Jeff McClellan's running blog

Thu, Nov 27, 2008

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100

The race this morning was very competitive. There were a bunch of the top guys from the blog, as well as some fast local guys, and some guys that go to BYU and UVU. The race started off fast. I was up at the front with Sean Sundwall, Nick McCombs, Reagan Frey (BYU), Josh Rohatinsky (dropped out at 3 miles), and some guy that runs for SUU (didn't cross the finish line). A little over a mile into the race, the other guys dropped me and I fell 30-50 meters behind. I decided that I would be patient and wait until about 2.5 miles before I would make a move to try and catch them all. So, at 2.5 I made a move and slowly started catching the rest of the guys. My problem is that I let them get too much of a gap on me before I started trying to catch them. Anyhow, I slowly gained ground on them, and I caught Reagan a little ways past the 3 mile mark. He stayed with me until we made it to about 3.5 and then dropped off. I then tried to catch Nick, and I made ...

Wed, Nov 26, 2008

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100

I ran with Sasha, Derek, and one other guy today. We ran 8 miles, and then Sasha and I ran 2 more to finish up with 10 miles.

Tue, Nov 25, 2008

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100

The Springville Cross Country team ran a 1600 time trial today. My original plan was to run it with them, but my legs are still feeling tired after Saturday, so I decided to only do the second half of it with them. I ran a 2:18 second half (1:11, 1:07) to help pace the top runner for the team to a 4:37. It is his pr by 1 second. After doing this, I ran more miles to finish with 10 for the day.

Mon, Nov 24, 2008

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100

My legs still feel thrashed after my Saturday tempo. All I did was ride the bike home, and then run 5 miles in a little over 39 minutes.

Sat, Nov 22, 2008

Sat, 22 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100

Today's workout was brutal. I ran with Sasha, and after a warm-up of about 2.75 we went into our tempo. We ran it on the same course as the 5 mile tempo. Sasha ran the first 10 miles, and I ran 15, which meant that I had to go back and forth on that 2.5 mile stretch 6 times (5 turn-arounds... yuck). Anyhow, here are my splits:

5:43 - Just getting warmed up

5:36 - Sasha is pushing the pace

5:39 - I take the lead at 2.5 (first turn-around in 14:08) and it stays that way

5:33 - Not trying to push the pace too much.

5:37 - Second turn-around at the finish of this mile (splits: 2.5 miles - 14:00; 5 miles - 28:08)

5:28 - Got confused and thought we had slowed down, so I ran a 1:19 final quarter to this ...

Fri, Nov 21, 2008

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100

I had to get up early this morning in order to work on a project for school that I didn't find out about until last night, so I didn't sleep much. I felt fine, so I hope that I am not too tired tomorrow. I just ran 8 miles, because I am trying not to get my mileage too high right now. I want it to be in the 70's, but I don't want it too high. Maybe early next year I will start getting my mileage up into the 80's again. I finished my run in 57:36.

Thu, Nov 20, 2008

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100

I ran hill repeats with the cross country team today. They were short, and I didn't run too hard on them because I was thinking about my workout on Saturday, and I didn't want to kill myself sprinting up a hill. Afterwards I ran more to get a total of 12 miles. While I was running, a dog decided to try and play with me and it ran up by my side. I tried running with it, but it kept running into me. Finally I started playing with it; I threw a stick, and when it looked the opposite direction I took off sprinting. The dog tried to follow, but it was not fast enough to keep up. After about a quarter mile, once the dog gave up, I slowed down again. Total time was a little over 1:32:00.

Wed, Nov 19, 2008

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100

I ran 7 miles with Sasha this morning. We ran pretty slow, and finished in 58:33. I was feeling kind of tired all day, probably due to running almost 16 miles yesterday, so I didn't run again after I rode the bike home. The biking gave me a three mile equivalent. I hope to be able to get in 11 or 12 miles tomorrow.

Tue, Nov 18, 2008

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100

I ran mile repeats with the cross country team today. I just stayed with the guys at the front, so it wasn't all out. We finished the first in 5:24. We started out too fast, and then needed to speed up the second half. I ran the next two in 5:18. The first and third repeats were run on the track, and the second was run mostly on the grass. We had about 4:00 rest between repeats. I then talked with the guys for about 20 minutes before finishing up, running a few extra miles to get to 10 for the day. After finishing I found out that Kimia wasn't going to be able to pick me up, so I had to run most of the way home before she was able to make her way over to where I was at to get me.

Mon, Nov 17, 2008

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100

I ran easy today. I ran the first few miles with the cross country team, and then added on more after they finished. Total of 11 miles in 1:21:51.

