Rosswog Running Blog

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).