My Running Log

This was actually on the elliptical

5x400m

Elliptical machine

B-ball

5 minutes - 8:30 pace

5 minutes - 8:00 pace

5 minutes - 7:30 pace

10 minutes - 7:00 pace

5 minutes - 6:31 pace

 Pushed myself on this one. Hopefully not more than what I'm ready for. But it felt awesome, and my heart/breathing were not going too hard. Makes me excited for the next workout like this to see if I can push it a little harder.

Played b-ball tonight

5 minutes warmup (uphill) on treadmill

20 minutes at 6.0-6.5 mph (random hill climb, level 12) on treadmill

10 minutes cooldown (uphill) walking on treadmill

Felt good at the beginning but then couldn't handle the uphill at the speed I was going. But it was good to test my limits.

Also, found out I will be able to run in the SLC half marathon on April 18. Plan to do this rather than the Provo one. Should be fun.

Played basketball again tonight. It showed me that I still am out of shape. Got winded after going up and down the court a few times. Need to stay consistent with running. Not sure if I'm going to continue playing b-ball because it's messing up my running routine.

Didn't get an elliptical workout in this week, so I made that my warmup (10 minutes) and cooldown (20 minutes) for my run. Those were the easy miles. Heart rate was about 125 at beginning and 130-150 on cooldown.

 Ran 2 minutes at 6.5 mph at the beginning and end of run. In the middle, ran 5 miles at 7:41 pace and 1 mile at 7:00 pace. Heart rate between 150 and 160.

I noted that the first 6.21 miles (10-K) of this run were in 47:26. I'm happy with that for my third week of training (though it is on the treadmill).

Was a little hard at the end but felt great for everything. Really enjoying this. I ran a bit more than last week, which was part of my goal for this week.

400 m at 6:18 mile pace

3 x 800 m at 6:00 - 6:18 pace

400 m at 6:00 pace

Rest was at 9:00 pace.

Felt awesome.

Elliptical workout. 37 minutes. Level 13. Felt great.

Random hill workout on treadmill. Level 10.

5 minutes at 6.0 mph

15 minutes at 6.5 mph

5 minutes at 7.0 mph

This week's hill workout was much better than last week. I hit the edge of what I could do right at the end. So now I have a baseline to build from. Unfortunately, I left my form droop a little at the end. Next week I want to do a similar workout but on level 11.

As part of this, I ran about 3 miles at 8:00 pace. I felt like running longer but decided to keep it an easy run.

1 mile warmup and cooldown.

6 miles at 7:30 pace

1 mile at 7:00 pace

I've been increasing the pace slightly each week on my long runs. I'm trying to find the sweet spot where it's fast enough to feel it's a challenge and to energize me but not so fast that it feels like a tempo run. This week felt about right. I don't know if I'll increase the pace much after this for now. I've been adding a mile to my long run each week, and that has been great because I'm not going too long too soon (I hope), but it also helps me feel like I'm progressing.

I've also been trying to increase my weekly mileage each week this year, and this week was a jump of almost 4 miles. Part of it was running instead of playing basketball.

 84 miles for the month. Maybe someday I'll make it on the mileage board. :)

1 mile warmup

3 miles at 7:00 pace

1 mile at 6:30 pace

1/2 mile at 6:00 pace

1/2 mile cooldown

This was my best workout of the year so far. I really felt good and was able to keep the pace and push it at the end. I think these speeds will be good for me on tempo runs for a while. So this is good because again it helps me see where I'm at. I know you can't equate treadmill times with road times, but it encourages me that I feel like my body is progressing and cooperating. A great start to the week.

One thing I observed today. When I get to the end of a tough workout, I tend to tighten my lower legs. I think that's because that's what I do when I sprint or try to kick at the end. But today I purposely tried to relax my lower legs and my arms, and it made a positive difference.

My current schedule is to go hard (speed) on Mondays, easy Tuesdays, hard (hills) on Wednesdays, easy on Thursdays, off on Fridays, and long on Saturday. I think for now this is a great way to go, because it gives my body time to recuperate after each hard run, but I still run often enough to build up mileage. And it gives me Fridays (date night) and Sunday (sabbath) off.

Nice workout on the elliptical. Setting was level 12. Was going about 5.5-5.8 pace most of the time. Felt good during and after. Lasted 39 minutes.

Today during the day I was feeling a little sick after yesterday's hard workout. My body didn't handle it as well as I hoped. I think I'll be fine tomorrow after a good night's rest.

Ran outside for the first time this year. Started at 9:40 PM

(unfortunately). Realized that my neighborhood is not the most scenic

place to run. So I'll probably have to throw some variety in there. Did

the hill on 8600 south twice. It felt way different on my body to run

outside. So this reinforced that I need to get away from the treadmill

more often. Ran for 46 minutes at a fairly slow pace. My shin started hurting today but not too badly.

Played church basketball. I only go to play about 9 minutes of the game. I didn't play well. Our team didn't play as a team. So pretty much a waste of time.

I had a head cold today. A bit of sickness has been accumulating the past few days. This afternoon I came home early and slept deeply for 3.5 hours. I think I had pushed my body too far and hadn't been getting enough sleep recently. I'm not worried about this, but hopefully I'll get through it soon and will need to try to get more sleep. Today's a normal rest day, and tomorrow I plan to run unless feeling much worse.

We had another church basketball game today, and I played because I knew I would get a better workout this time. I'm counting that as 2.5 easy miles, but I did a lot of sprinting and got winded. Then ran a total of 7 miles on the treadmill. 6.25 miles of that was at 8:30 pace, which felt great. Ran more miles this week than last!

Usually I do my speed workout on Monday, but I didn't feel my body was ready for it this morning. So I did 5 easy miles in 43 minutes. It felt good during and after, though I am still sore. Tomorrow I will most likely do a little speed.

1 x 1200m at 7:00 pace

1 x 1200m at 6:30 pace

1 x mile at 6:15 pace

400-800m rest in between

Did my speed workout today. They were longer intervals this time. I was feeling good on the last 1200m, so I extended it to a mile and sped up to 6:00 mile pace at the end. I took it conservative at the beginning, because I wasn't sure what my body was ready for (getting over cold and have been quite sore). But it went well after I got into it, and I don't feel like I killed myself off doing them.

I used to hate longer intervals when I was in high school, but they are good for me.

Worked on the elliptical today. Pushed the pace faster than normal. HR was between 140 and 155 most of the time. Pace was between 5.5 and 7.0 mph most of the time. Felt really good. Lasted 40 minutes.

