AM: Pool running for 40 mins (3 cross-training miles) then ran to the end of the Planet Walk and back (3.5 miles). T-24:10 (6:55)
PM: Landfill loop in the heat. I started out easy for the first half mile then decided to actually run. Killed myself the next 5.5. I am out of shape. I did hit one mile in 6:34 though. The rest were about 7ish. Foot is looking good!
AM: Easy 5 miler on the Planet Walk course. My body is tired and worn out. I am sure it is a combination of increase in miles and fighting a sore throat. Took it easy to try and recover.
Hit the pool with Jon for some pool running. We did about 35 mins there then ran landfill loop easy. It was supposed to be easy, but my body is completely trashed. I was up a lot last night in coughing fits. I was having crazy dreams and the coughing was tied into it somehow. I was halusinating and was all weirded out. I also had a fever, that or was working so hard coughing that I was sweating all night. Better go see a doc I guess.
T-45:30 6 miles (7:35) 161 (should've been closer to 150)
** Doc says it is the beginnings of Laryngitis. Too much taking or smoking or something...
Duathalon of sorts today. I biked up to Blacksmith fork canyon to watch Walter run the Freedom Run 15K. I really wanted to run this race, but there was just no way this year. I hit the far end of Hollow road in 27:20 (17mph). I hit a nasty headwind for me going up the canyon, but awesome tail-wind for the runners. I made it up past the mile marker 4 (11.5 mph up the canyon) before seeing any runners. When I did finally get to them, they were moving. I turned around when Walter came flying down the hill. I coasted next to him for the rest of the race except for the last 1/2 mile. There was some serious competition today with Walter running in 7th? and averaging 5:30 pace coming down the canyon. He sure looked good today. He ended up getting one road-kill at the top of the hill while the guy dry-heaved. So I believe he finished in 6th place. Just under 52 mins. I am sure tail-wind helped the times, but a sweet race either way.
I ran 3 miles with Walter for his cool-down. I was having a hard time breathing as my throat is super irritated. I need to rest and get over this illness as it is killing me.
T-23:40 (7:53) 155
I immediately biked home from Hyrum. 7.5 miles - 20.7 ave mph - 154 ave HR
Counting the 25 miles of biking as 5 miles of cross-training
AM: Planet Walk 3.5 slow. I finally got more than 4 hours of sleep last night. I got 11! It was glorious! I am still not able to breathe properly (while running) so just took it easy today. I will get out for more later.
PM: Bethany got bit by a spider yesterday on her leg and today it took a turn for the worse. It is now the size of a silver dollar. She was pretty miserable this afternoon with aches and fever and such. We took her in to insta-care and got her some antibiotics. I put her to bed, then the kids to bed, then left for a run. It was dark so I stuck to trails as much as I could. I hit the planet walk then ran over to Blackhawk park for a faster mile (6:36) and back home the same way. I felt much better this evening and could breathe better. Now off to bed for another long night of sleep...
AM: I guess I pushed it a bit too hard yesterday. My quads are sore and my foot is a bit achy. First time to run hills in 6 weeks will do that to you I guess. So I took it easy this morning doing a lot of miles on grass. I ran over to Merlin Olsen park stopping at Logan high to do a few laps in the grass. I did 3 laps at Merlin Olsen and came home. Easy pace. Things started to loosen up by the end.
T-54:47 (7:50) 149
PM: Easy 5 in the heat. Had the stroller and Jon and his oldest in their stroller. Quite the posse crossing main street. Not timed.
Felt a bit sluggish today so I tried to pick it up. I am still tired from ramping up the miles.
T-57:50 (7:14) 154
PM: Landfill loop (6 miles) with Paul. I ran easy until I met up with him. Then he ran me into the ground. He seems to back in "Paul kick butt" shape. Good for him, bad for his training buddies.
Today I ran a steady state aerobic run. The goal was to be under 7 min pace but not quite at tinman tempo pace (6:15-6:30). I was able to keep all my miles under 7 and most at 6:40 or so. I was pretty tired by the end of this run. Now off to Lava Hot Springs for a few days of camping.
AM: Banged my knee on some rocks in the river yesterday and today it was so sore I couldn't even run on it. Ok, I could but not very far or fast. It is getting better as the day wears on. Oh, it was well worth it.
