running for my mind

8.5 easy at the gym where we were staying in Midway. Awesome weather up there this weekend.

Mile repeats at the West High track with Brayden and Scott. Goal was 4x1 mile at about the 6:00 pace or slightly faster if I felt up to it. Felt good on all of them and progressively dropped the pace. 

5:53, 5:51, 5:44, 5:37

10...

Goal for today was to run a moderate pace average for 14 miles so as to wear out the legs a little bit. We are running a simulation of St. George on Saturday and I wanted my legs to be a little fatigued going in. I think this run accomplished exactly what I wanted. I pushed the pace a little more than originally planned, but felt good and came in at a 7:04 average.

Legs were a little non-responsive for a few miles. Loosened up though and I am excited for tomorrow's run. Should be a challenge and a confidence booster.

Perfect conditions for a St. George simulation run this morning.

Alarm went off at 4, ate a piece of toast with some peanut butter and jam, and drove to meet Scott and John at Liberty. Hopped in John's car and drove to the top of Big Mountain, picking Brayden up along the way.

Started running just after 5:30 and my goal was to run 5 at an easy to moderate effort and then roll into a 10 mile tempo of 6:30 average. The tempo would include 1 mile before Little Mountain, the climb up Little, and the descent down Emigration. So, I would have to work to average 6:30.

Warm up miles were - 6:58, 6:53, 7:01, 7:12, 7:26. A little fast, especially at the beginning, but the effort was right.

First mile of tempo approaching Little Mountain was 6:50. It had an uphill and I was easing into the faster turnover. I hoped to log close to a 7:30-7:45 up Little Mountain and was pleased when it came in at 7:16. I locked into a groove on the hill and felt pretty smooth. Mile 3 was essentially half up and half down and came in at 6:51.

I felt great in the canyon and decided to just continue the effort, knowing I got to stop the tempo at the zoo. The goal was about 6:15s to get the average down after the climb. Canyon splits were 6:13, 6:16, 6:07, 6:11, 6:07, 6:07, 6:02.

I am pleased with those. I got gradually faster as the canyon got less steep. Average for the 10 was 6:24.

Finished at a moderate pace with a little kick thrown in at 21 to finish the 22 with a 6:44 average. 6:56, 6:45, 6:43, 7:06, 7:15, 6:25, 7:33.

I am officially excited for St. George.

8 - Might take a few days to get my legs working properly again after Saturday's simulation. I loosened up after a couple of miles, but now my legs are pretty sore again. I am planning on this week being my last before I start to taper for St. George. I was not planning on being as sore this morning though. 

10 - lingering niggles, but that is to be expected I guess.

Heads up to mark your calendars if you are interested. On the 27th at 6:30pm we are going to host an outdoor house concert with a couple local singer/songwriters. Should be a great time!

10 along the parkway. Legs felt better (more snappy) this morning, but still have some lingering tightness in my left calf/soleus and my right quad and hip. Don't know yet if I should hold off on the tempo tomorrow or if I should go for it and then get feeling better during my taper that starts next week.

Last long tempo before St. George. 2 mile warmup - 10 at pace - 2 cooldown.

I am going to chalk this up to one of my best runs...not because I felt great. It was actually the exact opposite. My legs were tired from mile 1 but I pushed on. For the first couple of miles, every time I looked at my watch I swear it read 6:35. I had to push to get it down. I considered just caving to a slower pace, knowing that Saturday's run was still in my legs, but then I decided it would be a perfect test of fast miles on tired legs. And, it was.

6:26, 6:27, 6:25, 6:24, 6:18, 6:17, 6:16, 6:13, 6:14, 6:06  --  6:18 avg.

Goal for St. George is sub 2:50. I need to average right about 6:30. I feel ready. One more long run on Saturday and then time to start the taper.

10 easy on the parkway. It was a brisk morning and it felt great. You could feel fall in the air.

Easy with Brayden and Scott. Felt pretty tired throughout. Legs were heavy. Cumulative fatigue from the last three weeks and the few months prior. Dropped the pace on mile 20 to a 6:23.

It is my last day teaching at the U this year. I look forward to more open Saturdays. I need a nap.

