Fuel SMART,Train HARD, Run FAST.

10 miles planned, executed 2.25 to pick up kids and never returned. 

Happy New Year!

5x60 sec @ 6:00 (-.5%)

5x60 sec @ 5:30 (0%)

5x30 @ 5:00 (0%)

Equal active rest @7:53

1 mi wu and wd

10k @42:05 

This is one of the most inpirational clips I've seen. I wish I had watched it before my workout this morning. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152097781111043

2014 is going to be great.

Slushy/ice run with Andrea and Allie in Sugar House. I almost elbowed Allie into oncoming traffic and Andrea into a large puddle, but I think I convinced them it was a mistake. 8:11ap. I wore my new Osielle gloves and they were great, no cold hands! Also, the air was clean!

5:30 am -10 miles with Scott W, Jennilyn E, Matt W and Craig L up to  AveTwin Peaks. My legs and lungs felt less conditioned today than past trail runs. I'm out of shape and a little worn out. Craig and Jennilyn are mountain goats. They pushed the pace the entire way. I could claim that I stayed a little behind with the others, for conversational pace, but really only Scott was talking and I was was huffing. I take it back when I told Andrea and Allie that it wasn't bad running with them. The pace on the way down was much more of a pushed effort (only for me.) I stayed with the goats for a few minutes then found myself running down the other side of the mountain alone. Good thing Scott babysits me when I tag along. He called me back and we finished  together with some effort.

I let myself be spoiled for Christmas this year. I really needed to get some new items in my running collection.  I've been excited to test them out! I wore a Nathan slim beenie, that has a built in rechargeable head lamp and tail light. It also has a pony tail hole:) The light is pointless in the mountains, but probably good on the roads. I also wore some running Yaktrax with mini spikes for the first time. They worked great on the ice and I had no issues on the tough parts (although I did fall going up, but landed softly, somehow.) Then I wore some Pearl Izumi gloves with a wind resistant mitt cover. They were terrible at the beginning, but ended up doing well after the first 10 minutes.  I hear the 360s gloves are great. My head lamp was lame, but that's because my son has slept with it on for the past few nights. Lastly, I tried out my Mountain Hardware with Windstopper top. It was warm and light with only a base layer underneath.  That one was an ebay special! It's been fun getting new items and replacing my running gear from my college days. It's been long overdue.

A very long day starting with a 3 hour, 6am staff meeting. My brain hurts, which leaves me tired for some reason. No running today or anything for that matter.  How do people work 12 hour shifts?   Now I get to go paint toe nails and eat treats with the youth tonight:)  Counting down the hours till I can close my eyes for the night.

I heard someone refer to the treadmill  today as "Satan's sidewalk." Haha!

5 miles with varying grades (+6% to -1%) ~7:45ap

Row machine intervals@ 1x5 mins, 2x4 mins.

After walking outside I really wanted to go on another run. How would that be to be able to run all day or whenever you wanted? I guess we can all do that if we wanted to make such sacrifices. Really, running altogether includes sacrifices on various levels whether it's sleep, time with others, relaxation, work, whatever might be.  I'm not a fan of the saying, "I don't have time." That's all for now:)

Also, for those concerned about the inversion, I have your answer. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152091961312383&set=a.277108232382.141352.29949167382&type=1&theater

6:30am- Davis Blvd. with Andy. This morning's air was warmer and CLEAN!:)  I had a meeting  at 8:00am. I knew I needed to get a run in before then. The thought of running alone was not a fun thought, especially since this is my second road run this winter. Good thing Andy was easy going and agreed last minute to join for an early Saturday run.  We discovered that none of us alerted Kam and felt bad. I hope he never finds out. 

This was supposed to be an easy run, but we started out a bit faster than usual and progressively got faster toward the end, finishing in the 6:40's. The splits are nothing exciting but the effort was there. We went quiet with two miles to go, with somewhat of a moderate effort. The ice and snow did not bother, but the rolling hills took some of the steam from our regular LPT runs. 7:56ap

PS. Attn: Grammar Police a period before or after a smiley? I feel like it should go before.:0

6.25 miles on elliptical at level 12. It was nice to change it up for once.

5:30am- 8 miles up Davis Blvd. 10:XX first uphill mile, then 7:47ap with last mile downhill at 6:35. Legs felt springy today, maybe it's from yesterday's elliptical workout.

I'm feeling hyper-link-y today.

I had to fit in an earlier run so I could make it to work on time. Every year I get to attend a mandatory training focused on de-escalating distressed patients. We learn everyday things like: how to get out of a choke hold/strangling with chords/ pillow cases; hair grabbing, dodging thrown objects, hold downs, bites, etc. I usually come home with red rings around my neck, stretched out clothing, minor bruises, and a tad of PTSD- but today wasn't so bad because we had different instructors. 

This is my fourth time taking the class. Nothing compares to the first year I attended the training. Both of the trainers were in the military and went in full force. They use to make us act in real time, so we could demonstrate what we had learned in the previous 4 hours. In an instant, they would suddenly turn into Satan's spans and begin throwing folded chairs, kicking, and throwing us up against the wall (quiet literally.) Then of course they would tag team and start coming at us from behind. I dare say that some of us went into survival mode and reverted to our survival instincts. I remember being scared to death and almost quit after that training. I wanted to do therapy, not dodge fists or have my pony tail forcibly removed from a patients grasp! (BTW these things happen, in fact, one nurse had part of her nipple bit off and that is the honest truth. TMI and I apologize, but it's serious!! :0 Lets not comment again on this part.)

Anyway, I was pretty cautious for the first few weeks, then I realized most of the other staff were generally more at risk. For some reason, the patients rarely attack the therapists or doctors. The poor nurses and techs take the majority of the beatings. The worse I've ever come in contact with was when an older lady grabbed my blouse like she was going to beat me up. She ended up NOT beating me up, but my shirt was pretty funky the rest of the day. However, today I walked out unscathed and grateful to survive another year of MANT training.

"Hey! Janene! Hiii!!"

She turns and looks at me and keeps walking. 

I run faster to catch up to her.

I catch her by grabbing her shelbow and force her to turn and face me.

"Janene! Hi!"

She gives me a started and awkward smile.

I'm still convinced it's her.

"Hiiiiii."

We just smile at each other, but it gets even more awkward so I release my grip.

"You're Janene, right?"

Nope.

"Oh, well I'm Tara and you look like my friend Janene. Bye!"

