Rosswog Running Blog

Today, being the first day of 2009, I decided to get in one of my three long-slow runs before the Salt Lake Marathon.  I was planning to run 23 miles, but it ended up being 24.5 miles, which took 3:49:41 to complete (9:22 minute per mile pace)--not a bad pace considering the traffic and the snowy sidewalks.

The Run: started at Big Cottonwood Park ran to 45th South and 5th East to Liberty Park to The Gateway (i.e., the last 8.3 miles of the Salt Lake Marathon Course) then up to the State Capital building to the mouth of City Creek Canyon to the University of Utah by way of 11th Avenue to Sugar House Park then back to Big Cottonwood Park.

Additional Info: did 200 sit-ups and stretched for 30 minutes before my run.  I finished strong; that is, felt like I could have ran another 5 miles.  Upper body remained strong throughout the run; therefore, my focus on weight lifting seems to be paying dividends.  However, my legs were a little sore; probably from the four half-mile intervals that I did at 8.5x10.5 (i.e., miles per hour) the previous day on the treadmill.  Also, the run up 3rd North to the Capital Building was brutal (i.e., brutal enough to give me second thoughts of wanting to take on the Ragnar leg in the 2009 Wasatch Back).

Miscellaneous: during my long runs there always seems to be at least one or two strange things that happen (this is one of the many reasons why I love running) and this run was no exception.  While I was commencing my run in South Salt Lake, I spotted a young man that was screaming random swear words.  He then proceeded to knock over one of those free-real-estate-newspaper stands and started slugging it before he ran into the middle of street (of course, into oncoming traffic), removed his Yankees cap and spiked it like a football.  This young man finally picked up his cap, stumbled off, and continued with his profanity-laced language.  As I ran past him (needless to say, on the other side of the street), I thought to myself that I’m glad I’m not a Yankees fan. 

At my place of employment, I worked on speed by doing three half-mile intervals at 8.5x10.5 speed on treadmill.  In addition, I did 1.2 miles of easy running.  In regards to weight lifting, I did 120 sit-ups, 130 curls (40-8 lbs), and 60 (60-50 lbs) reverse curls.

After celebrating Utah’s big win over Alabama last night, I woke up with a mild case of the flu; therefore, only did a 4.2 miles of easy running today; that is, the distance from home to Harmon’s to pick up groceries.  Did 200 sit-ups and a little bit of stretching before and after my run.

Still battling a head cold of some sort; therefore, slept in today.  In order to get in some miles, went for an easy 4.1 run today.  Did 120 sit-ups and little bit of stretching before and after my run; that is, my muscles kind of feel achy from my cold. 

At a slow pace, did a 4.2-mile evening-neighborhood run.  Due to the 3-4 inches of new snow, it was a challenging and fun run (i.e., there is nothing like running through fresh powder).  Did not lift weights, but did squeeze in a 120 sit-ups with some stretching.

After three days of easy runs, I finally recovered enough from my cold to at least run at marathon pace.  On my work’s treadmill, I accomplished a 0.3-mile warm-up jog in my Nike Frees followed by a 4.9-mile run at marathon pace.  I felt it a little bit in my lungs, but otherwise a great run!

In the evening, I did an easy 1.2-mile run outside through the slush.  One of the things I love about running is the crunching sound of the snow every time you take a step during a cool and quiet winter night run.  This sweet crunching sound is comparable to the crack of the wooden bat in baseball.  However, you only get to experience this sound when you run over slightly compacted snow.  As a result, tonight’s 1.2-mile run through the splash-splash of the winter slush was more comparable to the annoying ding sound of a baseball being driven off an aluminum bat.  In short, it is much more enjoyable to run during the winter nights when it is cold and dry. 

Lastly, I got back to my workout routine by doing 300 sit-ups, a 60-second wall sit (need to do more of these), 20 (30lbs) curls, and 20 (60-50lbs) reverse curls.

Today, after a long day of work, I did all of my running on the treadmill.  While witnessing my Jazz rout the Hornets, I did 4.2 miles at marathon pace.  I followed this with a 2-mile simulated barefoot run in my Vibram Five Fingers.  Overall, the running felt great and I should be back to doing intervals by Friday.

My non-running workout consisted of 300 sit-ups, a 60-second plank on elbows and toes, 40 (30lbs) curls, and 20 (80lbs) pull-downs.

After work, I ran on the treadmill for 4.5 miles at a solid marathon pace (first four in 27:14).  When I got home, since there was a slight layer of new snow sticking to the sidewalks, I decided to go for an easy 1.8-mile run at Big Cottonwood Park.  The great thing about running in fresh snow is to study your footprints by running back over your tracks.  This informal stride examination can reveal a lot.  On this particular evaluation, the good news was that my footprints were complete; therefore, my foot strikes were not concentrated on a particular area of my soles.  However, my stride was not being maximized which was evident by the footprints being too close together and the right footprints being slanted outward (i.e., pronation).  Next time I go for a run through freshly fallen snow, I will make sure to bring a tape measure in order to calculate the true inefficiency of my stride.

