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

It was 51 degrees this morning and it felt even cooler on the top of Buckskin.  I picked-up Kory a little after 5:30 and was kinda tired since I only got 5 hours of sleep last night.  We ran the first 22 miles of the marathon course.  Kory and I stayed together the first 16 miles and then he took off to push the last 6.  I was still averaging 7:15 miles and he dropped me like a bad habit the last 5 miles.  I ran 22.04 miles in 2:38 and considering the sleep situation I felt pretty good.

It was 59 degrees this morning.  I felt kind of sluggish this morning when my run started so I figured I would probably go about 10 miles.  After about 7 or so I started to feel really good.  It was probably all the good rest I got yesterday.  I decided to stretch out the run and push the last 5 miles and it was great.  I ran 13.21 miles finishing the last 3 in the 6:40-6:50 range.

It was 60 degrees and a bit windy this morning.  I was feeling a bit sluggish so I did not push really hard today.  I ran 16.53 in a nice steady pace with just a few fast miles mixed in.

It was 58 degrees this morning.  I ran 12.34 miles....nothing special, just an easy run.

It was 58 degrees and breezy.  I started out feeling tired because I woke up early this morning.  Lots of stress and nervousness for the wedding on Saturday.  My first mile I felt klunky and slow then I warmed up nicely.  I think the run is just what I needed.  I ran 16.38 miles with 9 nice tempo miles in the middle.

It was 57 and breezy this morning.  Just a quick 10.45 miles and then on to yard work before our company shows up.

It was 50 degrees, cool and cloudy with some wind Saturday morning.  This was the 4th race in a 5 race series.  I probably would have skipped it due to the wedding but I am winning the series so I wanted to hold that place.  I actually drove to the start because I needed to rush off immediately after the race to set-up for the wedding.

Barry Smith and I did some nice slow warm-up miles around Chubbuck and the temperatures were great but there was a little bit of a SW wind at times so I knew we could have some headwind issues in mile 3 of the race.

At the start of the race a nice group of 3 of us set a nice leading pace.  It was Dan Grimes and a really fast girl that I did not know.  Dan is a fast runner and I don't think I have ever beat him.  The 2 of them ran shoulder to shoulder and I tucked in right behind them in a pace that seemed pretty comfortable.  There were actually times that I felt I could pull around but I knew better.  You don't get awards for being the leader in mile 2.....  This was actually one of the smartest races I have run.

We stayed together through the first 3.8 miles.  When we turned on Cottage after the headwind Dan made his move and I could not quite match it.  I picked up the pace a bit but knew I was right at my limit and I did not want to flame out at the end.  He built about a 20-25 yard lead on me by the time we hit the 5 mile mark.  I think I was about 10-15 yards ahead of the girl in 3rd by this point but I never looked back as I kept focusing on Dan.

We entered the park for the final half a mile and I tried to close on Dan and did just a bit but could not catch him.  I watched him cross the finish line just ahead of me and I took 2nd.  This was actually a new 10K PR for me and I feel good about that.

Here are the splits:

1.  6:15

2.  6:15

3.  6:27  (some headwind on this mile)

4.  6:19

5.  6:22

6.  6:19

.2  5:55  (trying to catch Dan)

I did not stay for the awards or raffle.  I spent the rest of the day setiing up for the wedding inside, because of the rain, and then set it up outside because it finally cleared up.  The wedding went great and my daughter had a wonderful day that I will never forget.  I set a 10K PR Saturday and never really thought about it until Sunday.  We worked hard for her wedding and it all turned out perfect.  I am pretty exhausted and feel like I ran a marathon yesterday.

It was 45 degrees this morning.  I must be used to the heat because this felt a bit chilly at first.  I ran 12.22 miles.  I ran about 4 with Bob Fisher and then 4-5 with Jedd Thomas so all the miles were nice and easy with tons of conversation, just what I wanted today.

It was 47 degrees when I left this morning....63 when I got home.  I ran 17.15 miles and had a really good run.  I had 8 good tempo miles and never went above a 7:30 pace until mile 14 up the Satterfield hill.  This was my best mid-distance run in quite a while.  Pacing was good, endurance was good, form was good....what more can you ask.  Beautiful morning, by the way.

It was 50 degrees this morning.  I ran 12.41 miles fairly easy as I was a bit sore from my push yesterday.

It was 52 degrees this morning.  I only had time for 10.61 miles because I needed to be in Blackfoot early this morning.  I have another early morning tomorrow.

