3.5 miles on Deck 4 of Disney Magic

This morning I got up with Cathi and we ran around the deck of Deck 4 which is 1/3 mile. I planned on 9-12 laps and did 12. Had a pretty good headwind on the starboard side, but a tailwind on the port side. Only about 4 other runners. Afterwards I went to the weightroom and did some biking and lifting.

Good day

5 mile run in the fog

This morning Cathi got up at 5 to go run with Carly and Tiffany. The phone rang at 5:10. Carly said it's way too foggy and they weren't going. So I got up, got my running stuff on and went out looking for Cathi knowing she wouldn't feel the same way about cancelling. She was parked in Tiffany's driveway waiting. I told her and she was bugged, but I also told her I was prepared to run with her so we went out and stayed on the trail where we wouldn't get hit by a car.

It was foggy. About 30 feet visibility. I had my flashlight with me. We had a good talk and Cathi was glad to be up and running this morning. It was probably 30 degrees. Ran from our house around Jensen Park and up to the turn around point and then back. About 5 miles, but Cathi had to keep going.

Thanksgiving Run

This morning Cathi and I got up and went on a 10 mile run with Korey, Ele, Eric and Kristen Buchi. When I got to mile 6 my knee started acting up and at mile 7 I got the stabbing pain.

From now on, I need to wear the pat band no matter what. I ended up walking the rest of the way while Cathi ran on up ahead with Eric. I didn't mind cause I had Flight of the Concords on my mp3 and they were new to me and I was cracking up hearing their songs. Cathi drove back and picked me up. Then we drove back further to get Kristen who also had knee issues. Need to pick up the running training (and figure out what to do to get my knee to play nice).

Had a great Thanksgiving evening at the Lows.

Feeling awesome - 5 mile run @ 45 min

This morning I did other miscellaneous stuff at home rather than go swim. So I had to do something at lunch and something tough. So my goal was to run for either 5 miles, or 45 minutes which ever came first.

Well I had paced it so that they both came within just a few seconds of being at the same time:

5 miles @ 45:06

Felt so good throughout this run. I didn't have any joint issues, or pain which caused me to wish to quit early. I'm sure I'll get to the point one day where I wish I had an unlimited amount of time and then I could try running for 15 miles at lunch just to see if I can run that long. Thing is I only get like an hour or so. Will have to save that kind of activity for a weekend, or super early like Cathi and her masochist running friends.

4 mile run at lunch

Goal was to run 35 minutes straight at 6.5 mph. Which I did, but added a little extra to get to 4.0 miles.

4 miles @ 36:20

Not giving up

Today I worked through lunch and didn't get a good time to break away until 2pm. At that point I went downstairs initially aiming for a 45 minute run. I started out at 6.5 mph and at 15 took it up to 7.0 mph. Did fine with that until 20 and then started to get more tired than normal, so I brought it back down to 6.5 mph. That made things better and I was able to catch my breath and maintain that pace.

Then when I got to 30 I thought to myself, "Hey you did 30 minutes last week. If you quit now, you'd still be doing just fine." But then I had a vision:

I'm halfway through the French side shipping lane, when my body hits a wall and starts to use fat as an energy source. Do I give up or keep on going?!

That gave me the mental sharpness I needed to hit my goal that I started out with of going 45 minutes.

Total time: 45 minutes
Distance: 5.11 miles

cooled down and went 5.25 total.

Boot Camp

So last night Cathi begged me to go to this Boot Camp workout in Clearfield. This morning got up at 5:30 and got ready to go over. It was a tiny little gym with about 6 treadmills and about 15 different weight machines including a Jacob's ladder (with a broken stat meter).

We started the workout with a 1 mile run around the neighborhood. When we got back they had us rotating in two stations. The first station was doing 14 reps using 20 pound dumbells on the following:

Overhead Press, Curls, Kickbacks, Rows, Lat Raises, Squats, Lunges, Floor Press, Flys, Crunches and then get up on your feet without hands touching the ground. The weights weren't supposed to ever touch the ground.

Next station: 4 minutes on the treadmill at 6-10% incline and 4.0 mph. Rotated three times. Pretty good, but that was just the warmup. This next thing kicked my butt.

20 sets of Squat jumps and crunches with 20 pound dumbells. First set 20 squats, 1 crunch and then next set 19 squats, 2 crunches. Last set... 1 squat 20 crunches.

The first 4-5 reps were tough with the number of squats, and then it got easy in the middle, but then at the end the crunches were tough.

Very nice workout. But not something I'm willing to pay money for. I'd rather swim.

The two "drill sargents" were getting on other people slacking. I don't get why someone would come to a workout and then slack. With anything that's tough. You have to deal with it for about two weeks and then your body adjusts and adapts to it and you get way stronger.

This made me think about my running this week. I've really come a long way in one week on the running. I've run four days in a row(even though today was only 1 mile)1 now and if I can keep it going (except Sunday's), then my body should be totally used to it by the time I do the Ogden Marathon next spring.

New PR - run three days in a row

I'm feeling great about this running thing. I've now three days in a row during my lunch break. Today I did 4 miles. I was planning on running 35 minutes and stopping, but I only had a little further to go to get the 4 miles, so I actually went 35:40 today. Started out at 6.5 mph and moved it up to 7.0 the last few minutes, and then 7.5 the last 30 seconds.

Then walked a half lap to cool down. All at a 2.5% grade.

My knee didn't even ache at all. I'm liking this even though its hard as ....

4.125 miles total

Another 5k, this time faster

Stretched for 3 minutes, then ran 3 miles @ 6.5 mph/2.5% grade. What I did mentally was once I got to 3 minutes into the run is envisioned running the Columbia River Half and every minute represented a mile. So when I looked at the clock and saw that I was at 5 minutes into the start of the run I was at mile 5 (which is the turn going south down the big hill before going back on to the bridge).

Then once I got to 28 minutes put the speed at 7.0 miles, and then at 29 minutes 7.5. Once I got to 30 minutes I was at 3.25 miles. Then I put it at 3.0 mph and walked a half lap (0.125 m), took my pulse (160 bpm) then put it on 8.5 and ran a half lap.

Got off and stretched real good.

Total distance: 3.5 miles @ 32:30

Nice 5K run

At lunchtime today I went down and ran a 5k straight on the treadmill at a 2.5% grade. First 2 miles at 6.0 mph, third mile at 6.5 mph, Then at 29 minutes ran 7.0 mph, 29:30 @ 7.5 mph. Stop at 30 minutes. Ended up being 5K. Sweat alot and didn't have any water with me.

Forgot to stretch beforehand so I stretched really good afterwards (about 10 minutes). Then did 10 minutes of abs.

Need to swim tonight. Oh yeah, It's official. I'm registered for the Ogden Marathon on May 15th, 2010. No backing out now!

Arms

Hit the weightroom today at lunch. Did arms:

Seated Preacher Curls: 15 @ 75, 3 x 12 @ 95
Standing Alternating DB Curls: 12 @ 35, 2 x 8 @ 40, 8 @ 45
Wrist Curls: 12 @ 35, 2 x 8 @ 40, 6 @ 45
Standing Reverse Curls w/Armblaster: 12 @ 75, 3 x 8 @ 80

My hands are so city. Don't have any callouses any more and my hands are burning with the rough part of the bar turning in my hand. Good lift. Was actually fun. Just wish I had more time to really get in a 10 lift day.

Results of the 2009 Columbia River Power Marathon

We left on Thursday after work and drove for 9 hours to Hilgard Junction State park, about an hour before Hermiston, OR. I was so tired and I promised Cathi that I'd stop when I got sleepy. Trying to sleep in the van with 9 people all scrunched up was tough. It was cold outside and every 10-15 seconds someone would whine and then go back to sleep. It was extremely uncomfortable. Never again.

Got up around 5 am and drove the rest of the way to Umatilla. Got to the Umatilla Marina and got a tent site. We set up camp and I then slept for another three hours while Cathi took the kids out with the van to explore. When they got back we went to get the packets. It was a very rainy day. We went to go see "Where the Wild Things Are". Not the best movie ever, but it was pretty fun. Sam and Oliver laughed out loud several times throughout the movie. Definitely a kid movie.

