Rosswog Running Blog

Following work I hit the treadmill for an easy 4.2 miles.  My legs were actually pretty heavy from yesterday’s effort, so the pace was slow but the effort was not that easy.

In regards to my non-running workout, I completed 300 sit-ups and 40 (30 lbs) curls.

Five-Minute Plank Challenge: 30 second plank and side planks

Trying-To-Go-Out-Of-My-Way-To-Eat-Healthy Challenge:  a serving of oatmeal for breakfast and two blue berry smoothies

It was another day on the treadmill for me.  Picking up the pace a little bit today, but still keeping it relatively easy, I completed 6.2 miles.  I’m not going to think about trying a speed workout until next week (i.e., when I’m fully recovered from the Des News).

My non-running workout consisted of just 300 sit-ups. 

Five-Minute Plank Challenge: 30 second plank and side planks

Trying-To-Go-Out-Of-My-Way-To-Eat-Healthy Challenge:  another serving of oatmeal for breakfast

For the second day in a row, I hopped on the treadmill after work for a 10k at a relatively easy pace.  Legs are slowly getting back some bounce. 

For my non-running workout, I was able to complete another round of 300 sit-ups.

Five-Minute Plank Challenge: 30 second plank and side planks

Trying-To-Go-Out-Of-My-Way-To-Eat-Healthy Challenge:  a serving of oatmeal for breakfast along with homemade applesauce

Also, my 2011 Wasatch Back Team just completed our humorous (at least this is our aim) overview of our race.  Consequently, if you are entertained by hip-hop, musical parodies, relay races, or people just running around; please check out our flick:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RZeUjUmr-o

Following a busy day at work, I took a 5.5-mile lap around the International Center.  My legs felt really heavy, but I was able to relax them a little bit and run every mile at a sub-8:00 pace (one mile was actually at 6:51).  I am starting to get my groove back!

Besides my 24-mile bike ride to work and half way to home (flat tire on the way back), my non-running workout consisted of 300 sit-ups and 40 (40 lbs) curls.

Five-Minute Plank Challenge: 30 second plank and side planks

Trying-To-Go-Out-Of-My-Way-To-Eat-Healthy Challenge:  a serving of oatmeal

Taking and early evening break from work (yes, it was a long Friday), I hit the treadmill and knocked out 7.2 miles at an easy pace.  If I can get some sleep, I should be good to go for tomorrow’s 5k.

In regards to my non-running workout, I completed 300 sit-ups and 40 (40 lbs) curls.

Five-Minute Plank Challenge: 30 second plank and side planks

Trying-To-Go-Out-Of-My-Way-To-Eat-Healthy Challenge:  a serving of oatmeal

It was a 5:00 am wake up today, in order to get out of the house by 6:20 am to jog 3.4 miles down to the Salt Lake Running Company for Fun Run 5k.   This was the summer version of this race sponsored by New Balance and the registration was free (just have to be one of the first 750 to register online when registration opens).  I also competed in the spring version of this free 5k race which was sponsored by Nike.  After picking up my sweet florescent lime green shirt (the women runners received florescent pink), I headed down to the starting line which was around 2400 South and 600 East.  I love this course in that it’s just a nice and flat 5 out to Liberty Park and back.  Consequently, it is a great course to get a true 5k time on.

Just after 7:00 am, we were off.  I was in the lead pack for the first half mile talking to my SLRC buddy Adam who totally had the Pre look going on.  Then everyone seemed to drop off.  As a result, SPRC owner, Guy Perry (it was great to finally meet him), paced me for the rest of the race on his fancy cruising bike that had pink rims.  With the exception the Running of the Leopards 5ks (which is a straight downhill course), in the hand full of 5ks that I have run since I started running marathons and all my 5ks in high school, I had actually never run a sub-18:00 3.1-miler.  I knew I just need to be healthy and have a flat course to do this because I have been running just under 18:00 for three miles on some of my treadmill workouts.  So it all came together today and with a really aggressive push toward the finish mile I finished with a 17:29.  My splits were: 5:28, 5:41: 5:47, and 0:33.  It felt great!

