Speed only kills if you don't have it!

Workout with my guys today.  It wasn't much of a marathon workout, but I didn't need much either.  We warmed up for a couple of miles and did a 9x300 meters on the grass with about a 75 meter rest in between.  I made my guys hang behind me for most of the intervals.  They have a hard time running speed work right and often run way too fast and then die.  I think a lot of people do that same thing.  We worked on pace, form, and turnover.  We cooled down for a couple more miles after.  6.5 miles total.  Normally I would hit a mile or two hard on the track or on a downhill stretch, but this workout today was fine.  All easy stuff the rest of the week. 

(Adrenaline-361 miles)

FRANKA BRUNS / AP

Ethiopia's Haile Gebrselassie wins the Berlin Marathon in a world-record 2:04:26.

Recovery run during lunch.  Out and back in Garland on part of the Wheat and Beat course.  Strong head wind on the way back, but nice overall.  I started out with an 8:00 mile and progressed into a 6:30 pace by the end.  Felt good.  I will run an easy couple again this afternoon with my guys, and throw in a few strides. 46:26 for 6.5 miles

(Hurricane-541 miles)

2 more miles with my guys.  We just went out and had a lot of fun messing around.  We have a meet tomorrow with Sky View, Mountain Crest, and Logan that should be fun but competitive.  I just wanted my guys to have fun today and relax.

I ran an easy 5 mile run at lunch today. I went on an out and back run toward Dewyville. I started of at 7:45 and worked into a 6:15 last mile. I should have paid closer attention my pace because I didn't want to run that fast. I felt good though. 35:00 (7 minute average)

Went to the meet in Smith Field after school. We got destroyed by Mountain Crest, but overall we ran pretty well. Our kids had a good run and a good time. Region is in one week and hopefully we'll be at the top of our game by then. Tomorrow we are heading for Dixie, and I will do a few easy miles.

(Adrenaline-366 miles)

Well this is it ready or not.  I went to school for my first three periods and and then headed home.  I did three super easy miles on the canal trail above our house.  There were some rolers but I  just went really slow. I did 3x100 meter strides in the middle and called it good.  I don't even feel close to ready, but I know I will do good.  We are heading down to St. George in a few minutes and I am starting to get a little excited.  23:14 (7:44 average).

(Hardrock- 122 miles)

Good luck to everyone in St. George

No run.  Just a nice relaxing day in St. George.

I had some tightness yesterday in my legs and didn't feel quite 100%, but I got most of it worked out with Logan's stick while watching Prefontaine.  I had fun at the dinner, seeing old faces and meeting new people.  I also won a pair of shoes from Steve Hooper and his St. George Running Center, so it was a good day.

When my Dad and I got to the starting line all of the bloggers were hanging out around the burn barrel in the elite section.  I borrowed a pair of gloves from Ted ( which I wore until I ran into Jon around mile 17), and went to the start with Jeff Shadley and his friend Brett.  The start was a shotgun start a couple minutes early and caught us off guard.  I only have some of the splits so I will break it down the best I can.  Pretty much I ran the race about exactly how I planned it out.  The first half was 1:19:03 and the second half was 1:14:35. 

My whole plan was to go out with some people and hang around 1:17-1:19 for the first half and then see what I had left in the second half to break 2:35:00.  I took off with Jeff as we had planned since we ran together at Ogden, his friend Brett was with us too.  We lost everyone else, like Ted and Chad, at the start.  I ran the first five miles with Jeff and then lost him at a water stop and a good stretch of downhill.  I could see him the for the next 19 miles as he slowly inched away from me.  I just put my body in cruise control for the next few miles hoping to see Ted, Chad and their group eventually.  I took it really easy up Veyo and kept a relaxed pace going up Dammeron.  Finally I could hear Ted and Chad coming so I eased up a bit so that I could get sucked into their group.  The group was fair sized, but I didn't look around enought to notice who was there besides Chris and some  French/Canadian named Pepi.  It didn't take long for their little group to desolve and pretty soon it was just four of us. We worked the next couple together, and I visited with Ted, who was really hoping for some downhill at the time. 

