There has been a rather spirited discussion on the FastRunningBlog message boards recently, debating which downhill Utah race course is faster: the new Utah Valley Marathon route, or the St George Marathon route. I am of the opinion that nothing can touch St George. Its downhill simply special, and you can flat-out roll on that course, especially the second half. I don’t think any other course will ever touch it in terms of speed. Nothing personal against Utah Valley, or any other race, but facts are facts.

Other people, of course, disagreed with me (most notably the Utah Valley race director). They argued that the Utah Valley course has a better distribution of downhill. Although the drop is not as great, there is no Vejo hill and no Dammeron Valley hill, and the downhill is more even and mellow at UVM, thus granting less quad bashing and better times. Fair enough.

Still others pointed out the higher elevation of UVM in comparison to St George. The uphills at UVM would have a larger detriment than to those at St George. Fair enough.

After the UVM race concluded (June 12, 2010), the debate really didn’t resolve. Most people conceded that UVM might be just a little slower than St George, maybe a minute or two. I still held the opinion that it was 6-8 minutes slower, which brought on sharp disagreement. As with most running-related arguments (okay, all arguments), little progress was made over time.

This was all in good fun. I actually don’t care if I’m right or wrong, but it’s fun to talk about and fun to debate. Sorry if anyone took it personally. After all, being the fastest race doesn’t imply that it’s the best. But this whole discussion gave me enough motivation to update my Utah Marathon Comparison profile. I originally made this back in fall of 2007, right before the St George race. The chart compared the elevation profiles between 3 classic Utah marathons: Top of Utah, Ogden, and St George.  I found it interesting to look at, and it has actually helped me in race preparation. Other people have told me the same. I’ve been meaning to add other races to it, especially since more and more local marathons keep popping up.

So yesterday I finally digitized the Utah Valley course, extracted elevations, and added the profile. I made sure to zoom in very tightly to make sure I got the route exact on the road and not up on a cliff or anything (an issue with canyon races). I then pulled elevations at a 0.25-mile interval, and used a 5-meter elevation model as the data source. Most states do not have 5m models available, but we are very lucky to have them here in Utah for most of the state. This is a high enough resolution to avoid most errors due to canyon walls, plus Provo Canyon is relatively wide compared to other marathon routes (ie - Top of Utah). So the elevations should be pretty good for UVM, much better than anything you’d get off of Gmap, MapMyRun, or any other USGS-based elevation web service. I also did an extraction at 0.1-mile intervals, which gives a bit higher resolution, but I ended up settling on 0.25-mile intervals in order to match the other three profiles that I made back in 2007. Using 0.25-mile instead of 0.1 would potentially “chop” some of the hills and valleys, which actually leads to a more conservative, smoothed-out profile. But when comparing uphills between these races, perhaps conservative is good.

I also need to mention that digital elevation models are generally bare earth, meaning that things like highway overpasses do not show up in the model. After all, there is ground under the overpass, and that is what is included in the model. Road cuts, however, do show up in the model, and the road cut is obvious in Provo Canyon. Long story short, the infamous “overpass hill” during the last mile of UVM does not show up in the profile, which eliminates an entire hill. I could have fudged it in, but I left it out in order to pad UVM’s numbers against St George a little bit, and also to send a hint to get rid of that hill in real life.

Okay, enough technical gibber-jabber. The result is shown below. Click on the image for a higher-res PDF file. It’s easy to see that Utah Valley is indeed the highest elevation of all the marathons. It also has the most cumulative uphill (slightly more than St G). Again, these are conservative numbers. It has the second-highest total downhill and net downhill out of all the marathons. There are no hills as big as Vejo or as long as Dammeron at UVM, but its hills are still substantial in a few spots. Interestingly, if you compare the average finish times between all of the races on MarathonGuide.com, Utah Valley comes out as second fastest, behind St George.

The Utah Valley event is a great race, and there’s no doubt it’s a fast course. But how fast is hard to determine, and no amount of “stats” or elevation comparisons,  or time cross-references, or anecdotes can really quantify it. There are a lot of variables that go into course speed, and on top of that, every individual runner is different, and will respond differently to each course. My strength may be someone else’s weakness, and vice versa. So again, this is all in good fun.

Anyway, enjoy the new profile chart. They are fun to make, and I certainly find them useful. At some point I’ll add the Salt Lake City Marathon and Des News as well, but I think I’ve got the four biggest marathons on there for now.

It’s been awhile since I’ve last posted. I simply haven’t had time, and blogging is about dead last on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. However, this morning I’ve got an extra hour to kill before it’s light enough to go out and run, so I’ll give it a shot. If I can think and type fast enough to click “Publish”, this thing will get out there, otherwise it will stay buried in blog limbo forever, with all my other drafts.

So what’s new? 2009 was a great year for me, personally, professionally, and also in terms of running. This is a running blog, so I’ll try to focus on the latter. But I will note that during this past year my baby boy had his first birthday, we moved from Logan to Smithfield in order to be closer to our church plant, and my small business, Marathon GIS, once again doubled in volume. I also began taking Enbrel to control the ankylosing spondylitis (A.S.), and it has worked wonderfully; I now have very few (almost none) disease symptoms, and no side effects to the medication. God has blessed our family, and I look forward to what 2010 holds in all those avenues of life.

For running, 2009 surprisingly turned out to be one of my best racing years of my life. Perhaps the best, better than 2007 even. I’ve debated just that internally (see bottom of post).  I came into the year with very few expectations. 2008 was absolutely awful, as it was the year A.S. reared its ugly head and really put me in a world of hurt (literally). I ended up being able to do a few races (and do pretty decent), but I still had large questions on my ability to train and to stay healthy. I did not know if I still had “it” or not. 2009 answered all of those questions: yes, I could control the A.S. Yes, I could stay healthy all year. Yes, I could run decent mileage without problems. Yes, I still got “it”.

My total running mileage for 2009 was nothing special: 2650. That’s right about a 50 mpw average, which is solid, and apparently enough to get a lot done. I made the most of my miles by doing a lot of long tempo runs. I didn’t do a ton of intervals, especially the second half of the year, and I had success in spite of that, suggesting that tempos are the bread-and-butter of training (or at least my training). If you have time to do one type of workout, do tempo runs.

Here’s the breakdown of my 2009 in racing.

• January 17 - Painters Half Marathon - 1:11:31 - 2nd place
• April 4 - Striders Half Marathon - 1:13:10 - 2nd place (horrendously windy!)
• May 2 - 500 Festival Mini Marathon - 1:08:35 - 11th place (PR!)
• June 27 - Seattle Rock and Roll Half Marathon - 1:08:12 - 5th place (PR!)
• July 4 - Blacksmith Fork Freedom Run 15K - 48:14 - 1st place (PR!)
• August 29 - Top of Utah Half Marathon - 1:06:42 - 3rd place (PR!)
• September 19 - Top of Utah Marathon - 2:23:07 - 1st place ($$$)
• October 18 - The Other Half Marathon - 1:09:50 - 1st place
• November 7 - First Dam Run 5K - 15:25 - 1st place

My first couple races were only so-so. But my training and racing really took a turn for the better starting in May with the Indy Mini Marathon, and a big PR there. This timing also corresponds heavily with me switching medication over to Enbrel. I started Enbrel in late March, and it took several weeks to ramp up. When I was just taking NSAIDs, I was still having a lot of stiffness in my back and hip, and also inflammation in my hamstring insertion points which really hobbled my stride at times. Once the Enbrel cleared all that up, I was able to run without a hitch in my stride, run harder and faster during workouts, and fear injury less.

The races in Indianapolis and Seattle were a lot of fun, and really good experience. I enjoy traveling, and it was great to get down to sea level and experience those courses. I really learned how to drop the hammer and race a half marathon. Invaluable. Those two consecutive PRs built my confidence, and help make my year.

The Top of Utah Half was another big race for me. I had not been running much mileage beforehand, although I was doing up-tempo pace nearly every day. I think that “brisk” pace (about 6:00/mile) day-in and day-out helped me run a really fast half without doing much mileage. I would not recommend that kind of training for a marathon, but it worked out for a half. It was an aided course, but I managed to hang relatively close to the 1st and 2nd place runners. The 1st place guy is a 2:16 marathoner, and the 2nd place guy ran under 2:19 at Chicago a couple months later, so it put my performance in perspective and encouraged me that perhaps I could run under 2:19 if I trained harder.

The half marathon PRs were big highlights of my year, but the biggest highlight was winning the Top of Utah Marathon, our local race here in Logan. I entered this race almost as a whim, and intended just to go out there, have fun, and finish a marathon. I didn’t get my training much above 60 mpw, which for me is quite low for marathon training. And I didn’t bother with any interval workouts; I just did a lot of long tempo runs and about 5 formal “long runs”. Again, those tempos proved to be the key, and although I didn’t get in many 20-milers, those that I did run I always made sure to average well under 6:45/mile pace or faster.

I had run the TOU Marathon 5 times before, but had never done that well. Back in 2003, I ran 2:35 and took 2nd place, but I had not approached that time or placing since then, despite numerous attempts. Over the years, I had many marathon successes at Ogden, St George, and Park City, but was never able to find that same success at my local race. So I did feel that I had something to prove at TOU. In addition, TOU had just raised their prize money to be 5 deep, with an increase to $1500 for 1st. I knew this would bring in lots of competition, and several Kenyans.  I love competition, and looked forward to that aspect. Sure enough, on race day there were many good runners from around the state, plus four Kenyans from out-of-state. It looked to be a great race. With that kind of competition, on my home course, it was impossible for me not to get my competitive juices going, and all my previous thoughts of “just finishing” were out the window. You can win my first race report HERE, but in a nutshell, around Mile 10 I decided to try to go for broke and try to win the whole thing, and that’s just what I did. One-by-one, the pack dropped off, and then I left my last competitor around Mile 14 with a big surge. The whole race felt great, and I loved every minute of it. It felt awesome to beat all of the “out-of-towners”, and “win one for the locals”. And indeed, racing can be an act of worship, and to this day I give God the glory for the opportunity and ability to be out there competing.

After TOU, I did a couple more races as “icing on the cake”, but in actuality, my real season ended with the marathon in September. Looking back at 2009, and comparing it to 2007, I think it was as good of a year, if not better, than 2007. I had two big half marathon PRs (three if you count the downhill TOU course). These half marathon times were a couple minutes faster than what I was running in 2007. It was a bit of a monkey off my back. In 2007 I ran three marathons, 2:26 (1st place) in Ogden, 2:18 (2nd place) in St George, and 2:22 (53rd place) at the Trials. This past year I only did one marathon. It was not my fastest ever, but it was about my third fastest ever, and most importantly, it was a win. So I had one win in 2007, and one win in 2009. The 2:23 at TOU was a better race than my 2007 Ogden, and really not a whole lot “slower” than my 2007 St George. A 2:23-low at TOU converts to a high 2:18 at St George. So all in all, I feel like my marathon level in 2009 was pretty close to what I was running in 2007, despite running 40% less mileage (60 mpw instead of 100 mpw).