44 minutes of hills on the treadmill. Level 11. Pace was 6.5 mph for 22 minutes of it. The rest was between 4.5 and 5.5. I couldn't handle it at the faster pace for as long as I hoped. But it really worked me and hopefully will help me get in shape.

Was going to do a 5K time trial today, but it was snowing, so I did a long run on the treadmill. the first half was at 8:00 pace, and the second half was 7:30 (with a 7:00 mile at the end). I didn't feel winded. My body just started to get tired toward the end. But not too bad. This is my first day this year of double digit miles of running, so that's good. I also beat last week's total by a ways, so that's good. It took me 69 minutes to do the 9 miles, and 79 minutes total.

Six weeks straight of 5 days a week!

Did an elliptical workout this morning. It was longer than usual (about 50 minutes). Pushed the pace and got heart rate around 145-160, which was the most important thing.

I'm going to start tracking my weight since we now have a scale. When I remember, I'm going to weigh myself first thing in the morning. Today I was 184.0, but I was lower after I worked out (and ate breakfast). This will be interesting to observe.

I hope to get down to about 175 by the time the half marathon comes around, but we'll see. Frankly, I'm amazed to be running as well as I am in spite of how heavy I am (relative to what I used to be).

Ran for 46 minutes on the treadmill. Did a mile warmup, 4.25 miles (about 31 minutes) of tempo, and then .75 cooldown. I started out feeling stiff and had a hard time keeping 7 minute pace. But then I was able to throw in about a mile total of faster pace. My total for 4 miles was 27 minutes, which is 6:45 pace.

 My weight is the same as yesterday. It's interesting to see it fluctuate at different times of the day.

Ran 5 miles on the treadmill. I felt good, so I ran the middle miles at 7:30 pace. At the end, I wanted to run more but decided to hold back.

My weight dropped a little. I'm sure it's just a normal fluctuation, but that's the lowest I've seen it since we've had the scale.

Hill workout on the treadmill. I decided I want to run these faster than I have been, so I increased the pace to 8:00 per mile and decreased the level. And I figured I would increase the level over time. I started at level 4 for the first two miles, and it was too easy, so I gradually increased it to level 7. I think I can handle level 7 next week at that pace. So I'll probably do that and try to increase it from there over the next weeks.

My shin bone has had a little pain in it that hasn't gone away for two weeks. I don't think it's a shin splint because it's in one specific spot. I don't remember banging it on anything, so I don't really know what it is. It could be some kind of stress fracture, but it seems like a strange location for that. I've fortunately not been prone to injuries, so I'm going to keep running on it and see how things go.

5K time trial on Saturday.

My training plan called for a simulated (or real) 5K race. I wasn't ready for the real thing (and didn't want to pay an entry fee), so I ran my own time trial on the trail that goes along the TRAX railroad in Sandy. I went back and forth on a 1/2 mile stretch to avoid traffic (not ideal, but it worked and has slight hills). Below are my approximate splits for each 1/2 mile:

3:15

3:25

3:40

3:40

3:40

3:20

1:00 (.1 mile)

I felt really good on the warmup and ran decent the first mile. The second mile was quite slow. The last mile started about the same, but I was able to pick it up the last part to average 7:00 pace.

I'm not too happy with this performance. I was hoping to run faster. Rather than making excuses, I'll just say I know I can run faster. This just gives me a baseline and a motivation to continue increasing the weekly mileage and to run outside more (especially now that the winter is slowly going away). On a positive note, my warmup and cooldown miles felt really good, and the miles passed quickly. This tells me I'm making progress.

For the week, I broke the 30 mile barrier! And I'm feeling hungry to increase it.

5x800 at 3:30, 3:18, 3:14, 3:00, and 3:00.

On the treadmill.

These were hard but good. I realized that my breathing was much different than when I ran my time trial. So I think that's something that will help me next time is to be more relaxed in my breathing.

Played basketball and vowed to retire.

Then ran 4 miles on the treadmill with a slight incline (my new thing) at 7:30-8:00 pace.

I'm really tired. I need to get more sleep and maybe take it easy on the next workout.

Hill workout on the treadmill. 8 minute pace, level 7. This was a challenge, but fortunately I survived. I think this is a good level to build on. Also, I am thinking that it would be hard to get as good of a hill workout outside (unless I did a canyon run) as I do inside because it really pushes me. Especially because I usually am running by myself.

Nice easy workout on the elliptical machine. It felt nice to take it easy. 40 minutes. Level 10.

Feels good to take a day off.

Ran 0.5 mile warmup, 5 miles at 8:30 pace, 3.5 miles at 8:00 pace, and 1.5 miles faster on the treadmill. The first 2/3 of this run felt really easy. Toward the end I started to feel a little tired but not too bad.

This is my longest run of the year and my week with the most miles. So I feel good about that. My average weight has gone down about 2 pounds since last week. More than I thought.

So things are going well.

I didn't feel up to running hard this morning, so I did my easy run. Actually, I still pushed a little and ran most of it at 7:30 pace (with no incline). Once I got going my body felt better.

Did a tempo run on the treadmill for 4.5 miles with warmup and cooldown at 7:00 pace. That was a tough run for me. I'm feeling it now, too. But I wanted to push myself a bit.

Nice elliptical workout for 45 minutes. This was a good cardio workout and worked my legs but wasn't too hard on my body. My ligaments and tendons didn't feel as sore as they usually do after the pounding from a run. So I think it's a good thing for me to do once a week.

 By the way, after yesterday's tough run, my body was super tired. I decided to take this morning off and work out in the evening instead, and I think that was a good move.

Did a hill workout on the treadmill. 4.25 miles at 8:00 pace on level 7. Was fairly difficult, but I feel good now. I'm slowly increasing the mileage for these mid-week runs.

I kept trying to convince myself to run outside today, especially because I have a race coming up next weekend. But I wimped out and didn't want to run in the cold. But my run went well regardless. I ran a 0.5 mile warmup and cooldown. In between, the first 5.5 miles were at 8:34 pace, and the next 5.5 miles were at 8:00 pace or faster. I sped up on the last 1.5 miles, and it actually felt really easy, though my body was tired. I felt a slight twinge toward the end in my hip and knee, but hopefully it's nothing (most likely based on past experience).

This was another good week. I wasn't as excited to run because life outside of running was so busy. But fortunately I was able to stick with my streak of running 5 times a week and also increasing mileage each week. Today's run was the longest of the year, and this week was the most mileage of the year for me. My weight went up a bit this week, but no worries.

