Dave's Addiction

New year's run with Abigail on the TM

I just couldn't get up enough enthusiasm to run outside so there was only one thing to do - sign up for a race! I swear not to run this ever again every year but the chili is yummy and the alternative - being stuck inside on a gloomy January morning - is intolerable. This year was different though, as we had some competition show up! Both Toni and Devra were inside the center when I got there so I knew it would be challenging to get the W today. We straggled across the street and lined up pretty much on time, and off we went!
The new Hokas really really like the downhill, as I was able to pound with all the force I wanted to. I dropped under 4 flat briefly and then held it at 4:20 while Johnny Ahn ran alongside at speed to get warm. He dropped back a little before the first turn and after that I didn't see anybody ever again. I was trying for a 5:10 first mile but there was some tiny uphill and a lot of flat so I only got a 5:36. Up the 400 feet of gain to the canal was pretty brutal, but I still couldn't see anybody following. Maybe because my eyeballs were too cold to properly focus and I couldn't see much past an eighth of a mile. But I remembered what Toni did to me two years ago so I wasn't about to drop back. But the miles went by, mostly 6:30s (full winter gear) and nobody ever caught up! I turned off the Murdock for the last downhill mile to the finish and grabbed a 6:10, ran around the corner, into the parking lot, up the stairs, and through the door. I figured that was probably good enough for the finish so I stopped my watch there for 1:23:14, a solid win! Toni came in at 1:25, then Devra at 1:28 so it is good I kept the pressure up.

Here's my 2014 races for easy linkage

1/4 Snowman half - 1:25:30 1st

Total Domination

Phase one of operation Steve Austin complete (stronger)

1/18 Frigid 5k - 18:33 1st

Total Domination

Commencing phase two of operation Steve Austin (faster) - 12 sessions remaining

3/22 Yeti - 1:01:57 1st

Total Domination

4/21 Boston Marathon - 3:07:yeek (4,553,647,555th)

Wheeeeeeee!

5/24 Timp Trail Half - 1:44:36 2nd

Masters Domination

5/31 Homestead 15k - 57:58 5th

Masters Domination

6/7 Nestle 5k - 18:02 14th

AG Domination

6/28 Ragnar - 24:10 7th

Masters Team Domination

7/4 Freedom Run 5k - 17:41 18th Course PR

AG Domination

7/12 Hobbler Half - 1:14:31 3rd Course PR

Masters Domination

7/24 Mapleton 5k - 17:34 1st Course PR

Total Domination

8/16 Hobble Creek Half - 1:12:40 10th Course PR

Masters Domination

8/30 Guresome Grizzly - 37:48 2nd

Masters Domination

9/6 Nebo Half - 1:09:18 2nd Course PR

AG Domination

9/13 Big Cottonwood Half - 1:09:26 3rd Mile PR (4:45)

Dominated by Pepi

9/27 Huntsville Half Marathon - 1:18:26 6th

Masters Domination

10/11 Trial at Trail 51 - 1:09:26 6th

Masters Domination

10/31 Howloween 5k - 17:32 2nd

Masters Domination

11/1 The Burn - 59:21 5th

Masters Domination

11/27 Earn Your Turkey - 23:04 18th

AG Domination

Nasty week, I had the flu from Monday night to about Wednesday afternoon so I had to cut back. I didn't even run at all on Wed! Can't imagine. So here's how it went

Mon - 4 miles easy on the TM

Tue  feeling kind of nuked, let's try a progressive to see how far we get before death (2 miles of 5.2 possible)

Thu - let's try that progressive again (3.10, feeling much better but still going to be nice to myself)

Fri - 5 EZ

Today - A nice run up to see my 94 year old uncle who I didn't even know was still alive! And driving! Eeek! The first three were spent drowning, after that the lungs felt much better and ready for next week. (10 total miles, 6:45 avg)

I tried an interval workout but I'm not quite back yet. Just relax.
 

OK this is much better. I did a progressive 9.1 to 11.9, but dropped the list 2 minutes down to 10.2 so I could do 14.0 for the last minute after that and still have enough for another speed workout later in the week. Almost at 100%.
 

5 easy, just chillin in Jan

Wasn't going to run today but all of a sudden I had already gone a mile so what the hay. It felt relly easy so I stepped it up to 10.2, then 10.8, then what the heck let's try 12.1 since things are going so good. Pretty easy but noticeable. I knocked it off at 3, when to the UB workout, then came back again and did 10.8 for a while then 14 for the last .3.

I'm back! Not much of a flu I guess. Got the full TM intervals, 11.8 - 12.1 - 12.5 - 12.8/9

Sort of ran 1.75 with the boy in the evening

Did a relatively zippy HM from TOSH up to BC canyon and back down. That is one nasty hill! Got under 4:20 for a while on the Hokas. AP 6:48. The inversion was gone above 1300 east.

Ran outside! Just the normal EZ route to the gym and around the neighborhood

Finished the progressive, feeling good. Ended with a 13.5 minute.

3 on the treadmill, 7.4 on the bike to and from work.

Woo Hoo! Canyon run up Rock Canyon plus hill sprints with Lydia.

TM for 3, then I tried the stair climber for 12 minutes. Definitely a little harder!

A cold and easy run from TOSH to some random neighborhood at 1700 E and 9200 south. Tried for low 7s, got 7:00 exactly. Another nasty week in the can.

Run to and from the gym, then 3 miles on the TM at 10.1

Intervals on the TM, 1 mile each at 11.8,12.2,12.5, and 12.8. Lungs feeling a little tight so I dropped back to 7.5 after 0.74 miles and then slammed the last .26 at 14.0. Also the second mile was half 12.1, half 12.2.

Afternoon - 1.8 miles easy with the two kids, then Isaac decided to try his new superpowers from the acceleration training. He is almost as fast as me! But he can't hold it as long. 2x200

Nice warm morning to run outside, standard gym route

A day of skiing at Sundance, with two hill runs to and from the upper parking lot.

Attempted tempo run, got the runs after the first mile (5:49) so dropped to 6:09 pace. Set pooping record.

Nice early run up and down Hobble Creek Canyon, 7:01 average (down to 6:10 pace for last three)

Worked a little hill in there at the end

Intervals at the gym (11.8,12.2,12.5,12.8 for .73 then active recovery then 14 for .27) then 2.8 slow miles with the whiners in the evening

No winter clothes! But yes pants.

Rest day before fun speed workout tomorrow, 7.4 on the bike and 1 slow with Lydia

Tried a progressive on the Bellagio treadmills, how apropos :)

From the start it was super easy and it never got hard. By minute 26 I bumped it up a notch but it still didn't have any difficulty. The TM only went to 12.4 so I couldn't really pound it at minute 30. 9.1 tp 12.0, then 12.4

Ran from TOSH to JRT, then out and back 4.25 each. Felt like I was hitting the wall for most of this, worst long run of the winter. Oh well, better times coming. 7:07 AP

EZ gym run but pushed it on the hills. Nice morning!

Super bad attitude on the TM this morning, bailed after a mile. So I ran a canyon at lunch! It was the Springville water tower one.

5.1 less than easy on the TM, then a fun .7 mile downhill run at the U

2.4 to and from gym. 7.5 on bike, 0.7 with Lydia running hills in the evening.

