--------running---------

Today I began my blog, I have been running 3.5 - 4 miles 5 or 6 days a week for about 3 months and am hoping to increase my millage.

Today I hope to get some miles in this evening, I will be on a buisiness trip so I have my fingers crossed that there will be an oppurtunity to get out.

***Edited to add:

 I did 4.2 miles on the hotel treadmill. I would have liked to go outside especially here in sunny California but time ran short.

Tonight I don't think I allowed myself enough time after eating before running. PF Changs was really good, but I tell you what belching that stuff took the spring out of my step.

 Tonight was 3.5 really nasty miles. I took it easy not wanting to stir up what I had consumed earlier. I must make a mental note to eat less or wait longer before running. :)

Today I didn't have a lot of time to run so I decided to do a half a mile warm up and then see how fast I could do 2 mile. I ran as hard as I thought I could handle. At the end of the 2 miles I was not as worn out as I thought I should be. I probably should have increased my pace a little more. I am super excited, a few months ago that pace would have lasted maybe 5 minutes, now I can do 2 miles straight of it. Whoa!!!

 My other motivation for making today a short day is that it seems that I need to get my feet used to shoes. I have worn today's shoes once before and had blister issues. I wore them around the house and today they felt really good. I didn't want to push the distance just incase a blister started to form. All was well and next time I will take the shoes out for a normal distance run.

Decided to get out with the dog this evening. When I first started running I thought it was really too cold but after about 10 minutes it was just about perfect. What a great evening to get out. I felt really strong and even decided to do a little off-road on a local trail that is about 1 mile long.

 All in all it was a good evening of running. I would have liked to do more miles but I have a take home test to work on. BOOO!

Today was another perfect evening for a run. Again cold to start but after I got going the temperature was perfect. The dog went with me again tonight, sadly I ran him to close to some goat heads and he got a few in his paws. We were able to pick them out and he was happy and ready to run some more. I let the dog set the pace today, we started at what was for me nearly a sprint but soon we were going at a pretty smooth pace.

 I need to start planning some longer runs, these 3.5ish runs are starting to get done a little to quickly. I never thought I would be thinking this way. I hate running, I have always hated running. HA HA

Tonight I hit the treadmill. I wanted to get some weights lifted as well as get some miles in so the gym seemed like the easiest place to accomplish that. The weather outside looked simply ideal while I was driving to the gym. 

 The treadmill felt pretty good though it helped me set a pretty quick pace which is nice for me. When I try to pace myself outside I usually run to fast and burnout. It helps me to feel what my limits are when I do it on the treadmill. Hopefully I can start to translate those speeds to the out of doors before too long.

 The weight lifting was really good, I am focusing on higher reps and lowering the weight to about 80% of my 1 rep max. I usually lift pretty heavy but and trying to drop some weight, hence the higher reps and limited rest between sets.

I did a short run tonight, my right knee was a little tight all day. I don't know if I tweeked it a little or if I have been running too much. I will take tomorrow off from running just in case it is that I have been running more than I am ready for.

 Tonights run though short was really good, I did a little trail running this evening again just to give my knee a break from the concrete. I am really looking forward to some drier months so that I can get  out and run some trails. Hills hurt me bad but if they don't kill me they shall make me stronger.

Today I did my longest run to date. Around mile 5 I was suffering and had to walk a little while. I took it easy for the next mile hoping that I wouldn't burn out. I made it and was beat as I was finishing but now only 20 minutes later feel good. My legs feel like they have been working but no worse than after I do my usual 3-4 miles runs. 

 A few more weeks of doing 6+ mile runs and i will probably start working on getting my speed up. My speed currently is pretty laughable, even for the 3-4 miles. One nice thing is that my speed for todays run was right on par with what I usually do for my shorter runs.

If anyone has some advice as to how I can start picking up the pace please let me know.

Thanks in advance,

Today I took a new route, it was nice and not too bad at all. There is one point where the shoulder of the road is parked on and the sidewalk does not exist so that was a little scary with me having my dog along, he is so easily distracted by a distant bark. HA HA

The course tool tells me that my run was about 3.3 miles and it took significantly longer than I thought it should. I guess I just was going slow or the dog breaks took longer than I thought. Overall it was a good easy run.

The dog slowed me down a lot today. This is probably the warmest run of the year so far that he has been on with me, I could tell that he was suffering and needed to slow down. As we came along a major road there were a couple of puddles in the shoulder. He thought it would be a good idea to lay down in the water to cool off. Silly puppy. When we got home I hosed him off. I couldn't tell if he liked it or not. He did keep coming back for more. 

 I think tomorrow I will leave the dog home and go out for a little longer run again. :)

I took jun's advice and went running up in the dimple dell park "gully". It was really awesome down there, the trail has its ups and downs but feels pretty flat. It was funny to me though that the parts of the trail that were the hardest to run on were the sections that the horses had mad super soft. I can't imagine ever complaining about running on a surface that is too soft. HA HA

Today was a really good run for me. I am only guessing about how far I went, it took about an hour and I felt like I had a pretty slow pace going so 4.3 miles sounded like a fun number. It was likely more than that.