She jogs off, even though I originally saw her walking. It was clear she wanted distance. I almost followed her to apologize, but it was one of those moments where you needed to just walk away and remind yourself, not to touch people without asking. Another thing learned in MANT training yesterday. "Can I touch you?" I'm pretty sure I'll never ask anyone that.

AM: 3 miles, hip exercises, and core work

PM: Human foosball with the youth tonight. I'm pretty sure that just means soccer.

6:00: Davis Blvd with Andy. Somehow we managed under 8:00 pace without half the effort from Saturday's run. 

5:30AM- The air quality is poor, off to the TM. 1.5 wu with frequent stops. My ankles took turns screaming with nerve pain during the warm up. It seems winter time causes this more often. Old lady syndrome. Whatever, but it soon dissipated and I was able to get the rest of the run in. Threw in some race paces in the last half to speed up time- 1600, 800, 600, 400, 200, 100, 100. Started at mp and worked down to 5:00. Half distance active rest in-between. This was not a difficult workout, but I wish the paces felt more comfortable for the limited time I ran them. Gotta start somewhere. 8.5mi @ 7:05ap.

Cleaning day.

6.5 miles of elliptical magic at level 4-5. Last 15 mins with 30 secs on/off. Sweat fest. 65 mins

2x clock situps. 

Contemplations of Debbie Downer

I'm in a strange funk when it comes to running lately. I'm not sure what to do. I'm kind of tired of running. It doesn't help that the air is horrible.  I know I go through this EVERY SINGLE YEAR at this time, as do many. I am having an extremely hard time making up my mind what I want to do. I signed up for the USATF circuit and somehow it has halted my decision making and made me not want to race. I'm not entirely sure why.

I know I don't want to go the entire year without racing or I will feel like I wasted the year and could have been doing other important things, like having a baby or something. I feel like this year could be a really good year. I'm 31, not injured, many racinging options, a great running community, and a dying thirst to murder the marathon.  What gives?  Perhaps a baby break from public view (from all three of you;) will jump start things.

I need a break to the Caribbean. Yes, indeed I do. I'm heading there next week and will hopefully pick up some enlightenment from the Jamaicans, mon. 

Sincerely,

D. Downer

5:30 AM- TM miles at 0%, sluggy 2 mi wu. I could see getting into the 7mph range was going to take some work this morning at the rate I was going, so I decided to do some short speed intervals.

Equal active rest for first 10 and standing rest for last 10.

5x60 sec @ 5:45

5X60sec@5:30

5X30 sec @ 4:40

5X15 sec@4:24

.5 cd

Since the belt ran continuous for the last intervals, can only count 7 actual miles today- 49:00 total. 

I pretended to lift some weights and do some boso balancing/squats, but I really had no direction at that point, so I rushed home to get ready for work. 

6:00AM- Davis Blvd. with Andy. 8:04ap. Felt tired today, but so glad to be outside. 8 miles of the ME monster, from my end. "Andy, tell me about your job- OH, I know ALL about that! Blah blah blah.." What can I say, he's therapeutic.

My mom is on a pocket dialing kick lately. All hours of the night and early mornings, she does not discriminate. Luckily today, I wasn't called until 7:45, which woke me up. It was I was pleased to sleep in without the internal clock going off. Ahhh:)

9:30AM- I saw lots of friends at the gym today, well 3, but it's rare that I ever recognize anyone.  It was clearly a popular time to go. Treadmills were highly desirable, especially ones that worked. Two girls from my ward flagged me down, and I decided to jump on the TM next to them. We spoke little, but it was so nice to run next to someone I knew. They talked me into meeting up for Body Combat class on Thursday mornings at 5:30. I'm totally silly in those settings. I better go dig out my dunce hat

5 miles on TM, 8:30ap. Tired legs

2x "The 10 Essential Strength Exercises for Runners" 

Full PT hip workout/stretches

20 mins in the Sauna:)

With the air-quality so poor, it's forced me to do my workout inside.

5:30 AM-TM at Golds. 2.25 wu.

10x400,equal dis.@7:53

90,90,90,90,87,87,87,87,84,81

 8mi@6:59 ap. (.5% for 3mi)

The last two nights have been hard to get sleep. I keep waking up at 4:00 and then can't go back to sleep. Each night I've had running related nightmares. Two nights ago, I was chasing Christi W, and Amber G for third place in the Utah Valley marathon, but we had to swim through rivers and run through an obstacle course. The director was very insistent that we made calls along the way for support of some sort. The more calls we made, the more time we could deduct off our overall time. I made no calls. Psh.

Then last night I dreamt  about pacing the last 30 miles at Buffalo with Scott. This came out of a real fear, since he asked me to pace it.  Just before going to bed, I read his race report from last year, then replayed it all night long in my head.  Tired. I've got to stop thinking about running!

5:30AM- Met Craig L and Scott W at the Capital to run the Twins. At the trail head we met up with another guy named Toly. 10+miles total,  with 5miles of 2000 ft vertical climb. Icy run but the spikes worked great.  I am usually very winded for the first 1.5 on the trail until I warm up. I was again on the peaks. I need to do hills more often. It was nice to get above the inversion. Tired legs, but felt overall good. 

I'm going to add some Hiit training into my workouts. I guess I was doing this with Firehouse, but didn't really know it at the time. Scott really likes it, and I know Josse does a lot. I've never really thought about it, but might be fun to throw in for some different cross training.

Ahhh, good sleep last night.

9:00AM- Easy XT day, 90 mins

2 mi elliptical

8 mi spin

2X12 clock situps

burpies

Woke up again in the 0400 hour. My boy has been on a kick of peeing the bed for the past few nights in a row, after almost a year of no accidents. The laundry has been really fun lately, but even more fun, is the blood curling screams that come from his room when he wakes up wet. Scares us all.

6AM-Davis with Andy. I had Steve drop me off on his way to work so I could get some extra mileage on the way home. I thought today would be very icy, but it was only moderate. More traffic than usual. This run has felt easier today than in days past, even at an easy pace. We seem to always push the effort a little in the last mile. 8 miles (7:58). I need a few more miles, so ran home and ran 3 more miles around the neighborhood for 11 total, 7:51ap.

This week we went on a family Caribbean Cruise to the Florida Keys, Cayman Islands, and Jamaica. We had a blast! 5 miles on the TM and and some on the track.

5 miles of walking around the Flordia Keys

Later, I ran up and down 55 flights of stairs on the ship.

Have you heard of Charity MIles? Me neither, until I recently read about it in Runners World. Essentially you can run to earn money for charity. It looks like you download a free app then take your phone on your run to track the distance.  Bikers earn 10 cents/mile, while runners and walkers earn 25 cents per mile!

***************************************************************************************************

I knew this week would be limited with miles since we would be exploring different islands. I made myself get on the TM and run 10 miles total with equal active rest.

5x2 min @5:49

5X60 @5:12

5x30 @5:00

+ run up/down 30 flights of stairs

We spent the day snorkeling with Stingrays and at the Coral Reefs in the Cayman Islands. I'm not usually into water sports because water always finds a way up my nose. Anyway, while snorkeling, I spotted a sea shell aprox.12 feet under a coral reef in a small looking cave. I decided to go for it. I felt like I had ran out of air 3/4 down, but made myself keep going till I grabbed it and brought it to the surface. HA! It's about the size of a medium size football. I had a hard time catching my breath after coming up and my snorkel stopped working. I also left my fins on the boat, so I had to swim back in a doggie pattle fashion with one arm since the other hand was holding the shell. For some reason I couldn't stay above the waves very well and I was exhausted after swimming and treading water for 45 minutes. The boat was about 200 meters away and everyone was spread out. We made it back and had fun showing our treasures. My shell had a live conch inside. I guess you can't harvest these in the states, but is legal and often harvested in the area islands. I had no idea what it was, I just wanted a sea shell:) Our tour guides "evicted" the conch and carved it up to eat. I later learned that some conch have pearls, but we never disected the snail to look for it. Great time! We all came home exhausted.

Jamaica! We cliff jumped/dived into the "Blue Hole" and hiked up several waterfalls. Lots of belly flops in the family. Some of us were proud for jumping off a 30 foot cliff, but were humbled when our tour guide climbed a tree a dived about 50+ down into the blue hole. He was monkey. Afterwards we walked about 4 miles around the market place. The Jamaicans had names for all of us that we compared at the end of the day. Several of my sisters were called "Boss Lady", another "Pretty Lady" and I was "Sweet Spirit." Don't call me that in the states. Best day of the trip so far!

1.5 hours of dancing with my family. No slow songs here. We rocked it!

Later, 40 up and down of stairs.

6:30AM- 7 easy miles on Main.

8 miles on LPT with Andy. Some puddle jumping but overall the trail is in good shape. The last mile was harder than it should have been-around 7:00. 7:51ap

5:30AM- Met up at the Capital with a good crew this morning; Scott W, Craig L, Jennilyn E, Matthew W, and MVH. I ran the entire thing on my ankles, but my knees feel it the most. I should have brought my luge. The first miles were so slippery, at times I had to hang on to anything I could grab to get up.  Scott was nice and let me wear one of his spikes on one foot on the way back down. We toyed with the idea of a three-legged run, but ended up pony  riding - with the spiked foot in front, and our bodies trailing.  We still ended up screaming for most of the last mile down, mostly me.

The other mountain goats were ahead of us. Apparently, Craig took a hard fall and hurt his knee and elbow. I think a helmet and body pads might be helpful next time. It was one of the more fun runs I've ran up there, but also the most technically difficult. The others would laugh, but I'm exhausted.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=450597265040568. It's worth all 7 mins.

6AM- Davis Blvd. with Andy.The effort for this run is getting easier, although no impressive speed. We picked up the last 90 seconds and were happy with that:) 7:55ap

Happy Valentines. Second favorite holliday of the year behind Halloween. I love my birthday, too.

I woke up early this morning and got ready to leave, but my stomach was upset. I waited around hoping it would go away, but it hardly disapated and I had to get the kids off to school.  Feeling blah.

6:00AM- Strange morning. Met up with Andy and had some annoying nerve pain in my foot. Turned around home to switch shoes. I came back up to Davis to catch up with Andy, but suddenly got a terrible stomach ache that lasted the entire day. 3 miles.

I've been working a lot lately and have drained my energy stores. No running, aside from running in the parking lot to work. .15!

A bit of speed at Lewis Park on the grass perimeter. A couple little hills and mushy wet grass, but hardly bothered.

1.5up in the hills

4x~400/ 3min rest

.26@1:24

.23@1:15

.23@1:14

.22@1:13

.10 cd:)

*

5 easy. So tired.

10 steady miles on Main. Exhausted.

6 on TM @1%

6:00AM- Davis with Andy. I ran by minutes today, rather than time. Up and down the Blvd in 70 mins for 9.25 miles/7:36 AP. Despite having 4 hours of sleep, I felt good. I think wearing lighter shoes made the difference.  Each week is feeling less of an effort on this route.

I've started to use Garmin Connect to track my workouts. 

9:00AM- This morning I ran around Lewis park and added some intervals on the mushy grass, it it began raining during the wu, but stopped by the time I started the workout. The wind picked up, which was difficult on two sections, but I knew grass running combined with wind was not going to give stellar times, so went by effort.perimeter. I was breathing hard for the entire workout, and rarely caught my breath on active rest, but felt good overall - and better than last week. Not necessarily vo2 miles, especially considering time, but the effort was there. Wish there was an option between vo2 miles and threshold. I usually consider tempo miles as threshold or races. Hum.

The first interval included one small uphill and two small downhills, so the last two Intervals, I changed it to have only one up and one down.

1.25 mi hilly wu

3x~800 with 400 active rest

.47@2:51

.49@2:57 

.49@2:57

2 mi cd with dog

6:30AM- It was tempting to sleep in. 4.25 sluggers down 400 E.

I need 10+ tomorrow, anyone want to join me?

11:00AM- It was wonderful to sleep in today. Angie and I had planned to run together this morning, but ended up skipping it becuase the weather wasn't looking good as of last night, so we'll get it in next week. Anyone want to join us?

So I jumped on the TM. I planned to run 10-12 steady, but ended up running out of time before I had to leave somewhere, so I sped up the last 5k in 19:11 (6:10AP) with the last mile in 5:38. The pace actually felt good, but with effort. I found my mind wandering off as the belt took my legs through the motions. This would be difficult time to get on the track for me right now. Plus, I ran at 0% incline.

6 easy on the TM. My legs feel strangely good for a Monday.

6:00AM- Nice morning around 45 degrees. It started raining on the way back and it actually felt nice.

Progressive 90 min run down Main Street into Farmington. Easy on the way there, then picked up the last 5+. I treid to keep the effort steady on the hills, and didn't show too much of the pace slipping, but I was breathing hard. Last five miles around 7:00, with the last few under that. I tried to finish hard and felt tired at the end.11.36 / 90 mins. Cd 1+ for 13.75 miles total.

I honestly don't know what I am training for.

