Old Man Still running

Finally got home after driving 3,150 miles to and from Houston for my daughter's reception.  It was nice to spend a week traveling alone with my wife.  First time in 28 years without kids around.   I had planned to do some running, but only did a treadmill run in a hotel.  The weather was pretty cold each morning I wanted to go out, near zero. 

Once home, the weather was so nice that I went out running with the dog in the snow.  That dog sure loves snow.  Ran up into the foothills.  Gee, that was my first time on the trails since my 83 miles in the Grand Canyon.   I enjoyed it.  It is time to get back in shape and lose this holiday weight.

Driving by Huntsville State Park, north of Houston, really got me itching to run Rocky Raccoon 100 next month.  We'll see.

Lost an hour sleep last night due to an earthquake that hit just three miles north of my home.  It was 2.9 and only 0.2 miles deep.   It sounded like a truck drove through our house.  Our backyard goes up against Redwood Road so we always hear big trucks go by that rattle the windows a little, but this was different.  I heard the water pipes in the wall rattling like crazy.  I yelled out, "What was that?"   The dog also was startled and jumped up barking like crazy.  My wife said, "It must be an earthquake, the whole house was shaking."   That got me really worried because I knew Cedar City got hit by a 4.1 yesterday.  I wondered if they got hit by a really big one that we felt.  My daughter is down there at school.   My wife went back to sleep but I worried.  So I got up and checked the USG site on the internet.  Wow, it was centered in our town.   We also had one a few years ago that I didn't feel.  

Did miles on the treadmill this morning.   The knee still is an issue but not bad enough to go get an MRI.   The pain calms down after five miles.  It will be a worry until I do my next ultra to test it out.   I ruled out running Rocky Raccoon 100 next month.  It would cost me $500 minimum.  I just can't afford it now.

Treadmill

Treadmill

More treadmill.  After six miles I finally got warmed up and enjoyed the rest of the time.   Watched small airboats be launched onto the Utah Lake ice.  I guess it is time to go do some ice runs. 

Running motivation rather low with the cold weather and smog.  The knee is a worry and will likely limit me this year.   Just mild pain when I run and it goes away when I stop.   I need to test it out on a very long run to see if it swells.   Trying to lose weight.  Lost about four pounds of the holiday gain so far.

Race plans for 2010 still uncertain.  Right now I'm leaning NOT to try to get in Hardrock 100 this year.  The cost and time investment is just daunting.   I entered the Wasatch 100 lottery.   I'm really thinking of doing more adventure run this year instead of so many races.   I've been planning a week-long backpack trip with my buddies in August to the Uintas, Mount Lovenia area, very removte.   I've run through there once.   I'd love to run the Uinta trail end-to-end again sometime this year.

P.M.

I ran out on frozen Utah Lake with the dog.  It feels pretty solid, but not quite as thick as last year.  There is about two inches of snow on the surface.  In some places the ice would depress very slightly because of my weight causing a crack in the snow layer to appear, but not the ice.   I couldn't find any thin ice away from the shore.  There were plenty of tracks around including snow mobile tracks.   We ran about five miles.  The dog had a blast and probably ran ten miles total.  Check out the photo album on facebook.

Treadmill miles.   Its getting easier.  I stayed at marathon pace for most of it and never was breathing hard.

Well, I signed up for Rocky Raccoon 100 early next month in Texas.   Funny how that instantly gives me motivation to train harder.

Treadmill miles, good workout, boring.  Looks like two newbies, probably New Years Resolution workouters are being very consistent at coming into the rec room at 5 a.m., so I have some early company.   I've been too nice about not turning on the TV to sports stuff.  I'm getting too bored, I guess I will have to turn it on.  They don't have headphones set up for it.  I've resisted outdoor running this week because of the terrible smog, and down my my house at near the lake, morning temps have been about 5 degrees.

The knee seems to be behaving better, giving me hope that it can just be managed.  The pain is minor for ten miles.  My guess is I won't even notice it later into a 100-mile run because so many other things will be much more painful.   Got to love a sport were you prioritize pain.

Treadmill miles.  Listened to sports radio, that dulled the boredom better.  No knee pain today!.  I think the knee is recovering and getting stronger with consistent daily running.

Signed up for another 100.  Tahoe Rim 100 in July.  It's the USATF and RRCA 100-mile national championships.  Last year I won the 50+ age group.  I need to go defend the title.  Since I signed up for this race, I won't try to get in Hardrock 100 (also in July).   Maybe another year.

Treadmill miles, bunch of incline.

A mental endurance workout, 21 on the treadmill.   I saw three groups of people come and go from the rec center and I kept on going.  When I reached 10 miles, I had warmed up and felt fine, so I just kept on going.  Listened to podcasts of old-time radio, Jack Benny, watched Sports Center, and listened to music, looking out on frozen Utah Lake with the smog draping it.

The workout was a no-carb workout, so I burned some good calories.   My body is pretty used to running for three hours without food.   I've lost 7 pounds since New Years, and almost back down to my usual weight.  I would like to lose 5 more before RR100.   Mile knee pain still their. The pain goes down if their is less weight on it.  Hmmm, Maybe I should probably start working out with treking poles again, to get used to them again.  Those really help reduce the weight on knees. They could really help.   I also need more training with fast power hiking.  My walking pace is too slow.

Rocky Raccoon 100 is now the focus in less than three weeks.   It is a 20-mile loop that is run five times in Huntsville State Park, near Houston.  I ran it in 2005 and 2008.   I have yet to break 24 hours there, but I should if the knee holds up.

So, today, I ran 20 miles on the dreadmill. I ran the first 16 miles at marathon pace but then had to back off because the knee started to ache.  Shoot.  I backed off to 10:00 miles which is a more sustainable pace for RR100.  I finished my 20 miles in 2:45, which is much faster than I will do a loop at Rocky.  (My fastest loop there is 3:08). But my workout was pretty tough, because I threw in some tough inclines to punish me.   The treadmill thinks I climbed 3,000 feet and burned 3,500 calories.  It was pretty funny, at mile 16, the guy cleaning the rec room said, "you still here, how far are you going?"  I said I didn't know, but had gone 16 miles.   I heard gasps from the others working out.

I did this workout as another no-carb run.  I've been asked why I do no-carb workouts.  My theory is that it helps my body handle running stress better, and it can make the transition to fat-burning very easily.  For some people, when the body needs to start burning fat, they bonk (hit the wall).  So, my theory is it helps me.  But it also helps get lose some weight.  The danger of it, is that I get very comfortable running without calorie intake during 100s, and tend not to eat enough.   I really have to monitor that and try to take in 250-300 per hour during a race.   If I don't, after 14 hours or so I'm in danger of a major bonk.   That happened last year at Wasatch 100 and JJ100.  It then takes a couple hours or more to recover.   I pulled out  of it in both cases and finished fine.

Tough treadmill workout.   Ran steady at about 7:40-mile pace with 5% incline with some bursts to 10%.  Seven miles in less than an hour.  Felt good and strong.  The knee felt fine, I think it is getting stronger.

P.M.

Another treadmill workout similar to the morning.

Treadmill, 7:30 pace

This was my last long run before Rocky Raccoon 100 in two weeks.  28 miles of mental torture on the treadmill.   Started at 5 a.m. Actually, it wasn't too bad.  If I hit the treadmill first thing in the morning when I'm still sleepy, my mind doesn't get bored fast.   I guess I sleep run for the first hour of so.  I did keep the lights off at the rec center.   The first person showed up at about 6:45, so I had the place to myself for awhile.   People came and went, and I kept on running.

I hit the marathon mark around 3:40, felt fine and just kept going for a couple more miles.  The knee did  start to ache around mile 26, which is 10 mile further than last week.  So that is good.  It seems to be making progress. It was nice to spend four hours on the feet.   Things held up pretty good.

I did this as another no-carb run, so I was a little hungry at the end.  The view out on the lake was beautiful after the storm.  The were a cool bank of fog stretching up and down the lake, looking like a snowy hill in the middle of the lake.

I don't feel too guilty about not running outdoors in the cold.  I think running at 70-75 degrees is good for my training right now, because the last time I ran RR100, the heat in the 70s affected me.   Since I'm not running trails right now, I'm trying to do some ankle exercises now and then.

More Treadmill.  7:30 pace.   Did several 1/2 miles at 8-9% incline at that pace.  Got the heart pumping fast.

Planning on running my yearly 5K on Saturday at Saltair.   I'll be sucking wind because I don't do any speed training.  But still, last year I won the 50+ age division.  It makes me feel like a sprinter.

Since I plan to run a 5K on Saturday, I thought it was time to try to get my legs moving at 5K speed.  It has been months since I did anything approaching a 6-minute mile.  So I hopped on the treadmill and ran a 19:59 5K.  I fully understand it is a ton easier on the treadmill, but at least I got my legs moving.  It was really hard the first half mile but then the legs woke up and understood that I was making them turn over fast this morning.   I ended at a 6:10 pace.   After that, the rest of the workout seemed very easy, even a full mile at 7:30 pace with 9% incline.

Treadmill miles

Treadmill at 7:30 pace, some long stretches at 10%.

The day arrived!  This is the day each year when I pretend that I'm a road-runner.  Usually my only 5K for the year.  Last year I won the 50+ age group, but now a year older, I wondered what to expect.   I hate 5Ks.  I despise 5Ks.  They are too fast and I don't train for them.  They are too painful.  I just don't enjoy them.  But I go and torture myself anyway, to pretend that I'm some sort of fast track runner, for at least a day.

I loosened up with 4 miles on the treadmill early morning and then two more miles on the course.  It was nippy this year, below 30 and there was an annoying headwind for the first half.

My first mile was 6:19, about right, but the first half of mile 2 was torture with the headwind.  Stupid me, I should have tucked behind a large runner to block the wind.  I was just trying to hang on.   Mile 2 was a slow 7:00.   It never did feel like I was warmed up.  Usually it takes me 10 miles to really warm up.  No such luxury during a 5K.  I had noticed two old guys pass me about the half-way point, probably in my age group.  I tried and tried to keep up but failed.  Then with one mile to go another old guy caught up.  No way!  I refused to let him pass me.  No, I didn't trip him, but each time he caught up, I put on a burst of speed and put at least 10 yards on him.   Mile 3 was 6:45, better, but still pathetic.   With a tenth to go, the guy again caught up.  I put on a final burst of speed and did finish ahead of him.

20:46 or close to that.   About 23 seconds slower than last year. 3rd place in the 50-54 age group.  I know I have a sub-20 in me, but I would have to train for this distance and I just am not motivated enough to do that.  I can see that I can no longer just show up for these races and hope to win my age group.  To win, I will have to train for the distance.  Age just doesn't stop.

I went home and ran four more miles with the dog.    I now look forward to a more enjoyable distance -- 100 miles on Saturday in Texas.

walk with the dog

Easy treadmill miles.  Sharp pain in the knee on the very first running step caused limping.  Strange.  Seemed more like a kink than the usual.  Hurt the rest of the day when walking.  Just will rest it.   Probably will be gone tomorrow...kind of like phantom taper pains....but it is in the problem area of my knee.

Easy treadmill miles.  Knee felt better, mild pain like a couple weeks ago.  Less pain when running slower.  I'm hoping that the soft trails at RR100 will help.  Looks like the course will get some good rain this week, dry on Friday, and dry during the race.  We'll probalby have some muddy spots to go through, but I doubt it will be terrible.

I signed up for two more races.   Bighorn 100 in June, and Ogden Marathon in May (Zions bank had some entries for customers....I grabbed one).

So, I have a busy year planned

• Rocky Raccoon 100
• Antelope Island 100 (running the 50 course twice)
• Boston Marathon
• Ogden Marathon
• Squaw Peak 50
• Bighorn 100
• Tahoe Rim 100
• Wasatch 100 or Cascade Crest 100
• Bear 100
• Pony Express Trail 100

Easy treadmill.   Last mile did power walking at 5% approaching 12:00 pace.   I want some more practice doing fast power walking, probably will do more after work.  I'll probably be putting in longer walking stretches during the 3rd loop (mile 40-60), and I need more practice keeping my pace at least 4.5 mph.

