A clydesdale no more!

I lost the battle the last 2 days but won today.  Forced myself out the door and got a decent run in. 

Dirty Dash 5K

Drove the entire clan up to Soldier Hollow for the Dirty Dash.  I didn't really treat it as a race.  I just tried to have a good time.  We were in the first wave so it was not quite as muddy as it should have been.  When the race started, I went out with the leaders up the mud hill.  A group of 5 was ahead of me and I just kind of hung back. After the first couple of hay bails, I decided that I just wanted to have fun so I stopped and waited for Becky and ran the rest of the race with her.  The hay bails were fun once I got the hang of them.  The walls weren't too bad except I struggled on the last one because the mud was pretty thick at the bottom and I couldn't push off.  The pipes were a pain and the tires lasted a lot longer than I thought necessary.  My favorite part was the net that we had to climb.  My kids and I have been watching Ninja Warrior so I knew exactly how to attack it and executed the flip over the top perfectly.  After we finished, we waited around for a couple of hours so the kids could to the Piglet Plunge.  This included the run up the first muddy hill, a good little climb to the water slide, down the slide and through the giant mud puddle.  I ran most of it with a 6 year old on my shoulders so it was a good workout.  I didn't feel muddy enough so I tackled Ashton before we got to the finish line just to make sure we got our money's worth.  It was fun for all of us but not much serious running.

I could really feel my weight this morning.  Despite the chubbiness, my pace felt very good.  After 3 miles, I kept the pace at or below 7:00/mile. 

Same run as yesterday but not as fast. 

Nice and easy run.

Dead legs.

Hamstring is flaring up so I took it nice and slow.

Really, really, really wanted to drive to Provo to watch the UVM but it just wasn't in the cards.  Woke up early and ran out the LPT.  First mile felt sluggish but the rest of the run felt good.  Tried to keep the pace around 7:40 becasue that is what Teena should be running.

Good, solid run.

Mini hill run.  Ran up to and along Davis Blvd.  Kept the pace relatively easy.

Just an easy run. 

I am not a big fan of the long relays so when Kam asked if I wanted to join his Wasatch Back ultra team I did not hesitate to accept the offer.  Yes, I have issues.  I was runner 5 and 6 so I had the Avon ascent and descent, the climb up to East canyon and got to finish with an easy 6 miler through Heber. 

My first run started at 6:40 p.m. and due to the late start there were hardly any teams around us.  There were a couple of straggler teams ahead and a group of super fast teams that started 30 minutes after us.  Even though I knew that I could not treat each leg as it's own race, I found myself starting out way too fast.  My average pace was under 7:00/mile for the first 1/4 mile despite the elevation gain.  I backed off to a more comfortable pace but was moving well.  The WRC ultra team passed me after 3 miles and the WSU womens cross country team was not too far behind.  My goal was to not be passed by them by exchange 5.  I asked their van how close she was but they were not offering up the information.  The climb was not as relentless as I feared.  Having the little breaks in between hills helped a lot.  I made it to the exchange ahead of the WSU team but was pretty sure she was really close.  It wasn't more than a minute before their fresh runner blew past me.  She pased me and flew up the hill.  I had it in my mind that leg 5 was all uphill and leg 6 was all downhill.  I forgot that the first mile of the second leg was uphill as well.  It was actually harder than anything during leg 5.  Finally got to the top of the hill and was ready to cruise down the hill.  I did not want to trash my legs too much on the downhill so my plan was just to run smooth and easy.  Did the best I could to maintain good, efficient form but it was difficult because the dirt road was torn up with a lot of exposed rocks.  Kept the pace at or below 7:00/mile to the end.  I started to feel some signs of glycogen depletion towards the end and my legs were burning.  Came in to the chute, passed the bracelet off to Natalie and was ready for a break. 

I got super car sick on the drive to Snow Basin.  I'm not sure I could have been in the car much longer than we were.  Found a comfy couch in Earl's Lodge for a while then decided to try to catch a quick nap in the car before the next set of legs started.  Got about 10 minutes of solid sleep and felt a lot better.   

