1 Day To Bryce Canyon Half Marathon

Monday, June 12th 2010: Bike ride with Mel. It was getting dark so we only went 4-5 miles. I loved going fast and feeling the wind. The ride renewed my interest in getting a decent road bike. Right now I just have a clunky mountain bike.


Tuesday, June 13th 2010: 30 dreadful minutes on the exercise bike. Sitting on the exercise bike for 30 minutes after doing such a fun ride yesterday was about as enjoyable as licking the floor of a gas station bathroom.

Wednesday, June 14th 2010: 1.8 miles @ 15:04 per mile pace. My 6 year old Kylee asked me if we could go on a run together. With my foot hurting, I planned to not run at all for the week to give some healing time before the Bryce Canyon Half Marathon in a few days. But I'll never turn down a chance to run with the kids. Jackson joined us too. Great fun was had by all.


Thursday, June 15th 2010: 8 mile bike ride with Mel. I nearly died. Literally. I was going down a hill on the side of the road minding my own business when a car pulled up behind me and laid on the horn. I thought it must be one of my friends being obnoxious. But after 10 seconds of honking I turned around to see this punk kid who then sped past me.

I was slightly irritated. Then I saw him pull into the gas station a block ahead. I decided to pull in too and let him know that wasn't very cool. Well it just so happens that as he was pulling into the gas station, he honked at someone else because their door was opened and he couldn't get by (FYI: he could get by). Thankfully some other patrons saw him being a punk too.

So I pulled up behind his car and waited for him to get out. But when he did, a bit of my bravery evaporated. I realized maybe I bit off more than I could chew. It was a punk teenager with six earings and an attitude. I said "Why were you honking at me?" He said in a mega-sassy voice "Cause you were in the middle of the road!" (FYI: I wasn't in the middle of the road.)

The other people who saw him honking chimed in, nearly matching the punk's sassy voice and said to him "The world doesn't revolve around you!" Then a bunch of 4-letter words started flying and I figured that was my cue to leave.

Sooooo.....if I mysteriously die one day in a hit and run accident, look for a white car being driven by a punk kid with lots of earings and a "little man complex".

Friday, June 16th 2010: In a few hours we will be heading for Bryce Canyon with our friends Darin and Shelly. Optimistically, I would love to beat my time from last year: 1 hour 56 minutes. That is an average 8:36 per mile pace which is my half marathon PR.

A burglar would be wise to come to our neighborhood this weekend. Because seriously almost every single person within a mile radius will be doing the race on Saturday. I'm sure that great fun will be had by all. Stay tuned for the full race report!

Marathon Number Three

In Recent News - I signed up for my third marathon:

The Park City Marathon coming up in about a month on August 21st. My wife is in also - this will be her first full marathon.

In one sense, this may not be the brightest idea: I ran a half marathon in April, half marathon in May, full marathon in June, upcoming half marathon in July, full marathon in August, and the St. George Marathon in October.

The logical part of me (which in this case was smaller than the spontaneous part) tried to reason with Mel that this might not be wise. Neither of us will be fully trained for a marathon. But I loved Mel's response which was basically - lets do something a little crazy and spontaneous. She didn't have to twist my arm.

We are planning to do it SLOW. We will do the race together. We plan to keep a strict run/walk schedule during the race. No goals for time. Our goal will be to have fun, see some beautiful scenery (planning to take my camera for the race), and be part of a cool experience.

Even though the big hills of this marathon will make it hard, one of the big selling points for me is that around 9 miles of the course is on dirt roads or dirt trails. My knees will appreciate that. Plus, I need all the excuses I can get to eat lots of Hostess products carbo-load.

1 Week To Bryce Canyon Half Marathon

Monday, July 5 2010: 5 miles @ 10:48 minutes per mile pace. Mel and I squandered our opportunity to sleep in, and instead ran really early in the morning so we would be home in time for the Hurricane 4th of July parade.

I also learned that I very narrowly avoided being convicted of murder. Read the full gruesome story HERE. I met Derek AFTER the Hurricane Trails River Run. And fortunately for me, he wasn't in a hearse. I'm thankful I avoided being charged with manslaughter.


Tuesday, July 6 2010: 4 miles @ 9:10 minutes per mile pace. I ran by myself in the evening, and the temperature outside was at least hot enough to bake bread. I ran to Widowmaker and back. I think 9:10 per mile is a little too fast for my fitness level right now. I didn't feel good.

And now.....time for a trivia game! Question: what is this a picture of?

Answer: Me on the side of the road hunched over ready to blow chunks!

Wednesday, July 7 2010: Rest.

Thursday, July 8 2010: 4.5 miles speedwork at track. I ran three 800's (3:45, 3:45, 3:48) and one 400 (1:24).

Friday, July 9 2010: I went to the track Friday morning with one sole purpose: run my fastest mile ever. Mel came with me to run a few miles too. I wanted to do it at the track to keep it honest. I'd feel like I cheated if I ran my fastest mile down a hill. I asked Mel before the run what she thought my chances were of throwing up. She gave me a 98% chance of barf.

After 3 warm-up laps, I began the miracle mile.
My thoughts during the first lap: "Boy, I'm feeling really good!"
Second lap: "Okay, getting a little harder but I'm okay!"
Third lap: "Uh oh, my lungs feel like they are full of V-8 Juice. Why does it feel like someone broke a board on my back?"
Fourth lap: "How have I lived my life? I guess I'll find out soon because I'm about to meet my Maker."

I crossed the finish line and collapsed onto the grass in fetal position gasping for air. After a few minutes I looked at my watch and realized that I had indeed run my fastest mile ever: 6 minutes 50 seconds!!!

Saturday, July 10 2010: 7 miles @ 11:35 per mile pace. But this isn't at all accurate. That doesn't take into account all the stops I made along the way to stretch, readjust my shoes, or rub my foot. In all, running these 7 miles took almost two hours. I've run a half marathon that fast for crying out loud!

The problem was my dumb right foot. Somewhere along the way maybe I strained a tendon or something. All I know is that it hurt. I don't think it was a stellar idea to do two speed days in a row then a long run. Duh. I don't think it's anything that some ice, and a few days rest won't cure.

After the run we had a birthday party at the park for all three of our kids who have birthdays this week.


In retrospect, this wasn't a very fun week of running. Mainly because I've been trying to go too fast for my britches. I've been thinking a lot about this quote:

"Slow-but-sure has always worked for me, in running and in most other arenas. I wouldn't mind being a Carl Lewis or Usain Bolt, but I've found little payoff in attempting to be what I'm not." ~ Amby Burfoot, Runner's World Editor At Large

I'm not a speed demon. I think I prefer to run farther but slower and avoid injury at all cost. I had been doing good with the "slow-but-sure", but just got a little off track this week. This coming week, I'm going to take it easy and rest my body for the Bryce Canyon Half Marathon next Saturday. Me and running will be friends again very soon.

Ironman St. George Volunteer Video

I just tracked down this video shown to the finishers of the Ironman St. George as well as the volunteers.

I am at the end of the video helping someone who just crossed the finish line.



Volunteering at the finish line was such a special experience for me. I admire the people who are able to complete an Ironman so much. This video does a good job of capturing the excitement of the day.

2 Weeks To Bryce Canyon Half Marathon

Monday, June 28 2010: Nothing.

Tuesday, June 29 2010: 7 miles @ 11:20 minutes per mile pace. Mel and I took a new loop which was fun. For you locals, we headed down Widowmaker, hung a left at Sky Mountain Golf Course, ran up State Street, then back home. My Jet Blackberry Gu along the way was scrumptious.

Wednesday, June 30 2010: Not a thing.

Thursday, July 1 2010: 13 miles @ 11:09 per mile pace. We knew we wouldn't be able to do our long run on Saturday and instead decided to do it REALLY early before I went to work. My knee was a little testy a few times but all in all it wasn't too bad. It gave me a sense of accomplishment to know that I had run the distance of a half marathon before work.

Friday, July 2 2010: I went out with Tom and a few youth to prepare the 4 mile course for the Hurricane Trails River Run the next day. My job was to use large bags of flour to make arrows to point the way along the course. Toward the beginning, my arrows more closely resembled blobs. But my arrow-making skillz seemed to improve as time went on.


I loved the patriotic theme of the race. Another thing we did was to put wood posts into the ground to guide the way. We tied red, white, and blue ribbons to each post.


The course was challenging, but beautiful. There was an awesome view of the Virgin River for much of the course.


Afterward, the Dansie's provided me with my first meal from Alberto's: carne asada cheese fries and horchata. There is a part of me that loathes them right now because I have had serious cravings ever since.

Saturday, July 3 2010: The inaugural Hurricane Trails River Run! Tom Dansie directed an awesome race. I volunteered to be the "course sweeper" and follow along behind the back of the group to make sure everyone got through okay. I had fun walking with the lady at the back of the pack. She was in her 70's and I admired her persistence and dedication to stay active. I learned that she even ran the Boston Marathon in her younger years. (See more pictures here.)

I also had another companion along the way: my son Jackson joined me and we had lots of fun talking and enjoying the scenery.


After the race I ran another 4 miles @ 9:34 per mile. It was 90 degrees outside and I wondered if my internal organs were melting into goo. Later in the day my self-control was tested. And I failed.

Mel was at work so I didn't have any spousal support to resist my desires for dinner. I made another stop at Alberto's for carne asada cheese fries.


The whole time I was eating, I was just waiting to clutch my chest as every artery in my body clogged up. Meals like this should be illegal. I guarantee that a dromedary camel does not eat this many calories in one day. And although this meal is begging for a heart attack, it was scrumptious.

Which leads me to my need to make a public declaration: I will increase my self-control. I vow to not eat carne asada cheese fries again for at least one month. Well, I probably won't. I will try really hard not to.