Live till you die

AM  47:04

Ran a nice loop thru town.  I'm having some hip flexor pain from the higher mileage last week, so I took it pretty easy for the first few miles, but once the legs warmed up I was cruising like normal.  I'm gonna do this loop a couple more times this week, with a long run of about 10 miles on Friday.  Then some cross country skiing this weekend to mix it up.  Avg. 7:22 per mile.

AM  46:16

 Ran the same loop as yesterday.  I felt a little stiff today, but my legs wanted to go!  I had to tell my self to slow down a couple times in the first 2 miles because my breathing was labored. I may ran a few chill miles after work before a storm hits tonight thru tomorrow.  Avg. 7:14 per mile.

 PM  21:54

Stayed pretty warm out, so I swung a few small loops thru the neighborhood.  Strides felt really light and effortless which is always a great feeling!  Avg. 7:26 per mile.

AM

It was supposed to snow this morning and clear up this afternoon, so I'm waiting till after work to go for a run.  Did 60 push-ups, some core including abs, obliques, and lower back, then some squats.  Nothing too difficult, but a nice work out.

1PM  48:19

It cleared up a little after lunch time so I decided better get it while gettin's good.  Ran 2.88 easy around my work and stopped for about 1 minute to shake out my legs.  Did a 2 mile tempo at 6:25 per mile.  The headwinds were nasty at first, but then I got on the other side of the interstate to that blocked the wind.  Ran out of room by the end and ran the last .10 uphill into the wind...at least that was the end of hard effort.  i felt a little winded and unstable, but not too bad.  Ran another 1.78 back to the office.

AM  1:20..and some change

I was going to run easy today, but a storm is forecasted for tonight thru tomorrow, and it seems like each day I wanted to do a long run last month it snowed just enough to make it unenjoyable.  So I took advantage of the calm weather today and did my rest week long run today.  I felt really good this morning, so this wasn't a bad choice at all. 

 I ran for 2.36 miles up and down a frontage road by my house, then did 4 laps of 1.74 miles each thru the neighborhood across from my house.  These are pretty sweet loops, and I'm thinking of doing some tempo work on them.  The first 1/3 is slight downhill to flat, then the second 1/3 is flat and slight uphill right at the end, before turning onto the last 1/3 which is a gradual uphill back to the start.  I then ran 1.36 miles back to my house.  This was a great run because I felt a little fatigued starting out until about mile 4, then I got into a nice rythm, and by mile 10.4 felt like I could easily do another mile or so, but duty calls, and play time was over.  Avg. 7:30 per mile.

AM

 did some stretching, core, and planks.

 PM  34:05

Did some really easy miles after work.   Felt kind of crappy since I didn't really stech out, but I kept the pace super chill.  Av.g 7:45 per miile.

AM 

Went Cross Country skiing today with Lacy.  I fell more than I thought I would.

NOON  1:07:44

Ran the Old Ranch Rd. Loop by my work.  I wanted to run early today, but we got a few inches overnight, so I had to wait for it to melt off.  the first half of this route is pretty hilly and as luck would have it I had to battle headwinds for this section.  Once I got out of the wind I felt pretty good, and was able to keep a pretty decent pace (about 7:00 flat) for the last 3 miles.  Did 2 sets of 30 speed skate drills and skier drills, then did 2 x10 single leg squats at the end of my run.  Avg. 7:31 per mile.

AM  Total run time 56:56

Did some speed work today on the roads by my house.  There's a big shoulder, and a primarily flat section for about 1.25 miles.  So back & forth I went.  Ran 1.10 warm-up, then 2 x 1-mile at half marathon pace with 2:30 rest (splits were 6:18 & 6:23).   I felt a little worn down after the second split, which was most likely from my run yesterday, but I tried for 2 x .50 at 6:00 pace, but this was a bit too daunting a task, so I cut these short to .17 & .30 for each set.  I think this was more mental than physical.  I then was going to do 4 x .25 at 5:30 pace, but I knew this would be too fast, so I slowed these down to keep from total melt down (Splits were 89, 90, 87, 89 with 1:15 rest).  I then ran 1.94 for my cool down. 

