Training for Top of Utah 2011

2 days off from running so I had to make up a little with an extra long run. 12 miler from home to Centennial park and back 

Drizzle and a little wind. Decided to sleep in so this run started a little after 12 noon. Felt great on the way down to the park. Took a power bar with me and fueled up with half of it at the park. Then back with 2 miles up that beastly parkway and then down into the industrial area to add .5 mile so I could get my full 12. Then over to the trail and home. That hill really hammered me. 

Tried to keep my HR under 165 but it got up to 169 on parts of the hill.

Avg. Pace 9:05  Avg. HR 150

3 days off running due to different things going on. 

Super windy but at least the sun was shining. Mid 40's.

1st 2/3 of a mile easy with wind at my back. Then the tough part began! Made it to the bottom of the parkway hill at about 5.25 miles in. Up the hill with the wind coming down. Ouch...then flew down the hill.

Finished up with the wind at my back. Pace was super fast and easy.

Avg. Pace 8:52 HR avg. 147

Splits 8:38, 9:22, 9:04,8:49, 9:00, 9:17, 8:30, 8:49,8:18

My body seems to do better with longer runs and then more rest rather than the same mileage everyday. I'm going to experiment with this as I prepare for the Newport marathon in June.

Crazy Windy this morning so I stayed inside to run.

Super easy 4 miler on treadmill to recover from workout yesterday. Everything felt really good.

HR got up to about 145 and then fluctuated between 140-145.

Looking for a 12-13 miler on Saturday...

Very nice morning for a run. Overcast with some showers(not many) and some wind(strong in some places) with temps at 44 when I left the house. Started at the train area of Snoqualmie. Then the loop where Kinghorns live then back to the car for fuel.

Then saw Mark Howard driving home and he stopped and chatted with me. Then to the Mill Pond road(wind started here) to Centennial Park for water and 1/3 of a power bar for fuel. Next to the in-laws in North Bend and more powerful wind. My goal today was a half-marathon(13.1 miles) with a 9 minute pace.

I finally got through the wind tunnel of the Sno. Valley trail and noticed my overall pace was about 9:12. I didn't care about my goal at that point. However on the way back it was so easy that I picked up the pace and with a 1/4 mile to go I was at 9:03ish pace so sped up to get to 9 even pace.

Feeling pretty good. Next week the miles go up to somewhere between 27 and 30.

Avg. HR for this run was 152...a little high but not too bad with all of the wind running I had to do.

Absolutely miserable running conditions this morning. Heavy rain with some wind. Treadmill run. Easy recovery run from the long run on Sat.

Last 5 minutes were without shoes.

Nice day for a run...cloudy and 50 degrees with some wind in places. A few small showers too.

Started out the run and felt like I was running my normal pace...checked the garmin after about a quarter mile and lo and behold I'm cooking along at a mid 8 min. pace. Sweet! After about a mile I was chased by a big orange tabby cat that kind of freaked me out a bit at first. 

Today was a day for a hard workout so all hills that were encountered I tried to push up pretty hard and that got the HR up a little higher than normal. I figured what the heck and pushed it most of the way.

At 2.75 miles stopped at the park for water and stretching, then off to the Parkway hill to push hard there. Smoked the hill and almost got to the puke zone with my HR at 180 at one point. That's pretty close to my max HR I would bet.

Down the hill then to another park for water and stretching again at 6 miles in.

2 more miles reasonably easy and a quick kick in at the very end with about a quarter mile walk to get the HR back to a normal level.

 Overall pace: 8:34  Avg. HR 159(yikes) it was a tough workout!

Missed the last 2 days for various reasons so was going to make up some of the lost miles today....ended up only doing an extra 2.25 due to Heidi needing to leave, so hustled home asap.

Had a 6 am webinar so didn't get my run started until 8:15 ish. 

34 degrees with wet streets but no significant rain until the end of the run. In fact as i left my neighborhood the sun was shining on the Cascade Mts. and there were patches of low fog...Gorgeous! 

Home to Parkway then down to Mill Pond rd. and then to Centennial park. Then back through town and up the Parkway...tough...the regular Ridge hills sure seemed a lot easier after that beast of a run up the parkway. Since I was not able to get all my miles in I decided to do a fast finish and did a 6:45 quarter mile to end the run then walked it out.

Splits - 8:46, 9:06, 8:20, 8:06, 8:39, 8:57, 9:03, 8:57, 9:16, 9:30, 9:02, 7:58, 6:45

Avg. Pace 8:45(darn good for me) and Avg. HR 151(loving that)

In the immortal words of Emeril Lagasse "OH YEAH BABE!"

Mark Howard invited me to run a race(OK, just one leg of a 50K or about 9.6 miles) with him this Saturday.

I am loving the fitness coming back and it feels so good to see the pace coming down as I gradually increase the mileage.

Easy 6er this a.m. after sleeping in a little longer than normal due to the holiday. Even with the wind blowing a decent amount the run felt quite easy.

Avg. Pace 8:40  Avg. HR 144(love this, baby!)

Beautiful Sunny day out there. A little too windy for my liking but nice for a run. Easy 6er and saw a friend who just ran the Phoenix Rock n Roll marathon. She was just plugging along with a stroller and a Husky dog. She says she feels a little sluggish but she looked great!

She was informed a long time ago that she should not run but she did it anyway. She said she wanted to just do one marathon but thinks now she might do more.

Anywho, HR got a little high no thanks to the wind. Avg. Pace 8:44 and Avg. HR 150

Mark Howard invited me to run one loop of this race which is a 50K and it's 3 times around lake Youngs in Renton, WA for the full 50.

Clear all week and then we get rain this morning. I wore a long sleeve and short sleeve tech shirt and because of the rain wore a light jacket which made me extremely warm during the race. 

Trail run with gravel, hard pack, mud and wet grassy conditions. Lots of ups and downs. Running on trails takes more energy out of my legs and slows down my pace quite a bit.

I carried a 16 ounce bottle of accelerade with me which made it kind of awkward to run with. Stopped and walked 2 times to drink. About 4 miles in I was getting pretty tired and told Mark he could shoot ahead if he wanted to but he chose to stay with me which was nice as it forced me to keep up with him. On the hills my HR kept getting up into the mid to upper 170's which is pretty high for me. However due to the running of the Parkway hill lately it didn't kill me.

This was a hard run but I never felt like I wanted to quit. Happy with the way my body is responding to training. Now it's time to start speed work next week. Mark and I both agreed that next year we will run 2 laps and then the following year we will do the full 50K.

Overall avg. Pace 8:29 Avg. HR 167

Splits

Pace:               HR:

7:57                 153

8:20                 169

7:30                  169

8:53                 170

9:01                 170

8:47                 169

8:31                 168

8:26                  166

9:13                 169

7:45(.4 mile)      169

The website for this race says 9.6 but my garmin says it was 9.4 so I'm sticking with 9.4. I was saving a little energy for the last quarter mile but we finished early so am feeling pretty darn good.

After the race on Sat. my calf has been hurting a bit so just taking it easy until it's ready to roll. It does feel much better today but decided to just do the elliptical and stretch.

45 minutes at moderate level. May be able to run tomorrow, at least I hope so.

Quick 6 this morning a little late. Super windy and the hills were killing me.

I waited to run this week until the calf on my right leg felt better. No issues except at the end a little tiny twinge but not anything that worries me.

  Easy start with the wind and then uphill and against the wind after a mile.

Went 2.75 then water and stretch break. Then just a regular loop here at the ridge with the hills and killer wind. Looking to go 12 more on Sat. morning.

Avg. pace 9 even and HR avg. 149(kind of high) probably due to no other running this week.

Early start with drizzle from time to time. It's getting lighter earlier and yes I love that. Hate running in the dark.

Ran from home down to the park on the parkway @ 2.75 miles. Light stretch, 1/3 power bar and water. Off to Mill pond rd and then Centennial park @ 6.35 miles. More water and power bar and full stretch. Then back through Snoqualmie to the same park on the parkway @ 9 miles. Finish power bar and water and power up the rest of the hill. I was REALLY tempted to walk after getting to the top of the hill as there is still some slight incline the rest of the way but resisted that urge and kept running(slowly). 

Soon after saw Sean S. on Fairway...I took a leisurely way back home and when I got back on Muir I saw Sean again as he popped out of the loop trail...I think he may have been running the 5K course he is setting up for St. Paddy's day run.

Got home and there was bacon and buttermilk pancakes...did those in and then pounded about 24 ounces of Accelerade. Full stretch.

Feeling good...I was worried about my right calf but the only time it gave any indication that it was hurt was running down the parkway...just the opposite of what I expected. I figured it would hurt going up but nothing after mile 4 since the rest was flat and uphill.

 Avg. Pace 9:05(a little slow to protect the calf)   Avg. HR 146(gotta love that)

Nice morning for a run. Rain overnight left the roads wet. Some clouds but no rain during the run. A little wind but reasonable. 40 degrees.

Did not wear my HR monitor due to it causing a sore on my chest last Saturday. going to run without it for a while and go by feel and by pace. Definitely went faster than normal with the 2 days off it was feeling good!

Changed up the route a bit. Hit Muir and then went round the trail there to add on .9 mile then the reg. route.

Was glad that the calf did not give me any grief. Will go again tomorrow.

Avg. Pace 8:40

Another nice day for a run...no rain...moderate wind, and I can live with that. Another change to the route today. Went down Cascade and over to Crestview where we used to live, then on to the main park for water and a stretch @ the 4 mile mark.

No HR monitor again...Kinda glad I got rid of that thing. I was relying too much on it and staying too slow I think. 

Today's pace 8:32 and felt really great after yesterdays 8:40. Did the first 5.25 miles at the 8:40 pace and then there is a nice long downhill that I just let er go and it felt really good. The legs feel strong.

If I feel good tomorrow morning I'm going to run 3 days in a row and then long run on Sat. If I don't feel good tomorrow then will run Friday and moderate length on Sat.

Easy Tread run in prep for tomorrow's Monster Hill run.

Took it real easy today. Started easy for 5 minutes then eased it up to about 6.3 mph.

Going to take on the Full Parkway hill tomorrow morning with Mark Howard. 3 miles pretty much all up and 2 really steep parts. Will run (hopefully) 11 total miles with a 4 mile warm up and 4 mile cooldown.

Should be fun(hard).

Sweet morning for a run. 50 degrees with wind. Left the house at about 6:45 and headed down towards the parkway. As I was going down the hill the sun was just coming up and hitting the clouds and making a gorgeous color display of red, orange and pink.

Stopped at the park on the hill and watered up and stretched. Then on to the bottom of the parkway to meet Mark Howard for  our hill run.

We jumped right on it and went the 3 miles without even having to stop for cars. On the very last hill we saw some people ahead of us and reeled them in towards the top. I really like running with Mark as it helps push me a little harder. He had run from home and had already come up the Salish lodge hill before he met me.

I felt super good this whole run...

After the hill we watered up at the train park. Then we split up and I finished up my 12 and now to take care of Heidi who is sick.

Avg. Pace for the whole run was 8:40 and splits are as follows: 8:53, 9:13, 8:17, 8:12, 9:12, 9:35, 8:37(this included the toughest hill portion), 8:20, 8:18, 8:43, 8:32, 8:08 finished up the last quarter semi-fast.

Speed workout! Plan was 2 X 1 mile @ 7ish pace. 2 mile warmup and then at the loop off Muir. Stretched and then off....first .25 miles was at upper 5 pace so I knew I was in trouble...went out way too fast. Legs started feeling like jello but the lungs were OK. Had to settle for 3 X .55 mile runs and then cooldown.

The pace on the sprints were: 6:12, 6:41, 7:02...yeah I ran out of gas...

I have to do some speed work to get ready for the St. Patty's day run here at the ridge in about a month or so. Avg. Pace for total run is 8:07

Low 40's with a little wind. Otherwise absolutely perfect! Easy runner and I'm surprised how fast my pace is getting without watching that Stupid Heart Rate Moniter. So glad I'm not using it. 

Pace 8:23 - - amazing that it felt as good as it did after some speed work yesterday.

Easy run on Tread...just to avoid the rain, cold and wind. 3rd day in a row running which I rarely do. Feeling so good now I better not overdue it.

Looking to do 12-14 on Saturday and maybe some hills with it.

Another Perfect running day in the NorthWest! 45 degrees and overcast. No wind to speak of and no rain. I overdressed thinking we would get some rain. Got plenty warm.

It was Mark's day to set up a long run today and he chose to take us from his house(about .4 miles from the Snoqualmie Valley Trail) in Fall City to Carnation and then back.

We started off running uphill from Mark's house to the trail and I was huffing and puffing right from the start with that nice little trail run. Then the trail which is a gentle downslope down in to Carnation where we stopped at Remlinger farms to drink some water and stretch.

Then back up the gentle incline which slowed us down just a bit. Mark had only run 2 miles early in the week and so he wasn't his usual free flowing runner so I was able to keep up with him.

We only saw 1 man and his dalmation(twice) and 4 bikers on the trail. Total run time was about 2 hours with the avg. pace 8:39. That's not bad on the trail as it sucks the energy out of your legs running it. Quite different from my usual road runs.

I kicked up the last .15 miles to a 6:45 pace to finish strong and then the easy walk/jog back down to Mark's house.

Splits: These are after .8 miles as my garmin had a hard time locking in to the satelites with the tree cover.

8:18, 8:18, 8:30, 8:29, 8:37, 8:44, 8:41, 9:04, 9:08, 8:42, 8:41, 8:43, 8:40, 6:47

37 degrees with sun shining and a light breeze in places.

Sweet day for a run. Recovered well from the 14 miler on Sat. thanks to the wedding reception(lot's of carbo-loading) we went to that night.

I'm reading Born to run and am trying to incorporate some of the tips into my running.

Today I worked on running on my forefeet uphill midfoot strike during flat and downhill. Worked on keeping my back straight and staying light on my feet. I've got quite a ways to go but will get there at some point.

Overall pace was 8:34

Cold. Light wind. Tempo run. Drove to the train area in Snoqualmie. Ran to the high school track, jumped the fence then 4 mile tempo. Supposedly a tempo run is at a pace you could keep for 1 hour...not sure that I could've done it at this pace. Runners world plan said 7:27 pace so that's what I did. Not that easy but not a killer either.

1st tempo run in a long time.

Avg pace overall on run was 7:55.

Beautiful sunny morning for a run. A little windy. Mid 30's.

5 easy recovery miles after yesterday's speed work. When the run started my legs felt a little crappy, but after about a 1/4 mile they were fine.

Avg. Pace 8:35

After five miles outside went to the treadmill and ran 1 mile barefoot to strengthen the feet. I wouldn't mind running those outside but it's way too cold still and I don't think I will ever be able to part with 80 bucks for vibrams.

Sweet morning for a run...no clouds and 39 at the start.

Forgot to recharge my Garmin so this is the first time in forever since I've run without it. Fortunately I have multiple runs memorized so the distance isn't a problem.

My mp3 player died about a half mile in so it was a little bit of a boring run. Pit stop at halfway park then another at centennial at the turnaround and then again at halfway park. Saw Mark at Centennial and chatted with him. He had run an 8 miler with Sommer at 7:55 pace earlier.

Not sure on pace but was supposed to hit 8:50. Pretty sure it was faster but it doesn't matter.

Coming back up the hill wasn't a killer...happy that I'm getting better at that.

Another Perfect Day in the Northwest! 40 and Sunny...didn't feel much wind either.

Easy run with only one weird thing that happened...as I was finishing up on Carmichael a man stopped me and asked if I could help him with a table...I thought he meant move the table(he was from a foreign country and didn't have a full grasp of the English language).

He wanted me to put a coffee table together for him...I showed him how to read the illustrations and then bailed as I was sweating all over his carpet. Felt sorry for the guy...his son was sitting there watching TV and neither of them had a clue how to put this thing together. If you have less mechanical skills than I do you are in BIG Trouble...at least I have my wife who is a whiz with just about anything.

Avg. Pace was 8:30 until I slow jogged to this man's house to help with his table, ended at 8:32

Perfect day for speed workout? Let's see....Windy, Rainy and Cold....

Went to High School track and did a 2 mile warm up then a light stretch.

Plan called for 2 X 1600 meters @ 6:58 pace with 800 meter jog in between... my garmin is set for miles so did 2 X 1 mile @ 6:46 with the first one not too tough. 2nd one pretty tough as I was against the wind at the end and had to push to get the 6:46.

Then an easy cooldown which didn't seem all that easy after the workout...

Tough start to the day...I was a missionary in the Concepcion Chile Mission and served in San Clemente and Constitucion, cities Very Near the epicenter of the earthquake that nailed Chile.

Some of the kindest and most generous people on the face of the earth. I had to be careful as a missionary not to compliment things in people's homes as they would say "Oh, you like that...then it's yours" and they would try to give it (picture or something like that) to me. One of my companions who was a Chileno, I consider my best friend to this day. We had such a great time serving the people together. 

OK...felt crappy on my run too. Not sure if it was pushing harder than I was supposed to on my speedwork on Wednesday or if it was crappy eating and sleeping habits but this was a tough run and that's putting it mildly.

Left home about 7 and headed around the ridge to get some easy miles in before going down the Parkway...saw Sommer and Laura, a couple women I ran the Newport marathon with(or rather they smoked me at that marathon) on the parkway as I was going down they were coming up. Sommer looked as fresh as a daisy but Laura was walking. Little did I know at the time I would have to stop and walk a bit too on the way up.

Then to Mill Pond rd where I saw Bishop Fowler and then my buddy Larry Shaw...stopped and had a nice chat...then off to centennial park for a quick break with a drink and part of a power bar...maybe I shouldn't have eaten the power bar as I was starting to feel better but then was hurting after that.

Started plugging along back to the parkway and  made it to the halfway park. Then up up up the steepest part and had to walk for about 15 seconds to get some juice back into my legs. Finally made it to the train park for another quick water break and then struggled mightily home....still half dead...it's going to be a tough day!

No more going faster than my plan calls for... In fact was slower by 5 seconds today at 8:55

Super easy tread run today as my stomach is still a little upset. will have to change my workout this week as we are moving. Speed work tomorrow - tempo run at high school track - 

Tweaked my back a bit moving some shelves on Monday and I was a little concerned about it but it's not giving me any grief at all now.

