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Squaw Peak 50

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20102011
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Location:

Kaysville,UT,USA

Member Since:

Oct 11, 2010

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Boston Qualifier

Running Accomplishments:

I started running in December 2006. I just completed my 11th marathon. 

PR 3:17 at the 2011 St. George Marathon

PR 1:28 at the 2011 Striders WRC 1/2 Marathon

3:35 at the 2010 Boston Marathon

4 ultra marathons including the 2009 Wasatch 100 in 30:33.

Completed the 2011 LOTOJA on a tandem with my wife in 11:00:32.

Short-Term Running Goals:

Improve my PR to 3:09 in any marathon. Run a 3:19 at Boston in 2013.

Long-Term Running Goals:

Have the body of a drill sergeant at 60 years old!

Personal:

Married with four sons. My oldest is currently serving an LDS mission in Knoxville, TN. My wife and I also love to cycle together and we completed eight 100+ mile rides last year. 

Favorite Blogs:

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Addidas Supernova Pair 3 Lifetime Miles: 474.15
2011 Spin Miles Lifetime Miles: 520.00
2011 Bike Miles (on Road) Lifetime Miles: 2180.75
2011 Trail Miles Lifetime Miles: 178.25
Saucony Jazz 14 Lifetime Miles: 494.35
Tandem 2011 Lifetime Miles: 1258.50
Saucony Jazz 14 #2 Lifetime Miles: 220.90
2011 Swimming Lifetime Miles: 20.00
Brooks Launch Lifetime Miles: 121.75
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
70.000.000.000.0070.00
Saucony Jazz 14 Miles: 18.002011 Trail Miles Miles: 52.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

10 easy miles still recovering from Ogden marathon and preparing for the Squaw Peak 50 this Saturday.

Saucony Jazz 14 Miles: 10.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.000.000.000.004.00

2 miles at different times today just trying to stay loose and taper as best as possible for the SP 50 on Saturday.

Saucony Jazz 14 Miles: 4.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.000.000.000.004.00

Same as yesterday. Ordered a tandem bike today for my wife and I to enjoy. We're going to ride tandem in the citizen's cometitive class of the LOTOJA this year. It should be fun!

Saucony Jazz 14 Miles: 4.00
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Race: Squaw Peak 50 (52 Miles) 12:22:25, Place overall: 57, Place in age division: 16
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
52.000.000.000.0052.00

Well I guess I have to record all of these as easy miles because of the speed, but I must say that much of the day was a threshhold day. This is an epic race that normally does a loop from Provo Canyon to Springville around Hobble Creek Canyon around the back side of the same mountains and back to Provo Canyon. Because of snow, they had to re-route the course as follows: I had to drive like crazy at 4:45 to get to the start on time. I had my friend's (Terry Foust) bib which I picked up the night before and met him at the start line. He pinned it on and we were off with 230 total runners for a long day of running. The congo line moved fairly well as those with a slower pace moved to the back of the trail quickly. I was in the front third, and didn't want to go out too fast to try and apply some of the lessons learned recently. After two miles on the bike path, we hit the dirt trail and after about two miles of that, we hit a road and then another trail, only it was the wrong trail. All of a sudden the entire race did a u-turn and suddenly the slow folks were at the front and the fast folks (except for a few that knew the course) were at the back. We continued the congested congo line to the first aid station where there were pancakes and sausages. I grabbed two pancakes and a sausage, rolled them up and checked out of the aid station and back onto the trail. The first climb was about 2600 feet up to 7800 feet. I was glad to get to the top which was a bit snowy and muddy and quickly ran all the way to the bottom of Rock Canyon (mile 11.8) where the race turned south along the Bonneville Shoreline Trail. I refilled my water bottle with Heed and grabbed some cookies and peanut butter sandwiches and ran on. I had my I-pod, but I should have checked the setup better because I ended up with only about 15 songs and once I got through those it was repeat and repeat. Bummer. The foothills had lots of steep rollers up and down and up and down. Hike up with determination, run down and decide how you feel on the flats. I ran most all the downhills and most of the flats for the day. The average grade was supposed to be 11%. I believe it. It was a steep race both up and down. About mile 20 I started up Spring Creek Canyon, a 1600 foot climb up and around the back of a mountain. The trail was tough as you had to hike up a dry creekbed and the footing was unstable and the climb was steep (did I say that already). As I neared the summit, the leader passed me on his way down and I counted about 40 people ahead of me from there until the turnaround, several of which I recognized as local mountain running specialists.

At the turnaround I found Lisa and Nathaniel and Peter. Lisa rang the cowbell and refilled my bottle and attended to me with some sunburn protection and off I went. I exited the aid station with the same girl I came in with and joked to her that my wife was going to think I have a girlfriend. It turns out that she recently graduated from the Mayo Clinic and is a surgical intern in Provo. We talked about how ultrarunning draws a lot of crazy professional types. The decent to the turnaround in Hobble Creek Canyon was about 1050 feet, so now we had to turn around and go back up that. The road was good and I saw a few friends including Terry on my way back up and said hi. Everyone's very encouraging of their fellow runners, so much of enduring to the end of anything is mental. This race is all about finishing. The race director seems to really set the tone to encourage people to finish and takes pride in a high finisher rate. At the summit I began the decent down the steep creek bed. After a while I passed Grant ?? who is a legend of the race. 80 years old he started an hour before the main field and was completing the race today for his 12th time and the 3rd time as a 3 generation finish as he hiked with his son and grandson.

