Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow

Scheduled day off.

Easy distance run from my office to a couple miles of the Logan River Trail and back via the canal trail. Aside from tight hamstrings and a "beat-up" feeling near my ankles, I feel alright after Relay del Sol. I think I'll recover alright for the half marathon this weekend, although it's yet to be determined whether I'll do any workouts this week or just rest up instead.

Oh, our del Sol team is famous now. 

(Adrenaline black: 397 miles)

Ran from work to canal trail to Bonneville Shore Trail to Green Canyon, then up Green Canyon, turned around and went back down into Logan. Tried to get a good aerobic workout in, and worked the uphills on the trail pretty hard. I hit 5:40/mile pace coming out of Green Canyon, including a stretch at 5:10/mile pace. It's a nice downhill. Did 4x100m strides after Green Canyon, then tried to keep a good 6:30/mile pace back to the office. Alas, it was not enough to catch the 7-minute guy, as all of the slow hills and trail running in the first half slowed me down. Finished averaging 7:04/mile for the run. Ave HR 152. Soreness is gone from del Sol, although there is some residual fatigue. I'll imagine I'll freshen up during my mini-taper before the half marathon.

(Adrenaline orange:  180 miles)

For anyone interested, I've added a post to my personal blog about running doubles.

******

Easy run - landfill loop via paved river trail. Didn't track pace, but felt like 7:00-7:30/mile range. Went to LHS fields afterwards and did 4x200m barefoot strides in grass - 37, 36, 35, 33. Felt okay, but not great.

(Adrenaline yellow: 464 miles)

Easy run with Jon. Did canal trail loop with little out-and-back to 1st Dam. Legs are feeling a bit better, but are still thankful for rest. Hopefully they will be fully recovered by Saturday. I think based on my race performances and especially del Sol, I should be able to break 1:10 on Saturday, assuming conditions are good.

I still have "Bingo" stuck in my head. B - I - N - G - O !!

(Adrenaline orange:  188 miles)

Easy taper day. Ran Landfill Loop with Jon.

Striders Half Marathon today. Weather was absolutely perfect for fast running: clear, cool (~45-50 degrees), and no wind. The course has a good layout for fast running: Gentle downhill for 7 miles, followed by small rolling hills for the last 6. My training and racing has been good lately, but my only worry was whether or not I was recovered from Del Sol. I didn't feel very spunky for most of the week, although I was feeling better on Friday.

I jogged around a for about a mile before the race, and everything felt pretty good. Competition at the starting line looked to be excellent: Joe, Bob, Steve, Sasha, Neal, and others who I did not know as well. I was most worried about Bob and Joe, although I had a strong gut feeling that Steve would bust out this race and bring some competition as well.

Special guest Jeff Galloway started the race. Although I'm not a big fan of his methods, I do like what he has done for the sport and all the new people and exposure he has brought. So that was neat. I took to the lead of the pack from the gun. I'm not sure why I did this, as I usually like to hang back, but today it felt right. The first half mile was probably the slowest of the race, due the the race starting on an uphill. Once we crested the hill, I got my coveted downhill, and opened it up to try to get into my race rhythm and also to start stringing out the pack, which seemed too large and was making me uncomfortable.

We soon broke out into a pack of 6: me, Bob, Joe, Sasha, Steve, and Neal. First mile was long (5:52). I think I heard Sasha's GPS beep around 5:25 or so, but not sure. We kept rumbling down the canyon, and I felt very smooth. Mile 2 was 5:12. That's better. I wanted to hit 5:15's in on the downhill, figuring I could hold 5:25's on the last half to come in at 1:10. Mile 3 was 5:15. Mile 4 was 5:10. Still feeling very very good. By now I wasn't hearing Sasha's beeps, so I knew he had dropped back. I was still leading the pack with Bob, but could count a total of 5 shadows, so I knew Joe, Steve, and Neal were still there.

