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New years day run with the Utah County Crew, Fritz and Collin. 12600 JRP meeting spot and a loop back along 1300 W. Pretty icy on the parkway but the air was better there than it is downtown. 1:41:23 or a 6:45 avg.

Day off more or less. With two medium long runs and a long run this week, I want to avoid getting too high too quickly with the mileage. I have been feeling great lately but one thing I've learned from the blog is that if you do too much because you are feeling good, an injury may be right around the corner.

I did a 10 minute cycle warm up and then a number of lunges, stretches, PT type things and core stuff. I tried the core routine Rob posted last week and it will be a long while before I can get the brest stroke scissor action going.

Also did 4x8-10 seconds at 12 mph and 15 incline on the mill for some hill blasts to put my legs on notice. Some intermittent 8:00 pace in between blasts that totalled about a mile.

Easy at lunch from work to HCI and down through Fed Heights, 11th Ave and to the amphitheatre above memory grove. I did one loop of the flattish surface in 11th ave park and I didn't love it. Turned out to be about .31 miles.

With a net 200 ft drop, I tried to keep the pace even on the way back so it was more moderate with a few fartlek type accelerations particularly on hills and quiet roads.

67:46 total.

Goal was 20 with a fast finish. Left at about 12:40 and ran from my house up around memory grove along 11th ave through fed heights up to HCI through research park up around the zoo down wasatch to 21st south cut down through the neighborhoods to guardsman and down university ave to 1st ave. Tempo started at about 9th E and 1st ave but I was already pretty tired. It was downhill than uphill for mile 1 and more uphill than down through N temple and back home on 200 west. I ended up with 18 and 19 at 6:15 each and then bonked in 20 with a 7:55. I haven't bonked like that in months so I'm kind of glad I did. 2:21:39 or 7:05 average for the run. Still a negative split with 7:22 out and 6:48 back.

No water or nutrition and it was quite cold coming back west with a minor but biting headwind. I will plan better next time I do this run with a better course and a truly easy day the day before.

Easy with Fritz, Nate, Adam, Jake and Collin. Nice group but a very cold morning. From Highland up near Skyline and back. about 90 minutes total. Legs felt fine. I didn't run hard yesterday I just didn't fuel well.

Easy from work down to liberty park via 9th so and across liberty to 13th so. Winded up through the neighborhoods back to work. This is a new route. I wouldn't have attempted it before because it would not have been easy. It's a pretty consistent downhill and then back up totalling 800 ft net each way. 61:02. This may be the last of the really nice days...

AM

5:00 wake up. Final day at the Gym at City Creek. 6x800 @15k-10k pace. Warmed up just under 3. This time, I followed the 400 markings on the treadmill visual for "precise" 800s. Went 11.0mph, 11.1, 11.2, 11.2, 11.25, 11.4. 5:27-5:13 pace. All at a 1 incline. During a flat cool down, I did 2x400 @ 5:00 pace and it felt pretty good. 65:45 total

Lunch

I tried out the BST above work going south toward sunnyside and it is quite treacherous. I slid down a few feet backward and caught myself on my hands at one point. So beware. 1.7 miles on the ice and snow and then up emigration and back through matheson park to work. Nice to get in a few non-road miles. Legs felt good. The left glute is not gone but hasn't bothered me in a while. 48:09 or 7:54 avg

Well that sucked. In fact, it was the suckiest suck that ever sucked. I looked out the window and saw clear roads and headed out in the 12:00 hour. It was snowing lightly but not too bad. About three miles in, it started coming down harder and the road accumulation became a problem. Particularly slippery on the uphills. Wasatch out and back in 63:36.

I have these shoes my brother in law got somewhere and didn't like. I don't like them either but they are made for the cold and did the job today. They are a bit clunky but have no breathable fabric so a fortress of dry. I usually use them on treadmill runs because I don't mind wearing down shoes I don't care about.

I'm starting to wonder if I will make it home ok...

