In search of old age PRs

Well, after running with some Fast Running Bloggers on Saturday, I have been shamed back in to recording my work outs.  For some reason, I feel like I'm on running vacation until I start blogging again; although, I have been running (I promise).

Morning (7 miles):

Icy early morning run from my house then around Sugar House Park.  Not many runners out this morning. 

Afternoon (3.5 miles):

Shake out to the gym and back.  While at the gym I worked on core and upper body (so I don't have to get my wife to open jars).  I have a new membership at Square 1 in Sugar House.  The place is perfect for a runner.  Simple weights, treadmills and cheap price!  I highly recommend it.

AM: 7 slushy morning miles to Sugar House park.  At least there was no ice.  I'm impressed that the Hoka shoes do so well in the snow.

PM: Sun is shinning and wearing shorts!  Complete opposite of the morning run.  Quick run to the gym for core and upper body.  I'm planning on the Olympic Oval in the morning at 5:45 AM for 6 x 1 mile repeats for all you other running insomniacs.  See you there!  

AM: 9 miles.  Early morning workout at the Olympic Oval.  I was running a little late so only time for 5 x 1 mile repeats.  2 mile warm up followed by a cool down.  I run the 1 mile at lactic threshold pace with a 3 minute jogging recovery.  The goal is to improve my LT threshold. 

Mile 1: 5:44, Mile 2: 5:45, Mile 3: 5:59, Mile 4: 5:48 and Mile 5: 5:56

In reviewing my splits, I am probably running them too fast or my conditioning is better than my last Fall's bench marks (using Daniels running formula).  The 5K race in Ogden coming up in a couple of weeks will tell me which one.

PM: 3.6 miles.  Run to Wal-Greens then the gym for core and upper body.

AM: 7.05 miles.  Sugar House Park loop.  I was sluggish getting out of bed and it continued for about three miles before my body decided to wake up and run.  This is a out and back course and I noticed several things on the way back due to my sleep running the first half.

PM: 3.55 miles.  Wet run to the gym.  I would have preferred snow.

Group run this morning starting at the Capital.  We ran to the U at a good warm up pace then picked it up from the Zoo area and Kennedy peak.  The wind coming out of the canyon was freezing, but it made the return super fast.  I switched to shorts once we reached the U again.  Nice turn-out today with 20 or so runners all moving at a good clip.  Awesome cookies and cocoa from Rene at the finish.  Good luck Salt Lake 5K runners today.

AM: 7.05 miles.  Morning run after a hard ski day on Sunday.  It was a pleasant morning for a run (no rain, snow or ice)!

PM: 3.5 miles.   I ran to they gym and back, but on the return I was mauled by a boxer/pit bull mix.  He just nipped at me and jumped on me, but still a little scary.  I stopped and its owner was screaming at him or her.  Once the dog ran back to the owner, I continued running, but the dog came at me again!  I was never really super scared, but one good bite and you are done running for a while.

On to much cooler items; I did a long group run on Saturday and ran into Richard Carling.  Pretty incredible guy.  Check out his story here (could not get link tool work, so go old school and copy/paste):

http://www.stgeorgemarathon.com/legends/display1.php

Off to PHX in the morning, so I'm sure my running will suffer.

PM: 6.0 miles.  Working in Phoenix today.  Short run before darkness.  I actually ran through  the middle of a cotton field, ripe with cotton...very strange.  I thought cotton was a Texas/South thing not an Arizona export 10 miles west of downtown Phoenix.  One more thing...the weather was perfect!

AM: 7 miles.  Snow run to Sugar House park!  So much better than rain.

PM: 3.5 miles.  Warm run to the gym.  The sun peaked out for a few minutes.  A little more core/upper body intensity planned this month.

Great turn out for a group run this morning at Wheeler Farm.  It was windy at my house, but nice in Murray.  A couple of good tempo miles thrown into the mix.

Quick evening gym run after a day of travel.

AM: 11.0 Tanner Park loop early this morning.  It was windy, but the moon was huge!

PM: 3.5 Gym run with core and upper body work out.

AM: 7 miles.  Early morning run to Sugar House Park.  The weather was perfect for running.  It felt like Spring.

PM: 3.5 miles.  Drove up to Idaho Falls and the Spring weather changed to snow after Malad summit.  Treadmill miles--suck.

Ran the Striders 5K today.  I thought I would run sub 17:45, but then I warmed up on the course...killer!  After dying running the warm-up (in about 26 minutes!), I thought sub 20:00 would be good.  

Mile 1: 6:05.  Started out conservative and knew this would be about power hill hiking.  I was in the top ten and could see Albert and Ben up front.  The first mile begins with a very short downhill then gradually uphill and finishes steeply uphill.  By the first mile I had moved from 10th to 4th and could still easily see Albert and Ben (strange).  I also saw I guy cut a corner off the course (i.e. run through a neighbors yard/grass instead of the left turn on the road).  I reminded him to stay on the road/course.

Mile 2: 6:20.  Big hill continues then some good downhill before hitting the second major uphill.  I had moved to 3rd by this point and was feeling too comfortable.  Once I saw my split, I could tell why!

Mile 3: 5:36.  Good downhill to the finish.  As I made the turn into the events center, I could see a runner closing in.  Was able to pick up the pace to 5:00 last 1/4.

I feel like I could have run it faster, but was intimidated with the warm-up lap.  Still, nice to place in top 3.  Albert and Ben are elites, so the fact that I could see them the entire race was motivating.  I estimated that I am probably in 17:45 flat 5K shape.  After the race, Albert told me the 10k and 10 miler are harder...thanks!  Something to look forward too!

Did another loop on the course for a cool down and cheered in some walkers.

Great weather today and a well organized event!

I had a 9:45 AM flight to Philly today, so early morning run in the rain...but I beat the snow!  It was actually pleasant running weather.

AM: 3.0 miles.  Quick treadmill run before heading to work.  I have to catch a flight later today to Seattle, so this may be it for the day!

PM: Late night Seattle hotel treadmill running

AM:3.0 miles. More Seattle hotel treadmill running

PM: 7.0 miles.  Treadmill running at a 24-hour fitness

PM: 6.5 miles.  Hotel treadmill

AM: 8.7 miles.  Group run on Wasatch.  I drove the sag this morning.

AM: 7.0 miles.  Sugar House park morning run.  It was cold, but nice to now see the sun during the run! 

Saturday, I ducked underneath a tree for a quick running pit stop and hit a small branch below my left eye.  Today, it looks like I've been in a fight.  The tree got revenge for all the other greenery I have had to visit while running!

PM: 3.5 miles.  Chilly run to the gym for core work-out.  Today, I told my boss I was resigning and taking a new job, but it did not go over so well.  I have to work up at USU tomorrow, then I'm sure it will be a long evening meeting with executive team.

AM: 7.05 miles.  Warm morning!  Nice run to Sugar House Park and home.

