Clyde's Comeback!

33.3 mile ride. Took it super EZ out through the fields then up around Green Springs. Then looped the new overpass and back home through the fields. Trying to find a mental groove this week. Focusing on positve things!

7 mile run after the ride. Hip still hurts but feels a little more runnable. It doesn't matter. My body needed a run. Just feel all yuck and backfatty. Tried to just relax and enjoy running. That was hard considering it was 80% hummidity at 80 F. Too muggy for me. This Aug has been overall cooler than any I remember but WAY more muggy. Think I'd take some 105 F's back if the nigh's and mornings were clear and cooler.

19.2 mile ride. I got up early and headed out. Planned on around 45-50 miles. Once outside I started to see lightning everywhere. By the time I got out in the fields I had a super uncomfortable feeling. Messed around out there for another 10 miles and then my phone rang. Mik'L called and beckoned me to come home and get out of the storm. That coupled with my already uneasy feeling finally gave me the green light to bag it for the morning. Got home at 6:11 and by 6:20 there was  a downpour plus the lightning kept crashing around too.

60 min's on the elliptical after the ride. Yesterdays short little EZ run was enough to set the hip off. I was in steady pain all day after. Hurt soo bad just to walk. So frustrated and sad about it. But right now I guess I need to worry about lotoja. Next week I'll start to worry about running. So at this point I don't want to aggravate the hip enough to bug on the bike, which means I'll forgo any runs until Lotoja is over. SUCKS!

30.6 mile ride this morning. Road with a heavy heart today. I woke at 4:40 and while getting ready (potty) I checked facebook (a usual parctice). Only to find out that last night a cyclist was killed out on Southern parkway. A road I ride ALL the time. A road I ride to get away from traffic. I didn't know the guy but wish I would have. It seems that he was just a amazing person that really blessed the lives of those around him. Ugh! So so sad. He has 4 small childern and a wife left to pick up without him. I ache for them all. For some reason it just hit really hard. I actually was outside last night and saw the lifeflight chopper fly over my house (unknowing at the time of what for). I need to be safer.

Anyways Bob and I just cruised around. Didn't have a plan. Didn't care about pace. We attempted to go hard on a small 2.2 mile section down through the fields but I didn't really have much pop in the legs and when I wanted them to fire there really wasn't anything there. Guess just typical taper crap... same as a running taper it seems.

29.5 mile ride this morning. Last EZ spinn before the big race. Never been here before so I'm not sure what's going on. I'm pretty nevous. Excited though. Lots of stuff to pack up tonight. I've got 4,500 calories in food and that's just a start. I'll add some banannas, more drink crap and a few other this and that's. Legs feel pretty good. We just road really EZ- only hit a 18 mph avg. The slowest ride of the summer for me. On one little hill from the freeway up Brigham Road I tried to sprint a Strava section just to see how the legs would roll. Felt pretty flat honestly. Got home and loaded it up to Strava and found out I got the KOM for now so it wasn't too bad.

Anywho really looking forward to it. Hoping things workout. It's been a while since the stars have lined up for me. Hip still has pain. I miss running. Hoping next week I can get back into some real marathon traning... but we'll have to see.

20 min's on the trainer to clear my head. All packed up and heading out this morning. Now or never I guess.

First things first: I only report the facts ladies:) And spell check isn't working so this could look horrible.

75th overall, 9:23:25, 21.4 mph avg

Ok time to try and give this race- a report worthy of the NINE plus hours I spent in the saddle. Started the day off in Logan with temps at 65 F. It was warmer than we wanted and kind of scared us for later in the day. However the cloud cover that kept it cool all night stayed all day. Keeping the sun at bay and making for almost ideal riding conditions. There was a little gusty winds here and there but almost every time the wind was bad I was with a large group and it didn't seem to bother me. We also had some tailwind at times that was super awesome. I also started my Garmin late so I don't have a correct/ exact mileage.

