running for my mind

AM

I met Josh at the track and had a loose plan to do 6x800 depending on how the legs felt. I have the 5k on Friday so I wanted to feel 5k pace or just a hair faster. Legs felt heavy and my left hamstring area issue was noticeable. After 4 I could tell I was starting to favor the left leg so I did 400s for the last 2 repeats. 

2:53, 2:48(too fast), 2:56, 2:54, 85, 87.

I am pleased with this workout. My legs are still feeling the 40 miles from Ragnar and the jolting downhill. Will likely get in a couple faster miles tomorrow and then have an easy day Thursday.

PM

4.5 easy. I had 35 minutes to kill while Jiffy Lube earned more than I believe they deserve.

Memory Grove to Virginia loop with Josh. 2 faster miles averaging 5:52. Going to take it easy tomorrow and hope for the best in the 5k Friday.

6 easy solo along the parkway. Resting up for tomorrow's 5k.

Plan for tomorrow is to run the first mile at 6:00ish, speed up for the second mile, and then hang on. I ran a 19:25 last year and that was my first 5k. I hope to beat that and then some. 

I had 3 goals going into this race. "C" goal was to beat my time last year which was 19:25. "B" goal was sub-19. "A" goal was in the 18:30s.

The course was short by everyone's account, but regardless it was a good race for me. I had told myself to run the first mile at 6:00 and then speed up for mile 2 and then hold on. Mile 1 felt good and I backed off a little half way through cause Hille and I were going a little too fast. Mile one was right at 6:00.

Hille and I made the turn back north and I pulled a few body lengths ahead of him. I figured he was right off my shoulder so I didn't even look. Mile 2 felt alright. I wasn't hurting yet and it came in at 5:50. I tried to approach the hill smart and this is when I entered the pain cave. I tried to relax and was able to shake a few demons and refocus. I passed a few people on the hill and that boosted my confidence.

By the top of the hill, mile 3 average was in the 6:20s. I committed to not looking at my watch again and just running off of feel and getting this thing done. Mile 3 was 6:01 (which I am stoked on because last year I faded and ran 3 at a 6:28). When I got close to the end and looked up the clock read 17:51. I figured that had to be wrong but I gave it one last push to come in just under 18:00.

Hille finished about 12 seconds back and ran a great race.

Hope everyone enjoys their 4th! Whit gave me an American flag tank and I couldn't think of a better race to wear it in.

Easy along the parkway. Scott was with me for 17. Didn't worry about pace. Just took it easy and steady and logged the miles

Easy on the parkway with Josh. Legs felt heavy the first couple of miles, but then they loosened up a bit. Our morning group is dwindling but JJ is holding strong.

Track workout this morning solo. Josh was doing hill repeats and I never heard back from Scott. Thanks to Jake for suggesting this workout. I feel good about the execution and the splits. Goal was 1600, 1200, 800, 400, 4x200. Start at roughly 5k pace or slightly faster and drop the pace with each interval. Active recovery of half the previous split distance and then straight into the next repeat. 3200 warmup and 3200 cooldown as well.

5:40, 4:14, 2:41, 77, 38, 38, 37, 36

Memory Grove / Avenues loop with Josh. Legs felt less than snappy. Fatigue attributed to yesterday's workout, so I must have done something right...presumably.

I thought this post on KSL was rather clever, yet maybe a little too long.

Hit snooze on my alarm and contemplated just staying in bed. I didn't sleep well and started to make the argument that sleeping an extra hour would be better and that I would get a run in later. Then my logical side rebutted stating there is no way I would get a run in later this evening. Also, I always regret sleeping more and never regret a run. I was lying there lacking motiviation. Then, the thought came to me that a trail run would be fun and a change of pace. So, on came the trail shoes, which I don't wear often, and I logged some miles on the dirt.

A few of us, maybe more, are going to do a final test or primer for DesNews on Saturday. Don't know exactly what to expect for that race yet. Hope to have a better idea after Saturday.

