El Burro Blanco

9 miles in the morning.

11 miles in the afternoon.

I got up and went out for a run towards the DDO and the Weber County Fairgrounds.  The weather was perfect.  It wasn't that hot at all.  My legs were feeling really good this morning so I started out with a 6:47 first mile and then worked my way up to a couple 6:13 miles.  My eighth mile was at 6:00/mile pace and then my last mile was at 5:45/mile pace.  I felt great this morning.  After work I did another 11 miles to hit 20 for the day.  I did 2 miles at 7:18/mile pace to warm up and then pushed up to a 6:58/mile pace for another 2.  I then pushed up to 6:39/mile pace for 2 more miles.  I did one mile at 6:18/mile pace and then the last 4 at marathon pace (6:00).  I felt really good today and was happy to start the week off on the right foot.  I think I am going to try and hit 90 miles this week.

14 miles in the morning.

My wife and I are starting some speed work together for the next month.  We got a good deal at Acceleration in Logan so will be doing that on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.  I did 2 miles on a treadmill at quick intervals (:40).  The incline went from 2-4% and then back down.  I started out at 10.0 miles per hour and then went all the way up to 13.0 miles per hour.  I then did some core work and finished with a few weights.  I don't remember much after that since it was 5:00 in the morning!  I am hoping that this will help me in the long run.  My wife was their but got sick really quick.  They pushed her a little to hard on the 1st day.  I felt good so when we got back to Ogden I did another 12 at 7:24 pace.  I am excited for the 15K tomorrow.  It should be fun. 

I was up in Logan spending the 4th with the in-laws so I decided to do this race.  I am really glad that I did this run.  It was nice to gauge where my training is at.  I got up to the starting line and warmed up for 1/2 a mile.  I met up with Jon, Cody, and James and talked with them for a little bit.  It was nice to finally meet these guys.  I am going to have to go up to Logan and run with them on occasion.  I got to the starting line and looked around to see who was there.  I didn't recognize to many people but their were quite a few Mountain Crest High cross country runners.  I was shooting for under 52 minutes and was excited to get started.  Here are the splits and the way the race went:

1- 5:31 - Ran with James and was getting the legs loosened up.  Saw Carson Campbell (former USU runner) and Josh Steffen taking off.  Wanted to hold back thinking I might catch up with them.

2- 5:41- Still running with James and getting cut off by Mountain Crest runners.  Little punks!

3- 5:39- Wasn't with James anymore but moved out with one of the Mountain Crest runners (Neal Ferrin).

4- 5:38- Still with Neal and just chatting a little bit to kill the time.  Sitting in 3rd/4th place right now.

5- 5:26- Same as Mile 4.

6- 5:21- Pushed the pace a little bit more and still chatting away.  Leaders are still way out in front.

7- 5:26- Saw Carson slow up at the bottom of the hill.  Carson was at the top and Neal and I were half way up.   I knew that we were going to catch him.

8- 5:27- Caught up with Carson and left Neal behind.  I told him to come with for the last little bit but he ran out of gas.  Neal is a great runner and will have a great cross country season.  I am glad to see the road start going a little down hill.

9- 5:12- Was really pushing it now and not wanting anyone to catch me.

9.3- 1:46- I was happy to see the finish line.  I felt great!

I was really happy about the race.  Overall pace was 5:30/mile.  The weather was perfect and it was a perfect day for a run.  I got a plate with leaves on it and a ribbon for coming in 2nd.  Josh Steffen came in 1st place.  My wife will be happy with the plate.  If anyone is curious, it is a Rasmussen!  Jon, Cody, and James ran a great race and had awesome times.  We did 2.5 miles to cool down afterwards.  Congrats to them and all who ran today.

