Cheesey bottom crust

AM - 9.11 -  Nice morning run with Bill, Dave, Clyde and Logan out around Little Black Mtn.

PM - 3.1 - Treadmill. Ran a few shoeless miles on the treadmill. Felt good but I think I might have gotten a couple blisters on a few toes. It would be nice to have tougher feet so I could run further this way. Or I could just buy some Fivefingers.

Had a good group this morning. Logan, Dave, Austin, Trevor and Steve (my cousins husband. Hes a speed demon) Ran the same route as yesterday just did it faster and more times. I was starting to feel pretty beat by about mile 14. Logan and I split off from everyone else to go back to the petroglys and look for Daves hat. Didnt find it but we did pick the pace up the last two miles back to the car. I went back out for another 4 and did two at 6:35 and then two at 6:12. The right knee was really sore the last two. I think the Summons are about done at least for higher mileage runs. Other than the knee issue it was a good run and a really good pace.

Treadmill. Easy miles on the treadmill this evening. I was mad at work again (big suprise) and really didnt want to run. Talked myself into it and ended up with a good run dispite not being very far.

Grapevine with two up and backs from the round about then Parkway to Millcreek. Up to SandHill trail and back on Main. I felt good so I pushed the pace for most of the run and tried to keep pace up all the hills.

Fields to the park. Pretty tired today so I took it really easy.

5 - AM. Treadmill miles before work. Pretty slow getting warmed up but ended at a good pace.

PM - 7 Treadmill. Not a very good run this evening. Tired and not motivated but I got it done.

City Wells with Grapevine extension. Didnt take the watch but the pace felt good. Not too hard but not to relaxed. Its nice to have a good run after having a few that didnt feel so great. 

Up to the top of Millcreek then back down to the powerline trail and over to the water tank. Once I got there I went up to the turkey farm and then back. Nothing even remotely fast about this run but my legs are tired. Lots and lots of steep hills on the power line trail. Tried a different gel to see if it sits better on my stomach than GU. It didnt puke it up so thats a good thing but Im not sure these gu things even help me at all. I didnt take any last on last weeks long run and was fine.

Treadmill. Tried to go at a quicker pace but I just cant get any speed on the treadmill. Wasnt a bad run but not the tempo I wanted. Im going to have to start getting up and running in the mornings a few days a week. Emily is going back to school and Im need to be available to watch the kids in the afternoons/evenings. Shouldnt be to bad I'll just have to start going to bed at a decent hour.

Greensprings. Nice day for a run. The sun came out from behind the clouds and I just poked along nice and easy.

Parkway to firestation and back. Did the run at tempo pace and wore the new shoes. Aside from the crazy colors I like the shoes. Nice night with crisp fresh air from the little rain storm that passed through.

Club run from Dixie Center around Bloomington loop. Another beautiful day. Doesnt feel like the middle of January.

Landfill. I was able to get out this afternoon and boy was it nice. No shirt weather. There was a huge flock of black birds (several hundred i would guess) at the landfill that I kept pushing down the trail. They would take off and fly foward a few hundred feet, land and then I would close in on them and they would do it all again. Happened for several minutes and it was pretty funny. Im thinking "just fly off in a different direction you idiots." Its almost like they have bird brains or something.

Club run on the Black Mtn loop x2. Ok run. Not really feeling the running vibe this week as the decreased mileage shows. Logan and Clyde picked up the pace the last 4 miles. I stuck with them for a couple miles but then they really sped up and that was it for me so I slowed down for a bit. I was able to get the last mile at 5:56 but that was really pushing it.

Treadmill. Noticed some weird pain at the very bottom of my lower abs when I started and it never left so I called it good at 5.

AM 6 - Treadmill. Mile warmup and then 5 tempo with each mile faster than the last. Good run but lower ab pain is still there.

PM 6 - River trail. Out towards the landfill and back. OK run considering the ab issue.

11-Treadmill. Rainy and Im trying to keep the sickness thats after me at bay so I stayed in for this run. Started real easy and the abs seemed ok so I picked it up but not to much. Got to 8 miles without any issues then the abs felt wrong for the rest of the run.

8 - Bloomington Loop. Had a good run in the rain with Dave. Good conversation and a good pace. Fun run.

Treadmill. Super easy pace. No pain but a constant pressure that lets me know all is not well. Good stuff. Will see what tomorrows race brings.

Started out with a good warmup jog with Dave and then jumped right to the line for the start. I didnt want to race all out as the marathon is only two weeks out but I still wanted to get a good workout in. My goal was to go at about 6:05-6:10 for the first 8 then take the last 5 at 5:55.  With the exception of miles 2 and 5 I was right there. I really wanted to race and had to remind myself many times not to take off during the first 3 miles. Got talking to a guy from Taylorsville who had just gotten in to running and that helped the miles pass until it was time to take off. Hayden came up behind me about mile 8 and helped me hold a really good pace the last 5 just like i wanted. No ab pain to speak of. Not an overall PR but a course pr by 2 minutes and I still feel really good. Hope I can keep that up until the marathon.

1- 6:10

2 - 6:22

3 - 6:06

4 - 6:08

5 - 6:19

6 - 6:10

7 - 6:12

8 - 6:13

9 - 5:55

10 - 5:51

11 - 5:50

12 - 5:51

13 - 5:46

.2 - 23.59 (4:58)

Easy treadmill miles after getting the kids to bed. Felt pretty good. Legs got a little tired the last mile but everything else feels good to go. To bad there are still 2 weeks for something to go horribly wrong. Thats the kind of positive thinking that keeps me going day after day.

Greensprings via Main street. Just a little sprinkle when I started and it wasnt too cold. The rain picked up about halfway through and got a touch chilly. Once again Im fighting off a cold. My immune system must really get beat down from running because Ive gotten sick before the last three marathons Ive run. Trying to keep the fitness but let the body get some rest and get better. 

am - 5 treadmill miles. Felt ok durring the run but the legs where really tired afterwards.

pm - 10. Club run through Bloomington Hills. Crappy run, litterally. yuck

Thought I might be well enough to run. I was wrong.

Still not feeling well at all but I wanted to get one more slightly longish run before Sunday. Did 4 at just below marathon pace and that was tough. The body is just tired.

