Run fast

Ran east through Tanner Park, south on Wasatch to the 7-Eleven (one of the busiest in the country but I didn't stop), west through the office park where I spend most of my life, then north along the SLC marathon course.

Total time was about 2:26 (6:21 pace).  About 11 of the miles were at ~6 min pace. Considering the first 4.5 were fairly slow I was happy with the pace and I think my legs held up fairly well.  Last Saturday I only ran 13 miles and it felt like I just ran a marathon.  My ankles, quads, joints, etc. were trashed but today felt relatively smooth.  I am contemplating running the Provo Half next Saturday and adding on additional 5 to gear up for Ogden. 

Elliptical for 2 and treadmill for 5.5.  Not much fatigue from yesterday.  Afterward I stretched for 10 mins.  That might be a record.

Ran up to the U and back. ~6:30 pace.  

Fairly stiff this morning so I started on the elliptical.  Plan to run a few more on the grass this afternoon.

Today's plan was to get in a hard run and then tack on a few more to prep for Ogden.  Despite feeling so so the mission was accomplished.  Steve apparently had a much more serious plan in mind and he was paid a lot to do it.

Went out with Teren again, like I did in the SLC Half, and probably ended up paying for it again.  I promise I won't do it again.  First mile was about a 5:06 even with the climb over the overpass but that obviously wasn't sustainable so I let Teren go at the mile marker.  Miles 2 through 6 were mentally tough because my left hip was already tiring, I didn't feel quick, and I still had many miles to go.  The 2nd place finisher (~1:11) passed me at about mile 3 which immediately sparked memories of being passed by several people at the SLC Half.  Fortunately my hip loosened up at about the half way point and the 5:30 pace started to feel more manageable.  Miles 11 and 12 were actually two of my faster miles and if it wasn't for that darn (Provo rubbed off on me) overpass in the last mile I think I could have hit 5:20. 

After finishing I went on a 7 mile jog tour of the often talked about but rarely visited city we call Provo.  I meandered through the neighborhoods, passed Seven Peaks resort and turned around at the trail head that takes you up to the Y on the hill.  The cool down run felt surprisingly smooth and relatively easy which was encouraging.  I can honestly say that my visit to Provo was pleasant.

11 miles at around 6:45 pace on the treadmill then off the Mother's Day brunch. 

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there.

9 miles around Sugar House then 2 on the treadmill.  The guy at the 13th S. 15th E. doesn't like that I run through his intersection without his assistance.

Motivation to run was about 65% today so I needed the treadmill to get me going.  6:40ish pace ending with a quick mile.

Ran up through Tanner Park to the mouth of Millcreek Canyon and back.  Average 7 min pace up and 6 min down.  My downhill running needs some work.

7 miles in San Diego.  How boring would it be to have 70 degree and sunny weather every day?

Dismal day at the Law Day Run 5k.  Manning Curtis Bradshaw & Bednar's 10 year winning streak of the 5 team speed competition is over.  And coincidentally, or not, I was on the losing team that ended the streak.  Sorry Chad for letting you and your law firm down and for also interrupting you before you finished the race.  The only bright side of the finish today is that the plack that shows the history of the winner firm will now have a new name at the bottom.  But of course we hope their one year of glory will only last for a year.

In all the fairness the other team was pretty well set up (Jamal, Teren, Seth, Emily Jameson and one woman who I didn't know).  I think the finishing order of the two teams was Teren, Jamal, Seth, me, Oliver (teammate), Sasha (teammate), Emily Jameson, Emily Bates (teammate), other woman runner (will add name later), and then Lisa Madsen (teammate).  Congrats to the winning team.

My race felt ok considering the relatively hilly course around the U's campus.  First mile I stuck with the 3 leaders and it felt fairly relaxed.  I hung for the next .5 but then they slowly started inching away.  Teren and Jamal got out front after the second climb so I decided to just try to maintain the gap Seth had on me which was a few hundred yards.  I held on ok and finished at around 16:44 which was maybe 20 seconds behind Set and probably 1 minute or more behind Teren.  Jamal probably finished just under 16 in second.  I was happy that I felt quicker on the last down as it will be good prep for Ogden next week.

