Turn your rut into a groove.

pm--4 New month. New mileage. Went w/ Tom from the Johnson's Arch trailhead up to Scout Cave and back. Twas a nice little trail run w/ a desert tortoise sighting. 

Well, this was a good one for me. I went into not dwelling on it but feeling confident w/ training and being comfortable w/ the course. I was originally shooting for 3:30:00, but a few things happened yesterday that changed that. 1) I decided to go w/ some lighter shoes that I had never run very long in, and 2) a few people convinced me that I was a lot closer to the 3:1x:00s than I thought. So I just went out according to the feel of the body and went w/ that the entire race. It's not that the stars aligned, but it was a better than average day. Here are my splits:

1--8:23

2--8:09

3--8:10

4--7:28

5--7:44

6--7:33

7--7:27

8--8:44 Veyo hill.

9--7:59

10--7:47

11--8:00

12--7:52

13--7:36

14--7:58

15--7:21

16--7:15

17--7:19

18--7:33

19--7:42

20--7:45

21--7:01 Lots of decline.

22--7:33

23--7:27

24--7:12

25--7:55

26--7:45

.2--1:52 (7:15)

I always wondered how people hit those later miles hard. Today, I just never really lost it. I enjoyed virtually every minute of the race. I feel a lot more confident that I have a 3:10:00 in me somewhere. Just need a good year of training to dig it out. Thanks to Cass and Tanner, Dallen and Nate, Some lady from Atlanta, Scott Hughes, and The Beast for the great company.

pm--4 Warm-up and Cool-down w/ the XC kids. Legs are still a little tight.

pm--5 Bombed out on the kids, helping students try to get in their end-of-quarter repentance. But then came home and ran up on the heights. The legs felt better. As of right now, no IT issues. I'll keep stretching and hope to avoid that post-marathon ache. Going to try to get out on the trail  a little tomorrow. 

pm--5.5 Barrel Roll and Sidewinder w/ Tom, talking geology and mysticism and trying to dodge bullets. A lot of people out killing rocks today. Wore my IT brace for safe measure. The body's holding up. 

pm--5 miles w/ the JV kids. Some parts of my body want to have a lingering pain, but, as of now, they don't. 

am--4 morning run w/ neighbor Greg. Did the Albertson's loop.

pm--3.5 Sockless miles in the dirt w/ Tom on the Lower Graveyard Loop.

am--23 Ok, it wasn't a race, but it was an accomplishment, and recording it as a race is my way of bookmarking it for the future. 

We started at the North Rim about 15 after 6 in the morning. The temps were in the high 20s-low 30s. I was wearing shorts, a shirt, and a light running pull-over. It was cold standing there, but I didn't think about the temps for one second after I started running. I had a headlamp on and just went for it down the trail. In the dark, as the dust starts kicking up, you kind of lose some depth perception and have to be very aware of where you're sticking your feet.

About 7 miles down, the trail starts to level off. The running is amazing. I felt great. I passed some campers and hikers, and they cheered me on. I reached Phantom Ranch--14 miles in--in roughly 2:30. Pretty good pace for me on the trails. I had eaten some Gus, a PBJ, and an Endurolyte or 2. I finished off a water bottle, drank about half of my chia fresca, and drank another bottle of water before filling it up again. Then I ran on down to the bridge.

I walked across the bridge because the Colorado is amazing. What a sight this canyon must have been for old one arm. When I hit the other side of the river, I got into the deep sand and ended up logjambed behind a mule train. I followed them at a speedy hike for about 2 miles. They finally pulled over for a view, and I passed. Just in time to hit the Devil's Corkscrew. Now the climbing began. There wasn't much "running" after this. The elevation gain in about 5-6 miles is over 4,000 feet. I did some hard hiking, just trying to keep the legs going. I stopped a few times for Gu and my last PBJ. I finished off the chia fresca and kept going. This is the most soul-crushing part of the trail. I downed a few more Endurolytes going up and kept on trucking. I was passing people, but something inside me was disappointed that I couldn't go faster. To put this part of the trail into perspective, it's like tackling hundreds of stadiums after roughly 18 miles of running. Anyway, I made it without anyone ever passing me--besides the 2 hikers from the Northwest, whom I caught right before the finish--and limped up out of the canyon at 20 after 12--6:05:00 minutes later. I headed straight to the food and got me a hot dog and a soda and sat down to eat before I called my ride.

The rim-to-rim is quite the experience. To date it is the hardest thing, physically, that I have ever done in my life. Don't underestimate the canyon. Nonetheless, one day it would be cool to go rim-to-rim and then head back the way I came. For now I'll leave that up to those with ultra legs.

PS--Crockett's R2R2R report was very interesting to read the night before diving head first into this adventure. If you google "running rim to rim," it's the first link that comes up.

pm--5 Easy miles to shake out the legs. The pace was slow, and the pain was good. 

pm--4.5 Slow easy miles w/ my mom. I had to get a little run in today between grading papers and getting family pictures. The legs are still pretty sore. I think this week will be pretty conservative. 

pm--2.5 easy miles w/ the kids the day before state.

pm--8 Easy, wonderful miles to remind me of why I love running. Had a little Neil Young on the iPod.

pm--8.25 Sockless miles w/ Tom on the Cove Wash West trail. We ran out to the edge of the mesa to take in the view. I love the chilly pockets at dusk.

am--10 Moderate 10-miler up through Ivins and back down through Santa Clara. I saw my mom and her running partner a few times. These last 3 days have felt pretty good. 

pm--6 A loop down around Valley View. The legs and lungs were laboring today. 

pm--4.25 Went up behind the Sugar Loaf and ran T-Bone Trail w/ Tom. The wind was brisk. 

pm--6.5 Threw on a half zip and headed out. The weather was chilly. The lucky marathon shoes were great. And the pace was nice. What I can't figure out is why, at times, particularly on the trails, I seem to struggle w/ a consistent pace, but I get out on the road and the body takes off. 

pm--5 Sockless miles on the Ghost trail w/ Tom. Pretty much perfect. 

am--6.25 Up to the ball fields and around w/ neighbor Greg. I hit my goal for the year today--2,000 miles. OOAAHH!

am--12 Went out through Green Valley, looped around, and ran up the bike path to The Canyons. There was a fair amount of incline in this run, which felt pretty good. I took this run easy except for miles 9, 10, and 11. The first 2 were in the mid 7s, and the last was right around 7. It's nice to get out and get a long run in. Happy Samhain.

pm--6.25 Tom called, so we went up and over Land Hill and back again. It makes for about 600' of elevation gain, not tons but fun. Another sockless run.