Monday, January 31, 2011

Cough Syrup Run/3.1 miles

Distance: 3.1 m
Time: 29:00
Location: Mesa Canals and streets
Total Miles: 74.2 m
Total Time: 12:12

Decided to keep up with the green initiative and run to the neighborhood Target for some cough syrup for Michelle whom was feeling under the weather and it ended up being a nice little night jog that worked out some of the junk I had eaten earlier in the day. Legs felt good, kept the heart down. Good day. For the month my numbers are a little low but not too bad. I will admit that I have been a very busy bee this month with the wedding and some other days that were just unrunable unfortunately. But as I see it I believe that this coming month should see an increase in mileage as well as a couple of exotic runs sprinkled in throughout the month. Exciting.

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Recent Runs at South Mountain



Pics from my discovery of Corona Del Sol Trail which lies off the backside along National Trail about midway through the park. It is an excellent trail with breathtaking views and some huge elevation gains.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

South Mountain Park-National and Mormon Loop Trail

Distance: 6.0 m
Time: 1:01
Location: South Mountain Park- National and Mormon Loop Trails
Total Miles: 71.1 m
Total Time: 11:43

What was to be a 2 hour excursion in the mountains in Phoenix today turned into an 8 hour life and death struggle in the wind-swept peaks of central Arizona.........ok, it was not that dramatic but let me give you a quick recap of the days events. After picking up my buddy Aaron and heading out for a nice 6 mile run in the park this morning I went through my regular double checking of the pockets as we exited the truck to make sure I had taken my truck key off of my key ring, and upon further inspection I found it right there in my pocket......good job Logan! We started off down and up the trailhead weaving through the canyon walls, echoing our heartbeats off the stone cliffs until we made the turn around to head back atop Mormon Loop Trail just north of Two Peaks. The run was ok but I did feel a little bit of pain afterwards in my left foot which I believe I may have tweaked while stepping on a sharp rock awkwardly early in the run. Other than that it was simply an average run, albeit a little sluggish as all early morning runs usually are for me without a warmup. Aaron was a good sport considering this was his first taste of any kind of a run with some serious uphill work in it, and he impressed me with the fact that he pushed through to the end with a decent pace. But then the floor caved in. After running out the last few hundredths of a mile in the parking lot to round out the 6 mile run I fingered through my pockets and pulled out my 2007 Toyota Scion key. "Hmmm" I thought for a moment. I knew something was not right. I then realized that I did not drive the Toyota today, I drove the Ford F-150 today. So, to make a long, long story and day short, after using "Queen Bee's" phone to make a phone call in the one spot on the mountain that got reception I got ahold of my buddy Rob whom in turn called 5 locksmith's whom in turn said they either could not find our truck atop Buena Vista Lookout or they did not service that area of the country, ie the middle of nowhere where noone should be let alone running. After 3 hours of sitting, sleeping, urinating and conversing about the state of unicycles in today's pop-culture, a nice, fresh-faced 25year old Israeli Surfer(not Argentinian Logan, geez) fresh from New Zealand showed up drove us up the 8 mile deserted highway, past the towers which he said give off, "radiation", and in one fell swoop with his nifty inflatable balloon contraption, was successful in breaking into our truck, thus enabling us to drink our scalding hot G2 Gatorade which lay exposed on the seat. After a hefty tip to the youngster and couple of well wishes we descended the mountain top which we had come to know like a twin brother and stumbled back into the civilized world which waited down below. Another days work.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Daily Run Log

Distance: 4.0m
Time: 46:00m
Temp:72'
Location: SMP, Corona Del Sol Trail
Surface: Trail
Month/miles: 65.1m
Year/miles: 65.1m
Month/time: 10:42.00
Year/time: 10:42.00

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Daily Run Log

Distance: 9.0m
Time: 1h11m
Temp:64'
Location: Mesa/Tempe canal system
Surface: Dirt
Month/miles: 61.1m
Year/miles: 61.1m
Month/time: 9:56.00
Year/time: 9:56.00

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Daily Run Log

Distance: 16.9m
Time: 2:58m
Temp:65'
Location: Mormon, National, Corana Trails(SMP) and Mesa neighborhood
Surface: Trail, Road
Month/miles: 52.1m
Year/miles: 52.1m
Month/time: 8:45.00
Year/time: 8:45.00

This time of year in Arizona to me feels like 'we' as Arizonans should be greatly indebted to those living in the remaining snowed-out states in the union. So, of course I took advantage of not only the weather but also the fact that I have felt particularly healthy and drawn to South Mountain over the last 7-10 days with great energy. I think I am finally starting to notice a jump in my efficiency on my mountain runs up the trails at the park and this has translated well with my mind, and has given me a added vigor to hit the harder, steeper inclines at the mountain. I think that time is of no importance to me on these runs now just pace and incline, that is all for the time being. I have noticed in particular that I seem to be recovering from the big climbs within my runs a little quicker now which is in turn giving me the motivation to run out a little longer on these daily runs than I am used to. My run this morning was met with a little adversity when I realized that the REI company had a sponsored hike throughout the trails this morning drawing in well over a few hundred hikers from what I could see. Huge portions of these trails are narrow singletrack with granite framing the sidewalls so this leaves me with little wiggle room to get around the multiple groups I encountered. I dealt with it though and got through with enough energy when I hit Buena Vista Lookout that I proceeded for the first time past the lookout and tried to find the spot where National Trail re-connects and continues on to the west end of the park. After avoiding multiple hikers along the paved road for another few hundred meters in search of the mystic National Trail Head, I took a wrong turn down Corona Canyon Trail. When I realized I had taken a wrong turn I made the decision to see where the un-trekked path may lead. It lead down, straight down! With tons of energy still filling my legs and lungs I let the canyon swallow me and spit me out in a deserted wash at the bottom of the decent. It was calm, quiet, almost like no one had ever stepped in the space. I knew that I still had a huge hike to climb out of the canyon ahead of me so after a few minutes of taking in the scenery(untouched) and wishing an lone trailrunner a good morning I turned west and climbed my way out of the rocky earth. One hour and ten minutes later I was back in the lot loving life.....a little more.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Daily Run Log

