avondale training journal, starting Dec. 2018 (comments welcome)

[avondale]

Sending good vibes your way for a great race! (And yikes, that's a tight schedule)

Thanks!

I've driven SLC to Kanab about a thousand times and it never gets old. Makes me miss living in Utah! If you need any recommendations for dinner on Saturday night, hit me up.

If you love Mexican food, grab the counter or a reservation at Red Iguana (or Red Iguana 2 - same owners, same menu, just larger space and a lovely patio). They are both walkable from the light rail line that also goes out to the airport, if you're staying out there. I've planned layovers just to have enough time to eat there. Or, I don't know if @Professor_Cookie 's sandwich shop is open for dinner, but I think it's easily accessible from the train too (or walkable in downtown).

Have a great race!

No time for a real meal anywhere as it turned out.

Thanks!

 

[avondale]

Amasa 25k Trail Race: Saturday, April 12, 2025 in Moab, UT

Well....that was an experience. So much harder than I expected. But I got it done.

I managed to get to bed early enough the night before to get 7 hours of sleep, in principle, for my 4:00am wake-up. But unfortunately I had gotten pretty nervous about the race and how technical the course looked, so I ended up not really getting to sleep but just dozing on and off all night. I don't usually have bad nerves before a race, but this was different. I was considering asking about changing to a shorter distance (there was also a 15k and 10k), but decided against it.

The race started at 7am. I got up at 4am and had breakfast and got things ready for the race. I got at to the start at about 5:45am and was one of the first runners there. I was glad I had scouted out the start area, etc., the day before while it was still daylight.

Got my bib, chip and t-shirt. I asked one of the organizers, who had been on the trail before, about the Jackson's Ladder part - that was the big vertical up and down - and she said there was some scrambling, but didn't seem to think it was anything too unusual (more on that later).

The young men (I feel old saying that!) that parked on either side of my vehicle were very chatty, and they were having fun comparing stories and good-natured enough to include me as we were all getting ready. I suppose they had no way to know that I'm not some cheetah on the trails, but they could probably guess. One of them was from Montana, and he was dating a fast trail runner (she wasn't there) whose father had won the Leadville 100-miler several times. He decided that now that he's done Boston and New York and he's "getting older", he is going to transition into trail running as a new and different challenge (he finished in 6th place in this race - he's 25 yo). The other guy was from Boston originally, but he must have moved because I can't find a man from Massachusetts on the finish list - but he was also pretty fast (had done Boston at least once), so I'm sure he did well. So the chatting passed the time.

Funny thing: the race used timing chips that you hook onto your shoes. I haven't been in a race that used those for quite awhile, but the two guys had never seen them before. One of them had almost thrown it out when he got it with his bib! LOL! So I did get to explain to them how to attach it.

Used the port-a-potties twice, put on sunscreen, and did a very small amount of slow running for a warm-up. My calves and hamstrings felt really tight, but it was hard to stretch them with the complete lack of anything around to assist. I decided against using the "drapes" on my hat because it didn't seem like others were doing similar and it was supposed to cloud up. (They are also a little insulating, so it's a definite trade-off.)

There was absolutely no cell service at the trailhead or the course. I have a mini-GPS device that I take on long runs for that situation, and I can use that to send emergency messages. But it was weird that I couldn't do any texting or even get the weather before the race start.

We started right at 7am. All three races started together: there were about 150 people in the 25k, and about 150 in the other two distances combined. According to Weather Underground, the temperature in Moab was 50 F and the dew point was 16 F, so T+D 66. I thought it felt much warmer that that - I would have guessed upper 50s F. It was sunny to start.

Photo from before the race start.


The first mile was flatish, It was on a park road, which was good to get everyone more spaced out before we got on the trail.

Mile 1: 12:49 (GAP 12:08)

Then we cut off onto the trail. Was it going to be technical? Oh, heck yes. Lots of rock ledges to run/hop down off of (or up) right away. But as I knew, the trail was going to head uphill pretty steeply for the next ~3 miles. So yes, I power hiked this - pretty steadily. Since I already knew this wasn't going to be a blazing fast race for me, I actually stopped for some photos, which I NEVER do in races.

View about 2 miles into the race. You really couldn't beat the scenery!

Another view a couple miles in. You can see part of the trail on the left, where a runner behind me was coming up.
This section of the trail had sections that were smoother slickrock and then mixed in with dirt and gravel and fist-sized rounded stones. If it wasn't like a 9% grade, it would have been runnable for a lot of it.

Another view from a lookout area. To the right side, you can see some runners just ahead going on the trail. The runners in the center were taking photos like me.


Mile 2: 17:55 (GAP 15:24)
Mile 3: 21:25 (GAP 16:18) - when you get -5 min on your GAP, you know it's steep!

After we hit mile 3, we were getting to the top of the mesa, so it was flattening out and I was able to run more. This was more limited by the technicality of the trail because the top was bumpier.

Mile 4: 15:13 (GAP 14:52)

At about mile 4, we hit the aid station (I didn't stop). This was where we go down off the mesa via "Jackson's Ladder". (Later, we come back up this way and pass the same aid station.)

Ok, so Jackson's Ladder. This is a trail that starts out relatively trail like and then soon turns into a climb/rock-hopping on the jumbled rocks that make up the vertical edge of the mesa. It was 400 - 500 feet of elevation change in about 0.3 - 0.4 miles.

In the photo below, you can see the trail going to the upper-right of the photo, then switch-backing to the lower left - there are two runners ahead of me. Although no one was "running" here - but geez, the young folks are like mountain goats, LOL. By the way, this was the section where the first runners were coming BACK UP already! I got there in about 1:10, and there are about 5 miles down in the valley to run, so the first runners were about 9 miles in at about 1:10 in this crazy terrain! (First place finished in 1:56:40!)

This photo shows another section that was still pretty trail-like.

This photo was from when I was farther down (close to the bottom), looking back up. You can see runners up above - the guy in yellow was one of the first runners and going uphill.

Once I got down off the mesa, it was flatish again for the next 4.5-ish miles.

Mile 5: 26:56 (GAP 29:21) - Garmin is like "you were going downhill, so why were you so slow?"

I was thinking that I would really be able to run on the valley floor. But surprise: the jeep road that we were on was MOSTLY SAND. Really? If I wanted to run in sand, I would go to the beach. It was red sand that I don't think I'll ever get out of my shoes. If I'd realized it was so sandy, I would have worn gaiters. I could feel the sand building up under my toes and knew I was going to get big blisters - yep, two big ones under toes on my left foot.

But I did actually do a lot of running here - just not as fast or easy as I had hoped. The sand just sucked the energy. But I did catch up and pass some folks, although some of them would repay that favor later.

The photo shows a view from the valley floor.


Mile 6: 13:16 (GAP 13:46)
Mile 7: 13:29 (GAP 13:23)
Mile 8: 15:57 (GAP 15:07) - a lot sandier in this section and I was a lot more tired.
Mile 9: 16:45 (GAP 15:42) - same

Then I got back to Jackson's Ladder, going uphill. I ended up getting behind a woman, Jasmine, from Waco, TX, and we worked together to spot the pink ribbons marking the trail because with all the jumbled rocks, it would be easy to get going in the totally wrong direction. Another woman, Nalei from Las Vegas, followed us up, and she would be with me for pretty much the rest of the race. We made pretty steady progress, I think. My leg muscles were sure burning and we were all out of breath by the top. My legs were so tight that I wasn't sure how much running I'd be doing after that. 400 - 500 ft almost straight up in 0.3 - 0.4 miles. This is where I think I also started to really feel the elevation (Moab is 4000 - 5000 ft above sea level).

