Recovering From Microfracture Surgery

Ok, so it's a new year and I am back to the blog. It is coming up on six months since my knee surgery and I am going to start running or at least trying to run again. I need to get back to the doctor and PT to get the official go ahead but I figure since it has been six months no harm in trying.

I ran 1 very slow mile today on the BYU indoor track. It was actually quite painful. After about 200-300 meters it really started to bug me but wasn't getting worse so I finished out with a total of 1 mile after taking a break to massage the knee at about 1000 meters. So not a great start back but hopefully this is normal pains from the knee still being weak. I guess only time will tell. I know someone else that had this surgery and said it was just over a year after their surgery until they could run without pain. I hope it does not take that long but if so then that is better than not running at all.

Yet again another mile on the BYU indoor track. The knee really started to bug me at about 400-600 meters today. A little later today than yesterday at least. I took a small break again to rest the knee at about 1000 meters and then finished up the mile. This time I tried running with a faster, shorter stride and it reduced the pain a lot. I ran at 7:30 pace but with a very quick leg turnover and it was much improved. I think the shorter faster stride reduced the impact on the knee and thus less pain. I will try this again tomorrow and see how things go. For now the plan is 1 mile a day until things get better or worse.

Ok, another mile on the BYU indoor track. I tried to run with a shorter faster stride again today and it seemed to work ok. I still felt the pain come on at about 400-600 meters but was able to keep going without stopping this time for the entire mile. I ran a 7:15 mile today with the last 400 at 6:30 pace. The knee hurt but was bearable for now. I don't think I would want to run any further than a mile with this pain but I guess today was progress. So three days and three miles for the week. If I can keep it up I may hit 6 miles this week. This sounds trivial to most but to me 6 miles in a week is huge right now!

Yes, another 1 mile run on the BYU indoor track. It is funny that I can be excited about a 1 mile run. Still pain in the knee today but it seemed slightly less than yesterday. Another 7:15 mile as well.

Yet another 1 mile run on the BYU indoor track. Today was an ok day. Still some pain but bearable. First 1/2 mile in 3:50 and second 1/2 mile 3:15. 5 days 5 miles so far this week.

So 6 miles in six days! Knee felt a little bit more pain today but made it the whole mile in 7:09 on the BYU indoor track. Legs are pretty sore and tired which is sad after only 1 mile a day for 6 days.

Starting week two of the post micro-fracture comeback! Knee hurt today more than usual right from the start. However, made it for the 1 mile on BYU indoor track in about 7:30. So miracle yet but slow and steady progress I guess.

Normal 5:30am routine now of running 1 mile at BYU indoor track. Things went ok, not good but got the mile in at 7:30 pace. Also continued routine of 100+ push-ups and 100+ sit-ups a day as well. 

A decent day today knee pain wise. Pain was a little less than normal. 1 mile on indoor track at BYU along with normal push-up and sit-up routine.

Decent day today. Some pain at first so I thought it was going to be a bad day but by 2nd lap or so it felt a little better. Ended up running a 6:55 mile. Did lots of sit-ups (over 200) and about 100 push-ups as well. For first time had some thoughts about running a 2nd mile today but figured it is still not best to move miles up until the pain subsides a bit more.

Two ok days in a row. Knee hurt first more during first couple laps and then still hurt but a little less on the last few laps again. I ran a 6:45 mile today. Tomorrow makes two weeks of 1 mile a day, it's a start.

Easy mile with James and Jared today in the neighborhood. I like running on the indoor track better right now as the roads in the neighborhood are still pretty icy in spots and I'm no to keen on slipping on the ice right now. Knee was still a bit sore but did not get worse as I ran.

Easy 1 mile on indoor track today. Right at 7:00 pace overall. Felt ok, still pain but not as bad as yesterday.

1 more mile in the books today on the indoor track again. Still a decent amount of knee pain but still under 8:00 pace.

Not a great knee day. More pain than yesterday but still able to get about a 7:30 mile in at least. I was hoping to increase a little next week but I think I will stay at 1 mile a day for at least another week.

Another mile on the BYU indoor track. Still pain in the knee so no overnight miracle. Onward and upward, hopefully.

Did 2 miles on indoor track today. I did 3 laps (.6m) then rested a little then 3 more, etc until I had 2 miles of running in. Lots of push-ups and sit-ups as well. Felt ok pain wise. Still there but better than Friday at least.

1 mile at BYU indoor track at sub 8:00 pace. May try 2 miles again tomorrow depending on how things feel.

Went for 2 miles again today on the indoor track. Knee had pain but actually felt better during 2nd mile than 1st mile. Total was 13:20 for 2 miles with mile splits of 6:50 and 6:30. Overall happy with the level of pain and speed today. If it never gets better or worse than this I at least know I can run with this pain.

1 mile on BYU indoor track at sub 8:00 pace. Not bad today. Overall same amount of pain in knee as last couple days. So to be positive at least it is not getting any worse after running 2 miles yesterday in 13:20. Maybe next week I will run 2 miles every other day and if all goes well start 2 miles a day after that.

2 miles before I left for New York for the week.

2 Miles on treadmill in New York. However, came down with serious bug that is not fun at all since I have work to do and am in New York.

Back from New York and over the sickness, Yeah! 2 miles with my boys today at about 8:00 average pace. Glad to be back in sunny warm Utah. New York was extremely cold and windy.

2 miles under 8min pace on the BYU indoor track. 1st mile knee was very painful but second mile it hurt much less. I think I will try 2 miles a day all this week as long as things do not get worse.

2 miles on BYU Indoor track again today. I know I sound like a broken record now but 2 miles a day is a good step in the right direction. I ran a little faster today. First mile was 7:00 and second mile 6:25 for 13:25 total for 2 miles. Knee hurt pretty good during first mile and felt a little better during second mile. I hope that is a good sign.

2 miles on BYU indoor track at about 7:30 average. Knee pain still present but tolerable.

2 miles on BYU indoor track. 1st mile about 7:30 second mile in 6:30. Still about the same with more pain during first mile but still pain the whole time.

