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I haven't been keeping this up to date.  This morning I did my 30 minute treadmill routine, which I've done a few times because it's not worth reporting.

I went to see the orthopedic surgeon this morning who diagnosed my foot injury as a stress fracture.  He poked and pushed on my foot and really made it hurt, and it's still hurting.  The X-ray showed some extra bone growth, but the stress fracture couldn't be seen.

 It's time for some new running shoes with extra arch support and gradually build up my mileage again.  It's also time for cross training.  But the streets are still so packed with snow that I don't feel very safe on my bike.

I 'm back!  I did a 2.5 mile run on Monday with no ill effects.  (I had zero pain in my foot.  I think this means that the stress frature is healed!)  This morning, I ran 3.81 more and it felt good.

Since I stopped running, I have been focusing my exercising indoors with low impact exercises.  This hasn't really kept me in shape (other than round), but the shape would have been rounder without doing something.  I'm not sure what the future holds, but I do plan to build up the milage slowly.  It may be too late to train for the Utah Valley Marathon, but we'll see how it goes.  I want to run at least one more marathon before Brian leaves for Medical School in August.

This morning, I ran with Charles, finishing with two miles around the track.  It was 28 degrees, a light snow fall, and beautiful.  Charles is going to snow college and he missed what they called the "Snow blast" last night.  But as we were running this morning, there was another group of runners.  One of them said "This is a blast!"  Charles' snow blast was in Orem this morning.

Totally different route than Saturday, but almost the same distance and the same temperature (28 degrees)

No foot pain, but a lot of other muscular pain as the running muscles begin to relearn how to put one foot in front of the other.

No real plan yet, other than a gradual increase in mileage.  I'll probably run three times this week and four times next week.

Getting up to a 4:50 alarm was one of the hardest things about today.

Started slow and sped up as time went on.  First mile was 10:45 and forth mile was 8:34.  I'm not sure about the last partial.  I mishandled my GPS and lost the run.  The only reason I know this much is because I ran with one contact lens and I used my bare eye to take a mental note of the lap times.  I think I'll do it that way more.  My glasses don't work well on wet days.

A little concern cropped up as I started to feel pain in the same foot towards the end of the run, this time closer to the toes, but in the same vicinity.  I'll see if it gets worse or better over time.

It was a choice between shoveling snow or running this morning.  We had heavy snow fall last night, but it mostly blew away by morning.  It definitely would have been useless trying to shovel away the little patches this morning.  Instead I ran.  GPS is not working, but I ran the same route as last time and I figure it was 4.65 miles.

GPS decided to work; I decided to get up at 4:05.  Therefore, I have a distance of 5.52 miles and a time of 52:41 for an average pace of 9:33/mile.  It's a long ways from where it used to be, but it is what it is.

 At least my frequency and distance are gradually increasing.

6.48 miles in under an hour 59:53.  That must be 6.5miles per hour.  Pace ranged from 10:39 for the first mile to 8:16 for the last partial with the fastest pace at 6:02 crossing 8th North before the light turned red.  Mile 5 was 7 seconds slower than mile 4.  Otherwise, the pace increased with each mile.  I'm not sure if that is effective training, but I like to do it that way.

Sluggish run this morning, but at least I did it.  55:53 was overall time for a 10:02 average pace.  Dressed a little too warm for 41 degrees with long sweats, gloves, and ski mask as I sweated off 3 pounds.

 I awoke without an alarm at 4:40 even after the switch to day-light savings time, so that pleased me.  I hate losing an hour, but I think I'm officially on the new schedule now.

Planned to run 6.5 in the rain.  But I forgot the route distance and there was no rain.  It was a cool, cloudy 36 degrees.  Shorts, long sleeves, and gloves was about the right warmth, but my fingers were still frozen at the end.  Saw five deer that just stared at me as I ran by.  I stared right back.  On Monday, I saw a pack of about 10.

Started feeling a little foot pain at the end.  I'll need to be careful not to overdo it.  I'm leaning away from running UVM now.  End of summer will be much more successful for me.  It's too little too late on the training and I don't think my body can do a fast ramp up.

Hill training route.  Looked at my pace during steepest part and it registered 15.35 per mile and I was working hard.  I wonder if the GPS tracks vertical as well as horizontal distance.   If not then even downhill is going to register slower than actual rate.  Considering that it registers elevation, the vertical factor must be considered.

Whatever the case, the run took 50:54 or 10:03 per mile.

I tried it.  I kept my heart rate between 127 and 132.  I could talk and I could even sing (if you call what I do singing).  I found out that my wife usually walks at the same rate that I jogged.  I felt like I could have continued all day.

Slept too long, ran a little less, but I ran hard.  HR was in the 160's with a max of 170.  The run took 43:20 for an average pace of 9:15 per mile.  Not very satisfactory for trying so hard, but it is what it is.  Hopefully, I can start to get in better shape soon.

This was going to be a long, low heart rate day, but I didn't have the heart when I took off really slowly and my heart rate monitor reported 175bpm.  I kept looking at it and I was well into the second mile before it got down into the 140's.  At that point, I had no intereset in slowing down any further.  I guess that makes today's run a "garbage" run, but at least I did it.  Overall, pace was 10:16/mile or 1:45:48 for 10.16 miles.  My speed mostly improved with each mile, but even the last fraction and the fastest rate was 9:12/mile.  Foot pain started coming back.  Hopefully, I didn't overdo it.

3 miles at near 130bpm and the rest running hard, closer to 9 min/mile.  Heart rate got up to 163bpm at the end.  Slow miles were really slow at about 13 min/mile.

Low heart rate all the way, average of 128bpm, maximum 136bpm.  Average speed (or rather average slow) was 13:05/minute.  Temperature was 10 degrees warmer than yesterday, which made for a very nice run.  For some reason, I come back frozen when it is below freezing and refreshed when it is 40 degrees.  One good thing about the slow runs is how good I feel after.  I don't feel beat up at all.  The bad thing is how early I have to get up for a short distance.

Short distance, as fast as I could go, which is pretty slow compared to where I want to be.   I basically ran a 5K in 29:36.  Max heart rate was 169, average, 156, last partial mile at an 8:22 pace.  When I was working hard in mile 2, someone came up behind me and effortlessly passed me.  After that, I tried to keep up with him and I think that helped to speed me up.

I read that there are three elements to conditioning:   Endurance, strength, and speed.  I've done those in that order for the last three days.

6.4 miles in 1:27:44, average of 13:42 per mile, average heart rate: 128bpm, Maximum was 140 when I crossed 8th North so I wouldn't get run over.  The light turned green just before I arrived,  but crossing 8 lanes takes a while at 130bpm.  Anyway, I opted to not get run over rather than keep my heart rate low.

Thinking works pretty well at low heart rate.

I'm quite sure I could have walked my route in the same time that I ran it today at 13:28/mile.  Maybe I'll try that and see what happens to my heart rate.  It will probably go up because jogging at that speed is practically effortless.  Although the average heart rate was 128bpm, I had to keep a hawk eye on it.  Once, it crept up to 136 when I was unaware.

We had snow twice yesterday and the temperature was  a little cooler than normal at 27 degrees, but it was OK and the run felt good.

Left in a heavy rainstorm that kept getting colder on my face.  At the top it softened up quite a bit as it turned into snow.  Speed work on hills was my objective today.  Didn't worry about heart rate, which got up to 163.  Fastest mile was 8:13 (all down hill).  Slowest (uphill) mile was 11:23.  Last .08 partial was uphill at a 7:32 pace.  I think the elevation difference was about 1000 feet between the low point and the high point.

I see deer almost every morning.  Usually we just stare at each other.  Today, we scared each other.  I heard a herd of deer before I saw about 6 of them dart across the road in front of me.

The good thing about all this rain and snow is that it will make a great growing season this summer and I hope we have a good garden.

4.62 miles in 1:00:48 for a 13:10 average pace with 127bpm average heart rate.  I tried walking for a little while and was able to maintain about the same speed and heart rate.  Going slow through the 36 degree rain was not very enticing, but I can't let the weather dictate my training.

9.55 miles in 2:04:55.  No matter how long a run takes, there's always a number big enough to measure it!  This was another low heart rate run.  Unfortunately, my averages and my max rate got ruined at the end because mother nature called with a vengence.  So, I sped up and took a short cut at the end.  Average heart rate overall was 132bpm, with 165bpm max during the last mile and a half.

It was more pleasant up until the end because there was a light snow rather than rain, which is much more pleasant to run in.

5.47 miles in 1:12:22 (13:14 per mile) with average heart rate of 128bpm.  There was a spike of 135bpm in my heart rate as I continue to learn how to keep it down.  I've found that as long as I can speak out loud, my heart rate stays below 130 for the most part.  I've also found that I go much faster downhill than uphill with the same heart rate.

The weather is really getting good.  No rain, no snow and 41 degrees.  It's tough to beat those conditions.

Cindy is coming with three grandchildren today.  It will be good to see them.

No deer this morning (slightly different route), but I saw a shooting star or meteorite, or something like that.  It seemed to be traveling pretty close to the earth and it was bright.  But then it just burnt out and became invisible after a couple of seconds.

Low heart rate training continues.  This morning 4.62 miles took me 1:00:51 for an average of 13:09 per mile.  Heart rate averaged 128bpm with a 136bpm spike and I don't know when that happened, unless it was when I saw the meteorite.  It did scare me at first.

5.47 miles in 1:12:57 or 13:18 per mile.  Average heart rate:  127bpm, Max heart rate 134bpm.

I saw the 134bpm near the start of the run and just had to scale back my effort.  Later, I saw 132 a few times.  Managing a  low heart rate remains quite a chore for me.  Hopefully, I can build up enough of these low heart rate miles so that I won't be dead at the end of my 2nd marathon.

 There was actually a brief, light snow flurry near the start of the run, but the temperature display that I looked at said it was 37 degrees.  I think the cold weather will be over by June.

Plan A for today became plan B because of family concerns.  At least I was able to get out in the afternoon.  It was a whole new experience running in short sleeves without gloves and lots of sunshine.  The thermometer said 70 degrees.  I'm pretty sure this was also my first time up the canyon since a bicyclist hit me from behind.  Believe me, I was very careful today, every time I considered changing lanes.

Partly because it's good to work hard once in a while, but mostly because I was impatient, I went as fast as I could, whatever the heart rate.  The results were 10.06 miles in 140.27 for an average pace of 9:59 and an average heart rate of 159bpm.  174bpm was my maximum.

Quick, slow run before picking up parents.  Mom was all smiles.  Average heart rate was 128bpm.  Max was 136.  I try to watch so carefully, but can't seem to keep it down.

4.64 miles in 1:01:40 for an average pace of 3:18 per mile  Average heart rate was 127bpm with a max of 134.  That's a lower max than I've been able to achieve lately, but still higher than I wanted.

Dad beat me up this morning, but I didn't see him until breakfast.   It surprised me to see him.  It still hasn't sunk in that they are staying with us.

4.62 miles in 1:01:37 or 13:21 per mile.  Average heart rate 126bpm, max heart rate 134bpm.  Pace isn't improving, but average heart rate is going down.  I guess that's OK.

The weather is coorperating well.  42 degrees for that past two mornings.

Ran up and down Butterfield canyon with Daryl, Summer, and Cassie.  Climbed about 1800 feet over 5 miles and the elevation at the top was 7179.  The weather cooperated well.  I think it was very close to 32 degrees.  We ran into some very minimal snow flurries for a while.  But the worst part was a crusty snow field in mile 5.  I ended up walking that portion.  As you would expect, this was not a low heart rate run.  Average heart rate was 160bpm with 173bpm max.  Also, the mile times varied significantly as follows:

10:14, 10:16, 10:48, 12:29, 16:41, 8:24, 8:29, 7:47, 7:36, 7:26, 7:22 (partial)

Overall average pace was 10:17/mile.  This was a very tough run and I hope I don't cramp up too badly.

3.76 miles in 51:03 for 13:36 per mile with average heart rate 127 and max rate of 134.  It was nice running weather at 40 degrees.  It wasn't snowing, but it is now.  I don't think anything will stick.

We had 21 people for Easter dinner, but had enough food for 42.  Not wanting anything to go to waste, I ate enough for two people, but to no avail.  It went to my waist anyway.  I'll have to do a lot better than I did today to get those pounds off.

5.47 miles at an average pace of 13:40 per mile and an average heart rate of 126bpm (134bpm max).  At 32 degrees it was a little cooler than usual, but there was no precipitation.

Today is a big day for Charles.  We expect him to get his mission call in the mail.  He's got a final final at Snow college today and he will probably come home late tonight.

5.48 miles in 1:12:05 for 13:09 per mile with average heart rate of 127bpm.  This is an improvement for me.  I think a little more consistency is paying off, even if I have to get by on less sleep.  It warmed up to 37 degrees this morning, compared to 32 degrees yesterday.  Not too many deer lately.  One crossed in front of me this morning, but that's the only one I've seen all week.

Still awaiting news on Charles' mission call.  Hopefully, that will come today.

4.62 miles in 58:44 or 12:43/mile.  Average heart rate was 126bpm, max 134.  This is even better than yesterday and encouraging.  I think it helped that the wind was blowing in the uphill direction.

No news for Charles mission call yet.  At this point, it will probably be next week.  Any ideas about where he might go are welcome.

7.28 miles in 1:36:11 or 13:13/mile at 127bpm with an unexplained spike of 141bpm max, although I did see 134bpm heart rate a couple of times.  That time is about 3 minutes faster than Brian ran the half marathon today at Thanksgiving point.  Charles and I went to see him finish and he looked pretty good.

What a beautiful morning it was.  At 32 degrees, it was cold enough for snow, and there was a nice snow storm during the whole time, which was accumulating everywhere but on the streets.  Being so late in the season, I probably won't have that opportunity again until next fall.

3.75 miles in 34 minutes, including warm-up time.  I have an 11:00pm assignment every night this week to lock the Church and so I'm trying out evening running.  It kind of messed up patterns this evening, though.

Average pace was 9:05 per mile on a full stomach.  I tried to go fast to prepare for a 5K race with Daryl on Thursday.  Heart rate monitor was left at home.

3.23 miles in 41:29 or 12:49/mile, average heart rate 126.  I took a huge break because of foot problems.  This time it is the base of the big toe and the ankle on the right side.  Left foot is mostly OK.  Maybe I have a poor stride that keeps causing injuries.

It doesn't feel like I did further damage today, but I still may go see a foot doctor.

3.24 miles at 13:59/mile, average heart rate 126bpm.  Maybe Friday the 13th isn't my lucky day.  Good news is that my feet are holding up well.  That means that I should be able to start ramping up my miles again.

6.28 miles in 1:26:46 or 13:49 / mile.  Average heart rate was 128bpm.  As bad as those statistics are, I felt like I did some good because of how my legs felt afterwards (kind of rubbery).  Not that I expect any soreness.  I figure these slow miles will pay off some time down the road.

It got up to 60 degrees this morning.  Next time, I'll wear short sleeves.  I didn't get too hot, but there really wasn't a need for the long sleeves either.

4.63 miles in 1:03:47 or 13:47/mile, Avg heart rate 127bpm.  Wore short sleeves and no gloves in the 45 degree weather.  It was a little chilly, but tolerable.

4.63 miles in 43:27 or 9:23/mile.  Oh yes, average heart rate was 152bpm.  Besides running it like a race today, I also went back to long sleeves, gloves, and a hat in the 42 degrees, rainy weather.  Got some new snow in the mountains, but none in Orem.

3.76 miles in 48:57 at 128bpm.  42 degrees and very rainy, but no thunder and lightening, although I'm still nervous running in the rain, wondering if I'm ready to meet my maker.

What a rainy week it has been.  I went out into a downpour this morning and was soaked in a few minutes.  For more than half a mile, my heart rate registered in the 170's.  When it finally started recording accurately, it was in the 130's.  I could have slowed down a little and continued with low heart rate training.  But with the GPS anomaly and the downpour, I had no more motivation to go slowly and I made today a fast run.   So much for planning ahead.  But at least I kept the plan to run.   4.63 miles in 42:48 or 9:14/mile.  Average heart rate 154bpm, 181 max, but I don't really believe the 181.

10.15 miles in 2:09:14 or 12:44/mile.  Heart rate 127bpm.  Perfect weather: mostly clear and 50 degrees.  I don't think I've had such a good run for a long time.

Next week is health week at work and we are wearing pedometers all week.  Whoever takes the most steps wins a prize.  Maybe I can win one.  In the normal course of the day, I took 2700 steps yesterday.  On my run this morning, I took 23,000 steps.  If I can run every day next week, maybe I'll be famous!

