A Balance-Time to get back on the wagon...

Single: Well thank you all for humoring me with my April Fools’ Day entry. I’m sorry it has taken so long to get back to the real workout. The last two workdays have been painful. So the real deal with the 60 quarter workout is that the intro is all true, I just haven’t done the workout yet, maybe sometime this summer. I did get to sleep early to wake up early but because I had to be into work by 6am. I made my deadlines last week but now I have all this makeup work. I ended up working 9hrs not including the run break then a few more at night. So I didn’t get out for my run until ~3:15pm, this was fine as the weather was ok by that time. The workout was 2x3mi at MP. The course was lab to Memory Grove via a stint past Dry Creek and then up City Creek and back directly. Both MP stretches were planned on downhill sections so I figured I would watch my HR more than the pace but shoot for about 160-170 and 5-10 sec faster per mile for the aide adjustment so 5:45-50 pace. The run went well and I’m feeling much better than the last couple of weeks. However, it still felt a little harder than I would have like. Here is the workout in table form. Keep in mind that the values are only as accurate as the Garmin. The ascent and descent summed together equals -116 but everything I did was out and back…

Mi 14-R1 Avg. 7:29 HR 149

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 134 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 112 / / Saucony Rides #1: 113 / / Saucony Rides #2: 110

Single: As I just mentioned today was also a hard workday, another 10hrs, I still have more to do but I need to make sure to stay rested as well so I guess that is what tomorrow is for. I never got a break today to get the run in so I did the miles on the TM while on daddy duty. 5 mi at 8:00 then 1 mi at MP. HR during easy was ~125 and during MP was ~160. Mi 6-R2

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 134 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 112 / / Saucony Rides #1: 113 / / Saucony Rides #2: 116

Single: Another tough workday, in a little before 6am out a little after 5:30am, no break for a run. I had to run on the treadmill again as Sandra had an activity at church... Just kept it easy while watching Pirates... I don't know how some of you can run on the treadmill so often it drives me nuts. Hopefully tomorrow I can start the day with a run. HR was ~135  pace was 7:30 Mi 8-R2

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 134 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 112 / / Saucony Rides #1: 113 / / Saucony Rides #2: 124

AM (hopefully): I decided that I had to start my day on the road as I couldn’t take another treadmill run. Today was one of those body freakout days, phantom pains galore. My left foot was funny like a couple weeks ago and my quads were not feeling good, I blame the treadmill runs. I also forgot to mention (actually I was hoping it would go away if I didn’t think about it), that I went to Utah’s CDT this weekend with my family. That would be the Center for Disease Transmission or more fondly called the Gateway Discovery Museum. It was fun and my daughter enjoyed it but since then my nose has been running like a faucet. It was better yesterday but a little more today, gone tomorrow (I hope). This week was easier running wise but tougher work wise, the good news is that with the step back week and next week’s taper I still managed about 7hrs sleep per night with hopefully more on the horizon. Good luck to everyone running Striders tomorrow, it looks like the blog is going to have a great showing. Mi  6-R1 Avg. 8:40 HR 145

PM: Yeah, I made a 2-a-day. Today was the shortest workday of the week and I needed it, 7:30am-4:30pm. I was breathing much better late in the day. Just ran an out-n-back on the BST to behind This is the Place. Mi 3-R1 Avg. 7:41 HR 147

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 134 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 112 / / Saucony Rides #1: 128 / / Saucony Rides #2: 124

Single: Marathon course pace run. I drove out to where Steve and I turned off last week at 4500S. I parked near the 18 MM ran ½ mi out and back took off a layer and then headed out on the course. I had one more mile warm-up and then started pace to the finish. It was a tough effort, there was a 10mph headwind the entire way except the 1/8 of a mile on the south side of Liberty Park. My left foot and glut were both acting up a little. Good news is that my nose was behaving and breathing wasn’t too bad. After the pace portion I walked back to 400 S and then ran back to my car following the course in reverse. At Liberty Park I ran into a friend from work also training for the 19^th and stopped to chat for a moment. If today would have been the marathon I don’t think I could have done better than a 2:43. I just wasn’t feeling it. All that being said I’m fairly happy with the workout I was only 40 sec off pace for the whole segment, with the wind and having to adjust speed at intersections for lights/traffic I can’t complain. See below for splits. Mi 17-T2  Avg. 6:57 HR 154

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 134 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 129 / / Saucony Rides #1: 128 / / Saucony Rides #2: 124

No run today. I had a rough day yesterday. The reason why I didn’t have my full post was because I trashed my laptop yesterday. Let’s just say liquids and electronics don’t mix well. Fortunately, all work related info is backed up on at least two locations but my running stuff may be lost. To make things extra fun Kaitlyn had a slight fever yesterday and I woke up with a pretty sore throat this morning so I thought lets leave well enough alone and take the day off.

