Speed only kills if you don't have it!

I ended up sneaking a run in between two of my classes, which made me late for the second one, but that's okay.  I ran about noon and it wasn't any warmer, but at least it was light.  I did the same run as my Lundstrom 5 miler, but I extended by two miles.  I went all the way down 1200 E. until 2300 N. where the road turns.  I went up to 1250 E., turned North and went to 2700 N..  It was past the park where they hold the Pumpkin Walk every year.  I then went upto 1600 E. and met back with my 5 mile course.  It was nasty going South with a hard, bitter cold wind blowing in my face.  I felt alright, but mainly just plugged along.

49:25

I went out tonight at about 6:30pm and ran my Millville out and back run.  It was very cold, and was only light for the first two miles.  Luckly there was most of a moon out to light the way.  I hate running at night because not only is it dark, cold, and a lot of traffic, but it feels like you are running faster than you are and the time goes by really slow.  I tried out my brand new pair of Saucony Hurricanes and they felt good.  It was a decent run overall.

1:15:51

I ran about noon today because I spent all morning doing homework.  None of the guys said that they wanted to run today with me so I was on my own again.   I was feeling lastnight's run all morning and was fairly tight in my lower back for some reason?  I took it out easy because I wanted to go 15 miles, and not only did I run lastnight, but my long run was just over 10 for the year. 

I figured I needed some distance and some hills for next weeks race so I went on a modified version of a loop I was donig last year that goes up Providence hill, runs along the bench down in to Millville and back.  The old loop was about 14.6, so I added enough to make it a full 15 miler. 

I felt crappy most of my run, really heavy.  The hills hammered me, and I got attacked by a few dogs in Millville (that I might go take care of later), but I finished.  I feel really tired and my body is wore out, probably from running 25+ miles in 24 hours which I am not used to.  Even though I felt like I was crawling home, I still ran fairly good.  I am glad to get a15 miler under my belt at the first of March, something that I have never done before!

1:48:40

I reached my goal this week, even with a crappy start because of the snow.  I am going for 50 miles next week.

Today is my Birthday so I skipped my first two classes and went on a run.  I decided to get the hard things done first so I went on the same run as Saturday.  I felt a lot better than the other day.  It was still cold but not too bad and I didn't come home with any frost-bite like on Saturday.  It was a good way to start the week.

1:46:37

I was a little tight from yesterday, so my run today was supposed to be recovery.  I went inbetween my afternoon classes, because I had a huge test in EX Phys this morning.  It was a pretty nice day and I actually over dressed for the first time all year. I felt really sluggish at first but actually was running good and didn't know it.  I did the Center Street/River Heights loop with Old Main stairs.  By the time I was done with my run I had run my fastest time of the year.  I was pleased.  If I can go out and my recovery run becomes my fastest time of the year on that course, it means that I am actually reaching a level of fitness. 

49:36

Lundstrom 5 miler. Nice day today other than some poor air quality.  I went out at noon today because my class was canceled. I felt a bit of a twitch in back of my right knee that I wasn't too fond of.  I might take tomorrow or Friday off so I don't overdue it.  I am trying to move up the mileage slowly but as fast as posible, and I don't want to take any chances of getting injured.  I felt okay other than that twitch.  I ran the last 1.6 as tempo in 9:09 and my total time was 33:42

I went out today at about 11:00am because I had another class cancel. It was a nice day and the air quality was much better. I went on a relatively new run today. I was trying to get a similar run to what I will face on Saturday so I went on my River Heights/Center street loop, but I added going all the way up Mountain Road to the mouth of Dry Canyon. I turned around and ran down to where I normally turn into River Heights and continued with my 7 mile course. I forgot how much of a climb it is going up Cliff Side and Mountain Road, I was ready to turn around when I did. I actually ran faster than the other day on my 7 miler if you cut out the part up and down Mountain Road (49:09), I even went up old main stairs at the end. I think I will add a bit to that run and make it a 15k.

I felt pretty good today after my wife spent 45 minutes last night working all of the nasty knots out of my calves. I am a little nervous about the 10 miler on Saturday, because I know it is going to be a tough one. Plus, going from a 10k to a 10 miler in two weeks is a lot different than going from a 5k to a 10k in two in two weeks.

