Kerry's Running Blog

Felt good to get out this morning even though I didn't get much sleep last night. No aches or pains. Didn't push it until I was past the three mile mark. At that point I just starting running faster because I wanted to. It was a bit warmer this morning than it has been. Will taper a bit this week leading up the Wasatch Back Relay on Friday.

Felt pretty good this morning, although my achilles tendon was a little sore when I got up. Ran at a pretty relaxed pace starting out. Saw Greg P. and Chad L. on the road south of the High School. Saw a couple of deer in the park. I don't know whether they're the same ones I've seen before, but they don't seem especially afraid of me. They're often only fifteen or twenty feet away when I go running by and just stare at me. The foxes at the south end of the park at pretty much the same. They're a little wary, but don't seem that scared. Picked up the pace for the last mile and a quarter.

First leg of the Wasatch Back Relay (leg 8). It was inspiring to watch Verdon pounding up the dirt road for the handoff as he was giving it his all. I felt well rested and took off up the dusty road at a comfortable pace. It was hot, but it really didn't affect me for the first mile or so. I loved running on the dirt road especially when I got to the shade provided by the trees. There was also a beautiful stream running by the road for much of the way. It would have been perfect if it hadn't been for all the dust kicked up by passing vehicles (one of the volunteers said that some of them were van 1's that didn't want to take the long way around to the next major exchange). Ran first mile in 8:12, second in 8:47. Was pretty hot by that time. It was a relief to get water from my van mates and have them cheering me on. For the third and fourth miles, the steady climb started to take its toll on me and my pace dropped to 9:07 and 9:10 and to 9:12 pace for the last .31 miles. Overall pace was 8:51 or about 11 seconds per mile slower than I was shooting for. Finished in 38:10 (56 seconds slower than projected). I don't think I could have pushed it any harder than I did. Recovered fairly quickly after drinking a few cups of cold water. My GPS showed a net elevation gain of 359 instead of the 487 in the race book.

Day two of the WBR (leg 20). After getting something to eat at East Canyon we stretched out in our sleeping bags for a while. I was tired, but it took a while to get to sleep. I woke up about 15 minutes before my alarm was set to go off. It was a very beautiful starry night. Changed clothes in the restrooms and walked back to the van. As we were heading up to the exchange I heard a radio message from John saying he was almost there. I hoped Verdon was already up there and waiting. There were a few minutes of confusion trying to figure out if Kevin (our pacer) was ready for the transition and where Rich was and if he got Dave's finishing time. Verdon took off down the road, but it was a few minutes before we got everything organized and followed him down the road. We saw Sasha flying along with his pacer and yelled some encouragement. After we made sure that Kevin found Verdon we drove down to the next exchange. It was cool enough that I didn't take off my sweats until Verdon was just a couple of minutes away. Took handoff from Verdon at 2:16 a.m. Started off at a comfortable pace, not wanting to push it too much since my muscles weren't warmed up. It was great having Kevin there as he kept up a nice conversation as I was settling into my pace. First mile 6:37, second mile 6:39. We saw another runner up ahead that we appeared to be closing on. I saw him take off at the exchange at a very fast clip. I thought he might be waiting for our light to catch up with him so he could see where he was going (there was no moon and he was running with a very small headlight). I expected that as we passed he would follow along, but he dropped off right away. The miles seemed to go by very quickly. Third mile pace was another 6:39, but I slowed to 7:22 for the fourth mile due to a flatter section at the beginning and a small uphill and flat section towards the end. Picked up the pace a little on the fifth mile to 7:08 just before entering Henefer. It was a little eerie running through town as there were a number of street lights but absolutely no signs of life. A slight uphill beginning about a quarter mile in. Pace slowed to 7:46. Slight uphill as we followed the course up and over the freeway. 8:05 for the the 7th mile and 7:08 pace for the last tenth. Over all, a nice run. It was great having Kevin there and the temperature was about perfect. Didn't need to drink during the run and only needed a little bit after. Was surprised to find Darin there and chatted with him for a few minutes. Started to get chilled standing around so I headed back to the van and put on my sweats.

After getting some sleep in Park City, we drove to the major exchange in Heber City. After Verdon took the handoff we drove to the next exchange. I felt a lot more rested and ready for my third leg than I have in years past, but I could definitely feel the heat. Took the handoff from Verdon and tried to settle in to a comfortable pace. First mile in 7:41. Felt pretty good and could see I was closing on another runner. As I passed over a bridge at the east end of Deer Creek I recognized it as a place where I once fished with my Dad and brother Andre (both now deceased). It brought back a lot of memories and I wanted to just stop and take it all in. I pushed on though and soon passed the girl I'd been following. It seemed to be getting hotter by the minute. The rest of the run was mostly slight uphill through Midway and the surrounding roads. My van mates stopped for me a few times to give me cold water. I didn't drink much, but it felt so good to just pour it on my head. I'd get an immediate burst of energy right after that. Seeing them also provided a psychological lift as the course takes a number of a turns and it would be easy to get off track if you weren't paying attention. I felt like I was just plodding along towards the end. I saw a couple of women up ahead of me as I neared the exchange and closed within ten yards or so before the exchange. I was very glad to be done, but felt bad that I'd been so slow. My average pace was 8:48 and I'd slowed to 9:04 or worse by mile 4. According to my GPS there was more of an elevation gain than advertised. The race book said the total elevation gain was 377, but I showed 479. I don't think I could have pushed it any harder than I did. It was a hard leg, but I really felt for Paul and Tom who would have to climb the mountain in that heat! Those are two very brave and strong runners.