Every Race is an Adventure!

I finished the Nestle Art City Days 5K in 19:53, and finally met my goal of breaking 20 minutes. My splits were 6:37, 6:19, 6:23, and 0:35. (The official results have my time as 19:28...I wish...but their results are suspect.)

I saw Tom as I was picking up my packet and we warmed up for a mile or so. He had warmed up earlier so he turned back and I went a little farther. I made a bathroom stop, warmed up a little more jogging over to and around the track to check out the finish, and then met up with Tom again a little before the start.

Things were a little congested at the start, but as I was able to open up I locked into what I hoped was about a 6:30 pace. It felt a little fast, but I decided to go for it. I noticed one of Tom's buddies just ahead of me. He finished in exactly 20:00 last year, so I figured I needed to stay with him. I felt pretty strong as I pushed up the big hill and was pleased to hear them call out my first mile split at 6:37.

I knew I needed to keep up my effort to run a sub-6:30 pace for the rest of the race. I focused, as I had in the first mile, on keeping my legs turning over at or above 180 steps/min. I was slowly passing a few people, and no one was passing me, and I felt pretty good.

As I began the third mile I was beginning to feel the effects of pushing the first two. It took a lot of mental effort to focus on keeping my legs moving, even though it was mostly downhill. I was struggling a bit, and a few runners passed me (mostly high school kids I think), but I was keeping up with most of the other runners so I was still optimistic.

As I entered the parking lot and then the track I was confident I could hold on. As I passed the 3 mile marker on the track I quickly glanced at my watch and thought I saw 19:1x. I figured I still had 40 to 50 seconds to go half a lap and was going to make it. I then saw a runner a little in front of me that I thought might be in my age division. I decided to play it safe and just pass him, which I did rather easily and finished pretty strongly.

It's good I started and stopped my watch correctly, or I wouldn't know my time. The official results were way off. They showed my time about 30 seconds faster than what I ran. A lot of other runners were saying the same thing. Tom didn't even show up in the results. It turns out anyone who registered this morning before the race were not included in the results, but their times were. They awarded me a plaque for 5th place in my division. Tom's time would have earned 5th in his division as well, but we'll have to wait until they rework and post the results to see the actual results.

The prizes in the raffle were amazing, and nearly all 2000+ entrants stayed for the drawing. Of course, it doesn't matter how great the prizes are if you don't win any of them, which I didn't. It was still an awesome race. I really enjoyed it.

I ran the Lindon Loop with Larry this morning at an easy pace (9:15/mi avg). I was surprised a little by how hard it was to hold this "easy" pace. I guess I loosened up somewhat during the run, as we ran the last mile or so at a sub-8 pace.

I felt a little pain in my left knee this morning, similar to what I first felt about 10 days ago when I was pushing hard on a Wednesday noon run. I've felt it a couple of times since then, usually after I've been pushing a fast pace (6:30-ish) for a while. It's not serious, but I need to keep an eye on it.

At lunch time I ran Eagles View with Cory and Nathan. It was pretty hot. We pushed pretty hard, but not as hard as some other days recently (7:55/mi, not 7:30/mi). My time was 39:33 (7:55/mi). I did push to a 7:01/mi pace the last 0.75 miles, and felt pretty good about finishing strong.

Some comparative times for this same run earlier this year are:

1/29: 37:58 (7:36/mi)

2/5: 39:48 (7:58/mi)

2/12: 37:53 (7:35/mi)

3/5: 39:22 (7:52/mi)

3/12: 41:57 (8:23/mi)

3/19: 37:48 (7:34/mi)

4/30: 40:25 (8:05/mi)

5/7: 37:27 (7:29/mi)

5/14: 41:44 (8:20/mi)

5/21: 37:37 (7:31/mi)

6/4: 39:33 (7:55/mi) 

Larry showed up this morning, but the toes which have been bothering him lately hurt him as he walked over so he opted to ride his bike instead of running with me this morning. I was okay with that, but didn't know where I wanted to run. Larry (jokingly I hope) said to just run up the big hill on 2000 N six times.

I decided I would run that hill. In the Wasatch Back relay I have a big downhill leg and another steady uphill leg. I figured the hill work might be beneficial. I decided to run the steepest part of the hill, from the Oak Canyon Jr. High crosswalk near 180 W up to the fire hydrant at the top of 2000 N. This is just over 1 mile up, and then another mile back down. Running it six times would have been 12 miles, so I chose to only do it three times.