After touching base with a number of my running friends (Amy, Eric, Rob, Elizabeth, Adam, and BJ just to name a few).  I ran to The Gateway shopping center then back (on the way, meeting up with my friend Lisa at Liberty Park to jog down to 3300 South together) to home for a total of 14.5 miles at an easy pace.

My daily non-running workout consisted of 300 sit-ups.

Five-Minute Plank Challenge: 30 second plank and side planks

Trying-To-Go-Out-Of-My-Way-To-Eat-Healthy Challenge:  a serving of mixed fruit

This morning, I ran over to Cottonwood Country Club and stopped by Big Cottonwood Park on the way back to complete eight laps around the softball complex.  The total distance of this run was 9.9 miles at an easy pace.  In the early afternoon, I jogged between The Gateway shopping plaza and the city library for 4.2 miles. I then finished up my daily running routine by knocking out an even 7.0 miles on the treadmill.

In regards to my daily non-running workout, I completed 300 sit-ups.

Five-Minute Plank Challenge: 30 second plank and side planks

Trying-To-Go-Out-Of-My-Way-To-Eat-Healthy Challenge:  a serving of oatmeal

With the S&P downgrade of the United States debt rating at the end of last week, it was sure to be a busy day at work.  As a result, it was very much a recovery day in that I was only able to get 4.2 miles at an easy pace before calling it a day.

For my daily non-running workout, I completed 300 sit-ups.

Five-Minute Plank Challenge: 30 second plank and side planks

Trying-To-Go-Out-Of-My-Way-To-Eat-Healthy Challenge:  a serving of oatmeal

Since the S&P downgrade, it was the second consecutive day of market volatility.  As a result, really busy at work, thus I was only able to sneak in 4.2 miles before calling it a day.

My daily non-running workout consisted of just 300 sit-ups.

Five-Minute Plank Challenge: 30 second plank and side planks

Trying-To-Go-Out-Of-My-Way-To-Eat-Healthy Challenge:  a serving of oatmeal for breakfast

Another volatile market day, so following another busy day, I hit the treadmill for a 10k.  I was able to get into a pretty good rhythm on this run, but I kept it at a relatively easy pace.

In regards to my daily non-running workout, I completed 300 sit-ups and 40 (40 lbs) curls.

Five-Minute Plank Challenge: 30 second plank and side planks

Trying-To-Go-Out-Of-My-Way-To-Eat-Healthy Challenge:  a serving of oatmeal

It was the fourth straight extremely volatile day on the market.  So after a long day at work, I decided to just change into my running gear and run home from the International Center.  I took the scenic route through Rose Park, so the total miles of this run were 16.4 at an easy pace (i.e., 7:25 minutes per mile).  Plus, it was a great stress reliever. 

For my daily non-running workout, I completed 300 sit-ups and 80 (30 lbs) curls.

Five-Minute Plank Challenge: 30 second plank and side planks

Trying-To-Go-Out-Of-My-Way-To-Eat-Healthy Challenge:  a serving of oatmeal

After work a very long day at work and yesterday’s nice 16-miler, I decided to make it a recovery day.  As a result, I just jumped on the treadmill and completed 4.2 miles before calling it a night.

My daily non-running workout consisted of just 300 sit-ups.

Five-Minute Plank Challenge: 30 second plank and side planks

Trying-To-Go-Out-Of-My-Way-To-Eat-Healthy Challenge:  a serving of oatmeal for breakfast

I turned the big 32 today!  I know that a number of diehards run their years in mileage on their birthday and the last few years I have thought about giving this tradition a try, but never had the motivation to actually to do this.  Then early in the year I read about Walter’s awesome 40-miler during the middle of the night on his b-day which I was totally impressed by.  I looked ahead on the calendar and saw my b-day feel on a Saturday (usually a non-work day for me) and I decided this would be the year.  Thanks for the motivation Walter!