AM: 7.05 miles.  Sugar House park loop

PM: 3.5 miles.  Gym for core work-out.  Off to Seattle again tomorrow.

AM: 7.05 miles.  Sugar House loop before heading to the airport for a morning flight to Seattle.  I drove the Striders 10K course the other day...ouch, its going to hurt Saturday!

Showed up early enough to run the full 10K course.  Confirmed another brutal Striders Ogden race!

Mile 1: 5:57.  Started conservative in about 10th or 12th place.    First 1/2 is uphill then screaming downhill.

Mile 2: 5:33.  More downhill with a few small uphills.  I move into 9th place and happy with the pace. 

Mile 3: 6:07. Good climb then nice gradual downhill.  I was able to move up to 8th place although the split was slow.

5K split: 18:15.  Nice split considering all the work coming up!

Mile 4: 6:19.  Start the climbing.  I was able to move up into 6th during this section.  The wind is swirling and it begins to shift from the South to the North...YES!

Mile 5: 6:56.  Huge hill.  It felt like I was walking, but was able move up to number 5 and can now see the 4th place guy.

Mile 6: 6:42.  Trying to survive up the hill.  The wind is actually behind us know...weird. 

Last 0.22:  5:32/1:10 pace.  Was able to get moving again and pulled within 5-10 seconds of the 4th place runner...too little too late.  Overall, pretty happy.  These courses are tough.  Your really run against the competition and not the clock.

Last 5K split: 20:25!  Wow, that's so slow!

At the finish was able to visit with some other bloggers and do a cool down with some friends (another lap on the course).  Way to go Tara--1st Female!

AM: 7.0 Miles.  Sugar House loop.  South winds made it warm.  Feels like Spring.

PM: 3.5 Miles.  Gym with core. 

AM: 7.05 miles.  Snowy morning run to Sugar House park.  I'm ready for Spring!

PM: 3.5 miles.  Core at gym.  Sun briefly came out.  Tempo work tomorrow at the park.

AM: 11 miles.  Tempo workout at Sugar House park this morning.  3 x 2 mile repeats with warm up and cool down.  Breezy conditions this morning, so it was hard getting out of bed this morning.  Garmin died during the first tempo.  I estimate it was about a 6:15 pace.  I'll take it for February.  Got home and began to sneeze my head off.  The walnut tree in our back yard is beginning to bud for Spring.  Allergy season has begun!

AM: 7.05 miles.  Sugary House loop.  Very icy.  I tried to stay in the middle of the road, but it was tough with traffic this morning.  The sun peaked out the last mile and made it nice...but slippery.

PM: 3.5 miles.  Gym core work-out with a little change up this month.  More focus on the upper body.  Beat the snow!

AM: 15.5 miles.  Nice run this morning with some of the Fastrunning blog crew.  I ran from my house over to Sugar House park to meet up with the group.  Ran some good miles up Emigration canyon with Jake, Crocman Chad, Andrea and Emily then coasted down back to the house with Andrea.  Not much wind today, so good running conditions minus the occasional ice patch. 

A lot of people out running today.  I saw Richard Carling (sorry, I called him Ken) close to the zoo, then ran into one of my first running partners, Bonnie, on Wasatch Drive!  

AM: 7.05 miles.  Standard Sugar House loop.  The weather is going to be fantastic today!

PM: 3.5 miles.  Run to gym for core work-out.  Shorts and t-shirt today.

AM: 7.05 miles.  Windy, but warm morning today for a run to Sugar House park.  I dug deep into my closet this morning to run in some classic Fila Providences.  I don't think they make this shoe anymore (not since 1989-jk).  Its great for high arches.  

PM: 3.5 miles.  Before the snow hit...bye bye Spring-so sad.

AM: 7.05 miles.  Sugar House park loop.  Ice and snow on some of the sidewalks this morning, but the sun came out the last 1/2 mile.  I'm dreading the time change coming up soon.

PM: 3.5 miles.  Quick late lunch run to the gym.  I ran across a high school cross country team on the road, maybe East High?  Saturday is the dreaded Ogden/Striders 10 miler.  I could probably power walk the course faster than I can run it.

I was able to get this race in before flying out to Orlando later today. Not sure about the exact finish time (not posted yet).

The weather was perfect.  Below are my splits (this course sucks)!

Mile 1: 6:03.  Nice hill to start up with.  The leaders were taken it easy and warming up for the tough course to come.  I started in about 10th place.  I specifically looked for a few runners that I knew would be close to my time and just tried to stay close, but run easy.

Mile 2: 5:28.  Big downhill.  Too bad you have to come back up it.  Still a lot of younger runners screaming down this part.

Mile 3: 6:06.  More challenging with a good climb.  The race order really began to take shape.  I move up into 6th.  This is the same course as the 10K, so I know whats coming.

5K split: 18:16.  I was 18:15 a couple of weeks ago at the 10K.  It did not feel fast, so I was comfortable with it.

Mile 4: 6:14.  Start the long process upwards. Just trying to keep #4 and #5 in my sights.

Mile 5: 7:02.  The first of two big hills.  This is what makes this course so tough.  If you plow up the hill then you run the risk of not having the fast turnover needed for the last 5K.  I just ran it comfortable knowing another big hill was coming.  There was a younger guy in 4th and he let out some sort of scream...weird.

Mile 6:  7:01.  Made it to the top of #1 hill and now getting ready for #2 hill.  I think I will try to beat the screaming younger guy...

2nd 5K split: 21:16.  So, a little slower than my 10K a couple of weeks ago (39:XX vs. 38:40), but close to 4 miles to go!

Mile 7: 7:28.  OK, this hill was brutal, but I passed one person going up it, then the screamer at the top.

Mile 8: 5:38.  Good downhill.  I was glad to get some fast turnover after those 2 big lactic acid hills.

Mile 9: 5:58.  I can still hear the screamer guy muttering things to himself, not really a mantra but more "running angry."

Mile 10: 5:42.  One more climb to the finish.  Felt good coming in.  Finished 4th, got a some chocolate milk, coffee and a massage...nice!  I talked a little with the younger guy that was screaming.  Its how he stays motivated..OK.  He beat me at the 10K, so I was glad I was able to hold him off.

AM: 4.0 miles.  Rainy morning run in Orlando, but still warm!

AM: 6.0 miles.  Early morning run from the hotel to Seaworld in Orlando.  They had the gate open at Seaworld for employees and the sidewalk I was running on continued that way, so I turned in and got a good 1/2 mile in before exiting back toward the hotel.  Now, off to a trade show to stand for 8 hours!

AM: 6.0 miles.  Another early morning run before the second day of a four day trade show.  I headed north this morning to Universal Studios for a nice run.  I have now run in Orlando for 3 days and there are 4 other early morning runners that I already recognize on the roads...we are a committed bunch.