5:45AM- I had fun run this morning with Scott up City Creek. We had good conversations and even saw some wild turkeys. It turns out Scott is a great turkey caller. Take him hunting! Plus, he hooked me up with some Altra trail shoes!

4 mi wu on TM

Alternating 300/400 with equal rest

5x300@5:40, then 5:00 for the rest

5x400@5:10

9:00PM- Easy run later with Steve after we both got home from work. We were exhausted. He's training to hike the Grand Teton in August with his brother and is doing well in his training. I'm certain running would be one of the first things to go in my life if I were working 80 hours a week. I admire his dedication so much. I need to help by making healthier dinners. Maybe that's today's focus- frozen healthy meals and lunch snacks to pack. Also, my new Altras felt really good.

6:00AM- 8mi with Andy on Davis. Lots of snow. 8:02AP. Feeling extremely exhausted. We had this converstaion..."I don't know why I'm so tired!?" Oh, but I really do all realted to poor choices (except daylight savings, of course) Last week was a bit of a  harder running week as of late, poor sleep, and coming off a long strech of work days. Then yesterday, I ate "breakfast cookies" for breakfast, skipped lunch but managed to eat a cookie on the way home, then Little Ceasers for dinner. Then I went to bed remembering that I forgot to drink any water the entire day, so hurry and drank some water before bed:) Perhaps most of us could find these same reasons, plus so much more to why were are tired, yet we still get up and get it done. Some of us would even dare call it balance. Huh.

I may take a small break from posting for a while, but will still keep up with everyone else.

5:45AM- I met up with Scott W, Criag L, and Matt W., at the Capital to run up to the towers that over look Bountiful. The wind was cold, but for better the higher we ascended. I couldn't tell that it was their taper week. I can't stop comparing them to mountain goats. Fun run with great people!

A few hilly miles with Steve.

I almost took took a break from the blog for 24 hours. I thought it would feel nice, it didn't. I'm too fun.

6:00AM- Nice miles with Andy on LPT. 8:00ap. Lots of talk about cleaning supplies. I'm sure Andy's dying for another male to run with. Too bad! We need to loop Kam in again, somehow.

6:45AM- Nice morning temps at 46 degrees, although the wind made it seem cooler. I felt rested and naturally got into a groove after a few miles.  There weren't as many runners out this morning, but there was a guy riding a horse down Main Street in Centerville. 

I headed down 400 E, down to Main into Farmington. The wind really started to pick up in the 4th mile which made the hills especially arduous. I tried to keep a MPE on miles 4-6 before stopping at the Chevoron for a GU. I walked out and the wind was gone. I hoped it would aid me on the way back with a nice tail wind, but everything was calm and beautiful outside.

I headed back the same way I had came. I thought of skipping 400 E, due to the added hills, but thought it would be good for me. I tried to pick up the pace to hmpe (half marathon pace effort:) I've noticed on this route, for me, mpe is usually around 7:30 pace, and hmpe is just under 7:00. However, the wind drained the pace even more today. In fact, I never hit under 8:00 until mile 7( 7:47, 7:00, 7:13, 6:58, 7:23, 6:41). I stopped my watch at 900N and jogged another mile cd. 12@1:33:26, 7:47 AP. I didn't go into the run with any plans to push the pace, but I seemed to get into a groove and it never felt too uncomfortable until the last mile, when I tried to have a harder finish. I feel pretty good about today's effort!

Also, this week I ran 6 days in a row! The last time I did this, was this exact week last year. I am going places.

4:25AM- I sat in bed thinking of ways to stay awake. I had just woken up from a nightmare about a baby trying to kill me with a knife. Think Chucky. Then I fall back asleep for just minutes, to see my very pregnant friend ( who is in real life due any day)  no longer looking pregnant. When I ask her where her baby is, she shrugs it off and says she doesn't know. Then she puts her hand to the side of her mouth as if to tell me a secret and says, " but I hear there's a baby in a dumpster in Ogden if your looking for one." Somehow I don't make a connection that it's likely her baby, but instead start thinking about how I can find the baby and keep it for my own, instead of going through a pregnancy. I needed to run.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the temperature was at 57°!! I didn't really believe it so I overdressed, but wore one less later than usual. I totally warmed up by after 3 minutes, but there was a head wind so it helped me stay cooler.

I took it easy as I ran down Davis, around 8:45 pace. It felt nice to go slower, but unfortunately it made the miles drag by. So I decided to play a game on the way back by counting all the steps I took on grass. Apparently, I ran 3,322 steps on grass on the way back (4.5 miles) I'm not sure how useful that information is, but it made the miles tick by. I guess I could compare it to my overall steps found on my Garmin (50% of the total, since I only counted one way), then decipher the percentage of time spent on grass for the last half....but again, how would that information be useful and what purpose would it give to document? I'll probably still figure it out anyway. 

Happy St. Patrick's Day! The only green I've worn today is bird poop on my wrist. The benefits of running on grass are many, one of them being the prime bathroom stall for every bird under every tree.  It made my kids laugh so hard when I got home. I should have kept the green on, I've already been pinched by three-redheaded-miniature-leprechauns today. 

6:00AM- Apparently when I silence my phone, it also silences my alarm. That seems like an override feature you would want on your phone. Needless to say, I woke up at 5:51, the time I normally leave. I got ready in 8 minutes and was able to meet Andy at LPT. 

It was pretty cold out, but no wind. There was even some light snow on the bridges. It seemed darker than usual, too. I felt sluggish. 8ish miles total.

My husband about met his maker last night when he decided to forgo the dinner I saved for him and eat hotdogs around mid- night when he got home. If he had ran it by me, I would have told him that those hotdogs were opened over a month ago. Needless to say, he spent the night terribly sick and I layed awake feeling bad for him. Somehow, I still magaed to get close to 7 hrs of sleep, which is really good for me actually, but maybe it was the interrupted sleep throughout the night that left me feeling incredibly groggy getting out of bed. 

6:30AM-  Very slow miles up to Davis and to the half way point. On the way back I ran a 30 min Fartlek with 30 seconds fast/ 60 seconds easy. The last 10 mins I moved it to 60hard/60easy. None of my splits recorded because my watch kept sending a message saying all my laps were full. Whatever that means. Regardless, the effort was decent-ish.

5:30 AM- 13+ miles on LPT with Andy. 

All runs have felt tiring this week. I think I'm going to stay around 50 mpw for a while until a race catches my attention. 

