It's just that simple

Neighborhoods - 31:45

Most of it pushing Nica in the stroller, so I was pretty happy to average under 8:00/mile. That usually never happens when I'm pushing the stroller. Finished the last mile with 4 x 20 second slow pickups.

Borah track - 37:37

Pretty good run. Down to the track and did 3 miles, then home. Splits of 7:46, 7:36, 7:27, 7:15 and 7:31 (Average of 7:31/mile). Did 2 x 200m strides during mile 4 (43, 41) and they felt alright.

Canal banks - 31:12

Snowy and icy on the canal banks, but better than the exhaust and traffic of the roads. Did 4 x 20 second pickups midway through the run behind Albertsons. Overall pace of 7:36/mile.

Run to work and back - 43:37

Overall pace of about 7:35-7:40/mile. Put in a couple hours of work to get some schedules done.

Borah track - 54:40

Took 3 days off after some sleepness nights, family sickness, etc. Just couldn't get the time in to run. Tonight I ran in the snow of the track and had a great run. Did 4 x 100 pickups that felt really smooth. Overall pace of about 7:50/mile.

A.M. - Run to work - 22:38

Felt ok, started pretty slow and took it carefully on the ice through the neighborhoods

P.M. - Canal banks + run home - 43:44

25 minutes of mucking my way through snow, ice and mud on the canals south of school, then ran home at a steady pace. Average of 7:55/mile.

St. Al's Loop - 40:29

Morning run. Was shooting for 9 but had to cut it short due to lack of time. Overall pace of 7:47/mile. Nice to be out and about early-ish with no one out on the roads. Took Phillippi to Emerald to Liberty.

Treadmill - 21:35

Just a quick run at 8:30 a.m. before a big day. Felt pretty good. A couple of pickups in the last 5 minutes.

St. Al's loop - 40:19

Decent run in the dark. Started out with a slow mile, then ran the last 4 miles at sub 7:15 pace including some pickups in the last mile. Overall pace of 7:24/mile. Route was Allumbaugh, Emerland, Curtis. Felt pretty good.

Canal banks + BK track - 35:01

A bit muddy on the canal banks so I ran for a bit at the track, and did 4 x 200m strides in about 41 seconds. Felt decent. Overall pace of 7:58/mile.

Run to St. Al's+ - 35:10

Ran at 9 p.m. to go pick up Emily's car at St. Al's. Felt pretty good. Average pace of 7:48/mile.

A.M. - Treadmill - 25;02

Slow, slow jog

P.M. - Canal banks - 25:19

Short run on a really busy day. Average pace of 7:40/mile. Really foggy/smoggy inversion right now makes running suck in the Boise valley.

Scriver Creek - 52:34

Nice brisk run up Scriver Creek this morning. The snow wasn't that deep, but the snowmobile tracks were narrow and icy and the middle was deeper and softer, which made footing a bit tricky. Still had a good, quiet run and just took it as slow as needed. 

A.M. - Run to work - 27:57

Added a couple of laps at West Jr High's cinder track. Nice morning run. Average pace of 7:45/mile.

P.M. - Run home - 20:36

Did 4 x 20 second pickups in the last 10 minutes to turn my legs over. Average pace of 7:35/mile.

Treadmill - 39:15

Felt pretty good this evening. Felt a little bit of spring in my step even. Did 5 x 40 sec. pickups during the last half of the run.

Treadmill - 35:15

Felt absolutely horrible this afternoon. No energy at all. Would have gone outside but the inversion is pretty horrible right now and it's tough to get amped up to run in that nastiness.

Elliptical + treadmill - 40:05

15 minutes on the elliptical and 25 minutes on the treadmill at Axiom. Did a couple of half mile pickups at a bit faster (but still slow) pace. Tired! It's been a long week.

Canal Banks - 32:48

Tough run today. Long, exhausting week and I didn't have any energy. Canals are pretty frozen and rutted right now. Will the inversion and cold weather ever end?

Greenbelt - 1:04

Longer run on a chilly morning. From the DoubleTree downstream to Glenwood and back. Didn't feel great, but got through it. Overall pace around 7:45/ - 7:50/ mile.

South Cole Canal Banks - 44:03

Ran from work and did a loop on the canals and through the neighborhoods. Cut through the field and did a couple of fast pickups on West's cinder track. Good run today.

A.M. - Run to work - 20:00

P.M. - Run home+ - 28:12

A bit tired today, so ran pretty slowly.

