Go, you chicken fat, go away!

Ringing in the New Year with a casual little run up the Hualapai Mountains.  Actually, it was anything but casual.  In fact, I would compare the level of difficulty to that of the marathons I've run.  I saw a post on Facebook that the Kingman Running Club would be doing a group run from the Gas n' Grub to the Ranger Station.  Since I was going to be in town, I decided to join them.

(To be continued.  My nagging wife wants us to go :P.  But just wait.  It's gonna be a good one.)

 Okay.  I'm back.  Anyway.  I had a feeling fellow blogger Kerry would be there.  He was, along with local speedy Chris Brady, a guy named Cody, and a gal named Cari who I found out is also a Fast Running Blogger but has never blogged.  (She told me she's going to start the Slow Jogging Blog.)  ((Cari just commented on my blog and entered her first blog entry.  Give her a warm welcome.  BTW, she's super cute and looks like Danielle Fishel.)

Twice before I've run this route.  But both times were in the opposite direction, downhill.  I'm not sure which hurts worse, uphill or downhill.  Downhill I think.  But uphill is harder.  We started at 9:30am.  It was chilly.  I was allllll bundled up.  We ran in a group for the first couple of miles.  Then something amazing happened.  I found a $20 bill!  Now everyone's eyes were open, but nobody had quite the eagle eyes of Chris who next found $100 bones!  10 seconds later he found another $100!  Then another $100!  Then a $1!  I questioned why he'd even bother with the $1.  But it was crazy! 

After a while Chris, Kerry, and Cody took off.  Cari and I ran together up until mile 7.  It was really neat running up the mountain and seeing the patches of snow ever increasing as we climbed.  Then Kerry's wife Denise drove by and offered to take our gloves.   After that, Cari starting putting some distance between us.  At mile 8 I was 100 feet behind her.  At mile 9 about 300 feet.  Then I bonked.  I've never had my legs sieze up like that, but it was d-i-f-f-i-c-u-l-t! 

I kept going, but had to take some walking breaks.  Finally I made it to the top and Denise had some hot chocolate waiting for us.  Here's some pictures.

Mile	Time	Elevation	Elevation Gain	Total Elevation Gain
0	0	3555
1	10:08	3668	113	113
2	9:53	3818	150	263
3	10:36	4068	250	513
4	10:54	4321	253	766
5	10:38	4567	246	1012
6	11:29	4863	296	1308
7	10:16	5002	139	1447
8	11:16	5201	199	1646
9	12:57	5546	345	1991
10	15:41	6174	628	2619
11	20:30	6500	326	2945
11.17	2:24	6502	2	2947

Today I brought back the money I found on yesterday's run.  The store owner wasn't there, but his father was.  He seemed genuinely surprised.  I hear the perp made off with about $2000.  I suggested that we try and follow the trail of money to find the culprit.  Then my 7-year old daughter said, "Yeah.  And then we kill him."

Here's a picture I took of the majestic Hualapai Mountains overlooking Kingman.

Here's an elevation profile for Flatlander.

Nice to see a Jillian advertisement first thing this morning.  How big is your weight loss goal?  You tell me Jillian.  You tell me.

This morning I took back Prince of Persia to the Redbox.  I liked it although it was pretty predictable.  It was Aladdin meets Pirates of the Carribean.  After the dropoff I put a 0.22 mile surge in at a 5:56 pace.  That was nice because the last couple of days my back has been bugging me.  The combination of sleeping on an air mattress and running up a mountain did me in.  Feels better today.  I think my wife forced Ibuprofen down my throat while I was sleeping.

The temp was 35° this morning.  At mile 5 I could still see my breath.  I started to think - isn't the reason why I can see my breath because the air I'm breathing out is warmer than the ambient temperature?  Shouldn't I at some point reach a state of equilibrium?  I guess so.  When I'm dead.

So I passed this guy walking down the street at mile 3.6.  Then at mile 5.3 I passed him again.  He was surprised to see me because I think he realized I just ran more than a mile and a half in the time it took him to walk half a mile.  He tried to make small talk with me, but I've got no time for that.  I'm a stuck up runner for crying out loud.