Progressive to see if the Vegas run was a fluke. It wasn't - I am actually getting faster. I did 13.2 for the last minute without too much trouble.

Run along highway 93. I was going to run across the desert but it turned out to be the Utah gunnery test range. Decided against it :)

Run on the Springville tempo route, 1 mile easy 1 mile tempo and so forth (more or less)

4 at the gym, 1.5 with the kids, Lydia is getting faster

1.2 each way easy to and from the gym in the morning. Then I tried an oxygen run at the acceleration center. 6x800. It went like this

11.8 up to 12.5, no O2 - not too hard

12.3, sea level O2 - easier

12.6, Dead sea O2 - medium

13.0, same - hard

13.3, same - very hard (max)

13.3, no O2 - crapped out with 45 seconds to go so

15.0, no O2 for 45 seconds - surprisingly not death.

Then I tried some of Isaac's speed intervals, I got 16 seconds at 10 MPH and 35% grade twice, holy crap.

Then we went and bought a treadmill in Draper so I had to test that at 12.0 to make sure it sounded happy. Now I am toasted.
 

9 on a bike and 1 (9:45) with Lydia

2 to the gym, 2 on the TM at 10.0, 2 back with hills

Ran with the club up to Battle Creek overlook, great day. Nobody wanted to go down the back side so I did it anyway.
 

5 boring treadmill miles, 6 flat pace

4x1, best ever - 11.8,12.2,12.5,12.8 but cur off at .72 with active recovery then .28 at 14. I could have easily finished the 4th mile but I wanted the super speed more. 1 mile with Lydia in the PM

Was feeling really good, decided to just run to HCC and back to the Gym. 33 didn't feel cold at all really.

2 to the gym, 2 on the TM, 2 home

Almost broke my record in Slide canyon when the overdrive kicked in late and removed the speed limit, that was something else. 1 mile with Lydia later, she didn't stop for the first time and got 10:04.

I was going to go up the canyon but I'm too light to make headway against the wind to I just ran to the 9th east stoplight in Provo and back

While I'm waiting to go see Google, might as well get a ladder in! I went to a local high school,had to break in to get to the track. 12 foot fences. Freekin Cali. It's nice and warm down here. The mexican food from yesterday didn't quite agree, so times were about 3 seconds per lap slower than I would have liked, but here's how it laid out.

Dist

200,.25,.5,.75.1, back down

Goal (lap pace)

64, 69, 75, 80, 82.5

Performance

66, 70, 77.5, 82, 83, 82, 78, 69, 63
 

To and from gym, then1 with Lydia at night 10:16

Ran 3 on the treadmill in an easy progressive (9.1 to 10.9) and then after UB ran 2 more at 10.2 with the last quarter at 14. Felt good.

Two easy (10.2) on the treadmill, then tried to join the speed workout at BYU but it wasn't there so I just ran 5 fast ones around the track. The first one Isaac tried out his new spikes and he managed to stay ahead for the first 250, then he ran out of gas. I got a 62 quarter pace, he got a 64. All the others were between 63 and 67. Then we tried a 100 meter dash, we were side by side all the way down, both maxed. It should be a good track season for him.

Run to gym and back, going to try Rex E Lee run tomorrow. That should be interesting.

Afternoon: Lydia got 10:16 mile

PR! Yeah! I started off hoping my first mile is free superpower would get me to the top of the hill, and even though I was starting to feel it by halfway I just went right up and was still with the lead pack at the top! All right. Time to crush the downhill. I couldn't believe I was still with Jason on the way down but he and the others began to gradually pull away. The 10K leaders were out front already so it was hard to figure out what place I was but at a sub 5 pace I was blowing by them handily. Even with the big uphill I ended up with a 5:25 mile 1,killer! I think I have a PR in my sights. Mile 2 ends at the very bottom but there was a lot of flat in it, still I ended with a 5:29 which is monster for a second mile. Mile 3 is all gradual uphill and I still got a 5:59! There was only one guy with me during that mile and he gradually passed me but we did a great job of pushing each other. I thought I was going to catch him on the track but he put in the last push with me and we both flew through well under 17. I thought I had broken my 5k record by 40 seconds but since it was short the equivalence is 17:28, still a PR by 4 seconds! I think this could be a great season. I did a 5+ mile run with Toni, Jason, and Robert after, then another few miles around the track and by my house.

Lydia broke her mile record (9:58) Then I rode a 5 mile bike with Abigail

I deserve a recovery run after Saturday's awesomeness :)

A high quality tempo run this morning. I tried to keep it down in the tempo zone, but I still got 5:52, 6:02, 6:01, 6:00 which is a near record on the flat course.

Lydia got 10:12 on the mile in the afternoon

Nice and easy around the Jr High school to the gym

10 bike around the town in the morning, then Lydia broke her record again with a 9:47 mile in the evening.

After the 5k PR I figured it was time to up the intensity on the progressive (and it's been getting easier) so I bumped the entire series by .1 - now it starts at 9.2 and ends at 12.0 with a 13.4 last minute. Definitely harder :) But I got another .08 of a mile in the 30 minutes, so if I can bump it 10 more times I'll be at a 5:00 average. But even now the last 5k of the workout goes by in 16:18 so it's getting pretty zippy, even for the treadmill.

I should run with Toni more often.We push each other without meaning to. It was supposed to be an easy run with three fast miles coming down Provo canyon. The first mile was indeed easy, 7:52. But then we started going uphill and into the wind, so of course we sped it up.7:30, 7:24, 7:17, 7:12 - even the 8th mile up the bottom of South Fork (steep part) was 7:35. So now we were going to take it easy going down until the fast part. Whatever. Our first mile of 6:12 was the slow mile. Even on the flat we were at 6:11, then 5:55, then we figured we would just bomb it to the water fountain so two 5:46s and the last half at 5:20 did it. At that point we both laid down the law, "no faster than 8 for the rest of the run". So two 7:45s later we were back at the car. I'm nuked.

6 easy this morning, must be ready for fast miles tomorrow

Lydia broke her mile record again with a 9:28, that's a 20 second jump!

A 600, 700 and 800, all slightly downhill, trying to find a good pace for Leopards. Got 4:55, 4:32 (too fast) and 5:02 (just right) but the last one was a bit more downhill than it should have been I think.

.5 miles of bouncy legs with Lydia in the  afternoon

Mixing it up a little, 2x6 minute on the treadmill with 2 to and 2 from the gym

EZ to and from the gym in the morning, killer indoor BYU track workout in the afternoon. The 350 times were 51, 54, 53, 52, 50.

8 bike in the morning, Lydia broke her mile record again (9:20) in the afternoon.

Maybe it was the fact that my lungs were still full of mucus, or maybe I shouldn't have hung with the front guys for a 64 quarter and a 2:18 800 at the start, but I did not do good today. Well OK I didn't do bad, but I was 14 seconds slower than 2 years ago where I expected to by 14 seconds faster. Anyway, once I had burned through the first mile is free thing (about .66) I noticed that I was having a horrible time clearing lactic. It was so bad that my arms were tired. I came around the first corner to the uphill and got past mile 1 at 5:05 and just died. Well I felt like I died but I was still under 6 mostly. I figured I would back off a little and try to clear the lactic out somewhat. It kind of worked, but I couldn't bring myself to go slow enough for it to REALLY work. So I got a 5:43 second mile. By that time we were in the long downhill and I just tried to keep it moving. I did OK, even going under 5 at the end on the track, but the third mile was still 5:33 and the last bit ended up at 5:16. I am guessing on the placing, but the 1st place masters guy passed me when I was being slow and he didn't look over 40 so I let him get 7 seconds ahead. Big mistake. My lungs will be more clear at the next race.

