I'm retired from racing. Really.

AM- Long run with Walter, who thankfully came into town.  We met at 5:15 am at the bottom of Blacksmith Fork and drove up to about mile 10 of TOU (ended up being exactly mile 10, which is pretty good since the mile markers are gone).  Ran up to the start in exactly 1:15:00 (7:30 pace), though my legs and achilles started hurting at mile 7- that wasn't a good sign for the coming speedwork.  Filled up the water bottle.  I didn't have any granola bars or gu's at home, so I made my own concoction of marshmallows and almonds.  We ate some at this point- it was actually pretty good and a nice energy boost.  Then we ran back to the car- goal was about MP (6:00 pace or so), though I would have been happy with 6:15-6:30 given the way my legs felt.  Averaged 6:13/mile for the first 6, though we were still semi-conversational so not going too hard.  Mile 7 was a slow 6:27 (a bit uphill, plus I think we were getting tired).  But the seeing the slow mile helped us kick it into gear, finishing with a 6:03, 5:53 and 5:51.  It feels good to do 5:50 pace at the end of a long run.  6:09 avg pace for the way down.  Dropped Walter off, then I added 3 more miles on Hollow Road.  Total of 23 miles in 2:40:20 (6:58 pace). 

This is my first 100 mile week ever, but it was easier than my first 93+ mile weeks last year- my legs have adjusted pretty well.  And although my achilles is sore and my legs are tired, my legs are definitely much less tired and sore today then they were after Monday's crazy trail run.  It was a very hard run last Monday, that's for sure.  Good week- 100 miles, plus 1 BW, 1 BTW, and 1 long run with speed.  I'm off to Florida again next week, so my mileage might drop a bit.

Thanks for getting up so early and running with me, Walter- it was very nice not to have to run alone.  And for the record, we only had 600 ft elevation drop in the first 10 miles of the marathon.

AM- 5 by myself, then 5.5 with both kids.  I was supposed to go to FL later today for work, but they decided this morning to push it back to later this week.

PM- Trail run with Cody.  Hot in town (90+ deg) but a bit cooler in the mountains, plus lots of the run was in the bottom of shady, cool canyons.  We did Rick's Canyon to Steel Hollow- medium effort up to the top, then really pushed it most of the way down Steel, which is a blast to run down.  Some of the miles coming down were sub-6:00, with stretches as fast as 5:15-ish- pretty darn fast supposing it is technical downhill.  We slowed up a bit after Cody got stung by a wasp- he was a good sport, and we admired the swelling on the drive home.  1:41:00 for about 12 miles, with 2200 ft climb and descent.

By the way, Cody, I have that we ran this together July 30, 2007- so 2 years ago!  And it took us 1:43:30.  Definitely does not seem that long ago.

AM- GC 6.  Saw Cody heading out just as I was finishing.

PM- 8.5 with family.

AM- Well, I had an exciting morning and a new experience.  I left my house at 5:15 headed towards the golf course.  After less then a quarter mile, with no warning, a big dog suddenly ran out of a yard, crossed the road, and attacked me.  Now, I've had lots of dogs run at me, bark, even nip me, and I've had dogs bite me once or twice.  But I've never had a dog attack me like this.  It was a full-grown, black Rottweiler, and it was vicious.  No barking or tail wagging, just snarling, growling, and biting.  100 lbs of teeth.  I kept circling on the road, kicking him away with my feet, while he kept charging in, trying to bite.  I was extremely fortunate that a car turned onto the road just then.  I waved my hands and yelled at it to stop and help.  The man rolled down his window, yelling and whistling to distract the dog.  He stopped right next to me but it still took me 30 seconds to open the door and hop in, due to the continued aggression of the dog.  I was scared out of my mind, my heart was pounding, and the adrenaline was surging.  The whole time, another dog (yellow lab, I think) stood in the same yard and barked at the scene.  Once in the car, we drove a few blocks down the street while I checked myself to make sure I wasn't bit.  The dog didn't follow, so I profusely thanked the man for his help, hopped out, and ran home.  The whole attack lasted less than 1-2 minutes, I think, though I can't be sure amidst the fear, adrenaline and confusion.  For the first time ever, I called the cops on a dog- there was no doubt that I did not want this dog around- heck, our little 12 year old newspaper girl would be riding down that street at 5:45.

