Winning Back What I Lost

1145AM:  Back to the grind after a week off.  Well, it wasn't really a week off per se because I was hauling around an 80lb backpack up and down the Frank Church Wilderness most of last week.  Ran 5.38M during lunchtime w/ temp around 90 degrees.  Overall pace was right @ current MP.  It's been a long time since I've gone for a lunchtime run b/c the temps and direct sunlight are just too much for me this time of year.  I had to bite the bullett though b/c I didn't get up this morning for my usual early morning run due to some GI problems in the middle of the night.  No problems during the run so I'm hoping that it was just all the b-day cake I ate yesterday. 

9PM:  5.41 easy miles in a gale force wind; temp was around 90 degrees when I left the house w/ a howling wind in my face; I thought the skies would open up but they never did; got into a real nice pace in the last mile where I felt that my breathing was under control and my legs and arms were synchronized; the ultimate goal is to fall into that rhythm much earlier in my runs and repeat it day in and day out.

645AM: 4.7 slow miles; legs were sore this morning and I didn't loosen up until mile 3; I'm sure it will take a week or so before my body gets used to the late evening and early morning schedule again; looking forward to a massage during my lunch hour today to work out the kinks left over from a week of backpacking.

930PM: 5.75 easy miles w/ an incredible electrical storm on the western horizon; got a full body massage this afternoon and my legs felt real heavy and stiff; fell of the wagon w/ more leftover b-day cake and some candy; I really need to get strict w/ my diet and start fueling correctly; I'm 75% sure that I'll run the Kuna Days 5k this Saturday; it's a small race on a flat course so I'm confident I can run faster than I did this past spring and possibly come in under 21 min.

1020PM: 6.88 easy miles in the wind and light drizzle; Legs starting to feel better but my left and ankle and foot are swollen; I think I twisted somehow but I'm not sure when or how; I slept in this morning so I was hoping to get a 10 miler in this evening; my plans were dashed once my wife decided to make an evening grocery run; I'm still on pace for my 60 mile week though if I get in a longer run of somewhere around 15M on Saturday.

830PM: Easy run on a cool evening; temp in the 60's which is unheard of for this time of year; it rained off and on all day today which is another rarity for August in Boise; took me a while but I settled into a nice easy pace around mile 5 or 6 and had enough for a good kick of sub 8 the last 1.5M; my legs are getting lighter again two days after the massage; it usually takes at least a week before they return to full strength.

645AM:  Morning came early; I really didn't wanna run this morning but this is exactly when I NEED to run the most; the light rain didn't make it easier but the cool temps did; I'm a little confused by what month it is because I've never seen weather like this in August in Boise.....ever.  4.4M easy.

9PM: 5.55M easy. Ran to Albertson's on Overland and Five Mile to get a couple of Redbox DVD's; Looks like I'll be running the 5k w/ a couple of HS kids from my ward; they're both on the MVHS Cross Country team (Sophs) and should do quite well based on the times posted for the 2008 Kuna Days 5k. 

Drove down the road just south of Meridian to Kuna, Idaho.  I haven't done any speed work in months so I was interested to see how I'd do.  The course was more difficult than I thought and .12 miles long.  The first couple of miles were rolling along the Boise River then slightly uphill.  I started off right on my goal pace of 6:54 but quickly faded w/ 7:22, 7:14 & 7:10(.22).  I passed a couple of people, including one younger fella in the last mile and wasn't passed by any other runner.  Speaking of "getting chicked"- I was passed by the female winner in the first 3/4M.  Somehow I maintained my dignity and was able to fend off any feeling of embarrassment. [/read the discussion board for more context]

5PM: Biked 4M w/ the kids this afternoon; I pulled my 3yo and 5yo in the carrier so it was a decent strength workout.

640AM: 4.7M easy; ran by a gentleman spraying some industrial strength insecticide on some trees; I didn't see him until it was too late; by that time I was inhaling a foul smelling dust cloud; so far my short term memory has remained intact and no discernible twitching.

930PM: 6.2M easy; nice evening for a run w/ the temp in the low 70's; there's a lingering pain on the top of my left foot; its tolerable at this point but painful enough for me to go back to the anti-inflammatory medication I have left over from last year.

645AM: 4.7M easy; I registered for the Top of Utah Marathon in Logan, UT yesterday; It's not like I was wavering on whether to actually run this race; I've already committed in my mind but its always good to go ahead and make a financial commitment so as to "seal the deal" sorta speak; there's just a little over a month left to make a push towards running a Boston qualifying time which means I really need to buckle down and get more focused on what I need to do; my wife wants to go to SLC this weekend but I really need to get a long run in of at least 18M; we'll see what happens but I'm secretly hoping to stay home.

930PM: 8.02M easy; I wasn't planning on running 8M today but it just turned out that way; took a new route through an unfamiliar subdivision and got turned around a couple of times; temp in the high 70's, no breeze and humid.

