Every Run is a Great Run!

Easy recovery run on an overcast but warmish morning.  Toward the end I got a few drops of rain on my head but luckily missed out on the heavy duty wet stuff.

8:43/148 

Feels a bit too much like December/January today. Brrrrr!  So today it was finally time to test out the (hopefully) marathon-recovered legs and try a nice 4 mile tempo run.  Wanted to see how 6:45-6:55 pace felt as I haven't run this pace for quite a while and this is where I'd like to be for the SG/Painters 1/2 marathon in January.

I cheated a little bit and gave myself some tailwind and slight downhill. But hey I figure since SG is over 2000 feet lower elevation that this balanced things out and mimiced what I might feel like down there.

Things went OK although I probably went out a little too fast and was pretty maxed out the last mile as indicated by my HR in the 190s.  So I've got some work to do to be able to hold this pace for 13.1.

Tempo mile splits/HR:

1 - 6:43/166 (most the good downhill is in this mile)

2 - 6:47/182

3 - 6:47/187

4 - 6:46/190

Overall: 6:46/181 (max HR 193) 

AM: Went out early for 6 on a cold/windy morning. Just took it easy.

8:38/148

Noon: Ran 3 more miles watch-free. Still chilly but warmer than yesterday and the sun was great.

Ran 6 with Kim on a sunny, fairly warm, but VERY windy late morning. Kim had some good mojo going she was cutting through that wind like a hot razor thru butter, I had a hard time keeping up and I actually wimped out and backed off the last mile when she turned on the jets for a sub-8 min mile. Looks like the long run tomorrow morning could get interesting weather-wise.

8:47/140 

Had some good snowy, windy weather for some of the run today. Was a bit crazy at times when running west but overall it wasn't too bad. We've certainly ran in a lot worse.  Kim and I went at 6 to meet others at the stake center. Bad weather must have scared most folks away as Alan N was the only other runner to show up. So the 3 of us had a nice little run in the snow with just a mile or 2 of windy with snow pellets blasting us in the eyes.

I parted ways with Kim around mile 8 or 9 and then with Alan shortly after that. Finished up solo go on the river trail and checking out some of the recently added sections. Just kept the pace nice and easy. Overall I thought is was a quite enjoyable run.

8:55/146 

Went out around 5:45 on an overcast but not too cold or windy morning.  Felt pretty good and enjoyed the run. Towards the end it started snowing just a bit.

8:13/151

Later at work ran 3 more without the garmin. I was hoping to see some sun for this run but not to be. May have even been colder than this morning.   Probably around 7:45-8:00 pace.

Working at home so I was able to go out just before lunch with Kim and run in the river bottoms and on the trail. Chilly day but lots of sun and no wind which actually made for a really nice day to be out.  Turned to be a very relaxing and peaceful run.

8:51/137 

Went out just before lunch on a day almost identical to yesterday as far as the weather. Warmed up about a mile and half with Kim then we did our own thing with some hill-ish workouts.

Did 8 uphill repeats jogging back down hill in between.  This workout really wore me out, seems like there's nothing like charging up a hill to get the HR maxed out. Glad to be done now it's time for a nap!

8:08/164 max HR 194

Early AM: Just me and the big full moon on a dang cold/windy morning. Heading into the canyon wind got a cold headache and brain freeze and started feeling a little goofy. Notice that my HR also way high for this pace.

9:03/151

Late AM: Another 3.75 in much nicer, warmer, sunnier conditions at work. HR still a little high for the pace but a lot better than this morning.

8:30/148 

Yes that's right. Today Kim and I ran 6.90345 miles just before lunch.  Why 6.90345? I guess that's the riddle for the day.

9:12/133 

Nice relaxed long run today.  I heard rain falling when I woke up and wasn't feeling too eager to run double-digit miles in nasty weather.  But turns out we lucked out and the rain was just finishing up before we started and it ended up being a nice morning, albeit a little breezy at times.

