Hangin' Loose

Had my 2nd bball game this morning.  We had 8 show up this time.  But I ended up playing all but like 4 mins.  So had quite a good workout.  We lost again but did alot better this time. 52 to 80.  This time I was able to score more then 1 pt so I was alot happier with that.  After the game showered and then headed to the gym.  Was hoping to get in a good long run.  But was pretty tired from the game and only managed 2.5.  So I am thinking running after playing isnt such a good idea.  Will have to figure out a better plan.  Since I finally got signed up for Ogden.  Man is that one filling up fast.

Mile 1 9:05

Mile 2 8:40

Mile .5 8:30

Rough night.  Had a hard time sleeping.  Not sure what it was really.  Probably was having ice cream before bed again.  Boy were those some weird dreams.  Well feeling better today.  And got up and did a run with Pete again.  I was happy to use my new tights again and they worked great.  Also wore my new Sugoi mittens.  OH YEAH!!!  I love those mittens.  It was like 18 degrees and my fingers felt wonderful the whole time.  Wasn't cold at all and there was a slight breeze.  We just chatted about our new years resolutions, the bball game,  and up and coming races.  Pace was a bit slow at times.  But we kicked it up for that last mile to finish strong.  No tummy issues which was nice for that last sprint.

Mile 1 8:13

Mile 2 8:30

Mile 3 8:21

Mile 4 8:43

Mile 5 7:33

TT 41:27  AP 8:17

Date night with the wife. We went and watched Sherlock Holmes.  We both enjoyed it.  A lot of action in it.  After that the wife crashed and went to bed.  And I stayed up a bit waiting for 9pm and to go play some hoop.  Played till 10:40 and then called it good.  Had a good time just didn't hit many shots if any.

Boy was it rough getting up to go run with Pete again.  Got to bed around 11pm and 4am came really fast.  Temps were said to be around 29 degrees outside.  And there was a breeze so perfect chance to try my new WRC wind breaker.  Was great and suprising we were faster overall then Mon run.  Even though it felt more like a recovery run with the last mile not as fast as we normally do.  Mostly just got lost in the conversation and lost track of the pace.:)

Mile 1 8:25

Mile 2 8:30

Mile 3 8:06

Mile 4 8:17

Mile 5 7:54

TT 41:18 AP 8:15

Brrrrr was only 5 degrees out there.  So wore some tights and running pants.  My gloves and mittens and headed out to run with Pete again.  My hands were only cold for the first mile and then heated up.  And I talked Pete into doing a tempo run around mile 2.  So kicked it up for mile 3-4 and recovery mile for the last one.  It was his first time of running a tempo run and did really well.  Had a great run and the cold really wasn't a issue.

Mile 1 8:36

Mile 2 8:25

Mile 3 7:10

Mile 4 7:30

Mile 5 9:02

TT 40:45  AP 8:09

Oh man.  No run today probably.  No Bball today.  I have to work some of the weekend.  And then pick up the girls and go sledding I guess.  I hope my team doesn't get killed to bad today.:)  Things are getting ugly at work with layoffs coming up agian in Feb.  They have already started bumping people around.  We lost one from our area already yesterday.  That they aren't replacing and I have 2 guys that could replaces me if they choose that option.  So we will see.  That just leaves one other guy still here.  That is going to be off on a medical leave on the 29th for shoulder surgery.  Oh boy the drama.:(

Been a busy week and last weekend was too.  Working 5 12hr shifts this week.  With the bad weather I opted to going and playing hoop instead of running out in it.  Had a great time and played 2 hrs.  At least 1 hr of it was only half court so it was nice to work on some D and in close quarters.:)  But was able to play the whole time too.  Will have to try and get in a longer run tonight after work.  These days are just so long.  And looks like I am not getting bumped out of my area.  So I am happy about that.  But not holding my breath.

AM- Needing to get with the program.  So started back up doing the Fit-cards again. So had time today to get in 16 of them today.  My shoulder has been sore for the last little while.  So kind of verred away from the closer push-ups and staggered ones.  Rest all felt fine.

PM- Got home and Kristi still had the cub scouts over.  So opted to skip the run and just hit Weds Night Bball again.  Had a great time doing it.  Was on a better team tonight and we were doing pretty good.  So played alot longer ended up finishing at mid-night.  So 3 hrs of play.  Getting in some good cross training.

Got out with Pete this morning for a run.  Was around 19 degrees and the fog was very thick.  I was opting not to run in it due to the air quality.  I am just hoping it didn't do to much damage.  You could taste the pollution in the air.  Yuck.  So cut it to just 4 miles.  Got a bball game tomorrow and I think  I will wait a bit after it to get in a long run.

Also on the way home from work last night.  The fog was really thick and it looked like someone was hit on a sidewalk by a gas station.  Kind of freaked me out seeing it.  So made sure to wear bright colors if you going out in this horrible stuff.

Mile 1 8:50

Mile 2 8:45

Mile 3 8:14

Mile 4 8:23

TT 34:14 AP 8:34

Had another bball game this morning.  We played pretty good.   And it was a close game.  We ended up winning by 2.:)  So this time I decided to wait a few hrs before going for my run.  And headed out about 4 hrs later after a nap.  And felt pretty good about it.  First 2 miles were around 9 min and then kicked it up to 8:35 for the next 4 then 2 miles at 8:00 and last slowed it back down.

TT 1:19:00  

Feeling good about the race next weekend.  Should do alright.  No PR by no means.  But this one isnt a goal race.  More of just one I need to do to get the series done for SG.

Ah what a nice morning for a run.  Got out to run with Pete this morning.  As I got the corner to meet him the first flakes started to fly.  So the first 2 miles was into a light wind and snow.  The tailwind was nice and running in the snow was great.  Well until the last half mile into the wind again and it was coming down harder.  Along with a faster pace made me wish I took a visor to keep the snow out of my face.

Mile 1 8:18

Mile 2 8:38

Mile 3 7:41

Mile 4 8:00

Mile 5 7:52

TT 40:30 AP 8:05

Played Bball tonight. Played mostly half court and the last game was full court. We played for 2 hrs too. So a good workout.

Played again for 2 hrs of hoop.  Half court again most of the night.  And I actually think I am getting worse at it.:(  But been here before.  I should start hitting my shots more .  The speed and such are there.  Just need to start hitting my shots.  Good xtraining.:)  Not sure if I will get in another run before the race this weekend.

Came into this race with the goal of going under 2 hrs.  My training for running a race has really been lacking.  So last night when I talked to JeffC about his plans.  I kind of adopted his plan of running a 1:40.  So with that in mind I was running this mostly to just finish it and get one of the races for the runners series done.  We headed down Friday night after work.  Getting in to my parents house that just moved down to SG a few months ago with the girls.  They were able to pick up our packets Fri night and also signed up the girls for the tuff kids races.:)

I ran into Jeff a half hr before the race and chatted a bit with him before taking of to warm up and dump off some clothes.  It was a tough race to plan for since it temps were cold and could be rainy.   Temps were around 40 or so.  And the roads were wet with a overcast.  There was not much of breeze either.  Just kind of perfect besides being cold.  The wife and I took of and warmed up for a bit and then dumped of my running pants.  Couldn't find Jeff at the starting line and ended up taking off without hime.  Wasn't till around mile 2-3 that he came up on me. And shortly after that Teena showed you and was tried to pass us.  She said that after mile 5 she was going to start counting all the guys that she chicked.  Well that was when I decided ok I am on the 1:40 pace.  Now I just need me make sure that she didn't pass me.:)  After a a few miles Jeff started dropping off the pace.  And I was trying to keep up with Teena.  That really helped motivate me to keep up a strong pace.  The course wasn't to bad really.   And felt really good most of the race.  Was tougher around the 7-10 mark with some inclines. 

Around mile 11-12 Teena started a surge when a lady passed us.  So I caught back up with Teena.  And tried to stay with that gal.  She would later take off and leave us both.  I am not sure what happened to Teena after that.  And I just focused on finishing strong.  With the finish line coming into view and about 150 m to go.  Teena came up on my shoulder fast.  Forcing me to pick up the pace.  All I could think is dont let her pass you.:)  Ended up beating her in the last bit with her running out of steam to catch up.  But in the ended she beat me chip time by like 21 secs.  It was great to have someone to push with. 

I felt really good about the race and the paces.  And ran a pretty solid half pace wise.  It is a great way to start into my Ogden marathon training next week.  Saw and met with alot of people.  And the girls had a great time running the tuff kids races.  Kristi did really well in her 5k with a painfull back.

Mile 1 7:43

Mile 2 7:36

Mile 3 7:43

Mile 4 7:41

Mile 5 7:50

Mile 6 7:34

Mile 7 7:29

Mile 8 7:40

Mile 9 7:48

Mile 10 7:38

Mile 11 7:47

Mile 12 7:35

Mile 13 7 :38

TT 1:39:59.9 AP 7:38

Well this is the first speed workout that I have done in a long time. Felt pretty good. I decided to take the times from my half on Sat and make that my goal pace for Ogden. So I will be shooting for 3:30 at Ogden again. And I might change it after running Spectrum 10k here in 2 months. So tonights workout called for 10-20 mins warm up 3 1mile repeats @ 6:40 with 1 min recovery. Then 10 min cooldown.

Mile 1-2 9:15 pace with 2nd mile with 5 strides up to 6:40 pace.

Mile 3-6 6:40 pace with the 1 min recovery at 10 min pace.

Last mile was the toughest. But got her done.

TT 50:40

Later I went and played bball for 2 hrs. Legs felt fine for the most part. And was still running up and down the court the whole time. Got a bunch of fast breaks. And the shots are starting to hit finally.:)

Played some hoop tonight.  A lot of people again tonight (20+).  So didn't get as much play time.  Stayed only for 1 hr and half.  And only played in 3 games that we lost all 3.  Positive note was my shots are really starting to go down.

Missed my run tonight.  Had the girls and cub scout training.  Yet on a positive note.  My brother that I was trying to get into running.  Is out in Hawaii and really picked up on his running now.  He says he is running 6 days a week 5 miles.  And ran  5.25 miles in just over 32:25.  Which is a great improvement from the 10-11 min miles we were doing.   So he is running on the beachs and around some cool parks he says.  I am really happy for him.  And glad that we gave him some running gear.:)

Played Bball this morning at 7am.  Game was close but we lost in the end by 7.  And later after a quick nap at 10 am went for my long run of 13 mins goal was 8:30 pace.  Felt pretty good for the most part.  But started to feel fatigue around 11.  And saw Kelli and Teena just around mile 9.

Mile 1 8:24

Mile 2 8:15

Mile 3 8:25

Mile 4 8:18

Mile 5 8:20

Mile 6 8:24

Mile 7 8:22

Mile 8 8:30

Mile 9 8:20

Mile 10 8:21

Mile 11 8:28

Mile 12 8:39

Mile 13 7:47

TT 1:48:41 AP 8:22

PM1- Busy day at work.  So it was nice to get home and get in a run.  Today is speedwork.  So its 1 mile warm-up(with strides).  And then right into 4x 800 @ 3:13 with a 2 min RI.  And then 10 min cooldown.  Boy do I need to work on my speed.  This was another tough run.  But got her done.

Mile 1 8:50 With 2 strides.