Time - 44:28 (avg. pace 8:02)

Splits - 8:09, 8:00, 8:04, 8:06, 7:53, 4:17 for 0.53 (8:01 pace)

Tonight I ran with my the ghosts of Ragnar past, present, and future.  We ran in the hills of Las Sendas.  It was a good run.  And I wore my new shoes for the first time.  I think they're going to work out just fine.

Time - 55:55 (avg. pace 8:44)

Splits - 8:50, 8:56, 8:19, 8:08, 8:59, 9:14, 3:29 for 0.41 (8:32 pace)

Recovery run.  This morning I saw a Little Caesar's pizza box.  The strange thing was, I was only about a tenth of a mile from Little Caesar's.  Who can eat an entire pizza within a tenth of a mile?  Well, I guess they didn't eat all the crusts. 

As I was running by an old man who was facing the other way at a bus stop, I sooo had the urge to pat his hiney.  Thanks for that Karen.

Time - 49:18 (avg. pace 8:58)

Splits - 9:01, 8:50, 8:50, 9:07, 9:00, 4:31 for 0.50 (9:02 pace)

This morning I ran with Glen, Michael, and Corena from my Ragnar team.  Glen wanted to go 5.  I wanted to got 10.  Michael wanted to go 15.  We compromised and went 7.38.  We started at Freestone Park and ran down the trail to the Eastern Canal.  Then we ran along the canal for a while until at mile 4.6 where I stopped to take care of some business at the Riparian Preserve.  It was a good run even though my fingers aren't completely thawed out yet.

Time - 1:07:17 (avg. pace 9:07)

Splits - 9:42, 9:12, 9:04, 8:47, 8:59, 9:03, 9:06, 3:26 for 0.38 (8:57 pace)

Here's a Google map for allie so she can see how far Havasupai is from the Hualapai Mountains.  About 110 miles as the crow flies.

AM Workout

Start Time - 4:30am

Temp - 40°

Distance - 3.01 miles

Time - 26:27 (avg. pace 8:46)

Splits - 8:58, 8:38, 8:38

I'm not going to lie and say that it wasn't a bit spooky running on the canal bank in the dark.

PM Workout

Start Time - 6pm

Temp - 52°

Distance - 3.03

Time - 25:21 (avg. pace 8:23)

Splits -  8:41, 8:16, 8:10

It felt so good running in my new shoes tonight.  I saw two guys dressed up like the Statue of Liberty on the corner of Val Vista and Southern.  As I ran by them I yelled, "Good evening ladies!"  There were a lot of flags at half mast today.  Was that just an AZ thing?  When I got home my wife asked what my splits were, so I told her.  She said it looked like I was doing a 7 min. pace based on the amount of sweat.  I said it was the correct amount of sweat for an 8:23 pace.

So much for my two a days.  Yesterday I worked 13 hours so I didn't run in the morning or evening.  Oh well.

I was noticing all the pigeons on a light pole this morning.  They were probably spaced about 4 inches apart, and they lined the entire span.  Then I looked at all the other light poles, and they all seemed to have at least three or four pigeons on them.  Except one.  A lone pigeon perched high over head in solemn solitude.  I wondered why it kept its singular seclusion.  Then it pooped.  I watched the poop as it fell to pavement below with a tremendous splat.  Then I watched as a school bus splatted it even more.  I yelled, "You disgusting bird!  No wonder nobody likes you!"

The scariest part of the morning was when at pitbull came running at me.  He looked happy, but those things are crazy.  It ran up on my heels, but I didn't turn around because I didn't want it to take that as a form of aggression.  It decided to run past  me and check out another guy walking down the sidewalk.  I think all pitbulls should be exterminated.  Sorry to offend you if you have one.  But one chewed my dogs leg off when I was a kid.

Time - 47:56 (avg. pace 8:41)

Splits - 8:42, 8:31, 8:32, 8:46, 8:53, 4:34 for 0.52 (8:48 pace)

AM Run

Splits - 8:40, 7:05, 8:06, 2:32 for 0.29 (8:39 pace)

This was another 4:30am run.  I decided to run a fast mile which technically was probably sub 7 since I started at 1.25 and ended at 2.25.

