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

Today I ran 2 miles with my wife at a 12 minute pace.  Very enjoyable but cold at 10 degrees.  My wife really is showing a lot of determination to keep going even in the cold weather.  

Very cool this morning only 3 degrees so of course I dressed in a couple layers. Very uneventful run. Roads were slick and covered so I didn't push anything. I couldn't sleep last night probably, because I had to go back to work for the first day from my 12 day vacation. I probably only got two hours of sleep. The run was harder than it should have been on a hilly route. I also ate too much food yesterday and it bothered me all night. I've consumed a lot of food over the holiday, and have gotten away from eating a strict diet each day. But that's what the holidays are for to have fun with your family and eat wonderful foods. There's more things to life than focusing on running, and I like to keep it that way.

Totals for this morning 8.5 miles in an overall 6:54 pace in 59:03 minutes.

Lunch:

Ran 4.6 miles on the Treadmill at home. Ran the first two barely under 7 minute miles ran the next mile at 6:30 and the last mile 5.56. I watched ESPN and all the disappointing news about how the bowl games were boring to watch because of the one-sided scores.

An understanding note. I got a call from our local newspaper, because they wanted to do a story on trying to stay fit for the new year. The writer wanted to emphasis the story on running and training for marathon's and shorter races, and they wanted my advice and opinion on how to train, and what goals to set. I mentioned that the best training advice I got was from "fast.runningblog.com", that we have an excellent list of runner's who give advice to the Novice and Advanced runner. This is going to come out in the January 12th's newspaper. I'm hoping our web site name is advertised through this article.

This morning was a cold one. I started running at 1 degrees with the wind chill it made it below zero. I had my Underarmour cold gear cap, tights on and the only thing you could see on my face was my eyebrows and eyelashes. I had a tech long sleeve shirt and my North Face wind stopper light jacket on. I also finally got some mittens for running. I stayed warm in the run except my thumbs got cold.

I wanted to run a faster run today, but I still have a stuffy nose. Breathing with the stuffy nose made it difficult to try to run faster. My splits were (7:23, 6:49, 6:38, 6:41,6:31,6:28, 6:24, 5:59) 8.3 miles at an overall 6:38 pace in 55:13. When I got home from the run my wife was amazed and concerned, because I had icicles on my eyelashes and eyebrows. I had to keep wiping my eyes because they wanted to shut because of the ice build-up around the eyes.

I feel I'm not getting enough speed work to prepare for current races and the outside weather is not helping. I think if it gets colder I might take one day in the morning and run a tempo run on the treadmill just to get some speed in. The roads are to iced over to get any speed work in. The tracks are all covered to do any track work, and there is no indoor track here to run on. I'm getting a good aerobic base which is good, but I feel you need at least one day of speed integrated in a workout.

Lunch hour

Ran 6.5 miles on the home treadmill in 41 minutes raising and lowering the grade. I did about 30 - 40 seconds at a 15% grade towards the end of the run (that's my treadmill's highest setting). Then I did a .2 cool down but realized I needed to get going or I would have cooled down a little longer.

Evening  

Ran 3.2 miles with my wife and sister-in-law at an overall 11:47 pace in the pitch black night with the wind howling.  Very good run my wife looked and felt strong.  Her 4th day in a row running after having a headache all day.

Then I ran .56 at an 18:17 pace with my three year old son Vance right after I ran with my wife. and sister-in-law.

Got up late today so I had to run on the Treadmill at home. It would have took me too long to get ready to run outside. The only apparel for the treadmill is running shorts. No shirt because it gets too hot even in the basement.

I ran 5.7 miles at a 7 minute average. This is all I could run, because I ran out of time. I was a little sore today I think because of the fast uphill running yesterday. I feel I need to get better running uphill faster. I have a good aerobic balance running uphill, but when it comes to speed and pushing it I'm weak in that area.

I will run outside on my lunch hour. I don't have to go home on my lunch hour today.

Lunch

Today outside was amazing it was 41 degrees. Everything was melting. The only problem is we had a wind advisory all day till tomorrow morning. The wind was blowing at 38mph and gusts up to 55mph, and the wind was continuous through the whole run. I ran 8.3 at an overall 6:52 pace in 57:05 minutes. The first 4.3 miles were in the headwind and it was hard, but not as hard as I thought it would be (Splits: 7:29, 7:32, 6:45, 6:54). The next 4 miles were in a tailwind and I just relax not pushing anything (splits 6:39, 6:31, 6:23, 6:39). I felt kind of fatigued before the run. I think tomorrow I'm not going to do a long run but take it easy.  Because I have to work probably to after midnight putting security patches on our  Solaris 10 systems.

This is probably the craziest run I've ever done. I had to install some security patches at
work on Friday night at 9pm and it took us till 1:15am to finish. I drove home and thought
that if I ran on the treadmill now then I would be able to sleep-in and not have to run in the morning on limited sleep (I don't like running in the afternoon on Saturday's to take away time from my family). Well I ran 11.4 miles on the treadmill in 1:15. I probably will run again today with my wife.

I would have ran to work and ran home except we had 40 to 60mph continuous wind, and raining raining raining real hard. This is no joke 40 to 60mph incredible. You could hear the wind blow inside my office.

 Afternoon:

What an afternoon run with my wife.  We drove two miles out in two cars and parked the one and drove back home and was going to run to the parked car at Lowes.  We did this so my wife could run in a tailwind vs a 25mph headwind.  Well needless to say the wind changed directions, and it started snowing. Most of the two miles was in a headwind.  The wind was circling around blowing from SW like a crosswind.  The run was a hard run and you couldn't see very good because of the heavy snow coming down.  Once we got to the car it was locked so we headed back home, and I took my wife on a shortcut back to the house.  It was a muddy trail but it took off a half mile. 

We both just laughed about the run.  What started out to be an easy run for my wife was probably the coldest, very windy, very snowy run that she has ever done, and the hardest too.  I ran ahead about .5 to get to the truck to get there faster because my wife was getting cold.  I ranged between 6:00 - 5:40 for .5.  What a funny experience and I'm glad we could do it together.

This morning I did my standard Satterfield Hill loop 10.5 miles at an overall 6:53 pace in 1:12. I was very tired today. I stayed up late Friday night working till 1:15am at work, then came home and ran on the Treadmill till 3am. I slept the next morning till about 9:30am I just couldn't sleep any longer. Saturday Night my wife and I went to Chili's with my two brothers, because it was one of my brother's wife's birthday. We left Chili's after 10:30pm and then went and played laser tag till midnight which was a blast. We got home around 12:30am and went to bed at 1am.

Sunday, I did take about a 2 hour nap, and Sunday night I was in bed before 10pm and slept till almost 6:30 this morning. I think the weekend and work just zapped all the energy out of me today. The run wasn't bad I really felt tired before and after the run, but not during the run. My last five splits were 6:20, 6:19, 6:13, 6:14 and the last mile at 6:38.

I'll try to run on my lunch hour at home today.

Lunch:

Home treadmill today and I watched NFL's greatest playoff games between Broncos vs Browns.  I'm a big football junkie, and know about every statistic, and every player there is .  I love watching football and playing for fun now.  In school I played football rather than going out for track, because I didn't have a interest in running then.  Anytime there's a football related program on I will watch it, a good break from my computer interests. 

I got home late on my lunch hour and didn't have as much time as usual.  I picked the pace up in the beginning running the first mile in 6:45, and the next in 6:20 and the next in 6:00.  Followed that up with a 5:42, and the last mile around 6:45.  5.3 miles in 34:06.  Good run and it felt a little difficult running faster, because I really haven't done a lot of that lately.

Easy run on the new snow cover from last night. I ran 9.02 miles at an overall 6:55 pace in 1:02. Uneventful run other than someone flipped me off, even though I wasn't even close to the road. I think he was jealous, because I could run and he probably can't (who knows why people have childish attitudes at times). Swearing or using your fingers for inappropriate behavior is something I don't tolerate and don't like and was not raised to be like that. Oh well, I'll I did was shake my head at the guy.

The run wasn't bad, but I was tired because I stayed up a little later working on my brother's computer. He was upset because it wouldn't turn on. The problem was the power supply died so I told him to go buy one, and I ended up putting it in his system for him and it started up fine. But he did tell me that his "cmos" battery was died, so he'll have to buy one of them today or the settings on reboot will be lost.

Up to this point, "before my brother's call", I was watching LSU beat Ohio State and that excited me.

Lunch: 

Ran 5.6 miles on the Home Treadmill in exactly 38 minutes.   Did .4 at a 5:30 pace and the last .2 felt really hard.  The heat popped on down in the basement when I was running and this really made me hot and sweat like I was being dumped on by a gatorade water cooler.

It's seems lately that anything below a 6 minute mile pace I'm really struggling at not sure why, but it has me concerned.  I'm still trying to stick with a lot of aerobic miles though. 

Temperature was 30 degrees with a 20mph wind this morning with new snow cover how exciting. I actually got 8 hours of sleep last night which was great, and it felt good for the body.

Nothing really exciting happened on this run this morning. Running in the wind at some areas in the route was hard, but nothing that made me struggle. I ran 9.10 miles in 6:50 pace in 1:02 miles.

Lunch:

Ran 5.22 miles on the home treadmill in 36:00. I watched the NFL Playoffs greatest comeback game when Buffalo came back from a 35 to 3 deficit to beat the Houston Oilers. I remember watching that game. I also listened to ESPN talking about Tony Romo's vacation with Jessica Simpson in Mexico. I tell you he better be focused this Sunday, because he's got me worried.

I kind of fell off the treadmill at 5.22 miles so I decided to stop, which it was time to go back to work anyways. I'm okay though... I think my pride is hurt more than anything. Good thing it was at home not at the gym.

Today it was 27 degrees but the wind (30mph) and snow was nasty and made it a really tough run. I ran 13.1 miles at an overall 6:46 pace in 1:28. The first 2.5 miles I ran in a headwind that was cold and I had to cover my whole face. I hate when the wind blows and it kicks the snow right in your face. The next 5.5 miles I ran in a crosswind and it wasn't bad at all. The last 5 miles was in the headwind again, and I had to cover my whole face. I wanted to make myself work so I pushed the pace in the wind, because that's what competitor's do. I felt it was a good effort averaging between 6:30 to 6:45 pace. I was surprised that my overall pace was pretty decent because I really didn't feel like pushing the pace today.

I'll probably only run 3 miles on the home treadmill at lunch today at a slower pace to get some more aerobic work, and with my wife tonight if she wants to run.

Lunch:

Okay I couldn't restrain myself I ran 5 miles rather than 3 miles. When I went home for lunch my wife said, "there's no way you will just run three miles". I laughed at her thinking she doesn't know me, but she does more than I know myself. Wife's have this penetration into are brains and know our thoughts before they even come out. Guys were just all in trouble.

I did the last .8 of the mile in 5:58 . I mainly stayed around a 6:55 pace. I need to stop trying to always be in a hurry on my runs and probably need to focus on more slower aerobic runs. To give you my daily Treadmill TV watching: I watched ESPN and the road runner cartoon.

Evening:

Ran 3.1 Miles with my wife on a windy route for over half of the run.  She did very well at around a 12 minute pace overall for 37 minutes.  We didn't have a plan on how far we just made the route up as we went.  I just went along with her and she decided how far she wanted to run.  Running in conditions like this will only make her stronger, because on calm days it should feel easier.

Then ran 0.36 with my girls, our son only ran a little bit but the train scared him and he wanted to go back home, and it was his idea to run after my wife and I got done.  Oh well, there's always next time. 

Today I decide to do my long run, because I had the time to do so this morning. I ran 19.5 miles at an overall 6:54 pace in 2:15. The wind was blowing from southwest at about 19mph, and most of the run I headed in that direction so that wasn't exactly fun. Although, the temperature was 29 degrees so it wasn't cold at all. I was just planning for a good smooth aerobic ran and it felt good. I did feel tired the first 4 miles until my legs finally woke up. I think it was the 21 miles yesterday that probably was a little factor.

I took a energy gel at mile 10 because I was hungry and that felt good and tasted good. I didn't drink water or take anything else with me just one gel. I basically ran all over the city to tell you all the streets would be difficult. On the last mile, (well actually already .2 in the last mile) I decided to pick up the pace and see how that felt after the 18 previous miles. I ran between 5:35 to 6:05 and ended at a 6:00 pace for that mile. That felt good to get at least one faster mile in. My goal though was just to be on my feet for over two hours, and I accomplished that.

The last three days I've averaged 8 hours of sleep time, I'm so proud of myself and my wife is too.

Evening ran 2.7 miles with my wife.  I ran just a tad longer than her, because I did a couple 100m strides.  The wind was blowing but not too bad.  Then we went to Sizzler by ourselves, because our kids are staying at their friends houses tonight.  It was nice just me and her, every couple needs to do this once in a while without the kids.  I really enjoyed being with her tonight.

This morning we were woke up at 4:55am from where our son was spending the night. He didn't want to close his eyes, because he wanted mommy and daddy to pick him up and wanted to play. We had to drive 13 miles to Inkom (which is a small town outside Pocatello) to pick him up. We got home at 5:40 and slept till 9:40, then I decided to get up to run even though I felt like I needed 10 more hours of sleep.

After taking almost a hour to get ready I ran 8.1 miles at an overall 6:34 pace in 53:14 minutes. It took me about three miles to warm up I was a little sore from the long run yesterday. Splits for mile 3 on were 6:39, 6:37, 6:33. At mile 6 I decided to do a mile fartlek and it felt good and easy at a 5:51 pace. The last two miles I still wanted to run fast, but at a marathon pace to get some of those in 6:13, 6:09.

Good run overall and I felt a could have ran the fartlek for 4 or 5 miles or even more at the above pace.

Evening ran .3 with my son he was so energized today.  Then we played basketball with his indoor basketball hoop in his bedroom.

I mentioned that I was going to be in the Family Living Newspaper on January 12th and so was our fastrunningblog.com website URL was mentioned. I praised all the great training and advice and accomplishments have come from this site and fellow friends on this site.

Let the word spread about this great site.

 Evening:

Very disappointed that my Cowboys lost, but they did beat themselves with dropped passes and penalties.  They gave the game to the Giants and they can't make any excuses.  I'll they need to look at is their mistakes and missed opportunities. 

You could use running as an analogy for how the Cowboys played,  as a runner you might make a mistake and start out too fast in a race, or you might not hydrate as well, or you didn't push hard enough.  In your training you may not have prepared yourself for the course your going to race in.  When you make these mistakes the race usually will not go your way, but if you stick to the plan with no mistakes you'll usually come out ahead.  The Cowboys didn't do any of this and deserved to lose.

Still in a depression after my Dallas Cowboys lost I got up and ran this morning, after not getting much sleep because I kept thinking about the game and what they could have done different to win.

Being a ex-football player I really get into my team and it hurts when they lost, but life goes on and there's more important things like God, Family and Running. My wife and kids watched the whole game with me and that was special and fun. My wife is great she's not really into football, but she supports me like I support her.

This morning I ran 9.5 miles on a new snowfall at a 6:43 pace in 1:04. I was surprised at my pace, but I was thinking so much about yesterday's game that I really didn't pay attention to my

pace. I did my Olympus hill loop run:

Warmed up the first three miles not really thinking about my pace.

Mile 4: 6:52 mostly uphill and flat and in heavy snow pack. I had to be careful because this area has heavy traffic.

Mile 5: 6:17 Completely downhill ,didn't want to push too hard because it was a little slick.

Mile 6: 6:26 flat some uphill, again very slick so I had to pick my spots to get some good speed in.

Mile 7: 6:18 flat mainly some uphill and downhill, and of course still being careful, but I wasn't careful enough at the end of this run.

Mile 8: 6:33 flat and running on heavy packed snow

Mile 9 6:32 slowing down to end the run on again flat portion of the course.

At the end of my run I turned around near a townhouse parking lot and I did a Sasha, I fell on my hip on some ice and now have a nice big red cherry bruise on the side of my hip. It hurts a little, and my ankle is a little sore, because it got twisted in the fall. I took some Tylenol, hopefully that will help. I will test my hip out on my lunch run.

Lunch:

Hip and ankle feel fine after fall this morning hopefully I'm like Terrell Owens and can become a fast healer.  Ran 5.23 miles at an average 6:30 pace overall on the home Treadmill.  Ran the last mile in 5:45  and over 3 minutes of the last mile at a 5:30 pace.  I watched the game highlights of the games yesterday, and Terrell Owens  crying at the podium.  I have to admit he did become a better team player this year.

I believe to get more anaerobic I need to do more pace miles in 5:30 pace to increase my V02max.  What's the old saying "to get faster you have to run faster" even if its on the treadmill.

Today was 20 degrees with the wind blowing between 27 to 43 mph making the temperature with the wind chill below 10 degrees. The wind was blowing from the Southwest so I thought for the first part I would head into it. This was very hard it would also push me to the side of the road at a stand still. I had my full Underarmour face mask on where I looked like batman or something. My pace stayed in the 7 minute mile range which I really had to battle for. Then after mile 3 I decided to go up Satterfield hill which would give me a tailwind uphill (this is about a 2 hill uphill where the grade gets steeper as you go). After I accomplished the hill I turned West where I would head almost directly into the wind again from mile 7 to mile 9. The wind was blowing directly at me and on the side (south side) The first two miles was downhill, but it didn't matter the wind was so tough it would just knock me and snow was blowing in my eyes where at points in the run I would keep my head down.
I was in survive mode to make it back home. After the two mile down hill I turned Southwest and of course full force into the wind from miles 9 to 12. Very hard to keep a decent pace but I was trying to push it a bit with the icy surface underneath me. I was just trying to get home to get out of this wind.

My Ankle is a little sore not sure from the fall yesterday, or how my stride was awkward being pushed by the wind would mess up my stride and I would kick my ankle. I won't run the rest of the day unless I run with my wife, but the ankle really is nothing to worry about.

Second hilly run in a row, will probably run something different tomorrow.

Overall 12.2 miles at an overall 6:58 pace in 1:25.

Evening

Went to Gold's Gym tonight with my wife for some strength training on the legs. I'm a firm believe this improves your running performance. With high reps. at a lower weights on the hamstrings, quads, and calves. Also I want to try to strengthen my wife's knee and I believe the weights will help.

I also put on my FSB/St George running shirt to show-off the web site and maybe make more connections for the site.

Today's temperature was 3 degrees when I started running with a 10mph wind from SW. With the wind chill it made the temperature below zero. I started out a little faster on my warm-up miles, because I wanted to see if I could do a two mile tempo in this cold weather. I ran each warm-up mile faster than the previous 7:06, 6:55, 6:36, and I was getting icicles on my mustache and eyelids.

I started the tempo and it was directly into the wind at about 7 -10 mph. I kept wiping my eyelids because they would want to shut because of the frost buildup. My mustache was frosted over completely. The eyes just kept bothering me, about every 100m's I would have to wipe them to keep them from shutting. Anyway, the faster I ran the colder it was on my eyes, but I felt good and finished the first mile at 5:49 pace, I then decided its too cold to do anymore tempo miles in this weather, but .25 into the next mile I thought come on you wimp you can fight through another tempo mile. The next mile I would have to make up for the lost pace, and wiping my eyes was becoming real annoying. I finished the mile at 5:56, then I did the next mile at 6:04. I think the tempo would have been fine if I wasn't running into the wind causing my eyelids to frost over. Last mile splits to finish were 6:16, 6:24,6:30, once I slowed down a bit my eyes were not has bad.

I ran 10.2 miles at an overall 6:25 pace in 1:05.

I mentioned my ankle was sore, it's not my ankle its my lower calf muscle right above the Achilles tendon. My calf was getting really sore the last few miles like yesterday. My fall on Monday must have done something. The pain seemed to be located at the muscular tendinous junction.

I will do a slower run on the Treadmill today at lunch to see how it feels between a 7:45 to 7:30 pace.

 Lunch:
No run I decided to let my lower calf rest because of the pain I'm experiencing.  Besides my father came over for lunch so it was meant to be not to run, or I would have at least tempted to do so even though my wife kept telling me to rest it.

I might just stuck to running once a day and see if the pain goes away.  I know the pain started from my fall on Monday.  You have to love the ice.
 

Today I ran in my new Mizuno Precision 8 shoes and I like them. They feel like a good supportive training shoe. My lower right calf is still bothering me like yesterday, but I was able to get through the run. I ran 9.22 miles at an overall 6:49 pace in 1:03 in 10 degree weather, which felt fine because there was only a little bit of wind. I just took the run easy, other than I struggled on mile 3 it felt like I was carry weights around my ankles, but after that mile I seemed fine.

Not sure yet if I will run on my Lunch hour. I'll see how my calf feels. The streets where quite icy but I was careful not to fall. Tonight after work the wife and I are going to Gold's Gym to do strength training on the legs.

Lunch:

I ran on my lunch hour today even though earlier I didn't think I would. The calf still had a nagging pain during the run but it didn't get worst. I ran 4.8 miles at an overall 6:50 pace. The last half mile I ran at a 5:30 pace and it felt easy.

I ran in my new Asics Bandito shoes to test them out and they seem to work great with good support. I'm hoping these will replace my Asics Ohana Racers which are my marathon shoes. I can't believe they discontinued these shoes, because they were the best marathon shoe I've had. I will need to test the Asics Bandito's in a long run if I feel like they can be my marathon shoe. I will continue to ice my calf and hope it will self-heal. If you trust in GOD all things are possible.

Ran an easy aerobic long run this morning in a light snowfall. The temperature was 15 degrees when I started with no wind. I ran 17.2 miles in an 6:56 overall pace. The run was uneventful, and I only tried to fall once. The course was hilly but nothing extreme, no long hills at all. My calf still had some soreness, but not as much. It feels better after the run where I really don't experience as much pain as I did yesterday.  I took my foam roller out last night and did a deep massage or roll on the calf and that really seemed to help. But will see as the day goes and when I wake up tomorrow.

I ran the last three miles faster to get home and to get to work (6:48, 6:12, 6:40). I have to work late tonight to put some hardware in two of our Sun servers so I don't know when I'll feel like running tomorrow. I probably won't be done until after midnight.

Last night well actually this morning I got home from work at 2am and got to bed by almost 3am, because of issues with installing our Sun Gigaswift Quad network cards into our Sun Servers. Not going into details (this is not a blog about computers, and I'm tired of looking at them... oops I'm on one right now) everything installed fine it just took longer than we thought, because of some other issues not related to the install of the network cards.

After about six hours of sleep I go out the door for a run at 9:30am. The weather was 16 degrees with a 14mph wind blowing South. I originally was going to do 8 miles, because I was tired, and a little sore from the strength training and the 17 mile run the day before. Well, everything felt really good and I started out at a faster warm-up pace than I thought I would (7:06, 6:46, 6:36, 6:30,6:26,6:36,6:28,) pretty much at this point I felt really good around a 6:30 pace. The next mile I decided to do a fartlek and it was headed right into the 14 mph wind. The first half of the mile I was running between a 5:27 -5:35 pace and felt good, but the last half the wind gusts started to pick up and it was very hard and I ended the mile at 5:41. I gave a strong effort into the wind but it felt real hard. The last two miles I did a cool-down at (6:46, 6:38). It felt good to get one LT mile in. I think with the weather better maybe I can do a tempo next week and try to stay at a 5:50 pace for the tempo miles.

Totals today:
1:09 time.

6:34 overall pace

10.56 miles

9:05 miles
6:31 overall pace
59:08 time

Ran in a heavy snowfall this morning, but the funny thing is it didn't really effect my speed. Although I did fall flat on my face sliding all over on a downhill section (the only downhill section that was only 100m's... go figure :-)). I decided to do a progressive run the last three miles.

Mile 7 (6:28) really easy like I really wasn't putting any effort.

Mile 8 (6:07) felt easy going on a flat straightway road.

Mile 9 (5:48) felt pretty good... the last .2 I had to work for. I wanted the whole mile to feel easy. This is something I need to work on getting a string of 5 tempo miles in the 5 minute something range again.I did start to slip on the road a little bit the last two miles because of the snow so that would make the effort harder.

I did this run before Church which I usually take Sunday's off, but I'm off tomorrow and I wanted to take a rest day tomorrow.

After Church:

I ran 9.5 miles on the treadmill while watching the Chargers lose to the Patriots. I averaged just below a 7 minute pace. At least watching the game kept my mind off the treadmill boredom. I was really hoping the Chargers would win oh well. I was hungry after the 18 miles because all I ate up to this put was a small bowl of oatmeal. I grabbed an orange and ate it because we were going out later so I didn't wan to eat anything heavy.

After running I took my family out to a Movie and then we went out to eat a Chinese buffet.

Good day over 18 miles.

Did some running just a bit in the Mall parking lot.

This morning was an interesting weather day. It was -10 below zero when I wake up to run. I kept debating if I wanted to run outside. My wife was a little concerned, but as I kept thinking about running outside and looking at the weather web site and trying to find my tights, the time had past so fast that my only choice was to run downstairs on the treadmill. It would have taken me too long now to get my winter gear on and head outside to run.

I ran 7.3 miles around a 6:55 pace. It was very hot downstairs so tonight I'm looking for a fan to place by the treadmill.

Lunch:

Ran downstairs on the home Treadmill on my lunch hour. My daughters were downstairs watching the Mary Kay and Ashley movie Switching Goals. They were both sick, and stayed home from school so I ran down there and watched the show too. I did a progressive run and started out at a 6:30 pace because I didn't have a lot of time on my lunch hour. (4.3 miles).

Mile 2: 6:09 Didn't feel that hard and the show was good.

Mile 3: 6:00 Still feeling good but getting hot. I need to get a fan to blow on me.

Mile 4: 5:57 The mile felt good and felt comfortable.

.3 5:30 Little pickup at the end.

Evening:

Went to the Gym and did some strength training with my wife.  Not heavy weights light weights high repetitions to get good circuit training.  I used to lift all the time before I started running and was a pretty good size.

3 X 20 quad press 90 -100 LBS

3 X  20 Hamstring press 70 LBS

3 X 20 Calf Extensions  130 LBS

3 X 20  Crunch Press  90 - 110 LBS

Well this morning I decided to run outside even though it was -7 degrees with a 5mph making it colder than that. I wore my Underarmour cold gear long sleeve turtleneck shirt (first layer), Tech tri dry long sleeve shirt (second Layer), and my NorthFace windproof jacket (third layer), and tights with shorts over the tights. Head protection I wore my UnderArmour cold gear mask. Hand protection Mittens. I wore my regular running socks and I decided to wear my running shoes and not go barefoot :-). I'm explaining this thoroughly in case anyone else wants to know what will protect them in these conditions. I would have probably ran on my treadmill downstairs if it wasn't so hot, and if we had a fan down there. But I was tired of running on the treadmill the last few days.

The first two miles were cold on my forehead, because the wind kept lifting my mask up when the wind would push against it (next time I need to put a stocking cap over it). I decided to run the first two miles in the wind, and the rest of the run I would avoid the wind until the last mile, splits (7:10, 6:35). It really wasn't that cold or didn't feel bad after the first two mile warm-up, but I did have icicles on my eyelashes and mustache and around the cold gear cap itself. The next three miles I ran (6:35, 6:43, 6:23). This point I had my mask underneath my nose, because I had to keep my nose from freezing up by blowing the frost out of it. The last three I ran (6:21, 6:21, 6:24) I didn't feel I was pushing the pace maybe because my mind was more on the music I was listening to or paying attention to the weather conditions. All in all a good run in extreme below zero weather and definitely a challenge.

Totals miles 8.6 Time: 59:25 overall pace: 6:39

Lunch:

Not time for run on lunch hour. Maybe I can seek in a few tonight.

Evening:

I was able to get 5.3 miles in tonight before I taught our Youth Bible Study. I did this on the home treadmill. I did most of the run at 6:30 and did the last .5 at 5:40 pace. I watched college basketball which kept me entertained on the Treadmill.

Started running at -2 degrees felt like a heat wave compared to the -7 degrees yesterday. The last mile the wind picked up to 10mph (according to the weather when I got home), and was blowing in my face. That was really the only coldness I felt on my face during the run. I ran 9.5 miles at a 6:46 pace in 1:04. My mustache and eyelashes still were frozen during and after the run, but really today wasn't bad.

Tomorrow the temperature I believe is suppose to be above zero in the morning. I wore the same apparel that I wore yesterday to stayed layered and protected. There was really no ice on the road so I could move at a decent pace.