After the race I ran into the avenues, around the U and over to the East High track with Sasha.  As you might expect from Sasha we stuck in one 2:36 800 meter at the East High track before we headed back to the U.  I also had the great opportunity of listening to Sasha's lessons on life and running and also how I should/could probably getting faster by actually running slower (sometimes).  All in all it was a good time and great last longish run before the big, important race next week.

Slow run on the treadmill then stretching and weights.

Awesome day at the gym.  As I was admiring my new shiny shoes I failed to notice that somebody had left my favorite treadmill running.  I stepped onto the deck and the next thing I knew there was a loud thump and I was picking myself off the ground.  Yes, now I am one of those people other people tell stories about.  Fortunately nothing broke and I only suffered a few good sized burns.

After coming to my senses I got in a good pre race tune up run.  Good luck to everyone running Ogden tomorrow!

Been a long day.  Woke up at 4, ran a marathon, waited until 2:15 to get my award (Steve and Rob can vouch for this as they waited as well), mowed my lawn then watched CAL beat BYU (HURRAY!) in the College Premier Division Rugby Championships at Rio Tinto.  Sorry Cougar fans.  Most memorable moment: Lady at mile 10 saying, "you guys are running stinkin' fast".  I also saw lots of bloggers, Steve (2nd overall), Rob (1st masters), Chad Robinson (1st marathon and sub 3 hours), Teena Marie (hopefully a big PR) and of course James and Allie at mile 21 although they may not have noticed that I tried to wave.

Report:

Typical race day routine. I woke up at 4 AM, three hours before race time, drank lots of water, took a shower, gathered up my race gear and drop bag then was dropped off at the busses at 4:45.  The best part about the morning was that I was allowed to go on the "VIP" bus because I won the race last year.  The two major benefits were that there is a bathroom on the bus (no porta potty!) AND I didn't have to get off the bus until 20 mins before race time.  That was huge, especially for this race, because I always dread shivering sitting on the ground and fighting for space near the fires.  So basically the morning couldn't have gone any better.

I left the bus at around 6:45 just in time to get a quick warm up.  It was probably around 55 degrees, warmer than usual, and it looked like the weather would cooperate and not rain.  I did a quick warm up down the road and chatted with some bloggers at the start line.  My legs felt fresh so I knew a good race was possible but I really had no idea how I would place because Seth Wold was in the mix along with a few guys who have beat me in the past.

The gun went off and Bryant Jensen quickly jumped out ahead as he was running the relay.  Then I was next and Seth was following closely behind.  I typically refuse to look behind me during races so I really had no idea how the close the other runners were.  Seth and I were side by side for the first 7 miles until Seth suddenly stopped to tie his shoe lace.  Keeping to my tradition I didn’t turn around and probably built a 5 second lead.  At that point I was feeling good and thought that if I could just keep me pace I could possibly drop him for good.  That was the first time I knew I could win if I could hold on.  The next 6 miles (7 – 13) are some of the slower miles of the race but they felt smooth and I made sure to hold back slightly on the uphills.  I ran into Bryant, who was now pacing his teammate, at around mile 12 and from then on it was only me and the biker guy until I started catching the half marathoners at around mile 18.  I was happy, although a little concerned, to see my 13.1 split at 1:11:30.  Both of my last two Half’s were slower than that but I wasn’t about to slow down because I didn’t want to be caught and I was feeling good.  I held back slightly again on the big uphill at mile 15, although the quads were still burning, and just made sure to keep it steady until the fun began down the canyon.  By the time I hit the bridge I knew I had a good sized lead but I still had some fast miles left in me and I wanted to see if I could beat my St. George time from 2009.  The canyon miles felt quick and it was nice be around the half runners as I descended.  I came out the canyon in decent shape although the legs were now getting wobbly enough that I knew the impending last few miles on the path would be struggle.  Of course those miles weren’t exactly fun but I have had worse.  I clocked myself at exactly 2:25 over 26.42 miles.  Chip time came in at 2:25:04.    