Okay, I have been nutty for the past 24 hours watching the Buffalo 100 mile results. I kept waking up in the night and reaching for my phone to see the updates. I've stalked Facebook all day and finally made myself put my phone away for a few hours:). I only know a few of the competitors, through Scott W, as he has been kind to invite me to some of their early morning trail runs. I am always in awe of how much they train and endure! It has brought a new and different perspective to the sport of endurance running, for me. A big congrats to Matt VH  (16:47) for taking the men's title and to Jennelyn (20:18) for taking the women's title and breaking the course record!! I've tried to stalk the results for Scott all day, but have come up dry as well as for Craig. Good luck to Zac and Matt W in the 50 miler!  o inspired by these athletes. It makes me want to lace up my trail shoes for an ultra!

Well the excitement must have rubbed off on my workout today. I am super stoked with my current fitness level. I felt surprisingly good during the first few minutes of my run, so I decided to push the effort and see how fast I could the last 5k my progression run. I felt rested and semi relaxed(?) for the given effort. It never felt too strenuous. I know I would struggle to run this outside right now, but I'm going to run with it!

2.5 mi wu

5.2mi @ 6:50, 6:40, 6:10, 6:04, 5:49, 1:00 (.20) =32:34 (6:20AP)

5k was timed for 3.1 miles, even though I ran an extra .10 at the end for 5.2 mi total

Last 5k@18:33 (5:54ap)

Happy to be here at this point:)

6:00AM-PT hip and leg exercises with 1 mi wu

PM- Hilly night run with Steve. He ran the whole way!

FUN.

6:00AM- Met up with a new group today at Farmington Pond with Aaron W., Alex, Ryan L.,and some guy that competes on ski hills, missed his name. These guys offered a lot of good tips and seem to and know the mountains well. Very cool group. We ran on the lower terrace to the upper terrace. Some of the guys thought it would be fun to descend down a rocky side to get down near a cave. At the bottom we spotted a natural stream and several spots of poison Ivy. It was so beautiful out there. I couldn't believe the views all around. I've spent too much time on Main Street. My shoes were awesome on the trail! 1:33:00 for 6.5 miles. I feel beat. Some of the guys ran Buffalo on Saturday so I was glad they were holding back some. Note to self- get a brighter head lamp and a little back pack thingy.

8:00PM- 10 miles with Karen. So fun to catch up!  

7:00AM- I felt like a loser showing up late for lots of dumb excuses. Met up with Kam, Becky and Andy, for part of it. Good chats. 

8:15PM- Met up with Karen for an easy 5 miler down 400 E.

6:00AM- Mid 40's and damp outside. It was a bit lighter today so I turned around and threw my headlamp in the car. I wanted a bit more hills today, so I met up with Andy on Davis Blvd rather than LPT. 

We started meeting on Davis when the snow covered LPT, late last year. The course has rolling hills which is nice, but not so much for speed. When we first started, our AP was just over 7:00 and I always felt wiped out afterwards. We've progressively improved our AP over the months, usually hitting just under 8:00 without too much of a toll. Today we naturally started a little faster and pushed it up the steeper hill at mile 4, but with effort.  We've learned to just stop talking once we get to that point. We seemed to push the pace on the way back into a tempo effort. Nothing too spectacular, but I am quiet pleased with the AP (7:37). With the exception of the first mile, all the rest were in the 7's, a first for us. Yippee.

For my records(8:11, 7:45, 7:46, 7:53, 7:38, 7:26, 7:16, 5:53 (.33)) Light cd for 8 total

6:00AM- It was a bit brisk this morning but I didn't layer any different than usual. There was a guy running with a balacava and looked to have 32 layers on, but he looked comfortable. This morning I ran to Davis Blvd and ran down the regular path. Since my routes are starting to get super redundent, I decided to turn East up 1800S to Bountiful Blvd. It took me 12 mins to climb the hill from Davis Blvd. I wasn't in any mood to push the pace. I saw a guy up there that I saw earlier running on Davis. We acknowldged each other with a mutral "yeeah" sort of look. I ran North on Bountiful Blvd and turned down Vinyard to Rocket Park and back home down 400 E. 6.5 mi, 61 mins, 9:27 AP.

Niggle city- Bunion R/O and L/I, right knee.

6:30AM- This was a good workout for me today. One of those kill-lots-of-birds-with-one-stone kind of workouts. Today's run called for a 30 min fartlek, with 50/50 ratio of hard/easy. I chose to do it outside on Main so I could get some uphill and downhill efforts, while getting a good turnover. 

I ran out 4 miles, then turned around and ran a fartlek back, but broke it up into 3 sets for mental purposes. 3 sets of 10X30 secs hard/30 seconds easy. After each set, I jogged 2 mins (stopped for a bathroom break after first set, so a little longer on that one.) The pace ranged from 5:00-6:15, most averaging around ~5:30 with the outliers on hills. The last set was mostly uphill, except for the last 3. I was breathing like a maniac. I ran a little extra around my neighborhood to get the full 30 efforts. 

7:00AM- 48°! This morning I met up with Andy on 400 E. We ran east to Tolman Park to catch the trailhead to BST. Somehow we wandered off the trail and ended up crossing a stream with a beautiful  waterfall in Centerville!  We did little running around this part, because of the unsteady footing. It was also the only time I caught my breath. The entire run felt like threshold pace to me. My breathing was constantly labored and I felt more drained today. Despite, it was a great run with a little push in the last few miles as we looped on to Main Street. I was so tired at the end, I had Andy give me a ride back home. A .5 mi up the hill seemed like it would push the work out into the hero category for me- no thanks.

I was grateful to have company today, I probably would have walked more. Beautiful morning!

Uneasy stomach for the past two days. Took the day off, probably could have ran, but lacked the desire to run semi-uncomfortable.

6:00AM- Met Andy on LPT for 8 miles, 7:35ap. Felt comfortable this morning and we seemed to pick up the last bit without noticing too much of an effort, 6:34, 6:22. 

3 mi with Emily:)

8 easy on Davis Blvd.

Jumped on the treadmill then got interrupted and never went back. Short run.

LPT with Andy.

5 on the TM

Great early run with Scott in SLC to the towers/BST. Had a blast cruising back down the trail to the Capitol. Amazing weather and great company!

Swimming with the family and did two handstands afterwards.

Driving. No miles today.

6AM- 9 mi on Main, 7:18ap. 30 min fartlek on way back,alternating 3 mins at 5k pace/2 mins at mpe.

Cold and rainy on Davis, but fun to run with Steve.

TM Workout. I like to do this workout periodically and compare my last 5k times.In early March I ran 19:10, 3 weeks later in March @18:33 and April in 18:02. It's good to see progress.

