Dare to be great!

Due to the snow this moring went to the academy gym again and ran on the treadmills.  That's 3 days in a row, uggh.

I was nervous going into the run as my tempo run last Thurs. I cut short after 2 miles with a break in between the miles, and this week the plan was to run 4 straight at 10k pace.

The run turned out great.  1.5 warm up, then 4 miles at 6:39 pace, finished with a 1.5 mile cool down.

I wouldn't say it was easy, but it felt good to crank out some faster miles (faster for me anyways.) Got an easy recovery run tomorrow leading to a 14 mile progression run this weekend.  Good times, hopefully we can get rid of the snow.  I don't think I can do a long run on the treadmill.

Had a good run this morning.  I ran the course for the Saratoga Shamrock Half Marathon which is coming up in 2 weeks in Saratoga Springs.  I wanted to do a progression run with the first 7 miles at base pace then gradually increase each mile until the last mile was around my half marathon pace.  The course makes it easy to negative split with much of the uphill the first half.

The first 7 miles were as follows: 8:25,8:37,8:15,8:29,8:24,8:25,8:19  Had some good hills during these miles but tried to keep it easy and go with the flow.

Last 7 went like this:7:49,7:42,7:23,7:12,7:01,6:55,6:48  I finished the last mile running around the middle school to finish with 14.  These miles felt really smooth and the legs felt great.  It should be a great race in 2 weeks on rested legs.  AP pace for the run today was 7:50.

Last year was this was my first race in years, I am excited to see where I am now compared to last year.  My AP for the race last year was 7:33, I should be able to beat that.

Well off to go snowshoeing with the family up Hobble Creek.  Have a great day.

My work partner was picking me up for work at 6:25 this morning and my sleep loving body  only let me get up early enough to get in 6 miles this morning.  I will try to get some more miles in after work.  It is going to be a 14 hr. day.  I bundled up extra this morning.  Kind of nice checking out the stars while running this morning.  Got some solitude and a good run in.  I tried to keep a pretty even comfortable pace, I tried to push a little up the hills.  AP for the run 8:02. 

Uggh, haven't been feeling well since Monday night. Got home from work yesterday and went to sleep around 6:30. Still not feeling too hot today. I hate to miss out on training but my energy is gone. Off to bed I guess. Hopefully I can get some miles in tomorrow morning if my stomach lets me.

Finally made it out running this morning.  I haven't been feeling too hot the last two days so I decided to hit the treadmill at the gym this morning so I could run to the potty if needed.  I missed my workouts on Tue. and Wed. due to sickness.  Tue. called for 4 x1k at 5k pace, and today was 4.5 at 10k pace, with Wed. a recovery run.

I decided to mix it all together for todays run.  1.5 mile warm up then 2x1k at 6:22 pace with a lap and a half recovery in between.  Then 2.25 miles at 6:39 pace, with a 1.5 mile cool down at 8:49 pace. 

I only had to stop once about a mile into it and head to the potty.  After that I was able to get into a pretty good rythem.  It was not the easiest run today but I finished and proved to my body it can still perform even though I was not feeling the best.  Hopefully I can keep building and not be set back at all.  I was a sweaty mess when it was all said and done, feels pretty good.

Went with Laurel for today's run.  Very easy pace towards the ranches and back.  Really nice day.  Since I have the day off I will try to get to the mountains for a hike.

Looks like Chet, my training partner, is moving out this week.  If anyone is interested in getting together for Saturday long runs in northern Utah County hit me up.

Went out with Chet for his birthday run this morning.  We ran the course for the Shamrock Half marathon next weekend in Saratoga Springs.  We finished up the miles around the half mile track in the back of the middle school.  I made the mistake of eating all you can eat pasta last night.  My tummy was rumbling the first 6 miles and I had to take a pitstop then.  Chet kept running and I didn't catch back up to him until around mile 13.

I wanted to keep it pretty relaxed this morning.  I felt like I didn't have enough fuel in me for most of the run. AP for the run was 8:06.  I only pushed harder on 2 miles, mile 8 was 7:18 trying to catch back up to Chet, where did he go?  And the last mile was 7:34, I was almost feeling better at the end of the run, almost got in a groove.  I'm sure if I ate my goo I would have been fine for the run.  Anyways longest run of the year so far and my legs feel fine afterwards.  Last year I would have been sore for a while for sure about this time.  Good luck to all those racing this weekend.

Went from the house out towards the ranches by myself.  Went until the first hill in the half, pushed up the hill to get a feel for it for the race on Sat. then cruised back home.  The run felt pretty good, started to get warmed up the last few miles.  AP for the run 7:58.  Finished with 2 sets of high knees, then 1 set bounding, and 1 set no arms.

Should be a good week as I do a mini-taper for the half this weekend.  I don't want to back off too much, but want my legs to be fresh for the weekend.  It is calling for wind and rain/snow for the weekend.  Bring it.

