Run Till You Drop!!

Ran an easy 3 miles

Mile Repeats

5:00, 5:00, 5:00, 5:02, 5:09

We jogged in between sets it made it much harder than just resting

3 mile cool Down

Total 13.5 miles

Ran easy 12 miler on Mt. Road

Legs felt a little heavy

Easy 13 miler today on Mt. Road ended up in Farmington almost got to Centerville

Feeling much better today

Today was a really solid long run with the Ogden Fella's.

Started out with a warm up pace and around mile 5 settled in to around a 6:15 pace or faster

I was lucky that Ben had to go the bathroom so I could catch up and get my head back into the run.As they were dropping me, I was still hitting between 6 and 6:10 pace. From miles 12-14 I went 5:40, 5:32, 5:23.

We cooled down the last few miles and I was sure glad to slow down finally.

I impressed myself running that fast for that long I did not know If I could do it. I am feeling great about my training going into USA Half Marathon Championships in 2 weeks!!

Easy 10 miler on Mt. Road getting more comfortable with this distance on runs

Good Solid 8 mile Tempo today

3 mile warm up

5:32, 5:32, 5:41, 5:41, 5:34, 5:40, 5:37, 5:22

2 mile cool down

Felt good starting out just fell out of it mentally again for a little lit then had to do all in my power to keep it going. I do much better if I have individuals to run with but I need to get better running alone as well. Riley and I were the only ones to show up today. We both are expecting huge races next week at USA half marathons championships!!!

PR here we come!!

Easy 8 miler on Mt. Road felt tired and legs felt a little heavy

Today I decided to do 1,000's on the treadmill to work on my speed and turnover.

I started out with 2.5 miles for the warm-up and then I started the beast.

What I was told was that a 1,000 is about a .62 distance on the treadmill so I wanted to do between 7-10 of these. After each I was only allowed a 2:00 rest and that was an active jog at 8:00 min pace. I am use to doing just a 2:00 min rest just by standing there, so trying active rest was much harder than I thought as I had to keep moving not just stop completely.

1st was 2:43

2nd was 2:51

3rd was 2:50

4th was 2:47

5th was 2:50

6th was 2:49

7th was 2:50

The last 2 were really hard and I struggled to stay focused. Treadmill said that this pace was between 4:30 and 4:40 so that is good I guess. I just hope I can push through my races like I do work outs like this. If so I will see over a min and half drop in my half time and another 4 min or so dropped in my marathon time. I checked my heart rate after a few of these runs and it was about 180 so that is a plus, getting my body use to having a higher rate rate especially for long periods of time will pay off greatly in my races.

Work out = about 7000 meters so around 4 and half miles

Rest in between sets= about mile and quarter

Cool down was about 2.5 miles

Total around 10.5 miles today

Ran easy 10 miler on Mt.Road legs felt a little sore from 1,000's yesterday.

My legs will be in heaven next week as I cut mileage preparing for USA Half Marathon Championships!!!

15 miles with the Ogden crew which included Riley, Jon, Dave, Bret, and Steve.

We averaged about 6:35 pace or so. Felt pretty good, I am excited to rest this weekend.

Easy 6 miler on Mt. Road

I ran an easy 1.5 miles

I ran 4 400's about 4:50 pace

Then I ran 3 800's around 4:50 pace

Then 3 miles cool down

7 miles total for today

Easy 6 miler on Mt. Road

Easy 6 miler on Mt. Road

On the way back going from 7-7:30 which is really good as it is uphill feeling stronger!!

Easy 4.5 miles in Houston around the Hotel

Easy run with Riley Before USA Half Champs tomorrow

Did a few strides feeling really good!!

Looking to break 1:07 tomorrow

4.25 miles

It was here again another chance to run at USA Half Marathon Championships.I ran at the last USA Half in Duluth Minnesota and did not run a good race. My GPS broke right before the start and it was super hard to know pace without a watch it was like running in the dark. I wanted to redeem myself this year and run really well.

Before the St. George Marathon I was training with my old high school coach who coached at Air Force Academy and William and Mary and now he coaches about 10 athletes that run half and full Marathons. As I was training under him I was slowly losing motivation to run. He wanted me to run all of my workouts alone. Some people can do that but I cannot, after running on high school and college teams I prefer and was use to runnign with others. It makes time go by faster and work outs seem to go much smoother. As I decided to drop my coach I started training with the amazing Ogden crew which includes but is not limited to.....Ken, Bret, Steve, Dave, Jon, Albert, Bryant, Riley.

They have helped to push me in workouts and I have become much stronger training with them. My old coach wanted me to even go 6 min pace on my easy days, on my easy days now I run hills and trails nice and slow and try to enjoy myself and it has helped me to stay motivated and get to love running once again.

At USA Half Championships my roommate was Riley and that was great as we were able to pump each other up getting ready for the race. The only bad part was that Riley got sick earlier this week so that was not good.

We warmed up for 2 miles with John Coyle and Jake Krong. I was feeling good and was really excited to race. This was my first race racing under Skechers and wanted to make them proud. My training has never been this good leading up to a half marathon before so that gave me a lot of confidence I could run well.

Gun went off and I took off. First mile the goal was to be around 4:50 to 4:55 and it was I as about 4:52 or so. In my head I was thinking this is not that bad if I can stay as close as possible to this pace then I will have a great race. At the 5k I was 15:30 so 5:00 min pace I was feeling good and trying to stay loose. I was running ina  good pack of about 8 or 9 of us so that was incredibly helpfull to keep pace and hold on. As the race went on I felt that I was keeping the pace but I aws slowly dropping off. 5k to 10k I was averaging 5:07 pace so 10k was 31:21. Still feeling good and trying to stay focused on the task at hand of my goal of breaking 1:07. The long straight aways felt really long at times especially since no body was dropping and there was now a huge gap between our pack and the one in front of us. The race got much harder right around 8 I looked down at my watch and kept seeing 5:15 or so pac and I coul dnot believe I was dying so much. It was rough but I just tried to hold on as much as I could. At this point this is where I should have pushed more and threw in a surge, it would have helped me to stay more in a rythem and not have gotten comfortable like I was. 10k to 15k dropped to 5:10 pace averag, 15k split was 47:21. 15k to 20k continued to fade dropped to 5:14 pace, 20k split was 1:03:36. Last  3 min or so was 5:02 pace but to late to save the day. Ended up running a 1:07:01.

Best race of my life in the Half Marathon by a min and a half. Old PR 1:08:30 to New PR 1:07:01.

I was very happy with my race. Mentally I faded a little bit but I suprised myself and stayed strong longer than I thought I could. I now know that I can push my boundaries and look forward to a great 2014. I plan to hopefully break 1:06 this year in the Half Marathon and break 2:24 in the Marathon.

Cool Down for 2 miles with John and Jake.

Ran Easy 8 miles on Mt. Road. On the way back averaged between 7-7:45 pace it is getting easier runing up the hills my legs are getting much stronger than they use to be I can tell a huge difference and that is very encouraging. This is the best shape I have ever been in, in my entire life.

Just hope I can stay healthy and continue to PR in the Marathon and Half Marathon the rest of the year!!!

Met up with Dave, Ben, and Riley to go for a good solid long run.

We started at Wal Mart and ran around the roads for 20 miles. I had no idea where we were until the last few miles, good thing I did not get lost ha

We averaged about 7 min pace for the entire run. Legs started feeling really tired the last 6 or so miles. Runs like this help a ton in training for the marathon. They help my legs get comfortable running longer distances and getting use to running tired.

Easy mile and half warm up to Kaysville Main street. I was planning on doing 400's at Davis high but there is still snow on the track.

I ran 8 400's started in front of Davis and went down the street towards the gas station.

1:10, 1:12, 1:10, 1:13, 1:12, 1:11, 1:09, 1:11

All ended up averaging no slower than 4:50 pace.

A few miles for cool down, calves felt a little tight but not bad. Down to gas station was slightly downhill, coming back slightly uphill.

Total 7 miles

Ran an easy 6 miler on Mt. Road. Trying to not use very much energy as I have the SLC 5k tomorrow morning.

I woke up feeling good and tried to visualize the race. I did the usuall pre race routine and was a little hesitant if I could run fast as it was pretty cold outside. I knew that I was still going to give it my best effort. I ran the 5K as a warm up and then about 4 or so strides.

