My Running Log

5 miles on treadmill in 37:35. Calves are sore from hill workout.

6 miles on the treadmill. 4.5 of it was tempo run. Overall hit the 5 mile mark at 33:13, I think a record for me on the treadmill. The overall time was about 40:30. Calves were sore, but I felt good.

Sorta similar workout as yesterday. Except I didn't push as hard on the pace. But I did run at a 1% incline. I think I will do that more often. Hit the 5 mile mark at 35:12 and the full run was 42:30. Felt really, really good tonight for some reason.

4 easy miles on the treadmill in 30:15. Nice to get a run in on Friday.

There's a small mountain that separates Salt Lake County from Utah County. It's the one you have to go around at the "point of the mountain." When we go visit my brother-in-law in Highland, we drive over the top of the mountain on Traverse Pass. I've wanted to run over it for a long time.

Well, this morning we in Highland. It was a cold and windy morning, but I was determined to run over Traverse Pass to our house. So my wife was kind enough to drop me off on the highway at the bottom of the hill, and I made it all the way home.

This was a tough run. I ran into a gnarly head wind the entire way. And it was cold. I had to pull my head and neck warmers over my face at times because of the wind and cold. It seems like it's always the most windy at the steepest parts, too. I started at around 4900 ft, and the top of the mountain was 6100 ft.

I feel really good about this run. It was a very tough run. And my average pace was 8:27, which I am very happy about. Despite the adverse conditions, it was actually a very enjoyable experience. I liked the thrill of pushing myself and succeeding at it.

It was a good week for running. Total was 43 miles, which was the goal. 

Random hill workout on the treadmill. Level 9 at 7:00 pace. This one was a beast. I had to stop three times. Heart rate got up to 180 several times. The hills are random, and I got unlucky this time. It seemed harder than usual. I got through 2.75 miles before stopping the first time, so worse than last time.

But I'll just keep working on this. I think it gives me a really good workout. 

5 miles in 37:30 on treadmill. Late at night. It's hard to run during December with so many things going on.

10 easy miles on the treadmill in 73:01. I have a sore throat, which I think is due to not getting enough sleep. So off to bed!

5 miles on treadmill in 36:30. Started after midnight. Need to get on a better schedule and run in the mornings!

We went to the Asian Buffet last night, so today I needed to get some good mileage in. But I didn't have a long span of time. So in the morning I ran 8.5 miles on the treadmill in 59:15. I felt really good. Then tonight I ran 9.5 miles on the treadmill. The first 9 miles were hard (completed them in an hour, the first time I have run 9 miles in an hour on the treadmill!!) and the last 0.5 was a short cooldown. I can't believe how good I felt. It was nice. I didn't have enough time to reach my weekly mileage goal, but only fell short by 1.5 miles. So I will try to make that up next week.

I hope everyone is enjoying this time of year. 

7 miles easy on the treadmill in 53:30. Felt nice to run at a more relaxed pace. The body told me it needed to not run hard today.

There are some good deals on Asics shoes at Kohls right now. At least the one in Draper. If anyone is interested. They might have good deals on other brands, too. 

Late night treadmill workout. 6 miles of tempo. First 5 miles were in 33:38 overall. Total run was 40:30. Felt kind of sluggish, so I didn't push super hard. But it was still a good workout.

I should have run an extra 0.27 miles because I'm now 100.27 miles short of getting to 2000 for the year.  

It was getting really late, so I just ran a mile loop outside. It was actually very pleasant.

Something happens to you when you put your body in extreme conditions. Today for me I formulated a poem for my blog post. But now that I'm done, I can't remember it. But it was something like this. It doesn't rhyme by the way.

Traveled to Altamont, UT for my wife's family reunion.

Beautiful afternoon, but dreading a long run.

Got out the door, start out slow.

Then start to feel better and push the pace.

This is a nice quiet area, right by the Ute reservation. I wonder if there are any cougars on it.

Run 5.63 miles to a dead end and turn around.

Dog starts to chase me, but it's old.

Soon two Rottweillers start to chase. They are fast!

Just realized that I've had more dogs chase me than the number of moving cars I've seen to this point.

Running strong for first 12 miles, averaging 7:31 pace.

Now it's getting real cold, so I cover face with neck warmer. Can't breathe.

Slowing down now.

Getting even colder. Turn around again. Windy here.

Slog through the last few miles.

A light in the distance is my destination, but it seems to be getting further away.

Finally I reach it, but it wasn't my destination.

A little farther and I arrive.

I have to admit it's kind of fun being the guy that all the in-laws thinks is crazy for running 20 miles in 10 degree weather. 

Ran in Altamont, UT again today. It was in the afternoon, so it was warmer this time. Probably about 20 degrees. I encountered the same dogs again, and I'm still alive to tell about it. I started out slow and tried to keep my stride really relaxed instead of forcing it, and it really helped. On the second half of the run, I pushed the pace (but not my stride), and it felt great! I finished out strong at the end with some miles around 7:00 pace. 