Very minimal knee pain.  That is a relief.    I think I'll be fine.  Usually the week before a 100 I go almost dormant, but this time I'm keeping up some consistent running because it seems to keep the knee happier for some reason.

I'll be flying to Houston on Friday with Jon, Paul, and Cody.   We'll be the FRB contingent at RR100.

Very easy treadmill miles.   Goals for RR100 are:   1. break 24 hours.   Have to do that.   But if the knee is fine, breaking 22 hours is very possible.  My 2005 time was 26:53 (my first 100 finish), 2008 was 25:38 (had significant feet problems and it was hot).   So, I hope to do well

Read my race report at http://www.crockettclan.org/blog/?p=169

OK, I passed the first 100-mile recovery test this morning.  I was able to jog down the stairs without grabbing the rail.   What a victory.   Recovery going well.  Usually my taste buds are wacked out for a couple days.  No so, this time.  I suspect this difference is that I didn't get dehydrated or hot.

Still taking it easy.  Left quad still isn't pain-free going down stairs.  So still not going to risk pulling it.   Besides that, it feels like I've bounced back.   Have gotten plenty of sleep all week.

For fun I compiled all my ultra race results.  57 finishes.   Check it out.  Oh, and also notice the changing banner on my blog, lots of different pictures of races and adventure runs I've done.

I've had a good string of results for my last five 100s where there were at least 100 starters.  My finishing rates (top percentage) were:  17.1, 17.1, 17.8, 14, 12.2.   Finishing in the top 12.2%  of a 100 is the second best I have done.  The best was 2007 Leadville, with a 10.2% finish.   Both were very strong races for me.

Of course, I have places well in much smaller 100s, winning three.  I guess last year's Moab 100 was pretty good, with a 4th place finish out of 45 starters, for 8.9%.   Across the Years, 24-hour run was also good, top 10.4%.  I plan to enter that again this year, going for the 48-hour race.

Funny that for distances marathon and shorter, I almost always finish better than the top 10%.   Usually between top 5-8%.   So maybe I should turn into a sprinter.  Ha, ha.  The big difference is those 100s attract national competition and can be very competitive.   The huge short road races on average have a less competative field.

I ran Moab Red Hot 50k as a fun-run recovery run to get the legs working again after Rocky Raccoon 100 last Saturday.   This race is like an ultrarunner convention for Utah and Colorado runners because it is well attended by many of the usual ultrarunners from both states.   The Colorado contingent is always kind to me and I have some good friends from that group, so this is a fun event to see many running friends from both states.

I drove down this morning, on the road at 3:30 a.m., arriving at the Gemini Bridges before 7 a.m., plenty of time to get ready for the 8 p.m. start.   It was below 20 degrees at the start, so pretty chilly.  This year there was a ton of snow.  I think we ran on at least 15 miles of snow.  Some of it was pretty deep.

I decided to not race this run, but just have fun, meet some runners, and not push it hard.   After greeting many people at the start, we were off.  I positioned my self mid-pack and just took it easy.   For the first two miles I tried to keep up with fellow ultra team member from Salt Lake, Eve Davies, who was running with her dog.  I kept her in view, but after two miles it felt like I was on loop 5 of Rocky Racoon.  The left quad was sore and the knee was starting to hurt.  I had thoughts of bailing out, but kept on going.

The snow was an amazing challenge.  At times it was fairly deep, requiring some fast footwork and high stepping to get in a nice rythmn.   On the flats you had to just lean forward and keep your momentum going to push through the snow.  At the top of the rim it was about two feet deep.  I wondered how the front-runners made it through the section.   Usually there is a fast downhill from the rim, but it wasn't fast today, pretty slow.  I had to be careful not to twist my bad ankle.  

After two hours, I felt much better, more like Loop 3 of Rocky.   I was able to push ahead of Eve and didn't see her again until the finish.   At times I would test the legs out and run pretty fast, passing many runners, but I didn't want to get the heart rate up for very long so backed off.

What was really interesting to me is that I struggled the most on the flats.  It would use the same muscles that weren't fully recovered from the flat 100 last Saturday.  I really enjoyed the hills up and down much better and could push the uphills pretty hard, always catching mid-pack runners around me.  

At the half-way point, I caught up with Cory Johnson of Ogden, and we had a fun time running and talking for a couple miles.   He then went ahead.  My knee was having challenges on the hard slickrock.  It eventually calmed down.

I continued to really enjoy the afternoon.   The snow was blinding in the sun, and I think I put my sunglasses on too late and sunburned the eyes a little bit.  They are pretty tired tonight.   Well, I kept on pushing ahead and got to meet other runners.

I did blunder at one point.  I was following footprints instead of flags and started down a wash with many footprints.  Obviously many runners had gone down this way, but soon I noticed footprints also headed back up and no flags, so I headed back and then saw that I missed a turn.   That was an extra half mile.

As I neared the finish, very kind cheers when out, "Davy Crockett's coming!"   Wow, that was nice.   I finished in 6:45.   Not bad.  The course seemed to be about 15-20 minutes slower this year, we'll see in the results.  I heard a rumor that they might have cut out a mile or two this year, but I didn't notice it.

In the other two years I ran the race, I felt wasted at the finish, but this year I felt super.  I wasn't walking funny and felt fine on the drive home.   It was a fun day.  Now and then it really is fun to not "race" a race and just enjoy the run and do some sight-seeing.  On the shuttle back, I was able to finally meet Chris Boyak for Colorado and also met FRBer Bryce.

To get a feel for this race, view the video I took during the race last year.  Keep in mind that this year there was snow everywhere.

See a video of the deepest section of snow.

Fairly easy treadmill miles.  Heavy legs for the first mile, then felt better.  No muscle soreness, just some of the usual knee pain.  It will get better every day if I stick with it.

Recovery.  I know my recovery approach from RR100 seems like nuts.  Perhaps it is, but what I've learned is that I actually recover faster if I get out and work again as soon as possible.   It seems to speed recovery.   The 50K chased away all my quad and calf soreness.

Training plans.  Next three races are flat and fast (Antelope Island 100, Boston, Ogden).  So my training will be a little different this year during Feb-May.   I'll do far less hill work, and try to get the speed up.    I'll use Squaw Peak as hill training going into the mountain 100s. 

What will my focus race be?  Hard to tell.  It is pretty hard to get my excited about a marathon, so I doubt Boston or Ogden will be much of a focus.   Bighorn is usually an adventure instead of a race.   Perhaps Tahoe Rim 100 is my next focus race.  I'd love to defend my "national championship" for 50 and older.

Treadmill.   I see that last year I was still doing treadmill in February.  I'm looking forward to having the foothills melt off and see the mud go away.   My legs felt very good this morning, not heavy like yesterday.   I  maintained about 8:00 miles with about 4.5 incline average.  Very little knee pain, hardly noticed it.   Looks like I'm back to training.   I'll probably go run the Striders 10K on Saturday for a tempo run.   That is a good tough 10k.  The legs should be loose by then.

Treadmill.  Legs feel recovered.

One thing that strikes me as odd is that for the two months leading up to RR100, I only averaged 35 miles per week of training, yet I PRed.   I guess once you have an established mileage base, you don't have to train like crazy during the couple months before a race to still do well.   Would I have done better with more training?   One can only wonder.

p.m.

More treadmill.  Ran a 21:14 5K, starting at 8:00 pace, ending with 6:00 pace.

Jun made me feel like such a slacker for sleeping in and not running, so after work I went and punished myself by running ten treadmill miles.  Not quite ready to run on pavement with the knee.  Would rather have the trails dry up first.

Concentrating on weight loss.  Finally got that holiday fat off.  Trying to get my sustained weight below 170 for the first time in over 25 years.   That should help take the pressure off the knee.

Treadmill.   The "hand talker" was there today.   This lady walks on the treadmill and yaks very loudly to her mom the entire time.  What is facinating is to see her hand gentures while on  the treadmill, they are amazing.  I almost think she is going to slap me on the machine next to her.   She will slap her hands together while talking and make sweeping gentures that are amazing.   I'm impressed how she can do it.

Hit the treadmill at 5 a.m. for a two-hour session.  No one else was came in, had the room to myself.   Cranked out 13 miles or so.

After that, I changed into my warmer running clothes and joined a group of FRB runners on the Jordan River Parkway in Lehi.  Smooth put this run together.  It was great fun meeting all these enthusastic runners. 

I started out running with Maynard, who has run Squaw Peak 50 several times. There was a very cool wind in our face so after awhile I pushed the pace faster to get warmer.   I could look behind on the corners and see Kelli and Teena about a quarter mile behind.   I wasn't sure where they were going to turn back, so headed back about a 1/2 mile too soon.  I was anxious to head back in order to warm up with the wind at my back.   I figured out that I turned around too soon, because I couldn't see Kelli a nd Teena behind anymore, so after reaching Thankgiving Point, I reversed course until I met them.

Kelli and Teena came at me, turning 7:30 miles.  Wow....I fell in with them and hung on for a mile or so, but my knee started to ache bad, so I just had to slow down.   After a ten-mile out and back we went back to the cars, ate, and rested and waited for the others. Ten miles done.  Soon Smooth, Maynard, LuzyLew, Kathie, Kimmy showed up.    Kelli, Tenna, and I were anxious to stay warm, so we started running south toward Willow Park and Saratoga Springs.  Teena took off, she has some good speed. I was starting to feel the miles so I hung with Kelli talking about crazy running until we reached Willow Park and then I went chasing after Tenna who was at least a half mile ahead.

On the way back, I reversed course again when I met up with Smooth, LuzyLew, Kelli and ran near them for the rest of the run.   After we got back to the car, I was plesantly surprised to see that the girls brought a nice recovery feast.  Rad joined us. I had fun being one of the girls for awhile drinking hot chocolate and eating oranges.   The FRB ladies are great runners and really encourage each other well.  Several of them are also going to run Boston. I was honored to run with them.

p.m.

5 more slow miles with the dog.....cold...brrrr

Treadmill.   I'm ready to do early morning runs outside, but the weather is now even colder this week before sunrise.  Great.  Once the wind dies down, I'll probably just go out anyway.

p.m. 6 more treadmill miles.

A nice ultrarunning video to get you excited for the snow to melt. 

Treadmill.   15 degrees outside.   Whats up with that?

Tough treadmill.   Five of the miles at 10% incline, 8:00 pace, holding on to the front.   Was only going to do one mile that way, but kept pushing myself more and more.  The heart and lungs got a good workout.

Treadmill, sluggish today. Ready for the rain and snow to quit falling.

p.m.  more treadmill while watching curling.

Slept in.  Had a 100-mile dream.  Was on pace for a 24-hour finish, but for some reason I stopped and took a 7-hour nap, finishing in 31 hours.

p.m.

After reading Paul's blog and his speedy workouts, I felt like such a wus.  So I went to do a speed workout.  Ran miles on the treadmill.   6:40, 6:15, 6:31, and 5:53.   Not bad.  Felt good when it was over.  Got the old bones moving pretty fast.  But if I'm going to continue this speedy madness, I'll need to get a hernia fixed, otherwise it will literally rip my guts out. 

I was going to do an early morning run, but when I saw the weather report called for ideal day-time weather for running, I decided to delay and do a long afternoon run.   After a two-hour stake presidency meeting, I got the OK from my wife to go on a very long run.  I invited her to drive way out, meet me for a lunch, but that idea didn't thrill here. My crazy run ended up being 35 miles.  I ran from home all the way out to Fairfield, to Cedar Fort, to Cedar Pass, through the Ranches, and then back home.  I took my sweet time, wanting some good time on my feet and to work my knee.  My running time was 6:32.

It was great to be running outside again.   By staying in the lowlands, I didn't have too much problem with mud, but when I went over the ridge between Saratoga Springs and Eagle Mountain, I hit some rather deep snow.   I ran on the snow for about three miles, kind of slow going, but lots of fun. I saw plenty of foot prints of wildlife, dear, coyotes, and what looked like a big cat.  I also saw some foot prints of another runner from earlier in the day.  I rarely see prints or other runners in my private training area.  It was good to know someone else is venturing out several miles from their home.  It looked like the runner came from Eagle Mountain.   That made me think about how many ultrarunners there are in Saratoga Springs.  Out of a city of about 16,000 people, I can only count 6-7 runners who have run at least a 50k in the past few years.   I'm the only one who has run a 100-miler.  That is really a low ratio and shows what a nitch sport this still is.

