run, run, run

Bountiful, UT 9am

Pace: 9:00

It was nice to get out runing again after two nights of sleeping on the ground. I ran down Bountiful Blvd. and up Meuler Park Road until the pavement turned into a dirt road and the dirt road turned into a trail and the trail got so steep I was pretty much climbing. So I turned around.

Bountiful Blvd. is a nice road to run on. Good hill work and it is next to the mountain so it stays shaded early in the morning. At one point Bob Seger came on my iPod singing about the Hollywood hills and I thought how appropriate since Hollywood and Bountiful are kind of the same, don't you think? ;)

Now, off to the zoo.

Bountiful, UT 7:30 am

Pace: 8:50

I ran on Bountiful Blvd. again this morning. Just north of the temple the road started on a pretty steep downhill, and since I hadn't gone 5 miles yet, I kept going. Then I turned right and started going uphill. I ended up near the big B on the side of the mountain. Luckily, I found a trail that cut across and I didn't have to go back down and up again to get back to the road my car was on. A nice little adventure.

Boise, ID 9pm

Pace: 8:00 

I didn't run this morning because I was basking in the afterglow of the Hannah Montana concert -- or I was just tired.

After driving all day and eating like crap for a week, I really needed to get out and move so I went for a run at 9pm.  It was nice to be back home on a flat course around my neighborhood. After starting out a little sluggish (feeling pizza in my gut) I picked up the pace for the last half and finished pretty strong.

Boise, ID 6:30 am

Pace: 8:13

Pretty uneventful morning run. Kept a decent pace most of the time, but had to poo towards the end, so the last mile was a bit slower and a lot more uncomfortable. 

Boise, ID 7:45 am

Pace: 8:39

Went out on my regular 10-mile course. Cloverdale, Emerald, Maple Grove, McMillan, Cloverdale. Had trouble getting motivated to get out running this morning. Planned on being out by 7. Actual departure time was closer to 8.

My wife had me make some tomato cages for the garden yesterday (she doesn't like "those whimpy ones they sell at Lowes"). I'm pretty handy, but kind of clumsy. So I scratched up my hands and arms and legs. Didn't think much of it until I went out running this morning and started to sweat in each of the cuts. That wasn't fun. But the tomato plants look great.

Boise, ID 6:30 am

Pace: 8:10

The usual 6.5 mile morning course. Randy was in the mood to run a bit faster this morning and I picked up the pace for the last half mile. A good run. Just past the comfortable point most of the time.
 

Meridian, ID 7:30 am

Pace: 8:36

Took off in the direction of Meridian today. Ustick, Linder, Pine, Cloverdale. I went on a greenbelt path that I thought would cut through to Linder Rd. It didn't. I ended up crossing over an irrigation ditch on a pipe and running through a construction site where they are building a new subdivision.

I'm going to take tomorrow off and then run a half marathon on Saturday.

9pm: Aaaaargh! I pulled a hamstring playing softball this evening. I can't believe this. The half marathon on Saturday is looking very unlikely at this point. The only consolation is that I pulled it running the bases after a sweet hit -- but still not worth it.

While I ice my hamstring and feel sorry for myself, I thought I would post something that I put up on a message board last month before I was on this running blog. This occurred on June 7th:

My 10 year old daughter has run in the Capitol kids race in Boise the last two years. It is a one mile race from the old Boise depot to the State Capitol building. But last October she developed a mysterious neurological condition that severely limits her control of her right arm and leg. So she now wears a leg brace and walks with a limp. She's been seen by doctors here and specialists in San Francisco but they still haven't been able to come up with a diagnosis or treatment.

One of the goals she set in her physical therapy was to complete the race again this year. So Saturday morning while a couple thousand other kids were running in the race, she walked. I walked with her, holding her hand to keep her steady. It was difficult for her, but she did it. At one point she said to me "I don't care if it hurts, I just want to finish."

With about a quarter mile to go the BSU mascot came and held her other hand and the three of us finished the race -- dead last. As we approached the finish line family, volunteers and spectators were cheering, and crying. It was incredible.

I've run three marathons in the past 13 months, but none of them even came close to the thrill of seeing my little girl walk that one mile. It takes a lot of guts to enter a race knowing that you will finish in last place.

Houston, TX 6:00 am

Pace: 8:49

My first time out since the softball injury. I went for an easy 3.5 miler from the hotel around Reliant Stadium and the Astrodome. I could still feel the hamstring, but it never reached the point where I would call it pain. I'll continue to take it easy this week.

