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.
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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
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

My results at the 2009 Stansbury Triathlon

Our family slept over at Diana and Brendon's in a tent in their backyard. It was fun. We watched "Lil Rascals" projected on to the side of their house last night. The kids loved it and ate popcorn. I slept great last night in a sleeping bag in our tent. Got up naturally just before my alarm went off at 6:30.

Went in got ready, had some quick breakfast and headed over and got my timing chip and setup my transition area. Met up with Duane and Brian and Teri. Brian, Duane and I all started at the same time. I positioned myself right at the front by the buoy and when they said "Go", I started my stopwatch.

I was planning on bilateral breathing, but I ended up just breathing on the right side. I was disappointed with that cause I like to think that I'm now a fully converted bilateral breather, but this just goes to show that I'm still naturally a right side breather. Anyhow there were about a 9 people ahead of me that stayed ahead. My goggles were very foggy that I couldn't see the red buoy's very well off in the distance but as I got closer, realigned. Felt great on the swim and when I got out I looked at my watch and it just turned over to 20 minutes. That's great!
I was aiming for anything less than 30 minutes.

On my way back to the bike I stripped off the wetsuit fully and threw it over to Cathi who had my bag. The transition to the bike was very fast, just as I practiced at the SDRC clinic a few weeks ago. The bike course was flat and was just a four turn per lap course. I turned on my GPS just as I left the transition area and I fully got satellite connection after probably a half mile into it. According to my GPS:

Distance: 26.1 miles(not accounting for satellite acquiring time)
Time: 1:07
Average Speed: 23.2 mph
Max Speed: 29.8 mph

I was a little over zealous hoping for less than an hour on the bike. I was passed by about 15 bikers (All of them with the goofy beak helmets). And I passed about 30 people during the second lap who were all from the Sprint race.

When I transitioned to my run I looked at my watch and it said 1:31. When I got to the start of the run my watch said 1:33. During the run it was still a little cloudy, but I could tell the cloud cover was minimal and felt the heat of the sun coming through. My mouth was dry and at every aid station I took advantage of it. During the run I also thought about the half marathon I'm running on Monday (in two days) and kept telling myself to save something for that race. I didn't want to push it and be crippled for Monday. So I held back just a little.

I saw Duane, Brian and Teri during the run and they all seemed to be going strong and we shouted encouragement to each other each time. I saw Cathi and the kids all shouting for me about 50 yards from the finish line and I immediately jumped into sprint mode and ran for my life across the finish. I stopped my watch at the finish line and it came up with 2:24:52. That meant my 10K run was done in about 52 minutes. I was aiming for less than an hour. So I was pleased with that.

I was impressed with this race. It was flat. The turns were well laid out and the path from swim to bike transition was fully paved so I didn't need to worry about wearing shoes or flip flops for that portion. The aid stations were well manned and supplied. The only thing that concerned me is that some people after the race were exiting the transition area out of the bike-in gate where there weren't any race staff checking numbers. Most people went out of the bike out section where there were two or three number checkers. I'd be more concerned if my bike weren't on the low end of the value scale for those road bikes I saw. If someone wanted to risk a felony stealing a bike, they'd pick something that cost a few thousand more than mine.

Anyhow. Teri took second place in her age group for the Sprint distance. She was so happy and it was cool to see her get that. I took 9th in my age group out of 17. With this being my first one, I'm just glad that I was able to meet my run and swim goal. My bike goal was a little lofty, but now I know and can set a more reasonable goal for next time. Still, 23.2 mph average is dang good for me, so I'm not beating myself up over it. And if I ever get one of those goofy beak helmets, feel free to give me a good punch in the arm.

Here are the official results.

Cathi used Teri's camera for pictures, so I'm at her mercy on getting those pictures emailed to me which I will then add to this post.

Christmas all over again AND my first tumble

So on the way home on my bike I stopped to see Dale at his Bikewagon warehouse. He gave me 5 bibs and 2 jerseys for free. They were slightly used, but still in excellent condition. I was so excited. These were quality items. He said he got them at a swap meet for $20 and already gave away half of them. I was very pleased.

