Labor of Love half marathon

I ran the Labor of Love half marathon yesterday morning.  It was at Lovell Canyon Canyon just west of Las Vegas. It was another quality event put on by Calico Racing and had distances of 5K, 10K, half marathon, marathon, 50K and 50 miles available for a wide variety of runners.  This was an add-on race for me at the end of season and was run for two reason: a) it was free due to volunteer credit with Calico Racing and b) it was half marathon number three of four in my Calico Half Slam.

The race started at 7:30 and I arrived at 6:45 for packet pick-up.  I parked at the designated parking area and caught to the shuttle to the start line.  Packet pick went smoothly and I stashed my new race shirt in my bag.  After that, I slipped on my Hokas and reached into my bag for my bib belt.  Small problem - no bib belt.  This was a simple fix and I went old school by pinning my bib on. Once I geared up, I dropped my bag off at the drop spot and wandered over to the start line.  A few minutes before 7:30, Joyce, the race director, called the half marathoners over to the start line for some quick instructions and a group photo and then we were off.

Labor of Love 2014 finisher's medal

The course was a paved out and back course.  The first 75-100 meters were downhill and then we began a climb with a few rollers that topped out at 4.7 miles.  The elevation changed wasn't huge but it was steady as we went from 4,681 feet to 5,393 feet over that distance.  Shortly after reaching the top, we began a rapid drop and went down in elevation approximately 350 feet over the next 1.1 miles (most of that drop was in the first third) before having another short climb to the turn around spot. On the way back, the climb from 7.4 to 8.5 miles was really tough and I found myself walking for the first time in a half marathon.  When I got to the top, I grabbed a drink from the aid station and trudged on.  At this point , the sun was in the sky and the temperature was creeping into the 80s.  As I began the long descent to the finish line, a strong headwind began blowing hot dry air into my face.  At this point, this race began to feel like the race that would never end and despite it being downhill, I just wasn't able to generate any decent pace.  I finally crossed the finish line and after getting my chip clipped off and collecting my medal, I headed straight to the refreshment table and grabbed a big slice of watermelon. After eating it, I changed my shoes back to a pair of sandals and caught the shuttle back to my car.

I ended up crossing the finish line in 2:35 which was 20 minutes slower than my previous slowest half and 37 minutes behind my PR set just last month.  I can't 100% pinpoint my weak performance to any one thing but know that I need to re-emphasize hills in my workouts and get back to a weekly long run on a regular basis.  I also need to pay more attention to pre-race nutrition.

Ragnar Trail Relay - Zion 2014

Run. Tent. Sleep? Repeat.

About a month ago, I got invited to join Scrambled Legs at Zion for a Ragnar Trail Relay.  I enjoy running trails and was excited to get on a team.  For those who haven't done one of these events, it is a relay with three routes, eight runners and each runner running every route for a total of 24 legs of the race.

The trip began on Thursday when I met Mike, Kimi, and Robert in Vegas.  Together, we made the drive up to Ponderosa Ranch which is located on the eastern edge of Zion National Park.  The drive through Zion was gorgeous and it is amazing that we have this incredible national park less than three hours from my house.

The trail map

Upon arriving at the ranch, we parked in the short term lot and began carrying our gear to our campsite.  Akira and Colleen arrived earlier in the day and staked out a good site next to the green loop near the start/finish/transition area and had already set up their tent along with a few other camp items.  After portering all of our gear, we set up our tents while Robert took the truck to the long term parking area and took the shuttle back.  Soon after that, the seventh member of the team (Mark) arrived from his 11 hour drive from Colorado and after helping him get all of his gear transferred/set-up, we went to the registration desk to sign the standard race waiver and then it was on to the lodge for dinner.  Dinner was pretty simple with it being a one-time-through buffet that had a salad, brussel sprouts, bananas, and chicken breasts for $10.  After dinner, I took a quick walk through the Ragnar merchandise tent and then went back to the tent to turn in for bed around 9 PM.

The next morning, I got up around six, climbed out of my mummy bag and faced the world.  Breakfast was simple - an orange and a sandwich from my cooler along with a Rockstar to get in some caffeine.  After that, I stretched out in my chair and waited for the first wave of runners to hit the trail at 9:30.  As they headed past our campsite at the beginning of the green loop, we gave them the standard cheer and Mike, our team captain, continued to check on the whereabouts of our eighth runner.  Rene was supposed to run our first leg and after realizing that he was going to get to the race site around the noon start time for our wave, we shuffled him with Kimi in the line up and she became our lead-off runner. At 11:10, we went to the start line to get the pre-race instructions along with everybody else in our wave.  After that, it was wait time to the race start.  A few seconds after 12, our first runner was off and I began the wait for my first leg.

