I'm retired from racing. Really.

I've been planning to do Jardine Juniper for some time, but ended up having to watch the kid so couldn't go.  I did get 6 miles in on the river trail, then went home and got the jogging stroller.  I ran 4 miles, stopped to watch Marci playing tennis, then did about 5-6 more miles.  Not sure total distance- 2:00:01, exactly, but wasn't quite moving 7:30 pace.  We'll call it 15.5 miles.  (I later checked it on mapmyrun.com and it was 9.54 miles, meaning my 15.5 total was dead on).  That puts me at 36 miles in my last 2 runs.  Definite easy day tomorrow.

806- 365

I found this article very interesting, and thought some of you might, too.  Lots of runnings stats- 6 pages worth.  I liked that 11.6 million Americans ran at least 100 days last year- that's only 3.8% of the population.

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,sssssss6-243-297--10909-1-1X2X3X4X5-6,00.html

6 easy miles with 5-20 second striders thrown in.  New shoes- tangents.  Race tomorrow.  Sleep now.

Tangent- 6

Freedom Run 15k today down Blacksmith Fork canyon into Hyrum. It would be a good judge of where my fitness was, with my first decent race. I wanted to be at least under 55 min. I couldn't sleep last night- maybe 4 hours, waking up at 4 am. Tried to sleep more, then just got up. Did 2 miles warm up, then ate and waited for Cody and James to arrive. We drove to the start, where we did another few miles warm up, waiting for the start. It was delayed due to lots of race day signups.

Race finally started with a very deep field for the size- maybe 300 runners. Perfect weather- cool, a bit of a tail wind for a few miles. Wanted to start slow and Cody was happy to run with me. First mile was 5:41- a bit faster than I wanted, but felt good. Big pack ahead of us, we were in 13-14 place, with us in an empty spot (how I like it!). Second mile was 5:50, then 5:54. Picking off a few runners. We caught 2 guys who tried to tail us, so I picked it up to lose them. Cody dropped but one guy stayed with me. Fourth mile 5:38, then 5:39. Still feeling good past the half way mark, but hoping the hill doesn't make me pay for my surge. 5:42 for mile six. We hit the hill and I got up it pretty good- 6:02 mile for mile seven. I passed a guy right at the top- running up it last week in training paid off. I was now in 9th place- it sure if fun to pass people all race rather than get passed. 5:56 mile for the next mile (a bit uphill still), then picked it up with a 5:41. Last mile same pace as first. 0.3 mile in 1:48 for a total time of 53:56 and 9th place. Boosted my esteem for the marathon. Felt good and relaxed and enjoyed the race. James was a minute ahead of me, Cody 30 seconds behind. Good job and thanks for the race, guys. 2.5 miles cool down. 

I looked up previous results and found my time would have put me in second place the past 2 years.  Looks like the race is growing.

New Tangent shoes felt great. Tangent- 20.

Met up with Jeff Shadley in Idaho Falls.  We did a nice morning run together- I felt good even though we were trucking along pretty good (6:50/mile pace, maybe), plus I only slept 9 hours the past 2 nights combined.  8.75 miles with Jeff, plus a mile warm up and a mile (plus a bit) cool down.  Enjoyed running with him and am meeting him again tomorrow for a short run.  Good run, very nice to run in the cool morning, good conversation.

Omni- 246

Met Jeff at 6 am.  60 degrees- pretty nice (a lot better than 90 deg in St George).  We did a loop up to the river and around the trail there.  9 miles, probably 7:10-7:20 pace average (or so).  Logan should have developed their river like that.  A long run tomorrow will put me around 75 miles for the week. 

Omni- 255

Still in Idaho.  Didn't start my run till after 10 am (saw a late showing of Transformers last night- great movie!).  Ran around community park, and wound my way around the cemetery, to the river and Fremont park.  Felt like I doubled my mileage by running from tree to tree to try to stay in the shade- it was hot!  Felt like crap for the first 3-4 miles, but pushed on and felt better.  1:40:57- probably 13.5 to 14 miles, so I will round down.  Hot.  Hope to get an easy 3-4 in later today.

Omni- 264 

Just over 3 miles around first dam to warm up, then met Cody and James and drove to Jardine Juniper trail.  My favorite run, first time this year.  Finally.

We didn't push it too hard going up but it was definitely hot.  Very steady climb (1850 feet total).  We saw a mom and baby moose.  Great views and pretty scenery, including at the tree.  Fast but relaxing run down.  Cody's watch said 10 miles but utahmountainbiking.com says 11.4.  I'll go with Cody, though effort wise it is definitely closer to 12 miles.

