Psalm 91:1 NKJV He who dwells in the secret place

I debated on running today with the dog, but I decided a rest day was good.  But I did do quite a bit of work around the house.  I cleaned the rain gutters, and some of the metal trim over our port was loose so I fixed that.  I loaded and unloaded wood in/out of my truck to use for our outdoor fireplace. 

 I still did my standard sit-ups and push-ups for the night which is something I do every night regardless if I run or not. 

This morning was very nice.. I think were over the cold weather now in the mornings I hope. I had a meeting this morning and got up late so I didn't run my standard 10 miler. I felt so fatigue that my run really showed it. I ran 9.3 miles at overall 7:08 pace in 1:06, and I didn't have any snap or speed in my legs at all. I felt just tired and dead the whole run. I did do the last mile in 6:39 and started to awake up.

My wife and I will be married 14 years tomorrow so that's exciting. But the problem is we have no time to celebrate it this weekend or the next. The only time we will have is the dates of WBR (that weekend) so I'm going to really have to figure out what's best here.

Lunch:

I ran on my lunch hour today from my house over the Quinn St. overpass then around the Mall and down poleline St.  I ran 5.3 miles at an overall 6:42 pace in 35.42 minutes.  My legs felt great this afternoon.  Picked it up the last two miles on the flat course (6:46, 5:53).

Avia Lites #2 (505 miles)  These are one of the best shoes I've ever had.  I have four pairs of them and all of them are in the 500 mile range. 

This morning was cloudy and windy, but it was 52 degrees at 6:50am when I started running. I did get 7 hours of sleep last night so my legs, body were a little tired. I wore my Fastrunningblog/St George runner center T-Shirt to advertise the site. I knew there would be a lot of runner's running down Satterfield St hill, but I'm the only idiot running up it. At least they would see my shirt and I've already talked to a few before about joining the site.

This morning the first couple of miles I ran whatever my legs felt like doing (7:33, 7:10). Then I started up Pocatello Creek Rd with a couple more easy miles (7:21, 7:22). Then I ran up Satterfield St. (7:48) this hill does make your quads burn when you hit the top. Then the flat portion of Satterfield St I ran splits of (6:49, 6:45). Now was the downhill portion for two miles and I decided to pick it up a bit but not too much (6:17, 6:11). I wanted to squeeze a couple more faster miles after I reached the bottom and turned on Hiline Rd. But I hit the wind, and my knee was bothering a bit, and it felt like I ran out of Glycogen. I didn't eat the best dinner last night and it really wasn't high in carbs. With all this going on the next two miles I took it easy, because my legs felt dead, and the other issues (6:46, 7:15). Then the last mile back home I mentally challenged myself and wanted to run this somewhere in the 5 minute range even though I was feeling like crap. I was trying to play a trick on the nervous system by thinking positive and getting through the last mile. It worked ! I ran the last mile in 5:53 on a flat portion so it wasn't aided, and I was glad to be done today. Totals: 12.1 miles at an overall 6:56 pace in 1:26.

I don't think I can get a second run in because of the busy day. Today is my anniversary, my wife and I have been married for 14 years. What a great women see is for putting up with me and my running. I'm a challenge to put up with that long. :-)

(Asics Trainers 13 - 75 miles)

Evening:

I ran 2.1 miles at an overall 7:15 pace in 15:07 from my office.  I had to cut the run short, because it was pouring as hard as it could so I just ran back to my truck outside my office.  Splits (7:19, 6:49).   Nothing like a little shower.

 (Avia Lites #4 - 580 miles)

This morning I got up at 5:20am to go help and move our daycare equipment around at our new facility, because the owner was going to have the floors stripped and waxed. When we got down there the equipment was already moved around in the facility, and that was a bummer. I wouldn't have had to get up so early which I didn't sleep good, and I felt like a walking zombie getting ready to run.

This morning was very cold, windy and rained the whole time on the run. The temperature was 39 degrees, but I wore shorts anyway. The first few miles I felt dead running up towards Olympus Drive which is a half mile short from turning on Satterfield St. I ran slow (8:00, 7:42, 7:35, 7:35,7:28) Then I warm-up a bit and hit some faster miles (6:55, 6:59, 7:11,7:09,7:08). I wanted to pickup the last two miles on the way home, because it was cold and I was ready to be home to take a nice hot shower (6:49, 5:57).

