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Location:

Logan,UT,United States

Member Since:

Apr 08, 2005

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Other

Running Accomplishments:

Former Course Record Holder (it was a good run while it lasted...)

Logan Peak Trail Race

Completely addicted to trail running

 

 

 

 

Short-Term Running Goals:

2016 Race Schedule

TBD...

 

 

 

 

Long-Term Running Goals:

Who knows?

 

 

 

 

Personal:

Link to my Wife and I's Photo and Running blog

 

 

 

 

Click to donate
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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Microspikes Lifetime Miles: 408.50
PI EMotion Trail N1 Lifetime Miles: 357.00
MT1010SA Lifetime Miles: 120.50
Rapa Nui 2 Lifetime Miles: 305.50
Altra Olympus Lifetime Miles: 555.80
PI Emotion Trail N2 Lifetime Miles: 312.50
PI Emotion Trail M2 Lifetime Miles: 328.50
2015 Trail Miles Lifetime Miles: 2047.50
2015 Road Miles Lifetime Miles: 490.00
2015 Mtn Bike Miles Lifetime Miles: 58.00
Altra Impulse 1.0 Lifetime Miles: 46.00
Altra Lone Peak 2.5 Lifetime Miles: 242.00
Altra Paradigm (blue) Lifetime Miles: 102.00
LP 3.0 Tester Lifetime Miles: 64.50
Altra One2 Lifetime Miles: 14.00
Altra Paradigm 2.0 Lifetime Miles: 92.00
Altra LP NS HT Lifetime Miles: 95.00
Altra Torin 2.5 Red Lifetime Miles: 7.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
2721.00314.003035.00
Landreth 4 Miles: 235.00Cascadia 4 Miles: 202.75Burn Red-Blue Miles: 8.00Sinister Miles: 152.25Treadmill 2010 Miles: 52.75Brooks Launch Miles: 494.35Cumulus 11 Miles: 615.50Cascadia 5 Miles: 521.00Road Bike 2010 Miles: 111.00Brooks Launch #2 Miles: 224.00Cascadia 5 #2 Miles: 206.50Fireblade Miles: 114.00Cumulus 11 White Miles: 112.00Fastwitch Miles: 20.00Launch Blue #1 Miles: 25.15
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.000.008.00

Happy New Year!

I am in SLC again for the festivities.  I left the in-laws for a run down to the Parkway.  The roads were deserted and everyone seemed to be sleeping off the effects of partying.  I liked it.  

T-59:00 (7:23)

* I officially signed up for the Poky 50 Miler.  It is suppossed to one of the hardest 50 milers in the country.  Not a great choice for a debut, but tough beans.  Who said 2010 was going to be easy?

Landreth 4 Miles: 8.00
Comments
From Jon on Fri, Jan 01, 2010 at 19:05:06 from 174.19.199.72

Logan Peak is one of the hardest 30-ish mile races, too, so you're just keeping with tradition. No one ever called us bright, anyways...

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
18.000.0018.00

Long Run -

Adam Wende was kind enough to meet me at the Parkway for a run today.  I was planning on the old IPOD to keep me company, but he is much more entertaining.  The time flew by.  That is until the final 5 miles where my wheels came off.  It could have been as a result of my fueling from last night (2 crab legs, a lobster tail, and a few jumbo shrimp to top it off).  Very yummy home-cooked meal if I do say so.  The trail today was covered in about an inch of fresh stuff with patches of hidden ice lurking under.  The weather turned out awesome as I drove through sleet to get there, but ended up running under clear skys the whole way.  Today's run was a great way to finish out a long tough week of long work days, and lots of festivities.  I need a vacation now.

T-2:14:00 (7:27) 18miles

Cascadia 4 Miles: 18.00
Comments
From Adam RW on Sat, Jan 02, 2010 at 15:22:18 from 24.10.132.131

Great week. Thank you for the suggestion and company for today's run. I enjoyed the change. Let me know next time you are down.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.500.008.50

8.5 Miles - Providence Hills loop.  

6 degrees today.  I do have to say that it was much colder at my house than up on the East Bench.  I guess there is something to be said about the expensive lots up there.  Warmth.

T-63:30 (7:28)

Landreth 4 Miles: 8.50
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.000.008.00

8 miles - ICON - Young Ward out and back.  

Today's run started off with good intentions.  The plan was 10 miles with 5 at MP.  My stomach had other intentions.  After multiple pit stops and some dry heaving, I threw in the towel and went home early.  Not a fun morning.  I figure it was the Famous Daves leftovers I ate last night. 

T-57:15 (7:09)

Burn Red-Blue Miles: 8.00
Comments
From Jon on Tue, Jan 05, 2010 at 10:28:28 from 75.169.151.39

Dry heaving? Wow.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
12.250.0012.25

AM:

Warm (32)

Tired

Slow

Stomach Felt Better

Von's Park

7.25 Miles

8:30 pace

PM:

Basketball 90 mins full court

Sinister Miles: 5.00Landreth 4 Miles: 7.25
Comments
From redrooster on Wed, Jan 06, 2010 at 23:11:59 from 71.35.225.200

big vocabulary

From Jon on Wed, Jan 06, 2010 at 23:16:52 from 75.169.138.167

Looks like good competition at Poky- Hank Dart, Ty Draney, Roch Horton, Jamie Scott, AJW, Luke Nelson, Kevin Shilling, Erik Storheim, Jon Wheelwright, plus ultrajim and Fritz on the wait list. Better start training on those mountains now!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.000.0010.00

10 - Providence and Millville

So, I dont know if it is the training or the -3 f temperature or the 10 lbs of clothing I lug around with me on my runs, but I have not been able to run fast lately.  Today was supposed to be a harder workout but I couldn't get the body moving.  I have been in slow motion lately and it irks me.  Yeah, Yeah, I know winter training is hard and things will get better if I ever see the sun again, but still....

T-73:00 (7:18) 159

Landreth 4 Miles: 10.00
Comments
From Adam RW on Thu, Jan 07, 2010 at 22:28:43 from 24.10.132.131

Look at it as cross-training. A little weight lifting never hurts...

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.250.005.25

-11

Treadmill

Sinister Miles: 5.25Treadmill 2010 Miles: 5.25
Comments
From Jon on Fri, Jan 08, 2010 at 10:26:58 from 138.64.8.51

Wimp.

From Jon on Fri, Jan 08, 2010 at 10:27:26 from 138.64.8.51

Of course, my choice was:

-11

Bed. Then stretching on floor while watching ESPN.

From allie on Fri, Jan 08, 2010 at 14:10:55 from 67.134.168.2

that sums up my morning as well. and i was an even bigger wimp because i thought it was just -10.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
15.002.0017.00

17 Miles - 2:00:05 (7:03) 163

Today we took a quick excursion to SLC for another family gathering (last one I swear).  Since I was running alone I figured it would be nice to wait until I arrived in SLC to run in the warmer weather and in the daylight.  That was a good call as it was 20 degrees warmer by the time I ran.  I hit the road leaving from my parents house in Cottonwood Heights and headed up to Big Cottonwood Canyon.  Once I hit the mouth, I headed south on Prospector Dr and continued on Top of the World drive to Wasatch Blvd.  I followed Wasatch past Little Cottonwood and past Bell canyon until just past pepperwood neighborhood.  My plan was to make it to the 8.5 mile mark in an hour and then turn around.  It was close 60:40 at 8.5.  

The way back was colder as it was into a headwind, but I tried to push it to try and make it home in under 2 hours.  I was doing ok, until mile 13 or so and got pretty tired.  Two hard miles right at the end almost saved it, but I was 5 seconds slow.  I was ok with that though as there was lots of tough hills in this run.  Great workout.

Landreth 4 Miles: 17.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.000.008.00

Cold and Dirty - 

Providence - River heights Loop

T-60:50 (7:36) 148

Landreth 4 Miles: 8.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
11.000.0011.00

4 degrees and in a thick soup.  I was able to escape the soup by running up into Providence and Millville, but as soon as I dropped back down off the hill it was nasty again.  Not fun at all.

T-1:20:20 (7:18) 155

Landreth 4 Miles: 11.00
Comments
From Adam RW on Fri, Jan 15, 2010 at 21:33:43 from 24.10.132.131

Whenever you can taste the air there is something wrong...

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.000.007.00

AM: 7 Easy Miles

T- 54:10 (7:44) 148

PM: Didn't get out

Sinister Miles: 7.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.000.0010.00

Warm but pretty slick from the skiff of snow last night.  I was dragging up the hills, but felt better going down to finish with a decent pace.  Providence Hills 

T-73:05 (7:18) 155

Landreth 4 Miles: 10.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

Landfill loop in the fog

Sinister Miles: 6.00
Comments
From Jon on Sat, Jan 16, 2010 at 00:44:54 from 75.169.141.185

Which means it could have been 5 am, noon, or 5 pm, given out foggy-ness right now.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
18.500.0018.50

Long Run - 

I was finally home for a saturday.  First in a long time.  That means my Honey-Do list is long, but at least I get to run with the guys.  I started at 6:35 and went out for 3.25 by myself.  I headed back home and picked up Paul and we went out for 7.5 before picking Jon up for the final 8 miles.  I was tired before I even started running with Paul.  That transformed to "completely dead" before Jon even started.  Poor Paul was forced to run slower than 7 min pace for the first time this year.  I feel real terrible.  Really, I do....

T- 2:15:05 (7:18) 154

Landreth 4 Miles: 18.50
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
9.250.009.25

Providence Hills loop with extension to Providence Canyon.  I had some more stomach issues and was glad to make it to the POP.  Other than that, it was uneventful as usual.

T-69:00 (7:28) 150

Landreth 4 Miles: 9.25
Comments
From redrooster on Mon, Jan 18, 2010 at 22:47:44 from 63.226.92.94

there's indoor plumbing in my house if you ever get in trouble and are not near the POP.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

AM: Very stupidly, I attempted to run on the ice rink outside.  Yes, it was stupid.   Pure ice with the few random slush puddles.  I was lucky to break 9 min pace on this run.  Should've stayed home. 6 miles

Sinister Miles: 6.00
Comments
From Jon on Tue, Jan 19, 2010 at 18:11:36 from 138.64.8.51

I can't believe you ran on that. It was terrible this morning. Freezing rain = bad for running.

From Paul on Tue, Jan 19, 2010 at 18:20:07 from 65.103.252.214

Interesting, we just had slush and snow, but no ice. Funny how things are different only 8 miles away.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.007.0017.00

AM:

Today's weather and road conditions were much better today so I took advantage. I ran up to Lundstrom Park via Old Main and back.  I tried out my new shoes the Books Launch and loved them.  Good old Brooks, always putting out a good shoe.

First 5 were ~7:10 ave

Last 7 were ~ 6:30 ave

T-1:21:30 12 miles (6:47) 160 ave

PM:

Full Court Basketball for over an hour.  I got few blisters on the bottom of my feet from all the lateral motion.  Shoot. (Pun intended) - Count as 5 xtrain miles

Sinister Miles: 5.00Brooks Launch Miles: 12.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.000.005.00

AM: Too tired and sore from basketball to run this morning.  Plus it was snowing hard.  Slept for an extra hour instead.  

PM: 5 miles on blistered feet on the Dreadmill.  

Brooks Launch Miles: 5.00
Comments
From Jon on Thu, Jan 21, 2010 at 21:17:13 from 75.169.157.10

If you're that sore, that's exactly why I worry about my hips.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.000.008.00

400 W Route - 

It was windy and warm (37 degrees).  No snow yet, but it looks like it might start soon.  The blisters were much better today, but I was super tired.  I failed to re-fuel after running last night and I felt it.

T-63:25 (7:56) 148

Landreth 4 Miles: 8.00
Comments
From redrooster on Fri, Jan 22, 2010 at 22:56:09 from 67.40.119.216

we should play racquetball sometime.

From Cody on Sat, Jan 23, 2010 at 00:51:50 from 67.161.250.22

Sounds great, lets do it.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
16.002.0018.00

Long Run - 

Today's conditions were less then ideal, but you gotta do it anyway.  The road was either pure ice or if I ran where cars had been, it was a ice-slush mix.  It reminded me of running in sand.  Good trail running training.  I jumped onto the TOU course at mile 21 and headed back to mile 14 (top of hollow road) and back home.  7:30 pace out and 7:05 pace back.

T-2:11:20 (7:18) 155 ave

Cumulus 11 Miles: 18.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.000.005.00

PM: 5 slow miles on the Treadmill too soon after dinner.  

I came down with a head cold today, but I dont think it affected me that much.

Warning, the following is PG rated....

In other news, I went to the doc today to discuss my diverticulitis I had last year and to discuss why I have the squirts so much lately too.  I get it pretty bad 2-3 times a week with it getting worse with stress or a difficult run.  The general theory is that since it is mostly running induced it could be something simple, like being dehydrated in the mornings before and during my runs causing my blood flow to drop and leave the intestines lacking.  A low thyroid could do this too.  I ran some blood work and hopefully that will tell us something when we get the results back.  Another theory is that I have IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) and that is causing the problem.  Some stool samples (yet to be taken) will rule out giardia or parasites or things like that.  Other theories needed further testing (read Colonoscopy) before diagnosing it.  I got some meds for the IBS so I can experiment with that to see what happens.  Tomorrow, I will try the hydration theory first.  Needless, to say, my runs have been eventful for a few months now (even since TOU) and its time to figure it out.  What a crappy deal....

Landreth 4 Miles: 5.00Treadmill 2010 Miles: 5.00
Comments
From JamesH on Tue, Jan 26, 2010 at 00:17:16 from 74.211.22.194

Dont you love bowel issues? Ive been fighting mine for the past 2 years now. I lovingly refer to it as swamp a$$. I live on Imodium AD pills. Finally went to the doc last week about it. 1500 dollars in tests later and I know exactly what I knew before I went to the doctor. Nothing! Good stuff. Hopefully you get yours figured out. Good luck.

From Superfly on Tue, Jan 26, 2010 at 00:30:41 from 208.117.127.110

Sorry about the bad .....stuff guys. Running really doesn't help mine but I can't complain anymore after reading this. Get better- both of you.

From Paul on Tue, Jan 26, 2010 at 10:09:49 from 98.243.86.41

Hope you continue to learn more. I had previously thought that IBS or IBD (Inflammitory Bowel Disease) could be possibilities, if divertilitis didn't hold up. I have a good cookbook specifically for IBS (and AS), and a couple other good cookbooks that address Crohn's and Ulcerative Colitis (IBD's). Many people experience relief by eliminating starch or by going on the Specific Carb Diet.

From allie on Tue, Jan 26, 2010 at 10:43:46 from 129.123.247.206

my occasional IBS symptoms completely disappeared when i stopped eating gluten. and saying that on a public forum was PG-13 rated for me.

From Dustin on Tue, Jan 26, 2010 at 11:16:48 from 205.126.78.217

Wow, Cody I haven't been keeping up with people's blog very good, but the day I come to read yours we have some interesting reading material. Hope things get better for you.

From Dale on Tue, Jan 26, 2010 at 13:04:14 from 69.10.215.11

Consider that you could be slightly lactose intolerant made worse by hard exercise.

From Bethany on Tue, Jan 26, 2010 at 14:36:23 from 67.161.250.22

See, I told you it wasn't my cooking.

From RivertonPaul on Tue, Jan 26, 2010 at 15:41:43 from 67.42.27.114

Good luck.

From Jon on Tue, Jan 26, 2010 at 22:58:18 from 75.169.137.238

Cool.

From Cody on Tue, Jan 26, 2010 at 23:19:02 from 67.161.250.22

No new news today. How long does blood work take? Maybe I have HIV or something. Can I still eat junk food if I get that?

From Dale on Wed, Jan 27, 2010 at 00:18:14 from 69.10.215.11

Blood work only takes a couple of hours. Bureaucratic inertia in our health care system can take days.

From Burt on Wed, Jan 27, 2010 at 11:47:29 from 206.19.214.144

Oooh, let's get this on the Hot Discussion Board. Or maybe I can post it on my blog with some kind of a picture.

From redrooster on Fri, Jan 29, 2010 at 16:34:51 from 129.123.3.31

hmmm... if I run with you tomorrow I may try to stay upwind. Or on the other side of the road. or both.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.003.0011.00

Small Workout

Providence and Millville Hills loop.  I decided to go out and just give it a solid effort on both the ups and the downs.  I only had 3 miles sub 6:30, but I still felt pretty strong.  I had to make only one #2 break so that was nice.  I drank probably 12 oz of water right before leaving the house but had nothing on the run.  I mean really, who wants to carry around a water bottle in the snow?  It was actually snowing today too.  

T- 1:16:00 (6:55) 160 ave

Brooks Launch Miles: 11.00
Comments
From redrooster on Tue, Jan 26, 2010 at 17:36:49 from 67.40.119.216

how many times do I have to tell you you can always get water at my house?

From Cody on Tue, Jan 26, 2010 at 23:28:39 from 67.161.250.22

5 more

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
13.000.0013.00

8 really slow miles.  My cold must have caught up with me and it didn't want to run.  The 8 min guy embarrassed me pretty good. 

T-67:00 (8:22) 138

-I took a pill today and had 0 stops.

PM: Basketball.  I played much better today and avoided the blisters as well. (5 miles)

Landreth 4 Miles: 8.00Brooks Launch Miles: 5.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
11.000.0011.00

Didn't get out until the evening today.  Work turned me into a stress-case so I hit the road to clear my head at about 8:15.  Just me and my Ipod (Muse and Franz Ferdinand) and the smothering smog.  I climbed up into the tops of Providence to try and escape the gunk, but I couldn't quite get out of its grasp.  What a dreadful day.  The winter inversion depression.  The run was nice though and I just ran without even thinking about my pace.  Ended up with 1:20:20 for 11 miles (7:18) 155 ave.

-0 pit stops and no pill (I am sure running in the evening helped)

* Oh, and the Doc (actually the nurse) and I guess the only red flag raised from the blood work I had done was a high bilirubin count.  About the only common issue with this wold be a blockage to the bile ducts.  Possible but tough to believe as the root of the problem.  The doc wants to do an ultrasound to be sure of no blockage, but I am not convinced yet. 

Cumulus 11 Miles: 11.00
Comments
From Walter on Fri, Jan 29, 2010 at 01:13:14 from 24.10.169.110

Just checking in on the Loganites! Hows it going up there buddy? Your miles are looking great!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

It just didn't happen today.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
19.003.0022.00

Long run - 

The inversion very nearly has made me suicidal and I think Paul was worse off, so we headed up Blacksmith Fork Canyon to try and escape it.  Before we left, I made it to my church basketball game.  I played hard and scored 8 points so that has to be worth 2 cross-training miles, right?

I drove up the canyon a bit before Paul so I could get in 4 extra miles.  I started at the Hydro Park and ran down to Left Hand Fork.  I headed up the snow packed road until I hit Leatham Hollow.  I ran a few feet on what would the Bear 100 course just so I could say to Jon that I have run more of the course than him this year.  Ha.  I got back to the car just in time for Paul to show up and together we blasted up the canyon.  He was pushing the pace nicely and I suffered  the whole time.  We were rewarded with mostly sunny sky's and no inversion.  The warmth of the sun was sweet.  The only drawback was that there were 10 people for every elk that were at the elk refuge at Hardware Ranch.  Lots of people everywhere.  The run down the canyon was nice until I bonked and hit the cold headwind filled with smog coming from the valley up the canyon.  I gave it everything I had for the last 5K and arrived at the car shaking and completely frozen and exhausted.  6:36 then 6:20 for the final 2 miles just about killed me.  Paul finished a good 20 seconds ahead just jogging.  A very solid run with lots of hills even just barely tying the 7 min/mile guy at the end. 

T- 2:20:00 (20 miles) (7:00) 164 ave 176 max

Brooks Launch Miles: 22.00
Comments
From Jon on Sat, Jan 30, 2010 at 20:35:36 from 75.169.143.180

No fair!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
9.000.009.00

Providence Canyon -

My legs still had massive amounts of fatigue left in them from Saturday so today's run was a slog.  The weather was awesome though.  20's with clear air and the moon shining the way.  Loved it.  

T-69:40 (7:44) 148

Cumulus 11 Miles: 9.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
9.000.009.00

AM: 4 miles on the Treadmill 

Received an ultrasound of the abdomen organs today.  The doctor wanted to do it to see if I had any blockage in the gallbladder since my bilirubin was twice the normal level.  Everything checked out normal and my fears of the ulrasound being a waste of time and money were correct.  At least I now have medical proof that I am normal (or at least most of my organs are).  

PM: 5 more on Treadmill watching Dirty Jobs

Sinister Miles: 5.00Landreth 4 Miles: 4.00Treadmill 2010 Miles: 9.00
Comments
From Ashbaker on Tue, Feb 02, 2010 at 10:51:40 from 174.52.96.106

That's good to hear Cody. Those kind tests always made me crazy with worry.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
11.000.0011.00

AM: Had a rough night waking up with the kids pretty often and I vaguely remember shutting off the alarm and going back to sleep.  I eventually woke up with only enough time for 6 miles.  So I ran the Landfill Loop at 7:45 pace.

PM: Basketball for 90 mins.  Good times

Landreth 4 Miles: 6.00
Comments
From Burt on Wed, Feb 03, 2010 at 10:22:43 from 98.177.216.165

You must have had a bad night because you were still angry at all the money you wasted on an ultrasound.

From Cody on Wed, Feb 03, 2010 at 10:25:23 from 69.9.58.17

Amen,

What a nightmare....

From Jon on Wed, Feb 03, 2010 at 19:44:01 from 75.169.139.93

I hear you. I just spent $500 on physical therapy!

From redrooster on Wed, Feb 03, 2010 at 20:56:18 from 67.40.119.216

Jon, doesn't it feel good to see how cost effective those amazing miracle physical therapy treatments are? Where else can you pay 30 bucks to ride a stationary bike for 10 minutes, or 30 bucks for a 5 minute massage with a styrofoam cup of ice, or 50 bucks to do a few repetitive rubber band exercises. oh well. hope the hip is getting better.

From redrooster on Wed, Feb 03, 2010 at 20:57:57 from 67.40.119.216

oh and Cody, any consolation... 21 months from now I am supposed to get that colonoscopy thing done. age 50, right? Gee I can't wait for that.

and when are you going to post your ultrasounds?

From Cody on Thu, Feb 04, 2010 at 10:24:16 from 69.9.58.17

Scott-

I wish I got to keep a copy of the ultrasounds. I bet I could go get it, but what would I do with a picture of a perfectly good liver,kidneys, gallbladder? Burt would get a hold of it and tweak it and then who knows what would happen...

From Burt on Thu, Feb 04, 2010 at 12:24:14 from 206.19.214.144

Let's just say there might be rumors about you being pregnant.

From redrooster on Thu, Feb 04, 2010 at 20:49:58 from 67.40.119.216

that was kinda what i was hoping... Burt is definitely an arteest...

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.000.008.00

Easy 8 untimed on the 400W route.  Not a bad morning to be out for a run. 

Now off to Texas tomorrow with Jon and Paul for Jon's Rocky Raccoon 100 Miler.  We will be meeting up with Crockett there too as he is running it as well.  Wish them luck.

Brooks Launch Miles: 8.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Travel Day-

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
25.000.0025.00

Rocky Raccoon 100 Pacing/Crewing Report - 

Bottom Line - I have never had an opportunity to witness firsthand something quite so amazing as a few hundred people skirting the line between death and success.  I have seen many great runners and many great races, but I now more fully comprehend the mental fortitude of the few crazy runners who decide to race a 100 miler.  Jon and Davy have my complete respect.  It was a weekend I will never forget.  Well done!

The nitty gritty -

1600 miles by car and airplane on Friday

24 hours of following Jon (and to some extent Davy) around on his 5x's 20 mile loops

1 free breakfast of waffles (2), hard boiled egg, danish, oj, etc, 1/2 pizza, bag of twizzlers (I shared with people I swear), 4 banannas, 1 gallon of gatoraide, bite of grilled cheeze sandwich, a cup of apple pie, handful of m&ms, 0 frosties, 1 wendy's chicken sandwich with cold fries and rootbeer, 2 oz of energy gel, 2 cookies and yes, I still had room for a full IHOP meal for breakfast the next day. 

I was fortunate enough to have Paul with me for most of the crewing to keep me company.  We had a lot of fun writing down Jon's splits, running on the trails, driving (pretty much idling) back and forth on the state park's road.  We met some cool people who were crewing for runners who were leapfrogging Jon.  We even made up a game of winning points for doing things right for Jon.  We would award points to ourselves if we were able to anticipate things that Jon would need at the next aid and have it ready for him.  We got points for being on-time and getting him back on the trail ASAP.  We also deducted points every time he asked for something we didn't have handy.  Major negative points for things still in the car 1/4 mile away.  I made too many trips sprinting to the car.  I think I was in the hole by the end of the race.  I would think that I won them back though with my awesome pacing skills.  But Jon's slowest lap (by far) was the lap he ran with me.  More negative points.  My stories were putting him to sleep but I was just plain out of material.  I got to run some of the course with Paul in the daytime, but all of my lap (20 miles) with Jon was in the dark.  I imagine that it was scenic, but I wouldn't know.  The weather was perfect for running and much nicer than the 15 degree weather I returned home to.  In all, it was a tremendous success for both Jon and Davy as Jon was able to break 20 hours and hit my 19 30 something goal I threw at him.  Davy was able to PR by a huge margin and even stay ahead of Jon for a good chunk of the race. 

1600 miles by car and airplane again on Sunday. 

Well done gentlemen! 

Cascadia 4 Miles: 20.00
Comments
From Superfly on Mon, Feb 08, 2010 at 22:52:31 from 208.117.127.110

Awesome that you guys did that for Jon. I'm jealous... what a fun trip. I'm sure you guys had a blast.

From Jon on Tue, Feb 09, 2010 at 19:51:48 from 75.169.145.105

Wow, your pacer/crew report is far better than my race report!

By the way, I'm awarding you +1 gazillion points for being a great overall pacer/crew. Should put you positive. But if I had known you guys were doing negative points for not having things ready, I would have really messed with you...

"I want some sushi! Now! You don't have it? Ok, get it for the next aid station".

[At the next aid station] "Sushi??? Why in the world would I have told you I wanted sushi? You are confused, Cody. And where is the portable, battery-powered DVD player I wanted you to carry for me on this lap?"

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.000.008.00

Way too tired from this weekend for a morning run.  I did get out right after work when the sun was still setting.  My butt muscles are sore, but other than that, things seem to be in order.  

Cumulus 11 Miles: 8.00
Comments
From redrooster on Mon, Feb 08, 2010 at 23:20:44 from 67.40.119.216

back to reality, the cold, the snow, the bad air... kind of depressing isn't it?

From Cody on Mon, Feb 08, 2010 at 23:52:26 from 67.161.250.22

Blah is right....

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.005.0012.00

Small Workout - 12 mi

Up to Lundstrom Park and back.  The goal today was to keep it close to 7 min pace going up and closer to 6:40 pace coming down.  I held my own, but had to work really hard to do so.  It did feel pretty good though especially since it was only a one pit stop run.  

T- 1:21:25 (6:47) 165

Brooks Launch Miles: 12.00
Comments
From crockett on Tue, Feb 09, 2010 at 11:54:36 from 216.49.181.254

Show off. We should have figured out a way to make you guys run 40 miles.

From Jon on Tue, Feb 09, 2010 at 19:52:34 from 75.169.145.105

That's what I was thinking, Davy. Showoff.

From redrooster on Tue, Feb 09, 2010 at 20:32:53 from 67.40.119.216

one star- that is for wimps. get up in the 25 star range and I will be impressed.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
13.000.0013.00

8 on 400W route

Tired and cranky.  Put in the ipod and just shuffled along.

T-62:44 (7:50) 144

PM- 5 basketball equivalent miles

Landreth 4 Miles: 8.00
Comments
From redrooster on Thu, Feb 11, 2010 at 00:16:07 from 184.48.107.75

if its any consolation I ran in shorts and a short sleeve shirt today along the SF bay. but it was a little windy.

From Cody on Thu, Feb 11, 2010 at 10:25:14 from 69.9.58.17

Nope, that didn't help.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.005.0010.00

tiny Workout-

Providence Millville hills short loop.  I hit the uphills hard today. 

Random Story - As I was running through Providence I got pulled over by a cop.  I quickly thought back to what I could've done wrong.  Headlamp - check, reflective vest - check, running against traffic and not down the middle of the road - check.  Hmmm wonder what he wants.  It turns out that a vandal was seen in the area wearing a striped beanie running around possibly jumping into a vehicle.   I guess I warranted a closer look.  I didn't get arrested so he must have believed I was an innocent runner.  No I haven't seen anything matching his description.  Phew. 

T-69:30 (6:58) 159

Brooks Launch Miles: 10.00
Comments
From jtshad on Thu, Feb 11, 2010 at 10:36:06 from 204.134.132.225

I don't know, you are a pretty shady looking guy! LOL! I bet that was an interesting experience..."No officer, I know I wasn't speeding and I did come to a full stop at that stop sign!".

From Andy on Thu, Feb 11, 2010 at 11:46:59 from 199.190.170.22

That's funny. There was a cop that seemed like he was following me this morning. There must be a state wide alert to watch for all suspicious runners.

From Paul on Fri, Feb 12, 2010 at 12:25:15 from 174.23.180.177

You are pretty shady-looking...

From Jon on Fri, Feb 12, 2010 at 17:23:48 from 138.64.8.51

Did he pull up behind you and scare you to death by turning on his siren?

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

6 slow miles on Landfill loop.  I ran into a skunk out there but was able to escape without incident.  

Landreth 4 Miles: 6.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.006.0016.00

Long Run - 

I was by myself today and had a full day ahead of me, so I took off early and hit the TOU course starting at mile 21.5 back until about 15.  Things went well and I pused it pretty hard for most of the time.  I wanted to average around 7 for the first 8 then hit the gas for the return trip.  Things went to plan, all except for the gas part.  And I mean gasoline and not gas.  I successfully made it an entire long run with no pit stops.  Success.  Actually, all I care is that another tough week is in the books and the legs definitely agree that it was tough.  

T-1:49:42 (6:51) 160 ave

Cumulus 11 Miles: 16.00
Comments
From Jon on Sat, Feb 13, 2010 at 22:23:43 from 75.169.158.184

You're at 65 miles this week and I'm at 0. That's why I don't want to race against you at the 50k.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.103.0013.10

Half Marathon in the snow.

Things started out ok today with just a tiny bit of snow to start out in.  Things got progressively worse as the snow picked up on my North Logan Loop (short) course.  By the time I hit Lundstrom Park, I was blinded by the snow flakes.  I will blame my faceplant as I ran down old main hill on the snow as well.  I slipped backwards on hidden ice under the snow,but still somehow fell forward onto my face at 6 min pace.  My gloves took most of the fall for me.  I suppose the snow cushioned it as well.  That crash slowed me down considerably for a while.  The kicker was the two unscheduled #2 stops even with taking a pill this morning.  Not sure if the pill kept to down to two from five or if it just didn't do anything.  You just never know. 

T-1:33:47 (7:10) 152

Brooks Launch Miles: 13.10
Comments
From Brent on Mon, Feb 15, 2010 at 19:36:53 from 168.178.30.194

Cody, gotta be tough to run in Logan - Hopefully, those tough run days will pay off when other runners take the day off. How fast were you back on your feet?

Stay Kool, Studded running shoes, B of BS Rools out

From Jon on Mon, Feb 15, 2010 at 20:00:03 from 75.169.157.242

Cody- the challenge is now public.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.000.008.00

8 slow and luckily untimed.  I would guess I wasn't breaking 9 min miles today. 

Landreth 4 Miles: 8.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
14.000.0014.00

Providence Hills - 

Uneventful

T-67:00 (7:27) 149

PM: 5

Cumulus 11 Miles: 9.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.503.009.50

Providence - Millville Hills short

Today's run was uptempo with a solid effort on the hills.  Life is just too busy to waste effort on thoughtful entries.

T-65:45 (6:55) 158 ave

Sinister Miles: 9.50
Comments
From Dustin on Thu, Feb 18, 2010 at 10:37:13 from 204.113.48.77

I get that way sometime with my entries

From Paul on Thu, Feb 18, 2010 at 13:49:46 from 65.103.252.214

But it was thoughtful of you to let us all know why your entry is so short.

From Jon on Thu, Feb 18, 2010 at 23:22:03 from 75.169.140.185

Life is just too busy to waste effort on thoughtful comments.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

Slow Six

Landreth 4 Miles: 6.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
18.002.0020.00

Long Run - 

Horray, I made it through a long run without bonking!  Its been a long time since that has happened.  It sure feels good. I ran up to mile 13 of the TOU marathon course and back.  I made it to the turnaround in 71:30 back in 67:17.  I didn't throw in too many fast miles, but kept the average sub 7.  That is all for now....

T-2:18:47 (6:56) 158 ave 169 max

Brooks Launch Miles: 20.00
Comments
From Paul on Sat, Feb 20, 2010 at 16:16:38 from 174.23.180.177

That's a really good long run.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.000.008.00

Saturday's run tweaked my foot and it still hurts.  I figure it was either some tendon getting stressed or another bruise (I have had my fair share of both).  I decided to take it easy and stay close to home and on soft terrain to pull the plug if it got out of hand.  Therefore, the treadmill was at my mercy.  I made it 8 but it hurt during the run, although I would call it a 3/10.

Cumulus 11 Miles: 8.00Treadmill 2010 Miles: 8.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

No Run to rest the tweaked foot.  It definitely improved throughout the day of rest.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
13.000.0013.00

I woke up to the foot feeling great so I got in 8 easy miles pain free. 0/10.  Looks like I am in the clear now.

T-60:00 (7:30) 144

PM:Basketball 5

Cumulus 11 Miles: 8.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.004.0012.00

Small Workout - 

It was pretty icy out on the roads so this turned into a run involving faster sections and slower slippery sections.  Whatever, there was some faster stuff in there.  Millville Hills Loop

T-1:23:40 (6:58) 160

Cumulus 11 Miles: 12.00
Comments
From Jon on Thu, Feb 25, 2010 at 19:36:47 from 75.169.159.86

I'm toast next month. My only hope is to make a comeback in the other races.

From Scott Ensign on Thu, Feb 25, 2010 at 23:46:53 from 65.100.253.126

sounds like sandbagging to me. what's the current vegas line? also, why aren't you guys doing a real ultra like Davy?

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.000.007.00

Easy 7 

T-54:40 (7:48) 143

Brooks Launch Miles: 7.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
20.002.0022.00

Long Run - 

It has been a crazy 2 weeks capped off with a nasty weekend.  (I am writing this the monday after).  Crazy work projects are killing me.  11 hour work days during the week then 13 hours on sat and another 14 on sunday gave us the time we needed to pull it off.  Things are still hectic as the demo started today and concludes on Wed.  I am enjoying a rare moment at home before 8 pm.  I don't know how some people can handle 80 hour work weeks.   You just never see your family....Anyway, the end is near....

Back to the run.   I got up early enough to get in a long run before the long work day began.  I decided to head up to the BST trail over to Green Canyon and wander around over there.   I took the scenic route through the island and on the Sumac "trail".  The shoreline trail was solid ice that early in the morning and was slow but I liked it anyway.  I went on a short jaunt up to the start of the singletrack in Green before heading down to 1600 E and taking that north for another mile or so.  That gave me 11 miles in 1:23:30.  Good enough.  Turn around and go home.  I decided to push it at the end to get under 2:45.  It sure felt good to be home and to get some fluids and food in me.  I was famished. 

