Chasing my Dreams

Ran 5 miles by myself, then a little over 5 with Tom, then a half mile or so finishing up. I didn't feel the greatest today. The legs were tired, and overall I felt pretty sluggish from the weekend. No crazy pains, but didn't have a whole lot of pop. 6:57 average.

I slept extremely well last night. 6:42 average today in some intense fog. My lower legs felt fine today, but my left hip/lower back hurt a little for the first half, then it moved more into my left IT band and knee a little. I think my hip flexors and IT band are just tight, which is also limiting my stride.

First time in a long time the hours I slept was more than the miles I ran. Before I went to bed last night I had the thought, you need to turn on your alarm, but I didn't. I woke up at 6 this morning to my roommates alarm going off. As a result, I hurried to try and get ready, and got in a quick 5.5 mile run. I could have gotten the full miles if I'd skipped reading my scriptures, but that wasn't worth it. Nothing crazy the first two miles. Between 6:10 and 6:15 for the next three miles, and then 6:48 pace for the last half mile. 6:34 average. Also really windy during this run.

Welp, it happened again and I forgot to set my alarm. I have class 30 minutes later today, but pooping wasn't cooperating today so I was only able to do 7.2 miles. It was cool, and my legs didn't really seem to want to work. 6:47 average.

17.7 miles. More than anything I was just wanting to get some time on my feet today. I thought my bowels were going to be fine, but two miles in I could tell that wasn't going to be the case. I had to stop at the Hyde Park Cemetary to poop, and there were a few points later on where my stomach felt pretty uneasy and I was afraid I was going to have to poop again. I was able to keep a good pace for the second half of the run, but the first half was just getting me going. 6:38 average. Nothing crazy like my last couple of long runs though.

Afternoon: 1.7 miles of running around and cheering during the men's cross country race. 

Went duck hunting this morning, so didn't get out the door to run until almost noon. It was a lot warmer than I'm used to. My legs were extremely heavy today, yet I couldn't really slow down. 6:13 average. I attempted a couple of times to relax some, but it didn't do much, so I went with it. Being awake, it being warmer, having food in my stomach, and the flat plus lower altitude all influences probably why I was able to run faster.

Bowels weren't what I would have liked this morning, and as a result I was late getting out the door, as well as had to take a stop on the run, which wasn't even extremely effective. 6:53 average today. I was pretty relaxed and enjoying the run. Tested out my new headlight, which is awesome. Was also enjoying the cool weather. The legs felt basically 100 percent, nothing like they did Saturday.

My sleep had to be cut short yesterday due to a chain of events. I actually felt extremely rested when I woke up this morning though. Yesterday afternoon/evening my calves and knees were a little achy, but nothing seemed to bother me too much today. Mixed things up a little today with my route, and saw more deer than normal. I also saw a raccoon on the Lundstrom Park trail. A little faster than yesterday, 6:45 average. I discovered the Gradient Adjusted Pace thing on Strava today, which is pretty cool as well to see what the effort is on the hills. 

While I slept great last night, I woke up this morning feeling exhausted. It was a little slower first mile as I wasn't feeling the uphill climb, plus the construction is more of a pain now than it used to be. The longer I ran today the better I felt overall, but my hipflexors haven't been feeling up to snuff. My left one actually bothered my a couple of times on some uphills. I need to take some time to do some serious foam rolling, and do some strides to open up the legs.

Medium effort day on the trails, felt pretty good overall. Did feel the left hip flexor some in the beginning. 7:02 average

Kept things pretty relaxed today. It was pretty cool and crisp so my legs weren't necessarily moving ideally. Nothing really bothered me today, and I think I've about got my stride back to normal. Did two quick strides att he end of the run.

The first few miles I was thinking I needed to hit the strength training more, which I probably do, but the run improved the longer I ran. Once I got into Hyde Park I was able to push pretty good on the uphill climb, and then keep a solid medium effort pace for the rest of the run, with most of the miles around 6:15. It was pretty nice weather. 6:30 average for the whole run. 

Woke up with slightly sore hips/glutes from some potato harvesting yesterday.

I felt pretty good this morning, but couldn't really get the legs moving. I didn't feel it while running, but I do think my glutes and hips were still a bit stiff/tight, and that was probably why. 6:50 average. 