1:04:32

Warmed up by myself before the race for just under two miles.   The weather was nice, it had been raining but had stopped by race time.  I stripped down to shorts and a long-sleeve shirt.

I took off easy and moved my way up during the race.  The mile markers were off so I didn't even worry about splits.  I ran with a few guys for the first couple of miles and then HRH and I started to chase the group in  front of us at about half-way.  Bob was ahead of me until we hit the down hill with just over two miles left and I then pulled away and started to close on the three in front of me, one of which was Cody.  I ran out of road before I caught any of them. 

The course was tough, especially 4.5-7 miles.  I ran about how I wanted and had no major disappointments.  It was a decent performance for me right now. 

I went on a cool down with Tracy Phiefield afterwards.

1:03:24

I am going to really have to pull out some good races next month if I want to place in my age in this circuit.  At least I didn't lose much ground on the front runners this time.

I reached my goal of 50 miles for the week.

(Tangent 65 miles)

Day off.  I really wanted to run today because it was so nice out, but I have been sick since Friday and I need to get better.  I think the race helped enhance any kind illness that I had coming on, and the lack of sleep the past four days  was a big contributer too.

I went out in the evening tonight.  It was beautiful!  I haven't run in weather that nice since St. George last October.  I went on my Milleville out and back run and felt pretty good.  I am not used to running at that time so I didn't feel like going, but I enjoyed it once I got out.  I ended up running a lot faster than usual, and with less effort, probably the after effects from Saturday's 10 miler.

1:12:49

Evening run again, not as nice as yesterday but still very nice.  I met Paul at the canal trail and we ran up to 2nd dam and back.  The pace was comfortable and I enjoyed having someone to visit with.  I haven't run with anyone since I ran with Paul and Dave during the deer hunt.  The river trail wasn't too bad until the last half mile up, then we hit some snow, ice and muck.  Even the muck wasn't too bad.  The soft footing felt great compared to the cold hard roads I have been running on.  We saw quite a bit a wild-life and I had a perfect run for me tonight.  Average time on that course.

1:14:21 

Lundstrom 5 miler this morning.  It was a bit chilly,but I was still in shorts and a long-sleeve shirt.  Easy pace for the most part and I felt fine. 

34:41

Went to see Dr. Stucky this afternoon for an adjustmest and I feel even better.

I went and ran the Shamrock Shuffle 5k at Skyview High this morning.  It was a very low key cheap race that only cost me $3 to run.  I am not logging it as a race because I didn't race it, or really even try to.  I just wanted  to run a little bit of tempo and it sounded fun.  I am tring to start doing a few two-a-day runs and figured it would be perfect since I was going to run this afternoon anyways.  The course was pretty easy, especialIy after running Striders course the last month.  It was just a big loop throught the fields of Smithfield and Hyde Park.  I ended up in 4th overall and 2nd ing the age and got a nice NordicTrack mock compression shirt in the drawing, not bad for a 10:00am fun run that cost me $3.  I warmed up and cooled down with a mile each time.

18:05  (5:50 mile pace) perfect tempo run!

I  ran this afternoon again.  It was around 70 degrees, so a good temp for some Del Sol training, but a kick in the pants when you are used to running in below freezing weather everyday.  Other than the fact that it was pretty warm and I didn't bring or plant any water or drinks, it was a great run.  I met Cody, Jon, Dan, and Paul at the canal trail and we ran upto Guinivah Malibu campground and back.  It was just what I needed, social, good company, nice weather, and a soft muddy trail to run on.  I enjoyed running with everyone and talking, trying not to slip on the remaining ice, and running a nice easy pace.  It was god times!  The trail was pretty muddy up higher, so we got pretty covered but that is what makes it fun.  I wish I would have thought about it and went up and planted a few poweraids or something, because no water gets turned on until June.  I think we all got fairly dehydrated, so even with the easy social pace I was glad when we were done, and I am sure the other guys agreed.  It was great to run with everyone, hopefully we can do it a lot more often.

