running for my mind

AM - Hot tub and stretching.

PM - 4 easy to stay loose. Felt good. Usually feel the Saturday run more on Monday morning so we will see how tomorrow feels. 

8.25 on the parkway

As predicted, I felt a little more tired and heavy-legged this morning. Trying to plan this week. Want to have a track session and a tempo. Excited to see how they go. 

8.5 progression 8 down to 7. 

Writing this in my car stopped on Highway 89 (arguably illegal). I have gone about a mile in the last 30 minutes. Worst driving conditions of the winter on March 3rd. 

11 - 7:09 - 515 ft.

Met Fritz, Noah, and Nate at Highland for a track workout. Warmed up with a lap of Sugar House. The track was covered in snow so we improvised and headed to do laps of the inside of Sugar House. We did 8 x 1/2 mile on and 1/4 mile off. It was an exercise in blowing apart and hanging on for me. I am pleased with the effort considering the hills. The 6th repeat was really rough though. My left leg got upset and I almost pulled the plug. I was able to collect myself though during the rest and felt a lot better on 7 and 8. Cooled down for a few with Fritz.

I will either run a tempo on Friday or on Saturday mixed into a long run. There is a chance I might head to the Wedge Overlook on Saturday and run easy on a trail. If I head down there, I hope to work the tempo on Friday. Decisions. Decisions.

10 easy 

Felt ok considering yesterday's workout, but I can definitely feel it in my quads. Glad  my calf doesn't hurt though. That is important to me. My left side near my hip and glute is a little sore. I am contributing that to the 4:45 pace we did down the steep hill at Sugar House on repeats 1 and 3 yesterday. Should be fine, but I will watch it closely.

6.25 

I was contemplating a tempo today or tomorrow. Decided to toss it into the middle of my long run tomorrow and recover a little more today. Legs are still feeling Wednesday's blowup workout.

18 - 6:58 - 906ft

Didn't feel good from the moment I laced up. Met Jen and Emily at Liberty and ran up to the U and then ran the Salt Lake half course. 

I had planned on 18-20 with a tempo of 6 in the middle. Jen wanted to finish strong but not do the middle tempo. I simply felt off. It was not that I was running particularly slow, I just didn't feel good. We were already giving a solid effort by the time we hit 11th avenue. Here, I contemplated bagging the tempo and just slog to the end in my funk. Instead I decided to try and shake the funk with 2 miles at half marathon effort. When I finished those, still feeling like junk, I decided to keep running. I ended up with 4 at a 6:06 average.

Once again I was spent and it was time to hang on till the end of the long run. I circled back and met Jen and Emily and finished strong back to Liberty still feeling pretty miserable. I lost them on the Liberty loop and called it good at 18. It was another good test of running the legs down and then having to muster the strength to continue. We had a couple at marathon pace after my tempo so all in all I am happy with the run and the speed I got in with the miles.

30 minutes on the spin bike to warm and lossen up. 

Foam roller action. Old photo, I even think I posted it previously, but still good  

10 nice and easy. 

Don't know exactly how this week will play out and what goals I have. I might use it as a little bit of a down week. I have been going pretty strong with consistent high mileage. Could be nice to back off one week and rest up a tad. Hill repeats on Wednesday and then possibly a tempo run on Friday. Thursday is Whit's 30th birthday so we have some weekend plans that will take precedence over running.

8 easy.

that's it.

Drove over to HHS to meet Fritz and crew, but I was the only one that showed. We had planned on hill repeats but I contemplated other options as I warmed up around Sugar House. I ultimately decided on a 6 mile tempo at goal-ish marathon pace. I have been wanting to do this for a bit and decided this morning was as good a time as any. My legs were feeling good and I had taken the previous 2 days pretty easy.

I decided to run an out and back along 1700 to keep the tempo flat and honest. Within the first mile I could tell that I was breathing too hard. It felt almost more like something between 5k and half marathon effort. (I would say 10k effort, but I have never run one before so I have no idea what that feels like). Each time I looked at my watch, my pace seemed to slip back to 6:25. I should have maybe taken that as a sign and just tried to maintain that, but I wanted the 6:15-6:20. I contemplated pulling the plug at 3 miles, but pushed it to 4. My legs were starting to feel heavy and it was AGAIN not my day.

