Cursed Realm of the Faceless Ghost

More treadmill miles on limited time at the gym tonight. I ran a five mile progression run (of sorts) in 32:58 and rounded the workout off with a very easy mile.

42:20

Catherine and I went in for another ultrasound this morning. It was at the lst one, four weeks ago, that we discovered Catherine's heart problem that led to our stay in the hospital. Which means it's been three weeks since Catherine has been on the calcium channel blocker. At the last visit, Baby's abdominal growth was in about the 40th percentile. Now it's in the 20th. The doctor today told us that there's still no reason to think the medicine is responsible, although it may be, and that we don't need to worry about Baby's size until she drops below the 10th percentile. But we're worried--that's a big drop in a short time. We're going in to see a perinatal specialist on Tuesday, but until then ... who knows?

WTF, BYU?

(The F is for flip.)

1:04:00

A bit of half a mile on, half a mile off at the gym.

34:50

If there's one thing I've been missing from my routine, it's trail running. Because the weather was so nice today, I decided to head up to Grove Creek this evening for a short out and back along the BST. When I got there, I changed my mind and decided to do an out and back up the canyon to the bench. It was a beautiful run--the weather was nice, the sun was setting, and the trail was in great shape, with only a few muddy spots and some packed snow and ice higher up. I made it up (1500 feet and just over 2 miles) in a not-awful 24:32, then spent a few minutes on the bench to catch my breath and enjoy the view before bombing back down in 14:05. You know that feeling when you use muscles you haven't used in a long time? I had a bit of that going on--I haven't run down steep hills in ages, and my quads were trashed. I guess that means I'll need to make a point of running the canyon more frequently, now that Old Man Winter is retreating. I'm looking forward to it. 

38:37 

I would have loved to join Jun and co. for their long run on Fubfalo Island this morning, but unfortunately I didn't have time. Which probably turned out to be a good thing, because if I had gone I don't think it would have been anything short of a disaster, considering how my much shorter run on the BST went this morning. 

When I finally started for real (after two false starts--I returned to the car once to leave my hat and another time to when I realized I had forgotten my handheld), I felt off almost immediately. In fact, about two miles out, as I was climbing away from Battle Creek, I stopped and strongly considered turning around. It's always a bad sign when you start to bonk after fifteen minutes. (Note to self: eat more.) I ate a gel and decided to go at least as far as Dry Creek, because I'd get at least six miles if I went that far before turning around, and I felt better by the time I got there. Not good, but better enough that I decided to keep going.

My plan was to run the BST into Orem, continue up the Little Baldy trail past the Altar, and then follow trail 51 into either Dry Creek or Battle Creek. Unfortunately, the Little Baldy trail was still covered in snow and I lost it somewhere below the Altar and had to turn around and settle for an out and back. It was a slow slog back to the car at Grove Creek, but I was steady, and according to the Garmin, I picked up somewhere from 2200 to 2500 feet of vertical. All in all it was a satisfying run, although I hope next week's long run goes much better.   

Sadly enough, I think this may have been my longest run of the year.  

2:13:36

Wow. So, those trail miles this weekend destroyed my quads. I guess it's been way too long since I ran down a proper hill. Accordingly, I limited myself to a short treadmill run this evening. Then I went and played basketball with my brother.

34:35

I made it to the gym late tonight, as is usually the case these days. I made it through nine steady miles on the flat before I got bored and decided it was time to go home so I could finish my homework and get to bed at a reasonable time. It's strange to think that I used to average about ten miles per day during the week, as recently as last semester.

On the plus side, we went and saw a specialist this afternoon, and it looks like there's no reason to be worried about Baby right now.

I made it out for another quick out and back up Grove Creek Canyon this evening. I brought a headlamp along, just in case, but I was able to finish the run before daylight ran out, although just barely. The trail was in great shape, even after the rain and snow earlier this week, but there was a lot of snow in the last quarter mile to the bench. Because I was the first to break trail, I finished the climb in 26:20, much slower than last time. I descended in 16:50, even slower, because of the snow at the top and the low light at the bottom. 

43:10

I had an intramurals basketball game tonight. It was the first round of the playoffs, and we crushed the other team (the Crushers, ironically) by more than 20 points. I attribute the sudden turnaround to two things: 1) we played much better than we have in our other games, and 2) we only had seven players, and we couldn't have built a stronger seven-player team from our thirteen-man roster. 

