Old Man Still running

I've recovered very well from my 104.39 miles at ATY 24-hour run on Dec 30.   I feel ready to go running again....except for a silly injury.  I tied my right shoe lace too tight and didn't notice it for about 40 miles!  Now I have a painful creaky tendon on the top of my foot.   I've had this kind of thing several times before, so I know it just heals with time off.  So, I'm probably sidelined for a week to heal up the foot.  But that is OK.  It is time to rest, recover, and send in race registrations for the new year. Besides, last month was a 400 mile month, my highest ever.  That is crazy.

Two walking miles.   Tendon still creaks but no pain.   Walking made it feel better.

Easy miles on a treadmill at 10:00 pace, a couple at 10-15% incline as I start to concentrate on climbing again.   Right foot still a little sore and left quad sore at the end of the workout.  But so far so good, back in the saddle.

8 treadmill miles....9 degrees outside.   Did a 6x10x10.   That is six miles as 10:00 pace, with 10 degree incline.   A good workout.   I'll work that up to a 10x10x10.   The treadmill thinks I did 3,200 feet of climb, but I never really believe that because it doesn't feel like I really went that high.   This crazy treadmill workout really helps get in hill shape.  Others who have seen this workout in the past think I'm nuts.

4 walking miles

8 degrees out with the brightest full moon we will see in another seven years or so.   I hit the treadmill at the rec center and did a 12x10x10.   That is 12 miles, 10:00 pace, with 10% incline.   I was very suprised how easy it felt.  Treadmill thinks I burned 2,500 calories and climbed 6,400 feet.

The hardest part was the boredom for two hours.  By getting up early, I can do the first hour almost half asleep with the lights out.  The time goes by fast.   The second hour was tougher, but not bad.  The quads feel strong from ATY, ten days ago.

Three tempo miles 8:00 pace at Legacy Center.

14 Treadmill miles at about 8:00 pace.   4 mile walk during lunch up above the capital building.

PM

Ran 5 tempo miles at Legacy Center.  5K in 21:09.  Felt fast and strong dodging all the walkers and runners on the track.  Met Clint from Eagle Mountain who has run in the Buffalo Run 25K each year.

AM.  Slept in.

4 walking miles during lunch

PM

7 miles at Legacy Center.  5K tempo run of 21:00.  The rest at 9:00 pace.  Inversion weather setting in.  I'm looking forward to climbing hills.   Warmer as you go higher.

Very sluggish and slow miles on the treadmill.  Quit early.   10 degrees out.  Longing for the hills.

4-mile walk during lunch to Warm Springs Park, the historic location of the warm springs that the 1847 pioneers discovered and enjoyed bathing in.  The springs were covered up around 1870.   Some nice historical monuments at the park.

PM

8 miles at Legacy Center, steady 8:00 pace until I got bored.  Felt much better compared to the morning.

6 degrees F out this morning.   I know it is warmer up in the hills, but this cold is brutal.   Just can't get motivated to pile on the clothes at get out when it is that cold.   8 more boring miles on the treadmill.  Sluggish at first but warmed up in a few miles.   Noticed that I need to drink a bunch more in the warm room, getting dehydrated toward the end.

4-mile walk during lunch in avenues west of captital.

PM

5 miles at the Legacy Center indoor track.  8:30 pace.  Last mile for the day was 6:42.  Nice.

4 F on the Utah Lake shore this morning as all of Utah is dumping its cold air at my doorstep.  The appears to be almost a 30 degree warmer temperature difference up on the mountain ridges.   The ice fog is pretty amazing.  I'll take some pictures tomorrow morning of the frost on the trees.  I'll also go out on the lake.  I see tracks of sleds or something, so I should be able to run in the deep snow if someone has packed it down.

15 boring miles on the treadmill

PM

Went out a mile and back on frozen Utah Lake.  Check out the photo: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=5605845&l=2f42c&id=754525693

4 F on the lake shore.   Rambled 9 miles on the treadmill to the tunes of Allman Brother's "Ramblin Man."   Noticed that I lost about 5 pounds this week without really trying.  Thats OK, can help me get back down to racing weight.

Ran on frozen Utah Lake, ran from Saratoga Springs to Orem (actually Vineyard).  The rather deep crystally snow made it a tough workout.  Ice is solid away from the shores.  ATVs, duck hunters, ice fisherman are out on it.   A podcast of my adventure will be up on my blog soon at: www.crockettclan.org/blog

Well, this isn't really a race report, but I did run an incredible marathon adventure run on frozen Utah Lake, the largest fresh-water lake in Utah.  It covers about 97,000 acres (151 square miles) and is 23 miles long (north-south) and a has a maximum width of 13 miles (east-west.)   It is a shallow lake, with an average depth of 9.4 feet. 

I ran from Saratoga Springs to Bird Island (on the south end of the lake) and back.   During the morning I was totally enveloped in fog and had to rely on my GPS to make sure I didn't run around in circles.  It is difficult to decribe the amazing experience being out on the ice.  It makes you feel like you are running in Antarctica. The ice flows built up around Bird Island were awesome. 

Watch my youtube movie!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dI3nWGC--D0

Near the end of my run I was entertained by Super Dell Schanze on his motorized paraglider with skis!   See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdBdrSQbM9M&eurl=http://dellschanze.blogspot.com/  He was swooping and skiing all over the lake.  It was a sight to see!   What a fantastic day and run.   I will post pictures and audio on my blog tomorrow at www.crockettclan.org/blog   You can also read/listen and see pictures from my run across the lake to Orem on Saturday.  See: http://www.crockettclan.org/blog/?p=135

Took a "zero day" and rested some more, just because I felt like it.   I also finished up my youtube movie on my Utah Lake ice adventure on monday: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dI3nWGC--D0

Seven easy miles at the Legacy Center and then watched my son at the swim meet there.  He's a captain on the Lehi High School swim team.

Five treadmill miles.   I stopped early because I feared I would slit my wrists because of boredom.  I'm sick of that stupid machine.  No more!

PM

Five miles with the dog on Utah Lake.   With warmer temperatures, the crystals have melted and the sandy snow now is packable snow, easier to run on.   The little dog just loves it out there.  She probably ran an extra couple miles just going back and forth. 

12 Treadmill miles at 8:00 pace.

14 degrees out and windy.  Wimped out again.  12 treadmill miles at 8:00 pace.

PM

Ran laps at the Legacy Center.  On Saturday I'll run in the Winter 5K at Great Salt Lake.   I hope to set a PR and break 20:00 for the first time.  So today I wanted to push and get my lungs working hard.   I felt good and strong, so I kept pushing for 5K.   My mile splits were 6:14, 6:37, and 6:43 for a 5K time of around 20:10.    That was encouraging for a training run.   Felt fine afterwards, still had plenty in the tank.

8 miles at the Legacy Center in one hour.   It was nice to see quite a few people actually running around the track.  Usually almost everyone is only walking. I'm still focusing on doing well at the 5K on Saturday.

Treadmill at 8:30 pace average.

I ran in the Salt Lake Track Club Winter Series 5K held on the shores of Great Salt Lake along a frontage road.  The course is totally flat, so I was really hoping to break 20 minutes for the first time.   I've only run in five previous 5Ks.  This distance feels like an all-out sprint to me and can be pretty painful, but for some reason I do fairly well considering my age.

This time, I tried warming up a little more, running about a half mile before the start, hoping my lungs and legs would be ready for the crazy sprint.   I recognized a few fastrunning blog runners at the start.   The morning was beautiful and sunny.  The temperature was right around 30.  Air quality was a little poor, but I doubt it affected anything.

Off we went.   For the first mile, I kept Mary Ann Schauerhamer in my sights, but I knew she would leave me in the dust.   My first mile split was fine, a 6:06.   But then things started to unravel.   My lungs started to labor, and I knew I just couldn't keep up this pace today.   I realized it wouldn't be my day.   I was passed by several people and slowed to a 6:54 second mile.   That was discouraging, but I didn't quit.  I still pushed it as hard as I could and tried to get my breathing under control.   I hung on for dear life during the last mile.   I was thinking, "Why do I run this crazy distance?"   It felt like I was going to keel over and croak.  Pretty funny given that I would rather run 100 miles.   Mile 3 went better, 6:20, but the legs felt heavy.    I cruised into the finish at 20:23, which is 18 seconds off my PR.  

I felt disappointed, but gee wiz, just 23 seconds faster would have felt like a victory.  I lost those 23 during the second mle. This is just a silly distance.   Clearly I need to do more tempo runs if I want to do much better at this distance.  Also, I've been eating like a pig lately and am not down to an ideal racing weight.

To cheer me up, it turns out I was the Male Grand Masters Champion!  (50 and over).   That just means that I was one of the few old farts that didn't keel over and die before the finish line.   I came in 33rd overall out of about 210 runners, including some of the best in the state.  I received a nice little plaque.

I won't be running the 10K in a couple weeks.  I'll be running in the Moab Red Hot 50K+ which will be a total blast compared to this strange road stuff.   I'll probably run a 10K next Saturday.

 PM

4 easy miles out in the brilliant sunshine.   Lungs a little burned out from the morning.

At 4:00 a.m. I went out in 15 degrees in ran up Lake Mountain, climbing about 2,500 feet.  It is time to start reducing the flat miles and increasing the climbing feet.   My total miles per week will probably go way down from here, but it is time to start getting back in shape for mountain runs.   For the past couple months it was fun to pretend I was a road runner, now it is time to start acting like a mountain goat again.

The going was slow climbing up Israel Canyon Road.   At times it was like going up stairs int he snow.   Nearing the top the snow became softer and my feet started to break the surface.  The road is packed down from ATVs, but toward the top, fewer have gone all the way and the snow is softer.  So I eventually turned around and had to be cautious coming down near the top because my feet would sink in and try to twist my knees or ankles.  

There is a little bit of an inversion going on, because it felt a little warmer in the canyon.  Returning to the car in the foothills, I could feel the temperature dive down.   It was a nice two-hour run.   I'm sadly out of shape for climbing and I could feel it in my quads.   It will take a few weeks.

I couldn't push myself two days in a row out into the cold early morning.  At 4:00 a.m., I was on the treadmill for a very tough hill workout.   I ran for 90 minutes averaging 10:00 pace with an incline between 10-15 degrees, never below 10, holding on lightly to the front of the machine.  I think it did the trick.  I now have sore quads.   The machine thought I climbed 5,700 feet and burned over 2,000 calories.   It felt closer to about 3,000 feet.

A repeat of the treadmill workout from yesterday, a couple minutes faster and quads feel better today.   9 miles, 10:00 pace, 10-15% incline, 5,800 feet up (if you believe the machine), plenty of sweat and groaning along the way.

PM

Three miles at the Legacy Center indoor track.  I lost interest after three miles and quit.  Boring!

This morning I almost wimped out again and headed to the treadmill, but when I got up at 3:45 a.m., I had already had all my warm outside clothes ready to go, so I didn't have any excuse.  The temperature was 22 degrees, so not bitter cold.   OK, I sucked it up, and headed outside.  

From my house on the shore of Utah Lake, I ran up the foothills of Lake Mountain, into Lott Canyon until it ends on a high ridge overlooking Eagle Mountain and the Ranches.   This is a good touch climb, up about 1,500 feet.   My climbing gear felt pretty good.  The snow was packed down by some ATVs, until the last 1/4 mile which required me to do a little post-holing in the snow, but I didn't sink in too deep.

I had a great time!  My flashlight reflected off of the crystalized snow going up which presented me with an amazing light show.   Coming down, I always enjoy seeing the lights of the cities across Utah Lake.  

It was a good workout.   Treadmills just can't duplicate it.  I could tell my ankles needed the uneven surface to get in better shape for the mountains.  Also, the downhill run worked my quads well.   I've got a ways to go to get back into good mountain trail shape, but I'm well on my way.  It is amazing how you don't really lose it, that it comes back fast.

With the warm tempertures, the trails are slushy and muddy.   I did hill repeats running up and down Grandview Blvd up toward the explosives plant.

I decided at the last minute to head up to Ogden and test my elderly speed against the competition in Northern Utah.   The Striders Winter Racing Circuit 5K is held at Dee Events Center at Weber St. University and winds through hilly neighborhoods.  Hills is what this race is about.  

I arrived in time to drive the course which helped to set my expectations mentally because I didn't want the hills to suprise me and wanted to know when I should back off or open it up.   I then went back to the start and ran in the neighborhoods for a mile warm up and did some sprints and stairs.   I think my warm-up helped.

Looking at the results from last year, I thought a top-3 finish in my age group was very possible and a top-30 finish overall possible.

I toed the start line with 458 runners, a big event for the winter.   Off we went and I started off sprinting like crazy with the top-10 pack.   After a quarter mile, I found a more sane pace as my breathing became labored.   I didn't want to burn my lungs out like last week, so I concentrated on good breathing.   Next, we hit the long hill.   At first I was able to pump the legs fast and re-passed several runners, but then just fell back to a nice even pace and was again passed by several others.  My quads started to burn, a result of my hill workouts this past week.  At the top, as the downhill came, I kicked it into high gear for several hundred yards and cruised by about five runners pretty fast.  

Back on the flats and rolling hills, I again slowed.   I missed my split at mile 1, but at mile 2 I was at 14:19.   I hoped to be close to 14:00, so I was happy with my progress.   I noticed a guy about my age pass me.  It was Steve Haslam.   I was motivated to stay close to him. I passed him on the downhills but he passed me back on the flats.  On the last hill, he pushed ahead by about 50 yards.   I hoped to find a kick on the final downhill to catch him.   My third mile split was 6:30.   Not bad.   I tried hard to find a kick to catch Steve, but it didn't happen.   He finished 11 seconds ahead of me.

I finished up in 21:32, 34th overall among 458 runners.   I placed 3rd among the runners age 50+ (64 runners).   Not bad, I was pleased.   It was a tough course and it felt like I had a stronger race then last week when I finished in 20:23.

After I returned home, I went out and ran 4 fast miles with the dog.   I was very impressed that this little dog, less than a year old ran a 6:30, and 7:00 mile with me.  

Rainy and Snowy out in the morning.   I went and ran 9 miles on the treadmill, 8:30 pace at 12% incline.

I ran in the Moab Red Hot 50K+. This trail race is actually a little more than 34 miles. The course runs on various surfaces with plenty of sandy roads and hard slickrock. The scenery is spectacular, making it tough to always watch your feet.

I traveled to the race with a childhood buddy, Jim Kern, who would be running in the 33K version of the race. We were concerned about the weather because it snowing (flurries) and pretty windy before the start. But the day turned out to be fantastic for running.

I tried something really different during the race. I attempted to produce a youtube video as I raced. I ended up taking about 70 photos and recorded 23 audio segments. It probably delayed my finishing time by about 15 minutes total, but it was fun and I’m pleased with the results.