Mile 5 was 5:12, Mile 6 was 5:13. Nothing hurting, good rhythm. I felt confident that I would at least not fall apart on the last half. Hamstrings were a little tight, but the calves were good and breathing was easy. By the end of Mile 6 there were only two shadows, just Bob and I.

Mile 7 was 5:09. We turned the corner in here somewhere to start our circumnavigation of Pineview Reservoir. No more downhill. Rats. We'll see what the "rollie-pollies" (as Bob called the rolling hills) would do to our pace. Right now I knew I was on pace for 1:09, if I could just hold it...

Mile 8 was 5:13. Apparently losing the downhill would not be a killer. Still working with Bob, but rather surprised we had broken away like that. Running out front makes me paranoid.

Mile 9 was 5:35. Mile 10 was 5:06. I imagine 9 was long and 10 was short, but none of the race mile marks were that trustworthy anyway. Regardless, 5:20/mile pace for two miles, which I could dig.

Bob fell back a little during Mile 10, and I started laboring in here more as well. But I still felt strong and decided to make a big push over the last 5K and finish off the race. I've only won one road race in my life (PC Marathon), and I always get scared when I'm leading. My hands were also pretty numb by this point, and it was difficult to push my watch button to get splits, so I decided to just forget it and do mental math instead, as the watch was a distraction.

Mile 11 was 5:25. I had lost a good amount of leg power by now, and started focusing very hard on increasing my turnover to compensate. Whenever my speed lapsed, I would throw another surge to keep my mind and body focused on the task. Mile 12 was 5:20. Better. By now I was making weird noises, as I usually do late in a race when I'm pushing hard. Fortunately no one was around to make fun of me. Still running paranoid though. I pushed as hard as I could the last mile. At this point I wasn't sure if the course would be short, long, or correct, but either way I would hate to barely miss 1:10.

I turned the last few corners, and knew I must be getting close, but couldn't see the finish line. Finally turned one more corner and had a 200m straight shot. At this point I knew I would break 1:10, but still tried to finish it off hard. Final time was 1:09:27, a new PR by 3:20. Split for last 3.1 miles was 16:28, meaning my last 1.1 miles was somewhere around 5:12/mile-pace.

Bob finished 2nd (1:10:11), then Steve (nice job!, 1:10:57), then Joe (1:11:26), then Neal (1:11:49). Fast times on a fast course! Full results are here. I'm amazed how fast they get these results up!

Cooled down several miles with Bob and the Logan crew, then did another mile on my own. The more I cooled down, the better I felt, but this race definitely worked me over. Judging by how I feel as I type this, I will be sore tomorrow!

Needless to say, I was thrilled with how today went. I knew I was capable of breaking 1:10, but it's a huge release and monkey off my back to actually do it. Also I'm pumped about winning the race amongst such strong competition. In my experience, you only get a couple races a year, or every couple years, where everything just "clicks", and you can tell your body what to do, and it obeys. Today was one of those days. The last day I had like that was St. George in 2005.

According to a race calculator, my time equates to a 2:25:30 marathon, so I suppose my next goal is to break 2:25 at the Ogden Marathon. I still have to register for the race, but I'm for sure planning on running it now. I definitely need to put in some more miles and long runs first, and I plan to hang in the upper 80s to 90 for miles over the next four weeks before my taper.

My new blog mascot is Multiple Man (see photo). Multiple Man was one of my favorite comic book superheroes when I was a kid. He a fairly ordinary guy (couldn't fly, no superstrength, etc.) with one and only one superpower: he could create multiples of himself (dopplegangers). Over the next four weeks I need to be Multiple Man in order to juggle work and family, and still get in my training and proper sleep. Time management is key. And yes, I will be doing "doubles" several days a week now too.

(Burn: 110 miles)

I got up early before church this morning and did a nice, easy post-race shakeout run. Ran to the end of the paved river trail and back out, then through Willow Park, and back home, plus another mile with the dog. It was a beautiful morning: it had just rained, so the air was humid and had that "fresh" feeling to it. Reminded me of running back in Indiana. Plus, I didn't see a single other soul during the run; it was just me, God, and the birds in our outdoor sanctuary. A perfect way to start my Easter morning!

