I'm retired from racing. Really.

AM- 10.  Tired this morning.

PM- 8 more, 4 with the family.  Still tired.

AM- 6.  Feeling better than yesterday.

PM- 8 with Paul.  Realized afterwards that we went the whole time without talking about football, which is surprising given the proximity of the season plus all the drama in the NFC North.

AM- Slept in a bit too long to get in a long run.  9.5 easy instead.  Now to go rafting for the day.

PM- 6 slow miles.  Tired from a very fun day rafting on the Snake River.  Marci and I went rafting with some coworkers of mine on the Snake River today. It was a blast, but the best was the second run when my boss and the 2 kids with us got dumped! Check out these pictures.

We almost tipped over, but my favorite is Frame 12a where all you can see of the two kids is their feet sticking out of the water. The girl got tossed so far she is out of the frame in the other views. She cried the rest of the time and just wanted out of the boat!

AM- Long run with a BW.  Started at the in-laws house but mainly ran on the Idaho Falls greenbelt and Freeman Park.  Warmed up 8 miles (7:19 avg pace), then started my 10 mile tinman tempo.  Goal was around 6:00 pace, though I discovered that the greenbelt is not the ideal tempo route due to number of people, quite a few stoplights, plus a few cutbacks.  And it has a few hills.  Nevertheless, did the tempo in 1:00:57, which averages 6:05.  Last mile was a 5:47.  I was happy with the workout- I did it late morning, so the temp was ~75 deg, plus the course certainly added at least 5-10 seconds per mile.  And 10 miles is a long way to tempo.  Cooled down 5 miles at 7:13 pace, giving a total workout of 23 miles in 2:35:43 (6:46 avg).  Legs are tired now- last long run before TOU.

Doing my long run on Fri should secure me at the top of the mileage board for the rest of the day... :)

AM- 12 very easy, slow miles.  8:10 avg pace.

PM- My right achilles is a bit tender, so I scrubbed my evening 4 mile run.

AM- BW.  None of the usual big workouts sounded interesting today, so I made up a new one.  I did 4 miles warm up, then did repeats- 2 miles@MP (5:55 pace), 1 mile@CV (5:35 pace), 2MP, 1CV, 2MP, with 1/4 mile rest between repeats.  Did the run on the Community Park trail, a .7 mile paved loop.  Very breezy w/18 mph sustained wind, which made it a bit interesting.  Splits were 11:50, 5:35, 11:49, 5:44, 11:38.  Had a sideache and really felt bad on the second CV, so I took an extra long rest to make sure I had some juice for the last one.  Genearally pleased with the workout.  3 miles cooldown, 16 miles total in 1:54:47 (7:10 avg).

PM- PWWF 4.

AM- 7, followed by 3 Einstein's bagels.  Not sure I lost any weight today...

PM- 8- ran to the canal trail.  You can run most of it, including .85 mile on the East half.   

PM- BW.  No one wanted to run on the roads with me, so I ran trails.  Started at Merlin Olsen park, ran up Canyon Rd and the canal, then up the river trail to about .5 miles past 3rd dam.  6 miles warmup, then I did 5x4min at CV effort (effort, not pace- can't run 5:30 splits on technical singletrack).  First 2 repeats were on the way up (started mid-way up the main singletrack), last 3 were on the way down (finished just before 2nd dam).  Pace for the repeats was 6:50, 6:35, 6:19, 6:16, 6:46.  Entire run was 15 miles at 7:51 pace- my legs are very pooped.  2 BW and 1 long run w/BW in the past 6 days.  Time to start my taper.

AM- 6 easy. Ho hum. No evening run- helping Paul move.

AM- 6.  Some right foot pain- taper phantom?

AM- ATK club run.  Most of the people were doing 20+ for SGM, but Allie and Cody joined me for 14.  Cody wanted fast the whole way, I wanted slow, so we were debating and trying to change the other's pace the whole way.  Ran from TOU mile 3 to the end of Hollow Rd.  Perfect weather and a great tail wind.  Ended up being 13.84 miles in 1:38:43- is that a sign?  Foot felt ok, we'll see how some ice today and a massage help.  Now for the real taper.

Cody and I followed the online results of the Wasatch 100 all day yesterday and this morning- looks like Geoff Roes shattered the course record by over an hour, with Karl Meltzer close behind.  Corbin Talley should finish, and Davy Crockett is only 17 minutes behind his goal time after lagging as much as 35-40 minutes.  Ultrajim is still going strong, too.

I did this last year before SGM and wanted to throw the stats up again for this year- Note: All weeks are listed pre-marathon (i.e. 12 weeks pre-marathon, etc)

	2007	2008	2009
Total miles 12 weeks pre-marathon	820.8	931.7	940.5
Total miles 24 weeks	1352.1	1635.4	1804
Total miles 36 weeks	1628.6	2243.4	2378.5
80-89 mile weeks 24 weeks	1	5	5
90-99 mile weeks 24 weeks	2	3	3
100+ mile weeks 24 weeks	0	0	4
15-19 mile runs 12 weeks	9	12	13
15-19 mile runs 24 weeks	15	14	22
15-19 mile runs 36 weeks	16	21	27
20+ mile runs 24 weeks	7	11	13
26+ mile runs 36 weeks	0	3	1
Days missed 12 weeks	7	2	2
TOU 1/2 time	1:14:07	1:11:37	1:11:45

I ran TOU in 2007 in 2:39.  When comparing my training this year to 2007, this year is far better- a lot more miles, 12 vs. 3 weeks over 80 miles, more 15+ mile runs.  Not even close.  So, I should expect a better time compared to that marathon.

Comparing this year to last is a lot closer- the biggest difference is the 4 weeks of 100+ miles, plus a few more BW/med runs.  Overall, I am pretty happy with my training this year and feel I am in my best shape over for a run at a PR this weekend. 

PM- 7 easy

PM- 8 miles, with 2 MP along miles 23-24 of TOU course.  Legs felt very tired and sluggish, which is actually very normal for me on a run like this during taper week.  56 min total.

PM- 6 easy, 4 of them with the kids.

TOU marathon published bib numbers today so I wasted some time finding the fastest bib numbers and their best/most recent races.  Looks like a deep race- top 20 men by bib:

1 Tanui Elisha Arlington TX M (2:31 marathoner, Kenyan?)
2 Albuquerque NM (unnamed Kenyan?)
3 Sammy Atlana GA (unnamed Kenyan?- Sammy Wanjiru, maybe???)
4 Petersen Paul Arno Logan UT M (2:18 SGM 2007, 1:06:42 TOU 1/2 2009)
5 Wold Seth Lehi UT M (2:22:51 Ogden marathon 2009, 1:08:38 TOU 1/2 2009)
6 Grant Jimmy Missoula MT M (2:35:10 Missoula marathon 2009)
7 Pachev Alexander I. Provo UT M (2:23 SGM 2007)
8 Twitchell Vance Sandy UT M (14:30 5k-er)
9 Wilson Joseph Cokeville WY M (1:12:44 TOU 1/2 2009)
10 Allen Jonathan K. Logan UT M (1:11:46 TOU 1/2 2009)
11 Held Eric D. Logan UT M (1:13:58 TOU 1/2 2009)
12 Frazier Ryan C. Logan UT M (1:19 Canyonlands 1/2 2007)
13 Draper Cody David Logan UT M (1:15:56 TOU 1/2 2009)
14 Cobler Bill G. Holladay UT M (1:22:34 TOU 1/2 2009)
15 Wende Adam R. Salt Lake City UT M (1:13:47 TOU 1/2 2009)
16 Slater Cheston D. Bullfrog UT M (2:45 SGM 2006, 1:16:57 Bryce 1/2 2009)
17 Anderson Stephen L. Logan UT M (1:16:08 TOU 1/2 2009- Masters)
18 Bishop Daniel Salt Lake City UT M (1:22:40 SLC 1/2 2009)
19 Moncur Matt Robert Fruit Heights UT M (3:00:17 Des News marathon 2009)
20 Achatz Ryan Boise ID M (2:51:51 TOU marathon 2002)

I was hoping for an outside shot at top 5, but it looks like I will do well if I get top 10.  Plus, Nick McCombs has bib 50- maybe he is running with Cameron McCombs (bib 64)?  And Ashbaker is not on the list.  Are you running, Steve?  And Walter Brown is bib 52 but should finish top 10-20.

For the women, they seemed to start in the 2000's- here is who I found:

2001 Scott Allie Salt Lake City UT F (1:26:45 TOU 1/2 2009, TOU 2008 winner)
2002 Kennard Nan Westminster CO F (1:19:07 1/2 2009)
2004 Laney Lori Eagle ID F (3:35:42 SGM 2007)
2005 Mangum Lisa Hyrum UT F (1:25 TOU 1/2 2009)
2006 Keogh Genevieve G. Layton UT F (3:09:15 TOU marathon 2007)
2007 Arnold Mary T. Paragonah UT F (???)
2008 Glatt Sarah E. Overkand Park KS F (3:00 PF Chang marathon 2009)
2009 Diaz Tiffany West Valley City UT F (3:22 SGM 2004, 2:36 Provo River 1/2 2009)
2010 Jensen Dana Denise North Ogden UT F (1:34 Farmington 1/2 2009)

PM- 5.5 easy, 3.5 with the family, and 4 strides.