1-30. The first part of the race was super low key. It's flat and your with all of your original starting group so the workload is low. The group took it EZ all the way over to Preston. Somewhere in the 25 mile range all of our little BikeFix team (Bob, Jared, Kevin and I) had to go potty. So about 2 miles before the road turns to start the Strawberry climbs we pulled off. That let of a bomb in our group and day. Virtually the second we stopped everyone started laying the hammer down. I got back on the bike and just tried to make up ground. Bob had to "go" longer than the rest of us and that extra 60-80 seconds took him out of the race with us. I never saw him again the rest of the day.

30-106. This is the meat and potatoes of the course. 17 mile Strawberry Climb down into Montpelier. Then up the Geneva pass, down and across some flats and eventually up the final Salt River pass and KOM.

As we started the Strawberry rollers that lead into the climb the pace was blistering. I rarely sat down and was sweating and working like a dawg. Finally the three of us caught up to the main group again. There was still 3 guys up  on us in a break-a-way group that we never would see again. From there to the summit I basically pulled the group as we chipped off mile after mile of climbing. After we summited and started down the backside the group had trimmed down to around 15 guys. We made our way to Montpelier for our first "feed" station. Bob's dad Russ was there with our food bags and our drinks. It was a pretty seamless pitstop and we were off. Right out of town a big team in our group pulled off to pee. So now it was Jared, Kevin and I heading up the pass a lone. Once the hills got steep going up I started to feel great and without overworking started to pull away from the other two guys. I summited  and dropped off the backside a lone. For around 10-15 more miles I was a lone wolf trying to catch a group ahead of me and hoping a group behind me would come pick me up. I finally caught the group in front of me only to realize they were a bunch of 60 year old dudes that were going 18-19 mph. So I rolled in with them for  a few rotations and tried to recover before the Salt River pass climbs started. Basically by the time I was sick of riding with them we hit the beginning of the climbs so as I rolled to the front to take a "pull" I just took off. Felt great for half of this climb but really struggled for the last 4 miles or so. Started to get negative and the sun came out so I was hot. It just wasn't very pretty. In so doing some other guys from the group including Jared caught and passed me. Also the lead female's basically caught me and we rolled over the summit together.

106-150. This was a bad then good phase. From the summit down through the flats to Afton I was in a super dark place. Actually thought about dropping out of the race. Really. Just was hurting, tummy upset and I'd basically had enough. I said a short prayer. Something to the tune of "please help me recover, help me finish this with a respectable time, ect and said many thanks for my special little family at home. I was soon joined by about 4 guys and we were all right behind the three lead girls all the way to Afton. Here was our second feed stop. Jared and I rolled in together. Russ serviced Jared first then me. By the time I got out of the stop the group was gone... Son-Of-A.... For the next 6 miles I labored yet again to try and catch the group. But it was like beating a dead horse. It'd never happen alone. And as I started to fade yet again a Super group picked me up. With me there was 7 of us and everyone wanted to play. We laid it down basically the rest of the day together. As we caught up with Jared and the group he was in a few of them joined up as well including Jared. So back together again now in a solid line rolling into Alpine.

