I'm retired from racing. Really.

AM- 6 easy miles.

PM- Wow, what a day.  I woke up at 4 am for my morning run, then quickly got ready for work and ate breakfast.  Then off to work.  When I got home, I immediately left with Marci for her doctor's appointment, after which we did some major shopping and I grabbed a piece of greasy pizza for dinner.  Finally got home at 8 pm.  Left on my evening run just after 8:30 pm- ran to the end of the canal and back, 10 miles, exactly 34:45 each way (6:57  pace) with 2 potty breaks in a 2 mile period.  Lots of bugs on the run, including the annoying catepillars that hang from a thread and get all over your clothes.  I'm finding them all over me still. 

Just got home now at 10 pm.  I have to take a quick shower and go to bed- and I have to be awake in under 6 hours to do it all again tomorrow.  I'm tired.  I'm really looking forward to the arrival of our second kid sometime in the next 10 days, so I can sleep more and have more family and running time.  Most people don't associate a new baby with more sleep, but it will be for me.

767- 250, Adrenaline- 354

5 easy miles this morning.  I had a run-in with a skunk- I was crossing a narrow footbridge when I saw something dark coming towards me.  It got within about 15-20 feet- close enough that I could see its white stripe even though it was 4:30 am and there were no lights nearby and no moon.  I quickly retreated backwards.  He followed.  I retreated.  He followed.  By this point I was in a big field, but he kept coming right towards me.  I eventually swung a very wide loop around him and continued on my way, but kept freaking myself out the rest of the run- every stick became a snake, every rock became, well, something not rock-ish.  Needless to say, my heart got a better workout than my legs.  My knee was rather painful, though, so I cut my run 1 mile short so I would have time to ice it before leaving for work.

768- 11

One nice thing about this time of year- my mileage is low enough that I don't have to run twice a day, every day, to meet my mileage goals.  This gives me a fair amount of flexibility in when I run.  I had planned to run 10 miles last night and 6 this morning, with 0 tonight and only one run Friday.  I bagged my run last night and this morning, but will do 10-12 tonight and add on 4 easy Friday afternoon, which will still give me my 77 mpw.  I won't be able to do this once I get up to 90+ mpw, but enjoy the flexibility right now by essentially being able to shift my 2 easy days/week around.

PM- 10 miles, end to end on river trail in a 50 deg sprinkle.  I felt great and was moving fast without working too hard- 37:30 up (about 30 sec/mile faster than normal), 34:00 down.  7:08 pace overall- pretty good for that trail, maybe my fastest ever.  I tried to set a personal record on the last 2 miles (actually about 1.85) for that course from the end of the singletrack to the cars- I can't find it in my blog, but I lowered my record from 11:15 to 10:50 to 10:30 two years ago.  Today I ran in 10:37- I was hoping to set my record but didn't have it in me.  Good workout.

806- 434

12 miles from my house to the canal and just into the mouth of Logan canyon.  Cody caught me on his bike at 3.5 miles and he rode with me till I turned around at miles 6 (he complained that I killed his avg bike pace).  Pretty decent pace today- 40:20 out (6:43 pace) and 38:45 back (6:27 pace)- 1:19:05 total, 6:35 pace.  Felt good, normal knee pain.

Adrenaline- 366

AM- 5 very slow, easy, tired miles.

PM- 6 easy miles with the jogging stroller.

767- 255

768- 17

Today I finally did a run that I have wanted to do for a long, long time- DJJ.  In other words, Double Jardine Juniper (http://www.utahmountainbiking.com/trails/jardine.htm).  JJ is one of my absolute favorite trails, but I have never done it 2 times in a row.  The trail is ~10 miles round trip, with 1850 feet ascent on the way out and 1850 descent on the way back- pretty technical on some of it.  Cody volunteered to come with me- he was on bike.  Normal time for the trail is 1:20-1:23, with my all time fastest of 1:18:30.  I was hoping to do both trips in under 2:50.