I only ran one 5K in 2009: a time of 15:25 in what was essentially a solo time trial. This is pretty close to my best 5K in 2007: 15:23. And that 2007 time was done on a net downhill course, whereas my 2009 time was a loop course, so one could easily argue that the 2009 time is the better of the two. In fact, I will argue that.

So in summary for 2009 vs. 2007:

• Much faster in the half marathon
• Slightly slower in the full marathon
• Slightly faster in 5K
• One marathon win for either year
• Similar amount of prize money for either year

It could be a wash, but I’m going out on a limb and saying that 2009 was better than 2007, especially since I was able to do more on less training. Definitely per-capita, a better season. 2007 had previously been my “best season”, thus 2009 is my best racing season ever. So there you go.

So what does 2010 hold? I hope it holds some good things! I tend to alternate really good years with really cruddy years. 2003-2005-2007-2009 were all really good. 2002-2004-2006-2008 were…not so good, filled with slow races and/or injury. We’ll see. But from 2009, I feel that breaking 2:19 in the marathon and qualifying for the 2012 Olympic Trials is a real possibility. I really think I can do it if I can:

1. Continue to stay healthy
2. Use the same principles as I learned last year (long tempo runs)
3. Run a bit more mileage than last year (~90 mpw instead of 60 mpw)…but not too much more!
4. Hit the right race with the right weather to qualify (ie - get lucky)
5. Continue to keep my life in balance. I think when I elevate running to a higher priority, everything suffers, including running! When I take it too seriously is when injuries and frustration abound. Priorities need to stay: God - family - work - running. I was able to keep good priorities and balance in 2009, and know that all facets of my life benefited from that, including my race times!

If my health, or the training, or the good race conditions are not there, it will not happen, so I need everything to align. And obviously if the A.S. flares up again, or if Enbrel stops working, it’s Game Over. But I do think I can handle the training and hit the time standard; I would have laughed at anyone one year ago if they had suggested either of those things.

I plan on only one marathon this year. I think I’m pretty much through with multiple marathons, and one seems like an awfully good number these days. It’s about all I can handle mentally and emotionally. Marathon training is just so draining and time-consuming. With family and work as higher priorities, I just don’t have it in me for more than one long ramp-up per year. But I do have that one in me.

However, I do plan to do several key half marathons, and continue to try to improve my PR. Who knows, maybe I can even hit 1:05, and not have to worry about a marathon? But in any case, getting my half time down under 1:07 will be good for my confidence, and is essential to breaking 2:19 in the marathon (after all, there are very few people who can break 2:19 that can’t break 1:07).

The plan for this year is to do “maintenance” through the winter (our weather is too awful to train seriously during the winter), and then do a base-building phase, followed by a short 5K/10K phase. I expect I’ll jump in some races in Ogden and SLC during the early spring, and try to get in a few 5Ks and attempt to hone my speed before turning my attention to the half marathon later in the spring and early summer.

I am definitely running the Indy Mini again this May as a big PR attempt. I am waffling 50-50 on doing Seattle again in June, as the Seattle course is not as fast. If I don’t do Seattle, I may do the Utah Valley Half in June, since there will be very good competition there ($$$), and it would be a good opportunity to work on my racing. Utah Valley is a downhill course, so the time won’t mean much on my resume, but good competition trumps all, in my opinion.

I will likely do a short 10K cycle in late June through July with a focus race at Des News 10K on July 24. And then from August through early October, I will transition over to marathon-specific training.That would give about 10-12 weeks of marathon-specific training, which is plenty given that my base should be pretty good by then. Again, I can only mentally handle a relatively short amount of time doing high mileage. For my fall marathon, I am looking at either Twin Cities (Oct 3), Chicago (Oct 10), or Detroit (Oct 17). My preference is Chicago, because it is the fastest course. But in all honesty, the decision will likely come down to family matters and travel plans. We may be traveling for a wedding in early October, so my race decision will probably hinge on those logistics. But at least I have several viable options.

I can’t tell you exactly what 2010 will hold. I can tell you that I’m content and grateful for 2009, and if my running was forced to end due to injury or other event, I would be content with my “career” and move on with life. But for now, I still have the ability, and I still have the drive, and I wish to keep using these God-given talents. I look forward to training and racing in 2010!

It’s been a great year for running so far. I have stayed injury-free all year, have PR’ed in the half marathon twice in a row, and then followed that up with a PR in the 15K. And these are lifetime PR’s, not post-A.S. PR’s. But with these early summer races now done, the rest of the year is wide open, with lots of options.

So what’s next? Well, for one thing, we still need to sell our house and buy a new one. That’s Thing1. And Thing 2 is to get the incentive and motivation to train hard again.With my both my family and my mapping business growing, it’s hard to find time to run, and also hard to find the desire at times. I do best when I just sign up for race to get a tangible goal, and then train in bite-sized chunks. This also helps prevent overtraining, as my training cycles are shorter and more defined.

Having kids changes things

I think I did well during April-June in balancing running with life. I never got mileage out of the low-70s…but I set a couple of nice P.R.s. A question everyone has to ask themselves is: “Is it worth it?“Is the training time and wear and tear on the body worth the reward? Is the hours and hours away from family worth those digits that you see up on the finish line clock, or the numerical rank of your placing you see later in the results? The answer will vary from person to person.

For me, I do think it’s worth it, when I can balance training 60-70 mpw with the rest of my life. My first priorities are my relationship with God and then my family. This family relationship also includes being a provider, which entails working. I choose to work extra in order to allow my wife to stay home with Seth, and am happy to have this opportunity. Suddenly, running becomes “low man on the totem pole”, relegated to 4th or 5th priority in my life (in the past it was much higher). If I spend much more than an hour per day working out, my priorities quickly become out of whack, and running eats into other areas of my life where it should not go. My time is precious, and I guard it jealously. Since Seth was born, I have had to set firmer boundaries, get up earlier, and manage my time better.

By far the best way to get in those extra miles in the evening…

I’ve said this before in this blog, but I do not know what the future holds, whether it’s with my family, my work, my health, or my running. Will I even try to qualify for the 2012 Marathon Trials? I honestly don’t know. Part of me wants to, and thinks I can do it, but another part of me questions whether the sacrifice is worth it. “Can do something” and “Should do something” are two completely different things. Ultimately, my goal is to discern God’s will for all things, and then follow it. Where running falls into that, I do not yet know, as it is just one small piece of my life.

Note and disclaimer: I am not a doctor. I am not associated with Padma Basic or Euconugenics. I am just a guy with ankylosing spondylitis, trying to find any and all treatments that can help control the disease. My statements below are not authoritative, but rather reflect my own experiences with Padma Basic, and nothing more. Please consult a rheumatologist when implementing any change of treatment to your own disease.

Well, it’s been a month since my Part 1 Review on Padma Basic. I have finished my supply of the product, meaning I’ve been taking 6 tablets/day for 30 days in an attempt to suppress my ankylosing spondylitis. Time to discuss results.

Frankly, for the first three weeks I experienced no change whatsoever. I wasn’t exactly disappointed with this, as my expectations were not that high to begin with (given my lack of faith in alternative therapies). However, during the final seven days of using Padma, my neck and shoulders became noticeably less painful and stiff, especially in the morning. Pain levels went from about a “3″ to a “1″ or even “0.5″.

At the same time, pain and inflammation in my feet and toes subsided somewhat, probably from a “3″ to a “2″. I experienced no change in my lower back or my bothersome left hip. I also noticed no change in my chronically cold hands while running outside.

So it’s safe to say that results were mixed. Yes, my neck feels better right now, so it could be because of the Padma, or it could just be the natural ebb and flow of my ankylosing spondylitis. Simply put, with A.S. some days are better than others, and some weeks are better than others. My final week of taking Padma was certainly a “good” week.

My own conclusion: I will not continue taking Padma, simply because I can’t afford the $85-$100/month pricetag, and the results weren’t sufficient to justify the price. That’s still a lot of money in my world for something that is not proven to work (especially in today’s economy). Fortunately or unfortunately (depending on your view), prescription medication combined with insurance costs much less, and is proven to be effective. Even the biologic medications, such as Remicade and Enbrel, can often be obtained with less than $100/month, with insurance and financial aid from the respective drug company.

But to bring up the biologic drugs brings up a reason to try Padma Basic or Padma 28: through my own experience or through my literature review, I have not found any discernable side effects. Many side effects of the immuno-suppressant drugs or NSAIDs are downright scary. With Padma, I experienced no gastro-intestinal discomfort, no orange skin, no sensitivity to sunlight, no compromised immune system. This all observational; I did not have any testing done (liver, kidneys, etc.), so please take my lack of perceived side effects for what it’s worth. I also encourage readers to go through the literature review and links from my first posting; I have yet to see mention of side effects from the studies I’ve looked at, but that does not mean that don’t exist. So in a nutshell, my own experiences were positive, but please be responsible and be cautious when trying any new medication or any especially any non-FDA regulated supplement.

But pushing aside side effects (or lack thereof), Padma’s benefits to me were subtle at best. Perhaps Padma could be a viable option for people with very mild auto-immune diseases. Also, I think to truly test Padma better than I just did, a person would have to use it for 6-12 months. One month was probably not long enough to get the full effects. But then again, most of us with ankylosing spondylitis simply do not have 6-12 months to fool around, as permanent joint damage can occur in that kind of time frame. That is reason enough to go with a form of proven medication prescribed by a rheumatologist as front-line treatment; there is simply too much at stake to bank on an alternative therapy as the main treatment.

So to summarize, I took Padma Basic for 30 days to help suppress ankylosing spondylitis. I found:

• No side effects
• A small but noticeable reduction in neck/shoulder pain and stiffness
• A very small reduction in foot/toe pain
• No change in lower back/hip pain and stiffness
• Not convinced that improvements were necessarily directly from Padma
• Found the cost prohibitive
• Feel that a longer term of use would be more conclusive

I would love to see some real studies done with Padma Basic/28 on various auto-immune arthritis’s. How does it really compare to the anti-TNF drugs? Let’s see some real numbers, double-blind trials, and other methods that will hold up under scrutiny.

I would also love to hear back anecdotally from other people who use Padma to inhibit TNF and control rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, Chron’s disease, and others. Does it work for you? Please leave your comments, questions, and experiences. I hope this blog can be used as a resource for auto-immune sufferers who are investigating Padma and looking for real-life experiences about it.

