What ever it takes!

Tried to make up for Saturdays failed progressive run, I started getting a side cramp again but was able to work through it today.  Started at 8:00 pace ended at 6:00 pace for an average 7:01, go figure.  12 miles in 1:24:15.

Here is a chart showing who the runner up to Lance Armstrong was in every major finish since 1998.  If they have an asterick next to their name they have been caught doping to some extent.  Every Tour De France winner since 1996 has since been proven a doper.  It's pretty sad.  I'm not sure how they can strip Lance of his titles and not everyone else.

Who would have guessed that there is a huge group of guys that run around in the dark at 6:30 pace every morning.  Crazy!  I met with Scott Keate and his posse this morning, just 2 miles from my house.  You'll have to go to his blog to get the full list of names but I'll give it a shot.  Scott, Reed, Dan, Toni, Matt, Me and 3 others.  It started out cold and threatening rain but it turned into a perfect morning for a run.  My headlamp had dead batteries so it was good I was running with 8 other guys all with bright lights and suspenders, it gave me motivation to stay with them.   At about mile 5 we started running uphill into the wind and I started dieing a bit, I thought maybe I'm not at this groups level yet, but then at the top of the hill they told me they were going hard and that wasn't normal.  I felt a tiny bit better.

Great fun run, thanks guys for letting me crash your running party.  I'll definitely be there again.  I need to be if I'm going to be in shape for Boston.

Nothing really wrong with me, I just felt like I needed a break from running today.  I do need to start eating better cause my stomach was the main reason running didn't appeal to me.

1 hour on the elliptical followed by weights.  I saw the snow plows out this morning and they must have been doing a great job cause there wasn't a single bit of snow on the roads that I could see.

Pretty fantastic run on the treadmill today.  That's right all you treadmill haters FANTASTIC.  Yesterdays day off seemed to be a good decision, I woke up this morning feeling well rested, started my run slow like normal but then I started noticing that no matter what I threw at myself my body responded.  Did a 1 hour progression run 8.8 miles, took a quick treadmill reset/water break and then I decided to throw down a 5K.  Started conservative at 9.5Mph for the first quarter felt good bumped it up to 10 for a quarter then decided to settle into a 5:42 pace 10.5Mph.  I hit mile 1 in 6:00 flat, mile 2 in 11:42, bumped it up to 10.7 for a quarter, that's when I finally started getting the sick to my stomach feeling,  slowed it back down to 10.2 for 1/2 a mile and then ran the last .35 at 11Mph to try and get under 18 minutes.  Pretty sure the timer hit 18:01 at 3.1 miles so I didn't quite hit it but close enough.

I'm probably going to hurt tomorrow but I was pretty happy getting an 18 minute 5K in.  I haven't done that in a very long time.  I've actually never ran an official 5K that fast.  I'm pretty sure the only PR I have that isn't on a treadmill is my 1/2 marathon.  I'll have to work on that.

Just remembered, my 50Mile PR isn't on a treadmill.  I wont be working on that.

Looks like Greg Lamond wants in on the action now.

8 mile in 1:03:00 followed by weights.

I'm taking the day off to volunteer in my sons kindergarden class today, I'm going to read "Piggy Pie"  last year I dressed up like a witch to read it to his pre-school class, I think that scared him deeply cause he really doesn't want me to come today.  I told him I wont dress up as a witch, but I'll still use my witch voice.

I looked it up yesterday and I have 3 weeks of vacation time I need to use between now and the end of the year.  Looking at the calender that pretty much means if I'm not out of town on work I can take the rest of the year off.  Not sure my boss will actually let that happen but it's a nice thought.  Also, I'm interviewing for a new job next week, it's still a travel job but it's a home office job too, which means if I'm not traveling I can be at home instead of an office.  That would be really nice for my running schedule.

Paced the Halloween Half Marathon today, I ended up dressing up as really the only  option I had, Lance Armstrong. Picked myself up a Radio Shack Jersey last night and when I explained to the Walgreens Pharmacist what I was going to be he gladly handed over a whole handful of syringes.  Really the 2 most important items in a Lance Armstrong costume.  The rest of the gear I already had on hand.

Found out I got to pace with Justin Park, I was very excited about this cause I've always wanted to run with him, but every time Ive tried in the past I couldn't keep up :)   I'll just say he is awesome, a real class act, and his Bangle Tiger outfit was pretty cool too.

Picked up my bib # last night, layed everything out, drove to the finish line and jogged the 3 miles to University mall for the Buses, when I got there I realized I had no bib to get on the bus, I figured I left it in my car but didn't think I could run another 6 miles round trip to get it and make it back in time, so I got yelled at by the race directors wife but still managed to sweet talk my way on. 

It was very cold at the top, and the 2 hour wait was pretty painful, especially since despite the fact the race was twice as big this year, the tent was the same size.  Standing room only, it basically felt like a gigantic Tokyo Elevator.

Race started, I was happy to find the girl I paced 1:40 last year was wanting to run 1:30 this year.  Unfortunately I didn't update my jokes from last year, so she had to hear all the same ones.  The course started 2 miles down the canyon from previous years, taking out 2 really steep quad pounding miles, they made it up the same way Provo River 1/2 does it up and down the canyon by Bridalvail falls.

Anyway, I'm not going to spend a lot of time, but we had a really great group of guys running 1:30, I had 5 people come thank me at the end which was very nice.  Justin was really awesome to run with and I hope I can do it again sometime.  I sure do like pacing, it's so nice to feel how a race should probably feel like.  Steady the whole way.  We did a very good job if I do say so myself, maybe 30 seconds fast through 6 miles is all but it was nice to have extra towards the end so we could slow down at aid stations.  I actually didn't take anything from aid stations, I've never done that before.

Course markers were all over the place, but the final distance showed up on my watch as 13.05, in 1:29:49.  Not to shabby, I of course don't have an official time cause of my bib incident, but Justin and I came in close to the same, he was being very anal about hitting it exact so he all but stopped the last 50 yards to make up the extra 10 seconds :)

Got back to my car, no bib, got back home, no bib.  The conspiracy theorist in my thinks my wife hid it trying to keep me from running today, I have looked everywhere and can't find that thing.  O'well.  I had a great time today.  Thanks Walter and Thanks Justin.

Mile	Pace Band	Actual Time
1	6:19	6:33
2	6:19	6:29
3	6:31	6:33
4	7:17	7:04
5	7:12	6:58
6	7:00	6:56
7	7:21	7:21
8	7:08	7:04
9	6:52	6:46
10	6:44	6:43
11	6:52	6:48
12	6:52	6:57
13	6:52	7:10
13.1	:41	:25 (.05)