Road back from FAT!!!!!

6 laps at 5.37 per lap going in alternating directions. terrain was insane. slick rock gravel and loose sand. popped my calf at the end of lap 5. later discovered I partial tore my achilles. Very proud of finishing the race.

First run back. Legs felt good breathing was a little rough. Feel good to be out of the gym and back on the trails

Feel sore from the first day and my achilles is aching. Cut the run short and stretched 

Went as far as I felt comfortable running before any pain. Feeling a little stronger each day.

Went for run with Kayla. Heat was a bit tough but felt really good after the run. Not as sore as I have been and no ankle or achilles pain.

Really sore from Saturday run. Took day off

About 32 minutes for the run. Felt good but heat ran me into the ground. Going to commit to running in the morning before the heat gets too intense. Weight seems low might be a bit dehydrated.

Did an easy run this morning with Kayla. Planning on running this afternoon as well still shaking out all the rust. Going to do this slowly and get into shape the right way.

Did an evening run. Felt really good. Focused on Hydrating today and my weight shows I was very dehydrated yesterday. Probably why I bonked so hard.

Morning run out onto the golf course. 5 miles felt very strong. Feeling better everyday!

 Started to track my caloric intake via the App MyFitnessPal

Ran an easy 32 minutes for 4.25 miles. Build up my base again.

Rest day 

Ran 10 with Riley today in 1:23. Easy pace as he is recovering from Des News Half. Felt surprisingly good up until very last hill from Mt Ogden Park towards the school. Recovered quickly. Feel it coming back for sure. Very happy with the distance. Baby steps.

Weight post run.

easy 4 miles bit of a hangover but feel better after

Spent the day floating the river. 

45 minutes with kayla. Felt a touch low calories but felt better as a ran

8.18 run from the house in 58:06. 7:13 average. Really happy with this run!

60 minutes with Bret. Felt Blah as the run went on but the conversation was wonderful!

Slow easy recovery run. need to a better job of rehydrating. lost to much water weight the last two days.

Ran 10.2 with Riley and Albert in 71 minutes. Felt really good. Happy with my progress.

Was planning on running with Riley and Bryant in Morgan this morning but when I woke up I felt sick to my stomach and decided to sleep a little later and that really cured the problem. Ate some breakfast and went for my run. Ran to Beus Pond and back in 59:30. Felt comfortable and at no point was I pushing the pace.

74 minute easy run solo. Felt good but had planned on 12. Turned around at 5 because I felt dehyrated and didn't want to risk a bonk and then bad runs the rest of the week. Want to hit 50+ miles this week.

Met with Riley, Ken, Jon, and Bret this morning at the 31st parkway and did 12.1 in 81:04. Works out to 6:42 mile pace. My best run so far.

3 miles with Kayla and Megan @ 8:45 pace. Felt a touch sore.

So I was nervous for today. Wanted to do this in the morning but had REALLY weird nightmare/dreams that kept me up until about 2 am last night. (Damn Zombie movies, I love them but it's hard to get restful sleep when you are murdering zombies and running for your life all night) My first "harder" workout since starting back up.

Ran 2 mile warm up from my house onto mountain road to the Ogden River Parkway. Started the 4 mile tempo/power run at the bridge at the bottom of Ogden canyon. Wanted to run around 6 minute pace, but truly had no idea how the pace felt. My muscle memory took over. Splits were 5:42, 5:55, 5:57, 5:32. Finished the last .25 of my tempo with a hard exceleration (77 seconds) which explains the faster last mile. Ran from Rainbow Gardens back up Songbird Trail to my house for a 1.29 cool down.

Feeling all the miles and especially the run from yesterday morning, but very happy with my leg turnover especially at the end. It surprised me. Baby Steps.

Met with Riley and Ken at the Neighborhood WalMart in South Ogden and looped the neighborhoods. Felt really tired at start of run, but better through the middle and end. Feeling the bump in mileage, yet feeling strong. 65 minutes for an average pace of 6:54.

Ran the trails from Bret's house this morning. Honestly felt like garbage most of the run and my legs loosened at about 6.5 miles. Broke in my new Nikes they're ok. I like my Saucony shoes better.

Met up with Riley at 36th street and warmed up onto the golf course before heading up Strong's Canyon and out to Ogden Canyon and back to the car (Upper Pipe for those in the know). Felt good but didn't kill the pace. 65 minutes (7:45 pace but hills and trails). 

Did a nice easy run at jordanelle with kayla. Very solid week.

12.5 miles easy in 87:15. (average pace 7:01) felt great on a nice easy solo run to start the week 

Met up with Riley, Ken, Bret and Jace at 21st street pond. Ran 80:17 for an average pace of 6:51. Felt good but dragged a bit at the end.

Aerobic building day. Dun Dun Dun!!!!!! (Ominous music)

3ish mile warm up with Riley and Bret, then pretty much a solo 8 mile threshold run. I saw some of those guys but it was pretty much a-holes and elbows. Spilts were 5:58, 6:00, 6:03, 6:10, 6:23 (over the freeway and took a wrong turn and had to come to a complete stop twice) 6:12, 6:08, 6:12. Average Pace 6:08.25. Wanted between 6 and 6:10 so very happy with especially since I have run three 12ish mile runs this week. It will be one month since I started running again on Friday. I could barely do 5 miles at 7:30. Trial by fire seems to work best for me. Very happy to have guys like Riley, Bret, Ken, etc to run with and force myself into shape. Huge help, thanks guys!

Met Riley on base for an easy recovery day. Felt TERRIBLE for the first 3 miles. Felt like I hadn't eaten in weeks, so weak. Took a short break and felt much much better. 73 minutes. We stopped right at 10.00 miles on the watch. Riley had the turn around perfect.

Ran from my parent's home in Colorado Springs today. Did the first 6 miles with Kayla. Dropped her off and decided to run over to my old "Power Mile" and push it for a mile. Mile starts at about 6200' evelation and ends at 7000'. I did a 5:58. Love coming home. high point of the run was 7300' low point 5975'. Here for my next 4 runs.

