El Burro Blanco

I did alright in my first cross country race ever.  It really wasn't cross country though.  Instead of running on the big dirt hills, they moved it all to the road.  They switched the course for the first time ever due to all of the rain.  I didn't bring my flats so I was a little bummed about only having the old trainers.  I saw Ted at the start and talked with him for a bit.  We started and I went out with the top 3 guys.  One of them was trying to be a rabbit while surging and then coming back.  I didn't take the bait but just ran my race.  We hit the first mile at 4:54 and things still felt fine.  I could hear a couple guys right behind me the entire race.  We made our way into the stadium at the finish and the two guys right behind came up and we were all giving it are all with the final 100 yards.  I ended up missing out on 3rd place by 2 seconds.  It was a nice change of scenery for a race.  Talking with the guys afterwards I found out the five in front of me ran in college or are currently running in college.  I was happy with the effort today despite the course being a little long (3.20 according to Ted's Garmin), no flats, and recovering from a cold.  I averaged 5:17/mile overall.  I ran a 2 mile cooldown with Ted and his son.  It was fun talking with them.  The kids on the cross country team had a good time and ran well.  We took a long bus trip back to Mesquite and stayed at the Virgin River hotel.  I ran another 6 miles to top of the night.  I ran the back way from the Virgin River over to the Oasis.  It was nice because their was hardly any traffic.  It was a little hilly which surprised me.  Here are the splits: 6:29, 6:15, 6:01, 5:48, 5:42, and 5:45.  I was happy to get some more miles in due to the long trip.  It helped loosen up the legs.

6 cold miles in the morning.

11 miles in the afternoon.

Wore all the gear I could find.  Really need to get the treadmill fixed.  It has taken a while and we haven't gotten any good news lately.  I went home a touch early since I didn't have cross country practice and got in a good run.  I didn't want to look at my watch today and just went for the run.  I wanted to try a tempo run to see how I could do.  I knew I was pushing it but never looked at my watch.  I did the 11 miles at a 6:02/mile pace overall.  I was happy to see this.  I knew I was pushing it but it still felt in control and everything was fine.  It was something different not looking at the watch but I was glad I did it.  Nice weather outside.  I was quite surprised.  Slowly working the mileage back up to really hit it hard at the start of the year.

6 miles in the chilly morning.

12 miles in the afternoon.

Another chilly 6 miles this morning.  I am running out of clothes to bundle up in!  I got home from work this afternoon and was tempted to wear just shorty shorts.  I am glad that I didn't.  The cold weather was a little deceiving.  I didn't want to push the pace but just get the miles in.  Nothing to exciting to report except I got rid of my lunch and some of the yucky build up from my cold in the first mile and a half.  I left it on the side of the road!  I did the entire run at 6:53/mile pace overall. 

Another 6 cold miles in the morning!

10 miles in the pleasantly warm afternoon.

The weather was extra cold this morning.  Like many of you have stated, it was a little sluggish!  I got home and the weather was a little warmer than usual so I was happy with this.  I decided to do a tempo run.  I took a different route and decided to go north along Washington Blvd. for a couple miles.  I had a couple run ins with cars where I almost got hit twice by two different cars.  I had the right away both times.  I almost let them know they were "number 1" in my book but I decided not to do this.  My left hamstring was a little sore today and the last 5 miles were in a slight headwind.  I was happy with this run and did it at a 6:06/mile pace overall.  You got to love the crazy drivers! 

6 miles in the morning.

11.60 miles in the cold, wet afternoon.

I got a little hot this morning.  I couldn't believe it.  Here comes the snow!  I met up with Nick Froerer, Chad, and Shane (ultramarathoner and soon to be Fast Running Blogger) to do a trail run on the Shoreline Trail.  We started out at Rainbow Gardens and went back towards Weber State.  It was a nice change of scenery but for some reason I love the roads.  It started to rain a little bit after we did 7.5 miles but I knew I needed some more so I stopped and put the gloves on and went for another 4 or so on the Ogden River Parkway.  It was nice and dark with no one on the trail.  It was fun talking with these guys about upcoming races and OTQ standards.

6 miles in the morning.

11 miles in the afternoon. 

Rainy and wet so I was carrying around excess water in my soggy clothes! The things runners have to deal with.  The rain and turned into snow by the time I got home and the roads were very slippery and slushy.  I kept hearing splash, splash, splash from my shoes throughout the entire run.  I pushed it when I didn't see snow and was careful when I started out on the snow.  I had no issues with cars so I was happy with that.  It pretty much snowed the whole time I ran this afternoon.  It was a little different running in the white stuff.  I averaged 6:35/mile pace overall.  I was very pleased with this considering the conditions on the road.

