Every Run is a Great Run!

This morning in Manti when I woke up it was +1 degrees and foggy.  I thought I'd take my chances on running later in the afternoon in SF. Good decision, not balmy by any means around 15-20 degrees, but the sun was shining and zero wind so it felt pretty good. Looking forward to Kim getting over her nasty cough soon so she can join me on these kind of runs.

8:25 

So just like yesterday morning in Manti this morning in SF when I woke up it was 1 degree. So I decided to at least wait until we hit double digits which wasn't until after 11am when it got to 10. But since the sun was shining (albeit filtered) and no wind it didn't feel so bad.  

Ran down to the river bottoms and was able to do a bit of speed work with 8 x 400m with 400m jog rests in between.  Didn't pay much attention to pace just ran by feel with it so cold but was pleasantly surprised to see all the quarters in the 1:25 to 1:30 range (5:45-6:00 min pace).

Went out around 11am again for some easy miles. Temps about the same as the last couple days.

8:27/153 

The air was practically toxic today and thermometer said -3 this morning so ended up just doing a little bit at the gym. Some XT and 3.5 miles on the treadmill.

Temps below zero again this morning so waited until 11am to get out. Even then it was only 7 or 8 degrees but the air did seem a bit cleaner than yesterday.  Ran up to the jack-rabbit and was hoping to get a 5K tempo run down river bottoms road. 

Felt good the first mile when most of the downhill occurs and ran it in 6:28, even had momentary thoughts of trying for sub-20 for the 5K.  But then something weird happened about 1/2 way through the 2nd mile.  I'm sure it had something to do with the single digit temps and/or gunky air but I started feeling like my airways - nasal passage and throat - were swelling up so that I couldn't breath.

Start feeling light-headed, cold headache, and a feeling like being smothered and everything went very south at that point. Had to quit after 2 miles with 2nd mile coming in at 6:46.  Thankfully after about 1 minute the feelings of being smothered went away and I finished out the run nice and easy. Dang stinkin' inversion anyway. 

Got up bright and early with hopes temps were just a tad better than most mornings of 2013.  Checked weather.com it said -1 degrees feels like -16. Ugh! And of course the lovely smoggy air. But poking my head out the door I didn't notice any wind so and I was already dressed for running so I ventured out. It was cold but not windy so it was bearable and I had an ok run in the dark.

Later in the afternoon went to the gym at work for 30 min XT + core. 

Temps in the 20's today downright balmy! Air a bit cleaner too but still plenty of gunk. Hooray for Kim finally able to get out and try a run after dealing with such a nasty cold the last while. She did really great for not running at all for nearly 2 weeks.

Tried some speed today after 2 mile warmup with Kim.  Dropdown intervals 1, .75, .5. .25 miles, with .5 rests in between the first 3 and .25 rest on the last.

This workout was harder than I wanted it to be. I think not having the usual bit of tail-wind and gunky air had a lot to do with it and maybe just and off day for me.  I was still able to meet the main goal which was to stay mostly a bit faster than 5K pace.

Splits (pace not time) were 6:24, 6:25, 6:22, 6:02. 

Got out early with Kim around 6am. Could actually see the stars from our house but got pretty foggy down in the river bottoms. Probably around 10 degrees or so. Ran about half with Kim and the rest solo.

Later got to the gym at work for 30 min XT + core. 

Six miles at the gym on the beloved treadmill and a little core work as well.

Woke up to about a foot of fresh powder everywhere so grabbed a snow shovel and went at it for an hour or so. Later in the morning I was able to get out and slosh around the snowy roads for a sloppy 3 miles.

Quite the run today in the snow. Talking to Kim we wondered if we shouldn't name this run "Dumb & Dumber". Not sure who gets to be Dumb and who is Dumber.  Could also call it "Slip Slidin' Away" with the sloppy roads and all the slipping and sloshing around we did.

Our generic cheapo Costco Yak Trax knock-offs are pretty much falling apart now so we only used them for a couple miles before they were more trouble than they were worth and we ditched them. It was nice to have Kelly and his eternally enthusiastic dog Bebe along for this one.

Made it to 9 miles but it felt more like 20+ and took nearly 2 hours. 

Woke up to a whopping -8 degrees! Waited until around 11am when it was up to around +5 degrees and went out with Kim for an easy 5 miler. Sure looking forward to St George this weekend and temps in the 50's.

Did the treadmill thing today at work. Also did around 30 min XT + core. Toward the end of the run I did 10 strides.

Got out around 11am with Kimi. Around 15-20 degrees with (almost) some sun it felt downright balmy and we had to shed a layer.

Out bright and early with Kim and Kay. Around 8 degrees but not much wind so it was bearable.

Later went to the gym for 30 min XT + core. 

Had fun running in the bright sunshine of St George. Only in the 30's during the race but still felt great. Always happy anytime I can so sub-20 on an honest course.

Wasn't sure what to expect with this race. I've been doing some speed-work but it's nearly impossible to do anything meaningful during winter with the nasty weather and cold we've been having. And treadmill speed sessions don't seem to quite cut it either. I figured I'd just go out around 6:30 pace, see how it felt, and speed up as much as I could as the race progressed.

Mile 1 - 6:24: Just running what felt about right, very slight uphill on this mile but around 6:25 pace felt pretty good. A bit frustrating having to dodge the 1/2 marathon folks who decided to walk the entire way during end of mile 1 and beginning of mile 2. But my frustration causes me to speed up and pass a few folks and start to get back into the feel of race mode since I haven't raced forever.

Mile 2 - 6:20: Feeling good on this mile, hit the turn onto the trail and back towards the Dixie Center slightly downhill. Pass a few more folks and become aware of some dude breathing down my neck just a few feet behind me.

Mile 3 - 6:30: Not feeling so good anymore but last mile of a 5K isn't supposed to feel good. Still have a guy right on my tail and keep trying to surge to put him away early in the mile since I'm not much of a kicker.  At one point I think I've got him beat but the last 1/2 mile I start to fade and he catches up. Still manage to stay ahead until the last .10 of the race when he kicks and just beats me by a second or so.  Later I find out I actually beat him by a hair according to chip time so I guess that's some consolation.

Pretty happy with the race. A little disappointed how I faded the last 1/2 mile but seems like that happened to me before with 5Ks when I have a low mileage base like the last few months. Looking forward to another 5K in March at the Leopard Run.

Dang this nasty inversion is really bumming me out. And spending the weekend in sunny SG just makes it that much more depressing! One measly degree in the morning and air as thick and gunky as could be. So went into work early and got to the gym around 9:30. Did 6 miles on the t-mill and also 30 min XT + core.

Got out just before lunch. Air still pretty gunky but seemed a bit better and warmer than the last couple of days. Temps maybe around 15-20 but didn't feel too bad. Just kind of spaced out during this run and don't remember much.

8:37 

Did everything at the gym today. Six miles on the treadmill including some strides to break up the boredom. Also did 30 min XT + core.

Wasn't sure what to expect for the weather waking up early this morning. I was pleased to find temps in the mid-20's, no snow/rain yet, and very little wind. Probably the nicest morning so far this year up in these parts! Glad I got it done before all the freezing rain fiasco started!

Just took it easy, ignored the watch, got into space-out mode, and enjoyed the run.

8:55 

Got up early all excited about 32 degree temps. My excitement was short-lived as I noticed very slick patches of nearly invisible ice at random spots on the road. Even worse down in the river bottoms as the roads were pretty much iced over everywhere.