Congrats again to everyone who braved the wind yesterday at the Striders half!

Single: I struggled with if I should run today. I’m still not feeling 100% and was a little tired from last week. When all was said and done I worked 80hrs between Mon-Sun. The good news is this week should be a little lighter and marathon week I should be able to claim back some quality sleep. Last night was just another 7hrs. Woke up and my throat still had some issues and I just had that general flat feeling. By the time I got home I was feeling better and after dinner decided to brave a loop of SH. It felt hard. My left foot has continued to bug me on and off and my breathing wasn’t right. I’m going to try and get a little more sleep to night and continue to focus on a lot of water. My laptop was covered for accidental damage so it should be able to be repaired. I started to retype my workout from Saturday to get some comments but I’ll have to wait until tomorrow if I actually want to get more than 7 hrs of sleep tonight. Mi 5-R1 Avg. 7:17 HR 144

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 134 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 129 / / Saucony Rides #1: 133 / / Saucony Rides #2: 124

Single: Back to my usual 7-hrs of sleep. Feeling better today. Still congested but my throat wasn’t as sore. By the PM I was feeling good enough for a run. My legs were FLAT! My quads just didn’t want to go, so I pushed them into gear for 2-miles (5:56, 5:48) it felt good to go that quick after a few days of living as a sloth. It wasn’t easy but it wasn’t as hard as I was expecting either so that is a good sign. Mi 8-R2 Avg. 7:13 HR 152

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 134 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 129 / / Saucony Rides #1: 133 / / Saucony Rides #2: 132

Single: Things are more or less continuing to improve. I had planned a descent amount of sleep but then at 4am a noise in the kitchen (that turned out to be the ice maker misbehaving) woke me up and I wasn’t able to get back to sleep. Not that I would have slept much more but this way I only ended up with a little under 6hrs. The good news is that I got into work an hour earlier so I was able to take a break at about 11am for a run. I ran the course MM 1-4. My legs still felt tight but MUCH better than yesterday. Also, for the first day since Sunday I did not start my day with Dayquil. I still had some drip and am perpetually clearing my throat but feel much better. Anyway, for the run I felt fine. I decided I would do one mile at marathon effort, and being who I am I choose the fast mile 4. This is the fastest mile on the course but I had yet to hit the split without feeling as if I was pushing too hard. Today was different, even though I had four things against me. 1) Drippy nose, 2) Slowed for traffic at McDonald’s intersection, 3) Stopped for traffic at 2100E, and 4) A nasty 10+mph head/cross wind. Despite all that, I hit the mark exactly on Avg. 5:22 HR 170. I am very happy with the way it felt as well. The rest of the run back to lab was not as enjoyable as I had to turn and head back up the hill and then into the head/cross wind. (Kory, I look at it this way, the weather is getting that NE wind out of its system before next week so we can have a nice calm Sat morning). I stopped home for a quick kiss each for Sandra and Kaitlyn and then back to work. Mi 8-R2 Avg. 7:06 HR 150

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 134 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 129 / / Saucony Rides #1: 133 / / Saucony Rides #2: 140

Single: Today was a little bit of a backslide but not too bad. I did manage 8-hrs of sleep last night and I already got my laptop back from repair and there was no data loss. I’ll even finally update last Saturday today. The backslide came in the form of just not feeling as “better” as I had yesterday. I was congested enough again to take more Dayquil. The day however went smoothly but I ran short on time and only managed to get in 6 miles with miles 5 and 6 of the course as a inner/outer loop combo to SH. What is cool is that someone went through and remarked the course. It is now accurate at miles 5 and 6. Either I was completely blind yesterday or they did it sometime last night or today. What is not cool is the wind. It was not super hard but it felt like whatever direction I was running there was a headwind… Mi 6-T2 Avg. 7:15 HR 149

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 134 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 135 / / Saucony Rides #1: 133 / / Saucony Rides #2: 140

Single: Today I felt good again. I managed almost 8-hrs sleep and that always helps. Also, though it was cooler in the morning and the Weather Channel said 26F windchill with 10mph winds it did not feel that bad. I ran out to the new one mile marker and kept the pace easy to the two mile marker then I started my MP miles. The first is slight up then two almost all down then two rollers. Overall, I was happy with the perceived effort. I’m still thinking that 2:35 pace feels more like my half marathon effort than full but I’m hoping the adrenaline of the day will help compensate for that some. Then I spent the rest of the day with family and running errands. Now I’m in work for a couple hours but then hopefully another full night’s sleep. Mi 13-T2 Avg. 7:02 HR 159