AM: 6.30 miles.  Another early morning run around the Orange County convention center.

AM: 6.2 miles.  Morning run around Orlando.  I've given up on getting any PM runs in.  The trade show ends at 5, then everyone meets at the bar at 6 and finally a 3 hour dinner.  Makes for a very long night with no time to run.

Short run with a co-worker before leaving Orlando.

Run at East High track with my kids.

I'm not able to run in the mornings this week due to my wife being out of town and me with the kids.  I was able to get a run in around Liberty Park and a little core work at the gym.  It's going to be another low mileage week.  I should be well rested for next week!

Another one day work-out.  Run around Liberty Park then to the gym for core work.

Perfect Spring weather!  Run from the house to Liberty Park then on to the gym for core then back again.  Lots of runners out today.

Same route as everyday this week; however, I wore shorts and a short sleeve shirt.  I was actually hot!  House to Liberty then gym for core.

I skied hard on Friday, so felt a little under the weather for a run on Saturday.  Switched the long run to Sunday morning and had good run up Emigration canyon.  Its funny how a long run can pull you out of cold or sore funk.

AM: 7.0 miles.  Windy, but I beat the storm early this morning.  Run from house to Sugar House park.  It took a few miles to get my legs moving after running up then own Emigration on Sunday.

I found out of the weekend that I'm out of town for the Ragnar Wasatch relay in June!  I felt bad letting our ultra team down, so I changed my family vacation plans.  How's that for dedication!

PM: 3.5 miles.  Run to gym for core.  It started out sunny, then rain, then snow.  Crazy.  Its sunny again.

AM: 7.05 miles.  Sugar House park loop.  A little colder this morning, but perfect running weather.

PM : 3.5 miles.  What started out as a nice sunny morning turned into heavy cloud cover later in the day. Quick run to the gym for core.  I have to travel again tomorrow, so no more 2 a days for the rest of the week.

PM: 5.0 miles.  Spent the day working in Oxnard/Malibu area.  If you ate a strawberry today, it probably came from here...strawberry fields forever.

Read an article on the plane in the Marathon & Beyond publication.  This guy named Dave Fereday has run every London Marathon since the start in 1981.  The cool thing is (besides running the marathon from ages 43 through 73) he shares his race running log in the article.  He's an engineer so he is all about the numbers.  Anyway he calculated a fitness factor based on his weekly average. He would ignore the 2 weeks before a marathon (tapering), but then average his previous 8 weeks.  Next, he would average the next previous 32 weeks.  Then by adding the two numbers together and dividing by 2 he would get his "Fitness Factor."  This factor was pretty spot on in predicting his race time performance.  If you want to check it out the article is labeled "The London Marathon From Inside".  By: Dave Fereday.

So, since it was a boring flight, I calculated my fitness factor based on Fall marathons.  I started running in 2003/2004 and did not keep a log.  My marathon times were 4:24:00 in 2003 and 3:56:00 in 2004 (Top of Utah).  I know my mileage was probably 15-20 miles a week.  Luckily, I received a Garmin as a gift in 2005, thus better records!

2005.  Fitness Factor 22.5.  Las Vegas Marathon 3:24:38

2006.  Fitness Factor 25.  St. George Marathon 3:27:39 (I had my appendix removed 2 weeks prior to the race)

2007.  Fitness Factor 26.5.  St George Marathon 3:02:15 (perfect conditions that happen once very 10 years--i.e. cloud cover, cold at the start, tail wind, etc...)

2008.  Fitness Factor 35.  Tucson Marathon 3:04.12

2009.  Fitness Factor 40.  Pocatello Marathon 2:52:54

2010.  Fitness Factor 43.  St. George Marathon 3:03:25 (super hot/cramping issues).

2011.  Fitness Factor 43.5.  St. George Marathon 2:54:06 (another hot one, but prepared with salt tablets).

So, the goal for 2012 is to get the FF to 50 and hope it leads to a 2:45:00 marathon or I can just wait for another day like 2007.  I think we are due.

Early morning treadmill run in LA.

Emigration Canyon run this morning with the group.  Head wind up & head wind down...strange!  There was a fund raiser bike ride going on, so tons of riders.  I had strong run and felt great afterwards.  I'm looking forward to the Striders 1/2 next Saturday.

AM: 7.0 miles.  Chilly morning run around Sugar House park.

PM: 3.5 miles.  To the gym with core.  Have I mentioned I hate going to the gym?

AM: 7.0 miles.  Sugar House run.  I felt a little stiff today.  My plan was 10 mile everyday up until Friday before resting for the Strider 1/2.  I may just run up to Thursday.  We'll see how it goes this afternoon and tomorrow morning.

PM: 3.5 miles.  Gym with core.

AM: 10.50 miles.  Tempo work at Sugar House park.  3 x 2 mile with 0.25 jog in between.  It was a little difficult.  I hope it gets me out of my running "funk" before the 1/2 marathon on Saturday.

PM: 3.55 miles.  Gym for core.  Sore legs, but feeling better!  Looks like snow later this week....stink!

Four minute improvement over last year's time, but better conditions today.

Cold morning at the start of the Striders 1/2, but the sun was out which is about the best conditions you can hope for at this race (no snow)!

Plan today was to started a few rows deep behind the leaders and  hopefully warm up after a couple of miles.  I really wanted to focus on keeping a good pace the 2nd half of the race which is a little difficult.

Splits and comments below

Mile 1: 5:58.  Start with the lead girls and just tried to get into a good pace.

Mile 2: 5:58.  I can see Thom pulling away and I know I need to keep him close.  My plan changes to follow him out of the canyon and try to stay with him on the rollers.

Mile 3: 5:57

Mile 4: 5:52

Mile 5: 5:54

Mile 6: 5:58

Mile 7: 5:59.  Out of the canyon now and Thom still out in front.  I successfully made it down at about a 5:57 pace.  I really wanted to try and keep the 6:00 pace as long as I could on the hills.

Mile 8: 6:00

Mile 9: 6:12.  Bigger hills.

Mile 10: 6:01.  Make a push to catch Thom and we set a good pace together on this stretch.

Mile 11: 6:11.  I can see James Moore in front of me.  If it wasn't James I might could try to catch him, but who wants to be out kicked at the end?  LOL.

Mile 12: 6:11.  Running for place now.

Mile 13: 6:10.  Tried hard to get back to 6:00, but could not do it.

Mile 0.11: 5:46 pace.  Felt strong at the finish and enjoyed watching the other runners come in. 

It was nice seeing all the bloggers at the race.  Did a cool down with Tara, Allie, James, Devra.  Nice talking with Albert and Jason too.  Great turn out for the race.  Our local running club took 1st in 3 age groups and a 2nd overall female masters (MONEY WINNER!).  Way to go team!

AM: 7.0 miles.  Easy Sugar House loop on a very nice morning.  No soreness from the Half on Saturday, so should be good for the week.