So at this point my main objective became just to not fall on my behind. Ended up mostly walking/skating in the bottoms and back up the hill. Best roads were the main roads around residential areas which were mostly runnable but I was so worried about finding ice I never dared speed up much.

I think my average pace ended up just under 11 min/mi. But on a positive not I did not fall on my behind. This January has NOT been kind to runners in northern Utah.

Later got in 30 min XT at the gym. 

Well after getting up bright & early and getting bundled up and ready for the fog, got outside to find the roads all iced over in many places and not really runable or safe with the low visibility and ice. So went back inside, took all the gear off and went back to bed for a couple more hours.

Kim had meetings and business through much of the day but I was able to get out around 10am and find much nicer conditions. Still foggy but no ice and temps just above freezing. Felt pretty good during this run and glad to get in 12 miler since I don't think I've gone over 9 all month. Need to start thinking about Boston and getting some endurance back.

8:28/150 

Had a nice snowstorm and a few inches on the roads to greet us this morning. Did lots of slip-sliding-away most of the time. We did find one road that for some reason was better than all the rest so went back and forth on that one a couple of times. The poor footing seemed to get worse towards the end. Fun stuff, not sure which is worse the bitter cold and fog or the sloppy/slippery roads. I think I'll take the sloppy stuff, warmer temps and clean air.

Later in the afternoon got to the gym for 30 min XT + core. 

Snowing again but I decided I still like running in snow a lot better than the gunky inversion, especially if the roads are mostly clear like they were today when I went out around 11am.

Schedule called for 10-12 uphill repeats but since my next 5K is very much downhill I decided to push it on the uphill the first 6 repeats and then do a switcheroo and work on fast downhill running for the last 6. Felt pretty good but I sure am a wimp on the uphill. 

Another snowy morning. Decided to join Kim and Annette and run around the track at the girls gym at the high school. Kind of tedious like the treadmill at first but then I zoned out and felt pretty good like I could run forever. Not sure on distance but should be pretty close to 6.

Later in the afternoon went to the gym at work for 30 min XT + core. 

Ran indoors like yesterday again. Except today is a rest day for Kim and nobody else showed up so I had the place to myself. I wore a HR monitor this time so I could get a better idea what my pace/distance was.  Looks like I was around 8:30 pace.

Later went to the gym at work. Didn't feel like doing XT so I did 2 more easy miles on the treadmill and some core. Looking forward to some sun & fun the next few days! 

A dandy little 6 miler with Kim in the sunshine. Shorts and t-shirt and temps in the 50's. No complaints!

Nice morning run up/down the trail including Snow Canyon.  

Six miles in the early morning out in the lovely 14 degree inversion weather.

8:58 

Gotta be up in SLC all day for work so got to the gym early for a fine treadmill workout. Must have been brain-dead I forgot most my gear and also the breakfast I had put together last night to bring with me to eat after the run. Luckily the gym has loaner gear (if you don't mind looking like a dork) and I got some food at the cafe at work so all was well.

After 2 mile warmup did 4 x 1 mile @ just-faster-than-5K-pace with 1/2 mile jog rests in between. Workout was OK, always seems like speed work is a easier on the treadmill and you're cheating a bit but it sure beat trying to do it in frigid temps and gunky air. Did first mile around 6:20 then sped up each mile finishing the last one in just under 6.

Six in the early morning. Around 25 degrees which feels warm this year.

8:50 

Got out around noon and enjoyed a nice run in the sun minus the smog. Around 30-35 degrees but with the unfiltered sun if felt warmer. Too bad we only get these days once in a blue moon in between inversion-land and the next storm.

8:22/144 

Five on the treadmill.

Definitely tough to get these longs runs in on these cold, stormy and sometimes slick-road mornings. But we got it done albeit at a very leisurely but sometimes still difficult pace. Started out with a good sized group but it was mostly Doug and Kim and I for the last half of the run.

AM: Had a nice run in light snow with Kim in the early morning. About an inch of fresh snow on the roads but not slick most places and not windy so it made for a nice peaceful run. 

PM: Went to the gym at work around 2:30pm for 30 min XT + core.

Was hoping it would warm up a bit more for the 800m repeats workout but just before noon before I went out it was still only in the low 20's. Oh well at least the air was fairly clean and the roads were clear. 

Been trying to get lots of downhill training since my March 5K is very downhill. Ideal would be running down a canyon but doesn't work so good in the winter. So for workout today I maybe dropped 100-200 feet overall but nothing very steep. And the hoped for tailwind actually ended up being a bit of headwind so that made the workout pretty tough. Ended up taking full advantage of the 3-4 minute rests in between and did more walking than usual.

Did 8 x 1/2 mile repeats, shooting for 5:55-6:05 and that's just about how things worked out. Felt pretty well pooped at the finish and glad to be done. Didn't love having longs and my jacket the last 4 repeats, I was wishing for shorts and no jacket.

Splits were as follows: 3:03, 2:58, 3:00, 3:03, 3:02, 3:02, 2:57, 3:00. 

AM: Had a nice recovery run, mostly with the lovely and talented Kimi.

PM: Did 30 min XT + core at the gym. 

Nice 7 miler just before lunch.

8:28/149 

Nice & easy 5 miler in the early morning with Kim and Kay.

Had a nice run this morning, weather was cold and a bit windy but skies and roads were clear and we got some nice sun the last few miles. Started out with a pretty good sized group that ended up with Doug and Alan and Kim and I most of the last 2/3 of the run.  

Had planned anywhere between 12 and 16 miles depending on how things went and thankfully everything went well and we got the full 16.  

Waited until the sun came out then went out with Kim for 6. A bit cold and breezy but still nice to see the sun.

Nice short-sleeves and shorts run in St George just before lunch. Around 50 degrees so pretty nice even with the breeziness. Did a few downhill strides along the way.

8:17/152 

Had plans for a downhill 5K tempo run so decided to wait until just before lunch and run down from the top of Harry's Hill. Thankfully the weather cooperated and roads were clear and not too cold, although the cooler/humid conditions tend to give me calf cramps.

This route is very downhill the first 1.25 miles, then some decent downhill the rest of mile 2 with mostly flat to slight downhill the last mile. I had mapped out the course with the course tool earlier and had plans to try and run splits of around 6:00, 6:15, 6:30 to finish around 19:30 for 5K.

But stupid me with the downhill I have a hard time pacing and like to go out too fast, which I did today making me hit close to max HR (around 190) too soon around middle of mile 2 which leads me to crash and burn shortly there after. Barely into mile 3 I started feeling the GI distress and legs turning to noodles and feeling like they might cramp so I wimped out and decided to stop at 2.5.

I'll do this run again in a couple week where I hope to redeem myself.

Splits/Ave HR:

mile 1 - 5:45/174

mile 2 - 6:11/185

mile 2.5 - 3:18/189

Max HR 191 

Nice morning run with the gang and nice to cut back the miles a bit this week.

Six in the brrrr early morning (15 degrees with wind chill of 2) and a humongous moon.

Just before noon did some mile repeats with the first 2 being very downhill and the last 2 just a bit downhill but essentially flat with the dang headwind that made me very tired by the end!

Mile splits were 5:47, 5:47, 6:29, 6:39. Jog/walk rests of 4-5 minutes in between.  

Nice & easy 6 miler with Kim on a sunny (but still dang cold!) day around 10am.

Had a dandy 18-miler in the morning with the gang. For the last 12 miles it was mainly Kim and I, Doug, and Alan.

AM: Went out with Kim early. Temps weren't bad but there was some wind and snow/hail pellets that were kind of painful when they would pelt you in the eyes.

PM: Went to the gym around 3 for 30 min XT + core. 

Nice relaxing run in the sun just before lunch. Did some strides the last half of the run.

8:15/150

Great weather today perfect for another downhill 5K time trial. Temps in the low 40's and sunny with very little wind. I vowed to not make the same mistake as the last 2 weeks and go out too fast on the early steep downhill.

Plan was to run mile splits around 6:00, 6:15, and 6:30 to end up just under 19:30 for 5K. I almost forgot the plan and started out mile 1 a bit quick but then I mentally slapped myself upside the head and stuck to the plan, which ended up working out quite nicely and I ended up at 19:23.

Mile splits were 5:57, 6:16, 6:30, :39 (last .10)

I'm pleased with this workout. Maybe since Old Bean recently tweaked his hamstring playing church ball I can give him a little scare at the Leopard 5K!

Another nice long run with the gang. A bit breezy with snow flurries at times but temps in the mid-30's so it wasn't too bad. Nice to be getting some good longer runs in the last few Saturdays.

AM: Six miles with Kim on a very dark and kinda spooky morning.

PM: Thirty minutes XT + core at the gym. 

Went out around 11am. Temps around 45-50, mostly sunny very little wind made for perfect running conditions.

Did my last speed workout before my 5K in 11 days. Drop-down 1, .75, .5, and .25 miles with 2-4 min jog/walk rests in between. The 1/.75 were on pretty steep downhill with the last .5/.25 on slightly downhill to flat terrain so that's why the short distances are slower.

Feel pretty good about the workout and should be ready for the race. Don't know that I'll be able to stay very close to Terry B but I should be able to beat my time from last year unless something weird happens like headwind instead of tailwind or I go out too fast. Should be fun!

Splits times/pace: 1m - 5:40, .75 - 4:02/5:23, .5 - 2:43/5:46, .25 - 1:25/5:40 

AM: Six miles in the dark.

PM: 30 min XT + core. 

8:42/143

First 20-miler of the year, we'll do another one in 2 weeks then it's off to Boston 2 weeks after that for 26.2! Not sure how things would go after the emotionally draining week but it worked out ok. Weather was about perfect for a run like this in the mid-40s and maybe 50's by the end.

Lots of folks in St George this weekend but we still had company most of the run, glad the Hal and Carl G could stick with us the last half of the run it always helped to have a crowd. 

AM: Six miles

PM: Thirty min XT + core 

Spinkled in a dozen strides along the way.

8:26/145 

AM: Weather.com said 43 degrees and didn't seem windy at the house but shortly into the run it was apparent the wind was nasty and seemed to be blowing from all directions. Froze my fanny off it's probably still somewhere down in the river bottoms. Never did warm up the entire run.

PM: Did 2 more miles on the treadmill + core. The normally dull t-mill miles went by pretty quick because I was able to chat with Scott B. the whole time. 

Looks like the 5K on Saturday could be cold and yucky :( 

No run but got to the gym for 30 min XT.

This ended up being more of a glorified tempo run than a race for me, spent a fair amount of time stressing out over slick spots on the road. Never could loosen up and felt overly tense the whole time.

With the cold/slick/sloppy conditions prior to the race I had completely gotten out of the mindset of trying to go all-out, then when it turned out the roads weren't quite as bad as expected I just could never seem to get my head into race mode. So it is what it is and I'm ok with the sub-20 even though it was over a full minute slower than last year and over 2 minutes slower than the Great Terry Bean who had an awesome race and ran sub-18.

Woke up to a blizzard and almost decided to bag the race and just do a long run close to home. But weather forecast showed clearing later and so thought I'd take my chances.  Drive up with Kim was downright treacherous with lots of cars off the road. Luckily we had left plenty early and were able to get to the race with plenty of time.

Met up with Terry, got on the bus and had time before to get in 3 miles warmup. The first and last part of the race had the worst of the slick spots but I was surprised that most everyone seemed to still able to run pretty quick the first mile and I tried to switch into a quicker mindset but it just wasn't working. I did end up running my first mile similar pace as last year but miles 2 and 3 were a lot slower.

I may see if I can find a 5K in 2 weeks and try and put my recent training to better use than I did today. 

AM: Six miles on a stinkin cold and windy morning, 20 degrees but felt like 10 with the stiff breeze. Felt pretty sluggish.

PM: Thirty min XT at the gym.

Kim and I decided to drive over to Salem and run to get out of the wind. Felt sluggish the first 1/2 of the run but it got better the last half.

AM: Six easy about 4 of them with Kim. Bright moon and warmer temps were awesome. Kim taking a spill and getting all beat up not so awesome :(

PM: 30 min XT + core. 

Six miles in the sun just before lunch. Did 10 strides along the way.

8:10/157 

AM: 6 miles easy.

PM: 30 min XT + core  

Six miles later in the morning with Kimi on a bit of a drizzly day.

Nice late morning 6 miler with Kimi in the sun on the Park City trails.

AM: Six easy with 10 strides along the way. 8:31

PM: To the gym for 30 min XT + core 

Five easy miles on the lovely treadmill just before lunch.

Easy sorta long run. Boston in 9 days I'm starting to get excited. Looks like the weather might by pretty dandy.

Six miles in the early morning. I lucked out and timed it just right so I didn't get rained on much or have to deal with much wind.

Also did 30 min XT + core just before lunch.

AM: Six miles easy

PM: Gym 30 min XT + core

Boston is almost here! 

Seven miles at work just before lunch. At mile 2 I started doing 15-20s strides every 1/2 mile so I ended up with 10 of them.

8:08 

Very crazy day. We plan for a lot of things that might happen during a race but a DNF due to terrorism is not one of them. Just glad that Kim and I are safe and very sad for those who were killed or injured because of today's senseless act of violence.

I'm writing the rest of this report a few days after the race. Still hard to fathom what happened. This may well end up being my longest race report ever but I want to try and capture as many of my memories as I can while they are still somewhat fresh on my mind. I'll try and include lots of pictures and maybe even some video to help keep anyone that reads this awake :)

Kim and I decided to not read each others reports until they were completely written so it will be interesting to see what stands out in each of our memories.

I'm just so glad I decided to run this with Kim and also that we decided to leave the watch home (literally) and not even worry about pace. Looking at Kim's SGM time and what the race predictor shows for Boston I can see that if I would have paced Kim to run her best time we very likely could have been arriving at the finish line at around the worst possible time.

Just wish I were a better writer so I could properly capture the grandeur of this amazing race, the spectators, and the great people of Boston who treated us so wonderfully.

Where to begin.... so for some reason we booked a red-eye flight Saturday night that left SLC at around midnight and got us to Boston at around 9:30am on Sunday. Maybe not so smart I know but it actually seemed to work well for us as both of us slept better than we ever have the night before a race on Sunday night. Never did feel overly tired or jet-lagged during the whole trip.

Here's a nice picture of us on the plane: 

 It was nice to finally arrive in Boston!

Once we got settled at the hotel (so thankful they let us check in early!) we headed over to the expo to get our race stuff and start soaking in all the pre-race excitement.

The only bummer thing was that all the medium men's BM jackets were gone and small was a bit too snug so I had to settle for the oversized large. Also in all our excitement somehow we forgot to pick up our race poster :(  Now we did see a few folks at the airport that had a whole bunch of extra posters and we almost asked one of them if they would be willing to sell 1 or 2 of them to us but we were not bold enough.  So if by chance anyone knows how to snag one of these posters after-the-fact we would really like to get our hands on one.