Short time, short route, long steps, quick stride, fast heart.  3.28 miles in 28:27 or 8:40/mile and 5824 steps.  This is more like the speed that I should seek for on a full marathon, but compared to what I've been doing, I was flying.

Last night, there was a thunderstorm forcast for this morning.  It scared me off the streets and I decided to give the treadmill a try.  I set it at 4mph for 3 miles, which I'm pretty sure resulted in low heart rate training, even though I didn't wear a heart rate monitor.  I memorized D&C 88:78-79 while I ran and the time passed very quickly.

Turned out to be very cloudy this morning, but not really even raining.

4.62 miles in 58:29, or 12:40/mile.  Beyond that the data isn't very meaningful.  I consider this to be a low heart rate run, but the GPS was way high for most of the first mile again.  Rather than give up and go fast, I kept going at a conversational pace.  But the numbers are still interesting:  Average 134bpm, max 183bpm.  It was a very nice morning for running, at 45 degrees.

3.24 miles in 41:18 or 12:45/mile at avg heart rate of 126bpm.  Lots of wind, but that helped me as much as it hurt me since I always end up where I start out.

5.49 miles in 1:11:34 or 13:02/mile at 126bpm.  It was a comfortable 48 degrees this morning and a great morning for running.  The pedometer competition at work has motivated me to run every morning this week.  This has resulted in 54,656 steps so far.  Everyone else seems to be motivated too, so I don't know if I'll win, but I'll find out next week.  Unfortunately, weekends don't count.

5.49 miles in 1:10:33 or 12:51/mile at 128bpm.  Did some striding experiments.  I found that I could go a little faster at the same heart rate with longer strides.  Makes sense, but I never focused on that before.  Now that the pedometer competiion is over, I'm not trying to take the most steps anymore.

I didn't do a long run today because, I've now run 6 days in a row and my body was feeling it before I left this morning.  But it was just fine after I got going.  I just don't want to ramp up too fast and regret it.

2.25 miles in the treadmill in 30 minutes.  I have a difficult program that keeps changing speeds, with 4 minutes at 6.8 miles per hour.  Being indoors, I sweated a lot.  Part of the reason for the treadmill this morning was the heavy rain that I heard when I woke up.  After the fact, I'm not sure if the indoors or the outdoors would have soaked me the most.

3.75 miles in 47:10 or 12:35 per mile and 126bpm.  This might be my best low heart rate so far.  Yesterday, I did some speed work, and I think it helped.  Interspersing speed work with low heart rate training may be the ticket to progress.

6.27 miles in 1:19:56 (12:45/mile and 127bpm).  Spring has sprung!  It was a beautiful 55 degrees early this morning.

My mother turned 82 today.  I gave her breakfast in bed (apples and yogurt with a candle).  It beats my customary email for her birthday.

5.48 miles in 1:12:31, or 13:14 per mile at average heart rate of 127bpm.  It was a bit cooler at 41 degrees this morning.  But, I'll blame the sluggish time on over-indulging last night at an all-you-can-eat buffet following Elisa's graduation ceremony.  She sang the national anthem and had all 4 grandparents there!

10.12 miles in 2:10:09 or 12:52/mile at 129bpm.  I wanted to go faster, but my heart rate kept creeping up.  It was 59 degrees and beautiful today.  The whole run was in the daylight.

3.76 miles in 47:03 or 12:32/mile at 126bpm.  I think this is the first time all my miles have been under 13 minutes at that heart rate.  It was short sleeve, 61 degree weather this morning and I even started to sweat a little bit, but nothing like indoor treadmill work.

4.62 miles in 57:54 at 12:32/mile and 126bpm.  Same pace and heart rate as yesterday, but different distance.  Talked with another runner along the way about the beautiful 59 degree weather.  After he moved on, I noticed that my heart rate was in the high 130's and my max heart rate turned out to be 145bpm, but most of the rest of the time, I kept it real low to get the 126bpm average.

I'm thinking I need to do some fast running soon.  All this slow stuff feels really good, but I think I need to start developing speed too.

7.31 miles in 1:12:39 or 9:56/mile and 149bpm.  Actually, I hardly ever went at that pace with that heart rate.  Sometimes, I ran at a 14 minute pace with under 130bpm.  Other times, I ran closer to an 8 minute pace with a heart rate around 160bpm.  More or less, I ran as fast as I could to the end of each mile and then got my heart rate down below 130 before racing to the end of the next mile.

I want to learn to run faster and so I'm trying not to totally neglect the speed work.

4.88 miles in 1:01:52, or 12:41/mile at 126bpm.  Max was lower than usual at 134.  Still enjoying great weather at 47 degrees this morning.

About 5.5 miles in about 52 minutes, or about 9:30/mile and not a low heart rate run.  Woke up to a completely dead GPS.  So, I tried to go fast today.  It was 47 degrees this morning and it's supposed to get up to 64 degrees by 10:00 tomorrow morning.  (That would be 4 hours after the start time for the Utah Valley Marathon, in which my brother and my son will participate.)

4.65 miles in 39:16 or 8:27/mile with an average heart rate of 161bpm.  This was a run like old times.  Not running on Saturday probably gave me a big boost today.  The nice weather (56 degrees) didn't hurt.  Lack of time due to the need to get to work didn't hurt either.  Anyway, my goal was to run 8:50/min for 4-5 miles and I exceeded the goal by 23 seconds/mile.  Splits were 9:00, 8:19, 8:09, 8:26, and 8:20 (partial).

3.75 miles in 46:31 or 12:25/mile at 127bpm  Definitely an easy day, but it's what I had time for and at least I ran.

4.62 miles in 58:38 or 12:42/mile at 126bpm.  No excuses.  That's just how it came out today.  The weather was great at 56 degrees and the run felt good, like normal.  After this weekend, with all the work pressures and my wife in Arizona, I have to start doing some serious long runs.  Meanwhile, I'm trying to make sure I run daily.

I just about didn't have a running report this morning.  Karen and Brian are going to Arizona for a few days and I helped them get out the door.  But, tomorrow I'll need to cover some 6:00AM taxiing, and so I won't be running at all.  Hopefully, I can fit in a longer run on Saturday before work.

This was my first attempt at interval training.  Generally, I tried to go over half a mile as fast as I could, then I slowed down until my heart rate got below 130 ... repeat.  Results were all over the map:

4.64 miles in 45:32.  Average pace:  9:49/mile, Average heart rate:  147bpm, max heart rate 172bpm

lap   dist    pace/mile

1      .3      11:57

2      .73     8:37

3      .17     13:31

4       .71     8:07

5       .25     13:30

6        .58     7:37

7        .48     13:50

8        .68      7:45

9         .30      14:38

10        .43      8:08

10.13 miles in 2:16:07 for an average pace of 13:26/mile.  The first miles were especially slow.  Miles 5, 8, and 9 were the only ones under 13 minutes.  It felt easier at the end than the beginning, not that any of it was hard.  Hopefully, that means I burned off some of the fat from the hamburgers last night.

5.52 miles in 49:02, or 8:53/mile.  Other than the first half mile, I was trying to go fast.  Average heart rate was 154bpm, 175bpm max.  It wasn't raining, but it was overcast, 49 degrees, with fresh air.

I'm thankful that my body is holding up well and I'm starting to drop those pesky last five pounds.

5.48 miles in 1:11:35 or 13:04/mile at 125bpm, which is a little lower than usual.  I wonder if there is a lower limit on effective low heart rate training, not that I want to go there.  On the other hand, I want to make sure I don't approach that level if I'm not getting a benefit.  Low heart rate training takes long enough as it is.

I actually ran more like 5.5 miles, but I failed to get my GPS properly started at the beginning.

It was a good run at 65 degrees.  5.31 miles in 1:06:42 or 12:33/mile, average heart rate of 125bpm, max at 132bpm.  Most pleasing to me was to record two of those miles at under 12 minutes.  I have good days and not such good days, but the trend is towards progress.

Had GPS problems at the start again and the heart rate monitor wasn't working right as it registered a high of 182.  With all that included, I ran 6.31 miles in 1:18:56 or 12:31/mile with average heart rate of 127bpm.  Every split was between 12 and 13 minutes, which is unusually consistent for me.

