Rosswog Running Blog

After a long work week and a well-deserved night of catching up on my sleep (after reading the latest Runner’s World article on the importance of sleep, I have come to the realization that I need to get more of it), I decided to go out for two runs today.  The first run was a late morning run where I ran over to Smith’s then up to the Cottonwood Country Club before heading back to home by way of Big Cottonwood Park.  In the evening I repeated this run, but in the opposite direction; that is, to the Cottonwood Country Club by way of Big Cottonwood Park then down to Smith’s before heading back to home.  The total distance of these combined runs was 14.4 miles at an easy pace.

It was back to working on the Push-up Challenge today; therefore, repeating day eleven (i.e., week 4, day 2).  This time, I completed a total of 130 push-ups over the following five sets that consisted of 25, 25, 25, 25, and 30 push-ups.  In addition, I was able to get in 200 sit-ups.

Since the D-News Marathon, today was the first workout where I tried to maintain a solid pace throughout the first two-thirds of the run and push the pace during the final third of the workout.  After reading the morning paper, I headed out for my typical Sugar House Park run; that is, to Sugar House Park by way of 2000 South then completing a run around the outer and inter loops of the park then heading back by way of Big Cottonwood Park to complete a little more than a lap of the softball complex before returning to home.  The average pace for this 14.6-mile run was 7:48 and I completed it in a time of 1:53:57. Mile thirteen felt especially great in that I completed it in a time 6:50.

In regards to my non-running workout, I accomplished 200 sit-ups and 28 push-ups.

Unless I’m running the Deseret News Marathon, I never go out for a run before 6:00 am.  However, I decided to try to do something new today in order to get my weekly mileage up; that is, I’m trying to increase my mileage from a minimum of 56 to 60 miles per week and last week was my first week of this effort (i.e., 60.2 miles for the week).  Consequently, I headed out at 5:25 am for an easy pace 1.3-mile run over to Big Cottonwood Park, one lap around the soft ball complex, and back.  I have to leave for work at 6:15 am; therefore, I had to keep this run short, but it felt great and really woke me up!

Following work, I ran on the treadmill for 6.1 miles.  In order to break this workout up a little bit, I ran the first two miles at an easy pace, then the next two at marathon pace, followed by a tenth-of-a-mile cool down, then the final two miles at an easy pace in my Vibram Five Fingers.

In addition, for my non-running workout, I got in a nice bike ride to and from work for a total for 32.5 miles, 200 sit-ups, 25 push-ups, 50 (50, 40, 30 lbs) curls, and 20 (50 lbs) reverse curls.

Since I worked late today, I only had a little over a half-hour to workout in my firm’s gym.  As a result, I only got in 4.2 miles (with 2.2 miles of this distance a marathon pace) of running on the treadmill.

Following work, I hit the treadmill for some speed training.  I ran 5 miles of half-mile intervals (i.e., the slow halves at 8.7 miles per hour, while the fast halves at 10.7) and completed it in a time of 31:20.  The first two miles of this workout were difficult; that is, it felt like my body had not woken up yet.  I followed this interval workout with a 0.3-mile cool down at a marathon pace.  After work I got home, I deiced to go out for an evening run in which I ran over to Big Cottonwood Park and completed two laps around the softball complex before heading back.  The total distance of this run was 1.7 miles at an easy pace.  Also, with the winds and brush fires, the air was particularly bad; therefore, I cut this run short.

For my non-running workout, it was another repeat of day eleven (i.e., week 4, day 2) of the Push-up Challenge.  This time, I completed a total of 126 push-ups over the following five sets that consisted of 25, 25, 25, 25, and 26 push-ups.  I felt pretty weak today; therefore, these push-ups were absolutely a challenge.  In addition, I was able to get in 200 sit-ups, 25 push-ups, 50 (50, 40, 30 lbs) curls, and 20 (50 lbs) reverse curls.