PM: 3.5 miles.  Standard gym run with core.

Long evening run.  No time for the gym.  My allergies are out of control today!

AM: 7.0 miles.  After the rain last night my allergies where much better so an enjoyable morning run to Sugar House park and back.

PM: 3.55 miles.  Rainy run to the gym for core.  I had long pants over shorts for the run, but when I removed my wet long pants I noticed my shorts had a "pee" water pattern on them...oh well, its the gym...right?

Short run to the gym for core.

Long run day with a 5K "tempo" in-between.  Ran from my house to Christ United Methodist Church for their charity 5K.  Ran the course once to get familiar with it.  Met up with Allie, James and also saw Fritz. 

Rainy during the warm-up, but the rain stayed away for the race.  The course starts off with a good uphill climb toward Tanner Park then back to the Church with a few turns.  Not a PR course, but I really wanted to work on picking up the tempo each mile.

Mile 1: 6:04 pace.  This is where most of the climb is minus the 0.5 mile apex to Tanner Park then 2 smaller hills that climb back to the church.  Fritz, James, Andrew(?) and Levi took off really fast.  My guess is Fritz crossed the first mile in 5:20 range.

Mile 2:  5:51 pace.  Once to Tanner Park there was a nice drop as you work your way West and South.  The lead four had put more distance on me, but I could not hear anyone behind me.

Mile 3: 5:46 pace.  I was able to pick it up on of the rolling elevation section and catch Levi on an uphill section.  I could see James make the turn toward the finish line.

Mile 0.11: 0:37--5:08 pace.  Nice push to the finish.

Cool down with James and Allie.  Not a bad race, only about a minute behind the winner, Fritz.

Won a nice beer glass (from a Church...go figure) and some summer passes to the Canyons.  I also picked up some burritos, car scented vent sticks, mouse pad, stickers and a shirt.  The problem was I had to run home carrying all this stuff.  I'm sure it was a funny site on the road.

AM: 7.0 miles.  Sugar House loop.  Now its time to watch the Boston marathon!

PM: 3.55 miles.  Gym for core.  Great fun watching the brutally hot Boston marathon this morning.  I'm excited to read the race reports.

AM: 6.1 miles.  Shortened Sugar House loop (I overslept).  Started to rain during the rain, but fairly warm.

PM: 4.5 miles.  Longer run to the gym for core.

Quick run to the gym.  Traveling on Thursday to a 210 mile relay race back East (Friday and Saturday).  Should be fun!

Great relay race in North Carolina through the Appalachian mountains.  The course was totally remote with very limited cell phone coverage for almost the entire race.  No towns, no grocery stores and no gas stations.  All run on rural roads, gravel roads, logging roads and single track trails.  Course required some orientation skills!  It was a blast and I highly recommend it! 

Sore, slow run to the gym.

AM: 4.5 miles.  Liberty Park loop.

PM: 3.5 miles.  Gym run.

Run to the gym with core.  Legs are still sore from the relay, so the Striders 30K should be some fun on Saturday!

Nice 30K this morning up at Eden.  This is an out and back course on a rolling hills section of the Ogden marathon.  I believe the altitude is around 5500 feet.  This was the last race of the Striders Winter series and my goal was just to hold third.  I thought a 2 hour effort would do it.

Mile 1: 6:26.  Line up for the race and no Albert!  He was in second on the circuit.  So, he's in Oregon running a marathon on Sunday.  Thanks for the gift!  Ran the first 10K with Ben (circuit winner) discussing many things.  Too bad he decided to do a tempo and drop me after the first 10K-(probably to much talking) LOL.

Mile 2: 6:31.  A younger runner name Alex was in the lead.  I believe Ben had been helping him with his running a prep for Ogden.

Mile 3:  6:20.  We catch up to Alex.  He has a goal of 2 hours identical to mine.

Mile 4: 6:18.  We lost Alex, but he still looked to be running strong.

Mile 5: 6:23.  Still having a nice long run.

Mile 6: 6:29.  At the conclusion of the first 10K Ben drops down to something closer to 5 minute pace.

Mile 7: 6:21.  Lonely now.  I should have brought my MP3!

Mile 8: 6:30.  Up the canyon toward the mountains and the start of the Ogden marathon.

Mile 9: 6:30.

Mile 10: 6:27.  Finally make the turn back around.

Mile 11: 6:15.  Faster pace, but I see Adam behind me has decided he was warmed up!

Mile 12: 6:16.

Mile 13: 6:23.

Mile 14: 6.22.  Adam has caught me and we talk for a minute.  He's running sub 6:00 pace, so I decide just to hold my planned pace.

Mile 15: 6:33.  Uphill.  Adam is still running strong.

Mile 16: 6:30.  More uphill.

Mile 17: 6:37.  More uphill.

Mile 18: 6:39.  Tried to get a kick going, but felt kind of flat.  I can still see Adam, but no one is behind me.

Last 0.7 (course was a little long on everyone's GPS): 4:19. Total was 2:00:08, but would have been good with a legit 18.6 distance!

Overall it was a nice, comfortable run.  Did a cool down with Tara and Kam from the blog.  Also, 2nd place in the series for some cash!  The Striders people do a great job with this circuit.

I've been a total slacker about the blog lately, so unfortunately here are a series of boring mileage post.

Sugar House park loop.

Longer Sugar House park loop.

Good group run along Wasatch Drive from the ski park and ride at 6200 S up to Kennedy Peak above the zoo.

Hot miles in Bakersfield, CA.

Neat run up Pico Canyon in Santa Clarita, CA.

La Miranda, CA industrial park run.  Always pleasant..not.

Quick run to the gym for some much needed core and weight work

Jeremy Ranch with the blogging crew.  Tough course, but lots of fun and entertaining people!

Run up to East for some much needed speed work.  5 x 200...that is a different kind of hurt!

AM: 7.5 miles.  Was finally able to drag my sorry self out of bed early this morning for a run.  I hope after a few more early wake-up calls it will be old hat again.  Sugar House loop with some trail through Bonneville Glen.

PM: 3.5 miles.  Run to gym for core and upper body.  A group of people running is OK, a group of people lifting weights is weird.

AM: 7.5 miles.  New Sugar House park loop through Bonneville Glen.  Painful 6x800s planned tomorrow morning at Highland High School track (6 AM) for those that enjoy that sort of thing.

PM: 3.5 miles.  Gym for core.

AM: 10 miles.  Highland High School track VO2 work-out early this morning.  6 x 800 with warm up and cool down.  Nice to run with some of the blogging crew this morning.  Its much easier to do track work-outs with people close to your speed rather than going solo.  Averaged 2:43 splits and felt great at the end.  

PM: 3.5 miles.  Gym for core.

AM: 7.5 miles.  Sugar House park loop.

PM: 3.5 miles.  Gym for core.  Nice overcast weather today.  I hope they get this at Ogden.

