Little Grand Canyon Marathon

September 12th, 2009. Abbe and I drove to Price, UT on Friday night, 09/11 and got there shortly before they closed the packet pick-up which was outside the doors of the CEU Prehistoric Museum in Price. It was dark, but the folks at the tables were still in great spirits and more than willing to answer any questions. After a night's sleep we drove to Huntington, UT city park so I could catch the bus. She went back to the motel to get showered and breakfast. The marathoners caught the bus and made the short, 2-mile trip to the starting line which was literally in the middle of the road, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Much to our surprise the starter informed us that it was the first day of the antelope hunting season and to watch our backs. Good thing I didn't wear my fake antelope antlers. Anyway, it was pleasantly cool at the start. Small crowd for the full marathon and we thinned out pretty quickly. The course was not technically difficult and was pretty desolate. If you like crowds then you should definitely avoid this run. This was out in the actual middle of nowhere (I think I saw a sign saying exactly that), no real shade to speak of until we ran past a few trees in the canyon. At one point I almost stepped on a small scorpion. I met a few nice folk with whom I ran a few miles. The first six miles were a little slower than my normal pace and since I was feeling pretty good I decided to pick it up and finished the first half at my normal half split (2:33). When the course was about to enter the canyons I had to make a pit stop and then had after a few hundred yards had to go back for a second round. During those few minutes it felt like the temperature jumped about 15 degrees. All of my running in the canyons was by myself and only saw a couple of other runners the whole last nine miles. I did make the very short detour off the rode (about 20 yards) to see the dinosaur footprint and the petroglyphs, which was really cool. However, the heat was beating me up. I walked more than usual and then all of mile 23. At one point I started to question my own sanity and choice of hobbies. My spirits were buoyed when at the aid station at mile 23 I was able to put a cup of ice in my cap to help cool down. I was able to jog slowly the last two miles and at the very last station dumped several cups of water down my back. The sound of claps and cheering the last hundred yards almost helped me break into a sprint, but since I didn't want to go back to Huntington in the nearby amulance I kept the slow pace through the finish line and ended at 6:03. That was the longest I've ever run in one stretch. We waited for a few more runners before our bus drove us back to the city park where Abbe had been waiting patiently for me to arrive. The run was beautiful and the support crew was really great. In spite of the size they were very well organized and did a super job. I hope they keep this race small because if the weather is like this every year and they keep growing they're going to need many more ambulances and I don't think there are enough in the county to handle the business. check it out at www.littlegrandcanyonmarathon.org.

Dog Lake

Last Saturday I went with a couple of friends, Scott and Jeff, on a run up to Dog Lake. The trailhead is at the end of the road up Millcreek Cyn. Beautiful, tree-covered run. The trail was so well used that it looked like we were running on a path in a city park. We started just after dawn and got to the lake just over an hour later. On the way up we saw this moose about twenty yards off the trail. She was still there on the way down, but this time we saw the calf with her. Cool!! You don't see this stuff in our neighborhood. Also on the way down we must have passed about 75 hikers and almost all of them had a dog or dogs with them. We started to feel left out. Noticing the many, many dogs, made us more careful of our foot placement:)

