It's just that simple

1 mile warmup; 6 miles steady; 1 mile warmdown

Ran to Borah track at 10:15 p.m. Why can't I get an earlier start?....Beautiful, cool night with the track to myself. Just ran free and comfortable, until the last mile, which I pushed a little bit. Progression run of 6:26, 6:18, 6:16, 6:13, 6:06 and 5:56 for a total of 6 miles in 37:16. The miles in the 6:15-6:20 range seem pretty reasonable for marathon pace right now - I just need 4 or 5 long runs to make sure I have the strength to finish it out.

Hulls Gulch - 1:00

Up the freeway, down the gulch. Tired today. This was the most fatigued I've been in a while.

About 40 minutes in, I came across about 5-10 minutes of the WORST bug swarm I've ever seen. It was thick and relentless, and even with my head looking straight down at the ground I had them in my eyes, nose, mouth, etc. My chest (running shirtless) was a mass of black bugs sticking out an inch. It was horrible. I felt like I was in a horror movie attacked by bugs.

BK trails + neighborhoods - 1:00

Another day, another run in the dark. Luckily, the lights at the BK baseball stadium were on and I was able to run a half hour on the trails with decent visibility. It was just two guys playing home run derby, so they must have had connections with the school. Finished up in the neighborhoods at a steady pace.

Treadmill - 31:32

Very tired today. Horrible night of sleep last night with Nica. A nap helped, but not much. Short run tonight.

Crappy week of running. I set up a plan for the next 5 weeks that I can hopefully follow and get back in the groove.

Greenbelt - 48:34

Nice run on a great afternoon. Breezy and cool, but it felt perfect. I started at Ann Morrison and went upstream and over the orange bridge and back. Did a lap around Bronco Stadium to wish the Broncos good luck. Average pace of around 7:00/mile.

Borah track + Federal Way loop - 2:26

I hadn't done a run over 2 hours since May of 2008. I almost had forgotten what they feel like, but this morning I got to re-live it. I actually had a great run and felt pretty strong the whole way. I even debated adding a mile or two at the end but decided not to get carried away. I also kep the pace conservative (7:20/mile average) to be on the safe side.

The first 50 minutes were at the Borah track. Emily and Nica were walking and playing there, so I got to say "hi" every lap. Then I headed to the Federal Way canal path and came back on the bike path. First 10 miles in 1:14, last 10 in 1:12.

Nice, cool morning to run. Almost a bit nippy at 7:30 when I started.

Canal banks - 28:13

Short run to recover from yesterday. No soreness in the legs, but some general fatigue and dehydration.

Boise bench - 58:40

Took the canals to the Rosehill house to put the garbages and recycling out to the curb. I've been running this direction a lot lately...not sure why.

I didn't feel super this afternoon but it's nice getting into somewhat decent shape where an 8 miler doesn't hurt at all, even on an off day.

Treadmill - 47:30

Snail pace progessing to a slow pace. Ran at 5:45 a.m. at home.

Had some oral surgery at 8 a.m. - a wisdom tooth with a big hole in it needed to be pulled. I probably could have waited another month or two, but I kind of panicked when earlier this week a piece of the tooth looked like it was going to break off completely.

Anyway, the procedure went ok but I'll have to take a few really easy days.

A.M. - South Fork Rd - 35:04

A nice slow run on a beautiful morning. This is an excellent dirt/gravel road to run on. Rolling hills, but mostly flat. Quiet, no traffic and nice scenery of the S. Fork of the Payette River.

P.M. - Middle Fork Rd - 28:11

Ran from the cabin just before dark. Easy pace again, but felt ok with minimal to moderate tooth pain.

Warm Springs loop - 55:05

Nice run from the cabin at 9 a.m. Moderately hilly, with a few minutes on a nice shady trail. This will be a great 7 miler that I'll probably run all the time. Felt pretty good this morning.

Canal banks + Borah track - 56:19

Ran 27 minutes steady on the canals, then did a 1.5 mile and a 1 mile segment at the track. Times were 9:20 and 6:13 - goal PR marathon pace - with a 2:00 jog between. Short run home.

Running a little quicker didn't hurt the tooth too much, but in the middle of the night I did experience some throbbing. Not sure if it's from the run or not.

Neighborhoods - 36:59

Unmotivated this evening. Tired and still having a bit of pain in the mouth. Looked up some info on "dry socket" but I don't think I have that, thankfully.

Tonight I ran a few laps around the Englefield Greens retirement community. Pretty uneventful.

Harrison Hollow + Hull's Gulch - 2:00

Needed a long run because it had been a while since I'd hit 2 hours. I met Mat and did 46 very hilly minutes with him on a course his running club set on the trails above Harrison Hollow. The pace was pretty slow, but we had a good conversation. Then I ran steady up Hulls Gulch and down the Freeway. Right at dusk, a couple of coyotes starting yipping and howling. They sounded really nearby, which was cool.

One of the easiest 2 hour runs I've ever done in terms of fatigue and pain. That is hopefully a good sign.

Neighborhoods - 26:44

Call this one "a short run is better than nothing." It was 9:30 p.m. and I was really tired, but I convinced myself to get out and run a few neighborhood loops.

