Mike Kirk has been paroled to Idaho

Parley's. I felt good even after yesterday's long run.

Weight 132.0

Olympus trailhead. 9 x 1 minute surges with 1 minute run recovery. I hooked up with Bob for the last five. We missed each other on the road (my fault). Max HR was 189. It felt good to run fast again.

Jeremy Ranch Road. The road was a little icy in spots but I still ran okay. It was nice to see the sun and blue sky.

Anyone out there have any opinions on treadmills? I have one that is wearing out after only 350 miles.

Treadmill, 4 x 2 min with 2 min recovery.

19:30 for 3 mile warmup (alt grade). 11.0, 11.1, 11.1, 11.2 mph with 10.0 mph as recovery. It felt better as I got faster. I ran the second 3 miles in 16:50 and felt quick but overall comfortable. I tried to get some HR checks but the console messes with my HRM. I can fool it by running further back on the treadmill which is like running on a trampoline. I saw low 180's at the end of my fastest interval. I also worked out with a long sleeve shirt, short sleeve shirt, and a stocking cap to prepare for any heat that may be at Houston.

Footbridges. Easy.

Old Mill (short) with Bob. Cold and windy but otherwise good.

Treadmill. Two miles warmup, 1 mile in flats at pace.

I am going taper crazy. I am superman, I am too tired to move, I am king kong, I can't beat the old lady next door.

Testing treadmills. I ran on a very nice treadmill but it topped out at 11 mph. Nice but not fast enough for speed workouts. A selling point is being able to say "Mine goes to 11". Maybe it will be in a few years. I tried a different one that goes to 12 mph. It also has a decline of 3%. It also was very nice. My wife will have 28 days off (including weekends) with two all night shifts per week in the next five months. She also has three business trips. I think she owes me a treadmill. Is anyone willing to sign a petition and give it to "Coach Amy"?

footbridges, easy.

Treadmill, easy.

Parley's.  I battled poor conditions and traffic for my last SLC run before going to Houston tomorrow.  I feel good and I'm trying to stay calm.

Bob is #201 and I am #211.

In Houston.  Easy 3 with Bob.

I guess DNF says it all.  I was on pace for 8 miles but the pack broke apart at 8 and my day was over.  In the next few miles I ran 5:40's but the cold and wet conditions caused my right hamstring to tighten.  Unlike St. George, finishing was not an option so I don't feel too bad about having a DNF.  I realize that I don't have the speed to run a qualifying time right now.  I think I need to do more training at pace which shouldn't be too hard now that my foot is getting better.  I just couldn't run fast enough during my build up to hold 5:25s comfortably.  Our pacer was erratic during the first few miles and then dropped at 8 instead of 15.5.  We ran two 5:30 miles to start the race then a 5:17 (I ran 5:12 trying to catch the group).  33:47 at 10 k. 

Bob also DNF'd but for other reasons.  He looked great but some pacing issues doomed him after 13.

Otherwise, I had a great experience.  The USADP was awesome.  They treated us like we were elite athletes.  We had access to all of the elite hospitality.  Saturday afternoon we had lunch 10 feet from Meb.  They had an elite staging area near the start and then walked us past 15,000 people to the start.  The only thing the race could not control was the weather.  It was in the 50's at the start but misting.  They humidity was amazing.  The road was wet so footing was an issue.  Bob and I both felt like we slipped on every hard stride.  I think that was the difference between me finishing and DNF'ing.  It changed my stride once I slowed down.  Somehow it didn't seem to bother Ryan Hall in the half marathon.  Since the half doubles back on the course we could watch the half marathoners some.  I was at the 10 mile mark as Hall came through.  My unofficial time for him was just over 45 minutes.  We also had the women's half leaders merge into our group until the split at 8 1/2.  Elva Dryer drafted behind Bob for a while.