Catherine and I celebrated our victory with my brother at J-Dawgs. The festivities were dampened somewhat by our discovery that J-Dawgs has gotten rid of the amazing root beer they had in the soda fountain and replaced it with Mug, but we still had a good time.

Catherine and I went to AF High to run on the track almost immediately after we ate. I felt as good as you might expect someone to feel while running with two cups of root beer, one and a half hot dogs, and all the associated sauce, pickles, onions and peppers in his stomach. Fortunately, I felt better as I went, but I decided to call it quits after a little more than five miles. Of course, it wasn't just the food--basketball does something to your legs that running doesn't.

38:45

After our surprising and dominant (surprisingly dominant) intramurals victory last night, my brother and I were under the impression that we'd be playing again tomorrow. That turned out to be wrong, but by the time I had figured that out I had already made plans to take advantage of my light Friday schedule and do my long run today. So, I dropped Catherine off at the bus this morning and then headed up to Grove Creek Canyon. 

I had no actual plan for my run this morning, so I started with an out and back up the canyon to the bench. There was less snow up there than there was on Wednesday, but what remained was slick and bulletproof. Even so, I finished the climb in a not terrible 26:25. I made a leisurely descent, and on my way back down I thought about just running laps up the canyon. I had convinced myself that that was the way to go, but when I got back to my car to drop off some layers I changed my mind and headed south on the BST. By that point I was thinking I would run an out and back to the Orem trailhead and finish with another lap up the canyon if I felt like it. But when I got to Dry Creek I changed my mind and headed up the canyon to Trail 51 to scout a route for next weekend. Bad idea.

The trail conditions went from sloppy to impassable so gradually that by the time I realized I should turn around I was at the halfway point and it made just as much sense to keep going. For some reason, there are still massive amounts of snow up there, despite all the direct sunlight. The only explanations I can think of are that 1) the snow builds up in deep drifts along that trail, and 2) the trail is much higher up than I thought. Whatever the explanation, I was postholing through knee- to thigh-high snow for way longer than I would have liked to. After more than an hour during which I covered just over two miles, I emerged in Battle Creek Canyon with bloody shins and soaked and frozen hands and feet. I was hoping the Battle Creek trail would be in similar condition to the Dry Creek and Grove Creek trails, but no such luck. Battle Creek is probably the coolest of the three canyons, but it also gets the least sun, and winter isn't nearly as quick to retreat. Add in some super technical singletrack and two numb feet, and the going was slow.

At one of the many bridge crossings near the bottom, I overtook two girls and a guy hiking down the canyon. The guy and one of the girls were on the other side of the bridge were waiting for their friend, who was slowly picking her way across. I could tell she was nervous, so I stood back and waited for her to cross before crossing myself. But then her friend told her there was a runner behind her, so she looked back, saw me, got startled, slipped, fell on her butt, and started crying. Awkward.

Anyways, from there to the bottom of the canyon the trail widened into a dirt road that was covered with enough clear ice that it felt more like a skating rink than a trail. I moved over and ran through the bushes on the shoulder, which allowed me to make it down without further incident. From the mouth of the canyon it was a short run back to the car, and I was so glad to be done.

In short, 13 miles in just under three hours. The appeal of mountain running is the adventure, but it doesn't always work to your advantage.

I had planned to run on the road today, but after yesterday's fiasco I thought I would try for another trail run today. So, I headed up to Grove Creek Canyon and did my usual out and back on the BST to Orem.  I still didn't feel very great, but I felt better than I have for the last few weeks. Also, the trails down low are in better shape every day, and there was very little mud out there this morning.

Unfortunately, my Garmin battery died shortly after the turnaround, so I don't know how long the run took. I do know it was 42:45 to the turnaround, and I think I was faster on the return. 

I took advantage of the longer days and went over to Grove Creek Canyon right after I got home for a quick out and back to the bench. Up in 24:32 and down in 13:19. After I picked Catherine up I went over to AF High with her and we jogged an easy mile together on the track. Tigger ran with us, and he was incredibly annoying. Such a sissy dog sometimes.

Out and back on the BST from Battle Creek to Dry Canyon. Meh. It gets darker earlier than I thought, so I ran less than I planned. Also, I had no energy. Evening is not the best time for me to run, I guess.

