I'm retired from racing. Really.

PM- 8.5 on Providence Hills loop with Cody at 7:37 avg pace, then 4 on PW with Marci and the kids at 10:00 avg pace.  Tired.  The 7:37 with Cody was easier than the 4 with Marci and the stroller, though.

AM- Landfill loop plus PW, 7.5 at 7:32 pace.  Nice morning outside.

PM- Ran from Planet Fitness to Center Street to Dry Canyon, then about 1 mile up Dry.  8.5 miles with 1100 ft gain, 7:59 avg pace.

PM- BW.  Ran from Planet Fitness up Center Street- that is a steep street that isn't really a warmup, more of a workout by itself.  Anyways, when I got to Deer Fence I started a 10 mile tempo that took me 5 miles along the very hilly trail to Millville Canyon, then 5 miles on the road heading back, mainly on TOU course.  Splits on Deer Fence were 6:49, 7:20, 7:46 (some of the hills are darn steep on this trail), 6:29, 6:46.  Once on the road heading north I discovered there was a strong headwind that slowed me at least 10+ seconds/mile. Road splits were 6:09, 6:19, 6:17, 6:21, and a final slow mile of 6:33.  I was pooped by mile 7 and really struggled to the end.  But, I got it done.  Total was 15.81 miles in 1:56:24 (7:22 avg) with 1250 ft climbing.  Glad that one is over.

Pocatello "results" are posted- looks like I was the 12th or 13th person into the major aid, and I was the first person to DNF, though someone just 6 minutes behind dropped, too.  Cody finished 10th, just 1 minute behind AJW and Matt Hart.  Awesome.

AM- 8 crosstraining.  Cause the niggles in my hips and legs really needed a break from pounding the pavement.

AM- Idaho Falls.  Ran up Sunnyside towards the river, when I spotted a canal with a dirt trail alongside it just past Rollandet.  I ran along the network of trails/canals out into the farmland for the rest of the run- much better than pavement, that's for sure.  Jeff, I'm surprised you never run along these trails.  7:35-7:50's on the way out into a brisk headwind, 7:05-7:25's on the way back, with increasing pace.  Last 0.5 mile was at 6:25 pace.  17.5 miles total in 2:10:27 (7:27 avg).

My legs have the dull yet satisfying ache that let me know this is my highest weekly mileage yet this year.  Lots of niggles, but nothing that seems too serious.

PM- Mini-workout.  3 miles warmup, then a progressive tempo on flat terrain.  Miles were 6:09, 6:08, 6:07, 6:01, 6:00, 5:33.  Last 1/4 mile was at 5:15 pace.  1 mile cooldown.  Definitely the best I have felt in a workout in a long time (probably because I wasn't running up any crazy hills, plus only did 10 miles rather than 16).  10 miles total, 6:29 avg.

AM- When I get 5.5 hours or less of sleep and try to wake up before 5 am, my body generally rebels and wins the sleep battle.  If I get more than 6 or 6.5 hours of sleep, I can usually get out of bed.  Last night was 5 hours of sleep, so my body won.  Hence, my morning run was 5 miles instead of 10.  Looking forward to running Jardine Juniper with Cody and Joe tonight- my favorite trail.

PM- Jardine Juniper with Cody and Joe.  This is my all time favorite trail in Logan, but I only do it about once per year.  It is 10 miles with 2000 ft climbing, but very, very runnable and a great trail.  My fastest time ever is 1:16:56, though I think 1:13-1:15 is very possible.  The run was great- the trail was in good condition, weather was very nice.  We ran up at an easy pace, reaching mile 4 in 43 min (about 3 min slower than record pace).  Ran the top loop fairly easy, too, but then Joe took the lead on the downhill and really pushed the pace.  We averaged 5:58 min miles the whole way down, running the last 4 miles in 23:51- a full minute faster than ever before.  Despite the easy start, we finished in 1:17:51- I need to go later this year and set a decent record.  But it was a great run that I enjoyed with the two guys- they are both going to be great competition at Logan Peak in a few weeks.  I have a feeling that the fast miles just ruined my BW tomorrow, though, but it was worth it.

