My Running Log

6 miles nice and easy up on 1000 East. Average pace was about 8:20. Felt stiff and slow, but the run was nice. I hope this stiffness goes away soon.

Similar theme to the past few days. Ran 4 miles easy with two 1/3 mile strides. Ran around my neighborhood for the first time. Not too boring since the run was short, but nice due to little traffic and smooth roads. Also ran a little on the softball field. I felt slow, but I felt great on the strides and strong on the hills. Next up is the race that's been motivating me to train consistently for the past 6 months.

The race went well but not nearly as fast as I hoped. We were a little rushed getting to the race, but that was OK. The first mile was uphill mostly, and I ran a pretty comfortable 6:53. That was close to what I was aiming for, so I was happy. The next mile was mostly downhill, and again I felt comfortable. The time was about 6:35. The third mile was slightly downhill the entire time, and I ran about 6:35. So the first 5K was under 21 minutes. Burt McCumber joked that he was going to steal my race plan and use it against me, so about mile 2 I had considered throwing in a 4:20 mile just to confuse him but then decided against it. :)

Starting in mile 4, I just started struggling a bit. It was weird because I felt almost a malaise come over me. This has happened in several races lately. Maybe part of it is from not being in good enough shape. And maybe some of it is getting older. I don't know. But it was this overwhelming feeling of not wanting to push super hard. Wanting to enjoy the run rather than push though pain. I used to not be like this. Maybe it will change. Hopefully. Or maybe I should just run for fun. But anyway, the next mile was about 6:53. So not bad at all, but I could feel myself slowing down. I waved hello to my parents and little brother, which was a nice boost.

The fifth mile had some hills, and I kept fairly strong going up but was certainly slowing down. If I remember right, the split was 7:35. The final mile has quite a bit of uphill, and I struggled more than I expected and slowed down quite a bit. I don't know my split, but it was probably close to 8:00. The last 0.2 I felt pretty good. After the race, I didn't feel spent. I felt like I had run well, but it wasn't the usual feeling of complete exhaustion after a race.

I don't want to get down on myself about this. It's just kind of interesting. I was feeling like a Boston qualifying time later this year would be in the bag, but now I feel like I need to really work hard to get it and not take that for granted. So it will be a good motivator to help me get stronger physically and mentally for that goal.

I've done this race for many, many years (on and off since I was 14). I really enjoy it because I get to see old friends and run in front of an audience. It was run well this year. The main complaint I had was that they started the 5K at the same time as us, and their course overlapped substantially with ours. There were tons of walkers. I had to run around them a lot. One time there was a group of walkers 10 people wide. So that threw off my rhythm a bit and made me a little grumpy. And didn't allow the most efficient tangents. That's fine though. I can't blame them for my time, but it was a frustration. This is the first time we've had to deal with it. On a positive note, though, there were way more runners than previous years, it seemed, so people must be getting more excited about fitness.

As for future plans...I've taken a break in high mileage the past two weeks. I'm ready to start ramping those up next week. But I think the most important part of my training is going to be tempo runs. Though shorter than a race, they simulate the race environment and will help me practice pushing through that feeling of wanting to slow down. The other types of runs will of course also be important, but I aim to put in a great effort each week on those most importantly.

I doubt anyone read this far, but if you did, thanks for reading. :)

I lost my dinner on the side of the freeway last night. Those were the best fireworks I experienced. :) I'm sure you really wanted to know that. :)

I was discussing with my wife about my race, and one thing we were wondering is if the treadmill running has maybe caused me to have a harder time pushing in races. Maybe because I've gotten used to it pushing me. Maybe. Either way, I'm going to run less on the treadmill in preparation for St. George.

I did an easy run. Felt super good and wanted to push harder but didn't. But after 2.4 miles, I felt a sudden pain in my left calf and had to stop. Weird. I walked for about 0.5 miles until it loosened up and then ran again. Then stopped after awhile to walk and then ran again when it felt better. Did this one more time.

It still feels pretty tight. I am 99% sure it is in the muscle rather than tendon or ligament. I'll see how it feels in the morning. This won't stop me from training, but I may have to do some cross training or something.

Feeling under the weather this evening. Also my left calf is still very sore after yesterday's incident. Decided to go extremely easy. So walked the first mile, ran 2.25 miles at 9-10 minute pace, then walked a 0.25 mile cooldown. It was encouraging that I was even able to run without too much discomfort. Will take it a day at a time until feeling better.

