Moab

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Zoo

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TOU Marathon (Top of Utah)

     Based on the past week, this race went better than I could ever have expected it to! Based on the 16 weeks before, this race was a huge disappointment. Starting at the beginning: 16 weeks averaging 38.8 miles per week! Finishing at the end: the FLU. I had hoped to qualify for the Boston marathon this race, putting in 14.8 more miles per week than last year (I crossed the 1000 mile mark for 2009 at the 8 mile mark!) but ended up ill for the week and a half before the race and a couple days after. I thought I was better the Friday before the race, but apparently I was wrong...
     The day went something like this: 2 hours of sleep was apparently all I needed so I got up and watched an episode of The Mentalist. Then I took a quick shower (running without a shower is like playing in mud instead of dirt - filthy) and had oatmeal and chia. My dad drove my mom (they spent the night), my brother, and me to the bus pick up. The ride was nice enough, but the line to the POPs were very long - apparently 5 minutes isn't enough time to take care of business? We ended up giving our bags of clothes to some honest people, hoping they would get it on the last bus - they came through for us!
     We made it to the starting pack just after the wheelchairs took off. Trav and I said our good-byes and good luck to Mom then started working our way to the front. Adam Arnell (a co-worker from a previous job who also went to NDJH and CHS) was about where we wanted to be. I chatted with him, eventually about the marathon and found he was shooting for 3.5 hours. I said, "You got 3:23 at Ogden, why 3:30?" He seemed surprised that I knew his time and said something about not training as much as he had hoped. Then he asked about my goal, which is to qualify for Boston. To which he responded, "Is this easier than Ogden?" I think Ogden is easier since the downhill portion comes right when you need it (though I've run TOU faster both times than the fastest I've run Ogden). "But you ran that in 3:39, were you not ready for it?" That's not it, I just enjoyed Ogden, negative splitting it by 14 minutes. Before I could explain that if I had done my best, I don't think I would have gotten below 3:29, the gun went off! So, to me, it seemed as if I said that the only reason he beat me was because I wasn't trying. Though I am a bit cocky, I don't think I could have beaten him but...
     I tried to start the race close to the front so that I wouldn't have to waste energy weaving through people, but at Ogden, I started I start really far back to prevent me from starting too fast... Like Bear Lake, I was trying to pace myself by my heart rate, but what happened the week or to before this race killed that plan.
  The first mile was a little fast and my heart rate a little high, but not too bad.
  The second mile was decent on time, but again, my HR was high.
  Mile 3 was good, but I remember my legs feeling dead - which I attributed to not running much in the past week. But my HR was 10 too high! A co-worker, who I beat in the TOU half marathon by over 2 minutes, passed me here. We had very similar race plans, finishing between 3:05 and 3:10.
  Mile 4 was good, still pushing through sluggish legs. HR still too high - I'm realizing that this will probably be this way the whole race unless I slow down...
  Mile 5 I kept my HR steady, but apparently slowed down. Travis passed me, followed shortly after by Adam. At a GU at the end of this mile and took gatorade at the aid station
  Mile 6 I kept Adam and Travis in sight, even though I used the POP - which had a fresh bottle of hand sanitizer that I had to unscrew the top of to get the pump to work. You might think that this cost me time - but it didn't. I think it was a 25 second stop, but no biggy.
  Mile 7 aid station was a Clif shot block (electrolytes and jell-o?) and Gatorade. HR still high as well as the time.
  Mile 8 was more of the same...
  Mile 9 aid station was an electrolyte gel cap and Gatorade. I could still see Travis and Adam at this point, but...
  Mile 10 they are out of sight and the mile marker was off.
  Mile 11 aid station was GU and Gatorade, as well as water over my head. It was also long, making up for the short 10th mile.
  Mile 12 had a bit of a tailwind.
  Mile 13 was the same - nice tailwind, but I could tell I was going to cramp up if I didn't get some more electrolytes, so instead of the shot block, I was going to take the gel cap - but they had fallen out of my pocket :( so shot block it was.
  Mile 14 was good for my time, I crossed the half marathon at 1:37:00, did the math and knew I had to run 7:10 miles from here on out. "The Climb" from a movie that I had recently watched with my family came on my iPod (if you know the movie, you know why I didn't include the title). The song is about seeing a dream, almost in your grasp, but knowing you just won't make it this time. There will always be an obstacle in the way, an uphill battle, sometimes you have to lose. It's not about how fast you get there or what is waiting on the other side, it's about the climb. I don't think any tears came out of my eyes, but I knew that I didn't have it in me to meet my goal this time. It was just time for the uphill battle.
  Mile 15 was also good for my time, but my HR was about 11 miles ahead of target... Gatorade and shot block, water over my head.
  Mile 16 was the last good mile, HR high. POP stop, same story as before...
  Mile 17 (16.9) was where the first cramp hit, in my right ham. Bad sign - but you have to push through or give in, and even though my HR is high, I still have a chance at a PR (Personal Record). GU and Gatorade, water over my head
  Mile 18 is where the Maverick is that I first saw Jeri Dawn and my girls last year - I was looking forward to that. My dad popped out in the lane and took my picture - I did my best to look good.  Apparently Jeri Dawn and Dean (friend who saved my race) saw me before I saw my dad with the camera. They thought that I looked terrible...
  Mile 19 is the 1st of two uphill miles. I was a little slower than I had hoped, but not too disappointing. At this aid station, I took Gatorade and a shot block.
  Mile 20 was a little slow as well, but was a turning point - I started cramping more. It could have been really bad, but Dean and his daughter came by on their bikes and asked if I needed anything. I told him I lost my electrolyte gel caps he gave me. He told me to run on and he would get me more. Just before the peak of the hill, he caught back up, gave me three pills and some water and asked if I needed anything else. I asked, "When can I take more?" The answer was a half hour - so mile 24!?!
  Mile 21 was where people started passing me last year and I couldn't do anything about it. It was a little better this year, a few passed me, but a passed a few too. Gatorade and water...
  Mile 22 was where I caved in to the tightness in my calves - last year. This year, it is where I about caved in to the pure lack of energy, but just as I considered resting, at about 21.3, I saw a familiar red shirt - Adam! I decided that I had to beat him. He was about 50 yards ahead and moving a little faster than I wanted to go, but I stuck with him. Gatorade and water...
  Mile 23 was rough. At 22.3 I had some serious cramping and Adam started pulling away. Just then (like within 5 seconds) Dean rode up with electrolytes! Adam moved to about 200 yards out, but I worked on reeling him in. More GU and Gatorade.
  Mile 24 was a good one - I reeled Adam to within 25 yards and Jeri Dawn ran me down the hill from River Heights into Logan! More Gatorade and water over my head. Jeri Dawn said Travis was 4 minutes ahead! Good for him!
  Mile 25, just after the aid station, a few people passed by and I thought, "Now is the time - maybe Adam won't notice me if I'm with them." Yeah right. I looked back at the corner - he was 20 yards back. Then the hill - small any other day of the year, but nearly insurmountable this day - I was sure he would pass me. More Gatorade.
  Mile 26 was more will power keeping me moving. At the first corner, I thought I could see Adam, a block later I wasn't sure. By center street as I passed people and other passed me, I couldn't pick out Adam behind me - just 4.5 blocks left - including the downhill!
  Mile 26.2 - no sprint :(

     As Adam came through, he said, "That's what I get for trying to stay up with you in the beginning!" I think he was talking to Travis - who PR'd by 30 minutes at 3:21:06. Adam was 3:24:47 and my time was 3:24:04 - a PR, but not a BQ.
     Last year chocolate milk hit the spot (I had 2 large Nesquiks!) In fact it was so good, I e-mailed the company to thank them for supporting races! This year, a few swallows of the chocolate milk made me sick. The salty wheat bread chunks that tasted like doughnuts at the half also made me sick. I wonder if that has anything to do with the last week? Here is how that went:
     Tuesday or Wednesday of the week before last week, I started getting the flu - I distinguish the flu from a cold by my hunger level: when I get the flu, I get hungry an hour after eating. Figuring this means my body needs more fuel, I started taking more food to work. By Friday, I had a mild sore throat, worse on Saturday. Sunday I didn't feel so good, skipped church, staying home with a sick daughter, but felt OK by mid-afternoon until I ate some Taco Soup - that did me in an hour and a half later. I took it easy Monday, though a bowl of cereal before bed was too much for my stomach. I felt alright Tuesday (in fact I played basketball and it went just like it normally does). Wednesday I decided it was time to run again - sort of. I took my 7-year old for a 2.5 mile run walk, averaging 13 minute miles. By the time we got home, an hour and a half after dinner (Tacos) I was ill. Thursday was fine. Friday, when I woke up, I finally felt good! I ran 2 miles and suddenly had a little hope for the race - which is probably why I couldn't sleep that night, 2 hours. I thought that I was better. A friend had invited us over for dinner after the marathon. He is half Mexican and makes amazing - you guessed it - tacos. An hour and a half after dinner I realized that I was still not over the flu...
     Travis put in around 25 the weeks he ran, but had quite a few weeks with no runs... His training this year wasn't nearly as good as last year. He runs on guts, and I run on training. I beat him in the half by 2 minutes (1:25:31 to 1:27:30). We both figured I would lose him and probably beat him again. Then I got sick... I guess that's all part of the experience. I am pleased with the results, considering the past week. I am disappointed with the results considering the 16 before... Congrats to Travis for destroying his PR!
     The following shows my planned time and heart rate followed by the reality of my time and heart rate.
Plan                     Reality
Mile Min Sec  HR    Mile  Min   Sec   HR
 1     7    35  153      1     7      3.6  161
 2     7    10  163      2     7    21.2  170
 3     7    10  163      3     7    13.1  173
 4     7      5  163      4     7    19.5  172
 5     7      5  166      5     7    32.9  173
 6     7      0  167      6     7    37.9  172
 7     6    55  168      7     7    32.8  173
 8     6    50  169      8     7    37.0  172
 9     6    45  170      9     7    41.5  171
10     6    40  171    10     6    44.9  174
11     6    40  171    11     8     0.5  174
12     6    40  171    12     7    13.6  175
13     6    40  172    13     7    20.5  175
13.1  0    40  172    13.1  0    43.0  176
14     6      0  173   14     6    20.4  176
15     7    10  173    15     7     6.0  181
16     7    10  178    16     7    23.0  181
17     7    15  178    17     7    54.1  179
18     7    20  180    18     7    24.9  180
19     7    30  181    19     7    58.9  182
20     7    35  182    20     8    23.0  180
21     7    20  182    21     8      0.4  179
22     7    55  182    22     8    59.9  180
23     7    55  183    23     8    56.0  176
24     7    35  185    24     9      6.6  174
25     8    15  184    25     8    46.2  176
26     8    15  187    26     8    53.7  177
26.2  1    36  187    26.2   1    49.8  180
      189   46  174.1        204     4.9  175.4

TOU/2 Marathon

     I did it! I ran the TOU Half Marathon in my V5Fs - or VFFs! Apparently it was so inspiring that Jeri Dawn just had to get a pair! Not really (inspiring), but really (Jeri Dawn did get a pair, as well as her walking partner and her two boys.) Over all the race went well, I achieved my goals - completing the half in VFFs and beating last year's time of 1:30:03. My final time was 1:25:37 (6:32 per mile), a 4:26 improvement!
     My mom and brother (Travis) ran it again and my dad and sister (Jenni) ran it as well!
     I could analyze a few things, but mostly I need to get better at running with better form while almost barefoot - my heels would land, then the balls of my feet would slap the ground pretty hard. It's not so bad for 8 miles or so, but more than that and the next few days can be a little painful! Last Saturday, on my long run, I tried to keep my heels off the ground. This helped to significantly reduce the foot slap, but my calves have never been so tight in my life - YAAWEE!
     I have noticed a problem with my recent marathon training, though; the last two Saturday runs have left some part of my running muscles quite spent. This isn't good considering the TOU Marathon is in just 11 days! Hopefully I can fully recover from the long runs and achieve my current greatest running goal:BQ

Kitchen Progress

     Since I haven't posted anything regarding my current remodeling project since the tile floor, it may seem like there hasn't been any progress. Well, there has! I'm done with the plumbing (except actually hooking up the sink, dishwasher, and refrigerator) the electrical work (except the ceiling lights), the additional wall (only 8" wide) is framed, sheet-rocked, mudded, and painted, the cabinets and counter-tops are in (I didn't do them), the bead board is on the ceiling, the painting is mostly done (thanks to my wife), the thermostat has been moved (well, the wiring anyway), and the back-splash is nearly complete!

Vibram 5-Fingers (VFFs or V5Fs)

     Maybe it is too early to tell, but I think that I am going to love running in my new shoes! Monday, I wanted to run 8 miles in these things, but held back and just did the middle 4 in them. I have run 1, 1.25, 2, 2.25, 3.1, and 4 miles barefoot in the past month (getting blisters on the 3.1 and 4 milers). The blisters aren't much of a concern, skin heals. In fact, I ran the 4 miler the Monday before the Bear Lake Marathon! I guess that I am more concerned about injuring something on the inside, so I plan to take the barefoot and V5F training a bit like a 1st marathon training course - adding maybe 10% more mileage every other week. I'm sure that I'll break that plan soon, but it's always good to have a plan - so you know what you aren't following. I plan on running the TOU Half Marathon August 29th in these or barefoot, and probably the same for the marathon three weeks later. We'll see how that plan goes.

Bear Lake Marathon

     I ran this in a completely different type of shoe that I purchased after the Ogden Marathon (4 weeks ago) in an attempt to switch to barefoot/minimalist shoes. So this was my first run longer than 12.6 miles since the marathon and in my new shoes - next shoes will be Vibram 5-Fingers!
     My goal was to beat the average of my marathons (not including Running From an Angel) of 3:39:12 but I really wanted to beat 3:30 and PR. It was also a test to see if running marathons 4 weeks apart allows enough recovery time for me, though one could argue that I didn't give it my all in Ogden, since my negative split seems to indicate that I rested the first half. As a side note, I tried to predict my best possible finish (I came up with something just over 3:28:42) using target heart rate goals, with times per mile starting something like 9:00, 8:40, 8:30, 8:20, 8:10, 8:00, 7:55... finishing most in 7:50 (nothing special, just seemed doable) with my heart rate eventually climbing to 166 in the first 13 miles, then 169-170 in the next 7, 173 after that, and maybe 181 for the final mile, with 167 being the overall average. I told my wife that 3:28 was the best possible finish. I was off this after the first mile.
     Boring Details (not to me)
     Total 26.2 168/185 3:27:06 (7:54.27 pace)
     0.2 154 1:56.6 9:43 pace (the mile markers count down from 26.2 so the first split is at 26 to go)
     8:09.9 163 (clearly faster than I had planned, so I thought, "If I do 8 minute miles from here on out, I'll finish at 3:30!")
     7:47.8 164 (wasn't supposed to hit this for quite a few miles)
     7:52.1 164
     8:00.6 164
     8:08.2 165
     8:05.9 165
     7:54.6 165 (at least my heart was following the plan!)
     7:51.2 164 (somebody passed me - from my age division I later found out)
     7:56.0 165
     7:44.1 163
     8:13.2 165
     7:58.2 163
     7:35.7 167 (half marathon time was 1:44:21)
     7:50.2 166 (I passed him back, as well as two others, now for the tall man in white shirt)
     7:40.8 170 (heart rate went up sooner than expected, but pace didn't change much?)
     7:24.1 171
     7:47.8 170 (my wife drove by with the kids, turned around stopped and cheered!)
     7:43.1 171 (heart rate is still higher than expected)
     7:54.8 170 (my family - bros/sis, dad, G-parents - was cheering from up above at Sweet Water Cabin (trailer) Park)
     7:54.0 170 (time to boost the HR)
     8:01.9 172
     7:49.4 173
     8:14.0 171 (oh no! I'm slowing down, but have passed a lot of the Halfers...We started at 6:48, they started at 7:40. I can also still see the man in white, as well as a women in orange that is just ahead of him, and they're also passing people)
     8:06.0 173 (I need to pick it up, though I passed two women who placed 2nd and 3rd overall in the women's)
     7:42.8 178 (Caught the man in white! It turns out he is a co-worker who has run Boston, and beat me by a minute in Ogden. I also passed the women in orange - 1st place female overall)
     7:43.2 178 (sprinted after the turn into the park! Second half was 1:42:45 - negative split!!! Final 10k was 49:16 - 7:56.77 pace)
     If I had finished 26 minutes sooner, I would have been 1st in my AG and 2nd overall! Instead it was 6th overall and 2nd in my AG.
     My knee is sore (I've had knee problems since the 8th grade - running has helped a lot, though the races are tough on them, as well as running in the morning if I haven't been training much.) I had been taking glucosamine for the last 1.5 years, but thought that a true test of barefoot theories would include ditching the glucosamine, so I haven't taken any since the day of the Ogden Marathon.
     Official results have posted. I could have placed 1st (1:26:25) or 2nd (1:34:38) overall if I had run the half. Oh well!

Grout!

Tile!

Getting closer!

Radiant Floor Heating!

Ogden Marathon Again

     Another marathon under my feet! This one was the most enjoyable by far. The day started with little sleep and too much liquid... The bus I was on left right at 5:00am and made it to the start line by 5:46 where a frosted pasture filled with port-a-potties and fire barrels awaited.
     The goals that I had going into this one were:
  1) Enjoy this marathon
  2) Finish under 4 hours
  3) Run a negative split (last half faster than the first half)
  4) Beat last year's time
  5) Finish under 3 and a half hours
     #5 was maybe a bit of a stretch, as I only ran 285 miles in the last 4 months (last year I ran 450 miles in the 4 months before the race) but it doesn't hurt to dream big. Well, at 3:39:31.3 (1:56:48.6 at the half-way point and 1:42:42.7 for the second half), that was the only one I didn't meet.
     The sun came up about 15 minutes before the start, but the cool temperatures prevailed for nearly 15 miles (that's where the top of the only major hill was). I started out really slow - 9:41 for the first mile, 9:17 second and 9:08 for the third. After that, the only miles that were over 9:00 were the 4th (I walked for 1 minute to keep me from going too fast), the 6th (potty break), the 11th (another potty break), the 14th (did I mention that I started the day with too much liquid?), and the 15th (where I kept myself from powering up the hill by applying chapstick with sunblock to my lips, ears, nose, cheeks, and forehead).
     They say that your not supposed to try anything new in a race (26.2 miles is a long way to have to deal with the dire consequences) but the "chocolate outrage" GU at mile 9 seemed so appealing that I just had to try it! It was so delicious that at mile 13.1 I tried another flavor, and at mile 15 I took 2 more to try a little later. The only negative consequence that I can think of is the expectation that my body may have for delicious energy the next time I do another long run (Bear Lake Marathon on June 13th). I doubt that I'll buy any, it's over $1 per pouch!
     The first 15 miles, my average mile time was 8:58. The next 11 miles it was 7:36. My family was waiting near the end, so the last 0.2 miles, my pace was 6:40! It is awesome to have a family that is so supportive!
     On to the next one!

Training Again

     Well, I guess that it is time to start training again. Other than the marathon, in January and February, I ran a total of 52 miles - 2.8 less than the last week of October. I think that I may have learned something the very first day back, something that I would think I should have learned a long time ago: running in the morning is hard on my knees.
     I've had bad knees since the 8th grade but they seemed to have gotten better through marathon training. The last week of October did them in, though. I backed off on the miles but it still seemed like almost every time I ran my knees paid the price. Since April or May 2008, most of my running has been outside, in the morning. Prior to that, nearly 100% was on a treadmill in the evening. Last Monday, I ran 4 miles in the morning and by 4:00 pm my knees were sore. Tuesday evening, I played basketball - no problems, which has been the case since about three months after I began training for my first marathon. Wednesday evening - four miles, Thursday evening - 4.5 miles, and Saturday - six miles, all without soreness.
     So, until my knees are 100% - no morning runs!

Running From an Angel

     This race was meant to keep me running through the holidays. I guess that it worked, at least a little. After running 54.8 miles the last week of October (causing knee pain) followed by pleurisy in November (1 week off and pain that finally went away in mid-December) with weak training in November (9 runs for 75.4 miles) and December (11 runs for 60.5 miles), having gained over 10 pounds, I hoped that I could meet my original goal of averaging 10-minute miles.     I had run 10-minute miles in my final weeks of training so I could figure out what my heart would be doing for 10 minute miles (without elevation change). My heart rate monitor was a bit wacky the first two miles (showing max HR as 220 and average HR as 180) but seemed pretty reliable after that. By the time it was all over, my average HR was 167 and the max that I saw was 186. My split time was 2:10:45 and the second half time was 2:05:05 - my first negative split! My official time was 4:15:49.94, 33rd overall out of 80, 4th or 5th in my division (it depends on whether the top runners overall stay in the division...) and I feel pretty good about the whole thing.
     I normally use Jeri Dawn's iPod, since it's smaller than mine, and I normally listen to my "Odio" playlist, or my "Exercise" playlist. I had debated whether or not to listen to my "Christmas" playlist, but didn't take the time to put it on her iPod. It turns out that she deleted whatever playlist I had added, so I ran to her "Mix" playlist. It was actually quite enjoyable to listen to a fresh lineup of music. Some songs I had never heard, during some songs I caught myself moving to the music (something that's actually quite difficult for someone with no rhythm) and often times I caught myself singing outloud (wasting precious energy - so I started lip syncing instead), but I enjoyed listening to my wife's music. This is the first time that I've ever run for more than four hours. I used to wonder what marathoners thought about while running for so long. Now that I've trained for and run three marathons, I still wonder what they think about... If it weren't for the music, I don't know what I'd do.     My brother Travis was supposed to run too, but apparently a torn meniscus causes the strongest man alive to succumb to his wife's desires and he hasn't run for a while. So I went down with my mom! We had a great time chatting, fretting (Darrin texted everyone saying he had syphilis - we didn't know the truth for a few hours) eating at Wolfgang Puck's at the Venetian again and staying at Nanna Emerson's (my mom's friend's mom.)     In spite of the crazy wind, the ups and downs, and the few specatators (my mom was the greatest) it was a great experience. Calico Racing puts on a great event, the aid stations were great, the food wonderful and the run was challenging. It is one I may go back to!