Deseret News Marathon

July 24th was the Deseret News Marathon in Salt Lake City, UT. Had to get up at 2:00 am to get ready and Abbe drove me downtown at 2:30 to catch the bus shortly after 3:15 am. Already it was a long day. I've got to learn to not catch the first bus....I was waiting at the start for 1.5 hours in the dark. Fortunately it was not cold out, but it was dark. Have you ever tried to use a porta potty in the dark? You really don't want to use braille to find your way around regardless of how clean you think the unit might be:) We started just before dawn and headed down the canyon. Beautiful course down into the Salt Lake Valley from Big Mountain. Over the pass to Emigration Canyon and finished the first half in 2:25 (expected split). I thought the run back up Foothill Blvd would never end. By mile 19 or 20 the sun was out in full force and I started to feel it. Fortunately just after I passed the university a gal had a hose pouring out heavenly cool water. I drank and doused my hat and revelled in the drips from my bill the next few miles. Another kind citizen had their garden hose draped over the hood of their car running cool water for whoever wanted it. What a nice gesture. Once I hit South Temple I hit an aid station that had many gallons of cool water lined up. I grabbed one from a volunteer and proceeded to pour it down my back. It was an amazing feeling of relief. I kept on pouring water down my back at each aid station and when they finally handed out the wet sponges I grabbed one and put it in my hat so it would cool my scalp. By now the temperature was at least 90. Running along part of the parade route was fun with all the people cheering us on. I struggled a bit during the last half mile and walked a couple hundred yards before jogging in to the finish line. My two youngest, Cullen and Ellis accompanied me across the finish line. Just after they draped my medal around my neck another volunteer handed me a cool bottle of water which I emptied over my head....ahhh, so refreshing. I did that once more a few seconds later. My family arrived a few minutes before I got to the finish and once I was ready we walked to the car and headed home. I had to throw up in a plastic bag on the drive home, but felt much better afterward. I got the shakes pretty badly when my body started to finally cool down, but I took a nap and felt fine within a few hours. I dropped seven pounds during this race and finished in 5:12. Not bad considering the heat. Overall I enjoyed the race very much. Well organized and supplied.

July 4th would normally be a 5k run, but I was helping with a ward breakfast, cooking bacon and pancakes with Scott. So, we did a run yesterday morning instead. We started at the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon and ran back down to the mouth of the canyon. The portion we ran was exactly a half marathon. We ran together most of the way, but the last five miles, Scott got in a groove and moved on ahead and finished in 2:01 and I came in at 2:09, which is actually my second fastest 1/2 marathon time. The whole route was downhill which is nice training. It was beautiful weather and we saw a lot of cyclists on their way up the canyon....ugh, that looked tough!!

Utah Valley Marathon

06/13/09-Utah Valley Marathon. What a great race. Truly a hidden gem of a marathon. I thought we were going to get rained on, but only ended up with a few sprinkles. The race began at 6:00 am and so I had to hop on the bus at 4:30, but still had to wait around about 50 minutes. We ran down Provo Canyon and then through Orem a bit until we picked up the Provo River Trail that ran almost to Utah Lake and then back over to the finish line at the Provo Towne Center. I ran the first half in 2:28 and felt really good. I thought the downhill would beat me up, but I felt pretty good. I was able to keep the pace on the flat the last half and finished the last half in 2:29 for a finish time of 4:57. Even though my family wasn't waiting for me at the finish, there was a Creamie and some cold chocolate milk, which were fantastic. I must say that this race was very well organized and I would highly recommend it to anybody.

Scott and I just got back from a 1-1/2 hour run on the Jordan River Parkway. Beautiful weather, lots of people. My trusty sports watch died on me yesterday and so I went to Wal-Mart and got a new one. Turned out to be on clearance for $10.00. What a deal!! However, when I used it this morning I noticed that it doesn't go past 60 minutes on the stopwatch, which is great if you only run 10k or less. But at my age and memory skills I need to know how many hours I've been running. Soooooo, I'll just have to get a different watch today. Gotta have the right tools for the trade. Next week is the Utah Valley Marathon.

Adoption Exchange 5k

My buddy Wes Hutchins and I ran the 5k at Murray Park last Saturday. There were about 400 people running, but most of them under 4 feet tall. This truly was a fun run. No clocks, no numbers and not much of a starting to line. The mayor said "Go!" and off we went. Two laps around the park. The first lap I finished in 10:10 and thought I was really cruising. It was nice to be near the front for once. I finished in the top 20, I'm pretty sure, in 20:40. My thought at that point was that it couldn't have been a full 5k if I finished more than three minutes faster than my best 5k. Sho'nuf it wasn't certified 5k. That's ok, because the Adoption Exchange netted $6k from the event, which was the real reason for the run. Besides, we run races to expand our wardrobe anyway:)

I ran four times around my neighborhood today---16 miles. I stopped at home after each lap for a bathroom break and some food. When I reached the kitchen after my second lap, Abbe had her special chocolate energy waffles waiting for me. It started to get warm on the third lap, but I was drinking enough. In spite of all the liquid and waffles I still managed to drop two pounds. Hate to think how far down I would have gone had I not drunk as much.

