"I don't really need a duck"

6:00 pm - 8.55 TM miles @ 1.5% incline @ 7:01 pace - 60:00 -  This will be my last planned run on a treadmill (at least in Crocs).  Apparently my feet do different things on the treadmill and I ended up with three blisters on my right foot and one on my left.

Noon - 4.0 miles @ 6:56 pace - 27:43.54 - I could handle this afternoon weather year round (tech-t, sleeves, and shorts).  Once the blisters warmed up it was all good.

Head-ache - no night run

Noon - 4.0 miles @ 6:30 pace - 25:59.36 - My body wanted faster so I gave it a run.  I did a one mile pick-up after 2.25 miles (88, 86, 86, 87 (5:47)) and took the last 0.75 easy.  The weather was fantastic again and the legs responded well. 

Noon - 4 miles

Noon - 4.0 miles @ 6:57 pace - 27:46.66

10:46 pm - 7.25 miles @ 7:36 pace - 55:06.01 - Between life, stupid blisters and just being lazy my running has been pretty weak over the last week.  Time to get back on track and get a good run up for Ogden in May.

Noon - 4.0 miles @ 6:42 pace - 26:51.46 - There were actually a few runners out on my portion of the parkway today.  The north wind was a little chilly.

Noon - 4.0 miles @ 7:07 pace - 28:31.91 - Nice and slow

10:44 pm - 7.25 miles @ 7:25 pace - 53:45.88 - I almost talked myself out of running tonight because my stomache has been a bit out of sorts this evening but I went anyways.  It was cold (19 deg and a little wind out of the northwest) but the sky was beautiful and clear with a bright half moon.  My stomache wasn't to happy towards the end but nothing severe.

Noon - 4.0 miles @ 6:56 pace - 27:45.30 - Relatively warm (33 deg).  This was a degressive run 6:50, 6:53, 6:57, 7:06 - yes, my legs were tired but I did get my Vitamin D for the day.

5:30 pm - 4.35 miles @ 7:04 pace - 30:36.26

Another traning run with Sasha.  I was tired going in and worse coming out.

Sleep.

Noon - 4.0 miles @ 7:01 pace - 28:06.6 - The southwest wind was certainly brisk.  There was a lot of snow on the parkway (could get interesting over the next week).

10:53 pm - 7.25 miles @ 7:22 pace - 53:30.48 - Not as cold as I thought it would be.

11:30 am - 4.0 miles @ 6:59 pace - 27:58.47 - My body is still getting back at me for being lazy the last three weeks.  I will happily take my lumps.

Noon - 4.0 miles @ 6:59 pace - 27:57.34 - Very warm with temps in the mid 40's.  My body is still dragging from lack enough sleep.

Noon - 4.0 miles @ 6:43 pace - 26:55.44 - My best feeling run of the week so far.  I have had a challenge juggling work and sleep this week so I haven't been geeting out on my night runs.  I think I am finally caught up and should have some normalcy for the next little while.  The weather outside was fantastic - little to no wind and warm (tech-t, sleeves and shorts).

4 pm - 7.25 miles @ 6:58 pace - 50:31.23 - I am loving this warm weather thing.

5:30 am - 16.0 miles @ low 7 to high 6 pace (my watch freaked out on me).  I met up with Dan (DragonVulture), Scott, Reed and Matt in Highland to tag along on there long run.  The weather was absolutely fantastic (tech-t, sleeves, light beanie, gloves and shorts and a jacket for about 8 miles) with mild temps, little to no wind and only a few sprinkles of rain.  The company was fantastic as well.  It turns out that Reed was my annoying watch guy for several miles at the Ogden Marathon.  I though he had some pace or heart rate envolope set that he couldn't stay within, but it turned out that his watch was overloaded with data and later in the race stoped working.  We had a good laugh about it and he wished he had been able to stay with me.  I believe our pace ranged anywhere from mid 7's to mid 6's with a few sharp uphills to keep it interesting.  It was a mental challenge for me to some degree not really knowing where we were, where we were headed and what we had left (besided garmin info) but that is where having good conversation with a good group of guys helps.  I was definately running out of gas the last 3 or 4 miles but I did my best to keep it strong and felt really good about the run overall considering my poor sleep pattern this week.  I look forward to running with these guys on Fridays and a few Saturdays a month.

