I took quite a bit of time off of training to make sure my calf is completely healed. Over the last two weeks I have had several runs of 5 to 8 miles and everything is feeling great. Starting this week I will get more consistent and stick to a schedule building up to the Spring, Summer and Fall races with the end objective to complete a 100 mile race in September.
I did get into the Squaw Peak 50 mile race scheduled on June 2nd. That should be a good run and one I need to complete if I end up entering the Bear 100. The Bear 100 requires that you complete a 50 mile race in under 16 hours, which is not at all difficult but you do have to "check the box" in order to gain entry. Next week I will put into the lottery for the Wasatch 100 mile race but with the lottery for that race being about a 50/50 chance with only one draw (my 1st year putting in) I need to have a back up race. Depending on how things go I also intend to run the Speedgoat 50K again. I think with the course knowledge I now have and training a little differently this summer, I will be able to make a significant improvement on my time from last year. Depending on how my training goes over he next few months I will probably also run one of the Antelope Island Buffalo run events. Either the 50K or the 50 Miler depending on where I am at with training at the end of March.
Work has been very rough over the last few months and I don't know if it will get better in the next 3 to 4 months. I think once we get past the 1st quarter things should start to slowly improve. I bring this up as it has been a serious mental drain on me. I try to not let it affect my training but sometimes it completely takes over my brain and unfortunately my life. Running generally has let me escape some of that stress, but at times I find that during my entire run all I did was think about work. Not a good thing!
I also have my first grandchild due the 3rd week of January. That will be awesome but with my daughter and her husband living with us while he is in school, it will be somewhat of a distraction, albeit a joyful one and I wouldn't trade it for anything. My wife is extremely excited to have our new granddaughter staying with us for a while.
We are now just one week away from Christmas and with my training and diet not being what I would have liked, I have put on a few pounds. Now that I will be training more seriously and watching my diet I hope to get my weight back in line once the holidays have passed. I just cannot pass up good food that is so abundant this time of year.
I would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas, and a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
It's Back
Here we are just a couple of days before the Pony Express 50 Mile race and my calf injury is back. I felt it on my long run almost 2 weeks ago and then when I was doing a short run on Saturday it came back with a full head of steam. There is no way I can do a race right now. The only bright side is that although it is in the same calf as my previous injury it is in a different part of my calf, hopefully it will heal fast and not cause me too many problems long term.
Maybe it is for the best as today I can tell I am getting sick to boot. My wife has been sick for a few days now so I figured I would probably get it, sure enough yesterday I had a scratchy throat and today I also feel feverish.
With the injury comes a change in plans. There will be no 50 mile race this year. I will not make my goal in that regard. I hate missing goals, it is so discouraging. I will now be shooting for the Antelope Island/Buffalo Run 50 Miler in the spring of next year. That gives me a lot of time to heal, to train, and to lose weight, all of which are very important going into next year and running a 100 mile mountain race next fall.
Hopefully the two months find my calf healed, my spirits soaring, and my training on schedule.
Maybe it is for the best as today I can tell I am getting sick to boot. My wife has been sick for a few days now so I figured I would probably get it, sure enough yesterday I had a scratchy throat and today I also feel feverish.
With the injury comes a change in plans. There will be no 50 mile race this year. I will not make my goal in that regard. I hate missing goals, it is so discouraging. I will now be shooting for the Antelope Island/Buffalo Run 50 Miler in the spring of next year. That gives me a lot of time to heal, to train, and to lose weight, all of which are very important going into next year and running a 100 mile mountain race next fall.
Hopefully the two months find my calf healed, my spirits soaring, and my training on schedule.
Monday, September 12, 2011
What's next?
It's now been more than a month since I completed the Speedgoat 50K. I didn't run for a few days as I was just too sore, then I got a sinus infection and am now on my 2nd round of antibiotics attempting to get on top of it. Work has been rough the last month as well. I am cautiously optimistic that work will get better beginning in November, probably not before that. In spite of all that I have had a couple of mountain runs over the last few weeks and have been hitting the mileage fairly consistently on asphalt now that my thighs, hips, and knees have recovered from Speedgoat.