Then in Woods Cross on the Legacy Parkway bike trail I was coming up to a bicyclist who was going the same direction. He was on the right side and was slowing down. He was looking a little to the right so I thought he was going to stop and take a moment to rest or something. It was an older guy on a mountain bike. He reminded me of my dad. So he didn't come to a complete stop. As I was about to pass him he immediately turned left and blocked the entire path. It had just rained a few minutes before so the path was still a little wet. I yelled "Excuse me!", but it was too late, I couldn't go in front of him, or behind him. He didn't even look before doing the U-turn. I was able to slow down a bit, but not completely and I hit his rear tire. I was more concerned for my bike than me at the moment.

I don't remember how I landed, or if/how my feet got out of the clips, but I remember going over the top of my handle bars and my bike went with me. I remember landing in a tucked position and rolled without much impact. My shoes were unclipped at the end and I was a little muddy. I hit my shin on the handle bars, but not bad. No blood, no damage to either bike and he was still standing there kind of in shock. "Are you OK?". He felt dumb (as well he should have). I asked him a couple of times if he was OK and looked at his back tire to see if any spokes were bent or anything. I spun my front tire to see if there was any damage to my bike. Nothing. I said, "That could have been alot worse". Well then, See you later, and took off.

I was angry, but he got off easy. I didn't give him any retaliatory words except the tone in my voice when I said "Excuse me" when I was just about to hit him. Hopefully more people realize that the bike path has a line in the middle for a reason. The path should be considered a road. They need to stay on the right side of the road, when not passing, and should do a u-turn after looking behind them.

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

Trying to smear the farmer's tan line

I definitely have a line on my upper arms where the end of my jersey comes to. When I take off my shirt, I have a "farmer's tan". It looks really dumb. Well - my singlet equmen shirt came yesterday so I'm going to start wearing that (especially when it's been getting so warm now outside) to hopefully move that line up to my shoulders where the singlet is. I guess it doesn't matter cause the only time I take my shirt off in public is when I'm swimming, and nobody cares anyway, except me.

This morning's ride went well. Had a slight headwind most of the time, but not too bad:

Distance 30.6 miles
Time: 1:34
Average Speed:19.5 mph

Bike ride after 8 mile run

My legs were so stiff! I was feeling low on energy and only had about 2 hours to do anything so I went on a ride out to the end of the causeway and back on Antelope Island. Stats:

Distance: 25.0 miles
Time: 1:18
Average Speed: 19.1 mph

The wind was coming pretty strong from the West so the first half was kind of slow, but I was able to really get some good speed coming back. I'm going to be so sore tomorrow. I'm glad it's Sunday!

Next week I need to swim at SDRC cause they're taking the bubble down at Layton.

2009 Ogden Marathon

This morning Cathi got up real early to go catch the bus for the Ogden Marathon. I got up at 5:30 and started my walk from the finish line at 6:30 am. I got to Pineview dam (mile 18.5) at 9:00. I was expecting Cathi around 9:45. But she was there at 9:30! She was at a faster than normal pace.

We started the downhill portion of the marathon. Cathi was not having fun. The last couple marathons she felt energized the whole time, but on this one she was whining. She stopped to walk a few times between miles 20 and 26, but not for very long. I was trying to get her to keep running, but she wasn't going to put up with my orders. She still got a very good time. Had she kept running she probably would have got a Boston Qualifying time, but who knows. She got a time of 3:51:38. Here are the timing results.

I was sore from yesterday's fast 5K, and from walking uphill for 6 miles, but was able to stay ahead of Cathi and keep her going. This was not her favorite Marathon this time cause she was just so beat and tired. Next race.... Syracuse Half Marathon. This time we get to run together!

