Typical Antelope Valley Spring Weather

I did not get in any running this weekend. The video is my excuse. One of my small trees in the front yard snapped in half!

8 mile aqueduct run on Saturday

I got up early to watch the end of the Houston half marathon. It was also the US Championship half marathon which is the reason for interest. A pack of three guys, which included Ryan Hall, stayed in the lead almost until the end. At the 13 mile mark Ryan gapped Mo a bit and then runnerspace.com ruined the coverage again. They were in a lead cart and had to speed ahead, jump out, and run around the finish line to catch the winner. Well they missed it, and in the mean time Mo outkicked Ryan in the last 400m to win! We never saw it. Awful. Sergio was 22nd in 1:06:20 and Justin was 47th in 1:10:24.

I hustled up to the aqueduct to meet Dale, Clay, David, and Joel. The plan was to run 8 miles today. I arrived late and it took me 2 miles to catch the guys. After talking to Joel I thought about continuing with him for another 3, but after a stiff headwind for 3 miles on the way back I decided to call it a day.

I don't know that I need to taper for this race next weekend. If I decreased my mileage any I would barely be running. I will just continue running but easy mileage until race day, and nothing longer than an hour after this weekend.

26 feels like 14!

Wouldn't it be nice if I was talking about miles? Well, I'm actually talking about degrees farenheit. The forcast for this morning at 6:00am was 26 degrees but the wind chill would make it feel like 14 degrees. I think it was actually a few degrees colder than that. Dale met me at my house at 5:40am and we took off around the Rancho Vista area. The houses blocked a good amount of the wind so we tried to stay within the neighborhoods. We had a nice easy run and finished 9 miles then I headed out for one more mile to complete 10 in 86 minutes (avg 8:30). I think the wind picked up during the run because it seemed to get colder. My hands were the limiting factor today and by the end they were throbbing. It was probably the coldest run of the year. Thanks Dale for the company. I never would have made it 10 in that weather alone.


I was trying to find a list of the best US marathon times for 2010 and finally found one. It is a list of all the Olympic trials qualifiers to date. After picking out all the times run in 2010 I realized that Sergio's 2:14:02 at Twin Cities was the 10th fastest US marathon time this year (and two of those are Meb)! He is ranked 12th of all the qualifiers thus far (some people qualified in 2009). He is in some pretty good company. The Olympic Trials Marathon for men and women is scheduled for January 14th in Houston, TX. Check out the men's qualifiers list here.

Sunday Long Run with Sergio and Justin..cut short

I had made plans to meet Sergio Reyes and Justin Patananan on Sunday morning for part of my long run. They start their long run at 7:00 pace, so I knew I could run with them for at least an hour. I needed to start earlier so I could get home in time to let Andi get out for a 10 miler with Dawn.

I drove up to 70th and the aqueduct at 6:15 and was greeted by 30mph gusts of wind and white caps on the aqueduct. I ran out two miles then came back, then out and back another two miles before Sergio and Justin arrived. I averaged 8:00 pace for the first 6 miles.

When I met up with Sergio and Justin we headed west toward the fire damage. We were running at 7:00 pace easily with the wind at our backs. 7:00 pace, just slower than marathon pace for me, is nearly two minutes slower than marathon pace for them (VERY EASY), so their easy runs are my tempo runs. Our miles splits were 7:09, 7:12, 6:53, 7:02, 6:53. Just after 5 miles, my right calf started to cramp badly. I told them to go ahead and I slowed to nearly 9:00 pace. I was still 4 miles from my car and decided to get home quicker by cutting under the aqueduct and down 55th. I was bummed not to finish with them. I had planned on running with them for an hour (8-9 miles). It was a little embarassing to have to pull up early, but there was no way I could continue at that pace. I hope I can tag along on their long runs again as they would be great tempo runs for me. After an hour at 7:00 pace they usually pick it up closer to 6:00 pace for the next hour.