It is officially winter now, but up here in northern Utah we’ve been in the throes of winter for several weeks already. Sub-20 degree temperatures, icy roads, and snowy hummocky sidewalks have quickly become the norm. Back when I skied a lot, this would have made me jump with glee. But at this point skiing is an aside, and I am focused on being a husband, a father, and runner. And all this snow is very, very bad for running.

I managed to get through my shin injury in October, and had a great November and early December. Mileage crept back up to the mid-60’s, and I was throwing in a weekly tempo run or two at about 5:40-6:00/mile pace. All in all, I was feeling good and fit, and excited to slowly increase my mileage over the months. Then winter hit. And motivation dwindled. And my body began to ache in various spots.

Some of the aches and pains are due to A.S. Others are due to running on slippery, snowy surfaces. And others are a combination of both, ever reminding of the fact that I cannot train how I used to, that once I hit 70 miles/week I’m an injury waiting to happen.

So far I’m still healthy enough, but I can feel protesting in my left knee. And I constantly worry about my shin flaring up again, or my foot flaring up again. If only it were spring, then things would be better…but unfortunately today is only Day 5 of winter.

Deep breath. Whew. It really doesn’t matter. That’s what I remind myself. There are no races of any importance until May or so. There is absolutely no reason for me to push into higher mileage; there is no reason for me not to back down and relax; there is no reason not to take days off or cross train when I feel my body protest the rigors of training. It will all come together in due time.

And so what if my breakdown point with A.S. is now 60-70 miles/week, rather than 100+ miles/week?  I must make do with what I’m given to work with. It’s in my nature to push whatever limits I can find. And I will continue to do so during the near future with running. I will run the most mileage I possibly can in search for the next P.R. and in search of a 2012 Trials qualifier. But if that limit is lower than what I would like, I just need to accept it and make the most of that volume of training. The keys are patience and adaptability.

Next race: The Painter’s Half Marathon in St. George. This race is mostly an excuse to for my family to get out of Logan and get some warmer weather down in St. George. But at the same time, I would like to run well, perhaps in the 1:10:-high range or so. Hopefully this race will keep me motivated enough to keep hitting the roads, treadmill, elliptical, and weights…but still keep it all in check and stay healthy.

Kind of a miscellaneous blog posting today, but I’m in the mood.

So what’s going on in my neck of the woods? This past Saturday I ran my first 5K in well over a year. I won the Top of Utah 5K with a time of 16:17. It was a fast loop course, and supposedly certified (although I could not find it in the USATF database). I was hoping for under 16 minutes, but I’ll take it. It was a weird race though; I never felt like I was straining, and kept pushing the pace, yet I had no speed. All of my mile splits were within 3 seconds of each other, I hit a slight negative split, and I felt like I could have kept going for 10K. So although I was not happy with my leg turnover, I was pleased with how strong I felt. 5K’s usually hurt a lot more. My full race report is here.

Next up is The Other Half, a half marathon in Moab on October 19th. I would like to break 1:12 on this rolling course. My 5K time alone gives me a thumbs-down that I can actually do this, but on the other hand I don’t think my solo 5K effort is representative of what I can do in a half marathon (where my lack of burst won’t be as big of a hindrance). Furthermore, I feel like my training is just hitting stride. After a couple weeks in the mid-60s, my mileage for the next 3-4 weeks will be in the mid- to upper 70s, and perhaps will hit 80. This includes two big workouts per week as singles (14-16 miles), a Saturday long run, and easy doubles the rest of the days. Standard fare, but tried and true. I’ve found that racing success is largely a function of training time. Stringing together many consecutive weeks of consistent mileage and solid workouts will yield fast times when it’s time to put on the flats. It’s not a glamorous concept, but very true.

This weekend I will be captaining an aid station at the Bear 100, our local 100-mile ultra run. The race starts at Logan Dry Canyon and traverses through the Bear River Range all the way to Bear Lake, Idaho. I am in awe of ultra runners. I have no aspirations (or delusions) of joining them, but enjoy serving them at the aid stations. This year, my station is at Richards Hollow (Left Hand Fork of the Blacksmith Fork). It looks like it will be a beautiful day, and my wife and 2-month old son will be coming as well.

I enjoy the aspect of volunteering, simply because it shows the other side of races, and allows us to give back to the race and to other runners. As a competitive runner, I usually do nothing but take, take, take from races. Volunteering helps me counter that consumer-ish attitude (and also helps me appreciate volunteers more from the races I run!). If you’ve never helped direct, administrate, or volunteer for a race, I highly recommend doing so. It will make you look at races completely different, and you may be less likely to complain the next time something at a race irks you.

Back in June I thought this year for racing would be a complete wash. In fact, I did not know if I would ever run competitively again, due to the plethora of arthritic ailments brought on by Ankylosing Spondylitis (A.S.).Fortunately, things have turned around for me a bit, to where I’ve been able to run again, and even get into some semblance of shape.  I am not pain-free yet, but am “good enough” to train and do some speed work too. My key challenge was to learn how to manage the A.S., which I have done so far through diet and occasional use of the NSAID meloxicam. Right now I am taking 2-3 meloxicam (brand name: Mobic) per week, and that is enough to make me feel pretty good when I get out of bed in the morning.

Thanks to eliminating all starch in my diet (the “No Starch Diet”, which will be a blog topic of its own soon), the pain in my hip, SI joints, and low back stiffness have basically disappeared. The swelling in my foot and stiffness in my neck (particularly in the mornings) is all that remains, and that is what I take the meloxicam for. If the diet continues to work over time, I hope to eliminate all NSAID use completely.  But for now I’m thankful that I’m taking it a few times per week rather than everyday. I’m sure my stomach will thank me as well.

So despite a horrid first half of the year, I’ve been salvaging a short racing season after all.  I’m not nearly in the form I was last year, but I’m still having a lot of fun, and thankful to God for the opportunity to run again. On August 2nd, I ran a local 10K (for $5!), and placed 3rd with a time of 34:55. I was quite happy with this considering that I had about a month’s worth of training at 30 miles/week at this point (plus the birth of my first child three days prior).

My second race of the year was August 23rd, the Top of Utah Half Marathon. I won this last year, so it was a little humbling to be completely out of contention, but I still enjoyed myself immensely, taking 6th overall with a time of 1:12:12.  Mileage was around 50 mpw at this point, with some speed work.

After a week of recovery from the half marathon, and then missing some time due to sickness the following week, I’ve finally boosted my mileage again, and will be sitting around 65 mpw for awhile. I’ve managed to catch a little bit of the old fire, and have the desire to train again, and to excel in races. This fire had been missing for awhile. I’ll reach 75-80 mpw in the next couple months, which I never thought I’d would even want to do again.

Upcoming races include the Top of Utah 5K on September 20th, The Other Half on October 19th, and another local 5K (The First Dam Run) on November 1st. The Other Half is a half marathon in Moab, and is a fairly big race. It is a challenging, rolling course, with no elevation drop (rare for Utah). The course record is a low 1:12, and I’ve made it my “season goal” to break that record. If I can run 1:12 or faster on that hard course, and if I am reasonably pain-free, then I will consider continuing to up my mileage and running an early December sea-level marathon, most likely St. Jude.

Several people have tried to convince me to run St. George, but I am not for several reasons:

1. I have nothing left to accomplish there, other than to win. I cannot win this year with the training I have done. Therefore I will not traumatize my body for no good reason.
2. The injury risk is too high on that course with the amount of training I’ve done.
3. By deferring a marathon for two months (December vs. October), I will give myself training time to race a much better quality marathon.  True, I could probably break 2:30 in my current condition at St. George, but I gain more by training longer (uninterrupted), and running under 2:25 on an honest course like St. Jude.

Much of this is speculation right now, but that is where my thinking and heart are at. St. George was tempting simply because I really enjoy being at the race with my friends and peers. But to actually race it would be a bad idea. Plus, I’ve always wanted to run The Other Half, which is reportedly a beautiful, challenging course.

I do not know what the future will bring, but I have enjoyed the races I’ve been blessed with doing already, and look forward to running more.

The other day I read an open letter to race directors posted on the Complete Running Network blog. The general premise was that all race directors should have chip timing, good food, lots of porta-pots, good cups, good age group awards, good online maps, and good beer. In other words, cater to the people paying the entry fees. Makes sense.

The article was written in a fun way, was an entertaining read, and certainly made some good points…yet I disagreed with the spirit of it.

Why are races expected to cater to our every whim? Why do we need rock bands along the course, beer at the finish line, a fancy website, fancy t-shirts, and other amenities? I view all these amenities as consumer-driven. Runners demanded them, and race directors obliged. As a result entry fees are raised. Runners raise cain and demand even more “value” for their money (since we’re paying more, we better get more “stuff”). Race directors accommodate this to stay competitive. Prices go up. Runners/consumers get even more demanding and picky. It seems like a perpetual cycle to me. Will there be a “bust” at some point?

And it’s getting absurd. The other day, I paid $75 for the opportunity to run a half marathon (I won’t name names, as this is getting to be a pretty typical price these days). It made me sick to write the check, but in the end I caved simply because I really, really wanted to race the course. Oh, but I get a “free” jacket and “free” beer at the finish, and a bunch of other garbage. What happened to just racing?

Here’s what I want from race directors: Just line us up and fire a gun. And do it on time. And make the race $10.

I don’t need rock bands, I don’t need beer, I don’t even need food at the finish (I can pack my own banana, thank you). I don’t need high-tech t-shirts, jackets, or vests. A cotton t-shirt is fine, although I’d like to opportunity to “opt out” in order to further lower my entry fee. Chip timing is nice, but not needed. We managed to survive quite some time without chips, after all. Rather than putting time and effort into the amenities and pampering, please just make sure the total course distance and the mile markers are accurate.

I realize that I am in the minority in these sentiments, but this is my blog, and I am an expert in my own opinion. Why do I race? I like to be around other runners, the pure community of the event. Moreover, I like to compete: against others and against myself. I get a thrill out of putting myself out there against my peers, and against my own willpower, pain levels, and personal records. Prizes are nice, and I keep them as mementos, but they are not why I race. The same goes for t-shirts and other memorabilia. But I certainly don’t enter the races to drink beer and listen to really bad live bands (I can do that at home for much less than $75, thank you).

I, for one, would like to see a return of “minimalistic races”. Low entry fees, low technology, few amenities, with an emphasis on competition and community. Anyone with me?

Alright, long time no blog. I figure it’s time for an update. Most of what is below was copied and pasted from my training blog, but I figure it might reach a different audience here.

So why haven’t I been blogging? Simple, I haven’t been running. The last few months have been one “injury” after another. What started with hamstring tendinitis morphed into a monster that included SI pain, hip pain, low back pain, mid-back pain, neck pain, swollen sausage toes, and a swollen, sore forefoot. The forefoot is what really knocked me out of running. And I hate to say it, but I lost the fire over the last few months. The cross training suddenly became not worth the effort. Fitness is all gone.