As I waited for the next five hours for my first run, winds picked up and I tightened down my tent.  We kept checking the weather forecast knowing that we were going to see rain on Saturday.  We just weren't certain how much or the exact times.

As the time approached for Rene (Runner #5) to finish up his leg, I made my way to the transition area and watched the monitors.  Once he passed over the mat located about a quarter of a mile from the finish, I went into the transition tent to receive my red slap bracelet. When Rene entered the tent, he handed off the belt with our number and I was off for my run of the red loop.

The red loop was an 8.2 loop that switched back and forth between sandy single track and more open dirt fire roads.  The first four miles were a lot rolling ups and downs.  Going was a little tough in some sections as I worked to get traction on the sand on the uphill parts.  Around Mile 4, the course began a short but steep uphill section on some rough terrain followed by a steep but shorter downhill.  At this point, the run became a bit tougher as it turned back into single track that climbed up the hill until approximately the six mile mark.  Besides the uphill and sandy single track, the wind was picking up which provided a steady crosswind and the temperature was dropping.  Shortly after topping out, the red loop joined the yellow loop for a long downhill section that alternated between short dirt road sections and long sandy single track sections.  This part was a blast to run and I pushed especially hard on the single track sections.  Eventually, that section came to an end as the red, yellow and green loops merged for a final push up a short section of switchbacks which topped out in the campground. A few twists and turns later and I was back at the transition tent to hand off to Mark, our Runner #7.

After I got back to camp, I grabbed my meal ticket and went up to the lodge for dinner which was spaghetti. The wind was strong and blowing sand was everywhere as I made the walk.  I could taste the grit in my teeth and the sting of it in my eyes - definitely not fun.  After dinner was done, I went back to my tent to grab a short nap.

When I woke up a couple of hours later, it was dark out and there were a lot of fellow runners at my campsite and neighboring campsites letting runners know that they were on the wrong trail.  Yellow went to the left immediately outside the transition tent and green went straight.  The course was well marked with colored lights and the volunteers at the transition station were giving good directions but it wasn't enough for some people.  I climbed out my tent and noticed that the winds had died down. My next leg was estimated to start around 2 AM and since I had a little bit of time to kill, I went down to the fire pit area to enjoy some hot chocolate and s'mores.

Around 1:30, I began to feel a few drops of rain and went back to my tent to grab my rain jacket.  After that, it was back to transition area to watch the monitors.  Just as before, I went into the transition area when Rene popped up on the monitor.  After getting my yellow slap bracelet and receiving our bib, I headed out of the transition tent and turned on my headlamp and flashlight as I began the 4.6 mile yellow loop. The first mile of the loop was relatively easy with some rolling hills and mostly dirt road. Shortly after the first mile was complete, the course began a steady climb for a little over a mile and topping out at approximately 7,000 feet.  This section was rough with both rocky sections and single track sand.  The rain was picking up and the temperature was in the low 30s. My feet were slipping as the sand was turning to mud.  Once I hit the top of the mountain, I was rewarded with seeing the lights of the runners coming up to the merge point from the red loop.  It was a pretty cool sight.  Shortly after that, I hit the merge point and pushed hard through the down hill sections as the rain continued to pick up.  Finally, I made it back to the transition area and gave Mark a few words of encouragement as I handed off the bib.

After finishing up that portion of the run, I went back to our campsite to grab my bag and head to the shower.  I went to open up my tent and realized that my hands were too cold/numb to work the zippers on my tent.  Luckily, a good Samaritan from the neighboring campsite was able to assist and I headed to the shower to warm up.  The shower was awesome and I stood in it for a long time checking out the hot spots on the bottom of my feet and shaking my head in amazement at the sheer amount of mud that managed to ooze through my shoes and sock to lodge underneath my toenails.  After the shower, I brushed my teeth and headed back to the tent to get some sleep.  As I stepped outside, I was greeted by really heavy rain.  I went to sleep hoping that Mark was doing alright on the trail.

Snow on the markers.

When I woke up about three hours later, I noticed that I wasn't hearing rain on my tent.  That was good.  However, I left the tent to discover that the rain had changed to snow, that I had a decent amount of snow on my tent and that it was still snowing heavily. The trail had deteriorated to a muddy mess and the trail signs were coming unreadable.  Soon after that, the race director made a decision to call the race and rescue personnel were sent out to begin pulling runners off the course.  While I was disappointed that we didn't get to finish, the directors made the right call based on safety issues relating to the weather conditions.

