Old Man Still running

Taking it easy today.  I enjoy feeding my face for a couple days after a long race. Still I am losing weight.   Recovery from Saturday's 47-mile run is pretty much complete.   None of the usual symptoms after a 50-mile race because it was a slower pace, I ate much better than usual, and I didn't get dehydrated.  No soreness in the legs at all.

With about ten miles to go, I remember a young runner was telling me how he really struggled about five miles back, bonking between two long sections.  He commented how amazed he was that all I carried was two water bottles.  I did say, "Well, I do have a few jelly beans in my pockets."  That did make me think.   I ate pretty good at each aid station, but never got hungry between them.  I think because of all the low-carb morning runs I do, that I have trained my body to switch to fat-burning without difficulty.   

Another runner saw me come into an aid station during the hot afternoon.  He couldn't believe that I still had plenty of fluid in my bottles.  He had run out well before the station.   I looked at my bottles and shrugged.  I hadn't noticed, and wasn't thirsty.  Again, the slower pace just made it feel like a nice stroll in the mountains.  I really had a super time.  No pain.

Ignored the alarm at 3:45 and slept in.

Well, I did it again!  I ran a marathon before work.   I was up at 1:00 a.m. and and out the door around 1:30 a.m.   This time I ran a one-mile loop behind Rattlesnake ridge.   This loop is half dirt and half pavement.  The pavement is hilly, in a loop that is undeveloped, no houses.  I was going to do a long run instead of running in circles, but I hate hauling all the water, given the warm temperatures.  So instead I chose to do a loop again.   This loop is tougher than the one I did around rattlesnake ridge a couple weeks ago.  Even though there is some pavement, it has a little more hills.   Over the entire marathon, about 2,000 feet climb.   I chose a loop with some pavement because the moon was out.  I wanted to do this run without a flashlight and doing it half on pavement meant that I didn't have to worry about tripping if I couldn't see very well.  I ran the dirt portions by moonlight too, but was slowed someone.  I just couldn't push the pace speedy in moonlight.   But, I still finished the marathon in 4:15, which was pretty good, given the conditions.

The pavement loop is near the backs of some homes, but thankfully there weren't any dogs in the backyards so I didn't stir up any attention as I ran by 24 times.   As dawn approached a couple of deer came by and were curious as to what I was doing out there.

To count my loops, I made a pile of 24 rocks.  After each loop I moved one rock to the done pile.  That way I could keep track without thinking. much.  I had a good time and it was a great workout.

Split times

1	10:25	1.3
2	8:00
3	8:05
4	8:16
5	8:30
6	8:55
7	8:39
8	8:37
9	8:56
10	8:44
11	8:48
12	10:32
13	10:27
14	10:20
15	10:09
16	10:25
17	11:04
18	10:22
19	10:53
20	11:12
21	11:22
22	11:11
23	11:40
24	11:07
25	5:55	0.6
26.2	11:59	1.3

Ten hours of sleep last night, wow.   I guess I made up for yesterday.

I'm contemplating doing Timp repeats this weekend.   I vowed to never consider going after that stupid record again, but evil thoughts are entering my mind today.  1? 2? 3? 4? 5? 6?  Such evil thoughts.   Last time I tried this again I quit after 3.  Looks like dodging thunder storms could be a problem and it would be cold on top.   Just thoughts at this point.  The story about my 5 summits is at: http://www.crockettclan.org/blog/?p=42

Well, my evil thoughts of doing Timp repeats went away after I took a closer look at the weather forecast.  I probably could have got in three trips before the storms, but that would have shut me down.  It is too brutal to try in  bad weather.

I took a day vacation anyway.  When I got up, the morning was so beautiful and cool that I couldn't resist doing at least one trip up Timp.   I decided to push the pace harder then usual and see what I could do.   I met several people on the trail who knew me.  It is always fun to get a friendly greeting.   The wind was pretty bad, more than usual.  On the push up to the summit there were gusts of about 30 mph or more.   Going up the chimney area, the gusts were blowing up the mountain and actually blew my shirt clear up to my shoulders, almost off me entirely.  I had to tighten down my hat so it wouldn't blow away.  

Everyone going up to the summit was bundled up nicely, looked like they were heading into the arctic snow.  I was in shorts and a thin long-sleeved shirt.   One little kid warned me that it was cold and windy up there.   It wasn't a problem because I was moving so fast.  The temperature seemed pleasant most of the time.  However, I was glad that I was not attempting repeats today.  The temperature would sap energy after awhile because of the wind.

Coming down, near the chimney area, a group of goats waited to let me go, so they could go up the trail.  There were 7 of them, 3 adults and 4 cute kids.  Boy can they run across steep slopes!