After I dropped them off, I ran 4 more miles, then took a quick shower and went to a church meeting.  Finally got home at 10 pm, 17 hours after I left this morning.  Long, tiring day, but the run was great.

AM- 4 and 4 easy recovery.  Legs are tired but not at all sore from yesterday, which is a good sign.  I'm to the point where it will take a killer downhill to make me sore, now.

PM- I think my work shoes throw off something in my alignment cause my left hip really hurt today as the day went on.  Combine that with tired legs, and I scrubbed my big workout.  Instead I ran the rather muddy Logan River trail plus some of Wind Caves- looks like the Forest Service did some work on the Wind Caves trail where it had been washed out a few years ago.  Relaxing run in cool, humid weather with a hint of rain.  Lots of walkers and runners out, and I saw Ruth with John 3 times near the end when I had to add a little loop to get more mileage- looks like she is doing well.  14 miles at 8:00 avg pace with 1700 ft vertical.

Got out of bed for my run, started getting ready, then decided that my hips are painful enough to deserve a day of rest.  After all, my objective is to be in the best racing shape on race day, not be on top of the mileage board or keep any running streaks alive.  Those items help me get in racing shape, but not when my body needs rest more.

AM- After 2 days in the mountains at a church youth retreat, it was time to run again.  It started raining Fri at noon and hadn't stopped when Cody showed up for the run at 10:30 am on Sat.  The plan was to run from Right Hand Fork of Logan Canyon backwards along the Bear 100 course- up Ricks Hollow, along some dirt road, then down Richards Hollow.  We tried to run up Richards Hollow on May 1 and only made it 1.5 miles to the waterfall due to snow- we wanted to make it all the way to our previous turnaround so we could say we had covered this whole portion.

It was cool and rainy when we started, and would stay this way most of the run, although there were long patches with no rain.  Thankfully, the rain was never too heavy, and we both commented numerous times on how nice the weather was, given it easily could have been miserable.  The entire way was muddy/puddly, sometimes very slick and goopy, but kind of fun. 

The run up Ricks was normal- I have run it many times, always up.  I felt sluggish and my stomach wasn't happy from all the food of the past 2 days.  But I felt better by the time we hit the road and a steady climb to a summit.  The 800 ft descent was muddy with lots of fallen trees to climb over.  We reached the Cowley Aid location, which was the muddiest of the whole run.  Then we climbed 800 ft up another road to another pass, with 2 ATV's and 2 dirt bikes passing us- the only people we would see all run.  

Just after the pass we turned onto Richards Hollow.  It was a glorious trail- that's really the only way I can describe it.  Most of the run was down a high-alpine, 20 to 50 meter wide meadow that had a stream meandering alongside, with multiple beaver dams along the way.  Probably one of the prettiest areas I have ever seen for a run- I would love to camp there for a while.  Just amazing, secluded, and beautiful.  The stream was quite high and we crossed it about a dozen times on the way down- I formed a dry crossing the first time by throwing in rocks, but we quickly discovered we would cross it many times- sometimes 4 times in 100 yards!  We eventually gave up on trying to keep our feet dry.  The bottom portions of the trail did get a bit steeper, but we eventually reached the waterfall, about 13 miles and 2:08 in.

The way back was quite enjoyable with no people the whole way.  We stopped a few times to enjoy some gorgeous overlooks.  It started raining harder near the end and the trail was particularly muddy and puddly, so I just ran clear through the mud.  Finished with a negative split of 2:05, followed by a wade into the creek, shoes and all.  4:13.  Garmin says 25.5 miles with 10,000 vertical, SportTracks says 25.9 miles with 7250 vertical, Bear 100 mileages say 25.9 miles with 7000 ft vertical.  I'll go with 26 miles and 7000 vertical.

