Per Aspera Ad Astra

Treadmill broke after 1.2, others were in use, didn't feel like running outside, and didn't get around to running again later.

Finished my PhD yesterday! Time to get back into shape! Nice, easy run with the dog.

Hah. Got invited on a long run by Shaina and Max and decided to give it a try, despite my obvious incredible lack of fitness. 15.6 miles on BOSHO with 2500' gain in annoyingly deep snow at a nice, slow pace. I'm honestly surprised that I survived. I didn't eat breakfast before the run and survived on 2 gels and about 2 ounces of water. I drank a half gallon of chocolate milk afterwards. Awesome.

Short recovery run with the dog after yesterday. Legs are unsurprisingly stiff.

Last working treadmill in my apt broke after 2.5 miles at 7:40 pace. Went outside for another 3.4 miles at 7:30 pace.

5 miles, just under 8:00 pace on slightly hilly roads. I was really happy that it felt "too short" and "too easy". That's how most runs should feel for now. I'm already slightly less out of shape than I was a week ago. Hah.

9 miles (my place on Orchard to 5th South to 89, and back) at 7:45 pace. I actually felt kind of good on this run, which was nice.

Nice ski day in the morning and afternoon, then late PM run. Ahh, the joy of being stupid enough to consume dairy before a run despite being lactose intolerant... The last mile was thoroughly unpleasant.

Treadmill workout. 1 mile warmup at 8:15, 3 miles at 6:40, .5 miles at 8:30, 2 miles at 6:40, .5 miles at 8:30, 1 mile at 6:40, 1 mile cooldown at 8:30. 2 years ago, I'd have done this 1 min/mile faster, but getting back there - and faster - will be a fun challenge.

U of u rec center trac. 5 miles at 6:49 / mole average pace.

55 laps on the U of U rec center (5.5 laps / mile) indoor track, after a hard day of skiing. 7:08 average pace. 

Easy tm run.. 8:08 ap.

Indoor track. 7:40 ap.

Indoor track. Didn't feel like 55 laps at once, so I ran 6 miles, lifted weights, then ran another 4. 7:35 ap.

Rattlesnake Gulch to Pipeline to Elbow Fork and back down the road. Had to double back a couple times. Sooooooo slow in the snow.

Indoor track. 7:25 AP.

Indoor track. Only had enough time for 6 miles at 7:00 pace before gym closed. Ran first at 6:50 and passed a kid in a color run shirt after 1 mile. He tried to not let me pass, so I ran the next mile just fast enough to gap him (6:10) and was surprised that he nearly hung on. He quit after my 2nd mile, so I settled into 6:25 average after that, for 5 miles at 6:27 AaP. This is fast enough for my legs right now that I made sure to do the 6th mile at a cool down pace of 8:30 or so.

Indoor track, as usual. 8 miles at 7:17 AP.

Indoor track. 6:52 AP.

6:42 AP. Indoor track.

Good company for 14 miles at James's 32 mile birthday run. Nice, casual 8:11 AP with loops at Liberty.

First week over 60, 50, or even 40 miles since 2014. In fact, since the beginning of 2015, my highest mileage week was last week at 31 miles. Funny that I doubled that this week. I'm not good at running 40 or 50 mpw. It takes some actual effort to get out the door for 40 miles in a week, so if I'm going to do that much, I generally just do an actual decent week of running, which generally starts around 60 for me. Legs feel fine and are handling the mileage well. 

7:27 from highland high with Fritz and Andrew. I'm too fat for uphills. Hahaha.

66 laps on indoor track. 7:28 AP. Legs moderately sore afterwards (38.4 in last 3 days).

3 warmup at 7:22 AP. 2 faster at 6:22 AP. 1 easy at 7:40, 2 faster at 6:12 (faster than planned), 1 easy at 8ish, 2 faster at 6:23, 1 cooldown (didn't catch time). Indoor track. Nice to get in some fastish miles without having to dig deep.

Missed the last few days due to the passimg and funeral of my grandma. Sucks... Finally back today. 8 miles, indoor track, 6:47 AP. Still have weight to lose, so 6:47 feels like MP right now.

Near gym through campus to 15th east to sugarhouse park, a lap, up to 19th east, to sunnyside, to foothill, and back. Liked the new Adizero RC from Wasatch Running Center.

Left shin was a little sore yesterday and I could still feel it today, so I went short (4.4 miles) and slow (8:13 AP) with Holly, who is content at this kind of pace anyway. Just like any other sensible dog, she only has easy run and sprint paces.

Thanks to Glen from Wasatch Running Center for this pair of Skechers, a demo pair with minimal usage (20-ish miles?). GoRun 4 seems pretty similar to the old pairs, which is good. As usual, these are really cushioned and comfortable for lighter shoes, and the fit is great.

