Craig's Running Blog

Met at the capitol. There were about 12 of us. Good turnout. We went down to the post office by the U and came back. I spent miles 9-11 catching up with Andrea and Scott. They were about 1 mile in front of everyone 'cause they weren't stopping at the hydration spots.

The run felt good and solid. It was a bit slippery after the snow Sat evening, but not too bad.

I had to take a red-eye in the night, and arrived in town at 9:00 this morning. The only redeeming quality was that it was first class and I got a $400 travel voucher out of it, which I'm using to travel to San Diego in June for the Rock n Roll marathon. Just did some upper body work in the evening. No running. I want to make sure I'm rested and ready to race this Saturday.

Warm morning! It was about 55 degrees. I got out and did 9.5 on the trail. The new shoes feel good, but the ones at home feel better with the inserts. Anyway, it was a good trail run, with some fast paced running in the middle.

Pretty much an easy 6.5 today, concentrating on keeping things loose. Did some upper-body work after the run. I'm going to go ahead and treat this week like a semi-taper week.

Good run this morning. I started off slow to get things warmed up. When I was 1/2 way through, I picked up the pace for 2 miles at 1/2 marathon race pace, and things felt good. It was a little tiring, but there were no pains and things were fluid. I'll take it as a good sign. I'll probably do a few easy miles tomorrow morning to keep loose, so this was my last big effort this week.

Canyonlands Half Marathon.

I met up with the Ragnar crew and we road down in what they call the "Chariot of Sweetness" (COS). Those of you that ran Del Sol will know what I'm talking about- the decked out orange van with sirens and the like. Dominique was the hookup on that, obviously. So it was Dominique, myself, Andrea, Johnny, Jason, Alicia, Cortney, and Bill. I can go into some detail on the race for each of them, as we have all supported each other this winter and we are intimately familiar with each others' accomplishments. But first- the race report.

We arrived at the expo in style. I was driving and having fun with the sirens. I used the whistle call a lot and got a ton of stares. Inside the expo was filled with the usual Locomotion volunteer crowd- they have some deal where they get in the race each year if they volunteer. I heard from more than one source that this race was easier to get into this year, so it's either losing its popularity or the supply of other races in UT and CO has increased during the spring. The only other race I really wanted to run in March was the Buffalo run, and that's a trail race, so who knows. Anyway, I talked to Kris L a bit- his knee has recovered from last year and he is getting back into racing now. He was going for a nice even 1:45. I also went over to the Salt Lake Running Company tent and talked to BJ Christensen  for minute. I knew he would be a force in the race, since he came in second last year. We talked about the store he works at (Runner's Advantage) being sold to Salt Lake Running Co. I have some mixed feelings about that. I'm glad Stan could unload that stress off of his plate, but I will miss running Salt Lake Fit out of that store and meeting so many people in the running community.

On to the race. We were staying in Green River 'cause the hotel is nice and cheap, and they don't force you to stay 2 nights. We met up with Natalie and her husband John (who was there for support) and went down to the race.

Good signs at the start- cloudy at the start and cool. We knew we would be racing in the '40s, which is really ideal. Tracy C, Miriam, Christina, and Marie met up with us at the start, so we had a pretty solid crew of 13 to hang out and pass the time with. It was cold, but it didn't feel colder than last year. Again, the cloud cover was a blessing. I mentioned that I wanted to break 1:20, as that was my personal course record and time the previous year. It seemed attainable after the good training I had put in, even though the traveling was messing up my diet and sleep a little.

I noticed a few fast running bloggers at the start, but only recognized Logan F from his picture. I would later meet Walter and Cody and put a couple names to faces. My friends had all met Walter before through some training runs during the week at the Olympic Oval, but I've missed those due to my travel schedule. Andrea mentioned that we should hook up because he's pretty fast but not completely out of my league. Kind of like the difference between Chris Pope and me- pretty comparable runners to the point where we can train efficiently together. Anyway, had I met those guys before the race, I would have talked to them and tried to keep up with Logan and Walter's pacing (before Logan took off). As it was, I ended up being a couple minutes behind at the end and I had a little left.

Mile 1: 5:45- I was surprised at how many people ran out in front of me at the start. Some were obviously way over their heads. I held back and was satisfied at the mile split.

