Running on Twinkies

Jupiter Peak Steeplechase

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Location:

Bountiful,UT,USA

Member Since:

Jan 24, 2009

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Other

Running Accomplishments:

Winner of 1994 Teton Dam Half Marathon, 1:25:01.

Best Marathon: 3:23:40. (Deseret News 2006).

Completed Utah Grand Slam (2006).

Completed 8 Marathons in 1 year, the last four were each two weeks apart.

Marathons to date: 25.

Short-Term Running Goals:

Stay Healthy

Sub 3:15 Marathon

Train consistently

Finish in the top 10% at all races 

Long-Term Running Goals:

Sub 3 hr marathon

Complete a 100 miler

1st Overall at any race

 

 

Personal:

Hi, my name is Matt and I love to run! I especially enjoy trail running. I am married to Susie and we have six children Connor-10, Jed-8, Jaxine-7, Evan-4, Eliza-2, and Susanna-0. Look for me at your next race, I wear the same bright yellow Twinkies shirt at all my races.

Favorite Course: Mid-Mountain Marathon, Park City, Utah

Favorite Blogs:

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
83.5911.353.000.0097.94
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.530.000.000.0010.53

Where were you at 6 a.m.?

I was out on the Wahsatch Steeplechase course. I didn't run the whole course, just some of the fun parts. It should be good training for the Jupiter Peak Steeplechase next Saturday. I started and the Bonneville Shoreline Trailhead in City Creek Canyon and headed up to the base of Black Mountain. I turned around when it got to the nasty steep section and head back down the same way I had come up. It was a great morning for a run.

Comments(3)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.810.000.000.006.81

I haven't been running this week because my knees have been bothering me. I was starting to wonder if I would still be able to race on Saturday at the Jupiter Peak Steeplechase. Today my knees felt good enough that I was able to get a run in on the Mueller Park Trail. 

 I ran the Jupiter Peak Steeplechase in 2006 and came in at a time of 2:30. I think I was in better shape at the time. This year I may have to treat it as more of a training run, but we'll see how it goes. The weather for the weekend is looking great, so regardless it should be a fun run.

Comments(1)
Race: Jupiter Peak Steeplechase (16 Miles) 02:33:21, Place overall: 39, Place in age division: 14
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
9.504.453.000.0016.95

Today I ran the Jupiter Peak Steeplechase in Park City. I finished in 2:33:21, 39th overall, and 14 in my age group. I am happy with the results. This was the second time I have run this race, I ran it in 2006. This race has gotten much more competitive since the last time I ran it. In 2006 I finished in 2:30, 15th overall, 7 in my age group, and I didn't get chicked. This year 5 women beat me to the finish line.

I saw Jon Allen before the race and wished him luck. I don't think there were any other bloggers at this race. I did a 1.5 mile warmup before the race started.  After a few announcements we were off at a little after 8 a.m. The course starts out heading up a dirt road straight up the ski hill. After a half mile up the road we turn off onto a beautiful single track trail. My first mile was 12:46, that may sound slow, but I was wondering if I had started out too fast.

Just after mile three, something bit my leg. I quickly bushed it off, but I didn't see what it was. I had a stinging pain in my leg for about a half mile, but after that it was fine.

The course continues up and up. I was able to run most of the uphill until we got to the insane section. The final ascent up to Jupiter Peak is a scramble up a very steep hill. I had to walk this part. I looked at my GPS as we were going up and it wasn't sure if I was moving or not. At the top of the peak I touch the flagpole and started to run again. If you look on the Park City Ski Trail Map, the final ascent to Jupiter is a black diamond run. The downhill felt great, but it was short lived. There was a second peak for us to ascend, Tri-counties Peak. I walked a bit going up that hill but it wasn't as bad as Jupiter. Then the real fun started.

The downhill singletrack was a lot of fun. There was a small log on the trail with dirt over it that looked like a jump to me. So I leaped off of it was pulled a big back scratcher and stuck the landing. To bad there wasn't a camera man near by. The girl just behind said "Whoa, nice form!" I was feeling really good on the downhill and started to pour it on. I passed several people on the way down, too many to count.

Towards the end of the race there were a few rolling hills which are really tough after all that downhill. I am happy to report that I stayed strong on the uphills despite the pain. In the last quarter mile I passed two more guys. One of them had a good kick at the end and I couldn't hold him off. I finished strong and I think this has been one of my best races this year.