I won't be able to run on my lunch hour so maybe I'll be able to do some tonight at the gym, or just lift weights with my lovely wife. I have meetings at work that's really occupying my time and life right now.

Evening

Ran 3.2 miles at a 6:55 minute pace on my home treadmill, then we wen to the gym and I ran another 1.5 miles. I did the first .5 in high 5 minute pace and did the last .5 in 5:00 pace and the mile average was 5:40.

Then at the gym I rotated on the weight machines with my wife.  We did strength training on the Quads, Calves, Hamstrings, and Abs.  Very good workout.

 I'm going to be sore for my long run tomorrow if I decide to do it tomorrow morning.

20.32 miles today at a 6:46 pace in 2:17 at 10 degrees with the wind pushing against me at time in the run. A lot of rolling hills in this course, but a lot more uphill than downhill. I will discuss more later....

I was tired before the run today, because the night before I did a little speed work plus strength training with my wife.  The strength training made me sore and I knew I would be a little sore in the 20 miler.  I also feel I didn't eat enough at dinner, but the run really went fine.  I took three teaspoons of honey before I felt for the run to get something in my stomach.

The last couple of miles I lagged a little bit and could have been better, but I wasn't really tiring to push any speed anyway.   My eyes felt tired like they wanted to fall asleep in the run and my legs felt heavy the first few miles.  Our son kept us up during the night getting up a couple of times.  

  I took an energy gel at mile 11 and grabbed some snow to wash it down ( I didn't take water with me).  I did about 10 medium marathon pace miles at around a 6:30 pace.  I basically wanted to be on my feet for a long time to get the aerobic fitness vs hurrying through the run.  I'm a little sore after the run, but I was expecting that with all that I did yesterday.  But to do a 20 miler and finish with the work I did yesterday I feel real good about that. 

I was dressed in two layers on the top, and by mile 5 I wanted to strip everything off.  I guess running in the below zero weather the last few days, and running in 10 degrees today must of made my body feel like we were having a heat wave. 

 I really tried to get a lot of uphill miles on this long run  to strengthen my legs and get more uphill running training.  I have to work late tonight again (disk mirroring maintenance and more wonderful security patches) so Saturday would have been hard to get up early and do a long run.   I'll do probably around 8 - 10 miles tomorrow.

Ran 11 miles at an overall 6:40 pace in 1:13. Ran in the wind the first 5 miles which made it a little tough, but to be a good runner you can't let nothing stop you. We had a heat wave today it was 16 degrees I wanted to take my second layer off by the third mile. Really uneventful run other than listening to my music. I seen more runners out today than I have in along time. There's a runner group that a lady here is trying to start up and they run at 8am, but I go up at 8:40am so that was a no go. Their not competitive it's just for fun and promote exercise.

I've never ran a training run in weather like it was this morning where it changed so fast. I ran a total of 9.1 miles in an overall 6:58 pace in 1:03, but it was far from fun. First, the wind was blowing at 30mph with gusts up to 50, and I decided to run right in it so I could get the tailwind on the way back.

The first 4 miles in the wind were pretty tough but manageable. Then when I was about to turn around hail started coming down to the point were it hurt because of the wind drifting the hail/snow in your face, and making it hard to see. Then it came down harder and it didn't matter what direction you ran it hit you directly in the face. I was just trying to survive to make it back home for the last 5 miles. There were times I had to put my head down and just run because the snow was blowing so hard in your face that you just couldn't see.

It made my face so cold. I couldn't cover the ski mask over my mouth because the wind would press against it and I couldn't breath. The wind caused the underarmour ski mask to suck in my mouth as if I was having it for lunch. What worked best was putting my head down or turning my head to the side. The snow was at a blizzard status the last 2 miles of the run, and the wind was still blowing around 30mph if not harder. I managed to make it home and I was glad. The snow is still coming down hard now. This storm was suppose to come around 12pm so I thought I was going to miss it with the morning run.

Lunch:
I hurried and shoveled our sidewalk and driveway so our daycare parents would have a clean surface to transport their kids when their picked up. Then I hurried and ran 5.1 miles on the home treadmill. I ran between a 6:30 and 6:00 pace with a.4 5:40 pickup at the end. I felt tired at first, but got in a groove. The run this morning really made me work, and my face still feels sore from the hail hammering it.

At least inside I didn't have to fight a blizzard or hail beating my face only the boredom of running on a treadmill. But I know we complain about treadmills, but they really do come in handy when weather or schedules don't permit you to run outside. I also think that running on a treadmill does burn more calories so there are some good things about treadmills.

Temperature today was 16 with 22mph wind like yesterday, but no snow (good news!). I ran mostly on packed snow which of course makes it harder to push off. I did a couple faster miles where there were stretches where the snow wasn't as bad (6:03, 6:26). The last mile I was a little fatigued not sure why, maybe running the uphill in packed snow, or for that matter running most of the run my feet trotted in the packed snow. Totals 10.7 miles at an overall 6:58 pace in 1:14.

This is probably it for me today. I have a busy schedule during lunch. My wife and I will go to the gym tonight and so some strength training.

Lunch

Was able to sneak in 2 miles on the Home treadmill at lunch

Evening:

Lift weights at the gym tonight. Three cycles of quads, hamstrings, calves, and abs.

I'm sure I'll be sore for my run tomorrow, oh well I just like to stay fit and that's more important than running performances to me. 

I ran outside this morning in terrible conditions with the wind blowing and snowing again like Monday, but not snowing as hard. The temperature was 15, but with the wind chill it made it 7 degrees. I ran 11 miles at an overall 6:46 pace in 1:15. I really couldn't pick up any fast miles in this run because of the surface conditions. I could have ran on the home treadmill or gym, but I figured running on packed snow can only strengthen your legs, unless you slip and fall.

The wind played a good part in making sure I was focused, because I ran on a busy road where the visibility caused by the snow , "I'm sure", made it hard for cars to see me. I did the last mile in 6:20 in the wind.

I had to hurry to work because I was in a training class all day till 4pm for our Luminis Portal System.

Lunch:

I hurried home from our training session and was able to get 4.5 miles in on the home treadmill. I ran the first mile 6:15 and the rest in 6:07 to barely under a 6 minute pace.

This morning I woke up weak and tired. I didn't sleep very good last night, because of the stomach pain I had all night. I think it was due to the deep fried mushrooms I had for dinner. I probably got about two hours sleep. I think the mushrooms absorbed too much oil in the breaded deep fried pancake batter causing the stomach pains.

Before I left for the run this morning I digested a big tablespoon of honey, and a drink of Vault Zero to boost my energy level from the lack of sleep. I know most of you are going to shake your heads about the caffeine intake, but it really did help.

I took it slow the first mile at a 7:42 pace to wake up the body and legs. The temperature was 16 degrees with the wind blowing at 20mph with wind gusts up to 30mph. I ran the first 5 miles into the wind (I'm so tired of the wind every morning) and averaged around a 7 minute pace. Then circled around and ran the last 5 miles in a tailwind in stretches and that felt better. My legs were not motivated for any speed at all. My body kind of feels run down a little for some reason. Anyway, overall I ran 10.2 miles at an overall 6:53 pace in 1:10. I did do two consecutive miles at a 6:23, and 6:28 pace to get some effort in the run.

Lunch::

Ran 6.33 miles on the home treadmill.  Did the first mile in 6:49, and the rest around 6:30 to 6:05 pace.  I wasn't in the mood to run faster, because I felt weak all day because of the lack of sleep.  I watched ESPN which was discussing everything you need to know about the players leading up to the Superbowl. 

This morning it was 18 degrees with wind blowing between 25 to 30 mph from Southwest, but really stronger from the West. I ran 13.2 miles at an overall 6:56 pace in 1:32. This run did feel really tough considering over half was uphill and the wind was blowing. I did my standard Satterfield course, but added extra uphill miles to it. I ran one mile that was under a 6:30 pace and some just above that. The wind would push against me at times and just straighten me right up, it was downright nasty. I'm really getting tired of running in the wind, maybe I should stick to the treadmill in the mornings "NOT".

I was fatigued by the last mile and was glad to be done. Very poor traction through the run nothing to where I could have done consistent MP miles. I felt weak waking up this morning and didn't feel in the best shape to run this morning. This is two days in a row where I've felt really weak in the mornings. I think next we I will do a step back week in mileage maybe 50-60 to see if that helps. Maybe it's might be contributed to my diet? I feel I'm getting enough carbs, but who knows.

I will probably do a Treadmill run on my Lunch hour at home, and maybe stick around a 7:30 pace to get more aerobic miles.

Lunch:

Ran 4.6 miles on the Home treadmill felt fatigued the first mile but warmed up and seem to finish the run well.  I did the last .62 at 5:45 to 5:30 pace.  I watched some lifetime movie where the guy met a girl and they lived happily ever after. Mushy Mushy stuff.

That (6:45, 6:35, 6:19, 6:20 "here's where the fall occurred", 6:24).   Then I decided to pick it up even more  

6: 09 - Felt good, but the snow was starting to come down harder.                      

This morning there was a light snowfall, but the wind was calm so that was excellent.  My plan for today was to get a few faster miles in since I'm feeling like I need to increase my fitness in that area.  I feel like I've done  a lot of aerobic training, but probably the pace could still be slower for that which I need to improve on.  I was very surprised to see that the roads were not too slick, even though I fell on one of the back roads that I've never ran on before.  

                         ut I thought my fitness should feel better for this speed.6:20 -  I ran into a slick stretch so I had to slow the horses down a bit to not fall.  No way of picking the speed up.

5:56 - Felt pretty good b

6:00 - Picked it up in spots where it wasn't slick, but I was cautious.  Did find some good sections that I had traction to move faster.

6:28 - Slick couldn't really go any faster.  There was an uphill on this section.

Then I did some slower miles, and the snow was really coming down at

this point.  What was nice was there was no wind at all for the first time all week.

cool-down miles: 6:39, 6:41, 6:43

 First 10.5 miles I did at an overall pace of 6:23

Total miles: 14.1 at an overall 6:28 pace in 1:31.

(Ohana Racers 223)

Good solid week even though I've felt fatigue quick a bit this week.

This morning we were buried by snow so I had to shovel, "well I have a 7hp five geared snow thrower, some areas I still had to shovel", rather than run outside. After I shoveled there was not time to get ready and run outside so I went downstairs and ran on the home Treadmill. I did 9.1 miles in 60 minutes. I picked up the pace each mile with tons of sweat dripping off of me. I'll have to stay a little bit after work today, because I came in a little late.

Watched the football highlights from the game last night and all the interviews from some of the players while I was running. Good job Giants beating the cheating Patriots.

Lunch:

The weather was sunny and everything was melting outside, but the wind gusts were terrible, and I had to run inside today anyway on the home treadmill. I did 6.23 miles on the TM. I don't remember the time, because I forgot to look before I shut the treadmill off. I did the first mile in 6:39, then the next mile in 6:17, then I did three miles under 6 minute pace. 5:56, 5:49, 5:45.  The effort felt pretty hard, but I really haven't done any tempo work.. Then did the last mile at 6:40.

My right Achillies tendon is sore ever since my fall on Saturday. I twisted my right foot when it happened, and its been sore from right when I got up from the fall. I might reduce my running to once a day until the soreness heals. I will incorporate more stretching when I head out in the mornings, and try to apply ice when I can.

My Right Achilles Tendon was really sore today, but I decided to test the waters. The temperature was 15 degrees with a 12 mph wind so it wasn't to cold except for that wonderful wind that I love. Pocatello is the windiest city in Idaho because were the gateway that leads into the eastern area.

The first couple of miles my Achilles hurt and I almost turned around and went back home, but as I kept running the pain decreased but I could still feel it.. I actually ran 11.1 miles at an 6:50 overall pace in 1:16. I'm going to try and run on the home treadmill on the lunch hour to see how things feel, but at a very slow pace. I've never been injuried before so I don't know what to think. Maybe I need to take a month off? I know I need to do some stretching and maybe that will help. But God can heal it and I have the faith and believe he can. It might just be something that will go away in a couple of days. Whatever I did on my fall Saturday cause some issue.

 Lunch:

I debated whether to run on the home treadmill today, and I decided to test out the Achilles and see how it reacts.  It felt a little soreness but much much better than this morning.  I ran 5 miles.  The first mile I did in 7:10.  Then I dropped the rest to 6:40 - 6:35, then the last .75 of the last mile I ran 5:30 as fast as my treadmill will go.   The Achilles doesn't feel sore after the run, but will see tomorrow.

Temperature this morning was 15 degrees with a 16 mph wind blowing SouthWest. But it really felt warm, but of course there was snow everywhere again. I looked at my Achilles Tendon before I left this morning and its swollen, and it hurt the first mile and then the pain completely went away but that doesn't mean much.

I ran 11.23 miles at a 6:41 pace in 1:15. Last few splits I picked it up a bit (6:32,6:30, 6:36, 6:14, 6:37). No more running until the rest of the day.

 Lunch:

No running and it was kind of nice.  I've done so many doubles the last few months that I didn't feel like I had to rush on my lunch hour.  Sometimes its nice to step back and let life slow down.  I actually installed memory in one of my clients PC's on my lunch hour, and that will put a few extra bucks in my pocket. 

All I can say about this morning is I should have ran inside.  With the snow and 37mph wind hitting me in the face most of the run  it wasn't fun.  The temperature was 20 degrees, but the wind hitting me in the face even with a ski mask on made it difficult to see.  You really have to love the drifting snow ( I want to run in that beautiful scenic view Clyde was talking about in St George).   A couple of the miles I ran were uphill and they were torture with the wind and drifting snow.  I learned my lesson today that sometimes running inside is better.  I ran 11.12 miles at an overall 7:01 pace in 1:18.  I did manage two miles in 6:30 range, but that was it.

Achilles update:

My Achilles is still swollen and sore, but I seem to be able to run on it.  I don't know if its a good idea to keep running and see if it will heal on its own, or maybe take a week off.  I also thought about making a doctor's appointment to get an opinion.  I'm still going to stick to just running once a day so no running on the lunch hour at least for this week.

Well, today the wind was so strong that there was no way I was going to have a repeat of yesterday.   Okay so I'm a whip, but its hard to get any good training in with drifting snow and when the wind doesn't allow you to see the road while your running.  This is the first time I haven't braved the outside weather conditions all year.  The wind this morning was blowing 35 to 40mph.  Yesterday at work the wind was blowing up to 60mph, and it grabbed our work's entrance door and ripped it off  the hedges.

