I'm retired from racing. Really.

AM- 12 miles finished before 6:10 am- good start to the week and month.  However, the check engine light came on in my car... not so good.  Going to try to squeeze in a workout AND pizza monday at PF today after work.

PM- BW.  Drove to First Dam, ran to the start of the canal, then back to the bridge.  Just over 2.5 miles warmup.  Then it was time for an 8 mile tempo- I wanted to be under 6:10 avg.  I ran the canal to First Dam 2 times, which is just under 4 miles each trip.  Miles were 6:19 (including the hill up to the dam), 5:52 (down), 6:11, 6:08, 6:21 (up), 5:59 (down), 6:10, 5:57.  I will admit that doing a 12 mile run the morning of a BW is not smart and I really felt it.  Miles 4-6 were very hard physically and mentally, but my times weren't terrible.  I even pulled together a strong 5:57 last mile, which was not easy with my fatigue.  6:07 avg for the workout.  I noticed the Garmin doesn't do well with 180 deg turnarounds- on one, it said I was doing 6:00 pace right before the turn, then jumped to 6:25 lap pace after- I had to work hard to get it down.  I think that skews the times slower a bit.  1.5 miles cooldown, 1:21:09 for 12 miles (6:45 avg).  Then I drove to Planet Fitness for the pizza.  Ate 2 pieces, ran 2 miles, more pizza, more running, more pizza.  3 additional miles, giving me 15 total for the run.  Great end to a hard day of running.

Holy crap, I ran 27 miles today.  I'm knickered (as Sam would say).  I left at 4:25 am, home from work and afternoon run at 7:50 pm- that's 15.5 hours away!  Play with the kids for a few minutes, then time for sleep.  But I have almost 1/3 of my weekly miles in and it's only Monday.

AM- 10 miles planned, but I struggled through the first 5 and couldn't go any further. Hopped on the elliptical for 40 minutes, instead, which is definitely less pounding and uses slightly different muscles.  Even more tuckered out than after my marathon yesterday.

PM- 7 easy on landfill loop with Cody.  Nice to have some company on the run.  7:43 avg.

Hey, I'm on top of the monthly mileage board.

AM- 7 easy with Cody and Paul.  2 runs in a row with some company- that is very nice.  Great morning for a run, esp. since the thunderstorms had finally quit.  Saw some blown down trees, including a ton of little trees they just planted by the park-n-ride where I get my van.  8 min pace.

PM- PW 4 with Marci and the kids.  Then we had to move 7 cu yds of dirt from our driveway- well, we only moved about 4 of it, and Cody and another neighbor were kind enough to come help.  Neighbors are good people.

PM- 8 after work, 3xPW.  It was supposed to be a BW, but I had to scrub it due to excessive yard work.  I'm definitely squeezing in my runs where I can between all the yard stuff- that's why I front loaded my week, cause I knew this was coming.  Tomorrow we have 40 trees and bushes being delivered for us to plant.

AM- Met Paul, Cody, and Joe at PW and ran landfill loop.  We kept increasing the pace because I was running late (I ended up making it to my van with 1 minute to spare).  7:38 avg, though one mile was sub-7, which is a decent pace before 6 am.  7.7 miles.

AM- 15.5 miles with Paul, from my house to the canal to just past Second Dam and home.  Perfect weather for a run, and there was not even a canyon wind.  1:57:01, 7:33 pace.  My legs were real tired by the end- I'm still adjusting to 90+ mile weeks.  I felt like I was moving super slow (8+ min pace), but was actually still doing 7:15's.

Now time for a full day of yard work, including planting 50 trees/bushes.

AM- 11.5 easy, except picked it up on the last 2.  Legs felt a lot better than mid-last week.  Should be ready for Saturday, hopefully.

AM- Ran with Cody and Paul for about 5 miles, including 2 tinman tempo miles, then 3 more with Paul, then home. Then I drove to PF for Bagel Tuesday- ate a nice Einstein's bagel, ran 4 miles, then another bagel. 14 miles in all, 1:43:30.  No work today cause I'm staying home to watch the kids while Marci is at girl's camp this week.

AM- Cody and Paul were both no-shows, so I ran 7 miles with 6 strides by myself.  Saw sleepyhead Cody heading out just as I was finishing my run.

