Rosswog Running Blog

Tonight, I was able to finally get in stair running training for my Fight for Air Climb that is less than three months away.  I started out with a one-mile warm-up run on the treadmill before meeting up with one of my friends from work to hit the stairs.  Our building is consists of only three stories, but it’s a lot better than running up ice-covered bleachers at the local high school.  In just over 25 minutes, I completed the climb of our stairs 32 times.  Since I decided to run with two 8-lbs dumbbells, this workout was pretty brutal.  I’m relieved that I still have almost three more months to get into stair climbing shape.  To conclude my daily running workout, I did a 3.6-mile cool-down run on the flat treadmill.

My daily non-running workout consisted of 300 sit-ups, 30 push-ups, a 90-second wall sit, a 60-second plank on elbows and toes, and 40 (50 lbs) curls.

Following work, I hit the treadmill for a quick 1.7 mile run at an easy pace before heading home.  I then bundled up and went out for a 5k easy-pace, evening run around the neighborhood and up to Saint Mark’s Hospital before heading back by way of Big Cottonwood Park.

In regards to my non-running workout, I completed my new typical routine of 300 sit-ups, 30 push-ups, a 90-second wall sit, and a 60-second plank on elbows and toes.

Following a busy week at work, I hit the treadmill for a tempo run.  From Wednesday night stair workout, my quads were pretty sore.  However, once I got into a rhythm on the treadmill, the soreness started to dissipate.  Gradually increasing the speed from 7.0 to 10.2 throughout this workout, I completed 4.1 miles at an easy pace and 9.0 miles at marathon pace (I finished this treadmill half-marathon in a time of 1:29:54).

For my daily non-running workout, I was able to complete 300 sit-ups, 30 push-ups, a 90-second wall sit, and a 60-second plank on elbows and toes.

Since it was a red-burn day along the Wasatch Front, the Salt Lake Running Company Group was meeting up at the Utah Olympic Oval in order to avoid the Inversion.  Needing to catch up on my millage after a long workweek, I completed a total of 66 laps, which equates to just over 18.3 miles (average pace of 7:28 minutes per mile).  Fortunately, running with the SLRC group and the USA speed skating practice that was taking place made the laps go by quickly.

Besides a 7.8-mile bike ride in the afternoon to run some errands, I completed 300 sit-ups, 30 push-ups, a 90-second wall sit, and a 60-second plank on elbows and toes.

This Sunday morning, I woke up early and jogged three-fourths of a mile over to Big Cottonwood Park where I met up with my friend Soren and we proceeded to knock out 11.1 miles at a relatively easy pace (i.e., two mile at marathon pace and a 7:08 minutes per mile average pace). For this workout, we ran up to 2000 East and over to Sugar House Park then took a lap around the inner loop of the park before heading back.  It was great practice on miles 4.5 to 8.5 of the Salt Lake Marathon course.  Also, we did complete ten miles in a time of 1:11:38. 

In order to get in a stair workout, I followed this run up by jogging over to Granite High School and completed 55 repeats on the slushy-snow covered bleachers.  Hopefully by next weekend the snow will be cleared from the bleachers.  On the way back home, my legs just felt like, to use a coach Sloan term, mash potatoes.  Running stairs really exemplifies how weak my legs truly are.  I believe there is a stair climbing machine in the corner of my work’s gym; therefore, I’m going to dust it off and give it a try because as of right now, I’m in no shape to complete very many climbs for the Fight for Air Climb, my upcoming stair race at the end of February.

Finally, for my daily non-running workout, I was able to accomplish 300 sit-ups, 30 push-ups, a 90-second wall sit, and a 60-second plank on elbows and toes.

