Old Man Still running

Recovery going very well.  The foot seems fine, we'll see in a couple days.  I have a couple blisters healing, nothing very bad.  Quads a little sore, but I can jog down stairs already.

So, my 35th 100-mile finish is in the books (see list on the left).  Of my seven Bear 100 attempts, this was by far my best race.  With a very competetive race this year, I finished in the top 16%.  This was also my 11th straight 100 finishing in under 30 hours.  I've never before finished two in under 30 hours two weeks apart before this.  One more number, 17th straight 100 without a DNF. OK, just one more:  My 64th ultra finish in just over six years.

Bouncing back. Feel much better today.  Appetite back. 

Spent time looking at my performance and was pleased with how well I ran the last 25 miles.  That usually is my huge problem.  In the chart below you can see the improvement for each split compared to last year.  The Franklin split should have been at least 10 minutes faster, I cruised, but I lost the time due to the wrong turn.

	miles	2010 goal	2008	2009	2010	split delta
Start	0	0:00
Logan Peak	10.5	2:30	2:42	2:33	2:23	-10
Leatham Hollow	19.7	4:00	4:20	4:10	3:59	-1
Richards Hollow	22.5	4:35	4:58	4:44	4:33	0
Cowley Canyon	30	6:20	7:15	6:38	6:23	-4
Right Hand Fork	36.9	7:50	9:01	8:06	7:51	0
Temple Fork	45.2	9:45	11:12	10:09	9:48	-6
Tony Grove	51.8	12:00	13:18	12:17	12:04	8
Franklin TH	61.5	14:30	16:30	14:51	14:37	-1
Logan River	69.5	16:50	19:42	17:12	17:09	9
Beaver Lodge	75.8	19:00	22:17	20:15	19:27	-43
Gibson Basin	81.2	20:45	24:52:00	22:15	21:10:00	-17
Beaver CG	85.3	21:50	25:52:00	23:28	22:10:00	-13
Ranger Dip	92.2	24:10:00	28:21:00	25:57:00	24:22:00	-17
Finish	100	26:00:00	30:51:00	28:21:00	26:30:45	-16

My total time in the aid stations was 60 minutes.  I'm pleased with that.   It was 40 minutes faster than last year.

Continued good recovery.  Not yet ready to run.  Thoughts drifting toward running Pony Express Trail 100 in 17 days.  Looks like we will have at least 50 runners.  Fun times.

I've posted my Bear 100 report at: http://www.crockettclan.org/blog/?p=463

I wanted to greet Karl Meltzer as he approached the Wasatch Front on his epic end-to-end run of the Pony Express Trail.  I had a little trouble finding him because he took a wrong turn at Fairfield, but after a quick call to jun, who checked the spot tracking online, he helped me figure out where he was.   I parked my car when I saw the RV's in the distance and ran back and surprised Karl.

He was in great spirits and seemed to enjoy the company as I ran with him across Cedar Valley.  I enjoyed hearing about his adventures thus far.  Lots of crazy mishaps with his crew, navigation challenges.  He's anxious to arrive home this afternoon in Sandy and will take tomorrow off because of media appointments.

His pace is good, averaging about 5 mph, but for a good portion he ran 10-minute miles.  After seven miles, I was beat, still not fully recovered from the Bear.   I let him know who won the Bear this year and how it all went.

He seemed to enjoy the run through western Utah.   He ran through my Pony Express 100 route during the last couple days.   I awarded him the first Pony Express Trail 100 belt buckle.  He got a kick out of that.

As we ran, his eyes were on Lone Peak in the distance.  He kept commenting how it was coming closer and closer.  That was his target for arriving home.  For the rest of Utah, he plans to leave the trail a bit and run on trails for awhile.  I'm sure the dirt road and pavement pounding is getting to him.  When I ran with him, he would seek out the dirt and even grassy shoulders to run on.   His feet are doing great and Hokas holding up very well.

It was a fun morning.

Four on the treadmill, hated it, the  rest outside.  Trying to feel comfortable with 7:30 pace.

p.m. Three more miles with the dog after staring at a computer for eight hours helping broadcast general conference on the Internet.  Morning session was interesting because they had audio configured wrong at the pulpit, no sound for first 20 minutes from speakers.  Users kept refreshing their browsers over and over again slamming our servers.  Fun times.

Knee a little sore...over-use pain.   Guess I'll have to rest.   Thats the way it goes.