All about that pace.

15 easy with Eric around Lakewood. 8:49 avg.

5:00am 8.2 miles on the road after seeing my best friend off on his move to Korea. 7:56

8:20am 3.1 miles with the early group on the trails at Point Defiance Park. 10:38

9:00am 5.5 miles on the trails with the regular group. 10:34

10:30 3.1 more bonus miles for a few of us that weren't ready to quit. 9:18

Drowning my sorrows in endorphins...

5:00am

8.1 at 7:44

6:30pm

3 miles with the Tacoma Runners. Lots of fun tonight before and after the run. I also paid for my spot on the 2014 Route 69 Ragnar NWP team. I'm in! If it's half as much fun as last year it will be worth every penny.

Avg pace:6:59

10 miles with the FleetFeet run group then breakfast at Masa. Definitely worth the drive to have some company. I think I will be doing this every week.

8:19 avg.

12 easy miles on the trails at Pt Defiance. A slow but good time with a great bunch of people.

16 easy, cold miles with some Route 69ers. Last mile uphill on my own trying to warm up a little. Easy run cardio-wise, but my legs are hurtin'

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/435602262

It felt good to run fast for a change. I should be doing a lot more of that,

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/437036940

Same route as Tuesday. Felt really good today almost as fast with much less effort.

7:30 avg.

Easy run out Farwest and back at 7:54 pace.

Headwind the entire time! I ran all the way around Gravelly Lake and never had the wind at my back. How is that?

7:42 avg pace.

Brrrrrr! 21°

7:40 avg pace

5:00am 21°

Frozen fingers even though I had gloves and hand warmers. I'm ready for summer!

8:00am

Small turnout today and apparently all the fast runners stayed home. I did two easy laps around the 5 mile drive in the park after the race @ 9:30 avg.

5k
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/442276733

10
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/442276749

12 miles at an easy pace on the snow covered trails at Point Defiance Park. This was an amazing run and the perfect birthday gift! I met with about a dozen friends and spent a couple hours cruising the trails and followed it up with a smokin' hot Thai dish at my favorite restaurant with my smokin' hot wifey :) Life is good! 

The snow turned to rain and the wind was blowing so I did my long run on the dreadmill at Kym's work. It was a little better than the last time I ran on the TM at the Y. They have about 5 of these Woodway things at the PLU Fitness Center:
http://www.woodway.com/performance/desmo_hp.html

15 outside at 8:10 pace. Started in North Tacoma at Fleet Feet and ran across the Narrows Bridge to Gig Harbor on the Cushman Trail. Great run and breakfast at Knapps after.

12 easy miles on the Point Defiance trails again. Feeling good about another long run on the TM tomorrow.

2:30:00 on the treadmill and only 17.1 miles. It felt like I was going so much faster...

Farwest hill after work.

7:42

1.35 in the am. Just not feelin' it.

10.02 after work, around Oakbrook twice and feeling much better.

7:25

Running outside in Albany, OR. Kym is judging debate at Oregon State this weekend so I came along for the ride.
3 miles to the highschool and then 7 on the track before heading back to the hotel. 7:48 avg.

I have a long day of Breaking Bad ahead of me :)

Easy jog back to the South Albany HS track again for a few laps and back. I got a pretty serious cramp in my left foot on the way back from the track. It feels ok now(Mon morning), But I'm a little nervous to try running on it today :(

7:59

4 episodes of Breaking Bad at an easy 9:30 pace. My foot was sore for a while, but loosened up after a few miles.

My foot felt fine yesterday, but I skipped my planned run after work anyway, to finish the last few episodes of Breaking Bad...So good! Today it is feeling tight again. Not sure if I should give it another day or try an easy run after work.

5 easy after work. The pain in my foot was gone, but my ankle was stiff. I feel like some kind of weird, paranoid, pain gremlin is roaming around in there.

5am

8 easy at 7:57 avg. pace. My foot and ankle are feeling fine and the goal is in sight!

5am

I wasn't really feelin' it this morning, but I got up and made it happen anyway. Bam! 200 on the books for Feb :)

8:00 avg.

Fun times with 30 other soggy runners on the Point Defiance trails.

3:16:00 on the treadmill at an easy 9:30 pace. I knocked out the first 4 episodes of House of Cards. It was good enough to keep watching, but not as good as Breaking Bad. The rest of season one and two should get me through the rest of my long runs before Boston at 4 episodes per week.

No pain in my foot or ankle today. I think what ever that was has passed.

Across the park and up Farwest hill after work @ 7:22 avg.

6:30pm

If it was raining any harder I would have needed scuba gear.

7:38 avg.

Easy lap around Oakbrook after work. 7:35 avg.

Farwest hill route after work. The sun was out and it was 60° when I left and within the hour it dipped under 50. Brrr.

8:00am

10 easy with the Fleetfeet group. Nailed the goal this week!

8:38avg.

8:00am

13 easy, muddy miles at Point Defiance. Looking forward to some climate control tomorrow on the TM.

3:20:00 on the TM at 9:00 pace. Dang!! That is all,.

Farwest Hill @7:30

Farwest hill and Oakbrook loop in my new Brooks.

Ran to PLU before work to pick up Kym's car so she could sleep in. We left it there last night when I picked her up to go to the Trail Running film festival.

Easy run in sideways rain, 7:57 avg

I volunteered instead of racing this morning and then ran 11 easy on the trails after the race.

Sloppy trails and fun friends at Point Defiance.

