Turn your rut into a groove.

am--6.5 A version of the old Swiss Days course w/ a negative split. I find when I try to chill and focus on running naturally I go a bit faster. Saw Coach Bentley on the run. It sounds like SC has a nice turn-out again. RHR--53. 

I also finished another book--The Gunslinger by Stephen King. I haven't read much King because horror isn't my thing. This book, however, is more sci-fi, fantasy, western, etc. It's the first book in The Dark Tower series. I intend on reading the whole series but not sure if it will be one book after the other. 

am--9.25 SC Parkway via Serenity out-and-back w/ 5x 1-min. pickups. I felt decent today. By the end of the week, my heel is just a bugger. But it shows improvement at the beginning of the week. I was able to negative split this run. Of course, the incline out and decline back helps that. RHR--53. 

pm--3.25 A crummy day for running but good for most everything else. I ended up defaulting to a has-been treadmill for 30 minutes.

am--8 Nice hilly run from mi casa to Chuckwalla and back. I feel like I'm coming out of the fourth funk but also realizing that I need the kids as much if not more than they need me. RHR--52.

pm--3.5 Callousing run in the 110-degree heat. I went to the SC Rugby grounds and did a few loops and 6x barefoot striders. The '80s mix on shuffle, coupled w/ the sunglasses, kept me "cool." Strider song of the day: "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel. 

am--5 Sidewinder w/ a buddy. A nice jaunt through the desert, chatting about lots of things. One of my favorite ways to catch up w/ someone is on a trail run. Too bad more people don't trail run. RHR--49.

am--6.5 Kidney Loop via Serenity. I got out a little later, so it felt warm. Or, maybe, that was just my mind playing tricks on me. I love looking at the data on runs like this because the pace gets stronger progressively throughout the run. RHR--47. 

I also finished two more books: Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman and Coach Wooden and Me by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. 

Gaiman has taken the "Prose Edda" and the "Poetic Edda," digested them, and turned them into stories for the modern-day reader. It was fun to see the Norse gods rumble, bumble, and stumble through problems. The parallels between this mythology and the Judeo-Christian mythology is interesting--Loki as the devil, Odin as Jehovah/Christ. I'm not really sure who Thor would be. . . Elisha, maybe. 

Kareem's book kept me reading for other reasons. He tries to tell the story of his relationship with John Wooden without getting in the way too much. He succeeds. I really felt like I got a great glimpse of who Wooden was from the time he began recruiting Lew Alcindor. What a wise man Wooden was. He is probably near the top of my list of historical figures to meet. I found myself crying near the end as Kareem talked of Coach's failing health, yet the wisdom kept rolling. I would recommend this book highly. 

am--10 Coral Canyon out-and-back w/ pick-ups (1,1, 2,1,2). The run today was diffcult. Most folks were dragging. It was warmer. Nice to be back w/ the kids and get the week started. RHR--53. 

am--5 Grass loops w/ 6x barefoot striders. Good to get up and get going this morning. RHR--53.

pm--1.5 Afternoon callousing after weights. Finished off the day w/ 1k on the erg. 

am--7 Turtle Road out-and-back. We had some of the fabulous super seniors out today. That was fun. It was also fun to see Jenessa and Alli B. running w/ us. My body is feeling sore. Not sure why. Maybe, it's from getting back at the weights yesterday. Oh well, the pain of growth. RHR--52. 

am--7.75 Dirt-mile Tempo. Great things happened today. Some of the younger girls jumped in and held pace for 15-20 minutes. Caroline had a rocking tempo, and the boys looked good as well. RHR--53.

pm--1.5 Weights and a shakeout through the neighborhood. I erged for 15 min. (3.3k) after. Lots of sweating this afternoon. 

am--5.75 BHNP and River Trail w/ 6x barefoot striders. It was a good run w/ a nice group. Still, it was muggy, and my legs are feeling the tempo and erging from yesterday. I love seeing some of the younger girls strive to get better. RHR--48. 

am--8.25 Foremaster w/ Lutheran extension. Nice run this morning w/ an awesome group. I love seeing these younger girls push themselves. Addi, Brianna, and I finshed quicker, which was hard but good. RHR--52. 

am--11 Gma Cokey's to Lindon via 800 E. & the MCT w/ 5 pickups (1,1,2,1,2). It took me a while to get moving but felt good once I was going. The pickups were great. I tried to ease into them and cruised. The 15-degree difference in temperature is magnificent.

On another note, my oldest is 14. Happy Birthday, Sadie. RHR--52.

am--4.5 Scera Park grass loops w/ 6x strikers. The heel was hurting at the beginning.

pm--1.5 Weights/Voltron/Run. Felt good to be back with the teamsters. Erged 2k in 8:16.8 after.

am--8 Hell-Hole loop. Nice and humid run w/ some chafing and a decent push at the end. RHR--52. 

am--7 Pace-work Fartleks on the grass. We worked from tempo to threshold to CV and back. I really enjoy this workout. The legs love it, real speed play. We had lots of folks doing good things today. RHR--53. 

pm--1.5 Weights and run into the neighborhood. Erged for 15 minutes after (3.2k).

am--6 Out-and-back from the finish line of the marathon w/ 8x barefoot striders. Pretty good crew for a Friday. Things started well, dodging sprinklers and looking for dry grass. My legs felt tired still from the work yesterday, and Jacey was feeling good, so I went with her. We had a nice chat. She will do greater things this year. RHR--50. 

am--5.5 To Harmons and back. I didn't go full minutes this morning because I intended on running tonight while we looked over a new course for region. The evening running didn't happen. Nonetheless, I was dragging this morning, so, perhaps, it was for the best. RHR--49. 

