I'm retired from racing. Really.

PM- It was SOOOO nice to sleep in today.  6 mile run in the hot evening with the jogging stroller, 3 miles with Paul.  Stopped by his house to see Seth- cute baby with lots of brown hair.  Easy run.  Should be a fun 10k tomorrow.

I ran about 76 miles the first 2 weeks of month combined as I was taking a mini break and recovering from my trail marathon.  The last 3 weeks, though, I averaged 14 miles a day.  Projected to a month, that would give me 376 miles, which I believe would be an alltime high (ran 337 last Aug).  And I have 386 miles planned for next month.  Wow.

Adrenaline- 458

AM- 4 easy miles as warm up for my race today.  Now off to the race!

Race- drove over the Garland with Paul, Cody, and Walter for this nice race- $5 entry for the non-competitive division (i.e. no award or t-shirt, which is fine with me).  2 mile warmup.  The course is a nice out and back with one hill- down and then up (it is a highway underpass, mile 1 is right at the bottom).  Headwind on the way out, not noticeable on the way back.  Nice winding course through farm fields.  Last year I ran a 36:17 and was hoping to be 34:30-35:00 this year. 

Started out pretty fast- 5:23, then 6:01 for mile 2 (slowed a bit plus the uphill), 6:17 for the 1.1 to the turnaround (5:42 pace).  Went through the turnaround with Walter about 15 seconds ahead and with Paul right behind me- he and I had been talking off and on most of the way out.  I tried to really work it on the way back- 5:50 for the 1.1 (27 seconds faster than on the way out- 5:18 pace, which dropped Paul), then a 5:36.  Finally caught Walter with about 1.5 miles to go (he was running strong and I wasn't sure if I would get him), though he hung within about 10 seconds of me.  Pushed it on the last mile and ran 5:29, pretty good supposing there was the uphill.  34:37 for the race, Walter was about 13 seconds behind and Paul snuck under 35:00.  Cody was about 2 minutes back, for a 1-4 FRB sweep. 

After the race and 4 mile cooldown, we went for the $3 breakfast but they told us it was free- yes!  Pancakes, hash browns, eggs, yummy ham, and real OJ.  Then the raffle- everyone won something except Paul- poor guy!

I was very happy with the race today.  It's a big improvement over last year and is a good indication that my fitness is where I hoped it was.  Paul estimates the course is about 30 seconds slower than a flat SLC 10k (between the headwind and hill), so Sasha's predictor gives me a 32:52 Des News 10k and a 2:31:07 at St. George- just about right where I hope to be.  Nice course, good time, running with friends, free breakfast, raffle win- great way to start a Saturday!  Also, my 5k splits were 17:41 and 16:56, the latter of which is only 3 seconds off my old 5k PR.  Maybe I should try to officially break that soon.

768- 120, Tangent 2- 40

Jogged out to get my morning newspaper, solely so I could be above AdamRW on the board.

AM- 6 mi, 2 shooting stars.  I was so tired all day yesterday- slept through sunday school, took a nap before church, and still went to bed ~9:30.

PM- Trail run.  I only get one per week with my schedule, now, so I have to enjoy them.  Cody and I ran Green Canyon- 4 miles of singletrack, 1 mile road.  48:30 up (9:30 pace), 33:15 down (6:39 down).  The roles were reversed today- I never stopped for a bathroom break, and Cody had to stop five (5) times!  Granted, I've made him stop many more times than he has me throughout the years, but I can safely say I've never made him stop five times on one run.  It was funny- I kept laughing.  1:21:45 for the run (8:11 avg).

Adrenaline- 464, 800- 28

AM- 5.5 miles on the back 9, 2 shooting stars.

