Second Wind

Walk racing has become a passion of mine over the last four years and today I won my third gold in this event.  The only year I didn't win the gold was two years ago and I won silver because I got lazy at the end and lost by 2 seconds, that won't happen again.  Really, really windy day and much of the race was on the super speedway track at Las Vegas motor speedway.  Considered not walking this year due to the upcoming Hurricane half-marathon in a few days and the stress that walk racing can put on your shins and hips.  Didn't seem to have any ill effects from the race so I am glad I did it and once again the team took the gold medal for the walk race event.  woo hoo!!

Rest

Rest

Really fun race and a PR!  I felt really strong from the start of the race.  If it hadn't been for the head winds part of the way I may have been able to go a little faster.  From the start of the race to about mile 8 there are rolling hills and they all felt really smooth and the legs felt strong.  At about mile 9 there is a huge 2 mile downhill where you can just let it go and really pick up the pace.  I think my pace during this section was in the 7:40/mile range.  Not super fast but effortless.  The final couple of miles included mostly flat racing with a small hill about mile 12 which also seemed effortless.  My wife and I pushed hard the last mile and finished together.  Not a PR for her but a good run just the same.  Before the race started I ate three shot blocks and a banana, during the race I used 4 vanilla power gels and drank only water.  I am still experimenting with what to eat during races and this combination worked well.  My only question is how do I carry 8 of these gels during the marathon?  Maybe with better conditioning I won't need to consume as many extra carbs during the race....but I can really tell a difference in my legs when I do.  The best part about this race was that I still felt strong at the end like I could have kept going for several miles.  Very fun race, and scenic course, I think it will be an annual tradition!

Rest

Rest

Long run today instead of Saturday due to Father and Sons outing with the boys.  Still recovering from Hurricane half-marathon.  Will look to pick up the pace next week in preparation for Fontana half-marathon on June 2.

Ran this short run up at Mt. Charleston (8500 ft. elevation) where our church was have a fathers and sons outing.  Course was very hilly and it literally took my breath away.  Due to the rough dirt roads, elevation and hills I cut this run short in order to save my body for another day.

Rest

Ran aerobic intervals today.  This is the first day that I am begining to ramp up the miles for my St. George Marathon training.  Ran 4 1:30 intervals 2 2:00 intervals and 1 3:00 interval all at about 7:00 - 7:15 per mile pace.  Felt a bit sloppy and winded but got through it.  Pushed hard on the last interval to finish in 56 minutes.

Time 8:00/mile

Recovery day from yesterdays speed work/aerobic intervals.

Time 8:21/mile

This was my first 8 miler on a week day.  I ran 5 miles as a tempo run and my average pace for those miles was about 7:25/mile.  Found myself struggling on the last mile of the five mile stretch but pushed and got through it.  Have been trying to nurse a minor shin splint in my right inside calf area.  Leg hurts at the beginning of the run then goes away during the run, then returns after the run is complete.  May scale back on the speed work for a couple weeks until this injury is fully healed.

Time:  7:55/mile

Rest

Ran a nice easy 7 miler with the wife this morning.  Felt a little sluggish and tight, not really smooth like I would expect on an easy pace run.  Maybe it is due to my pushing it harder at the beginning of the week.  In any case, got through it without a lot of extra effort.  Considering a 20 mile long run tomorrow but may wait and see how I feel at 10 or 12 and go from there.  No need to add a long run at this point, just want to prove to myself that I can do it.  Longest run since the St. George Marathon last year was 15 miles, so would like to go beyond that.  We'll see how it goes tomorrow.

Time: 8:40/mile

So much for the 20 mile long run.  Managed 16 today and felt pretty good for the first 12 or 13 then the legs started to get fatigued.  Took some power gel but it didn't seem to do much for me.  I really need to contnue to do more of these longer runs to build up my endurance if I am going to turn in a respectable marathon time.  Still have a little twinge in the the right calf area that I hope to run through next week.  Will try for six days next week at easy pace days.

Time: 8:52/mile

Rest

Slow run today and probably slow for the rest of the week.  Felt pretty good once I got going and was able to increase the pace a bit each mile.  Still, average time was a bit slow but I'll take it.  Slower runs will be to try and shake this nagging shin issue.  I really think it is just a very tight muscle and I have been massaging every day and icing after runs.  Hopefully I will see some improvement this week with these less intense runs.

Time: 8:42/mile

The wife and I finally got our mountain bikes tuned up after years of sitting in the garage.  We got talked into doing a sprint distance triathalon on June 16 so we decided to start going for a ride each evening.  Bike riding is a nice change from running but you've got to go a long way to get the same benefits.  We went on a 9 mile ride over a level course and it felt pretty good.  I think we will be going out each night at least for a short ride.  I'm a little worried about the swimming portion of the triathalon.  I hope I don't drown.  Havn't gone swimming in years.  Will try to do some laps somewhere before the big day.