Treadmill - 30:00

Evening run on the treadmill, with 3 x 40 second pickups near the end.

Weights - 20 minutes

Lunchtime weights at work! First time in a month and a half. Did upper and lower body, but pretty low weights just to ease into it.

Neighborhoods + Borah track - 40:21

Returned a library book at the Hillcrest Branch, then ended up at the track and did about a mile. Snow and rain today finally cleared the inversion, and it was nice to have some fresh air. Just ran really slow and relaxed this evening.

Treadmill - 30:00

Super slow jog this evening.

Weights - 20 minutes at work.

A.M. - Run to work - 19:32

Steady pace. Sub 8:00 miles are fast for me at 7 am

P.M. - Run home - 34:57

Did a few miles at the West track then home. Sunny but windy. Ave pace of about 7:35/mile

Borah track - 30:54

Had 30 minutes to run, so I ran to the track and did some accelerations, then a 1000m at about 5k pace (approx 19 min). Sometime soon - maybe tomorrow -I'm going to do a hard 5k effort to see where my basic fitness is so I can apply some paces and set up a little bit of a plan. Really nice day out today and I felt pretty good on the run.

2 mile warmup, 5k hard at the track, 1.5 mile wd

Wanted to get in a quality effort to see where my fitness is. Was hoping for a 19:00, but had no idea. Ended up with a 18:51 (6:04, 6:02, 6:02 and 42). Felt good about it because I haven't put in a real decent workout in a long time. Also, it was cold and windy so that hampered things a bit too. This gives me an idea of where to start workouts for the next few months.

 After the workout, I went to Axiom gym, where I did the following:

20 minutes circuit weights, 15 minutes treadmill and 20 minutes elliptical.

Treadmill - 29:46

Really slow jog on the treadmill at home at 9 p.m. Super tired today and just took a recovery day.

A.M. - Run to work - 20:40

P.M. - Canal banks + run home - 35:03

Mudded my way along the canals behind school for a few miles, then ran home. Mostly easy. Windy and cold out.

Canal banks - 38:45

Nice late afternoon/early evening run on the canals in a decent snow storm. Canals were frozen, rutted and snowy, which made for slow going, but it was better than the roads and traffic. Just good to get out in the fresh air.

Treadmill - 50:15

Slow jog at home. Did 3 x 40 second pickups during the run. Too brutal to go out this evening.

Weights - 20 minutes at lunch.

Worked hard on the weights - no rests between anything

DB Incline Press 3 x 12

Overhead tricep press (one -legged) 2 x 12

Bench press 12 x 45, 12 x 85, 1 x 145, 1 x 155, 4 x 135, 4 x 135

Squats 3 x 12 (light)

Leg press 3 x 12

Calf press 3 x 12

2 mile warmup; 1 x mile, 1 x 640m, 3 x 320m; 1.5 mile warmdown

Snow day today - no school. Got in a run on the greenbelt in the snow with the goal of trying out some paces that I'll be working off for the next couple of months. I'm going to try to use Daniels tables and schedules based on my 18:51 5k solo effort last weekend. This will make the workouts a little easier as I'm sure my actual race fitness is better than 18:51, but this way I hopefully won't bite off more than I can chew. Today, the mile was 6:21 (Threshold - 6:25 on the tables), 640m was in 2:21 (Interval - 5:52 pace on the tables) and the 320s averaged 1:06 (5:36 pace on the tables). So I was a little quick today, but it was about half the length of what I'll be doing starting next week. Took about 1:30 recovery jogs between everything.

Canal Banks - 25:00

Pretty easy run in the snow. Actually it was raining, so the couple inches of snow will be a mess here in the next day or two.

1 mile warmup; 3 x 1 mile tempo; 1 mile warmdown

Only had 35 minutes between work and dinner plans, so I hurried to the Borah track to do the first tempo workout on the schedule. Tables called for 6:25 pace for the miles, which was really easy. When I do 5 x 1 mile in a few weeks that will be a better challenge, but today I did 6:22, 6:21 and 6:19 with 200 meter jogs in 1:00.

Neighborhoods + Englefield Greens - 58:53

Got out a bit later at 8:30 p.m. but it was still fairly warm so that was good. Easy run in the neighborhoods and several laps around Englefield Greens retirement community. Listened to the White Album in tribute to the Beatles 50th Anniversary.

15 - 20 minutes of hard weights at lunchtime at work.