Jeremy Ranch run with Allie, James, Kevin, Andrea and Jake.  Much easier this week than last!

5 x 200s at East High.  Average 32-33 second pace for each 200 with a 200 jog in between.  Warm up and cool down.

AM: 7.5 miles.  Sugar House loop.  Warm summer morning already?

PM: 3.5 miles.  Core to gym.  Heat with humidity!

AM: 7.5 miles.  After three days of fighting a nasty cold I was able to get a run in!  Standard route to Sugar House park.  We have a " Ragnar" group run planned to tonight at the Wasatch Running store.  I'll have to take the short leg and hope I can finish it!

PM: 5.8 miles.  Still under the weather so I took the last, short leg (3 miles).  It was actually much shorter (2.8) but still ran around a six minute pace while coughing up a lung.  Fun time with the group.

Run before the storm with the group out at Highland HS then up to Wasatch.  Still shaking the head cold, but nice pace.

5:45 AM trail run in Big Cottonwood canyon over to The Canyons then down into Millcreek before returning to Big Cottonwood.  Cold start with packed snow, but near the peaks it was deep (4 feet)!  Awesome time pushing through and clearing a path.  Coming back to Big Cottonwood the snow was melting and the trail was mud--much more difficult than the snow!  Fun stuff today.

AM: 4.1 miles.  5 x 200 at East High with warm up and cool down.  The track was very crowded early this morning.  A little slow due to the long run yesterday.

PM: 3.5 miles.  Gym for core.

Quick run to the gym at lunch for core.  Hope to be rested for speed work in the morning.

AM: 9.5 miles.  Early morning interval workout at Highland track with Pope, Stephen, Tracy and Amber.  Warm up and cool down with 6 x 800 including a 400 meter jog recovery in between.  Average pace 2:41.

PM: 3.5 miles.  Gym for core.  Hot day!

AM: 7.5 miles.  Sugar House loop with Lloyd Hansen.  Runs go by so much quicker when you are talking with someone.

Draper group are run.  Some trail mixed in.

5 x 200 at East High with warm up and cool down

AM: 7.5 miles.  Sugar House loop.

PM: 3.5 miles.  Gym for core.  Hot!  Water park afterwards...wooho!

AM: 11.6 miles.  Tempo work early this morning in Sugar House park with the group.  6 x 1600 with 90 second jogging recoveries. 

The group really wants to cut down on the recovery time to keep the LT levels high.  We are really focusing on Jack Daniel's strategy for these tempos/intervals and using his formulas.  5:47 avg. pace which is a little fast for my planned VDOT of 57 (6:09 according to chart), but I may actually be closer to a VDOT of 61 with my 800 meter numbers figured in.

PM: 3.5 miles.  Gym run for core.  It was at least 15 degrees cooler than early this morning!

Quick, but long lunch time run.  I decided to sleep in this morning, so no gym time...hooray!

6 x 200 while on vacation in NC..lazy!

Ragnar relay on an Ultra coed team.  Legs 1, 15, 16 and 17.

Ragnar relay on Ultra coed team.  Legs 35 and 36.

AM. 6.1 miles.  Recovery run after Ragnar in the 9th and 9th area.  Very sore.

PM. 4.9 miles.  Gym for core.

AM: 10 miles.  Track workout at Highland with group (lots showed up today-at least 20).  6 x 800 with warm up and cool down.  Tough work-out after 36 miles at Ragnar.  2:50 average pace.

PM: 3.5 miles.  Gym for core.

AM: 7.5 miles.  Sugar House park loop.

PM: 6.2 miles.  Meeting downtown, so afterwards I ran up City Creek.  Great run--no bikes up the canyon day!

AM: 7.5 miles.  Sugar House loop.  Ran into some runner friends during the workout-nice to visit!

PM: 3.5 miles.  Hot!  Gym run for core.  Great DesNews training.

Group run up Big Cottonwood Canyon then back through a residential area.  I had hoped to finish up in time to make it over to James and Allie's 5K, but a couple of wrong turns added 3 miles to the run (looks like they had a great time).  Tough work out today, but no smoke in the area.

6 x 200 at East High

AM: 6.8 miles.  I ran the last few miles of the Deseret News marathon starting at the Foothill 1300 E turn to the finish.  The last mile will be some work to the finish.

PM: 4.2 miles.  Gym for core.  Weighed some of my shoes today.  Surprised to find out that my 500 mile Hokas Bondi-B(11.5 oz) only weigh one ounce more than my racing Nike Lunarspeed Lites (10.5 oz).  I recently purchased the Hoka Mafate 2 and thought they would be good to race in until I weighed them (14 oz).  Looks like its the high mileage Bondi for the Deseret News marathon! 

AM: 12.1 miles.  Hot and windy morning in Sugar House park for 6 x 1 mile tempos.  Good turn out of people again.  Average pace 5:49.  A little slow, but another high mileage week. 

PM: 3.5 miles.  Gym for core.  Nice recovery after tempo work early this morning.

AM: 7.5 miles.  Sugar House park route.  Ordered new "racing" Hokas (Bondi-Speed) after weighing my shoes.  My new Hoka Mafat 2s are 14 ounces, so way to heavy to run a marathon in.  I hope the new Bondi-Speed shoe comes in lower than 11.5 ounces.

PM: 6.5 miles.  Run up City Creek...still hot.

AM: 7.5 miles.  Sugar House park run.  In running injury news, I was happy to see the Supreme Court upheld the Health Care changes today (even though I'm a registered Republican--the Party is wrong on this one).

PM: 3.5 miles.  Gym for core.

Des News course.  It was hot, but manageable.  

AM: 7.5 miles.  Sugar House park loop.  My butt was sore from the Des News training run on Saturday, so took it easy.

PM: 3.5 miles.  Gym for core.

Quick run to the gym for core.

Murray 5K today.  Nice and hot.  Always a challenging course and competitive race. 

Course PR, but my watch showed 17:48 (it was hand timed, so maybe a little off).  The first two splits were 5:37 and 5:39, but last one was 5:49 I really wanted the last one to be the fastest and tried to set-up my race pace for this, but it was not happening! 

Won a cookbook at the raffle.  The name drawn before me won a treadmill and the name after me won a spa certificate...bummer.

Congrats to my running partner, Tracy for her masters 2nd place win!

AM: 7.5 miles.  Sugar House park.  The park looked more like the city dump this morning after hosting the fireworks show last night.

PM: 3.5 miles.  Gym for core.

Group run though the University of Utah area.

5x200 at East High track this morning

Working in the Napa area this week.  Late day run around Calistoga.  Found an old high school with an excellent packed dirt track!

Two 2 mile repeats in Napa.  Wanted three, but ran out of time before work.

Trail run at Bodega Bay, CA. this evening.  Slow going, but perfect weather (55 degrees)!

