Maybe I'll Blog, Maybe I Won't

Went 4.5 with Karl today. Felt crappy. I don't know what the deal is. I'm just tired all the time. I get 6-8 hours of sleep per night so that's not the problem but just feel drained. Maybe it's work I dunno. Oh well, I'll get used to it I'm sure.

Guide 33.5 

5 miles still feeling blah. Just around town and up to Three Falls. I've gotta find some other places to run.

Guide 38.5 

8 miles went out past towards the airport and then about a third of the way up Molly's Nipple where there's a trail that cuts off and goes up the canyon. Just went a little ways on that. Out and back run. Felt pretty good today. Legs were not nearly so tired and I just went on an easy glide. Went farther than I intended but felt good.

Guide 46.5 

8.5 (I clocked it out on the course tool and near as I could figure it was 8.5) on a sweet trail with Karl, Dave, Dustin, Steve, and others. Lots of uphill at the start with a steep downhill crash course near the middle and some more uphill towards the end. Felt really good today for a change. Maybe I'm getting it back. Good day today!

Guide 55 

Slow run with Johnny. Just nice easy recovery pace. Felt real good.

Guide 61 

AM played ultimate frisbee for about 2.5 hours...I figure I ran about 3 miles in that time...mostly at a full sprint, you know how it goes  haha.  Barefoot too.  But it was way fun and a good workout to boot.

PM 7.5 miles pretty easy but still got a good workout in...felt way good even though my legs were a little sore from this morning.

Guide 71.5

Went 8.5 today w/ the XC guys...well, for like the first mile or so anyway...took it easy for the first couple to help them out and then got a good pace rollin. felt good today so I ran somewhat hard but not killer pace. Felt way good though. Especially for a monday. Looking forward to this week...especially the USG 10k on Friday...by the way, any hints on racing a 10k...strategy, pace, etc??...this will be my first one and actually the longest distance I have ever raced. But I am sooo stoked. I actually feel very good so far this week.

Guide 80

slow run around Hurricane Fields. Just tried to keep it easy to moderate even though the stupid wind was blowing. Felt pretty good although my legs were a little tired from yesterday. Will take it very easy tomorrow and then a little bit harder on Thursday to upswing into Friday's race.

Thanks for the advice by the way. I'm looking forward to a great race on Friday.

Guide 86.5

went up to the First Fall on 3 falls plus warmup and cooldown. easy trying to rest. My legs feel really beat up this week but I'm hoping to have a good 10k on friday anyway.

91.5 

Went very very easy for 4 miles.  Legs still feel crappy but I used about a gallon of IcyHot and massaged them so hopefully they'll be alright for tomorrow.

95.5 

Well, for my first 10k ever I think I did alright... Started out too fast...first mile was 4:54ish so I cooled down after that a little. Didn't figure Holt and Hayden would start out THAT quick so I hung right around them that first mile. Felt pretty reasonable though so I just found my pace and stuck with it as best I could. 5k was still 15:50 which was surprising to me and very good news considering my current abilities (or lack thereof,compared to pre-mission). Last half of the race really sucked...the downhill combined with my old cross country waffles that I have decided are too small really started to hurt my feet and lower legs. The last 2 miles were excruciating. I physically could have run much faster but it just hurt so bad on my feet and stuff that I was practically jogging on some parts so I didn't run nearly as hard as I could have that last bit. But once I got on level ground with 800 or so to go I turned it on and had a good finish with too much left. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the whole bit. I was shooting for anything under 35 min. so that part was good...and my legs really didn't bother me as much as I expected so that is good too. I would really like to try a 10k on a more level course now...I think I could do better with that...and some new racers that are actually meant for road racing...if anyone knows of a good pair that won't bankrupt me let me know. Anyway. I'm gonna go ice now. Oh, and my toenails are now black...I kinda like the new look :P

ran 2 more miles this afternoon because my calves feel like rocks. felt better after and went and tried to play raquetball which was fun but painful :)

99.5

So I have hardly been able to even walk all day...confined to hobbling around the house and hoping people would feel sorry for me. haha. My calves are super super sore. I think I've used more IcyHot in 2 days than the entire US Olympic team does in a month. I think it is just because of all of that downhill racing yesterday nearly jouncing my calves off of my fibula. If they fall off I will be very easy to identify, as I will be the only guy running around with no calf muscles.