Run to airport - 43:38

Went to pick up Mom and Dad's car at the airport this evening. Started out slow and felt like absolute crap, but felt better and better as the run went on. Average pace of about 7:45/mile.

2 mile warmup; 800, 2 x 600, 3 x 400, 2 x 200; 1 mile wd

First interval session in probably 2 years. The times were nothing to brag about, but I was about right on for what I was shooting for from Daniels' chart.

800: 3:13 (200 jog), 600s: 2:13 (400 jog), 400s: 1:23 (400 jog) 200s: not timed, but quicker

Combined two workouts into one, but it was a good enough start for today.

Greenbelt - 54:11

Ran in the rain from the Doubletree downstream and back (made it to the horse stables). Really enjoyable run. Thought I was running super slow but each mile I timed on the greenbelt was between 7:15 and 7:25, so that was a surprise.

Boise Bench loop - 1:00

Morning run. Great weather - just a little breezy and drizzly but comfortable in shorts. Went through Cassia Park, to Crescent Rim and back on Latah then Alpine. Good run with an average pace of about 7:33/mile.

Later 1 mile at the Undie Run.

Treadmill - 21:56

One of my shortest, slowest jogs ever. But at 9:30 p.m. I didn't want to get too crazy. Just trying to get a little run in...

Neighborhoods - 1:00

Felt horrible, but I convinced myself to run a short errand (less than a mile). Then forced myself to keep jogging, and just did random loops all around the neighborhoods (Intimidator Loop, Englefield Greens, etc). Finished with 4 x strides down my street. Massive moral victory at 8:45 p.m. when I've gotten little sleep and the whole family's been sick.

2 mile wo; 3 mile fartlek; 2 mile wd

Easy warmup on the canals, then did 3 sets of 2:00, 1:00, :30 with recovery jogs equal to the next interval (Daniels I-1). Chilly and windy, so the times were not super, but it was a solid effort, and that's perfect for today. Averages were 2:00 = 5:57/mile; 1:00 = 5:41/mile; :30 = 5:34/mile.

Warmdown easy with a few quick accelerations with good form.

Treadmill - 29:25

Beautiful day outside but did not make it out. Hit the treadmill super late and just got in a short run with a few pickups.

Greenbelt - 1:15

Nice morning run - really warmed up throughout the 10 miles. Longest run in quite a while, and I handled it pretty well. Doubletree downstream to the end of the paved path and back. 6 x 20 sec pickups in last 2 miles.

1.5 mile warmup, 4 x1 mile tempo, 1 mile warmdown

Gorgeous late afternoon. Warmup on the canals to the Bishop Kelly track. Tempo intervals of 6:21, 21, 19, 20 with 200m jogs in about 1:05. Comfortable effort and felt pretty easy and smooth. Will add another mile next time.

Neighborhoods + canal banks - 39:00

Pushed Nica in the stroller to Borah Park and back, then 25 minutes solo on the canals. Quads are beat

Weights - 15 - 20 minutes at lunch

A.M. - Run to work - 19:29

Felt pretty good, and getting light in the mornings now

P.M. - Run home - 22:00

Steady pace (7:20s). Later a short jog and some walking with the girls in the double stroller.

Buck trail - 45+

Steady run with Travis from the dog park at the Military Reserve. Super beautiful afternoon, and it was awesome to be out on those trails. Need to get over there more often.

1.5 mile warmup; 6 x 400, 4 x 200; 0.5 mile warmdown

At Axiom Gym. Warmup and warmdown on elliptical, faster running on treadmill. 400s at 5:30/mile pace and 200s at 5:24/mile pace. Pretty easy effort, just hard running fast on treadmills (for me at least). 

Neighborhoods - 20:08

Started out the day with a sore throat which got progressively worse to where I couldn't really swallow by the evening. So I just got out for a super easy jog at 9 pm and called it good. 

Weights - 15-20 minutes at lunch

Greenbelt - 1:15

Pretty nice morning to run - a little drizzly but not too cold. Did about 3.5 miles around the Doubletree, the headed upstream to the golf course and back. Did 4 x 4 min pickups (0.7 miles) during the middle of the run at about 5:55/mile pace with 3 min recoveries. A good solid run all the way around. Getting stronger. 

Neighborhoods - 25:00

Nice run in the rain at 7 pm. A couple of stride outs down the street at the end of the run. Felt really good. 

Treadmill - 48:05

Slow, easy run on the treadmill this evening. Raining pretty hard out so I wimped out and watched some House of Cards instead.