I felt it this morning, especially towards the end of the run.  I've increased my miles a little this week and I need to be careful to guard against injury.  (Other than lightening and dogs and bears, injuries are my worst fear.)

Stats were 11.55 miles in 2:23:53 for an average pace of 12:28/mile and average heart rate of 126bpm and 138bpm max.  Other than miles 1 and 11, all other miles were between 12 and 13 minutes.  Not really a bad run, but nothing to blog about either.

5.07 miles of steep hill training in 46:19, averaging near goal marathon pace (9:08/mile), but my fast speed was more than twice as fast as my slow speed, so it was hardly a steady pace.  These were my splits:

10:07 (including warm-up and uphill)

10:55 (including very steep uphill and some downhill)

7:17 (all downhill)

8:33 (mostly downhill)

8:51 (gradual uphill)

8:14 (less gradual uphill)

Heart rate is pretty irrelevant because it started out misbehaving again, but it showed my average heart rate at 157bpm, which I think is skewed a little higher than reality.

3.25 miles in 39.13.  That's a pretty bad 5K time.  Yet I'm pretty pleased because I maintained an average pace of 12:09/mile at an average heart rate of 125bpm.  I should have gone further, but I ran out of time.

6.39 miles in 1:20:49 or 12:39/mile at 126bpm heart rate.  I walked out and didn't feel the little chill like usual.  I sky was a little overcast and I was surprised to see the thermometer reading at 77 degrees this morning.  I can't remember seeing it that warm that early before.

When there's not much to talk about on an uneventful run, there's always the weather.

5.52 miles in 53:11 or 9:38/mi  Avg heart rate:  148bpm, max heart rate 181bpm, max speed:  6:21/mile.  This was interval training.  I now believe that I can run a mile under 8 minutes with the wind at my back running downhill.  On that interval, I ran .8 miles at a 7:29 pace.  My worst interval (uphill, against the wind) was 9:16/mile for .72 miles.  The rule between intervals was to get my heart rate down below 130bpm.  Sometimes that took longer than others.

 It was 70 degrees and raining a little.

5.5 miles in 1:09:11 for a 12:35/mile pace and an average heart rate of 125bpm.

14.1 miles in 2:59:08 or 12:42/mile with an average heart rate of 126bpm.  Ran up Provo canyon and it was beautiful.  The Provo river was roaring and Bridal vail falls had more run-off than I've normally seen.  The big thaw is underway.

 It's been a long time since I've run this far and my legs started to wear down at the end.

7.3 miles in 1:31:05 for a pace of 12:29/mile at 125bpm.  77 degrees, overcast skies, but no rain yet.  My legs didn't feel like doing the fast running today after Saturday's long run.  Also, my weekly milage is starting to approach the point where I usually get injured and I need to be careful not to over train, even though I have more time this week.

5.53 miles in 46:46 for an average pace of 8:27/mile and average heart rate of 158bpm (169bpm max).  Cloudy and 72 degrees and 3 pounds of sweat lost.  I tried to go fast the whole time, but the first mile and the last partial were hard.  These were my splits:

9:12, 8:18, 8:17, 8:02, 8:14, and 8:56 pace for the last half.

 I was looking back at history and I had this pace back on June 13.  The lack of improvement is disappointing.  Nothing to do except keep trying.

I finally did it.  I broke the 12 minute barrier for low heart rate training.  7.29 miles in 1:27:03 for an average of 11:57/mile and average heart rate of 125bpm.  I also got 5 miles in a row under 12 minutes as follows:

12:18, 11:56, 11:54, 11:28, 11:51, 11:41, 12:14, 12:44

Now, my little secret:  The first mile and a half and the last mile and a half is mostly up hill.  Since I always end up where I start, you know what that means about the rest of the route.

5.48 miles in 1:05:54 for an average pace of 12:01 / mile and an average heart rate of 126bpm, (135bpm max).  Got a little knee pain after yesterday's run.  So, I opted out of the interval training today.

Brian is moving to Chicago today where he will start medical school.

7.29 miles in 1:30:38 or 12:16/mile with an average heart rate of 125bpm. (132 max)  That's my lowest max in a long time.  The air was fresh and the temperature was 66 degrees.

I've been ramping up the miles a little fast and I'm tired a lot.  Probably need to scale back next week before I go for the 50 miles a week plateau.

What a difference a day makes.  It was easier today than yesterday, until the last mile and a half when I started to feel the wear on my legs.  (I think that means that my lungs are in better shape than my legs, or I still weigh too much.)   I ran 11.49 miles in 2:16:09 for an average pace of 11:51/mile.  Average heart rate was 126bpm, (max 136).  Nine consecutive miles (2 through 10) were under 12 minutes.

The weather was incredibly good at 66 degrees and mostly clear skies.

Today, I did interval training.  I think it is my least favorite type of workout because it is hard and I must look ridiculous when I try to go fast and pitiful when I go so slowly.  My rule is to run about .75 miles as fast as I can and then trot until my heart rate gets down below 130bpm.  Sometimes that takes a while.  My first interval and my last one were at 8:37/mi and 8:10/mi respectively.  All the other intervals were under an 8:00/mi pace, my best pace being 7:30/mile

Overall, I ran 7.32 miles in 1:08:45  for an average pace of 9:24/mile and max pace of 6:27/mi.  Average heart rate was 148bpm with a max of 168bpm.

7.29 miles in 123:27 for an average pace of 11:27/mile at 124bpm.  Can't help but be pleased with that one.  Some days are better than others.  Before you know it I will look like a real runner.  First lap was 12:10.  Last partial was 12:01.  All other laps were in the 11s with the fastest mile at 11:02.

7.28 miles in 1:26:41 for an average pace of 11:55/mile, average heart rate 125bpm, max rate 132bpm.  Yesterday must have been a fluke.  You don't have to worry, Mark.  You are light years ahead of me.

One of my secrets is to lull my competition into complacency.

That was a long break without running and significant loss of training time.  But I'm back.  I've still got some minor pain in my left knee, but not enough to affect my stride, so I consider it to be OK.  Ceasing to run seemed to fix the problem.   Other than that, I used ice a few times when the pain was more intense.  Yesterday morning, when I couldn't even find the pain in my knee, I canceled my Dr appointment.  But, I had a little pain before I started running this morning.

 I don't know what caused the injury other than progressing a little too quickly with the milage.  Now I need to ramp back up again.

This morning's run was 5.35 miles in 1:05:52, 12:19/mile 125bpm, 130bpm max.  I'm feeling good right now.

5.52 miles in 1:06:54, 12:07/mi, 125bpm, 133bpm max.  Brand new pavement and stripes for bikers.

Today, Charles turned 19 and I burned some pancakes for his breakfast.  Last night, I taught him the principles of packing (planning, finding, organizing, and packing with an eye towards streamlining at all times) and we enjoyed a practice session before he beat me in chess.

4.62 miles in 53:59 for an average pace of 11:42/mi, heart rate of 124bpm with 132bpm max.  I'd say it was a good day with all laps under a 12:00 pace (last fraction was 11:59 and best mile was 11:24).

Hopefully, I can make it through 16 miles tomorrow without further injury.

17.3 miles up to Vivian park and back in 3:35:15 for an average pace of 12:26/mile.  The heart rate monitor went out of control.  Once I looked at it and it said 156 without making much of an effort.  Towards the end it was high again.  I decided to forget it and I sped up just to see the monitor go down to near 130.  But it felt like a low heart run all the way and I'll count it as such.

So far so good with the knees, but my legs are tired.

Happy pioneer day!

7.31 miles in 1:04:32 for an average pace of 8:50/mile, average heart rate was 155bpm, 170bpm max.  First mile was 9:58 and all other miles were under 9 minutes.

I figure I need to start running harder once in a while or I will end up with 11 minute miles for the marathon.

Fireworks in Utah are much different than Arizona, where we had to drive a long ways to the designated spot on July 4th, fighting traffic all the way.

In Utah, you can't really get away from them in the month of July.  It sounds like a war zone every night, but last night in particular.  We walked out our front door and saw fireworks going off from about 10 locations and two of them were within 2 blocks of our house.  The closest one was the most spectacular as it filled the sky over our heads.

We also heard a fire truck.  I wonder why.

Same route as Monday, but low heart rate:  7.29 miles in 1:29:15 (12:15/mi), 125bpm, 134bpm max.  For some reason, I had to go pretty slowly, especially at the start to keep my heart rate down.  Miles 4 and 6 were the only ones under 12 minutes, but none were over 13 minutes.

