Run fast

Travel day

Feels like a brick landed on my head.  I plan to take it easy this week on the running to get over this cold and to leave more time for weight and core training. 

My head already feels much better.  Two miles on the treadmill after 30 minutes on the elliptical.  

2 @ 7

6 @ ~5:55

Ran up to the U and back back through Sugarhouse.  Didn't watch my splits but I crossing intersections I was easily in the 5:30's.  

6:27 average. 

Today I had a good reason not to run outside.

8 @ 6 min pace

I went to bed at 11 when the Jazz had a 10 point lead with 5 mins left in the 4th.  Little did I know about what transpired after that, which I saw while watching ESPN on the treadmill.  What a game! 

16 miles at 6:41 pace.  Ran from 30 south to 11th ave and back down 15 east.  I stopped at the gym to put in a couple of miles on the treadmill but it was packed.  Probably smarter people than me considering I just lost a weak of my life due to running in this crap.  

I am happy to get over 60 miles again.  It's funny that 60 is nothing compared to many people on this blog yet putting in consecutive 60 miles a week at this time of the year is by far the most I have ever run.  I am sure that will be changing as I plan to run some 50s and 100s.  

My fingers are crossed that the inversion goes away soon.

Last mile in about 5:30.  Took a long time to get warmed up so I only averaged about 6:40.

Fairly easy run south through Holiday.  It was nice knowing that I wasn't doing damage to the lungs.

About 6 min average on the treadmill.

9 miles NOT on the treadmill.   Regular route around Sugar House.

I will credit this win (first ever 5k win) to whoever locked Dennis Simonaitis' keys in his car.  Don't quote me on it  but apparently something he needed for the race was locked in his car so he couldn't race.  I guess the running Gods were on my side today.

The Race:

I took off out of the gate in the lead and held it to about the first mile mark.  First split was about 5:10.  At that point a young kid, possibly in his late teens or early 20's, caught up but didn't pull away and Albert wasn't far behind.  I ran beside or slightly behind the young kid from mile 1 and through the turn around.  Mile 2 split was slightly slower at about 5:20.  The turn around probably slowed us a bit and I was trying to conserve energy for the finish.  At the 2 mile mark we were still side by side and for the next 3/4 mile he put in a few small surges.  Fortunately they weren't big surges and I was able to stay within a few feet.  By mile 2.75 I knew I had a shot so then I just had to figure out how long I should or could wait to put in a surge.  I figured by mile 2.9 it was now or never so I kicked as much as I could and to my surprise the young kid didn't follow.  I was obviously happy with the result considering the weather and the fact that the season just started.  After reviewing past 5ks, which I don't run a lot, I discovered that this might actually be a PR for an honest 5k course; my previous best was a 16:23 run at the Heart of Holladay in 2001.  My excuse for not improving my 5ks has been and will continue to be that they I don't care enough and they HURT! :)

6:52 pace around Liberty Park.  My groin is very sore.  I must have used some new muscles in the 5k.

Casual run north to 11th Ave and back through the U and Sugar House.

6:43 pace

I finally was able to do 500 floors in an hour on the stair master.  The machine says that is 10.5 miles but that seems crazy because that is faster than a 6 min/mile pace.  The effort however, is more than a 6 min pace so I am giving myself the credit. :)  5 miles easy after the stair master.  I probably lost 5 - 10 lbs in sweat.

This race wasn't as interesting or close as the last but I didn't mind because the result was the same. There was a big tail wind going out which explains the fast 5k but as the 4-6 splits show, I was SLOW coming back.  Another factor for the slow return was that I probably went out a little too fast.  The strategy must have worked however, because I dropped my closest competitor (same young guy from 2 weeks ago) at mile 1, and didn't see him for the rest of the race.  I think I finished a couple of minutes ahead.

5:06, 5:11, 5:11 (16:04 5k), 5:39, 5:38, 5:39

Cross country skiing near Bryce Canyon.  I am terrible.

7,000 to 8,200 ft. and back.  7:10 pace

Ran around Liberty Park on the cinder track for the first time in probably 10 years.  I think I will do it more often because it's a nice break from the asphalt.

