Rosswog Running Blog

It was another Sunday-morning hill workout in preparation for The Ragnar.  This time I ran down 5th East (i.e., along the Salt Lake City Marathon course) to Liberty Park, then up to North Temple, then over to West High School.  Once at West, I ran one mile on the track before heading up to 3rd North where I did four hill-repeats up to the west side of the State Capital Building.  This part of 3rd North is less than a third of a mile; however, it gains approximately 220 feet in elevation.  As a result, even though I was working extremely hard on the uphill climbs, I never broke a 10-minute per mile pace on any of my four climbs.  Needless to say, I have my work cutout for me in preparing for The Ragnar.  The total distance of my combined running was 15.3 miles at a slow, but not always easy pace.

In regards to my non-running workout, I was able to complete 200 sit-up and 27 push-ups.

Today I was in San Francisco for a short two-day business trip. This was my first time to San Fran; however, I have always wanted to go in order to run the hills that Jerry Rice trained on.  During the evening, I went out for an easy pace run up Market Street to Powell Street, then following the trolley course up Powell Street to California Street then up to the Grace Cathedral.  This was not a bad hill workout.  I then went back down California and Powell to Market Street then down to the North Beach area on The Embarcadero before heading back to my hotel.  The total distance on my run was 6.2 miles.

Wanting to get some sleep in order to run some more hills in the morning, I had a short non-running workout that consisted of 200 sit-ups and 32 push-ups.

I’m usually not a morning person, however, being in San Francisco I had no problem getting out of bed at 5:30 am to go for a run.  One of the many things I love about running is exploring a new city before it gets busy (i.e., when the stores are preparing to open and before the sidewalks are crowded).  I ran down Market Street to Montgomery Street, past the Transamerica Pyramid, then up Telegraph Hill.  From Coit Tower (which has neat statue of Christopher Columbus), I had a tremendous view of the Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge.  After running through the surrounding neighborhoods and enjoying the view, I ran back down Montgomery to California Street where I followed the trolley tracks up to the Grace Cathedral (i.e., to the “top of the mark”).  I then ran back down California, then over to Market Street where I stopped by a bakery in order to pickup some breakfast before running back to my hotel.  In summary, another magnificent 6.2-mile run in San Fran!

My non-running workout was once again a short one that consisted of 200 sit-ups and 32 push-ups.

It was great to be back in Salt Lake City!  Following work, I went for a quick one-mile run on the treadmill before heading home.  After I got home, I ran over to Big Cottonwood Park, over to Murray Holladay Road, then up to the vacant lot that use to house the Cottonwood Mall.  The total distance of the run was 5.3 miles at an easy pace.

In addition, I did another short non-running workout where I completed 200 sit-ups and 22 push-ups.

After work I accomplished some speed training on the treadmill by doing 5-miles of half-mile intervals (i.e., the slow halves at 8.5 miles per hour, while the fast halves at 10.5).  I completed this five miles in a time of 31:59.  Also, I did a half-mile run at marathon pace and a 0.7-mile cool-down at an easy pace.

Also, today marked another repeat of a week-four day of the Push-up Challenge.  This time I did 128 push-ups over five sets which consisted of 25, 27, 25, 26, and a max set of 25 push-ups.  I was also able to complete 200 sit-ups, 90 (40, 30 lbs) curls, and 20 (50 lbs) reverse curls.

Before finishing off another work week, I went to the gym.  On the treadmill, I did a 3.1-mile run in which I completed a half mile at an easy/warm-up pace and the remainder at marathon pace.  After I got home from work, I went for another run.  This one was over to Big Cottonwood Park where I did four laps around the softball complex before heading back.  I completed this entire 3.0-mile run at an easy pace.

In regards to my non-running workout, I accomplished 200 sit-ups, 160 (40, 30, 16 lbs) curls, and 60 (60, 50 lbs) reverse curls.

On April 10th, I purchased my first pair of trail-running shoes (Brooks Cascadia 4) and I have been slowly breaking them in since by wearing them around the house.  With today’s perfect weather (i.e., sunny and dry), I decided to go for my first run in my Cascadia 4s by doing laps on the trail that goes around the parameter of Big Cottonwood Park.  I love running in a new pair of shoes and these Brooks felt absolutely comfortable on my feet!  After 12.5 laps of the park (in other words, 15.2 miles at an easy pace), I highly recommend these shoes for anyone shopping for a pair of trail-running shoes.  I can absolutely see why these trail runners received the Runner’s World Editor’s Choice award.

For my non-running workout, it was another repeat of week four of the Push-up Challenge.  This time I completed 132 push-ups over five sets which consisted of 30, 25, 25, 25, and a max set of 27 push-ups.  This was the most push-ups that I have ever completed over five sets; therefore, I’m slowly improving.  In addition, I was able to complete 200 sit-ups.