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

It was 59 degrees and a bit windy this morning.  I ran 4 miles before our group run.  Wednesday is our speed-work day.  I did 8 1/4 mile repeats with slow running in between.  Then I ran a few more with Barry and Chad before running home.  Total 10.53 miles.

It was 39 degrees and windy this morning.  I ran 12.66 easy miles alone.

It was 34 degrees this morning.  I ran a couple miles before the group run.  We have them up to 27 minutes now.  Then I ran with Barry and Chad before finishing on my own.

It was 40 degrees and sunny....a beautiful morning.  I ran over to Barry's house and then Chad joined us later.  We decided to drop in a tempo mile after we had gone 5 miles and I managed a 5:56!!!  That is my best mile in a couple years.  I had a couple other really nice miles scattered in the run as well.  Total of 15.11 miles.  7 days til Utah Valley :)

It was a wonderful morning.....53 degrees and calm.  I ran a few miles before our group run.  We now have the group up to 29 minutes, so they should be ready for the 5K next month.  After that I ran a few with Barry and Chad.  Total 8.42 miles.

It was 46 degrees, but windy and raining this morning.  I ran 8.79 easy miles.

It was 39 degrees this morning, but it was clear and calm.  I ran 1.5 miles before our group run.  I took it easy on the speedwork today and only pushed the 7th (last) intervalto save myself for Saturday.  Then I ran with Barry, Chad, Tracy, and Zack (He is 13 and did his first 5 miler today!).  Total 7.23 miles.

It was 40 degrees this morning.  I ran 6.84 easy miles.

It was 34 degrees this morning, but the clear sunny skies made it OK.  I ran a mile before our group run and ran easy with them.  Then I finished with Chad throwing in a good pick-up in mile mile just to get the juices flowing.  I head to Provo today :)

I set my alarm for 2:30 because the buses started loading at 3:30.  I had thought quite a bit about my "bonk" the last 3 miles of Ogden 3 weeks ago.  I attributed it to poor fueling the morning of the race.  I overate the night before and still felt full in the morning so I ate nothing except a gel 15 minutes before the start and 4 more during as I normally do.  Today I ate a serving of Rockit Fuel at 3:00am and I think it made the difference in the last miles.

When the race started I was on the side road towards the clothing truck so I had to work quite a bit the first mile through the crowd just to get going.  I ran a 7:43 first mile and it really aggravated me.  I ran the next 2 miles in 6:46 and 6:45 (which is too fast) before I dialed in a reasonable 7:10-7:15 pace out to the highway at mile 8.

When we hit the first uphill around Deer Creek reservoir I began to struggle.  I still have issues with my bone spur on uphills so I have to back WAY off or I am in trouble.  So I struggled on the couple of rolling miles around the lake.

When we hit some better downhill after 10 I did better, but I couldn't get back to my 7:15 again.  I basically struggled to get to the 1/2 in 1:35:36.  I was a bit behind where I wanted to be but I didn't panic.  I knew we had one more climb before 16 so I wanted to stay loose and just see what I could do after the last uphill.

After 16 I settled back in to a 7:20ish pace and started to feel better.  When the course flattened out after 20 I started feeling stronger (just like last year).  I calculated that I was on a 3:16-3:17 finish track.  I told myself I would be OK with that, as I secretly told myself that I WASN'T OK with that.  Please don't ask me how I can keep a secret from myself but when you have been running for 20 miles it is possible.

I picked up the pace and finished the last 6 miles REALLY strong!  I passed dozens of other runners and made up 2 minutes in those miles.  I finished just over 3:14 and finally got an age-group award again.  It has been almost 2 years since I did that.  Coincidentally (or not), 2 years ago is when I started having the bone spur issue.

I talked to lots of other bloggers after the race and many people had awesome days out there!  GREAT JOB EVERYONE!!!

It was 50 degrees and calm this morning.  It took most of the 3.6 miles I ran before our group run to finally loosen up from Saturday.  We stood around for 2 minutes before we started our run and my quads got tight again.  I ran another 3.7 with the group before finishing with Barry.  Total 10.12 somewhat slow miles.

It was 48 degrees and sunny this morning.  I ran 8.15 easy miles in my new shoes I picked up at Wasatch on Friday.  I ran the last few with Lowell and Terry.

It was 48 degrees this morning.  I Love Summer!  I ran 3.75 miles before our group run.  We then ran a half mile warm-up with them before doing 6 sets of hill charges.  Everyone did pretty good although I am sure some of them used parts of their lungs that were previously undiscovered.

