Dare to be great!

Had to pick up my niece from BYU at 7:00, decided to get my run in up Provo Canyon before I picked her up as the rest of the day was going to be busy.

Beautiful morning for a run.  By the time I got to the canyon I only had an hour and a half to run. First 6 miles up the canyon with a headwind.  It felt pretty good, 8:05,7:50,8:11,8:12,8:13,7:52, made it a little bit up south fork then turned around.  Weeee down I go...7:17,7:07,6:56,7:03,7:06,6:58. 

Good run, got ragnar in a couple weeks so hill running is good. 

Went out on my standard Monday morning run. I couldn't fall to sleep last night and slept like crap. Nice morning for a run, beautiful sunrise.  Felt a little sluggish the first couple miles.  8:16 ap, I ran into a neighbor he last mile or so and ran with him for a bit.  He got into St. George also so we want to start training together.  I also met with another neighbor last night and plan to train together.  It seems like things will work out well.  To be able to BQ with a 3:09:59, I am going to need all the push and motivation I can get from others.  It's time for some new shoes, Seth Wold, pretty much has me sold on the altra's.  Hopefully they work like I envision.  On paper they seem like they will be perfect for my feet.

Went to Liberty Park for a run with the guys from work. When we got there some girl just got in a wreck on a scooter. Helped block traffic and gave her first aid until paramedics arrived. She was not having a good day.

Went 3 laps around the park. 1st lap 7:40 pace, 2nd and 3rd 7:00 pace.  Felt good, wind was blowing pretty good.  Just got a message our poor little apple tree may not make it.  By the time she noticed it was almost laying sideways due to the wind.  I love my trees so I will have to perform a miracle when I get home.

PM: Went out and got me a new pair of running shoes.  I bought a pair of Altra Instincts.  It is my first pair of minimal/zero drop shoes.  I have a wide forefoot so I love the feel of them.  I went out for a few easy miles around the neighborhood when I got home.  Only 5 miles but I think I will really like these shoes.  I have to break my feet/ legs in and transition to them.  AP for the run 8:05. I will do a few easy runs in them before I try some tempo/speed runs.  It was so tempting on the run tonight.  I will give an update later after I have had more time and miles in them.  I am tempted to buy a pair of the Lone Peaks for the trails, has anyone tried them out yet?

Easy recovery run from the house.  5 miles AP 8:45, second run in my altras.  Still good, I need them to wear out soon so I can wear them as my everyday shoes.  Going camping tomorrow, hopefully I can sneak in some mountain runs while I am enjoying God's country.

Went out from the house this morning. Went south towards the ranches, I have been feeling a bit of a pain on my right lower shin. Didn't push the pace to not aggravate it too much. AP for the run 8:07

Did a trail run along the river trail leading out from Diamond Fork campground up Spanish Fork Canyon.  I just enjoyed the trail weaving in and out of the trees. 

Woke up early and went from the campground where we were staying up the Diamond Fork road south.  Went 7.5 miles up the road and turned around.  It was a pretty run, the first 7.5 miles were mostly uphill.  I didn't eat anything before the run and felt pretty low on fuel.  Probably too many smores the night before.  I have also been feeling a pain on my right leg above the foot.  Feels like the tendons above the ankle.  It didn't really start acting up until mile 7 or so.  I would love to run this road on fresher legs as it would have been fun to pound out some faster miles.  AP for the run 8:19. 

 Great weekend with the family, my 9 year old out fished me with his fly rod.  Hiked 5 miles to the hot pots later in the day and rode our bikes around all weekend.  My legs are finished.  Good times.

Nice run this morning on the JRP trail starting at the iron bridge headed south. I threw in 10 sprints of about 100 yards on the way back. AP for the run was exactly 8:00. Still some pain in my right shin area.  It seems to be worse on hills so I will try to keep to the flats for most of this week. 

Got Ragnar this weekend, I am excited to run it with my wife. 

12 miles from the iron bridge south on the JRP.  Woke up nice and early to get this one in this morning.  My tummy was having issues for most of the run.  Nice morning for a run.  Legs are feeling fatigued.  Didn't push the pace just plodded along, 8:24AP.  I have Ragnar this weekend, I don't think I will push it too hard there, my right shin has been giving me issues if I push the pace too much.

Went from the house this morning down to the canal trail, up the canal trail, to the dirt road, up into the foothills, then turned around and did it all over again.  Good recovery run AP 8:47, just enjoying the scenery.  I think I got two other neighbors to train with for the St. George Marathon.  After Ragnar this weekend we should coordinate some runs together.  I've been running by my lonesome for a while now.

Ran the Ragnar Wastach Back, I was runner 1, our start time was 5:15.  My first leg was 7.8 miles.  Miles were as follows: 7:12,8:44,6:54,6:49,6:58,7:12,7:09,last .68 7:32  AP 7:18, got out to an early lead this leg, kept the lead the whole leg and passed 40 something from the first leg which started earlier.  The second mile was uphill heading to the Bonneville shoreline trail, got some nice trail miles after that until we dropped back into the streets.  Legs felt pretty good.

