El Burro Blanco

Ran with Clyde, Dave, Bill, and James this morning out south of STG.  We did a nice loop on the dirt roads.  We found some more petroglyphs.  These were by the Little Black Mountain.  It has been really fun seeing tons of petroglyphs the last couple days.  I need to get Katey out to see some of these.  Nice start to the new year.

Ran with Dave, Steve Shepherd (Dave's cousin's husband), Trevor, Austin, and James today.  We did Little Mountain twice but ran it reverse from yesterday.  Absolutely gorgeous weather today.  Dave lost his hat on the first lap so James and I went out longer to find it.  No luck.  Oh well!  It was fun running today and the legs felt good.  I have been getting over a little sickness so I was happy with another solid week.  

I will be doing probably 2 or 3 30+mile runs here in a few weeks to get more prepared for the Moab 50K+ in February.  I am excited for this race.

Teacher prep day but I was sicker than a dog so no run today. I did get a lot of work done at school though. I think I am ready the 2nd semester.

No baby yet!

8 miles in the morning.

6 miles in the afternoon.

Nice 5am run this morning out along Snow Canyon Parkway.  Kept it nice and relaxed.  The weather felt a little warm that early.  Still hacking up yuck from the sickness.

Did a few uptempo miles this afternoon (around 6:30ish pace).  Got home and went over to my parents house to do a little Wii Fit.  New record on hula hoops!

Still no baby!  I guess we have a little time until the due date of January 13th.

Ran from Desert Hills High all the way home to Ivins.  I felt great during the entire run except for the last 2 or so miles.  My body completely shut down.  I don't know if it was from being sick or if it was from the "worry" of not having the baby yet.  I survived and that is all that matters.

Good to have a long run in today.

6 miles in the morning.

7 miles in the afternoon.

I did another nice and easy run this morning over into Santa Clara.  Nice to get out early without all of the crazy traffic.

I started at the high school this afternoon and then went out along the Arizona strip.  On the way back I did half mile surges which ranged from 5:55-6:20ish pace.  I am slowly starting to once again incorporate some speed work now my body is feeling good.  Felt much better today.  Planning on a shorter run tomorrow and then a really long run for Saturday.

No run today in preparation for tomorrow's long run.

Went and ran the Utah hill loop 2 times this morning with Clyde and Steve. Bill joined us on the first lap.  It was a perfect day for running here in St. George.  Nothing but blue skies and perfect temps.  Felt good after the 2 loops but I started to have some stomach issues during the last 2 miles.  That was the only thing that bothered me on this run.  I am very happy to have this run done.  We ran this right around 4 hours which included bathroom breaks and getting fluids.  Not bad considering how many hills are on this route.  Great way to finish off the week.

Still no baby!!

Waited until this afternoon to get my run in.  I went out along Snow Canyon Parkway over into Dixie Downs a little bit.  I had to make a port-a-stop and looked at some eco friendly homes being built.  Really cool stuff.  Wonderful weather again this afternoon.  Happy to get in another solid run.  Came home to a still pregnant wife.

Exploration run this afternoon.  I went from my house over to Unity Park in Ivins and then came back along Pioneer Parkway.  I followed this road and went by the high school and then headed back over to Snow Canyon Parkway.  Kept everything nice and relaxed but didn't stress about the pace.  Another perfect afternoon.  Ended up hitting 6:50/mile overall.  Everything is encouraging right now.

Ran from the high school over towards Webb Hill for a few repeats with Clyde, Dace, and one of my cross country runners, Mark.  We did 3 hill repeats and called it good for the day.  If you haven't done repeats up this hill and really want to work the quads, go and do this hill.  It is one you will never forget (FYI).  I came back towards the high school and hurried home to a still pregnant wife.  Yikes!  Any day now.

What a long last couple of days!  Katey had the baby late Thursday night and I haven't slept in two days.  It has been a surreal time for Katey and me.  It is weird to think we are parents right now.  Norah Pearl Fielding was born at 10:10pm on Thursday night.  She was 7 lbs. 5 oz. and 19.5 inches long.  She is healthy and mom is healthy.  Thankfully she came out with runner's legs!  She is adorable and we are loving every minute with her.

I have been cooped up in the hospital the last couple days so I haven't been able to get out for a run.  Katey's parents were in town so I took advantage of the extra help to go run with the guys.  We did 2 loops out by Little Black Mountain.  The conversation was good and seemed to be focused on baby talk.  Go figure!  We kept the first lap nice and relaxed and then slowly picked up the pace on the second lap.  Clyde and I were feeling really good so for the last 5 miles we hit right at 6:00/mile average.  Felt relaxed and it was nice to push the pace a little bit.  I can't wait for the race in a couple of weeks.  One of the best weeks of my life.  I can't believe I am a dad now! 

Met up with Clyde this morning in the wonderful rain and ran from Jacob Hamblin.  We ran up and did one loop on Barrel Roll and then came back to the car.  We then went back out for some more miles.  We went over towards Green Valley and back.  Not a ton of rain but it made for some soft trails.  It was quite enjoyable.  Good solid run to start of the week.

Hurried home for more time with baby Norah.

Got home from work later than expected but still went out for a decent run.  It was raining pretty good and the wind was blowing but it was still an enjoyable run.  The temperature still wasn't that bad.  I went out along the Snow Canyon Parkway.  I felt great the whole time and just relaxed everything.  Came back pretty soaked but ate a good dinner after wards which made me feel better.

"Meat Grinders" with Clyde this afternoon.  I ran from the high school over there.  We ended up doing 3 of them today.  Times were about the same as last week but the legs felt pretty heavy today for both of us.  We had some guests on  Webb Hill with a lady and 4 little kids, a old lady with a dog, and the phone people looking at us like we were nuts for running the hill.  Lots of traffic for a pretty gnarly hill.  We got through the workout and now I will slowly get ready for our 30 miler on Saturday.

It rained extremely hard today in St. George.  I was planning on the club run this evening but the rain was as bad as I have seen it down here.  I contemplated going out in it but I would have looked like a wet dog within 10 seconds of running in it.  I grudgingly hopped on the treadmill at the high school to get the run in.  I haven't run on the treadmill since I moved down here so it has been a while.  I only had my long sleeve tech shirt because I was going to brave the weather so I ended up sweating all over the place.  Not fun but oh well!  I did the first 3 miles at 7:03/mile, the next 3 at 6:39/mile, the next 2 at 6:18/mile, and then did the last 2 miles at 6:00/mile.  I didn't want to speed up but the run was dragging on.  I survived, sweat and all, and then hurried home.

Hopefully it stops raining soon!

Relaxed today in preparation for the long run tomorrow.

Today was one of the most epic runs I have ever done.  Clyde and I needed to do another 30 mile run so we planned to go out by Little Black Mountain and do 3 loops.  Each loop is right at 10 miles.  I ended up having to use the commitment pattern (Clyde's words not mine) to get him to go.  We both knew it was going to be muddy and wet but we just needed to get it done.

The first loop consisted of a ton of mud for the first 2 or so miles and then their was snow on the ground for the rest of it.  We kept it nice and relaxed and ended up doing the first lap in 1:15.  Not bad considering the conditions.  

The second loop was supposed to more of a quicker tempo run where we picked up the pace a little.  The sun warmed up everything so it was even more muddy.  Clyde said he had a side stitch but then proceeded to pick up the pace even more.  He said after wards that his side stitch went away.  We ended up doing this loop in 1:07.  We were both really happy with this one because the road was in really bad conditions.  Thanks Clyde for getting frisky and pushing the pace even more :)

The final loop was a lot of "fun."  We couldn't believe how much mud we were running in at the first.  The road got better and we ended up keeping the pace honest and finished the final loop in 1:12. 

The problem with running today was we ended up dragging mud all 30 miles on our shoes.  This added more weight which didn't help.  Also, the footing was pretty slippery so we were "ice skating" at times.  We even sunk down in mud about 3-4 at times.  You had to be careful with your footing.  We finished the run in 3:34:20 though for the full 30 miles.  Clyde and I were really stoked after we finished.  We feel good going into our race in a couple weeks.

We ended up taking some good pictures to verify we did the run.  Clyde should have them on his blog or on his Facebook page.

Nice day today.  I ran after work today from the high school out along the Arizona Strip and then over towards Sunriver on the new road.  Their wasn't very much traffic and the road was great since it is brand new.  I didn't ever feel like I was pushing the pace and I still ended up with a 6:45/mile average overall.  I was pretty happy with this effort.  Nice start to the week.

Really weird day and didn't have a ton of time to run.  Sleep has been okay with Norah in the house but it still isn't giving me the usual amount of sleep I get.  It has been a little tough getting up in the mornings.  I ran 3.5 miles with the soccer team since we have started.  I then decided to hop on the treadmill at the high school and finish the day off with a 5K at 6:00/pace.  One of those weird days of running where the initial plan didn't work out.  All is well though!

Woke up this morning and told myself I needed to get out for a run.  Lo and behold it was a total down pour of rain.  I said what the heck and went out anyway.  I went along Snow Canyon Parkway and tried to focus on running relaxed.  I ended up hitting huge water puddles because it was quite dark early in the morning.  I got home and was pretty wet.  The nice thing was that the rain stopped right as I was finishing up.  Yeah!

I ran 3.5 miles along the golf course with the soccer team this afternoon.  Nice and easy.  I then ran from the high school over to the Dixie Center which was 2.5 miles.  I met up with the guys for the club run.  We did 10 miles this evening,  We went out to the Knolls park and then back.  Perfect evening for a run. 

Lots of moonlight this morning.  I went over into Santa Clara and back.  Good to get an okay morning run.  Happy to have this in.

Woke up early to meet Steve, Bill, Collins, and a few other trail runners from the area.  I needed to get a decent long run in with some good hills and this run was perfect for it.  We went out and ran the Hurricane trail today.  It ended up going on the Jem Trail and over towards Diamond Ranch Academy on the Goulds Trail.  It was cloudy this morning so the temperature never really warmed up.  I ran the first couple miles nice and easy and then picked it up with Steve.  The first 12 miles consisted of decent hill climbing throughout.  The last 8 miles were more rolling with not as many big hills.  We did encounter a bit of mud for about a mile or so which made me feel like I had ankle weights on.  Luckily the mud caked on the bottom of my shoes came off after a while. 

Really happy with the run overall.  I pushed the pace after the first couple miles and never really got tired after that.  I feel in much better shape now than I did a few months ago.  It feels great to be healthy again.  I think I have got my fuel system down for the upcoming race in two weeks.  I am really excited and optimistic to see what happens there.  It will be fun running with Clyde, Steve, and Collins.

Started off the new month with a nice early morning 10 miler out along the Snow Canyon Parkway.  Nice and relaxed today and temps were pretty good.  Less than 2 weeks until Moab.

4 miles with the boys this afternoon by the high school.  We went down by the Flying J and then came back up the hill.  Wasn't feeling it today for some reason.  I was pretty tired today.  I know I haven't been getting good sleep because I have been restless with the new one here.

3 easy miles today.  Another one of those days.

4 miles in the morning over into Santa Clara.

3.5 miles with the boys this afternoon.

2.5 miles from the high school over to the club run.

10 miles this evening at the club run.

I finally had a decent day this week.  The run this morning was nice and the weather was a touch warm.  The afternoon was perfect.  Short sleeve tech shirt was all I needed.  It was fun running with Dave, Clyde, and Aaron this evening at the club run.  We went from the DC all the way over to SunRiver and back.  It was fun running on a new trail.  Lots of people out tonight which was nice to see.

 I need to finish the week out strong and then really get ready for Moab next Saturday.  Possibility of snow.  Yeah!

11.10 miles in the morning.

2 miles in the afternoon.

