It ain't Chinese algebra!

4 is all I had time for.  Darn snooze button!

Sinister (66) 

A pretty good run today.  It had snowed throughout the night, so there was a layer on the ground when I started.  It snowed for the first 4 miles, but stopped after that and turned into a great run.  My first 4 miles were slow (7:22, 7:02, 6:49, 6:51), but then the clouds cleared somewhat, as well as the roads, and I was able to bring the pace to 6:20-6:30/mile.

I did the Wal Mart loop in reverse, then the Cedar Knoll loop in reverse as well.  When I got back to Wal Mart after climing the hotel frontage road I was at 14 miles, so I ran the Wal Mart loop once again and finished right at 18 miles.  January is over, so hopefully the winter-like conditions leave as well.

Total Time: 1:59:32

Pace: 6:38

Red (120)

Glad to be done. Hopefully last nights storm was the last one for a while. I ran through the back-roads to the north freeway exit, starting with 5 easy miles:

• 6:49
• 6:28
  
• 6:30
  
• 6:27
• 6:30 (32:44)
  

I then turned around and came back the same way and picked up the speed. It felt good to see my watch in the 5:##'s again. It's been a few weeks since I've done anything fast. Splits:

• 5:25
• 5:22
• 5:33
• 5:18
• 5:28 (27:05)

I felt really good on the second 5 miles. A little tired by the end, but nothing major. I walked a bit, then jogged 1 more mile very easy to finish off the run.

Sinister (77)

Swimming Pool.  I ran 30 laps in 44:00.  Fun stuff.

I'm not sure how this weekend is going to turn out, so I did my long run this morning. It was 14 degrees when I started, but it felt fine. I began by zig-zagging through town for 7 miles so I could have the street-lights to guide me. I stopped at the college right at 7 miles for a bathroom break, so I stopped my watch as I took care of business.

Time: 45:59

Pace: 6:34

I grabbed a quick drink of water and from that point on felt much better. I ran the Wal Mart Loop, plus 2 miles on the west frontage road. Made my way back into town, past the high school and then home, finishing right at 13 miles for the second portion.

Time: 1:23:28

Pace: 6:25

I'm very pleased with the last 13 miles. There was a good mix of uphills and it was a challenging route. That Wal Mart Loop is a killer and returning back on the west frontage road is 2 miles of uphill as well. Anyway, another good run.

Total Time: 2:09:27

Total Pace: 6:30

Red(140)

Pool Running. Did 20 laps in 30 minutes. I love how good my legs feel after these workouts. Pain in my hips, knees, and hamstrings are completely gone when I'm done.

I had National Guard this weekend, but was able to get away from the armory for a quick race this morning.  I didn't get dinner until 10:30 last night because of playing army until 10pm.  Oh well.  I'm glad Montgomery was cool to let me leave for a bit and run this race.  I did 3 miles easy to loosen up before the race began.  Most of the quick SG guys skipped the race, but Nicholas McCombs was there, so I quickly kissed 1st place goodbye.  The gun went off and I hung with Nick for maybe 1000 meters, but by the end of mile 1, he was putting some major distance between us.  Each mile continued as the first and by the time I reached the dam, Nick was pretty much a speck in the distance.  I ended up taking 2nd to Nick by over 60 seconds. He averaged 5:08's and left me in the dust. I ran a P.R. though, so I can't complain. Last year I ran a 27:16 and won, this year a 26:48 and 2nd. I'm okay with that.  I wasn't wasted at the finish, so maybe I didn't go hard enough?  Either way, it was fun to race a shorter distance for the first time in 8 months.  I finished off the day by running back 1 mile to catch Jan, then ran the last mile along side her.  She did great given her limited training.  It was a very fun day.

2007	2008
5:12	5:18
5:25	5:22
5:33	5:29
5:36	5:24
5:28	5:15
27:16	26:48

It's interesting the difference between the 2 years.  The footing was firmer this year because of the rain/snow we received earlier this week.  That made a big difference, I'm sure.  I thought I went out faster this year, but I guess not.  Also, both years I developed a cramp in my gut around 3.5 miles, but I was able to push the discomfort away easier this year.  Or maybe it was worse last year?  Either way, a much better race this year.  I'll gladly take the more "even-ish" splits this year.