Second Leg #13:  Started at Snowbasin, first half mile or so was uphill on a ski run, then dropped some serious downhill the rest of the way.  Total distance 8.52  Miles: 8:20,6:48,6:49,6:55,6:48,6:41,6:27,6:47, last .51 6:59. AP 6:57 Got some good tempo miles in this run, however my shin which has been bugging me the last couple weeks did not appreciate this one.  The other teams were very stretched out by this time, other runners were few and far between, there were only about 20 or so teams ahead of us at this point.

I had a lot of fun running with my wife, she did great and I was proud of her efforts to train and prepare for the event.  We were not a competive team so it was nice to just enjoy the time together.

My last leg on the Wasatch Ragnar Relay. LEG 25 (I think) mostly flat 5 miles, the downhill miles really took a toll on my right shin the night before. Triedto enjoy the run, no garmin, no music, just the stars.  Didn't kill myself, AP 7:49, the Ibuprofin must have kicked in. 

Hopefully I didn't do too much damage to my body on this "fun run"  As it sits a few hours after the run my legs are more sore already than after my marathon.  It really was good to run with my wife and friends and neighbors.  We had a really chill team and everyone was great.  Team WAIT'N - Wandering Aimlessly in the Night

Set the alarm to go out this morning but couldn't force myself out of bed.  My legs are still pretty thrashed from Ragar.  Sitting in a chair for 12 hours at work didn't help, I got up twice and got on the eliptical at the work gym for 10 minutes at a time to try to loosen them up.  Got home and "ran" very slowly around the neighborhood.  Hopefully I can recover soon with no lasting effects.

Couple easy laps around Liberty Park, stayed in the wood chips. Legs are still pretty sore, however by the last lap I could almost run with a somewhat normal stride. Hopefully by the end of this week I will be good to go again.

Went out from the house along the canal road, up into the foothills, then back home again. Was planning on going 5 but my tummy had other plans. Whew made it home just in time. Just still letting my legs recover, I plan on working up to 15 on Sat. then be back on the plan next week.

Same run as yesterday with an extra up and back on the canal trail.  Legs are coming along, still didn't push the pace AP for the run 8:31

Pretty much the same run from the last 3 days give or take a bit. I have been wearing my altra's all week and hope I can transition to them full time after this easy week. Plan on getting in 15 tomorrow, now just have to find somewhere to run without getting smoke inhalation.

Went by my lonesome to the iron bridge, ran south on the JRP, to the inlet park, went up some country roads until I hit 7.5, turned around and did it all over again.  I was pleased to see most of the smoke had dissapated by morning.  Run was ok for me this morning.  I was tempted to turn around at 6 but kept going.  Sure enough about 12 miles in my legs started doing funny things and it felt like a constant battle for the last 3 miles to get my stride under control and not injure anything.  Ended up finishing ok and now my legs are not feeling too bad, AP for the run 8:22.  Hopefully my legs are healed up enough from Ragnar to start training again for St. George next week.  I need my legs to be ready to go.

Went south from the house towards the highschool, mixed in 10x100yard sprints in the middle of the run with 4 uphill ones. Run felt pretty good today. Hopefully it will be a good training week. AP 7:53

Beautiful run this morning. Started at the inlet park then went south on the JRP turned around at 7 then headed back.  I am still trying to figure out how to run in minimal running shoes.  Maybe my legs are trying to adjust.  Felt pretty good this morning.  AP for the run 8:06. This will be my highest mileage week ever if I can keep up with the plan.  It is sure getting hotter out there and the bugs are coming out, ahhh extra protein.

Some recovery miles around Liberty Park during lunch. Went with Blake and Terry, just stayed in the wood chips and tried to take it easy. It is getting hotter out there, treated myself to a ice-cream cone from Artic Circle on the way back to work. I was planning on doing 5 but with time constraints only managed 4.5.

Had a great run this morning. Went from the house to the canal trail to SR-73 up the hill towards the Ranches. Went south at the Maverick and turned east at the stop sign, cruised down the hill and headed back home.  I think this will be a regular run for me with different variations, there is over 500 feet of climbing, some flats and downhill. 

Legs felt pretty good, the last few miles felt great.  I am hopefull my body can handle the higher mileage.  Tomorrow I am taking my son fly-fishing to the high-uintas.  We are leaving very early in the morning and hiking/fishing all day.  I don't know if I will manage any running miles unless a bear is chasing us. 

Had a great run this morning.  Started at the inlet park in Saratoga Springs and headed north.  Went out 9, just past the wind turbines at Camp Williams and came back.  Boy it is getting HOT out there.  My hat had a constant dripping of sweat on the way back.  I ran pretty comfortable the first 9 and negative split the second half.  Pulled a Jake and did a marathon pace mile the last mile 7:11.  AP for the run 8:00 exactly.  Highest mileage week ever....

Yesterday was a great day in the High Uintas with my son.  Although I didn't log any miles we hiked all day and lost count of the fish we caught.  Great memories..