Next time I will have to take my handheld gps unit in there and mark some distances. Maybe I will take my dog in there and while he is laying in the mud and water or eating the snow I can get some gps cordinates and make a better guess as to how far I actually went.

Today I just went to the gym and got in a good solid workout. I did the 4 + a little mile run and then lifted. It felt good. When I started running I felt like my right knee was doing something funky, like it was flicking a rubber band every time I bent it. I just took it easy in my warm up and it went away, no idea what that was all about.

If the weather stays decent I think I will make another run outside, I will take my dog up into the gully I ran in on tuesday. I figure there was hardly anyone in there last time so I can let him off of his leash and he won't slow me down. I may find him laying in some snow somewhere but that is better than me trying to drag him out of some nasty roadside puddle. 

I got out with the dog today and did some trail running. It was a perfect day for a run. I felt really good until my dog saw some other dogs and decided to pull me at just the wrong time. HA HA I think I twisted my ankle a little. No big deal though it will be good by tomorrow.

I think I am going to try to log about six miles tomorrow. Jun is trying to talk me into running the 5k in the morning but it is just so dang early. HA HA If I do get up to run that I will proabably go out for another run later in the day so I can get a total of 6ish miles.

Today was a rough day of running, I did something to myself over the Easter weekend and have had a dry and scratchy throat ever since. I took the weekend off and just tried to eat good food and let my body deal with  whatever this is. I feel much better today but when I went running it wasn't so nice. Today was beautiful so I had to get outside. I decided that I would take it easy and map some different distance courses near my house with my hand held GPS. Well I got about 1.4 miles away and hit the wall. Breathing became very labored so I thought I would just take it easy but by the time I got to 1.55 miles my lungs were not please. I decided to turn around there. I now have a really cool 5k run near my house all through trails and trees. The trails that is goes on are even fairly cool during the summer months. I think this will become one of my quick nice runs because it is so good. I am sure you could easly do a 10k out and back in this ravine. I will try to map a course that distance after I am back into the groove.

Today definitaly was good, I wish my run would have been better but I got outside with the dog put some miles on my legs and got some exercise on a beautiful day. I will take that anyday!

Today was my first day back to running after being down with the sickness. I was on a business trip last week to San Fransisco and was not really able to enjoy the weather because I was coughing up my lungs and congested like crazy. I probably could have gotten out for a run over the weekend but decided that I would rather get a good week of running in as opposed to making my lungs unhappy by getting back to it too soon.

Today I did some light off road on a trail near my house. The course was pretty mello, no hills to speak of and I took my dog with me to keep me at a reasonable pace so that I didn't push it too fast. It was a warm day which was beautiful for running. I felt really good and strong for the whole run. I am going to start extending the distance of my daily runs. I am going to shoot for 5 miles on my next couple of runs. I am pretty excited since the furthest I have ever gone is a little over six miles.

Wow, it was a warm day out there for a run. I did not do as well as I wanted and ended up walking way too much. It was a beautiful day and I really wanted to test how much faster I was getting but I think I started out with too much because by about mile 2 I was hurting. My split time to mile 2 felt really fast but I don't know what is was because I didn't use a watch. The last mile or so was brutal. I struggled and did not enjoy it.

It is such a nice day though I must get out and do some other outdoor activities. 

Today I did my run in two parts. I warmed up with the dog and our pace was somewhat laughable. I had orginally planned to do 5+ miles today with the dog but the temperature was just too high for him I suppose. We started out from my house and he didn't sprint away like he usually does so I knew it was hot. We did the first mile or so and I could take the slowness anymore so I ran/walked him back home. I took a short break got some water and was back out there. It made what I did with the dog feel like a warm up. I took off intending to do a little over three miles but after I started going I felt so good I didn't turn where the three mile loop was I ended up going around and doing the 5 mile loop. I felt really good until about mile 4 it just so happens that is where a gradual uphile section starts. I walked for a little while and got my legs to stop shaking and then I was back off to the run. 

This is more than a mile more than the furthest I have ever run in a single day. Sadly my feet paid for it a little. I think it was the heat but when I got home I took off my shoes and peeled off my socks to find dime sized blisters on the bottoms of both of me feet right where the ball meets the arch. Needless to say I am a little disappointed but my legs and lungs feel really good. I could definately do runs of this length on a regular basis. I would really like to get out tomorrow, does anyone have ideas on the best way to run with blisters? I have heard putting a peice of duct tape over the blister can help with the rubbing and at least make it so the blister doesn't grow. Any other ideas?

I totally wussed out today, I had originally intended to do 5 miles today but with my blisters and stuff I thought I would play it safer and hit the treadmill. The first 2 miles felt really good but then I started just feeling gross. I felt like I needed to throw up, and go to the men's room all at once. I decided to walk for a little while and I felt better so I turned back up the speed and now I just started to feel those blisters rubbing and growing. That was when I decided it was time to get off the treadmill and stretch so I could go home.