2 easy miles on BYU indoor track with normal knee pain. Average pace sub 8:00.

Easy 2 miles with Jared and James at BYU indoor track. First mile just under 8 minutes and second mile in 7:07 which is his fastest mile time.

2 easy miles probably around 7:30 average. Knee a bit stiffer and more pain than normal today so took it easy.

Ok, a better day to day than yesterday. Knee felt decent. Still pain but much lower on the pain scale. So I ran a little faster. On BYU indoor track with first mile in 6:44 and second mile in 6:29 for 13:13 for 2 miles. This was probably my best day so far pain wise. It was my fastest 2 mile run since I started running last month. Days like today give me a little more hope that maybe I can run pain free again someday and if not at least I still have hope of possibly running a decent 5K again.

Easy 2 miles at BYU indoor track. Averaged about 7:30-40 pace and felt ok. Lower pain level day which is always good. Still no noticeable swelling which I hope is also a good sign. If I had to rate the knee pain on a scale of 1-10 I would rate it at a 4 today for the first mile and dropping to a 2 by the end of the 2nd mile. On a bad day I would put the pain at about a 7-8 level during the first mile and a 4-5 during the second mile. So anytime the pain level drops below a 5 I think that is a good day.

Ok, today was another decent day. I was planning on going slower but the body wanted to go a little faster again. The knee pain was pretty low again. The 2 miles was in 13:19 with the first mile in 7:04 and the second mile in 6:15. Yeah!

Easy 2 mile run outdoors today. Ran a mile out and a mile back at BYU. The weather was great and the roads do not have ice so I went ahead and ran outside. It felt great to not run on the indoor track. Ran right at 8:00 pace and actually ran about 2.1 miles. Knee was ok but a little more pain than yesterday.

Ok, probably over did it today. Ran 4 miles today or 2 x 2 miles to be more accurate. I wanted to pace one of the cadets I have been training and we were doing 2 x 2 mile as part of doing a double Army PT Test. So we did 2 minutes of push-ups then 2 minutes of sit-ups followed by a 2 mile run and then repeated. I did 85 push-ups and 100 sit-ups in the 2 minutes then paced the first 2 miles in 13:36 with splits of 6:36 and 7:00. This was over a minute improvement in one month for the cadet I have been training. I then paced her again on another 2 mile run after about a 15 minute break and 2 more minutes of push-ups and sit-ups. She was able to run 14:13 with splits of 7:12 and 7:01 on the second run and this was still faster than she had run for her best 2 mile just about a month ago. By the end of the 4th mile my knee was not feeling great. It has bugged me a little more than normal all day today as a result. I will just have to make sure I take it easy the next coupe days. Maybe not the smartest thing to do today but I really enjoyed it and was glad I could help pace someone today. 

Very easy but somewhat painful two miles. The knee and left leg was very tired after yesterday. Made it through two miles in about 8:00 average pace and the 2nd mile felt a little better than the first at least.

1.6 miles easy on BYU indoor track. Was running short on time so cut it a tad short of 2 today. Knee was still a bit more painful than normal from Monday. The bad news is after lunch today I started to come down with some sort of bug and now I am pretty miserable. We will see how the rest of the night goes and how things go in the morning.

Throat is swollen and I feel like crud today. I only ran 1.4 miles as it felt terrible as my throat made it very hard to breath. Knee hurt but was better than yesterday. Did a lot of push-ups and such as well. Today is not going to be a fun day at work the way I feel right now.

Still sick, only 1 mile today and I was happy to get that in the way I was feeling.

Advanced to 3 miles a day this week. Same pain as 2 miles so I guess that is a good sign.

3 miles today 2 outdoors and 1 on BYU indoor track. Overall pretty decent average pace of 7:16. Knee about the same as usual with more pain in first mile than last mile.

Easy 3 miles at about 7:30 average. Not much else to talk about.

Three mile run today outdoors with each mile 1 minute faster than the previous. First mile was 8:00 second mile was 7:00 and last mile was 6:00. Overall knee painful during first mile but as I went it felt a little better. Still hurt the whole time but bearable and decent compared to most days. This was a good day that once again gives me some hope for the future.

3 miles with James and Jared today. 1st mile in 8:08 and then paced Jared for his mile PR of 6:56. His first sub 7:00 mile. Then did one more with just James at sub 7:30. Again some knee pan throughout but bearable. So 15 miles this week which is a post surgery high mileage week. Just think maybe by the end of the month I will hit a 20 mile week!

Another 3 miles today. The first mile on the indoor track was a bit more painful than normal. Was not sure if I was going to run the additional two miles. However, I headed outside to runt he last two and it started to gradually get a little better. Not a great day but any day running is better than a no running day. Overall about 7:45 pace today.

It's always nice when bad days are followed by good days. Today was a  lot better than yesterday. The first mile was a bit painful as usual but after that it felt good enough to pick things up. First mile was 7:12 then second mile 6:28 and third mile 6:20. So 20 minutes for 3 miles with last 2 miles at 12:48. Best run so far since I started running again.

2 easy miles on BYU indoor track at sub 8:00 pace. Actually felt decent today again but just decieded to keep things easy.

3 easy miles today at about 7:30 average pace. 1 mile on indoor track and then 2 miles outside in the nice cold air. I truly enjoy running outdoors so much more than the indoor track even with the cold. Knee felt decent on the 2 outdoor miles.

12 miles on mountain bike in the hills around Provo. A ton of hill climbing which was actually much harder than running cardio wise. Works the quads really good. Knee felt great on the bike so I at least know I can take up biking if for some reason I can't return to marathons.