2:14:37

I went out at lunch time today and ran into River Heights to the bench on top of the hill by way of boulevard.  I came back by way of the dugway and 800 North hill.  I felt good and the weather was nice.  Relatively easy pace.  5 miles.

35:21

(Hurricane 34 miles)

Evening run.  I went to first dam via 600 East and canyon road.  Then went up past Hillcrest and Lundstrom park, up the 12th East hill heading south, and down home past the cemetary and stadium.  Good run, I felt good and it was a nice evening.  6.3 miles

42:25

I like how Paul keeps track of his mileage on his shoes so I have decided to try it myself.

(Omni 73 miles)

I got up at 6:00am and went out on a Center Street/River Heights loop.  It was dark and pooring rain.  I was soaked about 2 minutes into my run, and it continued to poor on me for another 50 minutes.  By the end of the run I started to feel the weight of my drenched clothing, but overall I didn't feel to bad.  I was planning on a couple more miles, but I was miserable so I cut it short and made it 7 miles.  At the end of the run the rain turned to snow, and about 10 minutes after I got home everything completely stopped.  I got home and undressed, made some hot chocolate, and jumped in an extemely hot shower to unchill.

51:09

I ran yesterday at noon, last night at 6:30pm, and this morning.  The purpose of running shorter runs close together was to give me a feel of what Del Sol will be like.  Even though I ran three times in 20 hours, it is still not completely accurate because in the relay I will actually run three times in about 13-14 hours.  I figure it is close enough for training and I plan on doing it a couple more times in the next week.

I went out at about noon today, it was just starting to get nice out, but was still chilly enough for long-sleeves.  I went on the Providence hill loop, but added a mile+ running up toward the mouth of the canyon.  I decided to mix things up and try a little Fartlek.  I have five timers on my watch so I set the segments to the time that I wanted to run, (2:00-hard, 2:00-easy, 3:00- hard, 3:00 easy).  I wanted to run though three sets of segments.  I started with three miles of good warm-up (7:00 pace), and started into my speed-play feeling pretty good.  At the end of my second segment I finally caught on that something wasn't right, when I ran well over a half mile and closer to mile on a two minute segment.  I figured out that my watch was on slow and I had been running double the time.  I had originally planned to run 15 minutes of tempo, and instead ran 25-30 minutes.  I guess I ended up with a better workout than I thought I did.  I am pretty sure I ran well over 4 miles of tempo,but that is all I will count, even though I know that I was running under 6:00 min. mile pace.

At least 10.5 miles, probably closer to 11+.

1:13:54

(Adrenaline- 16 miles)

Lundstrom park 5 miler.  I went inbetween classes at about 11:30, the weather was perfect.  I tried to make it an easier run, but I must have still been in the tempo mode from yesterday because I ran pretty good.  I felt great,  ran a good pace and enjoyed myself.  My next run will be interesting now, I will probably be dragging along because of a lack of recovery.

33:35

(Omni-78 miles)

I got a baby-sitter for my little boy and finally got out the door for a run at 10:30am.  I had originally planned to go with Jon @ 7:00am or Paul and Cody @ 9:00am, but I couldn't find a sitter.  It was nice weather and I tried to take it pretty easy so I will have something left later today when I run with Paul and Cody.  I did an out and back 10k into River Heights.  I felt good, not as smooth as yesterday, but good.

44:02

(Hurricane-40 miles) 

I ran again with Paul and Cody this afternoon at 4pm.  We met at the end of Hollow Rd. at the mouth of Blacksmith Fork.  We drove one car up and left the other one at the bottom.  We warmed at a brisk pace for 2 miles and then started some tempo.  Paul took off ahead and I hung with Cody.  We did 4 miles of tempo at about 6:08 pace, not too bad for having run earlier in the day.  There was a slight head wind that was more annoying than anything.  The good thing was that it actually kept us cool, which I was grateful for because it was warm.  We finished our tempo miles, met up with Paul again, and ran the rest of the way out of the canyon together.  It was a good run and great to have some company, especially on the tempo part.  I was glad to be done when we were, but I was even more glad to finally get the  poweraid in my car when we drove back up to get it.

