I Hate Cedar Snow!

A.M. Only one run today.  Still in CA.  Ran with my dad and one of his friends again today. Did part of the same course from Saturday.  Kept it easy and relaxed most of the time.  7:36 avg.

P.M. Only one run today.  It was a lot cooler so it was nice.  We ran the razorbacks today, which is a trail up Cedar Canyon that cuts through to the golf course.  A couple of the guys got lost which is always the case.  Then Ben Jarvis and I ran I couple extra miles to hit 10 for the day.  I think we were like 7:22 avg. for the run, which is fairly fast for that course.

A.M. Didnt feel like leaving the house today so I ran 10 on the treadmill.  Caught up on Sportscenter during the run which was nice I guess.  7:43 avg.  Will run later with the team.

P.M. Ran with the team this afternoon.  We did hill repeats on the hill from our course.  The repeat section was close to a half mile (.47).  My varsity guys did 5 of these.  I hung in there with them.  We started off at 2:42 and went down to 2:30 on the last one.  It was a good workout for them and me.  7.5 miles total with warmup and cool down.

P.M. We did the exact same run as Tuesday.  It is one of the team's favorites.  I wasnt feeling too good at first but then I got going OK.  Only one month left to SGM.  I am already getting excited.

A.M. 10 miles this morning.  Just did a loop from my house.  I ran really easy for 3 miles and then picked it up for the rest of the run.  Ran about 6:45-6:50 pace the last 7 miles.  Felt good to run at that pace.  Will run about 16 up in Provo tomorrow before the races.

A.M.  I was up in Provo today for the BYU Invitational.  The Circle of Trust was kind enough to run over to my hotel and meet up with me for part of their long run.  I hope I did not slow them down too much.  Anyways, I ran about 9 miles with them at an easy pace before turning around to come back.  On the way back to my hotel I hit 7 miles in 43:40 (6:14 avg).  The last mile was in 5:41.  I felt good about that effort and it did not kill me at all.  I felt good after the run and think I am about ready for SG.  Just a few more key workouts to get in before then.

A.M. Ran my standard loop from the house.  I go up to Walmart, then to Main, down to 200 N, and back down to Cross Hollows to my house.  I was feeling pretty good and then I ran with another guy for a few minutes, so I ran a little faster than planned.  7:06 avg.

P.M. Long run for the team today.  Ran most of the way with  3 of my varsity guys.  It was a moderate effort for them.  We ran up Main to Days Inn, then dowm to SUU and back around the park to school. 7:04 avg.

A.M. I had planned on doing some faster miles this morning, but decided against it.  I will get it in later in the week.  Just went 9 at a nice slow pace.  7:59 avg.

P.M. Ran some 800 repeats on the track with the team.  The varsity team did 6 and JV did 5.  They started out at current race pace and progressed towards goal race pace.  I ran the first 5 with JV in about 3:00, then the last one with my 5th varsity runner in 2:43.  Good workout for the team and a fairly easy effort for me since I ran with JV most of the time.

A.M. Ran a hard workout this morning. I decided to do 3 x 2 miles tempo. I ran a 3 mile warmup and then got started. Here are the results: 1) 12:07 (6:03 avg.) Tough to get the legs going. 2) 11:31 (5:45 avg.) I was feeling good on this one 3) 11:14 (5:37 avg.) Not all out but I pretty hard effort Overall I am pleased with this workout. Although some of it was at about my marathon goal pace, I feel that the effort was a little more than that. I figure that the same effort at SGM would give me 20-30 seconds faster per mile. At SGM it would be downhill, lower elevation, and with competition.

P.M. Did a recovery run with the team.  They were recovering from the 800s yesterday, and me from my workout this morning. 6.3 miles.

P.M. Just an easy run on my own.

A.M.  Got in some miles before heading to Provo and Murray for XC races.