PM- 5.5 easy.  My legs and body aren't feeling all cooped up and hyper like I usually do during a pre-race taper.  Hmm.  The funny thing is I already had this many miles last week by Tuesday morning...

AM- 4 easy with both kids.  Threw in a few striders.  Should be fun tomorrow.

Note: For anyone who has never seen the crags, I found a few pictures of me running them here and here, and of some random people climbing down them here and here.

Wahsatch Steeplechase- I almost did this race 4 years ago and ran the uphill as training, but this was my first time racing it, and first time seeing the downhills.  I stayed at Chad's house last night and got caught up with him- thanks for letting me crash there, Chad, and I hope everything works out with all happening in your life.  Only slept about 4 hours, normal pre-race jitters.  At the start I met Fritz and said Hi to Twinkie.  The weather was absolutely perfect- 50 deg, overcast, no rain till after I was finished.  After talking to Chad and after zero hill training for 3 months, my strategy was to go moderate on the ups and downs, saving my energy for the flat 6 miles at the end.

A group of 6 went out very fast, inc. Fritz.  I was in the second group with Karl Jarvis and Dominick Layfield (knew them both from last year).  Moderate pace out with a bit of walking on the steep uphills.  The last mile uphill is a doozy, with 21% avg grade.  Umm, yeah, that's pretty much a slow slog.  It finally ended at mile 8 and we hit the crags- some very rocky, often technical rocks.  I knocked out my two front teeth as a teenager jumping on rocks like this (toe caught as I was jumping 3 feet down- landed headfirst- knocked out cold and buggered up my teeth [and brain, if you ask Marci]), and so am always somewhat cautious on rocks like that.  The crags went for a mile and I probably lost 1-2 minutes on Karl and Dominick.  Never saw them again. 

Then the downhill starts.  You can't really call it a trail for much of the downhill, maybe a faint deer trail.  Some of it was very runnable, but much was far, far too steep, and also very overgrown with bushes.  And mud.  And more bushes.  I call it the suicide downhill.  I was stepping on bush stems which were slick, occasionally falling.  I probably lost another couple minutes here and got passed by 2 more guys who were much more kamikaze than I was.  I barely broke 12 min mile due to the 1250 ft elevation loss and very technical footing- yep, almost walking speed.  They had even strung some rope at a few points for safety, and they certainly were needed.  As Fly noted, "This section is described as '2.5 miles of quad-burning, gut-wrenching, knee-breaking downhill on an overgrown, root-infested single-track trail...' I'd add that it was also wet and slick."  I agree with Fly, except that I seriously question the liberal use of the word "trail".

But then at mile 11 we hit City Creek Canyon and 2 miles of glorious downhill on a road.  I was about 6 min pace, with some portions being 5:30- my quads felt strange at first from the previous down, but quickly firmed up.  I was happy with my pace and figured I would eat up a few runners.  At mile 12 you jump onto a very nice, runnable, smooth singletrack for about 3 miles.  It undulates a bit, with just enough uphill to remind you that your legs are, indeed, very tired.  Finally passed one of the kamikaze downhill guys, which I thought put me back into 10th place.  More down on road and singletrack- I spotted one more runner with only a half mile to go, so really pushed hard and passed him with a few hundred yards to go.  Felt tired but still running strong at the end, which I'm very happy with.

I wanted 2:25-2:35, so my 2:34 is good.  I can definitely improve at least 2-4 minutes just by being familiar with the course, plus can improve my fitness- I am definitely not near peak racing form yet.  I really enjoyed this course and will be back.

Splits (will fill in later):

 

Mile	Split	Ascent	Descent	Comments
1	7:26	239	46	Easy start
2	10:18	566	20	Nice singletrack up
3	9:00	366	76
4	9:25	434	60
5	10:13	432	119	Running in 7th
6	11:22	569	73
7	19:50	1086	25	Big, big uphill- walk the whole mile
8	16:35	378	401	The crags- really slowed me down
9	11:43	20	1258	Suicide downhill.  And that's an understatement
10	8:14	45	629	Still steep down
11	5:52	17	355	Finally hit runnable downhill on pavement
12	6:05	26	229	Still fast
13	6:41	68	195	Beautiful rolling singletrack
14	6:16	34	219	Still singletrack
15	6:50	53	265	And more
16	6:06	47	273	Back on the road
.34	1:58 (5:48 pace)	11	57	Push to the finish

Killer downhill trail run + no downhill training for 3 months = very sore quads.  Ouch.  Can't even touch them.  I'd love to get right back into my training to get some miles in before another tough trail race in 2 weeks (Logan Peak), but will have to balance that with muscle recovery.  I was much better acclimated to tough downhills last year thanks to lots of downhill training, which I had to avoid this year due to my achilles. 