After putting in some solid miles this past weekend and a long day at work, it was definitely a recovery Monday for me. Consequently, after I got home from work, I went out for a late evening run around my neighborhood and up to Millcreek Elementary. On the way back, I ran through the parking garage at Saint Mark’s Hospital and noticed the stairwell next the elevator. As a result, I took the opportunity to run do two stair repeats (12 floors) before heading back home. In total, I was able to get in 4.2 miles at a slow pace and I discovered a new place to get in a stair workout.

In regards to my non-running workout, I was able to get in 300 sit-ups, 30 push-ups, a 90-second wall sit, and a 60-second plank on elbows and toes.

Following work, I ran on the treadmill for an even 2.0 miles at an easy pace before heading home.   When I got home, I put on the new weight vest (set to 12lbs) I just purchased then headed out for an evening run.  In order to get in some more practice on the stairs, I ran up to Saint Mark’s Hospital and ran the stairs at both the west and east parking garages (19 flights) then ran around the block between 3900 South and 4500 East and 1300 South & 1100 East.  I repeated this loop around the block and stair routine twice before calling it day.  In total, I was able to get in 5.1 miles at a relatively easy pace.

Lastly, for my non-running workout, I completed 300 sit-ups, 30 push-ups, a 90-second wall sit, and a 60-second plank on elbows and toes.

At the end of my work shift, I hopped on the treadmill and jogged 1.2 miles before heading home.  While listening to my Jazz lose a tough game to the Miami Heat on my walkman, I completed my daily running workout.  For this run, I headed up the Smith-Kiln Chimney at the Brickyard and back by way of Big Cottonwood Park where I completed two laps around the soft ball complex.  The total distance of this run was 6.1 miles at an easy pace.

My daily non-running workout consisted of 300 sit-ups, 30 push-ups, a 90-second wall sit, and a 60-second plank on elbows and toes.

Getting a little tired of the all the easy pace miles this week, I was psyched to get in an interval workout today.  However, after I got off work and headed down to the gym and I felt like I had very little energy while I was stretching.  So, I warmed up with a one-mile-tempo run on the treadmill by just increasing the speed up to 9.2 before commencing the interval part of my workout.  I completed three miles of half-mile intervals (i.e., the slow halves at 9.2 miles per hour, while the fast halves at 11.2) in a time of 17:53.  In short, I was just relieved to finish my third 11.2-speed-half-mile because the workout was really tough (i.e., my lungs were heavy and my body was just sore).  I cooled down with 0.7 of a mile at marathon pace followed a 1.5-mile jog.  This workout was just another reminder that I have a long ways to go to get into the shape that I want to be in.

For my daily non-running workout, I completed 300 sit-ups, 30 push-ups, a 90-second wall sit, and a 60-second plank on elbows and toes.

Following another busy workweek, I hit the treadmill for a 11.2 miles. I steadily increased the speed throughout this workout and ended up completing 2.5 miles of this distance at marathon pace while the rest of the mileage was at a relatively easy pace (my overall average pace of 7:13 minutes per mile). In addition, after I arrived at home I went out for a 1.1-mile jog around the neighborhood before calling it a day.

For my non-running workout, I was able to accomplish 300 sit-ups, 30 push-ups, a 90-second wall sit, and a 60-second plank on elbows and toes.

This Saturday morning, I woke up after a great night of sleep and jogged 3.4 miles down to the Salt Lake Running Company to meet up with the gang for a group run. For this workout, we ran up to Sugar House Park completed one lap around the outer trail of the park--by the way, most of the snow has ready melted along this trail--then four laps around the inner road of the park before heading back to the store. I was able to average a pace of 6:48 minutes per mile and my splits for this run were: 6:57, 7:53, 7:18, 6:31, 6:25, 6:40, 6:37, 6:45, 6:44, 6:14, and 3:22 (total time of 1:11:26 and we hit the ten-mile mark at 1:08:06). After recovering in the store from this really exhausting run (i.e., my running buddy Soren really outpaced me for second half of this run), I jogged the 3.4 miles back to home.

