Every Run is a Great Run!

Wow what a fabulous day for a January 2 run! Sunny and mid 40's I can't remember a nicer January day in northern Utah.  Went out around noon and ran 3 with Kimi then 7 more solo. 

8:30/144

Nice & easy 7 miler with Kim on another gloriously sunny day, although it was a bit windy today compared to yesterday.  But mid-40's so no complaints. I know we need some moisture but I can't quite bring myself to pray for snow just yet.

9:16/132 

Sunny and mid 40's for the run just before lunch. Sweet! Perfect for the speed session I had planned.  Warmed up with Kim and ran down to the river bottoms to the stretch of straight flat road that is perfect for doing Yasso 800's.

Plan was to do 8-10 800's in the 3:00-3:15 time range. Didn't sleep the greatest last night so I been groggy during the morning and wasn't sure what to expect.  But turned out feeling about as good as I've felt doing this type of workout. Actually I don't know if I've every actually finished the full 10 repeats until today. So I'm pretty happy with how things turned out.

First 3 felt super easy but I resisted the urge to go too fast too soon and end up not doing 10. Next 4 felt moderately hard but not too nasty. Last 3 were pretty hard the last quarter mile of each. Got the nausea, pukey feeling toward the end of each of the last 3 but was able to finish strong and make the last 3 sets the fastest.

Splits/aveHR: (HR monitor says my max HR touched 200, not sure if this is correct usually I max out around 192-195)

1 - 3:10/147

2 - 3:11/172

3 - 3:10/176

4 - 3:11/178

5 - 3:11/182

6 - 3:10/184

7 - 3:10/184

8 - 3:09/184

9 - 3:08/186

10 - 3:07/186 

Nice easy recovery run in the sun.

8:26/146 

Nice run in the sun with Kimi just before lunch.

We got nice surprise this morning after running all week in 45 sunny degrees and shorts.  Started snowing just before we got out and ended up snowing quite heavily, sometimes with wind making it so snow was pelting us in the eyes. Still had a pretty good size group of runners despite the weather. Those SF runners are a diligent bunch.

After a while the snow/slush started piling up on the roads making it very difficult to get great footing and impossible to run at any kind of pace.  Ends up taking nearly the effort of a 7 min mile to run 9 min miles. Kim and I both felt pretty spent and happy to get to 13 miles considering the nasty roads.  Nice to have Hal stick with most of the way. Hopefully we didn't aggravate any injuries with all the slip-sliding we did.

Ran just over 3 with Kim then the rest solo.  Brain was off in lala-land today I hardly even remember the last half of the run.  Nice day again but a little more January-ish in the high 20's.

8:44/143

8:18/148

Went out with Kim around 11am. Fairly nice day, sunny in the low 30's.  Ran with Kim just shy of 3 miles then she turned around while I did a tempo run.  Plan was for 4-6 miles @ 6:40-6:50. But Mother Nature decided to give me a head wind most of the whole way so I slowed my goal pace to 6:45-7:00. 

Dang wind made it harder than I wanted but I was happy to get in 5 miles and keep them (barely) under 7 min pace. 

Splits/aveHR: 6:51/162, 6:55/179, 6:59/183, 6:56/186, 6:51/189.

Overall: 7:39/161/190max

8:23/143

Got up at 5:30 with Kim and wasn't so excited about it being 13 degrees with wind chill down to 4. Just not so used to the morning winter running I'm afraid I was a bit grumpy.  Starting to taper the miles before SG half next week but wanted to get some MP miles, hard to do when temps are in the teens.

Met up with the SF group and headed out.  Decided to go west to avoid the wind at least for a while.  I ended up feeling pretty zippy today and ended up running mostly solo. Probably looked like I was unsociable but some days I just like to run alone a few miles. 

I was pleased the MP miles felt easier today than they've felt for a while, even with the sub-20 temps, although I did take a ton of walking breaks.  Looking forward to a week taper and then racing next Saturday.

7:50/162

Six boring treadmill miles.

Waited until early afternoon to run hoping it would warm up a bit. It did warm up a little but I was feeling sluggish.  Did every other mile at HMP to try to keep sharp for Saturday but I couldn't seem to ever get in any kind of groove.  Guess some days are just like that.

7:40/157

HMP miles were 6:47, 6:51, & 6:50 pace 

I was expecting it to be cold & snowy today so the mild temps with a bit of sun here & there was a nice surprise. Just did 5 easy and felt much better than yesterday.  Solo today as Kim is taking the day off to stop some early possible PF from going any further.

8:09/150 

3 easy miles at work with 5 or 6 strides thrown in toward the end.  No watch today so not sure about pace. Hopefully I'm ready for the race Saturday.  Not quite sure what to expect as I've had some good training days but also some bad as well and I'm just not sure what type of day Saturday will be.  

I'm thinking I'll go pretty conservative on my goals: Gold - sub 1:30, Silver - sub 1:32:30, Bronze - sub 1:35.  Most likely I'll go out with the 1:30 pacers and just hold on as long as I can.  I'm contemplating racing without a watch. 

Well not a gold medal race today.  But then again it was not a gold medal course (lots of hills) and not gold medal weather (rain, wind, similar to SGM 2008). 

Overall I'm happy with my race, although I wish I could have snuck under 1:32:30 to claim my silver goal instead of the bronze. But I suppose that is one drawback to not wearing a watch.

Yes I decided to run this race "naked" and see how things went.  Kind of weird and makes you kind of feel naked to not have Mr Garmin hanging on your wrist. But I kind of liked it for the most part, felt more in tune with my body signals.  But I wonder if I had known how close I was to 1:32:30 I could have shaved the few seconds.

Ran with Walter and the 1:30 pace group for about 4-5 miles until the worst of the hills began. Also much of the head wind in the middle miles. I'm a lousy uphill runner and I was feeling the hills/wind sap my strength so I decided to back off, keep the pacers in my sights, then see how I felt when the downhill came.

Problem was that many of the uphills seemed long and drawn out but the downhills all seemed to come short and too steep to take advantage of. So at any rate I watched the 1:30 pacers get too far ahead to catch and was kind of stuck in no-mans-land the last 4-5 miles and just had to gut it out mostly alone.  I did pass a few guys but also got passed by a few (mostly gals).

