Bob's blog

Easy 6 along Wasatch. Legs feeling better after the failed 20 miler on Sat. Had a 102 degree fever and didn't realize it. Bad way to train.

Ran on Wasatch with Mike. Began with 3 miles warm up then 15 x 1:00 surges with equal recovery. Cooled down 1 mile. I focused on stretching after the workout as I have found that I am very prone to calf tears when my training is speed focused.

Ran on treadmill. Started out with 2 miles at 6:38 pace. Felt good. Ran 2 miles at 5:27 pace, felt better. Cooled down with 2 miles at 6:38 pace.

My legs are ready for Houston, my mind still needs convincing.

Ran on treadmill. Started out with 2 miles at 6:38 to warm up. Ran 6 2 minute surges at 5:00 pace with 2:00 recovery at 6:38. Cooled down 2 miles at 6:38 pace.

My legs are ready to run 26.2 at 5:20 pace, but I haven't run a marathon in so long that I have forgotten all about the suffering over the last 6.2 miles. The last doubt/fear still lingering in my mind is can I take the pain to reach my goal or will fatigue make a coward of me?

Ran an easy 10 along Wasatch with Mike. The snow, ice and freezing headwind made it a tough wiorkout.

Easy old favorite today; extended U run on the U of U campus. Legs felt good.

Ran an easy2 miles on the treadmill to warm up. I gradually amped up the pace to 5:20 then alternated 5 min intervals with 2 min rest. Ran the first interval at 5 min pace. Felt too easy. Ran the second interval at 5 min pace with 1% incline. Felt too easy. Ran last interval at 5 min pace with 2% incline...too hard. Cooled down 2 miles at 6:30 pace.

My legs are ready for Houston. Now I know I can hold 5:20's easily and can surge to sub 5 if I need to. This workout really built some confidence.

DNF at Houston.

Showed up sick and tried to run anyway. The pace was erratic over the first 8 miles and then the hired pacer dropped. The crowd was shouting that we were on pace to run 2:25 thus I thought we had acquired a 1:30 defecit from the poor pacing. I rallyed the troops to fform a pace line and ended up doing all of the work to make up the supposed defecit over the next 3 miles. I ran 4:55, 5:05 then 5:10 and started coughing. When I crossed the 1/2 Marathon at 1:10.00 I realized that I was ahead of pace and could relax but continued to cough. At mile 15 the coughing attack overwhelmed me and I had to stop.

Even though I sucked, it was the best marathon experience of my life. The folks at Houston know how to treat their athletes.

Easy 6 miler on wasatch today with the dog (bandy). Legs felt fine.

Easy 8 mile run on wasatch. Air was BAD. My lungs  hurt after I ran.

Enough of that bad air in Salt Lake. I drove down to St. George last night and watched a beautiful sunset this morning. When the temp hit 50 I went for an easy 10 miler on the trail system here; why can't Salt Lake create such a nice trail system? I ended up on the marathon course and felt obliged to run a couple miles at marathon pace. It felt good to elevate the pace a bit.

6 easy miles on the virgin river parkway. Training in St. George was a wonderful break from Salt Lake.

Ran 4 easy on Wasatch early. Legs feel good again.

Will run an easy 6 this afternoon. I am eager to train again. 

I never thought an unplanned DNF could motivate me to get faster and stronger like Houston has. It is an unpleasant motivation though. I feel like I have dishonored my own name and I have to race a good marathon to get my pride back. 

Ran an easy 16 with Mike. The first 6 miles felt really bad. I felt like a fish out of water...nothing came to me easily. After we started up Emigration canyon I felt much better but my hip was really screaming for the first mile. After the 1/2 way point my body got used to running again and I felt better all the way home.

Mike started out much stronger than I did. He looks to be in good form.  

Ran an easy 8 mile loop on Jeremy Ranch road in Park City. Had to get out of the air in SLC. I am tired of chewing my air before I breathe it.

Ran an easy 6 on treadmill

Ran with Luke (one of the high school runners I coach) and started with 2 miles to warm up. Warming up with high schoolers is a joke...they think that 5:30 pace is a warm up. The warm up consisted of almost 1000 feet of climbing. After I was thuroughally exhausted from the warm up we ran 24 minutes of tempo on mostly flat ground. Our pace ranged from 5:10 to 4:45 on the slight downgrade. I felt much better on the tempo than I did during the warm up. Luke was not as fast as I thought he should have been. He seemed fatigued and let me start to gap him. Could be a precursor to overtraining/injury. Cooled down 2 miles at a sane pace.

Ran 10 easy miles on wasatch blvd with Bandy.

Ran a 12 mile loop in SLC. It starts at Judge HS and roughly follows the SL 1/2 marathon course. It started to get nasty around sugarhouse with wind gusts in th 20 mph range and on and off snow flurries. It felt like crap the whole way. It was a real Nietzsche training day. Hip really flared up at mile 8.