I decided to do my long run on the home treadmill, and believe me it felt long.  I have to work again tonight to install security patches, and I didn't want to be tired for a long run tomorrow.  I bought the movie Silent Hill last night to watch it on my run this morning, and it's not the type of movie that I would watch again.  It wasn't what I was expecting.  I ran 20.7 miles in 6:45 overall pace.   I was very hot and sweaty at the end.  My treadmill said I burned 2600 calories, and I believe it.  I probably consumed about 100 calories of honey during the run, and about 8oz of water.  

My Achilles Tendon did hurt towards the end of the run, and is still swollen so I might have to take action on that.  I have two doctors that I trust that I might give a call just to have it looked at 

Today I wanted to simulate one of the Del Sol Relay downhill legs that I will be doing.  This was a good test because I got off work this morning at 5am and got up at 9am to do this run.   We had  problems at work with Sun's security patches so that led to the late morning.  I was tired so this would be a good experience because of the different times the relay legs are run on limited sleep.

I ran about 75 to 80% probably to get a good workout.   Most of the course was downhill so the pace is definitely tainted. My wife drove me up to Rapid Creek which is past Buckskin Rd. in Pocatello for the downward decent.  What a great wife I have to do this for me.  She even followed me the first three miles, because she was concerned how tired I was.  To tell you the truth I was wiped out from being up all night.

Mile 1:  6:08  Warming up and tired ( only really 3 hours of sleep) :-}

Mile 2:  6:01  Warming up and still feeling tired but a little better.

Mile 3:  5:54   Decided to pick the pace up just a bit not really pushing it.

Mile 4:  5:39   Still just cruising along feeling like I'm starting to wake up a bit.

Mile 5:  5:44    Feeling same as last mile. 

Mile 6:  5:30    Some uphill in this mile and its kind of funny that its my fastest mile in the run

Mile 7;  5:56    More uphill and not really pushing the uphill hard.

Mile 8:  6:01    Started to cool down a bit and two more miles the same way just dropping the pace each mile.

I ran 10.23 miles at a overall 6:00 pace in 1:01time.  I ran the first 8 in 5:50.  My achilles did start hurting on the last mile.  I going to take two days off and get my Achilles check Monday.

I sure the doctor will tell me to stay off of it for at least a week.  But at least that will make my legs fresh. I'm hoping it's just a strain.

Elevation Graph

http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/4938830# 

Sick today, and resting my swollen or sore achilles.  Going to try to get in to the doctor today about my leg.

Still not feeling the best I decided to run. I had a sore throat and felt weak and was spitting up the fun yellow stuff. The funny thing is I never struggled on the run and my legs felt real fresh. I ran 9 miles at a 6:45 pace and even ran a few in the 6:30 range. I never looked at my Garmin until after the run because I didn't care what my pace would be. I've always been able to run pretty well when I'm sick.

Although my achilles/ankle whatever it is started really hurting after mile 8. I felt it on the whole run, but not really a pain just it was there. Mile 8 it was a pain. I have a doctors appointment today at 1:50 to determine what the issue is.

I went to the doctor and as I expected I have some Achilles Tendonitis in my right leg. He said I could take a week off and that could heal it totally, or maybe see if cutting the miles back each day might do the same thing.

What's everyone's opinion on this what I should do? ( I should post this in the forum discussion).

One good note is my resting heart rate was 39, and the nurse couldn't believe that so she checked it on the heart rate machine and by hand.

Today, I ran 9.25 miles at an overall 6:46 pace in 1:02. The Temperature was 43 degrees outside, but with a 20 mph wind. I could have and should have wore shorts. My Achilles really didn't hurt today, but I've read you can have good and bad days. Although ,it's really sore now after a few hours after the run, but not really during the run. I didn't look at my garmin again just running how I feel. To keep things simple I ran a flat course the whole way on the old side of town in Pocatello. I did again today run a couple miles in the 6:30 range.

I think if I can run at least 8 to 9 miles a day this will cut back my miles and may be enough for the achilles to heal since I won't be doing doubles. If this doesn't work than I'll take a week off and do cross training. Time will tell.

PM.

No running my achilles is swollen and I could feel sharp pains in it this evening.. My wife bought me an achilles wrap and an ice gel wrap to help the healing process. 

My plan tomorrow is to run 3 miles, ice 20 minutes three times a day, and tons of stretching.  Then I think I will not run Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.  I'll see if a three day rest heals the swollen achilles.

This morning I ran on the home Treadmill for 4.2 miles, because we got dumped on yesterday with about 4 to 5 inches of snow.  I was going to run on the treadmill anyway, because the impace is less on the achilles which is still bothering me.    I took the pace slow  running the first mile in 7:42, and the rest as followed 7:38, 7:30, and 7:15.

My plan for the rest of the week is to run 3 or 4 miles tomorrow and take Saturday, Sunday, and  Monday off hoping that will heal Mr. Achilles. 

I'm furious about what happen this morning, right during the end of my run my treadmill frame or structure underneath broke and it sent me flying..  I hit my head against the ground and my elbow hit the end cap of the treadmill belt and it broke off.  This cut my elbow open and it's sore.  This Treadmill is suppose to support over 450 pounds.  Luckily, I have a lifetime warranty on every part, but it didn't help my achilles any because I kind of twisted it when I fell.  I guess this is one way to keep me from running to rest my achilles

Anyway I ran 4.5 miles in 33 minutes.   This is probably my last run for 5 days to rest the achilles.  It's time to heal it totally.   Now I'm currently on hold at customer service for my Treadmill.

This hasn't been a good week, oh well God is Good all the time.

No running.  I'm resting my achilles.  I did go to the gym this morning and did some weights.

3 sets of 20 reps of each below.

hamstrings curl  90 pounds
quad press        70-90 pounds  ( trying to not put a lot of resistance on my legs)
Pullups 
Ab Crunches using 90 pounds
Ab twist  130 pounds
Different set of Ab crunches  20 pounds
 

No running, just eating and eating today.  I did core workouts sit-ups and push-ups just to do some exercise.  I'll probably take three more rest days just before I try to run again.  I've been sick the last couple of days with a head cold and sore throat, but that will pass.  Once I get back to running I'll feel great.



 

Another rest day and my Achilles isn't swollen anymore and has no pain. I'm still going to take an additional two days off and starting running again on Thursday. My wife has surgery on her hand on Wednesday so I thought Thursday would be a good day to see how the rest has helped.

I really feel like I'll be alright, but will see. My shape probably won't be in the best condition or in racing form but what can you do when the body needs to recover.

 PM.

Did 600 sit-ups and 200 push-ups tonight.  I used to do over a 1000 situps a day until I started running regularly.  I  stopped doing that many about four years ago.  I needed to do something today, because I ate like a pig.  I seem to eat more for some reason when I'm not running.  I can't wait to run again.  I bet I've gained about 3 or 4 pounds.

No running today, still resting the achilles (this sounds like a repeating record). Last night I had major stomach issues where I had to vomit in the middle of the night. I think my problem was I ate quite a big dinner, and I started exercising right after that and it just upset my stomach. I felt awful when I first went to bed. My son got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, and I helped him, and that just triggered my stomach and I rushed to the toilet and you know the rest. My stomach was hurting in the middle of the night and I struggled to not have to vomit, but what can you do. I had a horrible nights sleep.

Anyway, I went to the gym this morning and did 35 minutes on the bike and 11 minutes on the Elipitical machine which I absolutely hate. I also did 3 x 20 reps of pull ups.  I'll say I did an effort of 5 miles total.

No running again today for the last time. Tomorrow will be the test on my achilles, and I believe it will be fine because I have absolutely no pain. But I haven't put a lot of stress on it either so will see.

I did 38 minutes on the arc trainer doing hill intervals which was a good workout.  Over 3 miles according to the machine. This is the first time I've ever used the arc trainer before. I got interrupted at the 38 minute mark by one of the Gold Gym employee's letting me know that my wife called and they moved her surgery up to right now, so I had to rush out of there and take her to the Rocky Mountain Surgery Center. She had a cyst removed off the back of her hand. Everything went okay, the cyst was pretty large, but she did have inflammation in the joints below the cyst so hopefully that will clear up.

In a hurry I ran out of the gym to the parking lot and didn't experience any pain. I'm excited to run tomorrow.

Well I can at least today call myself a runner again. It was 7 degrees outside and the fog was so heavy you couldn't see 6 feet in front of you. I ran 8.1 miles at an overall 6:56 pace in 56:16 minutes. My achilles felt fine in the run and really didn't experience any pain, but I do have a little soreness and crackling of the tendon now. I think maybe for the first run back I should have run a little less, but I really wanted to test it out. The first mile I kept it slow at 7:20 pace and felt like I really didn't push anything hard on the achilles. The fastest mile I ran was 6:41 and that was because I had a meeting I needed to be at (that I forgot about at work) so I had to rush back home the last mile just so I could prepare for the meeting.

Tomorrow I think I will run 4 miles on the treadmill and then workout on the arc trainer at the gym. I don't want to go full blown back to where I was running before, but gradually work back into some type of training.

I do feel if I take it easy the next couple days then my progress by Monday should be great. Any suggestions on what I should run the next couple of days? Like I said I was thinking 4-6 miles tomorrow and then Saturday 6 miles. Sunday rest, Monday try 6 -8 miles. I might decide to do all these runs on the treadmill since it's a softer surface.

Del Sol Relay, I don't know yet. I don't know if the achilles will handle going all out. By Monday I should have a good idea if its possible. I think my achilles right now could handle the three fast legs, but Monday will be a better evaluation. Like I said during the run today everything went well, but I could have dropped my pace a little bit coming back from the sore achilles.

I'll update my blog today to let you know the progress of how the achilles feels the rest of the day.

Update.

 Achilles is still sore, I'm going to have acupuncture done tomorrow on the tendon just to see if that will help.  At least I know by giving my leg rest it heals so that should give me time to be ready for Del Sol relay.  I might just crosstrain tomorrow.  The 8 miles felt really easy with no fitness issues at all.
 

Easy miles on the treadmill this morning 5. 3 miles at a 8:00 minute mile pace. My achilles is still crackling. but didn't get that sore today, but I'm sure it will be later because that's what happened yesterday. My plan is to have acupuncture done today, and then just cross-train for the next 5 days. Acupuncture could help to release more blood flow in the tendon. I will also get a massage done.

Also at the gym I did 20 pull-ups, 200 sit-ups and 8 minutes on the bike.

 Lunch

Went to get acupuncture done from a local Chiropactor which is a good friend of the family so I get a good discount.  He said my tissue is so hard with all the crackling going on when you move the tendon that acupuncture would not be good right now, because it would hurt.  The needles would have a hard time penetrating in the tissue.  He didn't think my tendon would be as bad as it is, and was worried about it.  We are going to try to do the acupuncture on Monday.  He would like me to take 3 or 4 weeks off from running.  

I think my plan is to cross-train all the way till next Friday or Thursday before the Del-Sol Relay.  At least this will give me a week to heal for the race and maintain fitness with the cross-training.

I 'm really using my Gold Gym membership this week, and that's where I went this morning.
I did 6.3 miles on the Arc Trainer and did the hill interval program. I was on this machine for 1 hour and 10 minutes. The max heart rate I got up to was 135. Then I did 80 situps with 10 pounds of resistance, 45 pull-ups, 40 bicep curls, 40 triceps pull-downs, 40 on the Butterfly machine, 60 on the chest resistance machine, 40 ab twists, and finished off with 11 minutes on the Elliptical machine. I was trying to simulate the same effort as doing a long run that I would normally do today. I really felt like I did something today. It's funny each morning I wake up my achilles doesn't hurt after one day of rest, or minimum exercise.

Interesting note my x-rays from the Chiropractor showed I have a bigger heart than the normal size, which didn't shock me since I've always been an athlete since birth. My back and my neck all looked in great conditions. He did do some adjustments to my hips and back and neck and it felt real good.

 PM

Did 500 sit-ups and 200 push-ups tonight trying to keep the cardio up.  Although, I could be eating better.

Did 400 sit-ups and 200 push-ups tonight, and still resting the achilles.   I'll have acupuncture done tomorrow and really don't know what to expect.

This morning at the gym I did 7.1 miles on the Arc Trainer doing the hill interval program which I modified. I set the incline to 20% and the downhill (well if you call it a downhill) was set at 2% to 4%. If I run Del Sol my legs are uphill and downhill so since I didn't run to rest the achilles I simulated this on the Arc Trainer. I did the Arc Trainer for 1 hour and 5 minutes. It was a good workout. The resistance was set to 10 which wasn't too difficult.

What I really heard that works to heal the Achilles is massage, heat, ultrasound.

 PM

40 one handed push-ups total of 100 push-ups.

400 sit-ups. 

Didn't get the acupuncture done tonight instead just did an adjustment at the chiropractor. 
 

I couldn't stand it any longer not to run. I went to the gym this morning intending on running 3 miles on the Treadmill and I ended up running 7.3 miles but nothing under a 7:30 pace.  I ran most of the run at a 7:50 to 7:40 pace.  The last two miles I ran at a 2% grade.  My achilles felt good but it's still early in the day.  I'll give an update later on with the  condition of the achilles.

This morning I wanted to press the pace (not to any major extreme) since I haven't ran at a marathon pace or tempo pace or even LT pace in three weeks. I really wanted to test my achilles on some faster miles. I started out at a 7:10 and that felt good, then picked it up more 6:40 that felt very comfortable. I was trying to monitoring my achilles at this point to get a sense if everything was all a go to lower the pace even more. The next mile was 6:22 and my legs felt really fresh then I dropped the last two miles to 6:08, and 5:44. Now the 5:44 the last bit took a lot more effort, but all in all a good run. The achilles seem fine I did feel it a little and some after, but that's not bad. It's not a 100% by any means but good enough to try and have fun in Del Sol and that's what it's all about.

Most of the route was flat with some hills, but nothing extreme. This morning when I started running it was 23 degrees with a 7 mph wind.

 Lunch Update:

Do have some crackling in my achilles a bit doesn't seem to hurt though.  I really stretched it out good.  I'll just take it easy till the race Friday.  I'm going to do sit-ups and push-ups in my office today just to get some sort of exercise this afternoon.

This morning Jeff, Steve, and I made it to Provo, (not to far for Steve).  We stayed at Ted's house after the short trip here.  This morning Ted, Josse, Steve, Jeff and I ran 6.11 miles in 48.11 minutes around the BYU campus and around Ted's neighborhood.  Very fun and easy.

Josse thanks for coming and it was nice meeting you> 

Well Del Sol Relay has come and gone and now it’s time to tell the excitement that was experienced.

Going into the Del Sol about two months away when I was selected to go I was pumped up
and wanted to perform my best. Leading up to the event for the last three weeks I was dealing with Achilles Tendonitis and it affected my training which was frustrating because I was putting in some good mileage before that. I could only pretty-much do cross-training
other than a couple runs a week for the last two weeks. I felt coming into the event that I wasn't where I needed to be and my
fitness would be an issue. I really didn’t want to let the team down, and was going to run hard even if my leg fell off. Well, the aftermath of the relay I thought I did okay, but definitely
felt I could have improved if I was totally healthy. The achilles really didn't bother me too much so I was happy about making it through the event with no issues only some tightness in the achilles and crackling.

James W. and Lybi allowed Ted, Steve, Jeff, Sasha, and Walter and I to stay at their house when we got to Mesa Arizona. They
were like family. Both of them were wonderful always caring about our needs, and what
they could do for us to make us comfortable. The food they prepared was wonderful.
James W. sorry I didn't drink the regular Vault soda.

Before we got to James and Lybi's house Ted, Steve, Walter and I ran a 4 mile warm-up, and that felt good.

Leg 9 - 41.21 Minutes 6:09 Pace 6.74 Miles

I was very anxious to get started on this Leg right when I saw Ted head my way to the exchange. I started out feeling good, although I had a decent head
wind (10 to 15mph) so I knew I was in for an interesting fun run. The first mile I did a 5:27 on a flat but gradual uphill.
Then the next mile 5:36 again flat with a slight gradual uphill. Okay here's where on knew it would be tough, the last 4 miles were a continuous gradual uphill
to the end (314 gain), in some pretty nasty wind. Normally this would be great with no wind, but running in the pitch black made it interesting when you didn’t know what pace you where running. At least being pitch black made it so I couldn't see the gradual incline. Mile 3 James W. yelled from the van cheering me on (what a great guy) I finished this mile at 6:14. I knew
with the wind and gradual uphill and not changing directions that the next three miles I just wanted to be under 6:30 at least. Mile four - 6:25, Mile five - 6:29, Mile six I really felt like I was running good but I couldn't believe I was only running near a 6:25 to 6:30 pace very disappointing. I finished Mile six at a 6:31 and the last .72 I did
4:37 trying to give everything I had. Average pace was 6:09 according to the garmin which is what my projected pace needed to be at. I did past five runner in the leg, and a few were scared coming up behind them fast in the Arizona pitch black desert. The Temperature around this time was in the 50’s so it felt good.

That was the excitement for leg 1 of the relay, and two more to go. I did a 1.5 mile total for warm-up and cool-down.

Leg 21 Time:19:11 Miles: 3.72 Avg: 5:09

My second leg was downhill and in the pitch black dark again at 4:36am. My projected average pace was 5:15 per mile. I started out just feeling the course and letting my quads push towards the downhill. I did the first mile in 5:15, and it felt really comfortable so my plan was to finish the last 2 miles and whatever left faster. I did mile 2 at 5:07 flying by runners as I went. Then came mile 3 at 5:08 again passing more runners. I think I passed a total of 10 runners. The last .72 I did at 3:39 and I felt in control the whole way. I didn't feel bad at all afterwards, but I knew going into the third run it would get hot and it was another downhill so I was glad I didn't feel wiped out or anything. In fact I even helped Steve Ashbaker warm-up for his next leg.

I was happy to beat the projected 5:15 pace and average a 5:09 pace. I also set a new 5k PR of around 16:05, Paul or someone can do the math, but this is off the top of my head looking at the time. This PR was definitely set on an aided course.

I did a total of 1.5 miles of warm-up and cool-down.

I discuss more on the third run (leg 33) later, but leaving you hanging it was interesting and definitely very hot.

Leg 33 Time: 16:28 Miles: 3.03 Avg: 5:26

By the time it was my turn to run my third leg I was tired. I didn’t get any sleep all night like everyone else. You shut your eyes but you can’t really sleep because of the atmosphere around you, and still the adrenaline inside from the last run. I needed caffeine but I didn’t have any, and when I tried drinking Gatorade or eating something It would go straight through me, and I would have to run to the bathroom (at least I didn’t vomit).

Before the third leg Adam RW had to explain to the volunteer’s how the exchanged worked, because they were unsure. They were talking to me about how they needed to quit smoking and get back into shape, and Sasha standing right there said you need to quit smoking as direct as you can get. That was so funny I wanted to laugh.

The location of this leg was at Apache Junction, Pinal, Arizona and the traffic was horrible. It was hot with a headwind, but it was all downhill with some uphill at the end. The volunteer mentioned that one of the city cops wanted the exchange moved somewhere else, but he finally gave in and let it be there. The cop told the volunteer’s that if any runner was caught running through a red light they would get a ticket. This was nice since I had three traffic lights ahead of me.

On the start of the first mile I could feel the heat but I pushed on downward and did the first mile in 5:19. I was hot and really needed some water and should have had more fluid in my body on this leg, which is a very good learning experience for me when I do this again. The second mile I did in 5:22. I was trying to stay in around this pace and I accomplished that. Now the third mile made me mad, because I had to slow down, because the traffic light was red and this big truck with a trailer turned right in front of me, then later down the third mile I had to weave out of traffic which slowed me down again (which I got honked at but I wasn’t going to stop) and it was hard to get started back up and I felt fatigued at this point. This really affected my time in this mile. Then with about .3 left in the final mile to the exchange there was a little uphill over an overpass and I ran as hard as I could up it and down it. James W, said I looked like I was cruising. I bet I was running in the 4 minute mile range, but because of the earlier issues it wasn’t a very good mile 5:37 pace.  But I definitely did have some fatigue in this leg so it's good to learn to know what to change next time. 

One thing I learned about the third leg is I need to fuel up a little more, and that would have helped. But the legs where exciting! I want to thank everyone involved, especially James W. because of the driving he did, and staying up all night.

This morning after being back from Del Sol I was a little sore in the gluteus maximus which I'm sure was from the 14 hour drive back to Pocatello yesterday.  I ran easy today nothing real special mainly on a flat route with a few some hills. The mileage was 8.2 at a easy 7:13 pace in 59:30 minutes.

 I will give a full Del Sol report later after I gather my thoughts, and have more time away from work.
 

I did 9.2 miles on the Treadmill this morning in 65 minutes. The wind was blowing between 25 to 30 mph and I didn't want to be out in it. I ran 6 of the miles at a 2% to 2.5% grade around a 7 minute pace, and running 3 miles at a 6:30ish pace. I'm a little sore in the inner quad area from this weekend, and my achilles is still a little sore but other than that I feel great. Although, I haven't been sleeping very good the last two nights. I think I got so use to Lybi's and James' couch that my body doesn't like a bed anymore.

PM:

I was doing some computing on my second leg in Del Sol, and thanks to Paul telling me about the Sport Tracks software I found what my new 5k PR is.  It's 15:52, of course on an aided course so I don't know if it should really count or not.

No running tonight, I had a soccer meeting to go to for my daughter and lunch I still have a broken Treadmill that I'm trying to get a free upgrade for.

This morning I ran outside even though the wind was blowing about 10 mph and it was 19 degrees, but with the wind chill it made it 11 degrees.   I ran my hill loop up Satterfield Dr., 4 miles uphill and 4 miles downhill and the last 3 miles a pancake.  You would of think I would have go enough miles from the downhill and uphill this weekend.  I don't really have any soreness other than my hamstrings are a little tight, and my achilles is still making that crackling sound, but it's not hurting.

This morning it was 15 degrees with a nice wind.  My legs really didn't want to move today.  They felt real heavy and tired like myself.  I think I'm still dragging from the weekend, because I haven't been sleeping well since I've been back from Arizona.  Anyway, I ran 11.3 miles at a 7:04 in 1:20.  I did some good hill climbs today again.  I'm really trying to improve on my uphill running and three days in a row can only help.

No running at lunch too busy and also too busy tonight. 

This morning I did a long run of 17.5 miles at an overall 6:56 pace in 2:01. I'm so sore, I don't even get this sore after a marathon. My inside of my quads are sore in the groin. A little bit on the outside of my quads too. Could be just from the relay last week and the lack of sleep I've been getting. I ran from my house out to Indian Hills and then back home, but not the same way. Some uphill but not much mostly flat. Temperature was 16 degrees and the Sun was shining! I had about a 9mph wind for the first 8 miles which made it even colder, (where's the Arizona weather!). I really didn't try to push the pace just a nice easy run. I can't believe how sore I'm after the run that really bothers me.

Good news my achilles didn't bother me at all on the run. It's still crackling and not a 100% but it didn't hurt so I'll take that.

Snow, Snow, Snow and lots of it this morning!  Just last week I must have been dreaming when I  was running in 80 degree weather in Arizona.  The temperature this morning was 24 degrees but blowing and snowing hard.  I did want to run inside so I dressed warm and headed out.  For about the first mile my inner quad muscle near groin was hurting/sore then it went away.  It was hurting so bad that I almost turned around a came home after the first .2 in the run.  I think  it's just soreness from the relay last week.  With the wind blowing and snowing I wasn't going to do anything fast, I ran 10.1 miles  at an overall 7:02 in 1:11.  My Achilles seems to be doing well hopefully with God's grace that continues.

This morning before Church I decided to get my dog out and do a run.  It's been over three months since I last ran with him.  We did 4.1 miles at a 7:18 in 30:13 minutes.  The last mile we ran at a 6:28  with a .4 5:25 pickup to end the mile.

Ran after church with the family (wife, two daughters, son in the stroller) their going to be running the Ogden 5k so it's time to get them going. We ran 1.28 miles  at a 12:36 pace.  Then I ran with my son in the for .24 to get him ready for the kids K in Ogden that he will be running.

Usually a day-off but it was fun running with the family.

This morning my legs felt like there were rocks attached to them they just didn't want to move for the first few miles. I even got over 8 hours sleep last night. Maybe it's because I ran on Sunday which I very rarely do. I ran 9.2 miles at an 6:47 pace in 1:02. First three miles were going up Olympus Dr. and that's all uphill. Then I turned on Booth Rd., and got about two miles of downhill. After this I thought I would do some pickups and speed up a bit. I really wasn't focusing on maintaining a certain pace, but just try to get a better turn over rate on my legs

Evening:

Decided to run home from work today, since my TM is broke at home so I can't run on it on my lunch hour. My house is less than 2 miles from work so I stretched the run to 4.2 miles at an overall 6:53 pace in 28.59 minutes. Felt like a really easy effort.

Later that evening:

Ran with the wife and son in the scroller for 1.28 mile  at a 12:41 pace.

This morning I got a late start, but I've been putting so many extra hours at work lately that coming in late wouldn't be an issue. The temperature was 26 degrees with no wind so that was real nice. I ran 10.3 miles at an overall 6:48 pace in 1:10 felt easy, but I really wanted to keep my pace in the 7:30 range to really stay more aerobic. This is something I need to work on especially if I'm raising my mileage up this week. I did do some fartlek work the last two miles so naturally the splits were faster (6:14, 6:18) they didn't feel too bad.

I noticed something about my running this week my achilles seems a lot stronger, because I can now feel a better push and faster turn over rate in my right leg. This is something I didn't have in the Del Sol Relay, where I couldn't really push that great off my right leg, and feel strong or fast, but more fatigue. I wish I could go back and run my legs now that the achilles is feeling so much better and stronger. How frustrating, but what's done is done and you can't look at the past.

 Evening:

Ran after working tonight I started at 5:25pm and had to be done be 5:50pm so I could go pick my daughter up from soccer practice.  I couldn't get off work any earlier because of too many projects going on.  I did a tempo run to get done faster 4.1 miles at a 6:16 pace in 25:51.  I really didn't try to push the pace too much.  I originally wanted to just do a slow run but that wasn't in the cards.  Splits (6:13, 6:05, 6:01, and cooling down 6:31) and I was able to run in shorts for once!   Good quality miles tonight!  I don't really feel fast though, hopefully that will come. Tomorrow I'm going to do a slow aerobic run in the morning.
 

I ran 10.1 miles at an overall 7:11 pace in 1:12. I wanted to just run easy with little effort to get an aerobic base workout and not be under a 7 minute average for the run. Although, the last mile I had to hurry or I would have got stuck at the train tracks with a train approaching. I couldn't alter the route and I was .7 miles from the crossing with the train approaching a little further away. I picked it up, and ran the last mile at 6:01. I really wasn't trying too hard just enough to where I knew I could beat the train.

Very nice easy run with little effort and a very nice morning for a run at 34 degrees. My achilles seem to be doing great and hopefully that continues.

I went to bed last night at 10pm and couldn't sleep because of this computer system hardware issue were having at work. I analyzed this problem all night and figured out the solution in the middle of the night while trying to sleep. That was great, but when the alarm hit 6am I wasn't ready to move. I was really surprised I wasn't a dead beat on this run today.

Evening:

I ran from work to home tonight stretching 4.2 miles at a 6:51 pace in 28:54 minutes.  What are the odds of trying to out run a train twice in a day, well I had to try to do it again.  About .3 from my house we live by a train crossing, but this time I couldn't beat it, and it was a long one.  I bet it took about 8 minutes before I could start running again.  I was running at a 5:20 pace to try to beat it at the crossing, but it was too close to where I could have made it.  But breaking the law isn't one of things I like doing, and not something that might influence my kids.

Ran 1.57 miles in a 12;40 pace in 19:48 minutes with my wife.  I enjoy running with my wife it gives us a chance to talk and discuss the day.  She starting to get back into running again.

Decided to do my long run today because the weather was going to be nasty this weekend. I ran 17.3 miles at an overall 6:59 pace in 2:01. Actually, the weather was awful this morning with snow and rain coming down and a fun circling wind that I couldn't figure out what it was doing. I was very, very, very soaked by the end of the run. I would have ran even further, but my feet and socks were socked, and I did want to completely ruin my shoes or risk an injury. The course I ran had about half uphill and some downhill so it was a good workout.