PM- Big Workout.  I was very, very happy to see some clouds blow in around noon- the temp was around 80 deg when I ran, cloudy, a bit breezy.  The best running conditions I have had in the afternoon since May.  Did 3 miles warmup, then 2 tempo miles (2nd was 6:10 with Paul on the track).  Saw Cody pushing his kids.  Then Paul and I started the workout- 6x1mi at LT pace (~5:45) with 300m rest (1:30-1:40).  Repeats went 5:44, 5:46, 5:45, 5:44.  At this point, I had to go to the bathroom so had an extended break, and Paul headed home.  After the stop, I warmed up a bit then did my last two- 5:45, 5:44.  I'm not sure if it was because my legs cooled down a bit, because I was running without Paul, because of some lingering fatigue from Saturday, or why, but number 5 was tough and number 6 was darn hard.  My legs were pooped by the end- absolutely tired.  Nevertheless, I was happy with the workout- very consistent for all 6 repeats, right at the correct pace.  I did 1.5 miles cooldown on the track than jogged 2 miles home.  Saw James Barnes for a minute on the way- he is here with some of his cross country kids at a camp.  Very glad to be done, very tired.  Now 3 easy days to recover before what promises to be a good race on Saturday.  Total 15.5 miles, 1:49:11 (7:02 avg).  Dinner then sleep.

Adrenaline- 470, Tangent- 314

AM- I got 6.5 hours of sleep last night, which is pretty good for me.  Actually woke up before 4 am and started my run a few minutes early.  6.5 miles at the golf course, 13 holes, 1 shooting star, 0 animals.

PM- 7.5 very slow, not so easy miles with the jogging stroller.  No time, but around 8:30 pace, I guess.  Fatigued from yesterday, still.

Adrenaline- 477, 768- 123

Question:  Which bear is best?

AM- 6 miles, 4 shooting stars.  Warm.  My left eyelid started twitching last night.  I hoped it would be gone in the morning but it is still here.  Funny, yet annoying.

PM- 7 miles with the jogging stroller, Cody, and Paul.  7.25, actually, but I'll round down.  Naked.

767- 389

PM- 6 easy miles with the stroller.  Good luck to everyone running a race tomorrow.

768-129

Today was the race I had been looking forward to for a long time.  Bill Cobler was nice enough to let me crash at his place last night.  Woke up and did 2 easy miles with him, then drove to Park City.

The 16 mile race runs from the PC resort base to the top of Jupiter Peak, 3000' climb, and then back down.  It is mostly on singletrack with some on dirt service roads.  Nothing is flat.  I was hoping for a top 3 or top 5 finish, though that was in doubt at the start when I saw that the race was on the La Sportiva race series so a group of national class trail runners was there, led by the trail god Bernie Boettcher (http://www.mountainrunning.com/bios/spotlight/bboettcher.html).  He's a 2:33 marathoner who is proportionatly far-better on trails.

Race started out somewhat easy for me- I ran most of the way up between 5th to 10th place, just trying to save energy.  The last half mile climb is unrunnable and almost unwalkable- I figure it is about 30% grade for the last .25-.3 mile.  Ouch.  I probably could have pushed the pace a bit more on the runnable uphills, but didn't mind.  Hit the top in 1:12 at 7th place with 3 guys ~30 seconds ahead of me, 1 guy right behind me.  300 foot descent, then up another steep mountain that is just a few feet shorter than Jupiter, peaked at 1:21.  Ouch again.  Then at long last we hit the downhill.  I picked off the 3 guys in front of me within a mile or two.  Then we hit an aid station and all made a wrong turn- slowed me down about 30 seconds by the time I got back to the turn, though the other guys were real cool and waited so we got back in the same order.  From that point on one of the guys stayed within 5-15 seconds behind me, but I didn't see anyone else.  Pretty good singletrack the whole way down, running fast.  For some reason my chest tightened up around 1:40 and I had trouble breathing.  I slowed down for a few minutes and eventually got my breath back.  Ran down the rest of the singletrack, with a very painful last mile that had a number of momentum-sapping uphills.  Finished 4th place- Bernie won, then another La Sportiva guy, then one local guy 2 minutes ahead of me.  Top 3 places won shoes, then 4th and 5th won a fastpacking backpack. 