3 miles in 27 mins
PM: Took advantage of the kids' nap time and drove up to first dam. I ran from there up the Logan River Trail 5 miles then turned around and headed back. Honest pace up the canyon then hit the afterburners for some leg turnover on the way down. Leg felt MUCH better this afternoon. Hit the final 2 miles at 6:13 even. Hot at 4 pm (90F).
Well, if its not one thing it is another. I somehow bruised the ball of my foot on Saturday. I woke up Sunday to some pain and a nice limp. Ice and rest. Today, I hit the pool for a pool running workout. 45 mins of 2 on 1 off. I rode my bike over to the ball-field and ran some laps in the grass. 2 miles. It was super tender. I will go for a bike ride this afternoon instead of running and get this healed quick.
PM: Went on a 23.5 mile bike ride with my neighbor. He pushed me pretty hard. It was a pretty good workout. We started out easy and chatty and picked it up where by the end we were hitting it hard during our pulls. Mendon to Wellsville and back to Logan.
T-1:10 (20mph) 151 ave hr (converts to 7 cross-training miles @ 10 min mile pace)
AM: Willow Park Loop. Foot is still bruised and still has a visible red spot (bruise) so I am still not able to get a real run in. I hope it stops hurting soon...
PM: Big bike ride with Corey again. Today we hammered the hills. My legs are toast right now. Good workout. We rode from our house to Logan Canyon up to Right hand fork and turned around at Camp Lomia (1000 feet of climb). We were moving pretty good averaging 18.5 to the turn around when we noticed why. Big wind blowing up the canyon. We had to work just as hard to go 25 down. My HR was in the 160's and 170's going up and 150's and 160's coming down. My HR dropped but my legs were too toast to go any faster. It felt like a 12 mile tempo run.
The foot thing is still very noticeable. Still hurts to walk. There is still a small bruise there too.
Well, my stupid foot pain has finally been diagnosed.
Here are the symptoms:
Sharp pain between big toe and second toe when pressure is applied
Hard lump size of a small jelly bean below the surface of the skin
Red bruising
Hurts to walk, run, bike, pool run and even think about
Here is what the Podiatrist says:
Bug or spider byte that has calloused and just plain hurts
Are you kidding me??? I have been sidelined by a bug byte that just happens to be on the bottom of my foot? Grrrr!!!!!!!!
It is not healing super fast either. It has improved to the point that I can walk, but not run. I figure I got bit Saturday at Lava Hot Springs (ironically at the same time (more or less) as Bethany and her nasty spider bite. So, as soon as this stupid thing heals I will be able to run again. I am going to hack up a in-sole to give the spot some room and so no pressure is applied and see if that helps. Lesson learned. Don't wear sandals camping!
I was finally able to heal my foot up and get out for a run. Taking 4 days completely off did the trick. The foot is 95% healed and improving rapidly. Finally! It felt so good to get out and get some miles in. Kept things easy to be safe. I will get out later for more...
T-44:30 (6 miles) (7:25) 154
PM: Ran with Jon and Paul to first dam via the canal trail (10 miles from my house). Jon continued for more miles and I returned with Paul. We hit 1.5 miles of 6:15 ish pace then backed off. I was feeling pretty good. I guess my 8 week taper did wonders. I hit another .5 fast after dropping Paul off (3:01). I will be pretty tired tomorrow. No foot issues...
T-1:13:30 (7:21) 158 ave 181 max (They got me working pretty hard up the hill)
Easy recovery run this morning. I was racing/dodging the lightning and nasty thunderstorms. Very entertaining to see all the lightning though. I was super tired and even a bit tight/sore from yesterday.
PM: Bike ride with Corey. We rode up Blacksmith fork canyon from the house to Hyrum city park. It was supposed to be easy-medium but I was pretty tired and it felt hard. Tough ride. 160-170 bpm up the canyon. 150-160 bpm down. Enjoyed a nice dinner with Beth after.
T-1:23:45 (28.35 miles-convert to 8 miles) (20.3 ave) 157 ave
Easy run in the morning. Did the Planet walk 5 miler with 4 striders. Came home and picked up Beth and the kids and did 2 more. Nice morning. I am still a bit tired and sore but improving. One more day of easy running and I am good to go for the relay. Getting excited!
Wandered over to the Deseret News 10K this morning to watch the race. It was pretty incredible how stacked that race is. Very cool to watch. Even better to be in it. Maybe next year. I did see Nick McCombs run well. I even joined Chad and Adam for a block around mile 2 as they were cruising by. They finished virtually together with Chad having a last minute surge to get by. Michelle L impressed me the most with her long .2 mile kick. I yelled at her at that point (mile 6) to get going and pass the girls in front of her and she did. Very impressive kick. Good job guys. I parked up at the start and ran portions of the course and then ran back to the car with Chad and Adam. Most of it was nice and easy. I am ready to roll tomorrow...
Northwest Passage Relay (185 Miles) 20:01:02, Place overall: 2, Place in age division: 1
Slow miles
Fast miles
Total Distance
2.00
21.00
23.00
Northwest Passage Relay Day 1
Second Place Overall (20 hours 31 min 2 sec)
It was a blast, could be my favorite relay I have run to date in terms of fun mixed with adventure. Very different experience running 5 legs instead of the normal 3.
Friday Legs:
Leg #2 6.28 miles 38:22 min (6:07 ave) Rated Moderate
Leg #6 7.2 miles 44:07 min (6:08 ave) Rated Hard
Leg #18 5.5 miles 32:49 min (5:58 ave) Rated Easy
We were forced to run this relay short-handed due to last minute drops and injuries and as a result we hit the starting line in Blaine WA with only 7 runners to split 36 legs. That meant that most of the runners would run more than the normal 3 legs over 21 hours or so. That made for some interesting logistics. Anyway, I was in Van 1 with Dale, Tim, Matt, and Aaron. We received a 2:00 start time with 12 other teams (some didn't show up) with only 1 team starting later at 3:30 pm. It was quite exciting to start a relay with so many teams to race right off the bat. Pretty new and cool experience (very different than what I am used to in relays). Dale had the privilege of leading off and enjoyed picking off the runners one by one as they all took off out of the gate. By the time his leg of 6.2 miles ended, only 2 teams remained in-front of him. One of my "extra legs" was next. Leg #2 was 6.28 miles (according to Mr. Garmin) and featured some mild rolling hills with much of the leg along the shore of birch bay. I took off in hot pursuit of the two runners in-front of me and did my best to get them. I was close enough to one (thanks Dale) to get them in the first tenth of a mile. The other team took longer as I passed him at 1.25 into the leg. It was a very scenic leg, especially along the beach-front. The problem was that the sun was beating down and the wind was whipping into my face from the bay. Headwind and heat tamed the pace a bit. It sure felt good though to put some good time on the competition.
Leg 2 Total Elevation Loss 103 feet - Total Elevation Gain 62 feet - Net drop 41 feet
Expected pace was 6:37 (41:11) and I ran 6:11 pace (38:22 actual time) and picked up 2:49 off the projected pace.
I handed off to Tim and things were going well until about 2 miles into the leg we pulled off the road to give Tim water and Dale got a little over-zealous pulling off and dropped the front wheel of the Truck into a large ditch. Oh no. Yes, we were stuck and good. We were jumping on the back bumper trying to get some traction to get out when Tim runs by. He looks pretty worried. We quickly give him water and tell him he is on his own for a bit. After numerous failed attempts to get out, we are busy flagging down motorists (fellow relay teams) and checking for a chain or some way to get out. We were not getting anywhere and Dale could not get a hold of a tow truck for some time. the high school team (ended up third overall and one of our closest competitors the whole way) ended up shuttling up our next 2 runners to the next exchange while Dale and I fought the battle at the Truck. A security guard to a neighboring oil refinery was bribed to pull us out with his truck and we were free. By the time we made it back to Tim, he was only a mile from the exchange and totally hot and wasted (he had a 8.25 mile leg in the sun, ouch). Crisis averted, we were able to continue without losing un-necessary time to our competition. Our relay continued as expected without incident for the rest of our van's legs. Aaron and Matt ran their guts out and then it was time for me to run my next leg.
