It’s time to revive this thing.

Training for Boston 2012 is now underway and I feel like I’m starting from a better place. Paces that felt hard last time towards the end of training are feeling reasonable and I’m feeling stronger. Motivation for weekend running is hard due to wanting to spend time with the kid, don’t tell her but she’s so cool. Some skiing posts are coming shortly.

This time I’m training with a bit more pace twice a week. I’m taking the concept of Yasso 800′s and turning them into Yasso 1200′s for a bit more strength. Trying to get the long runs back in the schedule, a good solid 16 this weekend (even though it was late in the evening) is where I’m at now.

Here goes. Can’t wait to see some friends in Hopkinton. A good friend who has been trying to qualify for a while got in. It’s gonna be a freakin’ party.

It’s odd, I can’t pinpoint any one thing that I miss, I have been remembering little things through the day though. The sound of his voice, oddly contradictory as it was deep and bear like but the most gentle sound at the same time. Watching his hand move faster than I could comprehend as he crocheted baby blanket after baby blanket for premature babies. The specific phrasing he always used to say grace before a meal.

I hate to relate any of this to running because it seems inconsequential to the loss of a loved one, but I wish I could send some of the strength it gives me to my family, in particular to my Grandmother who I can not even begin to imagine the pain she is going through. I want to take the pain she has and suffer through it mile per mile until there is none left. I want to give the strength that I have in my heart to everyone who’s heart is giving out on them. I can take it, I don’t need to be strong enough to run marathons even just to push harder or faster. I just want to take any of that weakness or pain put it on my shoulders, carry it, and run it off from everyone so they don’t have to feel the loss. I have an outlet, a release valve, let me use it.

Tomorrow will be a long run. It may snow…

I miss you Paul. Please watch over Grandma and give her your strength. I trust that you are in a better place…

I’m going to Boston. Qualified about a year ago now and was lucky/persistent enough to get into the crazy madness that was this year’s registration. 8 hours and 3 minutes after the 9:00 a.m. Eastern standard time opening of registration this year’s Boston Marathon was sold out. Last year it took 2 months to sell out. I feel so lucky that I’m going.

Boston does have  a certain mystique to it. It’s sort of hard to explain but I thing I read somewhere that it sort of comes from the phrase “Boston Qualifier.”  Standards are harder for the New York Marathon, but that’s not the point. Boston’s old, it’s got an incredible history. It’s amazing to think about the 15 people who first ran it way back in 1897. Boston’s got the whole quirky Monday race thing. It’s run on Patriots’ day, and has been on a Monday every year but 1968, that’s 113 Monday races. Last year was #114 and I can’t wait to cross the starting line in Hopkinton for #115. For the history buff’s out there… Boston Marathon History.

I’m fast but not an elite athlete by any possible stretch of the word so at least for me qualifying was indeed hard, and I did it with a 7 minute buffer. Boston’s 6 month training cycle officially starts on November 1st, and I can’t wait. I’ve got some base building going on now and some speedwork (some great tempo work lately has me feeling good about my fitness) happening but I know full well that I’m going to take things up a couple notches when November kicks in. I feel like I’m starting at a much faster/fitter place for this round than I was for Philly. The Provo Halloween Half Marathon is going to be my official kickoff fitness test.

A course map and elevation profile is hanging behind my work computer. My registration is tacked right beside it. To say that I’m excited would be an understatement.

Monday, April 18, 2011, you and I have a date…

Who knows what it’s gonna bring? PR? A picture perfect day? Fast running? Great camaraderie and encouragement along the course? Crazy fans through Wellesley? Pushing hard up Heartbreak Hill? Turning and burning whatever is left in the tanks down Boylston Street…

Official Boston Marathon website

City Creek - About mile 7&12

Getting back into the long run after a bit of time away from any “real” distance. I finished my first 18 miler this past weekend and found that it was really refreshing to be able to get out for just over two hours of solid running. I took the opportunity to run through one of my favorite canyons in the area, City Creek. It’s not as rugged or impressive as Little or Big Cottonwood from a sheer size perspective but the lack of any and all traffic, save for the occasional water treatment plant vehicle, makes it a spectacular place to train.

Running from home in Sugarhouse takes me through Liberty Park and straight up 600 East to the Avenues. I head up to 2nd Avenue and down to the start of Memory Grove. from there it’s a 5 mile steady climb to the water treatment plant at about mile nine. The road continues for an additional mile+ to Rotary Glen Park. The full City Creek Long run is somewhere in the 20-22 mile range. I need to break out a GPS soon to get a full measurement all the way to Rotary Glen as I can’t find the road on any of the online mapping software once it goes past the treatment plant.

