Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow

Today was the day. The day to make my Lybi 5K PR attempt. Weather conditions turned a little sour: cool (good) with blustery wind and rain/snow (bad). I jogged the dog around the block in the morning to get the blood flowing a little bit. It felt okay. Cody was to be my pacer, and we met at 2PM sharp. The 1st mile got off to a shaky start. We were on sidewalks, and I was continuously slowed by snow and standing water. Shaking it off, we managed to salvage a 7:41 mile, which put us behind pace. The second mile we were on roads, and I managed to find a good rhythm. Despite facing some rolling hills, we surged to a 7:26 (15:07) mile, pulling us even with the Lybi guy. It would come down to the last mile as we entered Providence. I pushed hard on the uphill, and then smelled the barn on the downhill, hitting that magical sub-7 pace in spots. Third mile split was a blazing 7:17 (22:14). I finished strong with a 47 second last 0.108 and a final time of 23:11. As our President would say, "Mission accomplished." Hopefully that will be the only comparison of my running to the Iraq war for a while.

This time is a full minute faster than my previous post-injury 5K PR, so the ball of conquest is truly rolling now. But it is no time to get cocky. My attention now turns to Benjamin, and his 22:14 PR. That is fast for an 8 year-old, but I still have a few tricks up my sleeve.

Ran the dog around the block in the morning, then ran the Planet Walk in the early afternoon. It was a nice day today, and I busted out the new shorty shorts. The shorty shorts gave me a burst, and I was averaging close to 6:50 pace when I got to the Planet Walk. It scared me to run this fast, plus I wanted to save Benjamin's PR for next Saturday, so I turned off the "jets" for the remainder of the run. Average 8:00/mile for the run.

I hope to do a lot of short doubles this week, and use doubling as a way to build my mileage without putting strain on the body. We'll see how it goes. 

AM - 3 miles real easy. 8:30/mile average. Felt "beh". It's hard to get going in the morning.

PM - ran with Jon and Cody through River Heights to the gym. Today was Pizza Monday at the gym, and I ate 4 pieces of pizza, sea-level equivalent to 4.5 pieces of pizza. Other than eating, I did 15 minutes on the elliptical and 15 minutes on the bike. Then lifted weights:

• 2x15 bench press @ 115 lbs
• 1x25 arm curls @ 20 lbs
• 1-minute leg press @ 115 lbs
• 2x12 adductors @ 90 lbs
• 2x12 abductors @ 90 lbs

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time to resurrect the fabulous custom shoe counter. First, I need to calibrate where I left off:

(Elite: 208 miles)

(Adrenaline: 80 miles)

(Axiom: 15 miles)

(Tangent: 15 miles)

(Triax: 425 miles)

AM - ran to gym, did 15 minutes on the arc trainer and 15 minutes the bike, and then 1.25 miles on the treadmill at 7:30-8:00 pace. Then did 12 chipups, 2x10 4-way hip @ 80 lbs, and 2x20 lunges with 10 lbs weights.

(Triax: 428 miles)

PM - 3 miles on Planet Walk. 7:17, 7:27, 7:24 (22:08).

(Adrenaline: 83 miles)

AM - 3 miles slow and easy.

(Elite: 211 miles)

PM - ran to the gym via River Heights, then did 20 minutes on the elliptical and 10 minutes on the bike. Followed up with pumping iron:

• 1x30 arm curls @ 20 lbs
• 2x12 shoulder press @ 90 lbs
• 2x12 adductors @ 90 lbs
• 2x12 abductors @ 90 lbs
• 1 minute leg press @ 120 lbs (42 reps)
• 1 minute single-leg press @ 60 lbs (just right leg)

Ran home.

(Axiom: 18 miles)

AM - Ran to the gym, then did 15 minutes on the elliptical , 15 minutes on the arc trainer, and 10 minutes running on the treadmill. Then

• 2x10 bench press @ 125 lbs
• 2x10 4-way hip @ 80 lbs
• 2x20 lunges @ 12 lbs
  

Ran home.

