In search of old age PRs

Deep snow speed work at East High School.  7 x 200 with warm up and cool down.

Long run up Emigration from my house.  10 miles up almost takes me to the summit.  It was dark and icy the last 10K, so it was pretty challenging.  My foot was hurting this morning from speed work in my Sacouny.  I am done with Saucony forever!

Standard run from House to Sugar House park.  I found a cell phone on on the run and called someone identified as "Dad."  "Dad" came and picked up the phone at my house.

My foot feels better today from running in the Filas.  The mileage is getting high on these, so its time to buy some new shoes.

I was planning on running some 800s at the track, but ran out of time so I did a night run to Sugar House Park.

Tempo work at East High school on a solid sheet of ice around the entire track.  I wore my winter screw shoes and they held up well.  I could not run very fast, but I felt like I had secure footing.

House to Sugar House Park again.

Speed work at East High.  The inside lane was all ice thanks to my runs earlier in the week, so I pulled the Rocky IV snow training scene and ran 7 x 200 in 6-inch snow in the outside lanes.  I had my hex-screw shoes on, so I did not slip.  It was hard work and slow, but hopefully beneficial.

I wanted to escape the inversion today, so I ran up Emigration.  Unfortunately, the wind was blowing up the canyon so the air quality was just as bad.  Solid solo run effort today.  I hope to get in one more long run before the marathon taper begins.

Great run in warm Corpus Christi along the water front downtown.  It has been several months since I have run to the smell of fresh cut grass!  It was in the lower 60's and overcast, so most of the natives were bundled up in heavy coats and gloves.  I was very comfortable in shorts and a t-shirt.  Legs felt pretty good considering 22 miles yesterday and a long plane ride this morning.

I'm in Austin today and the temperature is about 55 degrees.  I had to work late, so I was forced to the dreadmill for a slow 6.

10 x 800 at East High before the bad air blew up on to the track.  I had to run slow and careful on the track due to ice.  I felt pretty beat up after the workout, so I may be adding on too much mileage this last month.  I have a 24/25 miler planned for Saturday, but may move it to next week.

House to Sugar House Park.

I ran from my house up to mouth of Emigration canyon to meet up with the group.  They were running 19 miles, so with my additional mileage I would get my last long pre-marathon run in.  It was warm and sunny up the canyon.  The 24-miler was easier than my previous 20 and 22 run solo.  Finished the run, played some Candy Land with Lucas, took a shower, ate an entire pizza and honey bun then went grocery shopping.  I'm sure fatigue will hit me soon.

7 x 200 at East High track with 2 mile warm up and cool down.  Some of the snow on the track was melted, so I could run them at a good clip.  I went to the pool with Lucas earlier and the day and tested my legs.  Luckily, I had very little soreness from the long run yesterday.

Light snow this morning, so it made for a slippery run.  Ran to Sugar House Park from my house with an extra loop by East High school.

Quality track work out at East High School.  I ran 10 x 800 on a wet and slushy track to find my predicted marathon time.  I'm usually +/-5 minutes on these 800 times based against my marathon times.  I averaged a 2:48 x800s, so a 2:50 marathon should be a realistic goal.  These last two weeks have been some high mileage and my legs were finished after the 10th 800, but I still did a decent 2 mile cool down.

Quick run to Sugar House Park before flying to Burbank.

I had to work late and raining pretty heavy in the Fresno area, so dreadmill tonight.

I ran 14 miles with Ester and Shelah up near the Capital and City Creek.  I left my car remote sitting on top of my car and I heard it fall off around State and 5th South, so I had to pull over and run around to find it.  The temperature and air was nice this morning, but it began to snow heavy near the finish.

7 x 200 at East on a clear track!

House up to Red Butte then over to Hogle Zoo and across Wasatch to 13th South before heading home.

Quick run to Sugar House Park before going out of town.

Treadmill running at hotel in Oakland.

Locomotion route with group around Sandy.

7 x 200 at East High School

Treadmill run in Idaho Falls.

Nice warm run (over 40 degrees) around Sugar House park.  I am in taper mode for the marathon next Sunday!

Nice run in between rain.  Ran from house to Sugar House park.

5 x 200 at East High school with warm up and cool down.  I skied on Saturday and Sunday (taper weekend), so I had a good speed work-out. 

4 x 200 at East High.

3 x 200 at East High.

Went down to Phoenix with the family and ran the Lost Dutchman in Apache Junction.  The course was probably the toughest I've run.  It has 3 good climbs at 9-13 miles, 16-19 and 21-24.  Unfortunately, the web-site elevation profile was not exactly true to the course.  I drove it on Saturday and knew I would have a hard time breaking 3:00 hours (this was not going to be a PR course).  The first 6 miles had some spectacular scenery and the organization/volunteers were incredible.  The first 5-6 miles is dirt road.  The entire dirt section had short, steep pitches, but was where most of the elevation drop was recorded.  Over the entire course you lose about 400 feet. 

Below are my splits and you can see where the wheels came off!

Mile 1: 6:24.  118 feet drop.  Great start, right on time at 7 AM.

Mile 2: 6:22.  49 feet drop.  I began to sweat and threw my gloves away here.  This is usually bad news for cramping.

Mile 3.6:32.  42 feet drop.  There was a pack of about 15-20 runners in front of me, but I knew it was going to be a long race.

Mile 4: 6:24.  37 feet drop.  Starting to reel some runners in.

Mile 5: 6:21.  44 feet drop.  I caught my first two runners.  This is where the dirt road ends and pavement begins.

Mile 6: 6:24.  40 feet drop.  On a paved road now and my legs began to feel better.

Mile 7: 6:24.  84 feet drop.  This is where the residential part ends and you get on a major highway (Hwy 60).

Mile 8: 6:30.  25 feet drop.  I was able to finally get a pace working and caught two more runners.

Mile 9: 6:30.  24 feet climb.  This where a major hill begins.  I'm taking plenty of water and Heed (like Cytomax) at the aid station every 2 miles.

Mile 10: 6:39.  25 feet climb.  The bad part of these climbs is you can see them forever like St. George.

Mile 11: 6:46. 85 feet climb.  Tough section.  They had a Hammer gel station and I was able to get a small amount down.

Mile 12: 6:46.  40 feet climb.  Almost to the top with some sharp curves.

Mile 13: 6:35.  67 feet drop.  Over the first major climb!  Wahoo!  I passed one guy cramping.  I was really worried this was going to be me soon.  The heat was probably up to 65 degrees by now.  I know it was 77 degrees at the finished with no clouds!

Mile 14: 6:19.  58 feet drop.  My fastest mile.  I was feeling pretty strong and caught another runner.

Mile 15: 6:34.  76 feet drop.  Legs are starting to get a little tight.  This section put us back on the main highway (Hwy 60).

Mile 16: 6:34.  36 feet drop.  I can the next major hill looming.

Mile 17: 6:43.  11 feet climb.  Tough section.  We had to run on the far side of a ditch with big rocks because the road was too narrow for cars and traffic.  This created a lot of dust which made it hard to breath.

Mile 18: 6:56.  39 feet climb.  Another gel station.  The course is about to join the 1/2 marathoners, but the marathon people had to go beyond the half turn around..suck.

Mile 19: 7:14.  113 feet climb.  Out and back.  The steepest climb of the run.  Nothing like hitting this at mile 19.  I can see how far ahead the other runners are and know I can not catch anyone else.  I also get a chance to see how close the pursuing runners are.  I'm over 1/2 mile ahead, so I knew my placing was secure.  The person behind me would be the first woman finisher.

Mile 20: 6:48.  56 feet drop.  I tried to find some speed again, but began to do the marathon shuffle past the slower half marathon people.

Mile 21: 6:46.  48 feet drop.  I know I'm not going to find that 6:30 pace again unless I jump on a motorcycle.  Now I just don't want to walk.

Mile 22: 7:01.  15 feet drop.  The official elevation chart shows it is all down hill the last 10K, but I can see a big climb on the horizon.

Mile 23: 7:29.  67 feet climb.  Running with my head down now.

Mile 24. 7:33.  45 feet climb.  One more push uphill before the finish.  Great encouragement from the half marathoners.  They were hard to pass, but I'm glad they were there.

Mile 25.  7:22.  40 feet drop.  A little relief before the finish.

Mile 26. 7:29.  29 feet drop.  This is a little deceiving because you have to climb up a big shoulder to get on the higher road to the finish.

Mile 26.22.  8:14 pace.  34 feet drop.  I ran the last 0.15 my 3 year old.  It probably cost me 30-40 seconds, but we loved it.

I was glad to be done and did not walk although my 7:30+ were close to walks.  I got a very nice plaque for winning my age group, but they I saw all the 40+ guys that beat me!  There were several good runners there.  The course record was actually broken by the first four finishers.  The winning time was around 2:27 which I was really impressed with given the course.  I felt like this the most challenging of the 13 marathons I have run and am looking forward to the 3 billion feet drop at St. George this Fall!

I drove the sag wagon today for our running club.  Several members are getting ready for Boston.  I was able to get a few miles in between stops.  My feet still ache, so maybe by next weekend I'll be at 100%.

