This week in running Dec 14 - Dec 20

Day	Mileage / Workout	Comments
Sunday	5	Touring the seedy side of Elko
Monday	7	7M: .25 / .5 / 1M x 2 sets with 1.45 rest in between. 7:45 pace on each
Tuesday	5	Easy
Wednesday	11	9.5 miles at half marathon pace (8:45). Awesome run
Thursday	5	Easy
Friday	4	Had things to do that evening. Short run.
Saturday	20	Roughly 3:10 or so. Really nice run.
Total miles for the week: 57- YTD: 1843.75

Week's Summary

Another solid week of training.  I think if I had been home on Sunday I would've logged a bit more miles.  But I only had limited amount of time to get in a run.

I had a decent speedwork session on Monday.  Although I really didn't have my "giddy-up" and while I completed the workout, it wasn't really my best.  I just felt "heavy"

I did have a really good run on Wednesday where I ran a solid 11 miles, most of it at half marathon pace.  I wasn't wearing a Garmin but using my phone's clock, I figured I was running roughly 8:45 - 8:50.  So it was fairly relaxed but at the same time, above my comfort zone.  I'd also really like to thank some stranger who I wound up "racing" for about 2 - 3 miles before I overtook him.  He provided a good pacer that didn't allow me to puss out.  When I did finally pass him, he was using "me" not to get passed.

Saturday's 20 mile run went really well.  I was shooting for 18, but had enough fuel and felt good enough to do 20.  I was still running in the low 9's at the finish and could've gone longer, but I was getting a "hot spot" on my foot that wasn't relenting.

New Products Tested

I am a big fan of GU in general and got to try 2 new flavors on today's 20 mile run.  First off was the Salted Caramel flavor.  Big thumbs up on this.  Tasted like the caramel they put on the Culvers sundaes.  It had just a hint of salt and if it wasn't for the hit of caffeine in them, I could see myself putting this on ice cream.  Seriously it was that good.

The next flavor was a decaffeinated root beer.  I wish it had a strong flavor to it but the consistency was right.  I'd definitely buy this flavor too.

Finally around mile 15 I had the chocolate one.  I've had the chocolate ones before and they remind me of canned frosting.  It is great for training runs but it doesn't go down very easily: it is thick.

I also had 16 ounces of Gu Brew, which might be half the reason why my longer runs are going as well as they are.   The make up of Gu Brew is similar to Alka Seltzer, however.  It does go down easily and it is light tasting.

Races

Still no races carved in stone in the near future.  I did get an awesome Christmas deal though.  I signed up for a 15 mile race out in the Heber Valley for a whopping $28.  I haven't paid $28 for a half marathon deal -- well since forever.  Score for me.  The race is not until July and it is a twilight race along a reservoir.  You can learn more about the race here.

Injury Report

What started out as a niggling pain is starting to get worse.  If it wasn't for the dumb #RWRunStreak I'd probably already have taken some time off.  My right foot is NOT happy.  I am not sure what I did to it.  I am always rolling my ankle, so that could have something to do with it or it could be a lot worse: like a stress fracture. 

Believe it or not, it doesn't hurt when I run but afterwards and throughout the day there is a low grade throbbing.  No swelling, no bruising, nothing out of the ordinary except the middle of the top of my foot it hurts.  It smarts somewhere around the third and fourth metarsal.  I may just bail on the #RWRunStreak before this gets out of hand and I may go see a podiatrist to rule out my worst fears.

These types of overuse injuries go with the territory of running 40 - 50+ mile weeks unfortunately.  Hopefully it is just something that takes a week or two to resolve and not a season ending injury.

Otherwise I am feeling good.

Photos of the Week

My semi long runs during the middle of the week means I usually finish after dark.  I did snap a foggy Jordan River on Wednesday night as well going under the 215 Interstate bridge.  This bridge is probably a 40 yards long and you can hear the cars above you.  Thanks to the city of Murray for keeping the lights on.  