Once the call was made, we waited for our last runner, Kimi, to cross the finish line. As she made the final turn towards the Ragnar arch, Coleen and I met her and ran the final few yards with her and Mike slipped a Ragnar finishers medal over her head.  After that, we broke down our camp and hiked our gear up to one of the pick up points near the lodge.  Every time I had to step on the trail to carry gear to the paved section, my feet sunk into the mud and the cold ooze worked its way into my shoes.  Once we got all the gear moved, I warmed up with some hot chocolate and waited for the vehicles to arrive. Once they got to the lodge area,

Team Scrambled Legs

Ragnar Trail Zion medal

we loaded up and hit the road.  A few hours later and we were back in Vegas.  Later that evening, six of us plus my wife met up for dinner and swapped trail stories.

Despite the weather conditions, the event was a good time and if I get the chance to do another one, I will.  Running in the rain was tough but memorable and I still managed to beat my projected times for the two legs I ran.

Rockin Rabbit Half Marathon

I ran my fifth half marathon, the Rockin Rabbit Half Marathon, this morning.  It was in the Lake Mead/Boulder City area and has been my target race for a sub-2 hour time.

Packet pickup was two days ago at a local running shoe store. I was one of the first people to pick up my packet and as a result, I got my choice of pink rabbit ears or sparkly pink rabbit ears.  I picked the non-sparkly set.  The shirt was nice - a bright green technical shirt with a running rabbit on it.

The race was set to kick off at 7 AM at Mile Zero of the River Mountains Loop Trail which  is directly behind the Railroad Pass Hotel and Casino.  Sarah and I got up at 5 and were on the road 5:45.  35 minutes later, we got to the parking lot and took a quick look around.  It was still a little chilly as we waited for the sun to peek over the mountain and we could see a fair amount of shivering going on in the crowd.  As the race time approached, I went to the starting line. As the time ticked down, the DJ announced that the race was on a 15 minute delay while we waited on another bus of runners to arrive.

A few minutes later, the next bus arrived and we did the pre-race National Anthem and got some very brief instructions.  After that, everybody went back up to the start line for a start that was a little confusing for all.  There was no simple call to start beyond somebody behind us saying something to the effect of "you all can start now".  She had to repeat it a second time and then we were off.  Sarah was a little ways down from the start and snapped the picture on the left of me (in blue) almost immediately after I crossed the line.  Yes, I started at the front.

The first 3.75 miles of the course were a gradual climb with a few rollers at the very beginning.  I pushed out at a hard pace and hit the 1.5 mile mark in the 12-13 minute range.  After that, I settled down to a more moderate pace to continue pushing up the hill.  At the 3.75 mile mark, the course turned downhill. It continued downhill until turning uphill for a fairly steep section that was about a half mile long and topped out at approximately Mile 7.  After that, it was downhill for the next three miles.  At approximately Mile 10, the paved trail turned a hard left and the race continued straight ahead onto the dirt/gravel tunnels trail that I have raced on multiple times in recent months.  My goal was to be at this point at 1:30 and my watch showed 1:28. From that point it was just over three miles of out-and-back with a slight incline on the way out and a slight decline on the way back and a turn-around just after the second tunnel.  As I crossed the finish line, I knew I hit my sub-2 hr goal.  A few minutes later, Sarah looked up my bib number in one of the available computers and it was official - 1:57:55.  13.1 miles were done at a 9 minute pace.  As an added bonus, I finished third in my age group and got the spiffy trophy pictured below.

Next up - The Ragnar Trail Relay at Zion on April 25-26.

Windy25 Memorial 5K

Yesterday, I had a chance to run my first 5K since the fall of 2000.  It was the Windy25 Memorial 5K  which started on the Strip in Las Vegas.

The race is an annual fundraiser for the Windy25 Memorial Fund.  The mission of the fund is to support the families, friends and colleagues of fallen military personnel and is a tribute to the five members of the Windy25 crew who lost their lives on April 6, 2005 in Ghazni, Afghanistan. As a military member with almost 20 years on Active Duty, this is 100% the type of organization I like to give support to.

About the race - Sarah and I showed up at 7:30 AM to pick up our packets.  We parked a couple of hotels away at the Aria and walked over the Cosmopolitan where the race was going to start.  Packet pickup had a little bit of confusion when the staff realized that somebody else had accidentally picked up her race bib the previous day.  Once they got that straightened out, we took our packets (the shirts were cotton but nicely printed) back to the car and hung out listening to the small marching band at the event while we waited for the race to start.

 At 8:45, the runners were escorted to the start line which was on Las Vegas Boulevard right in front of the Cosmopolitan.  The National Anthem was sung and shortly after that, we were off.  About a 100 meters after leaving the start line, we turned West onto Harmon Ave.  The course went up a small hill which was an overpass over I-15.  Once we got to the other side of the highway, we went down a short hill and from that point to the the turnaround, the course was pretty flat. At about 3/4 of a mile, the course turned right onto Polaris Road for a short out-and-back before returning to Harmon and continuing West.  Pretty soon, I was at the turnaround and checked my time: 12:20.