Along the parkway with Josh and up into my neighborhood. Gnats seemed to be worse on the way out. Pleasant breeze on the way back. 

I have been informed by several family members that my profile photo is "too revealing" and that I should remove it. 

Good run with a couple really good pushes. Had a group of 5 of us - John, Jake, Brayden, Scott, and I.

Ran down emigration to liberty park. Did a push of 5 miles with John. Did another 1 mile pickup along south temple and then a half a mile last effort at mile 19.

5:59, 6:01, 5:54, 5:56, 5:37

5:58

3:00

It is warm out there ladies and gentleman!

I have been wanting to run from our house to my mother-in-law's on a Sunday afternoon for a while now to test back to back long runs. I was just waiting for a Sunday we were planning on dinner there.

I left at 1:49 in the heat of the day with a small race pack filled with ice water. After yesterday's run, I had no pace goal. I didn't look at my watch and turned off auto lap. I had a couple low points and almost pulled the plug with about 3 miles left.

I want to just sit and watch a movie now.

80 miles in the last 7 days.

6 easy on the parkway with Josh. Was tight in my right soleus and my hips for a few miles.

AM

Stretching and some PT at home. Needed a good night's sleep and finally got one. Hoping to make it to a hot tub tonight for a good massage of the legs and then back to running tomorrow. Goal is to get the legs feeling pretty good by next Thursday for DesNews.

8 with Josh on the avenues loop. Did 8 strides in the last 3 miles. Fun to have some faster turnover. Josh had some compression wear on and it reminded me to put mine on today for work to see if it can help with my lingering soreness, mostly in my right calf. So, I currently have full length compression tights AND compression socks on. Hope the a/c runs all day at the office!

Last workout before DesNews. Planned on doing a 4 mile tempo at roughly 6:30 and if I felt decent I would push the last mile to get it closer to 6:00. My legs have felt pretty sore lately and I have not run much at the 6:30 goal marathon pace so I didn't know how it was going to feel. Felt alright.

6:25, 6:24, 6:20, 5:56

I am a little nervous about DesNews and don't know how my leg will hold up on the several slower sections. Only easy miles for the next week and then going to give my all.

6 easy on the parkway with Josh.

Easy on the parkway in the heat. Started just after 9 and it was warm. There was a slight breeze on the way back that made it more tolerable. Now, back to the heat to mow the lawn.

Easy on the parkway with Josh. It's officially race week and I am surprised that we are already nearing the end of July. 

trying to stay calm

DesNews Half tomorrow. I have had my sights set on a sub-1:20 half marathon and that is the "A" goal for tomorrow. It is a reach goal and I like that it scares me a little bit. PR is a 1:23.42 so it would be a big leap for me on a less aided, yet still aided course. "C" goal would be to get a PR and the "B" goal lies somewhere around 1:21.

Good luck to all those racing tomorrow.

1:21.54 - B performance with A effort. I was really hoping for sub-1:20, but feel good about my effort considering the conditions. I am happy with the PR too. 

John picked me up from Liberty Park at about 4:25 and we headed up to the stadium to catch our bus. John mentioned that his back was already sweating on the bus ride up. It was going to be a warm one, but we knew that going in. After resting for a bit, John and I did about a mile or so warmup up the canyon. The wind was blowing pretty hard in our faces as we were heading up. We stopped to turn around and chatted about how the headwind could be pretty strong and if so we would have to adjust our goal. 

We met up with Jeff and Angie at the start who were also shooting for sub-1:20. Angie said she was going to try and conserve a little energy and Jeff was hoping for sub-6:00s in the canyon like John and I. We were off and the first 2 miles felt easy. 5:49 and 5:58. During mile 3 we had some gusts of wind and every right turn they seemed to get stronger for the next several miles. John, Jeff, and I didn't say anything to eachother, but I think we all had the same thought simultaneously that we needed to maintain effort, but not try and fight the wind. This resulted in slower miles than we had hoped, but it was the smart decision, I think. 6:00, 6:07, 6:17 (that one was hard to see this early), 6:12.