AM  46:24

Ran the same loop as I did last week thru the neighborhood across the street.  I felt really good starting out, but the first uphill was kind of difficult, so I slowed the pace down.  Then felt really good thru the rest of the course, including the second uphill.  Weather was 27 degrees, and no wind....perfect day for a run!  Did 2 x 10 running poses and good mornings with an 8lb. vest, and some planks after my run.  Avg. 7:16 per mile.

AM  Total run time 57:03

 Ran in the neighborhood across the street.  I wanted to do a 4 mile tempo on a pretty hilly loop over there, but totally fudged the workout settings on my Garmin.  It's a 1.74 mile loop with a total vertical rise of 140 ft.  I ended up doing 4 x 1 mile intervals with a 2:30 recovery between sets.  I didn't get my exact splits, but I averaged about 6:38 for each mile, so I was pretty happy with that.  After these I did 4 x .15 mile with 1 minute rests inbetween.  Splits were 54, 55, 54, 53, so a little under 6:00 pace.  Then ran 1.5 home.  

 One other thing I did was wear my regular trainers instead of flats.  Even though they were heavier, I felt more stable in them, probably because of the wider toe box.  Maybe I need wider flats?

PM  21:41

Ran thru the hood....it was nice.  Avg. 7:23 per mile.

AM  46:09

Ran thru the neighborhood across the street.  I over dressed a little, but felt pretty decent.  I did 40 push-ups, some core, and legs exercises after my run.  Avg. 7:13 per mile.

 I had a thought today about how to specify my training mileage(i.e. easy, VO2, etc.) and decided I am no longer going to log 'Marathon pace' miles.  Even though I have run marathons, I don't believe that I have the strength or endurance to put in a truly solid performance.  I tend to crash towards the end, and therefore have never really been prepared to keep a consistent pace, therefore how can I have a marathon pace?  Also, I am not currently training for a marathon, so it makes sense to nix this category.  When I start training for another marathon, then I will decide what pace I want to have during the race, and will log those as my 'Marathon pace' miles. 

Overall, my current training for the SLC half has been a breakthru for me.  I'm learning a lot, and am having some of the most enjoyable and fullfilling runs I have ever had!

AM  1:33:43

Wanted to run 12 miles today, and what a great morning for a run....30 degrees and sunshine!  I pretty much just made a bunch of loops thru my neighborhood, city park and lower Main street, and then the hood across the street from my house.  It was a pretty brutal course, with lots of climbing(over 400 vert in the first 6 miles), but I wanted that for good strength training.  After the main climbing part it was steady downhills and flats until mile 9, then it's a good climb for the next mile before turning onto Kearns and taking that down to my house.  I felt like I could have gone farther, but I ditched my water bottle after mile 7 and didn't have any gels or anything, so I decided I had gone far enough.  Avg. 7:33 per mile.

Just stretching today.  Gonna go see Alice in Wonderland at the IMAX in 3D!

Good luck to my buddy Jim.  He's running the Catalina marathon today.  GOOD LUCK JIM!!!

AM  1:08:04

Ran the Old Ranch Rd. loop by my work.  My legs felt really bouncy from having the day off yesterday, so I was rocking Pretty good thru the hills in the first section.  I ran into JP at mile 5.25 and ran a 9:00 mile with him just to chat it up.  I left him at 6.25 and turned it up again until the end.  Did 2 sets of Carioca, Butt-kicks, and High-knees after I was done running.  Av.g 7:31 per mile. 

AM   Total run time 53:06

Did a cut down run at the gym.  Thanks to daylight savings, my 7am runs have gone from 25 degrees and sunny to 10 degrees and dark, so the track sounded more fun today.

Did a mile warm-up and saw a friend, so talked for a little bit, then it was time to get serious.  Did 2 x 1 mile with 3:00 recovery(splits were 6:26 & 6:19), then 2 x .50 with 1:30 recovery(splits were 3:00 & 3:02), then did 4 x .25 with 1:00 recovery(splits were 86, 87, 85, & 84).  I ran a 7:02 mile to cool down, which was a lot faster than it should be for a cool down, but I was feeling good, and pressed for time.