I ran 6.5 on the treadmill. The first mile was warmup because my legs were really stiff. I've had a hamstring/glute "strain" the past two weeks, and I felt it a little more than normal today, possibly due to the longer run on Saturday. It seems like it takes me awhile to shake off the cobwebs on Mondays after resting on Sunday, so usually I haven't felt like doing tempo/speed work on Mondays and push it to Tuesday, like I did today. Toward the end, I was running at 7:30 pace and feeling good.

On the treadmill, I ran 8x400m. The first two were at 9.0 mph and 9.5 mph. The last six were at 10.0 mph (or 6:00 pace). It was a little hard, but actually not that bad. Rest was at 8:00 pace. Hopefully I didn't push too hard for the week. Feeling some aches and pains. Hopefully nothing big.

51 minute elliptical workout on a relatively easy setting (level 10).

This was probably my least favorite workout of the year. My day hasn't been the best, which probably was the main reason. I felt like running instead, so maybe I should have done that.

Hill workout on the treadmill. Only did level 4 so I wouldn't kill myself off for the race. Not a bad workout. Better than yesterday.

This was my first 10K in years. It was a lot of fun. We went up the canyon and ran down it, so that made for some quick times. The scenery was beautiful, and the people were nice. My wife and I drove down and then stayed with Dustin and his family. It was fun to be there with Dustin, the race champion. He beat his PR for the course by a minute and won the race. That was cool. As for me, I was trying to beat 44 minutes and really wanted to run it in 42 minutes. I hit my target pace for the first mile (6:30), held that for the second mile, then slowed down a bit for the next 3 miles but not too much. Mile 6 was really hard with an uphill, and I ran slower, and then I kicked it in the end. I was a little embarrassed that I had that much of a kick left, but that's OK. It was the first race in a long time. I was really pleased with my time. I know I can get better, too. And I feel like I ran smart, starting relaxed, passing people the whole race, and finishing strong. It got me excited for the half marathon, which is in 5 weeks!

Mile 1: 6:30

Mile 2: 13:01 (6:31)

Mile 3: 19:45 (6:44)

Mile 4: 26:25 (6:40)

Mile 5: 33:10 (6:45)

Mile 6: ?? (about 7:25)

Thanks for reading. 

I am in San Francisco today, and I went running on the treadmill in the hotel. Kinda boring, but the fitness center is really fancy. They had cold towels to wipe your head with after you work out. :) I ran a mile warmup and then 5.5 miles at 8-8:30 minute pace. I was still sore from my race on Saturday, and this was a really hard run for me to do. Usually this pace wouldn't be a challenge. So it must be an effect from the race. Hopefully tomorrow I'm going to run outside around San Fran.

Ran along Geary Street in San Francisco. Started in Union Square and ran for 3.3 miles and turned around and came back. It wasn't the prettiest part of San Fran, but it was a beautiful run.

This was supposed to be an easy run, but I pushed it a little. The pace was 7:30-800 for 4.5 of the miles. The rest was cooldown or warmup. I didn't feel particularly good or bad, and the miles passed quickly.

My weight has been going up it seems. I don't understand. Maybe I'm retaining more water. Or maybe gaining muscle. Or maybe my body wants me to run in the Clydesdale division. But I'm sure things will work out as I continue to run consistently.

This has been a great week for running. I've thoroughly enjoyed it. I have had to push harder than normal, but that's probably because I ran a race last week.

Today I ran 3 one-mile repeats and one 1/2 mile repeat (because I was wasted after the third repeat). The times were 7:00, 6:30, 6:00, and 3:00. It tested my limits. 0.3 miles rest in between the miles.

Looking forward to Saturday's long run already...

Enjoying my usual Friday off of running.

Here's the course I ran: http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-states/ut/sandy/369123756297486440

I ran through the foothills of Sandy. My legs felt heavy the entire way, it was windy, and it was hilly, so my pace was pretty slow. I felt like I was trudging along. At the end, I was shuffling along. But it was good to run that many miles outside and to see that I need to keep building my miles in preparation for the half marathon in 4 weeks (is that all?).

I would like to do this run at least once more before the race and hopefully run it stronger next time. My total time was about 2 hours. Oh yeah, my legs were really sore toward the end. Have to get my body used to the punishment.

39 miles for the week. I'm ready to break 40 next week!

I ran about 6 miles at 7:30-8:00 pace plus warmup and cooldown. It took me just under an hour. This is 1/2 mile farther than last Monday and 1 mile farther than two Mondays ago. So I'm getting my mileage up there in preparation for the half marathon.

I didn't really want to get up and run, but now I'm glad I did.

I did a tempo run on the treadmill. The first mile was warmup. The second mile was at 7:30 pace. The next 3.5 miles were at 7:00 pace. The next mile was at 6:30 pace. The last mile was cooldown. It was hard but not incredibly hard. It feels like slowly I am getting stronger.

I did a hill workout on the treadmill at level 7 at 8:00 pace.

First I did a flat 0.5 miles. Then I ran 5.5 miles of hills. Then 0.5 miles cooldown.

This is the longest hill distance I have done so far. When it got steep, I struggled, but I think I did better than I have before this year. So I'm getting better.

I knew it would be hard to run tonight, so I got up early and ran, even though I had finished running seven hours earlier last night. I did 3.5 miles on the elliptical, which gave me a good cardio workout and exercised legs and arms. Then did 3 miles on the treadmill. The overall average was 8:00 pace.

I was telling my wife that I feel like I'm finally starting to see noticeable benefits from almost 3 months of consistent training. It feels good. Can't stop now once the ball has started rolling...

Day off from running, but I went skiing for four hours tonight. It was fun and a decent little workout for the muscles.

I was going to do a long run so I could get past 40 miles for the week, but the day was hectic, and I wasn't able to do that. I decided to do a 15K time trial (on the treadmill) instead. I started around 10:45 PM, so I was tired beforehand. But it turned out really well. I was able to push the pace repeatedly. My base pace was 7:30 per mile, and I pushed it for 0.25, 0.5, and one time 1.0 mile stretches at 6:30-6:45 pace. I felt stronger and faster than I have so far this year for that long of a distance. I could have kept going, but it was midnight, so I stopped.

My average pace over the 66:45 minutes and 15K (9.3 miles) was 7:10 per mile. I'm happy with that. That is just slightly slower than the pace I ran for my 5K time trial 5-6 weeks ago (though this was on a treadmill so there's not a direct comparison).

I'm feeling more confident in being able to run a fast time in the half marathon in three weeks.

Didn't increase my mileage over last week, but I feel great about how the week went. I think I lost a tiny bit of weight, too.

I had to run late again (started around 11 PM) due to schoolwork. I was going to run shorter, but once I got started I really wanted to keep going. I also pushed the pace at times until the last mile and then decided to ease up.

7 miles at 8 minute pace on the treadmill. This one wasn't fun. No energy and had to do it late at night again. But the interesting news is that I measured below 180 lbs for the first time in a long while.

I did 3 miles on the elliptical at a medium-hard effort. Then I ran 5 miles on the treadmill at 7:30 pace. It went a lot better than last night.

I did a mile warmup, then 6.5 miles on the treadmill, then 0.5 miles cooldown. The 6.5 miles were on hills at level 7 at 8:00 pace. Last week I did 5.5 miles and felt good about it. So this is a jump up from that. I must be getting more fit.

I'm happy to have been able to increase my weekday miles again this week. I have 30 now and plan to do a long run on Saturday.

Much needed day off from running today.

I had another late-night run because the day was super busy. I started at 10:30 PM and ran 11 easy miles on the treadmill. I am happy to have surpassed 40 miles for the week. The last time I did that was probably when I ran the St. George marathon in 2005. And my weight has gone down, so that's also good news.

I ran 8 miles at 8:00 pace average on the treadmill. It was a little hard but not too bad. After the run, I have felt especially good. And for the first time in a week and a half, I ran in the morning, so that's good.

This morning I woke up with one of those sore throats where you feel like you have been pushing yourself too hard (not enough sleep, too busy) and it finally catches up to you. With my wife's encouragement, I slept an extra 90 minutes. Then I caught the early bus home and ran before dinner. This was my best speed workout of the year. I decided to try 2000 meter repeats. I'd never tried them before, but they sounded like they would be good for mental and physical strengthening. I did a mile warmup, then 4x2000 with 800 meters rest at 8:00 pace, except the last rest was 1200 meters. I also had to take a bathroom break in the middle so that gave me a rest. The pace on the intervals was 6:40 mile pace, 6:20 mile pace, 6:00 mile pace, 6:00 mile pace. What made me happy was that my pace was faster than the mile repeats I did a couple weeks ago. It was hard, but I survived. I will still try to do some good mileage this week, but that will be my last really tough workout before the race next week, I think. Also, it doesn't really count because it was on the treadmill, but I ran a 10K in there (including rest parts) that was faster than 44 minutes.

This morning I didn't feel up to running my full miles for the day, so I did 5 easy miles at 8:00 pace. Then tonight I did 4 miles on the elliptical. Level 12, 7:30 pace. It was nice to have an easy day but still get some miles in.

Another late night run. Did 7 miles of hills on the treadmill and a 1/2 mile for warmup and cooldown. There was a stretch where it was really hard, and I realized part of it is that I need to use my arms to my advantage more. I for sure need to get out and run on the roads on Saturday.

I mapped my run on mapmyrun.com. It said it would be 11 miles. When I got to the turn around point, it didn't feel like it has been 5.5 miles, so I went a little further. When I got home, I checked it on maps.google.com, and it was only 9.5 miles. Bummer! So much for using that site. The course tool on this site doesn't work well on my neighborhood either. Maybe I'll have to give in and get a GPS watch.

I went and ran 1.5 miles on the treadmill to get my goal mileage for the day. That puts me at 45 miles for the week! Now I can taper before the race next week.

I felt good on the run. I don't think my body had to adjust too much to not running on the treadmill. But I was a little more sore than normal.

I stayed below 180 lbs. this week. I've lost at least 5 lbs since the beginning of the year, but I don't know exactly what I was when I started, so it could be closer to 7-8 lbs. Now people can call me chunky instead of fatso. :)

I got up and went running outside. It was hard to convince myself not to run on the comforts of the treadmill. I didn't know a good route to run, so I went exploring. I figured I'd run 45-60 minutes, but I don't have a watch so it was a guess. Turns out I ran 70 minutes. I think it was about 8 1/4 to 8 1/2 miles. Somewhere in there. It was an amazingly beautiful morning. I need to run outside more often!

I ran 6 miles on the treadmill. Part of that was 4x400m at 6:00-6:30 mile pace. I felt pretty sluggish. Hopefully that will wear off as I continue to taper over the next few days.

I ran 4.5 miles on the treadmill, mostly at 8:00 pace. There were slight hills. I felt like pushing the pace but held back to save it for the race. It's nice on days like this to be able to run inside.

Did 3 miles this morning on the elliptical machine at 8:00 pace. It was fine.

I'm now completed my training for the past 15 weeks in preparation for the half marathon on Saturday. I can say I haven't missed one workout in those weeks. So I feel confident in achieving a post-mission PR. (I ran a half when I was 16, but I didn't record my time. The best time I have recorded is 1:43.) My legs have been fairly sore the past few days, but they feel like they're recovering and will be rearing and ready to go for the race. My biggest focus in the next couple of days will be to prepare mentally for the race but also not stress too much about it and to enjoy the experience.

Resting up...

Today was the race I have been preparing for. The weather was beautiful, other than being a little chilly the first couple of miles. I was aiming for 1:35, and I'm going to say I came close enough! I don't know my official time yet, but I'll put it up later. The course was excellent. It seems like they found the route that stretched the downhill out the longest, which was helpful.

I wasn't feeling sick or bad before the race, but I didn't feel particularly good. The first couple of miles were about 7:05 pace. It was weird because I was sweating even though it was quite cold. Miles 3 and 4 had a lot of downhill. I felt like I was really holding back and also ran just over 7:00 pace. There is a turnaround by Highland High that is uphill, and I was able to maintain my pace there. But around mile 5, I started to doubt that I could stay strong. There was a gal in bright green shirt that had a GPS watch and seemed to be running my desired pace, so I tried to stay up with her for the next few miles. From miles 6 through 8, I felt strong and kept the pace going strong. I was starting to get excited that I could reach my goal. Halfway through mile 9, I ran by my wife and daughter and that gave me a boost. At mile 9, I was about 1:03:30, so I was averaging about 7:03 per mile. During the last four miles, I started to slacken the pace a bit. I ran alongside another runner for the next 2 miles who helped me keep my leg turnover up, but we were running about 7:15-7:30 pace. The 11th mile was a bear! I didn't realize going north on State St. had so much uphill. It seemed like every block was a half mile. We hit the top of the hill at mile marker 12, and it was downhill to the finish. I felt strong and picked up the pace a bit, but didn't sprint at the end. If I had known I was that close to breaking 1:35, I probably would have. But also I wanted to enjoy the last few moments of the race this time, knowing that the hard work had paid off.