I spilled out in the Cedar Valley.  The sun peeked out and it became warmer.  The sleeves rolled up.   I reached mile 7.9 at 1:35 in Eagle Mountain city center.   I hooked up with the Pony Express Trail road and really enjoyed the nice soft straight dirt road.   I could see Fairfield off in the distance.  After running another 20 minutes, Fairfield looked just as far away.  It was an amazing illusion.   It seemed to never come closer.

Finally I did arrive at Fairfield.  I ran over to Camp Floyd, filled up my water bottle and took a very long bathroom break.  Got to love the clean heated bathroom there.   That was the 15.2 mile mark, and I had 2:55 running time.

On the way again, I now ran along the busy highway 73 toward Cedar Fort.  It had a nice shoulder and I could jump to the side of it on some dirt that was nice.   The litter along the way was very depressing to see.   All the cigarette butts and beer cans were disgusting.  Why do people have to throw stuff out of their car.  I just can't understand it.   I counted a beer can rate of 30 per mile on that side of the road.  Clearly the beer of choice for these litterers is Bud Light.

I reached my first aid station, a convenient store at Cedar Fort at the 19.9 mile mark after running 3:47.   I bought some goodies and Gatoraid.   While I was sitting and eating, some bikers rode up.  They looked very tired.   I listened but didn't strike up a conversation.  I thought it would sound stupid if I told them I was on mile 20.  They were complaining that they still had 10 miles to go on their ride.  I just smiled to myself.

On my way again, the bikers went by after I had run another mile.  I was listening to the BYU-New Mexico basketball game, and I was bummed out that they lost.   Running along the highway was getting old.  I spent plenty of time on the dirt side-shoulder to stay far away from the cars and trucks going 70+ mph.   I reached the 26.2 mile mark (Cedar Pass) after 4:49 running time.   At mile 28, 5:12, I reached the Ranches Parkway and stopped at my second aid station, a Maverik store.   I bought a nice big hot cup of hot chocolate and went outside to a picnic table and drank the entire cup.

As I ran along the Ranches Parkway (now away from the highway), I was passed by a woman pushing a baby cart.  She also had a big dog on a leash.   She was going fast, at least 7:30 miles.   It was impressive to watch.   There was no way I could keep up with her at the speed.   I made the turn to head toward Saratoga Springs.   There were sections of the Pony Express Parkway that had a no shoulder, so it was a bother dodging cars, but finally I reached Saratoga Springs.  I tried to push the speed for the final three miles.  The light was getting dim, but I was able to reach home right before dusk.

It was a great afternoon.  My legs held up great.   It was so good to be outdoors again and away from the treadmill.  My training area still needs a few weeks for the snow and mud to go away, but I can see that spring is coming.  That is four Saturdays in a row with at least 35 miles!

I noticed that I'm down to 170 pounds.  Haven't been that low for a couple years and I didn't stay there long.  That spare tire is almost gone.

View the route

I started off the new month with a good after-work run.   I ran across Cedar Valley along the Pony Express trail from Eagle Mountain to Fairfield and back.   It is 10 miles of flat dirt road and 5 miles of rural pavement.   Good speed is possible.   My route can be viewed here. 

I completed the 15 miles in 2:09:37, kind of easy (3:45 marathon pace).  Going out I had a tail wind, coming back a cool head wind.  I should have brought long sleeves and gloves for the run back, was pretty chilled at the end, right at dusk.  The half-way point was Camp Floyd in Fairfield where I filled my water bottle.

My pace splits to some check-points was:

out: 7:58, 8:22, 8:40, 8:30   (1:02 out)

back 8:36, 9:04, 9:13, 9:08   (1:07 back)

Gives me plenty of room to push for quicker splits next time.

Again went out to Cedar Valley for a flat long run (17 miles) from Eagle Mountain to Fairfield and back.  I took a longer route this time with less pavement.  Very remote feeling out there.   I had a stiff headwind heading out and on the way back took my sweet time.  My pace going out was 8:45, coming back 10:03, with a 9:23 overall.  I ran this after work and finished in the dark.

Its been nice to do these after work runs with daylight, but I'd rather do early morning runs in the dark.  This seems to take away too much of the day, being away from home.  Somehow running while the family is asleep seems like my free time.   I'm ready to attack the foothills before dawn.  Just want it to get warmer!

See my route.

I took a page out of Kelli's workout book today and also did a speed workout.  Yuk.  Mine was a little different.

1/2 mile at 6:18

1/4 mile at 5:42

1/4 mile at 8:34

Total one-mile pace around 6:45.    I did this six times without rests in-between.

I didn't enjoy it, but it felt like it was helpful in getting my foot-speed up and my lung strength up.   It felt easier than running 10k at 6:45 pace.

Feels lilke I'm coming down with a cold.  I've been very lucky for months to stay well.   We'll see.   I think all the cold outdoor stuff lately lowered my resistance.

My cold hit me full force last night.   We'll see if I try to run today.  Usually that makes me feel better.

p.m. 8 miles on treamill.  Did some hill work.  6 miles at 8:30 pace with average of 10% incline.  Was planning on only 5, but felt good and kept going.   Could tell my heart rate was up more than usual due to the cold, but ended out feeling much better.

Dang!   It looks like six inches of snow out there.  What a surprise.   I need to go borrow Twinkies new snow shoes.

Feels like I'm pulling out of my cold this afternoon.   Did 10 treadmill miles at 6:58 pace with 1% incline.  It felt easy.   Recent training seems to be making a difference.

For my crazy long run today, I was out at 3:15 a.m.   My objective was to run up and over Lake Mountain, down into Cedar Valley, and then run around Lake Mountain, through Eagle Mountain, the Ranches, and then back to home.

It was below freezing with a little breeze but I was dressed warm.   There was a half moon out that illuminated against the snow.  I didn't need to turn on my headlamp while I ran on the roads.   I ran past the police station, hoping they wouldn't see me and wonder what this crazy guy dressed in dark clothes was doing out on the streets so early.

I ran a couple miles to the dirt road that heads up to the top of Lake Mountain.   Within a mile, the snow arrived.  Thankfully some trucks had been up the road after the snow fell yesterday so I could run in their tracks.  It was so quiet and peaceful climbing the steep road in the snow.  My climb would be over 3,000 feet and it got colder and colder.  It must have dropped below 20 degrees because my water bottle froze near the top.

The truck tracks headed up to the towers but thankfully there were some snow mobile tracks on the road that continued down the other side.  This is a nice long gradual descent for about seven miles.   I was amazed how much snow there was.   I ran along the snow mobile tracks and wound through the valley with just a red headlamp to light my way.  The moon was still out and I had plenty of light.   But the snow wasn't going away.   The snow mobile tracks ended, they turned back up.  But it was OK, I just bounded throught the snow.  It continued to be deep until I got down to 5,500 feet and then as I spilled out into the valley, the snow totally disappeared.

I was very surprised to see that yesterday's storm that dropped six inches of snow at my house didn't drop any snow in Cedar Valley.  I had counted on using the snow for my water bottle.   Oh well, I would run on the one bottle clear until mile 28.  It was very cool, so I didn't get too dehydrated. 

Dawn arrived, but much of Cedar Valley was covered in a low fog.   As I ran into the fog the temperature dropped again and I had to put my hand in my pockets even though they had warm gloves on.   My pace was pretty easy, I was just enjoying the early morning.  As the sun peeked over the mountain, the fog quickly dispersed where I was and I was facinated watching the fog lift toward the mountain.   Frost covered all the brush around me and sparkled in the sunlight.  I also spied a herd of 12 antelope who were watching me very closely.  It was so quiet and peaceful, one of those great running moments.

My run continued through Eagle Mountain city center now on the pavement.   I then turned on the parkway and started to see other runners out for an early morning run.  I realized that I probably looked strange with my gaitors and extra warm cloths.  But it was still near freezing.    At a park out in a field, I stopped for a long bathroom break and then headed up and over Unity Pass.   Snow appeared again.  Interesting.  No snow on the west of the mountain, but starting at the pass a bunch fell.

I continued to run on pavement for the rest of my run.  All the trails on this side of the mountain were very wet and muddy, even the road shoulders.  I stopped at the convenient store in the Ranches, drank plenty, and ate a donut.   On my way again, I finished my run enjoying listening to music and singing like crazy, feeling great.  The cows didn't seem to mind.

My route can be seen here.

That is the fifth Saturday in a row with at least 35 miles.

p.m. 5 miles with the dog while listening to the BYU game.

With my string of five Saturdays in a row with at least 35 miles, that got me wondering.  How many times in my life have I run long runs on a day?   I'll call 20 miles a long run.   It turns out that I have 180 days with 20 miles or more.  My biggest year was last year, which might explain why I PRed at RR100 last month.

2002	3
2003	7
2004	25
2005	24
2006	28
2007	26
2008	21
2009	38
2010	8

 

I have a ton more between 15-20 miles because of all my Timp runs and early morning training runs.  But 20 miles or over seems like a much bigger effort, so that is what I'm calling a long run.

Treadmill.  Four miles at 5:53.  Backed off the pace after that because quad complained.

Did it a little different this morning.  I ran to the rec center, ran the treadmill and then ran back home.   The rec center is only a mile from home, so I don't have to get all bundled up.  However running back all sweaty was a little brisk.  It was nice to get outside, even it was was pavement.  The lights across the lake are great see before dawn.

p.m.  Fast four miles of pavement with the dog.

Treadmill.   Mixture of speed and hills.  Two fast miles at 6:15 and 5:58. That is all I could take with speed.  One tough much slower mile with incline at 25% for much of it.  Fun stuff. The rest of the miles were about 7:30 pace.  I did notice the 10k mark went by a little after 45 minutes, so I guess overall I was going pretty fast.  (I didn't do the hills during that stretch). 

I'm starting to think of going into a taper.  Antelope Island 100 is just 16 days away.  I don't have any firm expectations.  Well, I do expect to win, since I'm the only one running it.  Do I expect to PR?  Probably not.   Pretty tough to push hard when I will be the only one running the course for the first 60 miles.   I'll start around 7 p.m. the evening before the big race.   I should finish the first 50 miles before 5 a.m., so I'll have a head start on the Antelope Island 50 runners.   The front runners will catch me around 60 miles or earlier, and then I will have plenty of company as people catch up to me.   Hopefully it will motivate me to try to keep pace with runners who have 50 fewer miles on their legs.   Should be fun.  I expect that I'll finish with the back of the pack, so I'll have some nice friendly company when I'm almost dead.

Eight easy treadmill miles while watching basketball.

I was really focused on this 10K because I really believed I could PR and break 43 minutes.  To make a long story short the race organizers cut the course short this year, didn’t tell us, or even mention it at the awards.  It turned out to be a 9K.  I would have been rather angry, but the race is for a good cause and in the name of a man, Rex Lee, who I really respected.  His wife also grew up with my mother.  So, I chilled out.  But the race was a mess.   I had a super race and was on pace to crush my PR, I mean crush!   I believe I would have finished in at least 41:55 if the course was the correct length.

The long story is, that I went to Provo, checked in, and then warmed up for two miles.  I felt great and fast.   The first thing that confused me is that they moved the start back about a half block further down the street, so I worried that the course would be long.   The gun went off and I started well.  The first mile is the toughest, with a hill during the second half mile.   I hit what might have been the one mile mark at 6:57.   I thought I was going faster than that, so I immediately didn’t trust the mile markers.   Next up was a very long downhill.  I found some good speed and started passing people.  I keep a tall runner age 48, in my sights who I have never beat.   I hit the mile 2 sign at 11:11, clocking a 4:15 mile.  I yelled out, “No way.”   I knew something was wrong.  I hit mile 3 at 18:01.   No way was I averaging 6-minute miles, but I knew I was averaging well below 7-minute miles.

The rest of the race went great.  I never hit a wall, and around the real 4-mile mark was passing people.  The legs felt great and the lungs were working fine.   As I was nearing the finish, I looked at my watch and concluded that my watch must have stopped at some point, no way was I on pace to break 40.  I finished in 37:50.   I was very confused.  I talked to another runner with a GPS and she explained that the course was 0.6 short.  I then remembered that in past years there were to detours on the course to add that mileage in.    I was very disappointed because I knew I would have had a PR.