So, my knee is starting to hurt again. It seems that every time I come back from the knee injury, I'm in the game for less time before the knee sends me back out. Anyways, hopefully this is a twinge that won't progress into anything more. After all, I'm already out of shape for the Buffalo Run. It doesn't seem fair that I should have to race injured, too. 

I did an hour on the stairs at the gym tonight, then I did my lateral strengthening thingies and rolled out my IT band.

Another hour on the stairs tonight.

I'm still afraid to run on my knee, especially if I have any hope of showing up at the Buffalo Run. But, I needed a long run today, soooo . . . three hours on the stair machine. It was as exciting as it sounds.

A weird workout at the gym today. The majority of the time I spent either walking or running very slowly, but I threw in a bunch of intervals of varying lengths and at varying speed. My knee felt okay--there was still the pain, but it didn't seem to get worse, so I guess that's not a bad thing.

1:34:30

I guess I'm tapering this week. I'm not sure how valuable a taper is when you haven't put in the miles beforehand, but I guess I'm about to find out. Anyways, 4.5 miles on the treadmill, alternating between a quarter mile at 5:00 and a half mile at 8:30 for five reps.

33:30

One hour on the stair stepper, easy and steady.

What a beautiful day. I managed to get outside for a quick five mile out and back on the BST. If you ask me, one of the best reasons to stay in shape is so that you can get out on the trails on a day like this. Unfortunately, it looks like tomorrow won't be quite as nice.

30 minutes on the stair stepper before school this morning. I'll probably jog a couple of miles tomorrow morning, but other than that I'm done until I "race" on Saturday. Hoping the weather clears by then.

No miles today. I've been worried enough about my knee and its ability to survive 32 miles tomorrow that I decided I'd feel better just not running today. 

I've also been worried about running a 50K when 1) I'm so clearly not ready and 2) I should probably be using the time to prepare for finals. I did come up with a brilliant solution to the latter, though. I'll be running with my ipod tomorrow, but instead of hawt club jamz I'll be listening to West's Sum & Substance lecture series on criminal law. The best part is that the professor is Professor Dressler, some dude at Ohio whom I've never met but who wrote my cassebook.

So, if you see me absentmindedly run off the trail and into the lake or something tomorrow, don't follow. It just means I'm distracted by deep mysteries such as the difference between intentional omissions and voluntary acts and the hypothetical kiddie-crushing machine. Good times.

Note to self--faking it for 50K is no fun at all.

Here's an important principle: you can't get any more out of a taper than you put into the training preceding it. So although my legs felt pretty great this morning after a week of taking it easy (or easier than usual), I knew that I was in for a long, rough day. But to keep a positive outlook, things did go much better than I probably had a right to expect.

Going into the race, I knew that the goals I had set last year--sub 4:00 being chief among them--were completely out the window. When I set them I didn't know I would be in law school and I didn't know I would spend so much time dealing with knee injuries (I did have an idea that a baby would be on the way). So, I went into the race with a much more modest set of goals: 1) finish, 2) sub 5:00, 3) beat last years time (4:32:37). And really, two out of three isn't bad.

Catherine had volunteered to help out at the race, so we made it to the island at 7:00. While Catherine tried to find out what they needed her to do (not much, as it turned out), I went to sign in and pin my number on. We ran into Lily at the start tent, since she was also volunteering. I hate to think how early she must have had to get up to get there from Spanish Fark.

When the race started, I got busy ignoring everyone around me. I knew that my only way to survive out there was to completely ignore the other runners and focus on running my own race with out getting drawn into any sort of competition. (I mean, it's not like we're racing out there, right?) As I said I would do yesterday, I had loaded my ipod with law school material, so as everyone else chatted and settled into their pace, I was busy reviewing the differences between civil law and criminal law. I soon found myself in no man's land, just behind a rapidly disappearing group of about six very fast runners and out ahead of just about everyone else besides two guys who would end up yo-yoing with me for most of the first lap.

The first lap went surprisingly well. I kept the effort steady, running all the hills with no problem at all, and I was back at the start in just under two hours, faster than I was last year. Unfortunately, I also knew that the second lap was going to be a completely different animal. I think my longest run of the year before today was about 16 miles, so every step after the turnaround took me deeper into uncharted waters. I held together on the first climb, passing a runner who had caught up to me at the turnaround and left while I was eating, talking to Catherine, and stalling in general, but after a couple of miles my legs were trashed. And by trashed I mean destroyed.