This was a "post-mission personal record" for me by 8 minutes! It feels great to work hard at a goal and then to see so much improvement. The last two half marathons I ran (a few years ago), I didn't really prepare adequately, so I died out in the last few miles. Even though the last few miles were slower this time, that didn't happen. I know I can continue improving, too.

• Kudos to the race organizers for putting together a well-organized and fun race!
• Kudos to them for having timers at every mile!
• Kudos to the polite and energetic runners all around me!
• Kudos to the weather for not snowing and being perfect!
• Kudos to the many, many volunteers and spectators along the way who kept the course safe and encouraged us.
  
• Kudos to those who have encouraged me on this blog!
• Kudos to the guy wearing cross-trainer shoes who blew by me on the 12th mile!
• Kudos to the guy that was very lean but probably weighed 240 lbs and blew by me in mile 10!
  
• No kudos to the policeman who unnecessarily blared his siren in my ear and startled the begeebees out of me, while leading the wheelchair riders. But you know, that actually kickstarted me by getting my adrenaline flowing. :)
• Kudos to my wife and daughter for getting up early and cheering me on! It meant a lot to me.
  

Ran on the treadmill. Actually felt pretty good with little soreness. 7 miles at 8 minute pace average.

I felt great again this morning after a good night's sleep. I ran 8 miles in an hour and then cooled down for a few minutes. That was faster than I planned to run. I'm calling it a sort of tempo run. I have felt better than expected after the race. So maybe I didn't push hard enough. :) I think a big part of it is that the weather has energized me.

By the way, I always weigh myself before running in the morning. This time I also weighed myself after and found that I had lost 3 pounds of water weight. That's crazy. But I had a sopping wet t-shirt to prove it. :)

I was in class this morning, and it was a little slow-paced, so I figured out a workout plan for the next 11 weeks before my 10K. I'll continue running 5 days a week, will do two easy days, a tempo workout, a speed workout, and a hill workout. I need to build my speed and hill strength. And I also chose to make it really flexible so that if I don't feel excited to run I can take it easier. Hopefully that way I'll keep motivated.

Congrats to all those who did so well at Boston!

Ran 7.5 miles on the treadmill. Most of it was at 7:30 pace.

I did a hill workout on the treadmill. I want to train myself to keep a fast tempo on hills, so I upped the speed to 7:30 pace and lowered the incline to 5. And I did the "Hill" workout rather than the "Random Hill" workout. I don't think the "Hill" workout is as difficult, but the faster pace gave me a really good workout. My theory is that the hills help you to increase your stride length when running on flat but more importantly gives you a great cardio workout.

Boy, I've had four great workouts this week already. Feels great to be in shape. Now I get to rest for 48 hours.

Relaxed..

I'm in Green River, WY today, so I guess it was altitude training. I think it's about 6100 ft. I ran down to the local high school track and did my first track workout of the year. It was a bit windy but not too bad. And it was probably in the 40's or low 50's. I ran 12x200m.

1 - 41 seconds

2 - 37

3 - 35

4 - 34

5 - 32.5

6 - 32.5

7 - 37

8 - 35

9 - 34

10 - 34

11 - 37

12 - 32.1

Somehow on the last one I was able to kick it back into gear. A big part of this workout was to figure out where I am speedwise. I was hoping I could run these faster than this.  It was difficult aerobically. Afterward, I ran several miles of cooldown so I could reach 10 miles for the day. I think it gives me 40+ for the week, which is awesome for me right now.

Holy cow, I was sore this morning. I had a hard time gettting going. My hamstrings were super sore. But once I got going, I was able to run 8 minute pace. And once I got going, I felt like putting in 8 miles. But now, my legs continue to be super sore. I can't remember being this sore. So I guess this indicates that those sprints on Saturday were needed to strengthen my legs.

Did a late night run on the treadmill. My legs were still super sore, and I felt worn down, so I didn't push as hard on my tempo run as I could have. Though I did run much of it at 7:00 pace.

I ran another 8 miles on the treadmill. This was pretty boring. But I did push myself a bit at the end to spice it up. My pace was 7:30 average for an hour of running.

My GPS watch is in the mail, so I plan to get outside more after getting that.

I ran 8 miles on the treadmill for the fourth day in a row. This time it was a hill workout. I did the same speed (7:30 pace) and level (5) as last week but increased the mileage by one mile. It was very challenging at some points, but I would say I could have done more. Next week (if I run on the treadmill) I'm going to do the same except do the "random hill" workout because I think it's more challenging and it keeps you guessing what will come next.

It was a busy but productive day (finally on a Saturday!). I started running at 10:40 PM. I had wanted to run again on a track, but it didn't happen, so I reverted to the treadmill. But it was an excellent workout. I had on the schedule to run 6-8 x 800m repeats. But since the fastest the treadmill goes is 6:00 mile pace, I thought I would see about running more.

The first repeat was 3:10. The rest of them I ran at 3:00. After 5 repeats, I took a bathroom break and was feeling pretty strong. Then I made it up to 9 repeats, and I was feeling decent still. On the tenth one, I was struggling but decided to keep going a bit longer than 800m. I extended it to a 1200m. The interesting thing was that on that last 400m, I felt like I was in the runner's high.

I feel great about this workout and this week. I ran more miles than I had though I would and was able to run through soreness. 6:00 mile pace isn't feeling as much like a sprint as it has felt.

Here's great news...my Garmin 205 came today! Now I can be a groupie with all the other large watch wearing runners. But seriously, this should be a great help in guiding my outdoor runs.

P.S. I don't know what the deal was with my weight. Suddenly I jumped a few pounds the last couple days.

I ran outside this morning. It was a damp day but not rainy. I used my new watch, and it worked out really well. I'll have to get used to it more and figure out the best settings, but it's a fun new toy. My average pace was 8:08. I ran too slow on an uphill part of the run. But a good first day of the running week.

I did the same loop as yesterday. This was supposed to be a tempo run, so I pushed the pace. My legs felt like lead in some places. In other places I was moving pretty good, and it felt natural. My body has to adjust to running outside rather than the treadmill. The overall pace was 7:35. Not that good but faster than it felt.

I've really felt a lack of motivation the past few days. Maybe it's because it seems like a harder challenge to get outside and push myself rather than have the treadmill push me. It would probably be easier if I had a running partner or group at least a couple days a week. Anyway...

I convinced myself to at least run on the treadmill tonight. I figured I'd try to get in at least 4-5 miles. Starting out, I still wasn't feeling that great. But I increased the pace a little each mile and ran the same distance as the last two days (8.25 miles). The pace for the last mile was 6:45, and it felt pretty smooth.

