Mid Mountain Marathon Race Report

The only difference between heaven and the Mid Mountain Marathon is that in heaven they will serve Twinkies at the aid stations. This race in the mountains of Park City, Utah really was a slice of heaven.

I was happy to see my friend Marty at the starting line. Me and Marty helped each other through some dark times (both literally and figuratively) at the Antelope Island Buffalo Run earlier in the year. I wore my pink shirt from that race. I ran 100 miles to get that shirt!

Aside from a little blip of road at the first, this entire race is on pristine single track. It is my ideal type of trail - not overly technical but enough rocks and roots to still keep you on your toes.

These trails are so different from the ones I usually run. I'm used to desert and red rock. I loved running through seas of green.

In addition to having so much fun on these amazing trails, I also had a blast running with my friend Catherine. We will be running the Javelina Jundred together next month (her first 100!) so we treated this like an enjoyable training run. (We ran a few extra miles before the race to get in 28 miles for the day.) You won't find nicer people than Catherine and her husband.

There was around 3,000 feet of climbing throughout the race but no crazy hills. There was also around 4,000 feet of descent and the ups and downs were all spread out and manageable.

We knew it was going to be a hot day when we were warm at the starting line. The temps just got warmer. But it seemed like whenever we started to overheat, we would get to a section with cooling shade.

It felt like Catherine and I kept a smooth, steady pace throughout the whole race except for a little patch around mile 20 where we both started to bonk a bit. As for myself, I think I got a little behind on calories and electrolytes. Once we got in some calories and a few S-Caps we felt much better.

Catherine and I ran the Corner Canyon 50k together a few months ago. Just like that race, I think I laughed the whole time. We compared horror stories from past races. (My horror story? Wearing a traumatic clown suit at an ultra last year.)

With about a mile left in the race we could see the finish line down below. We could hear loud speakers cheering people on. That finish line gave us a strong pull.

We had a happy, triumphant finish. And remember how I told you about Marty? When I crossed the finish line Marty came up and said "I got it!" I didn't even know Marty would be there. And then he showed me this picture he took. Serious props on his photography skills.

Who needs sun screen when you have this kind of protection on your legs?

If I were to write a script for the perfect marathon, it would have looked like my race on Saturday. I had an awesome running partner. And this course is simply spectacular. The scenery was incredible, race support was great, and there was a fun party-like atmosphere at the finish line. I have run around 13 marathons and Mid Mountain has become my favorite. This is definitely one to add to your calendar next year. I'll bring the Twinkies.

Life Lessons I Learned From Braydon

Hearts have been heavy at our house since last night when our dear friend Braydon Nielson passed away following a tragic cycling accident.

It’s one thing when an old person dies. But it’s a whole different thing when a young guy like Braydon with a sweet wife and four little kids is taken from us. That feels a lot harder. It’s like a kick in the stomach every time you realize that this is real. It’s not just a bad dream.

For the last 24 hours I’ve been thinking a lot about Braydon. I’ve been thinking about what I learned from him. And I’ve been thinking about how to find some glimmer of hope from all this mess.

I’d like to share with you some lessons I learned from Braydon. It’s okay if you don’t know him. I think the things he taught me apply to everyone, whether you knew this amazing young man or not.

Be kinder than is necessary.

Me and my wife were Braydon’s best friends. And so were hundreds of other people. He was the kind of person who was kind and accepting and personable. You are giving a gift to others when you help them feel wanted and needed and loved. (This was after we finished the Utah Valley Half Marathon.)

A smile can transform someone’s day.
Braydon was always smiling. Always. I want to be the kind of person who is always positive and smiling. Like the kind of smile where your cheeks hurt. I want the kind of wrinkles on my face that show that I’ve been laughing entirely too much during my life.

 

People are drawn to enthusiasm.

Braydon was energetic and positive. He was a master at making the best of situations. The most used word in Braydon’s vocabulary was “Booyah!” When you’re happy and enthusiastic people want to be around that. There is so much sadness and heartache in this world. We need more people who are happy and positive. Way more people.

 

To be successful you have to be brave.

Braydon wasn’t the standard image of an athlete. He was a big guy. It was hard to find a wet suit that fit. But do you know what is so seriously awesome? He didn’t let fear paralyze him. Concern about how he would look to others didn’t prevent him from going for his dreams. This is such an admirable quality.

 

Achievement doesn’t come easy.

In order to achieve big things like Braydon did (Half Ironman races, marathons, and multiple half marathons), you have to work hard. And he did. He put in the time and dedication to train for races. He was proof that you could work hard and have lots of fun at the same time.

 

Never ever give up.

My family volunteered this year at the St. George Half Ironman. When Braydon got to our aid station during his run we knew he was having a hard day. We knew he would be lucky to make the cutoffs. At the end of the day Braydon didn’t make the cutoffs to finish the race.

