Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow

I took today off for recovery. I feel pretty darn good after the marathon, no soreness and little fatigue. Felt even better after a 2.5-hr nap! Hopefully tomorrow will not bring any delayed soreness, but not over the course of today so far, so I don't expect any. Very encouraging, especially after last week.

A few interesting TOU Marathon notes:

• This year was my second fastest TOU time, just 1.3 seconds faster than 2005 (2:39:22.5 vs. 2:39:23.8)
• My gun time was 0.04 seconds faster than Logan's, but his chip time was 0.07 seconds faster than mine.
  
• Although we were denied Top 3, Fast Running Bloggers swept every spot from 4th to 12th. Pretty cool.
• Jon Allen captured a front paged title in the Herald Journal this morning. "Allen aided by mantourage."
  

In more important news, the Pack win again!

Now back to watching the Patriots game.

AM - easy 5 miles on Planet Walk and a few blocks with the dog. Feeling splendid. No tightness or soreness. I'm still going to take it relatively easy until Thursday, just to ensure proper recovery.

(Adrenaline blue: 363 miles)

It looks like the USATF LDR has posted the final standings HERE. 5 bloggers in the Top 10, including a clean sweep of the Top 3.

I am not sure if I will go to the Awards Banquet or not. I usually skip stuff like that (especially for $30/plate + 170 miles driving round-trip), but if it exceptionally fun and/or if the food is exceptionally good, I may go this year. Has anyone gone in the past that can fill me in? Anyone else going this year?

PM - 8 miles on the canal trail loop. Rained a little bit. 7:08/mile average pace.

(1120: 289 miles)

Canal trail to BST to Green Canyon to end of Green Canyon single-track and back. Perfect weather today. Some fall colors are starting to appear up Green Canyon. It's amazing how much better I feel this week than last week. After my first mile today, I thought to myself, "I get to run 14 more miles! Happy Joy!" Not sarcastic, either. So it was a good run, and I enjoyed climbing hills in the 790s. They are a good shoe, although my feet are definitely tired after 15 miles. 6:54/mile average pace.

(790: 23 miles)

AM - planet walk, easy, no watch.

(Adrenaline blue: 368 miles)

PM - Providence Hill Loop, via Von's Park. Felt great. 6:47/mile average pace.

(Triax: 97 miles)

I went to the doctor today to have my iron checked. I feel fine and exhibit no symptoms of low iron. However, I just wanted to check and make sure, since I have been doing doing the most mileage of my life, and am eating a semi-vegetarian diet. I weighed in at 130 lbs, fully clothed with birkenstocks on and pockets full of keys, wallet, phone, etc. This is the first I've been weighed in a few months, and it's where I want to be.

My test was good. I am the opposite of anemic, on the high end of normal. Now at least I know for sure.

Big Workout today, which turned into Big Disaster. Well, that's exaggerating. More like Moderate Disappointment and Slight Anger. I was planning on doing MP intervals: 5-mile tempo with 2 minutes recovery, 4-mile tempo with 2 minutes recovery, 3-mile tempo with 2 minutes recovery. So 12 miles of tempo total. An ambitious workout, but I did something similar before Ogden and I liked it.

Unfortunately, I didn't run until afternoon, and it was about 80 degrees by then, warmer than it had been all week. So that was mistake number one. And then I choose to do the Young Ward-ICON Loop, which can be windy in the afternoon; sure enough I had a headwind for the first 5 miles. Mistake number two. And then I didn't finish eating my lunch until an hour before my run. Mistake number three. So the heat sucker-punched me, the headwind kicked me to the ground, and the upset stomach spat in my face.

The workout started well enough, and I was down to sub-6:30 pace at the end of my 1-mile warmup. I started the first tempo segment and hit a 5:30 and then a 5:28. But I was already struggling by the second mile. I decided to break it up into smaller intervals, so took a two-minute recovery right then, and then started another 2-mile interval. First mile in 5:24, but then I felt pretty bad, and rather than push through it, I called off the dogs and canned the workout after another quarter mile. I hate giving up like that, but at this stage of the game, trying to push through 80-degree heat and a headwind just to hit some splits would have done damage, not good. I underestimated the heat, and pushed too hard during the first 2 miles, and I think it messed up my body for the rest of my workout. But in any case, my stomach was getting upset too. And my shoe was giving me a blister. And the air was stinky. Just not a good day.

I completed the loop and tried to just keep a steady pace. I would surge up to tinman tempo pace every so often and hit a few sub-6 splits, but mostly tried to keep it under control. Lessons learned: 1) get the workout done in the morning, or even early afternoon while it is cooler; 2) adjust pace better for heat and headwind. A split is just a number, it is the effort that matters.

Finished up with 12 miles instead of the scheduled 16, but my body told me to call it a day and not push it. It's time to start tapering. 6:12/mile average pace for the run.

(Burn: 284 miles)

AM - easy 5 on the Planet Walk and with the dog.

(1120: 294 miles)

PM - easy 8 miles on the Logan Loop. 7:08/mile average pace.

(Triax: 105 miles)

Different kind of run today. I met Cody and Leland Barker at First Dam, and we drove up to Beaver Creek to mark the Bear 100 course for next week. We first ran out to near Danish Pass, and then back to car. Then we ran over to where my Aid Station will be next Friday (Fish Haven Canyon). At that point Leland drove back down, and Cody and I continued running down Old Logan Road, marking the course every 300-400 meters or so. It was a nice road and the aspen were peaked in color. We got down to the Beaver Creek campground and met back up with Leland. Cody and I need more miles, so we went on to run all the way out to the highway. With the nice downhill, and without having to stop and flag, we were averaging about 6:40/mile on this part. The pace on the uphills earlier in the run was much slower, but I wasn't really paying attention. I originally wanted a few more miles than this, but maybe I'll grab a mile or two in the afternoon. For now I'll call it good with mileage in the low 80s for the week. This is a bit more taper than I anticipated, but I think I need it, after Alta and TOU. I'll probably hit upper-60s next week.

Took a glorious nap in the afternoon, and then ran 1.5 miles with the dog in the rain to clear my head and get blood moving again. 

(Hardrock: 80 miles)