I woke up and felt pretty good.  I went along the Snow Canyon Parkway for a nice morning run.  I averaged 7:22/mile overall.  Nothing fancy but just nice and easy.  I saw Marcie and some of her friends running along the trail.  They were the only runners this morning who even said "hi."  The other people running were not talking to anyone.  When you see someone running on the same trail as you at 5:30 in the morning, just say "hi."  Heaven forbid they might reply back with a "hello or how are you?" That is my daily vent for the day.

2 easy miles this afternoon around the track at the high school. 

Ran with Clyde and Dave this morning out on the Warner Valley Road.  It rained all last night so their was some muddy sections that were not fun to deal with.  It looked like the 3 of us were ice skating at times.  The light rain felt nice and it was good to get a decent 20 miler in before next week.  Clyde and I are both optimistic to see what happens.  The terrain probably won't be the best but we have had some good training runs in the mud, rain, and snow as of late.  We will have to see how it goes.  Next week will be nice and easy so the legs are fresh.

I did a 10K workout on the treadmill this afternoon at the high school.  I put the treadmill at 7:00/pace and kept it the same for the entire run.  I slowly bumped up the incline the last 3 miles where I was up to 8.0 incline.  It was nothing fancy but I wanted to do something different to keep the body ready for Saturday.

Easy 4.25 miles this afternoon with the boys.  Nothing fancy but just some good miles.  Keeping the legs fresh for this weekend.  Got some gaiters and new socks so I am ready to roll!

Pretty good ab workout today.  Stretched really good and used the roller.  The legs feel good and I don't want to overdo anything this week.

Another 4 easy miles with the boys.  I pushed the last little bit in towards the school.

Nice and easy shake out miles with Clyde and Steve tonight around the golf course.  Lots of snow!

What an adventure today!  I was really excited for this race because I felt like my training has been pretty good.  I was optimistic to see what I could do in this race.  I really got slapped in the face and was given a rude awakening.

We all started and Clyde took off towards the front.  I wanted to conserved my energy so I stayed back a bit but within striking distance.  We dealt with snow right from the start  but it wasn't that deep.  I thought we were going to luck out.  Boy was I wrong!  From about mile 4-14 or so, we ran uphill in 1-2 feet of snow.  I did not know what to think about this but I decided to trudge along and not worry about it too much.  I was sitting in 7th place and then picked up the 6th place guy about mile 16 which just happened to be on some downhill.   I was happy to be out of the deep snow.  It really threw me off.

I was feeling good all the way up until mile 21 when I stopped to get some stuff at the aid station.  I don't know what happened but both of my legs from the bottom of my feet all the way up to my quads cramped up.  I knew it wasn't going to be pretty for the last part of the race.  I think I may have cramped up due to the uneven terrain while running in the snow.  My gait was all messed up and I was using muscles in my body I have never used before.

I slowly started to get passed by a few people here but just wanted to be done with the race.  I ended up passing a bunch of the 33k runners which helped me push the last little bit.  I was going along and got lost for a little bit.  It cost me about 5 minutes.  I was running up a hill and heard Clyde behind me.  He was looking great at the first of the race and was really moving.  I knew he must have gotten lost.  He caught up to me and said he got sidetracked by about 30 minutes.  Yikes!  I still remember getting lost at the TOU Half and running an extra mile.  The memories!  I felt bad for Clyde because he would have won the race.  It was his day. 

I tried to salvage the last couple miles by trying to "push" the pace.  I finished and was quite disappointed.  I wanted to do much better but was not prepared for all of the snow we had to encounter.  It was probably 15+ miles of it.  Everyone had to deal with it but I know it affected me.  Still I don't want to make excuses. 

This is really only my second ultra so I am still learning all the ins and outs.  It took me a while to get the road racing down so we will just have to wait and see.  It was really nice to see Clyde run good again.  Steve also ran awesome.  I will try and learn from this race and do better at the next one. I really need to respect the longer distances.

At the finish line Katey and Norah were their waiting for me.  Norah was asleep and missed me finish.  Oh well!  Hopefully she will be awake for the next finish.

Did some yard work today but mainly relaxed.  The weather was awesome so I went out for a good 6 miler around Ivins.  It helped loosen up the legs.  My quads are still pretty tight from Saturday.  This week will be one to just slowly recover.

Same route as yesterday but later in the evening.  Legs felt a little better today.  Still some residual soreness in the quads though.  Good to get the run in.

6:53/mile overall pace along Snow Canyon Parkway.

6:52/mile pace overall through Santa Clara in the morning.

6:56/mile overall along Snow Canyon Parkway this morning.

Quick trip up to Logan so I decided to see how the legs felt.  I have been swamped with soccer the last couple weeks so my running has been really sporatic.  I went from the in-laws up towards Paul's house.  I ended up averaging 6:27/mile overall.  The legs felt good.

6 miles in the morning. 4 miles in the early afternoon. I went over into Santa Clara this morning and averaged 6:52/mile. It was nice and warm weather this morning. I hit the treadmill for a quick 4 miles. It was nothing fancy but I averaged 6:31/mile.  I am not stressed about the running right now.  I really do need to try and hit at least 6-10 miles a day with at least a long run during the week.  We have a very talented soccer team at the high school and I have been focused with that.

Went out along the Snow Canyon Parkway for a good 10 miler.  I did the first 6 miles easy and then finished with 4 miles of fartleks.  I did 2 minutes easy and then 2 minutes hard for the last 4 miles.  It felt good.

6 miles up into Kayenta at a 6:42/mile average.

8 miles over into Santa Clara at 6:47/mile average.

Went out along the Snow Canyon Parkway again.  It was really hot this afternoon but slightly windy which helped immensely.  I didn't take a watch today.  I just wanted to enjoy this one.

Nice and easy 6 miles around Santa Clara.

Ran the first 1.75 miles while pushing Norah in the jogging stroller. 

Katey came along and pushed her back home while extended along the Snow

Canyon Parkway in order to get 8 miles for the day.

Nice and easy 6 miles through Ivins over towards Unity Park and then along the old highway.

Had the boys' soccer team car wash all morning.  Clyde and Mik'l came

over for a free car wash so Clyde and I set something up for the

afternoon.  It was really hot (80+ degrees)!  We met at the Dixie

Center and went out towards SunRiver.  It was fun seeing the kite

festival from a distance.  We didn't push the pace to hard and ended up

doing 6:56/mile overall.  

6 miles out along Snow Canyon Parkway.  Perfect night for a run.

Met over at Clyde's house this morning for a nice 10 miler around The Knolls and over towards the Dixie Center.  It was a nice, cool morning and was perfect running weather.

10 miles in the morning with Clyde.

8.50 miles in the afternoon with Bill and Clyde.

Nice and easy run this morning with Clyde around his house.  It was relaxed and the pace felt good.

Met up with Clyde and Bill this evening at the Dixie Center.  We went out around the Bloomington Loop.  It was a touch warm but nice to run with some company today.

Met up with Clyde, Bill, and James to go and run 20 miles on the marathon course.  I was curious to see how today would go and I was pleasantly surprised. 

Clyde and I took off and did the first 10 miles at about 6:50ish pace.  It felt really easy.  We fueled up and then picked up the pace.  I did about 4 miles just slower than 6:00/mile pace and didn't want to overdo it so I slowed down a little bit for the last couple miles.  Clyde ran great today.

I am just trying to get some miles in while I can during soccer season and then I will really grit down and focus for the rest of the year.  My legs are a little sore after today's run though.

I got home from work and decided to go and get a nice 12 miler in.  I started at our house and did my Snow Canyon Parkway into Dixie Downs and back route.  The wind was out which made it not the most enjoyable run but it was worth it.  The weather was quite hot but it felt good to be out and about.  I saw Ken Carlson walking with his wife.  Lots of people out on the parkway today getting some exercise.  This was nice to see!

Norah was quite grumpy when I got home so I did a nice little 6 mile run while pushing her in the jogging stroller.  She fell asleep pretty quick and didn't wake up until I got home.  It is really weird pushing the stroller and running at the same time.

I didn't get out until later this evening.  I started at the house and then went over into Kayenta.  It was really beautiful and the temperature was perfect.  The only downside was the fact that the wind was howling.  Nice and relaxed today.

I left for my run right after work today.  I started at the high school and then went on to the Dixie Center Trail and headed out into SunRiver.  It was 88 degrees so I wasn't wanting to push the pace at all.  I wanted everything to be nice and relaxed.  I ended up finishing with just over 7:00/mile overall.  Glad to have this one over.

Too much going on while driving to Logan today so no run.  

We were up in Logan this weekend to spend time with Katey's parents.  I started at the in-laws' house and then went out towards Smithfield.  I hit 6:56/mile overall.  The weather was wonderful but the elevation got to me a little bit.

I found out this weekend I am in charge of setting out a 5k course for my 10 year class reunion.  It will be fun racing against all of my overweight football buddies.  Hopefully I can beat them.  I ran from the house over to Snow Canyon High School and laid out a pretty decent course.  It should be lots of fun.  I plan on pushing Norah in the jogging stroller for the race so it forces me not to go out fast :)  I beat the 7:00 minute guy this evening.

I decided to try a mini speed workout on the treadmill this evening.  I don't know why I did this but it changed things up.  I did the first 3 miles at 6:50/mile pace and then dropped the pace every mile until I finished the last 2 miles at 6:00/mile.  I ran at the high school and got sweat everywhere.  One of the football coaches came in and thought I was crazy.  You have to love the sport of running.

Club run this evening at the DC.  It was fun seeing Aaron there.  I wanted to push the last little bit so I knew he would help me.  We went out towards the fields and then looped around Stone Cliff and then back on to the trail.  Aaron and I dropped the pace but didn't do anything crazy.  The last 5 miles were 6:31, 6:20, 6:27, 6:05, and 5:41.  Nothing spectacular but nice to finish off the run with this.  

I did a 1 mile cool down after wards.

I did the run tonight like I did on Monday.  Katey met me at the track while I pushed Norah in the baby jogger for the 5k course I set out for my class reunion.  It was perfect weather to be running in during the evening. 

I finally got some new shoes tonight.  It was nice talking with Nick McCombs to see what has been going on in his life lately.  It has been a long time since I've seen him.

Met up with a big group this morning to go and run the marathon course.  It was Steve, Mike, Wildbull, Dustin, James, Aaron, Marcie, her friend Heidi, and me.  We started at the top of Veyo hill and ran back down to the finish line.  Aaron took off but I decided to stay back and help James with his workout today.  He wanted to do 14 miles at race pace but I talked him out of it.  We kept the first couple miles nice and easy and then slowly picked up the pace.  James wanted to do right at 6:15/mile but I knew naturally we would go a touch faster.  Our last 11 miles went as follows: 6:21, 6:15, 6:05, 6:06, 5:58, 5:58, 5:55, 5:54, 5:49, 5:56, and 5:56.  I told him not to look at his watch because I wanted to see how surprised he would be after the run.  James did a great job today and it was nice running with him.

Not a bad week considering I had 3 decent speed workouts.  I will take it.  Slowly revamping so I can hit the training hard here in a week or two.  I am excited.

6 miles in the morning. 

6.15 miles in the early evening.

I woke up and did an easy 6 miles in a new pair of shoes over into Santa Clara.  Everything felt great this morning.  The weather was awesome.

Katey, Norah, and I went to a play of one of my students and on the way home Katey dropped me off on the side of the road and told me to run home.  I got out of the car and ended up averaging 6:39/mile overall.  Legs are slowly starting to get some life back into them.

Met up with Clyde at his house and ran the River Loop.  Cooler temperatures made for perfect running conditions.  Didn't stress about the pace, just the conversation.  It was fun listening to Clyde talk about all of the fun he was having on his vacation.  I need to get out of town!

Nice and hot this afternoon.  Started at the house and then went over into Santa Clara.  Just wanted to stay relaxed and not worry about too much.  Just beat the 7:00 minute guy.  Nothing fancy.