Treadmill - 44:15

Another day, another late night run. Pretty slow pace on the treadmill at 9:30 p.m. 

1.5 mile warmup; 10 x 320m; 1.5 mile warmdown

Ran from Park Center on the dirt greenbelt path toward Barber Park. Gorgeous evening. Good, solid efforts on the intervals - averaged about what I'd hoped for despite running on a somewhat muddy and wet trail with lots of twists and turns. Total time of running was 53 min+. Right calf a little bit jacked up and a really bad cramp later that night.

Weights - 15 - 20 minutes at lunch

Canal banks + neighborhoods - 54:51

Pretty slow pace this evening, mostly due to my right calf. Still sore and has been spasming the last 24 hours straight. Hopefully the easy run this evening will make it possible to complete some longer runs over the weekend.

Greenbelt - 57:31

Ran from the DoubleTree downstream and back. Calf was a little better. Another great afternoon/early evening run. On the way back, I did 5 x 2:00 pickups at a bit under 6:00/mile with about 3:00 recoveries. These felt pretty good. 

Later 0.5 miles.

Boise Bench loop - 1:03

Ran pretty easy this afternoon. Took the canals to Cassia Park, around South Jr. High and back home on Kootenai and through Cassia and the canals again. Legs felt a little dead, but it was a solid run.

Neighborhoods - N.T.

Pushed Nica in the stroller for an easy jaunt through the neighborhoods. Did not feel great.

2 mile wo; 8 x 200; 2 mile wd

Ran at the Bishop Kelly track. Nice afternoon, but pretty breezy. 200's were in 38 with a 200 jog. They felt pretty easy, which means my speed is coming along, albeit very slowly.

Neighborhoods + canal banks - 56+

Ran with Emily and pushed the girls in the stroller for 33 minutes (3.1 miles) then did 22 minutes steady (3.1 miles) on the canals at around 7:15/mile. Felt pretty good and legs were fresh.

West Bench Canal Banks - 52:05

Ran to the canal banks and did about 20 minutes there until Emily picked me up to go to G.V. Felt pretty decent. Nice warm afternoon.

2 mile warmup; 3 x mile, 3 x half mile; 2.5 mile warmdown

Ran from the cabin along the Middle Fork Rd. upstream and back. Did some tempo intervals but struggled quite a bit. This is more of a workout to be done on the greenbelt or track, as the hills kind of threw my pace and effort off. Regardless, I got through it and averaged about 6:20/mile on the tempo segments with recoveries under 2:00. Total running time for the 10 miles was 1:11 (7:12/mile average).

Run to work and back - 45:24

Worked on schedules for a couple hours. Warm (hot?) and beautiful afternoon. Pace was steady - 7:20s or faster.

Treadmill - 25:00

Easy run at 9:30 p.m. Very little sleep last night so something short and easy is better than nothing in this case.

2 mile warmup; 4 x 400, 4 x 200; 1 mile warmdown

Ran from work. Warmup on the canals then ran the workout at West's track. 400s in 1:22, 200s in 39 with equal recoveries. Pretty windy out and the cinder track is not a fast surface, so considering that, it went ok.

Boise Bench loop - 1:00

Steady pace on the canals, down Kootenai, around South, then back through Cassia Park and on the canals again. Felt decent. Nice evening.

Treadmill - 19:24

At 5:30 a.m. Got a few miles in, then the girls woke up and that was that. Planned another 40 minutes in the afternoon, but it didn't happen. That's my life right now...

3 mile warmup; 5k test effort; 2.5 mile warmdown

Test effort 5000m at the Borah track. Perfect evening - light breezes and a good temperature. 

Splits of 5:53, 5:56, 5:47 and 41 for a 18:19. On November 7th, I ran 19:55 (more of a tempo effort to be fair) and on February 2nd, I ran 18:51 (worse conditions) - so I am making improvement. I am a little disappointed as I was hoping for an 18:00 time today, but I wasn't really willing to push hard enough to do that. 

I'll try this again in another month and hopefully can cut another 20-30 seconds off.

1.5 mile warmup; 4 x 3:00, 1 x 2:00; 1 mile warmdown

Did a quick workout at the BK track. Really nice and warm weather with light breezes. Averaged about 5:47/mile for the entire workout and took about 2:30 recovery jogs. Didn't feel great, but I put in a decent effort.

