Halloween Half Marathon

I had the wonderful opportunity of running with my wife, Emily, in her first half marathon; the Halloween Half Marathon up Provo Canyon. The race is only in its second year and they went from 700 participants last year to nearly 2500 this year. While there were some minor frustrations with the race (as there is with EVERY race) I thought everything was really well done. There is just nothing better than running with several thousands of other people dressed up like idiots down a beautiful canyon a beautiful fall day.

I can't say enough about how awesome Emily was on this run. Her goal was to run a 2:30:00 and I knew it was very achievable. She has been working hard and has some good, fast, long runs in and I knew she was ready, even if she didn't. Along with her my Mom would be running her third half with her friend Deanna and my brother, Brent, would be running his first half, as well. We all dressed the same; black tights, black top, masks, and a purple and red kids cape. We all met at University Mall in Provo to catch the buses and quickly got on. We were on one of the short in-town buses and had a great time riding up with other costumed racers.

On the bus. So fun.

The buses dropped us off at Aspen Grove, above Sundance Ski Resort. They had a large 15000 square foot heated tent for the runners to hang out in prior to the race. I don't know why they had people get up to the start so early, but we were there for two hours. At least we had fun seeing the other costumes and hanging out together. 

Our group costumes

Me and Em

A group of people up for the costume contest

When it came time to gather outside it had warmed up a  bit more and wasn't so bad waiting for the start. It was cool to be out there with so many people on that narrow road. Since we were lined up with the 2:30 runners we were right in the middle of the pack. Below is a picture looking back behind us.

And the four of us at the start (Brent lined up with the faster runners)

When the gun went off we headed out slowly, as usual. We had to make our way through a maze of cars and buses shortly after the start that got stuck in the road, but after that it was clear sailing with the rest of the group. Emily was running at a very even pace as hundreds of people zoomed by us. I told her that we were pacing it just right down this steepest of sections. I then told her to pay attention to what happens after we exited Sundance Canyon, we'd start pacing people all over the place because they started out way too fast. About mid-way down the canyon a guy in tiny shorts and a half cut shirt was dodging the cones in the road and at one point picked one up and carried it over his head for about 5 minutes. It was really funny and there were about 100 of us just laughing at him. It was awesome.

Em running strong down the canyon

 

At the bottom of the canyon we hit the the Provo Canyon Rd and then at Vivian Park we caught the Provo River Trail all the way to the finish. As predicted, we passed hundreds of people on this 8 mile stretch. Emily continued to run super strong. Her pace never faltered and we only had to stop for one potty break (in the bushes) and then to walk a couple of times while she ate a gel and took a salt pill. 

At about mile 9 we started up this super short hill by Nunn's Park and while we ran up it really strong these two girls started to walk it as one said to the other, "there's no way I'm running up this thing". The hill couldn't have been more than 100 ft long and both Emily and I laughed as we easily ran up it, never breaking our pace. 

Emily along the Provo River Trail

Such a beautiful trail

Em started to have some cramping in her calf towards the end, but other than a grimace on her face she never showed it and her pace remained consistent. With less than a half mile to go she really picked up the pace and pushed strong to the end. We crossed the line at 2:16:36, nearly 15 minutes faster than her goal time of 2:30:00. I was so proud of her and her determination to train hard and run a solid race. It is a fast course, but you still have to run the distance. She was amazing the whole way. Here are some final pictures of the finish line. We hung around for a while with friends and then my step-dad came to pick us up to take us back to our cars. We ended the rest of the day with our children, trick-or-treating in Lehi and having a great time!

Em and me with our finishers medals

All of the great finishers

My FastRunningBlog friends:

Allie, RAD, Bec, and Lily

Me and Scott W

Zero to 100 in 22:46:12

When I started running in January of 2009 I had two goals in mind; set a new speed record on the Triple Crown and to eventually run in a 100 mile endurance race. I achieved my first goal in July and my second one on Friday.

The Pony Express 100 is a self-crewed (you have a support car with crews providing help along the way) race on a dirt road that follows the old Pony Express trail into the west desert of Utah. It is a brutal out and back race that is very flat and remote, yet strikingly beautiful in its own rugged way. The course starts at Lookout Pass west of Vernon, UT and runs west 58 miles to Fish Springs. Runners then turn around and return the way they came until they get back to Simpson Springs. Along the way runners have to endure many difficult situations that are very unique to this race, namely; an 18 mile stretch of road that is so straight it feels like it will never end, subtle desert heat that creeps up like a ninja, and a mountain pass that just seems to rise out of nowhere. In all, while it may seem like an easy race on paper, in actuality it is very challenging.