The next disappointment was that they allowed 10K racers to switch to the 5K but didn’t change out their chips.   So there were several 5K racers who finished ahead of me clocking 10K placement times.  Michelle Lowry was cheated out of recognition for winning the women’s 10K because 5K runners claimed the price.  What a mess.

Well, the good news is I won my age group!  There were about 500 9K runners.   My mile pace was about 6:45 on a course with some good hills.   If the course was right, I know I would have pushed even harder.   No other old guy was even close to me and I think finished about five minutes behind.

So, I go away with a pleasing feeling that I would have finished in 41:55.   This is a great indication that my training is going very well, even for short distances.   I’m still getting faster.  If they throw out the 5K runners from the 10K standings, I probably finished around 30th place.

Oh, and I did get a kick out of the reaction of the crowd when they called out my name, Davy Crockett, during the awards.  Lots of laughing from the BYU students.   Laugh it up kids.  I bet I beat you all!

Out the door at 4:55 a.m.  Didn't go to the rec center because it always takes them several days to get the lock timer fixed up when daylight saving time kicks in.  So, I had no excuse but to brave the cold.  30 degrees out and it was pleasant.   Ran pavement.  Easy pace, about 8:30, some hills.  http://www.mapmyrun.com/route/us/ut/saratoga%20springs/310126866228460278

p.m.  Spring is here!   Reran the same route after work with the dog.

This morning I was out running at 3:55 a.m.   I previewed (in the dark) the half-marathon course (Shamrock half marathon) being run this Saturday in Saratoga Springs and Eagle Mountain.   It starts Westlake high school. It is a challenging course, will be fun, but really not a viable course for the long-term.   It has to cross busy roads four times and runs along a busy road without a shoulder and blind corners for about two miles.  It jumps from bike paths to roads, to sidewalks.  There are lots of turns and it crosses about 20 streets.  So not very fast at all. But there are some fun stretches including above the golf course in the Ranches, over a hill south of the Ranches, and the last two miles are fast downhill.   There is about 800 feet elevation gain and decline.

Course  Website

My splits were:  7:44, 7:59 (hill), 8:56 (hill), 7:56, 9:09 (getting lazy), 8:42 (sight-seeing), 8:22, 9:21 (hill), 9:08, 8:15, 8:35, 7:17 (downhill), 7:44, 1:20.    Total was about 1:50.   I think 1:45 is probably a pretty good time for me on the course.  I suspect I’ll push for about 1:40.

I did take a wrong turn after mile 5 (took the mistake out of my splits).  I turned too soon and did an extra 1.5 miles in a neighborhood.  I figured it out and then just went back to the mile 5 location and started the watch again.  No biggy, extra miles are good and I had time.

I did notice that the race director had painted mile marks and arrows on some nice sidewalks.   That’s not good.  They are small, not big enough to keep me on course in the dark.  I also took my sweet time checking street signs.   It was a fun run and I look forward to racing it on Saturday.

p.m.

8 miles with the dog.  15 miles in two days was probably too much for her.  She was happy to get back home.

Four fast miles with the dog to keep loose.  Will run some miles with jun tomorrow morning bright and early.

I got up bright and early at 2:30 a.m. to join jun and scottw for a long early morning run in Cedar Valley.  I helped jun map out a course that would allow him to do big miles, returning to the car or use convenient stores for aid stations.  It worked out great.  I'll let jun tell the details.   I ran about 9-10 minute miles.   I did the first 2.5 loops of the course, putting in a little over 21 miles, all in the dark.   As we passed by ranches, we would wake up the dogs and they would go crazy.  The temperature was cool but fine, probably about 26-32 degrees.  It would vary with some warm pockets.

Here is where I ran

All went well, until we finished the 2nd loop.  Jun was about 100 yards ahead and scottw about 300 or so yards behind me.  jun stopped at the car, but I went on ahead to get seven more miles.   But as I continued running up a very straight road, I couldn't see jun or scottw's headlamps behind me.  Where were they???   I continued on, then thought I saw at least one light.   At the 3.5 mile mark from the cars, I turned around, and in less than a mile ran into jun.  He said scottw never returned to our cars!!   How could that be, he was so close behind.  jun went on and I ran back to the cars.   No sign of scottw!!  His car was still there.   I shined my green light all over.

I concluded that somehow scottw had taken a wrong turn near our cars.   Come to think of it as we had been running, he had mentioned that he was all turned around and had no idea where we were.  I jumped in my car and drove all over Cedar Valley, on all the roads within three miles of our cars.  No sign of scottw.   Wow, what happened?   I was sure he was fine, but if he got lost, I realized he would have a devil of a time figuring out where the cars were. I could imagine his frustration trying to explain to someone that he had been running around in the dark with some guys, got lost and had no clue where his car was.

I drove on the first loop we did, thinking he took a wrong turn and ran that loop again, but no sign of scottw so I drove toward the Ranches and found jun.   jun told me not to worry.  He was going to continue to run.  I was worried, so I drove back to the cars to search some more.  Thank goodness, scottw was sitting in his car.  Sure enough, he had taken a wrong turn and ran loop 1 again and then got confused in Eagle Mountain city center which way to go.

Now that it is over, it is REALLY funny.  How in the world can someone get lost in a wide-open valley without any trees, as flat and flat can be where you can see for miles.   I said goodbye to scottw and then drove and found jun still running.  We had a good laugh.  Amazing.   Lesson to be learned.  Whenever you do a crockett aventure run, you must study the map and even better take a GPS.  Something always goes wrong on crockett's adventures.  You can get lost, even in a wide-open valley without trees.

p.m.   I took a vacation day in order to watch the NCAA games.  It was worth it.  That BYU game was amazing.   I did an additional 5 miles while listening to the post game.

I ran in a new half marathon, Shamrock Half Marathon, held in Saratoga Springs and Eagle Mountain.  It starts in Saratoga Springs at the High School , heads west into Eagle Mountain, making a couple loops in the Ranches sub-divisions, and then returning to the High School.  The first and last three miles are rural, running by farms, and the rest runs through neighborhoods.  This half is pretty tough with lots of turns and about 800 feet hill climbing.

I got hit by a sinus infection yesterday, so the bacteria probably affected me, but I still pushed through it.   It was a brisk 23 degrees at the start and 32 degrees at the finish, but the sun came out during the race and made it feel warmer.  I dressed about right.   I believe there were 98 runners who started and only one other person I knew, buddy Mark Ellison.   Strange that it didn’t attract many runners from Saratoga Springs.   I did a little warm-up run, but it was too cold to spend much time out before the start.

We started a little after 8:00 a.m. and I quickly took the lead to get my legs going.   I was still leading at the 1/2-mile mark, but then backed off.   For the first five miles I really struggled to get warmed up, but after that felt much better.   My splits for miles 1-5, were 7:06, 7:17, 7:58(hill), 7:43, 7:49.   About four runners passed me before the first mile and buddy Mark Ellison passed me during mile 2.   I was able to keep him in sight for the rest of the race.   Another pack of several runners  passed me around mile 4.  At mile 5, I think I was in about 9^th place.   As I made the turn in the middle of the Ranches, my oldest son Davy was in his car at the intersection heading to work.  He honked the horn and yelled out the window.

Finally at mile 5, I felt semi-warmed up and my legs enjoyed the gentle uphill.  I was closing the distance on the pack ahead of me.   Finally we got some downhill which my legs appreciated but still a couple more young runners caught up and passed me.   The final runner to pass me was a girl, who caught me as we crossed a busy road around mile 7.5.  We crested a steep hill at mile 8.7 and I really blasted down a quarter mile dirt road very fast, almost catching three runners ahead.   My splits miles 6-9 were 7:30, 7:13 (downhill), 7:54 (hill), 7:42 (up and down).  

I was now headed back to Saratoga Springs.  I could see Mark only a quarter mile ahead, I was gaining on him, but every time I was thinking I would catch him, either he sped up or I slowed down.   I did pass a runner slowing down right before mile 10.   We crested the final hill at mile 11, and I knew there were two fast miles to the finish.  The girl and a guy were in my sights.  I passed the guy at mile 12 and then started to close the distance on the girl.  Could I catch her before the finish?   It looked like I could, came within 20 yeards, but with only a quarter mile to go, my left quad complained so I backed off.   My splits for miles 10-13 were: 6:58, 7:41, 6:55 (downhill), and 7:13.  I was obviously feeling great near the finish, clocking negative splits.  I wished the race was a couple miles longer because I could have caught 4-5 runners ahead who finished within a quarter mile of me.  

I came in at 1:37:53.   I had hoped to break 1:40 on this tough course, so I was pleased.  I came in 12^th place overall and first in my age group.  I received a nice little plaque. Two runners in their 40s were only a couple minutes ahead, so I was close to winning that age group too.   I was also pleased that all my miles were sub 8:00.  I believe I could have continued sub-8s for quite awhile more. 

For cool down, I ran for awhile on the track.   I think that is the first time I've run around a track in 30 years.   Wow, what a bore, felt almost as bad as a treadmill.  I went back to the finish and cheered lots of people as they came in.

p.m. treadmill

I'm in my Boston taper now, backing off on miles and just staying loose this week.  Oh, I will have a longish run left Friday night.  Did a hilly treadmill workout this morning, 5-15% incline, 7:30 pace, holding on to the front.

Plans for Friday on Antelope Island.  I'll start around 7 p.m.  Jim Kern will crew for me for the first 50 miles.   Jim Skaggs will drop a gallon of water for me at the first aid station location.   I'm on my own for the first 18.9 miles because there isn't crew access.  I should finish that loop by 10:30 p.m. and then Jim Kern will crew me at least every six miles.  The goal for the first 50 is to get done in 9:30.   That will give me a 1:30 head start on all the 50-mile runners who will be chasing me down.   Looks like there could be some rain on Friday.  Hopefully it will be gone before evening.

Four very easy miles.  

Last night went up to Jim Skaggs' and helped assemble the 580 or so race packets.   It took us over three hours. (six of us).   Wow, there will be a lot of runners on the island on Saturday.   Looks like weather Friday night may be somewhat miserable, cold rain turning to snow.   Looks like most of the course will get less than an inch of snow when it does turn to snow.   Oh well, it will just be an extra challenge.   It is better to face the rain/snow and dark on fresh legs than after 14 hours of running which is usually the time when you run during the night in a 100-miler.  Looks like the first part of the course that climbs up to 4800 will be having flurries/snow Friday evening. That is better than rain.   I'll probalby be going slower than planned.

Big-time taper.  No running going on, just rest.  Didn't sleep well last night, crazy dreams about running on Antelope Island.   Hopefully I'll sleep well tonight.  Looks like I will be running in a wet windy winter wonderland Friday evening.

I hope to finish in at most 22 hours.   I now plan to start at 6 p.m.  The milestones I will have in my mind are:   Reach the Ranch (32.8) by midnight.   That is a 6-hour 50K+.  Should be possible unless the weather is really bad.   Return to the start (50) by 3:30 a.m.  That is a 9:30 50.   That could be a problem if I end up having to sit in my crew car to warm up at times.   Do the next loop and return to the start (68.9) by 8:00 a.m.  That is when the 50K runners will start.  I would really like to get there before they come running at me.   From there, it is up in the air.   Getting back to the ranch (82.8) by 11:00 a.m. would be super. Fast 50 milers would be passing me, those who can do the first 32.8 in five hours.

After work heading the Antelope Island to start my  100-mile run.   Hopefully this entry will be replaced by a 100-mile race report.   Taper pains are hitting me.  I hate them.  Typical is that it feels like you pulled a muscle but you never did anything to pull it.  It will usually be sore for a day or so and you worry about it affecting your race.  Almost always it has no affect after you get warmed up.

Weather looking better.   Hopefully it will be in the form of snow, not rain.

Read my full race report.

Quick update before I go to sleep.  I ran 100 miles on Antelope Island.  I got permission from the race director and from the park.   I ran the 50-mile course twice, starting the evening before the race, finishing the first 50 by 4 a.m. and then merging in with the 50-mile race  that started at 6:00 a.m.   About half the field caught up with me.  Lots of shocked runners when they discovered I was keeping up with them yet had run 50 extra miles.  My two 50-mile times were 9:48 and 12:17.  Not bad.

