Well I didn't think I'd make it this far....

AM: Went to practice at Sugarhouse. Once I got there, Natalie was cleverly able to deduce from the usage of her shoes that she brought two left shoes, so she drove us to her house to get the right one and then started the cemetery loop from her house. We caught people on the way there, and only did 1 lap in the cemetery, then headed back to Sugarhouse where we did a lap around the perimeter and then I dropped her off at her house. 

PM: Got off work too late so I scratched my PM run. 

AM: We were getting really sick of meeting up to run at 7 am, and it still being way too hot for the run, so Natalie and I did the only logical and sane thing... we met for a run at 3 am. We started from the highland marquis and went up 2100 S, through Stringham to Wasatch, then we followed the usual Thunderbird run backwards to the park on Crestview above the Zoo. We took a breather there and then ran down Sunnyside to 15th, then took that back to Sugarhouse, where we did an outside lap and finished at the Marquis for 10. The best thing about running at this time of day was not having to watch for cars. We ran right in the middle of Sunnyside the entire way down. Despite meeting at this time of night though, it was still a little too hot :/ But we are definitely going to do this again! Oh and then we went to Ihop afterwards and managed to stay awake for our food to arrive. By this time the sun had come up and it was just past 6, so we debated going to practice, but we were exhausted already so maybe next time :)

PM: Didn't work today, so I was able to go for a run not already feeling tired. Much to my surprise, I don't ever feel much different when I start running. I did five miles right when the sun set. It was way too hot :/ 

AM: Couldn't make practice today so I ran on my own this morning. I did my usual 10 mile loop in 1:06. Wasn't feeling too great by the end, but everyday can't be a good day right?

PM: Went for a run when the sun set. Did my four mile loop easy, about 26:30 total time.  

AM: Neither Natalie or I decided to race today, so we met for a run. We started from her house and went over to Guardsman, then did the Shriner's route to 11th ave, where we went down to City Creek, grabbed a drink at the fountain, then headed back to her house the usual South Temple route. I felt like crap for this run and was totally dead by the end. I will try and ice bath later.

AM: Went to practice at Liberty today. The guys were doing a long run up City Creek, then backwards along Dry Creek to JCC, then back along Virginia. That seems like a solid long run, I might try doing that one. Natalie and I stuck with them from Liberty, along 900 E, then down 3rd Ave, until about a half mile past Memory Grove, then turned and stair cased back to Liberty from South Temple. The run got us 8.5, which is perfect for me since it leaves me 13.5 to do for my long run tomorrow. 

AM: I ended up not finding anyone to run with this morning, so I was dreading my long run. I slept in and then it was even harder for me to get out the door since I knew it would be hotter. But then to my nice surprise, it was cloudy and cool oustide! Such a wonderful change from the heat these past weeks. So I did my ten mile loop and then added a 3.5 mile loop to get the full 13.5. I had some music on so I never really got bored, and I also surprisingly pretty good. I finished the full 13.5 in 1:26.41, which I figure is close to 6:25 pace, so a good pace for a long run. Next week I climb! 

AM: Went for my usual ten this Sunday morning. I forgot to start my time at a light, so I don't have my total time, but I was at around 6:30 pace. I'm hitting 100 this week, so I might to try to get in a PM run but it depends how work goes. 

AM: At practice this morning, we warmed up a big grass lap around SHP, then we jogged over to the Northwestern hill on the state course and did that loop 10 times continuously. I was feeling pretty tired and crappy on the warm up, but as we did hills I started to loosen up. After those, the guys went over to the state hill, and we did that four times with two minutes recovery between each. Then we did another big grass lap cool down and afterwards Chris and I added the 4.5 along the warm up run we have to get to 12.5.

PM: I was exhausted after work but managed to get out the door to do 4.  

AM: Practice was at Wheeler Farm today. We warmed up on our outer loop, got to 2.5, then did 8X80 meters strides in the field. After that we went over to the dirt loop which bill marked for 800's. We did 4X800 and I was doing them at 2:30. I hit 2:25, then 2:27 for the rest. It was a solid, relaxed effort. Then we cooled down to get to 9. Bill brought over a watermelon and I ate a ton of that so I wasn't able to add on.

PM: Today I decided to run before work since it is so hard to run when my shift is over. We recently got a treadmill, so I hopped on that and did 6 at 7.5-8 mph. One of the reasons I hate running on treadmills, is that my sweat doesn't evaporate nearly as much and I am always drenched. But, it beats running outside at this time of day. 

Later PM: It was a really slow day at work, so I got off pretty early and I was feeling okay so I went for another run. Did four miles right when the sun set in about 26 minutes. 

