A Runner at Heart.....Riding a Bike

It was 45 degrees and windy this morning.  I ran a couple miles before our group track workout. We did the "hopscotch" run again where we run in small groups (4-6) of similar ability and push laps on the track.  After 20 minutes of that I ran a few more miles with Barry and Eric.  When I was running home I ran in to Bob and ran a mile with him in the other direction before I finally headed home.  Total 10.11 miles.

It was 40 degrees this morning with very cold and strong winds.  I ran 8.57 miles.

It was 41 degrees and windy this morning.  I ran 10.71 easy miles.

It was 40 degrees and windy again....  I ran 8.28 miles.

It was 34 degrees with a cold, nasty wind this morning.  This is the first time I can remember wearing my windbreaker during a "Summer Series" race.  Barry, Eric, and I ran some warm-up miles before the 10K.  The wind seemed to be coming at you no matter what way you went.

When the race started, I tried to set a good pace for myself, but I just was not feeling fast today.  I stayed in contact with Barry and Eric but could not overtake them.  Kory did his typical slower start and passed me around the first mile mark and kept accelerating to beat me by 6 minutes.  The wind turned out to be the worst on the last mile in where it is normally a tail wind.  I finished in 44:00 just behind Barry and Eric.

Barry, Kory, and I ran the 3 miles back to city hall for our cool-down chatting the whole way.

I have my endurance back, but my speed is severely lacking :(

It was 39 degrees this morning with clear, blue skies and very light winds.  An absolutely gorgeous morning.  I ran 11.29 nice, steady miles.

It was a cold 25 degrees when I started this morning.  It warmed a bit as the sun came up.  Luckily it wasn't windy.  I ran 8.26 miles.

It was 34 degrees and calm this morning.  I ran a couple miles before our group track workout this morning.  We did the 2 sets of 10 minute "hopscotch" workout again.  The I ran a couple of 1/2 mile and 1/8 mile sprint with Lowell and Terry.  I ran a bit with them afterwards before running home.  Total 10.77 miles.

It was 37 degrees and calm this morning.  Another nice day.  I ran 10.66 steady miles.

It was 44 degrees, but VERY windy this morning.  Winds were steady at 30mph+...yuck.  I ran 2.5 miles before the group run.  We ran another 2.5.  Then I ran alone for about 3 miles before I ran in to Lowell and Terry and ran a couple with them.  Total 10.72 wind-blown miles.

It was 35 degrees and calm this morning.  I ran 8.51 easy miles.

It was 32 degrees at the top of Buckskin this morning.  I picked up Kory at Century High school where he dropped his car.  We then picked up Lowell and Terry in Inkom where they dropped their car.  They wanted a 13 mile run....I wanted more.  Even though I am running Ogden next week it is not a goal race for me so a long run today fits nicely in my plans.

Lowell and Terry started ahead of us.  We caught them after the first mile.  Lowell joked that they took a walk break to let us catch up.  Kory and I ran steady 7:10-7:20's for most of the miles in to Inkom.   After mile 15 I started to slow and let Kory just pull away from me.  He was in a good groove and just kept increasing the gap on me.  Around the 18 mile mark Lowell and Terry drove by in their car and Lowell said he was going to put it in his blog that he re-passed me after 18 miles.  I am sure he will fail to mention that he did it in his car!!!  By this time Kory was a good 2 minutes ahead of me and still pulling away. He is already looking like he is in sub-3 shape.

As I approached Century, Kory was running towards me to get some extra mileage in.  He kept running around the parking lot after I finished to make it an even 22 miles for him.  I finished with 21.14 miles and feel REALLY GOOD...not beat up at all.

Thanks KORY for a GREAT RUN!!!

It was 40 degrees this morning.  I ran 8.78 easy miles.

It was 42 degrees and calm this morning.  I ran a couple of miles before our group run on the track.  We ran a warm-up lap and then sets of 300 hard/100 easy.  We did 8 sets.  My right hamstring felt a bit tight on the turns so I tried not to push too hard.  On the 7th set, my hamstrings were feeling good so I pushed on the last straight section and felt a sharp tinge in my right Achilles area.  I immediately slowed and took it easy on the last set.  I ran with Barry very easy a bit before running home.  Total 8.03 miles.  I will definitely keep an eye on that Achilles. 

It was 48 degrees and calm this morning.  I ran 8.64 miles easy.  The Achilles issue was there, but not a real problem today.

It was a very comfortable 57 degrees this morning.  I ran a mile before our group run and then ran a few with them before running home.  A very easy 6.26 miles.

No run this morning.  I drove to Ogden for the marathon tomorrow.  I purchased a pair of compression socks.  With the Achilles issue on Tuesday I thought that this would be a good time to try them for the first time.  I met up with Lowell, Bret, Holly, and Suzette at the expo.  We listened to a talk by Adam Goucher about "The line between Tough and Stupid".  It was good.  I have to admit that I have been on the wrong side of that line more than once.

As we went through the expo, Bret was looking for a 3:30 pace group for her for the race.  They had a 3:35 and a 3:25 but no 3:30.  She was disappointed.

I got up at 3:00am because I had some work to do before I went to catch the bus.  I had a bowl of oatmeal as I worked on my computer.  I was not nervous at all because I had planned on this being a training run as I ran 21 last Saturday and plan on doing that again next week as I prepare for and ultra in June.