PM Run

Glen and I met at Las Sendas for some hill work.  I was running a bit behind because I worked like 13 hours today.  I texted Marilyn to tell her, but she must not have got the message.  When Glen and I got there I saw a van that I recognized, but didn't see any of the the other vehicles.  It turned out that the van was Natalia's that we had used for Ragnar in Utah.  It didn't dawn on me that they were all neighbors and would have come together.  So we started running.  I told Glen I only wanted to run the 4.5 mile loop since I had run 3.29 this morning.  Glen set a real fast pace.  Our overall average was 8:11.  We saw Marilyn, Natalia, and Lindsay with about a mile left running in the opposite direction.  When we finished we waited for a bit and stretched out.  We decided to go back out and do a cool down.  The idea was to meet up with the girls and run them in.  First we saw Marilyn and Natalia.  Lindsay was behind them so we kept going.  But Lindsay was on the other side of the street and we never saw her.  So we ran 1.5 miles before we turned around and headed back.  The pace for the cool down was 10:07.  Now I have to get up in 5 hours and go to work.  At least I'm getting some overtime this week.  That hasn't happened for several months.

The plan was to meet with Marathon Dreamer and run a couple of miles as her last run before her marathon.  She wasn't able to make it, so I just ran around the neighborhood.  Going to run up Usery Pass tomorrow morning.

Ha!  The mileage on my Mizuno Wave Inspire 4's are within 4 hundredths of each other.  That is not deliberate.

This is my favorite run.  I just looked and saw that a year ago today I ran this same route.  Glen and I met at the butt crack of dawn.  It was beautiful  out.  The PF Changers are gonna love it tomorrow.  It was interesting to see how my splits compared to last year and when we ran it Dec. 12, 2009.  Usually Glen beats me as we run downhill, but today I beat him.  It wasn't like we were racing or anything.  I just wanted to get that last mile under 7 minutes.

Time - 1:18:12 (avg. pace 8:31)

Splits - 9:05, 9:55, 9:40, 8:55, 8:35, 8:41, 7:43, 7:33, 6:52, 1:26 for 0.18 (7:51 pace)

When I got to the bottom of the hill there were these two girls on their bicycles.  I said good morning to them.  One of them said good morning back to me in her sexiest voice.  But it was the kind of sexy voice that says, "I'm just teasing you because I think you're a dork."  So I finished my run and looked at my shirt.  I saw that I had BNS.  Not baldnspicy.  Bloody nipple syndrome.  Dang it!!!

I figure since Tuesday was the only day I didn't run last week, today should be the only day I run this week. :P  So I wanted to do some speed work.  When I started running my shins got super tight.  I hoped that they would loosen up because I wanted my second mile to be a fast one.  I got to 0.93 and stopped to stretch out.  That helped a little, but they tightened up again.  So I pushed as hard as I could for about three quarters of a mile and jogged home.  I guess I'm not recovered from Saturday's run.

Time - 21:27 (avg. pace 8:18)

Splits - 8:41, 7:26, 5:20 for 0.59 (9:05 pace)

I haven't run since Tuesday, and I've justified it saying that I wanted to be fresh for the 5k tonight.  I saw my Ragnar team captain Michael there, but no one else from the team came.  Skechers was there so people could try out their new running shoes.  Michael got there in time to get a pair, but they didn't have any size 23 ½ which is what I wear.

Today was also our company's Holiday Potluck.  Everybody brought something so I had to have a little of everything.  I didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings.  My legs surprisingly are still sore.  My shins are so tight!  I wonder if I injured them Saturday.  Well, I decided to run this as a fun run, which is really what it is.  So Michael and I just ran at an easy pace and talked the whole time.  He wasn't too fond of the shoes.  They were designed with curved heels to keep you mid-striking. 

After the race they raffled off a running water bottle, a Yikes ID, a duffle bag, and two pairs of the Skechers shoes.  The guy said that the only way you could win the shoes is if you wore them running.  What a crock!  Bring some more shoes next time!  And a bigger selection.  You'd think they'd know to bring at least 7 pairs of 23 ½'s! 

