It's just that simple

No run today

Greenbelt - 1:56

Ran the Garden City/Eagle path out and back at about 7:10-7:15 pace, then did the last 6 miles a bit quicker, including 4 x half mile pickups in about 3:05 during the last 4 miles. Felt pretty strong today. The day off yesterday probably contributed to me feeling a bit more fresh today.

PMI: Rocky Canyon Rd to Military Reserve -- 57:06

Great run today up the first 3.5 miles of the Robie Creek course. I took the Curlew Ridge trail down to the Military Reserve and had some great views of downtown Boise. I was able to run hard on the road, but the trails were snowy and icy, so I had to take it easy in places.

PMII: Bishop Kelly track - 12:43

After lifting weights for 25 minutes, I stopped on the way home and ran for 1.5 miles super easy with Leo since I hadn't gotten him out for a run in a while. Very windy, and is supposed to be worse tomorrow.

PMI: Treadmill at home - 30:04

Started out really easy and picked it up a little as I went along. Did 6 x 30 second pickups at LT pace the last 2 miles

PMII: Bishop Kelly Campus - 28:37

Went out in the wind and found that the warm weather had melted all the snow and ice on the canals and that it was a mess of mud. I opted for a slog in the soggy grass and bark trails around BK instead. Felt ok.

3.5 mile wo, 4 x 1.5 mile LT repeats, 2 mile wd

Did this workout on the greenbelt. Averaged 8:57 (5:58 pace) for the 1.5 mile segments with recovery jogs of 2:05-2:10. Was definitely working hard, but recovered as soon as I was done and jumped right into the warmdown.

A.M. - Canal Banks - 20:09

Didn't have much time to run before breakfast, but I just wanted to get out on the fresh snow and in the sun. Couldn't run very fast, but it was great to get out.

P.M. - Leg speed/hill + run to the gym - 38:06

I did about a mile steady, then did 4 x 20-25 second hard strides with a jog back recovery. Then jogged to Aurora hill and did 4 sets of (20-25 second hill climb, jog back down to the flat and do 20-25 seconds hard). The whole thing took about 15 minutes, then I ran to the gym where I worked out for 20 minutes, doing the following: 

-Stretching

-Core: 2 x 25 crunches, 2 x 35 second planks

-Drills: 2 x butt-kicks; 2 x lunges; 2 x A-skip; 2 x high knees (all done on the basketball court)

-Weights: 2 x 15 bench press; 2 x 15 lat pulldown; 2 x 15 calf raises

Canal banks + Borah campus/track -- 1:04

Nice easy run this evening. Got out late (5:30 pm) so most of it was in the dark. Didn't go slow by design -- the roads were completely icy and everything else had a couple inches of snow on it. So I just kept it slow and easy (avg heart rate 125) and enjoyed being outside.

Treadmill+ -- 1:07

It was snowing very hard and I was hoping to do a progression run, so I had to do it on the treadmill at home. Miles were 8:50, 8:00, 7:30, 7:00, 6:30, 6:20, followed by 2 miles of 10 x 30 second pickups with some jogging between. I finished the run with a mile outside easy with Leo. Incidentally, the pace on the treadmill at home is much different from running on other treadmills or running outside. Everything on our treadmill requires a harder effort to maintain a given pace. My estimate is that 6:20 pace feels like 6:00 pace outside. My heart rate (got up to about 173) was higher on this easy progression run than on the LT workout earlier this week that was at a much harder effort. But in the end, what the screen shows isn't that big of a deal. I got a pretty good workout and  was sweating like crazy.

No run today

Greenbelt -- 1:10

Did a progression run on the greenbelt. The path was mostly clear, but there were a few miles of snow and slush to contend with. It also got dark about midway through the run. Considering those factors and the worst week of sleep I've had in recent memory, I'm happy with the workout. Splits were 7:28, 7:01, 6:46, 6:38, 6:25, 6:10, 6:13, 6:16, 6:09 and then 1.5 miles easy at 7:45 pace. Six miles (4-9) at about a 6:19 average. Not sure where the cut off for marathon pace miles ends and threshold begins, but the mile breakdown is a good estimate.

A.M. -- 2 mile easy run with Leo at 6:30 a.m. (16 minutes)

P.M. -- Canals + Borah track - 43:09

The canals were sloppy and slushy so I went to the track for some strides and easy hill work. Did 4 x 100 at the track, 3 x 25sec hill repeats and 4 x 100 at the track. Legs kind of tired from yesterday and my left hamstring was a little sore, but I felt a little faster than the last time I did this.

Rocky Canyon Rd + neighborhoods - 2:04

Ran from downtown up 6.25 miles on Rocky Canyon Road (about the first 5.4 miles of the Robie Creek course). On the dirt section, the surface went from slush to snow to slick snow over the course of the 1200 feet I gained. After I got back to level ground, I was hungry, thirsty and my quads were pretty beat. The last 40 minutes around the North End was tough.

A.M. - Neighborhoods - 23:05

My legs were beat yesterday after running the hills, so this easy run really helped in loosening them up. Felt much better after the run than before.

P.M. - Neighborhoods + run to gym - 34:01

Ran steady in the dark. Felt really good and recovered from yesterday.

Weights and drills - 25 min (drills were 2 sets of: 8 lunges each leg, 8 box stepups each leg, crossover drill, high knees, buttkicks, and A-skip)

Ann Morrison Park + Albertson Park - 56:05

A little fatigued today, but the run was ok. Did some loops in Ann Morrison park (included the dirt hill 4x) and then about 20 minutes in Albertson park. Chilly out, but a nice afternoon.

Easy weights, core and stretching: 15 minutes

Canal banks + neighborhoods - 1:00

Warmed up 2 easy miles with Leo on the canals, then did 6 miles (10 sets) of 2 minutes hard, 2 minutes easy. I covered the 6 miles in 38:50, with the "on" segments ave: 5:58 pace and the "off" segments ave: 7:12 pace. Kind of an impromptu workout, but it wasn't too tough and I'm glad I did it. I'll do a more sustained LT workout Thursday, probably. Very cold out this evening.

