Solid Weekend

Got in 2 quality days on the trail.

(I love our trails!)

Started off Saturday morning with Joel on the BST. We had decided to make our way up Malan's for a little elevation and check out the trail. We hadn't plan to go to far but we saw some tracks in the fresh snow (yep it was snowing on May 1st) along with paw prints so we figured whoever was ahead we had to know. Who is crazy enough to be up that early running in the snow with a dog or 2? As we hit the overlook we saw- Cory, John, Matt and Brett with their dogs. We paused a bit to talk then we all took off down to the trail head. When we hit the BST we ran north back towards Rainbow and dropped Joel off and went out for a few more miles. When I finally split off the group to head back it started to really rain. By the time I hit the car I was soaked but man it felt good! 3 hours on the trail....

(Matt, Cory, Molly, John, Brett and Joel)

Sunday was a little rougher. I got up and boy was my body tired. I sure wasn't feeling like hitting the trail and since I was going solo I had nothing to make me go. I am glad I finally got out the door and I headed over to North Ogden Pass to hit the trail and go north. When I started I knew it would be a short run. My legs were heavy, sore and tired. I guess Saturday took its toll on me. I decided to go to the "2nd gate" which is a little over 2 miles and then head back. When I hit the gate I was still not feeling great but a friend told me -"training on tired legs is good for ya." Well, my legs were tired so I decided to go to the "3rd gate". After some running and a steep, short climb I hit the gate I talked myself to go to the next gate. I really started to feel better and running pretty strong. I charged the hills and did more coasting on the way down. I hot the "4th gate" and was turning around when I thought- "what the hell"- I took off to go a bit more to the next gate. On the way back I really pushed. I felt pretty good and could feel the heaviness in my legs but I was determined to push to the finish. When I got back to the car I looked at my watch and I turned in my fastest time for this section. SAA-WEET!
Man, it felt good to run so strong on tired legs. I am starting to think this is all paying off. I need to hit some long runs coming up to really get time on my feet but I feel more confident now that I ever have.
I am looking forward to a solid week!

Solid run

Last night I met Joel and Jim at Rainbow Gardens for a nice little trail run. We left Rainbow and went up to the BST. Good pace all the way to the fire road without stopping. If I would have been alone I would have yelled once I hit the top- legs were burning and pumped I didn't break stride. From there we hit the newest section on this side to keep us off the fire road. We had a real nice pace and when we turned around we picked up Tom Remkes and his dogs.
The way back had a pretty wicked little pace and we pushed the climbs and hammered the descents.
Legs felt great and I can feel things starting to click. Achilles is pretty much a non-issue from a performance standpoint. Still have a little bump back there (the Achilles).
Looking forward to a snowy run tonight.

Busy times.

Been a bit and trying to get back to it. I have put in some nice miles and feel pretty strong. Found a great new training run (for me) and getting out regularly. My race schedule is coming together just adding the Timp Trail Marathon, Pocatello 50 relay and maybe a couple more. With this I have been doing the Team PI-Smith site and stuff as well.
A big project underway is the Northern Utah Trail Series or N.U.T.S.. This has proven to be a huge task and about a 1-1 1/2 years worth of ideas and thoughts flowing into a month or 2 of start time. It has been an eye opening experience dealing with the USFS, County, City and other entities. The good news is we got permitted and are under way for the first race- BST Trail Half Marathon on July 17th. Registration will hope to open on May 1st.
I am hoping to stay on top of the blogging thing and balance everything else.
Side note, my wife Melony just registered for her 1st race! The Run with the Flock 5k TRAIL race on May 8th. Woo-Hoo!
Good Luck and have fun!!!!!

What is "Manjo?"

From Wikipedia
Mojo: (African American culture), a magical charm bag used in hoodoo.
: the sexual charm used by Austin Powers
: (comics)- a supervillian in various Marvel Comics publications
From Merriam-Webster
mojo: probably of African origin; akin to Fulani moco'o medicine man
: a magic spell, hex, or charm; broadly: magical powers- works his mojo on the tennis court

So here is some background on the word mojo
While I was running on Antelope Island for the Buffalo Run, I thought about race strategy and conversations I have had on the trail. I wanted to take chances and see what I could do at the end. "THE END"- well in every race you hear about people "digging down" to get a little more to make it to the finish for a win, a PR or just to be done. I always like to think I can always dig down and find a little somethin- somethin or "mojo".
During Buffalo Run I decided to make "mojo" my own. So I came up with "MANJO".
It will be my (Manners) magical powers or charm. It will be my own bag of hoodoo. Athletes, especially runners have mantra's so MANJO will be part of my mantra. When I need to find a little more I will rely on my "bag" of hoodoo or magical powers- let's face it, it isn't like Austin Powers, I have no sexual charm!