Results of the Bluffridge 5K

Austin, Jacob, Lucy, Jonas and myself were there at the starting line at 5pm. Cathi went on an errand and was late to the start. I packed her number with me so when I saw her at the end I could just give it to her. I was about 10 feet behind the first row of people at the start. I started my stopwatch just as I crossed the starting line so I could get an accurate timing just for me. I was able to get a comfortable pace after about 250 yards of passing little kids.

By the time I got to mile 1 my mouth was dry and parched. I passed up the first watering station (so did everyone else in front of me which were about 20 people at this point). The route weaved in and out of residential roads North of the school. We made our way to Antelope which was the turn around point. At that point I grabbed a cup of water quickly downed a few swallows and threw the cup away. All I needed was something to relieve the pain of my dry throat. I was able to pass a few people in front of me.

When I got to mile 2, I felt like walking but Hayden Buchi was only 30-40 yards ahead of me. When I got to around 2.5 mile. Hayden was walking and I caught him. He saw me coming up from behind and kept walking. I was expecting him to start running again. When I got up to him I said, "C'mon Buddy, let's go", so we ran the rest of the way together until we got to about 50 yards from the finish where we turned the last corner. We both sprinted. Man that boy has some long legs! He ended up beating me by about 15 yards.

I checked my watch at the 1 mile, 2 mile and I was very pleased to see my mile splits coming in at low 7 minute. I knew I would slow during the third mile. But I ended up keeping that pace thanks to Hayden. So I ended up with a shocking time of 21:14. I wanted to simply get 22:30 with a high visionary goal of low 22. I killed my ultimate goal by a minute! I couldn't believe that time! So here I am and I just entered the route into mapmyrun.com, and sure enough, it wasn't a full 5K. It came up as a 3.04 mile run. If that were a full 5K, my time resulted in a 6:50/mile pace. That's unbelievable for me! So here's the map.
Still 21:14 for 3.04 miles is a 6:59 pace which would have got me around 21:41 had it been the full 5K.

I'm struggling with counting 21:14 as a new 5K PR, but I ran my butt off! So I'm going to take that pace and calculate 21:41 as my new PR. I don't want to throw out the entire results of that race, just cause it wasn't exact!

At any rate, I took first place for the 18-39 category. I wouldn't have counted on that in a million years. I'm very pleased with my results.

After the race I laid down on the grass for a minute to catch my breath, then saw Austin cross the line a couple minutes later. I stopped my stopwatch so I didn't get his time, but I think it was less than 25 minutes. Jacob came in about a minute after that.

Then Cathi came, she started about 15 minutes after the start, but she kept her own time on the watch so that was good. Her time was 23:45 (7:49 pace). But given the distance that would have been around 24:17 or so. Lucy came after that. Jacob and I started walking back trying to find Jonas. We ran/walked all the way back to mile 2, no sign. So we ran back. Apparently he came just ahead of Cathi and Lucy and we missed him. That little kid is a real live version of Dash, the superfast superkid!

I sure hate downtown intersections

My average speed was built up to 21.7 until I got to Redwood Road and I-215. Then I noticed a slight headwind and then starting hitting every stoplight. When I got to North Temple and 900 West my average speed was down to 21.5. I hit every stoplight from there on. When I pulled in to Tomax parking lot, my average was at 21.0 mph. Man I hate slowing down and stopping for traffic. They're ripping up 200 S so I have to take the sidewalk for a block.

Distance: 30.8 Miles
Time: 1:28
Average Speed: 21 mph

I shouldn't complain, 21 isn't that bad. Why is it though that I get a headwind both ways? Wind goes North in the morning and south in the afternoon.

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The ride home was even better! There was no wind at all until I got to Farmington and then it was actually going North for a change! My speed was much faster than I wanted. I have a 5K tomorrow and wanted my legs to not have any strain at all on this ride so I was planning on going slow, which wasn't the case:

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

5K trial run - 22:09

So I have the Bluffridge 5K this Friday afternoon. I didn't run at all last week, and this is the first time this week, so I'm a little nervous that my training isn't going as well as planned. So today I did as close to a 5K as my normal route to Pioneer park and back would allow:

2.7 miles - 6 x .45 pioneer park lap
.6 miles - Tomax to Pioneer Park and back.

