Not fast but not fast.

Wow, it's been a long time since I have been here.  Well, I've decided to come back to the blog to keep in better touch with fellow runners and keep motivated.  I have been training for the Pocatello 50 at the end of May.  Two weeks ago I injured my knee on a 27 mile training run.  I was up to over 50 miles per week before the injury which I am hoping is just a minor setback.  Yesterday I was finally able to run 1.75 miles and today I did 2.75 on the treadmill.  My knee is healing better but I definately don't want to push my luck.  I recently began the greatest job on earth- working part-time at a running store!  I know I have a lot to learn but I am so excited to be at Teton Running Company.  I honestly don't know how it can be called work!  I love getting first try at the latest running shoes and products.  I also get to meet great people and runners like Jeff Shadley who came in last week.

Ran outside this morning with the headlamp.  Went 3.76 miles in 27:06 and the knee felt really good for almost the entire run.  Had to slow down for the remaining quarter mile as I could tell it was starting to tingle a little.

Ran 6 miles on the treadmill at the gym this morning in 47:24.  Knee felt really good.  I bought my new Cascadias yesterday and can't wait to hit the trails.  I'll be in Utah next week and plan on using them up Dry Creek.

Ran 12 miles at an 8:30 pace in Highland, Utah with my brother who will be running Boston in a couple of weeks.  This is the furthest I've been able to run since my knee injury.  Thanks to my massage therapist aka wife, it felt really good. 

Easy run around Idaho Falls.  Knee felt good but a little stiff.

Treadmill run since it was suppossed to be really windy this morning-(and actually wasn't.)  Knee was tighter than yesterday.  I think I'll rest it tomorrow and do eliptical or swim. 

20 min of stairs

20 min of eliptical

20 min of bike

Ran 5 miles on the treadmill at an unbelievably fast pace of 10:00/mile.  I did use the incline though at 3% and found that it didn't affect my knee too much.

Also swam for 20 minutes.

Ran with the running group from Teton Running Company.  It was good to run with people for a change as I usually run solo.  The pace was great for my knee although it did start to act up a little around mile 8.  I sure wish it would just get better already! 

Decided to take it easy this week since everytime I increase my mileage too quickly my knee starts bugging me.  Ran 2.83 miles in 22:00 min.  Most likely I'm going to have to drop out of the Pocatello 50 with as little running as I can do right now.  I did sign up for the Moonlight Half Marathon in Mapleton in August.  I don't plan on running the Hobblecreek 1/2 this year after the constant poor race organization year after year.

Ran 2.83 in my new INOV8's which is my first run in more minimalist running shoes.  I really enjoyed the run and felt really good.  The knee didn't bother me at all.  I plan to continue to just take it easy this week and let the knee heal. 

Ran 5 miles on the treadmill this morning in 44:00.  Thank you so much Jeff for the running tips.  I worked on shortening my strike, standing taller, and forefoot strike.  It felt good other than I could feel a blister beginning below my big toe.  I understand that my feet muscles and skin will strengthen over time as they grow accustomed to this running style.

Just took it easy today at the gym and did some spinning and weight lifting.  My calves are sore from changing my running form yesterday.  I think that tells me that its probably working.  Good luck to all the SLC Marathoners!

3.5 miles in 24:00.  Legs felt good but need to work on my breathing with the quicker cadence.

5 miles on the treadmill in 41:20.  Legs felt pretty good but still sore with the form change.

Ran 4.5 miles this morning as slow as possible.

Ran 5 miles outside this morning in 39:40.  Body felt really good.  Calves and quads are still pretty tight and sore.  No knee/ IT band pain at all!  I'm working hard on the new form with the midfoot strike.  I tried to run for a few minutes on heal strike just to see if it would relieve some of the stress on my lower leg muscles and it felt very awkard.  So far, so good!

Woke up and was stunned to see 2 inches of snow and icy roads.  I was still determined to do my run outside so I changed my shoes to trail shoes so I had more traction.  Turned out to be the perfect choice as the roads and sidewalks were crusted ice.  Did 7 miles in 55:00 and felt pretty good.  I'm glad I took yesterday off as my calf muscles definately needed the recovery.

Ran 5 miles outside in 38:00.  Felt great.

Ran 6 miles in 44:16 outside in the light wind and rain.  My calves feel much less tight this week.

Woke up expecting snow and planning on the gym but was surprised to see no snow or wind.  By the time I had changed and was out the door it began to lightly snow and the wind was noticeable.  Ran outside anyway and was glad I did.  Went 8 miles in 58:56 and felt good.  Listened to the book "The Gingerbread Girl" by Stephen King which also kept my heart beating fast.  It was a good run.