AM: Easy 3 miles with Kayla before water world today!

Had planned on running again yesterday evening, but after a day in the sun at Water world I was spent. Watched my dad finish the Accent. It is funny how winded you can feel after a short uphill scurry at 14,000'. Went for a run from my parents house uphill the whole way out. Turned around at 7200' and back to my parents at 6700'. I am definitely feeling the altitude. Warm day outside. 

Travel Day. Decided it was a better use of my time to spend the morning with my parents rather than getting a run in before I left.

Hard day.

Met with Riley, Bryant and Ken at 21st street. 3 mile warm up then 3 miles at 5:44, 5:50, 5:49. 2 minute rest then 2 miles at 5:35, 5:40. Then I jogged back and pulled Ken in for the last .3 of his last mile. Missed my split but talking to Ken, I was around 70 second quarter mile pace for that .3. 2 mile cool down. 5:47 average for first 3 miles and 5:37 average for 2nd set with a total average of 5:43.6 for the 5 miles.

Slow hilly easy run with Jason Holt and Riley. Damn Cook took me up and down a bunch of hills. Still feeling yesterday. Planning on heading out this evening for another 5. Wanna hit between 65-70 miles again this week before I bump it up to 75 after three weeks in the mid 60s.

PM 4.1 solo easy run

Woke up this morning feeling not right. Tried to go out and run but something felt off. Found out I ate a can of soup yesterday that was 4 months expired. Misread the label. Called in sick and slept it off. ate healthy during the day and felt better this evening and went for a run. Well the soup struck back about 1/2 a mile after I turned around. Made for a rough last couple miles but happy I got my run in. Gonna rehydrate and head for bed.

14.42 miles solo from the house. Decided to push the last three miles 5:52, 5:55, 5:47 feeling really strong after yesterday's rough run. It felt great to push it hard when I was fatigued.

Met with Bret this morning at the house. Definatly feeling my run from last night. Slow run on the Ogden Parkway. Legs flet flat

Planned on 10-12 for today but rocking out at the 'Fun.' (name of the band for those that don't know) show last night and standing for a total of 5.5 hours took a lot out of my legs so I turned around early in lieu of have to stop and walk with a mile left. Won't give up that concert though. Kayla got the tickets for us in April. They put on a hell of a show and my voice is partially gone. Love a good rock show where you can dance jump around and sing along at the top of your lungs. (the 16 year old in me) Lost a lot of water at the concert I am sure and my weight shows it.

Met with Ben and Riley at 21st street pond and headed to Bret's place and met him along the way and then ran out toward North Ogden then down to the Depot and back to the pond. Easy run 7:14 Average pace.

Met with Riley, Ken, Bret and Jon H. this morning in Riverdale. Went for a 15 mile run with average pace of 6:54 out into Roy to West Haven back into Ogden. Felt pretty good. Longest run since the comeback started. Feeling pretty good.

PM: Did another 5.24 after work. Had to force myself to slow down. Legs kept thinking I am headed for 20 miles today, I should be tired and pushing the pace to 6:20. Happy with today.

Got on base way to early to get my run in before work today. 7:22 AP

Areobic Building Day

Met with Riley, Ken, Bret, Ben, Bryant and Jason Holt (4 of the top 8 from Saturday's TOU Half. Sick training group) at 21st street pond. 3 mile warm up then 8 miles pushing the pace. My splits on my watch were 5:50 5:57 5:56 5:53 5:56 5:48 5:57 4:49 (my watch had me hitting the measured 8 mile mark at 4:49 at .8 miles for the last split. My watch is alway off some but today it was bad need to get the Garmin 610 but waiting for christmas.) Averaging out my splits for the accurate 8 miles comes out to 5:48. That is 20 seconds per mile faster than the last time I did this workout two weeks ago. Making some solid progression. Snow Canyon is gonna be fun! Finished with just under 2 mile cool down.

9 easy trails miles with Riley this morning. Felt a bit tired but good enough. Ready for the race tomorrow.

Did my first race today with the plan of just seeing where my fitness was. Met Riley and Ben and headed out together. We met Ken and Steve Shepard at the course and started our warm up. We did about a 4 mile warm up with some strides. Once the race started Riley was off like a gunshot. I was unsure what pace to run so I kinda tucked in and ran behind Ken and Ben. The first mile felt fast and smooth but when I looked at my watch at the Marked mile it was 5:05 and I kinda freaked out a little. I mean my fasted mile since coming back was like 5:35 During a tempo run and I am in the middle of my biggest mileage week too. I kinda psyched myself out a bit and really didn't push as hard as I could have. Have to relearn the going into pain and still running fast mentality. I reasserted myself with about half of a mile to go and started to push the pace. I made up a lot of ground on Steve and ran a good time for a month and a half of training and I remember when I signed up that I would have been happy with 17:45. It was a good fitness test and I feel really motivated to get faster because I really hate to get my butt kicked like that. Like a really hate it but I know what I have to do to get back where I need to be. We did like another 3.5 or so cool down. Really happy with my progression and I know just need to keep going at it and I will do it. Have the best training group anyone could ask for.

Met the guys and then Albert drove us to the top of Monte Christo. Started with the guys and did a three mile warm up at about 6:35 pace. Then 9 miles at AP 5:47 then my IT band started to tighten up and I slowed and just to keep myself strong without injuring myself. Total time 1:51:30, Just over 6 minute mile average pace. Longest run at 6 minute pace since college.

PM did 2 easy miles so I could roll out my IT Bands. Ugh.

Met with Ben and Riley at 21st street pond for a very easy slow run. Worked our way up to 7 minute miles. Everytime we had to slow or stop it took my legs a bit to respond. Feeling the run yesterday for sure. Gonna Ice bath this afternoon.

Did an hour on the eliptical because my IT bands were hurting. Still feeling Monday and don't want to injure myself.