Does make you wonder how things would have gone if the weather was like Friday when it was absolutely beautiful & sunny. Oh well.... early in the year looking forward to some spring/summer races and getting a few sub 1:30's.

Kim had a blast pacing the 2:10 group. They had a pretty good sized group make it through to the end and many came up to Kim afterward expressing heartfelt thanks and gratitude.  I'm looking forward to doing the pace thing myself in a few races this year.

Just over 5 nice & easy with Kim. Legs feeling pretty good after the race but a little sluggish. The ridiculous blasting wind from the east maybe had something to do with the sluggishness.

Six easy miles at work. 8:19/152

Got out with Kim just before noon on a nice January day.  A little bit of canyon wind but the sun was shining and with  temps in the mid to upper 30's it felt great.  Started out nice and easy and gradually sped up, so nice when we're both feeling great at the end!  Spotted a big golden eagle along the river trail. Legs are feeling great after the race, I'm liking the quick recovery.

8:39/138 

Six uneventful miles as work.  8:28/147

Six miles with Kim on a sometimes nice sometimes not-so-nice weather day. Nice when the sun was shining but the cold wind from the NW was definitely not-so-nice!

8:55/140 

Ran with Kim and SF group on a clear but cold January morning.  Feeling very sluggish the last couple of days, hope that goes away soon.  I'll stick with DCP (Don't-Care-Pace) for the next while.

Seven easy miles with about 3 with Kimi.  Also did 1 steep hill sprint in the middle just for fun.

8:50/140 

Nice relaxing run at work just before lunch.  Felt pretty good today maybe my legs are finally coming back.

8:14/146 

When Kim and I headed at the door around 11am the wind was pretty wicked from the east. So we headed west down the hill and into the bottoms with hopes the wind would be calmer by the river.  Thankfully it was quite a bit nicer in the bottoms than the bench, ended up feeling a bit overdressed and too warm.

Ran just over 3 with Kim then 5 more solo.  Still feeling pretty good, planning on donating blood later today so we'll see if I still feel good for tomorrow's run.

Did 1 steep hill sprint early in the run.

8:30/145 

Ran at work - did part of my 7 Peaks out & back run (only 6 peaks worth). Felt pretty good considering I donated blood last night.  HR was pretty high though, I'm assuming that's why.

8:31/155 

Did the usual Saturday long run with the SF running club.  Felt OK the first few miles then we hit a ruthless headwind and things got pretty tough. Nice to be done with the run for the day.

8:45/150 

Got out just before lunch on a sunny day.  Ran with Kim for 2 or 3 then the rest solo.  Did a couple of steep hill sprints.  Not much gas in the tank today and always felt like a headwind no matter which direction.  Not sure if the blood donation last week still has me messed up or something else.  Ave HR was way high too considering the pace. Oh well I guess some days are just like that.   

8:52/148 

Got tied up at work and didn't get out to run until after 3pm.  Not my favorite time to run but the unseasonably warm temps (40's) and sunshine helped.  

Kind of a weird run, my legs felt great but I was breathing way too heavy for the pace and my HR was thru the roof with my overall ave HR about where it should be after a tempo run. Talking to Kim she's been feeling the same way so I think we chalk it up to the blood donation last week.

8:30/158 

Bit cloudy and chillier today than we've become used to, but still pretty nice for early Feb with temps in the high 30's.  Felt a little better today than that last few days but still taking it easy. Ran with Kim for around 2 miles or so but she was really not feeling the love today so we mostly did our own thing.

8:43/151 

Hill run at work.  Did 2 steep hill sprints toward the end. Feeling a bit weary lately I'm thinking I'll lower the running miles and maybe add some cross-training for a few weeks.

8:28/153 

No run today.  Figured cross-training might be good but working at home today so no gym access.  So only option was to crank the incline on the treadmill all the way (it doesn't go that far) and do some uphill walking.  

I was actually surprised how good a workout I could get with the incline, HR stayed in the 130's and 140's most of the time about the same as a slow run. Pretty boring but helps to be able to watch/listen to TV.  I lasted an entire hour and covered just over 3 1/2 miles.

Legs feeling quite rejuvenated and refreshed so maybe doing 1-2 days of XT for a while will be a dandy thing and keep the dang -itis's under control. 

Felt better today than I've felt for a while.  Still breathing awfully hard for not-so-fast pace but so is Kim so we're figuring it's still the blood donation effect running it's course.  

Ran just over 3 miles with Kim then the rest solo. Did a mild progression run, start out nice & easy then gradually work toward MP effort the last 2 or 3 miles with uphill the last mile.

8:23/157 

Hill run at work. Did 3 steep hill sprints towards the end. Felt pretty good.

8:22/151 

Ran an easy 7 miles in the mid-morning mostly with Kimi. Enjoying a day off from work.

9:10/140 

Ran at work just before noon.  Did 8 x 20s strides during the last half of the run. 

8:15/157 

Six miles just before lunch mostly with Kim. Toward the end did 4 hill sprints.

8:55/139 

Would have been a good day to stay in bed for me today. I've had a sore throat and head cold coming on the last couple of days. Took some Nyquil last night to help me sleep (which it did), but unfortunately it left me with a bit of hangover for the morning run and made it feel like a death march.  I was just glad to be done after 8 miles. Hopefully taking it easy today and day off tomorrow will make things good to go for Monday.

A bit nippy with a bit of canyon breezy when we went out around 10am.  But the bright sunshine made it feel pretty good for a February run.  Plan was for a 10 mile progression run, start out nice & easy and speed up to MP effort for the last 20 minutes or so.

Started with Kim and we ran together for about 3 miles then she headed up the hill and I stayed in the bottoms to do an out-and-back route gradually speeding up each mile.

Felt pretty good, still have a bit of head cold and congestion but felt tons better than Saturday.

8:19/158 max HR 183 

Easy run just before lunch.  Ran up and down a few hills and did 5 hill sprints for fun.