We had been chatting hopefully about how once we got to the top of Jackson's Ladder, it was pretty much all downhill after that. NOPE! We apparently didn't remember the elevation profile very well. Jasmine was a very experienced hiker, so she recovered pretty quickly at the top and took off power hiking. Nalei stopped at the aid station, so I left her behind for the moment. But it was uphill still until about 10.5 miles.

Mile 10: 31:38 (GAP 22:32 - at least Garmin realized I did a lot of uphill!)
Mile 11: 17:49 (GAP 17:46)

When we finally got some downhill, I did try to put in some running as my legs and lungs allowed. Also, some sections were very rocky and technical - "giant steps" of rocks going downward, quite a few of which I didn't feel able to just jump, so I had to butt-scoot. (Aside: this is primarily a mountain biking trail. I don't know how bikers can do some of this stuff under enough control to keep from shooting off a cliff or killing themselves on a rock face.)

But I was also getting really gassed. I really didn't know how much energy I had left to finish, and it was getting hard to be worried about getting done faster. I had been ahead of Nalei for a lot of this, but I kept an ear and eye out behind me to make sure she was still coming and not in trouble - it was her first trail race (she had done many road races).

I caught up with Jasmine because she was stopping for photos. The photo below is one of the views, and my last photo from the race (too tired to think of it!). You can just see a hint of the Colorado River in the cut in the rocks. This last part of the trail paralleled the river going from the top of the mesa almost down to river level.

Mile 12: 24:39 (GAP 22:43) - there was some uphill here.

With all of the rock steps that I had to take way too much time going down (my knees were not happy about them!), Nalei caught up with me. But she didn't care to go ahead, so we mostly finished together. And mostly walked. Where there was a lot of giant steps up or down, we caught up to Jasmine, but when it was a little flatter, she power hiked way ahead. And oddly, a couple 25k racers came up from behind us and then zoomed ahead - I have no idea why they had been way behind us if they had the ability to go so fast in the terrain.

Mile 13: 23:52 (GAP 22:10)

At around 13.5 miles, my left inner thigh really cramped up after a couple giant steps up. I wasn't sure if it was an injury or a cramp, so I told Nalei to go ahead while I massaged it. Fortunately it was just a cramp and it worked out pretty quickly. I started to power hike and run a bit to catch up with her.

And then, hallelujah! I started to recognize the trail - it was what I had hiked the day before! That meant I was within a mile of the end! There were definitely some flatter and less technical sections, so I did run some. This also sort of gave me an excuse to pass Nalei and keep going. I think she must have done some running, too, because she didn't fall too far behind. (Maybe I was just that slow!)

Mile 14: 23:22 (GAP 24:23)

This bit of running told me how hard the breathing was - just not getting enough oxygen. If I'd run earlier, I'm not sure how long I could have kept it up for.

The race was supposed to be short for a 25k - only about 14.5 miles. I got 14.68 miles on my GPS. The last 0.68 mile was 17:45 (GAP 16:49).

I was so glad to be done! Nalei crossed about a minute behind me, so I got to cheer her in. There were still a decent number of people around, and everyone cheers for the last runners. The big thing for me was that it was almost noon and I had to check-out of my hotel by 1pm! Ha. I had thought that wouldn't be close at all, but it was tight.

My official time was 4:47:53. For a freaking 25k! Ha. My best road marathon time is only about a minute slower. But I finished it!

My dual-band GPS said that I had 2328 ft of elevation gain, but once I went into Garmin Connect and "corrected" my elevation gain to survey data, it said my elevation gain was 3317 ft! That is a heck of a difference. The race organizers said it would be about 2400 ft of elevation gain, so I'm not sure which source to believe. I'd like to think the bigger one, because that would explain a lot of how hard this was, but who knows.

Jasmine (60 yo) finished in 4:45:26. Nalei (41 yo), even though she finished behind me must have started even farther behind me, because her finish time was 4:45:40.

