Old Man Still running

Back running.  I like to do my first recovery run an the treadmill to check for any problems in a controlled environment.  Everything feels fine, rather mind boggling what the body can do and how fast it can recover once you get used to going very long distances.  Tempted to run that River Rail 50 on Saturday, but just too pricy.

Decided to run tomorrow the River Rail Relay - 51+ miles that runs from Roy to West Jordan using the rail trail, legacy trail and JRP.   But I'll run it solo of course.  Still should beat a few relay teams.  We'll see if the legs hold up from the 100 last Saturday.   I'll just do this commuter style....park car at finish, take Trax and FrontRunner to Roy, run two miles to a motel, stay for the night, run two miles to the start to warm up and then run the race all the way to my car.  Should work.   Doesn't look like they are providing any type of food or snacks at the aid stations so I'll have to carry gels, etc.

At the last minute I decided to run a road race, the River Rail Relay which runs the paved trails from Roy to West Jordan.   I ran the entire distance solo.  I truly made it a solo run.  Friday evening, I parked my car at the finish, and then took Trax (light rail) and Front Runner (train) to Roy (the start) and then ran 2.5 miles to a motel.  Riding the train all that way certainly put in my mind just how far I would be running.

After 5.5 hours of sleep, I got up, got ready and did a 2.5 mile warmup run to the start where I met Vince Romney who was also running the course solo.  I think we were the only two to attempt it.   The rest of the field were mostly Ragnar types, with either 2-person or 4-person relays.

I ran with Vince for the first half mile or so and then decided to open it up and see how the legs felt running faster.  I was curious to see what they would do after the back-to-back 100s the past two weekends.   Things went well early, mile pace: 8:16, 8:01, 8:16, 8:51, 8:45.  I was keeping pace nicely with the leading relays.   The relays would switch runners about every 6-7 miles, so at the beginning of each new leg I would get passed by one or two fresh runners.

But at mile 9, I warmed up and clocked some speedy miles, 7:59, 7:56, 8:13.  My half marathon split was 1:53, OK.   But at the second relay point, the water station was about a quarter mile away at a parking lot.  They didn’t think through logistics.  It is fine to have it there for relays, but what about the solo runners.  People kept encouraging me to go to the parking lot to get refilled, they just didn’t understand that I was running solo.  I asked for a refill from the runners standing around, but they looked at me with blank stares, couldn’t understand why I needed a refill on the course.  This was discouraging.  I just kept going and hoped for the best.

I was clearly going to run out of water.  I was carrying just one water bottle and I just had a little left.  Finally two women riding slowly on bikes passed me.  I called out and asked for help.  One rider was so kind and filled my bottle to the brim.  I thanked her over and over again.   OK, I could avoid deep dehydration now, but it had halted my fast miles, I was clocking 9:52. 9:27, 9:38 now.

Once I reached the 3rd exchange point about mile 19, again the water was about a half mile away.   My bottle was empty.   I stopped and loudly explained to everyone standing around there that I was running solo.  I couldn’t go run a half mile away to get water!   This time runners started to understand and two of them filled up my bottle, also a race volunteer finally understood and said he would radio ahead to make sure there was water at the future stops on the course.

So all this bugged me and slowed me down.  At least they brought down water at this stop by the time Vince arrived.   I continued on this leg clocking miles averaging 10:10 pace.   When I reached exchange 4, the volunteers there quickly escorted me to the water.  The race director had personally brought it down for me.   I reached the marathon distance at 4:04, not bad for a 50-miler.  I took my longest stop here, bathroom, drank like crazy, and refilled my pockets with gels, candy and bacon from my little pack.   At the early stops there was no food for us, so both Vince and I hauled everything we needed on our backs for 50 miles.  I probably ate a pound of bacon along the way.  It was fantastic.

The Legacy Parkway trail was the worst part of the course.  Boring, exposed, and tons of bikers going by very, very fast without regard to the runners.  So I was very careful and avoided ear phones in that section.   My mile pace crept over 11:00 for the first time. I hit the 50K mark at 5:02, a nice solid split time.