PM- 5 miles crosstraining- arc trainer and bike.  Legs not quite so sore after. 

AM- 5.5 cross train miles.  Still sore, but a bit better.

PM- 2 miles running followed by 7 miles cross training.  Legs are getting better- the run was uncomfortable, but not painful.  Quads are sore to the touch in a few locations, but not all over anymore.  Plan is to run tomorrow, no cross training.

AM- 7 miles, all running.  And I could get into and out of my vanpool without feeling like my legs were going to collapse and/or explode.

PM- 8 easy miles around town and the canal to first dam.  I ran by Merlin Olsen park and can confirm that the Ragnar shindig is definitely going to happen tomorrow.  And it looks like Dan and Tanner bought themselves a HUGE tent/canopy- at least 30-40 feet per side.  Bright Orange, of course.  Good luck to everyone running WBR tomorrow.

AM- 7.5 miles in 1 hour, half of it with Paul.  No pain in the quads.

PM- Umm, so I did something that I'm hoping my achilles won't make me regret.  After work, I drove to the start of WBR to cheer for some friends starting at 5 pm.  I changed into my running clothes and planned to do a short run from there.  But, I saw a crowd cheering a girl running up a steep incline on a treadmill.  Ends up NordicTrack is trying to show off their new $1600 incline climber (Incline Trainer X3) by seeing who could climb the highest in 20 min with the machine set at 30 percent minimum grade.  I knew my achilles might hate me, but I signed up.  The men's record for the day was set early in the morning and was 1250 feet elevation climb. 

I started chugging at 30 percent and about 3 mph (with a waterfall of sweat dripping off my chin- sorry, guys) and eventually finished with 1366 feet for a new record.  I even tried running at 4.5 mph towards the end, but that was tough.  I was so light headed when I finished that I had to lay down on the grass to not pass out.  Hard, hard workout with my calves burning- yeah, I'm counting it for 3 MP miles, it was that hard.  I got a nice red tech shirt for participating.  I'll put in my plug that the machine was very, very nice for training uphills- smooth, powerful, a bit of bounce to cushion your legs.  I think the belt is too short for flat running, though. 

After, ran with Marci and the kids to Summerfest and back.  Met a 78-year old there who runs 7 miles every morning at 8:30 pace- now that's impressive.  He seemed very spry and happy.

AM- Drove with Cody to Franklin Basin up the canyon and did the identical run we did with Paul on July 14, 2007- 8 miles up the dirt FB road, 1500 ft climb.  8:30 avg pace up, 6:49 avg down- 2:02:32 for the 16 miles.  Great weather- cool temp, overcast, slight breeze.  We were both using our new Nathan handheld bottles in preparation for Logan Peak next week.

I'm running with Marci later today.  I will end up with 70+ miles this week, which is pretty darn good considering I was at 10 miles mid-day Wednesday.

AM- 6

PM- BW with Cody.  Ran to Merlin Olsen park, then over to Providence for the Providence hills loop.  Started just before the big hill.  Goal was 6:00-6:10 pace (on the flats, which doesn't really exist...).  Splits were 7:06 (big uphill- 300 ft, so this is very good), 6:10 (1/3 up, 2/3 down), 5:56 (flat and down), 5:56 (slight down and rolling), 6:04 (slight down and rolling), 5:55 (same), 5:37 (flat).  Pushed really hard the last few miles but felt good.  Thirsty.  Did a few miles cooldown with Cody, then added a few more by myself.  1:45:11 for the 15.5 miles, 6:47 avg.  Good workout- first BW in a few weeks.

AM- 9 easy.  Both my hammys were very tight/sore, and had a big knot in my calf, both of which are not common occurances for me. 

PM- Ran Jardine Juniper with Cody.  10 miles.  I love that trail!  Good warm up for Logan Peak this Saturday.