150-202. We came into Alpine and our last feed stop super hot. In fact we both had to lock up the brakes to stop in time for Russ. It was only like 20 seconds and we were back on the road. I had no intentions of losing the group again. I needed them for this last 50. The tempo stayed the same out of Alpine along the Snake river up into Hoback and eventually into Jackson. I felt AMAZING. Seriously had everything going. Stomach was still upset and I really couldn't take anything else down but I felt super strong. The group was down to around 8 guys. Basically me and two other guys (from two different groups) took turns pulling all the way up to Jackson. Which was fine. I didn't feel labored and about 5 miles past Hoback I actually kind of broke away up a hill and gapped the group. Nobody came with me so within a few min's I sat up and let the group catch back up. I was out too far to do it a lone still. Once we got into the Jackson Valley the road turn left onto a country road lined with trees that works it's way west and then north to town. It was here that my "Issues" started. A group of about 8 older guys came up and joined our group here and there up the rollers from Hoback. They were all in a serioius race with one another. So they'd freakout if anyone in got separated and all wanted to be right with each other. One guy turned into me and his back wheel and derailer hit my front wheel. It pushed me  right off the road but I was able to stay up in the dirt and ride out the fender bender. But then I noticed the damage. I had one broken spoke flapping around and my wheel was bent out of shape so it rubbed on my brake pads at the top. Almost right then I could feel the workload go up. It was like adding a extra level of resistance with 10+ mils to go. My group left me with ease. I went from feeling like a million bucks to worried about finishing. The wheel felt too fragile to stand and peddle. But I'd come too far to just let this screw up the whole day. I had to make the best of it. So I sat there and spun as smooth as I could for the next 10 or so miles. Meanwhile riders would just fly by. My group was no longer in sight. Oh the drama. I could feel it all slipping away. All my hard work to end it like this? Ugh! Then the 5k to go sign and then 4, then 3 then 2. And another group passed me this one had a guy from my original starting group too! 1k to go and I look back with no other risks coming and I just eased in for a very anti-climatic end to a hard day.

Jared and the group I was with ended up beating me in by over 5 min's. There's no way I don't finish with them without the accident. They were 9:18 I was 9:23 and Jared ended up finishing 3rd in our Cat so he got to the podium. I ended up at 6th. Maybe I do or don't out sprint him at the end but worst case again is that I'm 4th and still get a prize...

Oh well. I'm still super happy with a 9:23. My goal was to break 10 hours. Had you offered me a 9:40 the night before I'd have taken it. The race was hard. A crazy roller coaster of emotions all day. In the end I had a great time and it was fun to spend the weekend with such a classy group. The Snake River outside of Alpine was beautiful! At the moment I don't think I'll ever do the race again.... but we'll see what 6 months brings.

Planned rest day. I got about 3 hours of sleep the night before LoToJa and about 2 hours the night after. I'm just trashed. With the kids and lots to do there was no time for a nap but not running, biking, ect helped.

1 mile on the treadmill to test the hip.

10.2 miles around the DC loop.

Hip felt tight again but not crazy painful like after last Monday's run. I decided to take it outside and try it today. Ran in rain the whole lap. Temps and rain felt great. Hip hurt and got worse the longer I was out. I've got 3 weeks to find some running mojo or I might have to bag it... and that would be sad.
 

Big boys run. Met here at my house with the guys at 4:45. It was raining the entire run. I did the warm up with them out into the fields. Then they did the summer tempo loop. I came back they way we had come and then went down river road to Mr. D's over through St. James and back up to River Road. Then ran down to the river and was right on time meeting back up with the guys who had just finished the tempo out around the fields. We jogged back home. Again it was a downpour. I can't ever remember this much rain in the summer months. Hip hurt about like yesterday but once I finished it hurt worse. I'm past sick of it.

Middle B-hills loop then secret steet and extended around Little Valley. Hip was a little better than the last couple days. Anything is better than nothing so I'm happy. Cut it a little short so I can try and do another run this afternoon.

P.M. 6 miles on the treadmill. I got the boys down for a nap and somehow managed to get in this run before Halen woke back up.

DC loop. 65 F and cool this morning... but humid. Still felt pretty nice out. Hip felt better than it has in two weeks. Tried not to over stride it and kept the pace slow as to not aggrivate anything. Even if it's only for today it felt good to run without crazy pain.

4 more miles this afternoon on the treadmill. Lots of hip PT stuff after.

Long run this morning. Did the summer tempo loop extended down around the DC (added one mile there) then back on the DC loop through B-hills and around the schools. Pretty good run. Hip felt better than it has in weeks. Never tried to run hard, rather just kept it super smooth to try and not bring on any pain. Cool and humid again. Feels like Boston and not St. George. Took a GU at mile 13. 6:56 avg for the run.