Cottonwood Creek - 48:39

Stopped on the drive to Twin Springs to do this run. Ran a little over 2 miles up a forest service road, then about a mile on the singletrack. On the way back down, I did about a 20 minute tempo run (6:03 for the last mile) which was a blast. Great run.

A.M. - Hike at Sheep Creek with Jon and Joey - 2+ hours. The last 30-40 min was off trail along a ridge. Great morning and a stunning area to hike in.

P.M. - Canal banks + Englefield Greens - 30:48

Steady pace before leaving for Garden Valley. Average of 7:18/mile.

Treadmill - 32:00

Ran pretty easy at 10 p.m. Did some easy fartlek the last 10 minutes.

2.5 mile warmup; 4 x 5:00 tempo intervals; 2.5 mile warmdown

Ran to Cassia and back, and did the intervals on the path. Chilly morning, but perfect for long sleeves and shorts. Not sure the exact pace on the tempo segments but kept them comfortably hard (6:10-6:20 pace maybe - hard to tell on the twisty path). Recoveries were about 1:20.

Another decent (but not great) workout. Finishing them and staying consistent is the most important thing for me right now.

Rock Creek Park - 32:57

Typical spring run in Twin Falls (I.e. the weather was crappy). Pretty steady rain the whole way but still a pretty good run. Sick most of the day, so it's surprising I felt decent

Treadmill - 29:07

Slow pace. Still sick and I have a busy couple of weeks of work coming up.

Canal banks - 29:40

Good run on the canals. Did 3x12 second hill sprints and 3x35 second pickups. Feeling a little better than yesterday

1.5 mile warmup; 20 minute tempo; 1 mile warmdown

Had a 40 minute window to run, so I braved the pouring rain and did a tempo at the Borah track. Averaged 6:15/mile while dodging a team of track kids from a religious running group. Happy with the easy effort given the conditions. Making progress.

Canal banks - 47:43

Easy run this evening on the canals and around the neighborhood. Canals a bit muddy but runnable. The slow pace felt amazing.

Canal banks - 32+

Another easy run on the canals in the evening.

A.M. - Run to work - 20:49

Pretty good time for carrying a backpack with my shoes and all my clothes in it!

P.M. - Canals + run home - 34:52

Thought I was feeling better but had horrible coughing spells a couple of times during this run that made me gag and almost throw up. Bronchitis?

1.5 mile warmup; 4 x 7:00 tempo intervals, 4 x 200m; 1.5 mile warmdown

Ran on the greenbelt from the Orchard St. access. Great weather and lots of people out today. Did some tempo intervals at 6:17/mile average (just over 1.1 miles each) with about 1:45 jog recoveries, then 4 x 200 at 40. Felt pretty good and recovered fairly quickly.

Canal Banks - 30:10

Nice run at 9 a.m. on the canals. A little drizzly and a bit muddy but a pretty good run.

Core/stretching - 15 minutes pre run

A.M. - Run to work - 20:00

Nice and easy run - felt good.

P.M. - Run home - 24:49

Steady pace; ended up at Borah Park to meet the girls and walk home.

Core and stretching - 15 minutes

Neighborhoods - 21:14

It was almost 10 pm and the motivation was low, and my back was sore too. So I jogged really slowly through the neighborhoods and called it good.

Lunchtime - 20 minutes weights at work. Bench press, lat pulldowns, medicine ball twists/obliques, squats (body weight), leg extensions, calf presses. I think I hurt my back benching - haven't done over 145 lbs in probably a couple of years. Did 165 today then buried 170 (had a spotter for a second). No reason to strain my back for that pathetic amount!

Ann Morrison Park - 34+

Really nice run on a gorgeous afternoon. Ran from the Train Depot along Crescent Rim and down around the park. Lungs feeling horrible, and I've lost my voice completely. Breathing was OK as long as I didn't try to run fast.

A.M. - Treadmill - 36:34

Early morning run on the treadmill. Lungs and sinuses are in bad shape.

P.M. - 1.5 mile warmup; 20 minutes steady; 1 mile warmdown

On the canals and in the neighborhoods. Breathing was tough and I knew I wasn't up to something heroic, so I did 20 minutes at 6:28/mile average. Good enough for today.

Cassia Park - 1:00

Nice morning run at 9 a.m. Took the canals to Cassia and did a few laps. Back home on the canals and a bit in the neighborhoods. Felt OK. Lungs still jacked up and had another bad night of sleep last night. Being sick sucks. Average pace of 7:37/mile.

