EXTREME MAKEOVER 2012

So last night Kellie and I decided to find a baby sitter and go and run the 10k over to Payson.  I had seconed guessed doing so after running 65 miles last week and ending with 24 on Saturday.  The weather last night was rainy and so when the alarm went off Kellie and I were second guessing if we should even go.  I decided that we would at least show up and see what the weather was going to be like, luckily it turned out to be a great race. 

Mile 1 6:06 Started with Michelle and feeling good on this mile.

Mile 2 5:59 Still with Michelle, how ever calves are hurting and shins are starting to burn.

Mile 3 6:10 Michells is now in front and there are 4 guys in front of me, legs still burning

Mile 4 6:15 This mile was short, I forgot to hit the lap button.

Mile 5 6:27 This mile was a little long compared to the watch, I had to out sprint a train on this mile, I was the last guy to make it through the train stop.  I literally had to run through the arms to make it.  This kind of took a little out of me. There was also a gradual uphill on this mile.

Mile 6 6:24 Wanting to be done, can't out kick XXXXL t shirt kid.  He was 17 and had on his dad's t shirt, but hey what ever works.

.26 1:34.64  So it was a little long, but not by much.

I did get a new PR for a 10k by 11 seconds, I felt like this course was harder than the Speedy Spaniard?  I don't know why?  Maybe the long run on Saturday took it out of me.  Kellie beat her time from Spanish Fork 10k by 2 minutes!!!  CONGRATS KELLIE!!! 

We waited around to see if we might win a prize in the drawings, but no such luck!  We went and had pancakes at Marions house with a bunch of the FRB's.  It is so fun to meet new people and hear about everybody's race details.  So over all, I am glad we went, gald I have a new PR, glad that it's over and really glad that the MARATHON IS ABOUT HERE!!!

Today I wasn't for sure what or how I wanted to run, normally I try and do my hard runs on Wedensday's but with the race on Monday and then being sore yesterday I really didn't want to push it to hard.  I decided that I would not run Payson Canyon and try and run some flat instead.  I planned on doing 12, starting with a 2 mile warm up and then 4 miles at a comfortable pace and then 4 miles at 6:45 pace and then finish with a 2 mile cool down.

Warm Up

1 8:07

2 7:13 (Kind of got carried away)

Steady Pace

3 7:05

4 7:07

5 6:59

6 7:20 (Heart Break hit at this mile, always fun to run that hill)

Tempo

7 6:46

8 6:57 (Hill up to Osborne's, I need to push the hill's harder)

9 6:46

10 6:51 (little hill at the byu dairy, I hit this mile and my watch read 1:11:11, kind of cool)

Cool Down

11 7:24

12 7:34

Total time 1:26:07 - ave pace 7:11

I felt really good today, better than I had anticipated.  I think that I was just feeling sorry for myself yesterday.  I think I needed to just get out and run.  The weather was perfect this morning, long sleeve shirt and shorts with gloves, drank 10oz of water and really felt good through out the whole run.

This morning I decided to try a new route.  I left my house and headed east on salem Canal Dr and the when I hit Woodland Hills Dr I headed North and then went out and around the Krishna Temple and then ran to the SF Ball Park, and then back home through the SF River Bottoms.  It was a little longer than I had anticipated but it was a great route.  Everything seemed to click again this morning.  I ran into Heidi C about mile 13 and ran back to my house with her.  She runs with Kellie every now and again and is also in our ward.  She had a ton of questions about running, I hope that I gave her some good answers.

ave pace 7:11

Today Kellie and I got up and ran 15 miles, we ended up on the Spanish Fork1/2 Marthon course for the last 5 miles of the run.  It was fun to see and cheer on people that we knew and that we didn't know.  Kellie ran great today, it was nice to see her running fast and even happy doing it :) 

I am going to call these miles threshold miles, they were not fast miles but they were HARD MILES.  In the trail running world they would be considered MARATHON MILES.

After my run on Saturday morning I had to get home and get ready to go and help my friend Dan M with his Wasatch 100 Endurance Run.  I was feeling pretty sorry for myself after watching the 1/2 Marathon on Saturday morning and wishing that I could have ran the race, especially after reading everybody's race reports.  How ever Saturday after noon I was not feeling sorry for myself any more.  I realized how important this race was to Dan and I was glad to be a part of it.