I woke up and was really happy to have yesterday over with.  The race was great but after that the rest of the day was not to fun because I was sick in the stomach.  I spent most of my time hanging out with my good friend "John!"  I took some Immodium when I woke up and that seemed to help.  I went to Acceleration again this morning and they worked me pretty hard.  I did long strides backwards on the treadmill at an incline, ran on the treadmill with an incline, squats on a small exercise ball with a platform, and did core exercises for the stomach.  I did 4 sets of that and then did some light weights and a lot more core exercises for the stomach.  I did 3 sets of that and was pretty much spent.  It was a nice workout.  It was early enough so I went out for a run.  I ran from Logan Regional Hospital to the northern part of Smithfield.  On the way back I had a couple of rolling hills and then 3 really big, long uphills.  I was really thirsty so I stopped at a cemetery because it was the only place I could find a water spout.  If I croked right there it would be a good spot so they wouldn't have to move me far to bury me!  The water helped and then I made my way back to the in-laws house and drank a lot more water.  I did 2 miles at Acceleration and 15.65 out to Smithfield and back.  I didn't push it to much but my pace was at 7:17/mile.  I am glad to have my running done for the day.  The last two days in Logan have been really good running days for me.  A little side note.  Jon, Cody, James, and me made the front page of the sports section in the Herald Journal.  We were on a cool down jog and I do not know why they took a picture of us.  We were already done with the race.  Oh well!

I got up this morning and did just a touch over 6 miles. I did the first 2 miles at 7:24/mile pace. The next 2 miles were at 7:03/mile pace and then the last 2 miles were at 6:39/mile pace. Nothing to exciting to report. I wanted to do some more running at night but I was with family in Timpanogos all day at a wedding, luncheon, and reception. I was my suit for the whole day and sweat profusely and non stop. We didn't get home until after 10 PM. I laid down to take a short nap and then possibly go run afterwards but I was so beat. It was nice to be with family all day. I was hammered from the sun though. It wore me out!

I woke up and was feeling pretty good. I wanted to run out to Fremont High School to see how far it was. The high school is only 7 miles from my place. I felt great and was cruising along when all of a sudden a "killer" poodle came after me. Luckily the owner was nearby and I didn't have to deal with it to much. The run felt great. I was keeping it under 6:30/mile pace but bumped up to 5:45/mile and 5:30/mile pace for a little over a mile. It was nice throwing in a little bit of threshold and tempo speed in their. It started getting hot and I did not have any water. I thought I was going slow but I looked down at the Garmin on the way back and I consistently stayed at 6:00/mile pace or under on the way back for the last 8 miles. I was happy to see this considering I was thirsty and a little tired. Overall pace for the run was 6:22/mile. I got home and immediately jumped into a cold bath. That helped out a ton. I will try and do a couple more miles tonight to hit 90 for the week. I got home from work and did not run.  I went on a 4 mile walk with Katey.  It wasn't running but I am glad that we went.  It has been a while since we have gone on a walk.  She is such a great support!  I won't count these 4 miles into the running equation but they were nice.

10 miles in the morning.

8 miles in the afternoon.

I got up and was feeling the Monday blues but once I got running everything starting feeling great.  I ran over to the BDO and then through the fairgrounds.  I like this run a lot since their is not very much traffic.  I did a couple miles at threshold pace (5:45) and ended up with an overall 6:11/mile pace (1:02) I can't believe how bad the air quality is.  It is not good at all.  I ran 8 miles on the treadmill since the weather was really hot.  The 1st 2 miles were a warm-up at 7:24/mile pace and then moved up to 7:03/mile pace for the next 2 miles.  The next 2 miles were at 6:39/mile pace and then 6:18/mile pace for a mile and a half.  The last half mile was at a 6:00/mile pace.  I had to almost back to back today because of work and taking my cousin's kids to the Ogden Raptors' baseball game.  They were more interested with playing in the playpen then actually watching the game.  Oh well!  Today was a nice start to the week. 

11 miles in the morning.

9 miles in the evening.

I woke up at 4:30 this morning to go to Acceleration.  I was on the treadmill for 45 minutes doing short 2 minute sprints with an incline no less than 5 and all the way up to 9.  My legs were shot.  Each set my speed increased as well.  The trainer really kicked my butt this morning.  I then lifted weights for 45 minutes.  After all of this I was feeling alright so I went out and did a 9 mile run.  At first my legs felt like jello but they loosened up fairly quick.  I went out to Smithfield and then back to the hospital.  I wasn't too worried about my pace but ended up with a 6:26/mile pace overall.  I was really surprised.  Katey was personal training my cousin this evening so I went out for another run.  The sun was going down so it was perfect weather except for the air quality.  I didn't really push for a certain pace or time.  I was nice and relaxed and ran the whole thing at a 6:33/mile pace overall.  The legs have been feeling pretty good lately.  Thank heavens!