Treadmill + Canal banks - 1:18

Tried to get a long run out without being outside in the wind and dust too much. My sinuses and lungs are already irritated enough. Did 46 minutes on the treadmill and 32 minutes on the canals. Felt pretty strong. 28+ miles in the last 3 days - pretty good for me right now.

15 minutes core and stretching

Run to get my car - 39:11

Easy pace at 9 p.m. Ran to the doctor's office to pick up my car. 5 x 20 second pickups during mile 4.

15 minutes core and stretching

Greenbelt - 46:30

Ran from the train depot down Crescent Rim and onto the Greenbelt where I did a 20 minute tempo run at about 6:10/mile. Felt pretty strong this afternoon. A couple of pickups on the cool down.

Canal banks + Bishop Kelly campus - 32:10

Super tired and feeling horrible this afternoon. Finally convinced myself to get out for a short run. Did 20 minutes of it on the grass running back and forth watching at track meet at BK. Glad I got out but not my best run.

Treadmill - 32:05

Nice afternoon outside, but had to run indoors as Nora was sleeping. Hence, the treadmill run. That's my life right now. Had planned to run early before work but slept through the alarm. Classic.

Scriver Creek - 1:12

Amazing run on beautiful afternoon. Parked in my usual spot (snowmoblile area) and headed up the road. Made it five miles up in about 40 minutes - great time for the elevation gain and gravel road. Then I ran into some kids who had gotten their car stuck in some mud, so I helped them flag down a truck and we got them out. This cut my run a little short (was shooting for 1 hour 30 minutes) so I hammered back down in 6:34, 5:42, 5:39 and 5:48. Great run today. Feel like my fitness is getting there.

Canal banks - 23:00

Ran right at twilight. Body a little sore from a harder run yesterday and a couple of hours of yard work in Garden Valley and then in Boise. Felt pretty good though. 5 x 20 sec pickups in last half of run.

A.M. - Run to work - 19:18

P.M. - Run home - 21:35 Pretty basic commute run. Wore the new backpack and it was great - no bouncing. Hot on the way home.

20 minutes core workout

A.M. - Run to work - 19:16

Steady pace in the rain

P.M. - Run home+ - 30:13

Felt pretty good, better as the run went on. 7:32/mile average.

Treadmill at Axiom - 30:53

Steady pace with 3 x 2:00 pickups at MP and 3 x 1:00 at 5k pace. Felt pretty good.

25 minutes upper body weights and core pre run - worked hard

Neighborhoods - 13+

No sleep last night and bad hamstring cramp this evening. Ran to get Zub's mail and back - that's all for today.

Easy core - 10 min

1 mile warmup; 21 minute tempo run; 1 mile warmdown

In the rain at Borah track. Tempo run at 6:16/mile pace. Right hamstring went out at 21 minutes (was going to run 25 min tempo). Had to walk for a few minutes then hobble back home. Maybe I should have seen this one coming. 

Jogged about 3 minutes but it was clear hammy is jacked. Clearly a result of the disc issue. Spasms and cramps have been out of control lately. Did some yard work, walked about a mile and did 10 minutes of easy core.

Elliptical - 20 minutes

Weights, core and stretching - 20 minutes

It's going o be a few days off of running

Elliptical and treadmill - 27 minutes

15 on the elliptical and a mile slow jog in 12 minutes on the treadmill.

Weights, core, and stretching - 25 minutes

Hamstring still messed up but better than yesterday.

Canal banks - 23:02

Right at twilight. Was able to run about 9:00/mile pace or a bit faster. Hamstring/nerve/cramping issues are not resolved, but were slightly better for today.

Core - 20 minutes

Canal banks - 28:13

Feeling much better. Was able to run at a sub-8 min pace.

Weights, core and stretching - 25 minutes

South Cole Canal Banks - 25:03

Ran at lunch from work. Got in a steady run on a gorgeous day. First time I can ever remember running from work at lunch on a standard, regular schedule day.

Core and stretching - 20 minutes

Greenbelt - 59:15

First test effort on the leg since last week. Did a warmup, then 5 x 1 mile tempo intervals, followed by a cooldown. Averaged 6:16 with about a minute recovery between. Warm out and lots of action on the greenbelt. Left calf went numb but felt pretty good otherwise.

20 minutes of core and cardio workout in the a.m. before the run.

Lower Hulls Gulch trails - 34:13

Ran super easy with Spencer, Mat, Casey and their dogs. Great morning to be out running - some light rain but great temps. Good to see everybody.

