Welcome

Back home. I ran in the afternoon before the rain hit. I wasn't feeling it for the first 7 miles but felt strong toward the end as I climbed Capitol Hill. To Liberty Park and around on the wood chips. 600+ ft of climb and 56:28 total. Track intervals tomorrow.

5x1k at 5k pace wtih 2 minute active recoveries.

I went to McCarthey Track and did .63 intervals on the outside lap in 3:29-3:32 per (5:32-5:37 pace). 2 up, 2 down. Felt good - weather was nice.

58:11 total with 400 ft climb.

Easy around the Zoo and up Wasatch. 59:20 total with 600ft of climb. I did 8 murphys during the latter half.

The zoo was a mad house with all the Spring Break kids.

On BST to Sunnyside and up Emigration. 4 murphys, 2 up 2 down. 52:58 with 1000 ft of climb. Very windy going back down the canyon. Felt good.

On the bus up, it dawned on me that my Garmin was still in my bag. Despite all my best laid plans, I had to run by feel. The weather was perfect and the wind was a nonfactor; a slight headwind breeze. I did a short warm-up up the canyon and I have no idea how far I went.

I went out trailing Albert Wint who I trailed in the Striders 10 miler. That didn't last very long and soon I found myself behind the first ten and running by myself. In mile 7, Rob Murphy caught me and we crossed mile 8 together. I know I was at 47:20 or so at mile 8. Rob continued on and, knowing he was targeting 1:18, I tried to stay close. At about mile 10, my outer quads started to tighten. Its at this point in a race that my legs start to get heavier and I start to fear breaking down. I kept pace as best I could but I knew the miles were slower; its also a slower part of the course. At the main intersection in Eden close to mile 12.5 I am guessing, I picked up the pace and was surprised by how light my legs felt. I bounded to the end including a hard sprint to try to break 1:19 and felt strong finishing.

Based on the 8 mile call out by Rob, I ran 5:55 average for the first 8 and 6:13 for the last 5.1. The goal was 1:18 with a 1:20 worst case. This was my fourth half and my previous PR was 1:28:08 officially, though that was the Haunted Half and the timing was off - it was about 1:27:30 on my watch. So an 8+ minute PR!

I am happy with the result but as usual, it leaves me wanting more. I have progressed faster than I anticipated and I am feeling confident that I will exceed my goals for Ogden.

I ran a bit of a cool down with my wife in the grass near her parents farm. 

To Liberty Park and around once. Quads are sore but I feel good otherwise. 1:09:23 total. Nice afternoon run.

When I got outside in the rain during lunch, my legs felt great. Instead of an easy 7, I decided to run a moderate 9. To the amphitheater in Memory Grove via the U, Fed Heights and 11th ave. Felt good throughout, though very cold. My legs are still hot and itchy from becoming numb; lesson - no spandex in rainstorms. I ran a little farther because I didn't hear the 4.5 mile call out to turn around.

65:40 with 800+ ft of climb.

A very hectic workout. Idea was 6x1 mile at 10k pace + 10 seconds - or 5:55 per mile. With the wind, I considered the treadmill but a coworker was using the only one that goes sub 6.

I had no cold gear but I went out anyway. The wind was brutal. I decided to go to Matheson Park and go around. I warmed up 1.5 and did my first mile in 6:07 with a nice headwind for half of it. I decided I wasn't going to get what I needed out of the workout and returned to work. Outside was 3.44 miles in 24:45 with 300 ft of climb.

For a similar effort on the now available treadmill, I decided to do 5 miles in 5:42 per (10.5). I felt great but the treadmill once again overheated on me at mile 3.75 or so and I had to do .4 on the old treadmill before returning to the newer one to finish the workout. I finished doing 1.44 including .5 at 5 minute pace. No cool down. Looked like this:

3.44	24:45
0.12	1:00	25:45
3.6	20:30	46:15
0.4	2:40	48:55
1.44	8:02	56:57

My mind and body were ready for a big workout but the gods were not cooperating today. The treadmill effort felt too easy and my HR corroborated at low 140s throughout.

9.1 easy around the Zoo, south on Wasatch to the BST. Faster than easy but slower than moderate. Felt good but not as strong as I expected. Winder is much better but still a good breeze coming from the west. 65:58 total with 700+ ft of climb.