I didn't really press the pace, but I wouldn't classify it as easy either. It felt like it was just slightly under marathon pace effort. I pushed the uphills hard enough to maintain a steady stride rate at around 180 steps/minute, and then recovered on the downhills while still maintaining my form and stride rate.

My up/down paces for the three repeats were:

1 - 10:52 / 7:51 - I started at Main instead of near 180 W, so this was only 0.85 miles uphill.

2 - 10:26 / 7:36

3 - 10:25 / 7:05 - At the top, instead of immediately turning around and heading back down I continued along the road (which levels off) to our normal turn around point (0.25 mi). My thought was to catch my breath a little so I could push the downhill a little faster the last time down. I did go faster, but I wasn't really pushing. It was more like letting off the brakes a little more.

With the warmup and cooldown the total mileage was 7.7 miles. This is a little short of the 8 miles per day Sasha recommended I do, but I'm okay with that. After all, I ran 11+ yesterday, and today was hills. By the way, can I count the 1/2 mile walk with my dog I do after many of my morning runs while I cool down? :-)

I really enjoyed this morning's run. The weather was cool and the day was beautiful. I didn't notice any aches or pains, and I recovered pretty quickly.

My left knee was aching this morning. I'm wasn't sure if it was because of the low pressure system that moved in (this is my bad "weather knee" from surgery when I was 14) or from the hard hill run I did yesterday. I didn't want to overdo it, so I chose to skip the two-a-day today and only do the lunch time run. Yes, I would have been running alone this morning, and it was raining hard, too, but if the knee had not of been hurting, I would have done the morning run anyway.

It was still raining pretty hard at lunch time. I almost ran in the rain anyway, but in the end opted for the treadmill, which I really don't enjoy very much. The fitness center seemed hot and humid, and this combined with the boredom and monotony of the treadmill to produce a wonderful (heavy sarcasm) running experience.

I ran 6 miles in 47:48 (7:58/mi). I think I ran 1/2 mile@9:00, 2.5.miles@8:00, 1 mile@7:47, 1 mile@7:35, and 1 mile@7:47.

It was a little cool and windy this morning. I thought Larry was coming out this morning, but he's heading out with the youth on a handcart trek at noon so I wasn't too surprised when he didn't show.

I decided to run the Orem route but lengthened it a couple of miles by going down to 800 E and 800 S (near Costco) before turning back. Just before I got to the 800 E 800 S intersection I started having some stomach cramps. Fortunately, there were some guys playing basketball at one of the churches at that corner so I was able to make a much needed pit stop.

I ran a total of 8.5 miles in 1:10:57 (8:20/mi). There was a pretty strong head wind as I headed back north. At one point I ran 1/2 mile north, slight uphill into the wind, at 8:40/mi. I then turned west and ran the next 1/2 mile, not into the wind and a slight downhill, at 7:40/mi expending the same effort. This was representative of most of the run. I tried to maintain an even effort (around marathon level), and I averaged 8:20/mi, but most of the miles were either faster or slower depending on the grade and the direction with respect to the wind.

I chose to play basketball with my son Andrew and my old basketball buddies this morning. With preparing for the Boston Marathon, and Andrew's shoulder surgery a few months ago, I hadn't played for months. It was definitely the right decision. Andrew doesn't live at home and it was great spending some time with him again, not just while playing but on the drive there and back. I also enjoyed being with many of my old basketball friends again. I've been playing with some of these guys for over 15 years; one is an old friend from high school. Besides all the social aspects, it was great exercise, and even though I was a little rusty, I actually didn't play all that badly. It was great fun. It was a great cross training workout. We played a little longer than normal, for over two hours, and I was plenty tired by the end.

It's hard to map basketball into running miles, but I can't not count it at all. I just roughly count one easy mile for every 20 minutes of basketball (equivalent to a walking pace), subtracting out the time between games and when I'm sitting out.

I tried something different for my long run today, and learned (hopefully) a lesson or two.

My 15 year old daughter Brittany was involved in a handcart trek experience this week. We found out mid-week that parents were invited to be there Saturday morning. They talked a lot during the trek about the Willie and Martin handcart companies. Just after the leaders talked of the rescue parties that came to save the pioneers, the parents came walking in. The leaders then talked of how the youth can look to their parents as rescuers to help them when life seems too hard to go on. It turned out really well and was a great experience for the youth and for us parents. We also got to eat breakfast with them, help pack up their camp for the last time, and trek the last mile or so with them and then take them home.