Had a little better turnout this week than last. Kim and I ran mostly with Chad, Pat, and Dan and enjoyed some very low-key social running (and walking and standing around talking) miles.

Later I parted ways with everyone to get in a few more miles solo. I got feeling really good with a bit of a second wind and the last 5 or 6 miles flew by as I just kind of zoned out. All in all a quite enjoyable run.

With a good string of 50+ mile weeks I'm about due for a rest week but I'm trying hold off until Thanksgiving week. Need to be smart and listen to my body I'll likely keep the pace nice and easy most all days next week.

Only 10 more days until our son Tyler comes home from Denmark! Woohoo!! Looking forward to his return and enjoying Thanksgiving, probably my favorite holiday.

8:51/148

AM: Ran 8 miles on a breezy morning. Legs felt pretty good.

8:28/153

Noon: Couldn't resist the bright sunshine so I went 3 more miles at work. When I got back to the office I learned that I may have had a little something to do with Kim getting locked out of the house during her run. Oops! Sorry Kim!

7:59/154 

Nice relaxing run with Kim in the late AM. Cloudy and a little breezy today but not too cold, would've been nice to see a little more sun.

9:00/131 

Waited until around 11am to do the run so I could enjoy all the nice sunshine!  Original plan was for 3 x 2 mile tempos with 5 min rests.  But since I've been feeling a little fragile lately I was prepared to cut the workout short.

Legs actually felt pretty good but my aerobic conditioning just doesn't seem to be up to snuff. Or maybe with the high miles lately I'm carrying around some lingering fatigue to make things harder than they should have been.  First 2 miles felt OK but 2nd set felt harder than they should have for the pace I ran it. Made the decision to bag the 3rd 2 mile set and just try to get 1 quality mile and not worry about the 2nd mile.

Splits for 1st set: 6:51, 6:53.  2nd set: 6:55, 6:52, 3rd set (1 mile only): 6:44

Overall: 9.25 miles, 7:40 AP, ave/maxHR 169/190 

AM: 6 easy miles, legs feeling pretty good after the tempo run yesterday.

8:40/150

Noon:  3 more easy miles. Temps in the high 40's but a little breezy and cloudy.

8:15/145 

Six easy miles in the early morning. Quite warm and mild for November, the calm before the storm coming later today I guess. Looks like we could get hammered pretty good.

8:50/150 

It was snowing heavily when we went to bed so wasn't sure what to expect in the morning.  Fortunately the roads, although a bit sloppy in places, were runnable and the temps were relatively mild (35-40) with little or no wind.

Kim and I met up with Dan and Chad and ran a few with them, then parted ways and ran with David and Kay for a few more miles. Finished the last 8 or 9 miles mostly solo.  Legs felt pretty good today, with the early slower pace miles  I was able to finish strong the last half of the run.

Now looking forward to a rest week next week, a nice holiday, and best of all our boy #2 Tyler's return from Denmark on Tuesday!! Lots to be thankful for!

8:43/147

Ran 5 with Kimi in the early morning on an overcast but mild day.  We avoided getting caught in any rain or snow.

9:09/135

Later ran 3 easy miles at work and once again was lucky to avoid the rain.

8:25/141

Getting excited about tomorrow! 

Warmed up with Kim down in the river bottoms after the kids were off to school. Then I did some mile repeats while Kim did her thing. Day off of work today as we are picking up our son Tyler at the airport this afternoon as he returns from 2 years in Denmark. Excited! 

Nice sunny day but a little chilly. Started out in the low 30's and a little breezy from the canyon but probably ended up around 40 degrees.

Plan for me was 4 x mile repeats at 5K - 10K pace with .5 mile rests.  I cheated a little bit and worked it so I had tailwind and slight downhill for the repeats, but I also shifted my goal pace accordingly and was shooting for 6:15-6:30 pace.