Watch the video. video can be found on facebook.

I finished in 6:19, which ended up being about seven minutes faster than last year. Oh well. Only three people older than me, beat me. Watch the video, I hope you enjoy seeing the entire race in 10 minutes.

Recovered from the Moab Red Hot 50K+ last Saturday.  See the movie I made of it.

Eight tough treadmill miles.  Much of it 5-10% incline without holding onto the front of the machine.  The quads and hips really felt it.   I need to really start getting serious about hill training.  I'm only half-way there.   My performance at the race Saturday was OK, but just wasn't where I want to be.   My next ultra will be Old Pueblo 50-mile in 17 days.  There are some serious mountain climbs in that race.   I need to push hard now.

I traveled up to Ogden (one hour away) to again run in the Striders Winter Series 10k.  I ran in it last year and knew that is has a tough hilly course.  To make it a little more challenging this year I think they took hoses to some portions of the road and laid down some slick ice....at least it seemed like it.  Fun stuff.

The first mile has a quarter-mile hill to get your heart pumping.  I went out with the top 20 runners to drag me up that hill and then I did my best to get my feet rotating on the long downhill.  My first mile splt was 6:34, not bad considering the hill.   For the second downhill mile I ran 6:27.  So far, so good.  But on next flat mile, my legs started to feel heavy and I was passed by a large group.  I just wasn't warmed up yet.  I clocked the second mile in 7:11.

Now the fun came, almost all uphill to the end.   Chad Carson was running very close to me.  He's an experienced and talented ultrarunner.  I ran several miles with Chad during the 2007 Squaw Peak 50.  He's a great guy.   He had already put in 16 miles earlier in the morning so was struggling on the uphills.  I had no excuse like that, but I thought my uphill strength felt pretty good.   I was finally warmed up and not red-lining on my heart rate and breathing.  My mile 4 split was about 7:50.   The toughest hill started at mile 5.  I kept a solid run going and caught a few runners.  Chad caught me at the crest of the hill.  I was determined to keep up and pass him.   I found my foot speed and cruised down the hill passing Chad and several more runners.  My mile 6 split was a slow 8:30.   It felt like I was doing much better than last year, but the clock didn't agree.   I finished in 46:21, ten seconds slower than last year.

I grabbed a donut and then decided to run the course backwards.  I knew my ultrarunning buddies Cory Johnson and Tom Remkes were sweeping the course (running behind the last runner.)    I recovered fast and enjoyed running up and down that crazy hill again.   I linked up with Cory and Tom at the last aid station.   We had a good time talking about our upcoming races and Tom made fun of the way I blasted fearlessly down the slickrock last Saturday at Moab Red Hot 50K+.  Both of them are in the movie I made at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8htsdXqtpSg 

Instead of walking it in behind the last runners, we did various loops in the neighborhoods.   I ended up doing about 5 extra miles. Turns out I ran up most of that crazy hill three times today!   It was great fun and I enjoyed being out running with the guys.   We reached the start/finish area just as the last runner was finishing.  As we almost got to the finish we spent about ten minutes helping a woman runner find her lost diamond earring that fell off in the home stretch.  We were successful in finding it.

It was a fun morning.  Thanks to John at Striders for his hard work on this race.

12 Tough 5-10% Treadmill miles.   Warmer this morning but trails muddy.   I need to check them out this evening and find some dry routes for mornings when it is above freezing.   I'm hoping for a high mileage week and then next week taper for the Old Pueblo 50 in Tucson.   But my focus is hill training more than miles.

With the trails muddy, I decided this morning to at least run a little outside.  I did a fast tempo run to and from the rec center, about a mile in each direction, and at the center did a tough hilly treadmill workout.

Tempo run to and from the rec center and then hilly treadmill pain doing 5-10% with 15% spurts.  Dripping in sweat, I ran fast home in 32 degrees, arrived before I was frozen.

Same routine this morning.  Ran too and from the rec center.  It was nippy 25 degrees in shorts, but it motivates me to run faster.  I also love the peace and quiet running through the neighborhoods as 3:50 a.m. in the morning.  No traffic, no people, no body stirring in the homes.   Did hilly treadmills with spurts of 30% inclines.  Brutal.

I traveled up to Great Salt Lake to run in the Salt Lake Track Club Winter 15K.  This very flat race starts at historic Saltair and runs east along the frontage road that parallels I-80.  It then turns around and returns to the start.

I was using this race as a nice long tempo training run as I enter my taper week for next Saturday’s Old Pueblo 50-mile race in the Santa Rita Mountains near Tucson Arizona.  My goals for today were to beat my last year’s 15K PR of 1:08:27 and win my old-fart age group of 50 years and older.

I arrived in time to do a warm-up run.  I never warm up for ultras, but I have discovered that warm-up runs are critical to do well in these short runs.   Rand Nielson called out a hello and we ran two miles together talking about our upcoming ultra race schedule.

Everyone gathered for the start and the start siren was sounded.   For the first half-mile, I tucked in behind Mary Ann Schauerhammer, the eventual winner among the women.   But after a half-mile, I had to back off into a more sustainable pace.   My first mile split was what I wanted, 6:29.  During mile two, a group of 4-5 fast young women passed me.  A tall runner also passed me and I observed that he tucked in behind a big runner and used him to draft.  I decided to try the same trick and joined in the train for awhile.  I finished mile 2 in 6:46.  Doing good.  

In my mind, I knew that last year my mile average ended up being 7:22, so I was determined to try to keep all my mile splits under that pace.   I finally had to jump off the drafting train and started to slow a little bit more.   I was being very careful not to burn out my lungs today, and so far I was being successful.

My mile 3 split was 7:06.  At the 5K aid station I grabbed a quick drink and was on my way again.  I finished mile 4 in 7:13, which was my slowest mile of the race.  The first-place runners came toward me and I was pleased to see that they were less than a mile ahead of me at that point.  

Then, something great happened.  I finally warmed up.   My breathing and heart-rate were under control.  I also noticed with all of the hill training lately that my quads were very happy to be pushed harder.  I kicked it up a notch and felt pretty good.   I reached the turn-around in 32:22.

It was fun now to see all the runners behind heading toward me.   I heard several “hi Davy” greetings being yelled toward me.  It looked like the next person in my age group was about two minutes behind me. I finished mile 5 in 7:09.   I then passed a couple runners.  Mile 6 was done in 7:01.  I was surprised, and now knew I could shatter my PR if I just hung-on.   I kept my focus and was determined to not get lazy at this point.   I was surprised to see that my 10K split about a minute faster than my PR!!  Wow, things were really holding together for me today.   I knew that there was only 5K left.

I concentrated harder to keep the same sustainable pace.  Mile 7 went by in 7:00.  Very nice.  Saltair came into view poking up on the shore-line of massive Great Salt Lake.  The waterline is far away from the building, as the lake level is more than 5 feet below its historic average level.

I was bound and determined not to fade at this point.  Mile 8 went by in 7:08.   I was in the home stretch.  Mile 9 was reached in 7:10.  I looked behind me and no one was catching me, but I still kicked it into gear telling myself to finish strong.   I crossed the finish, feeling great, at 1:05:15.    I had beaten my last year’s PR by more than three minutes!   Sweet.

I didn’t stop, I turned around and ran the course backwards until I found my buddy, Jim Kern about 1.5 miles from the finish.   We had a good time running together and I encouraged Jim on.  He finished in a little over 1:35.   I received a first place ribbon for the 50-54 age-group.

Taper week to get ready for Old Pueblo 50.   After a very encouraging 15k road race run on Saturday, I've feeling just about ready.  The only thing really missing is trail conditioning because of all the roads and treadmills.   I really need to get some ankle toughening in.  So this morning, I hit the trails.   I ran out to the Eagle Mountain area.  I climbed up and ran along the ridges overlooking Utah County and the Ranches.  Heading out there, I did have to carefully go around a couple bad mud bogs, but most of the road was nice and soft and very runnable.  The temperature was perfect, about 40 degrees.  I felt strong and fast, but tentative with the ankles.  Coming down from the ridge, I ran down a very fun motorcycle trail that isn't known by runners (I never see any other tracks on it).  I hit about a dozen small patches of snow, but just with an inch, no problem.   The views are always incredible, especially this morning.  The city lights of Utah County were reflecting against the snow covered mountains behind them, lighting everything up before dawn.  It was a wonderful morning run, great to be away from the treadmill. I did get home with muddy shoes, but nothing terrible.  My left ankle was a little sore.  I rolled that one a couple times a couple months ago.  I can tell that it just needs to trail time to toughen up.

Same route and time (4 a.m. - 6 a.m.) as yesterday.  The big difference today was that it was 52 degrees out.  Wow, it felt like summer.  Shorts, no gloves.  It was nice.  The snow patches were melting fast causing some slick muddy spots coming down from the ridge. I almost ended up on my butt several times.   Left lower ankle again came out sore again from all the uneven surface.   I'll probably have to rest it up for Saturday's 50.

I ran again in the Old Pueblo 50-mile trail race in the Santa Rita Mountains, southeast of Tucson, Arizona.   I previously ran in the 2005 and 2006 editions of this race and was pleased to return.  This year I crushed my PR on this course by 1:14:00.  I had a good race.  Click here to read my detailed race report.  They haven't published the results yet, but I believe I finished in about 25th place out of about 140 starters.

Just a one mile walk to stretch out the sore quads from the 50-mile run.

Stayed home sick, bad sinus headache.  Legs feel recovered.  It is amazing how fast they recover now from ultra distance runs.

At 4 a.m. I went out into the 28 degree cold and ran out to the Lake Mountain ridge. The almost-full moon was wonderful and glowed over the valley and off of Mount Timpanogos far across Utah Lake to the east. I was surprised to find in the dark a new motercycle trail spur that I had never noticed. I suspected that there might be one in that area, but had never seriously explored. This single-track trail was great and nice and long. I noticed a set of runner footprints on it from the past week or so. So another runner knows about this hidden trail. Kind of surprising because it is 2-3 miles from any homes. This spur is more runnable than the one I have been using to the north, a little less steep, so I will have some fun trying to blast down it with speed.

Again this week a close friend seriously confronted me and let me know that they thought I was ruining my life and the life of others by participating in, and encouraging ultrarunning.  Their belief is

1. That because they get injured as a low-mileage recreational runner, surely a high-mileage ultrarunner is seriously damaging their body far more. 
2. They believe that some exercise is of course good, but the level of exercise an ultrarunner participates in not normal and therefore unhealthy.
3. They believe that because they know someone who spends hours away from their families training that therefore all ultrarunners are neglecting their families and being selfish.

Such concerns from non-runners and recreational runners are common and hard to explain away.  Some don’t want to hear explanations.

Let me deal with each concern:

Because they get injured as a low-mileage recreational runner, surely a high-mileage ultrarunner is seriously damaging their body far more. 

It is my firm belief that ultrarunners are far less-susceptible to injury than recreational runners.  When I was a recreational runner, I was always getting injured and it would make me quit running.  I then became a couch potato, gained weight and had poor health.  I see recreational runners always battling injuries.   I constantly advise runners how to recover from injuries.  On this blog I see high-milage road runners battle injuries. 

There is one huge difference in the running I do.  I avoid roads like the plague.  The only time I run roads is during a road race (5k, 10k, etc.) or during the winter when the trails are muddy.   This makes a huge difference on the wear and tear of an ultrarunners body.   I do believe that high-mileage on roads can be damaging to the body over time because of the jarring caused.   Soft trails are a world of difference.

I also believe that once ultrarunners have established a high mileage base (and sometimes they do go through injury to reach this) that their body has gone through some amazing adjustments that now prevent injuries that a recreational runner may more commonly see.   I’m always asked, “Aren’t you ruining your knees?’   No!  My knees now are stronger, the ligaments and sinews tighter, such that they can endure great distances without problem.  I don’t get ITB or runner’s knee problem anymore that a low-mileage recreational runner has to deal with often.  People just can’t understand the wonder of the human body, that it can do amazing things to adjust once it has become used to stress.  It puts up new barriers to protect itself from that stress.

Recreational runners don’t know about the fast recovery ultrarunners experience once they have a high-mileage base.   After my first 100-mile race, I could hardly walk for a week, and couldn’t run for a month.  I also experienced some soft-tissue damage in my knee.   But I didn’t have that high-mileage base to protect me.   Now I do.   I can run a 4-hour marathon and feel no pain the next day.  I can run a 50-mile race, and be out running pain-free in three days.    I can run a 100-miler and be out running pain-free in one week.   The human body is amazing.  It fascinates me how it adjusts.  Recreational runners just don’t understand this.   If they feel a month of pain after a marathon, surely ultrarunners must feel several months of pain after a 100-miler.  Well, that logic is a fallacy.

OK, surely I have developed some chronic injuries from the 13,000 miles that I have run, from the 22 100-milers, and 43 ultras in the past five years.   Yes, I have some chronic injuries to deal with.   I’ll document them.

1. I have a soreness in my right inner quad/groin muscle that flairs up.  I believe it was injured during the 2007 Plain 100.  I didn’t notice it until the next week.  It was very sore for a couple months.  I must have torn something.  But it calmed down.  Now it flares up every now and then but rarely bothers me during a race.  I notice it mostly at night as I sleep and the body does normal stretching.  I will wake up feeling some pain there from stretching it.  Very minor.
2. I have some numbness in my feet -- the ball of my feet extending to a couple toes.   It is minor and I don’t really notice it much or I’m just used to it.  After long races it will be more pronounced, but then it mostly goes away.  I don’t see this as much of a problem.
3. I have a neuroma in the ball of my right foot.  This is a bunching of nerves that can cause severe pain extending out to your toes.  Anyone can get this even non-runners.  I just deal with it.  Using a thinner insole helps.  During a race it can flare up for about ten miles and really hurt, but then it calms down, I think once the surrounding tissue swells a little to protect it.
4. I tore the meniscus in my right knee when I was an over-weight backpacker.  So, I have less cartilage protection in that knee.  I can feel pain there at times, but I have learned to manage it and the knee has became stronger and now protects itself.
5. About twice a year I bruise my bladder, usually due to running dehydtrated.  The result is soreness in the adomen and hematurina (blood).  This can be alarming but a running doctor understands what is going on.  I let it heal and am more careful about hydration.
6. I’ve developed sesimoiditis in my left foot.  There are two little bones in the ball of the foot behind the big toe.  These have became irriated over time and get inflamed.  They are not fractured, but the surrounding tissue has grown more in an attempt to protect them.   To deal with this, I just make a custom insole to give me more room in the shoe for that area of the foot.  This usually solves the problem, but it can flare up on 100-milers.
7. I have some cool scars on my arms and legs from face-plants on the trail.  Big deal, at age 50 I’m not entering beauty contests anymore.  To prevent this, I like running with hand-held running bottles.  When I fall, the bottles take the brunt of the damage.