I slept in this morning and much to my dismay it was really windy outside.  I waited a while to see if it would go away and it never did.  I listened to my Rocky music on the IPOD and decided to go out.  If Rocky can train in the snow to fight Drago, why can't I go out and run in the cold, winter weather?  Yo Adrian!  I get a lot of wind living right next to the mountains.  I had the wind in my face pretty much the entire run.  I did my North Ogden rolling hills route today.  My legs got a great hill workout considering how much uphill and headwind I had to deal with.  The wind was a bugger but I knew I needed to get this run in.  I really wasn't worried about pace because the wind played a huge factor.  I was happy to get this run in because once I finished, the wind got even worse.  I am happy to have hit 100 miles for the week.  It has been one of the toughest weeks considering all of the elements.  Hopefully weeks like this will only make me stronger.  

6 miles in the morning.

11 miles in the afternoon.

It took me almost 15 minutes to get ready this morning due to all the layers of clothing.  Getting dressed shouldn't take this long! I beat my time for getting dressed and did it in 10 minutes this afternoon. I was stoked about this. I went out and it started to snow and got a little windy. I stuck with my plan for the tempo run and finished with a 6:03/mile pace overall. I had 5 miles that were under 6:00/mile pace. I was happy considering the rolling hills and the slight headwind. I really need to stay focused and continue to get out in this wonderful weather. It was a steamy 24 degrees this afternoon!

6 miles in the windy morning.

12 miles in the afternoon.

I drove back from Logan last night and my car was blowing all over the road.  I heard the garbage can blowover and then the wind rustling the trees throughout the night.  I woke up this morning and every ounce of my body was telling me to stay in bed.  I didn't listen and went outside.  The canyon winds were not fun and it was really cold.  I had to deal with 30-40 mph winds, hurdling over broken tree limbs, and almost blowing over 5 times.  I'm glad to have gotten out this morning and survive!  The weather was awesome this afternoon.  It was sunny and slightly warm.  I didn't have to wear my Under Armour pants.  This was a first in a long time.  The pace was nice and slow today.  I made sure the route was flat.  I did the run at 6:39/mile pace overall.  It was a little faster than I wanted to do because I had to help supervise at the Fremont basketball game but it was alright.  It was a nice relaxing run. 

6 miles in the morning.

11 miles in the afternoon.

It was a "steamy" 16 degrees this morning on the run.  The legs never really got warmed up but that happens when the weather is nice and chilly.  I got home and was pretty tired but knew I needed to get a good tempo run in.  The route was fairly flat with a little bit of uphill.  My first two mile splits were: 6:29 and 6:05 for a warmup.  I then wanted to hit the next few miles all under 6:00/mile pace.  Here are the splits for the next 8 miles: 5:56, 5:54, 5:46, 5:55, 5:50, 5:48, 5:55, and 5:56.  My last mile was 6:00/mile pace and slightly uphill so I was very happy with the finish.  The overall pace for the run was 5:57/mile.  This was a nice tempo run for me and I was happy to get it in.  Everything felt relaxed and in control today.

6 miles in the morning.

12 miles in the afternoon.

I did some track work this morning at Ben Lomond.  I wasn't planning on any speed work but just needed a change of scenery for the morning run.  24 laps around the track isn't terribly exciting but throw in some ice and snow on the surface and it makes for an interesting run.  I got home and it was snowing very lightly.  I went out and then it really started coming down.  The roads got really wet and slippery.  It felt like I was skating at times.  I held back the urge to do some double axles though!  I had to slow down a bit but it was alright.  I even got sprayed by a big truck throwing salt on the ground.  The joys of winter running.  I averaged 6:50/mile pace overall. 

6 miles in the morning.

10 miles in the afternoon.

Katey and I put our new treadmill together last night.  It was quite the process.  It will be good when it is really slippery outside.  Katey will use it during the winter so she can stay in shape a little bit.  I hopped on and tried it out this morning.  Not bad and glad I did because it was very slick outside.  The heavens were shining down on us today.  All the yucky snow on the roads melted which made it worthwhile to head back outside.  I got home and decided to just go for a run.  I was planning on running with James today but he is still sick.  I did a nice out and back route and averaged 6:34/mile overall.  It didn't feel like to much of a push today.  Happy to get the miles in.

I got a really good nights worth of sleep last night.  Katey put in a movie and I was out like a rock!  I woke up at about 8 this morning and the clouds were out and about.  It made for a chilly day but that is life.  I decided to go up and run on part of the Ogden Marathon course today.  I am going to start doing this a little more to get me ready for running the race in May.  I started at the Huntsville Cemetery and then went too Eden Park.  This is the half way point of the Ogden Marathon.  I took a short potty break and then came back towards Huntsville.  Once I got back to Huntsville, I run back and forth on some of the streets in "downtown."  I felt a little like James due to the crazy dogs barking at me.  No problems or cool stories to report.  Sorry!  I wanted to push the pace but knew the cold weather was going to play a factor.  I averaged 6:15/mile overall.  My face was frozen and really pink.  I got kind of cold and hurried back down too Ogden to hop in the shower and warm up.  I am still working on my base until the end of the year and then will revamp with more speed work and tempo runs.  Happy with another 100 mile week. 

