Cursed Realm of the Faceless Ghost

Half Pregnant Half Marathon

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Location:

Provo,UT,

Member Since:

Apr 07, 2010

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Other

Running Accomplishments:

5K - 17:11 (Cougar Run)

10K - 34:35 (Deseret News)

15K - 57:33 (Utah Running Club)

1/2 - 1:22:26 (Mountain View Trail)

50K - 4:22:31 (Sapper Joe)

Short-Term Running Goals:

Sub-2:45 at Saint George Marathon

Win the Antelope Island half marathon

Long-Term Running Goals:

I'd like to run the Angeles Crest 100 at some point. And I'd still like to go sub-4 at a trail 50k. Other than that, I'm open to suggestions.

https://www.strava.com/athletes/4808912

Personal:

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<iframe height='454' width='300' frameborder='0' allowtransparency='true' scrolling='no' src='https://www.strava.com/athletes/4808912/latest-rides/184689bbf831149f2053e60709730c07651232d3'></iframe>

I was a competitive cyclist for years. In 2009, after racing in the Tour of Utah, I decided I had plateaued as a cyclist--I could continue to improve, but I wouldn't break through to a new level. So, I started looking for a new challenge.


I thought that challenge would be mountain biking, but I'm a terrible bike handler. I married Catherine in January 2010 and a couple of weeks later I entered the SLTC Winter Training Series with her. A couple of weeks after that I decided I'd like to run ultras, so I signed up for a couple of 50Ks to get started.

Those first races came and went, with varying results. I was looking forward to running more and possibly pushing into the longer distances, but I injured my knee in June 2010 and I've never been consistently healthy since.

I started law school in August 2010, which meant less time for training. In June 2011, Baby Elliott was born, which meant even less time for training. But she's worth it. 

Baby Nora joined us in October 2013, with the same effect on training as Elliott (who, incidentally, is no longer a baby). 

I (finally) finished school in April 2014 and now I'm an evil corporate lawyer in Salt Lake. I have no illusions that I'll ever get back into the shape that I once was, but I'm perfectly at peace with that. I still have many goals to accomplish and many years in which to do it. 

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Race: Half Pregnant Half Marathon (13.4 Miles) 01:59:42, Place overall: 2
Total Distance
13.40

Oddly enough, I think this was my longest run since Quest for Kings, another one of Jun's creations. And it puts my total mileage for the week at 28, which I think is my highest mileage since the week of Quest for Kings. Do you know what I used to call 28-mile weeks? Recovery.

Anyway, yesterday Jun warned me that things could be sloppy today, and since yesterday was such a beautiful day and I never check weather reports, I had no idea what he was talking about. But when I woke up to drizzle and gloom this morning, not to mention snow on the mountains, I say what he meant and I almost decided to stay home.

Although I did decide to go, we got out the door a little late (funny how often that happens with a baby) and I had to skip breakfast. So at 9:30ish I found myself lining up for a 13-mile trail run having had nothing in the past 10 hours but a small glass of Dr. Pepper 10 and half a fun-size packet of Skittles. Smart.

Even smarter, when I left the house I didn't think to grab any water or gels. Fortunately, Jun had a spare handheld that he lent to me. Even more fortunately, there was a Hammer Gel in that handheld that I ate halfway through the race. (Don't worry, Jun--I'm good for it.) 

In an email yeterday Jun had mentioned that if the weather was bad enough we could all run the 10K option instead, so when the race actually started I dawdled long enough to ask him if anyone was going to run the half. I was hoping he would say no, because I didn't feel like running that far, but he didn't, so I felt obligated to go the whole distance.

I quickly caught up with and ran through most of the pack before settling into a lead group of two with Dragon Vulture. Once I realized it was him, I knew I wasn't going to win, because he actually trains. I like to call that cheating.

Anyway, we ran together and chatted for a few miles until somewhere near Corner Canyon, when I stopped to tie my shoes and lost contact with him. But I found him a couple of miles later, after he had apparently taken a wrong turn, and we ran up Canyon Hollow together.

There, like everywhere in Corner Canyon, the trails were a muddy, gooey mess, but even so we managed a respectable pace to the top. I had no desire to push things on the slippery, sloppy descent, however, and that's where DV lost me for good.

I kept expecting to blow up on the return trip, but instead I experienced more of  a slow fade. The climbs weren't feeling good to me, but I was able to run them all, so I just kept plugging along. Before I knew it (and after only one wrong turn) I was at the finish, and Catherine and Elliott were there waiting with hot chocolate and donuts. How cool is that?

Anyway, we headed over to Jun's house for the post-race barbecue, and that was it. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday.

 

 Oh yeah--I mentioned a while back that my 101s had blown out in the forefoot right before Speedgoat. Just before the race today I noticed that they had blown out in the heels, too, reducing them to nothing more than a pair of makeshift sandals (like the Tarahumara wear!), even though they only had 240 miles on them. They held up for the race, and when I got home they went straight to the trash. I liked running in them, but overall they turned out to be some pretty crappy shoes. Strange, because my 100s lasted over 500 miles and didn't die until I "accidentally" destroyed them with a mini-hacksaw.

MT101 Miles: 13.40
Weight: 0.00
Comments
From Dragonvulture on Sat, Nov 12, 2011 at 19:52:31 from 174.27.234.60

It was a fun race today. Thanks for the company, it was good to catch up. I guess I enjoy cheating all the time, and so do most other people on the blog. You should try "cheating" it makes racing more enjoyable.

From Dorsimus on Sun, Nov 13, 2011 at 11:31:10 from 74.37.184.247

Thanks for coming out! It was nice to see you for a minute off in the distance out in front. :) My 101'were similar, loved the shoe, but blew a hole in them at about 300 miles. You should give that whole 'training' thing a shot - you'd probably be a little faster. ;) Nice work, glad you had a good time.

From jsh on Mon, Nov 14, 2011 at 10:45:50 from 63.253.43.114

It was nice meeting you and having something to chase for the whole race. You kept me motivated to keep pushing.

From jun on Mon, Nov 14, 2011 at 10:59:33 from 205.158.160.209

"...he actually trains. I like to call that cheating."

Quote of the week, for sure. So glad you made it to the race and it was awesome to hang out at the BBQ. Thanks for making the effort to come.

From Scott Wesemann on Mon, Nov 14, 2011 at 14:39:54 from 205.158.160.209

Great report! I love your pre-race meal. I wish that would work for me.

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