8:26/152 

We sure have been spoiled with weather this winter.  Even days like today that are supposed to be stormy end up having 40 degree temps and sun at 9am. Nice!  

Ran 8.5 easy mostly with Kimi.

8:55/146 

Ran at work just before lunch.  Got intimidated by the wind and decided to go the treadmill route. Never my fave but it wasn't too bad today. Did 8 x 30s strides with speed set between 9-10mph the last half of the run to break up the monotony.

58:30 (8:21) 

Easy 6 miles on a nice sunny morning. Toward the end did 6 x 8s hill sprints up Heartbreak Hill aka Stinky Skunk Hill. Legs feeling good.

8:16/152 

Ten miles with Kim down in St George on a nice sunny morning.  A little chilly starting out but warmed up nicely once the sun came out.  Did out-and-back up/down the trail that heads towards Snow Canyon. Beautiful scenery as usual.  Kim added 4 more miles after I got done.

9:15/140 

Did a long-ish run just before lunch.  Wind was horrendous from the canyon so I cheated and had Kim drive me to the mouth of the canyon and I ran down toward Benjamin then she picked me up when I was done.

I did do the last 4 miles back toward SF where it was slightly uphill and into the wind so I it wasn't entirely cheating the whole 12. Felt pretty good, it's nice to finally feel like my conditioning is coming back.

7:58/158 

Easy 6 mile hill run at work. Weather was a bit stormy/snowy but not windy so I didn't mind it at all.  Did 7 hill sprints toward the end.

8:20/147 

Nice 8 mile recovery run mostly with Kim on a bit of a blustery day to finish out February.  

8:52/140 

Ran 7 miles at work on the treadmill since roads were still a little wet & slushy in places. Did 8 x 45s strides during the last 1/2 of the run at 9-9.7mph

57:33 (8:13) 

Six with Kim.

8:57/136

Ten miles on a chilly morning with Kim and the SFRC.  Ended up being a mild progression run for me with the last 2 miles or so around MP.

8:33/153 

Wow what a great day, nearly perfect for a March running day.  Went out around 11am and ran just over 3 with Kim then we went our own way and I finished out 10 miles that included 10 x 45s repeats mostly around 6 min pace.  Everything felt pretty good today.

8:20/156 

Another warm day but the nasty wind was a spoiler.  Ran hills at work including 8 x 8s hill sprints.

8:25/148 

Ran 10 just before lunch.  Did 8 x 60s pickups the last half of the run, 6-6:30 pace.

8:06/156 

Eight miles at work on a bright sunny day.  Tried out my new DSRacers, I think they're a keeper.

8:19/147 

Ran 6 with Kim around noon on a dandy sunshiny day.

8:56/136 

Slept in a little bit today and waited until the sun came out to do a mostly track workout. Plan was for 9 miles with 4 mile track tempo run in the middle.

Goal was to not focus on pace so much but just to keep my HR in the half marathon pace HR range which for me is around 175-185.  This was my first time trying out the new track at the Junior High. Pretty nice and even nicer that it's only a half mile from home.

I figured I'd be around 7 min pace and I was right.  Felt a bit harder than I wanted it to but I've run decent miles this week and this the 3rd focused/harder workout for the week so my legs weren't so fresh.  Overall I think it was a decent workout that will pay benefits later.

4 miles overall time 28:03 (7:01 pace). Ave HR 182. 

Wow quite the toasty warm day for a March run, 55-60 degrees.  I was actually a bit warm with my short sleeve shirt, need to go singlet next time and get used to running in warmer weather again.  Went our around 11am, did just over 3 miles with Kimi then did a progression run solo, finishing out with some hard uphill.  Pretty pooped after this run.

8:13/158 

Six miles at work including 9 hill sprints.

8:15/150 

Another unseasonably warm & windy day.  I had no gas in the tank today, I haven't slept so great this week (dang daylight savings!) and maybe between that and not being used to the warmer temps made me wimpy. 

I did manage to do 8 x 60s uphill repeats at 5K effort (not 5K pace). 

Just a nice & easy recovery run in the sun at work.

8:30/145 

Went to the track at the JH to do a tempo workout.  Plan was for 2 x 15 min at HMP to 10KP (6:40 to 7:05 pace range) with 1 min jog/rest in between.  

At 60 degrees and sunny it was a bit warmer and windier than I would have preferred but the faster miles actually went pretty well.

15-min repeat 1: 6:55 pace, ave HR 177

15-min repeat 2: 6:45 pace, ave HR 188 (max HR 193)

Total tempo miles: 4.4 

Not very often you get to run in 50 degrees on a March morning!  Of course there is always the SF canyon winds to balance things out and give you some moments of unpleasantness. Since much of the SF population is down in St George there was not much turn out for the run.  Mostly ran with Kim then she added on a few more with Bob and Dave. Kept in nice & easy after the tempo miles yesterday.

9:18/132 

Back to winter just a bit today with temps around 32 and a little breezy.  But it actually wasn't too bad.   Did a progression run just before lunch, started out nice & easy then gradually speed up and finish the last 20 minutes in the HMP/tempo range including some good uphill to finish up.   Pretty pooped at the end of these runs but I usually feel pretty dandy after cooldown, lunch and a shower.

8:00/162 

Nice & easy 6 mile hilly run at work including 10 x 8s steep hill sprints.

8:19/149 

Ran down to the row of trees just before lunch then did 15 x 1 min repeats at 5K pace with 1 min active recovery.  Kept the pace in the 6:15-6:30 range.  Seems like these type workouts always feel harder than they should.

Six miles at work.  Didn't have much mojo today.

8:23/146 

Ran 3 miles with Kim on a breezy sunny morning.  Hopefully I make a respectful showing at my 5K race tomorrow.

Had a blast running this speedy 5K course.  Those East High folks know how to put on a 5K with not just tons of downhill but also tailwind as well!  

So yes I need to make the disclaimer that despite this tying my lifetime 5K PR time, it was a VERY aided course, but it sure was fun!  Yes I do love that downhill running and luckily my aging body seemed to handle it OK and I don't think I sustained any injuries.  I would say this is probably worth a 19:45 time on an honest 5K course.