In regards to my non-running workout, I completed 300 sit-ups, 30 push-ups, a 90-second wall sit, and a 60-second plank on elbows and toes.

Early this Sunday morning I jogged 1.1 miles around the neighbor and over to Big Cottonwood Park where I met up with Soren for a Salt-Lake-Marathon-course training run. For this workout, we ran down 4500 South and entered the course at 700 East. We then proceeded to run miles 17.5 to 25.0 of the course; that is, up 500 East, around Liberty Park, over to State Street, and up to the Eagle Gate. We then returned to Big Cottonwood Park by way of running down South Temple to 600 East then down to 2700 South before zigzagging back over to the park. The total distance of this run was 17.0 miles at an average pace of 7:09 minutes per mile. For my cool down, I jogged 0.7 of a mile back to home to complete my daily running workout.

During breaks from my studies, I completed my non-running workout of 300 sit-ups, 30 push-ups, a 90-second wall sit, and a 70-second plank on elbows and toes.

I woke up with my right Achilles feeling pretty sore; therefore, I kept the pace pretty easy today.  Following another busy Monday at work, I completed a 10k on the treadmill (7:50 pace).  My right Achilles seemed to hold up pretty well until the last mile where my stride started to become pretty uncomfortable.  Hopefully after some ice and a good night of sleep, it will feel better.

For my non-running workout, I completed 300 sit-ups, 30 push-ups, a 90-second wall sit, and an 80-second plank on elbows and toes.

Following a busy day at work, I hit the treadmill for a 4.1-mile run at an easy pace (i.e., 7:50 minutes per mile).  Pressed for time and with my right Achilles still sore, I hit the treadmill for 4.1 miles at an easy pace.

My daily non-running workout consisted of 300 sit-ups, 30 push-ups, a 90-second wall sit, and an 80-second plank on elbows and toes.

Another arrive-early-and-stay-late day at work; therefore, I felt pretty tired and headed home.  When I got home, I dug down deep to get the energy to head out for a short, easy-pace, late-evening run up to the Smith-Kiln Chimney at the brickyard and back.  The total distance of this run was 4.5 miles.  Also, I discovered that I stressed out my Achilles from running near the gutter on a pretty curved street.

For my non-running workout, I completed 300 sit-ups, 30 push-ups, a 90-second wall sit, and an 80-second plank on elbows and toes.

Following another super busy workday (i.e., definitely a theme for this week), I hit the treadmill for 14.1 miles (i.e., 7:40 minutes per mile).  I kept my Zoot recovery socks on during this workout and my right Achilles felt relatively good except for the last half of a mile when it just seemed to get tired.  Also, it just felt good to get caught on my weekly mileage!

In regards to my non-running workout, I was able to get in 300 sit-ups, 30 push-ups, 40 (50 lbs) curls, a 90-second wall sit, and an 80-second plank on elbows and toes.

After finishing up a long day and week at work, I hit the treadmill for 7.2 miles at an easy pace before calling it day. Lots of long days at work this week and short nights of sleep, but it always feels good to get in a run before the weekend.

For my non-running routine, I completed 300 sit-ups, 30 push-ups, a 90-second wall sit, and an 80-second plank on elbows and toes.

I was up bright and early this morning to hit the roads.  I jogged 3.4 miles down to the Salt Lake Running Company where I met up with our ever-growing gang for a group run.  I felt so good after my jog and with my right Achilles feeling much better, I decided to keep my splits below 6:50 for this workout that consisted of running up to Sugar House Park and completing a single lap around the park’s snow-covered parameter trail then four laps around the inter road of the park before heading back to the store.  The total distance of this run was 10.4 miles at a marathon pace (6:41 minutes per mile); that is, my splits were as follows: 6:47, 6:48, 6:46, 6:35, 6:37, 6:41, 6:49, 6:41, 6:33, 6:35, and 2:37 (1:06:53 for ten miles and 1:09:29 overall).  I just felt really good during and after this run!  On the way back home, I completed some holiday-related errands; therefore, I was able to get in 5.15 miles at an easy pace.