Took yesterday off due to shin soreness. Felt it from the start today, but it never got worse. Guess that's good. 8 miles 6:52 ap. Surprisingly felt like a not-so-hard pace. Track. 44 laps.

88 laps on indoor track. Haha. 7:07 AP. Would've done 100 laps if I had had more time.

Leg felt a little funky and didn't have headphones. 4 miles at 6:40 AP.

Left shin was bothersome. Nice to try to get back in and have a never-injured leg flair up. Hah. I guess I just need to not jump mileage quickly.

6:13 AP. Indoor track. I'm so fat and slow.

6:20 AP. Treadmill. Would've happily done more at this pace, but this was all the time I had.

Trail run. Campus to uncle f to 5 way and back on bosho.

I'm so lazy. Finally got out running again. I felt like doing something long-ish. I regretted it by the end. Combo of lack of fitness and dehydration made me feel pretty crappy for the last 2 miles, despite a slow pace (7:45 AP).

Treadmill. 4 miles continuous consistimg of the following: One mile at 8% average grade at 8:20 AP, then one mile at -1% grade at 5:45 AP, then one mile at 8.5% average grade at 8:05 AP (last minute or so at 9% and 7:30 pace which was super hard and got my heart rate to 189), then last mile at -1% at 5:30 AP. Good way to spend the little under 30 minutes I had at the gym.

Really like these Adidas Adizero RC. 5 miles on TM. Didn't have a lot of time, so -1% grade to speed it up. 28:30. HR hit 190 sprinting it in at 5:00 pace

Treadmill. Slow, roughly 8:00 pace.

South on the bike path near Beck and back. Not sure on the pace as I didn't wear a watch, but probably 7:30-7:40?

Track. 4 mile tempo in 25:20 (6:23, 6:21, 6:25, 6:10). Felt harder than 6:20 average should, but that's ok!

I have more time now, so will try to pick up running again but also try to not be stupid and jump quickly into a 60 mile week and get hurt as I did 2 months ago. Still need to lose weight, but that will come with time.

I started using a Fitbit lately, originally just for the fun of seeing all the data, monitoring my sleep and resting heart rate, etc. However, it's motivated me to be better about walking places (rather than driving) and always taking the stairs. I work on the 5th floor of my building and frequently go up and down to get things from other buildings, so I managed to break 100 flights of stairs yesterday despite my run being totally flat. Kind of cool and probably good training for future steep trail races.

15 mile loop with altimeter-measured 33xx' of climbing (compared to 3000' even on mapmyrun, although I didn't map it perfectly there). Nice and slow pace on what was mostly trails, largely steep (upper 9s), but at least I never felt compelled to walk on either of the absurdly long uphills. Run is slower than elevation stats indicate, as 1200-1300' of the decline comes in something a little under a mile, making it way too steep to take advantage of.

Easy run with Holly. Felt hot out at 5 PM!

7:01 average pace with about 200' of climb and 200' of drop. Felt like marathon type effort in my current crappy fitness, except that my legs aren't strong enough to hold pretty much any pace for 26.2 miles. Only knew time while I was running and got the distance afterwards; otherwise I'd have made sure to knock off 2 seconds per mile. Hah. Average HR of 159.

7:39 ap. Felt really easy, which is nice.

5 miles. No idea of the pace.

Ran up from the bottom of Solitude to disc golf hole 1 (1000' uphill) with a 30 pound backpack on my back, then played a round of disc golf. Good times.

7:51 AP. Run with Josh E. 500-600' of climb. 144 average HR.

My place to Legacy Parkway trail to 5th south to 89, and back. 11.2 miles, pretty flat (250' total gain), 7:40 AP. 142 average HR.

7:40 pace for 10.3 miles with 400' of total climb. 144 average hr.

From skyline/sessions intersection down bountiful ridgeline towards Morgan, and along a bunch of jeep roads, then back. 8 miles, over 2000' climb, hurdled numerous fallen trees on the trail. Hah. 143 ave HR.

Out and back south from home. 146 ave HR. 7:30-7:40 AP.

3 miles to fed hill, 6 in the 7:15 group (sort of hilly, but not bad... Love sea level), 3 back. Good to run with the few guys still in the original bmore crew.

Easy run.

With Daria and Holly.

W/ Daria and Holly.

Made Daria and Holly work hard on 2 miles of uphill with 900' of climb, then ran back down. Not sure of pace on the way up (slow), nice and easy 8:00 on the way down.

By self. 7:35 ap with about 200' of climbing.

7:30 AP. 250' gain.

With Daria.