I had been planning to run the 100 a year ago after finishing the 50 miler on the same course. I enjoyed the mental challenge the race brought and the stark beauty of the landscape. I have spent all year preparing for this one race. Over the last 10 months I've run more marathon length or further distances than I can count, competed in my first 50k trail race, and also completed my first 100k trail race. Along with a good final long run (32 miles three weeks ago) and a nice taper I felt like I was coming into the race very prepared. However, whether from nerves or my wife being sick, just days before the race I felt 'off'. It was as thought I had a cold, but without the chest congestion. I didn't have any energy and couldn't think straight. While I was worried about the impact it would have on my race I also knew that as long as my lungs felt healthy that I could continue to go on and compete.

I got a great night's sleep two days before the race and was even able to muster a solid 5 hours the night before while my wife and I stayed at my parents in Lehi. I was crewed by my wife, my mom, and my step-dad. We drove out to the starting line and arrived about 30 minutes prior to the beginning of the race. I handed over the trophies (I was on the race committee and designed the Champions trophies), said a few hellos, and then went right back to the car to stay warm. I was not my usual giddy self and that bothered me. With only a couple of minutes before the start I got out and prepared to go. There would be 21 people running the 100 miler and about 19 running the 50. There were staggered start times for the race; early starters for the 100 began at 5am, early starters for the 50 began at 6am, normal starters for the 100 began at 7am, and finally, the normal starters for the 50 began at 8am. Of the 21 100 milers only six of us would start at the normal time.

  5 min before start

In typical fashion, when the race began the race director and good friend, Davy Crockett, shot out like a rocket. Someone forgot to tell him that this was a long distance endurance race and not a 10k. We all knew what he was doing though, this is what he did at every race. The remaining five of us lingered back and chatted and got to know each other. We had Troy - who is a local runner from Salt Lake, Frank - who is from NC, and Ed and John, both from southern California. Ed would have to hurry as he had a 6am flight the next morning out to Boulder, CO to run in another 100 mile race. That's right, he was doing back-to-back 100s. Now that's crazy.

After dropping nearly a thousand vertical feet in just a couple of miles the road flattens and then has a very small hill to another long downhill. On the uphill I was feeling strong and kept my good pace, dropping the other four runners. I didn't intend to drop them, nor was I trying to push the pace, it just happened. I would spend the next 30 miles running relatively alone. At mile 14 I came across Maurine Lee, a friend who was attempting to finish her first 50 miler. She was running with another strong local runner and they were both looking great. When I caught up I put my arm around Maurine and we chatted for a bit. Then I continued on all the way to Simpson Springs, mile 16. The mile preceding Simpson Springs is a long, easy uphill that I had to walk part of last year. I was determined to run it this year. However, when I got to the monument I was more tired than I had hoped and I just felt a bit off of my game. I had had some doubts at my ability to finish all the way back at mile 8, but pushed through it (I always seem to have doubts at mile 8). This time I was feeling it physically. I thought that I should have felt much stronger at this point in the race. But I continued on. Not long after leaving Simpson Springs Ed and John passed me running strong. Within 4 miles I could barely see them any more.

Simpson Springs, mile 16

The next six miles are the beginning of the very long straight section of the race. They were also downhill, so it wasn't bad to continue at a good pace. I had already passed many of 50 mile early starters, but now I was in a gap all alone. at mile 20 my step-dad, Curt, hopped out and got on his bike to ride beside me. We talked and that helped to pass the time as I continued to drop into a further slump. By the time I hit Riverbed Station, mile 24, I was very tired and in a bad mood. My crew did their best to take care of me, but I just wasn't feeling it and was having some serious doubts. I kept telling myself that I just needed to settle in to the misery and that it would get better. It was at mile 28 that I ate my first real food, some watermelon. WOW. That changed my whole game. Within minutes of leaving the car after eating I felt a million times better. Curt and I was laughing and talking and having a great time. While the road was ridiculously straight and long and even starting to go uphill we were having fun and I came into Dugway Topaz Well, mile 33.3 feeling awesome. I yelled out, "I'm back!". My crew responded with screams of excitement and we all knew this was a turning point. I had completed a 50k in 5:50:00, not bad.

 Pretty miserable at mile 28

At this stop my wife Emily switched with Curt and rode along side me. What she didn't know was that we were heading up to Dugway Pass, the highest point on the course. She did awesome though and we had a TON of fun chatting and talking about other runners. She was able to keep up on the bike, even on the first hill, and then had to hop off about a mile from the top when it started to get really steep. She dropped back a little, but told me to go on ahead. It was at this point that I saw Scott Wesemann for the first time. He was running the 50 and took the early start hoping I would catch up to him so that we could finish his race out together. We laughed and joked all the way up Dugway Pass. Emily was still behind, but Curt had seen her hop off and drove back down to trade her spots. He rode the bike the rest of the way up while she drove the car. Even though Scott and I walked a fair amount of the big climb we still felt it was appropriate to summit the climb running and did so looking fresh. Dugway Pass is mile 38 and I got there in 6:45:00. Last year I had to walk down the other side of the pass because my ITB hurt so bad. This year Scott and I bombed it passing more runners than I can count.

Scott and I after Dugway Pass

Scott's crew was stopping every mile to hand him water and fuel. At about mile 45 he stopped to restock and get his legs rubbed out. We agreed he would just catch up. However, he stayed longer than expected and I just couldn't wait any longer so I pushed on. He was moving well and I knew that he would finish strong. Scott ended up having a great race and finished in 10:30:00. About 2 miles after leaving Scott I saw two other runners ahead. I couldn't tell who they were until they were closer, but they turned out to be Ed and John. How in the world did I catch these two very experienced and strong runners? They were shocked when they saw me and I cruised by. Both commented on how strong I was running. We would leap frog each other for the next several miles.

At the 50 mile mark I stopped to use the bathroom and record my time. My 50 mile time was 9:04:50, something I was extremely pleased with. It was nearly an hour and 40 minute PR. I also needed to find a bush and took some TP and wet wipes with me. When I returned I thought wiping my face down with a wet wipe would feel nice, so I cleaned up a little. Just as my crew took off my nose started to itch and run and I was sneezing. Then my eyes swelled up and were red and itchy. I was having a pretty severe allergic reaction to the wipes, something that has never happened before. For the moment the best I could do was spray water on my eyes and shirt and try and wipe them down. Feeling horrible I send Curt ahead on bike to bring the crew back. I was still leap frogging Ed and John and both commented on my looks and were concerned. I told them my breathing was fine and that I would be fine in the end. My crew returned and I got cleaned up with a wet towel.

Shortly after, at mile 54, Emily asked if I wanted some company and she hopped out to run with me for the next 4.5 miles. The few miles preceding Fish Springs is really cool. It is literally an oasis in the desert. There were large bodies of water and reeds everywhere. We could hear ducks and other water creatures. I could hear a car coming quickly behind us and it turned out to be my dad and step-mom, who were there to run the finish line aid station. It was so much fun to see them along the course. They also commented on how stronly I was running. After they left Em and I continued on. The sun was just beginning to set and we were within a mile of Fish Springs. I commented to her that I was surprised that we hadn't seen Davy, John, or Ed coming back at us. I thought for sure that they were miles ahead of me, but based on where I was in relation to the turn-around there was no way they could be further than a mile or two. Within a half mile of the turn-around I came across Davy who was really struggling in the remaining heat. Minutes behind him was Ed who was now running strong and looking good. Both had nice things to say about my running. As I approached the turn-around John was just stopping and getting ready to come back. I planned to make this my longest stop, so I knew they would get more of a lead on me, but the stop helped to re-energize me and I think it was worth it.

The pumpkin on top lit up so we could see the car afar off.

Emily hopped back in the car and Curt joined me again. The sun had now set and the temps were awesome. We had fun running back towards Black Rock Station (the 50 mile finish) and as it got darker started to try and find where people and crews were along the route. We had been passed by two relay teams and a 100 miler early start (he was running strong). In fact, Emily nick-named him 'Woodwork' because he literally came out of nowhere (the woodwork) to run strong and pass me. As we approached Black Rock Station we turned our lights off so that we could sneak up and scare everyone. It was a lot of fun to see the looks on people's faces as we got there because they couldn't see any lights approach. We arrived at the 68 mile mark at 13:47:00 (8:47pm). I went and sat down at the aid station and there was John. I thought for sure he'd be miles ahead. We both enjoyed some chicken broth and chatted for a minute and then headed out. I got out before he did and was able to stay about a mile ahead of him heading back towards Dugway Pass. I could tell where he was based on his crew car. It would drive a mile ahead each time and park to wait for him. Most times it would pull just ahead of us and stop. As we reached the Dugway Geode Beds I could tell he was within a half mile so we pushed the hills up towards the pass a little quicker. I was amazingly still able to run a lot of these hills, hills that Curt was having a hard time riding his bike up. By the time I hit the pass, mile 78, I was about a mile and a half ahead of John.