(Mizuno Precisions 8 - 374 miles)

Lunch:

No run I was on with Oracle support way past when I usually go to lunch and I was too hungry to go on a run. I plan on running the Hear and Sole course tonight right after work that I was going to do on my lunch hour. This is a 10k local race that I'm going to run next week (June 14th). This is a very tough course where 3 miles of it are uphill. I won it two years ago (I didn't run it last year), and I came from behind to do so, and won by over a minute. This year there's suppose to be some ISU college guys running it so all probably try to hang with them.

Evening:

After work I ran the Heart and Sole course as a practice run for next weeks 10k. The course is pretty difficult and somewhat challenging, well any race is challenging.

Mile 1: 6:49 - first .3 is all downhill than the rest of the mile is uphill. I took it easy on the downhill and then push somewhat about 70% effort on the uphill.

Mile 2: 6:27 - this mile is rolling hills and I just took it nice and easy and pushed at time in the mile. I didn't want to kill myself because I was running in a 15mph wind. The strategy for this course I think is to be conservative the first two miles.

Mile 3: 5:48 - partly up hill and downhill and I really pushed the downhill portion.

Mile 4: 5:51 - flat and I pushed this mile in the wind, and the effort felt harder than it should have.

Mile 5: 6:20 - all uphill and I pushed it pretty hard.

Mile 6: 6:57 - all uphill and I cut my pace a bit because I felt my effort was trying too hard and I didn't want to wear myself out. The course I think is going to be .2 short if I started at the correct start line. But I did push it out to 6.2, but not running very hard the last .2 to finish at a 39:20.

Then I finished with a cold down mile to total 7.61 at an overall 6:20 pace in 48.14 minutes.

 I don't feel fast at all and it's obvious with my times and lack of speed work.  I've focused on the marathon so long that I haven't done a lot of speed work.  With the WBR coming up I'm not going to do that well.  I'll just enjoy it and relax on the runs.

(Saucony Tangent 3 -  48 miles)

Over 7 hours of sleep last night but it wasn't solid sleep. I toss and turned a lot thinking about things at work.

This morning was cold at 39 degrees with the wind blowing 20mph, but I still wore shorts. I put on a singlet and a long sleeve shirt with thin gloves. My hands were still cool and I had to blow on them quite frequently to keep them warm (come on the is JUNE!). I took the run nice and easy running 11.2 miles at an overall 7:07 pace in 1:20. Not sure if I'll have time to get another run in because of the busy day, but I might be able to get 3 more miles in.

Lunch

Ran 4.3 miles at an overall 6:55 pace in 29:13 in a heavy wind. I didn't push too hard just an easy run. The turn over on my legs lately have seemed to be a lot better in the second run which is odd. Because before it used to be the first run of the day where I felt my legs were fresh and running well. Actually I'm not running well at all by my standards. My knee is still bothering me after runs. I haven't mentioned it because everyone is probably tired of me complaining. I know I am.

I got about 8 hours of sleep last night, but had to get up three times to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. I really hate that because it really interrupts your sleep. The weather was awful when I got up it was raining hard and the wind was blowing, but the temperature wasn't too bad at 48 degrees (of course you have to add the 20mph wind factor).

I wanted to do my long run today, because tomorrow would be too busy, so I got my tights on and my windproof and rain resistant jacket, gloves and hat and headed out the door. The wind and rain was terrible and I didn't think I was going to make it 5 miles, but I mentally kept thinking positive with the wind and rain hitting me in the face.

I took a gel at mile 8 and a drink of water that I had on my fuel belt. Then at mile 11 I wanted to take another drink, and realized that both of the 8oz bottles snapped off my Amphipod. At the turn around point at mile 12 I went and back-tracked the last 4 miles to see if I could find the bottles. At mile 15 no sign of the bottles so I stopped by a rain gutter that was pouring out water and took a drink. I know that sounds sick but I wanted to take a few sports beans, but not without water. I did find one of my water bottles when I hit mile 16 so least I only lost one and I can order another on off the internet. At mile 19 I decided to do this one a little faster and finished the mile at 6:48. Then the last .43 on the 20th mile I ran between a 5:35 to 5:50 pace.

I was soaked when I got home with the constant rain for the whole run. My shoes and socks were soaked and smelly. I took a nice hot shower and that felt so good.

Totals 20.43 miles at an overall 7:07 pace in 2:25.

(Saucony Tangent 3  -  68 Miles) 

The sun was out this morning but very windy and cold and the temperature was 35 degrees. The wind was blowing up to 30mph. I did wear shorts, and two long sleeve shirts with gloves and was fine. I couldn't really get any decent speed going because of the wind, so it was just a easy run of 8.2 miles at an overall 7:05 pace in 58:18 minutes. I did do the last mile at 6:34 so not a bad way to end the run. I couldn't get anymore mileage in today because my daughter has a soccer game and I got up late, because I had a system conversion last night that took till 1am so I was really beat.