Parkway loop. At this point its probably more harm than good to run as everytime I do I feel worse the next day but Im hanging on to the hope that I can still put together a halfway decent race. If I could get my money back for the race and hotel Id just bag it. Worse case is I get to go on vacation away from work/kids/responsibility for 4 days. Best case is everything works out and it turns into a good race.

Easy miles this morning before driving down to California. Pretty rainy and chilly down here. Its supposed to clear up for Sunday. Fingers crossed for at least no wind. Rain I can deal with. Wind, not so much. Just ate a big old pasta dinner and now we get to sleep until we want to wake up not when the kids decide they want to get up. YEAY!!!!!!!!

Turned out to be the perfect day for a race. The clouds cleared out, the wind stopped and rains dissapeared. To bad I could us that to have a good race. They had the marathon cut into two waves so I jumped up near the front and headed out with the first runners. Fell in with a guy from Las Vegas and from talking with him found he was planning on running "around 2:45." I tried not to check the watch to much but the pace just kept feeling harder and harder. We where running 5-6 until about 1/2 when he started to slowly pull away. I couldnt keep pace and also could tell I was slowing. Got the 1/2 in around 1:20 which I still felt good with thinking I could still get low 2:40s. That went out the window as mile 15 started. I was slowing bad and couldnt do anything about it. The last 8 miles where a fight to just keep running and not walking. That didnt work out to well either. I stopped and walked at each water stop from there on out for several seconds. At this point I wanted to just quit but of course I never would unless I was injured. I got passed by a few guys and was just happy it wasnt a lot more as I was barely moving at this stage. Around mile 20 I saw LV guy and he was now in 1st place. He ended up winning with a 2:37 which was what I was really gunning for. Frustrating that I couldnt keep with him or even stay under 6:30 the last several miles. Live and learn I guess. Tired, frustrated and sick of running poorly. Could have been a nice course/day to set a good PR. Hopefully a few days/weeks away from running will help. The only real bright spot was gingo to the beach to look for seashells/sanddollars afterwords with Emily.

1 - 6:28

2 - 6:23

3 - 6:14

4 - 6:18

5 - 6:06

6 - 6:20

7 - 6:13

8 - 6:07

9 - 6:14

10 - 6:02

11 - 6:09

12 - 6:06

13 - 6:05

14 - 6:14

15 - 6:21

16 - 6:20

17 - 6:30

18 - 6:32

19 - 6:34

20 - 6:46

21 - 7:00

22 - 7:16

23 - 7:09

24 - 7:29

25 - 7:31

26 - 7:23

.29 - 2:01 (6:58)

Parkway to the gas station and back. Felt good at first but the legs stiffend up pretty bad after 2 miles. Unfortunatly I had to get home or I would have just called it good at 2.

Grapevine. Back to the grind after a VERY nice break. Kept the pace easy and enjoyed the weather. Weights afterwards.

Treadmill. Legs were really sore and tired from lifting yesterday so I didnt push it.

Club run on the Bloomington loop. Pace was more than I wanted but it was probably good to get the legs moving faster again. Beautiful evening to be outside.

Highland park via Grapevine and back the same way. Didnt go to fast and the legs felt pretty good until about 7 then they got tired. Slowly starting to come back around.

Club run from rec center to Sunset then down Valley View to Dixie Center and back to the rec center. It was fun to run with Mike and Dustin again. Felt a little frisky near the end so I dropped down to 5:30 for a bit to catch up to Bill and Steve who had taken off like a couple of rockets.

Greensprings. Body felt better than it has since before the marathon. Went down to the soccer field and did 8x100 barefoot striders afterwards and then jogged home to cool down.

Treasure Valley park. I think I over strided yesterday cause my right hammy did not want to work today. Took the first few very easy and it seemed to loosen up but never felt right the whole time. Acted up around 8-10. Not enough to cause me to stop but it made for a pretty crappy run. Iced it down good afterwards. I seem to have bad luck with speed type work. I always come away hurt after the first workout. Most likely from doing it wrong but thats how I roll. 

Took it really easy at first and the leg felt ok so I sped up to a slow jog for the rest of the run. Felt a little tightness starting at 3.5 so I called it good. 

3.5 Another easy morning jog. No leg issues so thats a good sign.

4 Same as this morning.

Parkway. Went up towards Grapvine to extend a little but it was so dark I couldnt see anything so I came back and added some up in the subdivision around the radio tower before coming home. First road run in over a week and it was nice to get out. A little tight on the right ham towards the end but no pain so I think Im heading in the right direction.

Club run up the Dixie Center trail. Not horrible but I was pretty tired during most of it.

Grapevine. Felt pretty good but kept it easy. No issues from the leg so we'll see what tomorrow brings. I havent been running enough to be able to race well but we should have fun with it. Maybe Clyde will bust out some 4:40 miles to help make up for the rest of us being slow.

Had a fun race today. Steve started us off and at the end of his first leg we where in 3rd and off first place by about a minute. Then Dustin ran leg 2 and caught the second place guy and made up some time on the first place guy. I ran #3 from Ivins to the Snow Canyon Parkway and was able to catch up to and pass the leader and put a minute plus on him. Steve ran leg 4 and helped up pull away even more. Clyde ran leg 5 and really put some distance on the next person back. Then Bill ran leg 6 and kept the spacing about the same. Dustin ran again but we where loosing ground as Ross Deckers team (made up of the Pine View High XC runners past and present) was running well and catching up. I ran leg 8 and boy was that a battle. The legs where spent and there was a brutal head wind the whole way. Not to mention the hill just before the exchange. Deckers team was only back by about 4 minutes by now and Bill took off for leg 9. He was able to keep ahead until there was about a mile left and then Cory(or Kory) caught him and put some distance on him. Thankfully Clyde ran a sweet last leg and was able to catch back up and give us the win.

My first leg was 5.66 miles and I was able to run that in 32:47 for a 5:47 mile average. Not bad considering everything in the last few weeks.

Second leg wasnt so pretty at 4.82 miles in 31:14 for a 6:29 average. Slower than Id have liked but thats all there was in the body.

Had a lot of fun but I am spent. Its a good thing I dont have to lay 3000+ sq feet of grass today. Oh wait I do. That will be sweet fun.

Didnt get up early enough to get all the miles in but was able to hit a good fast 5 before work. Maybe more in the pm.

Had a good lunch time run today. Legs felt good the entire time. Not easy but not hard just a good medium pace.

Decent run around Bloomington with Bill, Dave and Aaron. Beautiful weather but the body was pretty tired.

City Wells. My legs decided to show up for the run today so I took advantage of that with a faster pace. Felt great and enjoyed the incredibly beautiful day in the desert.

Mustang Pass and home on the Parkway. Felt good again today and was able to keep a steady pace even with the stupid dog that triped me up before the pass turn off. Thankfully I didnt pull anything but it sure felt like I did for a couple miles. Id really like to start packing when I run and rid the world of some of these stupid dogs. Or maybe its their owners that need to be put down for not controlling their animals. Either way Id feel better.

Fields towards Little Black Mtn. Got a race Saturday so I moved the long run to today. The alarm went off at 4:30am and I didnt want any part of that so I went back to sleep and hoped that work would be slow so I could go in the early afternoon. Got all my work done and was on the road a little after 1pm. The whole body felt really good. I was tired the last few miles but held together pretty well overall.

Cut the run short cause we where going to try to get an anniversary dinner in. Didnt work out and then I just didnt care to go back out for more.

Did a mile with Clyde and then Hayden joined us for the Bloomington Loop. Good run but when you put Hayden and Clyde together it turns into a little more than a jog. Finished by running another 1.8 with Hayden around the freeway interchange.

Found it really hard to even get going and I was just really tired so I didnt do much today. Doing the long run early in the week really took its toll on my body. Of course jumping right into a 20 mile long run didnt help either.

Showed up late so I had to wait for the buses to come back from dropping off their first loads and then I only had a few minutes to get warmed up but I guess it didnt hurt to bad. I decided that I wasnt going to check the watch like I usually do at the mile markers and just run by feel. The last couple years Ive seen how fast the first mile is and I think it psychs me out. Its prob a good thing I didnt check cause that first mile was pretty quick.

I fell into 6th place after about 1/2 mile and was able to catch Jose just after getting on the trail and stayed within striking distance of the 3-4 guys until Garrett (#3) started to pull away. I caught #4 about mile 4 and thought maybe I could get up to Garett but I couldnt quite keep the speed where it needed to be. I felt much better than last year when I was pretty dead the last mile. If needed I could have kicked to keep off anyone trying to sneek up behind me but I still gave it a really good effort.

 Considering how crappy Ive been training since the marathon Im excited with the results. I was able to shave 40 seconds off my PR.

1 - 5:08

2 - 5:36

3 - 5:30

4 - 5:43

5 - 5:54

6 - 5:56

.2 - 1 minute (5:50 pace)

Now its time to get the mileage back up where its supposed to be and see what happens.

Treadmill. Relaxed miles while watching the kids destroy the house. Felt pretty good. Most years after the Spectrum it takes me a few days to get back and going but not this year I guess.

Talk about a wind storm. Days like today make me wish I had just a little bit more weight to keep me from getting pushed down the road. Ha. Not a bad run other than the wind and the huge headache I have now.

Landfill. Really nice run. Didnt go hard just enjoyed the beautiful weather and easy pace.

5 - 1/2 mile warm up then 4 at 6:30 then 1/2 cool down. Good workout but tiring.

7.66 - Club run Hilton drive into Bloomington then around the loop. Legs where spent. I stayed with Bill at a tough 7:30 while Steve and Clyde took off at who knows what. Nice evening for a run but Im glad its over. 

Another tired run. With tomorrows long run looming I didnt do a whole lot or go very fast.

Meet up at Clydes house and did the southern corridor loop and then some. I kept it a little slower than Clyde and Steve until the river trail where I decided to keep pace with them. No idea how the last 6 went. I tryed to keep a faster pace but quickly lost sight of Clyde and I was spent so I dont know how well I kept a steady pace. Good run but Im glad its over.

Parkway to the top of Main and back. Didnt take a watch and ran real easy and it felt nice.

Fields. Warmed up for 3 then hit 5 (6:05,6:01,6:03,6:09,6:10) and cooled down for 3. Probably should have slowed just a tad on 2-3 so that the last two werent so hard but I was running by feel and not looking at the watch. Turned out pretty close to what I was shooting for which was 6:05 each. Starting to warm up. Might have to not run in the middle of the day anymore. Of course ive been saying that for 2 years now and still havent changed my ways.

Im a wus and didnt want to brave the wind so I treadmilled today. Those where some tough recovery miles and Im ready for a good sleep.

7.8 Parkway. Ran the dirt trail that I havent done in awhile on the way out and then came back on the new road. It was on the chilly side this morning but it made for a great run. Legs felt good but I wasnt going fast so im sure that helped. Hopefully the wind stays away for this evenings run.

10.4 Club run. Went up Hilton Dr. into Green Valley and then headed out west into the foothills. Turned back towards Tonaquin and then got on the road into Bloomington and onto the trail back to the Dixie Center. Started out a little cold but warmed up once we got going. There was a constant breeze but not bad enough to complain too much about. Felt pretty good.

Grapevine. Did the out and back to the freeway twice to add a couple miles. Legs where tired and heavy so I took it real easy.

Drove out to Hurricane early and ran from the bank out to Sandhollow and back to get my long run in. I wasnt sure how well the race would go because I was feeling pretty worn by the end of the run and I was thinking of blowing chunks. Streatch out a bit and went over the course with Terry so in case I was ahead I didnt get lost. Talked to Ken for a few before the start which was nice. Havent talked with him for a while. Started out easy and then tried to pick up the pace and go hard. Thats difficult to do after running over 18 miles. Ended up doing pretty well and the legs held together nicely. Plus I didnt puke so bonus for me. I think the course was short by a little this year.

Quick and easy 5 on the treadmill while the little one slept. I could get used to being a stay at home dad. Unfortunately when I stay home that means no money is being brought home which isnt really such a good thing.

Did a mile barefoot and then 10 in shoes. Shoes just feel wrong after barefooting. I was a bit leary of running today as yesterday I went to run a second time in the evening and my left quad felt like it ripped apart after a couple steps. I stopped and walked a bit and streatch some and tried again but it hurt even just walking so I didnt continue. It hurt all through the night and was really bugging today. Felt fine when I barefooted and was tender but usable during the rest of the run. Have to be extra carefull the next several days I suppose.

