Go Long!

Can't remember. Bluff Trail. Felt good.

Ran the south end of the Bluff Trail from the golf course. Hit the long roads in the country. Stashed OJ and chocolate milk for the last half of the run.

Started near the golf course on the Bluff Trail and ran west as far as I could, north to the start of the trail, south past the new fire station and then through the Glen Eagle community to my car. Had a good run with some decent speed (7-8 mpm), sustained over several miles. Good run. 

Didn't run. Helped Jeff with job applications (law firms) and visited Dad for his birthday. Bummer.

I ran about 20 miles on the Jordan River Parkway, starting about 12:30. I don't have exact totals because the battery on my Garmin was low. I started in the middle and ran each direction (5 miles) twice, using my car as a permanent aid station. It worked out well. I finished just after 3:00 so I probably ran 9-10 minute miles... maybe a little faster.

I felt good today, no effects from Saturday's run, so  I decided to try 10 miles, hoping to get 10 everyday this week with something a little longer on Saturday. It snowed like crazy today so I wasn't eager to get out and get my feet wet, but going west into Hooper on 2400 in the afternoon wasn't bad. I struggled with the run, however. My pace with stops (and there were plenty) was about 10 mm. We'll see how I feel tomorrow, but I really think my problem was the burrito and beans I ate for lunch, not my training. I had a lot going on down there as I ran. I'm tired tonight. 

Ran north and then south from the 3 way stop on Bluff Road. Felt better today than yesterday. It was cold (32F) so I wore 2 tights, 2 hats, 2 gloves and 3 tops. I see runners out there in shorts in this weather, but I think they're nuts. Maybe their sweat evaporates faster than mine... I'm still bothered by that. Anyway, 10 felt better today than it did yesterday, but I'm still a little tired. I'll see how I improve tomorrow. I think it's starting to set in.

 Pace was between 8:30 and 10:00. Took some walk rests, for which I won't apologize. finished the course (with stops) in less than 1:40. 

Ran the south half of the Bluff Trail in falling snow. Although it didn't feel that way, my pace was slow. I wondered about running because I feel a strain in the back of my right knee. I think I pulled it a little when I stretched after my run yesterday. That should have taught me a lesson.

I ran easier today than yesterday. I think I'm finally recovering from Saturday's long run. I'll see how I feel tomorrow. 

I did a little wandering today through the Wild Horse Springs and Wheatfield subdivisions. I'm amazed at how many houses are for sale (maybe 30%). Now all I need to do is figure out how to get them all on option. I'll think about it. I had a hard time tracking my run because I forgot to turn off my Garmin several times as I looked at houses and I forgot to turn it back on for what I think was probably 2 1/2 miles. I don't know, so I just logged a conservative 9.4. It could have been 10 or even a little more. 

Right hamstring is a little sore. Blisters on several toes. One black toe nail, another pink. About 30F today, but it got warmer late in my run. I spent 2 hours wandering, but when I checked my watch most of the time my pace was between 8:30 and 10:00, usually right around 9:00. Lost some time looking at houses, but it was a good way to "kill two birds." 

Ran from the middle of the north Bluff Trail north and back to the car for a banana and PowerAde, then ran south to the turnabout and back to the car. Luckily I found my carton of chocolate milk from my run two days ago, still in the snow where I left it near the turn around. That 4 oz of icy chocolate milk probably saved my life. I've run five 10's in a row, but none of them have been comfortable. Typically the first couple of miles are tough, then it starts to flow from miles 4 - 6. Mile seven gets tough again, then it starts to feel good and I can usually bring it in. There's also a little bump at 8.5. Yesterday that bump never went away. Today I felt I finished strong. Speed fluctuated between 9 and 10 mpm until I pushed it to 8 at the end. I was just trying to go an easy pace, but you can't help being influenced by the music sometimes. I listened to my iPod about half of the time. The rest of the time I tried to listen to my footfalls, think about my cadence and concentrate on not over striding.

The pain in the back of my knee has spread to the top of my calf and to my achilles tendon. It doesn't hurt after I warm up, but I'm a little concerned. I had a similar pain during basketball in the fall. I thought about taking time off to baby it, but then decided I wouldn't until it really got bad and it never did. It just slowly went away. I hope this does. I may have increased my mileage too abruptly. I feel like I'm just on the edge of an injury. If I can keep going a few more weeks, I'm pretty sure I'll recover and my training will "set in."

I'm scheduled to do a long run with Dr. Shaw in Salt Lake in the morning. If it's snowing like crazy, she doesn't want to run... so we'll see how that goes. 

It snowed like crazy here and in Salt Lake, so Dr. Shaw decided not to run. Since it is our anniversary and Valentine's Day, I made breakfast for Dalene and later took her to Maddox for lunch. We did bunches of errands and then decided (almost) to visit the kids in Pocatello. At the last minute, we decided not to go, so I put on my duds and went for a run. By then it was 5:30 and I ran mostly in the dark. My right achilles, calf and hamstring are sore, probably worse than yesterday, but I decided to stick it out and try to run through it. I don't know what's best. Anyway, since I couldn't see my Garmin in the dark I ran what I thought was close to 10 miles. When I got in the house and checked my GPS it was only 8.2. Oh, well! Dalene was already worried about my running in the dark so I just let it go. I think I'm feeling better. We'll see what a day of rest does for me when I start back up on Monday.

