Every Race is an Adventure!

I would have ended up alone this morning but Lyle stopped as he was running by and decided to join me. I think he may have regretted that decision. Kris, his normal running partner, told me later that he told her that I tried to kill him.

All I did was our normal run up the water tank hills. He's run up there before, but not much, and I guess he normally only goes up the first two hills. I don't think he was expecting to continue up hill 3, 4, and 5. He started up hill 1 very strong and was pulling away from me. I eventually passed him as he walked a little, but he was just behind me at the top of hill 1 and passed me again at the beginning of hill 2. Again he walked a little and I went by him. I didn't see him again until I was stopped at the top of hill 5. Those hills are tough enough when you know what to expect. I was impressed with how strong he was able to run them, and that he continued all the way to the top.

My legs started burning at hill 2, but I hung in there and made it up in 17:17...pretty good for me. We took it easy back down. I really enjoyed Lyle's company to and from and down the hills. I pulled ahead again on the Fast Half Mile, averaging 7:19 pace.

It was a very enjoyable run. 

I ran the Wil's Canyon Stop run solo this morning. I was glad I was alone. I would have been embarrassed to have someone I know witness this pitiful run. My legs felt very heavy and I felt very tired right from the start. These six miles felt very much like the last 6 miles of a marathon. In fact, if I run this slow at the end of the Utah Valley Marathon next week I'll be pretty disappointed. I tried and could barely manage 10:20 pace the last mile, and only averaged 9:57/mi overall.

This seemed like more than just a bad run. In an effort to explain it, here are what I believe to be some contributing factors:

1. A basketball game the night before...our traditional Old Guys vs. Young Men at the church. We play first to 100, with half time when one team reaches 50. The young guys were good, but the old guys won by 20+. We had plenty of subs, but I played hard while I was in and got pretty tired.

2. I found out about the game at the last minute, just as Karen was serving dinner. I grabbed a single small hot dog. After the game I had some pork and beans, but never really ate much to refuel. I also didn't drink much so I think I was pretty dehydrated.

3. We stayed up late and I only got a little over 4 hours of sleep.

Despite these excuses, I was a little concerned about how bad I felt. Maybe I'm even less prepared for this upcoming marathon than I was thinking. I guess time will tell.

Wayne, Kevin and I ran the 10 miles from Trefoil to the mouth of the canyon. After my poor performance Thursday morning I was curious and a little nervous about how I would do today.

We started out at a comfortable pace. It felt like a good pace at which to start the marathon next week. Our first 4 miles down South Fork were 8:26, 8:23, 8:11, and 8:00. After we all made a bathroom stop at Vivian Park (yes, the flush toilets are finally! open), I was feeling pretty good and we gradually picked up the pace a little. At Nunns Park I had been more focused on my conversation with Kevin than running. Wayne said he felt the wind at his back and started pulling ahead of us. I decided to focus in and run strong the last 3 miles. I pulled ahead of Wayne and Kevin and stayed there. It felt good. They are both a little under the weather, but I enjoyed being in front anyway.

My mile splits for the last six miles were 8:00, 8:11, 8:01, 7:42, 7:36, 7:28, and 7:24. I averaged 7:56/mi for the 10 miles and finished feeling great. This was a great relief after how horrible I felt Thursday morning.

Today's run gave me confidence for the marathon next week, and helped me solidify my plans. I think I'll start out at the same easy-ish effort as at the start of the run today. Instead of picking up the pace after 4-6 miles like today and averaging 8:00/mi, I plan to stick to the easier effort pace and hope to average 8:30-ish/mi for the first 20 miles. I fully expect to be struggling the last 6.2 miles down University Ave, maybe sooner. I don't have the long runs in to feel confident of running strong to the end. I ran a strong 16 miler not too long ago, so with tapering and race day magic I suspect I can make 20 miles okay if I don't go out too fast, but those later miles will be iffy. All I can do now is try to go into the marathon well tapered, healed, rested, hydrated, and fueled and see what I can do. I'm finally starting to get excited about this next adventure.

Four easy miles, 9:59 pace.