My left calf was pretty sore throughout the day. I worried about it. But when I got out and ran (easing into it with some walking), it actually felt pretty good. Definitely wasn't painful, but I could feel it a little. I increased the speed gradually, and held 8:00 pace for 2 miles. So I am pretty sure that I am back in business but will do it gradually. Hopefully by Saturday I can do a long run, but we'll see.

The left calf felt 5000% better throughout the day today. I feel really blessed for that. Tonight I was feeling motivated and good, so I ran 6 miles outside. No walking at all. Average pace was 7:57, and it had some hills. Went down to 10600 South and up to 1300 East. Beautiful evening. Encouraging run after two days of barely being able to run!

I was going to start 6 day-a-week running this week, but it didn't work out today with taking care of the baby while my wife is gone. But the great thing is that my weight was the lowest it's been all year. Maybe those treats my wife made did the trick. :)

Ran the 14 mile loop that goes down 1300 East, up Wasatch Blvd to the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon, and down 9400 S. I reallly was feeling good and wanted to push it the first miles. The first 4 miles were all under 7:45 pace. Then I hit the massive hill, so I had miles at 8:26 and 11:00. There was still a lot of climbing left. My goal was to stay under 9:00 per mile. At mile 10, I ran out of gas completely, so I just tried to survive. Fortunately, it was downhill and with a big wind at my rear, so I was able to stay below 9:00 per mile. Interestingly, I seemed to gain strength when I hit the flat and slightly uphill portions (after lots of downhill). Average pace was 8:28. Total run time: 1:58.

I was gung-ho for this run, but I still struggled. It didn't give me a lot of confidence for longer future runs. But at least it had hills, so that's a comforting thought. And it's these types of runs that will help me improve. I will have to practice eating while running to avoid running out of gas.

This week started on a real low point. I worked forward from there, and I am extremely grateful now to be recovered from this calf strain! Next week I really hope to get some solid mileage and to get back to speed work. It's been awhile! 

11400 South loop. Did a sort of fartlek run with 1 mile and 1/2 mile bursts thrown in. Felt kind of sluggish on the second half but felt better toward the end. Sometimes I feel like I'm getting slower. I'll have to keep my eye on that.

90 minutes later, I feel great and ready to go run again. So that's good.

Average pace overall was 7:51. 

Ran east toward Wasatch Blvd and on little trail, then back down. About 8:25 pace on the way up. About 7:30 pace on the way down. This was a good, solid run. I can tell my endurance is imiproving, which may be a big part of what has been holding me back. Beautiful morning. About 10-15 degrees cooler than yesterday.

Ran some miles that felt comfortable but were actually at a pretty good pace. Once I saw that I was running a good pace, I tried to hold it without pushing too much since it is an easy day. Turned out that I averaged 7:30/mile. This is good. I might be starting to turn the corner on getting in shape.

Had a hard time fitting this one into my schedule. Also had a hard time motivating myself to do it. Ended up running on the treadmill. Turned out ok, I guess. Did 7x600m. Started at 6:40 mile pace and moved it up to 6:00 pace at the end. It was hard even to keep that pace. But I felt my stride was better than it has been in the past. The right calf started hurting me during this run but not as badly as the left one last week. I suspect it will hurt for a few days but still allow me to run full speed.

Didn't get a run in. Was at a family reunion. I played a round of golf, so at least I got some exercise in.

Another Saturday long run. I ran this with my little brother while at the family reunion near Swan Valley, ID. The elevation was around 5800 ft, and we could tell the difference. We did 9 miles, stopped for a few minutes to drink and rest, and then ran 7 miles. My legs were sort through most of it. About two thirds of the way through we did some hills, and that really hampered me, but miles 13-15 were pretty strong. My body got into a rhythm, and it didn't feel hard to run 8:00 pace. The overall pace was 8:20. It was fun to run with my brother.

I'm really wondering if my body will get used to these long runs. Each one so far has been very challenging. But I plan to do long runs each week and hopefully it will get better.

Broke 50 miles for the week. Not as many as I had planned, but it was great to get above 50 again.

Ran through the west part of Billings, MT today. It was pretty flat overall. The elevation is about 3200 ft, so it felt a little easier than the last run. It was windy, but it felt good. The temp was 70, which felt nice. Cloudy day.

The bad news is that my left calf started hurting again. It slowed me down quite a bit, but I felt that I could keep running. I ended up with 10.2. Average pace was 8:43. Probably I run easy tomorrow instead of the tempo run I had planned, unless my calf is suddenly healed.

