Turn your rut into a groove.

pm--6.25 Warm-up, modified mini Michigan--800, 1200, 800, 1200, and 400--and cool-down. I ran it w/ the girls and stayed pretty strong. Kaylee killed me, but that was to be expected. 

pm--5.5 A few miles on the tready after P/T conferences. 

pm--3.25 A few tready miles after a long day of P/T conferences and junk food. 

pm--5 Out to the turf farm and back w/ the varsity girls. 

pm--4 miles w/ the kids in PG. 

pm--6 I learned a few things today. The #1 team in the country is formidable. And a few days of travel/fast food doesn't bode well for the body. In fact, I had to recover from the crappy food from the weekend before I could get out and run. 

I finally got out for a nice hilly run @ a fairly moderate pace. Felt good. Went w/ a flat shoe--a perk of the massive xc check this year--to try and roll through the gait. Felt pretty natural. I need to work on firing w/ a better back lift. 

am--3.5 This time change is defibrillating. It will resuscitate my morning runs. In fact, it would be great to ditch out on daylight savings so that my circadian rhythm wouldn't be off half the year. Anyway. I got a nice little run in this morning and finished w/ 7x10 sec. striders. 

pm--6 Barrel Roll w/ Tom. Twas a beautiful evening and nice to get back to the dirt. I want to use this run as a benchmark for improvement, so I clocked us today. The total elevation gain is ~600 feet, and the total time was 55:20. We'll see how I can chip away at that time. I'll try to hit it once every week or 2 to test things.

am--4.25 A nice run in the brisk morning. My hamstrings a little tight for some reason. Otherwise, the body feels pretty good. 

pm--4.25 Tready miles while watching the Jazz come back from 8 down w/ 30 seconds left and then win in OT against the Heat. Sweet. Running is going well.  Have a bit of a twinge in the hamstring that seems to connect somehow to something just below the kneecap. It subsides as I start running.

am--3 A nice little jaunt on my first morning loop. 

am--6.25 Sunbrook loop w/ a buddy. The body is feeling the small bump in miles. That's good. 

pm--4.5 Telegraph run w/ Colton and the girls. The legs are gassed. 

am--3.75 Just a nice, moderate morning run. I didn't want to get out of bed this morning, but I did and happier because of it. 

pm--7 Ran a few, going to SHAC to help take down after the Turkey Tri and then hit the Anasazi Trail for a few more. I caught a toe and ate it on the dirt. Nice rash. 

pm--6 Before a get-together at school. My daughter's been sick, and now my stomach's feeling a bit iffy. Needless to say, the run was a chore. 

am--6.5 Morning miles through Green Valley w/ a buddy. The stomach is feeling a little better, but I was still dragging. 

pm--5.5 Mile on the tready, picking it up a notch every .5 or so, with a full stomach. 

pm--5 Faster miles on the shoe(?) run w/ the kids. My fitness being where it is, I'll call this run a tempo. 

pm--3.25 Quick tready miles. A few mid-7s. Nice day of running. 

am--6 Nice morning run up to the Canyons and back home. I tacked on .75 more than usual at the beginning of this loop. 

pm--3.75 Moderate-paced run down around Dixie Drive and home. BTW, the perfect temperature is ~50 degrees.

pm--8 I decided to try a little out and back to see if I could keep a steady pace both ways or maybe even negative split. I hit the first 4 in 34:00--an 8:30/mile pace--and returned in 30:00--a 7:30/mile pace. Chalk those up as Tinman miles. This run is a roller but does gain elevation on the way out and lose it on the way back. Nice to pick up the pace a bit. 

am--6.25 Nice jaunt on the Anasazi Trail w/ Tom. The back of the knee/side of the calf has a little twinge. We'll see if I can get it figured out. Good week for me. 

pm--7 Came home w/ a headache and nearly wrote off the running for the day but ended up hopping on the tready and banging out some miles, watching Lennon NYC. What an interesting dude!

am--6.75 Nice morning run w/ a buddy up and around Santa Clara. 

pm--4.25 Once again, some tready miles. Hit a few fartleks--4 x 30 sec. @ 10k pace followed by 30 sec. @ 5k pace. Feels good lately to pick it up. Twas also good to run after a weird bummer day.

am--10.5 Nice long(er) run this morning. No watch. No worries. Just headed out w/ nothing for breakfast but a glass of water. (This accounts for the weight loss.) Twas very enjoyable. It feels like the running is really coming back. 

am--9 I went out for a nice holiday run on the Barrel Roll and Sidewinder trails. Hit them backwards. There were nearly 3 times more runners than I've ever seen out there combined. In fact, I saw Logan w/ some of his kids and an old neighbor from Pine Valley Town Homes. All the climbing--~1,000 feet accumulated--about did me in, but I was able to keep it pretty even overall. I love running out in the hills.

I almost forgot. Happy Thanksgiving. I'm thankful for family and friends, the beautiful area where we live, including the glorious trails, my wonderful daughters, and a wife who puts up with all of my idiosyncracies. 

am--8 Out-and-back on the old Swiss Days course out to the old highway. On the way back, I hit 4 tempo miles. This is my 2nd week running an out-and-back like this. I think it is beneficial. The back miles were a little quicker than they needed to be, but I was feeling it. 7:40 average for the whole run. It feels like I might be breaking on through. 

pm--3.5 Late-night recovery miles on the tready. Left achilles is pretty tight. 

am--5 Easy tready miles. The body is wasted from the quicker miles yesterday. 

am--4 Albertson's loop backwards w/ neighbor Greg. Brisk morning. 

pm--6 Tready miles. There's a weird twitch at the top of my right calf, on the inside of my knee. It seems to subside after I get going a little and pick up the pace.

am--6 I checked the weather last night just for fun to see how cold it would be this morning. Supposedly, the temperature would be in the teens this morning. I bet it was. Twas awfully brisk. Ran up to the Canyons w/ a buddy and back down Tuweap, trying to see through the fog of my breath the whole run.

pm--6 Barrel Roll @ a brisk pace--49:34--w/ a 582 accumulated elevation gain. Didn't wear gloves or a beanie. The hands were about frozen stiff by the end.