Time - 29:38 (avg. pace 8:20)

Splits - 8:06, 8:18, 8:40, 4:34 for 0.56 (8:13 pace)

This morning I ran South Mountain with Glen.  Nobody else on our Ragnar team showed up.  We ran up National Trail and looped back through Mormon Trail.  I think Glen has his mojo back because he was really pushing the pace today.  My shins didn't bother me at all, and I was worried about my back because yesterday it was  killing me.  But it loosened up.  I think it was about 600 feet of vert.  Vert.  What a fun thing to say.

Can't wait to read about all the St. George half marathon race reports.

Time - 54:11 (avg. pace 9:43)

Splits - 9:19, 12:02, 10:34, 9:18, 8:24, 4:35 for 0.57 (7:58 pace)

Just added a couple of pics from the top.

This morning Lady Liberty was actually a sweet old lady.  I decided not to give her a "good game."  Instead I gave her a high five for liberty.

Later I saw an empty plastic baggy.  Then I saw a packet of Sweet and Low.  I wondered if I went back and emptied the Sweet and Low into the baggy and left it on the sidewalk if I could get some junky to snort some artificial sweetener.

Next I saw a Mexican worker crusing around on top of a roof with a wheelbarrow.  I waved a friendly hello to him secretly hoped he would wave back, let go of the wheelbarrow, lose control of it, lose his balance, and fall off the roof.

Then I saw Lady Liberty again and said, "One more time" as I slapped her another high five.  I made her giggle like a school girl.  When I got home I was just in time to wait for the bus with Emily.  She loves getting on the bus and waving bye to me.

Splits - 8:44, 8:35, 8:44, 8:57, 8:57, 8:45, 9:04, 8:58

AM Run

Guess who initiated the high five this morning...?  Oh yeah.  She wants me.

Time - 25:27 (avg. pace 8:23)

Splits - 8:28, 8:15, 8:25, 0:19

PM Run

This run was at 9:30pm.  I saw another runner.  I guess I'm not the only creepy dude on the block.  Then I saw a guy walking.  He was very well versed in the art of "on your left!"  In the blink of an eye he stepped all the way off the sidewalk and yielded me the right-of-way.

Time - 30:00 (avg. pace 8:44)

Splits - 8:53, 8:35, 8:41, 3:52

I just ran a new 10k PR!

Glen and I went to Red Mountain Park tonight to get our run in and so his kids could go rollerblading.   Since I've never ran there, I told him to lead the way.  He took off real fast.  I kept close behind and followed him.  He seemed to be making up the course as we went.  That made it all the more fun.  I'm used to my boring runs around the block.  And there were some nice rolling hills.  After two of his random loops we had gone about 3 miles.  Glen said, "Let's go another two laps."  I knew we were right around a 7:30 pace, and if we kept it up I would be on pace to break my 10k PR.  So we ran another couple of laps with his kids occasionally trying to stay up with us on the uphills and passing us on the downhills.  I watched my Garmin so I could stop it at 6.20 miles.  47:11.  I'm pretty sure I can get closer to 45:00 if I tried, but I haven't ran a 10k in forever.  Nevertheless, a new unofficial PR is nice.

Splits - 7:29, 7:35, 7:29, 7:40, 7:52, 7:36, 1:30

This morning was a cool down run from last night.  Wowza.  I felt it.  My feet are sore.  Anyway, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to pose for a picture with Lady Liberty.  She giggled.  Then she got worried that she wasn't going to see me anymore because she thought I was taking it as something to remember her by.  I told her not to worry.  I would see her next week.

Time - 27:42 (avg. pace 9:14)

Splits - 9:08, 9:20, 9:15

Today was London's Run.  The last two years I've done the 10k.  The year before that I did the half marathon.  I decided not to do either this year because I'm still sore that they sent me the wrong way last year.  But I got an email from Ox a few days ago telling me he was running the half marathon.  I told him I would come run the last 5 miles with him.  He was hoping for a 7:30 pace.  He's not quite in the shape he was 3 years ago.  We ran about an 8 pace.  It was fun.  I saw some people I haven't seen in a while.  My friend David Weeks placed 3rd in his age division for the 10k.

In recent blogging news Nan Kennard (rhymes with Leonard) placed 3rd in the National Half Marathon Championships.  Go Nan!

In other other news April27 has been feeling like a slug lately.