Trail run in Annadel State Park early this morning.

Group run up Emigration.  I drove the support vehicle today, so low mileage.

One last good work-out before Des News.  10 x 800 at East High with warm up and cool down.  Average 800 pace at 2:44.

Run to the gym for core

Another 3.5 to gym for core.  My plan is to do one more then not run again until the Draper 5K on Saturday and finally DesNews marathon on Tuesday.

One last run to the gym before the marathon.  Heading to Eugene, OR for work for the rest of the week.  Maybe I can get some free last minute coaching advice...

Another fun Draper Days 5K.  Lots of fast runners this year.  Most were using it as a tune up for DesNews. 

Course PR, but the at last mile was pathetic.  5:35 then a 5:36 and finally a 5:57!  I settled into my place about 1/4 mile into the race and there I remained (no one to run with or pass).  I was hoping for sub 17:30, but the time is close. 

They had my age down as a Master, so I would be in the money, but I corrected their mistake (I still have a couple more months)!

Always good to see the other bloggers and circuit runners.

Not sure of my place or my exact time (seconds), but I will update it when the folks at Striders post it.

Super early morning wake-up call for this one.  Caught a 3:30 AM bus at the U. stadium then had over an hour to kill before the 5:30 AM race start.  Hanging out with Stephen Gonzalez at the start...he tried to pee in the woods, but a female forest ranger shined a spotlight on him and asked him to stop...true story.  We watched this lady for about 15 minutes afterwards.  She would sit in the dark then as some guy got ready to pee she would turn on the spotlight and yell at them!  Awesome.

After that bit of excitement, we did a short warm-up run then lined up for the race.  Nice to see so many fellow bloggers at the start.

Mile 1: 5:59  Nice easy pace with steep downhill.  Stephen and I were pretty deep and behind in a pack.  We talked Pirate baseball for the next few miles

Mile 2: 5:57

Mile 3: 5:53 (probably the biggest drop of the entire race)

Mile 4: 6:10

Mile 5: 6:20  Lost Stephen while he made a pit stop and slowed a little so he could catch back up

Mile 6: 6:35  So begins the climb up Little Mountain

Mile 7: 7:20 We were focusing on catching the lead girl, Annie, at the top.

Mile 8: 6:52  We are now a pack of 3.

Mile 9: 6:14

Mile 10: 6:41  This is the turn up Pine View(?).  I was not expecting this!  It sucked, but everyone had to run it.  Took a GUI and salt tablet

Mile 11: 6:03  Back down the canyon!

Mile 12: 6:10

Mile 13: 6:11  Our 13.1 split was 1:23:00.  Right on pace

Mile 14: 6:19  Really cool rainbow over the entire city

Mile 15: 6:21  Lost Stephen to another potty break, so Annie and I ventured alone.  I would not see Stephen again until he finished (but he had a good race)

Mile 16: 6:29   Short climb up above the zoo, but felt good

Mile 17: 6:25  Good downhill before you hit the rollers on Wasatch and Foothill

Mile 18: 6:44  Slow, but had a GUI and another salt tablet

Mile 19: 6:26

Mile 20: 6:41 So begins the slow climb on Foothill

Mile 21: 7:08  The hill on Foothill close to Sunnyside is not super steep, but it took a good toll on me.  I knew I was in trouble when I saw this split (it was going to be work to get sub 2:50)

Mile 22: 6:18  Very nice downhill before you hit 1300 East

Mile 23 6:49  1300 East!  Little climb to get on South Temple

Mile 24 6:46  My friend Craig picked me up here and ran the rest of the race with me.  I was counting on sub 6:30 during this section, but I was cooked

Mile 25: 6:56  Miriam, another running friend, had an ice cold sponge waiting on me...heaven!  Also, I saw several more running friends during this stretch (they ran the 10K earlier that morning)

Mile 26: 7:20  Ouch.  OK, this race needs to end.  Unfortunatley, I hit 26.22 on the Garmin, but still had 0.13 to go.  I would have made the sub 2:50 goal if I could have run the tangents better! 

Mile 26.22: 2:23.  Second half 1:28.  5 minutes slower than the first half which is not that bad considering the course.  Total time 2:51:30 (estimate on the seconds).  Elizabeth and kids were there to greet me at the finish line.  Annie, female winner, was just a couple of minutes back.  Stephen arrived couple of minutes later.

According to my friends, I was the first Hoka shoe finisher...lol.  Overall, A good race.  Well organized and saw lots of bloggers.  I wanted to be a little faster, but maybe at St. George I can get that 2:45:00.  Now, its off to work!  Luckily, I'm not sore, but that will probably change on Wednesday.

Got out and hobbled 7 miles around Sugar House park with friends.  Met and ran with Terry McCluskey.  He was the 2011 USATF Male Master of the Year and is the current World Masters Champion in the 60-65 age group.  He won the marathon world championship with a 2:52.  Incredible runner.  Super guy, down to earth...typical friendly runner!

Run through downtown Portland (Oregon) before heading onto trails on the Marquam trail above the city.  Ventured a little too deep into the woods and had to ask directions out.  Unfortunaltely, the hikers I asked didn't know which way downtown was (maybe I just scared them).  Finally, found a map posted on the trail and headed home (turns out I was not that far away).

After working in Portland (yes-on Sunday) went for an evening run on the Willamette Greenway trail.  Nice day along the river.

Nice run after work on the north end of downtown Portland along the Willamette river.  I watched a guy catch a four foot white sturgeon...crazy looking fish...not sure how the caviar/roe thing works.

Sugar House park loop

Emigration Canyon with the group

Trail run in Fort Collins

Evening run on the Poudre trail in Fort Collins

Sugar house park loop.  Decided to run Provo Half on Saturday for sure.

I've run this race a few times and really enjoy the race director's approach (at the start he yelled, "GO" then jumped in to his van and took off down the canyon while all the runners stared at each other--we eventually figured it out).  I think Curt must sleep on the course the week before the race.

My distance was 13.2 today, so showed a little long.  I made a real effort to run the tangents, so I'm not sure where the discrepancy was this year (could be my Garmin).  Anyway, good race for me and I think the 2:45 St. George goal is in reach.  My splits were right to plan with last one being one of my fastest (plan was to stay sub 6:00 minus the big hill).

Mile 1: 5:48.  Steep downhill, but trying to conserve for the second half of the race.

Mile 2: 5:48.  I'm in about 10th place, but this race attracts a ton of bandits, so it’s hard to tell where you are against paid competitors.

Mile 3:  6:00.  A little slow, but this included a water station.  I also settled in with 2 other runners (JeffL from the blog and someone else)

Mile 4: 5:49.  I had to leave our small group and pick up the pace a little.  I was able to pass a couple more people. 

Mile 5: 5:59.  You are now on the main trail which means more bikers and Saturday runners/walkers.  It makes running the tangents more difficult.  A guy I passed at mile 4 stays right behind me.

