Speed only kills if you don't have it!

No run.  I am done with another year of school though!

Got up and drove up Butterfield Canyon a couple of miles for a big workout, at least big for me.  I wanted to hit 10 miles at 6 min. pace or better.  My first 10 was great, 5:50 pace around 36:10.  Then I hit some good uphill and a stiff South wind in the next few miles that slowed me down a little.  My first mile was 6:02, Mile 7 was 6:08, and mile 9-10 were 6:16 and 6:30, the other 6 were under 6 min pace.  I ended up with a 59:42 for the 10 miles.  Felt pretty good, still a touch congested though, and it got warm quick.  The wind the last 2 miles kicked my butt!  This was a great run for me overall though.

Legs are pretty sore from Saturday, not part of the plan!  I didn't think I would get sore because the 10 miles was similar to the last 10 miles from Monday, but I guess it was 3 minutes faster.  Still!

AM- I slept in for the first time in a while and got up about 8:00am.  It was already 80 degrees.  I went out for 5 miles up to Butterfield and 6400 W and back.  The first mile hurt today and it took a while to get moving.  After that I felt fine other than the soreness in the upper legs.  I took it pretty easy, but ended up with a pretty decent progression run.  35:35 for the 5 miles.

PM- Ran 3 more miles to loosen back up this evening.  It was about 95 degrees, so I was glad that I didn't have to go far.  7:27 pace

Ran out to the Cove and back.  wore a HR monitor today for the first time in a long time, just interested in where I was.  Legs are still sore from Saturday, but I went slow.  44:05 for the run.

Finally made it to the chiropractor today and he worked me over for about an hour.  I feel much better already, which most of the time is not the case.  

Ran to 6400 W by Butterfield Park and back.  Did one fast mile in 5:21.  Legs felt better, but still not fresh, still a little tight.

Went out on an easy run this morning.  I went on Leila to Prospero, got on the trail on Friendship to Mirabella, then took Mirabella back to Rosecrest and home.  I did a few striders in the last mile.  7:25 pace.  Legs are still tight but much better than they have been.  I hope they will recover completely by Saturday.

Got up this morning and jogged a mile.  Still feeling a bit tight, but I should be fine.

Not quite sure what to think about tomorrow?  I have 3 goals as usual for a race like this.  Feel good 2:38:00, Feel decent 2:40:00, Feel crappy sub 2:45:00.  I am interested in the weather as well to see what it will be like.  It has been a long time coming for this marathon and I hope it goes well.

Not much good to say about this one, I'll just chalk it up as a learning experience, and one I don't wish to have again. Nice morning and pre-race rituals.  I got eaten up by fighting the headwind for 13 miles by myself, mentally and physically destroyed!

Everything went well through mile 7 (42:04 at mile 7) and then I fell apart and was lucky to finish.  Worst I have ever felt in a marathon!  I got passed the entire race and never passed one person (except Steve Anderson who was walking about mile 13), not the norm for me, I usually negative split and catch all kinds of people.

I started out with two young guys and we came though 7 miles at 6 minute pace and I felt good.  Then the wind hit!  I run in the wind all of the time, but today it hammered me.  I lost the two guys when we hit the hills and I was trying to suck down my first GU.  I was on my own from then on.  I started to break down mentally first, since I could see that time was going to blow away with the head wind.  Even on the 10th mile that was good downhill I was slowed up, it felt like I was running in place.  The wind was nothing like St. George 2008 and minus the rain, but I was in great shape then, sub 2:30 shape and had people to run with in the second half, not the same situation today.  I kept trying to mentally get back into things even when I slowed down so much over the next 6 miles.  I came through the half at 1:24:25.  The more I went the slower I got, it seemed like the whole canyon was uphill instead of down.  I took another GU at mile 13, but it didn't agree with my stomach so I never took anything else except water, and I know that was a mistake too.  I was lucky to average sub 7:00 pace down the canyon.  Around mile 19 or 20, just before getting out of the canyon, I started cramping up in my calves, I am sure from nutrition and hydration during the previous 20 miles, that was apparent by the amount of salt and minerals all over my body when I finished.  I have never had the cramping like that before.  This is where I fell apart all the way and people started to pass me and there was nothing I could about it, because if I tried to speed up my calves would cramp and I would almost go down.  I knew if I stopped I wouldn't get going again or finish so I kept crawling along clicking off 7:00 plus pace for the last 7 miles.  I had one mile, (mile 25 I think?) that was 7:49.  At one point around the last mile Josse started running with me, or ahead of me, and asked me if I could catch the guy in front of me, I said no way.  I would have loved to catch him but my legs wouldn't let that happen, they were lucky to be moving at all.  I was lucky to get in and finish. Marathons can be a gamble some times, you never know how your body will react to conditions.  I lost a big on this one!  I did finish though right?!

