I Hate Cedar Snow!

This is my first entry on the blog.  I have finally decided to join the blog and know a number of the members already.  My only hang-up about joining was that I would not keep up with it everyday.

I reason I am writing today is that I am seeking advice from some of the experienced marathoners about mileage plans until St. George.  Last year was my best time and I ran 2:46.  The most I had trained consistently before then was about 50-55 mpw.  This year I have built up my mileage very slowly and have PRed a number of times.  I have been above 50 mpw since April, and have hit 71, 75, and 67 the last three weeks.  My goal is to go between 2:35-2:39 at St. George.  My plan was to top off at 80 mpw and then taper with 2-3 weeks before the race.  What advice do any of you have?  I would love to hear from anyone.

A.M. Woke up to thunderstorms this morning so decided to hit the treadmill.  7:40 Avg. Will run later this afternoon with the XC team.

P.M. Ran 8 miles with the team in 55 min.  Ran easy for the first five, then hit a 2 mile tempo before cooling down.  2 mile tempo in 11:45 with my top runner.

P.M. Only 1 run today.  Just ran at an easy 7:30 pace with the team.   This will be my first week where I am going to try to do at least 3 two-a-days.

A.M.  8 Easy miles this morning.  Nothing too special.  Just getting in the distance.  7:50 pace

P.M.  6 after school with the team.  This included 3 x 1 mile repeats.  I ran with the JV guys today and our course was pretty swampy, so I was only hitting 6:30-6:40 per mile.  Fairly easy effort.

P.M. 6 miles recovery with the team after their mile repeats yesterday.  Hot and windy.  Then I did 4 more miles after practice.  I need to get in quite a few miles the next couple of days to hit 80 for the week.

A.M. 6 easy miles this morning.  7:58 pace.  Will run later with the team.

P.M. 6.25 Ran to the park where the cross-country race is going to be tomorrow with the team.  Course is exactly 3 miles this year instead of 3.2 which is good.  7:45 pace.

A.M.  Finished off a good week of training with a great long run.  I ran 19 this morning with an 8 mile tempo towards the end of it.  My splits during the tempo were as follows:

Mile 1- 6:37

Mile 2- 6:18

Mile 3- 6:12

Mile 4- 6:10

Mile 5- 6:02

Mile 6- 5:53

Mile 7- 5:51

Mile 8- 5:45

A.M. Easy 10-miler this morning. Feels good to start off the week with a good run. I am going to try to hit 80-85 this week. 7:57 avg.

 P.M. 8.2 long run for the team this week.  A little bit cooler today which was nice. Ran the first 6 fairly easy then ran a 2 mile tempo.  I ran with the 6th and 7th guys on the team and we hit 6:23 then 6:15, so that was a good pace for them.  Short cool down back to school.
 

A.M. Slept in a little today so I was only able to get a 4 miler in before school.  I am kicking myself for sleeping in now though because I remembered that I am not going to be able to run with the team today after school.  I will have to try to get in a run late tonight because I cant handle only doing 4 today.  Its way too girly.

 P.M. Got in 6 on the treadmill late at night.  Felt good but just ran easy.  7:35 avg. 

P.M. Ran 10 at a fairly easy 7:35 pace before the cross-country meet. My boys did very well at the meet. Most ran PRs and we are right behind Cedar in region

A.M. This was a workout that I was not looking forward to.  I hate doing track workouts by myself.  I decided to do some Yasso-like 800s.  I ran a warmup to the SUU track.  Then I did 8 x 800 with a lap jog in between each.  I had to stay mentally tough to not call it quits early.  I wanted to start out conservative and then go for it.  Here are my times.

 1) 2:55- Way to slow

2) 2:47- Getting there

3) 2:45- Still feeling strong

4) 2:41- Starting to feel it

5) 2:39- I am hurting now but my splits are right on 

6) 2:39- Want to quit, but convince myself to keep going

7) 2:37- Hurting bad now

8) 2:35- Gave it all I had left

Then I did a cool down back home.  All in all I am happy with the workout.  I was happy to have decreasing splits the whole way. 

P.M. Ran easy 5.8 with the boys this afternoon.  They were recovering from the race last night and me from this morning.  Just under 8:00. 

A.M. This will be my only run today.  Just went easy at about 7:45 pace.  I am heading to CA later for the weekend.  I am going to run with my dad and his friends tomorrow about 22-24 miles.  It will be slow, but it will be good for me to run that long.  Hopefully it will teach my body to conserve fuel in the marathon.

A.M.  Traveled to CA last night to visit family and friends.  Did the long run with my dad's running group.  Left at 3:15 to do it.  Crazy!  It was a pretty hilly route and I ran most of it easy and controlled.  I ran ahead on a few parts because I got tired of 8:00+ miles.  Towards the end, they do a pick up of 2.4 miles to simulate Diagonal and the finish of St george.  I ran that at 5:47 average and felt strong.  It ended up taking 2:45:00 for a 7:27 average.  