After watching the 2010 Ironman World Championships this afternoon (by the way, I need to learn how to swim), I was motivated.  Well, at least to ride the bike.  Consequently, I jumped on my bike for a 7.65-mile ride into Sugar House and on the way back, I stopped by Granite High School to get in some stair training for the Fight for Air Climb.  I was able to get in 100 bleacher repeats which equaled a 1.85 slow mile on my Garmin.  Lastly, nothing beats running on a cool winter night under a clear and partly-cloudily sky with a full moon.  What a great running night!

My non-running workout consisted of 300 sit-ups, 30 push-ups, and a 90-second wall sit.

5-minute Plank Challenge:  first of all, this craze started by Allie is, deservedly so, a separate paragraph now on my blog and this movement has spread to my place of employment and to our SLRC group.  In regards to the latter, after the group run this morning, I informed everyone of this challenge and we all ended up on floor in the plank position.  Due to all the encouragement of my friends, I was able to set a plank personal record with a time of 2:00.  However, my body was just trembling for the last fifteen-seconds and I ended up in the fetal position afterwards.

This Sunday morning, I woke up early and jogged 0.65 of a mile over to Big Cottonwood Park to run with my buddy Soren.  It was just drizzling and when we started out, but it progressively came down harder throughout the run.  Since it was un-seasonally warm, the rain never turned to snow.  For this run, we ran up and over to The Blue Plate Diner on 2100 South then ran miles 3.5 to 10.5 on the Salt Marathon Course.  When we got past Murray-Holladay Road on Holladay Boulevard, we cut down the street that the Post Office is on and ran the scenic Walker Lane rout to Highland Drive before heading back to the park.  The total distance of this run was an even 16.0 miles at a relatively easy pace (i.e., 7:45 minutes per mile).  However, we were completely soaked and it was a tough and challenging workout, but much needed.  I then cooled down by jogging the 0.65 of a mile back to home.

For my daily non-running workout, I completed 300 sit-ups, 30 push-ups, and a 90-second wall sit.

5-minute Plank Challenge:  2:05 (another PR, but brutally harsh)

After a busy Monday at work, I hit the treadmill for 2.0 miles at an easy pace before deciding to head home and out for an evening run over up to Crest View Elementary and back by way of Big Cottonwood Park and completing five laps around the softball complex. The total distance of this evening run was 4.4 miles at any easy pace.

My non-running workout, I completed 300 sit-ups, 30 push-ups, and a 90-second wall sit.

5-minute Plank Challenge: 1:30 (a setback today, but after my evening run, I just could not last that long)

Following work I hit the treadmill for 1.6 miles at a relatively easy pace before deciding to head home and out for an evening run.  For this 4.6-mile run, I ran up to the Smith-Kiln Chimney then around the Brickyard Shopping Plaza before heading back to home.

In regards to my non-running workout, I completed my typical routine of 300 sit-ups, 30 push-ups, and a 90-second wall sit.

5-minute Plank Challenge:  2:10 (a PR and a good bounce back from yesterday’s 90-second plank)

After a busier than even normally busy day at work, I met up with a few of my colleagues to prep for the Fight for Air Climb by running the stairs in our office building.  For this stair training run, I tried out my weight vest on it (I set it for only 12 pounds, but for some reason it feels very heavy to carry around; that is, I’m not use to clothing weighting that much).  In 25 minutes, I made it up the three stories of our building 40 times (by my calculations, 2 miles) which was better than my previous record of 32!  By the way, I was so happy to remove my weight vest after this workout.  My longer term plan is to use this vest for the last few miles of my long runs. 

Following our stair workout, I hit the treadmill for a 4.2 mile run at a very relaxed pace.  It just felt great just to run on level ground!

