Every Run is a Great Run!

Slept in a bit and went out around 7:30 or so. A bit warm & muggy and I felt a bit klunky much of the run. 

8:38

Nice workout in the early morning. I enjoyed the cooler temps especially since I was doing a 4 x 1 mile workout. Felt pretty good with the faster miles and felt like I could have pushed harder. I mainly just wanted to keep the pace under 6:30. I did cheat a bit and ran my fast stuff in the direction with tailwind and just a bit of downhill.

Splits were 6:28, 6:27, 6:27 & 6:25 (1/2 mile jog rests in between).

7:26

Also got to the gym before lunch for 30 min XT. Starting to get excited for Big Cottonwood marathon.

Six miles in the early morning at don't-care pace. Later got to the gym for 30 min XT + core.

8:37

No run today as I start to taper the miles a bit for BCM a week from Saturday. But I did get in 30 min XT and some core work at the gym.

Did a few strides along the way and finished up with 1 MP mile.

8:05

Had a great time at this race helping pace Kim to a massive PR finish time. When I first signed up for this race I was going to race it and shoot for sub 1:25 but then I signed up for Big Cottonwood Marathon next week and it seemed a lot smarter to not kill myself today. Turns out my Age Div placement (2nd) would have been the same either way since 1st place (Darin Cable) was sub 1:20. Nice to get 2nd place the easy way!

Kim ran very strong, I was nervous going out with the 1:35 pacers that it might be a bit too fast for her, but not to worry Kim hung with them for 9 miles or so then held onto to a decent pace on the harder last 3-4 miles to get the big PR.

Legs feel great after all the downhill, all the Payson runs this summer have certainly done the trick to give me Quads-Of-Steel. I'm looking forward to BCM next week. Just hope the temps drop a bit by then and wish I didn't have to run the last 8-10 miles down in the valley in the sun.

Taper madness time! Five easy miles in the early morning then before lunch did 30 min XT + core at the gym.

8:58

Six miles with 3 miles around MP or just a tad quicker. Had a hard time getting my calves/shins to loosen up on my left side. Guess it's about time for the phantom pains to begin to appear. Faster miles were 7:00, 7:09, 7:00.

7:40

Four miles in the dark AM. Also before lunch got to the gym for 30 min XT.

8:18

Easy 3 miler just to keep the cobwebs away and the legs fresh. Did a few strides towards the end.

8:21

Finally I was able to get that marathon PR that has evaded me for quite a few years. But I certainly didn't do it the easy way. With all the Payson Canyon running we've been doing I decided to ignore the Garmin and just run by feel. I guess I felt like running really fast (for me) on the downhill and trashing my legs, then being mostly in agony the last 8 miles and just holding on for dear life to secure the PR.

Looking at some of my splits on the downhill (you come out of the canyon around mile 17 or 18) seem WAY too fast and not so smart. My legs are pounded to shreds I really hurt BAD right now. But I figured the last 8 miles that are mostly flat or uphill and in the heat (especially since race started 30 minutes late due to some bad bus driving getting high centered 3 miles below the start!), and are going to be hard no matter what so I decided to make hay while the getting was good, which today means that I clocked in at the 1/2 way point around 1:25. Yikes! Almost a HM PR.

Mile-by-mile breakdown and gory details follow.....

1 - 6:13 very steep first mile to start the race, maybe the steepest of them all, I tried to go slower but it seemed safer and more fluid to just try and go with the flow and not fight the steepness. Pretty much followed this plan on all the downhill miles.

2 - 6:39 some flatter stuff on this mile. Feeling dandy and enjoying the scenery. I was surprised with the high elevation (over 9000 ft these first couple of miles) that the breathing didn't feel more labored. I think all those Payson Canyon runs really helped.

3 - 6:23 don't remember much about these next few miles, pretty steep and just enjoying the ride and ignoring my watch!

4 - 6:17

5 - 6:13

6 - 6:11

7 - 6:22

8 - 7:14 some flat and minor uphill during the next few miles

9 - 6:36

10 - 7:04

11 - 6:40

12 - 6:2

13 - 6:04 Yikes! I guess this mile was pretty steep)

14 - 6:44

15 - 6:13

16 - 6:47 getting near the mouth of the canyon and not quite so steep anymore

17 - 6:50 starting to get the feeling like crash-and-burn could occur shortly

18 - 7:10 out of the canyon now, still net downhill but getting warm and a lot more flat/uphill portions, starting to hate life around this point and all the other negative thoughts that come when you hit the wall. The most negative thought was that "I STILL HAVE TO RUN 8 STINKIN' MILES -UGH!!!!" - this might be the censored version of what I was thinking :)

19 - 7:18 stinky but 7:18 is still respectable at this point

20 - 7:50 really starting to die, also some uphill on this mile that I don't appreciate. Thought of 10K still to go is almost unbearable, start having thoughts of how I'll explain my quitting the race even though my time is still under 2:20 overall at this point

21 - 8:16 bleh...

22 - 8:30 more bleh... but I seem to snap out of my funk enough to where I realize I can really tank bad and still PR even with mostly walking the whole rest of the way. This actually gives me enough positive vibes that I'm able to speed up a bit towards the end of the mile.

23 - 8:02 had some downhill on this mile finally but legs are so thrashed I can't really capitalize. Also I'm starting to linger a bit long at the water stops walking while I drink.

