Justin Park

A.M. - 60 minutes on the treadmill this morning. Legs are feeling much better, but a bit tired from Saturday still or the running/biking the last couple of days. I wanted to get things turning a little, but wasn't sure what to expect. Got to the gym and decided I had enough will power to do some incline. Ended up doing the same workout I did two Wednesday's ago:

5 minutes @ 9.5 mph, flat
5 mins @ 10.0, flat
20 mins @ 10.0, progressive inclines, 3 minutes each at 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0 and 5 minutes at 3.5
2.5 mins @ 10.0, flat
7.5 mins @ 10.5, flat
10 mins @ 11.0, flat
10 mins @ 11.5, flat

Pleased with the effort overall. No workouts planned for this afternoon as I've got a meeting for Lotoja.

A.M. - Extended Little Cottonwood Rd/Wasatch Blvd route in reverse direction. Nice and easy (~7 min/mi.), though compared to Tuesday, I can definitely sense a difference (a little more spunk) on mornings where I haven't went cycling the night before.

P.M. - Fought traffic and got to the bike shop to pick up my stallion. Finally, about 6:40 PM I was able to get out riding. Millcreek Canyon ride again for the second time this week (~40 miles). Daylight is going to become increasingly scarce over the next month. Hopefully I can continue to get out of work at a decent time to get in my rides. 

A.M. - 60 minutes on the treadmill at the gym this morning. I struggled with how intense I wanted to approach this one. I got invited to join Scott Keate, Jake, and Fritz on a long run on Saturday, so I didn't want to go too hard today and be worthless for my run with them, especially if they want to throw in some fast. At the same, I was feeling okay and didn't want to go too easy. I resolved on a workout somewhere in the middle:

5 minutes @ 9.5 mph, flat
15 mins @ 10, flat
20 mins @ 10.5, flat
15 mins @ 11.0, flat
5 mins @ 11.5, flat

A.M. - Long run up at Jeremy Ranch with Jake, Andrea, Scott, Dan, Devra, Fritz, and Annie. Met up with Scott and Dan near the mouth of Parleys around 7 AM and carpooled up to the rendevous point to meet the others. The temps were nice and cool when we started at a little after 7:30. The mountains provided quite a bit of shade. Overall, the route was awesome. A nice wide dirt road, largely flat with some rollers and a net downhill on the way out. We ran about 7.5 miles to where the dirt road join ups with East Canyon Road about a mile+ south of the reservoir, then ran back. Pace was nice and easy. At about the 12-mile mark, Scott decided to throw in a little tempo and I tried to hang with him. I was successful for about the first 2-2.5 miles, but let him go that last little bit and he finished a few seconds ahead. Tempo pace was right around 5:45-:55 for the first couple and Scott hit ~5:40 the third. The others must of picked it up too because they finished only a little back from us. We stopped at the cars for a minute and got some fluid, then headed out for another ~3 mile out-and-back.

Great run with terrific company. It was nice to mix it up from my normal lone-man long runs on my standard routes. Looking forward to joining this group again sometime soon.

P.M. - Fortunately Jake, Fritz, Scott and Co. didn't break me this morning, so I was able to get in a ride. 70 mile out-and-back to Big Mountain via Wasatch, Foothill and Emigration Canyon. Took my time and made sure to take in plenty of fluids and calories. Felt really good and though tired at the end, my legs still had some climb in them. Good news for the Ultimate Challenge race next week.

All-in-all a pretty solid day and week of training for me. 80+ miles running and ~175 miles (4 rides) on the bike.

Finished the day off with a sports massage. 

A.M. - Rest day. I strolled Isabelle around the neighborhood for about 1.5-2 miles.

A.M. - Treadmill day at the gym. Slept terribly last night... After tossing and turning all night, I may have ended up with an hour and half. I just have those nights sometimes. Probably the combination of stressing about the work week ahead (though things aren't that stressful right now), lack of exercise Sunday, and too much sugar close to bed (Linds made chocolate-frosted rice krispy treats that I couldn't resist...shame on me, I need to tighten down on my dietary discipline). So it was hard getting out of bed.

