Welcome

Lunch

8.5 Wasatch out (into the wind) and back (with the wind!). Chilly. No workout today. In addition to the weather, my stomach was unhappy with all I ate this morning including two eggs not 30 minutes before running.

PM

4.5 on the treadmill right after work. February 19 was my last treadmill run other than at physical therapy :)

4-3-2-1 miles at marathon effort with 4-3-2 minutes rest or so. The forecast said no precip so the snow for two hours before the run and the first three miles of the run was a surprise but it wasn't sticking and didn't affect anything.

After a two mile warm-up, I did the same four mile stretch from Research Park over the hill and down Wasatch at 6:03 (flat), 6:09 (75 up), 5:46 (75 down) and 5:49 (7 up). Felt ok. Then return to 1300 S and back to the end of Wasatch at 5:55 (7 up) 5:58 (even but 30 up/down in it) and 5:58 (7 down). Now I was more tired than I wanted to be. Then back to 1300 S and a shorter turn south at 5:58 (13 down) and 6:08 (25 up). I am tired and working now. Last mile was returning toward the zoo with 30 ft down then 60 ft up. I was very tired and managed a 6:14. 5:59.5 avgerage. Almost 2 mile cool down back to work.

Not a bad work out and not far off marathon pace but almost a blow up at the end. I attribute it to a tough workout, sub-optimal weather (wind not snow) and high mileage recently (187 miles over the last 14 days). Also running my easy stuff too fast including 6:40 pace on the treadmill yesterday evening.

I may reduce miles slightly this week to be fresh for Saturday. Maybe even Friday off!

Recovery pace (8:26) with Adam in the trails above work at lunch. I feel awesome today.

Easy AM miles up memory grove. I threw in 6x80 step murphys. That's it for the day! Lowest weigh in!

Signed up for a Community Supported Agrigulture share yesterday. Looking forward to fresh produce and eggs for 25 weeks. Now is the time to sign up.

Rode down with Fritz. The buses were late and I used a honey bucket so I was only able to warm up about .65. Plan was 10 at marathon pace and race to the finish. Did what I intended but the last 3 were slower than I wanted and I missed my pr by 9 seconds. Feeling confident notwithstanding. 5:56, 5:44, 5:46, 5:46, 5:45, 5:44, 5:46, 5:48, 5:56, 5:47, 5:44, 5:42, 5:42 and 29 to finish (4:55 pace). Strava tells me my effort on 11-13 was 5:38 so that's probably the right effort.

Afterward, I picked up some Asics Hyper Speed 6 shoes from Ken and Janae Richardson of utahrunning.com. I have joined their elite team and I will have a little bit of gear for Boston. I will test out the shoes to make sure I am comfortable for Boston but was pleased with them doing a couple errands today.

HHS Millcreek loop with Fritz and Adam. Great weather. Felt really good. I have the same quad tinge I had after Canyonlands on the right leg covering the vastus medialis.

First run in the new Hyper Speeds and I think I will love them. 

Lunch run with Nate along BST to Wasatch. Nice views but windy. 7:56 pace

Lunch

BST to 11th Ave via Popperton. A few strides. 7.6 total. Getting warmer.

8-9 mile marathon pace progression (start slower than/finish faster than). I decided to take it easier on myself and I drove down near liberty park at lunch to do the tempo around the park. 1 mile warm up then 6:07, 6:02, 5:57, 5:51, 5:46, 5:42, 5:42, 5:35. This went better than expected and my legs felt light throughout - I think it's the shoes. It was in the 70s the whole time and I was getting pretty dehydrated by the end of it. 1.2 down. Tapering is awesome.

Lunch - 8.9 easy along BST to emigration canyon and up. In the 60s with some wind going down the canyon.

Lunch run up to devonsure with Fiddy and Nate. 60s and sunny (maybe into the low 70s - it was warm).

Boston accuweather prediction is now 68! (52 two days ago)

Well organzized local 5k that Fritz introduced me to. In Canyon Rim so it has about 190 ft of hills but starting an ending in the same spot. Splits we'e 5:36, 5:29, 5:36 and 36 to finish (.14 on the watch at 4:36 pace). Felt good though the hills take it out of you so the last mile isn't as fast as it should be.  Did another 18:00 5k on the way back to HHS. Feeling really good.

Won an entry into the Law Day 5k in the raffle and a year supply of frozen burritos. 

Liberty park 11th ave loop with Fritz, Allie, $20 for a few and Murphy for a liberty lap. Still feeling great. I might throw some MP stuff into a shorter run tomorrow am. Still trying to decide. Was going to be 13 w/5-6 @ MP but that doesn't seem right.