Awesome volunteer manning Dugway Pass

I stopped a little longer again here to refuel. Woodwork didn't stay long at all and by the time I started running he was well down the pass. Curt and I started out. I had tender legs running down the steeper sections, but once the grade eased up I was able to press and we caught Woodwork and his pacer within a couple of miles. We all moved together and talked for a while. Woodwork is from Texas and ended up taking 5th overall, a real accomplishment considering he started early, which meant he had to have beaten John by more than 2 hours (with John only a couple miles back that would be tough with about 20 miles left). At mile 81 I stopped for a break and the wheels fell off.

I hadn't been fueling properly and I was sleepy beyond belief. After sitting on the bumper for a couple of minutes I decided to just lay down in the dirt for a minute. I laid down right in the road and stretched my legs and hips. I tried to fight off sleep while Curt handed me an energy gel. I forced myself to get up and eat the gel and take a few hits of Rockstarr. I then set off again. I told my crew to now only go ahead two miles. Curt stayed with me on the bike to keep my company, even though we didn't talk much. I was walking like I was asleep. I had tunnel vision and was just stumbling forward. Then, at the snap of your fingers, the gel and caffeine kicked in and everything cleared up. I started walking straight, then running, then talking and laughing. I was back again!!!

This method of refueling every two miles was the ticket to my last 20 miles. Every two miles we'd creep up to the car and I'd take a gel (or shot blocks or sport beans) and take a hit of Coke or Rockstarr and I'd be off again. Most every stop (except one to fix my hammered pinky toe) was less than 1 minute at the car and I was off again. At mile 88 a car pulled up and it was the guy who had manned the 50 mile aid station. He said that I was currently the only person on the entire course (and he had driven by them all except the two in front of me) still running. He was amazing. Geez, I was amazed. How was I doing this? I knew I was still on target to go sub-23 hours, something I could really only have dreamed of. I was back on the super long, straight road and I could see the two racers ahead of me (Davy and Ed), as well as many of the racers behind me. I was comfortably in 3rd, but because you can't tell how far away people are I always had it in my head to keep moving forward. No matter who it was I didn't want to get caught. With 8 miles left my dad (Steve) showed up in his car to give me some motivation. And then with just 2.4 miles left he and my step-mom (Marie) showed up again to tell me I was almost there. It was awesome.

At just before 5am on Saturday, October 16th I ran (yes, ran, not jogged) through the finish line of my first 100 mile endurance run. I ran into the arms of my wife, my mom, my step-dad, my dad, and my step-mom. I had the people I loved most (minus my three kids) there to be a part of this amazing experience. I can't express my gratitude enough to each of them for the role they played in this race. Even my dad and step-mom who manned the aid station. While I didn't see them often, the few times I did was an amazing inspiration. I love all of them so much for sacrificing for my selfish endeavor.

It is now a day and a half later and I can finally find time to write this. I reflect back on everything I went through and am still amazed I finished . . . and so well. Thank you to Davy Crockett for putting on an amazing race and to my family for providing me with the support and inspiration to finish. I can't wait to do it again.
Here are some photos from the finish line:

My wonderful crew-wife, Emily

This guy road 74 miles on a bike to keep me company!

Crew parents rock!

Aid station parents who drove all over the desert to support me.

And cook wicked-good pancakes.

100 mile finisher. FINALLY.

Final Build, Now to Taper

I capped a great week of running as I peak my miles before I start a 2 week taper leading up to the Pony Express 100, 14 days away. I'm getting nervous and very excited for my first 100 miler. Based on how I've run this past week I think I have a shot at doing really well, considering the course and my current fitness level. I'll break down my week by day and you be the judge of whether I've prepared enough or not.

Monday, 9/27
32 miles - I ran out in Cedar Valley. I posted specifics of the run earlier in the week. No need for details here.

Tuesday, 9/28
5.15 miles - It was important for me to be able do an ultra and then get right back out on my legs the next day. I felt really good this day considering I was running on the roads and I was still having pain in my cuboid bone in my left foot. My legs felt pretty good though and I knew I could have gone for more miles had I had the time.

Wednesday, 9/29
Day off, but not on purpose. I intended to run about 20 miles and was going to do it at night, but by the time it came around I was just too hammered from work, family, and scouts to get out. Knowing I had Thursday and Friday off I decided to just go to bed and rest.

Thursday, 9/30
13.5 miles - I chose to run on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail downtown since there weren't any real big hills and I could run with a single water bottle. Leaving at 10:30am it was still quite cool, but quickly heated up and the run became tougher and tougher as I continued on. I had to bow out a bit early due to the heat and lack of fueling, but I still managed to get a peak in (2 actually, the Avenue Twins) and put in some steady miles.

Friday, 10/1
No running, just an awesome day with my family. My cuboid was killing me this day.