Weather was pretty much perfect around 40-45 degrees with only a little wind @ the high school track.

Plan called for 7 with 5 tempo at 7:31...just missed every one of the mile splits on this.

There is no way I could've run this for an hour unless my life depended on it and it didn't so I'm glad...pretty tough. Really had to focus to come in at these levels.

Splits: 8:54, 8:32, 8:33, 8:32, 8:33, 8:32, 8:59

Moving Today...great crosstraining! Going up and down stairs with boxes and other stuff...

supposed to be running 7 today but will not be able to.

After 2 days of moving stuff up and down stairs I was plum wore out!

Was supposed to go 16 - Went with Larry and did 12.

Way off plan...hopefully this next week I can kick it up a notch!

Little over 9 min. pace avg.

Since I tweaked my back again on Sat. I didn't want to run outside just in case of problems have to walk back home. Tread run and it went pretty well...a few issues with my back but overall not bad...

Am preparing for a 5K this Saturday so will just run easy all week with maybe a few strides thrown in tomorrow.

Still have a tender lower back so another tread run.

Easy warm up and then started some strides. 6 strides about every 5 minutes for 35 seconds each starting at level 8(to test the back) then to 9 then to 10 and back down the ladder.

Felt very relaxed during the sprints and could have easily gone quite a bit longer but with a race on Sat. had to save it.

cool down and done...will do another easy run tomorrow.

I sure do love these Brooks Radius shoes...wish I could find more of them...was told the ghost replaced them but...just not the same.

Easy tread run again...didn't feel like getting soaked to the bone today and then possibly catching a cold. Will be ready for the 5K race on Sat. even if it's raining.

Just joined a group that will be running a Ragnar Race up @ whidbey island in late July this year. Here

Carry on...

Got lots of sleep last night which felt great!! Had a banana @ 7 am and then walked over to register. Then back home and had a granola bar which I wish I hadn't as I got a little side ache after a couple miles into the race.

Found my buddy Mark before the race and we talked about getting closer to the front as last year we had to dodge a ton of people to get up ahead. We shuffled in but still had to dodge a bunch of people to get a decent position. after .2 miles we were cooking at a 6 min pace but then the hills began and we started to slow a bit. Since this is my home turf and I know this whole course I was able to gun down the hills and maintain and sometimes gain on those ahead of me when we were going uphill.

Was feeling pretty good despite the fast pace....5K races really hurt towards the end and take the energy out of my legs for some reason...lungs felt pretty good though. Pace ended up being 6:49 for me.

I was hoping that I would not get passed but right at the end of the race a tall guy reeled me in and then he got Mark too but barely. Mark and I passed a bunch of people along the way.

He beat me by 2.5 seconds and I was surprised(happily) by my time. I was so beat at the finish line that I just went and walked for a block or two and caught my wind. Saw a bunch of people from our ward(church) that both ran and helped with the race. Saw Snoqualmie from the blog but don't know if she saw me.

Great race for me and hopefully the speed keeps on coming. Afterwards came home to buttermilk pancake breakfast with Heidi's parents and the Simon family...Good times!

Despite a perfect morning for running, I hit the tread due to tiredness issues and soreness issues. Easy run. Went better than I expected.

Not really looking forward to the next run which is a 6 mile tempo run on Wednesday...Will do my best though as I know those things really help with speed.

There is a pull up bar in my garage so will start doing some after workouts...first time today...4 chin ups and 2 pull ups...weak sauce but I will get stronger as time goes by.

Great day for a run @ 45 degrees and some changing winds...even if I'm going on only 5 and a half hours of sleep. 

High school track with the freshmen and sophomore classes...felt a bit strange. easy warmup and right into the 6 mile tempo.  Splits

8:51 7:31 7:30 7:32 7:30 7:31 7:31 9:01

Definitely had to work a bit, but not a killer workout. Probably could have done this for an hour and that's more than I can say for the last tempo run that I did.

Plan says to run 18 on Sat. but I haven't run a 16 miler yet so it will be 16. For that reason I wanted to take it easy on my legs this am so ran the tread...no hills and easy. 

Sat. run will include the HillBeast(2 miles of it anyway) at the end so I will need something extra.

Woke up several times last night to strong winds. Was not happy to hear that with a long run scheduled. Got out @ 6:45ish and ran ridge to fairway and then down the parkway and thru town to C park. Met Larry and for Group run only 4 of us today...found out Sean has some leg issues and won't be running Boston...Dang!

Plan said 8:45 pace but I did not even care what my pace ended up being with my first long mileage run over 14. Ended up getting 8:54. Larry and I ran to the Golf Course and then mill pond and then thru town...and Larry stopped with a hammy prob. I continued on and he started walking back to the park...I saw him after a bit and he was running slowly....met back at the park. 

Then off to the parkway and back home. Ran the Hilldebeast and did pretty well. I stopped to get a drink at the park halfway up and a lady came from the bottom and just kept powering up it. I followed her and finally caught her at the top. Looped the industrial park to get my miles and then ended up walking about half a mile back home which I think helped a lot. My legs do not feel bad at all!

Got some ribs on the smoker for some friends that coming over later. Gonna enjoy those as the first of the season.

Splits: 8:40, 7:59, 8:22, 8:57, 9:00, 9:28, 9:18, 9:08, 9:27, 8:57, 9:04, 8:39, 8:27, 9:15, 9:39, 8:18

First run @ the ridge since moving 2 weeks ago...I've either run elsewhere or on the tread.

Trying to find a good new route and did pretty well today. Low 40's with not much wind and no rain though there was plenty yesterday. The hills were slowing me down though. Was at 8:50 pace until about 1 mile to go and hit a nice downhill @ the industrial park and was able to hit target of 8:45 with that. Then walked about .25 miles home.

Right now I'm just finishing 3 eggs with hashbrowns and 3 pieces of bacon.

At work today a client asked me if everything was OK since I look so skinny...marathon training is working!

Had to run in the afternoon and it was windy and the school track team was using the track so I hit the tread reluctantly. 1.5 warm up then stretching and then a couple girl scout cookies and into the 3X1 mile runs at 6:50 pace... ended up running 6:58 and finished at 6:53...my treadmill is weird and seems way faster than I would be running this outside...certain that this will recruit some fast twitch fibers...

Had to peel of my shirt due to the sun being out. Easy run tomorrow and then 18 on Saturday.

Since I ran in the afternoon yesterday and did a speed work out...had to take it real easy today...8:54 pace even though It's supposed to be 8:45. Oh well.

Raining, mid 40's and a little wind. Ran almost the same route as monday but changed it just a bit so I could get in an extra half mile. 

18 on Saturday...yikes...that sounds like a lot!

I had forgotten how hard it is to run 18 miles...even though I did it all on flat ground with no hills...it still kicked my butt! That last 2 miles was rough but I hammered it out and ready for 20 next week.

Drove down into Snoqualmie and parked near the railroad cars. Then off to mill pond rd. and the long way to Centennial park on Sno Valley trail. C Park at 4 miles for part of a power bar and some water...off to the in-laws house on the Sno Valley trail...got there and nobody home so used there water outside to liquidate. I was hoping to be able to get a water bottle there so I could go further out on the trail. Went 2.5 out to right under the freeway(I-90) and then turned around and came back to the library in NB for water and the last of the power bar.

Back to the park and then 4 more miles the trail and mill pond rd.

The tough part of the run was the 5 miles when I left C park the first time as there was a solid wind coming down the pike...pace was an easy 8:40 before then but 8:45 at the turnaround and had to work to keep it there. Pace ended up overall being 8:38 thanks to the tail wind coming back.

Not looking forward to the 20 miler next week!

I've had a cold all weekend and it's draining me of energy...probably shouldn't have run my 18 miler on Saturday...but hey I have to be ready for the marathon...even if it kills me.

Tread run and wore my HR monitor just to see how the ticker is holding up...and was happily surprised how low it stayed...during first 30 minutes it didn't even get over 130 and the very most it got up to at the end was 138. Eased into this run by starting out @ a #4 and gradually upping it to 6.5. 

Next run Wednesday Tempo run...7 miler I think...

Afternoon run...sunny and a few clouds here and there...low 50's with some wind.

Decided to do this run on the Sno Valley trail to take it easy on my legs...drove by the high school and it the track was empty but I knew that track practice would start shortly and I didn't really want to be dealing with people on the track.

Haven't been sleeping as long as I should lately getting to bed late and getting up by 5 is not good for your body. Plus add in a cold that I'm just getting over...

From the start I could tell this would be a tough run...and it was...warmed up and then from the golf course started the run...very slight uphill as you go to North Bend but at least it was wind neutral...at least that's what I thought until I did the turnaround and it was definitely breezy in my face the whole way back. Had to work hard...harder than I should have probably for a tempo run. At the end just trying to come in on pace was like running a 10K. Pace was supposed to be 7:35...

Splits:8:54, 7:36, 7:32, 7:35, 7:37, 7:33, 7:35, 7:36, 9:38 and boy was I done in! Walked for a quarter mile after cooldown....

Treadmill run to keep from getting chilled...trying to get rid of this stupid cold! Easy runner starting @ 4 on the machine and finishing @ 6.8 then cooldown and walk until I hit 1000 calories burnt.

Wore the HR monitor and it stayed under 140 the whole run...Sweet!

Still planning my 20 miler for Sat. morning EARLY, EARLY so I don't have to miss any of conference...

Wow! This run just plain hurt at the end...felt like it was the end of a real marathon...

Didn't get an early start like I planned so missed conference...I'll catch that session later.

Kind of glad I didn't start earlier because the weather was crappy when I started but cleared up a bit about halfway through. Started at RR area...ran around the Snoqualmie loop by Kinghorns then to rivierview park for water...then off to mill pond rd  to Centennial park to fuel up @ 6 miles. Then off to Grandma's house in NB just off the SVT. Picked up a water bottle to carry for a ways so I could fuel along the way. Continue on SVT and went under I-90 for a little over a mile(uphill there) and turned, came back. That part of SVT was gorgeous running right by a river and nice scenery. Went to the NB Library for water and finished off my power bar there. That was 15.5 miles. Then back to Centennial for water and another lap there and finally back to the car through town...

So happy no long run next week...just 4 9 milers.

Avg pace was on schedule today @ 8:45 even. Wore my HR monitor(which was a mistake) and avg. was only 143 for the full 20. SWEET! Bad part was it wore another hole in my chest...Note to self...if you are going on a long run...DO NOT wear HR monitor! I lubed up the important parts before leaving on this run but forgot about the nipples...Ouch! That just plain hurts in the hot water shower!! 

Glad this one is in the books and hope the next 3 20 milers are easier...

Run @ the ridge this morning with all it's ups and downs. Nice day for a run though...cloudy with a few sunbreaks and lower 40's for weather.

9 miles and I was supposed to do it faster but not with these stinking hills and 2 days after a 20 miler. Gonna do 4 9 milers this week. Wed. and Sat. will have some bigger and longer hills involved.

8:50 pace

Should have done this run in the morning or early afternoon when it wasn't rainy, cold and windy. Dang! mid 40's...wore 3 tech shirts and pants and gloves... Ran the ridge upsy downsy hills and then down the parkway stopping at the parkway park @ 4 miles and then 7 miles on the way back up...

Tough run but certainly not tougher than speedwork or tempo run. Just miserable out there...better go get in the shower here quickly before I freeze.

Avg. Pace 8:40 and am happy with that...may run my other 2 times this week on Friday and Saturday...not sure yet...will see tomorrow in the a.m.

Not enough time so a quick 2 on treadski...will try to make up a few tomorrow...easy though.

After reading too many people blowing up training too hard...figured this week is my easy week and I will take it easy...shouldn't have run the hard hill the other day. 

Next week back at it hard.

Ate a LOT of chinese food last night and then came home and had no bake cookies and finished up with ice cream...Slept in till 8 this morning and finally hit the road at 8:45. 

37 degrees but at least there was some sun. Icy wind at times.

10 miles at the ridge avoiding any big hills. Easy runner @ an 8:56 pace. Gotta start doing more running here at the ridge so I get used to the hills. 2 stops @ miles 3.5 and 7.

46 miles on the docket for next week with an 8 mile tempo run...not really looking forward to that or the 20 miler on Saturday...I will do it though!

Almost perfect running weather this morning...45 degrees and cloudy with not much wind and no rain at all.

Since I decided to do more running here at the ridge...that's what today was. Lot's of hills and I didn't avoid the tougher ones...My plan has me lowering the pace down to 8:40 and it came in at 8:36...

Something that I didn't think was a big deal turns out to be a Big Deal. When I was drinking Accelerade right after runs I recovered super quickly...but when I felt it was no big deal I have found myself hurting(muscles mostly) so I went back to Acclerade and am feeling much better. 

Another afternoon run....just don't seem to like those much...not enough sleep lately either which is kicking my butt. 1 warmup mile...8 tempo miles...1 cooldown mile.

Nice weather @ 60+ degrees with some wind on the way back. Started at Centennial park with 1 mile warmup. Then started at the edge of the park. I stopped at 2 miles for a quick drink at the North bend library then 2 miles out Sno. Valley trail and then turnaround and back to library for some more water and finally back to the park.

Not much wind going out but the wind coming back was tough at times. Worked way harder than I should have but that's how it goes.

Plan said 7:34 pace...well the plan didn't have to run against the wind.

Splits. 8:45, 7:34, 7:30, 7:35, 7:35, 7:32, 7:34, 7:34, 7:31, 9:33 and my buns were dragging at the end. went to the car and fueled with accelerade then finished my cooldown and stretched.

52 degrees sunny and partly cloudy during run with a little wind here and there. 

New route over to deer park(creek?) anywho...nice run on the ridge with 2 stops @ 3 miles and 6 miles. 

Thanks accelerade...after yesterdays long tempo run I figured I'd be pretty beat up...nope...felt a little sluggish but not bad at all.

Target pace was 8:45 and I hit 8:43...happy about that...now to prepare for the 20 miler on Saturday...looking to run from centennial park up to rattlesnack lake and back on the Sno Valley trail...there is some up hill there too.

The Beast has been tamed...well at least domesticated. That parkway hill did not get the best of me today even after having already run 17 miles...happy to be able to hang in there and not be dead at the top...had enough leftover to run a marathon pace mile to finish.

Legs felt very good to start and most of the run. Almost perfect day for a long run...rain overnight and 50 degrees with not too much wind. A few sprinkles here and there.

Started from home and hit the ridge for a couple miles, then down the parkway with a stop at the park @ 2.75. Then finished parkway down and through town over to riverview park @ 5.50 miles. Then up and around Kinghorns loop and back to riverview @ 8.75 mile and 1/3 powerbar. Then Mill pond rd to Centennial park @ 11.75(stretched). Then golf course and Sno Valley trail and back to park @ 15.3 miles(this is where I was feeling a little tired due to running that trail so cut it short). Saw John Milks there with his son Logan who had a baseball game and ended up chatting for about 5 minutes with him(nice break).

Finally headed back home and stopped at the parkway park @ 18.25. Was able to power up the rest of the hill and finish strong with a .5 mile walk to finish up. I didn't eat anything before this run and it felt great! Ate a power bar while running and that is it. I was STARVING when I got home. Drank a bunch of Accelerade when I got home and had a Large bowl of raising bran since it was the first thing I saw when I walked in the kitchen. 

Target Pace as per plan was 8:45

**edit**(pace was supposed to be 8:40) ended up being 8:44

Splits: 8:43, 8:45, 8:12, 8:21, 8:44, 8:45, 9:00, 8:36, 8:45, 8:43, 8:44, 8:42, 8:43, 8:42, 8:52, 8:48, 8:47, 9:16, 9:45, 8:00 Yeah Baby!

Got up early...ate leftover popcorn for breakfast...then went on my run at 9:45 a.m. 

Windy but mid 60 degree weather was so nice! Gorgeous day for a run! Ran the hills of Snoqualmie Ridge and did not avoid them at all but tried to embrace them...

Surprisingly I did quite well...although I ran out of gas at about 9 miles though and headed home to fuel up and then just finished on the tread.

Legs felt really good even after the 20 miler on Sat.

Just noticed that my buddy Sommer(Sean Sundwall's sister) killed Boston(marathon) and ran a 7:27 pace for a 3:15! I will be happy to run a 7:30 pace for my upcoming half.

Also very happy to see that TeenaMarie was able to run and finish as well...

Target pace: 8:40    Actual pace: 8:40  

Crazy Rain this a.m.! Decided not to run my speedworkout in this stuff...instead looks like I will add it into Saturday's long run...that should be interesting!

Easy run at the ridge with plenty of hills. My schedule was flexible so was able to go later than normal and not have quite so much rain.

Pace 8:38

Not enough time for a run this a.m. so it's a rare evening run...ate lunch at 2:30 and went for the run @ 6. I did something that I normally don't do...drank a Dr. Pepper just to see if the caffeine would help at all 4 hours later...don't know if it was the caffeine but the run went very well. Lots of hills and the top of the parkway and into Eaglepoint a new subdivision at the top of the parkway...I've heard rumors that our new church may be built up there...that would be Awesome! Already have 33 miles this week and an 11 and 10 miler back to back which is very rare for me to do big miles right after each other. Sun was out but it was a bit chilly wearing just a thin short sleeve tech shirt toward the end. Temple open house tomorrow in Canada and then up early for 16 miler Saturday with 4 X 1 mile speed workout...not sure if I should run up the hill/beast after the workout or not.

*My 16 year old daughter has been running(happy about this) 4 times a week for about a month in training for an 8K...she uses my garmin and sometimes forgets to turn it off(not so happy about this) so garmin died at 7.5 miles. No pace but it was easy and probably close to 8:45ish.

Last night was a carbo load dinner at La Fogata Mex. restaurant in Snoqualmie. Knocked out a full combo...2 enchiladas with rice and beans and more than my fair share of chips and salsa...baby decided to wake up super early...5:55...and I knew my wife needed some sleep so once 8:00 rolled around I knew running was not an option this a.m...

Ate a bowl of grape nuts and that was it as I don't run well with anything in my stomach...got out to run at about 1:45. Bad news right when I walked out my door it started to rain! Than about 1.5 miles in it started to hail and got windy. Down the parkway and around mill pond over to centennial park where it was pouring down very hard! Went to the bathroom and took off both shirts and rung out the water and then dried them out a little with the hand drying machine. Hat was soaked through, shoes waterlogged. Shorts were hanging in there OK for now. Then off to the high school track for the speedwork that didn't get done Wednesday due to rain. 4X1mile @ 6:50 pace....which was nothing but Hard Work. Lungs were fine but my legs were tired...probably due to the uptick in miles and running hills all week. Last mile came in @ 6:45...I was trying to get around the track before another storm cloud burst over me...didn't make it and because I had taken my hat off my glasses got pretty spotted up with water.

Then off to riverview park and hit the pavillion there to stretch and wait out another downpour. And finally back up the parkway...feeling sluggish after the brief layover there. As I was just starting up the parkway a car pulled over and asked me if I could provide directions to the casino...I wonder if he saw that I was wearing a BYU hat? Yeah, I'm not a fan of casinos and won't even go near one.

Powered(okay, hobbled may be a better description) up the parkway and did not stop for water at the midway point....just kept plugging. Saw my buddy Timothy Tree coming down the parkway and I thought...lucky! He's fresh and going downhill and with the wind. Made it back and last mile was an 8:31 despite 3/4ths of it being uphill. Overall pace ended up being 8:20 with speedwork included.

Walked for about a quarter mile and then when I got home immediately ate 3 waffles and drank 32 ounces of accelerade. Now off to a hot shower. 

One week until the Half Marathon here in Snoqualmie...

Super Windy out today...I'm beat up from my run on Saturday...decided to take it easy on the legs...treadmill run...yes boring but easy on the legs and not getting blown over was nice too. I was looking out the window and a robin was trying to walk across the street and it was looking like it had too much to drink.

Gonna run M-Th lower miles this week instead of M W Th higher miles...just so I can be slightly fresh for the half marathon this Saturday.

Still keeping it easy so I have some juice left for the race Saturday morning. Did not run yesterday due to various things but will run tomorrow...probably short again...

Easy pace at 8:40 for most of the run. Did 5 miles to the main park at the ridge, then 5 .08 mile strides on the main soccer field @ 4:10 pace...hard to believe people can run that fast for a mile!!

Not totally sure what pace I should shoot for in the half...probably 7:30 just because it's a nice round #. Will probably be trailing my buddy Mark for most of it though...Gonna try and beat him in a race one of these days. He and I are going to be trying to BQ @ Newport together in June. 

Wow, I am running some really low miles here this week...gonna have to have an awesome race on Saturday to make up for it...

Had some friends over for pasta feed last night to get carbo-loaded and it really worked.

Weather was drizzly and showery and some rain toward the end of the race. About 45 degrees so nice that way. Not too much wind.

Target pace was 7:30...went out and got stuck at a 7:15 pace and thought to myself "hey, maybe I can do this". No! Bad idea...just tried to run easy but by mile 4 it was not easy but also not killing me. Got passed a few times...the annoying part was an older guy who had to be over 60 who had a weird running gait...I just could not catch him at the end of the race...he beat me by maybe 10 seconds. 7:24 pace was better than I ever expected all though this week instead of full plan running I scaled back so as not to die during the race.

Splits:7:13, 7:19, 7:13, 7:19, 7:28, 7:25, 7:29, 7:28, 7:18, 7:31, 7:14, 7:27, 7:04, 6:47(.21 miles) by missing tangents I added a tenth of a mile...garmin says I had a 7:19 pace.

Beautiful scenery and some way gorgeous homes out at the turnaround...didn't realize that I knew some people out there and they ended up cheering me on which really helped. Enjoyed the Mariachi bands and any music as I forgot to bring my mp3.

My buddy Mark beat me by about 30 seconds or so...I had him in my sights the whole time...Finished 4th in my AG so one of these days I will get some hardware.

Had my wife bring a gallon of chocolate milk to share and boy was it ever GOOD! After a long race there is nothing better than thick rich sweet chocolate milk!

Made some new friends and had a great time(other than my lungs bursting for over an hour). Sean really had it set up very well at the high school in the gym...no waiting lines for anything. Next up- Newport Marathon in 5 weeks!

Supposed to run 10 miles today but after the race on Saturday I'm a little sore so it ended up as a tread run to take it easy on the legs...took about a mile to get them feeling OK and just moved the speed up gradually. Will do 5 more tread tomorrow to do the same thing then back to normal routine on Wednesday.

Really happy that I've recovered so quickly though.

Decided not to run yesterday and will just resume normal plan today. 10 easy @ the ridge. 40 degrees when I left so put on pants and gloves but only 2 tech shirts...didn't realize that there was a light rain coming down until getting out there and was too lazy to go back and get more protection. 

Ended up being rained upon and hailed on...not much wind but when it hit it was icy. Conditions were pretty much miserable and when it started raining hard I headed for home and finished last 1.75 on treadski.

 Legs felt fine although a touch stiff the first quarter mile...after that...good to go...

8:40 pace exactly...

Back to back 10 milers and I was expecting to have a hard time...surprisingly good run...although did start to run out of gas at about 8 miles.

Went a different route and just ran easy with a few moderate hills thrown in. Pace came in way below target @ 8:33 and I wasn't trying to lower it...

16 on Saturday is the plan with the Hildebeast thrown in at the end...

Feeling like I just may have a chance to BQ @ Newport!

Flu bug nailed me and the wife yesterday and we were both hammered, but she got it the worst...was still pretty weak this morning but still "needed" to get this run in even if it wasn't the whole thing. 

Afternoon run on the tread so I could be near a bathroom...kept drinking every 25 minutes to make sure my fluid levels were good...started running out of gas toward the end...legs were super weak but they hung in pretty well.

Next week is my biggest mile week with a 54. That's nothing for a lot of others but seems crazy to me! Will finish the week up with a 20 miler up to Rattlesnake lake and back with Mark.

Race is only 4 weeks out!!

Another and hopefully the last tread run of this year...or at least until late fall. Still feeling a bit ill so hit the tread for 12...that is tough to do 2 times in three days...BORING!

Looking forward to my tempo run on Wed. at the HS track...6 miles @ 7:22...should be simple after the half...we shall see.

5 year old was throwing up all night and since I was feeling crappy my wife did duty all night long...she earned the title Mother last night...(OK, she earned it a long time ago, just reinforced it again last night)

I was looking forward to running outside after being sick and having to run on the treadmill for 2 long runs. Close to perfect weather out there. 50 degrees and mostly cloudy...not much wind until halfway into the run. @ High School track.

2 easy warmup miles then into the tempo run. Switched up after miles 2, 5 and 8 so as to get even running.Target for tempo was 7:22 but with being sick etc. wasn't sure...and it ended up being pretty tough but for some reason the last 3 were not bad and I pushed it pretty hard the last mile.

Lap Splits:8:46, 8:31, 7:27, 7:30, 7:28, 7:18, 7:18, 6:51, 8:48, 8:54

Easy run at the ridge tomorrow.

Perfect morning for a run. And I do mean perfect! 50 degrees and very light wind...no clouds. 

Hit the Deer Park run, then over to the industrials and to main park. Stop at 4.5 miles and then after running Cascade and the center loop hit Tanner Jeans park @ 7.5 miles...finally up into my old neighborhood and then back home on the trail...Wow! Gorgeous on that trail...need to go for walks with the family on that more often now that we have easy access. Unfortunately the last .25 miles was all uphill and finally a little walking to finish.

Target Pace: 8:35 which is what I had until the last quarter mile and finished with an 8:37

Splits: 8:30, 8:33, 8:22, 8:49, 8:34, 8:39, 8:35, 8:31, 8:52, 8:47

Felt good the whole run...I'm surprised there was really no soreness from the speedwork yesterday even...weird...is this what it feels like to be in good shape? I'm liking it...ready for Rattlesnake run on Saturday...

Early run with Mark Howard. Met him at 6:30 @ centennial park and off from there the back way to get all of the trail. 

Stopped @ the in-laws for water at about 3.5 miles then back to the trail and had another stop about 3 miles from there where I had cached some water and then up to Rattlesnake lake where I had left more water.

As we were going up the trail a lady was standing off to the side with her dog, which got away from her and nipped at Mark...irresponsible pet owner. On the way back down we saw another lady with a dog and when she saw us she took the dog way off the side and made sure that there would be no issues. Responsible pet owner. If you can't control your pet, don't have it out in a public place!

Very nice run and the gradual incline was not too bad as we were able to score about a 9 min. pace on the uphill part. My pace goal was set at 8:35 but I was running with Mark so I knew it would probably end up faster(which is why I like to run with him). Plus instead of 20 miles we ended up going 22. With water stops etc. time ended up being 3 hours and 20 minutes. We did throw in 2 8 min. pace miles right toward the end and they weren't killers

Splits: 8:39, 8:29, 8:39, 8:28, 8:42, 8:46, 8:46, 8:59, 8:59, 8:52, 8:33, 8:12, 8:09, 8:17, 8:17, 8:26, 8:13, 8:19, 8:14, 8:02, 7:58, 9:15 Overall avg. pace ended up at 8:30

After almost finishing, I drank some Accelerade and then finished off the run with some walking and watching a little league baseball game. That stuff really helps me recover quicker than normal. We will do that run again sometime.

Easy run @ the ridge. Stayed away from any big hills. Didn't eat anything this a.m. and didn't get out for the run until 10 :15 or so. Nice weather in high 50's and mostly cloudy and not much wind. First 2 miles were sort of slow as my legs were loosening up from the 22 miles on Saturday...once loose they were good to go.

I didn't worry at all about pace and it ended up at 8:43. I did come in a little early and ate a power bar and drank some apple juice then finished 1.4 miles on Tread.

Sweet Video

Speed run today. 4 X 1 mile @ 6:45 with .5 mile jog in between.

Worked most of the day at home and was planning this run in the afternoon...got a little concerned when the wind really kicked up.

Got everything ready and drove down to Centennial park, then got out of the car and it started raining HARD. Plus the wind didn't calm down at all so it was coming in sideways. Got back in the car and drove home. Went to the garage and ran the treadmill. Was a warm day so the garage was nice and toasty(unfortunately).

  Did 2.25 miles warm up then stretched and got back on and did first interval @ 6:44. Tough!

Did 2nd one and thought I was going to die. Decided to finish with 4 X .5 mile instead of full miles. Did 1st one @ 6:44 then 2nd at 6:49, 3rd at 7:03 and last one at 6:40(that last one tested my manhood big time). Then 2 miles cooldown and 8 minutes of walking to get my HR down. I don't know why but the tread just kicks my butt doing speedwork. Wore HR monitor and HR got as high as 173 during the last few intervals.

I am just plain beat. 

Had to miss one 10 mile run this week for various reasons so decided to make this a marathon pace run for part.

Went to a farewell(funeral) earlier and ate a bunch of cookies etc so wasn't feeling all that good. Didnt even start the run until after 5:30 ish. Thought we were done with the 40% chance of rain so wore a tech shirt...no hat etc. upper 50's temp.

Ran down the hill and then over to Centennial park for first pit stop. 4.5 miles. then up the SVT for 1.5 and then back to Centennial for 2nd pit stop. Unfortunately the nice day had turned dark and rain was beginning to come lightly at first and then pretty hard. Problem was that I did not have a hat to shield the rain from my glasses and it was tough to see at times. Headed back to the parkway and partway up another pit stop at around 10.5 miles to wipe off my glasses and warm my hands up on the hand dryer in the bathroom. By that time I could see some clearing on the way but still had plenty of rain. And finally back home.

First 8 miles @ 8 minute pace. Then 1 at 8:40 and then the parkway in the 9's...overall pace ended up being 8:20. No more runs scheduled over 8 miles. Ahhhhhhhhhh!

Stomach issues caused me to stay at home and so it was treadmill time. Unfortunately it was perfect running weather here. Dang!

Officially in taper mode now... easy street!

Everything feeling good and I'm not going to do something stupid to screw up this close to marathon so it's "follow the plan" time. 28 miles planned this week.

Rain today...just wasn't feeling a tempo run in the rain...at least not after Saturday's soaking. Tread run with 30 second sprints every 5 minutes starting @15 after warmup etc...laddered the speed of them up to the fastest and thought the treadmill was going to launch me at the top.

Legs feel very good after the run! Tomorrow another 6.5er and then an easy 8 on Saturday with Mark...will probably do some MP miles on Saturday just to get some speed work in.

Nice morning for a run. Temp around 50...only light wind but a few small showers.

Was a little sluggish to start out due to running treadmill already 2 times this week...that really doesn't give you a proper workout. Hard to regulate pace here at the ridge but I tried to keep effort about the same the whole time.

Splits: 8:20, 8:33, 8:36, 8:33, 8:34, 8:38, 8:51(.5 mile and uphill)

finished by walking a bit and then glycogen replacement drink was accelerade. Just finished 3 homemade cinnamon rolls...Wow that was good!

Pretty miserable weather...windy, rainy and sort of cold.

Plan was to run with Mark and the club this a.m. however with my wife's bad back and the baby waking up just before 7(didn't want her lifting the baby(18 months old) out of crib and tweaking her back worse) I stayed at the ridge and ran even though I didn't want to run any hills.

This run was Super Easy from several standpoints...I ran slower than normal even though my legs felt like they were ready to fly...had to keep next week in mind. Stayed away from any bigger hills and forced myself to stay slow.

Did 7 miles and then walked a good 2/10ths of a mile home...drank some accelerade and then 15 minute cooldown jog and walk on tread to help with glycogen replenishment.

And now 3 waffles with some good honey...

3 easy miles at the ridge...Deer Park loop. Pace 8:45 and then for good measure a .5 mile walk.

Was supposed to do a tempo run today but with Pouring Rain decided to just do a tread run.

3 minutes walking then 10 minutes easy then 3 miles @ 8:00, 7:53, 7:47 and then another 10 minutes easy and 3 minutes walking. Garage was super warm and I was sweating like crazy.

Finished up with some mozzarella cheese and some apple juice. Stretched and feeling good. 3 more easy miles tomorrow and then Saturday here we come!

No time to run so 2 days off before the marathon...I'm good with that! Rest it up and get to bed by 9-9:30ish.

OK. Here we go… Newport Oregon Marathon Forecast all week is for rain and wind and a big storm on Friday. Mark(my running buddy) and I leave Snoqualmie at a little after 10 a.m. with some rain and drizzle. We saw some more rain on the way down, but when we get to the Newport area it’s a beautiful day…what happened to the severe weather alert people?

Mark called Dave, his buddy from the Mt. Si running club and we went down to check in and get our #’s etc. at race HQ. Hung out and chatted with Dave and his wife for a bit. This guy is 48 but looks to me like he’s about 35. Dude is in good shape! We gleaned some nuggets of wisdom chatting with him. Cool couple…his wife was looking to BQ here or in Chicago in the fall.(one of his nuggets was to run a marathon in the fall to BQ, he says it’s always cooler)

Then got a call from Snoqualmie and set up a time and place to meet for dinner. We met Carolyn in Colorado there for dinner too. My favorite part of the weekend was hanging out and meeting these cool runners(and families) and hearing their stories etc. Had a great time at dinner just talking and listening. Super nice people!

Dinner was so good…they had sourdough bread(lots of it) and Snoqualmie’s daughter and I pretty much had a contest to see who could eat the most. I ordered the seafood pasta and when the plate came I thought for sure I couldn’t finish it but it was soooo good that I did…maybe just a touch too much but was glad during the race that I had really loaded up.

Then off to bed and an OK sleep but I was a little anxious. Woke up a few times and it was a little hard going back to sleep. Woke up  at 5:12 and pounded a power bar and a bottle of water. Then went back to snoozing until 6, then showered to get a good wakeup. About 12 ounces of OJ just before leaving for the start line. About 6:30 we walked down to the starting area and met CiC and Sno on the way. It was a nice morning! No clouds or wind that I could detect…that meant heat later on…let’s get this race started before it gets too hot!!

Mark and I have been running races together for a few years and I’ve never beat that guy! Even though he 5 years older than me he is just a tough dude. Last year at this marathon we were together until the last mile and he powered up the hill and I finished about a minute behind him. We had talked on the way that it might be a decent race between us this year. We were both feeling confident that we could BQ. He finished about 1.5 minutes out of a BQ last year. The plan was to run together until 20 and then it was a free for all to see who wins. It’s nice to run with him as we are pretty close to the same level of runners. We help push each other to be better. We envisioned a sprint at the end to see who would win the crown.

We were both doing very well (low 7:50's pace)until about mile 17 where he kind of dropped back behind. He did the same thing last year but then caught and passed me. This time he just didn’t have it. I really didn’t look back as I figured he was at least pretty close. Finally about mile 20 I look back and no Mark so I’m on my own for the last 10 K…feeling OK but not great. The lap pace was harder to hold and I was starting to breathe much heavier with the heat and the wind(it wasn’t terrible but after 20 miles it seems super bad).

The first 18 miles  I was in a zone that was not easy but it wasn't too tough either. It reminded me of my son Carter who is so solid and steady. He never gets too up or too down.

Mile 17 was a 7:53, 18 was 7:55, 19 was 8:03, 20 was 8:08 and I was at 2 hours and 37 minutes so I figured I had the BQ in the bag(my avg. pace was in the low 7:50’s and I only needed to avg. 8 pace to get in, easy peasy I thought to myself…then the second half of the race began…it got hard!!

Hard to motivate myself to do this…was it really worth busting my butt to get a BQ? Then I began thinking about my wife who allows me to go running and she get’s stuck watching the kids while I’m out there. I had promised her a trip to Boston…I wasn’t sure that I could deliver after having gone 22 or 23 miles.

I did find a mantra and just started using it anytime my thoughts got negative…my 4 favorite girls in the world. Heidi, Tori, Amanda, Nova over and over and just thought about each of them and how lucky I am to have such a wonderful family. I HAD to qualify so I could treat my wife to a trip to Boston. I figured that I could hold an 8 minute pace but it just wasn’t there for me.

Mile 21 was 8:16, 22 was 8:16, 23 was 8:32, 24 was 8:34 and 25 was 8:47 and my overall pace was @ 8:01 pace….what the heck? It was time to dig deep…now I had to make up time! These were tough miles that didn’t seem to end.

16 hard training weeks(actually 15 since the last week was so easy) and I might miss BQing by a few seconds…NO WAY!

This is why I ran the parkway hill after my long runs. This is why I ran the hills at the ridge and looked for more hills. What I thought was going to be killer turned out easier than the previous 3 miles...running that hill felt good! It was 8:16 pace. At the top of it I was a bit winded but then Dave was there telling me that I had .2 miles to go and I needed to do it in less than a minute. Can’t remember his exact words but it was something like Put the hammer down! Gave it everything I had left(which wasn’t much) and sort of sprinted to the finish. There is a pretty sharp turn just before the finish line that was kind of hard to make and then I heard the announcer say my name and it was over…volunteers helped me through the chute and gave me my hand blown glass medal.

My garmin shows a 7:48 pace on the last .2 miles and a fastest time at 5:42 during it so I really was cooking down that hill. Then I walked a bit to catch my breath and finally went and got some watermelon and oranges to get some nourishment. Man was I starved. I had forgotten to turn off my garmin even though I had thought of it just before the finish line…but was very happy to see that when I did turn it off less than a minute after, it still read, Race time 3:30 so I knew that I had qualified for Boston! Sweet! But so hard….I sure learned a lot about myself.

I was about to faint so I got a chair and parked it right by the finish line so I could see the rest of our group come in. I was right out in the sun and I just about fell over a couple times…I had to ask a volunteer to go get me some more fruit because I didn’t trust myself standing up.

Carolyn in Colorado came in next and was looking like I had felt when I arrived so I helped her get situated and she told me she had passed Mark at about mile 23 and he had told her that the wheels had come off. Mark came in a few minutes under 4 hours and he was not looking all that good. We got him situated and then I saw Snoqualmie’s husband and daughter and they told me she had let them know she was nauseous out there. Now we started worrying about her. Sheree, Dave’s wife came in @ 4:07ish I think and then Snoqualmie. She really hung in there on a day that was not ideal for her. In fact an older man passed Mark toward the end and said to him…there will be other days. It was kind of fun for me to listen to everyone's stories about the race. We each had our own story and I think we all learned something new from this marathon.

Snoqualmie’s family and Carolyn took off back to their hotel and we were planning on walking the mile and a half back to ours but I was very concerned about Mark’s hamstring issues. Sno’s husband volunteered to come back and get us…what a sweetheart of a guy! Mark owes him and is going to be his personal trainer now for crossfit. :-)

I had completely forgotten how hard the last 6.2 miles of a marathon is…I was not fully prepared for  how hard it was but was able to do something I didn’t really want to do…and now feel I can do just about anything after that!

Mark and I left for home and got stuck on I-5 in Portland for an hour and a half on the freeway! That stunk!!! However we did find a great pizza place at the first exit in Vancouver and had a giant calzone, our preferred meal after a marathon. We finally got to my place at 8:30 pm….that was one long day!

Another buddy of mine Nick, left a big chilled bottle of A & W root beer for when I got home and I enjoyed a Root Beer float. Several people texted me to see how I did and were very kind to congratulate me on the BQ.

Next stop Boston Marathon and then it might be a while until the next one after that. A bonus to all this is that my daughter is running consistently…she recently ran an 8K and is targeting a half in October…running is certainly not my favorite thing in life but it has taught me many things…most importantly how lucky I am to have such a wonderful family and awesome friends.

Splits: 7:50, 7:41, 7:47, 7:38, 7:59, 7:48, 8:00, 7:53, 7:52, 7:43, 7:52, 8:03, 7:50, 7:54, 7:55, 7:53, 7:53, 7:55, 8:03, 8:08, 8:16, 8:16, 8:32, 8:34, 8:47, 8:16, 7:48(last .2 but this is not totally accurate as it was turned off late)

First run since the marathon a week ago...just thought I would give my body a break and it felt good but it was nice to get out and run too. 8:50 pace overall.

Later in the day we played some whiffle ball at a nearby park with friends and then had a get together with pulled pork and some pit beef sandwiches....$$

Will start doing more easy runs this week.

Softball doubleheader...

We won both games...

Not sure how much running but it was fun!

Sweet morning for a run. 50 degrees and overcast...very slight wind but not much and a tiny sprinkle here and there.

It's been a while since I've run so decided to hit it hard as the body felt good after a nice night of sleep. Ran Deer Park loop and then when I got back to the parkway went up hard. Boy did that feel good! 

Overall pace: 8:16

Splits: 8:17, 8:20, 8:31, 7:51, 8:21

I'm going to go to the fall city days fun run to see a friend run the 5K with his son...it should be a fun race to see who wins.

Talk about perfect weather for running. Overcast and 56 degrees.

Went to Fall City for the Fun run...I didn't run it but was there to watch friends. DaveL killed his previous PR by a minute I think...Mark beat his by almost a minute. Sean and Sommer did quite well too. Saw a lot of other friends there and was a little sad that I didn't run but after last year I wanted to be super careful this year. 

A friend and his son (he's 40 and his son is 18) were betting as to who would win the race. Dad lost the race and $100.

When I got home went out for an easy run. Moderate hills. Walked for about .4 mile as I had misjudged the distance.

Splits: 8:22, 8:39, 8:25, 8:46, 8:18    overall pace was 8:30

Softball again...no idea how much running but we got spanked the first game and lost respectably in the second game. We gave up 15 runs in the first inning of the first game and then only one more run the rest of the game.

Will run Wed. and Thursday and Saturday this week. All 5 milers

Got out at 6 am on the nose this a.m. and the weather was EXCELLENT for a run. 57 degrees and semi cloudy. No wind at all really.

Did sort of a different route today...went around town then to industrial loop and then up the Parkway and finally back home.

Tried to keep it easy as my legs are beat up a bit from softball on Monday evening plus 2 of the last 3 nights I haven't gotten much sleep. Picked up a friend at the airport at 1:00 am and the other night went to visit a friend at childrens hospital another night.

I pushed it just a bit up the hill to get a good workout.

Splits: 8:48, 8:56, 9:00, 8:13, 8:33

Overall pace 8:41

The legs were not feeling hills today so ran the tread...even though it was a perfect day for a run. Will run tomorrow on the SVT for some flat and soft.

Felt good...used the HR moniter today just to see where I am and it wasn't pretty...got up to 148 at the top.

Ran 5 minutes without shoes at the end.

Felt much better today so ran here at the parkway instead of going down to SVT. Easy 5 with very small hills involved. I figured I would just run easy and see how slow it was...surprisingly ended with an 8:41 pace.

 Great weather...overcast and 55 degrees...a little wind but not bad at all.

As I was running in the same area where I was bit by a dog a while back I saw the same couple with the same 2 dogs...I had to hold my tongue so as not to say anything rude to them and was happy to see that they took the dogs way off the sidewalk and into the weeds when they saw me. I figure that they probably felt bad enough that one of their dogs bit someone...

Next week 4 days of running.

Was planning on running but got busy with other stuff. Evening softball games...ugly! We were winning 15-4 and ended up tying the game @ 19 because both our pitchers couldn't get the ball over the plate...got pounded in the second game.

 Left ankle is a little bit unhappy with the running around the bases etc.Hope the discomfort goes away quickly.

Power hike up Mt. Si this evening with nephew and his bro. in law. About 3700 ft vertical in those 4 miles up...

Great workout with a small backpack on...sweating like crazy on the way up.

We met a guy about halfway who said the the hike was "tough" then he paused and said "but well worth it". Love that saying!

Power hike up and easy jog down with last .5 sort of faster.

Easy tread run to loosen up the legs a bit after that hike on Wed. evening. Some sore muscles.

Looking for a better morning tomorrow hopefully and will go 8-10 with some MP miles in there since it's been a month from the marathon. Body feeling really good now and I will pick up the miles a bit.

Softball doubleheader...didn't do a ton of running due to my poor hitting. Did get a little speedwork in running the bases though a few times.

I ended up not running at all this weekend...Nothing but eating and hanging out with friends and family...boy did I feel good that first mile today...just felt like I was flying! Sunshine and a light breeze...didn't start the run until about 9:20 in the morning... this weather is about as good as it gets...don't you think so C.K.? :-)

Haven't done any speedwork for a long time so today was hill day. Ran industrial area and deer park and then some speed hill work on the parkway. About .75 to .8 miles of which is up and some of it very steep. Now I remember why I don't really like speedwork...pain and discomfort. Glad it's over. I have got to get ready for some ragnar now.

Here are splits:

8:17, 9:03, 8:42, 7:52(this was the hill mile), 8:18    overall pace at 8:26

Boy have I been slacking off...2 runs this week is all. It sure is easy to run when your gas tank feels full! 

Was planning to hike 4 miles with a friend and our 5 year old daughters late morning so figured to count that in as part of my run...however we only went about a mile. Played tennis in the afternoon for about 45 minutes and will count that as another mile.

Easy run this a.m. @ 8 o'clock temp was 68 and when I returned it was 78. Just a very easy run at the ridge with plenty of hills thrown in. Did a couple of the miles at 8:26 pace. Overall pace @ 8:40 I think.

I better put some more mileage in the tank for Ragnar in 2 weeks. Absolutely perfect weather today! High 70's and breezy...

Softball, 2 games and plenty of running...too bad we lost both games. It's just softball but people can lose their heads sometimes...umpire was pretty bad though.

Ragnar is here already next week! Yikes!!

Wow! A whole week without a run...that's not good, especially since Ragnar is next week.

5 hours of sleep lately is just killing me and some training in the mornings is taking it's toll.

Run was a little at the ridge then down the big hill to Riverside(view) park for water...then back. Thomas the Tank is in town(I think). There were a lot of people down by the railroad area and a lot of kids. Running by the old trains I noticed 3 older gentlemen with painting easels...each was painting one of the old rail cars and they were doing a great job. When I came back to where they were they really had put a lot of detail...they may be doing it for the museum or for Snoqualmie's railroad days festival in mid August.

Run was pretty easy except for the coming back up the hill part. Overall pace 8:46

Splits: 8:30,8:27, 8:15, 8:24, 8:37, 9:07, 9:21, 9:18, 8:58

5 easy miles...58 degrees at 9:15 a.m., crazy weather! But I love it for running!!

Moderate hills and moderate intensity. Will get some speed work in tonight at the softball games. A little stiff in the legs to start off but not too bad at all. Felt really good and pace was pretty quick(for me) but felt easy.

Overall pace: 8:29

Splits: 8:42, 8:32, 8:22, 8:26, 8:22

Another run Wednesday and another set of softball games on Wednesday and then Friday is Ragnar!

A little sluggish this a.m. from not much sleep with the warmer weather and eating probably too late. Pretty slow start and run for me. Got out a bit before 8 and the sun was already getting pretty warm and it felt good. 

Wanted to keep this run reasonably easy with Ragnar on Friday.

Speedwork at softball game tonight if the other team actually shows up this time...

Splits: 9:03, 8:36, 9:00, 8:56, 8:42

Overall pace: 8:51

 Thursday evening we had a pasta dinner together to go over details etc., with most of the runners. We were missing 2 of ours due to1 being out of town(Nick) and the other being barely recruited(Sommer’s dad Dale). We had to rearrange our legs to accommodate Nick as he was out of town for the guys first leg.

The ladies started the race at 10:30 a.m. and had their longest portion in the first series so the guys didn’t start running until 4 ish. We haven’t had much heat around here so the temp got to us a bit. Mark ran the first leg and then I took second…Tim was third and then I took another short leg…both of which I hit at about a 7:30 pace…I went out a little fast and had to slow it down a bit.

Then the fun began…our next runner has run hood to coast quite a bit and he was really looking forward to running this with us. He may have been a little overanxious though…he started hard and passed several people and then hit the hill on his route…it was still pretty warm. Upon seeing him come to the top of the hill he was staggering a bit. We made him sit on the back of the van to collect his breathe…but he didn’t want to stay long…he was off again and we were a little concerned about him. We hustled to the next exchange to meet up with Dale as he had to work and this would be our first contact with him. Mark and Tim dropped me off to help get Dale ready and they headed back to check up on Dan. As they drove they saw him about a mile from the exchange and he was wobbly. Before they could get to him he toppled down a hill into a barbed wire fence. Tim jumped out and went down and got him off the fencing and held him off…Mark was stuck as there was no where to park and he couldn’t find the hazard clickers. He just parked it and went down the hill to help Tim get Dan back up. Mark went ahead and finished the leg and poor Dan was pale and sweating like crazy for quite sometime sitting in the front seat with AC full blast…too much heat!

After some rest Dan got back to being himself and was able to run his other slots/legs and finish on a positive note.

We headed to the hotel and Mark and I hit the hot tub to relax the legs…worked great! Then while Dale and Dan slept, we went and got some pizza, we were pretty hungry after all that. Later Mark would say that he’d had one piece of pizza too many.

My next leg was a 4.8 with hills here there and everywhere it seemed. It was also in the dark and there were few lights anywhere except of the support cars. Thankfully the moon was out and almost full. When the guys were done we headed back to the hotel and we all conked out for about 1-1.5 hours. Boy that felt good! We had to head out a little early as our next leg started quite a ways from the hotel. Mark and I both had 6.3 on the next legs so I challenged him to see who could be the fastest… He ran his in 48 minutes(I came in at 49, Dang!) and then I started mine… first check of the watch showed a 7:45 pace which would get me close to his time but I knew there were hills ahead and didn’t want to die on them so backed off to 8 min. pace for the first 1.5 miles. Then the hills(from 1.5 to 4) started and there was a pretty long one…pace got down to 8:30 and discouragement was starting to set in. I kept going and finally got to where there was a very steep up and then the hills where reasonable and I was  able to crank the pace back up and got it down to 8:15 and then finally to 8 and then finally crested the hill(didn’t feel like there was much downhill) at a little past the 4 mile mark. This leg was a non-support leg and so there were 2 water stations, the first at 2.8 and the book said 5.8…what a great feeling to see the 2^nd one at 4.8 which was perfect for me…at both I drank a cup and poured another on my head to cool off. Picked the pace up as much as I felt comfortable with and just tried catching the guy ahead of me. Finally at 5.8 caught him and passed…he showed signs of life so I kicked into gear to give him no reason to even try…he slowed back down. Then once I turned the corner I saw another guy way down there and decided that since this is my last leg…what the heck…I put the burners on…this part was downhill. Caught the guy with about 20 yards to the finish line…my pace on the last .3 was 4.58…didn’t know I had it in me.

That was such a good feeling to know that I’d given it all I had and finished strong. Dale finished up our race and we ran in with him…poor guy had a bad back and blisters on his feet but he never complained…he just hit it hard and was apologetic that he didn’t do better at the end…he was only a minute off his predicted time and had to run in the heat and some hills.

We had a really fun team! The girls rocked their legs and we hit ours pretty close. After all of that we ended up being only 1 minute off what Sommer had predicted for our finish!

Then it was time for pictures, etc. Our team name was “No charge for Awesomeness or Attractiveness” from the movie Kung Fu Panda. We had hoodies made and put them on in the heat to get pics.

I was happy with my runs for the most part. I had a lot of roadkill too. I don’t remember exacty how many on the first thru third legs but I got 10 on that last leg and was only passed by one young punk.

Good Times and challenging…now time to take a little break again…legs feel pretty good. Not sure if I will run Torchlight on Sat. evening or not…we’ll see.

Pics will be posted on facebook page.

Just had to get a run in today...perfect weather...9:15 and it's 60 degrees. Nice cool breeze too.

Moderate hills but didn't push anything...ankles were a bit stiff but that went away pretty quickly.

Still not sure if I'm running Torchlight on Sat. evening...we'll see.

Got the idea to run a decently hard run this a.m. and thought I would tackle the whole enchilada of the Snoqualmie Parkway from bottom to top.

Started out going down thru industrial area to add some mileage, then down the hill and finally back up to industrial and then up the final hill. Wasn't really enjoying the final hill but pushed thru with decent pace. Finished relatively strong and then walked .25ish miles home.

Avg. Pace 8:44

Really slow run...not sure why it felt that way....possibly because a quarter of the run was on hilly trails. Felt good to get out...need to do speed work soon....not looking forward to that!

Overall pace 8:55

A wedding, A funeral and family over plus I just haven't been motivated lately to run...Ran the 1K at the Railroad days fest with my 6 year old...she did great! Then I ran home up the parkway...felt good to get a run in. No idea on pace as I didn't take the garmin.

Will get back into it now...

OK...back on the wagon after 2 weeks of no running...felt good to get some miles in.

Deer Park Loop for an easy run...not too many hills. Couldn't find my Garmin and didn't want to wake everyone up looking for it. Perfect weather at about 55 degrees and partly cloudy.

Plan is to be back in to it on a regular basis again. Will look to run 3-4 times a week and maybe even 5 at times.

Nice day for a run. Overcast and about 53 degrees. Got out a bit after 9 and really enjoyed the run. Not much traffic which is always nice since I prefer to run on the road. 

Felt really good even though my avg. pace overall was just 9:00 minute pace, I know it will get quicker as I get back into it.

Easy run @ 8:15 with kids headed to school. Just went out and ran going a lot different route than normal...as always...plenty of hills around. 

9 min. pace on the money.

Perfect running weather lately...54 and overcast. Run around the ridge with plenty of hills. Felt really good!

8:42 pace overall...will try to get 4 runs in next week.

2 miles tread and 20 minutes on elliptical

2 miles tread and 20 minutes elliptical

25 minutes on tread and 20 more on elliptical.

2 days in a row! Legs feeling good still.

30 minutes treadmill and another 20 on elliptical. Was planning on 25 minutes running but then a couple good songs came on(Boston and America). Had to listen to them and finish up. Tomorrow is the turkey trot here at the ridge. Heidi is volunteering and Amanda is running the kiddie 1K and I'm taking care of baby.

Ran the 1K turkey trot with my 6 year old daughter and had a great time...she had to push a bit to keep up with me but never complained at all.

30 minute treadmill run

Treadmill. 15 minutes warmup...10 minute tempo... 10 minute cooldown and done

30 minutes tread and 15 minutes on elliptical

40 minutes treadmill and 20 minutes elliptical

35 minutes on tread...then was going to do some elliptical but got distracted with the snow...

*Later did 20 minutes elliptical