6:30am 19.4 on the TM @8:00 min pace before they closed the fitness center for a class. I'll need to run faster to get 20 in before they kick me out next week.

2:30pm The sun was out and I felt a little shortchanged on my TM run so I went for a quick 5 around Oakbrook. 6:55 avg.

Just a quick 5 after work to blow off some steam before the annual condo association meeting tonight. We have some great people on our board and in our community, and some... well, not so much.

Wicked headwind on the way out!

Distance Split pace
1.00 7:47
2.00 7:57
3.00 7:31
4.00 7:27
5.00 7:36
6.00 7:13
7.00 6:55
8.00 6:43
8.04 6:40

Oakbrook loop + Farwest hill. Pushed the mileage a little today to get back on track for the weekly goal.

Distance Split pace
1.00 7:56
2.00 7:36
3.00 7:41
4.00 7:29
5.00 7:37
6.00 7:38
7.00 7:46
8.00 7:28
9.00 7:45
10.00 7:30
11.00 7:29
12.00 7:21
13.00 7:09
13.34 7:21
 

5:00am

It was tough to roll out of bed for this one. It's been a long week at work.

Distance Split pace
1.00 8:13
2.00 8:10
3.00 7:57
4.00 7:57
5.00 7:34
6.00 7:44
6.90 7:38
 

Not so fast this morning after so many miles this week. I ran the course a second time with Choi, looking for a racer that started and didn't finish. We never did find him. I hope he just decided to go for a long run or something... 

12 miles on the trails in the sunshine!!!

This run was a chore. The wind was in my face the whole way and just wouldn't let up. It made me miss the TM.

Easy 8 before work. 5 more after work.

Managed to get in a few miles between rainshowers after work.

7:36 avg.

12 after work and managed to avoid the rain again.

7:35 avg

Ten soggy windy miles with the Fleetfeet group.

9 easy miles.

Beautiful day for a run!! I did a lap around Waughop Lake, Gravelly Lake and Oakbrook. Not very fast, but i felt great the whole way and could probably do 10 more at the same pace. I think I'm going to take tomorrow off and try to pick up the pace for a couple 8-10 milers later in the week. No more than 50 total this week.

Distance Split pace
1.00 8:08
2.00 8:01
3.00 8:12
4.00 8:12
5.00 8:18
6.00 8:01
7.00 8:07
8.00 8:05
9.00 8:10
10.00 8:02
11.00 7:59
12.00 8:11
13.00 8:08
14.00 7:51
15.00 8:08
16.00 7:58
17.00 8:00
18.00 7:54
19.00 7:43
20.00 7:36
20.02 7:15
 

6 easy and kind of speedy miles after a couple days rest.

Distance Split pace
1.00 7:32
2.00 7:38
3.00 7:23
4.00 7:14
5.00 7:11
6.00 7:11
6.36 7:01
 

15 with Eric from FleetFeet around Wright Park, across the Narrows and back.

Distance Split pace
1.00 9:11
2.00 8:12
3.00 7:32
4.00 7:30
5.00 7:27
6.00 7:52
7.00 7:39
8.00 7:49
9.00 7:54
10.00 8:10
11.00 7:36
12.00 8:08
13.00 8:03
14.00 8:24
15.00 7:14

 

9 miles with the group at Point Defiance. Easy pace as usual, but LOTS of hills ths week!

Up early for 20 before work! My left calf is still tight since last Saturdays run so I didn't try to do any of this at marathon pace until I ran into Preston at 18.5. Then I picked it up a little just so I could keep up with him.

Distance Split pace
1.00 7:53
2.00 8:05
3.00 7:57
4.00 7:59
5.00 8:08
6.00 8:21
7.00 8:04
8.00 8:01
9.00 7:57
10.00 8:12
11.00 8:11
12.00 8:13
13.00 8:06
14.00 7:55
15.00 7:48
16.00 7:50
17.00 7:57
18.00 7:57
19.00 7:55
20.00 7:30
20.55 7:19
 

Fun time tonight with the Tacoma Runners on the beer run. My calf felt so much better running fast than it has running at an 8 min pace lately. I think I need to do some more short and quick runs this week to round out my mileage.

Distance Split pace
1.00 6:32
2.00 6:38
3.00 6:32
3.25 6:11
 

6:00am Just a quick 5 to warm up before 10-15 easy with some of the Ragnar team at Fleet Feet.

Distance Split pace
1.00 7:05
2.00 6:56
3.00 6:57
4.00 6:47
5.00 6:45
5.05 6:15

11 more easy miles and breakfast with the gang.

Distance Split pace
1.00 9:41
2.00 9:14
3.00 9:07
4.00 9:54
5.00 9:44
6.00 9:35
7.00 10:03
8.00 9:26
9.00 10:13
10.00 10:29
11.00 8:54
11.73 8:30
 
 

11 easy miles on the trails at Point Defiance Park. Lots of hills again this week and a few hundred yards on the beach.

