What lies within

20 frigid, snowy miles to kick off the new year. Met Matt, Jake, Brandon, Toni, Dan, and Chad in Lehi for a long run. Easy pace for the first 10 then a little faster (not much) for the last 10. A little slippery but not bad. 

Matt's wife left us a great breakfast to cap it all off. Good times. 

Very cold. 6 at the start. 0 at the end!

10 easy miles with Matt and Reed. Felt good. Long run didn't wear me down too much. Still struggling a little with the IT band.

Treadmill miles. IT band didn't hurt a bit! most @ 1.0 incline.

More treadmill. IT band didn't hurt during but it did start hurting after :(

Wow! 

Met up with die hards Jake, Matt, Fritz, Scott, Andrea and Chad for a tempo run. 4 miles warm up. 7°. Official plan was to run a 10 mile tempo run. I knew I wouldn't be able to hang for 10 so I decided to play it by ear. Here's what happened.

5:22, 5:30, 5:45
Ouch! Circle back for 0.5
5:25, 5:30
Whew. Looking like a 3-2-1 day. Circle back for 0.5.
5:20
"Ok. That's a wrap. Good enough for one day." -Mike
"Hey, you're good for one more, right?" -Jake
"uh, of course!...(after some rest)" -Mike
Circle back for 0.5.
5:29

~3m cool down. 

I'm happy with the workout. <5:30 is still too fast for me to sustain...maybe someday! 

Breakfast at Jake and Andrea's. Thank you! 

10 treadmill miles. Threw in a little MP to keep from going insane. 

No IT band pain this morning.  

PM: 5 miles easy on the treadmill.  

10 easy, icy, chilly, lonely miles. Had another late night so I missed the group. Amazing how much more pleasant the outside miles are than the treadmill miles! IT band tightened up afterwards...the battle rages on.

Flu

40°, sunny, slight breeze. Perfect conditions. I wasn't quite over the flu but feeling better I decided to go out. Ended up running up the south side of Suncrest. 1761ft of elevation gain.

Averaged 7:30s for the uphill. 6:00s for the down. Middle section on the way down I threw in some faster miles: 5:39, 5:18, 4:58, :30 (15:56 for 5k). The only way you could get more AID than going down Suncrest would probably be a 3 mile high base jump. Felt great. 

 http://connect.garmin.com/activity/260437007

Easy miles on the TM. 

Went to the Olympic Oval in Kearns with Matt, Scott, Toni. Met Jake, Andrea, Colin, Kevin and Kramer.

We decided to do 4 x 1M repeats with about 800m recovery. My splits: 5:11, 5:07, 5:13, 5:12. Jake, Kramer and Scott were about 4:50 ish. 4 mile warm up and about 2 cool down. Scott is back! Matt did a 4m tempo run as he had done mile repeats earlier in the week.

Felt good. The last one was tough. I was feeling Thursday's run a bit. It was super fun to be back on the track. It brought back some great memories. I hope to get a few more workouts like that in this winter!

Easy miles with Matt and Toni. 0° when we started. -2° when we finished! I was dressed just about perfectly and was comfortable despite the cold. Legs felt a little heavy. Averaged 8 min pace. 

Wimped out and went to the gym. 9 easy miles on the mill with 1 at a little faster pace.

Weights and foam roller after. 

Easy miles with Matt. Cold again!

Easy jog with Matt

This was my first 1/2 with any real training behind it. It was a blast.

Did a 2 mile warm up with Scott, Matt, Toni, Brandon and Spencer. 

Started out trailing the lead pack. I found Karl Siebach and Zak James right at the start. They seemed to be running about the pace I was looking for so I latched on to them. First 3 miles were a steady 5:40 pace. Zak sped up a bit after 3 and I went with him, mile 4 was 5: 35. As the hills started rolling I backed off. Mile 5 was 5:45. Karl passed me up the first big hill. I passed Walter around this point. Next 2 were 6:06 and 5:57 up the hills. Karl gap'd me by about 30 meters. Downhill mile was 5:28. I was still feeling strong and was quite surprised I was still moving!

I caught Karl during the next mile: 9 and 10 were both 5:40 as we ran together. The next mile faded a little: 5:46. I was starting to feel the hamstrings. Otherwise I felt great. 2 miles to go, I decided to speed up a little and pass Karl. Body responded well to the pace so I held it. Last 2 miles: 5:30, 5:29. I felt great at the end. 

It was a good test of my fitness. I was probably in shape to go a bit faster as I had a lot left at the end. I was hoping for a 1:15 so I was very pleased with the time. 

It was awesome to have so many of the early morning group there. Hooked up with Scott and Spencer for a cool down. 

Then I went on a beautiful, sunny hike through the red rocks near Tuacahn. Clear blue skies and 60 degrees. Couldn't ask for a better conclusion for the trip.

Easy miles with Matt and Spencer. 6 degrees. Stayed warm enough though. Legs feel great.

I had to work late last night and early this morning for a sales demo (lame) so I missed the group workout this morning. I headed to the gym for lunch.

The warm up felt good so I decided to throw down some speed. It went like this:

• 4m warm up
• 1m @ 12.5 (4:48) 
• 1/4m @ 6 (2:30)
• 1m @ 12.5: (4:48)
• 1/4m @ 6 (2:30)
• 1/2m @ 12.6 (2:22) 
• 1/4m @ 6 (2:30)
• 1/2m @ 13.5 (2:13)
• 2.25m cool down 

I wanted to do 3x1 mile but it wasn't happening at that pace. Cut down to 2 halves. The last one was inspired by Scott and...it was hard.