I missed my normal Saturday morning long run, and my wife Karen missed a niece's baby shower for which her sister had flown in from Arizona, but we have no regrets. We made the right choice to be with Brittany. Karen went and spent most of the rest of the day with her sister and they had a great time. I ran some errands and then went into work for a couple of hours. I decided to do my long run starting from work later in the evening when it cooled down.

About 6:30 pm I headed to the fitness center. To my surprise, my clothes I had put in the fitness center laundry on Wednesday were not in my locker as they should have been. I eventually found them as I sorted through a basket behind the reception desk. It was after 7:00pm before I finally got started with my run. It was still around 80 degrees.

I had decided I would run south to my sister Katherine's house in Mapleton, which was about 14-15 miles round trip. I sometimes struggle with bowel issues running in the evening, so I took a path that took me past the house in Springville I was raised in (where my nephew now lives) at about mile 5 in case I needed to make a stop.

I had forgotten it was Art City Days in Springville, and unexpectedly ran into and through the carnival downtown. My mile splits for the first five miles were 8:28, 8:31, 8:23, 8:34, and 8:44. These were mostly level miles. The next 2.25 miles as I climbed into Mapleton were a little more uphill and I slowed to around a 9:10/mi average.

As I was approaching my sister's house I was feeling the need for a bio break and was thinking how well my plan had worked out. This was the last time I thought this during this run. As I came to her house I saw an empty driveway. My brother-in-law is a cabinet builder and their garage is a workshop (they always park in the driveway), and the house was dark, so I knew they weren't home. Fortunately, there is a gas station at the next intersection, so I stopped there for my bio break.

I was actually still feeling pretty good at this point and decided to add a couple of miles to my run by running farther into Mapleton towards the mountains before turning back north and beginning the return trip. The siren song of the beautiful summer evening was calling me. I eventually ended up on the last road that connects Mapleton to Springville before going up Hobble Creek canyon. The extra mile or two I was going to add to my run ended up being 2.7 miles one way, all gradual uphill (average pace 9:50/mi). This is where things began to fall apart.

First, I realized I had turned my 14-15 mile run into a 19-20 mile run.

Next, I noticed the sun was about to set. I would be running in the dark most of the rest of the way and wouldn't finished until nearly 10:00 pm.

That's about when I noticed that my middle toes on my right foot were feeling a little weird. It wasn't really pain, but I figured I needed to take my shoe off and see what was going on in there before it got worse. I looked for a good place to sit, and not finding one, ended up sitting down on the side of the road. As I took my shoe off, I was surprised to see a bloody sock and then bloody toes. My toenails weren't long, but there was a sharp corner on the left edge of my middle toe that had pierced a small hole in the longer toe to its left. A pair of nail clippers and a bandaid would have been real handy about now. If I could have reached my toenail to my mouth I would have tried chewing the sharp edge off.

As I put my shoe on and got up, it hurt to walk, but hurt a little less to run so I continued jogging towards the main road up Hobble Creek canyon. It was already nearly dark, and I figured I still had 5-7 miles to go, so I decided to abort the run. Fortunately I was smart enough to carry my cell phone on this run (but not a bandaid...duh). The only problem was my wife had one car with her at her sister's son's house in Kearns , and I had the other one parked at work, so my 18 year old son Adam had no way to rescue me (as he did last year on a 20 miler, but that's another story). I finally decided to call my 20 year old son Andrew who lives in an apartment near UVSC. He was home and agreed to come to my rescue. I continued to jog as I told him where I was.

When I hung up I realized that my toe was no longer hurting me. I almost called him back, but it was still getting dark, I didn't know how long before it would start hurting again, and I figured it would make him feel good to rescue me anyway. I had told him to just come up 400 South until he found me, so I decided I would see how far I could get before he got to me. I ended up making it another 2.75 miles (avg 9:44/mi), and he picked me up near Reams and drove me back to work. Aside from the toe, I was still feeling pretty good, and kind of wish I could have completed the whole run. I may try it again sometime when I have a better plan, and have a bandaid with me, and have trimmed my toenails a little better.

When I got back to the fitness center to shower, there was quite a bit more blood on my sock and toes than the first time I looked. I felt better about the decision to abort. I enjoyed the shower and actually felt pretty good as I got dressed. I was pretty hungry, though, and I knew Karen wouldn't be home until probably after midnight, so I decided on Fazoli's for dinner. I called Andrew to see if he was hungry, and ended up dropping some Fettucine Alfredo and breadsticks by his apartment to say 'thank you'.