So I'm running around the Oakbrook loop after work and thinking about how so many people just suck. After a couple miles I'm speeding up a little and a minivan comes up behind and starts pacing me. I turned to look and this old guy rolls down the window and says "You're doing about 10mph and make it look so easy. Hey, you know, I used to run."
 I asked him his name and we chatted for a couple minutes as I ran along side before he pulled over and started telling me this long story about his recent back surgery which segwayed into some running stories, Vietnam war stories(including getting out of his car to show me the bullet hole in his leg), family history, etc. After about half an hour had passed he said he would give anything to be able to run like me again. I told him I couldn't help much with that, but I promised him I would never take it for granted and told him I'd be thinking about him when I run the Boston marathon on Monday. His eyes lit up as he said "Holy shit! really? you're gonna run THAT marathon? Would you bring me home a tshirt?"
 I told him I would be glad to and as he gave me a few bucks along with his address, he said he's lived a really interesting life, but lately a good day is just getting out of the house and meeting someone nice like me. (I think I'll take that as a compliment.) Then he pulls out this giant pocket knife and says he collects knives and sometimes gives them away to people he likes. I tried to turn it down, but he looked like he really wanted me to have it so I reluctantly accepted.
 So there you have it... some people don't suck and if you go out for a run you might just meet one :)

Avg 6:52

3 flat miles with the Tacoma Runners at Rock the Dock. It was a fun night with friends after a fast run along the Thea Foss waterway. Most of our two ragnar teams were there and they gave me a great marathon sendoff. Boston Strong!!

Distance Split pace
1.00 6:40
2.00 6:27
3.00 6:10
 

The crowd support was so awesome this year! I'm really glad I went. Although I didn't plan on running a PR or even being competitive for that matter with only 3 months training, I had a plan to finish about 3:30-3:45. Even though I should have known better on my 3rd trip to Boston, I got caught up in the excitement and started out way to fast again. It's just so hard to focus on any kind of plan when there are a million people lining the sides of the course cheering for all the runners! I chose to interact with the crowd as often as I could and I have no regrets about it. They were all just so awesome and encouraging. I must have high-5'd a thousand little kids in the first 5 miles. There were only a few small spaces along the highway outside of hopkinton where the crowds were not shoulder to shoulder and I don't think I went longer than a minute or two in the whole race without hearing "you're on fighyah!", or "go fighyah pants!". The Wellesley girls were deafening this year; I could hear them from at least a half mile away coming and going. Along the quarter mile stretch known as the "scream tunnel" they hung over a barricade waving signs and would only stop screaming long enough to plant a kiss on any runners that would stop. ~ (Maybe if I ever run it again, I'll have Kym watch from there so I can get my kiss on the course)
A few miles past Wellesley is where the work really starts and needless to say, all the fun I had in the first few miles took its toll. I paid dearly on the Newton hills as you can see from my splits. Major cramping in my quads and a little in my calves added a couple minutes to my pace. At about mile 19 I got an enthusiastic shoutout from Derunzo and I ran over and gave him a big sweaty hug! Thanks Derunzo! and sorry if you had to smell me the rest of the day :) Tom K caught me walk/limping a bit shortly after that and sad hello as he passed. Thanks Tom. Other than that, I didn't see anybody I knew on the course. It was pretty much a hobblefest from there to Hereford where I dug as deep as I could to finish strong and enjoy the flight down Boylston. Kym wasn't able to get near the finish line, but she did snap a picture of me getting my medal from the upstairs window of the CVS.  I'll post some pics later for anyone that hasn't seen them on facebook already. We did lots of fun touristy stuff this time and I even got my picture on the front page of the Monday edition of the Boston Herald.

Distance Split pace
1.00 7:33
2.00 7:22
3.00 7:29
4.00 7:23
5.00 7:37
6.00 7:31
7.00 7:31
8.00 7:36
9.00 7:26
10.00 7:27
11.00 7:38
12.00 7:42
13.00 7:40
14.00 7:39
15.00 7:55
16.00 7:41
17.00 8:04
18.00 8:36
19.00 8:06
20.00 10:48
21.00 9:52
22.00 10:16
23.00 10:04
24.00 9:16
25.00 10:02
26.00 10:52
26.49 7:13
 

8:00am

Went out for an easy 5-6 miles through the park and ran into Preston so I followed him and chatted about Boston until I found myself down in Steilacoom by his house 6 miles in and still 4 miles form home. The trip back up the hill was fun. I picked up the pace a little each mile and finally worked all the kinks out of my quads.

Distance Split pace
1.00 7:45
2.00 7:58
3.00 8:24
4.00 8:14
5.00 8:16
6.00 8:35
7.00 8:10
8.00 7:46
9.00 7:35
10.00 7:02

Tacoma Runners at the Hamon Tap Room. On the way there, I volunteered to be a pacer at the Tacoma City Marathon next weekend. http://www.tacomacitymarathon.com/pacers

Distance Split pace
1.00 7:23
2.00 6:50
2.99 6:41

 

I'm not going to race today, but I'll go with John and Scott just to hang out and get in an easy run... Riiiiiiight :)

Distance Split pace
1.00 6:29
2.00 6:41
3.00 6:25
3.12 6:37
 

8 easy on the trails at Point Defiance.

Two laps around Oakbrook loop with Kym following me on her bike. The first loop at a semi-hard pace, the second at marathon pacer pace(9:33ish). I think it would have been easier to keep running the second loop fast like the first one. What have I gotten myself into? I don't know if I can run that slow for 4 hours and 10 minutes...

Distance Split pace
1.00 7:33
2.00 7:11
3.00 7:05
4.00 6:48
5.00 6:36
6.00 9:35
7.00 9:36
8.00 9:28
9.00 9:33
10.00 9:37

 

Another great evening with the Tacoma Runners at the Paesan Kitchen.

