It ain't Chinese algebra!

Ran to the HS and did 4 miles on the track, then ran home.

I drove to the track with Spencer and we both ran a mile, he took a break while I ran #2, then we both ran one more.  Finished off the morning by running back to the in-laws.  Lungs feeling the pinch of elevation...

Ran toward the lake for 1.5 miles, then turn around and picked up the pace on the return.  Not sure the pace but it felt fine.  More shirtless running= more burned skin.

Ran out and back along the in-laws street.  Heading to Provo soon...

I ran the Provo City Marathon this morning.  It was pretty windy yesterday and when I woke up at 4:30, my phone said 28 mph winds.  What a buzzkill.  I looked out the window and the trees weren't moving too bad though so that was good.  Hopefully it would work out to be a tail wind for most of the race.

Ate a bagel and banana for breakfast about 4:45 and then stood in line from 5:15 to 6:05 before finally enough buses showed up to take us to the starting line.  Got to the start and stood in line for the bathroom.  Guess that makes for less than an ideal warm up.

I didn't have much of a game plan for the race.  Wanted to keep things in check for the first 2 miles (fairly steep out of the canyon) and then base my pace off of that.  The gun went off and 4 guys zoomed to the lead.  The pace wasn't too bad but maybe a touch faster than I wanted.  Figured I better stick with them though because I wanted to work together in the wind and 26 miles is a long way to run by yourself.  2 of the lead guys a BYU singlets on so I figured they'd be tough competition.

We ran the first 4 miles as a group in 22:00 flat (5:30/pace).  Shortly after the 4 mile mark the eventual winner(s) broke off, leaving Jordan Perry and I to 'battle' for 3rd place.  We just chatted along for the next 15 miles.  It was fantastic.  The pace felt casual enough and the company made the miles fly by.  Mentally, it was one of the easiest marathons I've run and I was really enjoying myself.  We hit mile 8 in 44:51 (5:36/pace) and mile 12 in 1:06:23 (5:31/pace).  Again, it was great to run side-by-side with someone and talk about who knows what for over 2/3rd the race.

After making the turn West off of University around mile 14, the wind became a huge bother.  It must have been blowing from the NW because for the next 6 miles, it felt like a constant headwind.  The course ran west for a while, then north for a while, west again and north again.  With each turn in direction, I expected the wind to die down but it just didn't happen.  I couldn't wait to turn around and finally have it at my back.  Mile 16 in 1:30:37 (5:39/pace) and mile 21 in 2:00:27 (5:44/pace).  I couldn't hang with Jordan around the 19-20 mile mark.  My stomach was cramping up pretty good and I wasn't breathing well.  As a result....I slowed down.  Haha.  Mentally I was doing ok but I knew it was going to be a little rough to finish the final 5 miles alone.  So it goes though.

I saw my family at mile 22 and I walked about 6-7 seconds to grab a drink.  By no means did that break fix my situation, but I did feel better once I started running again.  I'm sure the pace didn't improve at all, but for the first time in 5 miles, my stomach felt better as my cramps subsided slightly.  Got to mile 23 in 2:13:19 (5:48/pace) and slowly made my way back to University Ave, up and down the overpass (rough way to finish) and across the finish line in 2:34:44 (5:54/pace).  Miles 19-21 were a little rough and that seems to be where things went south for me.  Oh well.  I felt fine once I finished and stopped running.  Not exhausted or overly tight/stiff/achy.  Just could't go any faster.

It was a pretty cool course--I especially enjoyed running down University Ave for 6 strait miles.  No complaints really.  Glad to get another one under my belt.  And as always, lunch at In-N-Out Burger makes the drive to Utah well worth it.  We'll see how things look for Newport in June.  I figure I'll run it regardless, but it may not be with a PR goal in mind.  We'll see how these next few weeks go.

I slept in.  In my own bed, I might add.  It's been 2 weeks since I could say that...

3 miles in Eugene.  My legs feel great.  By far the best I've felt post-marathon.

5 miles in Eugene on Pre's Trail.  Feeling better each day.  Just a touch tired still, but muscle pain/soreness is at zero.

I ran east towards Wal Mart and looped back behind Fruitdale neighborhood.  Nothing too exciting but my legs are feeling pretty good.  Keeping my fingers crossed...

I was shooting for 10 miles but ran out of time before a 3 hour teleconference began for work.

12 miles. I've felt tired all week.  No soreness or muscle pain, but just general fatigue.  Anyway, today that feeling was finally gone.  Hopefully I've turned a corner.  Either way, this is the best week I've ever had post-marathon.  Usually I don't feel ready to run until Friday or Saturday and it's usually just 2-3 miles.  Other than tired, I've felt great all week.  I'll try and get my miles up again next week.

