Relentless

afternoon - 9 River Run.  A very slow and sluggish run.  I think the lack of doubles is flattening me out a bit.  But the hip is feeling better, and I really need to focus on that right now - plus it is an excuse to be lazy.  Molly's Mile.  (Triumph 670.25)

evening - 10.25 Club.  First Club run in awhile - need to get everyone out again.  Went from DC up trail and then down other side and into Bloomington.  Good run and Steven pushed us to an honest pace which felt great.  Molly's Mile.  (Boston 346)

afternoon - 10.75 Old Man Hills.  5x1/4's.  Ran over to Old Man's but extended it a bit to make the warm up nearly 5.  Then hit 5 solid hills: 1-1:25, 2-1:24, 3-1:21, 4-1:18, 5-1:13.  Gave me a little knowledge about where I am at on those and how to push it a little more on the next set.  Finished back to school for lifting and plyos and then Molly's Mile.  (Also added in the 2 more miles I should have counted through the week for warm up's - probably missed it the last few weeks also, but whatever.)  (Kinvara 213.5)

morning - 14.25 Airport.  Ran from Clyde's down around the new airport, into the Fields, and then around Stone Cliff.  Felt pretty good considering I didn't get to stretch and roll like usual after yesterday's run, as we headed off to the Dicken's Festival with the kids.  (Triumph silver 435.05)

A decent week.  Hit everything I needed to and became at peace with hitting shorter mileage for at least a little while.

Goals for next week:  Things should be about the same.

afternoon - 10.25 Foremaster/PVMS.  Typical Monday run.  Molly's Mile at the end with Laney running.  (Landreth blue 496.4)

afternoon - 11.5 Washington.  4x1/2's.  King's Row 1/2's again.  Kept the same number and hoped I could push a little quicker - I did, but didn't feel good throughout.  1-2:26, little better start than last time, but I felt very forced and tight; 2-2:22, first 1/4 was same as #1, but finished a bit stronger; 3-2:19, wanted sub 20's on the last two so I pushed this one pretty hard; 4-2:15, tried to dig in deep, felt it by the end.  3 mile cool back to school, but didn't have time to lift or plyo today (bummer - I finally get on a schedule and some days just have other things).  Molly's Mile and a little more with the girls riding their bikes.  (Ohana racers 452.25)

afternoon - 13 Grass/Green Springs.  Went for 4.5 barefooting this afternoon - which is always so nice; then the team ran up GS and ended with 8xbarefoot striders.  Molly's Desert Run.  (Barefoot '10 134.75)(Cumulus white 847.4)

evening - 9.25 Club.  Nice evening club run.  Didn't push the pace much, just chatted and enjoyed.  (Stratus black 739.2)

afternoon - 11 Starbucks/Old Man Hills.  Warmed up with the team and then took off over to hit some Old Mans.  1 and 2-1:20, felt a bit stiff and wondered how it would go, but started off okay; 3-1:17, 4-1:16, 5-1:15, 6-1:13.  Added one more and ran them same or better than last week, so that is good.  I just tried to focus on extended the initial hard push further and further each time as I figured I was probably actually slowing down.  Just a little bummed at the shoes I was wearing.  I hadn't thought about the workout and wore the Frees; they just aren't any good for a workout, although they are light, they are big for me and don't have a fast feel to them.  Hit some around the neighborhood with Molly and some with Laney.  (Free 376.45)

morning - 17 St. George Half Course.  Got the "Elite Tour" of the new St. George Half Course this morning.  Course should be good, but it will be slower than the old Painter's.  Starts at Fossil Ridge and goes up Mall Dr. for over 1 mile (a pretty hard initial mile, will slow you down or burn you up).  Then down 2450 and connect onto the Trail (of course this section I know very well).  Down the Trail to the Dixie Center (the old area of the course) and across the bridge and up the Bloomington Hills side, but staying low.  Cross back over to the other side of the trail and back up to Fossil Ridge.  After a little warm up, Clyde, Logan, Aaron and I started to move the pace to 6:20-30 without really noticing and then we bumped into Steven who had missed us at the start and the pace opened up.  This was the first Tempo push I have had since the marathon - it was great, hard, long, tiring and I am sore!  Went around 5:30's for about 5 or so miles.  We ended with about 1.9 cool and then I took the dog around the neighborhood for a bit more.  (Boston 363)

Week was good in every way except weights and plyos (I wasn't able to make the time to hit at all, bummer).  But speed sessions were solid and today's tempo was unexpected but great.