Since I was planning watch the Red Sox and Yankees game after work, during my lunch break I hit the treadmill and ran 4.4 miles at marathon.  This was the first time that I ran during my lunch break and it really woke me up for the second half of my day.  After I got home from the game I went on an easy pace 2.5-mile run that covered through the Holladay neighborhoods.  I was planning to run a little further, but my stomach felt a little upset (i.e., during the game, I ate too much food to run on); therefore, I turned around earlier than expected and headed home.

My non-running workout consisted of 200 sit-ups, 28 push-ups, 30 (40, 30 lbs) curls, and 20 (50 lbs) reverse curls.

Shortly after I awoke and looked through the morning newspaper, I headed out the door for a run downtown to the Salt Lake City Library and back.  On the way to the Library, I ran three laps around Liberty Park (one lap with a friend from work).  Surprisingly, for the 18.1-mile at an easy pace, the weather was nice and cool.  It truly felt like October and not August.

In regards to my non-running workout, I completed 200 sit-ups and 25 push-ups.

It was another cool and beautiful morning for running along the Wasatch Front.  Even though I was not looking forward to it (i.e., I’m still learning to embrace running hills), I did a hill workout today.  I completed the 5.84-mile run up to the Mount Olympus Trailhead in a time of 55:14.  This was by no means my fastest time for this run, but absolute a workout.  On the way back down, I ran one lap of Oakridge Elementary track and one half of a lap around the Big Cottonwood Park softball complex.  Also on the descent, I concentrated on picking up the pace a little bit by getting miles in at 6:56, 6:20, and 5:52.  The total distance of this run was 12.5.  This was also my second week (i.e., since I started running over four years ago, I measure my weeks from Monday through Sunday) of getting in at least 60 miles (completed 61.1 miles, my second highest weekly total ever--63.3 miles is my highest).  So far, so go with the increase in mileage!

Today was also another repeat of day eleven (i.e., week 4, day 2) of the Push-up Challenge.  This time, I completed a total of 130 push-ups over the following five sets that consisted of 25, 25, 25, 25, and 30 push-ups.  In addition, I was able to sneak in 200 sit-ups while watching the Sunday morning news programs.

Following work, I hit the treadmill and ran 3.2 miles.  With the exception of 1.2 miles, this workout was mostly at an easy pace.  After I got home, I added on an extra easy-pace mile around the neighborhood.

My non-running workout consisted of 200 sit-ups, 25 push-ups, 30 (50, 40, 30 lbs) curls, and 20 (60, 50 lbs) reverse curls.

It was a speed play day for me.  After work, I ran 6 miles of half-mile intervals (i.e., the slow halves at 8.7 miles per hour, while the fast halves at 10.7) and completed it in a time of 37:09.  This interval workout felt much better than the one I completed last Thursday.  I followed this interval workout with a 0.1-mile run at marathon pace and a 0.7-mile cool down at an easy pace.

For my non-running workout, I completed 200 sit-ups, 25 push-ups, 30 (50, 40, 30 lbs) curls, and 20 (50 lbs) reverse curls.

Even though I got off of work later than normal today, I was still able to get in my running workout on my favorite treadmill before biking home.  This run consisted of 3.5 miles at an easy pace and 2.6 miles at marathon pace.  In addition, I was able to complete 3.1 miles of this run while wearing my Vibram Five Fingers.

Along with getting in a nice 32.1-mile bike ride to and from work, I completed 200 sit-ups, 30 (50, 40, 30 lbs) curls, 20 (50 lbs) reverse curls, and another repeat of day eleven (i.e., week 4, day 2) of the Push-up Challenge.  In regards to the latter, I achieved a total of 128 push-ups over the following five sets that consisted of 25, 25, 25, 25, and 28 push-ups.  Overall, today was a little bit of a drain, but a great workout!

Even though I was a little bit tired today (i.e., once again I’ll be paying off my sleep debt over the weekend), it jumped on the treadmill after work.  I did not want to take any of my workout home with me; therefore, I did my entire 6.4-mile run on the treadmill.  In regards to this run, I split it in half by completing 3.2 miles at both an easy and marathon pace.  In addition, I did half on my workout in my Vibram Five Fingers.

My non-running workout consisted of 200 sit-ups, 30 push-ups, 50 (50, 40, 30 lbs) curls, and 20 (50 lbs) reverse curls.

This morning I went out for one of my rare sub-6:00-am runs.  In addition, for the first time since purchasing a pair of Five Fingers over a year ago, I ran outside with them.  In short, the treadmill is a lot softer than the road and you really feel the gravel poke at the bottom of your feet.  Wow, I really felt it every time my heel hit the road and was basically running on my toes (i.e., like tiptoeing over hot coals) for the first half of a mile.  However, near the end of my 1.6-mile experiment to Big Cottonwood Park and back, my feet were feeling more comfortable with the terrain even though I was averaging a cautious 10:00 minute-per-mile pace.

After work I mixed in two run; that is, one on the treadmill and another over to Mill Creek Elementary and back by way 1500 South and Big Cottonwood Park.  The combined distance of these runs was 5.2 miles (mostly at an easy pace with one mile at marathon pace).

In regards to my non-running workout, I completed 200 sit-ups, 25 push-ups, 60 (50, 40, 30 lbs) curls, and 20 (50 lbs) reverse curls.

For some reason, I rarely ever compete in races shorter the 26.2 miles.  However, over the last couple of years, I have been trying to expand my horizons to experience the joy of running races at various distances.  As a result, I woke up early this morning (another thing I usually do not do), did my non-running workout (200 sit-ups and 25 push-ups), and headed up to City Creek Canyon for the annual Half Road/Half Trail 8k (i.e., a Sports-AM race).

Since I was incorporating this race into my larger Saturday workout, I took the bus into town and got off at the Cathedral of the Madeleine and ran up B Street to the road that loops around to the front of City Creek Canyon.  The sky was pretty cloudy and menacing when I left home and shortly after I started to ascend through the Avenues, the rain really started to pour.  There was really no need for an iPod because the roaring thunder provided the soundtrack.  In addition, the wind began to gust so bad that I figured the only way to keep the hood of my windbreak over my head was to just duck my head and run.  Of course, if you are over six-and-a-half feet tall it’s a good idea to look up every so often while when you are running; that is, I ran straight into a low hanging branch while trying to plow my way through the wind and the rain up B Street.  For anyone that witnessed this collision outside their kitchen window, I’m okay and I’m not completely crazy; that is, just a neophyte runner trying to make to the starting line.

I arrived at the mouth of City Creek Canyon forty minutes before the start and huddled with the other early birds underneath a small tent.  Just before the 8:00 am start, there was a break in the rain and wind began to calm down.  However, the morning rain resulted in two changes to the race.  First, the half-trail part of the race was closed.  It was a bummer since I was hoping to gain some trail running experience for my race in September; however, I do not blame the race director for closing off this part of the race for safety purposes (it was absolutely the correct decision).  This meant the race was an 8k out and back on the City Creek Canyon road (note: I believe the course was slightly shorter than 4.9 miles because the indirectness of the trail was eliminated).  Second, our timing chips were removed because there was a pool of standing water at the start line.  These rain-related changes equated to a fast pace, manually timed race.

Almost from the start of the race, this one runner took control and made the course look easy.  From my splits (see below), he seemed to be a good 5-10 seconds faster than me per mile.  I tried to catch up with him, but he was way too fast.  However, as long as he remained in sight, he definitely pushed me along and it was neat to watch him fly back down the canyon after the turnaround.  After the race, I found out his PR for the marathon is an amazing 2:27!  Wow, this is a whole notha’ level of running!!!  In short, I finished in a time of 27:07 and my splits were as follows: 6:29, 6:51, 6:08, 5:18, and 2:21 (this last one was basically a half-mile split). 

