da miles

ran the Provo City Half-Marathon course.  1:33:20 (7:07)  felt good.  calf started to hurt at mile 5, but felt better after a few hundred yards.

5 miles 39:19 (7:51) 157 bpm

15 miles on treadmill.  2% incline.  7:40 per mile.  1:55:07.  wanted to get out on the road, but ran too late at night/wanted to catch up on some shows while running.  I've been running, just haven't been very diligent logging the miles. 

10 miles around provo. 1:08:10 about 6:49 per mile. felt really good. Ran around 4:30pm. Pretty warm and lost a lot of sweat/sodium.

5 miles on treadmill at 8:00 pace. 2% incline. 130 bpm.  Was a little sore from yesterday's long tempo. 

10 mile loop around the airport.  1:08:38 (6:52/mile) Took a 1 minute stretch at 8.5, then finish last 1.5 at about 6:30 pace.  Felt better at end than I did 5-8.5.  160 bpm after. 

5 miles.  I think about 7:00/mile.  was going to go longer, but had family BBQ I had to get back and prepare for.  Didn't get around to running later on.

15 miles.  7:48 pace.  Kept right on 8:00 pace for 13 miles, then felt like turning it up a little the last couple.  144 BPM after run. 

5 miles 40 minutes (8 min/mile).  just loosening up the legs for Sat.

Well, my second ill-advised marathon of the year.  I really am not in the shape I need to be to push my body in a marathon, but this time I lucked out (unlike Salt lake where I crapped/cramped out with about 4-5 miles left and had cramps in every leg muscle the last two miles . . . 3:36:00 for that one).  I wasn't very optimistic as I did not sleep well at all.  I  tried to go to bed at 9:30 and then I think I fell asleep at 2:30!!  I was running on 2.5 hours of sleep! Any suggestions on getting a good night's sleep the night before? Despite that, I felt really good in Ogden.  I think mostly because I took the first half very easy due to the garmin going haywire.  I really have no idea what my splits were, but know that I definitely had a  negative split race with the last 5 or so miles at about 7:00 pace. Not one person passed me since mile 3.  I sweat a lot and was very suprised and relieved that I avoided any kind of cramping the whole race given that I haven't really put in more than 35 miles per week since SLC and the warmth the second half of the race.  Being in the Grand Slam,  I now have at least a couple months until Deseret News (I might do that instead of Logan).  I hope to put in some good training before then, drop some more weight and go for sub 3:11 (my boston qualifying).  This race has given me some confidence that with some smart training this year, I can make some great strides to get there (and eventually sub 3, then ???). 

3.5 on the trail with Lindsay & pushing the girls.  9:45 pace.  Just gettin' my legs moving again.  Felt good. 

8 miles on trail.  Still a little sore from Sat. Loosened up after a couple of miles and averaged 7:33 (1:00:25). 

8 miles on treadmill, 2% incline. 1:04:00, 8 min/mile. Watched Good ending of the Laker game, good 20/20 on the "cop code".

4 miles during lunch at the park.  Pouring rain.  6:47 pace average.  2 faster laps of 1.25 miles each, 1 slower, then 1 faster.  Joints, legs, everything feels really good other than still running low on gas. 

8 miles at lunch.  57:51 (7:14/mile).  Felt good. 

15 miles, 1:55:21.  I didn't intend to go that fast (7:41/mile).  Planned on 8-8:15ish, but the pace felt easy and relaxed, so I didn't bother to slow down. 

10.34 miles.  1:16:13 (7:22/mile).  felt good.  will go to bed early tonight to try to catch up on lost sleep this weekend. 

10.72 miles. 1:20:46 (7:32/mile) ran with Sasha, Jeff, Josse & Daniel.  When I run with the "Sasha group" in the morning, I'll probably refer to them as "the gang" realizing that it will probably be the same people most of the time, but fluctuate from day to day.  Felt good.  I was slow the first mile meeting up with them.  I'm going to try to up the mileage this week probably a bit more than I should, but will pay very close attention to my body and back off if I feel I'm straining at all.  Finally got my definition from Sasha of "VPB" (virtual private bathroom).  I thought I was missing out on some secret training tool all along. 

9.05 miles 1:07:18 (7:26/mile).  Went for about 6 miles slow at about 8:15/mile.  Felt pretty tired from the miles put in already this week.  Saw Sasha, Jeff, Daniel doing a 5-mile tempo at about 6:00 and Sasha encouraged me to go as far as I could.  Did about 1.25 at a 6:25 pace.  Ran another .75 slow before trying to hang with them on their way back for my last mile.  Stayed with them for about .75 but slowly dropped behind.  GPS said 5:38 for that mile, but I'm questioning that.  Daniel's log said that they did 5:47 for it, which puts me at about 5:53. 

8.38 miles.  1:08:42 (8:12/mile).  Ran with the gang.  Nice and slow.  Sasha lead the discussion on "quality X". 

10 miles, 1:16:30 (7:39/mile).  Had a really, really hard time getting out of bed.  really exhausted from going to bed late/higher mileage this week.  Got out and the run naturally woke me up and I felt fine. Ran with the gang on the trail.  I have noticed that 8 min miles feel like my 7 min miles used to (pre higher mileage).  Body felt fine, just a little tired. 

14.2 miles 1:47:33 (7:34/mile)  Then did 2.8 with the wife while pushing the girls.  about 8:45/mile

10.30 miles. 1:23:46 (8:08/mile).  nice and easy today.  Thought I'd feel fresh with the day off, but I think I didn't help myself with getting little sleep last night.  Still working this week on feeling good running 60-70 miles.  Once my body fully adapts, I'll throw in some tempo runs and change things up a little bit. 

10.13 miles. 1:13:07 (7:13/mile).  154 BPM.  First 5 miles as a tempo run at 6:54/mile, then slowed it up a little for the last 5.  Felt pretty tired today.  Had a couple run-ins with some snakes today and I'm pretty ashamed of how prissy my sidesteps were.  Luckily nobody was around to witness them.  I'm not afraid of snakes, but I'm scared to death to step on one for some reason. 