Saturday, 10/2
15.8 miles - My friend Eric and I attempted to run the first half of the Squaw Peak 50 course, but as expected, we ran into issues with the trail. We parked my car at the bottom of Hobble Creek and then drove back to Bridal Veil Falls in Provo canyon. Parking there we started across the bridge and ran the .2 mile down to the Bonneville Shoreline Trail and headed up. According to the directions online (which must be very old) we were supposed to turn off the BST after less than a mile onto a service road and then catch a pipeline trail up to another road and across to a trail that leads into Hope Campground. Well, we found the service road (hurray) and it did turn into a pipeline trail. Unfortunately, that trail was TOTAL CRAP!. There were wires crossing it, a slot through two cliffs, and then narrow trail on treacherously steep hillside. And guess where it deposited us? Yep, right back on the BST. Wasted time. When we got to the Squaw Peak dirt road the directions were even less clear and we ended up going up into the archery range and running around there like weirdos for a while before giving up and going back down to the BST. We thought after getting back on it that there might be a branch off trail, but nothing looked definitive enough for us to try as we were already pretty frustrated and had wasted a lot of time. So we continued on. As we did so we passed two guys on horseback and said hello and then just decided to continue to the paved road.
Once on that we ran up it until a half mile or so before the T where we caught a steep trail up to the right that put us on the ridge and a gorgeous overview of Utah Valley. From there we took that all the way up to near the paved overlook. We then decided to run the dirt road past Hope Campground and up to Rock Canyon Pass and decide what to do from there. We were now about 3 miles over where we should have been and I was getting tired from a big week. I also wasn't fueling properly and after turning off the dirt road onto a trail really lost my energy and had to walk. I pumped another gel in me and then met up with Eric at another look-out, surprisingly back on course. We followed that another mile or so until we hit the Squaw Peak overlook. Almost immediately here came our two boys on horseback again, but this time from the west. Huh? We questioned them on where they had come from and they explained the trail they came up. Amazingly, it was the Squaw Peak course trail that we had missed. I was still not quite over my mini-bonk and we were more than an hour behind schedule so we just decided to go where the horsey guys went and summit Buffalo Hump peak (yeah, that's right, we humped the buffalo) and then head back on the appropriate trail. I immediately felt better as we descended and we had fun cruising the correct trail into Hope Campground. The forest service has been up there 'chaining' and it knocked out almost a half mile of the course above the camp ground. We found it again though and didn't have any problems the rest of the way down.
I thought my legs would be more hammered than they were. I could feel it on the latter climbs we did, but I was solid on the flats and downhills. Eric pressed his very casual pace of nearly 7 min/miles the last three, but I was able to keep up and still hold a conversation. Not too bad after a 60+ mile week. We now know where we are going and will head back to try our hand at the front half of the course again. While we didn't get all the way across to Hobble Creek, it was still a lot of fun and a great time with a good friend.

Weekly Total - 66.45 miles

Here are some photos of the Squaw Peak run. It's really beautiful out right now.

Taking a cut-off trail above the paved Squaw Peak Rd.

Eric running through scrub oak and aspens.

Looking back at Mt Timpanogos, my favorite mountain in the Wasatch.

Redemption in Cedar Valley

Finally, redemption on Cedar Valley. That place hates my knee and every time I have run there (albeit, it has only been twice) I've walked away with ITB issues. Monday would be a very different story.

I had planned to head out there with the objective of running anywhere between 30 and 50 miles. I would just take it easy and see how things felt. I knew going in it would be a challenge. I think I under-estimated how impacting my run with Emily on Saturday was on me. I actually felt pretty good that whole run, however, in the 2.5 hours we were out there I didn't fuel at all because I gave my one gel to my wife to eat. I also kept my fluid intake to a minimum because I made her take more due to the heat. I ended the run feeling pretty worked, considering it was only 11 miles. Sunday I really felt it. My legs felt tired and heavy and I was lethargic all day. I knew I was feeling the after effects of mild heat exhaustion. So I knew going into Monday's run that I would be working against my own legs and energy. It was a good thing though because I wanted to test myself on tired legs and without a taper.