Treadmill - 30:05

Left hammy was a bit sore so I took it real easy today. Will try to go hard 3 of the next 5 days (2 long runs and a tempo workout).

A.M. - Canal Banks - 18+

Easy, easy jog with Leo at 6 a.m. Hamstring was stiff but seemed to loosen up just a little by the end.

P.M. - 2 mile wo, 3 x 2 miles, 1.5 mile wd

On the greenbelt. One of my worst workouts in recent memory. Hamstring made my stride clipped and a little awkward, although not painful. I had some stomach issues and really battled the wind in places too. I ran slower than I wanted, but averaged 6:05 pace with 3-3:30 jogs between. Despite feeling like crap, I think this is a beneficial workout right near LT pace. Hopefully tomorrow I'll feel better.

Treadmill - 30:35

Took it easy for the sake of my hamstring. I think I can run a little longer tomorrow but I'll just have to take it easy. Need to sleep in tomorrow morning.

Greenbelt - 2:02

With the hamstring issue, I knew today's run would have to be very easy if it was going to happen. I took the canals down to the Garden St. access of the greenbelt, then ran all the way to the end of the Eagle path. That gave me about 14 miles, so I added a few more around the Eagle River complex to get 16. The first mile was 8:10 and I got down to 7:24 by mile 14 before backing off a little. The hamstring is still sore, but no worse than before. My right groin got a little sore and tired too. Overall, a pretty easy run at 7:40 pace on a nice brisk morning.

Weights, core and stretching - 30 minutes

Run to Gold's + treadmill - 1:01

Kept it easy again today. The hamstring is feeling a little better, which is a good sign. Averaged about 7:35-40 pace and got down to 7:15 pace at the end. I will plan to do some longer, easy miles this week until at least Thursday or Friday and see if I can resolve the hamstring issue that way.

A.M. Canal Banks - 13:44

Took an easy jog and then a short walk with my dog, Leo, this morning. Snowy but nice.

P.M. Greenbelt - 2:08

I did a 3 mile loop from the DoubleTree and then headed downstream toward Barber Park. My leg was feeling somewhat better so I unintentionally ran a little faster than I wanted for the first 6 miles (7:15 pace). My plan was to keep it at 7:40-8:00 pace this week until the hamstring was completely better. By mile 8, I was having a lot of soreness on the inside of my knee, right where the hamstring attaches to the knee. The last 7 miles of this run were very tough. I stopped twice to stretch and in the last few miles was hobbling at 9:00 mile pace or slower in places. I would have walked back to the car, but it was too cold.

I guess I might have been a little ambitious the last 3 days (42 miles). I'm guessing I'll be taking some days off now. We'll have to see.

Weights - 15 minutes

Hamstring/knee is hurting. There is no way I could run today. I did 15 minutes on the exercise bike at the gym and burned 155 calories. I figured if it was irritating the hamstring it wasn't worth it for such a minimal workout, so I quit after 15 min. I lifted for 20 minutes and hit the steam room and hot tub and tried to stretch it out a little bit. Later I iced a couple of times.

Recline exercise bike - 20 minutes (6 miles) & 270 calories

Weights and core - 20 minutes

Treadmill - 20+ minutes

Feeling a lot better. The run on the treadmill averaged about 9:20 pace. I got down to 8:57 pace and felt a slight tightening of the hamstring. But overall, I felt great after taking 4 days off.

I got diagnosed with a hamstring strain, specifically on the part of the hamstring that connects to the knee. The replies from a couple of FRB bloggers were right on target. I got an order for physical therapy, which I may or may not use. I think the next week will include just a lot of easy running and some cross training.

A.M. - Treadmill - 21:50

Did 2.5 miles at the gym. Hamstring feeling a lot better. Pace was a little faster than yesterday. Before running, I did 21 minutes on the bike (7 miles & 295 calories)

P.M. - Neighborhoods - 24+

Ran 11 minutes very easy with Leo, then did the rest solo at a 7:24/mile pace. Felt really good and may resume some "real" running tomorrow.

Core, stretching & weights - 15 minutes

Neighborhoods and Canal banks - 40:55

Felt a little bit better today. Averaged 7:27 pace for the run, which wasn't bad after a snowstorm last night made for snowy and icy surfaces. Also wanted to keep the run fairly easy so as not to put too much strain on the hammy.

I went to the PT today and got some ultrasound and heat on it. She cautioned me to ease back into it and showed me some stretches to help out.

Treadmill - 1:04

Bad weather brought me indoors to the gym for my run. Started out slowly for a few minutes (9 min pace) and started working it down. Got to about 7:20 pace and the hamstring tendon started feeling tight and hobbling my stride. I backed it down to wherever I could run without pain, usually 8:30-8:40 pace and finished a frustrating run. Wasn't breathing hard, heart rate wasn't up, but just struggling with the injury right now. May get some PT again this week.

Weights, core and stretching: 20 minutes

A.M. - Neighborhoods - 31:49

Awoke at 4:30 this morning to a phone call which contained the two works educators love most (other than "summer break"): snow day! It seemed kind of weird as the weather didn't seem that bad, but I'm not complaining. I have lots of painting to do today.

My run was slow and didn't feel that great. The hamstring is not improving, but I was able to jog around on it without massive pain. I would take some more time off, but in my running career, I have observed if I have a minor injury I can just run through it and it gets better, and if I have a major injury, even time off doesn't really seem to help. Maybe that doesn't make sense, but I'm worried that if I take a couple of weeks off for this hamstring strain, I'll start running again and it will come right back. Then I will have wasted a few weeks of training, be out of shape and depressed, and still injured. Maybe this is rationalization for not wanting to stop running....

P.M. - Loop with Leo + treadmill -44:22

Ran an easy 13 minutes with Leo, then finished on the treadmill at at 7:52 average. Felt ok

Treadmill - 57:15

Another day, another run on the treadmill. Feeling quite a bit better with the hamstring today. Even did 4 x .25 pickups at 6:30 pace during the middle part of the run. Most of the run at 7:40-7:50 pace. Sweaty and boring.

