El Burro Blanco

Still recovering from the one of my worst performances in a race from Saturday (2:55, I guess you have to have bad days every once in a while.  I will use it as a learning experience).  My quads and shins are pretty sore and doing a lot of stretching to try and stay loose.  I am really excited to use this blog to learn how to train better from such great runners.  Real excited to be a part of this.   

Still stretching out and drinking lots of fluids to get ready to start training again.  My ankle is still a bit sore as well.

I have done a lot of core exercises to try and strengthen my mid-section.  I am not looking to be chiseled but I know that making my abdominal muscles stronger will help out a lot.  My wife, who is a personal trainer, says that I need to take the entire week off to give my body the rest that I need.  My right ankle is still bothering me so I might do that.  I don't think it is worth hurting myself so early in the season over a couple extra days of rest.  I also get to myself ready mentally.  I am looking forward to the summer for all of my training that I want to do.  I listen to my wife "all the time," but I will most likely go running Friday if the ankle is feeling better!

It felt good to get out and run again.  I did the 7 miles at a slow pace (7:36).  The wind was blowing quite a bit but it felt nice.  The wind usually blows running along Highway 89 near Harrisville.  It makes me focus and push myself a little more.  My ankle felt great and I did not have any problems with it.  

My ankle is feeling much better so I wanted to run a few more miles today.  Once again, the wind was blowing quite a bit but it sures pushes me along.  I got out there and it felt great.  I pushed it a little faster than yesterday.  My pace for the entire run was 6:36.  I thought I was going a little slower than that though.  Looking forward to a nice easy 13 miles tomorrow.

I don't want to sound like I am complaining but the wind has been blowing like crazy in Harrisville.  This course was an out and back.  Head wind going out and head wind coming back.  Just my luck!  I didn't want to push too hard since the wind was blowing and I am still bringing my mileage back up.  6:54 pace for the entire race.  It felt really good.  I have family coming in from Georgia for the holiday weekend.  Need to make sure I get my miles in during the first of next week with all of the activities planned.  Looking to do about 70 miles next week.

It was a nice run to start the week out.  I went out towards Plain City where their would not be a lot of traffic.  Since their was a lot of posts along the road, I decided to do some fartleks today.  They felt really good.  My wife came and met me while she was doing her bike ride.  She did the last 4 miles with me and really pushed me.  Pace for the entire run was 6:33.  I am going to break my runs into two a day.  I have never tried it before and I hope that it will be less wear and tear on my body. 

6.15 in the morning.

6.00 in the afternoon.

I am going to really like breaking my runs into two-a-day.  Both runs were at a fairly fast pace.  I really tested the ankle today and things are good with it.  Hopefully it holds up and I can build my mileage up over the summer.  I need to remember to slow the second run down though.

My family from Georgia left yesterday morning.  The stomach flu was going around and 10 people got sick in my family!  I was one of the unfortunate ones.  I was throwing up last night and did not feel good this morning.  I was very weak today but went and ran 6 miles at a slow pace (7:40).  I wasn't able to eat much today.  Hopefully I get feeling better soon.

I woke up this morning and felt a little bit better.  I wasn't as weak as yesterday but still feeling some of the effects.  My run was about the same pace as yesterday.  I will have to get moving the next two days to make this week worthwhile.  I really do hate getting sick.

8.55 in the morning.

8.50 in the evening.

It felt great getting up this morning and getting in a solid 8.5 miles.  I went over by the DDO in Ogden.  Their was not very much traffic so it was awesome.  I pushed it this morning and did a couple miles just under 6:00 pace and finished with an overall pace of 6:29.  It felt nice to get the muscles really moving.

I worked outside for the entire day at my job but got in another nice run this evening.  I was up in Ogden Valley and ran a route that took me along Pineview Resorvoir.  A little over 4 miles of the route was up and down trail running.  It was good to get away from everything.  It was nice and quiet and nothing but a lot of horse dung!  I guess it doesn't compare to all the desert tortoises down in sunny St. George!  I forgot how fun trail running is.  I did a fair amount of it while I was going to school at Utah State.  I will have to do more of it.  Overall pace was 6:56.  The stomach flu bug is all gone!  I am going to try and shoot for 16 miles tomorrow so I can hit 70 miles for the week.  I might have to break it into two runs because I have to work tomorrow.  I am liking the two-a-days though.

I had to split my runs into two today because I had to work.  I wanted to do one long run.  Oh well!

8.00 in the morning.

8.00 in the afternoon.

I ran out to Mariott/Slaterville this morning.  I felt good and did not want to push that much.  It was a nice run.

The run this afternoon was really hot.  I had to do it when the temperature was hovering close to 90 degrees.  I ran the same trail run as yesterday.  My neck was really black after the run because of all the bugs that were pasted to me!  I swallowed a bug or two so I have had my protein for the day.  I got to 70 miles this week which was more psychological than anything.  I did not like being sick so I wanted to push myself these last two days.  I think I am shooting for anywhere between 70-75 miles next week.  Overall, I am pleased with the week of running.

6.00 in the morning.

6.00 in the afternoon.

I was a little tired this morning but I got in a good 6 miles.  I felt really good afterwards.  I am making sure that I stretch before and after my runs.  It seems to make me more loose and the legs are not as tight.  After work I went and was feeling really good so I pushed it.  I averaged 6:04 pace for the entire run.  Their were 3 decent hills and the wind was blowing a bit so I was pleased with my pace.  I am going to make sure I start doing speed workouts this week.  I did them a lot in the past and haven't done much lately.  If anyone has suggestions, please let me know.  I was happy with both runs today.

7.00 in the morning.

6.00 in the afternoon.

I had a good run out towards Fremont High School and was going along great until on the way back I had to stop because of a train.  I wish I lived out in the country.  I didn't push it to hard and the run felt great.  I was up in Ogden Valley and did another 6 in the afternoon.  It was overcast and the wind was blowing quite a bit so the pace was slow (6:52 overall).  It was nice not running in really hot weather.  I really hope it rains.  We could use the moisture!

I did all 12 miles together today.  The weather was terrible.  The rain was coming down hard and sideways with the wind blowing all over the place.  I decided to stick to the treadmill today instead of killing myself outside in the middle of the week.  I started out at a 7:30 pace and moved all the way up to a 6:39 pace at the end.  It was good putting all the miles together today.  I was watching Sportscenter and then the rerun of Scripps National Spelling Bee came on.  I have come to the conclusion that I am not smarter than a 12 year old.  Those kids are smart!  Serrefine was the winning word.  May I have the definition please?  I am glad it is raining because we needed the moisture.  Hopefully I can get back outside tomorrow. 

I did 6 miles this morning.  I started out at a 7:30 pace and did that for 2 miles and then moved up to a 6:18 pace for the last couple of miles.  It was a nice run.  I am glad that the rain is clearing up.  I am going to go and do some 400's at the track this evening after work.  I am planning on doing 12.  The rain was really nice to have but I am looking forward to more beautiful sunshine the rest of the weekend!

I got out and did some interval work on the track.  It was great!  It has been a while since I have done it.  I started out with 2 miles to warm up and then hit it hard.  I was shooting for all under 1:20.  Here they go as follows:

1- 1:11                     7- 1:14

2- 1:14                     8- 1:15

3- 1:10                     9- 1:13

4- 1:12                     10- 1:13

5- 1:10                     11- 1:12

6- 1:12                     12- 1:15

I was really pleased with my times.  I felt really good.  I did each 400 with a 200 meter recovery jog in between.  I finished up with a mile cool down and then called it a night.  I will make sure I do this once a week.

I did two easy recovery runs today due to the speed work from last night.  I did 6 miles in the morning and then another 4 in the afternoon.  I am doing the Cache Valley Biatholon with my father-in-law tomorrow.  I am running the 5 miles and then he is biking the 16 or so miles.  I did not want to push it to much.  My father-in-law wants to do really well tomorrow.  We shall see!

I did the Cache Valley Biathlon with my father-in-law today.  I ran the 5 miles in just under 28 minutes.  It was a nice VO2 max run for me.  I came in second and felt good considering I was going to do another 10 afterwards.  My father-in-law is close to 60 years old and biked 16.5 miles in 49 minutes.  Our total time was 1:17:10 or so.  I think we took 15th place overall.  My father-in-law had tears in his eyes because he beat a lot of younger hot shots on their bikes.  He has a bad neck and usually rides a recumbent bike but this year he did the ride on an upright.  A little side note.  My wife did the whole thing by herself and did awesome.  It was her real first race ever.  I am so proud of her.  The race was in Wellsville so I ran from there all the way back into Logan.  My legs were feeling good so I pushed a few miles at threshold pace.  The entire run was at a 6:07 pace.  It was a great run.  I thought I was going slower but I was cruising along for a while at marathon pace.  I think the speed workouts are helping.  It was a great day of running and biking for the Fielding family!  I was really happy to hit 75 miles this week.  It felt good.  

6 in the morning.

6.5 in the afternoon.

I was a bit tired this morning so I did not push it to much.  I did the 6 miles at a 6:26 pace.  I also knew that I had a long day of work ahead of me so I wanted to take it a little slow.  I got out the door at 8 PM.  The wind was blowing a bit but I was surprisingly not tired.  I did a tempo run for the first 3 miles.  I was just under 18 minutes.  I slowed down just a little and finished with an average pace overall of 6:11.  I was a little taken back considering their were a couple hills with the wind.  I'll take this run.  It was a nice start to the week.  Something interesting did happen on the run though.  3 birds came really low and started following me and continued to chirp at me for about a quarter of a mile.  It was really different.  Hopefully I didn't hurt there feelings and make them mad!

8 miles in the morning.

6 miles in the evening.

I did a nice slow recovery run this morning at a 6:58 pace.  It loosened up the legs and felt really good.  I ran into those crazy birds from yesterday again.  I don't know what the deal is.  I was pretty tired after work but once I started running, I was feeling really good.  I did the first 3 miles at a 6:20 pace and then did the last 3 miles at marathon pace.  The sun was still beating down and it was fairly hot.  The legs were feeling really great tonight.  I was quite surprised considering how tired I was.  Another good day of running.

7 in the morning.

7 in the afternoon.

The morning run was pretty decent.  I did it at an average pace of about 6:30.  I didn't push it to much but it did feel good.  After work I was going to do a little bit slower paced run but I ended up having to go faster than I originally wanted due to church responsibilities.  I pushed at threshold pace for a mile or so and ended up with an overall pace of 6:18.  Not to bad of a day for running.

6 miles in the morning.

8 for the speed work out.

I did a nice slow run this morning.  It was pretty hot but I was glad to get out anyways.  I did the entire run at about a 7:10 pace.  I did  12 x 400m this evening at Weber High's track.  I did 2.25 miles to warm up and another 1.25 miles to cool down.  Here are the times as follows:

1- 1:12         7- 1:11

2- 1:10         8- 1:10

3- 1:10         9- 1:09

4- 1:10         10- 1:10

5- 1:09        11- 1:10

6- 1:10        12- 1:10

I did 200m recovery runs in between.  My times were faster than last week which made me very happy.  I got to my speed work a little late tonight because I was out with my wife.  It was nice to get this in though.

I was a bit sore this morning and slept in a bit.  I had to pick up my Mom from the airport so I didn't get my first run in until about 10:30.  It was hot to say the least.  I did my run at a 7:06 pace.  I will probably do another 6 miles this afternoon.  I have my "redneck" family reunion this evening and it goes all day tomorrow.  I went out after work and ran a 5 mile trail run at about a 7:15 - 7:30 pace.  It was a good run.  I kicked a black animal that came out of the bushes.  I think it was a bird but I was pretty scared.  Hopefully I didn't hurt it!