5 minutes @ 9.5 mph, flat (this effort felt harder than usual and I about convinced myself to go real easy today)
5 mins @ 10.0, flat (things started coming together and I decided I could handle a little more than originally expected)
20 mins @ 10.0, progressive inclines, 3 mins each at 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0 and 5 mins at 3.5 (this sequence always is a challenge for me so I was glad to stick all 20 mins, especially today).
2.5 mins @ 10.0, flat
7.5 mins @ 10.5 flat (felt challenging, but not too bad. Was wondering at this point how I'd respond to the upcoming 11.0 mph and had doubts about being able to hold 11.5 if at all).
Bumped it to 11.0 at the 40 minute mark and not 30 seconds later, a song came on my iPhone that I didn't care to listen to. I fumbled my phone to skip the song and ended up dropping it and it shot off the back of the treadmill. Had to stop to get it and after that, my will was weak and I had lost the mental toughness and focus to keep going at 11.0.
Coasted the last 20 mins at 10.0, flat.

A little disappointed with the last 1/3rd of the run. But its okay. Bad night didn't help things and I'm maybe still feeling a little residual fatigue from the long run/long bike on Saturday.

P.M. - Rode up Big Cottonwood to Brighton afterwork (~40 miles round-trip). Was glad to be able to squeeze this route in today. Would have loved to go all the way up to Guardsmans, but there just wasn't enough time/daylight. Got a shout-out from friends Abe and Andrea as they drove passed me on their way up to Guardsmans.

A.M. - Extended Little Cottonwood Rd/Wasatch Blvd triangle route. Reverse direction.

P.M. - Did a short but challenging ride up Little Cottonwood Canyon to the end of the paved road at Albion Base. Saw lots of cyclists out doing the same thing. I'm sure several of them are also doing the Ultimate Challenge ride this Saturday, and like me, wanted to get some practice on what will be the difficult final stretch up to Snowbird.

A.M. - Wanted to test out my new LunaRacers by doing a faster treadmill run this morning. It went well for about 59 minutes and ~10 second, at which point the TM died on me:

5 minutes @ 9.5 mph, flat
5 mins @ 10.0, flat
10 mins @ 10.5, flat
25 mins @ 11.0, flat
14+ mins @ 11.5, flat - I bumped it up to 12.0 mph for the last minute and about 10 seconds the treadmill pooped-out....Dang-it, I hate it when that happens. Better right at the end than in the middle of the run though. I hope its not really broken because that's my favorite mill at the gym.

P.M. - Wanted to do an easier and shorter ride this afternoon. Ended up riding up to Wasatch and heading south this time out to the point of the mountain and back. Kept it slow and easy. It was good to see/do this route because its basically the segment of the Ultimate Challenge from the point you come off the descent from Suncrest to the mouth of Little Cottonwood. It's largely rollers and there's one good size climb on about 11700 So (I think) that I'm sure will feel pretty tough during that late stage of the ride. I'm not sure what the mileage ended up being. Probably 20-25 or so.

A.M. - Extended Little Cottonwood Rd/Wasatch Blvd triangle route. Normal direction today since I had went reverse on Tuesday. When I started (~5:40) the news said Salt Lake temp was 78 degrees. Fortunately, it was cooler in my parts. Still smoky and dry though from the fire.

A.M. - Busted out a relatively quick 60-minute flat treadmill run today. Hit 10.8 miles just as the belt started to slow down. My favorite treadmill is still broke, so I had to go to option 2.

5 minutes @ 9.5 mph
5 mins @ 10.0
15 mins @ 10.5
20 mins @ 11.0
15 mins @ 11.5

I won't be running tomorrow or Sunday. I've got the Ultimate Challenge ride tomorrow morning which I'm excited and a little nervous about. Its going to be a big party and suffer-fest! They're starting us around 7-7:30 AM and I think the pros start their Tour of Utah stage (on the same course as us) at around 10:15 AM. Seems strange to me that they're doing the Ultimate Challenge and the TofU stage the same day. With as fast as those pros go, they're bound to gobble-up a bunch of us UC riders.

The Ultimate Challenge bike ride

Total time: 5h 51m (including all stops); Place: ??? (not officially timed; its a ride, not a race)

What a fun, awesome day! The Ultimate Challenge is a 100+ mile road bike ride that follows the same course as the 'queen stage' (stage 5) of the Tour of Utah. Here's a link to the course profile: http://vimeo.com/45668230. I've been looking forward to this ride for a while as its a key element in my Lotoja training and would give me an idea of how my cycling conditioning and training is going. Several experienced cyclists have told me that this is a good preparatory ride to do for Lotoja. Though only half as long (Lotoja is 206 mi.), the course is more challenging because of all the vertical climbing the latter half of the ride (Alpine Loop, Sundance, Little Cottonwood). Although I was very excited, I was nervous at the same time. I had no idea how my body and legs would handle the late climbs, especially Little Cottonwood. In the past month or so, I've done a handful of Little Cottonwood training rides where I'd leave straight from my house just a couple miles away and head straight up. I know how hard that ride can be when your fresh, let alone after you've already ridden ~95 miles!