I ran mostly in the dark as the days are starting to get shorter again.

6.2 miles in 58:18 9:24/mile 6:21 max, 150bpm, 172bpm max.  I did interval training, which isn't my favorite and I almost didn't do it for fear of injury, but I feel really good right now and probably didn't overdo it.

As usual, I got my heart rate below 130 between intervals.  I hit the wrong button on the first interval, but these are the rest of them:  .50 miles at 7:32 pace, .83 miles at 7:32 pace, .83 miles at 7:41 pace, .54 miles at 7:42 pace, .69 miles at 7:50 pace, and .17 miles at 7:20 pace.

This was an easy day, but a good day: 5.85 miles in 1:02:25 for an average pace of 11:24/mile at 126bpm, 133bpm max.  Mile times were all under a 12:00 pace:  11:59, 11:20, 10:58, 11:00, 11:26, and 11:50 for the last half.

14.55 miles up the canyon and back in 2:52:55 for an average pace of 11:53/mile and an average heart rate of 127bpm.  Towards the end my legs got weak, my pace slowed down, and my heart rate went up.  I can't blame it on anything besides fatigue.  Perhaps I need to take supplements at that distance.

7.3 miles in 1:27:54 at a rate of 12:02/mile, 125bpm, 132bpm max.  I'm nursing my knee again.  It seemed to flair up after Friday's football and softball and then Saturday's long run.  So, I took yesterday off.  Ran gingerly today and it didn't really hurt until the last mile.  I'm not meeting my mileage goals, but the main goal is not to disable myself to prevent me from running the St George marathon.

4.62 in 56:14 12:10/mile at 125bpm, 133bpm max.  Cutting way back on the training and apparently losing fitness.  That is mostly due to nagging injuries, but partly due to lack of time as we prepare for the trip to Chicago tomorrow for Brian's white coat ceremony.

Charles leaves on his mission Aug 17, then Alma and Ben start school and then Elisa starts BYU.  Maybe we can breath easy then.  Trouble is that it will almost be taper time before I ever get into marathon shape.

6 miles at 12:16 / mile (126bpm, 134bpm max) along Lake Michigan.  I started out in the rain, but nothing would stop me from this unique opportunity.  This was truly a "run in the park" with beautiful lake views.

Karen and I stayed at Brian's apartment in the Hyde Park area of Chicago (where he is starting medical school at the University of Chicago).  Coincidentally, Obama is also from Hyde Park.  He would have been in the majority in the area.  Based on the runners I saw, I believe that the area must be about 75% black.

This run was to make up for Saturday's long run.  Once again, I ran along Lake Michigan, but much further.  My goal was to run to the sky scrapers, which I did.  I passed up the new Soldier Field stadium before I turned around.

I'm pretty sure I was the slowest runner, even though my heart rate was higher than normal at 129bpm.  Average pace for 13.16 miles was 13:11 per mile.  Maybe I can blame it on a sore throat that I picked up, or the humidity, or the old age, or just flat out of shape.  But is was still a neat experience and a neat view.  They are in the midst of park improvements, which meant there was an official detour on the running path.

4.62 miles in 1:00:55.  13:12/mile, 126bpm, 134bpm max.  Nothing good to say except that I ran.  Maybe I'm losing fitness with the reduced running these days.

We arrived back in Orem yesterday, so this was a normal running route.

6.35 miles in 1:20:42  Average pace 12:43/mi, average heart rate 125bpm, max 133bpm.  My favorite constellation, Orion is back on the eastern horizon before dawn!

Two runs back to back.  First run was 12:31 per mile for 6 miles with an average heart rate of 126bpm.  Second run was 9:03 per mile for 7.5 miles with an average heart rate of 160bpm.  Besides the faster speed, the second run was much more difficult.  Mostly uphill, except for an extremely steep decline at the end where most of my energy seemed to be used for braking so that I wouldn't fall.

7.3 miles in 1:07, give or take a minute.  GPS had a dead battery and so timing came from my cell phone today.  The run felt pretty good after a difficult run on Saturday.  I'm thinking I won't be doing very many more slow runs until after the marathon at this point.  I need to get the miles in at somewhere close to my target marathon pace, which is 9:10/mile.  That was also my approximate pace today.

10.19 miles in 1:27:05 for an average pace of 8:33/mile and an average heart rate of 154bpm, max 172bpm, max speed 6:23/mile.  I ran this kind of like a race to see what I could do.  These were my mile times:  9:25, 8:42, 8:38, 8:33, 8:29, 8:32, 8:45, 8:22, 8:14, 7:59, and 7:45 for the last fraction.  I was especially pleased with how I finished off.  But I was probably going too fast for anyone to see. :)

5.51 miles in 48:43 for an average pace of 8:50/mile.  Heart rate monitor didn't do its job today and it didn't much matter because I'm done with the slow running for a while.

We delivered Charles to the MTC (curbside drop off) on Wednesday and Elisa will be off to BYU in four days.  Alma and Ben start school on Monday as the only ones left at home.

Well, I thought I was done with slow running for a while.  It took me 3:01:39 to run 18.1 miles this morning and it wiped me out so much that I couldn't stand up in the shower.  I didn't worry about the heart rate, which averaged 144bpm, but I tried to keep a decent pace.  Overall average pace was 10:02/mile.

5.09 miles in 48:20;  Average pace 9:30/mile, 150bpm;  Max pace 6:11/mile, 165bpm.  This was my climb the mountain and then roll down route.  Being the first day of school, it was a little earlier than usual.  Orion was still easily visible as I arrived home.  I also saw what must have been a meteorite flash across the sky in front of me.

It seemed like an easy day was the best choice for today.  Even though I had decided to stop the low heart rate runs, maybe it makes sense once in a while.  I ran 6.4 miles in 1:19:04 for an average pace of 12:22/mile and average heart rate of 125bpm.  Max pace was 9:06 and max heart rate was 132bpm.  Sometimes its better not to tear your body up running hard.  At least that's what seems right to me.

GPS was dead today.  Ran hill route of 5.1 miles in 46 minutes, give or take a minute.  That comes out to about 9:01/mile, which I consider to be a decent average for that route.  Ben wants to get up early and run with me tomorrow.  I'm excited about that.

Ben wanted to run with me today, for which I was excited.  I figured low heart rate would probably work out pretty well, but he started out so fast that my heart rate went up a little more than the 130 threshold.  Then he slowed down a lot.  With both knees hurting, I dropped him off back home after two miles.  It was still his longest run ever, though.  After that, I continued for a total of 5.67 miles in 1:07:09 at 11:50/mile with an average heart rate of 125bpm, 135bpm max.

Ben was asleep by the time I got home, but this could be the beginning of something very good.

20.13 miles up and down Provo Canyon in 3:16:11  Average pace: 9:45/mi, Average heart rate 147bpm, max 164bpm.  Very tough run, but better than last Saturday in terms of speed, distance, and energy left afterwards..  Hope to do it once more in two weeks before I start the taper.

No GPS today, but I ran with my brother who had a GPS.  Our average pace was 9:56, which we maintained throughout.  I enjoyed running with the "master", especially in his weakened state after his Saturday 28 mile trek to the summit of King's Peak and back.

5.54 miles in 49:05 (Avg pace, 8:52/mi, Avg hr 148bpm)  Max pace 6:35/mi, Max HR 164bpm.  It was a good run with a generally increasing pace:  10:13, 9:01, 8:31, 8:24, 8:30, and 8:20.

My goal was to beat 9 min/mile and I did it in spite of a slow first mile.  With the exception of the seventh mile, each mile was an improvement over the previous one.  These were my splits:  10:20, 9:06, 8:46, 8:39, 8:36, 8:34, 8:35, and 8:12 (partial).  Overall, it was 7.31 miles in 1:05:09 for an average pace of 8:55/mile and an average heart rate of 149bpm with 165bpm max.  My heart rate increased with my speed and distance.  At some point, this run would have been unsustainable.  I just don't know what that point is.

Late to bed, late to rise = short, fast run.  4.66 miles in 38:50.  Average pace 8:20/mi max 6:27/mi  Avg heart rate 156bpm, max 167bpm.  Today, I worked hard for the whole run and my pace did slacken a bit at the end:  8:53, 8:16, 7:52, 8:08, and 8:40.  I especially liked the 7:52 mile.

