Timp Trail Marathon 2013

Quick and late recap from the Timpanogos Trail Marathon.  I signed up late for this race but decided to not take a watch and treat it like a training run.  I was hoping to try and win it using as little energy as possible and hopefully come in under 4 hours.  That was the extent of my race planning....

It was another rainy year which I didn't mind.  I love running in the mud so I was excited.  I did want to go sub-4 hours and the mud would surely slow things down.  I ran the first 6-7 miles with friends Seth Hales and Dan Mitchell.  We chatted and watched 2 young guys take out the race fast.  It was good catching up with those guys.

I quickened the pace on the way down into Battlecreek and was 1 minute back from the leader at Grove Canyon aid station mile 12.  I was feeling good and wanted to take the big climb up the green monster and Grove Canyon easy.  I figured I could catch the leader the last 10 miles...but he pushed hard.  I got to the top with my legs feeling a little heavy.  I trained through Miwok and it was apparent I didn't taper for this race either.  Seth Hales caught me and we ran quickly over the top and over Curly Springs.  I was surprised that the leader wasn't coming back to us as we were moving well.  I surged down into Dry Canyon though the mud but still no glimpse of the leader.

Having decided to do Squaw Peak 50 miler 2 weeks after this, I coasted the last 3-4 miles down the mountain to finish 3rd overall in a time of 4:06:03.  I was 5 1/2 minutes back from the winner.  Fast roady who didn't bonk...good for him!  Young buck Ford Smith passed me with a mile to go.  He was working so hard I let him finish strong while I coasted.  Again, good for him!  17 years old and FAST. 

Overall I finished feeling quite fresh and had a great time!  I run those trails nearly every day but still loved it.  Great race, atmosphere, terrain, people, and rain like usual!  Would have liked to have broken 4 hours which without the mud was a sure thing.  A win would have been nice but 3rd place in a solid effort and feeling great afterwards was worth it. 

Now for Squaw Peak 50...again

Miwok Race Report

Marin Headlands, Golden Gate Bridge, San Fransisco, Bolinas Ridge, classic/competitive ultra, I was pumped to run the Miwok 100k.  Race morning came very early with a 3:15am alarm.  After getting prep'd and driving to the start, the 400 runners and myself were rather disappointed by the news of a shortened course due to fire danger.  Not an actual fire, just the threat.  I run fast but I don't think I've ever sparked any flames....

So I drove back 30 minutes to the hotel, slept for 1 1/2 hours and headed back for what would now be a 60k race.  I was still excited and most runners were positive.  Big kudo's for Tia and the volunteers to making the best of a less-than-perfect situation.

The race funneled to a singletrack within 200 meters from the start.  It was a tough decision to figure out how fast to go.  I chose wisely.  Not too fast but fast enough to avoid the funnel.  The first climb was long and full of stairs.  Yep, uneven stairs mixed with short stretches of trail for almost 2 miles.  Dense forest shaded and protected us for a stretch from what would be a scorching hot day (no flames though).  Once on top, the views were amazing.  After a few miles I picked up the pace and found myself accelerating.  It felt so natural that I just let it happen.  Within 7-8 miles from the start I was throttling it!  I thought...its only 60k so why not?!

Turns out it was a good move.  I held form and had one of the better races in years!  The views from the exposed ridgelines were amazing, the singletrack firm and fast, and I was having an ON day.  The trail next to Golden Gate bridge was everything it was hyped to be.  A friend who I've barely seen since high-school randomly showed up to run the last 12 miles with me (they we supposed to be miles 49-61 but were 26-38).  The volunteers were awesome and the decent into Muir Beach was as pretty of a trail as I've ever seen. 

Hot...yes but it didn't slow me down as I felt strong the whole day finishing 10th overall in a time of 5:39.45!  The 60k distance was probably better for me than the 100k due to my fitness but I finished feeling like I could have kept going.  I would have needed more salt pills though as I was on the verge of cramping those last 3-4 miles.  It was also great to have my wife Zanna and youngest son Riley there supporting me.  Great day, great race!

Getting ready pre-race

Finishing strong

Happy and hanging with Riley post race

Feeling good 14 miles in...

Me, Zanna, and Riley post race on Fishermans Wharf

My Boston Marathon 2013

  I will never forget the Boston Marathon 2013.  The Boston Marathon is the Super Bowl, the Jerusalem, the World Cup of running.  Its history and prestige is unsurpassed.  I had the opportunity to get a private tour of the B.A.A. museum before the race. I got emotional hearing the stories, seeing the medals, and partaking of the feelings of the legendary Boston Marathon.  The excitement in the days leading up to the marathon were palpable.   That feeling will never leave me and has only been deepened by what happened on race day 2013.

