First 10-k in four years, although I've run 10-ks as part of Olympic distance tris.  Did not know what to expect but had fun with it.  Barely kept the average pace under 7:00 miles at 6:56.  I gave a full effort but didn't feel completely exhausted at the end. I may have improved my time a little

Splits:

Mile 1	06:49.9	06:49.9
Mile 2	06:31.8	13:21.8
Mile 3	07:02.7	20:24.4
Mile 4	06:51.1	27:15.5
Mile 5 - 6.2	15:51	43:06.8	(av pace 7:12)

Congrats to one of my running partners that won here age group, Becky Burnett!

Canyon run, easy.  Recovering from 3 days in the Uintas with a heavy pack.

Moderate effort up City Creek Canyon with Jeff and relaxed stride down.  Calves loosened a little more during this run.  No left knee pain.  Light wieghts after run.   Calves should be in good shape for the Provo Canyon Half Marathon this Saturday.

On the the uphill I noticed my ability to maintain a pace that requires labored breathing has increased and my recovery times have shortened.  This is likely due to the medication.

Two days to the Provo Canyon Half Marathon!  Don't want to make any predictions since it has been a very long time since I've raced a half marathon and a little over a year since my last marathon (which went very poorly).  I am optimistic given the way I've felt with the long runs for the past 3 months and how the Des News 10-k went.

Today was the last run prior to the race.  I ran up to the guards gate (City Creek Canyon) faster than I should of and then turned around till I met up with Dick.  Took it easy back up to the guards gate with Dick and coasted back down.  Everything feels ready to go this Saturday.  I just need to get a good noghts rest tonight since I am sure that I'll sleep poorly tomorrow night.

Great Race!  I was shooting for a sub 1:40 so I'm happy with the result.  The plan was to run at a 7:30 pace for the first 10 miles and then run as hard as I could the last 3.1.  However, I'm either blind or the race organizers didn't not provide mile markers for each mile.  So I ran on feel.  The first 4 minutes or so was very slow, trying to get around the slower runners.  But once I got into the right crowd I managed to find an ideal pace. 

Here are the splits I could manage to record:

Mile 1 - 6    44:31  7:25 ave pace    44:31 total

Mile 7 - 9    22:36  7:32 ave pace 1:07:07  total (didn't slow down much in the uphill portion)

Mile 10-11  14:47  7:23 ave pace  1:21:54 total

Mile 12          7:40  7:40 ave pace  1:29:34 total

Mile 13 to end 7:31 6:49 ave pace  1:37:05 total

My best guess is that Mile 12 was measured long and the last 1.1 miles was measured short.  I don't trust the markers much given the commetary that others have blogged.  However, I still managed a even split (first half of the race = second half of the race). 

As I parked my car at the mouth of City Creek Canyon I see Becky run by with a friend.  Since Becky is a sub 3 hour marathoner I decide not to run with her.  I needed a recovery run.  So I head out with Dick and Jeri, which would be just right pace wise.  That lasts about 100 yards and Jeff comes by wanting to talk about the half marathon on Saturday.  So I keep pace with him.  And then Jeff decides we need to catch up with Becky... 

What was suppose to be a recovery run turns into a close to threshold run on the way up.  We did catch Becky and slowed the pace a little.  We ran back down at a moderate pace.  It actually got rid off all the lingering soreness in my legs so it just might have worked perfectly for a recovery run. 

Another City Creek Canyon run.  Started out too fast with Jeff.  Found myself reaching my threshold pace for the first 2 to 2.5 miles.  I let Jeff turnaround at the 1 - mile marker and headed up to "Stuart's crack", our 3.5 mile mark and returned and a very slow and easy pace.  Quite honestly yesterday was a hard effort and today's first 2.5 miles was a hard effort, specially after having raced last weekend.  I was planning on a tempo run tomorrow but I don't think I've got the legs or lungs for it.  I may just spin tomorrow and then do my tempo on Thursday.

I took yesterday off to let me legs rest a little from the race last weekend and two runs that were more intense that intended.  It work.  Ifelt fresh for todays tempo workout.

