Today I decided it was time to begin documenting my next quest. First let me tell you a little of my history and how I got to this point.
I am a 51 year old male, and although I definitely don't feel "Over The Hill" I think most people, especially the younger generation, think that 50 is the magic mark for falling into that category. I have been married for 31 years and have 4 children, 2 boys and 2 girls ranging in age from 22 to 31. 3 of my 4 kids are married. I have no grandchildren at this point. I have been in sales as a profession for my entire adult life. I am currently one of three owners of a sales and distribution company in located in Salt Lake City.
I have been active the majority of my life and have always been involved in the outdoors and different athletic programs. During my High School days I played a lot of basketball, some football and baseball. I have always loved the mountains and over the last 7 years have really enjoyed archery hunting. I am not out there for the thrill of the kill but more for the experience, solitude, and beauty that you enjoy when you are in pursuit with a bow and arrow. I haven't hunted with a gun for almost 20 years and will probably never hunt with a gun again. One or both of my sons will often join me archery hunting. It is something that I really enjoy doing with them.
When I turned 30 in 1989 I realized that I was no longer the slim trim guy that I had been my entire life. I jumped on the scale and was at 200 pounds. At that point I made a bet with a friend to compete against each other at the July 24th 10K in Salt Lake. The loser and his wife had to take the winner and his wife to dinner at a high end restaurant. This was the beginning of my distance running adventure. I was lucky enough to beat him and we enjoyed a very nice dinner on his dime.
At the finish line of the 10K they were handing out brochures for other races, one of which was for the St. George Marathon. That was back in the day when everyone could get in to that race, to make a long story short I ran the St. George Marathon that fall, my first of 7 St. George Marathons. I have also ran the Deseret News Marathon 1 time. In 1995 my neighbor asked me to be a pacer for him at the Wasatch 100 ultra marathon mountain race. I ran from Big Mountain to Lambs Canyon with him. It was a great experience to see some of these Ultra Marathoners in action. I have ran on and off for those 21 years, mostly just to try to keep in shape. I have been dedicated at times but not at others. Over the years my weight has slowly crept up, more details on that later.
In October of 2009 my son Josh, my daughter Brittany and I made it into the St. George Marathon. Josh trained very hard and was very diligent, my daughter a little less so but did keep at it and trained regularly. I was doing great on training and right on schedule until I sprained my ankle very badly in late August up archery hunting. My running came to a screeching halt. It was so bad that I didn't run again until the actual marathon. My daughter and I both finished but at a very slow pace. Josh on the other hand finished at 3:25 which is outstanding for your first marathon. At that point Josh caught the bug. He decided he wanted to try ultra marathoning in 2010. He ran the Antelope Island 50 Miler, the Squaw Peak 50 Miler, the Speedgoat 50K and the Wasatch 100. He asked me early on if I would be his pacer on the last leg of the Wasatch 100. I of course said yes. Josh had a great race that day but injured his knee about 2/3 of the way through. I paced him from Brighton to the finish. He wanted me to go on this section with him as I have done a lot of hiking over the last few years so he knew I could handle the extreme ups and downs of the last 25 miles of the race. Josh finished the race in just under 29 hours. the last 25 miles were grueling for him with his injury but he finished, and with a good time to boot.
A few days after the race he asked me if I would ever run the Wasatch 100. It is something I have always wanted to do but I am getting up there in age and am no where near the shape I need to be in for that type of an event. I let him know that it would take me 2 years to get in good enough shape to complete the Wasatch 100, plus I would have to draw in the lottery to get in. An alternate race if I didn't get into Wasatch would be the Logan to Bear Lake 100 mile race. So the goal was set! Either the Wasatch 100 or the Bear 100.
Now comes the hard part. I am 6' 1" and currently weight 215 pounds. down from 225. My goal is to be at 180 by this coming June. The reason - I made it into the Squaw Peak 50 Miler in June. Josh also made it in. I now have about 6 months to get in the best shape of my life and then to continue on for another year to be in good enough shape for a respectable finish at one of the 100 milers.
This blog is to keep me honest and to keep you in the loop of how it is going. I am currently running a very slow 23 Miles a week and walking another 6 Miles a week. I have a long way to go but am definitely going to get there.
