Sweethearts 5K

Today I ran the South Davis (County) Recreation Center Sweethearts 5K in Bountiful Utah.  I wasn't sure I was going to make it to this race on account that they were predicting snow and wind all Friday night and early into Saturday (it looks like they missed calculated by 24 hours).  I had preregistered for the race about a week ago but hearing the dire weather predictions made me wonder if I was going to make it up there.  Suffice to say, the weather was NOT an issue.

In short, this race was bittersweet for me.  It was my first 5K since last summer, in which I ran a 22:07.  I figured I could match that or even better it, given that my training has been rock solid.  However, the wind left my sails, so to speak, after the first mile.  I ran the first mile in just under 7 minutes and felt good.  By mile 2 I had hit a 14:45 and at the finish I just about died when I saw 23:26 on the time.  I haven't run that slow of a 5K without extenuating circumstances -- well, in forever.

Granted the second and third mile seem to have a very slow grind up hill.  Nothing huge, but definitely a 1% - 2% grade.  I felt like I was using my arms more than my legs in climbing that hill.

You can see the results here.  Also it looks like they got a half way decent picture of me near the finish line at this link: Here

The race had an outstanding turnout, given that there were several other races going on today.  Parking was a zoo and many people were dressed in costume.

The race was held at the South Davis Recreation Center.  This building is absolute huge and looks like a really nice gym.  If I lived in Bountiful this is one place I would definitely want to hang out at.  They had an ice rink, basketball court, swimming pool, weight room, indoor track and a lot more.  If you are into fitness, that appears to be the place to be.

On the plus side, I did finish first in my age group and won a pretty nice teddy bear.  I am not sure what I am going to do with this bear, but it is one of the cooler pieces of swag that I've gotten.  Also, every one who finished the race got a finisher's medal that was on par with a mid-level half marathon.

Overall, it looks like I have work to do on my training.  I can easily run 10 - 15 miles at an easy clip, but my speed is completely gone.  If I want to be competitive I am going to have to drop a few pounds and really work on getting my speed back.

West Wendover, NV

One of the cool things about living in Salt Lake City is that just across the desert is where the culture changes drastically.  You go from a very conservative state where liquor is only sold in state stores, gambling is strictly forbidden and if it isn't family-orientated it isn't here. As soon as you cross the state line, you have the lights of the casinos beckoning you.  Liquor, gambling, and all night card playing await just about 115 miles from Salt Lake.  It is like a mini Las Vegas that someone plopped right on the border of Utah and Nevada.

Before you perceive me to be a gambling addict and a problem drinker, let me state that I don't drink and in fact haven't in many, many years.  It isn't because of some religious reason, it is just because... It isn't something I enjoy and it seems to detract from what I enjoy doing.  To me, alcohol is more likely to cause problems than fix them so I choose not to partake.  It also doesn't hurt to mention that I have an allergy to barley / malt...

I do enjoy gambling though.  I am not a big gambler by any means.  I take enough money to have fun with for a few days and when it is gone, I am done.  Sometimes I win, most of the time I lose.  Either way it is fun.  I enjoy playing limit Texas Hold'em, Video Poker and during the sporting seasons I'll throw a few dollars on a football game. 

The drive to Wendover from Salt Lake is mostly barren:

There are virtually no cities once you get past Magna, Utah except a gas station or two.  It takes about 100 minutes to drive there and the speed limit is 75 for most of the way.  In a future post I will talk about the Salt Flats, about the only really neat feature of the trip.  However, you do get to drive near the southern end of the Great Salt Lake where you will smell the brine and salt air... not terribly pleasant.

Wendover does have 5 casinos: The Nugget, the Peppermill, Montego Bay, Rainbow and Red Garter.  We've gambled and ate at most of them.  The Peppermill also has a theater where you can see a lot of nice shows that are reasonably priced.  So far I've seen Neal McCoy and Gary Allen there... and no seat is a bad one.  You can see most of the casinos / show offeres at their website.

Best Buffet: So far I like Montego Bay's followed closely by the Rainbow.  They are run by the same people so they are similiar, but I think they are the best.