My "redneck" reunion got started off last night with lots of people drinking.  I wasn't amused and went to bed.  This people are still family and I only see them once or twice a year.  I woke up at 5:30 and went out for a run from Cherry Hill.  I went through Farmington and got all the way to Centerville.  I could not believe how many rolling hills their were.  It was quite a hilly run.  Some hills were pretty steep and went on for close to a mile or so.  I tried pushing it and was only able to hit VO2 max pace once for half a mile.  I would be running along and then another big hill would come up.  I tried pushing it up the hills and it was a nice workout.  My overall pace was 6:31.  I was really happy with this week of running.  I found out the other day that I am doing the Wasatch Back Relay next weekend.  I am doing it with my friend's brother-in-laws.  It will be something different and should be fun.  I have the 1st, 12th, and 25th legs.  I was pleased with my running once again this week.  I am slowing trying to increase my mileage per week.      

8 in the morning.

7 in the evening.

I did the morning run at a slow pace.  I did not want to "kill" myself on the first run of the week.  I started out a 7:30 pace and slowly worked my way up to a 7:08 pace.  It was a nice run to start the week off.  After working outside for most of the day I was a touch tired.  I got some water in me and took a short break.  I got going and was feeling pretty good.  I decided to do some marathon pace miles this evening.  I went out and my first mile was 6:15 to warm up.  I then did 5:58, 6:01, 5:58, 5:54, and 5:55 for the marathon pace miles.  I then cooled down with a 6:34 mile.  Overall time was 42:35 with an overall pace of 6:05.  It was the perfect weather to go and do a run like this.  It was nice to have it not so hot today.

8 miles in the morning.

7 miles in the evening.

I went out and the weather was great.  It was not to hot and not cold.  I thought the weather was perfect.  I did the run with a 6:39/mile average.  I saw a couple dogs and thought they were going to come after me but they didn't.  They were really harmless.  I am going to do my speed workout tonight because I have the WBR this weekend and want to have some time to rest the legs with some slower paced runs before the race.  I got to my speed workout late again.  My wife and I had some money issues we were talking about.  I went up to Weber High School again and did my workout.  I did 2.25 miles to warm up and then did 8 x 400m with 200m recovery jogs in between.

1- 1:08     5- 1:08

2- 1:10     6- 1:10

3- 1:10     7- 1:11

4- 1:10     8- 1:11  (legs were really sluggish)

I then did 4 x 200m.  The first two were :33 and the last two were :32.  I then did 1.25 miles to cool down.  I was pretty tired tonight but glad that I went out and got this workout done. 

6 miles in the morning.

8 miles in the evening.

The morning jog was pretty much a recovery run at 7:24/mile.  I couldn't run as much as I wanted to because I had to get to work.  I ran this evening at about the same pace as this morning.  Nothing to exciting about either run.

6 miles in the morning.

6 miles in the evening. 

I did another nice run this morning. I am not wanting to push it to much because of the WBR tomorrow. I found out that my team name is Soar Feet. Our starting time is right at noon. I am the first runner so it will be nice and hot! I did another easy 6 miles this evening.  I am excited for the weekend.  The WBR will be something different.  It should be fun!

I was the first runner on my team (Soar Feet).  We were in the mixed division.  My team had a couple women on it that have done a few marathons and also a couple men that have done a marathon or too.  One guy on the team has done a bunch of ultra-marathons.  He and I were in the same van so I talked with him about the possibility of doing an ultra-marathon.  I got a lot of great input from him and will most likely pace him during the Wasatch 100 in September.  He is a really nice guy.  The 1st leg was really hot starting at Noon but it was nice to get us started off on the right foot.  I ran the 5.1 miles at 5:48/mile.  It got really hot quick.  I didn't want to go and kill myself right at the first.  It was fun to get going with the race though.  I was in the first van and we got done about 4:30 PM.  We took a short break and then I ran again at 7:50.  I ran the downhill section (13th leg) from Snowbasin.  I was flying down the mountain at a good pace.  I hit under 4:00/mile pace and realized I was going way to fast.  I was moving and ended up with 5:13/mile pace.  It was the longest section of the relay (7.8 miles) so I was glad to do that for my team.  The first van got done and then we tried to get some sleep before we started again in the morning.  I maybe got an hour in before I had to run.  I ran into Ruth and Ally from the Pine View team.  They recognized my singlet so we chatted for a little bit.  Dave is going to have a really good cross country team this year.  He has a couple of really good runners!

I started my last leg (25) at 4:10 in the morning.  I was still really sleepy but I was fine once I got going on my run.  I was at about a 5:30/mile pace when a mile into it I got a really bad side stitch on my right side.  I was rubbing it out and trying to take short quick breaths to get rid of it.  I had to slow down a bit which made me really frustrated.  I was passing a younger guy and he pulled behind me and drafted for a little bit.  The wind was blowing right in my face and I wasn't feeling the best but I was not going to allow this guy to let me do a bunch of the work for him.  I got going and left him really fast.  The side stitch went away a little bit but I wasn't able to go very fast.  I ended up doing 6:36/mile pace for the entire thing.  It was up hill and with the wind blowing it didn't make for the most enjoyable run.  I was bummed out to have a bad last leg but oh well.  I enjoyed this race a lot.  It was something totally different and I met some really nice people.  I had no idea who was on my team except my friend's two brother-in-laws.  I wanted to run a little more this afternoon but ended up sleeping because we went to the RSL game.  They got the first win of the season which was fun to be at.  Congrats to all who ran and especially the Marathongis.com team!  Nice job on the 3rd place finish.

8 miles in the morning.

8.25 miles in the evening.

I got up this morning feeling a little sore.  My hip flexors and quads had most of the pain.  I got out and did a nice recovery run.  I was between 7:10 and 7:30 pace for most of the time.  It felt good to get out and loosen up the muscles.  My legs felt better after the run this morning.  I took a nice cold bath which helped out even more.  I came home from work and took a short two hour nap and then went out again when the sun was going down.  I went out towards Marriott/Slaterville.  The weather was perfect and I did this run at a 7:00/mile pace.  My legs were feeling much better but my quads were still a touch sore.  I just enjoyed this run and did not push too hard.

8.25 miles in the morning.

9 miles in the evening.

I did the same run as last night.  I was at about a 7:30/mile pace the first 3 miles and then started getting some spring back into my legs.  The weather was pretty warm and I ended up doing the entire run at a 6:40/mile pace.  It is always nice once the legs don't hurt as much.  That is always a good thing.  For one reason or the other I ended up doing my evening run on the treadmill.  The weather was really hot outside so I decided to run on the treadmill.  I warmed up at 7:30 pace for one mile and then bumped it up to 7:03 pace for the next three miles.  I then bumped it up to 6:39 pace for three more miles and then 6:15 pace for the last two miles.  My legs felt really good this evening.  I think most of the lactic acid build up is gone.  Thank heavens!

5 miles in the morning.

16 miles in the evening.

Nothing to exciting to report about the run this morning.  I am planning on doing something a little different this evening.  I did a fast hike/trail run up to Ben Lomond Peak.  I went with a friend and started at the North Ogden divide and went up.  It was absolutely perfect weather.  It was just me and him with three motorcycle riders that we saw.  I got blisters 2 miles in but I felt fine when I ran instead of hiking.  It gave me a good excuse to run though.  I wasn't worried about pace but just wanted to enjoy this run.  It got kind of dark on the way back and I almost rolled my ankle a couple of times.  I was careful and everything worked out.  I was pretty tired after this fast hike/trail run and will probably not do it to much.  My friend really wanted to do it so we tried it out.  It was nice to do something a touch different for a run.  I will definitely call this my hill workout for the week.  I hope I can get some mileage in the next couple of days because I am going to Youth Conference for the next couple of days.  It should be exciting!

8 miles in the morning.

I woke up and ran at about 5:45 this morning because we left for Youth Conference a touch after 7.  I procastinated the "day of my packing" so I wasn't able to do many more miles.  I did the miles at a 7:30/mile pace and was just happy to get in the miles this morning.  I was still feeling the effects of last night's run a bit.  We arrived in Manti and went with the youth to the temple to do some work there.  It was amazing to be there.  It was really peaceful to be in Manti.  It is a really small town and we pretty much had the place to ourselves today.  We played a lot of games and ate some good food.  I feel really lucky to work with the youth.  They are so amazing!

6.5 miles in the morning.

I wasn't planning on running at all today but their was a young man that ran in high school who is getting ready for a 5K on the 4th of July.  He asked if I wanted to go.  I knew I should have brought my running stuff.  I did have my old running shoes so I borried some shorts (they were way past my knees!) and went from Manti almost to Ephraim.  It was nice to get out and run with him.  It wasn't at a fast pace but we were probably between a 6:30-7:30 pace the whole time.  We saw a couple of dead snakes on the side of the road that made me jump.  I think they were diamondbacks!  I hate snakes with a passion.  I am glad that he got me going.  The lesson I learned is to take my running stuff with me wherever I go.  I know better than that.  We got back to camp and then went on a 3 mile hike with everyone and saw some petroglyphs that were nearby.  We played more games and then did a "Faith walk" at dusk.  It was a great experience that I will always remember.  We also had a judge from the town of Manti who came and told us the history of how Manti was established and also how the temple came to be built.  I was once again taken back by how wonderful the youth are in the ward.  They all get along and have such strong testimonies.  It has been a great Youth Conference.  I am glad that I could be a part of it.

13 miles in the afternoon.

We got up and had a yummy pancake breakfast, packed our stuff, and then drove home.  I had a nice nap which was much needed.  I hope all of the youth had a good time at Youth Conference.  I know that I did.  I got home and wanted to run a fast 13 miles.  I warmed up at a 7:18/mile pace for 2 miles and then went right into 9 miles at marathon pace (6:00/mile).  It felt really good so I went up to 5:45/mile pace for a mile and then 5:27/mile pace for half a mile and then up to 5:12/mile pace for the last half mile.  This run felt really good and I am glad that I got it in.  I am looking forward to the Blacksmith Fork 15K on the 4th.  I hope to do well in it.  I am glad that I reached 80 miles this week.  I was looking to doing more but Youth Conference came into play.  It was a nice work. 

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.

11.20 miles in the morning.

9 miles in the afternoon.

I was a little sore this morning so I did a slow recovery jog at 7:24/mile pace.  I moved up the pace just a little this afternoon to 7:18/mile.  Today was a nice recovery day.  Happy to get in another 20 mile day.  Not to much to report.

10.55 miles in the morning.

10 miles in the evening.

I got 2 miles in at Acceleration.  I was walking backward on the treadmill and then running forward on it with an incline.  I did some core exercises and felt good after all of it was done.  I met up with James and ran along the canal trail, Bonneville Shoreline trail, up to Green Canyon, back down by Lundstrom Park, and then ended at Pineview Apartments where James lives.  It was not a fast pace but it was nice to talk with him about school and the upcoming St. George Marathon.  It was nice and cool and was a fun run with someone to talk to.  We ended up doing 8.55 miles together.  I wanted to push the pace on my evening run because I don't know how much running I will be getting in Dallas.  I did 8 miles at 6:00/mile pace and then cooled down with 2 miles at 7:18/mile pace.  It felt fine keeping the pace at 6:00/mile but I had to stop twice to use the restroom.  My stomach bothered me a bit.  I survived though.

7 miles in Dallas.

I am really glad that I got most of my mileage in during the first part of the week.  Katey and I left very early this morning to get on the flight to go too Dallas.  We came to Dallas because my wife served her mission here and wanted to see some of the people she served around.  One of the young girls that went on exchanges with her got baptized and is going on her mission soon.  Katey really wanted to see her.  We stepped off the plane and the humidity nearly killed me!  I immediately started sweating.  I went out this afternoon and managed to get a 7 mile run in.  I had no idea where to go but I just went out and tried to survive.  It was 95 degrees outside and 41% humidity.  It felt really muggy.  I haven't sweat that bad in a long time.  I ran from our hotel to a place much like the BDO in Ogden.  I turned right on a road and ended up getting on a major highway.  It was fun to go out and explore the area a bit.  I got back to the hotel and could not stop dripping due to all of the sweat.  I am grateful to live in Utah where the humidity is not bad at all.  Hopefully I can run tomorrow.  My wife has some activities planned and this is her vacation so we shall see.

I was still in Dallas today.  With all of the activities Katey had planned I was not able to go out for a run.  We met up with her brother and sister-in-law for a soccer game.  I wasn't feeling very well today so I don't feel too bad not going out on a run. 

We got stuck in Dallas and the flight got delayed quite a bit.  I still wasn't feeling that great and was not able to go and run.  We were stuck in the airport for over 5 hours.  We got home at midnight and I thought about doing a couple miles but went straight to bed instead.

10.20 miles in the morning.

11.33 miles in the evening.

I woke up feeling much better.   The vacation in Dallas was nice but I will not miss the humidity.  I missed the mountains and the wonderful dry heat.  I did 6 miles at 7:24/mile pace and then did 4 miles at 6:35/mile pace.  I cooled down the last .20 miles.  The weather felt great.  I had one of my better workouts in a long time tonight.  I ran up alongside the mountain going towards North Ogden.  Their are 5 hills going out and back with spots where it is a slight uphill for half a mile or so.  I was feeling good so I decided to see how I could do on the hills.  I felt great and didn't feel like I was over doing it.  I averaged 6:16/mile for the entire run and pushed the last 3 miles at 5:56, 5:51, 5:44.  I was thrilled to hit those at the end of the run.  I think I will run this route twice a week leading up to St. George.  It has the hills and some downhill which will hopefully help with the wear and tear on the legs.

10.05 miles in the morning.

10 miles in the afternoon.

My legs were a touch sore from last night so I did not want to push it that much.  I went over by the BDO and had to alter my route due to the Weber County Fair.  I did 6:59/mile average for the entire run.  The wind was blowing just enough to make it not too hot.  My legs were still quite sore so I did another 10 miles at 7:24/mile pace.  Nothing to exciting to report.  Glad to get another 20 mile day.

7.5 miles in the morning.

11 miles in the afternoon.

I woke up around 4 AM and was not tired so I did not go back to bed.  I was up in Logan for Acceleration this morning and decided to go out for 40 or so minutes.  I did not worry about my pace but ended up doing 5.5 miles on the road.  It was nice and cool with no traffic or crazy dogs out.  I saw 3 shooting stars and I hope some of the wishes come true!  I then went to Acceleration and did a couple more miles.  I did some more core exercises with running on the treadmill forward and backward.  I was happy to get some miles in this early in the morning.  I went too a teacher orientation meeting for most of the day and when it was over I came home and took an hour and a half long nap.  My body really needed that.  I felt good and did the same 11 mile run that I did on Tuesday up towards North Ogden.  The pace was about 7:00/mile on the hills and then on the way back I did three quarter to half mile bursts of speed.  I was down in the 5:20-5:30/mile range when I was doing this.  I also pushed it up the hills to really test the legs when they were a little fatigued.  I averaged 6:30/mile pace for the entire run.  It was not as fast as yesterday but a decent workout nonetheless.  I will take it.

10.17 miles in the morning.

8 miles in the evening.

I woke up and was out the door by 5 AM this morning.  I have to get back in the routine of waking up early since school is starting up.  Today is the first day back from the summer.  Bummer!  I am excited for school to start though.  I went out and planned on doing an easy 10 mile run but ended up having to push the last 3 miles to get back in time for work.  I loved the cool weather but got stuck waiting for a train for a bit.  I averaged 7:01/mile pace for the entire run.  I did another 8 miles this evening at a 7:30/mile pace.  I am heading up to Logan with Paul and Cody so I did not want to push it that much.

I woke up early and drove to Logan to run a 20 miler with Paul and Cody.  I got pulled over coming out of Sardine Canyon and was ticked off.  I thought I was going to get a speeding ticket but I guess my front headlight was out and I just got a fix-it ticket.  The cop was cool so the morning didn't start out to bad.  Paul, Cody, and I drove up to Hollow Road and headed up Blacksmith Fork Canyon.  This is all pretty much uphill.  The headwind was really bad the first 4 miles or so and we were hitting about 7:15/mile pace.  We sped up a little bit and were really pushing to get 7:00/miles.  We made it up 10 miles at a 7:15/mile pace.  On the way down we started pushing it a little more.  We were hitting 6:10-6:15/miles.  It felt nice and relaxed.  The little bit of tailwind helped out.  I got a little antsy the last 4 miles.  Paul and I took off and did 5:57, 5:52, 5:23, and 5:09 miles for the last 4.  Their was no tailwind here and it felt nice to really get going with Paul.  It was nice and controlled and it didn't feel like I was really pushing myself past the point of getting out of control.  It was nice and a great way to finish off the run.  We ended up averaging 6:38/mile for the entire run.  The whole run took just under 2 hours and 13 minutes.  The weather was great and it was nice to run with Paul and Cody.  I am happy with the mileage this week considering I wasn't able to run on Monday.

8.07 miles in the morning.

9.07 miles in the afternoon.

It was a nice run this morning with the weather.  I was really happy to be running in cool weather and not hot weather.  I happened to avoid the train this morning which was nice.  I went out towards the fairgrounds again and did not push the pace at all.  I did the entire run at a 6:54/mile pace.  I got home from work and went out in the afternoon when it was still pretty hot.  I went out towards Farr West today.  I really wasn't planning it by I did the first 6 miles as a tempo run at a 5:55/mile pace.  It felt pretty good.  I "slowed" down a bit for the last 3 or so miles at a 6:06/mile pace.  I averaged right at 6:00/mile pace for the entire run.  It was a nice start to the week. 

7.40 miles in the morning.

10 miles at the track.

I woke up a touch late this morning and went out without the Garmin.  It was a nice relaxed run.  The cooler temperature in the early morning really makes it worth getting up early.  I came home from work and took another hour nap.  This seems to help when I go out for my second run.  I went up too Weber High and did some interval work.  The track was packed tonight with lots of people running.  Luckily their are 8 lanes so I was alright.  I did a 3 mile warm-up to get the legs loose and then did 7 x 1000m with 30 sec. or 200m recovery jogs.  Here they go as follows:

1- 3:06

2- 3:09

3- 3:09

4- 3:10

5- 3:11

6- 3:11

7- 3:12

I was really surprised with the first one but happy nonetheless.  I did all of them under 5:00/mile pace which surprised me alot.  I had to stop for just a second after the 4th one because I about threw up.  Luckily I didn't have any food in me.  I got a drink of water and was set to go for the rest of them.  I finished with a nice 1.75 mile cool down.  I did this type of interval workout with Paul last time.  I am glad that he showed me it.  I think it is helping out a ton.

8.15 miles in the morning.

8.36 miles in the evening.

I did a nice and easy run this morning.  I went over by the fairgrounds and did the entire run at a 7:03/mile pace.  I nearly got attacked by a huge pitbull this morning as well.  It saw me and started sprinting after me.  I don't know if it was loose or someone let it outside to use the bathroom but I was scared to death.  I guess I am here to talk about it so I am doing alright.  I went with the YM/YW to the Ogden Raptors baseball game and did not get my run in until late tonight.  It was late but I got a little over 8 miles in at 7:18/mile pace.  What a day!

8.07 miles in the morning.

10.08 miles in the evening.

This morning's run was just a bit hazy.  I don't remember much of it since I was pretty tired.  Once I got out and started running I felt much better.  It seems to be that way most of the time.  I went towards Fremont High and then came back.  The weather was cool and I did the entire run at 6:51/mile pace.  I will need a nap after work today before my run this evening.  I didn't get the nap in because I was fixing a headlight that went out and then packing because we are moving into a house within a week or so.  I wasn't too tired which was nice so I went for my run.  I did the first 6 miles at 6:30/mile pace and then finished up with 4 or so miles at 6:00/mile pace.  I didn't feel to bad afterwards which was nice.  I ended up doing more packing later in the night.  Ugh!

9 miles in the morning.

8.25 miles in the early evening.

I didn't feel like getting up this morning but I kicked myself out and everything was okay.  I did my run at 7:24/mile pace.  Not to exciting.  I got my ticket taken care of.  A little old lady signed my ticket and got me cleared up.  She was a real cop!  Thankfully she didn't have a gun.  I got up too Logan in the early evening and ran from my in-laws to the Hyde Park cemetery and back.  I did the first 4.12 miles at a 6:26/mile pace.  On the way back I pushed it and hit the last 2 miles at 5:45/mile pace and 5:32/mile pace.  Their were some big hills so I was pleased with the pace.  I averaged 6:20/mile pace for the entire run.  I am glad to be up here for a family reunion.  It will be nice to run with some of the Logan guys again.

I got up and was a touch late meeting Dan, Jon, Cody, and James but luckily they hadn't left yet when I met up with them.  We went out too Newton and ran with Jon's running club from work.  We did a big loop going out to Clarkston and then coming back into Newton.  They had a lady go every 3 miles and put water and Gatorade down.  It was nice.  The first 11 miles were between 7:00-7:30/mile pace.  Their were a lot of rolling hills and lots of farm land.  It was a nice change of scenery for a run.  The only traffic on the roads were a couple cops.  We saw about 4 of them!  Must be a lot of trouble in those small Cache Valley towns.  We pushed the pace right under 6:00/mile for the next 7 miles.  We did another 2 miles in order to get to 20 miles for the run.  When we got back too Newton the lady brought bagels and some more drinks.  Can't beat that.  It was another good workout.  I had to hurry afterwards because of a family reunion in Bear Lake.  The water was pretty cold but it felt great on the legs.  I swam to a buoy and back.  Swimming tired me out.  It was a good time had by all.  I hit 106 miles for the week.  This is a new all-time high for me so I stopped and got a famous raspberry shake in Garden City.  Yummy!  I am excited to see what happens in the half-marathon next week.

7.15 miles in the morning.

9.35 miles in the late evening.

I woke up a touch late this morning so I wasn't able to go longer than 7 miles.  I had another early meeting at work.  I ran this morning at a 7:18/mile pace.  I am really excited for the half this weekend.  I was at the school all day due to getting ready for school starting on Wednesday.  We also had Back to School night until 7:30.  I finally got home about 8:15 or so and then chatted with Katey for a bit.  I finally got my run in after a long day.  I did a warm up of 1 mile and then did the next 5 miles at 6:30/mile pace.  I finished the last 3 miles with a 6:15/mile pace.  At the end of my run I did a light cool down.  I was glad to have this run over with.  I was tired!

7.05 miles in the morning.

8.70 miles in the evening.

I woke up and did the same run as yesterday morning at about the same pace.  On my evening run I decided to a little bit of tempo.  I warmed up with 2 miles at 7:18/mile pace and then did 5 miles at 6:00/mile pace.  I finished up the run with 1.5 miles at a 5:42/mile pace.  Nothing to exciting and didn't feel like I pushed it to much.  Hopefully everything goes well Saturday.

6.5 miles in the morning.

9 miles in the early evening. 

I was up trying to get everything ready for school starting today. I don't feel to ready. It is weird to think the kids are already back. The pace was right around 7:20/mile this morning. Another nice, relaxed run.  I got home from the first day of school at around 5:30 and went out for my run.  Yes, I survived the first day!  I did my run up along the mountain going towards North Ogden.  The black clouds were coming but it wasn't to bad at first.  I wasn't pushing the pace by any means but did average 6:36/mile pace for the first 4.5 miles.  As soon as I turned around I had to really kick it into gear.  I did not want to go very fast today but that changed quick.  I heard thunder and saw lightning.  I also got drenched with huge balls of rain.  It almost felt like hail.  I did the last 4 miles at 5:41, 5:37, 5:29, and 5:27/mile pace.  I am sure people driving in their cars looked at me and thought what a idiot.  You gotta run no matter what the weather is like!  The lightning did make me a little nervous though. 

5 miles in the morning.

6 miles in the evening.

I did an easy 5 mile run this morning at 7:24/mile pace.  I will do a few more miles tonight and then run once tomorrow to get ready for hopefully a fast TOU/half.  I did another easy 6 miles this evening.  Nothing to serious but just kept the legs moving.  Katey biked alongside me. 

After work I did an easy 6 miles just to keep the legs loose for tomorrow.  I hope all goes well.  We will see.

Today was a very interesting day for me running.  I felt great when I woke up and was excited for the race today.  I got up to the starting area and did a short .30 mile warm-up.  I then went to the starting line and saw everybody there.  Jon, Paul, James, Cody, Walter, and a couple USU runners were also running today.  The temperature was about 45 degrees at the starting line.  It was a perfect day to run.  I talked with Paul and he said that he was going to try and hit 5:20/mile pace down the canyon.  I decided to stick with him for a bit and then see what happens after the canyon ended.  The race started and I was about 5 to 10 yards behind Paul up until mile 4.  He slowed down a little bit and said that I should go for it.  It was a nice push for the first 4 miles.  I was feeling good and ready to roll after this.  I was in the lead for the rest of the race until about mile 11.5.  I missed the correct turn going back into Providence and went about 3 blocks to far east.  They didn't have anyone there to tell me when to turn.  I stopped twice and tried to find my way back to the course.  I went back down and saw Walter and Jon so I finally turned down the correct road and eventually caught back up with them.  I went by them and came in 2nd place overall.  Half-marathons are usually just 13.1 miles long but I ended up doing just over 14 miles when I crossed the finish line!  Paul ended up coming back and running the last quarter of a mile with me.  He knew that I didn't make the right turn.  I crossed the finish line and one of the race directors realized that they didn't have anyone out on the course where I missed the turn.  She said that they missed me by about 45 seconds.  Oh well!  Things like this happen.  I need to get me a "I'm with stupid" shirt and have the arrow pointing straight at me.  I ended up runing 1:13:42 according to my Garmin.  5:16/mile pace overall.  This included 2 stops and going 14 miles!  Here are my splits:

1- 5:18

2- 5:19

3- 5:17

4- 5:13

5- 5:08

6- 5:06

7- 5:04

8- 5:09

9- 5:14

10- 5:11

11- 5:18

12- 5:41 = going uphill on the wrong route and stopping twice, doooh!

13- 5:19

14- 5:13

14.1- :12

I am a little disappointed because I would have PR'd by about a minute if I made the correct turn.  I was at 1:08:17 at my mile 13.  This course was much slower than Bryce Canyon and it was ideal race conditions.  Despite my blunder, I am really stoked about St. George.  I am ready and need to keep pushing myself for the next month.  The Logan running guys represented well.  Cody and Jon both got PR's.  Paul won the race on a training run and James ran a good race despite a week of not running much due to his trip.  Congrats to all of them.  I did 2.85 mile cooldown with the Logan guys.  What a day!

6.07 miles in the morning.

10.88 miles in the evening.

We moved into our new house most of the weekend so I was just happy to get out the door and get some miles in.  Their are some nice hills going up and down that we help with this last month before St. George.  I did the run at a 6:44/mile pace.  The legs aren't too sore from Saturday which is a nice thing.  I got home from work a touch late and did a lot of unpacking.  I lost track of time and didn't get out of the house until after 9 PM.  I once again ran up towards North Ogden along the mountain.  The temperature was a little cool with the wind blowing just a touch.  It was absolutely perfect.  I kept the pace at about 7:00/mile for most of the run but did 5 miles at a mini tempo pace (6:00-6:15/mile pace).  I finished the run at a 6:18/mile overall pace.  I got back home and did some more unpacking.  The joys of the first official house! 

6.05 miles in the morning.

11 miles in the evening.

I woke up and was really tired.  I got moving along and felt fine after about the first mile.  I didn't push it at all this morning.  I had a little run in with a car.  I crossed the street in plenty of time and they thought I was "cutting" them off.  He honked at me and proceeded to go on his run.  He should know that runners own the roads!  Also, when I got back to the house the door was locked.  I had to punch out a screen and jump through the small window to get in.  I'm glad no one called the cops for someone breaking and entering!  It is Ogden.  I did the run at a 7:18/mile pace.  It was quite the morning to say the least.  I came home and took an hour and a half power nap.  It sure helped.  I went out on the same route as last night but took it a touch slower.  I did the entire run at 6:30/mile pace.  It was not to bad of a push.

4 miles in the morning.

12.50 miles in the evening.

I was dead tired this morning so I did an easy 4 without worrying about the pace.  I am planning on running with James this evening.  I met up with James in Perry this evening and went for a nice run.  We went up along the canal trail along the mountain and then ran into Brigham City.  We somehow ended up on the highway going towards Logan so we turned around and came back.  I didn't see any animals with him which was a huge relief!  Their were a couple really big hills but it was nice to work the legs out a bit.  8 or so miles of the run was on trails so we were working fairly hard.  We averaged 7:07/mile pace for the entire run.  We got back too his in-laws and ate a couple peaches to refresh the body.  They were yummy!

15 miles this evening. 

I went out and did a quick 4 miles before James showed up.  I did it in 24:30.  It was a nice push for the start of running tonight.  James got to my house around 6 and we headed up along Harrison and went up towards North Ogden.  We had a few big hills and a gradual uphill climb for the first 5.5 miles.  We were hovering around the 7:00/mile guy.  On the way back we dropped to around about 6:30/mile pace.  It was a nice 11 mile run with James.  I am glad that we were able to survive all of the dang cars on the road! 

15 miles in the afternoon.

I got home from work and went out at about 4:30 or so.  Katey wasn't sleeping to well last night and didn't feel that great so I was busy with her and didn't get out this morning.  I am happy to report that she is feeling better.  I went down towards the old apartment and went out past the BDO and then through the fairgrounds.  The wind was blowing a little bit but of course it decided to stop so it was pretty stinking hot.  I didn't want to push it to much considering the big run planned tomorrow with the Logan guys.  I did the entire run at a 6:49/mile pace.  My singlet was really salty after this run.  Lots of water afterwards!  I am glad their are 31 days in August because it allowed me to hit 400 miles in a month for the first time ever.  I would have never thought of hitting that many miles in a single month when I first started running a couple of years ago.  I have enjoyed increasing the mileage and am feeling much better overall.

I drove up early this morning too Logan with James.  I woke up at 5 to get there.  We met up with the ATK running club and mooched off their food and drinks.  Thanks again Jon to you and your friends.  We started at mile 3 of the TOU marathon course and ran up to the starting line and then back down Blacksmith Fork Canyon.  James, Jon, Paul, and me ran at an easy pace at the start to get loosened up.  Had to stop twice to get the port-a-potty duties taken care of.  Paul and I went out for a fast 9 miles.  Paul wanted to hit under 5:20/mile pace for a while.  The first 11 miles of the run were at about 6:55/mile pace.  They splits went as follows when Paul and I took off: 5:24, 5:22, 5:18, 5:19, 5:14, 5:34, 5:20, 5:31, 5:34, and then 5:41 for the last quarter mile.  It got hot really fast during the run.  We stopped around mile 18 and downed some water and gatorade.  I slowed down a bit because the quads and calves were a little sore.  Paul went out about 30 to 40 yards ahead of me and then slowed down for the last mile or so for a short tempo run.  Paul and I agreed that it will be nice to not have to many more of these workouts.  It was nice running with Paul and really pushing the pace.  St. George is just a little over a month away!

6 miles in the early morning.

12.50 miles in the evening. 

I wanted to sleep in a touch today but I woke up at 5:30 to go for a 6 miler because I was going golfing with my father-in-law. I wanted to keep the pace slow but ended up have to push it a little bit to get home on time. I averaged 6:38/mile pace for the entire run.  I went couch shopping all day with Katey and the in-laws.  I was pretty tired so I was able to take short mini naps while they did most of the shopping.  Labor Day is busy with people couch shopping all over town.  I decided that if I fell asleep quick that should be the couch we need to buy.  I think I fell asleep a couple times in the couches that cost over $2,000.  Go figure!  I got back to the in-laws and took a nap to really get refreshed.  I went out around 7:00 and went almost all the way to Sky View High School.  It was a nice out and back 6 mile route.  Their are quite a few steep hills and then a few down hills.  It really got the legs working.  Lunch wasn't sitting to well but I survived.  I did the run at 6:42/mile pace.  Nice start to the week.

16.00 miles in the early evening.

Tonight had to have been one of the most interesting runs I have ever done.  I was getting ready to go out for my run when I saw the thunder and lightning.  I went straight back inside and waited for it to go away.  About an hour later the sun came out and the weather was nice and cool.  I got about 4 miles into it and the rain and wind came pretty quick.  I was running up towards North Ogden and eventually made it over into Pleasant View.  I got to Weber High and found shelter for about 15 minutes under the ticket booth.  It was down pouring and the wind was really bad.  It "cleared" up just enough for me to go back out.  I got another 3 miles of just wind and then the lightning and rain came back.  Luckily my cousin and her fiancee lived close by and I stopped at their house to wait for it to "clear" up.  I went back out after a 10 minute wait and finally made it home.  I was not worried about pace at all today.  It was more about survival.  I realized once again tonight how crazy us runners really are!  I was happy to get the 16 miles in though. 

16 miles in the afternoon.

I did the same route as yesterday except today their was no thunder and lightning.  There was a little bit of wind though.  I did the first 8 miles up to Weber High at a 6:23/mile pace.  The wind made me push a little harder.  I felt great and decided to push it home.  I did 5 miles at about a 5:51/mile pace.  Today's run felt really good.  I did the entire run at 6:12/mile pace.  It didn't feel to bad and I am glad to have another good long run in.  I think I will do my track workout tomorrow sometime.

4.00 miles in the morning.

13.00 miles in the evening. 

I did a nice and easy 4 miles this morning. I did not worry at all about pace. I had to put a long sleeve shirt on because it was pretty cold. I haven't worn a long sleeve shirt in a long time.  I knew I had the big workout ahead of me this evening.  I did 6 easy miles to get warmed up and then went over to Ben Lomond High School after all the football games were done.  I did interval work that I did with Paul.  It has seemed to work really well.  I did a half mile warm up around the track and then did 8 x 1000m with 200m recovery jogs in between.  I had to stop for a second or two after the second one because I got a side stitch.  I rubbed it out and it felt alright.  Here are the times as follows: 3:07, 3:08, 3:09, 3:10, 3:09, 3:10, 3:10, 3:09.  I was real happy to keep all of them under 3:10.  It was a nice push.  I had to deal with some punk kids that were standing in my way and trying to take my picture on their cell phone.  I had the shirt off and I'm sure they were wanting to post it on MySpace or YouTube.  I "politely" asked them to get off the track and they were nice enough to do it.  I ran back to the house for a nice cooldown.  I was happy to get this workout in. 

I went out for a relaxed run. I realized that I have not gone out and not worried about pace. It was really hot this afternoon but the pace was slow. The heat made it easy to go slow. I went out by the BDO and then through the fairgrounds. Nothing to exciting to report. Glad to get in the miles today.

I had to get out quick this morning because I had a bunch of duties that I needed to do at my cousin's wedding. I went up too North Ogden and got the wonderful uphills and downhills. These will help for St. George. Glad to hit 100 miles again for the week.

I came home from work and took a short nap.  I felt really good afterwards and decided that I wanted to take it easy for a few miles and then hit a couple miles below 6 minute pace just to get the legs moving.  I did my usual route up towards North Ogden.  I did the first 7 miles at a 6:50/mile pace.  The wind picked up a bit but I still decided to push it.  I did 4 miles at: 5:50, 5:28, 5:26, and 5:19/mile pace.  It was nice to really move with a little bit of wind.  I am getting excited to join the pacing group for Jon on Saturday.  I hope we can help him out.  I averaged 6:24/mile for the entire run.  The weather was perfect.

5 miles in the morning.

10 miles in the evening.

Easy 5 miles this morning on the new treadmill.  I just wanted to try it out.  I prefer running outside to the treadmill.  It will work though if I ever need to use it.  I went out a little late tonight and did my route on some fairly decent hills.  I think this will be the last hill workout before TOU.  I did the entire run at 6:32/mile pace.  I am pleased with that considering the hills.  The legs felt good tonight.

6 miles in the morning.

9 miles in the evening.

I did a nice relaxed run early this morning at a 7:24/mile pace.  Once again, nothing terribly exciting to report.  I got home from a long meeting after school today and kicked myself out the door.  Their was a huge fire on the mountain just above the house.  It wasn't fun breathing this in.  I decided on flat roads today.  I went out into the BDO and then came back.  It was a relaxed run at 6:50/mile pace overall.  The legs are feeling alright for Saturday.  It should be fun.

6 miles in the morning.

6 miles in the evening.

Another easy 6 miles this morning when I woke up.  The fire was still burning quite a bit.  This doesn't help with the air quality when I am out running.  I went up too Perry and ran along the canal trail with James.  It was a nice, slow pace.  He was sick and got rid of a ton of excess fluid.  Hopefully he starts feeling better.  I will probably run a couple miles tomorrow and be set for TOU on Saturday. 

4 easy miles when I got up too Logan just to keep the legs loose.  Katey and I went over too Paul's house for the runner's blog dinner.  It was nice finally meeting Steve, Sasha, Kory, Adam, and the others.  Tomorrow should be good.

I was going to write a huge report on this race but today was all about Jon. He typed it up very eloquently on his blog so I will let you all look on his blog to see how the race went. I will mention that it was nice running with Paul, Adam, Steve, Bill, and Jon. I did do 1/2 mile warm-up before and after the race. I got a PR on a training run and it felt great. My legs weren't that sore and it made me that much more confident to let it loose and see what happens at St. George. A couple side notes: Paul had to use the potty twice and I had to use it once! At least we were both well hydrated. Also, Paul's time was 2:39:22:50 and my time was 2:39:22:54. He stuck his neck out just a little farther than me. My consolation for taking 3rd in my age division was a smaller moose trophy! Paul and I decided that we should each take a turn keeping the 2nd place trophy in our houses. Paul is so kind. The Garmin measured a little long due to all of the tangents during the race.  Here are the splits that I had but remember to check out Jon's blog:

1-5:54 14-5:46

2-6:02 15-5:54

3-5:53 16-6:02

4-5:48 17-5:58

5-5:59 18-6:07

6-5:54 19-6:12

7-5:54 20-6:20

8-5:48 21-6:08

9-5:52 22-6:13

10-5:56 23-6:21

11-5:51 24-6:24 26-6:33

12-5:57 25-6:31 .2-2:44

13-5:25 = catching up after the potty break!

6 miles in the morning.

9.15 miles in the morning.

My legs felt great this morning.  I wanted to be safe anyway so the pace was around 7:20/mile.  No soreness in the legs after TOU is a great sign for St. George.  I need to really let it loose in a couple weeks.  I didn't get my run in until later in the evening because I mowed the lawn and was cleaning house for the Mrs.  I started out with 3 miles at 7:24/mile pace and then bumped it up to about 6:35/mile pace for the next 3 miles.  I was feeling good so I went up to 6:00/mile pace for a couple miles and then finished with about a half mile at 5:42/mile pace.  Not really a big push but I wanted to get the week started off on the right foot. 

6 miles in the morning.

10 miles in the evening.

I woke up and did an easy 6 mile run.  The temperature are really getting cooler in the mornings.  Yikes!  I figured today was my easy day so I did a relaxed 10 miles this evening at a 7:13/mile overall pace.  It felt nice just to get the blood flowing.  The run was nice and controlled.

16.25 miles in the afternoon.

I slept in this morning but didn't do it on purpose.  Oh well!  I knew I had a big workout for this afternoon so it didn't bother me too much.  I got home after a big meeting and then got the workout started.  I wanted to do the first 10 miles at a easy pace and then push it up to see if I could go below 5:20/mile pace for 6 miles.  I did the first 10 at a 7:13/mile pace and then was able to knock out a 5:18/mile average for the last 6 miles.  I did a short cooldown and called it a day.  I was thrilled to do the last 6 miles at that pace towards the end of a long run.  This is a good sign.

5 miles in the morning.

12 miles in the evening.

I woke up and was a touch sore from the workout last night so I made sure that it was a slow paced run this morning.  Legs actually felt better after I was done.  I got some of the yuck or lactic acid out of them.  I didn't want to push this afternoon due to the 5K on Saturday and big run on the St. George course.  I went for a 12 mile run and ended up doing it at a 7:24/mile pace overall.  It was a nice slow run for me.

6 miles in the morning.

I got up and put some sweats on.  I don't usually wear sweats but I thought I would bring back the 80's style a little bit and see what would happen.  I wasn't planning on doing anything fast so I wasn't worried.  It was really cold so I didn't mind the sweats one bit.  I was happy to get in the 6 miles because Katey and I are driving too St. George this afternoon.  I might get in a couple miles later this evening.  I will have to wait and see.

I woke up this morning and it was raining a little bit.  I ran from my parent's house to the start of the race.  It was my 1.15 mile warm-up.  The rain stopped and I was really happy.  I met up with the St. George guys at the start.  It was good seeing them again.  Their were a lot of high school cross country kids there.  I didn't recognize too many other people.  I really wanted to go sub-16 today so I went out quick.  I went out front and had the lead for the entire race.  I heard a couple guys behind me but told myself just to focus and not worry about them.  I had to smell gas of the 4-wheeler/"lead car" because it stopped a couple times as I caught up to it.  The wonderful smell of gas!  I came around the last corner and knew that I would be close to 16:00.  I crossed the finish line in 15:54.  It is not the fastest course due to 2 decent hills on the course so I was very pleased with my time.  They clocked me in 15:52 but I will go with my Garmin.  I was happy to get a new 5k PR.  My splits were 5:12, 5:08, and 5:03.  I went back and ran with my wife and sister until they crossed the finish line.  I won a free pair of shoes at Rebel Sports.  I will probably use it to buy another pair of trainers.  It makes the trip worth it.  The St. George guys did well in the race.  Great job guys.  Steve Hooper, Dave, and me went up to run part of the marathon course afterwards.  It was raining really bad but we decided to do it anyway.  We started up at the turnoff for the Snow Canyon State Park.  I was hoping to push the pace but the rain slowed us down a bit.  We went down too the finish line of the marathon.  We went 10.5 miles at a 5:59/mile pace overall.  The rain was so bad at times I couldn't see.  Also, we were running in 2-3 inches of red dirt water at times.  The shoes got pretty heavy.  It was fun running with Steve and Dave though.  I decided to run from the finish line back to my parent's house in Santa Clara.  I added another 6.25 miles to make the run a total of 16.75 miles.  I was happy to get in the miles and run part of the marathon course.  I am real excited for the marathon in 2 weeks.  It should be lots of fun.

4 miles in the morning.

8 miles in the evening.

We had a long drive back from St. George yesterday due to all of the rain.  We got home close to 10:30 and I was hammered.  I was really tired this morning but still got 4 miles in.  I am looking to do about 70 miles for the week.  Tapering is nice.  I got another 8 miles in this evening at about a 7:24/mile pace.  Just getting the miles and getting mentally ready for St. George.

I got home from work and took a 2 hour nap which really refreshed me.  I did 12 miles in the evening because I slept in a bit.  I did the first 6 miles at 6:40/mile pace and then the last 6 miles at 6:00/mile pace.  I was pleased the effort today and am just chomping at the bit to get down too St. George.  It will be a great race for a lot of people.

5 miles in the morning.

7 miles in the late evening.

I woke up and did an easy 5 miles this morning before work.  I will have to get my evening run in late due to parent teacher conferences.  I had a really good parent teacher conference.  It was nice talking with the parents about their kids and what they are doing in school.  None of them were disgruntled so I can't complain.  I did my 7 miles at a 7:13/mile pace overall and then hurried over too my cousin's house because she wanted to feed me pasta.  You got to love family that will feed you free pasta!

6 miles in the morning.

6 miles in the evening.

Another wonderful 6 miles this morning.  Just trying to hit 70 miles for the week and get mentally ready for St. George.  It will be exciting.  I got home at did another simple 6 miles at 6:40/mile pace.  Not much of a push but happy to still just get the miles in.

4 miles in the morning.

7.75 miles in the afternoon.

I got up and did a slow 4 miles in the morning.  I am going to run with the cross country team this evening.  I've wanted to help coach and the administration is finally coming around to the idea of me helping out.  The head coach has been here for a while but might not be here much longer.  He is a younger guy like myself so it should be a great experience.  I would love to take over but we will have to wait and see.  The season is almost over but this is perfect timing considering St. George is a little over a week away and it won't effect my training.  I've met some of the kids on the team and they are great.  It should be fun.  The cross country team had a short run of 3.5 miles with 1 minute pickups so it was nice and relaxed.  I am going to have fun helping them out.  I did some more miles after practice was done.  I averaged right under 6:00/mile with 2 miles at about 5:30/mile pace.  It was a nice short push for me.

I was up at 4:30 running because I went down with the cross country team to a meet in Orem.  I did the first 6 miles at 6:40/mile pace and then finished up with the last 6 miles at 6:00/mile pace.  Suprisingly, I wasn't too tired getting up this early to run.  It felt good.  I still didn't know to much about the kids on the team so it was nice to see where everyone is at during the meet.  Their are a lot of young freshman and sophomores so hopefully within the next couple of years we can make some noise and get them better.

I slept in this morning and decided to do my run this afternoon.  I ran again with the cross country team.  We started out at a 7:30/mile pace and then went just over a mile at 5K race pace.  I took the top runner with me and pushed the mile at a 5:26/mile pace.  The wind was blowing pretty hard so it was a nice push.  We finished up the run by doing a total of 6.40 miles.  I went home and then did a few more miles.  I warmed up for just over half a mile and then did 3 miles at 5:18/mile pace.  Last major push before St. George.  I just had to get it out of my system.

5 miles in the morning.

5.15 miles in the afternoon. 

I did an easy 5 mile run this morning. I didn't need to worry about the pace.  I went and did another 5.15 miles with the cross country team.  We didn't push too hard since we have a meet tomorrow.  Weber High will be their for sure but we will have to see who else will be there.  I am enjoying running with the team and helping them out.  It is a lot of fun.

The cross country meet went well today.  It was here at Fremont and we represented well.  It was an open region meet and the only school not to come was Davis.  The girls took 1st and the boys took 2nd.  It was nice to see this today with region coming up next week.  I helped get everything cleaned up and then came home to run an easy 5 miles.  Just want to keep the legs loose.  Nothing to exciting to report.

I woke up feeling great but decided to just do another easy 3 miles.  I have a long drive ahead of me tonight going too St. George.  It will be nice leaving this afternoon so I can have all day tomorrow to just relax.  I might have to watch Prefontaine or Rocky to get me pumped up.  I am already pretty much pumped up though!

I had the race of my life today.  It is still surreal with what time I got.  I am stoked to have gotten a qualifying time.  I feel extremely lucky to have gotten the time I got.  I think it is a little unfair because others I feel were more deserving of a OTQ.  I truly have been blessed so far during time running career.  My GPS got messed up for the last few miles of the race but here are the splits up to that point:

1-5:27

2-5:33

3-5:20

4-5:21

5-5:24

6-5:16

7-5:21

8-6:01 - got to love Veyo hill baby!

9-5:52

10-5:42

11-5:53

12-5:37

13-5:30

14-5:25

15-5:12

16-5:19

17-5:13

18-5:07

19-5:20

20-5:10

21-5:04

22-5:30

23-5:15

I hit the first at about 1:12:52 and then hit the second at 1:09 something.  I am too tired to do the math but that is alright.  The watch was messed up for the rest of the race but that is okay.  I knew I would be close to a qualifying time once I got into St. George.  I saw Mike Vick and caught up with him and decided to push it in from there.  I saw the finish line and it showed 2:21:30 and I knew I had to really get the horses moving.  I crossed the line and was smiling and crying.  I couldn't believe it actually happened.  Today has been one of the best days of my life.  Dreams do come true if you truly put your mind to it.  Congrats to all the other bloggers.  Many PR's were set and fast times were achieved.

0 miles in the morning.

0 miles in the evening.

I was pretty trashed all day today.  The kids at school are going to call me "Gramps" because of my unorthodox way of walking now!  I have been drinking a lot of fluids and will see how I feel over the next couple of days to determine when I will start running again.  I am trashed but it still feels great knowing what happened on Saturday.  I wouldn't trade the pain for anything.

I woke up and felt light years better than yesterday.  I have still been drinking lots of fluids and stretching out quite a bit.  I got home and did 5 miles at 7:30/mile pace.  It was nice to get rid of some of the yucky buildup.  I will take it easy for the rest of the week and really get ready to rock and roll again next week.  Not much of a "Gramps" anymore!

We had the region meet today and it went well for us.  Fremont girls took 2nd in region and the boys came in 3rd.  Davis just plain smoked us.  It was fun talking with Corbin a little bit about the Olympic trials as we ran from spot to spot on the course to watch the kids.  I got home and did another easy 6 miles.  I am still just wanting to be cautious and not to anything crazy before the trials.  This week I am just going to ease back up towards my mileage.

I got home from a busy day at work at did 6 miles at a "blazing" 7:24/mile pace.  The legs are feeling much better every day.  I am very grateful for that.  I got a good run in and then went out for a celebration dinner with Katey for making the trials.  I think she is more excited than I am.  Glad to see everyone is recovering nicely.

It was a perfect day for a run.  It was overcast and just a little cold.  I went up towards North Ogden and then came back to the house.  I used to see a few more runners out there but with the weather getting colder, I don't see as many people out.  Oh well!  I have the road to myself I guess.  I was feeling pretty good so I pushed the pace a little.  I did the entire run at a 6:36/mile pace.  It felt great.  I think I will do 10 miles tomorrow and then really get going again next week.  Runner's World has a great article about the Olympic trials if anyone is interested.

Today was a great day for a run. I went back up towards North Ogden to get hill work done. It looks like their will be quite a few rolling hills in New York. I did the first 5 miles at 6:30 per mile. I was happy with the time because it was all uphill. I finished the run with an average of 6:22 per mile. I got a nice cold bath afterwards to help the legs. I am excited to get going again next week. I realized once again how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful place. We are really lucky to also get to run here.

6 miles in the morning.

11 miles in the early evening.

It was a good start to the week.  The air was crisp and not a whole lot of traffic early this morning.  I couldn't ask for anything better.  I did the entire run at 6:55/mile pace.  I will do a little bit longer run this evening.  I got home and was feeling great.  My mindset on training has really improved.  I am focused on each workout and the importance of it.  Before I did some workouts grudgingly and didn't think much of them (i.e. intervals!) but now recognize each workout is only helping me out more.  I went up towards North Ogden again but took a different route.  I turned down a new street and found some great rolling hills.  I am trying to find more of these to help get ready for New York.  I felt good and did the entire run at a 6:09/mile pace.  A bit of a push but still felt controlled.  I am heading up to Logan tomorrow to do a big workout with Paul.  It will be nice to push one another.

15.25 miles in the afternoon and early evening.

I ran 3.25 miles after school with the cross country boys. It was an easy 25 minutes at 7:24/mile pace. I am excited to see how they do tomorrow at state. I then drove up too Logan and did a great workout with Cody and Paul. I let Paul draft off of me since I drafted off him the first time I worked out with him. We are even now! The workout was a fartlek: 10x2-minutes @ CV pace (roughly 5:05/mile on flat terrain) with 1-minute recovery jog between intervals. Afterwards, 10x20-second strides @ 3k-5k pace with 40 seconds recovery. I copied and pasted this from Paul's blog.  Hopefully you don't mind Paul!

Interval	Distance	Pace
1	0.40	5:04/mile
2	0.39	5:11/mile
3	0.39	5:10/mile
4	0.38	5:20/mile
5	0.39	5:06/mile
6	0.41	4:59/mile
7	0.40	5:05/mile
8	0.39	5:11/mile
9	0.39	5:06/mile
10	0.41	4:57/mile

It was a nice push because the faster times were going downhill and the slower times were going more uphill. I was glad to see flat road. The strides at the end felt alright. I was pretty tired. Nice, fun rolling hills in New York so this workout should help. The entire run was at a 6:37/mile average. It was a good workout for me. Paul and Stacy were nice enough to invite Katey and me over for dinner. Good Indian food and great conversation. Stacy is enjoying the blog and maybe converted Katey to join as well. If Katey joins, I'm afraid that Katey will vent on how crazy I am for running so much. She is a great support!

10 miles in the morning.

6 miles in the evening.

I got a good night's rest and woke up at 4:30 to get my run in before work.  My legs were a little tight but it was nice moving at a slow pace to loosen them up.  The weather was a little cold but perfect running weather.  The smell of rain also made the run enjoyable.  I did the entire run at 7:24/mile pace.  I will be at the state cross country meet later so I will get my run in late in the evening.  Hopefully the weather is alright.  The meet was cold and really wet.  5A had the bad course because it was really slippery.  The boys took 9th in state and the girls took 5th.  We had a 2 and 1/2 hour bus ride home due to a wreck.  I was able to catch up on some much needed sleep.  I got home and the weather was still freezing cold but I went out and did another 6 miles.  I saw my breath this evening.

5 miles in the morning.

9 miles in the early evening.

Another brisk morning.  I got 5 miles in.  I didn't wear my watch and wasn't too terribly worried about my pace.  Just trying to keep the legs loose.  I put the tight sleeves, long-sleeve shirt, gloves, and hat on and went for a nice 9 mile run.  I have been reading ChiRunning and wanted to try some of the things that it mentions.  I wanted to focus on my arms and the way they move while I run.  It says to keep them in closer to the body and really focus on staying relaxed.  I did this and noticed a big difference.  Running seemed to be more efficient today.  I did the entire run at 6:24/mile pace.  I wasn't expecting to go that fast but it is a nice push before a big workout on Saturday with Paul and maybe James.

2 miles in the morning.

9 miles in the afternoon. 

My right Achilles tendon wasn't feeling too hot this morning. It was quite tight and bothering me. I went home and took some Ibuprofen and iced it. I hope this isn't anything. I will be take it easy this afternoon with the miles and see how I feel afterwards.  I felt good this afternoon and went out for a nice 9 miler.  Katey rode her bike alongside me.  It was nice having conversation with her.  I did the rolling hills up into North Ogden.  The Achilles feels better tonight.

Katey and I went out too Fremont in the cold and windy weather to run the Kash4Kids 5K race that the SBO's do each year.  The wind was blowing about 40 mph and I knew it was going to be a slow race.  The top runner on the cross country team wanted me to pace him so we went out and ran together.  We were lucky to hit 7:00/mile pace going into the wind.  He drafted behind me which was fine.  I wasn't going out to set any records.  I ended up taking 1st and winning $20.00.  I gave it back to the kids since all the money from the race is a fundraiser for needy kids at Christmas.  Katey actually said she had a good time.  It was fun this morning.  I was worried about the weather because I knew Paul and James were coming down to do a 15 mile progression run.  Paul and James showed up and the weather was awesome!  It was a little cloudy but mostly sunny.  We did the rolling hills route up into North Ogden.  The pace was slow on the way up but we hit 5 miles at about 6:00/mile pace.  Paul wanted the rolling hills and we got it today.  It was nice having James running with us as well.  The conversation was great and with the weather it turned out to be a perfect day.  The snow came afterwards so we really lucked out.  The Achilles felt really good afterwards.  I am glad for a day off tomorrow to make sure I ready to roll for next week.  We averaged 6:24/mile for the entire run.

It was quite a rough day at work and I was happy to get home and clear the mind with a good run this evening.  I went and did the same route that Paul, James, and me did last Saturday.  Lots of rolling hills and then some more uphill climbs.  I did this run at a slower pace than on Saturday.  I finished the run with an overall 6:49/mile pace.  It felt really good.  I felt much better afterwards.

3 miles in the morning.

8 miles in the evening.

I was in bed by 8:30 last night and I needed all the sleep I could get.  I had a major headache but felt much better this morning.  I went out for an easy 3 miles without the watch.  It was nice.  I helped out at the Fremont football game (we won) and the weather was fairly warm.  The sun went down and it cold chilly.  I am getting used to it now so it doesn't bother me.  I'm sure people driving in their nice, heated cars think I am crazy with my shorty shorts!  I did another easy 8 miles at 6:53/mile pace overall.  I am heading back up too Logan to do a big workout with Paul tomorrow.  I didn't want to push to much today.

Big Workout today with Paul.  I am glad that I took it easy the last couple days because I needed the rest for this one.  We did 4x200m strides on the track to warm up (35s each), and then did a 4x4-minute fartlek @ CV pace with 2 minutes recovery on the Millville Hill Loop.  Paul mentioned I might not be happy with him half way through the run due to the hills and he was right.  I made it through the first 2 intervals fine and then half way through the 3rd one my legs started acting up.  Paul was about 20-30 yards ahead of me for the last 1 and a half intervals.  I don't have my times for the last two.  I was pretty disappointed with not being able to keep up but days like this happen.

Interval	Distance	Pace	Comment
1	0.77 mi	5:12/mile	gentle uphill
2	0.78 mi	5:07/mile	rolling

I was happy to get such a good workout in.  It felt like I was running with Jon tonight instead of Paul because he had to stop at the Port-a-potty!  It got dark on us, so we had to slow it down quite a bit the last couple miles due to not wanting to roll an ankle. 6:40/mile average pace for the run.  A touch slower than Paul because of the mishaps on the interval work.  Still fairly pleased to get such a nice run in.

