Turn your rut into a groove.

pm--19 I ran in the desert and around Santa Clara. It was hard. My toenail is blue. I think I've got a small glimpse of what a marathon is like. This is my longest run to date by 2 miles.

am--5 I skipped the run yesterday to let my blue/black toenail rest. Interestingly enough my legs weren't sore after the big mileage. I did, however, look into the toenail thing online and ended up drilling a tiny hole in the toenail to bleed it and, thereby, relieve some pressure. I'm actually a little squeamish, but I'd do it again. I'm thinking the toenail thing was from the loose run on the Red Mountain trail and, possibly, some quick bouts of downhill. It was good to run again.

pm--5 I met a buddy out at the Washington Parkway trailhead and ran the Grapevine round to a monolith and turned around. It was an easy run, listening to some info on traditional dietary habits. 

pm--4 Grueling miles on the treadmill. Treadmill>my will. With the long run, the black toenail, and a 10k this weekend, I'm not sweating the miles. So 40 is my goal this week.

am--7 The wif and I ran a little warm-up before the race and then listened to the Race Director crack a few jokes. My favorite was one about The National Parks Service guaranteeing a spot for every runner in the race in the next race, 100 years from now. The GPS didn't work super well in the canyon--this run went from Big Bend, down Zion Canyon, and finished at the end of Pa'rus trail. It was a steady down hill--400 ft. drop in elevation. I pushed and pushed and pushed, sticking in the top 10 throughout but running mostly by my lonesome. Just me and my mind. The legs felt great most of the way, but I was wheezing. The course was beautiful, the runners enjoyed themselves, and the breath was visible. Everything felt great until Pa'rus trail when the course went into the sun w/ some undulations. Nonetheless, the experience was positive. Everyone PRed. My overall pace was 6:47/mile. It's too bad this race isn't an annual event.