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Easy miles in Bear Lake from cabin up Hodge's canyon in back. 7:26 average 44:51 total. A few accelerations. I have some psoas pain on both sides.

Race tomorrow!

Not as much fun as I had hoped. I found out Saturday they were giving out some Altras and thought that might attract some runners. I was right when I got my packet and saw Walter signing up. The next morning Steve was there as well. The course is technically 1100 feet up but that's really a net elevation climb. It is a series of steep rollers for 9.5 of the miles starting at about mile 1.5. Garmin has it at 2,017 and my eyeballing of the hills puts it at least 1700 ft up. It was a very tough course.

I also didn't have a strong effort in me. I don't really want to list excuses but foremost would be a lack of competitive fire. I don't mean to take anything away from Walter or Steve. They are both still faster than me and had run a half on Saturday/long run on Sunday respectively. I am not disappointed in my time or place, but my effort. Steve pointed out the altitute and that's the first time I think I've ever felt it and knew that what I was feeling was the altitude. I couldn't seem to get a satisfying breath - like there wasn't enough oxygen to breathe! Highest point was 6,917.

It was a nice overcast morning but it was a bit humid which made it feel warmer in my warm up. When we started, my watch was locked so I had to wait a bit for it to unlock and missed perhaps the first .05. Even with that, my Garmin measured it at 13.23 total in 1:34:10. Stayed within contact of the leaders for most of the time, but fell back when they started busting out sub 5s on the steep downhill. Not sure what the official time is yet. I am counting the three GAP miles sub 6:20 as marathon pace effort. I was going to use my HR strap but simply forgot. Hopefully this week will be better than the last.

This tells the story best: http://www.strava.com/activities/79611816

Didn't feel like running today. Did a 30 minute recovery run after a 5 minute bike and lunge/leg swing warm up. Felt a little sore but more just tired. So perhaps the run yesterday wasn't all bad. It must have been a great work out.

I may run 30 minutes more this evening but that usually doesn't happen.

No run today :)

AM

Up at 5. Run at 5:15. Easy up memory grove and city creek. Turned around and did 1.5 in 7:45 or 5:10 average with 330 feet down. Did a few more murphys, tripped on N Temple and main, then did a 400 in 69 seconds on the west high track during mile 9. 9.38 in 70 minutes total with 800 feet up.

Legs were feeling fresh after a day off yesterday. Hopefully I can get out of this mini rut.

Lunch

Wasatch out and back. 7.02 in 50:11 minutes with 500 + ft of climb. A bit warm in the low to mid 80s.

Left from work at about 10:30 am. Went up Emigration since that's the coolest on a warm morning. Still warm in the mid 70s to low 80s. Maintained a 6:59 pace until the turn around at mile 5.5 with 700 ft up. Then turned into a headwind and back down. 6:40 pace through mile 10 (1:06:38) then 7:53 for the final mile back up to work (1:14:31 total or 6:46 avg). Total of 900 ft up. Felt strong today.

Planning a long run tomorrow at 6ish then the Alta Peruvian death dash!

AM

Sluggish run this morning. I had about a two hour window and didn't take advantage. I ran too hard the last two days perhaps. Loop from home to liberty and sugarhouse and back.1:59:53 with 700 ft up. I am still hopeful I can race well this afternoon. I have run in these Kinvara 4s 9 times and I've had 8 subpar runs in them. I am starting to wonder if it's the shoes.

PM

My first downhill dash. This is by far the best racing event in the state that I have experienced. The competition is great and the experience of PRing with each mile while having my shoes catch fire will be unforgettable. I have about a 2 inch blister on the outside of my foot because of the seem on my left shoe. The other interesting thing about this race is that most run/race in the morning and then do it again just letting the dowhill make up for any shortcomings.

The race itself. Starts just above the lodge as the road crests to a steep grade. I began running and my body immediately protested the pace. I was running with Rob, Kevin and James for the first bit and I was unsure whether I should continue the pace. By mile 1, the blister was already formed and my foot was on fire. At some point in mile 2, James passed me and I followed him through mile 3. I then passed him and chased Walter who was not flying down the hill like I would have guessed. I almost got him but ran out of road - I later learned he was dealing with some sort of upper body distress and each step was hurting him pretty bad. Splits were 4:53, 4:57, 5:03, 4:58 and 4:41 for the last near mile. I think - don't have my Garmin now. My feet were on fire, but otherwise it wasn't painful. Afterward, there was a great awards ceremony, dinner and hot tub. The goal was sub 5 every mile so disappointed by mile 3. Very fun evening and nice to officially meet a few more bloggers.

Easy afternoon run. I love running after a rain fall, but it was a bit humid. The right quad is more sore than the left which may be due to running on the right side of the road. Ran up the hill around the capitol up bonneville rd down memory grove along north temple and four laps of the west high track including the final in 90 seconds just to make sure I wasn't broken. 51:56 with 400 ft up.

Ran at 5pm from home around down town. Nice evening - warm but not hot. I still have a lot of the race in my legs and the 8:30 pace feels just fine right now. Did two laps at west and there was a med crew in lanes 1-3 camped out in a cart. Nice folks. 52:41 total with minimal hills.

Treadmill run at work. With my legs feeling much better today, I put some real running shoes on instead of the crocs. The Kinvara 4s have been correlated with some poor runs lately so I thought I would give them a try on the speedy treadmill workout.

Mile 1 6:40-6:08 pace (6:32). Mile 2 6:00. Mile 3 5:56. Mile 4 5:52. Mile 5 5:49. Mile 6 5:45 (this feels a little fast). Mile 6-9 5:49. Mile 10 5:46-5:35 pace and 5:00 pace for the last .2. 60:06 total at a 1 incline. Felt strong except mile 6 which felt like work for a bit.

The blister woke up at mile 7 and then popped without pain so that should no longer be a concern.

Easy wasatch out and back at lunch. 62:16

AM

5 am - 2 up, 8 at marathon pace 2 down. Splits were 6:04.9, 6:03.4, 5:59.6, 6:04.3, 6:19.6, 6:18.4, 6:29.3, 6:12.3. 6:11.5 average.

I went through Swedetown and across an industrial road and up redwood road. This is a very flat run. When I was close to Redwood and I-215, I turned around 3 miles into the tempo in case I got stuck at the railroad crossing. When I turned around I faced a nice headwind, which meant the first 3 were a tail wind. Mile 4 was going south and it got worse going east for miles 5 to mile 6.6. I then turned north up beck street until mile 7.4 and then back into the headwind for the final .6. Miles six and 7 were also slightly net up hill. Overall, satisfied with the run and the effort. 6:39 total average.

Wore crocs because they are fast and my other fast shoes caused me the massive blister last Saturday. Also wore some new compression shorts and they were great.

Lunch

Another marathon pace tempo - 2 up 5 MP, 2 down. This time down hill like the last half of St. George. My co-worker dropped me off a bit up Emigration. I warmed up 2 miles going up and then turned around and ran down to Guardsman. Started raining at mile 4 and I got pretty wet. Turned into a bit of a progression but with varying down hill so the effort felt about even. 5:51.7, 5:48, 5:41.6, 5:36.8, 5:29.2 for an average of 5:41.5. Net dowhill was 138, 132, 147,145 and 175 respectively. 6:38 average for the run.

I have been looking forward to this double. Was going to do it earlier in the week but I was recovering from the Alta Peruvian. That race did have a benefit - it makes running 5:40 feel not so bad. The crocs are very fast and I need to run a similar pace in my Kinvaras to get comfortable for the marathon. The blister got bigger this morning and bigger still at lunch. It's now a 2 inch circle spreading under foot.

Easy miles at lunch. U of U wandering. Saw pretty much all of the campus north of 500 S. Blister feels ok. Otherwise, felt fine but took it very easy. 58:30 total or 8:22 pace.

Drove down to Orem with Fritz to meet the Utah county crew. Matt, Scott, Mike, Zak and Reed. I warmed up .5 then 10 miles up the canyon at a decent clip (7:06 with net 800 ft up). Then we split up and I did an 8 mile tempo back down the canyon with Reed. Splits were 5:31, 5:54, 5:51, 6:07, 5:54, 5:59, 6:05 and 6:06; 5:56 avg. 2:32:29 total for the run - 6:47 avg.

I had planned on doing 10 at marathon pace but I had to start working to hold pace in the last mile. I probably still had a bit of Thursday's tempos in my legs.

My first time doing the canyon run and I got lost being alone going back into the neighborhoods and tacked on two miles of wandering around. I even got to jump a fence. Nice morning and a good crew. 

Easy run with Fritz around the Avenues and up City Creek. I miscalculated how far up City Creek we needed to go and we ran too long but on the plus side the last bit up was the most beautiful. About a 7:32 average. Lovely morning.

Went to the Grand America Sunday brunch after with the family and now I am succumbing to a coma.

After 65 miles in four days and a lot of hills I did a recovery run just south of my office. I tried to avoid the hills, but they found me. 50:11.

No running today. Bad stomach bug hit three of four family members. Hopefully tomorrow is a better day.

Not the week I was hoping for. I was feeling better by yesterday midday but it was the kind of day where I didn't have a break. I had my son with me at work all day so couldn't do a lunch.

Lunch

Treadmill today so kind of blah but I want to integrate my last big workout into Saturday's long run so I needed to do something harder than easy but easy to recover from today. I moved from 6:40-5:56 pace within the first mile and to 5:45 for mile 2. Miles 3-7.45 were at 5:42. I felt better than before at that pace and not at all labored with the fresh legs but the treadmill disagreed and died on me.

Back on at 5:56 pace for the final 16:20 of the run. 10.2 in 60 minutes total at a 1 incline.

PM

At about 7:45, I ran from home to west high. I was feeling speedy so I did a 1600 in 5:38. Was going to go 30 minutes but ran too fast. 4.3 in 23:35 or a 6:39 average.

Lunchtime Wasatch out and back in 1:03:39. Wonderfult temps but got warmer as the run progressed. Felt strong.

Went down to Orem again with Fritz and Nate. Met up with a big crew (Fritz, Scott, Zak, Matt, Mike, Brandon, Chad, Chad's friend, Toni, Reed, Nate and Jeff) and did 8 up and back Provo Canyon. 7:00 pace on the way up and the splits on the way back were 5:32, 6:04, 5:41, 5:53, 5:52, 5:57, 6:03 and 6:05; 5:53 avg all solo. I felt strong throughout though the last mile was a little harder to stay on pace. Ran .5 before the group and 1.5 as a cool down for a total of 18 in 1:58:45 or 6:36 avg.

I have really appreciated these last two Saturday runs. Good confidence builders before the race and its nice to get to know the guys a bit. Best news is that I feel great right now.

Easy with Fritz from Highland around Holladay. Beautiful morning. Did 1 extra mile to try out the new paved path at Sugarhouse Park. Very nice.

Emigration out and back in 43:49. Since my Kinvara 4s may be cursed, I bought some fast witch shoes to take them for a spin. Size 10 is a bit snug but I will wear them a few times this week before deciding what to do. They did feel fast - like riding on a broomstick I think. Did two 6:00 miles down the canyon.

Another first today was the mega crunch salad with a bite from trader joes. It has a cilantro dressing but luckily the bite was much more prominent than the cilantro. So it's a welcome addition to my salad rotation. Salad 220 calories - dressing 300 calories. I think about 80 calories stayed in the cup and on the lid.

Another Emigration out and back. Inserted 6x2 minutes at half marathon effort with 2 minute recoveries. Averaged 5:54 in three intervals going up the canyon and 5:10 coming back down. Slight headwind going down. HR checks were in the 160s so I think the effort was right. A total of 2.2 miles of speed in 5:32 avg. Total of 59:02 or 7:02 pace the run.

Shoes are still fast and still too snug. In addition to my pinky toes getting squished in and numbing a slight bit, I felt some contact on the big toes on the way down and I don't want anything to do with that.

5:45 am run. 45 minutes to and up memory grove and back. Cool but not cold.

I got a new pair of fast witch shoes last night. I had to drive to Sandy to get them and they're orange, but they'll do. They feel right.

It's a parade.

2x5k@ MP, 2k up, 2k down, 1k recovery between. Wasatch out and back. Last workout.

First 5k splits were 6:00 (120 ft down), 6:08, 6:06 and 6:22 for the last bit slight uphill. 18:51 total with net downhill of 80 feet. 18:51 5k.

Second 5k splits were 5:58, 6:08, 6:22 (150 ft up) and 5:44 for the last bit downhill. 19:04 total with net uphill of 80 feet.

Felt strong the entire time, but was working to get up that last long hill behind the zoo. I am starting to learn to separate my breathing from my legs. Just because my breathing is hard on a hill, it doesn't mean I have to slow down if my legs still feel snappy. 61:23 total with about 700 ft up.

Easy at lunch in the light rain. I dressed too warm yesterday and I was freezing today. Down to the U track and around for about two miles. 46:33 total.

Highland run with Fritz and Nate. We ran to Jake's tempo loop. After Fritz gave us a tour, we did a fast 5k. My splits were 5:20.2, 5:21.8, 5:35.3 and 37.8 for .11. 16:55 for a 5k or 5:26.4 pace. I needed this for a confidence builder. I felt strong but could no longer hold sub 5:30 pace about 2.5 in. I never felt like I was truly maxing out and my legs felt ok throughout but I was a bit labored breathing. Felt fresh afterward and really enjoyed this run. It was so cold at 8am.

Garmin shows its a very honest loop.

Big crew turned out for a 9am run today. Jake, Andrea, James, Allie, Kevin, Fritz, Steve, Nate, Paul? and Seth. Easy loop from Highland. My time was 1:13:53.

Super excited for Saturday. A+ goal is 2:37:11 which is one second under a six minute pace. Must have goal is 2:39:59. I am going up on Wednesday and will stay in a condo in Green Valley. Hopefully the national parks will be open.

Off day. Stretching and PT routine. Weather prediction was 80/50 and is now 77/53. No chance of rain and not much wind. Let's get that low temperature down!