Today was a really hard running day, it may have to do with just coming off my longest run ever. I will try to get out and run tomorrow. Maybe just 2 miles or so just to stretch my legs and keep me in run mode.

Today was a beautiful day for a run. The sun was out and there was a nice breeze to keep you cool. I set out to do 5 miles today and did just a bit more. I ran the whole time minus two short breaks waiting for lights to change. I felt really strong, and my lungs felt really good. I wish I had an idea of how my time was today because I felt like it was the fastest I have ever run for the whole run. By most if not all of your standards it wouldn't be fast at all but for me it would be somewhat of a breakthrough. I have been working on increasing my distance and worried less and less about speed. Running is starting to feel more natural and less forced which I think is a good thing. When I tell most of my coworkers what I am going to do tonight is go home and run 5 miles most of them can't even fathom such a thing, asking, "why would anyone do that?" I must admit I was one of them not too long ago. 

I am still getting blisters on the bottoms of my feet. I don't know if it is because I am not allowing the old ones to heal completly before I head out or if it is my shoes. Maybe I just have week feet. The blisters never hurt, I just always find new ones when I take off my shoes. I am sure eventually my feet will just calous up and stop getting blisters. I cannot wait for that day to come!!!

Tonight was the first of the weekly Tuesday mountain bike night. We did a ride in corner canyon of draper utah. It was a beautiful night for a ride. the clouds looked a little daunting but the downpour never did happen. Someone has done done some amazing maintenance on the trail system up in corner canyon. I have no idea what the millage was of the ride but the downhill is what I am all about anyway. I think running has definitely helped my biking. I was able to recover from the grinding climbs within a 100 ft or so. It certainly uses different muscles though. My quads were on fire. It was a really nice feeling to get back on the bike.

Sadly after biking there was no light to get out for a run so I let the run go by the wayside. I will pick it back up tonight.

Last night, Opera, my super hot girlfriend wanted to feel a little outdoorsy so we went and did a hike of Bell Canyon. It was beautiful and perfect weather for the hike. I had intended to get out and before but when I looked at my front lawn on arrival at home it needed some TLC. I mowed the lawn and gave it some fertilizer. It was a productive evening that I followed up with the best chicken strips in the salt lake valley. Goodwood's BBQ really does make the best ones I have had in this state! It really was kind of nice because my legs were really sore from the first mountain bike ride of the year. More than I thought they would be anyway.

I am heading out tomorrow (today since I am reporting on yesterday) with Jun for a little dirt run. it should be good. I will be the slow one. HA HA

Running uphills is hard!!!! Down is better. :) Tonight I joined a little group for a run, we did a section of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail. It was awesome. I have run some trails but by comparison they were flat! I had a bear of a time climbing the hills. For a while I was trying to "run" them but then I took a step back and decided I would actually be able to walk them faster and wouldn't get to the top being totally out of breath and end up walking the flat sections or even worse the down hill on the other side.

By the way the 12 dollar socks are totally worth it. I will be going back to the SL Running Company and getting a few more pairs. If my feet are happy then running is an enjoyable experience. It was wild I could tell a difference after about the first mile. 

The play by play of the run is: we started out maybe 6:30ish, I could keep pace(a very mello pace) with the group for maybe about the first .75 miles. I was asked how I was doing and I believe my response was, "I have never gone up this steep of hill running before!" I started walking shortly after that when I saw the group stopped up a little ways further. I caught up to them and was told that we had done 1.3 miles so far. I told them that I wanted to do something like 5 and we took off again. This time either I was slower or they picked up the pace but I was left in the dust. I only caught glimpses of them until near the end. I came up a hill and saw them probably only 100 yards away. Of course the path to them was much longer than that but they just stood there so I figured it was probably about the 2.5 mile distance I wanted to go. Upon arrival I was informed it was infact 3 miles and that I was going to end up doing 6. Suprisingly, I felt really good. Of course I was winded and my legs burned from all the climbing that had been done but nothing unbearable. I said that I was going to turn around and hoped they enjoyed the rest of the run. Turns out that was as far as they were going to go. We turned around and headed back down. I took my rightful place at the back and we were off. I went down the same way we came up and suddenly I saw two of the people from the group. My first question was, "did I cheat?" Turns out they went a way that was slightly longer but much more flat. I was able to stick with them for the last mile or so and arrived at the parking area with them.

Today the dog was looking bored so we went out for a little run. Now the dog looks unconscious, HA HA.

We took a little run out on the dimple dell trail. It was a beautiful day, we even got a light rain at the halfway point. It was perfect. The dog is dead because I did my best not to let him stop running. He had a couple of pee breaks but that is it. We actually made really good time.

I am hoping to get out and get quite a few miles this week. I am looking forward to running a little more now that the trails are dry enough and my socks work.

I ran, I felt pretty good. The day was perfect once again. Not much else to say.

