Cool Runnings!

AM - no running, slept in.

PM - ran 12 mile long run.  It started out really nice but a little windy, sunny and warm.  First 3 miles seemed a bit faster than I had anticipated, but I was running with a favorable crosswind, so that may have explained things.  Then I turned south and the crosswind turned unfavorable.  But I was in a really good rhythm, and a little wind wasn't going to stop me.  When I turned around at the 6 mile mark, my average pace was 7:51, and I was a little bit worried that I may have taken it out too fast, but decided to keep on going, because I was really on a roll.  When I turned around I got a favorable crosswind again for the next 3 miles.  Felt really good.  Turned west for the last 3 miles, crosswind turned unfavorable again, but I was on the homestretch now.  Total time for the run was 1:33:19, average pace of 7:46/mile.  I was absolutely amazed at how well this run went.  I think a major component was getting enough sleep, which I haven't been doing very well this week.  I need to re-commit to getting enough sleep this next week to 1) avoid getting sick and 2) avoid injuring myself.  Achilles was a bit stiff for the first 1/4 mile, then loosened up and felt good for the rest of the run.  The top of my foot also felt good the entire run.  I will continue to ice it for a few more days.

AM - did not run, slept in.

PM - ran 6.2 easy miles in the evening.  Weather was nice and cool out, but not too cold to wear shorts and a short-sleeve shirt.  Did not feel quite as good as Saturday, when I was really in a groove, but still felt good to get out there.  Total time for the run was 48:29, average pace of 7:49/mile.  Going to ice the top of my foot and the achilles to help with the inflammation in both areas. 

AM - slept in again. We need to work on getting to bed earlier so that I can run in the morning, although with my achilles the way it is, running in the afternoon/evening actually feels better right now.

PM - Ran 4.2 miles after work and before dinner. Gotta make it quick so that I can finish making dinner. Total time was 32:25, average pace of 7:43/mile. Felt good, especially towards the end - found that rhythm again. Will run a few more miles after the boys go down.

PM2 - Ran 0.46 miles with Joey, while pushing Adam in the jogging stroller.  Then put Joey in the stroller as well, and ran another 3.04 miles to make it 3.5 miles with the boys.  Total time for the 3.04 mile run was 24:45, average pace of 8:08/mile.  Started off slow, then worked my way up.

AM - got my lazy bum out of bed to go out for a run. The achilles felt good - usually it has been stiff and sore when I wake up, but not today. Still a bit stiff when I first started running, but it loosened up pretty quickly. 4.1 miles in 31:46, average pace of 7:44/mile. This was due mostly to the last mile being at near MP. Either this afternoon or tomorrow, I will do my first of two tempo runs this week - 2-3 miles at 6:30 pace.

PM - After dinner, we took the boys to the track, along with the double jogging stroller and Sam and Joey's bikes.  The idea was that I would run with Adam in the stroller and Sam riding his bike alongside me, and Lybi would run with Joey.  The older boys weren't cooperating, so we just let them do their thing on the track and kept an eye on them to make sure they stayed in sight (they did).  I warmed up 0.5 miles with Adam in the jogging stroller, then started my tempo run.  Messed up on the first 0.5 split, but pretty sure it was a titch slower than 6:30 pace.  middle mile was 6:23, and then the last 0.5 was right about 3:10, but my watch messed up and didn't stop when I pressed the button (Lybi had the Garmin).  Another 0.5 mile cooldown, nice and slow, for a total of 3 miles.  I figure pushing the jogging stroller was probably about a 20 second slowdown for me, so I was booking it pretty good on the tempo portion.  Breathing was getting kinda ragged at the end from the effort of pushing the stroller at that pace, but I felt I could have sustained it for just about another mile.  If I go with Lydiard's approach, I was probably past my LT and accumulating an oxygen debt during the tempo run.

AM - slept in, was up a bit too late last night watching Spiderman 3.  Loved the movie, intense action scenes, and it also had some amazing comparisons to our life - especially the black suit - we both saw that as symbolic of addiction.  You got to see two different scenarios - someone who struggled with the addiction of the symbiotic host, but was able to overcome it, and someone who ultimately was overcome by the addiction and was destroyed (along with it).  This is also right in line with Satan's plan.  He would lead us down the path to hell, trying to convince us that our bad choices make us feel good and make us more powerful when, in fact, they cause us to sink lower and lower.  Eventually, as we continue to sink deeper and deeper, we can be completely ovecome and lose all hope.  And, as Alma says, "thus we see that the devil will not support his children at the last day, but doth speedily drag them down to hell."  So it was with poor Eddie.  He was torn away from his addictive host, and couldn't bear the loss, and when spidey was about to destroy it, he preferred to jump back in and be destroyed himself rather than live without it.  A sobering lesson.  Anyway, back to the run.