I should do about 45 miles this week if everything goes as planned. So what race to day next? My goal is to do at least a 50 miler by the end of this year so that I have the qualification taken care of in case I end up in the Bear 100 next year. With that in mind there are 3 nearby races that will fit the bill. The Slick Rock 50 is in Moab on October 8th, that may be a bit soon but I will probably see how I feel at the end of this week and go from there, it would also require a hotel stay the night before, not a big deal but not as convenient as sleeping in your own bed. The next option is the Pony Express Trail 50 that is on October 21st. This race definitely has some appeal as your support crew can be with you the entire race, not just at specific aid station locations. The down side is that this race is flat as flat can be. almost no elevation gain, in fact the entire race is on a dirt road in the west desert on the Pony Express Trail. The 3rd option is the Antelope Island 100K on November 5th. Definitely has some appeal to me as it has elevation changes on about half of the course, the other half being quite flat. It is also 62 Miles which adds another dimension to that decision.
I think I will have a better idea on which one of these to go with over the next couple of weeks of training. Time will tell.
I should do about 45 miles this week if everything goes as planned. So what race to day next? My goal is to do at least a 50 miler by the end of this year so that I have the qualification taken care of in case I end up in the Bear 100 next year. With that in mind there are 3 nearby races that will fit the bill. The Slick Rock 50 is in Moab on October 8th, that may be a bit soon but I will probably see how I feel at the end of this week and go from there, it would also require a hotel stay the night before, not a big deal but not as convenient as sleeping in your own bed. The next option is the Pony Express Trail 50 that is on October 21st. This race definitely has some appeal as your support crew can be with you the entire race, not just at specific aid station locations. The down side is that this race is flat as flat can be. almost no elevation gain, in fact the entire race is on a dirt road in the west desert on the Pony Express Trail. The 3rd option is the Antelope Island 100K on November 5th. Definitely has some appeal to me as it has elevation changes on about half of the course, the other half being quite flat. It is also 62 Miles which adds another dimension to that decision.
I think I will have a better idea on which one of these to go with over the next couple of weeks of training. Time will tell.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Speedgoat 50K
Here it is the day after the Speedgoat 50K. My first "Ultra Marathon" is now complete. It was a good experience but today question my sanity that I entered to run this event. Seriously though, with "11,420' of vertical pain" this is the most physically challenging thing I have ever done and although extremely difficult, both physically and mentally, it was also very fulfilling and satisfying when I completed it.
Josh picked me up at 5:10 am, he was a volunteer at one of the aid stations and had to be to the event at the same time as the runners. We arrived at Snowbird at 5:45. I picked up my number and some handouts and was ready at the start line by 6:15 which is when we received the final verbal instructions for the event. Once the instructions were given we moved to the starting line awaiting the 6:30 start.
I lined up at the back of the pack knowing I would be one of the slower runners. I definitely lined up to far back in the pack. As we got going it became obvious that I was going to be behind some very slow climbers when we hit the single track area going uphill. I ended up having to wait for a wider area before I could pass any of them, this definitely cost me some time. Within a few miles the crowd was spread out and I was falling in with people going generally my same pace.
The race progressed well through the climb up to Hidden Peak (where the tram let's people off) I felt very good but when I went to fill up my water bladder I realized that I had not drank enough water for the first 6+ miles of the race. I knew this would probably cost me later, which it did. I generally start out all of my runs chewing gum for the first mile or so, it seems to keep my mouth fresh, but for this race I kept it in my mouth for about 5 miles and as a result I didn't feel at all thirsty and didn't drink very much. From that point on I drank a lot of water but I don't think I ever caught up on my hydration for the rest of the day. From Hidden Peak it is a short down and then another climb to Mt. Baldy then just a couple of miles down to "Larry's Hole" which is the aid station that Josh was working at. I felt great at that point and it was great to see Josh and talk to him maybe 30 or 45 seconds before moving forward.