Then we went to Pizza Hut. The kids loved it. I had a salad bar and all the crusts the kids didn't want. Sleeping that night was so much better than the night before even though the wind for most of the night was extremely violent. It broke one of the side poles and I got up in the middle of the night to tie it up to a nearby tree. Then Isaac had some sort of stomach flu and threw up all over inside his sleeping bag. He had vomit all over his pajamas, his face, in his bag. Thank goodness the campsite had showers. So I carried him over to the bathrooms and got him showered up and in some extra pajamas we had that were way too small for him. Then carried him back and he slept with Sam in his sleeping bag. It was great after that. The wind died down and I slept for another several hours.

Cathi, Jacob and I woke up at 6:30 and got ready. I told Austin the computer password so he could sign in and play movies for the kids while we were gone. It was a chilly morning. Probably low 50s. Here's the route:


This route was fun because we got to Cross McNary Dam and run the next several miles in Washington State. The hardest part was miles 9 - 11 where it was uphill. Mile 2.5 - 4 was also hard, but since it was so close to the start not that big of a deal. I was very pleased with my pace on this race. At mile 5 I started to feel a little discomfort in my left knee. I said a prayer that it wouldn't get worse and that I would have a good race. I sure got an answer to that prayer! It didn't get worse (it didn't get better though) and it was a constant ache, but nothing that really prevented me from running my normal pace. At mile 6.5 we start across the McNary Highway Bridge. On the switchback up to the bridge I saw Cathi was only about 200 yards behind me. I yelled out for her and gave her a wave. She smiled and waved back.

When I got to mile 10.3 that is where the Full Marathoners keep going down a trail while the half marathoners loop back and finish their last few miles. At that point where I looped back, I saw Cathi and hooted for her and she ran a great first 10 miles.

There was a guy who passed me at mile 3 who stayed ahead of me up to a quarter mile. But after the hills at mile 11 I was able to gain on him and ended up passing him on the last stretch of the race on Willamette Ave just after mile 12 and he fought the pass, but couldn't keep up. I gave this race my all and my legs are making me pay today. I'm hobbling around like an old man. Anyway, my time was 1:54:49. I waited for Jacob to finish and that poor kid had a tough race. He came in at 2:27:28. He took first place for the 17 and Under division (too bad there weren't any other kids in that division at all).

We hurried back to camp. The kids just finished a movie and we loaded up the van. We got back about 10 minutes before Cathi got there. Because of the hills, I thought her time would at best be 4:00. She ended up getting 3:51:19. That's a fantastic time considering the two good sized hills to climb. She took first place overall for females! There were 16 female marathon runners and she took first! Here are the official results. Way to go Cathi!

We had such a great time on this "vacation". The kids got along great considering the close quarters. Thank goodness for the movie setup I have in the van. It helped keep the kids minds off the very long drive.

Chest workout

Since doing cardio so much the last year, I haven't spent as much time in the weight room and man I miss it. Today I did chest:

DB Flys: 4 x 8,10,12,14 @ 40
Decline Press: 12 @ 135, 10 @ 155, 8 @ 175, 12 @ 135
Pushups: 4 x 20 slow ones

Not much I know, but should be enough to get the pecs a little tender.

Six mile run with Cathi again

Ran six miles with Cathi this morning. Felt like giving up several times. Not because I had any specific joint pain, just felt lazy. I didn't end up giving up though. My pace wasn't the fastest, but I did run the whole time (except once when Cathi had to make a quick pit stop).

It wasn't cold this morning. It was starting to sprinkle a little, so we had plenty of cloud cover. What a good morning.

Six mile run with Cathi

This morning I got up with Cathi and we ran for an hour (just under an hour). Here's the route:



6 miles in 57:13 (9:54) That's really slow. My right calf is a little sore. No knee issues. Tried to take it easy and not walk at all. When I stopped at the end my heart rate was 140.

A little worried about next weekend's half marathon.

Ragnar Tragedy

From an email to Ragnar Relay Participants....

Most of you are aware that there was a tragic accident during last weekend's Ragnar Relay Las Vegas. The level of concern that Ragnar participants and members of the community have expressed has been overwhelming. We appreciate your patience with us as we've worked to release information in the most appropriate fashion. Our first priority at this time is to be sensitive to the needs and wishes of our participant's family.

Details about the accident are somewhat limited, but we want to share with you what we can confirm at this time.

In the early morning hours of Saturday, October 10 Jeremy Kunz was struck by a suspected drunk driver while providing support to a runner on his team. Police and Rescue responded quickly, as did several Ragnar teams. Unfortunately Jeremy could not be resuscitated. Special thanks goes out to team 184, "The Dog Pound," which was first on the scene and provided immediate aid to Jeremy. Jeremy's family has asked us to thank team 184 and other teams who were there. Thank you!

The driver was apprehended and arrested for DUI and other charges. He is currently in custody. Police have released very few other details. We expect a full incident report to be released sometime today (Monday, October 12).

This was Jeremy's 3rd Ragnar Relay. He has participated with his family in two Wasatch Back Ragnar Relays in addition to the Las Vegas Ragnar. He was participating as a member of team Wanabees. His family wanted teams to know how much he loved these relays. They are finding some comfort in the fact that he died doing something he loved.

We at Ragnar Relay feel tremendous sorrow for the family's loss. The level of concern and sorrow that other Ragnar participants have expressed has been very moving. Laurie Pratt (a Ragnar participant) expressed our feelings and those of other Ragnar participants well in a comment on our Facebook fan page: "On the course we all look out for each other and feel a kinship that few may understand if they haven't personally experienced it." Never have we seen that support and kinship more evident than at this time. Thank you all for your concern.

Many of you expressed interest in making a contribution to the family. A family friend will be setting up a fund that will benefit Jeremy's young family and children. We will provide information to participants when details are available. Until then you may email dan@ragnarrelay.com if you are interested in donating. Please include "donate" in the subject line.

Our hearts and deepest sympathy go out to the family. We ask that you keep them in your thoughts and prayers. Many teams have been expressing their grief on our facebook fan page. It has been incredibly touching. You may read comments and post your own here. http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Ragnar-Relay-Series/46637589402?ref=ts

Las Vegas Ragnar Relay, 2009

On Thursday morning 10/8 Cathi and I got up and drove with John and Kristen Buchi and Kyle Hamblin to Las Vegas for the Ragnar Relay run to start on Friday.

Basically a team of 12 runners. 2 vans of 6 people each run a relay over 170 miles taking about 24 hours to complete. You can check out the website for details on that if you want. Here are the complete stats of our run. Click the image to see the details:



I was nervous about this relay as I had runners knee issues the past few weeks. This run was great for me because I didn't have any issues whatsoever with my knee. I didn't wear the band I bought because I wasn't having problems. I had it in my pocket in case I did. I was the second runner in Van 1. I got my hand off from Cathi. She ran so strong.

My first leg: I started my run at 10:04 am and ran 3.8 miles. It was relatively flat. I ran it in 32:04 which was exactly what I had projected it would take me. I really pushed it on this first leg and was sweating like a pig. It was pretty hot and I sprinted at the end.

I handed off to Kyle who ran great. He was the speed demon in our van. Kyle was fun to get to know. He had a good sense of humor, had a very laid back and humble way about him. I was very impressed with his endurance and speed. Overall he was the fastest person in our van.

Kyle handed off to Stacy. She had run I believe the San Diego Marathon and was a good distance runner. Her first leg was brutal. It was uphill and it was hot! Her other two runs were faster cause it was dark (cooler temperature), flatter and shorter. Her experience with running was a great asset to the team.

Stacy handed off to Kristen. Kristen's goal was to get faster than 10 min miles on her run. She did well under that on the first two legs. The last one had a fairly good headwind. Plus the worst leg for everyone as far as running under fatigue was the last leg. We had to run that one at 3:00 am after only getting a couple hours sleep at a park with boy scouts running and shouting. Not the best conditions for a speedy run. Regardless she did well and didn't end up walking on her portions. She was great!

Kristen handed off to John. John had the hardest 3 sections in our van. The first two were considered "Hard" with the last one "Easy". He really endured through all of them and the numbers don't really give him credit. The runs he did were truly hard and he was brave to take that leg on.

John then handed off to Ele who was in Van 2. Once they had the handoff we would then move to our next station which was about 26-40 miles up ahead on the course.

In between our first and second runs we waited at Lake Mead. I went for a 2 mile swim.

