Turn your rut into a groove.

am--6.5 Coral Canyon exploration. Some of the group didn't want to follow the traditional route, so we went exploring. It turned out well. Got in some road, some trail. Finished w/ 6x barefoot striders at the park. RHR--51.

am--7 The Rim Circuit w/ Andy. Good run, but my legs were feeling the week. The trails were beautiful after the rain the last few days. 

pm--9.5 Longer run w/ 8x 1-min. pick-ups. I added a few extra pick-ups when I had done the requisite amount and was only 1/2 way done. Felt good. I love running and sweating. Happy birthday, big A. In your honor, I will read 1-2 sections of Whitman's "Song of Myself," out loud, every day, until completion. 

am--5.25 Some rolling hills. For whatever reason, I was really sweating today. Decent run other than that. It'll be good to run w/ the kiddos again. RHR--52. 

pm--2.75 Barefoot striders at SCHS softball field. After did some kettlebell swings, ab work, and rowing (1, 2, and 3-min. intervals). 

am--6.5 Jem Trail w/ my buddy from Kansas City. Nice trail, beautiful morning. RHR--51. 

am--7 Some miles. I felt pretty strong today, even though I've been fairly tired. I love it when I can feel myself getting strong as I run.

pm--14x 1 min. w/ 30-sec. rest on the erg. I tried to keep the stroke rate about 26 w/ the intensity going up and down every 3-4 intervals. Rowing is fun. 

am--10 Out-and-back to Snow Canyon State Park w/ my neighbor. He's signed up for the marathon and needed some company on a longer run, so I said, "Yes." It was a good steady run. My legs feel like jello, baby. RHR--53. 

pm--6 Progressive run. I got home late last night because I went to the Vegas Summer League w/ some dudes. Lots of fun. So I ran a little later and decided to switch minutes w/ yesterday. I felt pretty good despite yesterday's long run. 

am--10.5 Meandering long run in Pine Valley w/ some pick-ups. Nice run once I got warmed up. (For some reason, what feels good for the legs doesn't for the lungs in PV.) The weather was almost chilly at the beginning, and smoke was hanging in the valley--the fire is supposedly 45% contained. I love how the legs get to go during the pick-ups. Every pick-up was refreshing except the last one, which was uphill. Good start to the week.

am--5 Back to practice w/ grass loops and 6x striders. It's good to be back w/ the kiddos. La Limpia told me that it was quiet without me. Not sure how to take that. RHR--48. 

pm--1.5 Harts+ after weights. It's great to see kids work hard in the summer. I got home and erged (5x 500m of varying intentsities w/ 2:00 rest between). 

am--6.75 Tortoise Road out-and-back. Of course, I added a Urie loop. I felt ok today. The body is a bit fatigued after the swoldier work yesterday. On another note, it's good to have some girls pushing to stay w/ the varsity girls. RHR--51. 

am--7.25 Dirt-mile Tempo. Today was a good day. In the warm-up, it seemed like girls were struggling a little, but once we got going, the group tightened up. Girls stepped up and did really well. Maycee, Carli, and Brianna did really well. There is some real desire among this group. They are doing cool things. RHR--55. 

pm--1.5 Shakeout after weights. When I got home, I hit the erg for 30 minutes (2:15 pace). Now, I'm all bored out.

am--5.5 BHNP Loops/River Trail and 8x barefoot striders. I could really feel the accumulation of the week, especially yesterday's work, in my legs this morning. And the heart rate tells me I need to be better about recovery. RHR--56. 

pm--8 Fast-finish distance run. Felt pretty good after feeling pretty cruddy yesterday. I ran later because the kids were up a few times in the middle of the night. Also, I went to the wedding of a pvxc alum. It's one of the blessings of coaching that these wonderful young people involve us old guys in some of their major life events. 

am--9.5 Long run to Caroline's house, but we found her on the way. We had a nice, big group today, including Frida from Sweden. The pick-ups (1, 1, 2, 1, 2) went really well. Good start to the week. RHR--50.

am--5 Grass loops w/ striders. Skeleton crew this morning, but kids club still worked out. RHR--51. 

pm--1.75 Shakeout run after weights. Lifting is starting to come back to me a little. Erged 2k when I got home. The pace was pedestrian, 2:08ish.

am--5.5 Middleton/Telegraph loop w/ a small group. RHR--54. 

am--7 Hell's Hole Loop. Small group of kids today. It must be the end of summer upon us. The pace was a bit better than yesterday, and the legs felt almost peppy. RHR--52. 

pm--1.75 Weights and shakeout. I even threw in some light deadlifts today. Thus, no erging. Maybe Saturday. 

am--7 Vernon Worthen. A few miles up the marathon course and back. The girls chose the low end of the window today and turned sooner than I wanted. Fortunately, a stop light allowed me to catch Michael, Kaylee, and Frida. I ended up running back to the park w/ Kaylee and Frida. We kept it pretty strong, and I got to catch up w/ some of our great runners from the past. 

am--8 Reverse Clary Loop. I was beat this morning, but, nonetheless, the pace was moderate. I was able to pick it up at the end with the exception of an incline that really smacked me around. Good week. RHR--53. 

am--10.25 Highland long run w/ 5x 1-2 min. pickups. We had the crew back and Frida. That was a joy in itself. Caroline shared her wisdom, and we had a great time. These kids are working hard. RHR--53. 

am--5.5 Grass loops and 8x barefoot striders. I also got some running in while setting up the course for the ultimate youngster race. RHR--52. 

pm--1.75 Shakeout run after a decent set of weights. Was a broiler today.

am--7 A few miles at the park while setting up and cooling down w/ the girls. I didn't get nearly as many miles as I thought I would, so I ran for about 45 minutes when I got home. RHR--53.

pm--2.5 Peak-hour shakeout run. Felt decent in the heat, but what made me proudest was the fact that I exactly even split the run. 

am--8.25 Hilly run up towards Dino Tracks w/ barefoot striders after. Pretty good run. Had Kaylee and Frida w/ us. I felt pretty drained by the end. RHR--52.

pm--1.75 Shakeout and lifting. I'm back into it but felt weak today. 1k erg after (4:05). I need to get to the rowing again. 

am--6 Ran in the fields this morning. We had a good group--it was Frida's last run before heading back to Sweden--and kept a pretty solid pace. For some reason, I was in a pretty good mood. RHR--55.

am--8 SC Parkway out-and-back. I woke up feeling cruddy but got out anyway. Running has a way of making one feel better. I tried to relax a bit on the way out and ended up gradually increasing the pace throughout the run, finishing w/ some sub-threshold work. RHR--50. 

pm--3.5 Cosmic Tom called me for a slow scorcher in the desert by the airport. I couldn't turn him down.