"I don't really need a duck"

11:00 pm - 7.25 miles @ a 7:46 pace - 56:25.  Now that I am starting to include true tempo and speed workouts into my program I am making certain that I focus on keeping my easy runs as an easy pace.  I get to run fast on Wednesday.  I did 80 meters of lunges.

11:36 pm - 7 miles @ 7:46 pace - 54:49

Another nice easy run and I just beat the rain. I plan to do a 3 mile test tomorrow night.

10:50 pm - 6.52 miles @ 7:18 pace - 47:35

I tested out my test loop this evening after 4.3 miles of easy running.  I mapped out the loop to be just under 1.5 miles and my Garmin put it at 1.47 miles.  I used 3 different manhole covers for lap markers:

MH #1 - 0.26 miles - 1:31:50 - 5:46 pace - 22ft elevation drop

MH #2 - 0.46 miles - 2:46:30 - 6:02 pace - 25ft elevation gain

MH #3 - 0.75 miles - 4:26:47 - 5:55 pace - 3ft net elevation drop (20ft up and down)

Total pace - 5:56

I was pretty pleased with my effort considering the low sleep I have had this week.  I probably could have pushed it a bit more but now I have a good baseline.  My plan is to double up this loop one day a week to help give myself a good read on my fitness level.  My short term goal is to get comfortable at 5:50 pace.

10:50 pm - 7.2 miles @ 7:40 pace 55:13

Nice weather, nice run.  I also borrowed the measuring wheel from work and marked off the 400 meter makers for my Test Loop (I'm sure my neighbors thought I was nuts - of course that probably wouldn't have been their first clue).

Noon - 7.05 miles @ 7:35 pace - 53:26

Hot!

7:30 am - 17.0 miles

Workout #3 with Sasha.  We essentially did the same workout that we have done the previous times but we kept the test run at just a mile and I went through with Sasha to the 8.5 mile mark to give me a total of 17 miles.

3 miles easy to start things off (7:30 pace +/-)

My test mile time was 5:42 (We decided to speed it up since we would only be doing a mile).  The third 400 was definitely work

5.5 miles easy - got a drink of water at the park and waited for a bit to catch back on with Sasha for the last 800 of his tempo run.

200 meters building up as Sasha approached (my quads didn't like the park break so much) and nearly hung on for the last 600 meters with Sasha (about 5:20 pace for me).

4.5 miles easy and getting ready for my 3 mile temp run with the goal to beat last weeks’ time.

Tempo Run:

Mile #1 6:23 - felt pretty decent by I could tell I was tired from the previous 14 miles

Mile #2 6:36 - This mile was a lot of work and I could definitely do without the underpasses under intersecting roads.  But, you haven't lived until you have had Sasha sing to you "Do what is right let the consequence follow" as you are struggling to kept pace.  I dropped back some but was able to keep good contact.

Mile #3 6:20 - I really gave this mile all that I could and it paid off well.  It helped that after running the same course three times I knew how close we were getting to Sasha's house and how soon the suffering would be over.  Sasha also gave me target 400 splits for the last mile and I think I hit all of them.

My total time for the tempo run was 19:19 which was 13 seconds faster than last week.  It feels good to be making progress. 

10:45 pm - 7.5 miles @ 7:16 pace - 54:25

Nice temperature for a nice easy night run.  Once again I had to make a potty stop at Smiths (I thought I had it all taken care of before I left).  At about the 6.5 mile mark I did an 800 meter pick-up with my quarter times at 83 and 85 (I am liking my yellow road markers). 

I also did 95 meters of lunges.  It is now time to have an ice cream bar, shower and head to bed.

Sleep got the better of me tonight - Next thing I knew it was nearly 11:30 pm.  I guess I was tired.

10:50 pm - 6.5 miles

Well apparently my GI tract was not happy with me tonight.  The plan was to do my 4.3 mile warm-up loop easy followed by my 1.47 mile test loop fast and then the 4.3 mile loop again.  On my warm-up loop thinks were feeling a bit off, and of course I had to make a pit stop at Smiths again (It is a nice clean restroom).  I figured all was taken care of but apparently I was wrong.  My 400 splits on my test loop were 88, 93, 92, 91, 86 and 77 (356 meters -0.22 miles).  I will spare you all of the disturbing details but let’s just say better out than in (I guess) and no 4.3 mile cool down loop as clean-up became a priority.