Ok, so I went to the Rex Lee Run with my son James with the intent of either pacing my younger son Jared or just getting in an easy 3 miles for the day. Jared spent the night at a friends and did not come to the race so I just planned on doing an easy 3 miles. However, after the start I noticed my knee actually felt pretty good and decided to go ahead and pick things up a bit. My first mile ended up being a 6:23 and that was uphill and with the first 1/2 mile a bit slower paced since I didn't pick it up until about a 1/2 mile or so. The next mile I tried to gradually pick things up since the knee was behaving. Went through 2 miles in about 12:43 so a 6:20 split. I was starting to feel things a little so did not really try and push but just tried to maintain pace to the end. I hit the 3 mile mark at about 18:40 so about a 5:57 3rd mile split and a 12:17 for the 2nd 2 miles. Ended up with a 19:23 overall 5K time. This was actually very surprising for me as I did not think I could run anywhere close to this kind of time based on my knee and the 3 miles a day I have been running. I think this was about a 90% effort overall on a hilly course so what surprises me even more is that I think I could break 19:00 on a flat course on a good day. So after 6 months of no running then 1 mile a day in JAN, 2 miles a day in FEB and two weeks of 3 miles a day this is where I stand. I am actually very happy and even surprised with this. Now if the knee pain continues to improve and I am able to keep the gradual progression going I know that at least I still have some good 5K and 10K races in the future. I ran as a bandit but had I entered I ended up abut 35th overall and would have been third in my age group.

So my legs are a bit tired from the 5K on Saturday but the good news is my knee does not seem any worse for the wear. The knee feels about the same so the harder running did not seem to bother it anymore than the easy running. Ran 3 miles today all sub 8:00 pace with first mile on BYU indoor track and 2 miles outside.

Rode the mountain bike this morning for 7 miles on the Provo River Trail. Extremely nice weather. Then ran 3 miles in the evening with son James doing 1,2,3,2,1 hard easy repeats averaged sub 7:00 pace for 3 miles with 9 minutes worth at around 6:00 pace or so. Knee tired and bit sore but ok. Not the best day but there have been worse.

An easy 3 miles today mostly on grass. Sub 8:00 average overall. Knee stiff but ok.

4 easy miles today around BYU campus. Probably average around 7:30-45 pace and felt pretty good today. Stiff knee during first mile but after that pretty good.

Very good day today. Ran a 1 mile warm-up and then ran 2 miles as a tempo during Physical Fitness Test. It was on a 1/2 mile loop. My overall time was 11:59. Splits were 3:04, 3:00, 2:58, 2:57. I was again very pleased with this as the knee felt pretty godd with only a little bit of pain and stiffness. So a good day and things are looking better.

4 miles today with 1 easy mile then 2 miles at 6:30 pace then 1 mile easy. Overall knee felt decent today. A little stiff first mile then much better after that. Also did 90 push-ups in 2 minutes (which is my highest score) and 100 sit-ups in 2 minutes which is also one of my highest scores.

3 miles on the BYU indoor track today at 7:15 average pace. Pretty much same routine with the knee hurting somewhat during first mile and getting less after that. The pain or more of a strange feeling never completely goes away. It seems to always be there it just depends on how much I feel it on any given day. Progress is progress so I am not complaining.

Easy 3 miles at BYU indoor track at average pace of 7:25.

3 easy miles around BYU campus today. Felt pretty good overall and probably averaged about 7:15 pace or so. Got hit pretty hard by a small blizzard at the end of the run. Yes, a small blizzard on March 26th. I really wish spring would just come and stay.

Easy 4 miles this morning and all felt pretty good. Averaged just under 8:00 pace overall. Still wishing spring would hurry up and get here as it was 22'F this morning. So looks like I am ready for 4 miles a day starting next week.

Easy day with my boys today. 1/2 mile with James, Jared and Jordan (4yr old). Then 2.5 miles with James. Slow and relaxed. So my first 20 mile week this week since my surgery. Not much compared to most but it is a milestone for me.

Easy 4.2 miles this morning with 2 indoors on BYU track and then 2 outdoors on icy snowy roads. Overall sub 8:00 average and felt ok. The first mile I was a bit worried as the knee hurt a little more than usual but it slowly got a little better, at least better to the point that I could ignore it. Going for around 4 miles a day this week and will see how things go. After waking up to 7 inches of snow in my driveway this morning I really was wishing winter would truly depart for good this year already.

5 miles today along the provo river trail. Averaged under 7:45 pace with last couple miles at 7:00 pace. Overall not a bad day today. Extremely busy this week but will try and get most of my miles in one way or another.

2 miles on BYU indoor track with alternating fast and slow laps. Fast laps at about 6:00 pace and slow laps about 8:00 pace. Felt decent just didn't have time to get more miles in. Probably try and run 5 miles tomorrow again.

4 miles today between 7:00 and 7:30 pace. Once the knee got warmed up things felt pretty decent. May move up to 5 miles a day in the next week or so if things are going well.

Wow, 6.5 miles today and things feel ok. I ran 1.5 mile warm-up at

about 8:30 pace and then paced someone for a two mile on their physical

fitness test to a 12:49 two mile. This felt very easy. Afterwards did a

3 mile warm down at about 8:00 pace average. Also, on my physical

fitness test today I did 92 push-ups in two minutes and 99 sit-ups in

two minutes. This gave me my highest physical fitness test score since

I joined the Army over 18 years ago. I scored 362 points on an extended

scale above the 300 maximum score. A good day overall at least

physically speaking.

5 miles today along Provo River Trail from BYU. First mile in 8:00 then gradually picked it up. Hit turn around, 2.5 miles in 19:00 and then returned in 17:17 for a 7:15 average pace overall. Felt pretty decent overall and ran the last mile in 6:30.

Only 1 easy mile today but better than none.

4 miles easy then did 1 mile in 5:35 then one more easy mile. Overall sub 7:30 average pace.

All easy miles accept did 2 miles in the middle at 13:24. Felt decent again. Knee still bugs me a bit but at least getting some ok miles in this week.

6 miles in New York with Sandhurst team preparing for competition.

Trail running at West Point New York with Sandhurst team.

Easy 3 miles in Central Park, beautiful run.

15 miles total over very hilly terrain at West point, New York during Sandhurst competition. I ran up and down hills all over the course to cheer on our team. There were parts of the course we were not allowed to follow so I had to take off and run ont he roads to try and catch up with them at different locations. Thus I ended up running 15 miles to do so. The good news is that me did not hurt any more than during a 5 mile run. It also does not hurt any more today than after a 5 mile run as well. My legs are tired but the knee feels ok. This is a great sign as I was worried I amy have done too much.

First run with Sasha since my surgery. Ran 6 miles out and back on Provo River trail. We were sub 7:30 going out and averaged 7:12 coming back. Average for 6 was 7:19 pace. Felt pretty good the whole run. The knee was ok the majority of the run. So the plan is to run 6 miles a day this week as long as the knee holds up.

Another run from Sasha's house with Sasha, Jeff and Daniel (no Mary Ann this morning?). 3 miles out and back along provo river. We averaged about 7:13 pace today. It feels good to be running along the river again with others. The knee was a little bit more stiff today than yesterday so we will see how things go tomorrow.

6 miles again on the Provo River trail with Sasha, Jeff and Daniel. we averaged right at 7:30 pace today and felt pretty good. So three dasy at 6 miles a day and the knee is holding up ok. So far so good.

4th day in a row of 6 mile runs. Averaged about 7:25 pace today with Sahs and Jeff along the Provo River. Felt pretty tired today but the knee was not really bugging me so at least that was ok. So far so good with the 6 miles a day and not having any more knee stiffness or pain than before.

Today was the 5th day in a row of 6 miles a day. Averaged 7:16 pace for 6 miles on the Provo River with Sasha, Jeff, and Daniel with the last mile in about 6:40. Legs are a little tired but the good news is that my knee has not felt any worse. So it looks like the knee is holding up well on 6 miles a day.

6 miles this morning with Jeff, Sasha, Daniel and son James. Easy run felt ok overall and averaged sub 7:30 pace. So 36 miles this week which is the most weekly miles since the week of Feb. 16th 2008. I did not realize it has been so long since I was able to do 6 miles a day average.  Hopefully I can continue to increase miles throughout the rest of this year so I can return to racing in 2010 and start competing as a Master.

6 Miles with Sasha and Jeff at 6:00am on the Provo river trail. We endud up a little faster today averaging 7:10 pace overall with second have sub 7:00 average. The knee was a little bit stiffer than normal for the first mile but them seemed to loosen up after awhile. Overall pleased with progress still and it really feels good to be running 6 miles a day and back with Sasha and Jeff again.

6 miles from BYU campus to Provo River Trail with BYU cadets. 1st mile at 8:09 and then last 5 miles in 35:13 so average pace of 7:13 or so. Knee felt better today than yesterday. legs ok with some tiredness towards the end of the run. A beautiful morning with temperature at 48 degrees. I wish every morning was just like that. I think 48-52 degrees is perfect running weather.

6 miles with Sasha and Jeff this morning along normal river trail route. Average pace of 7:10.

Ran 8 miles today at an average pace of 7:18. First mile was 8:10 and then averaged 7:10 pace for the lsat 7 miles. This included a couple of big hills as well. Funny thing is I can feel the knee more on the uphill than the downhill. It must be something with how the up hill effects the stride or impact. Overall knee felt decent and no issues afterwards throughout he day. So an 8 mile run under the belt and not too bad. I'm not sure if my knee will ever be 100% again but at least I know I can live with it if it does not get any worse.

3 miles with 2 miles at about 7:00 pace and last mile at 5:39.

6 easy miles along the Provo River Trail with Sasha, Jeff and Ben. Another beautiful morning today with temperature around 43'F. The Provo River is about as full as I have ever seen it after all of the rain this weekend. In a couple of spots it is about to run over the bank and flood the trail. Overall a pretty easy day with average pace just under 7:30 or so. Knee was a little stiffer the first mile than normal but ok after a mile or so. Afterwards went to BYU and worked out with ROTC group.

Ran 7 miles today from BYU campus with several ROTC students. First 1/2 was easy then we gradually picked things up on the way back. Mile splits below:

8:12

7:16

6:53

6:31

6:44

5:59

I slowed down during mile 6 to let someone catch up and then picked it up again the last mile. The last two half mile splits were 3:05 and 2:54. Felt pretty good today overall. I like having days like today where things seem almost normal again. I really felt like I could have gone even faster the last three miles. So total time for 7 miles was 48:50 and average sub 7:00 pace for the entire run. Another beautiful day as well! 

6 easy miles very early today (5:15am) with Sasha and Jeff. Nothing eventful and legs and knee feel ok today. Average pace was 7:17 per mile. Maybe a little longer tomorrow.

Eight miles from BYU campus along Provo River. I ran with Colby and Issac from BYU and as we were passing on the trail near Sasha's our timing was perfect and Sasha and Jeff were just getting on the trail. We ran with Sasha and Jeff until we hit our 4 mile turn around point. We ran pretty even most of the way with the last couple miles in about 6:30 pace. Overall averaged 7:07 for the eight miles. Knee was ok but a bit tired today overall. Need to run a little easier tomorrow. Feels great to get a 40 mile week in this week.

Total of 8.25 miles this morning. I ran 6 miles with Sasha, Jeff and Colby from Sasha's house at about a 7:20 average pace overall. Easy day with tired legs but knee felt ok at least.

Then at 9:30am my son Jared had a school race that they do every year where all of the kids in 1-6th grades have to run a fun run. So about 300+ kids in a 2.25 mile run. It is a pretty hilly course as well. Last year he was 29th overall and 5th for 4th graders. This year he ran a much better race. He finished 7th overall and 3rd for 4th graders. What is amazing is how strong the 4th graders are in comparison to the 5th and 6th graders. A 4th grader took first place overall and then 5th, 7th and 11th overall as well. So 4 of the top 11 were 4th graders. Infront of Jared there was one 6th grader, two 5th graders, two 4th graders, and one 3rd grader. His time was his best time as well. He ran 16:36 for 2.26 miles with an average pace of 7:22 per mile on grass and a hilly course. His splits by quarters were as follows: 1:50 (grass), 1:57 (grass), 2:07(uphill), 2:03(uphill)(7:57 mile), 1:50, 1:38(down), 1:40(down), 1:42(flat)(6:50 mile), 1:44(flat) and then 4 secs to the finish after 2.25 mile mark.