Distance: 6.0m
Time: 1h 4m
Temp:61
Location: Desert Classic Trail/SMP
Surface: Trail
Month/miles: 35.2m
Year/miles: 35.2m
Month/time: 5:47.00
Year/time: 5:47.00

Headed out to SMP for a 6 miler with Aaron a friend of mine. Early on it felt like it was gonna be a nice, energy filled run but I found myself somewhat run down after a few miles on the trail. It felt like I re-aggravated a soft bruised spot on the ball of my left foot which caused a little discomfort throughout the run but for the most part I really just wanted to get out and show the trail to Aaron who had never spent any time on a trail before. I feel like I may have caused a little extra stress throughout the run from holding back my pace but it is all good. Hope to post soon.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Daily Run Log

Distance: 3.0m
Time: 31:15
Temp:65'
Location: Track/stairs
Surface: Various
Month/miles: 29.2m
Year/miles: 29.2m
Month/time: 4:43.00
Year/time: 4:43.00

Decided to try and get some vertical running in at the MCC track by running the stairs which I did for a mile then finished it off with 2 miles of dirt/grass running around the campus. Overall it went well but I did get a little smoked on the stairs and it felt like a big relief to hit the grass and all its cushioning.

Daily Run Log

Distance: 1.0m
Time: 9:15
Temp:
Location: Gym
Surface: Rubber/Pegasus 26's
Month/miles: 26.2m
Year/miles: 26.2m
Month/time: 4:12.00
Year/time: 4:12.00

Quick vertical run on the treadmill with the peg's. I ran a full mile at an insane incline to start of 6.5. Good run, felt o.k.

Daily Run Log

Distance: 13.1m
Time: 2:03:21
Temp:60'
Location: Desert Classic Trail, South Mountain Park
Surface: Technical Trail/MT 101's
Month/miles: 25.2m
Year/miles: 25.2m
Month/time: 4:03.00
Year/time: 4:03.00

I was elated to find myself for the first time since the PF Chang's Marathon enjoying a runner's high of some sort. I set out this morning to do a make up run for calling out of the Xterra race that was to be held in the White Tank Mountains to the northwest of me, and what I ended up finding was one hell of a reserve in my running tank. I decided against going up and doing the National/Mormon loop run and instead headed out to the looping, winding Desert Classic Trail that outlines the southern boundary of the range, hugging Ahwatukee. It was an awesome run from the start, well save for the Jumping Cholla cactus that decided to jump on and be my pacer for the first 200 meters or so of my run. Other than that short nightmare I was able to enjoy a splendid day in the sun. I sauntered up and down the dirt track gliding past mountain bikers, hikers, and an occasional few other runners and pushed through a couple of tough spots to a personal best in both distance and overall time for the half marathon distance. I had never gone more than 12.6 miles on the trails and also I had never given a honest effort in a half marathon so this was definitely a huge success. I felt like I could of easily got under 2 hours and mentally I held up great. I cant wait for the next challenge awaiting me.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Daily Run Log

Distance: 3.0m
Time: 29:23
Temp:
Location: Gym
Surface: Rubber
Month/miles: 12.1m
Year/miles: 12.1m
Month/time: 2:00.00
Year/time: 2:00.00

I went into my run tonight thinking that I was going to get a half mile into my run and find myself stepping off because of a lagging injury to my tibialis anterior muscle. But, much to my amazement, for the first time in a week and a half I had no discomfort in the muscle and actually was able to enjoy a pretty intense 3 mile incline run ending at a 5.0 incline. I was very satisfied and this gives me a lot of confidence heading into the run on sunday for sure. I am psyched.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Daily Run Log

Distance: 9.1m
Time: 1:31.00
Temp: 58'
Location: Gym, track, South Mtn.
Surface: Rubber, dirt
Month/miles: 9.1m
Year/miles: 9.1m
Month/time: 1:31.00
Year/time: 1:31.00

Welcome 2011! Wow, I have never felt like I have more of a clean slate than I do now. So what do I do with it? I run!

Ok, so the first 3 runs of the new year have been mostly disheartening. I had some bad muscle tightness on day 1 at the gym which caused me to step off only 1.6 miles into my run, then I came out sluggish on a day at the track with stairs as an incline test and managed only 3 miles of work there. Finally, I made it out to the mountain only to find my right lower leg tightening up again causing alot of discomfort as well as cutting my running down to the point that I had to walk a significant portion of the loop until I worked out the stiffness and pain. So far my year has been shaky but I am looking forward to getting back on track and finally making the right decisions that will positively affect my running this year.

2010 Running Log

Distance:2.0Miles
Location: Neighborhood
Duration: 14:33
Finish Time: 5:16pm
Monthly Total: 47.5Miles
Yearly Total: 843.20Miles
Yearly Duration: 140.25Hours