I kept playing it out in my head that if I have anyone close the last 800 meters, I am going to give it all I got and throw in a huge kick.

The race starts and Riley takes off very quick! I stayed about 5-10 feet behind him and was feeling pretty good. I took a look at my pace and it said 4:36, I was like holy crap dont die!! I held on for as long as I could, I came through the mile at 4:44 way fast for me. I was still feeling pretty good but after the mile my watch reset to current pace it immediately went to 5:00 flat I was like oh no I am dying. I held on for a good little while at this time Riley really started to gap me. At the turn around halfway point I saw that there was a ton a people right there behind me. I tried to stay relaxed and as I saw this, I threw in a surge to keep up the gap. It worked for a little bit but not much. At the 2 mile mark Scott and Bryant passed me, I stayed with them stride for stride for a little bit then I dropped off about 50 feet behind them. Just as I visualized it came down to 800 meters left and I saw them about 50 meters in front of me. I thought to myself dont sprint now just throw in a surge so i did and I started slowly catching up to them. As I passed them I sprinted with everything that I had and passed both of them and took second with a 15:10. It was my new life best on a road race and I was super happy with my performance.

1st mile 4:44

2nd mile 4:58

3rd mile 4:50

last little bit was 4:20 pace.

Right after the race I did 4 200's with Jake Krong and Riley, and Dave.

Went 31, 29, 29, 27 not bad after a race I felt pretty good suprisingly enough.

Cool down 2 miles

Total 8.5 miles

Going into this run I do not think I was the most excited. I heard that we might be trying to hit around 6:30 pace for 20 miles. I was nervous as some of the long runs I get dropped because I do not have the endurance to hold on to such a quick pace.

The run this morning at 5 AM consisted of Bryant, Riley, Bret, Dave and I. We started out around 7 min pace and then eventually worked down to faster pace. We hit a hill in Ogden by the Toll road and I hit a wall. I could not go any faster and the group started to gap me. Besides the hill the rest of the run went smooth and I think I am slowly gaining strength through endurance runs. They do not seem to kill me as much as they use to.

I ended up going 18.5 miles and ran with the group almost the entire way. Legs felt great today.

This run gave me confidence that I can run a great Marathon if I pace myself correctly and get my miles up around 90 or 100. If this happens then there might be a chance to break 2:20 in the Marathon!

Ran easy 6 miles on Mt. Road.

Knee felt a little sore and left achilles was aching so I decided to cut it short and make sure it does not get worse. I cannot afford an injury at this time as this is the best shape I have ever been in, in my entire life for half and full Marathon training.

Warm up 3 miles

8 mile Tempo run

5:22, 5:25, 5:31, 5:27, 5:42, 5:30, 5:29, 5:25

Average 5:29 pace which was my life best on an 8 mile tempo run. Felt pretty good, I was tired but happy. That was also my fastest run over the bridge with a 5:42.

Cool down 2 miles

Easy 8 miles on Mt. Road

Felt pretty good.

Easy 3 miles warm up

1st mile rep was 5:10. It was pretty icy. Ran a mile back to the main road and then I did 4 more 1 mile reps at 5:10. It was cold and foggy. I ran them alone so it was much harder, I usually have Riley in front of me to push me so it was a big difference.

3 min rest in between reps .75 running active rest

3 mile cool down

Total 12.75 miles

Easy run in Ogden from the Dee events Center with the Ogden Crew.

19.25 felt good

Achilles was achiing just a little bit but not bad

I am not going to lie. I was a little nervous going into todays workout. It would be my longest run of my life that was not a race, 25 miles was on the chopping block. Before on long runs I would struggle,as Bryant mentioned to me I would struggle to run a 7 min pace for 15 miles. We started out and I was feeling good just trying to stay as relaxed as possible as I knew it would be a long run today. I knew we would once again be going up the super steep Toll Road hill in South Ogden and I wanted to improve from the previous run up that road.....I was last out of the group they had to wait for me at the top, I felt like such a panzee. Right before the toll road Riley kept saying its Jason's road and I would laugh... I kept saying in my head you must conquer this thing if you want to improve and reach the next level. We headed up the beast and I went into it with a solid pace and tried to hold it as long as possible. This time I did much better and was more towards the front with the rest of the guys. I was very happy and Pleased with my effort. Around mile 14 or so I started to run low and almost hit empty so I hit up a GU and that gave me exactly what my body needed. We started to run through a neighborhood and Bret tells me not to get lost becasue it is like the Lambrynth and even people from Ogden get lost in this area ahah. The worst part was that it was really hilly and taxing on the body. Around this time I got a second wind and was rejuvenated. By mile 20 I told myself if I can hit these last 5 solid that will give me confidence as that is where I die in the race the last 6 miles or so. The last 5 or so miles I decided to run side by side with Riley and that helped me a ton to stay focused and keep the rythem. Last 6 were 6:07, 5:58, 5:54, 5:50, 5:56, 5:47

To my surprise I held on and ended up running a PR for that distance in a practice. We ended up averaging 6:17 pace per mile for 25 miles!! My legs were tired but not sore at all after. I think it is because I am getting more use to longer runs and I wore compression sleeves for the whole run.

Easy 8 miler on Mt. Road.

Legs felt great, they did not feel tired or sore from yesterday. That suprised me I thought I would be suffering like I do after a Marathon.

AM- Easy 8 miler on Mt. Road

PM- Solid push out 3.5 about 6:20 pace, coming pack around 7:15 pace which is fast for the hill on the way back. 7 miles in afternoon run.

Achilles was a little sore. I did some rehab when I got home, Ice, Strech, thera band.

AM- Easy 4 miler on Mt. Road

PM- Warm up 1.5 miles

Then the beast of a workout had to start. I was nervous as I was going to do 8 800's and do my best to hit them around 4:40 pace. I decided to do them on Davis High School track which is partially clear and partially covered in snow or ice. In between rest was only 1:30 and it was active jogging around. In between the last 2 they were 2 min as I was struggling and getting really tired.

My times were 4:34 pace, 4:37 pace, 4:41 pace, 4:45 pace, 4:40 pace, 4:45 pace, 4:45 pace, 4:43 pace

They were very difficult as I was getting really tired after a few but did the best I could to still make them as quality as possible. If the footing was better maybe a second or 2 max faster. I was happy with this workout, I gave it all I had and felt that it will make me stronger.

Cool Down was 2.5 miles.

Total PM miles was 8

Easy 6 miler on Mt. Road tried to keep it as easy as possible as I race the 10k tomorrow.

We ran a 5k warm up with a few strides. I was feeling pretty good warming up but I was nervous as it was longer than the 5k and it was going to be windy on the way back as the course was an out and back.

As the race started I went out with Riley and Bryant and that was a mistake. I should have went out a little slower and then tried to hold on for a little longer. 1st mile was 4:59 but it felt faster than that, I was right with the leaders. 2nd mile was 4:57 I was still close to the leaders but started to feel tired and legs feel a little heavy. By about mile 2 and half Jake caught me I tried to stay with him but I could not. Mile 3 was 5:05 hit the turnaround and boom the head wind was wicked strong and Jake was starting to gap me huge. I could not run hard, I felt as if I was giving it all I had but was not moving anywhere. I got a side crap about mile 4 and it lasted for half mile but honestly legs felt heavy AND I was not there mentally. Mile 4 went to an incredibly slow 5:49, around mile 4 and half is where Matt caught me and I stayed a little close to him for half mile then got dropped by him as well. Mile 5 was 5:46. Mile 6 was 5:32. I was not happy with this race at all. Mentally I struggled and legs were tired or something I am trying to figure it out. Unacceptable to me and I let the Ogden Crew down.

After the race I did 4 200's. I went 33, 31, 30, 32.

10 miles with warm up and race and a few 200's.

I immedialty after the 200's got in the car and went to my baby's beauty pangeant. Later in the day I did 6 miles on Mt. Road. For some reason I thought it's ok, runners have off days. About mile 5 on my run back I thought no its not ok, I am better than this.  So I threw in a push and went 5:19 last mile. I have much to work on before Phoenix Maratho,n but I am determined to make my workouts count and show up as much as possible.

In the morning I ran 15 miles with Jon, Riley, Bryant, Ken, and Bret. It was a great run. It was a little rainy but not to bad. I was frustrated I did so poorly in the race on saturday that I ran up the toll road super solid and quick. The rest of the run went by fairly quick and it was good to just talk with everyone and talk about race plans for Phoenix.

