Every Run is a Great Run!

This morning in Manti when I woke up it was +1 degrees and foggy.  I thought I'd take my chances on running later in the afternoon in SF. Good decision, not balmy by any means around 15-20 degrees, but the sun was shining and zero wind so it felt pretty good. Looking forward to Kim getting over her nasty cough soon so she can join me on these kind of runs.

8:25 

So just like yesterday morning in Manti this morning in SF when I woke up it was 1 degree. So I decided to at least wait until we hit double digits which wasn't until after 11am when it got to 10. But since the sun was shining (albeit filtered) and no wind it didn't feel so bad.  

Ran down to the river bottoms and was able to do a bit of speed work with 8 x 400m with 400m jog rests in between.  Didn't pay much attention to pace just ran by feel with it so cold but was pleasantly surprised to see all the quarters in the 1:25 to 1:30 range (5:45-6:00 min pace).

Went out around 11am again for some easy miles. Temps about the same as the last couple days.

8:27/153 

The air was practically toxic today and thermometer said -3 this morning so ended up just doing a little bit at the gym. Some XT and 3.5 miles on the treadmill.

Temps below zero again this morning so waited until 11am to get out. Even then it was only 7 or 8 degrees but the air did seem a bit cleaner than yesterday.  Ran up to the jack-rabbit and was hoping to get a 5K tempo run down river bottoms road. 

Felt good the first mile when most of the downhill occurs and ran it in 6:28, even had momentary thoughts of trying for sub-20 for the 5K.  But then something weird happened about 1/2 way through the 2nd mile.  I'm sure it had something to do with the single digit temps and/or gunky air but I started feeling like my airways - nasal passage and throat - were swelling up so that I couldn't breath.

Start feeling light-headed, cold headache, and a feeling like being smothered and everything went very south at that point. Had to quit after 2 miles with 2nd mile coming in at 6:46.  Thankfully after about 1 minute the feelings of being smothered went away and I finished out the run nice and easy. Dang stinkin' inversion anyway. 

Got up bright and early with hopes temps were just a tad better than most mornings of 2013.  Checked weather.com it said -1 degrees feels like -16. Ugh! And of course the lovely smoggy air. But poking my head out the door I didn't notice any wind so and I was already dressed for running so I ventured out. It was cold but not windy so it was bearable and I had an ok run in the dark.

Later in the afternoon went to the gym at work for 30 min XT + core. 

Temps in the 20's today downright balmy! Air a bit cleaner too but still plenty of gunk. Hooray for Kim finally able to get out and try a run after dealing with such a nasty cold the last while. She did really great for not running at all for nearly 2 weeks.

Tried some speed today after 2 mile warmup with Kim.  Dropdown intervals 1, .75, .5. .25 miles, with .5 rests in between the first 3 and .25 rest on the last.

This workout was harder than I wanted it to be. I think not having the usual bit of tail-wind and gunky air had a lot to do with it and maybe just and off day for me.  I was still able to meet the main goal which was to stay mostly a bit faster than 5K pace.

Splits (pace not time) were 6:24, 6:25, 6:22, 6:02. 

Got out early with Kim around 6am. Could actually see the stars from our house but got pretty foggy down in the river bottoms. Probably around 10 degrees or so. Ran about half with Kim and the rest solo.

Later got to the gym at work for 30 min XT + core. 

Six miles at the gym on the beloved treadmill and a little core work as well.

Woke up to about a foot of fresh powder everywhere so grabbed a snow shovel and went at it for an hour or so. Later in the morning I was able to get out and slosh around the snowy roads for a sloppy 3 miles.

Quite the run today in the snow. Talking to Kim we wondered if we shouldn't name this run "Dumb & Dumber". Not sure who gets to be Dumb and who is Dumber.  Could also call it "Slip Slidin' Away" with the sloppy roads and all the slipping and sloshing around we did.

Our generic cheapo Costco Yak Trax knock-offs are pretty much falling apart now so we only used them for a couple miles before they were more trouble than they were worth and we ditched them. It was nice to have Kelly and his eternally enthusiastic dog Bebe along for this one.

Made it to 9 miles but it felt more like 20+ and took nearly 2 hours. 

Woke up to a whopping -8 degrees! Waited until around 11am when it was up to around +5 degrees and went out with Kim for an easy 5 miler. Sure looking forward to St George this weekend and temps in the 50's.

Did the treadmill thing today at work. Also did around 30 min XT + core. Toward the end of the run I did 10 strides.

Got out around 11am with Kimi. Around 15-20 degrees with (almost) some sun it felt downright balmy and we had to shed a layer.

Out bright and early with Kim and Kay. Around 8 degrees but not much wind so it was bearable.

Later went to the gym for 30 min XT + core. 

Had fun running in the bright sunshine of St George. Only in the 30's during the race but still felt great. Always happy anytime I can so sub-20 on an honest course.

Wasn't sure what to expect with this race. I've been doing some speed-work but it's nearly impossible to do anything meaningful during winter with the nasty weather and cold we've been having. And treadmill speed sessions don't seem to quite cut it either. I figured I'd just go out around 6:30 pace, see how it felt, and speed up as much as I could as the race progressed.

Mile 1 - 6:24: Just running what felt about right, very slight uphill on this mile but around 6:25 pace felt pretty good. A bit frustrating having to dodge the 1/2 marathon folks who decided to walk the entire way during end of mile 1 and beginning of mile 2. But my frustration causes me to speed up and pass a few folks and start to get back into the feel of race mode since I haven't raced forever.

Mile 2 - 6:20: Feeling good on this mile, hit the turn onto the trail and back towards the Dixie Center slightly downhill. Pass a few more folks and become aware of some dude breathing down my neck just a few feet behind me.

Mile 3 - 6:30: Not feeling so good anymore but last mile of a 5K isn't supposed to feel good. Still have a guy right on my tail and keep trying to surge to put him away early in the mile since I'm not much of a kicker.  At one point I think I've got him beat but the last 1/2 mile I start to fade and he catches up. Still manage to stay ahead until the last .10 of the race when he kicks and just beats me by a second or so.  Later I find out I actually beat him by a hair according to chip time so I guess that's some consolation.

Pretty happy with the race. A little disappointed how I faded the last 1/2 mile but seems like that happened to me before with 5Ks when I have a low mileage base like the last few months. Looking forward to another 5K in March at the Leopard Run.

Dang this nasty inversion is really bumming me out. And spending the weekend in sunny SG just makes it that much more depressing! One measly degree in the morning and air as thick and gunky as could be. So went into work early and got to the gym around 9:30. Did 6 miles on the t-mill and also 30 min XT + core.

Got out just before lunch. Air still pretty gunky but seemed a bit better and warmer than the last couple of days. Temps maybe around 15-20 but didn't feel too bad. Just kind of spaced out during this run and don't remember much.

8:37 

Did everything at the gym today. Six miles on the treadmill including some strides to break up the boredom. Also did 30 min XT + core.

Wasn't sure what to expect for the weather waking up early this morning. I was pleased to find temps in the mid-20's, no snow/rain yet, and very little wind. Probably the nicest morning so far this year up in these parts! Glad I got it done before all the freezing rain fiasco started!

Just took it easy, ignored the watch, got into space-out mode, and enjoyed the run.

8:55 

Got up early all excited about 32 degree temps. My excitement was short-lived as I noticed very slick patches of nearly invisible ice at random spots on the road. Even worse down in the river bottoms as the roads were pretty much iced over everywhere.

So at this point my main objective became just to not fall on my behind. Ended up mostly walking/skating in the bottoms and back up the hill. Best roads were the main roads around residential areas which were mostly runnable but I was so worried about finding ice I never dared speed up much.

I think my average pace ended up just under 11 min/mi. But on a positive not I did not fall on my behind. This January has NOT been kind to runners in northern Utah.

Later got in 30 min XT at the gym. 

Well after getting up bright & early and getting bundled up and ready for the fog, got outside to find the roads all iced over in many places and not really runable or safe with the low visibility and ice. So went back inside, took all the gear off and went back to bed for a couple more hours.

Kim had meetings and business through much of the day but I was able to get out around 10am and find much nicer conditions. Still foggy but no ice and temps just above freezing. Felt pretty good during this run and glad to get in 12 miler since I don't think I've gone over 9 all month. Need to start thinking about Boston and getting some endurance back.

8:28/150 

Had a nice snowstorm and a few inches on the roads to greet us this morning. Did lots of slip-sliding-away most of the time. We did find one road that for some reason was better than all the rest so went back and forth on that one a couple of times. The poor footing seemed to get worse towards the end. Fun stuff, not sure which is worse the bitter cold and fog or the sloppy/slippery roads. I think I'll take the sloppy stuff, warmer temps and clean air.

Later in the afternoon got to the gym for 30 min XT + core. 

Snowing again but I decided I still like running in snow a lot better than the gunky inversion, especially if the roads are mostly clear like they were today when I went out around 11am.

Schedule called for 10-12 uphill repeats but since my next 5K is very much downhill I decided to push it on the uphill the first 6 repeats and then do a switcheroo and work on fast downhill running for the last 6. Felt pretty good but I sure am a wimp on the uphill. 

Another snowy morning. Decided to join Kim and Annette and run around the track at the girls gym at the high school. Kind of tedious like the treadmill at first but then I zoned out and felt pretty good like I could run forever. Not sure on distance but should be pretty close to 6.

Later in the afternoon went to the gym at work for 30 min XT + core. 

Ran indoors like yesterday again. Except today is a rest day for Kim and nobody else showed up so I had the place to myself. I wore a HR monitor this time so I could get a better idea what my pace/distance was.  Looks like I was around 8:30 pace.

Later went to the gym at work. Didn't feel like doing XT so I did 2 more easy miles on the treadmill and some core. Looking forward to some sun & fun the next few days!