Total Time: 26:48

Pace: 5:23

Sinister (87)

Very easy run this morning. My legs didn't want to run any faster. I ran up the high school side of Lay Hill after mile 5, so that was good. Pace was right around 7:00/mile.

Rotterdam (65)

Pool running this morning.  So far, my best workout in the water.

• 10 laps in 14:59 (warm up)
• 10 laps in 13:15 (every other lap high intensity)
• 10 laps in 13:10 (2 laps easy, 2 laps high intensity until 8, then 9 easy and 10 hard)
• 4 laps in about 8 minutes (1 lap easy, 1 lap no arms) x 2

Good run this morning. I stared off with the Wal Mart loop for 4 easy miles (although uphill and into the wind made it harder than I expected. Pace was at 7:00/mile. I then turned south and ran the west-side frontage road 2 miles out and 2 miles back for a 4 mile tempo run. Splits were:

• 5:26
• 5:30
• 5:50
• 5:33

Total Time was 22:21, with an average pace of 5:35. I then slowed down and ran 4 easy miles to cool off. I ran up the high school side of Lay Hill twice, then looped around the college and back home. Pretty good run, although for the last couple miles, my right leg (directly in the front, right below the knee cap) was feeling funny. At first it was a slightly sharp pain, but the last 3/4 mile it felt like jello. Strange. In 12 years of running, I've never had knee issues. We'll see how I feel tomorrow.

Rotterdam (77)

Pool running this morning. I only went 35 minutes, but that's better than nothing. I had to get home to shovel snow before leaving for the day. Anyway, it went like this:

• 10 laps in 15:06 to warm up.
• 10 laps with 1st lap both legs and arms, 2nd lap just legs. 3rd lap both legs and arms, 4th lap just legs. I followed this pattern for 10 laps and it took 18:34.

3 easy miles on the treadmill.  I would have gone outside, but we've been spoiled with good weather the last week and it was only 5 degrees this morning.  Temps like that, for small mileage days, the treadmill works just fine.  I also began breaking in a new pair of Cumulus 9's.

White (3)
 

7 degrees when I started. I thought winter was over! Hopefully soon.... I put out some Gatorade this morning. I need to get used to drinking again while I run. I started out by running through town for 3 miles, took a drink, then did the Wal Mart Loop. I was at mile 9 and making my way back to my aid station and the urge to use the bathroom was intense. It was a rough final mile before I could get to a bathroom. None the less, I made it in time and all was well. First 10 miles were as such:

10 Miles:1:04:48

Pace: 6:29

I felt SO much better after my stop at the bathroom. Not sure if it was something I ate last night, but I hope this doesn't happen again. Anyway, took another drink of Gatorade, only by this time the drink was halfway frozen. The slush was tasty! Did the Wal Mart loop one more time, plus up past Cedar High to 300 W, north past the college to 200 N, then home on burger lane. When I got back to my drink it was frozen. First time I've had that happen to me.

8 Miles: 49:32

Pace: 6:12

All in all, a good run. My knee felt fine overall. I noticed it a time or two, but pain seemed to be everywhere today: side of right knee, bottom/front of right knee, right hip, left hamstring, right hamstring, right butt. My body is out of line or something...... I set up an appointment for the chiro on Tuesday. Hopefully he can fix me up and not empty my wallet.

Total Time: 1:54:20

Total Pace: 6:20

Red (158)

Great run today. Something about spring-like weather that makes me want to fly. It felt great to run in shorts and light gloves, rather than long-sleeves, beenie, and heavy gloves. Anyway, I started out wanting to just 6:00/mile pace, but I felt really good, so after a couple miles, I dropped the pace and turned it into a tempo run. I ran past the Coke plant, back roads to the hospital, past CVHS, then north on the main street to the northern freeway exit. That last 1.5 miles is all up-hill, but I seemed to maintain pace no problem. Good stuff. Anyway, back the same way, plus a little more. Such a fun run. The tempo distance ended up @ 10.2 miles, so I ran a bit more to make it an even 11.