Mile 1 - 8:35 warmup

Mile 2 - 7:23

Mile 3 - 7:24

Mile 4 - 7:24 

Mile 5 to 5.5 - 3:58 recovery jog

Mile 5.5  to 6.5 - 7.16

Mile 6.5 to 7.5 - 7:17

Mile 7.5 to 8.5 - 7:15

0.25 cool down jog

I did the second 3-miler a little faster since I didn't feel like I has hitting the ideal tempo exertion level.  Good run.

Easy pace up City Creek Canyon with Stuart, Dick and Jerry.  Left knee felt a little tender which is probably the result of all the down hill running last Saturday, Monday and Tuesday.  Tomorrow's run will be a flat course.  I'm been doing some research on exercises to strengthen the knees.  Let me know if you have any that worked for you.

Slow run at an aver. pace of 8:35.  Low  energy today.  Flat course. 

Speed workout day. For anyone that may have read Sasha's indications as to adding miles before doing speed work, with a minimum of 56 miles per week before including speed work, I politely disagree.  The theory goes that at a marathon distance endurance is the main limiting factor rather than speed.  It is my view that it is always an equation of endurance and speed.  5k and 10k times tend to corrrelate to marathon times for all runners so speed is always going to be in the mix.  My PR in the marathon, as humble a time it is, was reached thanks to added speed work to my weekly training and never exceeding 55 miles per week.  I am positive that Sasha can talk circles around me regarding this subject but you got to go with what works for you.

So I did my Yasso 800s (really Yasso 804.672s since I was doing half miles):

Mile 1 - warmup at 8:40 pace

Mile 2 to 6.5 - half mile at 6:35 pace with a 2.5 min recovery at roughly 8:45 pace. A total of 7 repeats.

Mile 6.5 to 7.5 - cool down at 8:45 pace.

I felt like I had a couple more repeats in me.  I will build up to 10 repeats prior to the St George Marathon.

On the subject of speed it was REALLY INCREDIBLE to watch Usain Bolt demolish the 100 meter world record by 0.11 seconds.  We will probably see him break his own record again and again in the coming years.  What talent...

Run up City Creek Canyon.  I ran on my own today which enabled me to control the pace.  Whenever I run with Jeff or Becky I find myself pushing the pace to hard.  On top of that both Jeff and I tend to be "alpha" runners and tend to turn it into a race. 

Moderate effort up to Stuart's Crack and low to moderate back down.  The intention was to run down at a low exertion pace but half way down I came across a fellow runner and that alpha runner surfaced...

Mile repeats today on the treadmill (ugh). 

mile 1- warm up (8:30 pace)

mile 2 to 7.44 - 5 mile repeats at 6:53 pace with a 3 minute jog between each mile

mile 7.44 to 8.5 - cool down (roughly 8:53 pace)

I was soent after mile last repeat but glad to have achieved the goal.  Would like to build this upt to 7 or 8 repeats prior to the marathon.

Hopefully I will be completely recovered for this weekend long run.

Run (jog) up city creek canyon. Kept a recovery pace the whole way. Faired better than expected since I felt pretty exhausted after yesterdays mile repeats.

This run should have taken place on Saturday morning but my daughter was headed out of the country to spend sa semester studying at Universidad de Belgrano in Buenos Aires, Argentina that afternoon.  It became a rush of last minute things that needed to be done.  She got off on to her trip well but I ran out of time for a run.  Oh well.

So Sunday morning became the long run day.  This means I will have two long runs this week.  Lets see how the body fares.  I will reduce my training from two to one track session this week to accomodate.

The run was on a hilly course (home -farmington and back) that did push me more than I anticipated.  I ran the 16 miles too close to marathon pace.  I couldn't find my garmin so I was going on feel.  My left knee was very sore at the end of the run, probably due to the uneven surface of the edge of the road. 

Total time: 2:12

Average pace: 8:15 per mile

Run up City Creek Canyon at a light to moderate effort.  Left knee still a little tender.  Recovery about 65% from yesterday's long run.  Will run at a light to moderate pace tomorrow to complete recovery.

Run up to Stuart's Crack in City Creek Canyon.  Light to moderate effort up and light effort down.  Left knee continues to be sore, a little less so than yesterday.  The first mile was particularly hard for some reason. 