Greenbelt - 44+

Ran at a easy to moderate pace with Mat from his house. We ran through campus and onto the greenbelt. The hamstring felt ok, but I'm still not striding normally. That's cool though. It was a nice brisk afternoon and felt good to be out.

Earlier in the day I went to the PT and got a massage, heat and some ultrasound.

Neighborhoods + canal banks - 44:01

Kind of a tough run in the wind and snow. Running straight into the wind reminded me of my days in Pocatello, where we would call the labored effort "10 yard fight" after the Nintendo football game of the same name. In that game, it took players about 30 seconds to run the length of the field and breakaway touchdowns were nearly impossible. So our running straight into the wind resembled the players moving so slowly across the screen.

Other than the wind and snow, it was a pretty basic run. I'm really hoping to increase my mileage next week now that my hamstring is coming around.

Greenbelt - 1:03

Felt really good about this run. Considering the path was snowy and slushy in most places and I haven't been able to run hard in 2 weeks, this was a strong effort. Did a 7 mile progression run in 7:27, 6:58, 6:48, 6:35, 6:13, 6:05 and 6:00. Then did 3 x 2 min pickups at about 5:40 pace during the last 2.5 miles. Hamstring felt really good (90-95%) which is encouraging.

Run to Gold's + treadmill - 49:14

Easy run to the gym, then did 5 miles on the treadmill with 4 x .25 mile pickups at marathon pace (6:25) and 4 x .25 mile pickups at LT pace (6:00). Felt pretty good tonight. Hamstrings just a little sore, but definitely manageable.

Weights and core - 15 minutes

Treadmill - 47:55

Ran at 11 p.m. I have been tearing out the kitchen floor and other such duties the past 2 days. No run yesterday. Oh well, it had to be done by a deadline.

The run was ok. I did 6 x 1 min marathon pace (6:25) pickups and 6 x 1 min LT (6:00) pickups to add some variety to the run.

Cassia Park + South - 1:04

Ran from my house to Cassia Park and measured a lap or two with the Garmin (.48m). Then ran to South and measured our jr high team's 1 mile time trial course (.95m - no wonder it was fast). The ground was partially dry, but slushy in places as well. Decent run. Will do a tempo tomorrow and a long run Saturday.

3 mile wo, 3m-2m-1m, 3 mile wd

3m: 17:44 (recovery 4:44)

2m: 11:53 (recovery 4:09)

1m: 5:56

Ran from my house down to the greenbelt and did this LT workout. Averaged 5:55 pace for the workout which I was happy with. On the warmup and warmdown I could feel my hamstring a little, but it felt ok during the workout.

A.M.- Neighborhoods + canal banks - 31:34

Woke up to a sunny, warm day. Took a very easy jog with Leo and finished a little bit on my own. Either he is out of shape or getting too old to run (or both). He was really dragging on this run.

P.M. - Greenbelt - 37:55

Another relaxed run, but a bit harder than this morning. Averaged about 7:05 pace and had an enjoyable run on a great afternoon.

Pleasant Valley Rd - 2:09

Ran from home and did an out and back run along Pleasant Valley Rd. Nice views and a couple of good hills. Out in 1:06, back in 1:03. Overall pace of 7:10/mile.

Felt as good as I could on an 18 miler. Quads got tired the last few miles, but that's to be expected. Looking for some good miles this week.

Weights & core - 20 minutes

Borah campus + track - 45:15

Just an easy run this evening to shake out the legs. First two miles extremely slow, then did 6 x 30 second pickups at approx 5k pace (5:20) at the track to loosen up during the middle of the run. The good news is that my hamstring felt fine during these. I had a PT appointment this afternoon (maybe my last one).

Neighborhoods -49:42

Procrastinated this evening and didn't get out until 8 p.m. Took a route through the neighborhoods around here and by Borah. First and last miles slow but middle ones around 6:50 pace. Quads a bit sore but felt ok other than that.

Treadmill - 54:11

Did an easy warmup, then 5 miles at MP (6:23 pace) and the last mile in 5:58. It took some concentration because it was so boring, but it wasn't too difficult of an effort. I didn't have time to run after work so I had to run after my night class at 8 pm

Greenbelt - 1:03

Ran from Golds and did an out and back to the end of Barber Park. The trail was a bit muddy in places, but as always, it's nice running on that stretch. Hard effort for a slow pace. Tired and dehydrated and my nutrition was a bit off today too. Windy but sunny.

A.M. - BK Campus + neighborhoods - 40:28

Easy 20 minutes with Leo, then a bit quicker solo after that. Cold out this morning, but got the run in at a reasonable hour (7 am) due to an inservice day at work which resulted in a later start. Felt ok, but don't really like the morning run thing.

Noon - Greenbelt - 49:04

Ran from work down to the greenbelt and did 4 x 1 mile at LT pace with 1:20 jogs between. I averaged 5:58, which wasn't great, but it was better than nothing. Windy out, but nice and sunny. Legs are feeling kind of dead today.  

A.M. - Neighborhoods in Twin Falls - 30:24

Ran at 8 a.m. from my parents' house. Took it easy because I was pretty sore this morning

P.M. - XC skiing north of Ketchum- skiied in & out to the cabin 2x, then skate skiied for about an hour. That is hard work, especially at 7000'. Great day and awesome views.

A.M. - XC skiing. Another beautiful day in the Boulder Mountains.

P.M. - Borah campus - 40:08

Ran at a steady pace and did 8 x 25 second pickups and 4 x 25 second hill repeats during the run. Felt pretty good, and the strides seemed to loosen my legs up a little.

Barber Loop +  - 2:15

Felt rough on this long run today. I was hurting from about 7 miles in, but kept it together to finish 18.5 at a 7:20/mile average. Started at the Garden St. access and went through Barber Park. On the way back, I added a few miles of easy running on the trails at Quarry View Park. A bit of mud here and there on the trail sections, but all the paved surfaces were fine throughout the run. The last couple of long runs have been hard on me.

Treadmill + run home from gym - 47:33

Fairly easy pace on the treadmill with 3 miles at a 3% incline. The run home felt great and I was happy how my legs have recovered from yesterday's long run.