I walked the hill into the aid station, and I as I was hobbling down the hill away from it the runner I had passed passed me, and so began the rest of my race. Hobbling down hills, walking up them, and shuffling across the flats. A runner with a serious Geoff Roes lookalike thing caught me at the top of Elephant Head (I think he was Bryon Powell, the irunfar guy), and as I was hobbling down a hill after my second pass through the aid station, I got chicked by a woman who was absolutely bombing the thing. (I'm pretty sure she would have beat me last year, too.) By my count, that made me the tenth place 50K runner.

The rest of the run was a death march. I walked a bit, but I was able to keep running most of the time, which was an improvement over last year (when, although I blew up later, I blew up harder). By the time I had gotten to the last mile and a half, I had had enough of Professor Dressler's crim law lectures, so when he finished with unintentional manslaughter and moved on to forcible rape I yanked the ear buds out and called it quits. At least the rest of the run was educational.

As I descended that stupid, miserable last hill to the finish line, I just focused on getting to the end so I could sit down and temporarily retire from running forever (you know, until I forget all the pain a few days later). But as I came into the final half mile or so, I looked back and saw another 50K runner less than 10 feet behind me. Seriously? I mean, seriously, we have to race now? After nearly 32 miles and a pretty thorough butt-kicking, I had no desire to put forth any kind of effort. But I also knew that if I let him pass me I wouldn't be able to salvage the day by saying I had finished in the top 10 (although I still need to confirm that on the official results). So I decided to at least make him work for it. I hit the afterburners, he didn't respond (I don't think he even knew I was a 50K runner), and I sailed across the line at about 6:00 per mile. It makes me think that maybe I wasn't as physically trashed as I had thought, and that maybe my problem was largely mental. Lesson learned.

(Here I am. And there he is in the white shirt.)

Anyways, based on last year's run at Sapper Joe, I know I'm capable of running this course much faster, but I haven't put in the miles. With that in mind, though, I think I acquitted myself nicely. I only hope my knee can forgive me.

Update: The unofficial results are on the website. It looks like I was actually 11th overall and 4th in my age group (and there were some very fast people in my age group). Also, it looks like they think I'm 25. Also also, the chick who chicked me was North Face runner Nikki Kimball (http://www2.thenorthface.com/na/athletes/athletes-NK.html).

Saturday's race was my third 50K. After the first and the second, I was so sore that I couldn't walk comfortably for a couple of days afterward, so it's surprising how un-sore I feel right now. Unfortunately, I do have some injury-style pain. First, as I expected, my knee is not happy with me right now. And second, my right foot is killing me. I've had on and off problems with that foot ever since I decided it would be a good idea to wear my MT100s on the rock-strewn Sapper Joe course. In fact, given the nature and location of the pain, I sometimes wonder if I gave my self a minor stress fracture that never healed properly. Whatever the issue is, it's usually not enough to slow me down after I've loosened up.

Anyways, to ensure that the Buffalo Run helps me more than it hurts me, I've decided to take it very easy this week. My plan right now, which, of course, is subject to change, is to cross train all week. This way, I can give my knee and my foot a chance to recover without neglecting my cardiovascular system. If all feels well by the end of the week, I'm hoping to get out for a 10+ mile trail run on Saturday. Weather permitting, of course.

Today, I got up early and went to the gym to lift weights. I went back to the gym with Catherine in the evening and we did a beginning spin class. Unsurprisingly, it was much easier than the advanced class. The workout was not difficult, but I felt pretty tired, which made me realize just how much Saturday took out of me. Still, it was a good way to shake out my legs.

One hour on the stairstepper at a very mellow pace.

We had an ultrasound this morning and a visit with the OB this afternoon. Baby is still small in the abdomen, but she hasn't gotten any smaller (proportionally), so it looks like everything is fine. As of now, she has a little abdomen and a big head. Which I assume means our girl is going to be either a skinny little brainiac or a bobblehead.

I'm having a hard time telling if me knee is mostly fine or if it's killing me. I guess that doesn;'t make much sense.

Anyways, I went to the gym for more stair-stepping action tonight. Twenty minutes in the middle at tempo and the rest super easy. Afterward, I spent about fifteen minutes stretching and strengthening the IT band. I want to be able to run trails worry-free again.

Not much time tonight, and I'm going for a longer run with Jun tomorrow, so I just went to the gym to do my Friday lifting a day early. I also walked a 15:00 mile on the treadmill at a 10 percent grade in the spirit of warming up and doing something training related.