My final time was 2:56:06, definitely my worst marathon of all time.  I was pretty bummed, but so glad to be done at the same time.  I know most people didn't have a good race today.   I felt awful afterwards too and walked for a while then had to lay down on the grass.  This was a mistake because my calves cramped up bad when I was on the ground.  My wife tried to dorsiflex my feet, but the calves were contracted so tight that she couldn't move them.  She finally got them to dorsilfex and I was able to turn over, then started to cramp again and had to have help standing up.  I limped around the rest of the day.  I did still place 4th in the age, but since I should have won it, and got passed by all of the 3 ahead of me in the last few miles, that was no consolation either. 

On top of an awful marathon, my son Jaren broke both bones in his lower arm at my little sisters house this afternoon, which puts a bit of a damper on our vacation to Disneyland and San Diego next week.  Then we found out our friends just up the road had a little baby with Down Syndrome and they had no clue about until he was born.  They are devastated right now!  That would be a hard trial in life!  Anyway, not a super good day for me. 

The good thing for me is I learned a lot and relearned a lot and I will do everything in my power to not have a race like that again.  I will be ready for St. George this fall.  I will be smarter in my training, in my nutrition and hydration, and my race tactics next time.

Second day of XC and my assistants are both doing Wasatch Back, so I was it today.  I decided to run even though I was going to wait until tomorrow.  Started at the back and made my way up, talking to all of the new kids on the way.  We have a lot of new kiddos!  Probably averaged 8-8:30 pace for the 4 miles.  Legs felt a little heavy from not running all week, but the rest of me felt good.  The week off has been nice other than I have been kind of sick with stuffy nose etc..  I will go a little longer tomorrow.

Met a few of my kids up Yellow Fork this morning. I wanted a nice slow tough trail run today. We went a way that I have never gone before.  We headed up Rose Canyon on the dirt road (which no longer has 3 foot deep ruts anymore).  I started out with Jess and Lucy for the first mile while Chuk, Connor, Jesse, and Calvin  went up ahead.  I lost the girls after a mile the boys kept going, so I ran almost all the way up by myself.  The first 4 miles was a 1900 foot climb.  I met up with the boys and we came down by Varsity hill and got on the single track for the rest of the way.  It was super dusty and hard to see rocks, roots, and stumps because of the lighting on the snake single track.  I was leading down at one point and went down on my right side face first.  Luckily it was a part with mostly all dirt and not a lot of rocks, so I didn't get beat up too bad.  Calvin went down worse a few minutes later.  We saw cows, rattle snakes, deer, turkeys, and almost ran into a big fat sheep on the way down, that freaked all of us out a bit.  Connor thought it was a bear!  We were all filthy when we got done, especially me from my Pete Rose down the mountain.  Fun run, and very tough.  I am ready to do some of these though trail runs again.  I remember running a lot of good trail runs in Logan with Paul, Cody, and Jon and just always feeling tough.  I need that toughness back.  8 miles in 9:05 pace and we climbed and dropped 2,000 feet both ways.

Ran with the team this morning.  Over 70 kids, most of who I don't know yet.  I started with Haag and we came from behind the slower kids and talked to them.  First couple of miles were around 8:30, then I left Haag and went a little further.  I hit 7:02, 6:29, and 6, 25 for the last 3 miles.  Felt good, a little sore from Saturday though.  7:24 pace for the run.

Ran down to monarch for practice. We ran up the trail and out around Butterfield Park to the Cove and back.  Started off at a slow pace with Greg who is still sore from WBR.  Ran with him for 2 miles and then went out to the Cove pond by myself.  I was a ways behind my fast legs and could never catch them because they were flying.  I was moving pretty good coming back myself.  Finished the run and visited for a bit, then ran home.  7:05 pace for the run.  

We are heading to Disneyland and San Diego for the next 10 days, so all of my runs will be at sea level for a while.

Stayed in Mesquite last night, still 104 degrees when we pulled into town.  It was about 90 degrees this morning running!  I ran from Falcon Ridge on a big loop around town.  Super hot!  Felt good though.  7:18 pace.

Ran from the hotel early this morning up and back on Ball and then around Disneyland.  Nice morning kind misty and overcast.  7:13 pace

Ran from hotel up and back on Ball and then out on Walnut and back.  7:19 pace.  Pretty tired from Disneyland yesterday and going all day again.  The family is having fun though!

No run traveling and setting up camp.

We are camping on the beach in Carlsbad for the next few days.  I went out and ran down (south) the 101 Hwy into a little beach town called Encinatas.  Did an out and back at 7:19 pace.  Hanging out on the beach today.

Ran east up into the mountains and the super rich area of Carlsbad.  Amazing houses and area.  A lot of big hills.  Had to stop for a potty break at Vons.  7:21 pace

Lego Land today.

Kind of tired and beat up, but still ran up east into the mountains for a morning run.  Went a different route then yesterday after 2 miles.  7:12 pace for the 8.5 miles

Seal Beach today.

Went back south on the 101 and went super slow even after a potty break at a gas station.  The weather is great here, 60s in to morning.  I am was tired today so I went really easy.  7:43 recovery pace.

Beach today.

No run.  Packed up and drove to Mesquite.  It was a 110 degrees in Mesquite and I had no desire to run after the long drive and baking hot temps.