After half way Chad and the Pepi guy started to cruise ahead.  Ted was claiming some tightness, which is always present at that stage in the marathon.  I kept telling Ted stick his body in cruise and he would be fine.  He finally figured it out because he started to pull away from me and chase the first woman around mile 17.  Jon Allen pulled up and ran with me for about one minute, long enough to ask if I would live and take my gloves for me.  I was on my own from then on.  I kept looking at my watch at certain mile markers to figure out what pace I needed for my desired time.  I never felt really good, but always felt strong the race.  What I mean by that is I didn't feel like I could start going much faster, but knew I could hold my pace for a long time.

 I hit 20 miles and knew I could run a 2:35, and figured if I could run the last 10k in 35 minutes I could break 2:34.  I worked the downhills and finally caught the first woman before 22 miles.  Her coach and husband who were on a bike and running told her to go with me, I just laughed because there was no way I would let that happen.  One of my Cross Country guys (Zach), that I coach had a dad running, was waiting for me at mile 22.  He was on a bike and would pull up every half mile and get up in my face and yell at me to catch the next guy.  He did it the whole way in, and it was kind of fun and took my mind off of things at times.  He was getting a little pay-back for all of his workouts and and races that I tell him to get up on the next guy or give him crap for letting an old man (me) beat him.  By this time in the race there weren't too many guys to catch because of a big spread in runners.  I hit the last mile and felt some relief because I felt okay and knew I was going to break 2:34:00.  I could hear people yelling my name before the banners but never saw who any of them were.  I always get excited to see the clock and hear the roar of the croud.  I raised my hands with joy as I crossed the line.  I was happy that I actually accomplished one of my goals this year.  It has been a hard and stressful year for me, with alot of things going on in my life, and I have fell short of most of my running goals.  My training has been very limited the last couple of months, and having pneumonia on top of that did not install confidence in me.  Never the less, I knew I could run as well as I did, and was glad that I actually did it. 

Splits:

Mile 1. 6:06

Mile 2.  6:01

Mile 3&4. 11:23

Mile 5&6.  11:23

Mile 7 and Veyo.  12:30

Mile 9&10. 12:31

Mile 11&12.  12:27

Half way. 1:19:03

 Mile 13.1-14.  4:56

Mile 15&16.  11:04

Mile17,18,&19.  17:39

Mile 20.  5:41 (1:58:25)

Mile 21&22.  11:13

Mile 23&24.  11:13

Mile 25-25.2.  6:48

Last mile.  5:56  (Last 10K in 35:13)

One of the coolest experiences of the race came as I crossed the finish line.  I had no sooner stopped when I was greeted by Clyde who congratulated me as told me his own great time.  Logan was next to greet me and told me that he had qualified, we gave eachother a big hug, and I was couldn't have been more happy for him.  Dave, Jeff, Ted, and Chad were all standing and waiting for me as well, and we all gave our congrats as the seven of us hobbled over to get our finisher medals and greet others.  What a great experience, it is almost better to see friends and training partners accomplish their goals and dreams as it is to achieve your own. I was excited to hear of other great times like Paul's and Dan's when I ran into them later on.

The conditions were the best I have ever run in and my post race massage was a close runner up to perfection, but it was freezing after the race.  It took forever to get my clthes, the good part was I had a lot of good company while waiting.  The awards were fun too.  We all sat by each other and went crazy when one of us was called upto the stand.  Kent Perkins and the rest of the people weren't too sure what to think when they called Paul and Logan up and we all went crazy! 

It was a good race for me and a good experience overall.  I was almost more excited about my friend's performances than my own.  I knew Paul would do what he did, but Logan was the story of the year.  Many people ran a killer race, and I had a lot fun socializing with all of you and giving each other support.  This was by far my favorite marathon experience ever, what a blast!  It was an excellent race for many of you and and eventhough some fell short of goals, many still ran PR times.  I look forward to many more fun experiences with some of you.

(Tangent 2- 40 miles)

No run.  I feel better today than I felt on Thursday after last year.  My right calf was sore enough to make me limp a little this morning but it got worked out as the day went on.  I plan on taking most of the week off and easying back into some lighter training.  My goal is to stay in shape this winter and build on this year with a better season next year. 

