Great run with side effects?

Got up early today and ran with Joel and Cory along the BST north and got in a solid 12-13 miles. Great morning! The spring run off is flowing down all the canyons and the smells and sites are great- not to mention the trail is fabulous! I am changing my work schedule a bit in order to make these morning runs with these guys. They really push me and I hurt but when its done, I feel great!
Now- the real issue! My Achilles is absolutely PIST! It isn't in a good mood at all. It is swollen and SORE! I iced it immediately took some NSAID's and man it is fighting back. What does this mean? I thought I was good to go with minor pain but wow!
Well, Saturday and Sunday will be another back to back long runs if the Achilles can keep me upright. 5 weeks until Squaw and counting. Gotta step it up!

Here we go again...

The weekend has come and gone with me coming up short on the miles I wanted. On top of that, as I sit here and type, my Achilles has some weird pain. Yesterday I got out on a run with Cory Johnson, Joel and John Woj for 123 nice miles at varying paces. The weather held out for our run with only a couple minutes of a snow skiff. I came up 7 miles short of 50 this week so now I need to get it done this week. Only a few weeks until Squaw. My Achilles has a strange pain in it today. I can usually feel tightness and being a little sore but today it feels different. Maybe it was trying to keep up with Cory yesterday of too much lifting and tweaking moving my mom on Saturday. Who knows.
This weeks plan- Tuesday-run, Wednesday -swim, Thursday-run, Saturday run and Sunday-run. Really need to hit at least 50 miles.
Any recommendations for an ice/gel pack for my Achilles? I can't seem to find one anywhere so now I need to go into cyber-world.

Lazy days

I am not doing a good job of keeping up with the blog but oh well. I got in 2 solid runs this week so far and look forward to an early Saturday run before Sami's soccer game and moving my mom. Sunday, I will again awake with the roosters and head out. My goal is to get 30 miles in those 2 days which will bring my total for the week to 50. Next week will call for more miles and I just got my schedule changed at work to accommodate early Thursday morning runs before work. Pinched in every week I will spend one day in the pool. Not too far before Squaw Peak and as of right now don't feel good about hitting my goal. The Achilles has flared a bit this week and I felt more on my Wednesday 10 mile run but no sharp pains.

It's April...right?

April 15th- Tax Day. What a better way to celebrate paying our beloved government than SKIING. I gave some money to Uncle Sam to pass on to the unfortunate MULTI BILLION DOLLAR companies that are struggling and threw a little bit toward Earl Holding too. I took off work and played hookie with my wife and we headed up to Snowbasin to what will most likely be the last time I ski for awhile. To our surprise it was AMAZING! The snow was soft and there was fresh powder everywhere. Throw in the fact that there was no one on the mountain and you have yourself a little piece of heaven. Every run was making fresh tracks. There were a couple spots that were deeper than knee powder! There was a slight snowfall and the sun played peak-a-boo most of the day. 2 days ago I was running in the mountains with 65 degree temps and today I was skiing mid-season snow. Here in Utah we take our knocks but we got a good thing going here. Hell- add the recent change to liquor laws and poof, here we go!

I will count today as quad burning cross training and tomorrow I will throw on the trail shoes for some single track. What a week!

Back at it

As planned, I got out tonight on what felt like very weak legs. Went from Rainbow and headed north on the BST. Great evening for a run. This may have been the best weather of the year. There were alot of people on the trails, mostly bikers. Pace was slower than normal and just didn't feel it but what do you expect after a lazy week. Wednesday I will get in my last day of skiing for the year even though we still have tons of snow a the resorts. I will still get out Thursday night, Saturday (time depending on Sami's first soccer game of the year) and Sunday.

Before the run tonight I came home to a surprise. SOCKS! Not just any socks but the most comfortable socks around- oh and they look fantastic too! You decide. I even have some for purchase. Why green, why racing stripes...WHY NOT? I have some on right now. They go with absolutely everything and sure to make you faster!

Week Review

Well not the week I had originally planned and now I have to pay for it both mentally and physically. I went on a run Wed but it only totalled 9 miles. Saturday I got all my trail work done for the Bear in September which is nice but didn't get out on Easter. So a whopping 9 miles for the week. Physically it sucks but it probably stings more mentally. It's good for me to post on here even when I am naughty because that stings too and really makes not want to be a slacker again. I will get out today in the mountains, a couple days of swimming and 3 more days of running.

I am also starting to put the finishing touches on my race schedule and jotting down my training for a few weeks at a time. Last week is lost and it sucks but this week will be much needed. If it wasn't for my personal life, this running thing would sure be easier!

Who's the rabbit?

The sun was out.

A great morning for a little back to back run. Met a group (Anthony, Kacey, Mike, Frank and Dr. Rocco and his dog) @ 8 am at Rainbow. The wind was really blowing and it was tough to figure out what to wear. I opted for shorts and was glad I did. The first bit of the run was a little chilly but it didn't take long for the sun to come over the mountain and heat things up. Today we went north on BST and headed further towards North Ogden Pass. Great group of runners with all abilities. Kacey, being a very solid runner, led most of the way and the rest of us just fell in. The trails are just in incredible shape and with the sun starting to participate a little more, it made for a fantastic run. All in all we did around 12 miles. I feel pretty fortunate to have such great people to run with. Still not good at meeting new people but trail running has sure helped. It really is hard to find better people than the ones you share the trails with....
Overall the body felt pretty good and now it is time to increase the mileage a bit. Squaw Peak is 9 weeks away and getting closer. Mentally I think I feel good enough about my Achilles to go forward. Considering the limited amount of running this year, I feel stronger than last year at this time. Being new to the whole running thing I think I need some structure from a "real" runner. I got a few goals this year and honestly not sure if the training I am doing is making me better or just maintaining what I have. I think having a better plan with someone who knows running could really help me attain my goals- not of winning anything but just seeing what I can do. So.......Any takers?

Good Morning!

What a morning for a run. I met Joel at rainbow gardens around 6:30 am. it was a little eerie since the weather in the parking lot was calm. I wore tights for the first time in my life and it wasn't as bad as I thought. We headed south along the BST and headed over towards Weber State. The trail was in pretty good shape all the way. We came across one patch of ice but it was only 40 yards long. The temps were great as we slowly could see some storm clouds roll in. We hit around 9-10 miles at a comfortable pace. Great run followed by a very productive day.
The Achilles seems to be responding well to the trails. Still a dull ache every once in awhile but overall I am feeling pretty good.