My non-running consisted of 300 sit-ups, 30 push-ups, and a 90-second wall sit.

5-minute Plank Challenge:  2:15 (another PR and this was followed by a plank I could hold for only 90-seconds because my colleague from work kept my laughing the entire time while he tried to hold his plank)

I hit the treadmill after work for a quick one mile run before heading home and out for a 5.2-mile evening run up the Smith-Kiln Chimney and around the Brickyard Shopping Plaza and back.   Do to the dark, fog, and from just being tall and clumsy; I almost knocked myself out on the way back home from this run when I ducked under some low hanging twigs but ended up ramming the top of my head straight into a big branch.  A big time stinger to say the least!

In regards to my non-running workout, I completed my typical routine of 300 sit-ups, 30 push-ups, and a 90-second wall sit.

5-minute Plank Challenge:  2:20 (another PR)

Following another 60-plus hour work week (one month down of this schedule and probably two more to go until things settle down and I can at least cut back to around fifty), I was so done.  In short, it was a very tough 14.2-mile workout on the treadmill (average pace of an even 7:00 minutes per mile).  I tried to fight through heavy legs from my stair workout on Wednesday, a sore core from my week of planks, and a still throbbing head from running into that tree yesterday.  By the way, I still cannot believe the latter happened and it still feels like someone knocked me over the head with a baseball bat.  However, this is what you get when you are tall and run like a freaking out-of-control ninny around town late at night.  When I feel better, I’ll laugh about it. 

My non-running workout consisted of 300 sit-ups, 30 push-ups, and a 90-second wall sit.

5-minute Plank Challenge:  2:25 (another PR and my core is absolutely feeling sore today)

Have a great Christmas weekend!

Merry Christmas!  Okay, after a short night of sleep I headed out for a 6:00 am Saturday-morning run by jogging 0.65 of a mile over to Big Cottonwood Park.  I met up with with my running buddy Soren and we knocked out our infamous 5.25-mile hill workout up to the Mt. Olympus trailhead.  My legs were especially heavy on the way up and we touched the gate in a respectable time of 47:46 (splits: 8:49, 8:30, 8:16, 9:44, 10:03, and 9:53).  By the way, for the last mile of this ascent, I felt that the work I have been doing on the stairs was paying off in that my legs were not wearing down as fast.  The cold morning air seemed to clear my head especially on the 5.25-mile decent.  Following workout, I jogged the 0.65 of mile back to home to fill up my water bottled and grabbed my breakfast (i.e., two slices of delicious banana-nut bread) before heading back out.  Since I needed to get in some practice on the stairs, I ran down to Granite High School and accomplished ten quick bleacher repeats before returning to home and calling it a day.  The total distance of this run was 4.9 miles at a relaxed pace.

For my non-running workout, I completed 300 sit-ups, 30 push-ups, and a 90-second wall-sit.

5-minute Plank Challenge:  2:00 (knocked out two two-minute planks; that is, building up for a run at a 2:30 plank)

It was another early-Sunday morning run in that I jogged over to Big Cottonwood Park and met up with Soren.  By the way, it was colder than yesterday hill workout even though we were starting out thirty minutes later.  We were planning on a sixteen-mile run, but of course it ended up a little longer.  Eager to get some more practice on the Salt Lake Marathon Course we took 1300 East up to 400 South then headed up through campus to the starting line.  Of course, it was a Rocky-like run up the Huntsman Center steps (I’ll take all the practice I can get at running stairs with my race just two months away).  Once at the starting line--the Olympic Legacy Bridge--I glanced at me Garmin (it read 7.2 miles in just over fifty minutes), took a quick drink of Knoa Kola (I love this drink) then it was on.  We cover the first eight miles of the Salt Lake Marathon course mainly working on our form and steadily trying to increase the pace until breaking it off at Keeler Lane and returning to Big Cottonwood Park.  The total distance of this run was 17.5 miles at a 7:04 with the following splits: 7:17, 7:07, 7:01, 7:10, 7:09, 7:28, 7:48, 7:07, 6:45, 6:40, 6:45, 6:56, 7:07, 7:02, 7:07, 6:56, 6:48, and 3:32.  I jogged the 0.65 of a mile back to home and had a much needed breakfast.