Today didn't turn out quite as planned, but as I've discovered in life, sometimes what happens, even with some bad mixed in, ends up being maybe even better than what was planned. I really enjoyed being with my wife and daughter and the others at the trek this morning. I got some good work done in the afternoon, I enjoyed the part of the run I completed, I still managed to get in over 13 miles, with some good uphill miles which I needed, at an average pace of 9:10/mi, and I got to share some quality time with my adult son and allow him to serve me in a way that strengthened our relationship. Despite the unexpected events and apparent adversity, this day turned out to be a tender mercy, a blessing from God.

I was alone again this morning. My legs whispered to me that they would prefer to not run hills this morning, so I decided on the "south into Orem" run. My legs gradually felt better as I went along. The paces for my half mile splits were:

0.5	8:59/mi
1.0	8:35/mi
1.5	8:08/mi
2.0	8:39/mi
2.5	7:56/mi
3.0	7:38/mi
3.5	8:38/mi
4.0	8:14/mi
4.5	8:05/mi
5.0	7:37/mi
5.5	7:36/mi
6.0	7:31/mi

It was a beautiful morning, about 60 degrees. I had no aches or pains to speak of. Even my toe that gave me trouble Saturday evening was not an issue. After a 50 mile week last week, and feeling as good as I did this morning, I think I'm in pretty good shape for the Wasatch Back relay a week from Friday. I just need to stay healthy (knock on wood).


 

It sounds like Larry will be back running tomorrow, but I was alone again this morning. It was a beautiful morning for a run. I ran west, then north into Lindon, then east and southeast through Lindon and eventually up the big hill on 2000 N (Orem), then back down the hill to 400 W, south to 1600 N and up 1600 N to home. I finished the 8 miles in 1:06:44 (8:20/mi). I got in some good hill work and still managed marathon pace on the flatter sections. Again, no real aches or pains to speak of.

I ran the water tank road with Larry this morning. It was sure great running with him again. I hope he can get his sore toes figured out so he can get back to regular running. They bothered him again this morning so he'll be biking again tomorrow.

At lunch time I ran Lake View with Cory, Nathan, and Bill. It was good to have Bill along. We started off at a fairly easy pace but it steadily increased. I ran the 5.23 miles in 40:23 (7:43/mi). My mile splits were: 8:34, 8:07, 7:59, 7:23, 6:55. My watched showed the average pace for the last 0.23 miles as 6:03/mi. I was going fast, and I hope it was that fast, but I'm a little skeptical. At any rate, it was a great run with great guys. I missed Tom being there, but after reading his blog I see he did a 4.25 mile tempo run at 6:57/mi this morning. Maybe I'm glad he wasn't here. Of course, Nathan blew me away today (as usual), so maybe Tom would have just given Nathan a little company up there in front.

I tried out my new Asics Gel Landreth shoes at lunch today. I ran a 10K (6.2 mile) loop that starts like the Eagle View run but then goes north a ways then loops west to University Ave. then south back to work. I finished the 10K in 50:18 (8:07/mi). My mile splits were 8:07, 8:13, 8:46, 7:34, 7:59, and 8:09, with a pace of 7:23/mi for the last 0.2 miles. It was a steady effort, with uphill/downhill accounting for the pace variance.

The shoes felt pretty comfortable and performed well. It was only one run, but I think they'll work out okay. I did feel some discomfort in my feet during the run, but I think it was from the hot asphalt. It was around 90 degrees and my feet felt like they do sometimes on the hot pavement at the water park. I have kind of sensitive feet. I tried running on the grass along University Ave. near the end of the run and the discomfort almost instantly disappeared, comfirming in my mind at least that it was caused by the hot pavement. I haven't done too many runs in the heat. It looks like I need to toughen up a bit.

I ran Provo Canyon up to Vivian Park and back with 7 of 12 of the relay team (Verdon, Kerry, Greg, Tom, Terry, Will and me) plus Larry and Wayne. As usual with the relay team members, we seem to push each other. I started with the group then held back a little and ran with Larry and Wayne for a bit. Kerry and Verdon were just behind us and the rest started pulling away. This was the first time I had met Terry so I decided to push to the lead group and run with them for a while. Terry was obviously idling to stay with us, but it was a pretty quick pace for the rest of us. I ran with Tom and Terry for a while with Will and Greg a little up ahead. We caught up with Greg then Tom and Terry pulled a little ahead, with Will still in the lead, and I ran with Greg for a while until he pulled ahead me as we approached the park.