I wasn't as sore as I thought I would be from the race. Just that "beat-up" feeling around my ankles, and a little fatigue in the quads. The run went quite well. I didn't wear a watch, but it was probably around 8:00/mile pace. Yesterday after the race I massaged everything, took a nap, and then went out and played some frisbee with my wife, so did some barefoot running in the grass. My legs actually felt a lot better after that, so I think it's good to keep moving after a race.

Happy Easter everyone!!! 

(Adrenaline yellow:  475 miles)

AM - Slept in until 7AM, then got up and ran an easy 4 miles (paved river trail). Legs are still in recovery mode, but have improved noticeably each day since the race, so that's good. If I feel completely recovered tomorrow, I'll try some tempo running.

PM - Another easy 7 miles, this time out to the Hydro Park and back via the canal trail. Pace was 7:35/mile. Ave HR hung out in the upper 130s for most of the run. Everything is feeling pretty good.

(Adrenaline black: 408 miles)

stupid blog lost my entry when I hit submit and I don't feel like typing it all again. Did a workout. 6.5 miles tinman tempo. Windy. 6:30pace into the wind, 5:50 pace with tailwind. 4x100m strides.

(adrenaline orange: 202 miles) 

AM - Ran an easy 6 miles with Cody. We did the River Heights Loop. Ave 8:00/mile pace.

(Adrenaline yellow: 481 miles)

PM - Gym-to-gym loop from work, with out-and-back on paved river trail in middle. 8 miles total, 7:10/mile. Felt okay but not great. Stopped at gym in middle of run to weigh myself and do some chinups and arm curls. Weighed in at 130 lbs.

(Adrenaline black:  416 miles)

AM - 4 easy miles. Paved river trail. Did 6x100m striders, which felt pretty snappy.

(Adrenaline orange: 206 miles) 

PM - Jogged the dog around the block, then ran with Ben and Jon on the Logan Canyon River Trail. We took the upper loop to the top of Spring Hollow, and then back down through Spring Hollow Campground and back on the River Trail. It was longer than what I set out to do, but a fun run. It was good to run with Ben again, despite his stinky butt.

(Cascadia: 51 miles)

CV interval workout on the track today. Did 6x1000m with 200m jog in between (~1 minute). Started out by warming up 1 mile, and then doing Tinman Tempo on the way up to the USU track. Averaged around 6:00/mile during tempo, half of which was uphill. I was feeling good, which I was thankful for, since I hate doing track workouts when I'm tired, as they are mentally difficult as it is. The intervals went well too. They were 3:13, 3:15, 3:13, 3:15, 3:13, 3:08. My goal pace was 3:15 (5:12/mile pace), so I hit that. The last interval I opened it up a little bit on the last 600m. HR averaged in the mid-170s for the intervals, and peaked at 184 on the last one. It definitely doesn't tick like it used to...

Ran up through campus after the intervals, and then down to the mouth of Logan Canyon on Hwy 89, and back on Canyon Rd and the canal trail.

Ave HR for entire run 154. Ave pace for entire run 6:45/mile.

(Adrenaline orange: 219 miles)

Jogged around the block with the dog, and then did a long run from my house to the end of the river trail and back (Guiveva Malibu campground) with Jon, James, Dan, Cody, and Mark. We had a big group and beat up some cub scouts here and there. Overall pace averaged around 8:00/mile, but the last mile we did in 6:10 or so just for fun. Didn't feel great today, but got the distance in.

90 miles this week (most since '04), upper 80's scheduled for the next two weeks.

