El Burro Blanco

15.35 miles in the morning.

I went out for my run and was a little nervous because of the clouds in the sky.  It looked like it was going to rain.  I forgot it was St. George and it just threatens a lot.  The sun came out and it was fine.  I went from my parent's house in Santa Clara out through Ivins and Kayenta and then back to their house.  I had to stop 2 miles in and take my sleeves off.  It was way to hot for them.  I also had to take a slight detour and go too the Ivin's Chevron.  It wasn't for hot chocolate by the way!  I kept the pace honest and was pushing at times because the wind was blowing slightly.  I ended up doing the run at 6:31/mile pace overall.  I felt fine and the legs were not very sore at all.  This was a good sign.  Now it is back up to the cold weather in Ogden.

   This was kind of a cool picture of the finish at the Painter's Half.

8.05 miles in the morning.

16 miles in the afternoon and evening.

I was going to run a little more last night but the long drive home led to being tired.  I also had to shovel about a foot of snow in our driveway.  Oh well!  I got to bed early and it was much needed.  I woke up this morning feeling refreshed and ready to go.  It was nother nice 8 miler.  Nothing to exciting. 

I did a mini tempo run with the distance runners today.  I had them do a 15 minute warmup and then 30 minutes right around 6:30/mile pace with a 8 minute cooldown.  The roads were not in that great of condition so I was pleased with the effort today.  Some of the team was really pushing each other which was nice to see.

I hurried up to the indoor track at Weber State for my second workout with Paul Pilkington.  I did a 3 mile warmup and then he had me do 16 x 400m @ 70 sec. with 1:30 recovery in between.  I jogged a minute and then walked 30 sec.  He had me run in lane 5 so their was tape on the track to show me exactly how far I needed to go.  On the first 9 400s I was killing myself to get under 70 sec.  I then realized that I was going an extra 20 meters!  The last 7 were not to bad since I really pushed myself the first 9.  Live and learn.  I then did a 1 mile cooldown and hustled home to get some grub in me.  I was hungry!  Today was a big workout day.  My legs are a little sore so I got to bed quick.

8.10 miles in the morning.

12 miles in the afternoon.

My legs were a touch sore this morning but after I started running they felt fine.  I need to make sure I get lots of fluids and keep stretching out real good.  My raspberry from the race is bruising quite nicely.  I hope I survive.

I ran 5 miles fairly easy with the girls distance runners today.  I wanted to see where they are at.  It was an easy day for them.  They pushed each other on the last mile which was nice to see.  I think the boys and girls will be good this year.  I came home and talked to Katey while on the couch and ended up falling asleep for about an hour.  It was a nice nap.  I then hopped on the treadmill and did a mile warmup with the last 6 miles at 6:00/mile pace overall.  I had to stop once due to stomach issues.

8 miles in the morning.

12 miles in the afternoon.

I made sure I got plenty of sleep last night.  I did another 8 miles at 6:00/mile pace.  The runs in the morning are feeling much better now.  The update on the bruise from the race is that it is getting bigger.  Yeah!  I hope it isn't anything serious.  I can't wait for the Spirit of the Marathon movie tonight.  Katey is a trooper for going with me.  She is a great support!

I had the distance runners do plyometrics this afternoon due to the extremely cold weather.  They have been great for going out in the cold stuff everyday. 

I came home and found out much to my chagrin that we had no water.  I thought our pipes froze but came to find out a line in Ogden Canyon broke.  Yikes!  I did a 4 mile warm-up and then hit 4 miles at 5:19/mile pace with a 4 mile cooldown.  I ended up going to my cousin's house for a light "sprinkle" to get clean and then headed off to see "Spirit of the Marathon."  I absolutely loved it!  My favorite parts were when the old guy was talking and then when it showed Deena Kastor coming in and winning bronze at the 2004 Olympics.  She was crying and very emotional.  I will not lie.  I choked up a bit because I can only imagine how hard she worked to get to that point.  The whole movie really got me pumped up.

Our water is still not working so I decided just to do my run in the afternoon.  I get pretty smelly and stinky during my runs and I didn't want to frighten the students by not taking a shower this morning.  12 or 13 miles this afternoon and then hopefully 20 miles tomorrow.  I might have to do 15 in the morning and 5 or so in the evening because I will be at Weber State all day with the track team.

I ended up doing 4 easy miles with the track team and then another 10 miles at around 6:00/mile pace once I got home.  The legs felt fine today.

15 miles in the morning.

I woke up early to get some miles in before the indoor track meet at Weber State.  I did the first 10 miles at 6:00/mile pace and then hit the next 2 and a half miles at 5:19/mile pace and then did a half mile at around 5:00/mile pace.  Afterwards I did a 2 mile cooldown.  It was nice to push the pace for a couple miles this morning.  The indoor track meet went well today considering it was the first meet of the season.  Many of the boys hadn't broken 6:00 min. for the mile but many of them went low 5:30's or faster which was nice to see.  Also, the girls 4x 800m relay took second behind Davis.  I think with the base right now and then getting on the track to do interval work with help the runners get that much faster.

I got home and was a touch tired but the legs were needing a few easy miles to loosen up.  I did 5 miles and then called it a day.  I was happy with this week because it was the week after a half marathon and I had some big workouts without any continual soreness in my legs.  Glad to be done for the week though.