Scott's Running Blog

Lazy Monday run on my typical 6 mile course.  I didn't have a watch with me, so I'm unsure of the time.  I saw Tom and Kim out on their run this morning as they flew past me.  I barely had a chance to say hello before they were gone. :)

I ran from my house out to Canyon Road, and from there down to Main Street.  I headed South on Main until I hit the nursery that's just across the Salem border.  From there I headed up Powerhouse road, making the detour on 400 east to follow the SF half-marathon course.  I hit 12.15 miles by the time I climbed out of the river bottoms and reached my house.  

Overall I felt pretty good.  It wasn't as fun to run it by myself as the Provo Canyon run with the WBR team, but it didn't kill me either.  My times per mile were 9:25, 8:49, 8:47, 9:05, 9:00, 8:59, 9:28, 9:38, 8:58, 8:51, 8:57, 9:52, 1:22.  My times fluctuated a lot, but I think the effort level was a pretty consistent 9:00 pace that was affected by the topography.
 

I put some easy miles on the treadmill today.  I took a pretty good shot in the ribs while playing basketball the night before, and it hurt to breathe while I was running.  Hope that doesn't bother me too much during the 10k on Saturday.

My wife has a couple of sisters that live in South Weber, so we made the trek up north to help them celebrate South Weber Days.  We'd been there once before, and I remembered the 5k course to be time-friendly (ie downhill), so I decided to try the 10k and see if I could improve my Fiesta Days 10k time.  I expected a better time regardless of the course because I'd been running more consistently and was better rested for this race than I was for the Speedy Spaniard (no Lagoon Day on the day previous to the race).  Unfortunately, the race didn't turn out like I envisioned.

I woke up about an hour before the race started and had a PowerBar for breakfast.  I'm usually careful about what and when I eat before races, but thought I'd be okay because I'd not had any problems eating a PowerBar before my 12 mile run on Wednesday.  I drank a little water to wash it down and called it good.

The 10k course started at the same place and time as the 5k and the 2 mile walk.  The walkers went one direction, while the 5k and 10k racers ran together for the first half mile.  At 0.5 miles, we diverged and the 10k course had a 150 foot climb over the next half mile.   Mile 2 dropped about 200 feet, with the remaining 4 miles dropping an additional 150 feet before regaining 100 of it in the last mile.  The overall elevation drop was 109 feet.  The weather was great - 70 degrees and sunny, and there was even a slight breeze that felt nice until we turned around and had to run into it for the last mile.  The wind didn't feel like much, however, because I run in Spanish Fork where the wind blows strong every morning.

My goal for the race was a sub 49:00.  The first mile (8:12) was slower than the 7:53 I'd need to average, but it didn't worry me too much because part of the time was spent dodging people at the beginning and climbing the hill.  I knew the second mile would be faster due to the decline, and I hit a 7:22.  I paced the 3rd mile like I wanted, hitting a 7:49.  About half way to mile four my stomache started complaining, and I slowed down to see if I could calm it, but it didn't work.  I threw up at 4.25 miles.  I was surprised that I didn't feel much better after that.  I slowed down a little more and stopped for a few seconds in mile 5 to throw up, but was able to keep my food down this time.  I hit mile 6 and decided that I could gut out a final sprint.  I made it to 6.1 where I threw up, took a step, threw up again, took a few more steps and threw up a third time.  (I wish it had happened before the finish line was in sight - nobody likes an audience for that!) After that I ran through to the finish line, finishing in 51:06 (8:14 average)

It was obviously a disappointing race for me.  My legs and breathing felt relatively good, and I really think I could have hit a 49 minute finish on a different day.  In the finest tradition of Paul Thomas' optimism, however, I'm taking three positives from the experience: 1) I'll know not to eat a PowerBar an hour before the HobbleCreek Half Marathon, 2) My sore ribs didn't give me any problems during the race, and 3) It gave my extended family a topic of conversation for the day.

I'm curious about what race-day routines people have.  How early do you wake up, when do you eat, and what do you do when (if?) you feel nauseous during the run? 