So I went to help Sasha run the FRB8K and took my son James to run as well. We needed to run 6 miles any and Sasha needed the help so why not. So I wasn't sure what I could run but I was thinking under 6:30 pace average would be good especially after lsat night. Last night was our ward Father Son camp out. We were up in the canyon and it got very cold. I normally can sleep ok in a tent but last night did not go well. Between the cold and just not being able to get comfortable I think I got about 3 hours of sleep at best.

So the knee was stiff like normal the first mile even after warming up for a slow mile. The good news is that after the first mile my legs were tired enough that I did not notice the knee as much. I was pretty tired the whole way and just tried to keep some sort of tempo going throughout. Anyway I ended up much faster than I anticipated running 30:41 for 5 miles (6:08 pace). Splits are below and I guess I can't complain about being able to run 6:08 pace for 5 miles after 6 months of no running and only 4 months into my post surgery recovery training.

1 - 5:55

2 - 6:03

Turn Around - (2.5m) 14:57

3 - 6:05

4 - 6:12

5 - 6:26

So mile 5 is when the wheels came off. My legs were shot at this point and I was feeling pretty beat. My right quad and right calf were very stiff and sore. At least the knee was not hurting. Well, I guess this is a start even if I can't even run sub 6:00 pace for  5 miles when before the accident I could run sub 6:00 for 26 miles. Over 40 miles for the week and doing good. Legs very sore but knee seems to be handling it ok, not pain free but not getting any worse. 

6 miles at 6am with Sasha, Jeff, Daniel and Colby. Normal Provo River route with beautiful weather again. I think that May is my favorite month in Utah. Legs felt completely flat today. Knee was ok, a bit stiff but not really more than normal.

8.3 miles today from BYU campus with Colby, MaryAnne and a friend of hers. We averaged 7:25 pace for the whole run. Legs still not feeling good this week. Right quad and hammy are a little sore. Need to be careful this week.

Easy 6 miles with Sasha, Jeff and Colby. Legs still flat so kept it pretty easy today. Average pace of about 7:28 overall with a 7:05 average for the last 3 miles.

Easy 9.1 miles with Colby. We ran from BYU cmapus out on the trail to Riverwoods shopping center and then back along Carterville Road. Carterville Road is a great place to run. Very quiet and shaded. I highly recommend to others. Averaged 7:35 pace just talking and taking it easy. We ran into MaryAnne about half way through the run and she joined us for the lsat few miles as well.

6 miles with Sasha, Jeff and Colby. First 3 miles at about 7:30 pace and then 2nd 3 miles at sub 7:00. Felt ok today, knee a bit stiffer than normal first mile but overall legs are a little less flat today.

James wanted to go trail running so we ran and hiked from Rock Canyon up around the back of the mountains and through Slide Canyon to the top of the Y and back down. This was not the best time of year to do this as we discovered that there was a lot of snow on the back side of the mountain still. My legs are pretty beat now. That 7+ miles is worth a lot more fatigue wise. That is a pretty tough loop. for those that are not familiar with this loop it starts at 5100 feet and climbs to 8200 feet in about 4 miles and then back down again with most of the decent coming in about only 2 miles. It is normally a very tough route without the snow. The snow made it much worse as the trail disappeared so it was pretty much a guess at where you were. At times the snow was to the point my leg would break through up to my knee. Probably not the smartest thing for me to do but it was an experience James and I won't forget and those times are priceless so it was worth it. Hopefully all is well tomorrow with the legs.

6 miles at 7:35 average pace with Sasha and Colby along the normal Provo River Trail. Legs are a bit sore from the hills on Saturday but ok. Knee was stiff as usual for the first mile or so and then was ok after that. I think I will maintain about 40-45 miles a week for the rest of May and then push up to about 50 miles a week in June if everything goes well.

9.5 mile easy run with Colby from BYU along Provo River Trail and Carterville Road. Averaged 7:27 pace overall. Felt a bit tired today but towards the end started to feel better. Finished the last 1/2 mile in 3:05.

Big group today at with Sasha. Normal 6 mile route along river with Sasha, Jeff, Colby, Tyler and we picked another up towards the end as well. We were moving a bit faster than normal today running sub 7:30 pace by the three mile turn around. Then Sasha wanted to do one of his FAT miles at about 6:00 pace so I decieded to join him and Jeff for this. I felt pretty decent so I stayed with them for the whole thing. We ran a 5:51 mile on the slight uphill section of the trail. I think we hit 1/4 splits of 89, 87, 88, 86. After that we slowed down so we could all group back up. We ended up running 7:08 average for the 6 miles with the last 3 miles at an average pace of 6:48. Feels good to run sub 6:00 pace every once in awhile again and the knee handled it ok as well.

Easy run with Colby and Vern along Provo River Trail and then Carterville Road. Averaged 7:11 pace overall with the last 7 miles at 7:05 pace average getting a little faster each mile with last mile in just under 6:40. Good day to be a runner!

Easy 6 miles from Sasha's house with a big group of 6 today. Ran average pace of 7:34 relaxed and talking with Sasha, Jeff, Colby, Tyler and Vern. Knee ok but lower back was stiff for some reason.

I was helping with the ROTC "George Q" Cannon today for the start of the Run13 Smile Center Memorial 10K and 5K in Orem. Since I was there I decided to run the 10K since I needed to run 6 miles today anyway. Considering this was a first year race it had a pretty good and fast crowd going after the first place prize money of $100. There were several BYU Track runners present in both races along with Seth Wold in the 5K and Josh McAdams in the 10K. Obviously Josh McAdams won the 10K just running with the other BYU lead runner and then outkicking him at the end with a time of 31 something if I remember right. In the 5K Seth Wold won with a slow time as he was pacing the female BYU runner Sarah ???. He was first in 17:30 and she was first female and second overall with a 17:32. After that times dropped off a bit but overall another great race by Jeff Gehring and Run13. I easily think they are the best race directors around right now. So on to my race report.