6:18, 6:18, 6:15, 6:16

I ran back to Sugar House and decided to punish myself a little more with some hill repeats on the eastside grassy knoll. I did 10 up and down and then finished the morning with a lap of Sugar House. 

Random rambling: Perhaps I need to commit to just having a down week. I probably should not have attempted the tempo this morning. I have had some good workouts and long runs in the past 2 weeks, but I need to get in a good tempo that will build my confidence. Maybe that needs to wait until next week. I still have some time until Ogden, but I feel like it is going to creep up fast. 

Also, maybe I need to adjust my goal pace for Ogden. Then again, maybe it is too early to tell. I have been logging more miles this cycle. I have thought that my body has adjusted and I should be able to nail workouts, but maybe I need to back off mileage? My easy days are run super slow so I know I am not burning out on those. I will likely finish out this week pretty easy and then hopefully feel refreshed for next week.

Any thoughts are welcome.

Finally, the real champion this morning was the sunrise. It was outstanding.

7.25

day one of resting

got out a little early and beat the rain. funny how warm 48 degrees feels.

going to put together some comparison charts later today. i like looking at data so i am interested to see how my different training cycles look next to eachother.

9

Had wanted to get out earlier and get a few more miles in and have today be my "long" run. However, waking at 4:15 just wasn't in the cards. Might just do a medium run tomorrow and call it for the week. Hopefully recharge and feel better next week.

12 - 2,700ft

Headed to the hills to get lost for a while.

A photo posted by runmehappy (@runmehappy) on Mar 14, 2015 at 3:41pm PDT

rest day

10 easy on the parkway. My quads are pretty sore from the elevation on Saturday's run. 

Don't know what the plan is for this week. I am going to run the Running of the Leopards on Saturday, and might do a track workout on Wednesday. 

That's as far as I have gotten in my plan.

PM - hot tub / massage / stretch

9.5 on the parkway. 

Quads are still pretty sore from Saturday's downhill poundin.

I wore green to the office to avoid any creepy co-worker pinching me. I have a personal bubble at least one guy finds it funny to try and enter.

Right near my house is what I have designated as the "Foxy Loop." It is 1.53 miles and essentially flat. I thought it would be a good workout to do two loops with a half mile rest in between. I had a goal to hold a 6:00 pace for the loops, thus ~9 min per loop. I was pretty wiped by the end, but was pleased with my effort.

8:59 and 8:56

I don't know if 1.5 miles at 6:00 should feel easier to me or not. I was thinking about it when I was cooling down and it was a year ago in June when I really started logging my first back to back miles sub-6. Those were running with Josh and Adam along 11th Ave and down Memory Grove. With that in perspective, I think I should be pleased I can hold that pace for 1.5 on the flat, but I don't know if I should be improving more.

Still planning on racing Saturday and then will hope for a good tempo next week to judge where my marathon pace fitness is at. Hope to have some help with that tempo so I don't have to go it solo.

8

might not be able to run with the leopards on saturday. need to find a sitter for the girls.

6

felt good to only run 6.

I have been in a bit of a rut lately and I was hoping that I felt good today racing and the race would pull me out of the rut. It did!

Saw Anthony at the registration and then waited for Whit to show up with our two girls. My mom came and picked them up and Whit and I hopped on the bus. This was my first time running this race and it was interesting taking a bus for a 5k. I warmed up 3 miles solo and then made my way to the start. Saw Dan on his bike and he told me that he wanted to see a 17:30 out of me today. I told him that was the goal and what I was hoping for. 

I toed the line with Anthony right in front of me. I knew this way I could avoid having to run around anyone in the first 50 meters. Front pack took off flying and I quickly backed off after seeing sub-5 on my watch. I anticipated a 5:45-5:50 first mile and then was planning on dropping the pace from there. 