I ran an easy 6 miles this morning and felt great doing it.  I haven't decided if I'll do my long run tomorrow morning or on Wednesday, but am leaning to tomorrow so that I'm not so tired during basketball Wednesday evening.  That will be my last run of over 6 miles before HobbleCreek next week.

I ran from my home to Novell today for my week's long run.  According to my Garmin it was just a hair past 12 miles.  I got out the door a little later than I'd planned, but the morning was cool enough that I didn't have to worry about the heat.  The 12 miles took me 1:45:33, which breaks out to an 8:48 average.  My split times were 9:04, 8:46, 8:34, 8:46, 8:39, 8:41, 8:32, 8:41, 8:55, 9:00, 9:03, 8:56.  I started to drag the last four miles (about the time I crossed the road by Walmart), and my last mile would have been my slowest except that I increased my speed for the last quarter of a mile.  I expect that the distance will get easier as I stay consistent.

My plan today was five easy treadmill miles, hoping that the softer surface would leave me with a little more spring during basketball tonight.  I made it two miles before I decided to take a break. (Bathroom proximity is the treadmill's biggest advantage.)  I couldn't make myself get back on the treadmill after that, so I continued my run outside.  I ran west from Novell, returning after 4 miles (total of 6 miles for the run).

I passed Cory Erekson during my run back to Novell.  It was great to see him out running after all of the foot problems that he's had.  I feel very fortunate that I haven't had to deal with many running injuries.

Changing topics, I noticed that Tom added me to his "Favorite blogs" section.  That's a lot of pressure Tom - now I'm going to have to continue running and blogging! 

 

I played much better basketball last night than the week before.  I was able to move my feet and stay in front of people defensively, which I assume happened because I didn't do my long run on the same day I played.  I'll have to remember that in the future.

I ran 2 easy miles today, mainly to warm my muscles up before I stretched.  I felt a little stiff from the night before and stretching seems to help.

I ran east along River Bottom Road, before heading back up to Canyon Crest Drive at 3400 east.  I'm skipping work today to celebrate my anniversary, so I slept in and started a little later than normal (7:15).  I was surprised, however, at the coolness of the air.  I know that we're not in autumn yet, but the mornings are starting to get that feeling.

I had my first skunk-smell in a few weeks this morning.  I'd forgotten that there was a stretch at the beginnnig of the summer where I smelled a skunk every morning.  Like Tom and Kim say, that's part of the route's charm.

I ran my typical 6 mile loop, but started later than normal because I didn't have to be out of the house until my 8:30 dental appointment.  The run felt fine, but I didn't feel as energetic as I expected that I would after a two day hiatus. I hope that I feel more amped for the Hobble Creek Half on Saturday.

I don't know if anybody else if having problems getting to sleep with the Olympics on, but it's sure making it hard to wake up in the morning.  After dragging myself out of bed I ran a loop along the river bottoms, where I once again saw the two fawns grazing by the golf course.  I keep expecting to see other deer with the sometime.

The wind was really out today, and as I climbed (west) out of the River Bottoms the hill seemed much easier because I was being pushed along.  I kept an easy pace (about 9:15) through the run.

I had a good run today.  There wasn't much wind, and the run felt like it was over before it really started.  I also took a little extra time to stretch after I finished running because it felt so nice to be outside.  I'm sure going to miss this great weather once it starts snowing.

I'm getting excited for Hobble Creek on Saturday.  I wish I knew better what to expect in terms of finish time and how hard I can push myself.  I think I've been consistent enough over the past month that I won't feel terrible at the end, but I'm worried about pushing too hard in the beginning.  I'm really hoping to feel motivated, and not disappointed when I cross the finish line.  I've plugged numbers into the various race pace estimators on the web and have gotten estimates for a 1:50 finish time, with this site being the exception.  According to FastRunningBlog, I should be able to hit a 1:45, though an 8:00 average pace doesn't feel believable to me, even if the race is downhill.  I think I'll stick to the 1:50 goal, and keep in mind that I haven't been running enough miles to really "race" this course.

I played 18 holes of golf on Thursday and felt it more on Friday that I would have expected.  I ran two easy miles and then spent a long time stretching. 