Great run today- hard to beat a day like today with mild weather and great trails.  I hadn't planned on running Richards again, but I may have to mid-week sometime. 

AM- 10 in 69:30 on sore hips.

PM- 7.5 with Marci and the kids.  New shoes- I just retired my second pair of NB 769's last week, and got my third pair out of the box. 

AM- Accidentally set my alarm for 5:20 am instead of 4:20, so only had time for a quick PW5.  It felt good to sleep in an extra hour, though.

PM- Big Trail Workout with Cody.  Repeated a run from last year- start at First Dam, up Logan Canyon, climb the Wind Caves ridge trail, descend Birdeneau trail, down Green Canyon, then BST to the car.  15.5 miles with about 3000 ft climbing, though 2300 ft of that comes in 3 miles going up the wind caves (aka 15% grade).  I felt good on the uphills, though I was reminded once again how brutal the climb up the the ridge is as we averaged 15:30's uphill even though we ran most of it.  Hit the top of the ridge in 1:32 (9 miles exactly).  The technical descent down Birdeneau was a bit slow for me today, and I watched Cody pull away as he had an extra gear (or two or three- he was a ton faster today downhill).  Didn't feel great the whole way down, but finished the last 6.5 miles in 47:20.  It was strange that I felt fine running uphill, with plenty of leg strength, but felt tired downhill.  Anyways, finished the 15.5 miles in 2:19:50, which is 10 minutes faster than last year.  Very tiring run, but we finished with a good leg soaking in the lake.  You missed out, Joe.  Probably not going to repeat this run this year- too many other good runs out there, plus this one is just so darn slow on the climb.  Good workout for upcoming trail races, though.

AM- 10 at just under 7 min pace.  Tired, but definitely had more spunk in my legs than I expected after yesterday's run.

PM- 4.5 with Marci and the kids, then 4 more by myself.  Quads are a touch sore- better now than during a race.

Cody sent me the following info regarding snow on Logan Peak for the race- all data is from a snow station near the summit:

2008- 30" snow on June 15.  Course conditions- patchy snow miles 5-11, continuous deep snow with a few bush tops visible from miles 11-16.

2009- 5" snow on June 15.  Course conditions- minor snow miles 5-11, partial snow miles 11-16.

2010- 50" snow on June 15.  Course conditions- who knows.  But it won't be a fast race.  In fact, it snowed at 7500 ft level today! 

AM- 9.5 in 1:06:11.

PM- 2 running, 3 biking while watching the NBA finals- had to switch to the bike to keep my Mexican food dinner from coming up.  I saw a ton of decorated vans and SUV's around town this evening- looks like everyone is ready for the Wasatch Back tomorrow.  Hope everyone has fun and is safe. 

AM- Today was my only morning off, meaning the only morning I could sleep in past 4:30 am.  However, just after 5 am I awoke to a loud yet muffled sound.  Thinking it was one of my daughters, I got out of bed to help.  Nope, not them.  I wandered around, trying to locate the source.  I finally discovered it was coming from outside- I opened my door and could clearly hear the speakers from the Wasatch Back starting line, 1 mile from my house.  The dear Ragnar folks, bless their little hearts, had the first runners starting at 5 am and weren't shy about letting the whole neighborhood hear the festivities.  I drove by the circus (starting line) on the way to work, and saw a bunch of decorated vans driving from SLC on my commute.   Looks like nice weather for the run- have fun, everyone!

PM- Stink, stink, STINK!!!  I ran down to the Wasatch Back start in hopes I could win a treadmill like I did last year.  They have an incline trainer, and they give you 5 min to climb as many vertical feet as you can, with 18% min grade.  Whoever has the most vertical wins the treadmill.  The record was 468 ft.  I started at 5.8 mph, thinking that was enough, and chugged along.  It was definitely hot and my legs were tired from the miles this week, but it wasn't super killer.  With about 30 seconds to go, I realized I was a bit short and tried to increase the speed... but it was too late.  I finished with 465 feet.  Aargh.  Oh well.  Talked to a bunch of guys at the start (Bill Cobler, Nick McCombs, Seth Wold), then ran a few miles.  5 miles total, roughly.  I called Cody afterwards and told him to try, but they had taken it down by the time he got there- I even drove over with water to cheer him on and give him water.  It's too bad he couldn't get it.