I ran in my racing flats today, and discovered that I feel more stable in these than my tangents, and so I think my mystery is solved.  The toe box on my Tangents are narrower than my regular trainers, which was making me feel off balance.  I feel more comfortable in my flats than my Tangeents, even thought the tow box is the same size, which seems wierd, but the reasoning is my flats are lower to the gournd, eliminating the higher center of gravity produced by the Tangents.  So even though my Tangents are only 2 oz. heavier (9.4 vs. 7.6 for flats) all that weight is cut from eliminating cushoining which makes them higher off the ground.  I think I'm gonna ditch the Tangents.

PM

Did some core along with 4 x 10 dips, and 2 x 10 squats, lunge squats, good mornings, and running pose.

AM  47:15

Ran my loop thru the hood across the street.  I felt a little beat up today, which I think is from not recovering correctly after my track workout yesterday.  I only ate a banana in the hour after my run.  Then I posted my bike on craigslist this morning which cut into my stretch time, so I felt pretty stiff starting out, but over all a good easy day run.  I then did some planks and side planks, bird dog pose, and 1 x 10 single leg squats right after my run.  Avg. 7:22 per mile. 

AM  Total run time 1:04:24

Did a 5 mile tempo thru the neighborhood across the street.  I felt pretty sluggish during my warm-up, so decided to run off of how I felt instead of matching half-marathon pace.  There's also 2 decent climbs of about 100ft each during the course, which definitely slowed me down.  Did a 1.34 mile warm-up, then 5- mile tempo with 5 minute rest afterward (splits were 6:53, 7:03, 6:47, 6:52, and 6:44 for a 6:52 avg.).  I then did 4 x 200 meters with 45 second recovery between sets (splits were 42, 41, 41, 39).  Ran 1.04 to cool down.

AM  46:15

Ran the loop across the street.  I felt kind of sluggish again, probably because I haven't been sleeping well, but after the first few miles things picked up.  I picked up the pace to just over 6:00 per mile for the last 400 meters.  Did some core along with 30 push-ups and 2 x :20 of chair pose.  Avg. 7:15 per mile.

AM  1:45:55

Did a nice long run today.  I looped thru town for 5 miles, and then did an out and back to Home Depot along the frontage roads.  I was trying to keep things relaxed and just cruise.  There's a big hill for 1.5 miles when the course first heads out of town, so the last 1.5 of the run on the way back is uphill.  This is pretty brutal, but I was able to keep good form, so it didn't too bad.  I was was a little sore at the end of my run, but felt like I could have kept going, so I think I'm definitely strong enough to run the half at a decent pace.  Now I just need to bump up the speed training over the next 3 weeks.  Avg. 7:32 per mile.

Just chillin today.  Looking at condos to buy....we'll see.

NOON  1:05:18

What a beautiful day to run!  Ran the Old Ranch loop by my work, and felt pretty good the whole time.  I was a little stiff starting out, and I could tell I was working a little too hard on the hills, but I felt good enough to drop my pace down between 6:40 to 7:00 per mile for the last 2.69 miles.  Did 2 sets of Carioca, Butt-kicks, and Bounding after the run.  Avg. 7:14 per mile.

AM  Total run time 1:07:28

Did a cut down run today a main road outside my house.  It's kinda busy with traffic, but there's really big shoulder's and it's virtually flat, so it's good for speedwork.  I was hoping I culd wear shorts today, but it's still a little too chilly.

Ran 1.04 warm-up and definitely feeling those final miles from yesterday.  Did 2 x 1.25 miles with 3:30 rest between(splits were 7:57, a 6:20 avg., and 8:07, a 6:30 avg.), then 2 x 1 mile with 3:30 rest(splits were 6:26, 6:30), and last was 4 x .25 with 1:30 rest to finish the workout(splits were 86, 85, 86, 86).  Ran .61 back to my house for a cool down.  Overall I'm happy that I hit my half marathon pace for for the long intervals considering I felt pretty sluggish to start out, and ran hard in tights and my regular trainers. 