Also, me and Angel, my cat are resting after a long run:

Going under the 215 bridge in Murray

Angel sound asleep

Foggy Jordan River

Weekend Elko Nevada Trip

Posing in front of the Northeastern Nevada Museum Christmas Tree

Introduction

I admit it, I've been a little light in content of late.  And I've felt it personally.  With no races, no hiking, nothing new and adventurous of late I've been a little on edge.  My weekend has been filled with a long run followed by an afternoon of watching football.  Not exactly conducive to an exciting, well-lived life.

So I *had* to do something and with that I began formulating plans of going out to Elko.  With the weather being good, this normally treacherous drive became a snap.  Shari hadn't been out to Elko either, so this was an opportunity for her to see what I've been talking about since the last time I went there.  In addition, it would give me ample opportunity to explore the city side of things.

With that, I made 2 night reservations at the Red Lion Hotel and Casino in Elko and headed out west.

Friday Night

I managed to get off of work a little early for a Friday, thank goodness and by 5pm we were on our way west along I-80.  I am also happy to report that they have once again increased the speed limits on the freeways.  They are now 70.  While this won't save me a tremendous amount of time, it was nice to go a little faster.

We left Salt Lake City with 60F weather and by the time we got to Elko, it was about 34F and snowing.  While we only had to face the snow for about the last 10 miles, driving conditions were excellent and we arrived just after 7pm Pacific Time (so a little more than 3 hour drive).

It was a little heart breaking to pass through Wendover without stopping.  I was sort of tempted to stop and get the seafood buffet, but Shari doesn't like seafood and the thought of shelling out $27 for dinner was a bit too much.

The first order of business was to get our player's club cards.  I had lost mine (I think I misplaced it while making reservations during the week).  Besides, they also had my old address and had been sending me flyers to the hotel that I was living in back in February.  Luckily, I had made a stop to the hotel early in the week and gotten this flyer, as it was loaded with money saving coupons.

Perhaps one of the coolest things of the trip was that I had a coupon for a free night.  I wasn't expecting them to honor it at all.  I hadn't mentioned it during the reservation process and being that it was a weekend, I figured I was going to get stiffed.  I am happy to report: they honored it.  Props to the Red Lion people.  Savings: about $86!

We checked in and then quickly jumped into the cafe for a bite to eat.  We were both starving and had had nothing to eat except a few cookies that I had brought along for the ride.  I toyed with going to the buffet, but once again it was $27 and the seafood buffet looked a little "tired".  You had to crack your own crab legs and the fish looked dried out.  I settled for a trio of fish tacos and a side of garlic fries.  Talk about a home run!  Plenty of fries and the plate arrived almost faster than I could blink.  I also had an $8 coupon, so the two of us ate for about $15.

Dinner at the Red Lion Cafe

After eating and throwing our stuff in our room, we gambled a bit.  Shari had gotten some freeplay on her card for being a new member and I had a coupon for $8 in freeplay.  Sadly, this was the only time I won during the entire trip.  After netting about a $30 profit, it was all downhill from here... so if you are looking for pictures of high paying jackpots, you can stop here.

We gambled a bit at the Red Lion, playing Fu Dao Le and some Planet Moolah.  We also walked across the street to the sister property, Gold Country Inn and gambled there too.  But at this point my luck had run out and it was disappointing.  By the time I hit the hay I was about $50 in the hole.

Gold Country Casino

Saturday

I slept reasonably well, although we had a hard time figuring out the HVAC system and at first the room was way too hot.  My the time I had my mitts on it, it was practically snowing in the room I had made it so cold.  

I got up early and went for a glorious run, which you can read about here. 

After returning and cleaning up, Shari and I waddled across the street to Jr's Family Restaurant at the Gold Country Casino.  I had toyed with a buffet, but I am trying to eat a bit better and it was around $16 for the buffet.

I hadn't eaten at the restaurant before and it is your typical casino cafe.  It was well populated and therefore it took a bit to get the food (I think a high school track team was there eating).  I opted for an omelette, which was fantastic and kept me filled throughout the day:

After eating, we went back to the Red Lion casino to see if our luck had changed.  Nope... it hadn't.  Luckily we knew our limits.