I ran a modified version of the neighborhood 5K loop this morning. Today my easy pace yielded 8:52/mi instead of 9:59/mi like yesterday. That's encouraging.

I went 3 miles this morning, starting up 1600 N. At 800 E I turned back down and picked it up some on the Fast Half Mile. I was surprised to see 7:14 pace on my watch. I wasn't really pushing too hard. I averaged 8:47/mi for the 3 miles.

The marathon is Saturday, ready or not. 

I guess I'll start with my mile splits. They tell the story pretty well.

Mile 1 - 8:38 - This mile climbed about 100 ft. in the first 2/3 mile. I felt like I was taking it fairly easy as I warmed up and got into a rhythm.

Miles 2-7 - 7:31, 7:47, 8:06, 8:09, 8:04, 7:59 - I felt good, especially on the downgrades. I mentally backed off a little on the flats and upgrades because I knew I didn't have the training in to run hard throughout. I expected to be challenged later in the race, especially those last miles down University Ave., and I didn't want to expend too much energy too soon. My overall pace up to this point was just over 8:00/mi. In retrospect, it may have been too fast, but I felt comfortable and didn't feel like I was pushing.

Mile 8 - 9:48 - My bladder had been feeling uncomfortably full for a while, so I finally had to stop at the mile 7 porta potties. I estimate I lost a full minute draining my bladder. I only drank 6-8 ounces of liquid before the race this morning, I must have been well hydrated from yesterday. The second half of this mile also had the beginning of the first big hill.

Miles 9-13 - 9:06, 8:07, 8:27, 9:18, 8:56 - I continued to feel good through these miles. My pace slowed because of the hills through these miles.

Mile 14 - 9:47 - As planned, I took a gel before the aid stations at 7 and 13. By the time I reached all the porta potties at the start of the half marathon at mile 13.1 I was beginning to feel some stomach cramps. I debated whether to stop and finally did at the last porta potty. I spent about a minute there and felt a bit better afterward.

Mile 15 - 9:00 - During this mile the stomach cramps returned and worsened. I was grateful I only had to wait a short time for a porta potty to become available at the aid station.

Mile 16 - 14:14 - I spent about 5 minutes in the porta potty, and watched my overall pace slip from 8:33/mi to 8:55/mi. I've used these gels in many marathons and never had trouble before, but something told me they were causing the stomach issues. After this stop I decided to skip gels the rest of the race and hope that Powerade would get me to the finish line. I had no more stomach trouble.

Miles 17-20 - 9:31, 9:34, 9:30 - My stomach troubles were in the past, but I was about to begin to pay the price for my inadequate training for a marathon. My longest run in the past 8 months (since my troubles at the St. George marathon) had only been 16 miles. As I expected, this unexplored territory offered adventurous physical and mental challenges for the next 10 miles. I got what I deserved.

Miles 21-26.2 - 9:50, 9:25, 10:00, 11:04, 10:01, 9:18, 7:42/mi kick. I was grateful to see Larry at mile 20.5. My wheels were continuing to come off, but Larry had his wheels and rode his bike with me until the finish chute. His company was much welcome. He said he had been watching runners while waiting for me. Some seemed like they were on their 1st mile, others seemed like they were in terrible pain. He said I looked somewhere in between. I told him I must be deceitful, because I was really struggling. I first noticed the pain from the blisters forming on both big toes just after I met Larry. They ended up being pretty big. I walked briefly on the steeper upgrade in mile 24, but walking didn't feel any better than running so that didn't last long. With Larry's encouragement, I rallied some willpower the last couple of miles and finished as strongly as I could.

Finish - As we approached the finish Larry asked if they had pretty good stuff at the finish line. I said, "Yes. They have stopping." I was breathing hard and my energy was spent, and I was very happy to kick down the chute, cross the finish line, and stop.

Afterwards I told Larry, "I don't know why I do this." I wasn't referring to running marathons. I was referring to running a marathon alone, with insufficient training, when none of my buddies are running. Without Larry being there it would have been a pretty lonely and discouraging event.

