Old Man Still running

Ah, it is a new month.   It is discouraging to see how low my mileage has been the past two months, but overall, it isn't that bad for the year.   I'm about 140 miles behind last year which was my all-time high mileage year.  But I'm right on pace with 2007.

This will be a non-running week to further heal the foot.   This morning I swam two miles in the pool.  The pool was a little hot, perhaps over 93 degrees so it made it tough to go fast.  400m splits were 10:36, 10:52, 10:21, 10:46, 11:10, 11:42, 11:31, and 10:57. (Same energy as running 11 miles).

I also need to lose weight this week.  Starting at 183, ten pounds over my desired racing weight.

P.M.

Walked 5 miles during lunch.  Discouraged.  There is a little lump that I can feel on the bottom of my foot where the tendon inserts through the planter ligament to the 5th metetarsal.  It gets annoyed.   I'm going to experiment with a notch in an insole.  Perhaps that can take away some pressure on it.

Swam in the pool one mile.   I had time to do three miles but the pool was very hot today, probably about 96.  It felt like hot mollases.  It was great heat training but just brutal having your upper body in it for a long time.   The pool is heated by natural springs and somewhat difficult to regulate.  Hopefully it will be cooler tomorrow.    After the mile swim I did plenty of kicking on my back, working the hamstrings.

I walked four miles during lunch.   Today is a good foot day.  I feel less pain today than any other day so for.   On my insole, I did carve out some of the cusion material in the location that affects the tendon.   Sure enough, that seemed to help a bunch.

Yeserday I received in the mail a new pair of trail shoes.  I run in Vasque Velocity, and I bought the new VST model.   I tested them out with a walk and they look like they will work very well and don't put much pressure on the tendon.   I'll work on the insole to make them fit even better.

I'm feeling better about Squaw Peak 50.   They aren't allowing big drop bags at the critical aid station at Little Valley, so I will need to adjust my strategy.  I was going to put a waist belt there in order to carry three bottles, but I may just go with handhelds and really drink as much as I can at that aid station.  We'll see.

Weight (after hot pool): 179

Swam 1.5 miles in the pool.  The pool temperature was back down to a nice cooler temp, proably around 90 degrees.   Still very warm to anyone who swims in normal pools, but great for those of us used to this hot pool at Saratoga.   My 400m splits were 10:08, 10:27, 10:17, and 10:22.   I lost interest for the next half mile, just too boring, so slowed the pace and toward the end did laps doing kicking only giving the legs a good workout.

Weight coming down nicely.  Down to 177.  About two pounds a day.  Feeling fine.   One more day of this and then start carb loading for Saturday.

Swam one mile this morning.  400m splits were 9:55, 9:29, 9:42, and 10:10.  Gee, almost had them all under ten minutes.  Mile time was 39:16.  Weight is down to 175.  Good, I successfully lost 8 pounds in four days.  I should be lighter on the feet for Squaw Peak 50 on Saturday.  The foot is doing fine.   I bet if I stayed off it for another two weeks it would be healed, but no, I need to go punish it on Saturday.  I don't feel any pain when I walk and very little pain when I rotate the ankle.  I can feel the quite a bit of  pain if I walk on the inside of the foot.

Just a few notes about how I prepare for a 50-mile race such as Squaw Peak 50.  Because I’m so anal about split times, I like to construct a spreadsheet that contains a list of the various aid stations, mileages, my goal time, and any previous year times if I have run the race before.  I analyze the elevation profile and set a time goal to arrive at each aid station.  Surprisingly I can usually come very close.  I always tend to start faster than planned, but usually always back off back to my planned pace.   I usually keep a close eye on the clock during a race.  It helps me to push myself at times when I get lazy.

Pace

So, for Squaw Peak 50, I know the course very well.  This will be my fifth time running it.   I’m planning my split time goals as if I didn’t have my foot injury.  I’m just hoping that it won’t bother me.   For the past couple years, I’ve tried my hardest to squeeze out more minutes during the first 26 miles.  However, I’ve concluded that I have squeezed that melon as hard as possible.   I’ll be content to arrive at the top of the paved Hobble Creek Canyon road in 5 hours.

The key to my race is the second half.  I usually slow down way too much and get lazy.  I was hoping to go run that portion of the course a few times in training to prove to myself that I can do it fast, but my foot injury threw those plans out the window.   So, as I’m leaving aid station #6, I plan to yell at myself, “Davy, you lazy bum, don’t you dare take it easy on this next stretch!!!”   Another stretch I want to push much harder is the climb after Little Valley, going up to Bald Knoll.  Push it, push it!   Then for the monster snow climb, I may try using my Kahtoola microspikes.  I fear my weak ankle will have trouble climbing the snow.  I just can’t walk like a duck putting pressure on the inside of the foot.  Usually that is how I get up that slope.  I won’t be able to do it that way this time.

After Windy Pass, it is all about foot speed and ignoring the pain.  I should be able to run the last 9.4 miles in less than 1:50.   The final 4.4 mile road must be fast.  I’ve run that section during very fast road races, so I know what it possible.   I need to remember those times and not that time I almost threw up right in front of a wedding in the canyon just as vows were being exchanged.   I held it in.   I do have evil thoughts how funny it would have been if I would have heaved big-time back then.

Drop Bags

I used to put lots of junk in drop bags for 50s, but now I rarely need anything.  The distance is too short, I can grind it out.  I will put some small zip-locks at stations with bottles of ensure, in case I want to fuel with that.   I may put my waist-pack and microspikes in a ziplock at Little Valley.