On the return trip I ran with Kerry. We didn't push real hard as we conversed but it was still a pretty steady pace. I noticed a young man running a couple of steps behind us for quite a while so I finally introduced myself and invited him to run with us. His name was Martin. It's his first year running, he's training for his first marathon at St. George this fall, and this was his first 10 mile run. We were running about an 8:00 pace and he was running with us pretty easily. He asked a few training questions and we gave him a little advice, then Kerry told him about this web site. Maybe he'll join up. It's certainly benefited Kerry and me. The three of us ran together until the last mile, when I decided to pick up the pace to the end.

I averaged 8:11/mi up and 7:47/mi down, running the last mile in 6:36. It was a very enjoyable run. I wore my new shoes for the 2nd time and they performed very well. I think I'm ready for the relay next week. At least I hope I am, because it's too late to do anything about it now.

I woke up this morning with no aches or pains to speak of, and with the Wasatch Back relay this weekend, I want to keep it that way. I decided to skip the two-a-day today and only run at lunch time. All morning my legs felt rested and strong.

At lunch time I ran Eagle View with Nathan and Cory. It was quite warm. Nathan tried to stay back with us, but I think our relatively easy (though I still wouldn't call it easy) pace, as we mostly discussed the relay, was too slow for him. He waited for us at the top of the hill, and again at the light at State St. on the way back, but from there he pulled easily away for good and beat us back by quite a distance.

This was one of my slower times on this route this year, but with a total of 18.5 miles to run in the relay this Friday and Saturday, I want to taper this week and make sure my legs and joints are well rested. I took the average of a dozen Eagle View runs since January and my average pace was 7:52/mi, so I guess my 40:47 (8:07/mi) today wasn't too far off my average even though I wasn't pushing very hard.

We used to get 4 or 5 guys out to run in the mornings. Most days lately it's just been me. Kent hasn't run since St. George last year, so his son Kurt doesn't run with us anymore either. Kevin broke his leg, and now Larry is having toe problems.

This morning I headed up 1600 North then up the hills by the former WordPerfect buildings then wandered down through Lindon and back home. I noticed that the names of the streets I climbed in the first couple of miles (Mountain Oaks, High Country, Oakcrest, Skyline) all seem to hint that they may not be flat. This was the first time I've run up these streets and it was a pretty good climb.

I ran a pretty easy pace throughout the 6.5 miles I wandered this morning. It was a beautiful morning and I just wandered down through Lindon. I'm not even sure I could retrace where I went, but I enjoyed it. It would have been more enjoyable with some company. I enjoy an occasional solo run, but there has been a few too many of them recently. It will be great be with the relay team this weekend, and with so many other runners.

I ran the water tank road with Larry this morning. We intentionally ran an easy pace. I'm tapering for the relay and Larry's toes are still bothering him, although they seemed a little better this morning.

See tomorrow's blog on the Wasatch Back relay.

Leg 1 - 5.1 miles

Leg 13 - 7.8 miles
 

This is my report on the Ragnar Relay - Wasatch Back and covers both Friday and Saturday.

Actually, the fun began on Thursday night when we met at my house to decorate both team vans. A couple of team members couldn't make it, but most of us were there to draw the team logos and write our names, team number etc. on the windows, and attach lights to the tops of the Suburbans. We also reviewed our plans and made sure everything was ready.

Friday morning Nathan and Steve met at my house a little before 9:30 am. We then picked up Kerry and Greg in Cedar Hills, met Cory at the 5400 South exit off I-15, and then headed to Logan. We stopped at the Subway in Brigham City for sandwiches along the way. As Runner 1, I didn't think I would have time to fully digest it before our 2:00 pm start, so I stuck mine in the cooler for later. I was still full from the Begian waffles I had eaten for breakfast. (The cool sandwich tasted awesome after running my first leg in the heat.)

We got to the start with plenty of time to get checked in and relax prior to the start. There were eight teams scheduled to start at 2:00 pm, but only seven were there. With only a few minutes before the start there were only 4 runners at the starting line, 3 young women and myself, and they all looked fast. I had this vision of me struggling to stay with them and ending up in last place in that leg. I felt a little better when two more men and another woman joined us, but they all still looked fast. They introduced our teams, we wished each other luck, and then exactly at 2:00 pm they started us.