I drove out to Cedar Valley and was parked by 5:15am. I was off and running my first loop by 5:20am. The moon was bright and I didn't even need my head lamp. I never turned on my light and fully enjoyed running in the dark. It was a beautiful, cold morning, with a light mist over the valley and beautiful stars above my head. The first loop runs around into Eagle Mountain and then back to the car. It is about 4.75 miles back around to the car. It was a great warm-up with little incidence. I then took off towards The Ranches because I wanted to get the big hill out of the way early. There is also a lot of running on pavement and I wanted to get that out of the way too. It was a smart decision. I felt pretty good most of the way, but by mile 13 my Plantar in my left foot was starting to really act up. It would plague me until about mile 20 when it would finally settle down. Loop 2 is about 13 miles and is a direct out and back on the Pony Express road into the Chevron at The Ranches. As I ran down the hill to the Chevron I got to watch the sun rise behind Mt Timpanogos. Beautiful. I didn't stop at the Chevron, but just turned around and headed back. Running back up the 2 mile hill felt just like running on flat ground and I was making great time. When I got back to the car I had traveled roughly 17.5 miles. This stop was longer because I had to refill everything, grab a banana (which I carried for another two miles before eating), and take off my pants. It was still chilly so I kept my long-sleeve, hat, and gloves on.

As I began loop 3, a lolli-pop run into Fairfield and back, I really started to feel the affects of Saturday settling in. My visions of going 50 seemed remote, but I knew I had enough for at least a 50k . . . and I was still maintaining a pretty good pace. That loop was also uneventful, although I pushed the pace much quicker the last three miles because I wanted to see if I could complete a marathon in under 4 hours, but I didn't quite make it. I got back to the car, 25.75 miles, in 4:02:00. This was another long stop (4 min - ish) because I took the time to stretch (very smart) before heading out again. So I didn't actually complete a marathon until about 4:11:00 or so. Stretching was genius though because I felt awesome. On loop 4, after 2 straight miles I had about a 250 ft climb over the course of a mile to reach the highway and again it felt like I was running on flat ground. I stretched again at the top and then turned to head back down. I took note of the time as I hit the 50k mark and it was exactly 4:53:00, a new 50k PR. I then trotted to the car to finish the whole thing off at exactly 32 miles. I definitely had more in the tank and could have probably gone to about 40, but I really wanted to get home and spend the afternoon with my family before my wife went to work tonight at 6pm for a night shift at the hospital. 

I don't feel sore or all that tired. I already have plans with Scott to run during lunch tomorrow. I was worried about my fatigue for a while there and if I thought I could really travel 100 miles on flat dirt road. I quickly put it out of my mind though, knowing that after a good, long taper and lots of rest I should be just fine. I'll have a ton of support too and that will make a lot of difference.
 

Mon, Sep 27, 2010
Slow miles	Fast miles	Total Distance   Total Time
22.00	10.00	32.00                5:02:16

Timpanogos Summit #4 . . . this year

I just can't stay away from this mountain. It is too much fun and too good of a run to pass up when the opportunity presents itself.

I ran it with Scott this morning. He was itching to get out running and tag a peak. There is no better than Timp, that's for sure. We met at the normal spot at 2:30am and were at the trailhead 20 minutes later. We were running before 3am, it was nice. When we got to the parking lot there was only one other car there and by the way it was parked it looked as though it had been there for at least a full day. Just as we were leaving another car pulled up, but other than that we didn't see anyone the entire way up the trail. SO NICE!!!

It was really casual going up, just like last time. Splits for this time were nearly identical to the last time we ran up it. The only change was my split from the saddle to the summit. This time it was about 6 min faster. I felt really good, especially after a good week last week and basically no rest day (27 hours doesn't really count). I huddled in the shack for about 7 min until Scott got there, we took some pics and then headed out. I only stopped my clock a couple of times to wait for Scott.

Coming down felt pretty good until I folded my right ankle and had a few dodgy steps on my left plantar (which hurts now). The ankle is fine and the plantar will subside, like usual. Scott was much quicker coming down this time than last, especially on the lower half where he kind of had troubles last time. He should be pleased with his overall time. I feel really good. I'm surprised how well my legs are doing right now. I should have another strong week this week and then my last long run this coming Monday. Then I'll taper for the race.

Splits:

Location	Split Time	Total Time
Scout Falls	21:54	21:54
Emerald Lake TO	1:03:38	1:25:32
Saddle Up	28:43	1:54:16
Summit	18:27	2:12:43
Saddle Down	13:52	2:26:35
Emerald Lake TO	19:53	2:46:29
Scout Falls	43:59	3:30:28
Total	15:19	3:45:47

Pacing at the Wasatch 100

I had the opportunity to pace a friend of mine in the Wasatch 100 today. It was a long and tough day, but he finished and did a great job. But let me back things up a few steps. . .