No runagain, but feeling better than yesterday.  I thought I would be twice as sore this year, but I am grateful for not looking like Gramps Logan!

I ran at least 4 miles today at our Region meet, between warming up the JV and Varsity.  The first steps after St. George are always brutal even when you think you feel good.  I even did some temo stuff running back and forth yelling my head off at my guys.  My JV guys were dominant taking 1,4,5,6, and 9 (5 in the top ten).  I started helping with the JV a couple of weeks ago because they were running so poorly, and today they destroyed every team that wasted them all season, it was fun to watch.  My varsity guys did great taking 2nd to Ogden.  We have had a lot of trials (including losing our 4th guy for being suspending for drinking last weekend).  A few of my guys finally arrived today, and of course my #1 guy (Chris) ran away from everyone to win.  He should be top 3 next week at state.  I was happy with the effort because we were only 11 points behind Ogden (26 to 37), and Ogden ran out of their heads today.  If it was State today Ogden would have won it for sure, but next week with Park City, Judge, and Cedar in the mix things will be interesting.  Results are at this website, I still have never learned how to Hyperlink stuff.  http://www.runnercard.com/runner/data/463/1200/result/Boys_Varsity_3_Mile.htm

I saw East High and Bill Cobler had copied the our shirt design that we stole from someone else.  Copy cats!  However, I might have to trade them one of my shirts for one of theirs because both are pretty cool.

No run today, I will probably run a few easy miles tomorrow though. 

Easy run with my varsity guys. We warmed for 2 miles easy, did a bit of tempo for .5 miles and headed to the track. I had my guys do a hard mile on the track, while I stop sat and called splits. It was so nice not having to do that mile myself! Afterwards we cooled down for a mile and did 4x150 meter barefoot strides on the grass. I did the strides and it actually felt good. My legs feel kind of dead and my left achilles was stiff, but it felt good to stretch the legs out.

 (Hurricane-545 miles)

Easy run this evening with my dad.  We went out toward the Mona res. and back after it had stopped raining.  I have some major tightness in my left achilles, but the rest of the body felt okay.  I need to go get adjusted and have a massage and I am sure I will feel better.  7:47 ave. per mile.  Fun run!

(Adrenaline-371 miles)

Nice run today at lunch.  It is funny how after St. George my cardio is awesome but my legs feel like they haven't run in a year.  I usually start to run some fast training runs after a couple of weeks and feel good again then completely stop and take 5 months off.  This year I hope to start running faster but not stop for the winter.  My legs are still dead feeling but my body has been iching to go for a couple of days.  My left achilles has been stiff and sore since the marathon so I am trying to be careful with that, but today I let my body do what it felt like doing.  I started off at a 7:38 mile and progressed the rest of the run.  The next mile was 6:46, then 6:39, 6:29, and 5:54.  Total time was 33:30 for the five miles.  It felt so good to let my body get back into a marathon pace mile, and it is beautiful today on top of that.  Great run!  I love this time of year so I am trying to take advantage of it before winter comes.

 (Hurricane-550 miles)

No run today.  I got a knee to the inside of my quad playing football yesterday and it is sore and stiff.  I am sure I will get plenty of running to loosen me up at State tomorrow.

Running with my guys at State. It was a pretty decent day even with crappy weather. My guys ran well and I was pleased with their effort. Chris took a distant second to Luke from Judge and my team took fourth behind Ogden, Park City, and Cedar. We beat Judge by 1 point, I told Bob that made my day. The real race was between Chris and the kids from Cedar and Hurricane, Luke was racing himself and Josh Rohatinsky's course record. We stuck around to watch the 4A race afterward. I ran into Dave Holt and visited with him while we watched the boys 4A race. State was fun and a good learning experience for a Rookie Coach. I cheered for the kids on the blog like Ruth, Breanna, and Hayden, and I am sure they never knew it, I  was the one who kept getting up in their faces and yelling at them. Good job to all the kids that ran at State I hope it was a good experience. The results can be found on RunnerCard.com, here are the 3A boys: http://www.runnercard.com/runner/data/463/1178/result/3A_Boys_3_Mile.htm

Since I didn't have XC practice for the first time since August I got home early.  It was freezing cold with the wind, but I didn't let that scare me because I knew it would be okay for running.  I did wear a thicker long-sleeve shirt and gloves though.  I went on the canal trail towards South Willard and back.  I took it easy because of my sore left achilles and right quad, but once I went a couple miles I could hardly feel either injury.  It was nice to work the rolling hills a little and be out on a beautiful trail during the fall.  It was a good run eventhough I never felt super in my legs.  I did hit under 6:45 miles for the last couple miles without any effort, so that was nice.  1:14:38 for the run with a 9 minute first mile.