Went out from the house today, 1 mile warm up, 1.25 miles at 7:11, 2 minute recovery, 1 mile at 6:49, 2 min. recovery, .62 miles at 6:39, 2 min. recovery, .50 at 6:22 pace, 1 mile cool down.

I was about 10 seconds off my goal pace for every one.  It was hard to find the pace with the hills and the wind, plus it was dark so I could not see my garmin.  Overall it was a pretty good run.  I almost mowed down a lady on the path with a big group of runners, everyone moved over except her, good thing I am agile on my feet.  Bob and weave, bob and weave.

3 easy miles around the neighborhood with Laurel.

Went out from the house again.  1.5 mile warm, then 4 miles tempo 7:00,7:07,7:16,7:15, finished up the run with a 1.5 mile cool down.  Went south to Neptune park then back. 

The run was not as smooth as I expected.  I attempted to do the miles at half marathon pace.  Still hard to maintain a even pace with the hills and dark.  I guess I just expected it to feel easy.  Got the half on Sat. so last real training run before the race.  Off to work....

I ran the Shamrock Half Marathon this morning in Saratoga Springs.  I got a PR by 2 seconds, YEA! The race is put on by Fleet Feet Sports in American Fork.  It is a small local race with a few hundred runners.  The course starts about 3 miles from my house.  I ran it last year and it was the first half I had run.  Last year I ran it in 139:03.

I was excited to run it this year to see my progress from last year.  The course has a few good hills in it and about 900 ft. of elevation gain.  I was planning to go out fairly easy and start pushing the pace at about the half way point.  It was nice to have a local small race as my family could cheer me on periodically along the course.  It sure was nice to see them as I ran.

My miles were as follows:

1. 7:01 this mile felt good and tried to get into a good flow without expending too much energy.  Fairly flat.

2.7:30 uphill.  Still taking it easy.

3.7:07 back downhill then flat.  Still feeling good.

4.7:56 up the long uphill.  I was not too concerned with the pace, just trying to conserve some energy for the second half.

5.7:37 more gradual uphill.  I was wanting to be somewhere in the 7:30s here so all good.

6. 7:35 dido from mile 5, still feeling pretty smooth.  Took a goo about 6.5

7. 7:21 started to push the pace here, I didn't have hardly anyone around me to push off of.

8. 7:01 feeling really good here, the course loops back and we started running opposite runners coming the other way.  I gave me a boost to cruise past people coming the other way.

9. 7:29 more gradual uphill.  I think I passed one guy here.  Two other runners were still aways up ahead.

10. 7:27 I think this is were the last big uphill is.  The wind was starting to pick up here and it took some to get up the hill with the headwind. Then down the dirtroad on the other side.  I was hoping for some faster times here, but still feeling pretty strong.

11. 6:51 starting to slowly catch the two guys in front of me, the wind was still pretty strong here.

12. 7:02 still cruising, still closing the gap on the guys up front of me.

13. 6:28 last mile, heads back down the long hill. The guys were still 100 or so yards in front and it seemed they found another gear also.

last .1 6:16 thought there was a chance to catch the guy in front of me but he must have felt me creeping up.  Saw the time on the board and knew if I pushed it I could at least beat my PR from the Halloween half last year.  Beat it by 2 seconds on a much, much harder course.  My legs are feeling really good now and last year I could hardly walk for a couple days.  I am excited for this year as it should be a really good year for me.  I actually came in third in my age group, however the two guys in front of me placed in the top 3 overall, so I got the plaque for 1st in my age group.  It was a lot of fun and I feel like I could have even pushed it more pretty easily, I was planning to have fun during the race, so I am satisfied.

I didn't have much time to run after the race on Sat.  My legs were a little sore but not very bad.  I wish I would have had more time to go for a run afterwards.  I probably only got a mile to jog afterwards.  I woke up this morning at 4:45 to go run and looked outside and saw snow on the roads and fell back asleep for an hour.  It was a long day at work and we all brought in mexican food to eat so, when I got home I ran around my block (.75 miles round trip) until I hit 6 miles.  I didn't dare go any further with the mexican food rumbling around my belly.  I am so glad I went as it felt good to get my legs running again and with all the eating and not running this morning I would have lost a lot by not running.  8:13 AP for the run.  Finished with 2 sets of high knees and 2 sets bounding.

Woke up this morning again at 4:45 to go run, looked outside and saw the ice and snow, and again went back to sleep. As luck would have it, it turned out to be a really nice day and I was able to make my way over to Liberty Park during lunch. 4 laps around the park on the wood chips. 1 lap warm up then did 3 pick-ups @ 4 minutes at 5k pace/effort, then 3 min. recovery in- between. Finished with a 2 mile cool down. Pretty good run, the soreness is leaving my legs and getting a little spring back in them. Can't wait for spring.