PM  - After a long and fairly stressful day, I had what I would call a "runners high" run.  Another one of those days where everything was clicking perfectly, right from the get-go.  I'm not sure what was different, but I really got into an awesome rhythm.  Total time for the run was 46:31, average pace of 7:30/mile.  First half was in 23:37, second half in 22:54, positive split of 43 seconds.  Boy, did this run feel good!  I know this might be considered "garbage" miles because of the pace, but it was just what I needed today.  I feel like my fitness is really improving, and am looking for good things this coming year.

AM - no running.

PM - It was cold and rainy out, and was pretty late by the time I got the chance to run.  I know, you're thinking "it never rains in Phoenix", but this is two weekends in a row that it has rained now.  Not that we don't need the water, 'cuz we do.  On to the workout.  I was able to fix the treadmill so that the belt wasn't slipping, which was a good thing, because I planned on doing a tempo run today.

Warmed up nice and easy, started off at 8:30 pace for 0.5 miles, then sped up to 8:00 pace for the next 1.5 miles in anticipation of starting my tempo run.  I wanted to be nice and warmed up and have the blood pumping.  At the two mile mark, started my tempo run.  Sped up to 6:20 pace for 2.5 miles, then slowed back down to 8:30 pace for another 2.5 miles for a total of 7 miles.  The entire run was done at an incline of 1.0 on the treadmill to more closely approximate running on the road.  The tempo run felt good, I could have kept it up for at least a couple more miles, probably even up to 10K. although I am not totally sure about that.  Tomorrow's run will be nice and easy.

AM - no running, slept in.

PM - ran 1.0 mile with Samuel in 12:45, then ran approx. 0.5 miles with Joseph. Put Adam in the jogging stroller and took him for a 4 mile run to get him to sleep. 4 miles in 32:41, average of 8:10/mile. Will get in another 6 miles or so later this evening, probably on the treadmill so that Lybi can finish doing some Christmas shopping.

PM2 - Ran another 6 miles outside so that Lybi could run on the treadmill (boys were already asleep).  Started off nice and easy and slowly increased the pace throughout the run.  Total time of 47:46, average pace of 7:57/mile. 

AM - no running - gotta get out of this mode.  I would really like to split my runs up into two semi-equal sections.

PM - 7 easy miles, no Garmin, just with the watch.  In the rain.  It's hard to justify getting some adequate rain gear when it almost never rains here in Phoenix.  What I have is functional, but the water ends up soaking through by the end of the run on my top.  I have some dryroad pants that do a fairly good job with the legs.  Total time for the run was 55:03, average pace of 7:52/mile.  Seems about right, may be a titch short with the distance, but not by much at all.  The run felt good.  One of the nice things about the rain gear is that with the swish-swish of my legs and arms, it is actually very easy to get into a good rhythm.

On another note, I had a disappointing experience today with a race I was planning on entering - I was going to do the Lost Dutchman 1/2 marathon, which is on February 17.  I was all excited about running in it - last year's winning time was  1:36:43.  But then I took a closer look at the date and realized it was on a Sunday.  Now I am trying to decide whether I should run it or not.  I am leaning towards not, since I had decided not to run PF Changs because it was on a Sunday as well.  I don't want to feel like a hypocrite, and I don't want to feel like I am breaking the Sabbath.  Boy, what do you know, just blogging about it actually strengthens my resolve to not run it, regardless of how well I can do.  There is another 1/2 marathon on Feb 2 that I will do instead, called London's run.

AM - no running, actually slept through my alarm, got to work late.

PM - ran on the treadmill, I was too much of a chicken to go outside tonight.  It was cold and rainy and I was planning on a tempo run.  Warmed up nice and easy the first mile in 8:30.  Sped up a little bit the second mile to get the blood pumping, second mile in 8:00.  Then I started the tempo.  My goal today was to run 5 miles at 1/2 marathon pace and to stay controlled in both my breathing as well as my form.  5 miles at 6:40 pace, which would be my current 1/2 marathon pace.  The run felt very good, I felt smooth and relaxed for the first 4 miles.  I started to tighten up a little bit the last mile, and my breathing started to get just a little bit strained.  Overall, I am happy with the way the tempo run turned out.  Cooled down 1/2 mile at 8:30 pace.  Total of 7.5 miles.  Legs feel good, no soreness, no deadness in the legs.  I take that as a good sign. 

AM - no run again

PM - ran 7.0 miles on the treadmill.  First mile at 8:30 pace, the rest at 8:00 pace.  Was watching The Count of Monte Cristo, this made the time go by much quicker.  The run was over before I knew it.  Total time of 56:38, average pace of 8:05/mile.

AM - no run

PM - ran 7.5 miles on the treadmill, watched the rest of The Count of Monte Cristo.  Good flick, although it doesn't quite follow the book, at least not in the ending, and it is much less complicated than the book is.  First mile warmup at 8:30 pace, then 6.5 miles at 8:00 pace.  Total time of 60:38, average pace of 8:05/mile.  The run felt good.  I will endeavor to run tomorrow morning, as the chance of my running in the evening is slim to none - two Christmas parties - first Lybi's piano party, then a company Christmas party.

AM - dragged my behind out of bed to go for a run, since I knew I would not be able to run this evening.  Ran 5.2 miles on my own, total time of 40:39, average pace of 7:49/mile.  Picked it up on the last 1.2 miles, because it felt good.  Made another observation that when I consciously push my hips back, my stride automatically lengthens and becomes more efficient even at the same turnover, resulting in a faster pace at the same perceived effort.  Remembered something Lydiard said that it is when our legs are straightened that we have maximum power.  Ran another 0.8 with Sparky in 6:03, average pace of 7:32/mile.  He was pulling me practically the entire time.  Total distance was 6.0 miles.

AM - slept in, let Lybi run with Christine.

PM - ran 13.0 miles on the treadmill.  I was watching National Treasure (one of my favorite movies), so it wasn't too bad.  Worst part was that in spite of using bodyglide, I got chafed.  Guess I didn't use enough.

Warmed up nice and easy, 8:30 pace, then sped up to 8:00 pace for two miles.  Had to stop at 3 miles because I had a pebble in my shoe.  Got going again and ran the last 10 miles at 7:30 pace.  Total time of 1:39:38, average pace of 7:39/mile.  The run felt very good, very smooth and controlled.  I started to get a little tired at the end because I hadn't fueled well enough.  I am happy about this run as well as my mileage this week, even though I only got in one tempo run.  I am okay with that.  I will shoot for 50 miles next week, and will set a goal of two 3 mile tempo runs at 6:20 pace.

AM - no running

PM - drove up to the Mesa temple to go see the Christmas lights with Sam and Joey.  While we were there, ran 1 mile with Sam in approx. 13:00, then ran another two miles with the boys in the double jogging stroller - average pace of 8:07/mile.  Walked around the temple grounds to show Sam the lights (Joey had fallen asleep), then came home, got the boys to bed and ran another 5 miles on the treadmill while Lybi ran outside.  Treadmill time was something like 40:39, average pace of  8:08/mile.  Felt good.  I really got into a good rhythm the last couple of miles.  I should mention that yesterday and today, my upper hamstrings were sore (I suppose from the 13 miler on the treadmill - incline of 1.0), but the run today shook out the soreness, and everything feels good now.  I am still feeling a bit of pain on the top of my left foot occasionally.  At some point I may get it checked out, but right now, it is more of an annoyance than anything else.

PM1 - ran 1 mile with Samuel in 13:15, then ran another .80 with Sparky in about 6:20. Then ran another 2 miles in 15:10. Going to run another 4 miles or so on the treadmill, including a 3 mile tempo, after the boys are in bed.

PM2 - Ran another 4.2 miles with Adam and Joey in the double jogging stroller, total time of 32:52, average pace of 7:49/mile. Whoosh! It's a little bit tougher to run when you are pushing somewhere in the vicinity of 100 pounds total (including children and stroller)! I am kind of tuckered out from the run tonight.

