Turn your rut into a groove.

pm--13.25 I slept in this morning, so no run. All day I was doubting my runnerness. I thought to myself, "I'll go home and do 9 or 10 and everything will be better. So I set out to do a little reverse loop around Clary but decided to test the SCRR trails again. I went exploring on the Tempi'po'op trail. Looking at the maps it seemed like it came out to the highway near Rider Auto, so, having a hair in my butt, I took  off. Well when I reached the end, I was at Anasazi Valley--we used to call it 3 mile--without any choice but to run back home. The run ended up being a little longer than a half. It took me 1:59:00. That's some fair ascents and decent trail running. Got home and I was overflowing with runnerness.

pm--6.75 I went on a nice little jaunt after a little yard work. The sun had just gone down and the weather was pert near perfect.

am--5.75 I haven't been out for a while in the morning but got out this morning.

pm--9.25 I went on a nice run in some new kicks--Mizuno WaveRiders. They have a good cadence and a cushy ride. The run was good except that I have some blisters left over from the trail run the other day. 

pm--6 I did some 800s today with 400s for rest in between. I was planning on doing 6, but I'm still not Garmin savvy. Here are the 5:

1--3:19:34

2--3:27:23

3--3:19:32

4--3:24:75

5--3:22:57

Overall, it felt pretty good. I did it on the road and was shooting for at least some 3:30s. If this is the beginning of speed work I think I can do it. 

pm--10 My father-in-law is a marathon guy. He's run a half dozen marathons and tries to get all of his kids to run too. The oldest three--my wife being the oldest--have all accomplished the feat. But sometimes it takes incentives to get them going. Anyway, this year he wanted to run the Utah Valley Marathon. Long story short, most of the family, including me, is signed up to run. Everyone that is running gets a new pair of running shoes. So I decided to try some Sauconys. I've heard great things. Well, this evening, I strapped them on and had my wife run me up to the Johnson's Arch trailhead. I ran the scout cave trail over to paradise cove, back to the canyons, and back home. It was quite a first run for these shoes. The trail is awesome--pretty steep and dangerous in some places, sandy in others. When you reach the summit--QUE BUENA VISTA! I'm getting into this trail thing. I just love being out in the desert.

pm--10 I ran out to the SCRR and did a Lower Graveyard/Cholla loop w/ a Cholla extension. I'm loving the trails.

pm--14 I was feeling pretty unmotivated when I got home, but I finally talked myself into a run. I intended on going anywhere from 3 to 8. That's what I told the wif. But, I just kept going and going, and, to the present, this is my longest run ever. 

pm--7 I wasn't feeling it today. My bowels were churning. My spirits were low. But I ended up lacing on the runners about 7:30 and headed out for an easy run. In the middle I felt pretty good, so I hit about a mile and a half at roughly 7:20 pace. I think I could push that for quite a while, hopefully 6.2 this Saturday.

pm--9.25 I ran a little lower graveyard/cholla loop w/ some exploration on the end and prepared for the Spectrum tomorrow in probably the best way possible--a 9 mile run and Marv's. My goal for the morning is under 50:00 and, ultimately, under 48:00. Good luck to the folks and the Panthers.

am--6.25 I woke up with tired legs, so I was a little nervous. The course is downhill at the beginning. I let it carry me to a pretty good pace. When mile 4 came around, I thought that I might as well keep it up. I'm really excited about my time. And it's awesome to see runners of all shapes and sizes and paces out there. Congratulations everybody.

pm--4 Talked my sister-in-law into running with me. She worked me. My body feels wasted, but I had to get 40 in this week.

am--8.5 Went w/ the fam up to Chuckawalla trail and looped around Beck Hill to Turtle Wall. It's a pretty cool run. Lots of people out today. Then I ran to Green Valley on the city trails. Legs are achy but felt good running.

pm--5.5 Took my mom for a run in the SCRR. I'm in the process of trying to kill my Nikes. 

pm--8.5 A nice, easy run to enjoy the weather. We're headed to Zion today to see how the running is up there.

am--10.5 Ran the East Rim Trail. It's quite the trail, full of switchbacks and snow, at least this time of year. The trail is not super conducive to running, but I ran as much as I could.

pm--7 Did an out-and-back on Pa'rus and Watchman's. Could've been more ambitious w/ the pace.

pm--10 I went out in the heat to the SCRR and explored another trail--Enepitsi. It runs along the river and leads to petroglyphs and monolithic vistas. The run was hard today.

pm--5 I had a real lazy day but still managed to get out and run the ol' morning route at close to an 8 min./mile clip.

pm--16 I did some health fairing/PLCing in the SCRR. I intended on going on a trail called Barrel Roll but ended up on some other dirt road through the South Hills. At 8 miles, I ended up on the rim of a wash with a great view of the South Hills and Utah Hill. This is my longest run by 2 miles. Legs were a little fatigued at the end. I found out the trail is called Cove Wash West.

pm--6 Got out and stretched the legs a little with some longer spurts under 7 min./miles. The weather was perfect this evening.

pm--12 I went for a big loop around Santa Clara and the parkway, down through the wash in Dixie Downs, and back home on Sunset. 

pm--8.5 Through Green Valley, to Plant World, and back home. A windy, chilly run. I don't mind the cold but have yet to find an appreciation for the wind.

am--5.75 After a long 3 days of no real running, I braved the elements with a neighbor this morning. We have a similar pace and the conversation is good. This is the first real morning--5ish amish--that I've done for a while. Forgot how it infuses my day with awesomeness.

 pm--7.5 Loop around Clary in the windy wind.

pm--7 I ran the old Swiss Days w/ some extension and roughly 3 miles of tempo in the middle--7:20/mile pace on the tempo miles.