When I was 12 my family spent a summer in Rigby, Idaho waiting for my grandmother to die. On one afternoon I was particularly bored, so my mom took me to Idaho Falls and dropped me off at the movie theater so I could see Bad News Bears Breaking Training. I remember thinking how cool the Astrodome was and how I'd like to see it someday.

This morning as I was running around the Dome I felt like Tanner Boyle. I wanted to start chanting "Let them play, Let them play, Let them play." I tried to listen for the ghosts of Bum Phillips and Earl Campbell, but I had my iPod on and I'm pretty sure Earl Campbell isn't dead yet. 

Houston, TX 7:30pm

Pace: 8:39

I didn't get up in the morning so I went for an evening run down something called a Bray's Bayou. It's some kind of a cement river or canal -- or the place where the water goes when the locals flush their toilets. Haven't quite figured out which. But it has an asphalt path running along side it. It's relatively flat and goes on forever. I saw a purple big wheel floating upside down in the water.

The leg is almost 100% I think. The only time I even felt it was when I sped up to cross the street.

Houston, TX 6:30am

Pace: 8:34

Still taking it easy. I went along Bray's Bayou again. The other direction this time. A nice morning run.

It's humid here! Running in the early morning and evening isn't bad. At one point last night it even felt a little cool. But with the humidity it still feels like you're running in a laundromat.

Boise, ID 7:00am

Pace: 8:11

Planned on doing a 10-miler this morning but the speaker on my phone isn't working, so the alarm didn't go off. I had to leave for Twin Falls by 9, so I cut the run a little short. I pushed the pace a little more than I had during the week. It was nice to get out of the heat of Texas and back home where the mornings are cool and the air is dry. 

Meridian, ID 6:00 am

Pace: 9:02

My first pre-Pocatello long run. I went up Cloverdale to McMillian to McDermott to Pine to Cloverdale. I carried Gatorade on a belt, but finished it off by mile 16. It was getting really hot during the third hour. I bought a water at the convenience store at the corner of Eagle and Pine.

I'll probably find another route for my next long run because I was chased by a mean dog at the corner of McMillian and McDermott. 

Boise, ID 7:30 am

Pace: 8:30

Happy Pioneer Day.

A very nice morning for a run. Sunny with a very slight cool breeze. I went on my 10-mile course Cloverdale - Emerald - Maple Grove - McMillian - Cloverdale.

The side of my left knee started hurting a bit at about the halfway point. Well, not really hurting, more like I felt pressure, but it kind of freaked me out because my knees have been good for more than a year. I think it's ok, just one of those things. It felt fine by the end of the run. 

Boise, ID 6:30 am

Pace: 8.08 

I ran the number of the beast this morning.

A bit quicker pace than usual. I felt like Randy was dragging me along most of the way, which is good I suppose. Another nice morning with a slight cool breeze blowing. Glad I got out early, it's supposed to be 99-degrees today.

I didn't feel anything in my knee this morning. I'm pretty sure what I felt yesterday was nothing. 

Boise, ID 8:00 am

Pace: 7:51

After a warmup mile I picked up the pace and tried to push myself a bit the rest of the way. A good morning run and finally got in my first 50-mile week since January.

Boise, ID 6:30 am

Pace: 8:02

Varied the route a bit this morning. Added a lap and a half around the HP campus. kept a decent pace felt really good running this morning.

Boise, ID 6:30 am

Pace: 8:30

Took my usual 10-mile route up Maple Grove. Kept it at a comfortable pace. There seemed to be a lot of garbage trucks out. Gotta love that stinky puff of wind as they drive past you.

Today is my daughter's birthday, so I need to get ready for a fun-filled day of bowling, swimming pinata smashing. 

Boise, ID 6:30 am

Pace: 8:10

I was really tired this morning. That's the good thing about running with another person. If it had been just me, I would have turned off the alarm and rolled over. But I was glad once I got out there. Then afterward I crashed for an hour or so. That felt really, really good.

Boise, ID 6:45 am

Pace: 7:52

Had a little trouble with the snooze alarm this morning. I checked the clock and it was almost 6:30 so I decided that since I had an appointment this morning, I would just turn off the alarm and skip running today. About ten minutes later the guilt set in and I took off on a shorter run than planned. But I kept the pace up and it turned out to be a good workout.