My second leg was run in the dark. It was my hardest run. It had some good rolling hills and it was 4.8 miles. I saw a light way up ahead of me and I was determined to pass that runner. The van kept going ahead and waiting with water. I was convinced that I could pass that runner and turned down any water until I had accomplished that goal. I could tell that I was gaining and ended up passing him within 2 miles. I then was glad take a good drink while running. At the hand off I had to go up a hill and then handoff to Kyle who cruised right ahead.

In between our second and third sets we tried to get some sleep at the last exchange for us. Kyle, John and Kristen and I all slept in sleeping bags over on the grass next to a baseball diamond at the last exchange. Cathi and Stacy stayed in the van and slept on the benches. Kyle woke me up around 2:30 and said that the van 2 just texted them and that we needed to get moving. I woke up Cathi and helped her get ready as she was the most crucial runner to be ready for Van 2 at the hand off.

On my last run I had to run a straight path the whole time. I was on a paved bike trail along a major road. It was flat and dark. I was glad to have the headlamp. I could see a runner about a half mile up ahead and nobody behind me. I was hoping to catch the runner, but only was able to close the gap just a little. Passing someone on a race like this is called earning a "roadkill". I collected six roadkills on this race and was not a roadkill victim to anyone on this race. So that is a first for me in a running race at least.

Kyle was able to pick up my slack and was able to pass that team within the first half of his run.

I was so glad to be done. The last leg our team really worked together and cheered at the early hour of the morning. We helped Kristen with her run as it seemed to take a toll on her. What a great experience to do a race like this! In other races I've been in, it's all about yourself. You either achieve or fail by yourself. In a relay, you really help each other and support each other in a way you just don't get in any other kind of race. It really builds lasting friendships and I'm so glad that I did this. I will definitely do this again next year and preferably with the same group of people we went with this year. It was a true pleasure!

Here are all the pictures.

Tour de St. George

This morning I got up and started this ride at 8:30am. I took 5 quarts of water and only needed 3.



My plan was to do the full St. George Century, but ended up just doing the right side of the Tour de St. George. Well, this ride was hilly! 65 miles was well and good enough. I was beat. It took me 3:40 to do this ride. It sure was pretty. What a beautiful ride! I'll put together a video tomorrow and post it here.

First run on treadmill in several months

Today at lunch I hit the treadmill:

1.0 miles (.25 @ 6.0mph, .25 @ 6.2, .25 @ 6.4, .25 @ 6.6)
.25 miles walk @ 3.5 mph
1.0 miles (.25 @ 6.4, .25 @ 6.6, .25 @ 6.8, .25 @ 7.0)
.25 miles walk @ 3.5 mph
.5 miles (.25 @ 6.2, .25 @ 6.4)
.125 miles walk @ 3.5
.125 miles @ 8.0 mph
.06 miles @ 3.5 mph

3.3 miles in 35 minutes

Didn't feel knee discomfort until 2.8 miles. I was going to do 4 miles today, but cut it short. Hopefully the knee gets a clue and doesn't start it's whining until later in the run.

Lifted deadlifts: 3 x 6,8,10 @ 185
upright rows: 3 x 6,8,10 @ 100

Annual Pocatello to Syracuse ride

I got a ride to Pocatello with Leslie and Garth. I spent the evening with Grandma and Grandpa. Grandma made a delicious three course meal. The salad was awesome. She sure was fun to visit with. Grandpa was in good spirits too. We talked about old times and books that Grandma read. What a fun evening.

I rode up to Anderson's house to go to bed. That's quite a ride in itself. I checked out the weather station and no chance of a storm. The plan was Dale would get there sometime before 7am. I put a note on the door for him to go downstairs. He arrived at 5am. Rested for another two hours and I got up at 6:30, showered and got ready to go. Dale had a flat on his tire so we had to fix that and make last minute preparations. We didn't end up leaving until 7:45 am.

On the way down Satterfield I noticed my GPS quit working. So I changed the batteries. Nothing. Then I looked at the corroded battery terminal. It had completely corroded through the metal so it wasn't completing the connection. When I took the battery out the metal piece connecting to the battery fell out. Great! Now I have no way to power the GPS on this trip and I was only 1 mile into it. I was so mad! I am a data geek and now I won't know where I'm sitting.

It was just as well cause the ride was very slow going. Our average speed to start was probably about 14 mph. Then after Inkom it got even worse. It was around 12 mph avg by the time we got to Downey. Poor Dale was having a hard time. His legs were on fire and his first mention of it was only at around 5 miles before Arimo.

By the time we got to Preston which is a little less than half way, it was already 2pm. We were in serious jeopardy of not even making it home before dark. So he gave me the OK to go ahead. He would keep plugging along and see if he could get a ride further ahead and meet me.

So I picked up the pace and left from Preston. I was going at a good pace, probably 20 mph. When I got to the base of the hill after Logan heading into Brigham City I was tired. My legs at this point were tired. I applied some Dr. Hoy's magic rub on my legs and that felt good. The thing that really hurt was my neck. Going into the aerobars and looking forward was putting a strain on my neck. I applied several coats of that throughout the remainder of the ride. I stopped at three places on the way up to the top of the pass. Coming down was a little scary. The road was good and there wasn't much debris on the side of the road. But going over 40 mph on a freeway is scary. One wrong move and my skin is all over the road and I could roll into the road and get ran over too. So I was very alert and cautious.

When I turned at the base of the hill in Brigham City I stopped and got some fuel. I was low on sugar and was hurting for energy. I got a 16 oz Mtn Dew and some Zingers. Hit the spot! Not the most nutritious, but I needed sugar! I already had power bars and gatorades previously, but I needed some serious sugar, and that worked out great. I continued on and called Cathi to whine for a second. When I got to Perry, I saw Dale on the side of the road flagging me down. Sure enough he got a ride. We rode together at a 12 - 13mph pace until it got dark at Farr West.

The sun was going down and neither of us had headlights. So after 11 hours of riding, we stopped at the Front Runner Station and got a group pass so he could get to Salt Lake and I could get to Clearfield. I took my light off and I wasn't about to ride in the dark. After I bought the pass and headed towards the platform, a sign said that the service doesn't run on Saturday. Duh, why did the machine just sell me the pass then? I was ticked.

I called home. Cathi was at the Women's Conference at the Stake Center. I called Aaron Cunningham, not home. Duane Ralphs, he came through. He came by in a truck and gave us a ride the rest of the 15 - 20 miles home. What a good friend! He saved us in our time of need.

I was sad that I didn't get to finish. I don't doubt that I could have made it had the pace been about 3 mph faster earlier in the day. It was fun though and I got to talk with Dale quite a bit. He's quite the entrepreneur and I'm proud to know him.

Two days later and looking back. I'm not sore at all, just a tad stiff, but nothing major at all. Next year, I'll try going solo again, and then see if I can break my record and get under 9 hours. I want to do Lotoja next year and will need to step up the distance training in order to do that. 140 - 160 miles is quite a bit easier than over 200 miles I'm sure. Then again, getting some drafting would also help too.

What's up with my knee?!

OK so maybe the Pocatello Marathon did some damage to my knee. It was hurting, but not that bad. Saturday's evening run wasn't good on my knee and I was hoping that with a little more stretching that this morning's run with Cathi would be better. I ended up going about 1.25 miles before having an issue with my knee. Then I ended up walking a good portion with Cathi. She was kind enough to walk with me and we would talk.

But I'm worried about the next half marathon if I'm having issues with me knee like this. It's been fine all this year up until now. I'm gonna have to wear a brace now until I'm confident it won't give me problems.

Distance: 3.5 miles
Time: @ 45 minutes

I may have to cut my time with Cathi at this Saturday's TOU Marathon to the last three miles instead of 10K. Need to hit the treadmill more to show that knee who's boss!

Salvaging a crappy weekend

Crappy in the sense that I wasn't making good decisions on what to put in my mouth. Yesterday I went to the Greek Festival in Downtown SLC for lunch. The Greeks sure love their meat. And I was willing to submit. Lots of calories consumed.

Then I took Lucy camping at the Daddy Daughter camp. Which was fun, but on the way up there I took her out for dinner which is tradition. We went to Steph's Drive in. This was the last choice for dinner as we've already been everywhere else in Morgan in previous years. I ordered a Chicken Salad which was good, but then Lucy wasn't eating her fries with her corn dog, so I helped her out. Bad choice!

Then today when we got back I made pancakes and hash browns for the kids for brunch. Nobody was eating the hash browns, so I ate all of them. What's up doofus!