PM - ran 0.9 miles with Samuel, pushing Adam in the jogging stroller - he fell asleep.  Put Samuel to bed (a little later), then ran 7.1 miles on the treadmill to hit 8 miles for the day.  My goal this week is to run 8 miles every day, and then 10 miles on Saturday, either all together or broken up.  Since I didn't get to do my tempo run yesterday, I did it today on the treadmill.  Warmed up nice and easy, first mile in 8:30, second mile in 8:00, then started the tempo run.  3 miles at 6:18 pace.  Felt good, was able to control my breathing and form pretty good.  Form and breathing started breaking down on the last 1/4 mile, when I had increased the speed up to 6:00 pace (fastest our treadmill can go).  Then cooled down with 2.1 miles at 8:30 pace.  I am very happy with this run.  I really feel like my fitness has improved dramatically even since St. George, and if I ran a flat 5K right now, I would probably be capable of right around 18:00.  I also feel like I could have held the 6:18 pace for another 3 miles without problems, which would put me just over 38:00 for the 10K.  I am expecting good things this coming year.  I think I will be running WRC Striders with Lybi this spring to prepare me for the Shiprock marathon, which will be a month later.

PM - ran 8 miles on the treadmill after the boys went down, while Lybi was out on ward missionary visits.  Warmed up for a mile at 8:30 pace, then sped up to 8:00 pace for then next 5 miles.  Increased the speed to 7:30 pace for the last two miles to finish the run in 53:35, average pace of 7:56/mile.  I believe this is the first time that I have run 8 miles each day for the first 4 days of the week so far, a new record.  I am also planning on 8 miles tomorrow as well.  My body feels good, I feel like I have slowly gotten up to this mileage, and my body has been able to get used to it.  The achilles is starting to feel better, sometimes a little stiff in the morning, but I think running on the treadmill is probably helping.  The top of my foot is also feeling better.  It seems I just need to be careful during the day of the shoes I wear.  Some shoes tend to put too much pressure on the area and make it sore.

We leave Saturday for New Mexico to spend Christmas with Lybi's parents - the boys are super excited.  First they get to be with my parents for Thanksgiving; now they get to spend Christmas with Lybi's parents.  And three of Lybi's siblings will be there as well, so it will be quite the merry gathering.

PM1 - ran 5 miles, with a 3 mile tempo run. The horses were apparently neighing from the get-go, as my first mile was 7:04, quite a bit faster than I had planned on. Nevertheless, started the tempo run - 3 miles at 10K pace (6:20/mile). First mile was into the wind and cold, 6:23. First half of the second mile was with an unfavorable crosswind, then hit the turnaround, the crosswind turned favorable. All of a sudden it didn't feel cold any more! Second mile in 6:17. Third mile my legs were tired, my breathing was kind of ragged, I had thoughts of stopping at 2.5 miles but managed to convince myself to keep going. Third mile in 6:22. Cooldown mile in 8:01 - it felt downright slow! Total time of 34:15, average pace of 6:50/mile. Need to get in another 3 miles on the treadmill in a bit to reach 8 for the day (I don't want to have to run 13 miles tomorrow).

Ran another 3 miles on the treadmill to hit 8 for the day. First mile at 8:30 pace, second two miles at 8:00 pace. Incline, as always, was at 1.0.

Woohoo!  50 miles for the week.  This run was good in some ways, but tough in others.  Good in that I got it done, and it felt pretty good, especially after driving for 7 hours with the family to get to my wife's parents' house.  Tough in that it was much colder than I was used to (in the 20's in New Mexico) and totally dark with no streetlights (luckily I was able to wear a headlamp to allow me to see better).  Here are my splits for the 10 mile run:

 

Mile	Split
1	7:42
2	7:44
3	7:38
4	7:40
5	7:29
6	7:40
7	7:35
8	7:41
9	7:38
10	7:01

 First half in 38:13, second half in 37:35, total time of 1:15:48, average pace of 7:34/mile.  Negative split of 38 seconds.  Run felt good, I was bundled up real nice, but started to feel cold after 7 miles.  It wasn't until I got into the house that I realized why: I was soaked from sweat.  Afer a nice warm shower I was finally feeling warmer, and got to see the end of the Las Vegas bowl where BYU blocked a 28-yard UCLA field goal with 2 seconds to go to win the game.  Go Cougars!

I am ecstatic that I hit 50 miles for the week - I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to do it or not, and even during the run I had thoughts of turning around at the 4 mile mark, but decided (thankfully) to persevere.  I am feeling really good about my fitness and preparation for both Shiprock and next year's St. George (assuming I get in).  I am determined to not only qualify for Boston, but break 3 hours this year.

Ran 6 miles today, still in New Mexico.  Horses were neighing pretty much right away, let them loose a little bit, first mile in 7:10, then started with my tempo.  I was originally shooting for 4 miles at 1/2 marathon pace (6:40), but the first mile was 6:30, second mile I slowed down a little bit, but not as much as I thought, and the second mile was 6:35.  Decided to turn around, ran another MP mile in 7:06, then finished up with 2 easier miles (7:44, 7:22).  Total time of 42:29, average pace of 7:05/mile.  If I get the chance to run tomorrow, it will probably be after we get home, but I am not going to worry too much about it.  Merry Christmas to All!

No running today, drove back from New Mexico while Lybi and the boys stayed a little longer.

A big zilch for today, left work early because I was feeling nauseated and clammy, decided it would not be a good idea to run and stress my body further.  In my personal experience with my body, every time I have tried to continue running when I start to come down with something, it seems like it just gets worse.  I'm sure my body could use the rest anyways.

Again, big fat zero for the day, still sick, had the second worst nights sleep ever from stomach issues (although I never threw up).  Stayed home from work and rested.

Woohoo!  Finally feeling better and was able to get out for a run.  On top of that, I had been expecting to have to drive back to New Mexico right after work, leaving no time for a run, and got a phone call from Lybi at about 9:30 in the morning letting me know she was going to drive home with her mom today, and her mom would take their truck back home.  So not only did I get to run, but I also was reunited with my family after having to leave them Christmas afternoon (boo!)  I was originally planning on doing 8, but Lybi provided a voice of reason after having taken 3 days off plus having gotten sick, and I settled on 6 miles.  I felt really good and hot to trot.  On a side note, the 3 days off seems to have helped with both the achilles and the top of my foot.  Hooray all around.  Back to the run, did 6 miles in 45:31, average pace of 7:35/mile.  It all felt good except for the last mile, in the which I felt a little bit tired.  Perfect ending to a wonderful day.

Whoa, there's a first . . . first time Lybi's long run has been longer than mine, and first time she has run more miles than me for the week.  How about that!  I'm so proud of her . . .

Now on to my run.  I was again contemplating doing 12 miles, but decided to listen to my own little voice of reason today and just do 10 miles.  After having been sick for most of the week (although not too bad - sorry to hear about Logan and Nick), I thought that doubling my Friday miles probably wouldn't have been a good idea.

Started off nice and easy at around 7:40 pace or so, picked up the pace and was averaging 7:30/mile for the first 5 miles.  Hit the turnaround, and decided to pick up the pace to MP.  Next mile in 7:09, then 6:52 for the 7th mile.  Wasn't looking at the Garmin, and accidentally picked up the pace even more the next mile, 6:44.  Then I decided I was already doing a progressive tempo run, so I might as well try to go a little faster the next mile, which would be my last tempo mile.  I made it, but had to work fairly hard at it - 6:42.  Cooled down the last mile, 7:41.  Total time for the run of 1:12:34, average pace of 7:15/mile. 

AM - no running, did not get enough sleep (I am noticing a pattern here . . .)

PM - Ran 7 miles on the treadmill while Lybi went off to the Midnight Madness Run with Laura. Anxiously awaiting their report . . .

Started off nice and easy, first 1/2 mile at 8:30 pace, then increased the pace to 7:30 pace for 2 miles. Felt good, decided to put in some MP effort miles, increased speed to 7:03 pace. At first, I was going to do only 2 miles at MP, then 2 miles came and went, and I still felt good, decided to keep it up for another 2 miles. Then cooled down for another 1/2 mile at 8:30 pace. Total time of 51:48, average pace of 7:24/mile. MP effort was very much controlled, no problems with breathing whatsoever, legs felt good, no problems with achilles or top of my foot. I am already starting to get excited for my 1/2 marathon in February. Over the next couple of weeks, I will be working on better gauging my 1/2 MP effort. Right now, I am shooting for 6:40 pace, which would put me at 1:27:24. I think a good goal for me would be sub-1:30. Either this coming Saturday or next, I will plan on putting in an 8 mile tempo run at 1/2 MP effort to see if I can keep it up. If I can make it 8 miles, I have faith that I can continue for another 5.