It ain't Chinese algebra!

Ran to the east of town, then across the river and through the downtown before returning home.

AM: 11 miles to the west of town.  I added a bit by running around the community college.  Had to do it in order to find a bathroom (the first of 2 stops).  I shouldn't have eaten both cinnamon rolls last night... :)

PM: 14 miles in Coos Bay.  It was either run or sit in the hotel room; I decided to run.  I started with the Prefontaine course and then looped around the lake behind the college.  Jumped on the track for a couple miles and then made my way back to City Subs for dinner and then the hotel.  Little bit of a scare when my right calf cramped up out at 13 miles.  It came out of nowhere (wasn't going uphill, off a curb, uneven footing, etc) but I stretched a bit and made it to the finish with no major issues.

AM: 10 miles around Coos Bay.  Great weather and the wind was mild.  I kept the course flat today by running south and north along the downtown streets.  I wish the track wasn't locked up all the time.  No lingering effects with my right calf from last night.  Maybe Wintercrest really does work?

PM: 4 miles to break in a new pair of shoes and work off the horrible lunch I ate.  Never again will I eat the the Coquille Broiler  Pub.... 

10 miles.  Didn't sleep great and so it was tough to get out of bed this morning.  Excited to run the next couple of mornings in Vancouver.

11 miles in Vancouver.  Ran behind the hills from Joni's house, then across Mill Plain Rd and and eventually back to the Wells.  I felt like junk the first 7 miles, then good the last 4.  Not sure why I was dragging but it wasn't pretty.

Ran 9 miles for a warm up in 7:12/mile average.  Stopped a couple times to use the bathroom and get ready for a tempo section.  10 mile tempo section in 56:52 (5:41/mile).  Most miles were in the high 5:40's but the last mile, ran in 5:03, brought the average down.  My lungs felt just fine but my legs were getting a bit tight during the final couple miles.  My hip flexors and joints were the main ones to be tights.  Probably just from the bed the last couple nights.  Finished the run with a 2 mile cool down in 8:26/mile average.  Excited to race Pear Blossom next weekend!

10 miles around Grants Pass.

AM: 10 miles around Grants Pass.  Feeling good and I found 5 pennies so it was a good run.

PM: 10 miles on the hotel treadmill because I didn't want to fight the rain, then 2 miles to Subway and back for dinner.  Still raining...

11 miles from Eugene to Springfield via Pre's Trail.  I found $1 bill in Springfield.  Good times.

AM: 10 miles in Grants Pass.  Today I found a filled punch pass for Human Bean.  That means every day this week I've found something of value while running.  Monday= 5 pennies, Tuesday=5 pennies, Wed=$1, Thurs=$3 card for a free drink at the drive through coffee stand.  Been a productive week.

PM: 6 miles in Eugene.  I nearly didn't make it out.  Just like last year, I'm at my breaking point with the rain.  I don't mind it for the first 3 months by after a while, I just don't like it anymore.  Glad I made it out though because it (the rain) slowed down after 15 minutes or so.  And it loosened up my legs after a lot of driving so it was well worth it.

6 miles on Pre's Trail.  Very soft and squishy after all the rain yesterday.  And my streak of good fortune continued as I found.....1 penny!  Not the best day of the week, but better than nothing. ;-)

Pear Blossom tomorrow 

4 mile warm up before the race.  Felt fine and weather was perfect.  44 degrees, no wind, cloudy, a touch humid from the rain last night.

Start was much smoother than last year--no double gun/cannon chaos.  First mile in 5:11 and I'm sharing the lead with Max King, Tyler Davis and a couple other runners from out of town.  Second mile in 5:13 so just a touch off pace but still much better than last year.  Still in a pack of 5 for the lead.  Max is clearly toying with us (the guy was 19th at the Olympic Marathon Trials in Houston {2:14:36} and wins EVERYTHING from 5k to 100K, mostly on trails).  The last 2 years he's long gone by this point in the race...

Mile 3 Max and one of the out-of-towners create a small gap between Tyler and I as we run a 5:16.  Start to get a cramp in my gut but nothing major.  Mile 4 in 5:20 (Handly Hill) and mile 5 in 5:12 (down the other side of HH).  My cramp is gone by now and at the turn around I move 1-2 seconds ahead of Tyler--no real seperation but it's something.  I'm 14 seconds off my goal (was hoping for sub-26 at the 5 mile mark so I try to tell myself to run a negative split on the return and all is well.

Doesn't happen.  Mile 6 in 5:31, my slowest of the day and slowest mile ever on the course.  Last year it was 5:21.  What's the deal?!  Mile 7 in 5:24 and mile 8 in 5:19.  Just don't have 'it' today.  Keep telling myself to go faster and nothing happens.  Just like last year.  This year I just try to keep rolling and not get discouraged.  Mile 9 in 5:22 (Tyler had drifted back some but I can tell from the cheers, he's closing in on me).  I try and push the final mile.  Last year I did a 5 flat.  Today?  5:10.  That sums up the day, really.  Every mile was about 10 seconds slower than I wanted/felt like I was capable of.  Finishing time of 53:02, 50 seconds slower than last year.  Max won, but not in 49:10 like last year.  He ran a 51:23 and 2nd place ran 51:38, right where I wanted to be. Why couldn't I hang with them?

I wanted to average 5:10 for the race.  Didn't happen.  Not even close.  Frustrating how I could feel so amazing 5 weeks ago at the Linfield 10k and then today feel so flat.  I've got to reconsider future plans because I don't think I'm going to last until Newport in June, both physically and mentally.  Who knows.  Maybe just a bad day.

AM: 10 miles around GP. Just a bit sore from Saturday but not too bad.

PM: 11 miles on New Hope Rd south of my house.  Ran past New Hope Christian School, then on Hidden Valley Rd until it became a dead end.  I'd never been on this route and I was hoping it would meet up with Williams Highway but no such luck.  Back home the same route.  Felt great the second half of the run. 

10 miles in Grants Pass.  Ran out to the college and looped around a bit, then back home on the usual route.

10 miles in Grants Pass.

AM: 10 miles in GP.

PM: 11 miles in Coos Bay.  Ran 7 of it on the treadmill because of the 25 MPH winds blowing outside.  Then ran a couple to pick up dinner (City Subs!) and a couple back to the hotel.

10 miles around Coos Bay

Pretty good run.  Glad I got it in early because it was a busy day afterwards and I'm exhausted.

Ran a new route today which is always fun.  Started with the usual route to the North freeway exchange but rather than turn around, I kept heading North on the road which eventually brought me to the town of Merlin via the backroad.  Major hills both ways--mile 6 had 400 ft elevation gain!!  Looked at my watch at one point during that beast and saw my average pace at 10:19!  What goes up must come down and I made up for it on the backside.

Ran to Rays in Merlin (mile 9) to use the bathroom and drench my head (first hot day of the year and we made it into the 80's after months no hotter than high 50's/low 60's).  Came back via Anderson Dental and Midland Ave, then up Highland and down Beacon to Wal-Mart and eventually home after passing Albertsons.  Total climbing for the day was just under 1600 ft, my most ever, I think.

No miles were terribly fast or slow and I ended up with an average of 6:42 for the 21 miles.  Didn't feel like pushing a tempo section like I have the last 4-5 week--figured I'd just roll with it and come what may.  Good stuff... 

10 miles to the west of town.  Nothing special, as always, or so it seems.  Just getting it done...

AM: 10 miles

PM:  7 miles.

Exciting stuff! 

AM:  6 miles in GP.

PM:  6 more miles in Eugene.  Didn't feel like running but glad I did by the time I finished. 

8 miles in Eugene on Pre's Trail.

We drove throughout the night, leaving Oregon after work and arriving in Hurricane at 6 AM.  I slept for less than 30 minutes in the car.  Fell asleep for 2 hours once we arrived and was pretty tired the rest of the day.  Probably not the best thing to do one week before a marathon.  Oh yeah, and I chugged Wild Cherry Pepsi until 3 AM to stay awake.  The last time I drank pop was in Iraq when I had to stay awake all night.  The routine worked again!

Ran 5 miles with my Dad, then 5 more miles by myself.  VERY windy in Hurricane today.  Glad I skipped out on the Hurricane Half this morning.

13 miles in Blanding.  Got into town just after lunch but it was windy and I wanted to get the run over with.  Ran south through town to the armory and back, plus 2 miles on the HS track.  Very hot and dry--so different from Oregon.  Took my shirt off for the first 5 miles and I got fried.  Had to make 3 stops for water and I still was feeling the effects of 6000 ft elevation and dry air.