4 is better than 2

You gotta love the blank calendar - so fresh and new...  I felt pretty hammered after yesterday's set, moved pretty much like a half dead turtle, but it was good to get out and work some of the junk out.

The goal today was to run 4 x 1 mile at a relatively hard effort.  I was very sluggish on the warm-up and was not sure how I would feel, and the first mile of the set was pretty rough.  I had a hard time finding any rhythm and Taha put time on me on the back side of the park.  First mile was 5:39.  Recovered 2.5 minutes and reversed the course.  The second mile has more climbing and I was a little concerned, but I figured oh well.  By the end of the second mile I felt I had some rhythm and was moving ok.  Mile 2:  5:37.  Took about 3 minutes of easy running then attempted the third mile.  We decided the third mile would be our last because we were feeling a bit tired.  I felt good during the third mile and was comfortable with the effort.  Mile 3:  5:30.  I could have done a fourth, but I feel that may have been a bit too much considering I am planning on running long Saturday.  I feel good about today's set.

Ran Emigration canyon this afternoon.  The run started slow and got better as I climbed, but I was cooked on the way down, my legs were very fatigued by the end.  It was a little frustrating, but the week as a whole was great, and I feel like I have put in some pretty good workouts.

Ran city creek canyon today.  It was a stunning run, what a beautiful day to be out.  Ran pretty easy for the most part, I am a little sore from the past couple of days, quads mainly. 

My quads are really quite sore still.  I knew they would be a little beat up, but this is a bit ridiculous.  I felt a little sluggish getting started, but was moving well toward the middle and the end of the run.  It is the after that I am feeling my quads.  I have a hard workout scheduled tomorrow, I will do it then probably rest a little for the 10 miler.  If I feel the way I do right now, I will have to crawl in.

As I arrived at Sugar House park, I was not real sure how I was going to feel, my legs are still a little sore from the weekend.  During the warm-up I felt ok, a little soreness in the quads, but I felt like I would be able to move okay.  The set was the same as last week - 12x3 minutes with a 90 seconds recovery.  We decided to start a little conservative and work into the set, a good plan.  We ran consistently for the whole set and I felt reasonably comfortable throughout.  I did not want to run so hard today that I would be trashed for Saturday's 10 miler.  I do not have any plans to taper down for the race, but I still want to have a good experience.

Ran easy this morning, I was having some blood sugar issues early on and felt pretty bad.  I stopped at 3.5 and let things settle down, I felt fine on the way in.  It was a beautiful morning - wow!!!

I am battling a cold, and not feeling well.  I was going to go out a bit longer, but my energy levels are quite low.  It was good to get out and move a little.

Still battling the cold, but it did not seem as bad today, just a little low on energy.  I felt pretty good on the run, I started pretty slow, and my heart rate was elevated for the effort, hopefully things will settle down so I can put a good effort in tomorrow.

Based on how I have been feeling the last couple of days, I was happy to be at the start today.  The course was as hard as I thought it would be, and I struggled with the climbs today.  I did feel like I was moving ok on the downhill sections, but lost a lot on the climbing.  I felt very comfortable the first 3 miles, but as the climbs started I just felt sluggish.  Miles 5,6, and 7 pretty much were all suffering, but I recovered a bit and ran decent through 9.  The last hill I struggled huge on, and was just happy to be heading to the finish.  Overall, I am pleased with the effort I gave today and hope that I can put some quality training in over the next couple weeks before the half marathon.  I am impressed with many of the bloggers today, Ted and Paul both had an outstanding day as did most of the others.  Great Job to everyone!!!

I decided today was an ok day to take off.  After a hard day of running yesterday and battling a cold for the last week, I think my body could use a day of rest.  I will resume what should be a good, hard week of training.

I ran 4 easy early this morning, it was pleasant and peaceful.  I really enjoyed the run, cruised from the club and around Mick Riley golf course.  Ran 8 more in the afternoon, I felt pretty good, nothing is really aching from the 10 miler and I felt like I was moving pretty well.  I will see if I can put together a hard session tomorrow.

Started to feel sick last night and woke up this morning with a nasty cold.  I just can't seem to shake this stuff.  By the afternoon I was feeling quite a bit better and thought a little movement would do me good.  I felt ok on the run, just a little weak.  Hopefully tomorrow I will feel better.  I will not plan another hard session until Thursday.

I was feeling a bit better today, still a little stuffy, but a major improvement over yesterday.  Ran the Jordan River Parkway.  Overall the run felt ok, and I ran pretty well, it was an amazingly beautiful day to run.

Met at Sugar House park to run mile repeats.  The plan was to do 4, maybe 5 if we felt good, but I have been ill so I figured I would be good to do 4.  The goal was to run conservative for the first couple and just hang on for the last two.  The first mile felt good, comfortable 5:33, the second mile was the uphill mile, but again I felt ok - 5:37.  The third mile was also ok, I was just a little tired 5:30.  The fourth mile I was just tired and wanted to be done, ran pretty easy for the first part but could not make up any time in the second half, I was very tired up the last little climb to the finish - 5:44. Recovery time between reps was 2.5 minutes.  For being a little under the weather, I felt the workout was a good set, I want these to get faster, but I guess I am where I am right now.

Ran 4 miles in the morning at a nice easy pace - forgot my watch so it was just nice to go out and cruise easy.

5 miles in the evening up City Creek, again just a cruiser.  Wanted a couple easy workouts before I attempt a 5k Saturday. 