1mi wu

Progressive 5 mile @ 7:05, 6:46, 6:19, 5:50, 5:23, & .30 (.10).= 6:16ap

Last 5k @ 18:02= 5:48ap

.5 cd

5 miles with Karen around the neighborhood.

5:30AM- Met Andy on LPT to Farmington and back for 13.75 mi, 7:51ap. Ran a little extra through the tunnel, several times to test my GPS on my watch and go back for my gloves.

LPT with Andy. 8 mi/7:51ap.

Lots planned, little executed.

Beautiful morning! I stopped sereral times to look at the scenery on Davis Blvd. I "raced" a tall man running on the other side of the street for the first several miles. I'd stop and he would pass me, I'd work to pass him back and we leap frogged till he eventually turned around. Overall a slower pace today. Picked up the last 1.5, mostly downhill, for some leg turnover. Felt low on energy today. I think it has something to do with the bakery items I have enjoyed as if late. Mmmm German chocolate everything.

Also, my all time favorite trainers are Brooks Ghost.  I need to buy 13 pairs to have on hand. What does everyone else like? Burt?

Early LPT with Andy. I felt like I was dragging from the start. I'm surprised we hit under 8 at all. Must've been Andy's springy feet. 7:42ap.

6:30AM- 55° at the start. Met up with Kam at the Mandarin on 900 N. We ran North on 400 E,  until it ended., just pass Parish Lane . We ended up doing a couple  ~mp mile repeats down the hill with a jog back up. I talked him into some flat parts to incorporate. We headed north again on the west part of town for a few miles into Farmington. We turned around and headed back east up to Freedom Hills. The climb  was slightly torturous. We ran several hilly laps around Freedom hills, then headed south on Main Street, connected back on 400 E, to the start. I took a GU around half way, which was helpful since I was was running low on energy from the start. The scenery was beautiful and the weather was great! 8:18ap

6AM- Nice morning run with Andy and Kam around Bountiful pond and LPT. Gorgeous morning! 8:07ap

Fun run up Mueller Park with Allie. Snow, hail, glaciers and such. Good memories!

Woman issues, little running lately. Pulled off a tiny bit of speed today to prep for tomorrow's 5k. 

TM- 4x400@ 1:28, 1:23, 1:20, 1:17

Felt rough.

Fun race at Sugarhouse park. It was about as hilly as I expected, but the wind didn't help. Sure was nice at the back, though. I tasted blood at the end, so I guess that means it was a good effort. Ran about what I predicted for today. Garmin showed 3.02mi course.

A fellow USU allumni took first for men- I missed his name. I never knew him beacuse he's 7 years my junior. Where's my cane.

Busy day at work, but busier when I got home. 2 miles was all I could squeeze with Steve, but I made sure they were hilly. Felt fine today.

6:00AM- Met Andy at the Legacy Parkway Trail head.  

 We never plan what to do, we just run and keep up with each other's pace. Maybe one of these days we'll start Tempo Tuesday's again, but I'm in no hurry. Plus I like blindly running and talking about myself the whole time, so it can't be too much of an effort. 

Nothing spectacular, but for a lackadaisical run, we were kinda zippy today. It must have been the earlier daylight. Plus I drank a V8 Energy drink. Those make me crazy. I had to do something, I was thinking Andy was going to bring his springy legs and that I was going to be tired from Saturday. I felt relaxed and didn't feel like the pace was pushed too much at the end, until the last .25, then I suddenly wanted to throw up.

 9.2 miles, 7:14 AP

8:03, 7:41, 7:26, 7:18, 7:15, 7:08, 7:06, 6:50, 6:32, 5:51 (.20)

3 easy miles with stroller and Emily.

5:30AM- It was 57 degrees and the first day I've worn shorts/T-shirt! What a beautiful morning it was today. I stayed up late attending an American Idol party and ended up getting 4 hours of sleep, but thankfully I felt fine today. I met Andy on LPT and we talked about going easier than usual. We seemed to ease into our regular pace anyway. We took the trail to Farmington overpass and connected onto Main Street for some rollers. Miles 6-7 we had a couple stops for a drink and to play with Andy's new watch. I want that watch. Then we made our way back to Pages LN trailhead. 7:38ap

Now I get to cultivate my flower beds. Every time I bring out the rototiller, I think of my dad rototilling our yard with a baby chick in his front pocket. I guess they were bonding. Anyway, he leaned over and rototilled the chick. Although I have offered my condolences, it still makes me giggle, because I'm sometimes a bad person.

8:14, 7:53, 7:50, 7:52, 7:46, 8:08, 8:03, 7:14, 7:29, 7:25, 7:33, 7:18, 7:09, 6:54 (.67)

10 miles with Karen down Main Street.

Gosh, that was fun today! Around lunch time, I met up with Scott W. to run Mt. Wire in Sugarhouse area. He mentioned it would be a good recovery run for him, so I expected an easy run. We ran a bit, but mostly hiked up ~2500ft to the top in 1.75 miles. He kept talking while I gasped for air at a literal crawling pace. My calves started burning about 10 minutes into it, so he let me stop and catch my breath stretch for a minute.

The view was amazing at the top! I've never been anywhere like it, but I've only ran the Twin Peaks in the past. We decided to take a more technical route back, climbing (literally) up to Red Butte. He kept talking about rattlers in the rocks and I kept picturing them jumping out of the holes like Wac-a-Mole. We caught a couple pics up top. I was in awe of the ground we had covered! We then went to a ledge called the "living room." We found  a group of people casually taking in the view. We finally made our way down to the bottom in about a 1:50:00 for a 10k round trip. A little harder than I expected, I need to work on hills more deliberatly.

Mt Wire was fun! The weather was awesome, the company was great and the scenery was outstanding! 

6AM- LPT with Andy. 9 miles, 7:41AP. We were both tired this morning. He had an awesome training week last week, and I was just sleep deprived. We took it easy then picked up the last two miles at 6:39, 6:27.

I just purchased the new Garmin 620. I can't wait to use it and stew over meaningless running data!!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-NwHNHNXsg0

The acting is really good in this.^

Day off to sleep in and clean the house. Legs are tight from Monday's trail run.

1 mile to test out new Garmin. I turned around to study the contents of the manual a bit further. 

2 miles with Stephen on a warm summer-y-kind-of night. 

AM- Nice morning run on Davis. 7.3 mi @ 8:25ap

PM- 2.5mi with Steve. 

