Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow

When you told me the other day that it was 50 degrees up there I think you jinxed the weather to set up some freak nasty cold stuff. It was 25 here this morning. If it keeps this up it will be "Painters on Ice" for all you guys.

If it's Painters on Ice, I may as well stay home. I can do that anywhere.

If it stays that cold here I may move to Arizona or the like. I'm already done with winter. However the 10 day shows it warming up to around 52 or so.

Paul,

Sounds like things are going better and better for you. I will also keep my fingers crossed, so that you can work out all these injuries. Keep up the good work. You are an amazing runner.

Seth

PS say hi to Stacy and Seth for me. ;)

Great run Paul and nice workout speed. Of course a 6:39 is probably like a easier than a tinman tempo pace run for you. Seems like your body is responding well to the training you've been doing? That's very exciting.

Glad to hear you are getting lots of work. Are you up for a Sat run?

Jon - yeah, I should be up for something on Saturday.

See, if we didn't have this depression on you wouldn't have to work. It'd be like it was way back in 2006, all cigars and limo rides around town.

What business's are you in?

GIS/RS/Cartography consulting.

Did you reply to my proposal of an afternoon run? If so, my work email is not going thru again. What is your response? Also, did anyone else reply? I didn't get a response from anyone but you. I'm still up for a 2 pm or later run tomorrow.

Nice little improv workout. I still have a hard time focusing enough to do a real tempo or fartlek specific workout on the elliptical.

Good Luck and have fun

Yes, good luck. Kick some butt.

Nice run...good luck!

You'll be fine. Have fun down there.

You call that a workout :) The boys from southern utah will be ready for you come saturday. You better bring your "A" game. JK Holt will be ready I'm sure. But I am looking forward to finally meeting you.

I'll be happy to stick anywhere close to a 1:11. I think the real champ will be ol' Hayden. He looks like he's ready for a 1:10 with the workouts he's been hitting - or maybe that Kenyan we saw last Saturday on the course!

Wish you a good solid time down there Paul. Good Luck..

Hayden is talking 1:06! What are you planning on? I wish I was going, but maybe next year. Good luck!

Good to hear about the neck. Big change. What is the normal angle again? 45 deg?

You're tempting us with your race report by saving it without publishing...

I said to Clyde, "I better write my race report soon, so that Jon's head doesn't explode". Looks like I'm just in time.

Yeah, when I'm stuck at work all day, I can just keep hitting refresh on your blog.

Let me get this straight... you ran a 1:11:31 off 40-65 miles/week with only one run of 13+ miles in 6 weeks, with AS, beating Holt, Hayden, and Sasha in the process? Wow, amazing. Congrats- very impressive. Great race.

How would you say the course compares time-wise to TOU 1/2?

Wonderful race Paul! You are truly amazing and an inspiration to us all!!! Keep working hard, and keep that positive attitude and great things will happen.

We all know you are the man! None of those guys would have even been close with a healthy Paul running. Glad it was a good field of our teammates to keep you company.

Great job Paul, you ran a solid race. It makes me happy to see:)

Way to go Paul!

I wish I could be the guy out front on the motorcycle just watching you guys. Awesome race.

Very impressive Paul. just do not shave that Beard. I think it made you faster.

Nice early season race for you! Ill bet you enjoyed coming out of the alps for a warm run huh?

Again Great race Paul. Really impressive to see you race so strong after what you've gone through the last year. There is having talent and then there is having real talent... your the latter.

It was fun having you Stacy, and Seth stay here. Seth is adorable and you guys should be very proud. As I can see you are. It was fun for us to have a baby in the house in prep for a few weeks. Anyways hope your trip home was safe.

BTW- Stacy left her shoes (NB) in the garage so we'll have to get them to you somehow.

Jeez Paul, Warm up next time!

Thanks everyone.

Jon - I think Painters is about a minute slower than the TOU Half. No tailwind, no net downhill, but the lower elevation does help on the flat and uphill parts.

Bull - the beard will stay on for at least one more month.

Clyde - don't worry about the shoes. We might pick them on the way to Vegas in March, but Stacy says she doesn't really want them (they are old).

Steve - I will warm up next time, if I can build up my mileage equity. But right now I can't afford the deposit of a long warmup.

Great race Paul, hope we didn't overwhelm you and Stacy too much with our little BBQ last night. We runners are a different bunch.

Paul, nice to see you back, have a great 2009 race year, 500 commando points for the second place.

Stay Kool, B of BS Rools out

What exactly is mileage equity?

It's a metaphor.

geez, If I could run 5:15 for one mile I would be pretty proud.

You've got a gift, even more special as you fight this AS, glad you are able to take advantage of it and inspire us common runners! Hope to catch up with you for a run when the weather clears out and things slow down for me.

I just saw that on the official results you came in 2nd place and 17th. How do you do it? Pure awesomeness, I guess.

Yes, I know, I was just trying to figure out exactly what you meant. I'm assuming you mean that you have enough in you to run a good warmup without worrying about it affecting your race. But I don't think I'll ever get a straight answer from you.

No, it means that I don't have enough in me to do a both a good warmup and a good race. Right now 13 miles is about my max in a day, and that last 0.1 is a bear. Adding a warmup put me in the red and cause credit crunch. Then I would need a bailout.

I like to give you challenging answers in order to give you something stimulating to think about at work.

Yeah, that's what I meant. When you have built up your mileage equity, you can warm up and race.

I came home from work early (i.e. before 8 pm) and am watching football for my intellectual stimulation.

Cody may not be running with us much for a while. You'll have to ask him for details.

Sounds mysterious. I may not be running with us much for a while either. I'm switching to mornings, and will be cross training more. I'm still up for Saturdays though.

Why the switch to mornings? My crazy OT should be done Wednesday, so Saturdays will be good. But I will be in Florida Jan 26-29.

Are you still planning on Indy? April?

Stacy wants me home more, so the easiest fat to trim is my sleep. So now I'm getting up at 5AM to get my workout in, shower, and be done with everything by 7AM. Once it warms up, and if I'm healthy, I'll probably grab another few miles in the evening with the jogging stroller.

Sleep keeps us healthy, but I understand the need for the early morning run.

Looks like race day magic came your way. Amazing performance.

Yeah, sleep is important, but I'm usually in bed by 9:30PM, so I can still get 7.5 hours/night.

Great job Paul. It is a lot of fun to run with you - you really know know how to run/race. And hanging out was great.

Paul, great race expecially on that mileage. It was nice to get a chance to meet you. I'm guessing I'm not the only one that wasn't excited about returning to this nice Cache Valley weather.

Good job buddy. I owe you a bruger sometime.

Wow, three comments in a row by people named "David". Unprecedented? Responses are due to all.

Holt - yup, likewise. I especially enjoyed the good belly laughs on Saturday evening.

DaveS - Driving back into the soup made me depressed. No end in sight either. But I'm grateful for the few days of reprieve I had in St. George.

David - darn tootin' you do. But I made due on Saturday night by eating 3 bunless hamburgers and 3 cheddar-wurst. It turns out that bread does nothing but fill you up with food that is not meat. If you can even call that food. I think the next incarnation of the brurger will be a starch-free variety, consisting of lettuce - tomato - burger patty - cheese - bratwurst - cheese - burger patty - tomato - lettuce. Not sure what condiments it would have, maybe mustard. I would call it either the "Double Atkins Brurger" or the "Double A.S. Brurger" or something like that.

Sorry to everyone who subscribed to this thread and had to read that.

Congrats on a solid race, you are getting back to form. Stay healthy and keep running strong. Amazing time in my book!

Good luck with the new training approach. I was impressed with your race Saturday with your limited training. What do you think you could have run that course in if you had the same fitness of SGM and Olympic Trials 2007?

Greg - probably about 1:08:00, plus or minus a little.

You have such a nice approach to your running. Good luck with this new stretch of training...nice picture by the way.

That's a well planned approach for racing up to Half Marathon. Your body won't take a beating, and you can really get some good intense miles in.

Great job in the Painter's Half! Are you on the Fast Running Blog Team? There are some stretches/exercises you can do to to align your SI sometimes, like kneeling on one knee and pushing it into the ground keeping your body upright (hard to explain). Anyways, thanks for the compliment on my race!

Nice workout. Okay Paul where do you run to get your coffee. Let me guess "Starbucks"?

McDonalds. I meet a several other men from church there every Wednesday morning. It's actually pretty good joe, especially for $1 with free refills.

...and more mileage than going to Great Harvest would provide.

...but Starbucks would be better mileage.

We have a place called Double Shot that I go to for Cappuccino or Coffee. My brother is a manager at McDonalds and they used to have Seattle Best coffee, but Strarbucks bought them out, and won't allow McDonald to use or sell to them anymore. Now they use some other coffee blend that I can't stand.

Poor Gill.

Poor Paul. That's a 1/2 mile that I can't claim. But I didn't have the guts to be dragged around by a 100 lb lab on glare ice.

Is it Gil or Gill? I'm thinking only one L.

Gil. Short for G.K. Gilbert.

Who is...?

Oh, sorry I wasn't clear. Grove Karl Gilbert.

Grove Karl Gilbert (May 6, 1843 – May 1, 1918), known by the abbreviated name G. K. Gilbert in academic literature, was an American geologist.

Gilbert was born in Rochester, New York and graduated from the University of Rochester. In 1871, he joined George M. Wheeler's geographical survey as its first geologist. He then joined the Powell Survey of the Rocky Mountain Region in 1874, becoming Powell's primary assistant, and stayed with the survey until 1879.[1] During this time he published an important monograph, The Geology of the Henry Mountains (1877). After the creation of the U.S. Geological Survey in 1879, he was appointed to the position of Senior Geologist and worked for the USGS until his death (including a term as acting director).

Gilbert published a study of the former ancient Lake Bonneville in 1890 (the lake existed during the Pleistocene), of which the Great Salt Lake is a remnant. He named that lake after the army captain Benjamin L.E. de Bonneville, who had explored this region previously. The type of river delta that Gilbert described at this location has since become known to geomorphologists as Gilbert delta.[2]

In 1891 in one of the most controversial moves of his career, he proclaimed that Coon Butte in Arizona was the result of a volcanic steam explosion rather than an impact of a meteorite. Gilbert had based his conclusions on a belief that if it was an impact crater then the volume of the crater including the meteorite should be more than the ejected material on the rim and also a belief that if it was a meteorite then iron should create magnetic anomalies. Gilbert's calculations showed that the volume of the crater and the debris on the rim were roughly equal. Further there were no magnetic anomalies. Gilbert argued that the meteorite fragments found on the rim were just "coincidence." Gilbert would publicize these conclusions in a series of lectures in 1895.[3] Subsequent investigations would reveal that it was in fact a meteor crater. Ironically, Gilbert would be among the first to say that the moon's craters were caused by meteors rather than volcanos.[4]

He joined the Harriman Alaska Expedition in 1899.

Gilbert is considered one of the giants of the sub-discipline of geomorphology, having contributed to the understanding of landscape evolution, erosion, river incision and sedimentation. Gilbert was a planetary science pioneer, correctly identifying lunar craters as caused by impacts, and carrying out early impact-cratering experiments. [5] Gilbert was one of the more influential early American geologists.

He won the Wollaston Medal in 1900. Craters on the Moon and on Mars are named in his honor. Another crater on Mars was named after the ancient Lake Bonneville.

All of the benches in Logan, Salt Lake, etc. are "Gilbert-style" delta from ancient Lake Bonneville. So when you are up on USU campus, you are actually standing on river delta deposits. There's your geomorphology lesson for today.

Thanks!

Hey Paul it was fun to have you guys down last weekend. Little Seth is such a cutie...it's got us excited for our little guy to get here. Thanks so much for the cute gift! I guess I should say tell Stacy thanks so much for the cute gift! I hope I can look half as good as she does after I have my baby! Feel free to come and stay anytime! And don't neglect poor Gil, whoever he's named after.

How did the new drugs work?

It takes 30 to 90 days for them to build up in the body and start working. But so far I haven't had an allergic reaction.

The beard was indeed awesome today.

Being a Cardinal fan I was just happy that they made it. They have such talent, but it seems like they always lose games within the last 5 minutes - like some kind of a curse. This year has been different, so I had high hopes. When Fitzgerald scored that touchdown with 3 minutes to play I knew there was too much time left on the clock. :(

Yeah, I was rooting for the Cards but enjoyed a great game, regardless. There was a lot of cheering, yelling, clapping, etc at our place, too.

Indeed, Fitzgerald scored way too fast. Can't be helped, I suppose. I thought Warner was robbed at the end; I thought it was a forward pass, but they wouldn't even give it a proper review. I'd give a hail mary to Fitzgerlad in the end zone a better than 50-50 chance. I've never seen him get out-jumped, or not come down with the ball. Oh well.

Exactly. Can you imagine a Super Bowl ending on a hail mary? That would be classic.

By the way, it's Pizza day today at PF- you coming for an afternoon session?

Not unless the pizza is made with almond flour. I was in pain for a week after eating pizza at Cody's moving party. Never again.

So you've decided starch is definitely bad, huh?

Yes.

Smart decision. You always make good decisions about your training. God Bless you and I hope you get better.

Bleh, indeed.

Grrr- and I was really hungry, too.

I could try to have bagels for you guys on your providence loop next time you run by my house.

I don't even know where you live yet...

Paul, do you know of anybody in Cache Valley good at sports massage that you would recommend. I have been having an IT band problem since Painter's and have heard massage can help.

Thanks

Dave - kind of far for you, but I go to Hyrum Muscle Therapy. Jon goes there too. The LMT there is named Sarah Mortensen, and she is excellent. Single-handedly cured my plantar fasciitis, among other muscle injuries. Her rates are good - $70 for 2 hours. I forget what one hour is, probably $40 or $45. But 2 hours is much better. She goes pretty deep, and she will also stretch you good. Her number is 435-245-7702. If you go, tell her I referred you. :-)

I think she is now $75 for 2 hours. And tell her Paul and I recommended you, please.

I really appreciate the info. I'm going to call her today and I'll be sure to mention you both.

Good job.

We had a short 200 meter jog inbetween each 1000, it was tough, i am not going to lie.

I'm feeling very unmotivated right now, and you as my runing mentor and hero are supposed to be a bastion of optimism to cheer me up. Any advice on what I should do next, coach?

My tips: count down the days until March. Brighter days and cleaner air always bring about recharge. Until then, just put down your head and get in the mileage. Don't worry about missing a hard workout, but just make sure you get in some sort of run.

OK, thanks, I am a little discouraged I haven't pushed my mileage over 60 a week yet, I have been running about 55 the last three weeks. I will try to go over 60 this week. Listening to my joints, muscles, etc, and trying to ease the mileage forward without hurting myself...did get a 16 miler in last week and a 12 today. How does 17 miles sound for my long run this week? And I will take your advice and skip a hard workout, maybe do one not too hard tempo run, on Wednesday.

It's still so early, mileage is just gravy at this point. If I were you, I'd stick at 16 miles for a long run until nicer weather comes around and your motivation increases. You have 4 months still to get in the long runs, so you are just building base right now. Do hard workouts when you feel up to it; don't force anything. If you get two in a week great, but one will be good too.

great, thanks Paul, I appreciate it!

Is this more mood or injury/physically based?

Mostly mood. Although my body isn't trying to convince my mind otherwise. I can run, but it never feels that great.

See, I am in the mood to run but certain parts of my body really hate it right now.

do you ever read the poor rooster's blog?

Paul, Thanks for recomending Sarah. I went to her for a massage today and I think it really helped. I'm anxious to see how the next few days go.

On the rare occasion I drink, I DO remember to drink plenty of water. I hope you find a balance that works for you moodwise.

Sleep is always good. I'm unmotivated to train but I'm still running just for fitness. It must be a trend right now for some runners. Be patient and train when the time feels right. Ask God to give you strength and wisdom and he will.

JamesM - lol, when I read your comment about dehydration in the morning that's just the first thing I thought of. Keep up the hydration. :-)

Dave - glad you got a good massage. Hope you did the full 2 hours.

Red - sure, I read your blog every day.

Kory - I think I just need some sunlight. Thanks for the encouragement.

I have a friend who has the same medical issue. For a long time he has been fiddling with different pain killers and dealing with ulcers and such. Lately he has been getting an injection of Humira every two weeks and really likes it. Maybe it is something you should ask about.

I hear you. No gastro issue yet, but it's a matter of time, maybe months or maybe decades. I've started sulfasalizine in hopes of being able to reduce NSAIDs, but it's kind of a long shot. If the SSZ doesn't work, then I'll try a biologic drug (Humira, Remicade, or Enbrel) later this spring or summer. My rheumatologist has actually been pushing these on me, but I want to explore safer options first. Some of the side effects concern me, but then again it can't be worse than bleeding internally. I'm glad your friend is doing well on Humira. Does he run?

He's been running about 2 miles at time. Not sure how much he plans on running now that he has some answer for his pain. He is trying to get ready for the seven summit challenge where you hike seven peaks around phoenix in a single day. That occurs in November. He wanted to do it last year, but he wasn't able to with the pain he was having.

Does Seth stay warm enough?

Yeah, it was above freezing today. And he was bundled up in his fluffy body suit (incredibly cute). So he was fine.

Sure, he was fine, but lazy. In a good way. Takes after his pop.

AS-kickers? Is this a group for people with AS?

Yes. We kick as by skiing.

Wow a triple! You know that someone is serious when they run 3 times in one day. :)

I think it is a quadruple!

Yeah, I'm pretty hardcore. 6 miles in 4 runs.

Nice run Paul. On my last mile I always picture that I'm running to the smell of breakfast, or that must be because I'm running by Chili's on the way home.

Hey your training harder than me good job. Another injury has sent me back. I hope the training will do good for your Half Marathon races this year.

What exactly is a biologic medicine, and why are they so expensive? How do they differ from your NSAD's? And why do you need a hep and TB test? You better hope I haven't been coughing on you, or you might test positive for TB.

Jon, here's a copy/paste from spondylitis.org:

The Biologics: TNF Inhibitors

The Tumor-Necrosis-Factor alpha (TNF-a) blockers are biologic medications that have shown great promise in treating ankylosing spondylitis. Studies have shown that these drugs can potentially slow or even halt the progression of AS in some people. They have also been shown to be highly effective in treating not only the arthritis of the joints but the spinal arthritis associated with AS.

For a general overview of the TNF Blockers, you can click here to view the new insert discussing these medications that comes with our Straight Talk on Spondyllitis book. This book is internationally recognized as the most comprehensive resource available to help people understand and manage ankylosing spondylitis and related diseases. If you like what you read, you can click here to order Straight Talk on Spondylitis today.

In July of 2003, the first biologic medication was approved by the FDA for use in treating ankylosing spondylitis: Enbrel (etanercept). It is a self-injectable medication administered either once or twice a week.

The second medication in this class to be approved by the FDA for treating ankylosing spondylitis is named Remicade (infliximab). It was approved in December of 2004. Remicade is administered as an intravenous infusion in the doctor's office every six-to-eight weeks.

The other TNF-a blocker that has gained FDA approval for the treatment of AS, specifically, is Humira (adalimumab). It was approved in July of 2006. Humira is also an injectable medication, though only every other week, and normally self-injected.

The most serious known side effect of the TNF blockers is an increased frequency of infections, especially tuberculosis. Thus, a TB test is usually required before starting any of the TNF therapies. A very rare possible complication is increased frequency of cancer, especially of the blood (leukemia) or of the lymphatic system (lymphoma).

Thanks. Hope it works, and I hope you don't have to pay full price.

I wish you all the best. I didn't realize they were that expensive. My friend pays a copay of like $20 per injection. These kind of choices are always tough, hopefully the quality of life improvements will outweigh any side effects.

Jon - to add to the above, NSAIDs treat the symptom (inflammation), but biologics treat the thing that causes the inflammation (TNF). So it gets closer to the root of the disease, rather than acting as a band-aid, which is all an NSAID does. Biologics can actually induce a type of remission for some.

Yes, it was a tough decision, but one I became very comfortable with as I read more studies and statistics. If you only read the headlines, they are very scary drugs. But if you ignore the headlines and just read the statistics, they are quite well tolerated, and work as a miracle drug for many people. As in all things, media tends to blow things out of proportion.

Either way, it's a catch-22. The biologics can make A.S. go away, but work by suppressing my immune system. Obvious pitfalls there. But what are the other options? NSAIDs? NSAIDs kill more people per year than any other drug. I don't want to be bleeding internally 10 years from now, plus they do not slow the disease. DMARDs? They don't really work for A.S., plus are very hard on the liver. Nothing is truly safe, and doing nothing is the least safe of all. Having my spine fuse or going blind from iritis/uveitis do not sound like good options to me or my family, and the biologics can prevent that. NSAIDs and DMARDs cannot.

Yeah, they are enormously expensive, so I'll be one of the people acting as a drain on everyone's health care premiums. Until Obama fixes everything of course. ;-) But the drug companies actually help out a lot with aid. For instance, with a typical 80-20 insurance plan, Enbrel would be about $400/month AFTER insurance, but the drug manufacturer pays for most of the rest. 80% of Enbrel users end up paying $50/month or less. That's not a whole lot more than I'm already paying for meloxicam + omeprazole + sulfasalazine, which I won't' have to take anymore.

This is very interesting to me. My research is in arthritis. Now maybe I will start reading up on AS also.