I wanted this to be a tempo of sorts but just try and stay fairly comfortable and see if I could run under 39:00. The legs were not feeling great but overall I met my goal of breaking 39:00.  The conditions were a bit on the warm and very windy at the start. It was a big loop course with almost no elevation change so potentially a fast course. However, we found out very quickly the wind was going to be a beast early on and at the end. The first mile was into a pretty decent right front cross wind. It didn't feel terrible but you could feel it for sure. Right from the start 4 runners took off together and I was all by myself in 5th. I could hear the first female, a BYU runner, just behind me for a little while but I was not sure how far back as I did not look back. I think the first 2 miles were a gradual up as we were running towards Provo Canyon. Just before the 1 mile mark we turned directly towards Provo Canyon and met the wind straight in the face. At this point you could feel the full force of the wind and it was pretty brutal. We were most certainly climbing ever so gradually and into a nasty head wind. This mile really took a lot more energy out of me than I was planning on. Still all by myself and thinking I could hear someone not far behind. In my mind I kept thinking it must be the BYU runner and top female and was hoping I could maintain my pace as long s possible and try not to get chicked. After a little over two miles into the wind we turned into a neighborhood and know for the next few miles we would at least have a crossing tailwind. This was good news but I could still feel the legs hurting from the effort into the wind. The bad news was the last mile was back into the stiff head wind. I struggled during this last mile with the wind and was expecting to get passed by the lead female at any moment. I refused to look back an see if I was correct. I made it to the finish in 38:47 and actually did not get passed. After I finished I was correct that the lead female runner, from BYU, was the next person to finish after me. She ended up about 30 seconds back and she was 5th overall. So overall pretty pleased with 4th overall and 1st in my age group considering where I am at in my comeback. I still have a long ways to go to but I am happy that I was able to enjoy this race even with the challenge of the wind and running all alone the entire run. Hopefully this will become more like marathon pace eventually versus threshold pace right now. Anyway another day I was given the blessing to run and race so no complaints whatsoever. My splits are below:

Mile 1	6:00 slight up and crossing head wind
Mile 2	6:20 slight up and very strong head wind (this killed)
Mile 3	6:10 recovering from head wind with legs dead
Mile 4	6:12 just trying to hold pace
Mile 5	6:25 turned into a crossing head wind the second half of this mile
Mile 6	6:26 slight up and with a brutal head wind again (just wanted to get to the finish)
.2 miles	1:14 so able to finish at about 6:08 pace even with head wind and dead legs

 

Ran 6 miles with Sasha, Colby and Tyler from Sasha's house on the Provo River Trail. Easy run but still averaged just under 7:30 pace overall. Then rushed home to pick up James and Jared to drive to American Fork for them to run the Harrison Memorial Day 1 mile run. Warmed up .5 with Jared and then paced Jared for the mile. Jared and James both ran PRs with James running 5:19 and Jared running 6:29. Josh McAdams was there again and he won with a 4:10 mile. Talking with him afterwards this was part of his interval work for today. I asked him if the course was faster or slower than what he would expect on the track and he said he thinks it was probably about 6-8 seconds slower than he could run on the BYU track right now for a time trial effort. Then ran .7 with Jared afterwards for a total of 8.2 miles today. For some reason my inner quads are fairly sore. I will have to watch it this week.

10 miles today from BYU campus with Colby at average pace of 7:24. We ran the normal route out to Provo River Trail to Provo Canyon area and then back along the river. We started slow and gradually picked it up as usual. Pretty windy going out today but coming back was nice. Legs were pretty tight overall today especially the quads. Knee had normal stiffnes and pain during the first mile as usual. Also had some pain in my right ankle. I must have done something to irritate it this weekend. I will have to continue to watch things closely this week. Trying to get in about 45 miles this week. I will be in Panama all next week but still hope to get in at least 40 miles if possible. Has anyone run in Panama City, Panama before?

6 miles with Sasha and Colby. Very easy run with Sasha and I discussing Lydiard training the whole way. Average pace about 7:32 today. Then went to BYU and did push-ups and sit-ups and then ran 1 mile pacing a group at 6:20 pace. I was able to do 87 push-ups in 2 minutes which is a bit less than where I was about a month ago but I did 103 sit-ups in 2 minutes which is the most I have done. Legs felt ok today.

Easy, or mostly easy 8.4 miles with Colby and Vern from BYU campus along normal Provo River route. Legs felt flat and tired today but pace was actually decent. Averaged about 7:16 pace overall with last two miles at 6:30 pace.

So I am off to New York tomorrow for a couple days and then down to Panama for a week. I hope to get in as much running as possible but we will see how things go. I hope it is safe to run in Panama by myself. I will try and blog from my hotel if possible. 

After a very early wake up a delayed flight due to engine trouble and fighting through rush hour traffic in New York City I finally made it to West Point. I was tired but I still went for a 6 mile run. Average pace was 7:15. The humidity was killer as I finished feeling like I had jumped in the pool. Happy to get a run in after a long day. The next couple days in New York and then off to Panama where the heat and humidity will make New York feel nice.

Ran in the evening again today after finishing work. It was pretty warm and humid and I thought I would be sluggish after a long day. However, after I got going I felt ok so I picked it up and ran a lot fastet than I thought I would. I ran along the Hudson River at West Point. It was about 78'F and 75% humidity. Average pace was 6:44 with splits below.

6:59

6:31

6:30

6:13

6:19

7:37 cool down

Not a bad day in New York and finished the week off with 46 miles. Knee is a bit stiff so I am glad tomorrow is Sunday.

On my way to te JFK airport in NYC I decieded to stop and go for a run in Van Cortland Park. This was an awesome place to run in the middle of NYC. It was dirt trails in the middle of dense shaded woods. Amazing that I was secluded on a trail run in the middle of New York City. 4 easy but great miles.

4 miles on tradmill in Panama Hotel and then was way too hot so went for 2 more miles in the middle of down town Panama City. Very congested and busy in the city but it was not as bad as I thoght it would be. Off to the Panama countryside for the next couple days.