I was feeling fatigued and lathargic all day.  In reality the last thing I wanted to do was my Yasso 800s.  Nonetheless, you got to do what you got to do.  After the first mile warm up the adrenaline quick in and I was ready to get some work done.

mile 1 - warm up @ 8:49 pace

mile 2 to 7.2  - 8 repeats of 0.5 miles at 6:31 pace with a 2.5 min jog at 8:49 pace in between each repeat

mile 7.2 to 8.2 - cool down @ 8:20

The last repeat was strenous but I felt I still had one or two left.  No problems with left knee.

Easy run at av pace of 8:30.  Need to save my legs for tomorrow's long run...

I ran the Salt Lake Running Co. teaser run at Jordan River Trail.  Overall a very good run.  I forced myself to start at stay slow the first 15 miles (average pace 8:45) and than pushed a little the last 5 miles (average pace 7:42).  I hadn't ran a long run on a flat course for a while and was not sure what to expect.  I have been running my longs on very hilly courses, which has given me some added strength.  At the end of this 20 miler I felt much better than anyh other 20 miler in the last year.  In comparison the flat course was much easier than the hilly courses I've been doing. All in all I felt that I could have easily continued running for a few more miles. Good sign.

Total time: 2:49:45

Overall av pace: 8:29 per mile

East recovery run.  Av. pace 8:35 per mile.  It took a couple of miles to loosen up the muscles but soon after I was in a rythm.  Left knee a little tender.

Yasso 800s day.  Today the goal was to get to 9 half mile repeats.  It started off a little bumpy, unsure if 9 repeats at approx. 6:30 pace was within my ability.  During the warm up I felt stiff and was having a hard time getting into the flow of things.  The hardest repeat was the 5th and then it seamed to get easier.  Once done I felt like I had at least two more repeats in me.

1 mile     8:42 -  warmup

7 miles   9 half mile repeats @ 6:30 pace with a 2.5 min. jog @ 8:42 pace inbetween each repeat

1 mile  8:30 - recovery jog

Ran up City Creek Canyon with Dick and Jeri.  I started a couple of minutes after they took off so I pushed a little for the first mile but there after it was an easy jog.  Dick wanted to push 1.5 miles on the down hill so we maintain a 7:15 mile pace.  For a 70 year old that is flying...

Tempo run day on the treadmill (not my first choice but there is plenty of gunk in the air today from the forrest fires).  Again feeling very flat all day.  Spent the day at a golf tournament at Wasatch Park, which is an absolutely beautiful course.  Played absolutely awful.  The bad play put me in a lousy mood.  But it only take a good run to change my mood completely.  Thank goodness for running else I'd be in a lousy mood much more often.

1 mile - 8:35 warm up

3 miles - 7:13 pace (tempo)

0.5 miles - 8:35 recovery

3 miles - 7:13 pace (tempo)

1 mile - 8:35 cool down

I am ready to increase the pace of the tempos to a 7:05 to 7:10.  Good run and now I'm in a good mood. 

Packed the car for a camping trip to Bryce Canyon with the family and dog (not a good idea).  By the time I setup camp it was dark and cold.  Havfe to pass on the run today.

Camping in Bryce Canyon - hard to find the time to fit a run in...

Found a trail that according to the map measures out to just over 6 miles but ran several tangents, some on purpose and others because I missed a turn.  So 10 miles is an estimate based on a 8:15 pace.  I gained about 800 feet and top out at 8,230 ft.  I faired better with the higher altitude than expected. 

Same trail as yesterday and same tangents.  Manage to reduce time by 5 minutes but I was winded.

Today I intended to do my Yasso 800s and hit the goal of 10 repeats.  Last week was my recovery week so I figured I should be relaxed and ready to go this week.  Apparently my legs did not get the message (nor my lungs or heart).  The warm up mile went well enough but during the first half mile I could tell that I was off my normal form.  My breathing was much more labored and I was digging way too deep for the first half mile.  The second half mile went south immediately.  I stopped in disgust with myself and regrouped.  Going to give it another try again tomorrow. 

I am still trying to figure out why my stamina is so low.  The primary candidates:

1 - my body is just naturally in a down cycle

2 - significant stress at work

3 - sleeping poorly

I am biased to the first one but is likely a combination of all three.

Back to the track to do my Yasso 800s.  A few new strategies after my failed attempt yesterday:

1 - mental toughness - stay in the moment.  Don't worry about the next half mile, just focus on the one you are running.