AM- 8 easy miles in just over an hour.  Ran with Paul, and then Cody surprised us by showing up, too.  Thanks for the company, guys. 

Scientific study supports my love of post-run Nestle Quik.  Excellent.

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-242-301--13200-2-1X2-3,00.html

PM- 3.5 easy with wife and kids.

AM- 5.5 easy w/6 strides in a drizzle.  The rain will make tomorrow even muddier.

Logan Peak trail run.  I love this race.  Last year it was my first official trail race and I was lucky enough to win it, followed by a win at Mid Mountain marathon.  I knew the competition was going to be stiff today- Ty Draney (Bear 100 winner), Karl Jarvis (beat me by 5 minutes at Wahsatch 2 weeks ago), Cody, Leland- all would be there.  There was further surprise when the amazing Corbin Talley showed up, as well.  There were 78 starters, versus 40 last year.  Given the crowd and big names, I gave myself less than a 5% chance of winning, and was thinking even a top 3 finish would be amazing.  But somehow, I was lucky enough to win and am still undefeated at marathon or longer trail races. 

This is a great, great race- 28 miles, 7200 feet climb, 7200 feet descent (my garmin said 8800 ft, sporttracks of the garmin said 7100 ft, so close to Paul's map).  Weather was good- 50 at the start, sunny, just a bit hot by the finish.  It starts off with a bang, climbing over 3000 ft in the first 5 miles to aid station 1.  We went out in a pack of 6, with Ty and Corbin in the lead, Cody right behind, and Karl, myself, and Nick (a guy I just met from Logan) a few seconds back.  Not too fast of a pace- splits were 9:09, 10:55, 15:33, 15:55, 15:34 (inc. aid station).

After aid 1, Nick quickly disappeared and the remaining 5 of us had a very enjoyable, talkative, fluid pack for the next 12 miles or so.  The trail drops about 1000 ft as it circles the South Syncline trail, then climbs back to Aid station 2 just past mile 10.  We started hitting the snow (more like ice), and Ty almost slid down a chute, but managed to stop and served as warning to the rest of us.  Great trail through this section.  Splits were 9:56, 7:23, 8:09, 12:00, 11:08. 

Last year the lead pack split up here, but we kept our group together as we ran the final 1500 feet up to the 9700 ft summit of Logan Peak.  There was less snow than last year, and the only bad spot was some about 1/3 mile that was covered with very, very icy snow.  Several of us fell (myself included- I slid about 30 yds down before I stopped).  We reached the summit in a big pack, with Corbin snapping pictures on his cell phone.  We took about 2 minutes at the top, taking pictures, enjoying the view, and answering nature's call.  Very nice to be able to enjoy the view rather than immediately turning around like I did last year.  This was a great group of guys to be running with- relaxed, nice guys who appreciated what we had done and wanted to enjoy ourselves at the top.  We knew there was still plenty of time for the race.  Splits were 11:10, 11:02, 15:19 (inc. 2 minutes at the top).  Time to summit was about 2:42, which is about 9 minutes faster than last year despite not pushing the pace.  Feeling good.

I thought we would split up on the downhill but didn't quite yet.  However, Corbin and Ty got stuck at the bottom of a steep ice hill that took several minutes to claw up, so the other 3 of us went easy for a mile to let them catch up.  Karl twisted his ankle pretty badly during this stretch, but kept on trucking.  We ran down the ridge back to Aid 2 (which had now morphed into Aid 3), which gives a nice chance to see the people behind and cheer them on.  Times to Aid 3 were 11:01, 8:08, 8:04.

At this point, we climb a few miles on some jeep trail before jumping onto the North Syncline and its amazing views of Logan canyon.  I stuck some snow under my hat and was very glad for the slow trickle of water down my back.  About 2 miles past Aid 3, I finally decided that my only chance at top 3 was to put some distance on the group, so I threw down the hammer.  I was also worried cause I made 4-number 2 pit stops in the last 10 miles last year and was feeling a bit of rumblings today, but managed to avoid any stops.  I pushed very hard on the singletrack and we dropped Karl, but Ty, Corbin, and Cody hung within 30 to 60 seconds of me.  I felt great during this stretch (mile 17-20) and really enjoyed it.  I only wish I could stop to revel in the amazing canyon overlooks.  At about mile 20 I hit a bit of a rough patch and Ty closed to within about 15 seconds of me, but I pushed the downhills and maintained the lead.  This stretch is very rolling with some great downhill singletrack, but also multiple 200-500 foot climbs.  Ugh, just enough to really sap your legs.  But, I pushed very, very hard, dodged around and ticked off some horse riders, and managed to have about 30 seconds on Ty when we reached Aid 4 (previously known as Aid 1) at the top of Dry Canyon.  Splits were 11:22, 7:47, 6:33 (wow), 8:27, 11:42, 8:12.  But Ty loomed and Corbin (he of 14:15 5k speed) could never be counted out.  And Cody was running extremely strong, as well.