B-hillls, Secret St, LV. HIp started off tight and never felt good. No super sharp pain but not nice either. Just took it EZ and got the week going. A lot of junk built up in the stomach from a weekend of gluttony. Hoping to hit doubles all week and practice the "always on the run" theory. Couple that with some PT stuff and am hoping to be able to get a good long run down the course this Saturday.

P.M. 10.2 miles this afternoon. Grandma had the boys and I had some free time so I did what I wanted to do... run. It was 95 f and fairly humid. Combo that with the fact that I'm not use to doubles and afternoon running. yeah it was a harder run. Hip hurt too. Ran into Billy boy down at the DC and he pulled me back up to Rustic. Glad to get out but happier to get home and drink some cold fluid.

B-hills, Secret St, LV- Same run as yesterday morning. Hip felt a lot better than either run yesterday. Mik'L didn't get home from her run until just before 8. So I was out in the sun and it seemed pretty toasty by the end. Getting my running body back with these doubles. Dropped about 5 lbs in the last 10 days. Feeling pretty lean and mean if not for this hip injury.
 

P.M. 4 miles this afternoon on the treadmill.

Big boys run from my house. 3 mile warm up out into the fields. The guys were doing the summer tempo loop again. I soo wanted to go with them but just didn't dare. Hip actually hurt pretty bad on the 2nd mile of the warm up... However when they took off out into the fields I started back to LV and just decided to run tempo and see what happend. Ended up coming back into Jedora then around the schools and back down River road to the end of the bridge at a 5:45 avg for the 6.3 mile tempo. Was kind of in shock at the times. I didn't think I had it in me anymore...

Rejoined the guys after they came down the river trail and we cooled down back to my house. Hip felt pretty solid on the tempo and cooldown. ??? IDK. I'll take it that's for sure. Hoping to keep moving in the right direction and give myself a chance to run semi crappy instead of totally crappy.

3.5 miles this afternoon on the treadmill.

B-hills/ Secret St/ LV- Finally got the cool morning I've been craving. 62 F when I left on my run and by the time I got home around sun up it was 59 F. It's such a relief to make it through another hard summer here in Dixie. From now until the first of December is the "golden" time of year. With basically perfect weather for outdoor recreation.

Had a decent run. Hip seems to want to feel better. I thought I'd feel some crazy pain and stiffness from yesterdays tempo. But it felt pretty good. Just crossing my fingures and toes that maybe the body thinks it's time to move forward- put this nasty crap behind us:)... please.

3 miles this afternoon on the treadmill

Out around Silkwood then a full loop in LV. Nice morning at 59 F. Just plugged a long. Last night my wife rolled my hammies really hard and there's always some left over craziness in the legs after that. Hip was pretty good. A little "catchy" but no shape pain.

Long run down the marathon course. Started out with Logan and Steve. Dustin and Billy took off early. Temps were perfect and it was a beautiful morning for a run. I really wanted to just get the downhill training in. Didn't want to push the pace at all. I haven't ran any downhill for basically a year and that's gonna be a challenge for me in the upcoming marathon. The good news was that the hip felt good. Got a little tight at the end but nothing like it has been all year. Feeling totally pumped about that. So we got to the 10 mile mark at around 1:10:00 so mayb just over 7 min pace to thre. Felt super comfortable. Took some EFS and a small drink. Then Logan took off. He wanted some tempo miles. Steve and I just took it chatty all the way down. Smooth and EZ. Ended with a 6:37 avg for the run. And I didn't feel jacked up. Happy happy happy!

B-hills loop this morning. 52 F lovely degrees. Felt just about perfect for a run. My quads were super sore. I knew they would be after the long run down the marathon course. I just don't have any downhill training in the bank and the legs will pay for it. Hoping to run the soreness out of them though the week so I can do another downhill run this weekend. 