Leg 1

I stayed near the front of the pack through the first half mile or so. I don't know exactly because when I looked at my watch at that point I realized I had pushed the mode button instead of the start button. I started my watch and tried to stay with the leaders for the next mile or so. The young woman from "Curves with a Kick" had started to pull away, followed by the shirtless young man with the headphones (don't know from which team). The course had a little more uphill grade than I had anticipated, the temperature was in the 90's, and I felt like I was going about as fast as I could. My estimate for this leg was a 7:11/mi pace, and when I looked at my watch it showed a 6:25/mi pace since I had started my watch. I knew I couldn't go any faster and had to let them go.

My focus then shifted to the runner from the Andalusia Bootleggers. His team was the only one that started at 2:00 pm that was in our Sub-masters Male division. He seemed to be nearer my age, but he too appeared to be a good runner and had pulled a little ahead of me, but not too far. I planned to just try to stay near him and hope I had enough left to catch him at the end, or at least be close enough for Nathan to be able to catch them on the next leg.

As I was crossing a street heading west near the 3 mile mark, I heard a honk and then Cory yell, "Left!". I looked to see Cory signaling me to turn left, then looked back and saw the sign I (and the three runners ahead of me) had missed. I stopped and turned left and gratefully continued on course, as Cory and our van headed on to tell the other runners they had missed the turn. I felt bad for the extra distance they would have to run in the brutal heat, but I was sure glad it wasn't me, and I have to admit that I enjoyed now being in the lead. I managed to continue on the final 2.1 miles in the lead and be the first runner in our starting group to reach Exchange 1. It was somewhat of a hollow victory, but my estimated time for this leg was 36:38 (7:11/mi), and my actual time was 37:04 (7:16/mi). Given the brutal heat, I was thrilled to only be 5 seconds/mi off the estimated pace.

I won't take the time to describe everyone else's first leg in much detail. I'll just say that it was very hot but everyone ran his first leg very hard and very well. We managed to maintain the lead, and were a little surprised when we started catching some of the teams that had started an hour before us. Greg's pursuit of the tall girl in the pink skirt up Avon Pass was especially memorable. This was a long, hot, grueling uphill run on a dusty dirt road. She was a strong runner but Greg was slowly gaining on her. Each time we stopped to give Greg water (about every mile) we gave her water as well, for which she was grateful. Some may have considered it aiding the "enemy", but we didn't think twice about it. Her support van must have felt as we did, because they offered us, including Greg, a Popsicle along the way. They were starting to melt, but mine sure tasted good. I was a bit surprised that Greg took one as well before he started off after a water stop. I asked them if they listened to KSL and knew Greg Wrubell. When I told them that's who they had just given a Popsicle to, they thought that was pretty cool. The Popsicle must have helped Greg as he ran great and finished strong, well ahead of the girl in the pink skirt.

We met Van 2 at Exchange 6 as planned and gave them their numbers and shirts as we waited for Cory to finish his leg. I visited the port-a-potties there and as I came out I was surprised to run into Kurt Gassman. He is my son Adam's 18 year old friend from across the street. I've run with him and his dad Kent with the neighborhood guys, and stayed with them when we ran Boston this spring. Kurt was running in Kent's spot on Steve King's Novell corporate team. He seemed in good spirits and ready for his first leg.

We followed the course as we headed to the next major exchange at Snow Basin. As we passed Exchange 7 I stopped briefly to talk to my sister Liz who was working that exchange as one of our team's required three volunteers. We saw her again at Exchange 27 the next morning as she worked again as another one of our team's volunteers. She was still in good spirits then, even though she had driven all the way home from Eden to Spanish Fork in between, sleeping only from about midnight to 3:15 am before heading back to Francis by 6:15 am. Like we usually do for our volunteers, we gave her a team shirt and some money to help compensate for her gas expenses, but we can never adequately thank her for cheerful sacrifice and service on our behalf.

Our third volunteer was Tom's wife Kim. She was at Exchange 35 so we didn't get to see her. Tom told us after the race that he was going to have to wait for her to finish a second shift at that exchange. Apparently it was a dangerous exchange and she could tell they needed additional volunteers to keep the runner's safe, so she was staying for an extra shift. What awesome volunteers we had!

Back to the race. There was a lot of activity at the major exchange at Snow Basin. The high school teams that were only running part of the relay were waiting to start at 9:00 pm. We also met up with Rod and Tyler here for them to start accompanying us on our night legs on their bikes. They served us in van 1 very well, and I can only assume they served van 2 equally well.

In the parking lot at Snow Basin a young female runner came around handing out free ointment and foot cream samples that they had too many of. I recognized her as the runner who was leading Leg 1 until she missed the left turn. She said she ended up running an extra 1.5 miles on that leg. As I was waiting to leave Snow Basin and begin my second leg, she was standing nearby and good naturedly said something about this being the leg where they catch up and pass us back. Since she had averaged a 6:10/mi pace the first leg, this was a distinct possibility, depending on how far back her team was.