I tried to get myself hit today. I was waiting for a light to change and was looking for the the walk signal. Somehow I saw a walk signal while the light for the cross traffic was still green. Thankfully the traffic was far enough away that I was able to clear the intersection without incident. I guess I will have to pay more attention or stick to the trails. It was a little scary.

Yet another successful Tuesday mountain bike night. It was a short ride with very little climbing and a awesome down hill. We did the bobsled, it is a trail that drops of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail. Such a good downhill and people have been putting in some work. There are now a few large jumps! One used to be able to ride over a broken down old car but now someone took it upon themselves to turn it into a jump. So awesome. 

I can't figure out how to change my catagories. I have looked in the forum and found a thread about doing just that but it says that I can't decrease the number of catagories. Whatever, I don't really ride my bike for miles. Just outrageous crazy fast downhills. Too bad I usually have to climb a hill to get them. 

I put 8 easy miles but lets be honest those 8 miles were brutal. I put them as easy miles because I was going mind numbingly slow. If you read Jun's post he gives details about it. I can't even count that as a run. I walked at least half. Sadly I walked probably as much of the downhill as I did the up. My legs got worked!

It was an early morning and a very productive one. I think I will work on that distance on more mellow trails. I think next week I will try to get up Millcreek Canyon and run the pipeline. Since I don't really want to run up the road, I will just start at the trail that connects just below the gate. That I think is somewhere between 7 and 8 miles. If anyone knows the distances please let me know. I plan on going out to the overlook.

This morning I felt pretty ambitious and decided to get up early and go run the pipeline trail up Millcreek canyon. Let me start off by saying it was a blast, so much fun. I had a grin on my face the whole time. But on trails like that is also where I wish I was faster. Someone fast could really open it up on that trail it is so smooth and open. All I can say is WOW.

I chose to start at the Burch Hollow trailhead. I proceeded to run all the way to the overlook at the end of the pipeline and back. From the signs I guessed that this was about 7.6 miles, if someone has a more accurate mileage that would be cool. I was looking at the signs after the run while stretching out and it really is the perfect trail for me, who sucks at climbing, 800 ft of elevation change for the whole 5.5 mile trail. So awesome. I was proud of al the people who I saw out on that trail today as well. There are some dedicated groups of women that get out early. I saw 2 groups of about 4 women out cruising the trail. Very awesome. No groups of men, I guess we men don't travel in packs. HA HA

Decided to take a shorter run today, I had a big week last week and my legs haven't fully recovered. So I grabbed the dog and we headed out to the "gully". Appearently the dog thought it was a hot day, the second he saw some water in the stream he was shoving his face in it and laying down to cool off. (When we got home I turned on the sprinklers so he could cool off and clean off.) Just a mello slow day. 

Also whomever the nice man who was out with his children and his two dogs, sorry my dumb animal rushed over to you. He really just wanted to play but he sure does seem to agrivate other dogs when he approaches them like that.

My legs feel really good after the run though, it may have been just what I needed to start pushing the distance a little more.

Tuesday = mountain biking. We did the Clark trail in draper's corner canyon. It was awesome. Good exercise.

The ride actually seems to have helped my right knee. I don't know why but it has been swelling up after runs lately. I feel no pain so I don't think it is an injury but it swells and gets stiff. Riding the bike though, there was no swelling and my mobility seems to be back almost completely.

This wasn't exactly running. My girlfriend and I decided to go on a hike, we had originally intended on doing the Donut Falls hike up big cottonwood but the road to drive up was closed. We instead opted to do the trail up to dog lake from big cottonwood. It was beautiful. I was surprised how much snow is still up there.

It felt good to get out and stretch the legs. Climbing is much nice when hiking as opposed to running. 

The pipeline was awesome once more. The trailheads all were super busy but I only saw about 5 or 6 people. It was a good run. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I need to find somemore trails that are similar. :)

Trail run with Jun. It was really good. There were some big hills that sapped me but overall I am pleased with the run. New personal long run. Whoa!!!!!!

Now if I could only figure out how to go a little faster. Right now what I do is I start out at a pace that feels super comfortable. Then after a few minutes I decide to pick up the pace a little but I am pretty sure I am right back at my comfort pace in maybe a few more minutes. Maybe I just need someone yelling at me the whole time to go faster?

You probably noticed but it was super hot here in SLC, UT. I was a wuss and went to the gym and ran on the treadmill. I really pushed my pace and had my quickest 3 miles evar. It is not fast compared to people on this site but I nearly passed away so back off. 3 miles in 26:18. After that I backed the speed down and coasted to 30 minutes. Hopefully by the end of the summer I can get my goal of 3 miles in under 25 and then a 5k in under 25. We shall see. 

On a side note, my right knee has been swelling and super tight after I run. I think it may be the trails I have been running making my knees do a lot of work. After the treadmill I stretched it very throroughly and it feels so much better. Here it is the next day and the swelling is almost completely gone. I think I will stick to the treadmill for my next run and see if I can get it to more or less heal completely. I am planning to get out and run the pipeline again with jun on Thursday, I would like to be 100% for that so I can attempt to keep up with him. 