9 miles in the morning.

10 miles in the afternoon.

I got going a little late this morning.  I slept in and was pretty darn tired.  I went and it was hot but the wind was blowing a little bit so it wasn't too bad.  I wanted to do a slower run so my overall pace was 7:15/mile.  Nothing to exciting to report.  I noticed that some people were practicing how to drive a school bus at the fairgrounds.  I saw a couple cones on the ground and hope this drivers get better before the school year starts.  I don't want to see any kids hurt.  I was on the treadmill this afternoon again.  I did 2 miles at 7:24/mile pace to warm-up and then 4 miles at 7:03/mile pace.  I then did 2 miles at 6:39/mile pace.  I felt good so I bumped it up for half a mile to a 6:18/mile pace and then the last mile and a half were at 6:00/mile pace.  I hope it rains soon because running on the treadmill is not my favorite.  I was glad to have some good miles today.

2 miles in the morning at Acceleration.

13 miles in the afternoon.

I didn't have to get up to early this morning.  I was at Acceleration by 6 and was there just over an hour and 15 minutes.  I did more walking on the treadmill backwards, running on the treadmill with a steep incline, stability ball squats, and a lot of core excercises for the stomach.  Did I mention that I did a lot of core exercises for my stomach?  I was pretty tired after this morning's workout.  I will go to work and then get some more miles in tonight.  Legs are feeling alright this morning.  The weather was "freezing" this afternoon (81 degrees) so I went out for a nice run.  I took it kind of slow for the first couple miles (6:40ish/mile) and then slowly moved up to a 6:15/mile pace.  My last 3 miles were at marathon pace (6:00/mile).  I got chased down at a dog and it almost bit my leg.  I got my short bursts of speed in at this point.  I barked at him and he eventually went away.  I can't believe my wife wants a dog!  I got home and immediatetly jumped in a cold bath.  That felt really good on the legs.

10 miles in the morning.

8 miles in the afternoon.

I woke up after getting some much needed rest last night.  I did an easy 10 miles at 7:30/mile pace.  Nothing to terribly exciting to report.  I was really glad to see blue skies this morning.  I had to really hurry on the afternoon run because my wife wanted to go and see the new Harry Potter movie.  I ran the first 2 miles at 7:24/mile pace to warm-up and then bumped up to 6:39/mile pace for the next 2, 6:15/mile pace for the next 2, and finally a threshold pace of 5:42/mile for the last 2 miles.  I was glad to get the run in before we went to the movie because we didn't get out until 10 PM.  It is a must see.  Harry Potter's patronus is a stag and I think my patronus would be a runner.  I am such a nerd!

I didn't sleep to well last night but I was able to get 11 miles in today to put me over the 100 mile mark for the week.  I wanted to run a little more but I helped my cousin with some landscaping on his yard and then I worked on a house for most of the day.  My first 2 miles were a basic warm-up and then I bumped up the pace throughout the entire run.  My last 3 miles were at marathon pace (6:00/mile).  I am really glad to have hit 100 miles this week.  I did not have a ton of work, family reunions, or anything else come up so I decided to go for it.  It is a new record mileage for me.  I remember when I started running 3 years ago and started out only doing about 30 miles a week.  It is amazing to think how much difference their is in just a few years.  I recall running in basketball shorts and a t-shirt when I first got started.  Now I am practically naked with a singlet and short shorts!  I will cut down the mileage for next week in order to run well at Bryce.  I am looking forward to seeing and running with the St. George guys again. 

6.10 in the morning.

9 miles in the afternoon.