AM: Woke up this morning feeling like a train hit me. My legs were totally shot, probably from running three times yesterday, and working a lot lately. I rolled out my legs before running, then started my run nice and slow. I stopped at around 4.5 miles to stretch, then felt better and was holding down a good pace for the second half of my run. I did 10 miles in 1:08. I foam rolled after and then took an ice bath. My lets felt a lot better once I took an ice bath.

PM: Today was my day off so I was able to get plenty of rest and went out for 6 miles. I felt a lot better than this morning.

AM: This morning was the annual Slurpee Run! We usually meet at Sunnyside Park for this run, then finish at Liberty and we have to run back up to Sunnyside. Well this year I decided to park at Liberty, and run up to Sunnyside before we started so that I could just be done right when we finished. I parked by the fountain and ran up 900 S, then down 1500 E to the gulley, I did a lap and a half in there, then went out the upper exit and across Greenwood Terrace, did a lap around the park and then met up with the team to start the Slurpee Run. I got 4.5 miles before we started.

     What makes this race fun is being competitive and actually racing, so I planned to continue my reign as champion of this run for two years now. Bill decided to take out one location, but add in two more, so this year there was nine 7-11's we had to go to. Oh, and the free cups this year are larger than they were last year too. In total, we had 64 oz of slurpee.... YUM. The first three were easy, then at 4 they started to get tougher. Clayton did this run this year, so I had someone to race against. He can down them a little faster than I can, but I can hold them down better than he can. At the second to last location, on 175 E and 800 S, we were tied and finished our Slurpees together. From there I went up to 300 E since it's residential for the stretch from 800 S to 1300 S, and started hauling. I was probably throwing down five minute pace for that stretch. I knew if I wanted to win, I would have to break Clayton here. I got to the last location, chugged the slurpee like it was nobodies business, then hauled it over to the fountain for the win! 3X SLURPEE RUN CHAMPION BABY!!!! The run was 8 miles total. 

AM: Didn't go to practice today since they were doing a very light workout for tonight's race, so I went out on my own. I slept in a bit since it was cloudy, then got out the door and did my ten mile loop with a 1/2 mile out and back added at the end for 11.

AM: This morning I went over to East for my long run. I did the loop that I did with Bill and Natalie last year during track, where I got super pissed at Bill for lying to me that it was only 9 miles but it was actually 15. (lol remember that Nat/Bill?) Anyway, it's a good run when you need 15 miles :) So I ran up 900 S to Greenwood Terrace, then up Sunnyside to Foothill, then over and up Wakara to Red Butte. I got a drink there, then headed over to JCC. There was so many bikers I had to weave through and pass on the trial, then let them pass me once the downhill came. I followed the trail all the way down to City Creek where I got another drink (I slept in, so by now it was getting hot), stretched a little, then finished my run. I went down Memory Grove, then up South Temple until 800 E, then down that to 900 S, where I went back up to my car parked behind East. I added about .2 once up there to make it the full fifteen. It's getting easier to do some of these longer run on my own now. That's one week at 100!

AM: Had to run a bit earlier than usual to get some stuff done before it got too hot. Did my usual ten at an easy pace. My legs are really sore from the hilly long run yesterday. 

AM: This morning I met a few others earlier at Sugarhouse Park so that we could add some miles before practice. We dd the 2100/2100 loop down 2700 S, then back along Alden. Natalie and I added a bit to get to 5. Then we started the team run. We did the cemetery run, and Clayton and I did a lap in the cemetery. Once we got back to the exit, we were going to run back with Nat,  but she got a pretty bad nose bleed so we headed back without her. It was 7 back to the cars. 

PM: Got off work a bit late, but I want to front end load, so I went out for my rain despite the storm. Maybe it wasn't the smartest idea to do 6 miles in a thunder storm, but I did it anyway. 

AM: This morning we met at Wheeler Farm. We did a little over two miles warm up, then we did 8 strides in the field, before going over our .5 mile loop and doing a fartlek ladder. 1-2-3-4-3-2-1 with 1 and 2 minute recoveries between them. I ran alone for these, and was feeling pretty tired and sore before, but I was able to get moving once I warm up. Then we cooled down to get to 10.

PM: Went out for 6 miles after work again. The weather was considerably better for tonight's run than it was for last night's run.  

AM: Couldn't make it out to practice this morning, so I ran on my own. I did my ten mile loop with another lap around my block for 12 miles. I felt okay, just tired, as usual. I took the run pretty easy. 

AM: Couldn't make practice again today, so I went for the same twelve miles I went for yesterday. Felt okay. 

AM: Super mad that I missed my last two afternoon runs. It's been a really hectic week. This morning I went to practice. Those racing did a run up to the Memory Grove fountain and back. I ran with Natalie and Clayton the whole time. We took a shorter way back so we added some at the park to get 8.

PM: I got off work fairly early, for the first time in 4 days, so I went out for a run. I did a two mile loop, then went over to a grassy clearing and did 10 strides since I decided to jump in the Draper Days 5k. Then I finished to 4 miles.  

AM: I decided to run this 5k mainly to get at least one race in me before running the half marathon next week. I want to run a solid half, so I thought I'd get a faster tempo effort in. I got there and warmed up 3 miles and change before the race. I began to see quite a few fast guys there, so I knew there would be competition. I put on my flats and went over to the line to do some more strides. 

Finally the gun went off and the race went out fast. Well, fast for a 5k, but slow compared to what I have gotten accustomed to in high school racing. I made sure to get out well to avoid trouble right where it narrows very suddenly, but still be with the pack. The lead pack quickly formed, and I made it a point to stick with them for as long as I could. There was five of us through mile one, which was I believe a 4:47 for me, so I quick first mile for 5k. From here we turned and got to a slight downhill.  There was some movement by a few guys and I just made sure to stick with the pack. At one point I was running in the front next to Teren, and had this been an important race, I think I would have made an effort to push the pace here since I was feeling good and could use the slight downhill. But, I stayed with the pack and soon we turned another corner. I took the inside of the cone with Teren and Jake, and was hanging on to the back. I'm not sure whether this last stretch was a slight uphill or downhill, but I started to feel the pace here and the pack started to pull away. I tried to surge and stick on them once, but didn't have much success and pretty much let them get away. I didn't come into this race too focused, so I gave myself excuses and did that whole deal which cost me what would have probably been a big road 5k PR. Bummer. Once I let them go I could tell I slowed and some other guy passed me. Then coming up on the last turn towards the finish, Kramer came up on me and passed me in the final quarter mile. I didn't make much of an effort to fight back and finished 7th behind him. 

Overall, not disappointed with this race. I got what I wanted out of the 5k, which was some faster tempo effort. This was the first time I've raced since Southwest, and with a 15:45, I'm not disappointed. It was a good introduction back into racing, and I have a clearer goal in mind now for the Des News Half. What's cool about a race like this is how many people from the blog show up and then you get to actually meet the people you read about or interact with. I cooled down with Rob and Kramer and the rest of the Alta guys and had some fun conversation with them, then cooled down some with the East team. Overall somewhere in the vicinity of 3-3.5 miles cool down, which brought me to ten for the morning. Now time to focus on the half!

AM: My usual ten miles on Sunday. Took them super easy since I want to be fresh for Wednesday. Finished in about 68 minutes. 

AM: For practice this morning we went up 2100 S to 2100 E, then North on that to 1300 S and then down Wasatch to Mike's Tennis, where we got a drink, then headed back the Flagpole, Stringham, 2100 S route back to SHP. We hit 7 right when we got back to the cars. 

PM: After work I went out for an easy five miles to get 12 for the day. 

AM: Today we met at Liberty and did two laps for 3 miles, then Natalie and I added to 4. Then we went to breakfast where I saw my old BC Calc teacher!

PM: I got off work early again today, so I did my two mile loop, then 8X ~100 meters strides, then jogged home. ~3.5 miles

AM: I woke up bright and early to meet up with everyone at the post office on Sunnyside, where we always meet and then jog over to the start. Once at the start I jogged around for another 15 minutes, then did a good 8-10 strides. As I was warming up I saw a lot of good competition, as well as some of my old high school competitors. Right at the line I remembered that I hadn't eaten anything yet, and worried that I might pay for it during the race. 

This race is one that I never do quite what I want in. The start is always screaming fast, the long downhill is not as amazing as it seems, and then the stretch from South Temple back to Liberty seems infinite. This really isn't a strategy race, it's a 'go out really hard and see who can die the least' race. Right off the line that pace was quick. I didn't want the first mile to be under 4:40, but looking back that was an unrealistic goal, especially for this course and this field. If I held it back to that pace for the first mile, I would have totally let the front pack go, so I just stuck on the heels of the chase pack that formed, which consisted of about 5 guys, trailing the leaders by about 20 meters. I remember the first four miles, which were 4:32, 9:11, 14:30, and 19:45. During this time, the chase pack broke up and about half the pack got away from me and the other half fell behind me. I was running alone for a lot of South Temple. It wasn't until the last downhill after the turn onto 200 E that two guys came up on me. I recognized one, Jordan Cross, but didn't recognize the other guy, although we was also wearing orange shorts, so I assumed he was an Ogden runner. I hung with them for awhile, and then surged, broke away for maybe 15 seconds, and they caught me again. I lost them at about mile 5, and then ran the rest by myself. The last stretch from 200 E to the finish by Liberty was absolute torture, especially since I took a glance back when I turned and saw multiple people closing on me, one being Andrew Brewer. I had slowed down a lot since I lost Jordan and who I later learned was Mike, and could not get myself to pick it up on that last stretch. Once I hit 500 E I took another last glance and saw Andrew was closing fast and managed to pull out a small kick which was enough to hold him off. After I was dry heaving for a few minutes, but since I didn't eat anything, of course nothing was coming out. I could also tell, as with every year I run this, I had quite a few blisters on my feet which were not going to make cooling down fun. I waited around, had a creamy and an orange, drank some water, and saw Natalie finish her half in a blazing 1:19. We waited a bit more after her race, then cooled down a mile out and back along the race route. Quite painfully through my blisters, might I add. 

I sort of indifferent about my time. It's an okay time for this race, but of course I am pissed at how hard I went out. I also wanted to win my age group, but I let Mike get away. I'm starting to realize that I never do quite as well during my summer races as I want to. I looked back at my races last summer and my theory is confirmed. It's probably because of the lack of workouts and the abundance of just miles, but then again, that's really what I'm aiming for. My goal is to run the miles and get in some solid base, and be ready and healthy for camp in late August.   

AM: You'd think that by now I knew how to treat a blister. Nope. I have a blister the size of Rhode Island on my left foot, and I stupidly decided to not only pop and drain it, but tear off all the dead skin, leaving behind a sensitive, pink layer of skin underneath. Consequently, I can't even walk without having some intense burning and looking like I broke my hip. So no running this morning. I will let it heal today and see if I can tolerate some running later. 

AM: This morning I met Natalie for a run. We started from her house, and ran to Cottonwood Complex where we did 6X ~80 meters strides to loosen up because we both still felt like death. I have been limping around for the past two days because of the enormous blisters I have on my feet, so my left ankle was bugging me all throughout the run. At one point on our way back it started to really kill, but I stopped to stretch a bit and it winded down. It was a tiring run and mentally exhausting as well, but I'm glad we did it. Pathetically slow, but we did it. 

AM: I met Natalie for a run this morning at the River Trail on 5300 S. We went out and back four headed North, then went half a mile out and back South for 9 total. Still felt pretty crappy, but much better than yesterday. My ankle is feeling a little better, I believe partially due to the fact that I ran in my old Asics since they are pretty gentle on my feet. Still a slow run, but we managed to bring the pace somewhere closer to 8 min pace. 

AM: I went on my usual 10 miler this morning. I'm almost feeling 100% better from the 10k. Still a slow run, somewhere in the low 7 min range, but nonetheless an improvement over yesterday. Glad to have gotten this run over with. 

 Oh, I forgot to mention, I finally got my Garmin! I ordered it forever ago, I received it, it was dysfunctional, so I sent it in to Garmin, and they just sent me a new one! Finally I have my Garmin back <3 

AM: This morning we did the cemetery run from SHP. Natalie and I did two laps in the cemetery, then a lap around the outside of SHP afterwards to get us to 10. It was an easy, good run. I am feeling back to normal finally, and now I get to start doing some workouts! 

PM: Went out for a quick 6 miles in the afternoon since I won't get the chance later. 6:45 avg. Now off to the Salt Flats! 

AM: I got back from the Salt Flats too late last night, so I slept in and ran on my own. This week I am starting some workouts that I was given by Coach Eyestone. So I ran on my usual ten mile route, and after a mile out, I did 5-4-3-2-1 fartlek with 3-2-2-1 recovery. I was ranging between 5:30-5:40 pace for all the on's. Then I finished out my ten mile loop. The on's weren't quite as fast as a usual fartlek workout would be, but I was on uphill for most of it, and I was alone. Plus I wasn't really going at a super hard effort. 

PM: Did four easy mile before work. It was cloudy for just the right amount of time.  

AM: Today we met at Shoreline Trail across from the zoo. We went out to the fountain, then up to the Red Butte fence, and back to where we started. I think I went a shorter way than we were supposed to, so Chris and I went out and back towards JCC to add some before heading back along Shoreline. Then once we were back, Natalie, Chris and I added to get to 8. For the amount of effort this run took, it felt like it should have been way more than 8.

PM: I met up with Natalie to do 6, but I didn't get enough miles this morning, so I did three on my own before, then did 6 with her. I realized something when I did those 3 miles alone. When you run in the tiniest pair of short shorts you have and no shirt, and you're alone, people give you weird/mean looks, but if you are running with someone, they give you a much nicer look.