Ran Wasatch blvd with Bandy. She had plenty of energy and I recovered from the terrible run yesterday. Legs felt good. Pain in hip subsiding.

Rode a stationary bike. Dillon is very sick and I can't leave the house. 

Ran 18 easy miles with Mike. We headed out along Wasatch towards the Parleys footbridge which is very icy. Ran wasatch to Emigration canyon and up emigration to just beyond Ruth's diner and back home.

The pace was good. We ran between 6:15 and 7:00 for the majority of the run and we kept each other honest.

My hip flared up again on the way up the foortbridges but felt better as I got closer to home. 

Easy 7 on 4th ave loop. Legs felt sore. 

Ran 9 miles. Did 10 x 2:00 surges after 2 mile warm up. Surges felt good afte the third one. Cooled down 2 miles.

Ran an easy 13 mile loop along wasatch today. Started at home and went across parley's footbridge to the dog park by the zoo.

My warm up pace was slower than I usually run and I think that lapse set the tempo for the whole run...slow. It seemed to drag on forever. My legs felt heavy and my back hurt the whole time. I kept wondering if this is what aging feels like; I am only 32.

finishing time was 1:28.

Easy 5. Dillon is sick. Got out just before dark.

Easy 10 miles today. Legs feel fine ready to race tomorrow.

Raced the striders series 5 k today. Started out by running the course. It didn't seem too bad on the warm up. Did some strides around the starting area.

In the race my legs felt good. The first mile was easy and that is the plan I came up with on the warm up. I knew the second mile would be the tough one. Lion and Joe took the early lead and Corbin and I hung about 5 m back. At the beginning of the first climb it was me, corbin Joe. At the end of the climb it was me then Corbin. This proceeded all the way through the rest of the race. When it came down to the kick, Corbin made his move and my legs had no answer; that was the second time that has happened to me this year. I wasn't working all that hard but I didn't have any more speed. That low gear that I have relied on to win races in the past is apparently gone. I must need transmission work. In the end I was quite pleased in my performance. I was also impressed with Paul. This was his first race back in a while and he was only a few seconds back and closing fast...

Cooled down on the 10k course. That one is going to be brutal. Its a good thing I like running hills.

Ran an easy 13 mile loop with Mike. We started out along wasatch and continued across the parleys footbridge. Went to the dog park and back.

My legs felt good. My stride was smooth and I felt no little aches or pains from the 5k. I guess that means I should have raced harder but I have no regrets. My goal is a sub 2:20 marathon this spring.

Ran an easy 8 mile loop from JM to sugarhouse park, around the outer park perimeter and back to JM.

Legs felt good. Still little soreness from race which is surprising. Usually I am sore for at least 2 days (the second day being the worst) after a 5k.

Ran to liberty park today. Did 2 x 2 mile intervals in the park. The first interval started with a tame 5:34 mile and finished in 11:03. the second was almost exactly the same.

My legs felt tired to begin the workout but livened up after the first mile of the intervals.

Heart rate stayed in the 160's during the intervals.

Cooled down around the park and back to JM.

Ran on trail today. Went up millcreek to Burch trailhead and ran out to Rattlesnake. This is the first time I have run with Dillon in his jogging stroller. The ride was a bit bumpy but he seemed to love it. Bandy did a great job heeling the entire run.

My legs felt fine although the pace was abit slower than I am used to running. It took us 32 minutes to go out and 33 to get back. I guess thats not too bad considering the slush, mud, snow and stroller. Anyway, it was great to be on trail. Roads and road racing hold little allure for me. It is all about the trails.

Dillon is sick again. I had to settle for 4 miles in the dark with weights and core strength during the day. 

He had brought home a new disease each week for the past 3 weeks. What will be next...Ebola Ziare? Cholera?

I swear the next global pandemic will begin at the JM daycare.

Ran Zoo loop the longest and hardest way I know how. Left JM and warmed up heading north on 11th east through the cemetary up to 11th ave. Followed 11th ave east to the U. Took the highest version of the shoreline trail above the hospital and over to the zoo. Sunnyside back to JM.

Ran the hills hard. About 1500 feet vertical. That really aggrivated my right hip. I was worried about that.

Ran an easy 18 miler with Mike and Bandy. Ran from Washington park in Parleys up to the summit of little mountain in emigration. Down emigration to wasatch, wasatch home.

 I was having GI problems the whole way but my legs felt fine. My right hip was still aggrivated from the climbing yesterday.

Bandy bonked at 16 miles. Poor dog.

Finally getting over the illness that struck me last weekend. My stomach felt stable enough to try a short easy run so I went from work and looped around 11th ave to memory grove and back.

My legs were dying to run but my gut barely held. Got home in 1 piece.

Dillon woke me up at 1:00 AM. I have the problem of not being able to fall back asleep after becomming conscious enough to feed my son; thus I had to operate on 3:00 sleep today. Any advice from the expert parents out there on getting back to sleep?