PM

Did some core with 1 set of running pose , and chair pose

AM  47:47

Did my loop across the street.  We got some wet snow last night, which made conditions pretty icy, so I slowed the pace to keep a sure footing.  Did some core and 30 push-ups after run.  Av.g 7:27 per mile.

AM  Total run time 1:15:36

Did a 7 mile tempo in my racing flats by my house with some 200 meter strides at the end.  Mile 2 and 4 are uphill gaining over 100 ft. of vert, and the last mile drops about 100 ft, everything inbetween is relatively flat.  I did a .95 warm-up, then walked around for about 5 minutes to make sure the blood was moving. Did 7 miles in 47:22 for a 6:46 avg. pace (splits were 6:48, 7:00, 6:46, 7:06, 6:40, 6:39, & 6:23).  I took a 5 minute walk break, then ran for another 5 minutes before doing 4 x 200 meters with 40 second rest (splits were 40, 40, 40, & 39)  Ran .72 for a cool down.  Overall pretty happy with how I felt during the run.

AM 46:19

Ran the loop across the street.  Pretty windy headwinds, but made for nice tailwinds.  Did 30 push-ups, some core and light leg exercises after my run.  Avg. 7:13 per mile.

AM  1:49:14

Ran a few loops thru the neighborhoods.  My legs felt a little tired, so I didn't really push the pace at all.  There's also about 4 good climbs, so I wanted to be able to hold a steady pace up them.  The end of this course was really good because it mimics the end of the SLC half.  The last .8 miles are uphill, then it's 1.1 miles of steady downhill back to my house.  There was a squall of heavy snow and strong winds from miles 6 thru 12, but then it died out.  Avg. 7:29 per mile.

Got a message for really cheap.

NOON  1:05:42

Ran Old Ranch Rd. loop.  I just washed my tights, and they felt really constrictive, so my form felt a little off.  Still pulled a pretty decent time without pushing very hard.  My legs aren't as refreshed as I had hoped they would be after yesterday's message.  Oh well, still a nice day to go for a run.  Did 2 sets of carioca, butt-kicks, and lunges after run.  Avg. 7:16 per mile.

2:30pm  approx. 10:00

Lacy is also running the SLC half, and today is her long run.  I met her at mile 5.9 to give her some water support and we ran together for 1 mile.  She then went on to finish her run solo.  I think she's goin for 10 miles today?  That'll be the farthest run she's done since June of last year!  She looked great when I left her, so I don't think she'll have any problems finishing.

AM  Total run time 1:04:32

Did the same cut down run as last week on the frontage road outside my house in my regular trainers.  I was really sluggish and heavy feeling this morning, which I think is from the message on Saturday?  It was also pretty windy from the west which I think affected my times a little.  Started out with 1.11 mile warm up, then 2 x 1.25 with 2:40 recovery(forgot to write down actual time, but avg. pace per split was 6:21-tailwind & 6:42-headwind).  Next was 2 x 1 mile with 2:40 rest(splits were 6:20-tailwind & 6:34 headwind).  last I did 4 x .25 with 85 rest (splits were 87, 86, 86-all tailwind, & 88-headwind).  Ran .59 cool down.  I tried not to look at my GPS during the workout and just feel out the pace.  I happy that I was this consistent without staring at my watch the whole time.  

PM

Did some yoga stretches and poses.

AM  37:35

Today was one of those days when everything feels wrong.  I felt kind of tired when I woke up, then I had gnarly headwinds right off the start that I battled most of the run, I was also overdressed and pouring sweat, and then at about 35 minutes I had to go #2 really bad.  I think the accumulated efforts of building mileage over the past 3 weeks is taking it's toll, so I'm gonna back off for the next few days.  Hopefully the weather settles out over the next few days so I can do a good tempo on Friday.  Did some core and 60 push-ups after my run.  Av.g 7:24 per mile.

AM  33:46

Decided to take it really easy again today, plus it had snowed about 2 inches and was still coming down super heavy.  did some planks and bird dog poses after run.  Avg. 7:50 per mile.