Finally on the Jordan River Parkway in North Salt Lake, there was more shade and more to look at.  I enjoyed it a lot better.   I’ve run all this section before and that was very helpful because I knew what to expect and knew all the turns.   This race uses paint on the paved trail to show the way and the paint doesn’t go away.  That continually bugged me.  I noticed that some of the cities had painted black point over last year’s markings but others still remained.  Races should not do that!  It is as bad as tagging.

To keep myself entertained, I tried to greet every person I came across with a cheerful hello.  It was really interesting that at least half of the people out for walks, runs, bike ride seemed shocked that I said hi to them and a quarter of the people would look away as I approached.  I know that I’m not much to look at and probably looked like a scary old man, but this urban road runner culture is much different than those who run trails, always cheerfully greeting you.

Even half of the runners who passed me during the race would not respond at all with my “Good job” or hellos.  Odd.  I don’t pretend to understand the Ragnar culture, but my theory from reading reports is that runners are focused on “kills”.  I guess you wouldn’t greet someone you just “killed.”  That is opposite of ultrarunning where you encourage your competitors and even stop to help them if needed.  But after awhile as I ran into the exchange areas, the crews and runners knew that I was a solo runner and they started to greet with with loud cheers and smiles.  That was wonderful.

Things continued well.  My pace was still pretty good at the 40-mile mark, just 11 more miles to go.  I was in high spirits and enjoyed singing away as I ran, further scaring every person I met.   Running along the river in Murray is the best part of the course.  The trail is well maintained and there is plenty of nice shade.  The clouds also came in and helped cool things down.  But overall, I was still somewhat dehydrated.  I probably should have ran with two water bottles.  The joints started to ache but I pushed ahead.

Nearing the finish, I hit the 50-mile mark at 8:48.  That was good, I had hoped to at least break 9:00.  My pace all day was similar to that at North Coast 24, two weeks ago.  On the bright side, I really didn’t feel any ill effects from last weeks 100.  If anything, the legs feel stronger.

I reached the finish at Gardiner Village at 9:03.  I finished about mid-pack for the relays.  The finish area was mostly populated by women teams waiting for their last runner to arrived.   They were all flabergasted that I ran the course solo.  The race director made a nice announcement and presented me my 1st place ribbon.  One lady insisted on taking my picture.   I felt great at the finish and could have continued on for a very long time.  It had been a great unique training run.

They won’t be doing this race next year, I heard that they can’t get the permit as the race is growing (and probably because they tag the trail like crazy).  I heard the RD mention that they might be moving to Antelope Island….huh?  That is Jim Skaggs territory.   Well, it would introduce the Ragnar community to the island.  They should instead go run the Golden Spike railway bed.  I wish there was a race there.

Went to do one of my favorite run, Paria Canyon located halfway between Kanab and Page on the Utah/Arizona border.  It is the scene of my first major backpack trip back in the mid 90s that hooked me on the outdoors.   I came away from that with swollen ankles and could hardly walk for a week.   I returned years later for my first long-distance "run" and also came away injured.  This would be my sixth time in the canyon.  End-to-end to Lees Ferry is around 42-45 miles depending on routes.

This time, I wanted to experience the best parts of the canyon twice by doing an out and back to the 25 mile point and back for at least 50 miles.  After the 25-mile point it turns into open desert, hotter and less scenic.

I spent the night in Kanab and was on the trail at dawn.  This would be the toughest flat 50-miler I had ever attempted.  What would make it tough would be the 600+ river crossings.   The river was the highest of my visits, mostly ankle/calf deep, but in places up to the knees.   Running across the river was out of the question because it would splash and get the shorts wet, so I would slow each time to walk across. 

For the first 7 miles, the river water was frigid and the air temperature too.  It was rough, but once I reached the confluence of Buckskin Gulch with the Paria, the water warmed and the sun started to peek down into the canyon a little.   My spirits lifted and I enjoyed it much more.

