Run fast

Run through Holladay.  6:38 / mile.

I had to run on the track today for a self assessed fitness test.  I ran over to Highland High but quickly realized that the track is under construction.  Apparently the city forgot to tell me. :)  I felt that I had to do the test today so I continued on to East.  Did one 300 meter (odd distance I know) in 51 secs and a 1.5 mile in 8 mins.  If I didn't have to run to East I would have been MUCH faster.  Yeah right.  Anyway, it was good to get my heart rate up and to run in circles. 

5.5 miles at 7:30 pace, 1.5 at 5:30, 4 at about 6

3.7 miles to and from gym at about 7:30

15 mins at .5% incline (10 mins at 5:25 and 1 mile at 5 min pace)

5 minute mile was hard but not death.  Felt good.

They aren't kidding about the crack of dawn. The race started at 6 AM at the Little Dell parking lot, ascended Little Mountain, down Emigration Canyon and ended at This Is The Place Monument. It's probably not the best warm-up for the Steeplechase but at least I got in some good threshold miles and beat up my knees a little bit. Barry "The Lung" Makarewicz (cross country, runner, triathlete) took second in about 58.  He is 47 years old and will probably kick my butt next week in the Steeplechase.

As for the race, the second mile to the top of Little Mountain was rough and for the rest I just tried to let gravity do its trick and keep my legs churning.  Although nobody was around me I did manage to make the finish memorable and now I am sure the people in the finishers shoot think I am crazy.  When I crossed the line my garmin totaled only 9.92.  I couldn't be shorted the .08 so after they pulled my bib I sprinted into the parking lot until I got to 10.  Considering this minor delay I am certain that my last mile would have been sub 5.  

My chip time was 54:16 but I think it should be closer to my garmin time of 54:47.  Of course 16 looks better so that's what I put for my Race Time. :)

Day at the gym.  Probably lost 8 pounds of water.

Ran around Sugar House.  I love the rain!

Although the race tomorrow is up a mountain I still did my pre race warm-up on the treadmill.

1 warm up, 3 at 5:52, .5%, 2%, and 3% incline.

Except for the early start I can't wait!

You know it's a great course when the garmin goes haywire and one of my splits (mile 7) is slower than my 5k time.  The website claims the course is 17.5 miles with 9000 ft of elevation loss and gain.  My garmin fell short on both but that's probably because the hills were sooooo steep and there were many sharp turns. 

I think it worked to my advantage that I haven't run this race since 2003 because I didn't realize what I was getting myself into.  Those hills seemed to never stop and they just got steeper and steeper.  Then once the hills were over I got to risk my life climbing over crags then risk my life again (as Jun (Craig) can attest with his war wounds) descending the back side of the mountain. 

The race was an adventure to say the least full of tripping, falling, hiking, running, and trying not to let the wheels fall off.  I led for the first 4 or 5 miles until I was passed by Evan from Idaho Falls on a really steep hill.  Over the next couple of miles he distanced himself enough so that he had about a 2 minute lead at the summit.  At that point I didn't think I would see him again because he was obviously stronger on the climbs and he also seemed to have plenty of speed to go with it (come to find out he ran a 15:10 5k in college).  However, after descending for a couple of miles out of nowhere Evan rejoined the trail and I was again in the lead.  Apparently he took a wrong turn, which probably cost him at least 2 minutes.  From the point where he rejoined me up until 1 mile from the finish (probably about 6 miles), the gap between us was never more than 10 ft.  I pounded the downhills in an attempt to drop him but he never budged.  Then as I suspected he surged with a mile left and my already decimated legs couldn't respond.  He finished about 15 seconds ahead of me but really he beat my by about 2 mins because of the detour he took on the descent.  Despite losing to him I am glad we were able to run side by side because I am sure I wouldn't have run that fast or hard if I was alone.  I hope I helped him push the pace too.  At the finish I immediately jumped in the conveniently located creek in Memory Grove.  Hopefully the cold water will help the knees I just abused for 2+ hours. 

To cap off the day I also got to meet Jon and Craig, albeit very briefly.  I hope you guys had a good time!

Found a window in the weather and road my bike up Emigration.  Legs are feeling better than expected.

Hmmm....more sore than I was yesterday.  Maybe more of the rowing machine and bike tomorrow.

Tried running for the first time since Saturday. My legs remember how but they weren't very happy. Maybe tomorrow will be better.

Tried out the treadmill again.  Better than yesterday but not great.  The people in the gym are probably getting sick of me so tomorrow I will need to go outside.

Ran around Sugar House and then two fast miles at the gym.

Felt sick the last few days but I think I am back on track. 6:31 pace

Isn't it annoying to have to run behind cars because you know they won't look both ways before pulling out of a driveway or intersection? Sometimes I want to run in front just so they get the point but then I realize I would be the who would die if they didn't see me.

6:20 pace on treadmill.  Last two about 5:30

Woke up late.  Oops.  Last mile in 5:15

Will I ever wake up feeling like I want to run?  Felt ok once I got going.  6:30 pace.

Bike ride tomorrow.

Road up Big Mountain with my sister in about 2:47.  Perfect day to ride.