Fields park. 3 warm up then hit 6 tempo ( 6:02, 5:57, 6:03, 6:09,5:57, 6:03) then 3 cool down. The wind was trying to blow once I got going on the tempo miles and it couldnt decide if it wanted to help or hinder today. One minute it was blowing at me and the next it was behind me. Once again was shooting for 6:05 and didnt look at the watch to keep pace. I was suprised by the 2 sub 6's but it felt better than last week when by the end of mile 5 I was shot. The quad was just a touch sore during the the first warmup mile but  I didnt even notice any issues until the last 1/2 mile when it started to tighten up just a bit.

6 - Grapevine. Went real easy and just enjoyed the incredible morning weather.

8 - Bloomington loop. Club run. I guess I didnt get the memo about todays run being a race. Everyone took off at a much faster pace than I needed so I just sat back and did another easy run by myself. Poor lonely me.

Went down to the river trail and took that into Bloomington and back. I was feeling pretty good and at about mile 5 I saw Ross Decker out running and for some reason that made me think " I should throw some quicker miles in here." So I proceded to pick up the pace for about 5 miles. With each mile getting faster. Unfortunatly I picked up the pace just a little to much and I could tell I was spent and I still had 10 more miles back home. Tried not to think too much about it but I was getting more and more tired with each mile until at the end I was just barely moving.

I did have a weird experience coming back. I was checking out all the rabbits and lizards running across the trail when I spotted a butterfly overhead. Im watching it as it gets closer and closer until it passes overhead. Then out of nowhere it feels like someone punches me right between the shoulder blades and scratches me. I turn around wondering what the heck just happened and I see this robin flapping around trying to fly back into the trees. Either he was after the butterfly and didnt see me or he thought I was going to steal his lunch and he was showing me who was the boss. Nature loves me.

7.12 - Upper parkway with Grapevine. Good run but Im about sick of the wind thats been blowing around here lately.

5.4 - Parkway. Another good run. The clouds looked very pretty all stormy and dark but the freaking wind is ruining what little spring we get to enjoy down here.

Mustang Pass via main street. Finally a day without wind. Much better not having to fight gail force breezes for the whole run. Legs are shot. Doing two speed runs last week did me in. Road was pretty sandy until the turn off and then it got better but of course thats where the big climb starts.

Parkway. Fun morning run while Emily biked and pulled Ada in the trailer.  

Got to the club run early so I ran from the Dixie center down to Bloomington and back. Joined up with the others and ran Bloomington Hills loop. Easy pace and thats all I was shooting for.

Landfill. Nice little mid morning run. Legs wanted to be tired at first but woke up as I did some strides in the middle of the run. 7x strides.

Grapvine, Parkway, Middleton. Didnt get to the club run as I wasnt in the mood to run up Snow Canyon. The fam wanted to go with me on the run so they all biked as I ran but only for 1/2 mile. To much traffic and the boys dont exactly pay attention to life so they headed off to less crowded roads. I was supposed to do 15 with 12 at marathon pace. Right from the start I didnt think that was going to happen. I was having trouble getting 8 minute pace. After 3 I attempted to start speeding up. That first mile was bad news and I was really tempted to just call it off and get whatever mileage I could. Slowed down for 1/2 mile and then tried again and from there on out was able to keep a halfway decent pace. Unfortunatly it wasnt marathon pace but after how Ive felt this week Im just going to take it and move on. Avg 6:25 for the 13 miles.

City Wells. Took it super easy today. Combination of tired legs and fighting off a cold have worn me out. Still was a nice run with lots of lizards out and even several huge bumble bees out on the flowering creosote bushes.

The boys have decided they want to run the 1 mile ironman kids run so we went out for a jog this morning. They did awesome. They both ran 1 mile in just over 11 minutes. Never stopped or walked even up the big hill. Its fun to see them get excited about running. JD keeps telling me he cant wait until hes old enough to run with me for a long ways. Kids are fun sometimes. :)

Parkway. Felt better today so I went out for an easy morning jog. Body felt good but I started coughing towards the end. Will see how today goes.

Dowm the marathon course with Bill, Clyde and Logan. Had a good tailwind for the first few miles and that was nice. Took it super slow up Veyo hill and until Diamond Valley. Grabbed my water at 10 and then just tried to hang on for the last 10. Didnt feel to good and the legs where tired and stiff.

Parkway out and back. Not only did Saturdays run slam my legs but the stupid sickness I was trying to avoid all last week made a comeback so ive just not run until today. Felt ok but sluggish, kind of like Ive backed way off on running or something. Hopefully I can get back going again without to much more grief.

Landfill. The boys wanted to come so they biked while I ran. Kept a decent pace and only had the chain come off one bike one time. They only walked on the big climb out of the canyon. I ran up the hill to them and back down several times while they walked their bikes up the hill. That was a quad burner.

Greensprings. Beautiful morning for a run. Just a touch of chill and fairly clear skys. The legs decided that they would respond to a little bit of a push today. Took the first 5 easy but faster than any of the last several runs then picked it up to 6:30. It felt very easy and relaxed with hardly any effort. That was nice cause most runs lately have been very forced even at a slow pace. Im excited to see how the boys do at the run tonight. They where pretty excited this morn about it.

River trail to Dixie Center. Decent run. Took it easy at first and picked it up on the last several miles. Legs didnt feel quite as good as yesterday but not horrible.

City Wells. Had a little more energy today but the quads are sore and really didnt like the down hill on the way back. Either my legs are shot or all my shoes are worn out.

3 on treadmill and then hit part of the landfill route. Slow and easy.

10.1 Middleton into the St. George industrial park. Used a new pair of Launch and did a speed workout. Did 2 warm up then tried to go 6 at marathon pace. I was all over the map anywhere between 5:54 - 6:32. Legs felt really good to begin with but where worn out by the end. Ended with 2 cool down miles but I didnt slow down much for some reason.

9.5 Club run. Desert Hills trail loop. Ran with Aaron, Nate and Steve. Put these two runs way to close together. I dont think 3 hours is enough time to recover. Absolutly dead but it was nice to chat with Nate again.

Grapevine with extension into Sienna Hills. Went easy cause Im still pretty tired from yesterday. Beautiful morning to be outside.

City Wells. Nice morning and the body felt good so it worked out well today.

Fields/Little Black Mtn. Felt really good today. Kept what felt like a nice steady pace until the last 2 then I picked it up a touch. To bad every run can feel that nice.

Landfill. Thought I might get a little wet today but the rain just didnt quite materialize. The overcast and slight breeze was nice though.

