Fly on the Wall

6 EZ miles with 6x100m strides.  Felt good. Ran downtown and up Memory Grove. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

17 miles.  Miles 11 to 15 were faster but not at goal pace.  My average pace for those miles was 6:59 with 156 bpm, DOWNHILL.  Some runs make me feel fast and powerful, some I just finish because I'm not smart enough to quit.  Maybe it was not quite that bad but I sure was not on my game.  And it was cold.

By new year's day I felt good and thought I was completely over what ever cold-like aliment I had last week.  But the goop came back on Friday.  I had 2 planned rest days and took them on Friday and Saturday.  Sunday I once again didn't feel good but didn't feel that bad.  I slept late, got up and ate, took a nap, then decided I was good enough to run.  After my run I was worn out and took another nap.   I think I compounded my woes by getting dehydrated.  I felt a lot better after a big dinner and drinking a bunch...

I'm feeling better again but decided to just put in some EZ miles and then try to pick it back up tomorrow (will the weather cooperate?).

I left my desk a bit late and ended up running the 1st mile at quick clip in order to catch my running mates.  It felt good. 

1.5 mile warm up.

2 x .75 mile at 6:11(9.7mph) w/ .25 mile recovery.

6 x 200meters at 6:11 w/ 50meter recovery.

2 x .75 mile at 6:11 w/ .25 recovery.

1 mile cooldown.

I wanted to do speed work but it's been snowing all day and the roads and trails are not amenable to running fast.  Durring January our gym at work is open to non-members, so I took advantage and ran on a dreadmill today. 

I'm still not feeling 100%.  I'm getting sick and tired of feeling a bit sick and tired.  Not terrible, but not great. 

Lots of slushy snow but a gorgeous day!  

1.75 warm up.

2.5 not at pace but under 7:00.  Legs tired from yesterdays speedwork.

2 cool down.

Still not feeling 100%.  I've decided I don't like this training program's intervals followed by 2 days of pace runs, which makes 3 speed workouts without a rest/recovery day.  At this point I'm switching gears a bit and  focusing on recovery so that hopefully I will feel strong for Painter's. 

No watch, no gps, no heart rate monitor.... about 4 EZ miles but I don't feel rejuvinated.  

6 EZ miles w/ 6 strides.  I ran up City Creek and it was absolutely gorgeous, a winter wonderland.  All that beauty provided motivation and the run went well. 

I awoke this morning with the same swollen uvula but now I also have swelling around my eyes.  It's not puffy redness but fluid that makes my skin sag.  I'm thinking about trying out for a part in a horror movie.  I wish I knew what the deal is.  I'd think allergies but the whole time my sinuses have been clear.  Hmmmm...

10 miles.  The miles came easier today.  I think I'm on the mend.  At least I sure hope so.  Ran downtown and then up City Creek.   I pushed the pace just a bit during the second third of the run or so, including mile 8 @ 6:38, 155 bpm.  Don't be impressed that mile was very much downhill.  Tomorrow is a rest day and hopefully I will feel more back to normal.  I shall see. 

OOPS This should have been logged on Monday.....

1 mile warm up.

6@ 0.25mile w/ 100meter recovery. 6:29 pace, 170bpm max.

1.6 mile cool down.

The intervals felt easy.  I felt better durring the run than before.  

See comments on Sunday (I originally put these miles on the wrong day)

approximately 1.64 mile warm up.

2.73 miles at @ 6:47 goal pace, actually average pace was 6:48, 163bpm.  I ran until I hit a red light where the trail crosses a street, hence the odd mileage.  I felt OK but 13.1 miles is a long way to run that fast, at least it is for me.

1.5ish mile warm up.

2x.25miles @6:29w/200meter recovery, 2x200 meters @6:13w/100meter recovery.

1.8ish mile cooldown.

Felt OK.  I did not run yesterday because I was home with a puking daughter.  I sure hope I don't catch that!  I'll probably rest tomorrow or maybe run a few EZ miles.  Then it is the Painter's 1/2 on Saturday.  I'll just see what the day brings.

It was a beautiful day for a race. Nothing but blue skies and a starting temp in the mid 30s.

I started with Rhett, meaning I drafted behind him for the first 5 or so miles. Thank you Rhett for towing me up that hill. After the hill I pulled in front of Rhett thinking he might like to do the drafting for a change. For some mysterious reason he dropped back.

