"I don't really need a duck"

Another hour on the elliptical.  All ellipticals are definately not the same.  I had to switch off the one I started on because I kept banging my knee on the machine, plus the thing was like running through mollases no matter how easy the setting (annoying).

Another hour of elliptical bliss.  I get to find out Friday at Ragnar what my foot is thinking (the doctor gave me permission).  I have done a couple hallway jogs at work (maybe 100 ft.) and have felt no pain at all, however I don't want to get to excited and blow it up.

I took the cub scouts on a 3 mile hike up and down the dirt road at Yellow Fork Canyon.  We did 20 minute miles going up and 16 minute miles going down.  Didn't make it to the gym for my love afair with the elliptical.  |:o|

This was my first ever welcome to the event that is called Ragnar.  I was kind of nervous about how this would roll out with the recent stress fracture in my foot (2-1/2 weeks ago) but the doctor I was good to go.   I became a late add on team that was looking for a finish in the 29 hour range, so there was no pressure to finish fast but to just have fun and enjoy.  After two weeks of elliptical heaven and watching four of our runners finish their legs it was my turn to give it a go.

Leg #11 is a 3.2 mile run that climbs a total of 986 ft. with a 51 ft. drop with a start elevation of 4923 ft. and a finish elevation of 5858 ft. 

Mile #1 - 6:52 - Running outside feels fantastic! This first mile only gains 184 ft. but the fun is soon to come.

Mile #2 - 8:02 - I am still enjoying running but 303 ft. of elevation climb is not as fun a 184 ft.  I do continue to pick-off runners (this would be the theme of all of my runs).

Mile #3 - 8:40 - 382 ft. of elevation climb.  I am definitely ready for this hill to be over with, but outside of being tired everything is good.

Last 0.2 - 1:29 (7:30 pace) - What a relief to be done and to be handing off to my sister so she can finish the climb up to Snow Basin. 

Outside of my legs being totally beat (I can tell I have lost some fitness over the last couple of weeks) and nearly vomiting at the end everything felt really good and my foot gave me zero signs of discomfort.  I do wish that I had gotten a full night of sleep last night (3.5 hours) but I had a project I had to get out for work for Friday (today) that kept me up late.  Once my sister did a fantastic job of finishing off her leg we got some dinner at Quiznos and made our way to East Canyon Reservoir for some rest and relaxation.

12:10 am - Leg #23 (5.5 miles @ 6:56 pace) - 5.5 miles with an elevation gain of 406 ft. and an elevation drop of 214 ft.  Most of the elevation gain was toward the front leading up to the Rockport Dam with the being mainly downhill rollers.  Unfortunately I was unable to get any real sleep at East Canyon so I wasn't as rested as I would have liked to have been, but my body was feeling good and I was anxious to get running after a 10 hour break.  The weather was absolutely fantastic and went with my tech-t, shorts and arm sleeves (plus I was in my wheel-house of running late at night). 

Mile #1 - 6:56 - 100 ft. of net elevation gain.  Feeling good and enjoying the run. 

Mile #2 - 7:19 -110 ft. of elevation gain.  I am feeling the cumulative effects of the previous 100 ft. of climb and the 900+ covered yesterday, but the dam is in my sights so I know the climbing will end soon.

Mile #3 - 6:58 - That’s more like it. 

Mile #4 - 6:55 - I have a beautiful full moon view over Rockport Reservoir to my left and nice downhill rollers stretched out in front of me with the periodic red flashing light indicating another runner I would get to pass and let them know how well they were doing and how little they had left to go.

Mile #5 - 6:48 - I am really hitting a groove and loving it.

Mile 0.5 - 3:26 (6:31 pace) - What a perfect end to a beautiful leg.

12:48 am - Leg #24 (6.9 miles @ 8:50 pace) - 589 ft. of elevation gain and 200 ft. elevation drop.  It was always the plan that I would run this leg with my sister so she didn't have to run solo in the middle of the night.  Her initial goal was to cover it at a low 8 minute pace but I had zero intent on pushing it any faster than what she wanted.  I must admit that I was quite glad that she wasn't feeling any faster since I was doing about all I could to keep with her through the last 3 miles.  She did enjoy my company and she really did a fantastic job.  She did walk for about 30 seconds near the top of the big hill during mile 5, but she more than made up for it on the downhill that came during mile 6 and finished strong.  We finished off to a little house in Heber (that our team leader had access to) to get some peaceful shut-eye for about 3 hours. (8:01, 8:38, 8:47, 9:26, 10:01, 8:25 & 8:30 pace for the last 0.9 miles).

9:18 am - Leg #35 (7.30 miles @ 7:23 pace) - 2091 ft. elevation drop and 350 ft. elevation gain.  Unfortunately the plan for some peaceful sleep did not quite pan out.  Apparently the older gentleman in our group has a bit of a snoring problem and thus those 3 hours of wished sleep may have been 30 minutes (hard to tell).  I was tired my calves and quads were not like me too much but my foot felt fantastic. 

Mile #1 - 7:35 - We finished the climb over Guardsman’s Pass and down the cliff (that’s what it felt like) on the other side.

Mile #2 - 6:48 - This is the mile of diminishing returns where I really can't go any faster but I can't go any slower either.  Please let this end soon. 

Mile #3 - 6:53 - Finally a little bit of sanity has been returned to the course but my legs are beat.

Mile #4 - 8:23 - Of course in true Ragnar fashion they must throw in a "lovely" climb to remind you where you are.  I covered the 150 ft. climb over 0.2 miles in 2:37 (13 minute pace @ 14.2% grade) with zero walking (I passed about 6 people walking up this stretch).  After the hill the course returns to some sanity.

Mile #5 - 7:33 - Getting back to a normal feeling pace - albeit on trashed legs and some dandy feeling blisters on my big toes.

Mile #6 - 7:23 - Getting faster and feeling better.  Loving the fact of spotting runners ahead and working to catch them.

Mile #7 - 7:06 - Same as above and almost done.  Only 0.3 to go.

Mile 0.3 - 7:06 pace - Nice finish and my final hand off to my sister. 

What a remarkable and challenging event.  The great news is that I never had one sign of any issues with my foot, but now I am at a quandary of how to proceed with my training for the rest of the summer (I think I will suffer myself through another week of the elliptical and get it going again next week.)  Next time around (I must do it again) I am bringing my 2-man tent along so my chances of sleep may improve.  I will also make all efforts to get a full night of sleep in the night before.  My calves are still tight and my quads don't like me too much still but all-in-all I feel pretty darn good.