Fly me to the moon...

We were flying on the trail today.  It helps when it isn't completely covered by snow and ice.  There are still large portions with snow and ice, but usually there are dry spots along the edges.  I ran the usual 5 miles with Sasha and Mary Ann in a total time of 40:08 (8:01/mile). 

It was a good run.  I had a hard time getting out of bed this morning.  I was tired from staying up late and from the race yesterday, and my bed was nice and warm.  I just remembered what Sasha said yesterday morning running when you don't want to.  You need to learn to run when you don't feel like it, so I dragged myself out of bed.  I was surprised that my legs weren't really sore from the race yesterday.  The calves were a little tight, but they loosened up just fine during the run.

Another heat wave this morning with temps in the 30s.  We had Sasha, Mary Ann and James this morning for the usual 5 miles.  Total time was 44:00 (8:48/mile).  Sasha wanted to try some 30m sprints in the dry spots.  I didn't count how many we did, but I would guess it was about 10 times during the run.

Ran with the group this morning that included Sasha, Mary Ann, Jeff, James, and Angela.  It was pretty cold and windy, and under the bridges it was pretty icy.  Under the bridges for I-15 it was particularly bad with black ice nearly the entire way.  I hit a bad spot and went down.  It was the first time I have ever fallen on the ice.  I didn't really get hurt, and it was kind of fun sliding on my back for about 5-10 feet on the ice.  I had a nice big frozen spot on my sweatshirt by the end of the run.  We ran about 2.75 to the start of the 5K course from the New Years Eve run.  Then the rest of the group except James and I started some speedwork.  I don't know how far or how fast they went because it was pretty icy even on the roads.  I started to go with them for the first part, but couldn't get enough traction.  James and I did another 400m on the trail and then headed back for a total of 6.  Our time was pretty good considering the conditions at about 50:22 (8:23/mile).  I'm not sure how accurate the time is though because I stopped and started it a few times.  The tunnels under the train bridges were full of icy water so we had to go around a couple of times rather than run in frozen, wet shoes.  It was quite the adventure today. 

Ran with the group this morning in the frozen tundra.  The temperature was 7 degrees this morning and the water that was standing in the tunnels was now iced over.  I ran 3 miles with Sasha, Mary Ann and Jeff, and then turned around.  My time was 49:57 (8:19/mile) for the 6 miles which was adjusted for the slow walks through the icy tunnels.

Slept in today and didn't get out to run later.  I did shovel 3 driveways and several sidewalks though.  I think I got a pretty good workout from that.

Early morning run with Sasha and Mary Ann.  There was quite a bit of fog this morning and lots of snow on the trail.  It was a bit eerie and cool this morning after we got out far enough on the trail and away from the city lights.  We ran 6 in a time of 58:26 (9:44/mile) with Sasha's time slightly faster due to a VPB stop.

It was surprisingly cold this morning.  The forecast was for much warmer weather, but the morning temp was 9 degrees.  I don't think the forecasted low has ever been correct since I've lived in Utah.  I underdressed a little so I was a little cold but not too bad.  I ran 3 with Sasha, Mary Ann, and Jeff and then turned around for a total of 6 in 49:09 (8:11/mile).  The trail wasn't too bad so we were able to go faster.  Last I saw the forecast was for snow this evening.  We'll see if that actually happens.

Well there was a little bit of snow on the ground this morning, but it only amounted to about a centimeter.  It was just enough to be annoying and slippery with the warmer temps.  It also did a nice job of covering all of the icy slick spots.  You didn't know they were there until your feet started going backwards or you slipped.  On a positive note, the drains under the train tracks were fixed so there was no standing water/ice to contend with.  I ran 3 with Sasha, Mary Ann and Jeff and then turned around.  It was interesting looking at our tracks in the snow on the way back.  We were the only ones out there so there was no confusion with other footprints, and it gave me the chance to study the tracks a bit (for lack of anything else to do).  From what I could tell, I have the worst mechanics in my stride.  My left foot is pretty parallel with my body at footstrike, but I turn my right foot out.  Mine was the most pronounced in that way.  Sasha's footsrike was next, but he turned both feet out about equally.  They weren't as pronounced as my right foot, but worse than Mary Ann and Jeff.  She and Jeff tied for the most neutral footstrike.  Mary Ann turned out her right foot more, but Jeff turned out his left foot.  As far as stride length was concerned, mine was the longest, but the other three were hard to tell.  It was interesting.  Total time for the 6 was 50:50 (8:28/mile).

I ran in the morning with Sasha and Jeff.  I didn't bother to time it because we stopped so many times setting up the course for the race and shoveling snow and ice under the 820 N bridge.  We set up the 5K turnaround point and then I headed home while Jeff and Sasha set up the rest of the marks for the 10K.

I had a quick breakfast, relaxed a little and then headed over to the race.  I ran over the Exchange park for a warmup.  There was a fairly good turnout for a January race in the snow with the temps in the single digits.  We all started at once next to the firestation.  My plan was to push it hard on the dry spots and slow down for the snow and ice along the trail.  I didn't get a good start and got behind some slower runners, but I got around them about 50 meters into the race and took off.  I caught up to Sasha, Jeff, and Nick, but they were going pretty fast and there was no way I was staying with them.  We hit our first icy patch, and I fell back a ways.  They hit the first mile in 5:06 while my first mile was 5:48.  The first mile included the tunnel under the 820 N bridge that we had worked on in the morning, and the thought was that it would be the worst place.  It wasn't even close.  The second mile was almost all on ice or snow with a couple of water jumps under the train bridges and a skating rink leading up to and under the I-15 bridge.  My second mile including the turnaround and all the icy fun was 6:52.  I had to stop and walk or shuffle/slide a few times.  I picked it up the third mile on the dry spots and ended up with a 6:12.  I had around 31s for the last 0.1 and finished with a time of 19:24 (6:15/mile).  I thought it was pretty good considering the conditions.  I probably could have gone faster, but I wasn't going to catch Jeff who finish almost 3 minutes ahead of me, and the next guy came in around 26:00.  I was safely in 2nd place and didn't feel the need to kill myself.  I was impressed with Jeff's time in the 5K and Nick's time (33:18) in the 10K considering the conditions.  I ran a little bit of cooldown, helped cleanup some and headed home.