Run around Orlando area close to Universal Park (International Drive).  I have a trade show in the area this week, so looks like warm, "shorts wearing" runs this week!

Six miles with the boss and our French sales representative.  Nice, warm run in Orlando.

Another run with the boss in Orlando.  He has a half marathon in Holland next Sunday.  He should do pretty well.

Afternoon run around the conference center after the close of the trade show in Orlando.

Sugar House loop.  Nice warm day for an easy run in the park.  I will probably take it easy this month before ramping up for a Fall marathon.

Cold, rainy workout on the track at East High.  3 x 800 with warm up and cool down.  I hope to work 3 track sessions in to my weekly workouts (speed, intervals and tempos).

Two laps around Liberty Park and back to the house.  I saw an ad in the park for the East High School run on March 27.  I may try to do that 5K race.

Tempo work at East High school.  3 x 1600 with 400 recovery jogs.

Porter Rockwell run in Draper with the group.  Large turn out today with close to 30 people.  Luckily, we beat the rain and snow.

7 x 200 after warm up on the East track.  It was a nice warm day, so the track was busy.  I can't wait for the U. of U. track to be finished!

Run up to the Zoo then over on to the Running of the Leopards 5K course then back to the house.  Another beautiful day for running.  I ran in shorts/short sleeves and was sweating after a couple of miles!

3  x 800 interval work at East High.  I think the U of U Girls track team is practicing at East now because the track was very busy again.

Tempo work at East high school's track.  3 x 1600 with warm up and cool down.  It started to snow and get cold during my mile repeats, I was hoping winter was over.

Afternoon run from House up to Avenues then up City Creek Canyon.  It was a nice warm day and a lot of bikers, walkers and runners in the canyon.

7 x 200 at East High before the rain hit.

Run in light snow from house to Sugar House park.

East High school interval workout.  4 x 800 with warm up and cool down.  Not many people on the track today even though the weather was great.

Quick run in between the rain and snow.  Luckily, it stayed sunny the entire short run.

This is the second time I have run this race.  It was a little warmer at the start this year, but still cold.  I would estimate close to 1000 runners and since this is part of the LDR racing circuit, some really fast people show up.  I freakishly won my division even with a 22nd overall placing...weird.

Splits:

Mile 1: 5:21.  Good pace.  It is always fun to see the young kids run out a gas during the first half mile.  I know this course pretty well and knew this was the only significant incline.

Mile 2: 5:35.  Stink!  I had this same slow up last year.  I believe I take it too easy down the steep hill to Foothill.  I'm always thinking recovery during this part.  I will do better next time.  Several people past me during this stretch including the top 3 women.

Mile 3.  5:26.  Mustered up to pace again.  I got to watch the 3 lead women race each other.  It was exciting to watch their kicks at the end on the track.  You can see the clock as you are running on the track, so you can watch the precious seconds tick away.

Mile 0.11 4:59/pace.  Track, so fast.

Overall, a new PR, but it would been nice not to post a 5:35 mile on this course.  I am about 15 seconds faster than I was last year, so some improvement.  Everyone in the Runamok Running group did super, lots of new PRs.

My extremely pregnant wife, Elizabeth was a trooper.  She brought our 3 year old son, Lucas to the race and stayed for the awards.  Our second son is due next week, so I was lucky to get one more race in before sleep deprivation hits.

Evening run in perfect weather.  I ran from the house to Sugar House Park, then up to Tanner Park and into Dog Canyon.  I crossed over the freeway and ran up to Foothill then along Wasatch and finally back down to the house.  I did not take hydration and could not have asked for better conditions.

7 x 200 with warm up and cool down at East High.  The Utah track team was practicing, so the track was full.

Windy, dusty run up by the zoo then back to the house.

4 x 800 at East High.  It was hard to keep the pace strong in the cold and wind today.  I plan on adding 1-2 every month until I am up to 10 total with all run at sub 2:45 pace. 

Today, I continued by great shoe trial.  I ran in new Under Armour shoes (I didn't even know they made shoes until last week)..  They are heavy trainers, but feel pretty good.  We will see how they do.  I also have a pair of Etonics that I hope to tryout in the early Summer.

There was also a U of U middle distance girl practicing hard with her coach.  It will be fun to see how they do this year.    

Run before the storm.  Windy jog up to Dilworth Park then back to the house.  This is a neat little park with several playground areas. It would be a fun place to bring Lucas.

I saw the Rose clan at a stoplight on 17th East.   

 I'm not sure if I will run with the group early Saturday morning.  I'll see how the weather looks at 5:30 AM.