3.3 miles in 23:30. That's a pace of 7:08 per mile. That's fantastic. A 5K is 3.11 miles so at that pace I would have done around 22:09! That kills my last PR of 22:59. So I'm confident that I can beat my PR. It will be hotter on Friday and a slight grade at the end, but with the adrenaline and desire to beat Hayden Buchi will hopefully get my time down to low 22 minutes. That would be awesome.

Equmen review - and new PR to work

Last night I noticed that I had a package on my desk, and my Equmen extra high compression long sleeve shirt had come! Wow, what fast delivery. It only took three days to get here. That's dang fast! I thought being an Australian company it might take a couple weeks. Not the case, it shipped from the US.

I immediately tried it on and boy was it nice. I felt like a fat snake trying to eat a rat. It was tight, but it stretched out nicely. Reminded me a little of memory foam with its support, conforming to my body. The quality of the shirt is fantastic. Cathi even tried it on and oh, did she look hot!

It also reminds me of a Bench shirt without the goofy look or uncomfortable feeling in the shoulders. This shirt would be great for lifting in, providing support on the joints when lifting heavy. This shirt is great for cycling and that's what I mainly plan to use it for. It provides a great deal of support and helps keep my core tight. I also plan on taking it on winter camp as it also provided a great deal of wind resistance. I just bought a sleeveless one today for when I race in triathlons. I'll wear it under my wetsuit so I have something already on when I transition to the bike and run.

This morning I got up at 6, eagerly put on my new longsleeve compression shirt under my jersey and started my ride to work. I had a bit of a tail wind until I got to Centerville, and then had a slight headwind from Bountiful the rest of the way in to Salt Lake, so it kind of canceled out wind as a factor. I focused on high cadence and putting constant pressure on my legs to keep up a strong speed rather than just spinning without much effort.

Today's ride is a new record:

Distance: 30.6
Time: 1:26
Average Speed: 21.35

The new compression shirt certainly was a factor in the PR. I'm very pleased with that purchase.
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The ride home however was probably close to being the worst ever. The wind was pretty strong coming from the North the whole way. My average speed was terrible:

Distance: 30.6
Time: 1:48
Avg Speed: 16.9 mph

At least I'm getting used to having a strong headwind. Consistently from the North every afternoon.

Morning Gridley Half Century

Rode with Duane Ralphs and Chad Frew out to Garr Ranch and back:

Distance: 51.1 miles
Time: 2:45
Avg Speed: 18.6 mph

Duane was really booking it on the causeway and we were going about 26 mph. The wind was in our favor a little. Very nice ride. Duane had to go to Salt Lake so he did the causeway while Chad did the whole thing with me. We stayed together the way back until the end of the causeway. I had to get back by 10 so that we wouldn't be late for a family lunch in Salt Lake.

What a nice morning it was and the wind wasn't too bad.

Even better ride in to work

No wind at all and felt great:

Distance: 30.6 miles
Time: 1:31
Avg Speed: 20.1 mph
Max Speed: 27.3 mph

I made another bonehead move. When I got to the train intersection at 900 W and about 100 S I saw the train that was going about 10mph had its last car go across the track as I was approaching. The traffic beam was still down and I saw pedestrians going under it on the left side. I moved ahead of all the cars, bent over real low and going about 5 mph or so went under it.

I ended up clipping my right shoulder with the beam and man did it hurt. I don't know how I managed to stay on cause my front wheel veered left sharply, but I stayed on. I mumbled, "Oops, not low enough" and felt like a real idiot in front of all the cars and pedestrians who saw. If I was going faster I could have crashed or broke something. It was dumb. Next time, just wait!

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The ride home was again very breezy from the North. So I was punished again. It eased up just a bit the further north I got.

Distance: 30.7 miles
Time: 1:45
Avg Speed: 17.5 mph

Felt good though.