I got home, took some advil, and did an ice bath for my right calf. These kind of cramps usually happen to me after a few nights of poor sleep and dehydration, which is true of the last two days. It usually takes 7-14 days to fully recover from this, so there will be a cut in mileage and easy running only until this loosens up.

Total mileage for the day was 14.


Sergio and Justin, if you are reading this, I really enjoyed running with you guys. It sure was windy out there. How did the rest of your long run go? I am really not a wuss, and the cramp came on so suddenly that I had to stop running asap. I hope you don't mind me tagging along in the future for a few more miles.

8 mile Rancho Vista Loop

Another 8 mile run this morning and again it took me 63 minutes! The last three 8 mile runs I have done on my own have taken me 63 minutes. The mornings have been breezy out here and it got worse as the run progressed. I am feeling better about my fitness every week. I am running the HDR cross country race tomorrow for a hilly tempo workout, then a 2 hour run on Saturday.


California Lutheran University has been releasing their "All Decade Teams" for each sport. I had the pleasure of running with one male and one female runner that made the list. Has it really been a decade already?

I was a teammate of Tom Ham for 2 years and a teammate of Lisa Pierce for 4 years.

Heather Worden, a local Paraclete H.S. grad and arguably the best female distance runner ever to attend CLU, also made the list. She has school records in the 1500m (4:33.95) and the 800m (2:16.22). She is also the only CLU runner ever to win the SCIAC cross country championship which she did in 2004.

7 mile run with Andi

Since my mom is in town, Andi and I got out for a morning run on the aqueduct. It was nearly calm at my house but 400ft higher on the aqueduct it was gusty. It was still a good run (7 miles) but not as much fun into the wind on the way back.

Hey track fans! Check out the great discussion on the comments from my blog post on Friday!

5 mile morning run

It was windy this morning. When it is windy at my house in Quartz Hill sometimes it is not as bad to the east in Palmdale, so I ran by Rancho Vista golf course, up Towncenter and back on Rancho Vista. It was less windy until I made the turn to come back home. The 5 miles took me about 39 minutes. I still don't feel like picking up the pace just yet. I have been experiencing some plantar fascial pain in both heels since that trail run last weekend. It is steadily improving.


If anyone remembers me mentioning Eric Flores, of Cal Lutheran, a few months ago, I have an update on him. He is a junior thrower at CLU where I attended college. In the past few weeks he won the Div. III track championships for the hammer throw, and at another meet set a Div. III all-time record in the hammer with a throw of 220ft 10in. He was named All-American and Div. III outdoor track & field male athlete of the year! That record throw makes the "B" standard for USA's and is 6ft off an "A" standard! It would have placed him 15th at the 2008 Olympic Trials! Congratulations Eric!

This week in running

The weather continues to be windy around here. The early morning hours are typically the calmest but they have also been uncharacteristically cold (mid to high 40s). I am using this as my excuse for the continued lack of running. I did get in 4 miles Monday morning and 6 miles Friday morning. They both felt much harder than they should have. I can make up excuses like the best of them.


Wednesday, June 2 is National Running Day. Hope you all are able to get out for a run.

"I always tell all people to run at least 30 minutes a day. It cost you some time, but it refreshes the mind and makes you will work more effective during the day. That’s why I support this National Running Day so much. It’s a wonderful idea which we all together should spread around the World." - Haile Gebrselassie (marathon world record holder)

One week to go!

I am sure glad the LD50 was not this weekend. We had 30+ mph gusts almost all weekend and cold temps. I got in a run on Saturday, and planned on going 8 but started to get left achilles tightness early on and didn't want to fight the wind so I stopped at 4 miles. I also decided to take off the rest of the weekend for running and try and recover as much as possible. The weather made the decision easier.

Looking at the forecast it appears that everyone should have at least decent weather next weekend. Antelope Valley, Las Vegas, and Boston should all be ok. No major weather systems predicted.



The Song of the Ungirt Runners

We swing ungirded hips,
And lightened are our eyes,
The rain is on our lips,
We do not run for prize.
We know not whom we trust
Nor whitherward we fare,
But we run because we must
Through the great wide air.