No run.

Came home from work and was exhausted so I ate dinner and took a nap. Felt really poor tonight and stayed up late to pack for the trip tomorrow and get everything ready. Think I'm getting sick.

A.M. - Canal Banks - 17:46

Easy pace with Leo at 6 a.m. to get him out before we leave for S.F. Feeling horrible today

P.M. - Run from hotel in Alameda - 34:43

Easy jog with Emily. Did a few pickups on the way back. Sick all day but seem to be coming out of it.

Run from hotel in Alameda - 1:02

Out along the Oakland side of the bay on a nice path and trail. Great views of S.F. Did a 3 mile tempo on the way back and finished my last mile with an easy jog with Emily

Stevens River trail - 52:02

Did a 7 miler this morning from Megan's apartment in Mountain View. Nice trail and good scenery. Averaged 7:14/mile. Felt ok. Windy and drizzly out.

Waterfront 10m - 58:32 - 1st place

Woke up this morning to some very strong winds and rainy weather. The predictions last night were gusts up to 60 mph and 1-2" of rain. It wasn't quite that bad though. I jogged down from the hotel to the registration and contemplated running the 5k rather than the 10m because it didn't sound like fun battling the wind for 10 miles. But I figured I had nothing to lose and could at least get a good effort in, so I talked myself into the longer one. The course was very scenic; out and back from Fisherman's Wharf past At&T stadium where the Giants play. It was flat almost the whole way too. Here's the rundown:

1: 5:47 Felt very easy, in a pack of 4 runners. Glad I went out with the group even though it felt slow

2: 5:55 Settling in. Still a pack of 4 and running pretty comfortable. Winds not bad at this point.

3: 6:10 I led for a while because I felt like a leech drafting off the other guys. The wind would just stop you in your tracks in some places.

4: 6:15 Past the stadium and out onto an industrial area with a few turns. Kind of lost some intensity here because the weather was so crappy. I just decided to kind of stay in a relatively comfortable zone and try to make some moves on the way back.

5: 6:09 Some small uphill sections and the worst windy stretch. Turnaround point and I'm about 10-12 seconds behind first running with another guy.

6: 5:37 Pretty fast mile. Still in 3rd place. Rainy hard for a few minutes in here.

7: 5:39 Back past the stadium and onto the wharf again. Moved into 2nd and gaining a little on the leader.

8: 5:27 Wind at our backs and rolling pretty steady here. Closing in on the leader.

9: 5:34 Passed the leader with a little under 2 miles to go. Feeling pretty good through here. Wondering whether to keep it steady or try to make a big break. Decide to keep it steady and save some for the last mile.

10: 5:35 (58:14) Hit the headwind again on the last mile and it started to hurt a bit here, but I had enough to hold on for the win. Garmin measured the race at 10.06 and 58:32 for an average pace of 5:49. Last 5 in 27:55 on the Garmin. I probably didn't run the greatest tangents so the course was probably accurate.

Cooldown with the 2nd and 3rd place guys, who are really cool guys and both training for marathons.

Overall summary of race: A win is a win, and for the conditions, I'll take it. My training has been weak the last month or so and I really need to start cranking it up.

PM: 2+ hour hike at Muir Woods/Dipsea Trail. This was a lot of fun!

Ann Morrison Park - 54:41

I ran from South down to Mat's house and we took the greenbelt to Ann Morrison Park and ran on the grass around the perimeter of the park. I had just had my calves and achilles worked on by the PT and they felt much better as the run went on. Pretty nice afternoon outside.

Wore my new New Balance trainers. Beefy but good.

Greenbelt - 48:53

Had a presentation to some parents at work tonight, so I didn't start my run until about 7:30 p.m. Ran from South to Mat's house and we hit the greenbelt for a steady run. Legs didn't feel too bad, and even though I was tired, the run went by quick.

Weights, core and stretching: 15 minutes

Canal banks + Borah track - 46:12

Started out easy tonight, as I was feeling like crap. My achilles was sore and I was severely sleep deprived. At the track I did 10 x 100 strides and then did 4 x 25 sec hills on Aurora. Last mile easy jog with Leo. Felt much better at the end of the run than when I started.

3 Bears + Curlew Ridge + Rocky Canyon - 1:45

Great afternoon run today. Wore shorts and almost took my shirt off but decided that was a little premature. Ran from the military reserve and took a five mile route to Rocky Canyon road. I ran two more miles until the snow got deep and then returned the same way. Achilles a bit sore, but felt good other than that. Averaged about 7:30 pace, which I felt great about considering the hills and amount of singletrack.

BK Fields + neighborhoods - 28:37

Slow, short and easy run tonight. Lack of motivation and also a bad week of sleep. First 17 minutes with Leo then the rest solo. Will do some big mileage tomorrow after a good night of sleep (hopefully)

Weights, core and stretching - 15 min

Federal Way canals to IvyWild Park - 2:00

I'll be honest, I wasn't looking forward to running long today. I didn't really know where I was headed when I first started. It ended up being a pretty good run and the weather held up ok, except for strong winds. I ended up doing 43 minutes to IvyWild, 34 around the path in the park, and 43 back home. The last 3 miles I did 4 x half mile pickups at 6:00/mile pace.

70 miles for the week; highest since 1997 when I was running for ISU. Need 7 more like this leading up to Robie Creek to be competitive.

Cassia Park - 43:45

Took an easy but steady recovery run today. Legs actually felt pretty good for doing 17 miles yesterday. Sunny and windy. I did the last mile with Leo around the neighborhoods. Will shoot for some hills tomorrow.

Run to gym + treadmill - 49:55

Steady down to the gym, then did a little treadmill workout. Did 3.5 miles at a 3% grade and 2 x half mile at 3:00 with a little jogging between. My sleep pattern has really been crappy lately, but my legs felt pretty good today.

Weights, core and stretching - 20 minutes

1.5 mile wo, 8 x 2 min pickups, 1 mile wd

In a bit of a running lull right now. Ran at 9:15 p.m. but made it work, I guess. Warmed up with Leo, then did 8 x 2 on/2off. The on segments were at 5:43/mile pace and the off segments were at 7:20 pace. This was a lot tougher than it should have been. My form just feels a bit off right now. I will plan to start adding some short doubles and get my mileage up a bit this week.