Another excellent ride

Today was a great ride in. No wind at all, and the temperature was perfect. I didn't have to wear any under armor for warmth. I had to deal with some slight cramping in my stomach, but nothing major.

Distance: 31.6 miles
Time: 1:38
Avg Speed: 19.3 mph
Max Speed: 27.9 mph

I also mounted and demounted with the shoes in the clips for practice, which I will always do from now on.

The ride home wasn't nearly as windy as last time so it went well except when I got to the end of Gordon, instead of taking the corner around onto Bluff (which has no shoulder) I tried finding a new route back up through the subdivision up to 2700 S, but ended up in a maze. I finally found it after feeling like a rat. Here are the stats going back home:

Distance: 32.7 miles
Time: 1:44
Avg Speed:18.9 mph

Total for the day: 64.3 miles

Where to buy Powerbar stuff

This looks like a pretty good place to get deals on powerbar stuff:

http://www.allstarhealth.com/li_b/POWERBAR.htm

Shipping is 5.95 per order no matter how much you get. Sweet.

Long run - 10 miles around Pioneer Park

Today noon came and I was dreading to go on my planned run. I was even considering bagging it with the excuse that I just biked over 60 miles yesterday. But I decided that I couldn't give in to making excuses so I left my desk at 12:20 to go get ready to run. Here's what I did:

.3 - Run to pioneer park from Tomax
9.45 - 21 laps around pioneer park (.45m each)
.3 - Run back to Tomax

10 Miles

I walked for 1 minute at lap 6, and 14. So only about .25m of the whole run was walking. For each time I walked I took a moment to unwrap a buzz bite and eat it. Haven't been heaping on a whole lot of calories lately in my quest to get down under 180. Plus it gave me something to look forward to that was a short term reward for keeping with the plan. Felt numb after I had been into the run about 3 miles. That is a good thing cause you quite feeling the pain so much and feel like a machine just turning over and over without strain.

What a great run!

Wonderful ride in to work

So this is the second ride of the season. It has finally quit raining/snowing and we have some decent weather. Last night I decided I would ride in to work instead of swim. So I left at 7:25 am which is a little later than I wanted, but the wind was kind to me.

In fact there was NO wind. The flags all showed no breeze at all which is perfect. Here are the stats:

31.6 miles
1:42 time spent
18.5 mph avg speed

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The ride home was a different story. It was breezy coming from the north so it wasn't as fun going home.

On the Legacy bike path in Bountiful there were a couple kids and one of them was weaving left and right from each side of the pavement. He was heading towards me. He was looking up and clearly saw me from a ways off. When we got closer to passing each other I thought his game of weaving onto my side of the path would stop, but no he kept on going and was about to hit me just as we passed. I had to get up off my aerobars and said "Watch out!". He wasn't smiling like he was trying to be a smart ass, just a goofy look like he didn't care. So just another dumb ass.

The wind got less severe as I got into Farmington. Then I started cramping up in my stomach in Kaysville so I stopped for a second at a park. I lied on my back and stretched it out real good, then resumed my ride home. I did the 31 miles in @ 1:58. My GPS ran out of batteries just as I was heading up Bluff. Not the best ride, but at least it didn't rain on me.

Total for the day: 62 miles, 3:48

Pioneer Park run

Today was a nice day. Sunny, not too hot with a slight breeze. Measured out that it is .30 miles from Tomax to Pioneer Park. Then one lap around the park is .45 miles. I did 10 laps and ran from/to Tomax. I did that in 45:05

.3 - to PP
4.5 - 10 x .45m
.3 - to Tomax

5.1 miles in 45:05

Nice!

Run with Cathi

Ran to return the redbox up on Antelope at McDonalds, and then continued on with Cathi and turned right at the gas stations on Main, then went down to Gordon and continued back home.