Noon - 4.0 miles @ 7:00+ pace - 28:02.28.  My legs are still a bit tired from Saturdays run.  The SSW wind was a bit cold but nothing severe.

10:53 pm - 4.35 miles @ 7:23 pace - 32:07.40 - It was snowing a bit but was actually quite nice.

Noon - 4.0 miles @ 6:39 pace - 26:37.83 - I felt less tired today and I had a rabbit to try and catch.

11:10pm - 4.35 miles @ 7:18 pace - 31:49.04

Noon - 4.0 miles @ 6:41 pace - 26:46.32 - Warm (Tech-T, sleeves and shorts).  This was another unintentional marathon paced run.   I am definately having an improved week over last week

10:43pm - 7.25 miles @ 7:28 pace - 54:14.08 - A nice calm, cool night.

Noon - 4.0 miles @ 6:59 pace - 27:57.32 - Had a brisk SSW wind ushering in a new storm.

4:15pm - 7.25 miles @ 7:05 pace - 51:28.27 - I wet from head to toe by the end of this one.  It rained nearly the entire time but actually felt pretty ok.

5:30 pm - 4.35 miles @ 6:58 pace - 30:20.57 - Time to break in a new pair of Crocs.  My long second toes (especially on my left foot) are not going to like this.  This run was faster than I thought it was going to be.

7:30 am - 16.70 miles - A much more fantastic run with Sasha than two weeks ago (I have been more consistent with my training the last two weeks).  Dispite having a rather upset 2nd toe - and it being 18 deg to start - this run went rather well.  We started off the run with a 4+ mile jog up Provo Canyon and then started our tempo run (Sasha does 6 continuous - I do 4 total 1.5 - 0.25 rest - 1.0 - 0.25 rest - 1.5).  The first 1.5 went 83.62, 85.00, 83.22, 84.80, 85.45, 84.40 for a total of 8:26.29 and an average mile pace of 5:37.  The 1.0 (uphill and into a strong wind) went 97.14, 94.32, 97.98 and 98.15 for total of 6:27.35.  The second 1.5 went 84.24, 87.70, 87.83, 87.37, 87.38, and 87.67 for a total of 8:42.11 and an average mile pace of 5:48.  We jogged back to Sasha's house and did 6 more miles with the kids (one of which was at 6:52 pace with Benjamin).  As per usual this was done with zero fuel or hydration.  As a side note I do believe I will be losing a toe nail.

Noon - 4.0 miles @ 6:48 pace - 27:14.52 - A B-E-A Utiful day on the parkway.  Toe still buggin a little but coming along.

Noon - 4.0 miles @ 6:44 pace - 26:56.52 - My ankle was bugging me last night so I took the night off, but it felt just fine today.  I think it is just pains associated with breaking in a new pair of Crocs.  Another great weather day!

10:33pm - 7.25 miles @ 7:24 pace - 53:39.04 - A nice night run.

Noon - 4.0 miles @ 7:13 pace - 28:53.16 - Slow and easy on the parkway will a cold, stiff south wind.

5:00 am - 10.0 miles with Dan, Scott and Matt around the Lehi area.  The weather was nice and the company was fantastic.  We made a pass by the bat trees and had a nice technical trail section.

7:30 am - 18.0 miles with perhaps the biggest group to assemble for a non-sponsored February morning  group run (30+ people).  I started out as the leader of the group guiding all through the first half of the Riverton Half course.  At about the 7 mile mark the super speed guy group got a little to fast for my taste so I let them go and ran the rest of the half on my own (they had Walter to direct them).  Upon finishing the half I wated a bit for Julie, Kelli and Rachelle to finish up and we went out and did another 5 miles.  Rachelle was feeling zippy and gave the last mile a nice push.  All in all it was a good long tiring run.

Noon - 4.0 miles @ 6:53 pace - 27:34.78 - I am not certain it can get any warmer this "winter" (tech-t, sleeves and shorts).  All is well.

10:57 pm - 4.35 miles @ 7:50 pace - 34:01.72 - Sleep almost won but alas I got out there.  Sleep running is definately an opperative word for this run. 

Noon - 4.0 miles @ 6:58 pace - 27:53.79 - Another beautiful day.

10:45pm - 4.35 miles @ 7:42 pace - 33:29.39 - Warm night, tired body.  Time to sleep.

