Terminator

AM:  Easy 10 mile loop from Scott's house in Highland with Scott, Dan, Spencer, Mike, & Toni.

PM:  Easy 5 miles on treadmill; hamstring and upper body weights.

Easy 10 miles on the treadmill at my home. Dan, Mike, and I met at my home this AM but the roads were too icy so we bagged it.

AM:  Easy out and back 10 miler from Dan's home in Lehi with Mike, Reed, Toni, and Dan.

PM:  8 miles.  Well, I'm one for one:  first ever speed treadmill workout / one broken treadmill.  Now I have a glimpse of what Fritz feels like as he breaks a piece of gym machinery about once per week :)  Back in my college days, I did plenty of stationary bike interval workouts when cross-training, but until today, I had never previously done speed on a treadmill.  And my treadmill workout pales in comparison to those done by Justin, and also those done by Scott and Fritz.  I decided to attempt the Fritz workout from last week (3 x 1 mile at 5:00).  I didn't quite do the whole thing but I was close.

I start my first 5:00 mile.  Like Fritz said last week, the nice thing about this workout is you just dial the treadmill to "12" and 5 minutes later, you're done.  I got through the first 1/2 mile (obviously in 2:30), when the treadmill I was using promptly broke and couldn't sustain the level 12 setting.  I tried again but it was fried.  Frustrated, I immediately jumped on another treadmill, did 1 mile in 5:00, rested 1/4 mile, then did another 5:00 mile.  I really wanted to do another one, but I felt twinges in my hamstrings toward the end of the second one, so I decided to play it safe and be done.  Did some easy warm-up and warm-down miles for a total of 8 miles.  I have always been prone to hamstring issues, but I'm working hard to strengthen them and to ease into speed.

Finally broke down and went to the doctor today (doctor's are stubborn too :) .  I've been sick for 2 weeks. Just started as a mild cold but, as is typical for me (I have some asthma), it went to my lungs and just can't shake it.  I went to an allergist.  He performed a pulmonary function test, and mine was less than optimal.  He then listened to my lungs and said they sounded horrible.  He was surprised my lung function results weren't a lot worse given how bad my lungs sounded.  He attributed that to my being in decent running shape.  He prescribed prednisone and an antibiotic (z-pack), and I'll continue my inhalers.  Can't wait to have normal lungs again -- pretty important for running!

AM:  Easy out and back 10 miler up and down Provo Canyon with Mike, Spencer, Toni, and Reed. Brutally cold run this morning. Definitely the coldest run of the year.  Wind chill was about -10 degrees. We warmed up, but the windy sections were unforgettable.  We discussed the body changes that happen in the cold :)

PM:  Easy 7 miles on the treadmill.  I'm not a big fan of the treadmill, but it has proven useful for an occasional run lately.  And I went very easy.  One thing I've learned from Scott and Jake is that easy pace should definitely be easy.  Seems like a no-brainer, right?  Not necessarily.  In college I would rarely run easy pace slower than 6:30 mile pace.  That pace definitely felt easy, but looking back I wasn't recovering properly.  Now when I run easy, I go completely by feel.  Sometimes that's a decent clip, but often it's very easy.  This PM I ran 8:00 pace, and that felt plenty fast -- just what my legs needed.  Didn't feel like I expended much effort, but that's just the point.  It's just more miles in the bank that I can later withdraw from for racing.  Then I did hamstring and upper body weights.

Very easy 10-mile out and back on the Murdock Trail from my home with Toni, Mike, and Dan.

22.5 easy miles with Fritz and Spencer. Started at Highland High School and ran to the top of Emigration canyon and back. Gorgeous run -- I'd never done that one before. Definitely a keeper. The plan was to run 20, but once we reached 10 miles, Fritz asked if I wanted to run to the top of the canyon.  I couldn't resist! Ran between 7:05 and 7:25 pace on the way up and about 6:15-ish on the way down. Very relaxed and felt great! Spencer did great and decided to hold back a bit after a few miles. Fritz is certainly class-act and is as talented as anyone I know. We had some great conversations. You can pretty much solve all the world's problems with a run like this :) And you should have seen Fritz's pinkish / purple-ish shoes -- stylin!! Fritz was then kind enough to let me mooch a shower at his place as I had an extended family Christmas party at my cousin's place a mile from Fritz's home.  Thanks again Fritz!