Last week I ran my test loop in 8:44.3 and this week I ran it in 8:50.2.  I was slower by 6 seconds but I will chalk it up to not feeling well. 

I am feeling better now however.

10:50 pm - 7.38 miles @ 7:23 pace - 54:29

Things felt much better this evening (no pit stops or other disasters).  I did an 800 meter pick-up toward the end (trying to target 5:50 pace) my 400's were 87 and 90.  The second 400 didn't feel pushed I just didn't realize that I had slowed down. 

Time to continue my Fat Boy diet and get to bed.

Noon - 4.0 miles @ 7:24 pace - 29:37

Hot and slow.

7:30 am - 4.0 miles @ 6:05 pace - 24:19 -

I must start out saying that James Barnes did a fantastic job with this race (as well as all the kids getting great sponsor support) and to this point with the cross country team.  This was the second annual Herriman Mustang Stampede that is held to help support the cross country and volleyball team.  For a mere $8.00 you were provided with a great race with fast competition (those cross kids are fast), breakfast, prizes for the winners and one heck of a raffle (talk about sponsor support!).  The other great thing about this race is it is only about two miles from my home and covers the streets that I run daily.

My goal heading into this race was a low 24 minute (I would be very excited if I got sub 24).  I met up with Kurt Stevens (from the blog) at the start line and chatted briefly as we discussed pace goals and I pointed those that should be at the front.  I also had some fun explaining my Croc's as a choice of running foot wear (sorry James).  As with true race starting fashion (especially with high school kids) the race started out faaaaast, but I settled my pace to some sense of normalcy after a few hundred meters. 

Mile 1 - 5:48 - this mile uphill with about 32ft of elevation change but felt nice and fast.

Mile 2 - 5:55 - this mile had a drop of nearly 80ft and really felt nice after that first fast mile. I passed up Rory toward the end of this mile.

Mile 3 - 6:19 - what goes down must come back up on loop course and this was my payback mile for the first two miles.  I passed up a kid sporting a side cramp at the beginning of this mile. 

Mile 4+ - 6:17 (6:02 pace if I want to trust my Garmin and Google Earth measurement) - This mile had a net downhill and finished with about 3/4 of a lap on the track.  I had a kid in front of me by a few seconds that I sort of tried to real in but I ended finishing 9 seconds behind him (I need figure out how to simulate Sasha support at races).  I ended up finishing 7th overall and just 19 seconds from a sub 24. 

After my race I had my 7-year-old run in the 1-mile kid’s race.  His time was slow but he kept a really good even pace and didn't stop to walk once despite some minor protesting and this being the longest he has run by nearly a half of a mile - finish time of 13:02.

As promised a nicely done breakfast was provide, awards were handed out, and the raffle (with surprisingly high quality items - I won the grand prize - a $200 photo shoot gift card) completed.  Now it is time to get the family together and head up to Wolf Creek Resort for a more-or-less relaxing day.

8:00 pm - 12.0 miles @ 7:38 pace - 1:31:47 -

4 miles was not going to be enough mileage for the day so I figured this would be a good opportunity to get in a good 12 mile out and back near Pineview Reservoir at a nice easy pace.  The first 1.3 miles had a net drop of 365 ft. (I was not looking forward to heading back up this).  The remaining 4.7 miles follow up-course of the Ogden Marathon at about the half marathon marker with a series of rollers.  My time out was 44:34 and my time back was 46:26 with the last mile being 8:39 (love that 300 + feet of climbing). 

On a slight downer note it looks as though I will have to postpone the Boston Marathon a year after to having to replace our central air unit.  It will give me the opportunity to have a better qualifying time for 2013.

Noon - 4.0 miles @ 7:18 pace - 29:15

The temperature wasn't to bad but it did seem a bit humid (for Utah). 

6:00 pm - 4.35 miles @ 7:10 pace - 31:17

I did do a pickup at the very end (the last 1166 ft of my measured course) to see what my stride length and race is at an accelerated pace.

