Cursed Realm of the Faceless Ghost

Speedgoat 50K

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Location:

Provo,UT,

Member Since:

Apr 07, 2010

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Other

Running Accomplishments:

5K - 17:11 (Cougar Run)

10K - 34:35 (Deseret News)

15K - 57:33 (Utah Running Club)

1/2 - 1:22:26 (Mountain View Trail)

50K - 4:22:31 (Sapper Joe)

Short-Term Running Goals:

Sub-2:45 at Saint George Marathon

Win the Antelope Island half marathon

Long-Term Running Goals:

I'd like to run the Angeles Crest 100 at some point. And I'd still like to go sub-4 at a trail 50k. Other than that, I'm open to suggestions.

https://www.strava.com/athletes/4808912

Personal:

I was a competitive cyclist for years. In 2009, after racing in the Tour of Utah, I decided I had plateaued as a cyclist--I could continue to improve, but I wouldn't break through to a new level. So, I started looking for a new challenge.

I thought that challenge would be mountain biking, but I'm a terrible bike handler. I married Catherine in January 2010 and a couple of weeks later I entered the SLTC Winter Training Series with her. A couple of weeks after that I decided I'd like to run ultras, so I signed up for a couple of 50Ks to get started.

Those first races came and went, with varying results. I was looking forward to running more and possibly pushing into the longer distances, but I injured my knee in June 2010 and I've never been consistently healthy since.

I started law school in August 2010, which meant less time for training. In June 2011, Baby Elliott was born, which meant even less time for training. But she's worth it.

Baby Nora joined us in October 2013, with the same effect on training as Elliott (who, incidentally, is no longer a baby).

I (finally) finished school in April 2014 and now I'm an evil corporate lawyer in Salt Lake. I have no illusions that I'll ever get back into the shape that I once was, but I'm perfectly at peace with that. I still have many goals to accomplish and many years in which to do it.

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Miles:	This week:	0.00	Month:	0.00	Year:	0.00

Sat, Jul 30, 2011

Race: Speedgoat 50K (30.5 Miles) 07:25:48, Place overall: 31

Total Distance

30.50

Oh yes I did.

To say I was unprepared is an understatement—in fact, I didn’t hit 1,000 miles for the year until the middle of the race. Based on what I know I can do, this race was a disaster. But considering how little I’ve trained this year, I can’t help feeling like I got away with something.

The first half of the race went well—the pace mellow and I reached the turnaround comfortably in the top 20. But that was as far as my legs were willing to take me. There were highs and lows, but my second half of the race felt like a train wreck in slow motion. The second climb up to the tram on Hidden Peak was one of the most painful things I’ve ever done. By the time I crossed the finish line in 7:25 and change, I was so ready to stop running.

I’m sorry for the short report. I’m still trying to revive my personal blog, so I’m going to post a full report there in the next few days. I’ll post a link here when I do.

MT101 Miles: 30.50

Weight: 0.00

Comments

From jsh on Mon, Aug 01, 2011 at 13:24:39 from 63.253.43.114

Nice job out there! That race is no joke. I was out on course directing traffic and I think I saw you when you came through Larry's Hole the second time. Yellow shirt? Thought you looked strong, but sounds like you were having a rough go at it.

From Scott Wesemann on Mon, Aug 01, 2011 at 13:54:29 from 66.239.250.209

Way to grind it out on the second half. That is still a very good time. How is the knee feeling now post race?

From Kelli on Mon, Aug 01, 2011 at 14:13:48 from 71.219.99.3

Nice job, way to tough it out. look forward to reading the entire report when you write it up!

From jun on Mon, Aug 01, 2011 at 23:50:28 from 174.23.190.7

Super Champ. Way to go man. Glad to see you back out racing. Let's go running! Hey, when does school start up again?

From Faceless Ghost on Wed, Aug 03, 2011 at 18:17:07 from 208.106.17.146

Full report is up at http://facelessghost.blogspot.com/2011/08/2011-speedgoat-50k-so-not-cool.html

JSH: Yes, I was in yellow. Sorry I missed you out there. I actually managed to pull things together a bit for the climb out of Larry's Hole, but the wheels came off for good on the descent immediately after.

Scott: I had plenty of twinges in my knee, but so for it seems to be holding up.

Jun: School starts at the end of the month. We definitely need to run before then. I'm out of town through this weekend, but how about the next?

From Aaron Kennard on Thu, Aug 04, 2011 at 01:18:09 from 65.38.139.139

Sounds intense. I'm impressed you attempted it in the first place with the training being so sporadic with the knee. That's cool that it held up. Nice job finishing even without any wheels.

From jun on Thu, Aug 04, 2011 at 10:46:41 from 205.158.160.209

The next weekend is Quest for King's. Can you make it out? Even if you drive up the morning of, it would be great to have you up there.

From Faceless Ghost on Fri, Aug 05, 2011 at 01:15:58 from 66.248.44.122

Jun--I'm hoping to see you and Aaron at King's, but right now it's a long shot. I'll do what I can.

And if I do run, I'll be sure to let you know *before* I head up this year :)

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