This week in running 7/5

Day	Mileage / Workout	Comments
Sunday 6/29	7 miles	Easy run throughout. 5 mile hike in the afternoon
Monday 6/30	7 miles	7M: Mostly easy with some drills at the end. Still recovering from my half marathon
Tuesday 7/1	7 miles	1.5M in 11:55, 1M in 7:50, .5M in 3:45, 4 x .12M in 0:048 decent workout. 2:30 rest between reps
Wednesday 7/2	5 miles	Mostly easy with 8 20 - 30 second strides at the end
Thursday 7/3	Off	No exercise today except 2 mile walk
Friday 7/4	5 miles	Wendover 5K + recovery run afterwards
Saturday 7/5	7 Miles - 8-10 miles of hiking including climb from 8000 to 11,000 feet	Medium level pace
Total miles for the week: 38 - YTD: 930.5

Well another week of training down. I am most excited about my Tuesday speed workout run. I really wasn't in the mood for speed work, but I did it. I really like the cut down workout, where I start with a mildly fast portion at a long distance and start to increase the pace.  38 miles for the week (plus about 8 miles of lunch time walking + 13 miles of hiking) puts me at a nice total.

I still remain somewhat frustrated in the fact that I used to run that workout a lot faster. Whether it is age, altitude or what, I am not quite sure. It is frustrating to see your times get slower despite training as diligently as I always have.

I am still doing a fair amount of cross training in the mountains. I firmly believe this helps me build length strength. I feel I can really zip up the hills. Also, it becomes a cardio workout because of the altitude.

This week I plan to train fairly hard until Tuesday or Wednesday. On Friday I have another night half marathon: I am doing the Legacy Midnight Half Marathon in Bountiful, Utah.  This will be my third year doing the race and I was hooked from the first time I did it (something thrilled about running the darkened bike trail at night).  I know the course well so I should be able to run without the fear of getting lost (like the first year I did. I had to come to a complete stop because I didn't know which way to turn).  The race starts at 10pm, so it will be another late night.

This week's photo is a shot of Mount Olympus as the sun sheds it last rays on it.  I took it as I was wrapping up one of my runs this week. One of these days I'll get to the top: