Gonna Fly Now

20 easy miles today. Started out at Highland High School, ran and out-n-back along 1500 E to 900 S, then two loops around Sugarhouse Park. After the park I met up with Locomotion and did 14ish miles along 2700 East, followed by a loop around the grass track at Sugarhouse Park.

I felt pretty good over the entire run, but my left knee was starting to ache a little in the IT band at the end of the run.

 

Took a fairly bad fall skiing at Deer Valley today. I hit a patch of ice, and just couldn't dig in edges in. I ended up tweaking my left knee (feels like my IT band), so I'm guess I have to take some time off from running. Bleh.

Ran for the first time since hurting my knee at Deer Valley. I didn't take my watch or GPS, but I finished in around 33 minutes. So, I was kinda pushing it for my first time back.

Felt great after the run, and went down to Eastern Utah to do some hiking around the San Rafael Swell.

 

Ran to and from the gym. Mostly just an easy warm-up and cool down around my workout.

Ran "Hill Kills" with other members of Locomotion.

Ran 16 some odd miles with Locomotion today. This was my first long run since hurting my knee skiing at Deer Valley. My knee got a little tight towards the end, but otherwise felt fine. I was also happy to be running in shorts - I'm just not a big fan of tights.

About 3.5 of my miles were done at a 7:15ish/mile pace.


 

Nice early morning run on the icy streets and sidewalks in Sugarhouse and Millcreek. I didn't take my GPS or even a wrist watch, so I don't have any splits. But, according to the clock on my stove I was gone for about 50 minutes, including a short cool down walk. So, I must have been moving pretty well.

I've taken so much time off from running that I'm starting to feel side cramps again while I run. I hope to get over that soon because I have a long run scheduled down in Moab this weekend.
 

Ran to the gym and back again today. Worked out with my trainer for about an hour between runs, so the return run was really more of a cool down.

Ran in the Moab Red Hot 50K+. The "+" is because it was actually longer than 50K - it was more like 54.7K (34 miles).

 The race started at  8:00 AM at the Gemini Bridges trailhead, ran along Little Canyon Rim Road and Metalmasher, before heading back onto Gemini Bridges to the Gold Bar Rim Trail, Gold Spike, and the Poison Spider Trail. About 14 of the miles were run on the uneven slickrock, and the rest was a combination of loose sand and packed jeep trails.

As usual, I started out too fast, running the first couple of miles just behind the front of the pack. I saw all of the usual ultrarunning suspects: Dave Hunt, Brian Beckstead, Phil Lowry, and met a few others from the Boulder, CO area. Knowing that I was aiming for a 5.5 or 6 hour finish I figured I should slow down my pace. Just after aid station 1 I met up with Dave Hunt and he was nice enough to let me run with him for a few miles while we climbed up to the Canyon Rim Overlook (mile 10). Dave talked to me about ultrarunning, gave me a few training tips, and chatted with me until we finished the uphill climb. When we got to the top of the climb I fell back a bit to conserve energy and look out at Arches National Park from our viewpoint on top of the Metal Masher trail.

Since David had left me behind at aid station 2, I was on my own and running on a combination of slick rock and sand. My left knee, which I injured skiing about a month ago, was starting to ache, so I slowed down my pace until I got to the third aid station. I filled my water bottle, grabbed a couple of PB&J sandwiches and took off.

With my knee aching I decided to start a combination of running and walking, especially on the downhill sections. After about a mile and a half of downhill (and dodging ATVs) I turned off the Gemini Bridges trail, and onto the Gold Bar Rim Trail. The Gold Bar Rim Trail is primarily known for jeeping and mountain biking, not running. That became very apparent as I scrambled up uneven slickrock faces and navigated the course.

Let me tell you about running on slickrock. It's hard. Really hard. And not just "hard" like difficult to do, but "hard" like running on a very hard surface, like a sidewalk. There's absolutely no give, and it just pounds your body with every step. You have to watch every footfall, and keep an eye out for what's coming up, because the terrain is very uneven, and the next step could be down a small hole, or up and over a rock band. Tripping and rolling your ankles wasn't uncommon.

The constant pounding was really starting to take it's toll on my body. My left knee and lower back were killing me, I kept looking for places to sit down and stretch, but I knew if I stopped I would have a hard time getting back up. It was only four miles between aid stations 3 and 4, but it was taking a very long time to get there, I wasn't running at all, just walking. I was in pain, and thought I might have to drop out.

Finally, I got to Aid Station 4, and just in time because my water bottle was nearly empty. I shuffled up the rock face to refill my bottle, and sat down to watch other runners come in. As I sat there, I contemplated dropping, but hated the idea of hitching a ride to the finish, so I sucked it up, and continued on. The cold water from the Aid Station helped a bit, and I started running again, but the downhill slickrock was still pounding my lower back, and I was feeling pain in my knee for nearly every step. Other runners would pass me and give me encouragement, but I was wasted.