Around the Jr high to the gym, then back home

Pretty decent 4x1 on the TM, back to 99% after the little cold.

11.8, 12.1, 12.5, 12.8 for .72 then active recovery then 14.0 for .28

2 to the gym, 2 at a 6 flat on the TM,then 2 back home

Morning - I ran up Rock Canyon after dropping the kids off in hopes of finding Brandon and the guys coming down from Squaw Peak. Got halfway up it and the last people reported nobody above them, so I came back down.

Evening - 220s with Lydia and Isaac. Not too bad, raced the boy on the last interval and pulled ahead after 100.

To and from gym

Best run of the year, makes me want to post something :)
There's nothing like the full Powerhouse to psych you out. First you run 2 miles on gentle uphills in Mapleton and Springville, then it's  2.5 of nasty rock-filled uphill intervals to the meadows where, if you time it right, the sun rises at your feet as you crest the top. I was about 10 minutes early, it was still really pretty. Then you lope easily down the road towards left fork HCC but you have to break your mile record at mile 7.I did it! 4:39 (well the watch said 4:41 but I had to duck under a waist-high gate in the middle and I settled nicely into a 4:31 pace by the end so I am counting it) I hate it when the shoe comes untied .1 into the time trial but you go with what you have. Then, once you pass the golf course, you have to run two tempo miles at 12 and 13 (I got 5:53 and 5:46). Then you have to run two sub tempo miles at the end to close it out and try to break 2:10, which I did for the first time this year! Last two were 6:26 and 6:03, total 16.16 miles in 2:09:46

Now it's naptime.

Nice and easy today, going for a ladder tomorrow

Tried a ladder today, proud of myself for finishing even though it totally sucked. I was 3 seconds per lap slow on every piece except the 1200, only 1 second slow there for some odd reason. The sprinklers at Springville HS do a great job of watering the track, nothing like a bunch of water in the face to keep you going. My pants were slapping by the end of the mile.

2 to the gym, 2 on the TM, 2 back past the HS

8 bike + 1 run with Lydia in the PM

Progressive 9.2 to 12.0 except minute 28 was 9.6 and minute 30 was 14.0

Lydia tied her mile record at 9:20 in the PM

Run through the desert, chased wild donkeys, found an old mine, jumped into a hot springs in Austin Nevada

5 mile hike with the family in Muir woods, gained 800 feet

4 spooky miles in predawn by Olima campground

EZ run looking for a gym, then dune sprints with the boy

Ran angry early in the morning, can't take these $%#% RV vacations any more, all done. Ran up Corral Canyon in Malibu to the top, found a gate at the top with barbed wire, concertina, a big steel cable, 12 foot fence, 10 no trespassing signs including one that said "There is no way through here, all you will find is 24/7 cameras and guard dogs and you will be arrested for trespassing if you are not eaten by the dogs". Isn't California great? Har. 2800 up. Got 6's all the way down.

Big bikeride in Mesquite plus a bit of running, 1 in the evening with Lydia

Standard pre-race strides (flat, 14 TM, hill)

OK that was fun. There was a huge crowd at this one, I showed up early and barely got legal parking. Cops would have had a heyday. We all started off, lots of us at my traditional 4:55 uphill pace. I got passed horribly on the uphills, and returned the favor on the downhills and flats. It felt like my legs turned to giant springs after each hill and I was able to maintain 6:10. But I had to walk three or four times on the hills. By the top I was in 8th, but downhill monster mode was definitely available and once I hit the road I was hot on the trail of Melody. An immediate pass and I slammed it to 4:10 pace, and the leaders started to come back. Except the guys that had already crossed the finish line of course :) Clark put up a valiant defense but I was in rare form and passed him about halfway back to the finish line. Even on the flat I was never slower than 4:40, and on the final turn I passed Hunter and pushed even a little harder, dropping back to 4 flat as we crossed the finish line. Even so he almost caught me! Last 1K was a new record, 2:48. Splits were 7:44, 8:01, 5:30, 4:08 for the last .1.

Nice and easy to an from gym with some small hill pushes thrown in

OK, I think it's time to up the pace on the bottom mile, 11.8 is just too easy. 12.8 is still challenging though! I got 11.8, 12.2, 12.5, then .72 at 12.8 and 1:50 of active recovery(9.2) then .28 at 14.0.

HM pace really, 10.1 felt fast at the beginning and 10.8 felt easy at the end. I think I am going to run SLC HM.

Standard pre-race strides

I don't know why I did this one, but it seemed like it might be a fun course and it was the most interesting race in April so why not? I started at a nice fast clip behind two leaders. Mike called out "go Dave", ha ha, seeing as he ended up winning it all in the marathon and passed me at .5 miles. He is getting really fast. Anyway about .2 miles in we got handed this steep uphill? Yeek! OK that was fine and then another steep uphill, twice as long this time. Arg. I still got 5:41 on the first mile but 6:27 on the second, not what I like to see at the beginning. Jason passed me at mile 1 as usual but I was feelingmuch better this time :) I had never been in this part of SLC so the tour was really cool - I had no idea there was an undeveloped canyon right next to downtown! I got 5:29, 5:46 and 5:31 on the next few miles, feeling great.

Then we turned the corner to South Temple, a grinding gradual uphill into the sun. Blocks are so far apart in SLC. It seemed to take forever and the 5th place Marathon guy who is 49 yrs old passed me for the last time on that hill. But it wasn't that bad, a 6:26 mile up the first bit and a 6:06 for the rest and the 9th east downhill. Then they shoved us over to 11th east.Couldn't they have waited a few more blocks? I saw the steep hill to the upper bench and thought to myself "Thank goodness that hill is far away, I wouldn't want to go up that." Well the blocks in SLC are big, so 2 of them put us halfway up it and I had to walk for just a moment. Even with that thoough I got 6:35. Unfortunately I saw that I woudn't even break 1:20 at this rate, so I started to slack off. Next miles were 6:15, 6:25, 6:07, 6:31 and 6:24. What I didn't realize is that 12 of the 17 people who beat me including all three top women were less than 2 and a half minutes ahead, and if I had just kept up the mental push I could have been close to Jason. Instead I ran it like a tempo and only had a 5:46 final kick. I will do better next time.

I'm in the Philippines so I don't even know what day it is. A heat training run, strong sub-tempo pace, 83 degrees at 90% humidity, to the beach and back. Yes this run was a real beach.

I don't know, is it Thursday? Look up Dumaguete on the weather site. I dare you. Now think of a 4.7 mile tempo run at just over a 6 flat pace. Yeah. Good thing they don't have hot water in the shower here. Pity they don't have cold either :)

Hauling A through the airport, had to go through security twice because I left my cell phone on the plane.

Wow, the Philippines got me out of shape. The speed gods demand antoher mile tomorrow. I could not complete the 12.5 mile today. I'll get it back quickly.