 - At 5:42 pace my stride rate is 180strides/minute and my stride length is 5.13 ft or 1.56 meters.

5:45 am - 9.0 miles with the BBK's at Riverton High Track.

Given that the boys are up with the inlaws at Wolf Creek for the week (we join up with them Wednesday night) I thought I would hook up with the BBK's while I had a chance. 

The planed workout was 1 mile warm-up with strides on the straights for the last 800 meters, followed by Yasso 800's with 400 meter active recovery, and finished off with a cool down in the neighborhoods.  I didn't know many 800's we were to do so I was mentally prepairing for 10, but the plan was to do 6.  I did 7 as a result of lapping the field.  My 800 times were 2:43 (1:17 400 - oops), 2:51, 2:53, 2:51, 2:54, 2:54 and 2:56.  My average 800 time was 2:52 for an average pace of 5:42.

I finished of the workout with a chatty 2.5 mile cool-down at 8:26 pace.

9:15 am - 7.0 miles - 7:21 pace - 51:29

I just did an out-and-back from the dam at Pineview reservoir.  The temp was nice and the road was good.

8:35 am - 15.0 miles - 7:11 pace - 1:47:52

I ran a counter-clockwise loop of Pineview Reservoir starting from the Eden General Store.  As I was approaching the dam I spotted someone ahead in green about a half mile ahead of me (sweet! someone to try to catch).  Also as I was approaching the dam a thunderstorm was starting to roll in.  After I made the turn at the dam (4.3 miles) I lost sight of green shirt person.  The road finally straightened up enough at about mile 6.5 and green shirt person was just a bit ahead so I decided to pick up the pace a bit to real him in and caught him as he turned into camp area near the Snow Basin road.  The thundestorm was following us and was getting close so he was looking for shelter.  As luck would have it there was a cabin store with a covered patio and some nice chairs that we positioned ourselves on as we waited out the storm and some spectacular lightning.  We sat and chatted for about 20 minutes as the storm passed through.  I turns out that he was running the Reservoir loop as well at a low 8 minute pace (he is in his 50's) and he has the air force marathon coming up.  He shared some of his experiences of the Boston and New York marathons and mentioned that he helped with the Ogden Marthon as the Oaks aid station (he thinks he remembers me coming through).  I also may have another Croc convert.  He was wearing Newtons and wears insoles for a height balance but figures he could glue them into a pair of Crocs.  Finally the storm subsided and we headed off.  The rest of the run was uneventful but felt nice and the cloud cover and rain kept the temps down.

Splits for the 15 miles - 7:24, 7:11, 7:14, 7:16, 7:14, 7:20, 7:04, 6:57, 7:24, 7:02, 6:58, 7:08, 7:10, 7:16 and 7:11

6:30 am - 12.1 miles @ 7:04 pace - 1:25:21

I gave Kurt Stevens a tour through Herriman.  It was nice having someone to run and chat with.  There were a couple uphill sections where our breathing was labored a bit but really the pace was conversational the entire time.  I was really suprised to see our pace hit below 7:00 for the last several miles.  The weather was perfect and everything felt rather nice.  I am looking forward to taking tomorrow off however.

Splits; 7:26, 7:19, 7:16, 7:17, 7:30, 6:54, 6:56, 6:48, 6:54, 7:02 (uphill back to Smiths), 6:49, 6:39

10:45 pm - 5.0 miles @ 7:56 pace - 39:41

We will call this a recovery run.  Kind of felt icky tonight, but I guess two big days in a row can do that to you.

10:35 pm - 8.4 miles @ 7:27 pace - 1:02:30

Felt much better than Monday.  It will be nice when it decides to cool down a bit though.

Wow! I now have a whole new appreciation for those who have to deal with true humidity.  As a result of a fast and furious work trip I got the opportunity to run in Tampa, Florida (Clearwater Bay) and I will be running in Idaho Falls tomorrow morning.  I think at 5:45 in the morning it was already 80 degrees and 80% humidity. 

6:30 am - Idaho Falls - Nice cool morning run along the Snake river.  I wouldn't have minded a jacket a few times.