Rosswog Running Blog

Following another great night of sleep, I woke up and stretched for awhile in order to get my left hamstring ready for another race. This one, the Big Foot 10k which is Bend’s longest running 10k and benefits the high school cross country teams of Central Oregon.  Also, this is first time that I have run two races on the same weekend.  Of course, when I registered for the Xterra Nationals and the Big Foot 10k, I had no idea that I would be running them while recovering from a pulled hamstring.

When I headed out from my Great Uncle’s house on Cumberland, the overcast sky was drizzling rain.  After I jogged 1.05 miles over to the Old Mill District, the finish line, in order to catch the shuttle up to the starting line at the Seventh Mountain Resort, it was pouring.  As a result, I huddled up with my father, aunt, and a few other runners under a pine tree next to a gravel parking lot waiting for the shuttle to arrive.  After a long 15 minutes, the shuttle came, but the number of runners waiting for a ride was greater than the capacity of the shuttle.  Since I figured it was either waiting in the rain at the starting line or at the gravel parking lot next to the finish line, I decided to wait for the shuttle to come back down.

Twenty minutes later the shuttle came back and along with a few other runners, I was on my way to the starting line.  Among these few other runners was Max King--the Xterra Nationals Champion--and Fujio Miyachi--a trail runner from Japan that Max is hosting.  Consequently, it was neat to talk to Max for a few minutes about the Baltimore Marathon that he’ll be running on October 16th.  Since I have run this marathon three times, it will be interesting to see how he does.

Approximately 15 minutes before the race started, the shuttle dropped us off at the Seventh Mountain Resort and I immediately took cover in an enclosed tent in order to change out of my outer gear before heading up to the starting line.  Following a teacher from La Pine, we took a shortcut over a muddy trail which got us to the starting line with two minutes to spare; that is, just enough time to drop off my gear bag and to find a satellite on my Gamin.

At exactly 9:00 am the race started and a pack of over 200 runners was off.  I started in the middle of this pack and it took me a good mile to work out the stiffness in my left hamstring.  During the initial mile, a number of runners cruised on past me.  However, after I was able to run my way through the stiffness and a few moments of soreness, I was able to get into a pretty good stride.  As a result, I was able to run a 36:44 (i.e., an average pace of 5:54 minutes per mile) with the following splits: 5:55, 6:08, 5:42, 5:55, 5:52, 5:47, and 1:23.  This time was a good four minutes behind Max’s winning time; however, I was happy to finally get in some relatively fast miles in my Adidas Manas (the first time I have worn these racing flats since the Deseret News Marathon).

After eating some breakfast (i.e., you have to love the post-race snacks) and talking to a few of the other runners as the rain continued, I gingerly jogged the 1.05 miles back to Cumberland.  I sent the afternoon resting, icing, and recovering as the weather cleared up outside.  In the evening, I went for a jog to the Bend Library, then to my Aunt and Uncle’s place on Hawthorne, and then around the shopping plaza at the Old Mill District before calling it a day and heading back to Cumberland.  In total, I was able to get in 8.1 miles at an extremely slow jog; that is, my legs just felt completely exhausted.

To finish off the weekend, I was able to complete 300 sit-ups and 30 push-ups for my non running workout.

Very stiff and sore today (i.e., I’m absolutely paying the price for the two races over the weekend); however, I was able to jog from the Library to my Aunt and Uncle’s house on Hawthorne then to my Great Uncle’s house on Cumberland by way of the Old Mill District.  In total, I was able to get in 6.4 miles at a very slow pace.

In regards to my non-running workout, I completed my standard routine of 300 sit-ups and 30 push-ups.

This morning, after taking some time to do some serious stretching, I ran over and to the top of Pilot Butte and back to Cumberland.  My legs felt better than yesterday; however, I still took it easy and just enjoyed the scenery.  In addition, I was able to gain some great experience with running the Butte in preparation for The Pilot Butte Challenge--which is essentially a one mile, 440 feet net elevation gain time trial--this Saturday.

For my non-running workout, I was able to get in a 4.4-mile bike ride, 300 sit-ups, and 30 push-ups.

Today I traveled out to the Warm Springs Native American Reservation with my aunt, uncle, and father where I did some trail running in my Brooks Cascadias.  There are four main/marked (i.e., red, blue, yellow, and green) high-desert trails in this area (they are also known as the Kah-Nee-Ta Hiking Trails).  I ran three out of these four trails before calling it a day.  These trails are pretty technical in that there are a lot of inclines and declines in addition since horses use these trails the recent rain fall made for a lot of hoof puddles.  Consequently, it was slow going, but a heck of workout!  Also, the scenery was unbelievable; for example, I ran across seven deer on the Raven’s Roost overlooking the desert valley.  These deer ran just ahead of me on the trail for approximately a mile, so it was neat to watch them run ahead, stare back at me, then run ahead again.

