running for my mind

trying to get things together for the new year....we'll see what happens

late treadmill miles in 39 degrees in the garage

only had time for 3 in the morning before work

40 degrees...warm before the storm

14 degrees...big temp swing

4 miles in 4 degrees. not many miles but getting the consistency back is the goal. 

5 solo. would have liked to get in more, but had to be home by 7:15 and didn't wake up early enough.

rest. i will likely get some sundays in this year, but typically it is my one day off for the week. goal for 2016 is to run, even if it just one mile, 6 days a week.

4 miles in 50 degrees in the garage

5 miles in 48 degrees in the garage

yesterday afternoon i started feeling really sick. got the chills and spent the night between freezing and cooking, shivering and sweating. so, slept in and felt a lot better. short 5k in the garage before bed. hopefully something a little longer tomorrow. 

so much for something longer this mornning...hoping to get a few more in tonight. 1.6 miles in on the treadmill, i was feeling great and navy started crying. spent the next 30 minutes doing light strengthening exercises while navy crawled around and played.

my left hamstring is incredibly weak and i need to work on it. i think i might have torn it a couple of years ago chasing fritz and noah around sugar house and i have never properly brought it back.

PM- 3.4

typical northern loop

Scott came down early and we started running at 5:10 so I could get home for Whit to go to a workout class. Northern loop (extended version).

My left quad started to hurt a half mile in. I wore a quad sleeve and I don't know if that actually made it worse.

PM - 5 on the mill and then a torture session with the Roll Recovery R8. 

4 as an out and back. Didn't have enough time for more. Wouldn't mind getting out for a little PM session but it won't happen because I am building a new fireplace and have to have the framing done by Thursday.

7.5 nice and easy with Elliot early. Didn't have any pain. Average pace was a 9:30.

4 as an out and back at midnight after finishing framing out the fireplace. The fog has settled in really low and looked awesome. Only saw two cars and I could actually hear them long before I could even see their headlights or tail lights. 

5 mill miles

12 as the extended southern loop. Felt like running in sand at parts with the depth of the snow. Murray Holladay felt like running up a sand dune while trying to avoid cars. 

Most miles in a week since September. Slowing crawling back to some resemblance of fitness. 

7 - Northern loop and down Lincoln. Was a nice warm morning before the storm rolled in. Started lightly raining the last half mile. Phone said 41 degrees so I wore shorts and was surprisingly fine. It was a little blustery and I am sure it would have started to get cold with the rain picking up so I finished just in time. 

I also just realized that I have been running for 5 years now. 

4.5 as a quick out and back to Cowboy Grub. 

Was feeling good so I picked it up a bit to just go with it and see how it all felt. 

8:20 (30 up), 8:17 (72 up 10 down), 7:36 (10 up 75 down), 6:56 (49 down)

5 miles around Scott's hood late. Nice to get out and extra nice to have someone to talk to while running. 

7 on the northern loop and down Lincoln in the middle of the day. 7:37 avg

Spent the morning and half the day at Primary Children's where Navy had a mass surgically removed from just above her right eye. The mass will be sent to pathology and we will hear in a couple weeks exactly what it is. 

5 as an out and back toward I-80. 15 degrees. Kept it easy at an 8:15 pace. 

I am happy how things are going right now and plan on maintaining mileage and the types of runs (i.e. pace and terrain) for a couple months to build a solid base. I will likely toss in a couple longer runs here and there. And, I am still contemplating the chances of the traditional birthday run.

12 around the extended southern loop with Scott.

4 as an out and back and out and back. Tried one mile with this dog we are watching and by 1/3 in I was practically dragging him. Turned around and dropped him at home and went back out. 

6 - shortened southern loop up evergreen

Rounded out the first month of the new year and new resolution. I don't really do "resolutions" but I did commit to running 6 days a week in 2017 and so far I am pleased to have kept up with that. 

6 - Shortened southern loop again up Evergreen. Great sunrise this morning. 

6 - treadmill running. I don't know why so many people complain about the treadmill. I enjoy it as a change of pace.

also, my leg didn't really bother me...until I dropped it to a 6:00 for a 1/4 mile. I am almost contemplating getting an MRI.