I started my day where the bomb went off, at the finish line at 5:15am.  I would be running the course out-n-back.  Running the Boston Marathon twice in one day is trivial after what happened but it only increased my passion about the terrorist attack.  Having finished my second marathon of the day in an official time of 3:35.33 (my 1^st marathon was 4:02.30), the feeling of running 52.4 miles was pure jubilation.  As I was talking with my wife about the exciting day I had experienced, 25 minutes after I had finished, I suddenly heard and felt a BOOM.  I was now on a parallel road merely 1 block from the finish and I immediately KNEW that it was a bomb.  Not knowing how or where, I kept making my way to the hotel.  People started poring out of the side roads from the finish, running, confused, with many crying.  Sirens began sounding and within minutes, police cars and ambulances came poring in around me.  Tired, cold, and confused I went straight back to the hotel.

The ensuing hours came and went quickly.  I was in shock.  My hotel was on lockdown.  20 cop cars and a dozen ambulances were around the hotel and side streets of my hotel.  The scene of the crime was blocked by only a single building.  Tension was high as we watched on the news about how the race was halted, people rushed to the hospital, and details came in from the finish line.  I’m still confused by the parody of what happened.  There are very few things in my life that match the positive feelings of the Boston Marathon.  My wedding day, the birth of my two sons, finishing a 100 mile race…and Boston Marathon.  Yet a day of positives was shattered.  I will never understand why choosing a marathon as the sight for a terrorist attack but it has had my head spinning since the event occurred.  It is something that will live under my skin until the day I die.

But as I contemplated this on my mellow and stiff-legged 4 mile run 3 days after the race, I vowed to be back at Boston next year and at every Boston I can for the rest of my life.  It’s only increased my passion of this sport I love.  As the running community rally’s and unites around this, running marathons will only become more popular, positive feelings will overcome this single hate crime, & the friends and family we love will become closer.  My resolve as a human to be better has increased.  No I won’t forgot Boston 2013, but I will be back in 2014.  Keep running everyone…

B.A.A. Private Tour

Half done. Casual 4:02.30

6 of us ran the marathon backwards including Runner's World Editors Jeff Dengate, Bud Coats, and Warren Green.  The other two, Scott and Thor ran the Double.

Double done.  Official Marathon time of 3:35.33

View from the hotel room 20 min after the explosion.  Ambulances below and cop cars on side streets.  Finish line is on the other side of that building.

News teams and armed forces outside the hotel the morning after.

+Hong Kong -Antelope...weekly update

Taiwan went great but I had the opportunity to go into Hong Kong for another 4 days instead of coming home.  It meant I had to DNS Antelope Island 50k (very sad) but it was a great opportunity.  Taiwan was fun but didn't really do much for me, however Hong Kong was AWESOME!  Loved it.  Glad to be home though.

Running Update March 23rd- 30th:
18 mile urban adventure through Hong Kong (one of the better city runs I've had...ever!) Saturday
Sunday/Monday off while traveling home
8 trail miles Tuesday
10 trail/road miles Wednesday
9 trail miles Thursday
13 trail miles Friday
20 miles road/trail mix on Saturday

Getting back in shape with the best 8 days of training I've had in 6 months!!  Life is good on the trails in the Spring.  Below are some pics from my Taiwan/Hong Kong trip:

 Taipai Run w/Clayton (pictured)

 Icon/Altra Media Event in Taiwan (check out the shoes!)

Dinner at the Taipei Market

 The 101 (one of the tallest buildings in the world) and my hotel..and Claude.

 Found a mtn to run up in Hong Kong!

 Finishing up a tiring 18 mile run in Hong Kong.

 View from my hotel!

Hong Kong nights!

Taiwan + Antelope 50k =??

I'm getting on a plan this morning for Taiwan and my mind is going to 7 days from now when I run the Antelope Island 50K.  My training has been mediocre but the interesting part of the scenario is the my return flight from Taiwan lands Friday night at 7:35pm.  The race starts 12 hours later.  Will I fall asleep at mile 23 during the race?  Was my training nearly enough?  How will my system/stomach react?  The last time I flew internationally and raced was in Japan where I had a 2 day adjustment and still struggled...

Either way it will be an adjustment.  Excited for the trail season to arrive.  Jim Skaggs classic Antelope Island race marks this and it seems like lots of people will be out on the Island next Saturday.  What event will you be racing?!

New Zealand/Australia 2013

I had the opportunity to go to New Zealand and the Australia for 2 weeks on business.  Had a grand time.  Such beautiful part of the world!  I saw Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington, and Rotorua while in New Zealand.  Since the trip was business I didn't get much sight seeing in but had a great experience meeting and working with great people.  After New Zealand I flew east to Australia visiting Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne, Geelong and Brisbane.  13 flights in 16 days.  I squoze in a little running but 3 were rather epic.  The first was in the mountains around Rotorua where I hit 10 beautiful miles of singletrack on the edge of town.  A trail running hub for sure. The 2nd was a sunrise run around Sydney.  Great city!  The 3rd was through D'Argulair National Park outside of Brisbane.  On the day before I flew out, my hosts dropped me off on one side of the park with a map.  16 miles later I topped Mt Nebo and met them at a quaint little café for brunch.  I feel very lucky to have these experiences.  I also had a chance to go to a Mauri cultural center, visited nearly 30 running, fitness, and shoe stores, played a wicked game of lawn bowling, and watched a Union Rugby game.  I think if I have a chance, I'll head down under again!