So I made it through another day of sticking with my consistency goal. That works.

I did a hill workout on the treadmill. This time it was the random hill workout, which seems to be a bit harder. This was a tough one, and I struggled quite a bit at points but was able to get through it. The mileage was slightly longer on this run than it was last week, which is what I've been trying to do lately. I'm ready for a day off to rejuvenate. I know some people think six or seven days a week is the only way to go, but five days a week is going quite well for me right now.

The weight was under 177 for the first time today.

The weight was slightly lower than yesterday.

Pretty sore. Resting up...

Went and ran on the track today. I love running on the track. I ended up doing a total of 12 miles there. Half of them were one direction. The other half were the opposite direction.

I wanted to do 5-6 one-mile repeats. Below are my times.

6:31 - wanted to start conservative and did

6:29 - pushed the pace a bit

6:27 - this one felt hard

6:19 - I counted how many steps I ran each 100m, and it helped me stay focused

6:27 - pushed through the discomfort on this one

6:29 - didn't think I was going to be under 6:30 but was!

I did 1.5 miles warmup and 2 miles cooldown and 800 meters between each repeat. This was an excellent workout for me. I will do a similar workout in a few weeks, so hopefully by then my times will be faster.

This week had some ups and downs. I ended up with 45 miles of training, which ties my best for the year. My weight is slowly dropping after plateauing for a few weeks. I probably have at least another 5-10 pounds that I can lose (and still be healthy).

This was a fun run. I wasn't sure if I wanted to go short today, so I decided to get started and see how it went. I went east toward the mountains. It was a very gradual but steady uphill for about 4 miles. Then I ran into a city recreation area that has some dirt trails. One of them follows along a little stream and ends up at Wasatch Blvd. I took that and then came back a different way.

The uphill felt pretty good. I felt like I could keep going up without slowing down too much.

This ended up being a 10 mile run, which is a big jump from what I've done on Monday so far this year. I felt it the last 2-3 miles, but it still felt great overall. I love this weather!

And some great news to end with...I got accepted into the St. George Marathon!! So there are about 4 1/2 months left of training. I'm going to work hard to blast away my current PR.

I ran 2 miles warmup at 8:00 pace, then 5 miles of "tempo" run at 7:26 pace average, then cooldown at around 8:00 pace. The tempo part was hard for me to do. My legs were hurting. I have some sore muscles and my shin was bothering me a little. Hopefully someday it will clear itself up. Good mileage so far this week. Might take it easy tomorrow.

I pushed it pretty hard the past 3 runs, so my body wasn't feeling too great today. So I ran easy. Actually, I did 3 miles on the elliptical and 3.3 on the treadmill. That's the easiest I've run in many weeks.

I decided to experiment with running during the day up by the University of Utah where I study. We are right up against the foothills, and I always see runners and bikers around. So I found a trail that looked good, but it was blocked. So I turned on what I thought would be a way around the blockage. It kept going UP and UP and UP and was STEEP. It was so hard and my lower calves were burning badly, so I walked. Eventually I got to the top (it was more of a hike), and it was beautiful overlooking Salt Lake. I got up to 6400 ft (starting at 5000 ft). I tried a fork in the road, but that was taking me too far, so I turned around and went down the other side.

At the bottom I found another path that looked promising, so I took that for about 3/4 mile, and it was excellent. That got me up to 5400 ft. That will be the path I focus on next time. I don't know if I will do this every week, but I would like to go again. It's an amazing experience to run in the mountains and in nature.

My mile splits were extremely slow, but I think my workout was worthwhile.

Good luck to those running tomorrow in the Ogden marathon!

I went down to the Hillcrest track again this morning. It was about 3 miles to the track, and it was an absolutely beautiful morning. I did 12x400m repeats. And then ran home.

It was a nice workout, and I pushed myself, but I just can't get my speed where I want it to be. My fastest (and it was wearing racing flats) was 78 seconds. I guess I'm comparing myself to high school when I could get some of my repeats down around 65-70. So that's not a fair comparison right now. But I just want to get faster. Patience is a virtue...

1 - 82

2 - 84

3 - 82

4 - 81

5 - 82

6 - 84

7 - 82

8 - 85

9 - 82

10 - 78 (wearing racing flats)

11 - 78 (flats)

12 - 79 (flats)

On a positive note, my times were very consistent.

This has been a very enjoyable week for running. The weather has been gorgeous, and I have found some new training routes, which is a huge plus because it motivates me to get out the door. I think it was 44 miles for the week, which is right where I wanted to be.

I ran the same 10 mile route as last Monday. It's basically 5 miles of gradual uphill, turn around and come home. I loved being out early and hearing nature and running part of it on a trail.

I felt strong for the first 3 miles and then had fast spots at times on the rest of it but also struggled for parts of it. My average pace was about 8:20.

I did my 11400 south loop. The first two miles were warmup. Then 5 miles at a faster (tempo) pace. Then cooldown for the rest.

The wind was blowing 20-30 mph into my face on the first four miles. I was happy to run under 8 minute pace for the 1st and 2nd miles of the tempo run because of the wind and going slightly uphill. The next two miles were close to 7 minute pace on the downhill and with the wind at my back. The fifth tempo mile was a difficult one. My body ran out of gas. Some of the difficulty today was probably from also running out of gas yesterday.

The average tempo pace was about 7:30-7:35. The average overall pace was about 8:20. I hope to improve on this in future weeks.

Today is my easy day. I did 3 miles on the elliptical in about 24 minutes. I can't get my heart rate as high as I used to on these machines, which hopefully means my cardio is getting stronger. Then I ran 4 miles on the treadmill with 7 surges of about 60 seconds each (between 6:00 and 6:30 pace). The surges felt surprisingly easy. I think I am getting better even though it hasn't felt that way lately.

I ran along the Bonneville-Shoreline trail, starting behind the University of Utah medical campus. It was incredibly beautiful and a great workout. I got up to 5880 feet, which was about a 900 ft elevation gain. The average pace going up was 10:03/mile. The overall average was 9:00/mile, so coming down it was a little better than 8:00/mile.

I think these types of workouts are really going to pay off in the long run.

Today was a big workout for me. I did "ladders" on the track. This consisted of 400-800-1200-1200-800-400-400-800-1200-1200-800-400. It tires me out just to type of all of that, so you can imagine it was tough to run. First I ran 3 miles to the track for warmup. And afterwards I ran 3 miles home. I rested half the distance of each speed portion.

My initial goal was to run 6:00 pace and stay with it.

400 - 92 seconds

800 - 3:00, right on pace

1200 - 4:45, couldn't keep the pace

1200 - 4:48, not too bad

800 - 3:11

400 - 97 seconds, that stunk

400 - 93 seconds, that was better

800 - 3:14, averaged 97 per 400

1200 - 4:59, the worst so far, averaged 100 seconds per 400

1200 - 4:50, pushed better on this one

800 - 3:24, running out of gas

400 - 89 seconds, at least it finished strong

Wasn't able to keep the pace that I intended. But this was my first time doing this workout, so I didn't know what to expect. It was hard to get in a good rhythm because the distance changed so much. I might have enjoyed it better if I had just done 8x1200m. And it would have been just as good a workout. So I might ditch the ladder workout. We'll see. Also, other people were on the track and getting in my way, so that made it more difficulty.

Let's say I roughly convert this run to 12x800m on paper. So a little more than the Yasso's 800m workout. It would be may 3:20 per 800m repeat. Which, according to his theory, would convert to a 3:20 marathon. That's probably not too different from where I am right now. But I'm training SOOOO much better than I have for my previous two marathons, which were right around this speed, so I'm hopeful I can improve on those times substantially.

This workout gave me a lot of miles. I was super tired by the end. But I'm happy that I ran my highest weekly miles of the year (49) and had some great workouts. Next Saturday I'm doing a 5K on the track, so that will be fun.

Ran on the trail behind the U of U again. Went with my friend Ryan, who is better than me, and he pushed me. That was nice. We went all the way to the end of the trail and back. On the way back, I felt that I pushed myself mentally. I would remind myself that it wasn't really that painful, and it wasn't. It was just uncomfortable, and I was breathing hard, but that's something that can be pushed through.

I was feeling somewhat groggy and disoriented this morning, so by default I stumbled over to the gym and ran on the treadmill. It turned into a pretty decent workout, in which I ran 9 miles. The average pace was 7:30. Not too shabby.

I did another 9 miler. I was feeling sore, so I started off nice and easy. I ran along a nice paved path that I hadn't run on before. I'll have to try it again. Beautiful morning! My average pace was 7:59, and for the first time in awhile I ran negative splits as I started feeling better.

8:13
8:07
8:07
8:06
7:58
7:48
7:48
7:55
8:09 (cooldown)

During the run I envisioned running the 10K I'll be doing in 5 1/2 weeks.

Did 2 miles on the treadmill at easy pace. Then 3 miles on the treadmill at about 9:00 pace average. I was going to go a mile longer, but I felt horrible, so I stopped. I haven't felt this bad on a run in a long time. I got to thinking about it, and it was probably because I haven't been eating enough. My weight dropped to the lowest it's been this year by a full pound, and it must partly be due to not eating enough. So after my run I ate a bunch and realized how hungry I was. So hopefully getting that back on track will help me be ready for my race on Saturday.

I feel sore and under the weather a bit today. Hopefully I can rest up and get ready for tomorrow's race.

I ran at the USATF meet at Timpanogas High School in Orem, UT today. It was a 5000m race on the track, and they allowed old guys (masters) like me to run, too. I was hoping there would be a group of people who would be running, but it turned out to be two runners--me and my little brother. I was pretty stoked because I knew I was guaranteed to get at least second place. :) But I was kind of bummed that we went to the effort of going to the meet but didn't have much competition.

Anyway, I started feeling better (after being under the weather yesterday) as the day went on, so I felt like I could do OK. My goal was to be under 20:00 for sure, and I would have loved to be under 19:00. We started out quick (for me) with an 87 on the first lap. Then the laps got slower as time went on. My brother is pretty fast (just graduated high school and ran for his school), but he hadn't run in a week. I could see him about 50-100 meters ahead of me for most of the race, but I couldn't muster much strength to try to reel him in.

My time was below 21:00 but not near my goals. That bummed me out. The thing that is most frustrating is that I just couldn't get myself going with a good tempo or with good mental strength. I felt like I was dragging along. This is similar to how I felt in the half last month. Even though my time was about 70 seconds faster than my last 5K, it just didn't feel satisfying. I know I can do better. I think the heat played something of a factor, but it wasn't that bad.

I think I just need to keep pushing past this plateau, and it will come.

But hey, it's not everyday that you finish 2nd (or last) in a race, eh?!

P.S. I did enough of a cooldown to get to 40 miles for the week, so that's good.

A.M. Ran 5 miles at 8:00 pace on the treadmill. Though I did throw in a 1-4% incline for much of it because I was going to run hills outside but didn't because I wasn't feeling well when I got up. Might run more this evening if I have the time and energy.

P.M. Ran another 5 miles at 8:00 pace on the treadmill. No incline this time. Starting to get over this feeling of being under the weather.

Hooray!!! I finally had a breakthrough tempo run. I have been frustrated because I couldn't get myself going on these runs. I want to be able to run my target marathon pace and then get faster from there. Today I ran the first 2 miles (warmup) in about 8:20/mile. Then my mile times were (approx):

7:09

7:23 (mostly uphill)

6:59 (mostly downhill)

7:09

7:05

The cooldown was about 8:30/mile. The greatest thing about this workout was that I won a mental battle. My legs were hurting, and I really wanted to cool the pace, but I kept strong. The average pace was my target marathon pace. I also learned some things about my form and about relaxing during the run.

Ran 4 miles at 11 pm because it was a busy day. 7:43 pace. Stopped by to get one of the free root beer floats (in honor of Burt), but they were all out. What's that all about?!

Not feeling super great.

But my weight is the lowest it's been so far this year!

I thought I was just feeling run down, but now I'm wondering if I have been fighting a bug of some kind. Today I have felt worst of all. And it's been going on for a week now of not feeling great, so hopefully it will be over soon.

Since January 1, 2009, I have run at least 3 miles every Mon-Thurs and Saturday without missing. I had to keep that streak going because that's part of what gets me out the door each day. So I went to the treadmill tonight and ran for 30 minutes. It didn't feel good, but I'm glad I did it. Tomorrow I will rest up.

I'm logging and entry today because my weight dropped by 1.5 pounds from my previous low a couple days ago. I'm below 175 for the first time in awhile. The big drop is most surely from being ill. So maybe if I get ill another ten times, I'll get down to my high school weight. ;)

I ran 14 miles at an average of 8:05 pace. Went down 1300 East for 7 miles and then turned around. The bad was that it was windy and there were too many cars. The good was that I felt light on my feet and was able to hold the pace pretty steady. The last 5 miles were a struggle, but it was nice to get a good solid long run in.

Despite being sick this week and shortening two of my runs, I was happy to get to 40 miles again this week. And I lost weight, though that may be temporary. We'll see.

Ran the out-and-back to Le Cai (or however you spell it). This is an "easy hill" workout. At the end, I actually felt good rather than dead. Average pace: 7:54.

Just ran with Dustin on the track in the rain. We did 5x1000m with 200m rest. My times were:

3:54

3:55

3:54

4:01

3:54

So these are equivalent to about 6:15 mile pace. I felt good and that I didn't have to struggle too much to hit this pace, but it did challenge me, so it was perfect.

It was really great to have a buddy to run with.

Ran easy miles out and back to 700 E 6000 S. The first half was with Dustin. The pace was 8:00 exactly. Was going to throw in some sprints but forgot to. Oh well.

Ran on the treadmill tonight. It was 1 mile warmup at 8:30 pace, 8 miles of level 6 random hill climb at 7:30 pace, and 1 mile cooldown at 8:30 pace. This might have been the most challenging run of the year for me. At least one of the top 5. I can't equate 7:30 pace on the treadmill to running that on the road, but it was pretty fast for me.

I feel wasted. Maybe I pushed myself too hard on this one. Hopefully it doesn't take too long to recover, but at least I get a day off tomorrow.

Wow, this is the lightest I've been all year. Maybe someday I will get below 170. That would be awesome.

I went on a campout with the youth group from my church ward. After getting back, I spent time with my wife and daughter and then ran a "midnight chaser"...see how much running I could fit in before midnight came. I was hoping to get 16 miles. Not sure why 16...that just popped into my head because last week I did 14.

It was dark and a Saturday night, so I ran on the treadmill to avoid having to deal with traffic. I reached my goal of 16 miles, watching the news and the NCAA T&F championships. It was awesome to see BYU's Kyle Perry take the steeplechase crown.

Average pace was about 8:00/mile with 2 stops for drinks and a 1% incline for most of it. It was 2:07 of running.

This was my longest run of the year and my highest weekly mileage probably in 14 years. I'm starting to feel more like a runner.

Congrats to those who ran so well in the UV Marathon and UT Summer Games!

3.5 miles on elliptical machine. Easy-medium effort.

3.5 miles on treadmill. 8:15 pace. Nice and easy.

Was feeling worn down today so took it easy.

Ran a semi-tempo run. I didn't put a full effort in because my upper quad was feeling pretty sore and was still feeling worn down. Plus my Garmin battery died. I kept a decent pace for much of it but didn't kill myself.

Either my scale isn't correct, or I am shedding pounds lately. This morning was the lightest I've been this year by two pounds. Maybe part of it is that I ran last night and didn't eat much after. But it's still exciting to see this drop. I can't wait to get below 170.

My run today started out great for the first two miles. But then my body told me it didn't want to run fast. I did 6 strides throughout, and that helped jumpstart me a little, but it was a struggle the entire time. Average pace was 8:32, partially because at the end my pace was 10-11:00.

Got some good miles in, and tomorrow is another day. 

Hill run on the treadmill. (Not random hills.) First half was at 8:00 pace. Second half increased it slowly to 7:30 pace. Level 6. Wasn't as hard core as last time but still a good run.

Enjoying a day to rest up for tomorrow's interval workout. Weight is pretty good.

9x800m at 3:00 each

Treadmill

Legs were hurting through much of it, but cardio felt better than usual. Decided not to do 10th repeat due to leg soreness.

50 miles this week. Second in a row with 50+. 

I flew to Portland today for a conference that starts tomorrow. This time I gave myself plenty of extra time and flew in in the afternoon. After arriving at my hotel room, I relaxed for a bit and then put on my running shoes and went to explore Washington Park, which is on the west (?) side of Portland. It's an area that has a rose garden, zoo, homes, and lots of forest area. The route I took was along the main road. It was a gradual uphill for almost the entire way out. I ended up where I thought was the top of the hill and turned around and came back. The run was incredibly beautiful, and the weather was perfect. I told my wife that we have to move to Portland now. :)

Average pace was maybe 8:30.

Best Monday run of the year (it's always good to think of something a run was the best of). 

Ran along the Wilamette River in Portland with my friend Ryan. It was a beautiful run. We threw in a couple faster miles at 6:47 and 6:30. That was really encouraging because there will some ups and downs and because my legs are sore. But this may have also been faster due to less elevation. Regardless, I'm happy with the run and absolutely love running when I travel.

Have been really sore, so when I got home from my trip tonight, I ran 5 on the treadmill. The average pace was about 8:40. Nice and easy. This might be the start of a taper until my race on July 4, so I can try to get over this soreness.

Was feeling really sore during the day, so I decided ahead of time to run easy again. I did 5 miles easy on the treadmill. I felt much better than yesterday while running. I've noticed lately that Wednesdays tend to be bad running days for me. It must have something to do with my routine of running hard on Saturday, getting good mileage on Monday, and then doing tempo runs on Tuesday. So I might change my running plan for the marathon to run easier on Wednesdays and harder on Thursdays.

Average pace was 8:15. 

Day off. Hip flexor feeling much less sore...

Ran 10 miles nice and comfortable. The first mile I was feeling stiff, and my hip flexor was bothering me a little. But by the third mile it was feeling just fine. I bumped up the pace and threw in 6x400m strides at 6:15-6:30 pace, and they felt very comfortable, if not easy. That was encouraging. Then I ran about 1.5 miles at 7:00 pace, and that was also comfortable. Average 7:30 pace over the 10 miles (on treadmill). I feel encouraged that I will be ready for a great race next Saturday. Hopefully the soreness will continue to go away.

I also had a chance to watch Josh McAdams, BYU alum, win the US title in the 3000m steeplechase. Pretty sweet!

Because I did two easy days to rest up, my mileage was lower (41) this week. But it was a good time to drop off the mileage, because I really want to run well next Saturday.

6 miles on the treadmill. Threw in 4 reps of 1/3 mile at 6:15-6:20 pace to get my legs going. I was more sore today than on Saturday. Maybe I have a "thigh contusion" as they call it in the football world. Which basically means some sort of thigh injury that can't be explained more specifically. I'm hoping this soreness is the type that means it's getting close to feeling better.

Came up with a game plan for my race on Saturday as far as minutes per mile. It will be really interesting to see what my body will let me do at this point in my training. 

Ran 4 miles on the treadmill. Threw in 3x500m at 6:20 pace. Felt good other than right thigh is still sore. Didn't want to run but did it anyway. :)

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.