With this said, I almost wimped out on this run several times.  First of all, I got home from work just before mid-night on Friday.  As a result, I slept in.  So I did not start my run until just after 9:00 am.  It started to get really hot (i.e., up into the high 90s; it is August 13th you know), so after 8.3 miles, I stopped by the Lion’s Recreation Center.  To get this done, I was determined to go on my longest treadmill run ever.  After a few miles on the treadmill, I became pretty sick and had to visit the restroom.  In short, the heat from the outside had taken its toll on my body.  However, I got back on the treadmill and ground out the mileage.  With the exception of watching the Rick Perry presidential campaign announcement, I was totally focused on my form, breathing, and getting through the miles.  Just under 3 hours, I was able to get in 22.1 miles.  There are signs limiting the use of the treadmills to 30 minutes, but I figured that since it was my b-day, this did not apply.  It was well over 100 degrees and being pretty depleted, it was a really brutal 1.8-mile run home under the mid-afternoon sun.  However, this made for 32.2 miles on my special day!

Of course, my work called shortly have I got home, so I went in to the office for a few hours.  Then when I returned to home, I just ate everything in sight then crashed.

In regards to my daily non-running workout, I completed just 300 sit-ups.

Five-Minute Plank Challenge: 30 second plank and side planks

Trying-To-Go-Out-Of-My-Way-To-Eat-Healthy Challenge:  a serving of mixed fruit

After a great night of sleep, I headed out for a mid-morning run over to Big Cottonwood Park where I completed nearly five laps around the parameter trail of the Park before heading home.  I wore my NB Minimus trail running shoes which felt great; that is, after a very long run (like yesterday’s 32 miler) it always feels awesome to recover by running in a mentalist (or minimalist :-)) shoe along a dirt trail.

While watching the review of the Iowa Straw Pull (or Poll :-)), I completed 300 sit-ups.

Five-Minute Plank Challenge: 30 second plank and side planks

Trying-To-Go-Out-Of-My-Way-To-Eat-Healthy Challenge:  a serving of oatmeal and two servings of mixed fruit

After work I hit the treadmill for 4.2 miles at a very slow pace. Definitely a recovery day for me with my legs feeling heavy from Saturday’s run.

For my non-running workout I completed 300 sit-ups.

Five-Minute Plank Challenge: 30 second plank and side planks

Trying-To-Go-Out-Of-My-Way-To-Eat-Healthy Challenge: a serving of oatmeal and a large salad

Following work, it was another visit to the treadmill.  This time I was able to knock out a 10k at easy pace.  My legs were much less stiff today and I was able to do some bonding exercise beforehand.

My non-running workout consisted of 300 sit-ups.

Five-Minute Plank Challenge: 30 second plank and side planks

Trying-To-Go-Out-Of-My-Way-To-Eat-Healthy Challenge:  a serving of oatmeal for breakfast

My first interval workout since the Des-News Marathon started out as a struggle, but ended up going extremely well.  In short, I completed six miles of half-mile intervals (i.e., the slow halves at 9.2 miles per hour, while the fast halves at 11.2) in a PR time of 34:54!!!  In order to achieve this PR in such a standardized treadmill workout, I extended all of my threshold pace half miles to 0.55 then gradually slowed down to an my 9.2 mph speed.  Then I did a 0.2-mile cool down jog before calling it a day.

My non-running workout consisted of 300 sit-ups and 100 (20 lbs) curls.

Five-Minute Plank Challenge: 30 second plank and side planks

 

Trying-To-Go-Out-Of-My-Way-To-Eat-Healthy Challenge:  another serving of oatmeal for breakfast

After work it was back to the treadmill where I completed another 6.2 miles, this time at an easy pace.  I’ll be leaving for the HTC in one week, I cannot wait.

For my non-running workout, I completed just 300 sit-ups.

Five-Minute Plank Challenge: 30 second plank and side planks

Trying-To-Go-Out-Of-My-Way-To-Eat-Healthy Challenge:  another serving of oatmeal for breakfast

Following work I hopped on the treadmill for 3.1 miles at an easy pace before heading home.  Then I went out for a late evening 9.6-mile run over to the Cottonwood Country Club (which included six laps around the softball complex) and back before calling it a day.

In regards to my non-running workout, I was just able to get in 300 sit-ups.