Overall, I was very pleased with the result. I consider myself to be a relatively strong 'climber' and I've always thought that the uphills, if anywhere on a cycling course, are where I have the opportunity to differentiate myself from the average cyclist. That was certainly confirmed today (read on).

This year, it worked out that they did the ride on the same day the pros are riding it. They started us riders in stages between about 6:45 and 7:30 AM and they cut the pros loose at about 11:15. As I mentioned yesterday, I thought it was weird they would do that because I thought it could cause issues when the pros caught up to the slow riders. It actually worked out pretty well and it was cool because there were tons of spectators along the course waiting for the pros (especially in Little Cottonwood Canyon) and their cheering and encouragement was a nice bonus.

I got up around 5, got ready, had a nice bowl of peanut butter/maple oatmeal, and got the door about 5:50. The drive up to Kimball Junction was smooth and I got there with plenty of time to spare. It was pretty cool up there this morning and I had not brought any warm gear intentionally. So I passed some time in the car listening to some tunes. I was assigned to start with the 3rd wave scheduled to go at 7:20. I made it over to the start line with not much time to spare, 7:20 rolled around, and they sent us off right on time. Our group of about 100+ riders rolled out slowly and I quickly found myself mid-pack in the 'peleton'. Right where I wanted to be; spinning easy, drafting behind other riders, conserving my energy for the challenging climbs to come later. I had no intention of trying to be superman early and blow-up before the 'real' riding started. I wanted to conserve energy and be taking in calories and water regularly. At about the first mile mark, we passed through a cloud of fog that sent chills through our peleton. It passed quickly. The first several miles passed uneventfully. I was glad that group was reasonable and didn't try and go gang-busters out of the gate. Sure, there were a few teams of guys working hard on the front end, but the pace was very manageable and as a result, our big group didn't get too spread out until the first climb.

The first categorized climb of the day is at about mile 10 or 11 on the northeast side of Jordanelle. It's not very long, maybe a mile and half, but has a decent gradient. Our group quickly began spreading out. I geared-down and just spun nice and easy with a quick cadence. I passed a bunch of riders and didn't really feel worked at all from the climb effort. At the summit, the course immediately goes down again on a fairly lengthy descent into Kamas. I latched onto a couple of guys and we buzzed down the hill. Before I knew it, we were coming up on the first aid station/stop at mile 19. Mother nature was calling, so I decided to make a quick pit-stop. I'd say less than half of the folks in my group in front of me at that point elected to stop at that station.

I was quickly back on the road and started working with a few guys to bridge up to a bigger group of riders up ahead of us. This part of the course going through Kamas and Francis was mostly flat with a few minor rollers. As the course veered back west, I found myself in the middle of solid pack of riders and was content just to draft behind them. The course went down again for a bit and then the second semi-major ascent up the south side of Jordanelle began. Again, the group splintered and I found myself up towards the front working with a couple of the stronger climbers of the pack. We hit the summit and then a juicy descent down into Heber. We rode into town to a park where the second aid station was (about mile 36). I filled my bottles, ate some fruit, and refilled my food stash with a few Nature Valley bars for later on. I hit the potties again and was off. I was hoping to again get in with a good pack of guys, but for whatever reason, many of the others who had also stopped were slow to get going again, and I was riding alone. I didn't really want to ride alone. At that still early stage of the ride, I wanted to save energy and just work with a pack. I wasn't too worried though. I figured I'd just ride smooth and relatively slow and a group would soon catch me and I could then latch onto them. That didn't happen as quickly as I thought/hoped it would. For miles 37-50, I was basically riding alone. I caught one older dude at about 40 who was pretty good and we took turns pulling for the next couple miles around Deer Creek Reservoir. There was a good size group just up ahead of us that I wanted to catch, but I wasn't willing to expend a lot of energy to do it. We hit a hill on the south side of Deer Creek and the older dude I was riding with dropped back. I passed a few of the stragglers from the group head. The course headed down again and over the dam and into Provo Canyon. I passed the 50-mile mark and finally, a group of guys caught up to me. I worked myself into their pack. It wasn't long and we reached the Sundance turn-off and the 3rd rest stop (~mile 55). Again, I hit the potty, filled my water and EFS (they had EFS!), ate a couple things, and replenished my onboard food supply. This is where the fun begins...