Noon - 4.0 miles @ 6:59 pace - 27:56.88 - A little cooler without the bright sun but otherwise nice.  Just a slow week.

5:00 am - 10 miles with Scott, Dan and Reed - I became the pace driver for a good part of the run.

Noon - 4.0 miles @ 7:18 pace - 29:09.35 - A true shake-out run.

11:30 am - Sasha had a meeting in the morning so we moved our run time (in retrospect is ended up being a wise move due to the reported ice on the Provo River trail in the morning).  We did the same workout as we did two weeks ago and I did have some improvement.

1st 1.5 mile - 8:15-8:20, 1.0 mile - 6:11 and 2nd 1.5 mile - 8:25

We then did a bunch of 1 mile out-and-backs with the kids and folks.

Noon - 4.0 miles @ 7:02 pace - 28:07.08

6:20 am - 7.25 miles @ 7:15 pace - 52:34.88 - With my wifes new work schedule I get to run when the rest of the "normal" people run.  Temperature was nice and the run felt good. 

6:23 am - 7.25 miles @ 7:23 pace - 53:30.49 - Another "warm" morning (shorts) with a little bit of light fluffy snow to finish off the run.

Noon - 4.0 miles @ 7:16 pace - 29:03.41 - Slow and easy.

6:00 am - 7.25 miles @ 7:35 pace - 55:02.20 - Ran the first 1.5 miles with a neighbor of mine.  He should be joining me on most Tuesdays and Thursdays. 

5:00 am - 12 miles @ 7:00 pace - 1:24:00 - A nice run with Scott, Dan and Matt on the Lehi Parkway south the Utah Lake.  A little cool this morning but nice nonetheless. 

Noon - 4.0 miles @ 7:12 pace - 28:48.15 - Bugs and stuff.

5:00 am - 10.0 miles on the Jordan River Trail with Dan Varga. This was my first run in relatively deep snow in my Crocs and it turns out that there are some issues. Due to the fact that the snow was a wet packing snow I kept getting snow chunks in my shoes for the first mile+. Once the snow depth lowered that issue went away. However, after the 5 mile turn around a new issue arose. Most likely a combination of icy socks and slick heal strap I couldn't keep my right Croc from sliding off. After several meters of this I decided a change needed to be made so I bagged the Crocs and ran the rest in my socks (a synthetic wool sock). The socks did their magic (I could feel and move my toes the entire time) and the terrain was mostly soft with the snow (my face half froze from the wind coming back). I did have to scrape off some snow/ice build up on the bottom of my socks a couple of times but otherwise it was all good.

Noon - 4.0 miles @ 7:04 pace - 28:15 - A nicely cousioned run on the parkway in fresh clean snow.  This time I got to keep my Crocs on. 

8:00 am - 18.80 miles @ 6:59 pace - 2:11:37

I had a great long run with a great group including Jake, Andrea, Mark P, Emily, Paul, Rachel, and Toby. We left from Sugarhouse Park and headed up Emigration Canyon to the hairpin turn and made the return trip. I ran with Jake and Mark (until Mark turned around) to the hairpin. We managed to average 7:33 pace on the way up to finish in 71 minutes. There were a couple of times when the pace got tough (especially the last half mile) but I was really pleased with the effort I was able to put in. At the turn-around Jake turned on the afterburners and took off down the canyon. About a mile down the canyon I started spotting Emily up ahead and finally reeled her in after 3 or so miles. She asked me to run with her and I gladly obliged. We finished the rest of the run together cruising at low 6 minute pace the rest of the way. Total time for the return trip was 60 minutes for an average pace of 6:23.

I was very encouraged by this run. I have struggled the last few runs long runs (18 miles+) to keep a good pace going through the end. Even though the second half was a nice steady downhill I worked hard to earn the ride down and hung on well through the end. Thanks Jake (and Mark) for the run up and thanks Emily for keeping me going through the end. And last but not least thanks Toby and Rachel for the carpool and conversation (Nice running out there guys.).

Noon - 4.0 miles @ 6:50 pace - 27:23.59 - Fantastic T-shirt and short miles on the parkway.  I guess March is starting off as a lamb.  My left calf was a little sore/tight (I would assume from Saturdays run) but nothing to worrisome.

6:30 am - 7.25 miles @ 7:17 pace - 52:47.75 - A little bit windy but nice run.

Noon - 4.0 miles @ 7:11 pace - 28:46.68 - Not as nice as yesterday but still t-shirt and shorts. Left calf is still buggin a bit.

6:30 am - 7.25 miles @ 7:35 pace - 55:02.74 - Crunchy, slippery, slow and chilly morning run.  The left calf is just about done (just in time to run Emigration again on Saturday with Sasha).

Noon - 4.0 miles @ 6:59 pace - 27:55.33 - Windy from the north but nice comming back south.

5:00 am - 7.75 miles with Kimberly Hunt and Christine Scott at a nice leasure pace on several trails in the South Jordan/Daybreak area.  I think we averaged around 9 minute pace and the run just flew by (nice conversation).  The weather was fantastic with only a little bit of wind out of the west. 

Noon - 4.0 miles @ 6:59 pace - 27:57.48 - Nice and warm.

5:00 am - 10.0 miles @ 6:54 pace - 1:09:00 - Met up with Dan, Matt and Reed for a nice run on the Lehi Parkway.  We had three or so miles in the 6:30 range.  My left calf is feeling fantastic (or rather isn't feeling).

6:20 am - 7.25 miles @ 7:23 pace - 53:31.75 - It was a windy one today. Fortunately my loop is mostly east-west so I only had a mile or so of direct wind.

5:20 am - 7.0 miles @ 7:07 pace - 49:54.22 - A nice early morning run with James Barnes out and about in the Herriman area.  The weather was absolutely perfect and the conversation made it go by fast.  I am officially calling this a step back week (sounds better than pure lazyness).  I should settle in the low 50's but be back in the mid to upper 60's next week (kind of sounds like the weather).

Noon - 4.0 miles @ 6:55 pace - 27:39.43 - It was down right hot on the parkway today.  The wind was nice.

5 am - 10.0 miles @ 7:00 pace - 1:09:55 - A nice run on the Parkway in Lehi with Dan and Reed.  I didn't get to sleep until close to 11pm last night and I could tell.  Looking for more sleep tonight for a good run tomorrow.

7:30 am - 19.5 miles - Met up with Sasha, Gary and Gary's brother and found out that we were pacing Gary through the Provo River Half course for a finish time of 1:30 (this should be good practive for me for the American Fork Half in June).  After a little under a mile warm up we got it going.  It turns out that Utah County and specifically Provo Canyon was rather void of wind.  The weather was absolutely fantastic! (shorts and tech-t).  Pacing Gary went rather well, the pace felt pretty easy and he did a good job of hanging on for the most part.  He was right on target until the last mile or so when his IT-band started acting up.  He ended up about 30 seconds past the 1:30 mark.  We finished our way back to Sasha's, dropped of Gary and headed back out for another 4.5 miles.  I was definately glad to be done and greatful for a banana and some water back at Sasha's.  My quads are still a bit sore (Monday) from the whole adventure. 

Noon - 4.0 miles - No watch - The weather was cool but nice with my favorite wind (for this course) from the north.

5:45 am - 10.4 miles @ 8:26 pace - 1:27:51 - I met up with Rachel, George and the other guy at the north end of the Daybreak lake to help pace them through their 10 mile run (I actually picked up with them about a half mile into their run since I was running a bit late).   The idea was to keep them going at about 8:45 pace which we managed for the most part.  Alot of the roads were rather icey, slippery and crunchy that slowed our pace a bit but once we hit the clean patches we cruised along nicely.  At one point we logging in a 8:19 pace mile and a half (I have my auto lap set to 1.5 miles) to which George responded as being the fastest mile he had run.  Overall the adventure was a success and the conversation was fantastic (as it always is with Rachel). 

Noon - 4.0 miles @ 7:08 pace - 28:34:28 - Another crisp day on the parkway.  The sun was nice.

Due to low sleep through the week and head ache and stomach ache issues on Friday I was not 100% for this race.  I did give it what I had and I will attempt to tackle it again next year.  Outside of the race I really had a fantistic time talking with several bloggers, American Flyer pacers, and other friends.  In retrospect the one good thing about not being 100% is that minus a few blisters my body has no clue that I race a half marathon.  I plan to do a time trial along the Provo River half course late April to get a fast half under my belt before Odgen.

