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Logan Peak Trail Run

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Location:

Fort Collins,CO,

Member Since:

May 15, 2003

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Local Elite

Running Accomplishments:

Unaided PR's:
5K: 14:48 (Track - 2001)
10K: 30:45 (Track - 2001)
10K: 31:32 (Bolder Boulder - 2013)
Half Marathon: 1:06:09 (Duluth - 2013)
Marathon: 2:17:54 (Grandma's) - 2014)
Marathon: 2:19:47 (Indianapolis Monumental - 2013)
Marathon: 2:19:49 (Indianapolis Monumental - 2010)

Aided PR's:
10K: 29:38 (Des News - 2011)
Half Marathon: 1:05:30 (TOU Half - 2011)
Marathon: 2:18:09 (St George - 2007)
Marathon: 2:17:35 (Boston - 2011)

Short-Term Running Goals:

Diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis in June of 2008. Started taking Enbrel in March, 2009.

Run as much as I can, and race as well as I can. Make the most of however much time I have left as an able-bodied runner.

Training for the 2018 Colorado Marathon

Long-Term Running Goals:

  Run until I'm old, and then run some more. Stand tall.

Personal:

1 wife, 2 kids. 1 cat. Work as a GIS Specialist/Map Geek

Endure and persist; this pain will turn to your good. - Ovid

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. - Romans 5:1-5

 

 

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Saucony Trail Shoe Lifetime Miles: 247.50
Hoka Clifton Lifetime Miles: 491.50
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Saucony Kinvara 6 Lifetime Miles: 433.50
Saucony Kinvara 6-2 Lifetime Miles: 358.75
Brooks Pure Connect Blue Lifetime Miles: 337.25
New Balance Trainers Lifetime Miles: 314.50
New Balance 1400 Racers Lifetime Miles: 65.00
Brook Pureflow Lifetime Miles: 99.50
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
79.500.002.500.500.0082.50
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
0.500.000.000.000.000.50

Jogged a block with the dog to loosen up a little. My quads are a bit sore from the last downhill leg of WBR, but not too bad. Definitely tired though.

Add Comment
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
12.500.000.000.000.0012.50

AM - easy 7-mile recovery run on canal trail loop. Quads still a little sore, and hamstrings were very tight. SI is sore too. I think it's about time to start paying my massage therapist some more visits to see if I can kick this chronic SI issue. 8:02/mile aveage pace.

(Adrenaline black: 549 miles)

PM - easy 5.5-mile recovery run on the landfill loop. Didn't wear watch.

(Adrenaline orange:  379 miles)

Comments(2)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
12.000.000.000.000.0012.00

Started my run around 11:30AM, so temps were getting a little warm, but still pretty nice. I ran out to the start of the River Trail single track and back, via the Canal Trail. First couple miles were around 7:15, but then I started to pick it up a little and started working the uphill section of the River Trail. I probably got in 4-5 miles at Tinman tempo effort, including a couple sub-6's on the downhill. I tried to keep it pretty relaxed and mellow though, as my legs are still a little tired from the relay. Did 4x100m strides on the way back. Average pace for run was 6:48/mile.

Tomorrow I fly out to Montrose, CO for  a couple nights for a meeting. I should have plenty of spare time to run, so am looking forward to that. 

(Adrenaline blue: 192 miles)

Comments(5)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
13.000.000.000.000.0013.00

AM - ran from my house up to Dry Canyon, and then a mile up the Dry Canyon trail. Quite a bit of climbing; 1500' in 4 miles. On Saturday I am doing the Logan Peak Trail Run, which goes up the Dry Canyon trail (among others), and has over 7000' up cumulative gain/loss over 25 miles. It will be challenging, but I also intend to walk much of it, and am doing it "just for fun" and to support our local trail scene. Today's run was kind of a prep for Saturday and to see what sort of pace I can do up Dry Canyon comfortably. The answer is: about 11:00/mile pace.

On the way back down, I ran into my friend Kelly, who is the race director. She and some volunteers were lugging up water to the 4-mile mark, which is the 1st and 4th aid station. Aid stations for single-track trail races definitely take a lot more work! Chatted with Kelly for awhile, and then continued my run back down the bench and into the netherworlds of Inner Logan.

8:13/mile average pace for entire run.

(Adrenaline orange: 388 miles)

PM - ran aimlessly through random streets in Montrose, CO. 7:08/mile average pace.

(Adrenaline blue: 197 miles)

Comments(2)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
9.000.002.500.500.0012.00

AM running in Montrose. I had a CV fartlek scheduled for today and decided to give it a shot. I warmed up for a couple miles, heading east, at about 7:15/mile pace. Then I wanted to do a mile at tinman tempo pace to prime my body before the fartlek. However, all I could do was 6:40 for that mile. I figured it might have been due to a slight headwind, the higher elevation (6000'), and not being awake yet. I started the fartlek, and all I could do was hold 5:43/mile pace for 2 minutes, then I quit. Took a 1:30 break and decided to try again. 6:03/mile pace for two minutes, then I went anaerobic. Quit again. I decided to turn around to see if I'd have better luck. Turned around and saw the city of Montrose several hundred feet below me. The problem was that I was going uphill (about 100'/mile)! It was such a steady incline, I just didn't notice, other than pace. And the headwind didn't help either. Now with a decline and a tailwind I was able to really get going. 4 minutes hard at 5:12/mile pace (0.77 miles). 2.5 minutes recovery. 4 minutes hard at 5:07/mile pace (0.79 miles). 2.5 minutes recovery. 4 minutes hard at 5:04/mile pace (0.79 miles). Ran a few miles easy and then found a large grassy park. Here I decided to take my shoes off and do 4 strider repeats in the grass. They were all about 32 seconds, but start and stop point was not constant. According to the garmin, my pace splits were 4:31/mile, 4:08/mile, 4:15/mile, and 3:57/mile. So the equivalent of running 200's in 31s or so. I'm not sure how accurate the garmin is at those short distances though.

(1120: 12 miles --yeah, new shoes!

Comments(2)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
6.000.000.000.000.006.00

Easy 6-mile run in Montrose. It was a warm morning with strong winds out of the east (again). Needless to say, I preferred running west! 7:27/mile average pace. Logan Peak 25-miler tomorrow...

(Adrenaline blue: 203 miles)

Comments(1)
Race: Logan Peak Trail Run (26.5 Miles) 05:29:37, Place overall: 5
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
26.500.000.000.000.0026.50

This morning I did my first trail race: the Logan Peak Trail Run. It is a 25-mile semi-loop up in the Bear River Range in Logan. Actually, it was more like 26.5 miles, but whatever. Start elevatoin is about 5000'. Max elevation (Logan Peak) is about 9700'. Total elevation gain/loss is around 7200'. Course map is here. Course profile is here.

The race started at 6:30AM from a park up in the Logan Cliffside neighborhood. I have never been to this park because I am not rich enough. There were 27 runners, which was a good turnout, because the race director's goal was only 20 for this first year. But several of the participants were seasoned, decorated trail runners, so I knew stealing a win would be out of the question, especially since I wanted this race to be a "fun run". Cody and I were planning on running the entire race together, and I was looking forward to the trail, the scenery, and the company.

Start to Mile 4.5 -The first part of the course leaves the park and hits the Bonneville Shoreline Trail. There were some immediate rolling hills. Cody and I found ourselves in 4th or 5th place by the time we departed the BST at the mouth of Dry Canyon, around Mile 1. At Dry Canyon, the race really begins, as there is non-stop climbing to Mile 4.5 on rocky single-track.