T- 2:44:13 (22 miles) (7:28) 157 ave 170 max

Cumulus 11 Miles: 22.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.000.008.00

8 miles late

Brooks Launch Miles: 8.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
9.000.009.00

9 miles up to Providence Canyon.

T- 1:06:23 (7:22) 156

Final day of the big project at work.  We are putting an LED sign on the side of a bus with the potential of thousands of future sales based on this one sign.  It was a rush job to say the least.  I started writing code for my two pieces of the project about a month ago.  I wont bore you with the technical details, but I do have to say it is cool.  Well, I wasn't ready.  Partly my fault, but mostly due to circumstances out of my control.  I had to pull an all-nighter to get it perfect.  I made it with 20 mins to spare. What a day! 28 hours straight at work getting home at 11:30 on Wed.  That was after 13 hours on sat and 14 on sun.  Ok, I am done whining. 

Here is a shot of the sign with my phone camera-

 

Landreth 4 Miles: 9.00
Comments
From Jon on Thu, Mar 04, 2010 at 19:37:21 from 75.169.151.200

Looks like a cool project, though you should have put your mugshot on the display. Is Bethany jealous that you spent more time with that bus in the past month than with her?

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
12.000.0012.00

Lundstrom Park at night

It was too soon after Texas Roadhouse.  Rough.

7:20 pace up and 6:40 down catching the 7 min guy at the end.

T-1:23:55 (6:59) 157

Cumulus 11 Miles: 12.00
Comments
From Jon on Thu, Mar 04, 2010 at 00:20:31 from 75.169.155.14

That's a good problem to have, though-- running after eating a juicy steak.

From Mattrow on Thu, Mar 04, 2010 at 09:30:59 from 138.64.8.52

I will tell you what I will make the sacrifice and eat your stake so you can run better.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.000.008.00

SLOW 8. 

I never went sub 9 min miles the whole way.  And not by choice.

Sinister Miles: 8.00
Comments
From Scott Ensign on Fri, Mar 05, 2010 at 15:09:47 from 129.123.3.31

ok I'll take the bait.

Cody, why did you not go sub 9 minutes the whole way?

From Cody on Fri, Mar 05, 2010 at 22:29:24 from 174.52.244.185

No special reason other than fatigue. Maybe I am pregnant, I don't know..

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
9.000.009.00

Dry Canyon with Jon - 

A very fun run in some rough conditions.  The weather was perfect but the snow...  The snow was deep enough that if you wandered off the trail even the slightest bit, you sunk in up to the hips.  We both took some great spills on the way down.  Nothing like running sub 6 min pace and then ending up on your stomach buried up to the waist.  Good times.  The time flew by and before too long we had to turn around.  I am glad though because the legs and lungs were sure getting a workout in.

T- 1:10:55 ~2000 feet of vertical (4867 to 6818ft)

Cascadia 4 Miles: 9.00
Comments
From Jon on Fri, Mar 05, 2010 at 23:01:03 from 75.169.151.89

At least it doesn't hurt to run 6 min pace and fall on snow- rocks and dirt wouldn't be so kind!

Now we just have to convince Paul and Scott to join us next time.

From Scott Ensign on Sat, Mar 06, 2010 at 13:02:41 from 65.100.253.126

yeah, that sounds like exactly what I want to do for fun. let me talk to my calves and get back to you.

bigger issue: I now have two, not one but two, documented cases of mileage padding by you guys. this puts me in a tough situation. My conscience tells me I have to do something about it, ie rat you out to the blog mileage police. But I really hate to see two swell guys getting in trouble for this. Maybe we can work something out?

From Cody on Sat, Mar 06, 2010 at 15:02:44 from 174.52.244.185

Mileage padding my eye...Yeah ok, so it wasn't 9 miles, but it sure felt like it, so there!

From crockett on Sat, Mar 06, 2010 at 15:07:39 from 71.36.80.124

You are are crazy flying down the mountain in the snow that fast. Video of a face plant in needed.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
24.000.0024.00

Super Long Run - 

Longest run I have done since my last marathon, and probably my longest training run ever.  And it came the day after some deep snow mountain climbing.  My legs were sure not happy today.  The day started out rough as I had an alarm clock malfunction and woke up at 6:30.  That meant that I missed the Paul and Walter run I was planning on. That put me in a bad mood right off the bat.  My plan B involved running 2 miles to mile 24 of the TOU course and spending some quality time on my feet.  The plan was 24 miles in under 3 hours.  I completed the first 8 in 58:30 and had built up a cushion of 1:30.  The middle 8 were rough, but I made up a bit more time coming down Hollow Road.  16 miles in 1:56.  So I only have to do 8 miles in 64 mins to make it.  I am going to easily make it.  Better make my goal a little harder.  How about 7:20 pace (2:56).  I would need to do 7:30 pace over the last 8 to make it.  I had some good sections and other sections where I thought I would die.  I stopped at a church to get a drink at mile 20 and that revived me enough to actually make it the full distance.  I was able to keep chugging along even dropping down to 7 min pace for the last mile.  I was totally spent.  Goal Exceeded I collapsed on my floor never to move again.

T-2:53:56 (7:14) 155 ave (7:20 pace out, 7:10 pace back)

Cumulus 11 Miles: 24.00
Comments
From Paul on Sat, Mar 06, 2010 at 15:59:06 from 174.23.180.177

You should have came anyway. Walter did the same thing as you, so we didn't start running until after 6:50AM.

From crockett on Sat, Mar 06, 2010 at 16:11:09 from 71.36.80.124

Hey, nice long training run. Way to go. You guys are too fast.

From rockness18 on Sat, Mar 06, 2010 at 17:14:31 from 75.16.163.45

Sweet run!

From Dale on Sat, Mar 06, 2010 at 17:46:10 from 69.10.215.11

You keep your computer on your floor? Weird.

From Aaron Kennard on Sun, Mar 07, 2010 at 02:18:22 from 174.51.250.151

wow! Nice training run!

From steve ash on Sun, Mar 07, 2010 at 03:30:21 from 174.52.96.106

Nice run Cody! You will rise from the ashes. However it may take a few days :)

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.000.008.00

I feel like my hammies and quads were put through a shredder.  Ouch. Slow and easy to try and work it out.

T-63:00  (7:52) 143

Landreth 4 Miles: 8.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.000.0010.00

AM: Severe stomach cramps and bloating hindered me today.  I did manage 5.5 and was proud of that.  Whatever I ate yesterday is now no longer on the approved list.  Ouch.

PM: Finally felt better in the evening.  4.5 on the treadmill.

Sinister Miles: 4.50Brooks Launch Miles: 5.50Treadmill 2010 Miles: 4.50
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
11.006.0017.00

Medium Workout

Lundstrom Park out and back. Kept the effort up the whole way with the second half at MP or Tinman Tempo pace.  Finally felt pretty good.

T- 1:20:00 (6:40) 163 (42 min up, 38 min down) 12 miles

PM: Basketball 5 equivalent


Landreth 4 Miles: 5.00Cumulus 11 Miles: 12.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.000.008.00

- 8

Brooks Launch Miles: 8.00
Comments
From Scott Ensign on Thu, Mar 11, 2010 at 11:11:07 from 65.100.253.126

is that a minus 8? did you run backwards?

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.500.008.50

Providence hills 8.5

T-65:30 (7:42) 147

Landreth 4 Miles: 8.50
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
20.000.0020.00

Long Run - 

I decided to go exploring today out west.  I headed out to Mendon on the Mendon Hwy stopping briefly at the Little Bear River access area.  I wanted to go explore on the (unimproved) trail next to the river but it was pretty icy so I decided to head back to the road.  I will save that for another day.  I hit mendon only 6.5 miles into the run so I needed to add a good 6 miles in the area before heading back.  I headed straight to what looked like the biggest hill in the area.  It was called Deep Canyon Drive.  It looked like it went straight up the Wellsvilles.  Unfortunately, it dead ended into a driveway.  I did get 700 feet of vertical in just over one mile though.  Super tough hill.  After that experience, I stuck to the flatter sections of Mendon before heading home.  I didn't feel too good today and things got pretty tough at mile 13 but I actually felt better later on and finished with a decent pace.  Another week in the books.  *Highest mileage week since the end of August 09. 

T-2:27:50 (7:23) 153 ave 169 max (on big hill)

After the run, it was time to host my son's 5th birthday party.  It was transformers themed but most of his friends are girls who had no clue, but they all had fun.  We played lots of games and got them overloaded with sugar in time for them to leave.  Good times...

Cumulus 11 Miles: 20.00
Comments
From Jon on Sat, Mar 13, 2010 at 15:41:02 from 75.169.152.81

There is a road up into Deep Canyon- 300 N on Mendon. Is that the one you were on?

Congrats on the high mileage week. And surviving the birthday party.

From Cody on Sat, Mar 13, 2010 at 17:15:54 from 174.52.244.185

Yep that's the one.

We just won our basketball game too.

From Scott Ensign on Sat, Mar 13, 2010 at 22:39:30 from 65.100.253.126

you are killing me on the mileage this year, but I am consigned to be a 50 mile a week runner. sorry you couldn't make the shamrock, too late in the day with the birthday fun I guess. those theme parties are always fun. I am planning a big chemistry demos party for my twins 9th birthday in two weeks.

From Paul on Sat, Mar 13, 2010 at 22:49:17 from 174.23.180.177

Deep Canyon has a good single-track trail up to the Wellsville Ridge. I had to run up and down it a few times when we lost Gil up there once during a hike. Didn't find him (he turned up the next day), so it was all for naught.

From Jon on Sat, Mar 13, 2010 at 23:07:11 from 75.169.152.81

I'm sure they just don't plow the road to the trail. We can do it this summer, though. Congrats on b-ball, too.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
9.000.009.00

Providence Canyon 9

Easy run to let the body continue its recovery.  My butt is extremely sore.  I figure the big hill on Saturday kicked it pretty hard.

T-68:30 (7:37) 150

Cumulus 11 Miles: 9.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.005.0013.00

Medium Workout - 

Hilly workout today as I ran up to Dry Canyon and did 1.25 up the canyon.  The trail was pretty icy and the footing was tough.  I was doing 12-15 min/mile and about 8 coming down.  Not exactly blazing fast.  I did enjoy being in the mountains though. As I went by the entrance to the BST, I decided to follow the trail for a bit to check out the condition of the trail.  I would say it is about 60% ice and 40% dirt.  It needs some time to thaw out.  As I started heading home, I saw it was 6:57 and I was 5 miles from home. Time to get going.  I put the hammer down and got home in just under 30 mins (downhill).  Good solid workout that I am sure I will feel tomorrow.

T-1:38:00 (7:54) 158

Brooks Launch Miles: 13.00
Comments
From Jon on Tue, Mar 16, 2010 at 23:47:56 from 75.169.136.27

Sounds like a fun, good run.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
13.000.0013.00

AM: 8 slow boring miles

PM: 5 full court basketball "miles"

Landreth 4 Miles: 13.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.255.0010.25

Small Workout - 

Today I did the first official tempo workout of the year.  I have done plenty of faster stuff just not an official go for x number of miles at x speed planned tempo.  I did start out small and manageable.  The plan was 3 miles warmup at 7 min pace then 5 miles at 6:30 pace followed with 2+ cool down at whatever pace.  It worked out well, but I did stick to the flat Young Ward Loop course (nice and flat). 

  • 6:22
  • 6:30
  • 6:28
  • 6:26
  • 6:24
T- 1:08:33 (6:41) 157

Brooks Launch Miles: 10.25
Comments
From Jon on Thu, Mar 18, 2010 at 23:25:52 from 75.169.154.223

6:30 for 5 miles? That's sandbagging it for you.

From Cody on Fri, Mar 19, 2010 at 10:25:32 from 69.9.58.17

It was harder than I thought it would be.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

Easy 6 on Planet Walk

Cumulus 11 Miles: 6.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
15.000.0015.00

Trail Run - 

Er, it was actually more ice than dirt, but I am not complaining.  I did 2 laps of the River Trail.  The first one with Jon at a nice and slow but slippery pace.  The second lap was 1 mile shorter and Jon ditched me 2 miles into it due to misc. pains.  One was a pain in the butt.  The run was great even if it was a bit cold and windy and icy.  Its too bad we did it so early as it is sunny and nice out now.  So, I had better get out and enjoy it then....

T-2:03 (8:12) 148 ave

 

* One week until my 50K.  I am going to treat it as a marathon.  I began my taper today with a few less miles then normal.  Next week should be pretty easy, especially thursday-friday.

Cascadia 5 Miles: 15.00
Comments
From Paul on Sat, Mar 20, 2010 at 18:53:08 from 174.23.180.177

Guess I'm not sorry I missed this run (too icy) although I certainly miss you and Jon. Best of luck in the 50K next week.

From Dale on Sun, Mar 21, 2010 at 14:26:19 from 69.10.215.11

Good luck on your 50K next weekend.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.505.0012.50

Deer Fence Loop - 

Today's weather was finally warm enough to head out without tights on.  No, I wasn't completely naked as I did wear shorts and a long sleeve shirt, but man, it was warm, even at 6am (like 40 degrees).  I REALLY enjoyed not wearing tights.  I headed up the foothills to Dry Canyon and hit the Deer Fence Trail over to Providence Canyon and on home.  The trail was in pretty good shape 90% clear with 5% mud and 5% ice.  Not bad at all. I think I will hit that trail quite a bit in the next 2 months before it gets too hot (can't believe I just said that, it never gets that hot in Logan).

T-1:29:46 (7:10) 155

* new course PR, but only the 5th time I have done that exact loop.  I will kill that PR later this spring

Cumulus 11 Miles: 12.50
Comments
From Jon on Tue, Mar 23, 2010 at 00:24:56 from 75.169.150.111

Sub-1:30 for a 12.5 mile hilly loop? That's more impressive than your MW last week.

Glad to hear the trail is clear. I'll run it with you any evening. And by the way, running Deer Fence in July at 5 pm seems mighty hot to me, some days.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

Landfill Loop 6

Got yelled at 2 times by passing cars and got a friendly good evening from a nice kid.

Landreth 4 Miles: 6.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.000.0010.00

Planet Walk

Basketball

Landreth 4 Miles: 10.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.000.004.00

I did not feel good at all this morning.  I decided to bag the early am run and get more sleep.  I then tackled a nasty day at work. I felt better in the evening and decided to get a few miles in the clean out the junk.  Planet walk was calling.

I will take tomorrow off to rest up.

Cumulus 11 Miles: 4.00
Race: Buffalo Run 50K (32 Miles) 04:47:24, Place overall: 14, Place in age division: 3
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
17.0016.0033.00

Buffalo Run 50K - 

I have so many mixed feelings about this race.  It was a disaster and I feel really proud that I was able to finish the thing. Period.  It was a combination of things that lead to my demise.  It was ugly, but I am getting ahead of myself.  Lets start at the beginning.

The race is put on by Jim (ultrajim) and was a well run 25K, 50K, 50Miler and even had Davy running the 50Miler 2x's for an even 100.  I have been planning on the 50K for some time and really was looking forward to this race.  It would be the longest run in my life and also the toughest.  I really didn't want to die a miserable death so my plan was to take it easy the first lap of the 2 lap course and save some for later.  More on that later...

The race started out fine with me settling into the second pack.  The top 3 guys all took off together and there were about 6 of us that ran more or less together for the whole 1st lap.  I chatted with Karl Jarvis and Taha M. for entertainment.  I was comfortable running with them but was a bit alarmed at the pace we were going. 6:45-7 min pace on the flats and 6 min pace jogging down the hills.  The uphills were even sub 8:30 pace.  It was hard but not "race effort" yet so I went with it.  BIG MISTAKE!!!  I am now looking at my Heart Rate data my watch logged (I didn't look at my HR even 1 time during the race) and I was over 170 and even 180+ for the entire first 2 hours.  The course is basically a large figure 8 for each 25K and the 50K runners do it twice.  I really enjoyed the course and thought it was difficult but not overly sadistic.  Very runnable if you have the strength.  I loved it during the first lap and really enjoyed myself.  For a while... As I was nearing the halfway point of the course, I started to slow down a bit and dropped from 4th place overall to 5th place overall (when the faceless ghost passed me then proceeded to take a wrong turn).  I was ok with having him pass me and instead focused on conserving what little strength I had left.  

I was only .25 of a mile from the end of my loop 1 when the 25K runners began.  Not good.  That meant there were 300+ runners all running on the trail the opposite direction as me all excited and full of energy.  They were not paying attention and I had to run 10 feet off the trail and yell at  people to watch out as they were not looking up and didn't see me coming.  I was only 2 mins from being ahead of all of them but since I was not, I had to pass them all going the opposite direction then turn around at the aid station and pass most of them again.  Not fun at all.

I spent a min at the aid station swapping my waterbottle and taking off my warmer clothes.  I was back running again at 2:03 min into it.  I knew that I would slow down this lap but figured that a 2:30 lap was reasonable to reach my 4:30 goal.  Things went ok for about 1 mile before I realized I was in trouble. I was in the middle of the 25K runners and as I started to slow, I was getting passed by the same people I had just passed a quarter mile earlier.  Trying not to panic I tried to keep moving as fast as possible.

My stomach violently cramped up at this point.  I could not get it to relax.  It hurt to touch it with my hand and it felt like a side ache that took over my whole torso.  That brought me to a crippling walk.  It hurt to even walk.  What am I supposed to do now?  I tried everything from massage to hunching over to burping and even had some vomiting/dry heaving.  I felt dizzy and was losing all motivation to continue.  I had been taking 1 S! cap every hour and keeping up on my fluids (I thought) and I also took some energy gel (1-2 oz per hour).  I think that some combination of that really messed me up.  I was able to talk myself out of quitting and finally made it to the aid station at mile 21.5 at the 3 hour mark.  I had to do a lot of walking on the downhills as well as the uphills to even make it there. 

From that point on, it was pure misery.  There was nothing that was good about this time in the race.  I was getting passed by everyone and I had given up on racing miles ago.  It was purely a mission to finish.  It was a battle to maintain 11 min miles on the flats.  Seriously!  I loaded up on water at the last aid and tried to flush out my stomach of the gu and stuck to pure water and S! caps for salt.  I think it finally started to work as I sped up to a sub 9 min mile on the downhill after the aid at mile 27.  The final 3 miles were the best of my second lap and I was able to actually run the whole time and was again passing people.  The final 3 miles were 8:38, 8:29, and 7:48.  Yes there was a large amount of downhill, but at least I was running. 

The finish line has never looked so good.  I had just completed the hardest thing I have ever done and lived to tell the tale.  I was the most miserable I have ever been in my life, ever.  Luckily Jon was there to fetch my clothes and keep me from curling up in a ball and whimpering like a baby.

Mistake 1:  Went out at a pace that felt ok.  Don't do that.  It should be EASY, not moderate to hard, even if you feel like you belong in that group.  It will come back to haunt you in a bad way.  Use the heart rate monitor to give you feedback.

Mistake 2:  Energy Gel + S! caps + gatoraide + running hard = stomach cramps  Find another fueling solution if running beyond 2 hours.

Other than those 2 major issues, the rest of the execution went well.  I am proud of my 2:02 min first lap.  I know I could have shaved 10 mins off that lap if I went all out.  I am not proud of my 3 mins per mile slowdown I had the second lap.  That is sad. 

T-4:47:25 (8:58) 32.08 miles 166 ave 186 max (did 1 mile warmup as well)

  • Aid 1 - 42:22 (mile 5.55) (overall pace = 7:38)
  • Aid 2 - 1:21:55 (mile 10.71) (overall pace = 7:39)
  • Aid 3 - 2:01:28 (mile 15.96) (overall pace = 7:37)
  • Aid 4 - 2:59:00 (mile 21.45) (overall pace = 8:21)
  • Aid 5 - 3:57:43 (mile 26.63) (overall pace = 8:56)
  • Finish - 4:47:25 (mile 32) (overall pace = 8:58)

Cascadia 5 Miles: 33.00
Comments
From Dale on Sun, Mar 28, 2010 at 13:33:24 from 69.10.215.11

Congrats of toughing it out...relentless forward progress. It's easy to run when you feel great, but its how you react to adversity when it finds you that really shows your true spirit. Great job and I'm sure you will benefit from this experience in future ultras.

From Maurine/Miles on Sun, Mar 28, 2010 at 14:10:02 from 97.117.78.66

Good job on gutting it out. Sometimes the lessons learned during a race will pay off in many later races. Sorry to hear you struggled so much.

From Paul on Sun, Mar 28, 2010 at 14:47:39 from 174.23.180.177

Sorry to hear it was such hard going. Hopefully this will make you a better runner in the long term. Or at least help you appreciate the "good" days more. Congrats on the finish and on pushing through, that's always something to be proud of.

From Jon on Sun, Mar 28, 2010 at 15:38:59 from 75.169.142.176

Cody- what a learning experience, huh? I thought you did awesome, and that was before I knew about your stomach issues. I know you'll figure out what works for your stomach and can get over that problem. And your observation about using HR feedback is very wise. I still think you ran great and should be proud of your first 50k+ ultra. Misery isn't fun, but it ends... but finishing will be yours forever.

Now it's game on for Poky!!!

From Steve Piccolo on Sun, Mar 28, 2010 at 18:36:05 from 66.60.122.240

Nice race, despite the struggles!

From Faceless Ghost on Sun, Mar 28, 2010 at 19:32:01 from 67.169.248.86

We were cruising up those switchbacks on the first lap--who knew they'd hurt so bad the second time around? Good job sticking it out and finishing.

By the way, what was that pack thing you were wearing on your chest?

From Brent on Sun, Mar 28, 2010 at 20:37:07 from 76.8.201.223

Cody - way to gut it out, that get to the finish determination will pay off big time in the future. Great race report. You didn't mention how many buffalo chips you squashed? 1,000 commando points for the gut it out finish and your 50K.

Stay Kool, B of BS Rools out

From Scott Ensign on Sun, Mar 28, 2010 at 22:37:09 from 71.35.219.159

looks pretty impressive to me. I would call you my hero but I already gave that title to Davy.

From crockett on Sun, Mar 28, 2010 at 23:18:03 from 71.36.81.227

Way to go Cody. You did great. I felt your pain...about five times. I'm guessing the bad ingredient is the Gatoraide. I can't drink that stuff until much later in a race, and then can only deal with it for a few hours. Congrats at a very fast finish. These are always a learning experience. I only wish I could have pushed it just a little faster to get in your way near the start of your race. Missed it by only five minutes or so.

From steve ash on Mon, Mar 29, 2010 at 00:05:21 from 174.52.96.106

Cody, I think you ran great, you just went out way too hard my friend. I make that mistake at times also. But it looks like kind of fun all be it in a sadistic way though. LOL! You'll ace it next year, I have this feeling about it. By the looks of your race report it seems like you have learned a lot from this.

From RivertonPaul on Mon, Mar 29, 2010 at 13:39:56 from 67.42.27.114

Great report of an unfortunately not-so-grate race. Still, kudos on toughing it out.

From c h a d on Mon, Mar 29, 2010 at 14:06:20 from 166.70.238.194

Cody-nice Ultra debut my friend. You obviously learned a lot about yourself and racing at this distance and you've got many, many races ahead of you to exorcise whatever demons were hovering with you on Saturday. Nice to catch up with you and Jon. Be proud of tackling this distance and living to tell about it so well.

From fly on the Wall on Mon, Mar 29, 2010 at 17:46:57 from 204.113.19.47

Yikes! My side aches just reading about your second loop. Way to tough it out and finish upright!!

From David Nelson on Sat, Apr 03, 2010 at 01:07:18 from 24.22.231.57

Way to fight through. The woman who was a minute behind you is from around here, I've run with her a few times. Good thing you didn't get chicked, I would have asked her to remind you about it!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Off

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.000.004.00

4 Slow miles on the Planet Walk.  The recovery is going ok.  Today's run was nice and easy.  I may have broken 8 min pace somewhere in there.  It was nice to get out even in the stormy weather.

Cumulus 11 Miles: 4.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
9.000.009.00

AM: 4 - Serious stomach issues today.  Not sure if it is leftover from sat or something else but I earned 6 stars since 5am. Including 2 stars in 4 miles.  Yuck

PM: 5

Landreth 4 Miles: 4.00
Comments
From RivertonPaul on Wed, Mar 31, 2010 at 11:18:07 from 67.42.27.114

Feeling like a zombie today?

From Jon on Wed, Mar 31, 2010 at 22:29:41 from 75.169.142.64

Dude, have you seen Riverton Paul's blog today?

2 stars in 4 miles- not bad.

From Cody on Thu, Apr 01, 2010 at 23:52:40 from 174.52.244.185

Nope, that was pretty sweet! I need to congratulate him on the coolest blog post ever!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.000.0010.00

Nice and easy run up to providence canyon.  I checked out a half a mile of the deer fence trail slushed my way up to the big star on the hillside.  I would say the recovery is 90% there.  No rush though.  I am enjoying the easy week.

T-1:15:30 (7:33) 152

Cumulus 11 Miles: 10.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.000.008.00

8 slow and steady

Brooks Launch Miles: 8.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
16.000.0016.00

Long Run - 

I slept in today so that I could avoid the nasty storm that hit us last night.  It seemed to work as I only got snowed on a bit.  It was super windy though.   Glad I wasn't at Striders Half in that weather...again.  I ran up to Providence Canyon then hit the deer fence trail over to Dry Canyon.  The trail was about ankle deep in snow but it wasn't too bad.  The trail up Dry Canyon was much deeper but since I only went up .5 mile, it wasn't too bad.  I then returned home the way I came.  9 miles of road, 7 miles of trail.

T-2:11:45 (8:14) 157

Cumulus 11 Miles: 16.00
Comments
From Jon on Sat, Apr 03, 2010 at 14:44:03 from 174.19.189.39

They need to move Striders 1/2 up or back a week- this is 3 years in a row with TERRIBLE weather, while the surrounding weeks are relatively nice!

At least we didn't have to run in this last week in our race.

From Paul on Sat, Apr 03, 2010 at 16:33:39 from 174.27.225.89

Are you guys up for running next weekend? I'm wanting to the BST to Green Canyon and back, 18 miles worth.

From Cody on Sat, Apr 03, 2010 at 16:54:52 from 69.9.58.17

Jon- I agree. Did you see Ben VanB. is killing the WRC this year. No suprise he is getting fast.

Paul- Count me in.

From Jon on Sat, Apr 03, 2010 at 18:49:03 from 174.19.189.39

I know, Ben was only 78 seconds behind Teren. Amazing.

Definitely in for next week. Trail run with Paul and Cody- I'll never turn that one down. I was just thinking I needed to make sure to run with Paul again, soon- I think the only time I've seen you all year was for my 100. That's kind of sad.

From Paul on Tue, Apr 06, 2010 at 14:52:58 from 65.103.252.214

In addition to the trail run, I'll formally invite you all to join Seth, Stacy, and I at Baby Animal Days at the Western Heritage Center later that afternoon. Non-running fun for the whole family.

From Cody on Tue, Apr 06, 2010 at 17:52:57 from 69.9.58.17

We should be able to join you. We will plan on it.

From Jon on Tue, Apr 06, 2010 at 18:06:31 from 75.169.141.196

We were planning to go on Sat, as well. Hopefully the times work out.

From Paul on Tue, Apr 06, 2010 at 18:17:08 from 204.113.19.55

I was thinking about starting the run at 6:30AM. Flexible on the baby animals.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.007.0013.00

Medium Workout - 

Lundstrom Park in the wind and the rain.  I went outside and noticed the downpour and went back inside to get a jacket (striders WRC jacket).  I came back outside now properly dressed for rain and it had slowed down to a drizzle.  Figures.  I decided to wear the jacket anyway since it was still raining after all.  In 2 miles, the rain had stopped and I was hot.  I stripped off the jacket and tied it around my waist and didn't wear it again the rest of the run.  Things did get pretty nasty up on campus though and I was soaked.  I never got cold though, so I guess a jacket is just not necessary if you are working hard.

T-1:27:40 (6:45) 159

Brooks Launch Miles: 13.00
Comments
From Jon on Mon, Apr 05, 2010 at 22:36:43 from 75.169.145.139

Been signing up for races, have you?

From Cody on Tue, Apr 06, 2010 at 10:31:39 from 69.9.58.17

How come your name isn't on Logan Peak's list yet? Whimp

From Jon on Tue, Apr 06, 2010 at 11:02:38 from 75.169.141.196

Seeing your name spurred me to register last night. So it will be appearing soon.

Did you sign up for any others? El vaquero loco? Bear 100?

From Cody on Tue, Apr 06, 2010 at 13:09:55 from 69.9.58.17

Does Lotoja count? I signed up for that race's lottery today.

El Vaquero loco is next.

From Jon on Tue, Apr 06, 2010 at 14:49:46 from 75.169.141.196

When do you find out about lotoja?

From Cody on Tue, Apr 06, 2010 at 17:52:08 from 69.9.58.17

Not until May 4th

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.000.008.00

8 snowy miles. I wandered onto the Planet Walk and out past ICON.  The PW had snow up to the ankles.  Luckily, I wore my NB800's and they gave me plenty of traction for my 8 min/mile pace.  Beautiful morning

Comments
From Paul on Tue, Apr 06, 2010 at 12:56:24 from 65.103.252.214

There was an article in the newspaper today saying they are going to expand the Planet Walk out to 1000 W this summer. Eventual plans are to take it all the way out to 1900 W. My heart is racing just thinking about it.

From Cody on Tue, Apr 06, 2010 at 13:08:27 from 69.9.58.17

Nice!

I actually went wandering up and down the river between 6th and 10th on sunday. I was dreaming of running trails through it. I had to explore my backyard. I can't believe I hadn't done that until now. Jaxon will love it when he gets bigger.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
13.000.0013.00

AM: 8 easy.  Tired from staying up late to catch up on 24.

PM: 5 slow.  WP/PW

Landreth 4 Miles: 5.00Cumulus 11 Miles: 8.00
Comments
From Jon on Wed, Apr 07, 2010 at 22:37:30 from 75.169.143.136

Don't spoil it for me. I've recorded the whole thing but haven't watched any yet.

From RivertonPaul on Thu, Apr 08, 2010 at 10:59:09 from 67.42.27.114

Cody, didn't you love it when Jack, Chloe and the president got on the phone and called up MacGyver and asked him to come out of retirement and help?

From Cody on Thu, Apr 08, 2010 at 12:11:52 from 69.9.58.17

Yeah! but why did they lock him up in CTU's holding cell? He did nothing wrong. At least he was able to escape and continue to help Jack later on. Oh, man his escape was pretty sweet too. Good thing he carries gum, a lighter, duct tape, and his trusty knife anywhere he goes. He would really be in a world of hurt without all that stuff.

From Jon on Fri, Apr 09, 2010 at 00:03:10 from 75.169.150.163

Don't forget about his tube socks.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
11.500.0011.50

Aborted Small Workout - 

Just wasn't feeling it today.  The body is not adjusting to the bump in mileage yet.  I did feel better after the first 8 miles though.  Providence - Millville hills

T-1:24:00 (7:18) 148 11.5 mi

Brooks Launch Miles: 11.50
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.000.008.00

Easy 8 on Planet Walk.  Did 3 laps.  Didn't see a soul.

Sinister Miles: 8.00
Comments
From Jon on Fri, Apr 09, 2010 at 23:06:16 from 75.169.159.92

They were all on BST. All of them. With all of their dogs.

From Cody on Sat, Apr 10, 2010 at 18:18:10 from 174.52.244.185

Too bad for you.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
20.500.0020.50

Long Run - Trails

2 miles with Jon before meeting Paul and Carson (it has been a long time since I ran with him). We ran on the BST from Paul's house over to Logan Canyon overlook then up Green canyon singletrack for a mile (Jon and Paul whimped out when it got snowy), hit some road then canal trail back to Paul's. Good long run with lots of time on the feet. 1700+ feet of elevation gain too so it wasn't easy.

T-2:44:30 (8:02) 151 ave

Cascadia 4 Miles: 20.50
Comments
From Jon on Sat, Apr 10, 2010 at 19:23:47 from 75.169.159.138

Hey, I didn't wimp out on the snow! I run on snow a lot more than you! I had stopped for the bathroom and just hadn't caught up yet. Sheesh.

From Cody on Sat, Apr 10, 2010 at 22:39:42 from 174.52.244.185

I knew I would get a rise out of you on that one! Sorry, rebuke noted.

From Scott Ensign on Sat, Apr 10, 2010 at 22:47:07 from 71.128.193.186

anyone want to pace me tomorrow?

From Cody on Sat, Apr 10, 2010 at 23:01:41 from 174.52.244.185

Yeah, I am in. I owe you one. Lucky for me, you are racing fully untapered and tired. That way I can keep up.

My vote, stay and run, but don't be mad if it isn't a perfect race. Just relax and enjoy getting crushed! Uh, I mean beaten barely. Err, just blame it on the pacing. Who needs a pacer for a 5K anyway? Whimp.

From Scott Ensign on Sun, Apr 11, 2010 at 00:37:34 from 76.194.190.173

Cody, that is kind of my plan, just to run for fun so I can say I did the big 5K, but I doubt I will break 6 minute miles, I am guessing 18:30-19:00?. I will need to hit the road right after the mens 40+ race to get the kids back by sunday night for school monday, so no time to stick around and watch the elites, bummer, that would have been fun. hope the weather turns warms up for us in Utah when I get back.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
13.006.0019.00

AM: 5 - PW

PM: Med Workout with Jon.   We met up a the fairgrounds and headed up to Providence Canyon.  It was windy and warm, but the rain held off until we finished.  We decided to do some trail running and hit the deer fence trail between providence and millville canyons.  We started our 6 mile tinman(ish) tempo starting once we hit the trail. 

  • 6:39
  • 6:33
  • 6:10
  • 6:21
  • 6:17
  • 6:01

The rest of the miles were cool down on back home.  Good run, at least based on my tiredness.

  T-1:40 (7:14) 155 14 miles 900' vertical

Brooks Launch Miles: 14.00
Comments
From Dale on Mon, Apr 12, 2010 at 15:44:01 from 69.10.215.11

Gather your ultra buddies and come on out for the White River 50 (http://www.whiteriver50.com/). It's the USATF Trail Run Championship, so the competition will be stacked. Plus, you need to plug that gap in your race calendar between June and August.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.000.008.00

8 slow tired miles.  Tried a few pickups to 8 min pace.  Sweet.

Cumulus 11 Miles: 8.00
Comments
From Scott Ensign on Wed, Apr 14, 2010 at 00:17:14 from 71.35.223.135

"sweet"?? you been watching Napolean Dynamite again?

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
14.000.0014.00

AM: 7

PM: 7 (6.25 with Jon then did 1 lap around the fairground's grass)

  After dinner, I borrowed my neighbor's distant relative's tiller to turn over my garden.  It started right away, I used it for 5 mins, then shut it down for a minute.  It refused to turn on again.  Seriously.  45 mins of trying everything I could think of including taking a break to eat a piece of cake.  No go.  In fact, I pulled so many times I pulled the pull cord right off the tiller.  Shoot.  After having to drill out the 4 rivets and pry them out with brute force, I was able to tie the robe back on.  Now, to find a riveter and some rivets.  A few phone calls and a trip to millville to see Dan (and to borrow his tool), I had it all fixed.  After fixing everything, I gave it a good dozen tugs without the stupid thing starting and gave the tiller back just as it got really dark.  Project failure.

Sinister Miles: 7.00Cumulus 11 Miles: 7.00
Comments
From Jon on Thu, Apr 15, 2010 at 00:13:58 from 75.169.142.62

I saw your dad out there using it successfully. Must have been during those 5 minutes.

From Scott Ensign on Thu, Apr 15, 2010 at 13:44:47 from 71.35.223.135

thanks for the tip about the consequences of loaning tools to you.

Did you check to make sure you had gas? maybe the spark plug wire came off?

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.006.0012.00

Medium Workout - 

Lundstrom Park out and back 12 miles.  5 mile warmup, 6 miles Tinman tempo, 1 mile cooldown.  Felt decent for a thursday.  

T- 1:22:30 (6:53) 155 ave Vertical 650'

Brooks Launch Miles: 12.00
Comments
From Kory on Thu, Apr 15, 2010 at 13:52:58 from 134.50.207.229

Nice workout and average pace.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.000.008.00

Easy 8 up onto Von's park trail.  It was a good way to recharge the system.  Too bad that trail is so short, its fun singletrack.

Sinister Miles: 8.00
Comments
From Jon on Fri, Apr 16, 2010 at 12:28:36 from 138.64.8.52

Agreed- nice trail, too short. Snow and mud free?

By the way, I thought you were going to let me beat you on the mileage board this week...

From Cody on Fri, Apr 16, 2010 at 14:36:57 from 69.9.58.17

I never let you do anything. You have to earn it...

From Jon on Sat, Apr 17, 2010 at 12:39:10 from 75.169.140.47

5k starts at 3, women first. Paul should start ~3:20, if they're on time.

http://www.utahstateaggies.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/ust/sports/c-track/auto_pdf/2010FaldmoSched

From Jon on Sat, Apr 17, 2010 at 13:00:09 from 75.169.140.47

http://runjunkie.blogspot.com/2009/05/my-pocatello-50-mile-trail-run-60.html

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
20.000.0020.00

-Writeup courtesy of Jon

"Long trail run with Cody JON.  We parked at First Dam and ran up the river trail to Guinivah Malibu (trail is very passable the whole way), averaging 8-8:30 miles.  Then we ran up to the Wind Caves- the trail is in perfect condition.  It climbs 1000 ft in just under 2 miles, so we averaged 11:50's up.  Then we turned around and ran back to the start of the river trail.  Last week I JON bonked hard at mile 16- this week I HE felt GREAT the whole way.  We even had a few sub-7 miles towards the end.  We turned around again at Stokes parking lot and ran up 2 miles (onto the singletrack), then finally ran back to First Dam.  20 miles in 2:48:31 (8:24 avg) with about 3000 ft climbing.  The weather was gorgeous, the trail was in great condition, I had a good time talking to Cody Jon, and I felt fabulous TIRED.  I can't imagine a better start to a day."

That about sums up the run.

Vertical 2600'

* First 80+ mileage week of the year.

81 miles - 4150' Vertical

I am working on the second Bus project at work and it is arguably a bigger pain than the first.  This sign goes on a double decker in England.  So far I am up to 23 hours of time at work in 2 days.  Another full day tomorrow.  I did make lots of good progress today, in spite of slipping out for a tad to watch Paul run his 5K at USU.  Nice Job Paul!

Cascadia 4 Miles: 20.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
9.000.009.00

Providence hills up to the mouth of the canyon.  

T- 1:05:15 (7:15) 150 Vertical 500'

Afterward I spent 16 hours at work before calling it a day.  Yuck.

Brooks Launch Miles: 9.00
Comments
From KP on Tue, Apr 20, 2010 at 23:41:02 from 98.81.8.237

16 HOURS?!?!!?!?! Yikes! I can think of a 4-letter word to describe that and it isn't yuck... Get some sleep.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
11.000.0011.00

Big Hill Workout - 

One of the toughest big workouts ever and only 11 miles on the books to show for it.  Which means that I loved it.  I was able to escape work at a decent hour to meet Jon at first dam.  We drove up to 3rd dam and ran up the trail to the wind-caves trailhead (1.75 miles).  From there we ran up the wind caves right fork trail to the saddle (5050 ft to 7350 ft) in 3 miles (11:49, 13:27, 16:40).  Brutal.  Jon was not slacking either.  We cruised down to the fork (7:52, 7:05) and headed back up the other trail to the actual wind caves (10:38 pace).  Finally, we could stop climbing and go home.  That inspired me to go fast and so I did.  Now I am sore.  (6:44, 6:59).  The last 2 miles heading back to 3rd dam were not easy and not fast.  But I was spent.  Great workout. Thanks Jon

T-1:49:00 11.1 miles (9:49) Vertical 3000'

Cascadia 5 Miles: 11.00
Comments
From Jon on Wed, Apr 21, 2010 at 00:43:20 from 75.169.159.140

Dude, we must be nuts!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
14.000.0014.00

AM: 8 miles - 

Legs pretty fatigued.  

PM: 6 miles -

Legs stiff AND tired  (whine, moan, complain....)

Sinister Miles: 6.00Cumulus 11 Miles: 8.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.000.0010.00

10 - Young Ward

Legs still unhappy, but getting better. The pace was at least decent today.

T-1:14:10 (7:25) 149

Brooks Launch Miles: 10.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Too much to do and so little time.  Just didn't happen.  Figured I would more than make up for it Saturday anyways.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
30.001.0031.00

Long Trail Run - 

Jon joined me for a long nasty trail run that was designed to get us ready for the Pokey 50 miler in may.  It the was the second longest run of my life and only a mile short of the Buffalo Run 50K+ I did last month. We started at Dry canyon and headed south  on the shoreline trail (aka Deer Fence Trail) until we ran out of trail at BSF Canyon. After returning to the car, we drove a few miles to first dam to resume running on the north section of BST.  We ran all the way to Paul's house to get some water and so Jon could use the head (again).  I just waited and ate most of Paul's yummy grapes.  The final section was tough but I felt surprising good.  Yes, my legs were tired, but no more than a 20 miler would do.  I was feeling frisky enough to hammer the last mile on the trail and blast my way down to the car (6:07 pace) for the last mile.

Great training run and one that should help with the nasty 50 miler before mentioned.  Thanks Jon for the company and for keeping the pace very even. 

I tried different foods today with the hope that my stomach would cooperate better than the Buffalo run.  I went with Water, 3 S-Caps, 1 camelback elixer, 1 granola bar, 1 snickers marathon energy bar, 1 small power bar, 30 grapes, 1 bananna, orange juice, no gu, no gatoraide.  No issues.  I think solids are the way to go for me.

 Boring Stats-

  • Dry Canyon to BSF 7.57 miles (1:08:46) 9:11 pace
  • BSF to Dry Canyon 7.57 miles (1:10:23) 9:18 pace
  • First Dam to Paul's 7.87 miles (1:09:49) 8:52 pace
  • Paul's to First Dam 7.87 miles (1:09:44) 8:52 pace
  • Overall 31 miles (4:37:57) 8:58 pace
  • 149 ave HR
  • 171 max (last mile)
  • 3700' vertical

* I had about 9 mins to run one more mile to tie my buffalo run 50K race from last month.  The vertical was almost identical with today's about 100 feet less than that race (according to sport tracks).  I felt 100,000x's better today than during that race.  (Not so) Funny  how that works.

* Weekly summary

75 miles - 7200' Vertical

Cascadia 5 Miles: 31.00
Comments
From Jon on Sun, Apr 25, 2010 at 10:47:33 from 75.169.152.148

Pretty amazing legs 3 and 4 were within a few seconds of each other...

From Jon on Sun, Apr 25, 2010 at 19:22:42 from 75.169.152.148

By the way, you just won TWO things! Two! I thought you could only win one.

http://www.irunfar.com/2010/04/trail-gear-reuseapalooza-2010-winners.html

From Cody on Sun, Apr 25, 2010 at 22:48:54 from 174.52.244.185

Jackpot!

Maybe I can share...Maybe

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
11.000.0011.00

AM: 8 @ 8 min pace.  Von's park out and back. -300' vertical

* bike commute 8 miles ( I decided NOT to count cross-training miles this summer so that I can better keep track of my running only miles)

OK, I lied.  I am going to still do it.  Its my blog and I can do what I want.  I like to keep track of total effort and it makes it easier to see why I am always tired even if I am only running 60 mpw.  Its that extra 50 miles of bike riding that is kicking my butt.

Cumulus 11 Miles: 8.00Road Bike 2010 Miles: 8.00
Comments
From Jon on Tue, Apr 27, 2010 at 19:49:06 from 75.169.142.101

You can change to a blog format that has cross training miles, so you can see at a glance how many come from biking.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
15.003.0018.00

AM: 5 easy

PM: Was planning on a big bike ride but the 30mph winds discouraged me.  I decided to do a medium workout instead. Probably not a good idea either.  The wind blew!  I can still feel some major fatigue in the body from Sat.  I feel like I am just breaking down at this point.  I need to take a few easy days to regroup and renew the energy.  Today's run was a total death march.

Providence canyon - Deer Fence - Dry Canyon (.5 mile up is all) - home via River Heights.

13 miles T- 1:42:00 (7:51) 151 ave

1000' vertical

Sinister Miles: 13.00Brooks Launch Miles: 5.00
Comments
From Jon on Tue, Apr 27, 2010 at 22:54:51 from 75.169.142.101

Yup, that's why I'm doing a super easy week. I don't think I'm even running today...

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.000.008.00

8 Easy miles in the Evening.  Tired, of course.

Brooks Launch Miles: 8.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.003.0010.00

10- Providence Canyon to the Star on the hill and back.  I felt better today so I went a bit harder as the run progressed.

T-73:00 (7:18) 153 750' vertical

Cumulus 11 Miles: 10.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.000.008.00

8

Cumulus 11 Miles: 8.00
Comments
From Jon on Sat, May 01, 2010 at 18:02:36 from 75.169.136.131

Looks like Tony won it, Hal in 2nd. http://twitter.com/irunfar

From Jon on Sat, May 01, 2010 at 18:13:04 from 75.169.136.131

Regarding Richards- I guess we went up ~1100 feet. It says most of the elevation gain is in the first 2 miles (1200 ft), then it enters a meadow and levels out. Only 800 feet climbing in the next 3-3.5 miles.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
16.500.0016.50

Trail Run - 

Jon and I set off for an adventure today.  The mission was to run new sections (to us) of the Bear 100 course.  We started off at Leatham hollow and right away, I was hitting new terrain.  The 3 mile stretch to Richards hollow is all dirt road and super rocky, but reasonably easy.  We made it a whopping .25 mile before Jon made us go back and change shoes.  That became a problem as the nasty snow storm that we had started to outrun now engulfed us.  Bad start. 

Once we hit the singletrack at Richards Hollow, things improved.  No rocks, no storm.  Nothing like chugging up singletrack to liven the mood.  The problem (much bigger one this time) was that it didn't take long to hit the snow line.  We only made it 1.5 miles up Richards (just past the waterfall) before the snow became too deep to run in.  Oh, yeah, did I mention it had started to snow again?  Back down Richards and back to the dirt road we went (and back into the sun).  We decided to head up the road for a ways since neither of us had been up it before.  Definitely not as cool as the singletrack.  We went about 3 miles before the snow storm caught up with us and we got to turn around and run directly into a blizzard.  The flakes were so big and wet we were soaked and FREEZING!  I was very miserable running the 3-4 miles down the road until we escaped the storm.  I was very miserable!  Really, did I mention misery?  Yep. 

Once the sun came out again I warmed up nicely and actually enjoyed the final 2 miles or so back to the car.  Jon, he was tired and quiet (rare).  I wanted to get 16+ miles and saw we would be short so I took off with Jon's blessing to venture up Leatham Hollow for a tad to check out the mud.  Yep, it had lots. But no snow (didn't go high enough).  We were short on time so I turned around before long and found Jon and we made our way back to the car.  In full sunshine.  Yep, this run sure had its ups and downs..

  T-2:18 (8:22) 2500' vertical

* Weekly summary (recovery week)

71.5 miles - 4550' Vertical



Cascadia 5 Miles: 16.50
Comments
From Dale on Sat, May 01, 2010 at 18:54:34 from 69.10.215.11

Okay, so what's the trick to running so much vertical without killing yourself? Here I am whining about the 8700' on the next 50 I want to run and I see your Pocatello 50 has close to 14000'. I'm not sure but I think that just might kill you *before* you manage to pass out.

How do you like the Cascadia? I've been thinking about picking up a pair.

From Cody on Sat, May 01, 2010 at 19:08:52 from 174.52.244.185

Dale -

I am still working on the vertical training. It sure helps that I live 4 miles from the 9000'+ mountains.

I am pretty scared about Pocatello's climbing. It is going to be tough!

I was just checking my vertical climbing that I have done over the last 8 weeks.

Starting 8 weeks ago till now:

2200, 3700, 4450, 2250, 3100, 4150, 7200, 4550. I think I need more. Better work on it.

I LOVE the cascadias. I now own 3 pair. Not super light or super heavy, but gives plenty of protection for my fragile feet. For me, protection is king.

From Dale on Sat, May 01, 2010 at 19:26:40 from 69.10.215.11

I figured anything designed by an ultrarunner like Scott Jurek was probably a good shoe. Thanks for the confirmation.

Guess I need to do a few summit runs up Mt. Rainier from the entrance to really get my hill training going in the right direction.

Well, after you're done tearing up the Pocatello mountains, you guys need to come out and run the White River 50. Should be a piece of cake since it's half the vertical. Plus, it's the nat'l trail 50 championship, so should have a few who's who ultra runners. Fits nicely into your schedule between Logan Peak & El Vaquero Loco.

From Cody on Sat, May 01, 2010 at 19:35:12 from 174.52.244.185

I have been thinking about it since your first invite. Maybe. 25% likely. A bit too close to El Vaquero Loco, but not bad. How far is it from your place?

From Dale on Sat, May 01, 2010 at 19:50:58 from 69.10.215.11

Looks like just under 70 miles (about 1hr 45min) drive from my place. Much shorter as the crow flies. I really need to drive up there a couple of times to run some of the course to get an idea of how brutal it is.

Just think of how easy the El Vaquero Loco will feel after a challenging 50 miler 2 weeks before. You really do need a race in July....that gap from May to Aug is too long. All the cool runners will be there.

From Dale on Sat, May 01, 2010 at 20:26:34 from 69.10.215.11

http://www.whiteriver50.com/

Figured you'd need the link to register.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
13.000.0013.00

AM: 10 Providence Canyon to the Star.  

T- 1:14:15 (7:25) 147 *750' Vert

Bike Commute -


Cumulus 11 Miles: 10.00Road Bike 2010 Miles: 8.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
15.000.0015.00

Bike Ride - 

I joined Corey, Braden and about 20 other guys for the tues night ride today.  Bad choice for the first real ride of the year.  I do not have my biking legs yet, that is for sure.  I was 25 miles into the ride, riding around Newton Lake when I realized I am bonking.  Not good.  I had brought only water on this ride as I was in a crazy rush to make it on time and didn't grab anything.  Oops.  Anyway, my butt is sore, my legs are still twitching from the effort and I am still cold from the cool weather.  Insane workout in the wind though.  Luckily Braden died as well so the last 10 miles we limped in at 15mph.

T-2:30:00 ~18mph 46 miles or so

Road Bike 2010 Miles: 46.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
11.000.0011.00

AM: easy 7  felt decent.  Saddle sore

I just found out that I did NOT get into Lotoja.  Bummer.  I guess I can revisit my fall schedule now. 

PM: easy 4 planet walk

Brooks Launch Miles: 7.00Cumulus 11 Miles: 4.00
Comments
From Faceless Ghost on Wed, May 05, 2010 at 15:06:40 from 208.110.141.218

Lotoja is a lot of fun, but it's an overrated logistical nightmare. And (relatively speaking) it's not that hard. If it's a long race you want (rather than a chance to ride the in local race), there are other options.

The Everest Challenge is usually 2 weeks after Lotoja. It's a different beast altogether, but it's pretty low-key and you're essentially guaranteed a spot. Of course, you have to travel to Bishop (one of the happiest places on earth, FYI), so it's not at all local.

If there are still spots available, you might also check out the Park City Point to Point, which also takes place in September. That was my first (and so far only) foray into MTB racing, and it pretty much kicked my butt. Great route, though.

The Tour de Park City is another great option, but it's in the middle of the summer and probably interferes with your running.

From Jon on Wed, May 05, 2010 at 20:48:53 from 75.169.150.168

Sorry about Lotoja, man. I know you had been looking forward to it.

From Cody on Wed, May 05, 2010 at 23:09:31 from 174.52.244.185

Thanks for the tips F.G. I will have to check out those races and decide what to do now. You have been doing a lot of vert lately. Getting ready to kick my butt again? Whats next for you?

From jtshad on Thu, May 06, 2010 at 10:17:12 from 204.134.132.225

Sorry about LOTOJA, I didn't know you were is 200 mile bike rides too!

BTW, Happy Birthday!

From Jon on Thu, May 06, 2010 at 13:57:46 from 138.64.8.52

Yeah- happy 30th birthday!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
16.250.0016.25

Its my Birthday!

Since I am turning 30, I decided to do my birthday challenge and run 16.25 miles.  Isn't that what you do?  No....I didn't even go 30K.  Too bad.

I did take a day off of work today and have enjoyed having some time to kill.  Trail Run!  I started at Providence canyon and hit the Deer Fence north to Dry Canyon.  I proceeded up Dry as far as I could go.  I only made it 2 miles before the snow made the trail impassible.  It will take some serious warm weather to get that trail open.  Lots of snow up high (6000' and higher).  4.7 miles in 49 mins

My birthday self portrait at my turn around point - 

Birthday Boy

I headed down and back to the car.  Instead of getting in, I kept going on the trail south to Millville Canyon and proceeded to run up that canyon.  I didn't even make it 2 miles before I had to head back to the car.  It was steep but runnable.  Very comparable to Dry, only it is a dirt road instead of singletrack.  I had to turn around before the snowline so I am not sure how far I could have gone.  Another day maybe. 

16.25 tough miles in 2:29:00 (9:10) 152 ave *3300' vertical

Cascadia 4 Miles: 16.25
Comments
From Dale on Thu, May 06, 2010 at 15:44:51 from 69.10.215.11

Happy birthday old man.

From Faceless Ghost on Fri, May 07, 2010 at 00:18:52 from 67.169.248.86

Looks like you're putting in the vertical, too. If we race again, my money is on you.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

Planet Walk 6  

My stomach hurt from all the junk food from yesterday.  It was so worth it though.  

Cumulus 11 Miles: 6.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
21.000.0021.00

Long Trail Run - 

I am a lucky man to be able to spend the weekend without kids with my wife in Lava Hot springs.  That is pretty nice of her, but the really nice thing was that she let me go running for half the day Saturday with no complaining.  I figured since I was only 30 mins from the Pocatello 50 Miler course, I had better go do a recon run of it.  Jon joined me and also tour guide local Luke Nelson showed us around.  We did the first 1/3 of the course with a 5 mile loop added onto the end to get us over 20 miles for the run.  

The course is not easy.  It started out tame enough with nice singletrack heading up a hollow. 10% grade or so for the first climb.  We leveled off more or less and sat back and enjoyed the nice muddy trail.  Soon we dropped down a canyon and lost all the elevation we had gained.  No big deal but the next 3 miles we were to climb about 2000' with most of the climb off trail straight up the side of a mountain.  Not easy. 

First Half Done -

 Second Half -


I soon realized I was feeling sub-par for the day and settled into my grandpa pace up the hill.  Things perked up for me at the top as I had the energy to run down hills just fine.  Other than some serious stomach cramps (side aches) things were looking up.  That is until Luke took us back up another 500' hill. I didn't have a decent uphill gear and got dropped (even with their easy pace).  It took a while on the downhill to catch back up but I more or less just survived the rest of the run.  Oh well, gut it out and just put in the effort. 

The course is sweet with nasty vertical and lots of mud and snow (hopefully most will melt in the next 3 weeks).  I was amazed to see the huge network of singletrack that is available to Pocatello-ins (Pocatins?)...people who live in Pocatello.  They are very lucky to have so many trails available year round.  I am stoked and scared for the big race as it will be nasty-hard.

T-3:28:30 (9:53) 21.1 miles 155 ave 178 max

SportTracks showed the Vert at 4100' and Loss at 4700'

I finished off the day relaxing in scorching hot pools and working on my tan. 

*Weekly Summary

Vert = 8150'

Miles = 82.25

Cascadia 5 Miles: 21.00
Comments
From Jon on Sun, May 09, 2010 at 22:25:50 from 75.169.145.251

Poky website says leg 1 has 4500' climb, 5150' loss. Add on our 500' climb at the end, and I figure we were at 5000 and 5650. Of course, maybe they figured their numbers using a garmin.

From Faceless Ghost on Mon, May 10, 2010 at 12:09:13 from 173.8.90.229

Pokeytons?

Pocatellites?

P-town homies?

From Kory on Mon, May 10, 2010 at 14:42:49 from 24.116.159.75

Cody, I responded to Jon's email and you guys are welcome to stay at my house for the race or anytime.

Nice run.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
13.003.0016.00

AM: 10 Providence Canyon to Star.  Same as last monday.  Only today it was raining so I ran faster to be done sooner.  That turned out to be unnecessary as it stopped at the halfway point.  Legs felt good.  40 min up 33 down.

T-1:13:00 (7:18) 150 *750' Vert

PM: 6 easy miles in the light rain/wind

Brooks Launch Miles: 6.00Cumulus 11 Miles: 10.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
11.006.0017.00

AM: 5 Planet Walk

PM: I opted out of the scheduled bike ride this afternoon as the rain would have made things unpleasant both for me and for the bike.  I spent some time with the family instead then as it got later, I headed to the hills.  I decided to do a big hill workout.  I drove to Providence Canyon and hit the deer fence trail south to millville canyon.  I wanted to re-visit that canyon and this time make it to the top.  Today was the day.  No amount of rain was going to stop me.  Actually, it only rained for the first and last mile of the run.  2 miles on the trail and I was at the canyon.  The canyon itself is a dirt road that is currently closed to all vehicles.  Made for nice running.  However, all the rain has made the road a soupy mess.  It was way muddy and downright nasty at the top.  But getting there was half the battle.  Before making it to the top, I had to first climb 2500 feet in 3.5 miles.  I was in a cloud the whole way until the last quarter mile and I could see the blanket cloud covering the valley below.  The last quarter mile also provided lots of snow to wash the mud off the shoes.  It is still about 2 feet deep at 7300'.  But aside from the last quarter mile, the road is clear of snow, but not of mud.  The way down was more ice skating than running as I slid/clumped down the hill.  Super fun, but the mud was out of control. Nevertheless, I made it down and back to the car for a total of 11 miles and quickly decided I wanted 12 so I did a quick out and back on the Deer Fence North of Providence Canyon.  For the workout portion of the run, I ran the uphills hard and where I could, the downhills hard too.  Things felt pretty good today and I absolutely loved the run.  I even took a "bath" in Providence Stream and it was actually quite warm and gave me the chance to scrape off all that mud off my body.

T - 1:57:00 (9:44) 154 ave 168 max 12 miles * 3300' Vert

Cascadia 4 Miles: 12.00Sinister Miles: 5.00
Comments
From Jon on Wed, May 12, 2010 at 10:57:47 from 138.64.8.52

Providence stream was warm?

SOunds like fun- can't believe you didn't invite me. 2 feet of snow at the top- crap!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
14.000.0014.00

AM: Sick of the rain so ran on the treadmill - 5

Lunch: Over an hour of Racquetball.  More of an interval workout.  Lost 5 pounds of sweat

PM: 5 more- Had a Jon sighting on the Planet Walk

Sinister Miles: 5.00Cumulus 11 Miles: 5.00Treadmill 2010 Miles: 5.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.506.0012.50

Small Workout - 12.5 miles

House - Dry - Deer Fence - Providence - Home

Felt crappy all around.  I was finally able to push it a bit the second half but it was forced.

T-1:33:30 (7:28) 150 ave - 1000' Vertical Gain

Brooks Launch Miles: 12.50
Comments
From Jon on Fri, May 14, 2010 at 20:58:33 from 69.231.23.39

Sorry I didn't join you. Late, late night packing after a bunch of other late nights- way too tired. Probably would have fallen asleep driving later in the day, too.

From Cody on Sat, May 15, 2010 at 00:28:39 from 174.52.244.185

No worries. I did think about banging on your window in spite though. You are lucky.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.500.008.50

Easy 8.5.

I am still sore from racquetball on wed.  The upper body is so stiff I cant hardly move.

Cumulus 11 Miles: 8.50
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
22.000.0022.00

Long Trail Run - 

Last Long run and the last of the heavy mileage until the Pocatello 50.  Next week will be easier, (at least that is what I keep telling myself).  Today capped off my highest mileage week ever with a tough 22 miler.

I started my run at Providence Canyon and headed on Deer Fence Trail to Dry Canyon.  I chugged up the canyon until I hit the snowline at 6000'.  That trail is frustrating since the walls of the canyon are bare of snow, but the bottom (aka the trail) is covered.  This time it was pure ice.  There were lots of footprints in it which gave some traction, but it was slow going.  I made it maybe .25 past where I went on my birthday run. I could have kept going on the ice, but it was not very time productive so I turned around.  Before long, I was back at the car changing water bottles and eating a banana.  10.35 miles in 1:38.  Slow.  Oh well, it may still get worse.  I continued on the Deer Fence trail all the way to Blacksmith Fork Canyon.   The sun was out now and warming me up quickly.  I thought about the runners doing Ogden Marathon and though that the weather was ideal today for that race.  No wind, cool.  Hopefully the weather is the same in Ogden Valley.  Anyway, fatigue set in and things got tough, but I merely continued on using my "run all day" gear.  I was back at the car at mile 20, but wanted to get 22 and hit 90 miles for the week so I pushed on past the car and did another 2 miles.  I sure have spent a lot of time on the Deer Fence trail this spring, and now have it memorized, but I sure like it.  It kicks my butt and is tough, but very runnable and clear of pesky cars and people. 

T- 3:20:40 (9:07) 150 ave *3600' Vertical gain

Weekly summary -

90 Miles

8650' Vertical Gain

-PR for both of those items

Cascadia 5 Miles: 22.00
Comments
From Dale on Sat, May 15, 2010 at 18:50:02 from 69.10.215.11

Congrats on getting in touch with your inner mountain goat.

From Paul on Sat, May 15, 2010 at 22:24:46 from 174.27.230.30

Good job with all the mileage. It's a lot.

From Jon on Sun, May 16, 2010 at 03:02:40 from 69.231.16.246

Good job on your first 90 mile week- you were on top of the mileage board!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.006.0013.00

Providence Canyon 10

This run has become my standard monday morning run.  I still love it.  Good pace today, probably my fastest. 

T-1:12:24 (7:14) 150 ave *750' Vertical Gain

Bike Commute - 3 miles equivalent x-train.

Cumulus 11 Miles: 10.00Road Bike 2010 Miles: 8.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.505.0012.50

Small Workout

House - Dry - Deer Fence - Providence - Home

Pushed it hard in sections and medium in others.  My bottom of my foot started to hurt after some 5:40's on the downhills.  Better keep an eye on it.

T-1:31:00 (7:17) 156 ave 1000' Vertical

Brooks Launch Miles: 12.50
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.000.008.00

8 Easy

Cumulus 11 Miles: 8.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.006.0016.00

Medium workout - 

Lundstrom park and a bit beyond.  Sluggish and tough until I hit the huge tailwind coming out of the canyon.  It about kept me at a standstill on the way up, but on the way home.  Glorious.  That kind of woke me up and I hit the miles home hard.  The last 3 were 6 min pace.  

T-1:29:30 (6:53) 151 (13 miles) 650' Vert

* bike commute today - 3 miles cross train

Road Bike 2010 Miles: 8.00Brooks Launch #2 Miles: 13.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.500.005.50

5.5 miles.  Stomach issues made the run less than fun.

Cumulus 11 Miles: 5.50
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Went camping last night with my son.  It rained the whole time, that is until it started to snow.  It was quite miserable.  Amazingly my son still loved it.  Even when he was crying cause he was so cold and wet.  I spent much of the night on the John and puking my brains out.  Loved it.  Spent the rest of the day recuperating and hosing the camping gear down (from the mud not puke).

* weekly summary 55 miles, 2400' Vert

Comments
From Jon on Sun, May 23, 2010 at 00:48:39 from 75.169.141.158

Sorry, man, that's no fun being sick. Get better.

On an unrelated note, Poky 50 just put on their website that they will have showers at the finish. Score- that will be nice. Let's remember soap.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.000.0010.00

I started to feel better saturday night and by today I felt 100% again so I was back at it.  I figured a trip to Providence Canyon would be just right.  It was raining pretty steady, but I was committed.  I am glad I went as I felt great.  The legs were fresh and the run was very therapeutic.  I believe this was a PR for the course.  Now to continue the taper and to hope that the trails dry out some by saturday.  Everything is water logged.  

T-1:09:55 (6:59) 156 *750 Vert (38:30 Up (7:42) , 31:25 Down (6:17))

Brooks Launch Miles: 10.00
Comments
From Paul on Mon, May 24, 2010 at 10:58:51 from 174.27.230.30

The weather looks really good for this week. I imagine a lot will dry out. I am going to start tapering for BBQ'ing on Memorial Day.

From Cody on Mon, May 24, 2010 at 11:13:45 from 69.9.58.17

I am optimistic about the weather as well. Oh, and we are for sure in for the BBQ. Let me know what to bring. Will it be too late for post race brugers? I hope not!

From Paul on Mon, May 24, 2010 at 11:40:32 from 65.103.252.214

It will be pretty casual. Bring something to grill, and something to share. Keep it simple (ie - chips, fruit, veggie, etc). We'll provide drinks, and will provide ice cream for dessert.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.000.007.00

7 Easy Miles.  That's all.

Cumulus 11 Miles: 7.00
Comments
From Scott Ensign on Tue, May 25, 2010 at 10:44:56 from 65.100.253.227

good luck on Saturday!!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

Landfill loop 6 - no watch

Brooks Launch #2 Miles: 6.00
Comments
From Ben VanBeekum on Thu, May 27, 2010 at 00:35:45 from 67.169.246.116

Hey Cody Logan Peak I don't know man I don't think I'm cut out for trails quite yet!! Maybe when I can get that marathon time under 2:30 I will consider it. What do we have to do though to get you and Jon running road races again?!

From Cody on Thu, May 27, 2010 at 11:05:58 from 69.9.58.17

Ben -

I don't know what it would take to get us back on the roads. Someday maybe. There are just so many trail races that appeal to me right now. I have no desires to race the clock anymore. I prefer the trails for sure.

From Jon on Thu, May 27, 2010 at 13:05:16 from 138.64.8.52

Ben- and you'll get Cody on the roads long before you get me... :)

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.000.005.00

Planet Walk 5 with strides.  Legs feel good.

Sinister Miles: 5.00
Comments
From Dale on Thu, May 27, 2010 at 19:33:18 from 69.10.215.11

Good luck Sat. Get in touch with your inner mountain goat and tear it up!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
1.000.001.00

1 brisk mile to prime the engine.  Yep, that's it.  Only 1.

Cumulus 11 Miles: 1.00
Comments
From jtshad on Fri, May 28, 2010 at 10:13:29 from 204.134.132.225

Good luck this weekend! Hope the weather cooperates!

From RivertonPaul on Fri, May 28, 2010 at 10:38:57 from 67.42.27.114

Good luck, hope the conditions are good.

From Bill Mandler on Fri, May 28, 2010 at 10:51:08 from 67.61.237.125

Good Luck tomorrow. If you guys need anything while in Pocatello, just let me know.

From Scott Ensign on Fri, May 28, 2010 at 11:02:32 from 71.35.223.17

KSB!!! DETB!!!

From Predog on Fri, May 28, 2010 at 12:59:07 from 129.123.242.194

Good luck!

From Paul on Fri, May 28, 2010 at 12:59:22 from 65.103.252.214

Good luck tomorrow. Be sure to give Jon a beating.

From Kory on Fri, May 28, 2010 at 14:03:31 from 134.50.89.33

According to the weather now for tomorrow we might not see rain in Pocatello Until late Saturday.

You'll have a fun, great race.

Race: Pocatello 50+ Miler (33 Miles) 05:48:38, Place overall: 8, Place in age division: 4
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
33.500.0033.50

Epic Race!

One that I will remember for quite a while.  Where to begin?  This run was to be the toughest/longest run of my life and it still lived up to both of those, barely.  It is one that I have been planning on running since January 1st.  It is a tough course with 13K+ feet of gain over ~52 miles.  One of the toughest in the US. 

It turned out quite different than everyone expected.  The weather forcast looked good with only a small amount of rain for the start.  It turned out that the first 2 miles were the only 2 miles that were dry.  Jon and I decided to stick together and help each other out until the final 1/3rd of the course and then it would be a war.  We didn't get that chance.  The rain grew in intensity over the first 8 miles of the course with the trail becoming a goopy mess where people were sliding all over the place.  I was feeling great and keeping everything in check and pacing myself perfectly.  We had a nice group of 4 runners and we passed the time chatting.  The leaders were long gone as they flew right from the get go.  No worries as I was not in it to win it.  A quick stop to top off my hardly used water bottle at the first aid station (mile 8.5) and we were off climbing the first huge mountain.  The rain was steady and the cloud over the mountain that we had to summit was not looking good.  For the next 3 miles we climbed up 2000 feet with most of that over the last mile.  The hike was brutal, but Jon and I had scouted it out a few weeks ago and knew what to expect.  Good thing because we couldn't see 100 feet in front of us.  The rain quickly turned to sleet/hail and the winds picked up to 30-40 mph (who knows?)  It was bad!  My hands were frozen and my face was unhappy, but I kept a steady pace up the hill.  Jon, on the other hand was worse off.  He was in a bad way and was saved (literally by someones extra jacket).  He needed a little extra attention as it was questionable whether he would make it to the top and be able to descend the 5 miles to the aid station.  After some time, it was clear he would make it and we descended out of the blizzard and into the rain. 