AM - 7.20 Miles.  58:12 (8:05/mile).  146 BPM.  Tired again.  Tried to get to bed early, but the time between when I start to "try" to go to bed and when I actually go to bed seems to go so fast (and usually is about 1-1.5 hours later).  Ran with Daniel for a couple miles on the trail before I turned for home.  I'll run a few tonight with the wife. 

PM - 3.20 Miles. (9:32/mile).  Ran with Lindsay while pushing the girls.

9.32 Miles.  1:06:38 (7:09/Mile)  Felt tired first half, then felt easy/steady last half.  ran on the trail toward the canyon .

10 Miles. 1:19:16 (7:56/mile).  150 BPM.  Ran with the gang. 

18.10 Miles. 1:21:28 (7:49/mile). 134 BPM.  Nice rainy day.  Thought I'd have the whole trail to myself at 5:30 with the rain and all, but I actually saw quite a few runners.  I didn't wear a jacket that was repellant, so I ran with about 5 lbs. of water-logged weight the whole time.  Very easy 8:10ish pace first 10 miles, then naturally woke up and felt like same effort, but was averaging about 7:25 for the rest.  Felt like I could've gone for a while today; that's a good feeling (and one I haven't had for a few weeks.)

11.02 Miles. 1:26:21 (7:50/mile).  Felt decent today.  Left arch hurting a little bit.  Think I need to swap out some shoes.  Starting my third week of trying the higher mileage deal.  I think I'm adapting slowly but surely.  I'm considering doing some tempos this week, but still kind of feel like I should not push it at all and just work on being 100% comfortable with the miles.  Ran with the gang for about 4 miles. 

9.92 miles. 1:11:53 (7:15/mile)

Got out of bed a little easier this morning. . . . anxious to try out my new toy.  I got the new Garmin 405.  My wife is getting into running and wore my 201 and liked it.  Next thing I knew, she wanted me to buy the new one so she could have the old.  I guess I could do that. 

I didn't really plan on doing a tempo today, but I ran my first three miles at 7:11 pace, which is faster than my normal "loggin' miles" pace.  Amazing how a watch can make you faster!  Thought it was pointless to be in the middle ground for pace, so I made my next 3 a short tempo at about 6:20 each.  (6:26, 6:25, 6:10).  Was a little under 8 for the rest of the run. Ran with Sasha, Josse and Jeff for a couple of miles on the way back. 

P.M. - 1.65 miles on the treadmill at 7:30 trying out two different pairs of shoes.

9.40 Miles 1:17:14 (8:13/mile).  Ran with Sasha and Jeff.  Did 2 -100m sprints and then a 200m sprint.  I think they said my times were about 15, just under 13, and then just over 29.  I hadn't had a full out sprint in years and it felt pretty good. . . until the second half of the 200.  My body started shutting down at that point.  The run as a whole felt really good.  I'm comparing it to a couple weeks ago, or even last week, when I felt like I was struggling to get in the miles (even the slow miles).  I think my body is adapting to the early morning runs and the higher mileage.  I'm still not getting the ideal amount of sleep (about 6 hours average), but I'm surprised that I'm not dragging anymore throughout the day. 

Started wearing the NB 710's today.

10.02 Miles.  (6:52/mile).  Today I figured Sasha and Jeff would be doing some sort of tempo run, so I thought I'd do my own thing.  I just wanted to feel marathon pace today.  I ended up doing a mid tempo/marathon pace.  Felt good and relaxed the whole time.  Splits: 7:11, 6:54, 6:52, 6:54, 6:59, 6:52, 6:47, 6:47, 6:44, 6:38.  Average heart rate - 162 BPM

9.38 Miles. 1:14:08 (7:54/mile) Ran solo today, without music.  Was pretty nice to listen to all of the animals and watch the sunrise over the mountains as I ran parallel to the lake.  I really love my neighborhood and how close the trail is (and how far away it can make me feel).  My favorite stretch of the trail is the mile that runs along the lake.  From there you can't see any homes, just the trees lining the river, fields with cows & horses, the mountains, and the lake. . . . and a runner or two here and there. 

21.08 Miles. 2:36:46 (7:26/Mile).  155 BPM average heart rate.  Felt pretty tired this morning, stayed up late watching Ladder 49.  I love the long runs though, and was able to hop out of bed despite how drained I was.  I intended to take it nice and slow throughout the whole run, but as soon as my body woke up, I naturally started to pick it up a little.  Made it almost up to Bridal Veil falls at my turnaround, then decided to stick to about a 7:00 pace for 6-7 miles on the downhill to get my legs used to that for Deseret News (however, the grade isn't anything compared to DN).  Kept the pace for most of the way back, then slowed to about 7:15 for the last few miles. 

10.13 Miles. 1:13:03 (7:12/mile).  Ran the airport loop.  Nothing out of the ordinary other than the mosquitos are starting to come out from hiding.  Saw a couple of deer run across the road in front of me.  Nice relaxing run today. 

10.23 miles 1:15:49 (7:24/mile) 151 BPM average. 

Got up today planning on a tempo of some sort.  I'm feeling comfortable enough with the mileage now that I can change up my workouts a little.  Today, however, I had a really hard time getting out of bed.  I started the run and could barely go 8:30 pace.  Everything hurt.  My body warmed up for 1.5 miles and I decided to give it a go, and surprisingly, it went well and made me feel like I've been making some progress.  6:20, 6:20, 6:10, 5:56.  Finished up with 5 more miles, some of them with Sasha, Josse, Jeff. 

9.43 miles. 1:11:58 (7:38/mile).  Ran out by airport.  nice relaxed run. 

Saucony (1st run). 

11.04 miles.1:16:19 (6:54/mile)  161 BPM average heart rate.  Started with a 1.5 mile warmup during which I ran past a parked car in a curious portion of road.  I looked over and saw knees and a bright-eyed, surprised boy staring at me.  This couple was obviously engaged in some sort of "extracuricular" activities (at 5:30 am mind you). I was so tired on the way back that I was staring at the ground and didn't realize I was running by the car again.  Luckily they were asleep in their respective seats.  After the warmup, I did a 4.5 mile tempo run (6:21, 6:19, 6:18, 6:17, 3:10) followed by a 3-4 minute rest and then another 2 mile tempo (6:16, 6:13).  Felt pretty good.  I was pretty tired after the first set, but felt like it was easier the second set and I was more relaxed.  Kept about a 7:30 pace the rest of the way. 