We ended up averaging 6:38 for the entire run not to bad.

In the Afternoon I ran another 6 miles on Mt. Road.

AM- Easy 8 miles with Bret, Riley, and Dave. Then we ran 8 200's my times were 34, 34, 32, 32, 31, 32, 31, 29. Average was 32 seconds or 4:21 mile pace and they were up an overpass so that made it more difficult. Then a cool down.

PM- Afternoon 4 mile easy run on Mt. Road

Easy 6 miler on Mt. Road felt really good and feel fresh for tomorrow's hard 10 mile tempo

Easy 3 mile warm up with a few strides

10 Mile Tempo Run

I was going to start with Riley at 5:30 pace and then work down 5 sec per mile. I ran first 3 miles good then started to fade really bad. Looked down to see 5:40 and 6:00 min pace. My legs felt more tired than I thought they would. Averaged 5:43 pace per mile for 10 miles.

2 mile cool down

Easy 7 miler on Mt Road

Ran 9.5 miles with Riley and Bryant. We went back to pick up Ben and Dave for another few miles but we decided to do a push instead. We went 8 miles at 5:55 pace and it felt a little hard at first then it got easier once I got in the groove. Then finished the last few miles nice and easy.

Total 20 miles

Easy 6 miler on Mt. Road

Ran around 6 and half miles then did 6 400's uphill with Riley, Dave, and Bret.I hit 1:21-1:23 on almost every single one. First 200 felt good then second 200 I felt super tired and could not hold on.

After that we did 2 200's and I enjoyed those much more as they were easier to handle mentally.

Went 35 and 32.

Then we did a good cool down.

Easy 8 miler on Mt. Road, legs felt pretty tired and heavy. I hope tomorrow they feel much better.

Easy mile and half warm up. Did a few strides and streches.

Today was my last speed workout before the Phoenix Marathon.

I was going to do mile repeats between 5:10 and 5:15 with active jog rest inbetween reps.

I went 5:11, 5:10, 5:08, 5:14, 5:13.

They felt good not to hard. I finally figured out pacing the last few and I got into a decent rythem and just tried to get the body use to that pace. That pace is about 10-15 seconds faster than what I want to run my marathon in. My goal is to get my body in shape enough where I can be running that pace and it feels almost familiar and easy so that it can sustain it for as long as possible. I did not have a ton of energy today but knowing that and still feeling the workout was not bad is a good feeling that I have gotten into much better shape than I was before the St. George Marathon. I am feeling confident about racing next week, I know that if I run smart and have the right mind set and stay in it mentally that I shoud PR again and get around the low 2:20's.

Cool down was another few miles

Ran down to Davis High to run with the kids. Just happens that Jared Ward from BYU was running with them as well, his brother runs for Davis.

It was fun to talk to Jared about the 10 week Marathon training program that Ed Eyestone gave him before his Chicago Marathon. At Chicago he went 2:16, he said his first half was a 1:06 that is crazy fast. He said that his workouts were similar to what we do with three quality workouts a week. The only difference was that he would start out doing marathon pace for 4 or 6 miles then worked up to marathon pace for around 15 miles or so. So for me that would be around 5:21 pace or so. He also would do 3 mile reps which I thought was interesting. He would also do some shorter track workouts like 400's and 800's but we already do that.

It was a good easy run with the kids and Jared.

10.3 miles total

Easy 8 miler on Mt. Road. Legs are feeling better. Hopefully getting a massage to make sure I am ready to rock it next week in PHX. Key is to stay controlled at the beginning of the Marathon next week as I always get excited, go out fast and die at the end.

I ski'd from 4 to 8:30. My legs were burning it was my first time skiing for the year.

Great cross training for the thigh's and legs.

I converted a few hours of skiing to 3 miles of running.

Today was a great easy run with a bunch of guys. It was one of the largest Ogden crew runs I have ever been a part of. It was Riley, Bryant, Bret, Jon, Ken,Me, and John Coyle joined us from Idaho.

We ran an easy 4 miles out then turned around, ran into the wind for a little bit then it was at our backs the rest of the way. On the way back we did a 2 mile push at race pace. 1st mile was a 5:35 2nd mile was a 5:13 or so. It felt pretty good, I was happy my legs felt alright after skiing until 8:30 last night.

I am getting really excited to race the PHX Marathon this Saturday, if my mind stays positive I know that I will run a PR and run in the low 2:20's.

Ran a few miles as cool down.

Easy 4 miler on Mountain Road. So weird how the body knows when a race is coming.

Legs always feel a little tired or sluggish as I cut mileage for a race. Even though that means they are feeling great and cant wait to race and use all of its energy. Today on the run I was breathing a little hard it was weird. I know I am in the best shape of my life but it was confusing breathing hard even when running slow, I dont get it.

I am getting excited to race and have the opportunity to be in nice weather. Well hopefully it does not rain on us on Saturday, weather people say there is a 90 percent chance of rain.

Easy 4 miler with Riley and Dave around Riverview Park in Mesa. Close to the finish of the race.

Legs felt a little heavy, this always happens before I run a Marathon as my legs know there is a long race coming and they are use to higher miles.

 On my way to the race I was just excited that it was not raining as the weather report said there was a 90 percent chance of rain. I met up with Riley and Dave and we loaded the buses. As we got off of the bus it was cold and very windy. We sat down on a bench and watched many people try and sneak onto the shooting range and this guy was getting mad at everybody who got close.

We took a few bathroom breaks before we started. As we were going to the starting line, we did not get a warm up in and I did not stretch very much. We were more worried about staying warm and going the bathroom. About a minute before the race starts it starts to rain. I was thinking oh crap, I hope it does not rain hard the entire race. It rained for about 10 min or so then it stopped and was on and off the rest of the race.

The race started off really slow and there was about 10 guys at the front. The race was windy and Riley and I decided to switch off taking the lead so we could draft off each other. About mile 5 or so we had another guy with us and he was drafting off of us as well. I was thinking to myself who is this dude? Can he really run with us the entire race. Riley told me before the race that he wanted me to run with him through the first half of the race. Up until about mile 13 we continued to switch off the lead every half mile or so. Around mile 15 or so I saw my family and got a huge adrenaline rush and dropped a very quick next mile then I ended up suffering for it.

Riley passed me around mile 16 or so and I tried to go with him but my legs would not move any faster. I kept looking down at my watch and thinking to myself dont die, stay around 5:30 pace as long as possible. It was around mile 22 that I started to fade really bad and I kept looking back to see if anyone was coming up to pass me. The last 6 miles or so I had to weave in and out of half marathoners I was not a fan of that it through off my rythem and made it harder to keep a solid pace. I am really happy I went as fast as I did as long as I did. At St. George Marathon I died to around  6min pace for the last 6 miles or so. Where as this race I only died the last 4 miles. I know if I increase my mileage I will be able to finish the race around 5:30 pace. I was very happy with this race and know that it was a great learning experience and better races are to come.

Splits went 5:28, 5:22, 5:27, 5:17, 5:36, 5:46, 5:13, 5:19, 5:14, 5:16, 5:19, 5:22, 5:29

14th to 26 5:21, 5:14, 5:17, 5:23, 5:27, 5:30, 5:30, 5:27, 5:36, 5:44, 5:57, 5:56, 5:56

7 miles on my road bike. Prob converts to 2 miles or so running. Legs feel a little sore.

The calves are the tight part, my thighs and hamstrings are not that bad.

Easy 2 miles running with the crew. Walked another mile with Riley and Dave to loosen up the legs.

3 total miles

Ran 4 easy miles on Mt. Road.

Interesting part about todays run was that it was harder than the Marathon.

My legs thigh's and calves felt sore and heavy. I hope I feel better tomorrow. Today I realized I will be racing this year many more times compared to last year.

Cross trained by road biking for 17 miles. Some hard and some easy. Biking is helping me get ready for my first TRI the end of this month!

I convert that to about 6 miles of running. Got the legs burning!

Paced Amy Cook with Dave during the Strider's 10 mile race at the Dee.

Legs felt super heavy but I am happy I ran in a little pain, so I can get use to that at the end of the race in a marathon.

Ran 13.5 miles with Dave, Riley, Jon, and Bret.

My legs felt really heavy from the 10 miler on Saturday. I have not fully recovered from the Marathon just yet. I hope I recover soon, I hate running slow and not feeling good.