My time was very good, second best 100 time I've had. However, I had lots of stomach problems that really slowed me down and the cold during the night made me have long stops to warm up in my friend's car.  However, the trails are smooth and very fast, so the times I felt good, I could really cruise and make up time.   Because of all the stomach/bonking issues, I lost at least 5 pounds.  A pretty painful way to lose 5  pounds in less than one day.

Lots more later.  I need sleep.  It was a tough,  fun experience.

Recovery going very well.  Stomach finally recovered, appetite almost back.  Very little soreness in the quads.  One little blister on the right ankle.   Looks like I'll be running again by Wednesday.   I'm going through the usual kicking myself, recalling all the times I was lazy out there, especially the last 8 miles.  Oh well. Makes me anxious for the next 100 race, but that won't be until June.  Time to pretend I can run marathons.  Boston is three weeks away.

Treadmill, 7:30 pace at 2%.   Back in the saddle.  Right quad a little heavy, but besides that, had no difficulties.  Very odd, it just feels like this is a Monday after a longish run on Saturday.  The resilience of the human body is amazing once it adapts to a high level of stress and work.  My co-workers like to recall how in 2004 after my first 100-finish, I limped around in sandals for several days at work and looked really beat up.  I couldn't run for nine days.   Now, I return to work on Monday and no one knows I ran a 100 over the weekend unless they ask. "Did you go running this weeked?"  "Yep."   "How far?"   "Uh, 100." To me it is facinating how the body systems can deal with this now like it is no big deal.

Treadmill at 7:30 pace, 2% incline.

I noticed that I weigh 170 pounds.  Wow, I don't think I've been in the 160s since the '70s.  I'm going to have to find my plaid bellbottoms and bring out the disco music.  "Stayin alive...."  Yep, that is what I'm doing.  You punk youngsters were still in diapers or as my kids like to put it, you were "still dead."

Time to start training for Boston.  It is in just over two weeks.   I need to get the foot speed up.   Uh, I guess I should run a little pavement too.   Do I really have to?

Treadmill  4 miles at 6:58 pace and then backed off to 7:30, then to 8:00

Treadmill. First 10 at 7:30 pace with 2%, and periodic step-offs.   Last 4 did spurts of 10% incline.

Weight 167.  Will target 165 which will be 12 pounds lighter than what I was when running RR100.  Feeling lighter on the feet.  Also doing more upper body and some core.

Busy this weekend helping with the Internet broadcast of General Conference.  This is my 20th conference.  We've come a long way in 10 years.   My conference experience always involves a computer in front of me.

Treadmill, trying to get the feet used to turning over fast.   Did 6 mile at 6:40 pace with some step-offs.  The last two a little slower.   Continuing to work on doing some core, upper body, and calfs.   Trying to find a way to not have my calfs cramp up during the marathon.  During all the few marathons I've run, my calfs have always cramped causing me to practically walk the last 4-6 miles.  And I have only run a few marathons, I'm still a rookie.  I think I've run in 5 marathons.  Compare that to 59 ultra race finishes (31 of them 100s).

p.m.  Six more TM miles, most at 6:40 pace.  Felt much more comfortable, but was on a different treadmill.  Seems like the feet are getting more used to going faster. Quad soreness all gone from the 100 last week.

Last night I read in Ultramagazine how Jenna Gruben died in a car accident on the way home from Moab Red Hot in February. I ran in that race. She placed 3rd among the women in the 33K.  Very fast.   I guess that really bothered me because all night I was dreaming about the Moab course and I felt so bad for those who were close to her.  She was from Colorado.

So, I didn't get a great-night's sleep and turned the alarm off to get a bit more.

p.m.

Stupid sinus infection is back.  Back on antibiotics.  Treadmill 10 miles, 7:30 pace with 5% incline, plenty of step-offs, but the pace felt comfortable.

OK, so much for resting and tapering.  On early Saturday morning, I'm planning on running the Paria River down in Southern Utah, Northern Arizona.  The canyon runs from east of Kanab to Lees Ferry on the Colorado River.   I've done the route three times before.  My brother and his sons, and sons-in-law are doing a backpack of the canyon starting on Thursday.   I'll run in Saturday morning, catch up with them and help them finish.  For most of it, there is not trail, just a giant slot canyon with about 400 river crossings.  There are some springs along the way.   I would probably start after midnight and catch them by mid-morning and hopefully exit by early afternoon.  The entire route is roughly 40 miles but it is tough to run it fast.   I'd be doing much of it during the dark.

Quad busting hill workout on the treadmill, four miles.  Two miles out on the pavement in the wind.

I'm looking forward to my Paria Canyon run Saturday.  In 2002, just two months after I becamed determined to get in shape when I was about 60 pounds heavier, somehow I got in my mind the idea to "run" Paria Canyon in one stretch with my brother-in-law Ed, who was in much better shape than me.  If you want some laughs, read my write-up.   This was there first time I even tried to do long miles in one stretch.  By the time I reached 20 miles, I was breaking down.   It would still be two years before I discovered ultras.

Details and pictures later.

Drove to the Whitehouse trailhead 30 miles east of Kanab to camp for the evening.  Did a late afternoon run up and down amazing washes to the Paria Rimrock area and viewed incredible hoodoos, including the Toadstool Hoodoo.   Made it back to camp before dusk and then tried to get some rest before my huge run after midnight.

Detailed run report is now here including pictures and audio clips.

This turned out to be one of the most amazing, toughest adventure runs I have ever done.  My brother, two of his sons, two sons-in-law and a friend were on a three-day backpack of the Paria River.  This is an end-to-end hike from east of Kanab to Lees Ferry on the Colorado River through one of the most amazing and large slot canyons in the world.  You hike from Utah to Arizona. I've hiked/run this route three times before.  It is around 40 miles total depending on the conditions of the river and the various trails taken.

My plan was to catch up with the group, and cover their two-day distance of 27 miles, do it in only 8 hours, timing it so I would join them in the morning.  And then hike the rest of the route (13 miles) with them.

I started my run after midnight, at 12:30 a.m.   The river was the highest I have ever seen it due to the run-off and warm temperatures.  I did notice that with the cooler night temperatures, the river went down about a foot compared to the afternoon depth.  It was still pretty high and in the narrows areas covered the complete width of the canyon.  The run would include at least 400 river crossing as I would need to zig-zag crossing the river in order to run along the beaches on the sides.   The river would become higher and higher the further I went, until all the crossings were at least thigh deep.  The water was a brownish mud color, so you could never see the bottom or be sure how deep it was before you stepped into it.

The challenging feature of this run was I did the most difficult portions in the dark.   It was tough work keeping the pace up, focusing on the best route, developing skill in the river crossings, and somehow finding the springs in the dark.   For most of the time, I had a blast, all alone in the dark, with cliffs towering above me on both sides for hundreds of feet.  Stars could be seen high above in the gap between the clifftops.  The sounds of the river were constant.  At other times, it became very tough and frustrating, especially as the river became deeper in narrow areas.  It was impossible to go fast in those sections.

To make a long story short for now, until I write my run report, my plan was very successful.  I had worried that I had passed my brother and company camped somewhere in the dark.  But when I reached the last spring area, I was hopeful that I would find them.  About an hour after dawn I arrived there and found some campers.  "Are you the marathon guy?" they asked.  They were amazed to see me running in.   I was pleased to know they had talked to my brother.   They were right around the next corner.   I ran into camp, and let out a whoop!  It was a great reunion, so deep in the canyon.   I arrived exactly as planned, just as they were preparing to leave their camp.   I had traveled the 27 very tough miles in 8 hours.

We hiked together for awhile, but as the hikers started to tire with their much heavier packs, they wanted to keep their feet dry at a river crossing.  I decided to push on ahead at a faster pace, but I no longer could run because of I had a tight hamstring that flared up during the hiking.  So I just walked it in  for the last seven miles and finished the typical 4-day backpack in 13 hours.   That was about 7 hours faster than my best previous attempt. If I had run the entire route, I think I would have finished in about 11.5 hours.   If the river was much lower, I think I could do it in 10 hours now that I know the route even better.   Something to shoot for in the future.

It truly was one of the toughest, amazing running adventure I had ever accomplish.   I long to return.

I now have over 1000 miles for the year, the earliest I have ever reached that milestone in a given year.

See Bob's pictures  I am in at least one.   I ran all the cool slot canyon areas during the night and caught up with them as we spilled out into the wide-open desert.

I posted my full Paria River Run report at: http://www.crockettclan.org/blog/?p=259

I'm in a forced taper for Boston.  The run left some muscle soreness in my left lower leg.  Nothing concerning, just will take a couple days to go away.   The rest is good.    The tight hamstring I felt during the last ten miles didn't amount to anything, thank goodness.  I think all the water crossing just used the hamstrings a lot more pushing the legs through the water.

Still resting and gaining weight.  Funny how that Saturday 40-mile, and after-run feast, left me five pounds heavier.  Go figure.   Left lower leg soreness amost gone.  My bad left ankle (injured a year ago) is sore too.  I've just learned to ignore the pain, it never gets terrible any more.  During a really long run, other stuff hurt far more, so I don't notice it.

Starting to think a little about Boston, coming up soon.  Maybe tomorrow I'll start training for it.

OK, I'm in the 6th day of my one-week Boston Marathon training program.  I searched high and low on the Internet for a one-week training program.  Why is it so hard to find one?  I finally found one that I think will work.

Day 1.  Run 40 miles with wet feet the entire way.  Do more than half of it in the dark.  Pretend like the boulders you pass are slower runners on the road.  Finish in 13 hours.  - CHECK

Day 2. Eat like a pig. No miles - CHECK

Day 3. Sleep in. Run in your dreams. No miles - CHECK

Day 4: Sleep in some more. Laugh at people running on pavement. No miles - CHECK

Day 5: Sleep in and watch people run on TV. - CHECK

Day 6: Introduce your feet to at 6-minute pace again. Do two-a-days on the treadmill.  This is crash course now, cramming for the exam.  - CHECK

So, I'm right on schedule.  I think this one-week Boston training program is very cool and will work fine.  I highly endorse it.

Wow, what an experience running in the Boston Marathon.   My detailed race report can be read here: http://www.crockettclan.org/blog/?p=299

Sleep has been the story since I ran Boston.  That night, I just had to stay up and watch the Jazz game to the end  (past 1 a.m.) and then needed to get up at 4:30 a.m. to catch my flight.  The night before I only had a few hours of sleep because of pre-race excitement.  So yesterday, boy did I sleep.  Slept on the plane, when I got home, and then nine hours last night.

Recovery?  I think I've recovered (just a tiny bit of shin soreness) and plan to run after work.  I signed up for the Thanksgiving Point half marathon on Saturday, hope to place in my age group.

Time to push hard training again.  I feel fully recovered from Boston.  Stormy weather out this morning so hit the treadmill.  Hill workout. 7 miles at 8:00 pace with incline 10-15%, holding on the front of the treadmill so I can close my eyes and snooze.  All systems go, nothing really complaining.   The other miles were easier at 5%.  

Ogden marathon and Squaw Peak 50 are the next races to focus on.  Quite the diversity.  But my theory is to train to keep the foot-speed up but also start hitting the hills much harder.  If it works out, I'll PR at Ogden and then have the footspeed for Squaw Peak to course PR there (my sixth time running there). Also doing much more core, upper body, and calf workouts.

Treadmill

Just five days after running Boston, I thought I would go ahead and run a new half marathon that is in the neighboring city of Lehi, Utah.  It would be an interesting test to see if I have indeed recovered from Boston.  100% of the entry fees from this half go to funding a new Children's museum at Thanksgiving Point.  They ended up raising $32,000.   The race director is ultrarunner Kendall Wimmer.   He did a fantastic job putting the course and together.

The course isn’t fast, but it isn’t terrible tough either.  It winds and rolls like crazy.  A cool feature is that at mile 3 in runs through the stunning Thanksgiving Point gardens.  The tulips were out in force.   It also runs along the Jordan River over to Willow Park and then returns.  In only its first year, 630 runners started, a pretty big race.  It was an impressive event, very well organized and plenty of great food at the end.  They did a fantastic job pulling in sponsors and had great awards including generous cash awards.  