Ran a tempo workout with Luke today. Started out at JM  and ran north on 11th east to 11th ave. Started tempo on 11th ave heading east, turned at Virginia and ran back to memory grove. Ended tempo on 4th ave up from memory grove. 19:51 for the 4 mile tempo for me, roughly 19:40 for Luke. He looks good. Cooled down 4th ave back to JM. 

Ran my extended city loop yesterday. Took the first few miles easy and ran progressively when my legs felt like it. At mile 10 I finally fely ready to push the pace a bit and ran 2 miles at MP. Ended at 1:32.

Legs took longer than I anticipated to warm up (4 mi). Felt fluid after they did.

I think I am the only guy not tapering for the 10k tomorrow. It is hard to read all the other blogs and still feel competitive in a race like that. I need to remember that tomorrow is not the goal, just a stepping stone towards a good marathon performance. 

Ran 8 easy miles on treadmill. Tried to listen to my ipod but my earphones kept falling out of my ears. Does anybody know of a good pair of wrap around earphones?

Ran the striders 10k today. My goal was to treat the race as more of a speed workout. THus cruise the first 5k and run progressively the rest of the way. I started the day by warming up on the 4 miles of the course I had not seen. The hills were not as bad as I had previously thought. Sorry Paul, not dissing your GIS skills.

So I started out as slowly as the leaders would let me, which still felt fast. I really tried not to push the pace up the climbs as I am not in clinbing shape yet. At the top of the last climb I knew it was time to start racing so I gradually started running faster and faster. At this point there were only 4 in contention; Paul, Corbin, Joe and me.

At mile 4.5 I decided I had plenty left to go for a win so I pushed the pace and nobody responded. At that point I just concentrated on quick turnover and high knees. I could hear Corbin catching me but I don't currently have the high end speed to do anything about it so I stuck with my game plan. It worked this time...as Tom Petty wrote: every body gets lucky sometimes.

Cooled down 3 miles.

Ran an easy 8 miler on Wasatch. The legs are SORE after the 10k. I can't remember the last time I was this sore. Then again, I can't remember the last time I ran a course with that many hills when i was so unprepared to run hills.

Needless to say, I will have to build into this week. 

Ran an easy 7 mile loop. Started out at JM and ran 11th east to 4th ave, across 4th to memory grove. Went to reflecting pools at temple square and back to JM via south temple.

My legs are starting to loosen up but I still have some residual soreness in my right calf. I am going to skip the speedwork tomorrow and do 2 runs to try and loosen it up. 

Just ran an easy 5 in an absolute blizzard. There was roughly 6 inches of new snow on the ground. traffic was crazy. I am glad to have survived it.

Run again this evening.

Ran easy with Luke. We ran on treadmills to try and avoid the snow. Got 6.5 in before I had to pick up the boy. Legs finally feel loose.

Warmed up from JM to 11th ave. Took off on 8 x 2 min surges at 95% along 11th heading east then back west. Took 2:00 recovery between each one.

After the 5th one I felt like crying but managed to finish with reasonable form. Cooled down along 4th ave and back to JM via 11th east.

Ran 16 with Mike on the Wasshington park loop. Bandy got us in trouble. Had to loop back to the car with watershed officer in tow and get in the car and restart the run on the little mountain summit.

Easy 5 before a good day of skiing.

Life (skiing) has kept me away from the blog for a while. I'm back.

Ran an easy 10 miler from JM to just above Ruth's diner and back. Goal was to run the hills nice and easy and let the legs do what they want on the way back down.

Still felt some residual soreness in the right calf. Need to spend some time with the massage ball working it out.

Started out with a 2 mile warm up. Then ran 6 x .3 mile hill repeats up a 9% grade in the Lindsay Gardens cemetary. the first few repeats were hard to maintain form but were as hard as I know how to run. the last few felt more natural but just as hard. Splits ranged from 2:25 on the first one to 2:20 on the last. 

Cooled down 2 miles. 

Warmed up 2 miles up to 11th ave. Ran tempo on 11th ave heading east then turned around and headed west down to memory grove. The split for the first 4 miles was 20:50 and the last mile brought me to 26:32 (had a set of stairs to negotiate on the last mile).

The legs felt surprisingly good after the brutal hills yesterday.

Noticed a sharp pain in my lower right calf at the end of the downhill section. Will lay off the downs for a while. Rubbed in some DMSO and gave my achilles/soleus some massage time.
 

Ran the striders 10 miler today. The day started out well. I got up at 6:00 and ate the usual prerace breakfast (oatmeal and a banana). Got to the course around 7:30 AM and was warming up around 8. I ran the first 2 miles and felt good. No residual pain in my calf.

Got to the starting line and was set on running a relaxed pace from the gun. I wanted to test out my marathon pace (5:20) and it felt really easy. From the gun Joe took off and I really didn't feel like going with him to see "what I had." I ran with Paul for the entire race except for when he pulled away from me in the 9th mile.