 

I was worried about him afterward. I knew he had worked so hard in training and must have felt discouraged after not finishing. But instead of giving up, Braydon registered for another Half Ironman a month later. And he finished that thing. If he had quit the first time he didn’t succeed he would have never felt that amazing accomplishment of making it to the finish line in his next race.

 

I can’t image not seeing Braydon at the next race or fun run. Southern Utah athletics will never be the same without him. And yet it’s fitting that he died doing what he loved. He was first place at life’s finish line last night. I imagine that he showed up in heaven, gave God a high five, and let out a loud trademark “Booyah!”

May we hold our loved ones a little tighter. May we treat others with kindness and patience. May we take advantage of the life we’ve been given. Every hour, every minute, every second.



My First (Unconventional) Ultramarathon

I didn't run a solitary mile on a trail last week. Every single mile was on the road. I'll bet it's been years since this has happened.

Monday, August 26th 2013: 5 miles @ 10:37 minutes per mile
Tuesday, August 27th 2013: 20 miles @ 11:30 minutes per mile
Wednesday, August 28th 2013: Nothing
Thursday, August 29th 2013: 5 miles @ 8:47 minutes per mile
Friday, August 30th 2013: 7 miles @ 9:57 minutes per mile
Saturday, August 31st 2013: 3 miles @ 9:54 minutes per mile

With the lack of trail scenery from the past week, I thought I’d tell you about my first ultramarathon ever. It was in March of 2011. I had put in lots of miles on the trails preparing for the Antelope Island Buffalo Run 50 miler. In fact I was feeling so good in the month leading up to the race that I decided I’d shoot for 100 miles.

I was all packed. Drop bags were ready. I went into work to finish up a few things before making the drive to Salt Lake City with the family. Right before I was going to leave work I received a frantic call from my wife. Mel was crying hysterically and said “I fell.”

And then the phone disconnected.

I was scared and kept trying to call back but there was no answer. Panic. A few minutes later Mel’s mom called and said she was taking Mel to Instacare because she may have broken her arm.

I rushed over to meet them at the Instacare. I found out that both of her arms were hurting. Her feet got caught in a cord in our bedroom and she had fallen. I vividly remember sitting with my wife in a doctor’s office as she cried in pain. My heart hurt for her. After some testing we received the diagnosis.

Both elbows were broken. Both. Elbows. Broken.

They decided to put both arms in slings and sent us home. We were absolutely torn about what to do regarding the race. We had an important doctor’s appointment in Salt Lake for our daughter so we decided that we would make the trek up north and I would do the race.

I will let you use your imagination here, but allow me to say that you can do NOTHING with two broken elbows. Mel had to depend on someone to help her with everything. Yes, everything. My daughter had to feed her dinner during our drive.

I’ll skip some of the minor details, but in Salt Lake Mel continued to be in excruciating pain. Long story short – we went back home to southern Utah and she ended up in surgery to have things repaired. Her surgery was on Friday, the day I was to start my race. No ultramarathon.

I was very concerned about her. But I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that there was a part of me that was really sad that all my months of training had gone to waste and I wouldn’t be able to do the race anymore. The bright side was that the surgery helped a ton and she felt better afterward.

 

The Sand Hollow Marathon was the next day, Saturday, and was only a minute away from my house. We decided that I’d at least be able to run that race. Friday night I was with my family when I received a very kind text from my friends Cherie and Karrie. They said they would crew for me if I wanted to run another 24 miles after the marathon to get to 50. I was touched by their kindness. And their idea got me thinking.

Mel and I decided that I could start running about an hour later, run through the night, get 24 miles done, and finish right in time for the marathon which would be my first 50 miler. After the exhaustion of everything over the past day, it was very difficult to get through the night of running but I made it.

I had some renewed energy at the starting line knowing that I would not have to run the last 26 miles alone. Cherie was there too, the person who had first introduced the idea of running an unconventional 50 miler.

My legs had their periods of heaviness but overall I felt okay. In fact I think that was the first race where I tried to get in a good jump:

 

 

The last few hours of the race were a challenge. It had started pouring rain and I was shaking from shivering so hard. Thankfully a kind soul drove past and gave some of us a garbage bag to help keep us warm. I felt better after this.

 

I was so thankful to near the finish line and see Mel and my boy Jackson there waiting. Jackson had done a kid’s race earlier in the day and had patiently waited for me to finish. I could have never imagined that the finish of my first 50 miler would be like this. (Funny how we all looked like we had been dragged behind a Greyhound Bus for 50 miles.)

 

I’m thankful we survived that difficult time in our family. Mel continued to get feeling better after her surgery and after a few days she was able to do more things for herself.

 

Today Mel’s elbows get sore sometimes but she has no major lasting effects. And do you know what? The next year I was back at Antelope Island and I ran that 50 miler! And this year I returned for the 100 miler where I got my fastest 100 ever. Even in the darkest, bleakest times I try to remember that things will always work out.