I dropped Dan's wife off at Big Mountain Pass and she ran 14 miles with him to Lambs Canyon, for there Bryan B ran with Dan to Mill Creek, I was going to pace Dan from Brighton to the finish, but when Dan hit Mile 60 at Mill Creek he asked if I wanted to run the rest of the way!!!  I hadn't slept since Saturday at 5 am and I know what an additional 15 miles in the mountains can do to the body.  Dan was feeling nautios and needed some extra encouragement so I quickly said sure with out any hesitation when he asked.  It was 38 degrees when we started running from Mill Creek, but the night was calm no wind and the sky was so clear. 

THE JOURNEY BEGINS

From the Mill Creek Aid station we had about 5 miles to Desolation Lake Aid Station, it was so awesome to be hiking on a mountain trail at night with a head lamp on and watching flashlights in front of you and behind you on the trail They also had glow sticks hanging from the trees so that you could stay on course it was such an awesome feeling.  We passed several people and then the same people would pass you.  It is not possible to drive to Desolation Lake, so at this aid station the support crew has to back pack everything in. Baked potatoes, noodles, spaghetti, coke, water, Gatorade, pretzels etc.....  They are the nicest people and so willing to help, tape feet, pop blisters, and wash your feet you name it.  My job as a pacer was to make sure that he didn’t go to fast or to slow, but most important to make sure that he ate and drank.  We make it to Desolation at 12:37 am, we make this a long stop still trying to get rid of Dan's nausea in his stomach, we also wait for a friend that was with us, his knee was in bad shape, he makes it to the stop but looks really bad.  We check out of Desolation at 1:03 am.

Next Stop SCOTT'S PASS 4 miles...

Dan was finally starting to feel better, he at a bunch of pretzels along the way and ate 2 extra GU's along this route along with some accelerade.  When we hit Scott's Pass Dan wanted to make it a short stop so that he could get to Brighton and take a longer stop there.  I am feeling great still and am very glad that I am a part of this whole crazy adventure.

Next STOP BRIGHTON 5 miles

This was a good down hill section, rocky but down hill.  We hit asphalt with 3 miles to go to Brighton I tried talking him into running my marathon pace for 3 miles on the asphalt; he said I could try :)  We were very happy to finally hit Brighton, his wife was there waiting for him, he changed his shoes and got some good calories in him and then it were off to Ant Knolls Aid Station.

Next Stop ANT KNOLL'S 5 miles.

When you leave Brighton you have a 3 mile climb to get to the top of Katheryn's Pass, it is a 2,000' climb in about 3 miles.  This is the second steepest climb on the course; we passed a lot of people along this portion of the trail.  When we finally hit the top my watched read 10,240 in elevation, the sky was so clear and we could see down in to Salt Lake and we could even see in to Heber and Park City, they call that portion of the trail Lovers Ridge?  We then had a 2 mile drop into the next aid station.  We hit Ant Knoll's at 4:23 am, we needed to get some good food into Dan at this Station, from here we hit the 3rd steepest part of the race. THE GRUNT!!! It is a 3 mile climb of switch backs and loose terrain.

Next Stop POLE LINE PASS 3 miles

From Ant Knolls to Pole line is a short distance to aid stations, mainly because of the climb up, at this aid station there are several runners sleeping, not sure if they are just resting or if they had dropped out of the race?  Dan is tired and is ready for the sun to come up.  After a while it becomes quite annoying looking down at the ground with a flashlight, and after 83 miles I am sure even the most little things become very annoying.  I also wanted the sun to come out; Dan was needing something to give him a boost of energy.  I had now been awake for 24+ hours and on mile 23 of this race not counting the 15 that I ran with Kellie Saturday morning.  I was still feeling great and was on such a high that I could be part of such a great race.

Next Stop ROCK SPRINGS 5 miles

We hit Rock Springs at 6:55 am, this is another aid station where they back pack everything in, the water comes from a Spring, so they don't have to pack water but they do have to pack all of the food.  When the sun finally came up we had just come around Point Supreme, you are at about 9,000+ feet in elevation and you are looking right at the back side of Timp, and down into Alpine.  This was a huge energy boost for Dan, it was light, the scenery was absolutely breath taking and he was getting closer to the 90 mile range.  We had to stop and snap a bunch of pictures; Dan made a quick potty break here.  We made a quick stop at the aid station Mile 87, 3 miles from hitting the 90 mile mark. 