The canyon is spectacular with very high cliffs on both side, rising at times to hundreds of feet.   There is generally no trail so you pick your route and try to make use of the banks as much as possible to run.  Back and forth as the river winds down the canyon.   I passed backpackers who had been out the for 1-3 days.   On the way back they would stop me and talk.  They were very impressed.

I reached the 25-mile mark at about 6 hours or so.  All went well and because of the cool weather in the canyon, I didn't have to fill up very often from springs.   The way back was tougher, crossing against the river flow.  It took more effort.   But wow, what an amazing run.

I reached the trailhead at 13:32, with the sun still up.  Pretty good including at least 45 minutes of stops and one bad route through reeds that I had to back out of.

In past years that run would have wiped me out, but it was no big deal.  My legs felt fine.  The feet were wet for the entire time, but my road shoes drained well.  I only had to clean out the sand once.   I ended out with water-logged feet, but no blisters.

I drove up near Bryce Canyon and slept well for my Day 2 adventure.

Day #2 of my back-to-back adventure runs.   I slept in until 5:45 and then got up to prepare to run again.  I felt pretty good.   I drove to the start of the Bryce 100 course, the race to be held in two weeks.   I had forgotten my map and course directions, so I would just play it by ear and just have a great time running here and there.

I probably ran on the course only for 7 miles or so, but it really helped orient myself and I generally figured out things.   In short, this is going to be an amazing race.   The trails and roads are soft and lack rocks.  This should be pretty speedy.  The views were amazing.  I ran here and there, even bushwacked at times.  It was impossible to get lost because if I did, I could simply head down to the east and spill out in the valley where my car would be at the far north.   So I just had one of those amazing runs where I didn't really care about my route, I just went places that looked interesting and made sure I checked out portions of the course.  I really didn't want to run much of it and spoil the surprise of a new race to me, but I ran enough to understand well what to expect.   

I spent most of the day above 8500 feet and reached about 9300.  It was great altitude training.  This is another hidden gem for Utah running.  I only saw foot prints on one road, that was part of the course, someone else checking things out.  But otherwise it was just deer tracks.

I took it pretty easy.   I didn't run into a single person up there.  No ATVs, nothing but me and deer and I saw plenty.   Wow!  I really look forward to the race now.   As I started to run out of time, I picked a road and just ran down to the valley.  

The race was be cool temperature-wise.  Even though it was a pretty hot day, it stayed below freezing until about 8:30 and then it was cool all day up at altitude.  Nice.

It had been a fun two-days of adventure running.  These long distances seem like no big deal, so I must be back into shape.

Feel fully recovered already from the 79 miles Friday and Saturday.   I've been using a different training strategy, very long weekend miles with recovery and rest during the week.  But overall weekly miles still big.   My theory with this approach is that it helps me to recover very fast between 100s and also makes running 100s much less painful.  Running 50 miles now is no big deal, starting to feel like a 20-mile run used to feel.

However, this approach doesn't help with speed, but at my age, speed is just so hard to keep up without doing a bunch of tempo/speed work.  However, that seems to be leading to injury easier.   So, instead of being speedy, I would rather run strong and steady, being able to recover fast so I can do as many long adventure runs as time and life's demands will permit.   I think I'm going into the spring/summer season more prepared than I have since 2010.

Busy all week and had a terrible tooth problem that I finally got fixed today. So, not much running going on.  But before the storms I did go run the north spine of Lake Mountain.  Started at the little pass at the Ranches and made it to the summit in two hours.  It was sprinkling and rather cool up there.  It looked like storms were coming in so I cut the run short and ran down the road to home.

Wild flowers and grass are growing on the mountain, making this run more difficult with each week as the deer trails along the spine are starting to be hid.  It is so nice to see the explosion of wildflowers and green wild plants in the burn scar toward in areas where the fire wasn't as hot.  But down lower, where the fire really killed everything and was blazing hot, it still looks dead.