18.16 miles up and down Provo canyon and part of South Fork in 2:50:32.  Average pace of 9:23/mile and average heart rate of 148bpm.  Max pace was 5:49 (I don't know how that happened without getting hit in the back by a bicycle.)

I almost wished I had dressed warmer.  It was 53 degrees with a strong head wind when I started.  But the coolness and the tail wind helped me on the way down.  These were my mile times:  10:40, 10:22, 10:08, 9:39, 9:52, 9:51, 9:56, 9:21, 9:22, 9:39, 8:59, 8:19, 8:56, 8:50, 9:02, 9:11, 8:44, 8:30, 7:51 (partial)

For Labor Day, Benjamin and I hiked Mount Timpanogos up to the 9800 feet elevation level before we had to turn back to make it in time for an afternoon barbeque.  We went up the Timpanooke trail, which was absolutely gorgeous.  I was really pleased that Ben could do so well and we have resolved to get to the top next year.  I had some pain in my shins, but otherwise, no pain of any consequence.

8.2 miles in 1:16:35 at a 9:20 pace, consistently increasing with each mile.  First mile took 10:39 and last fraction was at an 8:29 pace.  Woke up several times in the night and finally got up at 4:00.  Everybody including me has colds today.

4.61 miles in 56:01 or 12:09/mile with average heart rate of 126bpm, max 123bpm.  The main reason I kept my heart rate low was because I was so wiped out.

I just wanted to do something today.  I managed 3.93 miles at a 13:31 pace with an average heart rate of 125bpm.  Slow speed was to keep the coughing under control.  It should just keep getting better from here.  I'm also back at work today.

4.66 miles in 42:31 for an average pace of 9:08/mile with an average heart rate of 150bpm, max 162bpm.    I feel like I'm physically strong again, but my cough is still driving me crazy.

Tried to beat 9:00/mi this morning, but didn't quite make it.  4.65 miles in 42:11 for an average pace of 9:04/mile and an average heart rate of 151bpm, (165bpm max).  Part of the problem is the warm-up mile.  This is the breakdown:  9:55, 9:03, 8:47, 8:38, and 8:51 partial.

Today, I ran with two contact lenses rather than one.  That meant I couldn't read my GPS watch.  But, I liked the results:  5.55 miles in 48:49 for an average pace of 8:47/mile and an average heart rate of 155bpm (max 169bpm)  Maybe I can do better if I don't monitor it so closely.

This was a great run for 10 miles.  Then came the uphill and I slowed down to a crawl.  The final downhill stretch was not even that fast because I was wiped out.  I could blame it on the lingering cough or the wet weather, but not on the heat.  It was in the low 50's with fall's first snow on top of Timpanogos this morning.

Overall, 12.35 miles in 1:54:08, for an average pace of 9:15/mile and an average heart rate of 154bpm, max 167bpm.

4.64 miles in 41:51, (9:01/mi and 152bpm)  My speed got up to 7:23/mile and my maximum heart rate reached 167bpm.  Coughing continues to be a problem and I hope I can get all better within two weeks for the marathon.  I was motivated on the uphill stretch at the end because someone was coming up behind me and gaining.  I decided not to let him pass.  Splits were 9:47, 9:08, 8:36, 8:50, and 8:35 (partial).

After another consultation with my doctor and more medicines, I think my cough is finally getting better, although it still lingers.  I now have pretty good hope of being healthy for the marathon in 10 days.  This morning, I ran 5.53 miles in 48:43, which is 8:49/mile, with a max downhill pace of 5:48.  I guess I'll believe it because I was really running hard on that stretch.  These are my splits:  9:47, 8:36, 8:25, 8:37, 8:44, and 8:38.

St George marathon is just around the corner.  I'm tapering back to about 50% this week and next week will be even easier.  Just to keep it easy, I ran low heart rate miles this morning:  5.49 miles in 1:08:45 at an average pace of 12:32/mi and average heart rate of 126bpm. (max 133bpm).  Tomorrow will be an off day and then 8 miles on Saturday for my last "long" run.

I was breathing heavy walking up the stairs last night.  This cough and wheezing seems to get better and then it gets worse.  I'm still hoping for full lung capacity next Saturday.

I decided to run at low heart rate today:  8.62 miles in 1:48:18 (12:34/mile and 127bpm)  All miles were between 12 and 13 minutes.  I'm feeling pretty good right now, but I don't think I would be feeling very well if I had pushed it this morning.

This was an easy run, to see if I could run.  I can, but not very fast.  It took me 27:17 for 2.59 miles and it wasn't low heart rate (147bpm).  On Monday, my oxygen level was at 91, where below 90 is considered a problem and 98 would be ideal.  Yesterday, it came up to 93, but still not where it ought to be.

My marathon goal has been 4 hours, but I might need to be satisfied with 5 hours tomorrow.

This is the sinus infection that won't go away, but none of the three doctors told me not to run the marathon, so I'm going to do it.

The best way to look at this, my second marathon is I finished and over 1600 people finished after me and I kept my time under five hours and the sickness didn't get me down.

It is a great course, other than the heat.  I hit the wall early.  At the mile 17 aid station, I walked through for three cups of water and then it was all I could do to start running again.  It was a slow jog most of the way in, but I did pass up someone in the finish line chute.  That was an exception.  For the most part, people were passing me from start to finish.  They passed me at the beginning because I was trying to conserve energy.  Miles 8 through 17 were some of my fastest miles and then it was the death crawl for nine miles.  Lots of mortuary signs along the way kept me going.

I appreciated the bands along the route.  They were great!

 I could tell when I looked bad because people started saying "Looking good, Stephen!"

1.61 miles, unknown time and heart rate, but it was an easy run.  It was 38 degrees and raining.  As the first run following a marathon, I'd say I'm being plenty careful to let my body recover.

Next marathon will probably be the June 9 Utah Valley Marathon.  It is ideal in that I can train on the course, but not such ideal timing.  The height of my training will be in the dead of winter.

7.31 miles in 1:11:02 for an average pace of 9:43 in the rain with long sleeves and gloves and a hat.  41 degrees outside says winter is here and it will probably stay around for a while.  I ran far enough today to bring back the blisters and I wore myself out pretty good.  Maybe it was a little more than I was ready for.

4.65 miles in 43:23 for an average pace of 9:20/mi and average heart rate of 155bpm, max 155.

Splits were 10:20 (max 7:46), 9:04 (max 7:35), 9:02 (max 8:09), 9:14 (max 7:29), and 8:50 (max 6:40).  Couldn't have asked for better running conditions:  51 degrees and no rain.  I wore my St. George marathon shirt for the first time and I didn't want anyone to think that marathon runners were slow.

Lower body feels great.  Still lots of aches and pains in the chest area, but that doesn't affect my running much.

5.54 miles in 50:15, 9:05/mi with these splits 9:49, 9:08, 8:54, 8:57, 8:50, 8:38.  It was 45 degrees outside and that was cool enough for the deer to come down.  I saw three of them at the same spot I used to see them last year.

10.07 miles in 2:20:01.  The time would have been great for a marathon, but the distance was a little short.  At 50 degrees, the weather was great, and I sighted 3 more deer.

This was my first low heart rate run in a long time and I found it very difficult to keep my heart rate down.  Overall average rate was 129bpm with an average speed of 13:54/mile.

It should get better from here.

4.64 miles in 40:52 for an average pace of 8:49/mi and average heart rate of 154bpm. Max was 6:50/mi and 168bpm. This is significantly faster than my run just a week ago and these were my splits: 9:14, 8:53, 8:41, 8:35, and 8:35. At 41 degrees, I chose long sleeves and gloves, but I have more options for when it gets below freezing.

I went to the doctor again yesterday. Most of my sick symptoms are gone, but I remain with an aching back that I haven't figured out yet. The good news is that my oxygen intake is back up from 91 and 92 to 98, which is where it should be.

The best thing right now is that my daughter in law is in labor with her second child and my 5th grandchild! My wife is in Florida to help and I'm anxiously awaiting more news.

My new granddaughter came yesterday morning at 10:06 EST. She weighed 7lbs 13oz and she is healthy. My wife is in Florida to help. That means I took over the kitchen yesterday and made a huge batch of spaghetti sauce with nothing in it but garden produce, not even water or salt. I used tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, basil and oregano.

Oh yeah, this is a running blog. I ran 4.6 miles in 58:32 for an average pace of 12:44/mi and an average heart rate of 126bpm, max 133bpm. Compared to Saturday's low heart rate run, this one was much better. I am just feeling better this week.