So by this point I was so depressed about my lack of food selections. Cathi arrived from her out of town marathon. So she relieved me of duty and let me go out to Garr Ranch and back. It was so hot outside! I didn't wear a jersey, just my bib and singlet top.

Stats:

50 miles
2:31
Average speed: 19.7 mph

Then I went on a run down to Smiths to rent "Race to Witch Mountain" from the redbox. So I got in about 1.25 miles in run. Not fast and in fact when I got there my knee was killing me so I only ran back about 100 yards and then walked the rest of the way. I need to wear a brace when I run, unless I really load up on the heat lotion.

1.25 miles
@ 15 minutes

School Bus Curse

Today while going down Angel I was passed by a school bus, which stopped ahead of me and loaded up kids. I had to stop for it. Then it went up ahead another 1/2 mile or so and stopped and I had to stop again. Next time it stopped I passed over on the other side of the road and stayed ahead of it. Then I hit just about every stop light on the way so today was not a great non-stop ride. It was annoying.

When I got to Legacy Bike Trail though I saw a couple of other bikers just as I got on. I caught up to them and led them from Glover Lane to 500 South in Bountiful where they turned off. It was nice cause my average speed up to that point was a measly 20.2 mph, but then I was holding a 24 mph average leading them. It sure makes a difference when you're with a group, you push it more. Makes me excited for Pocatello. I sure hope Dale and at least one other person comes through.

Distance 30.6 miles
Time: 1:31
Average speed: 20.2 mph

Cathi is having her birthday dinner tonight down in Draper so I'll be getting a ride back tonight, so today's ride is just a one way. :(

Results of the 2009 Pocatello Half Marathon

I had three goals for this race:

1. Don't walk the entire race


2. Get under 2:00


3. If you're feeling like a stud, go for a new PR (Under 1:47)

Jacob and I took the bus to the starting line for the half up the canyon from Inkom. When we started we were right near the front. My first mile split was like 7:38, but after that it slowed. There only about 10 people who passed me, and many of those I passed again later on in the race.

I was feeling great up until mile 9.5 when I started to feel a blister forming. Other than that I was still feeling fine. By Mile 11 it was starting to hurt, but I was able to push through the pain and finish. I was keeping an eye on the clock at each mile marker and noticed that I wasn't quite keeping pace to get a new PR, but well under pace for getting under 2:00.

I crossed the line and ended up with 1:53:24. I took 8th out of 21 in my age group. I also was very proud to not walk one single step in this race. Even when I was at an aid station I kept on running through it and drank while I ran. That's a first for me. Usually I'll walk when I drink. Not this time.

Jacob crossed the finish line only 9 minutes later. 2:02:47 He took first in the 14 and Under Men division (he was the only one).

Cathi surprised us all and got a new PR! 3:44:09 She took third out of ten for her age group (given that the first place person also placed in the overall category and no longer applicable to win the age group division). By getting this time she qualified again for Boston.

What a wonderful race for all of us. It was so fun to have all of us do so well. Thanks to Andersons for letting us stay at their house and for Grandma and Grandpa for watching Isaac while we ran. It was fun visiting with Andersons and Richins on Friday night. Sure makes for an extra fun trip!

Life must go on

Since doing the Bear Lake Classic Olympic Triathlon two days ago, my quads are sore a 7 out of 10. Today is my only day this week where I could possibly ride to work (given that I need to start to taper Thursday for the Pocatello Half Marathon this Saturday). When I woke up I was even more sore than yesterday, but was determined to go with my plan of riding to work today. Plus riding the bike will probably do my soreness some good since the soreness is due to running at the tri, and not the biking.

No wind this morning and the sun didn't pop over the mountains until 7:45 am. Temperature is a little cooler in the morning. I was slightly chilled the first minute. But didn't take long to warm up.

Distance: 30.6 miles
Time: 1:29
Average Speed: 20.63 mph

Good ride considering the soreness.
----------------------------------------------
The ride home included a small headwind breeze, enough to be annoying.
Distance: 30.6 miles
Time: 1:31
Average Speed: 20.1 mph

My results of the Bear Lake Classic Olympic Distance Triathlon

Lucy, Jonas and I spent the night up at the cabin and woke up early to drive the remaining 25 miles to the event at Rendezvous Beach. We set up our transition areas and went down to the water. I was pleased with the temperature. 68 degrees. Perfect even without a wetsuit.


When they started the race, there was no countdown. Just one minute to go and then next thing I knew there was a blast on the horn. Everyone ran like crazy to the buoy. It was a good 100 yards before I got deep enough to swim. I only saw one other person without a wetsuit and it was a girl. I was passing people left and right. I was wearing my "goofy goggles" so I could see great! One thing that bothered me though, is that I start out so fast that I don't concentrate on my breathing, or rather I'm going so fast that I need more air so even when I do concentrate and breathe bilaterally, that it doesn't give me enough air so I had to breathe on one side about 65% of the time. I went very straight this time and the swim performance was great! I was 5th out of the water. One guy quit about 1/3 way into it and ran across the mat at 20 minutes, but I'm not counting his time.

On the bike transition it could have been better. My jersey got stuck again behind my wet back and it was a struggle to get it on all the way. Plus when I started on the peddles, I had a hard time getting my feet into the shoes. But it wasn't too bad. I only had 4 people pass me on the 25 mile bike course. There was a couple fairly good hills, but nothing terrible. The transition to run went smoothly. I knew the run I would get passed by a ton, but I only got passed by 11 racers(not counting Relay and Sprint racers)

I liked how the run was two laps rather than an out and back type thing. I don't like seeing people come towards me who are ahead of me. It's a little shameful, but if it's a lap distance then I don't ever have to see the people ahead of me. When I started I started to feel some good tightness in my right calf muscle. Not cramping, but close. I just kept on going and after the first mile it was gone. At around mile 5 I started feeling some serious burning in my left foot's arch. A blister. I put vaseline on the inside of my socks before the race, but didn't put it in the arch area, just the toes. By the time I finished it was serious painful. It's a good inch long blister on my arch. I'll need to heal that up completely for next week's half marathon and vaseline it real good.

My finish time came in at 2:37:10.

• My Swim time was 27:01 (1.15 miles = 1:20 pace)


• Bike time was 1:11:32 (25 miles = 20.9 avg) Not too good, but it was rolling hills for probably half of it.


• Run time was 55:46 (10K) which isn't good at all. But what can I expect, I'm not doing ANY running training! I really need to step up on the running.

Every turn was very well marked and there were a ton of volunteers throughout the entire course guiding you where to go. I would say this would be the best organized triathlon I've been to. Except for when noon came and the kids were all at the waters edge waiting to start, freezing in the wind and overcast sky, nobody showed. At 12:15 I started walking up to the transition area to see what was going on. Someone finally came and started the kids event off.

The marked was out about 50 yards from the beach. Just about every kid could run the whole thing, which is exactly what Jonas did. I kept trying to encourage him to swim, but he just wouldn't. I was splashing him telling him to get his face in the water, but he would just try to outrun me. Lucy on the other hand swam probably half the time. When she did swim it was backstroke.

They ran to transition and were off. Lucy was way ahead so I stayed with Jonas. His little spider man bike needs some gears cause he was peddling like mad and only going about 12 mph. When we got back from the bike Lucy was just starting her run. Jonas was funny. Instead of going all the way back to his assigned post to put his bike, as soon as he go to transition he just dumped his bike and helmet and chased after Lucy. He was about 100 yards behind her. When they finished Lucy only beat him by about 50 yards. He's quite the little runner.

The both had a ball and it was fun hearing the crowd at the finish line cheer like mad for the little kids. They slept the whole way home. They were beat. Lucy said something thoughtful when we were loading the bikes on the car to come home. She said, "Gee Dad, if I'm this tired after doing my little triathlon, you must be REALLY tired!". What a cutie.


Actually I wasn't tired at all. In fact if it weren't for that dang run I would be totally ready for a half ironman.

I'm done doing triathlons this year. But I have two half marathons coming up. One next week! So I really need to step up the running. That's where I'm really hurting! Click below for video clip.

First time lifting in a LONG time

Bench: 12 @ 135, 8 @ 145, 8 @ 155, 8 @ 165, 8 @ 175, 8 @ 185
Dips: 3 x 12 @ 195 (body weight)
Alternating DB Curls: 3 x 12 @ 35
Crunches: 50, 100, 60
Armblaster Curls: 3 x 12 @ 75

Only 45 minutes, but should be enough to make me sore tomorrow.

