Giddyup

Great run this morning on my 5 mile loop.  This is a relatively new loop I started doing just before I hurt my hip.  It has a great 2 mile flat/slightly uphill warmup with one medium mile in between and then the last 2 miles you can really turn up the speed as much as you want.  I did 35:42 today which is about 7:08.2/mile.  It is not my fastest, but I feel good.  It is starting to get quite warm in the mornings. 

Easy run up on bonneville shoreline with Troy - about 4 miles. Pain in my hip is now moving down toward my knee. Makes me think I have an IT band problem!!??

Got in a good 5 miles on my loop although my total time was faster, I think I was slower for most of the run.  I turned in on once I reaced a certain point where I knew I was behind from 2 days ago.  Aggravating when that happens.  I'm still really trying to get my hip back in the groove so to speak and I'm beginning to think it is really IT band.  I say that only because I've started to get tightness around my knee on the same leg and the IT is the most logical and literal connection between the two.  Going for under 33 mintes on the loop for next week.  I also need to start upping my mileage!!! excited for that.  Between Squaw Peak 50 and Des News Marathon, I didn't run longer than 9 miles.  Not a good idea.  I'm going up do 2 longer distance (10 & 13 or 15) this week. 

I had a good early morning run this morning comprised of 3 parts.

1.  Running up to Troy's house (3.43 miles): 7:19, 6:57, 7:12.  Feel ok with these miles since they were at 5am with little warmup and all uphill

2.  Bonneville shoreline trail run (3.94 miles): 9:08, 8:20, 7:35.  We always take it pretty easy and this was good easy middle miles for the run

3.  Running back home (3 miles):  6:54, 6:43, 6:36.  Yes, this was mostly all downhill but it also is evidence to the theory of going for negative splits.  I felt great coming home and was able to continue to increase the pace.  Everything is relative to SG right now - I have to have negative splits for a sub 3!

Another 3 part run this morning - I really like this kind of a run, it breaks it all up a little bit.  I did, however develop an unusually painful blister on the bottom of my #2 toe on my L foot.  Quite uncomfortable. 

Part 1:  Up to Troy's house (3.40 miles) - 7:15, 6:51, 7:19.  Faster on the 1st 2 miles, slower on the 3rd.  The 3rd is the most uphill

Part 2:  Extended shoreline trail loop (5.31 miles) - 9:33, 8:29, 8:47, 8:11.  Nice easy middle miles on this part. 

Part 3:  Run home from Troy's (3 miles exact today) - 6:38, 6:45, 6:40.  This is a great, favorable section to run with very nice, not too steep downhill and some just flat.  It feels good to be able to run home pushing the fastest pace of the day.  I think I'll continue this loop in the mornings.  This is the kind of pace I'll need for SG.

Brick session - I need to bring up my biking mileage a little so it is not neglected in these months leading up to the Florida IM.  Fortunately today was a nice cool day since I didn't get out until about 10am.  I rode out through Bluffdale to Camp Williams road and then straight out on the west side of Utah Lake.  Turned around at 30 miles but that road seems to go on forever. 

After I got home, I went out for a slow 5 miler.  It was much hotter by now and I also didn't have the benefit of going as fast as on the bike.  A good reminder to keep cool during the IM.

My normal 5 mile loop.  Felt really good, every mile but the first was under 7 minutes: 7:58, 6:25, 6:56, 6:17, 6:23.  I read a short article in Runners World called "Getting Comforable with Race Pace" - it said to do a 2 mile warmup and then one mile 10 seconds faster than your goal pace and then one mile 45 seconds slower.  I was trying a mini-version of this but apparently I'm not so good at consistency.  Felt great though, didn't want to go but I'm glad I did.

My garmin has completely failed me today.  It is reading about 18 laps at a 5:30 pace.  I don't know what the problem is - this is the first time it has gone so haywire.  Anyway - I did the same 3.4 miles up to Troy's, bonneville shoreline with the bridge loop and 3 more miles home.  It was so HOT this morning.  I drank about 3 bottles of water.  My legs feel really tired, I don't think I did even one sub 7 minute mile.  I'm ok with that though, I just kind of took it easy this morning.

Had a nice, fast run this morning.  It was possibly a new PR on my little 5 mile loop.  I've realized I can't try to smoke it every time I run it or I'll blow up.  

 So I did 7:04, 6:35, 6:45, 6:19, 6:27

Very pleased with the sub 7's.  Next time I'll try for all sub-7's and a faster 4th mile.  I would love to be able to drop that mile below 6 - it is a very favorable stretch of road that is a very slight decline - not even noticeable to the eye.

Felt great!
 

Evening run - did ok.  Only averaged 7:30's but given all the circumstances, I'm fine with it.  The main circumstance being the heat and I didn't take any food or water.  It is just still so hot late in the day.  Even some mornings are still over 70's.  More power to you SG runners, I'm sure it's even hotter.  Wish I could have done the Hobble Creek Half this morning, my wife got to do it, sounds like a great run.  I was just glad to get in a little longer one. 

4 miles at the Gym on the dreadmill.  1 moderate warm up mile followed by 2 miles @ 6:30, swimming (not yards, meters) then 1 more 6:30 mile.  The one nice thing about the dreadmill is that it is very easy to try to train your legs to moving at a certain pace without any variance. 

Short road run this morning with Troy & Carol. Just a quick loop down from Troy's house to 13th & back.

Again, a road run down from Troy's to Dusty's & back.  Starting out I felt like a rusty car, but I started feeling better and coming back up Pioneer, I really felt pretty good.

Finally, a nice big, long run.  This route took me down fort, up to 10th, up 114th to 17th (hill) to wasatch, up wasatch (big major hill) out wasatch to 90th (rolly) up to the mouth of little cottonwood, down the canyon road to the La Caille turn and back up to 90th (another major hill) then back home via Wasatch & 17th east, back down to fort street. 

HOT!  I didn't realize how hot I was until I got to the little cottonwood creek and cooled off by dumping water all over my head and back - very rejuvenating.  I can't underestimate staying cool and not getting too hot in these upcoming races. 

Good run to have out of the way, it sure hurt, but just about as much as it is supposed to, I just haven't done this distance in quite a while.