The sun is up, the air is fresh, the stone is old

I'm not in Kansas anymore.

4 mile warm up, 6X1 mile, 4 mile cool down

1 hour good lifting

14 hour work day ending up in St. Louis.  I had to drag myself out for this run.  The last few weeks of this winter have been great for running.  Nothing like running anywhere in the country in February in shorts and a tshirt!

Supposed to be out at 5 am flying through Denver to LA today back home but the snow storms in Denver have cancelled my work for the day.  Seems like someone wanted me to have some time to run this morning!  Nothing like running when you are getting paid to work..

3 mile warm up, 3X3 mile, 3 mile easy. 20 min lifting.

Looking forward to skiing with the kids all day tomorrow and fitting in a good run.  If I get home early enough today maybe a second run so Rob doesn't catch up to my mileage this week.

This run today hurt as much as any I remember.  I was skiing with the kids today at 12:30 so I got up to the mountain in time to catch the first lift open.  By myself.  First time I've been able to do that in a long time.  It seems that your skiing days are behind you when your kids start going.  I decided to spend the morning on the moguls since the snowboarders were still in bed sleeping and I lost count of the runs after 11.  It was so fast.  My legs were barking.  I can't believe how weak my quads are, my legs were totally wasted by the time I had to grab the girls.  Very rare ski morning.  Then my oldest girl finally let go of that last bit of fear that was holding her back on some runs and could keep up by the late afternoon.  Best feeling in the world to see your kids learn to love something.

I ran into Rob who was watching his son go for his second year rail championship and we had a chance to talk a minute about his kids who are just amazing athletes.  Conner on the blog here is one of them.  We kind of agreed to meet later at the gym for some running.  This was going to be a long treadmill run, 22 miles, but it was quickly evident that any running would be hard, I was so thrashed from skiing.  Pretty surprised, and tried my best to run through it anyways.  It hurt from the first mile and never let up.  If Rob hadn't shown up 45 minutes into it and talked to me for the whole time there is no way I would have done it.  I just stayed real slow and hope to sleep it off. 

Off day today and looking forward to a simple day arguing politics and watching football with my family.  No soreness at all from the running yesterday which is a pleasant surprise.  Good sign that its time for some training intensity.  Its good to feel on schedule with training for a change.  But Friday I just got an invite from the Lost Dutchman Marathon in two weeks and the girls really want to go to Phoenix for a few days.  Also I'd love  to take a shot at cracking the masters record on the course.  It's 2:40, but a pretty hard course.  So do I train through it or taper for two weeks?

I really wanted to run an easy 30 miler today along the beaches of LA but I know that I have to eventually do something more productive than the long, fun slow runs.  I had on schedule a 20 mile progression run, 10 easy then 10 at MP.  I ran the first 10 at 7:50 pace and then increased to 5:45 pace.  Way harder than I thought to pace.  First mile at 5:53 so I picked it up, 2nd at 5:33 so I let it off a little, 3rd at 6:11.  I finally hit a groove for 4 and 5 at 5:46 but now I was dying so I backed off and jogged a mile to catch my breath and then ran the last 5 averaging 5:53.  This kind of run will obviously take some work for me to run right. 

10 miles easy before work.  5 miles easy along the strip in Vegas at 10pm.  Cool run!

Nice run west of Vegas.

4 mile warm up, 8X800 meter hill repeats on Cliffside Hill, jog in between

Ran the kids to school again today but not counting it since it was around 11 minute miles, lol!

Heading out now for an hour of hard racquetball

Up all night with a real bad cold, first in a long time.  No way I could run today but I took the kids to the pool and got in a mile swim.  Took 40 minutes..

As sick as I can ever remember today.  Looks like the flu.  Stayed in bed all morning and then tried to go out for a run to burn it off.  I made it one mile and had to lay down on the grass and then trudge back home.  I had promised the kids a day at the pool so I ended up sitting by the side all afternoon while they swam. 

Another day sick.

But finally did have some time to think about a summer race schedule...

Finally getting through this flu.  Maybe a run in tomorrow if I have the energy.