Rim to Rim - 46:11 - 3rd place

Hard for me to believe, but this was my first race in almost 2 years. A lot has happened in my life since then. The Rim to Rim is really a good race, though, and it's hard to pass up an old school tradition in my hometown (33rd year of the race - our high school xc team used to volunteer at it.) The race correlated with a trip home to Twin Falls to see family and friends, so that's always great.

I had several factors working against me: big time fatigue from a couple of nights of really poor sleep; very few miles under 6:00/mile pace; lack of motivation race morning. All 3 ended up working against me, and I had one of the worst races I think I've ever had. The biggest factor was probably the lack of motivation and willigness to inflict some pain on myself.

The course climbs from river level out of the canyon, across the Perrine Bridge, down the other side of the canyon, and across the Snake River to the start/finish area. I ran the entire race in 3rd place. I could have run out of my gourd or slowed down another minute-plus and I would have still been 3rd. In this stage in my running career, that makes it tough for me to really push hard. I talked myself out of pushing hard numerous times during the race.

No garmin, so these splits were from the markers on the road. 14:01 at 2 miles (mile 1 was in the midst of the climb out of the canyon and I didn't hit my split button), 6:04 (flat), 5:49 (flat), 5:45 (flat, then downhill), 5:27 (downhill), 6:43(flat, across a foot bridge and then a steep hill) and 2:19. I'm pretty sure the mile 7 marker was a bit long, although that last hill killed me.

Post race food was excellent as always and I enjoyed the hot weather and socializing with lots of folks.

Three years ago I ran about 2 minutes faster and won the race. The course this year was about 1:00 - 1:30 longer than then, so I guess it wasn't too bad comparatively.

Rock Creek Park - 29:59

Took a walk with the family and the dogs then ran around Rock Creek Park and back to Mom and Dad's house. It was hot today at noon. Legs were a little sore, but not too bad considering the Rim to Rim ususally destroys me.

Cassia Park + Borah track - 2:01

My legs were a little sore from Saturday's uphill and downhill pounding, but I decided to "man up" and put in a big workout. I did a 7 mile progression run starting at 7:50/mile and working down to marathon pace for the last 2. After that, I jogged a mile and then did 6 x 800 on the track at a steady pace (2:58 average) with a 200 meter jog in 1:10 - 1:10. My last five miles were at an easy pace on the track and in the neighborhoods.

Felt pretty good about this one. Calves and quads sore, but ok other than that.

Treadmill - 43:45

Slow pace with a few pickups the last 10 minutes. Felt ok.

Cole/Pleasant Valley Loop -1:26

Had a good one this afternoon - probably the best marathon pace workout I've ever done. It was hot and I was a little dehydrated to begin with, but I handled it well.

Started from work and did a 7:13 mile to start. Then did the next 12 miles at 6:17/mile pace. I came through 13 miles in 1:22, so I would have qualified for the New York City marathon on today's run (1:23 half marathon). In April of '07, I ran around 1:22 for my first half marathon (Salt Lake, so downhill at that) so that is good progress for me.

Stayed in control the whole time. It was mentally tough from miles 5-7, but once I got past that, I knew I could finish pretty easily. Hopefully this translates into the possibility of a 2:45 marathon in a few weeks.

Pearl Rd. - 42:56

I have always wanted to run on this road, but never made the time to do it. It's right at the top of Horsehoe Bend Hill on Hwy 55. This time, I stopped and did a rolling 6 miler with some pickups the last mile or two. It is a gravel/dirt road with lots of ups and downs and some nice scenery. Next time I'll try to make it to the "town" of Pearl - apparently just a ghost town now.

Middle Fork Trail & Road - 51+

Hiked about 2 miles into Moon Dipper and Pine Burl Hot Springs with Andy and Karl. Had a great soak, and then I ran out along the trail (tough for running in a few places) and did about 30-32 minutes down the Middle Fork Road before they picked me up. A great hike and run today!

A.M. - Valley High - 23:47

Easy morning run trying to find access through some back neighborhood roads that lead to some Forest Service trails. No luck. Just got chased by dogs twice. I will check it out more closely on Google Maps and try again next time.

P.M. - Canal banks/neighborhoods - 27:23

Easy run this evening on the canals and then back through the neighborhoods. Did 6 x 20 second pickups in the last 10 minutes.

Neighborhoods - 42:43

Didn't have much pop in my stride this evening despite a few easy days in a row. I think I'm coming down with a cold. My body just feels weak.

I did an easy progression run of 7:57, 7:27, 7:09, 6:43 and 5:53, followed by the last mile slow and easy in the 7:20's with 4 x 15 second hard accelerations.

Hopefully the last long run before the marathon goes well (16 miles on Tuesday)

Boise Bench + Greenbelt - 1:53

Last big workout before Portland. Ran 4 miles at 7:25 pace, then 4 miles at 6:14 pace, followed by 4 miles at 7:15 pace and then some fartlek the last 4 miles (3 x 2:00 and 3 x 1:00 pickups). The run took me on the canals, to South, down Capital Blvd, to the greenbelt, and back home via the Orchard St. access.

Calves started to go at mile 10 but they held up. Cramped Thursday A.M. really badly.