Felt so much better today compared to yesterday. I was unsure how I was going to run today after struggling around the office yesterday. I credit a lot to the ice bath I took and sleeping in compression shorts and calf sleeves last night to getting a lot of the soreness out of my legs. The guys did an aerobic builder today and I chose to stay at 6:45-6:30 pace and just run. My legs continued to feel better as I went so with 2 miles 'til the finish I picked up my pace and through in 2 harder miles. 5:41 and 5:36. Surprised with how good I felt. Feel ready for a good workout on Saturday at the Classic 10k (you guys should come run it for sure). I will probably double back today to keep my legs loose.

PM 3.34 miles on base easy to loosen up the legs after work.

Easy run from my house to the stadium and back. Very easy controled run. Forgot to put this on here this morning

Race the Classic today. Still wasn't feeling great. Did a just under 4 mile warm up with strides with Ben, Riley, John and Jace. Lost satellite service so I have no idea what all of my splits were but I really was hurting. Really feeling those miles but still after a bit of time to think I am happy with the result. Did a cool down with a whole crew of FRB people. Very well represented at the race. Did a total of 6.4 miles of cool down. Need lots of fluids but happy with my week.

Met with Ken, Bryant, Riley, Jason and Bret at the Riverdale parkway and went for an easy 12. Legs felt very sluggish but I think that has a ton to do with 78 miles last week. Ready for another one!

PM Did a little over 4 miles on base. Rather easy pace. 7-7:15 mile pace the whole way.

Aerobic Building Day

Met Riley, Ben, Jon and Jason at 21st street pond. 3 mile warm up in the dark. My watch battery started to die this morning on the warm up, taking away GPS. I know where the start and finish are so I went off of total time. For the 8 miles I was 45:28, which is an AP of 5:41. I stayed in sight of Ben and Jason and finished just a touch ahead of Jon. By far my best workout and had a faster 10k in the middle of my workout today than my race on Saturday by about a minute. Makes me feel much better about that race as an outlier rather than a trend or a plateau. Easy 1.9 mile cool down.

PM 4.16 run after work on base.

Easy 8 miles on base before work. Focused on making sure these were recovery miles.

Met a 21st street pond in the dark with Jason and Riley to do some mile repeats.  3 mile warm up, really windy. Did three strides then started the pond loop. (1 lap is just over a mile) Goal pace was around 5:20 with 2 minutes active rest (jogging at a minute of the rest usually 1:30) splits were 5:21 5:18 5:17 5:12 and then 2 x half mile with 40 seconds rest between at 2:36 2:36. Feel really good about the day. Let my body dictate pace and tried to stay right at threshold. As my legs warmed up I felt stronger. The 5:12 mile actually felt like the easiest of the day. Having Jason to chase the whole workout truly helped me today. The other guys did 5 x mile. 2.5 mile cool down and that is when the skies opened upon us and dumped for most of the cool down and stopped right about as we were getting to the car. Wasn't too cold so the rain felt pretty good.

PM 4 miles easy on base after work

Met way too early on my day off work with Riley and Jon did 4 miles then picked up Ben for the final 6.5. Mix of Parkway and as Riley calls them "Ghetto Runs" through the less than nice part of Ogden. Really easy run didn't wear a watch so I would have no idea of pace just ran by feel. Hamstring is a touch tight. Gonna stretch and nap then head to Amber Henry's wedding this afternoon in Wyoming. I always love occasions when I get to rock the bowtie.

Went down to Provo to watch Kayla run at the BYU cross country meet. Started my run and about 20 minutes then met up with Lindsey Anderson and did the next 30 minutes of my run with her at about 6:30 pace. Then I decided to throw down some harder miles. 5:50 5:51 5:49 then my last mile was on the same pace for the first 3/4 of a mile (4:35 for .79 miles) then did a hard pick up at the end for just under a 1/4 mile on a slight downhill (48.5 for .21 miles) at what the watch says was 3:51 mile pace. Did a cool down with a couple guys from the men's Weber team and the watched Kayla race and then did another 2 mile cool down with her. Just over 16 for the day again with a solid chunk in the middle. Happy with the workout considering I wasn't home 'til late and didn't feel the best when I woke up because we were all celebrating with Amber and Jed and their families last night after the wedding (beautiful ceremony and the perfect one if you know Amber well. Who else would get married in a barn other than that girl.) With all the different paces hills and slow cool down at 8:30 pace with Kayla total time running was 1:55:38 just over 7:06 AP. great week of training a couple more and then I will do a down week and drop my mileage back to 60ish.

Met with Bret and Riley at 21st street pond and did an easy 12 into North Ogden and back.

Lunch: Did a lunch run with Riley. 5 mile at 6:44 AP felt really easy.

So today was planned to be an Aerobic Building Day. Didn't feel right during the warm-up but wasn't sure if it was fatigue or something else. When we started the 8 mile loop I was dropped almost immediately. Just couldn't get going. When I looked at my watch to see my 1 mile split it was 5:56 and when I looked back up I felt super light headed and seeing stars. I stopped and sat down and put my head between my knees until the blood came back to my head. I turned around and ran back in. Didn't feel right until the last mile before the end but I decided to be done. When I was running back I was trying to figure out what went wrong and then I remembered I took a Tylenol PM last night because of a tooth ache that was keeping me up. I don't think all the medicine was out of my system and was trying to put me back to sleep even when I was running. If I feel better this afternoon I will get a couple more miles in to flush out the system and then tomorrow I am going to do a workout at the pond. Lesson learned no sleeping pill type things when I am going to be running at 5:45 in the morning.

So walking around today I am surprised how good my legs feel (low mileage I guess), but my head still feels fuzzy so I think I will just save the mileage for a day I feel better. Double tomorrow, Thursday and Friday (I feel better in the morning when I double in the afternoon)

So I tried to run again today and had the same thing happen to me again as yesterday and now I have a migraine type headache. I was talking to Kayla and the girl who went up to Amber's wedding with us has a viral sinus infection which expains the headaches and dizziness and that I am startng to get a sore throat. I will gage this day but day but being that it is probably viral I will just have to wait it out.