7:00 AM-  55º, 75% humidity, cloudy, little wind. Gorgeous morning run in Farmington back country on dirt and gravel. It almost looked like an extension of LPT, but not paved and much more scenic. I'd run it everyday if I could find it again. Met up with Angie B, Cynthia F., and Katie T. at Harmon's for a nice 13 miler. Great company and route! 7:45ap.

I have been very satisfied with my new Garmin 620. It's still learning about me each run. My first run, Yesterday, sent me a conrats message with an new 5k estimated time of 24 minutes, up to the marathon at 3:45. Overnight, I have improved my 5k estimate to 21:00 and marathon at 3:25. Even my VO2 max went from 44 to 48 overnight. If this improvement continues at this rate, I expect to have an OTQ by next week;)

PM- More rototilling!

BST to Waterfall

Happy Memorial Day! That doesn't really go together, but hope your day is filled with friends, family and good memories.

9am- this morning I met up with a local ladies group on Dave's Boulevard. Mostly ran with Holly and Emily and have good conversations about Boston, fueling, Lululemon sports bras, and our ambitions for the year.  7 miles, 8:20ap. Ran 1.5  home, downhill at 6:30 ap. 

After I got home, I spent the rest of the day gardening. Almost done.

6am- Met Andy at LPT . Both of us were tired from home improvements the day before. Took it easy. 8.25 miles, 7:45ap.

AM-Lots of gardening and sun burning.

PM- 2 mile hike with the youth

5:30Am- Met Craig L., and Scott W. at the Capitol. We ran to three different towers and Ensign Peak. We made our way down pretty quick, hitting 6:30's on the downhill stretches. Perfect weather and so many flowers! I loved it.

V02 max updated to 54 and my race times are getting pretty close to spot on. I continue to be in awe of this little electronic wrapped around my wrist.

15.32 with Andy into Farmington on LPT. Picked up the last couple miles in 7:06,6:36. Felt tired at the end. 7:48ap.

Roses are red, violets are blue, I drove to work wearing just one shoe.

No miles today, I'm tired!

8:30PM: I lied. 7.5 miles with Karen to the waterfall. Lots of hill climbing, slower, but good time.

Walkabout with Emily.

6:45AM- Easy with ladies on Bountiful Blvd.

6.5 hours of landscaping. I am the worst at mowing lawns! And my arms are sore from using the weed eater! I  also had loads of fun digging in a garden barrier.  But the very most fun was using my neighbors power sprayer. I power sprayed everything wether it needed it or not, including my kids. Oh, then we raced up and down the street on their razor scooters. My kids beat me every time. My right leg is actually sore. What a crazy one-legged exercise.

PM: Day 2 of the 30 day ab challenge. Since I forgot yesterday, I had to do double- 35 sit ups, 22 sec plank, 13 crunches and 13 leg lifts.

6AM- LPT with Andy. The temperature read 74° when I woke up, but it wasn't quite that warm on the trail. I was worried about pushing anything today because I am sore from yard work, but like always, as soon as things warmed-up everything  was fine. We have been hesitant to add any true tempos or speed work to our Tuesday runs this year. We usually just go by feel and get more progressive by the end. We talked the entire time, usually an indicator could've pushed.  One of these Tuesdays I will feel like doing a planned workout:) Good to get out in good weather with someone!, too!

8:13, 8:10,  7:53, 7:48,  7:19, 719,  7:17, 6:46= 7:36AP or 7:34 AP (moving pace) I hate that my watch gives me an average pace and an average moving pace. I never know which one to go by because it doesn't reflect in the mile splits. There is an 11 second lapse in time.  Oh, the small things!

Then I drove straight to Big O Tires to get my car serviced. I ran home, adding another 2.5 miles. 

Day 3 ab challenge-  The kids volunteered to do this with me every day, we'll see how long it lasts. 25 sit ups, 15 crunches, 15 second plank (x2), 10 raised legs. 

5:30AM- This morning Allie and Nan met me at my house to run a "memorial" run around Nan's old stomping grounds here in Bountiful. More on this in a bit, but first, the morning started off crazy!

I decided to take some Naproxen Sodium when I woke up, but in my tired state I thought I accidently took a Tylenol PM. Tylenol PM in my system puts me down like a tranquilizer. I started to panic. Allie and Nan would be there in 15 minutes and I was going down! With desperation I started gagging myself in the toilet, to no avail. Ugh! I double check the medicine bottle to realize I did not take Tylenol PM, but Napoxin Sodium as I initially intended. Long story short, I'm a freak. What else is new.

Okay, back to the important stuff. I run outside and find the girls there right on time. We had a very hilly route planned. I had hoped my trail running would pay off. Hard.To. Say. We make our way to 400 N and started climbing to Davis Blvd. We ran along Davis at a comfortable steady pace then turned up East on Indian Springs Rd. The air seemed to get very thin at this point. Meanwhile, Nan is sidestepping and talking as though she's walking me like a dog. I don't know what Allie's doing, cause I can only focus on myself- one shuffled step at a time. I think I could have walked faster up the hill. I try to keep it together, and offer limited verbal feedback to Nan's story. I can't remember much of the conversation for that mile. Clearly, when she says "she's back!" that means she's back.

We make it up to Bountiful Boulevard and I suggest a nice breaking point to "stretch." We stop for a minute then continue again uphill on Bountiful Blvd. We picked up our cadence again and it felt great. We stopped inside the the cemetery for a bit, then continued past the Bountiful Temple to Vineyard. We passed Nan's childhood home. Then we made our way back to 400 E, then home.

I didn't offer much in conversation but did bring up Nan's TOU CR and Allie's threatening time in 2013. I tired to stir up a rivalry but they are both so modest. BORING! That's about all I offered, along with my story of trying to gag myself. I'm a real treat to run with.

The spilts are fun- 9:37, 7:47, 7:38, 9:30, 8:11, 7:31, 7:39, 7:17, 7:34. 9 miles, 8:02ap

Always a fan.

Day4 Ab challenge: Rest day scheduled. I just did  a variation of day three again. 25 situps, 10 crunches, 10 Leg raises, 1 min plank.

PM: 3 mile hike planned up the canyon with the youth again tonight.

AM- Day 5 ab challenge with the kids- 30 Sit ups, 12 crunches, 12 leg raises, 20 sec plank, 3.5 easy miles.