I'm taking a ride with my best friend

Referring to my Felt of course.....


Depeche Mode tonight, so I won't be riding home. Will be going with Cathi, Jen and Duane Ralphs.

Stats: 30.6 miles
Time: 1:27
Average Speed: 21.1 mph

Good ride, no wind.

Smooth as snot!

On Monday I brought my bike in to work and dropped it off at the conveniently located SLC Bicycle Company on 200 E and 200 S. I talked with Troy and left my bike with him to get a full service. The next day I came in and picked it up and I couldn't hold back smiles when I saw it come out of the storage room. It was shiny and looked brand spanking new! There wasn't a speck of dirt on it and I could see that it was very nicely packed with new grease.

In comparing the customer service between SLC Bicycle company and my home location's local bike shop is night and day. SLC Bicycle staff is more professional and service oriented, and the quality of work is superior. I'm very impressed and they've earned my business.

Today's ride was so smooth and the bike didn't make a single noise. I was in heaven. Definitely worth the money to get it serviced. He gave me new brakes and cables and made sure the wheels were true. I'm so looking forward to my Pocatello to Syracuse ride!

Here's today's stats:

Distance: 30.6 miles
Time: 1:29
Average Speed: 20.6 mph

How to win - guest post by Adrienne Carlson

How to Win When You Play a Sport

I’m sure there are better ways to exercise, but I prefer to play a sport; to be more specific, racquetball is my poison, one I cannot do with and am addicted to. I enjoy thrashing out my daily stresses and tensions on the court, I love the rush it gives me when I play my best game, and I get high on the energy I am filled with long after the session of play is over.

Now, the problem comes when there are people around you who are competitive, those who play only to win. When this happens, most of the fun is sucked out of the game and it becomes a question of one-upmanship to see who wins. While I am fairly competitive, I am not a fanatic who absolutely has to win every single game in order to satiate and feed my ego. But once in a while I do come across people who must win if they are to leave the court in a good mood. What they fail to realize is that sports is a finicky mistress – you need a huge amount of luck to score (read win) on a regular and continuous basis.

I reserve my strategies and game plans for the few minor tournaments I take part in; only then do I feel right for my competitive nature has to take over. The way I see it, in order to win, you must:

• Be physically fit: No amount of game-playing skill is enough to help you win a game or match if you are not physically fit. Endurance and stamina are key aspects to any sportsperson’s repertoire of skills. You must train according to your sport and develop your muscles and keep them strong so that you avoid injury.


• Be good at the game: This goes without saying – you must be good and have the right skills in order to play well and win. But, as your opponent is also going to be as good as or even better than you, this alone is not enough. So you need to do much more than just play well.


• Know how to out-think your opponent: The team or player that wins is not always the strongest and most skilled in the field or on the court. In fact, those who are master strategists enjoy a larger number of victories than the ones who play well. You must be one step ahead of your opponent, mentally and physically if you want to win. Think with your head rather than just reacting to your opponent’s play; make them play your game instead of you playing theirs.


• Play with your mind: Victory is more in the mind than in your game. Even if you are down match point or if the situation is so bleak that victory seems really elusive, don’t give up. Keep fighting till the last second is done or the last point scored. Miracles happen when your mind wills it to.

By-line:

This guest article was written by Adrienne Carlson, who regularly writes on the topic of nurse practitioner schools. Adrienne welcomes your comments and questions at her email address: adrienne.carlson1@gmail.com

Biking in a bad mood

I was in a bad mood when I got home from the swim race this morning. I was robbed. I didn't get to finish thanks to bad weather and a couple sensitive park rangers. When I got home there wasn't a cloud in the sky and really sunny. How ironic! So I rode out to Garr Ranch and back. Still feel like ripping someones head off though.

Distance: 50.0 miles
Time: 2:32
Average Speed: 19.74 mph

Slow cause of the wind coming from the west.

First ride in to work in a month

It's been a long time since I last rode to work. I love when I get to Warm Springs Road. It reminds me of Yellowstone park with the smell of sulfer.

Distance: 30.6
Time: 1:30

I'll have to take the train from SL to Layton instead of ride home since I need to put in a decent day at work and still have to make it back in time for Scouts. This will be my last ride this week. Need to taper for the Deer Creek event this weekend.

First ride in a month

The last time I rode my bike was at the Echo Triathlon. It's been swimming and running ever since. This morning I got up at 5:30am to go swim at Layton. I got halfway there when I remembered that they don't open until 8:00 am on Saturdays. That's retarded!

So I turned around and went back home. I then left at 7:45 to go there and was hoping that they would have some of the good TYR goggles in stock at the desk since Cathi had my swimming gear in her car and spent the night with Lucy at Grandmas. But my luck for the day would continue and they were out of stock. So I went back home and started getting ready to go pick up Austin at Scout Camp. The plan the evolved to go out to Garr Ranch in the late afternoon.

So I left at 4:00pm and it was partly cloudy with a slight breeze from the west. Held a pretty good pace, in fact this is a new record for going out to Garr Ranch (along with the extra visitors center loop to get the full 50) and back.

Distance: 50.0 miles
Time: 2:29
Average Speed: 20.1 mph
Max Speed: 41.1 mph

Very good ride considering the extended break. I better pick it up. I have the Bear Lake Tri in two weeks and the ride from Pocatello in 7 weeks.

Results of the 2009 Bair Gutsman

Yesterday I carbed up like crazy! I ate a whole loaf of whole wheat bread from Vozens, then had dinner at Archibald's down at Gardner Village for Kris' birthday.

This morning got up at 4:30. Got to our old Fruit Heights Meetinghouse at 5:20. Some people we knew who also did it: Dale Majors, Ladd Morrell and Jane Jensen and her boys, and Jamie Moore. The race started up Mountain road at 6:00 am. Ran up the trailhead and ended up stuck behind clusters of people. I passed at every available moment, which wasn't often since the trail is so narrow going up. About 4-5 spurts of sprinting past slow pokes walking up the mountain. I loved the breeze at the top. I was also glad we started so early as there was no sunlight on the west side of the mountain at that time.

Once I got to the top on the dirt road it was running the rest of the way. I looked at my watch and noticed that my time was just over 2 hours. I had 6 miles left and I thought to myself, "Hey you can get under 3 hours if you hustle". So I put in two Buzz Bites and ran the rest of the way which was downhill on a gravel road. I stopped to take video and pictures a few times.

When I crossed the finish line it read 2:54:38. I was very pleased with that time. I was hoping for around 3:30. I did more running and pushing it up the hill than I thought I would. At the end my ankles weren't achy and I wasn't completely exhausted. I felt great! It must have been the goat cheese I ate!

Here are the official results.

Click the image below for a video.

From Triathlons

Climbing Aura

I'm also either romantic, superstitious, silly, or a fool. Whenever I have a big swimming event coming up, the night before I'll eat a fish. Well this Saturday is the Bairgutsman race up Baer Canyon. I'm a little nervous because it's very steep. As you can see from this image, there are parts where its a 20% grade up a rocky trail.

So I thought of an animal that's a great rock/mountain climber. Mountain goats! But no restaurant serves up goats. So I ordered a Goat Cheese salad from Redrock. Man was it good! Goat cheese rocks. Hopefully the essence of goat enters my body and remains for a few days so I can climb like an expert up that trail! If only I had hoofed feet!

10 Mile hike with the scouts

This afternoon our troop did this hike:



Here are the stats:

Distance: 10.1 miles
Time: 2:45
Average Speed: 3.67 MPH

It was nice visiting with Tom and getting to know him a little better. Poor Kyler got hit by a bicyclist. Not too bad, but enough to make him limp a little. It was hot out there. My thermostat read 97 when we started and 91 when we finished at 7:45. My ankles are a little stiff. Hopefully I'll be fully recovered for this weekend's Bairgutsman race.

Steep Hills with Cathi

This morning Cathi and I got up early and ran this route:


We are doing the Bairgutsman in a couple weeks and wanted to get at least one pre-race training run in. Cathi ran the whole time, but I had to walk at the top of Mountain road and then on the way down on East Oaks Drive. It was a tough workout. I think I'm gonna be sore. Sad thing is, it's just a portion of the route in two weeks so I'm gonna be dead on August 1-2nd.