I also talked with Steve King and former neighbor Joe Ware at this exchange. They were from different teams, both very fast teams with runners about to do the same leg as me that were capable of sub-5:00 miles down those hills. I had not been passed by anyone yet. It was inevitable that their teams would eventually pass us, but I hoped they were far enough back that it wouldn't be on my leg.

Leg 13

At 9:53 pm Will came into the exchange very strong and I began Leg 13, a 7.8 mile run down from Snow Basin, with Tyler at my side. I don't think he knew what he was in for when he volunteered to ride for us, but to his credit he kept his word and did an excellent job.

This leg began with a climb then headed downhill. I knew there were a few short uphill sections on the way down, but they seemed to be more frequent and longer than I expected. Nevertheless, the cool weather, the downhill, Tyler's company, and the thought of three very fast runners maybe catching me at any time, combined to keep me moving along. I ended up finishing in around 51:44 (6:38/mi), just 2 seconds/mi off the estimated pace of 6:36/mi. I didn't see any other runners until I managed to catch and pass my first "road kill" near the end of this leg. There was another runner that finished not too far behind me, but he was not one of the three fast runners I had feared. I had managed to remain unpassed.

During all of our night legs, everyone in the van once again ran great legs. We all much preferred the cool night weather to the heat of our first runs. Tyler and Rod provided a great service accompanying the runners on their bikes so the van could move on to the next exchange and rest.

After the our second legs we ate Fazolli's spaghetti at East Canyon then headed to our hotel in Park City to try to get a little sleep. Cory told us to eat while he was running his leg supported by Rod, so we did and were ready to head to the hotel when Cory finished, even though the spaghetti tasted so good I had three servings.

Cory took us on a dirt road through the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night, but we eventually ended up in Park City. At first we had the wrong address and had some trouble finding where we were to pick up our late check-in key for our hotel. We eventually found the right address and the check-in building. We went to room 312 in that building, but the key didn't fit. If someone was staying in that room, they were probably quivering in their beds wondering who was trying to open the door to their room. We then realized that there were multiple buildings that made up this hotel, and we needed to find building 3, so we loaded everything back in the Suburban and tried to find building 3. The map was terrible, but we eventually found it. A few people showered but I opted to try to maximize my sleep time. I think I managed to get in a solid 1.75 hours before the alarm went off at 5:00 am. We got a call from Van 2 giving us their status. They had been making great time so we hustled off to Rockport to make sure we were there before the Will finished his leg.

Leg 25

At 5:50 am Will once again came in very strong to the exchange for the handoff. Even though this is the time of the morning I normally run with Larry, my legs were a little sluggish as I began this 5.6 mile uphill leg. It was also pretty chilly and there was a pretty strong headwind. I had to focus pretty hard to keep my legs turning over. I felt like I was doing pretty well, but my mile splits kept getting slower and slower as the uphill got steeper and steeper...7:52, 7:57, 8:25, 9:15, then 9:19/mi for 0.51 miles to the "one mile to go" marker. At that point the course leveled off then went downhill so I pushed hard and managed 7:13 for the last mile. I finished in 45:46 (8:14/mi), well off the estimated (I think) 43:10 (7:44/mi). (This is the leg they added 0.8 miles to shortly before the race so I'm not certain if I have the lastest estimate.) Even though I was slower than the estimate, I feel good about my performance on this leg. I gave my best effort, kept my legs moving up the hills, passed 4 or 5 other runners, was not passed by anyone, and was totally spent when I finished. It felt so good to be done.

While I'm not commenting much on other people's legs, I need to say something about Nathan's leg that followed mine. He ran into a long string of runners that had started before us and passed so many runners that he couldn't count them all. It must have really pumped him up as he passed one after another, and he ran an awesome leg. It took him a minute to catch his breath after he finished, but when he did he looked me in the eyes, and with a fire that is hard to describe, said, "That was awesome!"...and I could tell immediately that he had had one of those special runs that a runner never forgets.

Once again, as on their previous legs, everyone else in the van ran great on their final legs. Greg was especially pumped as he averaged 6:30/mi on his downhill leg, beating the estimated 6:33/mi. He had been watching for the KSL team along the course. I noticed their van at this exchange and they were just getting out. I mentioned that Greg was on my team and on his way in. They were excited to hear that and were waiting to cheer him when he finished. I think this added to Greg's well-deserved elation over his stellar performance.

