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

10:13am: I know, weird start time. This year was the 3rd year of this race. Last year they had 14 runners, this year there were around 50. I was feeling pretty good and I wanted a 1:25 if possible. The bad weather held off so we had mostly overcast skies and some wind in spots but nothing bad at all.

The race started and Kory Wheatley and Dan Bruner took off along with about 6-7 other people. I ran a 5:53 in the first mile and was only in 5th or 6th place. Kory and Dan stayed together through mile 2 before Kory finally shook him and just coasted ahead. By mile 3 I was in 4th place and closing in on Brett who was in 3rd. I passed Brett and started working on Dan.

At the 5 mile mark Dan was around 2:00 minutes ahead of me. At mile 7 Dan was 1:05 ahead of me and the downhill was basically over. I was hoping that my extra miles the last month would pay off and I could close the gap. I gained 5-10 seconds on him each mile but there wasn't enough miles left to get him but I stayed focused on him and just plugged away.

At the turn on Grant St. (approx 11.8 miles) he saw me and pushed ahead to hold me off. The last 1.4 miles is more uphill than down and I crept ever closer. I was within 15 seconds of him at 12.8 miles and we both picked-up the pace. He ended up beating me by 4 seconds so he was 2nd and I was 3rd. I finished in 1:23:57, a PR for me in a half. Dan normally beats me pretty solidly so I felt really good about my finish. Kory ran a 1:14 and smoked us all!!

Here are my mile splits:

1.   5:53

2.  6:01

3.  6:17

4.  6:15

5.  6:22

6.  6:28

7.  6:45 (water stop)

8.  6:28

9.   6:26

10. 6:34

11. 6:42

12. 6:44

13. 6:35

.1   5:49

Nice day...I feel good.

7:00am:  It was in the upper 40's and raining lightly when I left.  When I turned South on Hiline the wind was pretty strong.  I stopped at the restaurant to check something out on their security video system for about 45 minutes.  When I resumed my run the wind was less, but it was now raining pretty hard.  I ran 7.32 miles nice and easy after yesterday.  I was soaked to the skin when I got home.  Kind of fun actually.

6:15am: It was 31 degrees this morning but I liked the fact that I could actually see!!! Ran a nice,easy 12.44 miles and ran with several others. Ran with Barry the first 3, ran with Brent and Suzette the next mile, then ran with Bob from 5-8. Ended up running a strange route but had some good conversation.

Woke up at 4:45am to thunder, lightning, pouring rain and hail. NICE :( Just gave up and ran on the dreadmill and watched all the pundits on TV try to guess the election today. I ran 15.12 miles watching 4 different networks. I hate running inside. By the time I finished and came upstairs it didn't look too bad outside but it was too late. Maybe I'll run outside tonight if it doesn't snow too bad.

6:30am:  It was 28 degrees this morning with a cold wind, but at least it was dry today.  Ran 12.63 miles with 4 nice pick-up miles at the end.

6:15am: 22 degrees, windchill 15 when there was a breeze which was off and on. I ran 15.76 miles and felt really strong. Ran my ISU loop. The first 10 miles just slipped by with what seemed like little effort at all. On a side note, I grabbed a gel this morning on my way out. It was one of those free-bee gels I get at races sometimes. It was a Cliff gel in apple pie flavor.....kind of weird. It tasted OK but that "apple pie" burp I had after cresting Satterfield was one for the books.

6:15am:  It clouded-up last night so it didn't get as cold.  It was 36 degrees but some wind in spots made it feel colder.  I ran 14.78 miles nice and easy because I have a long run tomorrow.

6:45am:  Long run day.  It was 32 degrees when I left and slowly warmed up.  I wanted a nice, solid long run today and I did not disappoint.  I did my usual Chubbuck, Hawthorne, Main St, S. Bannock to Indian Hills back through Ross park and ISU loop.  Had a nasty headwind for the 8 mile South stretch to the turn at Indian Hills.  Got my pace back after that.  I ran for exactly 3 hours in what seemed like an easy run.  Sprinkled some really good miles in a couple of places.  I felt really strong the whole way.  Great way to finish another 100 mile week.  By my calculations, I am now in 2:54-2:55 marathon shape with 4 weeks to go until Tucson.

Rest day today.  Just did some abdominal work this morning and no running.  

6:15am:  It was 37 degrees, raining, and windy this morning.  The rain let up around mile 6 but the wind never did.  I ran 15.26 miles in a steady pace (great with the wind, bad against it).  

6:15am:  39 degrees, some wind, but actually dry today!!!  I ran through Chubbuck then down to ISU.  I even ran 2 miles on the Davis field track for good measure.  I ran 17.53 miles and felt strong the entire way.

6:15am:  40 degrees and raining with gusty winds this morning.  The rain let up after a couple miles so I just had to deal with the wind, it was a steady 20mph.  I ran 13.51 miles nice and easy, no real push today.

