Old Man Still running

Pony Express Traill 100-mile Endurance Run

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Location:

Saratoga Springs,UT,

Member Since:

Jan 31, 2008

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Local Elite

Running Accomplishments:

2016 Finished 12 100-milers during the year.  86 career 100-mile finishes, 9th in the world.   First person to do 6 consecutive summits of Mount Timpanogos.  Won Crooked Road 24-hour race. Achieved the 5th, 6th, and 8th fastest 100-mile times in the world for runners age 57+ for the year.

2013  First person to bag the six highest Wasatch peaks in one day. First and only person to do a Kings Peak double (highest peak in Utah).  I've now accomplished it four times. 

2010 - Overall first place Across the Years 48-hour run (187 miles), Overall first place Pony Express Traill 100.

2009 - Utah State Grand Masters 5K champion (Road Runners Club of America).  National 100-mile Grand Masters Champion (Road Runners Club of America). USATF 100-mile National Champion for age 50-54.

2006 - Set record of five consecutive Timpanogos Summits ("A record for the criminally insane")  See: http://www.crockettclan.org/blog/?p=42

2007 - Summited 7 Utah 13-ers in one day.  See: http://www.crockettclan.org/blog/?p=14 

Only person to have finished nine different 100-mile races in Utah: Wasatch, Bear, Moab, Pony Express Trail, Buffalo Run, Salt Flats, Bryce, Monument Valley, Capitol Reef.

PRs - all accomplished when over 50 years old

5K - 19:51 - 2010 Run to Walk 5K

10K - 42:04 - 2010 Smile Center

1/2 Marathon: 1:29:13 - 2011 Utah Valley

Marathon - 3:23:43 - 2010 Ogden Marathon

50K - 4:38 - 2010 Across the Years split

50-mile - 8:07 - 2010 Across the Years split

100K - 10:49 - 2010 Across The Years split

12-hours 67.1 miles - 2010 Across The Years split

100-mile 19:40 - 2011 Across the Years split

24-hours 117.8 miles - 2011 Across the Years split

48-hours 187.033 miles - 2010 Across the Years

Long-Term Running Goals:

I would like to keep running ultras into my 60s. 

Personal:

Details at: http://www.crockettclan.org/ultras/ultracrockett.pdf Married with six kids and six grandchildren.  Started running at the age of 46 in 2004.  My first race since Junior High days was a 50K. I skipped the shorter road stuff and went straight to ultramarathons.  I started as a back-of-the packer, but have progressed to a top-10-percent ultra finisher.  Wish I would have started running at a much earlier age.  Have had several articles published in national running magazines.  Check out my running adventure blog at www.crockettclan.org/blog

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Total Distance
320.00
Mizuno Wave Elixer 5 - Black Miles: 30.00Hoka Bondi B - New Miles: 130.00Mizuno Wave Elixer 5 - Green Miles: 120.00
Total Distance
10.00

Recovery run on the flat roads.  Went great, good speed, no soreness.  Could even endure the sunshine.  Looks like I've almost recovered.  This has been an unusal long recovery this time.

Mizuno Wave Elixer 5 - Black Miles: 7.00
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Total Distance
16.00

Time to start training for Pony Express Trail 100.  What better way than to just run on the actual trail?  This morning, running at 3:30 a.m., ran from Unity Pass in the Ranches to Fairfield and back. 

Mizuno Wave Elixer 5 - Black Miles: 16.00
Comments(5)
Total Distance
7.00

Mizuno Wave Elixer 5 - Black Miles: 7.00
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Total Distance
7.00

Broke in new Hoka Bondi B's, the perfect shoe for Pony Express Trail 100.  Discovered that they fit much better without the insole. More room in the toe box. That may be the secret to avoid the Hoka blisters.  I'll experiment some more.

Hoka Bondi B - New Miles: 7.00
Comments(2)
Total Distance
8.00

So nice to be training consistently again.  Not in recovery or taper periods.  Feels like I'm on a liesurly vacation from hard work.

Hoka Bondi B - New Miles: 8.00
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Total Distance
15.00

Beautiful light rainy morning.  Training going well, foot speed coming up.