Total miles: 4.6 in 41:16

Long Run with Cathi - 15 miles in 2:20

This morning I was planning on a new record - 10 miles. But I felt so good and kept going and going. But by the time I got to 12 I was beat so we started home. The route was good, the sun was out and the wind wasn't too bad. This was our last day here in Falmouth so I wanted to make a good memory before we left. Excellent run:

Lifting in Pocasset, MA

This evening the pool was closed in Sandwich and man was I angry. I was really looking forward to swimming and wanted a good workout. Cathi pointed out this gym on the way back to Falmouth. I went inside and it looked like it would work so I paid the insane price of $10 and had a great workout. I did everything in 3 sets. I did:

Bench, decline DB Press, Machine flys, cable tri pulldowns, machine overhead tri extensions, Wide Grip rows, tricep overhead press, preacher curls, alternating DB Curls, Incline bench, decline bench press. Very good gym and killer workout. I'm gonna be majorly sore tomorrow.

Felt much better afterwards. I needed a workout and was going nuts thinking I wouldn't get something in.

6 mile run in Falmouth to the beach

Cathi and I got up this morning and ran 6 miles in Falmouth. We wanted to run to the beach and we did that. It was awesome. There was only one hill, a wonderful path to run on the whole time and loved the fresh air, even the smell of salt from the beach and then back to the hotel. It was sunny and cool. Perfect running day.

Running in Braintree after running 10K in Boston the day before

I was stiff today and slept so good last night. We stayed in a Motel 6 in Braintree so we wouldn't have to drive up from Falmouth where we're staying. So I got up at 7:15 and ran/walked the following:


Only ran about half this cause my legs were very stiff and knew that I'd be running with Cathi tomorrow. Did this in about an hour.

Running the last 10K of the Boston Marathon

Cathi and I took the red line train up to Park Street. Cathi got off to get on the buses to go to the start while I took the green line to Newton Center and walked a half mile up to Commonwealth Road to the base of Heartbreak hill @ mile 19. I got there at about 7:45 and waited and froze in the slight wind until 11:00 am. There was a concession stand that offered hot chocolate. I must have purchased 6 cups throughout the morning. I was shivering like a little girl. I saw the wheelchair entrants zoom past, then a double amputee guy with long metal legs come next, then the fastest ladies, then the fastest men. Then I waited for another couple hours.

I was getting text messages on my phone when she got to the 10K (6.2 m), 1/2 marathon (13.1 m), and 30K (18.6 m). I was at mile 19 so I knew once I got the last text message she would be there in just a couple minutes. I started stretching out real good at 1:30pm. Then I got the 30K heads up on my phone. I saw her in just a couple minutes and she had a huge smile on her face. She was so excited to have me join her at the start of heartbreak. I'm glad I was able to do that because we just zoomed up that hill. We were passing people left and right. We had to navigate in and out of slower runners. It was cool because I was able to help motivate Cathi to pick up her pace even up that hill. Her pace time just kept getting better and better.

There were thousands of people cheering on the sides the whole time. Lots of high fives, people offering sliced oranges, water, and even kisses. I declined everything. I stayed ahead of Cathi trying to be like a carrot in front of her. Not too far though. Just enough to help guide her in and out of the runners in front who were slowing down and needed to pass. It worked out great. I felt wonderful and lots of energy. When we saw Bill and Roceil at mile 25 I was going to bail, but Cathi asked me to stay longer so I stayed until the route turned at 26 just before the finish line. I found a small gap in the cheering section on the side and jumped and over the barrier.

Within a minute I got her last text message. Her time was 4:10. Not bad. I had a great time and would love to be able to do the whole thing if I ever get that fast.

Results of Cathi's Boston Marathon - 4:10:31

Boston Marathon #16 - 4:10:31

The marathon I've been looking forward to for months now! I was so excited to have a chance to get to run this marathon. It was the 113th annual Boston Marathon. Over 26,000 people ran it. There were crowds almost the entire way. There were crowds 4 people deep some places, especially the last 4 miles or so. It was like the whole state of Massachusetts was behind us. All of the marques welcomed the runners. Tons of signs. Many of the fans handed out oranges or water. I was so impressed by the support of this great city.