4 - on my folks' mill. I take back what I said yesterday about the treadmill. Perhaps it depends on the treadmill. This one had way too much bounce or absorption to it. I didn't like it. 

Leg didn't feel that great today.

6 - on the mill. 

Had the girls all weekend while Whit is out of town so I couldn't get out for an earlier and longer run. My leg wasn't really wanting it anyway. Got to figure this out. 

6 - southern loop up Evergreen. Felt good, despite the slight pain in my leg that is just there.

Turn 33 today. 3+3=6. So, was planning on a classic "6 at 6" but I slept in and didn't get out until about 7am. Still got the 6 in though. 

4 - mill miles. Dr. Hille recommended more incline and slower pace for the hamstring.

6.0 incline and 6.0 mph for 3 miles. Final mile at 3.0 incline and 6.0 pace. 

Less pain in quad and hamstring. Little strength exercises and U death roller. 

8.25 - slow and steady northern loop down Olympus. 9:23 avg. Felt good. The slower pace felt great on the legs and I didn't notice quad or hamstring pain. I'll do some strength exercises throughout the day or tonight. 

6 - southern loop up Evergreen

7 - southern loop up Evergreen and slightly extended.

10 - extended southern loop at midnight. spent the entire day laying rock on our fireplace. I needd to get out because of my commitment. 

2 - worked 9 hours and then 5.5 more at home on the fireplace. Had to keep my commitment so went for a slow 2 miles at 1 am. 

5 - as an out and back north and out and back south at about 9:30 pm

6 - southern loop up Evergreen 

6 - southern loop up Evergreen 

9 - extended southern loop modified a bit so Scott could get back to his car. 

12 - Southern loop, extended. Have had a cold this week and was feeling ok before the run. At the halfway point, my lungs started to feel it. By the last two miles, lungs were burning like never before. Arguably, a poor decision. 

6 - southern loop up evergreen 

Pushed Navy in the stroller, up and down hill. Wind was so strong the stroll was being blown up the hill as I tried to run down. 

6 - southern loop up evergreen. holy wind batman

5 - out and back north

6 - southern loop up evergreen...perhaps I should just start calling this the usual. Night run was quiet with patches of snow. 

7.5 - southern loop up Evergreen and then a little loop around El Durado.

the soft light crunch of snow under foot makes me smile

11 - went up and met scott at his place. first off, what a joke it is to get up the canyons on a saturday. i had heard it was bad, but it was insane. cars were packed up almost to the freeway along wasatch to get up big and then cars were backed up to 7-11 to get up little. we ran along wasatch up to the mouth of little and passed hundreds of cars just sitting in line. we hung a right at the mouth and looped back down and passed another hundred cars trying to come up the canyon from the south.

hilly run that worked the legs nicely. 797 ft.

6 - snowy miles. nice and soft underfoot. no one else out that i saw. southern loop up evergreen.

8 - eight to cap off the shortest month of the year. southern loop up evergreen and extended around el dorado.

so far i am 100% on what has been deemed the "non-resolution resolve"

11.2 - tyler text late last night and asked if i wanted to join him on his 90 minutes scheduled run. met in murray at his mom's and ran a loop that took us up to almost the mouth of big cottonwood and back. nice to get in a few more miles than usual mid-week. 

6 - southern loop up evergreen.

got this news today... sweet company. happy to continue to work with them. tasty bars.

8 - completely mixed it up. Straight up 3900 to Wasatch. Down 33rd a block and then in to the neighborhood. Back west down Millcreek Canyon Rd. and Evergreen. 

7.5 - would have liked more but it was not in the cards with the fireplace I have to finish. knocked out one mile down fort union blvd at a 6:31. felt good to have some faster turnover. 

spent the rest of the day working on the fireplace. so, i was on my feet and moving a lot. up and down my stairs probably 100 times. kept things loose and my hamstring never hurt.

6 - southern loop up evergreen. glad to have the trail shoes on with the snow and ice. 

6 - late night 6 on the southern loop up evergreen. shorts and no hat felt dreamy. spring is teasing.