That is it.  I really can’t think of anything else.  No stress fractures, no ITB problems, no chondromalacia (runner’s knee), no planter fasciitis, no serious muscle problems, no back problems.

When I have health checkups, the doctors and nurses are impressed.  My cholestoral level is great because of the super high level of HDL caused by good fitness.  Nurses who draw my blood always comment on the wonderful deep red color due to high oxygen content.  When I had a EKG the technician commented on my strong heart and said, “you must be a runner.”

So, how am I damaging my body?  I get occasional colds and sinus infections (due to a deviated septum) but never the flu.   I’m old, 50.  Where is this damage?

Some exercise is of course good, but the level of exercise an ultrarunner participates in not normal and therefore unhealthy.

Recreational runners for some reason believe there is a wall at 26.2 miles and that anything over that is not normal.  What is so magic about 26.2 miles?   OK, yes recreational runners constantly complain about “hitting the wall” before that distance.  They therefore think it is a barrier, and anyone going past that is not normal and doing something amazing or unhealthy.   All this is silly.  The recreational runner just doesn’t know how to fuel properly and get the balance in their body to prevent bonking past their “wall.”  Their body hasn’t yet adjusted to the stress of high mileage.  Just because they haven’t experience the lack of pain and stress at long distances, doesn’t mean it isn’t possible, even for them.

I probably exercise on average about 10-12 hours per week.  Is that excessive?   Because I now have a high-mileage base and my body has adapted in amazing ways, I can be dormant for days and then just jump right back into the saddle with no problem for even higher performance.  Recreational runners or non-runners just can’t understand that.  I’m not exercising huge amounts each week.  Yes if I wanted to be an elite ultrarunner, winning races, I would need to do much more.  But, I’m 50 years old.  Its not going to happen.  I’m happy with strong performance in races and a fitness level so I can do them often.

With the amount of exercise I do, I know far more about my body.   I understand the signals it sends me when there is something wrong.   I believe strongly that if I develop a serious illness, that I will detect it far faster than when I was a couch potato.  I know my body now.  I didn’t before.   I believe my life will be extended for years more because of ultrarunning if I’m lucky enough to avoid accident and disease.  As a couch potato, or even as an occasional recreational runner, I didn’t have this knowledge or fitness to protect my body.

Because they know someone who spends hours away from their families training that therefore all ultrarunners are neglecting their families.

I am an obsessive-compulsive person.   I know that.   I try to use that as a strength, not a weakness.  I’ll take hold of something and go crazy with it.  I’ve authored/published three books in 18 months.   Obsessive.  I’ve gone crazy doing family history research, far more than any “normal person.”  I’ve studied LDS scriptures and history far more than any “normal person.”   I helped establish a successful Internet startup that went from nothing to amazing in just a year.  I know I go overboard, and put in safeguards.

As far as running, I try to be careful with my time.   My wife sleeps about nine hours on average per night.   I sleep about 6.5 hours on average per night.   Therefore, there is on average about 2.5 hours per day when I’m awake and the rest of the family is asleep.    I try to do almost all of my training during those hours.   Where is the harm to the family?    Yes, for races I’m away, but I try to get my family to go with me at times and when I add up the days, I’m home far, far, less than others who have demanding jobs that take them away from home or church callings that require them to be away so much.   In a few months, with another son graduating from highschool, I will only have one child at home (compared to the six that were home previously).  The family time-demands are now much different when the family was younger.  Yes, my wife will grumble at times because of my running.  She isn’t a runner.  But I negotiate, try to listen, and try to be a good husband and father.  We have a very happy family life.  So why all the criticism?

Some argue that ultrarunning is a very selfish use of time.   I don’t buy this at all.   A musician will spend hours each week practicing.  How is their talent less selfish?   I make sure my ultrarunning experience is not selfish by writing about my experiences and sharing them with others.   This is very fulfilling.  I know my writings have affects hundreds of people who have been inspired to improve their lives with better fitness or set greater heights in their goals.   One close friend, a non-runner, was so inspired by my tales of endurance and reaching for goals that he became determined to do “marathon” sessions of LDS temple work and name extraction.   It greatly blessed his life.

Conclusion

I’m comfortable with being an ultrarunner.  I know the general population thinks it is crazy because their conclusions are from their own experience and prospective.  They don’t understand the facts.   I’m at the point where I just avoid trying to debate it with close friends or relatives.  Ok, I have that off my chest, now I can go do something better with me time, like go running.

I ran in the Rex Lee 10K race in Provo that helps benefit cancer research.  My 12-year-old son ran in the 5K.  There were 521 runners in the 10K and 1,470 in the 5K.  At the start line, I found my speedy brother-in-law Ed Johnson and we warmed up together.  The course is pretty fast.  It has some hills near the beginning and ends with a steady gentle climb, but I set my goal to set a PR and break 43 minutes.   I was a little skeptical about this goal because I had raced 50 miles hard only 7 days ago.  But I felt confident.

The George Q. cannon roared, and away we went.  During the first 1/4 mile I ran with Ed.  I joked around and bumped him a couple times telling him he was going slow and pushed ahead a little, but couldn't keep that pace long.   Ed went up ahead and I tried to keep pace with the other runners around me.   I forgot to start my watch, but I think the mile markers were grossly misplaced because when I did start it at mile 1, my mile 2 was very slow and my mile 3 was blazing fast.  It didn't make sense.

On the downhill I tried my best to keep my foot speed up.  At about the three-mile mark I noticed a guy pass me who looked like he was in my age group.   I tried to keep up but at that point I started to struggle a little.  The legs felt heavy, a result of the race last week.  Some runners started to slow down and because of parked cars along Center Street it became frustrating trying to pass slower runners who insisted to run side-by-side.  Finally I chastized two, telling them to not run two-abrest if they are going slower.  They shouted back, "What?"  Oh well.

After mile five the course merges with the 5K runners.  These runners are going significantly slower (30-minute 5K pace), so I had to swing wide to the left in order to continue to have room to pass them.   I was delighted to catch up with my son Connor.  He was doing great!   He tried to keep up for a little while but then faded.   I poured it on the best I could and entered onto the track.   I had to swing wide in order to pass dozens of 5K runners.  Then with 100 yards to go, some young runners decided to sprint like crazy and swing in front of me.  I didn't have much left in the tank and just pushed hard to the finish.   The clock said, 43:13, but the official time ended up being 43:17, in 65th place.   I was pleased.  It was a PR for me by almost a full minute.   I earned a second-place medal for my age group and that one guy was the only guy older than me to finish ahead of me.

Connor came in a couple minutes later with a 29:34 5K finish.   Pretty good for a kid whose only training was a one-mile run a couple days ago.   My speedy brother-in-law Ed finished 26th in the 10K, 40:08, 2nd in his age group.

5 walking miles during lunch up City Creek, over above the capital, and back to work.

With a 100-mile race coming up in 12 days, motivation is low to train hard right now because I know it won't make much of a difference at this point.   I have no injuries to recover from.  I set a PR in the 10K on Saturday, so the foot speed is good.  I ran a very good 50-miler a week ago and could have continued on much further, so distance isn't a concern.  So, I think I am pretty much ready and should be in taper mode at this point anyway.  So I will probably just do runs and walks to stay tuned and phych myself up to have a strong showing at the Moab 100.   My goal will be to achieve a 100-mile PR time.   That would be to beat 22:28:00.    Last year I ran it in 23:33:00, so I'll need to shave off more than an hour.  I can think of many things I can do different for a stronger performance this year.

4 miles with the dog.  I'm still amazed how this little dog loves to run.  She doesn't really want to stop to sniff things, she just wants to keep her head forward and run and run.   She likes roads better than trails.

I left the house at 3:55 a.m. in 44 degrees F.  There was a half moon out and it was very pleasant.  I ran a route that I had not run all winter because of snow and mud.  But this morning the route was completely dry.  I proclaim that winter is officially over!   Yipee! 

When I plotted out my route on Google maps, I have to chuckle.  It roughly looks like an inverted map of the United States.   Pretty funny.   My run was about 10.5 miles.   I ran my usual three miles out to the Lake Mountain ridge that runs north-south, kind of dividing Saratoga Springs from Eagle Mountain.   This morning I ran the entire ridge to the power lines, descending towards the homes in the Ranches, and then jumping on a motor cycle trail that traverses a slope and then runs on top of descending ridge.    I descend all the way to a low pass, run down into a neighborhood, and this morning, I decided to run straight across the massive Church farmland on a dirt road.  

For that segment, about three miles, I turned off my flashlight and ran by the half-moonlight.  It was a great challenge.  It required me to pay attention closely and use my feet to feel the trail.  I had to trust my feet, that they would make the adjustments quickly as they felt the contours of the road.  I would try pushing the speed at times to make it even more challenging.   The view ahead is spectacular, with the lights on the other side of the lake.   Once I hit Redwood Road, I crossed it and ran along the development trail back home.   It took me 2:10.   A nice leisurely run, with periodic spurts and some good short climbs.

5 mile walk during lunch around capital and down City Creek Canyon

4 miles with the dog after work.

This morning a neighbor wanted to try joining in, but didn’t show, so at 4 a.m. I just went ahead and did what I had planned, throwing in an extra mile.    I did a nine-mile run out to the Lake Mountain ridge (gotta find a better name for that.  Hmm…., historically before Eagle Mountain came to be, the area was called Tickville, maybe I should call it the Tickville ridge).   I ran out on the dirt road around the Church farm and then headed up a motorcycle trail, doing a loop counter-clockwise on two spurs of this trail, connecting them by running on top of the ridge.   I was amused to see the bikers had posted some new signs telling people to keep their horses off the trail.   They even spent time putting some obstructions across an area I usually run through.  I paused a couple minutes to clear the path.  I can appreciate that they have spent a bunch of time maintaining these trails, but it isn’t their property and they can’t tell people who can and who can’t use it.   I took a wrong turn and added a little more fun on a side spur I had only been on once.   Coming down was great fun.   I completed the loop and decided to again run straight across the Church farm on the very soft and flat dirt road.  I like running across there to end a run because it is so soft and there are no rocks to trip over.  I pushed the pace harder for awhile doing 8:00 pace.  For the last mile, I turned off the light and discovered, even with the moon behind the clouds, I still could run in the dark.  There was enough light from the city reflecting to let me still run fast in the dark, using my feet to feel the road.   I finished at 6:00 a.m.  

On Google Earth, I discovered a motorcycle trail in the lowlands near that area that I have never tried before.  I’ll have to explore that tomorrow.  Looks like it could be some fun.

4 mile walk during lunch along 2nd North and then back through downtown.

My priority before the next race is to lose a little more weight.  Any pound saved makes a huge difference in 100-mile runs.   I've come down 4 pounds since Saturday.   Pretty easy, just put in a high mileage week while cutting half-way back on the food.   I also do this training without taking carbs with me.

I woke up early, couldn't get back to sleep so decided to go out for a long run. I hit the road at 2:30 a.m. It was 49 degrees F and very pleasant. I ran to the west, climbed up and over the Lake Mountain Ridge, and ran down the valley in to expansive Cedar Valley. Since I had extra time, I decided to run clear to Eagle Mountain City Center. I stayed on dirt roads that went behind the back lots of many homes until I reached Sweetwater Rd and then ran that very straight road all the way to Unity Pass. There is a paved trail that parallels the road, but I ran mostly below that in a soft, smooth ditch, very nice trail running. Only a couple cars passed by me, probably wondering what a guy was doing out there with a green light. It was about 4:15 a.m. Once up to Unity Pass, I took a usual route back into the hills on dirt roads and the climbed up over a ridge and descended down into the Ranches foothills. Finally I ran up and over a low pass on Golden Eagle Rd and then straight across the Church Farm back to home by 6 a.m. My run was about 17.5 miles. The pace was a good steady 12:00 miles. It felt like I could run all day.   My route looks like a hand gun.  

On a busy stake conference day (stake split day), at the last minute I found a gap between meetings which would let me go to Provo to run in Mary Ann's URC/FRB St. Patricks 10k that runs along the Provo River Trail to Utah Lake and back.   I was surprised to see how many people were in the park when I arrived, so I jumped in and just started helping people register.    Mary Ann is going to need more help as her races grow.

I’m in taper-mode, getting ready for Moab 100 next Saturday, so I was going to just treat this as a tempo run and enjoy the beautiful day.  Several runners introduced themselves to me at the start.  That was great.   I heard “twinkies” in yellow (Matt)talking to a friend about his finish time goal and it registered to me that we would probably run about the same pace.

Away we went, running down the beautiful trail by the river.   For the first mile, I hung with the two leaders, one was running the 5K, and the other was the 10k leader, a tall runner in black.  After awhile, I was passed by a runner in green.  I noticed that my splits were about 6:40 for the first couple miles.   The trail splits at a turn in the river and the runner in green took the wrong turn.  I didn’t pay attention and followed him.  We probably went an extra 100 yards.  Oh well.   No one passed us, and probably a few followed us.  

As we neared the lake, I was very surprised to see the leading 10k runner already returning.  That was impossible because I knew he was only a minute or two ahead.   I asked him if he went along the lake to the right.  He shouted back that he turned around at the parking lot.  I shouted back, “No, that’s wrong.”   Oh well.  He had cut off about a mile or more.    I continued to try to keep up with the runner in green.   We finally reached the turnaround and I noticed our time was over 22 minutes.  There would be no PR today.   It was fun to see and greet all the other runners.   

So, I was running in 2^nd.   I looked behind me and could see a couple runners on my tail, including the runner in yellow.   My legs were feeling great, but my lungs were breathing hard.  I didn’t want to push it too hard.   The runner in green again took a wrong turn, same place as before, but he got on pace again. Funny how he was making it easy to stay up with him.  But he pushed it ahead and eventually disappeared.

Once the other runners caught up to me, we leap-frogged several times.   A few times I cranked it up, pushing ahead of both to see if they could keep up.   But I would quickly fade and they both would indeed catch up and pass.   I noticed a mile split of about 7:08.  

Finally with the turnoff to the park in sight, I kicked it in hard and passed them both.  I thought I heard the runner in yellow let out a groan.   I kept the pace going this time, but the other runner in white caught me and had a nice fast kick going.   I didn’t have the motivation or the speed, so I watched him go ahead.   I finished in 3^rd overall (assuming the runner in black was DQed).   44:38 or so.   I jumped right in the car and rushed back home, and back to stake meetings, back just in time to see a new stake president come out of his calling interview with a glaze in his eyes.  Ha, ha.   We had a good conference attended by more than 5,600 people, broadcast over the Internet to 10 buildings on Sunday. 

Its 100-mile race week!  Saturday morning is the big day.   It is all about taper, rest, and hopefully no weight gain.  To avoid the aches and pains that come from tapering, I will continue to do tune-up runs but nothing very tough.