13.1 miles total. 7:39 pace. The elevation is 6500+ here. I felt really good on this run.

I ran 47 miles this week. It was a really fun week for running. 2000 miles for the year is still a possibility.

7 miles in 47:21 on the treadmill. Didn't feel great but can't complain about a good tempo run.

My weight was low this morning. I was sort of surprised. This might be the lowest it's been this year. Just waiting for Christmas to come so I can gain some of it back. :)

Anybody out there run a 50 miler before? 

7 miles on treadmill in 48:47. 

This one was sort of in between an easy run and a tempo run. I didn't plan on pushing the pace, but I have a hard time running relaxed on the treadmill. When I feel up to it, I like to push the pace.

6 miles on the treadmill in 44:45. It was nice to run relaxed. I was feeling OK, but it was better to hold back. Merry Christmas to all!

4.5 miles of hill workout on treadmill at 7:00 pace, level 9. 1 mile warmup. 1.5 mile cooldown. This didn't go too well. I made it through 2 miles, rested for 2:45, 1 mile, rested for 2:45, 0.6 miles, rested, 0.5 miles, rested, 0.3 miles, rested, 0.3 miles, cooled down.

So in total, I had to stop and rest five times. It's getting harder for me. My heart rate just gets so high that I'm afraid I'll pass out.

I will keep working these hills and see if I can improve. The heart needs to get stronger. Plus I think I could have done better if I had taken it easier on my Tuesday run. It was just hard to hold back.

Anyway, I'm pleased with having pushed myself and will keep at it.

I hope everyone is having a great Christmas and that you're not reading this on Christmas! 

Merry Christmas! I was surprised to see that many of the bloggers went running today. I usually take Fridays off, and Christmas was all the more reason to take a break today for me. I sure enjoyed spending the morning with my wife and daughter and then the afternoon and evening with my parents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephew. I'm grateful that we all get along so well and live so close to each other. 

Just over 12 miles on the treadmill this morning. I normally like running on the treadmill, but this time some guy was watching a special on the history channel about UFO's in Roswell, NM. And our runs overlapped almost completely. It would have been better if I had brought my iPod or something.

But anyway, the run wasn't bad at all. I ran 43:45 for the first 6 miles. And then 42:52 for the second 6 miles. I didn't push hard and didn't go easy. It was a good pace. I also threw in hills at Level 1 for a little variety.

This week I had 39 miles. I'm lacking 27 miles to hit 2000 for the year. I plan on hitting that milestone.

About 2 months ago I made a goal to work up to running 5 miles on the treadmill in 30 minutes. Before today I think my furthest was about 2-3 miles at this pace. Well, today I felt really good and thought I'd give it a try. During the first couple miles I was pleased with how smooth it felt. It didn't feel like I was straining too hard. This was good because at the beginning of the year it felt like a full-on sprint to run this pace. Anyway, after 2 miles it started getting harder, and I started counting each tenth of a mile. But fortunately, I was able to hold on for the full 5 miles. I feel really grateful to be making progress and to be healthy. I guess I'll have to come up with a new stretch goal for tempo runs.

I ran 1.5 miles of warmup and 0.5 miles of cooldown.

5 miles easy in 37:46. Felt nice to go easier.

8 miles on treadmill in 59:10. I didn't think it would come to this, but I'm getting bored of the treadmill. Good thing I have a good, long outside run planned for Saturday on Antelope Island.

At the beginning of today, I needed 7 miles to reach 2000. So this afternoon I went to the treadmill and started my normal hill workout. I didn't feel very good, so I decreased the incline a lot to get through it. Towards the end, I came up with a "bright idea." I shortened my run to 6.9 miles, giving me an official total of 1999.9 for the year. My reasoning was that it would give me something to shoot for next year!

So I went home and told my wife this, and she said it was a pretty silly idea.

So at my parents' house tonight, I ran 0.1 on the treadmill.

So I reached exactly 2000 miles for the year 2009. Pretty good milestone for me, especially considering I did about 0 miles last year.

The year has been really nice. I've been fortunate to stay mostly injury free, ran 5 days a week without fail, qualified for Boston, met some great people on the blog, lost 25 pounds, and gained confidence in my ability to set and keep rigorous goals. Thanks to those of you who read my blog and have given me encouragement throughout the year.

I'm not sure what 2010 will bring, but hopefully I don't lose another 25 pounds or I'll get blown away by the wind. I'm seriously considering the Buffalo Run 50 miler just because I've wanted to do 50 miles since I was a teenager, and the scenery should be beautiful. Besides that, I'll probably do some shorter road races and possibly a marathon or two. The plan for Boston is 2011.

Happy New Year to everyone, and I hope your 2009 has been great and that you're excited for a fresh start in 2010!