4x 800 @ 6:24 pace(3:12) RI ran at 10:00 pace for 2 mins. 

Mile 3.8-5.0 8:30 pace

TT 40:00 AP 8:00

PM2-  Went and played some bball to loosen up and get ready for the big game this weekend.  This weekends game is against our rival weekend.:)  We are playing the other team from our ward and is the last game of the regualar season.  So a big game.:)  Played for 2.5 hrs tonight.  Some of it half court and some full.  But never sat once which was really a nice workout.  Also was invited to play for the vets team in region.  Which would be 2 games in March.  I guess the vets are the old farts(35+)LOL and I am one now.

Tonight was tempo run.  1 mile warm-up and cooldown.  With 5 miles at 8:00(mp).  Went rather well for the first real tempo run.  Missed last weeks due to cub scout training.  So it was good to start out right.

Mile 1 9:15

Mile 2-6 8:00

Mile 7 8:30

TT 57:50  AP 8:15

Fun filled weekend.  Wife's car wouldn'r start yesterday morning.  Good thing I was taking the day off so I could work on it for a few hrs.  Worked on it till 10pm.  Played the rivalry game and we were doing well yet came up short in the end.  Lost by like 8-10.  Then started working on the car again.  Starter was the final issue and had it towed to the shop to work on.  Basically ate up my run time.  So no long run.  Life happened.

Went and picked up the wifes TRUCK from the shop.  Its up and running now.  So all is well.  And then went for a nice recovery run with the wife.  Been a while since we have been able to run together.  So just took it nice and easy with her to get back into it after her back issues.

Speedwork night.  Progressive one starting with 2 miles warm-up then 1200, 1000, 800, 600, 400, 200 with 200m RI.  Went well and started to feel more comfortable as the run went.

Mile 1-2 2nd mile had 5 strides of .1 each

1200 @ 4:55

1000 @ 4:03

800 @ 3:13

600 @ 2:24

400 @ 1:35

200 @ 50

Mile 6 8:30

TT 50:40

 Will probably play some Bball tonight for a few hrs.

So ended up playing some hoop after all.  Played for 2.5 hrs.  I should really probably count some of that time as running time or something.  Full court all night.  I just love playing longer.  Which normally means I get alot more pts and can out run more people.:)

Got home from work and took a 2 hr nap waiting for the wife to get home.  Gave her Valentines gift early due to having the girls this weekend.  And we went out to eat to the CheeseCake Factory.  Had a great time.  Then played hoop for 2.5 hrs again.  My big toe on the right foot is sure taking a beating.  Its the one I must be pushing off from on lay-ups.  It sure is tender and had like blister on blisters.  So its a little thin under there.  I hope a band-aid will do the trick so I can walk around normal.  And on Thurs night get in my tempo run with no troubles from it.

Tempo run tonight.  Called for 1 mile warm-up and cooldown.  With 5 miles at 7:44 pace.  Well no 7:44 on the TM so hit it up to 41 instead with a 1% incline.  Felt tough the first mile but finally relaxed and hit it just right.  Felt pretty go and the big toe wasn't a probably at all with the blister.  So felt pretty good for the run.  Just wish I hadn't started it after 8pm.  Where did the day go?

Mile 1 9:15

Mile 2-6 7:41

Mile 7 9:15

TT 57:00

Finally ran into Tim.  A guy I see running everyday on the way home from work.  Says he has a dream of running a marathon.  Oh boy did that start up the good conversation.  And so I will most likely run with him a few miles this weekend on my long run.  He runs basically 6-7 days a week and each day 5-6 miles.  So I am really looking forward to helping him get to his dream of running a marathon this year. 

Well I met up with Tim at 7am to start our run down at the parkway.  He had mentioned his furthest run was around 10 miles.  So figured we would see how he would do going 17.  Well more like 6 and then go from there.  He ran just fine the whole time.  And was really suprised that he ran 17 miles.:)  The paces was nice and slow.  Took us around 3:15 and like a 12 min pace.  So much slower then what I should of ran for my training.  But was a good long run none the less.  His poor shoes were really really shot.  And was really bad with a lot of holes.  So after the run we ran up the Wasatch running center and got him hooked up.  He was a size 12 and not the size 13 that he was wearing.:(  He also runs like 6-7 days a week 6.4 miles each day.  So we are going to get him going on a training program to run a marathon.  And boy does he already have a really strong base already.  Was a great run.

Happy Valentines day everyone.  I had a great day with my wife and girls.  And the one of the wifes gifts was registering me for UVM which I am excited that she did.  One less thing to worry about.:)  We went for a 2 mile walk with the pups which was nice too.:)

Had a hard time getting to sleep last night.  With negotiations going on at work.  Monday night we voted on the contracted.  And it was rejected.  So I found out about it right before crashing for the night.  So kind of kept me up.  So rough day at work.  Just a uneasy feeling all over plant.  So with that weighing on my mind I was grateful to have a good hard workout coming up after work.  Decided to try to kick up the pace from the 3:30 training to the 3:15 which I was doing for SG.  It went pretty good till the last one.  And I was pretty well spent and called it good.  So workout was 2 miles warm-up with 6 strides in the 2nd mile.  Then 5 1k @ 6:00 pace with 400m RI and then 1 mile cooldown.  Ended up doing 4 of the intervals with the last one ending after about .2 and just extended the cooldown to get a full 7 miles.  Will probably play hoop again tonight after the piano recital.

Got in 2 hrs of hoop.

Not feeling well.  Canceled scouts and bball.  Crashed at 6pm.

Missed the tempo run for today.  Feeling sick still.  Came home and crashed for 2 hrs and then went to a Tri newbie seminar with the wife.  Doc appointment early tomorrow morning.:(

Had our first and last game of the playoffs.  We ended up losing again to the team we played 2 weeks ago.  Which was our rival team.  I played pretty good this game and was my highest scoring one.  But in the end we still got beat by around 10.  They we really strong in the last quarter again.  I was alot of fun none the less.

Went out to the parkway again with Tim.  He was feeling really good with the new shoes on.  I was hoping to be able to go at least 10.  Wasnt to sure if I was going to be able to do that with my cold kind of lingering.   Went quite well though.  We headed North to the end of the path in a headwind.  And it was nice when we turned around.  Where I started to push the pace with him.  First half of the run we were in the 11s at the turn around where we started picking up the pace.  It went something like 10:30 then hitting around 10:10 to 9:56 paces for the next 5 miles or so.   And for the last 2 we really started to kick it up.  Hitting 8:40 then 8:30 and the last .5 was a 7:23 pace.  It was a great improvement from the run we did last week.  Last week it was 17.1 miles in 3:15.  This time it was 16.5 in 2:50 with like a 10:23 pace overall.  He is really coming along great.  Kind of exciting to be apart of it.

Well speed work tonight.  And it went ok.  Not as good as I would of hoped to have done.  Was trying to get that faster pace down.   Got the first interval mile at the 6:10 pace.  But when it was time for the 2nd one got .6 into it before I paused it.  Caught my breath and then finished it.  For the last one I just dropped it down to the 6:40 pace after .3 miles and coasted it in.  Not sure if it would be better to kind of hit in between the 2 paces like a 6:25 and get that down then move up to the 6:10.  I am really regretting not doing any speedwork through the winter now.  Good thing is though that I am down about 6 lbs.  Must be the slower long runs and the bball.  Going to go play tonight for a couple of hrs.  Going to try and get Tim to go.

Got in 2.5 hrs of bball.  Got on a good time the first go around.  And we won the first 3 games so first hr was all play time.  Was a pretty good night of ball.  Just wish I got more sleep last night.:(

Wanted to try out the tri outfit I got from the desert sharks club that we joined up with to see how it fit and if I would use it in the race.  Plus do a brick like session to get use to riding then running afterwards.  So warmed up with a mile run then hopped on the bike for 8 miles which took 30 mins and then back to the run for a mile.  The first little bit of the run was like jello but after about .3 miles it was back to normal and I kicked up the pace from 6.8 to 7.1 and it felt good.  As for the outfit.  Was a little tight around the arms I thought so put on some body glide and it was just fine for the workout.  Lets just hope for some good weather down there in SG this weekend.

Today was a tempo run.  2 miles warmup 1 mile cooldown.  And 3 miles @ 7:15 decided to turn it up some again this time.  So did 2 @ 7:00 then last one at 6:44.  Wasn't to bad for the first 2 miles so kicked it up and toughed it out.  

Mile 1-2 8:55

Mile 3 7:00

Mile 4 7:00

Mile 5 6:44

Mile 6 8:55

TT 48:00  AP 8:00

Well this would be my first real duathlon that I have done.   Which is a 5k run 24 mile bike then 5k again.  I did one a month after my first marathon back in May of 07.  Which was a 25 mile bike then 10k which I did it in 2:40.  So wasnt really sure what to expect on this one since it was my first real one.  So my goal was to beat my 2:40 at the very least.  And there was also a guy I knew was going to be running from the gym.  So I was wanting to beat him.  But at the same time do it with the wife.

So we woke up early to get to the race at 7am.  You really want to hit tri's and dua's early so you can get the best spots in the transition areas.  So we got there right at 7:01 and there was already at least 20 people there too.  Found a great spot 4 rows back from the exit of the transition and dropped off our bikes.  And went back to the truck to warm up.  We figured the race wasnt going to start till 9am anyhow.  So after warming up for a bit we dumped off the rest of our stuff at the transition when the sun came out and hit the restrooms.  Boy was that good.  Because after we did that we headed back to the car to chill again.  And make the final decisions on what to wear.   Since it looked like it wasn't going to rain.  Which they kept saying it was going to hit either at 5am or noon.  Lucky we had no run for our race.  As we were sitting there I noticed behind us that there was no one in the transition area.  And then saw as the racers were taking off down the road around .2 or so into the race.  ARGHHHHH!!!  We checked the email announcing the race started at 9am.  Yet they started it at 8AM.  Oh boy.  So we gather the last of our stuff and headed back up to the starting line.  And lucky my GPS found it about the time that I got to the starting line and we were off.  Looking about 3 mins back from everyone.  And since this one wasn't chipped time just even made it that much better.  So for the rest of the race it felt like playing catch up the whole time.

First 5k Run  26:??-  So with a 3 mins back start we headed down the road.  It was a out and back with the sprints turning around half way down and us going down a bit farther the road.  It was nice to see everyone passing you alot of times and we could kind of see who was leading both the packs.  And we started picking people off.  The goal was to kind of take the first 5k easier since there was still alot of racing left to do.  So after the turn around it was back uphill to the transition area.  We passed probably about 20+ people on the way back up.  Only like 5 on the way down.  Of course starting late and playing catch up really kind of get you out of the grove of things.  And I saw Jason from the gym and then his wife a ways back from him Ruth.  And it only spurred me on more to catch up to him.  As we got back up to the transition I didnt see him so he must of been in transition or coming down the other side.  So quickly changed my hat for a helmet and got the biking shoes on and ready to go.  The wife was very quick in the transition and waited for me for a sec.