I was following my friend's race online (along with Crockett and others). He was doing great on pace until he reached Lamb's Canyon, mile 53. Then something happened between there and Big Water (the top of Millcreek Canyon). He was due to arrive at about 8:30pm, but by 10pm he had yet to show up. I was planning on leaving home around that time, drive up to Brighton, and run the course backwards for a few miles and then cruise back to the car for a warm-up, prior to Darrell getting there. However, I didn't want to leave home in case something happened to him, so I hung around home till 11pm with no change to his status and decided to drive up anyway. Upon arriving at Brighton I immediately went into the aid station (pleasantly referred to as "The Morgue" to see if he had finally showed up at Big Water. It was now 11:30pm and he had still not shown up. To keep on pace to go under 30 hours total he would have to be in Brighton by 2pm, but the trip from Big Water to Brighton is 13 miles and takes most people 4 hours, at minimum. I would have a long time to wait. So I went out for a run in the freezing cold.

I ran down from the aid station to the Guardsman Pass road and then started up. After only a mile from my start I saw a blaring green light in front of me, no other than the illusive Davy Crockett. He was on PR pace. I ran back down the road with him for a bit, chatting and enjoying the night. He asked about Darrell and I explained the situation, at which time he said, "wow, a lot of people are DNFing at Big Water because of the cold". I figured it was best to head back to the aid station to see if, in fact, he had DNFed. When I got there just the opposite had happened, he had actually gotten to Big Water and checked out and was due at Desolation Lake at 1:40am, putting him at Brighton around 4:30am (based on the average pace of most runners at that pace). I thought it best to bail on my warm-up run and instead get a bit of rest, so I headed back to my car and hunkered down under a blanket for a couple of hours. I set an alarm for 3:45am, thinking that was plenty of time. I don't know how much rest I got, no more than an hour, and at 3:18am got a call, unbelievably from Darrell. He was at Brighton. Somehow he had found a 5th gear and crushed the Desolation to Brighton section. Seriously crushed it! So I quickly gathered up my things and headed indoors. Within 10 minutes we had bade his brother farewell and were off up the trail to Catherine Pass.

It was cold outside, but the nightsky was incredible and we were flying up the trail at a monster power hike. Within the first 30 minutes we passed two groups of runners. By Catherine Pass we passed another, and by the time we made it down the very technical trail to Ant Knolls aid station we has passed another couple of groups. Unfortunately, the climbs were steep and when it was runnable trail Darrell was a bit too tired to push the pace, so we jogged at times, but generally maintained a steady power hike.
We cruised into Pole Line Pass aid station feeling good and other than standing by the massive fire for a few minutes to warm up we were ready to go. That fire may have been the most depressing thing ever. The few runners who were sitting around it did not look good. Runner 201 actually left the aid station and then came back less than a minute later, he was just too cold. Poor sap. He probably shouldn't have worn shorts in sub-freezing weather.

We hoped that after Pole Line it would be a steady cruise the last 16 miles down hill to the finish. Little did we know we were in for a battle. Up, then more up, then around a mountain, then up, down, up, down, down, up, technical trail through trees that just never ended. It was the longest 6 miles to Pot Bottom aid station of our lives. Darrell was frustrated and ready to just be done. Even still, he kept up a good power hike out of the aid station and onto the ridge heading towards the finish. There were moments of cursing the continuous twists and turns, ups and downs, but finally we made it to pavement and the last mile to the finish. Darrell finished his first 100 miler in 31 hours and change. Amazing. I was so happy for him and proud of his ability to stick to it.

And here's how dedicated I am as a pacer: I missed my sons football game for this and he got an interception!!! So awesome.

Congrats to Darrell, Davy, and all of the others who put everything out there to do something great. Whether it was their first 100 or their 50th, I can vouch for the fact that it is always something special. I can't wait to try my first.

And I was happy to get in a good 28 miles on tough trails on only one hour of sleep.

Mt Timpanogos Run

I've been planning for a while to do a night run so that I could prepare for pacing next week at the Wasatch 100, but I was uncertain of what I wanted to do. Then it occurred to me to try 'double-up' of Mt Timpanogos, a 14 mile round-trip run with 8700 ft of elevation gain and loss. It is an extremely rocky and technical trail, but most of it is quite runnable. Doing it twice would be a great accomplishment for me and another ultra notch on my belt of growing achievements. However, as a result of running Quest for Kings a week and a half ago I have developed Cuboid Syndrome in my left foot from all of the pounding on technical trails and it is extremely painful. I thought I had it pretty well healed up, but Monday I did a road run with the last to miles in my Vibram Five Fingers. Those two miles completely inflamed the injury again making my double-up attempt doubtful. Over the course of the 24 hours from when I re-injured my foot I went back and forth too many times to count on whether I would try the double-up, not try it, only do a single summit, run a different trail, and not run at all. It wasn't until 5pm yesterday when I finally decided to just head up to Timp and give it a single go, post-poning a double-up attempt for a time when I am 100% and have a better pair of shoes (the shoes I ran in last night are well worn and are racing flats, not great for me at distances above 15 miles). So I rallied my compadre Scott once again for some silly adventure. The plan was to run it super easy and if I felt significant pain I would cruise to a walk. The goal was two fold; get some good night time running in and finish. Simple.

I met Scott in Alpine and we drove his car up to the Timpooneke trailhead. We intended to start running around 10pm, but were slightly delayed and didn't hit the trail till just after 10:30pm. There was only one other car in the parking lot. We started off at a super easy pace and were able to maintain it for a long time before we felt the need to power hike anything. We were a few minutes behind my last time up there when we got to Scout Falls, but it is what I expected and I felt fantastic and knew that this was the perfect pace for this run. Not long after Scout Falls we came across two women who were hiking up into the Emerald Lake area. One had a pair of skis strapped to her back. They were obviously going to camp, summit, and then the one was going to ski the glacier. Awesome. We made pleasantries and continued on at a great pace up into the lower cirque. At this easier pace  I was able to run more sections than ever before, something I'll remember on future attempts. My goal was to simply hit the summit in under 2:30:00. We crested the lower cirque into the upper at almost 1:24:00 and continued smoothly up to the switchbacks. Scott took a digger on a rock which slowed him down for a minute, but he recovered well. I had been keeping a very sharp eye on the clock and when I should be eating and it really paid off. I used First Endurance EFS gel and the pay-off was HUGE. I had tons of energy on the whole run. I swear that stuff is like rocket fuel. I took some of the short-cuts up through the switchbacks in the main cirque, but it still felt really long, longer than normal. I tried to push to the saddle quicker, but that just made Scott fall behind. I waited at the saddle and then we both pushed through easy to the top. I ended up hitting the summit at 2:15:00 and Scott got there about 5 minutes later. It was super cold, but such a beautiful night over-looking the valley. It was a real joy to be up there in the middle of the night alone in that place. I sure do love that mountain.

We didn't stay long, it was just too cold. We both had on pants and a long-sleeved shirt. I also had on gloves, but my hands were still cold. The temps had to be in the 30s with a 20+ mile an hour wind. Chilly. I still felt awesome and my left foot wasn't hurting too bad so I was able to keep a good pace going down the scree back to the gap. I opened up a sizable lead on Scott who was taking it much slower on the technical terrain. I waited behind a wind sheer at the gap and then we made our way back to the saddle. By now we were well behind my pace from when I did it in July, but we were still on target to hit the bottom in under or around 4 hours. Working back down through the cirque went slower than I had hoped and we only managed to get back to the Emerald Lake turn-off at exactly 3 hours. That left one hour to get to the bottom, very doable. We tried to keep a decent pace, but Scott was having trouble seeing the rocks with his lite, so I gave him an extra I had. It seemed to help a little, but still couldn't stop him from taking a fall down near Scout Falls. It was a hard hit and really shook him up. He recovered after a couple of minutes and I put him in front to try and give him some extra light with me running behind. I think it helped because his pace picked up considerably. We hit the bottom at 4:18:34 by my clock and 4:30:00ish by his (I stopped mine at the top and saddle waiting for him), a little slower than I had hoped, but still respectable and I think really good for Scott's first time running that mountain and in the dark. It was a lot of fun. I didn't get home till about 4am, quickly jumped into bed, and got 3 solid hours of sleep before having to get up for work. Yeesh, what a night.

Location	Split Time	Total Time
Scout Falls	21:54	21:54
Emerald Lake Sign	1:03:07	1:24:01
Saddle Up	28:33	1:52:34
Summit	24:14	2:15:40
Saddle Down	18:39	2:34:20
Emerald Lake Sign	26:35	3:00:55
Scout Falls	57:58	3:58:01
Total	20:32	4:18:34

Some things I learned from this trip:
1. My shoes have been a major contributor to my foot injury. I'm certain I ran my Inov-8s about 100 miles past when I should have retired them. They got soft and unsupportive while I was still running very technical trails. Likewise, because I am a mid-foot striker the chunky soles on my Crosslites began to wear down heavily on the outside of the sole, but not on the inside (the natural way of rolling from the outside of the foot to the inside - pronation). Therefore, it was causing an uneven landing surface and forcing more weight onto the outside of my foot or Cuboid bone. New shoes have been ordered!
2. Maintaining good energy is essential. And not just maintaining good energy but utilizing a product that works well for me. I am fully committed to First Endurance products. They are amazing. I strive to ingest about 300 - 350 calories an hour and it works great for me.
3. Could I do a Timp double-up? Absolutely. In different shoes with a healthy foot I could have done it last night. I felt great at the finish and I feel good now. In fact, I think I'll go out for a run. Have a great day.