On the road to BOSTON!

Not the race I was hoping for!

The weather was warm but not as bad as I thought it could be. At least there was several miles of coolish temps at the top.

The goal was to run 3:25:

Started off towards the front and got in a good pace.

1)7:48 for the first mile. Things were nice and easy

2)7:34 just nice and steady, easy breathing

3-6) 7:09/ 7:02/ 7:16 Nothing rushed, the breathing was good, I was feeling great!

7)6:55 Must have gotten a little excited to get to aid station and gu up for the Veyo hill.

8)8:45 didn't push hard, took a few walking breaks wanting to save the legs

9-13) Just got into a good groove 8:03/ 7:57/ 9:40/ 7:57/ 7:33  These miles were right on plan except for the 9:40- stopped to adjust my shoes- took more time than I had hoped.

As I hit the halfway mark I was about 1 minute ahead of my plan but was starting to fade. My feet were beginning to give me grief! This seemed to knock me out of it mentally. All I could focus on was the feet.

14)9:59 re adjust shoes

15-16) 7:54/ 7:30 I tried to put the feet issue behind me and just went ahead hoping they would mellow out.

17)-26.2 Don't even want to talk about these miles. I averaged 10+ pace from here to the finish walking a lot of time and trying to get some runs in. The feet were painful and I started to get cramps in my upper calves. I pretty much bagged the race at 17 and decided I was going to finish one way or another even if it wasn't pretty....... When I rounded the last corner of the course I stopped and took both shoes off and ran in with my socks. I was showing to everyone that I am done running marathons. My feet just can't seem to handle the pounding of a full marathon.

My time of 3:53:06 was 10 seconds slower than my first St. George Marathon...how depressing!

I need to grow some cojones and get stronger mentally and run through pain rather than whimping out and walking through the pain.

I have now been thinking and letting my mind wonder and have actually thought of running another marathon because I can't let this bad memory be my last one....................

10 mile bike to shake the legs out- feet and legs too sore to run----17 mph

I finally got out for a post marathon run. I have been too lazy and the feet have been sore from the race. Temps were awesome! 8:05 average pace for the run.  Quads a little sore but not too bad

Went out for a refreshing run this morning to see the start of the Senior Games Half Marathon. After getting over there I was really wishing that I was running the race. Such great conditions this morning. 8:24 average pace

10.50 miles running around Ogden in the 42 degree temps and very moist from the rain. Good run except for the Neuromas kicking in after 7 miles.

8:13 pace

Went out this morning late not knowing how I would feel- Started out what felt slower than usual and ended up 8:03 for the warmup mile- So I decided to just keep the current pace of 7:20's going and hold for a bit. The last 2 miles I broke up into .25- .40 mile runs with 1-2 minutes of recovery. those 2 miles were 6:21 and 6:29 with a fast of 5:19. Overall average pace was 7:16

Right foot was feeling good but the left had an area of numbness to it-

Nice run this morning over Tonaquint to Micky Dees to the temp trail head by the Dixie Center...trail closed, had to then reverse back to home. I wasn't really wanting to do that but oh well. Right foot had some issues with Nueromas at about 7 miles....dang it!  7:56 average pace

Ran the Sojo Half Marathon this morning- Had no idea how the body would be after the SGM. The course is basically downhill with about 3 miles of average climbing and the last 2 miles or so are pretty flat. Going in I hoped to just be under 1:40 so it went about as good as I could expect. My right foot started having issues with about 3 miles left and that made me mad but I kept moving, just a bit slower. The time may not be a great one but the overall race was a good one for me as far as consistency. This is not a downhill aided course. The temps were much warmer than I had hoped for and there was wind as well. I had arm warmers on and had to pull them off after 5 miles because I was overheating fast. Was hoping for about 15-20 degrees cooler!

Splits: 7:12/ 7:22/ 7:05/ 7:39/ 7:25/ 7:23/ 8:31/ 7:32/ 7:31/ 7:27/ 7:34/ 8:16/ 8:14/ 7:09

The last 2 miles were flat and had a headwind so that slowed me down a bit, the 8:31 was a climb and I slowed down but ran the whole hill without wimping out. Looking forward to the Snow Canyon Half in a few weeks to see if I can use this consistency with some downhill and knock off some time-

Late morning run- went out not knowing what to expect after running the half on saturday. Body feels great- calves a bit tight but that is to be expected. First-warmup mile was 7:53 then 6:53  6:14   7:13 with an average of 7:01. I ran the first 1 1/2 miles then broke the rest up with 1/4 mile workout then recovery. Total of 4 miles with effort and 1 mile of recovery.

Can't believe that I don't have any pain from the half marathon.

Started in downtown at my wife's office and ran to River Road over to Bloomington Hills trail to home. Just wanted to get a good run in without killing myself, beautiful morning. 7:39 average pace

Late morning run- same as Monday- more of a speed workout, ran first mile as warmup 7:23 pace, miles 2,3,4 were workouts of .10 to .35 at a fast pace with recovery between. 6:35/ 6:13/ 6:46 then cool down. Average pace for the run 6:44

I put on the Saucony A-2's for the first time in 2 years. They felt so light. I plan on wearing them on Friday night for the Dixie College Midnight 5k to see what I can do on a course that has lots of 90 degree turns, stairs etc.

After the 5 miles the feet actually feel pretty darn good.

56 degrees- 9:30am/ went for an easy run this morning on the trails to I-15 over the bridge and past the Pilot station to home by way of Bloomington Elem. 7:59 average pace

10 mile bike-

DSC Midnight 5 k  22:38/ 3.16 miles Tough course with first mile up hill and the rest zig zagging around the DSC campus. Had to be careful at many turns on the course that were 90 degree turns and also there were sprinklers running and spraying on the pavement making it slick. Nothing terrible but you had to think about where you were running each step of the race.

Age brackets were a joke. under 19> 20 -54> 55 and over. The prizes were almost too good for those who did win in that only the first place in each group. I would guess that there were 175 plus runners. Fun time!

Ran most of the Snow Canyon Half Course this morning- Started out slow with 8:31 pace for first mile then gradually picked up the pace. Had a good pace going to Snow Canyon parkway at 10 miles then cooled it down with 7:30's to the end.

8:31/ 7"27/ 7:15/ 6:44/ 6:30/ 6:15/ 6:31/ 6:55/ 7:08/ 6:58/ 6:45/ 7:35/ 7:26  7:06 average pace

Had worked on my orthotics by adding lifts under my big toes- too much- started getting blisters at 10 miles, took the lifts mostly off and did okay to the end but damage was done.

Finally got out for a run this morning after taking a break since Saturday's run. My right calf and achiles have been very sore and tight. Took it easy the whole run keeping the pace at 8:28 for the run. Still a bit sore but nothing bad. I guess the run Saturday was pretty much a test race with about the same effort as a race except for the first 1 1/2 miles which were warmup miles.

Started in downtown St. George and ran home by way of the Dixie Center then bike path. Right calf/ achiles still a bit sore and left foot still has a blister but not bad. Took it easy all the way and never pushed the pace- nice cool 49 degrees and headwind most of the way. 8:04 average pace

Same route as on Tuesday morning- mid 40's out10:30am. 8:20 average just taking it easy. The last 3 miles were a consistent 8:06 pace. Right calf is feeling much better but still is tight.

Noon run on the Bloomington trail out and back-8:47/ 8:20/ 8:07/ 7:37 average 8:15 pace

Calf is feeling good today- no pain at all, blister is about healed up and was the only thing bothering me on the run, it is in the fold of my big toe so it gets reopened all the time when I bend my foot-

Got out early this morning in the dark Left the house at 6am and 40 degrees. Ran out past Desert Hills High to River Road through the industrial Park to the Arizona Strip to SunRiver to home. When I got home it was 37 degrees. At spots on the run it had to have dropped to low 30's out in the open desert.

Ran very easy not wanting to pound anything hard, just wanted a good enjoyable run. I tried Vespa for the run. No breakfast, went on an empty stomach and the vespa drink to start. Took a 2nd surge energy gel at the 7 mile mark. My energy level stayed pretty good throughout the run. When I took the 2nd Surge I could feel it kick in and  carried me real good for 4 miles plus. For Snow Canyon I need to remember to take it around mile 9.

Slow run with all the climbing....8:48 average pace.

I hit the 2000 mile mark for the year!

5 Miles on the bike path- 7:29 average pace

813/ 7:01/ 7:21/ 7:21/ 7:16