A clydesdale no more!

Nice and easy.

Three easy, 5 at LT then 2 easy to finish.  Struggled to get into the run mentally. Had a hard time maintining a steady pace but the average was about what I wanted (6:44, 6:35, 6:38, 6:36, 6:38).  It didn't feel like a huge effort but I just couldn't get into it.

Easy recovery run.

Debated whether to make it a shorter run and do a mini taper for the 1/2 next week or stick with the plan and do the 20.  Decided that Boston is the goal so I needed to put the full run in.  Started out a bit slow but started feeling really good after a couple of miles.  Cruised along the LPT to State Street in Farmington.  Saw Kam and ran with him for a couple of miles.  Finished feeling really good.  Average pace for the entire run was 7:45.  Since the first few miles were 8:15 I felt good about the overall average pace.  Felt very good the entire run.  Finally starting to shake off some of the rust.

Only 3 hours of sleep and I was really, really tempted to not run today.  Felt completely wiped out.  As the run started I contemplated turning around and going back home but kept plugging along.  Started to feel good after the first mile.  The run definitely made me feel better.

Feel a little heavy and slow today.  Last two miles were great but the first 8 were slow.

10 miles in Huntington beach along the ocean.  Absolutely perfect run.  Nice to get away the cold and run in perfect running weather. 

Ran two laps around the outside of Disneyland then the rest of the day walking around the park.  It felt a little strange going to Disneyland without the kids but it was good way to enjoy it.  I usually spend all my time making sure the kids are having fun so it was nice to just do what we wanted to do.  My legs are pretty worn out which may cause my performance at the half on Sunday to suffer.  It's just for fun so I'm not overly concerned.

Just a few miles around the hotel to shake out the legs.  We drove the 1/2 marathon course and it is going to be brutal.  The first half is almost completely uphill.  It's going to be interesting. 

Becky has always wanted to run a race at sea level so for Christmas she got me a trip to San Diego to run a half marathon.  What she didn't realize was that she picked a race with a crazy amount of hills.  We flew in to Long Beach on Thursday morning and enjoyed a nice run along the beach.  On Friday we went to Disneyland and did an insane amount of walking.  We relaxed for the monst part on Saturday before driving the course.  It was shocking how much uphill there was.  We were both kind of psyched out. 

On the morning of the race, I warmed up with an easy mile.  Legs felt pretty good.  Original goal was under 1:30 but revised it to 1:35 after I saw all of the hills.  There were about 1,500 runners so it was very crowded at the start.  First 3/4 of a mile was downhill (meaning a nice uphill finish).  The race announcer proclaimed that what goes down must come up and I quickly realized we weren't in Utah anymore.  First mile came in at 6:30 thanks to the downhill and felt very comfortable.  I was holding back because I did not want to tear up my legs at the beginning.  Second mile climbed 75 feet then dropped 25 feet.  Split was 6:52 and I was surprised it was that fast and how good it felt.  Third mile was a fun one.  It was a 200 foot steady climb and I ran it in 7:34.  I was consistently passing people and felt really strong.  Everybody was breathing really heavy and my breathing was not labored at all.  I guess this is where living at altitude was an advantage.  The fouth mile started with a 25 foot climb then plummeted 124 feet.  The downhill felt great and came in at 6:36.  Mile 5 offered a little more variety with the ups and downs with a net 125 gain (6:50).  Dropped off a cliff during the first 3/4 of mile 6 (200 feet) before climbing 100 feet over the last 1/4 mile (6:58).  Seventh mile started with a 75 climb then it was flat for a couple of miles (6:56).  Hit the half in exactly 45 minutes and knew I could negative split and come in under 1:30.  Miles 8 and 9 were flat and came in at 6:30 and 6:33.  Felt really good about holding a 6:30 on the flat secitons.  Tenth had a 150 climb over 1/2 mile.  I started to really work the legs and moved past a couple of runners.  A real boost to the confidence.  I knew once I crested this hill, I would have a couple miles of extreme downhill that I could take advantage of.  Finished with a 7:11 and then put the roller skates on.  Ran mile 11 in 6:07 and 12 in 6:34 while passing a couple more runners.  Now it was time for the fun uphill finish.  I started up the hill and saw a runner ahead.  Shifted into my climbing gear (short, quick strides) and felt like I was floating up the hill.  Slowly moved past the runner and kept on moving.  Ran that one in 6:46 which I was thrilled with considering it had a 150 foot climb. Pushed hard through the finish and crossed in 1:28:30. 

Very happy with the result.  A bit surprised I was able to handle the hills as easily as I did.  Guess those runs up to Mueller Park are paying off.  Ran back to run Becky up the last hill.  She did really well, coming in at 1:44.  Of course, I had to re-learn the lesson that my "words of encouragement" are not received very well at the end of a race.  Who knew that telling somebody that this was not the time to relax when they are ready to puke would be taken negatively? 