1145PM: 6M @ luncht on the greenbelt, FF Memorial past Willow Lane Complex and back; temp in the 80's and no breeze; I was all set to declare that my troubles w/ my Garmin watch shutting off were over (downloaded the Garmin Web Updater) after last night's run w/o incident; however, today I developed a new problem- failure to locate a satellite; I'm so frustrated w/ this thing; you would hope that such an expensive item would not have such problems (these are not the only problems I've experienced); my wife gave me the go ahead to replace it but I'm hesitating, partly b/c I don't want to just chuck the thing (past warranty) or buy another Garmin; on a lighter note, I passed a bicyclist toward the end of my run which made me feel good.

930PM: 4.56M easy; incredible side ache during most of the run; I was finally able to get my Garmin to locate satellites after numerous on/off and reboots; now I get home and the pace data is all wrong; it reads that my 3rd mile was .87 and that it took me nearly an hour to run it; my entire run didn't take me an hour; I don't know what's up but I'm probably gonna call Garmin tomorrow if it doesn't correct itself.

8PM: 15.2M easy; I knew that I'd be camping this weekend w/ my boys so I had to get out today for my long run; longest run since Ogden in mid-May; I've done a couple of 14 milers and run a half in July but I need to start stretching out my weekly long run a bit; the plan is to increase it to 18M next week and 20M the week after w/ an off week of 12-14M and then another 20 miler; started to get really nauseous toward the end and started to heave but I stopped myself; I was still able to finish w/ my last mile being current MP; I'm calling Garmin tomorrow to see if I can replace my GPS, it stopped a half dozen times during tonight's run; Aargh!!!

645AM: 4M really easy; I was still half asleep and sore this morning when I left the house; I was extremely tempted to forego this run but I'm hoping to get out of town and camp w/ my boys this evening, if work cooperates; I have a huge brief due next Wednesday and I'm not very far into it; I'm so far behind the 8 ball that I shouldn't even be taking the time to blog this entry. 

9PM: 8.03M easy; returned home from camping around noon; went into work from 3-8pm to continue writing a huge brief due next Wednesday; didn't get much sleep at all last night partly due to the cold temps in the mts (mid 20's) and mostly due to my oldest talking in his sleep all night; despite all of this I felt very strong today; my last run was early AM on Friday so I guess that played into it; very cool temps this weekend w/ highs in the 70's; temp around 60 degrees w/ a slight breeze throughout my run this evening; just over a tenth of a mile short of matching my PR for weekly mileage; I'll break it several times in the next month leading up to TOU for sure.

7AM: Late start this morning so I was more or less forced into a tempo run; 5M @ 7:42/mi avg; mile 1 was @ 8:15 so the last 4M were at or near 7:30/mi; very cool for a mid-August morning w/ a temp near 50 degrees, very pleasant.

920PM: 6.3M easy on the TM; the top of my left foot is still sore and I wanted to lessen the impact; I think I'm going to mix in more TM miles now that I'm running consistent weekly high mileage, for me, just to keep the legs fresher.

645AM: 5.52M easy; met Court, FRB blogger, on the corner of Overland/Cloverdale and we ran about 3M together; nice to finally meet in person someone I've enjoyed conversing w/ through the blog and Facebook; I think I went a bit slower than he's used to (conversational pace- 8:35ish); apparently, he's running TOU also; I asked him what time he's shooting for and he threw down the gauntlet and said something like, "I don't know.....just a little bit faster than you I guess;" that was the perfect response; hopefully, we can both benefit from pushing each other a little bit down in Logan; looking forward to the challenge. 

915PM: 4.68M very slow; just had no ambition to run this evening so I jogged it; legs felt fine but my gut was feeling a little weird; don't know how to explain it other than it felt like I had "butterflies"; the only thing of is that its built up stress/anxiety; really odd feeling. 

7AM: Fast miles = 3.2M (7:35/mi), 1M slow and easy; a little more energetic this morning; I saw the Meridian Police setting up a speed trap as I ran through the Muir Woods Subdivision; one of the motorcycle cops was parked in somebody's driveaway; I'm guessing he either asked permission or that was the cop's house; that would explain the odd location for a speed trap; maybe the copper was tired of people racing through his neighborhood on their way to work? 

930PM: 5.5M easy; still fighting that uneasy feeling in my gut; I don't feel sick but feel like I could get sick at any moment; concentratingn on extending my legs and flexing my calves during turnover, not out in front of me but up and down to get quicker.

1130AM: 4.32M @ just above current MP; 1M cooldown; very hot on the greenbelt (90ish); I try not to run in the afternoon these days but sometimes you just have to squeeze in a run whenever you can. 

9PM: 5.96M easy on the TM; it was still pretty hot at 9PM so I hit the gym and it wasn't much cooler than outside; got a good sweat going, the kind that made me wish I wasn't wearing light-colored running shorts...dohhhh! 

645AM: 4.06M easy; horrible run today; my legs were absolutely lifeless; probably had something to do w/ the fact that I've had 3 workouts in the past 18 hours; no workout tonight and then a long run of 18-20M early tomorrow.

915AM: Easy, long run w/ temp near 80 by the time I finished; Right hammy was a little tight for the first hour or so but loosened up after that; My house off Victory to Overland to Linder to Hubbard (Kuna) to Meridian/Kuna Rd back to Overland and home; I could have stretched it out to 20M but it was getting plenty warm by the time I finished I was starting to feel it; still had enough juice in my legs to finish reasonably strong; I'll go for 20 next week w/ an earlier start.

Ordered new shoes from runningwarehouse.com; another pair of Mizuno Wave Rider 12's only a different color (blue/silver this time); not a momemt too soon b/c my current trainers have lost all their cushion and I've resorted to using gel heel inserts; the new trainers should be here on Tuesday; btw, set a PR for weekly mileage and should set a monthly PR for mileage by the end of next week.

645AM:  4.78M this morning; sun is coming up later every day which means that temps are really comfortable for running; 1M warm-up then 3M @ current MP and last .78 @ sub 8:00/mi pace.

I got a hotel room for Logan last night and from what I could tell it was one of the last ones left for the weekend of 9/18.  I checked w/ every site out there and the only room was one w/ only 1 King Bed at the Best Western.   It's gonna be crowded w/ the six of us.

935PM: 6.25M; 2M at current MP, 3M at goal MP and 1.25 at current MP.  Ran through an enormous mud puddle that had gathered on the sidewalk.  I can't wait until the irrigation season is over and these @#$% sprinklers go away.   

645AM: 4.53M. 2M at current MP and the rest nice and easy.  I've been noticing that my relaxed "jog" speed has improved- even when my legs are tired.  When I started running a couple of years ago it was above10:00/mi and now its somewhere in the 8:30-40/mi range. 

Temp in the mid 60's.  It doesn't look like we'll get any cool mornings this week.  Just as well, as ideal as 50 degrees is for running I don't look putting on layers; and it will make the temp at the start of TOU feel that much cooler.  My new trainers should arrive today via UPS!  I've been looking into buying a pair of Pearl Izumi Streak's just for racing.  Their extremely lightweight and they seem to offer decent support.  We'll see if there's $ in the budget next week.

8PM: 6.26M easy w/ .5 mile @ 6:06/mi pace; very warm w/ temp near 90 and no breeze; Took the family over to the MVHS Track; let the little ones run around and play in the long jump pit; warmed up w/ a slow mile then raced my 14 yo son in the half mile; he was talking some trash after football practice today and I had to let him know that I'm still the alpha dog; I let him hang for the first 600M or so and then picked up the pace; to his credit he continued running hard and actually pushed me to the end; I think I probably have another 1 or 2 years tops before he starts beating me like a rug. :-)  My new Wave Rider 12's came today and they fit and feel nice.

650AM: A little bit tired legs syndrome this morning; slogged through 4.48M w/ very little effort; I've run some harder/faster miles the past two days so I think I'll make a conscious effort to go slow and easy leading up to my 20 miler this week; passed the 1,500 mile mark for the year! 

655AM: 4.7 easy, slow miles; fought stomach cramps during most of the run; the plan was to get up at 5AM and get my long run in for the week due to some plans I have for this weekend; didn't sleep very well last night so I had to postpone it til tomorrow morning.

530AM: Long, easy run w/o incident; no serious GI issues to speak of, just some mild nausea/hunger pains toward the last half of the run; I wanted to stretch it out another mile or two but I was already running late for work; that makes back to back weeks w/ 19 milers; I'm probably gonna do one more long run toward the end of next week and then start tapering for TOU.

Last night I did the old "wet test" on my feet; I've been meaning to do this to confirm that I'm wearing the right type of shoes b/c I'd always suspected that I was an overpronator; sure enough, I put my wet foot on an old paper sack and the imprint was almost completely flat w/ only a slight arch; I've been wearing neutral/cushioned shoes since I took up running based on an electronic printout of my foot imprint at one of the local running stores; I think I'll try a support shoe for mild overpronation and see if makes a difference.

915PM: 5.94 really slow miles; wanted to go 10M but stomach problems forced me to head home early; almost didn't go at all due to a severe thunderstorm warning; the western horizon was lit up the entire time but nary a drop.

945PM: 4.39M easy; concentrated on running smooth and breathing deeply; don't usually run on Sundays but I've got a lot of things going on later in the week and I wanted to make sure that I banked some miles early so that I can get to my goal of 65-70M for the week; next week I will begin a slight taper for TOU on the 19th. 

630AM:  6M easy; I was up at 545 but I had to wait for my wife to get home; I'm going to start getting up earlier so as to get in my daily 10M all at once; we'll see if it works out; set new PR for monthly mileage; first day of school for my 5yo; she still seems too little to be in school; my how time flies.

845PM: 4.4M really slow; horrible run this evening; just didn't have anything resembling "spring" in my legs; got through it and erased from my memory.