As I retraced the route, I ran into a hiccup with about half a mile to go.  Instead of doing the normal thing that police do when supporting a race (stopping traffic), the LVPD officer stopped us runners to let cars go through the intersection.  All I could do at that point was shake my head in frustration as the group of runners which were just ahead of me continued over I-15 while I stood there.  Once I and the couple other runners who caught up with me were cleared cross the road, I took back off. As I turned the final corner to the finish line, I was treated to a group of cheering UNLV cheerleaders.  A short sprint down the final straight stretch and I crossed the finish line in 25:43 which put me at 55 of 212 finishers.

March Running

I ran 18 times for 102.06 miles in march and managed to get in a half marathon and 15K race.  It was a tough month with back injuries that greatly limited my running over the first two weeks.  Hopefully, that is behind me as I head into the final two months of the Vegas area race season for me.

April is going to be a pretty busy month.  I have two races this weekend - the Windy25 5k on Saturday and the Rockin' Rabbit half marathon on Sunday.   I have the Ragnar Trail Relay at Zion on April 25-26.  In between those two will be a lot of training as well as cheering my wife on as she does her first Olympic distance triathlon at Rage at Lake Mead on April 12th.

San Diego Hot Chocolate 15K

This morning I ran the 3rd Annual San Diego Hot Chocolate 15K Run. Only one word can describe it - Awesome!

I won a free entry to this race last month from Race Grader and it gave me an excuse to take the family to San Diego for the weekend.  We left Vegas after work/school and checked into our hotel six hours later on Friday night.  On Saturday, we went to the packet pick-up and got there about 20 minutes before it opened at 10AM which put me as one of the first ten in line.  It went smooth with us getting a square of chocolate at the door as we entered.  Once inside, I went straight to the check-in where the volunteer scanned the QR code in my e-mail and handed me my bib.  After that, I took the bib to the next station where another volunteer handed me my goodie bag which contained a nice long sleeved hooded running shirt that will go into my closet and see a lot of use as on outer layer on morning runs once it cools back down in the fall here in Vegas.  Total time from the door opening to me walking back to the car was less than five minutes.  Once that was done, we headed to SeaWorld to enjoy the rest of the day.

This morning, we got up early and headed to the race start and began to search for parking. Parking was found in a parking garage across the street and I found my corral spot after all the 5K starters (note - there were over 7700 5K finishers and a lot of corrals for them) had crossed the starting line.  I was in the second corral and hung out on the side chatting with my wife while we waited for my start time.  At the scheduled start time, the first corral took off and my corral moved up to the start line.  Three minutes later, we were off!

\

Starting in a corral was interesting, especially since I started at the front of the pack.  For the first half mile or so, I was in the top ten which hasn't happened in a race since I was running cross country as a senior in high school in 1992.  Also, right from the start it was obvious that the course was well laid out and well marked.  Additionally, we had a pair of cyclists leading our corral until we started to pass a decent number of runners from the first corral at which point they peeled off and served as safety for the mass of runners.

The first two mile were rolling hills that went through sections of apartments, condos, small storefronts and  part of the San Diego City College.  At Mile 2, we turned onto a road that bisected Balboa Park and began a long uphill section that ended just before the Mile 4 marker.

At Mile 3 was an aid station.  I slowed down, grabbed a cup, took a few sips and dropped it in the trash.  Shortly after that, we crossed the 5K mark and my watch showed 28:33.  I continued up the hill and entered a residential neighborhood shortly before the hill topped out.  From that point, the course went through a series of rollers that continued through Mile 8 as it skirted the golf course in Balboa Park and went through more residential sections.

Shortly after Mile 5, there was another aid station.  In addition to the water, they were handing out the same little blocks of chocolate that I got at packet pick-up.  Of course I grabbed one!  I continued on as I munched on my square of chocolate.

At the 10K mark, I checked my time. It was 58:05 which meant that I had slowed down a little bit - 29:32 for the second 5K.  I pressed on.  At Mile 8, we were treated to a long downhill section that winded through several neighborhoods and had another aid station in it (Note - There was another aid station between this one and the one with chocolate but I don't remember where it was).  This downhill continued until a short hill just prior to the Mile 9 marker before continuing downhill and leveling off just before the finish line.  As I passed the final marker, I knew that I was just a couple of turns from the finish and found a new gear to run at.  My time at the finish line was 1:24:50 which means that I covered the third 5K in 26:45 (major negative split - Woo hoo!).  Overall, I am very happy with that time.  It placed me 714 out of 3488 finishers, 347 out of 913 men and 63 out of 160 35-39 year old men.