We opted to walk across the street and do a little shopping.  That is one of the nice things about small Nevada towns.  No traffic, no massive crowds, just walk into Jc Penny's and buy a few things.  Plenty of workers to help you out and the wait to pay was under 30 seconds.  I did buy a new jacket as my leather jacket I had was starting to look very frayed and I was feeling like people thought I might be homeless.

After coming back with our goods, we went to the Northeastern Nevada Museum, which you can read about here.

After an hour nap we decided to head downtown.  While I had been downtown on a run and a quick picture getting session, I had never stepped foot in any of the casinos there.  They had the Stockmen's Casino and the Commercial Casino.  Both of which I was interested in seeing, since I really like nostalgic casinos.

Our first stop was the Stockmen's Casino, the biggest casino downtown:

We both signed up for the player's club cards since they were offering free play.  Shari put in a $20 into a machine and quickly turned it into a $10 profit.  Probably her first win and I think our last "real" win of the trip.  She also played enough to activate her free play.  

I wound up playing a bit on various machines, but my free play never activated and the slot machine people didn't really know what to do.  I dumped about $20 into various machines and never got my free play.  

Stockmen's is definitely an old school casino and most of the slots are pretty old.  Lots of WMS brand games: Zeus, Planet Moolah, etc.  There were a sprinkling of newer machines.  I had hoped to see some table games, but there was none of that.  Just a slot hall.  It wasn't terribly memorable and it seemed sort of dead inside.  I guess from some of the descriptions online I had figured the place would be hopping for a Saturday night.

We walked across the street to the Commercial Casino.  This place was pretty dead too.  I don't think they even had a cocktail waitress.  They did however, have the BEST video poker I've seen -- at least in terms of payouts.  I wound up playing a bit and netted a few dollars profit before leaving.  

We also got a chance to see the world's largest stuffed polar bear, which is probably the casino's claim to fame:

This thing was monstrous. My picture doesn't do it justice 

We wandered around the downtown area looking for something to eat.  We stopped into the famed Star Hotel and inquired about their dinner -- which is reputed to be the best in Elko.  However it was a 90 minute wait and Shari was starved.  Next time Star Hotel, next time.  

We also checked out a few other restaurants that were rumored to be good only to find them closed.

Elko was having its winterfest and just about every citizen was downtown waiting for the parade.

We settled into the Blind Onion as a pizza sounded immensely good.  For about $20 they served us a decent pizza that gave us enough leftovers for a snack the next day.  It wasn't the world's best pizza but definitely not bad.  The place doesn't have much ambiance and it was kind of noisy but it did provide us with a quick and fairly inexpensive dinner.

By the time we finished, the Winterfest parade was just ending.  I was sort of bummed about it.  I am not big on parades but since we were there I sort of wanted to see it.  I did manage to get a few shots of the parade as the last item went around the corner:

We wandered around and did some window shopping and went into various shops that were still open.  Once traffic died down (or as much as there is in Elko) we went back to the hotel.

We tried our hand once again in the casino and once again nothing but zero's.  We saw a lady win a $300 jackpot next to us, but clearly this wasn't our day. 

The best thing to do in cases like this is just to go back to the room, hope for better luck the next day and watch TV.  

I didn't sleep particularly well.  I didn't want to put the room into a deep freeze again as Shari gets cold but I wound up having too.  I just can't sleep in a warm room.  We also had some jacka$$ kick our door for about 8 seconds at 11pm that scared the snot out of both of us.  Never understood what happened there and it didn't happen again.

Sunday

I woke up early and once again went out in pursuit of the perfect run.  It was cold, but you can read about my run here.

After cleaning up, we took off east towards Wendover.  Since we had a 50% off meal coupon and some free play and best of all the casinos had 7X comps, we were planning on getting breakfast there and trying our luck.

The ride there was very enjoyable.  I always forget how pretty of a drive it is from Elko to Wendover.  We had missed the beauty on Friday night on account it was dark.  I did manage to get a few pictures:

I believe this is Pequop Pass

I believe this is Pequop Pass

For $18 we both had a nice buffet.  Montego Bay just does it right.  I wound up eating way too much, but that was okay, since I hadn't spoiled myself that much all weekend.

Dessert!

Like I said before, Shari and I had zero luck throughout the trip and while I had a few glimmers of hope my luck remained bad.  I had figured it would change at some point, but no such luck.  