Saucony

10 miles.  1:14:48 (7:29/mile).  nice, easy stroll.  Nothing noteworthy.

20 miles. 2:35:58 (7:47/mile).   150 BPM average heart rate.  Ran 15 up to the mouth of Provo Canyon and back.  Ran mostly 7:30's with a few 8:00's and a few 6:30's in there.  Then stopped by the house to pick up Lindsay for 5 miles with her while pushing the girls.  8:45 average pace for those miles with the last mile at 7:59.  Way to go Linz!  I signed her up today for a 10k on the Fourth of July down in San Diego.  She is really excited for her first race, and it'll be fun for once to be the one on the sidelines with the girls cheering. 

10.35 miles. forgot time, but (7:37/mile pace).  Up and down the trail a couple times.  Tired this morning.  Up late watching movie as usual. 

Saucony

9.40 miles. 1:16:18 (8:07/mile).  Started off feeling pretty tired/lazy as usual.  Started off with a few miles on the trail and contemplated not running on the trail today (I knew somebody was going to be doing a speed workout and I didn't think I was up for it).  After 3 miles Sasha and Michelle passed me at a good pace.  after about 50m I decided I'd better turn around and join in.  I kept an equal distance behind them for the rest of that mile (about .8 for me at about 5:46 pace).  we then did 3 more repeats with 400m rest.  5:46 for the middle two and 5:42 for the last mile.  Felt good.  Wanted to push it at the end of the last one and started dry-heaving with about 100m to go.  Luckily I didn't have anything in me. 

10.75 miles. 1:20:50 (7:42/mile).  sluggish day.  tired from yesterday's workout.  Feeling a weird feeling on tendon on backside of my knee.  Wouldn't call it pain, it's just there.  My toes on my right foot are always hurting now on the last couple miles of every run.  they ache when I run normally, but if is scrunch them up in the shoe they feel better.  Everything is fine for the most part, just thought I'd find something to complain about today because it would've been a short entry if not! 

Saucony

No run today.  Had to come into work early to tie up loose ends before I take off for San Diego this afternoon.  Will get in very late tonight, but will be excited to get up for a morning run on Friday in the old 'hood. 

11.13 Miles. 1:19:01 (7:06/mile).  This might be a longer-ish entry.  As we were finishing our drive to San Diego last night, I was getting excited to get up and run this morning because (a) I didn't run yesterday (b) I love change of scenery (c) sea-level ogygen and (d) to be able to run around my old 'hood.  We got to my parents and were suprised that they stayed up to greet us at 12:15.  We eventually made it to bed at about 1:30 after staying up and talking for a while.  I couldn't sleep in and got up at 5:45 and headed out. 

The whole run didn't feel labored at all.  I think it was mostly because I was distracted by the rush of memories every road had.  I decided to make the run a "life in review". I started out by running out to my 'old house' that I grew up in until I was 11.  I swore at the time we moved that it was on the other side of the State. . . it was about 3 miles.  I then realized I would have to think of a lot of other places to hit.  It's funny how things when you are young seemed so big and so far.  Another example was the elementary school I walked to when I was 6 was only about .75 miles from my 'old house' instead of the 2 miles I'd been perpetuating.  In my defense, it still is uphill both ways!  I then went to Helix high school where all of my siblings went to school and ran around the campus (for football fans this is the school where Alex Smith and Reggie Bush played together).  I ran past the pool where I did a bellyflop off of the high dive when I was about 6-7 and my brother and his friend convinced me that anybody who does a bellyflop dies 10 minutes later.  I sat against the wall crying into my towel wishing I could spend those moments with my family and not in pain, all the while they are laughing around the corner.  I laugh at it now, but I think it was pretty traumatic at the time.  I ran a few laps around the newly rennovated track at the school (I'm sure Reggie and Alex had something to do with that).  That is the track that I ran my first race on (and won!).  I ran by a uncles house (too early to stop by), by the old baseball card shop turned beauty salon. I could go on and on.  I covered roughly 18 years of my life in an 11 mile run.  It almost seemed as if the 18 years went as fast as the run did.  At the risk of sounding really cheesy, the run was pretty humbling and motivational to be able to have that rush of memories come in and reflect on all those forgotten memories.  It was humbling and motivational in the sense that I was able to think about what I have now with my family and health to be able to go on a run like this and for everything I've been given in life, let alone just to be alive.  I don't want to take it for granted, ever.

As for the actual run, I felt great and loved the variation with some very, very steep hills (Mt. Helix is a beast!)  I'll try to use tomorrow's long run to get ready for Deseret News' long downhills. 

Saucony 

Ran 11.5 in the morning with some serious hill portions with -12%  to -19% grades.  I ran a loop a couple of times that had a 2 mile downhill with a good grade, and then back up to the top.  Averaged 7:45 for this.  Had to get back to the house for a nature call and ended up staying and helping out with the girls for a little while. 

Went back out a couple of hours later to my high school track and ran a 10k.  40:11 for it (about 6:30 average). 

Kind of a weird workout today, but felt okay with my overall effort. 

10.06 miles.  6:48 average pace.  154 bpm average heart rate.  Ran on my high school track. 

Another unintended workout.  Just kind of naturally went there and then decided to go with it.  I noticed the first few miles that my miles were getting faster.  I decided to keep with the pattern and progress 5-10 seconds every mile. 

7:58, 7:21, 7:12, 7:00, 6:52, 6:44, 6:35, 6:27, 6:16, 5:50

Felt good.  Wish I had the new "rubber" track when I ran there.  It was dirt back in my day. 

10.5 Miles. 7:01 average pace.  Wanted to try to run at 6 min pace as far as I could.  After a 1.5 mile warmup, I went at it, and it didn't last nearly as long as I wanted.  I also didn't help things by going faster than I had planned.  6:00, 5:56, then a 5:41 when I gave up and decided I was only going to do 3 miles and pushed it as hard as I could.  My legs felt pretty dead from the previous few runs with all of the hills.  I then ran through and around the school for 6 more miles.  I ran through parts of the park where we had many of our cross country races.  I couldn't believe we used to run on that stuff.  I almost broke my ankle 10 times on that chunky, thick grass. 