So the run started out as a figure out how I feel run so I started my GPS but decided not to look at it. I felt pretty good and was running totally on feel. At about 4 miles in someone either didn't see me or is just an a-hole but the missed me by just a couple inches. It got my adreniline flowing and I guess I picked up the pace because when I got to the turn around I was running 5:50 pace with ease. I just decided to roll with it and see where I ended up. So from there it turned into a progression run. Here are my mile splits. 5:52 5:51 5:45 5:42 5:51 (slight uphill) 5:40 5:36 5:31 5:17 (sprint finish) then just the .5 miles to the house. It was a surprising run to be honest. Still a bit congested but heading in the right direction for sure. Yay!

Ran solo from the Riverdale Parkway this morning. Slow start but once I got rolling the pace picked up 6:46 AP last 11 miles with a pick up for the last .15 at 4:06 mile pace. First run with the cold run sore knees after. I was surprised by it while drive to the store to grab my breakfast. Feel much better. My sinuses drained most of the run I should be 100% again by next week without too much lost.

PM 4.15 mile with Riley from hise place in South Weber. Crazy how much warmer it was.

Met at Ben's place and headed up Sardine Canyon out of Brigham City. Two easy warm up miles on up and down hills at 8:20 pace. Three marathon pace miles down the canyon 5:41 5:43 5:26 then 9 miles around Mantua (??? spelling) Lake then the plan was three more hard miles down the canyon. Made two ok in 5:36 5:42 the a half mile in 2:49 but there was an uphill and that was my undoing. I just slowed and finished the run from there for a total of 19.69 miles. The other guys added on to get 20, but I saw the car and was not going to run another step. With the first two miles taken out I averaged 6:23 for the rest of the 17.69. Very happy with my run, but nap time is calling.

12 easy miles with Riley this morning on the River Parkway. Started slow but got rolling as we went. Feeling pretty good.

PM 4.31 miles around the west side of base after work.

Aerobic Building Day

Met Ben, Riley, Bret and Jason at 21st Street Pond. 3 mile warm up with 4 strides. then 2 x 4 miles at aerobic pace with .5 mile active recovery. First 4 miles are a touch easier than last 4. Splits were 5:36 5:37 5:36 5:36 5:42 (over the foot bridge) 5:38 5:41 5:41. AP of 5:38. Threw up randomily in the middle of the 6th mile. Had a bit of cough and mid-cough just threw up. Otherwise, I felt tired but good. Another progression to be proud of! Commited to Ben and Riley. Running the Salt Lake City Marathon on April 19th!

PM 4.35 miles around te base

Easy run in the afternoon in the rain. Really cold decided to keep in short.

Fartlek workout. Did 3+ mile warm up and strides from 21st Street with Ben and Riley. Then the workout plan was 1/2 mile at Marathon type pace, 1/2 mile at Tempo/Threshold pace for three miles continuous with 2x3 mile. I was shooting for 5:55/5:25 pace. First three miles 2:57 2:32(too fresh) 3:00 2:41 2:59 2:41 (16:50) 4 minute recovery then 2:54 2:42 2:58 2:38 2:59 2:38(16:49). 5:36.5 AP (5:55.7/5:17.4) 2.5 mile cool down. Felt ok had to focus to stay on pace on the "easy" part of the Fartlek. Fun workout harder than I thought it would be. Good luck to the everyone doing the SGM All the really training is in the bag now!

PM 3.57 miles after work. Plus a little sprint back into the library. don't matter how sore you are, when you have left you keys next to the ceckout desk you sprint back in.

Ran over to the school and then ran with Kayla.The plan was to run the 3.5 miles back home but then it started to sleet and well I was happy with the mileage and didn't want to miserable.

Meet with Ben, Jon, Jace, Riley, Bryant and Jason up in North Ogden. Ran 5 miles to the start of the Pleasant View 5k and started from there. 5:28 5:12 5:15 + 14 seconds for .07 on my watch but my watch is always short. then just cooled down with the guys nice and easy. Happy with my time cause at no point was I pushing the pace overly hard and I ran fairly well. Next week will be in the low 60s for me as a down week after a decent amount building.

Met Ken, Riley, Jon, Albert and Bret this morning at the pond for an easy Monday morning run. Had a great chat. Really excited to see Riley, Ben, Bryant and the other FRB guys kill the SGM this weekend. Gets me more excited to kill the next one. SLC Marathon here I come!

PM 3.03 miles. Just wanting to stay in the habit of doubling.

Today was meant to be an Aerobic Building Day. Sadly, the cold I have been fighting off finally caught up with me. Met with Riley, Albert and Bob Freakin' Lambert at the pond and they did the warm up with me. During which my headlamp died. After a game of ring around the rosie with headlamps I ended up with Riley's. Man that kid must have a big head because even after I tightened it, the thing was still bouncing off my face or I just have a tiny head. (But seeing as I see myself a normal we'll say he's the freak). Started off and really felt like I was struggling to hold pace but kept at it thinking it was just cold legs warming up. Hit the first mile in 5:41 then continued to struggle on the second mile 5:49 kept at it for another half mile 2:52 before something from the cold I have had dripped down my throat and I spent the next 2 minutes hacking. Decided to call it in lieu of over doing it. Ran back for a total of 10. On a good note weighted myself for the first time in a while and well down a couple pounds. I plan on not weighing myself overly often until I feel like my fitness has truly come around. Don't want to focus on my weight yet. I know for me to be competitive, I will need to be around 150-153 but I also know if I hit my mileage goals the weight will come off naturally. I also feel my hard workouts will become more consitant the more miles I get under my legs. As my body adjusts to 85-95 miles a week.

Woke up this morning with a sore throat (from the cold I seem to have caught, Thanks co-workers who refuse to take sick leave and show up to work cough, hacking and touching everything) decided mid run that any more would hamper my attempts at a workout tomorrow just gonna go home take some vitamin C and rest. Honestly this was my planned down week so no harm to mileage or training really, just need to get healthy.