Another early morning.  It was actually dark out when I started...the days are getting shorter.  It was 59 degrees and breezy this morning, very comfortable.  I ran 10.42 miles.  Long run tomorrow.

It was 50 degrees in town this morning.  It felt cooler at the top of Buckskin and there was a steady breeze/wind for most of the way.  It was cloudy so the temps stayed the same for the whole run....it was nice.  I ran 23.05 miles with Barry S. and Greg G.  I held back with them for most of the run so my pace was not exceptionally fast.  That was fine because I am running Park City next weekend.  I did the whole run in just under 2:52.

It was 41 degrees...pretty cool this morning.  I ran 8.56 miles nice and easy.  Went early because I am taking the General Managers from all my restaurants white water rafting in Wyoming today :)

It was 42 degrees this morning.  I did a tempo run today like I normally do on the Tuesday before a marathon.  My splits were in the 6:35-6:45 range for the 8+ miles of the tempo and it felt GREAT.  I ran a total of 10.26 miles.

It was 50 degrees this morning.  I took it nice and easy and ran 8.51 miles in a comfortable pace.  Park City in 3 days.....

It was 52 degrees this morning.  Just a nice, easy 5.26 miles tapering for Saturday.

I was planning on this being just a training run for me and it went as planned.  I figured on doing pretty good until the big turn-around at Deer Valley and then only if I felt really awesome I would push the last 10.

I ran with Matt K from miles 6-16 and the pacing was great, although I could feel I was holding him back on the climb to Deer Valley.  Bill Clark caught us before 16 and the 3 of us rounded the resort area.  At 17 they started to push and I held back so I can have some in the tank for Pocatello in 2 weeks.  I even took a bathroom break after 18.  

Amber passed me around 19 and was looking GREAT!!!  Congrats Amber on your WIN!!!

I took it easy on the journey back to the finish and I am not too beat up at all.  I still finished in the top 20 and placed in my age group, and was 11 minutes faster than last year.  Matt and Paul did GREAT today on what is always a tougher course.

I will know in 2 weeks if I made the right decision today...

Pocatello in 2 weeks.....

It was 58 degrees and really humid (99%) this morning after all the rain last night.  I started out easy and ran 3 miles with Bob.  After he dropped off I picked up the pace and finished the last 2+ miles in a 7:10 pace.  My legs are in GREAT shape after Saturday.  I ran a total of 8.21 miles.

It was 51 degrees and humid again (91%) with a slight breeze.  I ran a nice, steady 13.26 miles after not getting enough sleep last night.  My manager in Idaho Falls woke me up late to inform me that a car had swerved off 17th St. and plowed through one of the columns that holds up our drive-thru cover and slammed in to the truck sitting at the window getting their food.  The 2 vehicles were wedged between the 2nd column and the building.  Now I get to make sure the entire cover structure does not collapse and shut-down own drive-thru, which is over 70% of our business.

I was able to get a construction company to come in and shore-up the building this morning.  They had to jack-up the beam a couple inches and then put a temporary support until the final job can be completed later in the week.  Luckily they were done by 11:30am so we did not lose too much business.

It was 51 degrees this morning with high humidity (83%) again.  This is strange for our area.  I ran 8.56 miles nice and easy.

It was 53 degrees this morning.  I just did a fairly easy 10.41 miles.  I was tired after last nights activities.  One of the members of our church is moving and his wife needed some yard work help to prepare the house for selling.  He is already at the new job so we were asked to help.  Well when we got there we saw what the job really was.  We had to rip out a bunch of railroad ties used for terracing all over the yard and then install these HUGE retaining wall blocks that had been stacked on the patio.  We worked for almost 3 hours but we got a lot done.

It was 49 degrees...a beautiful morning.  I ran 10.25 miles fairly easy with a couple pick-up miles towards the end.  Planning a good tempo run tomorrow.

It was 55 degrees this morning.  I started my run with Barry Smith and Todd.  I wanted to run from the top of Buckskin but they did not want to so we ran out towards Chubbuck and looped back.  Todd turned around after 3 so it was just Barry and I.  We ran in to Angela around mile 7 and ran a bit with her before we headed back.  After we climbed back on the bench we did one last quick mile (6:40) before we cooled-down.  I went 13.66 miles with some good tempo mixed in.

1 week until the Pocatello marathon......you can tell because there are runners everywhere today!

It was 59 degrees and breezy this morning.  Nice morning for an easy run.  I ran 6.52 miles and felt great.

It was 54 degrees this morning.  I ran 9.12 miles nice and easy as part of the taper.  I will do some pick-up miles tomorrow and then 2 more easy days.

5 days til marathon.....