Another awesome mountain bike night. This time the crowd was large. There were 8 of us who went out to ride the Little Cottonwood trail. It was a really good time. There were a few people in the group who were outrageously slow, that is just how it goes. So I didn't really get much of a workout from the ride but the down hill was awesome. Since it had rained some that evening I think many of the would be speed bumps decided to stay home (this trail is usually crazy busy). In the end the ride took about 1.5 hours, when I ride it by myself the ride takes about 35-40 minutes, like I said slow. As slow as it was, the fun and company was great!

On a side note there are some crazy fast people who run that trail. While waiting for some folks to catch up I saw a guy who was cooking up the trail. I don't know if I have ever seen anyone that fast. He had the sweat pouring down his face to prove he wasn't taking it easy.

The puppy looked like he wanted some exercise. Turns out that is not what he wanted. It was pretty warm for the dog and he was all but worthless for the run today. I don't think he will be going with me this summer much.

Let me start by saying, the pipeline trail up Millcreek Canyon is my favorite trail run I have done. I just keep going back and enjoying it more each time.

So jun came along with me and brought his fancy pants gps watch. It turns out when I have been running the trail I have been doing closer to 9 miles rather than the 7.something I have been logging. This made me both happy and sad. Happy because it means that I had easliy repeated my longest run meaning I am sure that I could go longer. Sad because I no longer have any excuses not to go on longer runs. HA HA

Jun of course has his race this weekend so he didn't mind too terribly running with me at my slow poke pace. I think jun will be up there running the pipeline trail a lot more and will be getting some pretty fast times on it. I am looking forward to them opening the gate and trying my hand at the full out and back that should be around 11 miles.

An easy day on the treadmill. I am working to get comfortable with a quicker pace than the 10 min/mile. Today felt really good, I bumped it up to 8:34min/mile. Now if I can just keep that pace outside without the treadmill forcing the speed.

Another mountain bike night. The trail was cruiser and the down hill was super fast. We did the pipeline in Millcreek Canyon. Rattlesnake Gultch is simply super fun. So fast and so many drops and jumps. Puts a smile on your face.

Got out with Jun this morning. We did a quick run on the pipeline. It is nice when he does a race, he doesn't seem to mind my outrageously slow pace as much. HA HA

We ran a short and flat section of the pipeline trail up millcreek. It seems I am going to get my annual pass worth again. Another awesome outting. 

Jun pointed something out to me today that seemed really funny. I said that, "The hill felt easier because we did a short run." (Keep in mind there is only one hill of and significance at all on the pipeline trail.) HA 5 miles is a short run. 3 months ago I would not have dared utter those words. Crazy how a little training can change your perspective on things. It is probably the same for these guys who run the ultras, they probably thing 26.2 mile marathons are short little runs.

I haven't done much running at all this week. I don't know why. Spending a lot of time with my Girlfriend I guess. I am running in the Gruesome Grizzly tomorrow so I decided to keep the miles to a minimum. I felt really strong today, granted it was a pretty short run. Hopefully I can meet my goals for the race tomorrow. Time will tell. 

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Ran in the Gruesome Grizzly with Jun and twinkes. It was a fun race. I finished in about 53:30 I am not positive. I will update the post with the mileage and recorded time when I find them out.

I felt really good on the trail and was only passed by about 5 people which is remarkable for me. I have no idea where I really was overall, it doesn't even matter. Trail races are where it is at. Why oh why does anyone run on the road with cars and the junk that goes along with that.

My goal was to get done in under 50 minutes. I didn't quite make it, I should have pushed the long flat sections a little harder I suppose. Maybe some day I will invest in one of the fancy dancy digital watches so I can have some idea of how I am doing on time. I am just out to run for fun though so I don't even care. I had a blast, the hills were tough but not nearly as tough as it could have been. I am stoked with my results and can't wait to try to beat my time.

Went out for a nice easy road run. It was really good. I did pretty well on speed. I really need to start to convince myself to push it but I get into my rhythm. The one thing about me getting into a rhythm is that it feels like I could go as far as I wanted doing that pace. 

Tomorrow morning will be a nice trail run. I am looking forward to that with the utmost delight.

Mountain bike night. Mueller Park, awesome ride. Crazy busy. I was at the top at least 5 minutes on my own. The rest of the group showed up. The ride down was slow because of all the traffic. Put the bike in the trunk and climbed in the car, just then a downpour of rain. Perfect timing. 

Another awesome tuesday ride.

Little Cottonwood trail, awesome. I am terrible at uphill! Practice, practice, and more practice.

*Edit

 After the run went and hike the paved 1.5 mile trail up to timpanogus cave and took the tour with Opera. It was awesome. Oh then we flew kites, that is right, we are awesome!!!

Pipeline with jun, I was losing energy towards the end. My pace came way down but I did run the whole thing this time. WOOT WOOT! Jun wanted to stretch his legs and on the way back left me in his dust. Oh to be a faster runner. Jun got some really nice pictures from the trail though. It was a wonderful morning. My legs are jello now though.

Did the treadmill today, just wanted to make my legs move. Trail running has made the treadmill feel pretty easy. I kept a great pace for me and my legs felt good. I wanted to see if I could maintain a sub 25 minute 5k pace for 2 miles, I was just over. By the end of June i would like to do a 5k in less than 25.

Went to the gym, ran on the treadmill. It was not super fun but I wanted to lift weights. I kept a good pace. I am still not able to keep the sub 25 minute 5k pace. I guess practice practice practice. 

Dog Lake, beautiful morning. A lot of walking!! I am the weakness. 

Jun got some pretty cool pictures. Very picturesque morning.

Have a nice day.

I thought I was in trouble when about half a mile into the run I miss judged the depth of a puddle and soaked both my feet. I thought to myself that I should just walk home carefully and try not to get any blisters. I pressed on squishy shoes and all. after about another half mile my feet felt as dry as ever. I finished the run and got home without any nastiness. I love socks that work, these things are greatest ever!!!!

4 very slow miles today. Had Opera with me and two dogs. The dogs were very distracted. Stops were frequent. At least I got some miles in, I will try to run fast tomorrow. :)

I decided to get out and run the Little Cottonwood trail today. The heavens must have agreed. I drove up in the rain, ran in the sun, drove home in the rain, and heard thunder and I assume would have seen lightning after I got out of the shower. The weather was perfect and cool. 

I made myself a challenge to run the whole thing, no matter how slow I ended up running. I didn't run to the very top but about a half mile past the pipe you have to cross. I felt really good, I did stop twice but refused to walk so I stretched for a few seconds and was back at it. The way down was fast and fun. I was only passed by a couple of mountain bikers and saw quite a few other runners. It was a great trail. I am just glad I got out and did the run before I had an excuse not to.

Pipeline, SWEET!!!!!

Jun and I did the pipeline this morning, we saw many road cyclists a few mountain and 5 or so runners. Sunrise driving in was great, the run was good.

Happy Tuesday!

Trail run with jun. I was slow and winded. Looks like taking a week off for Lake Powell was great for my sanity but hurt my running. I think I may get out again this evening to stretch my legs and give my lungs some work. 

*Edit to add 6.1 more miles in the evening. It was warm.

Went to the gym to run on the treadmill. I was sick of running in the heat so I decided to push my self a little on the treadmill. I decided that when I was running it would not be below an 8:30 min/mile pace. The pace is getting easier but I still can only maintain the pace for about 15 minutes before I feel like I am going to pass out. Overall my pace was 9:12 min/mile. I am a little slower than before my vacation but hope soon it will be easy again. I really want to get a sub 25 minute 5k this summer meaning I am shooting for more like a 8 min/mile pace but baby steps to the goal I suppose.

There was nothing easy about any of the miles!! Jun lead me up to another peak, this time Mt. Baldy. It was awesome! My weakness is obvious, I have got no lungs at altitude. I suffered the entire way and made the trip take longer than it should have. I appreciate jun for waiting for me, he should have just made me drive to the top so he could get home on time.

A nice run on the treadmill. I am a wuss when it comes to the higher temps we have been experiencing. Running inside seems like a more enjoyable activity. I need to get back up into the mountains, I just wish I wasn't such a terrible hill runner so I could go a little faster. Maybe Wednesday I will get out in the mountains and enjoy some cooler temps. 

Another successful Tuesday night ride. We did the Solitude loop. There is a race on this loop every Wednesday night this summer but for our Tuesday night ride it went very smoothly.

Opera and I hiked with our dogs up to Dog Lake from Millcreek Canyon. It was tons of fun, the dogs were out in full force last night as it seemed every other person we passed wanted to take advantage of the gate being open. 

On a sad note, when on the way down I felt a twing behind my knee in my leg and have experienced seemingly mild pain at random ever since. I think I will get out for a run tonight, hopefully I just need to warm it up and stretch it out and the pain will disapear as quickly as it appeared. 

Another beautiful run in the evening with the dog. We went down into the gully, it was rainy and perfect. I cleaned my shoes off by chasing the dog around in my backyard afterward. Awesome night. Awesome!!

Opera and I decided to do the Sandy City 5k to start out our Independence Day Celebrations. We started out really strong then Opera started getting a side stitch. I tried to push her to run through it but to no avail. She started walking, and I did some ridiculous looking high step slow jog to try embarass her into running again but, alas, the pain was too great. This same pain would plague her the whole run. We started into a cycle of running and walking (I made the appearance of running the whole time by jogging slowly next to her). The side pain just never went away for her but I tried to push opera as best I could. 

In the end she came in just behind be but there was a pretty significant back log of people at the finish line so we stood together in line and her time was 2 seconds faster than mine. It does say unofficial time but it is still funny. We had a lot of fun and I Opera could be a really strong runner if she wanted to put some time in. I don't know if she wants to. :)

It was a fun event, great to see so many people getting out and waking up early to do some running with their 4th of July. I hope everyone has a great weekend and holiday.