From here on out I just kept chugging along. I just tried to keep my heart rate in the low to mid 170s. At about mile 9 I was passed by some dude that was moving along like a bullet train. I fell in behind him I tried to hold on. His pace had my heart rate up to 176 and I wasn't sure how long I could hold that. On the other hand, only 4 miles to go so maybe I could let him pull me to a sub-1:30 finish. He surged a bit and I lost him somewhere after mile 10.

I spent the last 5k making rash promises to myself and trying to convince myself I could run faster. I wasn't really sure what sort of finish time I was on pace for. Huans32 and his mom and dad cheered and gave me a big boost to kick it in. Thank you for that. Coming around that last corner I saw 1:29:0? on the clock. Wooo Hooo.

My chip time - 1:29:12! A PR. I really surprised myself today.
In 07 I ran a 1:34:xx at Painters (I'm not sure if this was my PR?)

1-6:47, 163
2-6:42, 171
3-6:38, 172
4-6:42, 173
5-7:04, 173
6-6:41, 173
7-6:47, 173
8-7:01, 173
9-6:54, 174
10-6:31, 176
11-6:52, 174
12-6:52, 174
13-6:43, 176
13.1-? 181bpm max

Oh the air outside is frightful but the treadmill is so not delightful.  I wish it'd snow.  I wish it'd snow.  I wish it'd snow...  We need a storm to blow out this dirty stinking air.  Rather than try to hold my breath I ran on the dreadmill.  Is the air really any better inside the gym? 

4 miles with 3x 1/2mile repeats @ 6:00 w/ 1/8 mile recoveries.  The machine maxed out @ 10 mph (6:00 min/mile), not that I wanted to go any faster or even could.

I need to figure out what I want to do next.

5 EZ miles on a treadmill.  That's all I could stand.  I listened to an audio book but I still find it tedious to run and not go anywhere.  I sure hope we get some wind soon.  

The skies finally parted this afternoon, so I took advantage of the cleaner air and made a run for it.  I didn't have my watch so I don't know how far or fast I really went, but I know were I went.  I took the trails behind my house up to the communication towers.  Then followed the Bonneville Shoreline Trail down to City Creek.  It was SO nice to get out and run.  Looking down I could still see low lying muck in parts of the valley but it was clear up above. 

I kept a strong pace running uphill.  Then about 2/3 of the way through the run I realized I might not make it back to pick my son up from Spanish on time, so I really pushed the pace coming back down.  Nothing like trying to push your pace while running on a single track covered with rain slicked snow. 

I left the house to warm weather (mid 40s) and partly cloudy skies.  I just got a new pair of running shorts and since the weather was so nice I decided to wear them.... mistake.  I took the same route as yesterday but planned to go about twice as far.  Well when I was approaching the ridge line a big cloud blew in.  It started to rain/snow/sleet.  I got wet.  I got cold.  I think it was ideal hypothermia weather.  So I revised my plan to, just make it to the heated restroom in City Creek.  I picked up the pace to keep warm and made it to the restroom, where I spent about 5 minutes at the hot air hand dryer, drying the front of my shorts and thin gloves.  Then it was just a beeline straight home.  Oh well better short than frozen.

Just 3 miles.... 3 just miles.

A brisk but gorgeous day for a run along the mighty Jordan River.  I saw a muskrat swimming or maybe it was just a very large rat.  Anyone know how to tell the difference?  

About 9 miles.  Miles ~7.5 to ~8.5 were somewhere near marathon pace.  All this approximation is due my misplacing my Garmin.  I think I may have left it at my mother-in-laws in St. George. 

Found my Garmin! but didn't wear it today.  4+ easy miles with running mates at lunch.  

Ran on the Jordan River Parkway northward to the southern end of the Legacy Parkway trail.  It was a nice day and I had a nice run.  For the first 9 miles I kept my pace between 7:50 and 8:30 largely dependent upon trail conditions.  Then I did some intervals.

9 ez

5x 1/4mile with 1/8 mile recovery.  Pace ranged from 6:07 to 6:15, 168 to 169 bpm

0.5 mile cool down.

The inversion is building.  Pray for wind.

5 EZ enough miles up and back down City Creek.

About 13 of these 15 miles were on hilly, snow packed trails.  This is my excuse for the 11:23 pace I averaged.  My average heart rate was only 144bpm.  Perhaps leg strength was slowing me down but it was tough going for much of it.  Really I think it was just a bit of an off day.  Regardless, it was a gorgeous day and I enjoyed myself!  Next time someone remind me to put sunscreen on my nose.

One very odd thing, I must have had 5 women talk to me while on the trail.  Not that I'm complaining.