8 miles in the morning with Clyde.  We started at his house and did the River Loop again.  We didn't extend like we usually do.  It was a little slow this morning but the cooler temps made for a wonderful run.

8.5 miles with the club tonight.  We went up to the light to get a mile in and then met up with everyone to do the Bloomington Loop.  It was pretty hot today on the run.  It was nice to have a big group out tonight.  Good to be running with the guys again.

Easy 6 miles around the neighborhood this afternoon.  I finished at my parents and wasn't feeling that great.  The 90+ degree weather didn't help out any.  I ended up losing my lunch which made me feel a lot better.  Got some more fluids in and some food which helped out a ton.

We took Norah swimming for the first time today and she loved it.  It was a lot of fun.

Went and ran Utah Hill this morning with James, Dave, Clyde, Steve, Aaron, and Hayden.  It was fun running with these guys.  We started at the power lines 5 miles out of Littlefield, Arizona and ran up the hill 10 miles and then came back down.  It is a long, grinding hill but it makes it worth it on the way back down.  We kept it nice and easy all the way to the top and then hit it hard on the way back.

I was looking at doing about 8 solid miles back down to the truck and then relax for the last two.  I feel good now and slowly want to get back into the swing of  things so I didn't want to overdo it.  We got fluids at the top and we were off.  Hayden and Aaron dropped all of us like we were bad habits.  I stayed with Clyde for a couple miles and then Dave sprinted by us.  Clyde picked it up even more after that.  Here are my splits for the 8 miles: 5:43, 5:30, 5:29, 5:22. 5:15, 5:12, 5:18, 5:26.  I was happy with this and then finished with a couple 6:00 miles. 

I am happy about the workout and I just need to stay patient and trust my training.  I know I will get back into some pretty decent shape.  Just need to be patient.

6 miles in the morning around Santa Clara.  The legs were a little sore from Saturdays run but it felt good to get out.  It was cooler temps and I ended up wearing a long sleeve shirt.  The legs loosened up a little bit.

Another 6 miles this afternoon around Ivins.  It was blue skies and about 70 degrees.  You cant ask for better weather.  I just relaxed on both of these runs today.  Nice start to the week.

Met up and ran with Clyde this morning.  We started at his house and did our usual loop over by the Dixie Center.  It was cooler this morning which made for a decent run.  Didnt worry about pace but just enjoyed the conversation and each other.  Another memorable day.

I ran this afternoon in the hot, windy weather.  I had to push the pace because I had to get over to Desert Hills graduation ceremony.  I accidentally fell asleep this afternoon and woke up in just enough time to run 12 miles along the Snow Canyon Parkway.  I felt really relaxed and didnt overdo it.  Got through this one.

I barely made it through graduation.  I was sitting on the stage where the camera had me just over the right shoulder of the speaker.  I wasnt able to take a nap because everyone in the entire arena would have seen me sleeping.  I survived and now I get to go to my sisters graduation tomorrow.  Two in two days.

Ran again with Clyde this morning on our usual loop.  We were beating the 7 minute guy and Clyde kept pushing the pace.  What a nice guy!  It was warm so I was sweating quite a bit.  I guess I sweat whether it is hot or cold.  Oh well!  I am sure Clyde wasnt very happy with all of the perspiration.  Only run today due to all of the family in town and going to my sisters graduation.

I ran 10 miles this morning up into Kayenta.  I slept in since it is the first day of the summer for me.  Katey told me it was going to rain so I was preparing for that when I started on my run and it was beautiful, blue skies.  Very relaxing this morning due to the extra sleep and then just enjoying the scenery.

Ran another 4 miles this afternoon over to my parents house.  It was really hot so I immediately hopped in the pool once I arrived.  It was very relaxing.  Ready for the big run tomorrow.

Nice 20 mile run out by Little Black Mtn. this morning with Dave, Clyde, James, and Steve.  We kept it nice and easy for the first lap (1:20) and then just naturally picked it up a little during the second.  Steve took off with around 5 miles to go and I slowed down to run with Dave and Clyde.  They said, "Go little Indian!" so I decided to take off and catch Steve.  I felt great finishing the run and was happy to get a good push to finish out the week.  The legs are finally starting to get some life back in them.  The temps were great but of course I was sweating a ton so the guys were worried about that.

Nice, solid week for me.  I feel like I am ready for some good speed workouts now and get officially back on track.  It was fun running with the guys again this morning.

Met up with Dave, Clyde and Kyle early at the running store. We drove up above Leeds and ran the dirt road back to Saint George that drops in above the turkey farm. We were running by 5:30 and it was just a beautiful morning as the sun came up. The route had tons of hills so we got a decent workout in. The pace wasn't fast but we kept it honest to the point that I puked a couple times (twice to be exact).  It was perfect temps and the scenery was beautiful.  It is runs like this that make it all worth it.  Nice start to the day.  Now off to spend time with the family.

6 miles in the morning over into Santa Clara.  A little sore from the run yesterday but everything loosened up after a little bit.  The hot weather is starting to creep up on us.  Yeah!

6 more easy miles this afternoon all over Ivins.  I pushed the last 2 miles just for kicks and giggles.  Nice to be running in the heat :)

I ran 13 miles with Ben from up north this morning.  He was down so I decided to take him on a route where the weather would be a little cooler.  We started in Ivins and then ran up through Kayenta and then out towards the Shivwits Indian Reservation.  We did a nice out and back route.  We kept the pace honest considering he was still recovering from Ogden and we had a few hills to deal with.  We almost caught the 7 minute guy but it just wasn't meant to be.  

I ran a mile to meet him at the church and then a mile back home after wards to give me 15 for the day.  The temps are getting really hot.  Yeah!

4 miles in the morning over to my parent's house to pick up some screws for a new shelf in our house.  Nice and easy.

8.5 miles at the club run tonight.  I ran with Clyde, Nate, and Josh this evening.  It was a cool 96 degrees when we started.  It did help to have a slight breeze for the entire run.  We ran to the corner to see if anyone else was coming and then went and did the Bloomington Loop.  Clyde decided to push the pace the last 2 miles so we finished pretty strong.  Nice to get a solid run in.

8 miles in the morning with Clyde and Paul.  We did the River Loop by their house.  The two of them didn't understand why I was sweating so bad with it only being 60 degrees.  Welcome to the summer!

 I ran with two buddies from high school on our reunion 5k course.  I set up cones and painted arrows so no one gets lost tomorrow.  It was 104 degrees once we finished.  

Went to my parent's and did 20 minutes of swimming and running in the pool.  This helped loosen up the legs.

This morning was our 10 year reunion 5k run.  I decided to run from my house to the race and then check the course before hand to see if all my cones were still set up from last night.  I got there and everything was still in great shape except for the sprinklers got to some of my signs.  The started at the high school and went around the neighborhood a little bit.  Everyone had jogging strollers (including me) so we didn't shoot for fast times.  I led the race while pushing Norah while talking with a bunch of people from school.  It was fun to catch up on old times.  I won a $20 gift card to Pizza Factory after wards in a drawing so that made it all worth it.  It was nice seeing everyone again.  I can't believe it has been 10 years since I graduated high school.  

I ran home from the race to get some more miles in.  I pushed the last 2 miles home to get the legs moving.  Solid finish to the week.  I am going to shoot for one or two speed workouts next week.

8 miles around Ivins this morning on a little different route.  I went out along Highway 91 for a while and came back into Ivins by Unity Park.  I averaged 6:58/mile overall.

Nice 6 miles this evening back through Ivins.  I didn't get out until after 8:30pm because we had a friend over showing us some neat pictures of ruins near Flagstaff.  I ate a little bit of dinner thinking I would be alright.  I was wrong.  With about .25 left on my run I got ride of it quickly.  Family site so I won't go into depth.  I  survived and averaged 7:00/mile overall.  Decent start to the week.

Went over and ran with Clyde this morning.  We started at 6am with the temperature at about 72 degrees.  We ran over by the high school and then went out towards the Bloomington Loop.  We came back on the trail and saw a ton of people walking or riding their back.  One guy hollered at Clyde and me to move because he felt like we were taking up the whole trail.  What a guy!  Nothing fancy but a good paced run.  Always fun running with Superfly!

Only had time for 4 miles this afternoon so I decided to do some marathon pace miles.  I ran a 2 mile warm up and then finished the last 2 miles at 5:25 and 5:24.  Nice to get the legs moving again.  It was extra hot this afternoon.  103ish!

I then went swimming in my parents pool with Norah.  It felt good on the legs.  Nice end to the day.

I got up early and ran along Snow Canyon Parkway over into Dixie Downs.  It was nice this morning.  I didnt run in the sun until the last 2 miles.  I kept it nice and easy and didnt worry about the pace.  Hopefully I can get out for a couple more this afternoon.  Lots of people on the trails.

Nice easy 6 miles over into Santa Clara this morning.

Beautiful morning for a run.  I went out along the Snow Canyon Parkway over into Dixie Downs.  It was perfect temps and I kept the pace nice and relaxed.  I averaged 7:01/mile overall.  I only got scared by one guy riding a bike today.  They think it is funny to come up behind you and holler something at you.  It is quite annoying.  

I am in Cedar until Friday so the weather should be a little bit cooler up there.

I am in Cedar this week for a boys' soccer camp so I am glad to be running in the cooler weather.  I woke up and ran from the university out along the road going towards Enterprise.  I turned on one of the roads and went out by some farms.  It was really nice and the temperature was awesome.  I didn't worry to much about pushing the pace.  I ended the run with 7:05/mile overall.

I didn't have a ton of time today to run so I ended up running later at night.  It was so windy today so it was nice to run late at night.  I went from the university over towards the movie theater and back.  I decided to push the last couple miles a bit.  I hit 6:23 and 5:54 for the last two miles and averaged 6:40/mile overall.  Decent run.

Nice and easy 6 miles through the town of Cedar.  I ran along main street early this morning going over towards Canyon View High School.  It was fun running with not a lot of cars on the road.  I averaged 7:01/mile overall.  

6 miles this morning from the same route as yesterday.  No watch.  I am ready to get back home.  I haven't seen Katey or Norah all week.  I miss them.

I got home and took a nap and decided I should go back out this afternoon.  It was hot but windy so I thought I would chance it.  Katey was still driving back from Logan so I decided to go out.  I ran out along the Snow Canyon Parkway and then back to my parent's house.  I had to stop and get water twice.  After the first stop I ended up losing my lunch.  Not fun.  I felt better and finished my run by going straight into my parent's pool.  It was refreshing to finish the day with that.  No watch again.  Just tried to relax during the run.

Met up with the guys at Bill's house and did an easy 11 miler.  We ran up to the water tower and then back down along the Industrial Parkway into Middleton.  While we were finishing up we saw a house on fire.  It was pretty sad.  After we ran we all helped Bill move into his new place.  It was a fairly easy move so I was happy with that.  Always nice to help others out.

Nice run this morning over into Santa Clara.  The temps were a little cooler than expected.  I averaged 6:53/mile.  Nice start to the week.

I went out about 5pm along the Snow Canyon Parkway for a bit and then ran over to my parent's house to finish the run diving into the pool.  The plan was to hit up tempo pace for the run (6:30ish).  I ended up doing 6 miles at 6:10/mile.  It felt good besides the fact that it was really hot.  The pool felt great though after wards.

Ran with Steve and Clyde this morning over by Clyde's house.  We went up over by the new airport and then came back by Staheli Farms.  It was nice and easy and overall good conversation.  Beautiful morning to be out running.  We have been lucky with the weather lately down here where it isn't terribly hot.

Did 4 more miles this afternoon all around 6:30/mile and ended at my parents house to make sure I cooled off in the pool. 

I ran along Snow Canyon Parkway this morning.  I didn't have a ton of time since we were driving to Logan after wards.  Nothing fancy but ended up averaging 6:48/mile.