8 of the 10 miles on course were fine; the hills were tough but the downhills were really tough. I can usually pull away from anyone on the downs, but my calf tightened up on the first few miles and I knew I had to back off. I got a bit frustrated because my usual strength had become my weakness. By the end of mile 8 I was experiencing sharp pain shooting down my right calf and knew it was game over. Paul was catching me and he looked good. I thought he had a shot at catching Joe so I amped up the pace a bit, which felt really good, and tried to pull Paul closer to Joe so he could slingshot around me to a glorious finish. I failed him miserably when my calf totally gave out and I had to pull up on the reins and come to almost a complete stop. I limped in the remaining half mile or so (it felt like 5 miles).

Overall I am quite disappointed in my body. I had plenty of fuel in the tank but my calf gave out. This very same thing happened last spring in a 10 mile race which makes it all the more aggrivating. I don't know if this calf thing is age, diet, physiologically or anatomically related but I am getting very tired of it.

Ran an easy 4 miles in the morning. Still trying to work out the calf pain.

Ran an easy 6.5 mile loop in afternoon. Calf still in a bit of pain. Icing after each run. 

Ran an easy zoo loop today. Warmed up on the initial climb and let my legs turnover at a comfortable pace after that. took it really easy on the downhills. Calf felt much better today.

Iced upon return.

Ran a 7 mile tempo loop. Started out at JM and warmed up to 11th ave. Ran an entire 11th loop (center st, virginia, city creek captiol, city creek center st, virginia). The first half mile was building to tempo pace than I tried to hold a solid tempo for the next 6.5 miles. Total time was 36:24 for the loop. No splits...my sundial can't record them. Cooled down back to JM.

Legs felt better. A bit of calf pain in the initial miles. Pain faded with time.

Beginning to rethink marathon plan this spring. Run Ogden and risk injury or run Salt Lake and all but eliminate chances of achieving long term goals. What to do? 

Ran an easy 13 mile loop along wasatch. I let my exertion determine my pace and my goal was not to exert myself. Easier said than done when the temp is 70 degrees.

8 mile loop on wasatch. Ran with the dog and she dictated the pace (not too fast, she had a big week last week). End of the easy week. Time to train again.

Ran an easy 4 miler with the dog this morning. satrted out slowly then made 30 second surges toward the end of the run. Will run again this evening.

Ran a hilly 6 miler across the parley's footbridges pushing the boy in his stroller. He is getting heavy. Obviously had to work hard on the ups. Took the downs nice and easy.

Ran 10 x 2:00 fartlek workout.

Started out with 2 miles to warm up. Legs felt a bit rusty but ok. Started the first interval on a slight downgrade and my legs started feeling more fluid. By the 4th interval I felt like I was running fast but not hard and tried to keep that sensation going. Succeeded except for the last one...it was hard.

Cooled down 2 miles.

Ran 7 easy miles with Mike and the dog on pipeline. 

The trail is in good shape. Few mountain bikers have gotten up there to destroy the trail.

Mmmmmmmm...trail running. 

Ran my traditional mid week mid mileage run...city loop. As usual there was plenty of traffic, almost got hit in 2 different intersections and lots of sidewalk pounding. The bright side was that I am beginning to recognize local runners who blog on this site. Said hi to a few of them. Little bright spots, like seeing someone you know, in a normally dull run can really make it a more pleasant experience. 

Got through in 1:18.  Course at http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=795937

Ran a 17 miler with Mike. Did a variant on the SL marathon course.

Pace started out easy and we gradually built up to a good clip. The tempo started on guardsman way heading south, continued on 15th east to sugarhouse, around the park and up parleys way to the 4 mile point. Legs and lungs worked well together today. Was able to hit the 4 mile section in about 20 min (again, no exact slpits as my sundial is not that accurate).

Mike's foot started bugging him at the beginning of the tempo so we diverged and met at the end point. Finished the remaining few miles at a very slow pace to rest Mike's foot.

Ran on trail this morning. Started out at Burch (in Millcreek Cyn) and ran to Chruch (great way to observe the christian sabath), back to Burch, up to Elbow and back to Burch. The trail is in great shape. A few patches of snow/mud at the top of the climb toward Elbow.

Legs felt fine after yesterdays run.

After reading Paul's blog about running every day vs. skipping a day now and then I thought I would chime in. I try to run every day. My legs feel like they are in the groove if I give them that stimulus every day. When I take days off they feel sluggish, like they have not gotten to stretch out for a while. With that in mind, it is important to take easy days frequently. I run at least 3 days pre week easy and I don't let mr HR rise above the 140's (70% max). Kind of  Lydiard philosiphy.

Ran an easy zoo loop. Took the ups and flats easy and worked the pace on the downs a bit. The calf seems to be holding. No pain or lingering effects that I can detect.

I tried to run my city loop. It was not raining when I started running and it looked like I had at least a 1.5 hour window to the west. I got .5 miles from JM when the rain started. The hail started at 1 mile and at 2 miles I was ringing wet and my shoes were hard as rocks. The wind picked up at that point and was beginning to sting my eyes. I turned around at 2.5 and headed back to JM. By the time I got back, the rain had stopped and I was totally discouraged. 