I ran a 2 mile warm-up on the treadmill.

Then I ran Mile Repeats

1. 4:57

2. 4:56

3. 4:56

4. 4:55

5. 4:52

Felt pretty good. Legs still felt a little heavy. My quads are still a little sore.

I went and swam for a while for a cool down. Then I ran 5 min straight in the pool to practice for my Tri in a few weeks. I am not a good swimmer at all. It is going to be rough, good thing I can bike and run!

Total of about 8.5 miles

Easy 8 miles on Mt. Road. I finally feel like myself again. I feel that I got my legs back after the Marathon and now I am excited to train hard for Boston.

Morning:

I met up with John Coyle to Run an 8 mile Aerobic Builder. We started it off with a 3 mile warm-up with a few strides.

I averaged 5:32 pace for the 8 mile AB which is ok. I am happy about as it shows me that I did not lose fitness as I cut back on mileage last  week as I was recovering from the Phoenix Marathon.

It gave me confidence that I will only get faster as the year progresses. I may not run my Aerobic builders fast, but I know that I could run them faster if I ran them in the light instead of the dark.To make up for that, I need to make sure I do plenty of speed in the light.

We finished up with a 2 mile cool down. As we returned to the cars, we did 4 100 meter accelerations.

Afternoon:

I biked with Bryant 20.5 miles on our road bikes. It was a pretty chill and easy ride.

I convert the 20.5 miles biking to about 5 miles of running.

Easy 8 miler on Mt. Road

Legs felt ok, I am feeling the Aerobic Builder a little from yesterday.

I ran with Riley and Ben around South Weber and Uintah. We ran easy for 12 miles then ran a fast finish last three miles. Workouts like this is exactly what my body needs. I need to get my body use to running fast at the end of race and running fast when the body is tired. The first mile I felt ok and I knew I needed to make this push as quality as possible. When we hit the hill I slowed down a great deal. After it became flat I got my legs back under me and decided to push the rest of the run as much as I could. I was happy with how the workout turned out. I am going to start doing 100 meter accelerations at the end of my runs to help increase my speed and get my legs use to running fast when fatigued.

My splits were 5:22, 5:29, 5:23

I met up with members from the Ogden Crew including Dave, Riley, Bret, and Jon to throw down 20 miles. As usuall I dread the long runs but after about 12 or so it gets much easier as we get into a solid rhythm. Today went well we ran through south ogden and uintah. Average pace was 6:36 per mile so we were going at a pretty good pace.

Legs felt suprisingly good on the run. I think I am slowly getting the body use to the longer runs.

I have many to come as I want to be around 100 miles a week if possible in the next few weeks before the Boston Marathon.

When I left for my run I was little nervous how I would feel after yesterdays 20 miler.

As I went outside in my new Skechers Ultra's I felt really good. It felt as if I only went a few miles yesterday. I am getting in better shape as my body is recovering faster and faster after each long run.

This run got me super excited for Boston as I am improving and feeling better and better about my distance runs.

Easy 10 miler on Mt. Road, I went to the Lagoon trail and then back home.

AM-

Met up with Bret and Jon at 21st pond to throw down some solid mile repeats.

We ran a 2 mile warm up and then got started on the beast. Mile Repeats

They were 5:12, 5:09, 5:10, 5:10, 5:10, 5:12, 5:11, 5:10

I ended up avg 5:10 pace I am very happy with that. The most mile reps I have ever done before is 6 and today I accomplished 8. The rest was about where it has been in the past, 90 seconds inbetween each rep. I feel that I am getting faster and it is getting me more and more excited for Boston and this summer's races!

We ran a 2 mile cool down after.

PM- I took the baby out in the stroller, went 4 miles pretty chill.

What happens if I am asked to Baby sit our Baby?

Wait until 6:30 to run or Go run with the baby in stroller.

I put Jamillie in the Stroller and went for the longest stroller run ever. Luckly my wife had put a bottle of water with my running stuff that saved me. I met her at Farmington Jr. High and jumped on the rail trail and ran that to bountiful. Wind was at our backs going out and in our face coming back.

12 miles pushing Jamiliie it seemed to go on forever. We averaged about 7 min pace but I had to stop a few times to give her food, water and put a blanket on her.

Easy 10 miler on Mt. Road. Behind my knee is hurting a little bit I have streched it a good amount I hope it feel better tomorrow.

2 mile Warm-Up

The goal for today's workout is to run 20x400's around 67-69 pace per 400. 90 seconds rest in between each rep.

As I started these they felt really easy and then they slowly started to get harder and harder.

They went like this........

67, 67, 66, 67, 66, 66, 67, 66, 67, 66, 68, 66, 67, 67, 67, 67, 67, 67, 65, 64

My knee did not hurt so I was very grateful for that. I am feeling like I am getting in better and better shape and this is still the best shape I have ever been in while training for a Marathon. It is super encouraging to have such great workout like this. The best part was that I ran it all alone, I know with people these workouts are much easier.

5 mile cool down

12 miles total for the day

Met up with Bret to go for a long run.

I only got about 4 hours of sleep last night so I felt really tired and felt like I had no energy.

We were around 6:30 pace or so for about 15 or so miles then I faded a ton. Bret took off and I ran the rest of my run alone around 7-7:20 pace rest of the run. I averaged 6:55 pace for 21 miles. I felt like I was starting to feel little aches and pain's and decided it was not smart to go the full 22 miles as planned.

Easy 10 miler on Mt. Road

Legs felt a little heavy after yesterday's 21 mile run. They slowly started to feel better at the end of the run.

AM- Easy 3 mile Warm-Up

We did an 8 mile Aerobic Builder. This morning it was Bryant and Bret and I.

I averaged 5:39 pace per mile. Not fast but not super slow. It was a little windy, it is usally not windy when we run this route.

We did a few mile cool down to get me to 13.3 miles for the day.

PM- Easy 6.2 miler on Mt. Road, lower ankle started to feel a little weird. Right under the inside ancle bone.

Total for 19.5 miles today

AM- Easy 6 miler on Mt. Road

PM- Easy run pushing Jamillie in the stroller for an easy 8 miles

Feeling a little tired but not bad. I am getting nervous for my Tri on Saturday but as long as I go top 10 I wil be happy! Bone below ancle bone is still a little sore. Weird it only bothers me first mile or so then the soreness goes away.

AM- Easy 6 miler on Mt. Road

PM- Easy 10 miler on Mt. Road

Felt ok, foot is still having a little pain under the ancle hopefully it goes away soon.

Today was my first Triathlon of my life!!!

I woke up and was super excited to race but also very nervous. I did not sleep very much last night as we went to bed late and I kept thinking about the race. As I arrived I met up with my Step Brother in Law and set our bike's up in transition and got ready for the race. 

I started in the 3rd wave of swimmers as I was guessing I would swim around a 6-6:30 min for 300 meters. As I jumped in I wanted to go fast so I did by about half way down the first lap I ran into 2 other slow swimmers who would not move so I had to sit behind them. Made me mad as I think I could have went faster if they got out of the way. Swim was about 6:55 or so.

As I arrived at the bike took me a while to slip on the jersey and put biking shoes on. I went out really fast and got into a solid rythem first quarter was uphill so I was at around 12 miles an our when it leveled out I was about 18 or so MPH and for the downhill I got to 30 MPH. We did 2 laps to reach the 12 miles. I felt really good about my bike, I only got passed by about 5 people and they all had super nice bikes. As I got off my bike I ran it into the transition area. A guy carried my bike and followed me to drop it off, he was all you look like a runner and I said yup thats my main event.

I put on my running shoes and GPS and was off super fast. First little bit my legs felt like jello a little heavy after the bike. It was the same loop as the bike so I knew it was going to be uphill for the first little while. I was able to manage a 5:33 which is not bad for an uphill mile. Second mile, was flat with a little uphill and I went 5:22. Last mile was al downhill and I went 5:00 min. To go 15:56 for a 5k after a 300 meter swim and a 12 mile bike is pretty good, I was happy with it.

PM- I had to go another 7 miles easy on Mt. Road to hit my 90 for the week. If I converted the 12 mile bike and swim I would have been about 95 miles but I wanted to just show pure running in mileage.

The Sprint Triathlon was called the ICE BREAKER TRI and I highly recommend it. It was fun and very organized. My overall time was 58:38 which put me 9th overall and 1st in my age group.