Here are my splits:
Mile 1 - 12:46
Mile 2 - 12:01
Mile 3 - 11:33
Mile 4 - 9:21     my fastest uphill mile
Mile 5 - 13:27
Mile 6 - 12:47
Mile 7 - 17:53
Mile 8 - 10:36
Mile 9 - 7:45
Mile 10 - 6:37
Mile 11 - 7:03
Mile 12 - 6:27     flying!!
Mile 13 - 6:49
Mile 14 - 7:26
Mile 15 - 7:24
Mile 16 - 7:35

Comments(3)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
2.000.000.000.002.00

Two miles at an easy pace today. I am still recovering from my race on Saturday. The bug bite which I got during the race has gotten worse. I think that it may have been a spider that I brushed out of its web as I ran by. On Sunday I had a two inch area around the bite that had turn a pinkish color. Yesterday is was red and today its purple. The strange thing is that it doesn't hurt. I called my doctor and he recommended to take benadryl and watch for infection. Hopefully it will clear up in the next day or so.

Comments(3)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
9.000.000.000.009.00

First of all, I need to apologize to all my readers for my serious lack of running lately. When I wake up in the morning I have been too sore or too lazy to run. So I plan to run in the evening, but that doesn't seem to happen. I need to get back into the habit of running everyday.

For this run, I was camping at a family reunion in Heise, Idaho. I ran from the campground up the road to Kelly Canyon Ski Resort. That was 3.3 miles, so I decided to run up to the top of the resort. For those who might be familiar with this resort, I ran up a trail on the backside called Moose. This resort is not big and only has 1000 ft of elevation gain from bottom to top. The route I went up was about 1.5 miles. I came down the front side of the mountain which was steep and fast. Then I turn off onto a switch back trail called Rattlesnake. At the bottom, I ran back down the road back to camp. This is now the fourth ski resort that I have ran to the top of. The other three being Grand Targhee, Park City, and Snowbird.

I will be in Maryland all next week for work. Hopefully I can get some runs in while I am there.

Comments(2)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.150.000.000.004.15

I am in Maryland for work this week. I ran along a boardwalk on the coastline and down some of the streets in the town I am staying in. I wish I knew where some trails were to run on around here. Perhaps I will find some before I leave.

Add Comment
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
7.200.000.000.007.20

I found a trail. I asked some of the guys I was working with out here if they knew of any trails. They told me to go to St Mary's Lake. At the lake there was a 7 mile loop trail around it. The trail was great. It had several foot bridges, some rolling hills and lots of winding single track. Running out here is a bit different than running at home since the average elevation for this run was 87 feet.

Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
7.913.500.000.0011.41

Today for my run I decided to check out the exercise gym at the hotel. I got on a large treadmill that had all kinds of bells and whistles, but I couldn't figure out how to get it started. After pushing a few buttons, I got it going. Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith was playing on the TV. I settled in and watched the show. I was enjoying the show and not paying much attention to my running. When the show ended I had ran over 11 miles, 3.5 of which were at a decent pace. Perhaps I should incorporate watching a Star Wars show into my weekly workout.

Comments(4)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
3.090.000.000.003.09

Tonight is my last night in Maryland. Tomorrow night I will be sleepling back home in my own bed. I headed out for own last run. After going only a quarter of a mile a nasty little bug flew into my eye. It stopped me in my tracks. I walked for a little bit and was going to just walk back to the hotel to was it out, but after blinkly my eyes several times I was able to keep running. I only did three miles tonight because I am in unfamiliar territory and it was getting dark.

Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
20.000.000.000.0020.00

Today's run was a learning experience. There is no such thing as a bad run. Sometimes there our those runs that teahc us lessons. I woke at 4:30 a.m. but went back to sleep. It was getting hot by the time I went out to run. I ran on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail to City Creek Canyon and then ran up the canyon. My plan was to run 20 miles, which I did. After running 12.5 miles I started feeling very fatigue. I had not brought any Gu or any other type of fuel with me. I did have water but that was all I had. The night before I had been traveling back from the East Coast and had not eaten any real dinner. I was ready to be done, but the shortest route back to my car was the same way I had come. I kept plugging along. At mile 15.5 I had to go uphill for about 2.5 miles to get out of the canyon. I made up with some walking and running, more walking than running. The last two miles I pushed as best I could to the end. At this point it was about 1 p.m. and was very hot. I completed the distance but not in the time I thought it would take me. 

Lessons Learned:
If I wake up at 4:30 a.m. I should go out for a run while it is still cool.
Take Gu or other types of fuel with me on long runs.
Eat a good dinner the night before a long run. 

Add Comment
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
3.403.400.000.006.80

Mueller Park Trail. I started my run at 5:30 this morning. It was much cooler than my run on Saturday, but it was still dark so I had to use a head light. My uphill miles were a bit slow today, but the downhill felt great and I was able to really pick things up. 

Comments(4)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
83.5911.353.000.0097.94
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