Running for Sanity

"Today's industrial run is brought to you by Quaker State and Turtle Wax.  Just because your lungs are dirty doesn't mean your car has to be."

I thought I would be clever and run down to the parkway from my office.  "It's only a couple of miles", I thought.  But it's not fun running in an industrial park with heavy traffic.  And it didn't help that it was hotter than expected and windy.  And when I finally did get on the parkway, the majority of it was under construction and I got diverted onto another neighborhood road.  This does illustrate one of the great things about running:  you can run just about anywhere.  Besides all the emissions, it was a decent run.

Very easy run from the office to Liberty Park and back.  My knee has been a little bit sore, so I took it easy.  I also finally broke down and bought an Ipod and listened to it while I ran.  It did distract me from my run, but I'm not sure that is a good thing.     

Easy lunchtime run.  Getting geared up for the Lake to Lake Relay this weekend.

Leg 5 (Man O' Warrior)

Mile 1: 7:04 I got off to a good start until I looked down and noticed I forgot to tie one of my shoes.  Oops.  I caught two runners during this mile though and was feeling good. 

Mile 2: 7:24  I realized I went out a little faster than I should have so I tried to reign it in a little bit during this mile so I could hit the big hill coming up in mile three. 

Mile 3: 7:35 I hit the hill pretty good.  I caught a runner, and then I heard footsteps.  Ah, suck, somebody was drafting off of me.  It was windy and hot, so I tried to slow down so he would pass me, but he kept right on my back.  I told him to pass me, but he just sat there behind me.  I need to learn how to play those mind games a little better.

Mile 4: 6:59: I hit the backside of the hill and at this point my drafter finally passed me.  I tried to keep up, but he took off and I couldn't hold the pace.  I also knew I had a tough leg in a couple of hours, so I thought I better back off a little bit. 

Mile 5: 7:20 I got into a good pace and just held onto it.  It was starting to warm up, but I didn't feel too bad.

Mile .49: 3:37 (7:19 pace)  I passed two ultra runners towards the end.  I heard one say to the other as I was passing him, "should we rein him back in?"  and the other replied, "nah, we'll catch 'em later."  That was humbling.

Leg 9 (The Dirty Climber)

Mile 1: 8:05  I hit the hill really hard (probably harder than I should have).  The first half mile was about a 5-6% grade, but the back side was pretty fast.  I was having trouble keeping my footing as well. 

Mile 2: 8:20  The second mile was a long gradual hill.  It was windy, it was dusty, and it was hot.  It sucked.  But I did pass two runners at this time and I had a third runner in my sights.

Mile 3:  8:20  I had a little down hill for about 1/2 mile, but the wind and dust was killing me.  And then the uphill came back again.  But at least I got off the dirt trail here.

Mile 4:  8:41 A long, steep hill highlighted this mile.  I passed another runner, but we were both trashed.  I felt like I was just a little bit less trashed than he was.  He was really struggling.

Mile 4.25:  1:59  I brought in the last mile as well as I could.  I saw my teammates and I was excited to be done.  But man, I was exhausted.  The wind, and dust, and heat really got the better of me. 

Leg 5:  39:59 (5.5 miles)

Leg 9:  35:25 (4.25 miles)

Our team took 22/94 overall and 9/52 in our division.  Pretty good considering one of our runners was sick and took it pretty easy.  Our other two teams did really well.  Our "fast" team took 5th overall and 1st in the mixed age group.  Our other team took 17th overall and 6th in our division.  And most importantly, a good time was had by all. 

An easy lunchtime run from the office to Liberty Park, twice around, and back.  I had to run around my office building a couple of times to get to 7 miles.  I should probably run around the park an extra time.  People were looking at me like I was an alien.  I'm not normally one to worry about what people think, but sometimes prudence dictates a certain amount of discretion.  There is no reason to be known as that crazy runner guy if it can otherwise be avoided.   

I did 6x200 on the treadmill today with full recoveries in between.  I did my splits as follows:

(1) @ 6:18 per mile pace.

(2) - (5) @ 6:15 per mile pace.

(6) @ 6:11 per mile pace.

They actually felt pretty easy, so I was encouraged by that.  Next week I'll bump it up to 8.  I'm planning on doing the race for the leopards at the end of the month, so I thought I better get used to a quicker turnover.  I would love to get under 21:00 minutes on that course since it is so fast.   

Easy run from the office, three times around Liberty, and back. 

Easy, uneventful run on the JRP with the dog.

Today our group did a 14 mile run on the Porter Rockwell Trail in Draper.  A lot of the group took off (at around my tempo pace), but I decided not to follow them.  I was tired from my run last night and from the race last weekend.  I tried to keep in the 8:45 to 9:00 minute pace range, but I often found myself running at an 8:00 to 8:15 mile pace just to group some members of the group in sight. 

Once we got going, I felt pretty good, but I felt really tired after the run.  I took a nice 2 hour nap when I got home.  Props to my wife for letting it happen. 

I went out with the dog on the JRP.  It probably wasn't fair of me to take him on an 8 mile run, but he hung in there valiantly.  At around mile 6, he was on his last leg, but then we caught up with Lloyd and Marie, and that seemed to give him a second wind. 