The legs feel great and enjoyed the 3,500 feet of climbing.  I like my new New Balance Leadvilles.  They are certainly fine for these shorter training runs.  How will they do on a 100?  We shall see.

I wanted to get in some altitude training so I headed up American Fork Canyon.  I didn't have any specific plans, didn't bring or check a map, just started running up the Pine Hollow Trail.  It was wonderful.  I made my way up the Ridge Trail and then it started raining for a few minutes, enough to get the trails wet.   I then headed down toward the Cascade Springs Road and tested the new shoes (NB Leadville) in the mud.  They held up pretty well, not bad on the slippery downhills and they also didn't collect a ton of mud in the sticky places.

Made my way to the Alpine Summit and after a long bathroom break continued on, running random trails, connecting to the trail to Timpooneke.  The new parking lot is nice and will allow for a few more cars, but not a bunch more.   

I then decided to run up the Timpooneke trail.  Snow appeared within the first mile and detours were required nearing Scout Falls.  I stayed close to the trail above that, but made some direct climbs when long post-holes were coming up.   I made it to the big flat area where the stream comes around from the left.  Instead of following the trail, I headed right across the giant step and then found a nice moose trail to take straight up to the last giant step, near the rock slide.  Once up there, the snow was very deep.   That was enough for me.  I was at 8,700 feet.   I headed down, doing some butt slide on the snow.

Continuing on, I took the 151 trail as high as it went with great ridge views and then blasted 2,000 feet down the Bear Canyon trail in just 2.5 miles.  Great fun!  It is so nice to be able to run downhills again.  At Mutual Dell, I then took the short trail up to Pine Hollow trailhead to my car.  

Wow, what a wonderful day.  I saw no one on the trails and very few human tracks.  I did see plenty of moose tracks on the trails.   It was a nice peaceful day of running.  I took my sweet time and even stopped at times to clear the trails of dead fall.  Somehow I managed to dodge most of the rain.  I did about 6,000 feet of climbing along the way.

After work went up AF canyon and ran the Bear Canyon/Pine Hollow loop.   I pushed it pretty hard the entire time and it felt like a tempo run.  It has a huge climb at the beginning, then some nice rollers over the Timpooneke trailhead, and then up and over to Bear Canyon, then a huge descent to end things off.   Did it in 1:20, about 2,000 feet of climbing along the way.  Fun stuff.  With the road still closed above Pine Hollow, no one is on the trails, no bikes, etc.   Solitude....wonderful.

Continuing to train for Bryce 100 next week. At this point the best training is to get as much altitude as possible and learn the course. So, I traveled down to the area and went to run a difficult section between miles 16 and 26 with about 4,000 feet of climbing. I started just after dawn at the Proctor Canyon aid station location. The first climb was very nice, friendly switch backs, reaching up to 8600 feet. It then descended down to 8000 feet but I just couldn't figure out where the trail went from there. I wasted about an hour going up a rough trail that eventually disappeared. I back tracked, tried again and failed. So I headed back, clear up to 8600 feet where I had an internet connection. Now I had the course description and realized that I had to descend further to 7700 feet, to Camp Eli. Well, I decided to try again and this time went the right way. I refilled my water bottles at Camp Eli and started the next climb. This one was rough, no switch-backs. When it opened up there was a trail junction in no sign and of course I took the wrong way but later was convinced that I was heading the wrong way and again returned. From then on I ran it right and got to the top at 9200 feet. I probably had run an extra five miles. I ran along the rim top for another four miles and then returned. The return trip was fast because I knew the trail well now. I ran into some Forest Service guys to trailwork to prepare the rough climb for next week. They were doing a fantastic job. It was a wonderful day and I got some good altitude training.  I'm really glad I ran this section.  Even if it is marked well, I will know what to expect and should be able to push it hard.

I got the OK to spend the night here, had some nice sleep and hit the trail again in the morning.  This time I wanted to run the first miles of the course.  The start of the course runs on the Thunder Mountain trail, very popular with mountain bikers.  It rolls in and out of draws at 8300 feet for the first four miles and then descends with spectacular views of Red Rock Canyon.  It descends in the canyon and I ran among all the hoodoos.  It was amazing.  Once I hit the Desert View trail, I decided to run a loop and took the trail to Red Canyon, the canyon that contains the highway that goes up to Bryce.  Along it is a nice paved trail all the way up.   I ran up hard and within a mile of the top found an old wagon road heading into the wilderness toward the ridges containing the Thunder Mountain trail.  So I really winged it.  The road disappeared so I just climbed up to one of the red ridges and ran it toward the north.  It was cool to be running where probably no one had been before.  Along the way I discovered a small arch, very cool.  No sign that humans had been there.   After a couple miles I eventually ran into the Thunder Mountain trail, now with many bikers on it.   Just a couple miles to go, I reached my car.   Great weekend, with 52 miles of running over the two days, most of it above 8,000 feet.   I really look forward to next Friday.

Tested my fitness level by running up Lake Mountain pretty hard.  Didn't take the wimpy road, instead took the ridge route, starting in Eagle Mountain Ranches.  It was about 6.3 miles.  I beat my best time by 16 minutes, reaching the top in 1:52.  The first half mile is a single-track motor cycle trail and after passing the new water tank, it turns into a marked ATV trail 2 up on the ridge between Eagle Mountain and Saratoga Springs.  It winds its way through a shooting course the kids use, so the main trail can't be determined, but you just keep heading south and eventually it comes out of the junipers and turns back into an ATV/4WD road.   About the 3 mile mark the road ends at a fence line.  There is a nice deer trail around the first bluff that I like to take because it can be run pretty fast.  On the other side is a saddle.  From there it is just up and down the ridges.  Two climbs are significant, much like the windy pass climb in Squaw Peak, just as steep but not quite as long.  There are very defined deer trails that help.   The deer trails on top of the ridges are great too, but this time of year are being obscured by weeds.  Some weeds are now almost up to the waist.  But there are still burned sections that were burned so hot that no weeds are growing.   You can move through those fast.   So, it is up and down, mostly up and lots of summits that you hope is the end, but it isn't.   Finally you hit a rough double track road which is just a half mile from the true Lake Mountain Summit.   Made it.

I did the return trip in 1:30, not much faster.  I tried to push it, but the route is so rough, you can't push it too fast without risking falls.   I was very surprised to meed two hikers on the route.  I've never seen foot prints up there, very rare.   They were surprised to see me too.

Made it a camping trip with Linda and daughter Mindy.  We had a great time.  We were glad we didn't camp with the huge group of runners, but instead had a nice quiet time up in the paid campground and cooked over a fire. In the morning I hitched a ride to the start.

I Ran first 7 miles pretty fast, ignoring all the views since I saw them last week and just concentrated on my pace.  I was running somewhere around the top 10.  It was so good to be able to run full speed on trails for the first time in almost 18 months.  Trace Lund caught up as we were running through the foothills.  It was funny that both at Salt Flats 100 and Bryce 100 we stayed close for miles.  I saw him for the last time at about mile 70.  Phil Lowry caught up around mile 10 moving well and it was nice to be able to keep up with him for quite awhile.   At about mile 12, I finally was warmed up and could really run the hills fast, stretching a nice lead over the runners behind.  By about mile 18, Craig Lloyd caught up, running ahead of his group.  They would stay together all the way to the end, an amazing feat to do for 100 miles.  I last saw them about mile 68.

This continued to go well.  I wasted about a half hour with a bathroom break and foot cleaning, and fell back with the Craig Lloyd group at mile 39.  I pushed ahead on the next big climb to the top of the Pink Cliffs, an amazing view.  We came in together at the turnaround point, Crawford Pass at about 12 hours.  Not bad, but over an hour longer than I hoped.   The major factor holding back was the altitude.  At 9,000 feet and above I just couldn't push the pace fast because of pressure on my lungs and heart rate.