Note: We drew a winner on random.org for the Color Me Rad 5k entries. The winner: Dansie Family!

Color Me Rad 5k Free Race Entries!

I remember the first year that the Color Me Rad 5k came to my neck of the woods in St. George Utah. I looked at all my friend's Facebook pictures and it looked like everyone was running through multi-colored fireworks.

I thought to myself "Self......people are really paying money to run through explosions of colored corn starch?" But when I looked into Color Me Rad even more, I realized that the race stands for exactly what I believe about running: that running should be fun. Like seriously fun. It's not always about obsessing over a time on your Garmin.

What I admired most about the race was that it drew so many people to running for the first time. I had so many friends and family members who chose this as their first race ever because of the fun environment. Heck, after that race you could close your eyes, throw a Twinkie (although I don't recommend wasting them like that) and hit someone wearing a Color Me Rad shirt. I love how the race opened running up to so many people. (Plus they make a huge charity donation as well.)

The race is coming up again in St. George on September 28th. This is your opportunity to sneeze rainbows for a week! You can visit their website HERE to get more information and to register. Also, the super awesome folks at CMR have donated two free race entries to give away right here. Boom! All you have to do is leave a comment here saying you're interested. A winner will be drawn using random.org on Tuesday September 3rd to get the pair of tickets. Good luck!

How To See Care Bears On Your Trail Run

70 miles of running this past week. That's my highest in the last few months. There were quite a few adventures in those 70 miles.

Monday, August 19th 2013: 30 miles @ 14:47 minutes per mile.
Tuesday, August 20th 2013: Nada
Wednesday, August 21st 2013: 7 miles @ 11:46 minutes per mile.
Thursday, August 22nd 2013: 8 miles @ 10:25 minutes per mile.
Friday, August 23rd 2013: 5 miles @ 9:51 minutes per mile.
Saturday, August 24th 2013: 20 miles @ 12:30 minutes per mile.

For today’s lesson we’re going to talk about how to see Care Bears in the middle of your trail run. I consider myself an authority on the matter following my 30 mile run this past week.

Step # 1: Decide that since there is a 100 miler coming up in a few months, it would be a good time to fit in a 30 mile training run. Ignore the weather forecast saying that today’s temperature resembles the lairs of the underworld. After all, heat training is good for you. Stop being a baby! Pull over to the side of the road during your drive to the trail because the sunrise is saaaweeeeet.

Step #2: Drive to the Chinle Trail. Ignore that sign at the trailhead saying that mountain lions may be in the area. Surely your muscles slightly larger than tooth floss will be able to fend off a hungry cougar. The Chinle Trail is good training for Javelina. Some smooth, some hills, and some technical.

Step #3: When you get to mile 18 and your brain has zoned out, don’t forget to jump over that snake laying right across the middle of the trail.

Step #4: Be thankful that animal is a snake instead of a famished mountain lion.

Step #5: Heck, if that snake is just going to lay there begging to have his picture taken then just take a picture already.

Step #6: Just run and run. And run. Run. R. U. N. You might as well listen to ESPN radio for a few hours on your mp3 player since you are able to get reception in the middle of nowhere. Enjoy the scenery.

Step #7: When it is so hot that you feel your flesh melting off your bones, you are allowed to walk in certain sections that are so smooth and flat that you should be running.

Step #8: Finish the 30 miles and get back to your car. Turn on the car. Look at temperature. Yes, the temperature really does have three digits. If that isn’t enough to make you hallucinate some Care Bears along the trail, nothing will.

In all honesty, I didn’t have any hallucinations. It was downright roasting outside but I’ve gotten pretty heat acclimatized so with plenty of water it was manageable. The last time I ran the Chinle Trail it snowed! I am hopeful that it won’t be quite this hot at Javelina. My legs were plenty dirty when I got home. (Still some lingering toe nail polish from when my girls painted them before the Bryce 100.)

On Friday’s 5 miler I decided I’d see how fast I could do the last mile. It ended up being 7:06. It’s been a long time since I tried to run a fast mile, but I’m sure that is the fasted mile I’ve run in at least a year.

Saturday morning I did 20 miles. The first 8 were on the roads around our house, including a complementary lovely sunrise.

Those 8 miles were accompanying my wife Mel. We ran past the grocery store with scents of freshly baked glazed donuts calling our name. Note to self: Bring money next time you run past the grocery store.

I finished the rest of my miles meandering around the base of Gooseberry Mesa.

I ran some trails that I hadn't been on in four months since the Zion 100. That brought back good memories of running this section with Shacky and Vanessa from www.vanessaruns.com.

I seriously love these desolate, dry desert trails.

Stay tuned - in a few days I'll be having a contest for some free entries into a "rad" race.