I was glad to have the rest yesterday from the 100 mile week.  The rest was much needed.  I got up and warmed up with 2 miles at 7:24/mile pace, bumped up to 2 miles at 6:39/mile pace, and then finished off the rest of the run at 6:18/mile pace.  I will do some more miles this afternoon.  I am hoping for a little bit of rain like the news says.  We shall see!  No rain but it threatened to rain.  The first 5 miles were between 7:30/mile pace and 6:15/mile pace.  The next 2 and a half miles were at 6:00/mile pace.  The next 1 and half miles were at threshold pace (5:42/mile) and the last half mile was at 5:27/mile pace.  I wanted to push it a little bit today just to get the legs moving for the first part of the week.  I need to make sure I get ready physically and mentally for the race on Saturday.

I woke up at 4:30 to go too Acceleration.  I was really tired but felt better once I got there.  I did speed work on the treadmill at an incline.  The total mileage was about 2 miles.  The fastest I got going was a 4:30 pace for :30.  I did some core exercises and lifted some weights for a bit.  I went out right after and ran another 10 miles.  I felt like Gumbi the first couple miles but the legs finally got feeling normal again after that.  I did not want to push it to much and ended up with a 6:52/mile average pace.  I am glad to have my running done for the day.  The "don't go and run" guy was trying to talk me out of going running this morning but I kicked him down and went anyway.  I am glad that I did.

6.10 miles in the morning.

6.05 miles in the afternoon.

Their is nothing to exciting to report about either of these runs.  I did 2 miles this morning at marathon pace (6:00/mile) and did between 6:30-6:45/mile pace the rest of the time for the other miles from the day.  I was just glad to get in some decent miles today. 

I went into the St. George Running Center and talked with Steve Hooper this afternoon.  It was my first time in the store.  It is really nice.  I went up with the St. George guys and went out for a run this evening.  The pace was not fast and was very relaxed.  I enjoyed spending time running and talking with them about Bryce.  We did 6.6 miles together and then I ran back to my parent's house in Santa Clara for just a little over 11.5 miles today.  The weather was perfect tonight for a run.  It did not feel as hot as Ogden has considering the last couple of days.  I got back to my parent's house and hopped in the pool to stretch and loosen up the legs.  It felt nice.  I am excited for Saturday.  I hope everything goes well.  Clyde and Dave want to run together during the race to see if we can push each other.  It should be a good race.

I got up to Tropic for the half-marathon tomorrow at about 6 PM and went for a nice 3 miles with Clyde and Steve to loosen up the legs for tomorrow.  We went up to Bryce Valley High School and ran around the track a couple times and headed back to the "busy" main street.  I am excited for tomorrow!

I got to the starting line and did a short warm-up jog and used the port-a-potty to get ready for the race.  I was excited because the weather was nice and the smoke from the Zion fire was pretty much non-existent.  It was ideal running conditions with the temperature at 54 degrees at the start and slowly warming up a little bit as the race went on.  The gun went off and then it went off a couple more times thinking it was a false start but everyone kept running.  I had to do some zig zagging to get up to the front and out of the way from everyone.  I went up and slowed down a bit to run with Clyde and Dave.  They met up with me a quarter of a mile into the race and then we were off.  Here is the how the race went:

1. 5:38- Nice easy first mile with Clyde and Dave.  A touch downhill but also a little uphill.

2. 5:31- Easing into moving along for the rest of the race.

3. 4:54- Really steep downhill.  Don't want to push it to much because the downhill can be deceiving.

4. 5:00- Same as the last mile.

5. 5:07- Moving along with Dave and the guy from Durango.  Clyde is still with us.  Each take a turn out in front pushing the pace.  A little bit of drafting is going on. 

6. 5:05- Holler at Clyde to stay with us but no response.  His abs must be hurting and don't want to bother him.

7. 5:12- It starts leveling out here as we start moving into Tropic.  I can see the police lights for Mike Vick and Hobie Call.  They are a couple of minutes ahead and probably will not catch them.

8. 5:26-  A slight uphill climb as we move into the small town of Tropic.  I start moving a little faster and holler at Dave to come along with me.  The guy from Durango drops a little bit. 

9. 5:29-  Get some water and can't hear Dave so I figure I am on my own the rest of the way.  The water cups are Subway cups and really big.  I seem to get more of the water on me than in my mouth.  Crud!