After Larry's Hole is a crazy descent. It is not that it is extremely steep but there is about 3 miles where you are running on a jeep road that is 100% rocks, no dirt at all. The rocks range from the size of marbles to cantaloupes. It is steep enough that you have to put the brakes on the entire way and with the rocks you cannot take your attention off of the road for even a split second. In this section I went for more than an hour without seeing another runner. I was not passing anyone, and no one was passing me. It was definitely strange not seeing anyone for that long of a period of time. About 2/3 of the way down this stretch my knees started to hurt. They would get worse as the day wore on but luckily I only felt it on the steep downhills. Although there are a lot of steep downhills in this race I was able to keep going and deal with the pain.
At about the half way point you hit an aid station at the bottom of the course in American Fork Canyon. After the aid station is a very long fairly steep uphill. This is when my lack of hydration hit me like a brick. Both of my thighs got knots in them. At first I dealt with it but they were continually getting worse. For the first time I had thoughts that I may not be able to complete the race, they were that bad. I also passed 2 guys in this section that had come to a full stop and were vomiting. Seeing this definitely does not help the mental psyche. I took 8 baby aspirin and continued to push on. I think that between the aspirin, my focusing on water intake for the last couple of hours, and the course not being quite as steep as earlier in the several mile long uphill, my thighs started to feel a little better.
At this point I felt confident that I would be able to finish but was very concerned about making the cutoff. You have to be to "The Tunnels" aid station by 3:00 or you are not allowed to continue. I knew I had the steepest part of the course just before that aid station, and just after the station Josh was working at.With my thighs as they were, hitting that aid station by 3:00 became my immediate goal. At this point I was following another runner and we missed a turn. This cost us about 6 or 7 minutes before we realized it and got back to the cutoff. The trail was well marked I was just so focused on the task that I just followed him and didn't notice the ribbons indicating the turnoff. When I got back to where Josh was working I let him know that I was definitely hurting and asked if he had cell service there, he did. I asked him to call Brenda, my wife, and let her know I was about an hour behind. Brenda and some of my kids were planning on meeting me at the finish line and I didn't want them to have to spend hours there waiting for me.
During long races you have highs and lows, and after the low I had been having over the last couple of hours I was now finally getting into a bit of a high, whether this was due to my pain being a bit less, seeing Josh again for a minute, or just the way things work I don't know. When we hit the steepest part of the course I was feeling pretty good. I didn't push it crazy hard but just kept consistently at it knowing I had to hit the cut off aid station by 3:00. About half way up the steep climb I knew I was going to make the cutoff with plenty of time to spare. I got to the top of the climb and then ran over to "The Tunnels" aid station right at 2:30. 30 minutes before cutoff.
After you go through the tunnel you then have a long descent, again my knees were just killing me on this downhill but I made fairly good time. I knew at the bottom of this descent was a very, very long uphill to Hidden Peak for the final aid station. At the bottom I took my last 8 baby aspirin. I knew that between my thighs on the crazy long uphill and my knees on the 5+ mile downhill to the finish I would definitely need them.
I felt quite good on the final uphill to Hidden Peak and was able to deal with the knots in my thighs, I passed several people in this section but was sure they would probably pass me on the long downhill with my knees being in the condition they were in, which they did.
Hitting the aid station at Hidden Peak and knowing that I was now at 26+ miles and the rest was downhill, I now knew I would finish, it was now just a question of how long it would take.me. I started the trek down, shortly after Hidden Peak was a long section that had a very large amount of snow still there. They had ropes attached if you wanted them at this point but the idea was to butt slide for about 300 yards. When I got there people were hanging onto the ropes and going down very slow. I went over to the side of the ropes and did my butt slide without the rope assist, I passed several more people here.
From here on it was about 4 miles all down hill, my knees were killing me. I had a couple of people pass me over that 4 mile period but did pass one other runner about 100 yards before the finish line.
I finished at 11 hours, a full hour longer than I had hoped for. Waiting at the finish line were my 2 daughters and their husbands, my son Josh who talked me into this crazy thing, and my wife Brenda. I want to thank all of them for supporting me with this endeavor, especially Brenda as there has been a very large time commitment to this on my part and has taken away a lot of time that I would normally spend at home or with her.