Goals for next week:  Same stuff - 65-70 miles, enjoy life, hit some good workouts.

afternoon - 10.5 Nisson's/Mall.  Ran with the team on the Nisson's run - kept the boys all together and wanted the girls with us too, but they needed to chat apparently.  Then extended by hitting the Mall Run (should have run it reverse to practice for the SG 1/2).  Finished with Molly's Mile.  Ran the 2nd part of the run a little quicker to try and work out the weekend a bit, so I am not as junky at the start of tomorrow's workout.  (Landreth black 968.6)

afternoon - 11.5 King's Row 1/2's.  Wasn't a very good set today.  Warmed up 3 over to King's Row and started up.  The first was way bad, herky-jerky, out of whack, 1-2:27, but still hit right about the same time as the last 3 weeks.  However, I could tell there was some left over fatigue from Saturday's push.  2-2:24, 3and4-2:23, nothing was dropping like usual and I was just trying to survive each one.  Decided this was as good a week as any to move up to a 5th since the times weren't slowing down (just not improving), so I added 5-2:20, tried to work this one with whatever I had, but not much there.  Cooled down back to school and Molly's Mile.  Had to miss out on weights/plyos because of Ry's Christmas Play at school - it was well worth it!  (Old Ohana -11.5)

afternoon - 10 Shinob Kibe.  I was/am feeling a bit worn down, so I figured I needed a nice easy day - nothing hard, less mileage.  Then the boys decided to run UP Shinob Kibe.  When I get back into trail running, this would be a great hill trainer, but on a needed easy day, it is just evil.  But it was fun and a great view as always, and hardly anyone on the team had ever done it before.  I'm really proud of the youngsters and their commitment; if I could just get that same level from next year's varsity then we would be okay.  Finished up with DI and Molly's Mile.  (Stratus grey 640.85)

Day off - but not by choice. Neck/Back cramped up this morning and gave my a hideous pinched nerve in my neck (maybe the worst I've ever had). Got hooked up to the little muscle shocker thing and used that all day, but decided I hadn't try and push my luck so I missed club.

afternoon - 6 Sandberg's.  A rainy, cool day; so the boys and I just went over to Sandberg's and ran 6 miles in the dirt and mud.  Pretty fun run, but my right calve tightened up and bit.  Then after, I didn't want to add any more and just used my neck as an excuse (although I have some movement back, it still has a huge knot in it); then at home I didn't stretch or anything either - blah.  (Triumph 676.25)

AM - 8 Clyde's.  A real bummer way to end the week.  I should have worked on my tight right calve yesterday, but I didn't and paid for it today.  It was very sore and tight before even starting and just heated up more as we got going - it wouldn't stretch or loosen up at all.  We started to pick up into a tempo around 3.5 and I just felt the calve pull everything - hammy, shin, knee, and I decided I had better shut it down quick.  Unfortunately we were 4 from home and around 4 from Clyde's, so I limped home and called it a day.  (Kimvara 221.5)

Week was junk.  Tired on Monday and Tuesday; Bad workout on Tuesday; Neck junk so no run on Thursday; and then this stuff.  Oh well... just take it with a grain of salt and move on.  Have been using the EStim on it all morning to try and loosen it up some (guess I am glad I still have that thing from Thursday!)

Goals for next week:  Well, number 1 would be to get neck and leg better (but I know that will happen so...), get back into doubles, love life and have a fun Christmas season.

morning - 4 Dogtown.  Molly's Mile and Dogtown.  Just an easy-easy run to try and test out the calve.  It is still very tight and I wondered if I should run any more today.  (Triumph 470.25)

afternoon - 7 Hell's Hole.  Went down to Hell's Hole to see the river - it is absolutely amazing.  Huge waves, 100 yards across, giant trees coming down - impressive stuff.  And still raining (5 straight days).  Molly's Mile to finish up.  (Landreth orange 808.35)

morning - 6 Buena Vista.  Cramps still have a grip on my back and calve, but they really are starting to improve.  The run today was pretty decent, still a lot of soreness though.  Molly's Mile.  Still raining; the temps are very nice though.  (Stratus black 745.2)

afternoon - 8 Parkway.  8 more very wet miles this afternoon.  Didn't really want to get out, but once I did I didn't want to stop so I extended the Parkway around a bit.  The death grip from my knots seems to be loosening - shoulder/neck feeling a lot better and a noted improvement in my calve (but still being careful).  On a side-note, the town is about to be washed away.  (Landreth blue 504.4)

morning - 6 Parkway.  There was actually sun this morning!  For a brief time I thought the storm might have broken as the sunrise shown through an opening in the clouds.  Run was nice; I am feeling pretty good.  Back/neck is only just a little sore and calve is coming along (although the left one is a little sore from overcompensating I would imagine).  Molly's Mile.  (Landreth black 974.6)

afternoon - 8 Green Springs.  Started with Molly's Mile and then ran up around Green Springs.  After dropping off Laney in the stroller and the dog, I started a bit of a progression tempo - nothing crazy, but a good solid push throughout the GS section.  Although I missed today's massive rain, the roads were still very wet and gutters flooding.  (Kinvara 229.5)