Mile 2: 6:10- Still not warmed up completely, the course leveled out and I lost what I gained in the first mile. No problem. Feeling good.

Mile 3: 6:05- Both achilles were causing me some pain, but I was running through it, hoping that I would warm up and the pain would reside. I was right.

Mile 4: 6:00- Feeling better and strong, I headed in to the middle section of the race and started passing those that I knew were over their heads.

Mile 5: 5:55- Feeling good, and making sure I was under 30 minutes for 5 miles. Nice and smooth.

Mile 6: 5:55- I grabbed a vanilla cliff shot at the aid station, which proved to be a bad idea. I forgot my cliff shot at the start, so I wanted something to give me some extra energy. Unfortunately, this was hard to choke down and I spent the next 3 miles coughing. I fell in pace behind Ben Kadlec and we maintained that for the next 5 miles.

Mile 7: 5:55- This would have been faster, but I started getting a bug in my chest and I couldn't figure out what was up with my breathing and coughing. It happened right after the cliff shot. Weird.

Mile 8: 6:05- Not feeling as good with my breathing, but my legs felt good.

Mile 9: 6:10- This was probably the low of the race. I knew the hill was coming up, and Ben K was putting a little distance between us. Some guy came by on a bike that he knew and gave him encouragement. I was just trying to get over the bug in my chest.

Mile 10: 6:05- Started turning it around. The downhill after the hill worked out the issue in my chest, and my toes felt good. They were starting to feel a little numb over the previous 2 miles, but the downhill got the circulation in there again.

Mile 11: 6:00- Started feeling even better. I thought I could start picking it up. Ben and I approached Cody and Brad P, so we got in a pack of 4 at mile 11. I noticed Cody's fast running blog shirt, so I wanted to ask him what his name was- so I could put a name to the blog/face. We exchanged a few sentences, and I mentioned that I was feeling good. He told me to make a move. I agreed.

Mile 12: 5:40- Picked it up. It felt really good, but I was too far behind Scott S to catch him. Someone yelled out that I was #17, which seemed right. I think I had been down around #40 in previous years, but this was a better day and my endurance has improved.

Mile 13: 5:55- Just holding on at this point, but everything was fine. I cruised in when I saw that breaking 1:18 wasn't going to happen.

After I finished, I grabbed my bag and went out to see my friends come in. I didn't see Esther, but I heard she came in at 1:29. Impressive. I saw Natalie at about 1:36. I thought I would see Bill and his crew sooner. I finally saw Bill and Alicia at 1:42, and I knew Dominique and Andrea were right behind. I thought it must have been a bad day for them. Well, I was right. I saw Dominique at about 1:45, and she said something really bad was going on with her foot. Andrea was literally right behind her, so I asked her if anything was wrong. She said no. That was a small relief. I ran around to the food area and talked to Andrea. She said Dominique was in the medical tent. So I went in there and got the scoop. It wasn't good. We wheeled her out in a wheelchair and propped her up in the van. I wanted to do something, but there really wasn't anything I could do to make it better. We found out the next day that yes, there was actually a fracture in her foot, and she ran most of the race on it.  

Just a recovery run this morning. It felt really good. I can't remember feeling this good after a half marathon before. A little sore in the right quad, but it was barely noticeable.

Took a plane out to Jersey during the night, and got a few hours of sleep. Not nearly enough. Daylight savings also messed things up to where it wasn't light until 7:00. I got my wash and lifted some weights (upper body) while it was getting done. I had enough time after to do a short run. I wanted to do more than 6.5, but there just wasn't time. I will try to hit the treadmill or elliptical in the evening to round things up. 

PM: Got out of the office around 5:30, and noticed it was still light. So I decided to do another 5.

A little sore from the 2 runs yesterday, but not too bad. I warmed up gradually, never really pushing it until the last mile. Good effort- 9.5 miles.

An easy 8 miles. It was pretty dark when I went out, 'cause I had to be back by 7:30. Ran along the canal. I scared a goose at one point and it hit me with its wing as it flew away. That was weird.

Lower calves/achilles are tight, so I'm going to stretch throughout the day. Have to stay loose for the Leprichon Lope 5k on Saturday.

Easy out & back on the trail.