Easy run with Daria and Holly.

Treadmill in Las Vegas. 6:10 pace. I'm so fat and slow.

With Daria and Holly. I'm not bringing them North into Bountiful again. People there are, on average, the most inconsiderate, oblivious, and self-centered people I've ever encountered. The amount of texting while driving, running red lights, and improperly restrained dogs lunging at us is worse there than anywhere I've ever gone running. It's consistent. Every single time I run on the sidewalk on Orchard, at least one driver will do something grossly illegal and put my safety at risk. I'm not sure I can remember the last time I saw a driver in Bountiful legally stop at a stop sign without a car already at the stop sign in from of him or her. So frustrating. Will stick to Legacy trail.

With Daria. New fitbit surge is a great running stats companion.

Olympus roundtrip. I'm so bad at uphills right now. Haha.

6:44 AP on indoor track. Felt fast, but manageable.

Work to BST, a ways past the first 5 way, then back. Close to 1000' of uphill. Suppose it was more of a tempo on the way up, marathon effort on the way back, but it's all the same right now. :)

Cliff Lodge to Cardiff pass and back with Daria. 2000' gain.

Cliff lodge to hidden peak via ridge trail, into mineral, over Sugarloaf pass, down Collins in Alta and back. With Daria. 3300' climb.

7:05 AP. Track.

Indoor track. 4 with Daria and 1 at 6:04 pace. Had to speed up and slow down a lot on my solo mile, as the track was soaked due to cleaning and I felt like I was going to slip on every turn (44 turns per mile).

On Wasatch 100 course.

Good to get in a long run. Paced Jordan Chang for 14.5 miles at Bear 100 (finished 10th in 21:42) and then Matt Zabriskie for another 7 10 minutes later (finished in 23:57). Conditions were super, super bad, but it was fun to get out there and run for awhile. Had about 4500' total climb in the 21.5 miles.

1600' of climb. Trails with Nate Blouin. 9:30 pace. I'm so bad at uphills.

7:25 AP. Sore from yesterday. Haha.

Bprb to jcc on bosho and back. Worked pretty hard for the 7:30 AP; heart rate peaked out at 183.

Parking lot north of red butte concert area to top of wire and back. Worked pretty hard on the way up, but kept it in control. HR hit 181 but was only rarely above 175. Ran moderate to living room and then as fast as I could handle from there to bosho. Someone couldn't get their dog or of the way and I couldn't stop in time, so I hurdled a dog. Fun.

Really like these shoes. Not sure if I've pointed that out yet. They're relatively light and have good ground feel, while retaining really good rock protection. That showed today when I ran from Dry Creeek up to the false summit of Little Black Mountain (pretty rugged trail once you depart from BOSHO), back, and then to BPRB. I only made it to the false summit because 1) I don't like timing myself over the rocky crags, where rushing myself and falling could be severe, and 2) I didn't really have enough time anyway. Ahh, good old experiments on a Sunday. I ran up to the ridgeline really hard (HR hit 187, when my max is probably 190) and then backed off on the way up Little Black (legs couldn't handle it so well). Net climb of just over 3000' on the way up and down. Time of 59:31 seemed OK. Want to say that I was low 50s when in shape and probably could have pushed a couple minutes off today in the 2nd half. I've never been that great at super steep stuff. Anyway, a fun time out there. Saw in the hidden book off the peak that one of the last few people that hit the summit and logged it was 82 years old. Impressive.

BPRB to dry creek to unkelf er turn off, back down a half mile, up little black, back to JCC. HR got up to 186. I'm not good at doing this climb without pushing myself up Unkelf er.

7:39 AP. Wanted to run on Legacy Parkway, but it was close throughout the entire Foxboro portion, so I just ran through that neighborhood and then turned back at the end.

Quick loop in Red Butte area from BPRB before going to Fritz's to watch election coverage. A lot of uphill, downhill, and rocks. 9:00 AP with 700' uphill in the 4 miles. 

Indoor track. 7:10 AP.

San Diego for SFN. 9 miles at 7:30 AP near the water. The altimeter on my fitbit (counts in 10 foot increments) registered a total elevation gain of zero feet of gain during the run. Nice and flat, and it felt pretty easy, which is nice. Sea level is always a nice adjustment, especially at easy pace (especially welcome when I'm extremely out of shape). My run one week ago at 4500' was at a substantially higher effort for a pace 9 seconds per mile slower over a distance couple miles shorter, despite a perfectly straight path and not having to zig zag around people left and right (admittedly, that run had a little under 100' of elevation gain and loss over 7 miles, worth about 2-3 seconds per mile). Aerobic runs at sea level are awesome.

