Summit junkie!

My quads were still sore from the run yesterday, so I decided to do 35 minutes on the elliptical and it seemed to help.

No workout yesterday. It was my daughters birthday, so we took her out to dinner and then she wanted to go bowling, so we didn't get back home until late, so I wasn't able to make it to the gym. That was ok. I ate waaay too much though.

I got up early and hit the gym. I have a few guys giving me some pointers about my workouts, so today I did some power lifting. It was a really good workout and I am definitely feeling it more than normal, so that is good. After I lifted I hit the TM for four easy miles at 8:30 pace.

Notes from the gym: There is this guy that has been there the last few times early and he is trying to push Maakoa, which is one of the many multi-level-marketing companies in Utah pushing energy/anti-oxidant supplements. He approached me during one of my sets and tried to tell me how much more fit I would get and how much better I would feel if I took this product. Inside I was laughing because this guy was the most overweight out of shape looking guy in the gym. haha. Anyway, I took his card and told him I would check it out online. I also saw him stalking 3-4 other guys.

I had an amazing trail run this morning with Jun on the Pipeline trail up Millcreek Canyon. That storm last night was crazy and it must have been really bad up the canyon because there were tree limbs everywhere, and going up the canyon there was a tree that had fallen across the road, and it was barely passable.

We started at 5:15 am with a slight rain, but the trail was dry. The temps were perfect and comfortable. We had a fun time talking and occasionally moving fallen debris off of the trail. We were doing just over a 9:00 pace most of the way. We did have a slight rain/hail/snow most of the way, but it didn't get bad until the last mile. This is a really fun trail with some excellent views of the canyon and the city once you get to Lookout Point.

At Lookout Point we took a break for a few minutes. It was just starting to get light and the views of the valley are excellent. On the way back I kept up with Jun for about a mile, but I had to stop for a bathroom break, and I needed to adjust my brace and I was never able to catch up.

By time I hit the last mile I was wet and the snow was starting to really come down. The trail was now getting muddy, so it wasn't quite as good as earlier in the morning, but it was still pretty awesome. I made it back with a total time of 1:30ish (I forgot to look at my watch because I was so wet) and I was into work on time. This is why I love Utah so much. There aren't many places that you can have that kind of experience so close to civilization. So fun!

3 nice and easy on the TM to stretch my legs. They are still a little sore.

I woke up early to lift at the gym. There were very few people there and it was a nice workout. I kept with my new routine of only using free weights, although I did warm up on the machines. I also did 6 rounds of pull-ups.

Pull-ups

-22

-15

-15

-13

-10

-10

I signed up for the SL Running Co. 5K to celebrate their new store on 7th East (about 2400 South). The race was free and I thought it would be fun to finally try a 5K. This was only my third race ever and my first 5K. It was definitely different than anything that I have been doing recently and I learned a lot.

I have not been practicing running a 5K distance and especially not fast. I just wanted to run as fast as I could without hitting a wall. I have not been doing any speed work at all and it showed. I did do a short warm up before the race started and I was feeling pretty good.

There were several hundred runners. I am not sure exactly how many, but they filled 1000 spots, although I would estimate about half of that actually showed up. They did give out free Brooks running shirts and they wanted everyone to wear their shirt, so it was kind of cool to see all of the white shirts. The race was an out and back on 6th East behind the store.

I was near the front at the start and I was actually in the top 5 runners for the first .7 miles. I looked at my watch and I was running a 6:00 minute mile, but I was already starting to get tired, so I knew I had to slow down. I ended up running the first mile in 6:50 and I was still in about 10th place.

Mile two was a lot harder and my lack of preparation was showing. I was trying to run fast, but I was tired and wished I had done at least some speed work before attempting to run a fast 5K. At the turn around point I counted 20 runners ahead of me. The next mile was hard and I just tried to keep a steady semi fast pace and not get passed by too many people.

The last .5 I picked it up and was running sub 7, but I couldn't sprint in like I wanted to. This was harder than I thought it would be and I am a little disappointed with my time, but I learned a lot from this race and had a FUN time anyway. I definitely want to do another one and shave at least a minute off of my time.

I finished in 32 place. Not bad, but there were a lot of weekend warriors out there.