Sat, Nov 15, 2008

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100

todays run was really kind of weird. I started the run with the intention of holding about 7:00 pace and maybe speeding up to as fast as 6:40 pace. I did not feel up to running a long tempo like I have been lately. Instead, my first mile was under 7:00 and I felt like I was holding back. After that, I averaged between 6:10 and 6:27 for the next 8+ miles until I made a turn around so that I could end at 15 miles for the day. The whole time I really just felt like I was cruising. I didn't feel like I was pushing the pace at all. When I turned around, I decided that when I hit my next turn around in two miles I would run a two mile tempo just to see how it felt. The next thing I know, I have sped up unconsciously and I run a 6:02 mile, followed by a 6:03. I still felt like I was not even trying to push the pace at all. So, when I hit my last turn around a little over 11 miles into my run I really turned it on, and I went flying back down the river ...

Fri, Nov 14, 2008

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100

I took it pretty easy today. I ran up hobble creek canyon for five miles, and then ran back down to the high school. I finished in 1:18:36.

Thu, Nov 13, 2008

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100

Today I ran with the cross country team. After a warm-up we ran 5x800 with 200 recovery plus some standing around (about 2:30 for the recovery). We took it out pretty slow, and got through the first repeat in 2:40. This was followed by a 2:32, 2:23 (short by about 10 seconds or so) 2:33, 2:27. I just stayed with the top guys on the team on all of them except the last, and on that one I was still trying to keep the distance close, so I wasn't going all out. We ran all of them on grass, with some winding trails mixed in on a few of them. After this I talked with some of the guys for a while before running approximately 8.75 miles home from the high school in 1:04:15. I guessed the mileage based on maps, and mileage markers that are on the road so I think I am pretty close.

Wed, Nov 12, 2008

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100

I ran with Sasha this morning. We took our run really slow as we were discussing discrimination and whether or not straight men should be allowed to form civil unions if gay men (or women) are allowed to. We accidentally passed our mark so I think that we ran farther than 7 miles, but not by much. We finished our run in 58:45.

In the evening I ran another 6.25 miles alone in 48:56. Nothing special to report.

Tue, Nov 11, 2008

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100

I slept so much yesterday that I had trouble falling asleep at night, but I felt fine today. I ran 10 miles, getting in the first few miles with the cross country team, and then finishing up on my own. I finished in 1:14:57.

Mon, Nov 10, 2008

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100

I don't know it it was something that I ate, or if my body just shut down because I haven't gotten much sleep lately, (probably a combination of the two) but I woke up feeling like garbage this morning. I couldn't function at all, and on top of it I was super congested (change in weather?) and had a headache and a stomach ache. After making a few attempts to get going and failing miserably I finally decided to call in sick and stay home. So, I slept all morning and by evening the stomach ache went away (but not until after I had finished my run). I kept the run easy, finishing 11.1 miles in 1:23:25 with a standing vpb in the middle where I didn't stop my watch.

Sat, Nov 08, 2008

Sat, 08 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100

I ran with a bunch of people this morning. After about a 2.5 mile warm-up Sasha and I started a 10 mile tempo. Michelle came with us for the first mile, and then did a few more mile repeats (sometimes 2000 repeats) with us at certain points of the tempo. We ran the 5 mile tempo twice again and we finished in 56:30, (56:38 for Sasha) which is much faster than last Saturday. Here are our mile splits (miles with the same coloring were run along the same portion of the 5 mile tempo).

5:47 - Just getting warmed into the tempo (1:32 first quarter)

5:43 -

5:40 - First turn around halfway through

5:46 - Slowed a bit so Michelle could stay with us

5:43 - Halfway split 28:39. Second turn around at the end of this mile

5:37 - Michelle ran the second half with us, but we ...

Fri, Nov 07, 2008

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100

I ran on my own today, as I got to practice too late to run with the team. They only ran about 3 miles so it really wasn't a big deal. I ran a big loop up into mapleton and then out to hobble creek canyon before heading back to the high school to finish up 10 miles in 1:15:00.

Thu, Nov 06, 2008

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100

I ran with the cross country team today. We did a workout, where we did a little loop on the high school grounds before going hard up a hill. We would take the downhill easy, and then pick it up once we started the loop again. It was a total of 2 miles, but I probably did no more than 1.5 miles of it at marathon pace. I then ran more on my own at the end to finish up with 10 miles on the day. Total time was a little over 1:13:00.

Wed, Nov 05, 2008

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100

I ran with Sasha this morning. I needed to get back to the house sooner, so I was only able to run 6 miles this morning. We did it pretty slow, finishing in 52:04. I was planning on getting another run in the afternoon, but by the time I finished biking home, I needed to get ready to go somewhere else and I did not get back until it was too late to get a second run in. Darn, two days in a row without that many miles.