2 - recover between each repeat - get my heart rate as low as possible.

3 - go to bed at 9:00 pm the night before and get the much needed rest.

These strategies got me through 9 half mile repeats @ a 6:31 pace with a 2.5 min, recovery jog in between each repeat.  However I had to dig much deeper than last week The goal was to get 10 repeats in but after the 9th repeat it was clear that I had emptied the tank taking my heart rate up to 176 bpm.  My recovery jog at the end I usually run a 8:30 pace with my heart rate right around 140, which feels effortless.  Today the recovery jog kept me above 150, although it was not hard it certainly was niot effortless.

Its got to be a down week and I will pull out of it as I usually do.

Run up city creek canyon.  Took it nice and slow on the way up with a little bit of a push the last quarter mile up the steepest part of the run.

I've caught a cold and it has made its way into my chest.  Alot of caughing a weezing during th run.  I wan't to get at least 20 in today but my chest was tight during the whole run and it seemed harder and harder to get enough oxygen.

More caughing and weezing.  I hate this chest cold.  It is really sapping my energy.

No run today.  Spent most of the morning caughing, tring to clear my chest of the congestion. 

Still dealing with the chest cold put wanted to push a little today.  After a mile warmup I ran 4 @ 7:30.

Chest cold is finally letting up.  Ran up City Creek and kept a 8:15 pace on the uphill and a 6:52 pace on the downhill.

Kept it easy. A little tired from yesterday's run.  Maintained a 8:20 pace.

Kept it slow along the Jordan River trail.  Still dealing with the chest cold although I'm almost over it.

Total Time: 2:52

Av Pace: 8:23

recovery run. Av pace 8:35

progressive run, started at 8:30 pace and finished at 7:30 pace.  did not push andk kept it between a easy and moderate effort.  not sure what to do tomorrow.  i do want to get another set of yasso 800s in this week but it may be too close to the marathon.

Yasso 800s.  I'm officially over my chest cold and bouncing back from the rutt I was in.  As usual the 4th repeat was the hardest.  I never really pushed into "threshold" and fel;t like I had one or two left at the end the repeats

1 - mile warmup at 8:35 pace

7.77 miles - 10 half-mile repeats @ 6:30 pace with a 2.5 jog at 8:40 pace in between each repeat.

1.23 miles - recovery jog at 8:35 pace

Good workout and confidence builder for the St. George marathon.

First couple of miles were warmup and building up some speed.  Last 3.1 were tempo.  Last tempo run before St George.

Total time: 37:13 Av pace: 7:26

Last 5k: 21:45 Av pace: 7:01

Started at a 9:00 min mile pace and gradually progressed to a 7:50 pace for the last two miles. 

Slow jog up City Creek Canyon.  Sped up the last mile just to wake up the legs.

Just long enough of a run to keep my legs loose.  Treadmill run.  Not quite ready for the cold weather yet.  Probably the last run prior to St George Marathon.  A little nervous about the marathon but I've put the long runs and training in so should be OK.

Would have prepared the report before but my wife's iphone does not functional weel with this website.  So here it is:

This was the "perfect" race for me, or as perfect as I have come to so far.  By perfect I don't me fastest but given my fitness level the best I think I could have done.  I wanted to go out relatively slow, have a negative split, and not have the wheels come off at the end.  I achieved all three.

Mile 1  8:25 still dark and cold - just trying to navigate through the crowd and find a comfortable pace.

Mile 2  8:02 still cold

Mile 3 - 5   22:56 (av pace 7:30) - stopped to get water at mile 3 & 5.  I made it a point to drink at every water station.  Feeling good and I found my stride.  Shed my lond sleeve shirt, skull cap and gloves (which I never recovered).  Forget to hit the right button on my watch at each mile marker.

Mile 6  7:22 - mentally getting ready for the hill.

Mile 7  7:41

Mile 8  9:10 - here we go up the hill.  Decide to take sloooow and reserve as much as I can for the second half of the race.

Mile 9  8:41 - still going up just not as steep

Mile 10 7:52 - still going up...

Mile 11 8:31 - still going up...start talking to a guy from L.A. (Steve).  We end up talking for the next 11 miles

Mile 12 8:10

Mile 13 7:35

Mile 13.2 - the best that I can remember the clocl said 1:47:xx, so my chip time was probably 1:46:xx

Mile 14 8:03 - feeling good - no signs of fatigue

Mile 15  7:25 - this must have been a steep down hill (?)