Fueling

Ensure, sports drink, and gels can usually get me through 50s.  I will grab some peanut butter jelly sandwiches now and then.  Also, can’t resist the popsicles at the 26-mile point.

Dress

I’ll dress in shorts and short sleeves.  It always gets warm.   It may rain, so a garbage bag in my pocket will do the trick.   I’ll also run with two hand-held bottles.   Waist packs slow me down.   I like having something in my hands for the times when I take face-plants.  The bottles take the damage.

Pacing

I'll use a pacer for the last 24 miles.  I haven't done this before on this race.  It will be sweet.   My pacer has run a couple ultras and know the routine.  He should be able to yell at me when I start getting lazy and make me laugh when I want to cry.

Squaw Peak 50 is a tough, fun race.  I really look forward to it.   My goal time is to break 11 hours.

I ran in the Squaw Peak 50-mile trail run, held in the mountains east of Provo, Utah.   If successful, this would be my fifth straight finish at Squaw Peak.  To me, it is one of the greatest 50-mile races in the country.  The views are spectacular and the trails are very challenging. In particular I enjoy it because of all the local participants.

But this year, I was very nervous about running.   I had been battling a foot/ankle injury for the past couple months.  This would be my first ultra since the injury put me on the disabled list.  I went into the race without any serious trail training for the past two months and I knew my hill strength would be a problem.   I had been doing plenty of pool work and some road training, but with this difficult course, I knew it wouldn’t be enough.   I also knew that this type of injury sometimes needed several months to fully heal.  I was taking a big risk running.  It could set me back for the entire summer.

I enjoyed the great pre-race dinner the night before and participating in the usual pre-race laughs with ultra friends both new and old.  The biggest laugh at our table came while 59-year old, Ed Green from Colorado was wondering if we would put up a monument for him if he died during an ultra race.  I suggested that the monument would have to be put out in the brush and would read, "He squatted, but never got up."

Squaw Peak 50 puts on the longest race briefing in the sport and this year featured a long multi-level marketing pitch by the RD and sponsor.  It was the wrong venue for this type of thing in my opinion.  But after that, just a good-night’s sleep was needed to get ready for the race.

I arrived at the start (Vivian Park in Provo Canyon) in plenty of time so I wouldn’t be rushed.   I was disappointed to discover that my MP3 had been wiped of all its music for some reason.  There would be no tunes today on the trails.  I was also disappointed to feel pain in my foot as I walked around.  We started promptly a 5:00 a.m. and began our race by running two miles down the Provo River Parkway past Bridal Veil Falls, roaring above us in the dark.

I knew there would be some very fast runners in the field this year, but I was flabbergasted how fast the field went out.  I like to run those first two miles very fast in order to reach the single track trail before runners who could slow things up.  But this year it seemed like there were at least 20 runners ahead of me.  I did hold back someone because one of my calf muscles started to tighten up from the very fast pace.  I quickly decided that I would not push the first ten miles as hard as I usually did.

Once on the single-track trail, we started a huge climb that would take us up several thousand feet over the next six miles.  Buddies who usually passed me around mile seven were already passing me and commented on the blistering pace.   It would be a good day for speed.  The temperature was cool and ideal for running and the trails were in great condition with very little snow to slow us down.  

Last year I arrived at the Hope Campground aid station (mile 8.5) in about 10^th place, but this year it seemed like I was in about 40^th place and only two minutes slower.  I had let several long trains of runners pass me on the climb.  I just didn’t have the right conditioning to push the climb very hard.  Also, I dislike leading a train of runners.  Instead I like to be the caboose so I can alter my pace as desired.  The foot was in some pain with each step, but it wasn’t terrible.  I had to be very careful to avoid any type of ankle twist.  If the foot started to twist, I could tell it would cause bad pain and problems.

The dawn arrived and near the top of Squaw Peak I was able to look down at the massive valley floor far below and see my home town far across Utah Lake.   Co-worker Bill Francis caught up with me and for the next two hours would kindly run with me.  My speed was a little better than his on the single-track, but his speed was much better on the dirt roads because of all his experience running roads.   He would kindly wait for me in order to have some company.   However, as we were talking during a climb, we missed a turn onto a single-track short-cut.  We ended up following the road up through several switch backs.  I soon noticed the mistake because the scenery was not familiar and I did not see any foot tracks.  But we didn’t turn back because I knew we would finally join up with the course.  We probably did an extra quarter mile or so, but it didn’t appear like we lost any time because the people we passed were not re-passes.  Many runners started the race an hour early and within 3.5 hours we passed most, if not all of them.

View of the windmills

We reached to top, Kolob Overlook (mile 14.6) at 3:10.  I was only four minutes behind my pace from last year.   As Bill and I ran down the long seven-mile road, I discovered that I just could not push the ankle hard.  I needed to be patient and careful.   I estimate that it slowed me on the downhills by about 15 minutes during the first half of the race.   The views coming down are spectacular.  I could even see clearly the giant wind-mills guarding the entrance to Spanish Fork canyon.  They looked very close.

Once we reached the paved Hobble Creek Canyon road, Bill pushed on strongly ahead and I believed disappeared ahead for the last time.   I ran with a consistent pace up the road, vowing to walk very little of it.  I kept leap-frogging a pair of runners who would run the flatter sections very fast and then would slow to a walk.   With about a half-mile to go on this road section, my pacer, Mark Ellison came running down the road to greet me.   It would be great to have him run with me to the finish.

