Time to test the foot. Easy 5 on the Planet Walk. Results were mixed. Still deeply bruised, but not painful, only irritating. I give it a 50/50 chance of run-ability for saturday.
Young Ward short loop easy. Today's testing the foot experiment went well. It started off great with no pain or irritation at all for the first 4-5 miles then it got a bit sore after that. In all, I would say that it is 90% healed. I am going to do the race and see how it goes. Nothing like a downhill course to pound the heels to death. Wish me luck.
I am excited to watch the Sean vs. Paul rematch tomorrow. I would have to say that my money is on Paul. Home course advantage, plus I am biased towards my training buddies. The only unknown is whether Sean is out for blood in vengence of his recent loss in the half. Ohhh, the drama.....
Freedom Run 15K (9.3 Miles) 00:54:21, Place overall: 8, Place in age division: 3
Slow miles
Fast miles
Total Distance
4.20
9.30
13.50
Blacksmith Fork / Hyrum Freedom Run 15K
Thas has been one of my favorite Cache Valley Races and I have looked forward to it this year. I struggled this week to recover from the Logan Peak Trail Race, but figured a PR was a sure bet. Paul and I got to the starting line early enough to beat the other 500+ runners to the chip pickup line. That line soon grew to 10x's the length of the port-o-pot line. Needless to say, the 30 min delay to the start of the race was mildly irritating.
The plan during the race was to stay close to 18 min 5K splits and see how I felt. I started off in 8th place and tried to stay with Joe. That task soon became too much and he pulled away to a great race. I settled into my own pace and tried to keep the legs turning over.
Mile 1: 5:43
Mile 2: 5:50
Mile 3: 5:52 (5K ~18 min)
So far, things are right on track and exactly the same as my PR race (2007). Lets try and pick it up and see if I can squeeze a few more seconds per mile out of these tired legs.
Mile 4: 5:50
Mile 5: 5:39 (I was able to use the downhill here to pick it up)
Mile 6: 5:50 (2nd 5K ~18 min)
I have made up 1 second over the 2007 race. In spite of the lack of sweet tailwind that we seem to always experience on this course. In fact, it was warm and humid and I was drenched in sweat.
Mile 7: 6:07 First half of hill. Took a water and dumped it on my head. I was passed in mile 5 and I was working on closing the gap the guy got on me. I also worked past a Bear River High school kid on the hill.
Mile 8: 6:10 Felt strong on the hill, but legs are not happy.
Mile 9: 5:40 Good downhill into Hyrum.
Finish: 1:40 (5:18 pace) Kicked, but couldn't get past the 7th place guy.
Watch read 54:21, Clock read something else, and the official results show 54:58. I am going by my watch for the 9 second PR. Not great, but without the wind and with the higher temps, I will take it. I realize that the legs are strong, but are lacking in speed. I need to keep working on that. I was stuck in 5:50 gear and couldn't push past it.
I enjoyed a stiff legged cooldown with Joe and Paul (who creamed the field and won by a landslide). Congrats to both of them as they ran great. It was fun to see Paul's mug in the paper today (Sunday). We bummed a ride back up the canyon from Scott (thanks a ton) and then spent most of the day digging trenches in my yard for sprinklers. I was able to finally relax in the afternoon and spend the evening enjoying a nice BBQ with friends. Quite the holiday!
AM: 10.25 on Young Ward Loop. Pushed it a bit to keep it under 7 min pace, but I would still call it an easy run. Did some strides between power poles. I was pretty stiff for the first couple of miles then things got better.
T-1:10:40 (6:54)
PM: Digging sprinkler trenches again. Also went on a walk with the family for ~2 miles.
AM: Ran to First Dam and back. Plus a bit up to the hydro park to visit the p-o-p. Nice canyon wind today. Made for a fast 6:25 mile after turning around.
I joined Paul and Jon for a big workout today. We started out with a blazing 7:45 pace warmup then did 2 miles near Tinman Tempo pace (6:32, 6:25). Those 2 miles felt forced and were hard. Paul could tell we were about to step it up and he quickly made up some excuse about some meeting or something at Mac Donalds and split. Jon and I hit Logan High Track for 4x1600m at Threshold pace (5:45) with 300m recovery. Those went well and we were able to hit our times nicely.
5:43
5:43
5:45
5:37 (pushed it the last 400).
After a lap recovery, we did 4x100m strides and cooled down. Just as we got back home, Jon lost it and enjoyed his breakfast again. I was laughing. I think he felt good enough after that to add on a bit more.
Today Paul took me on a new trail for me. Bunchgrass Trail out and back from the highway. It starts out at 6400 feet and climbs to about 8400 feet at White Pine Lake. Awesome trail, very runnable. Didn't see a soul until the masses of backpackers at the lake. I made Paul go with me around the lake. It got pretty hairy and was not runnable. We saw a guy catch a "huge" 6" fish. Good times. I really enjoyed blasting the downhill even repeating small sections waiting for Paul.
T-2:30:00 (counting the hike around the lake) (9:50)
Ran up Center Street and up Mountain Road to Dry Canyon. I then jumped on Deer Fence Trail over to Providence Canyon and down Canyon Road to home. I didn't slack off on the uphills. Kicked my butt. 4500' up to 5300'.
Corey and I joined the local bike club for their weekly ride up Blacksmith Fork Canyon. We started at Sports Academy and we made our way over to hyrum then on up the canyon. I stayed with the 'B' group for the ride, but held my own. By the top of the canyon we were down to 5 riders (from 30 or so). We re-grouped on the downhill and enjoyed a nice ride together. I averaged 20.5 counting the long warmup through the city stopping at lights and stop signs.
AM: Small Workout. 3 Mile warmup, 2 mile tinman tempo pace (sort of) 6:23, 6:24. 4x100m striders to try and get the body moving. 400m/200m alternating with 200m rest inbetween. I started out ok, but fell off the pace quickly. I did 4 sets.
Long run with Paul. I ran to his house and we ran up to the start of the single track on the River Trail. We went via the Sumac Trail on the way out and back via the canyon road. We checked in on the damage from the landslide. Things are looking better and people were laying sod at some of the homes that were flooded. The highlight was being done by 7:45.
I met Paul this morning and we ran out to Nibley and ran through the neighborhoods out there. I wanted to do some speed work today, so 5x3 min at a goal pace of 10K pace. We started out slow, but got better as we went. My heart wasn't really in it today.
Paces
5:53, 5:52, 5:43, 5:36, 5:50
I ran Paul home then did 2x200m and 2x100m strides at the High School then went home.
T-1:29:45 (7:11) 12.5 miles
PM: .5 miles My body and mind said no so I went home.
We started out with ~30. The hammer went down once we hit Blacksmith fork Canyon. We did between 23-28mph up the canyon. The group dwindled to 6 of us by the top. Good ride. 21.4mph average for the ride including the warmup. I wasn't in the mood for a run and this was a great alternative.
Deseret News 10K (6.2 Miles) 00:34:25, Place overall: 51, Place in age division: 12
Slow miles
Fast miles
Total Distance
6.00
6.20
12.20
Deseret News 10K -
Goal for the race - PR (sub 34:48)
That is about all I cared about since placing well in this race is pretty tough. This is by far the biggest 10K of the year in Utah.
The morning was warm (mid to upper 70's at 6 am) especially for a Logan boy. I sure felt sorry for the marathoners as they were in for a sweat-fest. I did 2 miles of warmup with a few striders to try and get the body to wake up. I am not used to getting the leg turnover going and with all the downhill, I sure needed it.
The race started off fine with the big downhill mile flying by. 5:06
The second mile was still downhill. 5:12
By this point, Jon and Adam were still within sight but pulling away. I focused on working past one runner at a time. Mile 3 was rolling down, but much harder than 1 or 2 for sure. 5:43
I figure I was roughly 16:20 or so at the 5K (10 seconds ahead of my PR pace of 2007). Time to buckle down and get to work.
Well, how about maintaining then, since I can't speed up at all. Blogger Craig passed me in here and I let him get too far away. Mile 4 was 5:36
Mile 5 was more of the same pain. What else can you say? 5:45
Mile 6 was on the parade route which was nice to get the cheering section going. It helped running sandwiched between two female runners. They sure get lots of cheers. I felt strong during this mile and made up lots of time on Craig and two female runners I was working off of. I think I passed 4-5 people this mile. 5:53
The final stretch is long. In fact, I was so delirious that I was getting mad at the race for putting the 6 mile mark over .2 from the finish. I was convinced during the race and directly after that it should have been 6.1 miles not 6.2. Come on, since when is a 10K 6.2? Those race directors are sure mean to add .1 to my race. Quite the thought process over the last bit of the race.
I had been working up to Craig the whole last mile and finally caught him with 30 meters left. He saw me and took off. I mean, took off. It wasn't fair. He rested that whole last mile. Good race Craig. 1:08
Final Official Time: 34:25 (34:27 clock) PR by 23 seconds.
Adam ran really well nearly matching his time from last year off of less training. Jon ran well considering he hasn't been home for 3 weeks. Sure is tough to train while traveling. He ran 34:07 I believe. Scott (redrooster) came in just a few mins back. I was still panting when he came in. He ran great considering his injury recovery and ramping back up his miles.
Jon, Adam and I ran back up to the start nice and slow.
Post Edit: Official results have my chip time as 34:25 and my placing as 51st. (not the 44th as originally stated at finish line (12th in 25-29)
Today's trail run was a trip down memory lane. These trails were so much longer and steeper as a scout lugging a backpack that weighed as much as you. It was still great to go back and check it all out again. I met Adam at the park-n-ride and we drove up to mill-D trailhead. First stop was Dog Lake. We started at 7220ft and climbed to 8700 feet in 2.5 miles. Perfect weather this morning. It had rained overnight and the trail was not dusty at all. Perfect. We took a quick lap around the lake (that is becoming a habit of mine now) and headed back down to the fork in the trail to start the climb to Desolation Lake. 1/2 mile back down to 8200 feet. Then we began the 2.5 mile climb to 9600 feet above Desolation Lake. We stopped to admire the view. Sweet view Park City and SLC from up there. I am pretty sure that section of trail is on the Wasatch 100. Tough trail. We sure enjoyed blasting down it though back to the bottom (after another token lap around Desolation Lake). As we were flying down the hill, I started to notice lots of little critters darting around my feet. They seemed to be trying to attack me as there was no explanation for why they would dart out onto the trail at the exact second I would run by. Maybe playing chicken? At one point one got close enough that it ran literally over my foot as it was planted on the ground. I felt his little paws all over my feet. I also had a little encounter with a female biker. I suppose she was cross with me for chuckling as she couldn't make it up a steep and technical section that we were running down. I proceeded to run past her as she was stopped on the side of the trail. I am not sure what her thought process was, but it didn't include the simple math to figure out that there was not lots of room to pass by. Right as I went by, she swong her leg over her bike seat in some kung-fu manner and gave me a roundhouse right in the gut. I am sorry lady! Don't kill me, I have a family.
After arriving back at the car, we decided to head over to Doughnut falls to add some more miles and another stop to the tour of Cody's memory lane. Luckily this section was loaded with hikers so the wildlife was minimal. We did have a perfect little troop of scouts cheering for us though. That was odd.
The highlight of the trip though was the soaking of the legs in the canyon river. We were there maybe 2 mins when a Ranger sees us and freaks out. Apparently, people drink that water and don't like it when my smelly feet are in their drinking water. He scolded us for having the nerve of being in the water and told us we should learn to read the signs that say "stay out of the water". Yes, sir. Sorry sir. $450 fine averted. Good times.
Logan Canyon to Wind Caves to Green Canyon to Logan Canyon
I have always wanted to do this loop, but now know why I haven't until now. It is hard. Jon and I ran starting at first dam up to Guinavah Malibu (6 miles in 8 min pace) then crossed the road and cruised up the wind caves trail until the trail we were on disapeared (right after the caves but with half the mountain to scale). After wandering lost on the steepest hill I have ever attempted without ropes (ok, it wasn't that bad, but you get the idea), we FINALLY summitted and hit the Birdeneau trail. The last 1/2 mile including 1200+ feet of gain took 30 mins or so to climb. It was ugly. Luckily it was all downhill from there. The bummer was getting the feet to move. Tired was the word of the day. I was very happy to see the drinking fountain in Green Canyon to fill up my bottle as it was 88 degrees out while we were running. Again, what was I thinking? We finally made it back to our cars at first dam well before the sunset, but not before venturing into the lake to chill out for a bit. Now that felt good.
Tuesday night ride with the bike club. Usual route but my legs were pretty tired going into it. I was barely able to hang with the top 4 guys today. I was definetly red-lining it towards the top of the canyon. Completely wasted now. Easy day tomorrow for sure.
I joined Corey for a ride up to Tony Grove. We rode hard and I about blew up. Awesome ride though. The last 7 miles up the hill were a riot. Coming down was much better. I hit 43+ mph.