After the race, I walked through the long chute and grabbed a couple of cups of Gatorade and a bottle of water from the volunteers before heading out of the chute to find my wife and kids near the play zone (Note - my youngest son loved that the organizer had this area set up).  Once we met back up, we walked over to redeem the voucher from my bib and got the plastic bowl full of hot chocolate, marshmallows, graham crackers, chocolate fondue, pretzels and a banana.

Overall, it was a well organized event that supported over 11,000 runners between the 5K and 15K.  It was definitely the largest event that I have raced in and left me looking forward to another big race.

Next up - The Windy25 5K on April 5th and Rockin' Rabbit Half Marathon on April 6th.

Six Tunnels To Hoover Dam St. Patrick’s Day Run

I ran  my fourth half marathon yesterday. It was the Six Tunnels To Hoover Dam St. Patrick’s Day Run near Boulder City, NV and was put on by Mountain Man Events out of Flagstaff, AZ.  It is safe to say that there was a lot of green being worn by the 350 half marathon, 60 half marathon relay and 341 5K runners.

In November and December, I ran a decent portion of this course on 12K and half marathon events.  The big difference between this race and the 12K on Thanksgiving was that we ran uphill for just under three miles and back down the same hill on an out-and-back paved trail (part of the River Mountain Loop Trail) before running the same course for the final 12K as I ran on Thanksgiving.

Six Tunnels To Hoover Dam Finisher's Medal

Overall, I really didn't know what to expect going into this race.  As mentioned in previous posts, my back has been sore for the last two weeks and has had a definite detrimental effect on my training during that time.  When I woke up on race morning, it was still slightly sore.  I took some ibuprofen and between that and the prerace adrenaline, the lingering pain subsided.

When the race started, I took off at what felt like a decent pace (ran GPS-free) and worked the uphill and downhill paved sections. I gave a high five to my wife (running the half as a two person relay) and some coworkers shortly after the turn around.  On the way back down the hill, runners were treated to a great view of Hoover Dam and were serenaded by a bagpiper as we went through tunnel beneath the Lakeshore Road which cuts through the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. After that part was done, runners turned onto the old railroad bed and headed towards the turnaround at the top of Hoover Dam parking garage.  Upon reaching the parking garage, I ran a few extra steps and got in a good view of the Hoover Dam before turning to start the uphill back to the trail.  After getting to the top of the hill, it was a push back through the tunnels to the finish.  I ended up with a 2:11:15 which was very solid considering how I felt prep-wise going into this but I wish I shaved those extra 15 seconds to get my split average under 10 minutes.

One observation from this race - It is getting borderline too warm for calf sleeves.  This popped into my mind around Mile 11.

Next race - San Diego Hot Chocolate 15K on March 23rd.

back pain - a haiku

lower back still sore

another race tomorrow

pre-race Motrin, yes

Daylight Savings Time

Today I saw a post on Facebook that asked "What's the number one reason we runners get so happy about Daylight Savings Time?".

When reading the responses, I realized that I am the exception.  A lot of people commented about being able to run in daylight or sunset runs. However, I love running in the morning before the sun comes up.  I love the quietness of my corner of the city before the commuters hit the streets.  I love seeing the lights of the Vegas Strip off in the distance to the south. I love seeing the sky changing color before the sun peaks over the mountains to the east of the city.  DST extends out the time that I get to see this for a little bit longer.

When I run in the morning, I wear an Amphipod Xinglet. It lightweight and virtually unnoticeable on most of my runs.  I also take a headlamp for the mornings that I am heading out to run on trails.  Both are a safety issue.

injuries

My back aches.  Running didn't cause it but it definitely affects my running.

It started last Sunday when I torqued it putting my kayak on the roof of my SUV.  It hurt for a few days but I was still able to run on it and managed to get in four good runs over the week to include a solid speed day on Tuesday and an 8.5 mile run on Friday.

On Friday night, I spent the evening doing some volunteer work to set up for a local marathon.  Over a three hour span, I set up 1100 orange cones over 13.1 miles (out-and-back course).  It involved a lot of heavy lifting and lugging with the stacks of cones in the back of a moving van and early on I started to notice my back flaring up.  Two days later, walking around is OK but I am struggling to get out of a chair, pick something off the floor, etc.

Today was supposed to be a long run and it definitely did not happen.  With a hilly half marathon next Saturday, I need my back to feel better. I've already taken two days off and hope that I don't need to take off too many more.

This sucks.