10. 5:25- A little bit of downhill and realize that I will need to push to go under 1:10.

11. 5:28- Git some more water and hoping I can get under 1:10

12. 5:31-  Flat and some downhill but still just moving along.

13.1. 5:41-  My last split was a little mixed up but I am not in the mood to do the math to figure it out.  I knew I was close to the finish and really pushed the last half mile.  I knew I was under 1:10 and could not have been more thrilled.

I ended up with a new PR for the half by almost 6 minutes.  I was really happy with the 5:18/mile pace for the entire run.  I felt good after the race.  I am getting more and more excited to see what happens at St. George this year.  I was bummed out for Clyde because of his abdominal problems.  He will tear it up at Hobblecreek.  Dave had a great race.  It was nice running with the St. George guys again.  I got $300 for taking 3rd place overall.  I think I will go and get some new shoes from Steve at the store.  The money is nice but I am more happy with my time.   My wife and father-in-law did well in the 5K.  It was a nice day for the Fielding family.  Great job to all of the other St. George guys with their times today.  Did a little bit of a cooldown after the race to get a few more miles in.

I am still at the parent's house in Santa Clara and was excited to get up this morning and run in St. George again.  I did an 8 mile run where I went up towards Entrada and then came back.  I did not worry at all about my pace because my legs were still pretty sore from Saturday's race.  I don't think you can call this a run but more like a "shuffle."  The last mile and a half felt really good.  I got back to the parent's house and sat in the pool to cool off the legs.  I will try and get some more miles in tonight.  My legs felt much better tonight.  I went out about 11 PM.  We had friend's over for a BBQ so I wasn't able to run until late.  I'm sure people driving were wondering what I was doing out so late.  I saw a cop pull over someone which made the run exciting.  My quads felt okay but I had some discomfort in my shins.  I will hit the Ipubrofen and slowly work the lactic acid out.

8 miles in the morning.

5 miles in the evening.

I woke up a touch late this morning.  I wanted to get some more sleep because I have a little bit of a sore throat.  It rained last night and the weather was still a little cool.  I was excited and went out but a mile into my run the hot sun came out and it got humid real quick.  My legs felt much better this morning but the heat was killing me.  I ended up going out to Ivins and almost ran into their parade.  They were getting ready to start and the street was lined with a few people.  I had to take a detour when I turned around because the police had blocked off some of the street.  I am glad no one through candy at me.  7:04/mile pace for the run.  I went on a hike with Katey, my dad, and two of my siblings during the day.  We went up and did about a 4 mile hike in Kanarraville Canyon.  It was an awesome hike.  It is shaded the whole way and you walk through cold water most of the time.  The water felt great on my legs.  It was a nice hike.  I wanted to run more than 5 miles this evening but with family and activities going on it didn't work out.  I hurried to get this run in because everyone went to the movie.  I was really tired and fell asleep through most of the movie.  I should have stayed home and slept instead of paying $6.50.  The only plus side was the seats were very comfortable to be in!

7 miles in the morning.

8.15 miles in the late evening. 

It was cloudy this morning so the run was not that hot. The weather has been great the entire time I have been in St. George. The heat has been bearable or pretty much non-existent. I picked up the pace this morning and was between 6:30-7:30/mile pace for the first 6 miles and then the last mile was at marathon pace. I haven't wanted to push the legs to much the last couple days just to make sure they have fully recovered from the race on Saturday.  I ran really late tonight because once we got back from St. George I crashed and fell asleep on the floor.  I did not even make it to the bed.  The entire run was at about 7:00/mile pace.

10.13 miles in the morning.

8 miles in the evening.