Overall the experience was encouraging.  Racing people outside of Utah in tough conditions helped me figure out where I stack up against others in the country.  I know that sounds wierd considering I DNF'd but look at their results.  I wasn't alone at 13.  I rode back with some very good runners who just didn't have it on Sunday.  Of the 60 or so guys in the program only nine made it, 5 A and 4 B.  The women had seven qualify.

Anyone up for Ogden?

Treadmill (sick kids).  Alternate grades.  Legs were okay.  My right hamstring was tight in the beginning but loosened some during the run.

Treadmill at Stiener.  I ran 0-1-2-3-2-1-0-1-0-0 percent grade.  Every mile I either increased the grade or the pace.  My legs started to feel better after 3 miles.  Tom got on the treadmill next to mine for the last few miles.  At 1 hour the treadmill shut down.  Apparently no one runs for more than an hour.  It went into cooldown mode at 4.5 mph.

67 minutes. 

Treadmill, 9 PM, easy.  I finally got to workout after everyone else went to bed.  I feel just north of awful.  I achieved my goal last night of not throwing up polenta and baba ghanoush while running but it was tough.  Alternated grades and paces to keep it interesting.  I found that I could not hear Jon Stewart over the noise of the treadmill.  Too bad.

Easy run. I tried to run around Sugarhouse Park once but it was too crusty.  I meandered through the neighborhoods for a while.

Treadmill, AT workout.  Three and a half mile warmup then three miles at 5:27 pace.  One mile at 6:00 then one mile at 5:27.  A half at 6:00 and finish with a mile at 5:27.  The gym was very warm.  I didn't work too hard but needed  to daydream less durning the uptempo efforts.  I started wearing a new pair of Mizuno Wave Rider 10's this week.  They seem to be longer than the Wave Rider 9's for the same size.  The heel fits better but  I have extra room in the toe box.  Does anyone else run in the WR's?

Jeremy Ranch Road, hard packed snow and ice.  I felt okay on the out part of the run, which isn't unusual for this course.  Upon turning around I discovered a headwind.  I froze on the way back.   I tried to get some traction when I started by putting some XC ski wax on the bottom of my shoes, blue Swix (27 F - 12 F, transformed snow).  I felt a little silly waxing my shoes.  I can't say if it helped or not since I didn't have a control in my experiment.  I didn't slide off the road or stick to it like glue.  It is something I have always thought about during those cold slippery runs and now I can say I have done it (and never have to do it again).

Treadmill at gym.  Three and a half mile warmup then 10 x 2 minutes with 2 minutes recovery.  The first five were at 5:15 pace and the last five were at 5:12.  Recovery pace was 6:40.  This workout is not too difficult but makes me focus more than I am used to.  The hardest ones are usually the first two.  I ran 10 miles in 61 minutes.

Treadmill at home.  Easy.  46 minutes.

To Ruth's with Bob (and Bandy).  We ran nice and easy.   2 hours.  I was a little tired from working harder this week than usual.  That's the part about marathoning that I don't like.  It takes five weeks or so to taper, race, then recover.  It kills your training so the first week back is a shock.

Treadmill at home, late afternoon.  Warmed up then did 1-2-3-2-1-0 percent grade for the next 6 miles.  66 minutes.  Felt very easy.

Treadmill at gym.  I wanted to get in a few miles but save something for tomorrow's workout.  At two miles my iPod died so I watched "The Price is Right" while trying to read the closed caption text.  63 minutes. 

I took the orthotic out of my right shoe yesterday.  I am going to try running without it for a few weeks.  If all goes well then I will take the orthotic out of my left shoe.  I can already feel a little extra pressure on my achilles but I'm hoping that will go away with some gentile stretching.

Treadmill at home.  Easy.  I had planned to run hard today but Adrienne was sick last night.  I slept with her in a Lazy-boy  because she had trouble sleeping while horizontal.  I was a little tired.

On a happier note, Amy signed a contract with St. Mark's Hospital today.  It will be her first real job after years of training.  She starts in September.

Treadmills. I tested and bought a new treadmill today.  Easy running in the store.  Amy also left for Carmel, California.