February running

February is in the books and another 100+ mile month is done.  I finished the month with 14 runs for 100.5 miles. As noted in an earlier post, I took a week off following the marathon on the 1st and got back into the swing of things on the 9th. I took off two more normal run days, the 15th and 16th, due to a family trip to Disneyland.

Training-wise, I am putting an emphasis on building speed back up.  To do this, I am pushing hard on short runs, working hard on hills and throwing surge miles into my medium and long runs,  I am specifically plugging in two short days a week (Tuesday and Thursday) to hammer from start to finish.  I am not neglecting the longer distances and got in a 15 mile run last Saturday at Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.

I am also getting back into crosstraining.  I knocked out a cardio class and spin class this week.  I am getting in some kayak time at Lake Mead tomorrow.

Oh yeah, last but not least, I turned 39 in February....two more weeks to half marathon number four.

Free Race Entry!

Another race has just been added to my schedule. I just won a free entry to San Diego Hot Chocolate 15K in March. Thanks, RaceGrader.com!

...and miles to go before I sleep...

I laced up my Hokas this morning and hit the road/trail for an 8.1 mile run which ended my self-imposed seven day sabbatical from running following Death Valley.  The legs felt great and I had some Robert Frost going through my head around Mile 5.  My legs felt pretty heavy on Monday but I felt ready to run by Tuesday.

Yesterday had me working the Las Vegas Triathlon Club's annual off-road duathlon.  It was a fun little event for club members. We had 37 racers finish the adult event and had a decent turnout for the kids race.  I was amused when I heard one of the boys who was about six making motor sounds and ringing his bell as he rode around the bike route.

I put together my running schedule through October this week.  As mentioned in my last post, I have the Six Tunnels to Hoover Dam half in March.  After that, I am racing the Rockin' Rabbit Half Marathon in April.  This promises to be a very fast race since it is primarily downhill with a few flat sections at the beginning/end. After that, I am heading to a tougher course with a lot of hill climbing as I run the Labor of Love half in May. Once that one is done, I don't have anything else on the schedule until the E.T. Full Moon half in August.  Labor of Love and E.T are two more Calico Racing events and will close out a Calico Half Slam for me.  After that, I plan on running my second marathon (St George) in October.  I need to sign up and get picked up for the lottery for this one.  The only other things that jump out are a possible 5K with the boys for Father's Day and a 25K trail race in Henderson in early September.

Beyond my races, I will be volunteering with LVTC at all of their club races and will be a regular safety kayaker for them during weekly training swims at Lake Meade May-Aug.  I also plan on volunteering with Calico Racing at a couple of their events that I am not putting on my race schedule.  Finally and most importantly, I will be cheering on Sarah as she does a series of sprint and Olympic distance triathlons starting with Rage in April and ending with Pumpkinman in October.

Death Valley Marathon - Feb 1st, 2014

Badwater Basin with the family - Rocking the Broncos shirt

This weekend was it - Marathon Weekend

We made the two hour drive from Vegas to Death Valley National Park on Friday and checked in at the Furnace Creek Ranch.  After dropping our stuff off in our room and letting the boys burn off some energy at the playground, we piled back in the Forester and drove over to Badwater Basin to get our picture at the lowest point in the Continental U.S.  After walking around there for a little bit, we returned back to Furnace Creek and had dinner at one of the restaurants at the ranch.  After that, it was back to the room to lay out the gear for the morning and to get a good night of sleep.

On Marathon Morning, Sarah and I got up, donned our race gear, ate a light breakfast and went over to check-in and pick up our bibs.  After walking back from the check-in at the Furnace Creek Saloon, we loaded up our gels and drinks and headed to the starting area for the pre-race brief.  At the end of the brief, the marathon kicked off with the half starting ten minutes later.

Miles 1-6 flew by with me running at a very steady 10 minute pace through the rolling hills.  Shortly after passing the Mile 5 mark, I popped two Cliff Shot Blocks into my mouth and grabbed a cup of water as I passed through the Mile 6 aid station (note - every aid station was extremely well stocked).  At Mile 7, a headwind began sweeping down the road and by the turnaround, I had slowed down to a 2:16 for the half.  As I approached the aid station at Mile 14, I broke open a Hammer Gel and realized that body temperature gel is not the most edible thing. After downing a cup of Gatorade at that aid station and continuing the run, I began to realize how warm it was getting and stripped off my outer layer (it was in the upper 40s at race start) and tied it around my waist.   Temperature relief was immediate and I pressed on still feeling pretty good.  At the Mile 17 aid station, I grabbed another cup of Gatorade and a couple of peanut butter filled pretzel bites and pressed on.