I finished two more books. The first, My Turn: A Life of Total Football by Johan Cruyff, was an intriguing read. I've been an avid football fan for the last 10 years or so, and Cruyff is one of my favorites. Here's a YouTube sampling: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMPflZoIkio. He is definitely a confident man. Here are some quotes I enjoyed: "I'm used to criticism, because criticism is intended to make you better" (204). It seems to me that criticism isn't viewed this way very often. This is my favorite quote: "I've taken things as they've come since I was a boy, including beautiful moments and setbacks, which I've learned are not always caused by mistakes. A setback is probably a sign that you need to make some adjustments. If you learn to think that way, all experiences are translated into something positive. It enriches you as a person." Good stuff. 

The second book was Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card. I thorougly enjoy the Ender-related books. Card has a keen mind for the machinations of power and politics. And, I'm turning into a sci-fi guy. 

am--8 SC Rugby tempo. I love doing my faster work at the rugby ground when I'm on my own. The tempo went well, expecially considering that I was mentally trying to bail on running this morning. I'm not sure why, but this part of the summer always requires more focus. Anyway, despite the long grass, I was able to hit times comparable to the dirt mile and remembered that showing up is 90% of the battle. RHR--50.

am--4.25 Grass loops w/ 6x barefoot strikers. Lots of rain and fun. RHR--49.

pm--1.75 Weights and running and a game of fish on the erg.

I finished George Orwell's Animal Farm. Perhaps, this is the second time. Sometimes, Orwell is overbearing with his analogies, but this book was interesting in regards to our current political situation.

am--7.25 Fartlek work on the grass. The paces were variable w/ equal rest. We had some great groups going today. Kids are starting to see the power of a pack. It'll be skeleton crew on the girls' side for the rest of the week. RHR--53. 

pm--2.5 Out-and-back to the edge of Sunbrook. I wore my Altras, being curious about how the achilles would feel in them, and they felt surprisingly good. That being said, I need to be more vigilant about maintenance after runs. 

am--6.5 North Desert. We explored, and I had a good chat w/ Josie. RHR--51.

pm--1.5 Weights/neighborhood/erg (1k in 4:06).

am--10.5 Washington Fields Loops w/ a fast finish. We had a smaller group, but we stuck together pretty well. It was fun chatting w/ Josie again and pushing at the end w/ Caroline and Rylee. We have a fun group. Side note: the freshwomen went crazy w/ their minutes today. RHR--52. 

am--5 Running around BHNP before, during, and after the time trial. The kids ran pretty well. My thoughts on time trials have changed a bit. Rather than all-out race efforts, they serve training better as benchmark tests and training tools. 

pm--2.5 Dirt-road miles at Deer Haven. The altitude (9,200+) hits me pretty hard. It was fun to take this week as it presented itself and get to know some of the kids I don't normally run with a bit better. Not sure on most of the miles from this week. 

I finished another book, an interesting one, The Golden Mile by Herb Elliott. The '50s and '60s are slowly becoming my favorite era in running history. This book is a frank recounting of Elliott's short career, culminating w/ his gold medal in the Rome Olympics. Here are a few of my favorite quotes: 

Quoting Percy Cerutty, his nutty coach, "Thrust against pain. Pain is the purifier. Walk towards suffering. Love suffering. Embrace it" (38). 

"Most athletes imagine themselves at the end of their tether before they're even seventy-five percent exhausted. I was so determined to avoid this pitfall that if at any time I thought I was surrendering too soon to superficial pain I'd deliberately try to hurt myself more" (50). 

"We cannot hope to win races without the kind of aggressiveness that enables us to accept a challenge from which the timid shy. . . It is important that we become confident in ourselves as men before we can even hope of being a success, not only in athletics, but any walk of life. Confidence grows if we overcome our tired bodies, running harder when we want to slow down. With confidence comes character and strength of body, will and soul" (143). 

"The pain in a mile race extends over one-and-a-half to two minutes. It starts in your chest, sweeps down through the arms, stomach and legs until your whole body is distressed and you feel like stopping. It is a mental, rather than physical, torture. In my case, concentration and the emotional content of a race carry me through the pain in much the same way, I imagine, as an Indian fakir walks through fire or sleeps on a bed of nails. Invariably, all distress vanishes within thirty seconds of the finish of the race" (144-145). 

"I rarely go into a race with any preconceived tactics. If I do, it means I'm not particularly hopeful of my chances. Athletes who resort to tactics have no real confidence  in themselves and lose as many races as they win" (145). 

I really enjoyed this book and a look into the makings of a world champion.