I ran down pretty hard.   At one point, I passed two ladies going down.  I shouted out and gave them a warning with plenty of time, but one of the ladies had a dog on a leash.  Instead of moving to the same side of the trail with her dog, she moved to the other side and had the cord extending across the trail.  I didn't see it until it was across my neck.  Thankfully, it didn't take off my head.  I just continued on with my head attached.

I was very pleased with my pace and was certain that I could set a PR for a round trip.  I thought my PR was 3:42, so I pushed it hard enough to make sure I broke it with plenty of time to spare.  I finished in 3:36:51.   I was pleased.  But, when I went home and checked my records, I discovered that my PR was 3:35:50.   Dang, I missed it by a minute.

I reached the summit in 2:13, and my descent was 1:23.   That descent is a PR!  It didn't feel like I was pushing it very hard.  It was my 4th Timp summit for the year and my 60th career summit.

Splits:

10-minute rock	0:10:12
Scout Falls	0:21:48
switchback corner	0:43:51
Emerald Lake Trail Jct	1:23:29
Saddle	1:51:14
Summit	2:13:11
Saddle	2:26:55
Emerald Lake Trail Jct	2:42:28
switchback corner	3:07:36
Scout Falls	3:22:56
10-minute rock	3:30:11
trailhead	3:36:51

 

Well, I wasn’t really in the race, but I ran the course 25 minutes after the field started.  I waited too long to enter this race, so when I woke up this morning, I decided to drive to the mouth of Provo Canyon, run up 10 miles to the starting point, and then run the course chasing the field.

I started my run a little before 6 a.m. and ran up the Provo River Parkway.  I would climb about 1,500 feet over the ten miles to reach the start of the half marathon.   It was nice to give my ankle a break from the trails and get some speed work on the pavement.   I pretty much had the parkway to myself as I wound my way up the canyon.  I could see people setting up the aid stations. Once I reached Vivan Park, I ran along the road climbing up South Provo Fork.  The busses were coming down the road toward me.

With about 1.5 miles to go, I saw the front runners blasting down the road toward me.  I made sure I was hugging the left shoulder of the road to stay out of the way.   Then a sea of hundreds of runners came toward me covering the entire road.   I stayed way left, but still some runners weren’t paying attention, not expecting someone to be running UP the road.  I had to slow my pace to avoid head-on collisions.  Many wise-guys would tell me I was going in the wrong direction.   Several runners called out my name.   Finally the field passed by and then the walkers were gone too.  It was quiet again and a beautiful morning in the canyon.  

I continued my run up the canyon until I reached the starting line.   All was quiet, not a soul was there.  I could see a long line of porto-potties standing quiet in a row.   Without any fan-fare, I started my stop watch and was away for my half-marathon run, 25 minutes after the official start.    I could tell right away that I wouldn’t be able to sustain the usual fast pace down the canyon.  My legs already had 10 uphill miles on them and also there wasn’t anyone around to compete with, to push the pace.   Also, my run up and down Timpanogos in 3:36 yesterday could still be felt.  I decided to try to maintain a steady marathon pace.

The first few miles were disappointing because of all the trash that had been thrown down on the road by the sea of runners.   There were also tons of sweat shirts thrown here and there.  Why didn’t they use the bags that would be taken to the finish?   After about 2.5 miles, I reached the first aid station and the walkers bringing up the rear.

It was very interesting passing hundreds of runners.  First, there were the over-weight walkers, struggling down the road.   Next, came the power walkers.   Finally some runners appeared, looking like they were really struggling.   Then came the slow women runners talking non-stop to their friends, out for their usual run/walk for the morning.    Then came an amazing sea of women runners.  Where were the men?   They were all women, jogging pretty well, pushing hard enough that they were not chatting with friends.   My running pace was considerably faster.   One woman yelled out, “Hey, quit running so fast!”   I laughed and explained I started late.

On and on I went.   Down by Bridal Veil Falls, the course headed up a road for  a three-mile out and back.  The uphill was a good challenge.   I pushed the pace very hard, running about twice as fast as the runners behind me.   It was fun to see all the runners coming back toward us.  One of them called out to me.  It was my step-brother.   I’m sure he was wondering why I was running that far back in the pack.

Once heading downhill again, I pushed the speed again harder.  It was an obstacle course passing hundreds of runners.   Little by little the runners looked more fit and their pace was better, but as we reached the 11 mile-mark, I could see many runners struggling with the distance.    With only a couple miles, I pushed it hard, knowing that my 23-mile run was almost over.

As I approached the finish line, I heard my name called out a couple times.  Before I reached the finish line, I pulled off the course and hit my watch.   My time was 1:43:42.    Not bad for miles 10-23.   My pace was consistent with my average marathon pace (under 3:30 pace).  I suspect if I would have run it on fresh legs with competitors, I could have shaved off 7-8 minutes.   I enjoyed telling my tale of my morning to several friends and then ran another mile back to my car.