I was also chased by a Golden Lab that nipped me on the leg this morning during my run. I gave the dog a good kick after he nipped me, and it ran back to the house. I know where the dog came from and I'm going to call animal control, because this dog could seriously hurt a kid. He exactly ran out in the street from the house and nipped me. Luckily it didn't break the skin because I had my tights on.

Also, the achilles feels fine no more crackling it feels completely healed.  I don't think though I have the push off the right leg like I should but that won't take long.  It's hard to describe what I mean when I say that, it just does feel like it has the same strength yet as my left leg. 

This morning wasn't one of the better days to run weather wise, but it was certainly better than yesterday's snow/rain. The wind was blowing about 15mph, but it was a circular wind and made it difficult to get any type of a consistent pace. The temperature was 25 degrees, but with the wind it felt colder. My plan was to run at least 10 miles. I ended up running 11.2 miles at 7:01 pace in 1:18. My legs felt okay, but I've been tired this week with the crazy stuff and extra hours of work I've been putting in.

There's a 10k race in Idaho Falls that I'm thinking about running. I've put around 80 miles this week and I'm wondering how I would do with my legs not exactly fresh. I haven't decided if I'm going to run it or not. I think it would be a good benefit and good for the training though.

Lunch:

Ran 4.2 miles at a 7:07 pace in 30:18 minutes at lunch today. I just took it easy in case I decide to run the 10k Race in Idaho Falls tomorrow. First mile uphill and the rest flat and downhill.

Ran 1.30 miles with the wife, and she did great in the nice wind that we had.  We averaged a 13 minute mile.  She's doing good getting back into running and I keep encouraging her that she'll be where she used to be at.

This morning I drove up to Idaho Falls to run a 10k that was actually only 5.62 miles (pretty short). I was tired because I was up till midnight doing some work on one of our systems. I got to IF around 8:30 and warmed-up for a mile, and I knew then that I just didn't have it today. I was real tired with the extra hours at work, and the 90 plus miles running this week. I wanted to put in some high mileage this week to test and make sure my achilles really is better and can handle the high miles again. The push off is getting better on my right leg, and it doesn't hurt so that's good.

My goal today was just to keep every mile under a 6 minute mile pace, and I did accomplish that. The course was flat with a lot of turns.

First mile I did 5:52 felt okay just really tired in the legs. I was in second place right behind Pat who won the race (Jeff Shadley knows Pat). Next Mile was through a subdivision with a lot of turns (5:51) pace, again I felt tired, my brain,eyes,arms everything. Mile 3 was 5:53 still not really feeling my best and I think I could have really pushed it but the desire wasn't there, maybe because I was all alone. At this point Pat was about 30 seconds ahead of me. Mile 4 we started getting some snowfall and some head wind 5:56, but I felt at this point I was loosing up a bit in the legs (Pat was even further ahead at this point). Mile 5 felt really easy at 5:51 and I really should have pushed harder. I think knowing at this point that I know I wasn't going to compete for first place I sort of eased up or lost interest. Now the course was .58 short so I came in at 32:58. I should have kept running until 6.2 to see what my time I would have had for a 10k. Oh well, I wasn't thinking.

After the race I ran a 2 mile cool-down with Pat. He's a neat gentlemen and very, very talented. I really liked spending time with him, he's a great athlete.

I did wear my Fast Running Blog apparel during the race and my jacket after, and did get comments about it. I was really trying to advertise our site and image. People commented how fast I ran and how awesome I did, but I really knew the real true that this wasn't even close to what I can accomplish.

I drove 50 miles home and did another 3.1 miles right when I got home just to loosen up after the drive.

Overall not really doing a lot of speed lately and coming off the achilles injury, I shouldn't be too disappointed because I know I have better times ahead. I haven't really ran a lot of short races lately so this is good training.

Ran a couple 100m strides later that evening just, because I was outside.

Did want to get out of bed for some reason today. Was very tired after about 7 hours of sleep. I finally got out of bed late, and ran my Olympus Rd., Booth Rd, Hiline Rd hill loop. I ran 10:23 miles in 6:56 pace in 1:11. After mile 6 I thought I would attempt to beat the 7 minute guy, and I needed to get back home anyways because I got up so late. The last two mile splits on the flat section of the loop was (6:22, 6:01).

Those that don't run on Sunday, do you feel completely drained and weak like you don't want to do anything? This is how I feel almost every Sunday when I don't run, I don't know if it's because my body is used to doing something, or I don't eat enough... I'm not sure.

After analyzing my 10k race this Saturday I need to start to add two tempo runs per week. I feel that my base miles are there now it's time to sharpen everything. I know I have faster times in me I just need to try to find the time to work harder and being those skills out.

After work:

I got my running stuff on in my office and headed out the door and ran 4.6 miles around the Idaho State University Campus.  I averaged 6:33 pace per mile, and I really was just not focusing on any pace.  Then when I got home I ran 1.37 miles with my wife who did excellent tonight.  She seemed to excel tonight.  She's getting into a consistent routine which is slowly building the endurance back.

Last night I got about 200 pages from my work phone that one of our switches went down so this morning I was really tired from the lack of sleep, and it really showed in my run. I finally put my phone on vibrate, because this sort of network problem is not my responsibility (well sort of) only the machine connected to the switch. Then the dog later that night kept whining trying to get a hold of our cat and torment it. All around it wasn't a night to get any rest.

I ran 10.3 miles at a 7:11 pace in 1:14 the last mile I picked it up a bit to get home (6:27). This was just an easy aerobic run, but it didn't feel easy because I was dead tired, but at least I made it out the door.

Evening

I brought my running apparel to work today and took off for a run around 5:30pm after work.  I left later than I wanted too, because I had to pick-up my daughter at 6pm so I really had to get quick 4 miles in at least.   I ran 4.2 miles at a 6:24 pace in 27:03 minutes.

Mile 1:  7:00 good warm-up  ( I didn't have time to stretch)

Mile 2:  6:34  in a stiff wind

Mile 3:  6:19 felt good and not difficult

Mile 4:  5:51 looked at my watch and pushed harder to get back to my work parking lot.

(Avia Lites 529)

Last night I got over 8 hours of sleep. This felt really good, and I didn't even wake up once. I need to try to do this as much as possible.

I schedule just an easy run this morning, but I felt like I had to vomit the whole run and my stomach felt strange and it still does. I ran 11.1 miles at an 7:22 pace in 1:22. Must have been something maybe I ate last night or I'm coming down with something. I hope its not the latter.

Evening

Ran home from work tonight 3.2 miles at an easy 7:21 pace in 23:34 minutes. Took detours to extend the route. Then my wife was waiting outside to run together so I ran 1.4 miles with her back to my work to get my truck She ran in a 25mph wind, and did good even though it was a hard 12 minute mile pace.

Then I ran .21 with my 3 year old son. He's going to run the Ogden Kids K so I'm trying to get him ready.

I did get 8 hours of sleep last night but it was interrupted sleep by my 3 year old son and my daughter complaining that she was sick. My son just wanted the dog out of his bedroom, he's funny he doesn't like anyone or anything to sleep with him. I didn't feel too tired when I woke up just kind of weak.

This morning I did my long run on a very hilly course. The run was somewhat difficult, because the winds kicked up to 30mph, but the temperature was 35 degrees so that helped..

The reason that I've kind of been weak and dead on my runs this week is I'm starting to come down with something. Last night I felt just dead tired, weak, and my stomach was doing jumping jacks inside. I thought today if I had enough strength that I would do my long run, because I thought maybe I might feel worse on Saturday and won't be able to do it (when your systems analyst you have to analyze your future schedule). The performance this morning wasn't bad, and I did take it easy and not really push anything, other than I did some strides in the run to active the fast twitch muscle a bit. I ran 17.10 miles at an 7:18 pace in 2:04. I could have kept going, but I needed to be back for work. I'll probably run this evening to make it an even 20 miles for the day.

Evening:

We had parent teacher conference meetings tonight so I decided to do another run from our kids school to home after the teacher meetings. It started snowing on the way home so that made the run interesting, but the run was really uneventful. I had to avoid a lot of traffic on the way. I ran 4.22 miles at a 7:10 pace in 30:17 minutes.

I'm still not feeling the best. I feel weak so my immune system must be getting knocked out a bit. I'm hoping to feel better for the weekend, but I really don't have anything planned except Sunday so I should be able to get rest. Tomorrow I have to go into work early to be part of three interviews for a position that our Staff is looking to hire. That will take up most of the day.

Last night again I was able to get 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep, and it felt good waking up.
This morning was colder than its been for about a week, 25 degrees. There was a very thick fog also, and you could probably only see about 20 feet away. This morning I had to be at work early, because my supervisor and I were giving interviews to three candidates to fill a position in our department.

I started out later than I wanted too which wasn't good. I was planning on only doing 7 miles for the first run, because of needing to be at work earlier. I felt no fatigue factor today as far as mentally or physically. I started out slow with the first mile at 7:51. Then I increase my speed to 7:04, 6:56,6:47,6:46. The last two miles I needed to push a little more to get back home (6:36, 6:11). I ran 7 miles at an overall 6:53 pace in 48:27 minutes. Hopefully, I can get about another 4 miles in today.

Lunch:

Ran 5.22 miles on my lunch hour at an overall 6:46 pace in 35:27.  The wind was terrible with gusts of  35-40mph, and must of the run I was running in a headwind.  But I was in a hurry so I tried to keep a decent pace.  Splits 6:46, 6:58, 7:09, 6:47 6:18. 

It's funny 30 minutes before I was going to run it was snowing hard here and the wind was the same speed.  But when I walked outside it was sunny still with the heavy wind, but I was all set to run on the Treadmill at the gym.

Today I ran 13.2 miles at an overall 6:38 pace. The first six miles I ran with Barry (on the blog) and Kathy my sister-in-law who we lost at the three mile mark. I'm trying to get her to sign-up with the blog for others to help her. We did an easy 7:20 or so pace, and then I took off for my Tempo run. I did a 5 mile tempo at the end of the run (6:02, 6:05, 6;06,5:58,5:41) last two quarters of the last mile in the tempo I ran at a 5:23 pace which didn't feel to difficult. I didn't experience any fatigue factor in the run like some of the runs this week.

I ran these in my new Asics Bandito's which will probably be my Marathon shoe now. 

The rest of the day I took out our dishwasher that died. Went grocery shopping for easter and the house. Then went to Home Depot to order a dishwasher for our house.

Busy morning at work finally have time to type in my running for this morning.

I ran 10.5 miles at a 6:52 pace in 1:12. I only got 6 hours of sleep last night because of family health issues with my grandparents, but that's alright because they deserve my immediate attention.
I ran from my house, up Hiline rd, then down Chubbuck Rd, and out to Phlibin rd and back to my house. Very eventful run... I did pick-up the last two miles at 6:37 and 6:35.

Evening:

Ran from my work to the Idaho State University campus and by the time I made it back to my work I ran 5 miles at a 6:43 pace in 33:42 minutes.  Ran the last three miles at (6:24, 6:28,6:34) I had to hurry somewhat , because it started raining and it looked like it was only going to come down harder if I didn't hurry.  I was also very hungry and was ready to eat dinner.  I really didn't eat too much during the day because I was in meetings at work and didn't have the time to snack without the day.

I need some help I can't decide if it's a good idea to run both the the Salt Lake Marathon and Ogden Marathon, or just run the Salt Lake Half and the Ogden Marathon.

Last night I was able to get about 7 1/2 hours of sleep which I really needed. I spend most of last night trying to put together a portable or permanent Basketball hoop for our girls that we got them. It's very nice with the fiberglass shatter proof backboard that has several levels of height adjustment. It has the nice spring action rim. I still haven't finished it yet I'm having a hard time getting the height assemble adjustment just right. I used to play basketball all the time several years ago, but now I hardly ever play, and I miss that. My 11 and 8 year old daughters love basketball.

Anyway my run today wasn't bad, it rained all night last night making poodles everywhere in the street. I did most of the run on an uphill course and then about a 3 mile downhill back to my house. 11.1 miles at an overall 6:58 pace in 1:17. I ran at a 4:50 pace in one quarter of the last mile to beat a train over the railroad crossing close to my house. I didn't want to get stuck by a train so I kicked it in gear, probably not smart since the train was about 30 yards away when I crossed.

Temperature is starting to get warmer at around 39 degrees this morning. I still haven't decided if I want to run both the full marathons in Salt Lake and Ogden. Part of me thinks I should run just the half in SLC and the full in Ogden. I don't know, any thoughts on this or help would be appreciated?

 Evening

Ran after work around 5:30 from work, 4.3 at an overall easy 6:54 pace in 30:06.  I just wanted to run easy even though the rain was coming down hard and I was soaked.  I wore shirts and a shirt sleeve shirt with arm warmers and gloves.  It's nice just to run easy after a long day at work.
 

8 hours of sleep last night was great and I felt good this morning.

I ran 11.1 miles at a 6:48 pace in 1:15. I did about two MP miles in the run, but it was mostly a relaxing run not pushing too hard. The last mile I ran a 6:07 to get back home and get ready for work. I'll see if I can get out on my lunch hour today vs running after work. The weather was nice at 36 degrees, and I was overdressed.

I think I've decided to run the Salt Lake City full marathon rather than the half and see if I can keep up with Adam. I'm not sure how I'm going to approach training after this week other than I want to get one 20 miler in before the marathon. I feel a little overtrained so I think the next few weeks leading up to the marathon I will cut the miles back and get the fresh leg feeling back. I'm still going to run the Ogden marathon though (who knows these plans could change).

I'm coming up with my friend/cousin Barry (who's on the blog) and he's running the half marathon. Those that have run the half marathon in SLC if you could give him advice it would be appreciated. He's blog name is "Barry".

Lunch:

Very cold outside with the wind blowing 30mph in a circular direction, but I decided shorts and a long sleeve shirt and gloves would work.  This time I was wrong it was down right cold!  I didn't know what type of run to do so I just started running and the wind was making it cold and then a soft rain came.  I decided to keep everything under 7 minutes because I needed to be back for a meeting in a little over an hour. 

 I ran around campus and then I hit the Idaho State University Davis field track and ran twice around it, and then back out the gate and on the street again.  You can sure tell the speed difference between running on a track and the road.  The cold started to get to me where I was feeling disoriented.  The last four miles I decided to do a tempo run, but start the first mile at a warm-up pace.