11 miles 1:13:56

(Adrenaline-27 miles)

I got out of class early tonight so I went on a run about 7pm.  I didn't feel much like running, but after the first couple of miles I felt really good.  I ran up to the mouth of Dry Canyon and looped through River Heights on the way back.  I ended with the Old Main stairs, and added a block at the end to make it a full 15k.  I felt better in the last 2/3s of my run tonight than I have all year.  I am glad that I went out tonight, I needed to run off some stress from today.

1:04:22

(Hurricane-50 miles)

6am run, nice weather, warm, and sprinkling rain.  I ran an easy River Heights bench run, and came back up 800 North hill. 

36:45

 (Omni-83 miles)

I ran again at noon and went on my canal trail, 1st dam, HillCrest loop.  It was chilly and raining pretty good.  I felt good and kicked out a great run.  The last 1/4 mile is down 1000 North by the cemetary, and it is a screamer, so I ran the last mile in about 5:40.

32:24

(Adrenaline-32 miles)

We met at Paul's for an easy run before the BBQ. It was me, Dave, Paul, Jon, Cody, and Dan. I ran with everyone at some point and it was nice to visit. I mostly ran with Dave and visited with him, I have miss running with him a couple of mornings a week. It was cold and raining on the run but the company helps me not think about that. We ran a nice easy pace most of the run, and looped around River Heights and Providence. It was a nice fun run. Cooled down to make it an even 7 miles.

51:10

We had a BBQ after the run and just socialized and talked about Del Sol a little bit. I met Ryan, Chris, and Dan's wife Emily, Allison and Jaren came over too.

Del Sol We started the race at 6pm with four other teams. Dave stared us off followed by Clyde, Sasha, Dan, Paul, and Jon. My van was second and our order was: Laud, Chris, Me, Ryan, Andy ,and Cody. We started the race off with the team and after being pulled over for having a brake light out and fixing it, we went to the first major exchange to chill until it was our turn. When we passed by our team we couldn't tell where we were, but the other two teamms were way behind Google, and Clyde. Google was pretty much running away from us at first but I figured we could hang with them overall. I was excited for the competition, I love to make it a race, especially when the other team thinks they will blow us out.

My first leg was late at night, probably 11pm arizona time. We were in the middle of no where, and my leg was 7.1 on a long gradual uphill slope. The uphill was gradual enough that I didn't really notice it. It was light because of the moon so I only used my head light when people were coming. I felt good and ran well, but was fairly conservative. I ended up graining over 3 minutes on my Google opponent. I made sure to cool down good after bcause I knew we had a long night and a tough close race still ahead.

When I got the wristband we were down by about 8:40 and when I finished we supposedly down by around 5:30insh.  I had no idea what my pace was or how far I had went, but I ended up being almost right on where Paul had predicted I would be.  I found out later from the Google guy that I was running against that I had actually done better than what I had thought I had, because instead of it being 6.8 or 9 like it was supposed to be, it was a bit longer 7.1.  I ended up running it in 42:28 according to my watch, 5:58 mile average, and I gained a lot of time on my guy. 

My van ran pretty strong in the first leg.  I was a bit worried about Laud in his first leg because he rolled his ankle warming up and was swearing and all pissed off.  Andy assured us that he is like that before and after every run whether he does good or not, and he was right.  Laud lost a couple of minutes to his guy but ran well.  Chris ran good on his leg and didn’t lose too mush time.  He had to run through a flooded part of the road and got soaked, and I felt bad about it because it happened while the van was dropping me off at my exchange to warm up.  Ryan ran great his first leg and lost some time but not tons.  Andy picked up a couple of minutes on his guy, he ran good.  He kept talking about how he always blows up in races from going out too hard, so I was worried after he took his first leg out hard, but there was no need to be, because he was strong the whole relay.  Cody ran well and closed about 1:20 on his man.  By the time we exchanged to Dave we were down by about 4:40ish, so between going up and down with our legs we still gained close to 2 minutes over all.