10 blissful easy miles in a balmy 25 degrees with Scott, Matt and Spencer. I've never been so happy to run in 25 degree weather.

Down with disease. 

Met Spencer at 11am for a long run. It was a pleasant 38°. Spencer dragged me all over northern Utah County. First 18 were great. Last 4 were rough, didn't bring anything to eat and I felt very depleted at the end. 

Spencer threw in the "mother", a really big hill at mile 21. Had I the energy I would have poked him in the eye. Good times. 

Icy roads forced me to the treadmill. 3m warmup. 3.1m @ 11mph (5:27) with 0.5 incline. 2m cool down.

Felt off. I wanted to go further but the legs disagreed. 

More snow. More treadmill. Legs felt like crap at the start. Mile 7 flipped a magic switch and they felt great afterwards. 

Body clock woke me up at 5am. 25 degrees, snowing, 2 inches of new snow, no wind. I didn't have (mentally) another TM run in me so I decided to brave the elements. It was beautiful; like running on a blanket the whole way. A little slippery but not bad.

PM: 6 miles on the TM at the gym. 1 a little faster just to break things up. 

Early morning run with Reed and Toni. 20°. Good times. Legs were pretty beat after the workout yesterday but by the end of the run they felt much better.

Long run with Matt, Scott, Fritz, Toni, Kevin, Walter and Dan. Good steady pace. About 20 degrees warm. Felt good. Had some IT band trouble the last 3 but after some therapy it feels a lot better than it did last week. 

 6:40 avg. 

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/268762169 

Easy run with Matt, Reed and Spencer. We were going to do some speed but Matt and I both wimped out. We'll try again tomorrow. It was pretty cold (14ish) and very foggy.

Met Matt, Dan, and Toni at 5am. We ran down to the Lehi tempo loop. Did some stuff and then ran home.

3.5 warm up
4x1 mile with .25 rest (5:07, 5:25, 5:23, 5:22) 
3.5 cool down

I was hoping for better but I wasn't feeling it today. Breathing seemed to be the bottleneck today which is uncommon for me. Air quality was nasty (borderline unhealthy). The lungs feel ripped up now. I've even developed a slight cough. Can't wait for spring! 

Easy run with Matt, Reed and Toni. IT band was sore the last 5. I rolled and stretched. Feels better now but it's a persistent bugger.

slept in. went to the gym.

1 slow mile.  10 minutes of AIF. 3 slow miles (8:30). 1 mile at 11.1 mph (5:24). 4 x 200m at 14 mph. Cool down.

 trying to baby a sore IT band. no pain but plenty of tightness. 

finished up with another 15 mins of AIF and weights. 

Easy run with the dog. 34 degrees at 5:30am. Feels like spring! Unfortunately it's a front. Should have held the winter series 10k today!

Drove up with Matt and Scott. Sparse clouds and clear streets through SLC buoyed our spirits. As we passed the airport we came into dense fog, light snow, steady wind and slick looking roads. I was beginning to question my decision to run the race. 

A 3 mile warm up with Matt and Scott proved sure footing, steadily falling snow and uncomfortably high headwind for the return portion of the course. Legs were feeling good, stomach, not so much. I usually eat oatmeal before a race because it runs through my system so fast. This morning's breakfast wasn't going anywhere; it felt like it was still in my esophagus.

The snow started to fall more heavily at the starting line.  The first mile and a half felt great. My stomach started feeling uncomfortable and by mile 2 was cramping slightly. By the turnaround I was hurting and frustrated. Legs felt great but everything else was on fire. First half splits (5:17, 5:24, 5:26). On the way back the wind felt more like a series of brick walls than a 10mph headwind. The ice flying into my face didn't help. I slowed considerably. I watched Scott's group steadily pull away as I struggled to hold a decent pace. I didn't. After 5 miles my legs completely recovered, an odd feeling during a 10k. Last half splits (5:52,6:04,5:59,1:22). 

4m cool down. I steadily felt worse and worse as the day progressed. I've got some kind of bug...

Given the circumstances I wasn't too upset. It was fun to run with such a talented group. Matt ran a phenomenal race; well deserved. I'm looking forward to more races, better weather, and less flu.

Missed the group this morning but headed out on my own. A balmy 21°. 7 easy miles followed by 2 @ 5:40 and then a steady effort (6:30ish) the rest of the way. Felt a little tired from the race but overall it went well.

PM: 5 on the treadmill. Progressive from 6mph to 11mph. 1% incline. Felt good. Weights after.

Easy run with Scott, Matt and Toni. Cold but comfy. Legs were tired from yesterday but otherwise feeling good. IT band is feeling good, no pain there. The AIF routine seems to be helping.

AM: Met Scott, Reed, Matt and Toni for a Lehi loop. It was 25 degrees!!! It felt very comfortable. Scary that 25 should feel so warm.

After 5 miles Scott joined me for some tempo. 4 miles (5:37, 5:31, 5:37, 5:44). The 2nd mile had quite a lot of downhill, the last mile was all uphill. Even effort at just under LT. Felt great. 2 mile cool down.

I was grateful to have Scott with me for the first 3. It is so much easier when there is someone to share the joy! Thanks Scott. 

PM: 6 miles easy on the TM. Weights. 

Easy miles with Matt. 29 degrees and a light snow. It was great.

Lunchtime run around Lehi. 39 degrees and sunny!! It was nice.