Maui! Kapalua Villas to DT Fleming Beach up most of the way up the Mahana Ridge trail and back after eating a turkey sandwich to celebrate Thanksgiving (well, I won't celebrate white men illegally immigrating to America and slaughtering natives, but at least I can celebrate all of the things I have to be thankful for). The trail was an absolute blast and the views of the Honokohua Gulches were spectacular. Utah has pretty incredible trail running, so when I have that experience in mind and am still dumbfounded by the beauty of trails elsewhere, you know that they must be amazing. The full trail plus the Arboretum trail will be 16-17 miles, tacking on getting to the beach trailhead from where I'm staying, and I'll try to get out to do the full thing on Sunday. Tomorrow, we're going to Iao Valley and then horseback riding, and Saturday we're hiking Haleakala, so Sunday will be the first day that I'll have a long enough window during the day.

Treadmill. 7:11 AP.

Treadmill run, mostly around 7:15, but with 3 half mile pickups at about 6:20, 6:15, and 6:10 pace. Overall AP of about 7:04.

Very snowy city creek and BOSHO trails with Fritz, Roo, and Holly. Dogs definitely did more distance than we did, especially in the first half, when they were sprinting back and forth. Altimeter says I had 1860' climb, which is clearly a huge overestimate. My recolllection from this route in the past is that it's only about 1200', with just under 1000' from low point to high point and a bit of roll. I must have just accidentally measured altitude gain while I was driving as well, as it's usually pretty good.

9 miles in NSL/Bountiful. Up Orchard to 500 South to 500 West and back. I wore trail shoes because the people that live on Orchard in Bountiful, as a whole, really could not care less about leaving massive sheets of ice all over their sidewalks. In all seriousness, I have never been anywhere else in the world where the inhabitants are so inconsiderate in terms of their blatant disregard for other peoples' safety. Basically, it was at least 50% a trail run. Oh well. With these shoes, I was fine. Nice and easy effort with a 7:58 AP over a route with 340' gain.

I was awarded second grant for my postdoctoral work this past week (this time, a fellowship from the National Ataxia Foundation), so I'm off to a great start there and probably don't need to put in 75 hour weeks in the immediate future like I did the week before last. In the last couple weeks, I've also really reprioritized my time on weeknights, so this combination of factors should allow me to spend a bit more time focusing on getting back into shape. 

Snowy/icy run with Billy Mennell. High 7s. Billy is even more out of shape than I am. Haha.

7:45 AP, about 300' of gain. Mostly on snowy trails. Through echo lake, wildridge, katherine abbot, OH trail, and back with more of a full loop through katherine abbot.  These Vazee Summit shoes have been absolutely fantastic on snow and ice. Good job, New Balance.

35 degrees and very rainy = 20+ year old dreadmill facing up against a wall (will move otherwise) in the basement. Screen wouldn't turn on, but speed is manually set on a sliding analog bar. Hah. Mile 1 at 6:40, mile 2 at 6:20, miles 3 and 4 at max of 6. Too fast for me to get bored of looking at a blank wall 1 ft in front of my face for 25 min. :)

Pretty nippy out there. 19 and a windchill of 2 degrees. Yesterday's heavy rain froze, but unlike in UT, MN actually does something about ice and the moderate to major roads were pretty good. The sidewalk near the ball fields that are closed for winter was just ridiculous, so it's impressive that they managed to clear most of everything else so well. Back roads definitely got a bit sketchy, as did a few chunks of the paved trail outside Katherine Abbott park. Parents' house to Warner, up to  Maple, down to Mahtomedi, to Quail, to Briarwood, to Hallam, to Juniper, to Park Ave, and back. Wind gusts only got into the 30s, but it felt pretty crazy when snow was blowing in the light of far-away headlights. Good times. AP was slow, slow, slow (8:30 or 8:40). No desire to run remotely fast today, especially with the chance of a random patch of ice here or there.

Resting legs after 4 days in a row.

Dunbar - Long Lake - Lincolntown - Robert - Chatham - Warner - Stillwater - East - Hickory / 80th - Jamaca - Gateway - Stillwater - Lincolntown - Long Lake - Dunbar

Apple GPS is not great. The last 2 runs have been within 0.01 of mapmyrun measurement, but the few runs prior to that measured as much as 5% off, but short and long.

1 mile easy to gym then 5 at 6:30 on indoor track. The air is disgusting. Thanks for caring, Utah politicians.

North Canyon (from top of Canyon Creek Road) up 1800' of climb to Rudy's Flat and back with Holly. Last 1.5 up was soooooo snowy, so super super slow. Always fun to be running and suddenly sink thigh deep into the snow. :)

Holly had a pretty outstanding snow beard afterwards: