Friday, September 25, 2015

2015 Bear 100 Endurance Run

September 25, 2015 6:00 AM
Fish Haven, Idaho


Put Picture Here

Time Pace
Corey 34:04:43 20:27

Written by Owen:

My good friend, Corey Vigil, asked me to be one of his pacers for this race.  Ultra-marathons are a whole new ball game, for which I had never had any experience.  I was excited for the opportunity to help him achieve this unbelievably difficult goal.

Not only is the race 100 miles, but it is 100 miles up and down mountains through Logan Canyon.  Just look at this course profile:

I flew into Salt Lake City, and had my name "in lights" waiting for me.  That was pretty cool.



I stopped by the first home I ever owned, in Layton.

I poured this cement a day or two after we brought Michael home from the hospital.

I stopped by to say hi to my dad, I sure miss him.

Then I stopped by to say hi to my brother, Eric, and my beautiful nieces.

My second home I owned, in West Point, UT

This water retention area is where my kids talk about the "amazing sled hill" by our house :)
 Then I drove up to Idaho and stayed at my sister's (Lisa) lake house on Bear Lake.  We had a great visit.  I don't have very many pictures, but really enjoyed spending time with Shalila, Whitey, Lisa, Gary, Casey, Tyler, Lisa, and Oakley.



The next day, I drove back to Logan, Utah to drop off Corey's drop bags for the aid stations where he won't have crew (his wife Tracey, and me) to bring him supplies.

We had lunch at my favorite pizza place in the world, The Factory Pizzeria, in Logan, Utah.  My dad would take me there several times a year when I was a kid and we would visit my sisters in Idaho.

Corey, Tracey, and myself at The Factory Pizzeria in Logan, Utah.
 The night before the race we stayed at Corey's friend's house just North of Logan.  He has a beautiful home and was really nice to let us stay there.  Friday morning we got up and saw Corey off.


Tracey and I went back and had breakfast with Jim, then our "crew adventure" began.  We went from station to station making sure Corey had everything he needed, filling up his water, etc.  I paced him for something like 15 miles from approximately mile 35 to mile 50.

Attending to some nasty blisters
 Saturday afternoon, we waited in Fish Haven for him to finish.  He did.  It is the most amazing accomplishment I've ever witnessed.  He was in BAD shape, but he pushed through.


After the race we went back to his house, ate a nice dinner, then I had to fly to New Jersey immediately and start a week long training session for work the next morning.

My blister from my 15 miles (I was dumb and bought my trail shoes the week before).
My Garmin data:
and 

Monday, September 7, 2015

2015 Heart of America Marathon

September 7, 2015 6:00 AM
Columbia, Missouri



Time Pace Division Division
Place
Gender
Place
Overall
Place
Bib #
Owen 4:40:27 10:42 M40-44 9/12 65/102 93/162 140

Written by Owen:

We started this trip off with a stop in Kentucky to see Grandma Phillips (Torre's mom), Aunt Robin, and Aunt Melody.  We ate at a Mexican restaurant and had a really good (but short) visit.


Then it was off to our halfway hotel in Shelbyville, Kentucky.


 The next morning we drove the rest of the way to Columbia, Missouri.


Monday morning (it was Labor Day) I got up early and walked to the start.  I had really let my fitness slip, so I knew it was going to be a tough day.  The heat, humidity, and hills made it for a really tough day.  I started out in the 9 minute range per mile, then slipped to 10, and was in the 11's by the end.

My family was supportive, as always, and I sure looked forward to seeing them multiple times.  This was a smaller race, but was really well organized, and had the most amazing support people.  There were some people that I saw 7 or 8 different times handing out supplies, wet towels, etc.  They would hand them out, then drive forward a few miles and do that over and over again.



Running backwards so I could get a shot of the incline


  


My favorite moment of this day


 When we returned home, the Griffiths had decorated my lawn/driveway/door.  They are such good friends.




My Garmin data: