This was a great race for me for a number of reasons.  I am working myself back into shape after I stopped running last summer when I got sick and couldn't run for a couple of weeks.  I didn't pick it back up after I felt better to help Stacie focus on training for her first marathon.  (We have a 1-year-old daughter with HD ADD--she can rarely focus on anything, but when she does, the picture is unbelievably clear.  I was trying to train for the TOU marathon with her last year, but it became evident that we both couldn't spend that much time running with everything else we had going on.  Without a goal, I just quit running and didn't start again until January.)  I am currently training for the St George Marathon and this race seemed like a good gauge to see how that is going.

 I have only run one half marathon before, the 2009 Provo River Half.  My goal was to finish in under 2 hours and I did: 1:56:24.  I figured I was going to beat that time this year, but I got sick a couple of weeks ago and stopped running for a week and a half.  I missed two Saturday long runs, so I wasn't sure how I would do.  I was hoping to beat 2 hours, but didn't think that I would.  I certainly hadn't been running that fast at all since starting up again in January.  Mostly, I was using this to figure out an in-race nutrition strategy for the marathon.

I'm too heavy to be a distance runner.  The running is keeping me under 200 lbs., but just barely.  From what I have read, I need more calories every 20 minutes than the standard 100 in most gels to sustain me through a marathon.  I also sweat a lot, so I figure I need a lot of electrolytes.  I decided to try e-Gel because each one is 150 calories with tons of electrolytes.  I first tried e-Gel to get me through a 15 miler a few weeks ago.  Nasty stuff.  The packets are a bit smaller and slightly easier to carry that your standard salt lick with all the flavor.  (If you want to see a congregation of wildlife gather on a trail run, I believe you could rip open a packet and leave it along side the trail and then hide behind a tree and wait.)  I was able to find one flavor, the lemonish one, that I could tolerate so I brought a couple of those to see how it would go.  I choked one down 15 minutes before the race started.  I decided I'd down the other at the next aid station I got to after 40 minutes of running.  I figured I'd take a GU thirty minutes after that (mostly for the caffeine.) 

I started the race with my wife, her sister, their niece, and a couple of other women.  My plan was to stay with them for the first mile and kind of ease my way into things.  Now, I have to say that I get claustrophobic in large groups of slow-moving people.  I just have an insatiable desire to get out of the crowd.  I once almost punched a lady while trying to exit a crowded chapel after Sacrament Meeting, so I tend to go a bit bananas at the beginning of races when I am too far back in the crowd.  I think it was about 20 seconds after crossing the starting line when I said, "This is too slow," to my wife and I took off outside the orange barrels because that was the only place I had room to move.  I didn't see her again until she crossed the finish line.

 I caught up to the 2-hour pacer and decided to see how long I could stay with him.  I stayed just behind him for the first couple of miles.  I looked at my GPS watch and saw that we were running under 9-minute miles, which seemed a bit fast for a two hour half.  It also surprised me because it was faster than I thought I was going and I felt pretty good at that pace.  After the first uphill section, I let loose on the downhill and passed the pacer and started making my way up the crowd.  I got just behind the 1:55 pacer and stayed there until after the second uphill section.  This was the steepest downhill section and I took full advantage of it. 

My high school cross country coach taught me to relax when running downhill and let gravity do the hard work.  I always do that because it just seems the most efficient way to go.  I overtook the 1:55 pacer and a number of runners during the steepest section.  That was my fastest mile (8:10).  It was at about 50 minutes that I saw and aid station and decided to try my second e-Gel.  Now, I had taken power-aid at the first aid station and I think this was a mistake.  After I took the gel and a cup of water at the aid station, I slowed down a bit.  It felt like a lot.  I think power aid + e-Gel = running funk.  A number of the people I had overtaken on the downhill started to pass me.  One was a tall woman with curly blonde hair and compression socks.  Another was the 7:55 pacer.

 I managed to stay within sight of them for the rest of the race, but I was bummed that I lost my momentum.  I got to 6.75 miles at just under an hour, so, with the race course leveling out a bit, for the second half, I thought I might not make two hours.  I just plugged along down University Avenue trying to look at intermediate goals and not the large building where I knew the finish line was.  With about 5 miles left, I realized I would finish under 2 hours if I kept my pace around 9 minutes--which felt comfortable. 

I took the GU a little more than 20 minutes after the e-Gel.  It felt too soon--especially after the lag I experienced from the e-Gel, but I was running out of time for it to be useful.  I held on at around 9 minutes most of the way down University.  With two miles left, I knew I was going to make it and I started picking up the pace.  I had been steadily overtaking people who had passed me during my e-Gel funk and was catching up to the tall blonde in the compression socks.

 While running Ragnar Relays, I always enjoy seeing the "1 Mile Left" sign.  I have a tradition of kissing my fingers and hitting the sign as I pass.  When I got to the "Mile 12" sign, I did the same thing.  I knew I had a little over a mile left and I was feeling good.  Something about that energized me and I just started going for it.  I passed the blonde and was well on my way to the finish line.  Then my body rebelled a bit and I knew I was pushing too soon so I backed off a bit, but still faster than I had been going.  Getting to 200N, there was a large gap between me and the next group of runners so I started picking it up to close the gap so I could pass someone in the chute.  I caught the group at the chute and went into a full sprint--passing several people and almost catching the 1:55 pacer at the finish line.

I've never finished a race that strong and I have to say that it felt pretty good.  My last mile was my second fastest at 8:14--only four seconds slower than the big downhill section.  I came in at 1:53:37, a PR, and about 50 seconds a mile faster than I thought I was going to do.  I'm not sure if it was the GU or the e-Gel that helped me stay strong while everyone around me was slowing down--probably a little of both.  I'm going to have to play around with this on my long runs this summer and figure out the best way to go during the marathon.

Easy four mile recovery run with Stacie. 9:40 pace.   I'm still a little sore from the half, but not nearly as much as I was after my first half.  A few months ago, I couldn't classify a four mile run at any speed as a recovery run.  I also wouldn't have been calling it easy.

 Finished with 3 10-second uphill sprints for strength training.

Last run before Ragnar.  Easy four-miler.  Then three hill sprints on Sterling. 

I'm not sure what is going on with Ragnar.  From what I can tell, Guardsman Pass won't be open.  If I don't get to run down from there to the base of Deer Valley, I'm not going to be very happy--especially after having to run up to Snow Basin on Trapper's Loop.  This crazy Pacific Northwest weather is taking all my downhill segments away--which I think is a good trade for not having to run my sprinklers.

This was so long ago that I don't really remember.  I needed to run more this week, but I was recovering from Ragnar and working long hours to finish a project before going on the cruise.  It was the only run I did this week--and that was bad.

Running on a cruise ship was interesting.  Especially when the cruise ship is out in the Pacific Ocean somewhere west of Graham Island in British Columbia. While the ship was quite large, we were still at sea and there was some significant ocean motion--which could especially be felt on a treadmill.

We went to the gym about an hour after it opened.  Since it was the first full day of the cruise, the place was packed.  I was able to get on a treadmill, but they had a 30 minute time limit. Now, having mostly rested the prior week and being at sea level, I found myself running a bit faster than I had anticipated.  With the ship rocking around, it was kind of like a trail run without any rocks.  I set the treadmill to 7.0 and ran the last five minutes at 7.5.  I then did a 5 minute "cool-down" where the treadmill went to 6.2.  Now I was out of treadmill time, but still wanted to run some more.  So I went to the Promenade Deck (level 3) where there was an outdoor deck that encircled most of the ship.

One lap around the deck was 1/3 of a mile, if the sign posted was correct.  It was sort of like running on a stretched out track.  After leaving the hot, stuffy gym, it was very refreshing to be on the cool deck running into a nice headwind on the starboard side with a good tailwind when running on the port side.  I did 7 laps which brought my total to around 6 miles.

It was nice to run because I tend to get motion sickness. While I could feel the ship moving around while lying in my bed, it didn't really bother me until I stood up and started walking around.  I was feeling a bit queasy until I started running.  Of course, after I was done running, I started feeling queasy again.

Second day of running on a cruise ship.  I was more used to being at sea--which we still were--but I was feeling all six of the miles I had run the previous day.  We were now off the coast of Alaska heading towards Glacier Bay.  We decided to skip the gym altogether and run around the Promenade Deck.

I decided I was going to do 6 miles and that meant 18 laps.  I didn't wear my satellite watch because I was on a moving ship and I don't think it would have been very accurate--though my pace might have been very impressive when running from the back to the front of the ship.  I knew I needed 18 laps so I decided just to count them.  I'm pretty sure I ran all 18, but I am giving myself a margin of error of +/- 1 lap.

My legs were very heavy from the previous run and I took it slow since I had run hard the day before.  I had to stop and stretch my calves after the first mile.  After a couple of miles, everything loosened up and I started to feel good.  Most of the challenge was in dodging the numerous wide-bodied walkers on the turns and some of the more narrow parts of the deck.

It was another great day to run outside.  It was overcast and about 52 degrees with a bit of wind from the ship moving at full speed.  Again, there was motion of the ocean which meant it was also a balance exercise as you were never quite sure where or when your foot needed to land to keep upright.  Of course, all this running only enabled me to do more damage at the lunch buffet.

Wasn't able to run today.  I woke up to find us docked in Juneau and we only had time to eat breakfast before heading ashore to do a whale watch and to tour the Mendenhall Glacier.  I did do a lot of walking, though.

The whale watch was pretty cool.  We found a large pod of humpback whales doing what is called bubble net feeding.  12-15 whales huddle together and dive down into the water where they make a lot of bubbles.  This confuses the small fish, who feel trapped by the bubbles and head for the surface.  The whales come up underneath them with their mouths open and eat it all on their way up.  What we see is a bunch of open whale mouths suddenly appearing in one big clump.  What made it more interesting was the calf who was still trying to figure it all out and would just come flying up completely out of the water on his own somewhere nearby the rest of the group.  It was a spectacular sight to see.

Then we took a bus to Mendenhall Glacier.  We went on a small 1 km hike to a large waterfall near the glacier.  We didn't have much time to spend there because our bus had to come back to get us and take us back to Juneau.  We ate lunch on the ship and then I walked around town for a while.  Juneau has to be the smallest capital city in America, but it is also probably the prettiest.

Wasn't able to run again.  This time we spent the day in Sitka.  I walked a lot today as well.  The day started out fairly rainy, but it didn't end up raining all that much.  Had I known that, I would have rented a bike and rode around.  We went to a state park with a nice trail through the rain forest with totem poles scattered along the way.   We saw some bald eagles in the trees.  We then went to a raptor rehabilitation center.  I saw a young hair-lipped bald eagle there.  Poor guy.

We spent the morning in Ketchikan, Alaska.  It was very wet and cold.  We then had to board the ship and head for Victoria, BC.  It was supposed to be a nice trip down the clam waters of the inside passage, but there was a lot of wind which made the water rough.

After lunch, I headed to the gym because it was too cold and too windy to run outside on the deck.  Since we were a few days into the cruise and it was afternoon, the gym wasn't too crowded, though the Romanian brother and sister trainers were conducting classes.  It was fun to run to the sped-up techno version of "Ice Ice Baby" they had playing.

Anyway, since I only got a treadmill for 30 minutes at a time, I broke this into two runs separated by some light stretching, walking around, drinking water, and weighing myself. (Only 90 kg.  Oh, yeah!)  I went easy for the first 30 minutes and then was feeling good for my second run so I kicked it up a bit.  I ended up running two 8-minute miles on that one.  (Did I mention I love running at sea level?)  I'd like to be able to do that without assistance from the treadmill and then keep it up for a mile or two more.

Easy run today.  Again, high winds forced me to run on a treadmill in the gym.  The ship was really moving around today, but I only fell off the treadmill once.  That was because I stepped half-way on the rail and half-way on the belt.  It made a loud screetching noise and then I fell off the back of the treadmill, but was able to stay on my feet and jump right back on.  I stepped on the rail one more time, but stayed on the treadmill.  It is fun to try to stay on a treadmill on a boat.

The gym was at the front of the boat on the 9th deck.  The treadmills all faced a large window so we could see about a half a mile into the fog.  But, with several people running along side each other, it gave a feeling that we were powering the ship along. "Come on, lady, pick it up.  We have a 50 mph headwind here!  At this rate, we'll never make it to Victoria."

Ran 7 miles at  9:30 pace.  I am entering this too late to remember much about it.  I did have to change the name of my blog.  Running on the cruise ship helped my ankle to not hurt so much.  (I probably should do some trail running.)  But somehow I strained my right IT band.  I don't feel it in my knee, I just feel my IT band.  I'm a little concerned about that.

The data

Supposed to be a recovery run.  Probably ran a little fast because it was only 3 miles.  I don't really remember.

 Workout Data

7 miles at marathon pace.  I was looking to get done in 63 minutes (9 mm).  It took me 66.  It probably would have happened if I had rested the day before, like I was supposed to on my schedule.  However, staying up late on the 4th and recovering from the long drive home from Seattle made it too hard to get up early on Tuesday to run.  So I shifted everything over a day.  I didn't think it would be a problem since this is an easier "recovery" week.  Although, it is more than I have been running lately.

 The problem I have running with Stacie is that she has a Garmin Forerunner 305 and I have a Timex Ironman--which I hate.  The problem is, they disagree on how far a mile is.  My watch always thinks it is a bit longer than hers does.  That makes me wonder which one is right or if they are both wrong altogether and if the truth is really somewhere in between.  It doesn't really matter.  I used to run with Nike+ and they are both far more accurate than it ever was. 

I do kind of miss Paula Radcliffe chiming in at the end of each workout with, "Hello, this is Pualer again.  Congratulations on running another 500 kilometers (or maybe it was miles)."  I don't know at what point it broke.  The congratulatory announcements used to be made by either Paula or Lance Armstrong.  They also used to reflect what the device actually had told me I had run--which was only as accurate as the calibration which was never very good.  I'm blaming it on Lance.  I'm convinced he was cheating somehow and sneaked away before he could get caught.  This left Paula holding the bag and she just started mailing in the same announcement every time.

This was supposed to  be a slow, short recovery run.  Four miles, but I ran too fast.  Then I did 4 hill sprints at Flat Iron Mesa.  The leg felt better after a day off.

 Workout Data

Wow, my leg is really starting to hurt.  I had to go a bit slower today.  I was tired of what has become our usual medium distance route, so I decided to go north instead of south.  I used to run in this area all the time.  This route started uphill, then went down fast and back up again.  It was difficult, but good training.

Workout Data

Another 4-mile recovery run followed by 4 x 10 second hill sprints on Sterling Drive.  I'm starting to worry about my leg.  Maybe resting tomorrow will help.

 Workout Data

Jeff Runs Stacie Down

This was a great run.  I rested yesterday and my leg was feeling much better, though I still walk funny.  I was supposed to run 8 miles at marathon pace--which I am hoping to be 9 mm.  Last week I tried to do 7 in 63 minutes.  I did it in 66.  Today I was gunning for 72 minutes. I came in at just under 69.  My pace was 8:35.  I just went out fast and was able to keep it up.

It helped that Stacie was running a little further today and left before I did.  I had no idea where she was until just before the big hill on Eastdell.  Before I crossed 94th S, a couple came walking from the other direction. They said, "She is just up ahead," while pointing just up the hill.  It took me a few seconds to figure out what that meant, and then I realized they had seen us running together around there before and that Stacie was ahead of me.  I attacked the hill and shortly after getting to the top, I saw her off in the distance.  I now had a target.

It took me a few miles to chase her down and I finally caught her on Buttercup drive.  I had to stop at Buttercup park for water, but I was on pace at this point and wanted to finish strong.  It helped to have to chase Stacie for that long and now my goal was in sight.  It felt really good to finally actually run under my target pace for a medium distance run.  It gives me hope for the marathon.  It also felt good to know my leg wasn't hurting as much and didn't hold me back.  Now, I'm still having a hard time conceptualizing running at that pace for over three times the distance, but it is easier to see than it was a week ago.

Workout Data

The Voodoo just about Runs Jeff Down

I was worried about running 16 miles today after having such a great day yesterday.  I had never run this far before.  My longest previous run was 15 miles and that was pretty hard.  I figured I'd take it easy and see what happened.  Stacie went to Provo to run with some friends from the blog.  I wasn't sure what route I'd take, but I knew I had to take a different approach this time.  I usually do long runs where I can just go out the whole distance and have Stacie meet me at the end.  This wasn't an option today, so I had to do something out-and-back.

I was in a hurry when I plotted my course this morning because I needed to get out before the sun got too high.  I decided to go out towards Draper, and then come back up Wasatch Boulevard since it might be more in the shade.  Of course, I got out too late to take advantage of that possibility.

 Now, after having run this, I can say that the best way to run the south end of Wasatch Boulevard is in a sitting position--either in the passenger seat of a convertible, or in the sidecar of a motorcycle.  Further down the list is running from north to south.  At the very bottom is running from south to north--which is what I did.  It was a little more than 8 miles out to the end of Wasatch and I felt pretty good at that point.  (I'm getting better and better at running 8 miles.)  I was cruising up at a relaxed pace and I was feeling pretty good about doing a steady four mile climb at that grade. 

At some point, I turned a corner and saw it.  I let out an audible gasp.  The road was as steep as the top quarter of the Eastdell hill and probably five times as long.  I almost made it without walking--which at that point, I could do faster than running.  When I finally got to the top of that, the road still kept going up, but at a much more reasonable grade.  The run was not too bad from here and eventually, I could look down on Dimple Dell Road where I had been running the other direction an hour earlier.  It was also where my marathon plans came within inches of ending.

I tend to run on the left side of the road.  I just feel safer that way.  I used to run a lot at night while listening to music.  I want the most distance between me and the traffic that I can't see as possible.  Now, running down Dimple Dell is difficult.  It is very steep and the road is severely pitched.  I have to run so hard that the only comfortable place I can find is the middle of the road.  Now, there usually isn't a lot of traffic at this time in the morning, but today I heard a car just behind me.  I was listening to music, so I didn't hear it until it was right on my heels.  I was probably running to the right of the middle stripes, so the driver probably thought I was running on the right side of the road and was annoyed that I was so far out in the road.  She hurriedly  passed me on the left.  However, since I was running on the left side, my instinct was to move over to the left as soon as I heard the car.  I moved left as she was passing and I was inches away from her front tire when I realized what was happening and moved back the other way.

Now, this was my fault.  I should not have been in the middle of the road--especially not with music on.  But is it too much to ask a driver to slow down, honk the horn, and wait to see where I go before deciding how to pass?  A horn would have startled me, but I would have moved to the left and the car could have moved along in its own lane.  I'd much prefer being startled by a horn than the scare I got this morning.  I am glad to be writing this from my home and not the hospital. 

Good run today.  The uphill was difficult, but I felt much better at the end of this run than I did at the end of my previous 15-mile best.  I'm feeling pretty positive about it all right now.

Workout Data

Easy recovery run at slow pace.  I'm still feeling the 16 I did Saturday--especially the ~4 up Wasatch.  I missed my stretching routine last night. That was a mistake.

5 x 10 sec hill sprints.  The first one was difficult.  Usually the 4 mile run loosens things up, but my right hip was still a bit stiff--probably because I kept it at an easy pace.  The first sprint loosened things up and I was able to go a bit harder on the rest.

Last week was a major step up in training intensity.  I'll run one more mile this week and back off a little next week.  I should be feeling a bit better after that.

Ran the standard eight mile loop.  I call it the boot, because it kind of looks like a boot on the map.  My leg really hurts.  I'm not sure what I'm going to do.  I'll tough it out this week and see if a lighter week next week helps.

 Just the facts.

Did the lower elevation four mile loop.  Then did hill sprints up Sterling.

 Just the facts

Ran to Draper.  We left my car down there overnight.  I was relieved to get there and find out it hadn't been towed.  Seventeen miles was hard.  Stacie and I got up early to do this today because we are going to Island Park and I didn't want to do 17 up there.

A couple of miles into the run, we had trouble.  There is an Italian company that sponsors a bicycle racing team called Liquigas.  They have a team in the Tour de France.  When I think of liquigas, I can't think of a bigger nightmare for a competitive cyclist--or a distance runner, for that manner.  A little over two miles into the run, I thought I was struck with liquigas.  I told Stacie I had to go home.  We ran home, which, fortunately was only about a mile away if we ran straight there.  It turned out to be a false alarm.  So, we went back out and I had to think of where we could cut a couple of miles out of the planned route because we still needed to get to my car to get home.

It worked out, but it was more difficult than the 16 I did last week.

Just the facts.

Eight mile out-and-back in Island Park.  My leg really hurts.  I think it needs some rest.

Just the facts.

Four mile out-and-back in Island Park.  I didn't see any bears, but there is supposed to be one on the Island right now.

Just the facts.

Rested the last couple of days because we got home late from Island Park on Monday, and my leg really needs some time off.  I decided to go biking today and see how that goes.  I went from my house up to the Little Cottonwood trail.  I didn't get far past the gate because I didn't have a lot of time.  It looks like the trail has been put back together again since it was washed out last year.

Just the facts.

More biking today.  I got out earlier so I was able to go a little further up the Little Cottonwood Trail.  The lower part of the trail is a lot different.  A lot of the rocks have been removed, so it is easier that way, but in some ways it is a little more difficult to ride.

It was tough to bike today.  I was sore from yesterday.  It was hard to even sit on my saddle for the first mile.  I haven't been able to bike much at all this year because of all the running I have been doing.  I think that has been a mistake.  I really like the biking and need to find a way to do it more.

Just the facts.

I will be running a few 12 milers until the marathon.  I was looking for a loop course to test my progress on and I think this one is pretty good.  It stays relatively flat for a while and then has some pretty good uphill.  The last four miles is downhill.  

I ran this with Stacie, and she ran too late yesterday and was struggling a little today.  I plan to run this a little faster in the future, but I think this is a good course.  There are parks for me to get water that are spaced out so that I don't have to bring any water with me.

The time off from running was great.  My leg felt pretty good.  There is still a little pain, but nothing like what I was going through the past two weeks.  I may have to cut one running day out each week and replace it with biking.  I'm almost thinking I should just replace all the running with biking.  Can I bike the marathon?  I wouldn't even have to pedal for most of it.

Just the facts.

Easy four mile run.  5 x 10 sec. hill sprints.  I'm getting faster at these.  I don't think they are helping with my injury, though.

Just the Facts

9 miles in 81 minutes.  Right on pace.  It was hard with the sprints yesterday, but it felt good to do it.  I had a dentist appointment at 8:30, so I just stayed close to home.  I didn't want to be four miles away if, for some reason, I had to stop running and walk.  So my route was a combination of my two four-milers in kind of a figure-8 pattern.

Ran into Lysa twice. This was the second day in a row that I saw her out running.

 Just the Facts

Slow four mile recovery run.  5 x 10s hill sprints.  Ran with Stacie.  Didn't see Lysa today.

 Just the Facts

Cross-Training!

I've decided to cut one of my runs each week and exchange it for some mountain biking.  I think my mileage is a bit too high on the schedule I've been doing (it has me doing 45 this week) and my leg needs some time off each week to recover.  Plus, I really like biking

I hit my favorite trail up Millcreek in between thunder storms.  For the first time, I was able to do the Desolation Lake Loop.  This was my first time up there this year.  The spring/summer run-off has really done a number on a few sections of the trail.  The bit up to Dog Lake was especially bad.  I've tried to do the Desolation Loop before, but I've never been able to make it to the turn-off before it got too late.  This time, I was not stopping nearly as often nor for as long.  I only needed to take breaks because my legs were burning.  Before, it was my cardio that was the limit.

The scenery was amazing.  I saw a rainbow in the Uintahs from the wasatch crest above The Canyons ski resort.  I saw two moose and a deer hanging out in a meadow on my way down from Desolation Lake.  I saw lightning--thankfully just as I was just about down to the parking lot. The Cottonwood Ridge at dusk from the Wasatch Crest is a spectacular sight.  There were lots of bugs.

Just the Facts

Do You Wanna Know How I Got These Scars?

I did 19 miles with Stacie this morning.  She ran hard yesterday, so I knew this was going to be difficult for her, but it is nice to run with her and she keeps my pace down so that I don't over-do it.  We were going to go leave a car somewhere last night and run to it this morning, but she was busy helping Jane prepare for pioneer trek next week.  So we had to do an out-and-back and that meant Wasatch again, only I found a slightly better way up it this time.

Was late getting going.  I couldn't find my water bottle.  I had left it in my running bag from the Island Park trip.  Stacie had to find it for me, which had her happy.  Then my watch wouldn't find the satellites.  It eventually found them--about 10 miles into our run.

It was a good run.  I felt good the whole way without any trouble from my leg.  I'm starting to feel like I could survive a marathon.  The next six weeks will be about being able to run it, though.  I finally figured out how to eat gel on the run.  I am using eGel (the e is for electrolytes, not electronic, though that might be cool) because it has more calories and a ton of electrolytes.  The problem with it is the packet size.  They are an ideal width for a white rhino or a hippo or something with a much wider mouth than me.  I figured out that I put the packets in my mouth, bite down, and pull the packet out, leaving the gel inside my mouth.  Then I try to swallow when I'm not breathing.  I have to repeat this a couple of times to get all the e-gel out and the width of the packet ends up slicing the corners of my mouth.  So I've been feeling a bit like the Joker from "The Dark Knight" all day.

Recovery after the 19 on Saturday.  My quads were dead.  They felt like bricks.  I just plodded through this at an easy pace.  But I thought back to the Dam 2 Dam run I did at Sandpoint Reservoir in St. George back in February.  It was a 5 mile race.  I was just starting my training and I was thinking back how difficult mile 4 had been.  I'm still not even sure how I did that last mile, but seeing the finish line is powerful motivation even if it is a mile away.  Now 5 miles is an easy run that I can do with sore legs and not a lot of heavy breathing.

 Then 6 x 10s hill sprints.  My first one was a little shaky, but I did good after that.

 Just the facts.

Ten mile pace run.  Tried to get this done in 90 minutes.  It took 91:32.  Not bad for coming the day after dead legs with hill sprints.  I think I could have come in under 90 minutes with a rest day, so I feel good about the pace.  I had to add a mile to my 9 mile course and the extra mile was more uphill, so it was a more difficult course to maintain my 9:00 pace on.  Legs were still tired, but not nearly as dead or heavy.

Just the facts.

Another easy five mile recovery run with hill sprints.  Got tired of the usual stuff we have been running so Stacie and I ran a different course this time.  It was good to just have a general idea of how far five miles is, run it, and discover that I was right on.  Legs felt good.

6 x 10s hill sprints.

Just the facts.

14 mile bike ride up to Little Cottonwood on the Temple Quarry trail and back.  Decided to go find Stacie on the ride home instead of going straight home.  I found her at Buttercup and Petunia, just west of Buttercup Park.  There were hot air balloons out this morning.  I felt bad because I figured they would be gone by the time I got home and could tell Cami and I knew she would have wanted to see them.

Workout Data

My First 20: A Tale of Two Halves

On January 3, 1993, the Buffalo Bills were playing the Houston Oilers in an AFC playoff game.  The Bills were missing their starting QB, Jim Kelly, and were led by the backup, Frank Reich.  Houston destroyed them in the first half--going into the locker room with a 28-3 point lead.  With half a football game left against an unknown QB, all they had to do was mail in the second half and they were off to the next round--or so they thought.  Buffalo came back and tied the game in regulation and went on to kick a winning field goal in overtime. As unstoppable as Houston looked in the first half, they just looked sick, tired and inept in the second half.  This pretty much describes my first 20 mile run.

I went out fast.  I wanted to see how long I could maintain a 9 minute-mile pace.  All the significant uphill on my course was in the first 10 miles.  My splits were 9:10, 8:44, 8:46, 9:46, 9:42, 9:36, 9:32, 9:50, 9:50. 10:34.  That put me at 1:35:30 for the first half with all the hard uphill behind me.  All I had to do was cruise the downhill second half and I could come in close to 3 hours--or so I thought.

For some reason, the second half was a lot more difficult than anticipated.  I was tired from the uphill running and I figured I could recover after about half a mile and settle back into my faster pace.  I never got back to that pace again.  The last five miles were a disaster.  My iPod died, then my watch died at 16.5 miles.  The iPod didn't bother me so much as I wasn't really planning on running with it.  But when I measured out my course, I only knew that 20 miles was somewhere along the Porter Rockwell trail in Draper and I was depending on the watch to tell me where that was.

To make things worse, I was feeling sick to my stomach.  It really slowed me down.  My legs felt good and my wind was fine, but the sick feeling was directly proportional to my effort level.  This kept me from running hard and pushed me more towards walking--which I did a few times in the last couple of miles.

I felt similarly on my second run in the Ragnar Relay this year.  I'm not sure where it came from, but I want to blame my diet.  I worked through lunch the day before because Lizzie had a soccer game in the afternoon that I wanted to attend.  I didn't want to eat late because we were going out with my family for my sister's birthday--where I ended up protein loading at Tucano's.  This is not the best strategy for fueling the day before a twenty mile run. 

I was really glad to get to the end of this one and I am also glad that I will be attempting two more 20-milers before the marathon.  Had this been my only one, I'd be concerned about the race.  I hope this does not happen again so that I can feel confident in my ability to do this.  After feeling so good the week before, I had some serious doubts today. 

Really it comes down to poor preparation in every way.  I hadn't charged my equipment and I hadn't properly charged my body.  (Stacie had left me home to watch Josie (who just turned two Friday) the two consecutive nights before the meatfest.  Now, Josie is a big time party animal, so hanging out with her is always fun, but you never can get anything done that you had planned.) 

I thought about calling this Murphy's Run, but I don't want to tempt Murphy.  While a number of things did go wrong, no where close to anything that could have gone wrong did go wrong.  I'd list some of the things that I'm glad didn't happen, but this entry is too long as it is.  At any rate, I survived twenty miles and while I didn't finish strong, I did finish.  I had to.  I left my car in Draper the night before.

Partial Workout Data

Recovery Week

Five miles of light jogging with heavy legs.  I think I did about 11 minute miles.  I didn't really breathe hard at all--which is what a recovery run is supposed to be all about, right?  But my legs felt like they were giving me all they had.  I haven't really done my stretching routine for a while now and I need to.  I'm starting to tighten up all over the place.  I'll need to do it tonight for sure.

I skipped the hill sprints today.  I think I am going to start doing them just once a week.  I'll do 7 on Wednesday and then stay at 8 until I start tapering for the race.  I also think it is about time to retire the Glyceryns.  I'm just not quite ready to break out my new ones at this point.  I think I'll start breaking them in after my next 20 miler.

Data

Legs were still heavy today.  Felt like rubber instead of bricks, though.  It took over 3 miles to warm up.  

Data

Rode up to the temple quarry trail and up to the first bridge and back.   Still can't believe how fast the Tour of Utah riders rode up that canyon.

I left my GPS watch on after biking yesterday.  It had no battery left this morning.  I was trying to do a 6 mile run at or under 9 minutes a mile.  I just went without GPS.  I'm pretty sure I was close, I just don't know if I was over or under.  Good run.

I hope they bring this Zombie 5K somewhere close to here next year.  It looks like it could be a lot of  fun.

12 miles with Stacie.  This time my watch worked the whole time--which was nice, however, I can't get the data off of it for some reason.  It was difficult to get out this morning--I really hate running in the morning.  It takes me forever to get ready; I don't have time to stretch afterwards; and I'm always a little later for work than I want to be.  But I have to because when I run at night, it takes me forever to fall asleep and I get sleep deprived and then I get sick and can't run.

This morning we had an 8:00 soccer practice and 2 soccer games at 9:00.  We needed to be home by about 7:45, but didn't get out until just after 6:00.  I guess I should have slept in and run later in the morning.  I ran fast yesterday, so there was no way I was going to make this run in under 2 hours.  It seemed more difficult than 12 miles should be.  One plus was that I found a bonus drinking fountain in the 8th mile.

We ran into Lysa in the 10th mile.  Literally.  She was coming up the hill and we were going down it.  We were on a collision course and when I'd zig, to get out of the way, she'd zag.  I'd zag and she'd zig.  This continued until we were face-to-face and I had to stop.  I guess when you run as much as I have been all over my neighborhood, you just tend to keep running into the same people.  I didn't see white pants man, though.  I haven't seen him for a few weeks now.  I'm starting to get concerned.

It is definitely time to retire my shoes.  They have a lot more miles on them than this blog says because I was running in them before I started tracking miles.  I've got another pair just like them that haven't been worn yet.  I think it is time to start breaking them in.  

Data

8 miles of mountain biking on the Big Water trail at the top of Millcreek Canyon.  Saw two moose, a mother and a calf, just off the trail by the first bridge.  I stopped and took a couple of crappy pictures with my phone.  Then I went to dog lake and then over to the Great Western Trail via the Little Water Trail--which is some intense downhill.  There were a couple of spots where I could not have stopped if I wanted to.  (I probably ought to get a bike with disc brakes.) 

The part of the GWT just after the Little Water junction is my favorite part of that trail so I went out a ways and then turned around and continued down the Little Water Trail.  More intense downhill.  My forearms are tired from braking so much. Apart from the stop to take a picture of the moose, I only stopped to turn around.  I've never been able to do that before up there. I also overtook a few riders at various places--which is something I haven't often been able to do.  I think of myself as a slow rider, but I'm getting faster.  It is a lot of hard work, but it is more fun to be in shape.

10 miles the morning after mountain biking--I couldn't ever quite get under 10mm, but that's OK.  (I need to get "Save it for the Race" printed in the inside of my contact lenses.)  Stacie decided to do her own schedule so we ran slightly different courses this morning.  She left before I did.  I wasn't sure how far or where she was going, so I didn't know if I would see her.  But when I got to Buttercup Park, there she was.  It was nice to see her.

New shoes.  They felt very soft and pillowy when I put them on.  But they also felt kind of heavy and clunky.  After three miles, they started feeling a bit rigid in the center of my feet.  I think five miles might be a bit far for a first run, but who knows?

Ran with Stacie at a nice, easy pace.

 Data...

Put 10 more miles on the new shoes.  I  tried to get in under 90 minutes, but it took me over 100--which put me slightly over 10mm on the average.  But I was running hard, so I'm logging these as fast miles.  Shoes felt better today, but this was a difficult run.

This was not a fast course.  Usually, I run my pace runs on a route that has steep, short uphills with long gradual downhill sections.  It's cheating, but it sort of matches the St. George Marathon profile, so I don't think it is necessarily wrong.  This course is kind of backwards from my usual route with more elevation change.  I drop down early, climb higher for longer, and then finish coming down.  I  believe this is better for my legs while being not so great for my ego.

Another problem was that I gave blood two nights ago.  I did double reds which meant they took a good chunk of my VO2 max.  (Now that I think about it, maybe I should have kept my donation so I could infuse it just before the marathon.  Wouldn't that be a scandal?  Get busted for blood doping just so I could finish in the top half of my age group.  At any rate, somebody is going to be receiving some high quality o+ some time soon.)  I was breathing a lot harder than usual for a medium run at that pace and my chest has been feeling all day like I had been mountain biking at high altitude instead of jogging around the neighborhood.  I can't help but think that that had to slow me down.

Incidentally, when I was being checked before donating blood, the guy reading my pulse said, "Are you a runner or a biker?  I don't get readings this low unless you are dead, or a runner."  I think I might be getting in pretty good shape.

Also, saw Lysa on her way up Newcastle while I was heading home--trying to survive my last mile.  Tomorrow should be interesting.  20 miles at about half the speed of smell.  Then an ice bath.

Data...

Twenty miles with Stacie.  I tried to keep up with her, but it was difficult.  Was very slow today and felt like I did running at the top of Guardsman in the Wasatch Back Relay--breathing hard but still not getting enough oxygen.  This time it was anemia instead of altitude.  (I donated a lot of blood Wednesday night.  I hope I can get all those red blood cells regenerated by October.  I guess I need to start eating a lot of red meat for the iron.)

We kind of stumbled upon the course of the Rivalry Relay as it went down Wasatch and into Draper, but didn't see a lot of runners.  We were passed by one girl who probably hadn't just run 15 miles like we had.  It was really starting to get hot at that point.  The relay must have been crazy hot as the day went on.

 I really hate the Porter Rockwell Trail in Draper.  It's not so much the trail as it is that I'm always running it on the last two miles of the longest run in my life.  There is this wooden dinosaur skeleton in somebody's back yard that is always mocking me as I stumble along the path.

Came home and took a 5 minute ice bath.  That was nice.  I kind of wish I was still in it, but I had to hurry and get ready and go to Sydney's soccer game.  Her team won, 2-0.

Last weekend was a doozie.  I've been extra tired and extra hungry.  I slept in yesterday and didn't run.  I did my five mile recovery run today instead.  I'm a full minute per mile slower than I was before I gave blood.  I ran as hard as I could this morning and could only manage just under 10:00 per mile.  Is it too late to call the Red Cross and ask for my blood back?  I'll re-donate it after the marathon.

Blood Doping: You're Doing it Wrong

Six more miles in a running funk.  I hate this.  10:15 pace.  It hurts, I feel sick, and I don't want to run any more.   The whole time I'm asking my legs for more and they reply like Scotty, "We're givin' it all we got, Captain!  We can't take this much longer!"

I almost got hit by a car again.  I was running (well, more speed-walking) on the left-hand side of the road and approaching a T intersection where the body of the T was intersecting the road I was on.  A car came up to the intersection with the intention of turning right onto the street I was on.  The driver was only looking to her left, and finding a small window of opportunity, started gunning it just as I was running in front of her car.  Luckily she saw me and was able to stop.  I usually run behind the car in that situation and had done so earlier on the same road.  I was thinking about work at the time and got lazy, I guess.

Decided just to take it easy and just accept that I'm going to be slow for a while.  I jogged 5 miles today.  It was supposed to be an easy run so I kept it slow until the last mile.  Then I decided to do hill sprints so I did 4 x 10 sec at the end.

12 miles at an easy pace most of the way and then fast at the end.  I am starting to feel a little stronger.  I was able to run a little bit harder than I have been.  I was able to run all the way up 'Handcart Hill.' I went up it last Friday and Saturday and had to stop and walk part of it each time.  If I didn't make it today, I was worried it was going to start being a mental thing.  I felt encouraged by my progress and hope that I'll be back in shape in four weeks.

I ran with Stacie.  I left her on the steep downhill section on Wasatch and onto the trail, but stopped and waited for her to catch up before getting to Durban Road.  I then left her again and was trying to run with a full stride.  It felt good to be able to do that.  I got lazy and then started hearing her coming up from behind.  That helped push me back into good form.  Then I took a turn and didn't hear her anymore.  Then I saw her pop out a bit in front of me.  She had taken a shortcut!  Then it was on.

I wasn't quite able to catch her before her Garmin beeped 12 miles, but I was close.  (My GPS has a different idea of what a mile is than hers does so I always end up running a bit farther.)  My last mile ended up being 8:22, which, after last week, was phenomenal.

 Data

I got out a little late today, since it was a holiday.  It was nice to sleep in a little.  It was overcast and nice outside.  I ran five miles alone.  I'm feeling a bit stronger, so that is good.  My splits were: 8:58, 9:48, 10:42 (uphill), 9:44, 9:30.  A little fast for a recovery run, but it felt good to go under 10 min/mile.

Data

Ten miles.  Stayed with Stacie for just over three.  Then I just couldn't keep up.  Most of the rest of the way she just kept getting smaller, and smaller, and smaller... I guess I ran too hard yesterday and didn't have much left today.

I really need to blog on the days that I run.  I don't even remember doing this, but I know it was 5.

Ran 10 miles with Stacie.  She got mad at me for leaving her behind on the long downhill section.

I found some KT Tape samples that I picked up at a Ragnar Relay a year or two ago and decided to try them for my right hip.  I looked up a video on YouTube for applying it for hip flexor support.  I just thought I'd give it a try.  I put it on and I could walk without pain.  The run was amazing.  It had always been hard to take the first two steps.  After I had some momentum, it didn't hurt so much.  With the tape, it wasn't a problem at all.  I don't get it, but it works.