AM- PW 4 with 4 strides.  Ready to roll.

 Today is my oldest kid's 3rd birthday.  Apparently something magical happened last night to allow her to suddenly be able to play with most toys, but she looks the same to me. 

Well, Marathon, you and I have had a long and tumultuous relationship together.  I first met you in 2003 at the Top of Utah, and have experienced your company about 10 times since.  Ever since our first encounter, I have known I had unfinished business with you.  I have known all along that our relationship needed to break 2:37:12 (6:00 pace), and preferably faster.  I had such high hopes at St. George last year but was crushed when you rejected me with the wind and rain.  But now, our business together if finished.  Over.  Done.  I am officially dumping you.  I can't say that I won't ever cast a sidelong glance in your direction at some point in the future, but I am moving on to my true love: trail running.  Don't come begging me to come back, because it won't work.  I am satisfied I have gained enough from our relationship and I am now content.  

My bib for this race was #10, and based on the field, I felt I would do well to place that high.  AdamRW prepared a nice pacing template that I used to check my time every 5 miles- I had 2:32:30 and 2:35 goals on it.  My "Oh crap" goal was 2:37, and my "Really Oh crap" goal was 2:39.  Slept about 4 hours last night, which is pretty good for me.  My 3 year old was up puking and dry heaving all night, but Marci was kind enough to take care of it.  Warm up was normal, with lots of bloggers hanging out at our secret bathroom.  Temperature was good, maybe 50 deg- I would have liked it a bit cooler.

Race started out at a good pace, with Paul immediately jumping to the lead and a group of 6 in pursuit, including 4 Kenyans.  I settled into 11th place by mile 1, with Ashbaker just ahead and a group of FRB-ers behind who eventually disappeared.  Splits were 5:39, 5:46, 5:44, 5:37, 5:52, 5:51, 5:56, 5:59, 5:35.  I caught Ashbaker at mile 9- he was going through a bit of a rough patch.  We ended up running together for the next 9 miles.  I was very worried at this point because my quads were complaining loudly about the pounding- this normally never happens to me, including on TOU 1/2 which was a faster pace.  I knew I was running as fast as I dared and was very concerned that I had over done it and would crash.  The tailwind wasn't as strong or long as I hoped, but it was definitely there at miles 13 and 14.  Splits were 5:20, 6:22 (mile marker off?), 5:45, 5:44.  Half marathon split was 1:15:50, which was about 2:33:30 pace based on even effort for the course.  Steve and I caught a Kenyan at mile 12 and another at 14, moving into 8th and 9th place.

We exited the canyon and started down the always enjoyable Hollow Road.  I like this part of the course, and I hate the highway portion that follows.  Splits were 5:38, 5:50, 5:51, 6:00 (worry about my quads became worse with this slow mile), 5:55.  When we hit mile 18, I got a second wind (though my legs felt the same) and pushed hard up the hill.  Ashbaker dropped behind.  The uphill was a 6:06, 6:05, then into my oft-traveled Providence with a 5:59 and 6:04.  On the long straight downhill into Providence, I could see 3 runners several minutes ahead of me but figured they were too far ahead to catch.  Marci and Bethany were by my old house at mile 21.5 to cheer, though they didn't see me coming so I had to call out to them.  My legs were screaming, but really not much worse than at mile 8, which was a good sign.  

I really pushed hard in this section and started counting down what I needed to do to break 2:35- "Ok, 26 minutes for 4.2 miles... now 19 miles for a 5k"- I was working all out for the sub-2:35 and trying to do math, which is not an easy task at this juncture of a marathon.  On the 700 S road in River Heights, it became clear that 2 runners were quickly coming back to me... and one of them was Sasha.  I have never beaten him and it gave me some extra incentive.  I was closing about 20-30 seconds per mile on these two.  Splits were 6:10 and 6:01 for 23-24.  I got my third wind and started pushing hard, knowing now that I could sustain this pace and my goals were in reach.  Somehow, my legs started feeling better.

Turned onto 300 S and could smell the blood in the water with Sasha and Eric Held, a local runner whom I have never met before.  I finally caught them on Main Street at about mile 24.5, which gave me a huge rush of adrenaline- I have never passed people at that point in a marathon.  I surged hard to make sure they didn't chase me, and ended up beating them by about 40 sec and 1 min, I believe.  Mile 25 was 5:56, and 26 was a 6:05.  I was going to finish in 6th place!!! 