6:35 pace

Ran through Millcreek, up to 27th East and back through Sugar House.  6:45 pace.

Ran through Holiday.  5 days with runs over 10 miles is first for the year.  6:44 pace.

6:39 pace.  A couple of laps around Liberty Park and back.

2 miles on eliptical, 2 miles @ 6:45, 2.25 @ 5:55, 1.25 & 4:56.  After .25 at 12.1 mph the treadmill started squeaking and smelling funny.  It's probably broken.

After my warm up I wasn't sure how I would feel.  I think the pre race coffee was a bad idea.  I wanted to run 17, 17 and then possibly negative split the last 5k.  I was on target after the first 5k but I started fading a bit at the half way point.  At that point I was caught by Jamal (17 year old runner from Cyprus High) but I was only able to stick with him for a half mile.  I think the middle 5k was more like 18 and then I might have finished in 17.  Ok race given that I didn't feel great.  

Last year I felt amazing and I was only 20 seconds faster.  This tells me that I am improving.  I will check my splits later.

6:44 pace around Liberty Park.

Ran through Millcreek so I could pass the house I grew up in.  I hope the owner forecloses on it so I can buy it back.  Time went by super fast because all I could think about was an annoying person I work with it.  Something has to change.  

Wore my new shiny shoes.  Ran north to the U and back through Sugar House.  1:30, 6:40 pace

5.5 miles in 32 mins on the treadmill.  5:49 pace.  Last mile in 5:20.  Not long but felt good.

My hamstring has a problem so I have only been able to use gym equipment....boooo.  

510 floors in 60 mins. on stair stepper. It's tiring but I would rather run.  

3 hours on my bike.  First ride since October.

South on Wasatch Blvd to the top of Suncrest and back on 13th West.  The fact that I did't bonk is a good sign.  For every 10 mins on my bike I get 1 cross training mile.

6:44 pace.  First real run in two weeks and fortunately I don't think I reinjured myself.  After all of the elliptical, stairmaster and biking it felt a little odd but I still think I can get back up to speed in a week or so.

South on 9th East to 6200 South and back on 13th E.  Hip and hamstrings still sore.

With the SLC Marathon looming I knew I had to get over this nagging hamstring issue and put in some long runs.  Today was my attempt at that.  I started on 9th E. and went straight up 33rd S. to Wasatch Blvd.  Since I was feeling ok I took a right turn instead of a left and headed South on Wasatch.  I wanted to get in 20 miles so I continued on to 7 Eleven.  At that point I knew I would get my 20 miles because I had 10 miles left.  The question then became, would I be walking, calling for a ride, or be able to run it in?  At the turn around my legs were heavy and my muscles were sore but they didn't seem to be getting much worse.  There were even moments at mile 15 or so that I was feeling kind of fast.  I ended up making it back in negative split (because of the slow 5 miles up 33rd) and I don't think there is any permanent damage.   I plan to get in another long run next weekend and hopefully mix in some speed work on the track.

6:48 average

Very windy heading north.  It slowed me down.

6 miles on treadmill.  5 @ 5:27.

Fun day on the treadmill.  5:48 average..

Ran south on 9th east to 90th south and back on 13th east.  There were moments I felt but mostly just an average run.  6:29 pace

For some reason I still felt tired today even after taking it easy yesterday.  Probably still feeling the effects of an 80 mile week after basically not running for 2 weeks.  

6:40 pace on treadmill

I wanted to test out the hamstring before the race next week.  Fortunately it held up fine.  The course was fairly challenging because it ran around and through the U of U campus.  There were lots of corners and we even got to run up some stairs.  I held the lead until about 1.5 miles when James slowly passed.  I stuck within about 10 ft for awhile and then he slowly got about 100 yds ahead.  I finished about 10 seconds behind (2nd overall) and my prize was a mini U of U helmet.  I plan to put it on my desk at work because I am surrounded by BYU grads.  Great race for the $10 entry fee.

Strapped on the new shoes for the first time.  I am already a big fan.  Felt peppier than usual but still slightly concerned about the hamstrings.  Some stretching and the roller WILL do the trick.

Time is unofficial. This year obviously went a lot better than last (time and place) despite going into it scared to death that my hamstring or achilles would break.  I honestly didn't know if I would get through a few miles but after I got going I knew I had a chance.   

At the start line I saw a few familiar faces (Albert and Bill) but there were no Africans and nobody who I knew could beat me.  That was odd.  No money this year?  I still assumed that somebody much faster than me had to be there.  The gun went off and quickly found myself in 3rd place behind two guys I didn't recognize.  What I didn't know is if they were running the whole or the half and I would have to wait until the turnaround at Sugar House Park to find out.  After the first mile I knew that the achilles problem wasn't as bad as I thought but the hamstrings still lingered in the back of my mind.  They weren't hurting then so I did my best to forget about it.  After a few miles, as I was going down 21st South, Steve Anderson passed me and then Michael Nordberg, who beat me last year in the Mid Mountain Marathon.  I still didn't know if any of these guys were in the Full.  A mile later 3 of the 4 guys ahead of me turned back up 21st leaving me and Michael and anyone else daring to challenge, to compete for the Full.  Michael had about 100yds on me for the next 3 or 4 miles but then I started gaining on him going up Keller Lane.  Maybe my surge was motivated my my familiarity with the neighborhood.  I waved at the house of my old best friend (Chad) and I threw my gloves and headband to a guy I work with, Brian.  I also told Brian that I would catch the guy ahead of me eventually and that he needed to wash my gloves and bring them to work on Monday.  The last part I didn't say out loud. 

So I felt great going up Keller and was looking forward to some fast miles once I hit 23rd East.  I ran 10 and 11 in about 5:35 and finally caught Michael near Cottonwood Elementary.  I exchanged the typically, "I remember you from..." and didn't see him again.  I hadn't been watching my splits so when I saw 1:13:30 at the half I was pretty surprised.  I was thinking...geez...I have a chance at sub 2:30 as long as the body holds up.  Maybe that thought jinxed me because at about mile 14 my right hamstring really started tightening up.  At that point I was thinking about what the papers would read, "local white boy was leading the race but wussed out and quit because of a hamstring problem."  I certainly didn't want to pull a Boozer so I abruptly stopped in the street and stretched the hamstrings.  I stretch fast (hence the reason for my injuries) so I was back at it after only a few seconds.  I don't even think the police car noticed.  From then on the hamstring started feeling measurably better and by mile 18 I was pretty confident that it would hold up through end.   The boring/flat miles on 5th East were a challenge but at least I felt like I was moving unlike last year when the wheels were falling off.  As I turned onto State Street I really got excited because I was passing the taco stand at Sears and I was building up my energy for that last climb.  Fortunately I didn't have to maneuver through the half runners because of the police escort and I finished that crappy mile in 6:26 (last year was 6:42).  It was all downhill from there and I ended up finishing in an unofficial time of 2:30:30.  Not sub 2:30 but still a big improvement.  After review of my splits my first >= 6 min mile didn't come until mile 23 while last year that came at mile 9.  I am crediting my new Lunar Racers.  I have to thank Bill Cobler (winning master's runner) for also sticking around for the award ceremony, which didn't start until 1 PM.  He has some good war stories.  The low budget purse clearly explains the absence of the Africans.  Of course I am still very fortunate because had they been there I wouldn't have won.

My hamstrings are still sore and I refuse to risk hurting them again.  I should be back running by Sunday.

Road my bike to the top of Big Mountain.  The gate was closed at Little Dell and there were several wet/narrow sections due to the melting snow drifts.  This made for a slower than usual decent but I think my ascent was at least as fast as I was doing it last year later in the year.  Sadly I decided to retire, but not throw away, my favorite bike shorts that I have had since 2002.   Considering all the miles we have gone through together I really don't see how I couldn't ever put them in a garbage can.