James - is your research osteoarthritis or auto-immune arthritis? It's apples and oranges, as the former is purely mechanical and the latter is your immune system attacking your own body.

I just read this post, didnt see it before commenting on your other one.

I believe my sister took remicade but will check. it did wonders, without it she couldnt even move. psoriatic arthritis is autoimmune too, then hers just went away one day. a miracle.

Rooster - yeah, psoriatic arthritis is closely related to what I have. Same family of disease. I think it has the same gene type even. I'm crossing my fingers on the TB test, which will get read tomorrow. I went to Ecuador for a few weeks back in college, so hopefully I didn't come in contact with it. If I did, I'll have to do antibiotics for 9 months before I can start Remicade or Enbrel.

It's in autoimmune arthritis.

James - that's cool. There's a lot of research left to be done. I need you to find me a cure! Rheumatoid and A.S. are in different families, but A.S., reactive arthritis, undifferentiated spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, Chron's, and ulcerative colitis are all in the same family of spondyloarthropathies. There's a lot there!

http://www.rheumatology.org/public/factsheets/diseases_and_conditions/spondyloarthritis.asp

TB test??? Say what... Where have you been traveling?

Oh- I bet they have to check you before starting treatment for your AS with immunosuppressants, right? I was on methotrexate for a year, several doses of prednisone, no fun, but you do whatever it takes to get and stay healthy. My sister had really bad psoriatic arthritis for years, and had to inject her own antinflammatory medicines daily. Then suddenly, the arthritis just disappeared and she is now perfectly healthy with no treatments or symptoms for years. Autoimmune disorders are a strange beast... My hearing never responded to the treatments but arthritis is much more manageable. Looking forward to hearing how it goes.

Thanks for saving us with the shuttle idea.

I left you a phone message, if you haven't gotten it already.

By the way, Ruth is in Boise.

Most days shuttles are a time suck, but today it was worth it.

I was actually home, but Seth and I were downstairs, so couldn't hear anything. And then I didn't hear my phone ring until you left the voice mail.

Yes, Boise, so it was at elevation. The 5K converts to around 17:15-17:20 or so at sea level.

Amen, brother!

Wow, about time!

Glad you guys are getting some warmer weather. It was mid 70's here yesterday. Right now is the perfect time of year to be training down here in St. George. However, triple digit temps will be here before we know it.

CaN you send some my way? We had 8 inches of snow and single digit temps yesterday with 30 mph winds. I hate the northeast and its stupid winters.

I don't know how long this will last. It looks like we have some rain and snow in the 10 day forecast. This is actually good for my yurt trip later this month. I was afraid I'd be skiing on rocks and dirt.

I hear tomorrow we are visited by old man winter again. By the way, How in the heck do you run so well on so few miles Paul?

Yeah...just in time to drive to California.

As far as running well on so few miles...straight-up denial combined with a little bit of moxie. Actually, I'm not really running that great. I haven't even done a workout since Painters.

Steve, it's called sheer, raw talent, stubborn cross-training, and a sweet aerobic base from years of busting his butt. Mainly the first 2- the man has running talent, if only his AS wouldn't get in the way.

you are going to smoke the indy 500.

another issue- Have you ever done any research on links between vitamin D deficiency and autoimmune disorders? I did my PhD in biochemistry at Wisconsin, where vitmain D was discovered, and where Hector DeLuca, the world's leading vitamin D researcher and drug developer is, so have talked to DeLuca a lot about vitamin D due to my own autoimmune problems. There is a lot of data linking vitamin D deficiency to autoimmune disorders, the link with MS for example is well documented. Recent studies also suggest that perhaps 40% of pregnant women are not getting enough vitamin D to their developing fetuses- standard prenatal vitamins contain 400 IU, some researchers are calling for 3000-4000 IU for pregnant women to assure their fetuses get enough vitamin D, and also higher supplemental vitamin D while infants are nursing. If you aren't taking any vitamin D, I would recommend you start taking 1000 IU a day and see if you notice any differences. I am no expert in this area, I started taking supplemental vitamin D after talking to DeLuca after losing my hearing, but it never recovered so once the damage is done it may be too late- I don't know if taking vitamin D can correct disorders that already have developed, but maybe it can stave off new ones. And of course vitamin D is probably not a cure all, just one piece of a complicated immune system puzzle. It is a powerful hormone still not fully understood. I am not a physician or expert in this area, but the more I research the topic the more convinced I am that there is a pretty clear link here, correlated with living in northern climes where we don't get enough sunlight to synthesize vitamin D. It is also possible to take too much vitamin D (toxic at too high doses) so don't rely on me for dosing, I am no physician. But knowing what I do now, I would have had my wife take an extra 2000 IU when she was pregnant and nursing just to hedge my bets. Of course my kids are all old now so it is a moot point but I still make them take a multivitamin every day with 400 IU, plus they drink alot of milk.

Interested if you have any thoughts on this? Scott

here is a news article from SL trib last week:

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_11804901?IADID=Search-www.sltrib.com-www.sltrib.com

Yeah, I've read a little bit about Vit D. The topic comes up occasionally on A.S. forums. I take cod liver oil every day, and get about 300% of RDA from that. I eat very little dairy (paleodiet), so get all my D from fish and cod liver oil and sunlight.

cod liver oil... great idea, where do you get it? I should do that. I take omega 3 FAs but dont think they have the vitamin D in them.

its cold here, wish I was in CA.

Hope you guys are having a good trip. I love going places and doing "new" runs. It feels more like exploring than running.

You missed all the fun of 18 inches of snow...

Wow Paul I will definitely pray for you that God heals everything on your body.

I have one injury and thought that was bad with a limp. Question what Podiatrist have you gone to that's really good? I'm seeing a Podiatrist Monday with my problem here locally (Pocatello, Idaho), but I would really like to see one that's a runner. I might need a second opinion if I have an issue and I would be willing to go anywhere for a second opinion. I'm trying to make sure that I know what would be the best step next if I don't care for the Podiatrist here.

Thanks in Advance.

The only podiatrist I have seen in Logan I really don't like, so I can't help you there. Best of luck.

Paul, I really hope this does the trick for you. Have a good weekend.

Glad to hear your insurance is pony-ing up. Hope it all works so you can get back to kicking our butts pain-free.

Thanks. I'm not really concerned with kicking anyone's butt anymore. Mostly I just want to make sure I can lift my kid over my head, play catch, wrestle around, and avoid disability over the 10 years. Hard to do all that with my neck fused into my chest or with a fake hip. Running is just gravy.

Yes, but if you can run then it means everything else must be pretty good, too. So I hope you can run, on top of everything else improving.

I hope it helps so you can enjoy life:) Keep us posted.

Paul, my sister injected enbrel for her psoriatic arthritis for a couple years, it worked miracles. And like I mentioned, her arthritis just disappeared one day, and she has been symptom free for years now not taking any medication. A real miracle, and I am hoping the same for you. Keep taking that cod liver oil!!

Red - that's the story I hear from most people, usually "Enbrel/Remicade/Humira is a miracle drug and gave me my life back" or something like that. That's great your sister is having a med-free remission. Unfortunately, all studies show that A.S. patients have symptoms return after discontinuing a biologic, virtually every time. But I will take a medical remission at this point as well.

Do autoimmune diseases run in your family? Just asking, since you mentioned your sister. My grandfather had rheumatoid, and I recently found out that one of his cousins has a spondylitis of some sort. It would crush me if I passed something down to my kid. But there's lots of exciting research and developments with stem cells right now, so perhaps there's good things to come.

Paul,

When is see what you are going through it truly makes my recovery from knee surgery a minor thing. I am just happy to be running again. Hopefully your latest treatment really makes a difference for you. I hope to see you at some races later this year. Thanks for the words of encouragement as well.

Paul, If you don't mind I going to mention you in our prayer request at Church if you don't mind? Your a wonderful person and that's extremely more important than running.

Question Jon mentioned me to ask you about Dr. Lyons. Jon said he's a runner and a general doctor, would he be sometime I could reference to take a look at my foot?

Paul, yes, there is a history of autoimmune problems in my family. My father has severe psoriasis, my sister got psoriatic arthritis, my mother had severe asthma, and I got this great sudden sensorineural hearing loss, which is probably autoimmune and related as well. But I have no signs of arthritis.

But, you'll probably find similar instances in every single family, autoimmune things are so common, and the genetic links are hard to pin down. And like I mentioned before, I think that there is a strong dietary/environmental link to these things, including vitamin D, sunshine, and environmental toxins/pollutants. So I doubt your kids will be any more predisposed to AI disorders than any one else so I wouldn't worry about that in the least. Make sure they get plenty of vitamin D though.

Ted - I hope to see you at many races this year as well! The thought makes me smile.

Kory - sure, I certainly appreciate all prayers. Regarding Dr. Lyons, yes he is a good sports doctor and probably has a good knowledge base for feet. He'll probably see a more holistic solutation than a pod dr. He's not a podiatrist by specialty, but he's probably better than the pod they have on staff there. Cody saw a podiatrist in Logan that he seemed to like. I don't remember his name though, so you may want to ask him.

Red - in my case, it's the genetic marker HLA-B27. 90% of people with A.S. have this gene, although only about 10% of people with the gene get A.S., so indeed the environmental trigger is a big deal. I think HLA-B27 is also a marker for Chron's and PsA, which is why many people with A.S. get these other diseases too. New studies have also recently pinned IL-12/23 as other genetic indicator, and new medications will work to suppress these. I don't understand all this stuff, but it's good to see new discoveries.

I think I will look into another Vitamin D supplement, as well as calcium. People with A.S. are more prone to osteoporosis (for whatever reason, maybe the fusion issue), so I should really get my act together for this, especially since I don't eat dairy.

Paul, I don't know anything about the genetic markers, I should look into this. The only thing my father's psoriasis responds to is UV light and vitamin D based ointments, reinforcing my views on vitamin D. Strangely, I started to develop psoriasis as a teenager, then at age 18 it went away and never reappeared, ever. Then the deal with my sister and the PA. But then I lost all my hearing in what is probably a link according to the doctors. Strange stuff. Sounds like the enbrel is already doing it's magic for you. I remember my sister hated the injections, but got used to it. I remember before she took it she could barely move her hands her arthritis was so bad.

Paul, Out of curiosity I searched HLA-B27 on PubMed which is the on-line database of all medical publications. Anyway there were 3758 papers published on that marker. So there are a number of doctors and researchers obviously very interested in figuring this out. I hope it is sooner than later. In fact there was a review right at the end of '08 highlighting that additional markers have been identified. These other markers are directly involved in inflammation and will help bring a whole new dimension to how treatments may be combined. Specifically, I copied this sentence out of the summary.

"...; evidence of a pivotal role for several proinflammatory cytokines including interleukins 23 and 17; and the recognition that inflammation and structural progression proceed separately from each other." This may mean that new and/or combined treatments are close on the horizon.

Red - fortunately, the injection didn't really hurt at all. I'm already looking forward to the next one.

Adam - yeah, lots of HLA-B27 stuff out there. The IL-17/23 discovery is quite new, and together with the HLA-B27 can explain a very large percentage of A.S. There are several drugs in trial phase that address IL-17/23, and I think one has been approved in Canada.

Paul- I am going to try the elliptical at USU this week. Any advice on how fast, what resistance etc? I have never used one before. Any target mph or anything I should know about?

Another question- they videotaped my running stride at PT. As I knew, I have a neutral landing, but with my high rigid arches I tend to roll out (supinate), and also my foot lands outward which is bad, putting hte stress on my foot causing problems. Anyway, the guy I talked to mentioned stride length- they measure the stride length by angle of legs to hip or something- and he said my stride length was too short. But I was on the TM at 7.5 mph, and at slow speeds like that I follow Jack Daniel's advice that you try to keep your leg turnover rate at about a constant 180 turnovers per minute. At higher speeds my stride increases, but I thought at easy pace you were supposed to keep the turnovers quick, which requires a shorter pace, right? The PT guy didn't agree with me, he thought my slow speed stride should be longer. But how can you have a longer stride and maintain quick leg turnover? What's you opinion on this, or anyone else??

I thought the ideal Saturday morning was eight hours of an NFL draft, but whatever. Yours was pretty good too, even though bacon wasn't mentioned.

David - oh, there was bacon indeed.

Red - every elliptical is different, so speed and resistance numbers don't mean much. Usually I just try to go for effort, so if I want to simulate a normal run, I'll go for that feeling, if I want a "tempo" run, I'll try to hit that exertion level on the elliptical, etc. Hitting 85-95 RPMs is a good idea, I figure, since that's closest to running. Regarding stride length and your conversation with the PT, I don't have much opinion or knowledge base on the topic, other than that trying to change your stride is easier said that done. Plus, running on a treadmill is unnatural to begin with, so the PT is not seeing your real stride anyway.

If you are around this evening, I would like to pick up my stuff.

We should be around. My cell phone is broken, so just swing by. If no one answers the door, we are probably downstairs. The shoes are right by my door, so you can just open the door and grab them if we're not around.

Sounds good. Is the poster handy too?

The poster is downstairs, so you'll have to knock loud.

Paul, good to hear from you. Are you running Moab this year? Nice beard, I'm still working on peach fuzz. Hey, sunsets are great.

Stay Kool, B of BS Rools out

Brent - no Canyonlands for me this spring. But I may run The Other Half again in October.

I like the idea of logging the jogging stroller miles. I will steal your idea.

My goal is to log 1000 miles on the stroller this year. That's basically 20 miles/week.

My goal is to prove my worth as a dad by dragging my kids along running whether or not they like it.

Not a bad idea... although I think you would win because I can't take my kids on my 4:30 am runs.

Can you tell if the shot helped?

Adam - Usually the medication will take effect over a period of weeks. But after the first week, I already have less hip pain and my hamstring tendons are a bit better. My lower back is still pretty stiff, but I've also been off of NSAIDs for over a week, so I have to factor that in well.

That's great news that you are already noticing a change, especially without the masking affects of the NSAIDs. Have a great weekend.

What??? You forgot to run? The horror!

Take the whole day off...

Aggies are getting stomped right now.

You guys need to get your team going. I picked them to win because it was kind of like a home game. Here we are at the half and it's 18-26.

Nice route- thanks for the run.

Did you see my footprints?

No.

Oh, I was the only set (actually 2 since I went out and back) of footprints on the snowy bridges.

You are somehow on the lone faithful page even though you have 3 comments...