Results of the 2009 Echo Olympic Triathlon - 2:33:50

Last night our family went to camp at the Holiday Hill RV Park in Echo. We got there at 4:00 pm and found a good camp site. We started up a fire and had tinfoil dinners, raspberry lemonade, and fig newtons. We played games and had a fun time. We all fit in the tent and had a good nights sleep.

I got to bed around 9:45 and got up at 5:30 am. Everyone was still asleep. I told Cathi to just stay at camp and have a fun time with the kids. They didn't allow cars on that road and there was no way she would be able to walk to the venue with the kids. So I biked to the venue, got the transition area all setup and got my body marking. I went to the waterfront and the water was so warm! I mean it was like swimming in a lap pool. So I decided not to use a wetsuit at all.

Man was I glad because after the first 10 seconds I could tell it would have been way too warm with a wetsuit. I had put some baby oil in my goggles per a recommendation by Teri Child. Problem was the fogginess wasn't any beter in fact it was worse! I coulden't see more than 10 feet in front of me. I stayed behind a couple of guys in the swim so that I could just look at their feet underwater to make sure I was going the right way. But soon I was passing them and I didn't have a way to see if I was heading the right way. When I lifted my head out of the water to look for the buoy up ahead I couldn't see it. My goggles were too foggy. After the second buoy I gave up using goggles and flipped them off my head. Now when I lifted my head out I could see clearly up ahead. I should have done that from the start. I was spending too much time correcting myself on the swim. I will have to research some decent goggles that don't fog or get some defogger or something.

When I got out my watch said 27:28. Then the transition to bike could have been better. I put my bike number on the front of my equmen shirt which was a mistake. It's already tight fitting, but with it going on wet it was rolling up behind my shoulders and I probably looked like a fat dude getting into a small shirt. I got it on in about 1 minute. The bike ride went well. It was hilly as expected. Here's the route and you can see there's a 600 foot climb between mile 6 and 10.
I passed more people than was passed so I had a net gain of two.

The transition to run was pretty quick and I started off. I'm sure any gains I got in the bike and swim were lost during the run. I was passed left and right, even though the passing was done by alot of sprint athletes. I did the 10K in 51:56. My overall time was 2:33:50. Taking 16th out of 35 in my age division. Pretty mediocre job. Oh well. I felt good about my effort and learned on my swim. Next time. Better goggles. The water temperature was awesome and it was overcast with no rain or wind. Couldn't ask for better weather conditions.

Here's my official results and as you can see my times aren't embarrasingly bad from the leader, except for the run.

Nice ride for the first half

The ride to Bountiful went really well, got my average speed up to 21.3, but then I hit a pretty strong headwind in Bountiful and it went way down from there.

Distance: 30.6 miles
Time: 1:34
Average Speed:19.5 mph
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Run up to Bridge on Trail from Cabin

This morning got up with Cathi and ran up Right Hand Fork Canyon Road up past the trailhead and to the first bridge about 1/4 mile up the trail. Then we ran back to the cabin and then down the canyon about a half mile or so. We planned it so that we would be gone one hour. So we figured it was close to a 10K. Here's the map which is pretty rough.

Drained

Man today's energy level was about 25% of normal and my ride was sure slower than normal. Probably doesn't help that I only got 6 hours of sleep last night. Stayed up a little to watch Letterman and didn't turn off the TV till 11. Got up at 5:40 am and got ready. My legs just didn't have the drive they normally do. I didn't get depressed over it cause I realize I need to better fuel my body as well as allow for more time to recover.

Distance: 30.6 miles
Time: 1:42
Average Speed: a pathetic 18.2 mph
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The ride home was completely different. I loaded up on stuff from Vosen's and got some good carbs loaded. Had a very delicious peach nectar on ice that was fantastic. I'm going to have to remember that next week when I taper for Echo. Here's the ride home stats:

Distance: 30.6 miles
Time: 1:29
Average Speed: 20.6 mph

Just can't win

Today I came to a four way stop intersection in west Farmington. There was only one other car on my left. I was about 20 yards from the stop sign and the car was already stopped. I slowed dramatically to show my intention to let them go as they were already stopped and could just go ahead. Instead he waited for me to come to nearly a complete stop and then wave me on. C'mon people! Just go! I waved at them to go since they were the ones that were in the right of way to go and momentum was already shot to hell. They still waited.

Road rage was setting in. I ended up turning left on the wrong side of the road cause I wasn't about to get in front of this doofus and have him second guess me. I know he was trying to be nice, but c'mon, many people don't give a crap about bikers and I'm used to no having people break their back for them. And they shouldn't. After last week's incident I'm not assuming people are going to give me the right of way.

Today's ride was typical:

Distance: 30.6 miles
Time: 1:30
Average Speed: 20.4
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The ride home was a tad faster:
Distance: 30.6 miles
Time: 1:26
Average Speed: 21.4 mph

Albion to Snowville

We had such a fun time in Albion at the family reunion. We did the camping, playing games, performed in skits, tasted some great cooking, and had fun visiting with relatives. After "Deal or No Deal" game they started the Auction. It was 1:15 pm and I figured I should leave in order to get my ride done before Cathi would leave two hours later to meet me.

Here's the route I took:


The first six miles were uphill going up to the Mt Harrison turnoff, but after that it was pretty much downhill after that. In fact it was a good grade down right after the Mt Harrison turnoff. My max speed was 48 mph. Once I got to mile 26 my GPS ran out of batteries, and the backup batteries I had weren't very good and they died within a few minutes. So I was without GPS data the last half of my ride. It sucked. So I tried my best to just go as hard as I could so I could keep my goal of getting this done in just over 3 hours.

Here's video of me getting to the Utah/Idaho border:

From Biking

Cathi caught me about six miles before I got to Snowville. She said she was OK with just waiting at the end of the road. So I kept it going and met her about 20 minutes later. It was a long hot ride and it was fun. I wish I would have had someone with me to trade drafting with. I noticed the road turned to Nevada. That would be a very cool ride to go from Snowville to Elko Nevada. What a ride that would be!

Anyhow here are the stats (based on the distance and time elapsed):
Distance: 63.32 Miles
Time: 3:11
Average Speed: 19.89 mph

Here's the end of my ride:

From Biking

Mt Harrison Ride

I didn't ride up in the morning as planned because Robby (my Aunt Patricia's husband) said he would go up with me. He was going to ride his Mountain Bike and would be up there after lunch so I waited until he got to the park in Albion.

When he got there I was napping in the tent and hurried into my biking gear. We started up there and it was slow going. His bike had bike fat knobby tires with good suspension, but not very fast. Our first six miles we were going probably 11 mph average. Once we turned off the main highway and started up we went about 500 feet higher in elevation and then switched bikes. Robby seemed to like it and we went for another 1000 ft in elevation and then Rob switched back. After we were 11 miles into the ride he said I should go ahead. I did and went to the top and my GPS read 17.1 miles.


Coming back was crazy fast. Made it back to the park in less than 45 minutes. Very fun ride! I'm going to do it again next year when we come up. Looking forward to tomorrow's ride to Snowville too.

Near Death Experience

I'm a big believer in the power of prayer and today was a perfect example. While I'm glad to be alive right now, I'm disappointed that I'm so dumb. I'm sharing this to record that miracles do happen as well as a warning to myself and to other bikers to be more careful and not to assume obstacles don't exist. Cathi if you read this please know I've learned my lesson!


View Larger Map
Today when I got to the T intersection at end of weaver going onto Angel Street in Kaysville, I looked left before turning right going South onto Angel. Problem was, I didn't look right at all since I wasn't turning into traffic, but staying on the right side. I didn't look right at all and totally missed that here coming at me at about 20 mph was a huge double axle tractor, with a row of "middlebusters" (a ripper/plow) attachment on the back. The row of these plows was about 3-4 feet wider than the tractor itself. It took up nearly the whole road including my side!

When I turned I was going about 12 mph and turned into the middle of the right side of the road. I missed the tractor, but coming at me was the plow on the end of the attachment. I had less than a second to get out of the way. I thought, Oh crap (sadly not the tame version of the word), I'm going to die, or lose a leg. I also thought I should instantly intentionally spill to the right and crash to avoid getting hit and let the plow go over me as it was lifted up about 2 feet above the ground.

But somehow I managed to twist to the right enough to miss it entirely. I don't know how it happened. It was coming so fast and was so far into my lane that I should have been hit, but managed to escape with my life.

