Speed only kills if you don't have it!

I wanted to run with Sasha and Ted but they were going too late for me because of President Hinckley's funeral. I decided to go in the morning. I saw three women run by my house when I walked out the door so I caught u with them. They weren't super friendly, so I decided to run with them to get the loosed up to me. I did all of the talking for 4 miles, and was enjoying them not enjoying me. I ran with them until we got up by Loan Peak HS and then when on my own. The miles with them were around 9 min. pace. I went up through Cedar Hills and over to AF canyon and looped back past the Temple and Hospital. I was hitting miles in the low 6:00s on the way back. Good run for me today.   1:42:45

(Kahana- 106 miles)

AM- 5:00am. 7 miles up into PG and back. Very cold and dark, so I bundled up and wore a headlight and reflective vest. 53:33

PM- It was nice when I left so I wore thinner gloves and didn't wear a hat. That was a mistake because it got cold while I was out. I ran up past the Temple, into PG, and looped back a way I had never been before. I loosened up as I went and ended up with a 7:01 ave. for the 8 mile run.

(Kahana- 121 miles)

AM- 5:00am. I did loop up 200 East, on the Highland Hwy, to the Alpine Hwy, and by the Temple down to my house. It wasn't as cold as usual this morning which made it nicer. I was tired and started off at 8:40 pace, but finished with a 7:25 average for the run. 59:23

 PM-  I ran into Alpine to the Kohlers store and back.  I had to stop at a church in Highland to use the bathroom and then I was on my way again.  I am tired now the I have done 30 miles in two days, it is a lot for me right now.  7 miles

(Adrenaline-519 miles)

5:00am.  I ran East on 300 North into Pleasant Grove and looped home an other way down 55 North.  I was tired and fatigued from the last couple of days.  This will be my only run today because I have a Track meeting this afternoon and my little sister's birthday party this evening.  I could use the rest anyways!  45:27

(Omni- 321 miles)

Early morning run up 300 North in AF.  The roads were very icy and I had to take it easy, and keep an eye out for cars that kept sliding through the stop signs because they were driving too fast.  32:20 

(Adrenaline-523 miles) 

I have had a long week again trying to get settled into our new life and shoveling mass amounts of snow. I have been sore and tired all week and haven't gotten much sleep. Hopefully I can get into a groove and start feeling better. Life is going good, do get me wrong, there are just a lot of things going on to take up time and energy. At least today was a nice day, tons warmer than what it has been.

I warmed up by myself for 1.5 miles before the race. The same field that was at the 5k showed up again, so I was hoping top 10 for me. I really didn't feel like running today, but was glad I made some effort after it was over. Sasha, Steve, and Adam were all planning on racing way faster than what I am able or wanted to do, so I knew I was on my own today. The course was just an extended version of the 5k course, so it was a pretty flat out and back. I wanted to run 5:50 miles (MP) for the run, so that is what I did. I stuck right around there for the race. I was all by myself for the whole race and got lazy in mile 3 and 4, but picked it up a bit in the last two miles to hit my goal. If I would have paid better attention to the time I could have went sub 36:00, but I ended up a couple of seconds over. I didn't stop my watch so I don't know my exact time yet. I felt good about my effort, being tired, sore, and running solo the entire race. However, when I saw how hard everyone else ran today I felt kind of lazy. Maybe I should have at least tried to catch Albert Wint who was about 10-15 seconds ahead of me, or brake 36:00. Oh well, I have next weekend off and then the 15k, Del Sol, and Moab all on back to back to back weekends. I'll have a better showing at those races for sure.

The thing that I am happy about, and I was telling Steve Ashbaker today, is that last year at the end of February I ran a 40 minute 10k and this year at the beginning I can run 36 minutes. I am just glad that I have been able to put in a few miles over the winter and that my achilles is getting better and didn't ever completely put me on the shelf.