806- 378

4.5 miles with Paul on the planet walk.  Like he said, "Hot!"  Then ran some on the Logan track and around the neighborhood by myself before going to frisbee.  Recovery miles- the next 2 days should be harder, 12-14 miles each.  I may be able to sneak in my first 2-a-day of the year, too.

766- 305

[Announcer]:  This week on The Running Channel: It's animal week!  You may remember our show two days ago when we introduced you to a mother and baby moose, as well as a couple of more domesticated animals, horses.  Today's program continues by exploring Logan Canyon with our host, Jon.

[Jon]:  Thanks for joining me today.  Let me tell you about today's run and the animals we encountered on it.  The run started at the canal trail and wound it's way to the mouth of Logan Canyon, continuing all the way to Guinavah Malibu campground.  We wanted to see plenty of wildlife so we didn't start the run until after 7:30 pm, figuring the animals would be out around dusk once the oppresive heat of the day was gone.  We started at a fairly easy pace, between 7:30-8:00 minutes per mile on the way up, and it was a good thing, too.  Had we been going any faster, we might have stepped on the rattlesnake that was stretched across the gravel trail just below Third Dam.  It was a beautiful diamondback, stretching 3 or 3 1/2 feet long and as big around as a tennis ball.  It could easily eat my water bottle whole.  After observing him and waiting for him to get off the trail, the run continued.  There were plenty of birds and small mammels, and a large number of canines, but nothing larger.  At least not yet.  Join us after this commercial break for the return trip.

[Commercial break] This show is brought to you today by New Balance shoes and shirt, Pearl Izumi shorts, and the letter N.

[Jon]:  After turning around at the 7.5 mile mark (60 min running time), we quickly ran into a very large animal in the brush just above the trail.  I didn't get a good look but am sure it was a deer.  The next animal was of the slightly smaller version- insects.  They were out in large number tonight along the trail and river, and I tried to identify specific species by swallowing them, inhaling them, and getting them stuck on my chest and in my eyes.  Alas, I was never able to conclusively determine what they are.  It was getting dark at this point, so the return trip was slightly faster, between 7:00-7:30 pace for the first 3 miles.  Once I reached the end of the singletrack, I increased the pace to around 6:30 per mile and tried to maintain that the rest of the way, hoping to cover more distance and observe more animals.  I was richly rewarded as I rounded a corner near the Nature Center and startled a deer on its way to the river.  We raced for a while before he veered into the brush.  The run exited the canyon but there was one more exotic animal to be seen on this journey.  Just before the canal trail, I passed the elusive and speedy Polpy, also known as Paul P. in some parts of the country.  This creature  relies on speed to escape predators/competition, and is indiginous to Indiana but has migrated to Utah and integrated himself quite well with the local habitat, though he did stand out with his reflective vest this evening.  Polpy escorted me back to my car, and also confirmed that my pace was sub-6:30, which was good to hear.  By this point it was 10 pm and dark, so I ended my animal trek for the evening.  Return trip was 52:45 for 7.5 miles, giving an overall average pace of 7:31 min/mile.

[Announcer]:  Join us tomorrow when Jon journeys up the new singletrack in Green Canyon in search of the rare mountain lion.  This week on The Running Channel: Animal Week!

806- 320

First did 8 miles up Green Canyon- up in 36 minutes, down in 27.  Didn't see a mountain lion, but I did see 3 deer (only 10 meters away from one) and a garter snake.  Then went straight to campus and played 1 1/2 hours of awesome ultimate frisbee- great speed work!  Then, since it was now cool (9:30 pm) and my wife is gone this week, I decided to do a few more miles in the evening rather than wake up at 4 am tomorrow for a run.  I drove to the planet walk and ran along it a few times.  Total of 14 miles, home at 10 pm again.

Report on new Green Canyon singletrack:

The new singletrack starts about 3/4 of the way up the canyon (I kept turning on small trails too early, thinking I was there, but was wrong).  It starts on the left (west) side and actually heads the wrong direction for a bit before switching back.  You get a nice climb on the west side before coming back and crossing the road.  After crossing, there is a short section of singletrack before hitting a jeep trail that dumps you back on the main road.  However, right after you hit the jeep trail, there is a path to a campground on the right (east)- GO TO THE CAMPGROUND!  The singletrack picks up again at the back of the campground and then continues almost all the way to the end of the road.  It is a nice trail and certainly changes the feel of the canyon run.  Nice to get off the road and away from ATV's.  The singletrack adds a bit of distance too the run, probably 1/4 mile or so each way.  This is perfect since the run to the end was about 3.7 miles each way, so now it is real close to 4.  One of you GPS slaves should run this and tell me if I am right.  I definitely like the addition, though.

806- 332

I had to be home from my run by 6 pm so had to back out of a run with Paul and Cody.  Given the heat, I did the old reliable shady trail- planet walk.  A few loops on it were just what I needed.  Pace was 7:15-7:30/mile.  7 miles total.

New shoes- Mizuno Wave Ascend 2, trail shoes.  Felt great, look good.  7.

Met Cody and Paul and drove up into Franklin Basin.  We ran 8 miles up Franklin Basin road at a slow pace (8:30-9:00 miles or so), but it was gravel and averaged 4% uphill (1500 feet uphill total).  We turned around and averaged under 6:30 for the way back- in fact the last three were under 6:00 pace, as fast as 5:45 or so.  It was nice to know I can run that fast at the end of a long week and pretty good run.  The weather was great- first cool run this whole week.  The temp was 50 deg or so, rather than all my other runs which have been above 85-90 deg.  No animals to note other than a bunch of cows.  Time 2:00:27.

After the run, I drove to campus and ran 2 miles on the grass.  Then I played 2 hours of awesome (yet hot) ultimate frisbee- little bit of cross training.  Finally went home for breakfast at 12:30 pm.  Good mileage for the week.

Ascend- 25- You know it's a real, real good week when you wear trail shoes 5 out of 6 days!

One item of note- 4 of my runs were on trail.  I noticed that if you add up the time I was running on those trails and assume that I were instead running at a descent pace (say 7:00-7:15 miles) for that same time, I would have ended up with about 4 more miles for the week, putting me at 81.  So trail runs are much funner and easier on my body but slightly lower my mileage.

It was very hot after work and I wasn't in the mood for a run.  So, I ate dinner and then did the best thing to make myself run- I had my wife drop me off later somewhere and I had to run home.  She dropped me off at the start of the river trail, and I ran up to almost Guinavah Malibu (Cody, that is the correct spelling)- about 5 miles in 38:36.  Then I ran down, starting to push the pace a bit at the end of the singletrack (34:59 down, including 13:00 for the last 2 miles).  I tried to stay between 6:45-7:00 the rest of the way home (just over 5 more miles)- I did the last 4 in 28:13, so I was a hair slow.  However, it was completely dark so I'm sure that slowed me down some, especially on the canal.  All in all, a good run supposing I didn't want to get started.

Hope to get 80+ miles this week, but it is very doubtful since I will be travelling Wed-Fri.

Ascend- 40

I was hoping to do 12 or so, but felt horrible on the run- it was very hot, I was tired, and I had trouble maintaining 8:00 pace.  So I cut it short rather than continue a pointless run.  But at least I got some miles in.

Fly to Alabama tomorrow morning.

Omni- 269

Only had time for 8 miles on the hotel treadmill.  2 warmup, 4 tinman tempo (6:30 min/mile), 2 cool down. 

Omni- 277

I did what has become my normal Monday evening run- up Logan canyon in the evening.  Started at the canal at 8 pm, ran up the canyon and back.  Still hot, but not as many bugs as previous weeks.  Didn't finish till 10:15 pm.  I think my few days off turned my legs into jelly, cause they were both very tired and sore by the end of the run.

Acsend- 54

Took the day off work, so I got a morning run.  Wow, that was NICE!  So nice not to run in 90+ degree weather!  I really wish I could do that every day- I know my training would be better/faster if I wasn't always fighting the heat.  Morning run was from my house along TOU course to the finish line, then back, plus a bit more.  Started at 8:00 pace, steadily and continuously picked up the pace with the last mile under 7:00 pace.  9.5 miles.

I spent most of the day outside watching my daughter while my wife played in a volleyball tournament with her sister.  They won it, never losing a match.  I didn't drink or eat much, so figured I would be a bit tired for my afternoon run.

Afternoon run started at Green canyon parking lot, ran about 2.5 miles up the canyon.  In the RAIN.  Yep, it was raining for the first time in almost 2 months.  It was glorious and cool and refreshing.  Sounds like a Sprite commercial.  Turned around, ran down to Bonneville Shoreline trail, ran to first dam, then up to USU campus, winding my way around a bit, finishing at the quad.  Finished with an hour of good frisbee.  Very tired.  11 miles.