I met up with Bret about 4:50 and we ran 9 and half miles before we looped back to pick up Jon.

The run went pretty well, I felt that my legs were feeling the TRI from Saturday I was doing pretty well for the first half then legs started feeling pretty tired and heavy. Bret wanted to go fast so he took off and I ran with Jon until the last 4 miles or so then he took off as well. For me the run was not about running crazy fast, it was about finshing it at a decent pace. I accomplished just that, I averaged 6:55 for the entire 25 miles and the last 4 miles or so were between 7:20 and 8:00 pace as it was uphill not the best way to end a long run.

Today was my last long run before the Boston Marathon and I am very glad about that. My legs are starting to feel the longer mileage at this time. The best part is the pain I was feeling around my ankle last week has disappeared and went away. It is a maracle I was getting very worried about it. I can't wait to start to taper and drop mileage my body will think it is in heaven.

AM- 4 Easy miles on Mt. Road I felt heavy from yesterday's 25

PM- Legs still felt heavy, on one mile up a hill I pushed it hard and hit a 6:59 it is all uphill so I was happy that I could hit that on tired legs. It gave me confidence that I can still push hard even when my legs are tired and heavy. That will come in to help me out greatly during the Boston Marathon. 8 miles on Mt. Road

AM- Met up with Bryant to run Mile repeats

We ran 2.7 as a warn up and then got started on the beast. We ran them down on the Farmington trail by Farmington Station.

1st- 5:09 Slightly downhill

2nd- 5:07 Slightly downhill

3rd- 5:06 Flat with a little uphill

4th- 5:10 All uphill

5th- 5:26 Hardest rep all Uphill much more incline I was feeling it and legs felt heavy

6th- 5:13 Slight Uphill

I know that if I ran these reps at the Pond like I usually do, I would have been around a 5:06 average or so. We did 90 sec rest in between each rep. The uphills took a lot out of me. My effort was definately there and I am getting in better and better shape.

Cool down was 2 miles

PM- Ran easy 6 miles on Mt. Road

AM- Easy 6 miler on Mt. Road

PM- Easy 8 miler on Mt. Road

Easy 14 miles in the morning down past lagoon and onto legacy parkway trail before we went to my sister in laws wedding. Legs felt really heavy going out, I was in between 7-7:45 pace every mile. Coming back was much faster around 6:30-7 pace most of the way back. I hope my legs can feel much more fresh not running twice today. We will see tomorrow as I am planning to run a part of the Strider's Half Marathon.

I ran part of the Striders Half Marathon. This week has been rough with a lot of miles and legs have started feeling heavy. My goal going into the race was to tempo anywhere from 6-10 miles, that all depending on how my legs were holding up. As the race started I went with the leaders until around 4 then I started to feel how tired my legs were. I only did 6 miles and then I turned around and picked up Spencer and ran the rest of the race with him. We still finished at a pretty good clip bouncing back and forth between 6:20 and 7:00 pace. The second half of the course was a lot like Boston. Rolling hills and getting the legs use to running the rollers with tired legs.

I am glad I ran it today. I am feeling very very good about this week's runs. I feel that I will be ready for Boston in two weeks and I am approaching it as a "Go Big or Go Home" mentality. I want to throw down another huge PR and run around a 2:20 to 2:22 at the slowest. Every Marathon I have put in more miles and I have gotten faster at each one. I hope this can be my 5th Marathon in a row that I improve.

Total for today was 15.3 Miles

Met up with Bret and Jon and ran a solid easy run. It was much faster than I was hoping but that is ok. We averaged around 6:30 or so. Legs felt alright still a little tired but feeling good.

I ran the usuall Mt. Road run. I went out fast. I hit the 4 mile mark at 26:41 averaging 6:28 pace it was downhill felt great,27 min 6:46 all up hill so I was very happy with that solid run. Which is a best on that run.

I ran about 3.5 miles and then did 200 meter hill repeats. It was very difficult as I did them on Mt. Road which is very steep in Fruit Heights. Rest was jogging back to the start of the 200 meter reps. I ran this is the Skechers Gold Go Speed 2

1st-34 2nd - 32 3rd- 32 4th- 31 5th- 31 6th- 30

At first it was hard getting dialed into the faster pace but after I did I felt great. I know that I am right where I want to be going into Boston so hopefully I show up on race day!!

Then a few miles of cool down.

Ran an easy 8 miler on Mt. Road

After work I went straight to go look at some couches we were looking to to buy. Riley called and wanted to see if I wanted to go golfing. I went home got my clubs and went and golfed. After golfing I went over to our new house with the In-laws and gave them a tour. I went to other set of In-laws to go move out fridge into our new house. By the time I got home it was 11:30 and I was really tired from the day. I was going to go 8 or so but because of the schedule I only went 6 as it was already a super late run in the dark. I felt really good. Legs feel really well rested going down in mileage this week.

Going out 3 took 19 min and coming back 3 miles took 21 min that is the fastest 6 miler on Mt. Road ever I think.

Well this is prob my funniest post yet.

Today was a long day, I did not sleep much last night thinking about moving to our new house today. I woke up and started packing and boxing everything up. Help arrived at 11 to help us move it took a little less than an hour for us to load everything onto a trailer. We unloaded for about 35 min or so. It was so nice to have gottten everything in and received help. My step father in law helped me go to west valley to pick up couches and then bring them to our new house. After we brought those home I went and got a double cheeseburger with bacon.

I thought well since I ate I will wait 30 min or so then go do mile reps. We just moved so it was my first time going to run on the track at Clearfield high. I was not too worried about track being open as bountiful and Davis were open almost all the time. I got there and the gates were all locked, so I had to jump the fence.

The Goal was to do 4 Mile reps at 4:40 pace with 3 min rest in between each. I knew going into it that after just eating, there was a slim chance I was actually going to hit the correct time.

Well I was wrong and that was a bad decsion. I started to run and felt fine. As I got closer to the track my stomach started to bother me a little bit. I did my first mile and it hurt a ton and my time was a slow 4:49. I was shooting for a 4:40 and was way off! I hit my split for a lap and half then slowed and never made back up the time. After the first rep, I started to look for the bathroom I found one but it was locked!!! I was thinking oh no this is not good. I decided to do my second rep as my 3 min was about up. Same thing first lap and some was on then I faded a ton and stomach did not feel good at all. After this rep I needed to go really bad. I saw a trash can and decided I do not have a choice, I lifted my self up and went in the big can. As the 3 min came to an end I went and ran the 3rd and 4th reps slowing on each of those as well. First part of the 3rd I felt great after the bathroom but then it started to bother me again.

1st rep 4:49, 2nd rep was 4:52, 3rd was 4:55, 4th was 4:56

My times were slow and that was frustrating but I gave it all I could with having moved all day, and having just ate shortly before the run. The one plus was that I was not breathing super hard and my legs were not completely sore or dead after. So I know that if I had people to run with and did not eat I prob would have been around 4:45 or 4:50 for most of them.

Total mileage was 7.5

I ran on the trail by my house down to the in- laws in Kaysville. I feel very grateful  to have this trail so close, it is much better than running on the road in Fruit Heights. The only downfall of running on the path is the temptation to hurdle every cross bar at the cross walks.

I ran North on the trail by our house for a few miles. It had a slight uphill but I felt great.

I averaged about 6:45 pace. I feel very ready for Boston and my legs are getting anxious to race as they feel so fresh.

I met up with Bryant to do our last race pace tempo.

We warmed up for 3 miles and then ran 4 strides to get loosened up. Thte 1st mile was 5:27, 2nd was 5:17, last was 5:22. I was happy to average about 5:22 and felt great. We ran a 3 mile cool down and then called it a day and now we are done with speed until the BIG RACE.

I ran 4 miles as my body felt weird little aches and pains are scarring me.

I ran 4 miles easy around Cape Cod in Massachusetts.

5 miles with Strides. I ran pretty slow to save as much energy as possible for the race on Monday.

Today was the race I have been looking forward to for a long time.... The Boston Marathon

I had the goal of running a 2:22 or so going into the race. My training has been pretty good for the most part and I hit my highest mileage as I hit 97 miles a week a few weeks ago. I have been feeling pretty good and motivated to run well.