(Hardrock- 132 miles)

Easy 6 miles around Tremonton during lunch. It was very windy, but not super cold. It took a while to get the body going today, achilles and quad still sore and stiff. 6:42 last mile and a 7:30 ave. for the run. 45:00

(Hurricane-556 miles)

I was wondering if anyone has heard of any good races coming up in the next couple of months?  I would really like to run at least one in November and one in December if I can, it just helps my motivation. 

None of my miles were what I would call easy because I went with Paul and Logan today. We met at Logan's house and ran on a very rolling route through North Ogden and Pleasant View. The weather was decent, but chilly. It was really nasty earlier, but luckily it cleared up and the wind died down a bit. It was good to run with Paul and Logan again even though it kicked my trash. In the long run, running with guys of that caliber will only make me better. It was supposed to be a progression run starting with 7:15s and going down to 6:15s. Because of the rolling course we were all over the place with time, but it was all pretty fast in my book. On the harder stuff we were running 6:30-6:50 pace and on the easier sections 5:50-6:20 pace. Logan was pushing the pace the whole way, while Paul was content to hang back and visit with me. When we hit the last 3.5 miles of uphill those guys ditched me, which was fine. They have Trials in two weeks and I have nothing. I was working to stay 6:20-6:30 pace while they were probably in easy mode at sub 6:00 pace. When you are going uphill like that at 6:00 pace or better that translates to around a 5:30 pace, which is my threshold, and I just couldn't hang with them. It was a good run though and I am glad I was pushed that way. I will definitely sleep good tonight, that is what happens when you run 15 miles with two Olympic Trials guys!. It was great to run and visit with Paul and Logan again, especially since I don't see them much anymore. 7 miles under 6:20 pace on rolling hills that I called marathon pace, and a 6:36 ave. pace for the run. 1:38:54

 (Adrenaline-386 miles)

 Easy 5 mile run out along the Garland Highway and back.  I took it really easy and averaged 7:16 miles.  36:22 for the run.  Chilly day but very nice, great for running.

(Hurricane-561 miles)

Easy run with Dan Line at lunch. We did 7 minute miles and 6x200 meter strides. I will run again later after school. 3.5 miles

 (Adrenaline-389 miles)

I decided to wear some orange and hit some hills in the mountains after school this evening.  I went on a trail that takes you up on an old gas line road and it is a nasty climb.  When I hit the top I went past Hogs back and ran into a big dog that came charging after me.  A little old man started to yell at the dog to stop.  The dog kept coming so the old man came down from where he was to get his dog.  The dog ended up just being obnoxious and the old man was super friendly.  He was excited that I was running up there and asked if I did it often, I told him that I had been up that way two other times.  He is a retired guy that had volunteered to create the section of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail though Perry and Willard.  He was finishing his summer long project when I ran into him.  He created a nice section of single track trail that goes for about 6 miles, quite a project for a guy that had to be over 70 years old.  He was pretty proud of the trail and wanted me to run on it.  I visited with him for a few minutes while he showed me his work.  He has a quarter mile to go before he hits a spring where he is putting in a place for people to fill up water bottles.  When he hits the spring he will be done with his work and turn it over to someone else to do the next section. He told me that the last two times that he has been by the spring he has ran into cougars, that is why he had the dog with him.  I wasn't very excited to hear about the cougars, but the rest of it sounded great. 