Mile-by-mile breakdown:

Mile 1 - 6:10  Felt very good this mile, it's been so long since I've run a 5K I couldn't remember how mile 1 is supposed to feel so I maybe held back a little.  The only uphill of the course comes toward the end of this mile and the beginning of mile 2.

Mile 2 - 6:06 Still feeling good, having fun passing all the foolish teenagers who didn't train and are now dying after running mile 1 too fast. I can see that I have a pretty good shot at sub-19.

Mile 3 - 5:52 This is the ideal mile 3 for a 5K - straight, downhill, with a tailwind.  Just having fun passing more teenagers (and even a few more seasoned runners) and hoping I don't hurt myself since I haven't run a sub-6 mile in a race for a long time.

.1 - :37 (5:24) Race finishes on the East High track and I get in a battle with another Master runner (turns out he was 50), I pass him, he passes me, I sneak up and pass him again around the final turn but I kick too soon and he catches me again just before the finish. Dang. Oh well it made for a fun finish and kept me focused.

Overall I'm happy with the race and look forward to a 10K next month. 

Got the run done just before lunch.  Quite the blustery unsettled day, got a little bit of every thing weather-wise during the run.  Ran 3 with Kim then 8 more solo.  Did a mild progression run with last 20 minutes in the MP range.

8:18/151 

Six miles at work.  Felt sluggish at first but felt better as the run progressed.  Did 8 x 10s hill sprints toward the end.

8:09/150 

Nice sunny day today probably around 60 degrees.  Went out with Kim around 11am, did just over 3 with her, then did some hill repeats - 8 x 60s @ 5K effort, then finished up with about 3 more miles with Kim. 

8:44/148 

Easy 6-miler at work just before lunch.

8:22/149 

We got wild & crazy today and deviated from the typical late morning run routine and went out in the early morning instead.  Ran 2 or 3 with Kim then she did some on her own and went to work with her WannaRunna5K gang while I did a track workout.  

My plan was for 2 x 15 min @ just faster than HMP with 5 min jog in between.  But sometimes things don't go as planned and that was the case today.  I need to remember to ease off the pace a bit in the early morning compared to later in the day to achieve the same workout.  I did the first 15 min too fast and I think the canyon wind got to me as well.  Ran out of gas on the 2nd repeat and had some GI distress and cut it short just over 10 min.  Oh well still better than nothing.  All faster miles between 6:45-7:00 min/mile pace.

8:05/162 

Easy recovery run on a warm but breezy morning to finish out March.  Ran mostly with Kim, Doug and Alan for not quite 8 miles before I headed home and they finished up their 16-18 milers.  Got in 1 mile with Rui dog.

9:19/131 

Went out just before lunch on a sunny but (as usual) windy day but with wind coming from the NW rather than the usual SE from the canyon.  Warmed up about 2.5 miles with Kim then some speed and tempo.

After 4 mile warmup did the speed part of the workout which included 15 x 60s @ 5K pace with 60s jog rests in between.  Looks like my flat 5K pace is somewhere in the 6:15-6:30 range so I kept most miles in that range but I did cheat on the last couple at closer to 6 min pace.  Actually felt pretty good and felt like I could have done 5 more or so without killing myself.

Then did 2 miles easy followed by 2 miles "hard" which today meant around marathon pace.  Nice to get this run done with.

8:14/156 

Recovery 6-miler at work.  Did 8 x 10s hill sprints toward the end.  Ran watch/HRM free today.

Warm and sunny day for April.  Went out around 10:30am it was already 60 degrees and probably warmed up a few more before we got done. Ran just over 2 miles with Kim then she did her loop while I went to do some hill repeats. 

Plan was for hill ladder repeats 1min-2min-3min-2-1-2-3 @ 5K-3K effort, jogging down the hill between each one.  The 1-2-3-2-1 wasn't so bad, but the last 2-3 was not so fun. Guess it's not supposed to be that fun.

Finished up with 3 mile cooldown with Kim.

8:38/155 

Six mile watch-free recovery run at work.  

Woke up to blizzard conditions during the AM hours!  With the roads a snowy, sloppy mess and the weather just plain nasty it wasn't working for the run at the usual time before lunch.  So ended up getting out around 2pm in much nicer conditions and the roads mostly cleared up.  Gotta love Utah spring weather!

Plan was for 5 mile tempo run around HM pace. There was some wind that probably slowed me down a bit but not nearly as breezy as earlier today. 

Tempo miles and ave HR were as follows: 6:56/169, 6:51/175, 6:55/179, 6:59/185, 6:50/188.

Overall ave pace/HR: 6:55/179 (max HR 189) 

Brrrrr cold & windy morning for April!  After the last few weeks of mild weather I was hoping I could put my longs away for the year but not quite time for that yet.  Ran 12 miles mostly with Kim and the 3 D's (Doug, Darin, and David).  Just kept things pretty nice & easy to hopefully help recover nicely from the tempo run yesterday.

9:00/140 

Nice early morning run in St George as Kim and I are down for a very quick "work" trip. Kim's PF was threatening so she decided to not push her luck but take a rest day instead.

Great morning for a run, temps in the low 50's and lots of red & green landscape. Did out and back run towards Snow Canyon and back. I really enjoyed the run.  I don't usually notice the 2500 ft elevation difference when we run down here but today I could tell a difference with how easy the pace felt.

Did a progression run finishing the last 4 miles in the MP to HMP range.

7:57/154 

Six mile recovery run.  Ran first 4 with Kim then headed back towards home while she finished a 10-miler.  Did 9 x 10s hill sprints up Heartbreak Hill.

8:51/134 

Staying up in SLC for a couple days with the girls for spring break.  Ran 9 miles early mostly on the JRP.  In the middle did 6 x 2 min @ 5K pace with 2 min rests.  

8:05/154 

Ran with Kim around the streets of downtown SLC and up/down City Creek canyon. We were happy the weather decided to take a break this morning and not pour down rain upon us. 

Home from SLC now but still off work so I slept in a bit. Today I did a repeat of the 4-mile time trial track workout I did 5 weeks ago.