My foot problems was initially, and wrongly, diagnosed as a mortons neuroma. After the digits and top of the foot started swelling, I pretty much knew that was wrong, and so did the podiatrist. We did a battery of blood tests, and I came out positive for HLA-B27. Given my chronic SI joint problems over the three years, combined with the sausage toes, the blood test, and even the insertion-point injuries (plantar fasciitis, hamstring tendinitis), I knew in my mind that Ankylosing Spondylitis would likely be the fit to the puzzle.

This is not answer I liked. Who wants a chronic, degenerative disease? But I would not know for sure until I saw the rheumatologist, something that apparently takes a long time to do (I couldn’t get in for four weeks; some people tell me I’m lucky).

Okay, now for the copy and paste part.

Finally had my rheumatologist appointment today. Got the official diagnoses of Ankylosing Spondylitis. No big surprise, but I supposed it’s nice to get a dx in some ways.

No, ankylosing spondylitis (A.S.) is not the name of a dinosaur. “Ankylosing” means stiff or rigid. “Spondylitis” means inflammation of the spine. So ankylosing spondylitis is a chronic arthritic disease that causes the joints and ligaments along the spine to become inflamed. If left untreated, the spine can completely fuse, causing the person to lose mobility (hence, the “Ankylosing” part of it). A.S. is most common in men in their 20s. The cause is not quite known, but it appears to be genetics (HLA-B27 gene) combined with a trigger event (probably some sort of gut infection). Most people with A.S. have HLA-B27, but only about 10% of people with HLA-B27 have A.S. So the environmental trigger factor is a large role.

Their is no cure for A.S., but it can be treated into remission. Exercise, NSAIDs, DMARDs, and anti-TNF meds seem to be all there is at this point. The exercise is important to keep the joints mobile. Move it or lose it. Swimming is best for obvious reasons, and running is often frowned upon because of the jarring (but for the record my doc said that running is okay if it doesn’t hurt). NSAIDs treat the symptoms by killing the inflammation, but does not stop progression of the disease. They also tend to tear apart the stomach and fry the liver if taken for a long time. DMARDs (Disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs) can slow down disease progression, but haven’t been shown to be terribly effective with A.S. Kind of a hand-me-down from big brother rheumatoid arthritis. Anti-TNFs (tumor necrosis factor, biologics) suppress the part of the immune system that is attacking the body. Biologics can repress or completely halt the disease, and seem to be the most promising for A.S. However, they also increase the chance of infection, and perhaps even some types of cancer.

Diet has also helped a small percentage of people deal with A.S. to varying degrees. Low-starch and No-starch diets are definitely on the fringe of the treatment, mostly (IMO) because there is no money for doing non-drug research, plus pharmaceuticals can’t make any money if people just stop eating bread. But the diet has a small but fanatical cult-like following among lay-people. In any case, it is proven that some foods cause inflammation, and some foods reduce it, so it is a safe bet to pursue that kind of diet just for general health and to help things along.

Anyway, this is long, but it’s as much for my therapeutic benefit as for anything. My symptoms aren’t too terribly severe on the grand scale. Judging by x-rays and flexibility tests, I have suffered no joint damage or no beginnings to fusion either. This is good. Since A.S. isn’t terribly well-known, most people can go over a decade without getting it diagnosed, and by that time they may have already started to fuse (once you fuse, you can’t go back). In my case, I think my hyper-sensitivity to what is going on in my body due to being a runner helped get me into a series of doctors and start asking the right questions and getting the right tests. I can track my A.S. timeline back to June of 2005, so it’s been going on for three years at the longest, which is pretty quick for a dx.

And it turns out that my clusters of “running injuries” may not be entirely from running, and are better explained as A.S. flares. It also turns out that A.S. often affects muscles and tendons near insertion points, so my plantar fasciitis and hamstring tendinitis would also be common A.S. symptoms. Of course, running didn’t help most of these things either. And A.S. also commonly causes “sausage toe”, which is what it sounds like, and is what I have going on with my feet (currently preventing me from running). Timeline:

• 1994 - June 2005: No injuries whatsoever. Nothing, nada. No back pain.
  
• June 2005 - November 2005: SI pain, lower back pain, patellofemoral pain (runners knee). Ran through most of it, then took a couple months off after St. George.
• December 2005 - February 2006: perfectly healthy, resumed running
• Feb/March 2006 - August 2006: SI pain, lower back pain, patellofemoral pain (other knee), groin strain, plantar fasciitis. No running for 5 months.
• September 2006 - December 2007: pain-free, blissful running
• January 2008 - June 2008 (ongoing): hamstring tendinitis, SI pain, sore/stiff lower back, stiff mid-back, neck pain, swollen toes, swollen forefoot.

So it’s been alternating healthy - flare - healthy - flare. I am now in my third flare, by my count. This is definitely the longest, although I don’t know that it is more severe than what I went through in 2006. So the A.S. may be ramping up each time (bad thing), but I am not sure. It would sure be nice if I left this flare and had another 15 months of quiet.

My rheumie thought it would be best to start with a prescription NSAID to wick out the inflammation. Everyone’s version of A.S. if a little bit different. If mine follows the pattern of flare - healthy - flare, then I can probably get by with taking NSAIDs as needed. However, if things don’t ever get better, and it seems to be progressing, then he will want me do go on an anti-TNF, such as Remicade or Embrel. I’d rather not do this, as it is very expensive (~$20,000/year). With insurance it is something like $100-$200/month, depending on the drug.

So now I am taking diclofenac. Ibuprofen is quite effective on me, so hopefully this will be too, and shrink my foot down to a normal size. My next appointment is in 3 months, so until then it will just be the NSAID (as needed), exercise, and a healthy diet.

Will I run competitively again? Maybe. If I can, I probably will, but if I can’t life will go on. I know I can be happy and fulfilled without running, and it is not my identity, but I do enjoy it, so I would obviously like to be able to at least go out and run 6 miles pain-free with myself or with my friends. But this whole ordeal has served to remind me that my hope is not in the present with this broken body, but my hope lies in God and in His promise of a future and an eternal life.

19“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. -Matt 6:19-21

Well, it’s been a long road back from the hamstring tendinitis injury (but not nearly as long as plantar fasciitis). I’m not quite out of the woods, but am happy to be back running at least a few miles every day.

It’s amazing how hard a 7:30 mile seems after an injury layoff, but I take some comfort in knowing that I experienced similar issues when coming back from my PF/groin strain in 2006. I remember struggling with a 10-minute mile on the treadmill during rehab back in 2006, and wondering how on earth I would ever be able to run twice that fast for a 5K. Yet within a year I was able to average 5:15/mile for 26 miles. So my 8-minute miles right now don’t seem so bad, as I know I can still have a successful racing season in the summer ahead.

My recent hamstring injury is a tendinitis (inflammation of the tendon) where the hamstring muscle connects to the ischium (butt-bone). I have seen this referred to as “hamstring origin tendinitis“.

I first felt the injury on Dec. 25th (merry Christmas). It was quite minor, and I could run on it without much difficulty. I classified it in the “owie” category, and figured it would go away on its own after a few days. And maybe it would have.

But on Dec. 27 I attempted a 8×1000m interval workout…and pretty much destroyed the hamstring by the 6th interval. Within a span of a few minutes I went from being able to hold a 5:00/mile pace to having to walk home.

What what the root cause of the injury? I think it was a combination of all of the below (in ascending order):

• XC skiing for the first time in a year on Dec. 23. This made me pretty sore for the following week, and worked muscles that hadn’t been used in a long time. Consequently, I was running (and doing hard workouts) on weakened, sore legs during the next few days.
• Running on snow. We had a big snow storm on Christmas Eve, and my next few runs were on solid snow and ice. This slipping around is no good for the joints and muscles, and probably put unnatural strain and torque on already-sore muscles.
• Attempting to train hard for Houston. Looking back, I had just run two all-out marathons within a month, and what my body needed most was a break and a period of base-building. And that was my original plan after Trials. But then I received the opportunity to race the USATF Half Marathon Championships in Houston as a funded athlete. That was an offer that I couldn’t refuse at the time, but now I wish I had. Rather than letting my body fully recover and returning to easy mileage, I was out there doing tempo runs and interval workouts on weakened legs and in less-than-ideal weather/road conditions. Talk about setting the stage for an injury!

Obviously (looking at it after the fact), I could have avoided it all by turning down the Houston race, and just running easy mileage during the harsh winter months. But I think if the roads had good footing and if I hadn’t tried introducing a new activity (XC skiing) during heavy training, I might have stayed healthy as well. In any case, I learned not to try to train for a major race during the winter, at least as long as I live in Logan! I’ve learned that a period of easy running, core work, and weight lifting is probably the best winter training plan for me. With no winter races, I won’t feel like I need to “force” workouts.

But the good news is that I’m feeling about 95% healthy now. Here’s what I did to recover from the hamstring tendinitis:

• Rest. Running was not an option. I also took a week off with no activity, as even elliptical seemed to hurt it at first.
• After I realized it wasn’t getting much better with pure rest, I started Physical Therapy. I saw a licensed PT at our local sports med facility. I’ve done this before and think it’s a good idea for anyone with lingering injuries. My treatments:
  • Heat
  • Ultrasound
  • Stretching the hamstrings
  • Stretching the hips (these were really tight!)
  • Strengthening the hips, glutes, and hammies
    • Theraband activities / 4-way hip machine
    • Stability ball hamstring curls
    • Face-down leg raises (glutes)
    • “Walking” while sitting in a rolling chair (great hammie workout)
    • Hip sled (glutes, hammies, quads)
  • Resumed “safe” cross training:
    • Recumbent bike (non weight-bearing, did this the most early on)
    • Stair-stepper
    • Arc Trainer (great workout)
    • Elliptical (once inflammation was gone)
• Deep massage. This is helpful if you have an LMT who can get in deep to where the hamstring connects to the ischium. It is kind of a precarious spot, and you should first have an LMT that you trust and feel comfortable with. I got about three good massages, and it helped clear up a lot of the initial inflammation.
• Chiropractic. I saw my DC right after the injury, and my hips were way off. I think this was yet another factor that contributed to the injury. Correcting any misalignment (through PT and chiro) is necessary for a permanent fix once you get the inflammation down and resume running. The same goes for muscle imbalances. Getting rid of the inflammation is one thing, but resolving the root issue is another.

Now that I am back to running a little, I way to stay injury-free! This, of course, means taking things slowly. However, I know I can increase fitness faster (and safely), by supplementing with cross training. Another strategy I am starting to use to increase running volume while keep risk low is by breaking up my runs into short doubles. For example, rather than doing one 6-miler, I will do two 3-milers. The best way to get better at running is to run a lot, and doubles are great for that. Plus, the longer the run, the more battering and fatigue you get. Doubles help mitigate this, as fatigue and breakdowns in form do not set in as much on the shorter runs.