We started ascending Dry Canyon and caught a few people. However, we would get passed whenever I stopped to take pictures. It was a slow grinding climb (3000' in 3.5 miles), and we were glad to see the first aid station. Mmmm...trail mix and pretzels. Mile splits were first 4 miles were 9:45, 12:31, 14:41, 16:02. This includes stops, as I wouldn't stop my watch when we took breaks.

Mile 4.5 to Mile 11 - After departing the aid station, the course turned off of Dry Canyon and onto the south portion of the Syncline Trail. Finally, we got some relief from the constant uphill. Terrain was variable - flat, up, down. But in general, this portion of the race was really nice. I had never been on this trail, and was treated to some good views of the Cache Valley and Providence Canyon. We were holding steady somewhere near the Top 5 for position. After a couple miles of single-track, we got on the Welches Flat jeep trail, which wraps around the north side of Providence Canyon. Around Mile 10 we were spat out at the top of Providence Canyon, above the old rock quarry. Terrain was still quite variable, but there was a lot of uphill that we were walking. Once again, we were quite glad to see the second aid station, near Mile 11. This station had even better food, and we took a 5-minute siesta where we focused on cramming food down our mouths.

Mile splits for this stretch were 16:50 (includes stop at first aid station), 9:05, 7:59, 13:55, 10:09, 14:23, 16:45 (includes stop at second aid station). I accidently stopped my watch at the first aid station and didn't realize it until 0.6 miles into this segment, so that threw things off a little.

Mile 11 to Mile 16 - This segment was an out-and-back to the namesake of the race: Logan Peak. We faced a 1000 overall vertical ft climb in 2.5 miles to reach our destination, which for all intents and purposes served as the halfway point of the race. As usual, we were walking the uphills, and running the best we could on the flat and downhill parts. The hardest thing was that we could see Logan Peak the entire time (big radio towers), we had to circumvent a ridge to get up on it first. I was planning on doing the Rocky thing at the very top of Logan Peak, but after the final quarter mile shuffle up to it, I didn't have the energy to jump around, make jabbing motions, and yell "Yeah! Yeah!". Instead I just filled up my water, ate a Gu, and talked to the volunteers. Several people passed Cody and I up here, since we were once again eating, chatting, and taking pictures. Everyone else seemed focused on running or something.

Finally, we started back down Logan Peak, back to aid station #2. We passed back several people, and also got to see the people behind us, who were going up on the out-and-back. It was nice to see the whole field and give them encouragement. Trail races are laid-back events, and it's cool to give and receive smiles from your competitors. We noticed that the first woman (Sarah Evans, a Wasatch Running Center teammate) was about 10 minutes behind us. The downhill was very good to have after the long climb, and we made it back pretty quick to the aid station at the junction. Once again we stopped for trail mix, cookies, drinks, etc, etc. Several people passed us back. I took their picture.

Mile splits for this segment were 14:36, 19:53, 8:07, 8:52, 14:02 (includes aid stop).

Mile 16 to Mile 22 - We turned right at the aid junction this time and continued on the jeep trail. Terrain was undulating (a pattern for this race). Walk, run. Walk, run. I was still feeling pretty good, thanks to the frequent and long aid stops. Around Mile 18, we turned left onto the north segment of the Syncline Trail, and started traversing the south rim of Logan Canyon. Views were fantastic, and I had never been on the stretch before. US-89 was about 4000' below us.

After a couple miles on the Syncline Trail (on which we were moving pretty good), we caught up to runner ahead of us, who had come to a stop at a junction in the trail. We soon saw the dilemma. There was a race sign pointing right, and some flagging on the right junction, but all common sense told us "go left". We decided that someone was playing a mean trick and that going right would take us off a cliff, so the three of us agreed to go left. We soon saw flagging again on our chosen course, and were 99.9% sure we made the correct choice. We found out later that some random jerk turned the sign around and messed with the flagging to be a wise guy. Ah, Cache Valley.