7.30 miles in the morning.

13.30 miles in the afternoon.

Nice run to get the old legs loosened up for the week.  I can't wait for the break from school.  It is much needed.  I got home a little late from work today and it was really dark outside.  I still need to get my nighttime running gear so I hopped on the old treadmill.  I watched Invicible and enjoyed the movie thoroughly.  It got me pumped up.  I did the run averaging 6:39/mile overall.  Not bad considering I was on the treadmill.

7.10 miles in the morning.

10 miles in the afternoon with James.

I woke up a touch late this morning and was a little tired but got the run in anyway.  Averaged 7:05/mile overall.  Happy that Katey and I got into the Canyonlands race.  It should be fun.  James came down and we went out for a nice 10 mile run.  We didn't push the pace to much but that is alright considering James' achilles is still healing.  It was fun running and talking with him about lots of stuff.  It is always nice to run with someone.  I seem to have animal or people encounters every time I run with him.  We ran into a real "cupcake" (one that attempts to run you off the road, cut you off, or shoot rocks at you with their car) tonight.  Some guy pulled alongside us and slowed down a bit.  He then pulled in front of us and hit the brakes.  He found some gravel and floored the gas which in turn shot rocks at us.  He then let James and I know we were number 1 in his book.  What a cupcake!  Some people these days.  He must have a problem with crazy runners that think it is okay to run in single digit temperatures with snow and ice on the road!  Go figure!

7.60 miles in the morning.

10.05 miles in the afternoon.

I woke up at 2 this morning and started getting my running gear on.  I was really tired and couldn't quite understand it.  I looked at the clock and quickly went back to sleep.  A nice relaxed run this morning. Got home from work and wanted to do a nice mini progression run. I started out with a mile warmup and then did 6 miles at about 6:00/mile pace. I then sped up and did the final 3 miles at 5:35/mile pace. It felt great getting the legs moving. Sweat everywhere! You can't beat that. Had to hurry up too Logan for a wedding reception and good quality time with the in-laws.

6.05 miles in the morning.

12.65 miles in the evening.

Got up and really enjoyed the run.  Today is Katey and my 2 year wedding anniversary.  I must confess that I was nervous when we got married 2 short years ago in Logan.  I actually ran 16 miles on a treadmill the morning of the wedding in order to help me relax.  I didn't want to go that far this morning but it was my own little way of celebrating the big day with a nice 6 mile run.  I realized once again how wonderful, amazing and supportive Katey is with all of my running endeavors.  She truly is a trooper and I am the luckiest guy alive.  I appreciate all that she does for me.  What a woman!  I drove down to St. George this afternoon.  What an adventure!  Windy, snowy, and rainy.  This all happened until just before St. George.  The sky opened up and it was clear and perfect conditions  I quickly changed in the Del Taco restaurant and met up with the guys for the club run.  It was fun being with them again and talking about lots of fun stuff.  We started at the store and then went down towards Green Valley and into Sunbrook.  At this point Dave and I took off and decided to do some more mileage.  We went out into Santa Clara heights and out to the backway of Snow Canyon Parkway and then back to the store.  I was in shorty shorts with a long sleeve shirt!  I couldn't believe the conditions.  It was absolute perfect.  I had a great time talking with Dave about coaching and running in general.  Great run and even better conversation.  You can't ask for much more!  6:48/mile pace overall.

7 miles in the morning.

I am glad I brought my winter gear down to St. George.  It was very windy and cold.  About 5 miles into the run the sun came out and I warmed up real quick.  I had to take the hat and gloves off.  I can't believe their is a little bit of snow on the mountains down here!  Good run considering the heavy wind slowed me down a bit.

The reason why I came down to St. George is because their is an opening for a SPED teacher/head track coach/head cross country coach at the new Desert Hills High School that is opening up next year.  I came down and talked with the principal and everything went really well.  He said that he couldn't hire me right now because of the time frame but he talked with some people that know me and told me that it is not 100% but about a 95% chance I will have the teaching position/coaching positions.  Katey and I have talked about moving down for a while now and it looks like prayers have been answered.  They are going to check my references and told me to call back in about a month or so for the final decision.  I would love it down here.