My primary goals for the spring are:

• Kick all remaining symptoms of the tendinitis
• Gradually increase mileage back to the 100+ mpw range
• Lose all the weight I gained (about 8 lbs)
• Resume real races by the end of May

It’s been a really crappy winter, but I have high hopes for it being offset by a great summer and fall! free real ringtones tone | download free mobile real ringtones t | composer free nokia ringtones | free u.s cellular ringtones | mp3 ringtones converter | send free ringtones to your phone | free cellular one ringtones | cell download free phone ringtones | free yahoo ringtones | free sprint real ringtones | music nextel real ringtones | yahoo ringtones free download | ringtones verizon wireless | free cellular phone ringtones | e315 motorola ringtones | free real tone ringtones | free ringtones | free ringtones converter | free real ringtones for verizon | cingular free music ringtones |

Due to the injury bug biting me in the butt (literally), I’ve had to cancel my spot in Houston Half Marathon (U.S. Half Marathon Championships). So what is the definition of a “bummer“? The definition of a “bummer” is having full financial funding to run a championship race on a flat, sea-level course…and then getting injured and not being able to use the money. Bummer.

Yes, I could think of better times to get hamstring tendinitis. If this had come a few weeks earlier or a few weeks later, I would have been in the clear. However, I can also think of worse times to be injured. January in Logan, Utah is not exactly a great time and place to be trying to train hard. Some days I’ve been almost thankful to be safe inside on the elliptical, basking in my own sweat, opposed to slipping, sliding, and freezing on the cold, icy roads. Not mention being more prone to cold and flu viruses, which I had to fight off in late December, right before I got injured.

Now that I have canceled my entry and detached myself a bit emotionally, I can look at my training over December and what my training would be like right now, and realize that injury aside, maybe a mid-January race was not meant to be anyway.

I recovered pretty well from Trials in early November, but in some ways 10 weeks between a major marathon and a major half marathon is pushing it a little bit. The whole recovery, base, and workout buildup felt just a little rushed. Would I have had my optimal fitness level for this race?

On the top that, the quality of my workouts dropped significantly in December, as did my total training volume. Part of the problem was snow: lots of it. If you can’t get good footing, it’s hard to get a proper workout in. The other problem was getting sick. This messed over three weeks of my training. Recovering from illness forced me to drop my total volume, and also suspend hard workouts for a little while.

My tendinitis (probably caused by running in the snow) was simply the final straw. We have received unprecedented snow over the last couple weeks. As I trudge through and slide around on the calf-deep snow, I look around at the unplowed roads and think, “How good would my training be right now, even if I could run?” Seriously. Yeah, I can complete runs in the snow, but not fast. My aerobic fitness would have been good, but I don’t know what kind of “race shape” I would have been in.

Even if I had stayed healthy, my fitness would not have been as good as I would have liked, due to poor training conditions and missing time from illness. How well would I have run at Houston? Impossible to say for sure. Perhaps it still would have been pretty darn good. But probably not as good as it would have been if it were during a different time of year.

Is it impossible to train hard in Logan for major races during the winter? This winter it sure seems like it. Perhaps this is a lesson for me not to pursue January races. Perhaps winter should just be used for building base and for skiing. Or perhaps it was just bad luck. In any case, I’m already looking forward to spring: warmer weather, longer daylight, good footing, and better training. I’ve gotten over the disappointment of not being able to race Houston, and am now just looking forward to running and training hard again.

Well, 2007 is officially over. Something that I enjoy doing is looking back over the year and assessing how my running went, and whether I hit my goals or not.

2007 total mileage: 3765

• Not too shabby here, probably the highest mileage I’ve done in any year by over 1000

2007 performance goals (written down on 1-1-07):

1. 5K under 15:10 — Not quite. 15:23 was my best in ‘07. I think I was in sub-15 shape, but never got the right race and right day when I was really fit.
2. 10K under 32:00 — Got this one, with a 30:27 at Des News. Although this is an aided course, it was also a warm, humid morning, and I was pretty close, or ahead of, some pretty fast dudes. I decided to count it as a PR.
3. Half Marathon under 1:10:00 — Got this one three times, with a 1:09:27 at Striders Half, 1:09:33 at TOU Half, and 1:10:00 at the first half split of Trials.
4. Marathon under 2:25:00 — Got this one twice, with 2:18:09 at St. George and 2:22:34 at Trials.
5. Top 3 in LDR Circuit — Got this one, as I took 1st in the Circuit
6. Win over $1000 in prize money — Got it 3 times over. Winning both Ogden and the LDR Circuit really boosted this from my original goal.
7. Stay injury free — Fell short of this goal with only one week left in the year! Bah. Fortunately I think my current injury is much less severe than previous injuries.

2007 race review (18 total races started and finished)

2-10-07 Striders Series 5K 16:36 3rd place

• This was a meaningful race to me, as it was my first race back from injury. Not only was it great to be back, but I exceeded my expectations for time and placing, and even won some money!

2-24-07 Striders Series 10K 34:47 4th place

• Not my best race of the year or anything, but solid. Definitely the most challenging 10K I’ve run!

3-10-07 Striders Series 10-miler 55:20 2nd place

• This was a strong effort on a tough course. Didn’t quite have enough gas for the win, but felt good about this one afterwards.

3-30-07 Relay Del Sol 19:10:57 2nd place

• Team relay. Probably the most fun I’ve had during an event like this, with the highlight being trying to chase down the Google corporate team. Out of all relays I’ve done, it wasn’t my favorite course, but is probably my favorite team.

4-7-07 Striders Series Half Marathon 1:09:27 1st place

• Big breakthrough race for me here. A PR by over 3 minutes, my first overall win in recent memory, and then the feeling of just running away from the field can’t be matched. One of my best efforts and “on” days of the year.

4-28-07 Striders Series 30K 1:45:18 1st place

• This was a rather fun race. The first half was more of a tempo run, but then Bob Thompson put the hammer down and started to torch the rest of us. My win here is a bit misleading, since I got it from Bob pulling up with a calf injury, and then sitting and kicking on Steve Ashbaker. Very “un-Pre” of me. I probably deserved 3rd, but it was still a fun, memorable race.

5-19-07 Ogden Marathon 2:26:24 1st place

• This race I’ll remember and cherish for a long time. It was very much an “on” day, and all cylinders fired for me from start to finish. Days like this are rare. I broke my St. George PR, won $1100, and got to feel what it’s like to win a marathon (probably the best part).

6-22-07 Wasatch Back Relay 18:29:29 3rd place

• We assembled a great team for this race, and challenged BYU and Weber for the first 12 legs. Came out 3rd in a good field, with a really strong time. I was not in the best shape after coming back to training slowly after the marathon, but had some good legs.

6-30-07 Logan Peak Trail Run 5:29:37 5th place

• You know you’re twisted when you do a trail marathon as a fun run. I ran the entire race with Cody, and we had a really good time and saw some beautiful landscape. My first trail race. I was bleeding at the end, so it was a success.

7-4-07 Sandy Classic 10K 33:01 3rd place

• So what do you get when you run a 10K 5 days after a trail marathon? As turns out, the worst race of the summer. I was a total mental weakling here as well. However, getting pummeled by Hobie Call served as a motivator, and I upped my training after this race.

7-21-07 Draper Days 5K 15:23 3rd place

• Yet another shorter race where I was a mental weakling. Not a bad race by any means, but I was kind of disappointed in my tenacity. Am I only good at half marathons and marathons?

7-24-07 Deseret News 10K 30:27 5th place

• Finally, a 10K where I ran tough. This was easily my best “short” race of the year, and redeemed the sub-par Draper and Sandy performances. I was happy to be even 30 seconds within the likes of Trevor Ball and Simon Sawe, and I got a PR out of this race as well.

8-18-07 Great Salt Lake Half Marathon 1:10:22 3rd place

• I’m usually a fairly conservative racer, but took a gamble this race by going out with Teren Jameson and Pat Smyth in 15:00 for 3 miles. I ended up backing off, but still hung on to run strong time in a tough headwind. Probably would have been an outright PR without the headwind. Got a lot of confidence from this race, which would be important for Trials.

8-25-07 Top of Utah Half Marathon 1:09:33 1st place

• I did this local race at end of a 100-mile week as an interval workout: 4 miles @ MP, 2 minutes recovery, 3 miles @ MP, 2 minutes recovery, 2 miles @ LT, 1 minute recovery, 2 miles @ LT, minute recovery, 1 mile @ LT. Due to perfect conditions and tailwind, splits were blazing. I was actually second, but Logan (who was on pace for 1:08:00) took a wrong turn near the end. I had no idea until people at the finish told me I had won. Huh.

9-8-07 Alta Peruvian Downhill Dash 8K 21:46 1st place

• An absurd time on an absurd downhill course. Where else can I average 4:21/mile? Fun race though. I pushed it really hard the last mile and thought my legs where going to burn up and fall off (last mile was 4:10). I was sore for a full week afterward.

9-15-07 Top of Utah Marathon 2:39:22 7th pace

• The sole function of this race was to help pace several people to under 2:40:00. My friend Jon made it, and Adam came very close as well. Even though I was not “racing”, I have a lot of good memories of this race, and really enjoyed helping other people try to get their goals.

10-6-07 St. George Marathon 2:18:09 2nd place

• What can I say about this one? Perfect weather, perfect competition, and my body responded with it’s “A” game. My best marathon to date, and an absolute thrill to get the qualifier for Trials. Lot of other great PR’s by friends that day too.

11-3-07 Olympic Marathon Trials 2:22:34 53rd place

• By the far the highlight of the year and beyond. Although my time was slower, this was a better performance than St. George, despite having just 4 weeks recovery. It always feels good to run the race of your life when it matters, and I managed to do this 3 marathons in a row (Ogden - St George - Trials).  Running with the best was an unbelievable experience, and no matter what happens with my running in the future, this was an experience that I can hold and cherish for years to come. The only experience that has come remotely close was winning XC nationals in 2000. I felt blessed to run this race.

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Looking back, it was a great year. Hopefully I can follow it up with an even better year next year. First 2008 goal: get healthy and running again! But here are a few more goals for the upcoming year.

2008 Performance Goals:

1. 5K – set a PR (sub 14:48).
2. 10K — break 29:30 at Deseret News
3. Half Marathon — 1:06 or lower on unaided course
4. Marathon — 2:17 or lower on unaided course
5. Placings — Top 10 at a U.S. Championship race
6. Mileage — 4500 total miles

Happy New Year!

Well, it’s almost playoff time for football season, and after watching some Packer history DVDs, I was inspired to do another quotes blog. This time all of the quotes come from the late, great Vince Lombardi. Let’s face it, the man had a way with words.

