Turn your rut into a groove.

am--7.25 Did the Rim Trails w/ my sis-in-law. It was good to chat w/ her and get to know her. Nice to get out on the trails. 

 Here's to 2013. 50+ miles weekly. 250+ miles monthly. And really stick to a consistent routine, paricularly weekly repeats to gauge fitness and gain speed and strength. Perhaps mix in some weights and plyos more often. Oh and have a ton of fun. 

am--7 Back after a little voluntary hiatus. It is good to get my head on straight, and when Tom got a hold of me for a run in Mo's how could I say no? Andy ended up coming as well. We hit a nice loop w/ some bushwhacking and some quicker stuff mixed in. I actually came home in a great mood. It made me realize that running, in some way shape or form, is an integral part o me. Now to bump up the commitment again. I have 2 goal runs planned every week--mile repeats on the grass and a long run. Everything else, I'll fill in as I go. 

am--6 Usual morning run w/ a few pick-ups. Felt nice this morning. 

pm--4 Ran the warm-up and cool-down w/ the kids and added 2 warm-up loops.

am--6 Usual morning run w/ no hitches.

pm--6 Ran a 12-minute AT on the Foremaster loop. Ran w/ Liz just behind JP and Stoner. 

pm--4 Ran a few 800 loops then the warm and cool w/ the kids. Tuesday and Thursday were weird. With things piling up after work, I never got out. Note to self: run in the morning on days like that. 

am--14.5 This is my longest run in quite a while, and it turned out pretty decently. I ran from home to Chuckawalla to mix it up in the dirt w/ Thomas then headed back home. In the process, I found a new little connector trail. The legs and hips really bemoaned the length of the run by the end. That's due to be out of the habit. A run like this every weekend would be a great thing. 

am--6 Usual morning run in unusual morning weather. It was cold. In the teens, and there was a noticeable effect on the running. 

pm--3 Warm-up and cool-down w/ the kids. Chilly out. 

pm--6 Tried to get back into the mile repeat groove--4 x 7:24 w/ 400m recovery. Felt good. Did it on the tready due to time and temperature. 

am--6 Usual morning run w/out a hitch. 

pm--8 AT run down on the river trail. We tempoed for 18 minutes @ 7:1xs. Liz hung right w/ me just a bit behind Mia, Stoner, and JP. The other girls stuck right behind us. Good run to have done. 

pm--6 Nice, easy run to recoup the tight legs.

pm--5 Starbucks and striders. Found out I'm signed up for the half instead of the 5k tomorrow. It might end up a nice long run w/ a bit of a push. 

am--13 Met up w/ a few trail running buddies who were comped by Crew My Run. We really just set out to have a nice long run w/ some good chatter. I wasn't ready to race a half today. I had jumped my weekly mileage up a fair amount last week after a holiday lull, and was already near last week's mileage before the race. So we started out slow. 

The first few miles were probably in the 9s. We finally worked into a loose groove at the top of Brigham road and started to pick things up a bit. We carried our groovin' hill pace onto the trail and kept it steady until hippie Jason joined us. He had started around the time the 5k started, so he must have been really rolling to catch up. Over the last 2.5-3 miles, we started to pick things up. I have to imagine, no Garmin today, that the last few miles were in the low 7s. I finished w/ a decent push even though I was spent and ended up having a fun time. 

I hadn't honestly prepared myself in anyway to be racing a half right now, so tackling the unexpected and getting a long run in w/ some push was a success. I'll use this to spring into a good training cycle. Hope all the St. George boys killed it.

pm--5 Nice, easy miles to get the week going. Days off are hit-or-miss. This one was somewhere in between. 

am--3 Blah.

pm--5.5 Nice trail run on the Chuckwalla loop to the Paradise Overlook w/ the girls. It was the best run of the week so far. Surprise, surprise. 

pm--6.5 Usual morning run in the afternoon w/ a short extension. There was a light dizzle, but the temps were nice. 

am--4 Decent start to the week. Up Lava Flow and down Tuweap before the rain came. 

pm--4 Warm and cool w/ the kids around their repeats. I also ran some laps in between. 

pm--4 Nice miles. Let's get a run in everyday to build mileage for a few weeks. 

pm--8 Ran down on the River Trail to do a 24-minute AT run w/ the girls. Our group consistently hit 7:30 miles. For some in the group, it was an exercise in pacing. For others, it was an exercise in sticking with it.