It's just that simple

2 mile warmup, hill workout, 2 mile wd

I felt exhausted again after track practice, but managed to make myself get in some hills. Warmup and warmdown in Ann Morrison Park and on the greenbelt.

The workout was 2 sets of the following:

4 x 45 sec dirt hill, jog down recovery; 50 seconds hard on the flat; jog 4 minutes

4 x 1:00 Americana hill @ 5:43/mile pace, jog down recovery; 50 seconds hard on the flat; jog 2 minutes

My achilles was hurting quite a bit on the warmdown, but other than that, I'm glad I gutted out this hill workout. Probably will hit the trails the next couple of days and maybe race another 5k on Saturday.

Table Rock - 1:20

Ran from the greenbelt up Castle Rock to the backside of Table Rock. Trail was rutted and pretty uneven, but it was a nice sunny day and I got through this pretty easily. Achilles is still giving me some problems today.

Canal banks - NT

Just a jog/shuffle with Leo. Not feeling much better -- achilles, body aches/cold and motivation. 3 days of crap (2 days no running and one day with a 2 mile shuffle). I think it's time to just gut it out tomorrow and get back into regular training. I know 2 days off isn't going to help the achilles at all (never does), so I guess I'd be better off just to keep running through like I usually do. I'm not sick enough to take days off, just bad enough to make the runs a bit tougher than usual. Enough whining. Back to running tomorrow.

Foothills + run home - 2:26

Did a long run today. Achilles was sore throughout most of the run and my energy levels weren't great, but made it through, so I'm glad for that. Started on the greenbelt and took the Castle Rock trail to Table Rock road, and then went up Rocky Canyon road until the Curlew Ridge trail comes in. I took that to the military reserve, and then ran home and added a few miles in the neighborhoods. Total run was at about 7:20 pace; the last 10 miles once I got out of the steep hills was at 7:02 pace. Great day for a run, with the exception of a quick rainstorm when I was in the reserve. I do feel a bit more motivated now than I had the last few days and I think getting good sleep this weekend helped me beat the cold I came down with.

Canal banks + neighborhoods - 35:38

Pretty good post 20 mile run. Left shin sore (just like last year at this time) but achilles ok. Not much leg soreness other than the shin - probably due to the slow pace yesterday and low mileage last 5 days.

Run to gym + treadmill - 48:58

Had our 1st track meet today, so I ran late. Ran down to the gym and did some running with the incline up on the treadmill. +3.5% on the way up and then about -2% on the way down. Just trying to get in a little more hill work for Robie. Shin still sore, but definitely runable.

2 mile wo; 6 x 2:00 hills, 3 x 1:00 pickups; 1 mile wd

Ran to the gym and did the workout on the treadmill. Set the incline at 5% and ran at about 6:00/mile pace. Pickups were at about 5:55 pace. Felt ok. Pretty easy workout, but the shin is still really bothering me.

Core and stretching: 15 minutes

Rocky Canyon Rd - 1:20

Ran the last 5.5 miles of the Robie Creek course and then back down. That last 0.8 miles is a real ball buster. On top of that, there were some snowy sections still and the backside looked pretty mucky. We shall see.

1.5 mile wo; 1 x 600, 3 x 400; 1.5 mile wd

We were able to practice at Borah High's track today. We started with a run on the canals and then I paced the distance runners for some intervals. I hit 2:00, 1:18, 1:17, 1:13. I jogged for 2-3 minutes between while the team walked for that time. It was a great day and we got in a good workout. Drove to Twin Falls after practice.

Noon: CSI - 33:53

Steady paced run. Really warm out today - I was surprised by that. Ran to CSI and back and did my standard 2 loops on the trail. My first mile was way slower than I used to hit when I did this run in college, but the rest of the run wasn't much behind.

PM: Neighborhoods + Borah track - 35:34

Didn't feel great tonight but got some miles in at 10 pm after driving home from Twin Falls. Shin was pretty sore and I was a little bit dizzy (blood sugar low?)

Rocky Canyon Rd - 1:19

Ran from the dirt to the top and back down, same as last week. Very warm day and quite a few runners out getting some last minute training in. The snow was a lot more melted, so I didn't have to walk the last stretch, but I wasn't going much faster than a walk anyway. On the way down I practiced some faster downhill running before catching Emily and jogging in the last 1.5-2 miles with her.

Track practice - NT

Ran to the Train Depot and back at an easy pace. The kids were really slacking today and I had to get after them a bit in the form of extra hill repeats. I think they got the message though.

Planned to run about 30 minutes but I got home and ate dinner and then never got back out.

A.M. - Neighborhoods + canal banks - 23:39

Probably the best I've felt in a long time for a 6 a.m. run. Last 13 minutes with Leo

P.M. - Military reserve + Rocky Canyon Rd - 53:40

Ran about 1.5 miles with Mat, and then did a bit of a tempo on the first 3.2 miles of the Robie Course. Averaged about 6:10 mile pace with about 400' elevation gain. Took it easy on the way back down. I met up with Mat and Emily and did the last mile couple miles with them.

Treadmill at Golds - 34:52

Easy paced run on the treadmill. Track meet this afternoon, then went and picked up the race packet for Robie Creek. Have talked with a few people about advice for the race; it's interesting to hear the different perspectives people have.

Run to Rosehill house - 30:31

Took the canals over to Rosehill where I'd left my car. Kept the pace easy (7:15-7:30) and ran nice and short.

Track practice - 27:14

Ran easy on the canals and the Borah track with the distance runners. There weren't many of us today, and we took it slow. Finished up with a mile with Leo after practice through the neighborhoods. Pretty good taper going on.

Race to Robie Creek - 1:25:04 - 6th place

Well, I guess now people in Boise will consider me a "real" runner since I completed the annual Race to Robie Creek. This is called the toughest half marathon in the Northwest. It gains about 2,000' in the first 8.4 miles, then drops down between 1000' and 1500' in 4.7 miles. Most of it is on dirt roads. The day started out kind of chilly and a bit breezy, but in the end, it couldn't have been much better. I got a good spot at the start line, in front of 2,400 people. This race had a lot of former top 10 placers coming back, but no former champions, which was rare. I was hoping for top 5 and/or a sub 1:25 time. Top 3 and sub 1:23 was my ideal goal. Here's the breakdown:

Mile 1: 5:34. Mostly flat mile. Got out well and felt like I was running very easy. 5th place

Mile 2: 6:22 Solid climb up Shaw Mtn. Rd. Eventual race winner Brian Crowl caught me at the end of this mile and we ran together until about 3.5. At about 15-16 minutes in, he told me that if we kept the front runners close, we could catch them on the downhill. Well, he did. I didn't. Good fan support through here, including lots of people I knew.

Mile 3: 5:43 Drop down into Rocky Canyon and the beginning of the 6 mile climb to the summit. Really feeling strong through here.

Mile 4: 6:33 Onto the dirt at mile 3.4. Faster than I expected but feeling good. Passed Tyler Williams, a former 3:45 1500m guy at NAU, at about 3.5. Have gained about 600' by mile 4.

Mile 5: 7:14 In no man's land. Plugging along ok. Brian isn't far ahead, and around most of the curves I can see eventual 2nd and 4th place finishers.

Mile 6: 7:17 (38:45 total time). I'm estatic to see the mile 6 split, which comes at the bottom of the second worst climb of the race.

Mile 7: 7:34 A couple of tough hills in here, and I'm wavering between excitement and feeling like tossing in the towel and walking, depending on the moment. Still in 5th place.

Mile 8: 7:55 There's one tough little hill between 7 and 7.5, but that half mile isn't too bad. At about 7.6 to 8.4 (the summit), I really lost a lot of ground.

Mile 9: 7:59 Ridiculous. I crawled up the last half mile (didn't walk, but may as well have) to the summit and although nobody passed me,  when I glanced back, a small pack had made up lots of ground. The first part of the downhill went ok; I got the lactic acid out of my legs and was able to handle the terrain ok. The snow and ice was mostly gone, so the footing was solid.

Mile 10: 5:08 Started to get into a decent rhythm but a bit before mile 10, my calves started to cramp. Very reminiscent of SLC half last year and NYC marathon. Tried to change my stride to compensate but not working. Too bad, because I'm feeling great otherwise. Ate a gel I had taken with me. Didn't have water and it was a bit sticky but I got it down.

