Every Run is a Great Run!

Ran 5 miles solo then walked 2 miles. With Kim having 2 nights with not much sleep we thought it was a good idea for her to get some extra sleep today and run later or take the day off and run 6 tomorrow and long run on Saturday. I felt pretty good, getting the first indications that maybe my legs are coming back. Picked it up on the last mile a bit to sneak in under 8 although it was wind-aided. Dang wind has been extra nasty the last 3 days.

8:33/163

Ran 3 in the early morn with Kim then walked 1.3. Later just before lunch went to the gym at work and did 45 minutes XT (E/B/S).

So tomorrow will be the first attempt at a double digit mile run. Going to try going 11 miles.

Woohoo! Survived my first double-digit miles run since the injury. Ran with Kim and felt good throughout and still plenty of energy at the end. Weather was near perfect, cooler than the last few days and just a light breeze. Since we need to start getting the legs used to hills we decided to run part way up/down Harry's.

Early miles were in the 9-9:30 range then we got the mojo going the last few miles and ran in the 8's including an 8:15-ish mile around 9. Toward the end we ran into Hal and Chad and ran with them for a mile or 2.

AP: 9:05

Slept in a bit then ran 4.5 in the sun with Kim. Pretty cool temps for July, probably still in the 50's, not a common occurrence for this time of year but I thought it felt great. We met up with Darin C just over a mile into the run and he stayed with us most the rest of the way. He and his wife just returned from a trip to Israel so it was fun to hear about their experiences.

9:00/150

Still nice and cool for a July morning. Kim and I ran our 8-mile golf course loop. Mostly uneventful, although the dead skunk in the middle of the road was nice and fragrant. Started out nice and easy and finished around 8:30 pace. By the end I think we were nice and fragrant.

9:09/144

Ran 6 in the morning with Kimi. Man the weather this week has sure been about perfect for AM running, been enjoying it quite a bit. Started out nice and easy then added a little extra hill work, then as has been the pattern as of late we finished up with a sub 8:30 mile.

9:10/142

Later went to the gym at work and did 40 min XT (E/B/S).

Another nice little 6-mile progression type run with Kimiloo. Our friend the wind was back in force today. Saturday we're running (but not racing) the new Hobbler 1/2 marathon up Hobble Creek canyon (starts up Left Fork rather than Right Fork like the other Hobble Creek 1/2). So likely no run tomorrow as I want to still keep the mileage under 40 for this week.

9:04/146

No run today. Did 60 minutes of various flavors crosstraining at the gym. Looking forward to the race tomorrow.

Kim and I tried out the new Hobble 1/2 marathon. I told Kim I was going to take it easy and let her run whatever felt good and I would stick with her. I'm glad she was there or I may have been tempted to race and I'm definitely not ready to race a half just yet without something bad likely happening.

This race starts up the Left fork instead of the Right like the other Hobble 1/2. This is one is definitely slower, not as much downhill the first few miles and more rollers. And then the nasty last 2 or 3 miles slightly uphill with the sun blaring down. Seemed a bit long distance-wise also.

Overall I had a great time (meaning I enjoyed myself, not that my race time was spectacular), Kim wasn't loving it as much those last few miles in the sun but she was trooper and held on strong to the finish. I'm so glad my feet are doing so well post-injury and didn't give me any trouble on this my longest run since early April or late March. Hooray!!!

Easy 4 mile recovery run with Kim. Back was giving Kim troubles again. For a long time we've been trying to figure out what triggers the back problems but it's been tricky to nail down for sure. Of course the Saturday race could have something to do with it this time. We've also noticed the day after wearing high heels the back seems to complain more. Hopefully we can figure out how to keep that one under control.

Planning on 40 miles this week plus a bit of cross-training. 

Walked a 1/2 mile, ran 6 then walked another 1/2. Kim is at the condo taking care of a few things yesterday and today so I was solo. I got a little rambuncious the last mile or 2 when the wind hits you in the back and accidentally ran the last 2 miles under 8 min, 7:40 on the fastest one so I'll call that one MP even though it felt more like 5KP by the end.

8:16/166

Nice and easy 9-miler with Kim. Finished up with .75 mile walk. Nice morning today, a little cooler than the last couple days.

9:36/144

Nice and gentle 6 miler with Kim. Her ITB is threatening to act up again so we avoided the hills and backed off on the pace and hopefully we can nip this one in the bud. I'm thinking we should have run the Saturday race a bit more leisurely or made this week more of a rest week. Our Friday runs are always optional so we may play that card and maybe shorten the Saturday long run as well. Dang injuries always seem to be lurking around the corner, just waiting for us runners to make a single wrong move or bad decision.