Important things I learned during this race:
Don't start to far back in the pack.
Don't chew gum.
Drink more water than you think you need.
Watch the markers so you don't take a wrong turn.
Wear gaiters ( I had to stop 3 times to get rocks out of my shoes).
Take my Ipod, I think it would have helped during a couple of my low points.
Lose more weight before my next run.
Truly appreciate my health that allows me to do these types of things.
Be thankful for my terrific family.
Josh picked me up at 5:10 am, he was a volunteer at one of the aid stations and had to be to the event at the same time as the runners. We arrived at Snowbird at 5:45. I picked up my number and some handouts and was ready at the start line by 6:15 which is when we received the final verbal instructions for the event. Once the instructions were given we moved to the starting line awaiting the 6:30 start.
I lined up at the back of the pack knowing I would be one of the slower runners. I definitely lined up to far back in the pack. As we got going it became obvious that I was going to be behind some very slow climbers when we hit the single track area going uphill. I ended up having to wait for a wider area before I could pass any of them, this definitely cost me some time. Within a few miles the crowd was spread out and I was falling in with people going generally my same pace.
The race progressed well through the climb up to Hidden Peak (where the tram let's people off) I felt very good but when I went to fill up my water bladder I realized that I had not drank enough water for the first 6+ miles of the race. I knew this would probably cost me later, which it did. I generally start out all of my runs chewing gum for the first mile or so, it seems to keep my mouth fresh, but for this race I kept it in my mouth for about 5 miles and as a result I didn't feel at all thirsty and didn't drink very much. From that point on I drank a lot of water but I don't think I ever caught up on my hydration for the rest of the day. From Hidden Peak it is a short down and then another climb to Mt. Baldy then just a couple of miles down to "Larry's Hole" which is the aid station that Josh was working at. I felt great at that point and it was great to see Josh and talk to him maybe 30 or 45 seconds before moving forward.
After Larry's Hole is a crazy descent. It is not that it is extremely steep but there is about 3 miles where you are running on a jeep road that is 100% rocks, no dirt at all. The rocks range from the size of marbles to cantaloupes. It is steep enough that you have to put the brakes on the entire way and with the rocks you cannot take your attention off of the road for even a split second. In this section I went for more than an hour without seeing another runner. I was not passing anyone, and no one was passing me. It was definitely strange not seeing anyone for that long of a period of time. About 2/3 of the way down this stretch my knees started to hurt. They would get worse as the day wore on but luckily I only felt it on the steep downhills. Although there are a lot of steep downhills in this race I was able to keep going and deal with the pain.
At about the half way point you hit an aid station at the bottom of the course in American Fork Canyon. After the aid station is a very long fairly steep uphill. This is when my lack of hydration hit me like a brick. Both of my thighs got knots in them. At first I dealt with it but they were continually getting worse. For the first time I had thoughts that I may not be able to complete the race, they were that bad. I also passed 2 guys in this section that had come to a full stop and were vomiting. Seeing this definitely does not help the mental psyche. I took 8 baby aspirin and continued to push on. I think that between the aspirin, my focusing on water intake for the last couple of hours, and the course not being quite as steep as earlier in the several mile long uphill, my thighs started to feel a little better.
At this point I felt confident that I would be able to finish but was very concerned about making the cutoff. You have to be to "The Tunnels" aid station by 3:00 or you are not allowed to continue. I knew I had the steepest part of the course just before that aid station, and just after the station Josh was working at.With my thighs as they were, hitting that aid station by 3:00 became my immediate goal. At this point I was following another runner and we missed a turn. This cost us about 6 or 7 minutes before we realized it and got back to the cutoff. The trail was well marked I was just so focused on the task that I just followed him and didn't notice the ribbons indicating the turnoff. When I got back to where Josh was working I let him know that I was definitely hurting and asked if he had cell service there, he did. I asked him to call Brenda, my wife, and let her know I was about an hour behind. Brenda and some of my kids were planning on meeting me at the finish line and I didn't want them to have to spend hours there waiting for me.