Today's race was a lot of fun.  I felt like I ran almost as well as I could have, and it was fun to see so many people that I know.  My nephew came down from South Weber to run the race, so I got to hang out with him until the race started.  He had a good time too.  His goal was to finish in 1:25, and came really close (1:25:47, finishing 1st in his age group and 31st overall).  I wouldn't be surprised to see him back again next year.

Daniel and I hopped on the same bus that Paul and Nathan were on.  I got worried as soon as I saw how warmly they were dressed, but fortunately the wait at the start line didn't turn out to be very cold.  I wasn't sure where to line up once the crowd started to form at the start line.  I didn't want to be an obstacle for faster runners, and didn't want to waste too much time dodging people at the beginning.  So, I decided to line up at the back and count my watch result as my finish time.  That was obviously a mistake.  It took me about 75 seconds from the time the race started to cross the start line.  And, as soon as I passed the first line of people in the back I was right in the middle of the crowd that I'd thought to avoid by waiting.  In retrospect, my experience was predictable.  I just didn't think through that very well.  My first mile was spent (like many others, I'm sure) weaving through the groups of people and running on the dirt next to the road. 

My watch didn't jive with the mile markers for the last half of the race (My watch measured the course at 12.95 miles), but here are the split times that my watch gave me:  8:30, 7:50, 7:48, 7:47, 7:33, 7:49, 8:07, 8:08, 8:12, 8:10, 8:33, 8:29, 7:47 (0.95 miles).  The time between crossing the start line and crossing the finish line was 1:44:40, and my official time was 1:45:54. 

I hadn't run the Hobble Creek Half Marathon since they switched the end from the high school to the park.  I liked the finish for the current course much better.

It was really hard to get out of bed this morning, especially when I heard the strong winds blowing.  I almost talked myself into sleeping in and running at lunch, but then I heard the radio say that it would reach nearly 100 degrees today and decided that running in the wind is better than running in that heat.  I ran 4 easy miles (9:24 avg).  I saw Tom, Darin and Steve King out running this morning - St. George is just around the corner.  It would be fun to have another big race to look forward to, but at the same time I'm glad that it's not me running that distance.  Maybe another year.
 

I generally avoid the River Bottoms when it's dark because of a few blind corners and the speed of traffiic, but decided to brave it today. I felt like I was in an animal park. I passed four unleashed dogs, three deer, and got startled by a family of raccoons that ran across the road in front of me. One of the deer that I hadn't noticed bolted out from behind a tree as I passed, giving my heart an extra workout.

The run itself was enjoyable. I felt much more rested today than yesterday. My average pace (9:06) was 18 seconds/mile faster than yesterday without an increase in perceived effort. The only part of the run where I cared about my pace was climbing out of the river bottoms. I was headed west, and reached the climb not long before another girl who was running east. The road on the hill climbs east, so after I made my turn she was at my back. I decided not to let her beat me, so I ran harder. There's a switchback about half way up the hill, and when I reached it I noticed that the girl hadn't climbed the hill after all. I had to chuckle at the wasted competitiveness.

I'm a pretty deep sleeper, so I didn't hear my alarm go off this morning.  My wife, on the other hand, is a light sleeper and was awakened immediately.  She was kind enough to give me a strong push out of bed so that I would let her sleep in peace.

I ran from my house down Scenic Drive until it intersected with Canyon Road, and from there up to 2300 East before turning back home.  The entire lap was 5.25 miles.  No problems with the run, and enjoyed the cooler temperature this morning.

I had thought to go 10, but had a good enough time that I extended it to 12.  I ran a new course today - down to the library park, then to Macy's.  From there I ran over to the city's rec complex and west on the river trail.  I turned around at the end and came back on the river bottoms road.  The nice thing about this route was that I found places to get drinks on the way. 

I felt a little unfocused on this run.  I didn't have any plans for where I would go before I started.  I was also listening to a book on tape - "A Short History of Everything."  I've enjoyed the book thus far, and enjoyed the things that I've learned.  Average pace was an 8:58.

I slept in and didn't make it out until 8.  It was warmer than what I'm used to, but didn't feel too bad.  I ran east on the River Bottoms road and then west on Canyon.  Not much to say about the run other than that I did it.  Average pace was an 8:56.