Met Scott, Reed and Toni at 5:30am for a long one. Plan was to do 2 10 mile loops, one easy, one at MP. It 19 degrees, a little too cold for my liking but manageable. The loop has some rolling hills and a gradual incline (228 ft up) for the first 5. Last 5 are either flat or downhill. 

First loop was uneventful. Averaged 7:20s.  2nd loop was AWESOME! Scott and I took the first 5 at manageable effort and then picked it up on the last 5. Splits were: 

6:14, 6:00, 6:02, 6:17, 5:57, 5:52, 5:40, 5:32, 5:27, 5:26

First mile was the hardest, it made me a little worried about the workout but then we settled in to a groove. Mile 6 we started picking it up. When I saw the split for 8 I thought I was shocked, everything felt great. It was a steady to the end. Didn't feel overboard. My legs felt better after the 2nd loop than the first! Odd. 

Many thanks to Scott for dragging me through it! This was a real confidence builder for me. 

Met Scott and Toni at 7am for a chilly run. Last 5 were in the SUN! Felt good but the IT band flared up a little bit the last 3. (7:08 avg)

The AM crew were all out of commission this morning. I thought I'd head to the oval but when I woke up and saw 28 degrees with little wind I decided there was really no excuse not to get outside. 

Headed down to the Lehi tempo loop (3.5 miles). 4 x 1 mile repeats with 0.25 rest.

5:20, 5:24, 5:10, 5:14

First one was progressive to ease into a faster pace. 2nd one was into a strong head wind and by effort was the most difficult. 3 and 4 felt solid. 4 had some more head wind. I'm happy with the workout. I've made progress, slowly but surely. 

4.5 miles back home. 

PM: 5 easy on the treadmill. AIF, Foam roller and weights. 

10 Easy with Toni, Scott and Spencer. 

Didn't feel like running in the wind so I headed to the gym at lunch.

2 miles warm up. 8 miles at something between AT and LT. First mile in 6:00, 2-6 at 5:39,  7 at 5:30, 8 at 5:39.

Jumped the gun a little with 2 miles to go, started accumulating lactic acid so I backed it off for the last mile.

 The first 3 felt too hard but then I settled into my pace and it felt pretty easy the rest of the way. 

Met Toni, Scott, and Matt for a pleasant run in the snow around Alpine. 25 degrees, lightly falling snow and a fun group made for a great run.

Skipped the winter series 10k due to the blizzard. Looks like I made the right choice.

Met Matt and Scott for 20. Matt was with us for the first 10. At 12 Scott and I stopped and stretched and started the tempo portion. As we started I could see the black wall of the storm front closing on us fast. After 1/2 mile we had high headwinds. After 3 miles we had higher headwinds and snow/ice blowing in our faces. Good fun. Scott and I alternated the lead/draft about every quarter mile, it helped but the effort was still tough.

We averaged 6:00 for 5 and then took it easy the last 3 (although Scott wanted to charge the MOTHER! I made 3/4 of the way with him before I had to give out.

Happy to get it in but it was a tough last 7 miles. 

Met Matt, Scott, Reed and Toni at Scott's for a frigid 5am run. 15 degrees at the start and 11 at the end! 

PM:  6 miles on the TM at the gym with 1 at MP. Weights.

With the nasty weather I decided to head to the Oval for my workout.

4 miles warmup. 10 x 1K with about 350m active recovery (between 1:45 and 2:00 mins). 

Splits:  (3:13.4, 3:13.4, 3:12.5, 3:14.5, 3:14.0, 3:14.6, 3:13.9, 3:14.8, 3:14.5, 3:08.4)
Average: 3:13 (5:11 pace) 

2 miles cooldown. 1:36 for the whole run.

The first 6 were pretty easy. Last 4 got harder but still controlled. I'm happy with the workout. I was pretty beat at the end but there was still a little gas left in the tank. I could have done a few more. The 1K isn't exactly marked at the Oval so I had to estimate a little...it was pretty close. Hit the 800m mark between 2:32 and 2:36 on each of them.

Easy, solo run around Lehi and Highland. Chilly.

PM: 5 miles easy on the TM. Weights.

4pm, 41°, sunny. 

3m warm up.

4m tempo (5:34, 5:35, 5:38, 5:40) 

1m cool down 

I found a flat 1.5m loop near my office. There was a 5mph wind but I don't think it affected me too much. I wanted to do 6 but I couldn't hold the pace. Stopped after 4. Not quite recovered from Tuesday's workout. Still, a good push. Had to cut the workout short to get home in time for dinner. 

Easy run with Reed and Scott. 35 degrees! Very pleasant.

Met Reed at 7am for a long run. We from his house, up AF canyon to the fork 10 miles. The pace was leisurely but I felt pretty beat up at the top. (7:40 avg). 

I wasn't sure how hard to hit it on the way down with a lot of speed this week already so I decided to go at MP effort and see what happened.

First mile was slightly down hill (5:45), I was feeling pretty good so as it got steeper I tried to keep the effort the same, 2-5 (5:26, 5:23, 5:26, 5:27) are pretty steep (about 200 ft/mile). It flattened a bit out of the canyon 6-8 (5:37, 5:40, 5:40). Last two are gently down hill again 9-10 (5:36, 5:27). 

The last two were tough. 5:33 avg. Very aided but I'm happy with the workout. 

1.5 mile cool down. 

AM: Met Reed and Scott for 10 around Alpine. Legs were a bit tired but overall it was a very pleasant run.

PM: 5 on the TM at the gym. 1.5% grade.  Weights.

Met Scott. Miles flew by with good conversation and pleasant weather. 

10 mile AT tempo run this morning.

3m warm up 1m cooldown. Ran on a 2.5 mile loop near my house that is pretty flat (46 ft elevation change over 1.25 miles). Had a steady headwind for the uphill portion, not strong but enough to make that section harder.

Splits: (5:42, 5:50, 5:54, 5:45, 5:56, 5:53, 5:49, 5:57, 5:54, 5:35) 5:48 avg

Splits are fairly inconsistent. Mostly because of the change in wind and incline/decline. Mostly even effort throughout. 

PM: 5 easy on the TM. Weights 

Met Scott, Reed and .... Brandon and Dan! In Orem for a pleasant juant up Provo canyon. Legs were tired. IT band flared up at the very end. Lots of stretching and rolling afterwards.

10 easy with Dan and Scott on the Jordan River trail. Good times.

Met Scott, Dan, Reed, Fritz and Kevin in AF. 30mph winds convinced us to try Riverton instead. The workout plan was a 10/10. 

First 10 were out and back to the south. There was a steady wind blowing to the south. Averaged 7:00 on the first leg. Felt good but a little aggressive.

Scott and Fritz decided on a very reasonable 6 min pace for the next 5 into the wind. I guess my Garmin was broken because it said the next 1/2 mile was around 5:35 pace. Scott and Fritz had gapped me by about 15 yards and I had a decision to make. Stick with 6s and fight the wind solo or try and hang (and draft). Kevin made the decision for me as he surged ahead and I followed. 

I took the lead once or twice to try and take my turn but it never lasted long. I was mostly trying to hang on for dear life. By the end of this leg I was pretty thrashed. We took a brief breather and then headed back.

Splits: (5:37,5:47,5:39,5:38,5:40) 

I wasn't in any condition to run 5:20s so I held back a little. The 3rd mile back was tough, I lost sight of the group and wallowed a little in self pity. With about 1.5 to go I could tell they had backed off and were coming back to me. I sped up a bit to catch them thinking I'd jog the rest of the way in with them. The closer I got, the faster they went :) I finally caught up and we cruised in at a brisk pace. 

Splits: (5:32,5:42,5:54,5:43,5:20) 

Fun workout. Glad to get it in despite the wind. Hope to have more group runs like this. Great group and a good push.

Slept in and missed the morning crew. Took off around 8am. Started off very slowly (9:30s) and worked my way up to 7:30s by mile 3. 35 degrees and quite pleasant. Felt good after I warmed up. Big loop through Alpine, Highland and AF.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/283228852

Met Scott at Lone Peak track for some speed fun. 3m warm up. 

6x800. First 3 had a 200m rest (about 1 min) between them. I decided to increase the rest to 400m and increase the intensity for the last 3. 

 Splits: 2:32, 2:30. 2:29, 2:23, 2:23, 2:22

I felt surprisingly good. I ran with Scott for the first 3 and then he stuck with the 200m rest and we separated. This should be a good tune up for Saturday's 10k.

PM: 4m very easy. Weights.

PM2: 2m with the boys around the park with the dog. 

Met a good group today for the early morning shift. Scott, Brandon, Dan, Rob and Toni for a leisurely stroll on the Murdock canal trail. Hip was a little sore so I took it easy. Great group and great temps make for good running.

Easy miles @ 5:30am with Scott and Toni. Hip is still a little sore but feeling pretty good.

AM: 3 easy miles with a few strides. Finished off down the hill with a 800m pickup in 2:28. Legs feel much better than yesterday.

PM: Pre-race freeze down and 1 hour plyometric workout. Pinecreek canyon with Ty and Rick in full dry suites. Big fun. Probably not the best pre-race activity.

More pics/videos 

https://docs.google.com/folder/d/0B5rlsaNI0731elZCeXI2OEZvSEU/edit?pli=1 

At 6:30 am I ate my standard 1/2 cup of instant oatmeal. I was still feeling the full margarita I shouldn't have eaten last night. Hip was a little sore but legs generally felt good. Headed up to Ivins, got in line to get my number and hopped the 2nd to last bus to the starting line.

1 mile easy warm up on the dirt and then another 1/2 or so with strides on the hill near the starting line. I ran in to Karl and Caleb and chatted a bit. I saw Brad Osguthorpe with about 2 minutes before the start which officially put 1st place out of reach.

1st mile was very steep. Ran comfortable. Brad went out fast (probably 4:30). Before the mile marker Logan Fielding passed me and I ran behind him for a while. 

2nd mile had some uphill and I just ran behind Logan and let him set the pace. 3rd was gentle down, 4 was 1/2 down 1/2 up (about 60ft). I felt strong through 4. I passed Logan at 3.2 down the last hill. Brad was about 75 meters ahead at 3.5. 5 and 6 were tough, lots of hills which shut me down pretty hard and I fell of pace. I lost sight of Brad quickly during the hills. I recovered a bit by the last 1/2 mile and finished strong (2:28).

Splits: (4:55, 5:17, 5:03, 5:17, 5:34, 5:34,0:49) 

I had an outside hope for sub 32 but I'm pleased with the race. Went on a 2 mile cool down with Karl and then another 6 with Ty. All in all a great trip. Pinecreek was probably working against me a bit, hard to tell how much...but it was awesome. Who knows, maybe those 29 seconds were left in Zion somewhere? 

Good group this morning. Scott, Toni, Chad, Reed, Dan and Spencer...although Dan didn't make it far (darn SI). 

Felt a little fatigued but otherwise good. No tweaks! 

Lunch: 6 miles easy on the Sandy dry creek trail. Weights. 

Easy run with Scott and Toni. Felt sore/heavy. No double today for me.

Met Scott, Reed and Toni at the Lone Peak track at 5am. I still think it's crazy that 4 nutters will meet at the track for a pain session at 5am. What a cool group!

3m warm up, 2m cool down. I was still feeling a little tired but much better than yesterday. I couldn't find any excuses not to do my prescribed workout (and I was searching)! 40 degrees and a slight north breeze made for near-ideal conditions. 

6x1600 w/ 400m jog (about 2:30).

(5:11, 5:10, 5:09, 5:09, 5:10, 5:05)

Scott changed his mind about what he wanted to do after the first lap of the first interval and decided to join me. So grateful! The workout wouldn't have been what it was without him. The first one was a tough wake-up call. The next 3 were smooth and felt really good. #5 was harder. Scott's emergency break to the porta-potty afforded me a 4 minute recovery after 5 so #6 felt the easiest.

I'm happy with the workout. I've wanted to hit this one for a while now and the stars finally aligned. I didn't dip into the reserves and even had a little left in the tank.

Reed looked great out there too, he's really coming along. Scott, as always, was tough as nails...minus the stomach issues.  

PM: 7 miles easy on the Sandy dry creek trail. Felt surprisingly good.

Easy miles on the tread at the gym. It has been a while since I've done a treadmill run and I hope to avoid it in the future. Not fun. Horizontal snow and 30 mph winds at home. 

Missed the early crew. 

Easy run with Scott, Dan, Reed and Toni on the Jordan River trail. Very pleasant. Legs felt a little heavy. 

5x100m strides 

Up to Sugar House Park with Scott to meet Fritz, Kevin, Jake, Rob, Adam and John Kotter. 

11.3 mile warm up (warm up?) around Highland. Steady pace. Fun stuff. (6:50)

Tempo portion was around Sugar House Park loop. I forgot my watch (grr) so was running blind. After the first mile I swear I heard Kevin say it was 5:42. I knew I was in trouble if that was the case. The loop was pretty hilly and it wasn't being nice to me. I finished the first loop (about 1.4 miles) with Scott and Kevin and then slowly watched them pull away. I ran 3 more digressive loops and called it quits. I circled back and jogged around till everyone finished. 

We did 1 more loop for a cool down.

Later on Scott told me the first mile was 5:22! Made me feel a little better but still a disappointing workout.

Up all night with sick kids. Slept in and ran at lunch time. I was going to do 15 but my left calf felt a little tight at 7 so I headed back early. 

Threw in 6x160 meter strides at the end. Felt good. (6:59 avg)

Met Scott, Toni and Dan for a run on the Jordan River trail. Plan was to do a long tempo at MP (7-8 miles).

3m warm up. 3m cooldown.

5m tempo. I only made it 4.5 at 5:42 pace. Effort was way harder than it should have been. The same thing happend on Saturday. I'm having trouble sleeping. I think I'm starting to exhibit some signs of early overtraining. Thankfully I don't have any injuries or tweaks...just fatigue.

I'm going to back off the rest of this week and hopefully pick up the pieces next week and try and salvage what I can of SLC on the 20th.  

Met Scott and Reed for an easy run on the Murdock trail. It was painful to turn back half way out...

2 miles with the dog. No watch but it was very slow.

Very slow on the murdock trail with the dog. Feeling pretty good.

Perfect Saturday morning. Great group, good workout, perfect weather. I couldn't really ask for more. To name a few: Scott, Toni, Brandon, Reed, Dave, Melody, Chris... and more!

2 out n' backs. One on the Murdock trail to the north. One up Provo canyon.

First leg was pretty easy pace, I think we averaged 7s for the first 10. The next 2 were 6:45 and 6:30. Then Scott and I upped the pace for the next 3 ( 6:13, 6:05, 6:12 ), these were into the wind and slightly uphill so the effort was pretty close to my MP so I'll call them MP miles. 

We waited for a minute or the so at the top to regroup with Brandon and Reed and then started down. Scott said 5:20s. I thought he was joking. He wasn't. Next 3 (5:19, 5:19, 5:18). I started to feel it after 3 so I backed off for a 1/4 mile. Next two were 5:50, 5:45. 

It was a good workout. Legs were pretty fresh after 3 days off but I still wasn't feeling 100%. I think I'm out of the hole, just need to be careful the next 2 weeks and avoid digging a new hole.

1.25 miles of grass loops slow for  a cooldown. 

Brandon and Reed looked super strong today. Scott was a monster, as usual. Dan ran 20 miles! 

Met Scott, Reed, Spencer and Dan for Scott's 10 mile loop. Light wind and light rain the last half. Very pleasant. 7:20 pace.

Met Scott at the Lone Peak track at 5:30. A slight drizzle and gentle breeze did not provide excuse enough to postpone the workout so we started our warm-up. 3 miles on the trail through the golf course. 

The plan was Yasso's 800s. 
http://www.runnersworld.com/race-training/yasso-800s 

10x800m with 200 jog recovery (400 jog after #4 and #8)

Splits: (2:29,2:31,2:31,2:30,2:28,2:29,2:31,2:33,2:33,2:29) average 2:31

200m recovery was about 1:20, 400 about 2:30.

These felt harder than had I thought they would. The 800s we did 3 weeks ago were much easier.  I had lactic acid coming out my ears for 7 & 8.  I think I'm still in a bit of a recovery hole but I'm happy with the workout.

Scott and I ran together for the first 5 and then he constently pulled away the rest of the workout. I was very grateful to have him there to drag me through the last few, I'm not sure I could have done it on my own. 

1 mile cool down. 

Met Scott, Toni, and Dan for an easy out and back on the murdock trail @ 5:30am. Perfect weather and good conversation made for a very enjoyable run. I needed and enjoyed the recovery pace.

Met the gang in Orem for a run up Provo canyon. Easy pace on the way up. AT effort on the way down.

Splits: (5:39, 5:39, 5:38, 5:40, 5:35)

The goal was to get in a good sub-threshold effort. It felt smooth and easy (the downhill and tail wind probably helped a little :)). 

Then off to the hospital with Ashley for her workout. 6 hours of labor. She gave birth to a beautiful little girl. It was a perfect day.

Easy miles in the wind with the dog.

Ran the first part of the SLC marathon course with Toni and Ty. 

First 5.5 at easy pace. 8.5 tempo (AT effort) through the hilly section. 3.5 cooldown.

My right hamstring was tight the whole time. It started to pain me a little at the end of the tempo so I cut it short to 8.5. Otherwise felt really good. Averaged 5:55 for the tempo section. It's a good thing it's taper time!

Easy run from Scott's house with MATT!, Toni, Spencer and Reed. Just beat the storm. 

Wimped out and went to the gym. Crazy windy today so I'm glad I did. Treadmill was mind numbing. I ran 1 mile at MP to break the monotony.

Moderate workout this morning. 3 x 2mile LT reps.

1. 11:15 (5:39,5:35) - slightly uphill
2. 10:57 (5:29, 5:27) - flat
3. 10:51 (5:26, 5:25) - slightly downhill

Ran around Sandy at 10am. Good stuff. (7:19 avg)

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/296503875 

Weights: Squats, *ductors, bench, pull-ups, shoulders 

Ran on the murdock trail with Matt. Easy pace, good conversation, perfect weather makes for a great run. Felt good.

Met Toni, Dave Taylor and Ty in Orem for a ... run. I wanted to do 6 mile repeats at MP. It felt a little too hard so I only did 4. Legs are a little tired still. I'm hoping a taper will get things zippy again.

Splits: (5:45, 5:40, 5:40, 5:40, 5:55)

I really should relax my goals for SLC but what's the fun in that? 

Easy run on the murdock trail with the dog. (7:45)

Short warm up. Progressive tempo (5:57, 5:46, 2:26[0.5]).

Felt progressively better. First mile felt like garbage, last mile I felt strong. 

The Boston tragedy was awful.  Makes me sick. I'm glad folks on the blog were safe. I'm praying for those affected. I can't believe someone would mess with Boston Marathon. 

Easy miles in the cold wind.

Short out and back with the dog on Murdock. 2x800m in 2:50, 2:45. Felt OK...not as good as I hoped.

Easy run with a few strides. 

It was raining. It was chilly (39). It was breezy. I didn't go into the race with much optimism. I'm a bit of a wimp when it comes to the cold and the wind. Wimpy and marathon are a bad combo so I was trying to stay positive. 

Talked with a few folks at the starting line, had a moment of silence for those injured and slain at the Boston Marathon, and started the race to "Sweet Caroline".

 (Salt Lake Tribune)

The plan was to try and average 5:50 or so the 1st half and then see what I have left. It was lightly raining at the start but not too bad. First splits (1-5: 5:47, 5:54, 5:46, 5:46, 5:45). I was feeling OK. My stomach hurt, I could feel the oatmeal I ate that morning sitting high in my stomach. The pace felt right (must be the downhill!). I went through Sugar House conservatively (6,7: 5:56, 6:00). Here I saw Scott and Brandon who gave me a sports bottle with Gatorade in it. I'm super grateful for those two! They met me several times on the course with an easy-to-drink bottle and a towel! 

At this point something strange happened, at least for me. My left quad started to get very tight. Almost to the point of a strain. I backed off the pace a bit to try and encourage it to relax. It didn't. My energy levels felt great, all systems were firing but that quad threatened to end the race. It was dissapointing so early on. The next few miles were flat or uphill and I kept it conservative, then some downhill. (8-11: 6:00, 6:14, 5:50, 5:46).  I opened it back up a little on the downhill and the quad held up and gradually felt better. By 12 the pain was gone. Yay!

(12,13: 6:01, 6:14). Hills. Hard rain. I was getting cold, mostly my feet! The hills were over. I was 1:17 at the half, slower than I wanted but still in a good position. I'd moved into 3rd place up the hill. I opened it up a little on the downhill (14,15: 5:49, 5:47). Scott and Brandon met me again and provided a good drink. It was good to see them. At this point I had my next worry: both hamstrings started to tighten up. It was frustrating, again, because otherwise I felt great. Lots of energy, legs wanted to move but I really had to hold back to keep the hamstrings in check. These miles were mostly flat and now we were running north west, right into a steady wind. (16,17: 5:59, 6:03). Unfortunately, this time, the hamstrings didn't loosen up but got progressively worse. (18,19: 6:18, 6:11) were slightly uphill. I was still feeling good but felt like the hamstrings were on the edge. Still fighting the wind.

(20-22: 6:16, 6:13, 6:04) felt OK but I couldn't go much faster and now my calf (old injury from last August) started to flare up a little. I started to feel generally crappy at this point and just tried to salvage the rest of the race (23-26: 6:25, 6:35, 6:31). 

All in all, I'm happy with it. I think I was in shape for better... 6 minute PR so I can't complain.

I was really cold at the end but I had warm close in my drop bag. I met up with Ty, my dad, and Scott and Brandon at the end party. It was raining so it didn't last long. I went to my dad's car to thaw out then came back for the awards.

The podium was fun! Bryant and Seth are class acts. There were a good 9 people to watch us get our awards!  Altra wanted to interview us afterwards which was a new experience for me, I don't know if I'll ever see it. 

I've got a lot of work to do to get where I want to be but I'm happy with the race. 

I'm getting very antsy. The plan is to start running again as soon as there is no pain...anywhere. Almost there.

Easy run (if you could call it that) with the dog. 9 avg

Another easy run. 8:40 avg

Hil run on the powerline trail above Lehi with the dog in the sunshine. Very easy pace. Very pleasant. 

Met Scott, Matt, Toni, Reed and Spencer for balmy run on Scott's loop. Picked it up to around 6:00 for 3 miles. Hamstrings were tight for the first 3 but by the end they felt great. (6:50)

Easy run with Matt. Scott and Toni did hill sprints and a fast mile. Windy. (7:10)

Easy on Murdock with Scott, Matt, Toni and Spencer. (7:08)

Easy up Provo canyon with Matt, Scott, Brandon and Toni.

Hiking in Goblin Valley.

Scott and I decided to pace the provo city half marathon. We wanted to run somewhere between 1:15 and 1:20 as a good tempo run. 

I was a little apprehensive about such an effort this soon after SLC and my tender hamstrings but I just told myself if they flared up I'd quit.

Toni dropped us off at Vivian and we jogged up to South Fork. Chatted with a few folks and then continued up the canyon. We met up with Justin Park and finished his cool down with him.

There was a lot of positive race energy at the start. I felt like we were cheating, all the fun and none of the stress!

We started out about the same pace as Spencer, Melody and Kassy. Spencer dropped back after 3. Scott and I ran a steady pace, breaking the wind for Melody and Kassy. Melody dropped back a touch at 10 and Scott went back to support her. I pulled Kassy along to the finish.

Splits for the half: (5:55, 5:48, 6:07, 5:52, 5:48, 5:52, 5:56, 5:52, 5:52, 5:55, 5:57, 5:52, 5:52) 

Hamstring was a little tight but it held up the whole way. It was fun to see so many great performances today.  

Easy run on the Murdock canal road with the dog. Picked it up a little bit at the end just for good measure. Legs felt better than I thought they would.

Met Scott and Spencer at Lone Peak HS for a track workout. 3 mile warmup around the golf course. 2 laps of straight-away strides. The plan was to do some 400s, 10-15 with equal recovery. I was shooting for 70. 

Splits: (1:03, 1:07, 1:07, 1:08, 1:07, 1:08, 1:09, 1:09, 1:09, 1:09, 1:09, 1:04) 

I felt pretty good. I think there is still a little residual marathon fatigue in there but I was happy with the workout. We were obviously a little too excited as the first one was too fast. 

Scott and Spencer looked great. Perfect weather and temp. Couldn't ask for a better morning at the track. 

Met Matt, Scott, Reed, Spencer and Trevor for a steady loop around Thanksgiving Point. Good conversation and perfect weather made for a great run. Legs were sore from yesterday's beating. 

PM: 3 mile shakeout on the treadmill (8AP). Weights. 

Jordan River Trail with Matt and Scott. Beautiful morning. 6:54AP. Felt stiff and a little sluggish the first mile but great the rest of the way.

Slow run on the murdock trail with the dog. Last 2 miles with Spencer. Missed the group message to go later :p.

8AP 

Ready or not, here I come! 

A fast 5k seemed a good idea for some post-marathon turnover and Big Cottonwood fit the bill. Met up with Spencer and drove to the finish line, boarded the bus to the starting line. 30 people. Warm-up up the canyon for a mile or so. On the way up we passed the 10 mile mark, which was odd as they were intending to start the 5k about .25 down canyon. Got back from the warm-up and told the bored looking guy starting the race that we were in the wrong spot. He looked at me like I was an idiot. We finally convinced him to call the director who confirmed that we were in the wrong spot, so everyone hiked up to the real start line.

So far, this was the most poorly organized race I've run. Once everyone arrived the starter gave an unceremonious bleep with his megaphone and we were off. Spencer was still peeing in the weeds so he had to hurry and catch up.

Splits: 4:35, 4:51, 5:06, 5:04 (for the .2)

At the 3 mile mark the course deviated off the trail and into a parking lot for the finish. I missed the turn off and kept going straight. After about 3.3 I realized I had to be lost. I turned around and jogged back to the finish line. I was pretty pissed but didn't have anyone to blame other than myself.

Good news is, on the Garmin at least, I got my goal time (14:55). Good run nonetheless. I felt good. 4:35 was a bit of a system shock. There were 25ish STAIRS on mile 2. I need to figure out how to run a 5k without getting lost.  

Had a nice massage afterwards and headed out for a bit of a cool down with Spencer.  

Stayed up late. Slept in. 10 easy miles with the dog on a very warm morning. 7:30AP with a couple miles around 6:00. My left calf hurt to walk on Sunday. I thought I'd tweaked it again. It felt good today though. Cross my fingers.