Early morning run with group up Emigration Canyon.  There was a 10-mile race down the canyon that started at 7:30, so I wanted to make sure I was out of the way.  It was snowy, windy and icy conditions.  I feel sorry for the racers today!

I got a quick 6 mile run in today during periods of snow.  My wife delivered our second child on Easter morning, so things have been crazy.  Both mom and little Sam are doing great.  They were doing so good, we came home early on Monday.

7 x 200 at East High today.  The weather was nice, but I've taken too many days off between speed work outs.

4 x 800 at 5:30 mile pace with warm up and cool down.  Great weather today.  The track was full of elementary school kids doing a timed 1 mile run.  Some of the kids ran a 6:30 mile!

Quick afternoon run from House to Sugar House Park.  I spent most of the day today watching Walter and Kim (blogs) pour my new patio.  They does nice work.

A hot 12 miles up to Wasatch Drive then over I-215 through Tanner Park.  I ducked the construction fence and ran the dozed out new trail.  It will be nice someday.  Circled back through Sugar House Park then down to Hidden Hollow before heading home.  I did a lot of dirt trail running today.  It was a little too far to try without hydration, but I made it.

Rainy and windy speed workout at East High.  7 x 200 with warm up and cool down.

Waited for the sun, then went for a run around Sugar House Park.

Run from house up to Zoo then over to Wasatch then down 13th South back to the house.  Nice, warm day.  Perfect for running!

5 x 800 at East High track with warm up and cool down.  It was busy again today, due to the Utah track team practicing at East.  I usually run my intervals in lane 8 when it is busy, but the track team was using all the lanes so I ran in lane 1 which they were not using...strange.  I was hoping that going to the track late in the day would cut down on people, but the opposite seems to be true.

Speed work at an empty East High.  Elizabeth, Lucas and Sam came while I ran 7 x 200 with warm up and cool down.  I wanted to catch some of the marathon, but my mother-in-law flew back to Georgia this morning, so missed watching the race.

Hot run up then down Emigration canyon.  Good luck Boston people!

Hot run to Sugar House park.  I watched the Boston Marathon today on-line.  What a great race, very inspirational! 

Not much time, so did a quick run around Liberty Park today.

Windy, rainy and cold interval session.  5 x 800 with warm up and cool down at East High track.

Took the wife and kids to Sugar House park.  While I ran they played on the swings.  I did a couple of laps around the park then some tempo work at the Highland track.  The new track is not super soft, but it was close to the park!

Speed work at Highland while Elizabeth and the kids played at Sugar House park.  Warm up and cool down with 7 x 200.

Trail run from City Creek up to Black Mountain.  Tough run, but I hope to do more trails this season.

Little sore from the trail work-out, but the weather was great so ran from my house up into the Avenues.  I usually run through the cemetery in the Avenues (Center St.).  This is a good 0.3 mile hill.

Track interval work-out at East High today.  I waited until late in the day, due to the University of Utah girls track team training there, but they were still on the track in full force when I arrived.  I stayed out of their way and completed 5 x 800 with warm up and cool down.  It was very windy with lots of dust in the air.  

Perfect cool weather for running.  Did the standard Sugar House park loop, but a little quicker today.

Windy tempo work-out at East High in between the snow.  Warm up and cool down with 4x1600s.  There was some Utah track distance runners working out today.  I wonder how their team is doing this season.

Speed work at Highland.  7 x 200 with warm up and cool down.  Tried to sign up for Hobble Creek after my morning run, but it was already closed!  It just opened up for registration today!  Stopped by Salt Lake Running and checked out their grand opening.  I won a shirt, but they raffled off a ton of shoes and even an Addidas sponsorship (includes 4 pairs of shoes).

A short adventure run today from my house over to Jordan River Parkway then north to Gateway, east across the city and down to Liberty Park for a lap then back to the house.  The JRP is still a little rough from 1700 South up to about 800 South, but the City has really cleaned up the North section.

Early morning miles from house to Sugar House Park.  I was surprise at how sore I was from the little 13 mile run on Sunday, so it was a slow run.

I'm working in Steamboat Springs today, so I did an early morning run along the Yampa River.  The paved trail was not very long, so I ventured into the mud and ran a trail connecting all the sulfur springs.  It was a pretty nice run minus the mud.  At each spring they had some historical information.  FYI: the town is named after a spring that apparently sounds like a steam boat.

Good interval work-out at East High school.  Luckily, the track only had a few people on it tonight.  Ran 6 x 800 with warm up and cool down.

Early morning run to Sugar House Park.

