As we run, we become!

I heard that the groundhog predicted a long winter today.  Obviously, s/he is an east coast groundhog. With how nice the weather has been lately, I don't care how long winter lasts.

Today I ran up City Creek Canyon.  I took it relatively easy, but I felt good so I just kept up a good pace.  I'm looking forward to an improvement over last week, now that I am feeling a little better.

Another warm, beautiful day.  I ran hard up to the bridge in City Creek Canyon, and then I took it easy on the way back down.

I went for a run on the trail up City Creek canyon today. I took it pretty easy for most of the run. Looking forward to a rest day tomorrow.

I ran my usual out-and-back up City Creek Canyon.  It was incredibly warm for winter. I still feel a little pain in my hip but I only noticed it twice during my run.

I was pretty dissatisfied with my run last week.   I felt great for 10 miles, but then I just ran out of energy.  So Jennifer  bought me some HEED and some energy gels to help me combat fatigue.

Today was a great training run. I was able to sustain a strong effort for the entire run.  I ran the same course as last week, but I finished 7 minutes faster.  I averaged 7 minutes per mile and finished in 1:38.  

I drank 36 ounces of fluid with 2 scoops of Heed and I sucked down two energy gels.  I started to feel tired aroung Mile 11 again, but I didn't lose any power or speed. Last week I really suffered on the last two hills, and this week I powered through both!

I completed my 200th mile this year during my run today.  I am a little (3 days) behind the pace to complete my goal of 2,00 miles this year, but I am sure I will catch up in the next couple of months.

I went for a nice run up City Creek Canyon. I am finally over the cold/flu that has made it difficult to breathe over the last couple of weeks.  My legs felt a little sore from my run on Saturday, but I had a lot of energy.  I kept a pretty fast pace without any real effort.

I really tried to pay attention to my form as I ran downhill. I am going to have to work really hard to prepare for the trail races that I have coming up.  I am also thinking ahead to the first couple of miles of the Deseret News Marathon.

My plan for this week is to run the following distances: 6, 4, 8, 4 and 8 miles. This will allow me to reach my weekly goal of 30 miles. 

Legs were still a little tight today.  I took it really easy on the way up, and tired to focus on my form coming back down. These easy weeks are becoming a little too easy.

I ran up City Creek Canyon today. My legs felt really tired. I was just happy to get through with this run, so that I can enjoy a rest day.

Just a short afternoon run up City Creek Canyon.  My legs felt tired despite the rest day yesterday. I need to get more sleep, I think.

I started out fast, but I had to make a pit stop around Mile 5.  That put a kink in my plans. It took me another mile to warm up again, but I still ran the entire distance under 56 minutes.  It was nice to see so many people out taking advantage of the lake and the surrounding parks.  Stunning weather for this time of year.

I enjoyed a nice rest day yesterday and I was definitely ready to have a better run than I did on Saturday.  After getting all of my projects finished, I headed out for a run around the lake. I was trying to take it easy, but each mile my pace got a little faster as my legs loosened up.  I have noticed that following a rest day I can run much faster with very little effort.  Hopefully, this is beneficial when it comes time to race.  I started off at 7:40 pace and dropped about 15-20 seconds per mile. I finished the run in 36 minutes, but even better than that I didn't feel like I had exerted myself.

This week I plan on running 44 miles with 5 days of running.  I think I am getting close to adding a 6th day, but I will try and hold off  until April when I reach 50 miles per week.  My plan for the week is to run the following distances: 5, 7, 10, 6,and 16

I ran the Virginia Loop today. I took it relatively easy but I threw in several brief surges in the lower Avenues.  I think it is referred to as an alphabet run.  I ran at maximum effort for 1 block and then jogged for 1 block.  I did this for 10 blocks.  Those 5 surges felt amazing.  I haven't run that fast in a really long time.  

I ran up to the beginning of the watershed area up City Creek Canyon. I felt pretty tight the first few miles, but I loosened up and ran fast the rest of the way, especially on the way down. My legs are definitely ready for a rest day tomorrow.

Usually I will get on the bike sometime during a rest day to keep loose, but yesterday I was lazy.  Of course my legs felt a little more tight today so I elected to take it easy.  I ran my usual route up City Creek Canyon.  My shoes are just about worn out in the forefoot so i will have to get a new pair. 

I planned to run 16 miles today and I thought I would run for a couple of hours, but with children's activities I had to break it up with an AM/PM run.  I decided to take my AM run easy.  I ran around the lake and finished 8 miles in just under 59 miles.  I don't feel like I exerted myself at all.  In fact, every time my body wanted to go faster I held back.  I will probably run marathon pace in the afternoon.  Now for 6 hours of resting and refueling.

This afternoon I went out and ran 6 mile in just under 40 minutes.  Given the hilly course and the short recovery time, I was pretty happy with my effort. When I got back to the house I took the dog on a two mile cool down.  The entire 16 miles ended up taking 1 hour 55 minutes.  It was a nice way to retire my Nike Pegasus 29.  Now for a relaxing rest day.

I forgot to bring a pair of socks with me to work, so I couldn't go for a run at lunch like I usually do.  And I thought about taking the day off and running on Thursday instead, but in the end, I decided that I needed to get out there after a nice, hard effort on Saturday.  So I went for a night run around the lake.  It was cold, but it was beautiful.  The sky was clear and the stars were out.  The lights from the homes and streets reflected off the lake.  There was only one other couple out there.  I enjoyed every minute of it.

I got back to my usual lunchtime routine today as I headed out for a run around the Virginia Loop. I ran at a pretty quick pace, but I didn't push myself.  Then, when I was running back towards the office on 3rd Avenue I focused on taking long quick strides.  I ran every other block like that and I rested in between by jogging.  I did that for 20 blocks.  It was a pretty good run.

I always struggle to classify trail runs. I doubt that I was anywhere near marathon pace while climbing but I was probably close to or ahead of it while descending.  Anyway, I will label this an easy run, but maybe that's just how it felt because I was having so much fun. I ran up City Creek Canyon to the bend in the road.  Then I took the trail on the south side of the road up behind the Avenues towards Black Mountain. I ran about 3 miles of that trail before turning around and heading back to the office.

I took it pretty easy on the way up, and I managed to do the same on the way down until this guy passed me.  For those of you who don't know me, I'm pretty competitive.  I followed him for a half mile and pushed the pace until he couldn't keep it up and then I passed him back.  It made the run a lot more interesting.

I had to squeeze this run in during Mac's rehearsal, so I took advantage of the Jordan River Parkway. I ran 8 miles out to the bridge at 2100 South and then returned following the same route.

I ran the first half in 59:38 but I felt pretty tired at the turnaround. Somehow I managed to run 58:54 on the way back. I used my amphipod belt to help me get about 600 calories in during the run. I felt great afterwards, but my left Achilles needs some work.