I'm glad I at least was over 90 miles this week so that's good.

(Mizuno Precisions 8 - 382 miles)

 Rest of the day we were getting my wife's daycare facility ready to open next Tuesday.  We did a lot of work.  I had to fix  six of the computers that she has for the kids to use for learning software that's on them.  Lately my focus really isn't on running, but on our Daycare because it's a big change for my wife.  WBR I'm not really excited for because of all my focus is on my wife's business and very important projects at work.  But I'll always do my best when it comes down to it.  I'm a competitor.
 

No running.  I got over 8 hours of sleep which was nice.  After the family got up my wife and I packed more of her daycare equipment into the bed of my truck so after church we could deliver it to our daycare facility and set more equipment up.  I helped put up an inside loft for the kids in one of the three daycare rooms, and an Airplane Teeter Totter (here's a picture).

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11275880&whse=BC&Ne=4000000&eCat=BC%7C1482&N=4000486&Mo=56&No=12&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&cat=1482&Ns=P_Price%7C1%7C%7CP_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&topnav=

Then we went to a Chinese Buffet.  My daughter got to pick the place, because I told her if she scored a goal on Saturday that she could pick where we would go out to eat on Sunday.   Well she scored a goal and she loves Chinese food. I ate more than I should have, but thats okay if you do it once in a while.  I love Chinese food... this weekend I didn't really eat the best.

Then we went back to the daycare facility and worked till 10pm and I'm beat.  I just set in our hot  tub and I'm off to bed.  My knee is a little sore when I bend it so it's still not a 100%.  I'm really struggling if I should do WBR or not.

Over 8 hours of sleep last night after a long weekend full of physical labor and running. I was still tired and didn't even want to run at all. But I did, and I was flat, flat flat flat. and tired, plus I vomited my Chinese food before bed last night so I might just have been weak. But really lately I haven't been looking forward to running in the mornings it's more like it's becoming a chore. I don't know if I need a break or what. I try to stay motivated and want to go to the track and do speed work yet my body and legs just feel sore and I just don't do it, but I know I need to. Right now I just feel slow and off and think I need to break down and get a massage. Will see how this weekend 10k race goes. Anyway enough whining, but I had to use something as a sounding board to get my feelings out.

I ran 12.3 miles at an overall 7:04 pace in 1:27 this morning. The first three miles were a gradual uphill to Satterfield St. and I was slow ( 8:00, 7:39, 8:00). I did get faster as the run went on when I did my uphill and downhill 200m hill repeats (7:13, 6:59, 650, 6:43,) now were just talking about a 3% to 4% incline nothing that real difficult at all. Last few mile splits (6:29, 6:44, 6:44,6:42,6:46). Right now I don't have a training strategy and I'm just running on how I feel each day, and that's usually been a tired feeling

(Saucony Grid Trigon 4 - 525 miles)

After work:

I ran 4.3 miles at an overall 7:15 pace in 31:22 minutes from my office around our campus. My legs were still tired and really didn't have any juice like they usually do in the evening. I think that a definite sign of fatigue. Oh well at least I put in some more miles. I did do the last one in 6:40. Now time to go work at the daycare.....

(Avia Lites 4 - 588 miles)

I got 8 hours of sleep last night and I was completely dead and weak after getting done with my wife's Daycare facility setup last night. Finally, opening day today! No more double shifts of running over there after work to get things setup, or taking up the whole weekend to get things ready. I'm happy for my wife, and the hard work we put in. It really does show, and it was well worth it.

Hey! do I need to talk about running. I guess this is a running blog. Last night I planned on either doing a tempo run on the 10k race course I'm running Saturday or doing some 8 x 400's on the track. Well, I didn't do either one of those for three reasons: 1. The wind was blowing up to 30 mph. 2. It was raining and the track would have not been a good idea in those conditions, but it wasn't really cold. 3. My legs were dead, and I bumped my knee last night while moving Daycare equipment (the one that's been bothering me after my runs). I did run 11.5 miles at an overall 7:07 pace in 1:22, and I just ran by feeling. My knee hurt more than it has in any run for sometime this morning. It's even aching right now. I did run the last mile in 6:12, because I was mad and determined to at least get one fast mile.

Tomorrow I will try and run the course if I can get up at a decent time to drive up there and run it before work. Then head down to the University and take a shower there at the gym and then go to work from there. I'm done probably running anymore today.