9 on the treadmill at work at the end of the day. Did 5 at 5:42-5:30 (+15 seconds for slow mill). Did an extra .25 to get an honest 5. Felt good. Heat acclimation with the lack of ventialtion in there.

Red Butte Skyline Nature Trail from work to Dry Creek and one mile up then back to work along the BST. First day off in nearly a month tomorrow!

In New York. Got an early checkin and I was able to go out around 1:00. Wasn't sure how I would feel after a red eye but everything felt great. Did a four mile tempo when I hit Central Park in 5:48, 5:57 (big hill on northwest corner), 5:45, 5:40. It felt really easy and it's going to be hard to hold back come Monday.

Last day in New York. Another Central Park loop. This time more direct. Tried to go slow but still averaged 7:00. I even had a lunch bomb at Frankie's Spuntino and was burping up the radishes with white anchovies sauce the whole time but I still couldn't run slow. Also bumped in to an old friend from San Francisco so that was pretty random.

On to Boston tomorrow morning with another day off!

In Stoneham. Nice quick jaunt down Main Street. Two at 5:55 and 5:53. I was a little groggy and never fully warmed up. Good reminder to go out easy tomorrow.

In my hotel room and my wife is reading a book so I might as well spill this out while it is fresh in my mind. I was talking to my wife about this race and I started to realize the things I think went well and how important it is to put those things down for me to remember and to share with others. I set a goal of 2:35 shortly after the St. George Marathon. I really enjoyed that race but it left me wondering what I could do without PEDs (performance enhancing downhill from Kevin). I thought that just getting another 2:36 on a more honest course after a solid block of training would be a good accomplishment so I set a goal of a 100 second PR.

Pre race. In addition to the normal routine of banana, bagle+pb&j, coffee with almond milk and gatorade to sip on (had it at 5:15 which was much more than three hours pre-race) I had a power bar and a gatorade pre race lime that were given out at the village.I met up with James, Kevin and Kevin's crew and hung out until we were called. The village was great - not cold and I kept movement to a minimum - Kevin knew of a place where the crowds were slightly less intense. A long walk to the start had me singing the final count down for several minutes. The sun was warm on my back after I shed my prerace sweats and I decided I would need to keep cool and hydrate. After the elites were introduced, the race started right on time and we were off.

Plan was to run over 6 for the first 3. Off the starting line, I was struggling to slow down with the people all around me going gangbusters. I successfully got myself over 6 by the end of the mile and it felt like a leisurely run. I took water at the first aid station, sipped a little and doused the rest on my back. I decided to take water for three stations and gatorade every fourth station with most of the water going on my head and back. I also decided to go with my original plan rather than stay at 6 because I was feeling good and I dropped the pace little by little. First three were 6:01, 5:56, 5:50 (18:31 5k; 5k splits are based on BAA results which had me about 9 seconds behind the clock at the start). Somewhere around this point, I tucked in behind a crew of 6-7 BAA runners thinking they may have my time goal. I followed them religiously and tried not to focus on pace or strategy. Next three were 5:42 (whoops), 5:58 (whats going on here) and 5:49 (ok well that's a 5:50 average so I'll take it - turns out only mile 4 was off target). Of course, my Garmin isn't matching the mile markers and when I hit 10k at 36:49 (18:18), I decided to abandon the BAA crew (I wanted 18:05s). Mile 7 was overzealous (5:42) and then I started to get into Josh's marathon groove. Running the effort I wanted and feeling good just cruising (5:49, 5:51, 5:48, 5:51). 15k was 54:50 so an 18:01 5k that felt really good. Somewhere during mile 9, I remembered to take a GU even though I was feeling ok (citrus). I hit 12 in a 5:41 and I was feeling good. Then those crazy Wellsley girls really gave me a good shock. They screamed so loud, I couldn't help but put out my hand for a few fives and read some of the funny signs. This was the first and last time I interacted with the crowd. My ears were ringing for a bit. 20k was still looking good at about 1:12:56 (18:06 5k) so I was happy with my splits and pacing. Mile 13 was 5:52 (a little slow and I blame the girls) and the first half was 1:16:53 (about 20 seconds above target but most of that from the intentional slow start).