Cassia Park+ - 1:00

Took the canals to Cassia Park and did a few laps there. On the way back home, I did 8 x Borah hills with a jog back down. Steady pace the whole way (just under 7:00/mile). Felt ok

A.M. Neighborhoods - 20:01

An early morning shuffle around the neighborhoods at 6:15 a.m. First mile was a waste but got moving a little better after that

P.M. 1.5 mile wo, 4 mile fartlek, 1.5 mile wd

Felt horrible this evening. Was planning a 5 mile tempo run but ran out of time and also just couldn't get me legs moving. Ended up doing a fartlek workout at BK track with 5-4-3-2-1-1-1 minutes with about a minute jog between. Covered 4 miles in about 24 minutes.

Just not feeling it lately. Hopefully tomorrow's long run will go ok.

Rocky Canyon Rd + Military Reserve - 2:27

Long, long run today. The last few miles dragged on, although I was keeping a relatively good pace. Went 5.25 miles up Rocky Canyon (gained over 1000') and back down. Then finished with 9.5 miles on the trails in the reserve. This part was tough. It was windy out today but sunny. Most of the miles off paved roads. Good finish to a rough week.

58 miles for the week.

Hillcrest Loop - 53:58

Pretty good run this afternoon. The goal was to cover a few miles and help my legs feel better after yesterday's 20 miler. Pretty uneventful run. Felt much better after the first couple of miles.

Easy weights, core and stretching - 15 minutes

Run to Golds+  - 1:03

Took a round-about route to the gym. Ran on the canals to the Garden St. access and along Chinden and then up the Curtis hill to the gym. Started slow but finished at a decent pace. Felt really good by the run's end.

Weights, core, drills & stretching - 30 minutes

Rocky Canyon Rd - 1:38

Ran from the zoo up to the 5.25 mile mark of Robie Creek and then back down. Really started dragging the last 15 minutes but felt pretty good up until that point. Windy, but a beautiful warm sunny day out. Legs were a little sore from the lunges, step-ups, skips and other drills last night.

Borah track + neighborhoods - 57:15

Had a nice power nap after work which put me at 8pm for my run. That's ok, it was a great, warm evening and I ran in shorts. I took an easy jog down the canals to the track, where I did a few miles at about 7:05-10 pace. I actually started feeling pretty good the last 15 minutes in the neighborhoods and even did some pickups the last mile.

I've run 58 miles in the past five days, which is a lot for me. My legs are suffering a bit but I think that's more from the lunges and drills I did 2 days ago.

3 mile wo, 4 mile tempo run, 3 mile wd

Did this workout on the greenbelt. The weather had been rainy and windy earlier but it was great when I ran. I had a crappy night of sleep last night and tried to take a nap after work, but to no avail. But I needed a good effort since I hadn't had a good workout in a while.

Splits were 5:46, 5:44, 5:41, 5:34 for 22:46 and a 5:41 average. I felt pretty good the whole way and just tried to keep it steady. I did pick it up the last half mile in 2:45. On the warmdown, I did 6 x 100 hard strides to work on some turnover.

Camelsback/Hulls Gulch - 44:58

Easy run with Mat. We stayed in the lower part of the gulch and on the camelsback loops. Luckily we avoided the big storm that hit a bit later. After the first few miles, my legs felt great.

Weights, core, stretching & drills - 25 minutes

Greenbelt - 1:51

Ran 5 miles from my house onto the greenbelt (7:08/mile pace) and then did 4 x 1 mile pickups at 6:04/mile pace with 1 mile easy between. I finished with 3 easy miles (7:14/mile pace). The total run was just under 7 min pace.

I'm feeling pretty good about another 70 mile week with a 16 miler this morning. It felt easy until the last 3 miles. The pickup miles felt better than the slower ones, actually. I think that is a good sign that fitness is coming along.

Now I need to start working on some doubles and definitely adding some hills for Robie Creek.

Canal Banks +  - 30:41

Felt like crap most of the day and slept a good deal of it. Finally ran at 8 pm and felt better when I was done. I probably should have run earlier in the day and it would have helped out. Finished the last mile with Leo.

Canal banks + Bench neighborhoods - 1:08

Today was the first day of track practice. We had a pretty good turnout and things went ok. I did some drills, stretching, accelerations and then a mile run with the team. Then I ran an hour at a relaxed pace on the canals and around South. Felt ok, but need some sleep.

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

Didn't quite have my "A" game today, and the pouring rain didn't help. So I at least got a decent effort in. Ran from South to the greenbelt and did 2 miles at 6:03/mile pace. Then I ran 2 easy miles and did 6 x 1:00 hard up Americana Blvd with jogs back down, and did an easy 2 miles back to South. Total time for the workout was 1:08.

A.M. - Neighborhoods - 15:37

6 a.m. (shuffle) run with Leo. Great fun

P.M. - Track practice - 53:23

Ran from South to Borah to meet the kids that bused over, then did stretching, drills and about 20 minutes easy with the distance kids, and then back to South. Most of it in the rain. Just piecing together the miles as I have plans tonight.

A.M. - Neighborhoods - 16:45

Really easy with Leo at 6 a.m.

P.M. - Table Rock - 1:32

Great run this afternoon. Really strong pace throughout. Started at the Parkcenter bridge and took Castle Rock trail and went up the backside of Table Rock. Awesome views today with snow on the peaks and the clouds low in the valley. Came down Table Rock Rd and onto Shaw Mtn. Finished up on the greenbelt and did a half mile in 2:51.

Bonneville Point - 1:08

Another great trail run tonight. Stopped here on the way back from Twin Falls. Really strong on the hills. Finished right at sunset and had awesome views throughout the whole run.

3 mile wo, 3.5 mile tempo run, 1 mile wd

Pretty good tempo run at 9 a.m. Stiff at first, but worked into it. Mile splits of 5:56, 5:41, 5:38 and 2:49 (half mile) for a 5:44/mile average. Felt pretty decent; recovered quick.