10 miles this morning from the in-law's house in Logan over towards Smithfield.  Kind of a rolling hills course.  I ended up getting out around 10am (I had to see Italy lose in the World Cup) and really enjoyed the weather.  I averaged 6:36/mile for the entire run.  Very happy with that.

Did another 4 miles this afternoon in the hot weather.  I wanted to hit tempo miles.  I found part of the run this morning which had a .75 mile hill climb so I decided to hit that this afternoon.  The hill section of this run was a good push and I ended up averaging 6:04/mile.  

I now realize it is easier to run at higher elevations than in extremely hot weather.  Still slowly getting the turnover going and hitting faster times. 

6.40 miles in the morning.

I ran down towards the temple and then by our old house in Logan.  I was remembering all the good times.  Kept it nice and easy and ended up with 7:03/mile.

6 miles in the afternoon.

Just another relaxed run through Logan.  Nothing fancy = 7:04/mile because I am running with Paul Petersen tomorrow.

Ran with Paul Petersen this morning.  It was great running with him again.  We were planning on some pretty fast miles but we both were not feeling it today.  We went up Smithfield Canyon (lots of up!) and then came back down.  We had 4 miles between 5:35-5:40/mile which felt nice.  We ended up catching the 7:00 minute guy.  It was a good end to the week.  Happy to get some decent miles in while visiting the in-laws.  It is also nice to meet up and run with Paul whenever time allows.

6 miles in the morning around Ivins.  No watch this morning.

Another 6 miles this afternoon starting at my parent's house and then did an out and back ending with me in the pool.  It was close to 110 degrees so I was happy to see the water.  I did 3x3:00 worth of pool running.  It felt good on the joints for a little relief.

I went over to Clyde's house and ended up running with Steve, Paul, Clyde, and James.  It was nice to have a bigger group.  I talked with Clyde last night and we decided to run 4 miles at Tinman pace within the run this morning.  We went around the fields and then over by Stone Cliff and then back on to the DC trail.  When we started the faster miles I wanted to push a little faster than Tinman.  I got to 4 miles and then slowed down.  Clyde and the others were planning on doing 6 miles but I guess I didn't get the memo.  I hit 5:48, 5:46, 5:39, and 5:46 for the 4 miles.  It felt good but I feel bad because it would have been nice to hit 6 Tinman miles this morning.  We finished by going around towards Little Valley and then called it a day.  Nice run this morning.  It is supposed to be really hot again today.  Yeah!

I went again this afternoon for a few more miles.  Their was a little bit of cloud cover so it was bearable.  I then went to my parent's house and swam in the pool for about 20 minutes.  

6 very sluggish miles this morning.  I haven't felt this bad in a long time.  Hopefully I feel better this afternoon.

I was totally drained this afternoon and didnt feel any better so I decided to bag my run.  I napped and drank lots of water so I should be feeling better tomorrow.

8 miles this morning with the cross country kids.  We started at Little Valley and went out towards Washington Fields.  It was a good morning and happy to be running with the kids again.  I will do more tonight at the club run.

8 miles with the club tonight.  It was nice running later in the evening so it wasn't so hot.  We left a lot of sweat on the trail.  Dave and Clyde were feeling a little frisky so we pushed the last 3 miles.  Focusing right now on getting plenty of fluids in the body.  Not a bad end to the day.

Ran 4 miles nice and easy before practice today.  I ended up running with the girls this morning.  We have a lot of them coming which is nice to see.  I have an 8th grader coming out who is really good.  I wish she was in 9th grade so she could help the team out this year.  Went back after I finished with the girls and helped some of the boys finish the last part of the run.  Nice morning for running.

Another 4.5 miles around Ivins this afternoon.  It was windy which helped the heat.  It helps when it is windy.

It was another fun run this year in the 4th annual Steven Abraham Lincoln Ambercrombie and Finch Hooper Annual 4th of July Run.  Met up with the guys at 4:00 this morning.  Norah didn't sleep well last night so I was really tired this morning.  We hurried up to the Enterprise Resorvior and got started.  It was a cool 49 degrees which was a nice relief from all of the hot mornings in St. George.  Started out with Dave, James, Steve, Dustin, and Bill.  We kept it nice and easy for the first little bit and then slowly picked up the pace.  It sure is different running at 6000 ft. elevation right from the get go.   

James and I took the first couple hills together.  Their is something about a good hill climb to make me want to vomit.  I ran with Steve for a little bit and while he stopped to get some water, Dave and I took off.  Dave wasn't feeling great so I knew I was going to be running the last little bit by myself.  I really wanted to finish strong for the last 5 miles.

I hit 5:46, 5:31, 5:39, 5:34, 5:32, and 5:28 (.30 miles) for the last part of the run.  It was tricky with the terrain at times because it is a dirt road.  It was a little slippery at times and I really didn't want to fall over on my face.  I survived and was happy with the run.

Ended with sitting in the cold river with the rest of the guys.  It felt great on the body but I don't remember it being that cold ever before.  Fun way to start the day.

I came home and took a long nap and will get ready for all the running families to come over for a BBQ later today.  It should be fun.

4 miles before practice which included a not so fun stop due to eating some potato salad yesterday.  Literally sweating bullets.

6.50 miles with the boys at practice.  Decent pace at 7:21/mile.

Another easy 4 miles this afternoon around the neighborhood.  Not as hot so it felt nice.

Met up with Clyde, Dave, and Steve at 5am to get our workout in.  We did the same loop as last week.  We did a 3 mile warm up and then did 5 miles at Tinman pace down towards the Dixie Center and then back into Bloomington Hills.  We went a little faster than Tinman and I averaged 5:46/mile.  We then cooled down back to Clyde's house.  It was a good workout to get in.

I did 4.5 miles with the girls at practice.  It felt great to not goes as fast with the extra miles for this morning.

Starting running a little before practice and saw Clyde on his run so I joined him for a couple miles.  Went with the boys from Little Valley over to Hidden Valley Park.  Pushed the hills a bit.  Nice run overall though.  The weather was cool which felt really nice.  Below 70 degrees at the start of the run.  

Another 4 miles around Ivins.  Slight breeze only made the heat feel warmer on my body.  Getting miles in though.

Ran 2.5 miles around Little Valley before practice started.  I then ran 5.5 miles barefoot in the grass.  I had the team do pick ups within the run.  It was fun running barefoot.  I don't usually do it.  Looking forward to the club run tonight.

Club run tonight at the DC.  It was fun running with everyone.  Hayden came with us for one final run before he heads out on his mission next week.  We did the Bloomington Loop backwards and pushed the last couple miles at half marathon pace.  Nice end to the day.

Ran 6.5 miles before practice while doing 4.5 of them with Clyde.  It was 80 degrees this morning so it wasn't that cool.  Bummer.  I decided to give the kids an easy day since they have been working really hard.  Probably will be done for the day now.

I ran with Clyde, James, Dave, Mike, and his buddy this morning.  We started out at 5am and it was already 88 degrees a little humid.  Yuck!  We ran from Clyde's down to the AZ border and along the Corridor, up the river trail along Sun River to Bloomington and through Bloomington Hills back.  After a 6 mile warm up we ran a 6 mile progression that started just above Tinman pace and ended just below it.  After that we limped our way back to Clyde's house.  It was good to get some faster miles in but it was way to hot today.  Glad to have this run over with.

Another solid week in the books.  Happy to be feeling healthy again and getting in some good training.

4 miles before practice on the DC trail.  I then ran 7 miles with the boys along the same trail at 7:30/mile overall.  It felt good for a Monday morning except for all of the blasted bugs near the river.

It was 108 degrees this afternoon with a little wind on my 5 miler.  I soaked my hat which helped and then finished at my parent's house to hop immediately in the pool.  It sure felt good.  Averaged 6:37/mile.  Nice start to the week.

Met up with the Octagon of Trust (Me, Dave, Clyde, Mike, Bill, Dustin, no Steve or James) this morning for our run.  We did just over a 3 mile warm up and then did 6 miles at Tinman pace.  We averaged 5:54/mile for this section.  The last 2 miles are killer but we all survived.  We finished with a cool down back to Clyde's.  It felt good today on the run despite the 90 degree temps at 5am in the morning.  I think I swallowed bugs along the trail to get my daily required amount of protein.  Fun to have a bigger group.

I then hurried over to cross country practice.  I ran with the girls this morning so I wouldn't push too much.  It actually felt good to loosen up the legs more.  Nice to be done for the day.  It is supposed to be another scorcher today.

Ran with the team this morning.  We did the Bloomington Loop plus some hill repeats.  I wanted the kids to focus on their form so they can get used to it.  It was cooler this morning which was much needed.  I was very grateful for it.  I added some more miles after practice by running over to Sun River and back. 

Once again was running in the afternoon when it was about 106 degrees or so.  I took some water with me and drenched my hat before hand to try and keep the body temperature down.  It helped a ton.  I was finishing up the run and saw 2 guys knocking on my door and I knew they were either trying to sell pest control or a security system.  I did 2 extra loops around the neighborhood to avoid them.  My neighbors were looking at me like I was crazy.  I just wasn't in the mood to chat.

Nice run this morning with some of the boys.  I did a couple before practice and then we did a loop from Bloomington Park up by Flying J and then back along the trail.  Kept it nice and easy.  I was going to do more after but I will save it for tonight at the Chelsi's Run.  I was thinking of going out this afternoon for a short run but Len Randolph says it is supposed to be 112 degrees and you shouldn't do any form of exercise in the heat.  What a smart guy!

Met up with a bunch of people before the Chelsi Run to get 4 easy miles in.  I was feeling good going into this so I was curious to see how I would do.  It is a 2 loop course around St. James Place.  I went out with Dave and Clyde and felt great on the first lap but during the second lap everything went not good.  My stomach was not feeling right so I shut it down.  I felt like I was going to yack.  I ended up finishing at about 16:24.  Not stellar but happy to survive the run.  We did a 1.5 mile cool down and I still wasnt feeling good.  Clyde said I was really white in the face.  I think it may have been something I ate for dinner.  Oh well.  Dave took 1st and Clyde came in front of me for 2nd.  Not the best night for a run but every run cant be great.  It was fun seeing all the guys tonight.  Looking forward to going up north to Scoffield for Kateys triathlon.  It will be a nice break from the heat.

I don't want to go into great detail about this morning's run.  I was still tired from last night.  Met up with Clyde this morning and ran from his house over by Staheli Farm's, back towards Costco, hit the trail, and then back into Bloomington Hills.  Lots of bugs out again in full force.  We were both a little sluggish at the start but everything worked itself out.  We actually saw a Bambi running across the trail this morning.  A little out of place!  Great to get in my run for the day as I am heading to Scoffield for Katey's triathlon.  Only will have time for a few tomorrow morning.

We stayed in Price last night for Katey's triathlon this morning at Scofield State Park.  I woke up and ran all the way through Price on Main Street.  It only was about 2 miles.  I took a little pit stop and then went out towards the airport.  It was early so I didn't see the terrain very well.  It was a decent climb up towards the airport.  It was rolling hills which gave my legs a good workout.  I didn't have time to go longer because I needed to help Katey and my brother-in-law get ready for the triathlon.  Nice end to the week and really glad I don't live in Price.

The triathlon was really fun to watch.  Katey did great.  She beat her projected time by almost 20 minutes and she felt great after wards.  Also, she almost beat her brother who was just 4 minutes faster than her.  I was really proud of her and it was fun to see her do so well.

Nice and hot this morning.  I ran with some of the boys from Bloomington Park over to Sun River and then back along the trail.  I needed to get some more miles in so I decided to hit the Bloomington Loop and then tack on a little while on the trail.  I ended up doing 5 more miles at 6:34/mile.  It felt nice and relaxed.  