5:30 am - 10 miles around the Daybreak area by my lonesome.  It was a bit chilly out but really nice.  The run felt nice with zero lingering affects of Saturdays race (which is both good and bad).

Noon - 4.0 miles @ 6:45 pace - 26:57.86 - A perfect weather run on the parkway and the legs felt fantastic. 

Noon - 4.0 miles on the parkway

5:00 am - 8 miles on the urban trails

6:00 pm - 4.35 around the hood

5:00 - 10 fantastic miles with the Lehi clan

7:30 am - A fantistic workout with Sasha.  9 miles up Provo Canyon easy (and very cold).  and 9 miles down tempo.  I avereaged 6:15 pace coming down.  Another mile with Sasha's younger boys.

5:00 am - 10 miles around Daybreak and Herriman.

Noon - 4 miles on the parkway

Noon - 4 on the parkway

5:00 am - 10 miles on the urban trails in my new Altras - Nice

Noon - 4 miles on the parkway

5:00 am - 11 miles with the Lehi crew

1:00 pm - 4.35 miles around the hood

Noon - 4 on the parkway

5:15 am - 10 miles with the BBK's - 5k+ warm-up the 2x5k repeats (my times are all messed up but I was about 6:00 pace for the first and 6:30 pace for the second.

Noon - 4 on the parkway

6:15 am - 7.25 around Herriman

5:00 am - 8 miles on the urban trails with Rachel

Noon - 4 miles on the parkway

After my less than encouraging result at the Riverton Half a few weeks back, I decided to try to see what I had with a time trial.  I asked Sasha to pace me through the Provo River Half to a sub 1:20:00 pace and he graciously obliged (little did I know it was on his birthday).  This time around I slept well and ate well throughout the week.  Of course on of the caveats of doing a time trial with Sasha was that there would be now water and no fuel and definitely no fan fair.  We arrived about a mile from the start at 7:00 am and proceeded to warm-up to the starting line.  The temperature was a bit cool but not too bad for a tech-t and shorts (and there was very little wind).  Sasha’s advice to me was to keep 6 minute pace as long as I could and let it drop back where I needed to.  After resetting my watch and a ready, set, go by Sasha we were off. 

I still have my watch set to auto lap every 1.5 miles (that way when courses are marked well I don’t have conflict with my watch).

Mile 1.5 – 8:54.76 (5:57 pace) - Sasha suggested that I probably should scale it back a bit and thus I did.

Mile 3.0 – 9:00.42 (6:00 pace)

Mile 4.5 – 8:48.97 (5:53 pace) – There is only so much restraint you can have on a nice rolling down hill

Mile 6.0 – 8:58.76 (5:59 pace) – On the trail during this stretch making our way to Bridal Veil Falls and not looking forward to a tough mile 7. I estimate my 10K time to be 36:52 (the fastest I have ran for at least 10 years)

Mile 7.5 – 9:25.41 (6:17 pace) – Hello wind and uphill!  I tucked in behind Sasha and pressed on forward.  The first 400 meters or so was tough but then is seemed to ease up a bit.

Mile 9.0 – 9:03.09 (6:02 pace) – This stretch still had a bit of uphill but most of it was down.  I was rather surprised by this split and started to think that this was really going to happen.

Mile 10.5 – 8:43.6 (5:49 pace) – Apparently I recovered well from the hill.  I came through 10 miles in 59:59.  All I needed to do was run a 20 minute 5k and I had sub 1:20:00 beat.  And, yes, I did the math in my head

Mile 12 – 8:50.53 (5:54 pace) – Not only am I hanging on but I am hanging on well.  I am tired and my breathing is quite labored but I only have a little over a mile to go.

Finish – 6:55.83 (6:00 pace) – My Garmin put this at 1.16 miles but, nonetheless, not only did I slay the 1:20:00 monster but I took out the 1:19:00 monster as well.  I set a PR for the half by 4 minutes and 19 seconds and well as a recent PR for the 10k and a sub 60 minute for 10 miles.

After a few moments of rest we proceeded back to Sasha’s house and met Benjamin along the way.  After some discussion on the run it was decided that we needed to head back out (before returning to Sasha’s) to get in our 20 miles.  After another slow and tired 5.65 miles we finally arrived at home base.  My reward, the most refreshing ice water and banana that I had had in a long time.  This time around I have some blisters and tired/sore legs.  Thanks once again Sasha for pulling me through and Happy Birthday. 