Weights, core and stretching - 20 minutes

Englefield Greens - 34:21

Busy, stressful day and I didn't get a lot of sleep last night. With 2 half marathons in the next 4 weeks and shaky training, I'm going to be on "cram" mode trying to get reasonably ready for them. I'm going to shoot for something quality every other day. With a 35 minute window to run today, I did a progression run of 7:23, 6:38, 6:31, 6:07, 7:06 (easy mile with 3 x 30 second pickups). Overall pace of about 6:45/mile. Really windy this evening.

PT apptmt this morning. PT did a very thorough eval, and is very concerned that the disc is still affecting S! nerve root. Suggested taking a month of running. I'm considering it, but may run the half marathon next month. Long day and I'm exhausted.

Did back rehab exercises he gave me.

Elliptical + treadmill - 30+

10 minutes moderate on the elliptical, then 3 miles on the treadmill at 6:20, 6:17, 6:14. Back felt fine.

Also did a lot of stretching and back rehab

Canal banks + Englefield Greens - 34:38

Progression run on a breezy but nice afternoon. Miles of 7:31, 6:47, 6:17, 6:10, 3:10 (half mile) then cooldown. Felt ok, back was a little sore. 

Wash Creek - 59:10

Just trying to do an easy run but spend some time on my feet. Wash Creek is one of my favorite runs in Garden Valley, and I just took it nice and slow on the way up and the way down. Averaged under 8:00/mile, but the GPS was shaky with clouds and the terrain. Back felt ok. Lots of back exercises in the evening.

Borah track - 24:03

Nice, cool evening. Took a really easy jog tonight with some strides at the track. Lots of driving today so my back was pretty sore. Have decided to run the great potato half marathon this Saturday, then take a month off from running completely and try to do 6-8 physical therapy sessions and be really dilligent about the back exercises. Maybe this can get the disc material back where it shoudl be and off the nerve.

1.5 mile warmup; 3 x 1000, 2 x 200; 1 mile warmdown

Just a little tuneup workout for this weekend. 3 x 1k at 3:54 (6:15/mile pace) and a couple of 200m strides. Hoping to run 6:20s on Saturday. Aerobically will be cake, but not sure if the legs can handle 13 miles. Then 4 weeks off after the race to heal up the back.

Canal banks - 19:33

Easy shakeout run. Feeling like crap today - late night last night. Did an 800m pickup at the Bishop Kelly track in 3:07 - trying to feel the pace for sat. half marathon.

Canal banks - 21:35

Easy run to shakeout for tomorrow's half - first race in almost 3 years!

YMCA Famous Idaho Potato Half Marathon - 1:22:27 - 11th? place

First race in almost 3 years. With my back issues and the resulting lack of training, I was hoping to run 6:20s (sub 1:23) and knew it would be easy aerobically but that there was a good chance my legs would blow up. My prediction was completely accurate, but I was still able to hold on and run consistent splits and avoid a total meltdown.

The race has grown in size and depth over the years. It was a great day to race fast, but my game plan was just to relax and make it through. Splits were 6:19, 6:11, 6:16, 6:13, 6:19, 6:12, 6:21, 6:27, 18:58 (3 mile stretch - no mile markers), 6:20, and 6:12. Left foot went numb at about mile 5, right hamstring almost went between miles 6 and 7 so it was survival mode and no racing the last half of the race. Despite that, I only got passed twice, which I felt good about.

Now it's time for a month off, lots of PT sessions and a chance to heal up the back and leg issues.

Canyon Ridge track - 28+

With Emily at the track.

Neighborhoods - 22+

With Emily while pushing both girls in the double stroller

P: 26, 20, 14 (60*)

P: 28, 20, 16 (64*)

P: 29, 18, 15 (62)

P: 31, 20, 15 (66*)

P: 31, 19, 13 (63)

Stroller jog with Nica to Zub's and back. Leg and back feel ok. Will start back this weekend with some easy jogging. Have been really dilligent about the rehab the past few weeks.

P: 32, 21, 18 (71*)

Greenbelt - 40+

Misc. jogging with Emily and the girls in the stroller while watching Karl at the 70.3. Pretty exciting event - if I could swim, I'd consider doing it.

P: 30, 21, 19 (70)

Canal banks - 23:10

Ran at 9:30 P.M. You gotta love Boise, Idaho in June when it's light at 9:30. The hip/glute felt much better today and I was able to run about 8:20/mile pace for my first solo run in over 3 weeks.