8 miles around Grants Pass.  Limited time today and tomorrow.

AM: 6 miles in GP @ 5 am.  Now off to Coos Bay for a day with my manager.

PM: 12 miles in Coos Bay.  I ran a 6 mile warm up and found myself at the SWCC track.  It was VERY windy but I felt like running a few repeats so despite the nasty headwind, I ran 4x800m.  Splits were 2:35, 2:34, 2:33, 2:28 with 70 second jogs between each repeat.  Not the fastest splits but they were ok.  4 miles back to the hotel and then sushi for dinner.  Pretty good day.

10 miles in Coos Bay.  Felt a little rundown from last night--1st speed work in a while and then horrible sleep in the hotel.

I ran south towards Cathedral Hills this morning.  That wasn't the plan but I'm glad I ended up there.  Ran a couple miles on the trails which was a lot of fun, although I'll pay for it with allergies for the rest of the day.  I curse this time of year...

AM: 6 miles before work.  Ryan (my 3.5 year old) was awake when I left and was pretty sad he couldn't come with me.  Asked that I take him tonight after work.  Doesn't take much to twist my arm!

PM: 7 miles.  So....when Ryan said he wanted to run with me, he literally meant run, not just accompany me in the jogging stroller like every other time in the past.  Uh...  So I pushed him to the middle school track and said he could run with me there.  I wish I would have timed it!  He ran an entire lap and then said he wanted to run another.  I timed the second one (3:20 for 400 meters) which isn't too shabby for a little fella who won't turn 4 until August!  800 meters!  Crazy...  He was talking throughout both laps about how he wanted to run in a race and be cheered on by; Dad and Mom, both grandparents, all of his cousins, aunts, uncles, neighborhood friends, etc.  He was sure to list each and every one.  Pretty funny.

I put him back in the stroller and jogged a few more miles, then went home and got Miles and then he and I ran 2 more.  Fun afternoon with the boys.

Feeling pretty good (although very tired) after this mornings run.  I had no intentions of running any type of tempo portion as I've felt pretty tired the past two weeks (ever since the Provo Marathon) and the past couple days my left hip flexor has been very tight.  Anyway, I just wanted to get some time on my feet this morning and see that happened.

I ran west past the college and to Jerome Prarie to use the restroom (5 miles) and then looped back around on Applegate Rd for another 5 miles.  The pace felt comfortable the whole time and and I wasn't feeling too tight so win-win.  10 miles in 1:09:42 (6:59 pace)

At that point I decided to test my legs a little bit and increase the pace slightly for the next X miles.  The course was my usual back into town, to the fire station by the river and back home.  Flat basically the whole way and I felt solid.  Hit the next 10 miles in 59:45 (5:59 pace).  So roughly 6:29 for 20 miles.  Not great but not bad either.  I'll take it!

1 mile SLOW cool down 

Felt great for a Monday morning.  I ran past the hospital to All Sports Park and ran loops around the wood chip trail.  Every time I do this I wonder why I don't run here more.  With the sun coming up earlier and earlier I'll try to make it here at least once a week.

Only got 5.5 hours of sleep last night.  Sicks kids, work project until late, etc.  Surprisingly easy to get out of bed though...Strange.  I ran west of town and the usual route.  Kept the course flat and pace easy.

AM: 7 miles in GP

PM: 7 miles in Eugene on Pre's Trail. 

AM: 7 miles in Eugene.  I ran to Hayward Field but it's still closed to the public.  It's been a year since I last ran on this track.  Hopefully they open it back up to the public after state, Prefontaine and the Olympic Trials..

PM: 7 miles in Eugene.  I ran 3 miles to Sheldon HS, then 2 miles on the track (5:46, 5:26) and back to the hotel. 

6 miles on Pre's Trail.  My left leg (quad, hip, hamstring, calf) felt tight and rather painful for the first 2 miles.  Not sure why?  Felt better after I loosened up.  I need a massage...

I came down with something on Saturday night.  I thought it was just bad allergies but I guess not.  The plan was to run 10 miles when I woke up but after just a few minutes of running, I felt I'd be lucky to get in more than 1 mile.  After a few minutes I felt slightly better and decided to keep going.  Made it to 7 and felt TIRED by the time I finished.  Probably not the best time to get sick...

Still sick.  D.E.A.D. TIRED today.  This isn't the marathon taper I had in mind...

Sick again.  But I did go to the chiro and now I'm feeling better with regards to hip flexors and shoulder tightness.  Now if I could just get over this head cold...

5 miles around GP.  Ran around Allen Dale, Albertsons and the hospital.  Feeling 'off.'