The waters of the seas
Are troubled as by storm.
The tempest strips the trees
And does not leave them warm.
Does the tearing tempest pause?
Do the tree-tops ask it why?
So we run without a cause
'Neath the big bare sky.

The rain is on our lips,
We do not run for prize.
But the storm the water whips
And the wave howls to the skies.
The winds arise and strike it
And scatter it like sand,
And we run because we like it
Through the broad bright land.

Charles Hamilton Sorley

Nutty Runners 5k Champion!

My plan this morning was to get up early and put in an easy 10 before the Nutty Runners 5k. I woke to gusty winds and crawled back into bed. We got the boys bundled up and ready and headed to Joe Walker for the race. Clay and I dressed as "Nutty" Runners with peanut costumes we found on amazon.com. This was my first race as a stunt runner and I have to say it was very fun. Kids and adults came up to us after the race asking to have their picture taken with us. We sort of ended up being the mascots for the race. The race was well organized and started right on schedule with a good turnout (168 finishers) despite the windy conditions. I took off at a conservative pace with the wind at my back and let a few guys take the race out. I was in second place at the mile and then took the lead soon after the turnaround. Once we turned back west on L-8 my peanut costume became a parachute that made the wind that much more tough. I was waiting for the other runners to pass me up but they never did. I peeked back at the turn toward the track and saw that I had a decent lead. Not realizing that we had 1.5 laps on the track I stopped a lap early and the finish line volunteers said, "you've got one more lap," so I kept going and finished first in 19:12. A 5k PR when wearing a peanut costume! This may also be the first race I have EVER won! People were cheering me on the whole way. "Go peanut guy!" After checking my watch I found that I was actually very evenly paced 5:55, 6:10, 6:15. I stayed at the finish line and cheered everyone else in. Andi pushed the boys and finished in 25:47. She said pushing 100 pounds (jogger and two boys) into the wind was REALLY hard. My nephew Luke and my son Matt both had fun picking a number (lane) and running around the track. Micah was cold and ready to go home. Matt stayed with me and helped pass out medals at the kids half mile run. He enjoyed cheering on the kids. Maybe next year he will run the race. Dale, you put on a great event. The bobble head trophies are excellent. The course is very fast. Without the wind it may be a minute faster. Can't wait for next year! The peanut guy will return to defend his title!
Other race results: Sergio Reyes was 19th at the USA 15k championships today at the Gate River Run in Jacksonville, FL with a time of 45:54.

6 mile run on aqueduct & July totals

I met Clay and Zac up on the aqueduct which was rather windy this morning. We did 3 miles out and 3 back for a total of six. Zac and I ran the last 4 together averaging around 7:20-7:30 pace. He set the pace and I stayed a half step behind on his side to make sure we maintained pace. It was a good effort. Total time for the 6 miles was 47:26 I think.


Mileage for July was 126 that includes missing a weekend of training while in Mammoth and two fairly low mileage weeks on each side of that weekend. I still feel pretty good about the month. I am enjoying some faster and harder workouts. I will a hilly course once a week and either tempo or marathon pace runs fairly consistently from here on out.

29 mile father's day weekend!

Saturday I did a neighborhood run. I zig zagged through streets that I typically don't run on for 7 miles and saw some nice homes. My legs felt kind of heavy and I took it easy averaging about 8:20 pace. It was a nice morning for a run.

My plan was to do a 3 hour run on Sunday morning in preparation for my 30 miler in two weeks. I woke up to some hard gusty wind and almost called it a day until Andi suggested calling her sister in Canyon Country to see how the weather was 45 minutes away. She said that the weather was nice so we loaded up and got there around 1:00. I left right away with some accelerade, a powerbar gel, my cell phone and a credit card, and took off west on the Paseo (a bike and running path that winds around the Santa Clarita area). I noticed right away that it was hotter than I was used to. I don't know the last time that I ran in the afternoon.