Five-Minute Plank Challenge: 30 second plank and side planks

Trying-To-Go-Out-Of-My-Way-To-Eat-Healthy Challenge:  another serving of oatmeal

It was an extremely hot Saturday along the Salt Lake Valley.  Consequently, I broke up my run into two parts.  In the morning, I ran up to REI and back to pick up some gear for the HTC relay.  The total distance of this run was 10.1 miles.

In the late evening, I headed out for my second run over to the Cottonwood Country Club and back through Big Cottonwood Park where I completed 7 laps around the softball complex for a total distance of an even 10.0 miles.

Beside an 8.1-mile bike ride through a downpour (i.e., strange Utah weather), my non-running workout consisted of just 300 sit-ups.

Five-Minute Plank Challenge: 30 second plank and side planks

Trying-To-Go-Out-Of-My-Way-To-Eat-Healthy Challenge:  a serving of oatmeal and mixed fruit

It was another hot one!  Heading out after watching the morning news, I cut my morning run short by just running up to the Sports Authority and back.  The total distance of this run was 4.5 miles.

Then later in the evening (just after 8:30 pm), I headed out for my second run which consisted of an out and back to Sugar House Park (plus two inner loops of the park) for of 12.0 miles.  It was so dark during this run that Aaron from the SLRC rode bike rode by on his bike and said hi, but I was not sure who it was until he sent me a note of Facebook.

While watching the morning new, I completed my non-running workout of just 300 sit-ups.

Five-Minute Plank Challenge: 30 second plank and side planks

Trying-To-Go-Out-Of-My-Way-To-Eat-Healthy Challenge:  a serving of oatmeal and mixed fruit

I arrived at work extra early this morning to get in a run with my good friend Dave.  For this workout, we ran from the International Center and took the Airport Bike Path to North Temple.  I went out to 2200 West to get in an extra half of a mile before heading back.  It was really hot (especially on the bike path circling the end of the runways) even at 8:00 am in the morning.  I was able to complete this 8.1-mile run in a time of 58:57, which equals a 7:17 minutes per mile pace.  My splits for this run were as follows: 7:28, 7:34, 7:34, 7:34, 7:15, 6:57, 7:11, 6:38, and 0:37.

For my non-running workout, I was able to get in 300 sit-ups.

Five-Minute Plank Challenge: 30 second plank and side planks

Trying-To-Go-Out-Of-My-Way-To-Eat-Healthy Challenge:  another serving of oatmeal for breakfast

Running-wise, it was groundhog day in that I did the same pre-work run with my friend Dave.  To recap, we ran from the International Center and took the Airport Bike Path to North Temple.  I went out to 2200 West to get in an extra half of a mile before heading back.  However, the temperature was a little bit cooler, thus we both ran at a faster pace; for example, I was able to complete this 8.1-mile run in a time of 57:15, which is a 7:04 minutes per mile pace.  My splits for this run were as follows: 6:57, 7:22, 7:05, 6:45, 6:27, 6:54, 7:27, 7:34, and 0:43.   

In regards to my non-running workout, I was able to complete 300 sit-ups.

Five-Minute Plank Challenge: 30 second plank and side planks

Trying-To-Go-Out-Of-My-Way-To-Eat-Healthy Challenge:  another serving of oatmeal for breakfast

Worked very late today; therefore just got in an easy pace 4.2 mile run up to the Smith-Klin Chimney and back.  After I got back I spent an hour trying to pack really quickly for my flight tomorrow morning to Portland for the 30th Hood to Coast Relay.

For my non-running workout, I was able to complete 300 sit-ups.

Five-Minute Plank Challenge: 30 second plank and side planks

Trying-To-Go-Out-Of-My-Way-To-Eat-Healthy Challenge:  another serving of oatmeal for breakfast

It was an early wake-up this morning then to spend a few hours packing before heading off to the airport.  I was hoping to get in one last run in Salt Lake City, but it was not going to happen.  Once I arrived in Portland, I had a nice visit with family members in Gresham, before heading off to meet my Hood To Coast team for the first time.  After buying some supplies for our relay and a great dinner, I headed out for a late evening jog, which just consisted of running around the blocks surrounding the Days Inn for 2.2 miles.  I called it a night because it would be an early morning wake-up to get up to the starting line at the Timberline Lodge.

Before leaving to Portland, I was able to get in  300 sit-ups.

Five-Minute Plank Challenge: 30 second plank and side planks

Trying-To-Go-Out-Of-My-Way-To-Eat-Healthy Challenge:  a blueberry smoothie at the airport

We woke up at 5:30 am and we’re on the road to the Timberline Lodge for our 8:30 am start of the Hood To Coast Relay by 6:00 am.  Before yesterday, I had never met a single person in my van or on my team (team name: Coasties and Ghosties); however, we were all getting along extremely well.  It must be something about the running community and runners being able to connect so well just after meeting.  On the way up to the famous lodge, it was raining a little and overcast, which was a welcome relief from the brutally hot weather of the past few weeks.  I found out a few days later from my cousin Alli (who started on another team at 5:30 am) that we just missed an enormous thunderstorm that was lighting up Mt. Hood. 

Once at the Timberline Lodge, the rain had stopped and the sky was starting to clear.  The weather was just perfect for running.  Running this race has been a dream of mine for some time, thus it was surreal to finally be on an awesome team (team captain Z did a tremendous job with organizing our team) and at the starting line where the excitement was building. 

After decorating our van and getting a neat team picture on Hood Rock, we headed down to the starting line.  At exactly 8:30 am our first runner, Julie, was off on a steep descent down the mountain to Government Camp.  The weather stayed relatively cool and pleasant through Julie, Jesse, and Matt’s legs.  However, it started to warm on Z’s leg then after a 0.2 of a mile warm-up, it was my turn.  My first leg (Leg #5 of the race) was a 6.08-mile run from Brightwood along Highway 24 then just before mile 4 taking the Cherryville Road turnoff and finishing with a steep ascent.  This leg turned out to be 6.12 miles and I finished in a time of 36:51, which equals a pace of 6:01 minutes per mile.  My splits were as follows: 5:23, 5:21, 5:52, 6:17, 6:28, 6:44, and 0:46.  As my splits show, I started out fast and I was hoping to run a sub-6:00 pace for this leg; however, my legs started to feel really heavy (strange, because I have not run much in the past few days) and the heat started to get to me.  My eye sockets seemed to be filled with pools of sweat that was just producing a continuous burning sensation.  Cherryville is scenic, but I was sure hurting over the last 2.12 miles; therefore, I was just glad to finish this leg.

I handed off to Dena then we headed to the Sandy Safeway’s which marked Exchange #6 to meet up with Van #2.  It was so hot out that Dena ended up saving a runner that was suffering from some severe heat stroke.  Less than a mile from Exchange #6, Dena came across a runner on team #25 that was weaving from side to side and in need of some help.  While Dena was trying to help the runner out, a gentleman who drove by realized there was an issue and circled back around to help out.  The runner ended up collapsing head first into the passenger-side seat of the car while the gentleman was calling 911.  Just before Dena reached the exchange, we saw two ambulances zoom by to get the fallen runner.  We all hope and pray that he is all right.  Needless to say, the pleasant morning had given away to another brutally hot afternoon.

Taking a detour on the way to Portland, we headed to Matt and Z’s work to shower off.  This was the first time that I had showered off during a relay and did it feel great!  We then headed to the Hawthorne Bridge in Portland where we drove by Hood to Coast Royalty; that is, team Dead Jocks in a Box who were featured in the Hood to Coast movie (one of their runners is one of two runners to have run every single Hood to Cost Relay, so this was his 30th). 

Shortly after seeing the start of the High School Portland to Coast race, Julie took the handoff from Nicole and we were on our way with our second sets of legs.  For my second leg (Leg #17 of the race), it was the flattest leg that I have ever run in a relay race; that is, 7.13 miles (ended up being 7.18 miles) long with a very slight elevation gain.  In addition, this was my first completely-in-the-dark of night leg during a relay.  Somehow through four Wasatch Backs, I had ever run a leg that started and ended in the dark.  Waiting for Z to run in at Scappoose Middle School with a group of fellow runners, the only light was from vans, headlamps, a street light, and the glow bracelets and necklace I was wearing.  Following an exciting handoff from Z, I tried to push the pace.  However, for the first half of a mile, I was slow and my legs were heavy (so much for tapering).  Then I started to notice the neat fog/midst I was running through and how neat it looked under my headlamp.  All of a sudden, I started to relax and all the commotion associated with a relay race started to drift away.  My cadence started to get in perfect rhythm with my breathing.  I was getting into The Zone.  For my first mile I was able to sneak in a 5:59, and then I hit the following splits: 5:53, 5:57, 5:49, 5:51, 5:55, 5:57, and a 1:01 as I finished up at Saint Helen’s High School.  I was able to complete this leg in a time of 42:24, which equals a 5:54 pace.  This felt absolutely awesome!