3 hours on the nose to mile 17 aid station.  Right on schedule in-spite of the horrible weather and sloppy trail.  I quickly stripped off my wet shirt and put on a dry one and then put on Jon's dry one as he had decided to DNF at that point (don't blame him as he is lucky to be alive) .  It took me a bit to get situated but 4 mins later I was heading back uphill and back into the same storm to summitt the mountain right next to the one we just went over.  Smart? Nope.  In-fact, only 30 mins after I left, they kept everyone else from leaving and doing was I was about to do.  5 miles of climbing from 4600' back to 7000'.  It was slow but steady and it got progressively steeper and snowier as I went.  By the top, there was 3-4 inches of fresh snow/sleet and the winds had not let up.  It was over a mile exposed on the ridge until I could follow the trail down the other side.  I quickly did the best I could to speed up that process and by doing so dropped the group of 5 or so runners I was with on the climb.  The back side had less wind but no shortage of snow.  It was a complete whiteout and I was luckily able to follow the tracks of those who went before me down.  I was really starting to wonder about Scout Mountain (the final mountain the summit) as it is 1500' higher that the one I was on.  Could I survive it.  My body was feeling ok, I had energy, I had warm and dry clothes to change into before setting off.  Would I do it or would I drop at the next aid station?  I had 10 miles to mull it over as I splashed my way through endless mud and snow.  There was no where to step that was not 4-6 inches of liquid mud.  Whatever, I thought and continued on down the hill.  I hit the next aid and as they filled my bottle, they said that they closed the course and are making people stop.  Hmm, my decision just got easier.  I decided I had better not save anything then since I only had 7 miles left so I picked it up and started chasing down people.  Some were relay runners but I was clicking them off one at a time and was having a blast flying down the trail completely disregarding my safety.  The trail was horrible and was so covered in mud/snow that I was sliding all over the place.  I ran off trail, on trail, who knows where the trail is?   It was crazy.  About a mile from the aid station, a guy came hiking up the trail telling everyone that indeed the race is over.  I put on more speed to catch the next guy but couldn't do it.  I did get a final mile split of 6:41 as the snow turned to rain and started to finally let up.  Figures. 

I finished 33.1 miles in 5:48:38 (10:31 ave)  I am not sure of my place as everything was in chaos and they were more worried about people dying on the mountain than who finished in what order.  I will post it once I know (maybe 11th?)

*Post Edit: 10th Place Overall (4th in 30-40 age group)

I made my way back to my car and found out that Jon had gotten a ride from where he dropped to the car, but then proceeded to lock my keys in the running car.  He was sure having a bad day.  He had gotten it all resolved in time for me to arrive.  I was quite covered in mud but quickly rinsed off and tried to warm up in some dry clothes.  I was tired and glad I was not slogging through the snow once more to summit another mountain, but disappointed because I thought I could still make it.  Another day I guess.  I just hope everyone makes it off that mountain in one piece and with all limbs still working. 

T-5:48:38 (10:31) Ave hr 158 (only wore it the first 17 miles) (33 miles with .5 mile warmup)

*6800' climb 6700' descent (sport tracks)

 Elevation Profile of what I ran -


Profile of the entire course.  I ran the red and yellow sections with the Purple section being the big mountain that nobody got to run.  Smart choice.


Cascadia 5 Miles: 33.50
Comments
From Scott Ensign on Sat, May 29, 2010 at 19:09:25 from 67.176.95.162

wow, nice job in the most adverse conditions. a life experience for sure. strange how different the weather is here- it was 92 degrees when we drove into Boulder. well, congrats on a tough and well run 31 miler.

From jun on Sat, May 29, 2010 at 19:26:13 from 97.126.224.79

Man, un-freaking-believable. That race always has challenges, but add nasty weather to it and you are asking for disaster. Great job getting in some good miles though. That's cool.

From Paul on Sat, May 29, 2010 at 20:44:56 from 204.113.19.55

Dang. Epic. At least you'll remember it for a while. Is that the longest you've ever run at once?

From catherine on Sat, May 29, 2010 at 21:24:06 from 67.169.248.86

That's wild. Glad you guys made it out okay.

From Kory on Sun, May 30, 2010 at 02:10:25 from 24.116.159.75

Great job Cody in very dangerous conditions for a race. You accomplished 33 miles and that's something to walk away from feeling good in these conditions.

From steve ash on Sun, May 30, 2010 at 06:56:40 from 174.52.96.106

Cody, You and Jon ran tough as nails but that race report made me a little nervous just reading it.

From jtshad on Sun, May 30, 2010 at 09:55:22 from 69.20.183.178

Quite a day you guys experienced! Glad you made it safely and were able to marshall through as far as you did. What a start to your ultra/trail adventures!

From Dale on Sun, May 30, 2010 at 15:24:30 from 69.10.215.11

I think this counts as adventure racing. You really ran a warmup for a 50 mile race? I think that's a bit nuts.

From Aaron Kennard on Sun, May 30, 2010 at 15:26:37 from 69.18.151.138

Wow! That sounds so intense! Congrats on such a strong race despite the conditions. Reading these reports is getting me really stoked for my first ultra coming up.

From Jon on Sun, May 30, 2010 at 23:25:35 from 75.169.153.160

Too bad they cancelled and the weather was crappy- I have a feeling you were going to have a very strong race, otherwise.

From David Nelson on Tue, Jun 01, 2010 at 11:29:42 from 24.22.231.57

Oof! That story will get better with age, I can tell.

From Andy on Wed, Jun 02, 2010 at 11:24:40 from 159.212.71.69

What an adventure. That is an experience you will never forget. Glad you survived.

From Superfly on Thu, Jun 03, 2010 at 09:06:34 from 208.117.127.110

I'm a little slow getting through these but dang! What crappy conditions. Way to be a warrior and push out 33 miles it the stuff. Maybe a long run you'll never forget?

Good job man.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.500.007.50

Recovery is coming along nicely.  Yesterday, the stairs were my enemy.  Today, they are no big deal.  I had some major soreness in the tendons around my knees and the hammies and quads were unhappy.  They are both doing much better today.  

I decided a bike ride would be the best recovery method.  I went 25 miles (Wellsville - Oak Ridge Hill - Mendon - Home) in 1:15 (44 min to top of Oak Ridge).  7.5 equivalent cross training miles.

Road Bike 2010 Miles: 25.00
Comments
From Dale on Mon, May 31, 2010 at 21:57:08 from 69.10.215.11

Just call the White River 50 a redemption race guaranteed to have nicer weather.

From Jon on Tue, Jun 01, 2010 at 00:00:40 from 75.169.153.160

No kidding, Dale. When is it?

From Dale on Tue, Jun 01, 2010 at 00:23:00 from 69.10.215.11

July 31st. http://www.whiteriver50.com/ The more the merrier and I'd say if you were trained for the hills at Pocatello, you'll be fine at White River. Only 2 mountains to run up, not 3.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.500.008.50

Providence Hills via Von's Park with Jon.  I am still tired and sore.  Mostly tired though.  Felt good to shake the legs out a bit.

T-1:04:30 (7:37) 149 ave *450' Vert

Brooks Launch Miles: 8.50
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.000.0010.00

Providence Star 10 

T-1:14:30 (7:27) 154 *750' Vert

Cumulus 11 Miles: 10.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.506.0012.50

Small workout - 

Home - Dry Canyon - Deer Fence - Providence - Home

some hard, some not

T-1:32:00 (7:22) 156 *1000' Vert

Brooks Launch #2 Miles: 12.50
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.000.008.00

Recover 8 on Young Ward Short Loop.  Admired the raging Logan River on Planet Walk.  Melt snow melt!

Cumulus 11 Miles: 8.00
Comments
From Jon on Fri, Jun 04, 2010 at 11:38:41 from 138.64.8.52

Yeah, I noticed on Tuesday that the river had gone up quite a bit from the week before. Very nice. Still a TON of snow on Logan Peak, though.

From Cody on Fri, Jun 04, 2010 at 12:16:17 from 69.9.58.17

Hopefully I will get a close up view of the amount of snow on Logan peak tomorrow. Stay tuned....

From RivertonPaul on Fri, Jun 04, 2010 at 14:17:52 from 67.42.27.114

Crazy spring.

From Jon on Fri, Jun 04, 2010 at 17:21:11 from 138.64.8.52

Yeah, let me know where you hit snow and where it becomes impassable. Hopefully it has improved a lot in the past week.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
16.500.0016.50

Trail Run - 

 I was really looking forward to FINALLY making it up Dry Canyon today.  I was stopped by snow in every other attempt until now.  Sort of.  I started the run at Providence Canyon and enjoyed a nice 2.75 mile warmup on rolling hills before getting to dry canyon and the nasty climb that ensues.  I made my way up the canyon with no issues and no snow on the trail until right before the aid station for Logan Peak.  From that point on, it was major snow.  The slushy kind that you fall into with no warning.  I first took the right fork and tried to make my way around the mountain as I figured once I hit the south slope on the South Syncline trail, it would once again be clear.  Unfortunately, I had a 1.5 mile trek across a snow field many feet deep.  Amazingly, I was able to find and stay "on" the trail the whole way.  I had post-holed my way about a mile when I finally gave up.  I headed back and decided to try the North Syncline trail.  I knew the south slope would be dry, but it took a bit more snow treking to get to that section.  As soon as I crested and was heading down the other side, the snow was just too deep to continue.  It had better start to warm up and melt as Logan Peak race is in 3 weeks and I would say that 15 miles of the course is under 3+ feet of snow.  Crazy.

I took a break at the ridge to admire the view and snap some photos and then descended like a maniac back to the car.  I didn't get to run as much of the course as I wanted, but at least I finally made it to the aid station (mile 4.5 of the course).  I think I survived my recovery week and am ready for a big 2 weeks. 

T- 3:00:00 (10:54) 152 ave * 4200' vert

Week summary - 63 miles 5650' Vertical

 

Pics from the day:

Picture 1: Aid Station Looking Right

Picture 2: Aid Station Looking Left

Pictures 3,4,5:  South Syncline Trail right after leaving Aid 1

Yep, the trail is under there somewhere.  Better start melting!

Picture 6: View of Logan from North Syncline Trail (about mile 22 of course)



Cascadia 5 Miles: 16.50
Comments
From Twinkies on Sat, Jun 05, 2010 at 15:22:03 from 67.166.116.191

I hope we have some more hot days like today, so that at least some of that snow melts. Logan Peak may have an added challenge this year.

From jun on Sat, Jun 05, 2010 at 15:23:05 from 97.126.224.79

Good luck with that. I really need to remember to register for that race next year.

From allie on Sat, Jun 05, 2010 at 18:17:26 from 67.177.0.102

great pics.

From Jon on Sat, Jun 05, 2010 at 20:46:08 from 174.19.189.39

Wow. Wasn't it just a few weeks ago when you couldn't get more than a few miles up Dry, though? At least there is some improvement. Hopefully they don't have to cancel the race.

From Faceless Ghost on Mon, Jun 07, 2010 at 19:14:53 from 173.8.90.229

That makes me glad to be on the wait list and not the start list.

By the way, I see you're running the Speedgoat . . .

From Cody on Mon, Jun 07, 2010 at 22:47:59 from 174.52.244.185

Eric -

I am looking forward to the butt kicking that course will dish out. Hope the Logan peak race gets me ready.

Melt snow melt!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
15.005.0020.00

AM: Big workout - 

Ran to Second Dam via Sumac Drive and Hydro Park.  I wasn't feeling awesome but managed to get some faster miles in there somewhere.  

T- 1:48:20 (7:13) 150 15 miles *550' Vertical

PM: 5 miles after my son's t-ball game.  Slow (8:15 pace)

Brooks Launch Miles: 15.00Cumulus 11 Miles: 5.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
11.005.0016.00

AM: Landfill Loop 6 

PM: Jardine Juniper with Jon and Joe.  It was great to catch up with Joe again after so long.  He is lean and fit!  I led the way up with just an average pace, but with Joe in the lead and Jon right behind him on the way down, the pace was super fast.  I was going all out to keep up with them.  The final 4 miles were 5:57, 5:48, 6:08, and 5:39 on some mildly technical trails.  Crazy fast, but oh so much fun.  I love that trail. 

T- 1:22:53 (8:16) 10 miles *2050' Vertical (including the small bit down to the tree)

Cascadia 4 Miles: 10.00Cumulus 11 Miles: 6.00
Comments
From Jon on Wed, Jun 09, 2010 at 01:45:49 from 75.169.139.45

Maybe we should try to do that run once a month this summer, mid-week. It's a shame to neglect such a wonderful trail.

From Aaron Kennard on Wed, Jun 09, 2010 at 01:51:44 from 174.51.250.151

Wow..that's a solid pace for running that much vertical! You guys are fast.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.000.008.00

8 - Providence River Heights Loop.  Lucked out and ran between rain storms.

Brooks Launch #2 Miles: 8.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
12.500.0012.50

Home - Dry - Deer Fence - Providence - Home

The body didn't cooperate with me today and decided that I would have one gear.  Slow.  I decided to not fight it and resigned myself to a slog.  At least it didn't rain.

T- 1:41:00 (8:05) 142 ave HR 1000' vert

Brooks Launch Miles: 12.50
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.000.008.00

Young Ward Short Loop

Untimed, but it was slow

Cumulus 11 Miles: 8.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
25.500.0025.50

Long Trail Run - 

Excellent day for another epic long run.  I met up with Jon up Logan Canyon at Right Hand Fork.  I drove through a huge wind tunnel and some good rain and thought we were in for a crazy run.  It actually only drizzled off and on for half the run and turned out to be a great day to hit the trails.  My only complaint was the mud.  There was a lot of it!  

On to the run......We started up Ricks Canyon and followed the bear 100 course back to Richards Hollow.  I don't know what to say about it.  Some of the most beautiful mountains and trail I have ever been on.  Absolutely amazing.  I am sad I didn't get any photos today until I got back to the car to get the shot of the mud all up my backside. 

T- 4:13 (9:55) 152 ave *6000' vertical

Weekly Summary - 90 Miles 9600' Vertical - Good/Hard Week


Cascadia 5 Miles: 25.50
Comments
From Jon on Sat, Jun 12, 2010 at 23:43:23 from 75.169.136.39

By the way, Sporttracks and Bear say 26 miles... so that's what I put.

Good run- very enjoyable. I may want to do a 16 mile mid-week run up Richards sometime... too beautiful to only do it once.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
16.000.0016.00

AM: Standard monday morning 10 mile run.  I did have a bit more fatigue this monday compared to others.  It took a while to get the body rolling, but towards the end, things were better.

T- 1:14:56 (7:29) 146 ave *750' vert

PM: T-ball then Landfill Loop (6) then Mowed Lawn.  Tired

Sinister Miles: 6.00Brooks Launch #2 Miles: 10.00
Comments
From Jon on Mon, Jun 14, 2010 at 23:56:31 from 75.169.147.243

It's not surprising you're tired after a 4+ hr run on Sat!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
15.500.0015.50

Big Trail Workout - 

I joined Jon (joe was a no-show) as we re-visited a classic once a year run that I just have to do.  It about killed me last year, but this year it would be different.  The difference this year, was that we now know very well the trail up to the Wind Caves Saddle (Birdineau).   Last year there was some serious bushwhacking but not this year.   I wasn't feeling terribly well today so took it easy from First Dam to Guinavah Malibu (6 miles in 49 mins).  Things didn't improve on the wind caves trail (3 miles in 44 mins - 2200' climb).  Jon was hardly working the uphills.  He sure felt better than I did on the climbs. 

We stopped at the summit to enjoy the view before blasting down the Green Canyon side hurdling the hundreds of tree roots.  Things suddenly perked up for me on the downhill and soon I was out of range of Jon.  I took a nap waiting for him at the bottom, but soon enough he arrived and it was time to hit the singletrack out of Green Canyon.  He was whining and moaning so I left him again.  Too bad the whole run today wasn't downhill as I could do that just fine.  Before long, we finished the short BST section and we were back at the car. 

I looked back at the run data from last year and this year, we ran the Wind Caves climb 4 mins faster (even though sticking to the correct trail we added 1/2 mile) and picked up another 5 mins over the last 6 miles.  Fun run, but that one time is enough for the year.  I will be back next year...

T-2:17:52 (8:53) 156 ave 180 max

3000' gain according to SportTracks. 

Cascadia 5 Miles: 15.50
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.500.008.50

8.5 slow miserable miles.  Providence via Von's park. 8:25 ave pace 450' Vert

Cumulus 11 Miles: 8.50
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.003.0011.00

I opted to scale back the small workout I had planned for today due to lingering fatigue.  It takes a bit longer for me to recover from big workouts while running high mileage. It is a bit ambitious to run 2 big or even 1 big and 1 small workout PLUS a long run.  So, today I just ran.  At times it was fast, at times it wasn't.  I did the providence star loop plus an extra mile on Deer Fence for 11 miles.  

T-1:21:30 (7:25) 148  *875'

Brooks Launch Miles: 11.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
9.500.009.50

Long day today.  It all started with a Ragnar speaker system blaring into my house from the start of the relay at 5am.  Seriously.  I heard "5 minute warning".  I thought the neighborhood was being evacuated and we had only 5 mins to get out.  That woke me up good.  Never mind that, it is just a silly relay race thingy.  Anyway, I couldn't get out of work until 6pm so I rushed over to the start line to attempt a world record vertical climb contest thing on a treadmill, but by the time I got there it was all taken down so dejected, I decided to run the first leg of the course.  For those lucky enough to run as runner 1, you probably didn't take much notice, but you entered hallowed ground as you ran on the "Planet Walk" today.  Congrats on that achievement.  Anyway, I followed the course until Zollinger Park in Providence and decided I had enough and headed home.  


Brooks Launch Miles: 9.50
Comments
From Paul on Sat, Jun 19, 2010 at 14:51:22 from 174.27.230.30

I'm still very proud of myself for suggesting to Ragnar to put Leg 1 on the Planet Walk. It was probably one of my largest contributions as a human being. They had no idea it was there.

From Jon on Sat, Jun 19, 2010 at 19:44:29 from 75.169.143.94

You should be proud, Paul. It probably ranks on contributions somewhere between Seth and Getting a College Degree. It might be above your second baby, as well, if she isn't good looking enough... :)

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
22.000.0022.00

Long Trail Run - 

Today was another day I have been looking forward to.  I love exploring new trails and being fit enough to cover so much terrain in one swoop.  This is why I run...  Today's expedition was another section of the Bear 100 course.  This time it was almost 80% (total guess) of new trail for me.  We started right where we left off last week at Right Hand Fork.  The first section was up Willow (not new) over to Temple Fork (new) down Temple Fork (not new).  This spit us out to where we met up with Jon's car that we stashed and the start of the Out and back up Blind hollow to Tony Grove (all new).  I was feeling great after this first section but it was a good thing because the fun was just starting.  Time to climb 2400' in 5.25 miles then descend 500' to tony grove.  It was made more challenging by the rough ground, rocky footing, 20 fallen tree crossings, moose blocking the path, etc.  Very eventful section.  I was quite grateful to finally made it to the lake only to be surprised to see that it still had ice on it.  In mid June.  Crazy.  The snow on the hillside (that we found our way through) was quite substantial too.  Too much for this time of year (IMO).  By the time was finally made it back to the car I was pretty tired and glad to be done, but what a run! 

T-3:48:12 (10:33) 5200' climb

Weekly summary: 82.5 Miles 9825' Climb (big week for climbing - PR)

Cascadia 5 #2 Miles: 22.00
Comments
From Jon on Sun, Jun 20, 2010 at 10:45:47 from 75.169.149.16

Is that really your climbing PR? More than the week of LP last year? Poky? If so, that's impressive.

From Cody on Sun, Jun 20, 2010 at 11:25:24 from 174.52.244.185

I guess it is only a PR of since I have been keeping track. As of March 1 of this year is all. Yes, more than the week of Pokey though.

From Aaron Kennard on Sun, Jun 20, 2010 at 11:37:52 from 174.51.250.151

Those are my sentiments exactly in your first line.

That sounds like a fantastic run. Totally psyched to be heading out, entirely ready to be done at the end, and completely satisfied afterward. I love that combination.

Nice job on a big climbing week.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

AM: Easy 6 on Landfill Loop.  Heading out to Orlando now.  I am blogging this at SLC airport waiting for my delayed flight.  Should get in some good heat training in...

Brooks Launch #2 Miles: 6.00
Comments
From Faceless Ghost on Mon, Jun 21, 2010 at 11:09:20 from 173.8.90.229

Be careful with the heat. I underestimated it's effect on me when I was in St. George a few weeks ago, and it took me a while to get myself back together.

From Paul on Mon, Jun 21, 2010 at 12:45:21 from 65.103.252.214

At least SLC airport has free wifi now. Makes delays easier.

From Jon on Mon, Jun 21, 2010 at 22:53:53 from 75.169.144.159

Free wifi? Is that new? Awesome!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
11.500.0011.50

AM: 7 easy but sweaty miles near my hotel.  I found a dirt road 3 miles from the hotel that looked like it had alligators all over it, but I didn't see any.  I did see some deer though. Weird.

PM: Late 4.5 mile run around International Drive.  More concrete, but not many people or cars.  I ran with carl who did WBR for his first time last week.  We jumped directly into the pool following the run. 

This trip has been a good use of time.  Lots of informative classes and all you can eat food.  I even ate sushi for dinner. 

Cumulus 11 Miles: 11.50
Comments
From Jon on Wed, Jun 23, 2010 at 16:46:36 from 192.107.247.6

Dude, don't get fat and slow!

Thought you may enjoy this:

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700042453/Runner-makes-wrong-turn-right.html

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.000.007.00

7 miles with the alligators

7:30 pace counting stopping for pictures.  Did some 6:30-7:00 pace stuff in there.

Cumulus 11 Miles: 7.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
3.500.003.50

Easy but hot 3.5.  8 min pace

Fly home today - Yay

Cumulus 11 Miles: 3.50
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.000.004.00

Great to home to nice and cool Logan.  I celebrated by visiting the Planet Walk.  Easy run to shake out the travel and flush the junk out of the system.  I am still pretty tired from the long days and lack of sleep.  Better get some good rest tonight, big day tomorrow...

Brooks Launch #2 Miles: 4.00
Comments
From Paul on Fri, Jun 25, 2010 at 12:36:10 from 65.103.252.214

Good luck. Be sure to stop and take some pictures.

From Jon on Fri, Jun 25, 2010 at 16:50:11 from 192.107.247.6

Yes, carry a very big, heavy camera and stop many times to take lots of pictures!

Race: Logan Peak Race (28 Miles) 04:22:52, Place overall: 1, Place in age division: 1
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.0028.0028.00

Logan Peak Trail Race - 

What a race!  Where to begin?  How about I mention the fact that I have been planning and dreaming about this race since last years was over.  This is my single most favorite race for many reasons, including the home course advantage, amazing views, tough technical trails, snow, mud and lots and lots of hills.  Needless to say, I was pretty excited for the 2010 edition of this race.  

The morning began with a nice jog around the starting area with Jon and Joe working on earning a few stars.  By race time, I was feeling good and ready to roll.  The weather was nice (50's and clear).  The race started near Logan Dry canyon and headed out of the park and towards the mountains.  Before too long, we were on the Deer Fence trail and then heading up Dry Canyon.  Its a nice steep canyon climbing 3000' in the first 4.5 miles. Before long the lead pack included Jon, Joe, myself and 2 others.  Things were relaxed but not slow as we climbed the canyon.  We were ahead of CR pace by a few mins when we reached Aid Station 1 at mile 4.5 and held that gap for the whole race.  Things were looking pretty good, but we were working hard to maintain that pace. 

Mile Splits:  9:06, 11:31, 14:15, 15:29, 14:25 (including aid 1)


 

The big question this year was how much snow we would encounter.  A week ago, about a 1/3 of the course was covered in snow.  The warm weather took care of that this week and we were lucky to experience roughly the same amount of snow as last year.  It was weird though as the snow patches were in different locations this year.  Things were moving along nicely as we ran on the South Syncline Trail heading around the mountain. 

I was chasing a guy (I forgot his name already) with Joe right on my heels and Jon and (some other guy) behind him when I got a bit carried away on a tight downhill corner(mile 7.5).  I stepped on a rock that threw off my balance and before I knew it, I was flying face first into a rock.  I banged myself up pretty good even getting a cut upper lip.  I layed there in pain until I got some sympathy and then decided to run again.  No, seriously, it hurt.  After that, I didn't feel too good and had a really hard time keeping up with the pack.  This was the hardest section of the course for me.  Mentally and physically. 

Splits: 9:49, 6:54, 9:39(fall), 10:20, 11:35, 10:01

By mile11, we hit Aid 2 and started an out and back section to the summit of Logan Peak (9710').  The pack was still very fluid with  lots of position changes.  The snow at the summit wasn't too bad and was way less than I expected which helped us maintain a good pace.  The celebration at the top was shortened this year as we had some chasing to do to catch the first place guy (name forgotten again).  We blasted the downhill closing the gap, but man, it hurt.  The nice thing through here was that we get to see the people who are behind us on the course and give/receive praise.  Fun section. 

Splits: 11:06, 15:50, 11:00, 8:21, 7:31 

I made a quick aid station stop to fill my bottle and moved on.  I was hoping to get ahead at this point so I could run slower.  Weird logic, but it worked for a min until Jon caught and passed me.  At this point, he was in the lead with Joe and myself running together behind him.  Jon stretched out his lead, but we kept him in sight.  I was still feeling tired and worn out.  Miserable, but that meant that I was doing something right.  Joe and I worked on closing the gap to Jon and by using the singletrack downhill, we were able to do that.  We ran the Northern Syncline trail section together and figured that the winner would come from one of us as we had dropped the other guys.  This section of trail is absolutely spectacular.  Amazing views, beautiful singletrack.  I would enjoy it more if it weren't for this pesky race.  I started to feel better through here and took over the lead duties.  I stayed that way until I found a water trough to dunk my head in as I was getting super hot.  More running ensued and before long, we were back at the Aid station at the top of Dry Canyon. 

Splits:9:35, 7:11, 7:07, 9:50, 13:22, 8:58

4.5 miles to go.  We were all together there, but Jon decided to fill a bottle and since I still had a 1/3 of a bottle I decided to not stop.  Joe followed suit and was right on my tail as we flew down the singletrack.  I didn't see Jon again after this point.  This section is brutal on the legs as they are super tired, but you really have to push it to keep a good pace going on the steep/technical downhill.  I worked hard to drop Joe, but he hung with me for a while.  Finally!  I wasn't able to hear his foot steps anymore (he took a nice spill somewhere in there too).  I slowed back off the pace a bit and tried to just survive.  At this point I was amazed I could actually win this thing.  Don't blow it now Cody.

Before arriving at the bottom of the canyon I was surprised to see about a 100 head of cattle climbing up the singletrack.  Great!  I made some noise and got most of them to run into the trees so I could pass.  A few decided to run by me on the trail and for a bit I was right next to a few cows.  It turned out that the cattle owners were following the cows up the canyon on their horses and they were not happy that I was spooking them.  Sorry, but what do you do? 

The last mile was a bear with some good uphills and downhill all exposed to the hot sun.  I looked back and saw Joe not too far behind me, but figured he wouldn't be able to get me so I enjoyed the run-in to the finish.  My first win in 3 years and my first ever trail race win.  Sweet!  Joe finished strong less than a min behind with Jon struggling the last 4 miles and losing about 3 mins to us.  But very solidly taking 3rd place.  A 1-2-3 sweep for the blog and all of us sporting our Saint George Running Center shirts, we got some nice publicity.  

Splits: 7:23, 5:55, 6:15, 6:31, 6:05 (course measured to be 27 miles, but whatever).

Awesome course, well run event that I hope to be able to do for many years to come.  The cash prize for first was pretty sweet too.  Who can argue with that?  Results should be posted shortly HERE

T- 4:22:52 (9:52 by my watch) 7200' gain

* Weekly summary 60 miles 8000' climbing



Cascadia 5 #2 Miles: 28.00
Comments
From Paul on Sat, Jun 26, 2010 at 18:27:20 from 174.27.230.30

I will be the first to comment: awesome job! I was excited when I found out you won. Truly a great race by all three of you, but it has to be gratifying to win, esp given the difficulty of some of your other races this year (snow, stomach cramps, general misery, etc). So kudos.

From Paul on Sat, Jun 26, 2010 at 18:27:56 from 174.27.230.30

Scratch that, I'm 2nd to comment. JD beat me while I was typing. I retract everything I said earlier.

From JD on Sat, Jun 26, 2010 at 19:01:42 from 209.183.51.129

Win! Cash! Course record! Congratulations!

Paul, I just couldn't take the 1st spot knowing you'd started writing your comment before I did. -)

From crockett on Sat, Jun 26, 2010 at 19:16:57 from 71.36.71.106

Way to go Cody. Great report. I could visualize the race well. Congrats on the win and CR.

From Jon on Sat, Jun 26, 2010 at 19:25:42 from 75.169.157.35

Despite what you predicted earlier this week, I knew you were in amazing shape with great potential. It's exciting to see you win, especially given your fall at the start. You earned this one today with good training, good race strategy (did you fall just to throw us off?), and great downhill running. Congrats, congrats, congrats. Enjoy it.

From Jon on Sat, Jun 26, 2010 at 19:26:51 from 75.169.157.35

P.S. But don't get used to it... :) EVL is still coming up, so I gotta put some fear into you before then!

From Tom on Sat, Jun 26, 2010 at 19:30:18 from 67.199.180.90

Great race and race report. Congrats on the win!

From Aaron Kennard on Sat, Jun 26, 2010 at 19:40:37 from 174.51.250.151

Wow!! Freaking awesome job out there today. That is an incredible time for that much elevation gain over those miles. I stand in awe. And congrats on your first trail run win...and that is a huge win with so much competition.

From Dale on Sat, Jun 26, 2010 at 21:07:56 from 69.10.215.11

Epic. I got pretty tired just looking at that elevation profile. You failed to mention that you took the CR. Nice work all around. You just need to work on eliminating this need for sympathy when you take a dive.

From David Nelson on Sat, Jun 26, 2010 at 23:00:54 from 24.22.229.1

Hurrah! Great report, and great job. One of these years I may need to make a trip down for that one. Now let's see a photo of that fat lip.

From Burt on Sat, Jun 26, 2010 at 23:35:55 from 72.200.68.199

I'm with Dale. You're too humble to mention that new CR. Great job! I kept hoping you would remember that guy's name.

JD - way to concede the victory to Paul.

From catherine on Sun, Jun 27, 2010 at 00:18:37 from 67.169.248.86

Congratulations!

From Little Bad Legs on Sun, Jun 27, 2010 at 00:46:44 from 67.170.153.203

Impressive race. Great job recovering from your fall and staying strong both mentally and physically.

Congratulations on the win as well.

From Nan on Sun, Jun 27, 2010 at 00:47:08 from 174.51.250.151

Awesome Cody! Enjoy the victory.

From Kelli on Sun, Jun 27, 2010 at 01:42:24 from 71.219.99.30

A COURSE RECORD????? Nice job!

From Scott Ensign on Sun, Jun 27, 2010 at 02:02:20 from 65.100.217.150

wow, incredible. well done! can't wait to hear all the details Friday!! congrats!!

From Paul on Sun, Jun 27, 2010 at 15:14:20 from 174.27.230.30

This is honestly one of the best newspaper titles & subtitles I've ever seen. I have new respect for the Herald Journal. You should change your blog title to "Advantage Draper".

http://news.hjnews.com/sports/article_c737688a-8192-11df-9975-001cc4c002e0.html?mode=story

Good pic too.

From Dave S on Sun, Jun 27, 2010 at 17:08:26 from 4.254.226.57

Awesome! congrats on the win! I have to agree with Paul on the newspaper article and subtitle. I hadn't been on the blog yet this morning and read about it in the paper first.

From James on Sun, Jun 27, 2010 at 19:35:53 from 174.23.40.175

Nice job buddy! Congrats on an awesome win too.

From Cody on Sun, Jun 27, 2010 at 20:24:53 from 174.52.244.185

Thanks guys!

I am sporting some good bruises and scabs today. Oh, and I love the new blog title and picture idea. Consider it done...

From Rob Murphy on Sun, Jun 27, 2010 at 20:31:23 from 76.27.120.29

Great race Cody. Love the cow story! My wife's grandpa - the Minnesota dairy farmer - would have loved it to.

From Scott Ensign on Sun, Jun 27, 2010 at 21:42:09 from 65.100.217.150

dang, I was going to suggest you change your blog title to Advantage Draper too, Paul beat me to it. But he beats me at everything.

I have the newspaper article for you too. Will give it to you Friday.

From ultrajim on Mon, Jun 28, 2010 at 00:00:52 from 63.248.177.164

Awesome job Cody. I had a great time Saturday as well, my great time was just longer than yours.

From Burt on Mon, Jun 28, 2010 at 00:48:45 from 68.225.214.248

Hmmm...I hope you're not violating any copyrighted logos or anything. I know I've seen that picture somewhere...

From jtshad on Mon, Jun 28, 2010 at 10:29:23 from 204.134.132.225

Congrats on the strong race and win! You did it even trying to take on a rock, impressive!

From Superfly on Mon, Jun 28, 2010 at 10:54:18 from 208.117.127.110

Sueweet! Way to rock out a big win and get some cool PR too.

From c h a d on Tue, Jun 29, 2010 at 00:31:28 from 98.202.67.18

Awesome race on so many levels. Congrats Cody.

From Twinkies on Tue, Jun 29, 2010 at 22:03:35 from 67.166.116.191

Congrats on the win. You ran great race. I upset the cattle owners as well.

From JamesH on Wed, Jun 30, 2010 at 19:14:09 from 74.211.22.194

A little late but congrats on the win. Sounds like quite an adventure.

From Scott Wesemann on Fri, Jul 02, 2010 at 02:22:28 from 207.88.137.2

Nice race. Congrats on the win and on the course PR. Very cool.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.000.0010.00

10 painful and slow miles up to the Providence Star.  I feel like a truck ran me over today.  It is getting worse with every day.  Probably 7-8 out of 10 right now.  My downhill gear is the most painful of all.

T-1:23:00 (8:18)

Cumulus 11 Miles: 10.00
Comments
From Jon on Mon, Jun 28, 2010 at 10:45:54 from 192.107.247.6

In that case, I challenge you to a LPR rematch. This afternoon. I'm only a 2 out of 10. Winner take all.

Love the "backwards visor" photo. And did you see I changed my blog name, too?

From Cody on Mon, Jun 28, 2010 at 11:03:43 from 69.9.58.17

It should be "Cody beat me, but I let him so he could gloat for a while, but I will soon show him who is boss so watch out...

Oh, I would get killed in any rematch in the next 2 weeks. I am bruised, beaten, and battered.

From Scott Ensign on Mon, Jun 28, 2010 at 17:46:38 from 129.123.3.31

thats a visor? I though it was a 1970s style sweatband. very stylish. could become Cody's trademark?

From Predog on Tue, Jun 29, 2010 at 12:12:47 from 24.10.140.186

I hear ya on the soreness. I think Jon would murder both of us in a rematch anytime in the next couple of weeks.

From Jon on Tue, Jun 29, 2010 at 12:36:55 from 192.107.247.6

I'm not at all sore today- rematch time!

But I'd rather have soreness and have won the race...

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Classic Case of too much too soon.  Its really hard to tell the difference between soreness and something being tweaked.  Monday morning the line was blurry.  Monday afternoon and evening the line was very clear.  And I was way beyond the line.  My right ankle (actually the tendon right above it) is very unhappy.  It feels better this morning and I can now walk without a limp, but running on it would not be a good idea.  I am optimistic that it will heal quickly with rest so that is what I will do.  I have a big weekend of running planned and must heal up by then.

Comments
From Jon on Tue, Jun 29, 2010 at 11:58:48 from 192.107.247.6

Yeah, you can bail this week, but you better be ready next Monday.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.000.0010.00

AM: 6 miles on PW and out to Blackhawk Park.  The leg felt much much better this morning so taking yesterday off did it some good.  I decided to still take it easy on it and keep the run short.  I enjoyed a nice icing afterward courtesy of the hose.  If things are still ok this afternoon, I will get a few more miles in.  If not, more rest should take care of it.

