Half mile hill repeats x4 (total mileage 9)

I forgot to post on Tuesday as I have had many things going on this week. Tuesday morning I got the call from my mom that my grandfather had passed away. He was struggling more and more and now he can be at peace. He was a great outdoorsman and enjoyed fishing, golfing, and hiking. In his earlier years he was a wrestler, gymnast and diver and fought for our country with the US Navy. He was one of the hardest working people I have known. Even a few years ago we caught him up on the roof of his two story house. He loved being outside working in the yard and feeding the birds which he knew every species of in Prescott Valley. When he was younger he would catch and train hawks outside of Chicago. He was the father of four and grandfather of eight, and he got to meet my wife and two children. He will be missed and thought of often. Please keep my grandmother in your prayers.

I think he only saw me race one time but I remember it well because it was at the Nevada state cross country meet my senior year of high school, the only year we made it to the state finals. I was proud for him to be there and see me race.

I did a fartlek run Tuesday morning for 5k and spent the time thinking of him and my grandmother.


Today I did my half mile hill repeats but I changed the course slightly and just ran on 47th starting at L-10 up to the top, turned left and finished at the crest of the hill at the same joshua tree that was my finish line before. By changing the route I took out the slight downhill portion. Now there is a steady up hill grade the entire was especially after the first .25 miles (which are relatively flat).

Times were a little faster than last week 3:24, 3:24, 3:19, and 3:16.
Total mileage was 9 miles at 1:08 (average pace 7:33).
It is a great workout. I wish I could decrease the rest time but I have to run back on the same route and I don't want to burn out my quads on the downhill.

In the news: Dean Karnazes attempted to break the 48 hour distance record on a treadmill live on the Regis and Kelly show this week. He fell short at 211 miles, the record was 240. They had him on video with a live web feed so we could keep our eyes on him during the day (and night). He was at 133 miles at 24 hours. What an amazing effort!

Last reminder that Clay Patten, PT and I are hosting our third FREE running clinic on Saturday September 20th at 11am at Valley Physical Therapy Group in Lancaster, CA. The topic this time is: Lower limb running injuries. We will be discussing symptoms, treatment, and prevention. We are also performing FREE gait analysis with RSVP (661) 948-0186.

Saturday is also the Palmdale Relay for Life at Highland High School. Valley Physical Therapy Group has a team and we will be there intermittently throughout the day running and walking. The event is from 9am-9am on Suday. I will be running at least from 9pm to 11pm on Saturday night. I would like to put in at least 20 miles at the event. Come out and join us!