During long races you have highs and lows, and after the low I had been having over the last couple of hours I was now finally getting into a bit of a high, whether this was due to my pain being a bit less, seeing Josh again for a minute, or just the way things work I don't know. When we hit the steepest part of the course I was feeling pretty good. I didn't push it crazy hard but just kept consistently at it knowing I had to hit the cut off aid station by 3:00. About half way up the steep climb I knew I was going to make the cutoff with plenty of time to spare. I got to the top of the climb and then ran over to "The Tunnels" aid station right at 2:30. 30 minutes before cutoff.
After you go through the tunnel you then have a long descent, again my knees were just killing me on this downhill but I made fairly good time. I knew at the bottom of this descent was a very, very long uphill to Hidden Peak for the final aid station. At the bottom I took my last 8 baby aspirin. I knew that between my thighs on the crazy long uphill and my knees on the 5+ mile downhill to the finish I would definitely need them.
I felt quite good on the final uphill to Hidden Peak and was able to deal with the knots in my thighs, I passed several people in this section but was sure they would probably pass me on the long downhill with my knees being in the condition they were in, which they did.
Hitting the aid station at Hidden Peak and knowing that I was now at 26+ miles and the rest was downhill, I now knew I would finish, it was now just a question of how long it would take.me. I started the trek down, shortly after Hidden Peak was a long section that had a very large amount of snow still there. They had ropes attached if you wanted them at this point but the idea was to butt slide for about 300 yards. When I got there people were hanging onto the ropes and going down very slow. I went over to the side of the ropes and did my butt slide without the rope assist, I passed several more people here.
From here on it was about 4 miles all down hill, my knees were killing me. I had a couple of people pass me over that 4 mile period but did pass one other runner about 100 yards before the finish line.
I finished at 11 hours, a full hour longer than I had hoped for. Waiting at the finish line were my 2 daughters and their husbands, my son Josh who talked me into this crazy thing, and my wife Brenda. I want to thank all of them for supporting me with this endeavor, especially Brenda as there has been a very large time commitment to this on my part and has taken away a lot of time that I would normally spend at home or with her.
Important things I learned during this race:
Don't start to far back in the pack.
Don't chew gum.
Drink more water than you think you need.
Watch the markers so you don't take a wrong turn.
Wear gaiters ( I had to stop 3 times to get rocks out of my shoes).
Take my Ipod, I think it would have helped during a couple of my low points.
Lose more weight before my next run.
Truly appreciate my health that allows me to do these types of things.
Be thankful for my terrific family.
Monday, July 11, 2011
3 weeks until Speedgoat
Here I am just under 3 weeks until the Speedgoat 50K. My training has been going well over the last month with at least 2 mountains runs a week along with 2 or 3 long runs on asphalt each week. On Saturday I ran for 5 hours and 35 minutes and covered what I would guess was about 19 miles. I did run to the top of Gobblers knob which I have done a couple of times over the last few weeks. This gets me quite a bit of training at elevation, which I will definitely need for the race, as well as running several steep grades. I do feel confident that I will be able to finish this race, although I will not be very fast, I will complete it.
My calf muscle has given me no problems at all over the last several weeks and the only problem I have is a little Plantar Fasciitis, nothing too serious though. The only other challenge is that my weight is still higher than what I would like it to be. I am still hovering just over the 200 pound mark and would like to be significantly under that. My biggest challenge is that I love to eat! My self discipline has just not been where it needs to be over the last 6 to 8 weeks. I am going to be more diligent about it over the next 3 weeks until the race to see if I can drop a few pounds while balancing not hurting my nutrition prior to the race. Time will tell how this exercise goes.
On a different topic I found out that I am going to be a Grandpa. My youngest daughter and her husband let my wife and I know on Father's Day that they are expecting. This is very exciting for all of us and we look forward to the new arrival due on January 20th.
My calf muscle has given me no problems at all over the last several weeks and the only problem I have is a little Plantar Fasciitis, nothing too serious though. The only other challenge is that my weight is still higher than what I would like it to be. I am still hovering just over the 200 pound mark and would like to be significantly under that. My biggest challenge is that I love to eat! My self discipline has just not been where it needs to be over the last 6 to 8 weeks. I am going to be more diligent about it over the next 3 weeks until the race to see if I can drop a few pounds while balancing not hurting my nutrition prior to the race. Time will tell how this exercise goes.