Kearns run with the group.  I drove the SAG, so it was tough getting miles in, but I was able to run the 3 x 1600 tempos.  Ran two with Craig at a 5 minute/mile pace (downhill), then one uphill at about 6 minute pace.  Tried new shoes today and they felt fine while running, but a few hours later my heel started hurting.

Speed work-out at East High School early this morning.  7 x 200 with warm up and cool down.  Also did a lap of speed changes in the grass without shoes...still a little too cold for this.

Long drive to Bozeman today, so evening run on the hotel treadmill.  My left knee is feeling a little tweaked from the speed changes I did on the grass Sunday, so I will not do that again.  I will run on the grass, but just to improve my stride.  All speed work will be done with shoes!

Quick morning run on the dreadmill.

6 x 800 on the track at East High school.  It was another windy and wet run.

Morning run to Sugar House park.  I was a little sore from the interval work-out yesterday on the track, so a little slow today.

Nice group run this morning up Emigration Canyon.  Several group members were in Ogden running the half and full.  Great weather for running!

Speed work at Highland while Elizabeth watched the kids play at Sugar House Park.  7 x 200 with warm up and cool down.  I did a cool down in the grass without shoes.

Morning run up through the Avenues and City cemetery.  Running slow today.

Morning interval work-out at East High.  Warm up and cool down with 6 x 800.  There was a speed walker on the track this morning.  That does not look like any fun!  Followed up with a core work-out I've been trying to do daily during the week.

Morning run up to Hogle Zoo then across Wasatch and down 13th South back to the house.  It took several miles to warm up and run a decent pace.

Tempo work at Highland High with warm up and cool down.  2 x 1600.  All the gates were locked, but I'm not sure why.  I was able to fit in between two gates and get my morning run in.  Is this trespassing?

Afternoon run up to City Creek then over to West High (they have a nice track) and through downtown back into Sugar House.  The weather was cool, but I did not get wet!

East High speed work.  7 x 200 with warm up and cool down early in the morning.

Wow.  Way behind on my log.  Sorry for just the mileage entries.

Sorry for just the mileage entries.  I'm a little behind.

Fun 10K in Cedar City.  Not many people so things ran smoothly!

This course lays out a lot like Desert News without the flat section to Liberty Park, so it is a little faster course.  It was overcast this morning with a head wind, but the elevation drop made up for it.

Mile 1: 5:15.  Oops.  Too fast.

Mile 2: 5:33.  Still a little fast.

Mile 3: 5:38.

5K split: 17:06.  A little fast, but not difficult.

Mile 4: 5:43.  Not as much drop and enter the trail

Mile 5: 5:52.  On little rollers on the trail, but still dropping.

Mile 6: 5:45.  Surprise...there's the finish line.  It kind of sneaks up on you.

Last 5K: 17:51

Good race with a PR.  I'm going to try the 5K tomorrow.

Cold, rainy with a head wind.  My legs could not get going.  My body felt like I was in a Ragnar relay race, but I still gave it an effort the first mile.  The remainder I just ran for position.  This course should be an easy PR, but I think I would have to skip the 10K the day before to make it happen.

Mile 1: 5:15.  I began with good intention!

Mile 2: 5:41.  Sand bagging already.  I wanted to go faster and should have been able to!

Mile 3: 5:47.  OK., so now I'm just worried about getting a faster per mile pace than my 10K race on Friday!

Fun race for the weather.  If I could have been a little fresher I think I would have had a chance at the win judging from the times posted ahead of me.  Live and learn.  I recommend the 10 and 5K to all you blogers!

Well, I have been a total slacker about posting.  I did not run 120 miles today, but that is the total for the missed days (I won't bore you with the details).  The last couple of weeks I have run in Colorado, Georgia and North Carolina (where I jumped over a slow moving snake)!  Today,  I ran at Highland high school today and did 7 x 800. 

Millcreek trail run with JasRo early this morning.  Tough short climb to reach the pipeline trail, but then some great views of the valley.

This was a high mileage week, but I always enjoy this 5K due to the raffle (sorry Sasha).  I won fireworks!

Murray is a hard course and I was a little slower than last year, but at least I didn't feel like barfing at the end. 

My three year old ran the 1/2 mile Kids course in 7 minutes!  I told him if he ran the entire distance then we would play in the bounce house and he made it! 

My splits stunk, so I 'm not going to post them.

Cool trail run above City Creek with Jason.  We tried to find Treasure Box Mine and were about 1/2 mile from the lakes.  After downloading the GPS course we now know where the mine is located and will find it on the next run up.  It was very wet at the top.  It must have rained that morning at the higher elevation.  I plan on bringing an extra pair of socks on the next run.