I got back in last night. I took the opportunity today to get onto the bonneville shoreline trail. There were a few glacial spots, but it was very much runnable and it felt good to get up there again.

Met up with the group at an early 6am. We were surprised at how cold it was. Ran up city creek canyon 4 miles and turned around. Stevie and Maggie showed up- we hadn't seen them since last year. That was good. I talked with Scott a bit. We were the only 2 guys there (Johnny showed up later for the race).

We got registered about 8:00 and started warming up for the 8:30 race. I stripped down to a tech shirt and shorts about 8:15. I was the only one out there dressed like that, and I knew the other fast runners would regret it. Checked out the competition. There was some young kid named Carey Dahle that looked pretty serious who said something to me about my attire. I immediately marked him as a fast kid with little experience that would burn out halfway through the race. Another experienced guy came up and asked me my age. His name was Darin Beane. He was looking to win his age group. He was 38, and I'm 34, which was the same age group. This was a small race with 10 year brackets. He looked strong, but not particularly fast. More like an ultra guy than a road racer. Sure enough- I found out after the race that he's running in the Buffalo Run next week.

The race started at the bottom of the hill by the capitol. The gun went off and the pace felt slow and controlled, just like I wanted. That first uphill by the capitol is pretty steep, so I started feeling funny with the anxiety of the race and the lack of oxygen. I started wondering if I would have to back off. I told myself to calm down and reminded myself that everyone was feeling it. I found myself at the front with Carey. We got to the top and proceeded on the flat up to the city creek bend. The two of us crossed a patch of ice that I had run over earlier, so I knew it was there. I had him go first, and he yelled out "Whoa! I wasn't expecting that there!!". I took it as an opportunity to open up some conversation, so I could check his breathing and see if I should make a move. I told him I knew it was there, and that they had salted it that morning. Then he asked me "Where do we go?"- which pegged him as a rookie at this race (same as me). However, I had run the course that morning and knew it well. I told him to go straight on the road to the turnaround, and noticed that his breathing was labored as he talked. We crossed mile 1 together. I didn't dare look back, but I peeked over my side as we made the turn to see who was behind us (without making it obvious). There was a wasatch running girl pretty close to us named Carri Joyce, and Darin was behind her. That Cabanillas girl was also pretty close, and I knew her from the strong race she had at Provo River last August. Anyway, Carri looked strong, so I knew I had to pick it up or else I would get chicked. We started on the second uphill from the bend up to the turnaround. I immediately made a move and ran as fluidly as I could to make it look effortless to those behind me. It was actually feeling good, and I picked up the effort to about 5:50 (uphill). I hit the turnaround and started back down at a 5:20 pace, smiling as I passed by the runners. I was pleased that I was putting a gap between myself and Carey (the guy). The girl (Carri) sure looked strong, and she was right on the tail of Carey. I wish they didn't have the same names, 'cause this is getting confusing. They were at least 100m behind me at this point. Darin was behind her, but he was back and out of contention. Then I started seeing people I knew. Natalie was the first, but she was zoned out with music (as usual), and didn't see me. Then I saw Andrea- she looked pretty strong. I gave her five. Johnny was close behind with the dog. I started seeing others I knew as well- Marie, Tracy, Christina, Alicia, Esther, Traci, etc...

I hit the turn off to go down to memory grove, and I knew this part would be screaming fast. I picked it up to about a 4:50-5:00 pace and just relaxed. It felt so good. I was actually bummed when I saw the finish line coming, 'cause I knew that I could keep it up at least another mile like that. I crossed the line and got the official time- "16:32". Not bad. I made up some time in the last half. A very very fast course, so I'll call it an aided PR.

Carri came in about 40 seconds behind me and the kid (Carey) was behind her another 20 seconds. He got chicked, but he's young and can use it as a lesson. Darin came in right after them and I talked to him for a while, where I learned that he was doing the Buffalo Run. I'm jealous. The Cabanillas girl was right behind him.

I watched my friends come in and we celebrated a good day before we nearly froze.
 

Got up after very little sleep. I didn't have enough time to do more than 6.5 miles, but it's better than nothing.

AM: Fairly easy run. Things felt better than yesterday, even after the late night in the city (NYC) last night for St Patricks Day. I brought my gear into work so I could run back to the hotel. It's about 3 miles, but I will stretch it out on the trail.