Distance Split pace
1.00 6:35
2.00 6:14
3.00 6:25
3.32 6:21
 

4:10:00 Pacer
This was my first race volunteering as a pacer and I had a great group of runners to spend the morning with! Quite a few in my group were pushing their limits a bit because there weren't any other pacers between 4:10 and 5:00. I set out to run steady 9:33s from the beginning since I have always heard this is the best and most efficient way to run a marathon. Ive never actually followed that advice for my own races and I didn't want these folks to blow up at the end like I usually do, so I decided this was a good time to do the right thing. After just a few miles my watch was ticking off miles short of the course markings and between that and the rolling hills I was getting worried about keeping an accurate pace to finish at exactly 4:10. I stuck to the plan, give or take a few seconds per mile trying to make up for the difference between my garmin and the mile markers on the course. Most of the group hung in there about 15 miles before they started thinning out. A few of the ladies stuck with me to the end and turned out some big PR's. It feels pretty good that my slowest marathon yet helped someone else achieve their best, and even earned me a couple hugs at the finish line :)

This pic was on the front page of the local newspaper the day after the race.

Distance Split pace
1.00 9:28
2.00 9:34
3.00 9:34
4.00 9:32
5.00 9:32
6.00 9:23
7.00 9:29
8.00 9:29
9.00 9:34
10.00 9:39
11.00 9:26
12.00 9:36
13.00 9:31
14.00 9:29
15.00 9:25
16.00 9:32
17.00 9:31
18.00 9:23
19.00 9:33
20.00 9:27
21.00 9:21
22.00 9:29
23.00 9:34
24.00 9:20
25.00 9:30
26.00 9:25
26.31 9:21
 

I was in Spokane for work and had an excellent early morning run around River Front Park.

Great run across the Narrows Bridge tonight. I'm still buzzing from the all the Marathon excitement. These last few weeks have been such a blessing!

Another Thursday night with Tacoma Runners at Katie Downs on the waterfront. The course was brutal, and oddly shaped like a shoe on the map.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/495857024

Distance Split pace
1.00 8:19
2.00 6:37
3.00 5:51
3.54 6:17
 

6:00am

6 fast on the road (5 mile drive) then the rest on trails with the gang. Thanks to Gary and Sophie for sharing the watermelon at the end!!

8:30am

I set out to see how many laps around Oakbrook I could do at 9:00 min pace. It just seemed way to easy at that pace so I did 8ish instead, I was sure I could still do at least 5 until I got about half way through the 4th. I thought about slowing down and doing the 5th one, but decided to stop instead and give my legs a rest. Next week I'm going to try keeping a steady 8:30 pace from the start and see if the 5th or maybe 6th lap seems like a better idea.

Distance Split pace
1.00 7:42
2.00 7:51
3.00 7:56
4.00 7:54
5.00 8:02
6.00 8:14
7.00 8:06
8.00 8:00
9.00 7:55
10.00 7:51
11.00 7:51
12.00 7:50
13.00 7:46
14.00 7:44
15.00 7:48
16.00 8:20
17.00 8:19
18.00 8:15
19.00 7:55
20.00 8:09
 

5:00pm
I ran to the Tacoma Runners event tonight and found a $10 and a $20 along the way. That's almost $3 per mile and was more than enough to pay for post-run hydration at Magoo's Annex.
Distance Split pace
1.00 7:56
2.00 7:54
3.00 7:53
4.00 8:03
5.00 7:45
6.00 7:43
7.00 7:53
8.00 7:56
9.00 7:51
10.00 7:40
10.32 7:49

6:30pm
I planned to just keep the leaders in sight so I wouldn't get lost on the route and ended up running a lot faster than I intended, as usual. I got a ride home with John and Scott who met me there for the 3 miler. Great time as always, and Susan brought lemon bars again!
Distance Split pace
1.00 6:55
2.00 6:37
3.00 6:34
3.14 5:55
 

10:00am

Fun day with the kids and grandkids. Meghan and Dan ran the 5k with me, and 3 of thier kids, Maria, James and Levi ran the one miler. I won a $10 gift cert. for the Pita Pit and a strained calf muscle :(

Distance Split pace
1.00 6:08
2.00 6:33
3.00 6:33
3.03 5:31
 

Easy 6 after work. My calf is still sore :(

Distance Split pace
1.00 7:57
2.00 7:43
3.00 8:01
4.00 7:47
5.00 8:02
6.00 8:02
6.22 7:53
 

6 more not so easy miles after work today. My calf is still sore, but not any worse than yesterday. It actually felt better as I went faster. I'm not sure why that is since I injured it by running fast.

Distance Split pace
1.00 7:29
2.00 7:12
3.00 7:17
4.00 6:56
5.00 7:00
6.00 6:55
6.49 6:33
 

TR 5k. I started slow, then got bored, then wised up a little. My calf is still getting better.

Distance Split pace
1.00 8:45
2.00 6:14
3.00 7:00
3.08 7:23
 

15 easy miles with my friend John on his 50th birthday. We did 4 laps of the TR 5k course an then sort of raced the 5th. There was birthday cake at the finish line and then breakfast at the Antique Sandwich Company after. Aside from my calf pain flaring up a bit, it was a perfect morning of running, eating and discussing the merits of Led Zeppelin with a couple professional symphony musicians.