PM-Geocaching/hiking with the kids

5:00AM- What a great morning! I met Scott W., and brothers, Matt and Aaron W. at the Mount Olympus Trailhead, in Murray. I'm not going to lie, I was a little nervous about today. It was about as hard as I thought it would be, but equally as fun. It felt like a tempo effort for the first two hours till we reached the peak. The last mile was the hardest, from a technical and cardio standpoint. Scott and I made it up in 1:40, the other two were ahead 5-10 minutes. The scenery was outstanding! We signed the log, took some pics and made our way down. Our moving time was around 2:45, 3:01 total with bathroom stops, pics and taking in the surroundings. I've never done anything remotely close to this! Such a great experience.

 My quads were a bit sore this morning when I woke up, so I ran 6 shake out miles down 400 E with Karen.

Day 6 abs- 35 sit ups/15 crunches/15 leg raises/25 sec plank.

2 mile hike to waterfall with family.

6:30AM- Fun group run up Mueller Park/Elephant Rock with Nan and Aaron, Allie, Cynthia, Kate, Jaime, and Jasmine. Nice and easy pace, except the person directly behind me was growling on the way down:) It seems most people were worn out with tired muscles from either racing on Saturday, or biking Little Red. Allie, Nan, Aaron and I added a little more at the end to get 8 miles.  

Day 9 abs- 45 sit-ups/38 crunches/38 leg lifts/30 sec plank + 30 push-ups.

AM- Day 10 challenge- 50 ups/50 crunches/38 leg lifts/30 sec plank+35 push-ups. Everything felt  harder today.

This week is going to be mostly outdoor cross training.

8x30 sec @ 5:00 min/mi

+ Day 12 abs

8 mi with Andy on LPT at 7:34 AP. Easy out, picked up on way back @ 7:16, 7:09, 7:03, 6:36.  Felt surprisingly good considering the last two weeks of colloquial jaunts, or lack thereof.

ab challenge continued after a brief hiatus- 45 sit ups/ 45 crunches/ 20 leg lifts/ 30 sec plank+20 push ups.

Today's word of wisdom- never lay ALL of your shoes out in the sun to dry. It shrinks them.

Ok, I am tight from yesterday's workout, which is no different from any other Tuesday run. I went to bed feeling like a corpse and woke up 10 hours later! I can't remember the last time I ever got that much sleep. Finding my mojo to run alone, has been hard to find. The desire to race is even harder to find. Otherwise feeling like a million bucks, just can't get excited about running. It seems a lot of people this year are feeling similar. What is going on!?

1.5 miles, 10:26AP. I've taken the past couple of days off from running. The other day when I was slack lining, I got the back of my leg spanked as I fell. Now I have internal bleeding, some might call it a bruise. Time off from a bruise! Huh, somehow it affected my fitness, too.

Instead, I'm going on a bike ride with the kids.

7 miles slow down Main Street. I am thinking of doing Big Cottonwood Half instead of the full this year. I am going to work on a workout calendar today to see if I can spark some excitement.

3 mile walk around the neighborhood with Stephen. Lots of talk regarding pros and cons of moving to various places for work next year.

This morning I ran up to Davis Blvd, up around some neighborhoods by Lewis Park, then up Indian Springs road. I walked mostly up the hill so I could look at the houses and land they were on. I continued up to Bountiful Blvd then ran past the temple down 400N. I was able to get some good downhill and speed without pushing much. Last miles were 6:46 and 5:50's.

My legs feel a little trashed from yesterday's hilly route, as well as a sore knee from last weeks slack lining accident. The back my leg looks funky  with bruising,  but the real annoying feeling is coming from the front of the knee. I put Kinso tape on my leg last night since it was aching. It seemed to help a little bit today. I met Andy at LPT for our usual eight miler. We both wanted to take it easy, especially since he just ran a great race last Saturday. For some reason, our pace ended up being not too far off from usually runs. I was tired though, 7:44ap.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/527573114

Easy progressive on TM at 0%

9:00, 7:40, 7:25, 7:15, 6:58. 6:44.

I was glad it felt easy given the days I've taken off and the junk food I have devouerd this week! I wanted to do more, but decided to stop and not overdo it since I was meeting up with people for the next few days.

LPT with Andy. We were a bit springy today, than usual. Felt good.

8:09, 7:59, 7:33, 7:37, 7:14, 7:13, 7:13, 6:51= 7:27ap

I had the time of my life running the 2nd Annual Timpendance run with the Wasatch Mountain Wranglers. Since our kids are out of town, Steve was able to come and tag my brother Adam to come along with him. Craig L., had a drawing for some prizes at the beginning and we each got some cool stuff. We started at 9:30pm and ran to the top. I ran with Jennilyn and Steve Froggly for most of it, but there were so many people around, and it switched up a lot. I was grateful for Scott W., for helping me out and giving me safety tips. It was very steep and slippery at the top with the snow. I can't help but to wonder what it would have looked like in the day. Ben Light was at the peak with some bacon for everyon! We took pictures at the top and celebrated with hugs and hi-fives (okay, mostly me, I had never done anythign like that! I was by far more excited than most of the others, lol!)  I ran down with Scott W., for part of it and my brother in law Scott Summers for the rest. The last miles really dragged by as my light became dim and the hidden rocks were plenty. We ended around 1:30 to a BBQ in the parking lot. We didnt stay, since Adama and Steve had ended thier hike 2 hours earlier and were sleeping in the car:) It was hard but so worth it. I can't wait to do it again!! 

3 miles with Steve around the Stadium of Fire. I thought I would be sore today from last nights Peak run, but I'm not. Although my arms a little sore from climbing.

Today we walked around Daybreak to look at the communities. Who would have known it was a wonderland out there? Wow.

7:36 ap w Andy on LPT. And we saw a guy that was wrapped right I a blanket that looked dead. I checked for breathing... Shoulders were moving, but he looked dead.

10:00PM- Legacy Parkway trail midnight half marathon. Andy and I paced the 1:50 group. It was a lot of fun, but it sure strange running in the dark of night. I think we came in about 30 seconds early at 1:49:31 for 13.04 mi., but the course measured short. I came home with a sore left knee and right big toe tenderness, which feels like a bit of tendinitis.  Made an appointment with the podiatrist earlier today that will take place in a couple weeks. But as I write this now, days later, it's not feeling so bad. My left middle finger on the other hand has got some issues, for the past seven months. Two young for gout, I think (or is it associated with diabetes?)  and seemingly young for arthritis, but then again I guess that come anytime. Who knows. Good thing my finger doesn't hold me up as far as I'm concerned. Weeding my garden on the other hand....Feeling a bit decrepit!

2 mi wu on TM

Change of pace 2 miles with one minute at marathon pace alternating with 30 seconds at 5K pace, 6:53/6:00. Felt pretty easy considering my lack of training for the past month.