Another day of relatively slow miles.  Still trying to go easy to let the right shin and calf heal a bit.  Didn't take as long today for the pain in the calf/shin to go away at the start of the run.  Maybe that's a sign that things are on the mend, maybe it's just dumb luck.  Whatever it is, I'll take what I can get.  It was pretty windy today but it didn't seem to affect my stride or speed.  I must have been pushing a bit harder into the wind.  Temperatures were a little cooler this morning too and that is always a pleasant change down here in the desert.  Overall a nice comfortable run.

Time: 8:36/mile

Did not run today due to gusty winds 25-35 MPH.  Probably not such a bad thing considering I'm still getting over this minor injury.  Will pick it up again tomorrow when the winds are supposed to be calm again.

Great run today!  The wife and I really went out strong today and after the first half mile or so it started to feel effortless.  Our pace increased each mile and by mile 5 I felt so good I decided to go for a sub 7 minute mile.  Ended up running a 6:56.  Felt good to run fast again and get the oxygen flowing hard.  Still working on the calf injury but again today it felt pretty good.  Spent some time last night really massaging the area and it seems to help.  With Fontana coming up in a week I want to be at my peak for the big race so I will try to go easy from now until then.  Sometimes, though, you just feel like going faster.

Time - 8:03/mile

Nice easy run today.  Felt a little worn out and tired.  Maintained a pretty steady pace for the entire run.  Will have one more long run tomorrow before the Fontana half-marathon and then a mini taper next week to get well rested for the big day.

Time: 8:43/mile

Good run today.  Ran the first 8 miles at about an 8:52 pace then stepped it up a bit for the final 4 miles to drop the pace to 8:41 overall.  Trying harder to work on the mental aspect of running and trying to relax and run smooth even when exhaustion is setting in.  Final four miles were 8:21, 8:10, 8:22, 8:31.  After Fontana next week there will be 18 weeks until the SGM and it will be time to start piling on the miles and the intensity.

Time - 8:41/mile

Rest

Nice easy day on the stake pres loop.  We call it the stake pres loop because we pass the stake presidents house about half way through the run.  It is a nice run up Tropical to Jones and then on some back roads through some open ranch land that bring us back to Tenaya and home.  Since it was a holiday we decided to break out of our usual 1.45 mile rut around our develpment and have some fun.  I swear we have almost run a rut in the ground where we run every morning around our place.  The weather was perfect and run was nice and easy as we start to taper for Fontana.  Went to Mt. Charleston with the kids and went for a short hike up the bristlecone trail near the ski resort.  Very nice to get out of the 90s and into the 60s.

Time: 8:54/mile

Nice run today, perfect weather and okay pace.  Another easy run to go along with our taper for Fontana.  Still debating about what time to shoot for at Fontana.  With marathon training starting the Monday after I don't want to push it so hard that I have to take a week off to rest the quads due to the pounding but with the downhill course I am excited to see just how fast I can go.  With 18 weeks until St. George I am tempted to just go for it and see what the body is capable of doing.  I think a sub 1:40 is possible on this course for me and I'd like to shoot for at least that time.  We'll see how the taper progresses and go from there.

Time: 8:39/mile

Another low mileage and slow taper day.  The weather here has been incredible, 70 at the start of the run with little or no wind.  This may be considered warm by some but for us Las Vegans, low 70's are a treat in the summer.  Still I think the temps are a bit above average for this time of year.  I imagine next month we will start seeing some warmer early morning temps.  Run felt good today with only slight pain in the calfs and a tad in the knees.  This month will end up being my highest mileage month since I started running last year, this may explain why my calfs and knees complain from time to time.  Still looking forward to Fontana with a goal time to be decided in the next couple of days.

Time: 8:33/mile

This run finishes off the month with the most miles for me in my running career with 152.8.  My previous record was 151.1 a couple of months earlier this year in March.  As the training continues through the summer and if I can stay injury free I expect this record will be broken several times over.  Good smooth run today with very little effort.  Nice taper run to allow all the little aches and pains to heal a bit.  Calfs are feeling stronger everyday and knees are feeling good too.  One more short taper run tomorrow of 2 or 3 miles and then we'll be all set for Fontana.  I still haven't decided on a goal time but I think it would be something like this:

Happy 1:45     Very Happy 1:40     Ecstatic 1:35  Any of these times would also be a half-marathon PR so life would be good in any scenario.

Time: 8:40/mile