Artichoke's Running Blog (Ken Spence)

5 miles very easy this morning at 5:05 a.m. on my standard Skyline route.  Still cool, but nice in the early morning.

9 miles at 6:30 p.m.  1:24:15.  75 degrees.  Skyline to gate via SR 36 heading out, then along the canyon rim and dropping down into Middle Canyon and up 1.5 miles and back home via the high school.

5 miles in 47:16 at 5:05 a.m. Skyline route to gate and back along Upland and Broadway loops. Pushed at about 75% for 2 miles, otherwise very easy. Nice cool morning, once again.

5 miles at 5:05 a.m.  EZ along Skyline cemetery route onto Upland to Grimm's gate and back down direct.  57 degrees.

20 miler in 2:49:59, 8:29 average pace.  Smelter Road hills then to Droubay Road and down through Erda, up over the knoll on the gravel road into Lakepoint and along the old Lincoln highway portion at the base of the mountain finishing at the Truck Stop from the east.  6:00 a.m. Mostly in the mountain shadow until the last few miles.  H20 at 7, 12, and 16.  8 miles with Tina on the hill and on Droubay Rd. down to 1000 North.  

My Garmin splits:  9:07, 8:47, 7:58, 8:43, 9:24, 8:10, 7:17, 7:40, 7:48, 7:47, 7:54, 8:05, 8:34, 9:00, 9:34, 9:13, 8:41, 8:45, 8:52,  8:20.

9 others out today along the route.  A decent run. First 60 mile week towards SGM.  4 weeks away.

11 mile recovery run.  EZ miles in the canyon.  Headed up Settlement Canyon at about 9:00 a.m.  Still cool, but nice.  Hit the Dark Trail at about 1.25 miles and went up to the end then on the canyon road to above the gate.  Came down direct on the canyon road and up left hand fork trail for .5.  Back down to base of dam and behind Little Mountain on the double track trail and back through the wig-wam and down the alley to the high school.  Ran barefoot about 500 meters on the grass infield of the track and easy 100 on the track, then re-shod headed .5 back home.  A very nice easy run.

5 miles at 5:10 a.m. Very slow, 1.5 with Liz and Roland. Still quite cool in the morning. Skyline route to the gate and back via Loma Vista loop.

5 miles at 5:05 a.m. very easy on standard Skyline route.  Windy and warmer.

9 miles in 1:25:08 at 6:45 p.m. fairly easy on hills and trails behind Little Mountain down into Middle Canyon and back.  Pushed last uphill mile some.

5 miles easy recovery this morning at 5:10 a.m.  Standard Skyline route.  Windy, with cold front moving in. How could I get a head wind coming from both directions?

5 miles on the standard Skyline route at 5:05 a.m. on a chilly morning.  45 degrees.  I dressed a bit light with just a long sleeve t-shirt and shorts.  47:35.  Easy run, except a bit closer to tempo pace the last 2 miles, focusing mostly on form after I finally woke up.  I like Friday morning runs.  With all the 4 day / 10 hr. per day Dugway, State and Tooele Army Depot workers still in bed, the streets are nearly empty of cars and I can more safely run while still half asleep myself.  2nd 20 miler scheduled for tomorrow morning on the Smelter Road hills and then on down to Lake Point.

20 mile long run in 2:52:54.  8:38 average pace. 3 minutes slower than last week, but considering I didn't have Tina for 8 miles like I did last week, that's pretty decent for me solo.  7:30 a.m.  Started out at below 50 degrees, quickly warming to 70 degrees.  Smelter Road hills up to the flat at 5 miles, then down through Erda along Droubay Road, up over the knoll on the gravel road and down into Lake Point and along the road at the base of the Oquirrh Mountains and finishing at the truck stop along the frontage road near I-80, exit 99.  A very nice morning for a run.  H2O at 3 places along the route stayed icy cold stashed overnight.  6 other runners out along the way.  2 consecutive 60 mile weeks, 1 more to go.

5 easy recovery miles.  1.5 or so with Liz and Roland.  Skyline route at 5:10 a.m.  60 degrees.  Hamstring hurting last mile or so.

6 miles at 6:15 p.m.  Standard Skyline route plus 1 on 1400 E. and back.  Sore hamstring got worse throughout the run.  Icing tonight.  Need to lay off and rest it tomorrow.

No run this morning.  Resting and icing left hamstring.

No running for 2nd day.  Resting, icing, and massaging left hamstring tendonitis.

Resting and icing.  Some improvement when walking, so keeping my fingers crossed.  May test it some tomorrow or on Saturday.

Taking another day.  Feeling some better, but will possibly test it tomorrow.

7:00 a.m.  4 miles with Tina.  Tendonitis pain in my lower left hamstring returned by mile 1 and progressively got worse, especially on the downhill after about 2.5.  Walked for half a  mile and then returned home easy on the flat and slight uphill, which wasn't quite as bad.  I think I'll try to see the doc on Monday or as soon as I can.  Maybe he'll give me some cortisone or prednizone, otherwise I think I'm off for two weeks.  The marathn may be out at St. George.  We'll see.  A real bunner!

No running.  Visited the doctor.  Confirmed left hamstring tendonitis.  Prescribed prednizone and physical therapy.  Saw the therapist this afterrnoon.  He feels it is a bit of a pull with some tendonitis adjacent to the tear.  I have visible bruising on the lower hamstring just above the knee.  He is fairly optimistic I can do the marathon in 12 days.  He said if it was really bad, I wouldn't be walking with as little pain as I am.  Had electrical stimulus treatment, ultrasound, massage, and iced compression.  Wants me back on Wednesday and Friday.  Maybe a little cycling or swimming on Thursday and an easy run on Saturday with no elevation changes, so I guess I'll be at the track.  There's nothing flat in Tooele except that track.  We'll see how it goes.

Icing and resting.

No running.  Therapy again tonight.

No running.  Cycle a bit later tonight.

No running.   Biked last night for 1/2 hour without noticing much.  Iced afterwards.  Therapy today at 3:00 p.m.  I'll try running some easy, flat miles tomorrow morning and see how things respond.  Only 1 week left until SGM.  Hope I can get a few easy miles in early next week.

6 very easy miles on the flat in Stansbury Park. Walked a 1/2 mile first then 2 miles slow running on the track. Felt a bit of pain at 1 mile or so, but it didn't really get worse. Ventured out onto the roads within the neighborhoods and then an out and back along Bates Canyon road, west of the highway. I'm fairly optimistic, but think I will probably have to be somewhat cautious early in the marathon. Therapy scheduled for 3 days next week. 54:24 or 9:04 average pace.

5 miles at 6:30 p.m.   42:19, 8:28 average pace.  Flat route along SR 36 past Tooele Army Depot entrance and back to Conoco and home along 480 South.  Moderate effort.  Not much in hamstring, just a twinge in places.  75 degrees.  Encouraging run today.

5 miles at 6:00 p.m.  75-80 degrees.  42:00, 8:24 average pace.  SR 36 to past Tooele Army Depot gate and back via Hood Street and 480 S. to Millcreek.  Felt okay.  A bit more than yesteday, but had PT this afternoon and I think I was actually a bit sore from the deep tissue massage on the hamstring.  One more 4 mile run tomorrow, two more sessions of PT and we'll see how it goes on Saturday.

4 miles very easy after PT.  Slow and very easy.  Last run before SGM.  Very little pain.  Flat run along SR 36 and Skyline along Cemetery and home.

Rest day and final PT before SGM on Saturday.  Supposed to be a high of 97 degrees in St. George later that day.  The warmest I've ever experienced in 18 years of running the race.