Another 2-day marathon.  Got up early and ran at a little after 5 am.  We kept getting harassed by newspaper deliverers.  We just couldn't shake the guy in our neighborhood and then when we got towards the end of Dimple Dell Road, we picked up another one.

Saw a coyote at the Christmas tree farm on Dimple Dell.

I'm feeling a little stronger every week.  This twenty was much better than the last, but it was still hard. 

I was just going to take it easy, but I picked up someone to chase at Newcastle and Highland.  She came up the hill on the other side of Highland while I was waiting at the light and ended up running mostly the same route as me.  She was going pretty fast, so it was hard to catch her.  I was finally catching up at the top of the hill when she took a shortcut through the elementary school and headed down Newcastle.  I took the long way to Newcastle and started chasing again.  I finally passed her just before the light at Highland.  That was probably faster than I should have run, but it is always good to have someone to chase.

Eight miles chasing Stacie without being able to catch her.  She was booking it.  I'm not sure who is going to cross the finish line at St. George first.  Last mile was under 9 minutes.

It dawned on me towards the end of the run that my legs are not nearly as dead as they were the week after my first 20-miler.  

Slow, easy five miles.

4 miles in 35 minutes--which was my goal.  Pulled Stacie along for the first 2 miles and then, in a moment of weakness at the top of the hill, she flew by me and I had to chase her all the way down.  I might have caught her, but she stranded me at a red light.

A beautiful morning for a run.  I got out a little late this morning.  I picked up a cold last weekend after getting up so early to run.  It hasn't been that bad, but the effects are kind of still lingering around.  I tried to sleep in if I could.  Stacie didn't get out with me--she went later.  I could have used her at the end, but it was still a pretty good run.

 I've done this route, or something very similar, four times now and I thought it would be interesting to see how I did.  I guess I should go read the blog entries for these runs.  My fastest time was the first time I ran it: July 30.  Time was 1:57:36.  My second fastest time was 1:59:17 about a month ago: Aug 20.  Both of these were before the blood donation.

Today I ran it in 1:59:22, which beat my time from two weeks ago by 22 seconds.  Two weeks ago was the day Stacie and I raced the last couple of miles.  My 8:22 final mile is still the fastest mile from any of these runs.  This was good, because the run felt a little slower than two weeks ago--yet it wasn't.  I was thinking that I needed the race at the end, but it turned out I didn't.  This was also the day after a four mile pace run--which was the only one with a run day prior.  I went biking on the first run.  The other two followed rest days.  Bottom line, apart from the lower red blood cell count, I'm in better shape and might be ready to run this marathon in two weeks.  I'm looking forward to an easy week next week.

Four mile run at easy pace which turned out to be faster than I thought it was: 9:50.  It didn't really feel like I had run afterwards.  I am now getting that nervous feeling in my gut when I think about the marathon.  I'm guessing that won't go away until the gun goes off.

Started running in the dark under the stars and finished as the sun rose.  I did a mile loop around the neighborhood and then ran down to Peruvian Park and up to the Mammoth Springs buffalo and back home.  As I crossed Highland, there were two women running about the same pace.  One was wearing a TOU marathon shirt from a couple of years ago.  I sped up a little and passed them knowing that if they turned right where I was going to, it would be a long uphill mile at that pace.  Sure enough, they turned and pushed me up the hill. 

I just missed the light at Highland and had to wait there a while with just half a mile to go.  When the light finally changed, I tried to finish the last half mile in four minutes.  I think I made it.

Slow and easy.  I'm starting to feel like I'm not doing anything anymore--which is nice.  I get butterflies in my stomach every time I think about the marathon.  I know I'm well-prepared so I'm not nervous about being able to do it.  I'm just nervous about doing it.  I mean, all this time running and running and running some more and then the gun goes off and four, five, maybe six hours later it's all over.

Started slow, but then Stacie picked up the pace.  Ended fast.  Last mile was just under 8 minutes.  I'm starting to think that I'll be closer to 4:30:00 than 4:00:00.  I hope I can just stay with Stacie.

It is funny to do a medium run on a Saturday. One week until the marathon.  One week of fattening up for the race.  I've got to figure out where and when to gel and how many I'm going to need.  I think I'll start at the mile 5 aid station and then do every other aid station after that.  I am going to start this thing with pockets full of salty maltodextrin. 

--- Mmmmm.  Salty maltodextrin....

 Last time up Eastdell hill.  After recovering from it, I started feeling pretty good.  A mile after, Stacie asked why I was going so fast.  I didn't realize I was going that fast.  I stayed with her because I really need to relax and save it for the race.  After stopping and crossing 94th South, I had a little less than a mile left and decided to push it.  I'll have to look up my pace on that last mile later.

Marathon Week!  Not a lot of running to do until Saturday.  I can't remember the last time I only ran three miles.  It was nice.

I think I was supposed to take it easy today, but I just can't run slow in the Launches.  Up to Albion and back.  9:10 pace.  Not screaming fast, but that's where I am. 

Two miles at the speed of smell.  Just a warm-up.  Now off to St. George.

I'm not sure what to do now.  I need to take some time off to rehabilitate my right leg.  I have that bad ankle and I had some IT Band/Hip Flexor/Groin issues all summer. I was going to go mountain biking  this week since I had to sacrifice a lot of that for marathon training but now the weather sucks.  Oh, and no matter how much of whatever I can find to eat, I can't stop feeling like I'm starving.

I finally felt like running again and decided to get out and see where my leg is.  I probably ran a little too hard, but it was good to get out.  I noticed from marathon photos that I run with tension in my shoulders.  (I also noticed this from sore shoulders after the race.)  I paid attention to it as I ran today and I do run with tension there.  I had to keep forcing myself to relax them.

 My hip flexor didn't hurt, but I had some pain in my right knee.  I'm not sure how much running I should do right now, but I don't want to lose fitness.  I'll have to think about where to go from here.