Longer morning run up into the Avenues then over to the U/Hospital area before heading back past the zoo and home.  I do not understand why there are no sidewalks in front of the University Hospital!

Interval work at East High School.  8 x 800 with warm up and cool down.  The track was very busy this morning.  Also, a very strong wind coming from the northeast made for a difficult work-out.  I continue to uses these 800 as my "Yasso-guide" for St. George.  I averaged about a 2:47, so close to my goal marathon of 2:45:00.  I will add another in August then finally 10 in September.

Trail run with Jason up Millcreek and onto the Pipeline trail.  The Pipeline trail is a great, flat trail, the only problem is the climb getting up to it out of the canyon.  We need to find a easier connector to the trail rather than using Rattlesnake gulch.   

Run with the group out in Kearns/Copper Hills.  We ran about 8 miles out to Copper Hills and did 3 x 1.75 mile tempos at sub 10K pace before returning a back to to Kearns.  It was a tough work-out. 

Later in the day I took my 3-year old camping and we hiked up and through Timpanogos cave.  This was harder than the run, but my kid loved it.  We were joined later in the day by one of my running buddies and his two young sons for a fun and exhausting camp out.

I was still drained from the weekend camping trip with the kids, but still managed to crawl out of bed for an early run up to the Avenues, through the U of U, above the Zoo and back into Sugar House.  It was a slow run until the last 5K which is a step downhill drop.

I was going to meet Jason at Highland, but he canceled this morning so I ran up to East High.  The Salt Lake Track club was also meeting there.  I believe they were doing ladders from 400s up to 800s.  The track was pretty full with over 20 people running.  I did a warm up and cool down with 3 x 1600 at 5K pace before running back home.

Nice interval work-out this morning at East High's track.  There were two large mule deer trapped inside for most of my run until the school's maitenance crew came and opened a gate.  This is not the first time I've seen deer trapped inside.  Hunters: I'm not sure how they get in, but they come from the cemetery next door.

I ran 8 x 800 (Yassos) with a warm up and cool down.  I ran them all very fast and this has been one of my strongest weeks of running since last year.  I have the Provo and Logan half-marathons coming up in August, but my full marathon will be St. George in October, so I'm a little worried about "peaking" too soon-if this is even possible for a marathon runner.

Morning trail run with Jason in Millcreek.  Short and slow mileage (steep climbs), but scenic running on the trails.

Easy run from house to Sugar House park and back.  Sam was up most of the night, so a very tiring morning run.  I hope to do a long trail run up City Creek Saturday morning.

Run with Jason up City Creek canyon.  We started at the gate and ran up to the dry lakes.  It was a challenging run with 3000 feet of climbing going up.  The trail was in a little better shape, but it disappeared at the lakes.  It was hot coming back down, but we were able to push the pace and recorded some 7 splits.  

Quick run around Liberty early this morning before the heat hits.  Legs feel pretty good after the long run yesterday, so it was nice to stretch them out.

Run from house up to Wasatch Drive then over to Hogle Zoo, through Research Park, University of Utah, Federal Heights and into the Avenues before heading home.  It was a hot, humid run early this morning.

Nice morning run down to Sugar House then up to Tanner Park and through "Dog" Canyon up to Wasatch then back down 1300 South to the house.  There is a water fountain as you come out on to Foothill/Wasatch that is in a perfect location.  Very similar to the water fountain close to the Avenues in the Federal Heights area.  Both water fountains are in the middle of nowhere and must be maintained and paid for by the local property owners...thank you!

Tempo work at East High this morning.  3 x 1600 with warm up and cool down.  This morning had to be the hottest morning yet for 2010.  The family and I will be heading to the South later this week, so I better enjoy the "dry heat" while I can!

5 AM run around Sugar House before heading to the airport.

Hot, humid run in Dawsonville, Georgia.  Did 4 miles on the track before running the cross country couse at the high school.  On the last lap, I got stung by a hornet!  It did make me run a little faster.

Another humid run on the track and cross country course in Dawsonville, Georgia.  No bees today!

I was planning on running around the Park and Rec center in Dawsonville, but it was closed this morning.  I drove over to the high school instead. 

Trail run in the mountains of North Carolina outside of Asheville.  Hot and humid.

Run around the Elementary school with my niece and two nephews before playing football.

Back in Utah just in time to run the Brighton loops with the group.  We did 1 warm up and 1 cool down with 12 x 1200 at 8700 feet of elevation.  It is a tough, rolling hills 0.75 miles.  I tried to run each one a little faster.