And yes, all of the quotes are in reference to football, but can be easily applied to running or life in general. That what makes them so good. Underneath each Lombardi quote, I’ve posted my own commentary and what it means to me in terms of running and/or life.

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“A man can be as great as he wants to be. If you believe in yourself and have the courage, the determination, the dedication, the competitive drive and if you are willing to sacrifice the little things in life and pay the price for the things that are worthwhile, it can be done.” — Vince Lombardi

I’ve said this before, but “reaching the next level” for runners takes a conscious decision and it takes sacrifice. I’ve given up or greatly limited some of my loves, such as skiing or beer, for a much greater good and a concrete legacy. I don’t really miss most of it either. And I think part of becoming a great runner is believing in yourself and believing that the dedication and drive will pay off with rewards in the long run.

“Dictionary is the only place that ’success’ comes before ‘work’. Hard work is the price we must pay for success. I think you can accomplish anything if you’re willing to pay the price.” — Vince Lombardi

Similar theme to the last quote, but emphasizing that the only way most of us will achieve our goals is to work our butt off. I look at guys like Brian Sell and Peter Gilmore as inspiration. They take on tremendous training loads, but it has paid dividends for them. I have seen dividends in my own running as well. When I did not value hard work and hard training, I was a 2:40 marathoner. Now, as I see it, I have just now learned how to train hard, and I am already a good 20 minutes faster. How many other 2:40 or 2:50 marathoners are out there that are just a big training cycle away from becoming a 2:20 marathoner? How many 2:25 marathoners out there are a few training-filled years away from becoming 2:15 marathoners?

“Fatigue makes cowards of us all.” — Vince Lombardi

Lombardi said this before the ‘67 season, before the Packers won their 3rd straight championship. The reference was that late in the game, if a player (or team) is fatigued, they will not be able to show guts; they will not win. So he trained his team like mad during the summer to make sure they were better-conditioned than any other team, and could therefore perform in “crunch time”.

Similarly, a runner’s ability to surge or to beat down the competition is based on their conditioning. Guts mean nothing if you are not in shape to use them. There is nothing better than making a bold move late in the race, and having the confidence and conditioning to finish it with authority. The alternative is hanging on for dear life, just counting steps and waiting for the race to end. Been there, done that, don’t like it much.

“I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle - victorious.“– Vince Lombardi

Nothing beats being utterly exhausted after a race during which you’ve given your all. And nothing beats the feeling of walking around like a wounded soldier during the following week of recovery after a marathon. Enjoy your soreness, it’s well-deserved.

“Individual commitment to a group effort - that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.” — Vince Lombardi

Nothing beats a team. When you are running for something bigger than just yourself, it is easy to get motivated, to do that extra bit of training, and to push harder than you’ve ever pushed during a race. That is why a lot of people have trouble training on their own after a good college experience. That also may be why the Hansons are having so much success. They don’t have fancy altitude tents or a glamorous place to train, but they have over a dozen people out there pushing each other and supporting each other. That will go farther than altitude training ever will. I hope that the new FastRunningBlog.com racing team can support and push each other in a similar way, and make each other into better runners.

“It’s easy to have faith in yourself and have discipline when you’re a winner, when you’re number one. What you got to have is faith and discipline when you’re not a winner.” — Vince Lombardi

If you can survive the hard times and “trials by fire”, you will come out a better runner. Injuries and “off times” are not times to lose the discipline, but times to really use it. Again, a team or other community and support will do wonders when things look bleak.

“Life’s battles don’t always go to the stronger or faster man. But sooner or later the man who wins, is the man who thinks he can.” — Vince Lombardi

I know plenty of runners who are very talented and very fast, but they don’t believe in themselves. One will never win unless they believe and set themselves up into position to win, through training or in the race itself.

“Once you agree upon the price you and your family must pay for success, it enables you to ignore the minor hurts, the opponent’s pressure, and the temporary failures.” — Vince Lombardi

Success comes at a cost, but once you concede and accept the rigors of hard training, it actually gets easier. I’ve found that a 100-mile week is no harder than a 60-mile week in some ways. I think most of that is psychological. You accept your training as what it is, then put your head down and do it. Once that resolve is made, little aches and pains, tiredness, and an occasional ho-hum workout just become things that you accept and move on over. Hard, high-volume training also forces you to prioritize and manage time more. Yes, I don’t quite have much free time anymore, but what would I have been doing with much of that free time? Watching TV? Now I keep what free time I do have as constructive as possible, in order to utilize and take advantage of every waking minute.

“Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.” — Vince Lombardi

Dream. Dream big. Set high goals and chase after them. If you fall short, so what? Chances are, you’ll still hit better race times and finishes than you did before! And what is there to lose?

“Success demands singleness of purpose.” — Vince Lombardi

This is an unfortunate truth, and is why the best runners are generally professionals. Ie - they do not work full-time jobs. I wonder for myself if I’ll ever need to (or have the chance to) quit my day job. The thing is, I really like my vocation, plus realize that a person can only hope to make a living as a runner for a relatively short number years. I imagine if I were ever presented to chance to go after running with “singleness of purpose”, I would probably still work about 20 hours/week just to keep my mind occupied and my skills sharp. What else is there to do while I’m not running?

Completely across the spectrum, this quote also brings up the idea of specialization of training. In order to become a very good marathoner, you must do marathon-specific training. This singleness of purpose within training may mean that you won’t fulfill your potential in the 5K, but it gives the best chance in the marathon. And vice versa for a 5K runner. Deliberately pick your races, pick your training methodology, and “run with it”.

“The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will.” — Vince Lombardi

I’ve already hit on this, but running is one of the few activities out there where one can really make huge improvements simply by wanting it bad enough. From desire and motivation comes very hard training, and from hard training comes fast race times.

“The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender.” — Vince Lombardi

It’s nearly impossible to give up during a race if you’ve prepared thousands of miles of training for that race.

“We didn’t lose the game; we just ran out of time.” — Vince Lombardi

Or a rephrase for running would be, “I didn’t lose the race, I just ran out of road”. I think we’ve all had that happen, a race where things go bad in the middle, only to have a second wind and be eating people up at the end…and the finish line is curse rather than a blessing. Although I was hurting, I do wish I had an extra mile for the Trials race. People were coming back fast, and I ran out of road.

“The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have.” — Vince Lombardi

Not everyone can be an elite runner or a professional runner, but everyone can certainly play out the cards they’ve been dealt. Doing so with fervor usually leads to fulfillment as well as a few surprises. This quote also reminds me of Jesus’ parable of the talents (Matt 25:14-30), which is obviously about more spiritual things. In any case, we should live our lives as stewards and develop what assets we’ve been given to our utmost, whether that is faith, running, parenting, vocation, or other things.

“The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.” — Vince Lombardi

I sometimes wonder if people think I live a lower “quality of life” because I’ve given up a lot of recreational time in order to toil and train so much. In truth, it’s just the opposite. By pursuing a dream and developing my running talent, my life is richer than it ever was. 40 years from now, I won’t remember donuts I’ve eaten, parties I’ve gone to, or extra hours I’ve slept. But I will certainly remember the feeling of winning Ogden, qualifying at St. George, racing with the best at Olympic Trials, and whatever is yet to come. Not only is the process of getting there enjoyable and fulfilling, but so is the legacy and memories that will be left.

“The real glory is being knocked to your knees and then coming back. That’s real glory. That’s the essence of it“. — Vince Lombardi

For me, this past year of running was made so much more sweeter by how awful last year was. While being sidelined by various injuries for 5 months, I sometimes doubted if I could race again, but thanks in part to the encouragement and support of others, I managed to keep at it and was eventually rewarded. It takes a time of darkness to really appreciate the light.

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And one more thing…Go Pack!

Well, since the new server is up and running, I can get back to blogging!

I’ve had a few weeks to mull over the USATF’s recent decision to revamp the OTQ standards for the men’s marathon. My initial blog posting was my knee-jerk reaction that I wrote a few hours after reading about the decision. Since then, I have heard many good (and bad) arguments opposing various aspects of the new standards. And it has given me a lot to chew on. Here are my current thoughts on the issue:

• Adding a Half Marathon qualifier: good. No change of opinion here, and most other people agree with this one too. Also, taking away the 5K qualifier: good. I don’t think anyone took up the offer this time around anyway. So what remains is a 10K qualifier at 28:30 and a Half Marathon qualifier at 1:05:00. A lot of people still dispute allowing runners to qualify with a 10K, but I think this year’s 10K runners (Browne, Rohatinsky, Carney, Gonzales) more than proved that they belonged (not that Browne had anything to prove, but he did qualify via 10K). Yeah, 10K times are not the best indicator of marathon times, but I do think they are a good indicator of marathon potential. Tim Noakes notes in Lore of Running that most elite marathoners are elite 10K runners as well. You need to have a good amount of leg speed to go under 2:10. And 28:30 is pretty darn fast. Sub-28:30 represents our top-tier runners. Encouraging our top-tier 10K runners to move up to the marathon should produce at least a couple top-tier marathon runners. I think this year is already proof of that with Rohatinsky and others making impressive debuts.
• Getting rid of “aided” (downhill) courses as qualifiers: good. I hold to my initial assessment of this as well, with a few concerns. Interestingly, this is the least debated of all the USATF decisions, as I have read very few voices of dissent on throwing out courses like St. George, Steamtown, and CIM. Although I’m fine with qualifying somewhere other than St. George, out of love for St. George and other local downhill races, I hope that they can find a way to stay relevant among top-tier runners around the state and region. Prize money is usually a good way to stay relevant. It would be a shame if all of the sub-elites that typically run St. George abandon the race for “legit” courses. Another concern brought up by others is that USATF may be playing “god” with what courses are legit, and what courses aren’t. At first I was not too concerned about this, but now it gives me bad vibes. Although I support Boston, New York, Twin Cities, and other point-to-point courses being exempt from the new rule, I would like to see some firm protocol or criteria being set in place for other exemptions. Just being a major marathon shouldn’t be the only way in. What about all the other small, local point-to-point courses that do not traditionally produce “aided” times? Do they get the shaft, while New York gets in because…well…it’s New York? I would like to see a way for smaller point-to-point races appeal their way in or get voted in by something more democratic.
• Getting rid of the “B” standard: good. I hold to my original position. I don’t think anyone should have to pay their own way to Trials, or that runners should be treated differently because of their qualifying time. Just pick one standard, and go with it. If you make it, great, if not, tough.
• Lowering the standard to 2:19: good. I hold to my original position that this will be a good thing for American running…with an asterisk. If we can qualify 200 people in 1984, we should be able to do the same in 2012. And most arguments stating, “so and so wouldn’t have qualified with this standard, and that would have ruined their careers” are garbage. For instance, Jason Lehmkuhle (of 2008) and Brian Sell (of 2004) would have qualified with their half marathon times. The most famous dark horse, Trent Briney, would have been within seconds of qualifying in 2004 with his half marathon time. However, after reading a lot of these counter arguments, I do have some concerns.
  • Runners need a reachable “carrot” hanging in front of them to keep motivated. The USATF just took away many peoples’ carrot and moved it far out of current reach. This would be a major blow to the motivation of many. I could go on a tangent about the “quitter mentality”, but in truth people need sets of intermediate goals to step to in order to establish themselves and move on to the next goal. Where is the “intermediate” goal for the 2:25-2:30 marathoners? How do we get a guy who ran 2:23 to keep going, when the “big carrot” is still 4 minutes off?
  • Marathon training takes extreme dedication and sacrifice; there needs to be some sort of incentive. In short, we need more “carrots”. I am totally fine with a 2:19 standard, and potentially fewer participants, if the incentive provided by the “B” standard can be replaced by other races and events. That way the USATF would meet their goals of making the Trials be a truly “elite” group that can push for medals, but still continue development of younger runners, sub-elites, and regional runners using proper, sustainable incentives. With more “carrots” to chase after, the Brian Sell’s, the Peter Gilmore’s, and the Trent Briney’s can continue their development from sub-elite to elite, and be able to make the push up front. Take away those carrots, and I am a little afraid of what could happen. Probably 4-8 more good years of American running, and then when Hall and Ritz get old, we may be back to 1996.