AM: It was raining outside, so I had to do part of the morning workout inside. I did a mile on the elliptical to get warmed up, then did a mile on the treadmill without shoes. I wanted to see if I could pull off barefoot running on the treadmill, and I had pretty good results with it. I definitely felt the working out of the ankle area, because running without shoes forces you on your toes. To not put too much strain on that area, I kicked the speed down to about a 9:20 mile. Then I put the shoes back on and went outside for 2.5 miles.

PM: Another 3 on the treadmill. It was too wet outside. Did the usual light upper body workout as well.

It was too wet to run on the trail, so I took to the roads. I went out about 3.5 miles and came back when I was sufficiently lost. Of course, I knew the way back. I just didn't know where I was.

I got up early (still on east coast time). I kicked back and played a little xbox until the sun came up (arond 7am). Then I went outside and noticed the hose faucet was leaking, so I had to run to the hardware store and fix it. I got done around 8, and went out on the Bonneville Shoreline trail. I saw 3 guys on bikes trying to ride the trail. If I go out with riders that are decent, we go about the same pace, but these guys were out of shape and slow. So I passed them up and never saw them again. I hurried back and got my stuff together. Had to drop by the office and then catch a ride out to the in-laws' house in Vernal.

AM: I got out on the trail down by the Green River. It was a cold morning, but it's so dry out there that anything approaching freezing doesn't feel cold. The trails were mostly clear, but I came across a couple snowbanks, and the dry riverbeds were muddy. I usually run back through the dry riverbeds. I tried to get up to the overlook bluff, but a snowbank kept me from getting to the top. 8.5 miles.

PM: Did 2 loops around the lake for 11 miles. Burned off that heavy Easter lunch! 

AM: I got up early in order to get in 6.5 miles on the paved trail before my flight. It was very nice out- about 50 degrees I think. Much warmer than back east in the morning.

Mid day: I went to the airport and got my flight bumped. So I came back and decided to get another short run in on the trails. It was like 60 degrees outside- perfect. I left about 1:00 and got back about 2:00. Then I left to catch a flight at 3:00. Did some gua-sha action on the achilles and lower calf muscles when I was finished running. I needed that.

The gua-sha therapy session from yesterday was a boost. I went out this morning on the trail near Princeton a little fatigued, but not in pain. It's weird how the muscle scraping does that- makes me feel a little more fatigued but any pain I was feeling before at the begining of my runs is gone because those knots and the scar tissue are worked out a bit. I brought the tool out with me on this trip so I can work on the lower legs a bit more. Over all, a very successful morning.

7 miles on the trail in the morning in Princeton.

Did 1 mile in the morning, then another 6.5 in the evening.

Pretty tough mileage on the Bonneville Shoreline trail. I flew back into UT in the morning and spent a little time in the office. Then I came home and did a run around 4:00. Decent weather, but a bit cool. I had shorts and a shirt on, but I had to wear the gloves as well.

Speed workout in Kearns. We had a decent turnout. It was myself, Scott, Andrea, Johnny, Tracy A, Jason R, Maggie, Tracy C, Christina, Bill, Esther, Natalie, and Traci H. Chris Pope (aka "The Pope") came by for the first 4 miles since he lives nearby. He's still trying to fully recover from the knee issue, but at least he's out and running. We also had a new runner join us- Scott (Maggie's husband). That makes 2 Scotts.

We did a couple miles warmup, then 10 sprints, followed by 6x300 intervals, then the 6xhill repeats, and finally a tempo mile to finish it off. I went out afterwards with Natalie, Traci H, and Esther to get a few more miles. The guys were well represented today, though, with 8 of us at one point.

Well, it's almost April and it snowed a couple inches last night. That's hopefully the last snow we'll see until November. I went down to the paved trail to take advantage of the new snow padding. The first couple miles were nice, but then some idiot decided to take his 4-wheeler on the trail and plow it. So I spend the last several miles dodging thin layers of slush/ice. I'm sure it will all be clear by tomorrow, but that won't do me any good 'cause I've got a flight today and I'm back east all week.

It's crazy how fatigued my legs felt yesterday on my day off. I still didn't feel that great this morning, but I felt much better after running a mile, stretching, and running another 3 miles. By mile 4, I was actually feeling normal again. Relief.