El Burro Blanco

It felt good to be running again.  I want to start this week a little slow just to make sure the strep doesn't come back.  I will hit it hard again starting tomorrow.  I did the run at 7:18/mile pace overall.  I was glad to get moving again.  I don't like being sick and I don't like being sedentary.  I am glad to have 2007 come to an end and am looking forward to a great 2008.  This year has been good to me with my wife, job, and running.  I truly have been blessed and can't wait to see what happens in 2008.  It should be another good one.  Happy New Year to you all!

15 miles in the morning.

5.25 miles in the early evening.

Happy New Year everyone.  I can't believe it is 2008.  I wanted to start the year out on a good note so I decided to go and do a longer run this morning.  It was beautiful weather.  It was nice and sunny and not to cold.  The roads were still snowy and slick with very few dry spots but I enjoyed this run a lot.  I did my North Ogden rolling hills out and back.  I hit about 2 miles of wind blowing in my face going uphill in quite a bit of snow.  It worked me but it was a good push.  I had to stop at my Grandma's house for a potty break.  My aunt opened the door and said, "Idiot!"  She told me I was crazy for running in this cold weather.  You got to love family!  I did the run at 6:42/mile pace overall.  Not bad considering the road conditions.  I did another 5.25 miles in the early evening to keep the legs loose and get 20 for the day.  Good start to 2008.  Good luck to everyone this year.

8 miles in the morning.

12 miles in the afternoon.

Back to the early morning runs before I head off to work.  Felt good to get back on schedule and get back into the normal everyday routine.  I got home from work and was a little tired but had a good 12 miler.  I ran the first 11 miles at 6:39/mile pace and then finished with a 6:00/mile.  Not a bad push.  Sat in a cold bath afterwards to loosen up the muscles. 

6.50 miles in the morning.

14 miles in the evening.

I didn't go as far as I wanted to this morning due to sleeping in a touch.  It is nice to get a little extra sleep every now and then though.  We had our first indoor track practice today.  It went pretty good.  I have some great runners that hopefully will do well this year.  I am coaching the distance runners (800, 1600, 3200) so if anybody has any suggestions for workouts they did in high school or track, please let me know.  I am new to this coaching thing.  I came home late and hopped on the treadmill.  I did 14 miles while watching Prefontaine.  What a classic!  I did the run at 6:49/mile pace overall.  I am still building a base this week and will hopefully get some speed workouts in next week.

6.10 miles in the morning.

13.90 miles in the afternoon.

I have the greatest wife in the world.  She massaged my legs out last night and it helped them feel much better this morning.  I think we are going to get a massage on Saturday afternoon.  Yeah!  Nice easy run this morning.  I ran with the track team today.  We did 5.5 miles pretty easy.  I was running from the fast group back to some of the slower runners.  It was a nice little push going back and forth between the two.  I got home and did another 8.4 miles on the treadmill at 6:44/mile pace overall.

The weather was crazy last night and into this morning.  It rained and then turned into wet, slushy snow during the night.  I was planning on doing my run on the Ogden Marathon course but decided to stay around town.  I woke up and the roads were slushy and very wet.  I waited a little bit until the snow plows cleaned the roads but it didn't help to much.  I ran from the house up into North Ogden.  I ran all the way through North Ogden into Pleasant View and almost got the Highway 89.  I got sprayed with water and wet snow from a couple cars.  You got to love it.  When I started back at 10 miles, the sun came out a little bit and really cleaned up the roads.  I was carrying a little extra weight due to all the water in my pants and shoes.  It was still slushy and slippery but their was a lot of water on the road due to the snow melting.  Thanks global warming!  I saw a temperature gauge on the city offices and it said 41 degrees.  I couldn't believe how warm it was.  I nearly slipped twice but it was a nice run today.  I finished the run with a 6:39/mile pace overall.  I was happy with this due to the road conditions and the fact that 10 miles of this route is gradual uphill. 

I haven't done a 20 miler in a while now.  I forgot how much better it is to have other people to run with on the long runs.  I could have used some company to pass the time.  This week is a first on many levels.  It was my first time ever running 20 miles 5 days straight and it is also the first time I have hit the 110 mile mark.  Not a bad start to 2008.  I will do some more speed work next week.  I need to go and take a nap now!!!