Run Sloan Run

Running form Resources

2014-12-31T08:28:00.000-08:00

Great video on achilles treatments (doctor's website)

Good running form videos

Running form drills

Common running form mistakes

Learn Proper Running Technique in 30 Seconds [Video]

Icing

Observations on Cadence

Five ways to improve Running Form

Perfect running form

Running Lab

Big Cottonwood Marathon-A Humbling experience

2014-09-14T11:46:00.001-07:00

As much as I run, I've never done a marathon before. My daughter, Danielle, signed up for the Big Cottonwood Marathon several months ago and since I love to run with her, I signed up too. Honestly, I've never wanted to do a marathon. I've trained for a few and the consistent stress on my body was never really worth it. That's why I started doing triathlons. At least with that, the training is more rounded.

I've continued to suffer from achilles issues and my work schedule as been such that the combination as well as some lame excuses on my part, I was very ill prepared for this marathon. In fact, over the last month, I've only run a total of 24 miles, not even a full marathon in total. Lame!

My good friend, Greg Stewart, flew from Monterey to run with me. It was so great to see him. He followed an awesome training plan and looked as thin as I've ever seen him. He is a bishop and I am certain the training has helped him to manage the emotional stress of being an LDS Bishop. He's a good man and friend.

This experience was a very humbling. Danielle wasn't as prepared either so we planned to run 3.5 miles, and walk ½ mile until we were done. It was a good plan. It helped manage to a steady pace and allowed some rest time for our feet and bodies.

We averaged close to a 10 minute mile pace through mile 23. With each successive run cycle I could feel my body continuing to rebel. Finally, just about mile 23 we stopped at a water stop even though we were not supposed to stop that run set until mile 23.5. I started to run after drinking and my calves cramped up pretty significantly. Actually, they were in full rebellion. They would not allow me to run. I had a choice, keep trying and end up in a medical tent before finishing or walk as fast as I could, but still finish. I had to compromise in order to finish, even if it meant walking.

During that last 3.2 miles, I tried to run a few times with the same result-calve balls. Danielle was still full of energy so I suggested she take off and that I see her at the finish line. She wanted to stay. It was an emotional time for me. Tears were near the surface due to a combination of appreciation that my daughter wanted to be with me and encourage me while I also felt a tremendous amount of embarrassment for not being able to run.

I'm nearly 48 years old and the time has now come that one of my children exceeded me in running ability. That brings me joy in one respect and sadness in another. Some may say I'm a fast runner, but I'm really not. At half marathons, olympic triathlons and Ragnars I average 7 to low 8 minute pace. However, my strength has always been my ability to endure, yet it failed me here.

I'm so incredibly overwhelmed that my daughter loves me - that she enjoys spending time with me. A marathon is difficult. I'm not sure I ever want to do another one again, but if I do, I will train better.

I think I've developed stress fractures in both of my ankles and my muscles are pretty sore, that I'm not really moving around much. Good thing it's football season!!!

So fun to see Greg Stewart at the beginning and end. He ran the first mile with us, then took off to meet his goal. He finished in 3:45, which is awesome. Great job Greg!

Here are some my favorite pics.

We started the marathon at Brighton Ski Resort @ 8,736 ft above sea level. It was a chilly 34 degrees.

My sweet Danielle.

These space blankets were awesome.

Greg Stewart doing a photo bomb. haha He's so fun.

Mile 12.

Mile 20, still feel ok, but definitely feeling the over use already. Danielle is a cute as ever.

Picking up our gear. The volunteers were so fun.

We bought 3 20 lb bags of ice. Danielle and I split the ice and found separate bath tubs at home.

2014 Wasatch Back Ragnar

2014-06-30T11:24:00.001-07:00

Long distance relays have been something my daughter, Danielle, and I have been doing since 2010. We've often had other family members join us, and we've always had a lot of fun with friends as well.

Here's a summary of what we've done together

5 So Cal Ragnar (4 with Danielle, 2 with AnneMarie and one with Derek)
2 Wasatch Back Ragnar (Both with Danielle and Derek and Christine joined us in 2014)
1 Napa Valley Ragnar (Danielle and Christine)
1 Hood to Coast (with Danielle)
1 Zion Trail Experiment (with Danielle, Derek and AnneMarie)
1 Tahoe Trail (with Danielle)

Derek, Me, Christine, Danielle and Dallin

Derek, Me, Christine and Danielle

We always have a fun group here are our two vans in groups.