7.31 miles in 1:04:44 for an average pace of 8:52/mi and an average heart rate of 155bpm. Max heart rate was 172bpm, which I think is the highest I have ever measured. It was there when I pushed the stop button for my sprint at the end. Splits were 9:45, 9:10, 8:58, 8:33, 8:48, 8:39, 8:23, and 8:00 for the last fraction. I'm wondering how close I could get to an 8:00 minute pace for a 10K.

It helps to have such good running conditions. (44 degrees this morning, with no precipitation)

Ten miles in 2:10:39.  Average pace 13:04/mile, avg heart rate 128bpm.   I was a little surprised that the average heart rate wasn't higher because the readings were way high on the first mile, going all the way up to 166bpm.  I guess I kept my heart rate low enough the rest of the time to bring down my average.  Compared to my speed last week on the same run, this was much better.  I think the sickness is finally behind me and just the back pains remain.

Other than my parents, my whole family is gone this morning.  Ben is at a Deacons meeting.  Alma is rock climbing.  Elisa and Kevin are at BYU, Charles is on a mission in Washington, Brian is attending medical school in Chicago, Cindy lives with her family in Pima Arizona, and Jeremy is with his family in Florida.  My wife will also be there until Tuesday to help out with their new baby.

Ran about 5.5 miles at about an 8:30 pace, but that is only a guess.  Operator error with the GPS caused me to have no data at the end.  I felt good and strong today.  It was a nice 46 degrees outside and warm enough for short sleeves, but I did wear gloves.  I never regret it when I wear gloves.

4.63 miles in 39:56 for an average pace of 8:38/mile.  This run was a little tougher than yesterday and my splits show it because they didn't constantly improve:  9:18, 8:48, 8:17, 8:21, and 8:24.

My wife is coming home today, even as my new granddaughter has decided that she has had enough of Fort Lauderdale and is packing up to move to Boston.  (She's taking her brother and parents along with her.)

4.64 miles in 39:11 for an average pace of 8:26/mi and an average heart rate of 155bpm.  This run was about 45 seconds faster than Tuesday's run and it felt good.  At 32 degrees, I decided to bundle up in long sleeves, gloves, and a ski mask.  That was more than adequate to keep me comfortable.

4.62 miles in 59:26 for an average pace of 12:58/mi and an average heart rate of 125bpm.  The heart rate monitor didn't work too well today.  It spiked up about 3 times during the run.  At other times, it read in the low 120's or even below when it felt like I was exerting more effort.  Maybe the cold 32 degrees weather was the problem.

We picked up Charles from the airport yesterday and he was release from his mission.  He is in good spirits and he now wants to go back and finish his associates degree at Snow college.  We tried to anticipate how it would be, but we didn't anticipate his positive attitude and especially we didn't anticipate his desire to return to Snow College.

10.14 miles in 2:03:24 with an average heart rate of 127bpm and an average pace of 12:10/milie.

What a difference a week makes.   I feel good and my pace was almost a minute per mile faster than last week.  It was a very tolerable 32 degrees outside.

5.5 miles in 46:13 for an average pace of 8:24/mile in a cool 38 degrees and lots of stars.  Splits were 9:13, 8:25, 8:12, 8:10, 8:08, and 8:17.  Still seeking my first sub-8 minute mile.  My fastest pace was 6:25 in mile 5, so I'm getting closer.

November started out with a non-working garmin.  My plan was low heart rate training this morning, but I've never tried to do that without a heart rate monitor.  I know how fast I usually go and I know that my heart rate stays down pretty good if I memorize things outloud.  So that's what I did.  Based on my cell phone time, I ran 4.6 miles in 58 minutes, give or take a minute.  That would be about 12:36 per mile.

Garmin worked and registered 5.48 miles in 1:09:49 for an average pace of 12:45/mile.  But the heart rate monitor read way high for the whole run.  If it takes sweat to operate, then there wasn't any of that going on.  When I was done, my clothes were still very dry.  At 30 degrees, no body cooling was needed.

20 degrees warmer today (50 degrees) and the heart rate monitor worked, but today was a fast day.  I ran 5.5 miles at an average pace of 8:35 per mile, starting at 9:22 and ending at 8:06, with improvements on each mile.  Not my best pace, but satisfactory.

11.55 miles at a low heart rate in 2:30:02, or 12:59/mile.  Snow was forcast, but there were only a few flakes here and there.  I was running directly into the wind for about 5 miles and then uphill.  I found it more difficult than usual to keep my heart rate down.  The average was 129bpm with a max up to 138bpm.  I hope this did some good because I don't like to run slowly.

Short, low heart rate run that felt good.  No wind or rain or snow.  Just a cool 36 degrees.  Ran 4.64 miles in 56:21 for an average pace of 12:08/mi and an average heart rate of 125bpm, which never exceeded 131bpm.  Splits were 12:24, 12:06, 11:56, 11:47, and 12:40.

Same route as yesterday, but fast.  This is the fast running blog, right?  The forecast was 20 degrees, but it turned out to be more like 30 degrees.  So, I overdressed and got kind of hot in my sweats, long sleeves, gloves, and face mask.  Ran 4.63 miles in 39:40 for an average pace of 8:34/mile and an average heart rate of 157bpm, maxing out at 168bpm.

5.5 miles in 1:13:05 for an average pace of 13:17/mi and an average heart rate of 128bpm.  Not my best day, to put it mildly.  I did it all without a drop of sweat.  I wore shorts, long sleeves, and gloves, but that was all the protection I had against the cold (28 degrees).  I'm thinking that my heart worked overtime to warm my body, just like it works overtime to cool the body in the heat.  The heart rate monitor was all over.  Sometimes I'd see it jump 10 ticks without any notable pace change.

10.13 miles in 2:06:19 for an average of 12:28/mi and 126bpm.  There was a slight drizzle, but otherwise, the weather cooperated very well.  At 48 degrees, is was 20 degrees warmer than yesterday, and I am more convinced that cold weather slows me down as much as hot weather.

For a while, I heard someone struggling behind me, and gradually gaining.  I thought about speeding up, but thought I better not ruin my heart rate.  Besides, one of my objectives is to help other runners feel good about their efforts.  When he passed me, he said he was very tired and that made me feel better.

What made me feel best was to walk in the door and hear Charles say, "Holy cow, he look like you're in great shape!"  That makes it all worth it.

5.07 miles in 45:23 for an average pace of 8:57 at 155bpm.  Max, if they can be believed are 5:24 pace and 178bpm.  This was my steep hill route with the following splits:  9:22 (warmup, mostly uphill), 10:36 (including very steep uphill for a half mile), 7:35 (all downhill, quite steep), 8:24 (mostly downhill, 8:52 (mostly uphill), and 8:25 (uphill)

Chased about 8 deer on mile 2 and two dogs chased me on mile 4 (when I got the 5:24 pace).  I couldn't shake them off.  So, I finally stopped and made friends.  It took a couple of minutes to calm them down.

I'm not sure if the 178bpm is accurate either, although I frequently saw readings of about 162.

I'll have to take this route more often.  It's not as boring.

4.61 miles in 57:12 for an average pace of 12:25/mi at 126bpm.  After yesterday's effort, it was a nice, easy day.  The flag was not waving at all.  That means no wind at 38 degrees.

Decided to try running on Wednesday knowing full well that I would need to run around a garbage can in the middle of the sidewalk that is always there on Wednesdays.  It turned out pretty well.  4.62 miles in 55:02, for an average pace of 11:55/mi at 126bpm, max 134bpm.

It was colder than usual (29 degrees) and I still beat yesterday's time on the same run, at the same heart rate by 30 seconds per mile.  I don't have a good explanation, but I think I was more rested.

5.48 miles in 1:06:40 for an average pace of 12:10/mi and an average heart rate of 127bpm.  At 48 degrees, the weather was perfect, but the sky was overcast, and there were very few stars to be seen.

12.6 miles, but I don't have the other data.  I ran so long, that the battery wore down on my GPS.  I noticed during the last couple of miles that I had to run slower to keep the heart rate down.  Maybe that means I was running out of energy.

We had our first snow that stayed last night, but on the roads and sidewalks, there was just a little ice, which is quite slippery at 32 degrees.  Thankfully, I managed not to fall.