I slept in this morning and ran a little later.  I was up too late last night and needed the extra rest.  I decided to go the other direction this time as well.  I thought maybe it would be clearer of snow and ice.  It was worse than the usual direction.  After the fire station at Exchange park, there was a lot of snow and ice.  I ended up going faster than usual though.  I pushed the pace a bit on the dry spots and slowed down considerably for the icy spots.  I think the warmer temps made the traction worse along with a Provo city worker putting down salt.  It melted it enough to make it even slicker.  My total time for 6 was 46:55 (7:49/mile).

Ran the usual 3 with the group and then turned around.  Finished 6 in 47:36 (7:56/mile).  The legs have felt tired recently with a few little aches and pains.  I plan to keep going about 6 a day this week and the next and go from there.

Ran the usual with the usual suspects at the same time.  My total time for the 6 was 46:09 (7:41/mile).  My left ankle has been a bit stiff lately.  Last Friday I ran across a piece of ice on the trail and bent my foot up too far.  The ankle has been a bit stiff ever since.  Once it warms up it is okay though.

We had the usual group this morning plus Chauncy.  The whole group did 6 to start off with and then I think Sasha and Jeff ran some more.  I finished the 6 in 48:09 (8:01/mile).

Ran 4 with Sasha, Mary Ann and Jeff.  Then Mary Ann was done, and the guys headed out for more.  I ran another mile with them and then turned around for a total of 6 in 48:20 (8:03/mile).

I debated on whether to do 4 or 6 when I left.  My legs were a little sore and tight, but they warmed up after a few miles.  I ended up doing the 6 in 45:47 (7:37/mile).  It didn't feel that fast.  I tend to go a bit faster on days when I am by myself and when I run in the afternoon.

Cold morning run with the group.  Started with Sasha, Jeff, Mary Ann, and Chauncy.  Chauncy and I turned around at 3, and the rest of the group continued on.  Total time was 46:30 (7:45/mile).  The left ankle was still a bit tight to begin with, but it loosened up nicely during the run.

We got a little bit later start this morning, but it wasn't any warmer. We did a stair sprint test to see how fast we could run up the stairs hitting every step. Sasha and I were similar with times of about 3.6s. Jeff was the fastest with times around 3s, and Mary Ann had times around 3.1-3.2s. Sasha and I have similar sprint speed, and Jeff and Mary Ann are faster. It was interesting. We then headed out for the usual. I turned around at 3 and finished with a time of 46:04 (7:40/mile).

In the evening, I ran to the church, played basketball for an hour, and then ran home.  Our team won.

I got a late start this morning after oversleeping, but I made it in time to the run.  We got a pretty early start so I'm glad I didn't miss it.  I ran 3 with Sasha, Jeff, and Mary Ann and then headed home.  Total time for 6 was 46:30 (7:45/mile).

I added some more later while going to home teaching and to babysit Sasha's kids for a few minutes.

I ran 3 with the group and headed home as usual.  It was a heat wave this morning at 28 degrees.  Total time was 46:04 (7:40/mile).

Played some basketball in the evening and ran home from the church.

It was a wet, rainy run this morning with Sasha, Jeff, Chauncy and Mary Ann.  We all ran 3 and then turned around.  After 6 Chauncy and I were done, but the others went for 4 more.  We had some music for the run this morning with everyone but me singing.  First they sang at ~6 minute pace and then at ~8 minute pace.  Jeff and Chauncy sounded the best.  Sasha had plenty of air but was off key a lot.  Mary Ann was on key but generally out of breath and lost for the words.  Total time was 48:20 (8:03/mile).  There were some really slick spots on the trail where there was ice covered with water.

I ran with the usual plus Matt A.  I ran with the group and then turned around at 3.  We were talking a lot more today, so our time was a little slower.  I finished in 49:30 (8:15/mile).

Slow run with a big group.  We had Sasha, Jeff, Mary Ann, Chauncy and Matt A.  Total time for the 6 was 45:48 (7:38/mile).  The trail was pretty slippery.

Decided to run a little farther today.  Ran to the 3.5 turnaround with Sasha, Mary Ann, Jeff, and Matt.  They escorted me back to the turnoff, and I finished in 53:22 (7:37/mile).  The run included a 1000m in 3:37 in the middle.

I ran with the same group as yesterday.  There was some heated discussion about the format of the blog, and we pushed the pace a bit.  Sasha, Mary Ann and Jeff did an 800m in 2:47 in the middle while Matt and I hung back.  I finished in 51:32 (7:21/mile).

Missed the group this morning.  I was up late with a sick baby.  I got a run in late in the morning though.  It was a 45:33 (7:35/mile) for the 6 miles.  The first 3 were slower, and then I warmed up a bit and started hitting 7:20 miles.  It also helped that it was downhill most of the way.

Back with the usual group plus one (Bryce) this morning.  It felt as though we were pushing the pace a bit more, but the time was pretty slow at 56:02 (7:43/mile) for 7.25 miles. 

Nice 8 mile run along the trail.  With a mile to go I decided to beat the 7:30 mile guy.  I picked it up and ran the last mile in 6:43.  Total time was 59:35 (7:26/mile).  It felt good.