Weather Underground says that the temperature at noon was 76 F and dewpoint 16 F, so T+D 92. I could believe that. It did become mostly cloudy in the last couple hours. I was sweating like crazy, but there were reasons beyond T+D for that! So the weather could have been better, but it could have been much worse, too.

I ate three Honey Stinger waffles and one sleeve of Clif Bloks. I spaced them out more than I usually do when I realized that I was going to be having a longer race. I took 1.5 L of water + Nuun and 1 L of plain water. I drank a lot of this, but not as much as I could have - I probably should have drank more toward the end, but I thought I was closer to running out. (I have a schedule for drinking - every 0.5 mile - and a certain number of "sucks" per drink that I test out in training runs to learn how long the amount will last.)

I finished the 25k in 116th place out of 131 runners that finished. (The last runner was almost an hour behind me.) I was 47th out of 58 women. I was 8th out of 10 in my age group.

Since I had to go get a shower before the hotel kicked me out, I couldn't stay long after the race. I grabbed a cold can of Coke (I haven't had a non-diet soft drink in decades!) and some carbs, but nothing really looked good and I didn't eat anything yet.

When I took my shoes off, I dumped out so much red dust! The hard part about showering was taking clothes off and putting them back on, because every muscle in my body from the abs down wanted to cramp up whenever I used them. My feet were red from ground-in red dust, but when I tried to pick my feet up enough to wash them, my hamstrings cramped! Ouch ouch ouch! Besides the Coke, I did drink 0.5 L of water.

I managed to get cleaned up and packed up and out by 1pm. I sat in the lobby and ate a little bit and by then my calves let me put on compression sleeves without cramping up.

Then I had a timed entry pass for Arches National Park 1 - 2pm! I planned to drive through (up and back the main road in the park). It's just as spectacular as the last time I was there. Then I drove back up to Salt Lake City - I had a hotel near the airport because my flight out was at 6:15am. The annoying thing is that there is pretty much nothing between Moab and Provo, including any kind of food. So I mostly had processed crap from gas stations.

One more early morning - up at 4:15am for the flight. At least it was on time and we actually landed back in Baltimore a few minutes early. I am so dried out - my lips are dried and cracked and shriveled. I thought I drank quite a bit after the race, but definitely not enough!


So... looking back. This was an amazing experience. It didn't go as well as I had hoped, but I'm glad that I did it. It will definitely be a good story!

I thought I had trained really appropriately for what would be in the race, but I didn't have the capability to train for the terrain and trail surface without being in something similar. I will have to think really hard about doing another race "out west" and set expectations appropriately.

I have previously done pretty significant hiking in Canyonlands, Arches, Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, and Grand Staircase-Escalante, so I did have some idea about the terrain and surface, although I remembered it from a hiker's viewpoint and not a runner's viewpoint. One of the hikes I did in Canyonlands involved going down off a mesa and back up on a very similar type of trail to what was in this race, so I did have some clue about the possibilities. I had a hard time believing something like that would be in a "race" - silly me!

I'll probably think of more that I want to say, but that's certainly enough for now!

 

[col1]

Congrats, that looked tough going so well done. Scenery was stunning !!

 

[WillRunForPizza]

Wow! Congrats on pushing through on a challenging course! You got some gorgeous photos to show for it, though

 

[nancipants]

That looked like a gorgeous, but super hard, race. Congrats on finishing!

 

[RuntheMouse]

Wow! Incredibly beautiful AND difficult. Congratulations on getting it done, impressive!

 

[accm]

Wow, what a beautiful and difficult race! Some of those pictures definitely do not look runable. Congrats on finishing!

 

[garneska]

Seriously amazing. Loved all the pics. Hope your recovery goes well. Sounds like you need some recovery time. Congrats and I am so proud of you!

 

[The Expert]

Awesome race report!

It was red sand that I don't think I'll ever get out of my shoes.