My time was 2:08:00, 8:00 pace exactly.  They changed the course this year, with the locals agreeing it was about 4 minutes slower than previously.  Accounting for that, my time this year would have won the race in 2006 and finished 2nd in 2005 and 2007 (only 30 seconds behind the winner).  Not too shabby.  I love trail races.  I was so pumped I rocked out to loud punk rock the whole drive home in my non-air conditioned car...

I'm pretty happy with the race.  Top 3 would have been nice, but getting beat by 2 national-class ringers isn't bad.  Plus I beat 4 or 5 other La Sportiva guys.  Only a few blisters.  Met some great guys, including one who had run the Striders WRC with us (Craig DeVries).  I figure this race indicates I am on pace for my attempt at winning the Mid Mountain Marathon in PC in a month, especially considering this week is my highest mileage in a year and no taper for this race.  Yeehaw.

As a side note, I received some nice compliments at different times after the race from the guys just behind me.  One of them told me that he had never seen anyone take off down the mountain and pull away as fast I did- he didn't believe it was possible.  Two other guys said similar things, both of them calling me a mountain goat.  Nice compliments.

I have a goal to run this race next year and get some of you other FRB road-slaves to join me for a FRB sweep.  Trails are so much better than roads! 

Ascend- 352, 768- 132 

AM- easy 6.  6 shooting stars.  Meteor shower tonight!  I am excited because my schedule this week lets me take 2 mornings off!  Slight soreness in quads, just a twinge in my hammies- not too bad, though.

PM- Scrubbed the Big Workout per Cody's advice (thankfully).  Ran 15.5 miles from the canal to end of River Trail and back.  Not much soreness, twinges every here and there, but some overall fatigue.  Last 4-5 miles were on rather tired legs.  1:00:55 up, 56:44 back, 1:57:39 total.  By the way, for any Loganites, the pipeline construction will result in occasional closure of the trail this week and the last week of this month.  Run it at your own risk- I was glad it was open for me today, though.

Adrenaline- 483, 806- 506 (Retired!  My oldest shoes by almost a year- already in the trash!  Farewell, old friends)

AM- 6 mile meteor shower run.  Running was secondary today to looking upwards.  Saw 29 meteors in 48 minutes, pretty good supposing the shower averages 1 meteor/minute when you can see the whole sky and there is no light pollution.  The last meteor was the brightest, and one of them was very slow moving and lasted almost 5 seconds.  It was chilly this morning and hard to get out of bed, but well worth the show.  I feel sorry for everyone who slept in.

PM- Ran by Cody's but he wasn't home.  Ran to planet walk via Willow Park.  At the end of planet walk I ran into Paul.  Ran to his house, did a lap around the LHS grass loop, back to Paul's, then home.  Easy pace- 7:15-7:25, with the last mile a bit quicker.  59:27, more than 8 miles.  Round down.

Adrenaline- 489, 768- 140

PM- Supposed to be a big workout today.  Ended up with crap.  I knew I was in trouble within the first half mile- I was lightheaded and my feet/legs felt like they were made of lead.  I still tried- 3 miles warmup, 1 mile tinman tempo (kind of).  Then met Cody and Paul at LHS track.  I was going to do 8x1000m at 5:30-5:35 pace, so my repeats needed to be 3:26-3:30.  First one was 3:36 and felt very hard.  Second one was 3:50 (6:08 pace).  I was done.  Tired, pooped, felt crappy.  I pulled the plug on the workout.  Didn't even have the energy to jog much around the track while Paul and Cody finished.  We cooled down just under 5 miles together.  Total distance was just under 11 miles for me, 1:22:30. 

Not sure why I felt so bad- I was at a conference today so ate a big, not too great lunch at noon rather than my very healthy snacking all day.  7 hours of sleep last night, which is good for me.  Whatever the reason, there was no point in forcing the workout.  I'll try to get a decent tempo run in tomorrow.