Next Stop POT BOTTOM - Last and FINAL AID STATION 6 miles

When we left Rock Springs we had some SERIOUS DOWN HILL, the first of the 2 is called the PLUNGE, it is a 2 mile down hill, loose rocks, it is hard to even stop yourself from running to fast.  I made sure that Dan was staying balanced in his run, making sure he didn't fall and get hurt.  My quads and hips were now starting to ache, 33 miles and had now been awake for 27 hours.  I can't even imagine how Dan's legs were feeling, he was still talking and joking around but was ready to be done.  The next down hill section is called the DIVE, this was a little better than the plunge, not as rocky and not as steep, Dan ran great through this section great, after the plunge you have 7 rollers until you get to Pot Bottom, we would run down the down hill and the walk up the up hills.  We passed 4 runners along this section, I think that we passed 15 runners from Brighton and we never got passed once after we left Brighton.  I made mention of that to Dan so that he would have a good mental boost to run strong in to the last aid station.  My Garmin had been on for almost 11 hours, it ran out right before the aid station.  32.5 miles or 11 hours is about how long the battery is good for, I have never ran the battery dry on one run.  Dan had a fresh watch from Brighton so we still had a watch to help us with the mileage.  When we hit pot bottom we told Dan to eat what ever sounded good to him, he only had 7 miles left so he was going to make, he just needed to eat what ever made him feel good at that time.  He was tired and really wanted to be done.  We left Pot Bottom at 8:43 am, I wanted Dan to finish under 30 hours, there are not a lot of people that can say that they ran 100 miles in less that 30 hours.

Next Stop The HOMESTEAD "THE FINISH LINE" 7 miles

We had a 2 mile walk up a dirt road before we peeled of onto a single track trail for 4 miles and then there would be 1 mile of asphalt to the finish line.  We walked for a mile and the surprisingly Dan asked if he could run up hill for the last mile???  I said sure, if you feel like, I could not believe that after 94 miles a person would want to run up hill.  At this point of the race I felt very honored and blessed to be able to do the things in my life.  I was so glad that Dan had got me into running 18 months ago, Dan use to run marathons, he was very fast and always finished in the top of his age group.  He has completed several tri's and has completed 3 Iron Man's.  He is so mentally, physically and spiritually strong.  There were several time prior to this race that I was worried about getting injured for St. George, Dan also made mention several times that I needed to be careful so that I wouldn't injure myself for my own race.  Dan is not selfish at all, last year I asked him at least 20 questions a week about running, I know that is why I have been able to accomplish the things in my running career that I have to this date.  At one point in this race I said, this will either help me hit a 2:50 at St. George or it won't.  I laughed and said it doesn't really matter; we just needed to get HIM in under 30 hours.

THE FINISH

We hit the asphalt and his wife and boy were there waiting for him, Evan my son was there waiting for me.  Dan ran the 6 of the last 7 miles; I could not believe that he could still do that.  I learned and gained a lot of mental toughness today, the thoughts of Boston kept coming back to me during this last 7 miles.  I remember how bad my leg hurt for the last 5 miles of Boston and how bad it hurt to keep running. I could ne imagine how Dan's legs felt at this point.  It was so cool to watch his family finish with him, it is not like a normal race where you are so worried about the clock, the mileage being right, it was all about finishing the task at hand.  Dan finished the race and came in 44th place over all, out of 264 runners that started the race.  I think that there were less than 50 that finished under 30hrs.  I will never complain about being sore and in pain for 5 miles ever again.

I finally got out and went for a run tonight.  I ran with Mike L, he is good to run with when you need to go slow.  I think that if I would have went out by myslef I would have ran to fast.  Legs felt a little heavy, but I think that I will be ready for Saturday.

ave pace 10:30.... SLOW

Kellie and I got a baby sitter last night @ 9:00 and went out for a quick 5 mile run.  She id getting faster every time I run with her.  After the 2nd mile I kind of stayed in front of her so that she would have some one to chase.  She ran really well, my legs felt great and I think that I will be ready for Saturday.

ave pace 7:59

I got up this morning adn went out before Kellie.  I left at 5:30 and headed east on Salem Canal, I then headed south on Woodland Hills Dr and ran up to the mail boxes, legs were feeling great running up hills today.  I cut across the top and ran past Loafer Mtn Dr so that I could get an extra .5 mile before I headed home.  When I hit Salem Canal I needed another .25 so that I could hit 7.5 miles when I hit my house.  I ran into Michelle and MacK and ran back to my house with them.  Everything seemed to click today, hopefully it clicks tomorrow.

ave pace 7:45

Thanks for typing this for me Michelle.