Out and back run at home

Easy run on Bayshore trail, San Fran

Easy run and put in some 6 minute pace.  I can hold 3 minutes and am just gasping.  But I can do it!  Did 5 repeats of that

Easy run at home with the stroller and kids.  Decision time tonight.  I have an entry into the Lost Dutchman marathon Sunday and promised the kids a weekend trip to Phoenix.  I had three pretty incredible weeks of training and then got laid out five days with the flu.  Right now it seems that the running is coming back and I can hold marathon pace for 3 minute sections.

I think I'll run the marathon as a kick start back into training at an easy pace and have a good time.  All else fails, I can walk it.  I gotta get back into it somehow.  Other than the flu, I am hitting spring training without a single small injury.

Easy run alomg the Deer Fence Trail.  Pretty encouraged that the run felt normal

Real happy with this run!  I tried to decide if I should run this after getting over the flu Wednesday but I really needed to get back into the running.  My brother, a sports therapist, said that I could probably run a good 10k or a half, but in his opinion I wouldn't have the leg strength or recovery to go longer.  He was dead on.

We flew into Phoenix and within 10 minutes the kids were playing in the pool with the cousins and the whole trip was already worth it.  Of course the kids all stayed up playing until midnight so there was only a chance for three hours of sleep, but who gets any more race night anyway?  The next morning, I decided to get in a Tempo workout out of the race along the lines of my brother's recommendation; hit it until mile 15 as fast my goal marathon pace and walk the rest.  At the first, the lead group seemed to be holding back, probably waiting for all the hills that this course has, so I ended up in the lead for the first 6 miles.  It was averaging 5:45 pace.  Mile 10 was 58:23 so we must have slowed a bit.  A runner passed me here doing about 5:30 and then we caught him again near 14.  Mile 15 was 1:28:32 and I was ecstatic to be done for tha day!  I grabbed some water at the aid station and began a slow jog up the hills.  It felt doable so I basically jogged the rest of the marathon instead of the walk.  The first Master passed me about 2 miles from the finish and the lead woman just blazed by for a new course record.

Odd way to run a race, but otherwise I wouldn't have done it.  I just was way too out of sorts.  It felt so good to be back into some races!  Even if I was slow...This just gets in your system.  It also feels good to get into training now for Boston in seven weeks.

Now I'm going to kick my feet up by the pool for a few days

Spent the morning hiking in the lower hills of the Superstition Mountains NE of Phoenix with the kids.  It's so amazing to have two little girls that love the outdoors so much.  They loved every minute of this.  Hiked the Dixie Mine trail.  We came across a wild herd of horses and spent some time talking to a couple of ladies camping out monitoring a bald eagle nest for the winter.  In the afternoon I was able to get horses from Fort Mcdowell and we rode the day away in the Yavapai Indian Reservation just East of Fountain Hills.  I was able to teach Shelby, my 6 year old, the basics of riding in an afternoon.  I can't remember a more perfect day in recent memory. 

Drove the Mountain to Fountain 15k course in Fountain Hills in the evening.  Excited for this race March 11!

Easy run on some sore legs just before the sun came up in Phoenix.  Rushed to the airport to hop on the plane, landing in snow flurries in SLC, and dropped the kids off at school with bags of grapefruit, oranges and lemons for their teachers from their cousin's yard.  What a neat trip.

Heading to Costa Rica for work for two days tomorrow and hoping to have some juice in the legs for some trail running!

Early morning at the gym.  1 hour 30 minute pool run which is a long period of my life I will never regain.  Man, that is boring.  Upper body workout for 30 minutes after.

I ran the Talamanca Trail near San Jose, Costa Rica today.  What an incredible afternoon.  I had no business running this far, but the climb up the mountain range started about mile 7 and I just had to keep going to the top.  I took it real easy, the run took me nearly four hours, but the pace was about right for my leg condition!  I finally took a camera along, which I keep forgetting on trail runs, so if I figure out how to do it, I'll post some pics.

Easy morning run on the streets of San Jose before work.  I am so stinkin sore...

Easy run at home, just no time today.  Probably good since i'm hurting from the week.

Off day.  Taught the kids how to drive four wheelers all afternoon.  That should make their mom happy...

First good workout since the marathon, 10 tempo on the treadmill at 6 pace.  45 minutes core and strength training after.

80 and sunny in Fort Lauderdale today and I took a long easy run up to Pompano Beach and back down.  I did good until mile 15 and just hadn't been taking in enough water.  Not used to this heat!  Had to suffer through to the end.

Recovery run in Boston