After that I ran several easy cool-down miles with Barry and Chad.  Total 10.41 miles.

It was 47 degrees, overcast, and windy this morning.  I was worried it was going to rain but it held off.  I ran 13.14 miles by myself with 4 tempo miles in the first half and then 2 more tempo miles after I crested Satterfield.  My quads felt yesterday's hill work after the first tempo set but I recovered nicely. 

It was 36 degrees with a cold breeze this morning.  Summer?  I ran a couple miles before the group run.  Barry, Chad, and I set a good pace on the group run and did 4.25 miles in just under 32 minutes.  Then we ran a few more together before I headed home.  Total 10.27 miles.

It was a beautiful morning, low 40's and light winds.  I picked up Barry, Chad, and Seth at 5:40 to drive up to the marathon start.  Seth has never run with us before.  He is training for the Pocatello marathon so this was his longest run ever.  

We needed to keep on pace because Chad wanted 15 and he was being picked up in Inkom to do an eagle project in Lava.  And keep pace we did!  Without really meaning to, we ran all but 1 mile in to Inkom under 7:20 and had a 7:13 average.  And that mile was the uphill out and back at mile 7.  

We dropped Chad off at 15 and kept running the course.  I kept thinking "how is Seth holding on with us?"  Granted, he is young (30), but Barry and I have a lot more miles under us.  During the 16th mile Barry dropped back but Seth stayed with me.  He finished strong and should do great in September.

During our cool down I found out why he is so tough.  He is a Federal Marshall and he told us about some of the training camps he has attended where they basically try to work you to death to weed you out.  He definitely has the mental toughness for the marathon!  He is going to join us a lot this summer on long runs...it should be great for all of us.

I ran a total of 19.30 miles at a 7:29 average...not bad 7 days after a marathon!

It was 50 degrees, but a bit humid this morning after rain last night.  I ran 4.7 miles before our group run.  We did 4.3 miles together, then I did another 2 with Barry and Chad.  Total 11.13 easy miles.

It was 55 degrees with some wind this morning.  It was a good thing since it was very humid (70-80%) and I was soaked when I got home.  I ran 15.22 easy miles.

It was 62 degrees with a nice breeze this morning.  I ran a few miles with Jedd before our group run.  I worked in the yard all day yesterday so I was really sluggish today.  It was our speed-work day to boot.  We did 8 repeats and then a cool down.  Then I ran home by myself.  Total 10.19 miles.

It was 55 degrees and breezy this morning.  I ran 10.38 easy miles.

It was 60 degrees this morning.  I ran 1.5 before the group run, then ran 4.3 with the group.  I ran back home with Barry most of the way.  Total 8.67 miles.

OK.....

So after I had to pull out at the 30 mile mark last year due to my bone spur, I felt I owed this course some payback.  In 2007, I finished in 6:25 and was 2nd overall.  The winner was around 6:15.  Last year the winner was in 6:25.

This course features 2995' of climbing and has a hard climb from 5-10 and 28-30.  My injury held up during the climbs and I didn't have to take any un-planned walk breaks during them.

The Good

• I totally shattered my goal of 6:20-6:30, which was where I thought I was going to finish.
• I came within less than 10 minutes of the old course record.
• I ran EXACTLY to my plan.  I didn't chase anyone and took breaks when I scheduled.

The Unfortunate

• There was someone faster......  A 26 yr old from Cedar City broke the course record BIG TIME and ran a 5:52 and change.  My time was fast enough to win this like 8 of the last 10 years.  Oh well.

Honestly, I am totally STOKED about my performance today.  I was running 7:45-8:00 minute miles from 30-36 and feeling OK.  I get a HUGE trophy for this and for that I am greatful.  Still don't have that elusive race win yet....

It was 49 degrees with a nice breeze this morning.  I ran 4 miles before our group run and the first 2 were pretty slow, just trying to keep the legs moving after Saturday.  After I warmed up I was fine.  I ran 4.3 with the group before finishing alone.  Total 10.22 miles.

It was 50 degrees and breezy this morning.  I ran 10.68 easy miles alone.

It was 56 degrees this morning.  I ran 4 miles before our group run.  We did speedwork today, 7 sets.  Then I finished with Chad.  Total 10.90 miles.

It was 50 degrees this morning and breezy.  I ran 12.35 miles easy by myself.