On a side note for some of you who know the story, I ran into my hand massage lady while out on the Loop.  I think she lives out there.  Yikes!  I had a good chuckle when she waved at me.  If you want to hear the story, ask Clyde.

Met up with Octagon of Trust again this morning at Clyde's house for our tempo workout.  The plan was 3 mile warm up, 7 miles at tempo, and then a cool down back to Clyde's.  I knew going into it that the last 2 miles would be a nice up hill climb.  The last mile goes up the golf course into Bloomington Hills.  I wanted to just relax this morning and really only felt yucky during the 5th mile.  I felt good on the up hills and finished with 5:54/mile overall.  Great workout with the rest of the guys.  It was only 91 at about 5:30 this morning.  

Katey is out of town until Friday at girls' camp so I will have to get creative on getting my runs in while watching Norah.  I think I hear the jogging stroller calling my name.

6 miles this morning pushing Norah in the stroller at practice.  The kids did hills today so I stayed and watched.  All the kids on the team loved having her there.  Cooler temps this morning actually made it quite enjoyable.  Slightly overcast.  Yeah!

My little sister watched Norah as I went out this afternoon.  The wind was blowing a ton so it made the temperature cool (103 degrees).  I averaged 6:49/mile for the run.  Hopped in my parent's pool after wards.  Felt great!

Ran with Clyde and Dave this morning.  We were planning on more tempo miles but decided to relax because of the 10k this weekend.  We did our usual run but went in the opposite direction.  We kept everything nice and easy.  It was warm once again. 

Ran with the girls today at practice.  Good to have a decent number of girls coming out.  Need to keep pushing them.  Happy to be done for the day.  Now I get to "relax" with Norah for the rest of the day.

Nice easy run with the kids this morning pushing Norah.  We did the Bloomington Loop.  Didn't enjoy the uphill as much as some of the slight downhill.  Now to rest up for the race tomorrow.  We will see how it goes.

Went up to Enterprise today to do the 10k.  I haven't raced a 10k in about 3 or 4 years so I guess it was time to run another one.  It was cooler up there so that was a nice break from the St. George heat.  Clyde and I decided we were going to shoot for sub-32 today to see how things were.  We took off and hit the first 2 miles at 4:52 and 4:58.  Happy to see this.  Just stayed relaxed running with Clyde for the first half of the race.

I pushed past Clyde just before mile 4 when I saw a Suburban coming up the road.  We were also passing many of the 5k walkers.  Clyde went on one side of the road and I went on the other side.  I did not choose wisely.  The Suburban kept coming close to me and I ended up hitting a 5k walker on accident trying to squeeze through.  I "gently" slapped the car and was not happy.  It got me out of my rhythm a bit but I kept on going.

Clyde went past me just after 5 miles and I was only a couple steps behind him.  The last mile through town is slightly up hill and not the best way to end a race.  Clyde "chicked" me at the end but I was happy with the end result today.

It is nice to be feeling healthier and healthier each day.  I reflect back on 2009 and the first part of 2010 and how tough it was to be injured and then try and slowly come back.  It is still a process and I need to be patient.  Everything is moving in the right direction.  Happy to see Clyde get the win and everyone else run well today.

On a side note: I got on the bus heading up to the start and I saw my hand massage friend again.  Two sightings in one week is more than I can handle!  I need to be careful out there.

10.60 miles this morning.  

5 miles in the afternoon.

I ran 3 miles before practice and then just over 7.5 miles with the boys this morning.  We started at Hidden Valley Park and went around the mountain over towards the golf course.  It was nice to see the boys push it at the end.

It was overcast this afternoon so I knew I was going to be happy on this run.  Drenched my hat with water and then just enjoyed the run.  Felt very relaxed and finished with 8x100m strides.  Legs are loosening up quite nice.  Big workout in the morning.

Met up with the Octagon of Trust again this morning (minus Mike and Dustin) for our Tinman tempo pace workout.  We did a different loop today.  We started at Clyde's house, went over by the Washington Bridge, hit the road by Costco, and then back on to the river trail.  

The plan was a 3 mile warm up, 8 miles at TM, and then 2 miles for a cool down.  I was a little tight in my shins and hamstrings from the 10k still so I was curious to see how this workout would go.  We got started and Dave and Clyde started chit chatting about life and how great it is.  Life is great but I wanted to get this workout done.  I felt good until about mile 6 when the heat got to me and I dry heaved a couple times.  I gritted my teeth and finished pretty good.  I hit the 8 TM miles with a 5:57/mile average.  I was thrilled to get through this workout.  I didn't feel great throughout but it is nice to have this one in the books.

My mind was telling me to run with the kids at practice today but my body was telling me no.  I listened to my body and I am glad I did.

This morning's run was quite eventful.  Clyde and I went into Bloomington Hills and then out to do the Bloomington Loop.  We stopped at most of the water spots because it was extremely hot and muggy.  I was trashed at the end and was glad to be done with the run.  I was extremely dehydrated and my body was craving some liquids.  Every run can't be the best.  It is nice to have runs kick you in the crotch to keep you grounded.

On a side note: As we turned the corner by Clyde's house he claimed he saw a small mountain lion.  I guess their have been reports of seeing a mountain lion over by the Boulders.  It was to dark and I was staring at the ground.  If it is true I am just glad I live on the opposite side of town.  Here is the lame joke in regards to this morning: "Why are there so many fast runners from Kenya?  Because the lions ate all the slow ones!"

Track workout with Steve this morning at the high school.  We did a 3 mile warm up and then did 4x1000m with 200m recovery jog on the track.  I haven't done this workout for a while so I was curious how it would turn out.  I was just shooting for 3:10 on each one.  3:12, 3:08, 3:10, and 3:10 is how it all went down.  I felt good but know I can do these (and will) a little faster.  Steve did a great job pushing through the workout as well.  We then did a 4 mile cool down to help the legs out.

I ran with the girls today for just over 4 miles.  Kept it nice and easy.  Legs are still a touch tight.  I need to go see April this weekend if at all possible.

5 easy miles with the kids this morning.  Nothing fancy.  Looking forward to tomorrow's run.  Rain and wind look to be in the forecast.  I will welcome this after all of the hot weather we have been having.

Met up with Kendra's running group this morning to do the marathon course.  Clyde, Mike, Bill, Aaron, me, and a girl from Toquerville went up and did 19 miles.  We eased into it and after Veyo Aaron and me picked up the pace.  I wanted to do the first 10 easy and then hit 6 miles up tempo pace and then cool down with some strides at the end.  We hit the 6 miles anywhere between 5:38 and 5:21.  I finished the 6 and Aaron decided to continue with the pace back to the church.  We passed hundreds of people going down the course.  I ran into my buddy and his brother and ran with them for a little bit.  I finished the run with 8x100m strides.  It was nice to see I averaged 6:22/mile for the entire run.  Solid run and happy to end the week on a positive note.

For those of you who don't believe St. George gets bad weather think again.  It hailed and was windy and rainy last night.  It blew tables and chairs into my parent's pool.  The hail was so bid and hard it put holes in the back of their house.  I helped my dad clean out the pool and get the house fixed up again.  We lucked out and didn't have any damage at our house.  What an adventure!

I went and saw April this afternoon to get a massage.  It has been a little while and I will just say she made me cry a little bit.  I was pretty tight all over.

8 miles in the morning into Santa Clara.

8.25 miles in the afternoon with the kids.

I woke feeling great this morning.  I was really loose from the massage and I could tell a difference.  I went into Santa Clara and then back.  I was locked into 7:30 pace and just enjoyed the nice weather.  Beautiful morning.

First day of afternoon practice for the team.  Happy to say all the kids survived the heat.  I ran 6 miles with some of the boys and then went around making sure everyone else felt fine.  Slight breeze made the run somewhat bearable today.  Decent start to the week.

Met up with the guys this morning for our Tinman tempo workout.  We did a 3 mile warm up and then did 9 miles at Tinman pace which ended up being 5:51/mile overall.  We finished with almost a 3 mile cool down.  This workout was one of the better workouts I've done in a while.  Dave, Clyde, and me stayed together and helped each other out.  I can a difference with being in much better shape compared to when we first started these workouts.  Happy to be done for the day.

8 miles in the morning over into Santa Clara.  The cool breeze this morning actually felt cool.  I love running in the morning when it is like that.  No watch.

4 more miles in the heat this afternoon over to my parent's house.  Glad I didn't go any farther.  Nice and easy.

Big workout this morning with Dave and Aaron.  We met up at the DC and worked out the trail this morning.  We did a 3.5 mile warm up and then did 1 mile at Tinman (6:01).  We then did 5 x 1 mile repeats with 200m recovery.  We just went back and forth on the trail.  The goal for me was to hit 5:10-5:15 for each one.  5:08, 5:15 (headwind), 5:08, 5:18 (headwind), and 5:10 is how it went down.  My stomach was acting up from something I ate last night.  We cooled down back to the car and I got rid of dinner last night.  I felt much better after wards.  Much cooler temps made the workout bearable.  Happy with the times but know I could have done a little better feeling closer to 100%. 

I saw Clyde and Paul running so I decided to do about 2 more miles worth of cool down.  Excited to be running up in Pine Valley for the next couple days with the kids.  It should be fun. 

We made it up to Pine Valley with the team and I gave them a lovely hill workout at 7000 ft. elevation which they all enjoyed :)  It ended up being right at 5.5 miles.  I already enjoy the temperature up here.

3 easy miles this morning with the kids in Pine Valley.  We went over past the ranger station and into the park for a little bit.  Nice and cool this morning.

Most of the team went fishing this afternoon at Pine Valley Reservoir so I decided to go and explore some trails.  I went along the canal trail and then caught the Brown Point Trail over to the Whipple Trail.  I was cruising along and all of a sudden a huge 4 point buck ran right in front of me.  It stopped on the trail, gave me one good look, and then bounded up the mountain.  It was cool seeing this.  I came back around and it was a total of 4 miles.  It was fun to see some of the kids catch fish today. 

Later this evening I took the team up on some of the same trails I was running on this afternoon.  The kids were loving it.  We ended up seeing 5 more deer.  All of the kids said they loved running up through the trees.  I am really glad I could take them up there.

I went over with the team to the start of the race this morning so all of the kids could help volunteer at the aid stations.  It was fun for them to see me running.  They seemed to have a really good time.  I did a 1 mile warm up and then off we went.  This course was extremely hilly so I knew I was going to just be using this for a workout.  Dave and Clyde took off and I caught up to them 1.5 miles into the race.  It started to rain a little bit and Katey was coming towards us after dropping some of the kids off so we decided to drop our watches off with her.  It made the run more enjoyable not having to worry about the pace and how fast we were going.  We kept the first half of the race very conversational and then really "enjoyed" the hills on the way back.  Clyde and Dave were pushing up the hills pretty good and I decided to sit back and not worry too much.  I was about a .10 mile behind them and eventually caught up and passed Dave on the 2nd major section of hills.  We got to the top and I started to pick up the pace in order to reel Clyde in.  I was coming up on Clyde when Dave caught up to me and we decided to finish the race together.  We moved up by Clyde and finished the last 1.5 miles together.  It was fun to cross the finish line together and hear everyone try and figure out who won the race.  It was an emotional feeling crossing the line together with Dave and Clyde.  I almost shed a few tears.  We do everything together!  The cross country kids were really excited to see me finish.  I think it was the short shorts I was wearing.  They are not used to it.  I did a 2 mile cool down and then went back to camp and closed down shop with the team so we could hurry back to St. George.

Very happy with the week.  I hit some solid workouts and had a good time the last few days in Pine Valley with the cross country team at our camp.  Just need to stay healthy and continue hitting solid workouts for the next couple of weeks.

8 miles in the morning over into Santa Clara.  The cooler weather made it quite enjoyable.  No watch on the run.

