Midnight Moon Run 5K - Sandy, UT

I wasn't sure what to expect on this race because I am normally exhausted by 10 p.m. and staying up for a race at midnight was questionable. I convinced Melinda Aaron from the FastRunningBlog (I have had the occasion to work with her through my job) to run with me and we met part way through my warmup.

I started with a 1.5 mile warmup. I was wearing a new headlamp my sister gave me that clipped onto my bill cap and it worked well for checking my Garmin. They had 300 people signed up this afternoon and I think there were about 350 total entrants. Between injuries and sickness I didn't expect a PR - I wasn't really planning on racing - just staying sub 30 minutes for the race.

Lost a few seconds at the start because we didn't hear the start and then had to pick our way through the pack. We split up quickly because Melinda is younger and faster than me. I was a bit ahead of pace the first quarter mile because I knew it was a gentle uphill - looking back I wish I had pushed that first quarter mile more. After the second corner, I realized the gently uphill was followed by a long and not so gentle uphill. I kept passing other runners and lots of walkers, but was frustrated because my pace was above 11 mm pace at times. (OK - the guy pushing the double stroller that blew past us on the uphill was pretty annoying). Finally at .95 there was a bit of flat and then another small uphill.

Passed one mile at about 10:22 and knew I had some ground to make up. I was also a bit concerned because my right achilles tendon was still very tight. A little after the 1 mile mark the course flattened out for a couple of blocks and then started the downhill. I tend to be conservative on downhills, but was feeling the racing bug and started pushing myself relatively hard. I passed about 30 or more people in mile 2 and didn't get passed by anyone. The tendon loosened up sometime during this mile and finished mile 2 in 9:18. (7:37 best).

Mile 3 was a combination of flat and about a quarter mile of gentle uphill before a final downhill section. I was passed right after the downhill ended by about 5 other runners, but managed to pass them back and about 15 more in the final mile. Caught one guy I had been chasing down most of the race at about 2.5. The last several blocks were on a paved path that had a lot of weeds and ruts and I had to try and speed up to shoot gaps and pass runners. Finished the mile in 9:12.

Two teenagers caught me right near the end, and I was not able to get enough of a kick to gap the final runners about 1/4 block ahead of me. Final time: 29:10 (59th place, 4th in my age group)

Melinda high fived me in the chute and was excited that she had finished 4th in her age group, but mentioned that she wished she had pushed a little harder to get a prize. I was shocked and pleased to find that I was 4th in my age group and also wished that I had pushed a little harder to get an age group prize.

It was a nice, but tough course and I think I am going to train on it some during the day time in order to come back next year and really race this course.

Struggling

I have been struggling a lot this summer with health issues that I don't normally experience anymore now that I am pretty fit.

Between a cold/infection that has lingered in my chest for almost 2 months and several leg injuries (IT Band, Piriformis) - it seems like my fitness has actually gone downhill since the end of March.

I have done a lot of thinking this past month and have decided that I brought some of these problems on myself. I was pretty happy being a slow runner and fast long distance walker since I started marathon training in 2004, but got sucked into thinking I had to become fast since joining the FastRunningBlog community last summer.

I am trying to change my training focus back to where it used to be - except with some slight improvements in being able to run between 6-10 miles without walking and improving my speed a little at a time.

Hopefully, if I can endure to the end of this marathon season, as my body rests and I take stress off myself, I will be able to get my running/walking mojo back and go back to feeling good about myself.

FiveFinger Pain

Leslie Peterson and I were going to do the Little Cottonwood Trail today. We have both been struggling with motivation these past couple of months and she has been hiking for a lot of her training. She agreed that she would try and run down the trail after we walked up if I kept it slow.

I thought one way to slow down on the downhills would be to wear my Vibram FiveFingers, so I showed up for our workout with those on. FiveFingers have about 1/8 inch of rubber soles to mimic barefoot running and they take a while to get the feet to adapt to the stress on the muscles and bones and skin.

The 3.25 miles uphill was not too bad and my feet were only a little painful as I hit rocks. However, I realized on the walk up that the trail was much rockier than I remembered.(I think I just ignore most of the rocks when I am in trail shoes). My gut was starting to clench at the thought of how 'fun' the run down was going to be.