At the turnaround point was Phil Lowry, surrounded by family and friends explaining why he was quitting, "Not worth it, trashed quads."   Despite all this preaching there, when I left, I bet to myself that he would still finish.   He did.

I had a very quick stop at the turnaround and made the next big climb pretty fast.   Trace Lund caught up with me at mile 60 and we came into the next aid station together.  I spent the next 30 minutes changing into night clothes, cleaning my feet and trying to eat.  However, I just wasn't feeling well.  Craig's group arrived as I was about to leave.  I ran up the road a ways and realized I forgot my flash light, so back down I ran.  Kendall Wimmer gave me a wind breaker for the night.  I was afraid I would be too cold.  Sure glad he did, that was a life saver.

I felt rather rotten on the next climb and near the top Craig and the boys caught up.  I hung with them for awhile but then stopped to get my music set up to really cruise on the rim.  Once I had the right tunes playing, I really stepped up the pace and passed runner after runner, but so had the big group.   We arrived at Kanab Creek, mile 66.5 at the same time, running in the top 20.   Craig and the boys seemed to take long station stops, but I was in and out fast.  I should have stayed longer because soon I started to crash.  I stopped and cat-napped in the trail for about five minutes until the boys caught up.

The next section on top, above 9,000 feet was brutal.  My stomach shut down, my heart rate too high, and I was breathing hard.  I just couldn't run much.  The wind really kicked up and as I was mostly walking, I became hypothermic.   Eventually I would have to stop, find a warm place out the wind and rest until my breathing rate came down.   I was passed by runner after runner.   Trace caught up and he too was having trouble.  I passed him while he napped, but he eventually went by again.   It took me very long to reach Blubber Creek, mile 74.

This aid station had no fire to warm by.  When I arrived, I said, "I'm having trouble, not in very good shape."  But no one there offered any help, so I went to find it.   I went down a little row of crew cars and asked if there was a car I could sit in.  A lady quickly offered her car for me.  She was great, making room for me and offering me help.  She turned on the heat and her car seats were even heated.   Soon the hypothermic feelings left me, but my stomach was still shot.   I talked about quitting to the lady but she wouldn't let me.    I went to the aid station to get some food, came back and asked if I could just sit in the car and try to bring my stomach back to life.  She even let me clean my feet in her car.  Well, after an hour there, I decided to continue on.  I knew my race time was shot, but surely I could finish.

The next section dropped to 7,700 feet.  I felt somewhat better, but had no strength at all on the short climbs.  On the long climb, I moved slowly and several runners passed.  Jim Milar caught up, good to see him.  At the turnaround I had been about two hours ahead of him.   I reached mile 80 at dawn.    As usual, after a night of stomach issues, when finally the sun hit me, I found life.  I could push the pace again and arrived at mile 89, the group campground at about 8:30 a.m.

There would be 11 more hot lowland (7000-8000 feet) miles left.   I decided to push it hard to see if I could come in under 30 hours.   I would have to run the last 11 miles in about 2:45.   I walked the first half mile but then really kicked it into gear.  My legs were fresh and my lungs were working again.  I passed about 8 runners.  It was great to see them about a half mile in the distance and cruise to catch them.

The finish came into view and I came in at 29:50.  There were so many nice people at the finish congratulating me.  I was somewhat delirious from the fast miles in the heat so didn't hang around long.  I needed to cool down fast and hit the AC in the car.  Linda and Mindy drove my back to the campground where I washed up in the bathroom with a nice cool floor to help my feet.   We hit the road to return home and without a couple hours I was feeling good again.

Recovery is going very fast.  Muscles are hardly sore at all.  The worst problem is the effect of dust on my sinuses.   But I should be ready to rock and roll another 100 in two weeks at Bighorn 100.   This was my 55th 100 finish and my 4th this year.