Mile 6: 5:57.  Trying to conserve and have a strategy about the large climb coming up.

Mile 7: 6:18.  The hill and the head wind begin as we turn and run up the canyon.  I lead about 1/2 mile up then practically stop, so the guy behind me can lead for awhile.  I get behind him for about another 1/4 of a mile then he has had enough and cranks up to another gear.  He was really holding back up to this point (he finished 3rd overall and I lost sight of him after mile 9.

Mile 8: 6:21.  Running up the rest of the hill alone, but on the return you can see the field and where you stand (although it’s hard to figure out your place with the bandits).

Mile 9: 5:52.  Said hello to friends still climbing and was able to get the legs moving again which is difficult to do on this course.  Traditionally, this is a very tough section for me and spells gloom and doom if you can't get your pace going again.

Mile 10: 5:58.  Feeling pretty comfortable and can see a runner ahead of me about 300 yards away.

Mile 11: 6:00.  I was hoping to stay sub-6:00 for the entire bottom portion.  This was a little bit of a wake-up call and began trying harder.  I recognized the runner ahead of me from the starting line and try to pull him in.

Mile 12: 5:58.  Good effort as the trail begins to flatten out.  The guy I'm trying to catch is about 50 yards out.  This section/mile has been very challenging for me in the past and my time really falls apart; however, still feeling good.

Mile 13: 5:49.  Nice pace to catch the only runner I can see. 

Mile 0.11: Pace 4:59.  Had a fun, fast finish with runner I caught up to; then, he pulled off to the side at the finish line (bandit).  I'm glad he was there to force me to pick up the pace.

I was sub 1:18:00 at 13.11, but with the additional I was probably closer to 1:18:20.  I'm not exactly sure, but I will be looking for the official results on-line when they are posted.  My training partner, Tiffnay took 2nd women's overall!  Also, Coach Bill Schmidt had an excellent race.  A couple of other training friends did well (Dave and Tracy).

One more thing: Ugliest shirt I have ever received for a race--Awesome!

East High speed work in the hot afternoon sun.  6 x 200 with warm up and cool down

AM: 8 miles.  Sugar House loop.  Ran into Stephen and ran most of the route with him.

PM:  4 miles then core

AM: 8.0 miles.  Sugar House loop.

PM: 4.0 miles.  Gym for core.

AM: 12.0 miles.  Tanner Park loop.  

PM: 4.0 miles.  Gym for core.

Late night treadmill miles before at weekend at Disneyland.

Hotel treadmill

AM:11.0 miles.  Tanner Park loop.  Back from Disneyland with the family...I gained 9 pounds-no joke!

PM: 4.0 miles.  Gym for core.

AM: 10.0 miles.  8 x 800 at East High on the track.

PM: 4.0 miles.  Gym for core.

AM: 11.2 miles.  Early morning run with the group from Highland to Emigration canyon and back.

Great run with the group at Jeremy Ranch.  42 degrees at the start and 55 at the finish.  The leaves are already changing!

East High track.  6 x 200 with warm up and cool down.

AM: 11.0 miles  Tanner Park loop.  I now have to wake up super early to get my mileage in before getting the kids ready for school--poor me!  

PM: 4.0 miles.  Gym for core.

AM: 11.0 miles.  Interval work with the group at Sugar House park.  3 x 2 mile repeats with 90 second jog/recovery.  

PM: 4.0 miles.  Gym for core.

AM: 11.0 miles.  Tanner Park loop.

PM: 4.0 miles.  Gym for core then water park with the kids!

AM: 8.0 miles.  East High track for 6 x 1000.  It's been awhile since I've run 1000s...ouch!

Good hard tempo work-out this morning in Huntsville.  Lonely race at this pace, but nice to see many of the bloggers and circuit runners.

Sugar House loop

Tanner Park loop before catching a flight for work

Late evening run in Red Deer, Alberta on a trail next to the Red Deer river.  It's Fall here already!

Hotel treadmill--boring!

Wasatch 100 pacer-- Incredible experience!  5500 of climb and 8000 feet of drop.

I paced Andrea Martinez (6th overall female) from Brighton to Homestead.  She got to the lodge at 2:27 AM (while waiting I ran into several running friends...cool).  Andrea was around 15th female at that point with a predicated finish time around 30 hours...then, something happened--it’s like she transformed into the Incredible Hulk!  We finished at 9 AM.  She ran those 25 miles in 6 hours and 33 minutes for a total time of exactly 28 hours!  No other female ran this section faster (1st girl=7:13, 2nd girl=7:32, 3rd girl=7:27, 4th girl=8:03, 5th girl=8:10).  To find someone running faster than 6:33 you had to look at the top male runners.  She was the easy person in the world to pace.  Andrea was encouraging and friendly to all the runners she was passing. Super experience!  24-hours next year!

Run to gym.  My quads finally feel better after taken a pounding during the last 25 miles of the Wastach 100.

AM: 11.0 miles.  Tanner Park loop.  Still feeling the Wasatch 100 in my legs, so slow.

PM: 4.0 miles.  Gym for core. 

AM: 11.0 miles.  Reverse Tanner Park loop. 

PM: 4.0 miles.  Gym for core.

Long morning group run up then down Emigration.  

6 x 200 at East with warm up and cool down.

AM: 6.0 miles  Track work-out at East.  6 x 400 with warm up and cool down.

PM: 4.0 miles.  Gym for core.

AM: 11.0 miles.  Group interval work-out in the smoke at Sugar House Park early this morning.  Gross-thank you Idaho. 3 x 2 mile repeats with warm up and cool down.

PM: 5.0 miles.  Smoky miles to gym for core.

AM: 8.0 miles.  6 x 800 at East High

PM: 4.0 miles.  Gym for core

AM: 5.0 miles.  East High for 6 x 200

PM: 4.0 miles.  Gym for core

Run for Hope 5K at Draper Park this morning with some friends.  Probably less than 200 people, but its a fun event with cupcakes!  The course is out the Porter Rockwell trail, so more EAST/WEST than the NORTH/SOUTH Draper 5K course.  The course was a little long, but the entire event was managed very well.  Also, nice running shirt!  Kids race afterwards with Lucas (5) and Sam (2).  They both ran the entire 1K!

8 x 800 at East High with warm up and cool down

AM: 8.0 miles.  Keeping with the plan--more track.  8 x 400 at East High.

PM: 4.0 miles.  Gym for core.  The weather was perfect.

AM: 10.5 miles.  4 x 1 mile intervals with the group in Sugar House park.  Nice to run in the rain!

PM: 4.0 miles.  Gym for core.

My Little Experiment:
For the last few weeks I've been researching nitrate supplementation.  There are a handful of studies out about the benefits of nitrate (not nitrite) loading (300-450 mg) with many Olympic athletes trying it in London with the offer of increase performance .  Since I'm not thrilled about pill supplements, red beets offer some of the highest levels obtainable in vegetables--thus I began my search from some sort of pre-made juice full of red beets to "load" on before the St. George Marathon. 