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 134 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 147 / / Saucony Rides #1: 133 / / Saucony Rides #2: 140

Took the day off. Not feeling too bad. Nose still drippy, spending most days clearing my throat non-stop but I don't feel bad so I can "live" with it. Just went and walked around Memory Grove with the family to enjoy the beautiful day we had, it hit 70F!!! I'm definitely feeling the taper madness. This has been a longer taper than I'm used to and I'm not particularly enjoying that aspect of it. But I'm glad I didn't push through more runs when I was feeling completely crappy and making it linger around more. I'm starting to look forward to the actual race as it appears there will be a few more people around than what I thought there would be when I first registered. Between Kory, Dave, and Steve (coming off of his GREAT win yesterday) I think we will have a big pack within 5 min of 2:40, and then with Sasha taking the lead there should be a good showing for the FRB... Just under a week to go, I can't believe it!!!

Single: About the same as yesterday. Did get 8-hrs sleep, still not 100% with the breathing, the crud in the air is not helping any. It is crazy how windy it was today. The wind was finally out of the south which could be nice for the second half of the marathon, but I’m thinking I would just prefer no wind! I ran to the course and did MM 2-~4.5, then ran into Bill Cobler and a few of his “boys”. They were doing 10 on the course so I jumped in with them and ran MM 6-~9.5. It was good catching up with Bill and talking strategies for Saturday, he is a good resource for this course (all UT for that matter…). We had a good talk and then I turned around on my own to get home without adding on additional miles to my planned 10. Mi 10-T1 Avg. 7:05 HR 152

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 144 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 147 / / Saucony Rides #1: 133 / / Saucony Rides #2: 140

Single: Best breathing day in about 2-wks, another 8-hrs sleep. Picked a bad time to run though, it started SNOWING at about 1pm. The only time I had to run during the day was 3pm. At that time it was then doing a combo of sleet/hail/snow with a good wind. About 1.5-miles into the run the hail let up and by about 4 miles into the run the wind let up a little. Just took the run nice and easy. Still no word from Devine, I hope that my defense of them doesn’t prove to be unwarranted. Sandra says just wait until Friday when I can talk to someone in person... I’ll try but my nerves about the start are definitely in full affect. Mi 6-T1 Avg. 7:35 HR 139

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 150 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 147 / / Saucony Rides #1: 133 / / Saucony Rides #2: 140

Single: Well today was my last “run” before the race. I will do two on Friday but that is more or less just giving the nerves a chance to relax. As usual I’m not feeling great going into the race but as usual that doesn’t mean too much. My breathing was still good but my legs were flat. My left glut didn’t want to work and my right IT was tight but again I’m sure this is just prerace jitters. Right at the start I ran into a guy training for Boston. I ran the first two miles in the SNOW (yes it was snowing AGAIN) with him. He is a teacher at East, we talked about what not to do at Boston and he told me about what a good time he had at SLC last year, he even negative split it. The snow was nothing like yesterday. In fact it was sunny and 44F when it was snowing??? At the Firehouse I left him and did two miles at MP, they were the aided miles into Memory Grove and felt comfortable, 5:42 HR 163, 5:55 HR 164, and then back. Mi 8-T1 Avg. 7:12 HR 153

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 158 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 147 / / Saucony Rides #1: 133 / / Saucony Rides #2: 140

As planned I took the day off. Overall a good day, 8-hrs sleep and I got so much work done this week and over last weekend that I don't have to go in tomorrow. So tonight is setting things up and thinking about the race. Tomorrow is rest and time with Kaitlyn and then the Expo. Then getting ready for the race!!!!

Single: Did my usual pre-race shakeout. Normally I do 1/2 wu 1mi MP 1/2 cd. But when I got to the track it was full of students. I started running and when I looked down for the first quarter I was 5:38 pace, oops. I backed off but tried to keep it at MP as best I could. The WIND was not making it easy. AccuWeather has it at 21mph out of the south. I could really tell the difference on the into the wind stretch I would look at the Garmin and it would say ~6:10-20 and with the wind it would say ~5:35-40 or about a 15-20 sec diff with or without the wind. The splits were nice and even effort though even if the pace wasn't: 5:57 HR 171, 5:56 HR 171. Now to go get my race number after Kory gets here, some lasgna, and some sleep... Mi 2-Flats Avg. 5:56 HR 171

p.s. I almost forgot the best part, I got nearly 9-hrs of sleep last night!!