On the bright side, the weather was perfect and the vistas, volunteers, and spectators were awesome. I finished about where I expected and, aside from a couple of big toe blisters, uninjured. My troublesome right hip got pretty sore and stiff, but feels okay now. The foot neuroma and numbness that I've been battling since St. George didn't bother me today. My feet felt beat up and tired, not surprisingly, but I didn't notice any numbness. I'm confident that as I continue to step up my training I'll continue to improve. My plan is to be ready to get back on the St. George marathon horse this fall that bucked me off last year and ride it strong to the finish.

Stats:
04:03:48, 9:18/mi  (half: 01:52:42, 8:36/mi) Age: 51
Age group (50-54): 37th of 82
Overall: 712th of 1635

Not too long ago I was finishing in the top 10%. Now it's the top 50%. The glass is half full, not half empty...and I hope it is filling and not continuing to drain.

This was my first run since the marathon last Saturday. Surprisingly, I felt no residual pain in my legs and the blisters I had on my big toes didn't bother me either.

I spent this week at our ward's Young Women camp as a priesthood leader. I volunteered since my wife and two of my daughters were attending. What a great decision that turned out to be. This was one of the most enjoyable weeks of my life.

This was the only chance I got to run during the week. I started about 6am and just looped around the camp and the lake on some single track trails. What a wonderful experience. It was absolutely beautiful and the weather was perfect. Near the end, as I ran through the aspens near the lake as the sun was rising over the mountain I started singing one of my favorite Primary songs out loud:

Whenever I hear the song of a bird Or look at the blue, blue sky,
Whenever I feel the rain on my face Or the wind as it rushes by,
Whenever I touch a velvet rose Or walk by our lilac tree,
I’m glad that I live in this beautiful world Heav’nly Father created for me.

He gave me my eyes that I might see The color of butterfly wings.
(as I sang a bird took flight near the edge of the lake)
He gave me my ears that I might hear The magical sound of things.
(I could hear the birds singing and frogs croaking)
He gave me my life, my mind, my heart: I thank him rev’rently
For all his creations, of which I’m a part. Yes, I know Heav’nly Father loves me.

What a wonderful gift it was from my Heavenly Father to be able to run in such beautiful surroundings, and to spend the week with such incredible daughters of God. Yes, I know Heavenly Father loves me.

We had an early tee time for the golf tournament portion of our family reunion this morning so I didn't get a run in. I didn't golf very well either, but I had a great time in a foursome with Karen and two of our daughters, Brittany and Emily. Neither of them had golfed before, and I think Karen had only golfed once before, but we had a lot of fun anyway. Amy rode along and was our pin girl, and enjoyed driving the golf cart when we let her.

Later in the day I held the lead in the BB gun shooting competition until my sister Liz beat me by a point or two as the last shooter. I figured 3 bulls eyes out of 5 shots, with the other two near misses, was enough for me to win, but she edged me out.

I did manage to dethrone my son-in-law Sean as the Duck Race champion (blowing plastic ducks with a straw down a rain gutter full of water).

There wasn't an official competition with the air rockets, but Karen and I did manage to put together a pretty awesome rocket. On one launch it came down and stuck 3 to 4 inches into the ground. I had to wiggle it to get it out. 

I missed running the Ragnar Relay Wasatch Back for the first time in 8 years to attend the reunion, but it was the right decision. I really enjoyed the time with my extended family. 

I went to the track this morning. My legs felt very heavy, and my right hip was stiff. I attempted mile repeats anyway. The results: 8:21, 8:18, 8:01, and 7:13/mi for 1/2 mile. This was significantly slower than earlier runs. My legs apparently haven't fully recovered from the marathon. I think the last half mile was faster because the high school cheerleaders had showed up and were running some warm up laps. The combination of having people to pass and being male running in front of females boosted my performance.

I ran the 2000 N hill route this morning. My legs felt even more tired than yesterday. I felt winded the whole time and struggled to even manage 9:00/mi on the downhill. I ended up averaging 10:40/mi for the run. I hope I get some zip back in my legs before the Gruesome Grizzly 8K this Saturday.

After the horrible and exhausting 10:40/mi run on Tuesday, I decided to skip Wednesday's run and just be sick. I worked from home on the computer, and took the garbage can out, but didn't do much else.

My stomach was still gurgling a little this morning, but I decided to go out and try a few miles and see what kind of speed, if any, I had in my legs. I wanted some idea of what to expect at the Gruesome Grizzly 8K on Saturday.

My mile splits for the uphill, downhill, and level miles of our neighborhood 5K route were 8:00, 7:46, and 8:43 (I was dying); avg. pace 8:10/mi. Even though this was only half the distance of Tuesday's run, it was 2:30/mi faster and that's encouraging.

I felt an unusual sensation as I ran this morning. I think it's called "heat". My understanding is that it is generated by the sun. I haven't felt it much during my runs this year. I didn't run until about 8am this morning and the temperature was in the 70's. Sweat is still dripping off my forehead as I type. I'll need some heat training, but I still think I'll try to do most of my runs at 5:45am.

Kevin and I finally got together for a run this morning. It was nice. Running at 6am instead of 8am, with the temperature in the low 60's instead of the low 70's, was nice, too. With both of us running the Gruesome Grizzly tomorrow we just went 4 miles at an easy pace (avg. 9:06/mi), mostly at my request. I don't know if I'm still recovering from the UV marathon two weeks ago, YW camp last week, or illness this week but my effort seems to be yielding about a minute or so slower pace per mile than what I expect. Maybe age, weight, and inadequate training are also factoring in. Oh well, I'm still enjoying it enough to keep it up and see what the remainder of the year brings.

I'm returning to Dr. McLane next Wednesday. Based on my performance in the UV marathon I feel like I may have the neuroma issues in my feet behind me, now I'd like to address the pain and stiffness in my right hip. It's improved. I can run longer miles before it acts up, but once it starts stiffening up it really hampers my ability to maintain speed. I don't think I'll be able to return to BQ marathon times until I get it resolved.

Kevin, Larry's wife Jolene, and I ran in the Gruesome Grizzly 8K today. It is a trail run in the Cascadia Trail Series sponsored by Runner's Corner and the Sojourners Running Club. There is a section of the course known as "The Grizzly" from which the race takes its name. It is 1/2 to 3/4 mile of steep uphill that climbs about 400 feet. It occurs during the 2nd mile and the rest of the course is mostly gradual downhill.

I'm not quite sure why I ran this race. I guess it just sounded...fun? ...different? ...small? ...inexpensive? ... a challenging trail run yet easier than the Squaw Peak 50? I'm not quite sure. Maybe it was because Jolene and Kevin were running and Larry was volunteering (still recovering). It was probably some combination of the above mixed with a dash of lunacy.

Kevin and I met up with Rich Lamoreaux just before the start and the three of us ran much of the race together. I was in front on the single track trail most of the way to the start of The Grizzly, but they were just behind me and both passed me going up. I've run The Grizzly without walking before, but I walked nearly the whole thing today. Rich and Kevin, and most everyone else around me, were walking it...faster than we could run it...so I did, too. When the course leveled off I caught up to them and we mostly ran together along the upper road. When we dropped off the road onto the single track trail down to the Great Valley it was Kevin, me, then Rich. I started feeling blisters in both arches as we ran along the upper road and they hurt as we descended on the trail. I was running on Kevin's heels and he graciously allowed me to pass. This allowed me to see the trail better and not have to brake as often. As we leveled off in the Great Valley Rich and Kevin both went past and pulled ahead. I may have been able to hang closer to Kevin than I did, but the blisters on both feet were really hurting. I hung on pretty well and finished strong. I could see Kevin ahead as we ran the final loop in the parking lot, but couldn't close. Rich, Kevin and I finished 39th, 40th, and 41st.

The weather was warm but not too hot. My only goals were to finish not too far behind Kevin, and ahead of Jolene. I managed those goals. As a bonus, I also won the Men 50 and Over age division. There were only 4 of us, but I beat the other 3. I finished 41st overall of 81, which means I missed being in the top 50% by one position. Not really significant...just trivia.

I'm not sure why I got the blisters. That's a mystery. 

Today marks a milestone of sorts for me. I think this was my first race as a member of an "and Older" division. I hope there are many more to come...at least I think I hope that. My feet hurt.