The next item up for bid is to break 2:50:00 at Ogden. 

5:30 am with Rachel and George

5:30 am with Paul Fulton - looped around the second section of the Riverton Half course.  Last 2 miles were tiring.

5:30 am - canal trails with George, Kim and Rachel - Fantastic weather.

Noon - 4 on the parway - Tired.

Noon - 4 on the parkway.  I was lazy and didn't get out in the morning.

6:30 am - 19.0 miles @ 6:53 pace - 2:09:52 - Higland High to the Emigration hairpin and back with Adam W.

The purpose of this run was to simulate the last 9 miles (at goal marathon pace) of the Odgen Marathon course on tired legs.  Adam and I met up at Highland High and started our run up the canyon with our beannies, gloves and jackets (it was a touch cold).  We ended reaching the top in about 1:11:xx.  A lady at the hairpin pulled over and asked if we were interested in some water and Gatorade (she was van support for a bunch of other runners).  We accepted, had some Gatorade, chatted for a few minutes and headed down the canyon.  The goal pace going down was 6:25 pace.  Well, I sort of exceed my expectations as we kept on clicking off high five and low six miles at mostly conversational pace (there was a 5:50 stretch were there wasn't a lot of talking going on).  I was expecting some what of a fade after the zoo but none came - the last 3 miles were right around 6 minute pace.  Apparently my primary goal at the Ogden Marathon will be to focus on restrain and keep the first half at 1:24:00, then let it ride from there on out. 

Thanks again Adam.

5:15 am - Met up with the BBK's did a 3.5 mile warmup and then on and offs 30 sec/90sec for about 6.5 miles.

Noon - 4 miles on the parkway.  Nice and easy.

5 am - Met up with Paul and Rachel at my house.  We did my 7 mile loop at a nice pace after which Rachel headed back home and Paul and I added another 4.25 miles at about 7:20 pace.

What a great event my second marathon turned out to be. I have really enjoyed the last 6 months making new running friends and great training partners. As much as I like to do well in a race I enjoy watching people I care about achieve their goals even more. There certainly was not a lack of inspiring performances today (Rachel, Paul, Kelli, Fritz, Scott, Steve to name a few) and being able to share in that was truly rewarding. And of course much gratitude goes to Aubrey who puts up with all my Saturday morning running adventures.

Breakfast @ 4:15 am - An orange and water (that’s all that sounded good). 1 mile+ jog to the Marriot to meet up with Rachel, Kelli, Smooth and crew. Nice social ride to the start of the race to mingle with the curious cross section of society that marathoners are. Hanging out with my orange jacket, jeans, and Crocs (Wait his time chip is attached to his Crocs… He’s actually running in those…). The weather is absolutely brilliant – Low 40’s, sunny and no wind. And right on time the race is off.

Mile 1 – 6:03.22, Mile 2 – 6:17.55, Mile 3 – 5:31.81 (marker was quite short), Mile 4 – 6:50.25 (making up for the short marker), Mile 5 - 6:10.95, Mile 6 – 6:15.07, Mile 7 – 6:18.95 (7 mile total - 43:34 (6:14 pace)) – I certainly enjoyed the downhill and the pace felt very controlled. Now the easy part is done and it is time to work (or get worked) on the middle stretch.

Mile 8 – 6:32.70, Mile 9 – 6:36.25 (Took my first GU), Mile 10 – 6:34.60, Mile 11 – 6:47.78, Mile 12 – 6:42.87, Mile 13 – 6:48.28 (Half Marathon total – 1:24:14 (6:26 pace)). I came across the first half in my goal time and was feeling pretty good. My legs were somewhat tired from all the rollers but otherwise all was well. I just needed to get through the next few miles with some sort of semblance and the rest was downhill. I nearly plowed into a guy carrying his daughter just after the half marker as he was nonchalantly strolling across the road.

Mile 14 – 6:45.52 – Flat, down & up, not too shabby, Mile 15 – 7:00.63 (ten seconds faster than last year) I took my second GU hear, Mile 16 – 6:41.40, Mile 17 – 6:41.12, Mile 18 – 6:26.53 (18 mile total - 2:01:02 (6:44 pace)). I lost some time on my overall goal through this section but I was now in Ogden Canyon and hoping to make so time up.