I woke up the morning of the race walked down to the hotel lobby and ate my oatmeal as I waited for the van to take me to a drop off point. As I arrived at the drop off point it was crazy. They were checking all of our bags and we all had to have a guy go around our bodies with a medal detector wand. I got on the bus and went to athlete village. At this point I was getting very excited but nervous for the big run. I went to the skechers house that was close to the start, talked to a few other skechers runners and used the restroom. I ended up leaving my clothes with them as they said they could ship them to me as I had not bag drop for my stuff.

I went to the start line and moved my way through the pack and tried to get as close as I could to the from of the A Wave. I saw Bryant Jensen and we talked about how we wanted to go out slow together and then slowly move up. Well from the gun Bryant took off fast so I was like oh crap no running buddy. I guess I am on my own so I did the dumb thing and went out fast as well, the first few miles were downhill. I saw Bryant up until around mile 14, I was hoping he would drop and we could work together but he stayed a good solid distance in front of me the whole run. I felt great the first half of the race it felt super easy and comfortable.

My splits were close but not right on as my watch GPS was a little short some miles.

Spllits 5:07, 5:10, 5:11, 5:12, 5:20, 5:15, 5:14, 5:17, 5:14, 5:28, 5:31, 5:24, 5:24,

5:26, 5:36, 5:24, 5:57, 6:05, 5:53, 6:11, 6:41, 5:54, 6:11, 6:11, 6:21, 6:17, 6:15 pace last little bit.

At the Halfway point I came through way to fast. I should have came through around 1:10 1:11 instead I came through about 1:09:45. The first half is flat and rolling down so it throws off your cadence for sure changing paces. I felt great and was thinking if I can hold this I will kill this course. As I talked to many people going into this race they kept saying how the hills are nothing if you are from Utah. So, I assumed the hills would not be that bad. As I hit around 13 or 14th mile and started to feel the hills my legs turned to jello and it was hard to keep a consistent pace. The rolling hills are hard to stay solid and I did not run hills at the end of long runs, which is what I should have ton to train for this course.I kept looking at my watch and it was dropping more and more and I was thinking of crap this is going to be real bad. Around mile 18 or so I started to cramp, which has never happened in a race. My right quad and right clalf got really tight and I was thinking if I stop I will not get going again. So I slowed the pace and tried to hold on for dear life the rest of the run.

I have learned many lessons from this frustrating and bad run.

1st- Go out slower to save more energy for later in the race. BE PATIENT... I suck at this

2nd- I might start taking salt tablets so I do not cramp, usually I cramp after I finish

3rd- Train hills at the end of a long run so my legs are use to hills when they are tired

4th- Practice on rolling hills as this is what Boston is, hard to keep cadence consistent

5th- I cant base my race off of others, I need to run my race and my race only

Overall it was a good experience even though I did not run as fast as I would have hoped. I am going to keep working hard as I know that I have not reached my peak for the Marathon as of yet.

Today was the first time since the Boston Marathon that I ran. It felt good for the first hundred feet then my left quad was tight and sore the rest of the run. I think it will be a few more days until I am fully recovered from the Beast of Boston. In track in College if I ran a race I was not happy about in the 1500, then I would make myself suffer in the 800 an hour or so later so I had to run in pain. As I was not pleased with my Boston Performance I might make myself suffer more pain. If I am recovered by Wednesday I might run the Provo City Half Marathon next week on May 3rd. I may not go all out but I would like to run solid and go top three. The other reason to run that race is so that I get a feel for Provo Canyon as I will be racing the Utah Valley Marathon in June down the same canyon.

Easy 4 miles on th trail by my house. Legs felt pretty good first half mile then left quad became tight again. I feel that one or two more days of rest and super easy runs I will be back on my feel ready to train like never before!!!

Ran 6 miles on the path by my house. Felt good for the first few miles then my left quad became tight and sore again. It is only a matter of time before I am good to go again. Fully recovered that is.

Easy 4 miler on the Path by my house. Today was the first run since the Boston Marathon that I did not feel any pain, tightness, soreness. I feel that I am almost completely recovered .

It was nice to run into Robbie while running today. I did a few pick ups felt good no issues. Feeling ready and excited to race this weekend.

I ran from Gordon Street in Layton to my wife's house in Kaysville, felt great first half then I had to go the bathroom so it made the run horrible, I had to stop multiple times so I did not go the bathroom in my shorts.

Today I knew I had to do some speed work before the Provo City Half on Saturday. I decided to warm up for about a mile and half and then get the party started.

My goal was to do 4 3 min pushes as solid as I could. In between each push I would rest for 3 min, so it was a 3 on 3 off for the entire session.

Felt great I averaged between 5 and 5:07 pace per push. I know that I still have a little speed and I did not lose all of my fitness after Boston. I got my heart rate up to 168 after each push, Pretty good so I know that I can bounce back as long as I do speed work consistently.

Bring on Provo City Half!! I need to practice this course as it is the same course as the Utah Valley Marathon except it is only the second half of the course. Whether I run fast or slow does not matter as long as I run solid and hopefully place.

Easy 4 miles on path by my house. Felt good, hopefully I am ready to roll tomorrow. I just want to make some money so I do not care if I run slow and I dont know how much my body can take as I just ran the Boston Marathon about a week and half ago.

Cereal racer for money here we come.

Today was the Provo City Half Marathon. I just decided to run this race this past monday. I saw the results this past year and so I was hoping I could run a 1:10 and still make some money.

As I got to the start of the race I met up with Mike and Matt Poulsen and we went on a 2 mile warm-up. As I was talking with them they mentioned to me that they showed up and they thought they could run easy and win money as well. It now seems that if there was a race the previous year that was slow, this year will be the opposite. Every race this year will be fast, everyone in Utah is getting faster there is not such thing as chilling in a race to make money anymore.

At the start I saw about 5 or 6 guys that could win the race, that made me nervous and I knew at that moment I was going to have to run a really solid race to place in the top 3. The reason this made my so nervous was because I just ran the Boston Marathon less than 2 weeks ago and I did not know how well my legs would hold up.

When the race started it was straight downhill  pretty steep. I felt really good for the first 5 or 6 miles and then it got much harder. It was downhill and flat up until about 7 and then it became flat for the next 3 miles. Mile 10 had a slight uphill and then it was flat for a mile and half, then a slight downhill for the last little bit. I was in third up until about mile 7 when fritz came up. He passed me and I knew I had to hold on and not give up. I was fading but when I saw my wife about mile 9 I took my gel and felt way better and got a second wind. I caught up to Fritz and then we pretty much were side by side until mile 12 then I slowly started to pick it up and ended up running a 1:07:24. My second fastest Half of my life and that was only off one speed workout since the Boston Marathon 12 days ago. Bret Hales won with a 1:05:30 and Nate who trains with Fritz and Jake  took second with a 1:07:03. 1 mile cool down with Bret Hales.

This race gave me confidence that by the end of this year I should be breaking 1:06 or getting close.

My splits were 5:07, 4:55, 5:04, 5:04, 5:02, 5:06, 5:15, 5:12, 5:12, 5:17, 5:19, 5:13, 5:05 and 4:37 last little bit.

7 easy miles going north on the trail by my house. As I look back on my half on Saturday I am really happy about my performance. If I did not run Boston that close I think I would have ran around a 1:06 high something. So that gives me confidence going into the rest of the season. Calves were a little tight today but I should feel much better later this week.

I warmed up for a few miles. Then I ran 4 by 3 min push's again, wish rest being 3 min as well.

Each push was about 5 min pace felt good.

I came to price today for work so I had to run as soon as we got to the hotel. I was going to go easy but then was pressed for time so I ran a good solid fast run.

6:27, 6:16, 6:04, 6:00, 5:57, 6:13, 5:47

Felt pretty good, legs were tired but felt pretty good after a mile or so. I tried to make it seem as easy as possible and it did. This was a confidence builder that I am getting back into race shape and that I have not lost too much fitness having the lower miles.

Easy 4 miler. My wife was in a hurry to go somewhere so I was limited on my time to run today. Next time I will need to be smarter and just run in the morning so I can go longer. Calves feel a little sore from yesterday's workout.

Easy 8 miler, Legs still feel a little heavy

I woke and went running on the paved trail by my house. I ran 3 miles for a warm up then I did 3 miles at tempo pace.

My tempo pace went from: 5:30, 5:34, 5:30

I ran easy the rest of the run. It was an awesome run it got warm then it started to rain, then was not bad when the rain stopped.  I am trying to get my body use to longer runs so I will be ready for Utah Valley Marathon in a month. I have much work to do in a month so I hope I can get where I need to be.

Ran 12 miles with Jon today. We averaged 6:33 pace, felt pretty good. Still a little chilly in the mornings as we ran about 6 in the morning.

8 miles north to the park. Felt ok, tired and no energy again today.

I ran from South Fork Canyon down to where my boss was finishing cayaking. Ran down the canyon then back up about a mile, then down again.

Felt really good today. A little headacha but not too bad.

3 miles at about 6:18 pace, 5:10 mile, last 4 were a cool down.

 8 miles today ran to My wife's parents house in Kaysville. Felt ok today but still not great. No energy today, sore throat, headache, and chills.

I was going to do a long run this week but Riley got me a comped entry into the Ogden Marathon. I decided to use the Marathon as a solid training run as I struggle to hold a good pace for very long on a training run. My goal going into the race was to run around the first half at race pace so 5:30 then slow down the second half to 6:30 or 7 min pace.

My splits were

5:36, 5:35, 5:28, 5:23, 5:22, 5:23, 5:29, 5:28, 5:33, 5:41, 5:53, 5:42, 5:57,

6:05, 6:31, 6:23, 6:29, 6:01, 6:26, 6:22, 6:19, 5:59, 5:58, 6:11, 6:18, 6:22 and 2:02 last little bit.

My overall time was 2:67. On my watch I had 2:36. The reason for this is that I had to stop to go the bathroom at about mile 12. I knew that the Marathon was going to be a training run so I did not do my normal routine for dinner. I ate pasta my wife made and that mixed with my sickness this past week made today more difficult.

As the race started I felt good and ran with Steve, Bryant and Jace for a little while. Around mile 5 or so I thought I had to go the bathroom, and the feeling came again. I knew that I was going to have to stop or bad things would happen. I slowed down my pace and tried to get it to go away but no luck so I had to stop. Got a cramp in my shoulder during the race as well, first time I have got one of those during a race. Being sick and feeling tired got to me.

I hope I can get into better shape and do more quality runs before Utah Valley so I can run well. But today I feel was a great trainign run and I accomplished what I set out to do.

I averaged 5:55 for the entire run today so I was pleased.

Easy 8 miler on trail going north.

Felt great for having run 26.2 this past Saturday. Legs feel a little tired but not bad at all compared to the marathons where I run all out.

I ran 8 miles with my baby Jamillie in the stroller. Felt pretty good, prob ran 7-7:20 pace.

Legs are coming back to life. Left calf was a little tight but not too bad.

Easy 10 miler on trail by my house       

Easy 10 miler

Easy 8 miler, tried to keep it slow as we are running a 15 mile tempo tomorrow. We are running a good portion of the Top of Utah Marathon course so I hope it helps.

Spencer down in Draper organized an outstanding run this morning. There were about 16 people that showed up. The goal for the run was to do 3 or 4 warm up and then do a pregression run after that. Doinf 5 miles about 6 min pace, 5 miles at 5:45 pace, then 5 miles at 5:30 pace.

When I looked at the workout I did not know if I could accomplish this task. For the first reason, I ran 26.2 miles last week and I dont know if my legs are fully back. I feel they are but hard to tell until I do another long run. The other reason being that 15 miles at those paces is pretty fast but it is downhill which makes it a lot easier.

My splits were

6:40, 6:27, 6:38, 6:00, 5:51, 6:03, 5:59, 5:44, 5:44, 5:52, 5:30, 5:42, 5:34, 5:35, 5:23, 5:29, 5:27, 5:27, 7:43, 7:40, 6:54

Avg 6:04 entire run so not bad. It was a good solid run. I got gapped with about 4 miles left and Mike, Matt,  and Ben took off and I could not catch them. Every single one of them are in great shape. I could see any of those guys winning the Marathon. I have a ton of work to do and it might be to late to bust out a fast Marathon but we will see in a few weeks. Im very happy with todays workout, it gave my confidence even though I got beat by many people.

Easy 10 miler up North on the trail by my house

Legs feel heavy from Saturdays long run. I averaged around 7:20 pace. Tried to keep it chill and recover we will see if that works.

I ran the 8 mile tempo course this morning with Jon. Warm up was 3 miles then we got started. Todays run was early at 5:50 and it was very humid. My legs were not recovered from saturdays run so they did not feel fresh so the tempo was not super productive but still got it in the bag.

My splits were 5:33, 5:44, 5:43, 5:49, 5:58, 5:55, 5:57, 5:41 to average 5:47 pace.

Cool down was 2 miles.

Today's run felt ok still feeling tired. I ran pushing the stroller, I ran with Jon so that made the run more exciting to talk and not think about running as much.

AM- I met up with Bret and we did mile reps. Warm up was 3 miles. My goal was to do 6 around 5:10 pace and slowly get faster. I ran faster than I thought I was going to. The first few were rough but once I got into a decent rythem it was not that bad. My splits were:

5:06, 5:03, 5:02, 5:02, 4:58, 4:57

I was very pleased with this workout as I have been very tired lately and legs have felt sore and heavy.

Cool down was 3 miles.

PM- Easy 3 miles with my buddy Brad in Midway, it was difficult as I got a massage around 12 earlier today. My legs were still bruised I think.

I ran 13 miles and felt horrible. I got a massage yesterday and my legs still feel super heavy and sore.

I worked all of my hospitals then drove to Jackson Wyoming. When I got to Jackson I went straight to the hospital to work. We worked for a few hours got back to the hotel about 920 then I had to go run. My legs were super tired and heavy today. Still not recovered from the massage so I hope I get my legs back soon as this is scaring me. Hardest 7 miles in a really long time.

Ran 12 miles in Jackson Wyoming. I started from our hotel the Hampton inn and ran to the cache creek trailhead. When I got there I was suppose to meet my boss but he already left so I ran up the cache creek sidewalk trail , then the hagen trail to the putt putt trail and then back to the car. One of the most beautiful trails I have ever ran on in my entire life loved it. Great view of the mountains which had snow on them, perfect 70 degree weather. I finally felt normal running today. My legs have started to come back to life after my massage which was last friday.

Ran 8 miles on the Creek Trail in Jackson Hole. Sweet trail loved it, so beautiful and peaceful in the mountains. Feeling good and slowly getting ready to race in a week and a half.

Easy 8 miler on the trail by my house

The goal for today was to run 2 x 2 mile push at race pace.

I ran a 2 mile warm up. 2 mile push at race pace 5:35. 1 mile break then another 2 mile push at 5:35 race pace. 2 mile cool down. The First push was hard then the second one got a little easier.

Today I was suppose to run 13 miles or so but did not feel like going that long. I decided to bike a good distance then run after. I road biked 14 miles then I ran 8 miles. I felt pretty good towards the end as I got into a good rythem. I am getting excited for the Marathon next week I just hope my legs are ready to roll.

Easy 5 miler feeling pretty good. I love the Taper always makes the body feel good before the Beast!!

Easy 5 miles Feeling nervous about the race, my legs are still not feeling 100 percent recovered.

Easy 5 miles nice and chill

Easy 5 miles nice and slow. I hope my body is ready for all of this pain to come.

Half mile warm-up for the big race

I was excited for the race. I was a little nervous going into the race my legs have felt tired and heavy. I was wanting to go top three but we will see.

5:30, 5:27, 5:25, 5:25, 5:32, 5:34, 5:34, 5:53, 6:00, 5:40, 5:32, 5:42, 5:38

5:35, 5:32, 6:00, 6:20, 5:49, 5:34, 5:50, 5:51, 5:46, 5:53, 6:04, 5:55, 5:47

Averaged 5:50 min pace

I ran almost the whole race with Mike and Ben. I started to fade badly the last 7 miles or so. We ran into some headwind the last 10 miles or so. It was rough I felt like I was working so hard and not moving anywhere.

I was not happy with this race at all. It made me very depressed. I have lost motivation and do not want to run marathons anymore. I need to make a change or something.

Easy 2 miles, First day back running after the Marathon and I felt like I ran another one today!

Easy 4 miles but it was difficult with the legs not recovered yet. 7 min pace never felt so hard.

Easy and slow miles that felt really hard. My left quad still feels really tight after the Utah Valley Marathon last week .