Tangent- 325

Goose egg for the day. I was planning to run 12 this afternoon, but instead got home from work and immediately had to start moving the 14 cubic yards of dirt that was dumped in my front yard today so we can trench for sprinklers tomorrow. I even had a bobcat come help for an hour and still spent 6 hours working on my yard, finally quitting at 10:30 pm. I was planning to make next week an easy week (80-85 miles) but will switch it with this week- after yesterday's workout, I'm sure I need it. First day off in over a month.

PM- 8 easy miles with the jogging stroller.  A lady driving an SUV almost hit us, missing by less than a foot.  I don't think she even saw us because she was text messaging on her phone.  I had a coworker killed cause another driver was texting.  Everyone, PLEASE DON'T TEXT WHILE DRIVING!!!  Please don't talk on your phone, either- both are dangerous.  As runners we should be aware how dangerous cars can be.  Be safe and don't use your phone.

767- 397

Long run with my work running club- Cody and Paul tagged along.  Ran through the peaceful metropolises of Newton and Clarkston Utah.  Cold and windy at the start with 2 8:00 pace warm up miles.  Then we dropped in the 7's, then gradually down to the 6's, stopping for gatorade every 3 miles courtesy of the club.  We had a few 5:30-5:40's towards the end coming down a hill.  Cody and I added a few miles at the end to get over 20 miles.  Legs were a bit fatigued by the end but overall felt pretty good.  Much better than earlier this week.  20.5 miles, 2:22:30 (6:57 pace) for the whole run.  Finished with bagels, muffins, bananas, and fig newtons. 

Rest week is over- 93+ miles next week, then 96 for 2 weeks. 

768- 160

AM- easy 6.

PM- 10 with the jogging stroller, most with Cody, as well.  8:00 pace.  Then 3 more alone at the end.  13 total, ~7:50 avg.  Hot.

Adrenaline- 495, 768- 173

AM- 6 easy miles, but probably my fastest morning run ever.  I set a new record- 14 holes!  I usually get somewhere between 11-13, but never more than that.  Got 14 today with a minute to spare.  Oh, I'm being followed by a moon shadow... moon shadow, moon shadow...

PM- Big Workout.  Ran to Cody's, then to Paul's.  Ran into Providence and took a quick potty break/drink.  Then we were off for an 8 mile tinman tempo on the Providence/Millville hill loop- first mile is uphill, then the rest is downhill, flat, or rolling.  First 3 miles were 7:05 (uphill), 6:17, 5:58.  Then I had to stop for another potty break.  2 more miles, then another potty break- ugh.  Ridiculous.  Then 3 more miles.  Working hard and very tired by the end- 8 miles is a long way to tempo, especially when it is 90 degrees.  Total tempo time was 49:00 even (6:07 pace).  Tired.  4 miles very slow cooldown, 16 total for the run in 1:51:00, 6:56 avg.

41 miles in 2 days.  Either 12 or 18 more planned for tomorrow (depending if I can drag my lazy butt out of bed).  At least I am second on the mileage board right now...

Adrenaline- 501 (retired, already in the trash!), Tangent 2- 56

AM- 6 easy miles.  Started at 7:45 pace, finished at 7:20.  My morning runs today and yesterday have been quicker than usual for some reason.  I guess my legs feel good despite the high mileage.

PM- Ran from first dam up to Stokes Nature center, where a familiar face met me unexpectedly- it was Paul.  He told me the trail was closed a half mile up, so we turned around and ran the very hot and hilly Bonneville Shoreline.  I was tired and going slow- so slow I walked up some of the steeper hills (there are some steep ones).  Paul turned around at 1900 N, while I ran up Green Canyon for about 3 miles.  Hot and tired.  Very tired.  Only one water fountain and it was inundated with about 200 wasps, so I drank fast.  Slow run.  12 miles, 1:38:00. 