We then headed down Bolyston street to the finish line area and took a few more pics and chatted with a few other excited runners. At that point the possibility that anyone could blow up a bomb at that location was the absolute furthest thing from anyone's mind.

We eventually made our way to the pre-race pasta dinner. Got there a bit early so we walked around and watched some street dancers and statues. Statue watching usually isn't very exciting but they have some pretty groovy statues in Boston. 

While we were in line for the dinner we got talking to an older Chinese gentlemen behind us. Turns out he was kind of a celebrity of sorts. He 70+ years old and always runs barefoot including his BQ marathon which just happened to make him cool enough to show up in Runners World magazine May edition, page 26. Not sure of his full name but his first name is Ty.

Then it was back to the hotel to get all our gear ready for the race and get some sleep! I think we actually got to bed about 9pm which would be like 7pm in Utah. I was worried I would wake up at midnight or something and be up all night but both Kim and I slept soundly clear until the alarm went off around 5:30am.

Got our gear ready, had a quick breakfast (yogurt, granola, banana I think), then hopped on the hotel bus to the Commons to get in the long lines to load the busses to the starting line. We were in line for quite a while maybe an hour but it went by quickly as we had some great chit-chat with the 2 ladies behind us in line. Weather was little chilly still but just about perfect for a 10am race. 

The bus-ride to Hopkinton seemed to take forever but we still arrived with plenty time to kill before our wave 3 race start at 10:40. We mostly passed the time doing what any seasoned runner would do which is stand in port-a-potty lines :) Also we found time to grab a marker and give ourselves some temporary tattoos in hopes of garnering lots of personalized cheers from the spectators!

 Then before we knew it it was time to make the walk to our corral at the starting line, wait for the horn sound and we were off! Quite the sight to see the road ahead and behind us filled with runners of all sorts creating a rainbow of color all moving in the same direction toward our far-off destination 26.2 miles down the road. 

OK so I guess now the actually race report begins!

Miles 1-12: I can't remember any particular memory that stands out during these first dozen miles. Just Kim and I, having a great time, taking it easy and soaking in the whole experience. So fun to go through these smaller towns in this part of Mass and be so warmly received by the towns-folk. There were a few sections of the race with not so many spectators but once you get into these townships the streets were lined with the most enthusiastic spectators you've ever seen.  

Also quite a few bands (mostly of the 'rock' variety but also some of the 'brassy' variety) playing along the way. Spent plenty of time giving high & low 5's to the folks lining the street especially when they were 10 years old and under. Just a lot of fun-fun-fun during these miles.

I also ate more stuff during this race than any other race I have ever done. And that's with not having a single GU! So many folks handing out stuff it was hard to say no especially to the kids.  

Let's see if I can remember everything I ate along the way..... bananas, oranges, licorice, jolly-ranchers, starbursts, baby-ruth, chocolate-chip cookie, fig newtons and otter pops. There were probably other things that I'm forgetting. I was also offered a hamburger and beer but I resisted :)

Somewhere during this part of the race we ran into these nicely dressed familiar faces. And the great thing is they were cheering for Kim! 

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Miles 13-16: Much of this is through the town Wellesley and the famous Wellesley College women. For some reason this section of the race is known for being a favorite for the guy runners :) 

Here is some video showing the entire stretch of the race past Wellesley College. Yes I did steal a few kisses but only on the hand and cheek and of course with Kim's permission :)

I really enjoyed this section of the race, and not just because of the Wellesley women. I just felt like the crowds of spectators throughout the entire township of Wellesley were amazing and bursting of energy and enthusiasm that transferred to us runners and provided a real boost.

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Miles 16-20: During this section of the race we get to deal with the infamous Newton Hills. These are a set of 4 main hills (seemed like there were a couple more than that to me) with the last hill being the one referred to as "Heartbreak Hill". It's not that these hills are really all that nasty, especially compared to what we have in Utah. But it's just that they come at a time of the race when you're prone to hit the wall anyway and the fact that there are multiple hills to deal with can really mess with a runner mentally and physically.

Thankfully since Kim and I were taking it easy with our pacing we didn't have to face any "heartbreak" although during this section I did feel more tired and wanting to be done more than at any other time in the race except for maybe mile 25. 

But like everywhere else the spectators were amazing and always kept us going. We made it a point to not walk up any of the hills but save any walking to only while drinking through the water stops. We came across a few more kind spectators who were cheering just for us.

Sorry for getting my finger in the picture Kim!

Also during this time we took some time to think about Kim's brother Kevin who passed away unexpectedly last month. We wanted to dedicate some of this race to him and these miles gave us a good chance to focus on that. We also ran into another Kevin running the race and had a chance to tell him a bit about our Kevin and what an awesome life he lived.

Miles 20-23: I'm not sure who decided to build Boston College at the top of Heartbreak Hill around mile 20, but whoever did it was a GENIUS!

Unfortunately just before this point of the race Kim's phone/camera ran out of battery and died. I suppose all that time we spent taking video at Wellesley used up a lot of juice.

Too bad too because these miles were the high-point of the race for me and I think Kim too and it would be so great to have some pics and video. I gotta admit that although the Wellesley girls at mile 13 seem to get more attention, the boys & girls of BC were the most amazing, enthusiastic, energetic spectators I have ever seen anywhere in my life!

Kim and I found ourselves along the right side of the road being completely drawn up into an incredible running euphoria as we ran by these students. Talk about a MEGA-ENERGY-RUSH!!  

Running along and slapping all these kids on the hands and hearing them scream our names along with words of encouragement was truly one of the most incredible running experiences of my life. Is this what it's like to be a rock star! I'm getting big chills and goose bumps as I think and write about it. 

Kim and I got so pumped up after this I'm sure miles 20-23 were easily our fastest miles of the race.

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Miles 23-25.5:  Somewhere around our mile 23 is where the unthinkable happened. As you might imagine by the time we finally figured out what was going on our running euphoria we had picked up at mile 20 came crashing down and turned into running confusion, chaos, and eventually great sadness mixed with anger.

The first clue we got that something was going on was somewhere during mile 23 or 24. We could hear another runner in front of us saying something about "explosions" and "..but I want to finish..." and that's about it. We didn't think too much of it, our first thought was that maybe something was going on with someone in this runner's family at their work or something.

But then we started noticing something a little different with the spectators and with the policemen who were along the course every so often the entire route. Lots of people talking on their phones with concerned looks on their faces. The whole vibe of the race had changed and the atmosphere just felt uneasy.

Then another runner who had been talking on her cell phone told us the news that 2 bombs had gone off near the finish. But at that time her and a few others we talked had been told that the damage was minor and nobody was hurt. So my initial thought was that maybe some prankster had just lit off some M80's or something but nothing serious. But later when we saw a 1/2 dozen or some ambulances go racing down the other side of the street we realized it was a lot worse. 

We ran mile 25 with this uneasiness in the air, then 2 or 3 blocks after we had passed the sign that said "1 mile to go" (on Commonwealth Ave. just before Mass. Ave) we could see a lot of runners stopped and looking confused along with spectators and local residents. At this point there was nobody with a bullhorn or otherwise appearing to be in charge telling us what we should do. Obviously the folks that might have been in that position had their hands full dealing with the chaos a few blocks down the road. 