Bike 24 miles-  This was down from Tuachan and out to the area of where we will be doing our next race.  The Spectrum was all over this part of the race.  With riding 2 loops and then back up to the Tuachan.  So you pass over alot of the Spectrum 10ks course.  So it was down into Ivins and then back up Snow Canyon and then back down and back up to Snow Canyon then home.  We caught up to Ruth and the first turn around at the 2nd round about.  And saw my target bit before that.  This first loop was the hardest of the 2 for me.  As you head up Snow Canyon it is alot of uphill.  And quite a steep hill right before the turn around.  I saw Jason coming down about a .3 or so from the turn around so was ahead of us by a bit.  But coming down fast out of the canyon.  That really spurred me on even more.  The wife I figured is alot stronger then I am on the bike and was right behind me up till the turn around.  There was only 1 person between us.  And I took off down the hill fast.  And had to pass a car on the way down.  Which MrsFit had some issues getting around slowing her down a bit.  Kind of lost sight of her till the 2nd round about again.  Where she was a bit back from me again but still just 2 people behind me.  She got stuck behind someone at another corner going very slow.  Saw Jason and he was pulling away from me ARGHHHH!!!  And I tried to just relax and get into a good groove.  And so after that downhill from Snow I was feeling so much better.  And also the 2nd loop was so much nicer then the first one.  But he was still pulling away.  Also only got passed once the whole race which was a guy on a Tri bike just flying.  As I was starting my 2nd loop he was just finishing it and heading back up the hill to Tuacahn.  So as I am going back up Snow for the 2nd loop I saw Jason again coming back down.  Even farther this time then last time.  ARGHHH!!!  He has me by about 20 pds or so the wife says.  Which really helps on the downhill.  And so it helped yet again to give me more push up the toughest parts of the Snow canyon hills.  And just flew down the hill again and back up to the Tuacahn.  I saw him about .5 down the hill as I was coming up to the transition and pushed to try to catch him.

2nd 5k Run 23:??-  Went pretty smooth this time in the transition.  And started the clock as I was in the transition back to the run.  So this 5k time has the transition time also which would be about 1-2 mins faster time wise.  I was more prepared this time for the legs being like jello.  It was very odd first getting off the bike and switching shoes.  My socks had issues it seemed the first 5k and so I had to work them right this time.  Seemed to have bunched up last time on the run.  And so ditched the gloves and took off.  Had to make up some time.  The first mile at first was saying I was running a 9 min mile but was quickly dropping down.  I forgot I had changed it over at the first and so I just relaxed about the pace.  My legs felt normal after about .3 miles and fine at the .75 mark.  And by the turn around I was feeling really good.  From the look of passing Jason close to the turn around he was about 15 people or so ahead of me and about .4 or so.  So felt I was gaining on him oh yeah.  And he was heading uphill.  I was only able to catch about 8 people on the way up to the finish line.  Its hard to recover the splits from the watch.  But the first mile ended around 8 pace with the transition.  2nd mile with the turn around and uphill was 7:04 for that one.  And with the more uphill part it dropped to 7:40 at the first of the last mile with the .75 in view.  And started to puch to pass the 3 people I had in view.  Didnt really notice the splits for it put I know I had picked it back up with a ways out to just over 7 mins for that mile and finished it strong.  Coming in at 2:07:12  Offical for say and 2:03:30 by my watch which I more for me.  Since this wasnt chip timed.  Walked over to get something to eat and relized Kristi hadnt come in yet and headed back out to find her.  She was down about .5 from the end and ran it in with her.  She had done awesome with her troubles a couple weeks ago with not being able to train due to her back and also the pretizone shots.  Of course we had to wait for her to recieve her Hardware.  And of course I didn't catch Jason and didnt see him at the end so I dont know if I would of beat him.  But it was great to run this race.  And looking forward to doing it again in April probably.

So to rap it up.  It was a 37 min PR for me or just a PR for being the first real Dual.  It was great weather for a race and I really need to improve on my biking by actually riding my bike more.  As for the jello legs they felt alot better this time and it didn't bother me at all since I knew they were going to do that.  And that it would fade.  Which they did after only .3 miles.  I do like how my strength is more in running and that is the last thing you do in these things.  And was very proud of the wife and how she did in her first Dual and that she won more hardware.

Bit excited about the dual.  And just signed us up for our next one.  The Legacy Duathalon on April 17(same day as SLC marathon).  This one is a 2 mile run 20 bike then 2 run.  So not quite like the last one.  And also this weekend I have a swimming clinic with the Desert Sharks.  Where they will be video taping us and such.  So it will be very interesting and hopefully learn to swim better.  I dont know.  But I might be changing my training plans this year to doing a few tris.  I got my next race in less then 3 weeks running.   Then another dual and then Ogden marathon.  I am signed up for UVM and want to do SGM since I will have finished the runners series with running Spectrum 10k in 3 weeks.  So I dont really need to do the PC Marathon or I can just do it for more training.  I really like the First training which will allow me the chance to do some xtraining for Duals and maybe my first Tri.  It would be great recovery.  I just got to make it through the next 2 weeks.:)  My Vets bball team will be playing all next week and into the weekend if all goes well.  So we will see how that goes.  Plan is to get in a bike ride tonight.

Decided to hit the gym and do a brick like workout.  So rode the bike for 22 mins and 6.35 miles.  Then ran on the TM for 2 miles.  Again it was around .3 miles that legs started to feel good and .5 was able to kick up the pace.  Played with the speed alittle.  Ranging from 8:30 pace to 7:00.  Felt pretty good for the most part.  My left knee was sore though after the run.  So I iced it and its feeling better.  The run was 16:18 so around a 8:09 pace for the run.

Speedwork tonight and Bball. So went and hit the gym after work. 2 miles warm up with 5 strides. And one mile cool down. 1200 x2 RI 2min, 800 x4 RI 2min.

1200 @ 4:55 x2

800 @ 3:13 x2

800 @ 3:09 x2

Felt really good to do a full speed workout.  And kicked it up on the last 2 intervals of the halfs. 

Later after relaxing for 2 hrs went and played hoop for 2.5 hrs again.  Had alot of fun again and hopefully burned alot more calories.

Didnt go to work today. Went up to the state capital with the wife to support Jordan School District. So talked with 3 representives in the house. And met with Senator Waddadups. Which was very cool. We were actually on the floor of the senate and then went up to the big desks and talked to Senator Waddadups as he was conducting everything. What a awesome experience to say the least.  I will for sure vote for them again.  And it was interesting seeing it all happen from behind the desk of the President of the Senate first hand.  I am so proud of my wife and that we went and did that.

Had to get in a workout so went and played bball agian.  We only had 12 people show up tonight so I got tons of play time.  Was only out for 1 game so 2 hrs of good hard playing.

The body just wasnt into this run tonight.  Was suppost to be a tempo run.  And started it at 8pm.  My calf was acting weird in the first mile.  And kind of relaxed for the tempo part at 7:24 pace.  But just wasnt feeling good and sluggish.  So called it good.  Good thing since I had snow removal early Fri morning.  Going to have to scale back the 2nd night of Bball.  I dont want to get overtrained and not enough recovery time.

Went to a swimming clinic put on by the Desert Sharks.  So they talked about different drills for the first hr or so then we swam for a hr.  And had it video taped and got instruction.  I got a few different things to work on.  But mostly got the fire going to get swimming more.   So after all of that.  We have started looking more to get the gear for we need to do more tri's and duals.  I will have to change some of my goals for the year.  Still doing Spectrum 10k in 2 weeks.  And also running Ogden, UVM and SG.  Put since I am in through the running series after spectrum.  I will probably pass on PC and do 2-4 tris.  We just signed up for another race there in April.  So I will have a dual on the 17 then the next weekend a sprint or beginner tri with the swim in a pool.  I am getting excited since I will be doing most of my training with my wife instead of us doing our own things.  It will be awesome.  And my goal is it feel good enough to do a Half Ironman come next year.  I was tring to put off this tri goals till I did my BQ and went to Boston.  But can still work on that goal along with my Tri goals.

Went down to PowerTri and looked at some package deals on tri gear. Got me more excited to get into doing some.

Was going to go for a run with the wife. But she wasn't feeling to hot. And we were going to change my gym membership. But didn't happen. So ended up playing hoop for 2 hrs instead. Region starts on Thurs night and feeling good about it.

Played hoop again tonight for 2.5 hrs.  Wanted to practice a little with some of the guys I will be playing with.  So we had like 5 of us there that will be playing together on Thurs night.  Went pretty good.

Had our first game of region play.  We had 11 show up to play and the other team had only 6.  We just tried to wear them out and stay ahead.  I was having a pretty good night.  And made a few good shots.  At 2:15 I was came out of the game and we were up 20 pts.  And the wife waved saying she was going home.  Suprisingly they were able to come back with a little help from the refs to within 3 pts.  And we finally got into 1 and 1 and then double foul trouble and pulled back away enough to win by 4.  It was a good game till the end.  Next game is Fri night at 9.

Ended up losing our bball game by 6 pts.  Was a good game.  Glad that is finally over.  Now I can get back to my training.

Went down to SBR in Orem and got fitted for tri bikes.  Took 2 hrs each and found our bikes we wanted.  So hopefully all this snow and cold weather is going away soon.  Cant wait to get out there and ride.  Been reading up on my swimming.  And on Monday will be starting my tri training.  Going to be different changing gears from marathon training to tris.  But its all good.

Worked on a few drills swimming.  I think we spent about 30-40 mins doing it.  Started getting the hang of it at the end.  Just got to be patient doing it.  At times I while doing it I was actually going backwards.:(  Focus was on balance and positioning.  Was doing it on my back.

Working a crazy schedule again this week.  That actually makes it easier to workout with the wife.  Working 5am to 1pm today and yesterday.  Then the rest of the week 5am to 3pm.  So after work took a quick nap.  And when Kristi came home we went did a brick workout.  So 10 mile bike ride up to U111 and back down in 37 mins.  Quick change into running shoes and then a mile out and back.  Wore my new racing flat shoes that I am debating about wearing for the race this weekend.  They sure were nice and light.  Bit different on the feet.  But also something different about this brick is that I really didn't feel much jello in the legs after the bike ride and into the run.  Not sure why.

As for this weekend.  I was looking at what I ran last yr and what I hope to do this year.  Last year I did it in 44 mins and change.  And noticed that the first mile and last were a about a min slower then what they should of been.  So I will try and get in a good warm up this year.  And improve on the first and last mile.  And hopefully get in under 42:30.

Kristi wasn't feeling well so she didnt make it to the gym with me. Plan was to run for 45 mins then swim for 20 mins. Ended up with 20 mins run and then 30 mins or so swim. On the run my left calf wasn't relaxing when I kicked up the pace for a sub 7 in 2nd mile.  Paused and stretched it after the first mile at that pace.  And finally just called it good.  I figured it was from all the swimming and pointing my toes and maybe the new racing flats.  So went and swam.  The swimming and balance this time was much improved from Mondays swim.  So feeling alot better.  Still need to do more with pointing the toes better though.

Missed the bike ride due to bad weather:(  So got some other stuff done and spent some time with the girls.   I am thinking with the new training.  That I will try and maintain a long run at the end of the week.  To keep up the distance for my marathons.  But focus more during the week on the tri training.  It is more of a full body soreness instead of just core and legs.  My legs lately have been sore everyday.  Just more in general then specific spots.

Went down to SG to run this race with the wife and kids.  And picked up our tri bike to go and ride while there.  Talk about beautiful weather for a race and bike ride.  Alot better then last years race.  Had a few goals in mind but wasnt sure how my training had been to be able to beat my 42:30 pr.  But if anything to beat my time of 44 and change here last year was the goal.  With not much running due to bball and tri training.

Meet up with Mike Warren, Chadl and Brent.  MrsFit was able to run into a few friends so she was happy.  We took the first bus up to the race so I could get in a good warm-up run before the race.  Since last year we didnt get a chance since we took the last bus up.  Ran a mile down the hill and then back up.  Feeling good about running in my new racing flats.  So kept them on.  The race seemed to have started right on time.  And we were off.  Lined up right behind Mike and next to Chad.  About 2-3 rows back from the front.  Really started to wonder about the first mile though and that I went out to fast.  So slowed it down to a 6:00 pace and let Chad go.  But caught back up to him for a while.  And hung with him for a time before he took off again.  The temp was great nice and chilly but didnt notice it all.  Really for the whole race I didnt feel unconfortable at all temp wise.  Just focused on staying relaxed the whole time.

At the half way point.  I was suprised I hit 3.1 in 19:50 which in itself was a PR if the race would of ended there.  But the 2nd half is alot tougher then the first.  Its was tougher keeping the paces under the 7:00 mark.  I was on goal for hitting it or pretty close till I slowed and wetted my whistle at 4.7 add station.  Still havent mastered the running and drinking at that speed.  So just slowed to a walk for a few steps.  Took a gulp and dumped the rest over my head for good measure.  Last year the last mile and first mile is where I wanted to improve on the times the most.  So hitting the 5th mile over my 7 made me focus even more.  And it really helped alot.  The 2 guys I was hanging with finally started to slow and caught the older of the 2.  And the younger guy I got him on the last downhill.  I liked the new changes to the course.  Which made the finish line seem alot closer.  After the last turn.  And ran it hard from there.  Wasn't anyone to catch up to but had the guy I just passed hanging on.  But I knew I had the gas to loose him in the last .2.   I was very suprised to see the clock in the 41s.  And felt very good about the race.  After finished went back looking for MrsFit and saw a bunch of people.

Mile 1 6:00

Mile 2 6:45

Mile 3 6:28

Mile 4 6:47

Mile 5 7:09

Mile 6 6:58

Mile .17 1:00

TT 41:09 AP 6:38

Had a great time meeting everyone.  And hung with a few old friends and made a few new ones.  Sorry we didn't meet up Brent for the bike ride.  It went great for me.  We rode out form La Verkin for 7.5 miles and 33 mins or so.  Turned around and rode back.  I finished with 58 mins and change for 15 miles.  MrsFit bike has some issues with shifting though.  So we will have to get that fixed when we get home for sure.  I for one haven't felt better on a ride.  I really enjoyed the aero position and the bike rode very smooth. 

Back to the race though.  Was suprised to find I had Pred Offically by 1 min and 21 secs and by my watch 41:11.  Hit it a bit after the mat I guess.  I am really happy with finishing strong this time and feel the tri and xtraining is really helping alot.  Came into this race feeling really refreshed and injury free.  As for the new racing flat shoes.  They were awesome.  Wore my compression socks to make sure no calf issues and they really made a different later in the race.  Mostly in the 2nd half on the rolling hills.  I didn't feel them as much with them being so lite.

AM-  Today is swim for 30 mins and run 60 mins.  So we decided to do the swim i the morning and run at night.  Worked on my drills again at first.  This time with the fins.  WOW!!  What a difference it made.  I am sure I had the balances down right.  But it sure did help me move more.  I could breath easier for sure.  And after doing my 5 drills I have been working on.  Went to swimming laps again.  The first lap was horrible.  I had forgotten to use my arms imagine that.  And focused on the 5 drills together.  The last 2 laps were really good.  I felt like I was rotating and breathing right.  And it felt really good.  I am getting this swimming thing down.:)  My legs were a bit sore still this morning.  But after the swim they felt great.  It must be all this training(xtraining) that helped in my races on Sat.  Because it sure feels good.

PM- Headed to the gym to get in my run.  Its a 60 min run so kind of made it a recovery run.  legs are a bit tired and just needed to put in the time.  So just warmed up and turned it up as it became comfortable.  Kristi wasn't feeling to hot after dinner so went it solo.:(

Weather outside was looking good.  So my hopes of riding were getting high.  Until the wind came along.  Opted to ride inside at the gym.  So we headed to the gym to ride.  And problem was that I took my new shoes that dont clip in to the gyms bikes.  ARGH!!  Talk about a pain using straps.  After about 25 mins I called the ride short for me and went and lifted weights instead for the 40 mins while the wife rode.  Worked lats, chest, back, legs, bis, core.  2 sets of each exercise.  Next time I will just brave the weather.  Or bring the right shoes.:)

AM-  Morning swim for 30 mins with the wife.  Needing to get into a routine here.  Forgot my cap, nose plugs and goggles.  Good thing Kristi had extras cap and goggles.  Worked on drills for the first 20 mins.  Added in a new 2 new ones into the mix.  Think I am getting them down some.  But need alot more work on them.  I will focus more on those 2 next time.  Took a bit to get into the groove again.  And then time was up.  Run in the PM.:)

Rest day.  Should of been a 75 min bike.  Ended up having a little bday party for the youngest.  She turned 5 on yesterday.  And not much time to get in a ride.  Might need to change around this bike day for Fri swim day.  And get the swim done in the morning.  That is till the sun starts coming up early enough to ride to work.

First started out with a 40 min swim.  Had a good time doing that with the wife.  And yesterday we took time after work to get Kristi's bike up and running right.  So after swimming we took the bikes out to Saltair and rode that flat route.  We did that with 22.5 or so loop in 1:14 and so it turned out really good.  Got some things figured out with the handle bars.  Kept changing it around to what fit right.  Felt really good on it.  And the only thing I had problem was with my feet being frozen.:)

Got a lot of sleep.  Plan was to run with Jed from the sharks.  He is planning on running SLC marathon and goal was to run 7:30s.  Wow that was a tough course up around big cottonwood and wasatch.  There was a few mean hills.  But was great to run with him.  He has a lot of Tri experience so it was great talking to him.  He has done 4 fulls and 7 halves all in the last 4 years.  So it really was great.   Man I got to work on my long runs for sure.  The pace dropped alot for the last few miles.  And hills galore.  Cant wait to go back and do it again with some more long runs under my belt.

Mile 1 7:12 downhill

Mile 2 7:14 down

Mile 3 7:31 flatter to up

Mile 4 7:41 miles 8-13 course of SLC marathon I believe

Mile 5 7:32

Mile 6 7:54 hills

Mile 7 8:05 WOW mean hill coming up to mouth of big from valley

Mile 8 9:09 or was this it??

Mile 9 7:31  There we go downhill again

Mile 10 7:40 up down on wasatch now

Mile 11 7:35

Mile 12 8:47 incline kicking my butt

Mile 13 8:45 up then down again.  Talk about a rough course. Finally done  And will have to finish stronger.  Now that I know the course.  Lost alot of time on that last bit to being spent.

TT 1:42:37 AP 7:54

AM-  We decided to change up the morning swim with the run.  So we had 75 min run this morning.  That only turned out time for 60 mins.  Got in more of a recovery run.  And kicked up the last 2 miles to 8:00.  So I could get 7 miles in again.  Made it right on time for work.  So looks like I will need to get up at 4am instead of 4:15 if I want to make a full 75 mins next time.  Felt good after the first mile.  But just kept it easy after yesterdays long run.

PM-  Will do the swim in the morning.  Wifes hammies need some icing.

AM-  The wifes hammies were acting up last night.  So we pushed the swim to this morning.  It was 30 mins of drills.  Focused on the last few drills I have been working on.  I will most likely spend this week working on those drills the whole time.  Did it with fins and it was starting to click.  I am not sure of how far i went.  But I know for sure it was the farthest I have gone so far since all those drills and fins helped to move it along.  Tonight will be biking and it looks indoors.  Come on good weather.

AM-  Today is 45 mins run and then later tonight will do 45 swim.  We ran outside this morning.  We were watching the temp drop from 36 to 33 in the first 2 miles.  And had a headwind of only 5-8 mph.  Had that for the return miles.  And started feeling some snow flakes on my nose every once in a while.  Pace was a nice recovery for me.  Kristi was getting it done but was a bit of a struggle with her hammies and back tighting up.  ARGH!!  Hope she is going to be able to relax it and be able to continue her training.  She is a bit frustrated.  My legs and body feel very refreshed after that run.  And looking forward to the swim tonight. Started snowing as we finished it up.

TT 45:05

PM-  45 min swim.  Drill drill drill and drill.

Got signed up for St George Marathon.  I am glad that I ran the runners series to get in.  I sure do hate the lottery process.  Still not sure if I will do all of the slam.  Which would mean signing up for PC.  Which is on the same day as the Jordenelle Tri that I was going to have as my goal as Olympic distance outdoor race this year.

Later tonight is a 90 min bike ride.  And also a bike tune-up clinic we might go to.  Will just have to see.  To much snow to ride outside.  Did some snow removal this morning at 5am.  And I thought I was going to sleep in today.:(

Went to the gym to ride the time away.  Had a good time riding with the wife listening some tunes.  Not sure of the distance since it was inside.  And got in 95 mins of ride time.  Cant wait till the weather is constantly good.

Went swimming for 30 mins.  Felt pretty good.  Still more drilling for me.  Added a new drill to the mix.  Struggled with it a bit.  Kept coming up short when I came back up for air.  So still a bit off balance.

Went for a long run with Slick. I havent ran with him for a while. Joined him at his place at 7am. Was hard to decide what to wear since it was cold and windy. So just wore both. Which was good since once we hit the point of the mountain and head back North. It was really windy and chilly. It was great to run again with him. So we had alot to chat about. Mostly though it was about his 63 Vett that he is restoring. Pace was up and down. But mostly around 9s. Alot of up and downs. But still a great day for a long run. Felt good at the end and that I could of gone a few more miles. Not like Sundays long run where I was done after 13.

Mile 1 9:28

Mile 2 9:05

Mile 3 9:23

Mile 4 9:31

Mile 5 9:08

Mile 6 9:41

Mile 7 8:33

Mile 8 8:56

Mile 9 9:29

Mile 10 9:39

Mile 11 9:18

Mile 12 9:41

Mile 13 9:53

Mile 14 10:02

Mile 15 8:43

TT 2:20:39 AP 9:24

Just a nice long run. Ran Slicks paces. As a good conversation pace. Till the hills.:)

AM- 30 min swim in the morning. So I just drilled on the ones I have been working on. And it was great. After a little prayer for more patience. It started to click half way through the swim. I am doing the drill I was struggling with the last few swims. And I was relaxing much better and feeling what I should feel. It was great to get those under stitches right.  I can do the double stitches pretty good.  And when I rotate back up to breath I am in the right spot.  What I was struggling with was that when I would come back up for some air.  I would be underwater about 4-6 inchs.  And my kicks were still like I was riding a bike.  After the wife mentioned it again I relaxed my kicks and it worked alot better.  And I was alot less out of breath coming up for air.  So a really good swim.  Tonight workout is a 90 min run.  Will probably should for around 10-11 miles on that one.

PM-  Well my last run was a long run on Sat.  So didn't want to do another long run for say on this 90 min run.  So warmed up doing 2 miles easy.  First 9ish and then next was 8:00.  Mile 3 to 8 was the tempo portion @ 7:24 pace.  Reset the TM and had 8 miles after 61:40.  Ran the last 3.5 at a 8:00 pace again.  Finishing just early by a few secs the 11.5 in 90 mins.  It must of been a sub 8:00 pace overall.  Wasn't to bad besides drinking some G2 on the run that made miles 6-11.5 rough.  But was able to gut it out.

Had to go into work early for snow removal.  Was more of just throwing down salt on the ice.  But its all good.  So after work we went to the gym and watched Friends as we rode the bikes.  It was a 80 min ride for a estimate of about 20 miles.  Was a nice cadence ride with a few times coming up out of the saddle.

AM-  45 min swim this morning.  Had to go it alone with the wife not feeling into it.  So worked a bit more on my double switches.  Then worked about 25 mins of triple switches.  Went pretty good for the most part.  Still have a bit more work to do on it.  Getting close to doing full strokes now.  Where I will actually be swimming.  I am starting to enjoy the drills.  Tonight will be a 45 min run.  Hopefully I can get it in outside before the scouts come over at 6.  Sure hope the weather is good.

PM-  So after work we went out for a nice recovery run.  Thought it was warmer.  But it looks like it was 44 degrees out with a wind.  So its starting to warm up some.  Kristi's hammies are still troubling her so it was a slower pace.  But felt good none the less.

TT 46:54  AP 9:57

Changed up todays workout for tomorrows.  So its a 50 min swim instead of a 120 min bike.  Got to the gym early to get it done.  And the wife was feeling much better and joined me.  Worked on more drills. for the first 35 mins with a new one thrown in.  Still need to work on it a bit more.  I am 1-2 drills away from the full stroke so hopefully everything will come together.  Did alot of triple switchs.  Which means alot more distance.  I can almost get 3 sets in per lap.  Did some swimming at the end.  Still missing the final 2 drills to learn the right strokes and putting it all together to swim.  And swam without fins.  But overall I feel like I am making some good progress.

Was nice to sleep in to the normal time for the first time this week.  So felt rested for the ride today.  Which was going to be a 2 hr ride.  So we decided to ride the course for the Kearns sprint race that is coming up in 2 weeks.  I opted to ride my tri bike and Kristi took her road bike.  So it was good to see at what parts she would come out of the saddle and I would have to stay in it to keep up.  Since it is tougher on a tri bike on the hills.  There was a North wind which really didn't really bother me much on my tri bike.  Yet was more of a issue for her.  And on the hill I was able to keep up ok on the steepest parts of the hill.  And for the downhills and flats with the wind.  I would be able to pull away from her.  So that was good test to see which bikes.  I will for sure be using my tri bike.  Since I have ridden both course before since it is around my work.:)  Should be a good race.  After the first hour Kristi was freezing.  And so I went on alone to scout out a good riding route for us to do for another hr.  Turned out that I finished 1 hr later and only a few secs under 2 hr mark.  With the wind also on this part of the ride.  Which was a strong crosswind.  I didn't notice it much in the sense of it trying to blow me over like it would on my road bike.  Which was good.  The bad thing was on this downhill portion I should of been able to go alot faster.  But the wind slowed me down to 26-7 mph.  Till I got back into the neighborhood area.  And it was back up to 29-30.  Avg speed was 15.6.  And 31.4 miles.  This was my longest outdoor ride I have done to date.  Besides when I was younger.

Well I should of gone out early in the morning for this run and got it done.  But didn't get out to do it till 5pm.  In the morning we ran all over.  First stop was for another swim suit.  At pool and patio.  And then off to SBR for our wet suits.  We were able to test them out in the endless swimming pools next door.  WOWWWW!!  Wet suits are awesome.  I can't wait to use them in my first outdoor swim.  Man do they balance you out.  It all but swims for you.:)  We picked up the last few pieces for our bikes also.  Which was water bottles and a bag for gu's.  

Then we ate at IceBerg.  WOW that was a huge shake.  Gave me a headache having that much sugar.  And upset my stomach later.  Didn't feel well the rest of the night.  Which was making it tougher to get out for my run.  Finally I decided to just do 3 loops of the route I use to run with Alex.  Which would mean 3 big hill climbs about a 1.5 each time.  Which was mile 3 to 4.5.  Had a headwind for the 1-2 miles and tailwind for 4-5.  The 3rd loop was taking  it tole on me along with some GI issues I was having from iceberg.  But was able to make a strong finish.  And my fastest mile was my last.  Was up for a few more hrs with a sore stomach after the run.

Loop 1            Loop 2            Loop 3

Mile 1 8:10     Mile 7 8:12      Mile 13 8:38

Mile 2 8:10     Mile 8 8:20      Mile 14 8:45

Mile 3 8:45     Mile 9 9:16      Mile 15 9:52

Mile 4 8:09     Mile 10 8:48    Mile 16 9:14

Mile 5 8:09     Mile 11 8:17    Mile 17 8:23

Mile 6 7:32     Mile 12 7:50    Mile 18 7:04

TT 2:31:40  AP 8:26

Brick today.  Should of been yesterdays workout.  But needed to get in a long run to get ready for Ogden.  So the brick today was to prepare for the next 2 weekends.  With the dual and tri coming up.  So did the 75 min bike and only 20 run instead of 40.  But its all good.  On the ride we went for part of the route I did on Fri.  With like 3 fairly flat then the next 3 or so a uphill climb.  Was pretty good workout.  We worked on gear shifting and when to shift.  Which really makes a huge difference.  We hit 2 hills later on in the ride.  And just flew up and over them like they weren't really there.  Its all in the shifting and when to shift.  We both hit a top speed of 39.11 on this ride.  After getting home.  Changed over to our running shoes and went for a 2 mile run.  Avg pace of 9:30 which was pretty good recovery.  Legs are feeling good today.  Just tired.  And took a 2:30 hr nap. Feeling good about the races coming up.:)

AM-  Recovery week this week.  So only 20 min swim this morning and 45 min run this evening.  Swim went pretty good.  Got in 2 new drills.  Got to get one more stage done and then will be on to the last new drill.  Which will be the full stroke.  So I am kind of excited for that.  So then I can then put it all together and be swimming.  Got just under 2 weeks till my first tri.  The good thing is that it is in a pool so I will be alright if I need to stop a few times.  But hopefully by then I will my swimming stroke and can be able to do that for the lengths and rest at the turns.:)

Today is a biking day.  And only a 35 min ride.  So we rode up 7000s and back down.  Going up took 20 mins.  Coming back down only 10 mins.  There was a cold wind from the South.  But no rain so its all good.  Rode around a bit in the neighborhood to get in some more time.  Seemed like a short little ride.  Where it was done way quick.

AM- Went for a swim this morning for 20 mins.  Short and sweet.  I was able to get in some swimming strokes at the end.  Went really good at first then took the fins off.  Struggled with it for about 2 laps and then it started to come together.  I sure haven't gotten it down.  But making great progress.

I am debating about doing the Bear Lake Brawl or Utahalf on my Bday.  Which is a non IM half ironman.  They are on Aug 28.  The one is at Bear Lake and other at Utah Lake.  And both are great prices.  My only concern is the swimming portion.  I am sure I can get my biking up to the 56 mins and sure I can run 13.1.:)  Its just the 1.2 swim.  But hey I will have my wet suit to keep me afloat.:)

PM-  Tonights run is only a 30 min one.  So decided to try a few things different for the race.  Wore my racing flats without my orthotics to see how they would be without them.  And had my new shoelaces in them also to see how the feel was with them.  Went really well overall.  Problem was that the wife went out earlier then me.  And so when she told me I needed to reset the watch.  I misunderstood that the watch had to have it past runs cleared.  So I didn't get a accurate split going.  ARGH!!  And it kept beeping at me every few secs after the first mile.  Did the 4 mile loop with the 2nd mile uphill and 4th downhill.  Haven't ran this one for a while.  But felt really good on it.  Saw the first mile split at 7:15.  Way faster then I wanted but thought it was fine.  Headed up the hill and finished that mile at a 7:50.  Which was tough and one of the fastest splits up it.  I will have to check back and see if it is.  Next that mile it started chirping alot.  The 3rd mile was into the wind also yet was fast.  I really highly doubt that I read it right when it said a 5:54 for that mile.  And right close to the end of the last mile with .1 or so to go I was at a 6:09 pace.  Finished it with a 28:25 and 4.02 miles.  So the times dont add up to well.  So I am sure of the first 2 mile splits and unclear on the last ones.  So its kind of a guess.  All I know though is that my feet left very light and fine without the orthos.  And happy that I finished under 30 mins for the 4 miles.

Mile 1 7:15

Mile 2 7:50

Mile 3 7:11

Mile 4 6:09

TT 28:25  AP 7:06

Early morning swim today.  30 mins in the water.  Did 15 drilling, 5 swimming with fins.  And last10 mins swimming without.  Started getting the feel for it alot more in the last few laps.  Having a hard time keeping track of the total yards though.  Way to many things to think about.:)

The weather for the race this weekend is looking great.  Finally some good weather.  But I am sure we will get snow yet again.

AM-  Went for a swim again with the wife.  We did 30 min swim this time.  So I spent 10-15 drilling.  And then on to straight swimming.  Started feeling better after a couple laps and then I tried to change up the sides I was breathing on.  Was off for a few laps.  But those last say 6-8 laps.  Were right on.  Feeling really good about my progress swimming.  So I am excited for this racing season coming up.

PM-  We went and rode the course to see how it looked.  Looks like a small trail but it will work just fine.  We should be spread out enough after the run that I wont have to worry about passing to many people.   On the smaller trail.  Man is there a lot of gnats and bugs on that ride.  Should be a good race tomorrow.  Oh on the ride out took 34 mins.  And back was 28 mins.  Wanted to kick it up after avg pace of like 20.  And was able to hold a 23.5-4.5 pretty well for the last 4 miles or so.

This might be a bit long.  Since there is a few different parts to it.  So this is my 2nd one this year.  But you cant compare it to any of the other 2 that I have done.  Since the distances are different.  This one is a 2 mile run 20 bike then 2 run.  The distance on the run were off from the watch by about .17 or so.  And the bike was right on with a little more for the transitions.  The temps were perfect for the race.  And really wasn't any wind to speak of.  And there was 200 or so doing the dual.  And about 20 or so doing just the bike ride on the Legacy parkway.  Transition opened up at 7am to set up our area.  So we got there a bit early and got a great spot right by the start of the bike.  Set up and got ready.  I was able to get in a good 6-7 min warm up.

So starting the first run was interesting.  Since it is on a small trail.  They had people start off by there predicted finish time of the first 2 miles.  And would let people go every 2-3 secs.  Fastest going first.  So there was about 10-15 before me.  I was shooting for a 14min 2 miles.  So of course the first mile came in a bit fast.  And short for say with first mile at 6:45.  Slowed it down for the 2nd a bit more with a 6:57.  Yet there was still a ways to go to the transition area.  So for the first run I took and ran a 14:38.   Which was 14th overall and 3rd for my AG.

First transition was bad.  Did it in 1:15 which was 41 overall and 5th in my AG  ARGH!!  Not sure why it was so bad.  The guy that was 2nd in my AG did it in 23 secs.  And alot faster on both runs.  So changed and took to the bike.