This afternoon's run put me over 4K miles for the year - nothing like last year, but it has been a good batch of running!

afternoon - 12 Junction/CC.  Molly's Mile and then out to the Junction and back by way of Coral Canyon.  Run was going great and I was really feeling good - didn't run this morning because my hip barely hurt a little and I didn't want to push anything and mess up the gains I had made in the last month with it, and also the calve still is having issues, so I did a good batch pilates - in fact I was even holding back a little so I could have a good hard workout tomorrow.  Then with about 3 left, the right calve just knotted up.  Stopped and stretched a lot and even walked for about a quarter to try and ease it up a little.  Then brought it home.  Started to loosen back up a little, but it is a bummer after spending all week trying to get the dang thing feeling better.  On the positive side, it was nice and sunny on the run.  (Ohana 454.75)

0 - Re-injured my right calve on yesterday's run.  I thought maybe it would be feeling better today, but it is worse than before.  So, I will shut it down for the week.

0 - Merry Christmas.  At least the day, presents, travel to SLC, presents and family kept me busy and my mind off my leg (except as it hurt).

Week was good and bad.  First part was nice, with some doubles and good rain running!  But reinjuring my calve seems to be a major setback for any hope of a decent half at Painters.

Goals for next week: I don't know if I will run or not.  Depends on the leg.

0 - Had to take another zero.  Sometimes it feels as if the leg is getting better - sometimes not.  I have been using the shocker on it and wearing a compression sleeve to improve blood flow to it.  Have been reading Laura Hillenbrand's new book Unbroken.  It the absolutely amazing story of Louie Zamperini who was 7th in the 1936 Olympics in the 5000 and then became a POW after crashing in the Pacific.  The story is a mix of my two favorite things running and history so it has enthrawled me.  

0 - With nothing else to do up here in SLC (usually all I do is run), I finished up my book this morning.  This may be my new favorite book.  The story is truly amazing.  I would suggest it to anyone. 

On the leg, I am seeing some pretty good progress.  Continuing to wear the compression sleeve, along with Wintercrest, and shocking my leg.  This morning the only soreness was very deep into the calve; I could push all the was down on it before I felt the pain hit.  I imagine that the extreme cramping developed into a little bit of a strain that tweeked the calve pretty good.  Will I run tomorrow?  I am not sure.  Earlier (Sunday'ish) I thought I might take the whole week off, but I am getting pretty antsy.  I know I need to let it heal all the way, however.  But the will to run is acting up big time.  

afternoon - 3 Treadmill.  By the time I ran this afternoon, it had been 6 days since my last run.  Coming back from an injury (whether major/minor/or in between) is always a little stressful since you don't want to waste the time you took off and re-injure something.  So that being said, I ran 2 on the treadmill at an easy pace so I could stop and stretch when needed or stop the run if needed - took a couple stretch breaks, but things felt pretty good.  Finished off with Molly's Mile in a freezing downpour.  (Landreth blue 507.4)

noon - 4 Treadmill.  Things felt pretty good after yesterday, so I planned on doing pretty much the same thing, but upping it to 4 if there was progress.  There was!  Today my calf felt great.  3 on the treadmill was nice and easy, but I actually enjoyed it (yesterday too) - it went quick and allowed me to focus on form a bit.  Then hit Molly's Mile in the slush.  Last night's snow has melted off the roads, but there is still a couple inches on the grass and the kids and dog loved playing in it.  (Boston 367)

On the reading front Once a Runner has gripped my attention once again - an inspiring, great read as always.

mid-morning - 5 Treadmill.  4 on the Treadmill today.  Took it easy for a couple miles - including some stretching breaks; then worked it up to 6:31 and 6:00 for the last two 1/2's respectively, just to test the leg out (since there was no pain) to see if could hold a little speed with no pain.  Felt great again.  Just the slightest little tightness at the end of Molly's Mile out in the very cold (kind of glad that I wasn't out for a long one today, except the trails would actually been great today).  (Stratus grey 645.85) 

4030.3 - that is the end of the year mileage.  Not too shabby, but as usual the numbers are just numbers - it is much more of a journey than that.  A lot of ups and downs.  Really enjoyed my time training with The Circle again (and it was great to have Steven and James join into it).  Running up Pine Valley with the boys was fun as with many of the other runs with the team (up at Pine Lake, to the Y, and many others).  Of course the biggest highs were others' runs most notably the XC team (girls at Region and boys at State).  My marathons were kind of bummers, but not too bad looking back on them.  A pretty good year all-in-all.  Glad the calve is feeling better as I finish it off and get ready for the next set of adventures!