Easy 6 miles up at camp Bartlett scout camp. I had to go up to help out with the kids

I ran the 5k up at scout camp. I went 17:50 I was happy that my stomach felt ok as it has been bothering me. I know I can go much faster but it was high elevation so I was breathing harder.

Easy 6 miles with my sister on the rail trail

Easy 7 on the Kaysville Bonneville trail. Stomach was killing me today, I had to stop multiple times. I must have a bug or something so painful to run.

Easy 3.5 miles

Easy 5.5 miles it was really hot today

Warm up for 3/4 of a mile. I ran 200 meter repeats up the hill by the 21st pond.

1st 33, 2nd 35, 3rd 34, 4th 33, 5th 33, 6th 33

Then I ran an easy 9.5 miles with my friend Chris on the Riverdale Parkway Trail

Easy 7 miles. On the way back I started out at 7:30 pace and got down to a 6 min pace. My body is slowly feeling better getting over my stomach issues. Getting excited for the 5k on the 4th. I know I will run slow but if I can run around 16 minutes I will be happy as my training has been horrible lately.

Warm-Up 1.5 miles

10 by 400's

1:09, 1:10, 1:10, 1:10, 1:09 Rest was 2 min in between each

1:09,1:08,1:09,1:08,1:10 Rest was 90 sec before the last one only had 1 min rest

They felt easier than I thought they would. I am glad my body finally feels recovered and ready to throw it down.

2 mile cool down

Easy 6 miles on the trail by my house

1 mile warm up

Murray Days 5k I went 15:12

Mile 1 5:09

Mile 2 5:00

Mile 3 4:53

I was excited to race today. I was in third up until the mile and half mark then I was passed by nate wornock. I kept him close and he turned around to see how close I was. The last half mile I hade a huge push and out kicked him right before the finish. I am lucky that I still had a little speed today. The course was a little short so if it was the right distance I would have ran around a 15:25 or so.

Cool down 2 miles

Easy 8 miler with my sister on the trail

I ran the first 4 miles easy. On the way back I ran 3 min hard 2 min easy for three reps i had 3 min rest before my last 3 min push. I was around 5:30 to 5:45 for a few the last one I was around 6 min pace my legs were feeling very tired. It was difficult but I know I will benefit greatly from this workout.

I ran an easy 6 miles in 95 degree weather it was very hot today

3 mile warm-up

8 mile tempo with Bret at 21st Pond

1st 5:27, 5:29, 5:36, 5:40, 5:47, 5:45, 5:43, 5:29

Overall time of 45 min

I felt pretty good today. Bret and I ran at about 6 AM. My mileage has not been good at all the past few weeks so I was worried about todays workout. I am very happy with how it went and I am glad I could still make my last mile very quality.

2 mile cool down

Easy 8 miles on the trail by my house

I warmed up for a few miles then started a sweet workout,

The goal was to do 800's and make them very quality and fast.

I ran one at 4:48 pace and took a 3 min rest. I realized that was too much so after the first one I changed to 2 min rest. I ended up dong 5 800's and was between 4:48 -4:50 pace on every single one. I feel that I am slowly getting fit I just hope it shows when I race. If I really do want to improve I need to start doing some super hard workouts and pushing myself to my limits. This will be difficult but I know it will be worth it.

Easy 7 miles along Lake Shore Front in Chicago. It was a great rainy run loved it, humid but did not feel super hot. Calves feel a little tired from yesterday's workout.

Easy 8 miler on the trail by my house, feeling pretty good. Trying to save my legs for Saturdays 5k

Easy 8 miler

Finally feel like I am getting back into decent shape. I started at 6:38 pace and last mile was 6:17 and it was about 90 degrees outside so that was a positive.

AM-

Warm up for 2 miles

The goal was to do 4x 1 mile Repeats with 90 sec rest

1. 5:09

2: 5:08

3. 5:07

4. 5:06

These are much harder to do alone. I usually run them with Bret or Riley. I felt pretty good but I did jump around on pace.

Cool Down for a mile

PM- 4 miles pushing my baby and my wife rode her new bike, It makes time go by faster having people with you

A solid 12 miler with the family. I took it nice and slow. Legs still get pretty tired on runs like this. These runs should be easy and not taxing on the body. Much work to do!!

I ran from our house to the In-Laws on the trail. It was a 7 miler in the hot sun about 4pm. We went wakeboarding after I arrived. I crashed a few times and the body was feelign pretty sore. I hope my body wakes up and does not hurt tomorrow for the race.

Easy 8 miles on the trail it was a hot one.

Easy 6 miles trying to save the legs for the half on Thursday.

Easy 4 miler legs are feeling weird as I have not ran much lately. That means I am either going to run good or bad. I need to make a plan instead of just deciding what to do the day before.

I am feeling really tight and sore after yesterdays half so I decided to bike instead of run. I road biked for 9 miles and went pretty fast. I finished it in 28 minutes. I am not in very good shape at all right now. I thought I was, but once I was in the half my legs were struggling. I need more longer runs to get back to where I use to be. I have not done very many long runs in the past month or two mainly short runs. Speed and long tempo's will help greatly as well.

Today I was still feeling pretty sore. THe downhill pounding got to my legs more than it ever has I feel. Partly because I do not train on downhills the other due to me not being fit and use to long runs.

Easy 6 miles pushing the stoller.

Easy 10 miles

I met up with Jon and Ben to run the 8 mile tempo course in Ogden. We ran a 3 mile warm-up then got started on the beast.

My miles were 5:31, 5:35, 5:32, 5:33, 5:39, 5:33, 5:38, 5:29

I started out a little quick but then settled in to a solid pace. Ben came up about mile and half and we ran together up until mile 3 and then ben had to stop to go to the bathroom. I stayed strong and realized that I struggle with the miles 2 through 4 and that is where I shut down mentally. If I run with someone during those miles or realize those are crucial and I need to push through those then I will improve and get faster.

I averaged 5:34 pace for the entire tempo run. I was very happy with this performance. I am slowly getting faster and more fit.

We ran a mile and half cool down then I decided to do hill repeats. I have been reading a few different things that elite runners do and I read that mixing up 2 different speed runs brings great benefits. I ran 3 200 meter hill repeats and than another one down the hill. The repeats were 32, 35, 37. They were not fast but I was going as fast as I could. I know they will help, I will continue to mix things up to see what helps me to improve the most.

Easy 8 miles today nothing special.

10 miles and averaged 6:40 pace. I had to wake up early and run before we left to go to Colorado for a family reunion. Felt really good, I hope that I continue to make progress towards faster runs that feel easy and comfortable.

Easy 6.5 miles. I ran with my sister in Fort Collins and her stomach was giving her problems so we had to go slow and we ran at 10 at night so we did not go very far.

I was in Fort Collins today. I was able to convince my dad to ride his bike with me as I ran. I ran 14 miles today. I felt great it was suprising to me how good I felt. On the way back I decided to throw in a surge for a mile and I went 5:23. I averaged 6:24 pace for the entire run which made me very happy. The longer runs are my weakness right now so it shows that I am making slow progress.

In Estes Park today for a few days for a family reunion. Easy 8 miles as I ran up the road. Great to have some rain today and enjoy a new area to run in.

I ran 12.5 miles today. Easy 5 miles warm-up then I did hill repeats up at the YMCA in Estes Park. The repeats were 200 meters in length. I did 8 and was between 30 and 35. They seemed very difficult it was pretty steep and the elevation might have gotten to me.

I iced in the river after run. I played ultimate frisbee for about an hour and I was running the entire time so prob another mile or so of running.

Estes Park

I ran up the road to the YMCA in Estes Park Colorado. It is around 7000 feet and I was able to run on the trails so that made it much more exciting than the road I normally run on.

I am getting into better shape but I hope my speed starts to come around. Easy run today.

I was going to wake up early and do a 8 mile tempo but I was tired so I decided to sleep in. After I got home from work I decided to do a fartlek type of a run and get some speed in.

I warmed up for a few miles then I did 6 pushes. The push consisted of going 4 min hard and then 2 min easy then 4 min hard again getting to a total of 6. My 4 min pushes were between 5 and 5:10 pace. I felt pretty good, they were hard but I pushed myself almost as hard as I could.

My cool down was a few miles.

Total of 10 miles for the day

Easy 5 miles. I heard there was a treadmill competition and the winner wins a Paris France trip. I want to win so I decided to go short today and do my best tomorrow. I was going to go 12 today and 16 tomorrow but that got changed very quick.