Didn't run yesterday because my cold was at its worst. coughing up a lung. :( However met Bret early this morning for what was planned to be a easy 60ish minute run. We started talking about the govt shutdown and well the pace picked up and it felt good so when we realized 5 miles later that we were hauling (5:50 pace) we kept up the same effort all  the way in. we were 53:05 for the 9.2 after a 7:35 first mile. So AP 5:48. Not my best workout but pretty good. Sad note cars at work had snow on them this morning. BOOOO!

13.52 with kayla then 3 more on my own.

So I got a stomach flu on Saturday night/Sunday morning. As you can see my weight is down 7 lbs since Saturday. Kinda sucks as I was just getting over the cold I had and then I spent all of Sunday in a great deal of pain. Since Saturday I have been able to eat and hold down maybe 1000 calories. Felt a touch weak on my run but did most of my 86 minute run with Kayla. So we kept the pace more comfortable for me. I hope to gain back some of the weight lost and feel better soon. I feel like mt shot at sub 70 at Snow Canyon has slipped through my fingers, but we will see what happens.

Met with Riley and Denver (his brother) really early today and did 8 miles easy. Still down on weight and my stomach is still unsure about things but felt better today than yesterday.

Lunch: 4.25 with Riley on Base. Hamstring is a little tight. Gonna try to get more calories down. Been a struggle all day so far.

My flu had a reboun on Wednesday. Went light today feel pretty weak.

Met Bret Riley  and Ken and picked up Bob along the way. Felt ok during the run still weak. My weight is way down so no double but gonna try a downhill tempo tomorrow. Fingers crossed I am over this.

PS Get you flu shots. This flu sucks!

I met Riley and Amy and drove up to run Trapper's Loop. We warmed up two miles then ran five miles up to Snow Basin and then I followed Riley on a 5-mile downhill tempo. The goal was 5:20 pace to get him ready for Snow Canyon Half.  We ran 532 520 505 505 521.

Just under 12 solo in the rain. Feeling ok.

Met Riley and Albert at the Pond. Standard Aerobic Building day. Made the the mistake of wearing shorts instead of half tights today. My Hamstrings never really warmed up and I paid for it. 3 mile warm up. 5:39 5:42 5:40 5:46 (My body decided it had to go to the bathrrom at about 3.9 miles had to slow and find a place to go) it took my about a mile and a half to get going again. 6:15 5:55 5:35 5:31. I think if I could have gotten rolling again it would have been a good workout. learned from the mistake. I can do shorts on easy runs, but hard days I need to wear something to keep my hamstrings and quads warm and loose.

PM 3.35 miles at work

10.7 this morning from the pond with Riley, Albert, Ken, Bret and Jon. So freaking cold at the start but I started to get warmed up and felt pretty good at the end.

4 x Mile repeats with 3 minutes rest. 5:22 5:21 5:20 5:19

Easy solo run in the morning.

Did 15.03 with Ben at just over 7 minute AP this morning wit the plan of doubling this afternoon. I got home and felt spry and decided to head back out into the world and get my last 5 done. Was feeling good ran 3.5 at 6:35 AP then throw in a mile pick up between 18.5 and 19.5 of the day. The first half is down hill and the second half is flat. Wanted to simulate a fatigued downhill mile for the race coming up. Ran 5:11. Then cruised it in at 5:50 pace for the last .7. Feeling good.

12 on the dot with Riley Ken Bryant Bret Jon and Albert.

Lunch: 6 miles with Riley

Areobic builder today. Met Ken Riley and Albert at the pond. 3 mile warm up. 8 mile bulder. 5:38 5:42 5:47 5:49 5:56 5:50 5:47 5:36. Not my best day overpass was really tough on the legs. Still getting used to 20 milers I think but i pushed myself and feel fatigued and pleased with pushing myself. We'll get there we'll get there.

PM 4 miles after work. Felt really good. Had to focus on not running too fast. 6:23 AP

Ran before work solo on base. Man the wind was intense. So my weight has finally stabilized after the flu. And I'm down a couple pounds. Woo

Lunch: 4 miles with Riley on base.

Speed workout today at the pond with Riley Ben Bret and Albert. 3 mile warmup. Changed shoes then strides and we got rolling. 12x600 with 90 seconds rest.started slower and rolled into pace. The odd numbers intervals were maybe 2 seconds slower with the same effort. Splits went as follows.

1:59.7

1:55.6

1:55.3

1:51.2

1:54.1

1:50.5

1:52.4

1:49.8

1:52.6

1:50.2

1:52.4

1:46.4

3.5 mile cool down. 1:52.5 aveage which is exactly 5:00 mile pace.

PM 4.5 miles after work.

Ran in South Weber with Riley. Easy run touch sore from yesterday.

Run this morning with Albert, Jon, Ben and Riley starting in North Ogden. Three Miles near the end with Riley @ 5:49 5:33 5:30. Still feeling Thursday and the fact that I'm over 90 for the week. Still very happy wit the run today.

12 miles at 7 minute AP with Riley, Bryant, Ken and Bret from the pond. Monday Funday loop

3X2mile in the rain, sleet and a little snow. Lost feeling in my hands and feet duringthe run. Took 3:30 half active rest half walking. Ran solely based on feel. Didnt look at my watch during the interval. 11:02 10:54 10:50(this was more like 1 and 1 because I had a GI stop in the middle 5:35, 5:15) cool down was odd as my feet were numb. When I took my sock off, I had killed my big toenail on my right foot. I hope it doesn't affect my race. Still waiting to get full feeling in my toes.

Met Riley Ken Bryant Bret and Jon at Riverdale Parkway. Quite the crew. Did a 7 mile loop and the guys dropped me at the cars. Same air temp as yesterday yet i was sheddin clothing as we ran. Feeling ready to roll.

6.15 miles with Ben and Riley for part of it. Finished with 3 x 400 meters 71 74 72 with full rest just to spin the wheels

Easy run in St George. Ready to roll

Pushed it but fatigued more to come. Just missed USAs but still an A race for me off three months of training. More to come

OK home relaxing and getting ready to roll out the sore legs. Here is the race report. Sorry it might be long winded.

Riley and Amy and their little ones picked Ben and I up and Riley drove us up to the start line. After a couple stops to the secret bathroom, Ben and I warmed up about 2 miles then dropped off our clothes and drop bags with Riley and headed to the start.

When the gun went off a lead pack formed very quickly consisting of Matt, Ben, Jacob Howell, Walter, a 20 year old I don't know and myself. We had 20 seconds on the field by the first mile.

Mile 1: 5:12 easy running rotating the lead.

Mile 2: 5:18 but slowing near the end so Ben started to roll a touch as we began the downhill portion of this race.

Mile 3: 5:06 This mile thinned the front group to 4. Matt, Jacob, Ben and Myself

Mile 4: 4:49 welcome to the bombing downhill section. We headed into the State Park. Very pretty

Mile 5: 4:48 This mile started to spread us out.

Mile 6: 4:49 Just after this mile we headed onto the path. Very curvy and rolly. Deceptively tough after this point in the race. 10K split was about 31:15 and my second 5k was about 15:02 so a lot faster than I have been running but felt aerobically strong but my calves were starting to fatigue and the calf I hurt back in March started to twinge just a touch but I wasn't going to let it slow me until it popped.

Mile 7: 5:05 The rolling hills starting to get to my legs. Side note Ben had gapped me in this mile then just pulled off and for a bathroom break and I only gained 5 seconds on him.

Mile 8: 5:38 This mile was really tough. Lots of uphill and winding paths. Started to break a bit but when Ben passed me he told me to muscle down and focus on these last 5 miles. This one put me a little into O2 debt but I focused on my breathing and re committed.

Mile 9: 5:22 chasing Ben and Jacob helped this mile. I tried to take some water but the girl didn't let go of the cup as I reached for it and she just poured it down my front. I just laughed and rolled with it. A little splashed into my mouth.

Mile 10: 5:27 still just focusing on getting to the next mile.

Mile 11: 5:53 this was the only mile that was not down hill and I was fighting the mental battle to keep rolling.

Mile 12: 5:48 I was just trying to get rolling again and holding on

Mile 13: 5:37 seeing the High school and hearing Ben finish and looking at my watch and seeing 68:30. I pumped my fisted and decided to give it all I had the final 300 meters on the track weaving through 5k finisher and racing 12 year olds

39 seconds for the last .15 (4:20 pace, I wasn't about to let that 12 year old boy beat me and I think I got too much in my head mile 11 and 12 and just have to relearn how to endure that slow ache of the Half Marathon)

Total distance I had on the watch was 13.15 so seems right just because I didn't hit every tangent perfect. Very happy with this race. Riley and I talked afterwards and we both thought I would have needed an A+ race to get sub 69 to qualify for USA Half Marathon Champs in January. However, sub 70 with 3.5 months training and the flu two weeks ago is definitely an A race for me right now. Next Half on my schedule is Painter's Half in January with a couple 5Ks between and building base and strength for the marathon debut in April at SLC. Thanks again to Riley Evelynn and Hannah. Best support team ever. And big congrats to Matt on the win and Ben and Jacob for the sub 69 races. And way to go Amy 1:26 10 months after Hannah, so impressive!

3 Easy miles with Ben before the ride home. Legs are really sore. Gonna roll out tonight and ice bath.

4 really painfully sore miles. Rolled out on the foam roller for about an hour afterwards.

Met Riley Jon Albert and Byrant at the pond. Warmed up with them and then as they did their Aerobic builder I did my run and met them at their finish. Warmed up as I went and finished with an AP of 7:06 nothing fast but amazing considering how I felt yesterday.

Lunch: 4.3 with Riley

Went early for 3 miles then met Bret Riley and Albert at Riverdale parkway for the rest. Feeling better everyday.

Evening: 4.1 miles in the evening

Long run after work because my head still hurt when i woke up in the morning from my root canal. Abs and lifting afterwards.

10 miles on the trails with Steve Albert Ken Bret and Riley. Took a spill and cut my self up a bit but no worse for wear.

Pm: 5 miles after work.

15.15 miles with the guys from Steve Shephard's place out in Hooper. 2 miles in the middle with Ben at 5:22 and 5:16. Legs feel heavyish but really happy with my miles this week

4 miles in the after noon

Easy run on a Sunday solo because I am heading to Colorado on Tuesady for the Elk Hunt. Ran with an iPod for the first time in months it was nice but odd.

Met Bret Jon Riley and Ken at the pond for our standard Monday Funday run. Kinda chilly. Enjoying my day off work and packing for a week of hunting and hiking around the mountains the Snowmass National Forest in Colorado with the family.

Afternoon: Took advantage of the gorgeous weather and and my day off work and went for a longer double from my house to Bues Pond and back for 8 miles. Got so warm ran the second half of the run shirtless. Nuts for mid-November.

Met Bret at his place this morning. Windy day. We did mostly trails with the last 30 minutes on the roads. Feeling sluggish from hunting. Hiked at least 8 hours a day between 8500' and 11700' over rugged terrain. Great cross training and mydad dropped a 4x6 bull so elk meat here I come. Picking it up at Thanksgiving.

Met Riley Ken Bryant Jason and Steve at riverdale parkway. Easy run and highlight was Jason clearing a gate that was neck high for him on a sarcastic dare from me. I thought for a second that I was going to have explain to his wife why he had no teeth. Got the heart racing.

PM 4.5 after work

7.5 with Riley on base at lunch.

Pm: 8 miles in the rain afterwork with Riley.

Aerobic Building day. Still feeling last Friday's hike (22 miles and guessing based on a topo map 8000-8500' of gain and loss throughtout the day) on the mountains. Had two bathroom stops but averaged 5:45 for the 8 miles and was negative split. Had my fastest miles of the day on miles 7 and 8. Cardio wise felt great, leg fatigue wise however I was rather flat.