I stopped 2 miles out at a CVS and bought some vasaline and a small water. I sipped on that water for the next 6 miles and then took my gel finishing the water. There was very little shade, unless I was going under a bridge or overpass, until I found another branch of the trail called the south fork that had large trees lining the path for about a mile and a half. There was also a little breeze that helped cool me down. I turned around at just over 11 miles. I had to stop again at mile 15 as I was running out of accelerade. I stopped at a Shell Station and asked if I could fill up my bottle with water at the fountain drinks. She said all they had was hot water but I could also use their ice, so that's what I did. It was getting hotter as I continued and stopped one final time at mile 19 which was back at CVS. I was starving and bought a gatorade and some powerbars. I ate one powerbar and drank half my Gatorade before I got to the front of the line. I finished the run of 22 miles in 2 hours 52 mintues. I stopped the watch at each stop I made.

When I got back to Andi's sister's house I asked what the temp was. She said it read 80 degrees in her car that afternoon. It felt hotter than that. I was able to take a dip in their community pool after my run (always feels great).

The effort today was harder than two weeks ago mostly due to the heat. By the end of the run I was dumping diluted accelerade on my head to try and cool down. I also was not properly hydrated, fueled, or rested before the run. I learned alot that will prepare me for my 30 miler in two weeks.

I averaged 7:50 per mile over the 22 miles and most of the time when I looked at my Garmin I was easily (cardiovascularly) maintaining 7:30 pace, but was hitting 7:50-8:10 for most of the second half. Here are some splits I remember.
10 miles in 76 minutes
13.1 miles in 1:40
20 miles in 2:35

It will be nice to run with some people in two weeks. As of today I have 18 runners who have RSVPed to run some portion with me and at least one, maybe three, people biking.

Still windy!! : 9 miles

The wind has not let up for the last 5 days now. The calmest time is first thing in the morning. I have also found that if I go about 2-3 miles east of my house that there can be little to no wind. I did that today but it did not work. It was windy even in Lancaster and Palmdale. I ended up running through each on my 9 mile loop. Total time was 1:10:30 (avg pace 7:50).

Here is some video from our house this week.

The quote below was on my day calendar today and it reminded me of my sister. I remember when Pres. Bush said this and we thought it was hilarious.

“I do not like broccoli. I haven’t liked it since I was a little kid and my mother made me eat it. And I’m president of the United States and I’m not going to eat any more broccoli.”—George H. W. Bush

"Cho-pin-bra-co-li"
Now go eat your vegetables!

June Gloom! 8 mile treadmill progression run.

It has been gusty here night and day for the past 3 days. I fully recovered from my 20 miler in about 2 days. I could have run yesterday but the wind kept me in bed. Today I got on the treadmill for 8 miles: 5 miles @ 8:00 pace, 2 miles at 7:30 pace, and the last .5 miles at 6:40 pace and watched the trees sway from inside. Total workout was just over an hour.

I have some good links to check out that I have found over the past week:

Coach Jay Johnson out of Boulder, CO has a great website and some good videos on core workouts for runners. Check them out.

Here is a recent article from the NY Times titled “The Road to Success, Paved with Bad Advice.” It talks about stretching, orthotics, and running form and how the wrong advice, even with good intentions can be detrimental to your training. I think anyone that says that their technique or their product will help everyone or prevent injuries for all runners is feeding you a line. Again, there are so many variables that training, stretching, footwear, etc., have to be individualized for each runner. Wouldn’t it be nice if we all had perfect biomechanics?

Next, here is a great article from Exercise Physiologist and Coach Jason Karp Ph.D. out of San Diego, on training by time and not mileage. Definitely worth a read! He has an online newsletter on his site called REVO2LT that is also worth checking out.