I gave the speed gods their mile back, 5:40 uphill at mile 3 ofthe run, then some sub 6 stuff on the way back downhill.

To the gym, from the gym

Afternoon sprints with Lydia

Nice 10 mile ride around the town

Standard pre-race strides

I didn't have high expectations for this race since I had like 12 miles the prior week and only two decent workouts this week, plus I was recovering from the trip to the Philippines. All I wanted to do was go out hard and keep on truckin as long as I could. Well that turned out to be a good strategy. I lined up with Riley and other Dave and figured I might actually make the podium if I could keep a good pace! I saw Scott and Mike on a morning run, looked like they were going to accompany the front guys so woohoo! It was no challenge to jump out front as usual and I stayed there until the first little uphill, then Riley, Mike and Scott passed me (albiet very slowly). I was trying for a 5:10 first mile and I got 5:18 and 5:21 for the first two, so not bad! Then a 5:57 on the flat which seemed a little slow but there was no tailwind this year. On mile 2 as I went into the flat I was passed by Dave Olson, he was really long and slow on stride length. I decided to try it for a while and stuck with him for about .1 just for fun. It didn't feel much different, but a few small muscles were starting to complain so I decided to go back to the quick short style which was a relief.

Then I found The Pace. It was so cool. I was feeling a little tired so I backed off ever so slightly and tried to feel waves of oxygen renewing my legs, and it worked! It felt like I had finally figured out how to run tempo. and I focused on maintaining that feeling without (much) regard for hills. I got a little lacticed by Timp park so I walked a few seconds while drinking a gatorade, that's when I was passed by Brandon. I figured no biggie, I was already off the podium anyway because Robert was out of sight, but I hung with Brandon and passed him, then he passed me, and by 4800 North I was feeling not any more tired at all whereas he had been working pretty hard and had to drop back a little. I decided to try and maintain 4th but not push out of the magic zone, and managed to run a bunch of 6 flats all the way to the end. I figure if I subtract out the walk break and the no wind, I would have broken my record from last year, but close enough. That may be the best workout I have ever done.

I feel strong from Saturday. Sore too. What a great workout.

Aborted the ladder workout, the Saturday effort was too strong I guess. I owe the speed gods 1.3 miles

Had to pay the speed gods, I did a .4 masty hill sprint (7:00 pace), a .4 slightly uphill sprint (5:15 pace) and a .4 13 MPH TM run.

One zippy lap on the bike around the town

Standard pre-race strides (flat, TM, hill)

1.5 to and from the pickup in the evening

I thought this race looked like fun, and it was certainly that (and quite scenic). It looked like it might rain all week, and I had to hide in Cafe Rio the night before during a fairly impressive thunderstorm, but the only precipitation we had was a little soft hail and rain at the start. I was hoping for something in the 1:13s but the course was a lot more rolly than Hobble Creek and had some gradual uphill in the last 5 K so it was not to be. The race started 15 minutes early, and we almost started before the last bus got up (what a hoot) but everybody made it OK. I was not in first for about three steps, but then I got up to speed and tried for the standard 5:10 mile. It was a little uphill at the start and in the middle of the mile so I ended up with a 5:23. By the end of the first mile I couldn't hear the people any more, but I just knew somebody would pass me so I kept up the pressure, dropping to 5:32 and then into the 5:40s for most of the rest of the downhill. By mile 4 I couldn't see anybody in back of me on the long straight stretches so I figured I might be able to pull it off since most of the people that pass me do it by mile 4. I kept putting seconds in the bank and dropped to 1:15 flat by mile 10. When I passed the sprintasaurus marker at mile 6 (a little 800 race inside the half on the steepest downhill) I tried to really jam it, and I got about a 5:12 AP. The second box did not make any noise though so I think that part of the race may have been broken, plus the boxes were actually about .7 apart. Mile 7 ended up being the third fastest of the race at 5:32. Miles 11 12 and 13 were mostly flat and I got 6:05, 6:14 and 6:01 on those, so I ended up with a 75 instead of a 74. Fun race though! Chris Pope came in second and broke his PR by 50 seconds, but I get to have the coveted CR next to my name for the first time!

Standard 6 mile gym route

A truly stunning tempo run, I don't know what happened. I wasn't really paying attention, just trying to push it a little more than half marathon pace. The first mile is a little downhill, I usually get 5:20. Today I got 5:03. I was stunned. I felt fine, just like normal. The second mile I pushed it a little and got 5:47, that one is flat. I jogged about .25 and then ran 1.25 at 5:46, also flat. Jogged .35, then .7 uphill (slightly) at a shocking 5:45. It was all around crazy.

To and from Reams to get eggs, to and from gym

7 bike and 1.5 hill/trail run on east Mapleton bench

Easy progressive, getting ready for the hill workouts of doom tomorrow

A wonderfully dry, long, hard and easy traverse of the Timp Trail Half course with an extra Dry Canyon run thrown in. Jammed it hard on the hills, took it easy on the flats. I feel surpisingly good! But I did take 2:20 to run it. Glad I wasn't in Ogden!

EZ run with mandatory hills thrown in (lots of those this week)

12 plates on the incline press

Flat tempo course - I had to see if something had happened. I am a bit faster, but as much as I thought. 5:59 AP, strong tempo. 5:39, 6:02, 6:10, 6:05, 6:01.

Nice and easy standard gym route

6.5 bike plus 1 trail run

Progression on the treadmill, ran out of juice at minute 24 so I did 1 minute fast, 1 slow ending at 9.2, 14.0.

Extended Mcdonald's run, up on the BST from the JD facility. Ran into the Live w Elle 5k at mile 14, passed about 100 people in a 1 mile stretch. That race is getting big! Got down to 6 flat at the end.

Hey, free race! Great chance to test the Fenix in high demand mode. Looks like my VO2max is stuck at 59, maybe I will try to increase during another workout this week. Anyway, this was more of a fun run so I just decided to hang out at the front and try to learn something. I couldn't quite catch the lead pack though - stuck about 100 feet back. Then they turned on to the 5K course and I was alone out front. Luckily somebody else came up but I was on the uphill so I got passed pretty bad. Then an SRC girl inchedever so slowly past me and I finally had somebody to latch on to! I stuck about 8 seconds behind her and started to close the gap on the downhill, but just didn't have enough to seal the deal as we wound through the 5k people in the cemetery. Great workout though!

Standard gym route

To and from the gym with 2x800 at 2:34 thrown in (one each way)

Standard pre-race strides

Looks like I am faster on the treadmill because I have less ground contact time. Interesting.

This was one of those days when I didn't win because of fitness, it was because of trailcraft. A really fun race as usual. I started off in second place as a high school kid passed me, but then he decided to hang back because it was his first longer distance race and we wanted to stay back with the people who knew how to pace correctly. Chortle. But he wisely dropped back a little more as I burned through the "first mile is free" on the initial hill. I kept expecting people to pass me but I was able to lay it down pretty good on the flat, even into the wind. When I turned to go up to the meadow I could see four guys really close. All would pass, and all would meet misfortune. 

