Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Scary Running Last Week and Upcoming 50 Miler

I'm excited - I signed up for a race coming up called Moab's Alpine To Slickrock 50 Miler. And.....it's coming up NEXT WEEK!

Monday, August 27th 2012: Nothing.

Tuesday, August 28th 2012: 4 miles @ 8:58 minutes per mile. I realized that I've got the endurance thing down, but I have completely neglected any speedwork so I'll work on that. I understand that 8:58 per mile for many runners is a slow, recovery run pace. You could run that fast after eating two chili dogs and a box of Benadryl. To those of you in this category, I'm jealous. Because 8:58 over 4 miles makes me want to throw up.

Wednesday, August 29th 2012: 4 miles @ 9:28 minutes per mile. I found a big hill then ran down it. Then up it. Then down it. Then up it. And so on.

That night I went on a 3 mile run with Mel, Jackson, and Ace. See if you can figure out which member of the group I'm describing:

1) One member wanted to stop every 4.8 seconds to go to the bathroom. (No, not me.)
2) One member whined for the entire three miles.
3) One member wanted to strangle the other member who whined the entire three miles.
4) One member wore a flourescent shirt and had just drank a green smoothie before the run. His stomach felt like he had just eaten two chili dogs during the run.

Thursday, August 30th 2012: Nothing.

Friday, August 31st 2012: 8 miles @ 11:25 minutes per mile. I planned to run to Toquerville Falls for the first time, around 12 miles round trip. There was lots of rocky, difficult climbing and I plan to go back here for some hill training. After a while I noticed a storm rolling in on the horizon:

I like running in the rain and loved the temperature cooling off a bit, so I just kept climbing. But within minutes the clouds got darker. And then the clouds turned to a solid wall of rain. It was the most distinct sheet of water I've ever seen.

I was a little more apprehensive to keep going when I saw that. Then the sky grew even darker and lightning started cracking all over. I decided I'd better pass on going to Toquerville Falls so my wife wouldn't have to hassle with filling out paperwork for my life insurance policy. The lightning around me was one of the few times I've ever been scared while running.

Saturday, September 1st 2012: 9 miles @ 11:49 minutes per mile. We were up in northern Utah for a family reunion and I took advantage of running some of my favorite trails in Corner Canyon, home of the 50k a few weeks ago. I searched for the hilliest routes which include some awesome views.

Running here is so different from the desert where I usually run. There are trees!

And instead of running in red, I get to run through a canopy of green!

It is so strange to see other runners out on the trails, that hardly ever happens in my neck of the woods dirt.

Just a heads-up. There is going to be a give away here tomorrow. I would bet my body weight in sugar that it will be the best give away you've seen in a while. It's going to be big. I hope you're hungry.

17 comments:

  1. Beautiful trails and views, you are very lucky indeed. Lightning can be very scary. Can I enter the giveaway from South Africa?

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  2. Beautiful photos. I love running in the rain, but the lightening makes me want to curl up in a ball and cry for my mommy. :)

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  3. I really like that photo of you running and the sun shining through.

    You have become an ULTRA maniac! :) Good luck in Moab, I'll bet it will be beautiful.

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  4. *Nice running this week. I can't wait to hear about your 50 miler!
    *I ran once with lightening happening and it scared the peeeee-waddin out of me!!
    *If I would have been running with you, Mel, Ace, and Jackson I would have been member #1 on that list!! Hahaha.

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  5. Woooahhhhh!!!! I just looked at the 50 miler link and you are in for a tough day and night!! You've got the guts and stamina though! Go Cory Go!!

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  6. Nice change of scenery from brown to green :).

    Lightening is scary, so glad you turned back so your wife wasn't busy today with paperwork. Crazy wall of rain, indeed - never seen anything like that either.

    You're doing awesome with the training, you're going to have a great race!

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  7. would you be more apt to be hit by lightning while performing one of your jumps, or just running? Not sure you want to do the research to find the answer though...

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  8. The storm pictures are awesome! And I love the family run recap. We chalk those type of things up to "building memories". Or building character. Or both. :) Good luck with the 50 miler! It is very impressive that you can just decide last minute to go race 50 miles!!! :)

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  9. So, since I'm training for a marathon, I think about you while I'm running quite a bit. You're the man for being able to cruise through those massive races (50's and 100's)! Great job, and thanks for the motivation!

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  10. 8:58 is my running from zombies pace. I probably WOULD throw up if I ran 4 miles at that pace. Looking forward to hearing about your next 50!

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  11. 8:58 is fast, bro. I also read this and thought "WHOA 50 miler" and then I remembered who's blog this is. You'll kick butt, as always!

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  12. One of the best things I've even done is convince the dog that peeing is something you need permission to do. It really streamlines our running together :)

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  13. I can guess exactly who you described in your group. And in the dog's defence, it's a genetic imperative for him to mark exactly w;here he's been. It's a bit like boasting to all the other dogs in the neighbourhood that his owners were kind enough to take him out, as well as providing him with a clue-trail if he ever gets lost. Plus if he pees high enough on a tree or a hydrant he'll have all the other dogs fooled into thinking he's really big. Wish I was a dog!

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  14. I would be runner #1. This whole paleo-esque experiment has not done wonders for my runs. Along those lines, even your normal endurance pace looks fast to me those days, and anything under a 9 min mile is pretty much hopeless. Now that I'm running more regularly again, maybe that'll change a little.

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  15. Why did you let melanie pee in public? HA!

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  16. Your pictures are always the best! That rain sheet is amazing! And I can't believe that you ran Draper trails again without telling me first! Someday...
    Good luck on your 50! That will be good training for sure!

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