Mile 19 – 6:43.21, Mile 20 – 6:46.11, Mile 21 – 6:47.28 (took my third and final GU), Mile 22 – 6:41.10, Mile 23 – 6:45.67 (23.1 mile total – 2:30:46 (6:32 pace)). I was able to pick up some time down the canyon. I was thinking at this point that a 2:48 probably wasn’t going to happen but with a good effort I could be really close to 2:50-2:51.

Mile 24 – 7:22.23 – So what happened this mile? A “little” hill on the parkway that felt like a mountain. Once I crested the hill my quads were done. They didn’t hurt but they were done doing their job.

Mile 25 – 7:47.05 – Getting slower and slower and just wanting to stop and walk but I kept on running.

Mile 26 – 7:57.57 (0.20 – 1:45.21 (8:46 pace)) - The final slow stretch down Grant Ave. I think three or so people passed me but I didn’t care, the finish was my only focus and I finally found it.

Despite missing my initial time goal (2:48) by a pretty large margin I am very happy with how this race played out. First and foremost, I got a PR by nearly 4 minutes and through mile 23 I was on pace for 2:51. Second of all I had zero stomach issues (no potty stops) and only a couple water cup fumbles. And finally I know I can improve. I know my quad strength is a weakness of mine but I can improve that. I also need to get my mileage into the 70’s which is very doable (especially with all the great friends I have to run with).

To finish out the day I took somewhat of a nap at the hotel, tried to figure out what food sounded good (a Wendy’s burger – Who knew), a trip with Aubrey and the boys to the Air Force Museum, more napping to get rid of a head ache, the Avengers (a fantastic movie), and finally back to the hotel to go to bed (and fantastic sleep it was). Currently I can still feel the race a good deal in both quads and somewhat in my left calf. I will take the next few day off and step back into it towards the end of the week.

A nice little stroll (walking in jeans) around Daybreak lake with Rachel, Paul, Christine and George.   It was nice to chat about Ogden, enjoy the scenery and enjoy some donuts (Dunford of course) and chocolate milk.

I chose the scenic Urban trail as my first post marathon run.  Everything felt great and the pace was nice and easy.

No running but I did head out on a backpacking overnighter with Boy Scouts.  We backpacked up Dry Canyon (near Strawberry) a total of 2.75 miles with 1200 ft of elevation gain.  Finished at 8900 ft.

Set my phone alarm for 5:15am to run down the canyon to the highway and back up to our camp sight.  The temperature was perfect with a little bit of wind.  Going down was nice, easy and very scenic (as well as going back up), but going back up was definately work.  Between getting to bed around 11pm, a snoring tent mate, and backpacking up the evening before my legs were feeling it on the way up (1500 ft elevation gain).  There were good sections of power hiking.  All-in-all it was beautiful and a great way to enjoy the canyon. 

Lazy.

5:30 am - Met Rachel and George for our Teusday morning 10 miler.  The temperature outside was brilliant.  Rachel and George did a great job of keeping a nice even pace today.  I never try to push pace on this run but I will gladly cover whatever they are willing to lay out.  Through the tough uphill section (about half way through) we maxed out at 8:20 pace.  At about mile 7 Rachel told me I better start telling some stories since I was the only one that could breathe, so I started off with some "lovely" mother-in-law discussion that transitioned into talking about my dad who had passed away in 2001.  It was a fantastic run and Rachel did a fantastic job of finishing strong.  We clocked the last mile at 7:24. 

6:00am - 8 miles on my lonesome.

5:00 am - 8 fantastic miles on the Urban Trail with great company. What started with 2 a few months ago is now up to 5-7. I did run this on about 3 hours of sleep after installing 2 doors in my basement until about 1 am.

Another zero day - sleep and busyness got me.

5:30 am - 18 very exhausting miles out to Copperton and back. The initial plan was to run out to Copperton and then turn around and finish off with the first 10 miles of the South Jordan Marathon that would net a total of 20 miles. Well my ambition exceeded my abilities and after about 12 miles I decided to cut it short and head straight home. I would imagine that I am still feeling Ogden a bit and the low sleep Thursday didn't help. On a positive note I did get to run a mile with Kelli and Scott and as I headed west along 118th the was a beautiful rainbow at about 6:00 am.