Anyway, after lancing some of the hugest blisters I have ever seen, and in some weird places too (who knew you could get blisters under your toenails?!), I attempted a 4.5 mile run...which ended up being more like a 4.5 mile quick shuffle. I felt like I was one of those 80 year old men you see that are still running marathons and stuff. Hats off to them...but I hope by the time I have to run like that and feel like that all the time that I will be dead. But today was very painful. Hopefully it will start to feel better tomorrow when I rest, though I doubt I will be recovered by Monday.

But the good news is that the rest of me feels great for just having raced my longest ever race. Quads, hammies, etc all feel totally ready to go. I think I will be much better at it next time. I learned a lot on this race which was kind of its purpose so I'm looking forward to some great 10ks and hopefully a half if I can find one semi close, followed by the SGM.

Congrats to all who ran the 10k yesterday...it was a great race and lots of good competition.

104

Calves and toenails are still extremely sore, though calves are getting better.  Toenails seem to be getting worse.  Can hardly walk.

Went on a long slow run today. After warmup I went with Johnny (trackstar532) for the first 2.5 miles then sent him off on a shorter loop and I went out past the Hurricane Airport a ways and back. Cooled down for half a mile or so after. Nice relaxing run. Calves are still pretty tight but they don't hurt too bad. Definitely better than yesterday. Blisters seem to be healing well. Good news: toenails don't hurt anymore...I think my foot is getting ready to jettison the big toenail on my right foot...its all sorts of pretty colors and has lifted itself almost out of it's little socket there and my toe is still all swollen. It only hurts if I put pressure on it, I think the nerve has died so it really doesn't hurt to stand or run on it. yay! (I think) I'll probably keep my other big toenail :) But overall a good run today.

Guide 113

Man, today was a long day. First got up @ 5 am like usual and went to work at the pallet yard and worked all day...but then they wanted me to stay and help load a semi full of woodchips so I did that and by the time we got done it was 6:30 pm. Talk about a long day. wow. I was so tired...and I really just wanted to shower and eat and go to bed but I went running anyway. 8 miles pretty easy because I really just didn't feel like working too hard. But I got a pretty good pace going towards the middle of the run anyway. avg about 7 minute miles. Almost an hour total but not quite. Good run. Just trying to get in as many miles as I can without hurting myself...which is proving to be quite a trick. But I'm feeling better and better all the time so that is good. I was thinking about it today, and I have decided that if I had the endurance that I had my senior year of High School, then I would be running way faster than I was then. Just a theory. So I think I am improving all the time. My goal is to hit 70+ miles per week by the time I move up to Logan on August 18...so about 2 months. I'm hitting about 45 or more this week so I think it is doable. Anyway, I'm going to bed. 'nite y'all.

Guide 121 

Nice run today with the XC team. We actually got a good group out and so it was nice. Not just me and Johnny. Anyway, warmed up for .5 mile and then went 10:00 easy, 10:00 moderate, 5:00 hard, 10:00 easy. .5 mile cooldown too. Went really easy on the easy parts, got a good pace rollin on the moderate and went way fast on the hard...probably around 5:15 pace on the hard so it felt good to get out on my legs a little and fly. But it was only five min. so I wasn't tired at all. It was nice to get some pace variation today.

I have made a startling discovery too. Lately I've been wondering why I have no energy and seem to have a hard time with recovery and stuff. Well, I found the answer. I was counting up all of what I eat on an average day and I found that I am not eating NEARLY enough. I've only been averaging probably 1800 calories per day so it's no wonder I usually feel kind of drained and have a hard time healing. Especially when I'm running a lot and working my butt off at work for 8 hours a day. I do eat pretty healthy compared to most people, I just wasn't eating enough. So I tried an experiment today and ate an extra meal right after work and ate dinner just barely before bed instead of just before running, and I really tried to cram the calories and protein and complex carbs...and guess what...I felt way better today. Kinda makes sense that you gotta put gas in the tank if you wanna go very far in a day ;) I figure I should be eating at least 2500 or 3000 calories per day, especially when I get up around 60-70+ mpw.