This past weekend was a fantastic early autumn morning. It’s a bit late in the season for this kind of day but I’ll certainly take it and hope to get in another one of these beautiful days before fall really sets in and it gets ugly outside.

One of the best parts of running City Creek is hitting the top, turning around and feeling like you are flying back down the canyon as fast as you dare to go.

Not that I’m focused on Boston training or anything but I’ve been treating the short kicker of a hill at the end of 2nd Avenue as my “heartbreak hill.” On the way back to the house it’s at about mile 14-16 depending on how far up the canyon you go. It’s short, steep, and a good little reminder that you’ve been running downhill for 5+ miles.

I’m hoping to get in more quality long runs this training cycle to hopefully stave off some of the mile 18-22 fade that I had in Philly last year.

Time to get out and enjoy the long run, find some of the clarity that it brings from your mind letting go of everything.

My Route on dailymile.

So I hate terms like “long term test” etc. But this probably qualifies. I’ve had this thing for the better portion of a year now and to date it’s my favorite sleeveless running top. Fabric feels nice, and no chafing on longer-15+ mile runs…the cut is good for a skinny guy like me. I’ve got the small and it covers all the right places but doesn’t bind anywhere (Sorry Asics, I’ve got one of your sleeveless t’s as well and the collar is just way to freakin’ tight even for my little neck).

Especially for hot weather I normally train in white shirts and a white hat, don’t find the need to add any extra radiant heat if unnecessary, but this thing comes in black too and I’m tempted to pick up a couple others.

One of my favorite features is the cut of the collar, it’s basically a v-neck with a bit of material in between the v so you don’t feel like you are doing some sort of 80′s hairy chested manly man, but I digress. It makes the fit just right, snug but not too tight. I’m also not a fan of the skinny shouldered full blown racing singlet, if I need to go down to that level of heat avoidance, I’ll just take my shirt off…

It’s got all the standard stuff, nice soft wicking fabric, Sugoi calls it FinoTech. The tail end is slightly longer for common decency (crack kills). Nice classy and not overplayed logos that don’t scream out to people but get the job done. No tags to get itchy, and just a little bit of detailing that says I care but not enough to wear some completely matching outfit today.

I’m about 5’7″ and 140-145lbs. I’ve got a small and it fits well, not too snug, not too loose. I prefer something that is well fitted and can’t stand super baggy running clothes, but I don’t need to be sausaged into something either.

Oh, and I’ve taken it on several trail runs too and while I don’t make a habit of running into brushy things I haven’t found any snags on it yet so I’m inclined to say it’s got some longevity and durability in the outer fabric finish. Outside has a bit more of a woven quality, inside is much smoother and way soft.

So all things being equal, it’s a damn fine sleeveless running top. Covers what it needs to well. Wicks with the best of them. No chaffing on my tender bits. And all this for a very reasonable price…

Check it out over at www.sugoi.com

Anyway, on to the race…

I’m all for early race starts (read this as 7-8 a.m.) But a 5:30 start was way early. I inquired to the organizers and it’s due to the Utah Department of Transportation not wanting to close Provo Canyon for too long. There is a full marathon as well that starts an additional 13.1 miles up the canyon so I can understand this concern. That said, it is a point to point course so a 5:30 start means a 3:30-4:30 bus ride up to the starting line. On the good side, the kid has been training me for this sort of sleep deprived activity for 7 weeks now. When she got up at her normal 2 a.m. I just didn’t go back to bed, made a really strong latte, packed up a couple things and headed for the hour drive down to Provo from Salt Lake.

The bus ride was quite fun actually, it was nice to preview the course and see where the downs were, where the flats were, and where the ups were (Not a lot of up, mostly down, and a bit of flat.)

The race started a bit late, not too much though. First mile was good and fast, downhill and got caught up in a bit of the elite athlete pace, or at least watching their backs as the motored away. Top two finishers were split seconds apart at 5:02 per mile, umm, yeah, I can touch that pace for a couple 400 repeats but other than that I never see it.

First mile was downhill, followed by a short up somewhere between one and two. Definitely not steep, just a bit more sustained than I had originally expected. When the first hill started I passed a guy who had gone out way to hard and was slowing quite a bit.