Tempo Distance: 10.20

Total Time: 56:50

Pace: 5:34

Rotterdam (88)

Pool running.  I think I'm getting used to these workouts.  I need to figure out a way to make them harder.

• 10 laps in 14:55
• 10 laps in 13:10, hard every other one
• 10 laps in 17:12, no arms every other one
• 8 laps in 8 minutes? Mix of run (2), breast stroke (4) and freestyle (2)

So this is starting to get old. 3 miles into my run, I had a serious urge to use the bathroom. I found one, did my thing, and then was fine. Maybe I'm eating too much the night before these runs. This was the 3rd time I've had this happen in the past 6(?) runs. Just annoying, really. Oh well. After that, did another 8 miles. Route today was zig-zagging through every street in town, or so it seemed. Too many turns, but I didn't feel like running out into the farmlands. I also included the middle school hill, north of Del Taco.

Total Time: 1:10:12

Pace: 6:22

Red(169)

Pool this morning, and I actually swam most of it.

• 10 laps in 14:59, running each lap
• 10 laps in 13:14, freestyle 1 lap, running 1 lap, etc.
• 10 laps in 12:57, same as above
• 10 laps, freestyle and breaststroke

3 miles, very easy

Sinister (90)

I was going to run with the club in St. George this morning, but didn't have a car to get me there. Oh well--some other time. I ran around Hurricane and LaVerkin for a very solid run. After 6 miles in Hurricane, I went to the north side of LaVerkin and ran 1 mile up the S-Curve on the Hurricane Half Marathon course. I was pleased that my pace didn't drop slower than 6:45/mile on my way up. I came back through LaVerkin, past the Hurricane Middle School and south to the Hurricane Intermediate School, then back through my parents neighborhood to round it out to 20. I felt great the entire run, with zero knee or hip issues. Gatorade stops at 6 and 12. No cramps.

The pace was interesting today. The first 4 miles, I seemed to struggle to hit 6:45 pace, but from that point on, I struggled to go slower than 6:00/mile pace. I wanted to hit 6:15's or so, but I'd look down and see 5:45 or 5:50 with what seemed the same effort. It felt great to run so effortlessly.

Total Time: 2:01:57 (4 minute negative split from mile 10)

Pace: 6:05

Red(189)

I woke up with some serious pain in my right knee. Strange. My legs felt better on Saturday's long run then they have in 4 or 5 weeks. I had zero pain while running, zero pain for the rest of Saturday and zero pain Sunday. First step out of bed on Monday morning wasn't fun. I'll rest today and see how I feel tomorrow.

Knee felt okay, but not 100%.  Figured I'd do my usual pool routine and then run Wednesday.  I pushed it as hard as I could to get a good workout.

• 10 laps in 13:19, running
• 10 laps in 12:49, running
• 10 laps in 6:35, breast stroke
• 10 laps in 8:51, 4 laps running, 6 laps freestyle
• 4 laps cooldown with breaststroke and freestyle

Okay run this morning. Just okay. I started out with an easy 6 miles to see how my knee felt. It was fine, so I ran another 6 at more of a tempo pace. As soon as I finished, both of my knees felt strange, almost like they had a swollen sensation. I went home, stretched and took IB and now they feel fine. I'll see what tomorrow brings and may just run one more time this week.

Pace: 6:29

Red (202)

Pool running/swimming and I'm glad I went.  I considered studying for a test instead, but who needs to study?

• 20 laps in 20:50, run 1 lap, freestyle 1 lap, every other one
• 20 laps in 13:10, mix of freestyle and breaststroke, every other one
• 2 laps freestyle to cool down

5.5 easy miles, no watch. Course was airport road, to the cattle guard and back.

Sinister(96)