Immediately we were on the Alpine Loop, the first 'major' climb of the ride. Again, I hunkered down to my lowest gear with the strategy of spinning as easily and steadily as possible doing all of pedaling from the saddle (plan was to do no out-of-the-saddle pedaling until Little Cottonwood!). My legs were still feeling great. Right away I started picking people off right-and-left, lots of people. No need for teamwork going up the hill. I didn't have a team. Let's just put the hammer down and put some distance on as many people as possible! It didn't take long to reach Sundance then Aspen Groove. I was feeling awesome and I was just kicking butt all the way up the hill. I must have passed a 100 people and not one of them passed me. Was I going too fast? Was I using up all my mojo on this the first big climb and not have anything in the tank for Suncrest and LC? The thought crossed my mind, but I knew I wasn't overworking. I reached the top of the loop still feeling great. There was another stop, but I still had plenty of fluids and decided to just keep going. Most people must have stopped, because from the top of the Loop all the way to the Alpine rest stop at mile 75, I was all alone. Descending is not my strong suite and I figured some fast groups would catch up to me on the blazing descent down AF Canyon, but it didn't happen. And there was no one a head of me insight. I knew people were up there, but I couldn't see them.

I stopped at the Alpine rest stop, which was a big major stop as it was an intermediate finish area for those riders who only wanted to go 75 miles. I filled the bottles again, ate a little, restocked, and hit the restroom. While at the stop, some riders from behind caught up. To my surprise, many just passed right through the station without stopping.

I left the aid station and headed south for a couple miles to the turn-off to go up Suncrest. From here on out, the riders were much more spread-out. Nothing like the density of riders that were on the Alpine Loop. Again I geared-down and slowly but steadly spun my pedals going up the ~4 mile Suncrest climb. I'll admit, a little fatigue was beginning to set in, but I was still feeling pretty darn good, probably thanks to riding the first part of the race conservatively and my stick attention to eating/drinking at regular intervals. Legs still had a good amount of pep and I continued to pick people off going up the hill. No one passed me. At the summit, I think there was a stop, maybe not. I didn't pay much attention. I felt good and had plenty of liquids so I pressed on. Coming down the Draper side of Suncrest was fun as usual. As the terrain flattened out, I caught up to a few more riders and they hooked onto the back of me. Then once on 1300 E, we caught up to a few more. I drafted with them for a little while until we got to the turn-about just before 12300 S. Then I dropped all of them on the little climb up to 12300 S. We turned right onto 12300 S. heading east. I don't know what road it turns into, but it winds north and we rode it for awhile until we made another right on 11700 S. I think that road turns into Wasatch Blvd. There's a pretty nasty ~1-mile climb that can catch you off guard if you're not expecting it. Fortunately, my work-buddy Aaron (who had done the UC a couple years ago) had cautioned me about it and I went and rode it on Wednesday. So I at least knew what to expect (a nice little teaser before the climb up Little Cottonwood!). I passed some more folks going up that climb. Once you crest that climb, it relatively easy with just a couple rollers the rest of the way to the turn-off to head up Little Cottonwood.

Now at Little Cottonwood. The final showdown! About 5 hours had elapsed since I had started. I couldn't help getting there and feeling a sense of home-court advantage. This is my home turf! Afterall, I run the initial stretch between the traffic light and the electric sign almost every other day. I believe there was an aid station at Bell Canyon parking lot, but both of my bottles were about half full. I figured that would be enough to get me the few remaining miles to the finish. The real canyon climb starts at the electric sign where the north and south forks of Little Cottonwood Road converge. The spectator crowds were getting more dense. The sun was out in full force now and it was hot. Some folks were handing our bottle water. Nice cold water. I grabbed one from a girl, took a big swig and dumped the rest on my head and down my back. I zipped my jersey nearly all the way down and unlatched my helmet strap. Not so much out of necessity, but more or less because I wanted to act like those Tour de France riders when the hit the final climb of an epic mountain stage!