I felt pretty good today, best I've felt for a faster workout for a quite a while. Maybe the excitement of seeing Tyler has me all fired up.  Would have been a good day to race a 5K. I'm encouraged with how things went today.

Mile splits and HR info as follows:

1 - 6:16/172 (.5 mile slow jog rests in between each mile repeat)

2 - 6:15/182

3 - 6:18/186

4 - 6:14/186

Overall:  7:48/165 max 191

Nice easy recovery run just as it started to get light in the morning. Ran just over 3 with Kim then 5 more solo.  Legs feel great after the hard run but I've got a really bad kinked neck, can't figure out exactly what caused it. Started a few days ago but got much worse last night. Seems like as soon as one ache & pain goes away another jumps in to takes it's place. Oh well no worries, so much to be thankful for. 

Looking forward to spending the next few days with family and hearing all about Tyler's experiences the last 2 years in Denmark. So nice to get him home safe and sound.

8:47/138

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Having a great time with family up at cabin by Heber City. Haven't had the entire family all together at once for such a long time.  So great to see everyone enjoying (so far) each others company up here in the mountains. Weather is also cooperating and quite mild for late November.  Lots of deer near the cabin, hoping to maybe catch a moose sometime during our stay.

Went out with Kim and ran down the mountain just after it got light.  Kim's brother and Dad were great to pick us up down in the valley so we didn't have to run back up the steep uphill. It was tough enough to run down the steep stuff!

So much to be thankful for, could spend the entire day listing everything. But I think instead I'll spend the day hanging out with those I'm most thankful for.

Slept in a little bit and didn't go out until about 8am. Nice day today, sun shining brightly and not much wind.  A bit on the nippy side (around freezing?) but not so bad with all the sunshine.

Plan was to finish off this rest/reduced-miles week by throwing in a 5K time trial in the middle of my long run. Did a long, slow 5 mile warmup with a few strides at the end. Then did the 5K on the same course we did Kim's time trials last year. 

Not an entirely honest course as it starts with some good downhill the first 1/4 mile and usually tailwind with overall net downhill.  But we've noticed that your 5K time on this course is a good predictor of what you can do at St George Painters 5K on a flat loop course at lower elevation and (usually ) warmer temps in January.

Goal pace was between 6:15 to 6:30 and I was hoping to go under 20 minutes since I don't think I've done that for over a year.  Turns out I was feeling pretty good (notwithstanding all the Thanksgiving pie) and was able to run it in 19:49.  Nice to see my training starting to finally kick in and my legs/cardio able to hold the faster pacing a little better!

Overall time: 19:49, ave/max HR: 182/190  Splits:

1 - 6:18 (172)

2 - 6:28 (185)

3 - 6:26 (189)

.1 - :37/6:15 pace (190)

I think we put this course in the Course Tool so if I can find it I'll post the map/graph below.

Early AM: Ran 1.5 with Kim then 6.5 more solo on a nippy morning.

8:48/151

Late AM: Ran 3 more easy miles.

8:11/149 

Nice 7 miler with Kim in the late morning. Beautiful day today for late November, low 40's, sun shining brightly and no wind. Can't beat that!

8:41/140 

Ran in the late morning down in the river bottoms. Plan was to do 4 mile tempo run in the middle of the run on my slightly-downhill-usually-with-a-tailwind course that I did a few week ago. 

I had a slight headache during the morning so I wasn't sure how things would go. Goal pace was 6:30-6:45.  Felt good the first mile (that has the most downhill) but then winds kicked up and I had a stiff headwind instead of the usual tailwind and I didn't feel good for mile 2. Decided to bag the last mile and be content with 3 mediocre miles.

Was only planning on 8 or 9 miles total but ended up locking my car keys in the car so I had to run back home and ended up with just over 10.  Had an upset stomach thru the afternoon.

Splits/aveHR: 6:34/164, 6:57/182, 6:57/186

Overall: 7:49/162 max 187