The morning was perfect, not a cloud in the sky.  The start is early, shortly after dawn at 7:00 a.m.  It was about 38 degrees at the start.

My legs felt good early on and I started in the top ten for the first mile, then backed off as we ran along the golf course and through the gardens.   About 8 runners passed me in that stretch but I kept them in my sights.  For the bulk of the race, I held about 20^th place.   There were tons of aid stations, but I ran through every one without taking anything, just using my hand-held water bottle with diluted Ensure.  My legs started to feel a little slow around mile seven, but I was proud that I kept the foot on the gas pedal the entire time..

My miles splits were: 6:15, 7:01, 7:10, 7:20, 6:58, 7:02, 7:27, 7:07, 7:15, 7:28, 7:23, 7:24, and that last mile was probably near 8:20, although that mile might have been a little long.My average mile pace was 7:15.

A couple guys passed me around mile ten and one of them noticed my Boston shirt and recognized that I was running just five days after Boston.  I replied, “Yep, pretty crazy.”  I was fading during the last mile and two runners reeled me in, but I kept pushing the entire way.

I finished in 1:34:52.   Good enough for 24^th place overall and first place in my age group.  The 2^nd place guy in my age group was more than ten minutes slower.  I was shocked to see that I was only three minutes out of the money.  Could have won $300 for masters champion if I would have really pushed like crazy.  I ended up in 4^th place in the masters.

It was nice getting to all the goodies at the finish with just a small handful of runners milling around, pretty deserted.   That's a good clue that you finished well.

It was interesting to see that my pace was almost exactly the same as the first half of Boston.  However, this felt much tougher because of the altitude.  My lungs were really working.  No cramps and I felt fine at the finish.  I hung around and cheered the finishers, having fun talking to many other runners who somehow recognized me.  

At awards, I received a nice trophy.

Ran the "Handgun route" out out to Eagle Mountain town center, through Ranches and through the Church farm. 17 miles.  Started at 3:00 a.m. and finished at 6:00 a.m. for a 10:41 pace.  Not bad on the rounte, felt fast. About 5.5 miles was on pavement, the rest on dirt roads.  Had some climbing, about 900 feet.   I call it the "Handgun route" because the map of it looks like a gun: http://www.mapmyrun.com/route/us/ut/saratoga%20springs/346127229247492886

The bad news is that my problem tendon in my ankle is very bad again.  Not quite as bad as last April, but pretty bad.   I'm wondering if seasonal allergies flair it up.  I'll have to research.  I can't remember twisting it bad again.  On all the uneven dirt roads it really complained but was better on the pavement.  A little discouraging, but I know it eventually gets better.  Healing is VERY slow and just stopping running altogether doesn't seem to help a ton.  Sticking to pavement or treadmill does help.  Boring. 

Got out again early, at 3:00 a.m.   This was the same run as the previous morning but I added a couple miles to the handle of the gun and increased my pace to 10:14 average.  Felt like I was going faster, but there are some slow climbs and dirt roads.   Boy, the cold air really sinks down to the middle of Cedar Valley.  Both mornings my hands in gloves really got cold for a few miles in that area but then it got warming going up Unity Pass to the Ranches.  The nearly full moon was out, very bright.  For over half the run I didn't use my flashlight.   The problem ankle was much better today.  I wore different shoes and that probably helped.  I'm encouraged.   I also noticed that a possible side-effect of taking Zyrtec for seasonal allergies is tendon disorders.   Has me wondering because both last year and this year, I started having the tendon pain when I started taking Zyrtec.   Yesterday I switched to something else.  We shall see.

The map of my run is at: http://www.mapmyrun.com/route/us/ut/saratoga%20springs/439127238059614718

I've been plagued by peroneal tendonitis again (ankle), just like a year ago, but not quite as severe.   It doesn't bother me much on the smooth, mostly-flat surfaces, but kills me on the trails.  So I took three days off completely to see if it would help.  It did a little, but still, as I was standing at the start, trying to keep warm, the ankle was in some good pain.  Oh well.

The Provo City marathon runs mostly on roads in South Provo and out toward Utah Lake.  It is mostly flat and also runs about four miles on the Provo River paved trail.   I didn't enjoy this half marathon as much as last week's Thanksgiving Point marathon because this one has way too many cars going by, very bothersome.

A great feature of this race was the weather.  A squall of rain hovered over us and just stayed there.  Twice hail fell from the sky.  I enjoyed it, because I usually do better in poor weather compared to the competition.  It just doesn't bother me much because of all my early cold weather training.  But I did finish before the real downpour started.

I treated this race like a long training tempo run.  I wasn't very serious about it, but still did pretty well.   After two miles, I pretty much settled down into my place, not being passed by other runners but only catch a couple.   I got a little lazy going up the Provo River trail. But wow, during the last two miles, incredible energy kicked in and I was able to pass a couple runners and finish very strong.  That is a nice sign for the Ogden Marathon in a couple weeks.  It felt like I could continue sub-7 miles at that point for quite a few miles if the race was longer.  

My mile splits were: 6:27, 7:01, 6:58, 7:01, 7:09, 7:13, 7:12, 6:56, 7:50, 7:44, 7:37, 7:31, 6:40, and 1:07.   I finished in 1:34:26.  That was 27 seconds faster than last week.

I got second place in my age group, surprised that someone beat me because I never saw him.  But he beat me by five minutes, probably among the fastest in the state in my age group.  I've been getting accustomed to winning my age group in these short races.

I was 31st out of 669 starters. 4th place masters (age 40+) (74 starters).

This was a nice tune-up for Ogden.  That is three times this month that I've run a half marathon in 1:34.  If I do that in Ogden, that will beat my split from last year by 4 minutes. That would be sweet.

In San Francisco on business. Treadmill at 7:15 pace.  My son Ryan opened his mission call last night -- to Guatemala.  My grandfather was the first mission president there in 1952, going there with Spencer W. Kimball to open the mission. My grandfather built up the Church there and built the first meetinghouse (recently demolished). His son, my uncle, also served as a mission president there.  So, it really is a great inspired call for our family.

Tonight I went to dinner with my Bay-area sibblings.  Two sisters and a brother.  I don't see them very often.  It was a lot of fun.

12 on the treadmill in the morning.  In the late afternoon after my conference, I hit the pavement of San Francisco.  For some reason running on city streets just seems wrong and makes me feel uncomfortable, not safe.  All the people, all the cars, it just seems weird.  Pretty funny that I feel much more at home running in the mountains during the middle of the night with the moose and mountain lions.

I ran along the bay, from Bay Bridge to Golden Gate Bridge and back.   Lots of people running by 7 p.m.

No running today.  Me right hamstring is a little sore from the run yesterday.  No reason to push it.

Got up, ran a couple miles on the treadmill to test out the hamstring.  There was no pain so I decided to go do a 5K in Provo to get some speed work in.  It was a nice race with about 250 runners.  Runners Corner was a sponsor so many of the fast runners from the Sojourner's running club were there (I'm a member).  Michael Vick, probably one of the fastest runners in Utah County won for the third week in a row in the races I've been in. 

At check-in, the young guy asked my age (51) and commented, "boy, you don't look that old!"  That made my day. 

I took off just behind a pack of about 5 Sojourner's runner girls in pink.  I hung behind them pretty well for the first mile, clocked in 5:45.  I think that is my fastest unaided mile since age 18.  The girls pulled ahead except for a couple that I kept in my sights for the entire race. Mile 2 was clocked in about 6:39, and mile three in about 6:36.  

This is only the 8th 5K I've ever run and during the last mile I felt pretty good.  Usually it feels like I'm going to die.  I then knew that a PR and sub-20 was a real possibility.  I wasn't red-lining but kept the pedal down.  I almost reeled in a young Sojourner girl.

I finished in a 5K PR of 19:51.   I was 18th overall, finishing not far behind the fast young runners.  It looked like most, of the runners ahead were Sojourner club runners.  I placed first in my age group and won a $20 gift certificate.

Finally I broke 20.  I had a goal to break 20 before going to the grave, so now the grim reeper is after me.  Wait, not so fast, I still want to go sub-20 in a 100-mile race....that is sub-20 hours. 

Looks like all systems are go for Ogden Marathon.  I'll just do tune-up runs this week.  I'll be bold and state my goal.  I really hope to approach 3:15 at Ogden.  If I can do that, I can come very close to placing in my age group.

Ten treadmill miles 7:30 pace at 5%.   The tendon in the ankle continues to be a bad pain, but I think I've figured out some help for it.  On Sunday morning getting out of bed, I could hardly walk on it.  The worst pain is always first thing in the morning.  So, I've resorted the last to nights wearing theboot while sleeping which totally keeps pressure off the tendon and lets it rest.  Last two mornings it has almost been pain free.  Still pain while running, but it seemed to warm up after about 8 miles.  The danger seems to be favoring it, causing the other leg to work too much.  Oh well, at least I'm running and it isn't crippling.  I'm feeling the phantom taper pains coming, so its good to get some miles to chase those away.  I noticed in the rec room this morning that all but one New Years resolution person is sticking with it.  Most didn't last more than two months.

Continuing my taper before Ogden Marathon on Saturday.  Seven treadmill miles at 7:30 pace with 5% incline.  Ankle feeling somewhat better.

Zero Day.  Resting.

Focus now on Ogden Marathon.  My pace last year for the first 1/2 was very good.  My fade on the second half was poor because of major cramping.  Hopefully that can be avoided this year.  Second half should maintain a 7:43 pace average.

Stupid taper pains last night.  It will be good to run again.  I picked up my race packet, ready to go tomorrow bright and early.  Temps will be 34 degrees at the start, so I'll dress warm and then peel it off before the start.  I checked the entrants and the top 4 in my age group are running again this year.   I can't touch the top 2, they are way out of my striking distance, but 3 and 4 can be caught.   We shall see.

Check out my latest crazy project:  http://www.facebook.com/ruthcrockettjournal

I've linked together on facebook more than 200 cousins and am coordinating an effort to type in and publish the massive journal of my great-grandmother.

I ran in the Ogden Marathon, held in Ogden, Utah. It is a nice, mostly downhill, fast course that winds down Ogden canyon.  It starts at 5,400 feet and ends in downtown Ogden at 4,300 feet.   After my good Boston race, I had lofty goals, hoping to finish in 3:15.  Running that fast for 26.2 is pretty flaky, you never know what my happen along the way.  In my case today, I didn’t reach my goal but did set another marathon distance personal record (PR),and improved my Boston Qualifying time (BQ), so I really cannot complain. I was on pace to reach my goal through the first 17 miles, but the wheels then started to come off because of a new problem.

Last year I really felt like a road marathon rookie, despite my 60 or so ultramarathon finishes.  That day I was very uncomfortable at the start, trying to figure out what road marathons were all about.  Road races with thousands of runners are so much different than trail races.  But this year, with my Boston experience, I now felt more like a veteran.   This would be the third marathon I had run with serious desires for a good time.

At the start area with more than an hour to wait, after huddling around a fire barrel for awhile, I decided to ditch that activity filled with smoke.  Instead I went jogging up the canyon road, away from the crowds so I could focus and prepare.  B.J. Christenson was the only other runner doing the same.  I greeted him and wished him luck. B.J. is a very fast tiathlete and he led today’s marathon for at least the early miles.   It was so peaceful , quiet, and beautiful.  I was so glad to be away from the crowds.  I did about a two-mile warm up run.  It was about 35 degrees in the canyon. I was dressed nice and warm during this warm-up.

It was almost show time.  I lined up toward the front and was greeting by several friends.  It was fun to see them.   At 7:00 a.m., away we went!   The first mostly downhill miles are pretty fast.   I maintained a good pace, clocking miles 1-3 at 6:15, 6:45, and 6:39 for a 20:18 5K.  Not bad.  I was 30 seconds ahead of my goal pace. 

I set my sights on a runner who seemed to have a good consistent pace.  While I slowed down and sped up, I tried to keep that runner in my sights and was pretty successful.   I struggled a little because I wasn’t warmed up yet and various pains arose, shifting for one spot to another.  But by mile 6 I was feeling pretty strong and fast.   Miles 3-6 were 6:45, 6:48, and 6:49, very consistent.  My 10K time was 41:24 which would have shattered my 10K PR by almost two minutes if this was a 10k. (My 10K PR is pretty soft. It should be easy to break.  I haven’t run a 10K in almost a year).