6:28 felt easy, but I felt my mind or nervous system was somewhere else                          

6:12: felt easy, but same as above ( on a flat stretch little uphill)

5:53: wind was really picking up and I was getting really cold, even my hands felt frozen. What a weird experience.

5:47: didn't felt too bad, but harder than it should have, (but I'm not real fast either, something I need to prove to myself).

Totals 7.2 miles at an overall 6:25 pace in 46:17 minutes.  I was staggering when I was done, and very cold.  It took me about a minute to start to walk straight without wanting to fall.  I think the cold got to my nervous system and just chilled everything. 

Did my long run today, because Friday I have to work late and there's now way I would be able to get up early and run long Saturday. I wouldn't be able to sleep in and do the run after that, because I have too many things to do. Install a new dishwasher, and finish the drywall in our downstairs bathroom.

The weather was awful 20 degrees with the wind between 35 to 43mph constant from the Southwest (I mean constant I can remember a time where it hasn't at least let up a bit). This made the temperature be like 13 degrees. In the run I tried running down alley's to block the wind, but that really didn't help much. I ran most of the run in the wind and at times it was hard, but I did pretty good. I just ran a nice easy 6:50 to 7 minute mile pace. I ran 20.5 miles at an overall 7:03 pace in 2:24. The wind picked up at some points where I ran in a farm area where the wind wasn't being block from any directions and it would knock you back.

I didn't drink anything or eat anything during the ran. Good experiment to try and use the inter fat muscles when Carbs are depleted. I was definitely thirsty after the run, (no brainer on that one).

I would have to say with the wind and the cold this is probably the hardest long run I've done in a while. My hands, face were frozen by the time I got home. I picked up the last mile a bit and ran a 6:50 to finish. The course was pretty much flat to and a lot of turns to prepare for Salt Lake.

Easy run this morning I didn't have a lot of time because we were getting family pictures taken at 8:30am. It was cold at 15 degrees but no wind!!!!!!!!! I ran 9.3 miles at a overall 6:51 pace in 1:01. I ran a route that had a lot of turns to prepare for SLC. I really noticed how a course with a lot of turns can really wear you done, versus a straight course. I think that's the biggest difference between the SLC and Ogden Marathon's, and the downhill in Ogden. I felt fine during the run, like Adam RW has said getting sleep has helped. I got close to 8 hours last night, and my legs felt great after the long windy run yesterday.

I don't really know how I feel going into SLC, I know I haven't trained a lot of MP miles and that concerns me, and I hope it doesn't wear me down for the Ogden Marathon. I really stuck this marathon right in the middle of preparing for Ogden. My wife keeps telling me you can do this, and in the past she's been right. She's my big confidence booster. But will see what happens.

Speaking of Ogden I really want my wife to do well, and I want to prepare her well and give her confidence to know she can nail the 5k run.

Next three weeks I'll run 70, 70, 50 leading up to the marathon.

Lunch:

While I was getting my oil changed at Grease Monkey I ran 1.5 miles at a 7:12 pace. I was surprised I was actually running that fast. I thought I might as well do something besides sit in the waiting room watching TV. Okay, I pulled a Sasha ( don't read this Sasha I'm teasing you. I think your rubbing off on me).

Evening:

I ran 1.2 miles with my wife to help on her training run at a 12:ish pace.  She's a trooper because we did it in a 25 to 30 mph headwind.  I'm tired of the wind her, it's been a constant thing all fall, winter and now spring.

I worked till after midnight last night installing security patches and updates on our Unix and Linux servers so I was tired when I woke up at 7am to run.

This morning the wind was blowing 30mph + again, and the temperature was 13 degrees. Barry came to my house this morning, and we decided to run the Pocatello Marathon course for about 8 to 10 miles (I already did my long run on Thursday). This is good altitude running at 6000 feet. We took two cars so we could park one at the top of the course and one 8 miles away.

We started at 8:30am, and the road was covered with snow and very slick! We had to take it easy for the first few miles (7:06, 7:36, 7:31, 7:52, 7:05). Then I decided to leave Barry and do some tempo miles. Barry was going to do about two miles around a 6:30 pace to get some speed in. I would run back to Barry once I reached the car. I started out the first tempo mile at 6:12, and at this point the road was slick for only the first part of the mile.

Next mile 5:43 felt easy and half downhill and flat.

5:26: half downhill and flat felt really good.

5:55: I ran half the mile to the truck then I had to stop because my shoelace came undone. Then I ran back for Barry and he finished at the truck. I kept running and I told him I wanted to run one more mile to make it 10. I did this mile at 5:22 with the first quarter downhill then the next half flat and the last quarter uphill in the wind! That was very encouraging.

Came home and installed our dishwasher finally and have a tee ball game with my son at 3pm.

No running but 9 hours of sleep before waking up for church.  Worked on my brothers computer today which has problems where we will have to order a new motherboard.  I mostly relaxed today, and stuffed my stomach at Golden Corral.

I keep telling everyone that I just ran in the worst weather, well this morning was one of those snowing and blowing days. Temperature was 20 degrees but the wind was between 32 to 37mph with a hard snowfall and very hard to see. The Wind Chill made the temperature 5 degrees and it definitely felt like it. Originally when I woke up I was going to the gym, because I didn't even want to attempt this today. The roads would be slick, and the snow would be blowing in my face for at least 4 miles by calculating the course I would run and the wind direction. But the below following things happened that caused me to run out of time so I had to run outside rather than drive to the gym.

First off my youngest daughter fell off my oldest daughters bed last night trying to tease her by hiding under the covers so I checked her ankle this morning, and It wasn't really swollen, but she's walking with a little bit of a limp. But she could move everything so I'm sure it's a good sprain. Then I couldn't find my Ipod, and once I did it was dead. Then I was looking for something to wrap my daughters leg with and it took me forever to find what we wanted to put on it. Then my garmin took forever to get a signal. I'm not sure if it was the hard snowfall with the continuous 30mph+ wind or what. By this time it was 7:30am so I ran outside because I didn't want to drive to the gym and wasted more time. The was a very tough run with the snow and wind blowing in my face against my body, but I kept thinking the Salt Lake City Marathon will not be this hard so I just pushed through the run. I was cold and covered in snow by the time I was done, but I only ran 6.3 miles at an 7:05 pace in 44:45. I pushed the last mile a little harder through the snow and wind to get done, and get to work (split 6:38). I wanted to run at least 8 miles but I didn't have the time. Hopefully, later.today.

I fell after the 6 mile turning the corner on snow that had black ice under it on the street right on my knee. It's a little sore and has a nice big bruise, but I think I'll be okay.

Evening;

6:03 miles at a 6:46 pace tonight in 40:50 minutes from my work and back to my work.  Very eventful run.  My knee where I fell this morning was a little sore in this run.  I felt like I was just running at an easy pace.

 It's amazing how the weather can change from the morning to the evening.  It was still windy, but the sun was out the snow melted and the roads were not slick.  This was a very nice evening run.

Temperature was 9 degrees this morning with only a 9 mph wind. The weather said last night that we would have are coldest day in years for the first of April in a long time. With the wind not blowing bad it was fine.

I ran 11.3 miles at a 6:53 pace in 1:17. I picked it up towards the end of the run. I did my Satterfield hill loop.

mile 7: 6:25 downhill very easy

mile 8: 6:17 downhill didn't fell like I was doing much.

mile 9 6:18 downhill just little gravity pull me down the hill

mile 10: 6:03 flat picked it up a bit, but didn't feel too difficult.

mile 11: 6:32 flat cooling down a bit.

My left calf where I fell up the stairs the other day is still bothering me a bit. The test will be on a long run to see if it gets sore at all.

Evening:

I only wanted to run 3 miles tonight after work, because I knew that's all I would have time for because of the busy day of configuring two Sun server with 8 CPU's, with a Raid setup.. I got off work at 5:30pm and needed to pick-up my daughter by 6pm, but I wanted to just run slow, because I kind of felt sore today. I don't know what happened but it wasn't slow like I planned. I ran 3.3 miles at a 6:35 pace in 21:45 minutes, splits (7:19, 6:35, 5:54). Tomorrow I'll just try to run an easy run. I want to hit about 70 miles this week for a taper, and I'll probably do a long run of 15-17 miles maybe some miles at marathon pace.

Very nice weather today! 23 degrees, no wind, clear day! What a beautiful morning to run! I ran 5 miles uphill and 5 miles downhill up Pocatello City Creek on the back side where the Pocatello Marathon starts. From my house it takes me a little over a mile to get to the Pocatello City Creek area 10.3 miles at an overall 6:47 pace in 1:10. I ran the first 5 uphill around 7:15 pace and the last 5 miles at (6:43, 6:12, 6:01, 6:18, 6:22) downhill. I didn't push the pace downhill at all.

This training that I've done for Salt Lake Marathon has been whatever I've felt like doing for the day. I've never done this leading into a marathon, and its going to be interesting to see what comes out of it. I've definitely put in the miles, but have I put enough quality miles in to benefit a good performance.

 
Evening:

 Ran 4.5 miles at a 6:56 pace in 31:30 minutes from my work to where my oldest daughter was playing her soccer game.  The last two miles were uphill.  That's all for today really nothing special about this run.  My daughter tied in their soccer game.

This morning it was 15 degrees but now wind.   I got 7 hours of sleep last night and felt pretty good in the morning.  My run was good, and I felt I had  a lot of energy, but I do need to foam roll my legs out tonight.  I ran 11.2 miles at overall 6:43 in 1:15.  I wanted to run something different so I ran down everyone of our side streets up and down each block until I hit the end by a major intersection.

I'm going to do my long run tomorrow so I'm not sure if I should do anymore miles today since its a cut back week for SLC marathon.  What do you think? 

I was woke up about 12:30 with our java server failing so I had to restart the server so my sleep was interrupted. This mad me really tired this morning. I really didn't get back to sleep after this, because I kept thinking while trying to get back to sleep where I'm I going to run for my long run in the morning.

Not this morning I did my long run for 21.5 miles at an overall 6:47 pace in 2:27. First 10 miles in the wind and that wasn't fun. I was really sluggish for the first 5 miles not sure why, but then the legs finally woke up. I took my fuel belt and drank about 12oz of water and took two power-gels. I wanted to simulate my drinking and fuel.

I really didn't feel fresh on this run and I really didn't push anything so I hope this is not a bad sign for SLC.   I wanted to do some MP miles in this run but I ended up really not doing any so I'm a little concerned in that area heading into the Marathon.  After mile 11 I did consecutive miles with the following splits ( 6:36, 6:32, 6:28, 6:18, 6:23, 6:36, 6:33, 6:33).  The first 10 miles were a slight uphill, but really flat and the second half was half.  I did 12 of the miles on the last part of the Pocatello marathon course 6 the reverse way and 6  back on the course.

 If I feel like it tomorrow I might do some MP miles, but I have a very busy day.

Finally, home from Idaho Falls tonight! Before we left for Idaho Falls (8am) for an all day Soccer and Dance competition for our girls I did my run. I thought I would try to throw in a few fast miles to see how I felt after my 21 miler yesterday. I didn't do too bad, I ran 8.1 miles at an overall 6:32 pace in 53:ll minutes. Then a .3 cool-down after that. I wanted to pick the pace up the last three miles in a headwind

6:33 - warming up

6:44 - strong winds and going uphill with a dog chasing after me.

6:21 - strong wind going over the overpass on Yellowstone street. The gusts were in surges along with the continuous wind. Quads were a little sore from yesterday.

5:57 - still heading in the wind. Not sure if I can hold this pace for the SLC, but two weeks I'll found out if it's a reality.

6:01 - wasn't too bad for the last mile. The effort didn't feel too difficult.

Glad for the day-off tomorrow, and ending the taper week over 80 miles.

I do need to cut back next week so I don't get myself in a situation that I feel over-trained.  I will only do 50 miles next week, and then 30 for the marathon week.

No running today.  Today at church my work phone called and I had to leave Church to repair a hard drive that received a bad block and was detached from one of the disk mirrors.  But we have Church tonight so at least I will be able to have a useful day.

8 hours of sleep last night Great!

Last night I got over 8 hours of sleep and felt fresh and energized today. I've been really busy at work and its going to continue for the next two weeks, but I'll survive.

This morning when I woke up there was snow on the ground and it was sprinkling outside, but there was no wind. It really wasn't that cold at 27 degrees. I decided to do a 8 mile run and run the first four at a relaxed pace and then finish the last four at a medium tempo pace.

I did the first four at a slight uphill at a 65% aerobic pace (7:25, 7:02, 7:11, 6:44) then on the first two downhill miles I ran (6:13, 6:14) then the last two miles on a completely flat stretch (6:08, 5:59). It's funny that I ran the last two flat course miles faster than the downhill miles. But the effort felt harder than it should (maybe I've overtrained a bit).

Totals: 8.32 miles at an overall 6:37 pace in 55:12 minute.

Evening:

I wasn't going to run, but I'm addicted and just couldn't keep myself from running, but I will taper and cut the miles. It was just an easy run 3.3 miles at a 7:08 pace right after work. I was so busy today and the rest of the week. This Friday i'm leaving work early to spend two days with my family in Boise at my Daughter's soccer tournament.

This morning the weather was 15 degrees with no wind and it didn't feel cold at all. I got 8 hours of sleep last night and felt fresh. I ran the 10 miles in 1:06 which is way too fast than I wanted to run. But I felt good today, and the run really felt like I was running an easy pace (I guess I must have ate some good wheaties last night). I finished the run with 10.3 miles at an overall 6:40 pace in 1:08. This will be my only run today to continue to cutback for the taper week (if I can contain myself from running after work).

I have a full day at work today, and then have to pick my daughter up from soccer practice after work at 6pm. I really don't have a busy night after work so my rest should be able to continue.

I'm really hoping the weather in Salt Lake City is good for the marathon. No headwind on the course.

Evening

Well I said I wasn't going to run, but I did run one mile to go get my car from Les Schwab. My wife and I drove over there and she took me back to work and our car was done about 30 minutes later.  I had the tires rotated and the breaks checked (their about 30 to 40 percent left), and everything looks good for traveling to Boise this weekend.  I did the mile at an easy 7:26 pace.

Another night of 8 hours of sleep. I felt really refreshed again this morning. Temperature was 21 degrees with a 9mph SW wind.