Ultimately the race went about as well as I could have expected.  All I wanted to do was beat my 5k time (16:44) from last weekend and see if I could hang on. :)  I think I succeeded (first 5k was16:33) and I set a PR of about 2 minutes on a harder course (previous best was a 2:26:48 at St. George).  Going in I thought a 2:27 was possible but it would still be a stretch because the ramp up to this race was very rushed and I really only went into this race with about 3 quality weeks of running training; a 58 mile week, an 80 mile week that included a 23 mile run and the Provo Half, and a 70 mile that ended with a 5k.  But what I think I did do right was get in some quality and painful miles by running the Provo City Half two weeks ago and the Law Day Run 5k last weekend and then after the races I did a long cool down.  So although my times in those races weren't great, I think they helped me get mentality prepared and they shocked the system with some threshold miles. 

Now my focus turns to running a fast half at Utah Valley and then building up more speed as I prepare for Chicago.

I missed my friends at spin class (although I usually don't talk to them because it's dark) so I decided to go to class this morning.

Huge brick workout.  60 mins of spinning and 2 miles on the treadmill.  No aches or pains and I didn't feel much fatigue.  Not sure if that is a good thing or if I means I should have run harder on Saturday.

60 minute spin and 3.5 miles on treadmill

Ran up to the U and back through Sugar House park.  I think some people graduated today.  

I am probably running the Run of Rememberance mile on Monday.  There is also a 5k/10k and they are all free (w/o shirt) or $5 with a shirt.  When was the last time I ran the mile in a race?  9th grade with zero training.  I went out with the leaders in my baggy gym shorts and the wheels completely fell off at .75.  Finished in 5:30.  I am little smarter about pacing myself now.  It will be interesting.  

6.5 miles in 38 minutes on the treadmill as a tune up for tomorrow's 1 mile race.

 http://www.runthatrace.com/events/2011/runofremembrance

Should a 1 mile race that lasts less than 5 minutes even deserve a "race report"?  I will just have to keep it to 1/26 the length of a marathon report. 

As a warm up I ran the 5k which started at a bit late at 8:20 AM.  I came it at around 17 minutes although I think the course was .1 miles short.  The 10k also started at 8:20 so the mile didn't start until around 9:10.  In between the races I jogged a bit and did everything I could to stretch my hamstring to ensure I wouldn't have issues during the race. It was apparent that the winner of the 10k (Brandon from BYU who won with a 31:50ish) would likely be the stiffest competition.  Sure enough after about .2 miles he and another guy passed me and I didn't have it in me to hang on.  On the final stretch I made up some ground on the #2 guy but couldn't quite catch him.  Brandon probably finished in around 4:40-4:45 and I was somewhere around 4:55.  The mile is definitely a different bird.  Just by the time I was loosening up and my shoulders stopped feeling numb the race was over.  Next time I should probably run several 100 yd sprints before starting.  Or better yet I should actually do some speed workouts and run a few mile, 800, or 400 splits on the track. 

James, who took 2nd in the 10k, finished close behind me in the mile.  And of course Allie finished first in the 5k.   Cooled down with James, dropped by my least favorite store, Ikea, then went to the gym for 5 more miles on the treadmill.

Started out on the stairmaster because my foot was a little sore from yesterday.  I think it was partly because I wore my first pair of LunaRacers yesterday which have about 150 racing miles.  Not sure if that a lot or not but apparently my left foot doesn't like them.  I wore my new pair for Ogden and my foot was fine so there is definitely up with the shoes.  Does anyone know how long LunaRacers are supposed to last?

Anyway, after 3 miles on the stairmaster I was bored so I decided to run 7 on the treadmill.  Finished 7 with a 1% incline in about 41 minutes.  Last 2 were around my 10k pace.