Calf was hurting pretty badly throughout the day yesterday. It was hurting less today but still definitely hurting. So I waited till evening to run, so I could give it some extra rest. On the run, I started out very slowly and kind of limping to ease into it. I did that for the first 3 miles. After that, I decided to try loosening up my ankle, and the calf didn't hurt too bad. So I tried running with a more normal stride, and that actually felt a lot better. By the end of the run, I was running normal and feeling strong, so I finished at 7:30 pace. The average pace was 8:43, exactly the same as yesterday. I'm really happy with where the calf is, even though it's still hurting.

Interestingly, I think a different part of my left calf is injured this time. I wonder if I just need new shoes. But it seems like muscles in different parts of my legs keep rotating with having strains, so maybe they just each need a turn to get broken in.

P.S. The run was in Billings today, too.

Lots of traveling today. Tonight I simply didn't feel like running, and my calf was still sore, so I ran a token mile so I could keep my streak alive. Hopefully tomorrow will be better. I ran it in 9:16 on main street of Logan, UT. Not the best part of town where I am staying. :)

Once again, ran late at night. And once again, calf not feeling too good, so I ran 3.5 miles at 8:00 pace average on the treadmill. But the calf did feel better than the previous two days.

My little brother (18 years old) ran the Deseret News Marathon this morning. He stayed with us, and we got up at 2:30 am to head to the buses. He got on the bus, and I slept for a couple hours in my car. Then I ran up to the mouth of Emigration Canyon and saw him running down. That's when he was starting to hurt (too much downhill). I ran down to Foothill and then south until I found him again. Then I ran with him up foothill for a couple miles. Then I got in my car and went to a couple other places to cheer him on. He finished with a 3:32 on his first marathon, which I think is excellent. He was fourth in his age division. It was kind of fun, too, because this was the same marathon that I ran when I was the same age.

It was also great to see some other bloggers and friends running. I saw Mike Warren and Sasha but didn't get a chance to talk to them. And I saw a blonde gal who I think won or placed high. And I saw MaryAnn. It was also cool watching part of the 10k from my car.

Anyway, in this process, I ran 9.7 easy miles. My calf was hurting more than usual, but once I got warmed up it wasn't too bad. I decided to give in and went and bought some new Nike Air Pegasus shoes. They felt really comfy in the store. Hopefully this will reduce my number of aches and pains from running in old shoes. That's what people tell me anyway. I used to put 1200-1500 miles on a pair of shoes in high school (my current ones have 900), but I'm not the young guy I used to be. 

Went to the tracK for the first time in over a month. It was nice to be bacK. I did 2 miles warmup, then 5x800m. My times were 3:17, 3:14, 3:09, 3:04, 3:12. These times were decent for me. The best was that I felt lighter on my feet and that I could have gone faster. I want to try to do another speed worKout this next weeK to see where I am at. I had to cut this one short because I had to maKe a bathroom stop that couldn't wait. Then I was out of my rhythm and called it a day. The calf didn't feel perfect but it is much better than earlier this weeK.

My weeK was not great for running. I had more calf troubles, so I eased up. I only got about 37 miles for the weeK. I'm really hoping to reach 60 one of these times. Or at least to stay consistently about 50 for a few weeKs in a row.

Got out and ran early. Beautiful morning. First two miles were pretty easy. Left calf started hurting a bit after downhill at 2 miles. But then it eased up. I was trying to stay below 8:00 pace and get close to 7:30 pace average if I could. Ran really well through 7.75 miles and averaging 7:45 pace. But then calf flared up and had to walk the rest of the way (3.25 miles). I'm counting it as 9 miles of running.

Not sure what to do about this calf. Will probably take it easy the next couple days and go from there. 

Calf still hurting, so I did my workout on the elliptical and treadmill machines. The elliptical didn't hurt my calf at all but still gave me a cardio workout (heart rate in 130-140 range). The treadmill running was really slow. Hopefully each day it will get better.

Another night of working on the elliptical and treadmill. 40 minutes on elliptical. I pushed harder than usual and got my heart rate up around 140-160. Felt really good. Then did a little running. Ran slightly faster this time than last (about 10:00 mile pace).

Calf is feeling better. Similar to the last time around. But this time around I'm going to play it a little more conservatively so as to not aggrevate it again.

Ran 7 easy miles on treadmill. Started slow, moved up the pace, calf starting feeling iffy, slowed down the pace, calf felt better, moved up the pace at the end. Overall, great run. Total time was 62 minutes. Average pace about 9:15 per mile.

Very similar to yesterday. Felt better and ran faster, though. Did 4 miles on the treadmill. Average pace was 8:15. Sped up to 7:00 pace toward the end, and it didn't really hurt my calf. I can still feel it and that I need to be careful, but this was encouraging.