10 Miles.  7:36 average pace.  Ran to the top of Mt. Helix, then around the neighborhoods.  After the "ascent" to the top, dropped about 1000 ft in 3.5 miles. 

Didn't run today.  My dad wanted to do a hike, so we got up at 4:30 and drove up to San Jacinto and hiked 16 miles from the Idyllwild side.  Counted them as .5 running miles.  Good elevation gain/drop on this hike. Elevation at peak was about 11,000 feet.

No running today. Couldn't fit it in with the activities for the day. Today was my wife's day to shine and I was the cheerleader.  She ran in the Scripps Ranch 10k in Scripps Ranch, Ca. around lake Miramar.  She ran further and faster than she has ever run before!  I'm so proud of her.  She has gone from 13 minute miles for 2 miles, to 8:30 miles for 6.2 in a couple of months.  She is training for the hobble creek half and I'm sure she'll do great.

Today was the first day I've felt like I regressed in a long time.  I know I ran a long time, had some warm weather for a morning run, and had a lot of hills in it, but I felt like I wasn't running as well as I should've.  I had to stop a handful of times to rest.  Each time it was harder to get going again.  I averaged 7:45 for the time I ran not including my rest breaks.  Felt pretty dehydrated/beat when I got back.  Literally just fell into my parents pool and played dead in the water for about a half hour. 

Not feeling too good from the run Saturday. Wanted to give myself another day to recover. 

Ran with Josse, Sasha, Jeff and Michelle in the morning.  Was planning on just doing a run on my own to get back into it this week after my brutal/taxing run on Saturday.  Definitely wasn't planning on doing mile repeats.  Well, I didn't have the heart to wuss out on a good interval workout, especially with that crew.  Sasha asked who wanted to be "pulled" and pulls out this funky bungee contraption.  I got very scared, acted like I didn't hear him, and started walking away.  Luckily Josse volunteered without too much coercion and I was safe.  Turns out it was a good workout for both of them, but as we all ran along, I couldn't help but imagine that we looked like a running ringling bros. circus as we passed bikers/walkers.  Josse even got a good chuckle as she was pulled along.  We did 400m rest in between each repeat and did 5:48, 5:49, 5:45, 5:46, 5:43, 5:42.  Thanks to all for a good workout and for the pacing help. 

Ran 4.50 later while lindsay pulled the girls with the bike.  7:07 average pace. 

10.10 miles.  7:42 average pace.  Ran on trail.  Nothing too exciting.  Just a nice slowerish run. 

10 miles.  1:12:25 (7:14/mile) 166 bpm average heart rate.  Felt very, very tired/dehydrated/weak today.  Didn't get up this morning.  Ran at 4:30pm.  Didn't have lunch today.  I didn't really have a plan for a workout, but wanted to incorporate some fartleks into the run, so I tried the training function on the Garmin 405 for the first time.  Set it up to do .5 miles "on", then .25 miles "rest" for 10 repeats.  Did one mile warmup.  My "on" was only about 6:30 per mile, but according to the watch, I was right on 6:30 for all of the repeats.  I was really tired.  Even though I kept at 6:30, my rest splits were going from 7:45/mile to about 9:15/mile.  Finished up with another 1.5 at 7:30 pace after walking for a few minutes.  Will try to restore my carb & fluid tank tonight for an easy morning run tomorrow.

10.22 Miles.  1:20:26 (7:52/mile).  Ran about 6 alone, 4 with Jeff and Sasha.  Ran in the 8's alone and sped up a little while with them.  Felt a lot better than yesterday, but still a little sluggish.  Probably didn't help that I threw down about 40 pieces of sushi last night. 

17 Miles. 1:53:47 (6:41/mile).  Polar opposite run from last Saturday's in San Diego.  I'm glad I had this kind of run today.  If I had another run like last week, I'd have absolutely no confidence going into Deseret News in less than a couple weeks.  Not that I should have any confidence for such a tricky course anyway.  I asked Sasha yesterday to recommend a nice long downhill run, and he suggested driving up south fork, parking the car, and running home.  The first few miles down south fork, I felt pretty tired and I don't think my legs appreciated the rude awakening.  I then settled into a groove, and never really got out of it.  I kept telling myself that I should slow down and that this was supposed to be my slow long run, but it never really felt very labored to me.  I hit 13.1 at 1:27:something and is the fastest I've ever covered the distance, and then kept going.  Now about 7 hours later, my legs still feel really fresh.  Since my main goal in any of these marathons this year is to get my Boston Qualifying time (which I hope I get at D.N.), I think I'll do a pretty good taper for D.N. to give me an even better chance at it.  I was considering just keeping my mileage high right up to the race. I think I'd rather get the BQ, then train through Park City and TOU (which I'm not totally sure I'm going to be doing.  If I do, it'll be a training run vs. a "race"), then a taper for St. George. 

10.39 Miles 7:52/mile average.  Very mundane run.  I thought I'd feel a little bit worse running than my body was letting on yesterday (felt fine with no soreness from Saturday's long/faster run).  To my surprise, felt almost 100%. 

8.40 Miles.  Did 1.75 mile warmup and planned on doing and "out-n-back" tempo run of 5 miles at 6:10.  Saw Josse, Jeff & Sasha right as I was about to start and Sasha said he'd pace me.  I thought I'd have a better chance of doing it with the S.F. (Sasha Factor).  Felt pretty good up until the turnaround, and then I could tell I was fading.  Sasha wanted me to "catch the 6-minute guy".  I was about 10 seconds off.  First two miles were 6:05, 6:02, and we'd lost a few seconds on another .3 we'd gone.  After he dropped off, I tried to make use of the very slight downhill, and ended up finishing that mile at 5:58.  Subconciously, I think I didn't want fade as a result of not having my pacer, so I picked it up a little.  At this time I was struggling pretty bad with my arms going numb.  I resorted to trying to catch the "4 mile guy" at this point.  I think on a better day I could've done all five (and if they were at 6:10).  As a consolation to dropping it to a 4 mile tempo, I did the last one at 5:56.  I was beat.  I dry-heaved a couple of times, but luckily it was an empty chamber.  Finished with a few more slow 9:00ish miles and called it a morning.  I might try to get a few more in tonight.  I feel good considering a couple of months ago I couldn't hang with Sasha, Jeff and Daniel at a 6:00 pace for even a mile.  Thanks Sasha for you help/encouragement!

