El Burro Blanco

6 miles in the morning.

11 miles in the afternoon.

It took me almost 15 minutes to get ready this morning due to all the layers of clothing.  Getting dressed shouldn't take this long! I beat my time for getting dressed and did it in 10 minutes this afternoon. I was stoked about this. I went out and it started to snow and got a little windy. I stuck with my plan for the tempo run and finished with a 6:03/mile pace overall. I had 5 miles that were under 6:00/mile pace. I was happy considering the rolling hills and the slight headwind. I really need to stay focused and continue to get out in this wonderful weather. It was a steamy 24 degrees this afternoon!

6 miles in the windy morning.

12 miles in the afternoon.

I drove back from Logan last night and my car was blowing all over the road.  I heard the garbage can blowover and then the wind rustling the trees throughout the night.  I woke up this morning and every ounce of my body was telling me to stay in bed.  I didn't listen and went outside.  The canyon winds were not fun and it was really cold.  I had to deal with 30-40 mph winds, hurdling over broken tree limbs, and almost blowing over 5 times.  I'm glad to have gotten out this morning and survive!  The weather was awesome this afternoon.  It was sunny and slightly warm.  I didn't have to wear my Under Armour pants.  This was a first in a long time.  The pace was nice and slow today.  I made sure the route was flat.  I did the run at 6:39/mile pace overall.  It was a little faster than I wanted to do because I had to help supervise at the Fremont basketball game but it was alright.  It was a nice relaxing run. 

6 miles in the morning.

11 miles in the afternoon.

It was a "steamy" 16 degrees this morning on the run.  The legs never really got warmed up but that happens when the weather is nice and chilly.  I got home and was pretty tired but knew I needed to get a good tempo run in.  The route was fairly flat with a little bit of uphill.  My first two mile splits were: 6:29 and 6:05 for a warmup.  I then wanted to hit the next few miles all under 6:00/mile pace.  Here are the splits for the next 8 miles: 5:56, 5:54, 5:46, 5:55, 5:50, 5:48, 5:55, and 5:56.  My last mile was 6:00/mile pace and slightly uphill so I was very happy with the finish.  The overall pace for the run was 5:57/mile.  This was a nice tempo run for me and I was happy to get it in.  Everything felt relaxed and in control today.

6 miles in the morning.

12 miles in the afternoon.

I did some track work this morning at Ben Lomond.  I wasn't planning on any speed work but just needed a change of scenery for the morning run.  24 laps around the track isn't terribly exciting but throw in some ice and snow on the surface and it makes for an interesting run.  I got home and it was snowing very lightly.  I went out and then it really started coming down.  The roads got really wet and slippery.  It felt like I was skating at times.  I held back the urge to do some double axles though!  I had to slow down a bit but it was alright.  I even got sprayed by a big truck throwing salt on the ground.  The joys of winter running.  I averaged 6:50/mile pace overall. 

6 miles in the morning.

10 miles in the afternoon.

Katey and I put our new treadmill together last night.  It was quite the process.  It will be good when it is really slippery outside.  Katey will use it during the winter so she can stay in shape a little bit.  I hopped on and tried it out this morning.  Not bad and glad I did because it was very slick outside.  The heavens were shining down on us today.  All the yucky snow on the roads melted which made it worthwhile to head back outside.  I got home and decided to just go for a run.  I was planning on running with James today but he is still sick.  I did a nice out and back route and averaged 6:34/mile overall.  It didn't feel like to much of a push today.  Happy to get the miles in.

I got a really good nights worth of sleep last night.  Katey put in a movie and I was out like a rock!  I woke up at about 8 this morning and the clouds were out and about.  It made for a chilly day but that is life.  I decided to go up and run on part of the Ogden Marathon course today.  I am going to start doing this a little more to get me ready for running the race in May.  I started at the Huntsville Cemetery and then went too Eden Park.  This is the half way point of the Ogden Marathon.  I took a short potty break and then came back towards Huntsville.  Once I got back to Huntsville, I run back and forth on some of the streets in "downtown."  I felt a little like James due to the crazy dogs barking at me.  No problems or cool stories to report.  Sorry!  I wanted to push the pace but knew the cold weather was going to play a factor.  I averaged 6:15/mile overall.  My face was frozen and really pink.  I got kind of cold and hurried back down too Ogden to hop in the shower and warm up.  I am still working on my base until the end of the year and then will revamp with more speed work and tempo runs.  Happy with another 100 mile week.