Rain started to fall at about mile 2. And so did the downhill dash. Running Provo canyon was beautiful. By this time the “sun” was out, by which I mean it was light enough to see the surrounding canyon walls. It truly is an amazing canyon, sweeping rock walls, peaks around, and a couple happy waterfalls to run past. (The start is right near Bridal Veil Falls, a great ice climbing location in the area.)

I don’t know if I slowed or two others just had a better downhill pace than I did but I got temporarily caught by two runners somewhere in the 4ish mile range. The guy wasn’t very talkative but the girl was. I found out she was currently in 6th place of all female runners and tried to keep her truckin’ as long as I could. We joked about the rain a bit and it was good to have somebody to run with, I was alone from somewhere near mile 2 on. Towards the end of the canyon I found out she was shooting for somewhere around a 7:00 per mile pace, (we were at about 6:25-6-30 at that point.) I didn’t mean to scare her with telling her what pace she was at but when the race flattened out near the bottom of the canyon she fell off fairly quickly. I think she may have gotten passed in the final miles and finished 7th but I’m not sure. She had a cool crew of super fans who leapfrogged her along the course in their car (now those are good fans!)

The late middle miles are always my weak point. I’m good pacing the first half plus, and I can get it back for the final couple miles but those ones tucked in towards the later half are always hard for me mentally. In Philly I lost my time in the 19-22 range, this time it was in the 8-11 range. I caught up to a young kid, I think he was 16 and ran with him for a bit, tried to encourage as much as I could. I think he appreciated it and did what he could to push me too. We ran through about mile 10 together, after that he dropped off the pace a bit, I think he was having a couple stomach issues, mine would come a day later.

The later part of the race was down University Boulevard in Provo. Right past my Alma Mater’s rival stadium. It’s ok though, we got an invite to join the Pac-10 and they didn’t so I’ll leave it at that. Thanks to the local Police for taking care of traffic at a number of lights. More fans were starting to make their way out and brave the light mist that was falling at this point.

Last but not least was an overpass right around mile 12. This thing was short but really steep, just the thing to give the legs a lovely last wake the hell up call for the last mile. Just before the hill I got a flyby from the winner of the hand-cycle marathon. That dude was flying. Especially with the downhill canyon course.

Last mile just wrapped itself down and to the finish at the Provo Towne Center mall. I swear that the clock said 1:26:15 but I guess that was a couple feet before the line so I’m sure the chip time is correct. 1:26:19 chip time. Previous half marathon PR was 1:28:38 so it looks like I took 2:19 seconds off my previous from the Philadelphia Distance Run, I think it’s part of the Rock & Roll Series now.

Decent finishing area and was really happy that the massage tents were setup and going. My bag hadn’t been sorted yet so I got a quick leg massage to work out some of the funk, those guys are amazing.

Once I got my bag and put on dry clothes I hung around a bit but was anxious to get back to the wife and little one. Also I noticed that my teeth were chattering a bit from the rain and cold during the race, so I went to the car and headed home. If I would have known I won 3rd in my age group I might have hung around a bit longer for the award. I get to pick it up this weekend, so cool (and unexpected).

Much thanks as always to the volunteers along the race. They are the unsung heros and can’t ever be thanked enough. Next race thank your water cup provider as you pass, it won’t cost you much time.

So long story short this is the first race of many now that I’m a father. I love being able to think of my daughter when my legs are burning and try to be strong for her. I’m encouraged by my finish and know that I’ve got more potential in there. I’m also encouraged that I’ve found at least some balance with trying to take care of the little one and still staying active and training.

Good race. Fun times. We’ll see about next year. That start time is just so bloody early…

In full embrace of my impending role as father I’m selling my fixie, and clearing out a couple other frames and parts I don’t use and getting a Kona Ute…

Funny part is I’m jazzed about it. I’ll be using it as my new commuter bike, and starting to entertain the notion of being a 1.5 car family. I don’t think we’ll ever truly get rid of the 2nd car, there are times when it becomes quite handy. But hey, we can dream of becoming totally eco happy and reducing our carbon footprint at least a little.

Between the Kona and a Big Dummy I had to go with the Ute, I do wish the Ute had more pre-made accessories but the cost of the Big Dummy by comparison just didn’t seem worth it. I’m sure I’ll get an additional giant side bag for it and have begun doing research into a kid seat for the back that will work with the rack width. I think I’ve found a couple that will work.

Check out the Kona Ute flickr group. I love the mount somebody made for a case of beer, that thing’s just cool.