Leg 6. I had about 2.5 hours rest between my legs so I was able to recover pretty well and get out and hit my projected time. I was pretty happy with it. It was tough leg with some good rollers as well. I had some downhill to drop down to sea-level. The bummer was that the hill was some crazy 10% grade that was so steep I was destroying my quads in the process. Once at the bottom, I ran for what seemed forever along the industrial beachfront neighborhood that seemed kind of rough. Once again I was fighting a wind and a hot sun. (I thought it always was raining in Seattle??) I was privileged to climb some nasty hills into the town of Bellingham. The final part of my leg was on a sweet running trail. It was shaded (finally) and mostly flat. The trail was rough and was partial asphalt and dirt. It may have been all asphalt like 30 years ago, but now it is difficult to tell what it is. I did like that part of the run though. Very pretty with the huge bay to the side of you. I passed plenty of casual joggers on that section. I hit the exchange and handed off to Andy in Van 2 and celebrated being half-way done with my legs already...so I thought at least.
Leg 6 Total Elevation Loss 415 - Total Elevation Gain 333 - Net drop 81 feet.
Expected Pace was 6:12 (45:23) and I ran 6:08 pace (44:08-actual time) and picked up 1:15 off the projected pace for my leg.
Leg 18 Total Elevation Loss 8 - Total Elevation Gain 3 - Net drop of 5 feet
Yes it was a super flat leg. I was able to pass 9 other teams during this leg. Quite un-eventful. Running in the dark is fun. I was 20 seconds or so ahead of my expected pace until I had to run an extra tenth of a mile. Bummer. I am happy with it though because I hit what I wanted for that leg. I came into the exchange and flat out ran into Andy. He was supposed to run the way I had just come from and I was in his way. Quite a chaotic exchange. After my leg we drove directly to deception pass state park and tossed our sleeping bags in the mossy grass and got 2 hours of glorious sleep. Continued on tomorrow's entry....
Leg #30 5.5 miles 34:14 min (6:13 ave) Rated Moderate
Leg #34 6.05 miles 39:32 min (6:32 ave) Rated Hard
Right before our Van departed we found out that Van 2 needed my help to run a 5th leg. That meant that rather than being done after this leg, I would have one more hard leg to run. That changed my plan of running it all out to be more conservative. I was able to still hit my expected time, but I was really feeling fatigued now that I was on my 4th leg.
Leg 34 was my last leg. Finally! It had the most hills of all my legs. I only needed to average 6:30 pace or so to hit my projected times, but I had already run 24 miles. For a good portion of the run I felt like I was at mile 24 of a marathon. Legs were dead and not cooperating. I ran my best and was never happier to crest the last 100 foot climb and see the exchange at the other side.
Overall, the race was a blast. Could be the most fun I have had at a relay. Cool course, awesome team. Very different experience with 9 runners rather than 12. I am very glad I got to do it and would love to do it again some time. Thanks to Paul for giving us the opportunity and organizing everything. We couldn't have done it without you.
(Day after thoughts) Legs are completely wasted now. Quite the week for them. From 4 actual running miles to 70+ running miles in one week. Not recommended. I will consider it a miracle if I remain un-injured from this. Either way it was well worth it. I had an awesome time.
Tired and cramped leg muscles keep the pace real slow today. I ran with Jon and Paul up to first dam and back. We ditched Jon during his pit stop but he eventually found us again. Easy miles for me this week. I was working hard to break 8 min pace today.
AM: Still working on getting the legs to relax and loosen up. I still feel like I ran a marathon yesterday. Planet Walk 5. Barely managed to pass the few runners out on the trail. Sluuuugish.
PM: Still dragging this afternoon. Hammies are crazy tight. Combine that with two kids in a stroller and the pace was real slow. Sorry Jon.
AM: Finally got the legs to cooperate enough today for some sub 8 min miles. They still feel like bricks but are improving. Today I ran the 400 W route.
T- 58:22 (7:18) 153 ave
PM: 5 hot miles with the kids in the stroller. Felt lousy as expected.
AM: Still making slow improvements. My legs are about 75% there. Still need more work though. This morning I ran the Providence-River heights loop (8). It seemed like ages since I ran that one last. It was nice and cool (roughly half the temp of my afternoon runs).
T-58:05 (7:16) 149
PM: 5.75 with the stroller and Jon pushing his stroller. Hot and slow. Heading out with the family to go swimming.