So what you had were a few folks who sort of knew what was going on waving their arms and yelling for the runners to stop and letting us know the race was cancelled at that point. About another block away at Mass. Ave. it turns out is where the official police-line began where nobody was being allowed to pass that point.

Very confusing and chaotic for quite a while. Nobody really knew what was going on or what we should do next. Kim's cell phone was dead but it wouldn't have mattered since at that time they had shut down all cell towers in the area to prevent anyone from possibly detonating another bomb using their phone. So even though a few people were offering their phones to us so we could call home to let our families know we were safe, we were unable to contact anyone for quite a while.

Also all the metro trains and buses had been shut down so we couldn't really go anywhere. For probably close to an hour we just kind of wandered around the grassy area located down the middle of Commonwealth Ave. waiting for instructions on what we should all do.  

During this time runners kept pouring into the area so soon we probably had a few thousand runners, all at 25.5 miles into the race, tired, hungry, thirsty, and starting to get cold as the clouds had come in and the wind was blowing pretty hard. 

Here is a pic showing the area around that time. We didn't take this pic but I pulled it off the web just to help show what things looked like.

Memories that stand out to me during this time include the following.....

As I mentioned it was quite confusing and chaotic at the spot where we had to stop. Many runners had no clue what was going on, and at 25.5 miles into a marathon a lot of times your brain isn't quite working right and all you're focused on is getting to the end so to be abruptly told you have to stop is pretty hard to digest.

One 70+ yr old runner had no idea what was going on and came running toward where we had stopped and was trying to tell people to "get out of the way, don't you know there is a race going on!?". After we explained to him what had happened he just broke down with some of the saddest tears you could ever see. He was so sad that someone would bomb a race and also just sad he had to stop.

Then he explained why he was so sad. He pulled out of his pocket a small bag of ashes and told us they were part of the ashes of his old running buddy who he had run many Boston marathons with. He was carrying a few bags of his ashes and had dedicated the race to him. He had given 1 bag of ashes to the girls at Wellesley College and told them to sprinkle them over the grass of the campus. Then at the top of Heartbreak Hill he had sprinkled another bag of ashes. I think he had done similarly at other spots during the race. The last bag of ashes he had saved to sprinkle at the finish line and he was heartbroken he wouldn't get the chance to do it. But I suspect when things settle down and people are allowed back in that area he'll make his way to the finish line area and finish his task.

The other thing that stands out during this time is when the angels came to help us. By us I mean all the runners who had to stop 1/2 mile from the finish. By angels I mean the unselfish people that lived in that area. As I mentioned earlier we had a large group of exhausted runners, many in dire need of something to drink and many starting to shiver in the cold wind. Kim and I were starting to get pretty thirsty ourselves and had started to shiver. We decided to move towards where the largest grouping of runners were with the idea that it would be warmer where we could all huddle together.

Then out of the nowhere we see a lady walking around handing out trash bags and who promptly gave us each a bag. We were just so grateful to her for doing that, it didn't make us balmy warm but it stopped the shivering and felt like a fur coat at the time. As she ran out of bags and left to find some more, another guy shows up with bottles of water and starts handing them out. He claimed he had stole them from a nearby store, I have no idea where they actually came from but whatever the case we were just so thankful for the hydration.

More and more people who lived in the area kept showing up and bringing more garbage bags, jackets, water, food, etc. Whatever they had handy they stepped in and took care of all of us. These angels gave us whatever they could, with no thought of anything in return and many of them basically gave away all the blankets and jackets they had in their homes.

Just an amazing thing to see all the goodness from the residents of Boston amid the terrible tragedy occurring a few blocks down the street.

After a while the city send a few metro buses over to our area and parked them there for us to sit in and stay warm. Finally someone was able to find a bull-horn and give us some idea what to do. They wanted to take us to a larger open area so people could more easily find their families. We figured out then that we were close enough to our hotel (about 1.5-2 miles away) that we could walk there. And since the area they were going to take us to was further away and we didn't have any family to meet we decided to do it.

Everyone was so nice to us as we made our trek across the bridge over the Charles River and along the riverside to the hotel in Cambridge. Even the 3 or 4 girls from BU who were drunk as skunks and barely able to walk.

Finally made it to the hotel and did what everyone else was doing and sat glued to the TV watching the news and horrific pics and video coverage of the blasts. With much of the city being shutdown and having been told to avoid congregating anywhere in large groups we were all stuck having to eat at the hotel. The hotel wasn't really equipped or staffed for that kind of crowd so it ended up being almost 9pm before we got anything to eat.

A small price to pay really considering all the suffering that was occurring at that time among the victims of the blast and their families. We were glad we had eaten all that stuff during the race it helped tide us over but by 9pm we were pretty hungry and we snarfed down our hamburgers and fries pretty ravenously.

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Tuesday:

We received an email either late Monday night or Tuesday morning letting us know where we could go to pick up our clothing bags that we had no way to pick up on Monday. So Kim and I headed out in the morning to catch the train (they were running again by that time, other than no stops were allowed at Copley Station nearest ground zero).

Quite the scene as we came up out of the subway onto the street. Media people everywhere especially around the edge of Boston Commons. Also police, swat, National Guard and other law enforcement type personnel everywhere along with armored vehicles.

We made our way to the area where they had our clothing bags and were surprised and happy they also handed us our finisher medals. Lots of media in this area as well and we ended up being interviewed a couple of times, once by some Dutch news outlet and I'm not sure what the other one was.

It was kind of eerie to look down Boylston street and see it pretty much devoid of any people but still untouched in many ways with all the garbage and debris from the race still there. All the other streets outside the ground-zero area had been completely cleaned and showed no sign of the race.

Later that day we were able to do a lot of walking around the city including the Freedom Trail. What a great experience, not just seeing the historic areas of town but seeing the outpouring of love and concern from the Boston residents. We were stopped by so many different people (us marathoners were easy to spot with our blue & yellow BM shirts and jackets) and asked how we were doing and seeing how sad but resolute these bostonians were/are about everything. 

So many of the people we talked to were so concerned that everyone outside Boston now has a bad impression of the city and we won't come back again. We let them know how much we loved our experience with the people of the city and how we look forward to coming back - hopefully in 2014!

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Finally made it home late Wednesday night. Always good to get home and back to Family.

Just finished posting the longest race report in the history of the world so I'll keep this one short and sweet.

So it looks like nice folks over the SL Marathon have offered us a complimentary entry to run the race tomorrow. I think we are going to do it! Just gonna be nice and slow maybe 5 hours.

Probably shouldn't have run this morning but wasn't planning on going another 26.2 tomorrow. I think we'll be just fine. Looking forward to running it in our BM shirts. 

I know that impulse shopping can sometimes be bad. Hoping that impulse marathoning doesn't work the same way. Yesterday Kim and I decided on a whim that we needed to run the SLC Marathon today and run in support of the Boston Marathon and city of Boston in general. We also looked forward actually being able to cross a finish line since we didn't get that chance at Boston.

We first planned on running it very nice & easy like we did Boston or even slower, but after we learned that RAD and some other BM finishers were going to run 4:09:43 (the time when when the first bomb exploded) and pause just before the finish for a moment of silence and to pay tribute to the victims, we knew we at least had to give it a shot and run with that group for as long as the legs held out.

Although both of us are capable of running a 4:09-4:10 marathon, Kim hadn't really trained for this and we knew it may not be so smart to push it in this race after just having run BM (or at least 25.5 miles worth of it) just a few days ago. So plan was to just see how it went but to back off at the first signs of trouble. 