My race was good. I started out pretty slow - around a 10 min mile pace! I was able to pick it up. I was about exhausted by mile 20. The Newton Hills weren't too bad. In Newton is were Heartbreak Hill begins at Mile 19. It is two fairly good sized hills that stretch from 19 to 21. Gordon joined me for the last 6 miles. He pushed me. Mom and Dad were waiting at mile 25 and that helped me alot too.

I finished around a 9 min mile pace. It feels great to pick it up near the end.

Run to not feel so old

Man - I'm still sore from Monday's run, but I'm not just gonna let me old creaky body just keep recovering. It's taking too much time! So today at lunch I went downstairs, stretched really good and then did 4 miles in 36:20.

I'm feeling better in fact, I don't feel very sore anymore. The pace was great and didn't feel any pain during the run, just sweat. Good stuff. I'm excited for today's work day to be over!!! Then my vacation with Cathi begins!

4.125 miles total including slight warmdown

Psoas strain

Well I was right. I was going to be sore. But not in the area I thought I was. I thought my legs would be sore, but instead my Psoas Major is sore. It isn't painful as in it feels torn or anything, just stiff, like I did too many crunches or something. When I stretch the muscle it feels like it's just sore and not really injured.

My back is sore too (Lats, lower traps), but not too bad.

So because of that my goals for this week have been shot. I was planning on running 5, 7 and 9 miles on M/W/F this week. Well I ran almost 9 on Monday and that is why I'm sore. The soreness definitely does not affect my swimming so I'll be stepping that up a bit this week because even walking is a little painful. Running is out of the question this week. I may have to try another long run (10 miles) only one more time before the Memorial Day Half Marathon. If I keep doing 5-6 miles runs I'll probably avoid the soreness and get some good training in, but if I do long runs then it will probably cause me to need too much recovery time. If this doesn't heal pretty quick I may need to reanalyze my goals.

Just getting the blood to flow

Today at lunch I just did a short little stint:

15 min bike
5 min elliptical
15 min - 3 sets each of Bench Press & Preacher Curls

Nothing major, just enough to get the blood flowing. Had a healthy lunch and went back to work. Tomorrow is my running day. I'm a little sore from yesterday, but not so much that it should affect tomorrow's run much.

Long run with Cathi - 8.75 new PR

OK - when you a wimpy newbie runner like me, you're breaking PR's left and right and today was no exception. Today it was a beautiful day. I wish it would stay that way and I could ride my bike in to work, but tomorrow is forecasted to be crappy. But I took advantage of it today and worked through lunch and got off in time to get home to go on a long run with Cathi.

Here's the route she took me on. It was supposed to be 8 miles, but ended up being almost 8.75. It took me 1:22:15 to run this route. A little slower than what I wanted, but I didn't end up walking. I paced myself well and was able to pick it up going up 1000 W.

Felt good. I'm going to be sore tomorrow. My knee was giving me just a small amount of grief at about mile 7, but I kept on going and it went away.

One reason I did this run is yesterday after discussing with Cathi, I'm going to up my goal of doing a half marathon to next month! I was jumping a huge hurdle just last week saying I was going to do the Pocatello Half marathon this year. Now I'm doing two half marathons this summer. With my first full marathon planned for Ogden Marathon next year. I'm getting hooked people!

Getting updates on Cathi's Boston Marathon

If you're interested in getting real-time updates of Cathi's race, you can get her time at the following point:

• Starting line


• 10k


• Half-Marathon


• 30k


• Finish

You just have to simply text RUNNER to 41234. The BAA will text back a request for her bib number. Just text back her bib number: 18209.

Visit this page for more details or other options.

Cathi's Bib number is: 18209

Awesome run

Today I stretched real good before my run and planned on doing 6 miles depending on how well I felt. I started out at 6.0 mph @ 2.0% grade. Felt so good after 3 miles I moved it up to 6.5. Then kept moving it up till I got to Mile 6.75 up to 8.0 mph.

So I did 1:00 even @ 6.75 miles total.