8.8 City Wells shortened. Went out with the intention of running the Parkway to the firestation and back but they had the road closed off above the Mavrik. Had to offroad a bit to get around the blockade but no to bad. Legs felt good once they warmed up and it was a good run.

11 Club run. Around Bloomington Hills into Little Valley and around Stone Cliff. Had a good showing tonight. Logan even graced us with his presence. I hung back with Josh and enjoyed the incredible weather. 

Grapevine. Legs are pretty tired after yesterdays long runs and the quicker pace of the club run. Should make tomorrows run interesting.

Club run down the marathon course. I was going to do 14 at marathon pace but Logan talked me out of it. Went nice and easy for the first 3. Did another 3 at sub 7:00. Did 4 at just over 6:00 and then hit the last 7 3/4 miles at sub 6. Small cool down at the finish.

The legs felt really good and everything was flowing just right. It helped to have Logan there to keep things moving at the right pace.

Quite a weekly mileage jump from the last few weeks but everything is still working so thats a good sign. 

Highland park via Grapevine w/Sienna Hills extension. Legs were a little tight from Saturday but loosened up after a while and the run felt really good.

Treasure Valley park. Nice run out to the park and then did 5 600m repeats at 5k pace(5:20) jogging the same distance slowly for recovery. Then jogged back home. In hindsight I should have just done the repeats on the way home as the road is perfectly straight for long distances but I like to do things the hard way.

Greensprings. Took it easy. Legs felt good but of course its time to start getting sick. Going to try eating better to see if that helps the immune system. Apparently when I ramp up my training my body just takes a beating and cant fight off any infections.

8 Parkway to firehouse. Pretty slow at first but the legs kind of woke up and the last half was better.

7.5 Club run on the Bloomington loop. Warm warm warm.

Grapevine with Sienna Hills ext. Didnt get out until later in the morning and it was pretty warm already. Found a drinking fountain on the trail so that helped.

Club run up the west side of Utah Hill and back down. Pretty good climb the first 10 miles and I felt pretty good. Got a drink and accel gel and then started on the downhill. Everyone else took off like a group of rockets and they where gone from sight within a few miles. I just couldnt get the legs to go. My quads got more and more tender with each mile and by the end each step really hurt. Glad its over.

City Wells. Leg are still pretty sore from Sat. Kept wondering when they would loosen up but it didnt happen.

9 Landfill. Easy on the way out and picked it up on the way back. Legs are starting to get over Sat's workout.

5.5 Parkway. Legs not over Saturdays workout. Tired but enjoyed the cooler temps this evening. 

Parkway to firestation with Grapvine extension. It was a struggle but I threw 5 tempoish miles in during this one. Legs came around some but the honker is plugged up so it was tough to breath.

7 Millcreek up to the sand hill turn off and ran the dirt road along the base of the hill to the pumping station. Pretty slow but it was a great morning for running so I just enjoyed being out.

10.5 Club run. South towards the strip and back through the industrial park and Bloomington Hills. Not a bad run, kind of breezy but the legs held up well.

Landfill. Another beautiful morning but the body is pretty worn down from the last couple weeks. Poked along at what was probably close to 8 pace or slower but I enjoyed it so thats all I care about.

Little Black Mtn loop twice. Glad we didnt go very fast today. The pace did pick up the last few miles and I gave it a good hard push the last 1/2 mile just because.

Didnt get out in the am and was home bound in the pm so I just ran on the treadmill. Blah.

City Wells. Glad I took a water bottle with me this morning as it was pretty warm already. Not a super great run but I got it done.

Firestation with 2-Sienna Hills extensions. First night run in quite a while. Loved it. Felt really good and it was wonderful weather out.

Greensprings. Another evening run. Not quite as good as yesterday but I guess they all cant be wonderful runs. Stopped at the park and got a drink cause it was still warm out.

Club run through the fields. Went pretty easy for most of the run. Nate and I did pick it up for a couple miles but that was all I had. The last 4 where pretty brutal as I was shot.

Middleton and industrial park. Good run today. No lower ab pain and the legs felt a bit better. Wasnt planning on doing anything fast but I ran into the x-country kids and started picking them off and that got me speeding up to catch the next one. It made me feel good to pass up someone half my age. Sad I know but Ill take any small thing I can. :)

Parkway/Firestation.

Grapevine/2xSienna Hills. Pretty worn down this morning but excited for Saturday.

Quick three up the parkway to shake the bugs out of the system. Time to see if any of the training will pay off. 

PR by 3min 52sec. Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy.

Had a nice dinner Fri night with Steve, Nate, Walter, Paul, Dave, Clyde, Aaron and Hayden. Tried to get down early as I had to be up at 3am to get to the busses. Didnt work out so well but the lack of sleep didnt hurt too much I dont think.

The race was 15 minutes late getting started which wasnt to bad except that durring that wait it started to rain. Not bad at first but it picked up as the race progressed.

I tried a new strategy of trying to not look at the watch during the race and just run by feel. I did pretty well and only looked three times.

Got settled in after a mile or so and was feeling pretty good following within sight of the top 2 womens runners and pretty much by myself other than that. Started to get pretty cold by about mile 6 and was wondering if it was going to become an issue as I couldnt get the first GU out of my pocket around mile 7-8 because my hands wouldnt work right.

Once we got started down the canyon I was feeling good and just let it take me as fast as I could comfortably get my legs turning over. Passed the second place woman and a few other guys down through here. My quads and calves where getting pretty tight and I was nervous of a repeat of the last two marathons where I fell apart because of dead leg.

Once we got out of the canyon I was closing in on the 1st place woman and feeling really good. Probably the best I have ever felt the last 10k of a marathon. Dont get me wrong, my quads and calves where even more tight and tired but I knew I could ask more from them and they would respond. Once I got around her I could see another person in the distance so I just worked on getting him. Then another and another. I even got one of the Kenyans along this stretch. Coming up over the train tracks sucked the wind out of my sails but I was able to regain and checked my watch. I was already at 2:41 so breaking 2:40 was shot but I tried to keep picking up the pace and pushed through to the finish.

If I would have known 2:43 was so close I would have tried a bit harder but I dont know how much more I would have gotten. I pretty much used up everything I had going that hard. It felt really good and its nice to get another PR that felt like a PR.