Odawalla makes a Carrot Beet Ginger drink with 1/1/4 Beets in a 12 oz. container--that's about 5 oz. of red beet juice with the carrots adding a small amount of nitrate.  So, that's x3 a day of 12 oz. Odawalla drink beginning next Sunday (6 days of nitrate loading).  This may be bogus, but at the very least the added vegetables are healthy!  Comments?

Here's some quick info:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7B2p-LuMQBE&feature=related

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yo0cSeruTI

8 x 200 before catching a flight to Florida

Slow miles in Panama City Beach

Tanner Park loop before heading to Las Vegas for work

Early morning run on the most unhealthy road in the world--Las Vegas strip!

Morning run on the Las Vegas strip

Another Vegas strip morning run

New PR today at St. George Marathon.  I was able to run it 8 minutes faster than Deseret News in late July.  The conditions were some of the best they have had in recent years, although it was still warmer than I prefer.  Several PR by running friends also some tough crashes.

After a week working in Vegas and someone stealing my racing Hokas out of my car, I was glad to get back into Utah on Thursday night.  I worked from the hotel on Friday and continued my beet juice “loading” experiment.  Met the group Friday evening at a Lloyd and Jan Hanson’s house for pasta and made some race plans.  I had an A+ goal of 2:45 with good conditions and a more realistic goal of sub 2:50; however, things went better than planned.

Got off the bus at the start and it was warm, but a good 5-10 mph trail wind was blowing.  This was a huge help the first ½ of the race before it dissipated.  I ran the first few miles with my training partner, Craig (ran 2:40 PR), before he left me at the base of Veyo while I was talking with Stephen Anderson.  Since it’s such a rare event for me to run with Stephen, I really enjoyed it.  Oddly, the was his first St. George.  We ran together several miles before I decided to make a push up to the 2^nd place girl, Annie.  We ran most of Deseret News together.  Ran with Annie briefly before deciding to try and catch Amber Green, the overall female winner.   

I came through the ½ at about 1:22-it was a little faster than I wanted but felt very comfortable.  At this point Amber picked up the pace.  For the rest of the race I attempted to reel her in, but she ran really strong with a ton of crowd support-a lot of solo running for me from here on out.

I was able to negative split the course with a 1:21 on the back side.  My pace stayed fairly strong with my last mile being my slowest (6:34)-other than Veyo.  I never had an urge to walk and finished with a big smile.  I also had to have nice kick at the end to hold off James Blackham.  He and I are always pretty close with him usually getting the better of me in the marathons. It was nice to be passing people the last 5K for a change.

My week of nitrate loading on beet juice really made a difference.  The lab testing shows a 3-5% increase in performance.  I’m skeptical if 6 days of loading is necessary simply due to the science behind it, but I believe 10-20 ounces 15 minutes before a run would provide the necessary nitrate for your system.  The conditions at St. George were good, but my effort was not as high as DesNews just 2 months ago.  Breathing was easy and muscles felt relaxed throughout the race.  I’m definitely a believer in the stuff and will continue to use it until it gets banned-lol!

Lots of bloggers at race and nice to talk to everyone.  Funny thing: 35^th overall yet 12^th in my age group--where did all these old fast people come from!

Gym for core...first run after the marathon-ouch!

More painful running to the gym for core

Group run.  Several of us ended up running the Fittest State 5K.  Tough to race so soon after a marathon, so it became a tempo run.

Gym for core

Gym for core

Gym for core

City Creek group run.  Saw deer, porcupines and lots of hunters--needless to say we stayed on the road.

Legacy Parkway group run

Sugar House Park

Sugar House park loop

Sugar House park loop

Jeremy Ranch run with the group.  First 1/2 is always easy, but the second 1/2 is brutal!

Winter work plan going into action this week.  Hopefully, I can develop a little more speed.  Sugar House park run in great weather.

10 x 400 at East High while the football team practiced with warm up and cool down.  Apparently, they are in the finals..good luck!

Long late afternoon run in perfect weather over to Tanner park and back home.

3 x 1 mile tempos at Sugar House with warm up and cool down

Snow run!  Slow and slippery around Sugar House park.

Daybreak area run with the group.  Somehow we missed all the snow around the valley during the run!

Sugar House park loop before the sidewalks freeze!  I believe I run best in 29-34 degree weather--now to find a marathon in that temperature zone.

5 x 800 at East High--the track was in good shape even with all the snow!

Ski day yesterday, so tried to make up for it with a longer run.  Tanner park loop.

2 x 1.5 mile tempos around Liberty

Tried to run with the group this morning, but my back was really hurting.  Earlier in the week, I played football with the kids on my knees...big mistake!  I'll take a few days off and go see my quack.

No where near 100%, but did a trail run in Georgia while visiting family.  Its cross country course behind the local high school...fun!

12 x 200 at local track.  I did this to gauge my recovery, because I'm running a 2-man 50 mile race next week in St. George.  The effort was there, but the speed was not.  I'll take a few more days off and try again in Salt Lake.

Sugar House park loop.  I feel like my back is about at 75%.  I should be fine (I hope) to run 25 miles at the St. George Expedition race on Saturday.

5 x 800 at East High.  Back continues to improve.  St. George should be a challenge.

Relay race in St. George.  I ran on a 2-man team with Craig Green.  There were only three 2-man teams, four solos and about forty 5-member teams.  Great weather and tough course (you run up Snow Canyon), but we were happy with finishing 3rd overall in the entire field.  This is much easier than the overnight relays.  We started at 8 AM and were driving home by 2 PM.

Lots of fun teams and typical well organized St. George event.  Several other Runagade members were racing and all did awesome.

Sugar House park loop.  Saw a guy in the park training a hawk or falcon.  He chased it from tree to tree while trying to coax it into landing on his glove.  The guy probably ran more miles than me today!

4 x 1200 at East High with warm up and cool down in the rain--better than snow!

I've been a blogging slacker lately, so I have to enter several runs starting with this one:

Tanner Park loop in the rain--better than snow 

The infamous hotel treadmill--suck.

Early AM run on the along the Santa Ana river in Orange, CA--nice!

AM--Super windy Salt Air run before the storm moves in!

Sugar House park run in the snow

Dark and rainy run around Portland.  

Tanner Park loop before heading out of town again.  Saw some sun today on the run!

Snowy Bountiful run with the group.  Nice to run with Kam and Tara!

Sugar House loop

4 x 1200 on an icy track at East High

Tanner Park loop

Porter Rockwell trail-group run

Another snow run to Sugar House park.  The place was packed with sledders!

Deep snow run-Tanner Park loop

Daybreak route with group.  Crazy windchill!

Sugar House loop