35 miles in 25 hours.  More miles already tha ALL of last week.

Omni -287

766- 315

This is my first week with 2-a-days, which means waking up at the butt crack of dawn.  Earlier, actually.  Morning run started before 4:30 am- ouch!  5 miles from mile 21.5 to 24 and back on TOU course.  Started at 8:10 pace, finished at 7:25 pace.  Felt ok considering how many miles I have run and how tired I am.  Way too early for a run and not even cool out- close to 70 degrees.  38:25 time.  2-a-days are very hard for me when I have to get up so early.

Evening run- 6 easy miles with Paul on river trail.  51:51.  Might have been a hair longer than 6, cause 8:30 pace seems a bit slow.  It was humid and there was a very pretty mist/fog over the river and especially over the lakes- rather dense on the lakes.  I thought it was very pituresque (sp?).

Omni- 292

I now have 6 pairs of running shoes. 

Road shoes: Saucony Omni 5 (292 miles), NB 766 (315 miles)

Trail shoes: Mizuno Wave Ascend 2 (60 miles), NB 806 (332 miles)

Racing shoes: Saucony Tangent 2 (20 miles), Nike Elite (not sure- probably 100 miles)

Since I just bought the Tangents, I think my Elites will be changed to road shoes/lightweight trainers since both of my other road shoes are getting up there in years.

Met Cody at my house (we figured it was the first time just the two of us had run together).  Ran to planet walk and then looped around to the Blackhawk park.  I wanted to do 5x1200 meter repeats, but the loop we did ended up being 0.92 miles (1472 meters) so we only did 4.  It was my very first speed workout of the year, so I was hoping for 5:30-5:40 pace.  I did them in 5:06, 5:07, 5:08, and 5:06, with 2.5 minutes recovery.  Very consistent, but I would have liked to get faster with each one.  Cody kicked my butt on the last 2 and beat me by 4 seconds on the last one.  My legs felt ok, my lungs were slowing me down.  But it was very nice to have someone to do speed work with rather than hammering them out alone.  Ran home via planet walk.  10.25 miles (it's official- from Cody's GPS) in about 1:15.

Followed the run with almost 2 great hours of frisbee.  I ran even more than usual- it was a great game.  You all should join me sometime- very fun, good cross training and speed work.  I'll count it for 2.25 crosstraining miles, given how hard I was working.

Elite- about 110 miles.

6 easy miles, two times on planet walk, pushing the jogging stroller.  Easy, not timed.  I saw Dan walking with his wife and 2 dogs and talked to him for a minute.

766- 321

Cody and James came to my house and we drove to TOU start and ran to my house, 21.6 miles or so.  We ran all the miles between about 6:45-7:15 pace, with most within a few seconds of 7:00 pace.  Finished up a bit faster, with our last .6 at 5:43 pace (or something like that).  Average worked out to 6:51/mile pace.  Felt pretty good, though I was thirsty and my legs were defintely tired by the end.

Followed workout immediately with over 2 hours of good ultimate frisbee.  Cody's watch said he moved over 5 miles during the game.  I usually figure it is equivalent to about a mile per 45 min to 1 hour.  I'll call it 2.5 miles today.

This is the second most mileage I have ever done in a week, I believe.  Lots of mileage.  At least for now, I am top of the blog mileage board.  Some of the guys haven't run yet today, though, so I don't think I'll be there for long.  Maybe I'll have to do another 10,000 mile day.

Omni- 314

Ran a bit at first dam, then met Cody and drove to right hand fork.  We did the Ricks Canyon to Steel Hollow loop- about 12 miles with 2200 feet up and 2200 feet down (or so).  Didn't push it on the uphill, but were still working (Cody commented that our 9:30/mile pace up had him at the same heartrate as our 7:00/mile pace run last Saturday).  Ran down Steel Hollow, which is an awesome downhill singletrack.  We were moving faster but it was getting dark so eventually slowed down.  Plus I twisted my ankle pretty good, which gave me a little scare.  Saw lots of cows, 1 deer, no people.  Good run.  Definitely the most dirty/dusty legs of the year.  Time 1:43:30- effort was same as 14 miles, but run was warmup plus 11.8.

Ascend- 72.

I was supposed to run 14 miles after work, but it didn't work out.  Between 95 degree heat and a sore ankle from yesterday, I decided a few miles into my run to switch with tomorrow's schedule and make today the easy day.  Planet walk, 7 miles.  Now we will just see if I can get 2 medium runs in tomorrow.

Elite- 117