(Triax: 431 miles)

PM - Ran the Planet Walk with Cody (3 miles). Put the hammer down. 6:52, 6:45, 6:57. I'm not sure if that qualifies as a tempo run these days or not.

(Tangent: 18 miles)

AM - easy 3 miles in Logan, 8:50/mile pace. Leave to Moab in a few minutes...

(Adrenaline: 86 miles)

PM - easy 3 miles from the Pack Creek Ranch cabin in the La Sal Mnts with Cody, Ben, and Dave. Very pretty area.

(Axiom: 21 miles)

Today I ran the Canyonlands 5-mile race. I originally signed up for the half marathon back in December, but that was no longer an option due to my injury, so it swapped it out for the 5-miler. I wasn't certain if I'd even run the 5-mile race, but decided to give it a go by Friday. Basically my goals were to go out there, get in a race atmosphere, enjoy myself, be conservative and don't hurt anything, and keep the pace under 7:00/mile. But I really wasn't sure what to expect.

We got a good morning for the race: overcast with temperatures in the mid-40s. Not much wind, just an occasional weak headwind, but nothing of consequence. I hung out with Bethany before the race, and we warmed up by hiking along the little trail at the staging area. On the way back, we bumped into Brent and Sylvia, and chatted with them until it was time to get back and discard our warmup clothes. Didn't bother with strides or any jogging.

I started about three rows back, and spent the first mile of the race dodging and weaving through little kids, and worked my way up to the top 10 by the mile marker. My pace felt incredibly easy, and I was quite surprised to see 5:xx for my lap pace when I glanced at my garmin. It didn't feel a whole lot harder than those 9-minute miles I've been chunking lately. Thank goodness for race-day magic! For those who don't believe in race-day magic, shame on you. The garmin was off on the first mile due to spotty coverage in the canyon, but I went through the mile marker in 6:03. The garmin seemed about right the rest of the race.

There was a school from Shiprock, NM at the race, and all the young bucks were dressed in blue singlets and lined up in a row ahead of me. Some of the weaker members of the pack started to fall off during the second mile, and fed my appetite for roadkill. The main hill of the race (mile 9 of the half marathon), is much much easier in the 5-miler, I discovered, and even looks quite a bit smaller than I remember. Definitely helps to hit it during the second mile. I passed the last of the easy Shiprock roadkills on the hill (after getting bored with drafting), and then just tried to relax on the downhill. Second mile was 6:05.

After two miles, I was in 7th place, and that's where I stayed the rest of the race. There were about three guys not too far off from me, but they never really came back. For the rest of the race I focused on just trying to stay even and relaxed. I decided that 6-minute miles would be a good mid-race goal, and stuck to that. Third mile was 6:10.

I got out of the canyon and popped out on Hwy 191. This is by far the worst part of the half marathon, but again, was far easier and less grueling in a 5-mile race. Still, I was glad to see that yellow "Denny's" sign that symbolizes the turn-off of the highway. It was also the 4-mile mark: 6:05.

My hamstring felt no pain during the first mile, and then just slight twinges the rest of the race. During the last mile I decided that it felt stable enough to turn it on a little bit, so I tried to pick it up for the finish, and still stay relaxed. The last mile ended up at 5:47, and the garmin was reporting 5:3x at times, so I felt pretty good about that. Final finish time was 30:10 (although for some reason the web results have me 29:59).

I ended up 7th overall, and won my age group (since it was all college kids ahead of me). Due to coming back from injury, it actually felt pretty darn good to win my age group and come home with some hardware. It was a big confidence-booster to hit sub-6 pace at times and it have it feel very comfortable. In some ways, the race felt like tinman-tempo or marathon pace in effort, although my breathing is still a little labored, and my calves and ankles haven't yet adapted to pounding and harder running, so those got sore too. So I feel like my base fitness is there, and that this is a good stepping stone.