This morning I slept in until 4:45 a.m. and just went out for an easy 5-mile run up into the foothills of Lake Mountain.  I almost whimped out and went to the threadmill, but it was 38 degrees out and I cracked open the door and didn't feel much wind.  The storm had not arrived yet.  So out I went.   I run up Clay Pit road and into the gravel pit to continue on the dirt road heading toward Lott Canyon.   Before the canyon I split off and ran a loop on some rolling trails and returned on the powerline trail.   Back on Clay Pit road, I was surprised to see a runner coming up the road with a headlamp heading up toward the foothills.  I've never seen another runner at this time in the morning up there.   We'll see if he goes up there some more.   On the return, the northerly wind kicked up and it was brrrr.....cold.   Wind chill in the 20's.   I was motivated to get finished fast and hit the hot shower.

So, now my attention is turned to the Moab 100.   I'm getting my pacing goals together and trying to mentally prepare.   Competition will be tougher this year and I don't expect to win it again this year, but I hope to do pretty well.   A 100-mile PR is certainly possible.

I am starting preparations to head to Moab to again run the Moab 100 on Saturday. There were actually three types of races running at the same time on the same 5.37-mile loop course. In addition to those running the 100-solo event, are runners running the 24-hour solo (as many miles as you can do in 24 hours), and 24-hour relay teams. Any 100-miler who doesn’t finish, is credited a 24-hour finish for the miles completed in under 24-hours.

Last year somehow I won the Moab 100 with a time of 23:35. Basically the runners who were ahead of me all quit and I was the last one standing. Four runners finished behind me. This race is tough mentally because you can return to your comfortable car every 5.37 miles and also if you quit early, you still get credit in the 24-hour version of the race.

The Moab 100 course is laid out on the Monitor and Merrimac Loop, a popular trail for jeepers and mountain bikers. The course is a loop with an out-and-back tail, like a lollipop. The route goes clockwise around the loop on odd laps and counter-clockwise on even laps. It first passes by the ruins of the historic Halfway Stagecoach Station. It then ascends up and down over a small ridge via a rutted jeep trail with scattered rocks. With huge Courthouse rock on the left and gigantic Mill-Courthouse Mesa on the right, the route crosses through several deep sandy washes and then climbs up a slickrock ramp to the base of the Mesa. The views below are terrific. The route then heads south toward Camel Butte which we would circle around on the slickrock, giving us views of the Monitor and Merrimac mesas named after the Cival War ships, off on the horizon. Most of the first half of the course up to this point is a runnable uphill 450-climb. From there it is mostly downhill. First up is a long run down a massive slickrock slope that leads to the Mill Canyon dirt jeep road that rolls up and down through a beautiful canyon with occasional small stream crossings. Finally you reach the main dirt road that passes by campsites and leads you back to the start/finish area.

Most of the Utah ultrarunners will be running in the Antelope Island Buffalo Run which will be the largest trail race ever held in Utah. I decided to instead go back to Moab and attempt to defend the title. However, I realize that this year it will be much more competitive.

My experience at Across the Years three months ago will go a long way to help me in this loop-format course. I’ve just got to keep my pace up and not waste time between loops. This year they took my suggestion to alternate the course direction each lap, and I think that will help my competitive spirit, because I will be able to see the competition much better and gage my pace better.

I’ve put my pace goal together and I am shooting for 22:30. I believe that is very possible on their course but I just cannot afford any long stops or slow sleep-walking. My laps will start at around 50 minutes each and eventually slow to about 1:30. I will try to keep my average lap time below 1 hour each for at least 8 laps. That is 8 laps in 8 hours, or 43 miles in 8 hours.

Weather should be great. Nice and cool. At night it will push down toward 30 degrees, so I must stop to dress warm after lap 11. I must not lose energy during the night through heat loss. I made that mistake last year at Bear 100 and also at Across the Years.

Training-wise, I’m ready. My mileage base has been good. I had a very good 50-mile race three weeks ago. I’ve tapered well this week, only going nine miles. I have no injury. My only regret is that I’m about seven pounds heavier than I had hoped. That is a bunch of weight to carry around for 100 miles and probably will cost me about an hour.

This race put together a poor aid station last year, not much in it, so I will bring all my food and drink with me. They will have some warm food at night, hopefully some soup.

My full race report is now on my blog: http://www.crockettclan.org/blog/?p=143

Recovery is going very well.  My muscles survived better than usual. This morning I could go mdown stairs with very little pain.  Sleeping last night was a bother.  My right hip just couldn't feel comfortable.  But I should be running again by the end of the week.  The main problem is my stomach.  It took a beating.  No appetite yet, but I did force myself to eat a lunch.  My feet came out great, no blisters.   I do have a large bruise on the side of my left foot.  I can't figure out how I got that.  I must have hit a rock hard.  I guess I didn't notice because there are so many other painful things to worry about when your run 100 miles.

I've finished my race report for the Moab 100. You can read it at: http://www.crockettclan.org/blog/?p=143

I'm ready to start running again. My appetite is back and I feel fine. Tomorrow morning I'll try to get out on the trail.

It was my first time running since my 100-miler last Saturday. Snowing and cold, I hit the treadmill at the rec center. Tim, who is there almost every morning, commented, "I thought I wouldn't see you here until next winter." I frowned, looked outside, "It is next winter." After two miles on the dreaded machine, my right knee started to hurt. It feels like some minor cartilage bruising in my bad knee from the 60+ miles of pounding on the slickrock last Saturday. I'll need some more time to let it heal. Walking is not a problem, but running causes the pain.

I ignored the alarm clock at 3:40, but did roll out of bed a half hour later without any good excuse since I was wide awake. It was 28 degrees out and a bring waxing moon was setting to the west. I did an eight mile loop out to the Lake Mountain ridge. There were puddles here and there that reflected the moonlight ahead of me. The moon set and I pushed the uphills a little harder than usual, thinking about how hard I pushed them last weekend at the Moab 100. My knee started to hurt again around two miles, but I ignored it and it was just an anoyance, not a problem. By the end it didn't hurt. Great. Looks like I'm back at it and look forward to doing to tought training. Next long race for me is a 50-miler in two weeks in Fruita, Colorado. I believe it will be similar to the Moab runs.

4 miles in the evening with the dog.

Out running at 2:30 a.m. this morning. The moon was wonderful and for some long stretches I was able to run without a light. This morning I again ran the 18-mile "hand-gun" route (called that because the map of it looks like a gun.) I ran clear out to Eagle Mountain city center. It was peaceful and pretty uneventful. While running north through Cedar Valley, there was a mild head-wind that made it chilly on the hands so I ran without a light and hands in my vest pockets. It was 38 degrees when I left and returned to home, but in pockets I could tell that it was below freezing because there was some frost here and there. I only took one water bottle filled with water, and no food. Toward the end I was getting pretty hungry. I did the run 12 minutes faster than last time, 3:20. Home before 6:00 a.m. I had a very nice nap on the bus heading into work in Salt Lake City.  It feels like I have fully recovered from my 100-mile run 10 days ago.

3 miles walking during lunch and 4 miles running with the dog before dinner.

Zero day, rest day.  Nine hours of sleep.

Woke up at 3:40.   Poked my head outside and saw a slight drizzle coming down.   I decided to head to the rec center to wimp out on the treadmill.   However....   My electronic key worked fine getting in, but I set off the alarm and high-tailed it out of there.  The problem is that the alarm is reset to for day light saving time, but the electronic access isn't, so they are an hour apart.   All winter I could get in there at 4 a.m., but now it looks like 5 a.m. is when the alarm disables.   Oh well, just another reason to keep me away from those dreaded machines.  

So, instead, I put on another layer and decided to run on the Jordon River parkway, starting at Utah Lake.   This is a paved trail.  With the rain, the real trails would be a muddy mess, so this would be better and I was glad to be away from the streets and homes.   I didn't have to use a flashlight because there is nothing to trip over.  I was enjoyed running in the dark along the Jordon River.  This is a popular running route, but of course at this time in the morning, I had it all to myself.   I reached the point where they are constructing a new huge bridge over the river, for the eventual new parkway to the freeway.  I dodged the fence (noticing that many have done this before me....worked my way across the contruction area, and dodged the fence on the other side, and was back on the paved trail.

One fun feature of this run was that I kept startling wildlife.  First, I heard a huge noise on the river.  It was a flock of geese that I startled.   Next I head a big noise in the brush, probably a deer, but couldn't tell because it was dark.  I next noticed some big critter running in front of me on the trail.  I was hoping it wasn't a skunk, it wasn't.   I crossed under Lehi Main Street SR 73, crossed the Willow Park, and continued along the river until I reached 9600 North.   Then I turned around and headed back.  

As I reached the construction zone, I knew I would need to turn on my light, but the chain link fence across the trail arrived sooner than I expected.  I bounced off the the fence....boing!   Thankfully, the fence wasn't tight, just a temporary fence, so I did actually bounce and didn't get hurt.  Pretty funny.    I crossed back over and made it back to my car.  I ran the 10 miles in about 1:45.

I had a good time running in the dark.  When my work moves to Riverton later this summer, I look foward to long runs into to work along this route.

Stayed home with a cold/sinus infection.  Usually a long run cleans out the head, so for the morning, I went did an 18-mile run, similar to my "hand-gun" route, except I didn't run across the Church farm because I would have been run off by the workers.  I rarely run this route in the light, so it was a different experience.  While in the wilderness between Saratoga Springs and Eagle mountain, I was surprised to run into a female runner.  She was wearing a Salt Lake marathon shirt.  She shouted, "Its nice to see someone else running out here."  I replied, "Yes, I rarely do."  In fact I don't think I ever have seen another runner out there.  But that isn't too surprising because I'm usually out there between 4-5 a.m.  The run was pleasant and pretty uneventful.  It became a little warm out in the middle of Cedar Valley, but then cooled as I climbed back into the foothills.   The run felt easy.  I was out for 3:10.  

I ran in Mary Ann's April Fools 10K on the Provo River Trail.  Well....kind of, not really.   Dumb, me, I didn't double check the website and didn't know the start time had been moved up two hours.   So, when I arrived at 10:30 a.m., Mary Ann was cleaning up.  She felt bad, but had no reason to.  She encouraged me to go ahead and do the run since the course was still marked and she would put me in the results.  Why not, I agreed.   It would be interesting to see if I could push myself hard enough alone.  Since I had already run 11 miles this morning, I didn't have high expectations.   I thought I would run well over 45 minutes.  I didn't push the first mile too hard because I didn't want to burn my lungs, but it probably was about a 6:45 pace.  The second mile was 6:55.  I was feeling good and wasn't pushing it too hard, dodging some walkers and joggers along the way.  I reached the turn-around at 21:31:02, which I knew was almost a minute faster than last month on the course, on a 43:02 pace.   "OK", I thought, "let's push it harder and see what I can do today."   The return is a gradual uphill all the way.   My legs felt surprizingly great, to I pushed ahead.  I had a mile split of 7:06 and then a lazy mile split of 7:22.  After that I kicked it into gear and finished strong with a 43:47.   I was pleased.  If I would have had competitors to push me, I'm sure I would have done much better, but I still was almost a minute faster than last month on this course.   So, I got everything I hoped for, a nice tempo run in great running temperatures and a much better time than expected.

Here is what I did earlier in the morning.  

With a storm coming in today, I decided to go punish myself on the treadmill for a little while.  I did 7 miles mostly at 10% incline or higher.   I did tough spurts up at 25% incline.  Ouch.  Felt good afterwards.   When I went outside to my car, the dawn was approaching and it felt warm at 45 degrees, so I decided to put in 4 more miles along Utah Lake.   The geese and birds were really making a racket in the rushes along the lake.   I noticed a big flock of geese overhead in formation heading northwest.  All of a sudden, something spooked them.  They fell out of formation and were flying in all directions making distressful honks.   They kept doing this for a couple minutes but then finally calmed down and resumed their journey.  Pretty cool.   The cold air was a bit nippy on my bare arms, so I pushed the pace pretty hard to stay warm.    It has been a good week of running, 83 miles in five days this week.

Four mile walk with the dog, scouting out my tomorrow morning's crazy run route.

This morning, I did something pretty crazy.  I ran a marathon before dawn, making it into work at the normal time.  Right above my house is a ridge that the locals call Rattlesnake Ridge because of so many rattlesnakes that like to make their homes in all the cracks in the cliffs.   Around that ridge is a pretty flat dirt road that loops around the ridge.  The loop is about 1.035 miles, very close to a mile.   The loops are fairly smooth except for an area that is being crowded by new development.  They have dumped some mounds of rocks as they are constructing roads a little lower.  So the trail through that section is a little more technical, with some rocks to trip on.  The entire loop has about a 50-foot elevation climb/descent.  

From my house the approach is 0.7 miles with a 250-foot climb.   So, to get a marathon in, I would need to do the approach, run 24 loops, and return home for 26.24 miles.   I was up for the challenge and hoped to finish it in about 4:15.   It would be a challenge because it  would all be in the dark and include a total of 1450-feet of climb/descent.   4:15 seemed to be a good goal to get it done without pushing too hard.

I left the house a little after 1:30 a.m.  My wife is out of town so no "you are crazy" comments would be forthcoming.   I took up with me three bottles of fluid and some Reeses for some energy along the way. 

A nice moon was out to light my way.  I decided to alternate the direction of each loop, which would help me keep track of the numbers and help my legs to have some variation.  I felt funny about using my bright flashlight much up there at this time in the morning, for fear of attracting attention from the overly ambitious Saratoga Springs police, who have their offices less than a half a mile from my loop.  I could just see a police cruiser coming up there and then having to explain my crazy adventure.   So, for the first 12 miles or so, I ran almost entirely by the moon-light.  It slowed me down somewhat, but was a great challenge.   It was neat to look down to the neighborhoods lighted below.

After 4 a.m., I was more confident about turning my light and started to for a least a half a loop.   On the west side of the ridge, which is usually very quiet because you can’t hear any noise from the homes or roads below, I heard a strange roar of an engine above me.   I was very surprised to see a truck driving down from the ridge.  Someone had spent the night up there.  Last evening, I noticed a young man rappelling of the cliff up there.  It must have been him.

By 5 a.m., the homes and roads below were waking up as more cars were on the roads making their way to work.  I only had a few more loops and I pushed the last loop pretty hard.   I finished the 24^th loop, gathered my stuff and headed home.   My finish time was 4:17:47 for my early morning trail marathon.

climb 9:06
1 8:56
2 9:15
3 9:06
4 8:59
5 9:29
6 9:40
7 9:59
8 9:37
9 9:53
10 9:56
11 10:06
12 9:57
13 9:34
14 10:14
15 10:30
16 10:38
17 10:06
18 11:17
19 10:14
20 10:45
21 11:53
22 11:31
23 11:12
24 9:29
return 6:28
total 4:17:47

Another zero day.  This is a taper week for me because I will be running in the Desert RATS 50-miler in Fruita, Colorado on this Saturday....more desert slickrock and dirt road running.  For 50 or 100-milers, I have found it really does not help at all to run very much during the week before a long ultra.   I ran that marathon distance training run on Monday morning, at that is really plenty.  I had no soreness at all from that run. The only thing that normally helps during my taper weeks is a few easy miles to keep the muscles happy so I don't feel those phantom taper pains.