1 - 6:01

2 - 6:01

3 - 6:02

4 - 6:22

5 - 6:16

6 - 6:19

7 - 6:32

8 - 6:30

9 - 6:03

10 - 6:10

11 - 6:22

12 - 6:08

13 - 5:57

14 - 6:32

15 - 6:27

16 - 6:03

17 - 6:00

18 - 6:08

19 - 6:06

20 - 6:12

21 - 6:11

22 - 6:19

23 - 6:31

24 - 6:20

25 - 6:20

26 - 6:27

.2 - 1:50 (6:11)

Its nice to see the final 10k splits down more where they should be as opposed to being 30 sec to 1+ minute slower like they have been the last two marathons.

Great run and Im excited to get some good training in for St George in the fall and Boston next spring.

Parkway. First run since the race. Took it easy and the legs felt good until about half way and then they tightened up quite a bit and are tired now. Weights after.

Club run from Bills to the powerline and then down into industrial park and back through Middleton. Easy pace but it was still draining. Had a good run and then helped Bill move to his new house.

City Wells. Legs are coming around a touch. Felt pretty good until the last couple miles then I got tired. Weights after.

Landfill. Wow today was a spectacularly horrible run. My whole body is completely spent. I would have called it quit at the halfway point but I had to get back home. I couldnt walk to much because I was getting eaten alive by the deer flies.

Club run around Bloomington Hills. Body felt much less beat up but it was pretty warm out so that wasnt very enjoyable. Helped Clyde move his chicken coop afterwards which was fun.

Prospector trail with Dave and Bill. The weather was great but the body just doesnt want to come around from the marathon. I am constantly exhausted and running makes it 100 times worse. Hopefully a little more rest this weekend will help.

StoneCliff/Dixie Center/Bloomington Hills loop. Good run. Hit 4 quicker (6:10-6:20) miles starting at StoneCliff and over to the Dixie Center. Glad we didnt do 6 like they had planed cause it wasnt going to happen for me. Still getting back from the race so Im not pushing anything yet. 

AM 4.7 - Had an early job so I didnt get around to running until about noon. Way to hot to go outside so I did some treadmill miles. Not bad but still treadmilly.

 PM 5.3 - Waching the kiddies so more treadmill. Not near as bad as the first round.

Club run on the Bloomington loop. Warm tonight. Started easy but everyone got some kind of lets speed up bug so off they went. Extended a bit at the end to make it 8.

4th Annual Steven Abraham Lincoln Pope Hooper 17.3 run.

Wasnt sure what to expect as Ive never run this route before, driven it several times but its been a few years.

It was nice an cool (even cold) at the start but once we got going the temps couldnt have been better. We started out really easy and I just sat back and listened to everyone talking. I was feeling really good so I jumped up in front and led for a while.

 The first big hill (2 miles up) was quite a climb but I stuck right next to Logan and we pushed up it pretty well. We waited for Steve and Dave who where right behind us and then started moving again. The next climb wasnt quite so long but it slowed me down a little. I stopped at the water Steve and Kendra had dropped and refilled my bottle and then took off at a sprint to try and catch Dave and Logan. They had started to move and I had to push down to mid 5s to catch them. Dave wasnt feeling good so he backed off and I caught up to him. I thought he might come with me as I had decided to try and really push down the last 5 miles but he waved me past. It was something to watch Logan just fly down that trail. He was trucking along and was kicking up dust he was going so fast. I new Id never catch him and the legs where starting to protest but I kept pushing and ended up hitting those last 5.24 very well (5:45, 5:51, 6:17, 6:16, 5:30, 5:38)

Dove right into the water at the end and after all the extremities froze to no feeling really enjoyed the icy water.

Treadmill today. The legs have been pretty sore and tight from Sat workout so today wasnt very hard or fast.

Mustang Pass. Went out on Main but came back by the elementary. Really tired and the legs are still sore from Sat. Went slow and tried to enjoy being out away from life.

Treasure Valley park. A little better run today but the quads are still sore and tired.

Greensprings. Warm but the overcast skys it wasnt quite as bad as the last few days. Ran into Dave and talked for a minute and when I started back up my legs felt like lead weights. Blah

Club run on the south parkway loop. I knew right from the start this was going to be an ugly run. Everyone else was going to do some progressive speed work in the middle but not me. The plan was to just try and make it through. Barely made it and Im glad this week of running is done.

City Wells. Took to long to get out and it was warm once I got going. Took a water bottle and was glad I did.

Since I ditched the club speed workout this morning I figured I had better try and get some in by myself. Put the kids in front of a movie ( is there a better parent in the world than me? I think not) and hit the treadmill. Joy.

2 mile warm up nice and easy and then hit 5 at 6:20. Ive never been a fan of trying to do speed on the treadmill. It always feels wrong and very forced but after several minutes I got into a groove and it didnt feel too off. The last .5 was forced so I didnt try for another mile of that pace. 3 miles cool down.

5 pretty bad miles on the treadmill after getting the kids to bed.

Did a nice 4 mile warm up with a bunch of guys(and Ruth) and then grabbed a drink before the start of the race. It was really warm and my legs where shot but I still wanted to run a decent time. At the start this really young girl took off like a shot and was in the lead for quite a ways. It was fun to see her go. I ran with Dustin for a bit and then once again was by myself for the rest of the run. It was funny as Dave, Clyde and Logan passed by the announcer on the finish of the first loop he says "here comes the first group of guys lets give them a hand." And then here I come a few seconds later and he wanted to say something but couldnt get anything coherent out. He might as well just have said " and then heres that other guy thats just not quite as fast as the real runners." It just struck me as funny. Anyway, that second lap was a battle to just keep the legs moving. I slowed a lot more than I would have liked but it just wasnt there so I wont loose any sleep over it. If I would have known I was so close to breaking 17 I would have tried to push more but oh well. This is the first 5k Ive actually raced in over 18 years so I didnt do too bad. It might actually be a pr, Im not sure my pr from the school days. Plus the high school kids where kind enough to let me beat them so I didnt feel like to much of an old man. Did another lap as a cool down.

Another bad day on the treadmill. Ive got to start getting up and out the door before it gets so hot otherwise im doomed to run on that thing. Didnt feel horrible but it was still a chore to even get that many miles in.

Club tempo day on the standard loop. Hit 7 between 6:20-6:25. Not bad but Im shot now.

More treadmilling tonight. Actually felt pretty good.

Barefoot miles this morning. Club this evening. Will anyone be around?