We lasted around 20 miles then Kim's back started giving her some serious trouble along with a bout of dizziness we decided it was best to take it easy the last 10K. Kim was willing to let me go ahead with the group but I really wanted to cross the finish line with her since we didn't get that chance at Boston. 

We were still able to get in around 4:17-4:18 and Kim even placed 4th in AD so I was very proud of her. Had a good hug at the finish, along with some tears after coming to the end of the race and the end a very emotional week. All in all it was a great experience and I'm glad we did it, although I wouldn't recommend for anyone to normally run marathons on Monday and Saturday of the same week.

It rained most of the time before, during, and after the race so we got pretty soggy and cold after the finish.  Good to get back home for a hot shower and looking forward to 26.2 hours of sleep after a very crazy week.

Taking it kinda easy this week. Went to the gym at work just before lunch for 30 min XT + core. Also went for a walk with Kim and Rui in the evening. Legs feel pretty good.

Five nice & easy miles just before lunch on a sunny but kinda nippy day. Also went for a walk with Kim and Rui in the evening.

AM: Easy 6 miler on a nippy but nice morning. Legs feeling good.

PM: 30 min XT + core at the gym at work. Also walked a mile or so with Kim and Rui in the evening. 

Seven miles just before lunch on a near perfect weather running day. Also walked for a mile or so in the evening.

Six miles in the early morning. Also walked for 1 or 2 miles in the sun in the afternoon.

AM: 7 miles on a nice spring morning.

PM: 30 min XT + core at the gym. 

Went out just before lunch and did river bottoms loop up the trail and around the golf course. Very nice day even with a bit of breeze. Did 8 strides along the way.

8:14 

AM: Seven easy miles on a brisk morning. 8:44

PM: 30 min XT + core at the gym. 

Went out just before lunch. Around 45 degrees with a bit of wind but lots of sunshine made it pretty dandy for a run.

8:26 

Nice 6 miler mostly with Kimi in the mid-morning hours.

We just finished a big project at work and my boss sent all of us on the project an email telling us that beginning yesterday after lunch we were required to not show up at work until next Tuesday but still get paid. Unexpected 4 1/2 day weekends are nice. I like my boss.

Nice morning. A bitty nippy and windy starting out but near perfect after the sun came out. Ran about half the way with Kimi and Alan and the rest solo. Felt pretty good.

8:54 

Since I have the day off work I decided to sleep in and go out later in the morning and go a little further distance. Weather was great much nicer than in the afternoon. Did 8 strides along the way.

8:06

AM: Just your regular ol' morning run. 8:35

PM: XT 30 min + core at the gym 

AM: Another nice 7 miler in the early morning. 

8:31 

PM: 30 min XT 

Nice run in the sun around 10am. Gotta love May in Utah!

8:07/155 

AM: Six miles easy about 3 or so with Kimi.

PM: 30 min XT at the gym. 

Nice morning long run. Canyon wind was pretty nasty starting out but overall the weather was dandy. Ran with larger group for a while then last half ran mostly with Chad and Dan.

8:18 

AM: Easy 7 miles. 8:31

PM: 30 min XT + core 

Got out just about the time the sun came out. Nice temps probably around 55-65 with just enough clouds and wind to keep it from feeling overly warm. Did 10 strides along the way.

7:49/166 

AM: Easy 7 miles. I'm really liking the way I'm feeling on these runs lately, legs feel good and everything is quite enjoyable. Nice to be in short sleeves in the early morning.

8:30 

8:17

Got in 6 miles early in the morning on one of those rare SF days where there was pretty much no wind. Later went to the gym for 30 min XT.

8:37 

Nice morning for a long run even if it did rain a bit off & on. Ran with Kim and the guys a few miles then parted ways with Hal and Pat halfway up Harry's hill and did the last 7 miles or so solo. Glad to see that 7:45-8:00 pace is starting to feel more comfortable the last week or so.

8:20 

Got out early for 7 miles much of it in the rain. I was pretty soaked by the end. 

8:27

Later got to the gym for 30 min XT + core. 

Nice run in the sun around 10am. I was feeling pretty good so in addition to 10 strides I did some MP miles.

7:40/160 

AM: Easy recovery 7-miler. 8:42

PM: 30 min XT + core at the gym. 

Dandy 8 miler around 9:30am on a near perfect weather morning.

8:14/150 

Nice easy 6 with Kim in the morning. Happy 19th Birthday to Jansen!

9:09 

Nice long run on a beautiful morning. Lots of runners out today it was great to see everyone. Ran with a variety of folks for 10 or 11 miles then did some solo miles. 

Headed to Ephraim/Manti now for the Scandinavian Festival and also for my 30 year HS class reunion. Has it really been 30 years? Dang!

8:26 

Man what a lovely morning for a run, hard to beat Utah in May. Ran mostly around the river bottoms with Kimi and 4 or 5 miles with Carl G.

8:42 

Ran in St George in the early morning but still a bit warm around 70 degrees. Did 10 or so strides along the way.

8:05 

Nice 8-miler in the morning, 3 miles with Kim and the rest solo.

8:40 

Nice 8-miler in the morning then 30 min XT + core later at the gym.

8:14 

Easy 6-miler in the morning, then later to the gym for 30 min XT. So looks like this was my first 200+ mile month since last September.

8:34 

Nice long run to start a new month. Ran mostly with Kimi with a few cameo segments with various other runners. Not as many runners out today, probably a lot of them ran Nestle 5K today.

Glad that my body seems to be doing well after 4 or 5 weeks of what for me is pretty high mileage. We'll be on vacation next week so good opportunity to take a breather and back off the miles. 

8:44 

Great weather this morning. Travel day tomorrow so got in a few extra miles. Ran 9 miles this morning probably 4 or 5 with Kim, felt pretty good so did a couple MP miles while I tried to catch Kim towards the end when she was up ahead of me. 

8:21

Just before lunch got in 3 more treadmill miles instead of the usual 30 min XT. 

Six miles with Kimi in Florida. A bit sluggish from the jet lag factor and definitely not used to the humidity! Also walked a ton around Universal's islands of adventure.

More humidity miles. Rained lightly throughout the run and sorta felt like I had a hangover. Did 10 strides to try and wake up the legs with limited success.

8:19 

Not much of a long run at 8 miles but I'll tell you it felt like 80 miles! Between the mega-humidity, heat and amusement park hangover it took everything I had just to finish the 8 and that's with walking breaks and 9-9:30 pace. Quite the death march!

Glad to be in Georgia the next few days where the humidity seems much less and our beautiful surroundings are just begging us to go for a run.

Much nicer run today than any of the Orlando runs. We're in Georgia now staying with some good friends who used to live near us in Utah before they moved just north of Atlanta a few years back. They live in a gorgeous area with lots of green and trees and rolling hills.

Kim and I ran mostly in a park area near their home that has a beautiful 2.2 mile loop paved trail around a lake in a mostly wooded area. Still fairly humid but much more bearable here and cooler as well. Overcast day that kept threatening to rain but never actually did much. Now we're off to Stone Mountain for the day! 

Another nice Georgia morning run.

Our final run in Georgia this morning. We have really enjoyed our stay here and the southern hospitality that had been shown us especially by our friends and hosts the Clarks. Heading home tonight on a late flight hopefully all goes well.

Did some faster miles today and 10 or 11 strides. Felt pretty good for 4 miles or so then the heat and humidity punched me in the face! It will be nice to get back to our Utah cool and dry mornings.