First real run since the marathon.  My bike ride yesterday didn't help the quads so it was a big of a struggle.  Nice day to run.

I had to hurry today because my boss needed something by 9 this morning and he didn't email me until 11 last night. What a nice guy.

9 miles @ 6 min pace.

TM

TM at 1% incline.

Ran from 9th east straight up 33rd south to Wasatch Blvd.  Took Wasatch out to the mouth of the canyon and then meandered my way back through Holladay.  Felt pretty good and didn't get too sore.  6:40 pace.

16 x 400 with 15 secs rest at East High.  I finally got to the running group at 5:45. 

6:40 pace

4 at 5:45

3 x 800 at 5:15

1 x 1600 at 5:15

1.5 at 6:45

Total average 5:50

6:45 pace through Holladay.  Probably doing nothing tomorrow.

I like running in the rain.

Pre race warm up.

I went into this race with the goal of breaking 2:30.  I barely pulled it off, although it took more effort than I would have liked.  At the start line I only recognized BJ (not easy to miss) and Steve Anderson and a couple minutes before the race Jeff (jtshad) introduced himself to me. Except for them I really had no idea what other competition would show up.  The race got off on time and I soon found myself trailing only BJ, who got off to a blazing, sub 5 minute start.  I have no idea how he ran so fast, considering that he did a sub 10 hour Ironman two weeks ago. Compared to last year I was doing well through the first few miles but I still felt that those mid 5 min miles were taking too much effort.  I backed off slightly at around mile 5 because nobody was around me and I knew I needed to conserve more if I was ever going to hang on at the end.  After I got out the canyon I started to got into a decent rhythm and by mile 10 I passed BJ's relay partner.  Now I was all alone in front and solely responsible for blocking at least 20 cars who were stuck behind the pace car.  I got through the half way point in about 1:13, about 1 minute faster than I had expected.  I was feeling fairly relaxed at that point so it seemed very realistic that I could run a sub 1:17 second half and get under 2:30.  My optimism lasted until I had to climb that hill at mile 14.5.   I tried to hold back but  I still think I ended up pushing too hard because my legs never felt the same.  A relay runner caught me at the dam, fortunately he was only a relay runner.  After the dam is where I was planning to put in some fast miles to make up to foreseeable breakdown at mile 23.  I managed close to 5:40s from 18-23 which basically left me having to run around 6s to get sub 2:30.  Somewhere in there I passed Allie at an aid station.  Thanks for the cheer and I apologize for not taking your water or giving a high five.  It was one of those, "oh sh**, I have five miles left" moments.  Fortunately I survived those last 3 miles which included a few tunnels, dodging and weaving through runners, and 2 foot rollers that felt like hill sprints.  

Overall I felt good about the race and I was especially happy that I didn't finish in 2:30:01.  My Garmin was obviously on the fritz during the first few miles.  I promise I didn't run a 5:57 first mile. 

5 miles around Camden, SC. I probably sweat more during the run than I did at the Ogden Marathon.

5 miles at 5% incline and 6:56 pace.

4:35, 85 miles, road with a cycling team around the point of the mountain, through American Fork, over South Mountain and back on Wasatch Blvd.

Around 1:45.  STEEP!

Wow. This was my first 50 miler and I must say it was a killer.   I led the race until about mile 20 and then ran with the eventual winner (Kevin Schilling) until he pulled away at mile 30.  Windy Pass is definitely a hill to remember.  I seriously thought I was at the top at least 5 times but it just kept going.  When I summited I felt like I had the strength to put in some quick downhill miles but my left knee was acting up and I had to tip toe my way down.  Being forced to run gingerly for 10 miles was miserable to say the least.  I just hope my knee is ok.

I will add more tomorrow after I have slept for 14 hours.   

Race Report:

I woke up at 3 AM and got to the start area by 4:15.  With some advice from past runners I had 4 drop bags, two with shoes, all of them with a good supply of GU and Clif Bloks and one with EFS liquid shot.  In case of a desperate situation I stashed one of those Red Bull shots in the bag at mile 33. 

The race started out at a leisurely pace down the Provo River Trail and then turned south up a trail.  After about two miles it was just me and Kevin Schilling running together.  We chatted for a bit and I learned the guy is nuts.  He is a pulmonary doctor and runs 50's, 100's, marathons, almost every other week.  After about 4 miles we started up some steep sections and Kevin dropped back.  Because I didn't know the course I was hoping that I could just follow his lead but I was feeling good, not working too hard, and decided to take my chances.  As the climb continued the course meandered its way through and over patches of snow.  At about mile 10 the course continues south along a ridge line road.   Although the road was mostly covered with snow there were many sections that I was able to run on the snowless shoulder and just deal with the occasional puddle and/or bush.  This continued until about mile 15.  Miles 15-22 were mostly on a dirt trail and all downhill.  The downhill on the road felt good but there were also some really steep downhills through the woods that started to aggravate my knee.  It was frustrating not being to let loose down those hills, which I am usually pretty good at.  Probably because of my slow descents Kevin caught up at about mile 20.  We mostly ran together on the road section up Hobblecreek Canyon.  We commented on the excessive size of the properties in that canyon and all the truck drivers who somehow felt the need to drive 60 mph.   By aid station 6 at mile 26 my knee was really bothering me on even the slightest inclines.  Kevin slowly put some distance on me and I didn't see him again after we went through the Meltzer aid station at mile 29.  For some reason I totally forgot that he was serving PB&J sandwiches.  I was on at least my 10th GU at that point and some real food would have tasted good.  From 29 I resorted to hiking on the steep inclines and running the flats.  I went through AS 8 at mile 33 feeling ok but I certainly wasn't prepared for the upcoming death march to the top of Windy Pass.  If I had known I would drank the entire coke.  The never ending climb didn't start until mile 39 and although it was only 1.5 miles it felt like an eternity.  I think mile 40 clocked in at 26 mins just to give you a sense of the incline.  After about 5 false pitches and almost going off course I FINALLY made it to the top only to find that the next aid station was still about a half mile away at the bottom of a super sketchy descent.  My knee really hurt at this point so I had to tip toe my way down.  I stumbled into the aid station and I did my best to rehydrate.  The next 5 miles ran across lots of snow fields and mostly rocky single track.  I did my best to keep moving although I knew that the field behind me must have been gaining ground.  I reached the aid station 10 (mile 46) in about 8 hrs and then had the fun chore of running down the road to the finish.  At this point I might as well have been in a coma so my pace really didn't matter anymore.  After what felt like running 10 min miles I finally reached the park and jogged through the finisher's shoot.  After thanking the race director for putting that mountain at mile 40, I immediately sat in the Provo River with the hope of speeding up the recovery of my knees. 

Overall I was happy with the my finish although I wish I my knee would have felt better so I could have pushed it on the downhills.  The race was very well organized, the views were incredible, and the volunteers at the aid stations were awesome.  After the race I also met some great people who I hope to run with in the future.

Planned to ride up Big Cottonwood but the ran outlook wasn't looking good.  Decided to ride north and go up City Creek.  This cool/wet weather reminds me of Montana.

Yes, a whopping .5 running miles.  My knee might survive.

sweatfest at the gym on the stair stepper.  Disappointed that I had to hold the railing for a few minutes towards the but I had no choice.  The knee is slowly feeling better.

Road up Big Cottonwood Canyon then north to the zoo.   Perfect day to ride.  3:13

Ran 1 whopping mile on the treadmill.

510 floors on stair master in an hour and no touching bars for last 45 minutes.  I get bored at the gym.

522 floors in 1 hour.  I wonder if there has even been a StairMaster competition.

Tried running 5 miles on the treadmill. Not terrible but the knees still don't work right.

3:15.  Road top top of Millcreek Canyon then a few miles up Little Cottonwood.  Some day I really need to do Little and Big Cottonwood, Millcreek and Emigration all in the same day.

524 floors in 1 hour.  I am starting to hate the gym.

568 floors in 1 hour on the stairmaster.  I guess my new goal is 600.