Hoka Bondi B - New Miles: 15.00
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Total Distance
20.00

In my anti-taper this week, bulding up the miles.  Feeling good, getting faster.  The body feels like it has healed up and is thanking me for NOT running another 100-miler last weekend.  Could have run the new Slickrock 100 and probably would have done well.  But, taking it easy now.

Mizuno Wave Elixer 5 - Green Miles: 14.00
Comments(3)
Total Distance
18.00

Ran a wide-muzzle gun route through Saratoga Springs and Eagle Mountain.  Legs feeling great, have a spring in them I haven't felt for months.  Its also helpful that I'm maintaining a weight that is the lowest since year one of marriage.  Also 60+ pounds lighter than ten years ago.

Mizuno Wave Elixer 5 - Green Miles: 18.00
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Total Distance
11.00

JRP run to Willow Park and back.

Mizuno Wave Elixer 5 - Green Miles: 11.00
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Total Distance
2.00

Rest day

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Total Distance
7.00

Mizuno Wave Elixer 5 - Green Miles: 7.00
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Total Distance
20.00

JRP run.  Funny a guy ran up behind me and mentioned he reads my blog.  How in the world did he know who I was?   It was Jimmy Garrett from Saratoga Springs.

Mizuno Wave Elixer 5 - Green Miles: 20.00
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Total Distance
5.00

Nice and easy

Comments(1)
Total Distance
5.00

Five easy. I must be mentally ready to race because I'm having 100-mile race dreams again. The course always run through buildings. I have no idea why. Last night I got to a room and was frustrated because there weren't any course markings and I couldn't figure out where to go next. Then, I had to go through a massive piece of furniture with drawers, that could only be done with the help of another person. I helped another runner get through, but no one was around to help me. I think I need to go to a shrink to figure out what these dreams mean.

Comments(5)
Total Distance
1.00

Race director nerves. Funny how I'm not nervous about running, just nervous about all those people coming out to the desert. It will be tough to race fast if it is anything like last year. As I passed people, everyone wanted to talk. Its fun but hard to race.

Oh well. I just never imagined the race would really get this big.

Comments(1)
Total Distance
3.00

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Race: Pony Express Traill 100-mile Endurance Run (100 Miles) 25:14:35, Place overall: 9, Place in age division: 3
Total Distance
100.00

Great highs and lows putting on the race and running it too.  Won't do that again, the race is getting too big.  Way too much stress.

I only slept 5 hours Wednesday night and only 1 hour Thursday night.  Zero hours Friday night. Not good.

I was in a great mood heading out to the course until my car died a couple miles from the start because of shoddy work done on it Tuesday.   I had to hike into the start and Frank's crew camped there helped me shuttle all my stuff to the start.  It was frustrating not to have a car there and it changed all the plans that I had put together. To make things worse, I had badly burned two fingers working on the car and they blistered up terribly. 

But Maurine showed up and perked me up. We all had great fun in the evening with a campfire with a group of runners.

Little sleep during the night thinking about all the things that needed to get done including getting ready to run too.  I finally got up at 3 a.m. and started getting things ready for everyone.

Runners started to arrive by 4:30 and it was great fun to greet everyone and start the various waves of the race.

But then I needed to run.  I was scrambling like crazy.  My crew car was so unorganized.  My stuff was just in a heap in a box.  This was not good.

But I started and felt OK and ran well for the first few miles, but then could tell that it would not be my day.  Finally about mile 12, I started to warm up and feel better and started to gain on Craig, but it didn't last long.

I just couldn't find the speed I usually have during this race.  By mile 35, I usually have passed all the early starters.  Not so today.  Oh well.  I just enjoyed the run.  A 15-minute bathroom break was a bummer. I would catch up with someone and then run slower with them for awhile which was great fun.  It was super to see my son Kevin at about mile 32 running well.

At about mile 40, Britta and Matt ran passed as I was sitting in a chair near my crew car.  I got up fast and within a mile caught up and passed them, doing 8-minute pace, but my stomach told me to quit it, so I did and slowed down.

