miles easy to warm up, then to the track for my last speed workout. I did 6x400 with a 400m jog between each. My times were all over the place, but my average was 71, which I'll take. Finished with 1 mile barefoot on the grass and then 1 mile home.

Sinister (173)

50 degrees at 7 am! It's a heatwave! Nice for a training run, but I hope it's nothing like this in Lincoln--the weather report right now is saying rain and temps in the high 30's at the start. Sweet!

Y2 (93)

Bike 6 miles 

Finals week with school.  Good that I'm nearly done, bad that I spend too much time studying and bad that it creates stress the final 5 days before a race.  No time for a run today.  Hopefully tomorrow. 

Bike 4 miles