Kerry's Running Blog

Met up with Richard for our Monday morning run. I've definitely seen an improvement over the last month or two.  I just ran (and walked occcasionally) with him the whole way as I had to get back and take by youngest daughter to Lindon Elementary. She's going to Clear Creek Camp for the week.

I decided to run in the evening today so that I could start getting better acclimated to the heat. I went to the AF Rec Center with Laureen and Brittany and left from there heading east. Although it was 91, there was a bit of breeze heading out and occasional shade from the trees. I could tell I was gradually heating up and so I stopped at the turnaround, drank some water and rested in the shade for a few minutes. The return trip was hotter as there was no detectable breeze and as I was running facing traffic, I hardly got any shade on the south side of the street. My face was bright red when I got back, but I felt pretty good. Average pace was 8:39.

Lunchtime run in the heat (87 degrees) around the Highland Glen pond and back along the trail. Started feeling some bowel discomfort about three quarters of a mile from home, but was able to make it home safely. The sweat just poured off me after stepping into the house, so I headed down to the basement where it was much cooler. I generally feel OK running in the heat, but I know I can't keep the same speed.

A woman from Ragnar Relay called me just before heading out to ask if I had run the relay every year and if I knew of any others that had. I told her I had the picture of our first relay team on my desk (just to make sure I didn't miss anybody) and gave told her that Paul, Verdon and Will had run it every year and I was pretty sure that Darin had as well. Rod was also on the 2004 team, but it seems like he missed a year. 

Took the handoff from Nathan as the light on the horizon was about gone. The temperature had dropped considerably in the last couple of hours which made it almost perfect for running. I started out a bit slow, trailing a young woman by a couple of steps for the first half mile or so, but once I got into my rhythm, I slowly started to pull away. I felt pretty good and passed a couple of other runners and in turn got passed by two runners that were going considerably faster. Without being able to really appreciate the scenery, I pretty much focused on breathing and keeping my turnover steady. I realized after a while that I must have forgotten to start my Garmin as I hadn't heard it beep after the first mile or (what I hoped had been) the second mile. After almost three miles and 900 feet of ascent, it leveled out and then started a fairly steep drop. I could see the lights for the exchange down below. I was able to transition fairly quickly to a downhill pace and finished feeling pretty strong. I was a little disappointed with my time, but felt like I'd run it as hard as I could have.

I started the 23 leg about the time that I normally go out for a run. It was light enough to see well and cold enough that I wore an extra layer on top. I was a bit stiff after yesterday's run and riding around in the van for hours, but I didn't feel too bad. We were a little short on sleep as we'd tried to find the Alternate Hangout Area in Morgan for about half an hour before giving up and driving on to East Canyon where we found that they were temporally out of spaghetti (I ate four pieces of break with a smidgen of jam instead) and that there was really no place to sleep but in the parking lot. We threw out bags out and I may have dozed off for fifteen minutes or so. I really didn't feel that bad all things considered. I was glad that Verdon, Ryan, Bill and Nathan were all running before me. When my turn came I took off a little faster than I normally would just because I was cold and need to warm up a bit. I passed one runner and was passed in turn by two much faster runners. I kind of enjoyed the rolling hills and especially enjoyed the beautiful morning scenery. I was able to pick up the pace as I ran along and managed to finish a little quicker than expected. I was looking forward to being able to shower, eat and sleep a bit at the hotel in Park City.

 By the time Verdon started our final rotation, it was already fairly hot and seemed to be getting hotter by the minute. Everyone in our van put in a great and impressive effort in completing their legs. I felt OK taking the handoff from Nathan after he finished Ragnar, but started off at a fairly conservative pace as it climbed to the top of the pass. I was a bit more winded than I expected (no doubt due to the elevation), but felt I could make up for any lost time on the downhill. I was right and wrong about that one. The drop after the summit was so steep that you either had to let gravity take over and substantially increase your left turnover or really work to hold yourself back. I opted to let gravity take over and really flew down the second mile. I tried a few times to slow down, but that required more energy than I seemed to have. My legs were really starting to feel the effects of the hard pounding and by the third mile they were starting to feel a bit rubbery. When the road turned and I lost the cooling breeze, I realized that I'd overdone it. My head was burning and I felt weak and a bit nauseated. My pace slowed down considerably and I had to walk for a bit on one of the steeper uphill sections to keep from barfing. After a few minutes I felt better and could resume a fairly good pace, but then I'd start feeling overheated again. The last couple of miles were downhill, but at a more gentle descent. I was pretty much wiped out by the time I finished and badly needed some water. I was able to recover fairly quickly, but knew I was going to be sore for a couple of days.