Guide 127

9 miles moderate pace today on the Hurricane Canal Trail plus a mile warmup and a mile cooldown. Trail is a lot worse than it used to be so I had to stop and hike a couple of places, but overall a very nice relaxing run. Tried to make sure to eat more again today and felt awesome. It makes a huge difference. It doesn't even hurt to go that far anymore...in fact I felt like going farther but I made myself stop because it was getting late and I didn't want to overdo it. Good day today.

Guide 136

8 miles out through LaVerkin including warmup and cooldown. Easy recovery pace today. Legs felt a little fatigued but it was okay. Rested up for tomorrow's long run.

Guide 144

AM: 5.1 miles moderate pace out around Hurricane Fields. A little warm and somewhat humid but a good run. Legs are still a tad fatigued but not as bad as yesterday

Well, I was planning on getting 5 or 6 more miles this evening, but you know what?...I really didn't feel like it today.  I figured that I reached my goal of 45 miles this week and so I was gonna let my legs rest a little bit.  But I reached my goal and that's what is the important part. 

Guide 149

Ahh, today was a nice run. Legs felt good and rested up. Didn't push it though. Although I did try to pick it up the last 4 miles or so. Averaged a little under 7 min. pace. I must be getting acclimated to this heat because the weather felt good today. It was "only" 95 when I started. haha. But I went out on the Bench Lake loop for 10 miles and the irrigation was going plus a slight breeze so it was actually very nice. Felt like 75 degrees. Beautiful day and beautiful run.

Goal for this week: 50 miles 

Guide 159

6.5 plus 1 mi. cooldown on this sweet dirt road up by Virgin with Karl. Nice temps. 6:30 pace and felt really good.

Guide 166.5

Ran the "H" and then some with Johnny and another XC kid. Got a way good hill workout in for some strength and conditioning. I'm pretty sure I got some good time in VO2 Max territory. That hill is killer...judging from the course tool I climbed 800 feet in like 3 miles. Ran virtually the whole way though. But I felt really good considering the workout. Just kind of jogged back down so as not to hurt my feet, knees or calves. Nice temps too...or I'm getting used to running in 95-100 degrees all the time. Did a couple of accels on the track too for kicks.

Guide 174.5

9.2 miles easy to moderate pace just around town wherever I felt like going. Felt a little fatigued from killer hills yesterday, but generally it was pretty good.. Would have gone on the club run but had to watch kids :(

Guide 183.7

Well, I had aspirations of like 7 miles today but I really ran out of time so I had to settle for 5 miles as fast as I could get it done...so I went on a 5 mile tempo run...averaged 6:00 pace and felt pretty good. It's been awhile since I've gone an extended distance (more than a mile or two) at that kind of pace in a training run and it felt nice to move a little. I ordered some new racers today from SGRC so when I go up to the Freedom 10k on the 4th I won't jack up my feet again ;)

Guide 188.7

AM: 6.5 miles Hurricane Fields/Angel Heights. Nice run...Haven't run early morning for a long time and it felt beautiful. Moderate to fast pace: Avg 6:15 per mile. Felt wonderful especially after yesterday's hard run.

PM: 4.2 miles in the heat. It was like 106 on my thermometer at home so it was a hot sweaty run. Actually I ran a little over a mile down to the church and played basketball for a couple of hours...half court so no real running to speak of...then I went on a 3 mile loop back home. Relaxed pace...probably slower than 7 min...didn't really time it. Felt good but fatigued from the last couple of days. Rest tomorrow. Got my goal of 50 though.

Guide 199.4

.75 mile warmup and stretching w/ HHS XC guys and got them lined out on their run, then drove to st. george and did the club workout which was a total of 8.5 miles according to Hayden's cool little watch thingy...did 2 repeats up to the radio towers south of st. george...those are killer but felt pretty good...was gonna do 3 but it was getting too late and I needed to go home and get some rest...plus I thought it best not to overdo it. Good day today.

Goal for this week: 50 miles and a good 10k at the Freedom Run up in Provo this weekend. shooting for sub 33:00.

Got my new racers today for this weekend and tried them on... Saucony Type A2...very nice and comfy. I especially like the "kiss this" molded into the heel...attitude! Thanks SGRC!

Guide 208.65 still feel very supple and supportive yet comfortable at 200 miles. I love Saucony!