Buffalo Run 2010- report

What a great day on the island! Well I decided to drop down the 25k. I had to decide if I wanted to race/run a 25k or if I wanted to finish a 50k. I opted to see what I could do in the 25k. Since the last 2 weeks I didn't get good training in I wasn't sure what to expect on the course. On the drive out to the island I turned off the radio and phone and just thought in silence. The plan was to go out and just enjoy the day and see some old friends. Once I got to the start, the plan changed. I decided to push hard for the first 5 miles and see how I felt. Since this race starts and goes up gradually 600+ feet I immediately thought my plan was ruined. I just do not go up well at all. To my surprise I did alright and felt decent so I kept chugging along. My pace was comfortable but not too slow and as I settled into it I found it was easier than I thought. I hit the first aid station and was looking forward to the 2 mile downhill. I just let gravity take control and try to keep my fat butt upright. Worked again! Hit the bottom and knew the long switchbacks were in play. I opted to run this as much as I could knowing I had some miles to go after the climb was over. As I neared the top I got a pat on the back from a familiar face- Greg Norrander. Great guy and it gave me a little boost (thanks Greg). He was in the 50k and looking strong! When I got to the top, Jared Campbell (5ok) passed me and I decided to run with him for awhile until he dropped me at the next gradual climb. After that we hit a fun little single track that winds around, up and down until you hit Elephant again. Once there I thought I had an outside chance at my PR. This was my 5th year running the 25k and I remember my favorite ultra quote- "Take chances" (Brian Fisher). I thought- what the hell! After I left Elephant Head I was ready to redline it until I puked or passed out. I was hoping to pass out cause I hate puking. Running through the little valley and heading up the quick steep climb I knew from that point to the finish would test me. I can usually dig down and find some "manjo" (more on that later) to finish pretty strong. All I could think about was "Take Chances"! I felt if I pushed hard I really could get my PR. Well, I ran hard as I could and kept telling myself it would be over soon. As I headed down the to the finish I kept glancing at my watch and knew redlining may be cutting it close so I tried to find another gear. As I hit the fence line I heard some familiar voices as well as saw some smiling faces. I crossed in 2:31:26 which was my PR by over 3 minutes. Not huge but for a guy like me, it was pretty cool.
It felt good to run the race the way I did considering my poor training. I was there just in time to see my good friend Scott Jaime finish the 50 mile. Read about that HERE. As I was on my way over to some Buffalo Stew I saw Nick Clark who just set the CR for the 50k. Read about that HERE.
Meandering around the finish area I got to meet some new people and catch up with some old friends. Maybe this is why I run these races. I will rack this up to a very successful day on all fronts. Congrats to all who ran, volunteered and supported. A BIG thank you to RD Jim Skaggs- a great guy, great RD and good friend. Thanks for putting on such a great race. Once again the race received rave reviews all around. I recommend this race to anyone and everyone! It sure is attracting some solid runners and a large number to boot.
Read more about "manjo" is my next post and remember- Take Chances!

Buffalo Run 2010

The 2010 Buffalo Run is here. Always a fun early season race on a fun course. I signed up for the 50 mile but have been battling some little niggles over the past 3+ weeks. Haven't posted much since not much is going on. Definitely been running but groin and calf have been issues. Running on all the white stuff and its instability has caused the problems so I have spent a lot of time on the roads. I will drop down to either the 50k or 25k depending on the next 2 days.
During all this I have been working on the Northern Utah Trail Series and we FINALLY got approval. They gave us one for sure race to prove our worth and then more to follow.
So mark your calendars for July 17th! N.U.T.S. will be holding a trail half marathon on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail in Ogden. The course is beautiful and a first for our area.

Team Pearl Izumi-Smith Summit

Well after some mediocre training this past week, I am off to Colorado for the team summit. All the athletes and sponsors will be in Boulder for a couple days of product testing, design info, feedback, education, running, sharing a few beers and some stories of the trail but more importantly the Team "Balls of Fury" Table Tennis competition.
I am looking forward to spending some time with not only great athletes but amazing people. This will be my Disneyland trip!!!