P.M. - Shakeout jog - 11+

Legs stiff from drive. Jogged a bit in Hood River

A.M. - 20 minutes weights + 10 min bike in gym at hotel in Vancouver, WA. Achilles sore so I'll wait for PM run

P.M. - Lake Quinault Trails - 1:34

Ran from the lodge. Went through the rainforest and then on some loop trails. Hilly, windy and beautiful. Did 62 minutes with Emily then hammered on my own for 32 minutes. Great scenery.

A.M. - Rainforest trail - 21:22

Solo at 9 a.m. Felt pretty good

P.M. - East Fork Quinault River - 1:06

Mostly with Emily, but finished a mile extra solo in 5:42, plus a few pickups along the way. This gravel road was closed for the season but in great shape. We saw no one else and had spectacular views of bald eagles, a blue river, waterfalls and huge trees. It looked like scenery from Alaska. All that was missing was grizzlies fishing for salmon in the river.

A.M. - Beach from Kalaloch Lodge - 21:35

Windy and chilly, but a nice morning run. Kept my feet dry.

P.M. - Lake Crescent Trail - 1:36

Ran on the Spruce Rail Trail along Lake Crescent with Emily. We were going pretty slow and just enjoying the scenery. One of the best runs of my life. Phenomenal trail. Did a mile at the end in 5:36 on a gravel road.

Port Angeles Waterfront - 46:05

Wanted to get in a good effort, but it was 9 a.m. and of course my achilles was stiff and sore. So I did a progression run along a path from the hotel that went around the bay. 7:47, 7:15, 6:46, 6:29, 6:03, 5:51, 5:36. Really didn't feel too fazed by the effort, which is a good sign. Sea level is nice (actually the Garmin measured some of the run below sea level)

A.M. - Sammamish trail - 27:12

From Linda and Dave's house. Didn't feel that great today but a nice run

P.M. - From the hotel in B.C. - 50:58

Ran from the hotel in Richmond, B.C. Had a pretty easy run and did 6 x 20 second pickups at about 5:15 mile pace in preparation for Saturday. Felt pretty good.

Vancouver Park - 1:05

Ran on the race course and on some trails. Most of it pretty easy. Finished the last mile with Emily. Legs feel a bit sore. Usually I would taper a bit before a race but it's a 5k, and I need to keep my miles high while I can.

Vancouver Spring Classic 5k - 16:45 - 13th place

I wrapped up my spring break trip with a 5k race this morning in Stanley Park in Vancouver, B.C. When I saw we would be in Vancouver, I checked to see if there were any races this weekend, and found this one. I knew by looking at past results it was deep and fast up front so I thought it might be fun. This park is huge and really a beautiful place to run.

The day was chilly and a bit breezy, but nicer than the day before. I jogged the course as a warmup, did a few strides and lined up. This was the worst part of the race. There were 300+ runners on a bike path a few feet wide. I got off to a slow start, ran through some deep puddles, nearly rammed straight into a minivan parked on the path, and stressed quite a bit as the runners up front were way ahead of me. I weaved through some runners up a couple of hills, and hit the 1k in 3:22. Way too slow. I tried to pick it up and went through the mile marker in 5:21. I believe this is my fastest mile since a 4:09 1500m I ran on the track about 2 years ago.

I did try to battle a little bit and passed a few more runners in the last 2 miles. My last kilo was my fastest, which was good, but I didn't feel like I competed well. For the first time in my life I also had the feeling that I was running pretty hard, but not moving that fast. I really didn't hurt much, but the speed wasn't there. Within 2 minutes of finishing, I was almost fully recovered. I feel strong, but not fast, but that's probably what I should expect given my training.

Positives: Decent time off a big mileage week (for me); almost a minute faster than the last 5k I ran.

Negatives: Unaggressive at start; didn't make it hurt like I should have.

Treadmill - 40:05

Took an easy day today after driving 11 hours yesterday and racing 5k. Did an easy run on the treadmill at a 3% grade. Legs actually felt great, but I just thought I should take an easy day.

Weights, core & stretching: 20 minutes

A.M. - Neighborhoods - 16:05

Slow run at 6 am. Legs hurting a bit. Feeling kind of exhausted.

P.M. - Track practice - 15:37

To the depot and back with the team. Was going to run 10 miles solo on hills after practice, but I came home and ate some food instead. I realized I needed an easy day and decided to bag the rest of my planned workout. It's been 3 1/2 weeks since a day off so I'll stick with my 4 miles on 2 runs today!

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.

Canal banks + Cassia Park - 45:10

First run in 3 days. Came down with a virus and had pretty bad aches, fever, and stomach issues. Made it through the run without having to make any pit stops, but was abnormally sweaty and achy throughout it. Hopefully I'll be back to normal tomorrow. I have a marathon in a month and my training the last month has sucked!

Canal banks + Borah track - 45+

Not much time to run today. Tried to do something of moderate quality, without overdoing it. I ran 5 of the 7 miles at a 6:13/mile average, a bit under my marathon goal pace. I felt a bit better than yesterday so that's encouraging. Nice warm, sunny day again today.

A.M. - Canal banks - 20+

Easy jog with Leo. He did pretty well - chased a few ducks and swam quite a bit - and I felt OK for 6 a.m., so I'm calling it a success

P.M. - Greenbelt - 46:05

Started at BSU and went upstream onto the dirt section. Went out 25 minutes then came back at a tempo pace for about 20 minutes (3.4 miles @ 5:56/mile pace). Finished with a 1.5 mile walk with Emily.

Greenbelt - 46:25

Had the city track meet today, which finished up just before 9 p.m. Left the stadium and got my run in. Stopped in Municipal Park for 6 x 20 second strides on the grass, then did 6 more strides on Warm Springs Golf Course. Wore my new Nike Triax Structure. Shin still in a lot of pain but it's not bad enough to stop running.

Canal banks + treadmill - 1:10

Took an easy jog with Leo on the canals for 18 minutes, then did 52 monotonous minutes on the treadmill at home. Recovery day. Sleep pattern has been horrible this week.

