Second Wind

Easy 5K still getting back into shape.

WINDY!  This was a PW for me in the half marathon distance.  I set my previous PW in the half marathon two years ago in this same race so I've stooped to a new low.  I'm okay with it though because I've had a solid year so far and April has been a solid month. 

The weight loss challenge starts at work on Monday and I am planning to lose 15% of my current weight which will put me back in the weight range where I should be running. 

My son Cory just ran his first half today after a great track season.  He came in around 1:44 and for the course and the wind that is a very respectable time for a kid who normally runs the 1600 and 3200 and averages around 25 miles a week.  He is going to start blogging his daily runs with "yours truely" as his coach until cross country team training starts in June.

Meg rocked me as she always does in a time of about 1:54.  I swear the woman feels no pain or fatigue and has will power of steel regardless of any nagging injuries.

Now that Cory will be blogging I will try blogging again as well if I can get back in the habit.

Rest.  Enjoyed watching Jamie play in her rare Sunday softball tournament for most of the day.  At least it got me out of counting tithing for the week :)

Last run of April and it's been a good April.  I think my total mileage for the month is around 175, unfortunately my legs are starting to feel it a bit so I plan to scale it back just slightly.  I have been getting back into running shape slowly over the past 4 months and kinda went crazy in April with some long hard weeks for the level of my current fitness.

I can tell I'm getting stronger, but I still feel a bit of the high mileage fatigue.  I think much of my problem lies with the extra 30-35 pounds I am carrying over my previous running weight around 170.  Even at 170 I thought I would have liked to be about 10 pounds lighter.  Weight loss challenge starts at work today and the winner gets $400.  I will probably weigh in around 205 and hope to be at 170ish by the end of three months.  I realize that is an aggresive goal, but I think it's doable with my continued running and cutting back on the calories.

Goal for St. George is to pace Meg to at least a 3:45, idealy a 3:35 and then go watch her run Boston since I think she's tired of waiting for me and I just don't know if I'll ever get there.  Let the St. George training begin....bring on the heat!

Nice start to the new month.  Legs still feel a little icky from the half and I'm still feeling a little bit of soreness from the walk race last week.  Average pace today was around 8:40 which is an improvment but I would still like to get my easy run paces down to around 8:20-8:30.

Had the weigh-in yesterday for the weight loss challenge at work and I weighed in at 205.8.  I plan to be at 170 by St. George marathon so I really have my work cut out for me in the next 5 months...in addition to all the running.

Mid-week longish run.  Kept the pace easy and just plugged along.

Slow and icky today.  Yesterdays 9 miler left the legs feeling a bit weak.  Went in to have an xray on my left foot this morning.  It has been bothering me for months and I have obviously continued to run on it.  I just want to make sure it's nothing too serious as we start to get into the build up for St. George.  I sprained that ankle back in the Las Vegas Ragnar to the point where I had to drop out of my last leg and let Meg finish for me.  Not sure if this pain is related to that injury but it's the only thing I can think of.  It's a pain that runs along the left edge of my left foot almost exactly mid foot.  800mg of ibuprofen at night usually knocks out the pain for my run in the morning but then I get a radiating pain on and off all day at work.  Ice also helps.  Compression wrap puts me on the verge of tears.  Guess I'll just wait for the results of the xray, in the mean time....I run.

Long run today since I'm going up to father and sons (priesthood commemoration...oops!) with the boys.  Not a really long run and not a very good run either.  Legs felt okay, but my breathing and heart rate seemed a bit fast for the pace we were going.  Had to stop and take a sit for a minute around mile nine just to chill.  The final 4 miles after that stop were pretty dang slow.  Not sure exactly what the problem was other than I'm eating less and still very out of shape and it could also be the pollen in the air, buy my allergies aren't bad.  Just one of those things I guess.  Only about 4 minutes faster than the Hurricane half last Saturday on a hilly and windy course.

Going to try to run up at camp tomorrow morning but I always say that and it usually never happens so not holding my breath....although it would be good to get a run in at 8000 feet.  I just never sleep well and always wake up feeling like crap.  Not a big fan of sleeping in a different bed.