11.65 Miles.  Forgot to look at pace, but I'm guessing around a 7:56.285 average.  Ran 6 alone and the rest with Sasha & Jeff.  Talked about neural drive and strategy for D.N. marathon next week.  Felt sore.  I think the soreness was from all the yard work on Monday, with a little bit from the run yesterday.  Will do a longer run tomorrow (15), then start tapering on Saturday. 

15 Miles.  7:47/mile.  Ran an out-n-back almost up to the mouth of the Canyon.  Felt tired due to 5 hours of sleep.  Had some toe pains in my left foot.  Sharp pains that would almost make me buckle while I was running.  I've felt them in other runs, but not to the extent they hit today.  This is on the same foot as my arch pain.  I've been rolling that foot out with a softball the last week while I sit at my desk.  Other than that, a very mundane run. 

7 Miles.  7:25/mile average.  Did a few miles at MP.  Will start cutting back the mileage for a short 1 week taper. 

7.44 Miles. 9:11/mile.  Ran up Provo canyon with Lindsay while pushing the girls.  This was her long run for the week and is the longest she's ever run by 1.24 miles.  I told her to hold back and just run slow.  She gets really nervous for long runs because she doesn't think she can do them.  Slowing down today helped her realize that it isn't hard to go the distance as long as you keep it easy. 

5.08 Miles.  7:25/mile.  Nice easy run. Felt pretty muggy this morning.  Tempo pace for the Last .25 trying to make it home in time for the trash man.

3.44 Miles. 7:31/mile. Legs felt pretty good, just the humidity is getting to me. I sweat a lot and am nervous that the warmth/humidity on Thurs. is going to zap me.

Okay, long, elaborate race entries are not my style, but I'll try to give all info I can. I'm amazed at how much you guys recall in races. It pretty much all blends in my mind.

Got decent sleep the last couple nights, so I had that going for me. Felt fresh and ready from my one-week taper. No excuses; I'm getting my Boston Qualifyer!

Was worried because the car temp display showed 77 degrees at 3:30 am! The forcast said it should be about 69 degrees at that time. I wasn't looking forward to the miles out of the canyon.

Realized that the start had no chip mat and that it was on the gun, so I got in close to the front right next to ? who was the female winner.

Took the first 3-4 miles faster than I had "planned". It was dark and I locked my garmin bezel, so I couldn't see. I didn't really care. Just wanted to take the downhill without putting on the brakes and making sure I wasn't laboring too much. Surprised how good the downhill felt vs. the downhill on my recent long runs (overtraining?).

5:57, 5:59, 6:12

Don't remember the next few too much. Just remember I kept thinking "it feels so good to run fresh." All of my running lately has been so rickety.

6:34, 6:56, 7:06

Mile five (6:56) is where the uphill started. It seemed a whole lot longer than 1.2 miles or whatever it was supposed to be. The elevation on garmin shows it's closer to 2 miles.

7:50, 7:10, 6:33, 6:51, 6:35, 6:34, 6:36, 6:43, 6:34, 6:48, 6:41

I remember thinking on mile 15 that I had gone out way too fast (I know I went out faster than I should've and could've got a little better time with better pace management). I started to feel my quads murmur at 15. Kept plugging away.

7:03, 6:50, 6:52, 7:30, 6:39, 7:03, 6:50, 6:57, 7:45 and 7:40 pace for the last .2 (or .28 on my garmin).

I was dead the last 1.5 miles and had no fight in me. A guy finished about 10 seconds ahead of me and I had been gaining on him the whole time, but fell apart the last mile.

2:59:26!!!, 18th place, and chicked-less!!. I need to find some new short term goals now that I knocked both of my goals out with this run.

3:36:59 in Salt Lake 3 months ago, 3:20:59 in Ogden 2 months ago, and now a PR by over 21 minutes! I was pretty excited. I don't feel too bad now. I'm walking around with relative ease and the Fam and I are heading out now to the community pool. Happy Pioneer Day!!

Had a little bit of delayed soreness. . . or a lot bit.  Felt like I was superman yesterday as I felt so great after I got home.  It started to hit me last night at the neighborhood BBQ, and now my legs are pretty beat today.  I'll try jogging a little tomorrow and see how it goes. 

5.5 Miles. 8:25/Mile. Felt like I was in somebody else's body while I ran. Weird form due to me still being very stiff. Stretched at 4.5 miles and was hard to get going again. Walked for a little bit and Jeff ran by. Decided to go with him until I hit my turnoff. Talked a bit about our July 24th races. Everything felt fine mechanically, just sore.

10 Miles.  8:18/mile. Ran a little under 6 alone, then met up with Sasha, Jeff, Daniel and James.  Trail was cluttered with branches from the storm and I was doing a lot of sidestepping/hopping.  Probably ran about 14 miles with all of the lateral movement! Right quad feeling a little beat still, but everything else felt somewhat normal.  Felt tired today.  Didn't get enough sleep, and have been eating horribly over the weekend.  

7.50 Miles.  7:18/mile.  Felt tired.  Had a couple muffins for breakfast and no lunch.  Ran in afternoon heat.  Was going to do 10, but had to cut it short as company was coming over.  Right quad hurting a little bit towards the end. 

5.23 Miles.  7:52/mile.  Didn't realize I turned off my 5am alarm.  Only had time for 5 miles this morning by the time I woke up.  Felt really beat today.  hip, right quad, left calf, and left arch all hurting today.  Loosened up as I went along, but felt like I was waddling along.  Breathing felt a little labored today too.  I was hoping to do some more miles tonight, but I might call it a day and recover a little more. 