Yep. My org's headquarters are in Kanab and when we'd have work retreats or events there, you could tell the newbies by their clothing and shoe choices. We tried to warn folks never to pack anything white or light colored, or anything they didn't want to get dirty forever. That red sand gets EVERYWHERE.

I am so dried out - my lips are dried and cracked and shriveled.

I knew it was dry when we lived in SLC (and it's even worse in southern Utah), but I guess we got used to it. When we went back to visit last year, we couldn't drink enough water or use enough lotion or lip balm to keep up.

I will have to think really hard about doing another race "out west" and set expectations appropriately.

I'd urge you to look into some of the trail races up around Park City and Heber in northern Utah. The terrain is just as beautiful but much less technical. It's also not as dry, it is cooler, but the elevation is higher. There's a Park City Trail Run series they do every summer that progresses from a 5K to 10K to Half from July through Auguest. I did the 10K several years ago and I know @Professor_Cookie has done several of them.

 

[michigandergirl]

Congrats on finishing a tough race!

 

[Professor_Cookie]

Awesome race report!


Yep. My org's headquarters are in Kanab and when we'd have work retreats or events there, you could tell the newbies by their clothing and shoe choices. We tried to warn folks never to pack anything white or light colored, or anything they didn't want to get dirty forever. That red sand gets EVERYWHERE.


I knew it was dry when we lived in SLC (and it's even worse in southern Utah), but I guess we got used to it. When we went back to visit last year, we couldn't drink enough water or use enough lotion or lip balm to keep up.


I'd urge you to look into some of the trail races up around Park City and Heber in northern Utah. The terrain is just as beautiful but much less technical. It's also not as dry, it is cooler, but the elevation is higher. There's a Park City Trail Run series they do every summer that progresses from a 5K to 10K to Half from July through Auguest. I did the 10K several years ago and I know @Professor_Cookie has done several of them.

I hope i don’t come off as a pedant, but I didn’t do the PC Trail Series, I did the Triple Trail Challenge, and if I could recommend one of those it would be Jupiter Peak Steeplechase. From the base of PCMR to the top of Jupiter and back. 16 miles of fun with amazing views at the top, though it was strange but understandable that you could hear the traffic on Guardsman Pass

 

[The Expert]

I hope i don’t come off as a pedant, but I didn’t do the PC Trail Series, I did the Triple Trail Challenge, and if I could recommend one of those it would be Jupiter Peak Steeplechase. From the base of PCMR to the top of Jupiter and back. 16 miles of fun with amazing views at the top, though it was strange but understandable that you could hear the traffic on Guardsman Pass

All good. My brain doesn't like to recall important details when I need them. It's super convenient.
But I DID remember you've run trails up in that area and might have tips for avondale!

 

[GollyGadget]

Thanks for sharing! Your photos are gorgeous and make me want to consider a race out west... But definitely not one as technical add this one

 

[avondale]

Congrats, that looked tough going so well done. Scenery was stunning !!

Thanks! It was gorgeous. I never stop during a race for photos, but I did for this one.

Wow! Congrats on pushing through on a challenging course! You got some gorgeous photos to show for it, though

Thank you! Next time you complain about hills...realize it could be a lot worse! LOL

That looked like a gorgeous, but super hard, race. Congrats on finishing!

Thanks so much!

Wow! Incredibly beautiful AND difficult. Congratulations on getting it done, impressive!

Many thanks!

Wow, what a beautiful and difficult race! Some of those pictures definitely do not look runable. Congrats on finishing!

Thanks a bunch! Amazing what some folks were running through.

Seriously amazing. Loved all the pics. Hope your recovery goes well. Sounds like you need some recovery time. Congrats and I am so proud of you!

Thank you kindly. Almost a week out, and I'm still a bit sore.

Congrats on finishing a tough race!

Thanks!

