21 Miles

So, I did my last long run building up to the Ogden Marathon May 15. I get to taper down for the next 3 weeks. I had the bright idea to trail run the Bar M Loop twice, and then run down the old highway to the Colorado River. The loop is rolling, rocky, hilly trail, and it beat me up pretty good going through it twice. So, when I finally dropped down the old highway at Mile 16.5, I was butt tired. Nice 60 degree weather, though. The e-Gels seem to be working pretty good, and getting my electrolytes from those instead of sugary Gatorade seems to be working out well. I don't run a lot of miles each week (some marathoners run 50-100 miles a week in training), but I added up recent months of running, and I've run over 300 miles in training. Cool. Legs feel strong. Abs good. And I've fallen in love with ice buckets.

19 Mile Run with Dave

My brother Dave and I did a 19 mile run this past Saturday. We ran the Bar M Loop and then down the old highway past arches and down into Moab. We were beat! Last week it was about 45-50 degrees for my 17 miler. This week it was about 75-80 degrees in town. We've been using e-Gels for about 2 weeks now. They are an electrolyte gel with about 50 more calories per pack than a Gu. The plus side is I can just drink water instead of sugary Gatorade. I broke out the new shorts on this run. My first "track short" with high split sides. I LOVED them! I'm never looking back.

Led Astray

Brandi and I parked at Bar M and ran down the dirt track 1.5 miles. There were a few runners on the road and we passed a little aid station and mile markers. The runners had racing number bibs. It turns out there is a "Moab Marathon" and it was this last Saturday. Only 50 runners, and hardly anyone knows about it. We reached the fork where you turn east to continue the 8 mile Bar M Loop or continue south on the old highway trail down past Arches and back into Moab. Well, we turned east to run the loop, and there were some runners about a quarter mile behind us. I kept my eye on them as we ran because I was afraid they would follow us. They did. I had to run back and tell them to go back and take the other road. Easily led astray.

Dave and Erin are coming down this weekend. Dave and I are doing a 19 mile run if anyone wants to join us.

Running

So, I talked Brandi into running with me last fall. She did the Moab Winter Sun 10K in December, and then we ran the Canyonlands Half Marathon with my old high school buddy Jared Rogers and local friend Gery Wakefield in March. Brandi ran a 2:17, and I ran a 2:08. Slow and steady. We're training for the Ogden Marathon May 15. My bro Dave is going to join us. This will be my 4th consecutive Ogden Marathon.

Since the Half in March, my longest run has been 15 miles. Brandi dropped me off at Bar-M, and I ran the Bar-M Loop (8 miles) and then down the old highway, past Arches, and across the footbridge over the Colorado (another 7 miles). Last weekend I ran 10 miles in the farmland outside Moroni, Utah while my dad rode his bike along with me. Saturday, I've got a 17 miler planned. I love the weekly long runs. I usually do them on Saturday, and while they're tiring, it feels good to get home and eat a chocolate recovery shake and take a hot shower. I'm always tired the rest of the day, but a good feeling kind of tired. Like after hauling an elk out of the mountains or a long day hiking in the Grand Canyon.

I started doing ab work this week. Probably should have started sooner. To start, two sets of 50 sit ups for 100 total each night. Did 3 nights this week, and will probably add a fourth Saturday after the long run....maybe. After reading the book Born to Run recently, I got the itch to run an ultramarathon. The cool thing about these itches is, once I get it, I do it. It's also the bad thing. So, after reading up and talking around, I've circled the Pocatello 50 Mile Trail Run for May 2011 on my calendar. Registration opens January 1, 2011 if anyone wants to join me. I emailed the race director and asked him to include me on their reminder email list. Tonight was my first day of training for that race. I began a small whole-body workout and included step-ups because the Pocatello 50 has crazy mountains you run up and down. There are a million trails within a mile or two of our house here in Moab, so I'm going to start running out to those and hitting the trails for training over the next year. My goal is to, sometime this summer, do a 20 mile run up the La Sal Loop Road and up to the top of Geyser Pass.

So, it's cool having Brandi training with me. She doesn't like to run with me anymore, but it's been fun having someone working toward the same goal.