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.

P.M.  Recovery run with the team.  I ran it at a decent pace though.  I hit about 7:00 pace for most of the run and picked it up to 6:00 pace for the last half mile.

Planned day off

I am sick again.  I dont know if it ever fully went away.  I hope it doesnt effect me too much tomorrow.  I might jog a little bit later to loosen up the legs a bit.

This is my first race report on the blog so I hope it goes well.  I have been sick off and on the past 2 weeks.  It has been frustrating and I had hoped it would not affect my race.  I dont think it did too much looking back on the race now.  The weather did for sure, but everyone else has commented on that so I wont.  The good news is that it was a PR for me.  This was the first marathon that I have actually ran good training mileage for.  I knew before the race that I could run under 2:40 for sure, and maybe low to mid 2:30s if I was feeling good.

I did not warm up before the race.  Just headed to the line and hoped for the best.  I wanted to be able to hook up with a group at some point with the wind and all.  The first few miles I just went by feel.  The lead group was not too far ahead at this point.  The first 7 miles went by quick.  My splits were 1-6:05, 2-6:08, 3-5:52, 4-5:48, 5-5:55, 6-5:41, 7-5:47.

Then I took my first GU as we headed into Veyo.  As we started up the hill, I could see a group of bloggers about 50 yards ahead.  I thought to myself, do I dare push it this early to catch them or sit back for a few miles.  Well I decided to go after them.  It was a good choice.  The pack was Jon, Walter, Kory, Cody, James, and a few others.  We ran the hills very conservatively and talked most of the time.  Splits: 8-6:45, 9-6:51, 10-6:52, 11-6:51, 12-6:21, 13-6:03, half in about 1:22:00.  Took 2nd GU at mile 13. 

By this time, the pack was splitting up a bit.  I stuck with James and Walter though down into Snow Canyon.  We started to pick it up, but I knew it would be tough to break 2:40. Here are the splits through 20: 14-6:13, 15-5:48, 16-5:44, 17-5:53, 18-6:00, 19-6:27, 20-6:08. 

Around mile 18 or 19 I took my 3rd GU and decided to make a move.  I could see Jon in the distance stopping to adjust his socks and thought I might be able to catch him.  But the problem was that my left shoe came untied.  It didnt get too bad, but I didnt want to stop to retie it for fear of getting cramped up.  James and Walter came by me on the downhill and I could not go with them.  I started getting side aches on both sides and just tried to relax.  Right at mile 23 I almost threw up but kept it down.  As we got onto Diagonal, my cramps got worse.  I had to slow to about 7:00 pace.  Cody passed me and I feared that others were close behind.  The cramps continued until mile 25 and then stopped almost immediately.  Cody had a sizeable lead on me but I decided to try to close the gap.  I passed him right before mile 26 and had a good finish.  Actually felt good and had some left.  Splits after 20 are: 21- 5:56, 22-6:15, 23-6:14, 24-6:23, 25-6:33, 26-5:56, .2-1:13.

I want to thank the bloggers I ran with for helping me out.  The main ones were Jon, James, Walter, and Cody.  I used James for a windblock most of the time.  Thanks James!  I will be back next year looking for a bigger PR. 

P.M.  Well today was a recovery day for the team after Pre-region yesterday, so I decided to get back into it.  I ran with one of my varsity guys and talked about the plan for region next week.  We starting out at about 8:00-8:30 pace into the wind and then finished at 6:30 pace.  It felt easy except for my quads were a little achy.  7:30 avg.

P.M. Speed work for the team today.  It is my last speed day for JV and was fairly easy for varsity too.  I had them do a mile at their goal race pace.  Then JV did 6 x 200 and varsity did 5 x 400.  I did the mile with JV at 5:54 and then just ran on the track while they did the rest of the workout.  I did do one of the 400s with them in 1:12 and that was tough on the legs.  Will do an easy run tomorrow and then call  it a week.  I will bump up the mileage to about 30 or maybe a little more next week.

A.M. Ran with the team up on to the golf course to watch SUU in their meet.  They won pretty easy.  Cam Levins won the race.  Evidently, according to Coach Houle, he is the next SGM winner next year.

P.M.  Easy run with the guys before region tomorrow.

No run today.  However, my boys took region today.  They were way pumped and so was I.  We beat Cedar 31-45.  Hurricane was next with 52.  My top 4 runners took 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 6th.  Their times were 15:44, 15:49, 15:50, 15:52.  Our 5th runner also PRed with a 16:54.  Hopefully that gap will close more at state.  I never thought we would have 4 runners under 16 min.