The first two finally passed me on the big hill coming out of the meadow. They didn't get very far in front, but far enough.  A third guy just barely passed me going over the saddle. When we got to the upper road there was a group of hikers who asked us which way the course went, when I told them they started yelling down the road at somebody. I quickly recovered from the hill and dropped down to 6:10 or so, blowing past guy number 3 and moving at tempo pace so I could catch up to #1 and #2. I couldn't see them anywhere and after about a mile it hit me - the hikers were yelling at #1 and #2, and I was in front again! Oh boy. (They ended up at the highway and jogged back to the park instead of continuing) I came around the corner and dropped down to the water towers at a relaxed 5:20, ready for the big climb.

All this time I was starting to notice the heat, which was very warm, but I thought it was still in the green zone. I was wrong. When I started to go uphill again I had nothing. I was walking more and more - downhills were easy, but my heart refused to beat fast enough to clear the lactic on the uphills. I was dehydrated and still had to get up Dry Canyon. I figured if I could get to the aid station at the top before anyone else, I could still win it all. With all the walking though I lost 6+ minutes against last year and was caught just before the station, and again at the station, back into third. I grabbed some Coke and some water and hoped for renewal but it was still grim on every uphill. Finally I got to the top, cleared it, and started up the downhill monster. I was really hoping that nobody would pop up in the Mario Karts because I was going so fast that they would get aced. Fortunately nobody showed up. Unfortunately #1 and #2 didn't show up either.

When I got to the main road #2 was there looking confused and asked which way the course went. #1 had turned east on the road but I led #2 west. He said he would follow me. Yes, you will :) I still had 6:20 on the flat and he was dropping back severely, then I made the turn off the road, somehow made it up the gentle hill without collapsing, and barrelled down the trail. He had hopes of catching up at the end but I went to black at 4:30 for the last .5 and fell over on the grass at the end. I drank 4 bottles of water, a bowl ofchili, a bottle of OJ, and a Smoothie. I really need to drink more when it is over 50.

Nice gym run

Heart training today. It's so hart to get my heart rate up. I ran up Whiting Canyon - at first, a rate of 140 felt very difficult. Finally I was able to crack 150, barely. After that I just kept running with no breaks, faster and faster up the trail, and still only managed to squeak above 155 for 2 seconds. Broke my mile pace record by 1 minute (down to 9:15) on the third mile of the trail. I even got a 4:45 mile at the end coming down, where 150 felt moderately comfortable. Maybe my heart rate monitor isn't working. 1050 feet elevation  gain.

To and from gym, added Art City 5K hill for practice

10+ bike around the town

Standard pre-race strides except I did the Art City 5K hill again. It's tough.

I started the day with a nice 5K. Having practiced the newcourse, I had hopes that I would make it to the top intact. The race started off and I got right to the front of the group behind a high school kid. All I wanted to do was get to the top of the hill in the yellow and at the front. I did it! I was pretty tired though and people started slipping past little by little. Then as we crossed 1600 North the lead pack took off and I could not respond as I was already at a 5:20 pace. Mile 1 clicked off at 5:42, really good for including the hill! I was still pretty close to the front but had little oomph for the uphill upwind .5 miles. I lost ground rapidly, but as we turned north on Main street I could still see the front people. I got to the top of the hill and there was enough to turn on downhill monster! All right. I got down to 4:30 pace on the steep downhill, and managed to average 5:30 for the last mile, passing 3 people to take 13th place.

I ran home quickly because I told Curtis I would pace him in the Squaw Peak 50. I passed him in my car, then parked and enjoyed a very pleasant and leisurely 7 mile jog up to 7600 feet. Then I blazed back down to my car. Love the aid stations, they are awesome with sausage and 6 different beverages and chips and M&Ms. Then I ate at Cubby's.

EZ gym route with a mild hill

I got my HR to 167! Now I know why I can run 4:40 miles on the TM - it isn't just because it's a treadmill, it's because my heart beats 10 faster than on the road. The effort curve feels completely different as well - I wish I had used a heart rate monitor sooner on the TM. If I could take that performance on the road I could get 16 flats in the 5k I bet.

EZ gym run, HR to 151 in the middle and at the end

10 bike up and down Hobble Creek Canyon in light rain

Standard pre-race strides

6 records in one race! Unfortunately one of them is worst damage to big toe, I might be taking some days off. 

This was my first try with the marshmallow downhill shoes, it seemed to be quite effective. I have no calf or quad pain at all and my feet feel pretty good. And I stomped on those feet for an hour, make no mistake. The race went off at 6 am sharp, except for the people they let go half an hour early because they wanted more time. My pre race warmup consisted of a dash from the portapotties to the starting line about a quarter of a mile away, I got down in the low 4s just on that so I started thinking about state records. Nobody fast at the start, so things looked good for first, but I was more looking forward to stomping down the hill. In the middle of mile 1 I looked down at my watch and say a 3:52 and a 3:48. Holy smokes! It did feel a little fast but not that fast. Still I backed off a little but ended up at a record 4:37 for mile 1! I passed the first mile marker at 4:27, which has very special significance for me, since that was my father's mile PR.

A little further down the road I encountered the upper flats, but managed to maintain a sub 6 pace on even the flattest part. Splits were 5:08, 5:38, 5:24, 5:36, and 5:16 for 2-6. Then the course drops quickly and pace increases, I got 4:53, 5:00, 5:22, and 5:05 for 7-10. I waswondering when things wouldflatten out, but they never really did. 11 wasstill in the canyon, 12 and 13 were canyon-bike path transition and while there were occasional flat spots it was mostly gently downhill. I got 5:20, 5:29 and 5:39. Once I figured out that I was going to PR big time I started to push a little more, but there wasn't much left to give so it didn't make a big difference. Crossing with a 1:08:17 was way fun but my big toes had been hurting since mile 6 andI was worried. I walked the half mile to my car, drove it back to the finish line, and took off shoes andsocks. The right toe was fine but the left toe was badly bruised under the nail and a ltle out in front. It doesn't look good. But it was worth all the records!

- 4:37 mile PR

- 1:08:17 HM PR

- Course Record

- Biggest gap on second place (6:43)

- Nastiest toe

- Most records in 1 race (5) :)

8 bike around the town, really - foot almost ready to go!

EZ run to and from the gym, toe feels a little odd but not too bad.

Nice interval/threshold run, on the flat course. First two miles were 5:39, 5:53, then I rested a bit, then another 1.5 miles at 5:56, then another rest, then .75 at 6 flat (uphill).

This wasan easy run that without warning turned into a trail run when I for some unknown reason cut through a backyard and up onto the mountain. I guess you never can tell :)

Run up to the upper meadows and lake with Abigail on Spanish Fork Peak trail, she didn't make it that high and the lake was cool and 5 feetdeep. Fun!

EZ run to gym and back

Halfway decent ladders on the Springville track. I got the HR to 161 only, and the down side of the ladder was weak, only going to 158, even though the effort felt quite high. The treadmill does something for the brain that the track does not!

EZ gym again

Nothing like a downhill threshold to get zippy with. Started off running uphill/upwind at 8 flat, down to 7:15 at the turnaround, dropped to 6:30, then down to 5 flat at the end.

Running through random fields, that was fun.

Summer keystone workout, 15.5 miles high altitude. 5.25 up 6740 to 8389 in 49 minutes (just over 2000 feet per hour) 

5 more decently hard miles at 8250, then back down to the car.