Game on. I'm tired, but feeling much better than I envisioned I would. To this point all my pedalling had purposefully been done from the saddle for the sake of conserving energy, but for this climb I would definitely be dancing on the pedals out of the saddle. Similar to the previous climbs, I hunkered-down to the granny gear and tried to find a decent rhythm. The legs definitely didn't have the pep they do when I do this climb on relatively fresh legs. But I knew they had enough juice to get me to the finish. The riders were very spread out here and there weren't very many. Although I have no way of knowing/confirming, although I started with wave 3, I think I may have caught up to and passed many of the riders in the 1st and 2nd waves over the course of the who ride (mostly during the climbs, especially Alpine Loop). The only reason I think that is because of the sparseness of the riders around me. I don't suspect, however, that I caught many, if any at all, of the Cat 1-3 guys who had started before our three open waves. I'm sure those guys are just too good and easily stayed ahead of us more pedestrian riders.

Open to finish this post later...

Strolled Isabelle to church one way. Later on in the afternoon I strolled her down to the in-laws for dinner (~1.5+ miles). I was good to walk a little bit. I usually sleep a lot better on Sunday nights after I've done at least a little walking.

A.M. - Treadmill run at the Life Centre:

5 minutes @ 9.5 mph, flat
5 mins @ 10.0, flat
20 mins @ 10.0, progressive inclines, 3 mins each at 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0 then 5 mins at 3.5
2.5 mins @ 10.0, flat
7.5 mins @ 10.5, flat
20 mins @ 11.0, flat

Didn't have it in me today to ratchet up to 11.5 mph towards the end, but still a good run. Legs seem to be coming around nicely despite Saturday's big ride.

P.M. - Rode up to Brighton and back (~40 miles). I love riding B.C. Pretty average ride in terms of how I felt which is good because I don't really seem to have any major noticeable fatigue in the legs from Saturday.

A.M. - My regular 15 mile route. Nice morning for a run.

P.M. - Millcreek ride (~40 miles). Got a flat on the way home. Gratefully, it was when I was almost done rather then at the beginning or middle of the ride. Daylight is fading fast. I'm going to have to start these afternoon rides earlier so I don't get caught in the dark.

A.M. - treadmill run at the gym for a just over 60 minutes, all flat:

5 minutes @ 9.5 mph

5 mins @ 10.0

10 mins @ 10.5

25 mins @ 11.0 - right at the 30 min mark my shoe came un-tied. Stopped for a couple seconds to re-tie. Lost a little focus.

3:40 mins @ 11.5 - stopped the mill; wuss-out! Just wasn't feeling it today. Should have been able to hold on.

12 mins @ 10.0 with my pride hurt

P.M. - Rode to the fire station about mid-way up Emigration Canyon and back (~40 miles). Didn't feel like tackling any canyons or big climbs today, so this route felt just right. Took this one pretty easy, but 3 good 40 mile rides in 3 days. About 300 yards away from my house, I was rounding a left turn at a 4-way stop after coming down a big hill. Suddenly my front tire went flat. 2nd flat in consecutive days. I suspected that might happen. As mentioned in yesterday's blog, I got a flat on Wasatch yesterday coming back from Millcreek. It caused a clearly visible little tear in the side wall of my tire that I knew wasn't good. I pumped it up, but it was clearly bulging. There are little bubbles on other parts of the tire too. Tonight's flat happened in the exact same place. No question that the tire is shot; both the front and rear are. I knew that I was really taking my chances riding on it Wednesday. Fortunately, the flat happened about the best place it could right close to my house. Its time to get new tires and a chain. This was the last ride before Hobble on Saturday.

A.M. - Nice and easy out-and-back to the Little Cottonwood park-and-ride and back. Hope the legs will be ready for a little speed on Saturday morning. I'm really getting tired of this dang smoke in the valley. Can we get some rain and some cool, clean air already?!

A.M. - Short easy treadmill run conserving for tomorrow's race (Hobble Creek 1/2). I'm looking forward to it.

5 minutes @ 9.0 mph, flat
10 mins @ 9.5, flat
10 mins @ 10.0, flat
3.5 mins @ 10.5, flat
1.5 mins with 30 seconds each at 11.0, 11.5, and 12.0 -this is what's really going to help my race tomorrow = )
5 mins @ 9.5, flat

Any day you can run (especially a good race), go cycling, water-ski, and spend quality time with the family is bound to be a pretty good day. And that was pretty much my day in a nutshell.