President's Day. Dalene did not work. While she went to bfast with her friend, Melba, I took off west on 1800, crossing to the south to the start of the Bluff Trail. When I got there, I discovered it had not been cleared of snow, so I zig zagged through the neighborhoods to get 10 miles. It was cold to start but warmed up considerably. Only looked at my watch once as I wanted this to truly be an "easy run." Looks like most of my miles were in the 9:30 range. Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever speed up, but I've decided just to get the miles in for one more month. I'll start working on speed in March, after I've had two months of 60+ consistent miles.

In the meantime, the pain in my right leg has settled in the back of my ankle. The achilles feels okay, but the tissue surrounding it are swollen and soar to the touch. It hurts a little when I run, but doesn't seem to be holding me back. No shooting pains, just a dull, lingering ache like a pulled muscle or a sprain. Weird. 

No miles. Ouch! Dalene was home because she had a comp day from SEP's. It snowed like crazy, in fact it never stopped and I ended up spending the day on family stuff including going to the temple and dinner. I hoped to get out late last night but finally decided not to share the road (what little of it was clear) with traffic. I can't make up for it, but I'll double up a couple of days and hopefully get in 60 by the end of the week. I know, I know, no excuses. But a dog really did eat my homework!

So at the suggestion of Care in Co, I'm sitting on the couch with my right achilles resting on a bag of frozen beans. The pain surrounding the tendon isn't so great that it's keeping me from running and my range of motion seems to be the same as in my left leg, so I'm just going to run on and see what happens. I'll try icing it as well for a couple of days (thanks Carolyn).

I ran ten miles on a loop into Hooper. At four different times I ran into people walking their dogs. They all wanted to talk and I actually had a good time with that, even though it slowed me down a little. One lady was from Spain and moved out in the country to get away from everybody. We started to talk because her Jack Terrier wanted to run with me so I had to pick it up and take it back to her. Now she wants to move because somebody's building a house a quarter of a mile away. "Too close!" Maybe she'll sell me her house.

Anyway, the run was pleasant. It was a beautiful day. I'll try to get 3 more miles in later today. 

I ran an additional 3.6 miles this afternoon. It was pretty easy to run at a 9mm pace for that short distance, although I seem to have some phantom (hopefully) pains in my legs and feet. The achilles is a little sore. 

I hoped to run twice today, but went to the temple with Jeff prior to his taking the bar next Tuesday and Wednesday. Didn't have time for an afternoon run, but it was all worth it. 

Between runs yesterday, I felt that familiar burning under my 4th met on my left food. I'd hoped my steroid shot had taken care of that. It wasn't too uncomfortable in my second run. I didn't wear a spacer, but the run was only 3 1/2 miles. Today I used a smaller spacer (tissue) and felt quite a bit of pain between miles 4 and 8. Then it just went away! I can't figure it out. But I'm glad the pain is gone. I'll see how things go tomorrow.

I didn't time most of my miles today, but the pace felt slow. I picked it up a little and ran the last mile or so at an 8:30 pace. I hope things change, but for now 10 miles just take so long! Sometimes I wonder if I have the patience to keep this up. Yeah, I guess I do.

In spite of ice, I still have swelling in my right achilles. It seems to be getting better, though. I also have a slight strain in my right hamstring. Sheesh! I'm starting to sound like an old man.

Everybody says, "Listen to your body," but I think that's a bad idea. Mine keeps saying, "Stay on the couch." I'll never hit 100 miles doing that. 

This was a beautiful day for a run! I drove down to the Farmington Ranches area and ran through the neighborhoods. That's is where I want to live. I'll find a house there before the end of the summer, unless fate actually puts me somewhere else. Funny, I was running back to my car and saw Targhee's parked in front of a Destination Model Home. So I stopped to talk. Since they downsized, he's working out of the model (great office, I think) in order to "kill two birds with one stone." The cool thing about the recession is everybody is doing some needed tightening up. I could buy the model and lease it back to Destination for 6-8 months (long enough to sell my house) but it's kind of big. It also doesn't have a park in the front yard... But I digress.

I ran in my 5 Fingers, which I love. I did, however, develop a sore on the outside of my right foot, where the strap comes over the top. I changed into running shoes at mile 8, when I made it back to my car, and ran a few more miles. My trainers felt like high heeled shoes (at least that's what I think high heeled shoes feel like) and put a lot of pressure on my toes. Now I know why most runners are heel strikers! Yikes! I've got to rethink this shoe issue. My high heeled trainers did make my calves look sexy, though. Well, at least I think so.

 Tight  hamstring in my right leg loosened up after about a quarter of a mile. Still have inflammation in my achilles but  it, too, doesn't seem to be a problem once I get started. I guess I'll just keep running. Tomorrow I run w/ Dr. Shaw on the JRP in Salt Lake. That will  be fun. We'll talk about mitochondria and the metabolism of fat. Hmm.  

Another beautiful day! Today I ran the old Clydzz 10 mile route on the JRT with Dr. Shaw. We talked the whole time, although she did most of the talking at first because my mouth nearly froze off. It warmed up quickly, however. It was a 2 shirt, 1 tight day, although Janet wore shorts, no tights. I guess they're just tougher in Salt Lake. Have I said before how much I hate being cold? 

Anyway, 10.2 miles at about a 9:30 clip. Not fast but not really slow. We passed a bunch of runners and never got passed. Plus we kept up a lively conversation the entire way. It's been two years since we have run together, so there was a lot to say.

We'll run with her brother's boyfriend next week. Yeah, you read that right. That should be an interesting experience. He'll be here from Florida to go to cheese making school with Mark at USU. I'm telling you it's 10 times more interesting to run with somebody than it ever could be listening to the same old tracks on the iPod.  

I may get a few more miles later, but I'm inclined to call it a day and settle a few miles short of 60 this week. All in all, not a bad week. 

I ran my 10 miles in two "laps" today. I went out to see a property in West Weber, but got stood up by the realtor. While I was there I ran five miles. But then I had to take a couple of phone calls and didn't get back to my run until after I got home. So my first run was at 2:30 and my second at 5:00. I ran the first five at an average speed. The second five was much faster. I think it was because I knew I only had to go five. Didn't feel any ill effects from Saturday's run. We'll see how I feel tomorrow, because I kind of pushed it today. I've got to be patient and take it easy so consistent mileage has a chance to set in.

It's another beautiful day. I almost wore shorts, but I hate being cold... so one more day in tights. Mine are fading to grey and I have a nice tan line-- literally. My ankles are tan between the spot where my socks stop and my tights start. So I'm tan on 1" of my legs and in a circular pattern on my face. I run with a skull cap that I just love, but it covers my head and causes the weird tan line on my face. Oh well, runners, especially those who are in their 50's shouldn't worry about such things. Should we?

I felt great when I started today but ran out of steam by mile five. Maybe my second, faster run yesterday took more out of me than I thought. Averaged 10 minute miles. Right hamstring was sore to start and again at the end. Achilles seems to be getting better.

Funny thing, I decided to break out a new pair of Under Armor socks today. They're actually from the same package as the ones I wore yesterday, but not used (or washed yet). I wear toe socks most of the time, but every once in a while I put on conventional socks just so my toes can talk to their friends. Bad idea, I guess. I now have blisters on the end of almost every one of toes. "Tell your friends about that, Guys!"

I guess I learned my lesson: you gotta keep 'em separated. 

I hoped to get another run in later today (maybe 3 miles) but will probably put that off until tomorrow. 

I ran on the south end of the Bluff Trail and then headed out through the subdivisions. This was a mistake because I stopped and looked at several model homes, which meant I made some rest stops I didn't intend to make but maybe needed. It also meant I ran the last half of my run in the dark. I didn't get home until 7:15.  

I also saw the podiatrist today. We decided not to do any other treatments on the neuroma for now. Another injection of cortisone could cause my fat pad to deteriorate and so far I'm doing okay using a toe separator. If it starts to bother me again, we'll look at cyrosurgery. He also looked at the inflammation surrounding my right achilles and thinks it's just bursitis... nothing to worry about, just the result of a lot of use. He thinks it will slowly go away and I probably don't need to cut back on my training. The swelling has gone down a bit in the last couple of weeks.  

I ran in my Five Fingers today. It was about 45 degrees and a bit windy. I ran a loop through Hooper and really enjoyed the fresh country air. It's really "fresh" right now with wet feed yards and ripe silage. Reminded my of the ranch...

I've got a few blisters, but I'm getting them almost every day, so I think that's just going to be part of more miles. Maybe my feet will get used to it.

Even though I ran almost barefoot, it seems like the miles are starting to get a little easier. Maybe it's all starting to sink in. I hope so. 

I ran the north end of the Bluff Trail from the north end without any stops. My goal was to do the entire route in less than 1:40, which I think I did. Actually, I was pressed for time, so when I stopped, my Garmin registered 9.89 miles in 1:37 and I didn't want to run up the road to hit 10... so it's not official, but close. I'm not really working on time, yet, but I do want to increase my speed. I'm being careful not to push it too much so I don't aggravate any of my injuries. So far, so good.  

Planned to run with Dr. Shaw. Had to call and cancel because Jeff came home, we had to move Robbie Gunn, we had a ward employment seminar I needed to attend and I had to fix Jeff's headlights and run errands with him and Dalene. I believe in no excuses. Had I to do it over again, I'd have scheduled the things I could control differently. Anyway, missed my long run and didn't eat as well as I usually do. (I actually ate two donuts at the seminar-- more than I've eaten in over a year.) I think just the thought of those donuts will sustain me on some of my longs runs, though. Dang! I'd like to say they were nasty but they were just good!