God Bless America

I think they need bigger trains.

Ode to the Afternoon Run

Wow, where did December go? Hope the holidays were awesome for everybody. "What's up with the post title" you ask, well let me tell you.
Today's run was one of those "this is why I love running" runs. It wasn't because I ran a PR, or covered some insane distance, but because the it was an exhilarating experience. Call it endorphins or insanity, but let me try to explain.
A picture is worth a thousand words, but I don't have either so you'll have to use your imagination a bit. It was a windey (you know bends in the road, not windy) hilly forest road that was covered in packed snow. There were 4 foot banks of soft snow on either side of the road from the recent plow. The road makes its way through a pristine ponderosa pine forest. The sky was totally clear and perfectly blue. In the background there are the snow capped San Fransico Peaks. The only colors you can see are the white snow, brownish green trees, and blue sky. The temperature was in the low 40's and the sun was out in full force. I am alone. I breathe the cold, clear, dry, oxygen depleted air. My body is reluctant to run because of the recent 5 mile weeks and post marathon 8 lbs but my mind is saying "This is amazing".

We're moving from Flagstaff in a few weeks and this is one of the things I'll miss about living here (sorry Paige, there are some reasons to like Flagstaff). I do look forward to my running adventures in the Phoenix area but will always look back with fondness to these "lunchtime" Flagstaff winter runs.

"Let Go Of Your Hate" - Luke Skywalker

A lot of people have said it in a lot of different ways but I've come to really appreciate this idea lately. I've been harboring a lot of negative feelings lately and am finding that it doesn't do me or anybody else any good. So, I'm resolving now to let go of my hate and follow one of the Lord's greatest commandments and "Love thy neighbor". Even the ones that take dumps on our doorstep. We'll see how long this lasts.

Getting back into the groove

I think I'm finally recovered from the marathon. I know it's been over a month and I'm just being a wimp. It's hard to describe but this week has been the first time I've actually enjoyed my running and working out. My knee isn't really hurting anymore and I feel like I can "dig deep" again.

I think I'm ready to start thinking about my next "race". I am going to target a 5k in the late winter/early spring timeframe. I would like to take a couple of months to really train specifically for this distance and shave a couple of minutes off my PR.

I'll keep you posted.

Untitled post

I haven't been running much lately so not much to talk about. I've been enjoying the downtime by going to spin class, lifting, and swimming. I've been averaging about 8-12 miles/week running which is less than my long runs when I was in marathon training. I've gained about 4 lbs so I should probably think about kicking the milage back up soon. My knee is still hurting a bit when I run, but nothing serious. I think the marathon really took a lot out of me because until today I haven't enjoyed my runs much. I had been laboring through three mile runs but today I tackled the infamous "suburban loop" and felt really good so maybe I'm over the hump. Anyway, I stumbled upon this random video and since I'm still a star wars nerd I'll post it.

I love Chromeo too

Here is our buddy Van Damme grooving with some asain chicks to some music from Chromeo. Once again, I love the 80's.



Where do you get tank tops like that these days? How do you learn to punch somebody in the face while doing the splits? Maybe Tobe should try that move in his next fight.

Best Track Video Ever

This video is great. Why can't more athletes try and start singing careers like this? Watch all the way to the end. It might make you throw up a little in your mouth, but you have to see it. And no, I don't know what is going on with the bubbles. ENJOY



Remember when Carl Lewis was the "greatest athelte in the world". Well you just saw him run a 9.99. And you may remember Usain Bolt running a 9.69, man how times have changed.

Marathon Report - The Aftermath

Finish Line to Car - Mixed Emotion: Right after crossing the finish line they have this Blue Bunny Cool Zone of misters. Usually it's pretty warm at the end of the marathon so this is a welcome area for the runners but this year it was empty. I thought it was funny that a couple of the girls that finished just ahead of me said "why not" and walked through the misters because they were already soaking wet. We then made our way to where they give you the sweet petrified wood finishers medal. There were a couple of folks giving them out. One lady was giving everybody a hug so I decided to go to the other guy. This guy put the medal around my neck and then put his hands on my shoulders looked me in the eye and very genuinely said "well done". I have to admit this was a little emotional for me. I think extreme exhaustion, mixed with the feeling of accomplishing something that at one time seemed impossible, along with thinking about all the hard work that got you to that point brings tears to many eyes. I chocked back the tears because "real men" don't cry at the finish line and wandered my way into the finishers area. They had a big section of the park roped off for "runners only" with ice cream (just what you want after a long cold wet run), fruit, drinks etc. I grabbed an ice cream bar but only took a couple of bites because I didn't think my stomach could handle it. Then I heard my name called and turned to find a guy I work with. We talked about the race a little. He said this was the worst of the 5 SGMs he's done and the crowd was only 1/3 the normal size. I was anxious to see the family so I only grabbed a piece of cantaloupe and headed out of the finishers area. I ran into Paige and Elle first. They were very happy for me and it was really cool to have them there to share the moment with. After a while my Brother, Mom, and Drew caught up to us and we stood chatted for a bit. It was starting to rain again so we decided to part ways while I try to get a massage. I walked over to the massage area but the wait looked pretty long. I was starting to get cold so I thought it would be best to get my gear from the start and head home for a long hot shower. They had the bags really well organized and within about 2 minutes I had my bag. I looked around the random clothes area for the long sleeved shirt I dumped but came up empty so I guess it got donated to charity. It didn't look like there was anything else interesting going on so I took off.

Rest of the time in St. George: I spent the rest of the day moving as little as possible. I suddenly got my appetite back and was starving by the time I got to eat some Bajio's. That night at Pizza Factory was good too. I tried to sleep some that afternoon, but probably only got about 1 hr. I wasn't really as tired as I thought I would be. The next morning the weather was much better. It was cool, but the skies were clear and there was no rain. I remember thinking "why couldn't the race have been today" because the weather would have been ideal and I had a great sleep. Oh well.

St. George to home: The drive home went pretty fast. My legs were sore, but not bad so the car ride didn't seem to make things worse. I was pretty sore until Tuesday morning.

Final thoughts: Overall I think this was a good experience. I am still glad to have it over with. The more time that passes the more open I am to the idea of doing it again. I really think I could finish under 4 hours given better conditions. I don't think I'll try anytime in the next 12 months, but maybe the year after that. I think running 1/2's are much more fun. The training is enough to keep me interested, but isn't so much that it feels like another job. The races themselves are more fun because I can go for certain times instead of just making sure I survive. But, I know not finishing in under 4 hours is going to bug me. I'm also open to the idea of running for a specific reason i.e. to run with somebody who's doing it for the first time or as part of some group. It was an experience I'll never forget and I'm very grateful to my wife and kids for supporting me through the long hours of training as well as showing up to see me finish. Also, very grateful to my Mom and Brother for showing up in St. George to support me, it made the experience that much better. Also, grateful to all the other family and friends for their love and support and all the congrats that have been given. Thanks to the marathon organizers and volunteers (especially the icy hot dudes) for putting together a very smooth race.

Jacked Pictures: Sorry to the fine folks who braved the rain and took these photo's hoping to make a buck off me. WARNING: These photo's are always notoriously bad, I've spared you the really hideos ones but for some reason, in a few of these pictures I look like I'm about to die.

Miles 8-finish

Miles 8-13, The Mid Marathon Blur: These miles all sort of blended together. It was rainy, but I felt pretty good. I remember being really glad to hit 10 miles because I always think of a marathon as two 10 mile runs with a 10k at the end so in a way I was 1/3 of the way done. I remember being about 3 minutes behind my pace at the 13 mile mark.

Miles 13-19, The really crappy part: These miles sucked. The rain was really coming down hard and I even had a hard time seeing because of the wind driving the rain into my face. I remember thinking how I really wished it was only a half-marathon and I could be done. I also remember being really jealous of the "elite" runners who were finishing about the same time I was crossing mile 14. I had a lot of discouraging thoughts of just wanting to get the thing over with during these miles. I never really wanted to quit, but I did think it would be cool if one of the suburbans or motorcycles that kept passing us would pick me up. I also had another bout with BM's at about mile 15 so that slowed me way down. The only encouraging thought I had was thinking that everybody else I saw was going through the same thing so I shouldn't feel too sorry for myself.

Miles 19-21, A New Hope: I can't really explain what happened at mile 19. I made a stop at the Icy Hot dudes, got some gel, took some Gatorade and all of the sudden felt great. It was at this point that I knew I was going to make it. I picked the pace way up, started passing people all over the place and started to enjoy myself. The only damper on these two miles was right before the aid station at mile 21 where my hamstrings started cramping up.

Mile 21-26.2, The long finish: The last miles felt as good as you could expect to feel after running 20+ miles. The rain finally eased up at about mile 23. I stopped at all the aid stations to get some icy hot so that slowed me way down but was crucial to my success because I was cramping everywhere. Over the last two miles I had to fight the overwhelming urge to walk. I also had to fight the idea that I had made it. I kept thinking "I've done it" and would start to loose focus so I had to force myself to not think that way until the end. I also had to ignore the spectators at like mile 23 saying "you're almost there". I ran these last few miles without the ipod for a couple of reasons. First, the headphones started to die because they were so wet and second, I wanted to get a sense for what the crowd and runners were feeling/saying over these last few miles. The final 1/2 mile of straight section to the finish was pretty exhilarating. I saw the family and was inspired by them. There are so many people there that you feel like to have to gut through it for them. Also, there were all these military folks lining the course like they were keeping guard which made me feel kind of special. Then, I finally stepped over the finish line. I can remember the two black mats and how good they felt under my feet and also how good it felt knowing I no longer had to run.

Marathon Report- The first 8 miles

From Start to Mile 3: I didn't really know when the race officially started. I didn't hear a gun or anything but all of the sudden the crowd lurched forward and there was cheering and then it stopped. Then after a few seconds we slowly started moving again and after a couple of minutes I was jogging over the starting mat and I was off. I pulled off the garbage bag and tossed it to the side because it wasn't raining too hard and I thought it would slow me down. I tried to be really conscientious about not getting caught up in the moment and going really slow at the start. Then before I knew it I was at the first mile post. I don't think a mile has ever gone by faster than that in my entire life. I wasn't running it too fast (probably around 8:45 or so) the time just flew by, so I was feeling good. I was trying to stay as close as possible to the 4:00 pace group and remember the Cliff pace lady commenting on the swishing sound of all the people who were still wearing garbage bags. Then again before I knew it we were at mile 2. My strategy was to take walk breaks every two miles but I felt good and figured that since the first aid station wasn't until mile 3 I could hold on. It was still dark as we approached mile 3 and I knew we were getting close when I could see the flashing lights of police vehicles. I was starting to feel like I was going to have to take a dump break but the porta poties at the aid station were packed so I decided to wait until I saw one that was open.

Miles 3-8: Still felt pretty good except for the lingering feeling of needing to use the bathroom. I started looking at the terrain to see if there were any good bushes. I fell behind the 4:00 pace group at the mile 3 aid station, but was able to catch up by mile 4. At mile 5 I felt like I didn't need my long sleeve shirt so I took it off and threw it to the side of the road. Again, the porta poties at mile 5 were packed so I decided to wait and see if there were any open ones at mile 6. As the mile 6 porta poties came into view I could see that there were at least 4-5 people waiting at each one and we were coming up to the town of Veyo and my options were quickly disappearing, so I made a quick decision to duck behind a bush/tree at the side of the road. I was surprised at the mud sticking to my shoes as I got off the road, found a good spot and quickly took care of business. I was glad that I brought that emergency TP and headed back to the road. By that time the 4:00 pace group was out of sight and I didn't see them for the rest of the race. The course heads downhill into Veyo, then right after mile 7 it goes into a steep climb. I could feel the anticipation of the crowd for this hill. Everybody speeds way up on the downhill leading up to it, then it's like waves hitting a beach as everybody slowly makes their way up the infamous Veyo hill. Right after the top of the hill I hit mile 8.

Marathon Report - The Preamble

It's over. This is probably going to be painfully boring for anybody else reading, but I'm going to do my best to relate my Saint George Marathon '08 experience (you know for posterity).

THE EXPO: It really started Friday at the expo/packet pick up. It was at the St. George convention center which took forever to get to because of all the marathon traffic. We walked in and it was pretty much like you would expect. A bunch of booths giving out mostly random stuff. I went straight back to the packet pick up. They had it really well organized and before I knew it this nice older lady was looking through a box for my packet. She said it wasn't there so I needed to go to the "problem" booth. "Oh great" I thought as my mind raced through what could have possibly gone wrong. I walk up to the table and and the lady takes one look at me and says "weight division". At first I was relieved that there was nothing major wrong, then I was a little offended, especially after so many people recently have been saying I look really thin. Anyway I step on the scale to make it official because they won't take your word for it, I was just fat enough to pass and was on my way. We wandered around the expo for a while and I was able to pick up some new flavors of "magic beans". I tried some gross Cliff products and looked at some of the vintage SGM t-shirts then we were off, back to the condo.

THE SHORT NIGHT: We got back to the condo and had a sweet pasta dinner made by my awesome wife. I was planning on getting up at about 4:15 am so I thought I could get to sleep by 9:00 and get a decent 7 hours of sleep. So at about 9:00 I wandered back to bed and by about 9:30 I was asleep. Then I woke up at 12:30AM to the sound of my daughter crying and my wife getting up to see what was wrong. When I looked at the clock I was really hoping it was going to say at least 2:30 and was really pissed when there was a one in front of that two. Then the long part of the night began. Between Drew getting up and waking Elle up, my Mother snoring in the living room and just being juiced for the marathon I couldn't get back to sleep. By 2:30 I decided if I didn't get to sleep right away I may as well try to make the early 4:00 am bus and be eligible for "earlybird" prizes. So at 3:15 I got up and my sweet wife told me how bad she felt that I didn't get any sleep. It doesn't sound like much, but I was just so relieved she was more worried about me than pissed off at me for dragging her to St. George and making her go through a sleepless night. I ate my breakfast, got my stuff together, got in the car and headed to the buses.

THE LONG BUS RIDE: On my way to the buses I found myself walking next to another "early riser". I asked if he planned on waking up this early of if he just couldn't sleep. He indicated the later and I was glad to hear that I wasn't the only one attempting to run 26.2 miles on less than a handful of hours of sleep. In fact, on the bus it sounded like most of the folks were fellow insomniacs. The guy who sat next to me on the bus was a "veteran" marathoner but this was his first SGM. He was from Ogden and had qualified for and run Boston. He shared some cool stories of previous marathons and about how when he ran Boston two years ago the weather was cold, rainy, and windy. Turns out he perfectly foreshadowed this years SGM. We swapped a few more running stories but spent most of the time in silence. I overheard the girl in front of me talking about living in Austin, the people behind me were overwhelmingly pessimistic about the whole thing and there were a couple of hyper high school age kids sitting across from me. I had heard the bus ride would feel long, but holy crap. That bus just kept going and going, even when I saw the lights in the sky that marked the starting line it seemed like forever until we got there. When we pulled up there were a bunch of American flags whipping in the wind and of course they were blowing the wrong way. This was when I got my first realization that the weather was not going to cooperate.