Slow morning run around Sugar House park.

5 x 200 with warm up and cool down at the East High track.  I have the Provo 1/2 on Saturday, so will be taking it easy this week.  I plan to drop one 200 everyday, so I should be fresh!

4 x 200 at East High School with warm up and cool down.  

The track was full today at East High.  Mostly people in a "boot camp."  Ran 3 x 200 with warm up and cool down.

2 x 200 with warm up and cool down

Provo Half marathon this morning.  I have not run this race since 2007, so I was excited to try the course again.  At the start, there was a DEER walking up to every runner.  It was crazy.  I've never seen a deer that unafraid of people.  I met up with Coach Bill, Cindy, Craig and Marie at the top and we did a very short warm up.

The race started just a few minutes late, but overall it is one of the better organized Provo Half I've run in...kudos to Curt.

Craig and I both had a 1:18 goal, so we decided to alternate the lead every mile.  This was a mistake.  Craig was running really strong and around mile 6 I had to let him go.  He ran a 1:16:xx, so I probably slowed him down too much the first half.  Below are my splits:

Mile 1: 5:42.  Big drop and comfortable pace.  Talking to the other runners.  I take the first mile and was hoping to be around 5:55.  I apologized, but Craig didn't seem to mind.

Mile 2: 5:42.  More dropping and comfortable.  Craig is out front leading the pace.

Mile 3: 5:48.  I tried to slow down a little, but you probably need to take advantage of the drop when you feel good.

Mile 4: 5:38.  Big drop out of the canyon and Craig has kicked it up a notch.  I keep contact for my next turn.

Mile 5: 6:06.  I'm not sure if this split is correct.  We did take hydration and meet some friends on the course (Jeremy, Andrea and Travis).

Mile 6: 5:50.  Craig gaps me here and I can not keep up.  I tell him to leave me and get the 1:16.

Mile 7: 6:19.  Uphill part of the race.  Not too bad sense I am running by myself.

Mile 8: 6:34.  Steeper uphill and I see the leaders.  They are about 0.5 mile ahead of me.  Nice to see Sasha running strong in Crocs.

Mile 9: 6:01.  I try to get my pace back on the trail, but he hill zapped my legs.  There is no one around me so I begin to think about holding my place instead of speeding up.

Mile 10: 6:06.  The comfortable pace is gone and now I'm just trying not to get passed the last 5K.  I do the math and know I missed my 1:18.

Mile 11: 6:14.  The sun is out strong at the bottom.  I was disappointed I could not find the gear to get back to 5:55 pace.  I can no longer see Craig or Michelle.

Mile 12: 6:17.  I run into Travis again.  He ran a little ways with Craig and then came to pick me up.  He gave me some motiviation to get under 1:20 and finish strong.

Mile 13: 6:19.  I'm done!  I didn't hit my goal, but still a course PR.

At the finish talked with Water and Matt from the blog.  I was surprised to learn I was 4th in my age group and would have been 5th if Sasha had not won!  I need to get older so I can get out of this grouping (or they do)!  Had some pancakes, picked up my shirt then spent 15 minutes looking for my bag.  Good job to the race director, Curt, this year.  It's never smooth sailing at Provo, but this was one of the better ones!

5 AM run to Sugar House park before heading out of town to Steamboat Springs.  There sure were a lot of runners out at 5.  My legs were sore from the Provo Half on Saturday and going to Snowbird on Sunday with the family.  

I was disappointed with the my Provo race time, until I put it into Sasha's "race time predictor" and found I'm still on track to try and hit a 2:45 at St. George.  I think most of my disappointed came from Craig smoking me.  I plan on running TOU-Half in a couple of weeks and hope to get a sub 1:19 to stay "on-track."

Run on trails in Steamboat Springs.  It was 40 degrees the morning!  Autumn has hit Colorado!

Late day run around Sugar House park.  Today, I finally felt recovered from the Provo Half...just in time for a 22 miler on Saturday.

Trail run on the Pipeline in Mill Creek with JasRo this morning.  It was a slow pace, but the steep climb makes it a difficult run.

Nice, early morning group run up Emigration.  There were tons of bikers coming up as we finished.  I've never seen so many.  For some reason, many bikers think they own the shoulder of the road.  It was nice to be done before 8:30!

Run up to Wastach Drive then through "Dog" canyon (next to Tanner Park).  They are building a new paved trail through the canyon.  It will be great, because you should be able to avoid most of the dogs when it is finished.  Ran over to Sugar House park then back home for a long mid-week run.

Another long run up to the Avenues, through the UofU, above the Hogle Zoo then back into the Sugar House area.  I saw 3 different large groups out running early the morning.  