After mile six, the course flattened out with some long straight-aways as it approached the Pineview Reservoir.  I did my best to keep my pace respectable.  Miles 7-9 were 6:54, 7:11, and 7:23 (short hill).  I was over a minute ahead of my goal pace. Sweet!  Things were going well.

A guy noticed my Boston shirt and asked me how I did.  It is funny how my Boston Marathon shirt generated much more respect and  comments in this race than when I wear an ultramarathon shirt during a marathon.  Someone who knew me commented to the guy, “Davy, tell him how many 100 milers you have finished. I replied, “31.”   The guy was confused and they went on ahead as his friend explained who I was.  Many people recognized me and were so kind and said hello.

I could feel my pace starting to slow a bit as other runners were passing me with more frequency on the gradual uphill.  Miles 10-12 were 7:21, 7:50 (aid station fill up), 7:31.  I was focusing to keep my mile splits below 7:45.  I hit the ½ marathon mark at 1:32:54.  I was still over a minute ahead off my goal pace for a 3:15 finish.

At times I would jump off the pavement and run along a dirt shoulder.  For some reason my legs would go much faster on the dirt and I would pass people. But those good dirt areas didn’t last long.  Next up was the only significant hill.  Miles 13-15 were 7:55, 7:49, 8:32 (hill and aid station fillup of my water bottle. A volunteer poured Poweraid on my hand.  Took time to wash it).  That hill split time was much better than last time.  I was right on my pace goal time.

I then started to struggle somewhat.  After the climb, my legs seemed to be slowing down.  Lots of people were passing me.  My breathing was hard. I also slowed down at this point at Boston.  I knew some good downhill was coming up so I just hung on for the next couple miles.   The downhill came during mile 18.   Miles 16-18 were 8:14, 8:03, and 7:46.  I hated seeing those splits above 8 minutes.  I had fallen to 45 seconds behind my goal pace.  

I knew it was now or never to push the pace to stay on goal.  But then the wheels started to fall off.  I started to feel terrible.  Fellow ultrarunner, Tom Remkes passed me around mile 19 moving well.  I did my best to keep him in my sights and it worked for awhile, but during mile 20, even though it was downhill, I had no speed.  My heart was pounding like crazy in my chest.  I knew I was red-lining even at a slow 8:30 pace and I was feeling horrible.   I had no other choice but to slow to a walk.   I walked for about a half minute and started to feel better as my heart rate dropped.  Running again, I decided that all I could do was to find a more comfortable pace and hang on. 8:30 pace could be managed.  I knew my 3:15 finish goal was gone.  I just couldn’t figure out what was wrong.  Altitude?  Age?   After I finished, it was more obvious.  I was becoming dehydrated.  It wasn’t very hot, but my stomach just wasn’t processing the fluid very fast and I wasn’t drinking enough.  This same thing happened during Bighorn 100 last year.  The heart rate went up and my speed dropped significantly for a long time until I recovered.  Miles 19-21 were 8:17, 8:45 (walking spell), and 8:20.

After mile 23 the course leaves the road and goes on a paved trail along the river.  It rolls up and down and winds back and forth.  I hate this section at this point in the race.   Chad Carson, in my age group passed me during mile 24, moving very well.   I wished him luck and watched him disappear ahead.  Shortly after that, my heart rate went back up and again I needed to walk for a quick recovery.  Miles 22-24 were 8:18, 8:27, and 9:25 (walk and aid station refill). 

Despite my challenges, I noticed that my 24-mile split time was still a PR, a minute and a half faster than Boston last month.   I focused to not lose the PR.  Finally we got off the paved trail and were back on the flat roads.  Now, it was all about hanging on and keeping the legs swinging.  I could hear the crowd, loud speaker and music roaring near the finish area.   I could see the finish a mile away.   Mile 26 was tough.  I pushed hard, but then felt cramping coming on.  I caught and passed another runner, but I woke him up and he started running faster and got the lead back.  (He thanked me after the race).   Miles 25 and 26 were 9:07 and 8:51.  Push, push, push!  Don’t give up.  I crossed the finish line at 3:23:43, and new personal record (PR). 32 seconds faster than Boston last month.

Craig Lloyd was near the finish line and congratulated me.   It was fun to see him. He commented that I looked more hammered than he had ever seen me.  I was in bad shape, but still on my feet and coherent.   I didn’t leave any effort back on the course, but my behind was kicked around mile 20.  After talking with him for about ten minutes, I checked my heart rate.  It was still pounding at 130 bpm.  Craig bid goodbye and I went to the runner area and discovered that I was really thirsty.   I had finished before the heat of the day, but still was dehydrated somewhat.   It was fun to talk to many of the finishers who I knew.  I lay down on the grass and tried to recover.  An hour later, my heart was still beating at 90 bpm but I felt much better.

For the next three hours I had fun talking to many other ultrarunners and some FRB (Fast Running Blog) runners, and watched thousands of runners finish.   The back of the pack really suffered because the day became quite hot.   I was hoping to see my buddy Jim Kern finish, but after the 5:45 mark, he still wasn’t there. I went out, retrieve my start bag and checked the results.  I finished 7^th in my 50-54 age group.  I was only 3.5 minutes out of the age-group award.  Oh well.  That is still pretty fast for an old man like me who started running just six years ago.

I walked up the course and at the 6:10 mark, saw Jim Kern walking toward the finish with a half mile to go.   I jumped in with him and we walked and ran to the finish.  He did a great job, finishing his second road marathon.  We had fun talking for quite awhile.

So, my marathon is done.   This is my last road marathon for the year.  I really think 3:15 is within my ability, but it would take a perfect race, or a race at sea-level.  That is hard to achieve because you never know what your body will really do.  I will run another ½ marathon next month.  I enjoy that distance much better at speed.  

Will I keep doing road marathons?  I don’t know.  I still don’t really buy into the concept of chasing minutes and seconds.  All that effort to make a minute improvement over last year’s Ogden Marathon.  It seems pretty funny.  But the end results were good.  I have no real soreness anywhere except my problem ankle.  It now is time to do trail and hill training.

mile	2009 Ogden	2010 Boston	2010 Ogden
3	0:20:10	0:20:35	0:19:39
6	0:40:17	0:41:41	0:40:02
9	1:02:28	1:03:26	1:01:31
12	1:25:22	1:25:48	1:24:13
Half	1:34:08	1:34:15	1:32:54
15	1:50:23	1:49:08	1:48:30
18	2:14:08	2:13:41	2:12:33
21	2:39:06	2:39:53	2:37:55
24	3:05:59	3:05:34	3:04:05
Full	3:24:49	3:24:15	3:23:43

Still bummed out about my Ogden performance.  That is silly because I PRed, and that further emphasizes to me why running marathons is kind of stupid.   Measuring an accomplishment solely by a clock seems wrong.  But what nags me about Saturday is that I didn't reach my goal because of a preventable mistake.  A missed opportunity.  Well, learn from it and move on.

I'm still convinced that it was a dehydration problem.  Some think I just went out too fast, but I discount that because I felt fine the first 14 miles and never cramped up even afterwards.   With the 70 or so races I've run in the past six years of marathon length or higher, I just haven't really seen much overall difference from going out slow vs. fast for me.  I still subscribe to running at the pace that feels good.   A couple times I have gone out too fast and cramped up later because of it. But other times I've gone out fast and later at mile 90 able to crank out the fastest splits of the race.  I think more importantly is managing intake.  I didn't do that well, thinking the marathon distance is just too short and fast.

I'm ready and motivated to start serious training for my summer 100s.  However, the marathon left my ankle in poorer shape.  I was going to hit the trails this morning, but really couldn't.  Discouraging, because this is exactly where I was one year ago from today with the exact same injury.   Well, wearing the boot for 12 hours seemed to help lots.  Otherwise, legs feel great, just a little soreness in the hamstrings.   I will run the new tough Timp Trail marathon on Saturday. 

Out running at 3:30 a.m.   I ran up to the top of Lake Mountain to the towers.  About 8.5 miles round trip with 2,600 feet elevation climb.   It is a tough climb with some pretty steep sections. and some rough footing with rocks.  It is great training for Squaw Peak.

The good news is that I felt fully recovered from the Saturday marathon, no fatique or muscle soreness.  I was also very surprised that I was able to keep a run (jog) going for the first three miles until the steep dark band (see above, 19%+ grade).  At that point I needed to stop and put on a jacket and gloves.  At the top the wind was howling like crazy.  I didn't stay around long.   I really took it easy going down because of the ankle.  At times I would twist it a little and let out a yipe.  But I'm going to try to keep using the ankle and resting it between runs.  I'm hopeful it will start getting better. 

I've been resisting urges to enter the Utah Valley Marathon to redeem myself from Saturday.  I'm instead entered in the half marathon.  That is wiser, because the following Friday I run in Big Horn 100.  I've never really raced hard a half marathon, so I should give it a go and try to break 1:30.  I have a list of the top-20 marathoners in my age class in the state who I compete with.  About half of them seem to only run St. George.  I noticed that four of them are running in the Utah Valley Marathon.  I probably couldn't beat them anyway.  None of them are in the half marathon, so that leaves the door open to a possible age group win.

It is all about hills.   Run up and down and up and down Granview Blvd (1-mile stretch climbing 300 feet) with the dog Reeses. She pooped out when half way up a third time so I brought her home and then did a fast 2-mile tempo run at marathon pace.   I felt very strong and fast.  Great feeling. Enjoyed the afterwork run.   I'll have to do more of those in the warmth.

Reflecting on the year so far, I guess it has been good, PRs at 5K, 1/2 marathon (twice), marathon (twice) and 100-mile. On top of that I ran the Ogden faster than all the runners in my city.  So feeling pretty good about things as I put away the road marathon hobby and start getting serious about the trail running season.

Ankle was a major pain today, so took the day off.  Looks like the Timp race will be a rainy mud fest.  That really makes me excited as long as I don't twist the ankle.  Love to get out there slogging hard against the elements in a race.

I ran the new Timp Trail Marathon. A trail race on these trails has been considered for several years and finally came together.  These trails run on the western face of Mount Timpanogos and go from 4,900 feet at the start to 7,681 at the highest point.

I decided to run this as a training run, not really racing hard, but giving it a good push to test out the ankle and get some climbing in to prepare for Squaw Peak 50 in two weeks.  The ankle was very painful on Thursday and Friday, but for some reason the pain went almost totally away Friday night.  Go figure.  It still felt good Saturday morning.  But it wasn't a miracle because the pain could be felt throughout the race and I had to be very careful with it. 

In summary, I had a great experience. The weather was terrible, but that made it challenging and very fun.  The rain was really coming down when I arrived at the start at 5:15 a.m.  My son was camping with scouts up on the course and he said it started snowing up there around 3 a.m.  I decided to still dress light, just adding a garbage bag and wearing tights because of all the mud and cold water that would be tossed up on them.

We started running at 6 a.m.   There were probably about 80 starters or so. For the first few miles I ran in 5th place.  We had some climbs but also some fairly flat dirt roads where we could turn up the speed.  I really tried to ignore all the slippery mud and instead try to run like it was a dry surface.  This seemed to work well. The faster I ran, it seemed easier to deal with the mud.  But my ankle was a big problem and just couldn't deal with any slipping.

There was an important intersection that wasn't marked very well at all and I think several took the wrong turn.  I may have jumped to 3rd place for awhile because Tom Remkes blundered and took that wrong turn.  Throughout the race, I think I saved five runners from taking significant wrong turns.  

The course to mile 14 was rolling and pretty flat trail and dirt road on the Bonneville Shoreline trail.  I kept the speed going pretty well, although backed off about mile 10 and was passed by four other runners.   I reached mile 14 at about 2:05.  Next up was a very, very tough and steep muddy climb.  It sapped my energy.  For awhile I saw no runners behind me, but I slowed big time on the climb and three others appeared and were on my tail.  