In regards to my non-running workout, I was able to get in a 4.9-mile bike ride, 300 sit-ups, and 30 push-ups.

Early this morning, I jogged over to Pilot Butte State Park from Hawthorne and accomplished five intervals up and down the Butte.  These intervals were approximately one mile in distance with nearly 440 feet in elevation gain.  My uphill splits for these intervals were as follows 10:55, 9:33, 9:57, 10:38, and 10:46.  The total distance of this workout (including my jog back to my Aunt and Uncle’s house on Hawthorne) was 12.1 miles at a relatively easy pace.  We’ll see how I do on Saturday morning in the Pilot Butte Challenge which is a one-mile time trial to the top.  By the way, the view from the top of Pilot Butte of the town of Bend and the Cascades--mountains: Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Broken Top, The 3 Sisters, Three Fingered Jack, and Bachelor--is unbelievable!

In addition to getting in 2.2 miles on the bike, I was able to go to the Juniper Swim & Fitness Center and complete 300 sit-ups, 30 push-ups, 90 (50, 40, 30 lbs) curls , 60 (50 lbs) reverse curls, and even 200 meters of swimming in the pool.  Just a side note, these 200 meters nearly killed me since this was the first time I swam in years.

I went out for a mid-morning run over to the Old Mill District then over to the North West Bend where I saw four deer crossing the road before head back to my Great Uncle’s house on Cumberland by way of Drake Park.  In total, I was able to get in 6.8 miles at an easy pace. 

In regards to my non-running workout, I completed my standard routine of 300 sit-ups and 20 push-ups before call it a day.

Today was my last day in Bend/Oregon--until next year (i.e., I had such a great time, I hope to be back in 2011)--so I thought I would get in another race before I caught my afternoon flight from Redmond to Salt Lake City.  Shortly after waking up, I jogged 2.1 miles across town from Cumberland to my Aunt and Uncle’s house on Hawthorne.  On the way there, I went through Drake Park and across it’s wooden footbridge over the Deschutes River, a picturesque setting to say the least.  I met up with my support crew--that is, my aunt, uncle, and father--then we headed over to Pilot Butte State Park (a 1.4-mile jog) for the one-mile time trial race to the top.

When I arrived at the park and after picking up my bib number and packet, I quickly discovered that the race was along the Butte’s dusty dirt trail and not the paved trail and road that I’m so accustomed to running.  Actually, ever since I was a kid, I hiked the Butte with my father and aunt and we always took the road (which is very restrictive to traffic) and never once went up the trail.  So this was going to be a completely new experience and I was lucky I brought along my Brooks Cascadia trail running shoes.  Taking the dirt trail also adds another 50 or so feet in elevation gain.  In addition, I discovered they were going to have four start waves for the race even though the trail is only double track (at best) all the way to the top; therefore, this was going to be a fun experience.

Starting in the first wave, we were off at exactly 9:00 am.  The first 0.2 of a mile was relatively flat then it got extremely steep until the half-mile marker (so steep I was wondering, as I fought for air an position on the trail, why I got myself into such a race).  Since this 0.3 of a mile was an extremely ascent, the second half of mile seemed relatively nice even though it was a continuous climb to the top.  There were Forest Rangers shouting encouragement to the runners along the trail, which kept you going and made for a fun experience.  In addition, this race was really well organized in that there were shuttles at the start for family and friends to take to the top.  As a result, my support crew was at the top to cheer me in across the finish line in a time of 8:54 (my Garmin showed a distance of 1.05 miles with an approximate elevation gain of 490 feet).  Being a marathon runner, I’m not use to one-mile races and this is the first one that I have done since high school; however, The Pilot Butte Challenge was great workout and a fun experience that ended with an amazing view of the Cascades!

In addition, before catching my flight back to Salt Lake City, I jogged 1.8 miles down the Butte and back to my Aunt and Uncle’s house.  After I arrived at home (by the way, it always feels great to fly back into Salt Lake City), I went out for a late-evening 4.2-mile run up to the Smith-Kiln Chimney at the Brickyard Shopping Plaza and back.  I was originally planning for a longer evening run, but my left Achilles tendon was feeling extremely tight and sore.  As a result, I figured it best to makeup the mileage tomorrow in exchange for getting some sleep in my Zoot Recovery socks.

Finally, for my non-running workout, I was able to complete my standard routine of 300 sit-ups and 30 push-ups.