The point of this workout is not to hit any certain pace but go more off of heart rate and try to keep it in the half marathon range (175-185 for me).  Of course the hope/expectation during a training cycle is that the pace goes down for the same effort each time you do the time trial every 4 or 5 weeks while preparing for a half marathon race.

Wasn't sure how things would go since I had a bit of upset stomach and GI issues yesterday (bad fish at Denny's perhaps??).  Luckily I felt pretty good and was able to cut off nearly 30 seconds compared to 5 weeks ago keeping my HR in a similar range. Looks like I pretty much locked into 6:55 pace and stuck there until the last lap when I picked it up a tad.

5 weeks ago: 28:03 (7:01 pace) ave HR 182

Today: 27:37 (6:54 pace) ave HR 181 max 189

mile pace/aveHR: 6:55/170, 6:55/181, 6:55/186, 6:52/187

Got in 13 mile recovery run on a beautiful spring morning.  Not much wind which was nice for a change.  Ran mostly with Kim and Doug and also Kelly joined for a while. No watch today so not sure on pace, probably right around 9 min/mi.

Time for a rest week next week with 10K race to finish things out next Saturday.

A great day for a run today.  I was thinking about the poor folks overheating running Boston today and feeling pretty happy about our 50 degrees and sunny.

Warmed up around 3 miles with Kim then did some intervals - 15 x 90s @ 10K pace with 90s active rests in between repeats. Felt great doing these and felt like I could have done quite a few more.  Nice to only have to do 10K pace for 90s.  Not exactly sure what my 10K flat pace is so did the first 10 around 6:30-6:45 pace.  These felt plenty easy so the last 5 I cheated a little and dipped under 6:30 pace. 

7:55/155 (nice to see my ave HR staying below 160 for pace below 8 min/mi) 

Six easy garmin-free miles in a light rain around noon-ish at work. Did 10 x 10s hill sprints toward the end.

Went out around 11am, warmed up 2 miles running down to the river bottoms then did some fartlek intervals.  Plan was for 6-8 x 3min @ 10K pace with 2min jog rests.

I wasn't feeling the love today, have a bit of upset stomach for some reason and starting having nausea/GI problems on the 5th repeat so I stopped at 6.  All repeats in the 6:30-6:45 pace range, mostly around 6:40. Hopefully I'll feel better on Saturday for the 10K.

7:47/161 

Easy 6 miler at work. No watch.

Ran 3 easy miles about half with my soon-to-be-married son Tyler. Legs felt pretty heavy but seems like they always do the day before a race.  Did a few strides along the way.

Found out the 10K doesn't start until 11am. Why so late? So likely going to be awfully warm and I really dislike warm races, I'll take 30 degrees over 70 anytime. 

8:47/133 

This was one tough course and race for me.  It had all the things I don't much care for in a race: heat (70+ degrees), wind (very stiff from the South), hills (in particular lots of uphill late in the race), late start (11am), and incorrect distance (6.35 according to most everyone with GPS). But on the positive side I got a great workout and worked harder than I would have if it were just a training run.

First 3 miles were nice with more downhill than up and some tailwind, last 1/2 of race was killer with that stiff south breeze and LOTS of uphill the last 2 miles.  And it's always a heart-breaker when you're watch says the race should be over but you get a couple "bonus" 10th of miles tacked on to the end.

I faded pretty bad the last half but I guess the good news was that the runners around me were fading worse. I passed about 5 or 6 guys and didn't get passed by anyone so I'll count that as positive. Overall I'm OK with this race, but I don't think I'll run it again.

Overall time/pace: 45:25/7:09 (6.35 miles)

Splits: 6:49, 6:50, 6:50 (headwind), 7:13 (worst of headwind), 7:36 (worst of the uphill), 7:30 (still plenty of uphill), 2:36 (7:23 pace still uphill to the finish except for last .10) 

Got in 12 miles this morning on an absolutely beautiful April (but more like June) morning, even with the canyon winds.  Ran about 5 solo then joined Kim for her run for nearly another 5 miles, then finished last 2 miles solo again. Took things really easy today as I can still feel some Saturday race aches & pain.

8:53/144 

Six miles at work with no watch.  Did 10 x 10s hill sprints toward the end.  I felt really wimpy today in the heat, it was around 75 degrees but felt like 95 to me.

Went out around 7:30a to beat the heat. Had some cloud cover today and a bit breezy. Original plan was for 4 x 1 mile @ 10K pace with 3min jog rests.  But with the race Saturday and feeling a little off the last couple of days I decided to just do 3 x 1 mile. Seems like this was a good move as I wasn't feeling the greatest and the pace felt harder than it should have.  Also noticed my HR maxing out the last 2 miles and it shouldn't really max out at all for this workout.  Hopefully after a couple more days taking it easy I'll feel back to normal.

The 3 fast miles were all around 6:40 pace. 

7:54/163 

Nine easy miles at work. No watch.

Six mile just before lunch on a blustery day.  Ran 4 with Kim then 2 solo. 

8:59/133 

Up bright and early to meet up with the 5:30 run gang. Started out with Kim & I, Chad, Dan & Hal.  Picked up a few other runners a long the way.  Got in about 7.5 with the group then did my own thing the rest of the time while they headed up Harry's.  

Ran a moderate progression run, gradually speeding up and finishing the last 5 miles at MP and HMP.

8:08/153 

Went out around 9am since the weather was near perfect.  Some wind from the canyon but not too bad.  Did a long warmup 5 miles up the river trail, past the golf course to just below Jack Rabbit. 

Plan was for 3 x 10 min @ HMP-to-10KP with 2 min jog rests. Ends up being right around 1.5 miles per tempo section.  I was pleased I felt pretty good today, much better than last week when I did 3 x 1 mile repeats at about the same pace with 3 min rests.

Split ave pace/HR:  6:47/162, 6:43/180, 6:39/184.

Overall: 7:43/160 (max HR 189) 

Six easy at work including 10 x 10s hill sprints.  No watch.

Not a good run today.  Got bogged down with work issues and didn't get out the door until around noon when it was getting a bit warm.  