Now the blame rests entirely on me. There was a stop sign there and I don't typically come to a complete stop on those. I don't know any biker who actually does. But the thing I get from this is to go slower through intersections and to not assume that turning right doesn't mean there won't be something coming at you in the lane your turning into. I need to look BOTH ways at every intersection.

Just because I said a prayer for protection that morning, and was wearing temple garments doesn't turn me into superman and give me a warrant to be stupid and put my life in danger and expect to leave unharmed like I did. I have no doubt had I hit that plow, I would have either died, or lost a leg and been put in critical condition. Getting a higher average mph is NOT worth dying over, or even crashing over!

Lesson learned - slow down and look both ways. Intersections are dangerous! I've broke my arm and thumb before falling off a bike and both times, at intersections.

Distance: 30.6 miles
Time: 1:30
Average Speed: 20.4 mph
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The ride home was much less eventful which was good. Slower though. Its the first time I have run out of water this year and had to refill at a park.

Distance: 30.6 miles
Time: 1:32
Average Speed: 19.9 mph

You get wetter biking in the rain, than running in the rain.

With biking, you get the rain from on top, and the puddles coming up in your face and backside. This morning's ride was wet to say the least. It started from the get go and was on and off about 50% of the ride.

Distance: 30.6 miles
Time: 1:31
Average Speed: 20.18 mph

I got a flat half way down Warm Springs Road so I had to stop and change that real quick. Added about 6 minutes to my ride. Other than that it wasn't bad. I wasn't cold, just wet and it went by fast.
--------------------------------------------------------
The ride home was good until I got to the turn in Centerville. Slowed down considerably after that. My average speed at that point was 22.7 mph, but by the time I got home I dropped down to 21.1

Distance: 30.6 miles
Time: 1:26
Average Speed:21.1

Much anticipated ride

Haven't been on the bike for 4 days and I'm antsy to get back on! This morning's ride was fine. I have three bibs and one of them is blue. It was worn enough that it was like a speedo that is getting old and you can almost see through it in some spots, so I threw it away.

Distance: 30.6 miles
Time: 1:27
Average Speed: 21.1 mph

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Cathi's Utah Valley Marathon

I'm putting this post together mainly as a placeholder for Cathi for when she gets around to posting the details of her race.


Cathi spent the night down in Orem at her sister Kristen's. She got up early and ran the Utah Valley Marathon. Gordon went camping with Jacob at a scout camp so Cathi was all alone this time.



She found a good running partner during the race, Martine Louis. He kept encouraging Cathi even when she felt overwhelmed and drained. This was a hard race for Cathi and she struggled more than she normally does. She did end up with a pretty good time. She saw the clock at the finish and wanted to get under 4:00, but she didn't quite make it. She got a 4:00:16.




Good job Cathi!

Need a double backup system

This morning I got to the end of Warm Springs Road in NSL when I came to a construction zone and the guy was holding up a Stop sign in the middle of the road. As soon as I came to a complete stop, I hit something and immediately my front tire had air explode out of it. I said "Dang it" like Kip and the guy looked over and said sorry. I replaced the tube and blew it up with the CO2 I had. Took off and made it another 3 miles when I noticed my air in the front tire was going out again. I must have hit something else. This time on the side. I walked from the train tracks by the Gateway Mall the rest of the way (about 1.2 miles)

I only have one extra tube and should consider a second one. Better yet, I'm going to see if I can get some decent tires from Dale with some significant rubber on the sides, which is where I'm getting these punctures.

I'll have to take Frontrunner home tonight. Here's today's numbers:

Distance: 29.8 miles
Time: 1:22
Average Speed: 21.8 miles

Resistance Training

Last night I spent the night at Mom and Dad's. We got up early and headed North for a good bike ride. Had a nice wind from the south so it was kind. I pulled Austin with a trailer so that was some pretty good resistance. It wasn't too tough. Kept my average speed down. Still held back though so I could stay with Mom and Dad.

Distance: 30.1 miles
Time: 2:10
Average Speed: 13.89

When I got home I then picked up Jonas and took him to Garr Ranch and back. Less resistance than Austin, but still pretty good especially pulling him up the hills:

Distance 50.7 miles
Time: 3:40
Average Speed: 13.8 mph

Total Distance: 80.8 miles

That's half the distance to Pocatello, pulling a kid in a trailer. Felt great!

There's a storm brewin'

This morning the wind was going pretty good from the west. I cut the top off the kids bike trailer and put it in the back of the Van. The plan is tomorrow morning to pull Austin (my 110 pound 13 year old) from my parents house to my house which is about 30 miles. My parents wanted to go on Legacy trail Saturday morning really early, so I'm going with them. I'm hoping that the handicap of pulling a mouthy teenager will make the ride more unified as I stay with them.

But this morning's ride was awesome.
Distance: 30.6 miles
Time: 1:27
Average Speed: 21.1 mph
Max Speed: 27.4 mph

Will spend the night tonight at Mom and Dad's then ride home tomorrow.

A little blister

Yesterday Tom Topik and I took the scouts 2.5 miles up Bair Canyon. It seemed like 5. It was warm for the first 40 minutes, but then it started to drizzle and it got cool fast. We crossed the stream three times which made for wet feet and my toes didn't like it. I only got one timy little blister on my third toe rubbing against my second. We lost the trail coming back and missed the bridge going back to the car so our trip was extended by about 30 minutes. Kind of crazy. Got up earlier this morning and started off to work on the bike:

Distance: 30.6 miles
Time: 1:30
Average Speed: 20.4 mph

Good ride
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The ride home was even better! I was sore all day from yesterday's hike and my quads are killing me. Getting out of downtown was a nightmare. Hit just about every light. But by the time I got to 600 W it was all smooth and fast from there. I was able to get my average speed to constantly move up. No wind to speak of. The last turn off Gentile on to Bluff I noticed a guy trying to gain on me, possibly to draft. Which I don't mind, but he has to earn it. I went from a steady 23 mph up to 29-30mph. He backed off. I was hoping he'd push it and stay with me. Excellent ride!

Distance: 30.6
Time: 1:25
Avg Speed: 21.6 mph

Lifting biceps

After the Stansbury Triathlon, I noticed that my upper arms were rubbing my lats and I had started to get a blister on the inside of my biceps. I realized that my uppers arms are too flabby. There is excessive skin now that they're smaller, so I need to fill them up with some muscle. So today I did some biceps, although I don't have any plans on making lifting weights a regular thing yet.

Seated Preacher Curls: 4 x 15 @ 75 (alt inside and outside grip)
Standing Arm Blaster Curls: 2 x 15 @ 75 (alt inside and outside grip)
Alternating DB Curls: 2 x 15 @ 30
Concentration Curls: 2 x 15 @ 25

Only about 30 minutes of lifting. Got a decent burn, but nothing outstanding. This needs to be a regular thing for any significant change to happen. Maybe on days I don't ride in to work I'll try to hit the gym. That's kind of a panzy commitment isn't it?

Results of the 2009 SDRC Splash N' Sprint Triathlon - 1:11:35

This morning I got there and found out that they had put me as the first swimmer in the water in this Interval start triathlon. I told them 4:30 was my seed time which was a little aggressive cause I ended up doing it in 5:00.

I made three errors in this tri and the first one was pretty minor, but cost me a couple seconds is all: When I jumped in feet first (per the direction given me), I went to the bottom which was only about 7 feet deep. I tried pushing off the wall, but I was at the bottom and the walkway barrier thing didn't go all the way to the bottom, so when I pushed off the wall, there was no wall to push off, so needless to say the guy behind me was right on my tail from the start. After 300 yards he touched my toes and I let him pass me. Then at 350 I thought he was getting out and I didn't really think it through, so I ran into him. Not bad at all, but he stopped for a sec and looked at me. I said sorry at transition and told him I thought we were getting out right there next to the door. Instead we got out on the far end of the pool and had to walk over to the exit door.

At transition I simply put on my jersey, shades and helmet and took off. I passed the guy in transition and immediately made my way on the bike course. I was going at a very good pace and every 10 minutes or so I looked back and didn't see a soul, so my biking was good. At the very last turn, I wasn't absolutely sure it was the right turn. There were some race volunteers there at the corner helping people just starting to make the right turn. I wasn't sure if I needed to go one more block or turn here so I yelled out: Do I turn here to go back? They said "we don't know they didn't tell us". I didn't see any arrows painted so I kept going. After a block I still didn't see any arrows so I cut in and made my way back to the route. I wasted probably 1 minute or so off my time trying to figure out how to get back. So that was my second error. It was annoying.