24 - 9:17 WHO PUT THIS STINKY HILL AT MILE 24!! UGH I DON'T LIKE IT AT ALL!!

25 - 9:05 THE STINKY HILL CONTINUES FOR PART OF THIS MILE - I WANT TO KILL THE COURSE DESIGNER ABOUT NOW!!

26 - 9:06 no more hill -mostly flat but I'm pretty much done and finding all kinds of reasons to not go any faster since I know that barring passing out or cramping up (which could easily of happened at this point) I will get my PR 

.27 2:16 (8:23) The longest '.2' I recall in a marathon. It didn't help that the mile 26 sign was placed too early so we had to actually run .4 miles or so to the finish from where the sign was. I didn't love it. But I DID love finally getting done and getting the PR. Now I just hope the massive pains and soreness in my legs doesn't linger for too long and that I haven't injured myself!

Hardly able to walk since the marathon and not much better today than yesterday. Most likely no running is going to happen this week. I did force myself to get out and walk around a bit and it seemed to help. Went out in the morning, around noon and in the evening. Probably covered 2 miles or so total.

Also did the ice bath treatment which I haven't done for a very long time as well as icing a couple more times throughout the day. I think it helped quite a bit and was not as traumatic as I seem to remember :)

So my current plan is to just stick with walking and some light XT until all the thrashed leg pains are gone, then I'll think about running. 

It's quite likely for SGM I won't decide how to run it until the day of the race or a day or 2 before.

Looking back at the race now and how I was at 1:25 at the halfway point, it sure would have been nice to be able to run a doable sub 1:35 last half and get the sub-3. But for now I'll be content with the new PR and getting the sub 3:10 monkey off my back.

Feeling a lot better today than the last 2 1/2 days. Still a few days from running but at least I'm not re-living the last few miles of my marathon agony with each step.

Tried some XT at the gym at work to see if my legs could handle anything. First tried the stair-climber - no-go, too hard on my calves. Next tried eliptical machine and stationary bike and they worked out just fine & dandy, especially the eliptical. So ended up doing 30 min on the eliptical and 10 min on the bike.

Also took a few walks during the day, probably covered 2-3 miles.

Legs are improving nicely the last day or so. I may even be ready to try a little run on Friday. Went for a few walks throughout the day, probably 3-4 miles. Also got to the gym for 40 min XT (30 min elliptical + 10 min bike). Sure is nice to be able to move without pain!

Walked for a couple miles in the early morning. Decided to test the running waters with a couple little short jogs. Most my legs muscles were sorta OK with the idea but my lower calves were still complaining so I didn't push my luck. Also got to the gym for 40 min XT + core and walked for another mile or so later in the day.

Happy 27th anniversary to Kim and I!

Decided to mostly rest today and hope the legs are ready for a few run miles tomorrow. Thought of going to the gym for XT but after 3 days straight with lots of elliptical I'm feeling a bit tired in some new muscles so other than going for a few walks today I'm not doing anything else. Hope I can avoid injury and recover for SGM!

Met up with the SF gang at 5am to try and attempt some running finally. It went so-so, felt pretty sluggish, my lower calves are still pretty tender and quads a little tender as well. Kept the pace very gentle mostly around 9-10 min/mi.

I also walked another 4 miles much of it up/down heartbreak hill to get to 10 miles for the day. Wish I didn't feel like I ran 20 miles.

9:35

Six miles in the early morning. Felt better than Saturday but still have annoying pains in the lower calve area. Hoping they'll be gone before the end of the week.

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

8:56

Normally around 10 or 11 days before a marathon I'd do my last speed workout. But since I'm still recovering from BCM that wasn't seeming very smart. Decided to do some not-too-intense hill repeats just so I could get my heart rate up for a while without pounding my legs.

Ended up doing 8 repeats and I'm feeling quite pleased with how my legs are feeling through the day. The lingering calf pains are almost gone and in general the legs are feeling much lighter than they've felt since BCM. I did start out feeling pretty sluggish warming up but ended up feeling pretty good by the end. So nice to start feeling 'normal' again.

8:37

Easy 6 mile run in the morning then 30 min XT + core at the gym just before lunch.

9:04

Went out early on a dark, cool and drizzly day. Very light rain was falling but it was barely noticeable. Ran 3 miles with Kimi then 5 more solo. Couldn't ever seem to get my legs warmed up and wanting to move, seems like I always have this problem when it's cool & humid. Legs felt like lead pretty much the whole time so I just took it nice & easy.

9:14

A bit on the BRRRRR side today. Got up bright & early with Kimi and headed to the stake center. Chad was the only other one there so the 3 of us headed out into the darkness. Later Hal joined us for a few miles and brought us something to drink as always. 

Felt pretty good today the best I've felt since BCM. Tried a few strides and 1 mile close to MP pace just to try and gauge where I'm at in my recovery/taper. I'd say I'm currently around 80%, so with a another taper week hopefully I can get that close to 100%.

8:44

5 days to go! Did an easy 5 in the early morning. Felt OK but it still seems like the pace I think I'm running and what my garmin actually tells me is off by 15-20 seconds (and not in the favorable way). So not sure quite what to expect for Saturday. I'll do a 3-mile MP run tomorrow on the same route I did the identical workout the week of BCM, maybe that will shed some light on how ready I am.

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

8:45