I reached to aid station at the top of the road (mile 26.1) at 5:09, about ten minutes slower than normal.  My stop was very fast and we were on our way climbing up Dry Canyon.  I tried very hard to push this next section and at one point ran very fast and hard, even working Mark hard.  But despite the effort, my split time was about normal, an hour.  We reached Sheep Canyon (mile 30) at 6:11.  Karl Melzer and Scott Mason were working the aid station.  My stop again was very fast.  I wasn’t going to waste any time at the stations.  I never would sit down the entire race.

We next needed to run through the creek bed and make several creek crossings.  This was very difficult for me because of the wet rocks.  My ankle would start to roll many times and I could feel the pain, so I eventually had to slow way down and just carefully pick my way through the stream.  I really enjoy the next section that winds its way up along the canyon floor, crossing open fields and makes its way up to aspen groves.   But I can never do this section very fast as fatigue starts setting it.  It was no different this year and several runners caught up.  However, they were the same cast of characters I had seen for the last couple hours.  I would pass them in the aid stations and they would eventually catch up.  The trail next descends through the trees into Little Valley.  My foot/ankle was really starting to bother me more, so I again had to slow down on the downhill runs.

We arrived at Little Valley (mile 33) at 7:15, about 15 minutes slower than normal.  Shortly after we arrived a stream of runners also came in who I had not seen all day.  That motivated me to make a very quick stop.  At this station runners will typically make a long stop.  I was there for only two minutes.   I was careful to make sure I drank plenty because the next section is really a three-bottle section and I planned to stick with only my two hand-held bottles.

Mark and I ran at a good pace up the road and started the long climb up to Bald Knoll.  A few familiar runners caught up but once we hit the rolling trail around Bald Knoll, I could kick it into gear better and we repassed several.   Finally we reached the base of the massive steep climb that seems to go straight up.   Usually each year we can climb straight up a snow ridge, but this year there was very little snow so we would follow a rough trail through the brush. 

View of the back of Mount Timpanogos

Once we started the climb, there was a slow runner ahead of me going at a slow, but steady pace.  I quickly passed him but then discovered that the altitude immediately slammed me.  I had not done any training above 6,000 feet for months.  Now at 9,000 feet, I just could keep pushing it hard.  I stopped and let him go ahead again.  Once I recovered, I again wanted to go faster but just didn’t want to play the leap-frog game over and over again, so I was content to climb at a slow rate.

Runners making their way up the steep climb

Once on top of the ridge, fellow mountain team member, Eve Daivies caught up and passed me with her dog.  I was surprised to also see Bill Francis catch up.  He had got off course after Little Valley, taking the road up the mountain instead of the Great Western Trail.  Eventually, he turned around and got back on course, but that had cost him at least a half hour or more.

I arrived at Windy Pass (mile 41.5) at 10:01.   I realized there would be no PR today, but I still had a good chance to break 12 hours.  Charlie Vincent and Jim Skaggs were there and they kindly attended quickly to me needs.   I grabbed a couple tasty cookies, filled my bottles up, took some pain killers from Charlie and was on my way to try to catch up with Eve.   But I never did.  The decent was slow as we hit some snow.  I just couldn’t risk sliding and twisting the ankle.  Also, I was developing a couple painful blisters on the other foot, probably because I was over compensating. 

We made patient steady progress down the long trail, an amazing 4,000-foot descent. In past years I could really blast down sections of this and would even do some nasty face plants on the rough trail, but this year it was much slower.  The thing that was slowing me the most was a painful lower back due to poor conditioning. We were passed by several runners along the way.   I noticed that my ankle was feeling pretty good, almost pain-free.  If I could just finish the last single-track section without a twist, I would be in good shape.  As I was descending, I started to think about my next race in two weeks, Big Horn 100.  How in the world could I do that race if I was feeling so poorly after only 50 miles?   I tried to remind myself that these thoughts are typical as I’m finishing a hard race.

Runner crossing field with Windy Pass in background (2008 race)

Finally as we neared the bottom of the South Fork, we ran across a wide, flat field.  A runner passed me and I thought to myself, “Uh…we aren’t on rough trails anymore, why are you being lazy?”   I really kicked it into gear and we started to fly across the field.  We passed that runner like he was standing still and sprinted past some spectators waiting for their runners to arrive.   We came to the last aid station at 11:31.  I knew it would take some very serious speed to arrive at the finish before 12 hours.  I had over 5K left.  I told Mark that I had once run this downhill road section in about 18 minutes during a road 10-mile race.  

We pushed the pace hard and soon could see a yellow-shirted runner ahead.   I purposely kicked the pace up another notch in order to really fly by him.  Our 48^th mile was run at about a 7-minute-mile pace.   I noticed that the runner who I had passed in the field had been trying to match our pace, but after that, we left him far behind for good.   Eventually I needed to slow down some.  I could feel a painful blister developing because of the hard road running.   With less than a half mile remaining, I saw my watch click past 12 hours.   Oh well, I would still finish strong.  I made the turn into Vivian Park to the kind cheers of the families and crossed the finish line in 12:05.   Despite all my challenges today, I had finished only 25 minutes behind my PR.  I was pleased that I had been able to finish strong, and had finished without any serious further damage to the ankle.

My pacer, Mark had enjoyed the run.  I needed to drive him back to Hobble Creek Canyon to retrieve his truck so I wouldn’t  be watching many of my friends finish this year.  My feet were in pain anyway, and I was anxious to get home.

So what was the damage to my injured foot?   No real damage!  After 24-hours it was again pain-free.  I suspect the run had actually helped the ankle and foot strengthen.  I'm considering running the Utah Valley Marathon this Saturday as a training run.