The first two and a half miles or so my breathing felt way harder than it should, but felt much more normal once I picked up the pace a little. I love the feeling of my legs just flowing and not having to think about it, and feeling like I am just floating along. 6:39 average, with 5 miles in the middle at 6:30 pace. My right knee was achy and tight for the first half mile or so up the stadium hill, but otherwise felt good for the rest of the run.

6:39 average, so today statistically looks basically exactly the same as yesterday, but it wasn't. My splits overall were a bit more consistent today. Other than Mile 8, all of them were between 6:30 and 6:44 I believe. Lots of runners out today surprisingly. I also scared a lady, and I wasn't even being loud. She can't be that jumpy if she is going to run in the dark. My left knee was pretty tight for the first mile and a half or so, and my legs felt extremely tired through the first two and a half miles or so. Things loosened up after that, but my legs didn't feel quite as fluid as yesterday. I also had to stop at my normal porta-potty, but I'm afraid it won't be there much longer.

6:49 average hitting up Lundstrom park trail and the long hill

Ran in the afternoon because we went duck hunting this morning. My stomach was not happy. I love how much easier it is to run in West Point. 6:13 average. Legs were sluggish at first, but felt pretty good.

Intended on running at 10:30 at night once back from hunting, but was extremely tired and by bowels weren't willing to cooperate.

Pretty tired, I couldn't wake up from my nap

Felt the effects of the weekend today.. So after my quicker run on Friday, I jumped straight in the shower and went to dinner with the family. I didn't do any prehab. Then Saturday I didn't run, but spent all day riding a 4-wheeler with a little bit of hiking through sage brush and thick trees. Then yesterday I was plain exhausted. To say the least, my legs were not in a good state this morning. They were pretty tight and tired. My lower legs were especially tight, which is surprising as they aren't normally unless I do a hard workout or a race. 6:45 average as I tried to shake the crap out of the legs, but I think it's going to take at least one more run. (On a side note, I also have a big bruise on the bottom of my left foot from slipping getting out of the shower Saturday night. That doesn't seem to be influencing my running at all though.

Spent the run this morning talking to the deer I saw. They were all in my path and weren't in a hurry to move. I actually saw a buck with about a mile and a half to go that wasn't scared though. My legs still didn't feel great, and I had a hard time getting moving this morning. After about five miles I was able to get going pretty well. The lower legs were a little better today, but my glutes were still pretty tight. Hopefully tomorrow things will be firing on close to all cylinders. I was also pretty tired this morning so I was doing good to get out the door. 

Expected my legs to basically feel normal today, but they didn't. My cadence was about what I would expect though. 6:37 average as I was able to move fairly well for the whole run, but the legs still didn't feel quite right. 

As a side note, I was completely exhausted all day. I easily could have fallen asleep in a couple of my classes.

I woke up this morning still very tired. I expected fresh legs this morning, but they did not feel good. As I ran and contemplated the way my legs were feeling, I realized that they were more achy and than sore or tired, which to me is a sign that it's time to retire the shoes. This would explain why I've been so tired, if my body is taking an extra beating due to the shoes. 6:48 average. The last few uphill miles have really been slowing me down the last couple of days. Granted today I didn't really care as I was trying to just get through the run without doing any more damage. My left ankle hurt a few times in the run, which I'm pretty sure is a shoes issue. 

Luckily I have a new pair I can break out tomorrow.

Did a little better waking up this morning. The new shoes made a big difference in how my legs felt today. They of course hurt my feet, but well worth the legs feeling better. I very much felt within myself today, which was nice since I averaged 6:39. 

Earlier than normal start because I had other obligations in the morning. The first few miles weren't anything crazy, and my feet weren't happy with the new shoes. After that everything started to loosen up and it turned into a fantastic run. About 15 miles into the run my right foot started to bother me a little. I think my shoe may have been a bit too tight and putting too much pressure on that foot. 6:27 average, with 11-15 all really solid, and 6-10 at good effort considering all the hills. 

Surprisingly, my legs had more pop than expected considering it's a Monday. My shoulders and arms felt really tight for the first mile or so of my run, but they seemed to loosen up after that. My feet are still adjusting to the pressure these Peg 34's put on my feet. When my second mile was a 6:25, I had to consciously focus on relaxing because I didn't want to run that fast today. 6:37 average with a solid last mile. My left IT band and knee really started to hurt while elevating my legs after the run though.

Clear mind and skies, felt great. Especially the first couple of miles where I was taking it fairly easy. I was happy to be out there this morning. 6:43 average.