Mile 16 - 17  15:01 (av 7:30) - more down hill

Mile 18 - 19  15:48 (av pave 7:54) - little up hill here with more down hill

Mile 20   8:25 - slowed down at bit...not sure why since I was still feeling good.

Mile 21  7:20 - probably a little to fast

Mile 22  8:48 - starting to feeling like my feet where made of cement

Mile 23 - 24  15:58 (av pace 7:59) - try to push to the end

Mile 25  8:32 - see the 3:30 pacer run by as I'm getting a drink of water. Oh well!

Mile 26  8:58 - felt like I was moving at a snail's pace but that was all I had

Last 0.2 - 1:54 - like banging your head on a tree trunk. It feels so good when you stop.

My wife and my two little girls (11 & 12) arrived at the finish line about 20 minutes late so I wondered around the park trying to find other FRB runners.  Obviously they were all too fast and had already left. 

Spend Saturday afternoon and Sunday hiking in Zion Nat'l Park with the family.  My favortite national park.  My legs recovered rather nicely.

Gorgeous course!  My new favorite marathon.

Recovery run.  Legs feel tired but improving quickly.

Easy run up City Creek Canyon.  Ran into Stuart and talked about the race.  He did well given his on going leg issue. 

Legs feeling better.  Pushed to a moderate pace on the down hill and didn't feel any serious aches or pains from the marathon.

Low to moderate effort up City Creek Canyon.  Ran on my own.  When I got to the top Becky was doing hill sprints...four days after the marathon.  I tried to convince her that even a seasoned marathoner as herself hill sprints just after the marathon was not going to help her recovery.  She just has way too much energy.

Gorgeous fall day.  Wish I had time and the energy to do a long trail run today.

Very fatigued today.  Shuffled my way up City Creek keeping the pace around 9 min miles and event hat felt hard.  Tried to relax on the way down.  Probably some accumulated fatigue from the marathon.  I will take tomorrow off and we'll see what happens on Saturday.  Need new shoes...my knees are starting to hurt.

Woke up with fever today.  Got about half a day of work in and then went home to get some sleep.  I HATE being sick.  Today is a perfect fall day and I'm stuck in bed.  But I figure the sooner I kick this flu the sooner I'm out running again.

Went to the InstaCare yesterday and after waiting 1 1/2 hours the doctor checked out my symptoms.  Apparently I have an upper respitory infection.  So I am on antibiotics and Mucinex.  The Mucinex really did me in today.  It tightens your chest up immediately.  I struggled to get air into my legs during the whole run.  So I will stop taking the Mucinex since the cure is worse than the disease and just take the antibiotics. Other than that it was a perfect day.  Tried to changing my running stride to shorter strides after reading "Born to Run".  Lets see if there is a Tarahumara Indian in me.

Easy pace on a treadmill.  I didn't have time to get a run in at lunch.  Ended up going to Ruth's in Emmigration Canyon with a client for lunch.  I was planning to run outside after work but it started raining and I didn't have a rain jacket.  I hate the treadmill but the thought of not getting a run in was worse.

Av pace.: 8:20

Pushed on the way up City Creek, to Stuart's Crack, and maintianed a moderate pace on the way down.  Chest still feels tight but it has improved over the last two days. 

Big game this afternoon (for the soccer fans).  Argentina vs Uruguay.  Argentina has to win to get into the World Cup.  Being half Argentine and having grown up in Buenos Aires a game like this is at par with a national holiday (if we win that is).

very short on time today.  Managed to get out on this beautiful fall day and run up City Creek.  Ran a good portion with Dick at a slow pace, which felt good.

I had to take a little time off to get over pneumonia.  It went from a bad caugh to a respitory infection and then to pneumonia.  I've taken my antibiotics and now I'm feeling better!  Should of listened to the doctor the first time.

Moderate effort run.  Feeling a little sluggish from the recent inactivity.  I'm seriously contemplating doing next year's St George Ironman.  I need to get my wife's buy off first.  It just requires soo much time to training that if she doesn't fully support it then its probably going to create too much friction.  Any how, I need to make a decision soon so I have enough time to get into "ironman" shape.