Mile 11: 5:29 Got passed by two people as the cramps have hit full force in the calves. Stopped once to rub them out; probably didn't help. Frustrating because I really feel like I could roll as the grade is still dropping, but not as steep as before.

Mile 12: 5:19 One guy is gone, but 6th place is coming back to me. I can't fully push off on the calves, but if I land on my heels and change stride length frequently, I can keep the cramps somewhat manageable.

Last 1.1: 6:57 (I think mile 12 was short) Made some nice surges as the ground leveled out the last mile. Actually felt pretty good, and passed a runner with about a half mile to go.

Overall, I think the race went ok. Obviously the trend of my calves blowing up is a huge issue I need to resolve. I do feel that I could make some changes and run a few minutes faster if I do it again. Having said that, I think this race is a novelty act and I'm not sure I'll run it again. There are a lot of other races that are better organized and don't have the frat party feel.

Treadmill - 27:52

This one hurt. I was hoping an easy run would clear out some of the crap from my legs. I think this might be the worst my legs have ever felt after a race. Quads, calves and ankles are the worst off. Hopefully I can run easy the rest of the week (goal: 50 miles) and then get in a long run by next Sunday.

Easy stretching and core work.

Ann Morrison Park - 32+

Ran with Mat from his house and around the park. Second most painful run of my life, after yesterday. Calves just destroyed. Great day outside, though.

Track practice + greenbelt - 49+

Ran a little under 20 minutes with the kids at practice, including 4 x 2 min pickups. After practice, I ran for about 30 minutes with Mat on the dirt section of greenbelt off Parkcenter. Feeling a little bit better today. Still very painful in the calves.

Canals - 12+

Jogged a warmup with Leo. Was going to do another 30-40 minutes but my calves were shot. I'll just take anothe day or two easy or off then I should be back at it again. I have less than 6 weeks to the marathon so this will be a little down time and then I'll put in 4 reallly good weeks.

Weights - 20 minutes

PMI: Track practice

I did a little workout with the junior high team: 500, 300, 3 x 400 @ about 75 pace. It was windy but a warm day and the kids worked out fairly hard.

PMII: Greenbelt - 45:04

Ran after watching the high school meet at BSU. There were some deep 1600s this evening. Kept the run steady, but relaxed. Calves hurt, but definitely manageable.

A.M. - Canal Banks - 12+

Very slow with Leo

P.M. - Greenbelt - 59:11

Nice run on a gorgeous day. Watched the YMCA track meet at BSU most of the day, then did some miles from the stadium on to the dirt section toward Barber Park. Timed a few of the miles and had 3 in the 6:20's which felt pretty easy. Legs doing quite a bit better.

Weights, core and stretching - 20 minutes

Greenbelt - 2:24

Long run today. Feeling like I need to put in 3 or 4 really good mileage weeks before the marathon on May 31. The heat was a factor today for the first time in 2008 - I even got a little sunburned (maybe due to the fact I started my run at 1 pm). There were literally hundreds of bikers, runners and walkers out on the greenbelt today.

I started in Ann Morrison Park and ran down onto the Garden City/Eagle stretch, and came back the same way back to my house. I intended to do a slow first 16-17 miles and then finish hard, but it ended up being just a steady run the whole time (7:12/mile ave). The last 3 miles were definitely tough and there was no way I could pick it up much.

Weights - 15 minutes

Greenbelt - 35:19

Another sunny, warm day. Started at Ann Morrison Park and headed upstream today past Municipal Park. Averaged about 7 min/mile, which was fine the day after a 20 miler.

A.M. - Run to work - 25:15

Warm out and felt ok. Shin sore and backpack wasn't comfortable, but ok other than that.

P.M. - Treadmill - 28:08

Easy on the treadmill at home at 10 pm. Looong track meet this afternoon, and spent a few hours writing a paper for a class I'm taking after that.

Canal banks + neighborhoods - 1:05

Given the fact my last 2 nights of sleep have been horrible and I was in a fair amount of pain with my shin, I took it real easy tonight. Ran about 2 miles with Leo very slow, then did 6 miles solo at about 7:38/mile pace. Felt ok and it was probably what I needed. I'll try a marathon paced run tomorrow.