I have been accused of looking grumpy and tired in my marathon finish photos, so I wasn't going to let that happen this time.  I started pumping my fist above my head with 50 yards to go and was greeted by a big roar from the crowd, especially when they announced me as the 2nd local finisher.  Final .2 in 1:12, giving me a 2:34:16 total time (5:53 pace).  5th place was 3 minutes ahead, so there was no way I could have placed higher.  Second half of the marathon was 1:18:26, meaning I only slowed down 2:36 (with even effort giving a 2 min slowdown, so really pretty even).

I was extremely pumped and excited afterwards and had loads of adrenaline.  I heard the always amazing Paul won it and ran to congratulate him.  He was followed by 2 outstanding Kenyans, then Nick McCombs, then Bryant Jensen.  Eric and Sasha were just behind me, and I really enjoyed waiting in the finish line for all my friends to finish- Sasha, Ashbaker, Adam, Cody (who out-chipped Joe Wilson even though Joe out-leaned him), everyone!  FRB women swept top 3 places, with Nan Kennard killing everyone and setting a course record.  Wow!  She definitely ran the outstanding performance of the day.

My legs are sore and the balls of my feet are very raw, but I am good other than that.  A nice massage and a soak in the nearby canal helped my legs, though I'm sure I will be slow moving tomorrow.  But I am happy and satisfied with my marathoning experience- I set a PR by more than 5 minutes today.  Now I can shift my focus to ultra trail races and see what adventures await me in that world, starting with pacing Davy at the Bear 100 next weekend.

I am probably the least sore I have ever been after a marathon, and I have no idea why.  Probably due to my large mileage base.  On a soreness scale of 10, my left calf would be a 2, and my quads would be less than 0.5.  Nothing else.

No running today, but did hike up to the Wind Caves (4 miles rd trip?) while carrying in 3 year old daughter.  Although not sore, my legs definitely were still fatigued.  Nice family outing, and you better believe I'm counting it as a few cross training miles.

My 3 year old was puking all Fri night, my 18 month old was puking all Sat night, and Marci was puking last night.  Hopefully I don't get sick, too.  I have been sleeping a lot- between last week and this week, I have not woken up on a weekday before 5:50 am, which is glorious.  I would guess the last time I went a whole week sleeping in that late was last December.

PM- PWWF 4.  No soreness.

Bear 100 race day.  Worked the Leatham Hollow aid station (mile 19.6) with Cody, Paul, and families in the morning.  Lots of fun to help the runners and see them early in the race.  Later in the afternoon, I drove to Temple Fork aid station (mile 45.1) to meet and pace Davy Crockett.  He arrived right on time per his schedule at 4:15 pm, and, after working a bit on a very nasty blister, we were off.  Davy had set an ambitious goal of 27:30 for the race, more than 3 hours faster than last year.  This was my first time every pacing a trail race, so I was hoping to learn a lot from the very experienced Davy about 100's while also helping push him.

It was rather hot and most of the runners were dehydrated when the arrived at TF, including Davy.  Within a mile after leaving his stomach rejected everything in it, which I think actually made him feel a bit better.  He kept everything down the rest of the way.  The first leg had 4000 ft climbing to Tony Grove.  It was a beautiful leg with lots of aspen trees.  It went well and we pulled into Tony Grove right on time just before 6:30 pm (mile 51.8).  He worked on his foot for a while and we got our night gear on.  I talked to a few guys here, including John Wheelwright, who I know from Logan Peak race.  Also saw Brian Beckstead and a big group with him around here- he was going a bit easy today so had lots of energy and was bouncing around.

The climb out of Tony Grove went well (including some gorgeous views), and Davy decided to really push himself on the decent into White Pine.  He had me run ahead and we absolutely blasted down the trail- we were cruising and blew by several people, including the first place woman.  He had fallen earlier and banged his quad, and it really pained him on decents, but he did awesome at ignoring it.  It got dark just as we reached Bunchgrass trail, which is generally a very nice trail to run down and we kept leapfrogging a number of runners.  At this point, we noticed the moon was just setting in the west and commented on it.