Ran 5 miles in 36:49. 

Ran 3.5 miles in 26:16.

Ran 5 miles in 37:00 outside in my new Montrails.  The run was done half on the pavement and half on muddy/snowy trails.  Everything felt really good.  The shoes did feel a little bulkier than my Cascadias but they felt alright.  The form is still going good and I have no IT band pain whatsoever.  Calves are still a little tight but not half as bad as last week.  Biofreeze feels great on them.

Ran the Menan Butte Trail and did the loop four times.  9.27 miles in 1:49:12 with 2,125 feet of elevation gain.  Felt great!

4 miles in 31:00.  Pretty sore and stiff from Saturdays run.

Ran 6 miles on the TM in 47:00.

Ran 10 miles in 1:15:00.

4.33 miles in 33:33.

6 miles in 46:00.

Ran 4 miles on the TM in 34:00 with 400 feet of climb.

Ran 5.33 miles in 39:44.  IT Band aches again.

Ran 6 miles in 45:00.

3.1 miles in 23:00.

Ran the M.A.D. Half Marathon.

Started out way too fast as I was keeping Gray within visual distance.  First mile marker was actually 1.38 on my GPS which was a sign of things to come.  Between miles 3 to 5, I had a side-ache which told me I started out way too fast but it did help me to get my pace to where it should have been.  I still remained in second place with the slower pace.  I was surprised by the rolling hills and strong head wind, but surprisingly felt strong for 13 miles.  At mile 14.2, I knew that the course was really screwed up and then they told me to go an extra 2 miles at the end which about pushed me over the edge.  But I pushed through it and finished the 16 mile "Half Marathon" with an average 7:28 pace.  At the finish I saw people crossing the line in front of me that were half marathers too.  Apparently they didn't have to run the extra 2 miles at the end, so I technically still finished 2nd overall eventhough the race results will not show that.  Oh well, at least I got in a good 16 miles and felt better than I expected.  IT Band did not bother me once and the INOV8's were awesome!

Ran 4 miles in 30:00.  A little stiff from the race Saturday, but still felt good.

Ran 7 miles in 52:00.  Still really liking the INOV8's.  I need another pair or something similar to switch off with.  The Defyance are worn and are too much shoe for me now.  I'm looking into the Brooks Racer 5T's.

Ran 7 miles in 53:00.  IT Band was really sore today for some reason again. 

Ran 8 miles in 1:25:52 with 1440 feet of elevation gain up Kelly Canyon.  There was still too much snow pack here and there on the trails and main road.  Muddy, wet run and I absolutely loved it!

Ran 6 miles in 48:00 in the afternoon.

Ran 4 miles in 30:00.

Ran 6 miles in the evening in 47:00.

Ran 6 miles in 46:00.

Ran 7 miles on the TM in 54:00 with 475 feet of elevation incline.

Ran 6 miles in 45:00.  Did some interval training and felt really good.

Ran 3 miles on the TM in 24:00.  Just took it easy as I plan on running 20 tomorrow.

Had a really good 20 mile run in 2:40:31. Had some leg pains come and go during the run which I was okay with because they didn't stay. Was also surprised that the weather held out for me.

Ran with Moses and Kaylie from the Biggest Loser from Teton Running to The Apple. It was a good event with a good turnout.

Ran 10.58 miles up Lincoln Rd towards Blacktail in 1:23:49 with 666 feet of elevation gain/loss.  I was planning on going further but I hit a strong hail storm and decided to turn back.  Cold, wet, and windy run- felt great.

Ran 7 miles in 54:00.

Ran 4 miles in 30:00.

Ran 4.25 in 32:00 in the evening.

Got up early this morning to run with Jeff, Grey, and Curt.  We had a great run up the hills of Sunnyside road towards Bone.  It was a little chilly and windy but still good running weather.  It was fun to run with Jeff, Grey, and Curt as they pushed me to my limits!  Ran 10 miles in 1:20:50 with 1300 feet of elevation gain.  Great run with great people.

Ran 7 miles in 56:00.

Ran 7 miles in 54:00.  Legs were still pretty tired from Friday's hill run.

Ran 4 miles in 27:46.

4 miles on my lunchbreak in 30 min.

Ran 5 miles in 38:00.