On a different topic I found out that I am going to be a Grandpa. My youngest daughter and her husband let my wife and I know on Father's Day that they are expecting. This is very exciting for all of us and we look forward to the new arrival due on January 20th.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
One More Time
After taking several weeks off from running to let my calf muscle recuperate, I am once again out running. Over the last 12 days I have ran 5 different times, and unfortunately gained about 5 pounds. I started out with a 3 mile run, then 4, then 5, then 6 miles, and yesterday I ran about 10.5 miles on the Shoreline Trail with my son Josh. Today I feel quite good, I was a little stiff first thing this morning but after just a few minutes I felt great. So far all of my runs have gone well. I did get a bit of a knot in my right calf on the long run yesterday, but I'm not to concerned as this is not the calf that had the tear.
I am confident enough with where I am right now that I entered the "Speedgoat 50K" that will be held July 30th at Snowbird Ski Resort. This race is billed as "The Toughest 50K in the United States". although 31 miles doesn't sound much further than a marathon, this 50K has 11,693' of elevation gain and the same amount in descent. It is also at high altitude with all of the race above 7600' and most of the race about 9200'. This will be a very tough race but will involve a great deal of hiking in addition to running. Hiking has always been one of my strong suits and I'm optimistic that I will be okay with this type of a race at this stage. I obviously will not be breaking any records but am optimistic that I won't come in last place.
Over the next several weeks I will get at least 2 or 3 mountain runs in a week and beginning this coming week I will be running a minimum of 4 times a week and will quickly be at 5 times a week until later in July when I will taper down prior to the race. I am holding my breath that my calf will continue to get better and stronger each day and that I will be in prime condition heading into the Speedgoat 50K. Time will tell.
I am confident enough with where I am right now that I entered the "Speedgoat 50K" that will be held July 30th at Snowbird Ski Resort. This race is billed as "The Toughest 50K in the United States". although 31 miles doesn't sound much further than a marathon, this 50K has 11,693' of elevation gain and the same amount in descent. It is also at high altitude with all of the race above 7600' and most of the race about 9200'. This will be a very tough race but will involve a great deal of hiking in addition to running. Hiking has always been one of my strong suits and I'm optimistic that I will be okay with this type of a race at this stage. I obviously will not be breaking any records but am optimistic that I won't come in last place.
Over the next several weeks I will get at least 2 or 3 mountain runs in a week and beginning this coming week I will be running a minimum of 4 times a week and will quickly be at 5 times a week until later in July when I will taper down prior to the race. I am holding my breath that my calf will continue to get better and stronger each day and that I will be in prime condition heading into the Speedgoat 50K. Time will tell.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Road Block and Detour
After weeks of babying my calf muscles, running minimally, massaging a lot, resting, low impact exercising, it has become obvious that I need to take a month or more of off running and let the tears in my calves heal. This week, much to my disappointment, I officially withdrew from Squaw Peak 50 mile mountain run on June 4th.
I am still walking a lot and using the elliptical to keep my cardio up. The last thing I want to do is to start over from scratch. If I can keep my weight in check and my cardio up I am optimistic that I will be able to quickly get back to the 50 mile a week routine once my calves have healed.
With more than a month of rest and a slow reinsertion into the running routine, I will be ready to once again run an Ultra Marathon later this year. There are several in northern Utah later in the year. I will have to see how the training goes and determine which race to enter when the appropriate time comes.
I am still walking a lot and using the elliptical to keep my cardio up. The last thing I want to do is to start over from scratch. If I can keep my weight in check and my cardio up I am optimistic that I will be able to quickly get back to the 50 mile a week routine once my calves have healed.
With more than a month of rest and a slow reinsertion into the running routine, I will be ready to once again run an Ultra Marathon later this year. There are several in northern Utah later in the year. I will have to see how the training goes and determine which race to enter when the appropriate time comes.
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