So the crux of the whole matter is replacing the incentive of Trials with new incentives that are reachable to 2:22+ runners. Easier said than done, right? But let’s think of it this way: the Trials occurs every four years, and it is the focus of many aspiring marathoners. This has been “taken away” for a lot of people. But if develop “big races” that occur every year, there could be a world of opportunity.

For instance, the US Marathon Championships occur every year. Well, this year it happened to be Trials, but every other year it is more accessible. “US Marathon Championships” sounds pretty cool, but the problem is that most people don’t even know about it! I think one potential solution is to market and make the US Champs into a “big deal”. Make it highly visible, give it more press, make prize money 20-deep. Make it something notable to put on your resume. Make a time standard of 2:30 to get in the race, and make that known to everyone. Perhaps make it a team event, like US XC Club Nationals, where the best USATF-sanctioned marathon teams can win bonus money with cross country-style scoring. I believe that adding prestige and innovating scoring to the existing US Championship race(s), including the Marathon, Half Marathon, 25K, 20K, and others, could provide the incentive to continue development for a lot of runners.

And what if the USATF doesn’t do anything to “replace” Trials? Do we just sit on our hands and complain? Do we wait for the “government” to help us out? Do we quit because it’s too hard? No way! During the mid-90’s when two brothers in eastern Michigan noticed that U.S. distance running was in a wretched state, they didn’t just complain and wait for the USATF to fix things! They took things into their own hands, started supporting, coaching, and developing young runners, and now the Hansons are sending a runner to the 2008 Olympics! I firmly believe the development of American runners will come from the bottom-up, not the top-down. In other words, it is up to us, the grassroots; it is not up to the USATF to trickle down money to the little guy. I think the Hansons program is a model of what can happen on the grassroots level, when people just decide they want to help with the development of distance runners. Brian Sell going to the Olympics is about the best thing that could happen for American distance running. He may not win a medal (although I won’t count him out), but the Hansons will grow stronger, and more “Hanson-clone” teams will spring up, because the model works.

So my final point is that we can either sit around on our hands moaning, complaining, and waiting for the USATF to do “right”, or we can get up and do right ourselves. Don’t like how races are administrated? Join a race committee or start a new race doing things how you see it. Want to develop runners? Join a club, mentor a runner, get into coaching, or financially sponsor a developing runner. Want to run fast yourself? Find other like-minded people, support each other, and train your butt off.

End of rant. As usual, discussion and dissent are welcome. That’s what keeps the wheel turning, right?

For those of us thinking we need to get under 2:22 to qualify for 2012 Olympic Trials, think again! And for those of us “borderline” runners thinking we can get an OTQ at St. George, think again! Race Results Weekly recently posted an article about the official new OTQ Marathon standards for 2012.

Here’s the kickers in a nutshell (or maybe a kick in the nuts, based on your opinion):

• No more “A” and “B” standards. One time fits all now.
• New time standard: 2:19.
  • Can also get in with 10K (28:30) and Half Marathon (1:05)
• “Aided” courses no longer acceptable
  • New “approved” list with all “acceptable” marathons (to be released shortly).
  • Elevation loss of no more than 1 meter per kilometer
  • Start and finish of point-to-point courses have to be separated by less than 30% of the race distance (ie - <7.9 miles for marathon)
  • Special provision to be made for Boston, New York, and other point-to-point or non-record eligible courses that do not traditionally produce fast times

I am sure this will be a controversial subject for many. My opinion? (this is a blog, after all) I think these are all good things. That may surprise my three readers, since I myself qualified at St. George this year, and am not currently capable of breaking 2:19. But here’s why I like the changes:

• It’s for the good of America. I’m a patriotic dude. Tougher time standards will challenge American runners and stimulate improvement. 2:19 is the new 2:22. 2:15 will become the new 2:18. 2:11 will become the new 2:15. And increasing the number of guys in the 2-teens will push the very top guys even more. As a result, I predict we will see more American runners under 2:10 and contending at major marathons.
• No more “B” qualifiers. This equals fair treatment for all runners that qualify. Everyone who makes it will receive comp travel. Everyone will receive elite fluid service. Everyone gets the same living and racing conditions.
• Half marathon qualifier standards equals more opportunities. Most people can only do a couple good marathons per year, so opening up half marathons as qualifying venues should open more doors. Halfs are easier to recover from, so they can be attempted more often, and if you get bad luck with your marathons for the year…well, better luck with the half!
• No more debates about downhill courses. They are a non-issue now. Forget about it. The writing was on the wall anyway. I love St. George and Top of Utah as much as anyone, but again, I think this is for our own good. This will also take tailwinds (or headwinds) out of the equation, since most true point-to-point courses will be “banned”.

What does this mean for those of us dreaming to break 2:22? Well…recalibrate those dreams to 2:19! I am basically a 2:20-2:21ish marathoner right now. Four years from now I sure better be 2:18 (or faster)! And that is what I train and dream for. The bar has been raised; let’s go after it and be part of the American resurgence of marathoning. See you on the roads.

First off, just let me say: Yeeeaaahh!! 2:18!! NY here I come!!

There, that feels good. For anyone who missed it, the 2007 St. George Marathon was an absolute gem of a race, not just for me, but for the vast majority who participated. I can’t even count the number of PR’s of just the people I know. Unreal. And yes, a PR at St. George is a PR. Maybe not as impressive as a PR at Boston or New York, but 26.2 is 26.2, and a PR is a PR. There are different types of PR’s (downhill PR’s vs. flat PR’s; elevation PR’s vs. sea-level PR’s; young man PR’s vs. old man PR’s, etc.), but those who PR’ed at St. George should be proud. It was an amazing day to run.

Looking back at my earlier dilemma of whether to run St. George, Chicago, or Twin Cities, I get chills and cravings for an I.V. when I think about what would have happened if I had picked one of those big, sexy, mid-western marathons instead of my tried-and-true “local” race. One American qualifier at Chicago (who is stud of the world for doing that, by the way). No qualifiers at Twin Cities. If I had chosen one of those races, all I would have qualified for was a bummer.

Instead, I chose my local race, St. George. It was a no-brainer. The whole trip cost my wife and I a total of $175, thanks to having friends down there to stay with (thanks again, Clyde and Mik’l). And it yielded an 8-minute PR and an all-expense paid opportunity to toe the line with America’s best in New York City on November 3.

True, St. George gets no love, exemplified by the fine thread on LetsRun.com. Some of the criticisms are valid, other criticisms are elitist LetsRun.com drivel, typical for that site. But it probably provides a pretty valid cross section of what most people outside of Utah think of St. George. People who have never run the race exaggerate how “easy” it is. They describe it as “cheating” even. Run the race first, then criticize it. On the other end of the spectrum, Utah natives and long-time St. George participants exaggerate the difficulty of the first half of the course, and tend to play up the effects of altitude and downhill battering.

The truth of St. George lies somewhere in the middle. Most of the uphills do not show up the course profile, but there is over 400′ of climbing, mostly in the first half. The second half of the race…is ridiculous in its speed. If you are trained for hills (both up and down) you will fly. If you are not, you may not even finish. Flat-landers beware. I think the elevation has almost no effect on the downhills, and only moderate effect on the uphills. A well-trained Utahn will most assuredly run a huge PR at St. George. In my opinion, an elite runner will finish 2-4 minutes faster at St. George than at a flat, sea-level course, depending on their downhill aptitude.

By qualifying at St. George, I did not earn any respect, nor did I expect it or think I deserve it. I plan to go out and earn respect in three weeks at Olympic Trials, and in my subsequent racing over the next few years. I have a nice PR of a low 2:18, but for now I always have to follow it up with, “…at St. George“. It’s definitely a bit of an asterisk, as far as elite running circles are concerned. But I did not run St. George to earn the respect of LetsRun.com. I ran it because it made the most sense.

• It is the closest race to where I live (ie - I can drive there in a few hours).
• It is one of the top 20 largest marathons in America, ensuring great competition.
• They treat semi-elite runners very well (water bottle service, separate staging, etc.).
• The weather is virtually always excellent and reliable in the desert in early October.
• It is the fastest course in America. Who would not want to run the fastest course?
• It was my best shot at an “A” qualifier and a free trip to NYC.

So given its proximity and the speed of the course, why would I not run St. George? Why would I not want an “A” qualifier? If the USATF says it’s legit, then it is legit. Period. It would have been insanity to drop a couple grand to take myself and my wife out to some strange huge city and run a 2:40 in hot, humid conditions. I know this is retrospect, but I can’t help patting myself on the back, along with the other 16 people that qualified in the desert this weekend. St. George: 38 degrees at the start, 50 degrees at the finish. Slight tailwind most of the race. Even without the massive downhill, St. George had perfect conditions, and it was a PR day, the kind of day that makes runners salivate. Throw in the downhill, and it gets even more fun.

So yes, I am looking forward to “proving” myself on some flat and rolling sea level courses. Personally, I think I can run even faster if I hit a fast course like Chicago on the right day with the right pack. Right now, I am eyeballing Twin Cities for next year, which is the USATF Marathon Championships. I hope to make an impact. I’d also like to travel and do some big-time races such as the Fifth-Third Riverbank 25K in Grand Rapids (mid-May), as well as something like the Crim 10-miler or the Utica Boilermaker. I think one of the primary steps to becoming elite on a national scene is to travel to national races and mix it up with people better than me. Good butt-whippings make a person strong. Oh, and so does training like a mad-man, which I plan to do as well. I’ve got 100-mile weeks mastered; it is time to try 120 mpw in 2008.