Average Pace up: 8:20 (3.5 miles)

Average Pace down: 6:12 (3.5 miles)

Pushed up and down City Creek Canyon.  Definetly winded at the end of the run but it was fun pushing myself.

First two miles were warm up, very slow.  Following five I varied the speed each mile, up and down...Average pace: 8:02 mile

mile 1- warmup 8:40

mile 2-7 av pace 7:58

mile 8 - cool down 8:32

nice easy Sunday morning run.

Pretty uneventful run on a treadmill.  Pushed the pace for a few miles at a 7:12 pace.  Forgot my water bottle so by the end of the run I had cotton mouth.  Av pace 7:46.

Five miles on the treadmill, about all I could take today.  I think I would have preferred running in the snow storm.  At least its done.

Finally had a run that felt easy all the way through.  I think my marathon recovery is now complete.  I'll start adding long runs next week and in a couple of weeks start adding tempo runs.

Other than that I ended up running from one store to next, Smiths, Target, Wal-Mart...looking for a indian costume for my 12 year old girl.  Why to we always wait to the last minute?  No luck so that means Lorena gets to sew one...

Got a chance to run with an old friend, not that she's old, but we've been friends since college.  She is new to running and was really down about her performance.  She is terribly competitive and gets frustrated each time someone passes her.  I tried to explain to her that her attitude will make her burn out.  She needs to make running her own thing and not worry about anyone else.  The main objective should be enjoy it and the rest will come naturally.  I invited to join the blog.  Hopefully she'll join.

Too cold today but at least it beats the TM.  Did some fartlek through out the last five miles.

No run today.  Suppose to be my day off but still have too much energy to burn.  Swam 2 miles at the rec center.  First mile pushed the pace and did it in 24:36 (about 2 minutes slower than my training pace when I was doing tris regularly).  Second mile I put myself into cruise control and did in in 31:06. 

You don't get a "runner's high" from swimming obviously but it has its own attraction.  I think part of the attraction is you really turn off the world around you, kind of like sensory deprevation.  You don't hear anything but a little splashing and all you see is the blue water.  Very relaxing. 

Trail on the Bonneville Shoreline trail.  Gorgeous morning and coooold.  It took us about 1:25 minutes. 

Nice and easy Sunday morning run.  Rolling hills with a few accelerations.  Av pave 8:02.

May be the last year my youngest go trick or treating.  They are getting old enough to be more interested in halloween parties than candy.  Oh well, got to milk it while I can.

I've tried and tried to put the halloween pictures here but I'm clearly IT challenged

After hours and hours I finally figured it out

As close a possible to a perfect fall day.  Ran up City Creek Canyon with Jeff.  Everyone and their dog(s), literally, were on the trail today.  No complaints, on a day like today can't blame them for coming out.  I felt tired during the whole run so I asked Jeff on the way down to keep it easy.  When I ger to the car I realized we were running a 6:40 mile on the down hill.  Not exactly an easy pace for me.

Trail run on the Bonneville Shoreline trail.  Took it pretty slow and enjoyed the day.  I got left shoe stuck in the mud, it literally came off.  Total time: 1:27  Av pace: 9:31

AM - 1800 yards (1.02 miles) in the pool 26:23, medium effort.  My last five laps I ended racing the kid in the lane right next to me.  I had to lap him before I finished.  Stupid ego...always getting in the way of smart training.

Easy 8 mile run at an av. pace of 8:24.

Ran with Stuart, Dick and Jeri.  Spent most of my run doing the best I could to stay out of the political discussion/argument.  Enjoyable run excluding topic of conversation today.

No run day.  Did get in the pool to swim a mile (36 laps).  Quickly got into a good rythm.  My turns were near perfect.  I kept my body extended and streamline.  I felt like I was flying through the water.  When I check the time it took me 30:36, terribly slow!  I either miss counted the laps or I'm much more fatigued than I thought.

8:20 av pace

Legacy Hwy trail. 68 min. Av pace : 7:49

AM - 1 mile swim.  Water was coooooold this morning but after a couple of laps it started to feel O.K. 26:38 - Moderate effort.  Need to bring my mile time down to 22:30 by spring.

PM - 7.32 miles.  Av. Pace 8:17.  Going to keep the pace slow this week and continue to add miles. 