Distance Split pace
1.00 8:07
2.00 8:37
3.00 8:24
4.00 8:53
5.00 8:35
6.00 8:29
7.00 8:42
8.00 8:15
9.00 8:44
10.00 9:19
11.00 9:01
12.00 9:07
12.54 8:32
 

Distance Split pace
1.00 8:17
2.00 8:32
3.00 8:42
3.14 7:20
 

10 easy miles after 3 days off. Two 5 mile laps around Oakbrook; the first one at 7:30ish and the second one closer to 8. It was hard to slow down for the second one. I felt like I could do several more laps at that pace if I had the time. Calf is still tight, but ok.

Distance Split pace
1.00 7:34
2.00 7:09
3.00 7:21
4.00 7:06
5.00 7:16
6.00 7:53
7.00 7:54
8.00 7:55
9.00 7:53
10.00 7:56
10.15 7:49
 

5:00pm
Ran 9 miles to the Tacoma Runners beer run gathering and planned to take UBER home. They just launched their service in Tacoma and are offering 5 free rides this week. We used them in Boston and they are awesome! Cheaper than a cab and so much faster!
The run there was great, no pain in my calf at all and it was hard to keep it slow.
Distance Split pace
1.00 7:49
2.00 7:42
3.00 7:44
4.00 7:48
5.00 7:20
6.00 7:33
7.00 7:21
8.00 7:33
9.00 7:28
9.07 8:22

6:30pm
I tried really hard to hang back with the crowd instead of following the leader as usual. Even so, my calf started talking to me a bit after the first mile. Nothing terrible, but it was not feeling 100% like on the run getting there. It's still getting better, just not as quickly as I want. John drove out for the run so I didn't use the UBER service after all, but it was fun hanging out and riding home with him after the run.
Distance Split pace
1.00 7:24
2.00 7:30
3.00 7:06


 

I pushed Carter in the stroller and did my best to keep my daughter Meghan running. She only took a couple short walk breaks :)

No run today, but I went to Narrows Brewing to hang out with the Wednesday night group for a while after their run. Kristy brought some awesome homemade guacamole and chips. Perfect with a porter for dinner :)

I knew lots of people doing this race as a relay or an ultra and was thinking about running it myself for a couple months. I figured it would be a last minute decision like Defiance and Steilacoom last year so I wasn’t really stressing over it or training very hard for it. Then about a month ago I injured my calf running a 5k and the first thought that went through my head was “I’ll never be able to run 50 miles like this”. Sadly, that was when I realized that I really wanted to do this race and now I wasn’t sure I could. I stayed optimistic and took a few days off and limited my mileage for a week or so. Then Kelli announced that the Stephensons were coming to Washington to run the R2R. All it took after that was one little run with no pain and I convinced myself that I could do this thing and at least finish even if it wasn’t very fast. So for the next few weeks I ran off and on trying to balance letting my calf recover and maintaining some level of fitness.
Kym and I met Scott and Kelli Friday morning at Point Defiance for a healthy breakfast in the park (we brought cappuccino crunch donuts from Lakewood House of Donuts) and then drove out to Fleet Feet for early race packet pick-up. From there we decided to do a little sight-seeing that included some fish throwing at Pikes Place Market, a visit to the Gum Wall, the Freemont Troll and lunch at Serious Pie where the seed was planted for Vegas Ragnar! We ended up spending the whole day together and finished with Dinner at Joseppi’s. It was a fantastic day, and totally made up for all the pain I was about to suffer through on Saturday.

We met again at the bus in the Lobster Shop parking lot Saturday morning for the long ride to Mount Rainier for our 7:00am start. Our bus driver had no idea where the starting area was and intended to drive us to Paradise on the wrong side of the mountain. Luckily a very outspoken runner sitting behind us had done this before and helped navigate the bus. The runners on the next bus for the 8:00am start were not so lucky. They went all the way to paradise before anyone realized where they were and didn’t get to the starting area until after 10am. Those poor souls got an extra 2 hours in the heat!

All 3 of us had different goals for the day so we got some pics at the start line and then took off to do our own thing when the race started at 7am. I was totally fooled by the elevation profile for this course. I expected an easy 20 coming down the mountain followed by a slightly more challenging 30 miles of mostly flat paved course. What I got wasn’t even close.

The elevation loss in the first 20 was there, but not without a healthy portion of mud, roots, ruts, rocks and stinging nettles. I stepped on a root and tweaked my recently injured calf during the first section of trail around mile 5. It hurt bad enough within a few miles that I considered dropping out at the next aid station in Carbonado. I ended up running with Scott and another guy named Jeff from California for quite a while on the trails. Jeff gave me some Tylenol for my calf and I tried to favor it as much as possible until I got to the next aid station. Before I got there, even though it was still hurting bad, it didn't feel like it was getting any worse so I decided to just keep going at least until we got out of the trails. I was hoping it would feel better on the pavement. Most of the trails on the next leg were very scenic and some parts were even easy to run, but the uneven ground still made it hard to relax my calf. Between the scenery and the stinging nettles that I got all over my arm and leg trying to avoid a mudhole, I was able to shift my focus off my calf and find a decent rhythm for a while. Once I got back on pavement the pain was a little more tolerable and I was excited to be almost at South Prairie. At the South Prairie stop I sat down for a few minutes, changed my muddy shoes and socks, grabbed a bite to eat and refilled my water bottle. Kym was right there making sure I had everything I needed and then some. I was happy to see her and to know that most of the course would be smooth from here on out, or so I thought. Kym also told me that Kelli was having a very bad day and had decided to drop out and join the support crew for Scott and me. That was sad news, but at least she was safe and uninjured.