NB

10.07 Miles. 7:43/Mile. Usual aches. Arch hurting. Saw jeff, Sasha, and I believe Sasha's son running far out on the trail (further than I thought his son would be running). Had to make a couple potty breaks at the house during the run. Luckily was near the house both times.

NB

10 Miles.  7:54/mile.  Ran with Sasha, Jeff & Benjamin for a little bit.  Left arch really hurting in the mornings until about 1-2 miles into the run.  I've been rolling it on a softball at work and it usually doesn't feel any worse the next day, except for the last couple of days.  Quad is feeling better and close to 100%.  Don't feel the calf pain anymore. 

NB 

20 Miles. 2:33:19. 7:36/Mile. Ran Provo canyon with Josse, Michelle, Adam, James, Merri & Tammy (not positive on the last two; I warned them that I'd forget their names, and I kept my promise). I used Adam's entry as a cheat sheet, so I hope he's right. Ran with Jeff and Mark from Lehi as well. They are new to the blog. So we had a pretty decent crew for a while until we eventually broke up into groups. Pretty steady all the up close to the dam, then Adam and Michelle took off for a tempo run down. Didn't really want to go faster as I'm still in recovery from Des. News, but I needed to get back fashionably late (vs. really late) to meet my wife and the girls in the parking lot so she could go on her own 8-miler. Tried to stay with them, but faded. Did a 6:25, 6:16, 6:44 and 6:37 during the stretch and then mid 7's and 8's for the rest of the way. Eventually met back up with Michelle and Adam and cruised back to the lot. Was really good to meet some more bloggers that I've read about, but never had the opportunity to meet. Played with the girls at the park while mommy ran and had a great start to the weekend!

10 Miles. 7:49/mile. Ran out to the airport and back. Ran last 1.5 with Sasha, Jeff, James & Benjamin. A bug made it straight down my esophagus and for some reason I was coughing and almost threw up. It was a perfect flight, kind of reminded me off luke skywalker's shot into the deathstar. Never had one make it down that far. I was able to cough it back up after about 10-15 seconds. Also saw a baby racoon running around, and it was pretty darn. . .(I don't like to use this word much). . cute. NB

10 Miles. 7:07/mile.  161 BPM average and 181 BPM max.  I've felt really mono-ish last couple of days.  I'm sure it's just fatigue from not resting enough since deseret news marathon, but part of the day I feel fine and then other parts just weak and exhausted.  Fell asleep early Sunday and then last night I fell asleep when I got home from work.  Felt fine on my run yesterday (maybe a little tired).  Today I wanted to push it a little and "test the engine".  It wasn't as good as I had hoped.  Ran a couple miles at about 7:10/mile, then ran a slower tempo run at about 6:30/mile.  I only made it about 4.5 miles before I tanked.  Pretty discouraging since I did 4 miles at about 6:00/mile a couple weeks before D.N., but again, I'm just needing to recover a little bit, or get some more rest. 

NB

10 Miles.  7:44/mile.  Only got about 5 hours of sleep.  I intended to go to bed earlier, but I ended up watching "No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain".  I love that show.  Then I started watching "Bizarre Foods", another favorite.  I should've just recorded them for later, but I am weak. 

Good run.  Didn't feel too bad.  Ran for the first few miles in relative darkness (especially on the trail with the tree cover).  Ran to Provo high and ran a few miles around the track, and back for my usual 10. 

NB

6 Miles.  7:44/mile.  Woke up late; kept hitting snooze.  Only had time for a quick 6 to the airport tower and back.  Nothing noteworthy.  Left knee hurt last night and this morning, but didn't hurt during run or now.

NB

10 Miles.  7:20/mile.  Ran to Provo High.  Did a couple 6 minute miles around the track and added another before heading back. 

NB

17 Miles.  9:22/mile for first 9 with Lindsay while pushing the girls up Provo Canyon.  Ran 8 more home alone and averaged 6:55.  Did first 5 of those 8 at 6:30/mile. 

NB.

10 Miles.  8:59/mile.  Ran with Sasha, Michelle and Josse.  Felt nauseous and nasty.  Really wanted to try to do the 6:00 to failure, but would've hurled the first 200 meters.  Ran with Josse as she wasn't feeling well either with Sasha and Michelle blazed off.  took it nice and easy. 

NB

20.20 Miles.  Ran first 10 with Lindsay to Provo High and back, with 3 miles around the track.  She'll be ready for Hobble Creek despite her nerves.  Ran an additional 10 at a 7:29/mile average.  This was my first run back after a nasty stomach virus that had me halved-over for the better part of 3 days.  Kind of felt like a crazed weasel finally getting to run around after being couped up for a week! 

NB

10 Miles.  First 6 on trail as it was getting dark.  averaged 6:46.  Felt spunky today.  Finished with 4 miles on treadmill on 2% incline averaging 7:30/mile.  Felt really slow as I watched the olympic 400m prelims!  Back really sore from trying stupid tricks wakeboarding on Saturday. 

NB

10.18 miles.  8:09 for 7.18, then 8:32 for 3 with Lindsay later on.  Ran in morning and saw Sasha and Derek Taylor on the trail.  Ran about 2/3 of a mile at about 5:10 pace and died off.  Derek did a mile and came back and ran with me for the rest until I was done.  Didn't see Sasha again.  I guess he went a bit longer at whatever pace he could sustain. 

NB

10 Miles.  7:44/mile.  Ran most all miles with Sasha and Derek.  Ran last couple of miles to home at about 6:30 pace.  I've been getting to work late due to me not being able to wake up early with the late sunrise. 

NB  

MORNING:  6.5 Miles.  will do more tonight + indoor soccer.  7:30/mile average.  did some unstructured speed-ups/faster miles mixed in with a couple 8:15's.  Just one of those "whatever goes" days. Woke up too late to get my 10 in. 

AFTERNOON:  4 Miles while pushing the girls in the jogger.  7:12/mile average with last mile at 6:22. 

LATE NIGHT: A couple miles sprinting around in an indoor soccer game.  My first game back since my last bad ankle injury.  Was fun to get back out there, and the shorter speedwork should be good for me (If I don't injure myself!)