5:38 (short), 6:10 (long), 6:13, 6:15, 6:27, 6:26, 6:11, 6:25, 6:32, 6:43, 6:43, 6:48 & 6:46

5:30 am

7:00 am - 4.35 miles around the hood.

5:30 am - 8 miles on the urban trail with George and Ronnie.

5:00 am - 7.25 mile. It was really nice weather.

6:30 am - 12 miles with Sasha in Provo Canyon. Due to my several rigorous weeks from May through June I believe I have been struggling with high cortisol levels over the last month and a half (as manifested by much slower than expected times over my last couple of races). Well, I think I am finally breaking out of my slump. The plan today was to warmup to the start of the 3 mile tempo course (7 miles). Sasha was to give me a minute head start to see if he could chase me down by the end of three. The first mile was fast - 5:24.51, mile 2 was 5:38.25, and mile 3 was 5:48.23 for a total time of 16:51.09 (will a projected 5k finish of 17:24). I finished about 8 seconds ahead of Sasha (granted he was having an off day for reasons I'm certain he will explain in detail - but I will take it). My projected 5k finish time would be a current PR. I did slow down each mile but I didn't have a single quarter above 88. We then jogged it in back to Sashas house.

I will be running the Herriman Mustang 4 miler this coming Saturday.

6:00 pm - 3.5 miles to the running store to register for the Mustang Stampede and 3.5 miles back. It was hot but the pace felt nice. Mid sixes out, high sixes back (uphill).

Last year I ran this in 24:19 so I am pleased with a 44 second improvement. 5:48, 5:46, 6:07 & 5:55.

6:00 pm - 4.35 miles warm miles around Herriman.  The legs were feeling snappy - ended up with a couple low 6 minute miles.

5:30 am - 10 miles with the South Valley Newton Crew.

5:30 am - 9.0 miles - 1:06:11 - This is going to become my Wednesday morning run leading up to the South Jordan Marathon.  It covers the big hill (It is a doozy) leading up to Butterfiel Canyon and then gives me a good 5 miles of some nice downhill (7 miles are on the course).  I will add more tempo miles to this loop as the weeks progress.

5:30 am - 8 miles on the Urban Trail loop with the crew. I was tired and slow from yesterday, however it was a good recovery run.

Noon - 4 hot miles since I was to lazy to get up in the morning.

7:30 am - 20 miles with Sasha and some with Benjamin up and down Provo Canyon.

After a 2 mile warmup Sasha gave Benjamin and I the one minute head start for the three mile time trial tempo run (a repeat of two weeks ago but this time with Benjamin). Mile 1 - 5:24.12 (a few tenths faster than last time), mile 2 - 5:33.86 (5 seconds faster), and mile 3 - 5:38.40 (10 seconds faster) for a total time of 16:36.38 and a 15 second PR. Benjamin took off with 800 meters to go and finished about 10 seconds in front of me.

We jogged back to Sasha's house then ran a mile with Joseph. At this point we are about 8 miles into the workout. Sasha asked how miles I was planning on - I said 16 but he said 20, so 20 it was. However, the last 3 were to be at marathon pace, yikes. Well, three miles became four and I did manage to keep in the 6:30's for the first two miles but had to take a water break (first of the day) and a breather for 20-30 seconds. I proceeded to plod through the remaining 2 miles - finishing the 4 (with stops) in about 27:50. I have a lot of work to do but this was a good start to what I need to train for for my next marathon.

Noon - 4.0 miles on the Parkway.

5:30 am - 10 miles with the South Valley Newton group.

Noon - 4 miles on the Parkway.  Really need to get better at getting up and running in the morning.

5:30 am - 8 miles on the Urban Trail Loop.  Cruized along pretty fast with James.

6:30 am - 7.25 miles around Herriman - I finally got up this week and ran on my own.

I had a fantastic day doing pacing duties at the TOU Half Marathon.  I had the great opportunity of pacing the 1:30 group with Allie.  We did pretty well - 1:28:59.2 - but really had a hard time slowing down.  The miles just flew by and the weather was absolutely perfect.  I finished off the day with a 3 mile wrap-up run with the last mile fast in 5:54.