PM: 4 miles out and back to Planet Walk again.  The ankle feels 98% but now there is a sore spot on the bottom of the same foot.  After icing, it felt fine again.  Whatever.

Brooks Launch #2 Miles: 10.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.003.0013.00

Lundstrom Park and a bit.   Everything felt good today.  Still some fatigue as I couldn't get the rev's up but that is ok.  The foot and ankle felt fine.  I am sure glad about that.

T-1:36:30 (7:25) 750' vert

Brooks Launch Miles: 13.00
Comments
From Scott Ensign on Thu, Jul 01, 2010 at 13:49:02 from 129.123.3.31

hey Cody. I was looking at your new picture and I knew I had seen that look somewhere before. Then it dawned on me. So I did a google search. this is probably before you were even born, but the resemblance to Olivia Newton John in "physical" is eerily similar....

http://cvhs83n85.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/physical.jpg

From Cody on Thu, Jul 01, 2010 at 19:07:23 from 69.9.58.17

Not Nice!

But funny.

See you tomorrow...

From Bonnie on Thu, Jul 01, 2010 at 21:03:54 from 64.119.33.134

ha ha ha ha, that is just too funny ... Scott, school must be out because you have too much time on your hands!

Cody, you are so popular this week! I can't believe you ran 13 miles today, you recover really well, and I am very jealous.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.000.008.00

8 slow miles on Young Ward short loop.  Did I mention slow?

Cumulus 11 Miles: 8.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
17.500.0017.50

Long Trail Run -

Aaron  was nice enough to visit Utah, while his "super chick" wife killed the women's field for the Freedom Run 15K.  She beat most of the men too.  But more importantly, that left Aaron available to join me for a nice trail run.  We waited for Joe to join but he was a no-show and sadly Jon couldn't come either so it was just Aaron and I for the sweetest ribbon of single track around.  We started at the bottom of Richards Hollow and ran up the trail past the "Elbow" and up the a road that heads up to Logan Peak.  We didn't quite make it to the peak, but to within view of it and most of Cache Valley.  It was quite a climb, but the best was yet to come on the descent.  Nothing like running through endless fields of wild flowers, jumping over and through streams, dodging beaver ponds, even a moose.  Who wouldn't love it?  I had a great time and I think this run just surpassed Jardine Juniper as my favorite.  Yep, its that good.  One day I will go all the way up to Logan Peak, but that would've been 10 more miles. 

I enjoyed the BBQ Scott threw last night and hope to see all of you again.  Good job to all the racers today as there were some stellar performances.  But, you missed out.  The real fun was on our trail run.  Ha!  Thanks Aaron for a great time. 

T- 2:4x (9:2x pace) 4000' vertical

Stupid garmin is broken. I am lost without it.  Anyone want to sell me their Forerunner 205 or 305? 

Cascadia 5 Miles: 17.50
Comments
From Aaron Kennard on Sat, Jul 03, 2010 at 23:26:23 from 174.23.217.230

I don't know how that run could have been any cooler. That trail is so perfect, especially this time of year. It was really fun running with you. Thanks again for taking me up there today. My glutes and hams are a bit sore, otherwise feeling great. I'll be interested to see how I feel running monday. I normally don't run that hard going down hill for that long. It was a great training run.

From Aaron Kennard on Sun, Jul 04, 2010 at 14:17:03 from 69.18.151.138

Also of note, if I'm not mistaken, congrats are in order to you for getting your picture in the paper 2 weeks in a row!!

(Ok, the one this weekend was a little blurry, and perhaps a little more focused on Paul, but ithats still 2 weeks in a row!)

http://m.news.hjnews.com/mobile/article_ece55834-8733-11df-90ae-001cc4c03286.html

From Cody on Sun, Jul 04, 2010 at 17:52:15 from 174.52.244.185

That is the closest I have ever been to Paul at the end of a road race. A new PR!

From Predog on Tue, Jul 06, 2010 at 23:17:56 from 24.10.140.186

Hey I'm really sorry I missed the run. I forgot that my car, having failed the safety inspection due to worn out brakes, is unregistered and I didn't dare drive all the way to hyrum with the inevitable posse of cops crawling around because of the race. I told ruth to tell you if she saw you but she didn't. Sounds like I really missed out.

From Cody on Wed, Jul 07, 2010 at 10:00:52 from 69.9.58.17

Joe- just glad you are alive!

Meet Today (wed) 5:10 at the Green Canyon Trailhead if you can.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
30.000.0030.00

Epic Trail Run with Jon - 

The long awaited day has finally arrived.  The day that we are running the final 30 miles of the Bear 100 course is here.  We abandoned our families all morning and raced them to Bear lake.  We got a good 5 hour head start, but still lost.  I blame it on Jon and his incessant picture taking.  I think I took 40 pictures to his 10.  I will add some here at some point soon.  Ok, maybe I will just blame it on the course.  What a tough last 30 miles.  Ouch.

I had a blast and will spare you the long winded details.  I will add in some commentary when I add the pictures.  The short version is this.  We started at the Logan River Aid station (mile 68.6), promptly crossed the river and climbed over a mountain to Beaver Lodge (75.8).  Left Beaver lodge and headed up Steep Hollow to Gibson Basin (81.2).  Down Gibson Basin to Beaver Creek Campground (85.25).  Then a relentless climb up a mountain to Ranger Dip (92.2).  The fun didn't end there as we immediately climbed a super steep pass before descending a super steep hill to Bear lake (Finish).   That commentary didn't do it justice, I know, but this is a work in progress....

Our families beat us to Bear Lake, but after a raspberry shake all was forgotten.  We enjoyed the rest of the day at the lake spending way too much time in the sun.   Had a blast though.  Great Holiday!

Sport Tracks reported the following:

30.3 Miles (5:16:03) 10:26 pace ave 6,072 climb, 7206 descent

Yes, I was able to repair my broken Garmin with some solder, wire, and super glue.  I feel proud.  Oh, wait, I make a living designing electronic circuits, I should be able to do this in my sleep.  Forget I brought it up then.


The Beav...

 

The Jon....

The Trail....

The Cody...and the fly

How much farther Jon?

Still lots to go...

The Lake....

Final Uphill (last major one at least)....

Finally made it!


Cascadia 5 Miles: 30.00
Comments
From Jon on Tue, Jul 06, 2010 at 00:16:20 from 75.169.153.227

Thanks for the map. As always, an enjoyable run. Thanks. And glad your garmin didn't die like mine.

From steve ash on Tue, Jul 06, 2010 at 08:22:44 from 174.52.96.106

Cody, That's pretty cool.. I was working on soldering j-leads the other day and that was challenging enough. I couldn't even really use the microscope.

From Superfly on Tue, Jul 06, 2010 at 13:32:29 from 208.117.127.110

Nice run even better Macgyver skills.

From Aaron Kennard on Wed, Jul 07, 2010 at 23:20:51 from 174.51.250.151

that's impressive that you got that thing apart again, soldered again, and back together again and still had it function over 30 miles of trail...if that happened to my garmin it would have found its way to the back of a drawer pretty quick i'm sure.

Oh yeah...and that's a pretty sweet sounding run too.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

24 Hour Stomach Bug

Couldn't eat anything until dinner time. So no running.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.000.0010.00

Green Canyon

Another great late afternoon trail run with Jon and Joe.  We did have to share the trail with tons of bikers today.  Lame.  Stomach still a bit queezy.  One more day until I am back 100%.

T-1:25:30 (8:35) 1470' gain

Cascadia 4 Miles: 10.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.000.0010.00

10 Slower miles up to the Providence Star.  Uneventful morning

T- 1:17:30 (7:45) 750' Vert

Brooks Launch #2 Miles: 10.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.500.008.50

Providence Canyon to Millville Canyon via Deer Fence then 2.25 up the canyon (including exploring a ways up the singletrack on the right) and back.

T- 1:16:18 (8:58) 2150' climb

Travel day to Yellowstone

Cascadia 4 Miles: 8.50
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
19.000.0019.00

Extended Family Camping trip at Yellowstone.  We stayed at the KOA (sort of camping), but the nice advantage of that was the close proximity of the Lionhead trail system.  I found a trailhead with a map yesterday on my exploring and mapped out a run up to Lionhead mountain.  I started at Targhee Pass trailhead and followed the continental divide trail all over the mountain.  It was mostly atv and snowmobile trails, but they were in great shape and as I found out never used.  I never saw a single person on any of my runs.  Ever.  Even campers and hikers.  Nobody.  I did see two large elk though on this run.  This run was quite an animal.  I had to leave the trail and find my own way up to the peak since the atv trail didn't and I had to go to the top.  

T- 2:50  (8:57) 4500' climb

Spent the rest of the day in the Park checking out the sights.

* Huge week despite taking tuesday off.  Crazy vertical (PR for me) 15,000' 77.5 miles

Here are some photos I took with my camera phone

Lots of uphill at the start

 

Lionhead Peak in the distance

You can just make out my trail I need to follow

Final scramble up to the saddle

View of Bald Peak from the saddle

 

View of Hebgen Lake from the summit of Lionhead (9624')


Looking back up at what I came down

 

 

What a view!

Cascadia 5 Miles: 19.00
Comments
From jtshad on Wed, Jul 14, 2010 at 11:39:06 from 204.134.132.225

Great run. We were in Yellowstone as well last weekend. Great weather and light crowds was nice. You were at the Lionhead campground area just outside of West Yellowstone?

From Cody on Wed, Jul 14, 2010 at 22:43:21 from 174.52.244.185

Yep, thats the one. I see you enjoyed your time in Yellowstone too. Super cool place. We tried to get into Madison but it was full. Maybe next time.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Spent the day in Yellowstone

 

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
15.007.0022.00

AM: Another morning run to explore the trails around Lionhead.  This time it was Contour Road.  It is another ATV trail.  This was was much flatter and I could actually get the legs moving.  I pushed the pace pretty well.  No bears, even though everyone thought I was going to get eaten.  How disappointing.  

T- 1:50:40 (14 miles) 7:54 ave 1850' ascending

Photos of the morning run:


 

 

PM: More exploring in the afternoon while everyone else went to the pool and hot tub.  2 miles on another atv road until I stumbled upon the most glorious single track ever.  seriously.  I was in heaven.  I only had time to run 2 miles on it before I had to head back.  I also didn't have a map of this area so I had to end the fun.  Amazing.

T- 1:05:22 (8 miles) 8:10 ave 1000' ascending

View of the amazing trail (camera does not do it justice)


Cascadia 5 Miles: 22.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
12.500.0012.50

Last run to enjoy the Lionhead mountains.  I was tired from all the previous runs, but decided to go for another good, hilly, beautiful run.  I was in heaven again.  Again, no people, but lots of animals.  No bears though.  Luckily.  

T- 1:56:00 (9:17) 12.5 miles 2500' ascending

 

Cumulus 11 Miles: 12.50
Comments
From Jon on Tue, Jul 13, 2010 at 23:38:27 from 75.169.155.170

Glad you didn't get eaten. Although if you had, I would have declared myself the winner of our competition by default.

From Aaron Kennard on Tue, Jul 13, 2010 at 23:46:32 from 174.51.250.151

that's pretty solid running after all those big previous runs

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.000.0010.00

River Trail with Jon - 

This run marks my longest consecutive trail only streak.  I am now at 6 runs.  It will probably not make it past tomorrow.  I will see how I feel in the morning.  I will see if it is worth it to get up early just to drive to a trailhead.  Either way, it was a good run.

It was nice to sleep in my bed last night, not so nice to be back at work today, but really nice to run at 5000' instead of 7 or 8K.  Everything is turning nice and brown.  Makes me feel at home.


Cascadia 4 Miles: 10.00
Comments
From Jon on Thu, Jul 15, 2010 at 09:53:45 from 192.107.247.6

Like the photos. And I noticed yesterday how brown the mountains were turning, too. Ahh, Utah.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.000.008.00

Slow tired Planet Walk 5

Bike commute to/from work

Cumulus 11 Miles: 5.00Road Bike 2010 Miles: 8.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.000.005.00

PW 5 with strides

Shortest race of the year for me tomorrow, so that warranted a short taper (2 days).  Legs felt awful today, so that usually means that tomorrow they will feel great....I think

Brooks Launch #2 Miles: 5.00
Comments
From Jon on Fri, Jul 16, 2010 at 15:44:30 from 192.107.247.6

Good luck tomorrow.

Race: N.U.T.S. Trail Half Marathon (13.5 Miles) 01:49:47, Place overall: 1, Place in age division: 1
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.0014.0018.00

N.U.T.S Trail Half Marathon - 

1st place overall and new course record!  Ok, its a first year race so the record was a given, but the first place wasn't.  I had to work hard for that.  The course was great with lots of vertical and a good mix of fast/flat, rocky/technical, and steep ups and downs.  My kind of race.  Course description here 

At the start I saw Brian Beckstead and a few others that looked pretty serious so I knew it would be a fun race.  As we started (15+ mins late) no one was anxious to take the lead as we hit the trail so I decided to set the pace.  I actually prefer to do that as then I control how fast I want to go and not get sucked into a faster pace than wanted.  I kept things pretty chill on the first climb up to the shoreline trail.  I had brian on my tail with a few others lurking a few steps back.  The pace was chatty and I enjoyed relaxing and enjoying the run.  I began to gradually pick up the effort and by mile 3 aid it was down to just 3 of us. Third place was being held down by a super chick (I forgot her name, but she ran the olympic trials last time and is getting ready to attempt to re-qualify. She was super strong on the uphills and wouldn't drop back. 

I kept the pace hard and got a bit of a gap on Brian and the girl.   The gap would slowly increase over the next few miles, but it was hard to tell by how much.  One of my favorite sections was the descent into the turn-around at mile 7.  It was a steep and rocky descent and I let it rip.  I slowly refilled my bottle at the turn around and began my slog back up the same canyon.  That was not fun.  As I was leaving the aid, Brian came roaring in and I figured that I had only 30 seconds on him.   Too close for slacking off.  The main focus was to keep working the uphills hard and put some more distance on him before the downhills.  I wasn't feeling super fast on the descents so I figured my advantage was the uphills.

Really, it was a pretty boring race to share (sorry to my 6 readers) as Brian never got closer than about a minute behind me and the girl couldn't keep up with Brian on the downhills so the placing was pretty locked in right from the start.  The final descent was fun as I knew I had won and merely focused on not falling off the trail and not taking a wrong turn.  Successfully completing that, I jogged across the finish line to the roar of the crowd (15 people or so) and accepted my minute of fame waiting for Brian to finish.   I think he was about 50 seconds back, but I have not seen the official results yet.  The no name girl finished not long after Brian and chicked most of the field.   

Overall, it was a great course, solid competition, great course marking (as there are tons of trail options in the area and you could easily take the wrong way), great plaque for first place too.  The only downside was the late start and the warm weather, but since it was overcast, it didn't get really hot like I expected.  I will probably do this race again, especially to defend my course record.  

T- 1:49:47 (8:22) 2600' vert

( Did a good 2 mile warmup and 2+ mile cooldown)

** Weekly summary 75.5 miles 8500' vertical

Cascadia 5 #2 Miles: 18.00
Comments
From Paul on Sat, Jul 17, 2010 at 15:13:54 from 174.27.144.122

Two wins, two records in a row. I expect the hat trick from you at Speed Goat. Good job.

From Cold Wine on Sat, Jul 17, 2010 at 16:08:47 from 174.23.75.82

Nice race! Congradulatons on your win. I enjoyed reading your report and getting to know who the elites are. I saw you at the top of Beuss and was humbled at how easy you made the climb out of the canyon look. I was surprised to see the no name girl not too far behind you guys.

Great trails, and well marked.

From jtshad on Sat, Jul 17, 2010 at 16:17:20 from 69.20.183.178

Great race, congrats on the win!

From Dale on Sat, Jul 17, 2010 at 19:31:34 from 69.10.215.11

I'm just glad to hear you didn't get chicked. Good job.

From Aaron Kennard on Sat, Jul 17, 2010 at 20:45:46 from 174.51.250.151

Awesome! Nice win, you are rocking it!

From Jim Kern on Sun, Jul 18, 2010 at 00:43:35 from 97.117.42.147

Great job with the win. It was good meeting you. I'm sure I'll see you at more starting lines.

From Jon on Sun, Jul 18, 2010 at 11:05:53 from 75.169.157.88

I can't believe you missed my 1:12 goal time for you, or your own 1:30! Well, I guess we'll give you a pass due to all the hills. Like Paul said, we expect the trifecta at the Speedgoat!

From Jon on Sun, Jul 18, 2010 at 18:22:26 from 75.169.157.88

By the way, super chick is Kristine Spence.

From JD on Sun, Jul 18, 2010 at 20:53:17 from 32.176.198.69

Congratulations! You're on a roll!

From Burt on Mon, Jul 19, 2010 at 01:05:03 from 68.225.214.248

Reader #9 here. Go hat trick!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
22.000.0022.00

AM: slow 10 on Providence Star loop

T- 1:19:20 (7:56) 750' Vert

PM: Trail run with Joe and Jon.  Right hand fork, Up Ricks and down Steel Hollow.  Jon had ambitions to run fast.  I didn't.  Jon took off and Joe and I ran together.  Turns out Jon had numerous potty issues and we ended up passing him without knowing it.  He would almost catch us and then have to stop.  Meanwhile, I was working too hard for the average pace we were actually running.  Oh, well, it was a great run regardless. Its time now to chill for a few days and get my legs back under me before a big mileage weekend.  12 miles

T-1:40:16 (8:22) 2300' vert

Cascadia 5 Miles: 12.00Brooks Launch #2 Miles: 10.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

AM: Slow 6 on Planet Walk.  Bathrooms at the fairgrounds were locked for the first time ever.  What the?

 PM: Body and mind said no running tonight.

Cumulus 11 Miles: 6.00
Comments
From Jon on Tue, Jul 20, 2010 at 10:51:58 from 192.107.247.6

Indeed- What the?

From Paul on Tue, Jul 20, 2010 at 13:01:04 from 65.103.252.214

I had alerted City of Logan about their oversight, because I was afraid of vandalism. Sorry about that, guys.

From Jon on Tue, Jul 20, 2010 at 23:30:35 from 75.169.148.10

Are you serious, Paul?

From Paul on Wed, Jul 21, 2010 at 07:55:20 from 174.27.255.118

Keeping ruffians out of public bathrooms during off-hours is a serious civic issue.

From Cody on Wed, Jul 21, 2010 at 10:11:18 from 69.9.58.17

If I were suddenly homeless, I would live at the fairgrounds. I should say would have lived at the fairgrounds. That's not an option now....

From Predog on Wed, Jul 21, 2010 at 13:11:43 from 24.10.140.186

And we all know that Jon and Cody are the worst of the worst, as far as ruffians goes. I mean who else goes running around at all hours terrorizing the population by wearing short shorts?

From Paul on Wed, Jul 21, 2010 at 13:30:51 from 65.103.252.214

I also called up the authorities and told them to lock up Skyview track, just to annoy myself. That'll show me!

From Faceless Ghost on Wed, Jul 21, 2010 at 23:20:42 from 67.169.248.86

One morning I had a GI "emergency" while running at the West High track. The bathroom was locked, so I pooped right outside. That'll learn 'em.

From Predog on Thu, Jul 22, 2010 at 03:22:47 from 24.10.140.186

That is hilarious. Great idea. haha

From Jon on Thu, Jul 22, 2010 at 17:50:26 from 75.169.149.111

I've thought of doing that more than a few times, but never have. Hopefully never have to.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
12.500.0012.50

AM: 8 miles on Providence River Heights Loop.  Legs better today, but still not there yet.  

T-61:30 (7:41) 200' vert (not much at all)

PM: 4.5 slow and hot (96) miles pushing the stroller to the "red track" as my kids call it.  I saw Jon heading out and he joined me.  The kids and I did 1 slow lap on the track and back home we went. 

Sinister Miles: 8.00Cumulus 11 Miles: 4.50
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.500.008.50

Providence Hills loop

T-1:06  (7:45) 500' vert

Brooks Launch Miles: 8.50
Comments
From Vis on Thu, Jul 22, 2010 at 20:27:00 from 146.151.102.231

Strap on those shoes for another 200 meters and hit 2,000.

From Predog on Fri, Jul 23, 2010 at 13:41:47 from 129.123.241.134

Hey, sorry I never contacted you about the run today. The internet at my apartment has been having problems the last couple of days and I couldn't get on at all.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
15.000.0015.00

No work today due to Pioneer Day Celebrations so our family decided to celebrate by camping just like the pioneers did.  First we drove 30 miles up to Tony Grove campground (just like the pioneers) and pitched our waterproof $45 tent (again, just like the pioneers) and cooked our hotdogs and brats over a propane stove.  How hard can it be, really? 

Somewhere in there, I ditched my family (thanks to a very supportive wife) and hit the trails for a nice run.  I headed out from the backcountry trail head at TG and took off to Naomi Peak.  I hit the peak in 50 mins, took a break and then continued down the backside to High Creek Lake.  Spectacular area!  I hiked/ran around the lake (a requirement for me on any run) and went back up to the saddle.  The mile split back up was a hard earned 19:20.  The trail climbs 1000' in 1.4 miles.  I then ran down heading back to TG until I hit the turnoff to White Pine.  I was still short of my mileage goal, so I headed up that trail until I hit the high point before dropping down to the lake.  I really enjoyed this part of the trail as it is much more runnable and less rocky.  Time to head back to camp.  Just over 3 miles of smooth (but very crowded) singletrack and I was there.

T- 2:46:10 (11:05) 3900' vert

Trail up to Mt. Naomi

Mt. Magog

Logan Valley from Mt. Naomi

High Creek Lake

Trail to High Creek from Mt. Naomi (Cherry Creek on the left)

Cascadia 5 Miles: 15.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
17.000.0017.00

After a night of sleeping in the dirt, we continued our camping adventure by eating cereal and doughnuts just like the pioneers.  My wife broke camp and headed home via the car ride and I opted to take the shorter/more difficult route home.  It is a run that I have been dreaming about for years now.  The epic Tony Grove to Green Canyon run.  I was so excited to finally do it.  

Things started out fine with the short climb out of TG.  500' climb in a mile.  No big deal.  The doughnuts were working wonders for me.  I was fully fueled and ready.  The route was well marked (plus my trusty maps helped) and I admired the sights.  I took a few pictures and generally soaked in my surroundings as I went.  I arrived at the junction to Cottonwood Canyon and it showed two ways to go.  Cottonwood Canyon and Smithfield Canyon. My thought process was incorrect as I decided I wanted Cottonwood canyon.  I got a quarter mile down the canyon and was admiring Mt Elmer when I realized I was supposed to run past Mt Elmer.  This trail is not taking me there.  A quick consult with the maps confirmed I am an idiot and I went back and took the other path.  I would have ended up at Jardine Juniper tree many miles from home. 

The route to Mt. Elmer was rocky, steep, and not well traveled.  I lost the trail many times while traversing the 6 false summits enroute.  This was the most difficult portion of the journey.  My small blister on my toe (I got that during yesterdays run - in fact, it is the first blister I have had in a year) was really unhappy with the camber of the trail.  The trail was downright hard.  The upside was the spectacular views of everything though.  3.5 miles of ridge running with cliffs on both sides.  Awesome!

After a short hike to the top of Elmer for a few pictures (and to say that I have been on top), I made haste to continue.  It was now mid-day and getting hot.  I had plenty of water, but I was really exposed up there.  I was now about halfway there, but with the hard uphill part done.  Now all that was left was a long straight shot down the entire length of Green Canyon.  I have never run the upper section before so it was neat to explore and admire the view.  I was also VERY glad to be going down the canyon and not up as it was super steep and rocky at the top.  Things progressed nicely as I descended.  The trail flattened out a bit and was less switchbacky.  Yes, that is a word.  Switchbacky.  Eventually, I was again on familiar trails and enjoying the final push.  The last 2 miles were 6:40 pace which felt blazing fast after those 15-20 min miles on the ridge earlier.  I survived!  I had thoughtfully left a car at the lower parking lot and quickly drove home to a nice cool shower (again, just like the pioneers did). 

T-3:02:40 (10:44) 3000' ascent 5900' descent

Weekly summary: 81 Miles 10,650' Vert

Went left instead of right.  Ooops

My first good look at Mt. Elmer.  It would take me an hour and a half to get there.

Mt. Elmer from the top of the 4th or 5th (of "7 sisters")

From on top of Elmer looking towards Mt. Jardine and logan in the distance.  You can see the trail I will soon be running on (first ridge). 

More from on top.  See Logan Peak in the distance?

Quality signage.  I will have to visit that peak another day.

View from the Top of Green Canyon.  Pretty steep up top, but super pretty.

Cascadia 5 Miles: 17.00
Comments
From Burt on Sun, Jul 25, 2010 at 13:06:17 from 68.225.214.248

Can't wait to hear about the rest of your epic adventure.

From Paul on Sun, Jul 25, 2010 at 17:27:54 from 174.27.193.158

I remember traversing the 7 Sisters as the hardest part of the route too. It shredded my Montrail Hardrocks.

From James on Sun, Jul 25, 2010 at 19:51:54 from 174.23.34.125

Yeah, ever since I heard about about Paul destroying his Montrails I have wanted to try that run. Sounds fun and hard, and you are crazy for doing it alone! Awesome job on your win last week too.

From Jon on Wed, Jul 28, 2010 at 23:51:40 from 75.169.144.58

Way, way too much fun.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.500.008.50

Nice and Easy 8.5 on Providence Hills Loop.  No soreness, just residual fatigue form this weekend. 

T- 66:50 (7:52) 500' vert

Cumulus 11 Miles: 8.50
Comments
From Aaron Kennard on Mon, Jul 26, 2010 at 20:32:23 from 174.51.250.151

Nice thing you're not sore...but you better rest up because you've got Nick Clark to contend with this Saturday! I'm excited for you, that's going to be a swee race.

From Cody on Mon, Jul 26, 2010 at 22:07:49 from 174.52.244.185

Yeah, I am not even in the same league as Nick C and Kevin Shilling. I am only hoping not to die. Literally. 12,000' vert!!!

From Aaron Kennard on Tue, Jul 27, 2010 at 01:51:39 from 174.51.250.151

Well...I'll still be rooting for you. Those guys are fast, but so are you. And that's going to be a fun race regardless of how it goes. Just don't fall! (too many times)

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.500.008.50

Providence Hills via Von's Park

T- 64:00 (7:31) 500' vert

Brooks Launch Miles: 8.50
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.000.007.00

Super tired 7 on Landfill Loop

8:20 pace

Cumulus 11 Miles: 7.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

PWPW 

Sinister Miles: 6.00
Comments
From Jon on Thu, Jul 29, 2010 at 16:56:40 from 75.169.142.23

PWx2

From Aaron Kennard on Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 10:25:17 from 69.18.151.138

What is PW?

Also, getting super psyched for speedgoat for you, that's looking to be an epic race with a solid lineup.

Apparently Karl gives Nick Clark the best odds for the win, and I can't say that he's not justified in that bet. But I'm still rooting for the underdog upset of the year from advantage draper! (No pressure or anything like that of course!)

From Jon on Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 15:57:28 from 75.169.146.140

PW = planet walk. But we won't tell you what that is- it's a Logan secret that we'll have to show you.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.000.004.00

PW w/ Strides

Brooks Launch Miles: 4.00
Comments
From allie on Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 09:54:13 from 174.23.226.74

good luck tomorrow.

From Jon on Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 10:02:38 from 75.169.146.140

Yeah- sprint out hard and never stop! Show them how we do things up in Logan!

From Jon on Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 20:33:37 from 75.169.146.140

So do you realize you went the hard way last Saturday? If you had actually headed towards Jardine, you would reach a trail in about a mile that split off towards Elmer, allowing you to avoid the 7 sisters.

Race: Speedgoat 50K (31 Miles) 06:58:27, Place overall: 15
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
33.000.0033.00

Speedgoat 50K

This is arguably the hardest 50K in the US (so I have heard).  I now believe all the hype.  It is SICK.  I am pretty pooped right now so the report will have to wait.  The short version is this.  Crazy hard course with endless hills.  ~12K feet of elevation GAIN with the same descent.  The field was loaded this year.  15th place for me and a time that is close to what I guessed.  Even with a 2 mile extra penalty lap they made a group of us run (what a joke that was).  More details on that later.  My time would have been good enough for 8th last year, even with the extra miles.  Not so this year. 

1st Kevin Schilling

2nd Nick Clark

3rd Luke Nelson

4th Karl Jarvis

5th Greg Norrander

All of the race was above ~8000' with numerous ascents over 11K'.  Just and insane course.  I ran and hiked well so I am pleased with my result.  Bottom Line:  The hardest race I have ever done, by FAR!  But glad I did it.

So, the long version...

The craziest thing about this race is course.  The website has a profile map from 2008, no course directions and the course changes year to year.  None of that matters to RD Karl M. as he has been quoted to say "Remember this race is all about not really knowing where the course takes you, other than up some nasty hill."  That approach is cool, but though on the runners as you are at the mercy of the course markings.  Lets hope they are clear....

I dropped the kids off at their Grandma's house friday night Bethany and I spent the night relaxing and enjoying the evening at The Lodge at Snowbird.  Early the next morning, I ditched the wife and wandered over to the start line to prepare for the race.  I looked around and saw plenty of big name runners there and knew a top 10 would be a great result.  So, the goal was 6.5 hours to 7 hours and a top 10 finish. 

The race started right on time and we immediately began climbing.  The first mile was all uphill to the top of a ski run then immediately began to descend and lose all the elevation we had gained.  By the end of the second mile, we were back at the bottom of the resort and no closer to the top of the mountain.  I knew that this was the start of a very long day.  I settled into my routine of run/hike as the hills dictated.  I really enjoyed the beauty of the course with its many wildflowers and sharp granite peaks nearby.  Little Cottonwood is one of my all time favorite canyons.  I grew up 10 mins from the mouth of the canyon and loved to visit it.  This visit was much less pleasant. 

Finally 8 miles and 1:5x into the race, I summited hidden peak.  There was a large crowd of volunteers and onlookers cheering us on as they got a ride up on the gondola.  I filled the bottles, grabbed a banana and moved on.  This was the first of many trips to above 10K' as this peak is nearly 11K'.  The course wandered over a ridge to Mt. Baldy (11k+') and over the top.  I was already getting tired, but was pacing myself well.  I forgot to mention that before getting to Hidden Peak, no name guy from Logan Peak caught up to me and we decided to hook up and work together.  It turns out that he had a name afterall (Chris). 

Coming off of Mt. Baldy we went down a steep hill where there were helpers and ropes to keep us from dying.  I gladly used the ropes as they saved the quads from further abuse.  Once that leveled out a bit, we were soon descending down more hills.  Doesn't make much sense, but that is how I remember it.  Hills, all the time. This descent didn't feel good at all as my back was really tight and wasn't loosening up.  I figure all the steep climbing and descending really messed it up.  I managed to stay with my group of about 5 runners and keep the body going.  We soon took off up a steep climb on another goat path that probably doesn't get used except for this race and hit the saddle and the most critical junction of the race.  Two options, right or left.  We all knew that this was where the loop to American Fork Canyon met up.  We knew we needed to do the loop, but which way. Up until now the junctions were reasonably well marked with Flour showing which way to go.  Here, as we looked left we saw 6-10 course flags showing the way.  As we looked right, we saw 1.  Hmmm.  Chris remembered from 2008 when he ran the course that he went left.  Since the website didn't have a course description I didn't have a clue.  Chris and I decided to go left.  We got 50 meters up the hill when the rest of our group of 5 caught up.  They hollered to us that we went the wrong way so we came back and discussed it.  We all quickly agreed to go left.  As we started up the hill some other runner came over the hill and went right with no hesitation.  He hollered something about going right and was soon gone.  Why should we believe him?  Crap what to do.  We kept going left and climbed to the next peak before descending almost 3K feet to the aid station at the far end of the loop.  I doubted my decision to go left the whole time as it seemed like the markings were set up to be more clear for the runners going up hill than downhill.  At least there was a group of us all in the same boat.  As we neared the aid station, we saw the lead runners coming up the trail to us.  That confirmed that we messed up and went the wrong way.  We figured that we could run the other half of the loop and run the same distance as everyone else and everything would be ok.  About a mile away from the aid station, there was a volunteer posted at the junction leading into the aid station.  She told us to tell the aid station that we had come from the peak.  We ran the mile or so into the aid station and saw all the runners in front of us.  We were in roughly 10th place and still pretty close together.  The aid finally appeared and I happily filled up on supplies as we chatted with the guy in charge.  He said that to stay in the race, we needed to do a "penalty lap" out and back to the lady at the intersection.  Ugg.  Seriously!  How is that supposed to even things out?  We ran just as far as the other guys and it wasn't any easier.  Make us run the other half and its all fair right?  Wrong.  As we slogged through the penalty lap, we watched many people pass us that were way behind us the whole time.  I met up with some guys who I know from Logan Peak and chatted with them as I entered the aid station the second time.  I asked them what their mileage was on their garmin.  15.5 is what they said.  Mine read 17.5.  2 mile penalty for a lack of course marking and a wrong guess by at least 7 people (I know of at least that many who did the same thing).  Penalty lap completed, I rudely gave them my race # again as I came into the aid station and quickly left trying to pass back the 10+ people who had passed us.  That is the "penalty lap" story.  Not as cool as some might hope.  I didn't trip the lead women or anything.  Sorry.

The climb back up to the peak was a tough one and it was mostly a hike.  The sun was thankfully behind clouds for this section and I pushed it pretty good.  I caught up to a few people including at least 1 who decided to forgo the penalty lap altogether.  As we hit the intersection where it all went wrong we saw that it was now well marked and staffed with a person to tell us the way to go.  Little to late for that now.  Ok, big whine over.  Stuff like this happens and you can get upset and move on, or get upset and not move on.  I guess some would say that a third option is to not get upset at all, but that was really not an option for me.  I would not get the 10+ places I lost back but I could get some. 

After a brief descent back down the goat path, we began another huge climb up to the tunnel.  The sun was out strong here and I was cooking.  I was drinking lots and sweating even more.  Brutal.  I continued to pass a few more people on the climb, but was losing ground to Chris, my unofficial pacer.  The tunnel was a very welcome sight as it marked the end of another hill and the start of another descent.  I caught back up to Chris in the tunnel and proceeded to blast the downhill.  This was probably one of the best descents for me as my back was ok enough to let me go at a reasonable pace.  Eventually, the trail turned back skyward and I was headed back up the mountain once again. This time, it was on a rough trail along the ridge.  It was a brutal hike and I only ran tiny sections of it.  I passed one other runner here and that would be the last one I would catch.  I had put a pretty good gap on Chris on the downhill and he would make up a bit of that on this climb, but wouldn't quite catch me.  Once I hit the top of the mountain and passed under the tram, I could see where the aid station was at the top of the hill.  Too bad the course would turn me in a different direction.  Down.  Just kill me now! 

It turns out that I didn't have to descent too far this time and was soon climbing again this time for real to the top.  At the final aid station I was told 5 more miles till the finish.  I looked at the time and knew it would be really close to make it by my 7 hour deadline.  The hard thing was that my back was really tweaked now and the course was so slow and rocky in places that 12 min pace going down was all I could muster.  The course got better as I descended and I was able to actually enjoy the last 2 miles as it was on actual single track with dirt.  It wasn't just a trail of rocks.  Or a hill full of bushes with no discernible trail (like the previous sections).  Glorious!  Too bad I was so exhausted I couldn't enjoy it properly.  As I neared the finish I knew I would make it but then the trail bypassed the finish area and kept going down the canyon.  NO!  Have mercy!  Finally, it joined turned back up canyon and I suffered through another half mile of gradual uphill to the finish. 