After this race, I'll need to figure out my training strategy for my next two races.  First Ogden Marathon, and then Squaw Peak 50.  Both are totally different, requirely radically different training.   I'll need to hit the hill training hard for SP50, but also need to do tempo/speed training for the flats of Ogden.   It should be an interesting challenge.

Another zero mile day today.  That is four in a row!  Gee and some people think I'm always running.  Tomorrow is race day in Fruita, Colorado.  The weather looks like it will be very similar to my other two desert races this year, perfect weather.  High around 63, low around 36 at start time.  Partly cloudy. 

I've never run this Desert RATS 50-mile race before, but I have heard that it is fun one.  Looks like most of it is on tough mountain bike trails which some good single track.  I'm taking two of my sons out with me.  They will bike around and have some fun while I race.

I do plan to race (as opposed to just finishing).  It will be tougher, since I don't know the course, but I think I'm ready.   I hope for about a 10:30 finish which would probably be a top-15 finish out of about 60 starters.  I also hope to win the 50+ age group since my buddy Todd Holmes won't be there.   But running with mostly Colorado runners is tough.  They are fit and fast, and have altitude on their side.  There is also a 25-mile race going on at the same time with about 150 runners.   My planned 25-mile split time (4:40) will probably rank about 40th among those runners.   After completing the 25-mile loop, we will have to do the loop again in the opposite direction.

Full race report now at: http://www.crockettclan.org/blog/?p=145

I finished the Desert RATS 50 in Fruita, CO in 10:46:16, 24th overall and 1st in the old foggie 50+ age group.  It was a wonderful run.  The temperature was great (high about 65), but I still became badly dehydrated at one point. I need to do more afternnon training.  I also took a wrong turn and wasted 5 minutes or so.  I had a great time.  Two of my boys came with me and mountain biked while I ran.  Home in the evening.  It was a fun Saturday.   The course was easier than expected even with the 8,000-foot elevation gain/loss. My full race report will come in a few days.

A few quick details.   This race is run on mountain bike trails above the Colorado River.  The terrain is similar to Moab but with less slick rock.  The 50-mile race runs concurrently with a 25-mile race.   The 50-milers run the loop twice, the second loop in reverse direction.  About 40 miles of the course is smooth single-track.  There is about 8000-feet of climb during the two loops, most on four long climbs from the desert floor up to the plateau.   On the first climb I was frustrated that I couldn’t keep up with the top 30 runners, but once at the top, I was able to blast by a long train of 20 runners who just didn’t have the technical speed on the downhill.  Because it was on single-track, the only way for me to pass them was to go "off road" and do a slingshot sprint around 4-5 runners and then swoop back in line.  It felt like I was racing Nascar.  I eventually passed them all and and had "clean air" in front of me to run as fast as I pleased.  I reached the first check-point (mile 5.9) at 53 minutes.  That was nine minutes faster than planned, so I now understood why I was having trouble keep up.  It was just too fast.   The next 12 miles or so was a blast, rolling trails on a shelf above the Colorado River.  I discovered that I struggled to keep up with the runners around me until the trail became more technical, then I had speed about 50% faster than the others and could catch up or press ahead.   At mile 9.2 I made a blunder and took a wrong turn out of the aid station.  I recognized my mistake after a few minutes.  I probably wasted about 6 minutes and fell behind about  one-half mile from those I was running with.

The elite front-runners came running toward me at the 21-mile mark.  They were eight miles ahead.  Amazing.   I finished loop one (25 miles) in 4:42, just two minutes slower than planned.   By mile 30.9 I was back up to 5-minutes ahead of my planned pace.  But then the afternoon became warm and the climbs were tougher.  I spent the next couple hours picking off runners ahead of me one-by-one.  I pushed very hard from miles 34-37 to pass a couple runners.  In doing so I became pretty seriously dehydrated.  I noticed heat-stroke symptoms.    Chills, light-headed, not sweating.  I quickly took action, took two electrolyte pills and pushed the fluids.  I backed off my pace significantly.  I had built up a big lead over anyone behind me, so no one caught up to me, but I took an extra 10 minutes off my pace to recover.   Within a half hour, I felt much better.   It was only about 60-65 degrees, but I just wasn’t drinking enough and taking in enough electrolytes.  Also, I just haven’t trained much in these temperatures so far this season.

During the final huge climb at mile 45-46, I was really lazy.  But then I recognized Milada Copeland from Utah, hot on my tail, less than 3 minutes behind.   That woke me up and I started to push much harder.   Once on top, I knew that no one would catch me during the last three-miles to the finish.  It was mostly downhill and I still had good downhill speed.     I finished in 10:46, which was 16 minutes slower than my goal.  I knew where I lost those 16 minutes (6 minutes from wrong turn, 10 minutes from dehydration episode).

I still haven't bounced back from the 50-mile race on Saturday.  That is a bit unusual for me.  Oh well, I'll keep resting.   I still feel a little drained, have sore quads and calfs, a sore foot and not a great appetite.  I should feel better tomorrow.  

On Saturday I plan on running in the Bonneville Shoreline Trail marathon, a yearly free event that most of the local ultrarunners run in.   It is a lot of fun.  Hopefully the weather will be OK.  Come join the fun.  See: http://www.users.qwest.net/%7Ecirnielsen/bstannouncepage2.html

My race report is up at: http://www.crockettclan.org/blog/?p=145

Feeling much better, but nursing a sore foot.  I believe this is just a very low ankle/foot sprain, hopefully not a stress fracture.  The pain has bugged me for a month or so since twisting the ankle one morning, but it never bothered me much while running normally.  I never felt it during the race on Saturday, but a day later it started to hurt.  The pain does seem to originate near the base of the 5th metatarsal, a common location for a stress fracture.  No swelling, no bruising.   I'll continue to lay off and hope that I can run on Saturday.

I ran in the Bonneville Shoreline Trail Marathon, a free but very challenging marathon-length run held in the hills above Salt Lake City.  Much of this runs on a trail established above the ancient Lake Bonneville Shoreline.  This race attracts many of the top ultrarunners in the state.  Karl Meltzer, one of the best in the world came to try to beat his course record.

I drove up with Mark Ellison and we both were concerned about the rain falling as we drove up.  It could be a very wet, muddy run this year.  This would be my third run in the event.  I never push hard during this race because I have always run a very long race just the prior week.  The same was true this time, since it is just one week since my finish in the Desert RAT 50.  The race start up above the homes about 7^th East.

We arrived just in time, said some quick hellos and were off.   Karl quickly took the lead and I joined in with a group of about eight runners trying to keep up.  Within only 100 yards, my left foot slipped a little in the mud, causing it to twist just a little and I again felt the bad pain in my foot that has bothered me this past week.   That confirmed things in my mind.  It was a foot/ankle sprain on the lower outside of my foot, under the ankle.   I had twisted it badly about six weeks ago, but it hasn’t been much of a problem until this week.   Today the pain was bad enough that I knew it would be a concern.    I slowed down a little, let a couple people pass, but when we hit the downhill into City Canyon.  The mud was slick, but I pushed away caution and let gravity take me.  I could see that those who were trying to brake, were slipping.  I just blasted down as fast as I could.

Once down at the bottom of the canyon, we crossed the road and headed up the shoreline trail.  As it started to climb, I backed off a little but tried to keep the pace strong.   The foot wasn’t bothering me too much.   Eventually the climb became intense and most of us started to power hike.   Once up above all the homes above the capital, the trail started rolling and I could kick the speed up a notch.   The feet were wet from splashing in puddles.  As some descents arrived, I was disappointed to discover that I could not push the speed hard any more.  The foot pain held me back.   I was again passed by a couple runners.  Once over the saddle near Ensign Peak, the road turned into some shoe-sucking mud.  Everyone started to slow and I felt sorry for those behind because we were really tearing up the best routes.   Finally the road headed down and I started to catch up to some runners, but just couldn’t push it hard.   Then the huge climb came.   I really couldn’t push a trot up the steep hill because when I push huge pressure on the toes, again the foot hurt.  I just power-hiked the best I could and kept my position.

As we climbed higher and higher, we entered the clouds.  It was very cool but a bother because I could no longer see the runner ahead of me.   Soon  buddy Brent Rutledge from Lehi, caught up.  It was great to see him.  We had not run together since last September.   He pushed on ahead and I tried to keep him in sight through the fog.   I finally caught up to him as we crested over the top of the mountain, ready for the steep descent back down into City Creek.   Brent stepped aside, “Go ahead, you are faster on the downhill.”  I encouraged him to keep up and he did a pretty good job staying within about 100 yards.   I blasted down as hard as I could and soon passed a woman runner who was being cautious in the mud.  Near the bottom of the canyon, I tripped over a rock, caught myself, but felt bad pain in the abs that made be slow to a walk to quickly recover.  

Once on the flatter trail, still descending down the canyon, I could tell my foot was not happy at all.   I slowed more and eventually Brent caught up again.  I cheered him on and complemented him on his great downhill speed.   I debated in my mind for awhile, but I knew that I would have to cut my race short and stop after the western loop of the course.  The foot pain wasn’t calming down, only getting worse.  It wasn’t worth it.   So I slowed down some more, and headed back up the other side of the canyon.  Mark caught up, I told him the news and retrieved his key to the truck.   I complete my 10.6 mile loop of the race in about 2:16 with about 3,100 feet of climbing.  I knew I was making the right choice to instead heal from this injury and call it a day.

I drove to the next aid station behind the Huntsman Cancer Institute and had a great time for the next three hours helping at the aid station and talking to the volunteers and all the runners as they came through.  It was great fun making fun of the runners covered in mud.   When Brent came into view, I decided to make it look like I too just arrived at the aid station.  He exclaimed, “How did you get ahead?”   I replied, “Oh you must have taken a break or something.”   I encouraged him to make a fast stop so we could run together.  We left the aid station and I continued to kid him about how I was ahead of him.   But then as we climbed, I broke the news that I had really dropped out seven miles back.   Ha, ha, great joke.   When the trail leveled out, I discovered there was no way I could keep up, the foot was hurting too bad, so I bid him goodbye and hobbled back down to the aid station.   Mark later arrived, and he was struggling because of allergies.

A triatholon was also being held on the trail near the aid station.  The mountain bikers were riding very fast on the trail.  But when the back of their pack arrived, a few started to stop at our aid station and taking drinks and stuff.  We just played along.  We had so much stuff at the aid station it didn’t matter.  A few asked if we were part of the race after they partook, but we just laughed and said we would send them a bill.

After Brent and Mark both return, I drove back to the finish and enjoyed watching runners come in and talked to so many.  It was great fun to socialize with this great group.   Karl Melzer was there.  He did finish in a course record time of 3:47.  That is amazing.  I still haven’t broken 6 hours on that course.  Brent came in about 5:40 and Mark in about 6:20.   It was a little disappointing that I didn’t finish the entire course, but it had been a very run morning.   Thankfully the rain stayed away during the race, but it was one of the muddiest years for the race.   Everyone’s lower legs were caked in mud.

Well it looks like I will have to hit the pool for the next week or so.  Pool running, swimming, etc.  Booooooring.....keep me away from sharp objects, I may slit my wrists.

Well, the foot is very sore today.  I could hardly walk, and can’t without a big limp.   What is strange is there is no noticeable swelling and no bruising.   The source of the most pain seems to be what is called the peronial tendons.  One common cause is “running on uneven surfaces.”  Hmmm…OK, I do that just a bit. “It can result from running on sloped surfaces or running in shoes with excessive wear on the outside of the heel.”  Yep, I checked the shoes, they are worn out, probably 500 miles, outside heel worn. Caused when “foot and ankle are rolled inward,”  Yep that happened pretty bad about a month ago or so.  I didn’t appreciate this wise crack:  “In general, older people are at a higher risk of developing the condition.”   Older?  Come say that to my face.  Let’s race up Timp and see who is old.  Treatment, “Cease any activity that is likely to hinder the rehabilitation process.”  Ya, ya, ya, I know.  “It may take 6 weeks or longer to recover.”  Yikes, don’t say that!   How to prevent this from happening again, “When running, choose level surfaces and avoid rocks or holes.”   Pretty funny.  Next thing you will tell me is stick to running on roads.  It’s not going to happen.

You have got to love the psychology of an injured runner.  We have visions of never being able to run without pain again.  We see someone jogging in the neighborhood and get very jealous.  We worry that just a few days without training will get us out of shape.  All are silly thoughts.  Healing will take place, just be patient.

The foot a little better today.  Yesterday it times it felt like I needed crutches.  Today, I still can't walk without a limp, but healing is taking place.  Running isn't even an option.  I made an appointment with the podiatrist for Thursday.   Its been almost three years since I've seen him.  He'll at least get a kick out of hearing about my running and looking at my toe nails.  But I bet by Thursday most of the pain will be gone....hoping.   Once I can rotate it without much pain, I'll start hitting the pool.

Afternoon... can walk without a limp now!  My doctor visit Thursday will help rule out stress fracture and hopefully rule out ruptured tendon.   What I have learned is that one week of rest won't heal this.  If I go back out on the trail after just one week, I'll set it back again.

Hit the pool this morning.  Half hour of pool running with hand floats, half-mile swim in 20 minutes and then hard kicking on my back for 10 minutes (great for the hamstrings).   Frustrating, because I wasn't tired and it didn't feel like much of a workout.  I guess I will have to double the time.   I'm walking without a limp but do feel pain.

I hit the pool at 4:00 a.m., well, not really, I had forgotton my pool running hand floaties (they look like dumb bells), so I drove home, got them and came back at 4:15 a.m. I had the entire pool to myself until 5:50 a.m.   The pool at Saratoga Springs is a private community outdoor pool but is a large 25 meter pool with six swim lanes.   It is heated by thermal heating from the springs so they don't worry about the cost of heating it, thus it can get too warm for hard swimming.   This morning it felt like it was about 92 degrees, a bit warm.   It actually helps me somewhat by adapting my body to hot-weather running.  The pool is open year-round.  I've have swam in it when it has been below zero outside. (It is cool too see your hair freeze solid).

I first did 40 minutes of pool "running" in the deep end, doing mostly a cross-country ski type exercise with both arms and legs.   To keep me from being total bored, I rigged a mini radio on the strap of my goggles and listened to Mike and Mike in the morning on ESPN radio.