After the race, I met up with Stacy, and we watched Bethany finish, then got some coffee, and then watched everyone finish the half marathon. I took a lot of photos of everyone I could with Dave's camera, and hopefully some of them turned out well. I will post them later in the week when we get them uploaded.

All-in-all, a great weekend; time well spent with good friends. The cabin we rented was AWESOME, and we all had a good time.

My hamstring got a little bit sore after the race, but feel pretty good today (Sunday). I don't think I'll have any lingering effects from the race, and the hammie seems to be responding well to small levels of stress. Tomorrow will tell for sure.

(Axiom: 24 miles)

Hiked in Moab.

AM - very tired this morning, and slept in. Driving and trips always takes it out of me. Ran the dog around the block and then ran the Planet Walk. Didn't wear watch, but it was very slow. Hamstring felt pretty good, no worse for wear from Saturday.

(Adrenaline: 90 miles)

PM - ran with Cody through River Heights to the gym. Pace was easy, around 7:30-8:00/mile. At the gym, I did 15 minutes on the elliptical and 15 minutes on the bike, then lifted:

• 1x12, 1x10 bench press @ 125 lbs
• 1x20 arm curls @ 25 lbs
• 2x12 4-way hip @ 80 lbs
• 2x18 lunges @ 15 lbs

Ran home.

(Elite: 215 miles)

AM - ran dog around the block, then ran to the gym. Did 15 minutes on the arc trainer and 15 minutes on the bike. Then lifted weights:

• 1x15 adductors @ 90 lbs
• 1x12 adductors @ 110 lbs
• 2x12 abductors @ 90 lbs
• 1x40 leg press @ 120 lbs
• 1x25 leg press @ 60 lbs (right leg only)
• 2x12 lat pulldowns @ 100 lbs

Ran home.

(Triax: 433 miles)

PM - ran the Planet Walk (4 miles) with Dave, Cody, and Jon. Averaged around 8-minute pace. Hamstring is just feeling so-so.

(Tangent: 22 miles)

AM - ran around the block, then ran to breakfast.

(Adrenaline: 92 miles)

PM - met up with Jon and took the long way to the gym through River Heights. Then 15 minutes on the elliptical and 15 minutes on the arc trainer. Then some PT/weights:

• 2x12 4-way hip @ 80 lbs
• 4x20 lunges @ 15 lbs

Ran home.

(Axiom: 29 miles)

AM - ran the dog around the blog, then ran to the gym. 20 minutes on the elliptical and 10 minutes on the arc trainer. Then:

• 12 chinups
• 2x12 abductors @ 100 lbs
• 2x13 adductors @ 110 lbs
• 2 minutes leg press @ 130 lbs (92 reps)
• 1 minute single-leg press @ 70 lbs (40 reps, right leg only)
  

Ran home, took the long way through River Heights. Hamstring felt pretty solid.

(Triax: 437 miles)

PM - ran the Planet Walk with Jon and Cody. 7:50/mile average pace.

(Elite: 219 miles)

AM - gym routine. Ran the dog around the block, then ran to the gym, did 15 minutes on elliptical, 15 minutes on the bike, and lifted weights:

• 1x12, 1x10 bench press @ 125 lbs
• 1x20 arm curls @ 25 lbs
• 2x10 4-way hip @ 80 lbs
• 2x20 lunges @ 15 lbs

Ran the long way home through River Heights.

(Adrenaline: 96 miles)

PM - 4 miles, Providence Cemetery Loop. 7:50/mile average pace.

(Axiom: 33 miles)

Ran the dog around the block, then did the Landfill Loop (5.3 miles). Averaged 7:10/mile.

(Elite: 225 miles)

I've been feeling tired this weekend, so I've kept the last two days easy. 4.5 miles today on the Planet Walk. No watch.