Did anyone watch the Prefontaine Classic this weekend? I thought the women’s 1500m was the most exciting with Jenny Barringer almost catching Gelete Burka of Ethiopia at the tape. See the bell lap on video here (it was Flotrack's Tasty Race of the Week) start video at 2:23. She became only the third American woman ever to break 4:00 in the 1500m. Mary Slaney and Suzy Favor-Hamilton are the only others. See her reaction here. Quartz Hill HS graduate and 2x world champion hurdler Michelle Perry won the 110HH at the Pre Classic in 12.74. Second place also ran 12.74 another photo finish!

Finally, the California state high school championships was this weekend. There were two local girls that represented the Antelope Valley well in the sprints, both making the finals in the 100m and 200m. Jessica Davis, a Junior at Highland HS in Palmdale was 2nd in the 100m and 3rd in the 200m. Jordan Hasay won the CA 3200m for the 4th year in a row by 18 seconds in 10:05! After looking over the results of that race I noticed that nearby Saugus HS qualified 4 girls in the 3200m final and placed 2 in the top 5 and all 4 in the top 20 (only 1 senior--the 4th one)! Amazing! See all the results from the meet here.


Looking to visit Hawaii this year? Seach on fly.com they have some tickets as cheap as $99 each way!

Memorial Day Weekly Recap

Sorry for the lack of posts this week. I only had one run last week and this weekend we were busy nearly every minute. Here is the run down.

Wednesday May 20th: I ran 8 miles on the Rancho Vista Loop. For you locals that is 45th to Towncenter, left to 30th, right on Rancho Vista and back to my house (M-12 and 51st). I have to run around the neighborhood a little to get 8 exactly. Yes, I am one of those freaky Garmin users. I have always really enjoyed that run on Rancho Vista. I reminds me of coming up to the AV to visit the Cranes before we lived here. They lived on N-8 and Andi and I would run up N-8 all the way to Rancho Vista and then back around to 30th (this was before the golf course was there). It also has plenty of shoulder (sometimes dirt) to run on and some good rolling hills to train on. This morning it took me 62:37 (7:49 pace).


This weekend we had windy mornings on Saturday and Sunday (at least in Quartz Hill). Saturday morning I chickened out and hopped on the treadmill for 8 miles at 8:00 pace.

Sunday I decided I would run long wind or no wind. It turned out to be not so bad. I went back on the old Rancho Vista Loop once by myself, then swung by home and picked up Andi (we had baby sitters) and repeated the loop again. I then finished with two extra miles around the neighborhood, which I might use for my birthday run, and ended the morning with a total of 18 miles! I was going to stop at 17 but didn't want to end on a prime number. Total time was 2:25:29 or 8:05 average pace. I felt great after the first 16 but there is a good hill on that mile loop that I did twice at the end and I pushed the pace a little (7:30 and 7:45 on the last two miles). I was spent after 18.

The key would be whether or not I would be overly sore the next day. Today I ran around Quartz Hill. The course from my house was by Lane Park, then over to QHHS, up to Mayflower Gardens, and back home. Total distance was 6 miles, time 49:12, average pace 8:12, and I felt like I could have gone farther. I felt great the rest of the day, no ill effects. This was a positive weekend of running for me mileage wise on my way towards my 30 miler on July 5th.

Total 3 day mileage was 32 miles!



Finally, I told you I would give you my take on stretching. I got a few (2) comments on my readers stretching habits. There have been many articles recently showing that stretching does not prevent injury. There is also literature that shows static stretching decreases performance in jumping or power events. There is other literature that shows that correct stretching does increase range of motion. One article even showed that the runners tested that were "tighter" were more effictient runners. I personally think that there are way too many confounding variables to consider when doing this type of study. In other words, way too many pieces of the puzzle that you cannot control or want to try to control. For example, biomechanics, medical history, strength, footwear, terrain, mileage, what all these people do when they are not running, and whether or not they are stretching correctly. It is too hard to make a correlation with stretching and injury. I have read that somewhere near 70-80% of runners get injured at some point, some stretch and some don't. Some stretchers still get hurt and some non stretchers do just fine. I personally do little to no stretching and definitely nothing consistently. I don't think it would prevent me from getting injured and I don't think it would improve my perfromance. One training addition that I do believe has helped me log more mileage without injury is a good core strengthening program. Hip and core weakness has been shown to be present and may be the cause of many runners with hip and knee trouble. My last two "injuries" include shin splints from improper footwear and a calf strain from lack of sleep and dehydration. Dean Karnazes who has run hundreds of miles at a time also says he never stretches and never gets injured (this is NOT the reason I don't stretch, just another opinion). The importance of stretching is totally individual. There are way too many factors to consider. A good physical therapy assessment including gait evaluation and footwear recommendations is the best way to go.


