Welcome

AM

I wanted to do a 2x1600, 1200, 800, 400 ladder that I missed while recovering last week. I don't have a great attitude right now - I think Ragnar sapped my soul and my legs a bit. I got up early and warmed up to the West High track and met James there. When I'd run 20 minutes, I couldn't fathom running fast but I tried a 1600. It was no fun at all. I hit 5:33 on the auto lap but that was 3-4 seconds behind the 1600 marker so high 5:30s. My legs felt really lethargic and I just wanted to saunter about. I worked with James on two of his 800s in the 2:55 region and that was all I had. 10 total miles.

Lunch

Went at 12:30 to get some distance from the morning workout. Since my will is weak, I thought perhaps I could get a second rate workout on the treadmill at work. Warmed up two and then did 5x1 mile at "5:00" pace (I think of it as 5:20) with about .25 rests. Added a little for the slow treadmill. Cooled down about 1.75 for 9.85 in 60 minutes. Calling it 9.5.

Each interval was hard but they didn't feel progressively harder and I recovered quickly. No soreness and breathing wasn't labored so I know I am getting strong despite my erratic training schedule.

AM

8 with James in the AM plus a six minute warm up. We did two down 11th to Memory Grove in 11:43. I forgot my watch so I was carrying my phone and Strava has no clue how to calculate pace but that's when James's watch beeped.

Lunch

Dry creek out and back solo. High 80s and dusty out on the trail.I tripped three times! going uphill! so my focus must have been missing. I generally trip once every few months. I also had an unrelenting stomach bubble that became unbearable on the downhill and never resolved itself duing the run. So dehydrated with stomach pains and scuffs on both hands and legs. Super run! about 9:05 pace

AM

Nice morning run in mid 70s weather in the 6 am hour. I had one very slow gear of about 8:30 the entire way so I wasn't able to get in 10 like I planned. I got a massage from Tim last night and did some nice flushing this morning. Muscle-wise of course.

Took my family to Fritz's family cabin for the 4th. Out and back on the dirt road leading to the cabin along the south shore if Lake Hebgen. You don't realize it while driving but there are three good hills over five miles giving you 800 ft of ascent total. 6800 ft elevation and I was sucking air for the first mile but settled down. Averaged 7:08.

Numerous lake soaks thereafter.

Fun local race in Island Park, ID. I guess Fritz runs it pretty much every year. We took too much time getting coffee and I misunderstood the directions and with poor cell reception for directions we didn't arrive until 9:03 after the kids K was about to start. Fritz's mom was waiting with our packages and we jumped out, got one bib pin on Charlie and were off. He was huffing and puffing pretty good but not moving very fast. He was 25th of 25 boys at 7:48 not quite catching the 4 yr old ahead so we have a benchmark.

The 5k, 10k and half lined up together and I was about five rows back with Fritz. I wound around all the runners and settled into a pace that was ultimately quite slow. Jacob Howell, who won Hobble Creek in sub 65 last year, settled in with me. Very nice kid. I was sucking air in search of oxygen and he was jogging effortlessly. We passed a high school kid right at the turnaround and then Jacob slowly parted ways. With no one behind me, I didn't push hard but I didn't feel as though I had much more to give anyhow. This is an out and back with more than 500 ft of hills with about 3 miles of road and the rest dirt. Splits 6:13, 6:44, 6:34, 6:21, 6:04, 6:12, 6:26, 6:32, 6:45, 6:54, 7:12, 6:37, 6:45.

For finishing 3 of 37 men, I collected my first money prize ever. Six rolls of golden dollar coins. Fritz PR'd on the course I think and ran really well without competition.

Spent the afternoon at Yellowstone Park with my family. A really nice day overall.

Last day at Lake Hebgen. Ran the fire road with Fritz, which he says is about 1200 ft up. We maintained a decent pace up and then bombed one of the downhill miles. Fritz said here that we were racing but he of course could've lost me at any point. Lovely farewell view of the lake at the top. I loved running on the soft unpacked earth. It was essentially 8 miles of running across a meadow. Averaged in the 7:20s.

AM

6 at 7:15 pace with James along the JRP. More gnats out today. These shoes are 7.2 ounces and they have no fabric tears in the upper with 435 miles. Some shoe companies should do so well.

Lunch

6.6 at 8:50 pace with Adam along the BST in the high 80s. Sucked.