Plan was for 5 x 1K @ 5K pace with 90s rests, but I just wasn't into it all.  Finally bagged the workout half way thru the 3rd repeat and death marched it back home the long way to get in 7 miles.  Guess I need to get more used to the heat or get out the door earlier when it's cool.

8:11/158 

Ran 3.5 in the early morning near home then later in the morning ran 8.5 watch-free at work.  

Since I was doing a 10K time trial and I knew the weather was going to be cool today I decided to sleep in a bit and didn't get out to run until around 8:30.

Temps were dandy for a good tempo run around mid-40's.  Only downside was wind from the NW which ended up being a head wind for most of my faster miles.

Plan was for 10K at HMP effort based on heart rate.  For me that means HR needs to stay mostly in the 175-185 range and I was hoping that would mean something under 7 min miles. The course I ran on was slightly downhill but with the head wind it probably made this close to a flat run.

Noticed the first couple miles I was having a hard time not going too fast, this is good and usually means I'll be able to finish strong.  Felt pretty good for 5 miles but the head wind got a lot worse on mile 6 and I struggled to keep the pace as my HR got into the redline zone (190 for me).  Gutted it out and finished last .2 strong and feel positive about the run.

Overall: 10K - 42:37, pace 6:53, ave/max HR 180/190

Splits/ave pace/HR: 6:53/166, 6:56/175, 6:55/180, 6:53/185, 6:49/186, 6:52/189, 1:20 (6:41 pace)/190 

Got up bright & early with Kim and ran with the bright moon.  Ran between 3 and 4 with Kim then she headed toward home and I finished out a 13 mile progression run. Gradually increased the speed so that I hit MP effort by about mile 7 and HMP effort the last 3 miles.  Felt good in the cool crisp temps probably around 40 degrees.

8:10/155 

Six easy at work with no watch.  Did 8 x 10s hill sprints towards the end.

Early morning run in the cool air.  Ran just over 3 with Kim then the rest solo.  Wanted to get some faster miles in if I felt good, but didn't want the pressure of trying to do some specific workout. So just did some variable distance fartlek intervals, anywhere from 400m to 2K.  Ended up getting around 3.5 miles of tempo around 10K pace. Felt pretty good most of the run.

8:09/154. 

Six easy at work with no watch.

Warmed up just over 3 miles with Kim then did some tempo miles in the HM to 10K pace range (ended up around 6:50 ave pace).  Then met back up with Kim for about 5 more miles.  

Wedding bells for boy #2 tomorrow. Party time! 

Six relaxing miles around the streets of Manti. Then we got boy #2 Tyler married off to his sweet Chelsey. Great day!

Ten easy miles on a beautiful May morning. Ran mostly with Kim with a little bit on my own at the end.  Did 6 x 10s hill sprints in the middle.  Looking forward to taper this week then Ogden HM on Saturday.

9:00/140 

Got out the door just after 7am. The canyon winds were way crazy but luckily towards the south end of the tree-lined road and on the river trail it wasn't too bad so I did most my faster stuff in that area.

Final tune-up run prior to the Saturday race. After 3 mile warmup & strides I did 3 x 1 mile @ 10K pace with 3 min jog rests. Not supposed to be a particularly hard workout, just some miles to help stay sharp and focused and help the legs remember pace and not think they can slack just because it's taper time.

Enjoyed the run today and especially the faster miles.  6:42, 6:39, 6:36.  I felt good, I felt great, I felt wonderful.  Now just try to keep the taper madness at bay.

7:46/156 

Four easy miles at work with 4 strides towards the end.

Had some good & some bad in this race.  My main goal was sub 1:30 (didn't do it :( ) with backup goal to get a 45-49 AD personal PR (did it :) ).  

The weather/temps were near ideal, occasionally a bit of head wind but pretty close to perfect so I thought sub 1:30 should have been doable without killing myself.  But I'm finding that as I get older and with all my "itis-s" I've accumulated over the years with my tendencies to over-train it's just a lot harder to have those super-duper races.

In hindsight I should have been paying more attention to my actual splits and less to the Garmin as I think down the canyon the watch glitched a bit and measured about .1 long for the race.  

Mile 11 also really did me in, all that trail weaving around, up/down, under the road, etc. stuff really got to me mentally and got me off pace by 20-30 seconds.  But for some reason I was still thinking if I ran the last 2 miles under 7 min I was on track for sub 1:30. I was pretty bummed when I got to mile 13 and could tell there was no way to get the sub 1:30 even with 6:15-6:30 pace effort the last little bit.

Split info with actual pace from Garmin and goal pace in ( ):

Mile 1 - 7:01 (6:50 hill came earlier than expected) 

Mile 2 - 7:03 (7:20 less hill than expected)

Mile 3 - 7:01 (6:55 feeling like I ran first 2 miles a tad faster than planned so back off a bit)

Mile 4 - 7:02 (7:00 getting excited for some good downhill)

Mile 5 - 6:38 (6:40)

Mile 6 - 6:47 (6:40 no sure what happened here, thought I was on pace. Had a strange bout of momentary dizziness sometime around here, thought things could get real ugly but then it went away and I felt pretty good for a while)

Mile 7 - 6:52 (7:00 Garmin glitching thru these miles I think)

Mile 8 - 6:46 (6:40)

Mile 9 -  6:26 (6:25)

Mile 10 - 6:36 (6:35)

Mile 11 - 7:01 (6:40 - I really blew it here, starting to hurt and all the zig/zip/up/down action of running on trail vs. roads throws me way off mentally, I nearly decide to pack it  in and jog it in but was able to somewhat overcome the mental issues and pass a couple of runners)

Mile 12 - 6:56 (6:55 pleased I was able to get some mental focus back for this very painful mile)

Mile 13 - 6:59 (7:00)

Too little too late at the end, forgot to stop the watch so not sure on last little bit but I know the Garmin was giving me paces in the 6:15-6:30 range as I tried in vain to shave some seconds and get closer to 1:30.

All in all an OK race, I've had plenty better but also plenty worse. Now I hope I can recover enough the next 3 weeks to be ready for UVM 1/2 and give sub-1:30 another try.  

Anyone have an opinion whether UVM 1/2 is faster or slower than Ogden 1/2?  I'm thinking they're probably pretty close.

