Pocatello 50+ (53 Miles) 09:21:15, Place overall: 7
Slow miles
Fast miles
Total Distance
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53.00
53.00
Pocatello 50
Another successful race! Great day to enjoy the trails. 7th overall. Just over a minute faster than last year. Consistency is my middle name.
T- 9:21:15 (by my watch) 9:19:37 (Ultrasignup) (10:35) ~12,000 feet vert
Photo of the kids nearing the finish line -
Ways this year's race was a success
I got to take the family and camp out with them
"Trail Running" with them the night before the race on part of the course (see pic below)
No IV necessary at the finish. Sure, I wanted one, but I didn't need one!
Weather was awesome. High of 75. No blizzard ruining the race. No 85+ degrees like last year. Course records fell all over the place. Good thing the weather was so nice. It made up for my lack of training.
PR is a PR
Felt better than at Zion Traverse. Body is getting used to the training load finally.
Learned how to cool my body down better this time to not get heat stroke. Arm warmers filled with Ice feels amazing!
Course knowledge is king. At least 3 of the top guys got lost. Not me.
I had fun. Painful fun, but still fun.
I can bomb the downhills still. I passed so many 50K and 20 mile racers on the downhills. The decent off Scout was unreal. Dropping 3000' in a few miles of rocky trail is insane. Especially at mile 45.
I still have all my toenails (unlike last year)
I got to lead the race for the first mile as we jogged down the road. That was fun.
I beat Joe (dropped out), Ty Draney (dropped out), Jared Campbell (ran 26 hours last weekend in Zion NP), Greg Norrander (beat me last year, wore #1 bib for the race). Sure most had some excuse but tough. I still win. Ha!
I got to wear bib #2 (as 2nd fastest returning runner). Too bad I didn't finish 2nd.
I didn't die
Ways this year's race wasn't perfect
I didn't win the $500 prize money
I got chicked. Joelle is amazing. She beat her course record by 23 mins. How do you compete with that?
I have liver pain. I thought it was just a side-ache coming down off scout mountain but it was my inflamed liver. Not sure what to do about that. Its almost gone now 48 hours after finishing but it was pretty tender even yesterday.
I didn't get in the training necessary to take a serious attempt at breaking 9 hours.
Joe had to drop. Ty had to drop. Bad days for them. I wish them well.
I forgot to get the Wolf Man to sign my shoes.
In fact, no one even asked for my signature.
Other nerdy facts
I had 3 target paces printed that I carried. 9:00, 9:23 (last years splits), 10:00. The 9 hour was a dream pace. The 10 was a 'B' goal. Breaking 9:23 was the 'A' goal.
I was within 1 minute of last year's splits at all aid stations but 1.
Aid 1 Gibson - 1:11 (last year) - This year (1:11:22)
Aid 2 City Creek - 2:40 - This year (2:39:12)
Aid 3 Midnight - 4:25 - This year (4:24)
Aid 4 Mink - 5:27 - This year (5:23:55 in) (5:26 out)
Aid 5 S. Scout - 6:37 - This year (6:34)
Aid 6 Big Fur - 8:28 - This year (8:27)
Finish - 9:22:38 (last year) - This year(9:21:15)
I suppose that if I expect different results I must train differently. No time to do that, and I don't really care that much. Not likely to happen. I just love being out there and doing these kind of runs. What a life!
Elevation Profile
Trail Running with the Kids the Day before the race.
5K pacing my son(age 8). He was running his second 5K ever and was trying to beat 40 mins (he ran 44:45 last fall). I pushed the girls in the stoller while Beth ran behind or ahead. It was a whole family affair. 2.5 laps of the Planet Walk later he had a new 5K PR. 36:50 Nice work!
I felt great and had no pain or issues from the 50. Time to ease back into it.
Joe was still taking it easy on his bum knee so it was Mike and I for a jaunt up Green. Pace was nice and easy since I am still recovering. Great day for the trails. Always is.
Spent the night camping again with the kids (father and son (gender not checked)). Lots of fun but getting home at 10:30 meant that the run was going to be hot today. Heat training.
I started at first dam and went up BST to Green and up all the way to the spring just past the rockslide (7850'). That was the plan cause I knew I would need water and to cool off. It was a perfect plan because I was not going to make it without that water. I survived and actually had a decent run even recovering from Pocatello and a cold.
Joined Mike for his first 20 miler on trails. He's training for Logan Peak and couldn't fit in a long run this weekend so I joined him. I picked a pretty hard 20 miler for his first. Poor guy. At least it was an awesome trail. Route was Ephraims Grave Loop (Willow-Cutoff-Steel) then back to the car for a water refill and then back up Ricks to nearly the top then back down Ricks to the car. We got done just in time to not need any lights. Good thing 'cause we didn't have any. Mike was sure dragging by the end, but he made it. He didn't even slow down that much, in-spite of his whining. Not many people whine as much as me. He makes the list...
6 horribly slow miles. Only had 8 hours from the end of last night's long run till this morning's run. Didn't wear a watch but wouldn't have been surprised if it was 10 min miles.
Joe and I decided to go tag some peaks today on the Wellsvilles. It was awesome. First up was Mendon Peak. 4 miles straight up from Deep Canyon.
View of Deep Canyon from just below the saddle.
This is the route we are about to take. South on the ridge to the peaks behind me. Shot is taken from on top of Mendon Peak.
We had to hike up a little hill now and then....
Next up was Box Elder peak (behind me)
The final peak required a drop of 1000' to the saddle and then a nasty bushwhack that caused blood to ooze out of our shins. Joe is still mad about making him tag that peak.
By halfway (mile 10) we had tagged Mendon (8766'), Wellsville Cone (9356'), Box Elder Peak (9372') and unknown name peak not worth the effort (8686'). Too bad it took 2:45 to do those 10 miles. Time to go home. 9.5 miles and retracing our steps but without tagging the peaks we made it in a blazing 2 hours. Food gone, water gone, legs tired. Done.
T-4:45 (14:37) 7250' Vert
** Weekly summary - Great week for the climbing legs. Some hard earned miles but great to get out into the high country. Snow is gone. Mountains are open for exploring.
AM: 10 on canal trail route. Ran to the Water Lab and back. Canal Trail is still dirt.
T-1:20 (8:00) 400'
PM: Ran/Hiked Deep Canyon with Beth. She set a pretty good pace uphill (hiking) and was even running down at a decent clip when she slipped and superman'd it. Unfortunately, her ankle is swollen and not happy. 4 miles 1800' vert
Easy miles to von's park. Joined up with the Ragnar runners for a bit. I can't believe that 1500 teams are running WBR this year. Insane.
PM: Hiked up Deep Canyon (again) with the Scouts. Bunch of whiners. Most did well though. Only one was actually crying. Most of us made it to the saddle (8100') in 80 mins. Jogged easy down. 6 miles 2700' vert
Today Joe was out of town preparing for his wedding next week. So it was just Mike and I (and a few motorcyclers) for company today. Got to run a classic (on my top 10 list) run. Richards hollow left at the elbow to the junction with the road at the top. Flowers were out and the temperature was perfect. A great day for a run. Wanted to go longer but saving it for Logan Peak next weekend. Instead, I spent the rest of the day at Hyrum Lake with the family.
Looking around during the pre-race briefing I took stock of the crowd. No Seth, no Joe, no Jon. We did have last year's 6th & 7th place finishers Kyle Wright & Neal Legler. Plus a friendly and speedy looking guy Nick Sourlos. We also had one of my new training partners Mike McKnight quite nervous about his first run over 20 miles. What a race to break him in on! With no fanfare the race started and within a quarter mile it was already down to a group of 5-6. Neal and I set the pace and chatted away as we headed up Dry Canyon.
My plan this year was to be right around the same splits as last year and even a bit slower and hope I would have the legs to actually run the downhills this year. Last year things fell apart at the Tower so I knew there was room for improvement. As we neared Aid 1 at mile 4.4 I looked around and could only see our group of 3. Neal, Kyle, and I. Quick bottle fill, some chips and off I went. First out the aid but I could hear them not far behind. Neal caught up and we continued chatting but soon he said something about his bottles and stopped. I opted to keep plugging along and figured he would catch up soon. Kyle and Neal ended up hanging about 50 meters behind me as we made our way over to the Welches Jeep Trail. So far, things were going great. My split at Aid 1 was only 30 seconds slower than last year, but the effort was easier it seemed. From when Neal dropped back a bit all the way to Aid 2, the two guys stayed around 30 seconds to a minute or so behind me. I noticed I would gap them on the downhills and they would almost catch me on the climbs. So far, the heat wasn't an issue. There was some cloud cover and tree cover so the sun wasn't on us at all. I stopped at a spring at mile 9 and dunked my shirt in the water. Glorious.
I hit Aid 2 all alone (still only 30 seconds behind my splits from last year) and drank some fluids as they filled my bottle. As I was leaving, Neal and Kyle arrived. At that point, I decided to push it up the climb and create a gap that might stick. It was time to go. That bit of the course climbs 900' over 2.5 miles. It is runnable. Except for the 9000' elevation causing lack of oxygen. Still, you have to run it. The sun was out and getting strong during this stretch but my shirt was still damp. That saved me.
I tagged the Peak's Towers at 2:35:40 making up my 30 second deficit and putting myself a minute ahead of last year's pace. I stopped to take in the 360 degree view before hammering the downhill. I was mentally prepared to make it hurt this year and go hard the second half of the race. I was only 30 seconds from the top when I crossed paths with Neal/Kyle. So, roughly 90 seconds ahead. I put my head down and let it rip. I love this section 'cause you can see your gaps and you get to receive/give near constant encouragement. My buddy Mike was looking great in 6th-7th place but I was not surprised to see Nick Sourlos in 4th only a few mins back from Neal/Kyle. He was still in the mix.
I stopped briefly at the Aid to top off the bottle and headed off to hammer my favorite section and the crux of the course, the North Syncline Trail. This trail was nearly the death of me for my first running of this race and still is a TOUGH section. Lots of rollers. Most people expect a downhill path all the way back to the Finish, so this section is a slap in the face. The heat was starting to get to me here as my shirt was dry and I filled my bottle with HEED not water. I didn't really was to douse myself with HEED so I started to roast. I did know of a spring right before aid 4 where I could dunk my shirt again and that was all I could think about. It finally arrived and yes, it was glorious.
A quick stop at the final aid station to fill the bottle (with water this time) and down the canyon I flew. Only slowing when necessary and when the side ache hit, I pushed all the way to Deer Fence Trail. That was like a furnace through there. Short steep climbs with full exposure. Brutal, but I was almost done. Convinced no one matched my downhill run today, I cruised it in to the finish where my family was waiting.
I really enjoyed the second half of the race this year. It's so much nicer to have the legs and fitness to take advantage of the downhill and post a good time. Kyle came in next about 12 mins back. Neal struggled the second half and even hurt his ankle coming down dry canyon. He was passed by Nick for third place. Mike came in 5th well under his 5 hour goal time in great spirits. Not quite as confident about moving up in distance as he was in the past, but ready for the next challenge...El Vaquero Loco (50K).
While the competition wasn't as good as in year's past, the top 10 still all went under 5 hours. Still, no course record for me (Seth's 4 flat is impressive), but I am pretty happy to run 11 mins faster than last year for the second fastest time ever. And a win to boot!
Elevation - 6500' per sporttracks, 7261' per website, 7100' per Garmin Connect
2013 Splits(compared to 2012)
Aid 1 - 58:00(+.5)
Aid 2 - 2:09:30(+.5)
Tower - 2:35:40 (-1)
Aid 3 - 2:52(-3)
Aid 4 - 3:39(-8)
Finish - 4:08:20(-11)
First Half - 2:35:40
Second Half - 1:32:40
In the afternoon, evening we drove to Pleasant Grove for Joe's wedding reception. A worthy reason to miss the famous Logan Peak Trail Run.