I filled my bottle halfway full at the aid and tore down the trail, not wanting to give up any ground to Ty and company.  I did a lot better than normal on the technical downhill- last year I averaged 6:50's down the canyon, this year 3 of my last 4 miles were 6:00 or 6:01, with stretches of sub-5:30.  Despite this, Ty gained on me and closed to within 5 seconds with 2 miles to go.  If he had blown by me, I don't know if I could have matched him.  But, I focused on speed and stretching my stride and held him off despite ever increasing screams of protest from my legs and back.  The downhill never seemed to end.  When we reached the mouth of the canyon, I was about 15 seconds up on him and actually believed for the first time that I might pull this out.  The last mile has 3 very steep and painfull uphills on Deer Fence trail, a few downs, then the last half miles is down a steep paved road and finally flat.  I didn't want Ty catching me, so I ran hard on the uphills.  Apparently, he decided to walk them, but I wasn't letting up.  Finally reached the road, which was just misery.  The last 1/4 mile is on flat pavement that seemed to make the finish line grow further away with each step.  With a push up one last grassy hill, I finished in 4:26:29- 25 minutes faster than my course record time last year!  Ty and Corbin finished within 2 minutes, and I was very happy to see Cody break 4:30.  He ran out of his mind despite some pancake-sized blisters on his heels.  I think about 8 guys or so broke the old course record.

The finish area was great- lots of food and nice people, and it was very fun to cheer for all the finishers.  Everyone did awesome, including FRB-ers Twinkie, Ultrajim, and Maurine.  A few of us soaked in the freezing Logan River for about 10 minutes, which was glorious for the legs.  I had only one big blister under a big toe that popped, but Cody has some nasty heel blisters.  Marci and the kids stayed all 4 hours till the awards, and my girls loved playing and walking around looking at everyone, while I enjoyed chatting with and getting to know everyone a bit better.  Trail racers are all so nice.

Overall, this is a great, great race.  Bruce does a nice job with course selection, marking, and very well-stocked aid stations.  I highly recommend this race to everyone.

I'm obviously pleased yet surprised with my time.  25 minutes faster than last year is stunning to me- I would say ~5 minutes faster due to less snow, but the rest was just luck, I guess.  This is the first race this year where I was really happy with how I did.  Now time to help the legs recover and ramp up the mileage for a while before some more trail races and maybe TOU marathon, with an ultimate goal of Rocky Raccoon 100 and Bear 100 next year.

Sorry for the long post, to anyone who actually reads this (nobody, maybe?).  Just some good memories of a fun race that I want to remember for myself.

AM- 6 easy.  If soreness were on a level from 1-10 (10 being "oh-my-gosh-I-cannot-even-move-and-have-unbearable-pain-in-muscles-I-never-knew-I-had"), I would have been around 8 after Wahsatch Steeplechase.  After Logan Peak, I would say 2, maybe 3.  Not too bad.  My legs must be getting used to the downhill pounding.

AM- 7.5 easy.  Soreness only a 1.

PM- Green Canyon with Paul.  Ran 5 miles up and back at a slow pace.  The new singletrack is nice, though for some reason THERE IS WATER FLOWING IN GREEN CANYON!!!  Y'all, I've run in GC for 8 years now and this is the first time there has been actual water flowing.  And it's quite a bit, too- the singletrack crosses it 5 or 6 times.  I managed to jump it each time with minimal wetness, but Paul just waded through and ran with squishy shoes.  Easy run, just over 90 minutes.  3 years ago GC had 1 mile singletrack and 3 miles road- now it has 3.5 miles of singletrack and only .5 mile of required road running.  Me gusta.