After the first two legs of the Hood to Coast, I knew I had given myself a change to achieve my long-term goal of running a relay with an overall sub-6:00 pace.  However, I knew enough not to get too excited about this possibility with a brutal ascent and descent for my third leg to come in the mid-morning.

After crashing at the Columbia County Fair Grounds for a few hours, we were on the move again.  I did not get that much sleep on the one of the benches in our van, but it felt like it was some deep sleep, so I was good to go.  Luckily, we gave ourselves plenty of time to get to exchange #24, because there was a big bottleneck getting into Mist (a town that seems to be completely engulfed in mist).  We were able to beat our twelfth runner, Nicole, to this major exchange by 15 minutes while other teams were not so fortunate, thus their runners had to wait around in the cold for the other van to arrive in order to make the exchange.  Also, in this remote location there was no cell phone coverage, thus it was a little chaotic during the early morning hours.

After gulping down an orange-flavor GU for breakfast, it was time for me to complete my final leg which was essentially a 3.6-mile climb followed by a 2.5-mile descent.  This 6.11-mile leg on Highway 202 in Astoria ended up being a little shorter according to my Garmin; that is, 6.03 miles.  With a sub-6:00 overall average pace on the line, I tried to push it as hard as possible from the start.  I knew I needed a 6:02 average or lower and I tried my best to not be discouraged by my early splits that I knew would be slow.  Starting out, I was thinking that 3.6 miles into this run (at its peak) I need a 6:30 pace or lower then I would have a great shot of accomplishing my goal.  The support was awesome along this three-mile-plus climb with all of the other teams cheering you on.  My splits for the climb were 6:29, 6:18 (feeling good at this point), and 6:44 (thing were starting to unravel).  The grade seemed to be getting steeper and steeper with each switch back and at the summit I was at a 6:34 average pace.  I knew that it would take a heck of a descent to dent this average back to 6:02 and I was running out of real estate.  However, this was the Hood to Coast so I was determined to give it my all.  My splits for the descent were 6:07 (0.6 uphill on this one), 5:18, 5:16, and 0:09.  On fresh legs I could have done more damage, but these splits exceeded what I was expecting on my tired legs.  I completed my final leg in a time of 36:21, thus a 6:02 pace!  Yes, yes and yes, this equates to a 5:59 pace for the relay!!!  I’m always just happy to finish and for my teammates to finish, but achieving this goal was just a bonus and it felt tremendous and it stills feels great!

Unfortunately, there was another bottleneck where vans were in a logjam along the descent waiting to get into Exchange #29.  Consequently, I had passed my van and beat my teammates to the exchange.  However, Dena was showing a tremendous amount of heart in that I saw she had left our van over a mile outside of the exchange and was running in.  As a result, I only cooled downed at the exchange for a few minutes then Dena came by to take the slap bracelet baton.  I met up with our van then as we inched our way along to the Exchange #30, we all realized that we were not going to be able to catch up with Dena and there was not cell phone coverage to alert Van #2 that we were arriving.  So I jumped out and ran the last 2.27 miles of this leg #30.  It was fun adjusting to the circumstances and people were yelling out “Go Ragnar!” from their van as I passed since I was sporting my 2011 Wasatch Back shirt (I even saw the famous Utah Relay team CTR: Choose to Run--great D-News article on them).  I bypassed Dena with around a mile and a half to go and got to Exchange #30 a few minutes before she did.  Needless to say, I did not have much time to find Van #2, then I saw our seventh runner Stephanie in a bright (and I mean bright) pink Salt Lake Running Company t-shirt, no one could miss her (by the way, a big thanks to SLRC for hooking us up with such awesome t-shirts for the race and everyone loved them).  I found out that Van #2 had gone ahead to Exchange #31 just as Dena was heading toward the exchange.  Perfect execution and we were on our way to Seaside!!!