approaching the finish

Shortly after Mile 18, the bad times began. My right quad began to ache and spasm and I alternated running and walking until it worked itself out.  By the time it was done, the Mile 20 aid station was in sight and I grabbed another cup of Gatorade and a couple pretzels and pressed on.  Shortly after leaving the aid station, the intermittent tail wind shifted to a steady side wind that would be with me through the next and final aid station.  At the Mile 23 aid station, I grabbed two cups of  Gatorade and told myself that it was only a 5K left.  The next two miles were tough, both mentally and physically but once the Mile 25 marker came into sight, I got a huge mental boost which helped me greatly pick the pace back up for that final 1.2 miles.  As the finish line came into my view, my youngest son came out to the edge of the road and ran with me for the final quarter mile.  At 4:58:18, I crossed the line.  I wasn't happy with the time but was happy to finish and will take away some good lessons for when I start training for a fall marathon.

Postrace, I got a shower and then relaxed in the hotel pool for a bit with Sarah and the boys.  After that, we went to the National Park visitor center and spent some time walking around the museum to catch up on some Death Valley history and geology.  For dinner, we got two pizzas from the saloon following the awards presentation (Woo Hoo! Despite some injuries that crept up in the last two weeks, Sarah finished third in her age group in her first half marathon with a 2:15!) and took them back to the room.  After a good night of sleep, we checked out of the hotel early, drove to a couple of other sites for some sightseeing and got in a two mile hike before making the drive back to Vegas.

Back at the house now and there is definitely some soreness and stiffness in the legs.  My plan is to not run again until next Saturday and to not push out anything long or fast for another 10 days after that.  Once that is done, though, it is time to get ready for a spring series of half marathons.  Next race: Six Tunnels to Hoover Dam Half Marathon on March 15th.

Death Valley marathon bib and finisher's medal

Chomping At The Bit

I ran a short, easy 3.1 miles this morning to finish off a 143 mile January.  Tomorrow is a rest day and Saturday is the Death Valley marathon - 576 miles run since Oct 1st going into it with weekly long runs in the 13-21 mile range since early November and three half marathons plus several other races along the way.

Tapering started on Jan 18th with, excluding the half marathon last weekend, only running six times in the 3.1 to 4.60 mile range.  Tapering has been a little tough, mainly mentally.  I want take off and either really push the pace on these short runs or extend them out to a much longer distance and have to remind myself to keep myself in check so the legs are fresh and injury free going into this first marathon.  I now have a new appreciation for the term "chomping at the bit".

Running From An Angel - 25 Jan 14

Running From An Angel finisher's medal

I ran my final pre-marathon tune-up race this morning and it was a hilly half marathon at Lake Mead. It was Calico Racing's 7th and final Running From An Angel as they transition to a new race next year.  Calico always puts on good small events and this race was no exception.

Unlike my previous races at Lake Mead which involved running south of Boulder Beach using the old railway tunnel trails, this run left the Boulder Beach picnic area and headed north on Lakeshore Drive as an out-and-back course. After leaving the starting gate, we had a gradual climb for about 1/4 of a mile before turning onto Lakeshore.  The next 3.5 miles were a series of rollers and some short flatish sections.  After that we began a series of one mile long stretches of downhill, uphill, downhill to the turn around point where the elevation change reversed for the return route. Elevation-wise, the race start was at 1261 ft with the low point of 1194 at the two mile mark and the high point of 1451 ft at the 5.9 mile mark. Temperatures were 50 at the start and 60 at the finish.

We got our packets the night before (my wife ran the 10K) and showed up to the race about 20 minutes before my race began.  A quick restroom stop and I headed to the start-line to await the 7:30 start-time. About 5 minutes before the start, the race director gave us some final instructions and called out a couple of birthdays in the running crowd.  She also pointed out and congratulated the runners who were finishing their Calico Half Slam (four half marathons with Calico Racing in a one calendar year period) with this race.  Finally, we posed for a group photo and then she counted down the final seconds as they ticked off the clock.  Just like that, we were off.