The bike portion was a lot better once I got going.  Going to work on maybe having my shoes already on the bike maybe to save time.  But felt pretty good.  And wasn't alot of people out there really before me in the race.  Got passed by a few just before the turn around and none after that.  I passed a few people though from the earlier bike race.  Total distance on my bike was 20.34 miles 57:00 Avg speed 21.44 avg cadence was 73 and max speed of 26.17 miles.  And was 18th Overall and 1st for my AG and total time of 57:00.  The guy that had beat me in the transition and 2 runs was 4 mins behind me on the bike.

Transition 2 was even worse then the first one.  I think also with riding a tri bike.  I dont need the gloves and they slowed me down maybe some.  But need to work on this.  Ended up 46 overall and 8th in my AG with 1:25.  And again the guy battling me did it in 23 secs.  WOW!!

Run 2 is next to do and to my surprise I had no rubber legs going into the run.  For the mile of the bike I dropped the gear and spun out my legs as much as I could to flush out my legs.  And it worked great.  So took off running and restarted my lap to see when I came out of the transition my paces.  Caught a few people again on the run.  And the guy I passed during the first run.  Was right there in front of my for the 2nd.  And this time I passed him much sooner.  At about .6 or so into the run.  I was passed going the other way the winner of the race.  And everyone else behind him.  Where did all these people come from??  LOL So I was gaining on the guy with the Strider shirt on that I passed on the bike ride.  Which just happened to be the guy in my AG and took 2nd.  I was almost up to him at the turn around.  And he started to leave me on the 2nd mile in.  My first mile came in at a 7:00 pace.  And I was happy with the 2nd mile but could of drove it home harder with the Strider guy a bit ahead of me.  He finished a bit ahead of me but it wasn't enough with 7:21 the 2nd mile. And a 1:11 for the last .17 on the watch. I had gotten him by 4 mins on the bike and he only had me by 32 secs on the run.  Just enough to beat him on his Bday.  Since I chatted with him at the end of the race.  Crazy thing with all these transitions. And different parts.  So my 2nd run was 10th overall and 2nd in AG.  WOOT WOOT!!

So ended up taking 13th overall and 1st in my AG by 10 secs.  Next wouldnt be for 13 mins. I really learned a lot from this race.  First I need to work on my transitions.  I really lost a lot of time in these.  And so I have to really work on this.  Also the bag that I got to hold my gels in really did a number on my right leg.  The velcro tore it up a few times when it would hit my leg.  OUCH.  The gelling up and hydration that I did worked great.  And so I have not complaint there.  And the racing flats were awesome again.  My legs didn't feel heavy or anything.  Oh and the guy that was 10 secs behind me.  He ran a 2:54 Ogden marathon last year.  So I am feeling pretty good about being able to make up for it on the bike.  Who would of known it was going to be my strength.:)

AM-  Morning swim feels so good after a busy weekend.  Swam for 30 mins total.  With first 10 drilling and then 20 mins of just swimming.  I am still progressing it feels like.  With being able to swim a bit better.  Struggling still on breathing more on my left side vs the right.  The timing just seems off and so I think I am not waiting long enough to get a good breath or maybe my right arm I am pulling in too soon.  Something is off though so I got to work on that some more.  But for the most part it felt pretty good.  And feeling that I can do the 400 yd swim come Sat.:)

PM-  Man rough run tonight.  Was going to make it a long run since I didnt get one over the weekend.  And well it was tough.  Not sure if it was because it was 75 degrees and a wind or still tired from the race.  My was having some GI issues too.  Kept tasting my lunch for say and a few times though I was going to puke.  Which might of actually been a good thing.  Was shooting for a 8:00-30.  And I am sure it was bit off of that.

TT 1:57:43  AP 8:51

Tonight ride was a 75 min bike.  So decided to brave the wind.  There was a strong South wind.  It would push me around a bit on the east or west parts.  Decided to ride the course for Saturdays race again.  Wow the downhill part with the wind to my back was crazy fast.  Hit 46 mph on that part.  And then the roughest part was the uphill and the headwind.  OUCH!!  It was a tough climb but good training.  Finished up just adding a few easy miles on flat road.

TT 1:14:28 20.25 miles Avg speed 16.8

AM- Morning swim for 35 mins.  Did 200 yds drilling w/ fins.  Then worked on different parts of my swimming technique.  Bilateral breathing is still rough.  Breathing on the left side is getting better.  Focus on looking down and less kick.  Stay more relaxed.  Were the different focuses.  Feeling pretty good.  Need to relax more still needing to take 4-5 yoga breaths at the end of each lap.

Going to take some time and look at the training schedules more for the half iron distance.  The one I thought we were going to go with is really alot more advanced on the swimming for sure.  If I would of done the training it said today.  I would of swam almost 2,400 yrds in the same amount of time.  So hmm  either I need to find a better plan or wait till next year to do it.

PM- Missed the run for a clinic they were doing for the race.  Was alot of good info.  Just a few things to make me think about for the swim.  We swam again for like 20 mins.  Learned a few things for my transitions and also in the swim.

AM-  After going to the clinic last night.  I decided to swim again.  And since I missed the run last night because of the clinic I will try to get it in after dropping off the girls.  So worked on a few things today in the swim.  It was a 45 min workout so did 250yds drilling/warm-up.  Then went into swimming.  Since the race is 400 yds and 50 yds at a shot.  I was really wanting to see how I would do w/o my rest after each 25.  Man was I out of breath at the end of that.  So I dont know if I will be doing the quick touch push-off streamline guides into the other lane bit.  Just worked on keep it nice and easy.  My goal is going to be to swim it well but taking enough breaks to make it through it and not need a life guard.  Oh and to have energy for the bike and run.:)  So will try and keep it nice and relaxed the best I can.

This was my first attempt at doing a tri of any distance.  So it was nice to have it in a pool for the swim and knew the bike course pretty well.  And to help improve on my transition times we scouted out the transition area the night before.  We were able to land what we thought were the prime spots for the race.  And so it worked out really well getting there at 6am.  Tris and duals really reward the early bird.  So got out spots and headed back home.  Since we only live about 2 miles from the race.  The night before we scouted out the run course and found it to be quite a tough hilly course for the first half for sure.  Maybe even the first 2 miles of the 5k.  So it was great to see what we were up against the night before so no surprises. 

Swim- 400 yds 8 laps of 50. 17:36 32/32  OH BOY!!  I was really dreading this.  And how they start this is based on your 100 time.  With 5 different groups.  I opted for the very slowest of them all.  And so was about the 15-20th from the last to get in the pool.  The weather was really cold but warmed up just about the time I got in.  And then it begun....  Got off to a good start I thought.  Till about 15 yds in the guy behind me was already passing me.  Oh man this wasn't going to be the only one.  I had people passing me all the time.  But felt pretty good up till someone would pass me.  Mostly if they touched me or something it just threw me off and I would just do a side swim thing.  So my goal was to try to relax and not use up to much energy because I knew I was going to pass anyone that passed me on the bike and swim.  So I just kept pushing along.  I would rest just a sec at the end of each 50 for 2-3 breaths and off I would go.  Get to the half way and then change over to the side swim thing and then once rested go with the freestyle again.  Worked great.  As I got out of the pool I noticed only like 5 people still in the pool.  Good I wasn't dead last.:)  But I am sure time wise it was close.Oh yeah.  I was dead last in my AG for sure.  This is where I can make the most improvement.  I was able to keep my heart rate down enough to do a good showing in the bike and run though.  Which was what I wanted to save energy for.  And in the process didn't drown.

T1- 1:25 11/32 Bit of a run to get to these one.  So it was a run across grass and such.  I opted to leave my sandals close to the end of the swim and passed like 5 people just getting to the transition.  Felt it was a good change and stuff.  Could still improve on it for sure.  But much better position for sure.  Will have to wait and see from the results when they are posted. Was in the top 1/3 almost.  Improved some in 1 week.

Bike- 12.5/40k 43:20 Avg speed 17.2 5/32. Got on the bike a lot better I think this time.  And my legs and body felt good after the swim.  So at least I hadn't killed myself in the swim.  First 4-5 miles on the bike are all uphill.  Good thing I have ridden it a few times because shifting was right on.  Passed tons and tons of people.  Got them on the up hills and down.  Flats only 5-7 for that 2 mile stretch.  And another ton going back up.  Few more on the fast downhill.  Top speed was 42mph no wind at my back.  So I kept saying to myself.  I got to make up for the swim.  And kept pushing it.  No one passed me on the bike.  One by did try to retake me on the hill while I ate a gu.  But once he came up a bit closer.  I could hear his bike.  Got my water and slammed it into a higher gear.  Poor guy was toast.  Got another 5 rides in that small stretch after the gu.  And raced down.  Tossed it into a higher gear and spun the legs out for the last 2 miles that just flew by.  Chased down a few on that stretch too.  Sweet top 5 on the bike.

T2- 1:03 14/32 This one was perfect positioning so my time here should of been good.  Hopefully a quick exchange and off I went.  Can't wait to see the results again.  Got the results back.  Much much better on this transition.  Well at least in the top half.:)

Run- 5k -20:15 pace 6:32 6/32 in AG.  Ok here we go.  Starts out uphill with a short false flat. This is where I could really see the age of who I was passing.  Since they mark it on your right calf.  First 5 people on the first uphill that I passed 2 where in my AG.  Oh yeah.  That really got me going stronger.  There was a lot of uphills and some flats and quick downhills.  This first one wasn't that bad.  2nd big one was only 1 guy there and the next group of people must of been 10 houses down the block.  My chest was hurting a bit here.  But felt it was going to be a tough 5k pace.  And just pushed through it. Quickly got them on the 2nd steep hill and found another few shark baits there also.  I was feeling strong.  These hills were just punishing though.  But they were suffering more then me I kept saying.  Stay relaxed.  Was a small aid station here so must of been about half way out.  But still 2 hills coming up.  Ran through that aid station.  And passed another 5 people easy.  Took a few more out on the hill and saw up ahead about 5 houses the next set of people.  Here we go down hill.  And I was feeling good and relaxed at this point.  And one of them was a 39 yr old.  That is all the motivation I needed to push it harder.  Caught them before the next turn.  And found more coming up to a small uphill before hitting the grass again.  There was at least 10 people that I could see ahead.  And wanted to pass them up.  They passed me on the swim and it was my turn to pass them all back.  It was tough to kick it up to much on the grass but I was now hitting a really fast pace.  Got passed just about all the ones I think I saw there.  And hit the side walk now with a few sharp turns.  I sure loved my racing flats at this point because my feet felt light and fast.  On the corner right before you enter into the olympic oval some people yelled for me to pass them.  They were 3 guys scattered out right before going in.  And it was enough to get me to push that pace even more.  It was a really cool finishing area.  And I was only able to get one more guy in that last stretch to the finish.  I could hear my wife cheering for me as I finished my first Tri.  It was great to have her there at the finish for me.  Where normally I am there waiting for her or running back to run in with her.  I felt like I could just puke.  I haven't pushed that hard before in a race.  So retreated to the bathrooms and calmed everything down.  It felt so good to finish it and hey I didn't drown.:)  I am looking forward to doing more.  And I was pretty close to the top I think.  But really can't tell till the post all the different times.

For sure though I need to work on my swimming.  I felt really relaxed on it.  Just needing to get in better distance.  Which is right on where I feel I am with my swimming.  Ran into a bunch of people that I have already meet from the Desert Sharks and other duals.  And my buddy Pete that I use to run with in the mornings during the Winter was there.  Of course he beat me pretty good.:)  (Had to of been the swim he was in group 2)

AM- 35 min morning swim.  Felt pretty good this morning.  Rested up alot over the weekend.  Did 250 yds of drills with fins then swam.  Worked on a few different things on the swim.  Started with trying to stay relaxed.  Moved on to trying to speed up.  And kept noticing my legs weren't staying as balanced and so then worked on keeping my chest and head down.  Which was great for my legs but made it harder to get air a few times.  Finding my balance while swimming.:)  Feeling really good about my progress.  75 min run tonight.  Next race on the schedule is Ogden Marathon.  Which is going to be a long run. 

PM- Ran right after work.  Decided to try and run it 8:00-30.  Hit it pretty good.  Some a bit slower and a couple faster.  Legs felt a bit tired still from the race.

TT 1:14:41 AP 8:12

Had to take the ride indoors due to the wind.  It was really bad like 35-50 mph winds.  So we wanted 3 episodes of friends in the gym as we cycled.  Wasn't too bad.  Made it mostly a cadence ride.  Its nothing like doing a ride outside.  Can't wait till the weather is constently good. So 80 mins for about 20 miles or so.

AM-  So 45 min swim this morning.  Went with drilling a bit longer.  Worked on my bilateral breathing with fins.  To get the rythem down.  Did that for about 20-5 mins of it.  And then worked on it w/o.  It went pretty good.  Was still taking in alot of water.  But was making some good improvements on balancing in the water.  Still very windy out there today.  Will have to see how it is later when I need to go for my 45 min run.

PM- Went for a run at the gym for 45 mins.  Ran a tempo run for say.  2 miles warm-up 9:00 then 8:30.  Then 2 miles at 6:58.  Then dropped it back to 8 for other mile and then cool down.  Felt pretty good.  Kristi wasnt felling very well so was doing it solo.

TT 45:00

Swim this morning.  45 mins in the pool.  Did more drills and tried some paddles also.  Kind of different but I am not ready for those yet.  Feeling better and better about breathing on the left side.  Sure its not even close to perfect but its improving each time.  What was helping was rotating more.  So now working on looking straight down and rotating more.  Seems to work pretty good for getting more air.  Tried to change up my stroke some.  That only left me with too many things to work on.  So went back to the breathing and rotating.

Opted to doing Sat workout over todays ride.  So I did 70 mins on the bike in the gym then jumped onto the TM to do 45 run.  Did the xcountry course on the bike twice.  And then TM just average pace of 8:30.  Legs were a bit like jello after the ride.  But cleared up after a bit running.  Took a gu around the hr mark.  Going to be heading down to SG for the IM.  It should be alot of fun volunteering and cheering this weekend.

Well I will give a little report here of the IMSG.  WOWWWW!!!  Was it awesome.  I had a blast at it volunteering.  So I will try to break down the 21hrs that I was involved with it the day of.  The expo was really cool too.  So I will start there.

I guess the expo starts on Wed and went till Fri.  And we needed to be there on Fri at 5:30 for a meeting.  So got there 2 hrs early and hit the expo.  It was really cool seeing all the different gear and such.  And just looking at all the IM stuff.  Got to the meeting with 4,000+ other volunteers.  Kristi wasn't able to go to the race due to being really sick.  Which was really tough on her and I.  My Mom took her spot though for the wetsuit stripping.  Got our tshirts and was told to be there at the Sand Hallow @ 4:30AM.  So of course we needed to get up bright and early.  Got up at 3:10 to get ready to leave at 3:45 to get there on time.  We got there in plenty of time and it was nice and cold.  Bit breezy but still great.

So here we are at the Swim @ 5-5:30 the buses started pulling in with all the racers.  Ran into someone I knew from the Desert Sharks and helped out first with doing the body marking.  And got alot of great advise about the races and T times and such.  So it was great along with helping everyone get ready.  It is a lot different then a normal tri.  There was 2,000 or so doing it.  So tons of bikes.  And was different sections.  So we as markers were 20 strong marking everyone that hadn't been marked yet.  One of the gals that was there marking also was a Pro and also is the one I think I will hook up with later to get some swimming lessons from.  So got some great advise from her too. The pros start at 6:45 and the age groupers(AGs) start at 7.  So we were suppost to met at 7 for a meeting.  As the time got closer there were alot of people still not in there wetsuits or dropping off there drop bags.  So Bill and I started running around and helping those people zip up there suits and dropping off there bags.  It was just crazy crazy crazy.  I learned a good lesson there not to be in that situation.  Bill kept saying.  You dont want to be in this situation.  They should of been done at the PoP 20 mins ago.  They should of been here 15 mins ago.  They should of been down to the water 20 mins ago.  Just giving me a ton of great info.  And I was seeing the panic there.  We helped all the people we could before making our way to the start of the swim for the AGs.  And watched as the cannon went off and all the white water.  It was so exciting.  There was a few thousand people there for support.  WOW!!   So off to our post at the Swim OUT.

So we found where we needed to be and the sun was just coming up.  They had one loop around the lake to get in the 2.4 miles.  Meet up with my Mom, Bill and Keith(Husband of one of the women in the race and in the club with us).  So we had a few mins before the Pros came in.  But then we saw a few older people coming over.  It was odd.  I guess they either got pulled or something happened.  But they were done already.  Then the first guy got out of the water.   He didn't need our help at all.  We were about 20-5 strong for the strippers.  And he just flew by us and was into the change tent and on his bike before the next guy even came past us.  He was fast and strong.  And most of the first AGs didn't want help either.  The bulk of them came at 1:15-30 and it was crazy and busy.  Water and people going this way and that.  Some knew what we were there for.  Others were dazed and need some help talking with to know what was going on.  It was alot of fun trying to help as many people as I could.  Did some by myself later tag teaming with 1-2 others.  Lesson learned for sure.  Don't put your watch on the outside of your suit or your timing chip.  It was interesting also how people were coming in waves almost.  Alot of grouping up for sure happened here.  And as it got closer to the 9:20 cut off time.  They were getting more dazed and slower coming up to us.  They were cold and some we would send to the warm up tent to get warmed up.  And it was really sad as the time got closer to see them struggling way out there.  And knowing they were getting to close.  And some weren't going to make it.  The last guy of the 4 that didn't make it was only 6 mins short.  Then the ones still in T1 had only 10 mins to get out of there or they were done.

 We were able to leave around 10am and followed the last of the riders out.  Figured it was going to take a few hrs still before they get to the running part of the race.  The bike is great and all but hard to cheer for people on that part of it.  So we took a break and got in a shower, washed up our wet clothes.  Dad wanted to come at this part and so at 2 we headed for the T2 and Finish area.  Saw what a cluster it was and decided to just go up the route some where they were 3 lanes of traffic.  Closest to us was the bikers coming in to T2.  Then the mile 1 or 14 going out and then the farthest lane over was the runners coming back in.  Mile 12 or 25.  So we hung there and cheered for bikers and runners.  We were able to catch the finishers coming in and I was able to see all the different people I knew finally.  My poor hands were chapped from all the clapping.  At 5:30 was the cut off for the bike.  And as that got closer you would see people coming in more and more frantic.  As they knew they were getting close to the cut off.  And there was alot more that didn't make that cut off then the swim.  We crossed over the street at that point and was just cheering for all the runners.  This time we were close enough to see that their names were on there bids just below their numbers.  So I would call out there names and boy then they really started to respond alot more.  A few of the other crowd came and asked how I knew so many people.  So then pointed out to them about the names.  Which really gave the runners a added boost.  It was like a death march for some of these guys.  They were just walking.  Some would pick it up after some encouragement.  And others were in a zone.  I had to cut that cheering section short. 

At 7:45 PM was when I needed to get to my pick up point to get shuttled up to my aid station 4 shift from 8 to 11pm.  They had a aid station about every mile.  So I was at mile 4, 17.  And they would be passing us on the other side of the road 9 and 22.  Boy was it getting cold at this point with the wind.  We had 6 tables with different stuff at each.  I was at the 2nd table with water and ice.  And again this is on a uphill part so they were mostly walking into the aid station and very tired.  They had already been out at least 13hrs and still had at least 1-4 more to go to make the 17hr mark which they cut them off at mid night.  It was fun and exciting to help everyone.  And help pick people up.  I would ask them by name "Jason you want water or ice??", "Jennifer you want water or ice??".  Great job and keep it up.  The others on the other side of the road I couldnt see there names as well in the dark.  And would just cheer for them.  As the clock was ticking closer and we stopped at around 10 with the last of our people coming.  I just cheered for all those going back down.  I also ran with my companion from the MTC for a while and gave him some more encouragement.  Haven't seen him for 18 or so yrs.  He was really surprised that I was able to pick him out of the crowd. 

So we cleaned up our aid station and watched as the last runner passed and left.  They let us take what was left of the bananas, oranges, power bars and etc.  I just took some bananas and a box of power bars.  And headed back to the finish area.  I had at least a mile to walk to my car.  And passed by the finish line to get there.  There was still 20 mins left till it was midnight.  And I really didn't want to stay around there.  I wanted to save that experience for when it was my turn.  When I would hear.  MARK OWENS YOU ARE A IRONMAN!!!!!  There was a huge crowd there.  At least a thousand strong at the finish and more up along the streets.  It was awesome experience.  And has only made me want to do it even that much more.

It was exciting to volunteer at my first race and it being a Ironman that much better.  I learned alot of things from it.  And I am proud that I was part of it.

This morning we went to do our swim and the pool was closed.  So after work we went to KOPFC and signed up the family for a yr.  And swam there outdoors.  It was a bit chilly but still a great swim and workout.  Here in a couple weeks they will open up the 50 m part which will be really sweet.  So now we are thinking of doing the Bear Lake Brawl again.  So we will see about training programs again.  Not sure about the time on the swim since no watch.

Ran with the wife after work.  Did a recovery run for 40 mins.  Was a bit windy and it was a new route.  So wasn't to bad.

AM- Yep you read right 1000!!  I am not sure if I have done that much before.  Because its so hard for me to keep track of that and everything else.  But today we went earlier for say.  And did a set workout which of course means we would know just how far we went.  Kind of trying a new training program for say.  That has you doing sets instead of just time.  So it was a warmup for 300, 10 x 50 and then 200 cooldown.  WOW!!  That would mean I would need to swim a full lap.  I think in the tri I did I only did that once on the 400.  So I was suppost to do 50 then 10-15 sec break.  Hmm yeah well it was a bit longer then that.  First one went off ok.  I think that one I made it back all the way.  2nd one nope had change out of freestyle. 3-7 were really struggles.  5-7 I actually had to stop at about 40 yds.  Well I dont know if I had to but ended up stopping wondering what the heck was going on.  Did some back strokes to get the last 5 or so.  Then my wife gave me some great encouragement.  And said something like trust your ability to swim or something like that.  So I realized I wasn't rotating with my core as much.  So I changed that up to rotating my body more.  Which of course makes it much easier to move plus is effortless power from just rotating.  And I noticed also the turn around.  When I would push off it would throw off my rythem and I speed up or something.  And that would mess up my 2nd 25.  So with rotating my core more I was able to breath much easier and I MADE IT!!  8 I made it all the way.  A bit out of breath but I did it.  9 and 10th were even better.  Sure out of breath but I DID IT!!  For my last 200 I did 150 with fins.  Doing more core rotation and WOW!!  I was flying.  And it was effortless and right on top of the water.  I will have to really work on that part of my swimming.  Its great to have a great training partner there to help when I needed it most.

300 warm-up

10 x 50

200 cool down

Got in a good run this morning.  Was a breezy 33 degrees.  But felt pretty good on the run.  Haven't really ran much lately it seems and wanted to test the waters a bit.  Feeling good not sure how I will run Ogden and UVM still pace wise that is.

Mile 1 8:29

Mile 2 8:10

Mile 3 8:43

Mile 4 7:53

Mile 5 7:34

Mile 6 6:07

TT 46:59 AP 7:53

Meet with Malaika a personal trainer.  That specializes in tri and swimming.  So did some swimming and she helped me out alot with my kicking and a few other drills.  Was great.

Also in for SG marathon.  Since I ran the series I wasn't sweating it.:)

Went for a nice ride this morning with the wife.  Rode out to Herriman to check out the course for the Day Break Tri that we have coming up next.  And ran into the Goldie Locks woman's only bike ride.  Was kind of cool watching all them doing there ride.  Had a great time checking out the course and finding out where the race will be at.  And the hill climb out.  Then the speedy ride back to the lake.  That Oquirrh Lake is a big one.  There was sure a lot of runners out there running around it.  Was a nice cadence long ride for the most part.  Didn't push it too hard for it.  And just outside a mile out Kristi changed her first flat on the road.:)

TT 2:10:00 31 miles. 

Had to get in a long run before the marathon coming up at least to build my confidence for the race.  So went out for a 10 miler.  It was a pretty good run.  Tried to pick up the the pace for the second half.  At least make it a stronger effort.  Only problem is that the first half was down hill.  And the 2nd uphill.  Had 2 sky bridges to cross over bangater highway.  And messed up the pace for that mile.  Overall felt really good about the run.

Mile 1 8:45

Mile 2 8:06

Mile 3 7:50

Mile 4 8:27 Sky bridge

Mile 5 8:11

Mile 6 8:28

Mile 7 8:10

Mile 8 8:28 Sky bridge again

Mile 9 8:04

Mile 10 7:27

TT 1:22:04 AP 8:12

Resting today.  After the run was feeling really sick yesterday.  So yep it was start of a cold or something.  Called in sick to work.  Are you kidding me with this.  arghhh

Got in alot more sleep and rest.  Not having much fun.  Yeah maybe I will have to run with Kathie at Ogden.  Just hope I am feeling better by then.  Called in again today.  Hopefully my doc will see me today.:(

Going into work today.  Hopefully I am on the mend.  Got to love those Z-packs.  Feeling better though so its all good.  Hope I will be ready for the race this weekend.  Oh it was a nice sinus infection.

Feeling better today so went for a swim with the wife.  And now I am ready for a good nap.:) Bad thing was I wasn't able to do the full workout.  But I did feel really good about what I did do.  The intervals were 16 x 50 with a short recovery.  So I ended up doing only 10 and felt good with that.  I did all 10 of 10 the full distance.  Last time I did it was 4 of 10.  So it was better that way.  Still have a lot of stuff to work on.  But making great progress.  Lets hope I will be ready for the 750 in 2 weeks at Daybreak.

300 warm-up

10 x 50 500

200 cooldown

Will go for a nice easy run after a good nap.

Went for a nice 4 mile run.  Felt ok.  Just cruised along.

Mile 1 8:35

Mile 2 8:41

Mile 3 8:12

Mile 4 8:18

TT 33:47 AP 8:27

This marathon but me into the double digits.  So my 10th overall and 3rd Ogden.  Its a great course and the temps were great.  My goal was to run with Kathie and help pace her to a 3:50.  And to go as long as I could with my limited miles leading up to the race.  Due to doing more tri training then training for a full marathon.  Throw in fighting a cold off.  Which I hope is gone and doesn't come back.  I even debated not even running it due to the tri training and having a full race schedule.  So decided for the most part make this just a long run and not race it.  So I could recover from it as quickly as possible and just survive it.  As for UVM coming up in 4 weeks.  I am pretty sure I am just going to defer it to next year and run it then.  So enough with all this stuff.  On to the report.

Meet up with a lot of friends at the Marriot.  Kathie, Maynard, Smooth,  Charlie and 3 of Kathie's friends were there.  And made our way to the buses.  I decided to try immodium AD to see if that would help with the problem I had at SG and that did the trick.  The problem was I couldn't take my sudafed.  Or I am sure I would have all sorts of issues with dehydration.   So I had a lot of liquids yesterday.  The ride up was uneventful.  Had a good ride with the 8 of us and yakked with Charlie and Kathie.  Got to the start and made my way to the PoP.  I was surely hydrated.:)  And we just hung out in the cold.

We decided to line up close to the back of the 8 min group.  Which seemed to have worked good for a while.  But didn't seem to keep us going as slow as we wanted for the first few miles.  But still was good.  Felt good here.  Didn't have really any issues till the half where I had to hit the PoP again.  Yep nice and hyrated but no GI issues.  So was happy with that.  We hit the mile 14 mile and passed a bunch going up it.  But we had lost 1-2 mins by that point due to a pit stop on both parts.  And then another around 15 or so for her.  But after that one Kathie came out strong and I was starting to fade.  And had to let her go again at mile 16-7.  I wouldn't see Kathie again till the finish line.  About 2.5 miles later Smooth and Maynard meet up with me again.  And I was already into my run walk routine to ward off any cramps.  And just stopped pushing it so hard.  Ran with them for .5 or so then cheered them on as I walked again.  Just kept doing this.  Around mile 22 its alot steeper it seems.  I really dont think I ran the sub 7 I was doing and walked some after it was saying I was almost doing a sub 6.  Even though I passed alot of people in there.  But I would do that alot with the way I was resting and then run and then walk when my form started to break.

With 5k left to go I tried to do long runs and short walks to get in under 4:15 which was the time for my first mary.  Just barely made it in at the 4:15 but I am sure my first race still beat me.  Right now though as I am sitting here after a nice nap and in my compression tights.  I am feeling pretty good.  With my worse battle wound my poor nipples.  This is my first time I have had to use the med tent.:(  For 2 bandaids.  But it sure helped.

Mile 1 8:33

Mile 2 8:29

Mile 3 8:27

Mile 4 8:30

Mile 5 8:26

Mile 6 8:40

Mile 7 8:34

Mile 8 8:40

Mile 9 8:47

Mile 10 8:45

Mile 11 8:41

Mile 12 9:28 Pit stop

Mile 13 8:46

Mile 14 9:24 Pit Stop

Mile 15 9:10

Mile 16 10:04 Pit stop again

Mile 17 8:59

Mile 18 10:41

Mile 19 11:00

Mile 20 12:07

Mile 21 11:31

Mile 22 11:07

Mile 23 8:17

Mile 24 11:45

Mile 25 10:00

Mile 26 12:31 Talking with Lowell for a bit

Mile 26.67 6:16 (9:25 pace)

TT 4:15:51

All and all I feel good about the race.  It was definetely a nice long run.  And really enjoyed running with Kathie for most of it.  And seeing everyone.:)

Legs were feeling rather well for just running a marathon the day before.  And thought I would join MrsFit and Lizer for the long ride.  Just told them it was going to be a nice long recovery ride for me.  And so we found a nice course to ride that was mostly flat.  So rode down from our place to Redwood road.  Hit basically went all the way out to the point of the mountain.  Which at that point was a bit of a hill and headwind.  But wow was it fast coming back down and nice to have a tail wind for all but the last mile.  Kept it nice and easy for the most part.  Only a 2 hills that we hit 2 times.  Legs felt great and wore my compression tights.  Feeling really good about how I was able to make the race yesterday more of a long run and hopefully be able to recover from it fast.  I am looking to do my normal routine with my swim and run this recovery week.  And take it nice and easy on the run for this week.  To get me ready for that open water swim in less then 2 weeks.

35 miles total out and back course

Avg Speed 15.85

Max Speed 35.80

TT 2:14:59

Ending up being a rest day.  Felt like swimming after work.  But ended up working over so didnt make it out for it.:(

Got to love this weather.  Was about to head out to work on the bike.  And was greeted with wind and rain.  Argh!!  Ok maybe it will have to be next week or later this week.   Scouts tonight.

PM-  Got in a run right after work.  Was a bit of rain so it was humid.  But wasn't going to let it stop me.  Legs are feeling good and recovered so I wanted to go for a run and see how they would feel after a few miles before scouts.  Took the 4 mile route with the uphill at 2 and down at 4.  Felt really good and only felt some soreness in my hammies the first mile.

Mile 1 8:53

Mile 2 8:42 uphill

Mile 3 7:45

Mile 4 6:25 downhill

TT 31:47 AP 7:57

AM- Got up for a early morning swim.  Problem was all the lanes were full.  So we sat in the hot tub for 10-15 mins.   So after warming up for 300 and then got in 10 sets of 50.  Ran out of time to do a good 200 cool-down.  Felt pretty good by the end of the sets.  And feeling a bit better about the race coming up.  Would feel a bit tired close to the end of the lap.  And could relax my arms and worked my core more.  And worked pretty good that way.  Got a 11 hr workday today so we will see if the weather will cooperate for a ride this evening and I can get out for a ride.  Or we might be going to a clinic for Women of Steel.

AM- Rode my tri bike to work.  First ride to work of the season.  Felt pretty good and chilly.  With a south wind.  Will have to see how this compares to last years rides to work.

Distance 7.79

Time 27:50

Av speed 16.81

Av Cad 62

Max speed 38.21

PM-  Return trip with some wind and crosswind.  But felt pretty good for the most part.  Tried to up my av cad.  Still need to work on it.  I am happy with the first ride to work.  It was nice and fast.  Looks like with a few more rides I should be able to get this time under 20 mins.

Time 21:30

Av speed 21.03

Av Cad 73

Max speed 32.19

Ran into my buddy Tim on the way home from the race on Sat.  And talked him into running with me again.  So we meet up today for a run on the JRP.  Kind of a long run is what he wanted and I thought ok yeah 10 mile would be nice.  So we went for a long run and ended up feeling good so we went a bit longer.  Ended up going 14 miles and felt pretty good.  Bit humid down at the parkway and a bit hot.  But still a nice run.  Kept the pace easy for me and pushing it for him. 

TT 2:40 AP 10:49

After getting in a shower the wife got home to go for a swim.  Not much break between the run and swim.  Legs felt tired on this swim and started to cramp a couple times.  Was going to stop after the 8th 50.  When I got a cramp close to the end of it.  But thought I would gut it out and get 2 more.  Finished those ones and then did 100 cool down but then got a mean cramp in my quad.  OUCH!!!  Oh that was a mean one and I was calling it good but kept cramping.  Oh boy so just sat there for a few mins.  And then finally was able to get out without another one.  Shouldn't have tried to do a swim that close after a long run like that.  But it sure was nice to swim in a 50 m pool.