Great morning for a run- 40 deg or so, a bit breezy.  We started early- I left my house at 5:30 am to pick up Cody.  First time up was a moderate-to-hard pace.  I hit the start of the loop (mile 4) in 41:47 (10:26 pace- pretty typical for that climb) and did the 1.5 mile loop at the top in 13:23 (8:55 pace).  The trail was very muddy in many locations and really slowed me down- I think I did half the run with a pound of mud stuck to each shoe.  Then comes the fun downhill- 4 miles in 30:24.  I was moving at a decent clip but definitely wasn't going all out.  Total time first run was 1:25:35 (8:33 pace).  Oh, and I beat Cody- he arrived about a minute after me!  Score one for the runners!

Took a little break, got a drink and ate some food, then it was on to round 2.  Cody dropped out and did some biking in the area- he didn't want to fight the mud again.  I was definitely tired on the climb but really pushed the pace- 39:56 to the 4 miles spot, 9:59 pace.  Ran the loop in 12:06 (8:04 pace).  Then I really kicked it on the whole downhill- I was going all out the whole way, almost twisting my ankle and running into branches a bunch of times.  24:52 for the downhill (6:13 pace).  It was awesome and I was pooped.  1:16:56 for the second lap.  That means I went 1:34 faster than my old record!  Pretty amazing supposing I set my all time record after already having run 10 miles.  It was so much fun!  Oh, and my run down the second time was only 3.5 minutes slower than Cody's descent (on a bike with almost 2000' downhill).  2:42:31 totat time, 8:07 avg.

Great fun today- it was as great as I had hoped.

Ascend- 282

5 miles early this morning.  It was rather chilly out.

PM- 11 miles with the jogging stroller.  Windy and warm- almost 80 deg.  Aiming for 75+ miles this week but I really don't know how many I will get each day since daughter #2 should be arriving any day now- she is due June 11.

Adrenaline- 371

768- 28

AM- 5.5 easy miles.  Much warmer than yesterday.

PM- 6 easy miles in 43:13 (7:12 pace).

768- 34

Adrenaline- 376

Woke up at 4 am for my morning run only to find my wife in the bath, trying to make the pains of her contractions go away.  Sure enough, I bagged the run and work and we headed to the hospital.  At 1:48 PM, Aspen Marie Allen entered the world.  Mom and baby are great. 

Finally snuck in a run at 8 pm- did 10 miles to the canal.  Out at 7 min pace, back at 6:30 pace.  Last mile was 6:20.  Back to the hospital now.

767- 265

Forgot this story yesterday- I tried to convince Marci Tuesday night to go beat the Fast Running Mommy's "100 m dash while 40 weeks pregnant and partly dialated" record but she was not at all interested.  So the record is safe... for now.

AM- Left the hospital and drove straight to Green Canyon.  Attention all Logan FRB trail runners (i.e. me)- NEW GREEN CANYON TRAIL!!!  NEW GREEN CANYON TRAIL!!!  Courtesy of the National Forest Service and National Trails Day, we now have new trail in Green Canyon for the 2nd year in a row!  This one isn't awesome singletrack like last years, but I won't complain.  New trail runs on the north side of the road from the end of Bonneville Shoreline trail up to the main parking lot.

Ran 10.5 miles on Green Canyon.  It was a bit cold but perfect trail running conditions.  The upper singletrack was very muddy, puddly, slick, and sloppy- in other words, perfect trail running conditions.  I got up higher and entered the frost zone- the plants were frosty and the mud and puddles were frozen- in other words, perfect trail running conditions.  Then I got up even higher and hit the snow zone from this week- snow everywhere!  In other words, perfect trail running conditions.  The best part was I didn't see a single human being on my whole run!  Run was quick but not pushed- 10 miles in 1:17:25, pretty good for a trail.

PM- 8 easy miles on the Logan Canyon river trail. 

806- 444, Ascend 290

6.5 easy miles on a canal trail near the hospital.  Easy day today, so no second run. 

I saw something very pretty on the run- there were dandelions that had their seeds all ready to blow in the wind.  But it frosted last night, so they each had a small amount of very white frost frozen on them.  They looked like very beautiful, brilliantly-white, fluffy balls of snow.

Ascend- 297

Baby Details: Aspen Marie Allen was born at 1:48 pm on June 11, 7 lb 2.5 oz (the EXACT same as her sister), 20 in.  Mom and baby are both home from the hospital and happily napping.  And I am very proud to report that, unlike her sister, Aspen has an Allen nose.  Though hopefully she gets the rest of her looks from her mom!

Go to http://jonandmarci.blogspot.com/ for some pictures...

Cody, you owe me breakfast.

Chad invited me to celebrate his birthday with him by running the 1st annual Bear Lake 10k.  It was a nice course- out and back with a small loop.  Less than 200 runners, so not huge, though there were 200 more doing the marathon and 200 on the half marathon (both started out around the lake).  Course was almost flat with a few gentle inclines and a slight head wind the second half.

We started off at an ok pace- 5:36 on Chad's Garmin.  Jake Rushton slowly pulled ahead, Chad was just behind him, and I was a second or so back.  The turn around was ~2.5 miles (no real mile markers), and I counted that Jake had the lead by ~6 sec over Chad, and I was 6 seconds back from Chad.  Headwind on this portion, though I timed one mile at 5:44.  Chad extended his lead to ~10 seconds by mile 4 when I decided to make a move to catch him.  I closed the gap in about half a mile, then hoped to just hang with Chad.  Actually ended up pulling away from him and started closing on Jake.  We began to have doubts about the course when we started the 1.5 mile loop at about mile 5.5.  I think I averaged ~5:40-5:45 min/mile for the midpart of the course and passed the "one mile to go" sign at 35:26.  Last mile based on their markers was 5:47, though I know I slowed down a fair amount and used up my whole kick trying to keep my pace for the extra mile.  Finished 2nd overall, about 30 seconds behind Jake and 30 seconds ahead of Chad.  I figure on a legitimate course with a good ending I could have pulled 34:30-35:00 or so, maybe a bit faster.  The whole race felt fast but not uncomfortable- I probably should have gone a bit faster miles 3-6 and tried to catch Jake.  I have trouble "racing" anything shorter than about 10 miles- I just can't get started fast enough and it ends up feeling like a decent tempo run.

Definitely a first time race- 1 mile long, no water on the course (they were starting to set up an aid station at mile 4).  But I'm sure it will grow into a nice race.  Beautiful area, nice course.

Chad and I ran the course till we saw Walter go by on his way to the win for the 1/2 marathon (which had started 30 minutes late).  The marathon must have started at least an hour late, because Nick McCombs still had not finished by the time I left.  Just over 8 miles warm up and cool down.

Tangent- 241

AM- 6 easy miles.  Beautiful morning.  I timed 2 miles around 7 min pace, which is rather fast for me that early in the morning.

PM- I'm front-loading my mileage this week so I can have a few easy days before WBR.  Ran at 7:30 pm and it was still 85 deg.  Wow, hot!  15 miles, from my house to the canal to 2nd dam and home.  Mile times were 6:56, then 5 miles from 7:14 to 7:22, 7:50 (up the river trail), 7:36 (turn around at .5 mile), 5 miles between 6:48 to 7:08, last mile of 6:45.  75 deg when I finished.  1:47:39, 7:11 avg.  Good run to stretch out the legs.  18 or so more miles for tomorrow...

Adrenaline 382, Tangent 256

AM- 6 easy miles, 45:37.

PM- 89 degrees and hot in Logan when I ran at 5:30.  I ran to planet walk and did a whole bunch of laps on it, while my wife, mom, and 2 daughters walked along it.  First 2 miles were ~6:50 pace, then I slowed down to 7:10-7:35 due to the heat.  11 miles on the dot, 1:20:31, 7:19 avg.  38 miles already this week- I'm tired!

Tangent 2- 17 (new racing shoes)

AM- Just a hair under 6 not-so-easy easy miles in 45 min.  60 deg outside.  Tired. 

PM- 6 easy, naked miles with the jogging stroller.

768- 40, Adrenaline- 388

I only need 6 miles today for my mileage goal for the week.  I planned to run this morning but was way too tired to get out of bed at 4 am, so I slept in an extra hour and will run in the heat this evening.  I'm excited for the race tomorrow- I even plan to try to get a few massages at the starting line throughout the day tomorrow, hoping they can get a nasty, painful knot out of my back before we start.

PM- ran over to the start of WBR to see them setting up and talked to Tanner for a few minutes.  6 easy miles.  Then had Seth, Paul, Cody, and families over for pre-race party.

767- 271

Wasatch Back Relay time! Met at Paul's house, where there were a bunch of guys I had never met before. Loaded up the van and went to the start.  My van had Mitch, Steve H, James B, Dustin, Chad, and Paul as driver.  Van 2 had Wildbull, Steve O, Kory, Steve C, James M, and Andrew, with Cody as driver.  I was runner 6. First 4 legs for our van were very hot, but Chad (runner 5) and myself didn't have it too bad thanks to higher elevation and later hour. I started just a hair after 8 pm. Chad had moved us into 3rd place on his leg, and I never saw any of the 5:00 teams the whole race while running.  We did start passing 4:00 teams by the 3rd leg, which usually doesn't happen until at least leg 6 or so.

My first leg was dirt and had a 1.3 mile climb of 250 feet, followed by a screaming descent of about 1300 feet in 3 miles, then a few hundred more in the last 3 miles. I have always wanted to do this leg and was really looking forward to it. I averaged about 6:30 pace on the climb, then flew on the downhill- 2 miles in 10:01, which is probably my PR. Road was rather rough, bad enough that I was going about as fast as the vans, so I absolutely loved it. I really pushed it and my legs were tired by mile 4. I did my best to hold the pace to the end, finishing in about 5:48 pace for the last few miles. Total time was 39:00 for the 6.9 miles, 5:40 avg and 1 minute slow from prediction. I was happy nonetheless- I saw Shadley (White runner 6) and discovered I had beat his time by 4 seconds, which was a big surprise to me, though he smoked me on the downhill by 30 seconds. Ate some food and drove to exchange 12.

AM- 4 easy naked miles with 6 strides.

768- 44, Ascend- 307

I watched everyone in my van have great second legs, watched a racoon in its death twitching, then it was my turn. Leg 18 runs up East Canyon, crests the dam, and finishes at the campground. 5.2 miles, 700 feet up (with most at the end), 200 feet down. I started at 1:30 am with a brisk headwind. My legs were somewhat fatigued from my first run but generally ok. But between the strong headwind and the increasing uphill, I never felt like I could keep a good pace going. My miles varied from 6:13 to 7:11 (with 8:00 pace up some of the steep hills). Tired at the end and glad to be done with my hardest leg. Actual distance on the GPS was 5.1 miles, 33:33, 6:37 avg. Only 5 seconds behind predicted time (which really, really surprised me- I thought I lost a few minutes, though the course was ~.1 mile short). Ok leg, not great.

We drove to Rockport where I tried to sleep in the van. I was still sweating, my knee really hurt, and I could never get comfortable. No sleep, but ~2 hours of rest. Very tired and my stomach was dealing with the typical relay concerns. I was going number 2 about every 20-30 minutes, but knew I would be ok for my leg. The guys in my van ran great again, and I was excited for my leg. My last leg was a quick 3.6 miles with 90 foot elevation drop. I really wanted to start fast and just hang on to the end. Took the handoff from the blazing Chad and dropped a 64 second quarter- 4:16 pace. Hmm, maybe too fast. Slowed down and did the first mile in 5:35, then the next 2 in 5:50 pace. The first 2 miles are on gravel, and they changed the course so cars were not allowed on it. This was great as no dust was stirred up- thanks, WBR guys! Last .6 was 5:35 pace, for a total time of 20:18 and pace of 5:44. 23 second ahead of prediction (finally!). Felt great and glad to be done.  I immediately had to hop in my mom's car to head for home. We stopped at Steve C's house for a quick shower (thanks a million, Steve!), then I picked up my wife and drove to Idaho Falls for her sister's wedding. We made it in time for the luncheon, though I was exhausted and was fighting sleep the whole time. Then a 2 hour nap before the reception. Bedtime now.

All in all I had a great time and really enjoyed my van and the race. I think we were almost dead on the prediction, which is great. Everyone ran great. Like always, I'm sad I couldn't get to spend more time with the guys in the other vans. I'm looking forward to hearing all of your tales and reading race reports. But good job to all and thanks for a great time. Big thanks to Hooper for all the sweet looking FRB/SGRC gear we were all sporting- the jackets in particular are great and stand out (esp. when looking for teammates at 2 am).

80+ miles this week for the first time this year, even with the low mileage weekend.  Another 80 miles next week with the race I am really looking forward to- Logan Peak Race.  28 miles, 7200 ft up, 7200 ft down.  More elevation than Pikes Peak marathon.  Yeah, baby! 

Tangent 3- 28

After getting 0 sleep Friday night, I finally got a 2 hour nap Saturday afternoon.  But then I didn't get to sleep until almost 1 am Sat night and still woke up before 8 am- I guess I really don't need much sleep.  1.5 hour nap Sunday, then 6 hours of sleep Sunday night.  I bagged the Monday morning run in order to sleep in the extra hour.  I'll try to get at least 6-7 hours tonight.

PM- 8 easy miles.  Felt very slow, but time was 1:00:23.  Quads are very, very sore- about as bad as after a marathon.  Not as much fatigue, just sore.

767- 278

AM- 6 slow miles.  Still sore, even after my ice bath last night.

PM- 10 very slow, naked miles on the Logan canyon river trail.  Legs still sore and fatigued.  I almost stepped on a snake just past Spring Hollow campground, and then I saw a moose.  It was maybe 30 yards away, and we both looked at each other for a minute before I continued on my way.  Finished off the run with a 5 minute soak in the cold Logan River.  I'm just hoping to completely recover for the race Saturday.

Adrenaline- 393, 806- 454

AM- 6 easy miles.  Still sore, but improving.

PM- 6 easy miles with the jogging stroller.

768- 50, Adrenaline- 399

Hi everybody

AM- 6

767- 284

I bagged my morning run due to the second late night in a row (after 11 pm bedtime).  I figured I need sleep more than an easy 6 miles, especially with an ultramarathon tomorrow.  Plus it gives my sore ankle a few extra hours to recover.  

PM- 6 easy miles with Cody.  First time running with him in more than a month.  Good to have him back.

Adrenaline- 405

Today was the race I have been looking forward to all year- the Logan Peak Trail Race.  It is a 28 mile race with 7200 ft ascent and 7200 descent- more elevation and distance than Pikes Peak marathon.  Cody and Paul did it last year for fun and placed 4th and 5th.  Even though I have run trails for years, this was my official trail race.  My main goal was to finish and to place top 3.  A win and course record was doable a secondary goal.

Race started at 6 am- Paul and Cody saw me off.  It was a warm morning- 60 deg, with no clouds.  The race starts off through a neighborhood and trail for a mile, then gets down to business with almost 3000 ft of climbing in 3 miles up Dry Canyon.  Times were 9:52, 11:21, 15:17, 15:23- lots of walking as we were just conserving energy (plus walking is as fast as running with the avg 18% grade).  At the first aid station (mile 4.7) there was still a good group of 6 guys.  The trail levels out and circles south around the peak towards Providence canyon on the Sincline trail, eventually reaching the backside of Mt. Logan.  Levels out is also a somewhat relative term, as there is still over 1000 ft of ascent and decent on this 6.5 mile stretch, including some rather steep snow field crossings and a few streams running down the trail.  Times were 17:41 (including aid station- lots of food!), 10:38, 8:29, 7:55, 12:45, 10;01, 13:09.  We had paired our group down to just 3 guys- Leland Barker (last year's winner and ultramarathoner extrordinaire) and Brian Beckstead, a trail runner/Runner's Corner guy from Orem. 

By the second aid station at mile 11, the temperature was really heating up.  I grabbed snow whenever I could and kept sticking it under my hat- instant cooling!  After Aid 2, we start a very steep climb to the peak of Mt. Logan, winding our way up a ridge.  80% of this portion was snowpacked, including the final climb to the top.  Very difficult footing, often slipping back with each step.  Times were 12:01, 15:35, 13:22.  I hit the top (~mile 13.8) in 2:51:50 or so- a whopping 12:27 pace for the first half of the race.  After a brief pause to tighten my shoes, I was off.

After the top, the fun really started.  I love running down steep snow- I just lean back, overstride, and fly down the mountain, no rocks to trip me.  Times back to the Aid 2 station (now renamed Aid 3) were 7:59, 8:16, 11:29 (some uphill).  Still a pack of 3.

After Aid 3, the course follows a jeep trail for 1.5 miles with a steady climb.  I finally pulled away from the other guys at this point.  Then it dives onto a technical singletrack to circle the north side of the mountain.  Generally downhill, though some flats and ups.  I had to stop once at mile 19 for a potty break (number 2) and was surprised no one caught me- I must have really put some distance on the other guys.  Eventually the trail decends back to the top of Dry Canyon to Aid 1 (now Aid 4, around mile 23).  Times were 10:16, 8:52, 8:34, 12:54, 10:42, 9:39 (includes aid station and another potty break- again, no footsteps from other runners).

After a very quick stop at Aid 4, it was time to see what my legs had left with the screaming downhill.  The trail is steep and very rocky, so falling is always a concern (see Paul's report from last year).  Nevertheless, my times were 7:04, 6:58, 6:42 down the canyon.  I was very happy to be doing sub-7:00 miles after 26 miles and 7000 feet.  Finally hit the deerfence trail and the neighborhood (with yet another potty break- ridiculous!  But my intestines were insistent, so who was I to argue).  I got a few long stretches to look back- no one in sight.  Last full mile was 7:36 (with potty break), then kicked it home at 6:31 pace.  Finished in first place overall, 4:51:30- 1:25 minute course record.  The runners from last year agreed this year was slower/harder due to the snow, and the course was .6 miles longer due to a route change, so I was thrilled to set a new record.  Brian came in 2 minute behind me, beating Leland by a mere 10 seconds.  Leland was trying so hard to catch up that he practically collapsed at the finish line, cramping up. 

 I was absolutely amazed how good I felt after running 28 miles- one big blister under a toe, plus I am going to lose both my big toenails and one other.  Ugly, ugly toes- purple nails.  A bit of knee soreness and one tight achilles, but that is all.  Oh, and an apparently pretty nasty case of running-induced gastrointestinal bleeding, resulting in a trip to the bathroom every 30 minutes since the race.  DOMS tomorrow, I am sure.  But I don't feel near as bad as after a road marathon.  And can I say that I LOVE TRAIL RACES!!!  (plus I am undefeated, seeing as this is my first!)

Overall, this is an outstanding race.  The Race Director calls it the toughest 28 mile run anywhere.  Probably true.  The volunteers are amazing- they have to mule haul the drinks/food to Aid 1/4, and do some gnarly jeeping to Aid 2/3 (where they had to camp out last night).  I even won some dang awesome $200 sunglasses (I'm too cheap to spend more than $5 when I pay) plus prize money.

I highly recommend this race to anyone!  Amazing views, great people, great (tough) course.  It gets me excited for my 2 other trail runs later this summer!

Ascend- 335