Hobble Creek Half Marathon

Got up around 4 AM, had some oatmeal and peanut butter, and got ready. Made it out of the house by about 10 mins to 5 and had a smooth drive down to Mapleton City Park (the race's finish line and bus pickup) at about 5:30. I got my bib and was lucky to get on a bus right away. The past couple of years I've done this race I've had to wait a long time just to board the bus, so it was nice to get right on this time. I sat next to some friendly (talkative) folks on the way up. The buses drop the runners off a good 3/4 mile or so below the start line. Made my way up to the start area with the hoards of other runners, hit the potties, and by that time it was about 15 minutes to the official start time (7:15) and the race organizers were letting everyone know it. Holy cow, is this race going to start on time for once?! Used the few minutes I had to do some jogging and stretching. Made my way to the front of the line and chatted with Scott Keate, Dan Varga, Brick Berguson, and a few other familiar faces. I didn't recognize a ton of people lining up at the front.

I was pretty happy with my result at Timp 1/2 (1:08:51) three weeks ago and was hoping that I could turn out another decent time to prove that Timp wasn't a total fluke. I've done this race several times (it was actually my very first half back in 1998; slightly different course though). I didn't expect today's time to be as fast at Timp's because the course, though also very aided, is not like Timp where you drop off the face of the earth for the first 8 miles. Hobble's a little more honest. At Timp I had went out too fast in my judgment and as a result, I had good splits through 8 miles, but after that I was done (splits there after were high 5's). My strategy this time was to go out more conservatively and see if I could hold onto a better pace later in the race; something I've been struggling with this year.

The gun sounded and right away Scott, David Taylor, Jacob Buhler, and one other fast dude (apologizes, I can't remember his name, but he ran a 1:09 here last year) took to the front. I was in the next set back with Brick and Dan and ran with them for about the first mile while we exchanged a few brief pleasantries. We crossed the first mile mark a tenth to two-tenths of a mile before my Garmin counted the first mile. Every subsequent mile seemed to be off that amount too. My Garmin registered 5:14 for the first mile. That felt good and was right about where I wanted to be.

By mile two, I had pulled a little ahead of Dan and Brick and was running alone in 5th place. The four ahead of me were already spreading out a little too, except for Scott and Jacob who were now squarely in the lead and very close. I suspected that I would eventually at least catch the other two, but was in no hurry to do so. Second split was 5:16.

It was right around the early part of mile three where I caught David Taylor. There must have been a steeper decline here because I hit a 5:09 which would be my fastest split of the race. Still feeling good and not like I'm over-reaching.

By mid-way through mile 4 I caught the other dude who's name I don't know. I was now running alone in 3rd place. 5:10 split. I could still see Jacob and Scott ahead. I estimated that they had 40 seconds to a minute on me and were probably still gaining.

Miles 5 and 6 were still bombing down the canyon and I hit 5:14 and 5:12, respectively. I was still feeling solid, but knew the course would be flattening out soon. I decided to take my Gu earlier than usual just before I reached the aid station at 6 or 6.5 just to get it out of the way. For half marathons, I usually take a Gu around 7 or 8.

Mile 7 is where the course starts flattening out for a short stretch the course goes up before it converges with the north fork. I definitely felt the effects of the up. It slowed me up pretty good and I was worried that it was the end of my sub-5:20 splits. After that brief stretch, a decline resumes, though more modest than the first six miles. Mile 7 was 5:25. Fortunately, it would be the slowest split of the race.

The view of the course ahead widens out and I had a clear line of sight of Scott up in the distance. He was now in second and it appeared that I might be gaining a little on him, but a little early to tell. I suspected he wasn't feeling 100%. Jacob had pulled away and was completely out of my sight. Mile 8 was 5:18. I was happy about that; a pretty good recovery for me after the 5:25 for mile 7. Somewhere near the end of mile 8, the course moves away from the road on to the paved path; the same one we ran on as part of the Hobbler Half last month.

The path is good and bad, but mostly bad in my opinion. It provides pretty views and its nice to get away from traffic/the road. But the rollers and turns dampen rhythm and speed. Splits 9 and 10 were both 5:21 - not bad. I only periodically got views of Scott, but it didn't seem I was making up any ground on him.