After that I did a one-mile swim (64 lengths) in 44 minutes without stopping to rest.   Not blazing fast, but very good for only my second day swimming in over one year.   I was surprised that it felt pretty easy.  Obviously my cardio fitness is already at peak, so that isn't a problem, but I thought my upper-body and shoulder strength would be a problem and it would take my quite a while to work up to a mile. Not so, it went very well.

One reason my pace isn't that fast is that I have quite a bit of drag in the water.  I choose to wear knee-brace sleeves while I swim.   With all the kicking, I have found that my knee caps get loosened.  When I go back to running, that becomes a problem as the knee caps slide around.  So the sleeves keep the knee cap tight into place and I can kick as hard as I want.  But it does create lots of drag making me slower.  Also, I'm not doing flip-turns.  As my upper-body strength improves, I'll add those in.  But it isn't about speed, it is about workout.

I've never been a great swimmer, but swimming does seem to be in my family genes.  All my kids have been on the high school swim teams, being good enough to be captains of those teams.  I had a daughter to placed very high in the state.   I was on a swim team for a couple years when I was 10-11 years old, but didn't really excell.   I'm just better than average and can swim very far if boredom doesn't kill me.

The morning was was fantastic as I finished up.   I heard and saw a couple geese honking overhead.  I looked out across the lake and could see Venus rising before the dawn glow.  It really is an impressive sight at the pool in the morning.

The foot continues to improve.  Tomorrow I will see the doctor.

Hit the pool at 4:05 a.m.   Did 50 minutes of pool running and then did a one-mile swim.   The pool was blazing hot this morning, at least 96 degrees.  For whatever reason they have trouble regulating the pool temperature and at times it climbs high.  It is extremely difficult to swim hard and long in a pool that hot, but I got the mile done.  Talk about heat training!  It felt like I was training for the Badwater race in Death Valley.   I did the mile in 48 minutes, but about six of those minutes were spent on the pool deck cooling my body temperature down in the 36 degrees morning air.  I finished up the workout by doing about ten minutes of tought deep kicking on my back, really working the hamstrings.   I returned home really feeling like I had a hard workout.   My body temperature was messed up for awhile.

I went to the podiatrist. My self-diagnosis was correct. I have a peroneal tendon strain on the outside of my foot. He took an X-ray and there is no stress-fracture. The doctor gets a kick out of listening to my running history. A young college intern was with him today and the kid couldn't belive what I was saying, talking about 100-mile races. The doctor as a former runner gets it and knows I understand foot-care, injury recovery, etc. He says I really need six weeks of recovery. He gave me a boot to help the tendon rest and an ankle brace to use once I start running again. I mentioned the marathon in 16 days and didn't realize that I said, "its only a road marathon." They both laughed, pointed out what I said. He said that was up to me, but I would likely be hurting after it, setting back the healing. But he quickly said, "I know you understand how to care and treat things like this." So, my plan is to still run in the Ogden Marathon, but I won't enter Sapper Joe 50K which is the following week. Instead I will volunteer for it if they need it. That will give me three weeks of more recovery until Squaw Peak 50.

I wore the boot sleeping last night, seemed to help the foot rest. Couldn't bring myself to wear the thing to work.  Probably should. I still feel pain walking but can walk normally now.  The family won't give me sympathy when I wear the boot.   I suggested that I get a bell for them to come running at my beck and call, but that didn't fly.  When the phone rings I even still have to get up.   There is no respect for the old-man runner who injures himself.

I did the same routine this morning.  45 minutes pool running and a one-mile swim.  The pool was much cooler this morning, thank goodness.   I did the mile in about 44 minutes and then did vigourous deep kicking while on my back.    I had the pool to myself for almost two hours.   Two ladies showed up as I left.

I can feel my swimming strength returning with three straight days of mile-swims.   The shoulders are starting to feel stronger.  Also, it is fairly easy to lose weight swimming, easier than running.  I've lost about three pounds this week.  On the downside, my skin is starting to be affected by all the chorine and soaking.  They over chorinate this pool and my skin doesn't like it.   That is one reason I don't usually swim regularly.    I'll try to put up with the itching.

I doing fine and actually enjoying the break from running for a little while. 

P.M.   I walked a mile on the way back from a meeting.   It was very discouraging at first.  After a quarter mile the pain was almost enough to make me limp.   But after a quick stop at a store, I felt much better for the last 3/4rs.  The ankle and foot felt good and strong and the pain was minimal.   That was more encouraging.   I did see a couple runners on the downtown streets and I couldn't help to think to myself jealous thoughts, "Show offs!"

I did a tough workout this morning.  I swam 2 miles in the pool.  The first mile was 44 minutes and during the second mile I stopped at each quarter mile to do vigorous deep kicking.  I'm rather amazed that I'm already up to 2 miles in just my first five days of swimming in over a year.  That is encouraging.  That makes 5.5 miles in the pool this week.   Also, I've lost four pounds this week.  I had forgotten how easy it is to lose weight swimming as compared to running.

A couple friends came to the pool during my second mile.  One of them will run in the Sapper Joe 30K.   After all that time in the pool, I went to the rec room and did a little eliptical.  I felt no foot pain, so that is great.  However, I hate elipticals.  The motion just is too far away from the running motion and those machines affect my knees poorly.  They put too much pressure on my knee caps in the wrong way if I do long workouts on them.  I shifted over to the stationary recombent bike and did a tough hard ride that got the quads burning.   Then I did toe lifts to get the calfs burning.  The foot didn't hurt during them.  In the pool my vigorous kicking on my back got the hamstrings burning.   So overall, I think that workout was great.

I'm very encouraged about the foot this morning.  I now feel very little pain while walking.  I think running 10 miles of the BSTM last Saturday set my recovery back 8 days.   I've almost made that up and I will be careful this time during the second week of recovery.

So things are looking up.  I'm trying to keep a postitive attitude and just think of this as a nice long taper.   With all the miles I've run the past two years I deserve a little break.

This morning I swam two miles at the Saratoga pool.  I've never swam that far prior to work before.   My quarter miles splits were 10:29, 11:00, 11:05, 11:02 for 43:37:46 for the first mile.   Mile 2 was 11:34, 11:53, 13:04, 11:38 for 47:09 for mile two.   It was a good 90 minute workout.  The foot feels good this morning, very little pain.   It tends to feel better in the afternoons, typical for tendons.  

I swam 2.5 miles before work this morning.  This is the furthest I have ever swam in one stretch and it felt pretty easy.  That boggles my mind because I have only been swimming for one week.  In the past I thought it takes weeks to work up the swiming endurance and I thought I had miserable upper body strength, but I guess, not so.  The shoulders feel great and I have no soreness at all.  Perhaps my technique is better than in the past.

My split quarter mile (400 meter) times today were: 10:19, 10:25, 10:54, 11:03 for 42:41 for mile 1.  9:46, 11:17, 11:05, 10:43 for 42:51 for mile 2.   10:57, and 11:11 for the last two splits.   I did take a little break after the miles to drink Gatorade.   Those splits are a good improvement from yesterday.   I through in some flip turns now and then to improve the speed.

The pool got pretty crowded during my last few laps as it approached 6:00 a.m.  There were eight people in the pool trying to swim laps.

The foot progress is discouraging.   I checked the foot last night like the doctor did and the tendon is still pretty painful but the strength is better than last Thursday.   I can tell if I tried to start running again now, I wouldn't last long and would really irritate the tendon.   This is a very slow heal process.  I just hope it can heal without surgery.

Swam 1.5 miles this morning.  My 400-meter split times were: 10:20, 10:31, 10:35, and 10:55 for 42:21 mile.   Next splits were 11:02, 10:33.    I then did some leg work.  Tough kicking on back for hamstrings, and then 12 hard minutes on the stationary bike.   I plan to start doing more leg work.   Foot feels a little better today.

11-straight days without running.   This is nearing PR territory for me.   My last long running break was in March 2007 when I took off 14-days to let a shin splint heal.  Then I jumped in and ran 80 miles on the 14th day.

P.M.  Walked briskly downtown to and from meetings.  Very little pain felt....encouraging.

I swam 5k (5000 meters, 200 laps(lengths)) this morning.  That is the furthest I have ever swam in one stretch.  My 400 meter splits were 10:24, 10:33, 10:47, 10:35 for 42:19 for the first mile.  I took a couple minutes break to drink Gatorade.  My next splits were 10:44, 11:01, 11:02, 11:01 for 43:48 for mile 2.  My next splits were 10:56, 11:01, 11:20, 11:38 for 44:55.  My final 200 meters were 6:15.   The total 5K time was 2:17:18.   I started to cramp in my left calf for some reason toward the end.  I guess all the kicking adds up after awhile.

Skin and hair care is a bother.  With all the products I have to use it affects my man-hood ego.  The biggest irration is to my skin.  Despite all the hyrdation gel, cream, etc.  My sensative skin goes crazy after awhile from over two hours in the over-chlorinated pool.  I hate iching.  I'm going to have to find something else to help to stop the itching.   I also take care to dry out the ears to avoid swimmer's ear (fungus).  That can be very painful.  Drying out the ears or putting vinegar in them afterwards helps dry things out.   I do use ear plugs while swimming, but still some water gets in.

The foot is feeling very good.  I think I may try to experiment with barefoot treadmill walking.

I've set a PR for the most miles swimming in a one-week period.  11.5 miles.  That is roughly equivelent with about 70 miles of running at the pace I usually do on trails in the morning.

I slept in, no pool work this morning.   OK, it has been eight days since I've been to the doctor for the foot.  I've seen some progress but am discouraged because I am so used to recoverying fast from minor injuries.  This one is not recoverying fast and thus is probably not minor.   I worry that the tendon could be torn.  If so, it wouldn't heal from just laying off.  I guess I'll give it another week before asking the doctor for an MRI.   I am seeing improvement, but it just isn't as fast as I want.

I ran for the first time in 14 days, and the first time without bad pain in 21 days!   I’ll get to that later.   I started off my day in the pool at 4:00 a.m. and I swam a PR distance of 4 miles!   I had the pool completely to myself for the first 3 miles and until the “soakers” came to the pool to chat and pretend like they are exercising.  Well, at least they are getting out.

It was a little depressing to see how beautiful the early morning was with a nearly full moon out.   If I wasn’t recoverying from my foot injury, I would be out on the trail, probably running about 35 miles.   But instead, I put on my goggles, ear plugs, and dipped into the waters.

My 400-meter (quarter mile) splits times were:  10:44, 10:41, 10:50, and 10:54 for 43:08 first mile.  Next, 11:03, 11:15, 11:33, 11:15, for 45:04 second miles.   11:34, 11:20, 11:24, 11:26, for 45:45 third mile.  11:30, 11:30, 12:00, 11:42 for 46:42 fourth mile.   Total for the four miles was 3:00:53.   The energy for doing that was roughly the same as running 21 miles.   I felt good afterwards and felt like I could have continued on for quite awhile.   However, three hours in the chlorinated pool really takes its toll on my skin and hear.  Clarifying shampoo helps the hair and a host of skin products helps the skin, but what a hassle taking care of both.   I finished of the morning in the pool by doing ten minutes of tough deep kicking while on my back to work the hamstrings.

The morning view was wonderful.  It was a beautiful as the sun rose above Mount Timpanogos to shin on the clear blue sky.   Some people arrived to do some fishing and a family launched their sail boat from the marina.  It was beautiful to watch the boat float out into Utah Lake.

I next went into the exercise room and timidly decided to try running on a treadmill.   With this injury, I have read that barefoot running is possible at some point.   Running barefoot does not put as much stress on the injured tendon.   At first my pace was only a 18-minute mile pace with a timid jog.  Great, no pain at all.   I eased up the pace slowly and eventually reached a 10-minute mile pace.   Still no pain.  During the second mile I experimented pushing the pace clear up to 8-minute mile pace.  Not bad, but I’m not used to running barefoot, so my foot placement wasn’t smooth enough.  I backed off.   I then tried to run at 5% incline, but pretty quickly started to feel some pain, so I returned to the flats.   After two miles, I peddled on the bike for 15 minutes and then returned to run one more mile.   My feet bottoms aren’t used to the barefoot running.  It will take a little while for them to get used to that.

So, I was very encouraged.  It was very nice to feel the running muscles working again.   I had visions of never being able to run again without pain.   There now is hope.   I’ll continue to be very careful. 

Wow, up to 7 miles for the month!  900 miles for the year.  But in the bright side, I swam a PR one-week distance of 13 miles.   That is roughly equivelent of running 68 miles.  I am maintaining my overall fitness and the swimming is helping the core get stronger.

I walked  three miles with the dog this afternoon to experiment with the foot.  Usually with tendonitis, after the tendon gets warmed up the pain decreases.  I was curious how it would feel on a long walk.  The first mile was discouraging but I noticed on the second mile that I was thinking about other things, not the foot because the pain decreased.   Mile three was even better.  I tried some power walking to increase the pace and it worked fine.   But there is still a main location for the pain.  It seems to be the insertion point of the peroneal longus tendon at the 5^th metatarsal that passes through the plantar ligament.  I’m encouraged that the pain doesn’t go far up the tendon.  A rupture is usually a longitutal tear, and I don’t think I’m feeling that.  It likely is a strain with fraying near the insertion point.

One mile walking in downtown San Francisco.   Seven miles on the treadmll in the hotel!    Wow, most miles in ages.  It felt very easy.  The leg muscles wanted to go on and on. Averaged about 9-minute miles.   Pushed it up to 6:45 pace for awhile.   Mild pain in the foot, but I did run six of those miles in shoes, a fist during this recovery.   I couldn't run in my La SportTiva Fireblades because they are a little narrow and put pressure on the sore tendon...probably part of the orginal problem.   So I had some old Montrails with me and they worked well.   I'm going to need to buy some racing flats if I run Ogden on Saturday.

I ran the last mile without shoes, in socks.  That felt great, no pain, but I was stupid and ended out with a blister on the bottom of one foot.  Oh well, that will force me to not put on too many miles before I am ready.   They also have a nice lap pool at the hotel, so I can keep doing my ultra swimming while I'm at this conference.

Swam a mile in the hotel lap pool at 6:00 a.m.  Unfortunately it doesn't open before 6 a.m. so I didn't have time to do more.   Took a walk downtown during the lunch hour and was surprised to feel zero pain in the foot.   What's up with that?   Nice.

In the evening I ran 9 miles on the treadmill. I was delighted to not feel the foot pain at all until the last mile. I averaged 8:00 miles. One of the miles was a 6:40 mile. I'm delighted that it seems like my recovery is at a point where exercise is now accelerating the recovery. I did feel some pain on the tendon above the ankle, but I think that is more from lack of use over the past four weeks. Hopefully I can start strengthening the ankle now.