(Tangent-218 miles) (Kahana- 125 miles)

AM-  I went running at 5:00am again.  It was a lot nicer morning than what I have seen in months, so other than the fact that I was tired, my run went well.  I did the loop past the Temple and Loan Peak, into Apline, and back home vis the Highland hwy and 200 East.  I ran a little faster than a usual morning run so I had time for the extra mile to make it 8.  58:10

PM-  It was a nice day with great weather for running, especially compared to the recent junk we have had.  I did a loop up the Highland hwy into Apline, and went west down to another back road that took me all the way back to AF junior high, then I headed down the hill from there to home.  Another good loop with some good hills that is exactly 8 miles, just like the one this morning, only the opposite direction.  The last four miles were under 6:30 pace.  I loved the sunshine, not getting snowed on, slipping on icy roads, or having snotsicles hanging off of my body, it was great!  54:30

(Adrenaline-535 miles)

AM-  another nice morning.  I went on a 7 mile run east of the hospital into Pleasant Grove and back.  52:44

PM- I was feeling worn out and didn't feel like running but I forced myself out the door for an easy run after school.  The weather was in the upper 40s and I couldn't pass up the chance to run in that warm of weather.  I ran up past the Temple and headed toward Loan Peak, then headed back and looped home a way I had never been before.  I am tired now, but glad I went.  30 miles in two days is a lot for me right now.  51:18

(Omni- 335 miles)

Early morning run.  I wanted to get a run in before school because I knew that the storm was coming after.  I ran into Alpine and back via 200 East and the Alpine hwy.  I was a little fatigued and tired but the run went smoothly.  51:19  I was glad I ran this morning because there is no way I would go out in that storm!

(Kahana- 132 miles)

AM- Early morning run into Alpine. I went into Alpine via 200 East and came back on 100 East/Alpine hwy. I was a little earlier that usual so I added a mile around AF to make it 8 miles.

(Kahana- 140 miles) 

 PM- I went out again this evening for a short one.  I went up around the Temple and back.  It was nice, but not as nice out as I thought.  I should have worn a hat.  The last two miles ended up being tempo.  This was not planned, I just felt good and opened it up a bit, 5:51, and 5:43.  This might be my last run of the week because I am heading up to the cabin with Jon and Paul this weekend.  Good run tonight. 33:06

 (Adrenaline-540 miles)

No run.  I have been sick for the last couple of days.  Nothing to killer but enough to make me feel like crapola.  I did have a great Holiday weekend though, even feeling crappy.

No run again.  I want to make sure I kick this thing before it gets worse.  Tomorrow should be my first day with my track kids, so that will be fun.  Today I just gave them a workout and sent them on their way.  I hate to be that kind of coach but I am still feeling the after affects from this flu thing.

No run again.

I did 6.5 miles in the halls of Riverton High with my kids.

 
(Kahana- 146 miles) 

I ran with my kids today and had them do a tempo run at what we call MP. Since the kids don't have a true marathon pace I made one up for them. They aren't used to my philosophies, but seem hungry to learn and get better, so it will be a good group to work with. I took it easy and ran with the middle pack since their tempo pace was my easy pace, it worked out nicely.

I still feel crappy and haven't run much this week, so I might bag the race tomorrow? However, I hate bagging races so I might show up and just run for fun. I will have to see how good I feel in the morning. My flu bug hasn't ever turned into full-blown anything yet, but I have felt really hammered and tired for a week now, like my body is still battling it. I need to kick this thing this weekend so I can make a good contribution to our soon to be dominating team at Del Sol!

I was feeling a fever coming on last night, but got a lot of sleep and felt much better today. I bummed a ride with Josse to the race. We met up with Sasha, Steve, Adam, and Adam's friend and warmed up for three miles. It was probably longer than everyone wanted but no one was paying attention until we were out a mile and a half.

I was not in racing form today, in any way, so I ran with Josse during the race. She took off pretty good, maybe too good because we faded as time went on. I tried to just encourage her and not bug her too much. She was tired but hung in there pretty good. Toward the end I could see Brent coming up on us and I could also see Sasha and Steve coming back to run with people. I told Josse that she couldn't let Brent catch her or Sasha would run her in. That seemed to motivate her enough to hang in there.:) We got in just under 1:06:00.

