Philippians 4:13

5:30am...5 miles with Moxie along Sunnyside.  Legs feeling good.  (Fastwitch Red)

4:30am...4 easy miles with Moxie on a cool windy morning.  (Ride 3)

Drove to Salt Lake after the kids got off school and directly to the Murphy's for Rob's birthday party.  Great to  see Steve and his kids and Jake and Andrea.  Spent some fun times with the Murphys' then off to the hotel around 10pm.

Got up late and just ran a mile around the block and some sprints in the parking lot of the hotel while my family got ready to leave.  

Long drive to St. George.  Ate lunch, drove to our friends house and left the kids to play in the pool when we went to the expo to get my bib and drop off water bottles.  Saw some friends. 

Made a great dinner at the casitas and had some relaxation time.  Slept in the "extreme RV" in the garage...pretty nice!  

So close yet so far...here is the story! 2:32:45 so about 30 seconds slower than my 7 year old PR and did not make my 2:30 target but I am very happy with the race.  1:18:06 first half (too slow, targeting 1:16-1:17), 1:14:39 second half.

Thankful that God gave me the strength to have a really good marathon year and especially at this race!  Phillipians 4:13 "For I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength".

Got up around 3:15 and we head out the park around 4:30am.  I had coffee, pop tarts, banana and Immodium (it works!) before leaving.  Alana, Curt, Gama and I headed out and Kami was going to the bring the kids to the finish line.

We got the rec center and used the facilities then ran into the FRB gang (great to see everyone again!).  We waited for Craig and his sister and her friend and didn't see them so we headed to the buses and found them in line.  Rode up the start and then hit the PoPs.  Cool and a tail wind in Central...nice!  Warmed up a bit then dropped off bags and had to wait an additional 20 minutes to wait for the late buses...brr!  Lined up with Craig, FRB guys and other fast runners! Craig and I said a prayer and got ready to roll.

1 - 5:44  Took off easy and was running comfortably with several others.

2 - 5:58 Saw Justin and Trevor, Matt as they took off.

3 - 5:47  Still running well and controlled.  I was running with a guy named Jake who first ran SGM 20 years ago when he was 12!

4 - 5:40  Nice and contolled and trading places back and forth with a few guys.

5 - 5:47 Jason Howe passes me and we chat.  Still running easy and controlled in the nice weather.

6 - 5:36  Heading down the hill towards Vejo and just crusing.

7 - 5:32 I grab my first bottle and PowerBar Gel (the volunteers were awesome with the bottles everytime during the race and so supportive).  A little boost before the hill.  Jason stops to walk at the water station and I never see him again.  I see Reed Seamons just ahead as we hit the hill and run together for a bit before he falls back.  Another guy in white (John G) passes me and we will trade places back and forth for the rest of the race.

8 - 6:40 Patient up the hill trying not to push too hard and fry my legs.

9 - 6:16 Still running easy to conserve something for the downhills to come.

10 - 6:18 Man, the hills are getting old!

11 - 6:30  Grab my second bottle and PowerBar Gel and here some foot steps behind me, expecting it to be Jason.  It is Martin who is running well.  Puts some fear into me to push more the next mile.

12 - 6:00  Starting to run better and seeing the guy in white coming back to me.  Dropping Martin a bit and getting ready to pick it up.

13 - 5:43  A better mile and separating from Martin.  Ready to go for it and get the guy in white.  John G. is about a minute up on me at this point.

14 - 5:46  Starting down the hills ready to roll.  Legs feeling good.  I hit the half at 1:18:08 so I am about 1 1/2 minutes off my target and know the sub-2:30 is in real jeopardy but will try to go hard!

15 - 5:19  A nice mile and catch John G.  See another runner coming back!  Grab another bottle and PowerBar Gel.

16 - 5:22  Still rolling and catching the runner, the winner from the Ibigawa marathon last year.  Good crowd support through here and it is beautiful scenery.

17 - 5:35  Rolling down the hill and separating from the other runners.  Starting to get warm and dumping water over my head regularly.

18 - 5:39  Still pacing well but John G. is moving back up on me.  Still being patient.

19 - 6:07 John G. catches and passes but does not get away.  Grab another bottle and PowerBar Gel.

20 - 5:47  Roll pass John G. again and keep pushing.

21 - 5:27  Ok, nice fast mile on the dowhill.  Really pulling away from John G. now.

22 - 5:49  Dang, where did that hill come from!  I just hope John is not moving up on me.  A guy yells to me to "Go get him", get who? I can't see anyone in front of me.

23 - 5:36  Another strong mile as I roll onto Bluff St.  I now know that 2:30 is gone, but I am hoping to stay on PR pace.

24 - 5:38  Last fast mile coming into town and trying to stay strong.  Legs are starting to feel it.

25 - 5:50 I make the turn off Bluff and the wheels start to fall off.  Pushing with what I have left, afraid that I was going to get passed.  I know that I am in 3rd master and 17th and want to stay strong.  After the turn at the 24 mile mark, I look forward to see where we make a right and think "I have to run all that way?"

26 - 5:52 I make a wrong turn on 300 S looking for 400 S (mind not working so good here) and lose about 10 seconds as the spectators yell at me and get me back on course.

0.2 - 1:24  Death march.  Breathing so loud I am scaring small children and my legs feel like they are going to buckle (since they are jelly!) and I am willing myself forward to the finish line.  Trying desperately to push to make sure I keep ahead of the fast runners coming hard behind me.

Overall a really good race for me.  It was awesome to see most my friends do so well.  Craig, Curt, Alana, Alisa, Gama, Ron, Dave, Clyde, Ben, Justin, Martin, and too many more to try to name.  Several folks went for it and came up short but showed character in their efforts.

Had a good time at the finish line getting a massage and saying hi to friends and other racers.  Thanks to my family for sticking around (while desperately wanting to get back to the pool).

Afterwards relaxed by the pool then went to Craig's 40th birthday party and his house and the familes all had a great time together (kids had so much fun!).  Hit the sack early for the early departure and long drive back to IF on Sunday.

We left St. George at 5am and made the long drive home arriving at just past noon.  That worked great getting up early!  I felt good during the drive with just some minor stiffness.

Got home and the kids needed to get in their runs, so Justin took off with a friend and Katelyn, Kami and I headed to the park so Katelyn could run.  She asked me to run part of it with her so I did an easy mile with her (stiff the entire time).  We walked back home and I suddenly started feeling bad.

Early in the evening I completely shut down...everything hurt, I was light headed and feeling like I had the flu.  Went to bed around 8pm and crashed hard.  Never had that happen, especially after feeling so good to that point after the race Saturday.

Feeling very blessed by God as I look back on the marathons this year...3 sub 2:40 races with an average finishing time of 2:36:56!  First time ever having that many fast races in one year.

I felt much better when I woke up but the DOMS has really hit.  Going to be a few days before running again (especially with the work schedule this week).

Still too sore and stiff for an early run.  Maybe tonight after work or I will try tomorrow morning.  Busy work days for the next three days!

3 miles in 21:30 after work on a beautiful evening!  Legs feeling better.  (Boost)

4am...4 easy miles with Moxie along Sunnyside.  The eclipse was really cool! (Boost)

2.35 miles on the greenbelt with a couple of my customer visitors at work on a nice afternoon.  A long day of meetings (6:00am - 9:30pm) then picked up my parents at the airport at 11:30pm.  I am tired!  (Fastwitch Red)

No morning run, too tired.

5 miles after another long day of meetings in the later afternoon.  Beautiful out...slow and easy around the river.  Still very tired.  (Mirage Red)

I slept in today to catch up on sleep and went out for a run after dropping the kids off at school.  7 miles through SRL with a stop to chat with the boys at the running store.   Nice and easy pace, legs are getting better but still not fully back yet.  Afterwards some yardwork before having to go in to eat as we were starving!   (Ride 3)

Kids running in Rexburg today, hope to see them continue to improve!

6:15am...met at the running store for the group run.  Ran with Gray, Craig, Lynette (3 miles), Marlin (4 miles) on the greenbelt up to Freeman Park and back to Sunnyside then through SRL to the store.  9 miles in 1:08.

Got home and went out with the entire family.  Kami, Katelyn and Moxie dropped off (running fast!) and Justin and I finished an easy 10K having a great time talking.  That was fun!  (Fastwitch Red)

7:00am...5 easy miles with Moxie along Sunnyside on a cool morning.  (Ride 3)

5:30am...5 easy miles on a chilly (36 degrees) morning.  Left hammy really tight today.

After dropping the kids off at school, I took my truck in to the body shop to get a door repair then ran home...nice easy 5 miles through the neighborhoods.  Left hammy still sore though. (Ride 3)

Weights with Kami at the gym.

No early morning run, hammy still tight.  Run later today.

4 miles with DanS in 30:45 out on the desert.  Beautiful day, good company, very sore hamstring.  (Mirage Red)

3 miles after work through the neighborhood with Moxie to enjoy the beautiful weather. (Ride 3)

5:00am...3 slow miles, mostly to get Moxie out.  Hammy still sore. (Ride 3)

5 slow miles at lunch with a sore hammy.  Time to take a few days off.  (Mirage Red)

City XC meet today.

Skipped the morning run to rest the hamstring...plus it was 35 degrees outside, not quite up for cold weather runs yet.

6 miles in 44:30 around the greenbelt on a cool day at lunch.  Hamstring still talking to me.  (Mirage Red)

Katelyn's last XC today.

8:15am...I slept in and went for a run after dropping Katelyn off at school.  8 miles in 1:00 on a very cool morning along Sunnyside.  Just an easy run to try to get the hamstring feeling better.  (Boost)

Justin and I went to the group run at Bill's Bike and Run.  The Zoot rep was there and we ran in Zoot Solana shoes, pretty nice and a good price point!  Justin, Craig, Jeremy and I ran the first 5 miles togetehr then Jeremy and I ran another 3 miles on the loop around the greenbelt.  Jeremy took a nasty tumble about 2 miles into the run and really scrapped up his hand.

Went to coffee with Andrea and Rocky and had a good time to catch up after not seeing each other for a while.  Then I went home and got Katelyn.  We went back to the store so she could try a pair of the shoes and we ran 3 miles in SRL (she was excited to run in a different location than the neighborhood!).  Overall a great day of running with the kids and friends!  (Fastwitch Red)

Skipped the morning run as it was cold outside and I had an early flight.  Went for a run after getting to the hotel.  8 miles in 56 minutes out on Common Rd. to Roseville and back.  Cool but nice weather.  (Boost)

No morning run, pooring rain outside.  By the time it stopped it was time to go to breakfast and off to meetings.  Good meetings then a 3 hour drive to our next meeting spot.  I ran 4 miles in 28 minutes around the lake.  (Boost)

6am...ran from the hotel to the lake then did 3 loops then back to the hotel.  Slower as my left hamstring was tight.  Total of 8 miles before a day of meetings and driving to the airport area for our flight home tomorrow morning early.  Cold and windy here, so 95% sure no run tonight...beers with the boys instead.  (Boost)

4 miles after getting home from travel and before the District XC meet.  Slower (30 minutes) as my legs were tight from all the traveling. (Fastwitch Red)

4:30am...5 easy untimed miles with Moxie along Sunnyside on a cool morning.  (Ride 3)

5 very slow miles on a nice day at lunch. Hammy and glute are very sore so running may be limited the next few days.  (Mirage Red)

I was recruited and offered an elite entry into the Mountain to Fountain 15K in Fountain Hills, AZ in February!  Great race, looking to find a way to go and run and spend time with friends who live there!

6am...5 miles in 35 minutes with Moxie along Sunnyside on a beautiful morning.  Went to Community Park with Kami and ran/powerwalked for 3 miles after dropping the kids off at school.  (Ride 3)

I was asked to coach the IFXC kids interested in running NXNW in Boise in November.  

Beautiful afternoon so I went running with Justin and Katelyn.  3 miles with both kids focusing on Katelyn then 3 more with Justin in tempo mode...man he is getting fast I was having a hard time keeping up with him!  (Boost)

7am...Justin and I went to Community Park to have a group run for the NXNN kids.  We ran a mile then the kids showed up...Ben, Matthew, Andy, Albert and Oakley.  We talked for a bit then did a 7.25 mile fartlek run.  

After we got home, Katelyn and I ran 2 miles at a solid 8:30 pace through the neighborhood.  10.25 miles for the morning before a busy day...party prep, Decorating at the church then the Emotion Bowl football game tonight!  (Mirage Red)

No run as we had a busy day with family and friends for Justin's Confirmation at church today.  A great day!

4:45am...5 easy miles with Moxie on a cold morning along Sunnyside.  Hard getting out the door today, went mostly as Moxie had not had a run in a few days.  (Ride 3)

5.25 miles with the boys (Justin, Ben, Matthew, Andrew) and some with Katelyn at Community Park after work.  Hill workout for them and they did great.  My hammy and glute were pretty unhappy after the workout though.  (Fastwitch Red)

No run, hammy and glute are very mad and it was really cold outside (23 degrees).

No run this morning, still letting my leg rest.  Feeling MUCH better than yesterday (it hurt all day!).  Will decide later if I want to try to run or give it some more time (don't want to be dumb and push it unnecessarily).

3 miles with the kids at XC practice.  Mostly easy but I ran a few of the 200m intervals with them.  Hammy better but could feel it if I pushed too hard. (Boost)

No morning run, will run with the team after work at practice.

7 miles with the boys, most of the miles on the path along the canal bank...going have to run this one more often.  Hammy pretty tight tonight.  (Fastwitch Red)

8:30am...went out after taking the kids to school on a beautiful morning (calm before the on coming storm!).  7 slow miles along Sunnyside...hammy still acting up. (Boost)

3 miles through the neighborhood with Katelyn after sending the boys off on a tempo run...no way I was keeping up with them the way my hammy is feeling.  Awesome weather day...got final winterization stuff done outside before the on coming storms.  (Fastwitch Red)