I drove to the bus loading area and found a sweet parking spot less than a block from the finish line.  As I was waiting in line for a bus, Lowell, Bret, Holly, and Suzette came by and we all rode the same bus up.  It was fairly chilly on the top and the field was wet from yesterdays rain and the morning dew.  We had small shopping bags on our shoes to keep them dry and found a spot to stretch and get ready.  

As we were talking, Bret mentioned how she wished their was a 3:30 pace team because she wanted some help to try and break 3:30.  I looked at her and said "Well you have one NOW".  She was a bit stunned but I explained to her that this was just basically a fun run for me and I would be happy to try and help her.  We discussed what her strategy would be and got ready. 

The race had already started when we finally made our way through the line at the bag drop truck so we spent the first 3-4 miles working our way through the large crowds.  We kept it steady until the turn at mile 8 and were right on pace.  She struggled a bit coming in to the half and she decided to make a bathroom stop at the half.  I needed to do the same so we both jumped in to the facilities at the half. 

When I came out she had already taken off so I chased after her and caught her on the hill after the 14 mile mark.  After the bathroom stop I went over the 1/2 timing pad around 1:46 and change so we would need to go a bit negative on the 2nd half to get her 3:30.  She looked really good climbing the hill but hit a really bad patch from 15-17.  I told her to just hang on and we would make up the time going down the canyon.

When we crossed the dam, she picked up the pace and I figured we still had a chance.  The next 2 miles were good but I could tell she was running out of gas.  We were still passing lots of runners, but I knew that the 3:30 was getting out of reach.  I kept having to slow my pace so she could keep up.  I know what it's like to try and keep up with someone and I kept reminding myself that "she is working WAY harder than you are so do your best to help her".  I told her to pick a runner to reel in and we would chase them, then pick another.  This worked until we went through the tunnel before mile 23. 

When we hit the trails I could tell she was just hanging on but stayed really tough.  When you hit the point when you know your goal is out of reach today, it gets harder.  When we went by the mile 25 aid station she just grabbed a cup and dumped it over her head and didn't take her normal walk break.  I was so impressed by her fortitude.  When we turned on Grant for the last stretch she said "we need to pick it up so I can be at 3:35:00 or better to qualify for Boston".  We picked up the pace and my Garmin even showed a 5:56 pace in the last mile but we missed it by 12 seconds.  As most of you know, she would have made it if the course wasn't long.  We both had it at 26.37.  I have always had that course come out long, stupid tangents in the canyon anyway.

While I was disappointed that I couldn't help her more, she said she would have been much slower if I wouldn't have been there. 

On a side note, we passed the 3:35 pacer just after mile 15 and he had nobody running with him.  He even threw his balloons in the trash as we passed.  He probably had a 2-3 minute lead on us at the start and we beat him by a long way at the finish.

This run for me was just what I needed effort-wise and I had a great time trying to help a friend.

It was 46 degrees and fairly calm this morning.  I ran 6.35 easy miles just to work out any residual stiffness from yesterday.

It was 48 degrees and calm this morning.  I ran 7.56 easy.

It was 62 degrees and very windy this morning.  I ran a couple miles before our track workout.  I did not push it on the track after last weeks issue and the recovery from Saturday.  I ran a few more with Barry after the workout before running home.  Total 8.75 miles.

It was 45 degrees this morning.  I ran 8.53 easy miles.

It was 38 degrees and windy this morning.  I slept in since we got home late after attending my nephews graduation in Kimberly last night so I missed our group run.  I ran 8.77 by myself.

It was 41 degrees and windy again.  I ran 10.58 miles.  I am fighting a cold so I took it easy.

It was 42 degrees and overcast this morning with some light rain.  I had planned a longer run today but decided against it due to my cold and the weather.  I ran 11.24 miles.

I had the day off so I got to sleep in a bit and didn't run until 7am.  It was 42 degrees and sunny with a light breeze...best day for almost a week.  I ran 10.25 easy miles and ran the last 2 with Bret.  I bumped in to her on the top of Satterfield.  She is now going to run Utah Valley because Lowell offered to transfer his bib to her since he got injured at Ogden.  She is very excited.

It was 46 degrees and calm this morning.  I ran the fairgrounds loop and a couple laps on the track so I had a little over 3 miles before we started our group workout.  We did a 1/4 mile laps with a run up and down the stadium steps in the middle of each lap.  We did this for 20 minutes.

After the group workout, I ran Barry back to his house.  I was planning on doing 10, but I decided to push it to over 12 since I have the day off.  Total 12.53 miles.

It was 46 degrees and overcast this morning.  My right knee was a bit "tweaky" yesterday after running the stairs in our workout yesterday.  I used a roller on my IT band just in case and just took it easy today.  Total 10.33 easy miles.

It was 50 degrees and calm this morning.  I ran 2 miles before our group run.  I ran 3 miles with the faster group.  Then Barry, Erin, and I ran on Satterfield and then ran the trails up above for a couple miles.  It was a beautiful morning for this.  I was worried that the trails might have been messed up if they were used right after the heavy rains last week.  That was not the case....but, the moles have been VERY busy and there were fresh piles of dirt right in the middle of the trail and the weeds grew a ton after the rain and are hanging over the narrow parts of the trail pretty good.  After the trail run, Barry and Erin headed to their homes and I ran another 3.5 miles by myself.  Total 10.21 miles.