DC loop. Heavy, stiff and sore legs. Maybe worse today than yesterday. Actually the hip was a little achy as well. On a good note it was another super nice morning at 52 F.

4 miles on the treadmill this afternoon. Hip has been tight today.

Big boys tempo run. Warmed up from my house out into the fields. I had reservations about doing the tempo with the lads but at the same time really wanted to. The warm up felt ok so I decided to go with it. Felt controlled at first and a little antzy as I haven't been in that setting in over a year. About mile 4 we all stopped because of a skunk that was in the trail. After that I really struggled to get going again. Quads got crazy tight and miles 6, 7 were super slow (or so they felt because I actually can't recover my splits on the gps). But by mile 8 they started to loosen up again and I felt the pace get a little faster for the finish.

Ended with a 5:51 avg for 8 miles. A little slower than last weeks tempo but  today's was almost 2 miiles longer and my legs were way more sore to start with due to the downhill soreness from Saturday. So overall I'm pretty happy. I mean I'm running lightyears better than I have been able to all summer. It may not be a crazy fast marathon for me but it's gonna be better than I've been planning on all summer...

68 F today. The warmer temps weren't welcomed.

Recovery run... yesterday after getting home from the workout I got the flu. By 9 a.m. I was in full shiver mode currled up in the fetal position on the bed. I had a 9:48 T time for golf... had to cancel. Could'nt keep anything in my stomach all day. 20+ potty stops. Got to bed early and tried to stay hydrated.

Anyways got up today and felt like trying a run. It was slow. My whole body was achy but in the end I felt better. Hope to get some more rest today and get the strength back up.

58 F this morning.
 

3 more miles on the treadmill this afternoon. Just enough to loosen things up and get hungry for Cafe Rio.

EZ run through B-hills and the Secret St. It was 52 F out at 5 a.m when I went running but got down to 49 F at sun up when Mik'L was out. First day in the 40's. It wasn't that cool last year this early. Could be a cold year at STGM. 2006 was the last year I remember it being super cold at the start. Guess we'll see what happens this next week with the weather.

Run was pretty good. Just laxi taxi out in the darkness. Hip felt pretty good too. My ankle (yes from last year) was really sore and tight for the first 1.5 miles but didn't bother me at the end. Potty stop at the golf course made this one fun.
 

5 miles tonight. 1 mile on the treadmill then 4 miles out and back outside. Trying out some new shoes. Still not sure whart I'll decide to use for STG. Maybe the ol' Speedstars that I wore for the first time back in 2008? Still rockin too.

Ran down the course with Stephen. We drove up a little past the halfway mark and then ran it in. 38 F up at the start with a low of 46 F here at home. We met at 3:45 a.m so I could be home before 7 a.m. I feel like I dreamed it rather than really running. Pace was super chill. 6:45 avg for the run. Feeling pretty good I guess.

Nice cool morning at 48 F. Made for a perfect run. Middle B-hills/ Secret St/ LV. Had zero soreness from Saturdays run down the course. I know it was basically only 15 miles and the pace was EZ but what a big difference a week made. Last weeks 20 miles at basically the same pace totally jacked me up. So I'm pumped about that. Hip had a little ache at 4.4 and around mile 7 but nothing deep and both pains went away.

The bad news is I'm about 5 lbs heavier than I'd like to be. Seems the last 10 days I love food and can't stop at just one.

DRAMA ALERT!!!

Went golfing today and it caused my hip to relaps. It totally locked up and got crazy painful. I'm right handed and something with the golf swing pushing against that left hip just sent it back into pain mode. After 11 holes I cut it short on the course and came home. My hip hurt like crazy driving and sitting down. Got home and stretched for a while. Mowed my lawn and Mik'L's grandmas lawn. Then decided to go try a run.

6 mile run out and back into B-hills. The first 2 miles were crazy painful. Then the last 4 were runnable. Holy Crap! This totally sucks.

Went to a already scheduled appointment with April at 5 pm and she really dug into my hip. So we will see.