Lastly,  I focused much more on my strength training today by completing 330 sit-ups, a 60-second plank on elbows and toes, a 90-second wall sit, 120 (16, 30, 40lbs) curls, and 80 (50, 60lbs) reverse curls.

Finally, I am back to doing intervals on the treadmill! After I got off work, I completed 4 miles of half-mile intervals (i.e., the slow halves at 8.5 miles per hour, while the fast halves at 10.5). In addition, I did a tenth of a mile cool down.

When I got home, I ran 1.8 miles at an easy pace around Big Cottonwood Park.  The temperatures were bitterly cold; however, after I was warmed up (i.e., after running a mile) the weather was bearable.

Also, I did a light non-running workout today consisting of 330 sit-ups, 90 (16, 30lbs) curls, and 20 (50, 60lbs) reverse curls.

Met up with Tony (a member of Team Shoulda Bought Puts who is training for the Salt Lake Marathon) and ran from Big Cottonwood Park to Sugar House Park and back.  The total distance was 11.7 miles at a respectable (considering the snowy sidewalks and Saturday afternoon traffic) 8:29 pace.  In addition, we ran 4 miles on the Salt Lake Marathon course starting from the northeast corner of Highland High School (i.e., “The-I-Am-Only-Cheating-Myself Corner”) to 2000 East and Keller Ln (mile 4.5 to 8.5 of the course).  I also did 1.4 miles at an easy pace and 330 sit-ups.

Today, I did an errand run to the Fashion Place Mall to pick up some clothes.  Of course, I took the scenic route through neighborhoods and Murray Park not only to avoid the traffic as much as possible, but also to tack on a few extra miles to the run.  On the way back, I stopped by the Murray High School track (with the exception of 60 meters, it was completely covered with snow) and did 12 laps.  After the track workout, I ran to Smith’s to pick up some groceries before heading home.  In total, I got in 13.7 miles at a relatively easy pace.

In addition, while watching the Sunday morning news, I did 400 sit-ups, a 60-second plank on elbows and toes, 12 bridges (held each for approximately 10 seconds), and 10 metronomes.

After running a pair of half-marathon training runs at an easy pace over the weekend, it was time for some speed play.  On the treadmill, I did my routine interval workout consisting of 4 miles of half-mile intervals (i.e., the slow halves at 8.5 miles per hour, while the fast halves at 10.5).  In addition, I did a fifth of a mile cool down run.  At my work’s gym, I also got in 100 (30, 40lbs) curls and 40 (50, 60lbs) reverse curls before heading home.

While listening to Memo light the Pacers up for a career high 43 points (Utah Jazz 120, Indiana Pacers 113), I ran 3.3 miles at an easy pace (mostly around Big Cottonwood Park) then did 400 sit-ups, a 60-second plank on elbows and toes, and 10 bridges with one leg extended (held each for approximately ten seconds).

As far as running, I was absolutely in need of  a recovery day.  Consequently, I ran 3.5 miles at marathon pace on the treadmill after work.  I followed this up with an easy-pace mile run after I got home. 

However,  I did increase my non-running workout a little bit today by doing 400 sit-ups, 12 metronomes, 12 bridges with one leg extended (held each for approximately ten seconds), 24 side planks (elbow-floor touches) a 60-second plank on elbows and toes, and a 90-second wall sit.  At my work’s gym, I also got in 170 (16, 30, 40lbs) curls, 60 (50, 60lbs) reverse curls, and 10 bench presses (100lbs).

Due to a few stomach cramps, my run was shorter than normal.  After work, I ran 5.4 miles on the treadmill (5.1 at marathon pace and 0.3 at an easy pace in my Nike Frees). This workout absolutely served as a good reminder that I still have a long way to go with increasing my pain threshold.  In addition, after some stretching, I did 200 sit-ups and 20 curls (30lbs).

Back to doing my normal weekday running workout today.  After work, I ran 5.1 miles at marathon pace on the treadmill.  I followed this up with a 0.6 mile cool down run and a one miler at an easy pace in my Vibram Five Fingers. 

My non-running workout consisted of 230 sit-ups (hopefully, tomorrow I can get back to my routine core workout), 140 (16, 30lbs) curls, and 30 (50lbs) reverse curls. 

After a long day at work, I did a 0.4-mile run on the treadmill in my Nike Frees before heading home.  When I got home I ran for 3.8 miles around Big Cottonwood Park.  Due to it being a moderate air quality day, I cut this run short and ran it at an easy pace.

In addition, I did 120 sit-ups (still having some stomach tightness; therefore, I am planning to go easy on the core workout for the next few days) and 50 (30lbs) curls.

Today, the air quality went from moderate to hazardous with thick smog filling the valley.  I still went for an easy-pace 11.8-mile run outside and tried unsuccessfully to climb out of the smog by running up to Skyline High School to do a little track workout.  However, the air was not much better along the bench and at Skyline there was a good 5 inches of frozen snow encompassing the football field.  As a result, it was a laborious one-mile track workout that would have been much easier with snowshoes.  After I got back home, I did 200 sit-ups.

The valley still being filled with smog (the weather reports predict that it will not clear out until Wednesday at the earliest) I went to the gym to do most of my workout.  I did an easy-pace 1.8-mile run to the Lions Recreation Center where I did a half-marathon run on the treadmill.  It was a tough, tough run (i.e., my stomach still felt like it was tied in knots), but I completed it in 1:29:10.  This time includes the restarting of the treadmill since the treadmills at the Rec Center automatically slow to a five-minute, cool-down pace after an hour.  After a 1.7-mile easy run home (I took a slightly different and shorter course on the way back), I did 200 sit-ups to complete my workout for the day.

On this great Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I had a good recovery workout from yesterday’s medium-long distance run.  After work, I ran 2.0 miles at marathon pace on the treadmill followed by a 1.1-mile cool down run.  In addition, I mixed in 230 sit-ups, 60 (30lbs) curls, and 30 (50lbs) reverse curls.

It was back to doing a little speed play on the treadmill.  After work, I did my routine interval workout consisting of 4 miles of half-mile intervals (i.e., the slow halves at 8.5 miles per hour, while the fast halves at 10.5).  My time for the four miles was 25:35 (not a bad pace, but there is plenty of room for improvement).  I followed my interval training with a 0.6-mile cool down run.

After I got home, while I watched a recording of Obama’s Inauguration, I did 400 sit-ups and 12 bridges (held each for approximately 10 seconds).  Also, while watching the enormous crowd gathered on The National Mall, I was thinking to myself that I can wait to run The Mall again.  Last summer, I had the opportunity to run it for the first time and it was an absolutely enjoyable 6.1 miles (my route included the FDR and Jefferson memorials, which added on some extra mileage to the run).

Since the smog is still prevalent throughout the valley, I did a longer than average after-work run today.  On the treadmill, I ran 6.1 miles at a marathon pace followed by 4.1 miles at an easy pace.  I followed up my running workout with 250 sit-ups, 12 metronomes, a 60-second plank on elbows and toes, 140 (16, 30lbs) curls, and 60 (40, 50, 60lbs) reverse curls.

Finally, a storm started to move through the valley, so hopefully the Inversion will be lifted soon.  After work, I did 4.4 miles at marathon pace on the treadmill followed by some simulated barefoot running.  This barefoot running consisted of a 0.4 mile in my Nike Frees and 1.3 miles in my Vibram Five Fingers.  Initially, my legs felt a little bit heavy from yesterday’s run, but after about 5k of running they felt good.

Also, when I got home, since the smog was subsiding a little and it was raining, I went for a short and easy-pace 1.1-mile run outside.  

My non-running workout consisted of 250 sit-ups, 80 (16, 30lbs) curls, and 20 (50, 60lbs) reverse curls.

The rainstorm lifted the smog enough to run outside today.  Consequently, I did only a half-mile jog at work along with 40 (30lbs) curls and 20 (50, 60lbs) reverse curls.  After I got home, I ran through the thick fog (i.e., line of sight was limited to 30-40 yards, but it was tons of fun to run through) from Big Cottonwood Park to the Highland Drive and Murray Holladay Road intersection and back.  I kept an easy pace for 4.6 miles of the run and did full out 0.1-mile sprint (i.e., trying out Sasha’s method of short sprits during distance training runs).  Lastly, I did 120 sit-ups to complete my workout.

The Inversion for the most part has been lifted from the valley; therefore, I did my running completely outside today.  Kept a steady, easy pace in running from Big Cottonwood Park to Sugar House Park where I ran a lap around both the outer and inter loops before running back home.  During the entire 14.2 miles (completed in 1:59:17) there was a steady rainfall, which made for wet conditions.  However, due to the warmer weather, there was considerably less snow and ice to run through.

My non-running workout consisted of 300 sit-ups and 12 bridges (held each for approximately 10 seconds).

Today I did one of my weekend destination runs, this time to REI to pick up some goodies (i.e., GU packets--regular and the new Roctane ones, Cliff Shot Blocks in the exciting new Fastpaks, and a Pemmican brownie protein bar) for the second long run of the year that I am hoping (weather permitting) to get in next weekend.  There was a nice steady snowfall during the entire run; therefore, I am glad that I brought an extra/dry hat and pair of gloves along to change into on my run back home from REI.  Overall, I kept an easy pace throughout this 12.3-mile run that I completed in 1:56:26.

My non-running workout consisted of 500 sit-ups,12 bridges (held each for approximately 10 seconds), and 12 metronomes.

Tonight, I was back to working on my speed by running five half-mile intervals at 8.5x10.5 speed on the treadmill.  I completed this 5-mile interval run in 32:03.  In addition, I did 1.2 miles of cool down running at marathon pace.

My non-running workout consisted of 250 sit-ups, 130 curls (40, 30, 16 lbs), and 80 (60, 50, 40, 30 lbs) reverse curls.

After a long day at work, I was able to get in a good run on the treadmill while switching between watching the Jazz-Spurs and Utah-BYU basketball games.  I completed a 4.2-mile run at marathon pace and a 2-mile simulated barefoot run at an easy pace (i.e., in regards to the latter run, a 0.4 mile during a break and 1.6 miles after work in my Nike Frees and Vibram Five Fingers, respectively).

In addition to my running, I did 200 sit-ups, 40 curls (30 lbs), 20 (60, 50 lbs) reverse curls, 20 (100, 90 lbs) bench presses, and 10 (80 lbs) pull downs.

Today, I split my running workout up between the treadmill and Big Cottonwood Park. After work, I ran 2.4 miles at marathon pace and a 0.3 mile at an easy/cool-down pace on the treadmill. In addition, I went on a late 1.5-mile evening run around the park. The weather was perfect for running; that is, nice and cold, no wind, and a partially clear night sky.

In regards to my non-running workout, I did 200 sit-ups, 40 (30 lbs) curls, and 20 (60, 50 lbs) reverse curls.

Even more of a perfect night for running than last night (i.e., nice and cool temperatures, no wind, a clear-starry sky, with a snow covered Wasatch Mountain Front illuminating the light), I decided to do a majority of my running outside.  After work, I did run 2 miles at marathon pace on the treadmill.  Then I immediately headed home where I went on a 5.5-mile run (at an easy pace) through Big Cottonwood Park and around the neighborhoods surrounding the vacant lot which use to be the Cottonwood Mall.  What a perfect night for running!

In addition, I did sneak in some non-running exercise which consisted of 530 sit-ups, 150 (40, 30, 16 lbs) curls, and 20 (60, 50 lbs) reverse curls.

Again I split my running up between the treadmill and outside. After work, I did a 0.3-mile easy pace warm-up run and 1.7 miles at marathon pace on the treadmill.  I followed this up with a 2.1 mile run outside around the Big Cottonwood Park softball complex.

Due to the long run I am planning tomorrow, I concentrated more on my non-running workout today by doing 200 sit-ups, 12 bridges (held each for approximately ten seconds), 12 metronomes, 15 push-ups, 10 bench presses (100 lbs), 10 (80 lbs) pull downs, 190 (40, 30, 16 lbs) curls, and 70 (60, 50, 40, 30 lbs) reverse curls.

After catching up on my sleep a little bit last night (need to improve in this area), I went on my second of three long-slow runs that I am planning to get in before the Salt Lake Marathon.  I followed the same course that I ran on my first long run that took place on January 1st, a recap of the course is as follows:

Started at Big Cottonwood Park ran to 45th South and 5th East to Liberty Park to The Gateway (i.e., the last 8.3 miles of the Salt Lake Marathon Course) then up to the State Capital building (1 lap around it) to the mouth of City Creek Canyon to the University of Utah by way of 11th Avenue to Sugar House Park then back to Big Cottonwood Park.

Compared to the long run that I did on the first of this month, I added 2.1 miles of distance to the course by running a lap around the State Capital building and by taking a longer way both to Sugar House Park and home from Sugar House Park.  The total distance was 26.6 miles in a time of 4:12:00 (i.e., 9:28 minutes per mile).  Not a bad pace considering the traffic, snowy sidewalk conditions (especially on Foothill Blvd from 1500 to 2100 South), and that I stopped and jogged in place a few times to write down some notes.  In regards to the latter excuse for slowness, I always try to take a pin and notepad with me--especially on the long runs--and write down any great ideas that pop into my head; that is, on a four-plus-hour run there is plenty of time to think.  Katherine Switzer wrote about how she took notes on her long runs in her book Marathon Woman and I thought it was a tremendous idea; therefore, I incorporated it into my routine.

My non-running work out consisted of 200 sit-ups, 12 bridges (held each for approximately 10 seconds), and 12 metronomes.