I warmed up this morning with the first 4 miles at 7:24/mile pace and then pushed up to about 7:00/mile pace for a mile and then did 6:35/mile pace for 2 miles.  I did the last 3 or so miles at 6:15/mile pace.  It felt really good to get the legs moving again this morning.  I was happy to see the rain outside.  We need all the water we can get.  I did my speed workout this evening at Weber High School.  I did a 2.5 mile warm-up and then did 12 x 400m with 200m recovery jogs in between.  I did a half mile cooldown and then 8 x 100m barefoot strides on the grass.  Here are my times:

1- 1:07 - quite surprised with this!            7-  1:09

2- 1:08                                                     8- 1:10

3- 1:08                                                      9- 1:08

4- 1:09                                                      10- 1:12

5- 1:09                                                      11- 1:09

6- 1:10                                                      12- 1:09

I wanted to get all under 70 seconds for each one.  Things were looking good until the 10th one when two ladies and their 3 "cute" dogs decided to take over the track.  I had to wait for them to make sure I didn't run into them.  I caught up with them and had to slow down because all 3 dogs ran right in front of me.  I almost had to stop completely.  I am pretty sure I would have gone under 70 seconds for this lap.  I have no problem with dogs but it is a pain when people think they own the entire track.  They were really "yippy" dogs so I was not very impressed.  I will stop ranting and raving about the dogs now.  I was still happy with the speed work.  It has really helped me the last little bit.  I want to make sure I keep doing it to help me at St. George.
 

8.10 miles in the morning.

9.20 in the evening.

I did a nice recovery run at a 7:30/mile pace.  It was nice and relaxed.  The legs were a touch sore from last night.  I felt good after work today so I decided to pick up the pace a little bit.  I started out with 3 miles at 7:24/mile pace to warm-up and then moved up to 6:39ish/mile pace for another 3 miles.  I did 2 miles at 6:00/mile pace and then finished up with a mile at threshold pace of 5:42/mile.  My legs felt great and I am happy with the run. 

I woke up and did an out and back 12 miler going towards Fremont High School.  I felt good so I decided to push the pace.  I did 4 or so miles at marathon pace (6:00/mile) and was doing a couple of  fartleks for half a mile at threshold pace (5:45/mile).  I think I did 7 or 8 of them.  Everything was smooth today and I felt like I wasn't really pushing it.  My overall pace was 6:15/mile.  I was happy to hit 90 miles for the week.  I hope I can keep up the training all the way through St George. 

12.15 miles in the morning.

10.20 miles in the evening.

I started out the week with 6 miles at 7:24/mile pace.  I pushed the pace up to 6:39/mile pace for 3 miles and then finished the last 3 or so miles at 6:15/mile pace.  It was a a nice run to start the week off.  I need to get most of my miles in at the first of the week because I will be in Dallas over the weekend and don't know how much I will be running there.  After work I did another 10 miles.  I did 3 miles at 7:24/mile pace to warm-up and then went to 6:39/mile pace for 2 miles and then finished the last bit of the run at marathon pace (6:00/mile).  I was pleased to get these runs to start the week off.  My legs are not feeling to bad after today's runs.  That makes me happy.

13.71 miles in the morning.

6.29 miles in the evening.

I woke up early and went to Acceleration.  They pushed pretty hard today.  I did 6 sets for a minute each at a pretty steep incline.  I was a marathon pace (6:00/mile) for the first 6 sets.  The trainers pushed the speed up to a 4:30/mile and then eventually a 4:00/mile pace with a slight incline.  I did short bursts of speed for :15.  I did some core excercises and then lifted some weights.  This was a total of 2 miles.  I wasn't feeling to bad after this and then went over too Logan High and met up with Cody, James, and Paul to do some speed work.  It was nice to finally meet Paul and talk with him for a bit.  I had never done 1000m runs before so it was something new for me.  We did 7 x 1000m sprints with 1 min. - 200m recovery jogs.  I stuck with Paul for all of them until I hit the last one at a touch slower pace.  My splits were at about 3:12 until the last one which was a little slower.  This calculates to just under a 5:10/mile pace.  I cooled down with James and Paul by running up to Pineview Apartments and then back down to Logan High with Paul.  I was pleased to hang with Paul today while doing speed work.  He really pushed me.  It was nice to gauge where I am at right now in my training.  I enjoyed running with the Logan guys this morning.  I will have to do it more often.  I did 6.29 miles this evening at a slow 7:30/mile pace to put me at 20 miles for the day.