9:47/135

Did 45 minutes various XT at the gym: elliptical - 15 min, bike - 10, stairs - 15. Legs feel really good after the XT, I need to remember to do these 2 or 3 times a week for the time being.

Ran 4 solo miles around 7am. Kim made the wise move I think and decided to take a rest day. Being up for an hour or 2 before starting the run sure makes a difference in how the legs feel and in general level of perkiness. Just for Terry toward the end I decided to try and catch the overall ave pace 8-min man and ran a 7:05 for mile 4.

7:59/159

Later did 45 min XT at the gym.

Nice little early morning 11-miler with Kim and SF Running club.

9:25/142

Ran 4 in the morning with Kim then later did 45 min XT at the gym. Busy at work today!

Kim and I did our mid-week mini-long run. This is the first double-digit mileage weekday run and will likely be the farthest we go for a mini-long run during the SGM training cycle. Toward the end the horses were neighing so Kim told me to take off and I ran the last 1.25 in 7:18 so I'll count that as MP, even though it felt like 5KP and my HR was near its max by the end.

9:19/144

Nice 6 miler with Kim in the morning. A bit breezy and muggy. Later went to the gym and did 40 min various XT.

Ran 6 miles with Kim. Good hill workout running around the streets of SF, no not the fancy-schmancy hilly streets of SanFran, CA just the humble hilly streets of Spanish Fork, UT.Glad to be feeling great, legs/feet holding up well and also glad that Kim's ITB is behaving. Now off to Lagoon with the fam for the day, compliments of my fine employer.

9:08/146

Ran 4 in the early morning then later did 45 min various XT at the gym. As Friday is an optional run day and after a good hill workout yesterday and then all day at Lagoon, Kim opted (and her coached agreed) to take the day off running, so I was solo for the 4-miler.

Had planned on doing an easy, gentle 4-miler. Didn't feel like running in the bottoms so went a different 4 mile route that gave me stiff canyon winds in the face the first 2 miles. Ended up pushing the pace into the wind just so I could be done asap and enjoy the last 2 miles with the nice tailwind.

Wasn't paying much attention to the pace so I was surprised the last 2 miles ended up being in the 7-7:15 range. I would have guessed more like 7:45-8 but I guess that's what the wind giving you a nice push does for you. I was pleased the overall 7:43 pace felt pretty good.

7:43/165

Nice 13-miler with Kim in the early morn. Toward the end when we got to the base of Heartbreak hill we noticed the Speedy Spaniard 10K racers coming up from behind so we stopped for a while to cheer the runners. Looks like they had a good crowd. Nice cooler temps today so probably some good race times.

9:11/142

Easy 5-miler in the early AM with Kim. Then later went to the gym and did 45-min XT (E/B/S).  Planning on running similar mileage as last week, around 40+ miles.

9:22/140

Ran the mid-week mini-long-run 10-miler with Kim. Nice morning with cooler temps and not too much wind but just a touch of mugginess. Did 5 or 6 strides here and there and finished the last mile up-tempo around 7:05. Felt good and Kim is looking really strong on these weekday longer runs.

9:12/142

Did 6 mile recovery run with Kim in the early morn. Decided to get wild-and-crazy and drive to the ball parks and run some roads/trails we haven't done before or at least not for a long time. Another beautiful morning although still a bit on the muggy side.

Later did 40 min XT at the gym.

Today was a humility run for me as I went to Payson and met up with the speed demon dudes to do a canyon up/down run. Carl H, Darin C, Pat L, Mike S, and Andrew G were there. I knew I would be sucking wind running with these guys but also knew they were going 10 and I was only doing 6-7 so I could turn around early and take it easy the last 1/2 of the run.

Felt sluggish today and had a hard time finding any kind of rhythm. I don't do well in warmer, muggy conditions and I think today was the muggiest day we've had all summer. Thankfully Andrew backed off the pace a bit so I was able to stay with him until I turned around just past Beercan.  This run felt alot harder than my ave pace would indicate. Hope it will get easier with cooler, drier weather and as my conditioning very slowly creeps back.

Going camping later today and tomorrow so let the rainstorms begin!

7:57/173

Nice long run in the early morning with Kim and the SF running crew. Still a bit warm and muggy for my tastes. Felt a little sluggish and could feel the Thursday Payson canyon run in my legs. Noticed my ave HR is about 10 beats higher than the previous 2 Saturdays for roughly the same pace. I'm sure the weather and a nice little jaunt up Harry's hill had something to do with that.

9:12/153