It was an absolutely gorgeous day to go for a run.  I felt like I could've run even more, but I thought I better keep it under control. 

Easy run from work, to Liberty Park 3x around, and back.  I was tired and went a little slower than normal, but overall I had a good run.  I'm hoping to have another 50+ mile week this week.   

I will be too busy to run tomorrow during the day and after work, so I will have to do it in the morning.  We'll see if I can get it in.

Well, I didn't get in the full 7, but I did get up and I got a few miles in.  It was 5/7 of a victory I guess.  I really need to get back in the habit of doing morning runs.  I'm not going to be able to run at lunch time when it's 100 degrees in July.  I guess I better get back in the habit.

Nice hill run with the dog from my house, up to Bonneville Shoreline Trail, over to Foothill Drive and back down to my house.  My knee is feeling a little stiff and sore and I am feeling a little run down.  I hope its because I'm breaking through another plateau rather than a prelude to an injury. 

TM run while I watched March Madness during lunch.

Nice day for a run.  I ran up City Creek Canyon from the capitol building until I hit the unmelted snow.  Then I turned around and headed back down the canyon.  Then I headed out to 11th Ave. and ran down a couple of more miles.  I then turned around and I ran the last two miles at a tempo pace to see if I could hang on to it while fatigued.  My last two miles were both under 7:40 (my boston qualifying pace), so I felt pretty good about that.

Easy run on the parkway with Johnny, Andrea, Craig, Tracy C., Jeremy, and Coach Bill. 

Easy run on the parkway. Knee felt okay. Still a little sore.

TM run, including 8x200 @ 6:11 per mile pace. I'm feeling tired and worn down, but I'm excited for the 5k on Saturday. I think I'll take it a little easier next week, and then start training hard for the Ogden half.

Easy run with the dog the afternoon before the 5k.  I wanted to stretch out my legs.  Stockton's paw was bleeding at the end of the run.  It looked like he split a paw nail.  I clipped his nails, so I hope it won't happen again.

I had a pretty good race on a very fast course.  There is about a 320 foot drop on this course, so I figure my time was at least a minute faster than it would have been on a flat course.  That being said, I felt like I ran pretty well, if not too conservatively. 

Mile 1: 6:33  I wanted to start out conservatively, but still take advantage of the quick downhill.  The first .5 from the zoo to the post office was really downhill.  A lot of the young kids really took off and I didn't want to get caught up in their excitement.  I probably played it a little bit too conservatively, but I came in right around my goal time for the first mile. 

Mile 2:  6:30  I kept it pretty steady for the second mile also.  I pushed the hill down to 
Foothill Blvd pretty good, but I probably could have pushed it a little bit harder.  I felt like I was working pretty hard, but I also felt like I was in cruise control.  

Mile 3:  6:18  I really started to push it going down the hill towards the track.  I passed a bunch of people and didn't get passed by anyone until I hit the track.  Once I hit the track, a couple of younger kids passed by me like I wasn't even moving.  That's always a bit humbling.  As I hit corner around mile 3, I squinted to see the clock (I wasn't wearing my glasses or contacts, but could not tell where I was time wise).  I knew I was pretty close to 20:00 and thought I could get in under that time.  

Mile .11  .39 (5:54 pace)  As I turned the corner to the last straight away on the track, I could see the time at around 19:45.  I really picked it up and passed a couple of the kids that passed me.  I realized that if I was able to pick it up that fast, I probably didn't run hard enough earlier in the race.  I hit the finish line right as my Garmin hit 20:00 minutes.  I fell out of line to talk to my friends, and a couple of people moved ahead of me in line.  I think that accounts for the 4 seconds above 20:00, but I could be wrong.    

So while I think I ran a good race, my goals were probably more conservative than they needed to be.  I went in hoping for a 20:30, but I probably could have come in at around 19:45 if I would have run more aggresively.  I think I underestimated how fast the course really was.  There were a couple of stretches in the first two miles where I held back more than I need to hold back.  Overall, though, I am really happy with where I am.  I have exceeded my goals for all of my races so far this year. 

Now on to the Ogden Half Marathon in seven weeks.  I think I am going to shoot for a 1:36:59.  That would be around a 7:24 per mile pace.  If I can pull that off, then I think I would be in good enough shape to shoot for a BQ at St. George in October (3:20:59, a 7:39 per mile pace).  If I can't quite hold that pace in the half, then I will have to decide whether I want to train more conservatively this year to set things up for a BQ next year.  The line between knowing when to push and when to hold back is such a fine one.  If I am going to err, I want to err on the side of holding back.  I don't want a serious injury to ruin the whole season.   

Easy run on the JRP with Johnny, Tracy C., and the dogs.  Johnny and I talked about the race and how our training is going.  We ran right around the same time.  We are both really happy with where we are at this point in the season.  It felt good to stretch the legs after the run yesterday.

A warm afternoon run on the parkway. I overdressed and did not have any hydration. I need to start preparing better.

Easy run on the TM. I wanted to avoid the wind and dust. Good run.

4 x 1 mile intervals @ 6:58 pace on the TM.  It was a tough run, but I felt good when I was done.