We cooled down for a couple of miles, some with Brent. Everyone seemed to have a good race for the most part. Josse scrapped my achilles after, ouch! It seemed to help a lot though and feels pretty good now. Bummed a ride home with Sasha after the race. I was glad I went and ran with Josse, otherwise I probably wouldn't have run today.

I woke up super early and struggled through a run. I still don't feel very good and have a bit a cough now. My pace was slow, around 7:50 miles. I planned on working out with my kids after school but as the day went on I felt progressively worse. I ended up with a nasty headache, so I showed up gave them their workout and took off. I feel like a loser coach for doing that, but I just can't run tonight. I have to kick this thing soon, so I will be recovered for Del Sol, and can have a good experience down there.

(Omni- 354 miles)

Early morning run into Alpine and back.  I felt very weak on my run, but still tried to push the last mile in the dark at 5:50 pace.  At least I know I can at least do that when I feel like death.  Last night I was pretty sick.  I woke up two times in the night totally drenched with sweat and freezing.  I must have had my fever break.  I went to bed at 8:00pm but it still wasn't close to enough sleep. 

I ran over to Loan Peak and back early this morning.  I felt better than yesterday, but I now have a cough.  I was at school for parent teacher conference until 9pm last night, it really sucked.  I missed our parent meeting for track as a result and hardly saw my family.  Tonight will be similar, so no other runs for me.  

I was up half the night coughing, miserable!  I ran into Highland along 200 East and back.  I felt fine after the first 4 miles where I coughed up a lung!  Hopefully that warm weather will help me out.  Don't worry guys I will still hold my own at Del Sol for the team.

Logan, Adam and I drove down to St. George on Thursday evening and met up with Dave, Clyde, Nick, and Steve Hooper. We drove to Vegas that night and stayed in a hotel. I didn't sleep very good because of being sick and coughing all night. I was wondering if I should have come or not and didn't know if I could even run very well. I was hoping to kick this flu thing days ago but it has seemed to get worse instead of better.

We got up this morning and did a 5 mile run in downtown Vegas. I coughed a lot and was quite miserable on a run that was supposed to be easy. I was getting more worried about my performance in the relay. I was also bummed because this was something that I had been working toward and looking forward to for months. We traveled to Boulder and ate breakfast and then went on to Wikkenburg.

We made it in plenty of time to hang out for a few hours at the start.. I still wasn't feeling any better but had told myself that I wouldn't let the team down even if it killed me. It was a beautiful day and had to be in the 80s. I was hoping the warm weather would help me out. The rest Steve and I checked the team in and switched Sean for Walter. The rest of the team got there an hour os so early and all hung out until the start.

Google was was back with a similar team as last year, minus their two Ringers. A running store from Southern Arizona looked like they had some really good runners and might give us some competition. Dave started out the first van, which I was part of, and the rest of us went ahead to the next exchange. After the first exchange the running store was neck and neck with us, but no worries because Logan and Nick were running back to back legs. Logan dropped his guys pretty good, followed by Nick, Clyde, and Walter all running solid legs. By the time I was on we had a lead of over 4 minutes.

I warmed up for 3/4 of a mile and coughed my head off the whole time. I had a bad headache because of the coughing, and the headlamp didn't help my cause either. Walter came in strong and handed me the wrist band about 8:30pm and I was off.

My leg was supposed to have some good up and down (mostly uphill) in it. My first mile started down but finished starting a big climb (5:52). I wasn't coughing, so that was good, but my head was killing me. The next mile was a big climb up the mountain, and the shoulder to the road disappeared (6:24). The next hill was the killer (6:41), I was slowing down but my effort was maxed out, it seemed like it would never end. The next . 9 was also hard, started to drop at the end (6:10). The last mile was mostly downhill into the state park and exchange, but I had a hard time switching gears (5:38). I muffed the exchange with Adam because I ran into the left shute and he was in the right, but nothing too bad. I went and hacked my left lung up after the run, and felt like I was going to die for a few minutes. I was happy to find that I ran the pace I was supposed to run, and that I actually put a whole minute on my guy from the running store. We were up by 5:40 on the running store when our van was done. We drove down to subway for dinner before heading out to the next major exchange. I was just hoping to live through my next leg which I knew would be the toughest.

(Tangent-233 miles)