AM- I have a long-standing goal of running the whole Bear 100 course prior to the race.  I'd like to do all of it this summer, too.  So today, Cody and I ran 22 miles of the course... of which maybe 1 mile was new to me!  We left at 6 am and shuttled a car to Temple Fork.  Then we drove back to Right Hand Fork and started running the course from there.  The run up Willow Creek was nice and uneventful.  Then there is a bit of road running followed by some very nice singletrack from Temple Fork sawmill down towards Temple Fork.  Lots of amazing beaver ponds in here.  We ran smooth, no pushing the pace since we have a long race next week.  Reached the car at Temple Fork, about 8.35 miles, in about 1:13- not bad considering it had 1500 ft climb and 1300 ft descend.  

After a quick bottle refill and clothes drop, we were onto the challenging part- climbing to Tony Grove.  The climb up Blind Hollow gains 2400 ft in 5.25 miles.  The trail is technical and was generally poor footing from all the moose and horse tracks that churned up the muddy trail, then dried.  Lots of moose tracks... at least partly due to the bull moose we encountered! We were within about 20 yards of it when we all startled each other.  Cody and I made a bunch of noise, and eventually the moose moved away from the trail and up the mountain.  The rest of the climb was uneventful but tiring.  At the top, we found a surprise- the 1.5 mile, 500 ft descent into Tony Grove was completely covered in 1-2 feet of snow.  We skiied down, making our own path.  

The lake still had ice and, unfortunately, the drinking water was not yet turned on.  We talked to some nice hikers, and they gave us a 16 oz bottle to split.  Thanks!  With a bit of water, we began the slow hike back up to the ridge.  Cody led the way and actually found the trail in spurts- he was proud of his route finding abilities.  The descent back to Temple Fork was fairly easy, with the only notable item being that we saw 8 people, our first humans of the day.  Finished with just under 22 miles in 3:48:12 (10:33 avg pace), including 5200 ft climbing and 5000 ft descending.  Grabbed a Jamba Juice and got home just after noon.  Good run, though that's likely my last time on that part till the race.  The amount of snow also puts into question our planned high-elevation runs in the coming weeks.

98 miles this week- high for the year. 

PM- A wonderful run up Green Canyon.  I was intending to do about 10 miles, but my legs felt good and the shade was wonderfully cool and the trail was wonderfully runnable... so I kept going up and up and up.  I think I went the farthest I have ever gone up Green- about 3.5 miles past the end of the road, into some very steep and technical trail (i.e. 1000+ ft/mile).  I really didn't want to turn around, but my one water bottle was running out, I was hungry, and I wanted to see my family for the first time before they went to bed.  7.5 miles up in 1:12 with about 3000 ft climbing (estimated by Google Earth- no garmin today), then down in 52 min.  Felt good, except for some knots in my back.  I'll probably do a bunch of miles tomorrow, then do a 3 day taper for the race.

Cody, one of these evenings we'll have to drive your jeep to the end of GC road, take a few water bottles each, and just go exploring for a few hours.  I really want to know what is over the ridge I almost reached today.  Sometime in the next few months, hopefully. 

AM- 9

PM- 11 with Joe from First Dam to just before Guinavah Malibu.  Easy pace, lots of conversation, focused mainly on moose and other wildlife.  92 min.  I've been eating a ton of fruits and veggies recently, which is great health-wise but bad GI-running wise.  

What is the best way to get pumped up for Logan Peak Trail Run this weekend?  I can think of no better way than watching this video...