Treadmill miles because of the whiteout. No way I'm getting home today. 60 minutes total at a 1 incline.

I was going to do a "hill" workout but I'm doing some performance testing tomorrow and they told me not to go hard today.

"I'm the best in the world and I know it, I'm the fastest in the world and I'll show it. I'm the fastest and the strongest and I can last the longest, I'm the best in the world and I know it."

AM

5:30 wake up - my attitude is better now in the morning than it was last summer. Maybe it's the no drinking. 5 easy from home to 7th east and S Temple. Roads were mostly pretty good. It takes me 1.5 miles this early just to get to 8:20 pace but I managed to beat the 8 minute guy in the end. 39:48. 

PM

Bod Pod -14.7%. VO2max 63.4. Not sure about the latter calculation. The treadmill stopped between 9.5 and 10 mph and I waited a few minutes for her to figure it out. Then she started doing inclines at 9.8 mph and I tapped out at an 8 incline. My HR got up to 162 which is about HMP effort for me so I don't really trust the measurement. She actually put on the results sheet that she guessed my VO2max was closer to 67. So kind of a waste but FSA is use it or lose it. Hopefully I can trim down a bit with no drinking and better eating from now through Boston and get my body fat down to the 11-12% range. Counting 1.5 miles for the 14 minutes or so of testing.

Nice weather for a Saturday run with Rob, Fritz, Jake, Collin and James. We did a route from Highland to 6200 S and back through the neighborhoods. At about 27th S and 17th E starting at mile 15, we did a bit of tempo. Jake stayed with me for 2 5:40 miles going to Highland and then toSugarhouse  park and down and up the first hills going counterclockwise. After I left Jake and Fritz, I did one more Sugarhouse loop starting at a quicker pace to get in another decent mile (6:13) and then cooling to 20 in 2:17:08 or 6:51 avg.

Icy miles with Fritz and Adam into new territory for them. Down to 9th W and 17th S and back up from 13th E and S Temple. Not cold but the rain snow combo made for some slippery roads. 7:34 avg

Feeling a bit sluggish probably due to the run yesterday and the cumulative 230 in the last three weeks which is as much as I've ever done in a three week stretch.

Easy at lunch with Adam up Wasatch. Shorter run for him so I did a few loops of the hills near my office. 7:45 avg. Legs still feeling tired.

AM

5:00 wake up. Found a flat straight road in Rose Park to do 12x1/4 mile at 5k pace. Splits were 71, 80, 78, 77, 76, 76, 77, 78, 78, 79, 79, 75 and a bonus 72 (just undre 77 avg). Garmin paces were 5:09-5:20 (other than the too fast start and the fast finish at about 4:50) so just where I wanted the workout. First one was too fast but then pretty consistent but I did start to lose focus on the last few. Recoveries were about 55-70 seconds of jogging (targeting about half the distance of the interval). Felt strong and fresh after the recoveries. Nice and controlled. A little bit more than 3 up and 3 down for 11 total.

Lunch

Another 8 miles in 7:47 average down to the U and across through Harvard/Yale. Shorts and t-shirt weather - I was cool but not cold. No hot water in the office so I am taking cold showers.

8 at lunch with Adam. 7:40 pace. I swear it felt easy.

AM

5:00 wake up. 5x1 mile at 10k pace with 1/4 mile rests. 3 up 3 down. Went to the flat road in Rose Park I used Tuesday. It's about 1.4 miles long with 7-8 turns. I took a wrong turn on the first split and did a 180 degree turn. But it helped so that I got to see the entire road and had 3 splits by the time I'd done my first out and back. One more out and back and the workout was done. 5:36.4, 5:32.7, 5:33.2, 5:33.5, 5:29.1. I wanted sub 5:30 but I am satisfied with the workout. My goal time requires a 5:24 10k pace according to Jack Daniels so I am on my way. It was colder than Tuesday and I stayed up until almost midnight. Very happy with my dedication in January and getting some nice workouts in in high volume weeks.