The plan was 4 miles marathon pace, 1 mile tempo (so gear shift), then break, then 4 miles marathon pace, 1 mile tempo pace.  We did it! 

First set:  not sure on first mile split, probably 6:20, 6:22, 6:05, 5:57, 5:32.  The first set is mainly to just get you tired for the second set.   After our first 5 mile set we turned around and cheered Josse and caught up with Kellie, then ran with her to mile mark 6 (we got water and I had a second gu at the cherry campground at 5.5 down).

Second set:  6:12, 6:08, 6:05, 6:20, 6:00.  All miles were by marker except the first mile, but the net of the first two miles (12:20) is accurate.  Also we never found the mile 11 marker, but I think we went a little long, since my watch tends to mark these miles longer than the road markers from the race.  We shed our long sleeves and gloves one mile into the second 5 mile set. The last mile is mile 11 of the race, a yucky mile with a short steep hill.  Tyler was stronger than me on the uphill, but I was able to kick at the end and finally put some heat on him, after 9.5 miles of him putting heat on me

 Today I had to take Evan to Piano, so while I waited for him I parked my truck at the Lake Shore Church and had enough time to get in a quick 5 miles.  Legs felt great tonight after the hard 22 miler on Saturday.  Right knee was a little sore at first, stretched after 2 miles and the pain went away.  Looking forward to a taper week this week and then a good deer hunt next week.

ave pace 7:04

Today I went out early so that Kellie could go with the neighbor girls.  I left the house at 5:20 and ran out 4.5 miles and back on the same route.  It was a great morning, the weather was perfect and the moon was really bright.  I really had to hold back today my legs felt fresh and ready to run. 

ave pace 7:41

Today I took the early morning shift "again" jk I really don't mind it once I start running it's just getting out of bed that sucks.  I ran up to the mail boxes in woodland hills and made the loop back home.  I needed to be home by 6:30 so that Kellie could go run.  I felt great this morning, it was actually kind of warm today, I had to shed the long sleeve shirt.  I hope that it cools down for the deer hunt next week. :)  I hate hiking in the heat!

ave pace 7:37

This morning Kellie and I slept in until 6am!!!  It felt so great to sleep for so long on a saturday.  We left the house at 6:20 and did our 15 mile loop through Salem, SF, and then back to Salem.  Kellie ran great today, I can't believe how much improvement she has made since last year.  It was a great morning, no wind, the temp was perfect, i ran with a long sleeve shirt and gloves the whole time.  Kellie shed her first shirt at mile 2 and gloves as well.  SHE WAS HOT!!!  It feels good knowing that two weeks from now we will be done with the marathon and hopefully back at the house taking a nap!  

ave pace 8:04 (kellie beat me by 2 seconds today, she is so competitive)

Today was the opening of the muzzle loader deer hunt.  Hiked just a little over miles today, saw a lot of deer no big bucks.  I like that this hunt falls on the week before the marathon, it give time for my body to recover from a long summer of running.  It also gives me a lot of time to think about the race.  I usually have dreams of big bucks the night before the hunt, I found myself awake thinking about the marathon.  I really must be losing it....?

Today I hiked 5 miles, it was alot of uphill and very thick brush.  The deer ran in front of us, because the brush was so thick.  Legs feel good, some little whispers every now and again.  The hike was cut short today, my uncle shot a 4X4 deer today.  I pushed the deer to him, I did not get a good look at it.  after he shot it, i had to help him drag it about 2 miles, that is the bad part when it comes to hunting.

Today Evan joined me on the hunt.  This was his first deer hunt, so I was not so sure on how he would do on long early morning hikes.  He did a great job and did not complain one time.  We went on a morning hike and the we went out again on a after noon hunt.

Short hike this morning, it was way to hot.  Mostly sat around and talked about past hunting stories.

Ran 1 mile with Evan 10:46 ave pace

5 miles alone ave pace 7:10