Every Race is an Adventure!

Larry and I ran 5.5 miles at an easy (9:00/mi) pace. I'm not planning to push anything hard this week as I taper for the WBR on Friday. My legs and ankle are feeling pretty good.

I'm still feeling pretty up from Saturday. It was a good day. I had a great Father's Day, too.

Started the normal Tuesday run with Larry, but we shortened it to only 4 miles. Larry's wife Jolene met us at the top of the 2000 N hill and ran the last two miles with us. I ran at an easy pace. My legs were quite tired from working hard in my yard all day Monday.

Ran the Wednesday hill run with Larry at an easy pace, walking back down the dirt portions of the hills. It was a beautiful morning and I really enjoyed our conversation. This was my last run before the WBR on Friday.

The Wasatch Back Relay was awesome! This was my third year doing the relay, and it just seems to get better every year. Our efforts at planning bore fruit and I think the team, with a number of new members, really came together well.

I was in Van 2 and I thoroughly enjoyed spending all that time with my old running buddies Verdon, Kerry, and Tom, and getting to know Kevin and Scott. They were terrific additions to our team, not only as good hardworking runner, but as friends. I have a feeling they may have contracted that incurable WBR-itis condition that some of us have had for a couple of years now.

It was great having so many more teams this year. I love the feeling of comraderie and family that exists not only in the van and the team, but among all the participants. I feel a special kinship to my fellow runners that I can't explain.

About the running...I've trained harder than normal this year, and I think it paid off. I feel good about my performance.

My first leg was leg 9 which is rated "Hard" and climbs to the summit of Avon Pass. The race book said it was 3.8 miles. It climbs about 750 feet with an average grade of 3.7%. I began at 5:40 p.m. I was estimated to run it in 34:45. My actual time was 35:35, but my Garmin showed the distance as 3.97 miles. My target pace was 9:06/mi and my actual pace was 8:58/mi. It was hot but there was quite a bit of shade along the way. The heat and uphill lived up to the "Hard" rating, but the beauty of the scenery, the joy of finally getting to run, and the breaks provided by the shade make it quite enjoyable. I ran hard but within myself and recovered pretty quickly.

The Wasatch Back Relay continued...

After getting a spaghetti dinner and a couple of hours of sleep at East Canyon, I began my second leg at 3:07 am. Leg 21 overall is a gradual uphill of 6.2 miles rated as "Moderate". My target time was 49:40, at a pace of about 8:00/mi. My actual time was 46:10, at a pace of 7:27/mi. I truly believe having Kevin Jessop as a bike pacer made the difference on this leg. I could never have held that pace on a dark night without his bright light and companionship. Thanks again, Kevin.

After a shower and another couple of hours of sleep at our team room at the Yarrow Hotel in Park City, my third and final leg began just after noon. Leg 33, also known as "You Gotta Be Kidding Me", is a 3.6 mile "severe uphill climb through Wasatch Mountain State Park" (average grade 7.6%) rated "Very Hard". My target time was 38:45, at a pace of 10:46/mi. My actual time was 40:41, and a pace of 11:18/mi. My pace was 7:42 for about the first 0.6 miles. Once the steep climb began my pace slowed to an average of around 14:15/mi (not exact, lost GPS signal a little over 3 miles into it). Even though I ran Ragnar in 2004, I was still unprepared for how difficult the climb would be. There was a runner ahead of me that walk a lot of the way, but I still had a hard time gaining much ground on him (he had long legs and walked quickly) so for a short distance on a couple of the very steepest sections I walked instead of running because it seemed I could walk as fast or faster than I could run. The heat was intense, and there was not much shade. Get water every mile from my van mates helped me make it up the hill.

I was very proud of all of my van mates. They all ran hard and did well. I was especially impressed with Kerry's long run in the scorching heat on leg 32, and Tom's powerful ascent up Ragnar (leg 34). I consider each of my van mates a true running buddy and brother.

The whole experience was awesome. A little less heat would have been nice, and maybe a little moonlight at night, but it was nice that the weather at East Canyon was relative mild at night, much more comfortable than previous years in the bone chilling cold wind. I have no complaints and consider myself blessed to have been able to participate.