I went out to lunch with my mom and sister and I started to not feel so well.  My body was aching and I got cold.  I came home, took some Tylenol and slept for a couple hours.  I think I might be getting the flu a little bit.  I felt better after I slept for a while.  I was planning 10 or 11 miles this afternoon but my body told me that it would not be good.  I am running with Clyde and Dave tomorrow so I am glad that I took the rest. 

I met up with Dave, Clyde, Bill, and Allen at Clyde's house for a nice run this morning.  We all started out together and then we split up.  We went out towards Coral Canyon and did a big loop.  It was gorgeous weather and fun listening to Clyde and Dave complain about the cold weather.  We pushed the last 2 miles pretty good and hit 6:44/mile overall.  It was great running with the St. George guys again.  It is always fun.  My body felt fine during the run but it is starting to get a little achy now.  I need to make sure I get some rest and take some Tylenol.  I enjoyed my time down in St. George.

I didn't feel that great yesterday morning. I ate breakfast and it decided it didn't want to stay down for very long. I had a sore throat all day yesterday and it continued a little bit today. Here is a three way conversation that Katey, my body and I had the last couple of days:

Logan: Katey, I don't feel very good and my body is very achy.

Body: You should take a day or two off hoser!

Katey: I totally agree! It would do you good Logan.

Logan: I can't take a couple of days off because I need to be running.

Katey: You are crazy! I know what is best for you.

Body: Your wife is a pretty smart person.

Logan: Hmmmm????

Katey: You had an incredible year running. You did great at St. George and had the wonderful opportunity to go and run in the Olympic Trials. You didn't have any serious injuries all year and you are still pretty healthy. If a lot of the elite runners in the world take a break once a year, why can't you?

Body: Your wife is still a really smart person. I like her a lot. I have been good to you Logan and would hope you could find it in your heart to take it a little easier this last week of the year. You are a little sick and the lower mileage will help you physically and mentally to start up the new year on a good note.

Logan: I guess you both are right. I realize once again that you are both way smarter than me. Running is 80% mental and 40% physical. I think that adds up right! This last week is crazy due to all of the family activities and events related to the holidays. What if I stick to between 5 and 6 miles a day for the first couple days of the week and then see how I feel later in the week?

Body: Not a bad idea. I would appreciate it.

Katey: Sounds good to me.

Logan: It is settled then.

As you can all tell, I have way to much time on my hands. I did have this discussion with Katey (it wasn't exactly word for word as stated above) and decided my body needs a little bit of a break. I am sick and don't want to overdo it. I am up in Logan now with the in-laws and did an easy 5.35 miles this morning. I went from the in-laws, up into North Logan, back around to the university and then back to their house. My throat was sore again but I need a nice little break from all the intense training so I can really get going for 2008. I averaged 6:56/mile overall for the run. Katey truly is much smarter than me!

I woke up early and went down to Paul's house for a nice Christmas run. It was freezing cold. The temperature showed 3 degrees but Paul said it is usually warmer than indicated. Their was a lot of snow on the road and conditions were not good. We went up into Providence and back to Paul's house. I felt like I was running with Santa because Paul's beard turned from brown to white very quick with all the cold weather. My nose hair and eye brows were frozen as well. You can't ask for a better start to a Christmas day. 7:45/mile overall. It was good running and talking with Paul again.

I took today off because my throat is still hurting and my body aches a little. We were planning on shopping all day at the Gateway but decided it would be best if I stayed in and rested today. This truly will be a rest week with very light mileage. I can't remember the last time I had a week like this so it is a little different for me. Katey and I might go use some Christmas money to buy some presents. I need to keep drinking the fluids and rest to hopefully recover from this so I can rock and roll again next week.

I quit being stubborn today and went to the doctor this morning. I have strep throat! I got some antibiotics and hopefully will get this thing kicked within the next day or two. Already feeling a little better with some of the medicine in me.

The medication for my strep throat is helping out a lot.  My throat only tingles a little bit this morning.  I don't want to come back to soon and make myself sicker so I will do one more day of stretches and drinking lots of fluids.  I can't remember the last time I have been this sick so I want to be extra careful.  I will probably run a couple miles tomorrow just to loosen everything back up.

5 easy miles this morning at a 7:30/mile pace overall. Felt good to be running again. Happy to have this sick/rest week over so I can really get going again next week.

It felt good to be running again.  I want to start this week a little slow just to make sure the strep doesn't come back.  I will hit it hard again starting tomorrow.  I did the run at 7:18/mile pace overall.  I was glad to get moving again.  I don't like being sick and I don't like being sedentary.  I am glad to have 2007 come to an end and am looking forward to a great 2008.  This year has been good to me with my wife, job, and running.  I truly have been blessed and can't wait to see what happens in 2008.  It should be another good one.  Happy New Year to you all!