Met Scott, Spencer, Matt, and Reed for a run on the Murdock trail. After 3 Scott dragged me a long for a bit of a tempo run. He was planning on 5 at hmp. 

I joined him for the first 2 (5:25,5:15). I had to take a pit stop after 2 so I let him go. I did one more on the way back (5:30). It was a good little push.  

Ran with Scott, Matt, and Spencer along the Jordan River Trail. Good conversation about wild animal attacks and some interesting residency stories from Matt made the time fly by. (7:04AP)

Late night, slept in. Ran at 11:30. I wanted to do another tempo effort. I ran out of gas after 2 miles, gave up after 3. I think I was dehydrated, it was a little hot.

LTs (5:32,5:30,6:09)

Legs felt great, cardio, not so much. 

Easy run (excepting the Mother) with Matt, Reed, Brandon and Spencer. (7:10ap)

Met Matt and Brandon in Orem for a run up Provo canyon. Brandon stuck with us through 6. It rained from 4 - 12. We turned around at about 3 miles up South Fork. We decided to do a little push down the canyon. As we started it starting raining HARD with a strong head wind. Our 5:20 ambitions turned to 5:50. We settled in around 6:00s and kept that up for around 8 miles. A fun, cold run!

Easy run with Scott, Spencer, Reed and Matt. 7:08ap

Track workout with Matt, Scott and Reed. I couldn't decide what to do. I was feeling too lazy to do a lot of volume. Matt was going to do a few 8s and a few 1/4s so I decided to start with him and see what happened.

I ended up doing 4x800 (2:28, 2:21, 2:16, 2:24) and 3x400 (66,68,59).

Inconsistent. It was fun to open it up a little on the 3rd 800 and the last 400. The last 100m of the 59 brought back some good highschool/college 800m race memories of lactic acid coming out my ears.

Fun stuff. Matt was just whetting the appetite and Scott was ripping them out a mere 3 days after the Ogden half! Reed had a great session too. Super fun to be going to the track with such a great group of guys.  

Easy run with Matt, Spencer and Scott around thanksgiving point. (7:22ap)

Provo canyon run with Brandon, Matt, Reed and Spencer. 7:20s up. Reed and Spencer sped up a bit on the way back. After a mile I decided to try and catch them. 2 miles in 5:16 and 5:13. Caught Reed near the end of mile 2. Easy the rest of the way. Felt good.

JRT with Scott, Matt and Reed. A little chilly but pleasant. We saw a yellow headed black bird, yes, it was really called that. Who's naming these things? (~7ap)

Up and Down AF canyon + Matt, Reed, Spencer, Walter and Chris. 10 miles up at around 7:20 avg. 6 Down (5:45, 5:15, 5:25, 5:25, 5:20, 5:30, 6:00). Felt ok but not great. 

Easy run in the morning on the Thanksgiving loop with Matt and Spencer and ... I'm forgetting. 3.1 at the AF memorial 5k with my son Ezra. He ran 26:01, a big PR for him. It was fun to see Matt and Brandon and their sons tearing it up. Spencer ran back and forth between everyone and gave encouragement. It was a great time!

Scott's loop with Scott, Matt, Spencer and Reed. EVERYONE had to take a pit stop at 3. At 4 I reluctantly decided to follow Scott and Matt on a tempo leg. I only did 3 but they felt really good, way better than Saturday. (5:19, 5:14, 5:19). I felt good, could have kept it up but I'm wary of digging myself another hole.

JRT with Scott, Spencer and Matt. Gorgeous morning. Teaming with wildlife. We saw a huge heron up close and a few big pelicans. Great morning. (7:05avg)

Late night, slept in. Ran with the dog up through the Lehi foothills. I couldn't find my garmin so I wore a timex and mapped the run manually. It was tough. 2k feet elevation change.

http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/217977569

1:46 total running time 

Easy run with a big group at Scott's house. Good times.

We had a good crew today. I met Matt, Scott, Brandon, Reed, Jodi, Chris and Steve at the soccer fields in Orem. 8 miles up to a little past Vivian park. (7:09AP).

The plan was to do some tempo on the way down. Matt and I had talked about 5, I thought I'd just play it by ear but I wanted to get some good half marathon pace work in. I felt good from the start and just went by feel.

Splits: 5:23, 5:21, 5:06, 5:05, 5:12 

I went into this with basically fresh legs. A light 3 mile tempo run on Tuesday and easy miles since. 

General Poulsen threw the hammer down on mile 5 and blew past me. He's coming back with a vengeance. Scott, on his 3rd speed work out of the week was right there. Reed and Brandon hit some fast times as well. Big fun.

Afterward I did some barefoot grass laps (1.3m) with Scott with 3x200m bursts. 

+Scott, Matt and Reed.

Scott's loop, easy. Felt tired the first half, better the second half.  Beautiful morning.

Tempo run at Scott's house with Matt, Scott, Reed and Spencer. 4 up 3 down.

5k: 5:18, 5:21, 5:20, :31 - 16:31

Felt good.  Saturday primer. 

Easy run with Matt, Scott and Reed on the Murdock Trail. Perfect weather, fun conversation. Couldn't ask for more.

Slept in. Ran up in the foot hills with the dog. Beautiful weather and great terrain. I really like this area.

Ran up in the mountains above Strawberry reservoir with my cousin Tom. 10:30 ap!!!