Northbend to Vantage

Over the weekend I Paced Shawn at NB2V 108 miler. It had 3 (running) starters and 1 (running) finisher and some bikers.
See Shawn's (very long) blog for a play by play like no other.

I was originally going to run the whole race but because of many other things going on in my life, Other than running, and the 65 miles I did at Redmond last weekend, I opted to just pace Shawn from somewhere in the middle (basically during the night) to the finish.

After going to a 3 hour movie and eating a tub of popcorn, I met Tc at Tiger and we headed up to Cle Elum. We pulled up to an exuberant Shawn jumping up and down and waving her hands in the air like a sailors wife after a double tour of duty. ;D

I got Shela and myself ready as soon as I could and we were off. ... It was an interesting evening pacing Shawn. Her emotions went up and down more than the trail did. But in a good way.


She ended up being the only finisher, and she looked like she could have done another 30 miles easy.

Redmond Watershed 12 Hour

Short: 64.9 miles, 2ND place (under 40)

Long Version ...
Even though it's only 25 minutes to the start from my house, I carpooled to the race with Shawn. I figured that would keep us both there longer if things didn't go as planned. It was supposed to rain so I brought an extra pair of shoes and socks and a long sleeve shirt just in case. I wasn't to worried about the weather because the trees are so thick and the trail was really dry from the lack of rain.
We got to the start as planned with just over 1/2 hour to prepare. One of the volunteers had hand made some really nice hats. It's not my thing but Jenn loved it and maybe I'll get a few SPOF credits for it. ;)
My goals for the race were.
1. Win and defend my title. Well Sam Thompson and Brandon Sybrowsky had both signed up to run so I figured my chances were slim but I was going to lie down.
2. Run a 10 min. mile for 12 hours. This would give me 72 miles and the under 40 course record.
3. Get at least a 1 hour PR over last year(get to 59.5 mile in under 11:00).
4. Finish, no DNF (no quiting with more than ~12 minutes left)

I started off good, running my own race and not getting caught up in the fast pace of the competition. I found myself quickly alone. I was a little behind the 2nd pack and way ahead of any third pack that might have been back there. After the 1st lap which was around 51 minutes I was feeling great but I was tired of running alone so I decided to try to listen to some music. That kept my mind busy for a while. The 1st 26 miles just came and went. I was running about 6.3 mph and past by the marathon mark at 4:12 and then the 50k mark in about 5:03. Those are good times for me if that as far as I was going but I wasn't even to the 1/2 way point yet.
The sun came out and made for a great day not too hot not too cold. And the rain that came early in the day was more like a mist than a rain.
Some where on my 7th lap I started to slow down. There was about 10 or so miles there where I struggled. I wasn't eating or drinking much and it felt like if I did it would come back up anyway. I did manage to get in a GU per lap during that time which kept me from completely bonking. Laps 7(1:08 including a pit stop), 8(1:06), and 9(1:06) were all over an hour and were the lowest part of the race. My energy level was zero and emotional level was right behind it. (why am I here, etc.) I passed by 50 miles in 8:45, that's 14 minutes slower than Mt. Si. I had to do something to get out of this funk I was in, so I changed the station on my headphones. That seemed to bring me the rest of the way back to life because I did the last two big loops right at an hour each. Alex the overall winner and new course recorder holder of nearly 80 miles was the runner to pass me all day, but he did it twice!
On to the small loops. I would normally like the small loop better than the big one because of all the roots and rocks and sharp corners. But I was getting tired and there is a lot of the trail that slopes badly to the left and that really bugs my hips and I felt like if I ran faster I would just be tearing myself up. So I took it easy and did 8?(I think) small loops. And with about 10 minutes left I decided I had had enough.

Follow up:
Monday, Today my quads are completely trashed. I hammered the downhills for all 12 hours. Looking at my speed graph I was still hitting 8 mph on the downhills even in my 11th loop.
Other bloggers that were there: TC, Eric B., Kendall K.
Goals 1 and 2 failed
Goal #3 1:12 PR (1:12 left when I reach 59.5 miles)
Goal #4 Done.

Tacoma Marathon Review

The Tacoma Marathon is a very memorable marathon and not just because I ran it with my wife. It is one of the most visually interesting and diverse marathons I've run. There are new and old neighborhoods that range from pristine to run-down. Some that made you want to run faster (for your life) and even some that are historical and amazing. There are views of mountains and bridges and the ocean. You run through downtown and city parks and along the waterfront and even through some thick woods at the zoo. You run under bridges and over bridges and past bridges and even through a couple of tunnels. There were even a few places that made you want to stop and take in the view for a few minutes, but we didn't. One of Jenn's favorites was the water feature on the front of the Russell Investment building. I thought she was going to run over and start playing in it. I usually see about 5% of the volunteers looking like they are doing court mandated community service, but not on this marathon. Every single person that was involved in volunteering out on the course had a smile for us or something positive to say.

Happy Mothers Day / Tacoma Marathon

6:07 Congrats Jenn!!!



...Story to follow...

Random thoughts from Jenn ...
...I felt good until mile 9, then my toes felt like they were in a vice
...I really enjoyed how friendly and supportive the running community is.
...Everyone was FANTASTIC
...Flitting aches and pains in legs, and buttocks for the rest of the race
...Somehow, I missed mile 17. Went from 16 to 18, I felt like I was flying!
...I remember smiling alot - not sure why...but, I knew it was important
...I was completely impressed with the support of my husband - I know that he was having as much fun as I was, I wouldn't of done it alone and couldn't of asked for a better partner.
...I was determined to run the last 2 miles, but it was probably only a mile, maybe a mile and half.
...Came home and cursed at the flippin' ice bath.
...I really wanted a big hamburger - I don't think I've ever been so hungry and sick feeling at the same time!

We had to get up at 4:00 am to have enough time to drop the kids off at Granny's house and still make it to the early start time of 6:00 am. I think that was the hardest part of the whole day.
I really wasn't paying much attention to the course but it did have a lot of short hills. And a ton of great views.
Jenn was awesome. She didn't complain much and laughed at all my jokes regardless if they were funny or not. She says she is going to stick to 1/2's from now on but we'll see. I'll give her a week or so and then try to get her hooked.

My feet started to hurt after about 5 hours and I made sure she knew it was all her fault.;) Other than that not much to report.
I had a good workout at the Redmond Watershed on Saturday. Which I probably ran too hard and too fast.

Happy Birthday Nicolette

For a year and a half Nicolette has been waiting to turn 5 so she could ride on Dad's Warrior. We went around the block. I figured that was far enough for her first ride. She loved it.
With my dad in the hospital all week I only was able to fit in 15.5 miles, but they were all at a good pace. I cut my Saturday run 8 miles short because things just weren't feeling right. I guess the two 2 1/4 mile runs Tuesday and Thursday, on cement, were a little too fast.
On Saturday I finally saw some dear at Lake Youngs. It's been since last summer and I was starting to get worried. We saw 2 different pairs or 1 really fast and curious pair.

Update

NEWS FLASH >>> They just sent him home this morning Friday 5-4

My dad is up and walking around after his bypass surgery (4 grafts) on Tuesday morning May 1st. The surgery took less time than they thought and his recovery is ahead of the curve. He might be home in 2 days.

Profile of 12 summits (red) and Capitol Peak 55k (blue). Without any snow that Capitol Peak was way easier than 12 summits and now I see why. Of course that's just my opinion.