PM 5.6 total on the Treadmill after work to avoid the gusting winds. Threw in 4x1/4 mile pick-ups progressively faster because I wanted to shake out my legs after the run this morning. full recovery between.

8.5 miles on the treadmill before work. Wind was too much to try and run outside.

Met with Bret Steve Ben and Jason at Bret's house and ran from there. Wind was stil rough and gusty but not constant so was able to run some in a decent rhythm. By the end however we were all rather thrashed. Wind storm need to end!

11.75 after work around base. Had a dentist appt this morning. Kept it really easy and comfortable. With Riley's help, set up a training plan for Painter's. It's a gonna be good.

AEROBIC BUILDING DAY. Met Albert Jason Bryant and Riley at the pond. 3 mile warm up and then 8 mile builder. Ran with Jason the whole way. Average pace 5:32. Best builder by far since I have come back. Having a plan and goal to work towards is huge. Goal was 5:40 average today but felt great and pushed myself with Jason.

Lunch: 7.5 north base loop solo easy pace. 7:06 ap

Met Bryant and Riley at the Riverdale parkway. Really easy run into downtown Ogden. Comfortable recovery pace. 12 miles

Lunch: 7.5 north base loop solo

Got in late last night and decided to do this race with my family in my hometown. Wouldn't think this race would be so competitive. At the start I got crammed behind a bunch of 12 year olds. The start was nuts. Sharp 90 degree turn 200 meters in. A couple of the little kids who sprinted out went down because the got scared of the sharp turn and stopped right in front of people motoring around the turn. I felt bad. This race a tough course 220 ft gain over 2 miles and 190 ft loss for the last mile at 7000' elevation. At the mile I was in 15th place and was behind a middle school who went out way fast and died hard. By the mile and a half mark I was in 7th and there I stayed. Missed my splits but ran a 4:54 for the last 1.1 miles. Of the guys who beat me, there were 3 Boulder Running Company Pros, a Brooks runner and a friend who qualifed for the 2012 Marathon trials and the kid who just got 2nd at the NCAA D2 XC Championships last Saturday from Western State. He won the race in a full on Flash (the superhero) costume. He ran 15:27 and 4:25 his last mile. Fun race over 3400 people in the race. The finish was running next to the people still walking the first mile. Lots of cheers and high fives. Would for sure do the race again.

After dinner, and a nap I went for an easy 3 mile run at my grandparents

Ran on the Santa Fe trail with Kayla for 78 minutes. 40 out 38 back. Felt good enjoyed the rollers.

Did 20.5 on the Santa Fe trail. Did 3.5 mile warmup then a 3-2-1-.5-.25 (IE 3 hard, 3 easy, 2 hard, etc) 5:32 for the 3 miles, 5:19 for two, 5:15 for mile (mostly uphill), 2:30 for half, 67 for quarter. Most on rolling hills on dirt trail at about 7000'. My legs a a bit tired but feeling good about my week. 6:26 AP for the whole run.

Met Ken Albert and Bret at Bret's place. Ran up to the canal road. Ken and Bret went high and were going faster than I felt comfortable with having traveled yesterday. So Albert and I stayed flater. Easy run 7:20 ap.

Lunch: Just over 5 solo on base.

Tempo run this morning. Met Ken and Jason at Smiths in South Ogden. The weather was a beast. Snowing and blowing and 29° outside. Decided to go just by feel. Total time of 21:54 (5:28.5 ap). Felt like the run was about 10 seconds slow per mile with the icy roads, wind and snow. Very happy with the effort.

Forgot to mention that on our cool down we witnessed a 4 car accident at an intersection because the road was so icy. Surprisingly loud considering they weren't driving fast. Made sure I drove carefully to work because of it. Sneaky icy because it rained then turned to snow and froze.

Lunch: Ran the north Base loop Solo. 7.5 ap 6:36

Ran solo before work today in the cold. Burrrr. Temp said 12° degrees when. Started and 11° when I finished. Glad I had just bought a nice warm running jacket at the REI dings and dents sale. Really liked my new Skechers. They fit my foot really well and are super light.

PM: 6 miles after work easy 7:05 ap. Its amazing how warm 18° feels after a morning run in 10°. Oh how the human body adjusts

Met Bret Bryant Jason Albert and Jon at the pond for an aerobic builder. It was 7° at the start. Felt warm as we warmed up and felt great got rolling really well for the couple miles. Then we hit the track crossing at the same time as a freight train. Bryant tried to lead us around the train but instead got us lost. By the 4th time we stopped slowed or turned around. The cold had done my legs in. Average through 6 was 5:38 but was 5:30 through 3.5. Just slowed some and ran in at about 6:20 pace with Bret and Jason. Going to hit the treadmill this afternoon to get a reprieve fron the bitter cold. Without all the stops I feel it would have been. Much better workout. When its this cold out you can't try to get rolling again once you stop.

PM Went 6 total miles on the treadmill. Felt like I needed more workout because this morning's wasn't were I wanted it to be. 2 mile warm up. Then 2 mile progression. Half mile at each pace. 5:30 5:20 5:10 5:00. Two mile cool down. Felt really good and my lungs appreciated the warm air. Solid day overall.

Today is the reason I hate working out in a gym. With the wind snow and cold, -8 wind chill on base, I decided on a treadmill run. Get there get going no problem. About 40 minutes in a man in his 50s informs me there is a 30 minute max on a machine. I think he is joking. There 5 other open treadmills exactly like mine. He tells me "Yes but that is the one I am going to use." Pointing at the one I am on. He then goes and gets a gym manager and forces me off "his" treadmill. I get on the one right next to him and start back up only to have the gym manager checking on my progress and then makes me switch to another treadmill after another 30 minutes. I told him this is ludacris. There 6 other open treadmills if someone wants to use one. (Yeah the guy who had to use the treadmill I was on went about 20 minutes). I just stopped my run. Thus the odd distance on the treadmill. When I was walking down to the locker room, I spotted the guy who had to have that treadmill. He was a Colonel and that is why the base gym managers acted the way they did. This is why I sometimes hate working for the military. Someone gets power and command and it goes to their head. And people will bend over backwards to do exactly what this guy wants and no one dares tell him, you know what sir you're kind of being a jerk. Sorry for the rant I was just fuming and needed a place to vent. Otherwise nice easy treadmill run. Had to fucus on not turning up the intensity to let off steam.