Best Place to Play Poker: I like the Nugget.  Not sure why, it isn't terribly fancy, but they had a $2-$5 limit game that was in my budget.  The dealers are also friendly and they have a self-serve soda machine. 

Best Hotel: So far I really have enjoyed my stays at the Peppermill.  It is centrally located and the hotel was quiet and clean.  Montego Bay was $10 more a night, in general, but I found the accomodations much better at the Peppermill...

I've had a lot of good luck at the Peppermill on their slots.  For whatever reasons, they seem to give me the best play, including on this Napolean and Josephine slot:

Utah Lake Pictures

On Sunday, Shari and I decided to drive around Lake Utah.  If you load up Google Maps and look for Saratoga Springs, you'll see the northern section of where we started.  This lake is deceptive large.  I started out in Saratoga Springs and saw a nice bedroom community with fairly reasonably priced houses.  Although they are a bit far from the freeway and in my mind, far away from jobs.   We did like what we saw though.  

Either way, I started out with less than a quarter tank of gas.  I got about 5 miles past civilization and I realized there wasn't another gas station to be found in the area, so we drove back to town, filled up and made the trip around the lake.

If you follow the map and look for Redwood Road, we took that south until we got to Route 6 and then we made our way back to the Interstate.  I drove 100 miles from the time I got gas to the time I got back to the apartment.

It was a beautiful drive and very rural.  We also drove through some 1-horse towns that were simply map dots.  The speed limit was also 65mph on some of those back roads.  

We were a bit disappointed there wasn't many good shots of the lake (I have heard it isn't much to see of) but the drive was very pleasant...

Jordan River Bike Trail - South Jordan through Taylorsville

Well, this weekend I did a 14 mile run in preparation for the Ogden Marathon.  I am way ahead of schedule in terms of preparation, but we finally got a break in the weather here and had a nice bright and sunny day with 40 degree temperatures.  I loaded up my camelback and a gel and took off.  I was dressed in shorts, gloves, sunglasses and a wind breaker which was all I needed.

I wasn't trying for any particular time and was mostly enjoying the scenery.  Normally I don't listen to music on my runs, preferring to hear cyclists coming behind me, but I was in the mood to listen to some Tom Leykis.  I took my phone along for the trip and captured some photos of the Jordan River Parkway Trail.  I started at Gardner Village and went to Taylorsville.  

I ran mostly at an 8:45 min / mile pace, but I would stop and take a picture or two.  I felt fine throughout the run, although at mile 4.5 or so I slipped on a patch of black ice.  It was a spectacular fall.  I fell forward and had just enough momentum to launch myself into a snow bank.  I certainly didn't want to fall onto the pavement.  It was witnessed by some people out for a walk and I think they were shocked to see me dust myself off and continue...  Luckily nothing bad happened.

Overall the run was solid.  I should've packed more fluids in my Camelbak, but otherwise it was a good run.  

This coming Saturday we'll see where my speed is at and I will run the South David Valentine's Day 5K.  I haven't run a 5K since last summer.  Hopefully the weather will cooperate, but I am feeling fairly confident.

Also, during the run, I was waylaid by some LARPers (Live Action Role Players).  Very cool costumes and very friendly people.

Enjoy the photos.

2012 Las Vegas Marathon Race Recap

Finishing Time: 4:07:57

This was my fourth running of the Las Vegas Marathon.  The weather was warm -- 72F with some wind blowing anywhere from 20 - 30 mph.  This is unlike previous years where the weather was chilly or even damp.  It was blowing from the south, so right off, I knew it was going to help us on the way out of town and pound us on the way back.

Prior to the race start, I felt pretty good -- no bloating, no soreness and I was ready to run. I had done my work beforehand, putting in some decent 20 mile runs.

I wore a camelback with about 30 ounces of Powerade in it.  I'd need every drop by the end of the race... it was so dry and warm.  I also stopped and grabbed water / Gatorade at every water stop during the race.  I guess I go through fluids pretty quickly.  I wound up using 4 gels during the race as well.