Good to see a few folks from the blog and impressed to see a number of very stellar performances.

Big congrats to Kim for finishing marathon #1 of 4 (Grand Slam) in one piece and in being smart and mostly treating it as a training run and not pushing the pace! 

Still sore enough from the race I thought it best to not run. Went to the gym instead and did a variety of cross-training stuff for about an hour.

Ran 8 easy miles on a comfortably cool sunny morning. Felt better than I was expecting with not much soreness left in the legs from the race. 

8:42/146 

Six easy in the early AM.  Felt a bit sluggish.

8:53/141 

Easy 8 mile early this morning. Felt pretty good other than old itis's that never go away.

8:44/146 

Six easy mostly with Kimi.   Did 6 x 10s hill sort-of-sprints in the middle.  Still a bit sluggish and a little stomach weirdness going on like I get sometimes that can turn into an ulcer, it's the stupid Ibuprofen that does it.

Ran 5 or 6 with Kim then some solo. Still feel like a slug.

Easy run down in Manti. Ran a little over 2 with Kim then some more solo. Did 8 x 10s hill sprints in the middle.  Felt better than Saturday but still a bit sluggish in the mile-high altitude.

Gotta say it was quite the beautiful morning.  Just wish it didn't take so long for me to feel fully recovered from races.

8:50/140

Figured it was about time to try some faster running and get some idea where I'm at.  Did 3 mile warmup with some strides then 3 x 1 mile repeats with .25 mile jog rests.  Decided to not worry about pace but just do what felt right/safe and see if it's in the range I was hoping for (6:30-6:45).  

Good news was that I felt better than I expected with miles all in the goal range. So maybe I am mostly recovered from the race.  After taking a breather and another mile or so of  easy stuff I sped up the last mile and ran it just under 7:00.

Overall: 7:39/164 

Six miles easy about 3.5 with Kimi.  Got a little warm toward the end and I think I was a bit dehydrated, my ave HR was a lot higher than it should have been.

9:07/143 

Got out bright & early with Kimi on a fairly warm and slightly muggy morning.  Ran mostly with Chad with Darin joining in for a while.

Got in a few MP miles that felt harder than they should have.  Hopefully with a good taper next week I'll be ready to race next Saturday.

Now off to get ready for a wedding reception! 

8:07/160 

Went out this morning and felt about as sluggish as could be.  I guess the wedding reception activities over the weekend really wore us out.

I'm going to taper a little more than usual for the HM on Saturday and take it pretty easy for a week or 2 after that.  Time to take a little mid-year break to recover from fairly hard training over the first half of the year.

Looking forward to spending some time this week in St George with Kim and the girls.

8:38/140

Did 6 x 10s wimpy hill sprints toward the end of the run.

Went out early with Kim.  Ran a couple easy then last 2 at HMP. Felt pretty cruddy I may need to re-think my race plans. Between the race a couple weeks ago, wedding reception last weekend, and other stresses I can't quite seem to get feeling back to normal again.

8:08/152 

Three miles nice & easy with Kim down in St George. Did 4 strides at the end.

Well this was a stinky race. Talk about HEADWIND HELL!! Stiff wind in your face for 10 or 11 miles of the race was not so fun at all.  

After about 2 miles I pretty much threw everything out the door and figured I'd enjoy the scenery and ignore the watch. Kim actually forgot her watch so she enjoyed the scenery also (this was her plan anyway), and had fun chatting with a bunch of runners and helping a bunch of runners along.

Ran with a couple other south county guys my age (Andrew & Ricky) for 4 or 5 then we gradually split up with me bringing up the rear.   I really dislike headwinds and they seem to break me mentally about as much as anything (except maybe heat). 

I was surprised I still ended up 5th in AD which earned me an unexpected and probably unearned plaque. 

I'll dispense with the mile-by-mile rundown and summarize by just saying most all miles were stinky.

 Time to take a little break through the rest of June then I'll get back in the saddle. I'm thinking of only racing 5Ks and 10Ks the rest of this year. 

Took it easy today. No running, went to the gym for some various XT. They had School of Rock on the TV so I hung around until it ended so about an hour of stuff including treadmill walking with incline cranked, stair-stepper, eliptical, and bike.  

Probably very little running for me this week and nothing hard/fast or very long the rest of the month. Time for a mid-year break and take it easy for a few weeks. 

Nice 5 mile power walk with Kimi down on the river trail. Saw a few critters including at least 3 very loud whistling marmots and 1 very quiet mink.

Did about an hours worth of various XT stuff at the gym similar to Monday. Did manage to sneak in 2 TM miles along the way.

Ran 3 easy miles in the early morning. 8:39/148

Later went to the gym for 45 min various XT. 

Easy 3 miles in the early morning. 8:51/143 

Later to the gym at work for 45 min XT. 

Slept in a bit and didn't get out the door until around 7.  Ran with Kimi down around the river bottoms on about as pretty a morning for a run as you could hope for.  Sun shining bright, temps a bit cooler than usual, and the wind wasn't too crazy. Nice!

Thought maybe there wouldn't be many runners out with WBR going on this weekend but there were actually quite a few folks out enjoying the day.

Out early with Kim for just over 4 miles. Did 6 x 10s hill sprints towards the end.

8:51/143

Later went to the gym for around 30 min XT. 

4 miles in the early morning on another dandy weather day, a bit cooler than normal. Starting to feel like I'm getting a little bit of the running mojo back. 

8:25/147

Later did about 30 min XT at the gym then tonight went for a nice relaxing bike ride with Kim and the girls. 

Pretty much a repeat of yesterday.

8:27/149 

Another 4-miler in the early morning and cross-training later at the gym.  I'm enjoying backing off the running miles for a while, the cross-training at the gym not so much but I suppose it does help me keep from losing much conditioning.

8:24/146 

Kim and I were pacers at the AF 1/2 marathon today. I did 2 hours and Kim did 2:10. Had a lot of fun running the relaxed pace and hopefully helping a few runners achieve their sub 2 hour goal. Fun to hear a lot of runners say "dang!" whenever I would pass them but even funner to have a few come up afterward and thank me for helping them out.