I did a couple of warm-up miles to start my run this morning. After that I thought I would do a little speed play, so I did one tempo mile at 5:51, then the next two miles I did 400m fartleks (6:13,6:09). Now these are the total pace for the mile not the fartlek portion, during the fartlek portion I was running between a 5:30 - 5:40 pace. Then I did another 800m fartlek on the next mile (6:15, had some uphill in this mile). Then I did another tempo mile 5:59. The last two miles at a moderate pace (6:29, 6:38). Overall I did 10.2 miles at an overall 6:29 pace in 1:06.

The effort felt a little harder than it should have which is not good going into the SLC Marathon. But I'll give it everything I have in SLC and if I hit the wall at the end at least I'll know what I need to work on. Adam and I are just going to have to stay focused and nail those miles. I've been looking at the SLC course with the course tool and the second half is where we will really need to be strong.

 I got 7 hours of sleep last night and didn't really sleep the best, but I didn't feel too bad waking up.  The temperature outside was 25 degrees with a 15 mph wind blowing Southwest.

I decided to do some uphill and downhill miles and just run easy today.  I ran 10.2 miles at a 6:49 pace in 1:09.   I really wanted to let my legs relax since I pushed a little harder the last couple of days.  It started snowing a little bit but not hard during the run.  I ran a couple of downhill miles in (6:14, and 6:27) and that was not really doing feel like I was putting any effort into it.  The uphill was good work, and I had a nice view crossing the bridge over the interstate to I-15.

Tomorrow I might do 13 miles and copy Adam RW and run 5-6 at MP pace to see how I feel one week away from SLC Marathon.  I wish I could do this on the course.

This morning I had to get up early and do my run, because I had to take my son to the early learning screening where they test the child's eyes, ears, speech etc.

The temperature was 26 degrees which wasn't bad at all with some wind blowing. I did manage to get 7 hours of sleep last night but it wasn't very good sleep so I was tired when I woke up.

I wanted to run 13 miles and at least get 4 marathon pace miles in for the run.   I really didn't feel that energic.

Mile 1: 7:16 Warmup.

Mile 2: 6:46 Warmup - just getting loose.

Mile 3: 6:40 Felt pretty easy, but my mind was tired.

Mile 4: 6:28 Trying to get a feel for how I want to approach this run. Every mile on this course is either flat or a 0.5 to 1% uphill so it's a pancake.

Mile 5: 6:25 Slight uphill and was getting into a rythm.

Mile 6: 6:29 Slight Uphill mostly flat, running out of the city area which seemed to drop the temperature about 7 degrees.

Mile 7: 6:31 There was a train stuck at the crossing so I had to stop and turn around and alter my course. This wasn't an issue I figured out I could get the same feel going a different route.

Mile 8: 5:56 Starting the MP miles on a flat course. Felt okay but could have felt easier.

Mile 9: 5:56 Same as above, seems like my effort was harder than it should have been.

Mile 10: 5:48 Still trying to find a groove and it seemed I hit another gear, but again not as easy as I want.

Mile 11 5:43 Still on a flat course and the effort again seemed hard, but I was using positive thinking trying to keep my mind and thoughts positive.

Mile 12 6:14 I thought I hit 5 MP miles but recognized this was the 5 mp mile so I had to pick it up for the last 800m's of this mile. How foolish can you be.

Mile 13 6:19 Cool-down mile. I know running at this pace really isn't the best cool down mile but it felt so easy with little effort.

I guess this was a decent run... I wish my MP miles felt easier. But I need to believe in myself next week and go into the race with a positive outlook and know I will perform well. Being negative only shoots your confidence down. I'll make Fast Running Blogs look good.

I'm excited that the weather this week has allowed me to get some faster training runs in so that a bonus for future races.

8.2 miles today at an overall 6:43 pace 55:19 in Boise, Idaho. Back to the soccer field.... I ran the run 4 miles from our hotel and then 4 miles back.  The 4 miles going was a slight uphill and the 4 miles back was downhill.  I ran on  South Cole Rd.  and West Overland by the interstate.  The run was at a very easy pace nothing hard.

Well so far my daughter's team lost both soccer games where it just unbelievable because they had a chance to win them both very easy.  They missed open goal shots.  They shot high.  They shot goals off the post.  They lost both games by one goal.  Now we have one more game tomorrow at 8am then it's a 3 hour trip back home.

I took the day off today which is normal.  My family and I drove back from Boise today after my daughter won her soccer game today at 8am.  We shopped around Boise for a while, then left and got home a little after 4pm.  It's a little over 3 hours from Boise to Pocatello.  Then we went and ate at a Mexican Restaurant, and I ate a ton.  Probably gaining 5 pounds this weekend, because the day before we ate at Chuck Rama.  But this week I will cut back on the food intake with the taper.  I would like to go into the Marathon under 150.  Anyway, it was a fun weekend with the family, other than I was tired and a little grumpy on the way home.

This morning was beautiful and I was overdressed. I really should have put some shorts on rather than tights. I got 8 hours of sleep last night and felt really fresh waking up.

I ran 9.1 miles at an overall 6:57 easy pace in 1:03. I'll run between 30-35 miles this week, and form roll a lot to get ready for SLC on Saturday.

I didn't get as much sleep as I would have liked last night, but it was my fault.  My wife and I got new Blackberry Smartphones yesterday, because our current cell phones were no longer covered under insurance, and our two year contact at Alltel was expiring.  We purchased the Blackberry 8830 world edition.  Last night I was trying to configure my wife's bluetooth headset up to it and I stayed up late doing so.  My wireless headset paired up fine (different brand of headset than my wife's). Anyway, staying up till 11:30pm only allowed me a little over 6 hours of sleep.

 The weather this morning was 35 degrees with a 20mph wind.  The wind here just will not let up.  According to the weather were suppose to get 50mph wind gusts this afternoon.  SLC is also getting the wind too.

I decided to do two MP miles on the downhill and flat part of the course I was running this morning.  First I had to go up the standard Satterfield hill that I run once a week.  The beginning splits were (7:28, 7:02, 7:02, 7:00, 7:12, 6:55).  This hill makes my quads burn every time once I get to the top. Then the MP miles

Mile 7:  5:41 - All downhill the effort was easy even with the headwind, but it was downhill and it was only one mile.  But it felt good.

Mile 8: 5:38  - Mostly flat and downhill.  If felt pretty comfortable pushing on the flat to keep the average..

 Here's the challenge I have for myself this weekend, can I average below a 6 minute mile pace for the whole 26.2?  Can I consistently hit the mile targets that Adam as set for us, and keep up?  I do feel pressure, but that's good, sometimes you need pressure to see if your capable of working out of a tense situation.

 The next three days I'm going to take it easy and only run around 5 each day, and maybe even take the dog out with me. 


 

This morning it snowed just a bit, but nothing to affect the run. The temperature was 25 degrees, and it felt on the chilly side with the wind blowing.   I took a 30 minute nap yesterday and also got over 8 hours of sleep so I felt really good.

The run this morning I started off with a 3 mile warm-up (7:16, 6:53, 6:52) then I decided to do  6 x 200m strides with a 100m slow down (the slow down was around a 6 minute pace range).  The strides I average between a 5:20 and 5:35 pace.  The finally two miles doing these strides made the mile pace overall at (6:14, 5:48)

7 hours of sleep last night, but not very good sleep.  Woke up kind of tired.  The weather was sunny and the temperature was 30 degrees, and it made it a great morning for an easy run.  I ran 5.5 at an easy 7:00 pace in 38:39 in the shoes that I'll be running the marathon in (Asics Banditos racers, these are the replacement for the discontinued Asics Ohana racers).  The 7 minute pace felt like about a 10 minute pace.  I didn't push much effort into the run.

 I liked at the weather for SLC for Saturday's marathon and it showed a low of 40 with the high of 71 degrees, but also with high winds.
 

Over 8 hours of sleep last night and that felt excellent.  I felt full of energy this morning, and ready to go. The temperature was 40 degrees this morning, but with a 20+ mph wind. The wind made it difficult at times with some major gusts exploding in your face. I ran 4.6 miles at a 6:55 pace in 31.54 minutes.  I ran a few 100m strides mixed in the run, just to get the fast twitch muscles flowing.  Last two miles I ran (6:37, 6:32).

I hope the wind doesn't occur tomorrow for the SLC marathon, but if it does that's okay too.  Adam, Sasha, Dave and I will just have to deal with it.

Going into the Salt Lake Marathon I really was not sure how I would do since I decided to run the full rather than the half. I really wanted to run with Adam Wende (which he did awesome), and that's why I changed my decision. I wanted to really get the training in for the Ogden marathon and prepare big for it. I didn't think I was totally ready to run the Salt Lake Marathon as I would like to be, but I thought that I had some good weeks of training from the Achilles issue. I thought my fitness and health was good going into the marathon, and this could be a good tune-up for the Ogden marathon. First marathon of the year, and this would tell where I was at.

First off Barry (on the blog) and I traveled to Salt Lake City, and we settled our room at the Marriott City Center Hotel. Then we went to the Expo at the Convention Center and picked up our race packets. We talked with Sasha for a bit, and he gave Barry some wonderful advice for the race. It's always great to talk with Sasha his knowledge and course detail is amazing, and he's a great person to be around. Then I met Adam Wende there and talk with him for a bit as he picked up his race packet.

Barry and I left for the Salt Lake Running Store, because I needed to purchase some Injinji toe socks. My other pair had a hole in them and their the only kind of socks that I've found that work for me in long distance runs. The other types cause one of my toes to bleed.

Race Details:

Going into this race I was thinking that 2:40 would be a good goal, but once I knew we were running in a headwind I was doubtful. The first few miles the wind wasn't bad, but I think it was about at my 5 when the wind started really becoming a devil.

Mile 1 - 5:49 Felt really good running with Adam, and was really holding back to not explode out of the gate. Sasha and Dave were up ahead of us too.

Mile 2 - 6:01 Still felt good and holding back, because I knew that I would really need to save some strength for the tough wind miles.

Mile 3 - 6:08 Here's where I started falling back from Adam at mile 3. I dropped the aid station water and it slowed me down because I slowed down to grab another one. I wanted to make sure I was hydrated well.

Mile 4 - 5:29 Good downhill mile, and it felt comfortable and easy.

Mile 5 - 5:37 I really should have picked up the pace here and the mile before, because I the wind that would pick-up from miles 6 -14.

Mile 6 - 6:10 Wind was starting to be a issue and made you push harder, but I felt good here.

Mile 7 - 6:21 Felt decent should again have pushed harder, but I think in the back of my mind I knew a hill was coming up, and I would need to push more there. But it was a foolish mistake being so early in the run.

Mile 8 - 6:27 Starting to ascend upward and the three ladies that chicked me were drafting on me at this point. I was really feeling good and feeling comfortable even though the mile was slower.

Mile 9 - 6:30 I don't know why this was so slow, but lost time in this mile.

Mile 10 - 6:09 I started pushing more into the wind to get a decent pace, but it was so strong. I really should have pushed harder here. Took my first Gel at this point, and I think looking back at the race I should have maybe taken one sooner.

Mile 11 - 6:11 Still maintain a decent pace in the wind, this mile I should have tried to make up more time, but the wind was still very strong.

Mile 12 - 6:22 Wind gusts seems to really pickup on this mile, and it was starting to make my pace inconsistent per mile.

Mile 13 - 6:47 I came in on the half way point right on 1:21:00, and I thought I should be able to easily negative split the second half (wishful thinking). Why so slow... I do remember some heavy wind gusts, because I was still feeling great at this point too.

The next four miles I felt comfortable and things were feeling good, and I took another gel at mile 16.
(6:04 , 5:51, 6:05, 6:07)

Up to this point I was feeling good, but than things started changing. I started feeling the need to do a brown code at mile 18, which slowed me down a bit because of the discomfort, and put negative thoughts in my head. One: I didn't want to lose time, Two: if I stopped how would my legs feel starting again, and trying to get back into a nice flow. I slowed down a bit because of this issue from miles 18 -20 (6:21, 6:21, 6:22). I started to pray and ask the Lord what I should do, stop or just keep pushing through.

Amazingly, after mile 20 the pain went away and I was fine, but my pace was slower and I started feeling fatigued. I don't know if it was the early miles from the wind that started being a factor or the fact that I slowed down, because I needed to brown code.

Mile 21 - 6:39 Terrible just shoot me.  The fatigue factor was beginning to settle in.

Mile 22 - 6:36 Where's the bullets I'll shoot myself.   I was hoping I could drop the last  four miles at least under  6:30 pace.  I remember thinking about this at this point in the race.  This would at least give me a shot at 2:44.

Mile 23 - 6:47 Started weaving in and out of half marathoner's traffic.

The last three miles I really lost my focus and just wanted to finish. I really should have thought more positive here because I really believe your training should come out and help you finish strong. (6:51, 6:58, 6:58).

Maybe I made the mistake of only taking two gels, because after the stomach issues from miles 18 to 20 I thought it might not be the best thing to take another gel. I did drink plenty of water through the course and didn't feel any dehydration. I think you can second guess a lot of things, why didn't you do this or that. I believe the wind took its toll on me early trying to fight through it, and showed the result towards the last few miles.

It is a little upsetting when you have high expectations, but mother nature has it's own plan. But no excuses... I could have been stronger and more positive in the later miles, and that's a big key to success.

I do feel good going into Ogden as long as I take it easy the next three weeks, and have fun and be confident I should do well. I really need to decide how to prepare for Ogden so close. This week of course will be recovery miles and just taking it easy. Not sure what my plan will be for long runs. I know I should at least get one MP long run in even if it's only for 6 miles.

All the splits

Mile 1 - 5:49

Mile 2 - 6:01

Mile 3 - 6:08

Mile 4 - 5:29

Mile 5 - 5:37

Mile 6 - 6:10

Mile 7 - 6:21

Mile 8 - 6:27

Mile 9 - 6:30

Mile 10 - 6:09

Mile 11 - 6:11

Mile 12 - 6:22

Mile 13 - 6:47

Mile 14 - 6:04

Mile 15 - 5:51

Mile 16 - 6:05

Mile 17 - 6:07

Mile 18 - 6:21

Mile 19 - 6:21

Mile 20 - 6:22

Mile 21 - 6:39

mile 22 - 6:36

Mile 23 - 6:47

Mile 24 - 6:51

Mile 25 - 6:58

Mile 26 - 6:58