Today was HOOOOOTTTTTT!!

I have been running in the morning so much I was just not prepared for the heat. Crazy! I started really strong and thought I was going to make super good time. Around mile 4 I hit the preverbial wall. The heat was just getting to me. I didn't bring any water and my mouth was super dry. I ended up walking for 3 minutes killing my time and then was able to finish out the run at a pretty slow pace. I mowed the lawn before the run, that may have robbed me of my water and energy a little too.

I am just glad I got out there.

A long beautiful mountain run this morning. The weather was awesome, the views were inspiring and the downhill was pounding! What a great morning!

Thanks Scott and Jun for joining me for the run. If I wasn't so tired I would be excited to do that one again soon. Instead I am excited to do it again in a while. 

Pipeline up Millcreek Canyon. Another beautiful morning. Maybe someone can explain to me the thrill in running up Millcreek Canyon on the road? Seems absolutely scary and silly to me. Why when you have such nice and maintained trails would you choose to run up the road with cars and road cyclists? The female contingent that was doing this insanity was very friendly, very friendly indeed. 

Another tuesday mountain bike night is comming as well. We are going to ride up to dog lake from the top parking lot of Millcreek Canyon if anyone wants to let their running shoes take a break. Meeting at 6.

Ran the Battle at Big Springs, from the Cascadia Trail Race Series. It was a great race. I had a lot of fun. My goal for this race was once again to average less than a 10 minute/mile pace. I was not able to get it once again. The hills were not very steep but super long. The long hills just wore me out my legs were burning after about the second mile and there was still about a mile of steady climbing. Next year I will have to push myself a little harder.

Part of my difficulties was probably the fact that I hardly ran at all this week. And another factor may be that I have the most terrible diet. I don't expect my diet will change significantly though. I enjoy many terrible foods and deserts way too much to stop eating them.

I will wait for next year and hopefully blow away all my goals for this year. My plan is to do this by running "uphill" on the treadmill this winter. I figure the more hills I can conquer the easier a race like this will be.

Decided to actually train for running a little. Today I did 5 minute easy warm up. Then I did 15 minutes of intervals. 2 fast minutes followed by a easy run minute. After the intervals I worked on "hills". I raised the incline of the treadmill 1 degree for every minute up to 5 and back down. Then I finished out the session with a steady run. Total time was 45 minutes. The incline on the treadmill hurt me. I need to do it more often. 

It is time for me to start thinking about Hobble Creek Half so I am going to be doing more road running. I need to get out early though. I went at about 10am and it felt good to start but quickly warmed beyond my liking. The run itself was good. I did a new route. It had some pretty long stiff hills in it. I ended up walking more than I would have liked. My legs sure did feel a burn though. My lungs also felt good. I am going to be trying to push the distance on the roads a little this week and maybe run a half marathon distance on Saturday depending on how I feel.

I and the dog went for a run. The dog was worthless. I was hoping to get about 4 miles but the dog found a shady spot with some water and refused to go any further. I let him cool off for about 5 minutes while I stretched. Then I had to drag him out, when he noticed we were headed home though he was better about moving. I don't think he will be going running with me much in this heat. I even brought a water bottle just for him. 

Did the treadmill. Decided to see what I could do and opened it up. I ran 2 8 min miles and had to back it off for the rest of the run. I am getting stronger. :)

Went for a run this morning. I was not expecting it to be as dark as it was. I don't think the sun started coming out until closer to 6. The temperature felt really good. I made pretty good time. I guess I will be getting up early to run in the future the temperature was so much better.

Got out and did some miles. It is about time I did that again. I felt really strong and was even able to power through some hills that usually make me walk. I imagine most of it had to do with the significantly lower temps.

Short run tonight. I am planning on a long run this weekend so I am just trying to stay loose. I will be going out again tomorrow for a slightly longer run. This weekend, I will be running the pipeline in the morning.

So I finally tried out the Garmin Forerunner 305. Pretty schweet. 

I went for a run in the rain we had this evening. It was awesome. I came home soaked! So good!! The garmin toy is awesome. I took it super easy and just let the running happen. Now I have spent an hour trying to get the software to tell me everything I want to see. HA HA

I will be running the pipeline tomorrow morning, it should be awesome!!!!

Average Pace: 9:56 min/mile

A  nice easy run on the pipeline trail up Millcreek Canyon. My pace was super slow, what do you do.

Average Pace: 11:00 Min/Mile

Tonight was the dogs turn to go along. We went slow, he peed on everything, and the dog most definitely had to play in the stream. 

It was strange, at the beginning of the run my lungs felt like I was running in freezing weather. It went away about a mile in but I don't know why that would have happened. I have felt a little cough ever since as well. 

A short easy run before the race on Saturday. Everything felt really good. I am as ready as I am going to be.