Great workout!

Slightly steeper

I was planning on doing another 6 miles today, but due to shortness of time during lunch break I only did 4.5 miles, but I increased the grade to 2.5% for the first 3 miles. Then down to 2.0% for the last 1.5 miles, but increased the speed from 6.0 mph to 6.1 Barely noticeable either way.

4.5 miles total @ 45:00

6 Mile Run no walking at all

This is the farthest I've ever run without taking a single step as a walk. Ran the whole time @ 6.0 mph or higher.

On the sixth mile I increased 0.25 mph every quarter mile. When I finished the six miles I was at 7.0 mph

Completed in 58:30

Felt really good about this run. I was sore to start with from last Saturday's run with Cathi. My Quads are feeling it!

Running part of the Yakima Marathon with Cathi

Cathi and I drove up to Washington starting Friday morning. When we got there we got the packet and then went to Olive Garden for dinner. It was delicious.

Then we went back to the Selah Civic Center to listen to "Rev" talk about marathons. It was funny. Great comedy routine. There was a guy there who was running the marathon blind.

The thing about the Yakima marathon is that at mile 22 there is a pretty good sized hill that lasts about 1.5 miles. Once you get past that your on the homestretch. I told Cathi that I skipped my Friday run so I could run the last 5 miles with her on the marathon. She was very happy about that.

So Friday night we parked in a parking lot in some subdivision and watched Pelican Brief on the laptop. Cathi was getting a little frisky and well the cops came. But by the time they came we were innocently watching the end of the movie. They just said they wanted to make sure it wasn't a couple of teenagers. Hehe.

Cathi woke me up in a panic. Gordon! It's 6:15! We missed the bus! I found that hard to believe since I set my alarm for 5:30 and its loud. After a few seconds I had to calm her down. Her clock was still on Utah time and we were in Pacific Time Zone. After that we couldn't go back to sleep. We drove over to the Civic Center and Cathi started her routine for getting ready.

She boarded the bus and I killed a couple hours watching "Contact". Then I drove to the finish line and started walking. I saw the first hundred runners during that time. When I got to mile 21 I waited for only about 15 minutes before I saw Cathi. I knew that she was a little behind in getting under 4 hours, but that's OK. As long as her hip doesn't bother her. The last long run she took really scared her because she had some big pain in her hip. But when she met me she was so happy. She said, "I've never felt this great at the end of a marathon!".

So we started up the long hill. I went over it to get to that point and knew it pretty well. I knew I could run it without walking. I was concerned for Cathi though. She had already run 21 miles to that point and might be tired. She just said, "Bring it! See if you can keep up Gord!" I was glad to see her so peppy.

It was warm by the time we got to the top of the hill. I looked down and saw that my underarmor shirt that I had tied around me had come loose and fallen. I started to turn around to run back for it, but then I realized I wasn't here to save my favorite workout shirt, but to motivate Cathi so I turned back around and chased after Cathi. The whole time up that hill we ran and were passing people left and right. When we came down the hill we still were passing people left and right.

Cathi's average speed was barely increased during the climb and was actually pretty quick coming down. She ended up with 4:14:22. Not bad. We had a fantastic run and I was able to run the whole time and enjoyed being with her.

The drive was 22 hours round trip and my Mom was so kind enough to help with the kids for those two day. What a great trip! Now I'm really excited for Boston in two weeks.

Here is a short two minute video of our trip:

From Cathi's Marathons

Intense Ride

Got back on the bike downstairs during lunch and did 1 full hour of 6 min intervals (Easy to super hard)

Kicked my butt and it felt great afterwards!

6.5 mile run

I was very happy with today's workout:

3 miles - 3 miles run @ 6.5 mph @ 2.0% Grade
.25 miles - recovery (pulse @ 148 @ 4.0 mph)
3 miles - 3 miles run @ 6.0 mph and increase last .5 mile in increments up to 8.0 mph)
.25 miles warm down

6.5 miles @ 53:00

I'm going to count this as my new distance record for running.