Thanks for sharing! Your photos are gorgeous and make me want to consider a race out west... But definitely not one as technical add this one

I think the set of races with Arches in the name (it's not in the NP, though) is supposed to be flatter. But can't say about how technical it is. The timing didn't work for me on that one.

 

[avondale]

Awesome race report!


Yep. My org's headquarters are in Kanab and when we'd have work retreats or events there, you could tell the newbies by their clothing and shoe choices. We tried to warn folks never to pack anything white or light colored, or anything they didn't want to get dirty forever. That red sand gets EVERYWHERE.


I knew it was dry when we lived in SLC (and it's even worse in southern Utah), but I guess we got used to it. When we went back to visit last year, we couldn't drink enough water or use enough lotion or lip balm to keep up.


I'd urge you to look into some of the trail races up around Park City and Heber in northern Utah. The terrain is just as beautiful but much less technical. It's also not as dry, it is cooler, but the elevation is higher. There's a Park City Trail Run series they do every summer that progresses from a 5K to 10K to Half from July through Auguest. I did the 10K several years ago and I know @Professor_Cookie has done several of them.

For the shoes, I expected them to get covered in red and I don't care that they get dirty. What I wasn't ready for was the sheer volume of dust. If we hadn't gone down into the valley off the mesa, I wouldn't have gotten that.

I don't think I can take the oxygen hit from higher altitude. Not if my goal is to "race". I'm just not very fast and the altitude makes that worse. I've done plenty of hiking in the Rockies, Sierras, etc., and that's just fine.

 

[flav]

Congratulations and wow

 

[avondale]

Congratulations and wow

Thank you!!!

 

[avondale]

Week of Apr. 14 - 20, 2025
This was the first of two weeks off from running after the Amasa 25k Trail Race on April 12.

I was much more tired and sore after this race that it seems like I should have been for a 25k. I think the extended time on my feet for it and how dehydrated I got from it really was an extra whammy. I was SO TIRED all week, and with busyness at work, I really couldn't get much extra sleep. My students observed for the first time after full Moon on Friday, April 18, so that was an extra long day.

Monday after work: walk on treadmill

• time: 52:23
• distance: 2.51 mi
• ave pace: 20:50
• incline: 0%

Tuesday

• Before breakfast: foam rolling and stretching
• After work: walk on treadmill
  • time: 44:29
  • distance: 2.26 mi
  • ave pace: 19:41
  • incline: 0%

Wednesday

• Before breakfast:
  • Core workout
    • 90-sec plank with 20-lb vest
    • 20 starfish
    • 20 dead bugs
    • 20 bird dogs
    • 20 each side flutter kicks
    • 20 bicycle crunches with hold
    • 5 10-sec hollow-body holds
    • 2 30-sec side planks
    • 20 double leg lift/lowers
  • Foam rolling and stretching
• In evening: 2-hr tennis doubles round-robin - unfortunately this was from 9 - 11pm!

Thursday after work: walk on treadmill

• time: 44:59
• distance: 2.49 mi
• ave pace: 18:04
• incline: 0%

Friday

• Before breakfast: foam rolling and stretching
• After dinner: walk outside
  • time: 48:15
  • distance: 2.39 mi
  • ave pace: 20:13
  • elevation gain: 153 ft (corrected)
  • route: around the neighborhood

Saturday morning: hike with friends

• time: 2:54:30
• distance: 6.91 mi
• ave pace: 25:14
• elevation gain: 421 ft (corrected)
• route: Northwest Branch and Rachel Carson Greenway Trails
• comments: Our friend group has been meaning to get together for awhile, so this was fun!

Sunday afternoon: walk outside

• time: 1:41:06
• distance: 5.15 mi
• ave pace: 19:39
• elevation gain: 211 ft (corrected)
• route: Sligo Creek Trail (paved)

Health

So, my legs and knees and everything have been really sore. Things are improving. I'm not sure yet what's residual soreness from the race and what might be pain/injury. The knees aren't horrible.