The next 15 miles were pretty much what I expected on the Foothills Trail; flat and hot with very little shade and the heat really took its toll. I have to admit this is a very nice paved rail trail that runs along a river and over some old bridges. On any other day it would have been a very nice place to be running. Today I was too hot, my calf was still throbbing, my quads were getting sore and my stomach was so upset that I stopped eating because I was sure I'd just throw up. Looking back, I think this sounds like the first signs of heatstroke.

Miles 35-40 had some more trails, but most were along a shady bike path next to the Puyallup River. This is where my quads and my good calf joined the party and started cramping up. I tried my best to drink more and stay hydrated, but my stomach was still queezy. I didn't want to risk drinking too much and throwing up what liquid I had in me. Definitely not thinking clearly at this point. I jogged very slowly through this section and tried to enjoy the shady break. 

Miles 40-44 were along the other side of the Puyallup River between the water and Levee Road on a sandy service road lined with thick bushes on one side and 45 degree angle paved hillside on the other. I’ve driven by this section on Levee Road a thousand times over the years and had no idea just how close to hell it was. There was no escaping this evil, barren, beachy, sand trap. It was scorching hot with no shade or even a breeze to cool me off. Every time I tried to run the ground would give way just enough when I pushed off to cause both calves to cramp up so badly I would lose my balance. If I was lucky enough to find a few solid steps where there was a little grass binding the sand together it never lasted long enough to actually run. The cramps were so intense that walking was even a challenge and I had to walk almost every inch of this pit. There was an aid station down there and the volunteer said to me “don’t worry, it’s only about 1000 more feet and you’ll be back up on the road”. It was still over a mile from there... I guess false hope was better than none at all.

At mile 44 when I got back to the paved road, Preston was waiting for me on the shoulder with sport drinks and a cold towel. What a life saver! I think I was really getting sick from the heat by now. Preston kept me company all the way to Downtown Tacoma in spite of my less than sunny disposition, encouraging me to run as much as I could. My legs were so sore that even walking hurt so bad that I couldn't or wouldn't talk much at all. I really appreciated the company and was sad to see him go after the last aid station. On the bright side, I got a nice little boost from the fresh watermelon I inhaled at that last aid station not to mention all the friendly faces I saw there. What an amazing crew!

I was on my own for the last couple miles down Ruston Way. By now I didn't really care how much it hurt or how slow I was going, I was going to do this even if I had to crawl over the finish line! I was mostly walking and nearly all of my goals for the day had already slipped away, but my family was still there waiting for me at the end and I wasn't going to disappoint them by giving up. I kept moving forward until I could see the last bell tower. I did my best to run/shuffle through the finish chute and was greeted by my wife, daughter, 2 grandkids, and lots of friends. Looking back at the Mountain from the finish area was totally surreal. Maybe that had something to do with my condition or maybe it was just a long freaking way to go on foot.
I have nothing but respect for the guys that think this is fun, but ultra-running is definitely not for me. I’m just thankful I was able to finish in spite of how far over my head I was. I will probably volunteer for this race next year and I might even think about a relay team someday after the memories fade a little.

I think Kelli summed it up best saying "It was like the nightmare you have before an ultra" :)

Tacoma Runners from Doyle's Public House. Ouch! Calves hurting on the uphills and quads aching on the downs. Fun time with the running peeps though! Next up, Sound to Narrows 12K on Saturday morning.

Sound to Narrows 12k with Karina and Ryan. They both did very well.

1:13 and 1:10. I ran a pretty steady 9:30 pace with Karina. My legs were still sore from last weekend so I didn't mind not racing this one :)

Easy miles with the group at Point Defiance. My legs are back! I feel great other than the bee sting I got about half way through.

8:00am

My first solid effort since R2R and my calf held up better than my lungs. I think it's time to get busy training for Ragnar NWP!

In the 7's, on the hills!

The blog site is still kind of buggy today, I hope Sasha gets it figured out soon.

6 miles in the 7's again. My calf is still not quite right. It feels fine when I'm running, but it's a little crampy for a while after.

Sasha seems to have the blog fixed up pretty well now. I think the graphs are the only thing still broken.

Woo hoo, look at me, two days in a row! I'm on a roll now :) 

Distance Split pace
1.00 7:52
2.00 7:39
3.00 7:23
4.00 7:11
5.00 6:56
6.00 6:56
6.38 6:45
 

Wife and daughter both slept in today so I was on my own for the whole morning. The race was a great little social gathering as usual with plenty of volunteers on hand. A new guy named Cody should have won today, he was probably a minute ahead of me and out of sight when he made a wrong turn coming off the fire road. I was surprised when I finished and they said I was first. Cody went about a half mile before he turned around and still finished fourth.

After the race I ran a around the park and got in another 7.6 very hilly miles. Longest run since R2R and I feel good!

I was off work today and planned an early run, but didn't get started until noon. It was about a million degrees out and I couldn't find my water bottle. I left without it, thinking I could make it 10 miles without water and covered almost 9 before I made a side trip to the fountain in Steilacoom Park. After I had my fill, I spotted a nice shady patch of grass where I napped for about an hour before running the last mile home. It was a beatiful day for a run... and a nap :)

Tacoma Runners from New Frontier downtown. Fun run, but WAY TO MANY stoplights on this route. Played pool for a couple hours and listened to some crazy kareoke singers after the run :)

8:15am

3 mile warmup running to the start.