4 miles in the mountains of Panama. I ran 2 miles up hill and then turned and ran 2 miles down hill pushing the pace. Up was at 7:45 pace up a pretty steady incline a bit steeper than Provo Canyon. Then came down 2 miles in 11:15.

6 miles on the island of Bocas Del Toro in Panama. Out and back course along the beach at sub 7:00 average.

3 easy miles after long flight home from Panama.

Easy 8.45 miles at average pace of 7:19. I ran with James along Carterville road.

Ran with James and some of Timpview XC team again. We ran a very hilly trail run with total of 8.6 miles including run to and from home. Overall about 4 miles of climbing pretty steep. I think my legs will feel it for sure.

I went up to Midway and ran the BAM 9K trail race. I was very sore from yesterdays hill run and this was a very hilly trail run that was pretty much pure torture on dead legs. I am not sure why I do this to myself other than I love to run and race even if I am not in great shape and it hurts I somehow still enjoy it.

Went to watch other bloggers at the Utah Valley Marathon. Ran the last few miles with several. Ran with Seth a little at the end and watched him win the race. Then went back and ran with Jeff a little, he finished 5th and just missed breaking 2:30. After that went back and ran with Sasha. Then ran back and saw Kory, Jeff and Walter and finally ran in with MaryAnne. The FRB had 5 of the top 10 spots overall. Great job by all today. It was fun to see everyone.

Easy 7.5 miles today with James. Hit some trails around our neighborhood that I didnt even know existed until today.

6.5 miles in the morning with James and Timpview HS XC team. Easy pace along river.

Then 2 more miles in PM with James, Jared and Benjamin at 8:30 pace. 

Very easy 4.1 miles today along a trail loop from Timpview with James. Things are feeling pretty good with the knee overall.

6 easy miles today. Tomorrow I will try and get 10 miles and see how the knee handles it.

Ran with James and the the Timpview HS XC team again. Easy pace averaging 7:30 pace overall with a gradual pick up the last couple miles. Will go for a longer run Saturday morning.

10 miles from Bridal Veil Falls along the Bonneville Shoreline Trail back to Rock Canyon park and then to my house with James and then added two more with Jared. Easy pace overall but a good long run.

Easy 7.5 miles total today with James and 2 miles with Jared. Easy pace just under 8 min average.

Another run with Timpview High XC and James. We ran a route along the hills to the Y trail parking lot and back. We also did 5x hill repeats as well. Overall 11.3 miles of very hilly running.

Easy run today with James and some Timpview XC runners again. Then ran more with Jared later in the afternoon in the 90' temps. Knee was pretty tired and sore from all of the hills yesterday. About 27 miles in three days so I may end up with over 50 miles this week.

7 miles easy with James and Timpview XC again today. Knee felt better today at least.

11.2 miles total today. Ran another longer hilly run with James and Timpview XC. Nice hilly run and the knee feels pretty good.

Total of 9.65 miles today and a ice soak in the Provo River. Ran with James and did a 1 mile tempo in middle at sub 6:00. Then ran three more with Jared. Overall a good day and a great week. I ran 55 miles this week which is great and the knee is ok.

Went up to Provo Canyon with James and Timpview XC team. We ran a very hilly loop called Grizzly. Between the wind and the hills this was a pretty tough run. I have really discovered that trail running is so much better than hitting the pavement all of the time. Afterwards we soaked in the Provo River for about 15 minutes and froze.

Another run with Timpview XC and James. I really find it nice to be able to run with James and the team. How many Dad's can actually run with their son and their high school team. What a blessing it is!

Longest mileage day in a very long time and the good news is the knee seemed to handle it ok. I can feel it is tired and a little stiff but ok. Ran with James and some other team members today on a long easy run and averaged about 7:30 pace for the whole thing. It is neat to see James coming along so well. On the last couple of runs I am starting to see that the days that I can beat him in a 5K are numbered.

Easy 6.4 miles with James and some with Jared.

Easy but hilly runs with James and Jared. Easy pace and knee feels good.

Went with James tot he Provo Freedom Festival 5K. We warmed up for just under 2 miles and then lined up at the start. James was entered in the race and I was a bandit/pacer. There were several other boys from the Timpview XC team as well. I started a bit behind James and the others but caught up around mile 1 and then tried to help pace James and two fo the other boys. Mile 1 was a 5:48 and felt very relaxed. Mile 2 was a 5:55 and this is when I slowed up and helped keep James and the others at a sub 6:00 pace. I felt good and felt like I could have run about 5:45 pace probably without killing myself. The 3rd mile was all uphill along 900 East so a pretty tough mile. We ran a 6:10 mile even with the uphill. I was hoping to keep the boys sub 6:00 but with the hill it was a bit too hard. However, I still felt like I could have hit a 5:45-50 if I started to really push here. I jumped off the course before the finish. James crossed the line in about 18:44 with two of his teammates just in front of him by a few seconds. So a good run for James today. Afterwards we ran the uphill 2.5 miles to our house and I and to quickly shower and change to get o the parade. Overall felt really good today and think on a good course and with a hard effort I can break 18:00 for a 5K right now.

53 miles for the week which makes two weeks over 50 miles and the knee seems to be holding up well. 

10 miles mostly with James and Timpview XC. Easy pace with some hills and then 2 miles with Jared. We then ran a 400 in 1:18 at the end focusing on running relaxed.

Not sure if I would categorize todays miles as easy but not sure what else to put them under. I ran just over 10 miles today with the team. James is out of town but I am still helping and running with the team. Today we ran from Timp up Rock Canyon. It is all uphill for about 4.5 miles with the grades between 8-12% on very rocky rough terrain. This was a killer both for the quads and aerobically. I wanted to stop but I made it all the way to the top without stopping which is an accomplishment in and of itself. On the way back we ran over to the cliff of insanity and did 4x hill repeats up it. It is so steep that you can literally reach out and touch the ground while running up it. This was a tough day all around but enjoyable in a way only a runner would understand. My legs will be feeling it tomorrow.

Easy 10.5 miles total today. Some with Timp XC and then some with Jared. Might get 60 miles this week if the knee holds up, we will see.