When I reached Blackrock, mile 48.5, it was a grand party there.  Britta had finished her 50-mile victory and didn't even look tired.  It was so fun to see all the smiles on the runners and crew.  The race seemed to be going great.

But my race was a mess.  Oh well.  It was only about 73 degrees, but with the sun out, it felt hotter.  Jim Kern ran with me for a couple miles.  It was fun to talk to him about how things were going.   Jay, the leader of the 100 was walking slowly into Blackrock, badly dehydrated.  I hoped he could get things fixed.  I saw Phil and Craig on the out-and-back about 6 miles ahead, where I should have been, and was close to last year.

I plodded on.  Fish Springs area was amazing before dusk.  The colors were spectacular.  Wow!   At Fish Springs Carl and his son ran with me back to Blackrock.  Carl was great company.  He ran that stretch with me last year and reminded me how I really worked him.  Not so this year, he reached Blackrock well before me.

The night was a disaster for me.  Because I wasn't moving fast enough I got cold.  Once cold, I would get very drowsy and started to stumble around like a zombie.   Finally on the long stretch from Dugway Pass to the finish, I had no choice but to jump in the car, turn up the heat, get in warmer clothes, and try to rest my eyes.   A few runners eventually passed me, including Matt Watts who I had been about six miles or more ahead of.

I must have spent a total of 1.5 hours sitting in my crew car a dozen times.  One stop was long, 20 minutes and I managed to sleep for a few minutes.

I discussed with my crew chief Paul about quitting, and belive it or not, I wished I would have.  It would have been much more fun to drive to the finish and greet all the runners coming in.  But I thought of my non-DNF streak, and my goal to finish 10 100-milers this year. So I pushed myself out the door and ran again.  I would have some good stretches, running 10-minute pace, but only for a mile, then the drowsy spells would start again.  I even had to have Paul stop every mile, just in case I was having trouble.  In past years, I could do that stretch with 3-4 mile stops.  It was very hard.

What was crazy was the change in temperature.  We would go through pockets of about 32 degrees, and then it would be 45 or more.  Clothes went on, came off, went back on, etc.  I had plenty of time to think about what went wrong and I concluded that with all the stress, my concentration was just not there.  I decided that this would be the last year I would run and direct.  It was time to only direct.  My little fun run had grown up.   I almost DNFed again with about 8 miles to go, but I kept it up.  It was fun to see the lights of the cars in a line across the desert floor.  There were lights ahead too, and at times I was reeling them in, but then faded again.

Dawn arrived, and now my goal was to get to the finish before the sun hit it.  I reached that little goal.  Next, I was greatly disappointed that the belt buckles were missing.  No one knew where they were.  Brad and driven all over during the night trying to find them.  It was so disappointing to see runners finish and not have the buckle for them.  (It turns out that because of my car trouble, back at the start during clean-up, someone by mistake put a container in my wife's car that needed to go to Simpson Springs.  I had failed to label it because I planned on just sticking it in my car which would go there.)  So, I'll mail out all the buckles.

I was grouchy for awhile, but all the smiles on the faces of runners and crews finishing in the back of the pack perked me up.  It seemed like everyone had a great time.

It really was a couple days of highs and lows.  My race staff worked so hard and did so well.  They are very good and know how to run a good race now.  I really look forward to next year.  I will cruise around the course, jump out and run with many runners.  That will probably be a first during an ultra, to see the race director running all over the place.  It will be great fun.

The race was a great success as far as I can tell.  Almost every runner set a PR, and there were a ton of very happy first-time finishers.  Wow!

So, my little adventure run that I started in 2005 with a dream seems like it has turned into quite the production.  It makes me very happy that I have been able to share this dream with others and know that I have done something to make them very happy.

On another bright side, when I got home, I checked the car repair invoice and sure enough they had replaced the oil cooler hose that came loose.