My next set of legs started at 2:10 a.m. and was the run from Morgan to the East Canyon reservoir.  I probably did not give this run as much respect as I should have leading up to it.  I was so focused on getting up Avon that neglected the nasty climb that this run offered.  The first few miles felt good.  Half way into the run, a runner from the Davis High XC team caught up to me and we ran together for a couple of miles.  It was nice to have somebody to run with and the miles felt a lot easier.  He was a super nice kid.  I could tell he was starting to creep ahead of me so I offered him good luck for the rest of the race and he took off.  The first 6 miles felt nice and I was hoping that the gradual climb would be all that I had to experience and all of this talk about the climb to East canyon was over blown.  With 4 miles to go, Kam said they had no cell coveraged and had to get to the exchange to make sure the other team was ready.  I told him I was fine and to go ahead.  Of course, this is when the run got tough.  The climbing was brutal.  To get through the run, I would focus on a red blinking light and work my way up to it, pass it and find the next one.  The last mile really killed me.  Finally made it and was so happy that my hardest legs were done. 

I did a terrible job as a navigator and had Kam take a wrong exit.  Did just as bad of a job driving when I nadvertently turned into the gridlock at Rockport.  Finally made it to Oakley and found a nice, quiet parking lot to catch some sleep.

The nice, quiet parking lot stayed nice and quiet for about an hour when we got our Beastie Boys wake up call.  Never did get back to sleep.  I was hoping for a couple of hours of sleep but that's not what these races are about.  I have made the mistake of not eating enough during relays before so I forced myself to eat the breakfast they had at the rodeo grounds.  Ran into Joe (Predog) while killing time wandering around. 

My next run started at 12:10 p.m. and was supposed to be a fast 6 miles.  I was hoping to hold a 7:00/mile pace throughout the run.  Choked down a 5 Hour Energy hoping it would provide me the energy I needed to accomplish my goal.  When I couldn't get my legs to turnover going down the hill during the first 1/2 mile, I knew this run was going to be about survival.  After making the turn up the big hills through the neighborhoods I realized there was no chance of me coming close to my goal.  All I could do was put one foot in front of the other.  I hated feeling this slow but understood and accepted what it was.  I am not as fit as I once was and should expect slower times.  Crawled my way to the finish line and passed the bracelet off for the last time.  Was so glad to be done.

It was a great experience and I am glad that I did it.  Definitely one of those things that I can be proud of saying I did.  With that said, I don't think I will do it ultra style again.  Didn't get a chance to see the team finish because I had to rush home to take my girls to Mama Mia.  Felt surprisngly good and did not even fall asleep during the performance.  I have some significant knee pain which has me concerned.  I will have to wait for the other soreness to disapate before I know if it is an injury or just post race soreness.

An easy run to get back in the swing of things.  Felt very slow.  My knee does not hurt at all while running but there is still discomfort there while walking.  That is definitely a good sign.

I only have a little leg fatigue so I think I am fully recored from the weekend.  There is some tenderness in the knee but it is definitely not a concern anymore.  Kept the pace below 7:30/mile and it felt good.  My weight is becoming a joke and I'm not sure the best way to tackle it.  I suppose eliminating soda would be a good first step but I am too weak.

Felt very  unenergetic this morning.  Just plugged through the run.  The last mile was a little tough.  Half way in to the run I saw some money on the sidewalk.  I usually do not pick money up but remembered seeing a pan handler earlier in the run so I grabbed it, turned around and took it to him.  Now I am off to Grantsville for the rest of the day to watch my girls softball games. 

I'm moving my long run to tomorrow so I just put in a good GA run today.  Finished the run before it got too hot.  First few miles were a little tough but felt good once I got into a flow.  Today will be another day full of softball games.  I love that my girls are on such a great team but it sure makes for a long tournament when they keep winning.

Short on time so just a quick 5. 

Running felt very unnatural this morning.  Never really got into a good flow and felt like I was laboring too much.  It really should not be this much work.  I hate it when I fall into these funks.

Just the usual.  Feeling really wiped out for some reason.