We finished in Seaside on the beach in a time of 31:32:39, which equates to an overall team pace of 9:28. Oh yeah, the beach finish was awesome!!!  Perfect weather, powder-like sand, great seafood, awesome firework show, and an off-the-hook concert; that is, when you are completely sleep deprived, a cover band jamming AC/DC, Poison, Journey, Prince, Def Leppard and everyone else is so much fun and just rocks!  Thanks to Z and all my Coasties and Ghosties teammates for an unbelievable race and a memorable experience!!!

Woke up early this morning (5:30 am) in Seaside and headed out for a beach run.  As I ran though town down to Broadway, I noticed a man out take some pictures of the sunrise.  When he saw me, he yelled out, “you are one dedicated runner.”  These kind words got me going for the morning.  I turned left on Broadway and toward the Lewis and Clark statue and the beach.  The crew was just arriving to take down all the tents and the stage at the Hood to Coast finish line as I jogged on by.  I headed south on the beach all the way to a wilderness trail.  After heading a half-mile up, I turned around and ran to the north end of the beach.  Then I ran almost all the way back down to the south end before returning to my hotel.  The waves of the Pacific Ocean crashing against the shoreline while running on flat sand that gave just a little bit was so neat.  The total distance of this run was 10.2 miles at an easy pace.

After the drive to Portland with my team, I stayed overnight before heading off to Bend.  I temporally held off the need to crash and get caught up on my sleep, by going out for a mid-afternoon jog from my hotel (the Double Tree) across the Willamette River to the Northwest Fit Right running store just to check out the gear before heading back.  The total distance of this run was 6.1 miles at a very easy pace.  I then got something to eat then I was completely out until the next day. 

My daily non-running workout consisted of just 300 sit-ups.

Five-Minute Plank Challenge: 30 second plank and side planks

Trying-To-Go-Out-Of-My-Way-To-Eat-Healthy Challenge:  a protein bar (not that healthy today)

After over ten hours of sleep, I head out just after 6:00 am for some a bridge workout in downtown Portland.  Figuring I need all the bridge training I could use before the NYC Marathon, I ran down to the Steel bridge and crossed the Willamette River then ran along the waterfront and past Union Station to the Broadway Bridge where I cross the Willamette again the head past the Rose Garden and back to the Steel Bridge.  I completed this 1.8-mile lap seven times (with lap times between 13-15 minutes) before heading back to the Double Tree.  The total distance of this run was 14.8 miles at a relatively easy pace.

Before heading down to Bend where I’ll spend a week on vacation, I completed my daily non-running workout of 300 sit-ups.

Five-Minute Plank Challenge: 30 second plank and side planks

Trying-To-Go-Out-Of-My-Way-To-Eat-Healthy Challenge:  a whole wheat muffin

I slept in this morning then did a lot of unpacking, laundry, and studying today before getting in my evening run through Drake Park and over to my Aunt Iris and Uncle George’s house and back.  The total distance of this run was 5.2 miles at an easy pace.

In regards to my daily non-running workout, I was able to complete 300 sit-ups.

Five-Minute Plank Challenge: 30 second plank and side planks

Trying-To-Go-Out-Of-My-Way-To-Eat-Healthy Challenge: a blueberry fruit smoothie

Okay, it was Ground-Hog running day for me; that is, I slept in again (still trying to shake off the tiredness of the Hood to Coast relay, so I’ll count my sleeping in as essential recovery time) this morning then studied most of the day before going out for an evening run through Drake Park and over to my Aunt Iris and Uncle George’s house and back.  The same total distance and pace as yesterday, 5.2 miles at an easy pace.

For my daily non-running workout, I was able to get in 300 sit-ups.

Five-Minute Plank Challenge: 30 second plank and side planks

Trying-To-Go-Out-Of-My-Way-To-Eat-Healthy Challenge:  a mango fruit smoothie