THE BEST PART:  it started to rain again after the race started and the intensity of the down pour just continued to increase through out.  When I crossed the finish line, I was completely soaked, but happy to have finished.  Since my clothes were waterlogged, it was just fun to standout there as the rain continued to pelt down and cheer on my fellow weekend runners as they fought through the conditions and crossed the finish line.  There were many fast times and great achievements on this rainy Saturday morning!    

After the post-race festivities, the rain began to let up for good and I dried out by running back home (I ran 14.6 non-racing miles at an easy pace).  As I ran down Capital Hill, I had a tremendous view of our great city as the weather began to clear up.  Also, I took advantage of the cool weather by running two laps of Liberty Park before heading down 500 East to home.  In summary, it was an eventful race and great workout!

Since I got out of bed early for a Sunday morning run, there was little traffic.  As a result, I decided to push the pace a little bit over the mainly flat terrain of the course, which consisted of running over to the Jordan River Parkway then 2.5 miles north on the trail before returning to home.  I ran the first mile at a relatively easy pace (i.e., 7:41) to get warmed up.  Then I just focused on pushing the pace all the way to the end of the workout.  I accomplished my personal objective at keeping the miles per minute under seven and ended up running the entire workout (including the warm-up mile) at a 6:42 pace.  This workout felt great and my legs recovered well from yesterday’s race and long run.

Also, while watching the Sunday morning news programs, I completed 200 sit-ups and 25 push-ups.

Following a long night and day of working of projects, I jumped on the treadmill and ran 6.2 miles.  Since I did not get much sleep the night before, this was a sluggish run.  However, I did get in two miles at marathon pace while the rest was at an easy pace.

Since I rode my bike to work and accomplished some good workouts over the weekend, I decided to take it easy on the running today.  As a result, I ran a total of 4.6 miles on the treadmill with a 0.6-mile easy-pace warm up followed be 4 miles at marathon pace.  This workout also involved one-and-a-half miles of running in me Nike Frees.

In addition to getting in an enjoyable 31.9-mile bike ride to and from work, I completed 200 sit-ups, 20 (50 lbs) butterflies, 100 (50, 40, 30 lbs) curls, and 30 (50 lbs) reverse curls.

I felt a little sluggish during my treadmill workout today (i.e., I need to get more sleep at that recent Runner’s World article on the importance of sleep is absolutely on my mind). However, I was able to get in a total of 6.1 miles (4 miles in my Nike Frees) and pick up the pace from easy to marathon pace for the final two miles of this distance.

Additionally, I repeated day eleven (i.e., week 4, day 2) of the Push-up Challenge. For this go at it, I did a total of 126 push-ups over the following five sets of 25, 25, 25, 25, and a max out set of 26 push-ups. Also, I was able to get in 200 sit-ups, 50 (50, 40, and 30 lbs) curls, and 20 (50 lbs) reverse curls.

This morning I was able to go out for one of my rare but becoming more common sub-6:000-am runs.  I did a short 1.5-mile run for only the second time in my Vibram Five Fingers.  I’m still getting use to running on the hard roads without any support on my feet.  For this run I ran over to Big Cottonwood Park and took a lap around the softball complex before heading back.

During my lunch break, in order to wakeup my legs, I hit the treadmill for a 0.2 mile run in my Nike Frees on the treadmill.  Following work, I ran 5 miles of half-mile intervals (i.e., the slow halves at 8.7 miles per hour, while the fast halves at 10.7) and completed it in a time of 31:01.  This interval workout felt much better than the one I completed last Thursday.  I followed this interval workout with a 0.4-mile cool-down run to marathon pace.

For my non-running workout, I completed 200 sit-ups, 25 push-ups, 20 (50 lbs) butterflies, 140 (50, 40, 30, 16 lbs) curls, and 20 (50 lbs) reverse curls.

Today was strictly a treadmill workout.  After the end of my workweek, I jumped on the treadmill of 6.2 miles.  In regards to this distance, I ran half of it at an easy pace and the other half at marathon pace.

I finished up with another repeat of day eleven (i.e., week 4, day 2) of the Push-up Challenge. This time I did a total of 128 push-ups over the following five sets of 25, 25, 25, 25, and a max out set of 28 push-ups.  In addition, I was able to complete 200 sit-ups, 40 (50, 40, and 30 lbs) curls, and 20 (50 lbs) reverse curls.

Following a great night of sleep, I got for a nice early morning run.   I was glad that I got out early because we’re back to the usual hot-and-dry August climate along the Wasatch Front.  Anyways, for this workout, I ran a total of 16.7 miles at an easy pace, which involved running up to Liberty Park where I completed one-and-a-half laps around the park before heading up to the Salt Lake City Library.  After doing some research on the CFA study material, I ran back home stopping by Granite High School—my old stomping grounds—where I did one lap around the track.  With Granite High closing, Judge Memorial High School is taking over the football field for a year since their field is going through some major repair.  Consequently, it’s strange to see a banner that declares the filed is home to the Judge Bulldogs one of our rivals.  However, it’s good to see that the field is being used even if it is just for a year.

My non-running was short and sweet today in that I only completed the standard 200 sit-ups and 25 push-ups.

For my Sunday morning run, I decided to hit the trails of my local park.  After a short jog over to Big Cottonwood Park, I ran 12 laps around the parameter of the park.  Even though I kept an easy pace throughout this run (completed the entire run in 1:58:21; that is, a 8:09 minute-per-mile pace), I was able to get in some great off-road experience that will hopefully payoff in my upcoming half-marathon trail race in September.

While watching the Sunday morning news shows, I completed my non-running workout, which consisted of 200 sit-ups and 50 push-ups.

At first I did not want to get up for my sub-6:00-am wakeup run; that is, I was really trying to think of every excuse possible to justify a 20 minutes of sleeping in. However, eventually I got out of the door and loved every minute of my short 1.7-mile morning run in my Vibram Five Fingers. For this wakeup workout, I ran over to Big Cottonwood Park and completed two laps of the softball complex before heading back home. Once I got started, I actually felt like going for an eight-ten-mile run (which would have actually entailed a sub-5:00-am run), but I had to get to work.

I was not planning do intervals today; however, since my legs felt strong and considering the busy week ahead, I decide to just go for it. As a result, after work I ran 4 miles of half-mile intervals (i.e., the slow halves at 8.7 miles per hour, while the fast halves at 10.7) and completed it in a time of 24:43. I followed this interval workout with a 0.4-mile cool-down run (0.1 of a mile at marathon pace and 0.3 of a mile at an easy pace).

Today was also another repeat of day eleven (i.e., week 4, day 2) of the Push-up Challenge. For the second straight Push-up Challenge day, I completed 128 push-ups over the following five sets of 25, 25, 25, 25, and a max out set of 28 push-ups. In addition, I was able to accomplish 200 sit-ups, 130 (50, 40, 30, 16 lbs) curls, and 20 (60, 50 lbs) reverse curls.

Sub-6:00-am training runs are starting to become a habit for me.  It’s so nice and peaceful at 5:20 am (i.e., you can really just relax and think about the tasks that lay ahead of you for the day), it’s an excellent wake up, and a great feeling of accomplishment.  For today’s morning run, I ran over to Big Cottonwood Park and completed 3 laps of the softball complex before heading back home.  The total distance of this run was 2.2 miles at an easy pace in my Vibram Five Fingers.