Del Sol continues on Saturday

We tried to get some spaghetti at exchange 12 but everything was pretty much closed and out of food by the time we would get to it, that is what happens when you start so far behind everyone.  After our first legs were done we drove to the next major exchange to try and get some sleep.  We ended up in a parking lot with nothing but vans and gravel, that is where we started to catch other teams. There were a whole bunch of vans at that exchange. We tried to get some sleep and ended up all crunched in the van,  I got about 45 minutes worth of naps and that would be all I would get the rest of the time.

This is where the relay got exciting because our other guys had gotten behind until Paul gained 5:00 back on his guy on a long uphill stretch, and Jon gained some more time on his guy.  Instead of being down by 6:30 like we were at exchange 6, we end up down by 2:50, and Google went from really cocky to very concerned!  We knew we could come close to making up the time on the second Google van.  We all had shorter legs this time too, so we figured we would give Google something to be worried about, and it worked because they started getting our splits from then on, throughout the race.  Laud only lost seconds to his guy and Chris held fairly even with his chick.  When I started my second leg we were only down by 3:35. 

It was still dark on my second leg but this time there was no moon.  I took off and felt great, I had an easy leg, pretty much downhill to flat, probably a 2% grade at most.  Perfect course for just flying, and I knew could make up some ground, even with a 3.8 mile leg (which ended up being 3.9 miles and Ryan’s next one was .1 short, it all evens out).  I ended up running my leg in 21:24, a 5:29 mile average, and a 5:24 last mile if their last mile marker was correct.  I gained about 50 seconds on my guy.

Ryan ran the race of his life and actually gained about 40 seconds on his guy.  Andy ran hard again and picked up another 45 seconds on his guy.  Cody had the longest leg of the van, and ran really well, and his guy was dying.  By the time we made the exchange to Dave and van 1, Cody had closed one minute on his guy and we were down 20 seconds on Google.  I was feeling pretty confident that we would pull it off, but wished that Paul had a longer leg to make up more time on his guy again; I was hoping that our guys would take the lead.

We went to exchange 30 and all of us except Laud got adjusted by Dr. Stucky.  Cody and Ryan had never been adjusted before; I don’t think they were too sure about it at first.  Stucky fixed me up good and I felt ready to go other than my knotted up stomach.  I think that is the worst thing about the relay for me, I seem to hurt in the last leg and I could feel cramps coming on again.

Van 1 ran good but got back behind by 3:40.  Laud had a tough leg and struggled, losing more time.  Chris ran hard but his chick came alive and ran away from him.  I was 10 minutes behind my guy when I started my last leg.  I was hurting for the first mile or so from stomach cramps but I pushed through.  My last leg sucked because it was getting hot, I was in pain, we were way behind, and I had to stop at eight traffic lights!  I was so ticked!  I ran through the first two lights and almost died so I stopped at the rest. My leg was 6.1 exactly just like it was supposed to be.  I ran the leg in 38:49, but my actual running time was 36:03,  5:54 average per mile, so I was stopped at lights for a total of 2:46, it was ridiculous!  I wanted to take Tanner Bell and throw him in front of every car that almost killed me.  I know that it was the first year and they will improve, but I wasn’t impressed with a lot of things in their relay management, and stopping at light when the race could be on the line really pushed my buttons.

I did make up a good chunk of time but we lost it all to lights and in Ryan’s next leg.   Andy ran hard again and made up a chunk of time himself, but we were still down by just over 11 minutes on the last exchange to Cody.  We missed Cody at his second mile because we got stuck in traffic, so we ended up finding him to give him water with a mile to go.  We had to fly to the finish to beat him there.  The team, - Sasha, ran in with Cody for a second place finish.  Cody made up a few seconds on his guy again. 

We all had a good chat with Google after the race and they acted like our best buddies, I think we gained some good respect from them.  They even stayed at the last exchange to make sure that they had the win sowed up.  They were talking about coming up to WBR, and I agree with Clyde that I would love to get another shot at them. 

The team ran so good!   Even though we had a couple of bad legs, most of us ran better than predicted and we were probably 45 minute faster than our predicted time.  It was a lot of fun and another good relay experience.  I was glad that I was a part of it and I am happy with my contribution to the team.  I gave myself a crash course to get ready for this relay in two months and I am pleased with how I did and how the team did.

(Tangent-77miles)