NB

This was my day to watch Lindsay run the Hobble Creek Half.  I was excited to take pics and watch with the girls.  Lindsay, however, wanted me to run the half with her.  She claimed she can't run as well alone as she does with me.  Well, her cousin got sick and couldn't run, so I decided to be "amanda" (a man, duh!) for the race and run with her.  She did really well and ran a pretty consistent race.  She had only done 10 miles leading up and at about a 9:20 pace.  I told her that we'll go out at abou 8:30 and hold it as long as possible.  She held it for about 11 miles, then had a couple closer to 9.  Finished in 1:53:03 with an 8:38 average.  I am so proud of her.  She admits she's not a "runner", but has come a long way from 1 mile at 12:30 pace!  I grabbed my soon to be 4 year-old and carried her for what I thought was about 50 more yards of the race, and ended up being a bit longer.  She got really heavy quick!!  She really enjoyed it though as she kept asking Lindsay these last few weeks if she could run a half-marathon with her.  Lindsay tells her that it is kind of hard and that they could do one when she gets older.  Our daughter would reply, but you can hold my hand and I'll be okay!  So that's how we crossed the line.  Hopefully we're building good running experiences for her. 

10 Miles.  7:39/Mile average.  Really didn't help this run out by not getting enough sleep and being very dehydrated and carb depleted.  It showed.  Tried to do 6 mile repeats at 6:00, and completely died after 3.  Each rest in between got slower and longer.  Went from .25 in between the first two, to .5 between 2 and 3 and felt like crap.  I've really had a hard time doing anything but my slow 8's since I had the stomach virus a couple weeks ago.  I've felt really weak and mono-ish. 

Evening:  Ran 4 miles to the park and back pushing the girls.  I really, really like going with them.  My oldest daughter urged me to try to "catch up to that boy who's on a girls bike" during the last mile of the run, so I pushed it hard to get to him.  We'd get close and then he'd speed up.  We finally passed him and his family with about .20 left in the run and my daughter thought I was Superman.  Averaged 7:05 on that run with the last mile at 6:12 (pushing the double-wide trailer/stroller). 

Saucony

10 Miles.  7:27/mile average.  Ran to Provo High and ran 3 around the track, then back.  Nothing too exciting. 

NB

13 Miles (approx).  about 3 running around for 40 minutes in an indoor soccer game.  Came away with battle wounds as always.  Tweaked ankle, strained groin, pain in side of calf (kicked?).  I never feel these during the game, only on the way home and as I'm trying to get out of the car.  Came home and ran 10 Miles on the treadmill in 1:17:19.  Ran mostly 8's with 2 miles at 6:40 (MP). 

NB

Ran 11.50 up Provo Canyon to Nunn's park and back while pushing the girls.  Forgot time, but I think it was in the 7:30's.

NB

20.50 Miles 7:34/Mile average. 

Told my wife that I wasn't going to run if I woke up and it was raining.  It wasn't raining, so I laced up and headed out from my door down to Payson.  I was going to meet my wife at her parents house and then go to the Onion Days parade.  Felt good on the run and stopped by the 10k/5k award ceremony to see how Michelle and the other bloggers fared.  They all did well!  I kinda wished I had signed up.  Was dry for most of the run, then got dumped on at the parade!

NB

10 Mile treadmill run at 2% incline at 11pm.  Ran a couple miles warm-up, then felt like going faster, so did 8 miles at MP or faster.  about 5.75 miles at 6:27 pace with 1 mile at 6:00 pace and .75 at 6:00 pace randomly thrown in.  Fnished with .5 at 5:27 pace. 

Felt really energetic after and almost like I wanted to do the workout again. 

NB.

3 Miles during indoor soccer.  Combo of sprinting/jogging.  Got a hat trick, that should count for a few more miles, no? 

10 Miles.  7:42/mile.  Finally was able to wake up this morning!  Ran a mile or so with Sasha and Tyler at the end.  Off to the D.R. tonight.  Hope we're free and clear of any hurricanes!

NB

The resort we were at in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic only had one treadmill. . . and it was broken.  Ended up doing 40 minutes on eliptical at pretty good intensity and 40 minutes on stationary bike. 

Ran 8 miles on the beach.  about 8:30 pace.  Too humid.  Sweat out every ounce I had in my body and got heat stroke the rest of the day with runs, weakness, etc.  Just laid in bed the whole day.  Ran early too!  I might have to bag running while out here.  Might do eliptical/stationary bike to keep cardio up. 

10 Miles.  7:16/mile

10 Miles.  5.4 on trail while pushing the girls.  6:47 average.  4.6 on treadmill later at about 6:49 per mile.

NB

10 Miles.  7:11 overall pace with last 5 at about 7:30 pace.

NB

10 Miles.  8 on the trail 8:13/mile with Lindsay and pushing the girls.  Ran with Sasha and his daughter while my family played at the park.  Will run a couple more during indoor soccer tonight. 

Happy with the Race.  I haven't had much experience with how inconsistent training the last 1-1.5 months would affect my performance, so I was just hoping to be in the 2:50-3:00 range. 

Didn't really look at the garmin much the first 4ish miles because I locked the bezel to avoid any problems with the moisture making it go haywire.  Unfortunately, when you lock the bezel, you can't turn the light on.  Just ran and enjoyed the time with my trashbag on (didn't want my clothes to get water-logged just yet).  Finally tore it off at mile five and enjoyed how quiet everything was!  The race was a blur to me other than I felt great before "the hill", and like crap during/after.  I remebered at mile 13 that I thought I would be in trouble the rest of the race and that I could just feel that I was going to hit the wall hard.  I had stomach issues for the first time in any run.  My GU was just sitting there, and any attempt to take water to try to wash it out just made it hurt more.  I did spend about a mile thinking about my race report and how I was going to start my eulogy of the race.  The downhill miles gave me a jump start, however, and I was able to get back on track.  Went through 13.1 at about 1:31:30 I believe.  Met quite a few bloggers throughout the race and was happy to finally see them instead of their tiny pic on the blog.  Caught up to RivertonPaul and Andy and Joe? I believe.  Ran with them for a while until I fell back on another hill.  I was constantly a minute behind them until about 20 or 21 when I caught back up and started my dash down the hills.  Felt good, but worried that I wasn't leaving anything left for the bottom, flatter 2 miles.  Slowed a bit during these miles, but realized I was still going to be under 3:00, and most likely get under my current PR (2:59:25 at Deseret News this year), which I would be happy with given these conditions.  Andy passed me with about 1-1.5 left and I encouraged him on.  I really wanted to hang, but my body was almost numb at this point, and I was losing it.  Hung on for a  2:58:35. 