THE COLD DARK WAIT: The starting area was set up pretty cool. They had a bunch of lights, some speakers and an aid station right when you get off the bus. The song that was blaring was Black-eyed-peas "lets get it started in here". There was a huge line of porta-poties and another huge double line of about 3 foot high stacks of wood flanking both sides of the road we were about to run on. I hadn't had my morning constitution yet so I made my way to one of the porta-poties and took care of business as well as grabbed a few feet of TP for any "emergencies" I may have later in the day. I then made my way to one of the recently lit fires and sat down on the dirt next to it because it seemed like the thing to do not because I was feeling cold. I knew it would be nippy so I wore a long sleeve shirt, texas hoodie, beanie, and gloves. I started in on my pre-race meal plan and noticed the guy sitting next to me had a Red Sox hat. Since I went to bed early I didn't catch the end of the game. I was happy to hear the Sox won with a home run off K-rod and that was the last conversation I had until the end of the race almost 7 hours later. The rest of the starting line wait was a blurr. More and more people showed up, every once in a while a dude with an announcer voice would get on the PA and spout some random stuff. After a while I didn't notice the wind anymore, but then the rain started. At first I thought something was leaking out of my bag onto my legs, but then I realized it was rain. It was really light at first but picked up to a steady drizzle. I put on one of the trash bags they were giving away as makeshift raincoats. I headed into the bushes a couple of times to relieve myself. I was thinking it would be a good idea to sit on the pot to make sure I didn't have any more constitution to take care of, but the lines were too long and the race was starting in like 15 min. I took off my hoodie, beanie, and gloves and put them in my bag and onto the clothing uhaul. I set up at the starting area between the 4:00 and 3:50 pace groups and got my watch ready for the start.

1 week to go

Now begins the final countdown.
It's been a crazy week with all the traveling but I was able to get a 16 miler on the provo river parkway. It's kind of fitting to do my last marathon training "long run" on the same trail that I started running consistently on over three years ago. The run felt really good and for the first time in a few weeks I'm looking forward to this race. I finished the run feeling really good and was tempted to keep going but decided not to push it. The knee was feeling really good and I wanted to keep it that way. I didn't have the usual 14 mile meltdown so all in all it was really encouraging.
Things should be interesting, I plan on taking it pretty conservatively so that I'll have a better chance of finishing without too much pain. I would still be stoked for anything under 4 hours, but under 4:30 will be pretty awesome as well.
See you in St. George!

12 days until the marathon

Yep, I can't believe it either. I haven't posted in a while because there hasn't been anything that interesting to talk about. The bodyglide performed as advertised, so anybody out there struggling with chafing issues I highly recommend bodyglide.

I've done two long runs since I last posted. On the 13th I did a 20 miler and it was as hard as it sounds. I felt really really good at first and may have pushed it a little too hard because at mile 14 it all started to come apart. I was more tired at mile 16 then I was when I finished the 18 miler the week before so I'm not sure what was going on. When I was done I had some lingering soreness in the right knee.

During the next weeks training I would notice the soreness at the beginning of a run, but it would work itself out in the first couple of miles and not really affect me.

Then I woke up Thursday night puking all over the place, I felt like crap all day Friday and decided I should postpone my planned 20 miler for Saturday. I woke up Saturday feeling much better and made a plan to wake up early Monday morning and get my 20 miles in.

So this morning at 5:00 am in the pitch black of night I set off on a 20 mile adventure. It was a little scary running in the darkness, but also kind of cool. I've often thought recently that running is how myself and a lot of other adults "play" outside. Because of running I get to see stuff and experience things that I would otherwise probably never do, like running around at 5 am in the black of night for example. It was a neat experience to watch the sunrise (don't know the last time I was outside when the sun came up) and see the world wake up.

That was probably the only "cool" part of the run. I never really got into a groove and had a hard time keeping a decent pace without my garmin (left it at work). Then again at mile 14 things started to really break down. My knee's were the main culprits this time with the right going first then the left starting to feel it as well. So I decided to cut the run a little sort and did a "marathon shuffle" another 4.5 miles.

Now, I have some reasons for my last two long runs being crappy (lack of sleep, illness, etc.) but I'm starting to get nervous. The knee's now are what's really got me worried I feel like I could really use a few weeks off but I don't have that luxury right now. I also feel like I could use another long run before the marathon so I can have more confidence in being able to go the distance. I don't feel like I'm doing any real damage to the knee's but I don't want them to flare up at mile 14 again and be stuck with 12 miles of pain.

I'm just starting to think that 200 lb. people aren't made to run that far.

BODYGLIDE

So I have another new training partner for my long runs. It's this awesome thing called bodyglide. Often after long runs my wife has asked me "why are you walking that way?". I usually mutter a simple reply of "chafing". You non-runners or those blessed with superior genetics may not be able to relate so let me let you into this "dark side" of running so that you may understand why I'm so excited about trying this product.

When skin rubs against stuff (other skin, clothes, whatever) for long periods of time it gets irritated. I typically experience running induced chafing in two areas. First the groin area

OUCH! This is what causes me to walk funny for the rest of the day after a long run. Extremely painful and annoying.

The second area is the nipples.

More rare for me, usually occurs in colder weather (when the headlights are on) and yes it has led to bleeding not unlike our freind shown above. Not as painful as it looks, but still annoying and embarassing.

So you apply this stuff to your "problem areas" before a run and it's supposed to lubricate and protect so you can run for long periods of time pain free. The application process is like putting on deodarant and can look pretty funny as demonstrated by our buddy Bleeker. I plan on applying it before I leave the house in the privacy of my own bathroom.

Way to keep those upper thighs chafe free Pauly!

Now, I don't have the same problem area as this woman, but share her enthusaism for BODYGLIDE!

I'll let you know how it works for me.

Response to Joel's Dress Code Post

Since I couldn't adequeately relate this without pictures. I'm commenting to your blog Joel via posting on my blog.

Here's what I think:
Extremely baggy pants are out. This is not only ghetto but unpractical. How can you do anything with your belt around your knees. Also, I think you could just go with the boxers and save money on the shorts/pants to buy a new car because the shorts/pants don't provide any coverage.


The next thing I can't stand is emo pants. Everything is wrong with them so I don't know where to start. First, they were made for girls so only girls should wear them. Second, you are supposed to have a butt and these make you look like nothing but legs. Also, why would you want to attract women that are attracted to this look. Just wrong.

Oh PS
Congrats on the marriage Joel.

Taking it Easy

Last week was a "light" week for me. I only ran about 25 miles for the week and the long run was a 12 miler. It felt nice to ease back a bit, but I've been feeling under the weather so it was almost as much effort to do the lower milage. I'm hoping to recover this next week and get in a couple of 40+ mile weeks with 20 milers before I taper down for the marathon. It's getting really close now, these are going to be the last bits of preparation I have before it's time to toe the starting line and run the 26.2.

Well how Sketchy are You?

Please Share!
Be Honest!
I was surprised at my own sketchiness factor, I considered myself a pretty solid person before this.

Your Sketchiness Factor

You are 47% Sketchy

How Sketchy Are You?

Another week in the bag

I ran more this last week than I ever have before. I did a couple of 6 milers during the week as well as about 5 miles worth of intervals (Yasso 800's of course). Then to top it off I did an 18 miler on Saturday morning. It was "fun", I got to chase some cattle for about a mile which made me feel like I was racing a bunch of cows, and I saw another coyote. The magical beans helped again of course. I also saw a huge group of high school cross country runners which got me thinking about how far I've come.

When I was in high school I hated running. We had to run some for B-ball but it was usually some form of punishment, plus I think in high school I was just lazy. In the pre-season we would do like 3 milers and I thought I was going to die. Fast forward to college and I just plain didn't run until I woke up closing in on 250 lbs. I figured I should do something before I got really big so I started running. After some gnarly shin splints and other setbacks, I finally got some decent shoes and a good running program. I did my first 5k and have been hooked ever since.

The thoughts that were running through my mind as I saw those high schoolers were first, "man they are in good shape" and second, if you would have told me in high school that I would be running 18 miles and training for a marathon I would not have believed you. As recent as two years ago running 5 miles was a huge deal even thinkning about 10 or beyond was just craziness. Then I realized that a huge part of what makes me run is the whole idea of accomplishing things that previously seemed impossible. I know I'll never compete in the olympics and probably won't ever even win a local 5k, but I'll get the same feeling of accomplishment when I cross the finish line of the marathon, or meet my new time goals for a 10k, etc.

Inspiration

I've had a lot of really cool sources of inspiration lately. First the Olympics. I am always in awe at how insanely fast people can run. I especially enjoyed watching both the men's and women's marathons to see how the elite handle 26.2 miles. It was incredible! The avg. pace of the winner of the men's marathon was 4:50 per mile. 4:50! To put that in context I challenge anybody to run 1 mile in under 5 min. In fact go to a track and try just one lap in under 1:15. If you can run that fast congratulations, then imagine going that fast for over 26 miles. It's just crazy but knowing that the human body (ok a 120lb human body) is capable of that makes me feel better about just trying to cover the distance before the close the course.
Another source of inspiration lately are the folks that are doing the Transrockies run. For those unfamiliar with this event it is a tourdefrancesque 6 day running stage race in the ROCKIES. They do anywhere from 10 to 24 miles a day ranging from like 8000' to 12000' altitude. Since Gore sponsors the event they have 20 free entries for associates who are interested (a $1400 value). A few people I work with are in this thing (they tried to get me to join because I'm pretty good with the bo staff) and I've been following their progress online. It's been so cool to see them kicking arse up and down the rocky mtns. Way to go Erin, Aaron, Janie, Joe, Bob, and Mark; keep up the good work and I look forward to hearing all about it next week.

New training partners

I've been trying a couple of new things in my workouts this week. First is the Yasso 800's. Named after legendary running icon Bart Yasso who says that if you want a good predictor/workout for a marathon you should try these 800m runs. You run the 800's in the same time (in mins.) you plan on finishing the marathon (in hrs.). So for me I'm hoping to finish in 4 hours, so the 800m runs are in 4 min. You start with 5 or 6 800m intervals with a walk/jog rest of 1/2 the interval time. Then you build up to 9 or 10 of these 800's. This week I did 6 and it was a good workout. I ended up running the 800's faster than 4 mins so I'm not so sure how good of a predictor it is, but by the last couple of 800's I was feeling the burn.
My other new parter are these "magical beans" I found at Runners Corner in Orem.
They are made by Jelly Belly and are similar to the gu, or gels, you get from powerbar, etc. but taste way better. The even have EXTREME sport beans that have caffeine (mmmm vitamin C). My tactic is to take 1 or 2 beans every mile and it has transformed my long runs. Last week I had a great 14 miler and this week my 16 miler felt pretty good until the last mile. So, I ordered a bunch from REI and am excited to have some magic on my side.

I think I'm getting close to being ready to run the marathon. I'm going to keep my goals realistic and just try to finish strong and enjoy the experience. I've got a good strategy and we'll just see how I feel.

Big update

A couple of weeks since the last update, so let me get this up to date.

I ran the Provo 1/2 on the 9th of August. It was "fun". I had a good bus ride up to the start, but things were a bit chaotic at the start and I was caught off-guard when the start gun went off. I was way back in the pack and it took me a good couple of minutes to get to the start. I pushed the wrong button on my Garmin so I didn't start tracking my time until the six mile mark. I wasted a bunch of energy weaving in and out of the crowd at the start. The first 8-9 miles were awesome. I was hitting anywhere from 7:30 to 8:30 miles for those first 9. At about 8.5 I started feeling like I wasn't going to be able to keep the pace. At 9 it started to get painful. So it would have been a sweet 15k, but unfortunately I still had 4 miles to go. Looking at the Garmin now I was able to keep 9-10 min miles over those last 4 miles but it felt like crawling. I guess it was to be expected given my training. I had some great speedwork, but crappy endourance stuff. So I went into the next weeks training thinking about needing more distance training.

The next weeks training was all running. I did a quick recovery run on Monday that felt good. Then Wed. morning I got up and did some Tempo work. It felt really good. Thurs. I did a quick couple of miles in the morning while Drew played at the park. Then on Saturday I did a 14 miler. It felt really good. There were moments on the run when I felt like I wished it wouldn't end. It eventually did and that was the longest I've ever ran.

On to next week.

Half-Time

I've been thinking a lot about this "tune-up" race Saturday. As always I'm getting a bit nervous and excited. I feel like I'm mentally prepared. For some reason the distance doesn't seem so daunting. It may be because I've been so occupied with the full marathon that this just seems like a walk in the park. This is my 4th attempt at this distance and 3rd time on this course so I have a good idea of what to expect. It's still 13.1 miles so I have to respect it. The only real question mark right now is if my endurance is there. My speedwork sessions have been going really well and my recent 5k was a pleasant surprise. But, I haven't done many training runs over 10 miles leading up to this race just because I wasn't training specifically for this race. The plan is to start at about 8:20-8:30 min miles and see how I feel. If I'm doing good I'll work it down closer to a 8:00 min mile for the last few miles. If all that works out I hope to finish in under 1:50:00.

Wish you were running with me.

-Justin

Marathon Training Week 7

Not sure how to relate this week to you. I had some real high's and low's. I'll just give the weekly rundown then get into what made the high's high and low's low.

Mon - 4 miles, made up a new route from work but had to do some bushwhacking through the forest to connect a couple of trails (sorry environment). Good run, nothing spectacular but solid

Tues - Yoga = good

Wed - Tempo run, 4 miles fast/ 1 mile warm and cool. It was sort of a crazy day and I was originally planning on doing this run in the morning. I didn't make the morning in time then thought I would run buffalo park at lunch. Then I had a noon meeting sprung on me at work so I just went to the gym and hit the treadmill. This was the "high" for the week I'll explain later.

Thurs - Another crazy day, wasn't able to get in any workouts

Fri - Got up early and ran 3 miles, this was the start of the low. Then at lunch I did some quick lifting and swam 400m. I felt tired, but overall ok afterwards. Just the usual dizzyness after swimming.

Sat - Supposed to be 12 miles, just under 2 hour run. Turned into an 11 mile 2 hour 5 min run. It was a beautiful morning on a new trail but my body was not in the mood to cooperate. I'll elaborate below:



(how I felt after Wed. run)

High Times: No not the magazine just the elaboration on my wed. tempo run. I'm not sure what the trick was, but I felt great for this run. It was literally an indestructable feeling. I felt like I was running fast the whole time, but like I could have gone even faster and could have kept it up forever. This was in sharp contrast to low times experienced this week.



(the wall I hit)
Low times: Like I said, it started Friday. Three miles felt labored, but was to be expected somewhat because I never feel that great when I run outside of my usual schedule. It's like I have to be mentally prepared for the workout and if it's somewhat chaotic I just don't do well. The reall downer was Saturday. I started out ok for the first mile or so, then things started getting ugly. The trail was uphill on the way out, but nothing to gnarly. About a 1000 ft climb over 6 miles. By 4 miles I was walking cursing at myself for being such a wimp. It was a continuous walk/run battle for about another mile and I decided to turn around early and maybe make up the extra couple miles at the end. Since the way back was all downhill I figured I was in the clear but was gravely mistaken. It was still a mile by mile battle. I was able to convince myself that I should take a detour back and at least get 11 miles. I beleive the technical term for what happened to me is "bonking" (look it up). It was a little scary. It was warm outside and I was sweating, but my body felt cold and clammy. I felt like I was screaming at my muscles to run, but they wouldn't. When I got home I basically just fell down in the bedroom and watched the ceiling spin and move up and down. After eating and taking it easy for a few minutes I recovered.

I'm not sure what happened exactly. I've done much harder runs and have gotten tired, but nothing like this. I fueled up the same way I do before every other run, but the night before I didn't eat much because of a slightly upset stomach. I think it was a combination of a bunch of factors: Not enough sleep, a little upset stomach, not enough fuel, too much training. The positives I can take away from the experience are: I know it can't get much worse so I don't have to be afraid of "hitting the wall" again. I know to fuel up well the night before as well as the morning of a long run. I am however a bit nervous for the half-marathon this Saturday. This wasn't much of a confidence booster, but I'm confident my body will bounce back with some light training this week.

Marathon training week 6

Another week in the books, so I'll follow the format of last weeks post and give a quick recap and some random training thoughts.

Mon - Suburban Loop (I'm sensing a trend). It was a good run, weather wasn't too hot.

Tues - Yoga finally. Really good stuff, I'm glad I got to go because it had been way to long.

Wed - Track workout. I got in 3 1600m intervals with 400m rests. With warm up and cool down about 5 miles total. This was another one of those really good runs. I started out a bit nervous because it was a lunchtime thing and I was a bit tired and the weather was somewhat warm. After about 2 min. into the warm-up I knew it was going to be quality. I was able to hit my goal time on all three intervals. On the last one I was even successful in pulling negative splits. So again a really good day.

Thurs - Lifting and 3 miles on the treadmill. Sucked. Treamill runs always seem to be longer than they really are. After about 1 mile I wanted to be done, but I stuck with it and finished the 3.

Fri - Lift and Swim. Finally got in a good swim. I remembered my earplugs, my goggles, and my shoulder didn't hurt. I got in a good 800m.

Sat - Ran 10 miles up the forest road by my house. Saw a few other folks out running the same route in the early morning hours. Nothing really exciting, but the scenery was nice because it had rained all night and there was a mist settled over everything.

So now the random thoughts. I haven't told anybody about this but was reminded of it when I was swimming this week so I'm compelled to share. Sometimes when I run (more in the early days than now) I imagine I'm being chased my stuff. What can I say, my mind wanders. Nothing too weird, just sword weilding lunatics and mad mountain lions, and it would distract me from the pain of running and sometimes help me run faster. So, when I was swimming the same thing happened but this time it was a shark. I can't really say that it helped, but I figured it would be scary as crap if I did the same thing when swimming in open water.
Next thought, should I be dizzy and sick feeling after I swim or am I doing it wrong?
Final thought, why am I doing this?

Marathon Training Week 5

Another week gone by. I'll start with the workout recap then share a few thoughts about training.

Mon - Once again the infamous suburban loop. As I recall, it wasn't too bad. About 5 miles. I talked Tyson into coming with me. I don't think he was too glad he did, but then a couple of days later he did it again by himself and smoked it out in like 37 min. (about 6 min faster than we ran it together). Sorry for slowing you down man.

Tues - Just lifted some at the gym

Wed - Tempo run 4 miles and another 1.5 of warm up and cool down. It was pretty rough. I woke up early and ran it, but after a couple of miles I was pretty spent so I didn't hit my goal time.

Thurs - Really hectic day so I ended up running about 2.5 miles at about 2:00 in the afternoon. It was hot and felt more like work than running.

Fri - Lifted some again and tried swimming again. Another really hectic day and I ended up forgetting my goggles and earplugs. Given my recent ear injury this wasn't such a good idea. After 1 lap my ear was hurting so I said "screw it" and hit the hot tub instead.

Sat - Finally a good run! 9 miles up and down A-1 mtn. road. I started early in the morning and after about 3 miles got into a good groove and really enjoyed it. And this leads into Justin's training thoughts

Thought 1 - I'm always scared about an upcoming race until my long runs get to 9 miles. The 9 mile run seems to always tell me that everything is going to be ok. After these runs I'm always thinking, "ok I can do this". Before this run I'm thinking "what the heck am I getting myself into?".

Thought 2 - If you're thinking about doing a 1/2 you have to get at least to 10 miles in one run before attempting the half. If you want to do more than just "survive" a half, run at least 12 before the half. Just my opinion.

Marathon Training Week 4

It's been four weeks and unfortunately I can't say I feel any closer to being marathon ready. I don't suppose I will until the last few weeks when I'm logging 16-20 milers. I am getting excited already for my next half-marathon on Aug. 9. It's the provo river half and this will be my third time doing the race. I enjoy it because it's a good excuse to visit family and Utah that time of year is always nice. Sounds like they've changed the course a bit and it looks like it will be even faster than before, so I look forward to a PR in the distance. Plus the scenery and overall atmosphere of the race is pretty awesome so yeah I'm excited. This weeks training was a bit hectic because of some pretty busy days at work. Also, had a couple of really rough days. Here is the summary:
Mon - Suburban loop with Tyson. It was really good to run with him again since it seems like it's been forever. It was a challenge as always to get up that stupid hill, but overall a decent run.
Tues - No yoga because I couldn't get away from work, didn't get to work out at all that day.
Wed- 6 miler at lunch. It was a killer! I think the combination of warmer weather, not enough food and no water on the run did me in. After three miles it was all I could do to turn around and get back to work without walking the whole thing. I took some liberal walk breaks but finished in semi-respectable fashion. One of the worst runs I can remeber having. Gotta remember to at least bring water when I gets that warm. Usually, my rule is if it's over 4 miles and over 70 degress I'd better bring along at least a few ounces.
Thurs - Lifted and ran 3 miles at the gym. Felt much better running than the day before so I must not have done any permanent damage.
Fri - Lifted and then tried swimming. It's been a while since I've done any swimming (since the ear incident) so I was kinda looking forward to it. I got in and after about 50m my left shoulder had this sharp pain with every stroke. I sort of lame ducked it for another 100m and deciced I'd better quit while I'm still ahead and call it a day. It only hurt in the water so I'll try it again next week to see if it was just a fluke.
Sat - Ran 6.5 miles mid-morning. It had rained all night so the humidity was up. I was going to run a usual out and back route but ran into some cows with long sharp horns that didn't look like they were going to let me pass without a fight so I turned around. With the help of my Garmin I found a new trail and got in the full distance I was planning. It was a bit rocky, but better than getting gored by a pissed off cow.
Yes, I know I'm a wuss when it comes to domesticated animals (dogs, cows, whatever else I may come across on my runs). Seriously though, if you would have been with me I bet you would've turned around too. Seriously those cows looked like they meant business.

Marathon Training Week 3

A good week in training.
Monday: Ran the infamous 5 mile suburban loop at lunch on Monday. It's been a while since I've tackled this hilly loop so it was a bit of a challenge. However, I did discover an alternate route that didn't add much distance but avoids the "private property" so I no longer have to trespass to run this loop.

Tuesday: Busy at work so I didn't make it to Yoga class, but I got in some lifting.

Wednesday: About 4 miles with 3 mile tempo run and 1 mile of warm up and cool down. The tempo was good. I started out way too fast and had to gut it out at the end to hit my goal pace for the run. I really need to work on negataive splits.

Thursday: Before driving to Grandma's house I got in a two mile run with the jog stroller. I now remember why I stopped trying to push kids in that stupid stroller.

Friday: Took it easy at Grandma's for the 4th.

Saturday: Woke up early and got in a nice 8 mile run in Cortez. It was really beautiful to run through the country in the morning. Lots of open farm land and cows. It was a bonus not to get chased by any dogs as well. The last mile was really tough because it was up a fairly steep hill.

Overall, I feel good about my training. Getting harder to find time to fit in all the workouts I'd like to do. Need to get my bike situation figured out so I can get some cross training in. Also, I think I should be good to go for swimming next week.

Things that are funny, but shouldn't be

I was reflecting earlier about things that we commonly laugh at but are really not that funny.

1) Getting hurt. This is what started the whole reflection. Drew has really gotten into shows that portray a lot of slapstick comedy like Tom and Jerry and the Roadrunner cartoons. After cracking up over a few good anvils on the head, Drew turned towards me and straight punk slapped me in the face and started laughing. Looking back on the incident now it does seem kind of funny, but at the time I wasn't laughing. I patiently explained that "pretend huring" is funny, but "real hurting" isn't. Yet in reality "real hurting" on other people is kind of funny. Nothing is as automatic in comedy than a good smack in the balls, people will crack up everytime. Yet we don't stop and think about how much pain and suffering the poor guy is going through and how there may be some permanent damage that can prevent procreation because that's not so funny.

2) Porn. Not everybody may think this is funny. Maybe because it's so uncomfortable a subject that I laugh just because I don't know what else to do. Joel's comment on my "what is this" post had me cracking up for days. Although the idea of a porn kaliedescope is extremely funny, the reality of one isn't as funny. Could you image that poor guys wife if he really had a porn kaliedascope? Trying desparetly to get her husbands love and attention but all he's interested in is the crazy psycedelic images of naked people on his coveted contraption.

3)Poop. Man, nothing is as automatic as a good do-do joke. Sometimes just saying the word "duty" will incite laughter. However, if you've ever had to empty the sewage tank of an R.V. or Houseboat you will quickly realize there is nothing f... wait a minute, maybe this one really is just funny.

Hope I haven't severly offended any of you and if you have any other things that are funny but shouldn't be, please share.

Biking career in jeopardy

Yes I know this is tragic. A cloud of uncertainty has now descended upon my once bright and promising future in cycling (that's what us hardcore dudes say instead of biking - biking is for fat old dudes with long beards on a harley). On my way to work on Friday tragedy struck. Since a picture is worth 1,000 words I'll just lay this on you to keep this post short.




I was in the parking lot at work when this tragedy struck. I was trying to slow down so I could manuver a turn when my front wheel locked up and I went flying over the handlebars. Of course there were about 12 other associates who watched the action unfold. When I got up and dusted myself off I saw both the carnage done on my bike and my body, as well as a dozen shocked faces staring back at me. I bolted into the locker room in an embarassed huff and took a closer look at the damage. I really only had a few scrapes and bruises but as you can see my bike wheel was fubared.

I am now trying to decide if I will ever ride again. Ok not that dramatic but I am trying to decide how I'll get back on a bike. I can either buy a new front wheel and once again resurrect the old mission bike, or just start anew with a replacement bike. I also need to get over the emotional distress of the incident and let time erase the memory of those who witnessed this embarassing incident.

Marathon Training Week 2

The ear felt much better by Monday and I was able to pretty much return to normal.
Monday: Ran 3 miles at lunch, it was much harder than expected for two reason's 1) still sore from wakeboarding 2) Hot! For Flagstaff anyway it was like over 80.
Tuesday: Yoga, felt really good to stretch out all the sore muscles. Very Zen.
Wednesday: Ran intervals in the morning 2x1600m with 800m easy jog recovery. Also a 1/2 mile warm up and cool down. Felt really good, it's always nice to run fast but also a bit painful.
Thursday: Lifted and ran 2.5 miles. Always hard to run on treamill, but got into a groove after a while.
Friday: Bike to work and lift at lunch but no bike home because I wrecked my bike on the way in. Got a little scratched up but jacked up my front wheel. I'll post more about that later.
Saturday: 5K race! I've decided 5k's are the hardest. For longer races my mentality is just to keep going, for this race it's keep going fast the whole race and that can get painful. Like most races it was all a blurr. I was happy with the results. I ran 22:32 which was good enough for 25/173 overall and 4/14 for my division. That's a PR for me which was my original goal. I even ran under 23 which was my secondary goal so I can't complain. I would still like to train specifically for this distance some time and see how fast I can go, but that won't happen until at least next year. Here are some pictures Paige got of the race.

WTF follow up

Well, Thanks Joel for playing. I did actually LOL when I read that (I guess I'm not a "real man" then). Drew thought I had gone crazy I was cracking up so hard and I couldn't explain to him why. For that Joel is the honorary winner of the unofficial contest I was holding for the best response. Congrats!

For the record that picture is Mr. Jason Davis demonstrating the use of the nasal ranger field olfactometer. No I'm not making that up, it's called a nasal ranger. I guess people use it to make sure things aren't too stinky like factories, land fills, sewage treatment plants, etc. I suppose there is some way of quantifying the smell, otherwise they just rely on Mr. Jason Davis to make a judgement call. If he passes out, it's too stinky; otherwise you're good.

Marathon training week 1

I officially kicked off the marathon training this week. On monday I woke up and rode my bike about 9 miles to work. Then at lunch I ran 3 miles, then rode my bike home again. My legs were pretty tired after all that. On Tuesday I went to yoga. On Wednesday I woke up early and did a three mile tempo run. I was surprised that I did 3 miles in under 24 minutes. I've got a 5k coming up next week so it looks like setting a PR shouldn't be too much of a challenge. On Thursday I did some lifting and ran an easy 2 miles. Friday I got a surprise call from the Bishop to go waterskiing with him. I was really excited because I haven't been wakeboarding for a really long time. It was a blast to get back out there. It took some time to get back into the groove, but soon I was throwing some of my old tricks. On my last run, I tried something I knew I coudln't pull off but tried anyway because I was "done". I landed ear first into the water (not intentionally although that would be a really cool trick) and re-ruptured by tympanic membrane (eardrum). I have done this before as a teenager which resulted in the most painful three days of my life because I let the infection go untreated which swelled my ear canal shut. This as you might imagine is not conducive to productive marathon training. But, I didn't let it interfere with my long run on Saturday. I clocked a really slow six miles. It was really difficult, not only because of the ear but I am also sore from head to toe.
I got put on antibiotics and will hopefully avoid the really painful stuff I experienced with my last ear issue. If not, this weeks training will be severly cut down (non-existent). I have a 5k scheduled on Saturday, if my ear proves difficult I'll cancel and find another at a better time. And the next time I go wakeboarding I'll wear earplugs.

My Eardrum

WTF is this?

I stumbled upon this image while doing some "research" at work.

I'd like to hear your ideas on what this is and what it's used for and more importantly what might be going through this dudes head at the time of this picure.

I've been thinking

You know, A marathon is a long way. I've been talking with other runners who are doing very crazy distances (50 milers, 6 day stage race doing 14-25 miles per day, etc.) so my little marathon has seemed very managable. Just lately I've been thinking "dang that's far". Here are a few ways to put it into perspective:
26.2 miles
138336 feet
about 4 hours or 240 min. of running
In 4 hours I can drive to Las Vegas
It's like running from my parents to Jordanelle resevoir or somewhere in Sandy.
Or from my house to Munds Park.
What am I getting myself into?

Ironman Done

I finished the Ironman in May challenge Friday. I can't imagine having to do all of that in one day. I've talked with a couple of people who have done ironman's and they say it's just a matter of training. I guess like everything else if you condition your body for it, it's possible.
The challenge has given me an appreciation for riding a bike outside. I've always known I would enjoy mtn. biking but I've avoided it since it would just be one more hobby I don't have time or money to enjoy. It has also made me step up my swimming. I still can't beleive how hard that is for me.

Anyway, next week should be interesting then it's off to San Diego.

-Justin

Your car is broken?

After work today, Drew saw that I had taken my bike to work. He looked at me and said, "Daddy did you ride your bike to work?". I said yes and then he asked "Is your car broken?" I patiently explained that I took my bike because I enjoy it and my car is running fine. He then looked at me condescendingly and said, "ok Daddy your cars broken, we can get you a new one". No matter how much I tried to explain that my car was fine, he just couldn't comprehend why somebody would voluntarily take their bike to work when they had a perfectly good car. It was so cute how Drew was patronizing me the whole time like I was the one who was in denial.

By the way, I do enjoy the bike riding to work. I show up to work feeling energized and just have more overall energy all day. I would recommend it to anybody who lives within a reasonable distance from their work.

I'm Back

It was another non-typical week of training. Monday was exhausting. I rode the bike in, ran 3 miles at lunch, then rode home. My legs were a bit tired when I got home.

The highlight for me was running on Wed. and Sat. I had taken last week off because I was feeling unmotivated. Monday was sluggish, probably because of a combination of time off, biking, and 80 degree weather. Then Wed. I ran the infamous "suburban loop". It wasn't my fastest time doing that loop, but I felt strong the whole way. Then Saturday I did a four miler in the morning. Aside from getting pelted in the face with ice the whole time, it felt really good. My thoughts were, "my legs are back". Hopefully this next week will feel good also, then I'm going to take another week long break while we go to San Diego then the marathon training begins.

Ironman totals so far:
3200/4000 yards swimming, 34/26.2 miles running, 70/112 miles biking.

Bike to Work Week

My good friend Tyson was kind enough to show me some trails to work this last week. I've seen him commuting on the freeway before (on his bike of course), but that made me a little nervous so I opted for the trails. It takes a good chunk of time to get there and back, but it's also more fun than sitting in a car.

For some strange reason, I didn't run this week. It's weird, I didn't plan it but after last weekends "quick" 3 mile run I just lost motiviation. I keep thinking that with the marathon looming and so much "required" training coming up, I should take advantage of the opportunity to slack some. Although I did find alternative ways to spend my excercise energy. Besides biking to work I went to a couple of yoga classes. I've experimented with some yoga before, but nothing had prepared me for Thursday's class. This was the level 3 (of 5) and I had just been getting used to the level one. From the class description it looked do-able and I was ready to kick it up a notch instead of almost falling asleep during class. As I stood with my forhead nearly touching the ground and my left leg somewhere over my head in a pose I can't pronounce watching the sweat drops accumulate on the hardwood floor, I started to second guess the wisdom of my attending that yoga class. Actually, when it was all said and done I was sore but glad I went. I won't do it again tomorrow, but hope to someday.

I'll look to start running again this week, probably tomorrow. I'll limit to 9 or 10 miles just so I don't overdo it.

Ironman in May totals so far.
2400/4000 yards swimming 23/26.2 miles running and 50/112 miles biking.

Next stop St. George

I got in! I never thought I'd be so excited to run 26.2 miles. I'm still going to do a couple of "tune up" races this summer (haven't decided exactly which yet). I'm starting to look for accomodations for that weekend so if anybody has any good ideas let me know.

Meanwhile the Ironman continues. I'm up to 23/26.2 miles running, 6/112 miles biking, and 1600/4000 yards swimming. I got my bike fixed and since next week is "bike to work week" I plan on getting a good chunk of biking miles in the next week.

later

Justin

Ironman in May

Every May there is a group of folks at work who puts together this month long event called Ironman in May. It's intended to get people active and healthier. You have to complete an Ironman distance over the course of the entire month. You swim 2.4 miles, bike like 112 and run 26.2.
This will be the first year I'm going to try and complete all three. The first year I didn't sign up because I knew I would only do the running. Last year I realized they gave you prizes even if you didn't complete all three so I did the running and got a maverick gas card. This year I'm gonna go all the way. I started swimming last November so that shouldn't be a problem. The biking will be all on a stationary because I don't have a bike that works right now. And of course the running won't be a problem.
So far I have 9.5 miles run and 800 yards (.5 miles) swimming.

-Justin

Running clean

This was an easy week for me after the big Robie race. I told myself before the race that I was going to "take the week off" once I finished. That worked out ok for the first couple of days until I started feeling really fat and lazy. I don't claim to be the most in-shape person in the world. I've got a really long way to go before I think I would consider myself in "good shape", but I'm definitely addicted to exercise, especially running. I made it until Friday and then I went to the gym for some swimming and lifting. Then this morning I went on a little 3 mile run. I don't know what it is about running that I love. I saw an interview between Kristen Armstrong and her former husband Lance Armstrong and she described the feeling she gets from running as "clean". I can definitely understand that especially after going a week without running and feeling like a dirty pig. I'm not sure what word I would use to describe how I feel. There are the obvious ones like happy, satisfied, and sometimes just really tired. I really think I'm just addicted, I almost feel like I have to run to feel normal.

I've made some plans and goals. I'm finally ready to commit for the big one, I'm going to run a marathon this year. I'm going for the St. George because I hear it's really cool. I have put my name into the lottery so I hope to report that I've been picked on May 8th. If not I'll probably go for the top of Utah marathon in Logan. I will also do another couple of races this summer to "tune up" for the marathon. I'd like to do another half and go for a PR in that distance. I'd also like to do another 5 or 10k. From now until the beginning of June I'm going to be pretty free with my running. I'll run 3 times a week and try to keep the weekly milage around 12-15. I've been wanting to do Yoga again for a while but my running schedule hasn't left me enough time so for the next few weeks I'll be doing some yoga and other cross training stuff. Then starting June I'll be pretty focused on the running and getting ready for the marathon.

Later

Robie Kilt Me

I DID IT!
The mighty Robie Creek is now over.
The week was pretty crazy. I started out with a good run during lunch on Monday. Tyson and I did the "suburban loop" and it was nice and fast the whole way. Then between Tuesday and Thursday we were in the car making our way from Flagstaff to Boise. Thursday morning in Boise I went out for a quick 3 mile run. I was a little worried at that point because after a couple of miles it was way harder than it should have been. Then I looked at my watch and realized I was running a bit fast. I think with the elevation change I was breathing way easier so I didn't think I was working as hard but then my legs made it very clear how hard I was working. So with that little bit of doubt in my mind I headed into the Saturday race. The forcast was calling for cold windy weather with a chance of snow flurries. The newspaper said the road was going to have a good deal of mud. So essentially I was prepared for the worst.

Saturday morning I made my way to the race start. It was cool, they had a band there and people were getting all into the scottish theme of the race. Some were painting there faces blue like in Braveheart. I even saw a good number of folks wearing kilts. Then as race time came closer they called us all into the starting corral. Just then down the street you could see a scottish band consisting of people wearing kilts and knee high socks playing drums and bagpipes. They starting playing and marching down the street towards us and behind them was a crazy scottish looking chick with a sword riding a horse. They came up and the crazy chick on the horse gave a rousing speach about how we must "do or die". When she finished she yelled and charged down the street and with that the race was started. I thought it was all pretty cool, usually you just get a "mark, get set, go" and so this was much more creative. I had been a bit nervous but about an hour before the race I calmed down and knew I was going to be ok.

The start was pretty flat and after a mile we looped back aroudn and got to see the scottish band and crazy horse chick again. There were a bunch of spectators for the first 2 or 3 miles as we wound through some neighborhoods. Some of them were blasting music which was nice since we weren't allowed to wear ipods for this race.

The race was the usual blurr of scenery, other racers behinds, water stops and feeling a bit tired. The only memorable part was this one lady that was bound and determined not to let me pass her. This seems to happen to me at some point in every race and it's usually a female. She ran right on my shoulder for a good 3 or 4 miles. At times I would slow down at a water stop and she wouldn't, then I would catch up again, but she would not let me get ahead of her. I was actually shocked at how good I felt and the pace I was able to hold for the first 5-6 miles. The hill really wasn't too bad up until about mile 7. From there to the top I was "power walking" about 50% of the time. At the top they had a crazy water stop with more scottish looking people trying to offer us beer and what looked like peices of cake (sick). I made the top in 1:29ish which totally shocked me. My whole mentality going into this race was that I just had to endure the climb and the rest would be an easy downhill to the finish. So I started having delusions of grandure thinking I might finish in less than 2 hours. So I started hauling down the hill. After about I mile of that I realized the worst of the race was yet to come. The downhill was so steep! I didn't train and was therefore not at all prepared for that. So the last 3 miles were a bit excruciating because you really can't take it very slow unless you're just walking but you feel stupid walking on the downhill so I tried my best to push through. Apparently other people didn't have the same problems did with the downhill because I was getting passed like I was stading still the entire way down. It was kind of sad. Before the race I had made up my mind that if I finished before 2:30 I would feel good about the race. I'm happy to report my finish time was just under 2:09. I definitly think I'm capable of a sub 2 hour, especially if I can be more ready for the downhill. It was just tough the whole way because I really didn't know what to expect. I kept feeling like I needed to hold back because I needed something in the tank for when it got "really hard". If I do it again I'll certainly be better prepared and should finish much faster. The weather ended up being pretty good. Mostly sunny with a slight breeze, no snow. The road condition was fine. The after party was pretty cool, but the bus ride back was a bit of a hastle. All in all it was a good day and I'm grateful to have the opportunity to have participated.