Van 2: Danielle, Dallin, Derek, Ryan, and Hilary

Van 1: Christine, Me, Cary, Barbara Jane, Brad and Gordon.

During 2014, I've had a lot more issues with my achilles and they have been slowly getting worse as the year progressed. I've been to physical therapy and even saw an orthopedic surgeon. I'm hoping the recently added stretches (eccentric heel drop protocol) will help. Otherwise, they suggest surgery. I'd like to avoid that as much as possible.

1st Run - Avon Pass: 7.4 Miles and a 1,198 ft continuous elevation gain.

Leg 5 Avon Pass	Distance	Time	Pace	Avg HR
2014	7.40	1:10:50	0:09:34	160
2013	7.41	1:12:32	0:09:47	168
	-0.01	0:01:42	0:00:13	8

Despite some rain along Avon Pass that caused muddy and slippery conditions, I battled through the achilles pain and managed to improve my overall pace by 13 seconds per mile compared to last year, while also lowering my average Heart Rate by 8 from 168 to 160 this year. I was pretty proud of that. I also had 63 kills. Woot! Woot!

2nd Run - Morgan: 5.1 Miles, relatively flat.

Leg 15 Morgan	Distance	Time	Pace	Avg HR
2014	5.07	0:41:18	0:08:09	161
2013	5.05	0:41:00	0:08:07	174
	0.02	0:00:18	0:00:02	13

I felt like was moving at a pretty good clip during this run, whereas last year it felt like a slog. I was tired from the Avon Pass run, but kept pushing as I passed 31 people along the way. Compared to last year, I felt better, but was still two seconds slower per mile. However, my average Heart Rate was more favorable at 161 compared to 174 last year.

Here I am after the Morgan run.

Here is my dear sweetheart, Christine, just before her second run of the race. She's so much fun!

3rd Run - Kamas to Jordanelle Reservior: 7.7 Miles, several ups and downs with a total of 438 ft elevation gain.

Leg 15 Kamas	Distance	Time	Pace	Avg HR
2014	7.69	1:07:44	0:08:48	157
2013	7.68	1:10:41	0:09:12	152
	-0.01	0:02:57	0:00:24	-5

I felt pretty good on this run. I heard that Scott Jurek was running this leg and I was hoping he would run past me at some point. Unfortunately, he left about 30 minutes or so before me and there was no way I was going to be able to catch him. However, Christine and our van saw him as they drove to the next exchange to wait for me. Christine cheered him on and he acknowledged her and gave a cheer back. I'm bummed I missed that. I was faster by 24 seconds per mile compared to last year, but my average heart rate was higher by five points. Humm...

I did pass 41 people though. That made it a total of 135 kills this year. Happy about that. We had 357 as a van and I had 38% of them. Woot! Woot!

This was our view after waking up Saturday morning after about two hours of sleep. Beautiful.

Christine taking her last handoff from Cary.

Christine being grossed out at the sweat dripping off of the slap bracelet.

Super proud of this women who ran 14.8 total miles!

These ladies and their shenanigans!

Brad

Van 2 (Ryan was running)

Derek and Hilary

Danielle pretending like Ragnar Hill hurts. Psst!

Danielle running Ragnar Hill.

Danielle

Hilary

Ryan and Hilary

Cary books another kill!

Derek, Hannah and Hilary

Derek

2014 SoCal Ragnar

2014-04-13T11:38:00.001-07:00

April 4-5, 2014 I ran the SoCal Ragnar. This was my 9^th 200-mile relay with my daughter, Danielle, and my third 200-mile relay with my son, Derek. It’s so fun doing these with family and friends.

Van 1 consisted of Me, Dave Greding, Wade Altom, Victor Eggleston, John Stewart and Tom Omer. All of us have done multiple Ragnar’s together, but we have never all been in the same van at once. Usually, we’ve had wife’s or other friends that joined us and required that we split up between the two vans.

Van 2 consisted of Danielle, Derek, Dallin (Danielle’s boyfriend), Tiffany, Jen and Kambria (Tiffany’s daughter).

Dallin, Danielle, Kambria, Tiff, Jen, and Derek

I think everyone had a great time and I’m happy for that. I chose not to be the team captain this time. I grew tired of people taking forever to pay me their race registration fee. Sometimes it took a year to get my money back. It was always kind of annoying.

Dave Greding. Batman.