Cody and I ran with the other runner for several miles and chatted a little bit. He was from Salt Lake, that's all I remember. This stretch of single-track dragged on and on, and I kept expecting to see Dry Canyon again "any time", but it never came. Cody and I passed the other runner, who had decided to walk more than we wanted to. Finally, we came to the nose of the ridge and started winding back down to Dry Canyon. Hurrah, no more uphills! On this stretch we passed a guy that I'm pretty sure was in the Top 3 earlier in the race. That was satisfying; we were tired but not slowing down at all. We soon made it to the Dry Canyon aid station, the same station that was our first stop nearly 4.5 hours earlier.

Mile splits for this segment were 12:01, 9:58, 11:37, 13:41, 12:04, 14:24 (includes aid stop).

Miles 22 to 26.5 (finish) - I wasn't intending to spend much time at this aid station, since all we had left was 4.5 miles of sheer downhill, but then we got incentive to take off even faster: the top woman (Sarah Evans) came into the aid station while we were still eating. I didn't say anything, but gave Cody the universal telepathic signal of "We can't get chicked." I don't care that it was a "fun run", it just wasn't going to happen, especially on my home course. I was actually quite impressed with Sarah, though; she must have been hauling over the last 8 miles. Myself, Cody, and Sarah started down the trail, beginning our 3000', 4.5-mile descent. We just pointed ourselves downhill and went. We soon lost her within a mile or so. Crisis averted.

With about 2 miles to go, I was really smelling the barn, but momentum was halted when I hit a big rock at 7:00/mile pace. Gravity + steep downhill + lots of rocks is a bad combination, and I took quite a tumble. I think I absorbed most of the fall with both shoulders, as they really hurt afterward. My left palm got bloodied pretty good, and my right calf cramped up at same time. I peeled myself off the rocks and took a quick assessment: scraped hand with a flat of skin hanging, but nothing deep. Shoulder hurts, but not dislocated. Calf is starting to unlock. Nothing to do but start running again. We found our groove again within a few minutes. I was happy to draw a little blood in my first trail race.

Somewhere in there we passed a runner who had been quite a ways ahead of us. Always a good thing. Some hiker at the botton of the canyon yelled at us we were 4th and 5th. We didn't believe him. We exited Dry Canyon with a mile to go, and climbed up onto the Bonneville Shoreline Trail. The rolling hills of the BST were most unwelcome, but we were almost there, and my legs still had some pop. We made the turn off of the BST, back onto the grass leading back down to the park. I missed the flagging for a turn and Cody corrected me, but got out in front in the process. There was one last very steep downhill going into the park, and Cody looked back and told me he wanted to beat me while I was still stumbling down the grade. I told him he better start sprinting if that was the case. Cody started sprinting. He finished a couple seconds ahead; Cody was indeed 4th overall and I was 5th. The random dude was right. The winner (Leland Barker) was a little more a half hour ahead. Third place was only 5 minutes ahead, and 6th place (the top woman) was two minutes behind. According to my Garmin (SportTracks) we spent about 42 minutes stopped. I suppose if we hadn't have taken so many breaks we could have placed higher...or we might have run slower. In any case, I think I'll recover pretty well due to all the breaks, food, and water I took during the race.

Mile splits for this segment were 9:01, 7:33, 8:30 (with tumble), 7:56, 3:06 (11:08-pace).

This blog entry turned into a book, but it was my first real trail race, and was memorable to me. I enjoyed the vast majority of it, and had a lot of fun running with Cody. It definitely beat doing chores. The race organization was quite good, the course was well-marked (except for vandalized areas), and the aid/food/voluteers were all awesome. Shirts were very cool too. And Cody won a huge vat of HammerGel. Good times. Again, I must say that our Cache Valley trails rock, and I encourage people to come up and run them.

(Cascadia: 196 miles)

Some pictures are below (in chronological order). They are reduced to fit the blog, but you can see full resolution by right-clicking and selecting "view".






Comments(24)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
79.500.002.500.500.0082.50
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