Nice run around town

4x1 on the TM, 11.9, 12.2, 12.5, 12.8 for .7 then 8 for .3 then 14 for .3

Normal gym route

11 mile on and off road bike trip around Mapleton

Standard pre-race long strides

This race was crazy. My sister was going to bring me the bib, but she didn't show up until 2 minutes before the race. I thought I was going to have to run naked! I started off at the front, but it felt really slow, so I just took off. I was still ahead at the turn onto University, and to my utter surprise, I stayed in front all the way down the street! Mile 1 passed at 5:07 and I was still in front, but feeling really overheated.

The instant it went to the slightest uphill the pack I didn't know I was a part of slid slowly past me. My original strategy was to go out fast (Duh) and wait for Robert to pass me, then glom on to him no matter what and let him make a new PR for me. But he passed me right in the transition to uphill and I just couldn't dig any deeper. Mile 2 slowed down to 5:50, not too bad for uphill, but the real uphill was yet to come and it felt like I was in a tropical jungle. It took a lot of willpower to make it up that 9th east hill but I did it, and as I turned the corner to the finish I could see that the clock still said 17 something. Oh crap 17:42! It's so far and all uphill... I don't care, I can't let it show 18. I gave everything I had, which I was already doing, and it seemed like the 17:59 second just stretched out forever. I dinged my watch as I crossed, and it said 17:59.92. Ha!

Amazingly, Robert won the whole race. I guess I should have had more faith in myself and tried to stick with him. Of course I would probably be dead now but that's just a minor detail...

Standard gym route

5x800, a 500, and 300 uphill. 2:35 avg

Moderately easy with some nasty long hills thrown in
 

8 on the bike with a gnarly little canyon run in the middle

BYU to Provo Canyon and back with Steve T and Chris P, super slow pace, heart rate got down to 117 near the end (7:30 pace)

This is a really fun race, one of the best trail courses in Utah. The race was heavily attended and there were a lot of puddles on the road, so I got out front and really cranked it at the beginning. The fast guys stuck on my tail though and about 100 yards into the uphill 3 of them blew right by me, with two more as I came up to the long, long, long field. That grind seems to go forever. But then we are in the trees and it's much nicer. I didn't walk very much, but managed to keep it at about the same pace as last year. Once I hit the top if the hill before the big field, I didn't pass anybody or get passed by anybody behind (although it was close at one point) There was construction up at the top so we had to bail just slightly early, the beginning of the race was lengthened to compensate. Downhill monster was very happy and the first downhill mile was 5:41. I started to see #5 in the distance so I thought I might catch him, but unlike my nephew 2 years ago he was actually trying so even a 4:56 final mile was not enough to do the deed. Although I did get manage to cut his 30 second lead to 2 seconds at the end, if the course had been just 50 yards longer I would have had him! The winner (Taylor) did it in 31:47 or so, I went on a warmdown with him and the second place guy but it turned into a tempo run for me so I bailed :) Some guys just know how to run hills. 36:22, 6th overall.

Subtempo on the standard gym route

Threshold intervals, good ones - got 5:04 and 5:46 for the 2 miler (first one has downhill in it), 5:56 for the 1.25, and 5:51 for the .75

Short Mcdonald's run with a 4 block hill climb and a 4 block slope climb

Bike to Whiting and run wayyy up the mountain

EZ to gym and back

Awesome hill run from Salem to the top of Woodland Hills and back (1500 vertical) - I practiced the downhill stomp for 2 miles at around a 5 flat and 5:20 pace. Turns out an 11% grade is suboptimal for downhill running :)

EZ gym route, nothing heroic, trying to get calves ready for 10K on Friday

Attempt to do 4x1 on the TM, but calves need to heal for max bounciness on Friday

3.6 progressive to slightly faster than 10K pace, then 3 on the bike

Standard pre-race strides

My first mile is free thing is really getting out of hand. So I went into this race hoping I could beat Walter's time of 34:10, and given the 600+ feet of decline I was pretty confident since I can do about 37 on the flat. All I had to do was banzai it down to South Temple, then cruise quickly to 200 E and 400 S, then tough it out to the end. Or put 3 minutes in the bank under 6 minute pace. They slightly delayed the start of the race and by the time it went off I was getting dizzy from so much energy in the system. I tried my best to burn it off and get down to a more reasonable level, This resulted in a brief touch of a 3:42 pace, but it didn't feel fast at all. Bombing down the first hill was downright fun, and I was still in front until the Japanese passed me just before mile 1, which I completed in 4:49. Eeeep. There's no way that could be good, especially because there was flat bits in it. But I still felt great - the first mile seems to be leaking a good deal into the second these days. Mile 2 finished at 5:12, so 2 of the three minutes I needed in the bank were already there. Now it was time to grind on a flat bit without burning out, but with so much time in the bank I dropped it back a little. Just a little. The climb up to S Temple was no worries and I started the long cruise downtown - mile 3 was 5:42 so another 18 seconds chipped away. 4 was entirely in the cruise zone, but I think I slowed down a little too much - I really feel like I could have pushed a tiny bit more here. I got 5:38 for both that and mile 5, talk about being dialed in to a pace! Matt passed me in the middle of mile 4 and settled just slightly in front. I toyed with trying to glom on and pass him at the end, but he suddenly got focused and passed some kid out of my range. I could hear Mike come in in the 32s as i was coming up the street. I figured I had the three minutes I needed now with that one so as long as I stayed under 6 for the uphill mile I should be good. But the race was slightly long, and the math was slightly short, so even with a 5:57 mile 6 and a 5:51 .22 I still fell a teeny bit short. Still a really fun race though! 

Practice run for Jupiter peak, I parked at Aspen Grove and run up the Timp Trail. The goal was to get 3000 feet in 1:15, I got 3011! The trail was very technical, I could not go fast down it. The day was so gorgeous I am glad I did the mountains instead of a normal run!

Standard gym route

Sub threshold (HR149) run, getting ready for Jupiter Peak

Mild hill workout, some outside, 1.6 miles at 5% 8MPH on the TM

12 mile bike ride up and down canyon

Standard pre race strides with a tempo test on the last hill

I don't know why I did this race. I don't know why I took a welding class in college. But I don't regret either :)

After I registered I found out that this race is on the nationals circuit, so I figured it would be nice if I could get in the top 50. My objective was to have a lot of fun and beat myself to crap. Acheivement unlocked. The race started at the Park City ski resort. The first 0.4 miles or so was on a nice wide dirt road but after that it was almost all narrow single track in the trees, so I know I would have to get out front at the beginning if I didn't want to spend the entire race looking at someone's butt. But that's not a problem for the king rabbit of the universe, and it certainly wasn't a problem today. The pros were probably thrown a little off kilter as I put some decent distance on them for the first two minutes, just long enough to get past the photographers so I could get some pics for Facebook. The world set itself aright again as the steep section tested my poor hill climbing ability past its limits, and I dropped back. 

Once I got to the single track I walked some in the grass on the side and let 25 or 30 guys pass - I knew I wouldn't be seeing their butts ever again. Finally the people that were more my speed started catching up at about the same time I recovered from the fun, and I started the claimb in earnest. To my surprise I was continually passing people on the trail up, ever so gradually, sometimes several times as I would run, then walk a bit, then run some more. I kept seeing the first female about 100 meters back though so I was motivated to keep up the pressure. I knew if I could make it to the top before she did that I would surely get to bottom first as well. 