The trail map made it look like the leg between Aid Stations 3 and 4 would be a flat, or mostly downhill run, but it turned out to be series of short, steep uphill climbs. It was until I I got to Bootlegger Canyon, that it started to head downhill, and it transitioned onto dirt. The soft dirt gave me a little extra spring in my step (quite literally), and I started running again. I was starting to feel pretty good until I got out of the canyon, and hit another stretch of slickrock. I decided to sit down and stretch a little bit before carrying on.

The stretching didn't really help, but I could see that there was shade and dirt ahead, so I started off again. At this point I was running on the Gold Spike trail, and it was flatter and more even than the Gold Bar Rim Trail, but it was still slickrock. Thoughts again turned to dropping out at Aid Station 5, but then I came up on a rim and could see all the way out past the Behind The Rocks Wilderness area and to the La Sal Mountains, and it gave me strength to continue. I kept up my walk/run pace for the last couple of miles of the leg until I finally saw the last aid station. I ran up a small crest to the aid station, and downed nearly half a water bottle before sitting down for a few minutes.

As I sat at the aid station I asked a volunteer for the time, "Exactly 2:00" she said. I couldn't believe it - I was hoping to be done in about six hours, but I still had six miles to go. By now I was determined to finish, so I took off again with another runner, and we climbed up a few slickrock faces until we got the Poison Spider Trail.

Dirt! The trail was dirt! I was in love, and I took off, the pain in my back and knee was gone as I ran on the soft, forgiving dirt. It felt good, so I kept what felt like a fast pace, and started heading down the trail. I was starting to pass other runners that had passed me on the slickrock section; we would shout encouragement to each other as we pressed on. Soon I was starting to pass hikers who were coming up from the finish line - I knew I was almost there. Running down the switchbacks the Colorado River came into view, and I started to have thoughts about jumping into it's blue water and cooling my body down. I kept running, and I came out onto a flat section of trail. "Just a mile to go I told myself" and I started around a bend, but then I heard someone shout my name "It's Lander!". It was Lissa, and she was waiting for me at the finish line! I was there!

Just an easyish run around the neighborhood to see how I felt after last Saturday's 50K. Turns out I feel pretty good - I even pushed the pace a little. (I didn't take my GPS though, so I don't know my splits, or even my total time). My left knee is feeling fine, but right knee is a little achy. Probably because I favored my left so much on Saturday.

Bookend runs around my cross training at the gym. I took a different route to the gym that ended up being about 3.1 miles, and ran the normal 1.8 miles home.

I'm feeling a little tenderness along the inside of my right shin. It hurts when I press on it (or when my dog decides to sit on it. A 62 pound dog that thinks he's a lap dog...sheesh), but it generally feels fine when I'm walking and running. I figure this is just residual soreness from my giant run last Saturday, but maybe it's time for new shoes.

 

Liberty Park: Outer Loop

 First sustained run since my ACL surgery on 03/30/2007. My left knee was a little achy, but it subsided after I stopped running.

The Army Reserve was doing their 2 mile PT at the same time as my run. It's a little sad that I can outrun our armed forces when I haven't run a step in over two months.
 

Ran to 15th and 15th and back, added a loop through "Christmas Street" to bring up the mileage a little.

Left knee is still achy, and I was feeling some pain through my hamstring. The hamstring pain is related to the bruising I sustained during stretching at physical therapy, but my therapist said it's not unusual, and no reason why I should cut back on my activity levels.

I thought I would be able to jump back into 4 or 5 mile runs when I got my feet back under me, but it turns out that two months of relative inactivity sure leave you out of shape. I was huffing and puffing around the mile mark, and started to get some minor side cramps near the end of my run. I know it won't take long to get back into running shape, but it sure is discouraging right now.

 

Sugarhouse Park Loop (1x)

Still trying to get my feet under me. My surgically repair knee is feeling decent, although I'm getting some tightness in my kneecap and a little soreness around my bruised hamstring. Fortunately, it's not unbearable, just a little uncomfortable.

Running the hills at Sugarhouse Park was a little bit of a challenge. Uphill wasn't too much of an issue, but downhill was more difficult. The additional strain that's being put on my kneecap makes it hard to maintain a decent stride. I figure it's just something I need to work through, and that it will be get better as my leg gets stronger.