6 - southern loop up evergreen. 2 miles at a decent effort. first was mostly up evergreen and the second was southbound behind Olympus. 7:05 for the climb mile and 6:22 for the second. Have a longer easy run planned for tomorrow. 

8.25 - nice and easy on the northern loop and down olympus dr. was planning on something closer to 11 miles with tyler like last week, but he bailed due to a child making it difficult for him to get a good night's rest.

hamstring is sore today from yesterday. nothing too concerning. i can tell it is getting stronger and part of that process might require me to push it every once in a while. 

7 - southern loop up evergreen and extended a hair penny

12 -  northern loop with scott at 5 am. we didn't have time to extend too far south but still got the 12 miles in. will likely consider maybe running a bit longer next saturday for my long run. haha.

7 - southern loop up evergreen. slight extension to the south to wren rd. didn't feel great. chest felt a little tight and heavy for some reason.

7 - ran south to cottonwood elementary, north on wander, up 45th, down lincoln, and home.

5 - out and back going north on 20th. picked up miles 3 and 4. tried to just ease into it and see how it felt. nothing too bad...nothing too great. 

7 - super easy on the southern loop up evergreen

14.5 - ran with walker for the first time. he had to do a 20 miler so i joined him for what i could. north on 20th, east on 27th, wove east to the backside of REI, east on 33rd, south on wasatch. that was just over 10 miles. he continued on south and i turned back at the quarry. 14.5 total back to the houses.

longest run in 6 months. felt good.

10 - scott came down and met me at 5:15. nice northern loop.

6.2 - random run in random directions. saw adam marriot after about half a mile. ran for him for about one mile. nice to catch up with him.

5 - walk / run / walk / run into town with whit.

8 - into town, past town, and back. picked it up for the middle 4. 

2.5 - hike. uphill. only 0.68 to the top and 430 feet. when we were almost back to the car, i turned around and ran back up and back down. love a natural stair stepper.

AM - 2.75 - paddled 2.75 miles on the SUP

AM (2) - 7 - walk / jog into town and back with my mom

PM - 7.5 - hike to waterfall with the whole crew

12 - progression run. felt good.

6 - last full day of the vacation. into town and back.

2 - keeping my commitment before hopping on a plane. 

6 - easy loop with scott on the sourthern loop. inaugural run with the 5x.

1 - next to pointless, but I made a commitment. pretty tired. jetlag and lack of sleep are getting the best of me.

8 - slightly extended southern loop as a bit of a progression run. last mile at a 6:35.

12 - Scott and I kept the conference tradition alive another year. 12 easy. took my legs a bit to feel loose from last night's run. 

Spent the rest of the day on my feet moving rock and cleaning up. Headed out to the landfill, that is a special place.

7.5 - nice and easy southern loop and up to el dorado. i foolishly thought i wouldn't be running again in the 30's. tights. hat. gloves. 

6

6

out and back

1

12.5 with scott

southern loop

souther loop

treadmill 6

1

7 easy southern loop

super late night solo 12. had to get it in.

solo 7

6 with walker

7 with elliot

late night 5 miles solo

easy with elliot

2 mile warmup - 12.15 pacing walker in the salt lake marathon. he finished strong despite starting to cramp up a bit. got a pr.

roughly 5.3 with the bishop and finished off to 7 solo. sick, but not feeling horrible...yet

sick. needed to get something in but i do not feel well

1

sick and not a good sick

7 with daniel - turned into a progression run without planning on that - got his full boston story which was great to hear -

1

4 - easy with Daniel. Feeling pretty sick and the lungs are not happy.

Sick all week

Sick all week

Sick all week

Sick all week

Sick all week

Sick all week

6 solo super easy to see how my lungs would feel. I felt good. 

Will likely keep things to easy runs all week so not to push it too soon after being sick.

Also, I am all but committed to running a fall marathon. Time to build the spreadsheet and get to work.

7 - 7 easy on the southern loop with walker. He signed up for the speedgoat and for big cottonwood.

tossed in four 60 step strides at the end.

10 - legs were heavy as I kept up with Daniel on the Northern loop.

progressed down a bit. miles 7 and 8 were just over 7 and just under 7.

Stopped in wasatch for some new shoes...Kivara 8s

9 solo on the northern loop. A little sore, but not as bad as I thought it was going to be. 