9:00am

Lined up in the middle of the pack and took off at about the same pace I maintained throughout the course. The first 1/4 mile is pretty steep down hill then mostly flat until the 2 mile turnaround. Then it's 1 3/4 miles of dreading the finsh on that same hill :) It takes a lot of effort to stay on pace going up that hill to the finish!

I have no idea how I finished this course in 24:04 the last time I raced it.

7:00am

Met with Choi, Deb and Cara to run 5 mile drive before the race. Averaged about 8:20

8:00am

Pretty small and tired turnout for the race after all the 4th of July festivities. I only ran as fast as I needed to stay in front :)

8:40

Ran another lap around the park with Choi, Deb and Cara after the race. Average about 8:50.

8 in the morning felt really good at 7:35 avg.

8 after work at 5:00pm was a lot tougher in the heat at 7:29 avg. My right calf also started bugging me again just in time for Ragnar :(

3 easy miles from Steel Creek with Tacoma Runners. Hot, but it was a fun route and I had a great time talking with Thad and Brit after. My calf was still achy so I'll be taking it easy until Ragnar.

The good news is that my calf is back to 100%. The bad is that I feel totally out of shape for this kind of distance. I hung in there, but it was a tough night. Each leg got progressively slower for me as I just sort of ran out of gas. The enthusiasm and effort that my team mates threw down for this race was absolutely epic and made up for anything I didn't bring to the table. I love to be around these people, they really know how to have fun and get it done! Preston was new to our team this year and brought us some serious speed along with his good sense of humor and sportsmanship. He fit right in with the group despite some of our antics. Rob, Tracey, Justina and Lesley all ran even stronger than last year and made sure we finished ahead of the "known" competition in and out of our division. We didn't realize until the next day that a new mixed masters team entered this year and beat us by a couple hours. We definitely have our work cut out for us for next year. Our missing teammate from last year, Eric Davis busted out a quadruple shift volunteering at both ends of the course filling requirements for 4 different teams! He gets my vote for MVP of this event! 

Extra Tacoma Runners event hosted by REI with free stuff at the Parkway. Great run with a monster hill and of course free stuff!

Bowling Run with Tacoma Runners from the Chalet Bowl. I had lots of fun learning that I suck at bowling :)

7 easy miles on Anderson Island with cousin Charley. Lots of hills.

10 on the treadmill at the hotel in Spokane.

Lakewood to Lacey with Preston, then breakfast at Sage's with Kym and Sarah. Great morning despite the monster hills :)

8:00am Get more Saturday! Up early to take a crack at the TR 5k course after a long run yesterday. It was a tough effort, but somehow I ended up running the closest splits yet on this course. John set the pace in the first mile then dropped off, but I could hear his footsteps behind me the whole way.

Distance Split pace
1.00 6:42
2.00 6:45
3.00 6:39
3.12 5:44
 

9:00am 5 mile cool down with Derek after the race.
8:52 avg.

8:00am

5 miles on the track at the RHS Relay For Life event. I tried to encourage some of the walkers to run with me, but they were not interested. A few of them may have been annoyed with my enthusiasm :)

7:15am

5 mile warm up. First run since last Sunday. I've been too busy hanging some second-hand window shutters in our living room. There's a reason these things are custom made for each window. Getting someone else's old shutters to fit your windows is no easy trick :)

8:00am

I was glad to see Choi at the start this week, but he ran 11 right before the race and wasn't feeling very competitive. I was out in front for the whole race and felt great until the last hill near the finish when my calf cramped up again. Yep same calf, same pain, so I skipped the cool down run I had planned. I'll give it a couple days off and focus on the rest of those shutters.

5:00am

Easy 6 across the park, up Farwest and back before work. Calf feels ok at about 8 min pace.

Farwest hill again. Right calf is still a little tight.

Farwest hill. What calf?

8:15am One mile warm up on the way to the park. 7:37

8:30am Wicked tough cross country cousrse in Steilacoom Park mostly on trails including a trip up the monster hill and around the water tower. Sergio was right with me until I pulled away on the hill and passed another guy that was about 100 yards ahead of us from the start. Hill training pays off :) The next 3 guys were so far ahead I still couldn't see them when the finish was in sight. I kicked it in anyway and left it all on the course. I ran so hard I decided to to skip the cooldown run and just walked home after the race and felt good about it :)

Distance Split pace
1.00 6:40
2.00 6:44
3.00 6:56
4.00 7:03
5.00 7:12
6.00 6:34
6.25 6:05
 

8.5 miles on the Ohio River Trail. I have never sweat so much. This humidity is unbelievable!

One hour on the treadmill at the Hotel. Gotta love that AC!

I learned how to pronounce Louisville yesterday. We all know the S is silent, but the trick is to drop ALL the vowels. Lvll.

Farwest hill and the scenic route through the park. I found out this week that I got the 3:55 spot on the 2015 TCM pace team. I'm just a little excited about that news!

8:00am Ran the first loop of the Defiance 50k course with John and tore up my calf again. The pace was easy, it must have been the uneven terrain on the trails. No more racing or trails for me before Ragnar :(

12 days off. I glued a penny to my porch every time I thought about running.

Thursday night with Tacoma Runners. I managed to keep a 7 min pace with no aches or pains after almost two weeks off.

6 miles across the park, up Farwest and back. 7:15 avg pace with no calf pain, woohoo!

Easy run to the Y after work, took the long way around Steilacoom Lake.

6 easy miles after work. The usual Park and Farwest hill route.

Tacoma Runners from the Swiss. Great route; bridge of glass, UWT stairs, etc.
6:49 avg pace.