I was a little disappointed with my effort yesterday running with Paul so I decided to do a mini tempo run.  I went back up towards North Ogden with all of the wonderful hills.  It seems like I am doing this run quite a bit but I know it will help me in New York.  I did the first 5 miles at about 6:40/mile pace and then turned it on all the way home.  I hit low 6:00's and ended up with 6:24/mile pace overall for the whole run.  I was pleased with this.  I need to not let sub-par workouts get me down.  I am blessed and truly lucky to even be running.  An easy day tomorrow and then I have another date with a 15 miler on Saturday with all of its lovely rolling hills.

I got home from a long day of work and did an easy 11 miles up into North Ogden.  I did the entire run at 6:49/mile pace.  It was a nice day for a run.  The sun was out and their was no wind.  I am glad to have nice weather for the next couple of days.  I have a couple days off because of UEA.  I will sleep and run.  This is the life!

James came down to my place and we did the same 15 miler that we did last weekend.  We went up towards North Ogden with the rolling hills.  Rolling hills, rolling hills, rolling hills!  I keep dreaming and thinking about rolling hills.  We kept the pace slow (right around 7:00/mile pace) for the first 7.5 miles.  On the way back we hit low 6:00's.  It was a little windy with most of it coming from the North Ogden Divide.  It kept us cool and made us push harder.  We finished the run at 6:32/mile pace overall.  The conversation was nice and we kept talking about how wonderful the weather is this time of year.  We are lucky to live in Utah!  I am happy with this week and am really stoked for next week.  It should be lots of fun!

5 miles in the morning.

5 miles in the evening. 

The weather was hot this morning and so I went out for an easy 5 mile run without the watch. I will do a mini speed workout tonight.  I was going to go up too Logan to run with Paul but wasn't able to due to Katey working late.  I did the same workout as Paul (2 x 1600m @CV pace with 800m rest).  I did this workout at Ben Lomond High School.  The first one was 4:52 and the second was 4:57.  It was a nice little push before the trials.  I will get the miles in the next couple of days but really taper for this Saturday.  

I was up in Logan spending time with Katey since I had UEA break.  The weather was a little chilly but it is comparable to how it will be in New York.  I went for a 10 miler up towards Smithfield and back to the in-laws.  I got a couple hills in their and ended up doing the entire run at a 6:55/mile pace overall.  It felt good.  I will get a couple miles in tomorrow and then probably take Thursday off due to a long day of travel.  We will see.

I did a nice 6 mile run this afternoon without my watch.  The weather was great and the falling leaves made the run quite relaxing.  Katey and I fly out tomorrow.  I still can't believe I am going to be running with the best of the best on Saturday morning.  I plan on going there and trying my best while having the biggest smile possible.  I feel truly blessed to have this opportunity.  Thank you fellow bloggers for all of the support.  It is very much appreciated.

What a day!  It was really long due to the flight too New York and trying to navigate my way around NYC on the subway.  We were on the subway for about 4 hours today trying to get to our friend's house and then going to pick up my packet.  We eventually got to the headquarters and got most of my stuff for the race.  The New York Road Runners' people were extremely nice and helpful.  I received lots of goodies that will help me remember this moment.  I was talking with the NYRR's people and I got excited with some of the running studs there.  Ed and Jorge Torres walked in and grabbed some drinks and bananas!  I remember reading about them in the book, "Running with the Buffaloes."  Everything is still quite surreal for me.  I miss the good old Rocky Mts. but the big tall buildings aren't half bad for a few days!  I am meeting up with Paul, Sean, and a couple other guys tomorrow to go and run on the course around Central Park.  Let's go see how those rolling hills are!

I woke up early and hoped on the subway to go and meet up with Paul.  We went and did about 3.5 miles around Central Park.  We both decided that we should tuck behind a group and draft off of them due to the expected winds (25-30mph).  It should make the race interesting!  We got back and headed off to a technical meeting where we heard from the fluids' guy, referee, and many others.  These people are serious about their marathoning.  The lunch was good and it was nice talking with Paul and Sean.  The FastRunningBloggers represented well.  I got some dinner in me and went back to Paul's room.  I'm technically not supposed to stay here but where Katey and I are staying is about an hour or so away and I don't particularly want to wake up earlier then I have to.  I went down to the chiropractor and had him adjust my hip.  It feels much better now.  Paul is much more eloquent with his words and I agree with what he put on his blog.  I saw all the great ones today and was lucky enough to eat lunch with them: Alan Culpepper, Meb, Ryan Hall, Abdi, Brian Sell, Sean Sundwall, Paul Petersen, and etc.  I don't know what to expect tomorrow but I will go out and try my best.  It will be quite the experience.  Brian Sell was sitting in front of us on the bus and I sort of eavesdropped on his conversation.  I was wondering what a really fast runner likes to talk about.  Ironically, it was a lot of the same things as those of us that aren't as fast (i.e. food, running, more about food, and then top it off with more talk about running!) 

Well here goes the official race report.  I stayed over in Paul's hotel and then woke up at 5:20 to hop on the bus.  Brian Sell, Alan Culpepper, and Ryan Hall were on the same bus and they looked ready to roll.  We had police escort over too Rockfeller Center and then went below where they film the Today show to wait until the start.  It was nice and warm.  I stretched out, did a short warm-up jog and then went too the bathroom 4 times.  What a morning!  We went up out too the starting line and it was crazy.  Their were huge TV cameras and lots of people all over the place cheering.  It hit me again that I was in New York running in the Olympic trials.  The weather was cold and windy so I wasn't sure of what to expect.  I went out with Paul for the first mile or so and it was fun running down 5th avenue towards Central Park where all the big TV screens were.  The lights were actually quite bright that early in the morning.  We made our way into Central Park and I got in a pack of about 10 guys.  Their were 2 Hanson guys (one was Trent Briney) and ran with them for the first 8 miles of the race.  It was nice running in a pack because we shared fluids and were able to draft off of each other.  The sides were lined up with huge amounts of people.  It was crazy!  They were cheering my name and I was wondering how they knew my name.  I forgot that my last name was on the front of my bib!  At mile 8, I started to get a side stitch and had to slow down a bit.  It eventually went away and I went through the halfway point just under 1:13:30.  I was feeling fine and running solo at this point.  The pack was up just a bit and was going to hold off to try and reel them in.  It was at about this point my body started acting weird.  My legs were heavy and everything was going numb.  The cold weather and wind could have played a part but I was not sure.  I had sleeves on at the start and then threw them off to the side during the race.  That wasn't too terribly smart because the temperature got colder.  I was slowing down quite a bit and then I just happened to look down.  I had good old bloody nipples!  My tape fell off and the rest is history!  People watching the race were cringing on the side.  It didn't hurt at all so I was fine with it.  We will see if they hurt tomorrow!  I continually got slower and the body kept shutting down.  My body has never done anything like this before.  Right before mile 24 I had to stop and walk.  I really didn't want to do this but I was really dizzy and not feeling great.  A medic on a bike came up to me and asked if I was planning on finishing.  I told him I would try and I started to go again but nearly fainted and passed out.  My body was not right and I didn't want to do any serious damage to my body so I asked for a cart and went to the medic tent.  I realized at this point I was not going to make my goal of finishing the Olympic Trials.  I was really bummed out but knew my health was important.  Once I got on the cart and started heading too the medical tent, the driver hit his breaks because he thought he heard someone say "stop" and the passenger flew out of the cart about 15 feet and landed on his chest.  He couldn't get up and I was not in the best shape.  I couldn't believe this had happened.  The guy turned out to be okay and we made it too the tent.  I started to shiver and cold really cold.  My legs were cramping up so they got some salt in me and lots of fluids.  I slowly started feeling better but I was in the tent for close to 20 minutes.  I have no idea why my body was acting up.  Katey and my mom made it to the tent and were crying all over the place.  I told them I was fine and feeling much better.  I thanked the medics for their help and we called it a day.  I would have much rather finished at the actually finish line with a real time but it didn't happen.  I then started hearing about how many of the top runners dropped out so I didn't feel to bad.  I heard about the sad news about Ryan Shay and his death.  My thoughts and prayers are with his family.  I learned a lot today.  I realized it was smart of me to stop and not cause any permanent damage to myself.  I also learned that I must take this bump in the road and train even harder to try and make it back to the trials in another couple years.  I want to have this experience again.  I also learned that I was truly blessed to have even run in the trials today.  I could make up excuses about what happened but to put in simply, I'm not exactly sure.  I will continue to move forward and see what happens with my running in the near future.  Thinking about Shay's death made me appreciate my wife Katey and family that much more.  They are a great support and I love them very much.  Great job today to Paul and Sean and all the other Utah runners.  Utah represented very well at the trials.  Thank you once again fellow bloggers for all of the support!

I decided that I need a break today.  My legs need a cold bath and lots of Ibuprofen.  I am planning on taking this week easy and then starting up with the training more next week.  I had to do a lot of explaining to fellow teachers and students about the race.  I feel alright mentally but need to start looking towards another race right now.  I got Paul Pilkington's (Weber State's coach and former Olympian) number from a student teacher (Lindsey Anderson) that runs for him and helps coach at Weber State.  I am going to give him a call and see if he might help me in anyway to continue improving.  I think my next race or races will be in the Strider's series and then for sure the Ogden Marathon in May.  I want to do well with those races.  I have done of lot of races lately and am slightly burned out so I will revamp the training and shoot for those races at the start of next year.  

I decided to go out for an easy 3.75 miles this afternoon to loosen up the legs a bit.  My quads are a little sore but that is about it.  I ran around Ben Lomond High's track because I figured the soft surface would be good for my legs.  It felt good to get out of the house and run even for just a little bit.  I will slowly work my way back up this week and then revamp for next week.  I got home and did about 30 minutes of core exercises.  I will start focusing on this a little more.

I did 6 miles with the cross country team this afternoon.  We went over too Mt. Ogden park and did 8 x 400m repeats up a hill.  I didn't push it that much and it felt good to just get the legs moving again.  The cross country team is getting ready to go too the Foot Locker Championships in California in a couple of weeks.  It should be quite fun.  Another couple days of not to many miles and just simply recovering.  I don't have any soreness in my legs from the race and really am preparing myself mentally to get ready for more miles and training over the winter.

I ran with Nick Froerer this afternoon up along the east bench by Mt. Ogden.  It was a nice little trail run.  It was a little different scenery which was nice.  The legs felt fine and the company was great.  Another less mileage day tomorrow and possibly a 10 miler on Saturday.

I ran 4.5 miles with the cross country team this afternoon. I found out that I will most likely be coaching the long distance team for track. The coach is moving up too Idaho. I am pretty stoked about that. The run with the team wasn't to fast so I did an extra two miles at 5:45/mile pace. Overall pace for the run was 7:16/mile. It felt good today.

I had a long day due to a conference for work. It was a great conference and I learned a lot but the weather outside was perfect. I wished I was outside the whole day. I finally got home around 5 PM and the sun was basically all the way down. I didn't care and knew that I needed to get out and get some miles in. Katey decided to ride her bike alongside me. We went for a nice 10 miler up towards North Ogden. The first 5 miles weren't too fast but I pushed the pace on the way back and hit some low 6:00/miles. I ended up doing the run at 6:27/mile pace overall. The air was crisp and it felt good breathing in fresh air. I talked a lot with Katey today and decided to hit between 70-80 mile weeks for the next couple months. I will mainly try and get the miles in with a few tempo runs. I might do an occasional speed workout but am not going to stress too much about it. I plan on hitting 100+ mile weeks with more tempo runs and good speed workouts starting with the new year. I am really gearing towards running the Ogden Marathon in May. I think the next couple months are important. It looks like I will be running in the dark both in the morning and at night due to the time change. What a bummer!