The trail was very nice, not too steep at all, and the forest was shady and cool. We got to the exposed ridge and I was shocked how steep the final ascent looked! But I was still able to pass two people while being passed by one, and the top appeared without warning much more quickly than I thought it would. Downhill monster was ready to go, but I held back a little because there was still a 200 foot climb to the next peak after the first drop and once I get in downhill mode there is no uphill ability left at all. I kept the guy who passed me at the same distance until Tri County Peak, then I just let it out.

Foom! I passed person after person - the marshmellow shoes made the trail feel like road no matter how hard I stomped, and I passed people like they were standing still. There weren't that many people to pass though, and by the time I had gone  6 miles downhill monster was looking a little haggard. There was one last group that was tightly bunched that I wanted to pass but the juice was gone for the last mile so I just squeaked past the 6th masters dude, beating him by 10 seconds. The guy in front of me refused to be caught, even with a sub 5 run on the final stretch, and he beat me by 4 seconds. The 2+ hours of fast breathing at high altitude gave me a pretty beefy asthma attack, which I slept off for an hour. Fun times!

11:07.10:58,9:53,9:57,12:01,11:19 - up
15:49,10:21 - two peaks
6:53,6:25,6:32,6:13,6:58,6:29,5:46 - wheee

Trudge to the gym and back the long way

EZ run uphill on 21st east in Springville, bomb down other side of it at 4:45 pace

I have to shake this upper respiratorywiredness, kept things to a minimum today

Bike to and from work

Definitely some sort of cold, not avery strong one but I'll be nice to make sure

Nice trail run with the bugout guys in SF reservoir area, great new trail!

Tried for a decent speed workout today, lungs not happy. So once I got to minute 22 of the .1 per minute ramp (11.4) I dropped it back to 8.8 every other minute and increased the fast minutes up to 13.0

Blah easy run on gym route

Crap workout, this cold sucks

Bike + run

Standard pre-race strides

I just couldn't shake the cold for this one. I hoped I might be able to get away with the fist mile 1 opening my lungs, and it did, exposing the next layer of wheeze. Even with a 4:47 mile 1 (4:58 on the watch) I still slowed rapidly, getting passed for the first time at mile 1.5. Lots of miles around 5:35, then at mile 6 my lungs started complaining louder, like a calliope that had been shot a few times, and I decided it would be better to jog it in. Especially after Curtis passed me doing my normal 5:45, while I was stuck at 6:15. I am glad I did, shortly after arrival at the finish line unspeakable things came out of my nose and lungs, and I felt much better. Now I am ready to set some records at the Run Elevated! 10th overall 1:16:36

Not bad for a cold, but not good either. I am resolved to make it up.

Standard gym route, still a little sore from Hobble

15 miles on the bike, 2 on foot looking for the stolen trailer. Got the bastard too. Don't mess with the runners.

Get a halfway decent speed day, ran from High School back to house

EZ run on the reverse gym route

Standard pre-race strides

Today I wanted to find my limits on the 5 and 10 K downhill running, and the Alta Peruvian course seemed like the best place for it! So I put on the Hokas and got ready for some stompin fun. The race started off at the eastern end of the paved segment, and I was instantly in front and cranking. I didn't limit things at all, I was going for a record today! Even with only 220 drop I managed to get 4:46 on the first mile - running a bit warm in the legs, but still middle on the breathing. After mile 1 things really get going downhill so I was limited more by the biomechanical resistance than breathing. Mile 2 was 4:48. When mile 3 went by at 4:55 I knew I had a 5k record in the bag! And I got right under 15 flat, so I am calling it 15:00. I can't imagine how people actually go 13 on the flat. I could barely do it running downhill. Of course I wasn't breathing hard at all but I was definitely pushing the legs.

So now it was time for the 10K record. I had hopes of getting in the 29s because the hill was getting steeper, but already I was starting to feel the strain as my next miles were 4:58, 4:55 and 4:55. Good enough for a 1 minute PR (30:20) but not to break 30. My breathing was still fine, but by mile 7 I was starting to feel like I was going to pull a hammie so I had to back off just a little (5:04, 5:18). It didn't help enough as the moment I hit the first less steep down hill and I had to provide thrust instead of braking my legs turned to rubber. Mile 9 dropped to 5:30, and it turns out that I can in fact maintain a sub 5 pace average for 9 miles. 

Unfortunately this race was 13 miles.

I tried walking through the aid station at mile 9 and this was a terrible mistake, I did get going again, but on absolutely dead legs that felt wobbly and about to collapse at any moment. I figured as long as I could stay under 1:08 at the end I would be OK, and I was still under 1:06 so I could pull out 30 seconds per mile and still get a HM PR. Ha ha. Mile 10 was 6:16, even though it was 100 feet downhill, and things were getting worse rapidly. Mile 11 has a nasty 50 foot vertical climb - I had to walk it. 7:03, destruction accelerating. Then the course went into a park. Flat. Auuugh! I walked on the FLAT. Still well in front, but somebody is going to catch me. Come on Dave, get going again, it's only 2 more miles. Trudging downhill I was passed during mile 12 as I ran a 6:34. Good grief! Well I'm not going to win now and I feel like it's mile 24 or a marathon so I'll walk a little here. and here. and there. Ow ow ow mile 13 went past at 6:32. I still couldn't see the finish, I hope I didn't take awrong turn. That's OK I am going to go in hard and not care how much it hurts. My mighty effort got me a 6:14 pace at the end for the last .17 and third place was only 6 seconds back :)

So now I know what the top end speed is, I think on Nebo I'll do 5:05s and feel much better at the end :)

Bike to and from gym, limp everywhere. Worst soreness ever.

Hey, I can run a little now!

Almost normal gym route, still pretty sore and weak

Tried a tempo run, got about 20 seconds slower than usual. It's coming back!

Still trying to take it easy

Nice easy run on the Eagle Scout trail

Run from the High School to the secret valley and back

Vain attempt to get full 4x1 on the TM. I got the first mile at 11.9 but it felt like the third mile, So I did 5x.4 at ever increasing speeds from 12.5 to 13.0, and at the end I did .3at 14.0

Can't remember where I went on Wednesday, typical

Run up to the Spanish Fork reservoir and back down

Standard pre-race strides (flat, treadmill,hill)

I went in to this race with the attitude that I was unwilling to kill myself for the second time in two weeks to get a PR. I just wanted to see how good a time I could get while running at the limit of easy. Curtis was there so I figured it was an even chance to win, since he was only six days out from Mexico City. We started out briskly as usual and a few people kept up with us, but they dropped off after about a half mile and even curtis started losing a few feet. By mile 1 the footsteps were getting fainter and I had to concentrate constantly to keep from running at the limit. Even with holding back I ended up with a 5:02 which was kind of surprising. I dropped back even a little more but the hill got steeper so I ended up with 5:04, 5:04 and 5:01 for miles 2 3 and 4.

By this time I was actually enjoying the run, having settled into a perfect pace just short of lactic land. I decided to let that continue just  to see how things would go. The hill gets gradually less steep and my times reflected it - 5:11, 5:26, 5:20, 5:35, 5:27. I started to look back and couldn't see anybody. Not even on the long straightaways. I was starting to push a little further into the lactic to maintain the pace though because it looked like I might actually win if nobody caught me on the flat.