Went to Liberty Park again for a run around the park in the wood chips.  I just needed a nice recovery, break from work, run.  It turned out to be a really nice day outside.  3 laps around the park.  AP for the run 8:19.  It felt really good, didn't push myself at all and just enjoyed the day and the people watching. 

Ran from the office over to Liberty Park for some tempo miles.  1.5 mile warm up then 3.5 miles at 10k pace.  My garmin was all over the place at Liberty park with the trees, so I tried to keep the effort consistant.  The garmins shows my splits anywhere from 6:56 per mile to 6:32.  I was attempting to hit 6:39 per mile and I imagine I was pretty close according to how it felt.  It would jump around from low 5 pace to mid 8.  Finished up with a 1.5 mile cool down back to the office.

Another gorgeous spring day in Utah.  I am attempting to run a 10K time trial this weekend to see where I am at.  Now I got to decide on a course to run it on.

Went with Chet this morning for our annual 10K time trial.  It went better than expected for me this morning.  Definetly a PR, I got to find my time from last year, but felt really good and strong.  Started in Eagle Mountain and finished by Westlake High School.  I was hoping for at least a 6:39 pace, but finished with an AP of 6:26.  I almost beat 40 minutes, two seconds off.  I was running by myself so I bet with some competition I would have been able to be under 40 minutes.  Miles were as follows:  6:24, 6:40, 6:20, 6:19, 6:35, 6:33, last .20 6:00 I saw I was close to beating 40 min. and tried to push the last bit pretty hard.

I base the pace of my training runs off of my latest race times so I will have to look at my plan and see where I am now.  I am optimistic for this year and look forward to some great races/runs coming up.

Woke up this morning and headed south, ran to Neptune park did a couple laps around the park and headed back home. It was kind of a headwind on the way out, but also mostly a gradual downhill. On the way back the wind really started picking up, fortunatly it was a tail wind. Run felt pretty good this morning. AP for the run 8:05. Had to stop and hit a POP on the return trip. The bathroom at the park was still locked. Thank goodness for new houses being built. When I got home the wind was crazy and on the way to work semi-trucks were being blown over. I am so glad I woke up early and went when I did. Should be a higher mileage week after basically being on a mini-taper with races the last 2 weeks.

1 mile warm up, then progressive intervals with a 2 min. jog in between, 1st interval  1.2 miles 7:02 pace, 2nd 1 mile 6:37 pace, 3rd .64 @ 6:19, 4th .5 @ 6:10 pace, 1 mile cool down.  Felt good this morning.  I ran by my lonesome on the path by the house.

Pretty much one of my best runs ever.  I wanted to do some easy recovery miles so I asked Trenton my 7yr old if he wanted to run a mile with me.  He was all for it and then Spencer (9) said he wanted to go but run 2 miles.  Of course Trenton then wanted to go 2 also so off we went.  The furthest I have run with them is about 1 mile.  Got to the first mile in a blazing fast 11:28, turned around and finished the second mile in 10:43.  They said they wanted to keep going a complete a 5k so on we went.  The third mile was 10:30, with the last .1 in 8:41.  total time for the 5k 33:30.  I don't care about the time but wanted to document it for future reference.  It was so great to be out there with my boys, Trenton got back and then sprinted around the cul-de-sac to show how he wasn't even tired.  Looks like I will have some extra running partners to go out with.  Maybe now my posts will be like Sasha's posts with all the kids joining in the fun.  Good times.

Tempo run this morning @ half-marathon pace.  I drove to the end of the path, then did the Ranches loop.  1.5 mile warm-up, then 5.5 mile tempo, 1.5 mile cool down.  The garmin was taking splits every mile, should have hit the lap button, best I can tell, mile 2, 6:59,6:57,6:56,6:50,6:57, the first and last .5 were probably about the same pace, I tried to hit 6:59 splits.  The first miles felt pretty easy,  the last about .75 started getting a bit harder.  Hit a bit of an uphill and headwind.  It was a bit creepy running when it was so dark this morning.  Should have put on my headlamp, I had to keep focusing on the painted line on the side of the road.  Guess it reminded me to "hold to the rod."

Had a great run this morning.  Started at the iron bridge and headed south on the JRP by my lonesome.  I was expecting more wind, I wanted to head south so I could catch the tailwind on the way back.  It was going to be my longest run of the year.  There were quite a few people out this morning.  Went south to the flight park then hit the back country roads into Lehi until I hit 9, took a goo,then turned around and headed back.  Miles were as follows: 7:59,7:55,7:51,7:51,7:54,7:56,8:01,7:50,7:54,7:53,7:46,7:46,7:44,7:46,7:42,7:40,7:40,7:18

Tried to keep it right around 8 for the run, felt really good this morning.  Legs were getting more tired the last few miles but not too bad.  Got home and jumped in the ice bath. My confidence for the Ogden Marathon is growing.