I made it a point to not go out too fast at the start and hit the first mile in 9:20.  Mile 2 was the low point of the race and I hit it in 18:40.  Yep, pretty consistent for the first two miles. The next mile was pretty much all uphill and my pace slowed accordingly - 29:02 at the three mile mark.  After that, the next 3.5 miles were the same with me losing time on the uphill sections and gaining a little bit back on the downhills.  I reached the turn-around right at the 1:05 mark and began to wonder if I could make it back in a sub-2:11.  Shortly after the turn-around, a short blond lady who had been flip-flopping places with me from miles 4-6 passed me and I picked up my pace to go with her.  We kept up a steady pace and hit the 9 mile mark right at the 1:30 mark.  At some point over the next two miles, we began to pick the pace up and by the 11 mile mark, we had slipped to a 1:49 mark.  At that point, I began thinking to myself that I just needed to hold it together for two more miles and a 2:11 was in the bag.  With about 1/4 of a mile to go, we turned downhill and I took off.  As the finish line came into view, I was shocked to see 2:08 flashing on the time.  As I came around the final corner, I went into a full kick and crossed the finish line with a 2:08:40 chip time and 2:08:47 gun time which means I shaved over 4:30 off my previous best!  About 15 seconds later, the lady I was pacing off from crossed the finish line and I thanked her for the pacing as we had our timing chips removed.  Post-race, I enjoyed some chips, applesauce and chocolate milk before heading out with the wife to enjoy a greasy burger from Five Guys.

Next weekend is the Death Valley Marathon and with this huge PB in the half, I am feeling really good going into it.

New Shoes

...my new Hoka One One Rapa Nui 2 shoes...

OK, I lied...sort of. I planned on getting a pair of Hoka shoes after Death Valley.  However, yesterday afternoon, my wife and I made a trip to the Red Rock Running Company to get her some new shoes and I tried these on.  A couple of laps around the parking lot and I was smitten.

I wore them for a short run this morning and they felt great.  My plan is to run with them on all my runs between now and Death Valley and then use them solely for my long runs after that.

Yes, my wife left the store with a new pair of shoes as well.

...long slow distance and a look-back...

Ran 21 miles this morning at Lake Mead...legs feel great.  This was my final long run on this training cycle.  I am two Saturdays out from the Death Valley Marathon and have the Running From An Angel half marathon next weekend at Lake Mead.

My plan for the next two weeks is pretty simple.  I am backing off quite a bit on mid-week mileage with the intent of keeping the legs fresh.  I am not necessarily taking extra days off, just cutting the runs down to the 3-5 mile range.

One issue I am having is my feet are getting sore on my long runs. It happens in the 15-18 mile range.  I have decided that I am getting myself a pair of Hokas post-marathon for future long runs.  I plan on taking two weeks of low mileage post-Death Valley before starting my spin up for the next round of races.

Weekly Mileage 1 Sep 13 - 18 Jan 14

Since I am at the tail end of a big training cycle, I decided to graph out my weekly mileage since September when I first started to get serious about the Oct-Feb races.  The second week is an outlier during which I had some major transitions going on in duties at work and unfortunately, did not make time to run.  The next lowest week (Oct 20-26) was my fitness eval which I wasn't going to mess around with due to its importance on my career.

In October, I ran my first 10 miler and had three runs over 10 with a long run of 11.39 miles.  In November, I had three runs over 10 with a long run of 14.83 miles (my first time running the Red Rock National Recreation Area Loop). December had three runs over 10 with a long of 17.15 miles.  So far in January, I have done three runs over 10 miles with a long of 21.  The toughest runs were the first of two Red Rock loops, the 18.33 mile trail run earlier this month and the hilly 10.31 mile trail run last week.  Overall, virtually all the runs have been hill runs with the majority of the running in the 2300-3000 ft elevation range.  Frank Shorter (1972 Olympic marathoner and gold medalist) said "Hills are speedwork in disguise".  Hopefully running all these hills bodes well for running a flat marathon at 200 feet below sea level.

Burros

a pair of burros at Red Rock Canyon Conservation Area

I ran a trail loop at Red Rock National Conservation Area this morning.  Four and a half miles in, the trail disappeared and I turned downhill to follow a dry creek bed.

After a few minutes run down the rocky creek bed, I finally saw wild burros.  These are the descendants of burros brought over to the New World by explorers and burros that were used by gold and silver miners in the 1800s.

According to information found on the BLM site, burros come from Africa and there are two primary populations of burros that the feral burros found in the Southwest descended from.  These are the Nubian and the Somalian. The Nubian are distinguished by a black stripe across the shoulders and another down the middle of the back.  This gives the appearance of a cross when viewed from above. The Somalian is distinguished by leg stripes on both front and hind legs that resemble a zebra's markings.

Back to the run, the uphill trail was tough and slow.  However, the pace picked up after I stopped to grab some photos of the burros as I picked my way through the rocks on the gradual downhill back to the parking area.  The run ended up being 10.3 miles and is not a route I will choose to do again due to the ankle twisting potential on the creek bed and the lack of markings on the trail.

trail running

This morning I ran 18.33 miles with the first 17 miles on a dirt trail that was full of gravel.  As the evidence on the left and right of this post shows, road shoes and trails don't mix.

I closed out a 44 mile week and am four weeks out from the Death Valley Marathon.