Greenbelt - 1:49

Had a nice run tonight on a great evening. Did 6 miles relaxed at 7:15/mile pace, then did 8 miles right around goal marathon pace (6:17/mile) before doing an easy 2 mile cooldown. Ran out on the stretch past Warm Springs Golf Course all the way up toward Lucky Peak. Felt pretty strong and I'm happy with the workout.

Run to Gold's and back + treadmill - 1:10

Easy recovery run at 9 pm. Shin sore while I was on the treadmill so I just slowed it down to a managable pace and that seemed to take care of it.

Weights, core and stretching - 20 min

2.5 mile wo, 10 x 400, 1.5 mile wd

Jogged an easy warmup with Leo, then did a workout on the track. I want to work on some easy intervals at 5k pace for the next few weeks before the marathon. I did all the 400s at 1:18/1:19 and took a 400 jog in about 2 minutes. It was pretty windy, but a nice workout to turn the legs over. Shin real sore on warmdown.

P.M. - Was going to do a 30 minute run, but hiked in Twin Falls instead.

A.M. - TFHS track - 22:35

Ran with the dogs over at the track while everybody else walked. My shin was hurting pretty bad again and I wasn't feeling great, so I just cut it short.

P.M. - Canal Banks - 21:15

Back in Boise. A quick run before dinner at a solid pace. Feeling a bit better than this morning.  

Greenbelt + Military Reserve - 2:30

Thankful that I got this one done. I felt horrible the first 4 miles, but when I hit the trails in the reserve, I just tried to relax and have a nice run. I ended up doing 10 miles in the reserve, before finishing up on the greenbelt at a little over 7:00/mile pace. Windy, but a great sunny day out and lots of flowers were blooming in the hills.

Canal banks - 21:53

A short one today (shorter than planned) and I felt horrible. Tomorrow will be a better day.

Canal banks + treadmill - 54:41

Another rough one today. First part with Leo, then finished on the treadmill. Need to get some sleep tonight. Shin real sore throughout the whole run; hopefully will feel better tomorrow as I'd like to do something a little quicker paced.

2 mile wo, 24 minute fartlek, 2 mile wd

Very tired and it was hot out, but I wanted to get a decent workout in. Wore my trainers so I wouldn't hurt my shin too bad. I actuallly felt ok during the run today. Did the fartlek at the BK track.

3 x 2:00 @ 5:27 pace; 2:00 recoveries @ 6:50 pace

2 x 1:30 @ 5:13 pace; 1:30 recoveries @ 7:16 pace

2 x 1:00 @ 5:06 pace; 1:30 recoveries @7:22 pace

2 x :30 @ 5:03 pace; :30 recoveries @ 7:35 pace

I like this workout because it's short and if you keep the fast segments somewhat easy like this and the jogs at a reasonable pace, it's a good aerobic workout as well.

Canal banks - NT

Easy run on the canals. Shin pretty sore, but I'm sure I won't feel it tomorrow.

Great Potato Half Marathon - 1st place - 1:17:25

I feel like I accomplished today's objective: a good, even effort without thrashing my legs too much or really going to the well. It was a warm morning, but not too bad as the race started at 8 a.m. It was worse for the marathoners. Led the last 11 miles of the race. Went off course twice following the lead biker, which was really rough mentally. The course does live up to its reputation of being poorly marked and unorganized, but that's ok. For a local YMCA race, you really can't complain. Part of the problem was the course had to be detoured a couple of times due to greenbelt construction, which put it about .2 long, according to 2 Garmin readings (mine had it at 13.22). All things considered, I think the time was solid for the effort and conditions.

Splits: 5:57, 5:53, 5:53, 5:47, 5:50, 5:45, 5:46, 5:50, 5:50, 5:55, 5:52, 5:54, 5:59, 1:13

Ann Morrison Park + Greenbelt - 40:02

Legs a bit sore, but way better than the day after any of the previous half marathons/marathons I've done. Ran at about 10 a.m. It was warm already, but I was able to follow it with a nice dip in the pool.

Canal Banks - 38:40

Felt a little off today. Not much sleep last night and my shin was really sore again. I'm planning to have a pretty solid rest of the week and then just do a one week taper. With the days I've taken off here and there and the overall lower mileage, I don't think I need to taper more than that.

Biked to work and back - 30 minutes round trip

No run. Shin pretty sore and I caught up on some sleep with a big nap.

Biked to work and back

Canal banks - 35+

Not good news. I warmed up to do a workout, but the shin was just too sore. I limped along for 4.5 miles at just under 8 min pace and it wouldn't get any better. I have had a stress fracture once and it felt a little bit like this. Hopefully it's just tissue damage near the bone. The pain shoots up and down my leg and weakens it to the point where it feels like it might buckle. Most days aren't this bad.

I think my new game plan for the marathon on the 31st is to try to x-train and maybe jog a few minutes a day and see if that will get me to the line.

Biked to work and back - 30 minutes total

Elyptical - 10 minutes

Treadmill - 15 minutes slow. No improvement. Probably shouldn't have done anything at all. I think the next few days I'll take completely off (hate to do it so close to a race but no alternative).

Biked about 17 miles in 1:05

Walked easy with Leo for about 30 minutes

Walked for about 2 hours near Sagehen Reservoir. The ground was nice and soft and the trails were flat, and we were walking very slowly so my shin didn't hurt too bad.

Treadmill - 21+

Tried to jog a little today. Moderate amount of pain, but I was able to do 2 miles at about a 10 min/mile pace. 26 at 6:20 pace shouldn't be much harder....right?

Canal banks - 20:42

Ran a little over 2.5 miles. Walked 20 minutes a little later. I would put the odds of me starting the marathon at about 60% to run and 40%  to not run.

Canal Banks - 20:13

About the same as yesterday. No worse, which is a good sign. We'll see how things look tomorrow, but as of now, it's likely I'll run.

Canal Banks - 22:25

Quick run after work before flying out to Portland. Leg is doing a little better. Still a little pain in the shin, but it is better than yesterday. Was able to get under 8:00/mile pace for the first time in a week and a half.