Arriving at the bottom of Spring Creek Canyon I was suprised not to find Lisa there. I reloaded with supplies and headed out. Then I found Lisa on the dirt road approaching the aid station. She said it was about a mile hike in. I was glad I saw her. Nathaniel jogged with me for a little bit and then I was on my own. Again, the rollers on the foothills were steep and long hiking across the front of three mountains. The sun was out now and it was a warm day. I ran and walked and climbed over and over. Twice I missed the trail markings and went off on my own, only to look up and see that the person who used to be up ahead of me had disappeared. I had decended too low and could see people up on the hill above me. These are costly mistakes in terms of time and energy and mentally. Both times I made the trek back up to meet the correct trail and then move on. Lisa met me at the next aid station and reloaded me. She is such an incredible support to me. I didn't see anyone else running the race with their own cheering squad at each aid station. Each time she would make sure I had everything I needed and quickly and then send me on my way. What a lucky man I am.

As I continued on the trail I looked North and could see the Provo Temple spire. Not to get too religious, but in the LDS faith everything points to the temple and since Rock Canyon is just up from the temple, and I knew my family would be there waiting for me with Nathaniel who was going to pace me to the finish (12 miles!) I thought to myself how ironic it was that the temple was my goal in both this endurance race and in life.  Mile 34 took forever. I must have looked at my watch 8 times during mile 34. Finally it fell. I ran out of fluid and hoped I wouldn't get too dehydrated. It's critical in a race this long to keep the fluids and calories flowing. I reached the Rock Canyon aid station and Nathan was ready to go. Lisa charged me up and I said goodbye to Peter and off we went. The 2800 foot ascent back up this canyon would take forever, but Nathan who is the most positive person on the planet and who can carry on a conversation entirely by himself was the perfect companion. I had him hike just in front of me and just a little faster than my legs wanted to go. Eventually we made it to Rock Canyon Campground and turned onto the road leading to the final hill climb. We crossed a snow slide and a tree hanging out onto the road. About 300 yards later I had that awful--we've missed the turn off--feeling. Sure enough as I looked back, I could see someone that used to be behind me now in front of me. Ag!!! We ran back down the hill to that darn tree across the road and began climbing again. The meadows with ponds were beautiful and green. We passed one person searching for his stomach. We were passed by a few others that made me wonder how I had stayed ahead of them the whole day only to be passed by them here at the end. Youth has its advantages! We reached the summit after Nathan told me all about his air soft wars with his friends the day previous and I had committed only to run 5k's from now on (Nathan didn't believe me) and we made our way through the snow and mud. The 2600 foot decent was brutal. A narrow trail with a rut down the middle and fist sized rocks spaced so you had to be careful as you ran down (which you had no choice with how steep it was!). Nathan was a trooper and encouraging the whole way. Come on Dad. We're not stopping Dad. Just a little bit faster!

We reached the Hope Campground aid station and had 5.5 miles left. We decended and were passed by a few more runners, but that's okay. I've decided that between youth and natural ability, neither of which I have, I should be happy that my practice and determination, which I have plenty of, makes it so I can even compete and finish respectably. We decended the mountain together and I was glad that Nathan could experience the ultra trail running environment like this--long, arduous, beautiful and fulfilling. What a great way to feel the joy of life in it's own strange and exhilerating way. We hit the foot path with one other runner on our heels. He said something about his wife and a wheelbarrow and we moved on ahead of him--2.2 miles to go. I had a goal of 11 hours in a 50 mile race, but that possibility had passed. Not enough climbing and decending in my training. However, my GPS watch was nearing 12 hours and we were almost at 49 miles at this point. With one mile to go and 10 minutes on the clock we ran--both to beat the guy behind us and to close the 50th mile in under 12 hours. Mission accomplished at 11:59 at the fastest speed I could then muster. We walked and then decided to run 50, walk 50. This became run 100, walk 50 and the man behind us was not to be seen. The trail went on forever and my only solice was that we couldn't possibly be on the wrong trail. Around the last bend, Nathan looked back and saw the competition closing in and we made a dash for the finish about 200 yards away. The crowds cheered and Nathan and I ran across the finish line together. My legs were dead. It was great. 12:23:25. Not the time I had hoped for, but another one for the record books just the same. My nephew Lamon and his wife Mary were also there to cheer for their uncle as I crossed the finish line. Again, Lisa took care of my every post race need including food and new socks and we enjoyed the post race festivities. Terry finished also, but several of my friends didn't. It was a tough race, but that's what makes them satisfying at the finish.

2011 Trail Miles Miles: 52.00
Comments(4)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
70.000.000.000.0070.00
Saucony Jazz 14 Miles: 18.002011 Trail Miles Miles: 52.00
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