I'm retired from racing. Really.

AM- 6 easy miles.  Beautiful morning.  I timed 2 miles around 7 min pace, which is rather fast for me that early in the morning.

PM- I'm front-loading my mileage this week so I can have a few easy days before WBR.  Ran at 7:30 pm and it was still 85 deg.  Wow, hot!  15 miles, from my house to the canal to 2nd dam and home.  Mile times were 6:56, then 5 miles from 7:14 to 7:22, 7:50 (up the river trail), 7:36 (turn around at .5 mile), 5 miles between 6:48 to 7:08, last mile of 6:45.  75 deg when I finished.  1:47:39, 7:11 avg.  Good run to stretch out the legs.  18 or so more miles for tomorrow...

Adrenaline 382, Tangent 256

AM- 6 easy miles, 45:37.

PM- 89 degrees and hot in Logan when I ran at 5:30.  I ran to planet walk and did a whole bunch of laps on it, while my wife, mom, and 2 daughters walked along it.  First 2 miles were ~6:50 pace, then I slowed down to 7:10-7:35 due to the heat.  11 miles on the dot, 1:20:31, 7:19 avg.  38 miles already this week- I'm tired!

Tangent 2- 17 (new racing shoes)

AM- Just a hair under 6 not-so-easy easy miles in 45 min.  60 deg outside.  Tired. 

PM- 6 easy, naked miles with the jogging stroller.

768- 40, Adrenaline- 388

I only need 6 miles today for my mileage goal for the week.  I planned to run this morning but was way too tired to get out of bed at 4 am, so I slept in an extra hour and will run in the heat this evening.  I'm excited for the race tomorrow- I even plan to try to get a few massages at the starting line throughout the day tomorrow, hoping they can get a nasty, painful knot out of my back before we start.

PM- ran over to the start of WBR to see them setting up and talked to Tanner for a few minutes.  6 easy miles.  Then had Seth, Paul, Cody, and families over for pre-race party.

767- 271

Wasatch Back Relay time! Met at Paul's house, where there were a bunch of guys I had never met before. Loaded up the van and went to the start.  My van had Mitch, Steve H, James B, Dustin, Chad, and Paul as driver.  Van 2 had Wildbull, Steve O, Kory, Steve C, James M, and Andrew, with Cody as driver.  I was runner 6. First 4 legs for our van were very hot, but Chad (runner 5) and myself didn't have it too bad thanks to higher elevation and later hour. I started just a hair after 8 pm. Chad had moved us into 3rd place on his leg, and I never saw any of the 5:00 teams the whole race while running.  We did start passing 4:00 teams by the 3rd leg, which usually doesn't happen until at least leg 6 or so.

My first leg was dirt and had a 1.3 mile climb of 250 feet, followed by a screaming descent of about 1300 feet in 3 miles, then a few hundred more in the last 3 miles. I have always wanted to do this leg and was really looking forward to it. I averaged about 6:30 pace on the climb, then flew on the downhill- 2 miles in 10:01, which is probably my PR. Road was rather rough, bad enough that I was going about as fast as the vans, so I absolutely loved it. I really pushed it and my legs were tired by mile 4. I did my best to hold the pace to the end, finishing in about 5:48 pace for the last few miles. Total time was 39:00 for the 6.9 miles, 5:40 avg and 1 minute slow from prediction. I was happy nonetheless- I saw Shadley (White runner 6) and discovered I had beat his time by 4 seconds, which was a big surprise to me, though he smoked me on the downhill by 30 seconds. Ate some food and drove to exchange 12.

AM- 4 easy naked miles with 6 strides.

768- 44, Ascend- 307

I watched everyone in my van have great second legs, watched a racoon in its death twitching, then it was my turn. Leg 18 runs up East Canyon, crests the dam, and finishes at the campground. 5.2 miles, 700 feet up (with most at the end), 200 feet down. I started at 1:30 am with a brisk headwind. My legs were somewhat fatigued from my first run but generally ok. But between the strong headwind and the increasing uphill, I never felt like I could keep a good pace going. My miles varied from 6:13 to 7:11 (with 8:00 pace up some of the steep hills). Tired at the end and glad to be done with my hardest leg. Actual distance on the GPS was 5.1 miles, 33:33, 6:37 avg. Only 5 seconds behind predicted time (which really, really surprised me- I thought I lost a few minutes, though the course was ~.1 mile short). Ok leg, not great.

We drove to Rockport where I tried to sleep in the van. I was still sweating, my knee really hurt, and I could never get comfortable. No sleep, but ~2 hours of rest. Very tired and my stomach was dealing with the typical relay concerns. I was going number 2 about every 20-30 minutes, but knew I would be ok for my leg. The guys in my van ran great again, and I was excited for my leg. My last leg was a quick 3.6 miles with 90 foot elevation drop. I really wanted to start fast and just hang on to the end. Took the handoff from the blazing Chad and dropped a 64 second quarter- 4:16 pace. Hmm, maybe too fast. Slowed down and did the first mile in 5:35, then the next 2 in 5:50 pace. The first 2 miles are on gravel, and they changed the course so cars were not allowed on it. This was great as no dust was stirred up- thanks, WBR guys! Last .6 was 5:35 pace, for a total time of 20:18 and pace of 5:44. 23 second ahead of prediction (finally!). Felt great and glad to be done.  I immediately had to hop in my mom's car to head for home. We stopped at Steve C's house for a quick shower (thanks a million, Steve!), then I picked up my wife and drove to Idaho Falls for her sister's wedding. We made it in time for the luncheon, though I was exhausted and was fighting sleep the whole time. Then a 2 hour nap before the reception. Bedtime now.

All in all I had a great time and really enjoyed my van and the race. I think we were almost dead on the prediction, which is great. Everyone ran great. Like always, I'm sad I couldn't get to spend more time with the guys in the other vans. I'm looking forward to hearing all of your tales and reading race reports. But good job to all and thanks for a great time. Big thanks to Hooper for all the sweet looking FRB/SGRC gear we were all sporting- the jackets in particular are great and stand out (esp. when looking for teammates at 2 am).

80+ miles this week for the first time this year, even with the low mileage weekend.  Another 80 miles next week with the race I am really looking forward to- Logan Peak Race.  28 miles, 7200 ft up, 7200 ft down.  More elevation than Pikes Peak marathon.  Yeah, baby! 

Tangent 3- 28