During the huge climb up Grove Creek we were met by several Scout troops coming down.  I didn't see my son's troop, I think they went to Battle Creek.  One troop stopped and let out big cheers as I ran by.  Twinkies caught up and passed me at about mile 15 or so during the climb.  I just didn't have to motivation or energy to really push it hard.  The rain/snow had finally stopped, but we entered into fog and soon were running through slush.  It then turned to snow, about four inches.  And by the time we reached the top, it was about 10 inches.  There were some shorter climbs that were horrible, very muddy and slippery, but I didn't let them bother me.

There were also totally fantastic downhill runs.  At times I really flew like crazy until I was scared that I would twist the ankle.  Eventually we merged in with the half marathon back of the pack.  The further I went, I would past faster half runners.   The final downhill was great fun, but the course wasn't marked as well as other places, so I was in a little doubt and slowed down somewhat.  Another runner who had been on my tail for several miles finally caught up and passed me.  I looked back and there were other runners coming on strong. I refused to let them catch up and pushed the last mile very hard.  

I reached the finish in 5:24:06.  Second in my age class to the usual dude, Leon.  He seems to just beat me in many races.  I felt fantastic at the finish.  The ankle held up pretty well.  I had no cramping and no sore muscles since I didn't push it very hard.  But still I finished well. 

I think this race compares and is similar to the difficulty of the BST held in Salt Lake.  Perhaps it is a little easier, especailly if conditions weren't so severe.  A nice race for its first year.  It is somewhat pricey for the distance, but you do get a nice running shirt, a custom finishing medal and some great hot food at the end.  It is just nice to have another challenging local trail race nearby.

The ankle was really bad Sunday, but after 17 hours in the boot felt much better.  Got to hit the hills.  Rain/snow out this morning.  Wow, it really must be dumping up on the Squaw Peak course.  Could be an interesting event this year, no PR likely.

Treadmill.  Tough incline workout, holding onto the front.  Pushed much of it between 20-30% incline.  After that for awhile, it was amazing how easy 15% felt and how 5% felt like downhill.  The right quad is a little sore because I can tell I used it more than the other Saturday, protecting the left ankle.

Tough hilll/speed/tempo run.  First hill repeats with the dog.  One mile up, 400 feet climb, one mile down and repeat.  8:53 (up), 6:26 (down), 8:40 (up), 6:12 (down) for 30:10 total.  The dog had enough so I took her home and then went out again for a 4 mile rolling tempo run.  7:55, 7:51, 8:05, 8:55.  Had to back off the last mile, the ankle was complaining too much.  Looks like eventually I'll need to get an MRI for the ankle to see if the tendon is torn.  But for now I'll grin and bare it, use it, rest it, and hope it gets better like last year.

Plan for the weekend is to run the Orem 10K to go get that PR that the Rex Lee 10K (really 9K) cheated me out of.  The hope is to bust my PR by about two minutes.   We shall see.  In the meantime, hills, hills, and more hills to get ready for the snow run at Squaw Peak 50.

Took  yesterday off.  The ankle was really in bad pain, very discouraging.  But with 12 hours in the boot when I got up early it felt much better.  Seems like the tendon wasn't as tight.  So, I played it safe and went to the treadmill where I could manage the even surface.  It went well and wasn't a problem as long as I kept the pace slower than 8:30.  The faster pace puts much more pressure on it.  Thats OK, I can train at a slower pace if thats what it will take.

But, I didn't take it easy.   I ran at 20-21% incline at 10:00 pace for most of the time.  The treadmill says I'm climbing a little more than 100 feet per minute.   I do hang on to the front, so it is like hanging on to a rope tow, but it is a great workout to get the legs pumping up the hill and the heart gets going. I can tell I'm making good hill training progress.  It is just a bummer to be on a treatmill when the weather is so fine.   The machine thinks I climbed 6,000 feet.   Once I backed off the incline to 10% and cranked up the pace, it was amazing how easy it felt.

More treadmill hills

My goal was to PR today. I reached my goal, but still wish I would have done better...never satisfied. I knew my former PR time of 43:08 was very soft.  At Ogden with downhill aid, my 10k split was 41:24, so I knew a big improvement was possible. 

The weather was great.  I did a nice warm up and felt ready.  The ankle was behaving.  I saw two in my age group that I knew I couldn't beat, oh well.  Off we went.  I fell in behind Maryann and Michelle.   It was fun to watch them duel for a little while.  Maryann led first, then Michelle past her.  By mile 1 they started to disappear from my ability to watch. 

Mile 1: 6:14.  Good start.

Mile2: 7:05.  Bad mile.  Slight uphill and I could feel the quads complaining from all my hill work this week.  But after a turn and slight downhill came and I felt better.

Mile 3: 6:25  Finally warming up

Mile 4: 6:47  Still OK

Mile 5: 6:35  I think this mile was short.  I thought things were going great and I just started to get lazy coming in

Mile 6: 7:28   Lazy, lazy.   I had plenty in the tank for a fast sprint for the last tenth.  Almost plowed over a teenager (finished the 5K) crossing the course not looking.  I had to let out a scream in order to not collide with him.

Finish time: 42:04.   I PRed by 1:04.   Not bad.  But the PR still feels soft.  One more chance July 5th and the Freedom Run on a tougher course.  But I think more hills actually help me.  My legs just get lazy on the flats.  They need something to wake them up using different muscles.

4th in my age group, but the age groups were messed up, non-standard.  46-54.  They let the youngsters in.  Still, with 11th overall, that means there were four old guys in the top 11.  Pretty competitive. 161 finishers.

So, for 2010, so far I have PRed at 5K, 10K, 1/2 marathon (twice), full marathon (twice), and 100 miles.

Next up.  Squaw Peak 50 next Saturday in probably about 5 miles of snow.  Should be fun. No PR there, too tough.  Course PR is also unlikely wth the snow and gimpy ankle.  It will be a nice training run for Bighorn 100 in a few weeks.  Oh, also Utah Valley half thrown in before Bighorn....a quest for sub 1:30.

After returning home, I didn't rest, I went and hit the hills.  Took the dog.  At a steep hill with some ground cover, half way up, she refused to follow me.  She just turned around and started to head for home.  I've never seen her do that before.  I called for her to wait, picked her up and carried her up the steep hill.  Once on a bare dirt road she was fine.  Pretty funny.

A non-running interesting experience after the run.  I've been working on an time-intensive family history project.  15 years ago a very distant relative (now dead) sent me rare pictures of some ancestors.  Somehow those pictures got misplaced during our move to Utah 11 years ago.  I've searched many times for them.  Finally last night I did a two hour search of the house and came up empty. I was ready to give up and conclude that they were thrown out by mistake. Then, last night I had a dream reminding me of what the envelope was like that the pictures were in.  It was so clear that I woke up, now remembering clearly what I was looking for.   After my run, I searched in a couple new places that I hadn't checked.  Within ten minutes, I found the treasures!  Amazing! 

And, even more thilling, near these treasures, I found another missing treasure that has bothered me for years.  I thought I gave away this treasure by mistake 11 years ago.  But I found it!  It was a copy of a book on the pioneers I wrote.  This copy traveled on the Mormon Pioneer trek reinactment on the wagon train in 1997.  It is signed by Elders Ballard, Huntsman, Christensen, Holland, Pinnock and other digitaries who visited the wagon train.  I was thrilled to find it again.  It has been a wonderful day!

Intended to do more miles, but the ankle was a pain.  Did hill repeats on a soft desert bushwack above Saratotga Shores school.  Up and down a ridge, a 66 foot climb over 0.15 miles, so an incline of about 440 feet per mile.  Can blast down pretty fast because the surface is nice and soft.  Did it ten times and by that time I was pounding out a distinct trail in the desert floor.  Times for the 0.31 laps were: 3:13. 3:08, 2:58, 3:02, 2:58, 3:01, 3:02, 3:35,3:22, and 3:33.  Nice tough short workout.  Then did some cross country and road running.

This week it is all about hills and heat.  Squaw Peak 50 will be hot this year and I need to get a little used to the heat or I'll suffer in Hobble Creek Canyon.  I don't need a bunch of miles this week.

Thinking about running some of the course on Thursday, the section from the top of Hobble Creek road to Little Valley.  I usually crumble on that section and get lazy.  I would like to run it on fresh legs to inform my mind how easy it really is.  If I could stay strong on that section, that could carry me to the finish better.

Hills and dirt roads above the school.  Did a 2.4-mile loop three times and then some roads.  Took it easy about 9-minute pace.  Felt good and strong.

Hills and Heat....that is training ticket.  Ran up Lott canyon, a steady tough climb from my house.  Brought the dog.  I was impressed, she hung with me the entire way and didn't complain, her toughest climb.  I'll just keep the light training going without a taper.  Seems like the ankle does better with work.  Days off makes it hurt more.

I'll may write a more detailed report later.  The Squaw Peak 50 is a very tough 50-mile race held in the mountains above Provo, Utah. It has huge climbs and decents.  This was my sixth finish in six years.  I have never run it faster than 11 hours.  That was my goal this year.  Conditions were good.  The snow really melted fast last week on the course.  It probably slowed my down only about 10 minutes or so compared to dryer years.  It was a little hot for my tastes, but I reached Hobble Creek canyon road a little earlier than usual, so it wasn't too hot.

Here's my results and split times compared to my goal pace.  Pretty sick how close I was to my goal.

	miles	Goal	2010
Start	0	0:00
Hope CG	5.6	1:04	1:01
Rock Canyon	8.5	2:04	1:58
Kolob Overlook	14.6	3:04	3:01
Pole Haven	20.9	4:04	3:58
Top Hobble Crk	26.1	4:55	4:45
Sheep Cyn	30	5:50	5:44
Little Valley	33.5	6:45	6:40
Windy Pass	41.5	9:20	9:15
Big Spring	46.5	10:25	10:25
Finish	50.9	11:00	10:56:59

So I did it!  I really don't think I can run that course much faster.  Today was a near perfect day.  I had no issues at all.  The ankle held up well and didn't really slow me down much.  I knew that I had a little time cushion when I arrived at Little Valley, that my goal was still real.  The toughest section of the course to Windy Pass would be the decider. Two runners ahead of me were in my sights and they had a nice strong pace, so instead of trying to catch and pass them, I just hung with them.   I set a milestone in my mind.  Reach the bottom of the huge climb by 8:15 mark to give me an hour to get up and over the hill. 

I beat that and then quickly caught up with runners ahead pushing up the steep hill.  I did compression breathing to find some extra oxygen.  One of the runners noticed I was doing that and did the same and later thanked me.  I was stuck behind another runner who was holding me up a little, but I didn't ask to pass, because I wasn't sure I could hold the lead.

I did try scooting up the snow portion, but that didn't seem to be much faster, but it did get me by all the other runners.  I then kicked it in gear and after I reached to top of the first ridge, I couldn't see anyone on my tail, so I ran harder.  Once I reached the very top, I was pleased that I had left the string of other runners pretty far behind.

Once at Windy Pass I had a bunch of friends running the aid station there.  They all cheered me.  I was the only one there and they took care of me fast.  I stayed one minute and told them I needed to try to break 11 hours.   I knew it would be very hard.   I had to cover the last 8.5 miles in 1:45.  I knew a course PR was in the bag, no problem, but beating 11 hours was going to require some fast running.

There was a bunch of deep snow to go through for a half mile, but after that I cranking up the pace.  I saw LuzyLew with about 6.5 miles to go.   About a mile later, it happened.  I went down with a bad face plant.   My left leg cramped up and I could hardly walk.  But after about 3-4 minutes delay I was off running again.   Now my goal was in big jeapordy.

I hit the last aid station with 35 minutes to go.  Could I run the paved road down the South Fork of Provo in 35 minutes, 3.4 miles?  I've done it before to finsh this race, so I would try hard.  At the aid station I ran through it and only took an ice cold drenched towel that I used to cool me down.  It was very hot.   I tried to visualize that I was just finishing up a Marthon.  All my crazy marathon experience this year payed off.  I ran that stretch in 32 minutes.    ran the entire way on the road, no walking.  I almost caught up to the runner ahead of me, but when he saw me, he started running.  His pace was good.  I had no desire to race, just to wanted to beat the clock. I did it!   I finished in 28th place overall in a very competitive field of about 250 runner.

I beat my previous course PR (Personal record) by 43 minutes.   A huge improvement.