Today was a good day. I ran a total of 12.25 miles. Ran a 20 minute tempo on a 1K loop on the grass at BYU fields. Goal was to get faster each lap and not go any faster than what felt like 10K pace at most. We ended up covering 3.25 miles or just over 5 laps in the 20 minutes. Our 1K splits were 4:00, 3:55, 3:50, 3:49, 3:42 with a 5K split of 19:16. I was very happy with this on the wet grass with multiple turns. 1/2 mile splits from garmin were: 3:16, 3:09, 3:07, 3:04, 3:03, 2:57 and then the last 1/4 in 1:23. Overall a good day. Even ran 1K  afterwards in barefeet and it felt great. The rest was all easy running.

Well I got 12 miles in today with an hour of ultimate frisbee in the middle. I wore my GPS during the ultimate game and it recorded 4 miles of running furing the game. Legs are pretty tired and knee is a bit fatigued but I had fun. Probably not the best thing for the knee but it actually did ok.

Ran this evening with James. We went up and ran the Deer Creek Resevoir trail. This is a hilly route alog the resevoir at almost 6000 feet. We did an out and back and I picked up the last two miles to 6:30 pace. This run puts me at 63.25 miles for the week. I am pretty happy with the knee. Still not 100% pain free but I can live with it.

Ok, so I have been off the blog for awhile. Between work, life and not feeling motivated to blog I just needed a break I guess.

So I will do my best to stay back for awhile. I have appreciated the support from others via messages even if I did not acknowledge it. Thanks to all and I will try and do better to reciprocate.

So on to the race report. I was not 100% sure what I could do but I figured a sub 23:00 was possible so that was my only goal. Well and I guess I wanted to try and win the masters category as well. The good news is that I accomplished both missions. As a bonus our family ended up going home with two turkeys and three pies.

Before the start Sasha asked if I wanted to run with him at about 5:30 pace. I was not too excited about that as I was not sure I would be up to 5:30 pace. However, after the gun I was just trying to relax and not go too fast and I was right in front of Sasha. I was worried I was going too fast but it felt pretty good. I kept telling myself to relax and try to slow down a little even though I felt good. Sasha was right with me still. We went through the first mile in 5:28 so right at the pace Sasha wanted me to run with him. He was tucked in right behind me and I figured he would go by me at any moment but I guess he was still a little sicker than he thought as he just stayed there. I still felt ok so I kept focusing on staying relaxed as best as possible and just try to hold the pace. The good news is me knee was not bothering me or at least I don't recall it hurting. We went through 2 miles in 11:05 so a 5:37 split. Not too bad but I was starting to feel it now. Sasha started to fall behind a little at this point and I knew he must not be feeling good. I tried to latch on to a runner right in front of me and just try and survive at this point. I was not feeling good so I was not aggressive enough and just sat with the guy in front of me. We went through mile three in 17:00 so a 5:55 split. This was a bit dissappointing as I knew I had slowed down but now I was a bit more concerned about not making my sub 23:00 goal. I passed the guy in front of me and tried to focus on catching the next guy that was a ways off. I caught him and passed with about 400 to go but then he passed me with 200 or so to go and I could not go with him or at least I did not feel like it at this point. I ended up with a 22:45 finish and a last mile split of 5:45 so I was able to pick it up by 10 seconds. Overall I am pretty pleased with the result. I have been doing about 30-40 miles a week tops and with no real fast stuff. The knee has been doing good so far. It feels different than the other kne but not in a painful I can't run kind of way. I think it may always be like that and if so I can live with it. It especially feels stiffer/different on the early morning cold weather runs lately.

I am happy to be back racing again even if it is not quite as fast as I was before. I think with time I can possibly get close to where I was before. We will see how things go this winter and spring and if all goes well maybe I will attempt a spring/summer marathon.

Again thanks for all of the support and sorry for being gone fo so long from the blog. For those that have had micro fracture surgery I am proof that a comeback can be made and hopefully I can keep proving that in the future. So at one point i did not have much hope but now 9 months after I started running again and about 16 months post surgery things are finally starting to look pretty good.

4 easy miles this morning around BYU campus. The legs are a little sore but not too bad. Knee is a little stiff but ok. About 7:45 average pace.

I ran 16 miles today as part of the game ball run with BYU Army ROTC cadets where we receive the BYU vs. Utah game ball from the UofU Army ROTC cadets at he point of the mountain and then run it to BYU for the game. The average pace for the 16 miles I ran was 7:15 pace with the majority actually at sub 7:00. This is the most I have run in one day since my knee surgery. Overall things felt good and today I am a little sore but not too bad. The pace felt easy even though the legs are not used to going that far.

One of our cadets ran the entire thing and we even added a little at the end so he could get a full marathon in. He has never run over 13 miles before but can run a sub 10:00 2 mile. We finished the marathon in 3:11 and he felt great. The pace was very easy for him and he had no issues whatsoever. He only runs about 30 miles a week on average right now as well. I think with proper training he could be a pretty fast marathon runner.

6 easy miles around 7-7:15 pace overall around BYU campus with cadets. Left hip really hurts for some reason. Hopefully just a glitch from saturday. Wanting to try and get at least 45 miles this week.

8 miles this AM with first 4 at 7:30 pace and then next 4 miles with 1 min at 5:30 pace and 1 min easy for the whole 4 miles. Averaged 6:30 pace for the 4 miles. Bad news is that since Monday my left hip has been hurting and today it hurt the entire run and I was hurting all day long. Really bad pain especially after sitting for awhile and then getting up to walk. Not sure what it is but not happy about it.

Did not run today as the left hip is still killing me. It hurts with every step and is the worst after sitting for awhile and then getting up. Looks like I will need to take a couple days off and see how things progress. So I start blogging again and I get injured, not what I was hoping for.

Took another day off as hip still hurt to jog on it and a little walking. However, it felt alot better today than yesterday so it is on the mend hopefully.

Another rest day. Hip is feeling a lot better today but still feel it off and on. Maybe by Monday it will be ready to go again.