Wouldn't that be great. Only if our bodies didn't have limits. Oh well I guess it is a way to keep the obsessiveness in check;)

Paul- when you say that you run to breakfast where do you usually eat that breakfast? Its like if a tree falls in the wilderness does it make a sound;-)

Good job on the running.

Nice workout. Your training seem to be coming together. I like how you train cautiously to adjust to what your body is doing. I could take lessons from you on this area.

Paul where on your blog do you do the aqua-jogging training? I just want to get an idea. Also did you ever attempt it in swallow water?

Clay - I meet guys from my church every Wednesday morning at McDonalds for breakfast. Except I never buy food there (too toxic), so I just buy coffee and eat food I brought from home. Perhaps I should say I ran to "coffee" instead...

Kory - My training and outlook improved when I dropped all expectations. Every day I run is just gravy at this point, and if my body doesn't allow me to do it, I'm still fine. Regarding aqua-jogging, I'm a big proponent, but I've never actually done it. I do know you will want to buy a flotation belt, which will probably help in shallower water. Cody did it later summer during the month of June. You can see his workouts here:

http://cody.fastrunningblog.com/blog-06-2008.html

Also, tinman briefly describes pool running structure in a forum post here:

http://forum.therunzone.com/showthread.php?t=1524

Thanks Paul for the links. I come to the realization as well when your hurting you need to be thankful just to run when you can for fitness and not worry about racing. Although, I still struggle with this from day to day as your thoughts wander, and want to run marathon's.

I know there's more important things in life than running.

Paul, thanks for the comments, reading your blog and pondering comments helped me put things into perspective. It is often difficult to find peace in the moment.

Stay Kool, B of BS Rools out

Now that's a cute picture.

Sorry I had to bail. I would much rather be running than sick. Looks like you would have kicked my trash anyways.

Good run. You did run for breakfast/coffee this morning. Thanks for the link to tinman. He suggested running 20 minutes slow tomorrow to test the achillies since I haven't ran in a week.

I really had the urge to run this morning and was thinking of running way more than 20 minutes. But his and your advice stuck in my head and I resisted. It was definitely hard. The achillies has no pain right now, but I haven't ran in a week either.

I'm going to run 20 minutes slow tomorrow. Sorry, for taking over you blog with this post, but I wanted to say Thank You.

Great pic. Looks like you have a little fish on your hands...

He's really cute! Did you use photoshop to make that picture. What a cute little smile.

Myler is the king of bad looks. He gives them all day. More like an adult expression than a 2 week old.

Thanks, I made him myself (well, had a little help too). Actually, the photo was taken at the aquarium in Monterey, CA. His grandfather is holding him up in front of a fish tank, but I just cropped the photo before you see his hands. The only thing I used photoshop for was to lighten the photos, as it was too dark at first, and his face was shadowed.

Babies definitely get more fun once they learn how to smile. It's like crack.

Hopefully the roads will be better by tomorrow evening- Cody and I are doing a BW, if you want to come. Roads permitting.

I think the roads will be pretty good by this evening. I am doing the First Dam Run 10K tempo tomorrow if you guys want to join me. It's a great pre-race tuneup.

Paul, nice workout, like the last mile split at the end of the tempo, rocking.

Stay Kool, B of BS Rools out

Nice workout. You've had a couple days of good intensity workouts. We know our bodies so well it can be easy at times to know what pace your at.

LOL. I always assume I'm going 5 min pace when that happens:) At least you were styling with that bling bling watch.

I second Clyde's comment.

Third.

But I have to say that I think spring already came, got scared by its shadow, and decided to let winter back in for another month.

Just discovered your blog although I've read a lot of your stuff on the forum. I didn't know you were dealing with AS. Bummer! Your workouts still kick my behind, even if I were thirty years younger, thirty pounds lighter, was born with natural talent and still had all my hair. Thankfully, summer's almost here and I'm sure we'll see your stroller miles catch up to some of your shoes.

edrickt - Sorry you've been reading my forums posts. Most of my posts will make people dumber from reading them. Yes, hopefully I can start logging more stroller miles soon.

Principal: Mr. Madison, what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.

10 points to Adam RW.

Are you running the striders half too? Now I am really regretting betting my money on Cody and Jon.... anyway go win this one for the rooster to cheer me up!!!

I didn't know you had a fish? Cute picture. Good luck I assume you are racing. Wish I were.

Yep, a little smiley, wiggly fish.

I am in awe of you guys. great job, I cant wait to see what happens in Indy!!

"Ploptastic" Glad you got some money for your efforts. Sorry to read what you had to go through for it but thanks for the entertainment...

all and all, it was the best summer ever.

THE END.

A good read... sounds like a crazy race. Great job man you always amaze me.

Paul- love your race report. Very Paul-like. You sound like a fashion-crazed girl. But you forgot to mention how you ran an amazing race, kicked everyone's butt, and took 2nd place. By a long shot. Nice job. And thanks for driving.

I enjoyed your entry, and the fashion part too. Good race for out of shape, not much training Paul! Who won?

James- Alexander Tomas, 1:09... who is thus guy??

All - thanks. I decided that too many of my race reports are about running, so I decided to write about something else for once.

I don't know much about Alexander Tomas other than that he's a super-stud. That was an amazing time in those conditions. He's been around at races for a few years, but today is the first time I met him. Can't say I've ran against him yet, though, since apparently we were in different races.

Fast race. You are super speedy. I too finished at a time of one-something. I'm sorry I didn't get to meet you today. The weather wasn't that great for socializing. Perhaps at I warmer race we will meet. Great job though.

Paul, We come to your blog to hear both. The entertaiment factor is well worth it. Plus the awe of reading about a super stud!

FYI for those of you that didn't see the Running of the Leopards 5K results Alexander Tomas ran a there last Saturday finishing 5th in a 14:39.

Alex ran 1:11 at this race last year. I know there was a headwind then too, but still the guy must be taking it to another level. He dominated the SLCTC winter series last year too. Anyway, nice job Paul.

So funny! Sounded like you had your whole wardrobe on.

Sweet race, but the race report was even better. The best part was that it is all true. You were debating the wardrobe for the entire hour and half drive.

Cody - was he also singing the lyrics to the Shania Twain song "I Feel Like a Woman?"

Oh, great job Paul.

Great Job Paul.

Tough race in rough conditions. I hope that you buys some more quality running gear with the money.

PS Alexander Tomas ran at the U of U. His wife ran in the last olympic marathon. They are super nice, good people.

Loved that race report. Great job on the race.

Nice one! You're hilarious and freaking fast... good combo.

If you're going into that much detail on the wardrobe, I'd like to see photos. And being a Calvinist at heart, you know what deeds you've done to deserve such a day -- and why summer and warm, sunny evenings are coming.

Good race, take care of yourself and get the germs out of your house.

Sorry, no photos that I know of. And a true Calvinist would say that the day was predetermined regardless of the deeds. The deeds merely prove the election of the day. Luther, on the other hand, would have completed the whole half marathon on his knees, praying every step.

Only weaklings get sick.

I agree 100%

The good thing is, I am no longer on the bottom of the mileage board for those who have entered mileage for the week. So cheer up.

Hope everyone gets better soon.

I'm glad your feeling better. The performance that you showed Saturday was inspiring and impressive. Your competitive attitude really comes out in races.

Question: My achillies is starting to feel good and doesn't hurt anymore that I can tell. I want to do some type of intensity workout. At least start some speed training. I thought about just doing some tinman tempos for the next couple of weeks. Your Thoughts.

Kory - run nice and easy for 3 weeks, get your mileage to where you want it, and then start some tempos. Err on the side of caution.

Kory, lets use some of that down time from running to track down that jaguar that ran Paul off the road. I figure with your computer skills we can hack into some database and find all the jaguars in Cache Valley pretty easy. There can't be that many!

It was in Ogden, not Logan.

Why didn't it come out? I was about to wash mine- any tips to get it clean?

Glad you are feeling better. I love your little boy he is so cute. I remember putting my son in the jogger at about 3 weeks old, the thing swallowed him up.

Jon - don't ask me for tips! I'm the one who couldn't get it out...

Josse - I love me little boy too. He's a lot better looking than me, so that's why his photo always get on my blog profile.

Paul, I should join you on some of those kind of runs, that kind of pace would really help me out.

Are you still thinking of doing the common ground campus thing Saturday or does baby animals conflict? I am kind of vascillating on running it now, as I don't know if there will be any real competition and I am not familiar with the course (I hate to run courses cold with no hearing as I tend to get lost if I am out of sight of others) but if you want to do it I will as well. Turns out they are offering both a 5K and 10K- the 10 K is just two loops of the 5K! It might be a good tuneup for my race in SLC next week. well, just let me know if you will be there, if you will I will for sure, if you aren't I might anyway. Scott

Red - I'm planning on doing the 5K, as long as it's not pouring rain. If we get there early, we can run the course as a warmup, to get familiar with it. Are you interested in carpooling?

Paul- great, I will be happy to pick you up- are you up for an easy run after the race to cool down, or do you need to get home right away? If you have time we could run from USU up the river trail and back (8 miles) which would give us 14 with the warmup and the 5K, or something else if the snow is still bad up there. Thanks, I am looking forward to it! Scott

Red - my time schedule is pretty flexible, so yeah, that warmup and cooldown sounds good.

Are you sure you were not under a 6 minute pace :-). You should of said that to impress everyone.

Great run Paul. It's great to see you running after a good race on Saturday.

When is the next Strider's race? I need to do something.

Kory - the next striders race is in a couple weeks. However, I would argue that given your recent injuries you DON'T need to do anything, beside train and build a base. Patience, young grasshopper.

Your definitely correct about being too soon. Building a good base will be my focus. Although, I'm not a young grasshopper anymore. I'll be 38 in July unfortunately. Thanks again for your wisdom it does help.

Paul- you have become far too dependent on technology! You need to calibrate your internal speedometer, at least to within 10 sec/mile. What would happen if your life depended on knowing your speed and you didn't have a Garmin??

I would certainly die a quick death...unless I can outrun it.

...which you could.

Very impressive Paul. Great job.

Hope the guy on the bike didn't mind you drafting off him. Close to your PR, too. (I know it's not really.)

Paul, when I am able to stop my uncontrollable laughing (literally) after reading your report, I will write my own. Hey, it is one of those races we are never going to forget isn't it? And we got a great new water bottle for all our troubles! Like you said, we helped Common Ground in the process, and you wrote perhaps your most entertaining race report yet. How can you ever beat this one???

5:01 miles and you are saying you have no speed???

I did a Common Ground race 7 years ago when I was an intern here- I didn't know what it was and had no idea why there were biking kids everywhere.

When you say the river trail is in good shape, are you being sarcastic?

Jon - well, that was a 5:01 garmin mile. Merely an estimate. When I am slower than my PR on an extremely short course, I can say that I have no speed. Or when I can only run slightly faster than my half marathon pace (before the wind anyway).

Yes, the River Trail was in really good shape. Very little snow. Scott said that a ton had melted since he was on it earlier this week. I did not go on the single-track though.

NICE!

Nice race Paul. I think all races should include kids on bikes just to keep things interesting. Plus ever since high school football my lateral maneuvering skills have seen little action.

Well done, Paul!

Paul, I talked to my sister and it was humira, not enbrel that "cured" her PA. She is convinced it cured it, as it has never come back, and she was on another drug before, maybe enbrel, with not as good results. I can give you her email address if you want details, I don't know if you have looked at humira for AS or not? Scott

The FDA discourages people from running outside on days like today. If you have to run outside, wear a mask that is piped to a car exhaust, or take short, shallow breaths. Whatever you do, do not breath the clean, warm, nice air deeply into your lungs.

Yeah, so...much...oxygen...

Rooster - humira, enbrel, and remicade all pretty much have the same effectiveness for treating AS. None of them has been shown to put it in permanent remission, and they all have about an equal chance of helping. Sometimes, one won't work, but switching to another will work. There is no way to predict. I chose Enbrel to start with because it has the best financial aid.

Jon, don't worry, this won't last long, the annual rite of "burn my yard waste because I am too lazy to take it to the green waste bin" has already started, with the celebration peaking on saturday mornings for the next 6 weeks. so get out there on Saturday and enjoy the smell and sight of burning mulch and tree branches!! And once that ends, you can look forward to forest fire season to satisfy your craving for pm 2.5!

Your baby pictures are always great! The hat is the perfect touch.

Hey, I just noticed that DishNetwork added Comedy Central, Spike TV, and CMT to the BronzeHD package in the past month or so. You may want to make sure you add them to your directory- I think you like Comedy, don't you?

No way. That's awesome. What's even more awesome is that you told me via blog comment.

Paul- you ran by my house and didn't even wave or stop in for bagels?

I figured you would be interested in Comedy Central, didn't want to bother logging onto my work email from home, and didn't think I would remember tomorrow. So that was the easiest way.

Besides, talking about Comedy Central is running related, right?

Looking pretty speedy.

Those look like similar paces to our workout on that course last Sept. Looks like you are in good shape.

Yes, but the September workout was 5x4-minute, so not completely analogous. Logan and I did the exact same workout a few weeks before trials in 2007:

http://paul.fastrunningblog.com/blog-10-2007.html

At first glance the paces look similar, but I was much stronger on uphills back then for some reason...and faster on the downhills too.

Nice job Paul, you are a perfect example of determination, keep it up!!!

Way to get those 70! One of these weeks I'm going to get 30.

Great week Paul! How the heck do you manage these incredible race times without the miles? You must be a freak of nature!

Yes, he is a freak of running!

Glad to hear the singletrack is clear. I'll have to run that way this week. Maybe Monday.

I told Cody I was glad you weren't with us today- you would have been running 5:30's on the way down the canyon and mocking us as we bonked.

Always good to be called a freak. But to be fair, my recent half marathon was 4 minutes slower than my PR, and my recent 5K was well over a minute slower than my PR. So I'll accept your compliment, but will still argue that I'm NOT managing incredible races without the miles. Ha, I'm such a sourpuss; I sound like Sasha. LOL. ;-) Point is, although I enjoy the moment during these recent races, I try to keep it all in perspective.

Ha ha ha! Too funny, love/hate relationship with track work, but check out that last mile, holy cow! I love the picture, so cute!

Great workout. I did 1000's yesterday and remember having a love/hate relationship.

Great splits. Way to make yourself get on that nasty old track.

Mine isn't a love/hate... it's all hate.

Yeah, it's amazing how much I hate getting on the track, but once the first interval in the bag, it's very invigorating. Definitely a good case of runners' high today.

Lucia - I'll be in DC next week for a meeting. Do me a favor, and make sure the weather is good, okay?

Holy what the crap-a-roly? You ran a 4:56 mile at the end of a big workout? Wowzers! I would say you should do your workouts with me in the evenings for company, but I would not be keeping you company at these speeds! I would be more like a cheering squad from one lap behind! Cody will be jealous- I think he still has his sub-5 goal.

Nice work Paul! Your speed is impressive as always. I can only wish I could run that fast, but like Jon said I would be a cheering squad. What's your fastest mile?

Jon - to be fair, it was a Medium Workout. I didn't do strides or a pre-workout tempo run, so I was pretty fresh.

Kory - I don't know what my fastest mile is. In college I ran a 3:58 1500m on two occasions. I'm not sure what that converts to. Probably 4:18-ish. At the Alta Peruvian 8K a couple years ago, I split a 4:08, but that was on an 8% downhill.

Ya I have no love in my heart for the track. Jon you word it perfectly "wowzers"! Great workout.

You always love those tough workouts when they're done.

Paul, I read what you put on Allie's blog about doing Big Workouts. I know you've explained what they are somewhere before; could you either refer me to that link again or explain what the Big Workout is. Thanks!

Cheryl -

http://www.therunzone.com/ntrz/?page_id=87

Paul--thanks for that.

Paul, Brief report but entertaining as always. I second your and others comments, track is a love/hate relationship.

What is warm out? Right now it's 96 in my yard... I guess that is hot.

68 degrees. I was sweating like mad.

sweating? come join me in the pool! it is cold in there. I will race you a few laps with the kickboard if you want.

Looks very good Paul. Your running strong now too so I'll be looking for you to steal some rowdy cash:) Are you taking the whole family out?

don't forget my cut of the prize money for coaching you on the wiley common ground cemetary course-the ultimate training run. I'll take 40% thank you.

Cool. Good luck. I misread the prize money at first glance and thought first place was 3,500,000. That would be nice!

Comp for 1:14, huh? Maybe I'll do it next year.

Yup, this is actually a family vacation. I would never just go to Indiana for a race, but it's where I grew up and where my parents and sister still live. Hopefully I can win a little money to take everyone out for lunch.

Private restrooms?!? Count me in!

I've had runner friends run this race and they said the organization and everything about the race is wonderful.

They left away with a great experience. I know you'll do well.

Paul...I posted on my blog the times I was able to gather for each of the elites. It's probably not perfect, but it gives you an idea of where we are. Barring extreme weather, a Top 10 finish is within the realm of possibility. Looking forward to it.

Good homework Sean, that's really helpful. Wow, after the first few guys, it's pretty wide open for those last few top 10 spots. Should be lots of fun.

Do they allow motorized scooter entries? Sounds like a fun race. So if I were in racing shape I'd do the female research, but perhaps Sean's bored and will do it for the women too ???

Sounds lovely. Muddy shoes?

Is it a dirt road?

By the way, Allie Scott (2008 TOU winner) is moving to Logan in the fall- MBA at USU. Another member of the Logan FRB chapter.

Michelle - no, I beat the snow.

Jon - good scoop. It's like a trade for Lisa.

Yes, it was a dirt road. Here's a google map link to where I was. I ran on Mt. Pisgah Rd / Baxter Hollow. Looks like if I had kept going, I would have come down near Dry Lake. Or one could keep going south all the way to Mantua. We should do some runs out there later this spring and summer. It was a nice road, no one out there either. It's so pretty out there.

Sounds good to me. I'm always up for new areas, esp. where there is no traffic. I found it on google maps.

Yeah, that was my thought, too- trade for Lisa.

How did Denver do in the draft. Packers are rocking and rolling...good defensive picks for them.

Paul, Seth looks really cute in the picture. You are the man. Good luck this weekend.

Seth

You going to see Ben when you're out there? Have a good trip, and a good race. Hopefully the Packers No. 1 pick isn't arrested by the time you return home.

I can hardly stand the suspense. I can't wait to see how well your going to do at the half. Good Luck!

good ol' Rock Creek. Pretty, eh? So I'm looking around for a place that serves up a good brurger, but unfortunately I think we may have to build our own at one of the street venders next to a monument...

That's an awesome pace on trails and for not knowing the area well on the run. I'm with Clyde I'm excited to see what God's going to allow you to do in the Half.

I am always happy to travel to DC ... no matter where I end up staying there is always a good running route nearby! The most surprising is over in the Arlington/Alexandria area -- it looks like a concrete nightmare, but there is a bike path that goes to DC and up even farther into VA, it is almost as nice as the Rock Creek trail.

I am glad that Seth "enjoyed" his first plane trip!

Good luck this weekend Paul!

Nice run your body/mind and soul are ready.

Paul - I'm always trying to gather information from the best runners which I consider you as. What breakfast, lunch, and dinner routine do you normally use/eat during the week before a race (marathon/half marathon)?

At least they aren't throwing beer bottles at you.

Good luck with the race this weekend, enjoy the time with family

Good luck tomorrow. You are in great shape right now. We look forward to your report.

Best wishes also.

Good luck, have fun, hit your goal!

Tear it up and don't let that whimp Sean beat you! I hope Sean didn't read that, or I had better watch my back...

Have fun at your race tomorrow, can't wait to see what you do.

You da man!

Nice job, Paul! A PR on a flat course. Plus very consistent splits. 11th place at a race that large is amazing.

Amazing, you inspire me. Great job on a pr!

A 1:08... I'm not going to be amazed anymore with you. I'm just going to expect amazing races every time. Great race! You look to be ready for anything now.

When you get to your level, the competion is just insane! I look at your times and think, how the heck can others run faster than that? Then I think, and paul is doing this on limited training. Holy #@#, really that was family friendly. Your just amazing, no doubt one of the best period! Great job on the PR.

Congrats on a great race and a PR, Paul!

Another awesome half. You're skewing my data. Way to go!

Paul - how do you do it! Glad things went well; you deserve it.

A PR???? That makes me want to cry for joy. Very nice splits too.

Glad you made it to Indy for the race. Excellent job!

Great race, excited to hear you had such a big PR!

I saw Paul, Sean, and Floppy in the video!

Oh wow! That's amazing! You're an inspiration to us all.

Congrats on the PR and a strong race on a flat course. I agree with Cody, you are da man!

Paul...I can't say enough about how awesome your race was. The things you've gone through since the Trials would have permenantly sidelined many. Kudos for fighting back and congrats on a great race, especially given where you are in your training. If you get the itch, join me in Duluth in June for Grandma's. It was great to see you and enjoy the rest of your vacation in Indy.

Awsome race and congrats on the PR! 11th place out of 35000, thats amazing!

Thanks everyone. It was certainly a memorable race. Now it's just a matter of trying to figure out where to go with running from here.

I would suggest trail running. I can propose a few races :)

Paul, Congrats on the PR. You are an intelligent runner and can always run good consistent times. Something to be proud of for sure.

Pure studlyness!

must have been that pizza. good thing we got the Kujo.

geez that is FAST. I am in awe.