10-15x1 minute hills. Did this in the 4 pm hour at work on the treadmill. I was going to go AM but I didn't plan it. Had time at lunch but the treadmill was blocked. 15 minute warm up. Then 1 minute at 11 mph (5:45-5:50 pace?) and 6 incline and then slow, rest, accelerate during the cool down minute. Made for short rests. This was hard but not too hard. I didn't feel very determined and 10 seemed like plenty. Cooled down 14 minutes or so (7.21 total but adjusting for slow treadmill). Saw Brasil's only goal as I ran.

I believe I am in an official rut. My goals don't motivate me and I have no desire to run hard. I am going to keep trying through the end of the week but if I don't feel much better come Sunday night, I might scale things back a bit to get a bit more balance. Might actually taper a bit more for the Des News marathon rather than try to train through it.

AM

8 easy on the memory grove loop with James. Not feeling spry today but not bad. 7:43 pace

PM

5.4 on the treadmill (5.54 actual) with 10x1 15 second strides at "12mph." Felt good. 39:30ish total.

AM 

Plan was 2-3x3 mile at marathon pace. I decided to do these at Liberty Park with Adam H. I warmed up aboiut 1.3 there and did 1.5 miles at 6:00 pace before bumping into Adam. Jogged 1/2 a mile with him then 3 at 6:01, 5:58, 5:50. Then 1/2 mile recovery jog then 1.5 at 5:59 pace or so. 

So I was stuck at 6:00 pace and I didn't do exactly what I wanted but it was an ok workout for where I am right now. Warm and humid in the low 70s with a light rain at times. Adam is a stud for pulling out 4.5 at 6:00 pace off very little training and no speed. And I am a dud.

AM

10 with James along the parkway. Lots of gnats. He took me on a tour of his hood. Lovely. 7:31 pace

Nice 7am run with Kotter and Jake from HHS up to Popperton and back. Did the sacred grove loop. 70s during the run. Run felt efortless but I wasn't feeling snazzy at all. 7:15 pace with 1,200 ft of ascent

HHS loop with Allie and Fritz. Lots of exploration.

AM 

Six very easy on the parkway with James. 8:00 pace. 8:00 adjusted. That's it for today.

Lunch

I did 5x3:15 at 5:00 pace on the treadmill at work. I brought the elevation up to 2.5 on the first rep then 3 for the last 4 reps. That made it closer to true 5:00 effort. 2 minutes jogging recovery. Sort of a primer for Draper Days on Saturday. I was going to do 6 but 5 felt like enough. Warmed up 3 and cooled down about 2.5.

AM

8 with James on the aves loop. 8 strides on the way back.

Lunch

5.7 in 40:00 going up emigration and back. Strong headwind going down the canyon. Headwinds are typical after Ruth's but hopefully they ease up by next Thursday.

AM

Medium long run from house up city creek and back. Did 5 at 5:26 with a 1000 ft drop on the way back. 1:29:48 total with 1200 ft up. Felt really good. Beautiful morning.

AM 

Easy along the parkway with James. Pleasant weather and we got to discuss personal jurisdiction. 7:29 pace. No noon run. 5k tomorrow!

I've never run this race but this year was a modified course so no one has technically run this. I warmed up running the course with Fritz which was helpful in knowing what was coming up. We finished the warm up just five minutes before the start. Lots of folks there as can be expected.

First mile was 5:16 and I wasn't feeling very spry. Second mile I tried to accelerate but lost pace after turning north on Font St. From about 1.75 on, I fell back to marathon pace. Mile 2 was 5:20. After turning onto the trail, I saw 6:05 on my watch and felt pretty pathetic. I tried to speed up to stay with an Alta runner but I had no kick. Mile 3 was 5:55 and 5:21 pace to finish.  Not sure about place but I think I was 2nd in my age group behind Nate Hornock. Cooled down with a big group.

This is about 30 seconds slower than my January PR and only 10 seconds faster than the Law Day 5k and Running for Relief that have much more ascent. So, I'm not in a great place running. Just sort of flat and going through the motions. Hopefully a few days off and some pampering and I can still run a 2:40 marathon on Thursday.

First day off in three weeks.

AM

Parkway with James. No watch. Windy running south. I might get in two more at lunch on the mill with some stretching or the like. Hoping to get some life back into the legs.