We were betting pretty aggressively too, on account we knew we had limited time (we both sort of wanted to go home) and within 90 minutes between Montego Bay and Peppermill we were just "done".  

The ride home was pretty uneventful, other than Nevada was bright and sunny and Salt Lake was gloomy, sort of like my mood after a bad gambling weekend.

However, I did get to see and experience a lot of new things.  And even though gambling wise it sucked (so much for small casinos being better) I did get the opportunity to explore a lot more of Elko.

I think I still want one more trip out there.  I want to explore Lamoille Canyon with the wildflowers coming up (mid to early June) and I'd like to run around / see the reservoir south of town.  There are also some marshes / birdlands in the Ruby Mountains that I'd like to experience too... so stay tuned.

This week in Running Dec 7 - Dec 13

Day	Mileage / Workout	Comments
Sunday	9	Easy. Was burned out at the end.
Monday	7	7M: .25 / .5 / 1M x 2 sets with 1.45 rest in between. 7:40 pace on each
Tuesday	5	Easy
Wednesday	9	Medium Pace - who spiked my water, I am rocking!
Thursday	5	Medium Pace
Friday	3	Easy, run at work. Didn't want to get sweaty.
Saturday	5	Run through the City of Elko, NV: Pictures
Total miles for the week: 43- YTD: 1786.75

Week's Summary

Another good week in terms of overall volume.  If I hadn't gone away, I wouldn't easily cracked the 50 mile barrier again.  I also got in a good quality speed work out.  I wanted to do another one sometime in the week, but it just never worked out.

A lot of times at work I'd think: man I've got to get in a tempo run or it sure would be nice to get some intervals in.  Then my stomach acts up, or it is windy, or I am just too "tired".  Usually I talk myself out of it but this winter I am definitely trying to focus a bit more.

Also, I had a super cool run in the city of Elko.  If you haven't seen the photos, look back a few blog entries or click here.  Honestly, I really get a kick out of getting up early, taking a tour of the city with my cell phone and just snapping pictures.  It really keeps running fresh and interesting, knowing I can take any turn I want and see what lies around the corner.  Sometimes I am surprised at what I find and it makes me "know" the city even more by the time I leave.

Weather

The weather still remains simply: awesome.  I have never had a winter this nice in my 45 years.  It is shorts weather every day and at worst, I have to throw on a windbreaker.  I hope it remains this way, but I have a feeling it won't.  But I am enjoying every day of it.

#RWRunStreak

Yes, I am doing it again this year.  Basically the challenge is to run at least one mile, every day, from Thanksgiving until New Years put on by Runner's World Magazine.  It is a goofy hash tag you can throw on your tweets that are running related.  So far, I am doing it, with a minimal mileage of 3 miles.  I did it last year and I liked the challenge but I definitely wouldn't want to do it indefinitely.  Sometimes it is a pain, especially on days I am just downright tired, but I am doing it and unless there is some sort of family emergency or injury, I'll wrap it in 2015.

Racing

Still no races.  Although there was a fun run 5K in Elko when I was there.  I was tempted to do it, but I am not really into fun runs.  Unless there is a competition and awards and such, I really have a hard time getting excited about it.  Also it was $30.  Might've been fun to say I've raced in Elko before, but the 1pm start time threw me off as well, because I had had a large breakfast.

Looking at the Utah race calendar, it does appear there are some good ones coming up in January though, so I am excited about that.

I keep getting emails from various races I've done so spring is getting closer and a new chance to run well and compete again.

Pictures of the Week

I took these while wrapping up a run sometime during the week.  The sun was setting and there were some incredible cloud formations with a cotton candy color to it.  This is one of my favorite parts of the trail at night because it offers such panoramic views of the western skyline.

Have a great week!

Looking west

Looking east

Looking west at the 215 freeway

Northeastern Nevada Museum - Elko Nevada

Me Hanging with the Kings (And Queens) of the Jungle

Introduction

Shari and I didn't go to Elko just to gamble.  I found a bunch of things to do and one of the stops I wanted to make was to the Northeastern Nevada Museum. Located about 1/2 mile from the Red Lion Hotel on Idaho Street, it was a quick and easy trip.  For $5 for each of us, we had the the opportunity to explore a really nice museum.