4.66 miles in 38:37 for an average pace of 8:17/mi and an average heart rate of 154bpm, 167bpm max.  I had no choice but to run fast today because I didn't have much time.  It was 34 degrees, but the extra effort made me sweat.  These were my splits:  8:52, 8:17, 8:09, 7:56, 8:08.

You saw that right.  I broke 8 minutes on mile 4!

I had time to experiment this morning and changed my run, partly so that I could check on a test I started at work yesterday.  I went down to my place of employment.  But that meant most of the run after that was uphill.  My heart rate monitor didn't behave, so the first part of the run was mostly be feel.  When I started going uphill, it started working again.  Overall, I ran 10.11 miles in 2:21:28, which is a very poor pace of 13:59/mi.  Not sure how I can explain it.

I ate two Thanksgiving dinners today.  One for my parents and one for Karen's parents.  I can still hear my stomach working overtime to process the extra load I gave it today.

Did a round about run to work and back again this morning to check on my test.  So far, over 1,875,000 transmissions have occurred without error.  Might as well keep it going until Monday.

I slept in until 5:30 this black Friday, but I was the exception.  By the time I got out (and it was still black outside), the streets were very busy with traffic.

Ran down and then up today for an average pace of 12:38/mi and 126bpm, including over 2 miles of a malfunctioning heart rate monitor.

10.13 miles in 2:00:24 for an average pace of 11:53/mile.  I had a feeling when I walked out the door that this would be a better run, and it was.  My heart rate monitor cooperated the whole time and my average heart rate was 127bpm.

Based on the philosophy that some running is better than none (and that sleep is needed for a productive day), I ran only 2.61 miles in 21:34 for an average pace of 8:16/mile.  Splits were 8:41, 7:59, and 8:02.  Heart rate monitor didn't cooperate again.

About 5 miles in about 54 minutes.  Didn't get GPS started at the beginning.  By the time I figured that out, I was almost to the top of my hill.  I started the GPS at the top and got good times for the rest of the run:  3.44 miles in 27:31 (7:59/mi) with splits of 7:36, 7:45, 8:31, and 8:16.  On an "aided" course, I can hit the 8 minute miles.

Ran about 4.6 miles in about 52 minutes based on the wall clock.  With no GPS, I tried to keep a conversational pace, but my heart rate probably didn't stay in range.  Average pace of about 11:18 is an evidence of that.

We had snow last night, but it didn't stick and it wasn't snowing this morning.  So, we made it to December and I still haven't run in the snow.

Based on the forecast, I expected 19 degrees this morning and so I dressed in long warm-ups, long sleeves, gloves, and ski mask.  By the time I got back, I was pretty wet with sweat.  It was a much warmer 27 degrees.  Yesterday, the winds were over 100mph in Davis county, but here in happy valley, we've had virtually no wind.

I ran 4.64 miles in 39:31 for an average pace of 8:31 per mile at 155bpm, maxing out at 165bpm and 5:51/mi.

Had a nice slow run in a little bit of snow.  A person that preceeded me had special shoes that showed his toes.  He ran a long ways because I followed his tracks for so long.  Then, later on, I picked up his tracks again.

11.08 miles in 2:13:34 for an average pace of 12:02/mile.  Six miles were between 11:54 and 11:57, which was a pretty consistent pace.  Heart rate was 126bpm.

4.65 miles in 39:31 for an average pace of 8:30/mi at 157bpm.  Maxed out at 171bpm, which is higher than usual.  At 16 degrees, I dressed up even warmer than usual and was not too cold.

5.53 miles in 48:31 for an average pace of 8:47 per mile with these paces 9:38, 8:47, 8:31, 8:37, 8:27, and 8:37.  Not really my best day, but a run nonetheless.  When I skip my runs, I still eat just the same and my weight shows it.  At least I did some core exercises yesterday.

11.68 miles in 2:29:20 for an average pace of 12:47/mi at 128bpm.

Looked like almost a total eclipse of the moon on the west horizon, but if the earth was casting a shawdow, why was the lighted portion towards the horizon? I guess I don't understand eclispes very well. Holding a 3-D image in my head doesn't work very well for me.

5.5 miles, but my GPS stopped after the first mile.  I restarted it before the 2nd mile.  For the measured portion of the run, my average pace was 12:36/mi and 125bpm.  Temperature warmed up to freezing (32 degrees) this morning.

GPS and heart monitor worked well today for these measurements:  5.5 miles in 1:07:53 for an average pace of 12:21/mi and a heart rate of 126bpm.  At 32 degrees, the sidewalks were especially slick.  Due to the lack of traction, I think I did more slipping backwards than sliding forward.  A trace of snow fell last night, but we still haven't received loads of snow like in years past.

5.5 miles in 46:14 for an average pace of 8:24/mi and an average heart rate of 157bpm.  (Max 6:16 and 175bpm).  175bpm may be my highest legitimate heart rate.  Since I started moistening the heart rate monitor when I put it on, it has behaved much better.

Family reunion time at a mansion in Herriman, UT.  I escaped out early into the cold weather and ran down the hill and back up again.  From where the house was situated, it wasn't possible to run uphill first.  It was a bad day to have a non-functional GPS, but I ran the same route plus one mile today to find out what I did on Saturday.  For a Saturday, it was a pretty easy run.  But at 19 degrees, it was plenty cold.

Another cold run this morning, but with a GPS.  Measured 8.13 miles in 1:22:18 for an average rate of 10:07/mi and 147bpm.  I wasn't really willing to keep my heart rate low while running up the hill, but it wasn't that much exertion overall.  With all the calories I've consumed lately, it was very much needed.

5.5 miles in 1:03:34 for an average pace of 11:34/mi and about 126bpm

for the heart rate.  Back home on my regular route where the temperature

is a little warmer at 29 degrees and the elevation is a little lower at

4800 feet.  I've also been eating plenty and have no lack of energy.

5.5 miles on the steep hill route in 50:12 for an average pace of 9:08/mi and 151bpm.  Slowest mile was 10:52 followed by my fastest mile at 7:49.

4.94 miles in 56.16 for at average speed of 11:23/mi and 126bpm, (max 133bpm)  Changed my route a little and removed quite a bit of the ups and downs.  Also, changed my shoes, which I noticed were very worn on the outside, front.  I think my old shoes are in much better shape than my new ones.  Maybe I'll get some new shoes for Christmas.

5.49 miles in 1:02:35 for an average pace of 11:24/mile at 125bpm.  At 18 degrees, it was one of my coldest mornings yet, but still tolerable.

Cindy's family is driving here and will arrive soon.  Then we'll have our whole family here for Christmas, making our house pretty cozy.

Ran 10.1 miles in about 2 hours and 2 minutes.  Usually my GPS shows a low battery after 4 or 5 miles, but this time, it completely turned off before I finished my run.  So the data is pretty much invalid.  I tried to keep my heart rate down, but I don't know if I even achieved that.

It's been a long time since I've found time to run 6 times in a week, but I did it with less work obligations, having only worked three of those days.

7.27 miles in 1:22:49 for an average pace of 11:23/mi and an average heart rate of 127bpm. These were my lap times: 11:58, 11:25, 11:12, 10:56 (pretty good, I'd say), 11:08, 11:18, 11:39, 11:56.

I've pretty much concluded that the shoes are making the difference. My old shoes are always faster than my new shoes. I got my new shoes, about a year ago, because my old shoes were too slow. Just think how fast I could go with another pair of new shoes.

Finally got up early enough to run, but I came to work quite late to do it.  My family is operating on Hawaii time zone and I expect they will have some jet lag to deal with when they go back to school next week.  I just arrived to work on my bike, but I think they are all in bed still.  "They" are my whole family except for my married children. 

I ran the hill route (in the rain) this morning, which was 5.04 miles in 45:56, for an average pace of 9:07/mi and heart rate of 152bpm.  Got a new, high tech running shirt for Christmas that glows in the dark and is quite warm.  Too warm, in fact for this morning's run in the rain.

Same route, same distance as last Friday, but lower heart rate and lower speed (11:40/mi at 125bpm).  Temperature was 20 degrees warmer too (39 degrees), but it still felt cold, I think because of the humidity.

The good thing about today is that I ran.

My GPS didn't last for today's long run, especially after stopping in to check on a test at work.  I calculated the distance as 12.94 miles based on the pedometer and it took 3:26 with some work time included.  It was low heart rate training at about a 12 minute pace.