P: 30-21-17 (68)

P: 32-20-20 (72*)

Got super sick during the night - throwing up, etc

Mike Miller trail - 50+

One of my favorite places to run - Mike Miller trail in Newport, Oregon. On a sweet vacation for the week. Did numerous laps on the trail just soaking it in, grinding up as slow as I needed and coasting on the downhills. Great morning.

Seal Rock/Ona Beach - 45+

Jogged with Emily & did some pickups in the second half of the run. Great day out.

Seal Rock/Ona Beach - 30+

With Emily and part of it with Joel. Did a couple of harder pickups at the end.

P: 20, 20

Hiked a couple of hours on various trails at Cape Perpetua State

Canal Banks - 30:06

Body is beat up from 12 hours of driving yesterday. Haven't done back exercises in over a week. This run hurt a little bit. Average pace of 7:48/mile.

Donnelly - 30:42

Easy, slow jog with Emily from the Zubs cabin. Felt kind of dead and sore at 9 a.m.

Canal banks + Borah track - 40:11

Easy pace at twilight with some easy speedwork to work out some of the kinks. 3 x 200m strides at 45, and 5 x 60-70m accelerations. Really slow tonight, but trying to get into some basic strides/form work every day to get back into the groove.

10 minutes easy core work.

Borah track - 40+

Ran quite a bit of it with Emily on a very warm afternoon. Did 6 x 200m strides at 45-42. Didn't feel good at all - but only slept a few hours last night and the heat and fatigue got to me.

Good stretching post run and 3 x 12 pushups.

Greenbelt - 39:14

Ran from the zoo upstream to Warm Springs Golf Course and back. Did a bit of a progression run - 8:43 (talking to some friends I saw that were biking), 7:45, 7:23, 7:19 and 7:07. Did a couple of pickups in the last mile.

Neighborhoods - 23:49

A late night (11 pm) jog around the neighborhoods. Felt ok. Big day around the house/yard with projects, etc.

Greenbelt - 48:28

Ran from Parkcenter on the dirt trail to Barber Park and back. Did 4 x 0.2 pickups at a pretty easy pace (tempo effort).

Elliptical + treadmill - 34+

10 minutes on elliptical and 24 on the treadmill. Jogged easy - rolled my ankle bad in Garden Valley on Saturday and its still a little tweaked.

Gernika River Path - 30+

Gernika River Path - 33+

Part with Emily

Gernika River Path - 27+

Leiketio roads - 27+

Gernika roads - 29+

With some pickups

Gernika River Path - 35:53

With 4 x 20 second pickups. Fly home on 7/3.

Canal Banks - 38:46

1st day back after two full days of travel. Average pace of 7:45/mile. Did 3 x 15 second Phillippi Hills and 4 x 20 seconds on the flat.

Back stretches and pushups - 25, 22, 17 (64)

Greenbelt - 40:47

9 a.m. run from the Orchard St. access. Body felt sore and out of synch. Busy morning on the greenbelt - nice to get out and enjoy a cool run on a day off from the brutal temps. Did 4 x 20 sec easy pickups in the last mile.

Back exercises and easy weights/stretching

Garden City Path - 36:04

Stopped and got in a run on my way to Garden Valley. Haven't been on this path for almost 2 years. Nice evening out, just ran slow and enjoyed it. 6 x 20 second pickups during the last half. Average pace of 7:50/mile.

Back exercises, core workout and pushups (30, 20, 15 = 65).

Scriver Creek - 32:38

Short run and some berry picking. Busy day getting lots of stuff done at the cabin so just kept it short and sweet. Hot at 11 a.m.

No run

10 minutes core + back exercises

Canal Banks - 38:06

Ran at 11 a.m. at a decent pace. Did 4 x 15 sec. Phillippi hills and 4 x 20 second pickups on the way home.

Back exercises and stretching later.

BK Campus/track - 30:16

Ran right at twilight. 4 x 100 strides at the track.

Back exercises + pushups - 25,24,13 = 62.

Canal Banks - 36:09

With Rebecca at 9 a.m. at about 8:20 - 8:30 pace.

Later did back stretching and pushups - 27-24-15=66

Valley High loop + Middle Fork Rd. - 1:03

Ran the loop with Emily in 28 minutes, then on the roads with Rebecca for 35 minutes. Finished with a swim in the river.

Terrace Lakes and back - 30:15

Hard pace from the cabin just past the pool and back. Felt pretty good.