P.M.  Ran the shorter trail run with the varsity boys today.  They were still on a high from yesterday.  Hopefully that will carry into next week.  They should be in the top 3 for 3A with a chance at 1st or 2nd if they run like they did yesterday.

A.M.  Another easy day this morning for the team.   We ran the Auto Mall route.  Some of the guys picked it up towards the end and I kept the pace easy.  Legs still wont turn over very well since the marathon.

A.M.  It is nice being off of school for 5 days.  We did a speed workout today.  2 mile warm up, then 2 x 800, 2 x 400, 4 x 200, .5 cooldown.  Each of the repeats got progressively faster in pace.  Two miles of speed work was easy for the guys now.  I ran towards the back of the varsity guys and dont think I could have managed much more.

A.M.  Finished of the week with a good run.  First time that I have felt great at a good pace since the marathon.  I ran about 3 miles on the track before the team got there.  I did some 100s, 200s, and 400s at a decent pace  just to mix things up.  It felt great.  Then we ran a little over 4 miles as a team.  We started off slow, then picked it up about halfway through.  It wasnt a planned pickup.  Things are just flowing for them right now.  We ran the last 2 full miles in 6:51, and 6:28.  It was easy for all of them I think.  We are getting excited for state.

A.M.  I have decided to slowly build my mileage back up.  I plan to be at 50-60 by next month and hold it there through the winter.  That being said, I ran a couple of miles on the track before practice this morning.  Then we ran about 3 miles easy and came back and did some 200s and strides on the track.  The team is ready for state.

A.M.  We are up at state.  My plan was to run to Sugarhouse, measure the course, then run back.  I figured from our hotel at 45th S 6th W to Sugarhouse would be about 4 miles.  However, it was 6.5.  I was a little mad by the time I got to the park knowing that I would have to run 16 total.  The course measured 3.00, which has been disputed by some that said the course was 75 m short this year.  I ran the course before it was completely marked, so maybe I ran the correct course.  Who knows.  All I know is that my guys ran well.  My 1st and 2nd guys ran great, my third and 4th were a little back, but my 5th did well.  So it averaged out to be a good day.  We placed third behind Park City and Ogden who dominated.  It would have taken a miracle to beat them today.  Park City better watch out next year though. 

Holt, if you read this today, I am going to call you tonight about NXN.  I got your number from Logan. 

P.M.  Ran on the treadmill because I had to babysit.  I usually dont mind the treadmill too much, but today was horrible.  I would keep it on a display that did not show distance.  One time I switched to distance expecting to see about 5 miles and I was barely over 3.  Oh well.  I better get used to it as winter is approaching.  7:22 avg.

A.M.  I did not call this a race report because the race didnt have a name and it was low key for charity.  Regardless I wanted to go out and run hard and see what kind of speed I could muster up after the marathon.  One of my best runners, Ben Jarvis, ran it.  I knew if I could keep him within 30 seconds that I would be doing good.  The course is honest but fairly slow.  It runs up Cedar Canyon then back down. 

I started out close to Ben (a few seconds back) with a 5:42 1st mile (uphill).  There was a guy that started out with us the first 1/4 mile then started fading.  He ended up running over 20 min.  He wasnt too happy after the race.  Then I slowed to a 5:50 (up then down),  then I picked it up to a 5:21 (down) and finished at 4:53 pace.  3.13 miles total.  Ben had his lead on me after about 1.5 miles and the gap stayed pretty steady the rest of the way.  So I know Ben is reading this, you kicked my butt.  He ran 17:18 and I ran 17:32.  I was 16:53 at 3 miles, which pleased me.  I have never stayed in good shape after the marathon before, so time to train hard this year. 

We ran the course before as a warm up and part of it as a cool down.

P.M.  Ran with a couple of varsity guys.  Did a new route.  Ran the first part of the Auto Mall route then took a trail over a hill and under the freeway.  Then we went back by the bus garage.  Ran pretty hard.  6:41 avg.

P.M. Long trail run with a few of the guys.  Tried to keep it nice and easy after yesterday, but still ran at a decent pace.  It seemed really easy.  7:22 avg.

P.M. Ran 1.5 miles on the track before practice.  Then ran another 4.5 with a couple of the guys.  7:10 avg.

P.M.  Ran a few laps before practice then ran did CJs plus Spirit extension.  7:12 avg.

P.M.  Easy by myself.

A.M.  Ran with Ben Jarvis this morning.  I did a little warmup before we met.  Then we ran up Main and turned up the canyon.  We went up to the start of USG 5K start at 7:25 avg.  Then we decided to hit some half marathon pace miles on the 5K course to prepare for the race next week.  I dont have my Garmin with me, but I remember my splits being 5:43, 5:41, 5:29.  17:24 for the full 5K at 5:37 pace.  Then cooled down at 7:30 pace back to the school.  Great workout and felt great the whole time.  Hopefully I feel that way next week.