Museum Entrance

Pony Express Cabin

The Museum

After paying for admission, I was greeted with a very cool quartet of vintage slot machines.  I love looking at the old machines and these were really in great condition.  One has to wonder how many people had played them in the past and where they had been used:

Vintage Slot Machine

Vintage Slot Machine

Vintage Slot Machine

The Animal Wing

The first thing one will notice upon entering the museum is a wing to the east filled with preserved animals.  Known as the Wanamaker Wildlife exhibit, this wing is filled with all kinds of animals that have been perfectly preserved.  They are incredibly life-like.  And just when you think you've spotted them all, you find another critter hidden in the exhibit.  We spent a good 20 - 30 minutes just circling the area finding new and interesting things.  It was also a great opportunity to take some incredible pictures:

Please note: the exhibits below are real, preserved animals, not replicas:

After visiting the animals we went upstairs.  Up there were a few more trophy heads from various animals.  However, the primary purpose of that section was to show painting and writings from various authors, presumably from Nevada.  Many of the pictures were from other parts of the country (Arizona and California to name a few) but it added some western flair to the museum.

The west side of the museum is primarily dedicated to information about what Elko and the surrounding area was like in the 1850's.  There were some informational exhibits showing how the settlers went across the state of Nevada on their way to California and included some information on some of the now ghost towns that are littered across the area.

Gun Exhibit

Early US Mail Truck

Again, we spent about an hour in the museum. They do have an obligatory gift shop as well which was selling a lot of Elko-related memorabilia.  While the entire museum wasn't dedicated to Elko history, it did have a lot of information about the state in general. It was well worth the price of admission and we largely had the place to ourselves.

Sunday Morning Elko Nevada Downtown Run

Brothel Row in Elko Nevada - Sue's Fantasy Club

Introduction

One of my favorite things to do when visiting a town is to go for a run in the morning and see the sites.  I had that opportunity on a recent trip to Elko, Nevada.  Since I was staying for two nights, it gave me the opportunity to get up both Saturday and Sunday morning and go exploring.

I hadn't slept particularly well on Saturday night and we sort of wanted to head out early so as to get to Wendover for breakfast, so I knew I had a limited amount of time for running.

Also, what compounded the difficulty was that it was *cold*.  Like 22F cold out.  I had only packed minimal running gear which included shorts, a couple of tech shirts and of course gloves.  I doubled up on the shirts and crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.

 Luckily there was no wind and I am happy to report that while I was chilled, it really wasn't that bad.  Normally 25F is my limit for shorts, but other than some red legs, I really didn't suffer much.

Sunday's Run

Once again, I took off from the Red Lion and headed east.  My goal was to get some better photos of the downtown area and take a tour of the seedier (in my opinion) side of Elko.  The previous night I had spotted the brothels behind Stockmen's Casino.  My phone takes lousy pictures so I figured I'd run down the street and do some exploring.

I reached the downtown area in no time at all.  My legs really felt fresh and I was really excited to do one of my favorite things.  The downtown area was pretty deserted but there were a few hanger ons in the bars, even at 7:30AM.

Luckily I got a ton of really good pictures:

The Star Hotel

Stockmen's Casino

Stockmen's Casino

After running around the downtown area (and also seeing another run totally bundled up) I went behind the Stockmen's Casino down 3rd street and found 3 brothels.  I had heard a rumor that they were outside of town so I was a bit surprised to see them in the heart of the downtown area as well as a residential area:

Inez's Dancing and Diddlin

Mona's Ranch

After snapping a few pictures, I took off down Water Street.  This is a pretty lonely stretch of road and the residents living there seemed to be in trailers.  Just had a really rough vibe to it.  Also there were lots of chain link fences with barking dogs behind them.  

I took a random turn on one of the streets to head back to Idaho Street when I spotted the most unusual house ever.  It looks like someone took the frame of their house and did something to make it look like a castle:

Coolest house ever

About 15 minutes later I arrived back at the hotel feeling like I've really now seen all Elko has to offer.