AM- 7 easy around Providence-River Heights.

AM- PW 5 with 6 strides.  I dedicated the railroad crossing to the memory of Joe's big toe.

PM- Easy PW 4 with Marci and the kids.

AM- Logan Peak Run.  The hometown race.  I was lucky enough to win the race against stiff (primarily out-of-town) competition the past few years.  This year, the competition came from the locals!  The race is 28 miles (give or take), all trail, some of it rather technical, running from Logan to the top of Logan Peak and back.  7200 ft elevation gain, and equal loss.

Warmed up a few miles, 4 star race.  They adjusted the start a bit, thankfully eliminating a bit of road and making the race about 1/3 mile shorter.  We started, and I soon found myself leading a pack of 5 (me, Joe, Cody, Chris Cawley, and Scott Dickey) all the way up the steep Dry Canyon to aid 1.  Splits were 8:57, 11:29, 14:14, 15:27, and 14:28 (counting aid stop).  We were 2.5 min up on last year's CR pace, primarily due to the shorter start.  I stopped at mile 6 to relieve myself while enjoying the view, and fell to the back.  Followed Chris down South Syncline trail for a few miles, then we turned a corner and saw Cody sprawled out with Joe tending to him.  Big wipeout, bloody lip, arms, etc.  Cody seemed in a bit of a daze.  I was thinking (hoping?) the fall would make Cody hesitant and slow on the downhills, but he bounced back like the stubborn guy he is. Scott had pulled away but we reeled him in soon.  Lots of up and down to aid 2 at the backside of the peak, splits of 10:11, 6:49, 9:02 (with stopping for Cody), 10:31, 11:44, 9:50.  4 min total faster than last year.

Despite fears and reports of tons of snow, the ascent to the peak wasn't too muddy or snowy- and less icy than last year.  Chris pushed the uphill, but we lagged behind, knowing the oxygen debt wasn't worth it.  Hit the top in 2:37:10, about 4-5 min faster than last year.  I felt good on the uphills.  Then back down to the aid station, catching a bonking Chris on the way.  Splits were 10:59, 16:20, 10:50, 8:30, 7:32.

I was very good with quick aid station stops at the first 3, though Cody left aid 3 just a hair ahead of me.  I quickly caught and passed him, and Joe caught Cody.  Chris and Scott fell back, never seen again.  I put about 30 seconds on Joe and Cody on the jeep trail, and was hoping I could repeat last year's race where I pulled away on the North Syncline singletrack and eventually won.  I reached the singletrack 6 min ahead of last years time.  However, when I hit the downhill/rolling singletrack, my legs failed to kick into high gear.  Cody and Joe easily caught me and we ran as a pack till aid 4 at the top of Dry.  But I knew I was in trouble- my legs didn't have any downhill speed and my stomach was trying to send back all the gu's.  Splits were 9:23, 7:11, 7:13, 10:04, 13:40, 8:43.  We had given back 3 min compared to my time last year by the time we reached aid 4.

I stopped for a bottle refill at aid 4, while Cody and Joe took off down the hill.  I was only about 10 seconds back when I left, but I watched the gap grow and grow.  Last year, I ran the 4 dry canyon miles in 24:02.  This year, I ran them in 31:06.  Not really much else to say about that- my legs were finished, nothing for the downhill.  With my high training mileage, my legs sometimes feel great on downhills, and sometimes they are empty.  Today was the first race where they were empty.  I knew Cody and Joe were gone, and started to worry about being caught, but still couldn't speed up.  I wasn't bonking in terms of running out of sugar/energy, my legs were just tired.  Splits were 7:59, 7:07, 8:07, 7:53, 7:20.  A far cry from last year's 6 min miles.  Finished 6-7 min back from Cody and Joe, final time of 4:28:48.  2 min slower than last year, though I estimate the course was 2.5 min faster.  So probably 4.5 min slower, in real terms.  FRB/SGRC 1 thru 3 sweep, and all Loganites- kind of fun.