A.M.  This was a key run for me.  I wanted to get in a solid 24 miler and run it with a decent negative split.  It was tough since it was by myself.  I ran it in 2:50 (1:30 for the first half and 1:20 for the second half.)  The second half was at a 6:42 avg. and the last 3 miles were at 6:07 avg.  So I was very happy about it.  Now I can start to taper and get ready for the marathon.

P.M.  Slept in this morning and just ran with the team in the afternoon.  We started off fairly slow and then started picking it up.  I ran with a few of my varsity runners.  We ran 8.6 miles then I kept going to get in 10.  7:05 avg.

A.M. 10 Good workout this morning.  Ran a 4 miles warmup, 4 mile tempo, and a 2 mile cool down.  The tempo mile splits were as follows:

1) 5:56

2) 5:49

3) 5:39

4) 5:24

P.M.  6.5 Ran a speed workout with the team today.  We did 6 x 800 on our course which is pretty hilly and mostly on grass.  I didnt go too hard after the workout I had this morning, but ran most of them with the varsity guys.  Hit them all between 2:30 and 3:00. 

A.M. 8 Recovery run.  Legs a little tired from yesterday.  I laid in bed for awhile trying to rationalize not going for a run, but I couldnt do it.  7:36 avg.  

P.M. 6.7 Another easy run with one of my varsity guys.  Planning on running easy tomorrow and them hitting a good long run on Friday.

P.M. 7.5 with the team.  I had them do a 5 mile run, then run 1 mile on the track at race pace or slightly faster, then a cool down.  I ran the 5 miles at a 6:57 avg. and then pace some JV guys on the track with a 6:10.  Some of the guys struggle with pacing themselves, so hopefully practicing race pace occasionally will help them.

A.M.  Woke up with a sore throat and was not feeling very well.  Had plans on doing my long run today so that I could have an easy run tomorrow.  So I almost postponed the run, but just decided to get it over with.  I ran the same 8 mile loop from my house twice.  The first loop I ran 7:33 avg. pace in my normal training shoes.  Then I put on my racing flats, which are Saucony Grid Fastwitch.  I did the second loop in a 6:39 avg.  Did not push it too hard, but it was harder than normal since I didnt feel well.  

 I still cant decide on whether to wear my flats for the marathon or not.  I have worn them for 2 half marathons already and did fine.  I read the discussion board when flats were discussed and I am on the border of the criteria that was set.  If any of you have any advice, please feel free to share.

P.M. Ran part of the state course up at Sugarhouse Park with the team.

P.M. Easy pace running

P.M. Long run today with the team.  Started off fairly easy with a few of the guys.  Then we started picking up the pace.  Saw Cedar out running.  Ended up finishing with a few miles under 6:30 pace.  6:55 avg. 

P.M.  Ran hills today with the team.  Did the big hill on the golf course twice and then ran up to the water tower.  Ran a few miles afterwards.  7:11 avg.  

P.M. 6.4 Easy recovery run with the team.  7:45 avg.  Not much else to say.  Almost over my cold that has been bothering me the last 4 days or so.  I am planning on hitting 50 this week.  It is funny because in the past, I have only gotten up to 55 miles in my peak training weeks.

P.M. The team did a speed workout on the track today.  I ran the 800s with them and then ran a bunch of laps in between while they did the rest of the repeats.  I ran the 800s in 2:32, 2:30, 2:24.  Felt really good for still having a little sickness in the system.

P.M.  Sports Authority out and back at an easy pace

A.M. Ran a few miles in the morning before practice.   Then we met at Cedar High to do a little race with our team split in two.  My number 4 guy, who is kind of a head case 800m guy, ran 16:18 and won.  Hopefully he can keep it up for a few more weeks.  I ran with the boys and finished in 17:04.  Not too hard of an effort.  

P.M. Did most of the long run with the team today.  Did not worry about my time too much.  Felt pretty good.

P.M.  Speed workout for the team today.  They were doing 800s and 200s on the track.  I did the 800s at a pretty easy pace.  They were all in the 2:50s.