I gave up on more running as I was freezing and decided that 5 miles would do instead of the planned 13. Such is life. 

Got on the stationary bike when I got home.  

Ran hill repeats in the Lindsay Gardens cemetary. 

Started with a 2 mile warm up. Started repeats at bathroom on center st. Ran up to 11th ave. Each one was .3 miles.

Repeat 6 times.

Splits ranged from 2:27 (1st) to 2:18 (last). I tried to run even splits but my body needed time to adjust to the hills. Got faster with each one.

I was happy with this workout because my splits were faster overall than the last time I did this workout and the weather was much worse. In fact, I had to close my eyes on some of them because th rain/sleet was stinging so badly. The temp was 8 degrees cooler at the top of the hill than at the bottom.

Ran an easy city loop today. The goal was to go as easy as possible but still keep form. I really want to recover from yesterdays hills before I try to push it on saturday's long run. My legs felt fine and the run went by quickly (which is rare on this loop).

I added part of the SL marathon course to extend it a bit and get used to running down hills again.

Course at:

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=815519

Ran 8 easy miles on pipeline with Mike. I needed the recovery day.

It was good to see Mike running again. He looks fit and symmetric. No favoring one side or the other. The pain must be subsiding or he is tougher than nails or both.

Ran on the SL Marathon course this morning. When I was setting out bottles I saw Steve Ashbaker on the course. He looked fast.

Course at:

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=820535

Legs felt fine the entire way. Worked some tempo paced running in from 7th mile to 13th mile. My stomach went sour at the end of my tempo paced running (hence the end of the tempo) and slowed me down to Marathon pace. Finished up the run at the 13.1 Salt Lake marker. Overall 2:04.

Note to self: never eat strawberries and cream oatmeal before running a long fast run. It comes up as a red pasty foam and really burns the lungs.

Ran the striders 1/2 Marathon. The pace over the first 6 miles was totally doable. It felt like I could hold that pace for an entire marathon. At miles 7 and 8 I began to have breathing difficulties much like the ones I experienced in Houston. It could have been altitude or the slight cold I have or even allergies. Whatever the cause, the pace became too much for me to keep and I dropped back to the 5:30's. This felt much more comfortable. Finished with 5:21 avg pace.

My teammate, Paul, who I ran with most of the race was really prepared to keep a blistering pace. When I started into difficulty he didn't even skip a beat and kept on chugging. I think I saw a hint of a red cape with the letter "S" on it under his singlet.

At the awards ceremony I overheard another runner make a comment about the Wasatch runners: "those wasatch guys are animals...they win everything!" I think she was referring to Paul.

Ran on pipeline this morning. Just a stretch the legs out after the race run. Felt fine. Surprisingly little soreness remaining.

Ran 9 east miles with Mike on pipeline. The air was cold and the unbelieveably strong headwind made it colder. It was a fun run though. Bandy was in dog heaven...new snow ay elbow fork.

easy 4 in the AM. Had Dillon in the stroller and Bandy along for moral support. Nothing like trying to train with a child and a dog "helping."

Ran an easy 8 in the PM. Again, had the dog and the boy. Was a typical run until we ran into 5 deer sitting off the side of the road. We gave them a wide birth. Next (about 1 mile down the road) we ran into 2 coyotes. I got between the coyote I saw and my 10 month old son while my tenatious dog was barking in the opposite direction and pulling me away from the coyote (that I saw). I thought Bandy was pulling a turn and run away from danger move, but she was trying to go after the second coyote that I didn't see. Luckily I always keep her on leash as that coyote would have made short work of her. What a good dog.

Ran a tempo run this morning. Had to get up early and get it done...the wife has no mercy and I couldn't fathom attempting that run with a baby in a stroller and a dog.

Started out towards millcreek as a warm up. Headed south on wasatch and started tempo at the light on 45th. Kept it goind to the office park past 6200 S and turned around. Ended tempo at 4500 S light.

The beginning felt awkward and took a while to get in to the pace. The dog took just about 10 minutes then she was off to the races. I think she was ready for more coyotes. It felt better and better as I ran. Ended with 33:45. No splits. I actually wore my heart rate monitor and was puzzled. My max heart rate should be in the 190's but I couldn't get out of the 160's. I expected my tempo heart rate to be in the low to mid 170's. I expect that this means my legs are fatigued and not performing at their potential thus my heart is capable of more than my legs right now. Which makes sense. I have been building up my milage and intensity for 3 weeks now. It is time for an easy week.

Pipeline. Burch to rattle.

Ran to Ruth's diner and back. Took it easy until 12 miles then hit the tempo pace. Bonked at the end of the tempo...haven't eaten since yesterday afternoon...bad idea. Finished up in really bad form. Bandy wouldn't even look me in the eye. I could tell she was very disappointed.