I finished my run on his single track trail.  It was one of the coolest stretches of single track that I have been on, especially on a beautiful fall late afternoon like today.  When I came off the mountain and hit the canal trail I pushed a mile down in the low 6:00s.  Overall it was a great run and it really trashed me too.  Those hills are killer!  6.5 miles in 53:00

Easy run at lunch around Tremonton.  I looped down past Malt O Meal, the fair grounds, the City park and back to the school.  I got beat up from my evening run yesterday so I took it slow.  37:21 for the run

(Hurricane-566 miles)

I went to bed last night feeling a bit of a sore throat and it was still around this morning but seems to be getting better as the day goes on.  I wanted to do a small workout today and I don't really feel super good, but I did one anyways.  I can tell that I have had zero speed in a while, and I haven't done a track workout since the first part of August.  I warmed up for two miles and hit the high school track.  I should have switched watches because my Garmin isn't my favorite speed work watch.  I decided to run the track backwards and I did 3x800 with 400 meter recovery and 2x400 with a 200 meter recovery.  My times were 2:37, 2:37, 2:32, 1:14, and 1:10.  It was weird to run faster than marathon pace and felt kind of difficult , which means I would get smoked in a 5k or 10k right now.  I cooled down for a mile and called it good for today.  I don't want to over work myself right now.  6 miles total.

 (Adrenaline-395 miles)

It had been a long day at school and a long week overall.  I am looking forward to getting a couple of days off.  I didn't feel like running today but knew i needed to get out the door for a couple of miles at least.  I headed out on the canal trail above Willard and went south for 2 miles and came back the same way.  My left achilles was really tender and sore today and really bothered me for the first mile or so, so I took it super easy.  Started at 8 minute pace and ended at 7 minute pace.  It was beautiful today and I enjoyed being out on the trail and was glad I went.  30:00 for the 4 miles.

(Hardrock- 142 miles)

I drove over to Ogden to run with Logan about 11:00 am.  We did the same run as last weekend, but no Paul today.  The weather was awesome, perfect fall running weather.  That course the we have been running is a good course with a lot of rolling hills.  I have enjoyed running it with the fast guys because it hammers me but I feel tough.  We started off a lot slower than last week because we both need a good warm up. Logan was nice to me today and stuck with me eventhough I could tell he was iching to go several times.  I told him in the last couple of miles that he could take off if he wanted to but he stayed with me anyways.  I ended up running about a minute faster than last week so a bit of an improvement, probably from having someone to run with for the last three miles.  It was a good run and workout for me, but I was glad to be done.  My achilles was bothering me a lot today and I had to stop and stretch a time or two.  It usually warms up after a mile or so and doesn't bug me but today I could feel it the whole run.  It is time to go get an adjustment and a massage next week.  1:37:57 for the run, and a 6:33 average per mile.

(Omni- 207 miles)

We are staying up at my in-laws cabin (Lav Hot Springs) for a couple of days and I did a run here. I went on a new road that I had never been on before and did a 5 mile out and back run.  My last mile was 5:50 and it felt good.  There were a lot of hills in this run and I was at 7,000, 7,500 feet elevation so I was happy with how I felt.  The weather was cool but nice.  35:43

(Hardrock- 147 miles)

I went out for a run on the canal trail after we had gotten home from the cabin.  I went North into Brigham City so that I would have the storm and wind at my back on the way home.  I got rained on pretty good in the middle of my run but by the time I turned to come back the wind had settled down.  It was a good run for me this evening, kind of a progression run, eventhough it wasn't intended to be that way.  I started off with an 8:20 mile and ended running 6 minute pace.  I just kept getting faster and didn' realize it, nothing was pushed I like runs like that.  Every single mile was faster than the one before.  I felt great and enjoyed the fall evening.  I am glad that I didn't wuss out of going.  1:10:13

(Hardrock- 157 miles)

I went and ran in Brigham City today just to mix it up a little.  I didn't feel like running at lunch so I went after school and was glad I did, because it was freezing at lunch and awesome weather by afternoon.  I went around the paved trail of the golf course, and then looped around the cemetary and old Indian school.  It was a nice run, and excelllent weather.  42:07

(Omni- 213 miles)

Today I went over 2,000 miles for the year!!!  This is probably the most miles I have ever ran in a year by a ways.  I have run over twice as many miles last year.  I think that staying consistant will be my key to success. 

Happy Halloween!