P.M. Ran a new loop from my house that I had ridden on my motorcycle before.  It is about a third on a trail.  I will probably make it a regular route, but not while it is dark in the mornings and evenings.  Started out uphill with a headwind, then coming back I was sub 7:00 pace.  7:15 avg.

P.M.  Now that XC is over, I have to pick up my son and babysit after school.  So yesterday I decided to hop on the treadmill when i got home with him.  I did 8 at a 7:27 avg.  At least I had ESPN to entertain me.

P.M.  Just an easy run on the 'mill to get the miles in.

P.M.  Ran with Ben Jarvis.  It is getting cold out.  I dont like it.  I am usually not training at this time of year.  We ran well though.  6:55 pace for the 8 miles.  That included a 1.5 mile section at 5:43 pace.  We were still talking somewhat at that pace which is encouraging.  I'm ready to rock Snow Canyon on Saturday.

P.M.  I did not wear a watch, so I am being conservative on the distance.  Just an easy run before the race.

A.M.  Warmed up a mile with Ben, Logan, and Dustin.  Tried to convince Ben that he could run under 6:00 pace and be OK.  He definitely found that to be true.  First 3 miles of the race were FAST.  My splits were 4:53 at mile 1, 10:00 at 2, and 15:37 at 3.  The rest of my miles were between 5:45 and 6:15.  I hit my goal time and was pleased for this being only a month after the marathon.  Now comes the difficult part of staying motivated and grinding out the winter miles.  

Cooled down 1 mile.

P.M. I have to admit that I am very sore from the race on Saturday.  I think it was the first 3 downhill miles.  I ran with my dad today without a watch.  I'm guessing we averaged over 8:00 pace, which was good considering how I felt.

P.M.  Did an out and back run after school today.  I just tried to relax and run easy.  The goal was to negative split on a harder 2nd half.  I went 37:30 (7:30 avg.) for the first half and 35:10 (7:02 avg.) for the second half.  Good run overall.

P.M.  Easy run after school.

A.M.  I went to stay at my in-law's cabin outside of Zion's on Saturday morning.  I decided to drive into Zions to get a run in.  I asked the lady about trails to run on and she said the best one was at the front of the park by the visitors center and it was a bike trail.  Well I ran it, and it was ok.  It was only about 5 miles and it was pretty flat and not challenging.  So I found another trail that was for hiking.  I decided to try to run up it.  It was about 4 miles round trip.  The people I passed were huffing and puffing from just hiking so they were surprised when I blew past them.  That was a fun trail.

P.M.  Did a new trail run at the south end of town today.  It was enjoyable.  I saw about a 3 foot snake and went close to it and it darted away quickly.  It could have bit me so easily.  Anyways, good hills and good pace on the run.  About 7:15 avg.

P.M.  Went over and ran a few laps on the track and then met up with a couple of guys from the team.  We ran about 3 together (Playhouse route) and then I ran a little more on the course to get 5 in.

P.M. 6 easy.  I will take the rest of the week off for a break.  I am a little burned out or not motivated right now.

Lots of eating

P.M.  New route.  Had to add on some 1/2 mile loops at the middle school at the end to make the mileage.

P.M.  Treadmill

P.M.  New loop

A.M.  I was in was Vegas for the break.  Ran my standard trail there and then met my father in law at R.C. Willey to try to get some Christmas gifts.  Good run at 6:59 avg.

A.M.  Did not know if I wanted to run this far, but "manned up"  to get an even 40 for the week.  Did a new Vegas loop then ran the trail in reverse.  7:15 avg.

P.M.  Ran to Alltel to decide on a new phone.  Then ran back to the middle school.  I have started putting the elevation as one of the displays on my GPS.  It is entertaining and a little distracting because I look at it so much.  I start at about 6000 ft on my runs and was as low as 5800 today.  My house is at 5640.

P.M.  I now pick up my son after school, so if I want to continue to run in the afternoon, it will have to be on the treadmill.  I did this today and it was tolerable.

P.M.  Another treadmill run

A.M.  Treadmill

P.M.  Treadmill training has not been that bad.  I turn on ESPN and watch Around the Horn and Pardon the Interruption.  So needless to say, I am up on my college and pro sports.

Treadmill

Treadmill

Treadmill

Treadmill

Treadmill

Treadmill

A.M. In Vegas for the holidays.  Ran a good 10-miler in 1:11

A.M.  Another good run at 7:00 pace

A.M. Now in California.  Ran with my dad 7:45 avg.

A.M.  Ran with my dad and his 3 friends.  8 min. avg.

A.M.  Ran with my dad again.  Sped up at the end.  7:27 avg.