We called Van 1 “The man van” because initially van 2 started out being all women, until later we added Derek and Dallin. Our van was a lot of fun. Dave and Wade coordinated similar to last year. They wore superhero boxers to run in and they both did something with their hair. Dave shaved the side of his head and spiked his hair up to a 5-6 inch Mohawk. Wade simply shaved his head. Last year they dyed their hair as well. They both ran without shirts and with their superhero boxers. They attracted a lot of attention. They enjoyed it. The rest of us were rather boring. We didn’t dress up. We just ran. I’m thinking I might need to do something for this next Ragnar.

Dallin traveled the furthest. He caught a bus from Great Falls Montana to SLC. He rode all night and Danielle picked him up Thursday morning. Soon after he arrived, Christine, Derek, Danielle, Dallin and I went to IHOP for a big breakfast before all of us, save Christine, drove from Utah to Moorpark. We made it in time to have a pasta dinner together as a team Thursday night.

Friday morning, Van 1 left about 6am to get to Huntington Beach in time for our 9:15am start.

The entire race we had near perfect running weather. Temperatures in the 50s’ with this highest of mid-60’s on Satuday afternoon while Van 2 was finishing their race.

After Van 1 completed our first legs, we headed to my cousin's house--Greg & Dana Dyment. It was fun catching up with both of them and their youngest daughter KD. I should have taken a picture. I'm horrible for forgetting.

Overall, I had a decent race. Wade remains the fastest with Dave close behind. Both ran average paces of somewhere in the low 7:00’s. John and I ran in the high 7:00. My average was a 7:48 over 15.8 miles, which included a 2 mile consistent 500 ft climb in Torrey Pines. The first year we ran this course, Laura Wright cried after that run was complete. It was pretty tough on her and she was still relatively new two running. We were proud of her effort. Two years ago, AnneMarie ran this same run up Torrey Pines. She did great. I just tried to make her proud. I wanted to stay under 8:00 minutes miles, but I just couldn’t. Didn’t have it in me. My pace for that run was 8:25, which brought my over all pace down a bit. My three runs were 8.8 miles Friday afternoon at an average pace of 7:48 in Irvine, 2.6 miles at night at an average pace of 7:11 in Oceanside, and 4.3 miles Saturday morning at an average pace of 8:20 in Torrey Pines.

This marks the first Ragnar that Danielle ran more miles than I did. She ran 16.9 miles while I ran 15.8. So proud of her. It’s always a struggle with Dave, Wade and I vying for the longest and hardest legs at Ragnar. Dave and Wade won out this year in distance and speed. Happy for them.

Me and Victory!

Victor did well. He’s a good friend and fun to be around. We’re doing Zion Trail Ragnar at the end of the month. Looking forward to that. He did awesome. He ran about exactly on his estimated pace.

John actually beat me in average speed by 00:01. Happy for him. I’m bummed I let it be so close. Haha We used John’s Tahoe which was perfect. We put our sleeping gear on the top, cooler on a hitch, and just our running and essential stuff in the car. It worked out perfectly. If we had women, it might not have worked out so well. We usually just bring what we absolutely need. Women tend to bring way more. John drove a lot of the race. I drove some and I think Dave drove a little. As far as I recall, we were the only three that drove.

Tom Omer at Angel Stadium.

Tom Omer had a great time too. Dave and Wade tend to tease him a lot, but he’s a happy, fun and great guy. He ran into the California Angels (Anaheim) Stadium parking lot at the end of his first run. He was pretty excited about taking a picture of that for his son, who’s a big Angels fan. For Tom’s last run, it was brutal. We thought he might take more time that his estimate so we hung out at the exchange, but just in the Tahoe for a while. Unfortunately, by the time we walked to the exchange, he had already been waiting for about 10-15 minutes. We felt bad. He was pretty disappointed. He totally killed the hills he had to run, but we weren’t there to celebrate in his accomplishment in time.

Dallin ended up running way more than anyone on the entire team. First of all, he was projected to run 22.7 miles, but because he missed a turn or something, he ended up running an extra four miles. 26.7 miles. Ouch! He did great though. Ragnar took some photos of most of us and quite honestly, Dallin is a beautiful runner. He looks so smooth and his gait is perfect on the pictures. I’m totally jealous. He’s dating Danielle and the more I get to know him, the more I really like him.