My garmin was giving me fits down the canyon and even turned off a couple of times so I was a little worried I was off pace but actually ended up coming in around 1:59:40 just where I wanted to be. 

Thanks to Walter B for giving us the chance to do the pacing gig every so often and also big congrats to Walt for defending his title and again winning the race. 

Six miles in the early morning.  A little bit of soreness in the hammies from Saturday but not too bad. Did 8 x 10s hill sprints towards the end.

8:42/148

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

Six miles in the early morning then later 30 min XT at the gym.

8:34/153 

Since I don't have any big races planned for a while it's time to put on my Coach Tom hat and be a slave driver for Kim and her Wednesday harder workouts.

Today we ran up/down long heartbreak hill 7 times.  Janae joined us for 4 or 5 of them. Nice morning this morning despite all the uphill running.  Not much wind. Hopefully mother nature will give the firefighters a break today. 

Six miles in the early morning.  Later 30 min XT and core at the gym.

8:42/151 

Ran a nice relaxed 11 miles, mostly with Kim, Janae, Hal, and Dave L.  I wonder how long it will be until Utah doesn't smell like a campfire everywhere?

8:53/145 

Eight miles in the early morning including 10 x 10s hill sprints toward the end.  Later did 30 min XT at the gym.

8:31/147 

Had a nice run with Kim up/down (mostly down) Payson Canyon.  Lots of deer out and about and they seemed quite tame, they wouldn't run away until we got quite close to them.  Lots of cows too and unfortunately lots of lovely cow pies everywhere!  Also lots of bikers, walkers and a few other runners.

Kim also wanted some faster mile repeats for during last 5 miles we worked in 4 1-mile repeats starting in the low 8's with the last 2 being in the 7's.  Nice!

Eight miler in the early morning then off to Manti for a good old-fashioned 4th of July celebration.

8:29/149 

Experienced a strange feeling in the air out on the run this morning, then I remembered that thing called humidity!  So nice to see a little rain falling today.  Between the warm & muggy conditions and eating lots of junk yesterday I was a pretty sluggish the last few miles.

8:45/153 

In the evening went for 7 mile ride on the tandem bike with Kim. 

Six miles in the early morning then later to the gym at work for 30 min XT.

8:32/153 

Nice 16-miler with Kim, my longest run for quite a while.  Kim actually started a bit before me and got in 18.  Ran around the usual SF areas for about 10 miles then headed over to Springville where we had parked the car last night.

Thankful for the clouds that showed up just about the time the sun came out. After a quick trip to Mickey D's for some breakfast we went to the Hobbler Half finish line to watch runners come in and chat with friends.

Six miles early in the morning including 10 x 10s hill sprints towards the end. Later to the gym for 30 min XT and core just before lunch.

8:14/148 

Drove up with a group of runners up Payson Canyon.  Not ready yet to run the entire 11 miles steep downhill so Kim & I got out part way up and did a little-bit-up/mostly-down run ending up in town. Nice way to start the day! 

Early morning 6 miler.  Later to the gym at work for 30 min XT + core.

8:38/146 

Pretty much a repeat of yesterday.  8:25/151

Six in the morning. Warm and muggy today! And of course breezy.  Felt a bit sluggish toward the end.

8:37/154 

Warm and muggy this morning, but no complaints as I'll be delighted with any rain we can scrounge up this summer.  Nice to see a pretty good group out this morning for a change.  Ran with a variety of runners and helped Kim get in some tempo miles.

Easy 8 miler on a nice cool & comfy (but breezy) morning.  I've had a bit of tightness and soreness in my right achilles the last few days so for this week I'm bagging all the hilly stuff and we'll see how it goes.  If it stays the same or gets worse I'll decrease the mileage and/or add rest days.

8:30/150 

Similar to yesterday, maybe a bit cooler and breezier.  8:32/152.

Did a bit of exploring on the run this morning checking out the new section of trail.  Very nice, about 1 mile of new trail with another mile still needed to connect up to the trail on the other side.

Later went to the gym for 30 min XT plus some core. 

Yes I'm stuck on the 8 miles a day schedule but it seems to be working for me, I've been enjoying these morning runs and the nice cooler temps all week.

8:26/154

Later to the gym for 30 min XT + core. 

Maybe my longest run of the year so I was very glad it was at a relaxed pace with plenty of walk/drink breaks.  Ran with a variety of people and it was great to run 4 or 5 miles with Mark Shelley who I used to run with frequently a few years back before he moved to California.  

Felt bad that Kim wasn't feeling the love so much on this run. She has been a bit under the weather the last part of the week. But she hang tough and finished out her 20 miler. Nice job!

Eight miles in the early morning, then later went to the gym for 30 min XT + core.

Kim and I parked down at the park then ran up the river bottoms.  After Kim turned around to run back with Kay and Ludlow I ran up a bit more and met up with the Speedy Spaniards and ran back with the pack.  Nice morning & a nice run.

Seven miles in morning plus 30 min XT + core at noon at the gym.

8:10/153 

Nice little 8-miler in the early morning.

8:24/151 

Similar run as those earlier in the week.  For some reason my HR was higher than normal.  Later went to the gym for 30 min XT + core.

8:31/157 

Got out bright and early 5am and got a nice 14-miler in with Kim and a bunch of other folks.

8:44/151 

Feeling a bit sluggish this morning so stopped after 6 miles.  Later went to the gym for 30 min XT + core.

8:46/148 

Still feeling a bit sluggish. Not sure what the deal is, maybe because I don't sleep so good when my better half is out of town.

8:33/151 

Six in the morning. 30 min XT + core at the gym later.

8:37/153. 

This week I am the 6-mile man. 

8:31/152 

Nice run up/down Payson Canyon and around Salem area. Since I didn't want to do much downhill or high miles I took on the support crew duties and drove the van up to Payson Lakes, dropped everyone off then drove down to Beer Can and ran up to meet everyone and run down with them.  I repeated this process a few times of driving up ahead with the drinks, running to meet everyone then running a few miles with the group.  I thought it worked out pretty well, I'm enjoying this summer just running with no pressures and no speedwork.