Ran wasatch out to office park and back. Good recovery run.

No run...Dr. appt for Dillon. He is very sick.

Ran a tinman tempo today on pipeline trail. Paul inspired me to try this technique out.

I started out at Burch hollow and warmed up to church fork. At church I ran the tinman (low range of tempo...I think) out to the point (end of the pipeline trail) and back to church. My heart rate stayed in the range I wanted it to (158-164) and my mental attitude was positive all through the tempo. At the end of the run I felt energized. Bandy struggled with the pace. I actually had to let her off leash as I was dragging her.

Cooled down 1.5 miles back to burch.

Haven't blogged in a while. Although my training has been good (still increasing volume and intensity) I know it doesn't show. 

Ran a series of hill repeats with the goals of doing a VO2 max workout and testing Sasha's max heart rate calculator. I did a polar HR monitor fitness test which indicated that my VO2 max is 72 and max HR is 189. I didn't believe this because 2 years ago my max heart rate was 200.

I started the workout with a 2 mile warm up. At the end of the warm up I built into my 5k pace on a nearly flat stretch of the avenues and ended with 4:00 of hill climbing on a steep gradient. My HR was 184 at the end of this stretch. After doing this work I can attest that it came pretty close to maxing my HR.

The rest of the workout was on the steepest section of center st in the Lindsay Gardens cemetary. I split each repeat into .2 mile segments. Splits ranged from 1:04 to 1:06. Did 10 of them.

Cooled down 2 miles.

No run today. Life got in the way. Actually, the stomach flu got in the way. My son has it and now my wife has it. So if you consider viruses to be alive...life got in the way. 

Ran an easy zoo loop BV++. Legs felt heavy but strong. Completed the run in 1:10.

Am

easy 5 on wasatch/mile high dr. Took the dog and the boy. Made for a nice easy run.

PM Ran with Mike and Bandy on pipeline. Burch to rattle and back. Had some GI issues. 54 mins.

Ran a progressive 20 miler this morning. Started out easy on wasatch, again had some GI issues. Picked up the pace a bit towards the zoo. Ran on shoreline over to legacy bridge. Devine and co left quite a mess up there. Picked it up to marathon pace along the U and guardsman out to sugarhouse park. Continued on SL marathon course until 27th south. Built up to tempo from Tanner pk to Smith's marketplace on 33rd S. Cooled down home.

Legs felt good, better the faster I ran. 2:14 total. 

Easy 10 miler on the city loop. Legs feel good.

Ran 2 mile repeats today at liberty park.

Started out with a run down to the park and a loop around to warm up. Ran the first interval in 10:50. Legs felt like I was pedaling squares. The second felt much more fluid and was a 10:32. The third felt the best and was a 10:25. I didn't have time to run the 4th as I was already late to pick my son up at daycare. Heart rate hovered in the 160's for all of them. Low 160's on the first, high 160's on the last.

Ran a very rushed cool down and now my legs feel like garbage.

Ran an easy zoo loop bv++. The hills were the only thing that felt good on my legs. Its a good thing that run is mostly hills. The flats and downs were painful. I think the workouts over the past 3 days have taken their toll.

I feel like the sheathing aroung my right achilles tendon is swollen. It is painful when I am not running and loosens up after a massage. During a run it only hurts on the downhill portions. I am tempted to call this tendonitis. Any other diagnoses out there?

Logging off the blog for a while. The calf injury sustained at the striders 30k is much more serious than I originally thought. I have tried to run (once) and I made it 3 miles before searing pain in my right Achilles forced me to stop. It was a long hobble back.

I am considering taking the rest of the month off to let this nagging injury heal. It has plagued me in every race I have run since January and seriously limited my training. Good luck to all of you in your spring marathons.
 

I guess I can log back on now that I am running and in a sort of trainnig mode again. I took the entire month of May off and it felt horrible. I was lazy and in pain all month. My achilles tendonitis has never been worse, my patellar tendons flared up and the bottom of my pelvis was so sore that I didn't even want to walk. When I finally got some base milage in June I felt a bit better but the real milage I have gotten in July feels great. I am back up to 60+ miles per week and training consistantly. I guess I could begin racing again too.

I did, however, find out what is wrong with my calves. Thanks to a suggestion given to me from Scott B. I have been diagnosed with compartment syndrome. It helps to know what is wrong even if there is no cure.

I ran 10 miles on pipeline this AM. Bandy came along even though her paws have been suffering from the hot road running. We started out at Burch and ran out to the point and back. I ran it as progressively as possible (heat and traffic got in the way). When we got to the hill just past Church Fork on the way to Burch, a Pit Bull Terrier (off leash) attacked me but ever faithful Bandy got in the way and danced around the furious dog. She took 1 good bite to the ear, but was quick enough to really puzzle the Pit Bull. After I attempted some poorly placed kicks (complete misses) and deep throated yelling the Pit Bull backed off and we were on our way. As we ran away from the insane Pit Bull the owners reassured us that it really is a "nice dog." I have heard that one before.