I was feeling good and controlled so I tried to just run off of effort and only look at my watch on occasion to keep me in check. First mile came in a 5:35 and I was pleased. I was a little worried about blowing apart, but I handled the incline alright through research park. I backed off a hair but kept a steady pace. This is where I was able to clip off a few people. Once we turned down Wakara, we were pretty separated and I ran about 30 meters back from a guy the rest of the race. Mile 2 came in 5:33 and I was a little worried how I would feel to the finish.

I started to fade a bit on Sunnyside in the final mile, but was still able to hold a 5:40. It was great to see Rob right before entering the track. He told me I only had a 400 to go and it gave me the boost I needed. So, though it is an aided course, I still feel like I ran my best 5k to date. Happy with a PR and happy that I felt good after. I walked back up Sunnyside and ran back to the track with Whit. I am proud of her for getting out there and running. She pretty much hates running, but is trying to get over that. 

We met my mom and the girls and Whit took off. I cooled down a couple miles with Anthony and then headed home. All in all it was a great morning and I am feeling good. I am feeling out of the rut and ready to hit the marathon training again next week. 

5:35, 5:33, 5:39, and :38 - 17:26 - 5:34avg

couple mile walk with the family around the foxy loop. felt good to loosen things up a bit. feel surprisingly good considering the turnover from yesterday.

8 easy miles

ZERO calf pain. super happy about that. scratching off some goals!

10 easy and slightly breezy

Met Daniel and Noah at HHS, warmed up with a lap of Sugar House, and hopped the fence to the track.

Ran 3 x Daniel 484s with 400 rests. This was a new workout for me and one that Daniel does frequently. It goes like this...one fast(er) 400, straight into an 800 at slightly faster than race pace, and finish going straight into another faster(er) 400.

It was a great workout. Tests you on running race pace with a little tired legs from the first 400 and then tests you on picking up the pace again for the last 400. I will definitely be doing more of these. They seemed to go by faster than straight mile repeats because of the changing it up in the middle. I felt consistent and they were not miserable. Will try to push the 400s a little harder next time.

1:22, 3:04, 1:22 = 5:48
1:20, 3:03, 1:21 = 5:44
1:20, 3:03, 1:21 = 5:44

10 on the parkway

glad i didn't really have any niggles lingering from yesterday's workout. no calf pain...another victory.

there is a long long long thread on fb regarding shoes and their potential lifespan. people can get pretty heated. 

7 on the JRP from 33rd southbound.

Jeff and I drove and met Tyler for an easy 7 with a 100 meter all out spontaneous sprint to avoid the skunk I almost stepped on! Closest encounter to date with one of those smelly critters. 

23 - 6:57 - 723 ft.

Met Jen and Daniel at Liberty and drove one car up to 11th ave. Ran roughly miles 1-24 of the Salt Lake Marathon course. Solid effort the whole way. Jen is looking strong and is going to do great. I predict she will be crossing that tape and holding it high. Daniel is a beast and I hope he gets his PR. He is going to run hard.

I am going to say that I am officially past the rut I was in a week ago. I felt good during this run. I had a couple ups and downs, but felt strong to the end. We kept a solid effort and I was able to pick it up at the end. Hoping for another several weeks of solid training before the taper to Ogden.

7:30, 6:57, 6:48, 6:36, 7:22, 7;04, 7:15, 7:07, 7:17, 6:48, 7:12, 7:10, 7:07, 7:05, 6:54, 6:50, 6:41, 6:56, 7:09, 6:44, 6:29, 6:34, 6:21

rest day

walked quite a bit and went to the park in the evening. still hit 10,000 steps for the day. not really sore from yesterday's run. we'll see how i feel tomorrow. usually a little worse the second day for me.

10 easy on the parkway. felt pretty good. a little lingering soreness from saturday, but no pains or aches. success!

my oldest daughter, georgia grey, is three today. it is pretty neat to see her grow and develop an infectious personality.

 

This beautiful lady made @wclissold and me parents three years ago today. Happy birthday Georgia Grey!

A photo posted by james e clissold (runmehappy) (@james_clissold) on Mar 30, 2015 at 7:55am PDT

10

the morning temperatures are great right now