Running dreams are funny. I had a very vivid running dream a few nights ago. I dreamed that I was running in the Wasatch 100, but it was all screwy of course. I arrived at an aid station, but had to run through a house. On the other side of the house I went out the door but the course was no longer marked outside the house. I found myself in Washington D.C. I along with other runners were frustrated not knowing where to go next. It seemed like we had to circle around the National Mall, but I wasn't sure what road to take. I was confused that this mountain course was in the city. Still lost, I returned to the house and organized several other runners to go through the streets with me. We each took a different street hoping that we could find some course markings. The race volunteers at the house were of no help and refused to tell use the right way to go. This approach didn't work and I returned frustrated again to the house. I had now wasted several hours. A T.V. was on and a reporter was interviewing the winner of the Wasatch 100. Wow, he had already finished. Hold it, it was still light outside. How could he finish a 100-miler before sunset? I thought, gee, the front-runners knew the course, they have done it before. But that thought confused me because I realized that I had run the course before a couple times. Very strange. Why was I in Washington D.C.? Finally I woke up in a state of running confusion. Got to love those 100-mile race dreams. I'm always getting lost.

Up at 5 a.m. Ran 7 miles on the treadmill. Mild pain in the foot the entire time. That it typical for mornings. The tendon insertion point passes through the Planter Fascia, so in the morning it takes a little while for the foot to warm up in that point. An hour after the run, the foot felt fine. Also swam one mile in the lap pool. Gave up when a big guy decided to swim on his back between the two lanes and couldn't stay in his lane, hitting me.

Gee, it is nice to see my name on the first page of the mileage board this morning.  Haven't seen that in several weeks.

If things continue to go well, looks like I will run Ogden on Saturday.   However, turning sub-7 minute miles for very long may be a problem.  I do need to find some new shoes.  None of the shoes I have will work with my foot problem.

I'm in taper-mode now, resting for the Ogden Marathon on Saturday morning.   I believe I will be fine once I find the right shoes that don't put pressure on the tendon.  I'll go shoe shopping on Friday afternoon.

I ran two easy miles on the treadmill, just enough to warm up the muscles and foot.  No pain this morning during the run.   I then swam one mile in the lap pool.  Feeling good.  In the hot tub I ran a jet over the foot and can issolate the pain area on the tendon.  It is less than yesterday.   The ankle feels weak (weaker than usual...usually it is very strong.)

I've started to do some ankle exercises...foot drills that make a lot of sence.  See: http://www.coachr.org/the_foot_drills.htm

The only drill that is painful is walking on the inside of the foot.

I walked a mile in downtown San Francisco and at the airport.  I'm on my way back home.

All systems are go for Ogden Marathon tomorrow.  I found some road shoes that feel good and don't hurt the tendon, Mizuno Elixir.  Did an easy one-mile job outside, my frist mile run outside in three weeks.   Felt fine.  The quads were telling me to run faster.  "Hold back, just wait until tomorrow."   This should be interesting with the huge taper I've had for the last five weeks.

I ran in the Ogden Marathon, in Ogden, Utah, a fast beautiful race that is mostly downhill.  It would be only my third attempt at a road marathon in comparison to 46 finishes at the ultra marathon distance.  I was nervous going into this race, for good reason, because I had not fully recovered from a non-minor foot injury.  I had really not run seriously for five weeks, when I last raced a 50-mile race.   I had only started to do some treadmill miles a few days earlier.   My theory for going ahead with this race is that the injured tendon is not very involved in straight ahead flat road running.  On the other hand, on trails, the tendon if very involved to keep balance.   So I decided to go ahead and give it a try.   How would I do without any significant running training in five weeks?   I did swim many miles in the pool to keep my fitness up, but I was nervous that my leg muscles weren’t tuned well enough to maintain the fast intense speed of a marathon.

I set some goals for the race.   I wanted to at least break 3:25, which would be a PR time and a Boston qualifier time for me by ten minutes.  Looking at the results for the past couple years and knowing a few runners in my age group who would likely run, I also set a goal to finish in the top 7 for my age group.  If I had a perfect race, a top-3 finish would be within reach, but I knew that was very unlikely given my injury.   I don’t really train for road marathons since I mostly stick to the trails and run longer distances.  So it is an interesting experiment to me when I give one of these races a try.

I got up very early and left my home around 3 a.m. to drive up to Ogden.  I arrived with 45 minutes to spare before the buses would leave.  Instead of standing around in the cold to wait for a bus, I sat in a warm hotel lobby and watched the enthusiastic runners making preparations.  The bus ride was long and intimidating.  It drove nearly the entire course and it sure seemed very long.

The start area was next to a wide open field at 5400 feet.   I noticed frost on the grass and quickly made my way over a warm barrel fire and kept warm for an hour waiting for the 7 a.m. start.  The course would drop about 1,100 feet and end in downtown Ogden.  

Even with all the ultrarunning I do, I feel like quite the rookie at road marathons.  That makes it somewhat interesting to me, learning something new. 

I lined up between the 6-7 minute-mile flags.  I wouldn’t keep that pace going for long but wanted to start out that fast.  Shortly after 7 a.m., we were away, following the South Fork of the Ogden River.  The morning was beautiful and the temperature was perfect.   I was a little tentative as I tested out the foot, but it seemed to behave.   I had bought some new road shoes that didn’t put much pressure on the outside of the foot where the tendon is.   I was so pleased to be running again. My first few mile splits were 6:18, 7:03, 6:49, for about a 20:30 5K time.   That split over 7 minutes got my attention.  I really wanted to keep my splits less than 7 minutes as long as possible, then under 8 minutes as long as possible.

I noticed the foot would complain a little when the road sloped to the inside or outside on turns, so I tried to stay on the more level portions of the road, which meant that I wasn’t cutting the corners very close.  I also noticed pain on the steeper downhills.  But so far, things were going well.   I had some good time to observe the other runners around me.  I saw several with fastrunningblog jerseys who I recognized but didn’t know.

My next splits (miles 3-6) were 7:06, 6:10, and 6:51 for about a 41:15 10K split, which would have been a PR by over two minutes if we were stopping there.   That 6:10 split is very suspect.  I think they had the mile marker in the wrong place.

I started to slow somewhat into a more sustainable pace. I noticed that runners who could keep a 7-minute miles were passing me left and right.   My next few mile splits (miles 7-10) were 6:56, 7:27, 7:48, and 7:33.   I carried a hand-held water bottle, but I knew that wouldn’t last so at each aid station I tried to grab a quick drink.   At certain aid stations those in the relay race would jump in a take over.  This was a little confusing because more people would start passing me.   The views were wonderful as we circled around Pineview Reservoir where I had water-skied many years ago. 

I did start having a problem.  My right calf felt like it was going to get sore and cramp.  This is my challenge in past marathons and I knew it would be a problem since I haven’t done enough recent tempo runs.   When I tried to push a 7-minute mile pace, it got worse, so I had no choice but to back off the pace.  I didn’t want to finish with a strained calf.

From miles 11-15 the course is more generally uphill, with one half-mile steeper hill after mile 14.  At the top was an aid station and someone yelled out my name and waved.   I couldn’t tell who it was.   It was good to hit downhill again, run over Pineview dam, and then hed steeply down Ogden Canyon.   My splits from miles 11-13 were 7:47, 7:34, 8:01, for about a 1:42 half-marathon split.  There was a big crowd at this location, where the half marathon race started.  My splits from miles 14-16 were 7:54, 9:06 (hill) and 7:44.   I was a little discouraged because it was now very tough to keep the splits under 8 minutes. 

I had now been running for nearly 2 hours and had about ten more miles to go.  My energy level was suffering so I started to take gels more often.  That seemed to help.   I did notice that runners were passing me multiple times.  It appeared that several would lollygag at the aid stations.

I really enjoyed running along the Ogden River as it roared down the canyon.  We now had high canyon walls on either side covered with pines.  My splits for miles 17-22 were 7:53, 8:08, 8:14, 8:32, 8:12, 8:42.  I was now really struggling.   I was keeping the cramping at bay.  An S! cap helped.  I wished I had brought more.  But my quads and hamstrings were complaining.   I was also breathing hard.  I was really giving it everything I had.  I never had any lazy stretches.    We caught up and passed many half-marathon walkers who gave us nice words of encouragement.

We entered the Ogden River Parkway, a beautiful paved trail that winds and rolls along the River.  As I looked at the time, I knew I had a sub-3:30 in the bag as long as I didn’t cramp up.  But I just couldn’t find any sub-9-minute speed.   Miles 23-24 were 9:09 and 9:02.  OK, just 2.2 miles to go as I was at 3:05.  If I could keep the pace up I could reach my goal of a sub-3:25.  I couldn’t have any miles over 10-mintues. At the last aid station, fellow-ultrarunning Cory Johnson yelled out a greeting and took a picture of me.

Mile 25 was 9:05.  As we reached the one-mile to go mark, a guy next to me gave me a high five.  “One mile left!”   We were all excited and tried to kick it up another notch.   We spilled out on a long straight city road.  I was so pleased that this marathon only had one mile of city streets.   The last mile was tough.  It felt like I had a bad blister on the ball of my other foot.  I did my best to ignore it and just pushed ahead as hard as I could.   Mile 26 split was 9:13.   The finish line was now really in sight with big crowds on the left and right.  The guy on the loud speaker was mentioning breaking the 3:25 mark.   I did it, I finished in 3:24:49!

I was pleased.  Despite my injury and lack of recent training, I had set a PR by 11 minutes and requalified for Boston.  I finished in 6^th place in my age group (out of 75) and 149^th overall with a large field of about 1,800 runners.  I reached all my goals for the race---barely.  My foot felt fine and I managed to finish without any muscle pulls.   People who finished around me mentioned that it had been hotter than expected.  I really didn’t notice the heat and managed to keep well-hydrated.

I think I could squeeze another ten minute improvement on this course, but I really have no interest in chasing marathon minutes.  I would much rather chase ultramarathon finishes.   I next need to get my foot healed enough to attack trails.  Squaw Peak 50 is in only three weeks.

Recovery has been interesting.  My legs seem more sore than after a typical 100-mile race.  Probably from the lactic acid buildup or the lack of recent training.   But the big different is that after a 100-mile race, I am physically drained for a few days, loss of appetite, taste, sinuses whako, etc.   These marathons have no such effect.  I feel great but the legs sure are sore.  The injured foot was a little sore for the next 24-hours.  Probably only set recovery back a day or two.  That is good news.

Wow, I am still sore.  This is a big surprise.  Takes my mind off of the sore foot, which isn't very sore at all.   Looks like I'll be running again in a couple days.

Still pretty sore, but at least not walking funny today.  I was going to get up and swim before work, but didn't get to sleep until midnight, so I slept in.  Maybe tomorrow.

I swam 1.5 miles this morning.   Could have gone further, but I just lost interest.  Too boring.  My speed is increasing as my arm strength gets better.   My 400m splits were 10:40, 9:38, 10:07, 9:53, for a 40:18 mile.   I was pleased to see to splits under 10 minutes.  My final splits were 10:54 and 11:33 as I lost motivation.   I'm ready to try running dirt roads.  My foot still has some pain, but the marathon I ran Saturday didn't set it back.  I have less pain this week than last.   I'll first try running some smooth dirt roads with hills that won't have much risk of rolling the ankle.

The leg soreness from the marathon is greatly improved.  Calfs a little sore and a hamstring, but nothing terrible.

I'm encouraged about my injured foot recovery.  I know I can run roads again (Gee, I ran a PR marathon last Saturday by over 10 minutes!), but when will I be able to race on trails again?  I still can't see the light at the end of that tunnel.   Squaw Peak 50 is in only 17 days.   Bighorn 100 is now 31 days away.  I'd hate to skip Squaw Peak since it would be my fifth finish.   I guess I better start looking for an ankle brace that will work for running 50 miles.

After work, ran slow miles with the dog.  The calfs were still tight, so I took it very easy.  After a couple miles, things felt better.  I looked up into the hills and the legs begged me to take them up.  So I ran up a road and ran on some roads in the foothills.  I decided to really do some testing, and ran down on a dirt road.  The uneven surface immediatly started to work the bad foot/ankle.  It was discouraging at first but then things became better.   The weakness in the ankle is pretty obvious.  Will I ever be able to run trails with great speed and strength again?

Well, the legs aren't quite ready to boost long fast miles, so I'll hit the pool again in the morning.  It is pretty interesting that a 3:24 marathon takes me as long to recover from as a 10 hour 50-miler.   I'll be back in the saddle to run smooth roads on Friday.

I swam two miles in the pool this morning.  For the first time since I took up swimming again a few weeks ago, I broke 40 minutes for a mile.  I know, not blazing fast, but an improvement being seen.  400m splits were: 9:59, 9:50, 10:09, 9:56 for 39:54.  I took it easy for the 2nd mile, 11:26, 11:31, 12:09, 12:43.

The morning was beautiful in the outdoor pool.  I could see a crescent moon with Venus close by rising above the notch of Provo Canyon far away to the east.  With each lap, the glow in the sky increased and the moon and planet rose higher in the sky.

The injured foot has increased pain this morning.   I don't know what the deal is.  This is discouraging.  The summer racing schedule is getting closer.

During the morning I walked several blocks over to another building.  I was very discouraged.  The pain in the foot is similar to what it was two weeks ago.  Yesterday there was hardly any pain.  What is going on?   I do recall waking up last night after I stretched the foot in my sleep and feeling a little painful pop.  Maybe I need to sleep with the boot on again.

After the tendon warmed up it felt quite a bit better, but still, on the way back I opted to take Trax instead of walking.   I'm having visions of pulling out of Squaw Peak 50, Big Horn 100, etc.   All those race fees could go wasted.   Maybe it is time to find another sport, like synchronized swimming.

OK, after all the whining on this blog yesterday, by afternoon I had no pain in the foot.  Go figure.   One theory is that my dress shoes that I wear to work are bad for the tendon.  I'll go get some new ones.

This morning I forgot to set the alarm so didn't wake up until 4:45.  The foot was still pain-free, so I headed to the rec center to run the treadmill.  As I arrived, I thought to myself how stupid this was.  It was 51 degrees out and the morning was perfect.  Why not run outside?  So I turned around and drove home.  

I'm still not ready to run trails, but if I am going to run Squaw Peak in two weeks, I need to start doing more hill training.  So, what I did was run up a paved road called Grandview Blvd that goes for one mile and climbs 300 feet.   I ran up and down it three times.  I was tentative, because of the foot.  I felt more pain on the downhill but it was very mild.  My mile splits for the last two trips were: 10:52 (up), 10:22 (down), 11:15 (up), 10:25 (down).   The sore muscles from the marathon last Saturday are almost gone...just a little in the calfs and hamstring.