Perfect weather for the race.  The course was very tough, but I really enjoyed it.  Somehow I found myself mentally in the race even between miles 18-24 which is when I'm usually pretty checked out and running in zombie mode.  I think it was because of the nice long hill through those miles.  Race was very well organized and had great support except for not having any water cups at mile 20.  I was happy with my performance for the first marathon of the year on a difficult course.  I did get some nice blisters which is rare and I think it was partly the Swiftwick socks, INOV8 shoes, and running with the midfoot strike for so long. 

Mile splits:

1-7:20, 2-7:08, 3-7:09, 4-7:29, 5-7:06, 6-7:18, 7-6:55, 8-7:05, 9-7:17, 10-7:11, 11-7:17, 12-7:20, 13-7:23, 14-7:22, 15-7:36, 16-7:36, 17-7:39, 18-7:46, 19-8:34, 20-8:47, 21-8:44, 22-8:43, 23-9:21, 24-8:58, 25-8:47, 26-8:44

1	00:07:20	1.00	07:20
2	00:07:08	1.00	07:08
3	00:07:09	1.00	07:09
4	00:07:29	1.00	07:29
5	00:07:06	1.00	07:06
6	00:07:18	1.00	07:18
7	00:06:55	1.00	06:55
8	00:07:05	1.00	07:05
9	00:07:17	1.00	07:17
10	00:07:11	1.00	07:11
11	00:07:17	1.00	07:17
12	00:07:20	1.00	07:20
13	00:07:23	1.00	07:23
14	00:07:32	1.00	07:32
15	00:07:26	1.00	07:26
16	00:07:36	1.00	07:36
17	00:07:39	1.00	07:39
18	00:07:46	1.00	07:46
19	00:08:34	1.00	08:34
20	00:08:47	1.00	08:47
21	00:08:44	1.00	08:44
22	00:08:42	1.00	08:43
23	00:09:21	1.00	09:21
24	00:08:58	1.00	08:58
25	00:08:47	1.00	08:47
26	00:08:44	1.00	08:44
27	00:01:55	0.22	08:47

Still pretty stiff from the marathon.  Ran 3.1 in 27:40.  I plan on running again later today.

Ran 4.9 miles in 38:00.  Blisters from marathon hurt today. 

Ran 6.34 miles at 7:20 pace on my lunchbreak down to the library and back. We went to the drive-in last night and didn't get to bed until 2am so I was too tired to run this morning.

Ran with great company this morning- Jeff, Gray, and Dane Rauschenberg.  Went 6.3 miles at around a 7:30 pace.  It was very early and I'm still wondering if it was just a dream.

Ran 5.28 at 7:36 pace.

Ragnar begins:

Leg 1: 3.24 miles in 20:32 which was a 6:21 average pace.  Fastest I've ran in over a year!

Leg 2: 10 miles in 1:15:16 which was a 7:31 pace.

Leg 3: Ragnar Hill: 3.18 miles in 37:29 which was a 11:46 pace with 1484 feet of elevation gain.

Ran up AF Canyon past Timp Cave to Little Mill Campground and back. 13.64 miles with 1300 feet of elevation gain in 1:50:19 with an 8:02 average pace.

Ran 4.25 miles in 34:00.

Ran 3.25 miles at a 7:30 pace on my afternoon break.

4.25 miles at a 7:44 pace.

3.5 miles at 7:46 pace in the hot afternoon.

Ran 13.2 miles in 1:40. Felt great.

Ran the To Bone and Back relay on the team "Teton Running Bones".  I was leg 3 and ran 5 miles in 33:01 which is a 6:36 average pace.  I felt really good and had a fun time with the team.  When I began my leg, I was running side by side tied in first place with some other team.  I though for sure that the kid was going to blow me away but I was hanging with him for the first two miles.  Then he started slowing down and by the time I finished the five mile leg, I was about five or six minutes ahead of him.  That put our team out in front and with our other super fast young team members, we never looked back.  We ended up winning by 7-8 minutes overall with a time of 4 hours and 13 minutes over the total 40 mile race.

6.25 miles at a 7:16 average pace on a beautiful morning.

3.9 miles on lunchbreak at 7:17 pace.

6 miles at 7:47 pace.

3 miles at 7:40 pace.

Decided to run a little longer this morning after taking yesterday off.  Went 12.18 miles in 1:29:17.  Almost stepped on a snake on Foothill Road.

Ran 5 miles in my new Avia shoes that Gray wanted me to try out. They actually felt really good. They are light-weight and had a good transfer.

11.5 miles in 1:25:00 with Lincoln Hill to Bone Road.