The cops came and found the dog.  It tried to attack one of the officers, as well, but then ran off, though I noticed they kept their batons at the ready in their hands for the next 10 minutes.  They talked to the property owner, who said the lab was his but not the Rottweiler.  The officers said they would send out animal control, then left.  I ran around my neighborhood for a while, and will admit I was very jumpy.  I even saw a few other dogs in people's yards, with each sighting eliciting a huge adrenaline rush. 

Hope I never have that experience again.  I have never been that scared or threatened by a dog, and was reminded just how helpless we are against them.  It obviously was not a trained attack dog, otherwise I wouldn't be writing this right now.  But I know I will be even more cautious of big dogs, esp. Rottweilers and pit bulls, in the future.  And to everyone reading this who owns a dog, please keep them restrained at all times, even if they don't have a history of attacking people.  You never know what they will do in the dark at 5 am when a stranger runs by.

PM- 12 miles on Green Canyon, with 1800 feet climbing.  I love the trail, esp. the new singletrack.  My legs were very tired by the end from the mileage recently.  And it appears my business trip to FL won't be till next week, so I should be able to run Jupiter Steeplechase.  I'm very happy about that.

AM- 6 easy at the gym.  No way I was running outside after yesterday's adventure.  I may be traumatized for a little while...

AM- 6 easy with 4 striders, 2xPW.  Beautiful morning for a run.  No work today- heading to Park City for my race plus 2 nights at a resort.  One of those "$25 for 2 nights if you listen to our timeshare presentation" kinds of thing.  Should be a nice getaway.

Noon- 3 more with the family.

Quick report- Jupiter Steeplechase today in Park City.  Great race.  I ran it last year in 2:08:00 and placed 4th.  The field was much more competitive this year- I improved my time by over 5.5 minutes, but got 7th place (my time this year would have taken 2nd place last year).  But I had a blast, loved the downhills, and am excited about a huge time improvement... 

Long report- My family had a 2 night stay in PC, so I was able to sleep in this morning.  Ran a few miles in the hotel facility (no hills) and bumped into another runner, who ended up finishing just ahead of me.  Saw Twinkies at the start, plus **lots** of good runners- this is on the La Sportiva racing circuit with big prize money, so it was stacked.  Weather was 45 deg and absolutely perfect.  Last year I started off too slow, so wanted to fix that this year.

Race started with the field heading out very quickly.  I eventually settled into about 8th spot for most of the ascent, with a bit of passing and being passed.  It is a very steady climb of over 3000 ft in 8 miles, with the last .25 mile being so steep it is barely walkable.  Splits were 9:22, 9:07, 8:48, 7:27 (this mile had some flat and some down, which was a very welcome respite from the never ending uphills), 9:59, 9:34, 14:48 (includes the very steep ascent to Jupiter Peak).  Luke Nelson (La Sportiva runner) was a couple minutes ahead at the summit, and Brad Mitchell (also La Sportiva) and another guy barely edged me out over the summit (I can't really say they passed me, since we were all just slowly bushwacking up the mountain on our own paths, but they were just ahead), so I was in 10th place at this point, with another guy just behind.  It sure is hard to breath at 10,000 ft while climbing straight up a mountain while eating Shot Blocks.  Then it is a slight downhill, then another steep climb to Tri-Counties peak.  This mile was 9:07, and I hit the summit in 1:16:50- last year was 1:21 and 7th place at this point, so I was more than 4 minutes ahead of my time but further back in the standings.  At least I can say I didn't go out too slowly this year. 

I love trail running, and by that I primarily mean I love downhill singletrack.  LOVE it.  I tolerate climbing just for the downhills.  So, now the race was getting fun.  I quickly caught the 2 guys in front of me but could not pass them due to the singletrack.  Rather than force anything, I just relaxed for about a mile and let them carry me along. 6:33 mile.  Then we turned onto a jeep trail and I picked up the pace, moving into 8th place.  Next few miles were 5:30, 5:42, and 5:16 (what!?!  That split surprised me, given the technical nature of the downhill- flying).  At this point, Luke Nelson suddenly popped into view much to my surprise.  He pulled off so I could pass him, moving into 7th place- I was very surprised to pass him, since he beat me by 7.5 minutes this year at the Wahsatch Steeplechase.  I had no idea who else was ahead of me.  Next miles were 5:40, 6:12, and 6:11.  The last 3 miles of the course have lots of switchbacks which make it very hard to keep up the pace or to see where the competition is.  I would say some miles have as many as 15 or more switchbacks.  The last mile actually has some very painful, though somewhat short, uphill which saps all momentum.  No one ever appeared ahead of me, but I finished with a fast kick (aided by a nice downhill) and 6:04 mile pace.  Total time 2:02:21, 7:38 pace- 22 seconds faster per mile than last year.  I was very, very happy with how I raced and how I felt, though nowhere near my top 3 goal.  Winning time was 1:52, 3rd place was 1:58.  Man I love trail races!

Ended up in 7th overall, which was great since the top 7 got prizes.  There were a bunch of free shoes and some ski passes to PC- I ended up with a ski pass.  Sweet.  Hopefully I can use it.  Talked to a bunch of nice guys after the race, cheered Twinkie in, then headed back to the hotel for a nice shower.  Now I'll spend the rest of the day enjoying Park City, then fly to Florida tomorrow.  If I get in some good miles and BW while there, I'll aim for a PR at TOU 1/2 and full, my next 2 races.  Then I transistion fully into my ultra training for my 100 milers next year.  Should be a blast.

PM- 10 on the treadmill in Florida.  The building I work in on the space center has a gym facility on the first floor, so at least it is convenient, even though there are only 3 rather old treadmills.  Better than running outside right now, with a heat index of 95 deg.  No soreness and minimal fatigue from the race- my legs have finally adjusted to all the downhill trail pounding I can give them.

PM- 15 easy. And boring.

After dinner PM- 5 more.

Found a few links about the race on Saturday- they're saying it was one of the most stacked trail races.

http://mountainrun.wordpress.com/2009/08/11/mountain-cup-pulling-a-bernie/

http://blog.irunfar.com/2009/08/mielke-and-kimmel-rocket-upwards-at.html

AM- 14 on the beach watching the sunrise.  Absolutely no wind on the way out, strong headwind on the way back.  I've discovered I drink about twice as much water with no wind (1 bottle every 30-40 min) than with a headwind (1 bottle every hour+).

5 PM- 7 more.

10 PM- 6 more while watching the entertaining Wipeout on TV.  I only intended on 4 but felt good so kept going. 

I ended up with 27 miles today, and 47 over the last 2 days.  I think I'll be working a lot the next few days, which will probably result in less running- not a bad thing.

AM- 6 easy.  Very easy.

PM- 9 more.  Wanted at least 6, ended up going for 9.

AM- 6.  My legs definitely have that overall tired feeling to remind me that I'm putting a lot of miles on them this week.  No pains or injuries, per se, just an overall fatigue and soreness.  Hopefully I'll be able to do a BTW tomorrow before I head into work.

PM- 4.

AM- Big Treadmill Workout.  I had debated what workout would be the least tedious on a treadmill and settled on a tempo run.  But an even tempo gets boring, so I did a progressive tempo.  5 miles warmup, then started at about 6:20-6:30 pace (not sure- the treadmill definitely was going faster than it said it was- I've done lots of miles on this treadmill this week, and its "7:30 pace" is definitely faster than that).  Every 0.5 mile I bumped up the speed.  This really broke it up so I could think of only the next 1/2 mile increment.  Watched soccer on ESPN the whole time.  It was warm in the room with no fan, so my shirt was quickly soaked, sweat was flying off me, and eventually even my shorts (!) were drenched and sticking to me.  Ick.  Anyways, kept pushing the pace every half mile until I hit 8 miles of speedwork.  Decided to throw on one more speed mile, so total speed workout of 9 miles, finishing at 11 mph (5:27 pace)- rather tired by the end.  3 miles cooldown, 17 miles total for the run.  Scarfed down a huge breakfast at the hotel, then headed to work.

PM- 3 more before bed.  You didn't really think I was going to stop at 99 for the week, did you?  Weekly mileage PR by 1.5 miles.  Feel good, only a little twinge in the bottom of my foot.  Hopefully another 100+ miles next week, then take an easy week which happens to coincide with TOU 1/2.

