Every Run is a Great Run!

Won't be able to do the long run on Saturday so decided to do the Payson canyon run and just run home since it ends up being 20 miles. Went to the awesome Rush concert last night so wasn't sure how things would turn out standing for 3 hours at the concert then sleeping for not much more than 3 hours then running for 3 hours.

But the run actually went pretty well. Got a little overheated and worn out the last couple of miles but feel OK about things especially after having a nice nap afterward (thankfully I only work 1/2 day today).  With a little bit of backtracking along the way to meet back with Kim and Stephen I ended up with 22 miles. Just hope & pray I don't get sick which usually only ever happens when I push my luck with not getting enough sleep.

8:15 

Wasn't sure how the legs would feel after yesterday so I was thinking I might only run 4-5 miles but I was feeling surprisingly good so I got in 8 albeit at a very relaxed pace.

8:55 

In St George for the week. I was quite happy about a couple of things today compared to when we were here a month ago: 1) It felt much cooler & 2) The sun comes up later so we get to sleep longer without paying for it by baking in the sun. Easy run for me but Kim made me work a bit while I paced her on some 1.5 mile repeats. 

8:24 

My turn for some tempo miles. A bit warmer today than yesterday but not too bad. Plan was for 3-4 x 1.5 miles with 4 min rest/recovery in between. I felt OK for 3 but decided to only go .75 for #4.  Pace stayed in the 6:40-6:55 range.

Easy run on the bunny trail. However there were no bunnies out today.

Quite cool out this morning here in St George it felt quite nice actually.

8:18 

Five miles easy with the lovely Kimberly. Looking forward to a 20-miler tomorrow with the St George running crew. Getting up at 4am is always fun!

Joined in with the St George gang for a dandy long run starting at Veyo (the town not the hill) and heading down through Gunlock and ending up at Ivins. The weather was just about as perfect as you could hope for in August in St George. Nice & cool (60's?) at the start and then clouds towards the end to keep the sun from baking you too bad.

I felt really good for most of this run, although I didn't love the hills at the end coming up into Ivins.

8:09 

Six miles in the early morning. Plan on reducing the miles a bit this week to recover from the string of higher mileage weeks as of late and also to hopefully help the legs have a bit more zip for Hobble Creek on Saturday.

Also got to the gym before lunch for 30 min XT. 

8:28 

Warmed up with Kim 2 miles straight into the stiff canyon winds. But the reward was that we got to do the 2 x 2 mile tempo run with a nice tailwind. I know this is cheating a little but sure makes the fast miles funner (and faster!).

Interval 1 mile splits: 6:39, 6:41 (1/2 mile jog recovery)

Interval 2: 6:35, 6:26 

Easy 7-miler in the early morning. Also got to the gym for 30 min XT + core.

8:23 

8:35

Easy 3 in the morning then later 30 min XT at the gym. Not sure what to expect at Hobble tomorrow. I've had pretty good training the last few weeks but the extra 5 lbs of flab I'm carrying around could be a problem.

8:22 

Wasn't sure what to expect today. I knew even if we started on time (7:15 but that rarely happens with this race but we actually did start about 7:20 hooray!) it would be pretty warm the last 4 miles or so. I typically wilt big time in the heat and sometimes cramp up.

But today things went relatively well and I'm happy with the time. Looks like I haven't been able to break 1:30 in a HM since clear back in 2009 (Provo River). Didn't realize it was that long ago so I'm pleased. I've had some massive crash-and-burn at this race in the past and I knew that could likely happen once the temps got above 70 and the trail rollers started around mile 9.

Turns out I did crash-and-burn a bit the last 3-4 miles, but I had enough cushion I was still able to barely squeak in under 1:30. I was measuring all the miles short and only clocked the race at 12.95 miles on the garmin, but it seemed to be the identical route as the last few years so I suppose it's close to accurate. Kim also did well even though she stopped for a while to help a runner on the verge of heat exhaustion/stroke. Good for her.

Mile-by-mile breakdown:

1 - 6:44 It was a madhouse as usual at the start having to weave in-and-out of runners. This year there seemed to be a LOT of slower runners crowding the front of the starting line. I was surprised I came in at 6:44 and that the mile marker measured nearly .1 miles short.

2 - 6:49 Still pretty cool temps and nice downhill the next few miles. Wishing it would stay this way the entire race.