Saturday, April 18th I ran the 6th Salt Lake City Marathon. I ran by myself because Vijay has a stress fracture in his hip. The weather was perfect. Not cold, not hot, with a slight breeze near noon. I met some great folks along the route as our group leapfrogged each other along the way. I met three people from Germany, a gal from Los Angeles and a few others. I finished the first half in 2:15, my second fastest 1/2 marathon time ever, including 1/2 marathon races. Almost from the beginning my hip flexors were tight and they continued to worsen the further I ran. I stuck to my plan to only walk through the aid stations, but during the last mile I walked two extra times for a hundred yards or so each time. At first I thought I could finish with a PR, but as time went on I knew that wasn't going to happen. Later I thought I could PR for this course and then finally I felt I'd be doing great to finish upright. I finally finished in 5:03. My Abbe was waiting near the finish line with our daughter, Ellie. Ellie snuck through the fence and dragged me over the finish line. Vijay had been taking pictures of me every couple of miles since the 1/2 way point and was also at the finish line. Like every marathon I've run that emotional high accompanied me across the finish line. This time my quads and hip flexors were really sore for a few days and my quads are still a bit tender. Abbe and I celebrated Saturday evening with burgers and fries at Five Guys. It was good and worth it!!

Last night it snowed in Salt Lake City. Fortunately, it was my favorite kind of snow-doesn't stick to the streets or sidewalk. Kind of disconcerting with the Salt Lake City Marathon is in less than 48 hours. My buddy, Vijay won't be able to run because he was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his hip. He was going to switch to the 5k, but his wife strongly counseled him against that too. So, he's going to try and get some pictures of me along the route. We both went to the expo for the race this evening. I was dismayed that the expo seems to be getting smaller every year. In the picture above, taken at the Salt Lake Half Marathon 2008. Vijay is in the middle and the third muskateer is Scott.

I was back to work today. Went to the Olympic Oval to run this morning with Vijay, but we mostly walked. His quads were in some pain still from his long run on Saturday. This evening I took my three youngest back to the Oval for the family skating time. At first they were hesitant, but then they discovered the walkers used by the beginners and then they had a great time and want to go back more. I like that because the more we use the facility the cheaper it is because of our family membership:)

I've been ill the last few days and the illness is working its way through my family. It's painful to see my children ill because I can't take the hurt away. Abbe has been so patient the last few days with my napping around the living room. I've dropped about four pounds mostly because I haven't eaten anything as I've been afraid of what might happen if I did eat anything. Feeling much better today, but not well enough to run. I should have run a four-hour training run as I've got the Salt Lake City Marathon in three weeks. But, alas, I'll do one long run next Saturday and I'll be fine. I've watched a lot of television the last few days and have concluded that there is not much on that is really worthwhile unless you're a doctorate student doing a thesis on Spongebob Squarepants and his influence on the Millenials.

I am an avid runner. I love the feeling I get when I've been out for three or four or more hours that I'm doing something not many other people do. It makes me feel special, like I'm above the average couch potato. However, I do like the couch and I do like potatoes, especially the mashed potatoes my wife makes. These mashed potatoes are so good you would be willing to give up one of your children for a second helping:) I've run twelve marathons to date and have four more scheduled for this year. I love the feeling of crossing the finish line. It was a very emotional experience for me the first time I crossed my first marathon finish line. I thought it would be different the next time, but each time I relive that first experience. What a great moment. I guess I'm addicted to that feeling. The moment is so much sweeter when my family meets me at the finish. Its like a microcosm of the life experience to struggle through and endure to the end to meet up with your family as you cross the finish line.

My teenage boys would be mortified to know that I'm setting up a blogspot. They would be even more embarrassed if they knew I was even thinking of setting up a Facebook page. I thought it was time to join the new millenium and enjoy my computer for more than just spreadsheets. We'll see where this goes.