Here is an elevation map of the course as captured by my Garmin. And a couple of photo's from the race.

One Week To Robie

Yep, this was the last week of training before the big Robie Creek in Boise. This crazy idea started after reading an article in Runnersworld magazine that said Robie Creek was the toughest half-marathon. For some reason I thought it would be cool because A) it's in Boise where Paige's parents live and B) it would be something that would force me to push myself. Now the time has finally arrived and the time for preparation is all but over.

This week the idea was to cut back on cross training and run more. So I ran 4 times this week. First on Monday I had a nice time running the "suburban loop" with Ells. The "suburban loop" is a nearly 5 mile loop through some trails in the forest by my work. It's got one really nasty hill about 2/3 the way into it and is a regular run during the summer. The trails have finally dried out so we gave it a shot. I could tell that my training for hills is paying off. Usually when I charge up the big hill, I really want to die and end up walking some of it. This time I didn't feel so bad. Hopefully that will help me get up Aldape summit next Saturday.

Wed. and Friday were both at the gym on the treadmill. Nothing too special. Used the incline on both runs just to get me used to what I'll be facing.

Saturday was "long" run day. I did 9 miles from the house and got to head up the forest road near where we live. It's a really nice dirt road the goes through the forest and gains about 100 ft per mile. This was the first week it's been open since the snow started which is probably what explains the lack of cars on the road (didn't see a single one). Again I ran without ipod but didn't come up with any awesome poems this time. Probably because nothing crazy happened. It was just a nice peaceful run through the trees. My stomach was giving me fits, but that was probably due to the pizza the night before and the pancakes that morning.

Deep thoughts alert!

I had some interesting thoughts after Wednesday's run. It had been a rough day at work and somebody had mentioned how glad they were it was "hump day". After my run I felt much better and got to thinking about what it is that makes me happy. I came to the conclusion that a big part of happiness is just enjoying life for what it is. Everyday presents a new challenge and new opportunities to grow and learn. I think this is analogous to running. Each run is challenging, sometimes the biggest challenge is just getting going, sometimes it is completing all those damn speed intervals. But in the end I'm always glad I went and even during the run I find moments of pure joy. So instead of being glad the weeks almost over, I'm going to try and enjoy each day for what it is.

Oh Shultz!

A good week of training. Started out on Tuesday running down woody mtn road again during lunch. I ran from work down to the county fairgrounds which ended up being six miles total. Then on Wednesday I went to the gym and ran on the treadmill for 3 miles with a 4% uphill grade. Can't say that was much "fun" but it was a good workout. Today was the big run up shultz pass road. I woke up early and had the road all to myself. The road snakes up about 1ooo' over 4.5 miles. Then I hit another road and gained another 400 feet or so till I hit six miles then turned around and headed back down the hill.

Robie Creek isn't going to allow ipods so I've been running sans ipod to get used to it before the big race. On Tuesday and today I left the ipod at home. I think it would be crazy to run on a treadmill without headphones so I kept them on for Wednesday's run. Anyway, the point is I've been coming up with new ways besides music to keep my head occupied while I run. Today I started doing poetry in my head. Yeah, poetry. Let me share what I came up with. After the incident I describe in the poem, I just kept coming up with these stupid rhymes. WARNING: If you are offended by references to poop or doo-doo, please stop reading.


For those of you that don't already know me
I am training for a race that they call Robie.
It's 13.1 miles of hill climbing hell
so I must train for it very very well.
On todays training run I got hit with the boo
if I need to translate, I had to poo.
It hit me around the 2 mile mark
and wouldn't go away with a few loud farts.
So I looked around for a decent spot
to pull down my pants and take a squat.
I was releived when I found T.P. in my pocket
as the shit flew like a spacebound rocket.
If this had been any day in July
I would have gotten strange looks from people passing by.
But this was April and early in the morning
when the boo hit without any warning.
After the release I sauntered back to the trail
And continued to train very very well.
I'm sorry if you find this poem gross or crude
I'm not trying to come accross as crass or rude.
I just wanted to share what was running through my head
as I ran on Shultz road, my heart full of dread.

Word to your mother,

I'm out!

"That's why I'm easy ....."

Hey all,

Supposed to be an easy week this week. I say supposed because on Tuesday a freind of mine at work talked me into going with him on a "run" up Mt. Elden. He is training to do a grand canyon hike where he'll go from the south rim to the north rim and back again in one day (totally insane, almost 30 miles with a mile in elevation change each way). Anyway, Tuesday was a four mile "run" with two miles going up about 2,000 ft. and then two back down. I keep using the term "run" very loosely because after about a half mile on the way up I don't think what I was doing could qualify as running, we'll call it a "power hike" from that point. The way down was fun, but resulted in my calves being sore for like 5 days.

Thursday was a blast. I went out from work at lunchtime and starting running down woody mtn road again (this time no trucks). I peeled off on another road that I haven't been down before and found that it had a good 200 ft of elevation change in it, so it was a good trainer for Robie. I did 4.5 miles. It was fun because I felt so good on the run and turned it into an impormptu tempo run (finished in 39 min).

This morning was not so fun. It was really windy out and I just didn't feel very good. I did four miles and couldn't wait for it to be over.

So while the miles may have been lower then usual, the runs were certainly not "easy".

Paige had a big week. She ran her first 5k! It was awesome to see her get out there and enjoy it. Congradulations Paige!

-Justin

Fight or Flight

Ok first off I want to share this story before I forget it. So I've been going to the gym lately to lift some weights, swim, spin etc. There are always some really interesting characters at they gym. There is a guy who wears a tight white shirt with a sweater tied around his waist and doesn't do anything but talk to everybody. There is a guy who busts sweet gymnastics moves on the pull up bars for about 3 min then hits the showers. Then the other day I saw this dude that I'll never forget. He and what I'm presuming was his wife were doing squats. They caught my eye because of their appearance. The best I can describe him is like a really skinny Dennis Eckersley. And she was even skinnier.
They looked like 1975 just dropped them off. He had tight sweatpants and a cut off belly shirt. Anyway, the part that killed me was how pumped up he got for his sets. He was lifting a respectable amount, 225 if I remember correctly. But he was yelling, before and after each set like he was competing in the world strongman. Then before one set he yells, "spot my A**". I was in the middle of a set myself but had to stop because I was about to bust out laughing. Anyway, moving on.

This weeks runs were pretty good overall. Tuesday I ran on the treadmill at the gym. I was so sick of running outside and dealing with the mud and weather after last Saturdays run so I went for the gym. I did uphill speedwork and felt really good afterwards. Then Thursday I ran outside on Woody Mtn.(dirt) road. It wasn't so fun because every other minute huge trucks were passing me and blowing dust all over me (mmmmm dirt).

Today was great. Long run day! I did about 10 miles on the frontage road. Sometimes its just great to run on relatively flat pavement because it's fast. I know that people like to listen to Pink Floyd for a lot of different activities, today I discovered that it's great for long runs. When you run for more than about an hour, music that is too heavy gets really old and even annoying.

Now I'm going to reveal something about myself that may change the way you think about me. I really don't like dogs (there I said it). They're loud, they make me itch, they stink, they're loud, sometimes they bite, they chase me when I run, they're loud. On today's route I passed by some houses that have dogs that chase me about 50% of the time. The first time they chased me they were nipping at my heels and I had to turn around early. This time I was prepared. I brought a folding knife with me so in case I got jumped by a dog I could fight it off with the knife. Then as I got close to the dog house I picked up a rock so I could chuck it at any mutts that got too close. So there I was with my IPOD off (so they could't sneak up on me) a rock in one hand, and knife ready in the other and I realized I was a HUGE wuss. I didn't end up seeing any dogs, but my pace quickened by about 1 min per mile through that section.

Keep it real

-Justin