Lunch

Another 8.3 up emigration and back. Felt better than Tuesday's double but it was up and then down rather than down and back up. 7:00 average.

Decent lunch group with Adam, Nate and James for a wasatch out and back. I am not disclosing time or pace but it was easy :)

Big loop with Frritz from Creek Rd to the mouth of Little Cottonwood south on Wasatch to 1700 E, up to Dimple Dell and east around to 9400 S down Highland and back. Ran into Justin about 6.5 into it and stayed with him until 9400 S and Highland. Lots of tough hills. There was going to be a 6-8 mile MP tempo in there but the route didn't really lend itself to a tempo. Also,  I died somewhere in mile 14 and somehow a steep climb revived me. Still managed to get the pace down in the last 5 with it being quite downhill. 2:14:08 or 6:36 average for me with almost 1500 ft of hills.

Nice day and nice to be above the inversion for a lot of it.

Now for a down week and some relaxation after coming within 2.2 miles of my first 100 mile week.

AM

6 am wake up. I work today but my kids are home so I had some morning flexibility for a nice easy run not too early. Went out on 600 W/700 W to 1300 S and back. It's a nicer run in the dark but still not a nice run. I am also glad I couldn't see the icky sky.

Hold on to your hats for this pace. 8:29 - 8 in 1:07:48. Nice unintentional day off yesterday. Other than taking my boy to cc ski lessons, I stayed home and did nothing. I even watched NFL football for the first time in ages, family be darned. "Daddy - I wanna watch Doya." "Go play." I used to think I liked the 49ers but I haven't truly cared for about 20 years. Charlie cried because SF lost because he is a proud SF native, though he could care less about football. Good day.

Lunch

6 more on the treadmill. The air is looking gross even up here. I have had some congestion for the past few days and I've been running outside constantly so perhaps a correlation.

Started at 8.5 mph and a 1 incline and moved up .1mph and .5 degress every half mile. So mile 2.5-3 was at 9 mph and 3.5 degress and HR got into low 140s. Then back down but with the speed going up. After 5 miles of that, 1 mile doing 6x80 steps at 5:00 pace with a brief rest at 9.5 mph.Nice workout without getting into the moderate range much. 39:20 total. Then some stretching and pt.

Emigration out and back. Feeling good. Air no good. 60:30

AM

Another 5am wake up. I had real hesitation getting up and running hard with the air outsdie. I tossed and turned at night talking myself out of it in that wakeful sleeping mode. I woke up at 5 determined to figure something out at lunch but I was awake and I said ok let's do it. I wore a kitchen towel over my mouth and nose and set out. Last week's workouts were at 30 and mid 20s. Today was mid 15s. 3 miles into the run my quads were still cold but I proceeded. 

Idea was 1 mile, .75, .5 and three or so quartes. I ran the first mile unevenly starting out too fast and then slowing. I ended up tearing the towel off my face half way through to get a breath and the air was instantly irritating. I kept at it and did the mile in 5:22. I reached for my towel and it had frozen solid. For the .75, I ran about a half a mile in 2:46 and decided it wasn't working. In addition to the bad air, my legs were a bit heavy. I think Saturday's long run isn't completely out of them. I put the frozen towel back on my face and went home.

Trying to decide whether I take it easy until Saturday or do another run at lunch on the treadmill where I can get up to about 5:20-5:30 pace to get some turnover.

PM

No run. Lunch with my wife instead. I did a massage with Tim this evening. He moved away from the glutes and really worked the hamstrings and calves. Particularly the right leg. Ouch. Flipped me over and worked on the psoas muscles too. So some new developments in painful spots. I am trying to wrap my head around doing an ice bath.

Wasatch out and back. A few strides on the way back. A bit clearer today with some wind.

More miles than I wanted today but I barely beat the 9 minute guy. Snowy, slushy, icy, muddy run up dry creek and along the BST with Collin, James and Nate.

Excited for the 5k tomorrow. Strategy is to take the first mile out hard and hang on for dear life. 5:15 first mile then try to stay below 5:20. The A goal is to break my time of 18:24 last year by two minutes.

Goal today was 16:24 which was arbitrary but also a good goal for where I am. The process of getting faster is the process of being disappointed with increasingly faster times. The 5:22 I did on Wednesday proved prophetic as that was my pace here. Drove up with Collin to save one car with the bad air. Warmed up 2 and saw a bunch of guys. I thought top 20 was optimistic. My watch went off right before each mile marker. Splits were 5:14, 5:21, 5:26 and :39 for the last .13 on my watch. Sprinted at the end thanks to Andrea and Jake cheering me on. Much appreciated. Tells me I need to go faster a bit sooner. Still a good time and I am glad we had nice weather but I want to do better.  Cooled down 2.

Afterward, I ran to the capitol to do some Boston video with Walter and crew. That ended up being another 5.75 miles for me total. The rally was kind of funny. There was one crazy chick singing this air is your air and trying in vain to get the crowd into it.

Weighed in at 165 today which is a pound lower than St George. Been taking care of myself in 2014.

Easy with James, Allie, Fritz and Collin. Started at liberty and went west to JRP and south to 3086 S then turned around. Those who like loops were sorely disappointed. Kind of cold.

Another wasatch out and back from work. Decent air up here but not good. Turned around at 30 minutes and took 60:48 total.

Tough morning. Got up at 5 and went to a flat 2 mile tempo loop in rose park. 600 N and 900 W to 1000 N and 1200 W and back. Was going for sub 6. According to my 5k on Saturday, marathon pace should be around 6:06 for me right now. Obviously I need to improve that in the next three months but this morning was a slow start. I thought I would shoot for sub 6 for 8 miles but the 6:02 first mile didn't feel great. My legs had no pop. I thought about a lot of things including cutting it short. My breathing was fine, I just couldn't get any fast turnover. So I stuck with it and averaged 6:08 for the 8 miles. Last mile was back toward home so it had a "hill" up to I-15. 2 up 1 down. In my 5x1@10k pace two weeks ago, I ultimately did 6 at 5:58 with the rests so I thought I should be able to at least hit that. I am happy I stuck with it when I wasn't feeling it and I think it is a simple matter of the legs feeling better.

I thought I had a beanie in my gear but it wasn't there this morning and I can't go poking around for stuff and wake up the house so my head was quite cold. Can't wait for the weather to get a bit warmer. It's interesting how the Spring/Fall marathoner (in a four season climate) suffers through weather too cold or too hot just to come into form as the weather turns favorable. I am dreaming of those warmer days.

Easy from work across HCI and down 11th ave. Loved the light rain and the cool clean air. 7:30 avg

10-15mts of hills 1-3 minute intervals. Equal distance rest.

So of course I went out at the snowiest part of the day to get this in. I warmed up just under 3 and did the hill going up Colorow to my office. That only ended up being 1 minute and my pacing was awful - a burst of too fast followed by barely finishing for a one minute interval. These ended up rising about 70 feet over 800 feet so a bit steep at 8.75%. Also wet and not getting warmed up.

So after two of those, I decided to take it in to the treadmill to get in a proper work out. Good timing as coworker was just finishing. I did minute intervals of 1-2-3-3-2-1 with equal minutes rest. Did inclines between 4-5.5 and speeds of 10.5-11.5 mph (I consider it a 6:00 avg given that the treadmill is slow). Was definitely working hard. After I finished, I put it all the way up to 12mph and 15 degree incline for 20 seconds. I've done this before but never more than 10 seconds or staying on the treadmill while raising the belt/speeding up and lowering/slowing down. So that was fun. Cooled down 1 milish.

Overall, an awesome workout. My face is still stinging and my muscles feel fatigued. I don't feel this way often enough.

Not much time so I went to the treadmill and got in 9. Blah. I hate doing it two days in a row and I really hat not doing a workout on it.