Interval work-out at East High.  9 x 800 with warm up and cool down.  I will be up to 10 YASSOs in September before St. George.  There was an Army fitness test going on while I was running (push-ups, sit-up and 2 mile run).  I don't think I could do 20 sit-ups to save my life!  

Run from the house to Memory Grove and back.  It was nice change of pace to run through the downtown area.

Nice trail run on City Creek with Drew and Trace A from the running group.  We found Treasure Box mine and all the old mining equipment from the early 1900's.  The entrance looked pretty small and scary, so I could not talk Drew and Trace into going in.  Next time we will bring a flash light.

Speed work in preparation for Top of Utah Half next weekend.  5 x 200 with warm up and cool down at East High.

4 x 200 with warm up at the track at Bozeman High School. I spent most of my time driving to Billings today for work.  Later in the week, I have to work at the University.  My plan is to take it easy again before the TOU-Half.

3 x 200 at Montana State University track.  There was a guy training for the decathlon by throwing the javelin.  It was pretty interesting.  His coach, who looked to be 80 years old, was video taping him.  It made me wonder how many people still participate in this event.  The only time I hear about it is during the Olympics.  Anyway, it was fun to keep a watchful eye out while I ran. 

2 x 200 with warm up and cool down at Bozeman HS track.

I was supposed to just do 1 mile, but seemed like a waste since I was waking up early to get this run in.  Did a 2 x 200 with warm up and cool down at East High track.  I hope I well rested for the 1/2 marathon on Saturday.

I planned on running the Top of Utah half today, but on Friday I had to fly to Asheville, NC due to my mother's illness (she's doing much better now).  Late on Saturday, I ran around the Biltmore House Estate until a security guard told me no runners allowed...really?  He said I could cycle if I bought a ticket...really?  I turned around and ran back to the hospital.

Run from the hospital to Asheville High School.  I ran ladders of 200-400-600-800-1000 then back down with warm up and cool down.  FYI: It is humid in the south.

I made it back to Salt Lake late Monday night, so I did an afternoon run around Sugar House park today.  It is nice to have cool weather.

I'm working at Utah State University in Logan today and tomorrow.  I did a quick run in North Logan/Hyde Park in the cool evening weather.

Evening run from house to Sugar House Park.  It was neat hearing the U of U football crowd cheering the entire run.  

Short, early morning run around Liberty Park before heading back up to Logan for the day.

Brighton loops (10) with the running group.  We run intervals of 0.75 miles above 8700 feet.  It is a good, tough work-out.  

I was going to do an early morning run this morning, but slept in.  Luckily, it was still fairly cool when I headed out for Sugar House park around 9:30 AM.  

Group run down Emigration after meeting at Westminster College.  We stayed together as a group for most of the run.

Late evening run around Sugar House park.

Afternoon run around Sugar House park.

Tough morning run on the trails in Mill Creek with JasRo.  It was dark for most of the run and the wind was blowing strong.  It rained the last mile.

Kearns run with group early this mornign (5 AM).  We did a 7.5 mile warm-up out past Bingham High School then ran three 1.75 mile tempos at sub-5K pace before running back to Smiths.  The tempos were fast because we had a nice tail wind.

Long run yesterday, so an easy 4.5 around Liberty park to stretch out.

I was finally able to get out of bed and do a weekly morning run.  Standard run around Sugar House park.

Early morning run from house up into the Avenues then over to University of Utah area across to Hogle Zoo and back down 13th South to house.  A lot of traffic this morning around the U.  

Another late start to the morning, but I was able to get in 8 miles.  Ran from my house to Sugar House park and back.  It appears I may have seen Allie (blogger) on 1300 E, but I had my head phones in, so I was a little out of it.

Early morning, dark hike up Mill Creek to the Pipeline trail.  Once there was some light, the run was enjoyable.  

Two hot laps around Liberty Park during a break from work.

Long group run up Emigration.  I started from my house and finished there for a few extra miles.  I usually like to do one run a little longer than marathon distance.

Early morning Liberty Park run before work.

Another early morning run around Liberty Park due to work time constraints. 

Evening run to Sugar House park after the rain.  I did not get wet, but most of the run was muddy and dark.

Afternoon run around Liberty Park.

Group run with Lloyd in the Avenues and City Creek.  After the run, Lloyd and Jan treated us to breakfast followed by Coach Bill's marathon speech.  

3.6 on the track at East.  Ran 4 x 200 with warm up and cool down.

3 x 200 on the desert road in hot Primm, Nevada.

2 x 200 in Primm, NV with warm up and cool down