It is a long stretch to Franklin Basin- 9.7 miles.  The last few miles were real tough for Davy- he kept twisting his ankles, particularly his right one.  And the blister on his right heel kept getting worse and worse.  But he toughed it out and we arrived at the Franklin aid station well ahead of schedule.  The station was hosted by Striders and had tons of great volunteer and was very energetic.  This was the first station with Davy's crew, Jerry and Brad, who were waiting for him with a Wendy's hamburger.  They worked on his foot for a while and Davy really struggled to get his shoe back on, he was in so much pain.  I ate some food and took some sodium tablets to calm my quads.  But eventually Davy was set, someone pointed us in the right direction, and we were off at 9:08 pm (22 min ahead of schedule).  This next leg was very tough- the first 3 miles were steep climbing.  We grunted our way up, but noticed the moon was still visible but kept appearing from different directions.  The hill seemed to go on forever.  Eventually we reached some rocky downhill and Davy struggled with his foot, but he pushed hard and kept a great pace.  On this whole 2.5 hour leg, we did not see a single person, though the moon kept us company from all sides.  We reached the road at Steep Hollow and descended to the Logan River aid station (mile 68.8).  This was probably my favorite aid station- they cheered us in, had lots of food, lots of happy volunteers, and even warm towels for washing.  After a quick stop, we were off at 11:46 pm (14 minutes ahead of schedule).

We ran down a road, then crossed the Logan River.  Davy dislikes roads, but picked up the pace again once we hit singletrack.  This leg was Davy's toughest last year- he was cold and tired and he commented on how hard the climb was.  This year, though, it went better- the climb was not near as steep as after Franklin, in general, though there was a very chilly breeze.  Again, we didn't see anyone for several hours- meaning we ran almost 5 hours without seeing any runners.  After a long climb, we reached the summit and started a very rocky, long descent.  Davy's foot was extremely painful but he ran well, though several people passed us.  He was inspiring to me with how tough he was.  Our oft-repeated motto was "Don't Be Lazy!" and he wasn't.  He pushed hard and we reached the Beaver Mtn aid station (mile 75.8) exactly at his goal time of 2:15 am.  After a change of shoes, he and Brad were off.

My journey with Davy ended at this point.  I drove home and was in bed by 4 am.  But watching him run was inspiring and amazing, and a privilege to be able to share in.  I was tired and could hardly imagine how he felt after doing 45 miles more than me, especially with his foot problems and quad bruise.  Thanks for letting me tag along, Davy.  It was a wonderful.

Today had a number of firsts for me- it was my first time running an extended period at night, it was my longest run ever (32 miles with warmup), and the 10 hours were twice as long as I had ever run before.  I am definitely tired and sore, but happy.  

As part of pacing, I was testing out all my gear for my upcoming ultra races and learning the Bear course.  My shoes and socks worked great, with no blisters or hot spots.  My clothes at night were adequate, though I will take an extra layer next time for the cold and wind.  My lighting system (PT Yukon headlamp on my head, Petzl Tikka XP around my waist) worked swimmingly.  The Yukon provided distant views, while the Tikka provided dimension so I could see rocks.  I kept the Tikka on low when moving uphill or slowly, and on high when running fast or over technical terrain.  I may replace the Yukon with a Petzl Myo RXP so I can have multiple settings- the low was a bit too low, and the high was good but rarely used, and a medium setting would have been good.  But it was definitely adequate.  I had 2 handheld bottles and a vest with pockets for my food and backup water/clothes.  All in all, my gear passed the test.  This run today helps me gain a new respect for 100 mile races while also helping me prepare by testing my gear and myself.  Bear 2010, here I come!

I ran 29 miles last Sat while setting a PR, and ran 32 miles this Saturday while being on my feet for 10 hours.  All in all, that adds up to 100k of running the past two Saturdays.  If you think I'm even considering running today, you're crazy.

Got a big shipment from St. George Running Center- 2 shoes, 2 shorts, and a visor.  Thanks, Steve.  I'm excited to wear my new shoes... once I start running again, that is.  Maybe tomorrow.  Minimal soreness today, but I'm enjoying being lazy.

PM- I wasn't planning to run today, but Cody moved up our Bear 100 flagging removal due to pending snow.  So, we left right after work and got dropped off in Providence canyon.  After 1.5 miles hiking up the steep trail, we were off and running.  We had to stop occasionally to remove the flags (and to pick up the flags that fell out of Cody's bag when it came open) but generally moved well.  Unfortunately, we were out well past sundown and I had neglected to bring a light. Cody had his and let me hold it for the both of us, but he kept running ahead.  Surprising we didn't trip more, since it was pitch black when we finished.  My legs didn't feel sore but were very fatigued, and I really ran out of juice the last mile.  I'm pooped- definitely not recovered from all my runs.  12 miles in 2:15 or so (umm, yeah, that's why trail runners track time running, not miles).  The run included about 2600 ft climbing and 3600 ft descending, so a nice day's work.

I just got a letter from the committee in charge of the 4th of July race I did in Idaho Falls.  It contained a nice certificate and ribbon congratulating me on placing 2nd in my age group (I was 6th overall).  Of course, I don't know what the age categories were and I still never saw official results or my time.  It was a nice certificate, though.