TM miles thanks to the snow storm. 8:32 av pave

For whatever reasons yesterday's run sapped my energy so I made sure today's run was a true recovery run.  Av. pace 9:05.  TM run.

Planned to do a tempo run today.  I haven't done any tempo or speed work since before STGM so didn't know what to expect.

mile 1 av pace 8:40 warmup

mile 2 - tempo 7:24

mile 3 - tempo 7:21

mile 4 - tempo 7:24

0.5 - recovery 8:20 pace

mile 5.5 - tempo 7:20

mile 6.5 - tempo 7:22

mile 7.5 - tempo 7:19

0.5 - recovery 8:18 pace

second set was easier than the first set and overall a moderate effort.  Could of/should of increased the speed to a 7:15.  Glad with the result.

1 hour spin class is the evening.

Easy run. Flat route. 8:23 pace

Slow run.  Stomach cramps during the whole.  Some of the cramps were so bad that I would have to stop and bend over till they would pass.  Not sure what it was I ate buyt really did a number on me.

TM miles. 8:20 av pace

av pace 7:52

Waiting for those Mesquite Marathon reports to come up.  Where are you Burt! 
Finally they arrive.  Very nice marathon everyone.  Josse once again amazes me how she can race so well so often!

I'm feeling a little burned out.  Not sure why.  Just overall muscle fatigue.  It may be that I am swimming on a regular basis again after a year or so and doing some (not much) upper body exercises.

The mixed blessing of Facebook...

I've reconnected to so many high school friends.  I went to high school in Asuncion, Paraguay so reconnecting with these old friends is a little miracle of sorts.  Unfortunetly that means I get to hear all the bad news from the last 20 years, as well as the good news.  Today I found out that a close friend of mine in high school committed suicide in 1997.  Very tough news to get and some guilt for no having made an effort to keep my friends closer.

So with that bad news and the physical fatigue/burn out I decided to take today off and maybe tomorrow too.  We'll see.  I'm sure the race reports will get my spirits back up. 

After two days off I was feeling anxious to get running again.  The break has done me a world of good.  The mental and physical fatigue over the past few weeks was taking me to the edge of burn out.  Today I woke up wanting to get a run in as soon as possible.  Unfortunetly it didn't occur until after work.  Tempo run day:

mile 1 - 8:43 warmup

mile 2 - 7:19

mile 3 - 7:21

mile 4 - 7:17

mile 4.5 (0.5 miles) - 4:10 (av pace 8:20)

mile 5.5 - 7:23

mile 6.5 - 7:18

mile 7.5 - 7:20

mile 8.5 - 7:19

mile 9.5 - 8:20 cooldown

This week the tempo run was 3 miles, 0.5 recovery jog, 4 miles.  I would like to build that to a 6 mile tempo, 0.5 recovery, 6 mile tempo with a tempo pace of 7:10 prior to my next marathon.  Felt rather strong through out the run.

Easy treadmill run.  Average pace 8:32.  Now its time to get cooking for tomorrow.

I ate way too much.  Should have waited a couple hours more before running.  Average Pace: 7:57.

Av pace 7:46 TM run

Feeling a little sluggish today.  It took about 3 to 4 miles to warmup and get into a rythm.  I've eaten sooo much lately that that is probably what is causing the "sluggishness".  Need to cut all those nasty sugars out, or at least drastically decrease them.

Av. pace: 8:41

TM run.  Av pace: 8:20. 

TM run.  exactly like yesterday.  Av pace: 8:21

The plan today was to run outside for lunch but after walking over to the gym to change I realized how cold it is!  There was a wind blowing constantly to top it off.  Yes, I am a wimp and as much as I hate the TM I hate being cold even more. 

Picked up the pace a little since today was a planned short run.  I did quite a few squats yesterday and really felt in my glutes (?) today.  I am so out of shape, that is stength wise.  I figured I would spend the winter getting three strength workouts a week, mostly upper body.  I found web a website (actually through blonderunner's link) that trains you to do 100 consecutive pushups in 6 weeks.  I am on week 3 and hopefully by Christmas I'll meet the challenge.

Total time: 38:49 

Average Pace: 7:46

Now that I spending time on the TM I'll have to be more considerate of the runners around me.  I rotate four pairs of running shoes and have been picking the pair that stinks the least every morning.  Its gotten to the point that they are all smelling very offensive.  I'll have to wash them this weekend.