After 10, you're done with the canyon. There's an aid station and you come off the path back onto the road and make a 90 left turn. The road, now heading south, goes down pretty steep for a moment before a quarter mile ascent that veers you back westward. Scott was holding about 45 seconds on me. After the little ascent, you have a straight shot for about the next mile. I was feeling good and we even had a bit of tail wind. Nice! Can I make up anything on Scott?! I feel like I should be able to. But mile 11 is another 5:21. Just can't muster anymore speed. At least I'm staying consistent. At this point, I know there's really no reason I shouldn't get a personal course record (sub-1:11).

The 12th mile takes you onto a neighborhood street and there is another aid station. I was doing fine and elected to ignore the aid station, which is kind of atypical for me. We turn left out of the subdivision and we're now heading south on the final straight stretch to the park finish. Mile 12 is 5:22.

The last part of the race was about status quo. I still had Scott in my sights, but wasn't doing anything about it. He still had the same margin on me. He said in his post that I would have caught him had the race been longer. That's simply not true. Had the race been another 5 miles, he most likely still would have finished with the same margin of time on me. I rounded into the park and saw the clock ticking up to 1:09. I mustered what I could to come in under 1:09 and barely did. However, after checking my Garmin and speaking to the others, the clock was about 30 seconds fast. My Garmin time for the 12.9 was 1:08:27. Good enough for 3rd overall. A big bummer that this course isn't a true 13.1. But this is by far my best result on this course. Last year was my previous best on it, 1:11:03.

Overall, I'm very happy with the day. A good confidence booster for Pocatello in a couple weeks. Also a testament that all the biking this year must be doing something. Last year, I was consistently running probably 20-25% more volume, doing doubles, and virtually no biking. But both my Timp and Hobble times this year have been substantially better than last year.

Spoke with Scott, Jacob, Brick, Dan, Brandon and others for a few minutes. I was particularly impressed with Brick's and Brandon's performances. Both had sizable PRs, I believe. They are looking strong for St. George. I continue to be amazed by Scott, despite the fact he wasn't feeling his best today. I love having him in the races I do because he's the next level I aspire to. Dan ran a terrific race despite his lingering injury and limited training, what a cool guy.

I grabbed a little fruit and fluids and headed back to my car to change shoes and get ready for a cool down. I retraced the course backwards about 3.5 miles and back (~7.1 miles total). When I got back, I had missed the presentation of the overall awards (pulled a Fritz! = ). Scott and Dan got the announcer's attention that I was back. They disrupted the presentation of the division awards to give me mine. I got a cool big plaque, some socks, and $100 (sweet!).

Got out of dodge a little after 10 because I needed to get home for Adventure #2 of the day. My family was planning an afternoon of boating up at East Canyon and that was a great excuse for me to ride my bike up to the lake and meet them. Got home at 11 and by a little after noon I was on the Cervelo heading up to the lake (via Wasatch Blvd, Foothill, Emigration Canyon, Little/Big Mountains). Good ride, but it was hot and took a little over 2 and half hours to get there (~45 mile ride). The lake was crowded with people (typical for a Saturday) and it was a bit windy. But I got some quality playing time with my daughter and nephew on the beach and even got the chance to ski in some choppy water (first time water-skiing this year....pathetic!).

I had to cancel my 8 PM sports massage because I just couldn't make it in time. Other than that, it was a pretty terrific day.

A.M. - Strolled my daughter to church. That was the extent of my physical exertion today. My body knows its Sunday (rest day) today.

A.M. - 60 minute run on the treadmill. Good news is they fixed my farvorite treadmill and I got to use it. Bad news is they didn't do a very good job...Read on to see the lameness that befell me:

5 minutes @ 9.5 mph, flat
5 mins @ 10.0, flat
20 mins @ 10.0 with progressive inclines, 3 mins each at 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0 and 5 mins at 3.5
2.5 mins @ 10.0, flat
7.5 mins @ 10.5, flat

At the 40-minute mark, I went to bump it up to 11.0 mph. My intention was to go at 11.0 for 10 mins and then 11.5 for the last 10 minutes. As soon as I did, the machine struggled to get up to about 10.8 then oscilated between 10.4 and 10.8 and after a few seconds gave me some dumb message that it couldn't attain targeted speed. Then it settled at 10.7 mph. I tried to bump it up a few more times, but it did the same thing. Lame! I was feeling good and could have run according to my plan. I could have (and probably should have) hoped on another machine, but I just ended up staying on it for the remainder of the run at 10.7 mph. I wondered if they had put some kind of speed-governer on it to protect it from people like me. I spoke with the lady at the front desk who denied that notion and said they'd get the repair guy in again. I guess its back to treadmill option 2 for my next gym run.