7:49 

Back in Utah. Normally I would probably complain about a morning Utah run of around 70 degrees with a touch of humidity, but compared to the heat and heavy duty humid conditions of Florida & Georgia the past week, it felt heavenly to run and not be completely soaking wet with sweat at the end. I even added on an extra mile or 2 more than I was originally planning. Utah is certainly a really really nice place to train in the summer time in the early morning hours.

8:22 

Nice Friday easy run. Started with Kim and did one of our regular river bottom loops. Quite a bit cooler this morning than yesterday but very little wind and about as perfect as could be for a morning run. Later went to the gym for 30 min XT.

8:30 

Had a dandy long run on a beautiful sunny 50-55 degree morning. Started out with the gang but all the guys that run my pace were MIA or recovering from UVM so I ran a lot of solo miles. Which was still ok-dokey since I was feeling hunky-dory.

8:16 

8:25

Did a 4 mile tempo run in the middle of this run. I cheated and worked it so most my tempo miles had all the downhill and tailwind sections of the run. Splits were 6:56, 7:03, 6:48, 6:47.

7 miler in the early morning. 8:11

Also 30 min XT at the gym.

8:14

Six mile easy run in the morning. Also got to the gym before lunch for 30 min XT

8:21

Plan was for 16-18 today but I ended up with 18.5 plus probably another mile of walking. Feeling a bit pooped and didn't have the zip I had last Saturday. Oh well guess you can't feel super every day. Ran mostly with Chad and Kim (x2) and Ludlow with a few solo miles.

8:36 

Nice early morning run. Legs felt pretty good after the 18.5 on Saturday. Later went to the gym for 30 min XT + core.

8:12 

Did a hill workout with Kimi. These workouts are always tough especially if you haven't been doing hills much. Managed to get 8 repeats and felt pretty worn out by the end. Should have packed some water. 

8:08 

Nice early morning run. Legs felt pretty perky despite the hill repeats yesterday. Later went to the gym for 30 min XT + core.

8:00 

8:13 Starting to get a little on the warm side in the mornings.

Six relaxed miles in the early morning. Also did 30 min XT + core at the gym.

8:41 

A bit warmish this morning and nobody else showed up to run when Kim and I first started out. Later we found Todd down in the river bottoms and he joined in for some miles, mostly with Kim. I was feeling zippy today so I ended up doing a lot of solo miles including 4 MP miles.

8:00 

Normally we do our tempo/speed work on Tuesday or Wednesday but since we'll be in St. George most of the week and the temps never get below 80 we figured we'd get the fast stuff out of the way with our 70 degree temps in SF.

Plan was for 4 or 5 x 1 mile repeats with .25 walk/jog recovery. Decided it'd be easiest just to do this workout at the track. A bit breezy and still plenty warm around 70-75 degrees but I felt better than I expected. All miles were in the 6:45-7:00 pace range. 

Got up bright & early to beat the heat in St George on only 4-5 hours sleep after going to see Mary Poppins at Tuacahn last night (it was great!). Around 82 degrees when we left the condo but I didn't think it felt too bad. Maybe all that hot, muggy running we did in Florida/Georgia in June made us heat warriors! Just took it nice & easy after the hard workout yesterday. Now we're ready for the 112 degree forecast high for today! 

Pretty much a repeat of yesterday but I was dragging even more today. Not much gas in the tank. I think it was a bit warmer today than yesterday.

Last day in St George and hopefully the last 85 degree run for a while. We saw a family of quail and a road runner (the bird variety) during the run.

Nice long run today. Overcast and a bit windy with a few sprinkles or rain made for a good running weather. Ran mostly with Chad, Hal, Clay and Pat and had an enjoyable time. Took me about 9 miles just to get warmed up and in the groove but felt pretty good the last half of the run and even got in about 3 miles at MP and felt like I could have gone further. Also probably walked another mile or so.

8:25 

Easy 8-miler in the early morning. Later went to the gym for 30 min XT + core.

8:27 

Did a hill workout similar to what we did a couple of weeks ago. These workouts are always tough but it did seem a bit easier to me than last time. Did 8 repeats like last time but did them a bit faster.

8:05 

Eight in the morning on a breezy smoky day. Later went to the gym for 30 min XT + core.

8:19

Another 8-mile morning. Felt a bit sluggish today for some reason maybe cuz it was warmer than the last few days and a bit muggy.

8:27 

Got in 5 in the morning just before the rain started to pour, looks like Kim wasn't so lucky. Also went to the gym for 30 min XT.

Did some faster miles today. After 4 mile warmup did 6 mile tempo run with 3 mile cool-down. Cheated a little bit and ran net downhill but mostly flat the last 3 or 4 miles. Warmer and more humid than I would have preferred and I think I got a bit dehydrated. The 3 mile cool-down was a death march. I was hoping this run was going to be easier than it ended up being.

Tempo mile splits: 7:09, 7:12, 7:16, 7:13, 7:12, 7:05. Ave 7:11 

Nice 7-miler in the early morning. Then to the gym before lunch for 30 min XT + core.

8:24 

Morning 8 miler. Did some faster stuff but nothing structured (can you say 'fartlek'?!). Did a few strides, fast on the downhills, power up the hills, and had a few miles in the middle that ended up with pace in the MP range.

7:47 

Easy 7 miler in the morning. I wasn't loving the warmer more humid conditions. Later went to the gym for 30 min XT + core.

8:27 

First run of the summer down Payson canyon. We had a pretty good sized group and I enjoyed the run it's been a long time since we've done this. Ran mostly with Alan and Roman. Tried to take it pretty easy, this can be a risky run if you're not careful.

7:35 

Six very easy miles in the morning. Quads a bit sore from the canyon downhill run yesterday. Later to the gym for 25 min XT.

8:57 

Had a good size group of runners turn out this morning, always helps to make the long runs go better. My legs especially quads are still beat up from the Payson canyon run so I kept the pace nice & easy. Even so the last couple of miles were kind of a death march. Very glad to be done. Now our family gets to go clean the church.

8:50 

Seven easy miles in the early morning. I was dragging a bit didn't sleep so well last night so I decided to drop the last mile and do 7 instead of the planned 8. Later got to the gym for 30 min XT + core.

8:38 

Had some Yasso 800's on the agenda today. Trying to get some idea what kind of marathon shape I'm in. Didn't have high hopes for this workout between all the crud I've eaten the last few days and the warmer temps. But surprisingly things went pretty well, felt like I could have done the 10 repeats quicker or run a few more.

So I figure for a flat marathon I could currently run somewhere in the 3:20-3:30 range (hrs:min) so that was my min:sec target for the Yassos. Hoping I can get that down to 3:10-3:20 before SGM.

I tend to go out too fast when I do Yassos so I forced myself to be cautious on the first 5 and just focused on keeping my pace below 7 min/mi.

Repeat (Recovery) times were as follows: 3:26 (3:24), 3:26 (3:14), 3:24 (3:21), 3:25 (3:17), 3:22 (3:19), 3:23 (3:15), 3:20 (3:15), 3:17 (3:13), 3:15 (3:15), 3:12.

Ave: 3:21

So good news is my average was at the fast end of the range I was shooting for. I'll do this workout at least one more a few weeks before the marathon and shoot for 3:10-3:20. I'm hoping this puts me in good position to run sub-3:10 and PR at SGM. 

Easy recovery run today. Ran up to the park to start line area of Speedy Spaniard to check things out. Nice to see lots of running club singlets everywhere.  Later at work went to the gym for 30 min XT + core.

Nice run down Payson Canyon. Went a bit further and faster this time.

7:13 

Took it easy on the morning run, legs still not quite acclimated to the downhill running. Thought of going to the gym before lunch for some XT but decided to go for a walk instead.

A bit warm & muggy starting out this morning but later the clouds seemed to keep it cooler after the sun came out. It even sprinkled a tiny bit wish it would have done more. Ran with a bunch of people but finished out the last half mostly with Hal. Got in a few faster miles in the middle.

8:35 

Nice morning run, a bit cooler than we've had for a while. Later went to the gym for 30 min XT + core.

8:28 

Speed day: 4 or 5 x 1 mile repeats, goal pace sub-6:45. Always hard to wake up early and warm up to the idea of running fast. But too darn hot this time of year to do tempo runs after sunrise. Kim and I drove down to the bottoms and warmed up 2 miles into the canyon winds so that we could have a nice tailwind and some downhill to start out the repeats.

Ended up going a little better than I was expecting and I was able to resist the urge to quit after 4 and add 1 more. But certainly wasn't easy. Did 3-4 minutes of jog/walk in between repeats.

Split info (first 2 or 3 miles had nice tailwind and a bit of downhill, after that it was mostly flat with not much wind): 6:31, 6:28, 6:26, 6:34, 6:28. 

Nice relaxed morning run 8 miles. Legs felt surprisingly fresh after the speed workout on Tuesday but I kept the pace very easy in hopes of making Thursday's planned 20+ miler go as well as possible on not much sleep. Later at work I also walked a couple of miles.

8:48 

Won't be able to do the long run on Saturday so decided to do the Payson canyon run and just run home since it ends up being 20 miles. Went to the awesome Rush concert last night so wasn't sure how things would turn out standing for 3 hours at the concert then sleeping for not much more than 3 hours then running for 3 hours.

But the run actually went pretty well. Got a little overheated and worn out the last couple of miles but feel OK about things especially after having a nice nap afterward (thankfully I only work 1/2 day today).  With a little bit of backtracking along the way to meet back with Kim and Stephen I ended up with 22 miles. Just hope & pray I don't get sick which usually only ever happens when I push my luck with not getting enough sleep.

8:15 

Wasn't sure how the legs would feel after yesterday so I was thinking I might only run 4-5 miles but I was feeling surprisingly good so I got in 8 albeit at a very relaxed pace.

8:55 

In St George for the week. I was quite happy about a couple of things today compared to when we were here a month ago: 1) It felt much cooler & 2) The sun comes up later so we get to sleep longer without paying for it by baking in the sun. Easy run for me but Kim made me work a bit while I paced her on some 1.5 mile repeats. 

8:24 

My turn for some tempo miles. A bit warmer today than yesterday but not too bad. Plan was for 3-4 x 1.5 miles with 4 min rest/recovery in between. I felt OK for 3 but decided to only go .75 for #4.  Pace stayed in the 6:40-6:55 range.

Easy run on the bunny trail. However there were no bunnies out today.

Quite cool out this morning here in St George it felt quite nice actually.

8:18 

Five miles easy with the lovely Kimberly. Looking forward to a 20-miler tomorrow with the St George running crew. Getting up at 4am is always fun!

Joined in with the St George gang for a dandy long run starting at Veyo (the town not the hill) and heading down through Gunlock and ending up at Ivins. The weather was just about as perfect as you could hope for in August in St George. Nice & cool (60's?) at the start and then clouds towards the end to keep the sun from baking you too bad.

I felt really good for most of this run, although I didn't love the hills at the end coming up into Ivins.

8:09 

Six miles in the early morning. Plan on reducing the miles a bit this week to recover from the string of higher mileage weeks as of late and also to hopefully help the legs have a bit more zip for Hobble Creek on Saturday.

Also got to the gym before lunch for 30 min XT. 

8:28 

Warmed up with Kim 2 miles straight into the stiff canyon winds. But the reward was that we got to do the 2 x 2 mile tempo run with a nice tailwind. I know this is cheating a little but sure makes the fast miles funner (and faster!).

Interval 1 mile splits: 6:39, 6:41 (1/2 mile jog recovery)

Interval 2: 6:35, 6:26 

Easy 7-miler in the early morning. Also got to the gym for 30 min XT + core.

8:23 

8:35

Easy 3 in the morning then later 30 min XT at the gym. Not sure what to expect at Hobble tomorrow. I've had pretty good training the last few weeks but the extra 5 lbs of flab I'm carrying around could be a problem.

8:22 

Wasn't sure what to expect today. I knew even if we started on time (7:15 but that rarely happens with this race but we actually did start about 7:20 hooray!) it would be pretty warm the last 4 miles or so. I typically wilt big time in the heat and sometimes cramp up.

But today things went relatively well and I'm happy with the time. Looks like I haven't been able to break 1:30 in a HM since clear back in 2009 (Provo River). Didn't realize it was that long ago so I'm pleased. I've had some massive crash-and-burn at this race in the past and I knew that could likely happen once the temps got above 70 and the trail rollers started around mile 9.

Turns out I did crash-and-burn a bit the last 3-4 miles, but I had enough cushion I was still able to barely squeak in under 1:30. I was measuring all the miles short and only clocked the race at 12.95 miles on the garmin, but it seemed to be the identical route as the last few years so I suppose it's close to accurate. Kim also did well even though she stopped for a while to help a runner on the verge of heat exhaustion/stroke. Good for her.

Mile-by-mile breakdown:

1 - 6:44 It was a madhouse as usual at the start having to weave in-and-out of runners. This year there seemed to be a LOT of slower runners crowding the front of the starting line. I was surprised I came in at 6:44 and that the mile marker measured nearly .1 miles short.

2 - 6:49 Still pretty cool temps and nice downhill the next few miles. Wishing it would stay this way the entire race.

3 - 6:42

4 - 6:35 Feeling good and hoping it will last for a while yet...

5 - 6:37

6 - 6:48

7 - 6:57 The uphill coming out of the south/right fork is always unwelcome, but didn't seem as bad as other years. Just hoping I can hold the sub-7 pace for a few more miles then hang on for dear life to the finish. 

8 - 6:50 Sun is now bearing down on us and temps starting to rise. This was the last 'fun' mile of the race.

9 - 6:59 I always seem to start hating life in this race once you hit the trail and the rolling hills. Still net downhill but the rollers and the heat start to mess with your head. Starting to really want to be done and dreading that I still have 4 miles+ left to go.

10 - 7:12 Starting to have thoughts of quitting, but just try to take 1 mile at a time and not think any further than that. Nice to get off the trail and back on the roads but there is still one more very annoying hill during either this mile or the next.

11 - 7:16 Ugh. Not having fun. Death march time.

12 - 7:28 Double Ugh. Really not having fun.

13 - 6:52 (actual garmin pace says 7:14)

So nice to get DONE! I was feeling pretty hammered and dizzy for a while after I finished and had a hard time eating/drinking anything. Thankfully the feeling went away after a while and I'm actually feeling pretty dandy right now. Thankful for all downhill training the last month or so.

So in theory this predicts around a 3:10 St George. Hopefully that will be the case and I can get me a lifetime marathon PR in October! 

Went nice and easy this morning 8 miles since my legs a still a bit tender from the race. Also got to the gym before lunch for 30 min XT + core.

8:52