Chris finished 4th place, 12 min back from me.  The big adventurer, though, was Shane Martin, who missed a turn, tried to bushwack back, and somehow ended up at the bottom of Logan Canyon after avoiding some cliffs.  He ran down the canyon river trail and bushwacked back up to the starting line, begging some water off a kind homeowner on the way.  Quite the tale.  Lots of people had tales of massive wipeouts, too, with 8 of the top 10 finishers sporting scrapes and bruises.  I was one of the few who stayed on my feet.

It was great to see how excited Cody and Joe were for their races, as well as many other runners.  Lots of people had great runs.  I enjoyed spending some time at the finish, talking to lots of people (including FRB-ers Bryce, ultrajim, and twinkies) and eating the great food spread Bruce provides, and playing a bit with my family, too, who had come to support me.  

I'll admit it's a bit painful to lose a race after winning it 2 years in a row, especially to Cody :).  I'm sure Cody will remind me of the defeat often (which I deserve), and he and Joe earned all the accolades they can get- they ran very strong and, unlike me, finished well.  I'm know my recent high mileage (88 miles/week avg over the past 4 weeks) slowed me at the end.  I imagine a decent taper would have helped, but I'm really not sure it would have been enough to stay up with Cody and Joe at the end- they were super speedy.  I knowingly chose to not taper, aiming all training towards the Bear 100, and this is simply a consequence.  I do have lots of time to make up on Cody at El Vaquero Loco, however... so he better watch out!

Well done to everyone today, and a big thanks to the RD's, aid station volunteers, and my family.  A great day and a great trail run on a beautiful mountain- can't ask for much more than that.

AM- 8.5 miles in 59:30.  Legs felt better than I thought they would- soreness is maybe a 2 out of 10.

I've gotten in bed ~11-11:30 the past few nights, but not been able to fall asleep until 12:30-1 am or later.  Very rare for me.  Needless to say, I canned my morning run to get a little much-needed sleep.  It's ok- I can say I'm still recovering from my race.

PM- Today was one of those "blah", just-get-in-the-miles kind of run.  Started at First Dam, ran up the canyon to Spring Hollow.  Then I decided to run up Crimson Trail, a trail I haven't been on in 7 years.  I remembered why- it's a nice hike, but it's a terrible running trail, quite honestly.  The ascent is rather steep (especially on tired legs), the descent is super steep (1200 ft in 1 miles), and the top is so twisty, rocky, and hilly that it is impossible to get any rhythm going. 41 min for the 3 miles on that trail.  Then I did some running around Guinavah Malibu campground and headed back.  Lots of bug swarms on the trail, causing me to run with my head down and breathe through my nose.  A weather front with very strong winds, gusts of dusts, and rain also moved through.  Just glad to finish today- 16.5 slow miles with 2400 ft climbing, according to Sporttracks.  Tired.

AM- 9 mi wandering around Logan.  There were some HS girls and a coach doing repeats on the track at 5:14 am- I want to know how that coach motivates the girls to get up for a workout that early!

PM- I was planning to run 10 miles.  However, I was exhausted right from the start.  This seems to occur to me more than normal recently, and I don't think it's overtraining or burnout.  I thought as I ran and think I know the answer- my mileage is 90+ mpw these days, but I have barely increased my eating.  For example, I estimate I ate 2500 calories yesterday- not near enough for 16-20 miles per day.  Hence, the fatigue and recent weight loss (3 lbs in 2 weeks).  I had a talk with Marci, and she'll buy me a lot more food.  Anyways, I ended up running 3.5 miles in about 35 min (I told you I was tired), then was forced to walk the last .5 back.  Sad.  But hopefully an increased awareness of caloric intake will stymie this problem and let me return to my normal energy levels.

On a related note, I just signed up for the Bear 100 today.  My 2 year build up to this race will finally culminate in 12 weeks!