6 - the kinvara 8 is dreamy

14.3 - dang early morning with Daniel. had to get 14 in before 7. 

felt sluggish about half way in, but got a second wind. few miles close to 7:00 pace. overall happy with how I felt.

6 on the mill after an evening massage. massage felt good but I need to get back soon for more work.

7 - legs felt heavy. not super heavy, but no pop

9 - hello winter. inch of snow fell off of the brim of my hat multiple times during the run. 

was able to progress down to about a 7:00, but the legs were a bit heavy.

6 - southern loop. 2.6 warmup - 3 mile tempo - .4 cool down. 

legs felt pretty good actually. lungs and heart were working hard.

life

Longest run of the year so far. Loop with Scott and then picked up Walker and finished off.

Felt good. Had a little lull at about 13, but then felt better. 

6 - pushing Navy in the stroller. 

7 - warmed up by running to the track. tested the legs with 4x400s. two at 77 and two at 72. Lungs were not stoked. 

10 - southern loop with Daniel. was a hair sore from yesterday.

8 - 4 mile tempo in the middle with Scott - 6:22, 6:26, 6:16, and 6:21. Lungs felt better than last week despite the fact that I did not feel great going in. My legs were heavy and my hamstring is not feeling great since the track session...well really since that massage last week. 

9 - southern loop with daniel. maybe one more run tomorrow before he moves for a time.

16 - with Scott and Daniel. second half was faster, which is always nice. the 4:40 alarm was a little of a shock.

10 - easy breezy pushing navy in the stroller - not too sore from the weekend thanks to working on the fence from 7am (after the 16 miler) until 9:30pm.

worked in the yard most of the day yesterday. body is beat and needed rest. slept in.

10 - easy with Walker - slower pace than I have been running lately.

8 - 4 mile tempo in the middle - 6:16, 6:26, 6:20, 6:16

Takes too much effort to hit those paces but it will get easier

12 - easy and a little longer. headed to goblin valley this weekend so won't be able to sneak a run in.

Lots of walking/hiking around Goblin Valley

10 - southern loop extension

Southern loop less extended...decided it is race time on Saturday so cut it a little shorter and didn't tempo.

Great day. Fun to race again. Tons of thoughts about it and a race report coming soon. I guess I will write it completely for my own good because I don't think anyone reads this anymore. 

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So, fair warning up front that this might be long and really rambly. I don't even think I will proof-read it because I don't have time. 

I don't know if I should start with the back story or the race itself.....ok....the race.

Woke up at 3:30 because I had to be at the finish to catch the bus at 4. Met Scott and we hung for a while and actually caught the second round of buses. That was nice because we got to wait longer in the valley and not in the canyon in the 38 degrees. I ate a piece of bread with peanut butter and honey at home before leaving. Then, I ate a banana sitting on the curb waiting for the bus. This entire race was a "do nothing that I have in the past" mentality. I didn't really do that on purpose, it just was what it was. 

I am usually so methodical about races and preparing and this one was the opposite. Looks like you will get a little of the back story as we go. We signed up for this race on Thursday night. Decided to race Thursday morning instead of doing our tempo run. Scott and I are both contemplating a fall marathon and I decided it was time to test my legs. I also needed to test my mind. More on that later. 

So, list of things I usually do for races that I didn't do
-sign up early
-train for the race in particular
-dial nutrition
-have a plan
-print splits
-memorize my splits
-visualize the course
-run the course beforehand
-the list goes on and on

I had a goal of maybe running 6:20 to 6:25. I thought that would be a good barometer of where I was and what I would have to run come the fall in the marathon. So, that was the baseline goal, but I told myself not to be mad if I couldn't do it. I have not been training much and such would be life. 

We got to the start and only had about 30 minutes until the start time. Used the restroom. Took a couple of salt tabs. I actually took one on the curb waiting for the bus and then another at the start. I have never used them for a half but I had some at home and I am 99.99% certain they were expired. Didn't care though, I wasn't doing anything normal for this race.