TM run. 8:19 av pace.

TM run with light hills (2%-4.5% grade). Av pace: 8:11

time: 2:04:29,av pace: 8:18

Maintain the pace right around 8:25 to 8:30 for the first 13 miles but had some excess energy so kicked a little the last 2 miles.  Felt like I had plenty in the tank after the run.  Good run. 

Average pace: 8:05

Struggled a little with this run.  I think the early morining 2 mile swim affected me a bit.  Really pushed hard on the swim.

Total time: 64:03

Average pace: 7:54 per mile

Psuedo tempo run.  I started out slow, at about a 9:00 mile pace and gradually increased the pace and did the last 3 right around a 7:12 pace.  Felt good, not too hard.

stomach flu (?) BLAH...

Still have a fever of 102 with the flu.  Lots of aspirin.  I have to host my wife's 40th B-Day party today.

Party went off very well.  We have a smallish older home which we love but its not to easy to have large parties in them.  So it was a little crowded but it went very well.  Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves (a little much since that last guests left well after mid night).

Still running...a fever that is.

TM run at lunch.  Total time: 1:04:46  Av pace: 8:06

TM run. Av pace: 7:54

starting to get the TM blues.  Need to get outside very soon!

I was looking forward to this nice and easy 5 miler.  After pushing weights around and doing my ab work, push ups, pull ups, I was itching to get outside for a run.  I don't get people that can spend 1-2 hours lifting weights.  It is soooo boring.

Total time: 42:34

TM miles .  av. pace 8:13 easy run

total time; 2:06:48

av pace: 8:27

Easy slow pace.  Strong through the whole run.

Today was spend one the first phase of making pannetone bread to gift to our neighbors and friends for Christmas.  I need to make 12-15 1 lb boules all tomorrow too in the kitchen. 

TM run as I watched football.  Easy recovery run. Started a around a 9:20 pace, slowly sped up and did the last mile at 7:41. 

Back to the kitchen to continue baking... 

TM run.  AIR QUALITY POOR. We are in need of a good strong storm to get sll the guck out of the air.

First 4 miles were tough, could not get into a rythm.  Got off the treadmill and rode the stationary bike for 20 minutes. Got back on the treadmill and immediately got into a rythm.

Ave pace: 8:28

I had two objectives with today's run: (1) detox and (2) tempo.  By detox I refer to a "cleansing" run.  I've eaten so much junk these last three or four days I justed wanted to get it out of my system.  I know a hard run doesn't compensate for the poor diet but it makes me feel a little better about it. So today I only ate "healthy" with no sugars what so ever and followed that up with today's run.  Lets see if I can stick to the healthy diet through the rest of the holiday season.

TM run

Mile 1 & 2: warm up

Mile 3, 4, 5 (3 miles): 7:08 pace

Mile 5.5 (1/2 mile): 8:20 pace recovery

Mile 6.5, 7.5, 8.5, 9.5 (4 miles): 7:08 pace

Mile 10.5, 11.5, 12 (2.5 miles): cool down

It wasn't a "I think I'm going to puke" run but did push close to 10k pace.

4 miles TM and 30 min on the stationary bike.

TM run.  Didn't relay pay much attention to pace so I'm guessing around 6 miles at MP and the rest slower.  They had Band of Brothers marathon on the TV, best miniseries ever, so at least I was entertained.

Total Time: 1:38:54

Av Pace: 8:14

Recovery run.  Weights, abs, pushups, pullups, dips...

Total time: 41:06

Av pace: 8:11

Long TM run.  Not very fun at all.  Tomorrow I'm getting outside regardless of air quality.

Total Time: 1:21:36

Av Pace: 8:10

Easy run in the snow.  I didn't track time (kinda on purpose) to keep it slow.  I'm estimating a pace between 8:45 and 9:00. 

no run today.  didn't feel like getting on the TM again and the storm made it impossible to run outside.  Took a 60 min spin class instead.

Nice day to get outside.  Run up City Creek Canyon. Av pace: 8:06.

Really wanted to do the Phoenix RNR marathon this January but I'm out of luck.  Folks are flying in to visit that weekend so...family first.