Travel to Houston so I didn't run until 9:00 pm. I went to Memorial Park and did the 2.93 loop a few times. The idea was a 5 mile tempo at half marathon to 10k pace, but I had just gone to dinner with my attorney and finished off a Snapper Cheyenne complete with crab, shrimp and crawfish on top of linguine at Bayou City Seafood and Pasta with a couple of beers (if anyone saw my resolution not to drink during this marathon cycle, I have failed miserably at that) and I had a bowling ball in my stomach.

After a 2, make it 3 mile warm-up, I managed a mile in 6:23 before slowing again.  The next was 6:32 and the rest were above 7. 64:26 with more climb than I thought - 300+. I love Memorial Park and it is cool to see dozens of runners in the 9:00 hour.

This run was done a scant 9 hours after my late evening run Thursday. I was tight on time so went to the treadmill at the Marriott West Loop where I stayed. I wanted to get in four more tempo miles, so I did 2 up, 4 at 6:07, 6:03, 5:57, 5:49.

It was a life center treadmill and I always feel uncomfortable in the Houston humidity, so those two variables made the workout much more difficult than the treadmill at work.

Saturday - a 22 miler where I want to go 5 at 7:20, 5 at 7:05, 1 at 6:25, 5 at 6:55, 5 at 6:40 and the final mile at 6:25. We'll see if I can!!

22 mile out and back north on the Jordan River/Legacy Pwky. I left at about 3:30 and it was a little rainy and very windy going north. I think that took its toll.

1:18:55 out and 1:19:13 back for 2:38:08 total. I was going to do negative splits and two marathon pace miles but it wasn't my day. Just glad to average 7:11 and not slow down in the final miles. 75 miles is a peak week! I missed my last peak week due to hip problems so I am very glad those are behind me...for now.

Easy down through Harvard/Yale to Sugarhouse Park and back at lunch.  I didn't actually enter the park, but nearly entered the Pearly Gates when a driver at an intersection suddenly changed her mind to make a right turn and came barrelling toward me. I hopped to jump on her hood right as she stopped and about had a heart attack. It was a gray misty day but I was wearing a bright orange shirt. I was quite shaken for a bit. Threw in a few murphys on the way back.  

It was actually quite nice out after the storm had ended. 56:39 with 600 ft of climb.

Confused lost run. Plan was Yasso 800s but I wanted to execute them. I thought about not going and then ran down to East High but it says to keep out during school hours and there was someone mowing the lawn so I pushed the workout and went for a tempo. With the wind and hills, it wasn't ideal, but I went down 1500 E to Sugarhouse Park and around twice.

Tempo miles were 6:13, 5:59, 6:14, 6:16, 6:29 and 7:03. I coudn't decide whether to go 5 or 6 so I did mile 6 at a diminished yet still somewhat moderate effort given the 100ft climb during the mile. I will call this a 30k pace tempo prepping for my race next weekend, though the effort was probably slightly harder than that.

2.63 up, 2.37 down. 1:18:02 total with 800 ft of climb.

Another easy out and back up Wasatch this time. Eight eighty step murphys on the way back. One even got down to 3:45, so that's got to be about all out. 56:04 with 600ft of climb.

McCarthey track Yasso 8x800 in 2:45, 2:48, 2:50, 2:52, 2:50, 2:49, 2:48, 2:45. Shorter rest of 200 meters (about a minute) except a 400 after the fourth interval. Tough on shorter intervals. Track was empty. Felt good but I didn't appreciate the wind going north in particular. Pressed for time so warm-up was 1.65 and cool was 1.75.

59:28 total with 400 ft up on the way back.

Easy out and back up Emigration. Had the urge to throw in a fast mile going down the canyon and did mile 4 in 5:14 with 150 ft descent (though into the wind). 49:19 with 800 ft of climb. My legs haven't felt heavy with the recent high mileage.

I didn't have the idea to run the SL Marathon until yesterday as part of my training run. Looking at the weather, I had rain in the morning or wind in the afternoon so I chose the rain.

I started at Liberty Park and met up with the runners at Sugarhouse Park. I found myself right in the 7:20 pace crowd and stuck with that. I ran on the course from all the way to about 600 E and 1400 S before splitting off back to my car. It was very fun though I felt guilty getting encouragement from the crowd and having legs with almost 3 miles less on them than the runners I picked off throughout. Nice steady pace.

Garmin splits: 8:00, 7:41, 7:29, 7:23, 7:26, 7:41, 6:49, 6:50, 7:11, 7:26, 7:21, 5:33 (.79 split or 7:02 pace), 7:18, 7:11, 7:20, 7:34, 7:17, 7:18, 7:07, 7:14, 7:16, 7:17, 7:01, 7:32 for the last .45. 2:50:03 total.

The course has more climb, but I actually really liked the modified second half. Not that long boring 500 E route. There is also something to not being in the race that made it incredibly serene; almost surreal. The course wasn't an enemy to conquer and I had a sunny disposition throughout.

Soaked and cold but satisfied and confident about my race in a month!

Easy run up City Creek Canyon from the Avenues with White. We did 3 quick miles down the canyon - 6:14, 6:08 and 5:54 with 190 descent avg. 1:31:08 total with 1000+ft of climb.

Beautiful morning. I am encouraged by how good my legs feel today after the long run yesterday.

2 up, 5 mile tempo, 2 down. Ran up to Wasatch and out to the mouth of Parleys. Tempo splits were 6:06 (net 62ft down), 6:09, 6:09, 6:13, 6:25 (net 63 ft up). Pretty good headwind going north.

I am starting to get comfortable running in the low 6s. Easy to do in the crocs. Calves a bit sore today. 61:37 total with 700 ft of climb.

Easy run on the BST behind work. Kind of easy - included 1200+ ft of climb (1539 on the runkeeper). There is a 250 ft climb over .39 miles just north of Red Butte road that was a blast. 59:28 total. Tired of the cold wind.

I ran in my Brooks shoes which are my most supportive shoe. I usually run these with no support in my Merrell Trail Gloves so this was an experiment in extremes. I really prefer no support and I felt wobbly navigating the rocky trails with the foam underfoot.

4x2 miles at half marathon pace with 400 jog recoveries. Went to McCarthey track at the U. Splits were 12:14 (6:05, 6:09); 12:14 (6:04, 6:10); 12:15 (6:08, 6:07) and 12:15 (6:10, 6:05). 1.75 up, 1.5 down. 1:22:04 total.

Felt good. A little tired on the last one. 10 mph wind wasn't fun but served to cool me down.

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Very easy miles down to Guardsman and around that block twice. 57:33 with 600ft of climb. Everything is good.

Up at 6! Easy 4 miler with 1 at goal race pace tomorrow. Went to West High and ran 9 laps with about 30-40 girls. Not sure if they are all West affiliated or what but they weren't the track team...29:53 total with 150ft of climb.

Beautiful morning for a race. I got there at 7:25 (started at 7:30), so no warm-up; a short jog and some jostling about. Unfortunately, the big three were there, so no chance at a top three finish. The goal was sub 1:58 and must have goal was 2:00.

I've never run this far this fast, so it was a perfect tune up for running the Ogden Marathon. I didn't have any leg pain so I think the pace was righ. This is an out and back course with rolling hills and a slight incline from miles 7-10 of 150-200 ft. Total climb of 386. Splits were: 

1. 6:10
2. 6:20
3. 6:17
4. 6:22
5. 6:18
6. 6:29
7. 6:39
8. 6:31
9. 6:27
10. 6:26
11. 6:14
12. 6:22
13. 6:40
14. 6:24
15. 6:28
16. 6:25
17. 6:34
18. 6:25
19. 4:11 (.64; 6:32 pace)

45 minutes recovery from home through Marmalade, down N Temple/2nd Ave, north on B to Bonneville road, round and down Memory Grove back to N Temple and home. No soreness. I picked up the pace for a moment and my legs announced they were fatigued. 72 degrees when I finished. 650ft of climb.

Marathon pace tempo; averaged 6:23.6 for the tempo.

From work around Hogle Zoo south on Wasatch to "Graffiti Rock" or whatever it's called in Parleys along the BST and back. Looked like this on runkeeper (third column net chg in elevation):

1	7:23	-155
2	6:16	-72
3	6:25	32
4	6:19	-9
5	6:18	-49
6	6:28	44
7	6:24	14
8	6:25	-31
9	6:34	61
10	8:28	182

950 ft total climb including about 700 ft during the tempo with rolling hills. 66:57 total time.

It was a tough workout, but I never felt like I was pushing it hard to hit the splits. Feeling strong, confident and ready.

I had no time to run during lunch today so I ran after I got home. I felt pretty lethargic and dragged myself to the West High track. It was windy and my legs were feeling some cumulative fatigue. For some reason, I felt like running 100s which I never do. I did four of them with 300m rest in between in 14.5-15.5. I felt a little pain in my right knee so I stopped messing around and slowly finished the run. 47:06. 

I am getting a Garmin 610 refurb this week. I am tired of my 205.