P.M. - Rode up Big Cottonwood to Brighton and back (~40 miles).

A.M. - My typical 15-mile route. Nice and slow. Wonderful cool weather this morning. Now we just need to get the smoke out of here. Since I don't have a race this weekend, I'm going to spread out my afternoon rides a little more (rather then front-end loading early in the week). So no ride tonight. Just extra time with the wife and babies.

A.M. - Pretty decent treadmill run this morning:

5 minutes @ 9.5 mph, flat
5 mins @ 10.0, flat
10 mins @ 10.5, flat
25 mins @ 11.0, flat
11 mins @ 11.5, flat
4 mins @ 10.0, flat (couldn't hold 11.5 to the finish, but still an decent run today)

P.M. - Millcreek ride (~40 miles). Nice weather this afternoon.

A.M. - Bread-and-butter 15 miler. Nice and slow. Breathed a little easier today with the cleaner air compared to what it has been lately. Did the Wasatch Blvd/Little Cottonwood Rd triangle in reverse direction.

P.M. - Same Emigration ride that I did last Wednesday. Up to the firehouse (about mid-way up the canyon) and back (~40 miles). Lots of folks out riding...LoToJa is in the air!

A.M. - Pretty much the same treadmill workout as Wednesday, but a little better. All flat:

5 minutes @ 9.5
5 mins @ 10.0
10 mins @ 10.5
25 mins @ 11.0
15 mins @ 11.5

A.M. - Very slow, slow long run. I'll admit it, I was not 'feeling it' today. Did my ~12-mile course twice; once doing the triangle in regular direction and once in reverse. No pep whatsoever in the legs today and I had to make a couple bit stops (which I prefer not to do). From start to finish it took over 3 hours. I guess you just have those days sometimes. At least I got some miles in though. An interesting tid-bit about today was that I ran on the courses of two in-process races today; the Rivalry Relay (on Wasatch Blvd and Little Cottonwood Rd) and the Blessed Sacrament 5K (Eastdell Dr. and 9800 S.). So I had some intermittent company. On the bright side, despite how slow I was going, I didn't get chicked or passed by anyone from either race!

P.M. - Rode up Big Cottonwood to Brighton and then Guardsman's Pass to the end of the paved road. Extended a little on the way home to get in a little over 50 miles in 2:58 (~6,370 ft of climbing). Fortunately, I felt better this afternoon on the bike compared to this morning's run. I've got to say this is right up there with my favorite rides. Especially the few miles to the top of Guardsman's, its just so beautiful up there. Finished the day with a sports massage.

P.M. - Walked about 3.5 miles roundtrip to the Redbox machine to return a DVD. Great fun.

A.M. - Classic 60 minute incline run on the treadmill:

5 minutes @ 9.5 mph, flat
5 mins @ 10.0, flat
20 mins @ 10.0 with progressive inclines, 3 mins each at 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0 and 5 mins at 3.5
2.5 mins @ 10.0, flat
7.5 mins @ 10.5, flat
10 mins @ 11.0, flat
10 mins @ 11.5, flat

P.M. - Millcreek ride (~40 miles). Awesome temps in the canyon. 

A.M - Very slow 12-miler.

A.M. - Same treadmill workout that I did last Friday. Was firing on all cylinders today:

5 minutes @ 9.5 mph, flat
5 mins @ 10.0, flat
10 mins @ 10.5, flat
25 mins @ 11.0, flat
15 mins @ 11.5, flat

Some may say that I'm dumb to be doing this kind of run so close to the marathon on Saturday, and I'd probably agree. But to be honest, I'm not taking the race too seriously. STG is the bigger focus and I'll do a better taper as it approaches.

P.M. - Emigration Canyon firehouse ride (~40 miles). Just nice and easy. Was warm when I started, but the temps felt real nice toward the end.

A.M. - Slow and easy out-and-back to the Little Cottonwood canyon park-and-ride.

A.M. - 25 mins on the treadmill this morning, slow and easy.

10 minutes @ 8.0 mph, flat

5 mins @ 8.5, flat

10 mins @ 9.0, flat

Feeling ready to roll...wait, roll is next week! Feel'n ready to run!