I started out running 8:30's / 8:40's without any problems within 5 minutes of race start.  The start was a little underwhelming (no hoopla like in previous years)  There were lots of people and the first mile or two involved a little bit of weaving , but by mile 3, I was running my own race at my own pace.  It was really rewarding and empowering running down the Las Vegas strip with crowds of people lining the roads.

I loved this year's route.  The strip was the best part to run on and we took some routes through the northern section of the city.  It is notoriously a bad area (lots of crime / seedy neighborhoods) but I was surprised at some of the sites.  I love being able to see the city lights out in the distance when we got to North Las Vegas's airport.  In short, I was pleasantly surprised by the route.

I crossed the halfway point at 1:56, slower than planned and slower than my Layton marathon that I had done about 2 months prior.  I was still feeling good.  Although I was warm, I was on a decent pace and felt controlled.  Miles 14 - 18 were tough.  It was into the wind and slightly uphill.  I think my pace slipped to the mid 9's despite still feeling good and feeling like I was running 8:30's.

The downhill from 18 - 20 was good and I picked up my pace again.  Although at mile 20 my right leg / foot / hip started to go numb.  Not sure what was going on, but it was disconcerting.  Made a pit stop at mile 20 which cost me about 45 seconds.

Got renergized running down the middle of Freemont street.  They had it closed off to the runners and the crowds were there for us.  What was nice is that the halfer's didn't have that experience -- it was reserved solely for marathoners.  Awesome!  I had always hoped that they would do this as in the past we only got a glimpse of the true Freemont Street, but this year we got to run right through the heart of it.  It was also here that the crowd support resumed.

Last year we had problems with the halfers crowding everybody out, but I want to say the organizers this year did a great job.  Only the last 1.5 miles were side-by-side with the halfers and they were respectful in staying in their lanes.  I think I only had one problem when some of them were going to our water stop (I think their water stop was out of fluids) so their actions were completely reasonable.  Either way, I was able to maintain my current pace without weaving through the final group of half marathon runners.

The last 4 miles were a test of character as I ran into the wind.  My leg was still numb, I was out of Powerade but I was still passing people.  Sure, I wanted the race to be done, but I also knew I wanted to finish strong.  I saw a lot of people puking or walking but I was still running.... even outgunning some of the halfers next to me.

I finished in 4:07:57 or something.  I was not happy with my time, but happy I finished.  I truly hoped I'd get a 3:45 or so and definitely under 4 hours.  Most people's times appeared slower and it is always hard to judge what my time "would've" been had there not been any wind.  At mile 22 I was at 3:22, so I think the wind took a lot out of me.  Course seemed long... My Garmin showed that I had run an extra quarter mile, finishing in at 26.5 miles or so.  Either way, a marathon finish is a finish none the less.

About me

Welcome to my blog spot!

Here I hope to record some of my adventures as well as impart some of my wisdom and wit.  A lot of people have encouraged me to write this blog as they feel I have a knack for writing.  For a computer programmer, it can be a bit of an odd pairing.  I even had one college professor suggest I go for an English degree rather than one in computer science.  Unfortunately, English doesn't pay as well.

I have recently relocated to Salt Lake City after spending the previous 15+ years in northern Illinois.  I had the house, yard, and a decent career, but at the end of the day I decided I needed a change.  I couldn't tell one day from the next and decided to mix things up -- as much as possible.  I found a job out here and jumped on the opportunity to explore something new.  I am still in the same field (software development) but I am thoroughly enjoying the new experiences and views that this beautiful state has to offer.

In this blog, I hope to talk a little about running - I've run 8 marathons and countless other races (you can see my results at Athlinks)  Currently, I run about 40 miles per week, sometimes more, sometimes less depending upon what I am training for, the weather, and various time commitments.

I am also passionate about software development.  I am most experienced with Java but have experience with Ruby, C / C++ and various web technologies.  I hope to write an article or two about anything I learn.  I've always been amazed how many other people have solved the hard problems that I've run into and in a small way, I hope to return the favor.  I've also worked in everything from waterfall methodologies to agile or ad-hoc.

Finally I like to share new experiences that I've discovered in Utah.  This is an entirely new area for me to explore and the sites and scenes consistently amaze me.  I hope to share some of my pictures with the world here.

You can also follow me Twitter 

Eddie