Just thought about one other factor that may have played into my problems today.  I was watching some video's on good running form and learned about using a metronome to train yourself to have 180 foot falls per minute.  While I didn't carry my ipod with the metronome app I did focus on my cadence a lot today and tried to increase the turn over from my usuall ploding.  It did take a little more effort to focus on my turnover so that may have contributed.

Self fulfilling prophecy.  Said I probably wouldn't make it out....and didn't.  May not have gone on the best of days as it was very cold and very windy up on the hill.  I slept very little in the back of the Expedition because I was cold all night.  Came home later that morning and slept for a couple of hours in my own bed....nice!

Rest.

Good start to the week with an easy 8.  Nothing too exciting to report.  Left foot is still giving me some problems but not enough to keep me from running and nothing ibuprofen can't knock out at the moment.

Trying to up the mileage during the week but keep the pace slow.  Really need to build my endurance back up to marathon levels so I think these slightly longer miles during the week will help.  Called the doc today to get a referal to a podiatrist...can I just say HMO plans are a real circus!  Good coverage if you are willing to jump through hoops, but don't plan on getting anything done quickly.  All I'm really wanting is a shot of cortisone in my foot and it could be a week or more before I get it....

Longish midweek run at my usual slow pace.  Felt pretty good the whole way, but the foot is still giving me minor problems.  Hope the referal for the podiatrist comes in soon.

Easy miles trying to get ready for long run tomorrow.

Longest long run of the year...so far.

Ran in Bountiful since I was up there for my cousins funeral.  I don't know all the street names but I ran around the same path 4 times going past a city park and rec center and also past Viewmont high school.  Weather was absolutely perfect.  I really need a summer home far north of Vegas.

Much needed rest.

Extrememly slow and somewhat painful run today.  I think I'm feeling the high mileage from last week and plan to really cut back this week in hopes of getting some recovery.

Another 6 today during this "cut-back" week.  Picked up the pace a little bit and actually finished with an overall pace just under 8:30/mile for the first time in a long time.  Legs felt a bit better today so I think that taking it easier will be a good thing.  Probably won't run on Friday or Saturday due to a course I am taking at front sight down near Pahrump, NV to learn how to use and shoot my Glock a little better.  Live in Vegas = Own Handgun :)

Day 3 of cut-back week.  Did a few reps over the freeway overpass for some hills but otherwise pretty easy.

Final run for the week and the legs felt flat today.  We'll wait and see what 3 days off will do for them.  See ya Monday.

Rest.

Rest.

Rest.

The usual 6 miles at a slightly quicker than normal pace.  Legs felt pretty good today after 3 days off.  Will probably be a mild to moderate effort week as I begin to build back up to some nasty miles.

Just another normal day.  Everything seemed to be gelling better than normal.  Ended up finishing with an 8:30 overall pace for the first time in I don't know how long.  I'm starting to feel an improvement in my fitness as I continue to run and shed pounds.  Current weight as of this morning was 193.2

Smokey and windy today.  I guess there is a fire burning up near Reno and the usual winds blowing from the northwest are pushing the smoke into our valley.  It literally smelled like a camp fire when we stepped outside to run today.  Air quality be darned, we ran anyway.  Usual easy pace without much else to report.

Quicker than usual 6 today.

Nada.

Just a few extra miles today for the week back from a low week.

Rest.

Did 7 at home and then went to our stakes annual Memorial Day 5K, 10K and bike race.  I obviously ran the 5K and didn't impress with a very slow time...thus no race report.

Usual.

New Shoes!  Didn't matter much, felt pretty icky.

Rest.

Felt better after a day off but still not great.  Not sure why I felt so crappy on Wednesday.

Did 6 around the usual route then Megan, Cory and I drove up Lee canyon and did another 7.1 above 7,000 feet....kicked my butt!

Rest.

Didn't feel as bad as I thought I would after the Lee canyon run on Saturday.  My quads are were still a bit sore but overall felt pretty good.  Really need to hit that canyon run more often prior to St. George.  The elevation and the hills really help to train the legs and lungs better than the usual flat course.