Got an easy 5 miler in this morning; home to the end of mile high drive and back. The dog seems uhphased after yesterdays attack. She was totally eager to run. I don't think much can dampen the spirit of a good dog.

PM

Ran with the XC team. Luke looks good and we got a new runner named Robbie. He ran for Parowan last year buit his family moved up to SLC. He will make a nice addition to our team. He can't keep Luke yet, but eventually he could be very good. Got 8 miles of rolling hills.

Ran an easy 8 miler on pipeline with Mike this morning. He is getting more and more fit. He is a bit slow on hills and I am a bit slow on flats so we train well together. No Bandy this morning. She took on a raccoon last night attempting to save my cat. She has had a really hard week.

Finally back in town and training with the team. The guys have a srtong front runner (Luke) and a solid 2-3-4-5-6 in the other guys (40 second split).

I spent 1 week training in the high Uintahs, came back for 3 days and went to the Wind Rivers (Wyoming ) for some REALLY high altitude training (10000+) for 2 weeks, came back for 1 day and went down to Cedar Mtn with the team for another week at 8000' + training. Ran with Pat S. and Luke mostly. Average milage in the 70's.

Most of my altitude training was just distance and hill oriented but the stuff at Cedar was speed (me dying trying to keep up with Pat and Luke). Got in 84 miles that week. Wanted to race the GSL 1/2 but had the boy.

Today I ran 2 x 10 min cruise intervals (Daniels style) at Liberty park with Luke. Was hoping for 5:20 pace but ended up at 5:25. I was ok with that as it was in the heat of the day, as all of my training through next June will be. First interval took a great deal of focus and the second felt much better.

Warm up and cool down in park.

Ran a zoo loop BV with Luke today. We planned on an extended version but a reproter wanted to speak with him thus our time was limited. He deals with publicity well.

The run started out way too fast as always with young runners. By the time we had climbed up to 11th ave the pace cooled off a bit and was very comfortable through sunnyside. Down sunnyside we picked it up a bit and did some strides back at Judge.

Entire loop was 1:02.

Ran an extended U loop with Luke and the other varsity boys. Did the 5 mile loop as a warm up for a 200 workout.

When we got back to the new JM track we did 8 x 400. Building from my marathon pace in the first half lap we ended with a fast 200 on each 400. These felt great on my legs. My 200 splits were all over the place but at least I felt fast. Splits were 33, 35, 33, 34, 33, 33, 32, 31.

Cooled down 2 miles around JM.

Ran on pipeline today. Burch to point and back. Took it nice and easy. Race tomorrow.

PC 1/2 marathon today. 

Started the day out with 2 miles warm up. Included strides , drills, etc.

Race started uneventfully. My goal was to run the entire race at tempo pace. At that altitude and with the uphill first half I had no idea what a true pace would be so I wore a HRM and kept it below 165. I figured I could keep my overall time in the 1:16 range.

First few miles were fine. Traded leads with Sasha and Jeff?. Once my HR bumped up to 163 I backed off and tried to keep an even effort.

Eventually Chris R. caught me and we ran together for a few miles. The HR kept creeping up on me so I decided to back off more.

I don't know what my finishing time was but I know I was much slower than anticipated. Although I was a bit disappointed I was very happy that my calf held together and I finished in one piece.

After a tough week I can't be too upset.

Cooled down 2 miles. 

Easy run on pipeline. Burch to rattle and back. Legs feel fine.

Ran a 1200 workout with the team today. The goal was to run I interval (see Daniels) pace 1200's. My pace was supposed to be 3:40. 

Warmed up 3 miles and did strides, drills, etc.

Started the 1200's and the first one was really tough. Legs felt heavy and breathing was vigorous. 3:42. 2:00 active rest.

Next 4 got easier by the interval with the last one feeling great. 3:41, 3:40, 3:40, 3:38. Was late for daycare so at $1/minute my last interval was a mad dash to get back and pick up the boy.

Luke was impressive to watch on these.

Ran a progressive run today. Started the extended zoo loop at a pedestrian pace. Once I got up to 11th ave the pace picked up a bit but not much. Rolling hills through the university to the zoo saw some surges, but still a relaxed pace. The run finally came to me on the descent from shoreline and down sunnyside. Ran the last 3 miles (slightly downhill) in 15:35.

Ran an easy 10 miler on pipeline. Went Burch to point and back. Took 1:10 with a couple water stops for Bandy. I think she finally recovered from our Windriver trip. I don't think she was ready for 2 weeks of nonstop training at that altitude.

Saw 2 bikers trying to pass a lady jogger with an ipod on. They almost knocked her off the trail after asking her to move over half a dozen times. I actually felt for the bikers for once. 

Ran accelerator hills with the team today. 

Warmed up from JM to top of penance and back down. Ran the accelerators from the gate of the cemetary halfway up center st (where the gradient gets steep after the bathrooms). The goal was to accelerate on the gradual part of the hill up to the bathroom and then reach full R interval pace up to the turnaround. Ran 6 intervals. No watch, effort based pacing.