(Cascadia: 70 miles)

Travel day to El Centro, CA for work. Flew out of SLC into San Diego at 8AM. Had brunch (it's a combination of breakfast and lunch, and comes with a piece of melon, you'll love it...), then drove over to beautiful El Centro. Piddled around for a few hours getting the conference room ready and touching up powerpoints. Finally got out for a run around 6:30PM, and easy 6-miler along the canals with Bryan (guy on project team who happens to be a pretty good runner). Did I mention that El Centro is 100 ft below sea level? Ah, oxygen. The run felt pretty good despite all the travel and a brutal headwind from the west. Hopefully I can get some decent runs in on Monday and Tuesday. It's pretty much damage-control on business trips like this, a getting in a 10-miler is bonus. We'll see...

Day 2 in El Centro. Did a 6AM 10-miler with Bryan along the canals south of time. Beautiful morning, as far as Imperial Valley goes, shorts and t-shirt weather. This place is a flat as a pancake, and has bad air to boot, thanks to all the bovine universities and Mexicali to the south. But the dirt canal access roads make for some decent running. Don't have any idea of pace, but the Bryan and I agreed that the last half of it felt like sub-7 pace.

(Adrenaline orange: 235 miles

Only had time for 7 miles this morning (Day 3 in El Centro). The rest of the day was filled with non-stop meetings, tutorials, and travel. I'll be glad to be home tomorrow. It took about half the run to wake up this morning, but then Bryan was game for doing a little "brisk" pace on the way back, so we did a few miles at 6:20/mile pace.

(Adrenaline orange: 242 miles)

Got up at 4:30AM and flew out of San Diego back to Logan. Slept the entire flight. Then slept for the entire shuttle ride home. Then crawled into bed and slept for 3 hours. Finally got around to going for a run around 5PM, and fortunately the rain and snow had cleared up to sun.

I did a tinman tempo today on the Millville Hills loop. My legs felt pretty bad the entire run, and I knew I was in for a long day when my HR was in the upper 140s at 7:00-pace (about 10bpm high). Still, I managed to average 6:03/mile pace for the 8-mile tempo, which has a lot of long hills. Ave HR for the tempo was 169, and maxed at 181 on one of the long uphills. Ave pace for entire run was 6:23/mile and ave HR was 162. Floundered through 4x100m strides at the end of the workout. I'm glad I got the workout in, but hope very much I get the trip out of me and feel better tomorrow.

(Adrenaline orange: 256 miles)

AM - easy 4.5 to end of paved river trail and back, with jog around the block with the dog.

(Adrenaline yellow: 486 miles)

PM - 10.5 miles out to climbing wall on River Trail and back, via canal trail. Felt okay, probably 7:00/mile pace or so.

(Adrenaline black: 426 miles)

AM - Easy 6 miles - landfill loop plus around the block with the dog. SI was stiff for the first mile or so, then loosened up. Felt okay during run. Kind of a blah week so far.

(Adrenaline orange: 262 miles)

PM - 9.5 miles or so with James. We ran out to Logan Canyon and just on the Pipeline Trail and took it to the end, then came back on the river trail and the canal trail. I've haven't done the Pipeline in a couple years, so it was fun to get out on it.

(Adrenaline yellow: 496 miles -- retired!)

Long run with James and Cody. We drove up to the mouth of Blacksmith Fork Canyon and ran 9 miles up, averaging around 7:15/mile. When we turned around, I did some MP and LT intervals, using the TOU mileposts. 2 miles at MP (11:20), 1 mile at LT (5:15), 2 miles at MP (11:10), 1 mile at LT (5:30). Two minutes rest between each interval. A headwind picked up over the course of the workout, which slowed things down a little, but not too bad. I then  rejoined Cody and James, and we did 6:30 pace the rest of the way down the canyon, including 6:10 for the last mile. It felt pretty decent, as far as long runs go, and I'm glad I did some faster running during it. 6:45/mile pace for the entire run. Ave HR 152 for the entire run, upper 170s during the intervals (181 max).

(Adrenaline blue: 20 miles) 

Day off. 

Congrats to all those who ran SLC races this weekend! 