The wife and I live in a very bike-able community with a couple grocery stores in a mile radius, a bunch of little restaurants, coffee shops, and I work just under 4 miles from the house. So the big shift is going to be getting to the point where it’s easier and or quicker to just bike to the grocery store than it is to hop in the car. We’ll see if this helps.

Can’t wait to start riding around Sugarhouse with the little one it tow. I’m thinking this is going to be a good thing. I’m embracing my minivan version of a bike…

I’ll make sure to do a full review with lots of photos etc once I’ve got the bike in my grubby little hands…

Snowbird Annual Trip 2010 from Peter Esko on Vimeo.

The order on the video is Dave, Nick, yours truly in the green jacket, and then Dave again. Sadly not a lot of footage and I’m now regretting not at least making an attempt at hucking the little cliff in the start of my video but oh well.

I had a pass there for many many years…and the place still feels like home. Solitude is getting there but the Bird still feels smoother, like I know where I’m going and where to find good snow all the time. I still get a bit lost in the trees at Solitude from time to time.

Photo taken by Nick Campbell with his iPhone App Cross Process

The past couple weeks I’ve been using the Sugoi Helium Jacket on a number of my lunch runs. I dig it, here’s why.

1. It’s light, really really light. I’m a weight weenie, and my obsession with light weight gear has transfered from cycling to running. My road racing shoes weigh 5.5 oz. Nobody really needs to know that kind of stuff. This thing clocks in at less than 100g or 3oz according to the Sugoi site. I’ve not done any independent weigh ins but I’ll confirm that it is way light.

2. Small is really a small. I’m not a big guy, and sizing is always a bit of an issue as frequently size small stuff just isn’t all that small. Sort of makes me wonder just what an xl would be. But the fit is nice, arm lenght is correct. It doesn’t bunch up or ride up when running. I’m guessing the same would hold true if I’m on a bike but I haven’t tried that out yet.

3. I don’t like wind, this helps. When I run I would personally be a bit on the warm side rather than chilled. Wind cuts right through me and makes a good run less than thrilling…This cuts wind out of the equation and I don’t suffer any weight penalties for doing so. (See point #1)

Minor gripes, it could be a bit more breathable, possibly a couple more of the perforated holes at the bottom of the cuff heading up towards the wrist. On the other hand, this thing is so light that it can’t be everything. I think it was Keith Bontrager who said, “Cheap, Light, Strong. Choose two.” As with any piece of gear there are use considerations, and trade-offs. This is one of them. I’ve heard a couple other reviews that the cuff’s are a bit tight, I would agree. Not overly so but just considerably snug, my hands sort of pop through, and it always reverses the sleeves when I take the jacket off after use.

All in all I would highly recommend this as a wind piece for those who want a bit more protection than just a long sleeve training top and don’t like wind cutting through them. It’s so crazy light that you rarely ever notice you are wearing it. Which is normally one of the best endorsements a piece of gear can receive. I’m tempted to pick up the vest too so that I can extend my use of this kind of piece a bit further in to Spring when it comes.

Side note, all photos were taken with my friend’s iPhone App, Shake It Photo. He’s got a new one out soon too…give it a look.

So yeah, am I a little disapointed? Yes. Was it a great learning experience for me after focusing on longer distance races? Yes.

What I think I need to do now is get used to the efforts involved in shorter races, I think the 10k and 15k will be more inline with my strengths at the current time, more fast tempo work than a super-fast hard burn at sub 6 minute miles.

It’s funny how frustrations manifest themselves. I had a lunch run record of 56:17 for 9 miles on the Monday after the race. Subconsciously I knew that I hadn’t run that hard, and needed something to push on. Seemed to work, I felt great after that run and have been pleased with training since.

Two weeks till the 10k, well more like one and a half now. I’m thinking of modifying my goal to 38:30ish instead of 39 minutes. We’ll see how it goes and I’m gonna be sure to leave less in the tank at the end.

Also as a side note, 28 degrees is too cold not to wear gloves, my hands were freakin’ freezing during the race, the rest was fine but boy howdy were they cold. I figured a short hard race would be fine but that was not the case. Maybe I can blame my lack of focus on my hands. Nah, that seems like an excuse…just gotta run harder next time. And wear gloves…

Cheers to all the volunteers and the club for putting on the race and the series. It makes for a nice bit of winter running motivation to have something to train for on the horizon. Complacency is a horrible thing, or something to that extent…

Oh, and thanks to Noble Sports for the photos.