It ain't Chinese algebra!

Wells loop

Old Wells Loop

Boise

Mill Plain to 164 and 34th. 

St. George, UT.

Goal for tomorrow is to not trash my legs. I don't care about time and will be perfectly happy if I run my slowest time ever for a marathon. With a 50 mile race in 5 weeks, I want to be able to run next week and still get in 3 weeks of long runs on the trails.

SG was the first marathon I ever ran (2007) and I'm excited to experience it once again.

Had a good time running the SG marathon. This was my first marathon in 2007 and every marathon since then I've 'raced.' Today was the first time I didn't race a marathon and just ran for fun. Took it very easy to the bottom of Veyo and maintained my pace up the hill to the volcano. I'm not going to lie...it was a strange feeling to be running slower than normal in a marathon and not racing, but I kept telling myself I have bigger goals next month and it wasn't worth going too hard today and feeling the effects for a week. Given the course layout, I naturally picked up the pace the last 10 miles and with 3 miles to go, I felt completely fresh so I picked up the pace and ran 6:06, 5:31, and 5:20 with the final .2 in 5:08/pace. It was fun to cruise and run quickly at the finish--totally different than the normal battle/struggle. 

I crossed the line, grabbed a drink, and then ran back up the course 1 mile to meet my buddy who was trying to BQ. We met at 25.2 and then I ran with him back to the finish. Pace was 7:30 on the 2 extra miles and my legs felt great. So...the day was a success. My legs feel great, my lungs feel strong, and I think with a few more weeks of training, I'll be ready for my first 50 mile race. 

I think I'll run Boston in 2020 as a 40 year old, then be done with road marathons(?). I'm enjoying the trails more and get a greater sense of accomplishment with ultra marathons than roads. Perhaps not. Either way, I'm done with the downhill road marathons of Utah.

Dallas, TX. Legs still sore from the marathon.

Dallas, TX. Ran with a coworker somewhat slow but my legs still are sore. 

Final run in Dallas, TX. Legs finally feel back to normal. 

Trail run around Lacamas. New shoes that feel pretty good. A little tired at the end so not fully recovered...but close. 

Neighborhood. 

North Target. 

PM: 7 miles on the trails @ Shevlin Park in Bend. 

AM: Bend, on a treadmill because I didn’t pack clothing for 24 degrees. Incline between 3-8% the entire time. 

PM: 5 miles on Ridgeline Trail in Eugene. Lots of up/down.  

6 miles in Eugene. Strange to see Hayward Field gone...

Wells Loop. Cold and fog. 

Lacams Trail at 5:15 this morning. Very dark and foggy for the first 2 hours and then finally cleared up with the sun. I felt ok but never great. Maybe I ate too much last night? I just felt full and eating/drinking throughout was never pleasant. 

I tried running with a new hydration vest and hated every minute of it. With it loose, it sloshed around and with it tight to prevent sloshing, it was difficult to breath. Took it off after 7 miles and figured I'd try something else next week. Only 1 or 2 more long runs to figure that out...I guess if nothing else, I'll just stick with my handheld.

AM: 5.5 miles this morning on Mill Plain. 

PM: 7.1 miles on Badger Mountain in the tri cities. Quickly becoming a favorite trail run. 

7.5 miles in Richland

Fishers Landing

No run. Right knee a little bothersome.

Around Mill Plain

Long run around Lacamas Trail. Slept in a litte bit and didn't get started until 6:30. The rain held off all morning and the temp was low 50's, so the environment was quite enjoyable. 

This was the best I've felt for a long run in over a month. Nothing specific, but I didn't feel tired, my legs felt somewhat fresh, my stomach felt fine, etc. It's been a while since I've felt this good so that bodes well for the next few weeks. I'll slowly reduce the miles the next few weeks and hopefully be fresh and confident on Nov 10th.

New shoes. Short run. 

AM: 9.5 miles

PM: 4 miles in Eugene

Eugene