Adjusting for the downhill speed of St. George, right now I consider 2:20-2:22 guys to be my peer group, and like all races, I hope to out-compete my peer group in NYC. And if I can knock off some 2:18 guys, that would be great too. I am certainly not content with 2:18, whether I ran it at St. George or at Boston. The reason we train and race is to perpetually get faster. St. George this year was an important step in my own journey, but certain not the end.

I frequently listen to the Dave Ramsey Show (and encourage anyone else with an interest in personal finance to do so as well). Each show, Dave reads a “Quote of the Day”, and most of them are pretty inspirational and worth chewing on. Dave’s quotes the last several days have been especially good, and I’ve swiped them and posted them below with some of my own musings regarding their application to running.

“Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work” - Steven King

There is a host of pedigreed, talented runners out there who do not come remotely close to their potential. On the other hand, I’ve seen an even greater number of unheralded runners develop into great marathoners. Some of them (*gasp*) didn’t even run track or cross country in high school or college! Whether your goal is sub-4:00, sub-3:00, or an Olympic Trials Qualifier, you will make your greatest gains through sheer workload. Find the right mix of consistent training volume and intensity, and pursue it with passion, and you will soon find yourself burying those who are supposedly more “talented”. (although I think that the ability to push yourself and show intense drive is a talent in itself).

“Success is the maximum utilization of the ability that you have” - Zig Ziglar

How do we truly rate success in running? Is it breaking a certain time barrier? Finishing high in a race? Beating a particular rival? I think all those things can factor into success, but the most important criteria of success is simply meeting your potential. Not everyone has the genetics to win races or place in age groups, but everyone has the opportunity to push themselves to their limits, to answer the question: “What is the best I can be?” Reaching your maximum potential transcends any race time or placing. It is independent of age, course layouts, bad weather, or sore knees. It should be what we ultimately pursue. The times and race finishes will follow.

“There’s only one way to succeed in anything, and that’s to give it everything” - Vince Lombardi

How bad do you really want it? Are you willing to sacrifice and push the envelope in order to achieve greatness? How bad do you really want to qualify for Boston? How bad do you want to break 3:00? 2:40? 2:30? 2:20?

These are the types of questions I regularly ask myself, and challenge the readers of this blog (all three of you) to ask themselves as well. The legacy of your running and the stories you accumulate will last longer than the pain of any workout or the sugary taste of those Friday donuts. For myself, I have decided that it is worth sacrificing most of my non-family free time to run, stretch, do core drills, and get extra sleep. It is worth watching my diet and eating healthy. The yard looks like trash, but I am fit. Socializing can be done while running. Beer is good, but Olympic Trials is better. Sleeping in on Saturday is nice, but reaching for my maximum potential is done while awake.

It’s difficult to stay inspired and motivated during hard training cycles. I personally struggle with the “little things”, so need some motivation along the way. Hopefully these quotes will inspire you as they’ve inspired me. No more brurgers until I qualify. Happy training!

Vegetarians may want to look away…

Today I’m here to describe the wonders of the “Brurger”. What is a brurger, you ask? A brurger, also known as the “hambur-brat”, is a fascinating mix of wonder-meats. The core unit consists of a hamburger patty, cheese, and a Johnsonville bratwurst, all tucked into a standard hamburger bun. The bratwurst is first cut in half, and then split along its longitudinal axis before mounted on its greasy beefy base.

However there are a plethora of variations and enhancements can can be performed to the standard brurger. One nuance is simply additional condiments. We have tried salsa (Tex-Mex Brurger) and blue cheese dressing (Fatty-fat Brurger), all with great success. Another novel idea is adding fry sauce (Utah Brurger). *Note* for those who don’t know, “fry sauce” is a mixture of ketchup and mayo, and is generally only found in Utah for some reason.

Furthermore, the standard brurger can be built upon by simply adding more meat, for instance bacon (Pig Brurger), a second bratwurst half (Br-Brurger), a second hamburger patty and a second bratwurst half (Double Br-Brurger), or a chicken breast (Noah’s Ark Brurger — give me two of every animal!). Most of these variations are experimental and not recommended for people who want to live past age 60.

The best brurger I’ve ever had was just last week, while camping with my wife and a friend in northern Washington. After my first “Standard Brurger”, I decided I wanted something more, and soon invented the “Br-Brurger”. The layers were: bun, bratwurst, cheese, patty, cheese, bratwurst, bun. Although it dripped the largest amount of grease I’ve ever seen, it ended up being about the best thing I’ve ever eaten.

So what does this have to do with running, you ask? After all, this is running blog. Well, the brurger’s history roots deeply into the realms of running. The original brurger was invented by myself and several friends after the 2004 Canyonlands Half Marathon. After working ourselves over in this early-season half marathon, we all decided that we deserved something “special”, something that would replenish our depleted calories and fat stores. Being a Wisconsin native it seemed logical to me that bratwurst should be involved. One thing led to another, and after some group collaboration the first brurger was born in the campground at Arches National Park.

The brurger soon become a traditional post-race meal. The deal is that you have to “earn” it. Usually a half marathon is sufficient, although special exceptions are allowed as well, such as long journeys and reunions with friends.

While in training, I keep my diet pretty tight: a lot of vegetarian cuisine, lean poultry, and fish. However, at times I feel it appropriate to let loose and celebrate, whether it’s finishing a tough race or enjoying the companionship of friends. For me, the brurger symbolizes the balancing of rigid training with celebration. Eating healthy is definitely beneficial for running…but something you just gotta unbuckle the belt and enjoy!

And while I’m off-topic, go Packers!

Al Gore was right. Along with the unfortunate polar icecaps, we are experiencing relentless heat up here in the usually cool realms of the northern Utah. Although our temps normally dip down to the 50’s at night, I’ve been waking up (in a pool of my sweat) to upper 70s. This is bad. Did I mention I get up at 6AM? Did I also mention I usually do a second run at 6PM? Here’s an inconvenient truth: running in 95+ degree temperatures sucks! (And so does living in an house without air conditioning…).

I usually prefer to do high mileage (80-100 miles/week) during the summer because:

1. I have more time to run during the summer
2. There is more daylight to train in during the summer
3. There are more races, and therefore more incentive to train, during the summer.

Last summer was beautiful. No 100-degree days that I can recall. However, I was laid up with about 17 different injuries and didn’t run a step from May through August. What a waste.

This summer is a different story. I’m healthy and motivated to hit those two-a-days and those 100 mile weeks, but the weather is turning into an inhibitor. An inhibitor that I’ve been ignoring.

Despite the intense sun and soaring temperatures, I’m still hitting my mileage, still getting in all those evening doubles, and still booking those Big Workouts…perhaps against my best interests. Dehydration is surely a factor, and a dangerous one at that. Fatigue and lethargy are also in the mix to bring me down. Perhaps I should bag it during the summer and do my high mileage during the winter and early spring.

But nay, I say we press on.

High mileage is doable in the heat, and so is high performance amidst all that volume. Here are my keys to achieving high mileage during the height of summer:

• Drink water like mad. Yes, dehydration is an issue while training in the heat, but fortunately there’s a cure: water. I keep a water bottle next to me a work all day and will go through it a couple times before I clock out. This helps me recover from my morning run and preps me for my evening run.
• Gin and tonic, hold the gin. I’ve been avoiding alcohol like the plague lately. The funny thing is that it doesn’t even sound good. Whenever I think I may want a beer or other “adult beverage”, I just think about my morning run approaching in 10 hours or so, and any urge disappears. I can’t afford the performance hit of a diuretic, not in this kind of heat.
• Nap so much it embarrasses your dog. As if logging 80-100 miles/week isn’t tiring enough, the heat completely removes any remaining energy and ambition. Combat this with a solid 8-9 hours of sleep at night, plus naps whenever you get the chance. Last Saturday, I managed to take two separate naps within a span of 4 hours, a new PR. I think increased sleep is key (in tandem with increased hydration) to maintain high performance during a stressful time.
• Never miss a morning run. The earlier the better. Better to get up at the crack of dawn and take a nap later than to miss your window of heat-free running. For double-days, make the morning run twice as long as the afternoon/evening run.

High mileage during the thick of July is quite doable with a bit of discipline. Keep hitting that water bottle and remember that autumn is right around the corner!

Well, the Wasatch Back Relay is almost upon us. This means three things:

1. Time to start rummaging around the basement for headlamps, coolers, reflective vests, and other miscellaneous debris
2. Time for a team member to call me to say “I can’t run” due to:
• Injury
• Sickness
• Work
• Dog attack
• Some combination of the above
3. Time for me to go into emergency find-a-runner panic mode.

Every (and I mean EVERY) relay I have run, we have lost runners with less than two weeks until the race, and have had to find last-minute ringers. Fortunately, our ringers are generally pretty fast.

This year, with one week to go until Wasatch Back, our entire original team was still intact. I started to get nervous. Something seemed wrong.

With three days to go (ie, yesterday), our entire original team was still intact. Now I am sweating nervous. This is definitely not right. We should have had one, nay, two runners drop by now. Was someone just not telling me something??

I decided to pick up the phone and make some calls. Turns out one guy was indeed “out” due to sickness and scheduling, just nobody knew about it until now. Good thing I called! As usual with these situations, he was very apologetic, but I never hold these kinds of things against people. Get 12 runners together, probability and statistics dictate that at least one will get injured or sick during the time preceding the race. It’s just a fact of life with runners.

So I learned that we were down a runner at 8AM Wednesday, about 56 hours before our start time. With travel time and planning, we realistically had about 24 hours to find a replacement runner. And not just any replacement, but a runner of 2:40 marathon caliber or faster. A tall order. But this is where things got cool.

Within the hour, our team set the search process in motion. Like clockwork, we networked through phone, email, and blogs, through cellular networks and through cyberspace.

Perhaps our most useful asset was the FastRunningBlog, an online training blog community that most of our team participates in. There are many fast runners on the Blog, and a large number of them live in Utah, which makes them available targets. Blog friends were contacted, as well as friends of friends. Over the next several hours, I received many “no” answers from potential canditates (most people already had a team). But sure enough, by 4PM Wednesday (8 hours later), we had our 2:40 marathoner. Our new teammate was the friend of a friend and is on the FastRunningBlog as well. The system works.

Panic mode is over.

On that note, since joining the FastRunningBlog, my network of runner friends has greatly expanded. I feel like I know half the runners in Utah now. And it’s not just an online thing (which would be exceptionally nerdy), but I see these people face-to-face at most of my races. The Utah running scene is a small pond, now made even smaller by the Blog. From Logan all the way down to St. George, connections and contacts have been made. New friendships have been established, and there’s new places to stay while traveling.

And it’s a heck of a lot easier to fill relay teams!