It was a great weekend getaway topped off with a great race. Now it's time to really focus on the last few weeks of Boston training.

My legs are pretty tired.  Took it very easy this morning.  The run seemed like it took forever.

I can't figure out why my legs are so sore.  I guess I didn't realize that it takes old people longer to recover from races.  The run was slow and a bit of a struggle.  Fortunately, this was a planned recovery week so I can take it easy. 

I honestly think that Kam is trying to kill me.  Started with an enjoyable 9.5 mile warm up then repeats on the switch backs at Freedom Hills park.  It is a 280 foot climb over 1/2 mile.  He wanted to do 4 but I knew there was very little chance of me completing it.  I was alright on the first and stayed relatively close to Kam.  At the start of the second, I felt like I was pretty much done.  Kam floated up the hlil like it was nothing and I plodded along like an elephant.  I must have experienced some amnesia on the half mile back down because I decided to follow him up a 3rd time.  It was tough.  Once again, the trip down made me think that I had a chance to do another.  Quickly realized it wasn't going to happen.  Told Kam to not wait for me at the top.  I stopped half way up and waited for him to come back down.  I have no idea why I quit.  In hindsight, I probably could have gutted out another 1/4 mile but at the time it seemed like the right decision.  We then labored 3 miles back to his house.  I'm not sure how he felt but I really struggled.  If nothing else, this run was good practice running a few miles after hitting the wall.  My legs were trashed and I really wanted to walk but we plugged along at 8:00/mile.  Good to have a good hard run in the books after taking it a little too easy this week.

Got home and took my girls to play basketball.  They didn't have practice but the court was available so we played for an hour of 2 on 2 to get them used to making quicker decisions during games.  Finished up by rushing them to a soccer game.  Just sat down for the first time today and may not get back up.  Haven't eaten anything or had anything to drink yet.  Not exactly the best recovery method.

Nice and easy run on the LPT.  Left knee and both ankles were a little problematic.  This will be one of my higher mileage weeks so hoping that it is just temporary soreness.

As uneventful as a 2 hour run could be.  Out the door at 5 and it was too dark for most of the run to enjoy any of the scenery.  It's not like the scenery on the LPT is that great and I haven't seen it a million times already.  Legs felt a little heavy.  I felt really negative after the run.  I usually feel like I have accomplished something after a decent MLR but for some reason I was in a particularly bad mood.  I apologize in advance to anyone that I come in contact with today.

Just a few easy miles.  Perfect weather for running this morning.

Very disappointed with my run this morning.  The 7 mile tempo run is the one run in Pfitz's plan that I always have a problem with.  Warmed up with 3 super easy miles and felt good.  I was going to be running in to the wind for 4+ miles of the tempo miles.  I knew I had to focus on effort and not worry about my splits.  Unfortunately, I could not get my legs to move as fast as I wanted.  The entire run was a struggle even though it didn't feel like I was pushing as hard as I should.  Just couldn't get into the run at all.  The pace was 6:50-6:55 in to the wind and was hoping that the last 3 miles would be decent once I started running with the wind.  The pace got even slower which was a huge blow to my confidence.  I stopped after 5 miles to try and regroup.  Talked myself into finishing the tempo miles even though they were slow.  The last thing that I need is another workout cut short. 

Just a run.  Nothing more.

Windy, windy, windy.  Out the door at 3:30 so I could be home before 7:00.  Headed to the LPT and ran South so the first half would be into the wind and I would have a nice tail wind on the way home.  Couldn't believe how hard it was blowing.  It was a struggle and I started to question if I would be able to keep going.  Considered doing a few smaller loops to break up the time I had into the wind but decided to keep heading into the wind and get it out of the way.  The LPT turned into the JRP and I was going into unfamiliar territory. Since it was so dark I was getting a little spooked.  Hit a section that had street lights along the trail and that eased some of my fears.  At least until I realized that there must be a reason that they installed lights in this section.  It must really be a bad area.  Hit 1000 North and decided to jump off the trail and run a few miles through Rose Park.  Felt a little out of place being the only person running through Rose Park not carrying a TV.  Hit the half way point and headed back home.  Running with the wind felt great.  I usually struggle the last few miles but I felt like I was getting more energy as the run continued.  Felt better the last 3 miles than I did at any other part of the run.  Finished in 3 hours which was alright considering the wind. 

Started with a few easy miles then ran 4 X 1/2 mile @ 5K pace with 1/4 mile jog in between.  Taking baby steps into speed work.  Splits were 3:02, 2:58, 2:59 and 3:02.  Felt pretty good during the faster paced portions of the run.  The last one was harder but it inlcluded two 180 degree turns to avoid a stop light so it was a little faster than 3:02. 

Another uneventful MLR.  Why are these putting me in such bad moods?

Nice and easy recovery run.  Legs felt pretty tired so it was nice to have an easy run.  Another windy day.  Really hoping that all of this running in the wind isn't just a way to prepare us for a windy Boston.