I was very very very happy to be done with this race as it was the hardest one of my life.  My family was there to cheer me at the finish line and I loved it!  They quickly left me to recover while they played at the kids playground.  I soon found out that I won a free pair of La Sportiva shoes in the raffle for placings (15th place turned out to be a lucky winner).  Sweet! 

I will add more elevation and splits for future reference when I get the data uploaded and will add some pictures too.  Until then, I will nurse my bruised, broken body.  

My garmin read (via Sport Tracks) 11,250 Feet of Ascent/Descent


Profile

Official Results are here

After an adjustment to many people's finish times to "undo" the "penalty lap" that we did, my placing was upgraded to 12th overall and with a finish time of 6:42:27 instead of 6:58:27!

More Pics Here courtesy of Pure Light Images

Cascadia 5 #2 Miles: 33.00
Comments
From Scott Ensign on Sat, Jul 31, 2010 at 20:11:33 from 67.41.171.30

hardest... sick... pooped.. crazy...endless.. a joke... sounds like a blast!! So I take it you are looking forward to running it next year too?

I can't wait to hear why you had to run a penalty lap. did you trip another runner or something?

great job, and get some rest!!

From Burt on Sat, Jul 31, 2010 at 20:24:23 from 68.225.214.248

This is going to be good...

From Faceless Ghost on Sat, Jul 31, 2010 at 21:05:43 from 67.169.248.86

I ran in Little Cottonwood on Wednesday and I was thinking that Speedgoat runners were going to be hating life on Saturday. Can't wait to hear the report.

From Aaron Kennard on Sat, Jul 31, 2010 at 21:52:19 from 174.51.250.151

How can you be pooped out on us at a time like this??? We need the down low! J/K - but seriously, can't wait to read your report, I've been psyched to hear about it all week, and now a penalty lap...what the??

From Twinkies on Sun, Aug 01, 2010 at 10:02:54 from 67.166.116.191

Great job Cody. That was one awesome/brutal course. I heard about your little detour. I almost took a wrong turn at one point, the the guy behind me hollered and I came back.

From jtshad on Sun, Aug 01, 2010 at 12:05:17 from 69.20.183.178

Wow, what a race! You are killing the ultra circuit this year!

From Superfly on Sun, Aug 01, 2010 at 12:13:38 from 208.117.127.110

Penalty lap? Sounds mean. Good job on running a extra hard course.

From Adam RW on Sun, Aug 01, 2010 at 14:51:04 from 24.10.132.131

Cody, Sorry to hear about the course snafu. It really doesn't sound fare. Overall though it sounds like you had a good and challenging adventure. Good job.

From Dale on Sun, Aug 01, 2010 at 16:55:33 from 69.10.215.11

Gotta love bonus mileage, however it comes to you. Good job placing exactly where you needed to for the free shoes.

From Paul on Sun, Aug 01, 2010 at 19:49:13 from 174.27.193.158

Definitely worth the penalty lap for the free shoes. Glad you enjoyed the race, although I think most of the blog is eagerly anticipated your next clash with Jon in two weeks.

From Aaron Kennard on Sun, Aug 01, 2010 at 23:27:39 from 174.51.250.151

http://karlmeltzer.com/2010/08/kevin-schilling-and-keri-nelson-take-the-goat-leg/

Sounds like they are adjusting the times and removing the penalty lap. That's still totally lame though and unfortunate. But glad to hear you didn't let it ruin your day. But I would assume he will adjust your time too with the final results since he did it for the others posted so far.

Favorite quote of your post: "Down. Just kill me now!" That course sounds completely demoralizing with the hill climbs at unknown/disclosed intervals.

Nice job pushing through with a super strong race despite the annoyances you faced.

From Jon on Mon, Aug 02, 2010 at 01:17:19 from 174.19.181.220

Dude, crazy race- just like we expected. SOunds like you did great, esp. considering that whole penalty lap thing. Nice work on an adventureful course.

From Dave S on Mon, Aug 02, 2010 at 20:57:03 from 4.254.230.175

Great job! Sounds brutal. Loved your report

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
11.000.0011.00

AM: (7) Slow and Easy run to end of Von's Park.  The recovery is going really well.  Soreness is only a 1 (out of 10).  Sore butt/back/feet/quads.  Tired, but should be good in a few days.

PM: 4 miles to Logan High and back with the kids in the stroller.  Hot and I had just eaten.  Not pleasant.

Cumulus 11 Miles: 11.00
Comments
From Dale on Mon, Aug 02, 2010 at 11:53:59 from 69.10.215.11

Wow, quick recovery. Wish I could walk.

From Dale on Tue, Aug 03, 2010 at 16:41:16 from 69.10.215.11

I noticed that you moved into 12th place after they adjusted your time to account for the penalty lap. When do you return the shoes?

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.500.0010.50

PM: Met up with "unemployed Jon" and "always itching to run faster Joe" and we ran from Right Hand Fork up Maughan Hollow to the top.  We took a side route on some cow paths for a while towards Willow Canyon but eventually made it to the FS road at the top.  We ran on the road until the junction with the Mud Flats Road.  We then took the road all the way back to the car via Little Cottonwood Creek.  I liked that trail the best even though the cow count was pretty high.  Bottom line,  most of today's run was nice, but not worth repeating. 

T- 1:39:00 (9:22) 2000' vert

Cascadia 5 Miles: 10.50
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.000.0010.00

Deer Fence - 

I arrived at the Dry Canyon parking lot to see a huge moose with a nice rack staring at me.  I flashed him with my brights and he didn't move.  I eased into a parking spot as he slowly wandered up dry canyon.  I then took off on Deer Fence and bit him farewell.  The first 2 miles on the trail were still in the dark, so they were slow, but things improved as I warmed up.  I ran out to Millville Canyon and did just a touch up the canyon before heading back.  I felt pretty good on the way back so I pushed the pace and ran a 3:30 neg split with a net gain of a few hundred feet.

T- 1:27:30 (8:45) 1300' Vert

Cascadia 4 Miles: 10.00
Comments
From Paul on Wed, Aug 04, 2010 at 11:09:15 from 65.103.252.214

wow, that's cool to see a moose that low!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

Landfill loop easy.  Bathrooms at the fairgrounds were open today.  Thanks Paul for calling your buddy in the Logan Offices to open them back up for me.

PM: Waterskiing and wakeboarding at Hyrum Lake.  Sore upper body now, but awesome!  I love watersports!

Cumulus 11 Miles: 6.00
Comments
From Paul on Thu, Aug 05, 2010 at 11:41:40 from 65.103.252.214

I told them to add $25 to your monthly utility bill, to offset the maintenance expense.

From Cody on Thu, Aug 05, 2010 at 13:17:20 from 69.9.58.17

That explains their promptness. Logan city is broke.

From Paul on Thu, Aug 05, 2010 at 13:19:45 from 65.103.252.214

They are also about to implement a $1 fee for Planet Walk use.

From Cody on Thu, Aug 05, 2010 at 14:03:04 from 69.9.58.17

I will pay it if they un-pave it and add hills. Maybe a drinking fountain too..

From Jon on Thu, Aug 05, 2010 at 14:14:18 from 75.169.141.20

Is that $1 per day or per lap? Makes a big difference sometimes when I run 5-7 laps of it.

From Paul on Thu, Aug 05, 2010 at 14:16:04 from 65.103.252.214

per lap. The money will go toward putting an extra layer of asphalt down.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
11.000.0011.00

Trail run with Jon - 

Another great new trail run with Jon.  This was a fabulous trail that I will come back to run again.  The downside is that it is 3/4 the way up Logan Canyon so there is a long drive involved, but it is worth it.  Very pretty with perfect singletrack to the sinks.  Oh, it was Stump hollow to Peter's Sinks.  Barely out-ran the huge rain and thunderstorm that blew through.

T-1:37:30 (8:52) 2000' Vert


Cumulus 11 Miles: 11.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
22.000.0022.00

Trail Run - 

This marks the completion of the Bear 100 Course recon mission. This was the last section of trail that I had not run before and it was a great one to finish with.  Joe me with Jon and I and we were off running starting at Tony Grove at 7:30.  The first 4 miles are on the busiest 4 miles of trail in Cache county but today it wasn't bad.  I can understand why it is busy.  Its gorgeous.  In fact most of today's run was awesome.  When I say awesome I am referring to the views.  Not the state of my body during and after today's punishment. I had a rough time today and was super low on energy.  Its a bad sign when you know you are going 20+ miles and by mile 2 you look at the garmin to see how far you have gone.  Oh dear.  Jon and Joe were patient in my rough patches and I survived to tell the tale. 

The route was Tony Grove to White Pine lake then down Bunchgrass trail (one of my all time favorite sections) over to Franklin Basin via Mules Ear pass.  Things went downhill here as the trail turned steeply upward on Steam Mill Trail.  Once we FINALLY made it to the top we deviated off the course to visit the Lake.  Lake seen and admired, we went back to business on the Bear course working our way North to the Steam Mill Road a few miles away.  That road spits you out onto the Franklin Basin road (dirt) which we had to follow for 1.5 miles to the car we left there last night.  Phew.  It goes a lot faster typing than running.  Great section of trails though.  Steam Mill is pretty steep and rocky.  I wont be visiting it anytime soon (other than during pacing duties of course).

Overall, the run was awesome (I think I mentioned it already) even though my legs were shot.  I did manage a 6:33 mile to the car at the end while on Franklin Basin Road. 

T- 3:40 (10:22) or so since I stopped my watch accidently for about a half mile. 

3500' Vert climbing  4500' descending

 

Weekly summary: 70.5 Miles 9000' vert

Pics:


Running to White Pine (sorry for cutting off your head Joe)

The crew at white pine ( I look tired already)

It's a BEAR!   Or is it just Jon?


At the remains of a steam boiler (way off the beaten path)

Steam Mill Lake

Glorious Singletrack

Cascadia 5 Miles: 22.00
Comments
From Burt on Sat, Aug 07, 2010 at 17:37:50 from 68.225.214.248

Awesome pictures. I like the look on your face in the first one. Looks like you're about to make the most important decision of your life.

From Jon on Sat, Aug 07, 2010 at 21:01:16 from 75.169.155.69

Burt- my first thought was that he was about to make the biggest dump of his life!

From Burt on Sat, Aug 07, 2010 at 22:23:23 from 68.225.214.248

Most people make the same face doing both activities.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.500.008.50

Providence Hills untimed

500' vert

Brooks Launch Miles: 8.50
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
9.502.0011.50

River Trail from Stokes Nature Center to Guinevah Malibu Campground.  Came back via Spring Hollow and the Bridger Overlook.  That is a beast of a hill.  800' in .8 of a mile.  Thankfully the route down was a bit more gradual.  I felt lousy to start and as time went on I felt better.  I ended up turning it into a bit of a progression run with the last mile at 6:38.

T-1:38:20 (8:35) 2400' vert

Cascadia 4 Miles: 11.50
Comments
From Jon on Tue, Aug 10, 2010 at 22:49:52 from 75.169.142.213

Yeah, I went up 1.5 miles on that trail yesterday- steep.

Sorry to bail on you today.

From Cody on Wed, Aug 11, 2010 at 10:12:10 from 69.9.58.17

No worries.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.000.005.00

PW5

Cumulus 11 Miles: 5.00
Comments
From Jon on Thu, Aug 12, 2010 at 00:14:04 from 75.169.153.187

View from Ben Lomond...

http://picasaweb.google.com/110731470557570571093/BenLomondLewis#5503394155998830050

http://bryce.fastrunningblog.com/blog--3-Peak-Link-up-30-6-miles-8235-vert/08-07-2010.html

From Aaron Kennard on Thu, Aug 12, 2010 at 16:50:30 from 24.8.144.22

So Jon, Cody...who's it going to be this weekend? Either one of you sand bagging or holding out? I notice Jon is definitely appearing have a bigger rest week this week...does that concern you at all Draper? Is he bluffing, or does he really have some foot pain? Jon, how bad is it...you going to be alright to race this weekend? Oh the drama of the duel.

From Cody on Thu, Aug 12, 2010 at 17:52:59 from 69.9.58.17

Oh, I got it covered. Just you wait....

From Jon on Fri, Aug 13, 2010 at 12:15:02 from 174.19.181.220

Aaron, I'm still not sure I'm racing it. Can hardly walk on my foot. But if I race, be assured I will kill Cody.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

Landfill Loop - Felt good

Brooks Launch Miles: 6.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.000.004.00

Planet Walk 4 - Passed a highschooler twice

Sinister Miles: 4.00
Race: El Vaquero Loco 50K (30 Miles) 05:39:23, Place overall: 3
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.0030.0030.00

El Vaquero Loco 50K -

I call this race, "The Revenge of Jon".  After the thrashing I gave Jon at Logan Peak he was forced to quit his job and run full time logging 100+ mile weeks just to beat me at this race.  He may claim it is all for the bear 100 that he wants to run, but it is a lie.  In-fact, he even did a 4 day cold turkey taper so his legs could be rested.  He claimed some phantom pain that magically disapeared on race day.  What to believe? 

Seriously, though I am glad that we were able to race the final in our two part series.  We picked an awesome course and a great day to do it.  Ty Draney (Race director) put on an excellent race.  The course was an out and back 25K each way starting at ~7000 feet climbing to 10,000 feet, dropping to 9000' back up to 10K then a long down to 7000' before turning around and doing it all over again the opposite direction.  The start finish was at Cottonwood Lake just outside of Afton WY.  Absolutely beautiful terrain.

The race started in the morning dawn and was quite dark for the first mile or so.  I was able to see Luke Nelson ease away from our lead pace group on pace to destroy his own course record again.  Jon, a guy named Micah, and myself made up the chase pack with another group of 4 or so not too far behind.  Jon set a solid pace up the first 4 mile climb (2800') and I hung on for dear life.  I was fine as long as the trail was runnable.  Once it got too steep and we were forced into a powerhike, I slipped back a few steps.  That tendency would turn out to be a factor later on. 

As we finally hit the saddle at 10K' we caught a look at what we would descend into and it took our breath away.  The most beautiful mountain valley with a large cloud nestled into the bottom of it.  An awesome sight.  We made our way down the steep / rocky switchbacks and were soon running through the clouds.  Jon faded into a fuzzy green and red blob due to the visibility (or the altitude affecting my brain).  As we climbed another hill, we stumbled onto a lake.  It was amazing.  I have a hard time describing the scene and would have given my left shoe for a camera.

More climbing ensued and we hit another lake and another steep climb out the bowl.  I lost a bit of ground on this last climb and Jon and Micah put 100 yards on me.  I didn't fret and tried to relax on the downhill just running my own pace.  I heard an animal in the bushes but it turned out to be Jon taking a pit stop.  He caught me easily and worked his way up to near Micah as he had pulled away from me too.  The turn-around was interesting as we were able to see our competition and see the time gaps.  Luke was way ahead (10+ mins), Micah 2-3 mins and Jon 1 min ahead.  We also had the 25K runners start as we approached the turn-around so we were forced to get past them in one direction then work our way through the entire pack (or those that we could) and get past them.  It actually turned out to be not a big deal as they were kind to step off the trail when we asked to get by. 

The turn-around was the low point of the course and it was a long 8 mile climb to get back to the lakes.  I stuck to my low (aka slow) gear and ran all I could on that climb.  I enjoyed having roadkill the whole way to motivate me.  About 4 miles up the trail I caught and passed Micah who was in a bad place both mentally and physically (went out too hard?).   Now I only had to somehow catch Jon who was both climbing and descending better then me.  My only hope was that he was falling apart worse than me.  I finally got my first glimpse of him a half mile up the mountain at about mile 24.  I timed his gap at 5 mins. 

This section of the race was a blur as I worked through my fatigue and focused on hydration and fuel.  I stopped at most of the creek crossings to pour water on the head and cool off.  The cool morning clouds were long gone and the sun was beating down.  The lakes were pretty in the mid day sun, but didn't hold a candle to what we saw earlier in the day.  As I hit the last aid I saw Jon hiking up the nasty 500' climb to the summit.  I timed him twice on that climb.  First at 5 mins then at 6 mins.  Shoot.  He saw me and sped up.  Or I slowed down.  Or my power hike speed just plain sucks. 

Once at the top, a deep breath and a big plunge down the 2800' descent.  I knew I wouldn't make up 5 mins on the descent and really only wanted to keep the gap decent.  I knew it was going to be close so I pushed as hard as I could and tried not to fall on my face.  The finish finally approached and I was quite happy to be done.  I finished and looked for Jon.  He was smiling and showed my his watch which showed the time difference between him and I.  It read 5:39.  After a combined 60 miles of racing less than a min seperated us.  Crazy.  Oh, I suppose I should mention that the 30 seconds or so is in MY favor.  HA!  Luckily I am not running the Bear 100 or he would take over the lead by a few hours.

Luke broke his won course record again, with Jon being the second fastest person to run the course ever and I following as the third fastest ever.  Cool.  Micah finished about 30 mins later with Leland Barker not far behind. 

Sport Tracks stats:

 

 9000' vert climbing and the same descending.

I spent 59.2% of the race (time-wise) climbing, 33.1% descending and 7.7% on the flats.  Kind of cool.  Slowest mile was 19:54 (net gain of 889 feet).  Fastest mile was 6:51 (mile 29).  I guess I was going so slow at times that it thought I had stopped.  It showed 41 mins of time stopped.  I think I spent 5 mins max stopped at aid stations.

** Weekly summary 65 miles 11,900' vert


 

Cascadia 5 #2 Miles: 30.00
Comments
From jtshad on Sun, Aug 15, 2010 at 12:03:38 from 69.20.183.178

Congrats on a strong run! You and Jon really pushed each other and coming down to less than a minute difference is a testament to both of you.

From Jon on Sun, Aug 15, 2010 at 12:09:06 from 174.19.181.220

Nice race, Cody. Strong and consistent, as always. When I saw someone in red appear at the last aid as I was climbing the hill, I hoped that it somehow would be Micah or a 25k-er. But I knew only you would be tough enough to be that close, and recognized your stride. You ran very well.

I wish I could have traded you a camera for your left shoe- I'm pretty sure you would have been a lot slower with no shoe...

I have to say, the steep climb out of lake 2 completely disappears on your elevation profile! What did sporttracks give for elevation?

From Dale on Sun, Aug 15, 2010 at 14:36:13 from 69.10.215.11

You guys put the loco in, er, Loco. Way to push to the end to win the series. Sounds like Jon's potty break did him in.

From Cody on Sun, Aug 15, 2010 at 14:58:25 from 174.52.244.185

Thanks Jeff

Jon - It came out to 9,088' I think that 30% of the guys in this race wore a red shirt. Every one I caught up to was a false alarm until I finally did see you for real.

Dale - That is Jon's big disadvantage. It really did him in at Rocky Raccoon and it was easily the difference between us here as well. But what can you do?

Jon - all you had to do was push a tiny bit harder on one hill or maybe even not take a wrong turn with the finish line in sight. 14 seconds is little.. So close....

From Predog on Mon, Aug 16, 2010 at 12:43:41 from 129.123.240.153

With Jon you don't look for the red shirt, you look for the green shorts. That's the giveaway. Anyway, nice race! I am excited to hear about it next time we run.

From Scott Ensign on Mon, Aug 16, 2010 at 20:43:07 from 67.41.180.55

big day for cache runners at this one. way to go.

From Superfly on Tue, Aug 17, 2010 at 13:27:18 from 208.117.127.110

It's not just that these races are long. They have to make them insanely vertical. Man you guys are like trail legends now. Good job man.

From Aaron Kennard on Wed, Aug 18, 2010 at 11:41:54 from 69.18.151.138

May the strongest bowels win! Looks like you guys proved Jon's only weakness.

Nice job out there Cody, another totally impressive performance.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.500.004.50

Logan High with the kids in the stroller.  The recovery is going well. Soreness is gone, fatigue is lessening.  Break is over.

Cumulus 11 Miles: 4.50
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

Another easy day - Landfill Loop 6

Comments
From Jon on Wed, Aug 18, 2010 at 19:26:41 from 75.169.146.179

You gotta go to Skyline-Ben Lomond sometime on fresh legs. Great run.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
13.000.0013.00

13 of the slowest/steepest/rockiest/bush and poky branches cutting the legs infested/best views of both Cache Valley and Box Elder County at the same time / most awesomest/ Miles I have ever run on the Wellsvilles today with Jon.  Very cool indeed.  We started at Deep Canyon at 5:30 and ended at Rattlesnake Gulch in the dark.  Last 2 miles were run by light of the moon.  I will post pics of the amazing views someday.

 

 5400' Descent and 5400' Climb

T- 3:21:15 (15:30)

Fireblade Miles: 13.00
Comments
From Jon on Fri, Aug 20, 2010 at 16:05:09 from 75.169.157.53

Epic. Simply epic. And a bit crazy.

From Jon on Fri, Aug 20, 2010 at 16:13:17 from 75.169.157.53

By the way, here is Jared's 100:

http://blog.coachingendurance.com/2010/08/jared-campbells-millwood-100.html

From Kam on Sat, Aug 21, 2010 at 18:44:28 from 68.66.163.179

Is that point to point or out and back? It looks pretty gnarly, to state it mildly.

From Jon on Sat, Aug 21, 2010 at 20:34:46 from 75.169.146.44

Kam- point to point, from north to south over the range.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Nada-Too busy and didn't feel like it.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
19.000.0019.00

Another epic trail run.  This was the farewell run for Jon.  I wish him luck in finding another training partner in South Carolina.  But even harder than that, is the difficulty in finding a run to match this one.  Sorry to rub it in, Jon.  We will miss you though. 

Beirdneau Peak to Mt. Elmer to Mt. Jardine to Green Canyon.  Awesome loop.  I will have to try it the other direction to see which I like better.  I sure enjoyed the fast descent in Green and know it would not be the same to descend down the Beirdeneau trail. 

Anyway, the run started off bad as I had an alarm clock issue and missed my wakeup.  Jon called and that woke me up but now we were 25 mins behind.  Sorry again guys.  I had a deadline to meet up with some friends at 11 am so the early start was necessary.  I liked it though as we got to see the sun rise and even run in the cooler temps for longer.  The grunt up to Beirdneau was a doozy but with the awesome views, very worth it.  After that, things just got harder as the trail was faint and was relentless rolling (up) hills at 8500'.  We eventually made it to Mt. Elmer and scrambled to the summit for some pictures and a breather.  2.5 hours to run 10 miles.  Seriously? 

The next highlight was the random bush-whack over to Mt. Jardine.  If there is an easy way from Elmer to Jardine, we sure were not on it.  We eventually made it to the top to only talk Jon out of looking for the real way down to Green Canyon.  We erroneously convinced him another bush-whack was in order.  Straight down the mountian and down a ravine until we hit the real trail down Green.  Not a route I will repeat.  Ever.  But very cool.

The descent down Green Canyon was once again a race and Jon led the charge.  I stayed with him until a biff slowed me up a bit.  Very fun stuff though. I love that canyon.  Except for the bikers on Saturday morning.  Too busy.  Mission accomplished, loop completed and definetly one to remember. 

T-4:15:00 (13:30) 5500' vert

 

Weekly Summary : Lowest mileage week of the year, but some serious vertical for 2 of those days.  **42.5 miles 11k' Vert

Cascadia 5 Miles: 19.00
Comments
From Jon on Sat, Aug 21, 2010 at 20:39:42 from 75.169.146.44

There can never be a replacement for Cody and Cache Valley. These have been good years- thanks for sharing them.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.003.0010.00

Providence Star at a decent clip

39:30 up 31:30 down

T- 1:11:00 (7:06) 750' vert

Cumulus 11 White Miles: 10.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
12.500.0012.50

Providence Hills loop

T- 65:00 (7:39) 500' vert

PM: 4 more miles with the kids in the stroller (Planet Walk)

Brooks Launch Miles: 8.50Cumulus 11 Miles: 4.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
9.000.009.00

another boring road run today.  boring and flat.  out and back to young ward via ICON.

T- 67:00 (7:27)

Cumulus 11 White Miles: 9.00
Comments
From Aaron Kennard on Thu, Aug 26, 2010 at 12:49:19 from 24.8.144.22

sounds like a fun run! er...something.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.003.0011.00

Today I drove into Providence to bypass some road miles and enjoy some trail.  I parked at the Park/School and headed up to Providence canyon.  I then jumped on the Deer Fence trail and headed to dry canyon and ventured about a half mile up the canyon before running out of time.  The way back was faster with the final 3 miles quite quick (for me).  Great morning to be on the trails.  Too bad its dark now for the first half of my runs.  Makes it less inviting for sure.

T-1:24:15 (7:40) 1300' vert

Cascadia 5 Miles: 11.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.500.006.50

another friday morning slog fest.  blah

Cumulus 11 White Miles: 6.50
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
21.000.0021.00

Sadly (a small part of me) I didn't run the Top of Utah Half marathon today.  It was the first year in 4 years not running it.  I thought about the many runners out today while on my trail run.  Losers.  Just kidding....

Joe and I got an early start again today (since he had to work at 11) and hit the trails in the dark again.  Joe wanted to recon his section of pacing duties for Jon and I happily obliged.  We started at Right Hand Fork (after dropping a car at Temple Fork) and ran up the Willow Creek Trail to mud flats.  We followed the course to Temple Fork mostly uneventfully.  The highlight of the morning was the spectacular lightning storm taking place just north of us.  Luckily it had just moved through so we weren't in any danger, but it left behind some muddy trails and very wet plants. 

We hit Temple Fork in 1:19 (mile 8.1) and the real climbing began.  The grunt up Blind Hollow wasn't as steep as I remember.  I figure I have gotten used to some steeper stuff since last running this section.  It did get a bit tedious at the top, but we made steady (but not fast) progress.  We hit the lake at Tony Grove in 2:43 (mile 14.4), ate a snack and got back at it.  On the downhill, my legs were very unhappy with me and let me know.  Once again the pace was steady, but not fast.  That trail wasn't half bad though and I am glad I got to run it again knowing what to expect as it did seem easier and more fun this time.  I am thinking a good run would be RHF to Temple Fork up Blind to Tony Grove over to White Pine and down to Franklin Basin.  24 miles or so.  Not a bad shuttle either. 

Another great run and glad Joe could join me. 

T- 3:40:00 (10:29) *5000' vert gain *4500' descent

 

 

Weekly summary - Crazy busy week at work and I was lucky to get out running as much as I did.  I am feeling the effects of the long hours and have to go in today for more.  Considering all that, not a bad week.  I am still feeling the effects of all the racing I have done as well. 

70 miles 7550' vert

Fireblade Miles: 21.00
Comments
From Jon on Sat, Aug 28, 2010 at 20:36:18 from 65.207.165.18

Glad to see you could get Joe ready for his portion. I'm assuming there was no moose and definitely no snow at Tony Grove? And hopefully you took him on the right path to Mud Flats, not on our stupid little detour.

Nice work on the mileage this week with all your crazy work stuff.

From David Nelson on Sat, Aug 28, 2010 at 23:02:08 from 24.17.107.6

Are both you and Joe pacing Jon? I'm still planning on doing a leg as part of this thing. We should run sometime the week after TOU, I'll get in the night before and I think I'm staying at Paul's (baby willing).

From Cody on Sun, Aug 29, 2010 at 00:09:20 from 174.52.244.185

Jon - We took all the right paths this time. It was much nicer. I could run this section in my sleep now! We are getting excited for the Bear!

Dave - Yep. We more or less made this plan. Joe will pace from Right hand fork to Tony Grove. I will pace from Tony Grove to Beaver Creek Campground. Your duties as pacer will then take him to the finish. Do you like running in the dark? Are you cool with that plan? We are all planning on crewing when we are not pacing.

I also volunteered to mark the first 20 miles of the bear course as well so I will be doing that the few days leading up to the race. I would love your company for all/some of that!

From Kory on Sun, Aug 29, 2010 at 01:43:45 from 72.24.26.195

There are mountain goats than there's you. Nice work Cody. Keep your confidence soaring because great things are coming. Wonderful run.

From Jon on Sun, Aug 29, 2010 at 13:23:41 from 68.119.211.149

Yeah, Dave, we're giving you the last 15 miles of the race- and they are some tough ones!!! Does that sound ok?

From David Nelson on Sun, Aug 29, 2010 at 22:45:28 from 24.17.107.6

Sounds great with me, just wanted to check. I'll be on vacation, so I don't need a sleep pattern and can tackle the dark.

Cody, I'm happy to head up and help set-up. The plan was to goof around in the mountains most of the week anyway (Jon's unemployment blog had been making me jealous).

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.000.0010.00

I made the mistake of not taking the big dark clouds seriously this morning and boy did I pay for it.  The heavens opened up at mile 4 of a 10 mile run and didn't let up.  I was frozen and miserable.  In shorts and a short sleeve shirt.  Not that would have made any difference as I was soaked through in minutes.  The icing on the cake was the short section of barbed wire I somehow got wrapped around my leg taking a good chunk out of the skin behind my knee.  Man that sure stung from all that dirty road water "washing" it out as I ran home.   What a morning...  time to start checking the weather a bit closer and probably time to take my headlamp so I can see the trail (and barbed wire) more clearly.

T-1:16:00 (7:36) *750' vert

Brooks Launch Miles: 10.00
Comments
From Predog on Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 22:27:44 from 129.123.247.166

You and barbed wire just aren't having the best of relationships lately.

From Jon on Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 22:37:11 from 68.119.211.149

Where were you?

From Cody on Wed, Sep 01, 2010 at 23:13:17 from 174.52.244.185

Right by the Providence Star

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
11.000.0011.00

Providence Canyon just past the parking lot 1 mile up the canyon.

1:26:06 (7:50) 1000' vert

14.5 hours at work. Lame

Cumulus 11 Miles: 11.00
Comments
From Jon on Thu, Sep 02, 2010 at 20:06:09 from 68.119.211.149

14.5 hrs? Ouch.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

Exhausted from the excess hours and stress from work.  So no morning run.  The workday was cut short to only 10 hours today so I had time to take the kids in the stroller to Ryan's Place Park and spend a half hour playing before dark.

T- 50:00 (8:20)

Brooks Launch Miles: 6.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.000.0010.00

Providence Star

T- 1:17:00 (7:42) 750'

Brooks Launch #2 Miles: 10.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.000.008.00

Easy 8 on Young Ward short loop before driving to Denver for the weekend.  Exhausted from the 14 hour day at work again yesterday.

Cumulus 11 White Miles: 8.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
17.000.0017.00

17 FLAT miles on the South Platte River Trail.  I haven't run a run this flat on a Saturday for at least 6 months.  So, instead of hills I focused on speed and maintaining a good tempo.  An hour for the 8.5 miles out and 57:25 for the return trip.  It might have been a bit faster but I didn't carry water and man was I thirsty.  I started to worry for the last 5 miles.  Not good.

T-1:57:25 (6:54) 250' vert

Brooks Launch #2 Miles: 17.00
Comments
From Aaron Kennard on Sun, Sep 05, 2010 at 23:58:47 from 24.8.144.22

why the flat?...when there are so many great hills to climb here!! How long are you in town?

From Jon on Mon, Sep 06, 2010 at 15:26:19 from 98.71.139.73

Yes, I have to agree. I can understand flat if you were in Kansas. But you were in Denver!

From Cody on Mon, Sep 06, 2010 at 23:10:16 from 174.52.244.185

I wanted to drive to the mtns and hook up with you aaron but time/plans didn't allow for it. Too bad I was staying way out in the plains and was too far from the mountains to take advantage. Kind of ironic...and sad. I am home now, until next year.

From Aaron Kennard on Mon, Sep 06, 2010 at 23:25:49 from 24.8.144.22

I'm sure you did, if I know you it was painful to have to be so close and yet so far away from untapped single track. Sounds like a whirlwind trip, I know how that goes. Sounds like you've been crazy busy the last week or so between working 14 hour days, driving 2 full days, and in between needing to make time for family for a couple days. Good luck at mid-mountain this week!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.000.0010.00

10 miles wandering around the endless bike trails of Thornton.  I stumbled on East Lake and enjoyed 3 laps of its 1.25 mile dirt trail.  The drive home was 10 hours of misery except for the break at Bear Lake and its raspberry shakes.

T-1:18 (7:48) 400' vert

Brooks Launch #2 Miles: 10.00
Comments
From Aaron Kennard on Mon, Sep 06, 2010 at 23:28:39 from 24.8.144.22

Ouch! I bet you're glad to be home where you can run on a trail within 10 minutes. You may as well have been in Kansas from the sounds of it!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.500.008.50

Providence Hills

40 degrees

Cumulus 11 White Miles: 8.50
Comments
From Dale on Tue, Sep 07, 2010 at 11:34:20 from 69.10.215.11

Brrr

From Jon on Tue, Sep 07, 2010 at 20:55:11 from 98.71.139.73

Oak Grove Lake

91 degrees

:)

From Jon on Tue, Sep 07, 2010 at 21:37:34 from 98.71.139.73

And kick some butt this weekend, too.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.500.005.50

Took the kids to the park, then went out by myself for a few more.

Cumulus 11 Miles: 5.50
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.000.005.00

Full Taper Mode.  5 Miles easy

Sinister Miles: 5.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.000.004.00

Planet Walk 4

Cumulus 11 Miles: 4.00
Race: Mid Mountain Marathon (26 Miles) 03:04:29, Place overall: 4
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
1.0026.0027.00

Mid Mountain Marathon - 

 Totally awesome singletrack for all but 1.5 miles of the course.  Some of it was rocky but the majority was buffed out smooth.  The course takes you from Deer Valley over to The Canyons via a "not flat" route.  The course is technically rolling and there was not a flat stretch to be seen.  True, there was a lack of 1000' relentless climbs up 12% grade, but the course is not easy.  There had to have been 100+ switchbacks on that course as well.  That being said, it was the fastest marathon I ran this year. 

Things began early with a brief warmup to earn a few stars.  It was cool (< 32 degrees) but once the sun peeked over the mountains things warmed up quickly.  The race was pretty large with 300+ runners but things started on time with a quick mile lap around the paved neighborhoods to thin out the crowds.  I found myself in 8th place after a 6:47 mile on not-flat roads.  The singletrack began in earnest.  From here on, I tried to relax and enjoy the views.  It was challenging to not fall on my face while admiring the views but I managed.  I focused on keeping the pace reasonable and being patient about the fact that I was losing ground to the lead pack with every step.  Soon, they were out of sight and more than 90 seconds ahead.  I did manage to pick up my first roadkill but for the most part I was all by myself.  Just out for a run.

I wont bore you with splits and numbers of stuff, so the report basically skips to mile 20 or so.  I had passed 5 guys but got passed by 1 other guy (who ended up finishing 2nd) so I figured I was in 4th place. I did pass celebrity blogger steve cuttitta but had a hard time keeping him behind me.  I was still "attacking" and hoping that around the next corner the next victim would appear and I would find myself winning a pie (top 3 won a pie).  No such luck, but I did manage to keep my roadkill behind me. I found that I was faster then they were on the downhills and either the same or slower on the uphills.  How does that happen?  I thought I was a decent hill runner.