On the downside, the neuroma in my right foot is a problem.  It really flaired up during the marathon and still is a problem after five miles. Pavement flairs it up a lot more than trails.  A neuroma is a bunching of nerves in the ball of the foot that shoots bad pain up into your toes.  It can hurt terribly.  If it flairs up during ultras, usually after 7 miles is calms down, probably because the rest of the foot swells a little and protects it.   But right now it is about as bad as it has been.  Stupid pavement.   I wish I could get off it.

Tomorrow I'll go volunteer at the Sapper Joe 50K which is only a few miles from my home.  I was going to run this race, but instead I will volunteer.  This is the first race I will miss because of my injury.  I hope emotionally I won't be too bummed out.  I will make sure I wear jeans instead of my running gear to prevent myself from running with friends.

P.M.  Three more miles with the dog including up and down the Grandview mile (300 feet climb).  Splits 9:14 up, 7:20 down.   Felt pretty good to work the legs a little harder.

I  ran in the Sapper Joe 50K held at Camp Williams, Utah in Bluffdale, about six miles from my home.  Well, actually I ran 23 miles on the course during the race. I never entered the race, but I’ll get to this.  This is a new race run entirely on a military base on dirt roads normally closed to the public.  But thanks to Lt. Colonel Milada Copeland, a talented ultrarunner, this new race became possible.

My childhood friend, Jim Kern drove down and spent the night at my home.  He would be running in his second 50K.  As we arrived at the base, we were immediately impressed with the number of “volunteers” involved, guardsmen doing parking and helping all the runners get ready.  They were all dressed in fatigues. They had their huge military vehicles warmed up and ready to go out on the course.   There are a whole series of hills and valleys within running distance of my home that I have never been able to explore.  This race would open up these roads and trails to be experienced by the public.

But, I didn’t enter the race.  My foot injury prevented it.  I hoped to help out with the race and at least go out on the course.  I told people that I wouldn’t even bring my running gear.  However, at the last minute, I threw it in the car.

Before the start, I jumped in Phil Lowry’s car.  He was going out to the first aid station to take pictures.  I was thrilled to see these new valleys, hills, and ridges that were within sight of my home and my training territory.  We watched the sun start rising over the ridges and set up a location to shoot pictures.   I decided to go down to the aid station and help the military personel get ready for the onslaught of runners.  Runners would be arriving for both the 30K and 50K.  It was fun to hear them call each other “sir” and “mam”.  Milada as ranking officer was clearly respected and in charge.

I was surprised how long it took for the first two runners to complete the 5.7 mile leg.  But I would learn how difficult that first leg was.  It included a steep descent down a ball-bearing-like hill.  As they were running along the foothills, we could see two deer running ahead of them, as if they were pacing them.  It was quite the sight.  Phil was nearby and shot some nice pictures.   Karl Jarvis and Christian Johnson were the first two to arrive.  It was great fun to see so many of my friends arrive. I kept explaining why I wasn’t running.  The foot was feeling pretty good, but I knew it was the right decision to skip this race.  The aid station got very busy and I did my best to help, especially for runners I knew.  I wanted to give them special treatment.   I was very impressed how fast Craig Lloyd (jun) arrived.  Looking at the runners who arrived before and after him, I think I would have had a tough time keeping up with him. Jim was among the final 50k runners to arrive.  It looked like he was doing well.

After everyone left, I was impressed to watch the military efficiency as the immediately torn down the aid station and cleared out the area.   I drove back to the start/finish with Phil and we watched the first 30K runner finish with an amazing time of 2:42.

I then could not resist.  I went to my car, put on my running gear and headed out to run the course backwards.  This would be great fun to greet every runner on the course.  This was the first time I had attempted any serious running on a trail in a month.  I soon ran into Craig and reversed direction to run 100 yards or so with him.  He had an impressive race for a rookie.  Not far after him was neighbor Will Nielson.  I also ran a bit with him.  It was fun to talk with him for a few minutes and hear about the course.   I continued this pattern over and over again for any runner who I knew well.

After the long climb, I arrived at aid station #4 in just over an hour.  The servicemen there were surprised to see me and thought I was crazy.   I helped out at the station until the front-running 50K runners arrived.  Karl Jarvis was in first, followed by Christian about a half mile behind.  Christian mentioned that he blundered in only running with one water bottle.  It was starting to get a little warm.  After Christian left, I continued my run, heading  toward aid station #3 about six miles away.  

When I arrived at a steep hill, I started seeing many of my running friends.  I had fun doing “hill repeats.”   I would run down the steep hill until I found a friend and then reverse direction to run with them back up the hill.  It was a tough climb.   I probably did that about five times.   I was glad to get the hill training in.  The views were amazing.  I saw views of my home valley that I had never seen before from these military base ridges.

How was the foot doing?  So-so.   I did feel some pain with every step but it wasn’t bad.  I learned that if I put more weight on the outside of the foot, the pain would decrease.   I also learned that I just couldn’t run at top speed.  When I tried, the pain would go up, so I took it generally easy.

After fooling around, socializing with everyone, I noticed my one water bottle was almost empty.   I needed to get down to business and try to reach aid station #3 before Jim came through.  If they tore down the aid station before I arrived, I would be in a bad position without fluid.   Well, I almost made it.  With less than a mile to go, I found Jim.   I had no choice but continue on.  As I ran hard down to the aid station, I could see that they had already packed everything up.  They were kind and let me fill up and grab some food.   I then asked if I could hitch a ride back to catch up with Jim.  Even if I ran very hard, I probably couldn’t catch him for over an hour.   So, a kind volunteer gave me a ride for a couple miles until we found Jim who was the last of the 50K runners.   I guess I would play the role of being the course sweep.  

Jim was having some serious ITB problems and just couldn’t push the speed.   I eventually ran ahead to the aid station and reported that there were just two runners behind me.  (I had passed another runner struggling).   I almost stepped on a snake croassing the road, but it didn't look like a rattler. I scarfed down a bunch of food, felt much better, and waited for the two to arrive.  They were both thinking of dropping even though they made the cutoff by three minutes.  I encouraged them both to continue and they did.

Well, I had had enough of the slow running, so I kicked it into gear and ran the last downhill 5.5 miles as fast as my foot would allow, descending a beautiful desert canyon back toward Camp Williams headquarters.   I passed another runner and finished that leg in only 50 minutes.   Cheers were heard as I arrived, but I sheepishly explained that I wasn’t in the race.   Milada asked, “Davy, what are you doing?”  She knew I was injured.  I explained that I ran 23 miles.  She wanted to give me a finisher medal but I refused.

For the next half hour or so, I enjoyed talking to all the guardsmen about running and the fine day.   A few of the “volunteers” wished that they didn’t have to be there, but most seemed to really get into the experience.   Jim finally arrived after a tough 9:25 finish and received his finisher award.   I was amazed to watch that within five minutes, with military organization, the finish area was taken down.   Everyone drove away before us.   It was a wonderful day and and great success for a first-time race.   I really hope that it will continue.

How is the foot?  I know, I shouldn’t have done this.  Don’t yell at me too bad.   Both feet were sore by the end of my run because I ran in road shoes and the course was rougher than expected.  The tendon is sore but I’m not limping, yet.  Tomorrow will tell me how bad and whether this will set back my recovery.  It still was a good test.  This will help me figure out how to approach running Squaw Peak 50 in two weeks.

After feeling pain in the foot all last evening after my 23-mile trail run, I slept with my boot on to stablize the foot and ankle during the night. I feared that today I would be limping badly.  When I woke up early for me Sunday meetings, I tentatively stepped on the foot.  Huh, no pain.  I walked, no pain.   I later put on my shoes, no pain.   This really is strange.   The foot feels better than it has in weeks.   I have to only theorize that it has healed enough to allow me to put stress on it.  This will strengthen it and help it to heal faster.   I'm greatly encouraged.

I wanted to get in an early Memorial Day run, but with an evening downpour, I knew the trails would be slick and I couldn’t risk twisting the bad ankle. So instead I discovered that Striders was putting on a half marathon up in Syracuse. That would be a nice tempo run and wouldn’t do any damage to the foot, so I got up early and made the drive up north. It had only been nine days since I ran Ogden Marathon and two days since I ran 23 miles on the Sapper Joe course. Oh well, I would give it a try. The course is out on country roads and a beautiful paved parkway trail near Great Salt Lake. The morning had cleared up nicely and the temperature was in the 50s. It looked like there were about 150 runners out for the event. Away we went and three runners shot out ahead along with a 12-year-old who I had heard at the start talking about running a 1:30. It wasn’t very long until he started falling back, he had only been dreaming. I was running in 5th place. I could see that two of the runners ahead were setting a blistering pace that couldn’t be matched by a runner in black. By mile two I had passed the kid and wasn’t very far behind the runner in black. But my main challenge started hit me right away as the calf muscles started to tighten up, still not recovered from the Ogden Marathon. My first three mile splits were: 6:30, 6:53, and 7:04. I knew that I would need to back off the pace. The calves just couldn’t handle 7-minute miles. Another runner caught up, passed me and the runner in black. For the next few miles I would play leap-frog with the runner in black who would slow down and then speed up when I would pass him. Soon the heat got to him and his hot black shirt came off. The course turned onto the Parkway trail and rolled along. Another runner passed me with a young runner in tow, but I quickly was able to re-pass the second runner and he fell behind. When we reached Antelope Drive, the underpass was flooded and we had to bound in a long pool of water over a foot deep, splashing me clear up to my waist. It was great fun and I didn’t mind having wet feet. The heavy shoes did slow me down a little but they quickly dried up. My splits (miles 4-7) to the turn-around were 7:25, 7:29, 7:28, 7:32, pretty consistent. At the turn-around I was in 5th place overall. The runner who used to be in black passed me again as we turned around and headed in the opposite direction on the parkway trail. I could now see the runners behind, the next runner was the first-place woman. I didn’t notice any old guys like me close behind. After another mile, the woman runner passed me, running strongly. I pushed harder, trying to stay close. It worked because I passed the runner who used to be in black for the last time. My next few splits (miles 8-10) were 7:26, 7:37, and 7:51. I was able to keep the first-place woman runner in sight and at times would gain on her quite a bit but then would fade. The tight calf muscles just wouldn’t let me push much harder. I didn’t want to risk a muscle strain, so just went as fast as the legs would allow. I looked behind and the next runner wasn’t too close. The final miles took us back to the park and then we did a big final mile loop and then finally headed on the final mile to the finish. I could see a runner behind gaining on me so I pushed much harder. I didn’t want to give up my hard-earned placement. My final mile splits (11-13) were 7:54, 7:49, and 7:18. I was pleased with the effort on that final mile. I was also pleased to see that I didn’t have any splits over 8 minutes. I crossed the finish line in 1:37:01. Not blazing fast, but a very good effort on this course that had no real downhills. I finished in 6th place overall and won my old-fart age group (50-59). Not bad. In fact if I was 20-29, I would have finished in second, in the young-buck age group. I had a good time talking to some runners including the first-place woman runner who finished a minute ahead of me, telling them about my crazy ultrarunning. I think without the sore calf muscles, I could have improved about three minutes. I received a first-place medal. It was a fun morning and a good workout.

Two miles swimming.  400m splits were 9:42, 10:08, 9:45, 10:07 for a 39:42 first mile.  I then took it easy with sore shoulder: 11:31, 11:44, 11:43, 12:08.

Tested the foot with an early morning trail run on uneaven dirt roads and a stretch of single-track trail.   Minor pain was there just as a reminder, but I was pretty tentative and protective of the foot, always leading off with the other on difficult sections, and favoring sections of the road the sloped to the left.   The after effects are discouraging.  The foot is more sore today.  We'll see if it calms down by afternoon.   It sure was nice to be out on the trail today and watch the dawn arrived.  I even through in a bushwack up a hill and across a wheat field.   It was nice to run without a flashlight for a time before 6 a.m.  I did run in old shoes, need to get some new ones delivered.

I'm pondering about Squaw Peak 50 in only 9 days.   This will be my 5th year running it.  My finishes have improved every year, 60th, 57th, 49th, and last year 28th.  Not bad considering 280 entrants.  My best time has been 11:40.   I really want to get my 5th finish, but I may reinjure the foot that hasn't totally healed.  It is a big risk.   Much of the course is "foot fiendly" but some isn't, like the traverse around Baldy and the section around Windy Pass.  Even the early section in the morning going up Squaw Peak will be a challenge.   I can usually reach the top of Hobble Canyon Road in under 5 hours.   I doubt that will happen this year.

Yesterday morning's trail run seemed to leave my foot a little too sore.  But by evening there was no soreness (when walking...but can feel a little pain if I rotate it) and when I woke up this morning it wasn't sore.  So I decided to stick to the roads this morning. 

I did hill repeats up Grandview Blvd, a one-mile stretch that climbs about 300 feet.  I did that five times for ten miles.   My mile splits times on the uphill were: 11:10, 10:26, 10:48, 10:31, and 13:27.   My mile splits on the downhill were: 8:51, 8:44, 8:40, 9:03, and 11:53.   It was a good workout.  I didn't push it too hard.  The foot felt fine afterward.  I can tell there is weakness in the ankle.

I plan on running Gruesome Grizzley 8k tomorrow in Provo Canyon to test the foot out pushing the speed on a trail.   I think there is an 80% chance that I will run Squaw Peak 50 in a week.

This blog software is very lame.  I wrote up a good race report, hit submit and it was lost.  Maybe I'll write something later.   It was a fun race, I ran it at a typical 50-miler pace for me to test out the injured foot/ankle.   I enjoyed meeting some of the bloggers, jun, Twinkies, etc.  They ran very well.  I felt slow, old, fat, and out of shape.  But still beat my time from last year somehow.   They had non-standard age groups and I was in the 41-50 age group.  How offensive.  I've worked very hard to stay alive for 50 years and have earned the right to compete against the old-foggies, but here they put me in with the kids!  I still finished in 2nd.  They guy right ahead of me who I knew was younger, got first.  Bummer.  I should have reeled him in afterall.

I did have fun on the flat canal road up above the canyon.  I was finding some good foot speed, reeling in Twinkies and others fast.  I backed off once I saw the downhill coming, planning to blast down it like crazy, but it didn't happen.  I got within about 20 yards of Twinkies, but the foot pain became more intense and Twinkies did great blasting down the hill.   I maintained a good pace and eventually finished in 42:50.  This year I didn't take a detour near the finish.

The foot test was a failure.  By afternoon, the foot was sore and I was almost limping.  This is discouraging.  I'll bet it will feel fine tomorrow, but still, why can't it just heal up and go away. I'll start Squaw Peak 50 next week, but there is a 50-50 chance I won't finish.   We'll see. I don't want to miss it because it is a chance to run with so many of my ultra friends.  I'd rather run SP50 than Bighorn 100 which is only in three weeks.

I'm planning to stay off the foot all week and taper.   My uphill speed will probably be pathetic, but if the foot cooperates, I should be able to blast down the dirt roads next week.

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.