I'm happy with the year:  3:36 at SLC, 3:20 at Ogden, 2:59 at D.N. and 2:58 at St George.  Now if I can just keep up the trend to get a sub 2:45 by Boston next year!!

5 Miles on Treadmill.  2% incline.  8:34/mile.  Felt better running than I do walking.  I'm not too sore walking either.  Best condition I've been in post-marathon yet!  Excited to be more focused/consistent this winter. 

Saucony

10 Miles.  6 on the trail with the girls.  7:45/mile.  4 on the treadmill at 2% incline.  8:00/mile.

Saucony

8 Miles on treadmill.  2% incline.  8:00/mile. 

Asics

7.75 Miles while pushing Lucy.  7:30/mile.  Cold/windy.

Asics

10.25 Miles on trail during lunch break.  7:22/mile with about 8x100 strides during last 1.5 miles.  Last mile at about 6:45.

Saucony

15.20 Miles. 8:03/mile. Ran 7.20 to and from the BYU Smith Fieldhouse.  Ran 8 inside around the track.  Left knee went from being a gentle nuisance to actual pain at some points during the run.  I don't think logging this many miles the week after the marathon helped at all. 

Saucony 

8 Miles on the treadmill at 2% incline.  I'm going to run on the treadmill this week on a softer surface to help out my knee and so that I can stop if it starts acting up.  Felt pretty good during the run.  Kept getting the feeling that I was going to start 'getting the feeling', but I never did.  Kept it an easy 8 min pace. 

asics

6.5 Miles on treadmill at 2% incline.  8:00/mile pace.  Felt fine until 6.5 and stopped because my knee started hurting. 

Asics

.25 Miles  POINT 25 miles!  Could tell I was only going to hurt my knee more than I would help my cardiovascular system.  Decided to pack it in and try again tomorrow. 

10 Miles.  7:29/Mile on treadmill at 2% incline.  Felt pretty good. 

Also biked 20 miles earlier in day with the wife while pulling the girls up to Provo Canyon and back for a picnic.  Had to make good use of the weather while it lasts!

Asics

10 Miles.  7:03/mile average on treadmill.  Ran a few at 6:30 and finished with 2 miles at 6:11.

Asics

6 Miles on trail.  6:52/mile.  Pretty much a long fartlek with pace varying the whole time.  Knee felt stiff/slight pain first couple miles then loosened up and was hardly noticeable.  Everything else felt really good today.  Was planning on taking is slow and easy, but just wanted to cruise the whole time. 

Asics

10 Miles 7:30/mile.  On treadmill at 2% incline. 

Asics

10 Miles on trail.  6:56/mile.  Felt really fresh and needing to go a little faster today.  Ran with lindsay while she pulled the girls on the bike.  Kept going after dropping them off at the park at 2.5 miles.  Ran 6:30 or faster for the next 4 miles.  Finished off with a 5:56 mile beating lindsay home.  Felt the knee, but nothing too painful. 

Asics. 

8 Miles.  8:00/mile on treadmill at 2% incline.  Knee bothering me. 

10 Miles.  4.70 on the trail and met the girls at the park.  6:59/mile pace.  5.30 on treadmill later.  2% incline.  7:07/mile pace.  Knee felt okay on trail, hurt running on a downhill.  Felt it pretty good on treadmill, but not as bad as other days. 

Asics

10 Miles.  7:35/mile.  7.5 on the trail and 2.5 on treadmill.  Knee felt okay. 

15 Miles on treadmill.  1% incline.  7.5 miles @ 7:30/mile.  Next 2 @ 6:40, next 3 @ 6:27, and next 2 @ 6:18.  Last .5 cooldown at 8:34/mile.

7:03/mile for whole run 

10 Miles on treadmill at 2% incline.  8:00/mile. 

10 Miles.  7:26/mile.  treadmill @ 2% incline.

15 Miles.  Ran to BYU indoor track and back with about 8 miles on the track.  about a 7:45/mile average.  Really, really tired today.  I think I was pretty dehydrated. 

8 Miles on treadmill @ 2% incline.  1 mile at 7:30 pace followed by 7 miles at 6:27/mile. 

Felt pretty good.  Knee pain about a 3. 

8 Miles on treadmill @ 2%.  8:00/mile pace.  Just putting in some miles!

6 Miles on trail.  Was going to do 15, but was really, really fatigued/weak.  Threw in the towel and called it a "recovery week"  I've had about 6 of these weeks in a row!

8 miles on treadmill at 2% incline at 7:30/mile pace.

8 Miles on treadmill at 2% incline at 7:30/mile pace.

10 Miles on treadmill at 2% incline at 8:00/mile pace.

10 Miles on treadmill at 2% incline.  7:40/mile.

10 Miles on treadmill at 2% incline.  7:55/mile

10 Miles, but I forgot the details!

15 Miles at BYU indoor track.  7:08/mile

10 Miles at BYU indoor track.  6:58/mile overall.  3 miles at 6:30/mile.

10 Miles at BYU indoor track.  7:16/mile.

10 Miles on treadmill @ 2% incline.  7:30/mile.

15 Miles around BYU indoor track (short track tonight!).  I really didn't want to run 107 times around the track tonight, but I'd rather do that than run out in the cold/ice.  7:07/mile average.  Felt pretty tired.  I think the two hours sledding today (carrying my daughters up the hill after every ride) depleted me. 

10 Miles BYU indoor track.  Ran at the end with AdamR.  We didn't know each other was on the blog until the last quarter mile of our 3+ miles running together.  Good to meet another blogger in a random way.  Ran 7:00/mile pace average for the run.

10 Miles at BYU indoor track.  7:00/mile average.  last mile at 6:20 with last lap at 5:20 pace.