In all, it was a great course, great weather, I felt good and I am happy with the results.  I was no match for BJ Christenson who posted the winning time on this year's course (reportedly 2 mins longer as it had an extra hill somewhere in there) with a 2:56 something.  That is ok though, maybe next year.  

I was "lucky" enough to catch the first shuttle to my car back at Deer Valley.  We filled the van with 15 people and as we chugged up the steep hills to the Silver Lake Lodge things went downhill as the van suddenly stopped.  Engine revving, but no forward movement.  The van was done.  Probable failed transmission.  We were left to hike up the final mile to the cars.  It was easily the slowest mile of the day. 

T- (watch) 3:04:49 (7:06) official results 3:04:29

* 2200' climb 3300' descent

Results are here


**weekly summary 60 miles 2600' vert

Cascadia 5 #2 Miles: 27.00
Comments
From rockness18 on Sat, Sep 11, 2010 at 20:18:26 from 75.42.154.65

Great job!

From Burt on Sat, Sep 11, 2010 at 22:44:21 from 68.225.214.248

Buffed out smooth. Just like my biceps. Great job once again.

From Aaron Kennard on Sat, Sep 11, 2010 at 23:37:11 from 24.8.144.22

Solid race Cody! BJ is tough to beat for sure. You just needed more steep ascents and descents to be able to hand it to those guys...sounds like the course isn't quite steep enough to turn away all the speedy roadsters. You still killed it, that's a fast marathon.

From Oreo on Sun, Sep 12, 2010 at 13:22:23 from 174.27.220.159

Cody!! Nice job. That's a smokin time on that course.

From Jon on Sun, Sep 12, 2010 at 14:07:21 from 98.71.185.47

Sounds like you had a fun time and ran great on a good course- can't beat that. Nice work. Any idea what your next races will be?

From Paul on Sun, Sep 12, 2010 at 15:47:39 from 174.27.187.235

Nice job. But the important question is whether you beat Jon's time from last year?

From Jon on Sun, Sep 12, 2010 at 16:29:24 from 98.71.185.47

Excellent question, Paul. Cody, why don't you answer that question for us...

From Cody on Sun, Sep 12, 2010 at 21:35:08 from 174.52.244.185

Thanks guys!

Paul - Nope I didn't beat Jon's time but he cheated or something so it doesn't count.

Jon - No idea at this point. I need a break though. I am worn out. Just going to rest up for the Bear pacing and course marking duties and then see from there if I have any desire to race again this year.

From Seth on Sun, Sep 12, 2010 at 21:49:21 from 67.177.37.10

Nice work! I did some long runs on that trail last summer and know how challenging it can be. Great job!

From Paul on Mon, Sep 13, 2010 at 12:31:36 from 65.103.252.214

Jon, Cody - thought you guys might like the mileage board for Year Totals right now. We three are stacked together. Who will come out on top for the year?

From Cody on Mon, Sep 13, 2010 at 13:33:35 from 69.9.58.17

Paul-

That is crazy. What are the odds of that? I know the winner wont be me! I got my money on Jon.

From Paul on Mon, Sep 13, 2010 at 14:44:52 from 65.103.252.214

I need to rack up as many miles as I can in the next 7 weeks, as I'm essentially taking November off.

From Jon on Mon, Sep 13, 2010 at 19:36:11 from 98.71.185.47

Uh oh, I ran at lunch and ruined it. That is very funny, though. Close friends, close miles.

Paul, if you are retiring from running "forever" after Indy, then aren't you also taking Dec off?

I'll be getting a big mileage boost next week... but who knows after that. If my Achilles is ok, I already signed up for a trail race Nov 6. But the Bear may also be my last run for the year.

My money is on the slow and steady one, Cody, if he keeps running. Otherwise, it is on Mr. 100-mile-weeks-at-5:00-pace Petersen. I bet whoever runs the most in Dec wins.

From JD on Mon, Sep 13, 2010 at 19:40:33 from 32.176.112.143

Regardless of the outcome, you all should be locked up in a funny farm.

From Adam RW on Wed, Sep 15, 2010 at 22:46:00 from 24.10.132.131

Nice job. OUCH on that last half hour, that is some serious descent.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.500.004.50

4.5 super slow miles with the kids in the stroller.  We went to the "Red Track".  Recovery is going well.  All soreness is a 1 or less at this point.  Still no motivation to get up early.  Maybe tomorrow, if I go hit a trail or something.

Cumulus 11 Miles: 4.50
Comments
From Aaron Kennard on Tue, Sep 14, 2010 at 22:59:13 from 24.8.144.22

Its cool how quick you recover from such hard/long races.

From Kory on Tue, Sep 14, 2010 at 23:28:25 from 24.116.159.75

Cody you've had an amazing year and I'm praying it just gets better. Your making up for all the running I can't do.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
2.000.002.00

2 miles with the kids to the park.  Didn't have a lot of time so we played instead of running.

Comments
From Jon on Thu, Sep 16, 2010 at 22:18:22 from 74.177.84.235

You can change the title of you blog now, if you want. I'm just saying.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
9.000.009.00

My knee caps has been getting progressively more and more sore and stiff since the race saturday.  I rested it this morning and it got a bit better during the day.  I ran 2 miles with the kids in the stroller to the park again.  When I got home, things still felt pretty good so I drove up to Green Canyon to get some dirt running in.  I made it 7 miles in just under an hour before it got dark.  

T- 58:30 (8:21) *1000' Vert

Fireblade Miles: 7.00Cumulus 11 White Miles: 2.00
Comments
From jtshad on Fri, Sep 17, 2010 at 10:32:17 from 204.134.132.225

I hear you on the knee issues, I have a little bit of runner's knee going on as well. If it is not intense, taking some time off may help.

Hope they start feeling better soon.

From Aaron Kennard on Mon, Sep 20, 2010 at 00:04:23 from 24.8.144.22

I have had some knee cap pain this year, blasting out my quad with a roller seemed to help it a lot. I'm sure you're right about all that downhill in the race causing the issue. If you have thrashed/knotty quads, it's pretty likely to be putting stress on the patella tendon. Good luck healing up, and good luck this week helping Jon win the bear!!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

6 slow trail miles in the dark.  I need better batteries in my headlamp as I was having a hard time seeing anything this morning.  My knee was pretty stiff and tender this morning.  The first mile I debated bagging it all together.  I kept going and it felt better as time went on.  Any deep knee bends really hurts, but the rest of the time its ok.  Just going to take it easy and let it heal.  I am convinced it was the brutal downhill of the Marathon finish that did it. 

T- 56:30 (9:25) Deer Fence from Providence to Dry and back. 750'

Cascadia 5 Miles: 6.00
Comments
From Jon on Fri, Sep 17, 2010 at 20:55:43 from 74.177.120.109

Take a few days off. Remember, you've got the longest run of your life next Friday...

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.0010.0020.00

Top Of Utah Marathon -

This was the first year in 5 years that I have not been a part of the marathon either doing the 5K or the marathon.  This year, I was recovering from my trail race from last week and looking forward to about 55 tough miles next week in 2 days in the mountians.  So, needless to say, I wasn't running it today.  I didn't let that stop me from running much of the course and even getting some pacing miles in.

I met Michelle L. at mile 21.5 and we chatted as we ran the course backwards until mile 15.  She was doing a long run and was pacing a friend (from mile 15 to the finish).  It was nice to catch up with her and I wish her well in her marathon next month.  I wanted to run with Joe for a bit and hopefully not get dropped.  He came flying down Hollow Road in 6th place and looking great.  I jumped on and we cruised down hollow road in 5:44 and 5:42 before I said my goodbyes and wished him well.  I was barely hanging on for dear life.  That was the 2 fastest miles I have done in a long time.  This put me at mile 17 and already tired and well over the miles I wanted to run today.  I guess I didn't think this through too well.  I was far from done, but enjoying my spectators view of the race.  I decided to start walking down the road and take a little breather.  Before too long I saw Allie killing it in first place (again).  Not far behind was Dave N with TOU defending champ Paul P. pacing.  I jumped in and chatted for a minute before waiting 20 seconds for Scott (redrooster).  Last year, he did a great job motivating me to a "better than it would have been" finish and today it was my turn to return the favor.  He was only 20 seconds behind his nemesis but slowly dropping back.  He could still get him.  Lots of racing left.  Scott held strong and didn't fall off the pace more than is normal for that course.  Too bad his nemesis picked up the pace and pulled away.  I think Scott did a great job pushing the hills and surging to try and hang strong.  He even passed two guys over the final 10K.  He went on to PR and narrowly miss the sub 2:55 with a 2:55:20 (clock time).  Congrats Scott.  Dave went on to kill his sub 3 hour goal and was close to 2:50 (not sure exactly).  Joe fought some cramping over the final bit to finish with a HUGE PR of 2:38 something.  Awesome!  Good job guys!

After the finish line festivities I jogged VERY slowly back to my car 2 miles away in Providence taking all the shortcuts.  20 exhausting miles, but the knee felt great.  Only minor soreness at this point.  More than I should have run, but well worth it.  Now to rest up for next weeks awesome activities.  I am getting pretty excited!

T-2:26 (7:18) *250' vertical

 

*Weekly summary 41.5 miles with 2000' vert.  Things were rough with recovery being stalled by a sore knee.  All that downhill at Mid Mountain Marathon did me in. Things improved over Friday/Saturday and I am optimistic things are better now. 

Brooks Launch #2 Miles: 20.00
Comments
From catherine on Sun, Sep 19, 2010 at 17:39:05 from 69.169.157.242

Sounds like you made the race better for a lot of people. Good job. :)

From Predog on Sun, Sep 19, 2010 at 18:01:48 from 71.213.51.229

Yeah, Cody...you were a lifesaver at that point. Helped me bridge a tough part in the race, not just by pacing me, but your pep talk got me through when it really got rough. Thanks, and I'm looking forward to this weekend. I will let you know about marking.

From Jon on Sun, Sep 19, 2010 at 18:51:33 from 98.84.70.166

It's always fun to run a bit of race and encourage people without the actual stress/pain of racing.

BTW, the new blog name is much better.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
19.000.0019.00

Monday I was feeling crappy.  My knee hurt and I wasn't even thinking about a run.

Tuesday was even worse. My neck cramped up and I couldn't turn my head all day.  It was horrible. 

Today, I wasn't having any of that.  I didn't care if my legs fell off, I was going to run.  And run I did.  David and I met up and we ran the first 19 miles of the Bear 100 course (Logan Dry Canyon to Leatham Hollow).  I had signed up to mark it for the big race Friday and today was the day I decided to do it.  I took the day off of work too to enjoy the morning running and spend the rest of the day at home with the family.  Doing projects of course, but home nonetheless.

The run took forever since we had to stop every 1/8 of a mile or so and put up another ribbon and when we got to any junction mark it up so no one would get lost.  I would be shocked to see anyone lose their way in the first 19 miles.  Not on my watch! 

Sport Tracks says that we were stopped for 57 mins.  I started the watch at the start and didn't stop it for any of our 200 breaks.  We both took it easy because we are both nursing little injuries from previous races.  Don't want to jeopardize my pacing duties at the bear.  I hope today's run didn't do that, but I think I am in the clear.  My knee is sore, but it didn't affect my running at all today.  Plus, all that running loosened up my neck and now that is feeling great.  

Anyway, it was a fun and enjoyable run catching up with Dave and enjoying the mountains.  It was a great day to be outdoors.  The minor hail storm didn't even change my mind about that.  Now, back to the projects....

T-4:22:00 (13:47) (10:47 actual running pace) *5000' vert

The following is the elevation change for today's run.  Just think about Jon as he finishes this section and still has 80 miles to go!  Sucker.

 

Proof David helped


Fireblade Miles: 19.00
Comments
From Paul on Wed, Sep 22, 2010 at 17:42:16 from 65.103.252.214

First 19 miles of the course? Shoot, you may as well have kept going!

From Adam RW on Wed, Sep 22, 2010 at 17:56:22 from 155.101.152.123

That final picture looks a little too much like you are wearing a bra!

Glad to hear you could get out of the weeks slump...

From Scott Ensign on Wed, Sep 22, 2010 at 17:56:47 from 65.100.218.2

I am really looking forward to running a trail run with you guys. I feel bad I can't help with the Bear this weekend. Friday is all booked up until late, and I promised the twins I would take them hiking on Saturday, maybe to jardine juniper. next year...

From Jon on Wed, Sep 22, 2010 at 18:23:09 from 98.84.0.196

Yeah, what is all over your vest?

Dude, you were supposed to take everyone to the summit of Logan Peak, remember? Mark up that way? You clearly did not, based on your elevation profile.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
34.000.0034.00

* Pacing/Crewing Report for Jon Allen (Bear 100)-

I have slept 5 hours since the conclusion of this beastly event, and feel much better now.  However, the report is still on hold for another day.  Bottom line, it was super inspiring and insane, just plain insane.  An incredible result and one Jon should be proud of (as he is). 

Ok, its now sunday and I enjoyed a glorious 11 hours of sleep last night.  I felt like I just ran a relay, sleep deprived and exhausted.  Time to share the details. 

The long awaited day had finally arrived.  Jon and I spent hours upon hours running sections of the course and I was so excited to be a part of his big day.  The weather turned out perfect.  It was cool with clear skies as I picked up Jon at 5am to take him to the starting line at the mouth of Dry Canyon.  As they (140? starters) took off, Paul, Dave and I stood together watching them and I shook my head and muttered what everyone else told me about someone running a hundred mile race, "I don't even like driving 100 miles."  Little do they know what these racers go through during their journey to the finish line.  It is insane.

After a breakfast at Angies, Paul, Dave and I went to set up and run the Leatham Hollow aid station at Mile 19.6.  There we got to see the runners in action and help them on their way. 

Here Dave shows off the food spread.  The highlight of the aid station was when someone's crew offered to supplement the food we had with a dozen doughnuts he had.  We even saved a few for the runners.  Joe came and helped out crew Jon and then he took off to help Jon at the next available crewing location at Cowley Canyon. 

Jon came through the aid in the lead pack of 7 or so runners.  They were all looking pretty good and Jon showed them how to get in and out as he got what he needed from us in only seconds.  I wouldn't see him until Right Hand Fork, as Joe was crewing him while Dave and I helped Paul handle the mass of humanity that passed through the aid station.  It was cool to see some familiar faces and also cheer and support many people I didn't know.  The other 2 bloggers represented well with Bryce and Davey both putting up excellent times.

View from my Jeep heading to Right Hand Fork (mile 36.9)

Jon came into Right Hand Fork aid where Joe and I had joined Jon's wife and kids who came to cheer him on.  He was 2 mins behind 20 hour pace but 8 mins ahead of his 21 hour pace.  He wanted a shoe change and although Joe and I forgot the new socks, we managed to find them and get him going again in 5 mins.  Things are looking just fine and now Joe gets to jump in and pace him for 15 miles or so to Tony Grove.  Check out his blog for details.  Joe, this means that you can't just put, "it was fun pacing jon for 15 miles".

I drove to Temple Fork aid and set up for the next pit stop for Jon (which he actually did take a pit stop in the facilities).  In and out in another 5 mins.  Some of the guys in front of him looked like they had been working way too hard.  Some of them had as they had put some decent gaps in the field and the runners were now quite spread out.  Evan Honeyfield led by 3 mins over Mike Foote and Dakota Jones who ran together.  Jared was 11 mins back and Leland and Scott were 20 back.  As Jon left the aid station, he was now 36 mins behind Evan, but only 11 mins behind Scott Jamie (in 6th place and his next victim) but still right on schedule only 4 mins behind 20 hour pace.

Joe and Jon at Temple Fork Aid.

Still at Temple Fork.  Get going Jon!

As things turned out the next climb to Tony Grove up Blind Hollow would turn out to be a killer for most of the leaders.  The exception was Mike Foote as it was here he moved into first place and looked good.  Dakota and Evan were both hurting and Scott managed to stay ahead of Jon although Jon managed to close the gap to 4 mins and due to his awesome crew, left at the same time as Scott. 

Jon and Joe coming into Tony Grove (mile 51.8) in 7th place (counting the RD who left an hour early)

Now the fun begins as this is where I suspend my crewing duties and take up pacing duties.  I was so excited to run and be a part of this moment that I just about trampled Jon as we ascended out of the Tony grove area.  All my pacing instructions and maps flew from my vest pocket and I feared getting fired from Jon before I even got started.  He didn't so I got to keep running.  We quickly gapped Scott Jamie and settled into what Jon called his "all day pace".  This area is one of the prettiest mountain trails I have ever run and the weather was perfect for it.  I was having a blast catching up with Jon and getting his assessment of the day from him. He was surprisingly chatty (not normal during a race) and that was good as that meant that he wasn't too deep in the "pain cave" yet.  He was really worried about a sore achilles and was favoring it heavily.  That made the uphills slower and downhills slower.  The flats were good though!  I think there are about 5 miles of flats over the whole 100 mile course.


Jon heading up towards the White Pine area (mile 54)

We made decent time on the long 9.7 mile stretch from Tony Grove to Franklin Basin aid station.  That trail is both awesome and smooth and nasty (read 'rocky') at times.  Good one minute and crappy the next.  As we all realized that sub 20 hours was looking very unlikely the goal shifted to sub 21 hours.  In fact, I believe this was his original goal/projected pace.  Either way, Jon was maintaining a 6 min lead on the imaginary 21 hour guy. 

The next section of trail was one that chewed me up and spit me out during our pre-race scouting/training run.  It is 4 miles gaining 1700 feet over some tough terrain.  I knew that Jon would be huffing and puffing but this is where his sea-level lungs faltered.  I didn't think he would make it at times.  He stuck through the hills and picked it up on the downhills making up time.  As it turned out, he picked up a few minutes and now sported an 8 minute lead. 

Jon ripping on the flats

Running out of daylight

"Dude, check out the view!"

Jon's crew got him in and out of Logan River Aid so fast he nearly left at the same time as Leland and only a bit behind Dakota (who was slowing up considerably).  Meanwhile I was busy stuffing my face at the aid station and took too long.  By the time I left Jon had a bit of a gap on me.  No worries, this next section is a smooth road and I poured it on.  I was maintaining a sub 5:45 pace and couldn't catch Jon.  I finally saw him as I crossed the River 0.6 of a mile past the aid station.  It would take me another 2 mins to catch him.  He said he flew through that section too and I believe it. This was proof for me that fast aid station stops are so important.  Just 2 extra minutes at each aid is a full half hour and the difference between 1st and 2nd place.

Now that I had caught Jon, this point in the race was fun for me as I got to chat briefly with Leland and Dakota as Jon passed them.  It proved to me how much of this race is mental.  Leland and Jon were doing well and kept a positive attitude.  Dakota was having a mental as well as a physical battle.  Everyone goes through many ups and downs and has to learn to fight through the tough times. 

It was now night time so the photos stopped, but the running/hiking didn't.  We successfully stayed ahead of Leland and Dakota as we neared Beaver Lodge (mile 75.8).  I decided (with Jon's blessing of course) to run ahead and prep the crew on what Jon needed while I changed my shoes as my foot was starting to hurt.  It was dark, and I was running too fast over a poorly marked section of trail and missed a turn.  The trail is vague here and probably only used for this race and the list of excuses go on and on, but the bottom line was I got off course (read lost).  I could only imagine the confusion at the aid station as Jon would come in and I wouldn't be there and everyone would wonder where I went.  That got me to panic enough to stop wandering in circles while calling out "Jon, where are you?" endlessly.  I stopped guessing where the trail would go and merely backtracked until I found a marker.  That marker led the way quickly to the road and soon I was back on track.  I was getting tired and that half a mile or so of uphill sprinting to catch up to Jon took a lot out of me.  I was able to catch Jon just as he entered the Aid Station, but now I was spent.  Jon and I left the aid together as I decided it best not to waste time and change shoes.  Really, I just didn't feel like chasing him down another time.  That decision made the next 10 miles pretty painful for my foot.  Live and learn.  Take care of the nagging things as they only nag louder and louder. 

Jon, on the other hand was still putting out great splits and maintaining his 9 min lead on the 21 hour guy.  It got colder on the climb up to Gibson Basin, but Jon had prepared wisely by putting on some pants at the Lodge and was now sporting his winter gear.  That was smart as the temps were near freezing.  I managed to stay warm with less gear but now I was sporting a limp as my foot had the beginnings of tendon pain.  I wouldn't have dropped off my pacing duties if my foot fell off.  I was having a great time.  For Jon though, things were getting rougher as the trail got steeper.  As we neared the Gibson Basin Aid we saw the lights of another running catching us and that spurred him on to go a bit faster.  It turned out to be Leland (who started early) but we weren't sure who it was for quite a while.  I stopped to chat with the aid station workers while fueling up as Jon didn't even stop (don't know why the results read that he stopped for 6 mins as he didn't stop at all).  I confirmed that Jon was in 4th place and the next guy up was 30 mins away. 

The stretch from Gibson Basin to Beaver Creek is a small uphill (360') followed by 800' of descent.  Jon had ditched the light following us but he paid a price for it as he was getting deeper into the "pain cave".  He was by my estimation fully miserable now.  Lucky for him (and me) the third and final pacer Dave would be to the rescue.  My pacing duties finished at Beaver Creek Campground at mile 85.2 and 14.8 miles to go.  His lead on the 21 hour guy was now 16 mins.  Once again the timers messed up his time with Leland's and swapped times.  Jon was actually 2 mins ahead of Leland, not 2 mins behind.  I guess who really cares about splits during an all day event?  Ok, just engineers like Jon and I who over analyze every race.

Jon and Dave now had the steepest ascent and descent of the course left to tackle.  Now, I wasn't there, but Dave reported later the misery and the resurrection Jon experienced.  They came into the final aid station (Ranger Dip mile 92.2) in good spirits with Leland.  Joe and I quickly got him his fuel needs met and off he went with only a 3 minute lead on the 21 hour guy and still the same 30 minute gap to 3rd place.  Can he do it?

Joe and I drove to the finish and were so anxious to see if he would make it we couldn't sleep.  For about a minute.  Then we dozed happily.  I woke up when 3rd place runner Jared Scott finished at 20 hours and 37 minutes.  Oh, no that meant that if Jon kept his 30 minute gap the same as he has all evening he would miss it by 7 minutes.  Man, it was going to be close. 

It turns out it wasn't as he had caught his second wind and flew down the final descent.  Dave and Jon came in together at the finish happily running without lights on and enjoying the full moon.  Joe and I joined them and ran the last 150 meters into the finish.  Unfortunately no photos where taken to capture the moment, but I bet Jon will never forget that happy occasion.  Jon's 4th place finishing time was 20 hours and 49 minutes and 47 seconds.  Clearly beating the 21 hour guy and nearly catching the third place finisher as well.  It was an awesome experience for me to prepare with Jon and execute the plan that has been in the making for years now.  What a ride.

My stats:

T-7:23 (13:00) 6500' climb 6750' descent

PR for both total mileage in a day (by a mile) and total time on my feet running.

*weekly summary (2 runs) 53 miles 11,500' vert

Fireblade Miles: 34.00
Comments
From Scott Ensign on Sat, Sep 25, 2010 at 19:40:19 from 67.41.176.32

very cool. glad to hear Jon did so well, cant wait to hear the details. you are getting a rep as the pacer to have in races. you may have to start charging us for this!

From Predog on Sat, Sep 25, 2010 at 20:35:35 from 24.10.140.186

That was one crazy day/night. Tons of fun though, and inspiring as you said. Jon has hereby earned the "most hardcore person I know" award.

From Aaron Kennard on Mon, Sep 27, 2010 at 00:40:53 from 24.8.144.22

Dude, thanks for posting the real splits. I could tell those aid station splits were messed because it looked like they rounded a lot and stuff. I like your clarification. I could hardly go to sleep Friday night either...I almost felt guilty going to sleep while you guys were all out there running/crewing all night (ok, not really, mostly just didn't want to miss any of the action) I had to just keep clicking refresh until well after midnight at which time I finally succumbed. That was awesome to virtually see Jon kick so much butt, wish I could have been out there. Sounds like it was an awesome experience. Nice job in your help to him...i'm sure that was a big part of his success.

From marci on Mon, Sep 27, 2010 at 17:06:16 from 75.169.138.34

I heard from everybody, mostly Jon, that you guys were the best crew around. I know I was impressed. what an awesome experience for you guys!

From crockett on Mon, Sep 27, 2010 at 22:37:14 from 71.35.208.71

Great pacing job. I missed the same turn before Beaver Lodge, ended up on the Gibson dirt road, but figured things out from there. I had a bigger blunder after the creek before Franklin and headed down a valley before turning back. Great fun at the Bear.

From David Nelson on Tue, Sep 28, 2010 at 10:46:01 from 24.16.251.190

Nice report! I got home late last night, I'll have the first-hand account of the final 15 up tonight. (Can't trust Jon's version, his brain was scrambled by then.) Good to see you and run with you last week, what an experience.

From Jon on Wed, Sep 29, 2010 at 23:40:30 from 98.84.46.139

Cody- we've been through way too much and ran far, far too many miles together for me to summarize in a few words the experiences with you. So all I can say is: How the turd can you get lost on that course before the ski lodge? Especially after we ran the whole stinking thing together. And talking about 5 flat miles- where were those? I sure as heck didn't notice ANY flat miles! Let me know when you figure out where they are, cause I'll be sure to disagree with you... :)

In all seriousness- thanks.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

The recovery from this weekend is going well.  The knees feel decent, the foot pain I had on Friday is gone.  So I decided to hit the trails and test things out.  I ran from the bottom of Spring Creek Road to Deer Fence and along the trail north until I hit 3 miles.  Out and back. 

T- 48:00 (8:00) 700' vert

Cascadia 5 Miles: 6.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
9.000.009.00

River trail to long boardwalk and back.  Legs felt a bit stiff but otherwise great.  Perfect evening for a run.  Ok, I lied.  It was still hot and I ate too many gnats.

T-1:09:50 (7:46) 1100' vert

Cascadia 4 Miles: 9.00
Comments
From allie on Wed, Sep 29, 2010 at 19:18:52 from 174.19.51.35

ha! at least you are honest.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.000.005.00

5 with the kids in the stroller to the park.  Got a flat on the way home.

Brooks Launch #2 Miles: 5.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.000.005.00

5 painful miles on Planet Walk.  My stomach or abdomen wall was cramping up and still is.  weird.

Brooks Launch Miles: 5.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.500.008.50

Providence Hills in the dark.  I broke out the headlamp and reflective vest.  Its that time of year again.  Bummer.

T-1:04:30 (7:35) 500' vert

Cumulus 11 White Miles: 8.50
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
19.000.0019.00

Final day of bear 100 assignments.  Joe and I met up and ran the first 19 miles of the course again and took down the flagging Dave and I put up last week.  I would say that half had already been removed by others.  I decided I should have waited another week to take down the flagging and by then all of would have been gone.  And I wouldn't have to do it.  But seriously, I do enjoy running that section of trail.  Today, it was a grind at the end.  I didn't fuel properly and I was bonking pretty good.  Even with that, we still "ran" it 40 mins faster than when we set up the course.  It did help that it is much faster to rip the markings off the trees and bushes than to stop and tie them.  We did stop for 5 mins to chat with a guy driving a small SUV that looked like a minivan trying to get to Mt. Baldy.  Not the brightest guy.

T-3:40 (11:35) 5000' vert (Time includes all stops and breaks (27 mins stopped according to SportTracks))

** Weekly summary 52.5 miles 7300' vert

Cascadia 5 Miles: 19.00
Comments
From Jon on Sat, Oct 02, 2010 at 17:21:07 from 74.177.99.190

I beat you by 10 minutes last week!

From Bryce on Mon, Oct 04, 2010 at 23:00:20 from 67.186.213.216

Thanks for cleaning up our mess.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

nada

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.500.0010.50

Trail Run with Joe -

Jardine got rained out

Green got rained out

Shoreline trail was muddy and wet (and raining)

Green was no longer raining/windy so we ran up that. 

All of it was FAST and fun

T-1:22:00 (7:49) 1200' vert

Cascadia 5 Miles: 10.50
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

Slow and steady 6 on landfill loop

Cumulus 11 White Miles: 6.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

PWx2

Taking it super easy this week.  I felt good today but kept it chill.

Brooks Launch Miles: 6.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.000.005.00

PW5  Rain snuck up on me and got me good.

Sinister Miles: 5.00
Comments
From jtshad on Fri, Oct 08, 2010 at 10:11:05 from 69.20.183.178

Hope you get good weather down south on Monday!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.000.0010.00

Full taper mode for my Grand Canyon Adventure on Monday.  So, today's run was one of the shortest saturday runs EVER. But just what I needed to charge the batteries and get some fresh air.  Nothing better than running up Stump Hollow watching the sunrise.  Except maybe running down. 

T-1:31:30 (9:09) 1800' vert

Weekly summary: 37.5 miles in 5 days with 4000' vert

Fireblade Miles: 10.00
Comments
From Aaron Kennard on Sat, Oct 09, 2010 at 18:58:17 from 24.8.144.22

haha - i like your idea of a taper...that run would annihilate most road runners and would be anything but a taper run. good stuff.

From Jon on Sat, Oct 09, 2010 at 20:27:27 from 75.169.144.211

Yeah, you should try my 3-day, 0-mile taper! Although I would love Stump- want to do it again next week, assuming we can run after Monday?

From jtshad on Sun, Oct 10, 2010 at 10:55:47 from 69.20.183.178

Have a fun time and be safe! Wish I was there!

Race: Grand Canyon R2R2R (48.5 Miles) 10:50:00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
48.500.0048.50

Grand Canyon North Rim to South Rim to North Rim

One of the coolest experiences of my life and I am so glad I was able to survive it to tell the tale.  It capped off my year of insane trail running experiences and was a great way to go out with a bang!  It was all Jon's fault but as many of you know I don't do anything half-hearted.  If we were going to run the grand canyon, we were going to "enjoy it".  And by "enjoy it" I mean run as hard as we can until one of us either collapses or until someone pushes me off the cliff.  It's all or nothing in my book.  I do believe we succeeded. 

Even though this was the longest run of my life the report will be kept to a minimum.  So, here it is.....

Roughly 48.5 miles including the sightseeing detour over to the black bridge.

Sport Tracks called it at 20,000' Vertical on my garmin (but the reception is sketchy and therefore wrong)

Garmin Training Center called it 28,000' Vertical (its always wrong)

The trail had everything from smooth buffed out trail to rocky to stair stepping to insane cliffs.

10 hours and 58 mins for the "running time". 

Some highlights for my records:

The cold dark descent

The 7 min pace along the desert

The fan club at Phantom Ranch and Indian Gardens

The group of Orientals "hi, hi, hi, hi, hi, etc"

Rob saying "I have to pee" every 10 mins

Jon telling Rob to drink more and take a gu (again and again and again)

The best tasting Snickers that I have ever eaten at the South Rim

The best shower ever at the campground after the run was over

Oh, and sleeping like a rock the night before the run while Rob and Jon tossed and turned all night.


I have decided to break the run into sections as there were distinct sections where the climate and trail would drastically change.  I will begin with the North Kaibab trail.

 

Insane Switchbacks that go on for thousands of feet down and even worse up for the final push to the finish.  It was filled with tons of water steps that made for tricky footing especially in the dark.  I had a blast winding down this in the early morning.  Not as much fun during the return trip.

After the switchbacks comes the Desert

We were lucky to pass through the desert in the cool morning air on the way out, but the way back was brutal and tested our heat tolerance.  I was saved by a small creek which I used to cool off the core.  My 2 bottles of water was pushing it pretty close.  3 would have been nice.

The next section of trail was the Narrows

The narrows were one of my favorite sections of trail.  Very scenic and it was the flattest part of the trail.  Fun both directions.  It reminded me of Zions National Park.  My lousy camera didn't do anything in this trip justice.

Following the narrows was the River

I just plain love the River.  It is what made this all possible.  It reminded me of the many times I spent at lake powell and even on the colorado above the lake.  Can you spot the mule trains on the trail on the other side?

After the river begins the climb up to the South Rim.  To get there you must first pass through the Devil's Corkscrew


After that brutal section, you get relief by running through the Indian Gardens then you are into the final section of trail.  The South Rim Switchbacks

 

That little hut there is the 3 mile warming house (aka bathroom).  It was 3 miles of endless switchbacks until the top. It was on this section that we ran into hundreds of tourists hiking up and down this mountain.  Many were in over their heads and most thought we were crazy.

 

We made it....halfway at least.  Now for the hard part doing it all over again, but with tired legs and heat (about 90 degrees) to add difficulty.  I kept my slave driving attitude up until the end.  No slackers allowed.  If you can run the Grand Canyon, you can run it fast!  I did find lots of opportunities to stop for 5 seconds and take a picture though (I took close to 200 pictures).  For those interested (Joe maybe?) I will post the link to download all 40MB of the pictures here

We eventually made it back without anyone throwing me off a cliff (although Rob was sure tempted at times).  And even more amazing was that the return trip was only about an hour slower than the first half.  Not too shabby.

I recommend going to Rob's and Jon's pages for their reports as they are more entertaining.  But you knew what you were going to get when you read my blog entries anyway, dry and to the point.  I loved every minute of it even with all the pain and misery.  I would do it all over again, but FASTER! 

Cascadia 5 #2 Miles: 48.50
Comments
From Predog on Thu, Oct 14, 2010 at 00:34:00 from 24.10.136.228

Yes, I will be downloading all 40 megs. haha. I'm officially in for next year...let's just do it a few days later on my fall break. haha. But really, it looks like an epic run. I love that area and to run 50 miles across the Grand Canyon and back just sounds awesome! I'm a little jealous.

From Rob Murphy on Thu, Oct 14, 2010 at 07:20:51 from 24.10.248.6

Great pictures Cody. Thanks so much for all your help and the great companionship.

As I told Jon, I expect we'll be back.From some of the comments I've been getting, I think we'll be able to recruit at least a couple more runners next time.

From jtshad on Thu, Oct 14, 2010 at 10:49:54 from 204.134.132.225

Sounds like you guys had a great adventure. Well done, your splits and total time are amazing. Looking to try and join you next year (your timing this year just didn't work out for me).

From Dale on Thu, Oct 14, 2010 at 10:55:32 from 69.10.215.11

Very cool. Not clear on how the heck you guys managed a long car drive and then work the following day though.

From Jon on Thu, Oct 14, 2010 at 17:29:44 from 75.169.136.97

Awesome. I like the segmented report with lots of pictures.

Jeff- just think how many times you've run normal marathons... then how often you get the chance to go R2R2R. Next year for sure.

From RAD on Sat, Oct 16, 2010 at 13:07:35 from 67.172.229.125

LOVE the pictures. I feel like I'm leaving the same comment on all of your blogs, maybe I should've just copied and pasted....

You guys are animals - and I LOVE it! When I did the S to N rim in one day there were many people with aspirations to go back the next day or that were running the trail, and I thought they were all crazy! Now, I aspire to loose all my sanity and join the lot of you!

Thanks for the pictures and the graph tells the REAL story! You guys are amazing, simply amazing!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
9.500.009.50

Recovery from Monday's excursion went well.  All except for Tuesday.  I went to work but nausea sent me home a tad early.  I then was so sick I couldn't leave the bed.  That is until 7 am the next day.  From then on, I felt much better. 