Tue, Nov 04, 2008

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100

Today was a weird day. The plan was to run 6 miles and then come back and run with Kimia while she biked for 4 miles. I accidentally overshot my mark and ended up getting in 6.25 miles by the time I made it home. I was not surprised to see that Kimia was not ready to leave yet when I got there, but I was surprised when she immediately pulled me inside to talk. Her employers did not want her to leave (we were going to move) and they offered an incentive for her to stay. So, we talked about that for a while, and by the time we finished she did not want me to run any more and she begged me to stay at home. So, no more miles for me, but I did ride my bike home, and I rode it pretty hard, so it is not all bad (3 mile equivalent from biking).

Mon, Nov 03, 2008

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100

I ran 10 miles this afternoon after school. I went a little faster than normal in part because I was talking to one of the guys on the Cross Country team, and I didn't realize how fast we were going. After running 6 miles with Mark, I finished up the run on my own, finishing 10 miles in 1:08:35. I also biked home today, getting in an equivalent of 3 running miles (10 miles total biking).

Sun, Nov 02, 2008

Sun, 02 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100

for those of you that know my brother Andrew (probably from the Wasatch Back Relay) he ran at his district meet yesterday to try and qualify for the state championships next Saturday. It is a huge meet, and it can be quite difficult to qualify. Andrew has been running times all year that have indicated that he had a very good shot at qualifying this year. However, he got sick a couple of days ago, and despite having run a 16:44 5k last week on a course that is not the fastest around and being on a much faster course yesterday, he ran his worst race of the year, finishing in 17:50 for 5k, good for 93rd place. His teammate whom he beat by 3 seconds last week, qualified for state fairly comfortably finishing in 17th (30 qualify for state). Races like that really suck. You train for so long to try and reach certain goals, and you feel like you should be able to reach those goals, yet then at the last minute a wrench gets thrown in your face and it feels like all of your preparation is for naught. I know ...

Sat, Nov 01, 2008

Sat, 01 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100

I ran with Sasha this afternoon. We did a warm-up followed by a 10 mile tempo at just under 6:00 pace, running the 5 mile tempo twice. We started off a little fast, hitting the first mile in 5:44. We then slowed it down, and ran 5:55, 5:55, 5:51 over the next three miles. Sasha then asked if we could slow down just a little bit, and I slowed it down too much, going through the next mile in 6:05 (29:30 through 5 miles). I then picked it back up a bit to make up the lost time, and we ran the next 4 miles in 5:53, 5:53, 5:56, 5:52. Sasha was hurting, probably due to running quarters yesterday, so I was trying to motivate him to keep up pace so that we could at least hit the second half in the same time as the first. We only needed a 5:56 over the last mile in order to make that goal, and we were slightly faster than that pace with 400 left. I then picked it up to try and pull Sasha a bit faster, and we finished the last mile in 4:48 to finish the last 5 miles in ...

Fri, Oct 31, 2008

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 05:00:00 +0100

I was really tired last night, and I went to bed at 9:00. I didn't get up until 7:00 this morning. If I had gotten up any later I probably would have been late for school. Anyhow, I ran 5.5 miles this afternoon with the Cross Country team. They are still working out together because they are running at Foot Locker in December. After we finished I went out for another 5 miles, after which I rode the bike home for a 3 mile running equivalent (10 miles total).

Thu, Oct 30, 2008

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 05:00:00 +0100

I ran 8 miles this morning with Sasha, finishing in 1:01:19. My leg, which has been bothering me off and on since May, is feeling better. I am hoping that I can stop worrying about it soon. I will run more this afternoon, and I will ride the bike home after that.

I ran about 3.5 miles with the Cross Country team this afternoon. I was going to ride the bike home, but Kimia offered to pick me up, so I get a break today.

Wed, Oct 29, 2008

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 05:00:00 +0100

I only rode the bike home today, so that gave me a 3 mile running equivalent. After getting home, I ran 10 miles. I only timed the first 9 miles, and I finished in 1:06:07 finishing at home. I then ran another mile after I got home.

Tue, Oct 28, 2008

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 05:00:00 +0100

I took it pretty easy today since I went a little quicker than planned yesterday and I rode the bike quite a bit. I finished somewhere in the 1:17:00 range for 10 miles. I am unsure about the total time because I accidentally cleared my watch before I finished.

Mon, Oct 27, 2008

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 05:00:00 +0100

I took the pace on today's run a little faster than normal. I went up hobble creek canyon at just over 7:00 pace for 4.5 miles, and then came back faster. On the way back I started chasing a lady on a bike for a little while, until she turned on a side street. I finished up running 9 miles in 1:00:49. I also rode the bike to school and home again. This gave me a 6 mile biking equivalent (18 miles total).