Lunch

2 on the treadmill with some strides. Then some stretching and hip stuff. Cooled down on the stationary bike.

Half mile easy, 2 at 11:55, half easy. Felt ok but warm. Will need to stay hydrated today and tomorrow during the race with the forecast in the low 70s throughout.

Goal was 3rd overall and a 2:40. I also didn't want to go into suffer mode and have a long recovery. With the wind in the first 6 and the heat in the city, this ended up being closer to marathon effort than I wanted. 1:18:30 first half on schedule but almost a 1:28 second half. More later.

There was a pretty considerable wind storm on Big Mountain about 15 minutes before the start. The wind was blowing from the south. I thought it would be a nice cooling wind but it was a bit of a problem. It wasn't constantly hard but it was constant and was also a problem going up little mountain and for the final few miles in emigration canyon. I felt pretty good for the first while but not super. Goal was 5:35s for 1-4 and they were 5:15 (I swear it was the easiest mile ever and it was hard to let Jon, Fritz and two others go), 5:34, 5:37, 5:52. Ultimately right on. I was trying to focus on a light footfall and not burning out my quads. For 5-8, there was the last down mile then up to little mountain at 5:54, then 6:13, 6:56 and 6:32 (this one was half up summiting little mountain/half down). 

Then the emigration canyon miles. Thought here was 5:55 average. There is an unfun out and back just after the start of the half that breaks the stride a bit. 5:45, 6:13 (out and back), 5:55, 5:58 for 9-12. These were slightly slow as they are the steeper miles and I felt like 5:55 wasn't going to happen. In fact, no more miles in the 5s after this. 6:05 for mile 13 and 1:18:30 for the half. This was right on target because I ran up little mountain a little too fast. Clearly the 6:05 is an alarm because I want to be under 6:00 at this point but this was the start of the next headwind as well. 14-16 down the canyon were into a headwind and came in at 6:05, 6:03, 6:02 (this one included the initial climb up east of the zoo so again climbing too fast). 

Now the canyon is over and it's after 7:00 and the sun is warming things up. The wasatch miles 17-19 are where things were no longer easy. 6:15, 6:31, 6:08 (back down foothill and I am unable to accelerate).

Now my legs are done and I wonder whether its worth it to finish the marathon if it's going to set my training back. I can obviously blame the heat and not adjusting pace in the first half, but I also wonder whether no runs over 15.5 since June 7 caught up to me.  6:37 for mile 20 down foothill and 7:25 for mile 21 with 72 ft up - I am unwillling to try to push the pace and just let my legs dictate. 6:30 for mile 22 with 195 ft down to 1300 east. That's the last of the 6s. 23-26 going down 1300 E, down S Temple, down 300 E and then the strange 200 E and back (why separate us from the other runners?) were 7:08, 7:08, 7:12, 7:36. Final .26 on the garmin was 1:53 or 7:10 pace. Done.

Clearly slowing down in a marathon is no fun but I am fine with this result. It was a tough day and it was warm and I didn't fall apart completely.  Enjoyed a nice ice bath at the finish and enjoyed catching up with others.

A million congratulations to Fritz for an amazing 2:26. Last December, he said he'd rather run in 80 degree weather than 30 after CIM. He proved it today with a gutsy performance. He continues to be my favorite local hero.

Much more sore than my past two marathons. Will have to have at least three full days rest I think. Lots of walking this weekend hopefully.

AM

6 on the parkway with James and his friend. Legs felt good. A little soreness on the right side but nothing of concern. They were pretty much back yesterday when we hiked to Cecret Lake but I think three full days was needed. 7:4x pace

Lunch

15 mt warm up on the stationary bike. Stretching, PT and core stuff with six treadmill hill blasts mixed in. 10 mt cool down.

Lunch

Wasatch out and back in the light rain. It felt quite lovely. Wore crazy shoes to avoid foot soaking. Legs felt good but a few niggles. 7:23 pace

AM

11th ave loop with James. Nice cool morning though a bit humid. I was a bit dehydrated at the end. 7:45 pace for 8 miles

 Lunch

7.4 on the BST with Adam. Cool, humid and windy. I had a nice trip and my left hip hurts which brings back awful memories. Massage tonight.

Lunch

9 with Adam on a Wasatch out and back. 80 degrees or so. Feeling pretty good right now. Massage last night was agonizing. 7:42 pace