After Van 1 completed our second legs, we slept out on a golf course fairway next to TaylorMade's headquarters. I brought a huge tarp to put below us and my intent was to have it on top of us too. I figured someone else would also bring a tarp, but they didn't. Only me, John and Victor were covered top and bottom. It worked out great for the three of us, because it rained. The other guys got totally soaked. haha

After we finished our 3rd legs, we went to Kira Neuenswander's house in San Diego to shower before heading to the finish line. I did some Facebook staking to find a place to shower. I first searched all of my FB friends in the San Diego area. No one came up that I felt comfortable asking. Then I did a search for Friends of Friends in the San Diego area. I saw Deborah Neuenswander's name come up and I sent her a FB message asking if she wouldn't mind asking her sister-in-law if she would be open to having six guys shower at her place. Fortunately, she responded quickly and said Kira was open to allowing it. I made contact with Kira and the rest is history. She was gracious while we interrupted her General Conference watching Saturday morning. We knew her family while we lived in Ohio, so it wasn't totally random. Also, Christine worked with Deborah for several years while we lived in Ohio. I love Ohio people. They are simply awesome.

Danielle did awesome.

Below is my running summary.

Runner	6	James Sloan
Leg	Diff	Diff Rating	Dist	Rdist	Est Pace	Act Pace	Rel Pace	Time
6	M	0.56	8.77	9.0	0:08:30	0:07:48	0:07:34	1:08:30
18	E	-1.30	2.68	2.6	0:08:30	0:07:11	0:07:19	0:19:16
30	VH	0.73	4.29	4.8	0:08:30	0:08:25	0:07:27	0:36:07
Totals		0.00	15.74	16.5	0:08:30	0:07:48	0:07:29	2:03:53

Dallin the beautiful runner.

Look how relaxed he looks.

Exchange 6. Most of the team. Dallin was running at this point.

Night time. Exchange 12. Danielle just completed her 6.7 mile run.

Exchange 30. Derek and Danielle

La familia

Nine 200 mile relays in the books with Danielle. She's such a stud.

At the end of my nine mile run. I hate my gait. Leg is too far back.

At the end of my 9 mile run.

Yes, I passed that guy, bad gait and all. Haha

Bye Bye

5 Countries, 5 Days, a 5K in Each

2014-03-23T16:20:00.000-07:00

This past week I traveled to Southeast Asia for work. I made a goal to run at least a 5K in each country despite only having a few hours of sleep in each. I knew it would be tough, but I still made the goal.

Thailand was fun, because I was able to eat some real authentic Thai food. One of my favorites. I ordered in Thai and the people were super impressed I knew what I was talking about. Yum!!! It was so good. People are nice, but Thailand is so unsafe and very dirty. Yucky! We arrived after midnight and were being picked up by 9:30am so I didn’t have a lot of time to sleep and be able to run, iron clothes, repack and be ready, but I did it. I asked the concierge for a suggested running route. The first two people said it just wasn’t safe to run outside. I went to the front desk to get another opinion. I received conflicting opinions from the multiple people at the front desk. Some said it would be safe, while the others confirmed the consierge's opinion. I ran outside anyway. ha ha I stayed on the main roads. It was about 7am, rush hour and it was just getting to be light outside. I ran up the road 1.5 miles and back just over that to make the 5K. I never felt unsafe. I saw a lot of street vendors selling food, I saw a lot of trash and I saw people rushing to their jobs and kids rushing to their bus stops. Nothing too exciting. First run down—check.

Malaysia is not much of a step up from Thailand. A little more modern, a little more clean, but not much. I saw the famous Malaysian twin towers that were the tallest buildings in the world just a few years ago. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect in Malaysia as far as safety, but I never felt unsafe there either. I was able to find a park to run to and run within. It was a nice park with a nice lake. Several areas were filled with Malay’s doing their Tai ch’i or walking. Most were elderly. I heard horrible things about Malay food. Fortunately, rain was in the forecast, so they weren’t able to take us to their favorite Malay restaurant. We went to a Chinese restaurant instead. It was decent. Mostly dumpling stuff.

Singapore is amazing. In the 1960s, the governor had some disagreements with the Malaysian government on how to proceed socially and economically as a country. He negotiated to break away from Malaysia and created his own country in 1965. It’s an island with no natural resources and I’m certain Malaysia laughed as they broke away, fully expecting them to return with hands outstretched asking to rejoin resource-rich Malaysia with open hands. That couldn’t have been further from the truth. Quickly, Singapore outlined a plan to attract business with low tax rates and being business friendly.

