Turn your rut into a groove.

am--3.25 Tortoise Road out-and-back w/ a nice group of kiddos. First day of xc practice. We had a great group of kids come out. There is a good feeling to this group. I'm excited to see who steps up this year. 

am--5.25 Barefoot grass loops w/ 8 x striders in the middle. 15 warm and 15 cool. The running was briskish, but a good group held together, and some decent chat happened. Proud moment of the day: a girl was talking about how she had to miss a bit of time at the beginning of summer practice for trek and family stuff. She was glad that if she was going to miss something, it would be the "easy" stuff and not workouts. Fearless. RHR--49.

am--4.5 A nice run up past Maverick into the desert. It's fun to run and chat w/ the kids. We need to work on letting everyone's goofiness out. RHR--56 (A little high. More sleep is the prescription.)

am--3.5 Dogtown stroll. We took it easy today. Finished w/ striders. The group of girls running together is bigger than ever. I love it. RHR--52.

am--5.5 Pine View Park neighborhood loop. It was the longer run for the week. We went and picked up Meskerem, which really cheered her up, and the girls looked at a goat or something. We finished briskly as we got back to the park. RHR--50.

pm--7 Default Tready Fartlek. I decided to watch Kershaw pitch while I ran. He was pitching a gem, but the Dodger bats were making Jaime Garcia look like Bumgarner. The 3-minute fartlek sections were in the mid-7s. 

pm--6 Simulated the progressive run that Holt did w/ the girls this morning. I had a department meeting today and will finish that up tomorrow. Felt pretty good on the 3 progressive miles--8:00, 7:40, and 7:20.

pm--4.5 A decent run w/ 8 x 100m striders in the middle. Nothing fancy. I'm excited to get back to practice tomorrow. 

am--6 Parkway Loop w/ Old Millcreek extension. It was good to be back to practice w/ the kiddos. We were light in numbers. The company was good nevertheless. Now I have to try pretzels dipped in ranch, brown sugar on a banana, and a scoop of jam in my cereal. RHR--51. 

am--4.5 Nice little run up into the desert w/ striders afterwards. We chatted about states' names are good names for pets. The numbers are slim right now. Hopefully, it's just summer stuff. RHR--52.

am--4 Coral Canyon Fartlek (3 x 3min. w/ equal recovery). I ran w/ the girls, and they rocked it, packed tight, and shared the load. The only time things broke up a bit were on the wicked undulations. 

pm--4 Anasazi to the gate w/ Tom. It's been a few weeks since we've been out in the hills together. The conversation was as cosmic as ever. I really enjoy his friendship. 

pm--4 Had a late night last night, so I didn't get out in the morning. Then we had a fun-filled day as a fam. I ended up running in the evening, and 4 was all my legs would give me. 

am--7 Towards Bracken's Loop. It was a nice, slow burner w/ some tired girls. For some reason, this run is always difficult for me. Today was better than it has been in the past. When we got back to the elementary, I added about 15 more minutes to get where we would have been without the girls' miles from the weekend. RHR--55 (a little high due to poor sleeping habits over the weekend).

am--4.5 Barefoot Grass Loops w/ striders. Nice pack today w/ nearly all the girls together for the last 10 minutes or so. Kids Club went pretty well. RHR--55 (still a little high).

am--6 Dirt-Mile Progression. We went up to the dirt mile and did 4 progressively faster laps, nothing crazy. The girls packed really well and are really showing growth from last year at this time. What a group. I actually had to hold a few of them back a time or two. RHR--55.

am--5 Run Into the Desert w/ striders. We had a sparse group today--darn you, trek. The run was ok. My legs are a bit tired from yesterday. Also had to deliver some bad news. RHR--54.

am--6.5 Dam Road via Hell's Hole. We had a smaller group, but we had fun. Felt pretty easy today. Must've been in the flow. RHR--53.

pm--6 Anasazi to the Homestead w/ Tom. I can't pass up these Friday afternoon runs w/ my cosmic chum. It was hot, and, I'm not going to lie, we walked a bit on some inclines. It was a joyous run. 

am--8 Ran down the marathon course from SC to accompany my neighbor. I probably wouldn't have gone quite that far if I was on my own, after yesterday, but it is what it is. Good week. RHR--54.

am--8 Dino Tracks w/ striders after. The run was good and difficult at the same time. Actually, the beginning--the climb up to the trail--was hard. I ended up doubling back for a few girls. It was awesome to see the girls packed up and running together. What great kids. RHR--53.

am--4 Grass loops. Nice pack and fun discussion about t-rexes. We have a great group of kids this year. RHR--52.

am--7 Dirt-Mile Progressive Run. We had a good pack today--minus 2-3 girls--and stuck together pretty well. 4 laps were ~8:00, 7:50, 7:40 and 7:30. It's fun to see people continue to believe in themselves when things get shaky. Days like this require some visualization to really prime the pump. RHR--54.

am--5 Middleton w/ some cave exploring on the way back. Good run today. The girls had fun acting goofy. RHR--53.

am--6 Chuckwalla Loop. It was a great morning to be running. As usual on the trails, we had some people take some wrong turns. (I'm sure it was the faulty instructions from yours truly.) Also had the privilege of running w/ Kaylee B. A. That was nice. I hope she has a wonderful xc season. RHR--52.

pm--7 Another 60-minute run w/ 7 x 1 min. pickups in the middle. They were anywhere between 7:15 and 7:30 w/ 3 min. recovery. Just something to get the legs moving a bit. RHR--52.

am--9 Nice long run into the fields. We had a pretty good group for most of the run, but separation came as we climbed the interminable hill. Striders after. Good day. RHR--52.

am--4 Grass loops and little running at Kids Camp. Hot mutha today. Yet we'll adapt. RHR--50.

pm--2.75 Out-and-Back to the roundabout. Tough run because of the heat. It's this time of day, this time of year, that I think moving to Montana sounds like a good idea.