3 - 6:42

4 - 6:35 Feeling good and hoping it will last for a while yet...

5 - 6:37

6 - 6:48

7 - 6:57 The uphill coming out of the south/right fork is always unwelcome, but didn't seem as bad as other years. Just hoping I can hold the sub-7 pace for a few more miles then hang on for dear life to the finish. 

8 - 6:50 Sun is now bearing down on us and temps starting to rise. This was the last 'fun' mile of the race.

9 - 6:59 I always seem to start hating life in this race once you hit the trail and the rolling hills. Still net downhill but the rollers and the heat start to mess with your head. Starting to really want to be done and dreading that I still have 4 miles+ left to go.

10 - 7:12 Starting to have thoughts of quitting, but just try to take 1 mile at a time and not think any further than that. Nice to get off the trail and back on the roads but there is still one more very annoying hill during either this mile or the next.

11 - 7:16 Ugh. Not having fun. Death march time.

12 - 7:28 Double Ugh. Really not having fun.

13 - 6:52 (actual garmin pace says 7:14)

So nice to get DONE! I was feeling pretty hammered and dizzy for a while after I finished and had a hard time eating/drinking anything. Thankfully the feeling went away after a while and I'm actually feeling pretty dandy right now. Thankful for all downhill training the last month or so.

So in theory this predicts around a 3:10 St George. Hopefully that will be the case and I can get me a lifetime marathon PR in October! 

Went nice and easy this morning 8 miles since my legs a still a bit tender from the race. Also got to the gym before lunch for 30 min XT + core.

8:52 

Got out a little later in the morning than usual so I could get a jump on busy work day and also to run in warmer temps. Need to try and get a few warm/hot weather runs so I won't be so wimpy if SGM happens to be toasty this year. Probably should have waited until later in the day since it wasn't really all that warm when I finished. Did 3 or 4 strides along the way just to loosen up the legs a bit. Legs felt pretty good actually.

8:17 

Easy 8-miler in the early morning. Also got to the gym for 30 min XT in the afternoon

8:36 

8:26

A bit warm & muggy this morning with a few drops of rain. Decided to leave the watch at home.

Nice run from the top of Payson Canyon down to Salem. Large group of runners today I think around 25 or so showed up although not all were running the full distance.

Legs felt really good through about 20 miles. I always get nervous about the steep downhill but I seemed to do fine with quite a few sub-7 pace miles down the canyon. Probably the best long training run I've had this year.

7:34 

Nice morning run. A little bit of soreness in the hammies from Saturday's downhill run but less that what I felt last Monday after Hobble Creek. All in all feeling really good lately I hope it keeps up!

Later got to the gym before lunch for 30 min XT + core.

8:37

Decided to run a little later in the day to try and get more used to running in the heat. Also decided to do some uphill running so my uphill muscles don't feel too neglected with all these downhill runs. Between the uphill and sunshine I felt pretty pooped by the end.

8:30

Eight miles in the early morning. Later got to the gym for 30 min XT.

8:27

Another dandy run down Payson Canyon in the early morning. Pushed the pace a bit especially the last 4 miles trying to get a feel for what pace I can hold a week from Saturday for the Nebo 1/2 marathon. I'm thinking I should be able to do 6-6:30 on the steep sections (which is basically most of the first 10 miles of the race) then try to stay just under 7's the last 3 miles when you hit the flat sections and rollers. Maybe I can sneak in under 1:25?

Also went to the gym before lunch for 30 min XT + core.

6:52

Nice & easy 6 miler in the early morning.

8:51

Shortened the originally planned 20+ miler and just did 16 miles due to my impulse decision to sign up for Big Cottonwood Marathon in 2 weeks.

I figured since I seem to be showing signs of peaking the last couple of weeks I'd give myself 2 shots at having a decent marathon instead of putting all my eggs in the SGM basket. Also BCM looks crazy downhill and fast, possibly 5 min quicker than SGM. And since I now have Quads-Of-Steel due to tons of downhilll running the last couple months I might as well go for it.

Hopefully I'm not doing a dumb thing. I'll go ahead and begin to taper and drop my plans of racing Nebo 1/2 marathon next week and instead help pace Kim to a sub 1:40. Depending on how BCM goes I'll decide whether to race SGM in 4 weeks or do the pacing gig again. Fun stuff!

8:07