The first interval was ok. Takes my legs a bit longer than my young athletes to rev up. The next few got better and the last one was hard. I guess that is the point of R intervals.

The team looked good, especially varsity runners. They really gave the workout a good effort and did not seem to lose focus halfway through the intervals. JV needs work. They can't seem to figure out that there is a difference between pain and injury.
 

Ran in the Judge invitational this AM. Felt obligated as there were only 12 people registered in the open race.

Ran the course once to mark it and warm up. Ran the race at a comfortable but honest pace and ended up at 16:30. I focused on form on the hills and relaxing on the flats.

Ran the course again to cool down.

Ran an easy long run with Mike and Bandy. 

Started out at home and took the long way to meet Mike. Met around the mouth of Millcreek and went up the canyon to Elbow fork. AT rattlesnake gulch we turned up to pipeline and continued running trail to elbows. Ran the road down to get some turnover and close to MP running in. Legs felt ok, but body is totally dehydrated from racing and standing out in the sun all day yesterday. Drank too much on the way down the canyon and got a bit sick. After the water came back up I felt a bit better but dehydration was obviously getting worse.

Took it nice and easy from the guard station home. 2:10

Easy run on wasatch with the boy and the dog. Still dehydrated and very fatigued. Glad to be starting an easy week.

Ran a zoo loop BV today. Decided to duck out of work for a spell and hit the trail while the clouds were out. Warmed up on the climb to 11th ave and tried to run progressively throughout the rest of the run. Succeeded for the most part. The trail behind the U was a bit slower than I would have liked but sunnyside back to JM was at true MP. 1:03

Ran a city loop with Luke today. The goal was to run it progressively, which for the most part, we did.

Started out at JM at a reasonable pace (a bit slow for Luke and a bit fast for me) and built up the pace to Foothill. Ran quickly to sugarhouse and dropped the pace a bit to try and determine which teams were running the dual meet on the state course (Highland, West, Murray and a few others). I am not sure of the rules, but their course followed exactly at least 1 mile of the state course and most likely a bit more. I digress.

Out of the park the pace picked back up and built all the way back to JM. The last 2 miles on 11th east were roughly at MP (5:30 ish). I wish I could claim that my MP is faster than that but that is what it feels like at the moment. 

No run today. I bought some nachos from the JM cafeteria yesterday (first time ever eating a meal from our cafeteria) and I am still paying the price. I have never had a single meal tear the guts out of me like that. Keep in mind that I have eaten many meals in 3rd world countries.

Still plan on running the downhill dash sat. Anybody know what time it starts?

Easy run from Burch to point on pipeline. Bandy is rounding out into great maarathon form. I wish she could run St. George with me.

AM-Easy 4 mile run. Just wanted to loosen the legs and feel fast. Stomach still not right. Spent most of the day in the restroom.

PM-Warmed up with the wasatch crew. Only went about 1.5 miles. Race started out fast. First mile 4:19. PR. Second mile the same. Another PR. Third mile 4:25 and pain starting in the legs. The pain scared me enough that I ended the race at MP which felt great and sustainable. Not the most courageous way to race but I have survived 3 straight weeks of racing and I am healthy. That is more than I can say about my comparably faster spring racing season.

Cooled down with Paul back up the canyon. 

Am-Ran an easy 4 miler to attempt to loosen the legs up. No luck. I feel like the tin man after a rain storm. Stomach really in bad shape today.

PM-Stomach too rough to get out. Got on bike for the equivalent of 4 miles. Had to have a bathroom within 10 steps.

Ran cruise intervals with Luke and Parker.

Warmed up 3 miles around liberty park. Did some strides and drills to further loosen my extremely tight legs.

Started cruise interval at 5:45 pace, dropping to 5:30 quickly. Luke dropped me right away. Parker stayed an even 30 seconds behind.

After 1:00 recovery the second interval was more consistent than the first. Decided to run 5 secs slower to allow Parker to latch on. Pace was a bit fast for him, but he hung on. That kid is going to be good after he gets his mileage up.

Cooled down 2 miles frantically trying to get back to daycare to pick up the boy on time.

Legs feeling a bit better.

Ran an hour + run with Luke. Did a light version of the city loop. Pace was very slow...7:00? 7:30? Didn't keep track. Didn't even wear a watch. Luke was very patient.

Ran a 2:00 fartlek workout with Luke today.

Warmed up to 11th ave, started the first interval at Center st to Virginia. Was surprised to stay as close as I did to Luke (3 secs). Ran the next 5 on the regular course and again stayed very close to Luke. Last one across Guardsman way. Luke pulled away a bit more. Pulse at the end was 173. I had plenty more to give in the heart and lungs, nothing but pain in the legs.

I am a bit worried about the workout, however. Either I am getting my speed back (good) or Luke is getting slower (very bad).