Mile 10 was 5:45, and now things got a little nastier with small rollers. I also stopped a moment to get a proper drink of powerade. I still couldn't see Curtis but the cheering indicated he was a little over a minute back and I was in his house now so I knew I needed to hurry. 11 was 6:01 even with the stop, so I was definitely into tempo land. 12 has the worst of the rollers and it was 5:53, and things were looking grim for 13 through the neighborhoods but I squeezed out a 6:07. I guess kicking back the whole time had made me a little lazy at the end. I stumbled around the track and across the finish line just after the 1:11 mark, Curtis was only 45 seconds back by then so I'm glad the race ended when it did :)

Easy gym route, I love holidays, no cars

Running around Spanish Fork with the last mile on the MMHS track, did an 800 and a 400 fast

And heeees back! I got to .55 in the 12.8 instead of the normal .72, but close enough.

Fun run around Spanish Frok

I didn't even know that part of Mapleton existed. Really fun trail run.

Run up and down the local canyon, ready for a day of tiling and excavation!

Running around Spanish Fork

Couldn't do another easy day so I did a kind of hard day, progressive run on the old progressive course

All right! I am back to where I was in July. 1 at 11.9, 1 at 12.2, 1 at 12.5, .73 at 12.8 + active recovery + .27 at 14.

Standard gym route

Solid uphill/downhill in the water tower canyon

Nice leisurely rin down South Fork to Orem Center street, than back to the canyon gas station. \A bit chilly on the hands.

Last easy 6 in Spanish Fork, kid is done with drivers ed

Speed day! Did a progressive from 9.2 to 12.1 over 30 minutes, but instead of 11.9, 12.0, 12.1 for the last three minutes I did 9.2, 12.0, 14.0.

Standard gym route

10 mile bike ride, really

Standard pre-race strides

This race was a chance to get out and race outside of utah for the first time ever, if you don't include Boston. I figured the altitude would give me an advantage, but I didn't count on the heat. It was 80 at the start as the sun peeked over the mountains! I was sweating before we even got underway. There would not be any skipping of aid stations today, I intended to stop at every single one and drink a full cup, even the one at mile 1.2. One other thing I noticed before the start - the volunteers were mostly missionaries! It was hilarious. Being Vegas and all I expected the sinners table at the aid station to contain whisky shots but it turned out that the joke was on the Saints part of the name. And it went all the way through the race too.

The gun went off and so did I. The first 5k+ was all downhill through a bike path/aqueduct system, and I meant to hold back but I got a 5:04 anyway. Sounds of pursuit vanished after 200 yards. It was a little challenging to figure out where to go, since the canal had lots of branches, but only one way was down so I kept going that way and it worked out. Miles 2 and 3 were 5:20 and 5:30 so I did manage to cool it a bit. With temps already in the 80s there was no way I was going to push it hard, and I took two cups at every station - one to drink, and one to pour. It seemed to work pretty well as I did not overheat until mile 11. Mile 4 had a small uphill in it - I got 6:07. Miles 5 and 6 were still a little downhill so good for 5:57 and 5:46. Then we hit the flat. And I mean dead flat, not even a single pixel up or down on the GPS track. It was an out and return on a dirt trail over Lake Mead, through some giant tunnels. These things were big, like 40 feet tall and 20 wide, and one was long enough that I couldn't see the trail in the middle of it because it got too dark. Both ways felt a little uphill, but the advantage was that on the turnaround I could see exactly how I was doing in the race. The second place guy was in range - about 1.5 minutes back. He had been running warmups for a bout an hour before the race though so I knew he was in beast mode and closing the gap. My only hope was the last 2.5 miles of gentle downhill.

Once I got back to the paved trail I tried to let the downhill monster out but it was over 90 by now and really hard to push. I was only able to get a 6:16 and a biker yelled that 2nd was sneaking up as he passed me on the road. I pushed even harder, but the downhill was really a long series of light rollers. I still managed to get a 6 flat for mile 12. He had closed to 15 seconds when we hit the last .3, a nice steep downhill to the finish. I dropped it to 4:17 and streaked through the arch. This race had two arches though - a devil arch and a angel arch. I wasn't sure which one to go through but I was going too fast at the end to make the slight turn to get to the devil one so I just took care of business. He had a great kick as well, but could not close the gap.

I won two boxes of cake mix and $100 to REI. Bet you can't guess what the cakes were :)

Gym recovery route

Run up and down Hobble Creek canyon

Gym route again

Mix it up a bit

Not as much time, so a shorter run

Run around Powerhouse mountain, kind of sluggish

Standard gym route

Gosh dang I hate ladders

200 400 800 1200 1 mile 1200 800 400 200

32 69 2:38 4:07 5:36 4:08 2:39 69 33

B

Reverse gym workout

10 bike, really but into the wind

Standard pre-race strides

Another trip through Narnia, another rock from the mistakes of others :) Somebody burned a tractor trailer to the pavement on the interstate so two of the competition did not show up. After waiting a bit to see if they would come, they started the race. I did my normal sprint at the beginning but two even faster rabbits passed me! They had some serious form. I didn't feel like doing a 65 quarter so I let them go. And they did, right out of sight. Bryce has been doing some serious hill work over the last year apparently and hepassed me at the top of the first little (140 foot) hill. Then it was all me, all by myself. I kept seeing Bryce just tantalizingly out of reach so I figured I could catch him on the downhill. I was also feeling quite strong after Tuesday's ladders - every time I slowed to walk, I found myself in a run again quite quickly. The slow mile went at 14:03, and the fast guys were doing it in 12:30 so I am definitely seeing some benefits.

Anyway, once at the top of Dry I opened it up and tried to catch Bryce, but even with a 4:58 pace for the final .75 I was still about 30 seconds back. The first place guy managed to get lost multiple times though and I ran into him as I made the final left turn to get back down to the road. He just bagged it and decided to turn it in to a long run. The field running was very challenging - a brilliant yellow grassy field with an almost invisible trail going down the middle. I just high-stepped it and hoped there wasn't any rocks :)

The two Indiana guys finally got there and ran it in 1:03:something so technically I should have been 6th but with the traffic and the disorientation I ended up with a rock. Yay!

1:04:47 3rd

Standard gym route

Felt quite goodon this one, did 4x1 on the TM at 11.9,13.2,12.5,12.8/14,0 - had to quit at.76 on 12.8 so I would have enough left to make the 14.0 hard but I could have finished if I wanted to.

Standard gym route

Can't remember what I did here

6 EZ in the morning, 3.4 with Curtis on the Pony express trail, 3.4 faster ones back to the car.

7 on the bike and 6 cement-footed miles on the bench

Killer workout, record on the progressive 9.2 to 12.0 with a 13.7 kicker. Felt very good.

Gym route

Reverse Gym

Had to boogie to get to the Studio C filming

2, 1.2, .8 tempo intervals with active recovery (.25) between

12 on the road, then 1.5 up and down to the Y with Lydia

I always start the ladders with a bad attitude, but one I get to the end of the first 1200 I am ready for the pain. Good workout.

3 and 3 with the gym in the middle, pushed it a tiny bit on the gradual uphills

Standard gym route with a bit of push on the hills

10.4 mile bike ride, really

Standard pre-race strides