When we hit the top we took a five minute break and then started the run down.

I can't remember the studies, but I know I have read some that involve the difference in impact on the feet between walking strides and running strides. There are also numerous studies about the difference in impact on the lower body between flat, uphill and downhill running. Let me tell you - I can verify those studies are true.

Imagine 3.25 miles of the most painful running I have ever done. I felt every single rock that my feet encountered and running downhill on them was significantly more painful that walking uphill in the FiveFingers. I was very grateful that I had done a lot of training in the FiveFingers so that my feet were relatively tough at this point in the season.

Leslie was able to stay ahead of me a lot of the run. It would only be when we got to some sandy or less rocky sections that I was able to catch up to her. I could actually feel my shoulders relax and I would heave a big sigh of relief anytime I could have a break from the constant pounding.

Next time - I'm not going to handicap myself when running with Leslie!

Showing my sister the trails

My sister and I had a weekend together at my place instead of going up to the Spudman in Burley, Idaho.

This morning I wanted to show my sister one of my favorite trails, so we took Twilight and headed up Millcreek Canyon to hike the Pipeline Trail. We hiked three miles out and three miles back and Twilight gamely kept up with us.

It is so fun to be able to do 'active' activities with my sister. I'm hoping that we can do lots more fun adventures with each other out in nature.

I'm really looking forward to September. We are flying up to Portland, Oregon for five or so days in Oregon and Washington doing some hiking (and running in my case) as we explore the states and attend our nephews (Ryan Miles) wedding.

Twilight’s First Trail Run

Tonight I took Twilight up Millcreek Canyon and did the Pipeline Trail with her. It was her first big off-leash adventure and she was a bit nervous at first, but soon found it was fun to be able to move freely. The plan was to take a nice easy hike out 2.5 miles and then back. However, once she got the hang of the freedom bit, she wanted to run a lot, so we ran about half of the time. Thankfully it was a lot cooler up in the mountains than down in the valley. Tried to get her to learn how to drink from the stream, but we weren't too successful.

Red Hot Pink Chicks Half Marathon

Saturday was the first ever Red Hot Pink Chicks Half Marathon (RHPC Half). This was organized as a combination fun run/race for several of us that have become running friends on FastRunningBlog.com. The evil genius behind the run was Marion McLellan - who I paced through her first marathon in June.

The rules for the run were that you had to wear red or pink (only one person failed to follow the rules), bring a treat to share, and bring a prize to swap (something on the red or hot or pink or chick theme).

We met at a park near the Riverwoods Shopping Center on Saturday morning at 6 a.m. Marion and Josse had set up the course and Michelle Lowry and her 9 year old son were acting as official timekeepers. After a quick overview from Josse, we shuttled over to the starting line in the mouth of Provo Canyon.



For the first 5.5 miles we ran up the canyon past Bridal Veil Falls and then turned around just short of Vivian Park. Lots of pink on the trails that day! Pinked two runners at mile 1 and another runner at mile 2 - and then did not pass anyone else in the group the rest of the race.



As I approached the turnaround, it was nice to see other runners heading back. I tried to high five everyone and encourage them on. Saw that Smooth/Suzanna was the next runner in front of me and knew I would not pass her since her slow pace is faster than my race pace.

After the turnaround I started to work on speed on the downhill portion. My speed was not where I wanted it to be - but considering I had been pretty sick for the past 6 days, I was just happy to be running and pushing myself. I never saw Marion or Leslie Peterson who were going to sweep the course, so figured they must have decided to not run the entire half marathon.

After coming out of the canyon, we followed the Provo River Trail over to Riverwoods Shopping Center and then swung over to run around the park and finish. As soon as each pink runner came in sight the other runners started cheering us in. I did not PR (I knew I would not in advance because of health issues and the course being uphill for a while) but was able to challenge myself and was pleased with my training results.

Once I finished we took a group picture with everyone except the 3 runners still out on the course. It was a great day and lots of fun. I can't wait until next year!

My Running Buddy

Twilight (my 8 month old puppy) got a haircut today so that she can run trails with me without picking up every leaf or twig in her fur. Thought I would post some before and after pictures.

Twilight before the haircut


Twilight after the haircut