Here's my plan for the rest of the week to get ready for Saturday's race (please provide input) My problem is I haven't ran a lot of short competitive races so I'm trying to work on the strategy leading up to the week.

Wednesday 8 miles: 6 on race course at 20k pace.
Thursday 8 miles easy run
Friday: rest
Saturday: 10k race ( I would at least like to run 16 miles that day, so I'll run more after the race). If my knee is hurting I will just treat this as a training run and call off the wheels in the race.

(Asics DS Trainers 13 -  97.8 miles)

Lunch

I did 500 sit-ups and 200 push-ups. My knee is still real sore from this morning run. I'll have to see if I can ice it while I'm sitting at work.

Evening

More sit-ups and push-ups.

I got another 8 hours of sleep last night and the energy seems to be coming back into my body not quite yet, but it's getting there. Knee is still bothering me even on the run today, but I don't believe it's affecting my speed at all.

I ran the 10k race course today that I will run on Saturday to get my legs under it again. The weather was awful at the start it was 25 degrees with a 15-20 mph SW wind. I took the first couple of miles easier than last week, but with the wind I wasn't willing to burn myself out, and I wasn't looking to run at a 10k pace. I started with the first two miles (7:05, 6:42 slower than last Wednesday) then I hit the downhill and ran (5:44) then the flat course mile ( Mile 4: 5:39). Mile 5 is all uphill and I felt pretty good and ran it in (6:15), but I did turn West and the west wind helped push me with a good tail wind. Mile 6: I slowed down and just relaxed (7:05). Then I ran 4 additional miles up and down the hill course. At times my knee would throb, and almost felt like the tendons/muscles were moving around. I don't know it's hard to explain.

Totals 10.3 miles at an overall 6:40 pace in 1:08.

Just wanted to share a scripture I read tonight in my reading 2 Corinthians¹³ But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.

If we believe in something then we need to do it and be bold and pursue it.

(mizuno Idaten - 112 miles)

I got over 7 hours of sleep last night so this week has been really good as far as sleep goes. The temperature was 43 degrees and partly cloudy, but still windy.

I did 12 x 100m strides with 100m internal in-between. Then I did one 200m towards the end of the run. I started this after about 8 miles of running, and my legs felt fresher than yesterday. I still have this bulging knee pain when I run, but anyway the last three mile splits 6:22, 6:08, 6:23. I ran 11.1 miles at an overall 6:55 pace in 1:17. I only wanted to do 10 miles today, but because of a train detour I had to run an extra mile to get back to my house. No big deal ...the trains do keep jobs in our community.

Tomorrow I'm only going to do 6 miles to be ready for the race Saturday if I still decide to do it or not. I'm debating to hold off and not risk anything, but I would like to run a 10k race.

(Saucony Tangent 3 - 79 miles)

Lunch

I did sit-ups and push-ups,  mowed my grandpa's lawn, and dropped my lawn mower off at the shop and  I did this all in an hour.

 For the last two weeks almost I've done sit-ups and push-ups three times a day.  I really think it's helping my core development, and will help in the later stages of  a marathon.
 

Sunny morning at 39 degrees, but it felt real warm at 6:30am. I could have wore a singlet out today, but I didn't. I got over 7 hours of sleep last night. I did an easy run today up Satterfield hill and back down a total of 8.02 miles at an overall 7:18 pace in 58:41 minutes. I wasn't going to go up any hills today to keep my legs real fresh for the 10k tomorrow, but I didn't care about that and went up the hill anyway. I rather have the mileage and fitness than worry about being fresh for a race... sorry bad attitude today. My knee is still bothering me so will see how the race goes tomorrow.

(Mizuno Precision 8 - 390 miles)   

Second overall, Seth track team mate from Utah State was first overall with a at 34:ish something. The course was short it was 6.05 miles. 

Man! I thought maybe I had you all convinced I could run that fast. Sorry about the race distance error. I only had literally one minute to enter it in. I'll get the race report in when I have more time. But I did feel happy with my performance. I'll but in the mile splits real fast. (Were headed out of town to celebrate our anniversary that was two weeks ago)...

mile 1: 6:28 - .4 downhill and the rest uphill. I took it conservative

mile 2: 6:16 - mainly uphill and then rolling hills. At this point I was running with the Utah State track guy.

mile 3: 5:31 - .2 uphill and then the rest downhill. I felt I should have pushed harder here.

mile 4: 5:28 - completely flat mile and the Utah State track guy (Lopez) was just pulling away like crazy. I knew the uphill was coming so I didn't want to go too much with him.

mile 5: 5:57 - .5 flat and .5 uphill and I really felt good.

mile 6: 6:14 - All uphill and this is what I'm most proud of how well I ran this uphill. I feel my weakest link is uphill. I exactly gained a little on the Utah State track guy.

Ran 1.5 mile warm-up and 9 miles after including the last mile at 6:07, because I just felt so good.  I ran 3 miles of the cool-down with Chio Lopez (Utah State track guy), and I was trying to persuade him to get on the blog, and he said that Seth has already talked to him about it.  I also mentioned the site to several other runners as well.

I did end up passing a Highland XC runner on the 3 mile to have sole position of  second place.  He was undefeated in the 800m event all this year.  He said when we hit the rollings in the second mile that just killed him.

No running today... 

Several hours after this race while my wife and I were spending the night in Idaho Falls for our anniversary I developed a limp caused by foot pain on side of my foot.  It's a lot better now, I can still feel something there, and I did have some knee pain several hours after the run.  I'm going to have to really watch this close.  I'll see how the running goes tomorrow.  I hope this is nothing serious.  I think it's because of the old shoes I put on after the race and helping with the Family Fun day before we left for IF.  I never took a rest at all after the race.

Nice morning sunny so a singlet and shorts was a great choice.  My legs were dead for the first 4 miles and I was tired and fatigued.  I realized that I didn't drink hardly any water, or any good quantity of fluid over the last two days.  I think that's why I felt so sluggish.  Although I did drink a 52 oz decaf diet soda yesterday :-) at least it didn't have caffeine but of course the carbonation is not good for you.

After the 4 miles I felt better for the last 7.  I ran 11.4 miles at an easy 7:22 pace in 1:24.  I too it easy which is probably what I will do all week.  I still had a little foot pain and the knee is still bothering me.  I'm  not going to say anymore about that because it's frustrating, but  I feel terrible about this going into the relay. 

Got home kind of late last night because my daughter had a double header fast-pitch softball game. We ate dinner at 9pm last night, and I ate 4 pancakes and 4 waffles. I guess staying out in the heat made me hungry. I help coach the girls team, and they won both games. I only managed to get about 6 hours of sleep last night due to getting home so late it was hard to get right to bed.

I ran 12.33 miles at an overall 6:57 pace in 1:25 this morning. I ran up Chubbuck Rd. , and then the back side of Satterfield St, on a trail that I found that went uphill for a mile. Then down Pocatello Creek Rd back to my house on Mckinley. I tried to get a lot of uphill in this run today, and it took 4 miles before my legs would wake up. Very nice weather conditions again. On the last few downhill and flat miles I pushed the pace a little bit more finishing with the following splits (6:49, 6:35, 5:55, 6:19, 6:30)

(Asics Trainers 13 - 110 miles) 

Lunch:

Decided to run on my lunch hour, because I did have to cover the daycare on my lunch today. Yesterday I entertained a 8 month old for an hour, and that was fun. Today my wife's daycare count was down so I could do whatever I wanted on my lunch.

Here's my theory about running I run to stay fit, and not really to race. Overall fitness is more important than a race so that's why I will definitely run at times when I shouldn't.

I ran 4.3 miles at an overall 6:53 pace in 29.49 minutes.... splits (7:37, 7:03, 6:23, 6:32). The last two miles I pushed in a very, very, very strong wind. 87 degrees outside and I had to run in running pants, because that's all I had with me at work.

 (Mizuno Precision 8 - 405 miles)

Last night I moved our two computer desk and computer, router/network into what used to be our daycare classroom, and before was my garage that we re-modeled to be a classroom. The computer desks and network was setup in our bedroom. After that we moved furniture around in our bedroom. Our house is actually looking like a house not a daycare. Then we loaded some more daycare equipment up in my truck. So when I woke up this morning (after 6 hours of sleep) I has tried my back was sore my foot was a little sore, but I did get a run in. My old office room we converted into an infant room is now our piano room for my daughter who's taking lessons.

I ran 11.21 miles at an overall 7:06 pace in 1:19. I felt so sluggish and tired I could have slept on the run. The pace my seem faster than I should have went, but I just let my nervous system run how it wanted to, and I ran a completely flat route with not much uphill so that is why it felt faster. I need to get some sleep tonight, but were going to do some more rearranging around our house tonight too. 

With all the running and other extra work my weight is around 139 to 140 so I need to load some carbs up.

 (Saucony Tangent 3 -  90 Miles)

Got 8 hours of sleep last nigh. Still woke up tired and wasn't motivated to run or do anything. Figured if I'm going to eat than I will run to keep the calories down that was my only motivation to run today. 9 miles at an overall easy 7:17 pace in 1:05. My feet feel heavy/slow, I feel tired it's been along couple of weeks with a lot going on with our business and work.

Lunch: 
I'm not going to run again today... I decided I wasn't going to taper, but my knee was bothering me during and after the first run so I decided to hold back and not run until Friday night.  But I can still do sit-ups and push-ups -:).
 

Jeff Shadley and one of his co-workers and I drove up to Jordan, Utah in my truck to drop it off and get a ride with Walter to Logan, Utah to the start of the relay. I wasn’t about to leave my truck at no market, too much money invested in it. Jeff’s a great guy and a great friend and I was glad to go up with him. I like to feed off of his determination and great talent. It was nice of Walter to let me leave me truck there at his house. Thanks Walter.

Once we got to Paul’s house it was nice to see old and new running blog faces and meet all the guys on the blue and white team. My motivation really wasn’t there to run this relay because of the knee pain I had, and I didn’t want to hinder the team. But Cody couldn’t really find anyone else so I needed to run. Even though I wasn’t motivated I was going to run the best possible for the team.

Hand-off 1 Leg 9 - 9:37pm : My 3.5 mile course was pretty flat. The first mile I felt good, but I didn’t want to explode from the start with nervous energy so I settled into a good groove and hit the first mile at 5:28. The second mile was interesting, and could have been a disaster. There was a skunk running down the road on the left side about 20 yards in front of me. I could only make it out when I got close because of it being night, and the headlamp doesn't really put out too much light.   I then moved to the middle of the road and the skunk moved to the middle. Then I moved back to the left and the skunk stayed in the middle.  When I passed the skunk, it raised it’s tail up so I ran off the side of the road to the left side.  Luckily, I didn’t get sprayed or I would have been riding on the top of the van. I finished that mile at 5:28. The last mile I hit a little bit of a head wind, and a gradual gain of elevation in this mile.  I finished at 5:42, and felt really good. My knee ached about a hour after the run when I sat down, but really nothing bad.

Total; 3.5 miles in 19:19 minutes 5:35 pace average.

Hand-off 2 Leg 21: 6.2 miles in 36.32 (a gradual incline) overall 5:58 pace and beat the predicted 6:07 pace.

Before this leg we all got about an hour sleep in the second exchange location on the parking lot in sleeping bags. I ate a Bagel and a Powerbar and some G2 gatorade before this leg.

The first mile of this leg I didn't want to look at my garmin I wanted to run by feel in a headwind. When I finished the mile I felt like I was running faster than I was but I only ran a 6:12 pace. That was enough of that poor mile on a course that gradually went up 224 ft. The next miles were a lot better.  I wanted to be conservative and have enough left for Leg 3, I learned this from Del Sol, because by leg 3 I was wiped-out there. But I also was going to beat the predicted time.

Mile 2: 5:53 in a headwind but passing a lot of runners, oh what fun I was having.

Mile 3: 5:49 still in a headwind and still having fun passing runners at 3am in the morning. No real problems with the knee that I was thinking about at this point.

Mile 4: 5:53 I passed one runner with headphones on and scared her to death. I was just praising God through this whole night leg. This was a real spiritual experience to be out in the nice beautiful scenery and sky.

Mile 5; 6:01 Went under an overpass and up the hill, and I was somewhat conservative, because I knew I had enough incline in the next leg. Still passing runners quite frequently.

Mile 6: 5:58 Ran up the little hill and down the hill still having fun passing runners, but still fighting the headwind. The last 100m's or longer was a downhill and I gave it everything I had going into the exchange.

I felt that I did save some for the last Leg and was hoping the results would be good. I lost track of how many kills I had on this leg, but it don't really matter because were all runners out there doing the same thing. But it's nice to see that you excel on your leg.

Before the next leg we ate Pancakes and Eggs, Bacon at the School. Thanks to Cody for wanting to go here. I think it really helped me and it was the food I needed for the next leg. Thanks Cody for all that you did.

Hand-off 3 Leg 33: 3.55 miles in 29.49 (I was doing the "You got to be kidding me leg 33") 8:23 pace and be at the predicted 8:30 pace.

Here was the leg that I knew if a team was close could make or break our lead. When I was assigned my legs this was the only one I was real focused on, because of the 1,400ft and something elevation gain. I kept kidding everyone that I would need a jet pack to get up the hill, and I kept kidding Bill Campbell (WildBull) that we need to switch legs. There was something inside of me after the first two legs that motivated me to prove that I belonged on this team and I wanted to perform well for my team. The fun was over this was a serious leg for me, and I needed to get mad to be ready for this leg. On the outside I was joking with everyone about this leg, but on the inside I was serious and focused on trying to do well.

The first .5 of the first mile was flat, and I ran this at a 5:50 to 6 pace and I could have easily ran this faster but I knew what was up ahead. The last half of this mile started up the dreadful climb. There were runners already walking, and there was no way in the world I was going to walk up this thing. The next Mile was just steep and I was passing several runners that were walking and they gave me great encouragement along with other vans. I finished this mile at a 8:30 pace. I really didn't feel too bad and my team was great because they kept giving me encouragement. Bill Campbell would get out of  the van and encourage me. What a great guy to meet. Cody was great at encouraging us all through the whole thing. The next mile I just got mad going up steeper and stayed focused. One guy I passed ask if he could strap a rope on me and pull him up. I had so many kills on this leg, and pretty much every runner was walking. It's a tough leg and I felt for every runner when I went by.. I finished the third mile at a 10:10 pace. My wrist band strap fell off and I and to go back a few steps and retrieve it so the pace would have been a little faster. It fell off when I slammed my water bottle to the ground, because I was getting mad knowing I was conquering the hill and even wanted to push myself faster. Through the whole run there really was no break from this steep incline. There was a van that drove passed and asked if I wanted sprayed down and I gladly  accepted that.

When I reached 3.3 I knew right around the bend was the exchanged so I pressed even harder and made the next hand-off.

All in all I felt thankful to be done and very happy to have beat the predicted pace and knew that I had to have increase our lead from the fourth place team.

I want to thank Cody Draper, Bill Campbell, Steve Olsen, Stephen Cuttitta, James Moore, Andrew McClellan for being such great teammates and new friends. This van experience was just fun and we had some good laughs. I had great conversations with all of them and got to know each one personally. This relay is just not about running, but building a special bond with your fellow runners, and working as a team to have fun and motivate each other. I think the Blue team achieved above what was expected and in the end that felt great.

I got 10 hours of sleep last night, I was completely drained.  I got up today and went to church with my family like every Sunday.  Then after church I had no rest, I mowed our yard, pulled weeds for over an hour, fixed my daughter's flat on her bicycle.  I worked on a computer that I told a family member would be done today and it was.  I took another 30 minute nap, then my wife cooked bacon wrapped hamburgers on our grill, and I had three huge ones.  I'll run tomorrow, but only once.  

 My plan for this week is to take it easy for once after a race and then next
week I'll start training for the Pocatello Marathon on August 30th.

Ran 6.5 miles this morning at an 7:17 pace in 47:32 minutes.  I got over 8 hours of sleep last night which felt so nice.  I was still tired waking up that I open up a can of Caffeine Diet Vault Zero soda pop to wake up before the run.  I was a little sore but once I got into the run everything went great.  The caffeine diet soda pop helped get me going and energized.  I'm only going to do one run this week and not do very many miles and pick it back up next week.  I did in the run with a mile under the 7 minute pace. 

The Wasatch Back Relay was a blast with the guys, and something I'll always remember.

(Mizuna Precision 8 -  412 miles)

I woke up with a terrible headache and almost decided not to run. I opened up a can of diet soda to get some caffeine in me before heading out, and that seem to help a bit. I go almost 8 hours of sleep last night so that wasn't the problem. I'm still really tired from the race, maybe it was the three sets of push-ups and sit-ups I did yesterday. I probably did over 800 sit-ups and over 200 push-ups and that might be pushing it after the relay.

My legs were still somewhat sore so I took it easy running 10.5 miles at an overall 7:24 pace in 1:17. I didn't do some good uphill and downhill climbs in this run heading up to I-15 do Clark St. by the ISU Campus. Most likely the only run today. I got to remember what I told myself that I would take it easy this week. But I still will probably do a long run this weekend.

(Asics Trainer 13 -  120 miles)

Dead legs, dead body, dead mind on the run this morning. I did get 7 hours of sleep, but our son woke us up with a high fever and it made sleep rough. I ran 10.24 at an overall 7:35 pace in 1:17. I didn't even feel like running any type of speed today. I was out there and felt like I was jogging around.

This will be the only run today... again I'm just trying to keep it easy before hitting it again next week.

(Saucony Tangent 3  - 100 miles) 

Evening Decided to run at my daugthers softball game before they started. Ran 4.5 miles at an overall 6.34 pace in 30.05. Ran last two at tempo pace. (6:19, 5:49)

(Avia lites #4 -  592 miles) 

After getting about 7 1/2 hours of sleep last night I woke up ready for another beautiful day of morning running. My son felt better this morning, and that's always good news. Last night we spent time looking for a mountain or rode bike for my wife. We have a bike trailer and she would like to ride to work every morning carrying my son in it. I don't want to spend over $400 dollars. I don't want a Walmart/Target/Sears brand, because that's what we have now and they just fell apart. Any suggestions or great deals you know of would be appreciated. I put this out of the buy/sell/trade forum in the discussion board.

I decided to run all the way up Pocatello Creek Rd and up the Buckskin Rd. hill. This is a 700ft climb over almost 5 miles (7:38 (warm-up) "starting climb" 7:29, 7:37, 7:25, 7:41) reaching the top the last 300m's is a 15% grade, it's a killer. After I reached the top I went back down and hit some tempo miles all the way back home (6:16, 6:14 6:06, "flat" 5:42) cool-down 6:25.

In a tempo run I always seem to run the flat course miles faster than the downhill miles. I think I do this because I try to keep the same turn-over rate as when going downhill. Also I'm not really pushing the downhill that hard either on these types of runs as I do when I hit a flat section.

"Knock on wood" but my knee seems to be doing well.

Totals 11.25 miles at an overall 6:55 pace in 1:17:47

(Saucony  Grid Triigon 4 - 545 miles) 

Not as much sleep last night. I was at a clients house troubleshooting their network and print server problems. Got it fixed and it took 3 hours, and it will be nice to get paid for that since it was an emergency. I got about 5 1/2 hours of sleep which is better than nothing.

This morning was an easy run since I ran sort of hard the last two days. I did a lot of uphill and downhill running to start to prepare for the Pocatello Marathon that's only 8 weeks away. I ran up Olympus Rd. and up to Satterfield Rd, and then back down. Uphill running is starting to get easier so that's a good sign. Totals 10.5 miles at an overall 7:13 pace in 1:16. The end pace was a little faster than I wanted, but going downhill that's kind of hard to slow yourself down (6:50, 6:45,6:20,6:50, 7:07).

Tomorrow I will do my long run on the Pocatello Marathon course. I know every turn of this course since I've ran it so many times. But they have talked about changing it this year, but not that much. I'm excited to exactly run it tomorrow. My wife is going to pick me up at the 18 or 20 miler mark depending on how far I want to run.

(Mizuno precision 8 - 422.5 miles)

Lunch, Evening

This is something I've been doing at least two times a day for the past two months every day I just haven't been blogging it, because it's just core work.

300 sit-ups, 100 push-ups at lunch and evening.  (it's varies each day)

I got up at 5am and ran the Pocatello Marathon course 21.6 miles at an 6:40 pace in 2:23. The course has a new route change. Felt easy, but I wanted to run at a slower pace. Oh well! More details later busy, busy... I bought a road bike today and my wife a Mountain bike.

Splits for today

After we got home after buying a used sofa for my now free daycare room that were turning into a activity room, we had a flood in our basement from our front yard faucet where the copper pipe split open that runs downstairs in the family room. We had a water restoration company come and now it's drying out, but it's going to cost big bucks depending on the number of days we have to use their fans to dry it out. If we turn it into our insurance then they will just raise your policy when you have to renew so will have to pay out of pocket.

Oh Well, things happen and you have to have a good attitude about everything, because at least were alive.

(Saucony Tangent 3 -  121.6 miles)

No running.  I mowed my lawn and my bike 3 miles.  Our downstairs basement is dry except for one area in the carpet that' split into a different carpet color and as a pad under it.  What really saved us is the main carpet area doesn't have a pad it's directory under the cement.

I will not count my bike miles as training, because their just joy rides with my wife. 

Didn't sleep very good last at all. I think I was too tired moving everything back in our basement family room from the flood over the weekend.  It's still not dry  just in a couple spots so we had to leave the fans and dehumidifier running another day (which will cost us more money).  Plus I carrying my 1000 pound treadmill upstairs and put in our abandoned daycare classroom.

Anyway, the first 5 miles of the run I took it real easy then the next 5 felt better. I ran 10.2 miles at an overall 7:21 pace in 1:15.  I will try to squeeze another run in before my daughter's fastpitch softball game tonight.

Evening:

I ran 4.6 miles at an overall 6:20 pace in 29:15 minutes from the OK Ward  Fastpitch Softball complex out to Highway 31 and Pilbin St and back to the Softball complex.  I did this while my daughter was warming-up for their game.  Split (6:49,6:32,6:08,5:48).  Plus I did 7 miles of riding on my new Road bike, but I'm not going to count my bike mileage, because I just want details on running.

(Avia Lites 4  - 597 miles)