I finally felt the urge to run again so I decided to go run an old favorite Jardine Juniper.  Now, today's run wasn't even close to time trial effort so no chance to break Jon's silly record.  But I did take note of key times for future reference.  It was a perfect morning for a run though and I made the most of it. 

29:30 to Top of First Climb

41:00 to 4 mile Fork

49:00 to Tree turnoff (didn't go to the tree today)

53:15 to Fork

1:18:35 to End ( I took it real easy on the way down to not aggravate my sore knees).

9.5 miles (8:16) 1900' vert

***Weekly summary (2 runs) 58 miles 15,000' Vert (really just a guess on an accurate number).

Cascadia 5 Miles: 9.50
Comments
From Rob Murphy on Sat, Oct 16, 2010 at 15:05:41 from 24.10.248.6

Nice job Cody. I only managed a couple easy miles on the treadmill today plus some walking. But I was glad to be able to do something.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.000.0010.00

Providence Star-

I literally ran into 2 skunks on Deer Fence Today.  I looked up to see the raised rear end of 2 skunks right on the trail in front of me.  They didn't want to move, so I went home.  They won this round, but at least I don't stink.

T-1:15 (7:30) 750' vert

Brooks Launch #2 Miles: 10.00
Comments
From Jon on Mon, Oct 18, 2010 at 19:24:05 from 98.71.191.82

"at least I don't stink" That's up for debate...

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.005.0010.00

Green Canyon

I decided to go hard and see what I could do.  Its been a long time since I went after it like that but feel that I could still go much faster as I wasn't even sub 6 on any of the downhill.  Legs felt 80% or so.  Oh well its a benchmark for later runs...

I saw 4 runners and about 15 bikers.  That trail was busy. 

32 min to end of road

43:15 at 5 mile turn-around (8:39)

31:10 down (6:14)

Total 1:14:25 (7:26) 1400' vert

Cascadia 4 Miles: 10.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.000.007.00

7 uneventful miles

Cumulus 11 Miles: 7.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.000.0010.00

Drove to Providence and started my run there.  Up the Providence Hills to Deer Fence (2 miles) and then over to Dry Canyon just past the big pit at the mouth (3 miles).  Back to the car the same way.  It was dark and spooky in the wee hours of the morning.

T-1:19:50 (7:59) 1100' vert (6 miles dirt/4 road)

Fireblade Miles: 10.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

Landfill loop

Cumulus 11 Miles: 6.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
12.504.0016.50

Bunchgrass to White Pine Trail -

Today we (Joe and I) had a great run up in the high country.  The only thing missing was Jon.  Poor Jon, we sure do miss him.  The runs are just to quiet without him.  Anyway....I took Joe on the famous Bunchgrass trail and continued on up the White Pine trail all the way to White Pine Lake.  It turned out to be just over 7 miles so we added a bit more vertical running up the saddle heading towards Tony Grove.  Then, I made the mistake of letting Joe lead (never let Joe lead!) and we were flying down the canyon.  8min pace turned into 7:30 and then 6:53 then 9:10 (uphill for half) then 5:56 then 5:54 (including Joe botching a muddy creek crossing, quite a show that was!).  I just couldn't keep up.  He was insane.  We both had a blast though and enjoyed the speed. 

T- 2:23:00 (9:15) 3100' vert

 

 

 

** Weekly Summary 59.5 Miles 6350' vert (33 miles trail) (26.5 road)

Cumulus 11 Miles: 16.50
Comments
From Aaron Kennard on Sat, Oct 23, 2010 at 17:11:46 from 208.54.83.53

Solid week. Glad to hear you're signed up for moab - that's going to be fun. Too bad you didn't get some video of the carnage in the creek.

From Predog on Sun, Oct 24, 2010 at 01:05:27 from 24.10.136.228

yeah the carnage was pretty epic. I would pay a dime to have been cody and watched that one. haha

From Rob Murphy on Sun, Oct 24, 2010 at 11:23:54 from 24.10.248.6

Sounds like a great run Cody. Great pictures too.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.000.007.00

Caught a break in the 36 hours of rain and got a run in.  7 miles up center street providence.

T-52:30 (7:30) 400'

Brooks Launch Miles: 7.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Pain in the calf - No running

Comments
From Jon on Tue, Oct 26, 2010 at 23:07:46 from 98.71.140.240

Where did this come from?

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.000.004.00

Calf/Knee felt better today so I went out to clear the head.  The soreness/tightness is still there but only while running now.  Gonna take it easy for a while.  No reason to push things, except for my own sanity.

Cumulus 11 White Miles: 4.00
Comments
From Jon on Wed, Oct 27, 2010 at 23:25:11 from 98.71.140.240

I like your Running Accomplishments- double CR holder, plus trail running addict. Awesome.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.000.008.00

Its been one of those weeks again.  Work is busy, life is busy, running just hasn't made the cut.  At least my leg is all better now.  I did get out this morning for an easy 8.  -62 mins

Cumulus 11 White Miles: 8.00
Comments
From Rob Murphy on Fri, Oct 29, 2010 at 23:06:29 from 24.10.248.6

Repeat after me...

1. Running

2. Life

3. Work

I completely understand. Weekend though now right?

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
12.003.0015.00

Today, I had a nice opportunity to run with Paul as it fit perfectly in both our schedules.  There are definite advantages to running with him.  One big one is that he doesn't go up silly mountain sides at 12 mins per mile.  We instead run on very reasonable grades at brisk paces.  That means we can get a decently long run in in under 2 hours.  I made it home by 9:45!  And I slept in until 7!  Amazing!  You do have to time it right though because he can get carried away averaging sub 6 pace all to easy.  I happened to catch him during his taper and with no ambitions to do any sort of work.  Therefore the pace was mild with lots of chatting and catching up.  Good times. 

We headed up Smithfield canyon climbing about 200' a mile keeping things well under 8 min/mile until the last couple miles where the climbing picks up and the road turns to dirt. 

T- 1:44:15 (6:57) 1350' vert

*Weekly summary 34 miles 2000' vert - It was a pathetic week running wise, but I am on break so too bad!

Brooks Launch #2 Miles: 15.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.000.008.00

Starting at Providence ball field up to Deer Fence and over to Millville canyon and back.  Lots of hills and half dirt.  Time to change the batteries in my headlamp.  I was seeing things...Spooky.

T-1:05 (8:07) 1200' vert

Retiring my shoes (615 miles).  I wore them last monday and it hurt my leg and today it felt the same pain (after the run, not during) so I am pretty sure it was the shoes. 
 

Cumulus 11 Miles: 8.00
Comments
From jun on Tue, Nov 02, 2010 at 10:52:43 from 66.239.250.209

800 ft of vert in 2 miles sounds dreamy. I'm so jealous of your Cache Valley trails.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.000.008.00

8 easy

Brooks Launch #2 Miles: 8.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.500.008.50

Providence hills 

7:45 pace 500' vert

Brooks Launch Miles: 8.50
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.004.008.00

- Racquetball at Lunch

- Green Canyon after work.  Brisk pace up, easier pace down. 

31:15 to end of road

32:45 to turn around (8:11)

25:30 down (6:23)

58:15 total (7:17) 1000' vert

Cascadia 4 Miles: 8.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.000.005.00

5 very slow miles - PW

Cumulus 11 White Miles: 5.00
Comments
From Jon on Fri, Nov 05, 2010 at 18:55:17 from 98.71.130.239

Curses- you're right behind me on the annual mileage board, again. Better behind than ahead, I guess.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
16.500.0016.50

Ephraim's Grave

Up willow to the cut-off and over the pass.  That hill was bigger than I remember.  Once at the top the maze of trails tricked me and I ended up "exploring" more than needed.  I paid homage to Old Ephraim's grave, but I was eyeballing the small trail heading up that hollow.  I checked it out and was rewarded by 2 huge moose eyeballing me. They were about 100m away, but very wary of me.  Of course, no camera today.  Figures.  I only saw one person (hunter) the whole time, so I ended up winning the large animals versus people count.  After bailing on my exploring trip, I followed the road all the way to Ricks and took that trail back to the car.  Tired, but satisfied.  

  T- 2:40 (9:42) 3,300' vert

*Weekly total 54 miles 6000' vertical

** On a more important note, Paul got his marathon trials qualifying time today. 2:18:48!

Cascadia 5 Miles: 16.50
Comments
From Aaron Kennard on Sat, Nov 06, 2010 at 14:43:19 from 24.8.144.22

Nice! solid run, and I'm sure you're liking the pretty solid week compared to last too. And thanks for sharing on Paul...that's awesome for him!!

From Aaron Kennard on Sat, Nov 06, 2010 at 14:46:03 from 24.8.144.22

I just looked on the site and it has his time listed at 2:19:48? Is that right? Isn't sub 2:19 the qualifying time?

From Cody on Sat, Nov 06, 2010 at 17:59:39 from 174.52.244.185

Oh man, earlier today it showed 2:18:48. Why did it change? That is not good...I guess I celebrated too soon?

From Jon on Sat, Nov 06, 2010 at 18:43:01 from 98.71.130.239

Yeah, I signed up for text msg notification from Paul's race. It said 2:18:47. But when I called to congratulate him, he said all the times were off 1 minute. Bummer.

Sounds like a fun run- pretty cool seeing 2 moose at one time. And Ephraim's Cut Off is always hillier than I remember, too.

From Paul on Mon, Nov 08, 2010 at 12:20:05 from 65.103.252.214

Sorry that you had to un-celebrate.

From Cody on Mon, Nov 08, 2010 at 13:10:17 from 69.9.58.17

I was very disappointed....in the timing screw-up. So mean....

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

6 easy miles in the rain - 

My son was up much of the night with croup and therefore we were too.  I feel less than 100% so its an easy day.  spent my lunch break at the doctors getting steroids for him.  I am thinking I could use some of those as well.

Brooks Launch Miles: 6.00
Comments
From Rob Murphy on Mon, Nov 08, 2010 at 22:27:20 from 24.10.248.6

Sorry about your boy Cody. My son Andy had a minor blood disorder this summer and was put on steroids. He gained about 10 pounds in a month. Had to get all new Sponge Bob underwear.

I hope he feels better soon.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.502.008.50

Providence Hills - 

Did a bit of a fartlek workout today.  2 mile warmup, then 4 miles of 1 min on 1 min off followed by 2.5 easy back home.   Enjoyed the light snow.  Much better than rain.

T- 1:01:40 (7:15) 500' vert

Brooks Launch #2 Miles: 8.50
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.500.008.50

Uneventful 8.5

Cumulus 11 White Miles: 8.50
Comments
From Kory on Wed, Nov 10, 2010 at 15:28:55 from 134.50.89.3

The weather now will cause a lot of uneventful runs. You just want to get them over with for the day.

You've had an awesome year Cody.

From Jon on Thu, Nov 11, 2010 at 23:10:02 from 98.71.130.239

Remember that stream we dipped our heads in just before the campground in the Grand Canyon, when it was 90 deg. I asked if it is bigger in the spring. It can be. Take a look at picture 39.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=442040906803:1127932892

From Cody on Thu, Nov 11, 2010 at 23:30:47 from 174.52.244.185

Kory -

Thanks for the nice words. It sure has been a great running year. I hope your recovery continues well. You will be back soon.

Jon -

Sweet pictures! Very different crossing in the spring huh?

From Jon on Thu, Nov 11, 2010 at 23:52:58 from 98.71.130.239

Yeah, I had heard about the river crossings, but only remembered the bridges. I forgot about the few small crossings like that. Well, not small in the spring, I guess. That would make things a bit different.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.003.0010.00

Providence - Millville short loop

Easy then 3 miles hard then the rest easier.  Felt pretty good once I slowed down again.

T- 69:45 (6:59) 600' vert

Brooks Launch #2 Miles: 10.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

Landfill loop easy

Brooks Launch Miles: 6.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
16.000.0016.00

Up early and out the door long before sunrise.  Busy day, so had to sacrifice a bit of sleep.  No worries though as I made it home before long before 8 (new record I thing).   House to the Island to Sumac Drive cutoff to first dam up the shoreline trail and a bit up green (just to the bathroom at the campground).  63:30 to the turnaround.  Same path home.55:20

Saw 5 deer, one with a sweet rack.  I told my wife I was checking out a rack this morning and she got mad.

T- 1:58:50 (7:26) 1000' vert

Weekly Summary 55 miles 2100' vert

Cumulus 11 White Miles: 16.00
Comments
From Rob Murphy on Mon, Nov 15, 2010 at 10:56:17 from 205.127.70.66

Ha!

Nice run Saturday morning. Not hardly "hibernating through the winter" as it says to the right though.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.000.0010.00

Providence Star - 

T- 1:14:45 (7:29) 750' vert

Brooks Launch Miles: 10.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.000.005.00

Easy 5 in the windy warm weather.

Cumulus 11 White Miles: 5.00
Comments
From Scott Ensign on Tue, Nov 16, 2010 at 20:22:44 from 70.58.47.122

it was windy

From Jon on Tue, Nov 16, 2010 at 20:43:29 from 98.71.130.239

You're gonna make me run the rest of the year just to stay ahead of you on the mileage board, aren't you, punk!?!

Do you have any plans for races next year?

From Cody on Tue, Nov 16, 2010 at 22:07:25 from 174.52.244.185

You had better watch your back as I am right behind you. I am hoping to average about 50mpw from here on. I might throw in a 90 just to pass you for good though.

Next year:

Moab 50K

Buffalo run 50K or 50m

Pocatello 50m

LP

EVL

not sure beyond that...

From Jon on Tue, Nov 16, 2010 at 23:13:07 from 98.71.130.239

In other words, Moab, plus last year's races.

Buffalo 50 would be good, as your first official 50.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.000.008.00

Providence Center Street - 

Felt off today.

T- 1:04:30 (8:10) 700' vert

Brooks Launch #2 Miles: 8.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.003.009.00

I found out that I will be in SLC for thanskgiving so I decided to sign up for the cottonwood heights 5K after-all.  My first 5K in a year and actually my first race on a road in a year.  I have not been training for either a 5K or a road race, so I decided since I have a week, I had better do something about that. 

~3.5 mile warmup on planet walk and over to Logan high track.  I did 4x20 sec striders en-route. Once on the track, I immediately went to work on my ladder workout.  Goal pace was 5:20 pace (didn't happen). Each recovery was 200m jog very easy (i.e. full recovery).

200m - :38

300m - 1:00

400m - 1:23

600m - 2:05

800m - 2:48

600m - 2:07

400m - 1:23

300m - 1:01

200m - :35 (all out)

Ran home at 7 min pace. 

Thoughts: Um, not that great of a workout, but its what you would expect with 0 speedwork and not really focusing on my running lately.  I definitely have my work cut out for to break 18 mins on this tough course and more importantly not get beat by allie!

T- 1:03:50 (7:05)


Fastwitch Miles: 9.00
Comments
From allie on Thu, Nov 18, 2010 at 20:25:15 from 174.23.238.75

haha. no worries there. i'll be lucky to break 19 on that course.

it will be fun though. see you there.

From Jon on Thu, Nov 18, 2010 at 22:38:36 from 74.177.97.128

Go chick him, Allie!

From Andy on Fri, Nov 19, 2010 at 13:08:45 from 199.190.170.31

My money is on Allie.

From Aaron Kennard on Fri, Nov 19, 2010 at 14:49:38 from 98.245.117.176

Hey...at least you ran pretty even splits right? If not as fast as you might like. Good luck in breaking 18. I'm hoping the farmington course is flat enough and fast enough for me to get somewhere under there...we'll see.

From Aaron Kennard on Fri, Nov 19, 2010 at 14:50:52 from 98.245.117.176

and hey...who says you need to do more than 1 workout before race day? You'll pull out your mad racing skills and get it done I'm predicting.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.000.007.00

Got dressed in the dark while half asleep and somehow ended up with 1 cumulus shoe on and 1 launch on the other foot.  I didn't even notice until mile 5.

Comments
From jun on Fri, Nov 19, 2010 at 10:25:08 from 66.239.250.209

Genius. I firmly believe that your workout today could be everyone on the blog's facebook status, just for today. SO AWESOME.

From Rob on Fri, Nov 19, 2010 at 10:49:04 from 72.254.57.164

Nice, which foot was faster?

From Kory on Fri, Nov 19, 2010 at 19:48:17 from 134.50.89.33

That will be a funny way to calculate your shoe total. Split it out between right shoe and left shoe. :-)

From Jon on Fri, Nov 19, 2010 at 22:56:07 from 74.177.97.128

Dude, sad. New low. And funny story.

From Jon on Fri, Nov 19, 2010 at 22:59:25 from 74.177.97.128

If you get chicked by Allie next week, we are adding the time she beats you by onto our race times from this summer. So if she beats you by more than 5 seconds, I will win!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
14.000.0014.00

I felt lousy this morning as I woke up. There was a storm raging outside so the morning run turned into a mid day run.  The storm wasn't any better, but I survived.  The first 5 miles weren't too bad as I was running with the wind but the next 5 back into the wind was brutal.  14 rough miles. Providence canyon over to Dry and up for 2 miles before the snow was over my shoes then back past the car to Millville Canyon.

T- 2:11 (9:23) 2800' vert

Weekly Summary:  53 miles 4250' vertical

Cascadia 5 Miles: 14.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.000.008.00

Treadmill - 

3 miles at 12% rest at 0%

633' per mile = 1900' vert

Brooks Launch Miles: 8.00Treadmill 2010 Miles: 8.00
Comments
From Jon on Tue, Nov 23, 2010 at 00:29:44 from 24.172.238.230

Treadmill??? On a beautiful, 75 deg, sunny day like today?

From Predog on Tue, Nov 23, 2010 at 01:33:25 from 24.10.160.80

Oh shut it. :)

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.000.005.00

5 horrible treadmill miles

Treadmill 2010 Miles: 5.00Brooks Launch #2 Miles: 5.00
Comments
From Dale on Tue, Nov 23, 2010 at 10:29:38 from 69.10.215.11

That bad? There were only 5 of them.

From Adam RW on Tue, Nov 23, 2010 at 11:13:15 from 155.101.152.123

Get outside if possible before this storm hits.

From Jon on Thu, Nov 25, 2010 at 15:31:14 from 75.117.112.17

Happy Thanksgiving, Cody.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Leg pains and sick.

Race: Cottonwood Heights Turkey Trot 5K (3.1 Miles) 00:18:30, Place overall: 3, Place in age division: 1
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.003.0011.00

Cottonwood heights turkey trot 5K -

18:30 - 3rd place

This race is one of tradition, I have run it numerous times mostly as a kid when I lived in the area.  This year, it was my first and only road race.  I figured it would be fun to run a 5K and be done with a race in under 20 mins.  To be honest, I was really hoping to be under 18 mins, but it didn't happen.  This course is tough with 220' vertical climbing.  Tough for a road 5K.  Its amazing it has become so popular.  It continues to nearly double its participants every year.  This year a reported 1800+ people had sign up (only 1250+ actually ran it).  The race is not really that special.  The course is cool, but that is about it.  No turkeys for prizes, they ran out of shirts and have to order more (including mine).  I won my age group and third place overall and all I got is a ribbon.  Actually 2 since they give you a ribbon for beating the mayor (who got about a minute or 2 head start). 

The race itself turned out fine and I was happy with how things turned out.  It was scary cold and the roads were far from dry and clear.  That said, it could have been much worse.  The race began and I quickly found myself in 20th place or so.  I picked up the effort to near 5 min pace and was still in 15th or so.  Crazy.  I settled into 5:30 pace for the first third of a mile and was slowly passing a few more.  Once the first hill hit, I really started to pass people.  I found myself moving real well on the uphills this race and hanging around for the downhills.  Right before mile 1 I found my family outside my childhood home cheering and taking pics.  (I will post some later).  Mile 1 was over before I knew it.  6:01  I was in 5th place at this point.  It took until the next hill at 1.4 to pass the next 2 guys.  Once I hit the end of the loop at mile 1.5, I was glad to feel the wind at my back rather than in my face.  The only problem was that now the 2 guys in front of me picked up the pace on the downhill and I didn't have a faster gear.  I just maintained my position and worked on staying as warm as possible.  My hands were totally numb even with 2 layers of gloves on.  Somewhere in there was the 2 mile marker, but I missed it so no split.  The third mile has one more hill than downhill to the finish.  I was close enough to watch the battle for first, but didn't have a chance to mix it up with them.  I hit the 3rd mile marker and was amazed I was almost done already!  Crazy.  I could get used to these short races.  11:59 for 2 miles :30 for the final sprint to the finish.  Pretty even splits I suppose. 

The highlight of the race was catching up with an old friend who ran the race as well.  We ran the course again as a "cooldown".  I spent the majority of the time getting life back into my hands. Turned out my "injury" wasn't a factor and my head cold didn't mess me up too much either. 

Results are here

Enjoyed the rest of the day eating. 


Fastwitch Miles: 11.00
Comments
From Adam RW on Fri, Nov 26, 2010 at 16:11:50 from 155.101.152.123

Nice run and always good to catch up with old friends. Sorry to hear that your calf is jacked up though...

From allie on Fri, Nov 26, 2010 at 19:27:31 from 174.23.238.75

congrats on the race and the top three finish! conditions were tough out there -- you were much more optimistic about it than i was. nice job.

From Jon on Sat, Nov 27, 2010 at 20:13:45 from 98.71.131.129

Hilly 5k and 2 ribbons? Sounds awesome. Good work.

From Bec on Sun, Nov 28, 2010 at 12:30:21 from 71.199.12.198

Great race Cody! Sounds like a rather chilly race day. Turkey Trots are fun because of all of the crazy people running about.

From Aaron Kennard on Mon, Nov 29, 2010 at 13:36:00 from 98.245.117.176

Nice job on the 3rd place...sounds like a pretty tough 5K course. That 7 degree weather certainly didn't help with the motivation level I'm sure.

From Predog on Tue, Nov 30, 2010 at 22:35:19 from 24.10.160.80

You should run the "Freeze Your Buns 5k" with me and Scott this year. I think it's January or Februaryish. Last year it was I think 8 degrees at the start.

From Scott Ensign on Tue, Nov 30, 2010 at 22:40:11 from 207.224.194.157

nice job in cold weather. brrr. yeah, I am up for freeze your buns again if you guys run it.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
2.000.002.00

Calf muscle right behind the knee is toast.  It hurt too bad to run today.  I gave it a go for 2 miles, but its not happening.  

Brooks Launch #2 Miles: 2.00
Comments
From Jon on Sat, Nov 27, 2010 at 21:51:23 from 98.71.131.129

Maybe you should take the rest of the year off.

From Cody on Sat, Nov 27, 2010 at 23:33:15 from 174.52.244.185

I just might.

The other knee is messed as well. The top of the kneecap is super painful if I bend my knee for a long time. (like sitting in a chair)

No running for a while. Oh darn.

From Jon on Sun, Nov 28, 2010 at 07:13:48 from 98.71.131.129

It's kind of nice. Just don't get too fat in the meantime...

From Aaron Kennard on Mon, Nov 29, 2010 at 16:35:30 from 98.245.117.176

Bummer about the knees...I guess you had a good run this year though! Just watch out though, you don't want to slack off too much because I'm pretty sure I just beat your 5K Turkey day time and I'm coming after you in Moab!

(Ok, I admit, that was a pathetic attempt at trash talk since your 5K course clearly had 60' more ascent than mine, not to mention the fact that I'm vastly out experienced by you when it comes to trail racing....but it was fun dreaming for a moment there)

From Jon on Mon, Nov 29, 2010 at 23:20:23 from 98.71.131.129

Hey, I watched that movie for the first time in many years this weekend!!!

Well, we'll not risk another frontal assault. That rabbit's dynamite.

From Aaron Kennard on Tue, Nov 30, 2010 at 13:56:30 from 98.245.117.176

I would predict there will be a lot of truth to that statement in Moab, because I highly doubt I'm going to be in front of you. At least not until the very end when I come flying in from behind to take the lead for the Cody victory. (hey someone's gotta give you crap now that Jon's MIA)

From Jon on Tue, Nov 30, 2010 at 21:28:47 from 74.177.127.12

That's the spirit, Aaron. I'll be rooting for you over Cody!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Status update

Early in the week, I was waking up at night in pain.  I am convinced that the injuries are tendon related.  The tight muscles in my legs (possibly) caused the tendons to be inflamed and strained.  By tuesday the left leg felt better, but the right was still barking pretty good.  By wednesday, it didn't hurt to walk any longer.  It is feeling pretty good right now, but I have been suffering through a cold that wiped me out pretty good.  By next week, I might be up and kicking again.  Hopefully, I might even get to run a bit and enjoy the lousy weather.

Comments
From Paul on Sat, Dec 04, 2010 at 22:02:44 from 174.27.246.50

Bummer, hope it gets better soon! Sounds like you need a good massage.

From Jon on Sat, Dec 04, 2010 at 22:48:54 from 98.71.144.213

Yeah, bummer and try a massage.

From Aaron Kennard on Sun, Dec 05, 2010 at 02:12:22 from 98.245.117.176

sounds like your 'hibernate through the winter' self-fulfilling prophecy is self-fulfilling itself. Bummer. I hope its short lived...definitely agree with the massage recommendation, or better yet ART.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
2.000.002.00

Attempt #1 at testing out the injury

I would rate it as a failure.  My right knee had a sharp pain and was pretty wobbly.  It felt like it would give out at any point.  I took a few walking breaks to see if things would loosen up.  And by things, I mean the muscles in my legs.  I think a serious issue is my hamstring. I did get an appointment for saturday to have a masseuse work on it.  Unfortunately, that was the earliest time I had available.  Looking forward to it.  

Launch Blue #1 Miles: 2.00
Comments
From Jon on Tue, Dec 07, 2010 at 22:53:16 from 98.71.144.213

Sarah?

From Dale on Wed, Dec 08, 2010 at 10:04:34 from 69.10.215.11

Get well.

From Cody on Wed, Dec 08, 2010 at 10:04:51 from 67.137.240.195

yep

From allie on Wed, Dec 08, 2010 at 18:54:14 from 174.23.238.75

sorry. hope you can get it sorted out quickly.

From Mattrow on Fri, Dec 10, 2010 at 16:58:55 from 8.22.12.138

Sorry, Hope it heals soon.

From Ben VanBeekum on Fri, Dec 10, 2010 at 22:51:30 from 67.169.246.116

Cody sorry to here that man!! Get well soon!!

From Jon on Sat, Dec 11, 2010 at 10:12:27 from 98.71.144.213

Dude, did you see Community this week? Most. Awesome. Show. Ever.

From Cody on Sat, Dec 11, 2010 at 13:28:15 from 174.52.244.185

Thanks for the support everyone. Although I must admit that I have to agree with Jon. Nothing lifts the winter blues better than a most excellent episode of Community.

From Jon on Sat, Dec 11, 2010 at 21:23:59 from 98.71.144.213

Not just a most excellent episode of Community. A most excellent Christmas Stop Motion episode of Community!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
1.000.001.00

Mostly walking on the treadmill but did mix in a few mins at a time of actually running for a total of about a mile.  Didn't want to push it yet.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.000.004.00

4 awesome miles to the end of planet walk and back.  Awesome, cause I saw the sun for the first time all week and even enjoyed the clean air.  What a nice morning.  The leg thing held up reasonably well and actually seemed to get a bit better after halfway.  Its a bit sore but not painful right now.  Improving?  Maybe? Off to a 2 hour massage shortly.  Sweet!

Launch Blue #1 Miles: 4.00
Comments
From Predog on Sat, Dec 11, 2010 at 20:37:21 from 67.186.194.232

It was SO nice to see the sun today. Too bad I had to work most of the day. :P Glad your leg is doing better.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Update - 

Not sure if it was the massage or the 4 miles I ran on Saturday (or both), but it has set me back a few days.  I think I have finally diagnosed the problem.  Tendonitis.  The massage sure was nice, there were numerous knots and tight/sore spots all over.  They were definitely contributing to the pain.  There were a lot of muscles pulling on the inflamed section.

I have been icing and keeping all activity to a minimum.  It is improving daily and might actually be healing.  Its been nice to take a break, but I sure do miss the outdoors.  One of these days I will be back at it.  Better wait until it stops hurting though.

Comments
From Rob Murphy on Tue, Dec 14, 2010 at 22:38:14 from 24.10.248.6

I'm sorry about all this Cody. I had to go five or six weeks without running this summer and it was extremely frustrating. I did a lot of walking, which at least got me out doors and kept me from getting too fat.

Good luck.

From David Nelson on Wed, Dec 15, 2010 at 10:55:12 from 24.17.104.138

Take care of that and be patient. Plenty of days to run when the sun comes out again.

From Jon on Thu, Dec 16, 2010 at 21:43:34 from 74.177.125.243

You better run at least .15 more miles this year...

From Scott Ensign on Thu, Dec 16, 2010 at 21:48:32 from 207.224.194.157

I was just going to say what Jon did. he beat me.hey- can you go cross country skiing or is that going to be hard onthe calves too? I am betting that would be good cross training. lets go.

From Jon on Thu, Dec 16, 2010 at 22:57:40 from 74.177.125.243

Do you have a subscription to Trail Runner magazine?

From Cody on Fri, Dec 17, 2010 at 10:13:12 from 67.137.240.195

I will get out running soon.

It hurt to walk but now it doesn't. That is progress. Any cross-training hurts it at this point (or at least earlier in the week).

No I do not Jon. Did you make the cover?

From Jon on Sat, Dec 18, 2010 at 17:57:30 from 74.177.125.243

No. Would you read them, though?

From Cody on Sat, Dec 18, 2010 at 20:24:20 from 174.52.244.185

Yep

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Walking

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

15 mins walking

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
1.150.001.15

1.15 Miles running (treadmill)

40 mins walking

* 3000+ miles for the year now.

Launch Blue #1 Miles: 1.15
Comments
From Jon on Sat, Dec 18, 2010 at 17:57:07 from 74.177.125.243

Glad to see you get in that last bit.

From Aaron Kennard on Mon, Dec 20, 2010 at 12:55:22 from 98.245.117.176

Way to go on gutting out that final .15 for the 3K for the year.

I sure hope you get better soon (otherwise I'm going to have to find someone else's butt to kick in Moab)

From Cody on Mon, Dec 20, 2010 at 23:27:39 from 174.52.244.185

Aaron - Dream on buddy, you are still getting beat!

From Aaron Kennard on Mon, Dec 20, 2010 at 23:49:33 from 98.245.117.176

Now that's what I'm talking about! Let's get the real Cody back in play. But time will tell who's getting beat...just don't let it depress you too much tomorrow morning when you're walk-running on a treadmill that I will be racing Jason Schlarb up green mountain about the same time. ;)

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
3.000.003.00

Treadmill 3 miles running with 1.25 walking mixed in.

Little by little, on my way back...

Launch Blue #1 Miles: 3.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.000.004.00

Planet Walk 4 

This run was quite painful in the problem spot.  Hmmm...

Cumulus 11 White Miles: 4.00
Comments
From Aaron Kennard on Tue, Dec 21, 2010 at 17:59:11 from 98.245.117.176

Bummer! That stinks...sorry to hear that.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
1.000.001.00

1 Mile running on the treadmill with 20 mins of walking.  It hurt to run, but to doesn't hurt at all after or while walking.  That is progress I guess.  

Brooks Launch #2 Miles: 1.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.000.004.00

Planet Walk 4

Pain was less today.  It was great to be outside.

Launch Blue #1 Miles: 4.00
Comments
From Predog on Thu, Dec 23, 2010 at 13:13:02 from 24.10.160.80

Good to see that you've been able to get out a little bit. It's getting better it sounds like.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.000.004.00

Planet Walk 4

I actually got to run in the sun for the first time in months.  It was great.

Launch Blue #1 Miles: 4.00
Comments
From Predog on Sat, Dec 25, 2010 at 18:06:58 from 24.10.160.80

Did you go today Cody? Man, talk about beautiful weather for Christmas day! Hope you've had a good one with your family.

From Jon on Sat, Dec 25, 2010 at 20:22:10 from 98.71.131.202

Merry Christmas, Cody, to you and your family.

From Cody on Sat, Dec 25, 2010 at 21:17:41 from 71.219.66.90

Merry Christmas to you guys too.

Joe- Nope no running today. Too many presents to open!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

No running due to Christmas Festivities

Leg hurt anyways.   

Merry Christmas

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
3.000.003.00

3 easy

Knee still hurts pretty bad.  Crap

Launch Blue #1 Miles: 3.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.000.004.00

4 Easy

Leg felt great for 3 miles then got sore for the last.  Much better than yesterday.

Launch Blue #1 Miles: 4.00
Comments
From Aaron Kennard on Tue, Dec 28, 2010 at 19:45:30 from 98.245.117.176

Its crazy how you did so much mileage this year with no big issues and then out of the blue got taken out of commission on Thanksgiving. Do you know what caused it?

From Cody on Tue, Dec 28, 2010 at 21:30:40 from 174.52.244.185

Bad combination -

Treadmill gave me tight muscles

5K in the cold @ fastest pace of the year

= Problems

Major bummer

From Aaron Kennard on Wed, Dec 29, 2010 at 13:47:20 from 98.245.117.176

That is a major bummer. It makes me want to be a little more careful and conservative to not risk something similar.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
3.000.003.00

3 treadmill miles

average pain

Treadmill 2010 Miles: 3.00Cumulus 11 White Miles: 3.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.000.004.00

2 inches of fresh snow on the roads and walks

Perfect for the NB800's 

4 Miles of pain free running

Glorious

Comments
From Aaron Kennard on Thu, Dec 30, 2010 at 19:10:31 from 98.245.117.176

are those the trail 800's or the road midfoot strike design?

From Cody on Thu, Dec 30, 2010 at 21:25:38 from 174.52.244.185

They are the trail 800's. I have had them for years now. I couldn't wear them for trail runs due to lack of proper cushioning. Perfect snow shoes though.

From Predog on Fri, Dec 31, 2010 at 02:36:23 from 75.162.218.179

Sweet! Can't wait to get back out on some runs with ya.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.000.004.00

Trail Run - 

Well actually it was in the snow, but I tried.  I broke out my new micro spikes I got and gave them a shot.  They seemed to work great, but I was forging a new trail that was at times mid shin deep and others just to the top of the shoe.  I can see the value of the extra traction on the packed stuff, but on this powder, it didn't do that much.  It was great to get out in the 7 degree weather and run some hills.  I ran the deer fence trail out and back.  Those hills are a lot steeper when you are out of shape and when they are covered in snow.  Very slow going, but pain free.  Definite improvement this week.  Horray.

T- 46:56 (11:42) 450' vertical

 

** Yearly summary to follow...Maybe tomorrow or next week.

Cascadia 5 Miles: 4.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
2721.00314.003035.00
Landreth 4 Miles: 235.00Cascadia 4 Miles: 202.75Burn Red-Blue Miles: 8.00Sinister Miles: 152.25Treadmill 2010 Miles: 52.75Brooks Launch Miles: 494.35Cumulus 11 Miles: 615.50Cascadia 5 Miles: 521.00Road Bike 2010 Miles: 111.00Brooks Launch #2 Miles: 224.00Cascadia 5 #2 Miles: 206.50Fireblade Miles: 114.00Cumulus 11 White Miles: 112.00Fastwitch Miles: 20.00Launch Blue #1 Miles: 25.15
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