GPS output:
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/2952317



 

Neighborhood Meanadering

Two miles shouldn't be this hard! My gait (and knee) are starting to feel a little better, but I'm still having some difficulty with my left hamstring. I get little twinges of pain here and there when I try to push out to my natural stride. I feel like I'm really favoring my left side - maybe I should ask someone to watch me run and give me feedback.

Here's the ol' GPS output:
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/2963251

 

Tough day to run. Went about two miles, but got really winded around mile 1.5. I probably ran the first mile too fast, 7:24 pace. (I wasn't trying to run that fast, it just happened.)

Near my house I lengthened my stride to pass over a puddle, and really felt it in my left hamstring. For the rest of the run I could feel a little bit of pain behind my knee, but nothing that made me think about stopping. I see my physical therapist tomorrow, so I'll have him take a look at my leg and see if any adjustments need to be made.

Tomorrow I'm going to try to push it up to about 2.5 miles. I'm going to try to program my watch to beep when I'm running too fast (faster than 7:45/mile) so that I keep my pace down.

GPS output:
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/2996335
 

2.6 miles up (and down) 1500 East. This is a nice rolling course that offered me some downhill sections to test my range of motion and leg extension. I think my gait is starting to get back to normal (or else I'm getting used to my compromised gait!) and I didn't feel too much pain in my hamstring today. My kneecap still feels a bit tight during and after my run, but doing some mobilization exercises really helps to alleviate the condition.

I didn't see as many runners as I thought I would today. It must be a rest day for everyone else.

GPS Output:
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/3004792

Oh yeah: so much for trying to keep my pace down. Somehow I managed to run the second mile in 7:19. I really need to work on keeping a more manageable pace. I tried to slow down when I saw how quickly I was running, but it didn't last very long.

Today was the best run I've had since I've been cleared to run on the street again. No hamstring pain, and only a little bit of tightness in my kneecap. I mixed up the run with about 1.5 miles on the street and 1.5 miles on the grass loop around Sugar House Park. The downhill sections at SH Park were a little difficult, but not overly taxing.

I managed to slow down a bit (my first mile was over 8 minutes!) so I didn't feel quite as dead when I finished. But, then I was disappointed to see that my average pace was over 7:45/mile. I know, I know...I've gotta choose to slow down before I can be fast again (at least over "long" distances) but it's hard to back off.

Things are definitely coming back.

GPS Output:
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/3024420

Ran from the City Creek gates to the water treatment plant, and back. My longest run since the ACL surgery, and probably my easiest. I started out fairly slow running with some friends from <A href="http://www.runloco.com/">Locomotion</a>, but picked up the pace a bit after the first mile as I climbed up the canyon. I had to take a brief walking break on one hill, but that wasn't unexpected.

I had only intended to run 3ish miles today, but I had forgotten how far it is to the water treatment plant. I was starting to get a little nervous when I saw the 2 mile marker, and considered turning around, but decided to push through and see how my knee reacts. Apart from a little soreness on the outside of my leg I didn't have any problems. My hamstring didn't even bother me.

No GPS data today - my watch battery was dead when I got to the run.

Ran one of my normal neighborhood routes - had some uphill, some flats, some downhill, but nothing too extreme. My left knee and hamstring are feeling much better, I'm not experiencing any pain while I running except for the occasional step where my knee hyper extends (uneven curbs, potholes, etc).

My endurance is getting a tad better, but it could be greatly improved. I would love to be back to the point where I can run 3-4 miles without getting terribly winded. I know it will come, but it sure seems slow.

GPS Output:
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/3063349
 

I've been lazy lately. This was my first run in about a week, and it sure felt like it. My left knee and hamstring were pretty tight. I really need to get back into running shape.

GPS output:
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/3255772
 

After yesterday's aborted run (I made it about half a block before I decided my knee wasn't feeling right) I almost didn't go out this morning. But, I managed to drag my lazy butt out of bed and hit the street.

The run felt pretty good. My plan was to run 1500 East to 900 South and turn around. Once I got to 900 South I decided I didn't want to backtrack, so I ran up 900 S for a few blocks, and wandered through the neighborhoods until I hit 1900 East, which I followed all the way out to 2100 South, and then home.

My GPS was dead, so I ran au naturale, no electronics. I did trace out my route using Gmap-Pedometer when I got to work though:
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1127896

I actually did two runs this morning of 1.8 miles each. The first was around 5:45 AM on my way up to the gym, where my personal trainer attempted to kill me. The second run was home after my workout. Even though the run home is all downhill it felt slow and difficult because of the aforementioned attempted murder.

I need to get new shoes - I'm starting to feel pain on the inside of my legs around my shins, which causes my stride to get thrown off. Unfortunately, this is my last pair of my beloved Mizuno WaveCreation 7s, so I guess I'll have to find another pair of shoes that work for me.