(Triax: 442 miles)

AM - ran dog around the block, then ran to the gym, did 20 minutes elliptical and 10 minutes arc trainer. Lifted:

• 2x12 adductors @ 110 lbs
  
• 2x12 abductors @ 100 lbs
  
• 1 minute leg press @ 130 lbs (42 reps)
• 1 minute single-leg press @ 70 lbs (39 reps) right leg

Ran home the long way through River Heights. 5 miles total running.

(Adrenaline: 101 miles)

PM - Providence Loop with Jon, about 5.5 miles. Average pace was 7:28/mile. I felt pretty good.

(Axiom: 38 miles)

AM - ran the dog around the block, then ran to the gym. 15 minutes elliptical, 15 minutes bike. 2x12 4-way hip @ 80 lbs, 2x20 lunges @ 15 lbs. Ran home. Then walked to work, dropped off my stuff, and ran to my dental appointment (~2 miles). Had my teeth cleaned (no cavities!), and then ran back to work (~2 miles). That adds up to 5.5 miles, spread out between 5 discontinuous runs. 5-a-days!

(Triax: 447 miles)

PM - ran a few miles with Jon and Cody. 7:16/mile average pace.

(Tangent: 26 miles)

AM - ran the dog around the block, and then ran to breakfast. 3.75 miles total. Nice and warm this morning. I think our driveway snow might completely melt by the end of today, a sure indicator of spring!

(Adrenaline: 105 miles)

PM - ran the Providence Loop, then stopped at the gym and did 15 minutes on the elliptical and 15 minutes on the arc trainer. For fun, I wore my little Polar HR monitor. All this unit does is give current heart rate. No time, no stopwatch, no averages or stats. Just current HR in big numbers. I was upper 140s, low 150s during the run on flat stuff, upper 150s on uphills. Yikes! When I'm fit, I'll stay below 140 on runs like this. On the elliptical, I tended to be in the lower 140s, and on the arc trainer I was around 160, with a high of 168. That arc trainer can sure work me over.

Lifted weights:

• 2x12 adductors @ 110 lbs
• 2x12 abductors @ 100 lbs
• 1x60 leg press @ 130 lbs
• 1x30 single-leg press @ 70 lbs (right leg only)

Ran home. 5.5 miles total for the run.

(Elite: 231 miles)

AM - gym routine. Ran the dog for a mile, then ran to the gym, then did 20 minutes on the elliptical followed by 10 minutes on the bike. Did some lifting:

• 2x12 4-way hip @ 80 lbs (both legs)
• 4x20 lunges @ 20 lbs

Ran home the long way through River Heights.

(Triax: 452 miles)

PM - did the Landfill Loop (5.25 miles). It was a beautiful day, and I felt great during the first three miles - all 6:40-6:45 pace. Once I made the turn back toward town, I realized why I felt so great: a favorable tailwind (which quickly turned into a headwind). Didn't feel so great coming back, and chunked some 7:10s with what seemed like more effort. I've noticed things like headwind and uphills are a lot harder to push through when fitness is low. Pace on a downhill or with a tailwind when not in shape may not be a whole lot different than when very fit, but the fit person does not slow down much when the conditions change (probably why the hilly NYC Trials course wasn't as slow as expected). Adverse conditions usually have a way of revealing true fitness. Average pace for the run was 6:54/mile.

(Axiom: 53 miles)

AM - gym routine. Ran a mile with the dog, then ran to the gym, then did 20 minutes on the elliptical and 10 minutes on the arc trainer. Lifted:

• 2x15 adductors @ 110 lbs
• 2x12 abductors @ 110 lbs
• 1x50 leg press @ 130 lbs
• 1x40 single-leg press @ 70 lbs (right leg only)

Ran home the long way through River Heights.

(Adrenaline: 110 miles)

PM - 2.25 miles easy.