AM- 4.5 easy miles.  The beach was very crowded due to a predawn Delta II rocket launch on a gorgeous morning with a colorful sunrise.  It was cool watching the launch- about 2 minutes into the ascent, the rocket entered the sunlight and its plume was a brilliant white against a dark blue-purpleish sky. 

On a related note, it is becoming increasingly likely that Obama will cut the Ares I rocket program that I have been working on for the past 2 years.  If this happens, it is probable that hundreds to thousands of workers at my plant would lose their jobs, including me.  And this is on top of 750 job losses that happened earlier this year or are already announced for Oct. 

Noon- 10 more.

AM- BTW.  5 miles warmup, then 3 miles tinman at 6:00 pace.  Then did 5x4min at CV pace (5:20-5:25), with 2 min rest in between.  3.5 miles cooldown.  Tired.  The pockets on my shorts had puddles of sweat in them by the end.  Fly home tomorrow.

PM- 7 more.  But now my trip home got delayed to Friday night, which means this trip will be at least 13 days.  Way too long to be away from a wife and two young kids.

AM- 6 while watching the news about Brett Favre's unretirement.  Wonder what Paul thinks about this.  And will the Packers allow him to enter the Hall of Fame as a Packer still?

PM- 10.

PM after dinner- 4.5.

Noon- 10 easy.

Night- 4 easy.

AM- 7 easy.  Now I have a full day of work, and then (hopefully) fly home late tonight.  It's been a long 13 day trip.

AM- Long run back in good ol' Logan.  It was OH SO GLORIOUS to run in cool weather again (though the ride to the top in the jeep with no top was chilly- we did see a bull moose, though).  Ran with my work running club today.  Allie and Cody came.  Cody and I started running at mile 4 of TOU course, ran to the top, then down to the end of Hollow Rd, with gatorade provided every 3 miles courtesy of Marty and the club.  We ran most of the way down with Allie and Russ Bennett, while MattRow ran ahead.  Pace was about 6:45-7:00.  At mile 14, Cody and I picked it up to 6:05-6:30 pace for a while.  We caught Matt at an aid station and made him run with us for a few miles, plus we dragged him up the hill into Hyrum as practice for SGM.  Finished up the run of 21.5 miles in 2:23:33, 6:42 avg.  Felt a bit tired but good, other than a knot/charlie horse in my right calf.  Easier week next week leading up to TOU 1/2, then a few more hard weeks. This is my 3rd 100+ mile week in the past 4 weeks, so rest is needed.

MattRow ran a great workout today- 20 miles all averaging faster than his goal MP!  Wow!  That's a hard workout- it will definitely make him better for the marathon.

AM- 6

PM- 10 with Cody on the River Trail.  I have never seen as many runners on it as we saw today.  Easily 10 times more runners than walkers or bikers.  Then ran 4 with Marci and the kids.

AM- Tired this morning, so scrubbed the morning run.  I love recovery weeks- mileage doesn't really matter.

PM- BW with Cody.  Last year on the Tues before TOU 1/2, I did a BW with Paul and Cody running the Providence hills loop with 8 miles tempo.  I felt terrible and took 3 potty breaks, but I ran one of the best races of my life that Saturday.  Well, today I did an 8 mile tempo with Cody on TOU course through Providence and Nibley.  I felt pretty bad and took 3 potty breaks.  It was hot and we didn't drink for 10 miles, so wasn't the best workout, but that's ok.  4 miles warmup, then splits of 6:00, 6:19, 6:29 (up the hwy and Hollow Rd), 6:15, 5:58 (down the highway), 6:10, 6:23 (up the Millville hill- I actually felt good on this mile), 6:20 (down the hill into the Middle School- ran out of steam on this mile).  Avg 6:14 for the tempo, 6:51 pace for the 15 miles.  Not a great workout, but got it done.  Cody felt even worse than me but toughed it out.  Now 3 very easy days before the 1/2 marathon.

PM- 3 with Marci and the kids, then 4 by myself.  A golf ball flew within 1-2 feet of my head while I was running near the golf course- lucky I wasn't hit.

AM- 7 easy on WP-Planet Walk. No golf balls.

Noon- PW 4 w/ 4 strides.  Shoes are retired.

AM- Top of Utah 1/2 marathon today.  I want to first brag about Marci.  She ran this race in 2005 in 2:21, and was doubting if she could beat her time.  She crushed it in 1:49:58, finishing in the top 20% of all finishers!  Good job, babe!