6@7:10 avg pace.

The usual route for 6 miles at 7:30 pace, then 3 easy 9 minute miles at the park with Karina.

6+3 soggy miles with Karina.

3 easy mile with Karina and my left calf is killing me now :(

Skipped the 6 mile warm up and just did 3 easy with Karina. Still sore :(

Usual park + Farwest route. Better, but still not 100%.

6 awesome miles with no calf pain! :)

3 miles with Karina :)

6 + 3 with Karina. No aches or pains, time to get busy traing for Ragnar!

13 at 7:45 pace. No pains, just tired. Very tired :)

Easy 3 with Karina.

8+3 with Karina.

4+4 with Karina.

15 slow and easy miles before church on a beautiful Sunday morning!

Easy 3 with Karina. I love running with my daughter! :)

Took the day off work and started it with 10 hilly fast miles.

4 miles in the rain with Karina. Windy sideways rain and she decides to go an extra mile uphill. Proud papa :)

3 miles down to Steilacoom, then three more with Tacoma Runners from Topside.

Gravelly Lake loop. Woohoo! 50 miles this week.

Still raining...

4 miles with Karina.

Fircrest to Gig Harbor and back with Preston. Still raining...

3.8 with Karina. I found an abandoned shopping cart in the park and pushed it back to the store on the way home. No, Karina wouldn't get in :(

Ragnar Vegas was great. We started this running adventure a little early on Wednesday with the best host/tour-guides in Herriman. Scott and Kelli are awesome! We met them in UT and spent the day sight seeing and learning about the local history. Thurday morning we all piled in the suburban with Jose and Alex and drove through Kolob Canyons to Mesquite, NV, where we met up with Conrad to complete the team."2 beefy 2 run and 5 friends" Conrad is the Beef! He's nearly twice my size and at least twice as tough.

3:30am wakeup to hit the road by 4:30 and we almost made our 7:30 start from the LV Ski Resort. It was freezing up there, but they had a nice warm room set up where we watched the new safety video with the 8:00am group. The video was actually pretty good and most of us paid attention :)

I was first up and had a very cold, fast, downhill 11.8 miles. I averaged 6:42 and spent most of the leg talking to Patrick(team Chemo-kazi) about a relay race he started recently in Ireland. http://www.sionnachrelay.com/about/

6:00pm Stuff just got real! My second run (legs13/14)was12.8 miles with the first 7 steady, steep, uphill, followed by some rolling hills. This leg might have killed me in the heat. I'm thankful that it was after dark and pretty cool out. Smokin' 8:22 avg. on that one.

4:00am 10 miles on horse trails in the hills above the city. This was my favorite leg of the race. It was still dark except for the lights from the city in the distance. The course was hilly and so peaceful it reminded me of why I like running so much. The time alone on my feet with nothing but my thoughts is totally precious to me. Strangely, mixing that up by spending quality time in a van with my favorite people makes it even better. 8:32 avg.

The race finished in the pool area at the Red Rock Hotel Casino at about 2:30pm for us, and Conrad was nice enough to slow down so the rest of his gimpy team could cross the line together with him.

After the race we celebrated with pizza and a rollercoaster ride at NYNY on the strip.

Kym and I are chillin' here until Wednesday with nothing else on the schedule except the Blue Man Group at Monte Carlo.

No kids, and no pets to worry about at home. Yep, I'm diggin' this empty nest thing : )

Barely home for a day after Ragnar Vegas and now I'm in McMinville, OR with Kym for a debate tournament. First run since Ragnar and first frozen run of the year. Black ice everywhere down here.

7.6 frozen miles around the Evergreen Aviation/Space Museum and the little vineyard next to it.

Results for Ragnar Vegas were updated today and my team finished 3rd in our division!

I think I set a new record for shopping cart racing. I found an abandoned cart from Albertson's at mile 4 and returned it to the the store 3.5 miles away. It took about 2 more miles to recover and get back on pace after that.

http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/645466535

12 miles around Oakbrook and Steilacoom with Preston. Good pace and great conversation as always.

Stuck in Spokane all week for work. One hour on the treadmill at the hotel.

1:10:00 on the treadmill at 8:20 pace. Good practice for Saturday's Santa Runs Half Marathon. I'll be the 1:50:00 pacer. See you there!

Pacing for the 1:50 group.

Perfect weather for a race, 45, sunny, no wind, and lots of Christmas Spirit on the course! I ran this one with the pace team leader, Sabrina since I had some trouble parking and showed up to the start at the last minute. She was ready to pace for me and decided to run it with me anyway once I finally showed up. It was fun running with the "boss" and I ran a pretty steady 8:20ish pace all the way through. We ended up finishing a few seconds late because the course was a bit long and I didn't account for that. Rookie move, I know. :(
The only runner with us at the end was Estrellita (same girl that ran with my 4:10 group at TCM) and she pulled ahead in the last half mile to finish well before 1:50, so mission accomplished. Looking forward to next time if I don't get fired :)

1.00 8:29
2.00 8:23
3.00 8:20
4.00 8:15
5.00 8:20
6.00 8:21
7.00 8:25
8.00 8:19
9.00 8:23
10.00 8:22
11.00 8:29
12.00 8:25
13.00 8:20
13.20 7:59
 

I've been running a few days a week, but haven't been motivated at all to keep up on the blog. I need to refocus and set some goals. I'm going to start by running at least a mile and blogging it every day in January. You've been warned...