Ran the  Leprechaun Lope this morning at the capital.  I was not sure how I would feel, but I figured I would at least give a hard effort.  I warmed up almost 3 miles and my legs felt a little heavy, probably from the miles on Thursday.  The race starts with a moderate climb out of the capital and then a gradual climb up to the turn around.  From the turn around it is a fast downhill finish.  I started maybe a bit too conservative and Albert Wint put about 10 seconds on me in the first mile, I gradually lost time to him and another runner throughout the race.  I maintained hope of catching Albert  throughout the race, but it was not to be.  I struggled a bit in the first mile to find any momentum, and finally felt like I was moving well going into the turn around.  I felt I ran a bit tight on the downhill section into the finish, but I was happy with my last mile.  Overall I felt I put in a good effort and feel like I have lots of room for improvement as the season moves on.

Splits

6:11, 5:40, 5:09 

Could there be a more perfect day for running.  Ventured out to antelope island and ran on the trails for a bit.  It was very fun, and it was beautiful.  I just ran very easy and enjoyed just the joy of movement.

4 miles earlier this morning at mick riley golf course.  It was a nice morning and after getting the sleep out of my legs, I  felt pretty good.  A nice easy run to start the day. 

8 pm:  Ran a bit more aggressively on the afternoon run, I felt pretty good and was moving much more fluid.  I do feel as though I am making progress in regaining some on my lost form and am starting to feel lighter on my feet.  I need to look at doing more mileage, but I will take my progressions slow.

Met at Sugar House park for a set of 12x3 minutes, we entertained thoughts of doing 14 today, but that though quickly disappeared after the first rep.  I felt pretty heavy today, I was not running too bad, just felt like I was fighting it a little bit.  The first 6 reps went ok, but I started to struggle and by the 10th rep I felt I was about done.  I decided I only had 2 left and would gut it out, and they actually did not feel too bad.  We maintained a consisent pace for most of the reps, the middle series was fastest, and the last one was a little slower, but not too much.  I feel good about finishing the set today, I find it to be a difficult set, but I think I will get good benefit out of it.

A nice easy run on the Jordan Parkway.  I felt ok today, maybe a little stiff to start, but I felt quite good at the end of the run.  I look forward to another hard workout tomorrow.

Warmed up 2.5 miles very slow and then planned to do 5x1 mile.  I really think my warm-up was too slow because I just felt completely out of sync on the first mile.  We were slow through the first mile 5:44 and it felt pretty rough.  The second mile was much better and with an uphill net gain I felt much stronger and was able to move smoothly 5:30.  Third mile just did not feel good, I struggled on the small uphill section and pretty much imploded in my head. 5:30.  I decided to call it at that instead of risking a mental break.  Sometimes it is best just to call it a day instead and hope for better days. I cannot complain about the set, it was not what I wanted, but I had a good set Tuesday, and these times are dropping, I will try again next week.

Ran 4 easy this morning, no watch  - nothing.  It was a nice easy fun run.  I even stopped and pet the baby pigs at Wheeler Farm.

8pm - ran city creek canyon.  Felt pretty heavy on the way up - legs were not feeling great, but came down in about 6:45 pace and that was very comfortable and easy.  A good day running. 

Ran with John and Bob this morning.  We started at John's house in Holliday and worked our way up to wasatch and across the bridges.  The first part of the run was very conservative and I felt pretty good.  Once we came by the zoo we were moving a bit faster and I felt pretty good still, I was not sure how I would late in the run, so I just cruised.  I decided once we got to the half pipe on 20th east I would see how I felt and attack the hill.  I felt good and decided I would go ahead and start to push the pace a little faster.  With about 3 miles to go I dropped the pace down to just under 6:00 and ran all the way in.  I felt good about today's effort and the fact that I felt like I had a lot left at the end of the run, it was a good confidence booster.

A nice easy run in Jeremy ranch, it was a beautiful evening for a run.  I felt pretty good, no ill effects from Saturday's effort.

I was short on time today so I did not get too much in.  I did not feel good at all today, very sluggish and tired.  I think I have some dehydration going, I had a very busy day working with no time to drink.

Met at the park for another set of 12x3 minutes.  I was a little more amped for today's set then I was last week.  The wind in the park was a bit ridiculous, but I came to do some work.  The set went by quicker than it has in the past which I think is a good sign.  I felt strong for the majority of  the set and felt as though I could have continued for at least a couple more. Overall, a good day running

The first part of the run was terrible, I could barely move.  My 9:09 first mile was not a good start.  As I got into the run I felt a little better, but at the half way point I realized I was going to be late for work if I did not get a move on.  I ran the last couple miles in about 6:40 pace.  The snow in the eyes was a bit rough, but it was not too cold which made for a nice run.

Met at Sugarhouse park for a set of 4x1 mile with 2:30 recovery.  Based on how I felt Tuesday, I felt like this set would go well, but in the first rep I was feeling flat.  I tried to run comfortable and relax, but I just not able to get going.  5:40.  Mile 2 is back the opposite of mile 1 and has a net uphill gain, again I struggled, but moved a little better. 5:40.  The pace on mile 3 was much faster and I hung on as best I could, I was tired climbing the little hill on the back side of the park, but powered through it 5:25.  I just wanted to survive the fourth and went into cruise mode, I pushed hard in the end to close the gap and came through in 5:40 again.  Overall, I was pleased with the set and I was not trashed in the end, I just struggled to get any momentum.  The third mile offered a glimmer of hope and shows some sign of improvement.

4 miles easy in the morning, felt pretty good, not much to report.

6 miles up city creek in the evening.  A nice run. 

Today's long run was ok, but I did not feel as fluid as I did last week.  We ran the same loop we ran last week, but were a bit faster on the way up through the hills.  I never felt bad during the run, but I also never felt very good.  I attacked the hill on the half pipe again, felt pretty good, and then continued on at about 6:55 pace through most of the rest of the run.  I swear we hit every single stop light on the way back.  I look forward to having a good half next weekend.