My non-running workout, I completed 300 sit-ups, 30 push-ups, and a 90-second wall-sit.

5-minute Plank Challenge:  2:00 (again two two-minute planks and I’ll try for a 2:30 plank tomorrow)

Following work I took on one of the old rickety treadmills (i.e., two of my colleagues beat me down to the gym and were on the good treadmills) with no real expectations after a couple of solid runs over the weekend.  However, after I started running I felt good enough to make this a tempo run.  Consequently, I completed 6.3 miles at a 6:55 minutes-per-mile pace (increased the speed from 7.0 to 10.0 mph).

In regards to my non-running workout, I completed 300 sit-ups, 30 push-ups, a 90-second wall-sit, 10 metronomes, and 60 (50 lbs) curls.

5-minute Plank Challenge:  1:30 (tired and disappointed; I could have probably struggled through 10 more seconds, but I just felt exhausted)

Today was a recovery day for me; therefore, after work I hit the treadmill for a one mile jog on before heading home and out for an evening run.  For this 5k evening run, I ran over to Big Cottonwood Park and battled the wind for four laps around the softball complex before heading back to home. 

My daily non-running workout consisted of 300 sit-ups, 30 push-ups, and a 90-second wall-sit.

5-minute Plank Challenge:  2:00 (I was luck to complete this and it’s starting to sink in that this is going to be a long-term project for me)

It was my best treadmill interval workout today pre-D-News Marathon!!!  In other words, even though it was short and exhausting, I had no sensation that my left hamstring was going to get pulled again.  I completed three miles of half-mile intervals (i.e., the slow halves at 9.2 miles per hour, while the fast halves at 11.2) in a time of 17:56.  I continued on at 11.2 for another tenth of a mile to register a 5k time of 18:25 before completing a 1.5-mile cool down.

In regards to my daily non-running workout, I completed 300 sit-ups, 30 push-ups, and a 90-second wall-sit.5

5-minute Plank Challenge:  2:30 (however, this was a straight arm plank which painfully uncomfortable in its own way)

I need more sleep, so my solution is to get up earlier for a morning run.  If I can somehow establish this schedule (i.e., I’m normally not a morning runner), there will be no need to go out for any late evening runs that take me one to two hours to cool-down from.  Consequently, my hypothesis is that I will get more quality sleep under this morning-run schedule.  However, this means early to bed and insanely early to rise.  Anyway, for this morning’s workout the roads were covered with snow which was still coming down.  I ran an even 4.0 miles up to the Smith-Kiln Chimney then halfway around the Brickyard Shopping Plaza and back.  The pace was slow going (8:43 minutes-per-mile).  I’m hoping to pick it up a little bit on the treadmill after work. 

I woke up this morning and realized that I really need to put out all my running cloths the night before because it takes too long to get everything together in the morning.  For this workout, I ran up the old Villa Theater and back for a total distance of 5.0 miles.  It was another slow pace run due to all the snow and ice, but I love the sound of the snow crunching underweight each footfall.  I’m aiming to get in some mileage on the treadmill after work today in order to wrap-up my running for 2010.

Okay, I’m so disappointed, no miles on the treadmill since I worked late tonight.  I figured it was better to call it a year and to get some sleep in order to brave the cold tomorrow morning.

For my daily non-running workout, I completed 300 sit-ups, 30 push-ups, and two 100-second wall-sit (I’m going to have to work up to three of these per day).

5-minute Plank Challenge:  2:38 (PR and tried to hold it until 2:40, but ended up completely collapsing and when I looked up I saw my Garmin just changing to 2:40)