Met Scott and Brayden at West High track and did 10x800. I guess this is the Yasso test before St. George. Goal was to be consistent at 2:50 for all 10 and leave some in the tank.  I think I accomplished that. Now, it is time to taper. 

2:50.1, 2:49.9, 2:50.0,  2:49.8, 2:50.0, 2:49.8, 2:49.9, 2;49.9, 2:49.7, 2:50.0

(Decided to add the tenths because it wouldn't be as fun to type, or read, 2:50 ten times)

Easy out and back on a straight road from the Offshore Marina in Lake Powell toward the lake and back. 

6.15 - Climbed to the plateau and ran out and back on the north side. 

8.15 - Climbed to the plateau and ran out and back on the south side.

Climbed to the plateau and circumnavigated it twice counter-clockwise. Was sick of trail running by this run.

Was mostly going off of time on my feet for these trail runs in Lake Powell this week. Had some slow miles with a lot of climb up and down.

Worried.

I told myself I would be careful in Lake Powell and not do anything to jeopardize St. George. I stuck to that, but had a fluke fall on a ski on Saturday and bruised my ribs. My ski slipped out from under me in an odd way and I landed on my side. It really didn't seem like a big deal at all. However, my left elbow must have jammed into my side and it managed to bruise my ribs through my life jacket. 

This morning's 6 miles were painful. I couldn't get my breathing in a rhythm because I couldn't take a deep breath. Hoping 12ish days is enough to heal. Any suggestions on speeding up the healing process are welcome.

5 easy on the parkway. Felt a little better this morning. Chest is still in pain but I taped it this morning and that maybe helped a little. Ice and anti-inflamatory pills are routine. Going to apply some old IcyHot I found in a drawer. Hope the aging of the cream makes it a special healing agent.

Took the morning off. 

Thought it might make a difference.

I feel the same or worse than yesterday.

I feel better in the evening, almost like it works itself out a little during the day.

Then I feel like crap again in the morning. 

My boss just said, "You won't be running that marathon."

I replied, "I have put in too much work to back out now."

He replied, "There will always be other ones."

I don't like that attitude.

.

Another day of rest. Feeling considerably better than yesterday. I didn't want to push anything this morning and risk taking 2 steps back after taking 1 step forward.

Hoping to get out for an easy run tomorrow and Saturday.

Maybe I will start selling essential oils after all of this.

5 easy on the parkway - Today, I am confident I will run St. George. I am happy to say that.

Running this morning was still a little rough but it was different than Monday or Tuesday. Before I left the house, I did the stair and jump test. I could go up and down the stairs and jump in place without any pain. Previously, the bouncing caused pain. This was great news for me, so I hit the road and really only had a light ache and pain when running. It would increase if I had to take a deep breath or if I were to cough or try to clear my throat. I averaged just under 7:30 and ran a half a mile at 7:00. The increase in speed didn't really cause more pain.

I suspect I will continue to heal and will hopefully not have any or very minimal pain by next Saturday.

Met John and Scott at John's and did a 10 mile loop. With 3 at just under a 6:30 average. 

Ribs felt okay but not great. Still have a week to heal some more. Legs felt fine on the tempo 3 but lungs felt odd. Hurts to clear my throat or spit, cough...and I pray I don't sneeze during the marathon! 

It is going to be a great race next weekend. 

Resting up for the big dance. Ribs are fickle little things. Trying to stay positive. They hurt more this morning than they did on Friday and Saturday. Couldn't pass the stair and jumping tests this morning so I decided I shouldn't push my luck and run 5 eays miles and potentially injure the ribs more or delay any healing.

Amazing new record set in Berlin - 2:02.57!?!

4 miles - 1 at marathon pace. 

Update on ribs - it is what it is at this point. Running doesn't seem to aggravate them too much. They are just achy and the pain increases with a deep breath. I figure at this point I will take some ibuprofen before the race and endure the pain. If nothing else, hopefully the chest pain will distract me from the inevitable pain in my legs near the end of the race. That is my Pollyanna attitude!

[update 11:30am] I almost feel no pain in my ribs while just sitting here now. It is odd that it changes so much from day to day. I guess I am posting this mostly for my own benefit to look back on later and see when it was giving me trouble and when it wasn't.