Rosswog Running Blog

It was just one of my lazy Sunday mornings in that it was really tough to just get out of bed; that is, I set my alarm to beat the heat by getting up at 5:00 am, but I did not get out the door until around 7:30 am.  I rode my bike up to the Hogle Zoo then ran the last 10.6 miles (i.e., Crest View Drive to Liberty Park) of the Des News Marathon course.  The best part of the run was that I saw a deer sprinting through Research Park.  It was really hot to say the least, so I jumped on the University Trax train and took it up to the Salt Lake Marathon starting line then jogged over to the Zoo to get my bike for an additional 3.6 miles of running.  Considering the heat, I was able to complete this 14.2 miles at the solid pace of 8:02 minutes per mile.

To make this a twenty-mile day, I headed out for an evening run (a little bit cooler) in my NB Minimus trail running shoes.  For this run I completed four-and-a-half laps around the outer dirt path of Big Cottonwood Park for a distance of 5.9 miles at a pace of 8:24 minutes per mile.  

For my non-running workout, in addition to the 15.7 miles on the bike, I was able to complete 300 sit-ups.

Five-Minute Plank Challenge: 2:00

Trying-To-Go-Out-Of-My-Way-To-Eat-Healthy Challenge: blue berry smoothie

Happy Independence Day!  Even after two 20-mile-plus days, I wanted to finish this long-holiday weekend off with a third 20-mile run.  Consequently, this morning, I woke up just after 4:00 am and hit the dark and already warm (i.e., 75 degrees) streets at 5:00 am on the bike.  By the way, my left calf muscle was a little bit tender and sore from all the uphill running over the past two days, so I wore a nice neon green sleeve on my left leg to keep it together.  After a 9.5-mile ride up will to Ruth’s Diner (two miles up Emigration Canyon), I parked my bike and began my run up the Canyon just after 6:00 am.  Before climbing up the west side of Little Mountain--my good Des News Marathon friend--I passed a Fourth of July race that was just about to start.  I was thinking to myself that this would have been a good Des News Marathon prep race.  Anyway, carrying on up then cruising down Little Mountain I came to the winter gates that lead up to Big Mountain and East Canyon.  I knew passing these gates meant 5.4 miles of climbing with the last three miles of this climb being especially brutal.  Oh and it was a really tough climb.  I could see the radio towers at the top of Big Mountain which looked really close, but were many vertical feet above.  I finally completed all the steep switchbacks and made it the top--13.2 miles--in a time of 2:05:18 (splits: 9:38, 9:11, 8:55, 9:23, 9:17, 8:51, 8:11, 8:14, 8:52, 10:08, 11:14, 10:39, 10:41, and 2:03).

I was joined by a bunch of exhausted cyclists who could not believe that I ran all the way up.  However, I could not believe they biked this beyond steep incline since I was just glad to ditch my bike at Ruth’s.   Speaking of, after taking a few moments to admire the view, I started my descent to the diner.  Of course, this involved a climb up Little Mountain which went really slow (mid-8:00 pace), but not bad on tired legs.  I completed this 13.2 miles in a time of 1:32:10 (splits: 7:14, 6:50, 6:27, 6:35, 6:42, 7:51, 8:32, 8:00, 7:04, 6:51, 6:39, 6:21, 5:54, and 1:09).  Then I coasted 9.9 miles back to home on my bike before calling it a morning.

In summary, 26.4 miles from Ruth’s Diner to the top of Big Mountain and back (following the Des News Marathon course with the exception of not doing the short out-and-back on Pinecrest Canyon Road) in a total time of 3:37:28.

Beside 19.4 miles on the bike, I was able to complete 300 sit-ups for my non-running workout.

Five-Minute Plank Challenge: 2:00

Trying-To-Go-Out-Of-My-Way-To-Eat-Healthy Challenge: blue berry smoothie and a serving of mixed fruit

I woke up early this Tuesday morning and headed off to work in order to meet up with my friend Dave for our typical 7.6-mile-airport-bike-path run from the International Center to North Temple and 2400 West and back.  Gosh, my left calf was sure sore from (all the long runs that involved a lot of climbing) over the weekend.  I was hoping to keep it at a nice pace in the eights, but no luck when running with Dave.  After a few miles, my calf started to loosen up a little bit and we were able to complete the 7.6 miles in a time of 57:12 (i.e., a 7:32 minutes per mile).

In regards to my non-running workout, I was just able to complete 300 sit-ups.

Five-Minute Plank Challenge: 30 second plank and side planks

Trying-To-Go-Out-Of-My-Way-To-Eat-Healthy Challenge:  a serving of oatmeal

It was absolutely a recovery day for me after a weekend of some really long runs and yesterday’s nice workout with Dave.  In short, my left calf needed a break.  Consequently, after work I just hit the treadmill for a 4.1-mile jog before calling it a day.

My non-running workout consisted of 300 sit-ups and 20 (50 lbs) curls.  Five-Minute Plank Challenge: 30 second plank and side planks  Trying-To-Go-Out-Of-My-Way-To-Eat-Healthy Challenge:  a serving of oatmeal

It was another bike-to-work-then-treadmill workout for me today.  I completed six 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 35:28 followed by a 0.2-mile mile cool down at marathon pace.

 

Besides my 31.2-mile bike ride to and from work, my daily non-running workout consisted of 300 sit-ups and 40 (50 lbs) curls. 

Five-Minute Plank Challenge: 30 second plank and side planks

 

Trying-To-Go-Out-Of-My-Way-To-Eat-Healthy Challenge:  oatmeal for breakfast

Following a very busy week at work, I hit the treadmill for a 4.1 mile easy pace run.  My legs were a little bit heavy from yesterday’s interval speed play, but not too bad.

For my non-running workout, I was able to get in 300 sit-ups. 

Five-Minute Plank Challenge: 30 second plank and side planks 

Trying-To-Go-Out-Of-My-Way-To-Eat-Healthy Challenge:  a serving of oatmeal and fruit for breakfast

I woke up early this Saturday morning and head off to Hogle Zoo in order to get some practice on the Des-News Marathon course. Starting at the base of Crest View Drive, I ran the last 10.6 miles of the marathon course in a time of 1:13:29 (i.e., a 6:56 minutes per mile pace). It was really hot, but overall it felt great. I then trudged 3.4 miles back up to the zoo to fetch my bike before heading home.

Besides my 15.2-mile bike ride to and from the zoo, my daily non-running workout consisted of 300 sit-ups.

Five-Minute Plank Challenge: 30 second plank and side planks

Trying-To-Go-Out-Of-My-Way-To-Eat-Healthy Challenge: a serving of peaches