We kept plugging away together until we made it out of the canyon. At this point I was showing a 6:06 average. I still had hopes for something close to 1:20, but knew it would be tough. At the aid station near the zoo, Jeff pulled away and John fell back a bit. I was happy to see mile 7 come in at 6:05. I had planned on slowing for mile 8 across Foothill and then hoped to drop back down when it banked left by the stadium. I was tiring at this point, but it was not horrible. 6:20. Ok, that is tolerable, now just one more slower mile across 13th and then I can pick it back up down South Temple. 6:15. 

I hit South Temple and the legs didn't come back as planned. For a bit, I entered survival mode. I could still see Jeff up ahead and it seemed like I was gaining on him just a bit. I knew I could keep him in sight and just keep plugging away. The two miles comprising mostly South Temple came in at 6:27 and 6:35. Made the turn on 200 East and saw that Jeff was a little closer. I also had a kid in a bright yellow singlet only about 5 seconds up. I committed to maintaining that gap and trying to close it near the end. 6:21. As I looked up to the final aid station on 200 East I saw Jeff walk through it. I passed the kid in yellow and then caught up to Jeff after making the final turn onto 900 South. 6:43. We ran together for about 100 feet and then a younger kid passed us and Jeff told me to chase him down. I honestly thought I didn't have it in me. I hesitated for a few seconds and then went for it. I eased onto the effort and he was still 15 ft. up when I hit 500 East. I started my kick and passed him right before the finish. 0:41

So, all in all I am happy. I don't want to blame the wind for anything. It is just part of racing. It really was a strong headwind at times and I think most experienced it. I am stoked with an almost 2 min PR on what I believe to be a tougher course than Timp. Big thanks to Josh for running with me often and helping me push myself. It is paying off. Now time to focus my training on St. George where I have a goal of sub-2:50.

Congrats to all those that raced today! It was fun to see Fritz, Josh, and others finish the full before I had to bail to work.

6 easy with Josh and Dan on the parkway. It was good to run with Dan. I have not hung out with him in years. We used to work together before law school. He is training for the Big Cottonwood Marathon. 

My right calf is still pretty sore from last Thursday's race. I don't really know what to do about it, but just give it time I guess. I massaged it after the run today and it is aching even worse now as I sit at work. Going to take the majority of this week easy with maybe a moderate run on Thursday, but no track workout. 

Hiked up to Lake Catherine (some spell it with a "K") on Saturday and that seemed to loosen up the legs a bit. I want to feel back at 100% before I do any intense workouts in preparation for St. George.

Also, I thought I would see if anyone is interested in coming on Saturday to runmehappy's summer event. We are hosting an outdoor dance party! Below is a flyer and check out runmehappy.com/news and the Facebook page for more information.

Slept right through my alarm. Didn't hit snooze or anything. Just simply slept a full hour right through it. 

Warmed up the legs in a hot bath and then did some stretching and a little massage to my calf. Might try and get a few miles in tonight or I might just take the day off. I am still feeling the effects of last week so I am not too concerned about resting a little more than usual. 

Aves loop with Josh. Legs felt good this morning. My shirt was soaked by the end, but the temperature felt nice. Still going to take the rest of the week rather easy, maybe a moderate paced run tomorrow, and get back to some workouts next week.

Thursdays are officially my moderate run or tempo run days from now until St. George.

Was planning on 12 miles with 2 mile up and 2 down and 8 at a moderate pace somewhere near 7:05. After the first mile I felt good so I just decided to make it a progression down and see if anything started to hurt more than normal. Everything felt fine so I just went with it. I feel good about this workout. I almost wish there was a field for "Moderate Pace Miles." For anyone who cares, I am considering roughly 6:30-6:50 as marathon pace and 6:50-7:10 moderate pace. Obviously that is mostly just for my own reference. 

7:09, 6:55, 6:54, 6:46, 6:36, 6:29, 6:28, 6:19