I am tired.  I have never run more than 53 miles in any 3 day period, and I am at 59 now.  Tired.

767- 403, 800- 40

PM- 8 mi w/ 8 striders, 58:43.

768- 181

PM- 6 mi.

767- 409

TOU 1/2 today with a good blog crowd- Seth, Paul, Cody, Sasha, Walter, and others.  My 1/2 marathon PR of 1:14:07 was set on this course last year.  I was hoping to break 1:13, with a stretch goal of 1:12.  I also was gunning for Sasha and wanted to prevent Paul from beating me, which was his goal.  Last year I did a partial taper for this race, this year I had no taper- in fact, this week is my highest running mileage ever.  Ever.  So I was hoping that wouldn't affect me.

Warmed up 2 miles at home, then 2 miles at the starting line.  I was all business today- no talking, joking around, etc.  Even wore my race day warm up beanie despite the warm temperature.  Felt a new tightness in my right achilles and tried to stretch it, but to no avail.  It twinged a bit during the race and hurts after, but didn't slow me.  It was 50-55 deg at the start, overcast, swirling winds (i.e. no great canyon wind to help today).  Splits were as follows:

Mile 1- 5:34- too slow, wanted sub-5:30, but felt good.  Seth and Taren are already ahead, Josh Steffan and Sasha are 10 seconds up, Paul and Walter are right behind me.

Mile 2- 5:28

Mile 3- 5:23- finally a good pace, though faster than my 10k pace a few weeks ago...

Mile 4- 5:25- feeling fast yet good, Paul dropped off a bit here

Mile 5- 5:17- Fast, fighting a bit of a side ache

Mile 6- 5:20 (10k split of about 33:20, just off PR pace)

Mile 7- 5:18- not much tail wind compared to last year.  Bummer.

Mile 8- 5:30- out of the canyon, fewer hills, slight headwind

Mile 9- 5:32- Paul is still only 10-15 seconds back, Sasha is about 1 minute ahead.  My 15k PR is 53:56, which I would have broken by about 3:30 today.

Mile 10- 5:29 (10 miles in 54:21)- semi-brisk headwind along this stretch

Mile 11- 5:38 (59:59 total time at this point)- Mile 10.5-12 is uphill, with 150' climb

Mile 12- 5:47- Sasha really coming back to me now, Paul isn't catching up

Mile 13- 5:23- pushed it real hard to the finish

0.1- 0:26- made up 30 seconds on Sasha, put about 15 seconds on Paul in the last 5k

Total time was 1:11:38 (1:11:40 official, though I think the official clock was 2 seconds slow by everyone's watch).  5:28 pace, 2:29 PR.  This was about 1 minute faster than I realistically thought I could go, and the race was about 30 seconds slower than last year due to different winds.  I am very excited.  I was tired at the finish, but within about 2 minutes felt much better and could run at a normal pace again- much faster post race recovery than normal.  

I'm happy with the race today.  A few blisters, very tight achilles (I'll have to watch that), but feel great.  This predicts a 2:28:14 St. George (and a 32:19 Des News 10k, and 1:09:30 on the new Hobblecreek, in case anyone was wondering for today's comparison).  My St. George goal is to break 2:30, so this goes a long way to making me belive I have a shot at it.  Sasha predicted 2:27:30 at SGM.

By the way, Clyde-science predicted 1:11-something, with him not even knowing the course.  Maybe Clyde-science is the new Sasha-science.

 Tangent 2- 76

I just noticed I am finally on the first page of the mileage board for miles this year- yeah!  And I am within 20 miles of my total miles for last year... and it's still August!

AM- 6.  Achilles feels quite a bit better, twinges of soreness in both quads and left knee, but nothing bad. 