Scott and I ran up and down the road for a bit of a warmup, but I bet it was less than a mile total. I shed some clothes into my bag and dumped it into the overfilled pickup bed, fully expecting to never see it or those clothes again. I walked up to the start line with Miley Cyrus's USA song in my head because that is what they had blaring over the sound system. "Put your hands up....it's a party in the USA!"

Countdown and we were off. First mile was a 6:06. -----rewind a bit----- So, I had in the back of my mind since Thursday this thought that I could maybe run a PR and maybe even run a sub 1:20 (a long time goal of mine). I wouldn't have cared if it didn't happen, but I thought maybe the stars could align and it could happen. I knew the first mile was fast, but it was comfortable and had a decent drop. A big group pulled out in front of us and we just got in a groove. 

I didn't really care what we were running. I just ran off of feel and every once in a while I would look at my watch and think, "ok, this is doable for now." I didn't know if I was going to hit mile 8, 9, or 10 and experience and epic bonk. I don't use the word "epic" lightly....or ever. haha.

We just kept cruising and managed to keep things pretty quick. The next few miles were a little slower, but we knew that some fast miles would be up ahead once we hit the steeper sections of the canyon. Again, I had not even considered splits and what I had wanted to run where or when. I just didn't prepare at all. It was just running and enjoying the race environment. 

We started running a little faster when it got steeper and I just told myself to hold on. I started breathing harder but never faded like I have in the past on races. The last mile flattens out more and it was tough. I gave it my all and pushed through strong. I kicked at the end to pass one runner a few feet from the line. Was amazed to see the time on the clock. 

Splits ended up being - 6.06; 6.21; 6.34; 6.17; 6.29; 6.10; 5.54; 5.52; 5.53; 5.44 ;5.50; 5.50; and 6.02

I might come back and edit this more later, but that is pretty good for now. I have a lot of thoughts about this one and the past couple years, depression and everything that has come with that. I don't really have any other place to write them, so maybe they will end up here.

---

back....

This race really made me feel good. It put a smile on my face. Those have been few and far between. 

6 - recovery. i need it. 

10 - still recovering. downs hurt. ups feel nice.

10 - slow and steady

10.37 - a little better.

15 - up to the u hospital and back. honestly thought it would be farther up there.

felt tired the entire time and got bored at the end. 

10 - feelting much better. 7:42 average.

12.26 - 9 with Walker and the rest solo. just felt like tacking on a bit. 

10.25 - nothing special

10 - ten is the new seven

14 - last 6 of the course was run at pace...or what I hope to be pace come race day. 

6:33; 6:34; 6:27; 6:27; 6:26; and 6:17.

6 - my body is shot from building a fence all day on Saturday. back hurts and all around worn out. 

14 - too tired and worn out yesterday. made up for it today. wandered my way around holladay and my old neighborhood. 

10 - little sluggish today.

8 easy

16 -  5.4 up the canyon. 1.4 down easy. 4 down at MP. 2 out and 2 back at MP. cooldown.

last 1/2 to 1/4 of the tempo was rough. 

10 - easy southern loop extended - 7:34

1 mile fun run with the ward. bested my time from last year and ran a 5:42

10 - navy in the stroller - 8:59 - southern loop extended

8 - 1/4 mile repeats with 1/4 rests - did 8 of them along the southern loop

18 - Moved the long run to Friday so Scott could go boating with his family tonight and tomorrow.

northern loop up to wasatch to fort union. water stop at the fountain of youth and the bike wash. clif bar at the bike wash

8.25 -  easy with elliot

7.25 - stroller with navy on the southern loop slightly extended

8 - modified southern loop with a hair north on 2300 to 2700. ran at night because tuesday morning is tough with my early meeting. 

10 -  pushing navy on southern loop with slight modification

10 - northern loop pushing navy

10 - northern loop solo. tried to take it easy with tomorrow in mind

20 - guardsman's pass to the mouth of the canyon and north one mile and back. "tempovals" = intervals at tempo or marathon pace. 2 easy 2 at MP all the way down the canyon and 1 mile MP for the out. 9 total at MP with an average of 6:29. Need to be closer to about 6:25 on race day I think for the miles in the canyon. The fourth mile is a rough one as it loops up through the Brighton parking lot. That will be interesting on race day.