6 miles in the afternoon with the cross country kids.  Slight breeze felt alright in the heat.  It is nice to see the kids pushing each other more and more each day.

3 mile warm up.

10 miles at 5:51/mile overall.

3.10 mile cool down.

The weather was amazing this morning.  It was in the low 60s which felt like heaven today.  I can't believe it was that cool this morning.  Clyde was feeling a little frisky so we had some faster miles thrown in there.  I felt really relaxed and comfortable for the run which made me really happy.  It feels like the body is coming around to what I need for the big race this fall.  Nice to push with Clyde and Dave again.  Put it in the bank.

Easy 6 miles this morning.  No watch as I went over into Santa Clara.  I am going to be done for the day since I have the cross country meet this afternoon.

The meet went well today.  My top girl took 1st place overall in the girls race.  This was really fun to see.  The boys ran awesome as well.  I am ecstatic for what lies in store this season.

Big workout this morning with Clyde and Steve at Desert Hills High.

2.75 mile warm up.

8 x1000m (goal is 3:10 for each one) w/ 200m recovery.

3.5 mile cool down.

One of the better workouts I have had in a long time.  Here is how everything went today.

1- 3:11

2- 3:08

3- 3:07

4- 3:06

5- 3:07

6- 3:05

7- 3:06

8- 3:03

It was nice to push with Clyde and get into a good rhthym.  I felt really strong through out the work out.  This is really encouraging.  I really enjoyed the cool down listening to Steve and Clyde banter about which weekend a race was 2 years ago and also learning about Clyde's dreams.  Fascinating stuff!

Nice and easy run with Clyde this morning.  The weather was awesome and I can't complain about anything.  The lower mileage this week has been good for the body.  Nice to look forward to a good 20 miler tomorrow up north.  I will try and run with Ben.

I ran with Ben Vanbeekum this morning in the North Ogden area.  We didn't get into town until about 11pm this morning so I was a few minutes late to his house.  I was really tired but knew it would be a good workout.  We started at his house in Harrisville and then climbed up in to North Ogden and then went over towards Weber High along the mountain.  It is not an easy first 10 miles climbing for most of it.  I wanted to hit at least 4 decent quicker miles on the way back but with how windy it was I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out.  

We started picking it up at mile 13 and I hit 5:29, 5:21, 5:25, and 5:44 (wind was right in my face and ready to blow me over) for the 4 quicker miles.  It was a flat section of our route and very windy so I was glad to get some okay miles in at the end.  We just cooled down for the rest of the run.  The cool thing was we saw 2 huge bucks along the mountain.  Sweet!

Happy to get in a good 20 miler while I was up for my cousin's wedding.  Mileage was a little lower than I wanted but my legs feel more fresh and I am feeling strong for St. George.  We will see what happens.

Thanks again Ben!

3 miles in the morning with the kids.

7.15 miles in the hot afternoon with the boys.

It was a nice turnout of about 15 kids for our first day of doubles.  I think this will really benefit the team as the season goes on. 

It was so stinking hot this afternoon.  I put out water for the kids and I am glad I did because I would have had a bunch of roadkill to clean up.  All the kids on the team are running very well right now.  I am excited for what lies in store for the rest of the season.  Kept it nice and easy both runs.  I was planning on doing a little more after practice but it was way to hot.

Big workout this morning starting at Clyde's house (13 total miles).  It was 80+degrees at 4:50am.  Yikes!  The plan was 2 miles-1mile-2miles with 2:00min. recovery in between each one.  I was a little worried about the heat but I knew I could get through the workout.  I pushed with Aaron for the first two and hit 5:12 and 5:18.  The third mile was 5:11.  The last set was 5:18 and 5:17.  I was happy with the workout but was extremely dehydrated after the run.  I tried to drink water throughout the day at work.  Still could do better with this.

5.15 miles this afternoon with the kids.  I did a short warm up and then had the kids do 1:1, 2:2, 3:3, and 4:4 intervals on the track.  I ran with the girls today so I could help push them.  Everyone is running great right now.  I am really excited!

6 easy miles into Santa Clara this morning.  No watch.  Katey got mad at me when I got home because I was dripping sweat all over the tile.  Oops!

7 miles this afternoon with the kids.  A little bit of cloud cover made it nice to run this afternoon.  I finalized the time trial course today.  It should be fun to see how the kids do.  I had another girl join the team today who has been dealing with pneumonia lately.  She will help the girls team out a ton.

12 mile run this morning with Clyde.  It rained quite a bit last night so it was really muggy.  Of course I was sweating everywhere.  It never really cooled down at all.  Kept it relaxed.  The only problem today was that Clyde's watch kept beeping because it was needing to be charged.  You have to love the Garmin.

Nice 2.5 miles and then had them do a 2 mile time trial.  It went well.  I will be missing two of my top varsity boys on Saturday so it will be interesting to see if others step up.  We will see.

3 easy miles with some of the kids and then 7 more miles when I got to my parent's house.  I was feeling great and ended up hitting the run with 6:38/mile overall.  Not bad considering all the heat.  I got into a nice rhythm and just kept it going.

Up at 3am this morning in order to be running by 4am.  We needed to get done early because of the XC meet today.  It was not hot but it was not as cold as I would have liked.  The usual St. George morning throughout the summer.  We met up at Clyde's and did the parkway loop.  I tried to make the run enjoyable by taking about an original episode of A-Team I watched yesterday.  After watching A-Team, I got some good dance moves on an original episode of Soul Train.  I used some of those moves this morning to lighten the mood with the guys.  Everything was nice and relaxed for this morning.  We picked it up the last 5 miles to finish up for the day.  I hit the last 2 miles really quick and caught up with Aaron at the end.  Another solid week.

Happy to be getting closer to the race this fall.  I just need to stay healthy and see what happens.

3 miles in the morning with the kids.

10 miles in the afternoon.

Nice to have quite a few kids continue to come out and run in the morning.  I ran 7 miles in the afternoon with some of the boys.  It was nice and hot but manageable.  Everyone is running good right now.

I did another 3 miles by my parent's house.  I ran with my little sister for a bit and it was fun having her along.  Really windy but it felt nice to get into the pool right after I finished.

Big day of running.  Ran with the guys this morning.

3.5 mile warm up

7 miles at MP

2.5 mile cool down

The route was not easy this morning.  It was flat with some small climbs.  I was not looking forward to the run that much due to eating Chicken Lime Enchiladas my mom made last night.  It was sitting well!  Once we got going I was hitting the times but my stomach was not feeling well.  I ended up having to stop on the side of the trail to take care of business.  While doing so, Clyde and Dave ran by and had a little chuckle.  Here are the splits: 5:37, 5:29, 5:24, 5:32, 5:27, potty stop, 5:24, and 5:26.  Really glad to hit the times despite being uncomfortable.  A little cooler morning helped make the run great.

I did "Mini Meat Grinders" with the team up Webb Hill today.  If you don't know Webb Hill, you are missing out.  I had water at the top and the bottom which helped keep the kids hydrated.  The kids did 800m repeats up to the gate and then came back down.  I ran with some of the girls today and then finished the last one with the boys.  The kids did great with the workout and I was happy to see them pushing up the big hill.  6.5 miles total.

Slept in this morning so I got all of my miles in the afternoon and early evening.  I ran 6.5 miles with the girls this afternoon and then did another 2.25 miles after practice.  It was really hot today.  I had to do a bunch of work and then I hit the roads again right around 8pm.  I did 6.25 miles around Santa Clara over into Ivins.  I finished at my parent's house and then jumped in the pool right after.  What a really hot day!

I did close to 6 miles with the team today.  We did an easy warm up and then did 1-1, 2-2, 3-3, 4-4, 3-3, 2-2, 1-1 up on the grass field above the football field.  The kids did great.  It was fun hearing everyday (everyone at the school watching the freshman football game) say how crazy we were for running in the heat.  I told the kids they are all fat and lazy so they can be proud.  Way to go team!

Another 6.5 miles after practice around Little Valley.  I got really dehydrated.  I need to drink more fluids.  Happy to be done though.

Easy 3 miles this afternoon with the team.  I am tapering for tomorrow's run :)

Woke up at 3:15am to meet up with Clyde, James, and Dave for a 20 miler.  We all went to dinner last night at Red Robin and were feeling the effects still this morning.  We started at Clyde's house and then went out towards Warner Valley and back.  The wind was blowing but still 81 degrees outside.  We kept it nice and relaxed which was nice since all of our stomachs were jacked and we were all basically asleep still.  We had to be done since we had the cross country meet in Cedar today.

Results for the SUU Invite:

Boys -

1st- Pineview (way to go Dave!)

2nd- Mtn. View

3rd- Canyon View

4th- Desert Hills

5th- Cedar

Very happy with the boys team results today.  Everyone on the team ran great today.

5 miles in the cool morning (62 degrees!)

I ran 2 miles before I met up with the team and did another 3 with them.  A lot of them were happy to be running in cool weather.  I couldn't agree more.

I did another 8 miles with the boys this afternoon.  We did an out and back from the high school over towards the new airport.  The temps were amazing and we got into a nice little clip.  I am so excited to see the boys pushing each other.  The girls are doing great as well.

Happy to not be doing a ton of mileage this week due to the half this weekend.

13 miles in the morning with the guys.  

6 miles in the afternoon with the team.

The temperature was 60 degrees this morning.  Absolutely perfect.  The workout called for 3-2-1 at MP with 2:00 min. recovery.  I got to bed at 8:45pm last night so I knew I was going to be fresh this morning.  The first 3 miles were 5:24, 5:20, and 5:13.  The next 2 miles were 5:25 and 5:24.  The last mile was in 5:08.  I felt really strong and was happy with the workout.  We cooled down back to Clyde's to finish the run.  What a spectacular morning!  I wish the weather was like this more often.

The team did mile repeats this afternoon.  I hopped in with some of my girls to push them and then did the last one with one of our faster girls and did the mile in 6:05.  The kids did great today.  Another day in paradise!

8.15 miles in the afternoon with the team.  Nothing fancy today.  I am doing a mini taper for the half this weekend.  Want to make sure the legs are fresh for what I would like to do.

6 easy miles in the morning over into Santa Clara.  Nice temps.  Needed to wear a shirt.

4.25 miles in the afternoon with the kids.  Ran around a little while the kids did hill repeats.  Nothing fancy.

Nice easy 3 miles in the morning with the kids in my new racing flats.  I love the Fastwitch shoe!  Really looking forward to driving all afternoon up north.

I wanted to do a half marathon before St. George and I found the Huntsville Half which fit in to my schedule.  It is also where I used to live before my family moved to St. George 13 years so I thought it would be fun to go and visit my grandparents and get a decent race in.  The half marathon goes on a lot of the Ogden Marathon course.  It is a honest course with absolutely no downhill.  It is flat and rolling.

The goals for this race were to initially hit marathon pace miles (5:20-5:25) but I decided on the drive up last night to just use it as a decent workout and not stress that much about time.  I wanted to get the win and not be that sore after the race.  Those were the two bigger goals.

I did a 3.6 mile warm up before the race in the wonderful 39 degree weather!  I was a little tired from the drive but oh well.  I met up with Ben VanBeekum and talked with him for a little bit.  I didnt see anyone I recognized so I decided to sit back and see what would happen at the first of the race.  Some college kid went out blazing fast at the first so I decided to sit on his hip and see how long he would last.  About 1 mile in to the race he was sucking a lot of wind so I decided to go around him.  I just relaxed and by about mile 3 I couldnt hear him at all.  I decided at about mile 4 I would shut it down and not worry about time.  I relaxed and enjoyed running by my old house and all the old stomping grounds from when I was younger.  I did look back at mile 10 to see if anyone was close and I was totally running solo.  I was feeling great and happy that I knew I had more in the tank.  I got back to the park and ended up finishing with a time of 1:13:08.  Nothing spectacular but I was happy with the run.  I didnt want to overdo this race due to the big one in a couple weeks.  Happy to get the win and get some decent awards.  My favorite thing about the race was the tech shirt.  The race went by the Huntsville Monastery so the shirt had a picture of a monk on it.  One of the best shirts I have ever got from a race. 