PM- 13 miles (13.1, actually).  Hot but felt great- no soreness, no pain, minimal fatigue.  I think I am on for my Big Workout tomorrow.  Ran up into Logan Canyon via the canal and back, saw Cody for a few minutes.  1:37:32, 7:26 pace.  Felt very easy at that pace.

Adrenaline 8- 6 (new shoes and new shorts on my run!  Now I have 2 pairs of shorts!), 768- 194

AM- I wasn't going to run this morning because I was up until 11:30 packing last night.  But, I slept fitfully and was wide awake at 4 am anyways, so I got up.  The run can only described as very sluggish on a morning that can only be described as very warm.  Only made it 5 miles.

Adrenaline- 11

AM in Tooele- Big Workout.  Started at 5:45 am- very dark out in a strange location.  I had looked up places to run and decided to head towards Middle Canyon.  Ran 5 miles out of Tooele and up the canyon- it gets pretty steep towards the top- it gains 800 feet in 2 miles!  First 5 warmup miles were slow as a result- avg 9:00 pace.  The turned around and started the workout- 10x2min at CV pace (5:25 on flat, faster on downhill) w/ 1 min jog in between.  I did my rest jogging uphill to make sure I stayed in the canyon.  First 3 repeats were on killer downhill  (about 500 ft/mile) and were 5:01-5:03 pace!  Wow!  My jogging uphill also kept me on the steep down for longer.  I tried to lean down the hill but it was steep enough that I was putting on the brakes at portions.  Then the next 4 were 5:10-5:18 pace as the hill flattened out (only 200 ft/mile drop).  The last 3 were 5:22-5:27 pace on rolling hills, no net elevation loss.  I figure I dropped 1200-1400 feet during the workout.  Good downhill practice for St. George.  Didn't feel near as hard as doing 1000-1600m repeats on the track in the heat- it is so nice to run in the morning!

Finished the run with 3 tinman tempo miles and about 2.5 more miles of easy running to get me to 15 miles.  Now fly to Denver for a few days.

PM- 7 easy miles with my dad riding along on his bike for some good company.

768- 216

AM- Easy run with my dad biking along.  6 am, great temperature.  Ran down to Chatfield Reservoir, up the Platte River, then looped home, all of it on bike trails.  The route was exactly 13 miles, which is what I wanted.  So, so nice to be in a town with lots of bike trails.  They even have side by side trails on the river- one cement, one crushed gravel (which is the one I ran on).  I love Logan, but really wish they had done more recreational trails.  1:39:20, 7:38 avg. Now off to the Denver Zoo with the family.

768- 229

AM- Big Workout.  5 miles warmup in 38:25 down to the Platte River trail, then 7 miles at MP (supposed to be 5:50-5:55, but I was on gravel so just wanted to stay under 6:00).  Splits were 5:57 (hair slow), 5:44, 5:46, 5:46, 5:54 (had some uphill), 5:40, 5:37.  Really pushing it hard on the last 2 to go faster.  Felt tired but good by the end.  5:46 avg for the 7 miles, so a bit faster than I needed to do.  4 miles cooldown in 31:23 with 8 striders.  1:50:19 for the whole 16 miles, 6:54 pace.  Very nice to run in the 60-deg temps of the morning and to have my dad biking along behind me the whole run.  Happy to report that I made him have to work a bit on his bike for the 7 MP miles.

PM- 6 easy miles in 48:30 at 3:30 PM.  Hot, but not near as hot as most of the summer.  Followed by a good hour of ultimate frisbee.

Tangent 2- 92, 768- 235

AM- 16 miles in 2:04:11 (7:46 avg) on some great gravel trails around Denver with  my dad biking along.  I could really tell after about 10-12 miles that I have never gone this many miles before as my legs were rather fatigued.  New record high for weekly mileage and montly mileage (40+ more miles than ever before).  I haven't decided yet if I want to run 2-3 miles tonight in order to hit the 100 mile mark for the first time.  I'm pretty happy with how I feel, especially supposing I had only 5 miles on Tuesday.

768- 251