Ran 20 this afternoon/evening in the snow. I was hopinng the snow would at least slow down but it has been steady snow since 7 am. Did 12 with Kayla and 8 solo after swinging by the house and changing my socks and gloves. Was scheduled for a fast finish but as with most of this week the weather did not cooperate. still very happy with my first 100 mile week (99.4 last week so not quite three digits).

After much discussion we decided to name this blog entry "Frozen Eyelashes and the Importance of Running Partners." Met Bryant and Bret at Riverdale parkway. Temp said -3° and when we finished the phone said -4°. Glad i had Bret and Bryant to run with because otherwise my bed was really warm this morning.

Lunch: 7.5 solo on base easy. No watch. Side note from this morning. One of my coworkers was talking about this group of nut jobs she saw running at 620 in the morning in Riverdale and hiw they must have a few screws loose to run in that weather. I walked over and said that its was me running and she started laughing thinking I was kidding. When she realized I wasn't she just gave me a funny look and told me I was crazy. Made my morning.

1K repeats today. Went on the treadmill because of the ice. 3.2 warm-up with strides. 6x1k @ 4:55 mile pace (so 3:04 1k) with 200 meters jog in between (including speed up and slow down of treadmill) hit them all but it was hurting by the end. Little over 2.5 mile cool down. Very happy with the workout.

Lunch: well this sucks. Made it 2 miles into my double no problem took a funny step on some ice and my right calf cramped. Its a simple knot but it makes it hars to walk. I was lucky enough to have had someone see it happen and he gave me a ride back, but ugh. I really hope its something light.

Tried to run in Vegas. Calf felt great for about 2 miles started to fatigue i turned back and it started to cramp and now my ankle is swollen. Gonna ice and then rest Thursday and then cross train Friday and Saturday. Goning to get ankther massage early next week

Had Sariah give me a super deep tissue massage at lunch on my sore calf. I think i left fingernail marks on the table. The knot was huge. After work I did a .5 mile loop around my neighborhood. Only slight soreness the whole run. After 6 laps I called it good. Going to hit the treadmill tomorrow morning. Get back into my routine. Sariah is excellent by the way I would highly recommend her. Message myself or Riley we both use her services to our benefit.

So I went into today with the hope to do 4 miles but more if I felt I could with a max of 8. I had no delusions of actually running 8 but I wanted to try. Hopped on the treadmill and started. Sure I was sore but I slowly ramped up my speed. Felt good. I kept forgetting about my calf. I did 8 miles and felt I could have done more. Will try for more tomorrow. I think I will stay on the treadmill for a bit just to avoid awkward steps and slipping until my calf feels stronger. I may only lose a week or two because of this! Sariah is a miracle worker.

Ran on the treadmill again this morning. Ran in my Skechers and I litterallt had zero calf pain. NONE! I was grinning like a kid on Christmas sweating like crazy. Felt so good 8 miles in I started to push the pace. Started at 5:55 and slowly workes the pace down to 5:25 for the last 1/2 mile. One mile cool down at 6:30 pace. I feel so good I am going to try and double this afternoon!

Lunch: 4.5 on the treadmill no pain felt very easy 7:10 ap

Last run on the treadmill hopefully. Going to test the calf outside this afternoon. Day off today so I just hit the gym. Easy 11.5 miles at 7:05 AP then one fast mile to feel how the legs felt spinning it up. Again no pain. 5:10 for 1 mile. All at 1.5% incline.

Met Riley and Jace at 21st street pond for some fun in the snow. Showed up, Got my car stuck in the parking lot. Figured meh worry about that after the run and off we went. No plan on total distance going in but it was very obvious by the end that with the snow and ice 12.75 was more than enough. All of my stablalizing muscles were very fatigued by the end. It was really nice to run with some of the guys again. It has been too long.

Kayla needed to crosstrain today so I went with and hopped on the treadmill and got an easy 10 in. Felt good.

Plus here is a funny blog from a pro distance runner titled "Meet My Boyfriend, Track"

http://phe800.blogspot.com/2013/12/hello-my-name-is-phoebe-meet-my.html

Met Jon Bret Ken and Riley at the WalMart on 21st and ran into downtown Ogden. Roads were slick and icy but we were still able to maintain an average pace of 7:30.

So on a side note, over the weekend I was offered and accepted to be a member of Skechers GoRun Team Elite. So for 2014, I will be running for Skechers. Really pumped for the opportunity.

PM: 6.1 with Jace and Riley in Layton not a slick as this morning.

Another calf problem. Did the first interval just fine. 10:15 for two miles felt very comfy. The stop seemed to taighten my calf. .5 mile into my second interval my calf started to cramp. I just stopped and got a massage. Feeling a little bummed. Going to keep my fitness by cross training.

Spent the rest of this week cross training. Havent blogged cause I have been a bit down and bummed out with this calf injury. Made a decision to refocus and cross train my butt off and hopefully I will be back at it soon enough and I wont have lost much fitness. Been doing some intervals on the spin bike and eliptical. I wil back and more diligent on here. New Year, New Goals, Refocused energy. Everybody loves the chance to start over fresh.

Did a warm on the treadmill until my calf started to get tight then moved to the eliptical for an aerobic threshold workout. 60 minutes keeping my heartrate between 165-170, maintained the same cadence throughout. Finished with 11.7 'miles' in an hour. 15 minutes on the spin bike for a cooldown. Felt great to push myself. I am dedicated to maintain and even gain fitness through the recovery process from this injury. Day one in the books. This wouldn't beat me!

Did 60 minutes on the treadmill. Calf got better as I went. Feeling good. Need to be careful as I come back