Hoka Bondi B - New Miles: 100.00
Comments(7)
Total Distance
0.00

Feeling pretty good.  I may not have run that 100-miler very fast, and it didn't feel easy at the time, but it sure was easy on my body.  A muscle in my arm is the only problem and I suspect it was because I put my watch on too tight and things swelled up.  I didn't notice the problem until the finish.

Went to the car repair shop, and so far they were very nice.  I showed the the picture, and they didn't dispute that they had put in that part.  Where it came loose should not have happened.  They think it is a defective part from the dealer.  They sent my former stake president (who works there) to go out and tow it in.  I sure hope the shooters were away hunting and didn't use the car for target practice.

Still pretty bummed out about the weekend but reading all the race reports is cheering me up.  The only ones that are a little negative are from the very experience mountain ultrarunners who DNFed.  They just couldn't handle the flat dirt roads.

What really makes me happy is to hear comments from the crews who seemed to have a fantastic time.  I'm convinced that this experience helps families of ultrarunners finally get it, and they become excited and want to be a part of it more.  Even my own family was out there for awhile and both my daughter and young son were talking about somehow running part of it next year.

One funny story.  As my wife drove by after Simpson Springs in the morning, the dog got excited to see me so I had her run with me for awhile.  But the crazy dog who totally loves my wife, just couldn't stand knowing she was in the car behind.  She kept stopping and wanting to go back.  Finally the car went forward and that crazy little dog was dragging me on the leash like crazy.  It worked out very well, I could run much easier being dragged and increased my pace quite a bit.

Comments(6)
Total Distance
7.00

Buckles in the mail.  Legs feel really good.  Can really tell I was lazy dazy in the race.  Hopefully that won't happen at Across the Years.  Doubt it, I just wasn't focused.

Comments(1)
Total Distance
1.00

Well, mentally, I'm ready to start training again.  The first sign is that I finally get the rest of my smelly stuff in the wash...ha, ha.

Attention is turning to Across the Years.  Looks like son, Kevin and brother Bob will both be there running the 24-hour.  Good buddies, Tom Jackson and Matt Watts will run the 48-hour.  Bought  my plane ticket...will fly this year, keep the stress down, and relaxation up.  Should be fun sharing aid stations with Kevin and Bob.  I'll start running on Day 1 and they will start running on Day 2, so I will be much slower and hopefully can keep up with them after they get a little tired.

Only soreness I have left is that crazy arm muscle.  It creaks now, but seems to be getting better.  Wierd.  I think I just wore my watch too tight.

Updated my 100-mile list to the left.  My string without a DNF stands at 28.  Came very close breaking that.

Buckles:

Comments(3)
Total Distance
8.00

Running again.  Sluggish, but still running.

Mizuno Wave Elixer 5 - Green Miles: 8.00
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Total Distance
7.00

Run during lunch.  Legs feel like they have more pep.  Son Kevin and brother Bob have signed up for Across the Years.   They will run the 24-hour race on the second day of my 48-hour race.  Should be fun to run with them.

Signed up for Utah Valley Half marathon.  I've done well in that one, the course seems just right for a good fast time.

Comments(2)
Total Distance
26.00

Treadmill 15 x 7:30 x 3%.  Legacy Center inbetween watching my son swim in a meet.  And then in the Lake Mountain foothills.  I'm rather stunned how quickly I recovered from PET100.  I guess it was just a slow, rather long training run for ATY.   Looks like I will probably sign up for Rocky Raccoon 100  to get my 5th finish there.  I was going to skip because airfare is over $400 to Houston, but I discovered it is half that going to Austin.  Just a couple hours more driving.

I'm zeroing in on 3,000 miles for the year... about a month earlier than ever.

Mizuno Wave Elixer 5 - Green Miles: 26.00
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Total Distance
16.00

Treadmill.  Noticing progress.  Did some long stretches at 6:30 pace.

Lunch run, roads and canal road in Riverton and Bluffdale

Mizuno Wave Elixer 5 - Green Miles: 16.00
Comments(6)
Total Distance
320.00
Mizuno Wave Elixer 5 - Black Miles: 30.00Hoka Bondi B - New Miles: 130.00Mizuno Wave Elixer 5 - Green Miles: 120.00
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