7 - Fell asleep way early yesterday evening (7pm) waiting for dinner to settle before getting an evening run in. So I ended up with 3 whole miles. Then I woke up at 11pm and couldnt fall back asleep until around 2am. Then I didnt wake up this morning until 9. What the heck? I guess thats what happens when you dont work and the house is empty of other people. Anywho, it was already hot so I just hit the treadmill and watched tv this morning. Maybe i'll go out tonight for more.

6 - Grapevine. Nothing like getting back out on the road after to much treadmill running. It takes so much less effort. Halfway through the run I stopped to get what I thought was a rock out of my shoe and it turned out to be a wasp! Go figure that one out cause he wasnt there when I put my shoe on.

This was supposed to be a long run of 18-20. Didnt even come close. I actually got up and started at 4:50 which was good but right from the get go the legs where completely dead. I thought that after a few miles they might warm up and then I could enjoy the run but it wasnt to be. I got out passed the distribution center and had had enough so I began the death march back home. I should get more tonight but I dont know how much benefit more miles on dead legs will be. We'll see what today brings.

Ran 7 this morning and then did 3 barefoot this evening. Still enjoying life without any family around. I could get used to it. Its quite and the house stays clean.

Club tempo workout. Did a little different route today. Went through the fields towards Washington and then down to the river trail to River Rd and then back to Clydes. 3 warmup then 8 at tempo (6:20) then 2 cool down. Hard, hard, hard today. Going through one of those cycles where the legs are shot and every workout is tough no matter the pace. Didnt feel like I was on pace during the run but the splits are right on so Im glad about that.

Ran around Pine Lake after getting camp set up. Ive never really felt that altitude had much effect on my but man I could sure tell I was up there on this run (over 8000 feet). It was so nice to not die of heat stroke and be able to enjoy being out running even though I felt like poopoo.

AM - 11.2 From camp down the dirt road back to the highway and back. Couldnt get going on this run either but it was still enjoyable. Had a slight shower every so often and I stopped a few times to check out the area. Walked off the road down to a stream and got a drink. Cant do that at home in the desert.

PM - 5 First run for me with the kids. Went up the road from camp towards the Powell Point trail. Nice steady climb on the way up. Took a few minutes to get in the groove but once I was going I felt like I could have gone for much longer.

Only one run today and that was plenty. Went down the road a little then headed north on a 4x4 trail. Went for a while then saw an old logging road that needed to be explored. This was a killer run going straight up the mountain. Beautiful pine and aspen trees and no people for miles. Just my kind of area. The road ended and I had to make my own trail to the top of the mountain but it was worth it. Got an incredible view of the area from 9200 feet. Not a very far run but it was hard work.

I had lots of time in the afternoon and Dave and the kids where busy with stuff so I decided to go mtn biking. Went out to the same area as in the morning but took several different trails up into the mountains. Saw several deer and lots of beautiful area. Got rained on and was beyond spent by the time I walked the bike into camp over 3 hours later.

I was so dead from everything Friday that I actually was in bed and asleep by 10pm. Thats rare for me. I wanted to get a long run in on Sat but hadnt decided if I would be able to when I went to bed so I decided to play it by ear.

Dave woke me up around 5:30am and asked if I wanted to do 18 with him and Clyde. What the heck, if I dont go now I'll talk myself out of it later.

The plan was to take a car 9 mile down the trail then run back to camp and then run back to the car with the varsity boys. Got 9 miles out and started off. It was not a pretty sight. Clyde seemed to be ok but I was so spent and Dave even seemed to be tired from all the work and play he was doing with the kids. I told Dave 9 might be all I could manage and that thought was what got me back to camp. We ran into the team going the other direction about .25 from camp. Stopped for a quick drink/potty break and then headed out to try and catch the team. I decided to try and see how far I could make it. Worse case is they pick me up as they are driving back to camp right? Started catching kids a lot sooner than I thought I would. Ran into Trevor and we started picking up the pace well beyond what I would have thought I could manage. Dropped him when we met up with the rest of the varsity boys and Vis and continued my "tempo" until I ran into Dave and Clyde who I assume had finished their tempo and where waiting for someone. Not me because I think I supprised them by being there. I suprised myself actually. After that I couldnt get moving again. Clyde wanted to pick it up the last few miles but I could barely manage 7:30 pace and I was really trying.

After I was so, so tired. After a marathon tired. But was able to get the trailer packed up just as the rest of the camp finished packing and made the very long 3 hour drive back home.

Had a really good time helping my dad cook (ok I really didnt do much up there but provide transport for some of the boys up and back but I like to think I helped) and watching the team bond and learn. 

Congrats to Dave for putting together such a great, well planned event for those kids. And to my pa for some incredibly good food. That man can cook mean camp grub.

Grapevine. Ran from the gas station to the freeway cut twice for a couple extra miles. Pretty tired during the whole run. Felt a touch better after 4 but still pretty slow overall.

Another wonderful tempo Tuesday. I had no plans for today as the legs still feel really tired just walking around let alone running. Nice 3 mile warmup then off we went for 9 tempo miles. Ran the first couple with Dustin and then alone for the rest of the run. Hit most a little faster than tempo but also had a few that where below so I guess it evens out close to what I should be doing. I have found that I run fairly consistant without checking my watch (and also run crappy when I am constatly checking it to try and be consistant). I wouldnt even wear it but I like stats and such so its fun to have all that info for afterwards. Considering how I felt before, durning and after the run it worked out to be a good run.

6 - Slacked off and didnt run yesterday but I dont feel bad about it. This mornings run was so much better for it. The legs felt fresh and I wasnt struggling at all. 

7.5 - Bloomington loop with Dave and a couple of the XC boys. Not a bad run.

City Wells. Way tired and burnt out. Glad its done. The weather was nice though.

2 mile warm up with Dave which was pretty taxing so I knew this wasnt going to be much of a race for me. The way out wasnt too bad and I thought that the Circle was going to race but when I caught up to them I knew they where just messing around. I kept trying to go but I was done. The way back was horrible and had a bad headwind and they just pulled away with each mile. This was way worse than I remember from last year. Checked the splits against last year and I did hit some of the downhills much faster this year but most of the uphill was slower some miles way slower. Did get some rain which was nice to run in for a few minutes.

Middleton into the industrial park. Beautiful morning. Cool with a very slight breeze. Went pretty slow but really enjoyed the run despite being a bit tight from Saturday.

