A Runner at Heart.....Riding a Bike

It was icy again outside after yet ANOTHER snowstorm......  I ran 6.00 miles on the TM nice and easy.  Where is SPRING???

It was 33 degrees, windy, and some light snow blowing around this morning. I ran 5.13 miles with a couple of pick-ups.

Left for Moab this morning.  It looks like the weather is going to be REALLY bad for the marathon.

Wow....where to start.  We got on the bus at 5:15 for what was supposed to be a 6:30 start.  It was raining/snowing and wind in Moab.  The RD said it was going to be "iffy" at best because there was over 6 inches of new snow on the top and the wind was nasty.  When the bus turned to go up highway 313 we were plowing through 6 inches of slush that turned in to 6 inches of blowing snow as we climbed higher.  The bus driver was basically following the reflectors on the side of the road to keep going.  It took us almost an hour and a half to get to the bathrooms at Deadhorse point, only 30 miles from town.  At this point the RD told us the race was cancelled and we were driving down to the halfway point and just running a half-marathon.  A bunch of us talked and decided we would go the full distance anyway.......just crazy I guess.  I decided that this would be just a training run due to the conditions and the fact that I am running Salt Lake in 2 weeks

 The bus drove back to the start and the RD told us we were officially on our own and gave us each a water bottle as there would be no aid until past the halfway point, if any.  10 of us got off the bus and watched it drive away.  The wind was nasty 20-30 mph and pelting us with snow.  I was dressed fine for this but would pay later as my clothing would get soaked and heavy down the road.  The first 3 miles were NASTY.  We had a gradual uphill with snowdrifts on the road and we tried to keep moving by following the tire tracks of the bus without slipping and falling.  I took off and another runner went with me.  I found out later that it was Nate from the blog, he lives in St. George.  Nate pulled ahead of me and was looking pretty good.  We made the turn back on to highway 313 around mile 3 and Nate stopped for a nature break.  I noticed a bunch of footprints and realized that a majority of the people on the bus decided to start their race here because the wind was more at our backs and the downhill started.

Nate passed me again by mile 4 and started picking up the pace.  We were running downhill in deep snow and had to be careful not to fall.  We started catching the runners that started around mile 3 and I had a hard time seeing where Nate was as we worked our way through the other runners.  I passed what turned out to be the last of those runners around mile 9.  By this time the roads were just deep slush and I was getting SOAKED.  We were also getting splashed by passing cars.  The bottom half of my pants were heavy and I was bothered by having to carry that stupid water bottle as I could not use my arms like I wanted.

By mile 14 the roads were just wet but I could feel the fatigue of the downhill coupled with the stress on the legs from trying to run without falling in the slick conditions.  I could see Nate ahead of me but he had a good 3/4 of a mile on me by now.  We got our first water station (un-manned) at mile 15 so I tossed the stupid water bottle.  At about 17.5 we turned on highway 191 in to a HEADWIND that would dog us the rest of the way.  We would be going uphill the next 3-4 miles.  At mile 19 we went under the highway and were on a dirt road.  Actually it was that special Moab red mud with slush on top of it.  The footing here was bad and my pace showed it.  We then ran on the old highway that was probably last used in the 1950's.  It was so broken-up that you could not get a good pace going like running on a bad cobblestone road.  At mile 23 we got a better path and I just coasted in to the finish.

They gave me a 2nd place overall picture at the finish and I talked to Nate for a couple of minutes before walking back to the motel.  An interesting day for sure.  I have 1 bloody toe from the rubbing wet socks but otherwise I am good.

Drove home from Moab today. It was nice and sunny. Too bad the race wasn't today.

It was 25 degrees this morning with light winds. I ran 8.33 miles nice and slow as my quads are still a bit tight from Saturday's run.

It was so nice this evening (60 degrees) Sue and I went on a bike ride. It really helped to loosen-up my quads. When we got home I did leg presses, curls, and extensions.

It was 28 degrees this morning, ran in shorts anyway. It was 35 by the time I got back so it was nice. I ran 15.29 miles in a fairly easy pace. My quads still hurt a bit on downhills so I didn't want to push too hard yet.

It was 50 degrees and windy this morning.  Easy recovery run early because I had a meeting at 8:00 this morning.  I ran 10.32 in an easy pace.

It was 40 degrees this morning with wind and some light rain. I ran 12.27 miles with a couple pick-ups, but nothing serious.

It was 35 degrees this morning with very light winds.  I ran 10.51 miles and felt pretty good for the first time this week.  Last Saturday's run in hard conditions has really taken a lot out of me.  

It was 35 degrees this morning and was actually a bit moist outside.  I ran 10.22 miles with some nice pick-ups along the way.

It was beautiful this morning.  40 degrees, sunny and just a light breeze.  I ran 8.53 miles and really did not push at all, just an easy effort.  It felt great.

It was a nice afternoon.  We were having dinner at grandmas house and my son and I decided to ride our bikes over and back.  We rode a total of 8.52 miles although the big uphill on Satterfield only an hour after a big dinner was interesting.

41 degrees and a bit windy this morning.  I guess I better enjoy it as the weather is supposed to get nasty Tuesday through Thursday.  The forecast said "snow with significant accumulations possible" on Tuesday night and Wednesday.  The high Wednesday is supposed to be 38!!!  Oh well, as long as it is OK in Salt Lake on Saturday.  I ran 8.37 miles nice and easy as the taper continues.

It was 35 degrees and windy this morning when I left.  I ran 1 fast mile before I ran slower for a couple of miles to talk to Brent Lee.  He is going to Boston this weekend.  Then I saw Kory and turned around and ran 3 miles with him.  We kept all 3 around 6:35-7:00 as we talked and it seemed pretty easy.  By mile 5 it had started to snow pretty good and by the time I got home I was very wet and my hands were getting cold.  It looks like the bad weather is coming in.

It was 35 degrees with lots of wind this morning and it felt cold due to the moisture.  I ran 6.24 miles nice and easy.

It was 32 degrees this morning, but luckily the snow only stuck to the grass and the roads were just wet.  I ran 5.57 miles with a couple pick-ups in the 4th mile just to work on leg turnover.  

No run today.......driving to Salt Lake this afternoon.

It was actually very nice weather for a race, especially compared to the stuff I had in Moab 2 weeks ago.  The temperature at the start was 38 degrees (at least that's what the gas station thermometer at mile 1.5 said).  It was overcast at the start and I was at mile 17 before the sun started to warm things up.  There was some wind here and there...but nothing serious.

Ok....to the race.  It took me almost an hour on the stupid train to get to the start.  People kept trying to get on a full train and we were at each station for 5 minutes.  I did not get to the start until less than 20 minutes before the gun.  I did a quick warm-up jog with Barry and downed a gel and some water and away we went.

Barry and I ran together until the half/full split at Sugarhouse Park.  We paced each other and he was going for a sub 1:28 in the half (he got a 1:27 something, CONGRATS BARRY!).  I was feeling pretty good until mile 7 and my stomach started getting cramps pretty bad.  My splits started to sag and I was starting to think I would be lucky to get a 3:15. 

I hit the half in 1:28 and I normally am 5-7 minutes slower on the 2nd half of this course so I knew a sub-3 would be tough.  But then my stomach either started to feel a little better or I got better at ignoring it.  Someone told me at the 1/2 that I was in 29th place and that seemed to motivate me.  My splits from the half until about mile 20 were much better and I picked-off 6 runners by mile 18.  I could see the next 3 ahead of me but I could not reel them in.

1 runner passed me in Liberty Park with 3 miles to go and I lost one of my goals of not getting passed in the 2nd half.  I was doing OK until the 25th mile which had a "new" hill on State St. that we never had before.  At this point I was weaving through all the half-marathon walkers and almost had to stop in this narrow section on S. Temple in a construction zone as the walkers were 4 abreast and blocking my way. 

I finished in 2:59:13 and came in 3rd overall in the Masters category so I finished in the money :-)........I know it's only 50 bucks but hey........I'll take it (if I ever see it, this is Devine racing ya know).  I also got 3rd in my age group so considering my stomach issues, if I can still sub-3 on a bad day only 2 weeks after my last marathon I am doing OK.

I am tired from the drive home and will post splits later.

OK....here's the splits.  You will see that they are all over the place

1.     6:21

2.     6:29

3.     6:24

4.     6:21

5.     6:40

6.     6:47

7.     6:55

8.     6:50

9.     7:03

10.   6:35

11.   6:42

12.   6:52

13.   7:07

14.   6:33

15.   6:29

16.   6:32

17.   6:42

18.   6:47

19.   6:48

20.   6:58

21.   7:08  (starting to fade)

22.   7:04

23.   7:19

24.   7:18

25.   7:46 (stupid hill anyway!)

26.   7:13

.023   6:39

It was a beautiful morning....clear skies and 40 degrees.  Today was an easy recovery run.  I ran 10.25 miles nice and easy to work out some stiffness in my quads from Saturday's marathon.

 Went on a bike ride tonight because it was soooooo nice outside....around 70 degrees.  I rode 10.27 miles and it helped my quads alot.

It was nice again this morning, 40 degrees and light winds.  I ran 15.21 miles nice and easy again as I am still recovering from Saturday.

Another nice morning....43 degrees.  I was a bit tired after Tuesday's run so I ran slow and easy today.  I ran 12.08 miles very easy.

It was warm and windy this morning.  53 degrees.  I kept it easy running 10.28 miles.

It was cooler this morning (40 degrees) but the 20+mph wind was really cold when I ran directly in to it.  We have a chance of snow the next 2 nights...GRRRR.  I ran 10.54 miles and felt pretty good.

It was 25 degrees on the top of Buckskin this morning.  My friend Barry Smith needed one more long run before Ogden so I agreed to run with him.  We ran the first 23 miles of the Pocatello marathon course.  We just went fairly easy for distance and did not push hard.  I ran 23.00 miles in 2:49.......Kory don't yell at me, it felt really good.  My Camelback hose froze by mile 3 but I thawed it out by tucking it in.  I ran in shorts even with the cold and was fine because there was little wind

It was 33 degrees this morning with winds 15-20 making the wind chill around 20.  I ran 10.62 miles nice and easy except the last couple miles I picked it up because the wind was so cold and I wanted to get home.

It was another chilly morning, 26 degrees with some wind.  I dressed better today than yesterday so it was OK.  I ran 12.32 miles.  Quads a little tight the first couple of miles.  Not sure if it was from Saturday's run or yesterdays weights.

It was 36 degrees and raining this morning.  I ran 12.41 miles with some good pick-ups and got wet the last half of the run but not too bad.

I ran another 8.79 this afternoon around the neighborhood because I wanted to go farther this morning but I didn't dare with the on and off thunderstorms we were getting.  Holy crap, that was a nasty run-on sentence :)

It was 33 degrees this morning but at least it wasn't raining.  I felt pretty good today and had a good pace throughout my run.  I ran 13.24 miles.  I saw Kory running up Oak St. in his cool weather gear and he looked like a Ninja with his pullover hat on.........spooky.  I tried to get his attention but he must have had music on and couldn't hear me.  

It was 27 degrees this morning, another cold one.  I ran 15.21 miles in a steady pace for the most part.