I looked back and there was a fairly good pack behind me about 200 yards. My GPS shows my stats as:

Distance: 13.4 miles
Time: 36:30
Average Speed: 22.03 mph

When I transitioned to the run I hurried to get my socks and shoes on and then my race belt and took off. I ran south to 400 S when the guy behind me yelled out: "Dude! We're going the wrong way". Just then I realized that the run course went around behind the building instead of straight to the road. I must have passed nearly a dozen volunteers right there at transition who saw me and didn't say a thing. I wasted about 1 minute on that one too. I was tired at the start of the run and my calves felt a little tight, but not too bad. My pace to start wasn't good at all, but slowly it picked up. We had to head North to Pages lane, then east to 400 E and then south to 400 S. There was a slight uphill grade for the second half and it was tough. Coming down 4th south at the end was nice as it was downhill. I was passed only twice by runners (besides the 5 that didn't screw up the run transition and were already ahead to begin with). My run time was about 26 minutes.

My overall time was 1:11:35. I wanted less than 1:15 so I at least did that. But was hoping for close to a little over an hour. I took 8th place out of about 100 or so people. If I didn't make those errors I would have got down to around low 1:10. And probably placed in the top 3. Before my second error I was ahead by probably a couple minutes. Triathlons are a great deal about mental focus at transition times especially and I goofed up big time on this race.

I'm a little bugged that the race volunteers didn't know the course to help doofus' like me. I also thought the 2nd watering station was very badly placed (only about 300 yards from the finish line). Why not put it 300 yards into the run! Not just before finish when people are sprinting and not going to stop/slow down for a drink!

I'll probably skip this race next year. Sprints are too short. Especially when the swim is half of what it should be. Sprints are typically half of an olympic distance and an olympic distance is 1500 M which should be about an 800 yard swim for sprint distance, not 400. That takes a little away from my advantage. Oh well. I got a good workout today anyway, and plan to go for a 50 mile bike ride later this afternoon, as well as taking Jacob on a 3 mile run at sundown.

Next up... Utah Summer Games. Time to get in the pool!

Fully Recovered

This morning I discovered that my ankle and knee strains have fully recovered and I'm at 100%. No more limping/tenderness or pain! Feels good. I was getting a little nervous about this weekend's sprint tri. But I should be fine. This morning's ride was fast. No drafting today, but no wind either, so that was good:

Distance: 30.6
Time: 1:28
Average Speed: 20.9 mph
Max Speed: 30.2 mph

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The ride home was a little windy, but not too bad.

Distance: 30.6 miles
Time: 1:31
Average Speed: 20.1
Max Speed: 29.8 mph

Drafting

This morning as I started my ride and neared the end of Bluff Road, I saw three bikers merge onto Gentile about 200 yards ahead of me. I thought to myself, I'm going to catch them and draft for a bit. So I caught them at 3200 W and Gentile and they turned on 2200 W where I normally go. They followed the same path I normally take clear until 350 E and Shepherd Lane in Farmington. I drafted off them for about 6 miles.

I didn't feel so bad cause the guy in the lead had thighs almost the size of my waist. I was surprised though that these serious guys were only going about 21.5-22.0 mph. Their cadence was really high. Personally, I don't understand why such a high cadence. I like going into a lower gear and get a slower rhythm going with more power rather than spin like mad.

Anyhow I enjoyed the break and the rest of the way I was on my own. There was little to no wind to deal with the entire ride and was able to get to work in a really good time:

Distance: 30.6 miles
Time: 1:25
Average Speed: 21.6 mph
Max Speed: 30.6 mph

Very good ride. My left ankle and my right knee are much better after that ride! They don't hurt at all while riding, but once I get off they're still a little tender. I'm probably at 65% right now. Hoping that taking a break from running this week will get them healed up for this weekend's SDRC Sprint Tri. I'm probably not going to swim at all this week either given that I need to ride in to work tomorrow as well.

The first two weeks in June I will NOT be riding in to work at all since I need to really step the swimming up for the Utah Summer Games the third week in June. My goal is to put in at least 25K yards per week for the first two weeks in June and then taper for the games on June 18-19th. That should be a fun trip. Three days off work and spending time with the kids down in Cedar City. Should be lots of fun.
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The ride home also involved a little drafting. I caught up to a guy just getting on the Legacy trail from Redwood Road. He drafted off me for about 1 mile then he took the lead. I drafted for a couple miles and he motioned for me to take the lead. I did so, but after a couple minutes didn't see him in my wake. So I just kept the same pace. About 5 minutes later I saw his shadow next to mine so I picked it up just a bit so he could push it right behind me. After leading for about 10 minutes I slowed up and he went next to me and asked, "Where's the motor?". I asked him where he was going and he said Layton. I told him I was heading to Syracuse. He then took the lead for about 10 minutes at a pace of about 20mph. I was feeling like 22 was a more comfortable pace so I took the lead again. I slowly worked up to that pace so I could keep him close. But he dropped off and I never saw him after that.

I was able to fight the headwind and maintain a pretty good speed at the same time. Felt very good.

Distance:30.6
Time: 1:28
Avg Speed:20.8 mph

Neighborhood ride

This afternoon I made a few calls and left messages and didn't expect quite a good turnout on a holiday. Matt Yeates, Chad Frew, Jason Bremer, Ron Snow and myself went out to the end of the causeway and back. It was nice having a large group. This is a new personal record of going with a group of 5. Got some decent speed going even with a pretty good wind from the West.

Distance: 24.6 miles
Time: 1:11
Average Speed: 20.8 mph
Max Speed: 29.8 mph

Very nice ride. Lots of bugs. Thank goodness for the bug shield I have around my neck which I very easily move up over my mouth and nose. Had a concern about passing since I've never had anyone really explain to me cycling etiquette. I found that I was passing on the right to take the lead, but didn't feel that was correct after I had made the maneuver. I did tell Matt "Passing on the right" and then took the lead. After that though I passed on the left when taking the lead. That felt more safe so I'll be doing that from now on. Here's a pretty good page with some basic etiquette which is good to follow.

Results of the 2009 Syracuse Memorial Day Half Marathon - 1:45:59

So a new milestone has been reached. My first official Half Marathon race. I could hardly sleep last night I was excited for it. I wasn't nervous just anxious to start. Last night Jacob said he wanted to do it so we woke him and took him with us to register for it last minute.

When we got there we saw Dan and Liz Yardley from our Fruit Heights ward. It was nice to see them again.

At 6:45 they started the half marathon runners. I started my stop watch as soon as I crossed the starting line (only about 25 feet from the front of the pack).

Here's the map of the course:


I stayed right behind Tiffany Gallup and Cathi for the first 2 miles and afterwards either they slowed up a bit, or I felt more energy so I went ahead for just a bit. About 4 miles into it Cathi comes up and passes me and increases my pace. We stayed together from 4 - 8. My MP3 player quit working after 3 miles and the new battery wouldn't work either so I only got 2 songs before I was without it. I then used my breathing to help pace myself. I wasn't too disappointed not having tunes.

When I turned around at the top of the trail and started heading back I was still feeling good. When I got down to mile 10 I was a little worried. I was feeling pain in my ankles and a little in my right knee. I put up a mental block of the pain and kept the pace. The last mile was tough. I picked up the pace and started to get stabbing sharp pain in my right knee, but I again put up a mental block and within a couple minutes I brought it back down as the pain was gone. I sprinted the last stretch heading north on the path. I had a very strong finish.


I stopped my watch at the finish to get my actual time: 1:45:59. I wanted to get under 2:00 and I definitely did that. My overall pace was 8:01/mile which is way faster than what I did at the Stansbury Triathlon last Saturday. So I feel great that I didn't absolutely kill myself and leave nothing for this race. I had a great race and very happy with that time.

Cathi was a few minutes behind me and she ended with 1:49:37. She took first place for her age group (30- 39) and got a medal. Jacob got 2:17:01 and took first place for his age group (10 and Under). He was getting high fives and lots of encouragement for many runners. Only a couple kids his age were entered and he ran nearly the whole thing. He was so tough. Tiffany did good. She seemed a little disappointed with her time though. Liz Yardley ran it too. It was nice to see her and Dan and their kids. It was her first half too.

Overall a very good race. Next up: SDRC Sprint Triathlon this Saturday