Run in Newport - 22:08

Ran from the Shilo Inn over the Yaquina Bay Bridge and back. Shin feeling a lot better, so tomorrow will be a go. New goal is to PR (sub 2:50).

Newport Marathon - 2:43:12 - 4th place

Wow, this one was a surprise. My body managed to hold up and I pulled out a 7 minute PR from my first marathon, New York City. My primary goal was a sub 2:50, and I would have been really happy with running 6:20 pace (about 2:46). Given some of the injuries I've had spring I feel great about this. I guess my unintentional taper (16 miles last week and 13 this week) didn't hurt me too bad.

The race conditions were ideal. Calm, cool and no rain. The course is flat almost the whole way, and after the first 4 miles, there's no sharp turns or anything to deal with. Most of the run is along the bay and it's really quiet and scenic. A way different experience than New York City for me.

Sean Sundwall put on a clinic. Running 2:22 is amazing in it's own right, but you don't see many runners go 2:22 running solo the entire way and winning by 19 minutes. That was a very impressive performance and I'm happy for Sean for breaking the course record and running so awesome. There was a lot of buzz at the race about his effort Saturday. Congrats to a talented runner and a good guy.

My race was pretty consistent. Except for mile 3, in the first 19 miles, my splits never varied by more than 9 seconds! I kept them all between 6:08 and 6:17. I was able to stay in a groove, keep hydrated and fueled and not worry too much about the other runners in the race. At about mile 20, some calf cramping started and my quads starting feeling hammered, but I stuck with it. My calves never fully blew up, which has happened too many times in the past year. I tried some different things that I think worked out. I had great course support from the other runners and from my wife driving the last 10 miles and stopping every few minutes to encourage me. I ended up moving into 4th place the last half mile and holding off a couple of runners that were not too far behind. Second through 7th place were all within about 3 minutes, so it was relatively deep up front for such a small race (750 registered).

My legs are absolutely destroyed today, but amazingly my shin isn't sore. Everything else is. I plan to recover and then try to build a little bit of a base this summer. I know my mileage is still very low by marathon standards. Maybe I'll try another one this fall.

Half marathon splits were 1:20+/1:22+. I'll probably put my mile by mile splits down at some point for my own reference.

No run today. Legs are still thrashed from Saturday

15 minute workout in the pool

25 minutes of weights and core

30 minute walk with Leo

Biked 30 minutes steady at the gym

Core and stretching 10 minutes

Probably will do an easy run tomorrow

Treadmill + canals - 30:05

Shuffled along for a little run today. I'd be lying to say I felt good, but at least I got out. Legs are sore everywhere. Last 10 minutes with Leo.

Treadmill - 24:06

Kept it really easy today again. Legs hurting in fewer places, but I could still find 4 or 5 if I was inclined to complain...but really, any run is better than nothing.

Neighborhoods + canals - 24:05

Another easy 3 miles. After tomorrow, I think I'll be feeling up get somewhat back into the swing of things. Nice cool afternoon out.

Weights & stretching - 15 minutes

3 hour hike - Bonneville Point Loop - with Emily and Leo

A.M. - Canal banks + Borah track - 37:03

Ran pretty easy (7:20's - 7:30's) this morning. Legs coming around a little bit, but still not feeling smooth.

P.M. - BK soccer field - 32:22

Ran on the canals to BK, where I did some laps on the grass around the soccer field. Did about 8-10 minutes of it barefoot. It was a little hard in places, but probably good for my feet and ankles.

Canal Banks + run to track - 34:40

Needed to get outside and blow off some steam. Had a pretty good run. Finished with a mile with Leo, then a 15 minute walk with Emily.

 Weights, core and stretching: 20 minutes

Neighborhoods - 25+

Ran part of it solo, part of it with Leo. All at a slow pace. Achilles was really sore and I could feel my shin, too. It's been a long week so I'm not all that concerned with running, but it isn't fun to run in pain.

Weights, core and stretching: 15 minutes

Ann Morrison Park - 33+

Ran from the Train Depot at a decent pace. Hot out today. When I got back home, I did a half mile with Leo to the canals to wash him.

Run from Gernika to Bermeo - 1:06

Hilly - but very scenic - run from the apartment to Bermeo, a fishing town along the coast. Afterward he hit the beaches in Bakio. The run was tough, and it was also a little bit warm. My hips seemed to give me the most trouble.

Gernika River Path - 30+

Just ran at a shuffle today. My right hip and left achilles were really sore. Pace was about 8:30 - 9:00 I would guess. The travel last week and funky sleeping arrangements I think are to blame.

Beach in San Sebastian - 15+

I had the great idea of running barefoot back and forth along the beach, enjoying the world class scenery, but the great idea was halted when I formed a giant blister on my big toe. Went swimming in the ocean instead, and then walked around for a couple of hours later in the day.

Gernika River Path - 50:35

Along the path, and detoured up to a church about a mile away (up some steep hills). Did part of it solo and part with Emily. Very sweaty as today is the hottest it's been, and I ran at 1 p.m. Picked up the pace the last mile or two and that hurt a little.

Gernika River Path - 30:04

Slow run along the path at 10 a.m. Hot and humid already. Achilles really sore but the scenery was good so I just went with the flow.

Gernika River Path - 40:52

Had a nice evening run. Finished on the path and met Emily for a couple of mile walk with her dad and uncle. Great scenery. Got under 7 min/mile for a bit, which felt hard. I'm out of shape!

Gernika roads and river path - 30:06

Ran at 9 p.m. Started really slow as I was quite sore all over (lots of walking and also the bed I've been sleeping in?). Got some hills in and finished on the river path again.

A.M. - Canals + Borah track - 21:20

Early morning shakeout run. First run in 3 days. Feeling stiff and sore, but nice to get out and run.

20 minutes circuits/weights

P.M. - Polecat Gulch trail - 52:04

Ran on a new Ridge to Rivers trail with Mat. It's a pretty sweet trail with a lot of ups and downs and nice views. It is a bit of a drive to get to, but other than that, it is a fun one. Achilles really sore and I was really dehydrated (103 today).