Following work, I headed straight home and ran up to the Salt Lake Running Company (round trip: 4.2 miles at an easy pace) to participate in a Chi Running clinic.  Having read the book and watched the video, I’m a big practitioner of Chi Running.  Mary Lindahl--a Master Chi Running Instructor--did an excellent job with the workshop and it really made me aware of how inefficient my running form still is; that is, I still have a lot of work to do in this area.  My takeaways from this clinic are to work on running from my core (i.e., achieve the road coming to me feeling), learning what my optimal cadence is, and watching more video of myself running (i.e., Mary did an awesome job of identifying what you need to look for when you watch yourself run).

Finally for my non-running workout, I completed 200 sit-ups, 32 push-ups, 60 (30, 16 lbs) curls, and 20 (50 lbs) reverse curls.

This morning was my third straight sub-6:00-am run! Wearing my Vibram Five Fingers, I ran over to Big Cottonwood Park and completed one lap around the softball complex before heading back home. The total distance of this run was 1.3-miles at an easy pace (i.e., I shorten this wakeup run a little bit because I was biking to work).

I completed my fourth consecutive day of sub-6:00-am training runs!  Again, at an easy pace and wearing my Vibram Five Fingers, I ran over to Big Cottonwood Park and completed one-and-a-half laps around the softball complex before heading back home for a total distance of 1.5 miles.  My feet are feeling great, but my calves are sure burning (i.e., I hope I’m not running too much on my toes).

This morning, I completed an entire workweek of sub-6:00-am runs (this is a good accomplishment for a non-morning runner). Wearing my Vibram Five Fingers, I ran over to Big Cottonwood Park and completed one lap around the softball complex before heading back. The total distance of this wakeup run was 1.3 miles at an easy pace. After work, I did my full interval workout by accomplishing 6 miles of half-mile intervals (i.e., the slow halves at 8.7 miles per hour, while the fast halves at 10.7) in a time of 36:58. I followed this interval workout with a 0.2-mile cool-down run at marathon pace.

In addition to riding my bike to and from work for a round trip of 32 miles, my non-running workout consisted of 200 sit-ups, 30 push-ups, 20 (50 lbs) butterflies, 150 (50, 40, 30, 16 lbs) curls, and 20 (50 lbs) reverse curls.

 After I got out of bed this morning, I went for a run down to Liberty Park where I jogged one lap of the park with a friend from work before running over the downtown library.  After study for the CFA for about an hour, I took one lap around the City Hall before running back home by way of Granite High School where I completed one lap around the old track.  The total distance of this workout was 16.3 miles at an easy pace.

For my non-running routine, it was short and sweet in that I only completed 200 sit-ups and push-ups (i.e., I need some recovering time after putting my body through the wringer all week).

Following a nice good night of sleep, I woke up and immediately headed out for a Sunday morning run.  For this run, I went over to the Cottonwood Country Club, up to the Pioneer Flour-Mill Marker above Evergreen Junior High School, then down to Harmon’s to pick up a few groceries before heading home.  The total distance of this run was 13.6 miles at an easy pace.  Also, this was my fifth-straight week (Mon-Sun) of running at least 60 miles!  As a result, I now feel comfortable saying that running a minimum of 60 miles per week is a norm for me.

Today was also another repeat of day eleven (i.e., week 4, day 2) of the Push-up Challenge for me. This time I completed 125 push-ups over five sets of 25 push-ups.  In addition, I was also able to get in 200 sit-ups while watching the Sunday morning news programs.

Even though I stayed up late last night in order to get some deliverables completed for work, I managed to get out the door for this morning for a 1.3-mile run over to and round the softball complex at Big Cottonwood Park and back. I completed this sub-6:00 am at an easy pace in my Vibram Five Fingers.

Following work, I hopped on the tread mill and ran a sluggish 2.5 miles at an easy pace.  After I got home, I went out for a short0.7-mile around the neighborhood before calling it day.

In regards to my non-running workout, I completed 200 sit-ups, 25 push-ups, 150 (50, 40, 30, 16 lbs) curls, and 20 (50 lbs) reverse curls.