AM - 4.5 miles to end of paved river trail and back, plus some running with the dog. Did 6x100m strides. Felt pretty good, as far as morning runs go.

(Adrenaline black: 430 miles)

PM - 11 miles - Pipeline trail out-and-back with Jon. Good run. Easy pace. Ave HR was 133, which is quite low, especially for an evening run. It sank into the upper 120s at times. I guess that means that my stroke volume is increasing or something like that. I view it as a positive.

(Adrenaline orange: 273 miles)

Met Cody at 6AM and then ran from my house up to the USU track, where we met James. I ended up doing 6x1000m at CV pace, with 1:00 rest between intervals (200m). I was hoping to get in 8 intervals, but I knew when I started feeling some burn in my legs on the 6th interval, it was time to call it quits, as the workout is supposed to be completely aerobic. No sense in putting myself in the tank if I am already in the tank. I wanted 3:15's, and ended up 3:15, 3:17, 3:17, 3:16, 3:17, 3:17. HR during intervals averaged in the low-to-mid 170s, and peaked at 181. This was a little bit slower than the same workout I did two weeks ago; I just couldn't seem to get going or find a proper pace. Perhaps part of this is due to the early morning workout (I usually do afternoons), but I think it is mostly due to increase and mileage and some accumulated fatigue. But that is part of marathon training, right? I can say this, though, I am already looking forward to tapering! Only two more weeks of hard training...

Cooled down several miles with Cody and James, then took the dog out for his morning jog. A good quality day, all things considered. Beautiful morning too.

I fly to the Twin Cities for a training class later today, so I'll get some more low-elevation running tomorrow and Thursday. Maybe that will help my recovery. I should have a lot more time to run this trip, as I won't be with anyone or have anything else to do in the mornings and evenings. Hopefully I can find a nice trail along the Mississippi River to run along.

(Adrenaline blue: 33 miles) 

AM - 5 miles through the mean streets of Eagan, MN. Actually the entire run was on bike paths; Eagan is full of them. It's a very nice town. Near my turn around point, I found a paved trail system, and took that for a half mile before I had to come back. It was a gorgeous morning and a great morning run. Sometimes I miss the midwest. The terrain here is quite rolling, but the low altitude makes the hills a lot easier, as I could hold sub-7 pace uphill and keep my HR at 140 or so. Coming back was definitely a lot faster, and hit sub-6:30-pace for some stretches. HR in the 120s on downhills. All in all, it was a very enjoyable run, as far as mornings go. I look forward to running again this evening for a bit longer. Ave HR 133. Ave pace 6:55/mile.

(Adrenaline orange: 278 miles)

PM - 9 miles, exploring more of the Eagan trails. After sitting in a GIS web server training session all day, I was quite ready to run. SI was a bit sore from all the sitting, but felt okay during the run. I love these rolling hills out here. Averaged 6:30/mile for the run, HR in upper 140s. Mmmm...oxygen!

(Adrenaline black: 439 miles)

Easy 9 miles this morning. I explored more of Eagan, this time running down a road named "Wildnerness Run Road". Sounded good to me, and it was. I was actually on a bike trail the whole time, since that's all they have here. It's amazing; this town has been planned very well. Trails and parks everyone you go, and the traffic and big box stores were mysteriously missing. Certain Utah towns should take note (Logan, I'm looking at you). Felt pretty good this morning, but slower than my last couple runs. Did 6x100m strides on the way back. Average pace 7:09/mile, average HR 137.

(Adrenaline orange: 287 miles)

Nice easy run with Jon. I'm not sure of pace, but it actually felt pretty good. 30k tomorrow.

(Adrenaline black: 446 miles)

Striders 30K today. I was little concerned about this race, since I have been traveling so much and since it is only three weeks before the marathon. I was concerned about how much fatigue I had from traveling, and also worried about depleting myself too much. At the same time, I wanted to retain my standings in striders circuit, and get some good LDR circuit points as well. In order to achieve all these goals, this race would have to go out slow and be more about tactics than all-out effort.