I did a 4 mile cool down with Ben and then called it a day.  Spent the rest of the day with family enjoying the cooler weather.  We had fun taking Norah to the park and pushing her in the swing.  It really felt great to get out of the heat for a couple days and see family again. 

Just a few more weeks!

8 easy miles in the morning over into Santa Clara.  Felt nice.

4 miles in the afternoon.  I finished at my parent's house and then hopped in the pool.  Felt great.

12 miles this morning from the high school over to Staheli Farm and back.  I had to get creative with my VPB this morning which made the run quite eventful.  Not wanting to get that crazy with the mileage.  Looking forward to a good workout in the morning.  Couldn't run this afternoon due to the meet.

Nice workout this morning with Dave and sort of Clyde.  3 mile warm up and 2  mile cool down.  The workout plan was a brisk 8 mile progression run.  We did 2 miles around 6:20, 2 miles at Tinman (6:00), and then 4 miles at 5:26, 5:29, 5:27, and 5:28.  The last 4 miles were not how I wanted to finish but my legs felt like peanut butter.  I was feeling the effects of last Saturday's race.  Maybe to soon for some speed work.  Oh well.  

I did an easy 5 miles with the girls today.  It was nice to talk a little race strategy with them and also help with some mental aspects of running.  They are doing well right now.  Hopefully we can keep things rolling.

8 miles in the morning.

5.3 miles in the afternoon.

I ran 5 miles early this morning and then did another 3 miles with some of the kids.  It was fun chatting with them for a little bit.

Speed workout this afternoon with the kids.  We did some 200s with really focusing on using it as if we were sprinting at the end of a race.  Did 12 x 200m with 200m recovery.  Cooled down a little bit with some of the team as well.  Nothing fancy but a solid workout for the kids.

I got a day off of work due to doing the Red Rock Relay with some buddies of mine from high school and some of their family members.  We didn't have the fastest team but it was still a lot of fun.  I was scheduled to do legs #7, 19, and 31.  All of them are up hill or long so I knew my splits probably wouldn't be mind boggling.  I also have been getting over a head cold so I was curious to see how that would do.

The race starts up at Brian Head (over 10,000 ft. elevation) and runs down through Cedar over into Enterprise and then down the marathon course.  It winds through St. George and then goes through Hurricane and LaVerkin all the way to the finish near the entrance of Zion National Park.  Absolutely breath taking.  I was excited to do this because I knew it would be a great workout for me.

My first leg started at close to 10,000 ft. elevation and was straight up the hill.  It started just before Duck Creek Village and went up to Navajo Lake.  The total mileage was 5.85 miles.  I had a lovely head wind to deal with the entire time but pushed through it and averaged 6:33/mile.  It felt like I had 100 lb. bricks sitting on my chest due to the elevation.  Really enjoyed having people honk as I went by.  I did a little bit of a cool down after wards.  I ended up starting this run at about 4:30pm.

We went to the next major exchange in Cedar and grabbed some dinner.  We maybe got an hours worth of sleep and then we went over to the start of our 2nd leg.  The car is slowly starting to stink bad.

I started my second leg around 12:30am.  I had 8.3 miles from Newcastle to Enterprise.  I was really tired from the lack of sleep but was optimistic to see how it would go.  I talked to a volunteer at the exchange and he said that there were about 6 or so cattle guards to watch out for on the run.  That is exactly what I wanted to hear when it is pitch black and I am trying to do well on the run.  

The run was long with a little bit of up hill.  I literally had to stop and walk over all of the cattle guards.  I thought about doing a steeplechase jump to get over them but quickly decided against that.  It wasn't worth it.  I ended up hitting 5:39/mile which I was happy with.  Nothing spectacular but got the job done.  I almost lost my dinner but luckily survived without no harm done.  

After our van got done with all of our runners we went over to the Washington City Rec. Center and napped for about 2 hours.  Some of my buddies went to take a shower and I found a lawn chair and immediately crashed on the spot.  This all occurred at 5:30am in the morning.  I woke up and started getting ready for my 3rd leg.  It started at the Rec. Center and then climbed up to Coral Canyon along Telegraph and then went all the way up to the Chevron by the highway.  I was running on 3 hours of sleep and not feeling 100%.  I ended up averaging 6:03/mile for the 5.25 miles.  The up hill is starting to get old.  The weather is also slowly starting to get hotter.  Saw the Bull at the gas station and talked to him for a little bit.

I thought I was done but we had a guy drop off the team last week so a few of us needed to pick up those extra legs.  Yeah!  I ended up doing a fourth leg which was the second to last leg which was 6.7 miles from Virgin along the highway to just before entering Rockville.  I took my shirt off for this one because the temperature was brutally hot.  My body and mind kept telling me to stop and I just kept telling both my body and mind, "Sorry!"  I tried to keep it nice and steady for the gradual up hill climb and finished with a 5:57/mile average.  Not to shabby considering I was pretty much running on empty at this point.  I finished this leg and was extremely dehydrated and dizzy.  My teammates brought me a cold rag to put on my head and also a lot of fluids.  I felt better once I got this taken care of.

Once again I thought I was done for the day but my good friend had 7.5 miles left to finish the relay.  It climbed all the way into Zion and the heat was really bad.  I did just over 4 miles of jogging with to finish the race while dumping water on him and carrying fluids for him.  He ran through the pain and finished with the rest of the team.  I was happy to run with him because it made sure my legs didn't tighten up. 

We finished the race as a team just over 27 total hours.  It was a long journey but I was glad I did it.  A lot of the women on our team are doing the marathon for the first time in a couple weeks so it was fun answering questions that they had.  Had a lot of fun with old and new friends.   Got a big lunch after wards because I only had granola bars, beef and rice, and lots of Powerade and water for the entire relay.  I was famished!

Really happy with how I ran.  By far some of the toughest legs on the entire course and decent times with over 31 miles in two days on 3 hours of not so great rest.  Nice finish to the week.  I will probably hit the course next week for 14-16 miles and then just maintain everything until the race.  Still pretty optimistic with what I can do.  We will have to see!

Hot 8 miles this afternoon with the boys.  I can't believe the weather right now.  I had a little bit of tightness from the weekend but overall felt okay.

8 miles with the girls this afternoon.  We jogged over to Little Valley and did 800m repeats in the grass.  It helped to have the sprinklers on so it wasn't extremely hot.  Overall a good workout for the girls.  

I tackd on another 4 miles after practice.  Some of the kids saw me running "extra" and thought I was crazy.

6 miles with the boys today over into the industrial area by Blue Bunny.  We went out into the desert a little today and it really made the boys a little tired.  Another scorcher this afternoon.

I did another 6 miles after practice.  I started at the school and then went over to the DC trail.  I drank some of the trail side water which was lukewarm.  It was refreshing in a weird kind of way.

Workout this morning with Dave and Clyde.  We did an 8 mile brisk progression run.  Splits were: 6:18, 6:01, 5:46, 5:31, 5:25, 5:21, 5:27, and 5:16.  The 7th one was a little bit of a glitch because I literally almost stepped on two skunks.  They came right in front of me and stayed right on the trail.  I stopped and hollered at Dave and Clyde to stop as well.  Dave was my knight in shining armor and jogged ahead to see if they were gone.  We got close and one of them had its tail straight up in the air!  We waited a couple minutes and then just eased back into it.  I finished the last mile strong which made me very happy.  

Happy to have not been sprayed by the skunks and happy with the workout.  Nice morning for running.

5.25 miles with some of the girls this afternoon.  We did a little warm up and then did 1-1, 5-5, 4-4, 3-3, 2-2, 1-1 (one hard and then same amount easy).  It was a mainly on grass around the high school.  Good workout for the kids.  Now for dinner and a movie with the Mrs.

We did our fundraiser run this evening.  I didn't want to run a ton but did help pace some kids to get their money.  I did two 3 mile mini runs with a few boys.  One I paced to go under 19:30 and the other was to hit 16:30.  Tacked on some slower miles to let the legs relax.  Lots of fun but really tiring.

Met with the guys to hit the marathon course one last time.  I was going on 1 1/2 hours of sleep so I was curious to see how it would go.  Only wanted to get a good run in and not stress about pace.  Kept everything nice and relaxed and ended up hitting 6:20/mile overall.  Body is a little tired so it will be nice for the next 2 weeks to really "sharpen the saw" and get mentally ready for the marathon.  It is crazy to think it is already here.  Fairly optimistic with how things can go.  I haven't raced a ton this year but I am feeling ready.

8 miles with the boys this afternoon.  Kept the pace nice and steady.  Really warm out.

6.5 mile speed workout with some of the boys.  I did 4:00 min. pick ups with them.  They did really well with this.  Not to big of a workout.  

I did another 2 miles at home pushing Norah.  She fell asleep pretty quick in the stroller.

6 miles in the morning over into Santa Clara.

6 miles this afternoon at practice.  I ran with the girls today and kept it nice and easy.  I ended up doing a mile on the treadmill for kicks and giggles.  Nothing fancy.

3 easy miles with the kids today.

I got a massage from April and it will help me out for sure.

Ran an easy 4 miles this morning over into Santa Clara and back.  I was a little tight in the calves from the massage but it felt great to get out.

2 mile warm up with my kids at the Nebo Invite to show them the course.

We were in Salt Lake today with the team so I got up early and ran from 5th South up to 9th East and then all the way down to 45th South.  I came back the same way.  The scenery consisted of a lot of cars, 3-4 Smith's, and a scuba shop.  I did a progression run looking for 7:30s, 7:00s, 6:30s, and 6:00s.  I ran relaxed and hit my times.  I averaged 6:39/mile overall.  Good last medium long run before next week.  I am excited and a little nervous at the same time.  It should be fun!

4 miles in the morning over into Santa Clara. Nothing fancy. Had to deal with dinner from last night a little bit on the run but I survived :)

7.80 miles with some of the boys this afternoon. 100+ does not feel that great but we all survived. I did 2 x 1000m during the run to get the legs moving a little. I did 3:10 and 3:09. Nice to get that in. It was good to see the kids push through the lovely heat today.

6 miles with some of the team this afternoon.  It was really hot today.  We did a 1.5 mile warm up and then ended up doing 4.5 miles on the track.  We did a 400, 800, 1200, 1200, 800, and 400m run with 400m recovery in between.  I pushed my girls today and they did great.  It was one of the more tougher workouts we have done this year.  I am excited to see what the team does on Friday.

Easy 6.40 miles with some of the kids this afternoon.  Ice bath tonight just to make sure everything stays okay and is fresh for Saturday.  It looks like it will be pretty warm!

Easy 3 miles this afternoon with the kids.  Two days away now.

What a day.  I was feeling pretty good going into this race and was optimistic I could do well.  I didn't race at all in 2009 because I was injured and then in 2010 (coming back from injury) I slowly wanted to work into it.  I hit some solid workouts throughout the year but didn't race as much as I would have liked.  Still felt like it would be good today.