I finished my 5th straight Squaw Peak 50!   It was my 47th ultra finish since I started this craziness in July '04. Here are my split times for the five years.

	miles	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
Start	0
Hope CG	5.6	1:06	1:04	1:04	1:02	1:04
Rock Canyon	8.5		2:10	2:15	2:12	2:15
Kolob Overlook	14.6				3:06	3:10
Pole Haven	20.9	4:44	4:17	4:12	4:06	4:14
Dry Canyon	26.1	5:39	5:05	4:58	5:02	5:09
Sheep Cyn	30		6:05	5:57	6:01	6:11
Little Valley	33.5	7:39	7:07	6:54	7:08	7:15
Windy Pass	41.5	10:39	9:57	9:45	9:53	10:01
Big Spring	46.5	12:00	11:25	11:02	11:07	11:31
Finish	50.9	12:42	12:06	11:40	11:43	12:05

Recovery from Squaw Peak 50 is going well. The foot has the usual soreness, but nothing as bad as the days after Desert RATS 50 or BSLT. I'm encouraged. I already have a little spring in my step even with a set of sore quads.

I'm seriously considering running Utah Valley Marathon on Saturday as a training run for Big Horn 100 a week later. My crazy rationale is that a long flat road run won't risk damaging the foot/ankle. Besides, I really like that course. The beginning miles are so very fast and I love running along the river in the city. We'll see.

Still recovering from the 50-mile run on Saturday.  Slept for 9 hours last night which is unusual for me, so I know I need to rest.  The foot is a little more sore today, but not terrible.  Looks like last year after SP50, I was back at training by Wednesday and got in 70 miles of training before Bighorn 100.  That won't happen this year.  I even ran a 1:07:17 at the Provo Riverwoods 10-mile run last year on the Saturday following SP50.   I have no idea how well I can do at Big Horn.  I'll probably just have to set my sights lower.  Last year was a PR on the course, for 26:45.

 Yes, all morning yesterday I thought it was Wednesday.  Pretty funny.  Twinkies noticed it before I did.  I showed up for a Wednesday meeting and no one was there.   What's up with that!   Well, I have my wits back today and feel better recovered.

Intended to go to the treadmill this morning, but slapped myself at 4:50 decided to hit the road outside.  The rains made the trails muddy, so I had an excuse to stick to the roads.   Did repeats running up Grandview Blvd.

Swam 1.5 miles, easy pace, the arms just didn't want to work hard.  Did some tough kicking since the legs were willing to work.

Well, I entered the Utah Valley Marathon, held on Saturday.   I'll likely treat it as a tune-up training run for next week's big race.  I know that sounds weird, but thats the way it is.  Looks like rain could be possible.  That would be nice...toughens you up.   The more the better, ha, ha.

Foot update.   Well, good news and bad news.  No pain in lower foot in area of the tendon insersion.  This had been the big problem area.   Bad news.  The pain has shifted up the tendon right by the ankle.   Perhaps that is good news and shows things are healing.  But it seems to hurt more now on flat surfaces.   Now it is indeed ankle pain instead of foot pain.   Strange.

Rest day to get ready for the Utah Valley Marathon.  Feeling good.  My upper shin muscles are still a little sore from the Squaw Peak 50, but I don't think shin splints should be a problem.  My challenge in marathons is always the calf muscles.  I've been trying to work those a little bit more this week.  Looks like it will be cool with a good chance of rain.  Perfect!  Well at least for me.  I tend to do very well against competion when it rains.  It doesn't bug me enough to slow me down.

I'll go pick up my packet this afternoon and then head with the family to the temple openhouse.  Should be a fun.

I ran in the Utah Valley Marathon.   At the last minute I entered this marathon, feeling that I had recovered enough from a good finish at the tough Squaw Peak 50-miler just a week ago.  I thought it would be an interesting experiment to see how I can do.  Besides, all the trails were soaked from all the rain this week and a nice road run down Provo Canyon would make sense.   It would also be a nice last long run before Big Horn 100 on Friday.

I ran in this Marathon last year in its first year.  This year, it looked like it had 10 times the number of entrants (about 800 or so) and now is becoming a new major marathon in Utah.   The course started way up Provo Canyon, near the dam at Deer Creek Reservoir.   The right lane of the highway was blocked off all the way down the canyon for the course.   Then it went on some city roads and eventually joined up with the Provo River Parkway, a paved trail the follows the beautiful Provo River all the way to Utah Lake.  From there it went through a maze of neighborhood roads for six more miles and ended up at the South Town Mall at the south end of Provo.

The first half of the marathon is fast because of all the downhill, but the second half is pretty tough and slow because of all the twists, turns, ups and downs as it passed under major roads.  I think this marathon is 5-10 minutes slower for me than the Ogden Marathon which is mostly a straight shot down the canyon.

Busses took us up the canyon to the start and I tried to keep warm near the barrel fires as everyone arrived.  I was able to meet several fastrunningblog bloggers including Tarzan and Smooth.  

My goal for this race was to come out uninjured, and treat it like a training run.  I expected that I could finish at least in 3:45.  But I knew that once the competitive juices flowed, that I would probably press it harder, especially with the initial huge downhill over the first ten miles.  Caution would be essential.

The gun went off and away we went.  Sure enough, I went out with the top-30 runners.  The first mile was a gentle uphill which wasn’t too bad because our legs were fresh, but then the nice downhill came and I kicked it into gear, passing several runners.   I struggled for the first few miles because I just wasn’t warmed up yet.   The sore ankle behaved itself.  I really only felt it when the road sloped to the right.  My splits for the first six miles were:  6:57, 6:32, 6:48, 7:25, 7:26, and 6:56.  I think the only major hill was at mile 5 and I concentrated on pushing the pace on that.

But by mile six, my calves were complaining.  This always happens in marathons.  I didn’t want to risk a muscle pull so I backed off the pace.  I had finally warmed up and the quads were saying, “faster, faster!”  But the calves were say, “whoa, Nelly!”   By changing my foot placements I could change the pressure on the calves and that seemed to help keep them lose.

My next four miles splits down the Canyon were 7:20, 7:38, 7:38, and 7:48.  Small groups of runners started to pass me.  The course then went by the River Bottoms on a road behind some huge houses.  My splits for miles 11-13, were: 7:57, 7:59, and 7:57, pretty consistent.  I was bummed out that I couldn’t keep a 7:30 going.  I had the strength but the calves didn’t want to do that.   The right calf really started to get tight, so I finally quickly took two Succeed! Caps (electrolytes) and within two miles it felt much better.  I could not feel any bad effects from running Squaw Peak 50 a week ago.  My half-marathon split was 1:37:02, not bad for me.

Elite injured runner, Michelle Lowry was out on the course cheering us on.  I recognized her by her crutches on the ground.   She yelled great words of encouragement to me both times I saw her.  I sure hope the doctors can finally figure things out to get her healed.

The course then made some weird gyrations near University Parkway, going back and forth and around a shopping center.  It finally joined up with the Provo River Parkway.   I did fine at first but once the trail started to dip below roads I started to struggle.  There were two other runners near me, one in orange and one in red.   They were both starting to use walking spells and then run at about a 7:15 pace.   I kept my steady pace going and would almost catch up, but then they would run ahead.   Eventually I passed them for good as their walking spells increased.   My splits for miles 14-16 were: 7:36, 7:42, and 8:02. 

I had my first split over 8 minutes. Around mile 16, the wheels started to come off my race.  I could start feeling the effects of Squaw Peak 50.  It became a significant struggle to keep my pace going.  I took gels and that helped a little.   My splits for the rest of the Parkway by the river (miles 17-20) were:  8:13, 8:54, 9:00, and 9:10.

We now were dumped out onto roads near Utah Lake.  Before the race, I wisely drove this section of the course so there would be no surprises.  This was a good mental strategy.    The final six miles were a terrible struggle.  The gas tank was just running on empty even though I took gels which came back up and out a couple times.  My hips started to hurt badly from last week.   I was just hanging on for dear life.  I didn’t want to croak.  At that point I hear sirens.  “Great, they are coming for me.”  I looked at the clock and knew a PR (sub 3:24) was out of the question, and soon a sub 3:30 was not likely.   I set my sights to at least break 3:35, which would be another Boston Qualifier time for me.  My final splits, miles 21-26 were:  8:55, 9:24, 9:26, 9:25, 9:25, and 10:14.  I believe I saw fellow ultrarunner Leon Deitlaf pass me in the last mile or two.  I just couldn’t keep up. Dang, I just can’t beat him in marathons.  So close this time.

I finished in 3:33:11, in 58^th place, 7^th in my age group.  Our age group was pretty bunched up, five ahead of me finished within nine minutes before me.   Recovery was rough.  I really gave it all I got without injuring myself.  For the next 15 minutes I had to lie on the grass to find my strength again.   It came back and I enjoyed watching finishers for the next hour.   My 4^th road marathon was in the books.

Went on a one mile walk with the dog this afternoon before a giant thunderstorm blew in.   The legs feel great.  Soreness as usual in the ankle, and a small knot in my right calf.  I'm amazed how little soreness I feel compared to after Ogden Marathon.  Yes I ran that race eight minutes faster, but still.  I chalk it up to better leg conditioning now that I have started to again run long distances.  That is encouraging.

I'm in a reflective mood today.  As I was walking with the dog, gazing up to the foothills of Lake Mountain (my training playground), I couldn't help reflect on the beauty of the place I live.  The contrast of the mountains in front and the deep dark storm coming in from behind was an amazing sight.  As I watched further, the fingers of rain made their way over the mountain and descended like a cloud racing down the mountain toward me.   Lightning followed with fierce wind.   I made my way back to the house just as the downpour arrived.

I've really lived in some beautiful places, each with their unique beauty.  My youth in the Pacific Northwest, very close to Puget Sound.  My young adult years in upstate New York with its beautiful green hills, in our little house on the banks of the Susquehanna River.  Then, my hardworking adult years in the beautiful Sonoran Desert in Tucson, with giant saguaro cactus out our back yard.  Now in my mid-life years in Utah with its magnificent mountains and redrock desert.   Too bad I only took up running four years ago.  I missed some great trails in those other places I have lived.   It has and continues to be a wonderful life.  My daughter will be home from her mission in two weeks.  It will be good to have all six kids around again.  And its very nice that five of them will be out of the house by fall!  Ha, ha.  Ah, the peace and quiet.   Well, enough reflecting.

No running today, just walking.   Calf soreness almost gone from the Saturday marathon.   The ankle is sore, but seems to calm down as it gets warmed up.   It is all about rest this week to get ready for Bighorn 100 on Friday.  I don't want to gain any weight, so I'll try to hit the pool some to burn some calories.   This morning, the alarm went off and I chose to sleep in.

The weather forecast looks like it will be dry for the race, and probably hot.   Ten degrees hotter on Saturday than Friday.  The race starts on Friday at 11 a.m. and climbs immediatly up 3,500 feet, so that cools things down.  But, 24 hours later, I'll be coming back down.  I'll finish the race in the early afternoon and the last 12 miles are always the hottest.   I could be on the hot dirt road in nearly 90 degrees.   I hate that.   Running in 90 degrees at mile 95 is torture.  Oh well, I've done it before, I'll just have to prepare for it.

I swam a mile in the pool, tapering....not running.   Then I tried to do a little heat training in anticipation of my little 100-mile run this weekend in the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming (near Montana).  Here's what I did.  I spent time in the hot tub (around 104 degrees).   I observed that my resting heart rate (well, after the mile swim), was about 85-90 bpm in that heat.   I tried to pump it up by doing kicking.  I could get it up around 120-130 bpm, but it wasn't enjoyable in that heat.  I just couldn't sustain it very long so I would back off and then try again.   I was in there for 20 minutes.   That was an interesting workout and I have to believe it really helps the body adjust to heat stress.  I'll try to do this some more.

Weight: 176.

I swam one mile in the pool and again tried to do some heat training in the 105 degree hot tub.  After the swim my heart rate was 68 in the 92 degree pool.  Once I got in the hot tub it jumped to 80.   Did some kicking to get the rate up to 130 and then when resting it would go back down to 90.   It was tough work and I had to get out a couple times to cool off.  Did this for 30 minutes.  Finally I went in the lower hot tub 101 degrees and used a high pressured water jet to give all my leg muscles a deep tissue massage.  It does wonders to loosen things up.   The only soreness I feel from Saturday's marathon is a tiny bit in the right shin.  Calf muscles are fine now.   Looks like I'm good to go.  Two more days of rest before the 100-mile torture run at Bighorn.   Now it is about getting two good night's sleep because I will run through the night Friday night (hopefully not sleep-walking).

I know I'm obsessive about my pace during races, but it helps to push me along.  Below is my pacing chart for Big Horn 100 on Friday.  It shows my goal pace and the pace I ran in 2006 and 2007.   I didn't include 2008 because the course was different due to heavy snow pack.  I finished in 26:45 last year and my splits last year have helped me set goals on those sections this year.

	miles	Goal	Clock	2006	2007
Start	0	0:00	11:00 AM
Fence Spring	6.25	1:30	12:30 PM	1:34	1:31
Upper Sheep	8.5	2:00	1:00 PM
Dry Fork Ridge	13.4	2:45	1:45 PM	3:05	3:00
Cow Camp	19.5	3:50	2:50 PM	4:23	4:07
Bear Camp	26.5	5:20	4:20 PM	6:04	5:50
Footbridge	30	6:10	5:10 PM	6:51	6:38
Narrows	33.5	7:10	6:10 PM	8:03	7:43
Spring Marsh	40	9:00	8:00 PM	10:12	9:42
Elk Camp	43.5	10:05	9:05 PM	11:25	10:54
Porcupine	48	11:25	10:25 PM	12:55	12:33
Elk Camp	52.5	12:45	11:45 PM	14:28	14:12
Spring Marsh	56	13:40	12:40 AM	15:31	15:13
Narrows	62.5	15:20	2:20 AM	17:35	17:08
Footbridge	66	16:20	3:20 AM	18:35	18:12
Bear Camp	69.5	17:50	4:50 AM	20:25	19:49
Cow Camp	76.5	19:50	6:50 AM	22:37	22:17
Dry Fork Ridge	82.5	21:40	8:40 AM	24:25:00	24:15:00
Upper Sheep	87.5	23:05	10:05 AM	25:56:00	25:54:00
Lower Sheep	92.5	24:15:00	11:15 AM	27:32:00	27:07:00
TR TH	94.75	24:55:00	11:55 AM	28:27:00	27:53:00
Homestretch	98	25:40:00	12:40 PM	29:22:00	28:41:00
Finish	100	26:00:00	1:00 PM	29:38:00	29:00:16

Full race report can be read at: http://www.crockettclan.org/blog/?p=155

Well, I finished the Big Horn 100 for the 4th time.  "Finished."   That is what the goal turned out to be for me.   This turned out to be the roughest 100-mile finish of my 24 100-mile finishes.  I'll get into the gory details in my full race report later this week.  The tough factors were:  Heat, shoes that didn't fit right, mud, mud, mud, and again not dressing warm enough after sunset.  The biggest factor was the poorly fitting shoes.  The ball of my right foot became very swollen by mile 55.  I decided that I would quit once I reached mile 66 so just took it easy.  Once I got to the aid station at mile 66, I told the volunteers that I would likely quit, but I took my sweet time, washed and cared for the feet, put on shoes that fit better, and decided to still give it a go.  By then I was about three hours behind schedule.   The next 3.5 miles went great during a huge climb.  But then the heat slammed me again.  The previous afternoon I had become badly dehydrated and since then any heat affected my system poorly.   Again, I decided to quit the race but had a seven mile stretch to go before I could reach a place to quit.   A friend passed me and went ahead to tell the aid station that I would be quitting.

Well, in answer to prayer, the clouds came with a breeze and cooled things down nicely.  I was going slowly because I knew I was going to quit.  But with all that time to think, I finally decided that my excuse list was much shorter because it was now cooler.   When I arrived at the station I chowed down on greasy bacon and fried potatoes.  I sat in a chair for ten minutes to get a good rest.  Finally I announced I would continue on, but I feared the next long six-mile hot road uphill section.

Then something amazing happened.  With all of the slow moving for the past ten hour or so, my legs were well rested and ready for a good workout.   I ate well at that aid station and now had plenty of energy in my blood.  I decided to treat the last 24 miles like a training run.   I again started to run, I mean really run.  I loved running up the hills and would push them very hard.  During the next six miles I passed about 15 runners, most of them mid-pack 50-mile racers.  They were all shocked to see me cruising.  I passed my friend who thought I had dropped, and I passed him on a very steep hill that I was running up very hard.  He let out a shocked comment as I cruised by.

I reached the next aid station in great spirits.  A buddy from Colorado, Paul Grimm was there helping out, and he turned all his attention to me.   I no longer cared about my finishing time or placement, I now only wanted to finish.   I spent a full 30-minutes in the aid station, again washing my feet, lubing them, and putting on clean socks.  I even enjoyed just talking to people and sharing the experience of the past day, night, and day.

I'll save the details for the race report, but for the next ten miles I REALLY cruised.  I probably passed about 20-30 runners in both the 100-mile and 50-mile racers.   On the four-mile 4,000 foot drop, I put it in full-speed downhill gear and pushed my pace as fast as possible, as fast as I would do on fresh-legs. I don't think I have ever run such a tough, long downhill section that fast. Over and over again, runners would step off the trail and watch me blast down ahead of them.   My split time for that section was faster than all of my four years in the race.

When I reached the aid station at mile 92.5, I plopped down in a chair and let friend Jody Aslett help me recover from that amaing sprint.  She said, "The have been a couple other runners who looked worse than you."  Ha, ha.  

Well, it was 30:30 and I had 7.5 miles to go.   I had plenty of time to reach the finish by the 34-hour cutoff.  I decided to just walk the rest of it in and just enjoy the finish.  I talked to many of the runners who passed me by while I was walking.   I watched the thunderstoms roll in, wishing it would rain, but it didn't.  

I finished in 33:21, walking in slowly to the cheers of so many friends.   I was just happy to finish a race that I had quit twice.   Over 33 hours is just too long to be running.   I have a much greater respect for back-of-the pack runners who normally finish these races in over 30 hours.  Finishing 100 miles in 24-27 hours is much easier.

An interesting topic is recovering after a 100-mile race.   The slower I do a 100-mile race, the faster I recover from it.  This past race was a very slow 100-miler for me, thus recovery is going fast.   Today I can already jog without any pain.  The muscle recovery is fast because I didn't push the muscles extremely hard (except for the initial climb and final descent.)

However, there are other body systems that will take longer to recover.  I was badly dehydrated for several hours and that really takes a toll on my system.  I still cannot stand having sunlight hit me, I want to be in the shade.    The endocrine system of the body can really be stressed.  This is a system of glands that releases hormones.  Sometimes after a 100-mile race some of my glands are swollen.  (But haven't noticed that for many races).  The stress put on this system can really effect endurance.  While I can jog without pain, I couldn't go very far before I would want to quit.

Need for sleep is another interesting factor.   Here are my sleep patterns

• Thursday night (before race): 4 hours of good sleep - very anxious
• Friday night (during race): 0 hours - never felt drowsy
• Saturday night (in lots of pain): 4 hours - very restless not deep, strange dreams
• Sunday night (after long drive): 8 hours - strange dreams (wife says lots of groaning, leg twitching)
• Monday night: 10 hours - very deep sleep

I woke up this morning feeling like I was hit by a truck, but after a few hours felt better.

Another recovery factor is appetite.   Right after a race my appetite bounces back and I can eat plenty to recover as long as I'm no longer nauseous.  But for the next couple days, my appetite is low.  My taste buds rebell, and nothing tastes good with the exception of some salty foods.   Today (Tuesday) is the first day that both my appetite and taste buds are back in order.

Weight:  Usually I end up weighing more than when I started (unless I finish dehydrated).  But typically during the night while running I retain water because I'm not taking in enough salt, but still drinking plenty.   This was the case at Big Horn.  I was weighed on the same scale, once around 6 p.m. - mile 30 (180 pounds including shoes, etc.), and again at about 9 a.m. next morning - mile 66 (188 pounds).   Eight pound swing up from the night.  I noticed swelling in my hands.   I adjusted by not drinking as much and taking in more salt.  By mile 82 my hands were normal again.

When I returned home, I was up a couple pounds compared to when I left home.  For about 48 hours after the race, my body dumps fluid as it recovers, plenty of trips to the bathroom without drinking much.   I drop a pound or two each day.   Then when my appetite returns, I start gaining weight again.   It is a strange process.

I expect by Saturday I will be fully recovered.  In fast last year, the Saturday after Bighorn I ran in the tough Logan Peak 28-miler and finished mid-pack.  I'm too busy this Saturday, but I expect I'll be out on the trails early in the morning feeling great.

How can I recover so fast?   Through the past few years my body systems have got used to this stress that I put on it.  It has adapted and now bounces back very fast.

Feeling normal again.  Ready to get back to training....and to ditch the roads, hit the trails.   Once the 100-mile recovery usual foot-swelling went down, my ankle/foot did start hurting again, however the pain is less than a week ago before my 100-mile run.  So it looks like healing in continuing fine.

Got up to go run on the trails but could see that a drenching rain had fallen over night.  Mud is that last thing I wanted to run through, but I went ahead and ran up Lott Canyon (on Lake Mountain).  It turned out that the dirt was wet, but not muddy.  It turned out to be a slow recovery run.  My endurance isn't back yet, will take a day or two more.  I just wasn't interested in getting my heart rate up yet.  Muscles and joints all felt great.  The problem ankle still has some soreness, but nothing bad.   I wore some new shoes as needed to adjust them a few times to get the right lace tension.  I could still feel the left big toe being jammed against the front of the shoe on the downhills.  It is still tender from the run last weekend.  I always do have numbness in the tip of the toe because of rubbing from the thousands of miles over the past few years.

Anyway, feeling pretty good.  I'm thrilled to be back out doing trail training again after being sidelined for the past few months because of the injury.   I guess that does sound kind of silly because during this injury I did run two marathons, one 50 mile race, and one 100 mile race.

Weight: 176.  My goal is to get under 170 for Tahoe Rim 100 next month.   I was talking with another ultrarunner after the Bighorn 100 and he commented that my weight was almost clidesdale weight for ultrarunning.   I know that sounds silly, but it is true for front-to-mid-pack 100-mile runners.   I'll work at it.

Two miles with the dog in the afternoon.

Did a nice early morning run up Lott Canyon on Lake Moutain.  Once up there, the legs felt good and wanted more uphill so I bushwhacked and did a steep long climb up to the top of a ridge I had never been on. (about 2000 feet up). It had great views of Cedar Valley to the west, and Utah Valley to the east.  Amazing views.  The morning was incredible.   As I was descended down a ridge I ran into a little boy scout troop hiking up.  "Oh, I guess we aren't the first ones to ever come up here."  I laughed.  One guy saw my Bighorn 100 shirt and asked if I was training for "the 100 race."   I assumed he meant Wastach and I said yes.  I didn't bother to tell him I ran 100 miles just one week ago.

I descended and took a wrong turn to go the way I came, but that was OK, I descended down the other side into Reformation Canyon and then made a run around Lake Mountain to the North.  The massive wheat fields to the north looked amazing as the tassles are now on the wheat.

On the downside.  My ankle is really still a problem.  Each day this week it hurt more with little activity.  Now it is where it was about 2-3 weeks ago.  I'm started to just resign myself to admit that it will be a problem all summer.   Yes, the run I did this morning was very rugged, each step of that ridge hike/run had a possibility of an ankle twist.  At least after 50 miles it isn't a problem so it shouldn't stop me in a 100 mile race.  I just worry that I'll have far less training on Timp this summer because of it.  Oh well

I entered the Freedom Run 10K with two of my sons for July 4.  I'm hoping to win my age group.  It will probably take a sub-43.   To medal will take a sub-45.   In 2006 I did it in 46:04 and in 2007 I did it in 44:45.   My speed is close to two minutes faster than 2007 so a 42:45 could be possible.

Thinking about my 100-mile race finishes.   I've entered 28 and finished 24.  Hopefully Tahoe Rim 100 will be my 25th 100-mile finish.  I'm so glad I finished at Bighorn 100 a week ago.  I would be kicking myself right now if I didn't.   My DNFs were 2004 Bear, 2005 Vermont, 2005 Leadville, and 2008 Leadville.

 100-Mile Finishes

1	2005 Rocky Raccoon	26:53:00
2	2005 Bear	32:23:00
3	2006 Bighorn	29:38:03
4	2006 Tahoe Rim	28:04:49
5	2006 Wasatch	34:15:00
6	2006 Bear	30:35:00
7	2006 Pony Express	25:29:00
8	2007 Pony Express	23:26:00
9	2007 Bighorn	29:00:16
10	2007 Vermont	25:18:19
11	2007 Leadville	26:15:46
12	2007 Plain	31:45:00
13	2007 Bear	28:13:00
14	2007 Pony Express	24:45:00
15	2008 Rocky Raccoon	25:38:55
16	2008 Moab	23:33:33
17	2008 Bighorn	26:45:31
18	2008 Tahoe Rim	25:54:00
19	2008 Plain	32:18:00
20	2008 Bear	30:51:00
21	2008 Pony Express	24:26:00
22	2008 ATY	22:48:00
23	2009 Moab	24:41:00
24	2009 Big Horn	33:21:00

Reading all the race reports over the weekend and following Western States 100 progress made me feel like a slacker, so I got up early to punish myself.  I ran up to the top of Lake Mountain, a 3,200-foot climb up the rought Israel Canyon Road.  It was my 24th summit of that mountain. http://www.crockettclan.org/blog/?page_id=96

Boy, the road is really chewed up this year from the trucks during the spring.   My ankle was OK going up but was a problem coming down, slowing me up.   I did it in 2:19 round trip, pretty slow.  My PR is 1:58.  The view from the top of Utah Valley lights below is amazing.   The stars were also blazing this morning.   Birds were on the road snoozing and I kept scaring them.  They scared me too.  I almost stepped on one.   Toward the top it got chilly, long sleeves and gloves.  There was a pocket of  pretty cold air in the saddle where the road goes over the top.  It was warmer on the summit. 

It was a good workout, gets me ready to start climbing Timp.  My feet still are a problem from Bighorn 100.  They still don't feel comfortable in my trail shoes.

P.M.

Six mostly flat miles dirt and pavement in the blazing 95 degree heat.  Felt great.  Legs felt strong, had to hold them back.

I was out the door at 2:40 a.m. to get some miles in, less hills this morning, more miles.  Ran out to Eagle Mountain an in the hills south of the Ranches, finishing up by running across the massive Church farm with its wheat.   As I would run past the wheat, I could hear russling follow me in the wheat.   I beleive if must have been crickets or something that I would startle as I ran by causing them all to jump.   Watching the dawn arrive was cool.    My legs felt great.   This was a non-carb/fast-burning run, so toward the end I was dragging pretty good energy-wise.