And lastly, the LA Marathon was today and Wesley Korir won in 2:08:24 which not only was the fastest LA Marathon ever but is now the fastest marathon ever run IN CALIFORNIA!! The weather was good I hear with temps in the mid 60s due to a marine layer, and little to no wind. I don't think the race will be on Memorial Day next year. It will hopefully be back to a non holiday Sunday in March like it was when I ran in 2004 (3:15) and 2005 (3:38).

200th Post!! Treadmill 10k hill workout

My 200th post!!

It was very windy all day and instead of fighting it Andi and I both got on the treadmill for shorter runs.

I started with 2 miles on 3% at about 7.5mph. After that I was bored and had to come up with some sort of workout that would make the time pass quickly. I decided that for the next 4 miles I would run at a constant speed 8mph (7:30 pace) but vary the incline. So the third quarter mile of each of the next 4 miles was run at a 6% grade. Daniels' treadmill grade table says that 8mph at 6% incline is equivalent to a 5:43 pace effort. That is very close to my vV02max (velocity at VO2max). Once I started concentrating on when to increase the incline the time flew by.

A better workout would be to do this same grade and speed but at a 1:1 work to rest ratio. It would be equivalent to running half mile VO2max intervals but never running faster than 7:30 pace!

Does that make sense? Find your VDOT and training paces here. Then use the Daniels' treadmill grade table to make up a good treadmill workout when you don't want to fight the wind.

After warmup and cool down I ran a 10k on the treadmill in 48:30 (avg pace 7:48).

DC Track Workout

Thursday evening I ran down to Joe Walker MS to help out at the Desert Christian HS track workout. They have a great group of freshman who, if they keep it up, will all be great runners by the time they are seniors.

It is only 1.5 miles from my house to the track there so I am excited to do some great track workouts. On my warm up run I caught up with Dale Lister who was on mile 6 of a 20 mile fast finish run.

The track workout today was (800, 600, 400, 200) x2.

My splits were roughly 2:50, 2:08, :80, :33 on the first set.

The 2nd set was faster 2:46, 1:58, :76, :30.

Finished with a 2 mile cool down.

Total mileage for the day was 7 miles.
One kid said the workout was easier than he expected.
Our rest intervals were a little long.

The wind was very strong this evening.
My calves are sore tonight, they will be worse in the morning.
I am ready to start one track workout a week until the end of May.
The workouts will be short and speedy before attempting my sub 5 min 1600m.
I may need some help on that one.
I would also like to attempt a sub 11 min 3200m.

Tuesday 10 miles, Thursday 7.5 miles

Tuesday morning was near perfect for temperature and weather. I had over an hour to run and have determined that I need to spend some time just putting miles on the road, nothing too fast, so I zig zagged through Quartz Hill, running up and down the hills for 10 miles. I tried not to look at my watch too much and just ran comfortable. I ran the 10 miles in 1:15:30 (avg 7:33 pace)! It was a good run. The roads are well lit but I used my head lamp too.

Today (Thursday) I looked out the window and saw the trees swaying pretty good. I almost crawled back into bed but pushed myself out the door. I did the Towncenter loop over by the golf course which was 4.5 miles then continued up to 60th and back on M-8 for a total of 7.5 miles in just under 58 minutes (avg 7:42 pace). The wind appeard to be coming from the north but then changed to come from the west as usual.

I have been fairly consistent with my lunch strength training 20-30 minutes 2-3x/wk for the past 4-6 weeks. My left hamstring talks to me the day after kettlebells but not enough to affect my stride.

Dean Karnazes had a good post the other day. Some interesting ideas for new inventions for running using the piezoelectric effect to harnes some of the energy we create by running.

Dean's dad was inspired to start his own ultra endurance challenge by his son's cross country adventure in 2006. He is playing 18 holes of golf every day for 96 days straight and will cover all the lower 48 states in the process. He is also walking every course and carrying his own clubs. Here is an article about him. He is starting his own blog The Happy Golfer. Another daily blog to read and follow.

Here is the last episode of Thirsty Thursdays with Jack Daniels. This weeks clip is on recommendations for making US Track and Field better. These interviews have been excellent and I will miss watching them every week. They are all very worthwhile and I would recommend watching them all.

5.5 mile fartlek run

Well the wind has started so I guess spring is on its way. I had time to get in a 5.5 miler before work this morning (avg pace 7:38) which included a few bursts (about 8 or 9) of "speed play" just trying different gears. I felt pretty sluggish this morning. I need to get out of this rut.

Flotrack.org started "Thursty Thursdays with Jack Daniels" where the post part of an interview they did with "The greatest coach in the world." Today's was good.

Track and Field Videos on Flotrack

Here is a link to an interview with a 10 year old girl that won the Louisianna high school (small school division) 3200m indoor in 11:58.

Also, the Carlsbad 5000 (April 5, 2009), which is supposed to be one of the fastest road 5ks around, started something new this year. The old format includes about 5 different races and you get in the the race based on your age, so you are only racing those in your age group. This year you can enter all 5 races for $75 (All day 25k challenge). Sounds like fun. You could make a great workout out of that day!

I'm back...7 mile run (52:16) plus drills

After a week off from running I finally got out for a run on Sunday morning. It was windy this morning so I got in a little AVRT (Antelope Valley Resistance Training...for you new readers). There was a only a one mile stretch (mile 2.5 to 3.5) that was directly into the wind. It ended up being a progression run of sorts since almost each mile was a little faster than the next. Here are the splits 8:10, 7:41, 7:44, 7:28, 7:17, 7:02, 6:57. Total time for 7 miles was 52:16 (avg pace 7:28).

I finished up the workout with some form drills and sprints with the wind and the last sprint into the wind.

We closed on our house about 2 weeks ago and have been very busy making the new house livable and getting ready to move. This weekend we started cleaning the blinds in the new house that had a thick layer of dust and dirt on them. The only reason I mention this is because I got a great shoulder workout holding up the blinds on Saturday while Andi sprayed them down in the shower.

Everyone knows the economy is bad. It seems to be the headliner almost every day now. Interestingly, it has not affected road racing entries. Actually, races are filling up faster than ever. The Boston Marathon is almost at its capacity, and the upcoming Surf City Marathon , half marathon, and 5k are all sold out. Finally, the economy is starting to affect the running community. The Center for High Altitude Training in Flagstaff, AZ is closing due to budget cuts at NAU. Dr. Jack Daniels was the head coach and elite athlete advisor there. I quote Dr. Daniels frequently in my blog and have recommended his book Daniels' Running Formula as a must read. Friends of Dr. Jack Daniels have started a site to help out him and his family so that they may be able to stay in the Flagstaff area. Read more about this project here.

Other Universities, including Stanford, are discussing the possibility of "trimming" programs.


Lastly, a 32 year old woman named Kelly Jaske, from Oregon was runner-up at the USA half marathon championships in Houston a week ago. She never ran in high school or college and shocked everyone by running 1:12:06 and beating an amazing field including former Olympians. She is currently being coached by Brad Hudson, who also coaches Dathan Ritzenhein. One of the first things he changed in her training was a DROP in mileage from 120 to 100 per week! Check out her flotrack post race interview here. Very cool!

Track and Field Videos on Flotrack