El Burro Blanco

It was a long day at work so I decided to go for a longer run to clear the mind.  I knew the pace wasn't going to be too fast so I decided to really just focus on being relaxed.  I went up towards North Ogden.  You got to love the rolling hills.  The weather got really cold once the sun went down.  I kept the pace nice and steady and finished the run with a 6:45/mile pace overall.  Happy to get this run in at the start of the week.  I am going to California for Foot Locker at the end of the week so I don't know how my running will be down there.  I will try and keep the mileage up even with all of the festivities going on.

6 miles in the morning.

8.40 miles in the afternoon.

Lots of layers of clothing this morning.  I needed it all once the wind really started to pick up!  The snow is here and it is really cold.  I ran with the cross country team this afternoon and kept the pace slow.  Afterwards I ran a couple miles on my own.  I did 5:43 and 5:34 miles to finish up the day.  Man it is cold!

6 miles in the morning.

9 miles in the afternoon.

Under Armour gear = $100.00.

Shoes and other gear = $100.00.

Running in the snow with cars driving by and people thinking, "What is he doing and where is his mother?" = priceless!

It was still really cold this afternoon minus the light snow.  I got all the warm gear on again and went out.  I had some new shoes (ASICS 2120) and they felt great.  I decided I needed to do a nice tempo run before heading to California with the cross country team.  I went up towards North Ogden and got some of the lovely rolling hills.  My five middle miles were really good during the run: 5:59, 5:54, 5:51, 5:46, 5:43.  I was happy to see the negative splits.  I finished the run in 54:01 for a 6:01/mile pace overall.  Got to love the cold weather baby!

9 miles in the early, early morning.

4 miles in the evening.

I woke up at 3 this morning to get some miles in before the long trip.  I am heading down to California with the cross country team to run at Foot Locker.  It should be fun.  I was pretty tired getting up but really enjoyed the run.  I won't be getting up that early very much anymore but it was so quiet and very relaxing.  The 12 hour trip to California was a long one.  I slept most of the way so it wasn't too bad.  We stopped by the course (where Mt. Sac Relays are) and ran the course.  It is very hilly but something different so it should be fun for the kids.  I am running in the coaches race and don't know what to expect.  This will be my first official cross country race since I didn't run in high school or college.  It is a 5K course so the race should be interesting. 

12.50 miles in the morning and rain.

I woke up and was planning on running outside but it was raining really bad.  I hit the fitness room and did 5 miles at 6:40/mile pace.  I was sweating all over me and the guy next to me and decided it was too hot so I went outside for 2 more miles.  The rain stopped for a bit and it was nice to be out and about on the streets of Anaheim.  I got back and then went with the cross country team for another 5.5 miles.  The rain started back up and it was really fun.  We ran around the hotel and then went running around Dowtown Disney.  People were getting ready to go into the park and were looking at us really funny like, "What are they doing?"  You got to love the runner's mentality!  Rain, sun, snow, or wind.  Doesn't matter.  You got to get the miles in.

I did alright in my first cross country race ever.  It really wasn't cross country though.  Instead of running on the big dirt hills, they moved it all to the road.  They switched the course for the first time ever due to all of the rain.  I didn't bring my flats so I was a little bummed about only having the old trainers.  I saw Ted at the start and talked with him for a bit.  We started and I went out with the top 3 guys.  One of them was trying to be a rabbit while surging and then coming back.  I didn't take the bait but just ran my race.  We hit the first mile at 4:54 and things still felt fine.  I could hear a couple guys right behind me the entire race.  We made our way into the stadium at the finish and the two guys right behind came up and we were all giving it are all with the final 100 yards.  I ended up missing out on 3rd place by 2 seconds.  It was a nice change of scenery for a race.  Talking with the guys afterwards I found out the five in front of me ran in college or are currently running in college.  I was happy with the effort today despite the course being a little long (3.20 according to Ted's Garmin), no flats, and recovering from a cold.  I averaged 5:17/mile overall.  I ran a 2 mile cooldown with Ted and his son.  It was fun talking with them.  The kids on the cross country team had a good time and ran well.  We took a long bus trip back to Mesquite and stayed at the Virgin River hotel.  I ran another 6 miles to top of the night.  I ran the back way from the Virgin River over to the Oasis.  It was nice because their was hardly any traffic.  It was a little hilly which surprised me.  Here are the splits: 6:29, 6:15, 6:01, 5:48, 5:42, and 5:45.  I was happy to get some more miles in due to the long trip.  It helped loosen up the legs.