The horn went off and the pace was nice and relaxed.  Clyde, Dave, Pepi Petersen, Peter Vail, Aaron Metler, Daniel Moody, and me were in the lead pack.  Everything felt great for the first part of the race.  Aaron took off at Veyo but he was still within reach.  Dave and Daniel pushed the pace a little bit but I wanted to relax.  I was sitting in 4th place just before the half and then passed Daniel Moody about half a mile before the half.  I slowly started to pick it up right after the half  and was in 3rd place about 100 yards behind Dave passing mile 16.  This is when everything went south.  About a quarter of a mile before mile 17, my stomach tightened up and then hamstrings, quads, and calves tightened up worse than it has ever happened before.  I slowed the pace a little but my body was not responding.  I knew it would have been a drudge march for the last 9 miles.  I stopped at mile 17 and tried to stretch but the nurse said I should lay down on the cot.  As soon as this happened, I felt pain all up and down my legs.  I started to get a little cold and they put a blanket on me.  It was really hot with the weather so I am not sure what happened.  I was really embarrassed waiting for the shuttle to take me back down to the finish line.  Hopefully that doesn't ever happen again.  It took them over an hour and a half to come and get me. 

I sat and watched everyone go by and knew that my day was over.  I am not sure if it was the heat or if it was something else.  I don't want to make excuses and will just accept the fact that I didn't get it done today.  It really has been a frustrating last 2 years with running.  I feel like I have some good races left in the legs so I will try and learn from this and move on.  At least I can still walk.

Big congrats to Aaron for winning the race.  He totally deserved it and I couldn't be happier for him.  He has trained very good this year.

Licked the wounds from the marathon and ended up doing the stationary bike for 20+ minutes to loosen up the legs.  A little stiff today.

Easy 3 miles this afternoon with some of the kids.  We had to be creative and run some in the school and then hit the track for a couple more due to the crummy weather.

Easy 6 miles this morning over into Santa Clara.  The temps are great now.  It was low 50s and it felt good to get up and get a decent run in.

6 easy miles with the kids this afternoon.  Nothing fancy.  We are going over to run the region course to get ready for next Tuesday.  It should be exciting.

I went the team out to run the region course in Hurricane.  It is not even close to a cross country course but it is what we have to work with this year.  I am excited to see what happens next week.  I pushed the boys in a workout today and will come back out tomorrow to push the girls. 5.75 miles total.

Another workout on the region course with the girls this morning.  It felt good to push them.  Nice end to the recovery week.  I am thinking of doing a half by the end of the year in order to finish the year on a good note.

4 miles in the morning.

8.5 miles in the afternoon.

Ran nice and easy through Santa Clara this morning.  Temperature felt great.

3 easy miles with the kids this afternoon and then did a loop over towards Clyde's house.  Stopped and talked with him.  Kept it just over 7:00/mile overall.

Had our region meet today and it was nice to see both boys and girls qualify for state.  I had 4 boys in the top 10 for the JV race, 2 boys in the top for the Varsity race, and 2 girls in the top 10 for the Varsity race.  Also, my top girl won the individual region title.  I was really proud of everyone today.  

I didn't run this morning because Norah was up all night being sick.  I came home and went out for an 8 miler in the dark.  I put my reflective vest on and just got into a groove.  It felt nice and actually was quite enjoyable even though it was later in the evening.

10 miles in the morning with Clyde.  We did an out and back into Bloomington Hills.  It was actually a little warm this morning but felt good.  Nothing fancy but kept it nice and relaxed.

4 more easy miles this afternoon with the kids.  I wanted to do a recovery run after yesterday.  Almost 90 degrees this afternoon!

4 easy miles this morning.  I had to wear a long sleeve tech shirt for the first time this cold season :)

7.15 miles this afternoon with some of the kids.  We kept it nice and easy and discussed some of the things we want to try and accomplish up at state.  It should lots of fun and I really think we can do well.  We will see.

I took my varsity kids up to Pine Valley this morning for the last workout before state.  We did a 6+ mile loop with some pretty good hills.  I ended up getting a little bit more mileage because I lost some of the girls for a bit.  I found them so it was not worse case scenario.  We saw a ton of deer and the sunrise was breathtaking.  It made for a really fun morning.

I did a nice and easy 4 miles around Ivins this afternoon.  It was a little warm but still cooler than it has been.

Met up with Clyde this morning and did our loop over towards the Washington bridge and then back on the river trail.  The plan was to warm up for about 3 miles and then do 10 x 2:00 min. hard and then do 2:00 min. recovery.  All of the 2:00 min. pushes were under 5:10 pace but most of them were sub-5:00/mile.  We did right at .40 miles for each 2:00 minute push.  We finished the fast stuff at 6.33 total miles and it ended up being about 6:00/mile for that section (not bad considering the 2:00 minute cool downs were pretty slow).  Kept it nice and easy back to Clyde's house.  Happy with this workout.  First decent workout since the marathon.

I will keep the mileage about 70 miles for the next little bit but have shorter, faster workouts and really focus on the half marathon for now.  On a lighter note, the sunrise was once again breathtaking.  I wanted to hold Clyde's hand and have a moment but he didn't want any part of that.

Slept in on my day off and did an nice out and back on the Snow Canyon Parkway.  Lots of people out this morning so it was nice seeing that.  Due to the rain last night it was nice and cool.  The scenery was beautiful.  I averaged 7:02/mile overall.  Good start to the week.

I found a pair of Kayano shoes at DI yesterday for $4.  They were the exact shoe size I needed.  I was looking for some books and found these shoes which looked like they hadn't been used at all.  I did a nice 8 miles over into Santa Clara.  The temperature felt great this morning.  I finished the run with 8 x 100m strides.  It was nice to get some good turnover at the end of my run.

We made it up to Salt Lake for the state meet and did a nice 3 mile shake out the legs run through downtown.  I almost got hit once which got the kids a little nervous but I reminded them that drivers are stupid.  We then went to eat at Buca Di Beppos.  I will sleep very happy tonight.  I am excited to see how everything goes tomorrow.

Got up to this morning and did 12 miles through Salt Lake.  I ran with Dace Goulding this morning for about 4 miles and then he turned back and I extended a couple miles.  We started at the hotel on 400 South and then went up to 900 East and then headed south.  It was the same stretch of road I did the last time I came up.  A slight chill in the air but absolutely perfect running conditions.  Good way to start the day.

Great results from the state meet today.  My boys team (running at state for the 1st time ever) took 5th overall in 3A out of 17 schools.  This was great to see.  

My top girl runner, Darian Sharp, ended up taking 1st place overall in the 3A race!  She beat the Park City girl by less than 1 second.  She ran a perfect race.  It was so exciting to see this happen.  She flew under the radar this entire year and I knew she had put in the work and was capable of winning the whole thing.  I was so happy for her.  The girls team took 10th overall but should have been either 5th or 6th overall.  My 2nd runner was in 10th place and with about 400 meters to go she collapsed due to her legs giving out.  My other girls behind her eventually caught up and helped her slowly get to the finish line.  It was neat to see the comaraderie between the girls.  It wasn't how the girls wanted to finish as a team but it was a touching way to end the season. 

Long bus trip home!

Slept in this morning due to not getting home until 1am this morning.  I had a bunch of things to do after work so I came home and finally headed out the door around 8pm.  I went nice and easy over into Santa Clara.  Finished off with 8 x 100m strides.  Seemed to go by pretty quick.  Nice evening for a run.

6 easy miles this morning over into Santa Clara.  No watch.

Another 6 miles from the high school out into the Industrial Park and then park.  It was a little windy but overall felt good.  7:06/mile overall.  Nothing terribly exciting.  

Katey and I then went out to Anasazi Steakhouse for her birthday.  Yummy!

Great workout this morning with Clyde.  I wasn't quite sure if we were going to be running due to all of the rain last night.  It ended up stopping around 5am or so.  Clyde has been wanting to do a different loop where we could do mile repeats.  He mapped out a 1.3 mile loop near his house.  We decided to try it today. 

We did a 5.6 mile warm up and then did 5 x 1 mile repeats shooting for under 5:30 on each one.  It was really humid so after the warm up we actually shed our shirts and I was sweating (Clyde says it looks like I jumped in a pool a couple times :) within minutes.  We would do the repeat and then recover for just over 2 minutes and then start the next one.  I hit 5:11, 5:08, 5:08, 5:02, and 5:06 for the miles.  We then did a cool down to get over 15 miles for the day. 

I was very happy with this workout.  One of the better ones I can remember doing.  Great way to end the week and it really gave me some confidence towards doing a solid half before the end of the year.

6 miles easy over into Santa Clara.  Still a little warm in the morning.  Felt good though.

6 miles after school today over into the Industrial Park.  6:53/mile overall.  Nice and smooth for today.

Met up with Clyde this morning and did the Stone Cliff loop.  Really glad I took a long sleeve tech shirt.  It was 44 degrees when we started and I wished I had some gloves.  I eventually warmed up but it did feel good after a while.  7:16/mile overall.  Nice conversation once again.

I did weights at the high school after work today.  I haven't done them in a while but I think I am going to try them more often to see if it will help my running a little.  Didn't push it too hard today since I want to ease into it.  Nice way to finish the day.

I ran this afternoon after work.  The weather is so great right now.  This is the time to be living in St. George.  You cannot beat the running now.  I ran a new route over by the fields where I started at the high school and then meandered my way around the neighborhoods on the opposite side of Stone Cliff.  I found a good hill I will have the cross country kids run up someday.  Great run while averaging 6:58/mile.

6 cold miles this morning.  It was below 40 degrees this morning.  I had the light running jacket, beanie, and gloves on for the first time this winter season.  Yes, I have acclimated to this warm weather down here and complain when it gets below 50.  

6.05 miles this afternoon with one of the kids from the cross country team.  I ran with a kid on the team who just started running last year.  He was running 30+ minute 3 mile races last year and now is close to 19:30 for his 3 mile races.  He has caught the running bug and is doing great.  It was nice to talk with him about some things and keep him motivated to do track this season.  He will be a senior next year so it should be fun to see how much more he can improve.

Looped from the high school around Webb Hill on the trail and then back up along the golf course.  I felt a little frisky so I did a Tinman mile at the end.  Absolutely perfect running weather this afternoon.

I had the pleasure of welcoming Dave and Clyde out to my house in Ivins for a "little hilly" run out towards Gunlock.  We started at my house and then went out into Kayenta and just past the Gunlock turnoff.  It was good running out in my neck of the woods. 

It was a little random because we had a funeral procession pass us at about 7am in the morning.  It was totally random! 

We kept the pace nice and easy and then slowly picked it up on the way back.  I wanted to hit the last 5 miles at an honest pace.  The plan was to hit the first 2 miles at Tinman pace since it was all up hill and then see how I felt the last 3 miles.  I ended up hitting 5:25, 5:20, and 5:20 for the last 3.  I was happy with this run since it was my first 20 mile run in a while.  I did a little cool down to call it a day.  Another solid week.

Same route as usual over into Santa Clara in the morning.  Nice and relaxed for good start to the week.

Ran around Webb Hill with some of the kids this afternoon.  Averaged right around 7:30/mile.  Absolutely perfect running conditions.

8 miles over into Santa Clara again.  I didn't wear a watch and just enjoyed the cooler temps.  I shouldn't have worn gloves and a hat.  Still warm enough to not wear gloves.  I finished with 8 x 100m strides at the end.

Ran with Clyde this morning.  For some reason I was feeling a little sluggish.  It worked itself out over the run but not as crisp as I have usually been.  We ended up averaging 7:12/mile which was respectable. 

Clyde and I have decided to run for county commissioner next time around.  Look out!  We are ready to change the world.  

I ran 6 miles this morning from the high school over by Clyde's house while doing a little loop.  I had to take a VPB which lasted 5 minutes.  Everything was okay.  I then came back and with the kids on their morning 3 miler.  Nothing fancy and exciting.  I wore my new compression sleeves this morning for the first time.  Absolutely love them!

Only run for the day due to morning Parent Teacher Conferences this evening.

6 miles in the afternoon running with the kids.  We did the Webb Hill loop backwards.  I was planning on running this morning but Norah was up at 3:30am.  I think she is getting more teeth.  Yeah! 

The weather was perfect and really great to run in.  I did another 2 easy miles around the track for kicks and giggles.