So today was my first half marathon. I was surprised at how late it started. The race was supposed to start at 7:15 am. It finally started after 7:45 am. I made a couple of newbie errors, first I started my watch with the gun instead of when I actually crossed the starting line, probably a couple of minutes difference. Second, I forgot to stop my time at the end of the race for a couple of minutes. Hopefully my official race time ends up being a few minutes shorter than what I measured. HA HA

Mile 1: I started the race with the 8 min/mil group but ended up having to pass tons of people in the first mile. I think it hurt my time a little. With the start error my first mile was at 9:11 min/mile

Mile 2: Good pace felt really strong. 8:13 min/mile

Mile 3: 8:30 min/mile, This would have been a new PR for my 5k.

Mile 4: 8:46 min/mile

Mile 5: 8:46 min/mile

Mile 6: 8:50 min/mile By the way this is the first time I have ever run a race that had the distance of a 10k in it.

Mile 7: 9:49 min/mile You can see that I have not gone over six miles very often I hit my first so called wall right here. I recovered but never back to the 8 min/mile pace.

Mile 8: 10 min/mile

Mile 9: 10:09 min/mile

Mile 10: 11:57 min/mile My race was pitiful after mile 10.

Mile 11: 11:27 min/mile

Mile 12: 11:32 min/mile

Mile 13: 13:04 min/mile As you can see from this last mile I was in pain running was sporatic at best. I guess I should have pushed to this distance sooner. It was strange being in such a long race having skipped 10k's alltogether.

That was the race. The watermelon and grapes afterward were  most appreciated. I may do it again someday, probably with more distance under my belt. I felt like my distance just jumped too much for this race to be finished in good style.

Official time 2:09:15.2 Average pace 9:45 min/mile

Recovery run, the dog went with me so the run was nice and easy with a lot of potty stops. We gots to mark da territory. 

I have noticed something in the short time I have been running, I may be strange or abnormal. When I go for a short run and get my muscles warm then stretch, whatever soreness I may have had before the run seems to either go away completely or become greatly reduced. Maybe that is the whole point of a recovery run.

Mountain bike night, no running miles. We did Trail 152 up American Fork Canyon and ended at Tibble fork reservoir. About 7 miles of riding, awesome downhill, great upper body workout.

In Lawrence Kansas for the weekend. Did a great little run out to a place called Clinton Lake. Kansas is some flat running, I felt really fast. It was a good run but I didn't push it too much. Still trying to recover completely from that Half.

Mountain Bike night, did Mueller Park in bountiful. Made really good time and was able to get up to the flat with tons of light left. On the way down however I was going to fast and ended up in a collision with a guy on his way up. I had no damage but the poor guys face hit me in the shoulder and he was down and out for a couple of minutes with a bloody nose. Waited with him for about 15 minutes to make sure he was okay and proceeded in the dark.

Took the dog and ran in the gultch up above 1300 E. We didn't see any horses or other people so I let the dog do his thing. We had a good run and made good time. I need to do more exploring up in there. Maybe some geocaching. 

Another very successful mountain bike night. We did the dog lake trail starting at the top of Millcreek Canyon. It was very fast! We made really good time! Good thing too, it is getting dark early these days. I will be going for a run tomorrow I need to get some good solid exercise. It will probably be at the gym so I can get some climbing in as well.

I had originally set out to do about 5 miles tonight. I didn't start until a little late because I decided to play a round of Disc Golf before my run. Came it 4 over par, I am getting better. But back to the run. I started out with the dog in tow. We went pretty quick out of the gate, then progressively slowed, by the time we got to 2 miles it was beginning to get dark. I decided it best for us to turn back. 3 pretty fast miles for me with the dog stopping often to pee. I tried something in an area where I never see anyone else. I let the dog off the leash. We did about a minute per mile faster pace that way. Too bad he cannot be trusted around other dogs.

Needed a run. I am going to be better from now on. I was getting pretty burned out but I am feeling better about running / exercise  now and am ready to get serious about running again. As far as exercise goes though, I have discovered yet another way I want to spend large amounts of money. Downhill mountain biking, I went to Deer Valley this last weekend. That is awesome stuff. 10 ft. drops, jumps, teeter totters, ladders, and anything else you can imagine.

On another note I went to the dentist today and was told for the first time in my life, "Wow your teeth are really clean, well done." With that statement it goes without saying that I had zero cavities.

Got back out on the trails a little today. It felt really great. I am a super slow runner, I have just accepted it. Maybe someday i will get fast but for now I will just enjoy being in better shape.

8 easy miles in Kansas! It was nice, I ran by a lake on really nice mellow flat trails. It was beautiful. I have not been doing much running lately. I have really been enjoying my mountain biking. I have done 4 trails in the past week. All of which were over 15 miles. I have really been enjoying myself. My new found passion was a result of me getting a new rear shock for my bike. It has been like riding a new bike! Running is fun but there are no 10 ft. drops going 25 mph.

Business trip on the treadmill. Hey I ran. 

More treadmill. woot woot