After Cory handed off to Van 2 at Exchange 30, we went in for breakfast at Rocky Mountain Middle School. It was awesome! Scrambled eggs, bacon, pancakes, juice, a clean and comfortable climate-controlled room to eat in, and all for only $4.00. After breakfast we headed back to the hotel. I managed to get another of couple of hours of good sleep before we had to head to the finish line. I think this was important and helped me stay awake on the drive home after the race.

We got to the finish area with plenty of time to spare. The other van had a little trouble finding parking but they eventually all made it to the staging area before Will got there. As expected, Will came in very strong and we celebrated as we ran together to the finish line.

We finished in 23:16:16, well under our primary goal of sub-24:00:00 (which we've never done before), and not far from our stretch goal of a little over 23:00:00. We finished 1st in the Sub-masters Male division, finishing nearly an hour ahead of the 2nd place team, and finished 21st out of 296 teams overall.

This was by far our fastest performance ever, and we maintained our primary goal of everyone having a positive, awesome experience. I don't think we had any injuries or mishaps, just my near miss at getting off course in the first leg (from which I was saved by my awesome van mates). We had a number of new team members this year, and both veterans and rookies alike came through, as quality runners and quality team mates. Even our bike pacers and volunteers gave stellar performances worthy of gratitude and praise. I feel very grateful to have been a part of it all.

My family wanted to go to the Provo River Parkway trail tonight. My wife and teenage daughter wanted to walk a couple of miles, and my two younger daughters wanted to ride their bikes. I, of course, ran.

At first I had to keep stopping...to use my Garmin measure how far between the round marks (every four is 1/4 mile)...to stop for a drink for my daughters...to take my youngest back to my wife because she couldn't keep up. Finally, I was able to get a continuous mile in heading up the canyon. I ran it in 7:56 trying to keep up with my older younger daughter on her bike. I was hoping it was two miles back, but it was only 1.89. I chased my daughter again and ran the first mile in 6:40, and the last 0.89 in 6:06 (6:53 pace).

My legs were a little stiff and sore from the relay, but it felt good to get some fast miles (for me) in. I only ran 4 miles total (7:27/mi average), but that's okay. I really enjoyed the time with my family, and I'm not sure my legs were ready for much more.
 

Larry and Wayne were doing the water tank road this morning so I went with them. I didn't push very hard up, but held a pretty steady pace. On the way back down I could feel in my thighs the effects of that 7.8 mile downhill on my second relay leg. They didn't hurt a lot, but there was definitely some soreness and stiffness that I hadn't noticed until I started down. The skies seemed to have cleared quite a bit, but there was still noticeable smoke in the valley from the wildfires. I really enjoyed the run with Larry and Wayne.

I went to the fitness center for the normal Wednesday run. Tom and Nathan are gone this week, but I was hoping Cory might show. He eventually did, but arrived after I left and stayed indoors on a bike to give his foot a break. I did find Will on a bike when I arrived. He was planning to stay indoors and rest his knee, but it didn't take much persuasion to get him out to run with me. It actually made me nervous...he seemed almost too eager...and I didn't really feel up to a fast run in the heat.

Will is in the best shape I have ever seen him. He delivered a great performance at the relay. I told Will he had to run slow today, and maybe he was, but it still seemed pretty fast to me. I averaged 7:32/mi for the 5.2 miles. I hung with Will until the very end when he pulled ahead to the finish. My mile splits were 7:42, 7:36, 7:38, 7:26, 7:26, and 1:19 for the last 0.19 (6:51/mi). Given that it was probably around 90 degrees, and I was originally intending to take it easy, I feel pretty good about the run. While walking back to the building after showering I noted that my legs actually felt pretty good, with almost no stiffness or soreness lingering from the relay.

I ran the Lindon loop with Larry and Wayne this morning. We ran at an easy pace (around 9:00/mi average) but it didn't feel all that easy this morning. I think that fast run in the heat with Will yesterday drained me more than I thought.

I ran Provo Canyon up to Vivian and back with Larry and Wayne. It was beautiful running weather, despite the strong headwind going up. We took it easy going up. Mile splits were 9:42, 9:42, 9:44, 9:50, 9:23, 0.77 @ 8:28/mi. My Garmin didn't register very well for the first few miles coming down, but we were pushing a little faster. Wayne and I pushed the last 3 miles pretty hard in 7:20, 7:04, and 7:02.