Tempo Tues on the Fields/river trail loop with 10 at Tinman pace. Felt better than last week but when I got to the dog pound my right hamstring got really tight and I was worried about it. I thought I slowed down to not aggrivate it but maybe I just relaxed my body because after checking my splits I wasnt more than a few seconds off pace for a couple miles. Great temps especially for August. It was around 62 degrees when we started and still in the 60's when we finished. Definately odd for this time of year but I'll take it any day.

Parkway to the Middleton park and back. Slow and easy. Felt good.

3- Treadmill in the late afternoon. Did 1.5 barefoot then the next 1.5 in shoes.

7-Grapevine/Sienna Hills. Wasnt sure if anyone was going to the club so I got ready incase a ride showed up. No ride so I went out after getting the kids down for bed.

Landfill. Missed the really cool temps in the early morning but it was still fairly nice at 10am. Plus there werent any deer fly out along the trail to try and eat me for lunch. Pretty tired the whole run.

Marathon course starting at the bottom of Veyo hill. Hit a few good miles but most of the run was really forced and not much fun. Saw quite a few "falling stars" which was neat.

Fields/River Road. 3.5 warmup. 2-1-2 (with 1 minute jog) at LT then cooldown back to Clydes. The pace ended up being slower than marathon pace but thats all I could do today. Its warm again. 83 when we started at 4:45am.

Parkway/Fire station with 2 Grapevine extensions. Not feeling up to running but I got out for some slow miles tonight. The clouds rolled in but all they brought was lots of wind. Fitting. 

City Wells. Didnt have much time but I thought I could bust out a quick 10. Not so. I got out just a little over 4 miles and that was it so I turned around. I was almost walking on the way back and it was downhill. I guess the 103 degree temps might have had something to do with it.

5 treadmill this morn.

5.5 treadmill this evening.

Fields/river road. 3.5 warmup, 7 MP, 2.5 cooldown. Much cooler this morning than it has been which was nice. The body felt much better after taking most of last week off. Felt like I was hitting my MP miles right on but I was working a bit to hard to hold that pace for a whole 26.2. Overall average was 6:08 instead of the 6:00 Im shooting for. Will keep plugging along and hopefully things will work out on race day. 

8 - Grapevine. Ran the dirt road twice for some extra miles. I was thinking of doing 12 but it was way to hot even with the 2 water bottles I took. Calves are a touch sore from yesterday.

4 - Treadmill. Put the kids to bed and did some easy treadmilling.

Parkway/Firestation. It started to sprinkle so I hurried and got ready to run but by the time I was back outside it was over. Dang.

Ran around the block with the boys then out on my own. Pretty well dead on this one. The moon coming up almost full behind Zions/Kolob sure looked beautiful tonight.

Treadmill. Didnt get out in the morn when it was nice and the last couple daytime runs have been way to much so I just stayed in on the treadmill. It was pretty tough for the first several miles but I started to feel a little better towards the end.

Up way to early after going to bed way to late. Warm with a head wind for the first 10. Felt like I was working to hard for the pace we where going. Got regrouped and started back. Felt better and thought I was going to do better the way back. Not so. Hit a couple of what I thought were decent miles (checking the watch they were barely 7:00 pace) then crashed hard. Ended up doing the jog/walk break/jog thing for the last 6 miles. Dave found me about a mile from the car and gave me a ride back. Glad its over cause my body needs rest badly.

Treadmill. New shoe day. Ahhhhhh! Did 7 before dinner. Then fed the little monsters and let the food settle and hit 4 more a few hours later. Felt pretty good.

Greensprings. Didnt want to do speed work this morning so I went out a little after 8am. What a great morning! Temps were almost cool. Felt good again today and picked up the pace on the way back for a good 6 miles.

Treasure Valley park. Very nice temps and a good run at a nice pace. With temps like these its hard to not just go out and run forever.

Firestation w/2x Grapvine. Good run but a bit tired towards the end.

Landfill. Slow and easy. Tired so tomorrows half should be interesting.

Ran a mock race on the old Trails 1/2 marathon route with Dave, Clyde, Bill, Mike and Art. Easy 3 warm up and then got to the "race". Didnt have any real plans as to pace but I did want to run it as well as I could without killing myself. Ended with a 1:18:40 which was better than I thought I would do. It was shifting between feeling ok to wanting to just slow and jog for almost the whole run so considering that I feel pretty good about it. Easy 4 cooldown.

Treadmill. Felt pretty good considering Sat workout. Went easy.

8 - Landfill. Great day for running. Overcast and not very warm. Legs felt good again but Im coming into my pre-SGM sickness. I get sick about this time every year and here it is again. I was hoping that i'd pass it up this year but thats not to be I guess. Loading up on orange juice and Emergen-c so hopefully it runs its course fast and I can get back to normal cause last year this killed my race. I was planning on another 4-5 this evening but now im not sure.

4 - Parkway short. Decided to give it a try this evening and it wasnt too bad. Headache and sore throat are getting worse though. Blah.

6 - Grapevine. Super slow. Alternated between feeling ok and gross. Trying to get rid of the sick but cant stop running. I tried that last year and it didnt help at all.

6 - Parkway. Better pace and excellent temps for a run. Only felt crumby for a few minutes and the rest of the run was good.

Middleton/Industrial park. Nice run. Body felt good and the sickness isnt kicking my butt yet.

Marathon course with Dave. Started at the bottom of Veyo hill and ran to the finish. Good pace. Picked it up a little from Winchester to the end. Cool down back to the church. Great temps and felt decent. Cant ask for much more.

Treadmill. Got to stay home with a sick child so I ran on the treadmill. I did open all the windows in the house so I could at least enjoy the beautiful temps somewhat. Calves where a little tight from Sat but nothing horrible.

Parkway/Greensprings Dr. Felt good tonight especially on the way back.

6 - Greensprings. Another beautiful morning out. Run was ok but not the best.

4 - Treadmill. Watching kids again so I couldnt get outside. Didnt feel horrible but I could tell I was worn out. Didnt go to far as tomorrow is supposed to be a speed workout.

Fields/River trail. 3 mile warm up then we started running. I realized as the guys pulled away that I had no idea what kind of workout I was supposed to be doing or how long it was going to be. Decided to try for MP miles and see what happened. Never got to race pace and each mile got slower and slower. Body is just plain tired.