Turn your rut into a groove.

am--5 Morning Route to Coral Cliffs w/ some Floyd in the head. Crisp air and clear skies made this run a beaut. RHR--53. 

pm--3.25 A short little run, passing the pine cone w/ Jacey, Addi, and Jess. Erged for 15 minutes after. I love the rhythm of the pull. It was easy stuff, mostly focused on keeping my Trans Abs strong. Carole King is awesome, also. 

am--4.25 Serenity/Tuweap Loop. I started mellow and let the legs and the feel dictate the remainder. Nice run. On these early morning runs, I focus quite a bit on form. Seems to be helpful. RHR--53. 

pm--5 Wave Fartlek on the tready. 4x 1 min. at 7:30, 1 min. at 7:00, and 1 min. progressing through the mid-6s w/ 2 min. recovery. Each set was 5 minutes. I was surprised at how quick the legs had to move, but the lungs seemed to handle it pretty well. 

am--10 Reverse Santa Clara Loop w/ extension through Ivins. I felt pretty good. On Satruday runs, lately, I've been able to put in a moderate effort and end up getting some light tempo work, extended over some decent miles. Don't want to be that hammers every run, though. RHR--52. 

am--4.5 Serenity to Tuweap w/ the Pearl Rose extension. Nice morning because I took it easy. My legs are a bit sore from the peppier work on Friday and Saturday. RHR--53. 

pm--6 Barrel Roll figure-8. Nice afternoon. Mid-50s in December is a gift. I'm learning some cool stuff about aerobic development. 

pm--5.5 Ran after the track meeting. Working on getting the legs smoothly through the gait cycle. Erged 1k after.

pm--8 CV Workout on the SC rugby field (6x 800). I didn't get out this morning and felt cruddy when I got home, so I chilled a bit before I went out. After a decent warm-up, I was able to hit 3:16, 3:17, 3:16, 3:16, 3:16, and 3:12 (6:30ish pace). Rest was ~2:30. By the last repeat, the effort required some focus, but, overall, I was surprised at how nice this was. Who knows what kind of shape I'm in, but I feel strong. 

am--5 Coral Cliffs out-and-back, via Serenity. It was good to flush the legs a bit. RHR--52.

pm--10 Out-and-back to Plant World w/ 5-mile tempo. I didn't know how things would go, but once I got started, my legs got rolling. I ended up w/ a 7:05 average for the 5er. The fitness seems pretty good after the fruitful xc season. RHR--50. 

pm--5 Easy miles. I ran much later than planned. My buddy and I were going to hit the trails, but that plan caught a snag. I slogged through some miles and pulled 2k on the erg, really barreling down the last 500m. 

Decent week w/ a couple of quicker sessions. 

am--4.25 Serenity/Tuweap Loop. Just starting the week. RHR--50. 

pm--4.75 A nice little run into Green Valley after Julien's baptism. It was good to see most of the team together. The weather is fantastic right now. 

pm--7 Hour run w/ 5x pick-ups (6:50ish) w/ 4-min. regular pace between. I felt pretty good. Erged for 2k after. Hit the last 500m in under 2 minutes. RHR--52. 

pm--5x 1000 @ CV pace. Same warm-up as last week and hit the intervals on the SC rubgy field. Because of the pick-ups yesterday, I was a little worried the legs wouldn't respond. They did OK. The splits were 4:00, 3:56, 4:00, 4:00, and 4:00 w/ ~2:30 between. Other than the 2nd, the intervals were right where they should be. That being said, today was more labored than last week. Still excited. RHR--55. 

On a more exciting note, we're expecting in May and found out today that it's a boy. 3 girls, now a boy. If anyone has any good boy names they aren't planning on using, send them my way. 

am--5 Coral Cliff out-and-back. Good morning. My body seems to have handled the workout yesterday well enough. RHR--52. 

pm--7 Rim Circuit. It was overcast from the beginning, so I tried my darnedest to outrun the sunset and the rain. Mostly succeeded. 

pm--5 Easy miles w/ 4x striders at the end. Felt decent. Pulled 2k after w/ increasing stroke rate and intensity. RHR--54. 

am--9 Reverse SC Loop. I got out a little later. It was still chilly and windy, so I tighted up. After climbing the cemetery hill, I let the body do its thing. The pace was in the mid- to low-7s from the crest of the hill. Nice tempo work for me. Good week. RHR--49.

am--5 Coral Cliffs out-and-back. It was a nice run in the stark winter temps. Afternoon practice w/ the kiddos today. I'm excited about that. RHR--52. 

pm--3.25 Run w/ the girls and Ryan, out to the PO and back. They haven't lost much fitness at all if the pace is evidence. 

am--5 Same route as yesterday. Nothing of note this morning. RHR--49. 

pm--4 Some road, some grass w/ barefoot striders after. The pace was as stout as yesterday.  Erged 2k when I got home (8:26.6). 

pm--7.75 A good run w/ 4 miles of tempo in the middle. The tempo section started at 7:30 ad progressed down to the cusp of 7:00 over the last 2 miles. I feel really good at those paces. RHR--53. 

pm--5 Slow miles w/ some striders at the end. I erged for 10 minutes after. RHR--50.

pm--7 An hour run w/ pick-ups (1-, 2-, 1-, 2-, and 1-min. w/ recovery to 5 minutes) near the end. Nothing other to report. I decided to skip the 5k tomorrow; the weather looks wet. RHR--50. 

am--3 Wise miles on Christmas Eve. Merry Christmas, everyone. RHR--48.

am--7.5 Kidney Loop. I decided to set an alarm and get my run in earlier. Days always go better when they start w/ a run. After busting some rust, the jaunt turned in to a light progressive run. I felt good. RHR--53. 

am--7.5 A nice run w/ 2x 4-min. and 3-min. pick-ups w/ 2 min. rest. It was a nice peppy run. I erged after w/ 30/30 (10x). Pulling like that is hard but should build explosiveness. RHR--50. 

am--10 Ivins via the cemetery. As is the case recently, I ended up w/ a fast finish for the last 4 miles or so. I guess I just feel pretty good once the climbing is done. RHR--49. 

am--7 Old morning route in the early morn. I felt good. My father-in-law took the boys out to do manly things afterwards. RHR--51.

am--6 Chuckwalla w/ the kids. 6x striders after. I added a bit w/ the Finches. Not as cold as I would have thought. RHR--52. 

am--6.25 Anasazi w/ Tom and Andy. Last night's rain made the trail muddy but the temperature warmer. It was a nice run, discussing gnosticism and all sorts of things. RHR--54. 

pm--5.75 Last run of the year. I felt really good. Hit a 15-min. tempo, followed by 3-, 2-, 1-(3x)min. pick-ups at CV w/ equal recovery. Overall pace was in the 7-teens. A run like this brings a lot of positivity. I think I'm in shape to help the girls do great things in track. 

A few books I loved from the last year:

Mindset by Carol Dweck

Speed With Endurance by Bill Squires and Bruce Lehane

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Give and Take by Adam Grant

and Tribe by Sebastian Junger

I have a long list for the upcoming year. I'll try to keep track of what I finish as I finish.