I have done this race more than any other (5 of the past 7 years) and really use it as the primary means to gauge my fitness.  I have gotten faster every year, though my places have gotten steadily worse (2003 1:16:49 3rd, 2005 1:15:36 1st, 2007 1:14:12 3rd, 2008  1:11:37 5th).  Last year was a great race for me, one of those days where everything clicked and I felt amazing.  I have put in more miles this year so was hoping to be near or faster than last year.

Caught an early bus with Marci and I ran down to the secret elite staging area/private bathroom (a nearby picnic area).  I had it to myself for 45 minutes as I jogged around, stretched next to the river, and repeatedly used the bathroom.  It was a peaceful scene before the coming chaos.  Jogged to the start and saw quite the stacked race- lots of guys from the circuit (Taren, Seth, Nathan Hornock, Aleksander, Albert Wint, Joe Wilson) plus a big FRB crew- Paul, Cody, Adam, Walter, Scott, Matt, Allie, et al).  They told us pre-race that we had to run in the right lane down the canyon rather than running the tangents, which I would guess added at least 20 seconds to the times.  They have never made that request before.  Weather was nice- mid-50's, overcast.

The race finally started and we quickly sorted into our places.  Walter and I ran near each other for a few miles before he dropped back, leaving me alone in 7th place, with only Nathan and Albert in view, plus occastional footsteps behind.  I ran the whole race this way, ~10-40 seconds behind Nathan and Albert.  Splits down the canyon were 5:20, 5:27, 5:29, 5:28 (worried that my splits were too slow here), 5:18, 5:17 (that's a bit better- 10k split of 33:25, which is close to my PR and 45 seconds faster than Des News 10k last month), 5:19.  Felt good with just slight sideaches down the canyon- I didn't seem to have a faster gear that was there last year, but it wasn't incredibly hard to maintain this pace.  We had a moderate tailwind for a few miles at the bottom of the canyon, though not as strong as I hoped.

I hit Hollow Road and I finally had put a gap on everyone behind me.  The road flattens out a bit, with splits of 5:30, 5:33, and 5:36.  Mile 10.5-12 climbs a bit, then mile 13 downhill to the finish.  Nathan and Albert had steadily increased their lead to about 35 seconds, when all of a sudden I noticed Albert starting to come back to me after mile 10, though he was still a long ways ahead.  Mile 11 was 5:42, total time of 1:00:03.  I remembered being at 59:59 last year at this point, so just a hair behind.  Albert was coming back even more, and I caught him just after mile 12 (5:51), moving into 6th overall.  I did my best to convince him to drop by running a 5:20 for mile 13 and 30 seconds for the last bit.  Total time was 1:11:46, 3 seconds ahead of Albert, 90 seconds behind Nathan, and 9 seconds slower than my PR. 

All in all I am satisfied with my race.  Last year was an amazing, A+ type race.  This year was more normal, maybe an A-, and I was only 9 seconds back.  I'm sure I would have PR'ed if we could have run tangents, but that doesn't really matter.  All in all, this is probably a better relative performance, plus I wasn't ever straining and never felt overly tired, which is a good sign for TOU in 3 weeks.  I will say I think I am near my limit for this race- it may be possible for me to break 1:11, but I think I have pretty much maxed out my results.  I'm not sure if I'll do it again, since I plan to focus on trail races after TOU this year.  It is a great race that has grown phenominally in both numbers and competition- my winning time from 2005 would have put me in 15th place today.

I didn't get to stay around to talk as much as I would have liked with all the FRB-ers but there were some great performances- Paul(!!!), Adam, Cody, Walter, Matt, Scott, Allie... the list is long.  Sorry I didn't get to see all of you more, especially the SLC guys Adam and Walter.  But congrats to everyone today. 

AM- 7 easy. Negligible soreness.

PM- 11 from First Dam to Guinivah Malibu, 8:02 avg pace.  The trail was practically empty tonight, as opposed to last week when Cody and I saw a crowd of people.  Or would it be a herd?  A mob?  Grundle?  Gaggle?

Finished with 406.5 miles this month, my first month over 400 ever.  4 straight months over 300 miles, another first.  354 miles/month avg since the start of May.