It was around mile 13 that I started to feel the outside of my right quad. It didn't hurt but I knew it was going to. I dropped a salt tab (it fell apart with all the soaking so I got less than half) and two advil right at the onset of the discomfort. First three marathons, initial discomfort happened at mile 13, 15 and 19 respectively so I took this as a bad omen since Salt Lake was the only race I hit the wall in. From here on out, I knew I had to be mentally tough and execute the strategy to carry me to the finish without falling apart. 14-16 were 5:50, 5:54 and 5:40 (big downhill) so four consecutive miles where I knew I was falling off pace but just slightly.  I was afraid my fastest splits were behind me but I kept drinking water and splasing myself and racing.  25k was 1:31:08 or 18:12. Not great coming up to the hills but not far off. I took my second GU during mile 15 (mocha).

I felt ok on the first two hills (the uphills were actually kind of a nice break) and was encouraged to see 5:59, 5:59 for miles 17-18 (in line with a silly goal I had to not let a mile on the hills go above 6:00). I then sped down the hll in 19 and got a 5:47 which restored my confidence in running with the pain (not getting a lot worse -1:49:34 for 30k or 18:26). After running 5:15 pace during this mile, my left quad and calf both throbbed and I decided I shouldn't run that fast anymore and I should shorten my stride. Miles 20-21 were 5:59 and 6:12 and I was encouraged to be staying on target over the hills.

I'm in pain but this is Boston and now it's time to go! 5:32 for mile 22 (that was fun but I don't know if I have another one of those)! 35k in 2:08:00 or another 18:26 which was better than expected (I was no longer thinking about 5k splits at this point). I took another GU in mile 22 but I wasn't hitting all the aid stations now. I think in the last five miles, I doused myself once or twice, took one sip of gatorade and used one sponge. The crowds are thick now and the emotion carried me. 23-24 were 5:46 and 5:51. I really wanted to slow down but I realized everyone around me was in the same pain house and I threw in a surge going up the hill in mile 25. I passed maybe 10-15 runners and got a 5:53 (staying on pace is now separating me). 40k was 2:26:16 or an 18:16. Still hurting but carried by emotion, I threw in another surge in mile 26 and passed another handful of guys and got a 5:50. I just tried to hold it together until the end and finished following a guy in but not sprinting (I tried sprinting in in Ogden on bad legs a year ago and I still have a bad glute to thank for it). Last part was 2:14 (garmin had it at 26.38 so maybe a 5:52 pace to finish - 1:17:24 second half; 2:34:17 and a 2.5 minute PR!).

I was hurting pretty bad and could barely walk the mile of tears to the Common to gather my stuff and get out of there. In the end, it was my feet that were killing me. I think the Hyper Speeds are very fast but they offer no support and my feet were sore all over. I knew I had a blister on the bottom of my left foot but they just killed and I was limping pretty good (no thanks, leave the wheel chair for someone else please).

Overall, I got what I wanted and I am happy with the result. Congratulations to all those who ran and to the city of Boston for a wonderful show of pride and perseverance. Also, a thanks to Utahrunning.com for the elite racing team invite and gear. The jersey had people screaming Go Utah! at me throughout. Finally, a big thanks to Jake for help designing my workouts on this buildup and his encouragement throughout. Definitely a big positive for me.

The strategy and the result.

Plan     Actual

*I knew the course ran long on the Garmin so I prepared to for that in my pacing strategy thus the 2:20.

No running at least through Sunday. Legs are sore but I can get around ok with no limping and climb stairs no problem. My left big toenail is going blue so I may lose that (would be my first big toenail to go from running) and I am not excited by that. My feet hurt worst - just sore all over.

Hiked with some coworkers to the living room above Red Butte. About 2.3 miles round trip. Legs are feeling much better today. Probably no soreness tomorrow.

45 minutes of spinning. Without any personal parameters entered, it said I burned more than 400 calories and rode 15 miles. Heart rate checks up into the high 120s. Listened to a Radio West podcast contending that sugar is poison and should be avoided and big food prosecuted like tobacco. 

First run since Boston. Met Nate for a BST/Wasatch run at lunch. A bit windy and cold out there but I was so excited to get in a run. Unfortunately, my left soleus bothered me throughout. It grew in intensity from maybe a 2 to a 3.5 during the run. It didn't hurt that I recall during the marathon. Nothing to be concerned about I hope. Legs weren't as spry as I expected them to be. Recovery ongoing - all easy this week.

Lunch run around the U and Guardsman. Calf went from a 0-1 after rolling it a bunch last night. Otherwise felt good not great. Windy!

Another lunch run with Nate - this time along BST and up emigration a little way. Averaging 7:40s this week. Sill feeling no better than ok.

PM

Boot camp with Fritz. I have no core strength and no upper body strength. I am still shaking an hour later. I would love to do something like this if it was after I put the boys to bed and closer to my home.