Status Report – 2 Weeks – 12/17/12 – 12/30/12

Without question, the first thing I need to mention about this post is that I’ve decided NOT to use BOLD FONT as a way of highlighting my main points. About two weeks ago, I began to wonder if the BOLD FONT was a little distracting to all 5 of my readers. Indeed, after consulting with a good friend – who is uniquely gifted at constructive criticism – I made the excruciating decision to stop using any BOLD FONT within each paragraph. The result? Hopefully a more streamlined and reader-friendly experience. Maybe now I can get up to 10 readers. (Okay – out of my system now – seriously). Here’s the breakdown of the 215 miles I’ve run over the past two weeks:

Monday – 12/17/12

AM: 1 hour run on the Frontage Road. 8 total miles. Included 6 x 1 minute hard surges at approximately 5:20/mile pace. Body felt responsive, snappy, efficient, and strong. Also had the good fortune of running with Jerry for 2 miles while on my way back home. (Jerry was in a motorcycle accident at the end of August – and now he’s back at it!) 1 hour running. 8 miles running. SU.

PM: During lunch-time I did a full core strength workout consisting of: A 10 minute running warmup on the treadmill, pullups, calves, 8-minute abs, walking lunges, back-ups, obliques, thera-band clamshells, thera-band lateral walks, bridges, and tele-jumps. Good session, followed by a short stretching time with both AIS and static stretching. .5 hours training. Positive strength and body comp changes.

Tuesday – 12/18/12

AM: Headed out early for a 2 hour run on Castle Mountain Road and County Road #10. Felt like I was shuffling at times, but at other points I was running faster without much effort. Good run. Also, it was nice to get out on a different road for a bit. Beautiful morning. 2 hours running. 15 miles running. SU.

PM: Ran during the lunch hour. Ran a solid 8 miles out-and-back on the Frontage Road. Snow was falling pretty steadily during this run. Body felt good, and my legs were responsive to the 7:30 pace. Feels like some changes are starting to take hold. Positive indeed. Also, I love running during the middle of the day – I always have a super productive afternoon on days that I run during the lunch hour. 1 hour running. 8 miles running.

Wednesday – 12/19/12

AM: Repeat miles on the Dos Rios Circle. Started at 5:00am with a 3 mile warmup – which included 5 x 15 seconds speeds sprinkled in there. Went right into the 5 x 1 mile with 3 minutes jogging as rest in between each repeat. Slippery roads and lightly-falling snow. Splits were: 5:50, 6:05, 6:03, 6:10, 5:56. Clearly I was not on my game today – just not feeling like I was in a good groove at all. Finished the workout with an extended cool down and more strides. Positive session. 2 hours running. 16 miles running. SU.

PM: Spent a short time stretching, rolling, and promoting recovery. AIS stretching. Static stretching. Hip flexors felt fantastic after stretching and rolling.

Thursday – 12/20/12 

AM: Super cold temperatures this morning out on Gold Basin Road. -12 degrees! I underdressed a little bit and froze the tips of my fingers. Made it through this 16 mile, out-and-back run though. Slow running – but glad I made it out. 2 hours + running. 16 miles running. SU. Coldest run of the winter so far for me!

PM: In the late afternoon, I did a workout at the Escalante Fitness Center – Full core strength workout consisting of: 10-minute running warmup on the treadmill, pullups, calves, 8-minute abs, walking lunges, back-ups, obliques, thera-band clamshells, thera-band lateral walks, bridges, and tele-jumps. Followed this up with a short stretching time with both AIS and static stretching, and a bit of foam rolling too. .5 hours training.

Friday – 12/21/12

AM: Another cold morning on Gold Basin Road. This time though, I overdressed and sweat a lot. Made it work – but – this was one of those mornings that I was lacking flow – nothing seemed to work well for me. 2 hours running. 16 miles running. SU.

PM: 1 hour run on the Cemetery Trail and the Contour Trail. Felt like I was merely slogging around out there – despite the fact that the trail was packed out fairly well. Beautiful afternoon. Nice to run in the sunshine again. 1 hour running. 7 miles running.

Saturday – 12/22/12

AM: Went up to CB in the morning to XC Ski with numerous people. Altogether, I skied with 4 different people for a total of 2+ hours. Beautiful weather. Nice to be skiing again, but I definitely feel SUPER inefficient when compared to running at a 7:52 pace on gradual roads. XC Skiing Cross-Training. 1.5 hours training.

PM: Headed out for a 1 hour jog on the Frontage Road – while pushing Jordan in the stroller. Yikes – feeling fat, extremely tired, and not motivated. Great to get out though. Ran without headphones again – kinda nice to hear my own breathing and the sound of the wind. 1 hour running. 8 miles running. SU.

Sunday – 12/23/12

AM: 2 hour run with Grant Ruehle and Tim Parr. Awesome outing. Steady pace and positive conversation. Nice to run with both of these guys. Good to get out with two good friends. Ran around town and out-and back on County Road #10 and Lost Canyon Road. 2 hours running. 16 miles running. SU.

PM: XC Skiing with Annie and Jordan – and friends Erin and Marcus. Skated on the practice fields of WSCU. Beautiful afternoon. Great to get out with the family. I skied while carrying Jordan in a back-pack – thus having a good 30 minute workout! 1 hour cross-training.

Week totals -

16 hours training. 14 hours running. 107 miles running. Strong. Determined to train well. 

Monday – 12/24/12

PM: All the determination in the world though could not change the feeling of bodily destruction I had after my brief XC Skiing adventures this past weekend. Yikes. I was worked. Tired. Sore. Stiff. Feet were painful. Legs hurt. Neck hurt. Certainly this was not all related to XC skiing, but clearly a sign that I need to take things a bit slower next time I ski. Anyway – headed out for a 1 hour run with Annie – while I was pushing Jordan in the stroller. Ran a total of 6 miles. Snowing fairly hard while we ran. 1 hour training. 1 hour running. 6 miles running.

Tuesday – 12/25/12

AM: Christmas Day! Woke up feeling fat, sore, tired, and slow. Went out for a 1 hour run around town – threw in 3 x 1 minute hard surges – but my body and mind were just not into ‘em. 1 hour running. 7 miles running. SU.

Wednesday – 12/26/12

AM: Woke up with a renewed sense of purpose, drive, vigor, and positive physical-feel. Great! Went out for a 2.5 hour run – out-and-back on Gold Basin Road. Did not feel my best, but I did feel consistent and positive. Ended up running through some newly-fallen snow for a total of 17 miles. 2.5 hours running. 17 miles running. SU.

PM: Went up to the Escalante Fitness Center (closed and empty – had the place to myself!) to get in a good strength workout which consisted of a 10 minute running warmup on the treadmill, pullups, calves, walking lunges w/weight, thera-band lateral walks, tele-jumps, more pullups, backups, obliques, bridges, thera-band clamshells, and 8-minute abs. Good session. Followed this up with 10 minutes of gentle AIS and static stretching.

Thursday – 12/27/12 

AM: Repeat Miles – Dos Rios Circle. The roads were extremely slick this morning and I realized that I should have probably done this workout on a treadmill, but – it ended up being okay. 3 mile warmup with 5 x 15 seconds strides. Then I went right into 6 x 1 mile with 3 minutes jogging as recovery in between each rep. I messed up my watch and thus could not keep 100% accurate splits, but I do know that the split times varied between 6:05 and 6:15 for each mile. Considering the slickness of the roads, I was psyched with this. Extended cool-down with strides. 2 hours running. 16 miles running. SU.

PM: Late afternoon 9 mile run – out-and-back on the Frontage Road. Body felt peppy. I was completely overdressed in some old XC Ski training clothes. Made it work though. 1.25 hours running. 9 miles running.

Friday – 12/28/12

AM: Best run I’ve had in two weeks. 5:00am start time. 2 hours out-and-back on Gold Basin Road. There were times during this run that I felt absolutely invincible and almost effortless. Strong. Efficient. Probably can’t consider myself smooth yet – but I did feel great. 2 hours running. 16 miles running. SU.

PM: Strength workout at the EFC consisting of: A 10 minute running warmup on the treadmill, pullups, calves, walking lunges w/ weight, thera-band lateral walks, tele-jumps, more pull-ups, thera-band clamshells, bridges, backups, obliques, and 8-minute abs. Followed this up with about 20 minutes of stretching – AIS and static. .5 hours training.

Saturday – 12/29/12

AM: 4 hour long run. Gold Basin Road – 12′ Foot Hill – to the stop sign and back. Super cold morning – temperature was -22 degrees when I left my house at 5:00am. Other than the cold temps – there is very little of interest to report from this run. Beautiful views of the mountains to the north – staggeringly beautiful sunrise. Amazing. One big positive is that I felt stronger and smoother every 45 minutes. One undeniable truth about me as a runner? The smoother the terrain and the less varied the pace – the better I perform. 4 hours running. 29 miles running. SU.

Sunday – 12/30/12

PM: Headed out at 2:00pm for an awesome 1 hour run. Out-and-back on County Road #10 and Lost Canyon Road. So nice to run in the sun on a warm afternoon. Fantastic run. I felt strong and peppy for the vast majority of this outing. 8 miles. Came back home and did a short stretching session. 1 hour running. 8 miles running. SU.

Week totals -

16 hours training. 14 hours running. 108 miles running. Positive. Mental outlook is great. 

Clearly, I’ve made the decision to step up my running volume again. Over these past 5 weeks – since coming home from visiting my parents in Montana during Thanksgiving week – I’ve run exactly 500 miles. Things are clicking again. My stride is smoother and more efficient – and my running is feeling better and better on a daily basis. I am committed to the training process but not defined by it. My head feels clear, and my afternoon energy levels are fantastic. I’m strengthened by an unwavering belief that I will remake my body, stride, and mind for 2013. I stand by that. Here’s to building the strength to actually live that out. Thanks for reading. Commit to self-improvement. DC.