Red Rock Zion in the books

My son Dane and I ran with a 12 person team called "The Fit, The Fat and The Elderly"  for the Red Rock Relay this past weekend.  It was a difficult relay but we made it through.  My legs totalled 21+ miles.  The total mileage for the relay was 187 miles.  Dane's legs were just over 19 miles.  Our team finished in the middle of the pack.  It took us nearly35 hours to complete.  We had fun during the down time and I really enjoyed the quality time spent with my son.  Thanks Dane!

First Triathlon Attempt

I participated in my first Triathlon this past weekend.  It was The Lunatic Triathlon in Price, Utah that I spoke of in an earlier post.  I got ready for it by swimming for an hour three days a week, running two and mixing the bike in sporadically. 

The race consisted of a 5k run, 9 mile bike ride and 300 meter swim.  I finished in 1:11 (One hour, eleven minutes.)  I felt great during and after the race.  I am going to work towards racing in a longer one in the future.  For a starter, this one was great!

I rode the bike portion on my old, heavy, Diamondback, mountain bike.  I did buy some "slick" tires for it, but in comparison to the road bikes I saw, it was real heavy.  May have to look at buying a lighter road bike if I am going to continue the triathlons.

RRR In the books!

Red Rock Relay in Moab was spectacular.  Even though I spent most of my childhood years in the area, I saw scenery I had never seen before.  It was a great day for running.  My first leg was in the Castle Valley area...a gradual, uphill, 3 mile run.  The weather at that point was a tolerable 60+ degrees.  ( The cooler the better as far as I'm concerned!)  The views were spectacular!  I couldn't take pics while running and all I had was my phone, but I did post a pic on my Facebook page if you are interested.  My second leg was an 8 mile, "melter!"  By the time I started my second leg, the sun was out and burning hot.  It was 80+ degrees by that point and was a total test of my mettle.  I made it but not without the help of some nice ladies who took pity on me and stopped every few miles to offer me the cooling comfort of sponges dipped in ice cold water.  They kept me going...I wish I could remember what team they were from but they definately won the sportsmanship award in my book!

Humbled

I have been so humbled these past few months.  It only took me two weeks to return to work after the surgery in October.   But it has taken me months to get to the point where I could run every day without pain.  Finally this last month or so I have been able to get back into the swing of things.  My dad, one of the only people who follows this BLOG, reminded me that I hadn't been very diligent in maintaining it.  So.....

I am participating in the RED ROCK RELAY in Moab this weekend.  It is a 70 plus mile race with a team of 6 runners.  It will be my first true test since the Cedar Mountain Half Marathon last September.

In June I am running a "sprint" triathalon in Price Utah.  As the name suggests it is a shorter version of a regular tri.  This one is a 300 yard swim, 20 mile (i think) bike ride and a 5k run.  Plenty long for this rookie!  I
t is called the Lunatic Triathalon because it starts at 10:00 PM.  Get it?  Luna...tic?  Should be fun.  Been swimming biking and running in preparation.

December Runs

I had a bad chest cold so I took awhile off.  It was a mistake.  I have really suffered from that.  I feel like I am starting from square one again.  I finally got off my butt and drug myself out the door today.  I was glad.  It was a nice day to run.  About 35 degrees.  Saw my friend "The Hawk" in his usual perch high up in the cottonwood tree near the alfalfa fields north of Enoch.  Seeing him made the day.  Took it easy and felt OK at the end of the 3 miles.

wpjammdta

Recovery

Well....I had the knee surgery on October 22.  It was a successful surgery and my knee felt better immediately.  I was back to work in two weeks.  I started running again that same day November 8th...slowly but surely.  I had missed nearly 6 weeks of running just because it hurt too much to run and my knee would "lock up" and I was unable to straighten it without causing more pain.

Today I ran my favorite Enoch 5K route.  It was the first time since I got back in the saddle that I felt good the whole way!  I finished in 32 minutes.  Cardio is coming back and the soreness is abating!  My weight stayed pretty good considering I really didn't do much while waiting for the surgery.  Right now I am at 213.  My goal is to get under 200 by April.  (That's when I have to pass the department PT test and we have our assessment for the Apple Wellness Program the city makes us do each year!)  I don't ever want to be back up around the 250 mark which is where I started in March of 2008 when I began running.