6 miles in the morning.

6.75 miles in the afternoon.

I am back to doing 2 a days.  It was chilly this morning due to the wind but it was once again good, clean air.  I love this time of year.  I didn't worry about the watch today.  Glad to start the week off with this run.  I wasn't tired at 5 AM.  This is a good sign!  If anyone is willing, I need to get my leaves cleaned up before it snows.  I can't pay you because I am cheap but would love to go on a run with you afterwards!  I did 4 x 600meters with the cross country team for practice.  We did a fun, little grass relay.  I averaged 5:20/mile on these.  The grass really slows you down!  I did some more miles afterward and averaged 6:40/mile overall for the run.

6.00 miles in the morning.

6.15 miles in the afternoon.

Another good 6 miler in the morning.  Made sure I wore all the warm clothes.  That helps keep the pace slow.  7:04/mile for the overall run.  Still need to get those dang leaves cleaned up.  I had a lot of work to do at school and got out for my second run a little later than planned.  I was in for quite the treat.  The wind was blowing 30 + mph and it was raining.  I only had a long sleeve shirt and the short shorts.  I was freezing but gutted it out.  I got going and felt fine so I decided to see if I could fight through the weather.  I ended up doing the run at a 6:15/mile pace overall.  I was really pleased with the effort today considering 3 miles was directly into the wind.  It was a nice push.

6 miles in the morning.  (Again!)

8 miles in the afternoon.

The weather was extra chilly this morning due to the rain yesterday.  I did the run at a 7:08/mile pace.  The nose hairs were a little frozen this morning.  I saw on the way to work that the temperature was 22 degrees!  Yeah!  I ran from my house down towards the Ogden River Parkway.  I got yelled at by a dinosaur passing the dinosaur museum.  This was weird!  The cross country team met their and we did 10 x 400m sprints up a hill.  It wasn't a big push but I tried to take the top runners with me and push them a little bit.  We alternated between 15 pushups and 25 crunches for each sprint up the hill.  The cold air really got the lungs burning.  I ran home afterwards and a really big hill coming up Harrison.  It was a good run and I ended up doing the entire thing at an overall 6:25/mile pace.

6 miles in the morning.

8 miles in the afternoon.

The weather was extra chilly so I put on a light sweater.  It really helped out a lot.  Didn't wear a watch.  I got home from a long meeting and went out for my afternoon run.  I decided to bag the long pants and stick with short shorts.  I am glad I did this because I warmed up pretty quick.  I went up towards North Ogden on Fruitland Dr.  I wanted to keep the pace somewhat slow.  I did the entire run at a 6:41/mile pace.  I am for sure going to get the leaves dilemma taken care of on Saturday!  I run out of sunlight.

I ran almost 5 1/2 miles with the cross country team this afternoon.  The pace was nice and slow and I liked that.  I did some core exercises to end practice and then ran some more miles afterwards to get at least 12 in for the day.  I did the run at 6:51/mile overall pace.  The weather was surprisingly warm.

I had to run a bunch of errands today and finish cleaning up the leaves (it took me over 4 hours!)  Picking up the leaves would have taken longer but a great neighbor came over and helped.  What a lifesaver!  I am glad to have these done.  The weather today was awesome so I was thrilled to go out for my run.  I decided on a half marathon since I hadn't done one in a long time.  I ran up towards North Ogden again with all of the rolling hills.  It is the same route I did with James and Paul a couple of weeks again.  I took the first 6.5 miles pretty slow and then wanted to push the last half.  Here are my splits: 8- 5:47 = slight uphill and flat, 9- 5:21 = downhill and flat, 10- 5:39 = rolling hills and flat, 11- 5:35 = slight downhill and flat, 12- 6:11 = big uphill, 13- 5:56 = uphill and flat.  I was really glad I got the legs moving again.  This is the best workout I've done in a while.  Total time was: 1:20:20 with an overall pace of 6:08/mile.  I ended up taking first and last place today in this half marathon!  The post race party consisted of raking up more leaves!  Bummer!

6 miles in the morning.

9.5 miles in the afternoon

It wasn't too cold this morning.  No hat or gloves.  Alright!  The weather was awesome today.  I hate to keep talking about the weather but we are running out of nice days up here in Northern Utah.  I ran with the cross country team 4.5 miles and then did another 5 miles afterwards all by myself.  The pace was slow with the team so I pushed it a little bit on my own.  Overall pace was 7:05/mile.  Nice start to the week.  Looking forward to the warmer weather and running in it down in St. George this week due to the holidays.

6 miles in the morning.

10.25 miles in the afternoon.

The weather was cold and windy this morning.  I warmed up a little bit and pushed the last 3 miles.  Didn't worry too much about the pace though.  Today the cross country team was doing its own little race at Mt. Ogden park so I decided to run from my house to the park.  It was basically all uphill to the park.  I wanted to keep the pace under 6:00/mile.  I did this except for one mile where it was a 6:11/mile.  The weather was cold and it was windy again so I was happy with the effort.  I paced the top 5 runners for the team.  The course went up around the golf course and up into the mountains.  It was once again all uphill.  It was a nice big loop.  I pushed these guys in and was happy to see them do well.  They have improved over the season.  The weather got even colder as I was running home.  It was at this point and time where I thought, "I need to move too St. George where the weather is great to run in year round."  I don't know where this thought came but I will have to talk with Katey about this.  It is too enticing!  I averaged 6:09/mile overall for the full 10.25 miles.  I was thrilled with the pace considering 8 or so miles of it was uphill.  I am headed to St. George now to spend the next 4 days with family.  I can't wait to get out and run in some nice weather.  It will be a nice change of scenery.

I slept in this morning and got some extra rest with the day off.  It was sunny when I started but then the clouds came and the wind picked up quite a bit.  The run was supposed to be easy but the wind pushed me a bit.  I ran from my parent's house out towards Tuacahn, through Ivins out towards Kayenta, and then back to the parent's house.  I ran on how I felt today and much to my surprise the overall pace was 6:24/mile.  It was a good push but I need to make sure I slow it down a little bit tomorrow.  The family starts coming in tonight and things will be busy for the next couple of days.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  Don't eat too much Turkey!

Katey wanted me to go to the hospital and get my heart checked out due to the death of Ryan Shay.  She just wanted to make sure that everything is okay.  My dad works in the cath lab at the hospital so he did an ultrasound on me yesterday.  Good news!  My heart is fine and looks great and I am not pregnant!  Katey was happy and glad that I went in.  I went out for a nice run this morning before all the festivities started.  I went out on the old highway towards Gunlock.  I did an out and back and it was nice because their was no traffic.  It was absolutely gorgeous with all of the red rock.  It was so nice to be out their on my own and just relax.  It was the life.  I did the entire run at 6:40/mile pace.  I truly am grateful for all of my blessings that I have been given.  It is nice to reflect about life during this time of year.

Got up early once again before more festivities with the family started.  Their are about 30 people staying at my parent's house.  It is pandemonium all over.  I had to wear a light beanie this morning because the weather was pretty cold.  I went out into Ivins and was feeling alright after yesterday's wonderful holiday so I decided to take it easy the first 4 miles and then really let the horses out for the last 3.  The wind was blowing a bit but I didn't want this to deter me from anything.  My last 3 mile splits were: 5:41, 5:27, and 5:17.  I did the run at 6:07/mile pace overall.  I went paintballing with my family and I realize why I run.  I got hit in the back, top of the head, and on the arm.  I have a bump on the head and then a huge welt on my back.  What a day!  I got home and went out for another 6 miles.  The wind was blowing all over and I swallowed a bunch of red sand.  I am being punished for something.  I did the run at 6:39/mile pace overall.  I was happy to be done with this run.  It was not very fun.  Hopefully tomorrow will be better with Clyde.

I headed over too the running store and went for a good run with Clyde this morning.  We went out into the desert reserve and hit about 7.5 miles of trail running.  It was a steep uphill climb.  We ran up towards the Ledges Golf Course and then back down towards the store.  My legs were a little sore but it was nice to hit the main road/marathon course to finish up the run.  Clyde and I didn't say anything but we started grunting once we hit the marathon course and I think we both knew the pace was going to be much faster.  Our five or so mile splits down to the store were:

1. 5:34

2. 5:19

3. 5:43

4. 5:32

5. 5:13- this was only a half mile time pace. However we started into the faster pace about a half mile before the actual fist mile of tempo. So it ended up being pretty close to 5 miles at temp type pace.

This was a great run and I enjoyed the company.  It was fun talking, spitting, and grunting all throughout the run.  The weather was absolutely perfect and I was glad to get out.  Took a much needed cooldown after the run.  Now I need to watch the BYU vs. Utah game.  Go Louie Sakoda!  I am partial to kickers since I did this in high school.

It was a long day at work so I decided to go for a longer run to clear the mind.  I knew the pace wasn't going to be too fast so I decided to really just focus on being relaxed.  I went up towards North Ogden.  You got to love the rolling hills.  The weather got really cold once the sun went down.  I kept the pace nice and steady and finished the run with a 6:45/mile pace overall.  Happy to get this run in at the start of the week.  I am going to California for Foot Locker at the end of the week so I don't know how my running will be down there.  I will try and keep the mileage up even with all of the festivities going on.

6 miles in the morning.

8.40 miles in the afternoon.

Lots of layers of clothing this morning.  I needed it all once the wind really started to pick up!  The snow is here and it is really cold.  I ran with the cross country team this afternoon and kept the pace slow.  Afterwards I ran a couple miles on my own.  I did 5:43 and 5:34 miles to finish up the day.  Man it is cold!

6 miles in the morning.

9 miles in the afternoon.

Under Armour gear = $100.00.

Shoes and other gear = $100.00.

Running in the snow with cars driving by and people thinking, "What is he doing and where is his mother?" = priceless!

It was still really cold this afternoon minus the light snow.  I got all the warm gear on again and went out.  I had some new shoes (ASICS 2120) and they felt great.  I decided I needed to do a nice tempo run before heading to California with the cross country team.  I went up towards North Ogden and got some of the lovely rolling hills.  My five middle miles were really good during the run: 5:59, 5:54, 5:51, 5:46, 5:43.  I was happy to see the negative splits.  I finished the run in 54:01 for a 6:01/mile pace overall.  Got to love the cold weather baby!

9 miles in the early, early morning.

4 miles in the evening.

I woke up at 3 this morning to get some miles in before the long trip.  I am heading down to California with the cross country team to run at Foot Locker.  It should be fun.  I was pretty tired getting up but really enjoyed the run.  I won't be getting up that early very much anymore but it was so quiet and very relaxing.  The 12 hour trip to California was a long one.  I slept most of the way so it wasn't too bad.  We stopped by the course (where Mt. Sac Relays are) and ran the course.  It is very hilly but something different so it should be fun for the kids.  I am running in the coaches race and don't know what to expect.  This will be my first official cross country race since I didn't run in high school or college.  It is a 5K course so the race should be interesting. 

12.50 miles in the morning and rain.

I woke up and was planning on running outside but it was raining really bad.  I hit the fitness room and did 5 miles at 6:40/mile pace.  I was sweating all over me and the guy next to me and decided it was too hot so I went outside for 2 more miles.  The rain stopped for a bit and it was nice to be out and about on the streets of Anaheim.  I got back and then went with the cross country team for another 5.5 miles.  The rain started back up and it was really fun.  We ran around the hotel and then went running around Dowtown Disney.  People were getting ready to go into the park and were looking at us really funny like, "What are they doing?"  You got to love the runner's mentality!  Rain, sun, snow, or wind.  Doesn't matter.  You got to get the miles in.

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.