(Tangent: 28 miles)

Did a "long run" today with James, Logan, and Jon. It was like a fast running blog summit, as we had representatives from three different counties. Maybe it would just from running with other people, but I felt absolutely great today, and did 9 miles with no hamstring twinges or discomfort. We ran the Providence Hill Loop, and averaged 7:44/mile. Too busy gabbing to run very fast, but I can't do fast right now anyway, so it was a good run.

(Axiom: 62 miles)

PM - took a killer nap, then jogged a half mile with the dog.

Ran a mile with the dog before church, then ran the Planet Walk plus some barefoot strides in the LHS fields after Easter lunch. It felt good to be able to run barefoot again.

(Adrenaline: 116 miles)

AM - ran a 6-mile loop around the Island neighborhoods with Logan. Usually I don't wear a Garmin during my morning runs, but today I did. Turns out I run 8:30/mile pace in the morning. Bleh. After the run I crawled back into bed for an hour and passed out. Groggy start to the week.

(Elite: 237 miles)

PM - ran the Providence Loop with Jon, Cody (and kids), and Logan. Pace was pretty slow due to banter and a baby stroller. Stopped at the gym on the way back and did 2x14 4-way hip @ 80 lbs and 4x20 lunges @ 15 lbs.

(Triax: 458 miles)

AM - ran with Logan in the dark and rain around the Landfill Loop, plus some with the dog (about 6 miles total). We couldn't quite hold off the 8-minute guy.

(Adrenaline: 122 miles)

PM - ran the Planet Walk with Jon and Cody, then ran to the gym and lifted weights.

• 2x13 @ 100 lbs abductors
• 2x12 @ 115 lbs adductors
• 1x60 @ 130 lbs leg press
• 1x40 @ 70 lbs single-leg press (each leg)

Ran home.

(Axiom: 67 miles)

We still need several more people for our two Wasatch Back Relay teams. We're looking for people that are sub-2:40:00, 1:17:00, 35:00, 17:00 for marathon/half marathon/10K/5K. Our goal is to take 1st and 2nd overall in the relay. Entry fees are comped. Reply to the message board post if you want a spot. Also, if you know someone who fits the criteria and may be interested, send them here. We need teams to be set within a few weeks.

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AM - ran with the dog, then ran to breakfast. 4 miles total, just under 8-minute pace.

(Tangent: 32 miles)

PM - Providence Loop to gym, then back home. 5.5 miles total. I tried a couple brisk miles and hit a 6:08 and 6:16, but my hamstring started bugging me. At the gym I did 2x14 @ 80 lbs on the 4-way hip machine, and 4x20 @ 15 lbs lunges.

(Elite: 242 miles)

Ran a mile with the dog. I leave later this afternoon for my yurt trip. Three days in the mountains on skis should take my mind off of running.

Yurt trip

Skied back from yurt. Got home and crashed.

I was pretty tired from the yurt trip this weekend, so I slept in, then ran a mile with the dog. The run felt okay, no pain or anything. My hamstring held up really well during the weekend of skiing. I felt it a little bit once in a while during the hiking portions, but not during the runs at all. It was much better than at Alta a few weeks ago. I wore my garmin the entire weekend, and we covered just over 15 miles - 4.5 miles on the hike up, 6 miles during hiking and multiple ski runs on Saturday, and then another 4.5 miles on the hike down. Over ten hours recorded on the GPS. Not sure how to count this as cross training, so I'm not going to bother. I plotted it out the gps track on Google Earth, and it looks pretty cool. We had really good powder in the trees, especially for late March, and Saturday was one of my best tree-skiing days ever. The closest feeling to what my body feels like after a full day in the backcountry is after a marathon. It's remarkably close.

PM - ran to the gym via River Heights, then did 20 minutes on the elliptical and 10 minutes on the bike. Lifted:

• 1x15 @ 110 lbs, 1x12 @ 115 lbs adductors
• 2x12 @ 100 lbs abductors
• 1x50 @ 130 lbs hip sled
• 1x40 @ 70 lbs single leg hip sled (right leg only)