6:00am:  Temps were in the 40's this morning, unfortunately the wind was close to that too!!!  Winds were steady at 25-35mph gusting to more.  I got battered around and gutted out 16.22 miles.  Not fun.

6:00am:  Only 26 degrees this morning but at least the winds died down.  There was a full moon so I could actually see fairly well.  I was only going to go 12-13 but it was so nice I extended it.  I ran 16.43 nice and easy, long run tomorrow.

7:30am:  24 degrees out but at least it was clear with fairly light winds.  The goal today was a nice long run similar to last Saturday.  I went the same route as last week and aimed to see how far I would get in 3 hours again.  I was happy with last week so I headed out to do the same.  

But something happened today.  The farther I ran, the stronger I was.  My loop has all the easy, downhill miles in the first half and all the harder, uphill miles in the 2nd half.  I ran a negative split anyway.....and I NEVER do that.  I ran a couple of sub 7's in the 15th and 16th miles that came out of nowhere.  I really didn't push today but I got 23.50 miles in 3 hours exactly.

Up until last month I had never run 100 miles in a week and now I have done it in 4 of the last 5 weeks.  I will now begin my taper for Tucson....it is in 22 days!!!

Rest day today. Did some abdominal work in the morning. Went to church. Did some lower body weights in the evening. Start of taper for Tucson.

6:30am:  23 degrees this morning, no wind.  Nice morning.  I ran 10.43 miles and legs felt good.  This was my shortest run in over 2 weeks.

7:15am:  I ran later today because it is my day off. It was 25 degrees this morning but mostly no wind.  I ran the first 8 plus miles as a tempo run then dialed it down the last 7-8.  Legs feeling really good.  I ran 16.15 miles on my standard Chubbuck, ISU, then Satterfield loop.

It looks like my best friend from Idaho Falls is going to go to Tucson with me next month.  I still have room for 1 more in my condo if someone wants to split costs and save money.

 I going to spend the rest of the day doing yardwork and putting up the Christmas lights since it is supposed to be in the upper 50's today and who knows how many nice days we have left.

6:30am:  26 degrees this morning.  I was really tired when I got up this morning from all the outside work I did yesterday.  I did not really wake up until mile 6 or 7.  I ran 10.42 miles nice and slow as a recovery run.

6:15am:  28 degrees this morning.  Did another run like Tuesday.  Ran the first 9 miles as a tempo run then backed-off.  I ran 15.22 miles and legs felt really good today.  Tucson in 17 days.

6:45am:  Planned for a nice, easy run today.  The temp was 29 degrees, BUT the wind was blowing anywhere from 20-35 mph and it was COLD!!!  Whenever I would run in to the wind my face would go numb and then it would thaw out when I changed directions.  There was definitely a winter feel this morning.  I ran 8.32 miles in an easy pace.

8:30am:  It was 20 degrees this morning but the winds were light and I waited until the sun was out.  I had a great run today.  I ran 8 miles as a tempo run and had great splits (all under 7:00).  The other 7+ miles I took it easy.  My legs are feeling really good and I tapered back to 75 miles this week from last weeks 102.  Next week should be 55-60.  15 days until Tucson!!!

No running today...day off.

 Did upper body weights this morning and then some abdominal work.

 Evening, did lower body weights.

6:45am:  It was 16 degrees this morning.....BRRRR.  I ran 8.37 miles nice and easy.  Harder paced run tomorrow.

6:30am:  It was a balmy 19 degrees this morning......I did a tempo run today with 8 fast miles and 2.45 easy miles.  Kept all my splits under 7:10 and it felt really easy.  Looking forward to running in warm weather....Tucson in 12 days!!!

6:45am:  It clouded-up last night so it only dropped down to 23 degrees......so naturally I ran in shorts.  I ran a nice, easy 8.53 miles.  Easy effort.

7:00am:  Temperature was 26 degrees with no winds.  I met up with 5 other runners for an informal "Turkey Trot".  I ran 7 miles with and without them with a few MP miles thrown in for good measure.  We then joined another group of runners at 8:00am for another run.  We ran 5 miles averaging just under 7:00/mile.  Kory, Dan, and many other people I knew were there, there must have been around 20-25 of us.  It was fun.  I ran another 1.5 miles alone to finish up.

6:45am:  32 degrees and it looked like it rained/snowed just a bit last night.  There were a couple of slick spots but nothing major.  I ran 8.44 miles nice and easy.

8:00am:  Temperature was 36 degrees this morning but the wind was blowing 15-25 mph.  I did a nice tempo run and kept most of the miles under 7:00 except when I was right into the wind.  I ran 13.51 miles and felt really strong all the way through.  I tapered down to 62 miles this week and will take it pretty easy next week until the race.

No run today, just some abdominal work.