It was an absolutely beautiful morning, about 50 degrees, sunny, and no wind at the start. It would get to be pretty warm later in the day, but I was pretty sure heat wouldn't be an issue during my race itself. So optimal conditions.

The course is an out-and-back semi-loop, so no net elevation change. But the terrain is rolling and has a long gradual uphill and subsequent downhill in the three miles adjacent to the turnaround. Combined with the elevation (~5000ft), it is not a fast course, but compared to the 5k, 10k, and 10-miler earlier in the series, it is not too difficult either.

The start line was a lot thinner than the other WRC races. A lot of familiar races were missing. From the gun, it was me, Bob, Steve, and Sasha. Pace started very slow (5:50-ish), and gradually inched up each mile, until we were doing 5:20's on the gradual downhill until the turnoff to go around Pineview Reservoir. Sasha dropped around Mile 9, right before the turnaround, so it was just me, Bob, and Steve from there on. On the rolling hills we did 5:30s for a while. Although the pace felt conversational during the first half of the race, I was laboring a lot more by this point, and no one else was talking much either.

Bob put in a surge around Mile 14 that dropped Steve and I pretty quick. I didn't have willpower to go with him, and stayed with Steve. I thought at first we just slowed down, but we were still 5:30 that mile, so Bob must have thrown a 5:20 or so. Bob seemed to have stabilized about 15 seconds ahead of us, but neither Steve nor I were making any moves to fill that gap. I was just trying to finish the race at that point, not feeling particularly great. I think the 5:20s earlier took a bit out of me.

Around Mile 16, Bob's calf went out and he pulled up, so it was just Steve and I to the finish. I still wasn't feeling great, but at the same time the pace slowed to 5:45. It was playing out to be a tactical finish. Most of the tactics were going on in my own head, as two different voices kept trying to tell me what to do. "Slow down more, ease in and take 2nd (which is good enough, after all). Save it for the marathon," said one voice. The other said, "Win the darn race. $25 extra is worth it, and the LDR points are major as well. Quit slacking!"

This basic conversation went on in my head for the next two miles, and in the meantime I sat behind Steve and just tried to stay on him. Finally we hit the 18-mile mark, and I thought, "Nuts to these voices! I'm just gonna go!" I let my body over (since my mind wasn't doing me any good), and went into 1000m interval mode, kicking the last 0.65 miles very hard. Steve didn't go with, and I ended up in 1st. Steve was 2nd and Sasha came in 3rd. I was very impressed with how Steve ran, especially considering he ran a marathon the week before! I think he could have just kept going and finished a marathon under 2:30 today.

It was a very good overall race, and I met my goals. I don't think I gassed myself by any means, but still did some very hard running and got some fast splits, which is good for both the body and mind. It was an interesting race, since it was rather tactical, and we got more surges and pace variations than in most of the other WRC races. I need to obviously work on some of my mental dialog, but it did come through in the end, so I can't complain too much. It's just frustrating (and amusing) how my mind plays so many games with me at times.

1	5:50
2	5:54
3	5:46
4	5:42
5	5:43
6	?? - watch malfunction
7	?? - watch malfunction
8	5:50
9	5:41
10	5:35
11	5:24
12	5:21
13	5:33
14	5:21
15	5:35
16	5:31
17	5:45
18	5:48
0.65	3:21

(Burn: 131 miles)

Nice easy 3 miler before lunch. My legs feel pretty decent after the 30k yesterday. Hamstrings are bit tight, and there is some general fatigue, but my calves and ankles do not feel "pounded" like they often do after races. Good sign.

(Adrenaline blue: 36 miles)

AM - Easy 4.5 miles, out-and-back on paved river trail, plus a block with the dog. Feel pretty good.

(Adrenaline black: 451 miles)

PM - 8-mile loop through Providence with Jon. Hot.

(Adrenaline orange: 295 miles)