It all started with trying to create a financial hub similar to Hong Kong. It worked. Businesses flocked to the country. All tax revenue was immediately reinvested into the country to build infrastructure to make movement of people, goods, money, and communications as smooth as possible. Singapore continues to grow and they continue to reinvest. I remember when Dole sold our Asian operations to a Japanese company. We decided to locate our new Dole Asia headquarters in Singapore. The government was very helpful and accommodating to make it happen. Even after we had been there for a year, the tax auditors came in to meet with management to say, we think we can lower your tax rate if you do this, this and that. What government does that? It was amazing. Being business friendly has benefited everyone. The standard of living in Singapore for foreigners and locals is one of the highest in the world. We arrived late, but my colleague and I went to California Pizza Kitchen to have a little bit of home. Very metropolitan city. I really loved it. The hotel concierge was very helpful the morning by giving me a preprinted running map. I ran through neighborhoods. It was very pretty and super safe. It was nice, but hot like Thailand so just like the day before, I arrived back to the hotel literally dripping in sweat. I had to wash my running clothes in the sink and use a hair dryer to try to dry them at least a little before I had to pack them into my suitcase.

Hong Kong. We arrived late again. Essentially missed dinner, but whatever. Hong Kong wasn’t as nice and clean as I remembered it. China is having more and more influence on Hong Kong since the century-old independence treaty expired in 1997. My last business trip here was with Dole in 2009 or 2010. China promised to let it continue to function as it has before, but they haven’t. Investment hasn’t happened and mainland Chinese people continue to migrate into Hong Kong making it even more crowded than it was before. It’s becoming even more crowded and dirty, which is sad. I loved my prior visits to Hong Kong. I ran to and within Victoria Park, which is right on the harbor. It was a nice park that was absolutely full of elderly Chinese people doing everything from tai ch’i to western-style aerobics with a giant boom box. Lots of walkers and a few joggers (or better said, shufflers ha ha). It was nice seeing so many active people in the morning. I washed my clothes again in the sink with some soap, used the hair dryer and it was mostly dry before I packed up again. My work day was productive and we caught an evening flight to my last stop—Taiwan.

Taiwan is a step up from Hong Kong, but still below Singapore. I enjoyed Taiwan. Taiwan is an island off the coast of mainland China whereas Hong Kong is really just a peninsula with a few nearby islands. Taiwan claims independence from China, but China considers it part of its empire. It’s always been a sticky situation for Taiwan. As we arrived at our hotel, we saw a lot of protestors. We found out that the Taiwan government is currently debating immigration and economic reform to allow more integration with China. The people do not want that to happen. The local thinking is that the elected officials are most likely expected to get (or currently getting) bribe money or other kickbacks from China to push through this type of legislation. A group of protestors were literally right outside my window. I was on the 6th floor, but I could hear them the entire time I was there—even at night. In the morning, I just went running to see what I could see. I felt safe despite the angry voices of the protestors. They were orderly and didn’t mind that I ran through the various crowds. They had several large gathering areas with different people voicing their respective views. I ran through and around all of them. They had portable bathrooms, trash brigades, etc. They were very well organized. One guy was even nice enough to hand me an unopened bottle of water to me as a ran by. This contrasted with another area I ran through…it was a temple/memorial/garden area. So serene and beautiful. It was a slow run, because of the crowds, but it was my favorite of the week. Finally, after a full week of hopping from country to country and in a new hotel each night, I was able to sleep in the same bed two nights in a row. It would have been even more glorious if didn’t have to listen to the protesters all night. I sleep fine though.

Funny story. First, when I arrived in Malaysia, the immigration officer almost didn’t let me in the country, because she said I didn’t look like my picture. I thought that was odd. The only real difference I see is that I had a buzz cut in my passport photo and I’ve been letting my hair grow a little longer over these last few months. Anyway, I followed that little incident up with a conversation I had with our head of finance in Singapore the next day when she said, “I saw your picture on the company website and I expect you to be taller, but instead you’re Asian size.” Ha ha. Asian size. Yep, that’s me. Asian size.

Overall, I liked Singapore the best. It’s super clean, modern and just has a pretty good vibe. Another overall observation. Chinese people are aggressive and rude. Not fun experiences with Chinese people on this trip.

Goal progress

2014-03-04T07:22:00.004-08:00

It's March 4th and I'm tracking well with my goals. I'm 19% complete with my 500 mile per year goal at 93.5 miles so far. Mathmatically, I should be at 17%, so I'm ahead so far and plan to stay there.
I am fairly consistent with my mileage at 47.7 miles in January and 40.4 in February. 5.4 so far in March. I traveled quite a bit in February and have some travels planned in March. That tends to hamper my running a little bit compared to being at home.
I've run on two continents so far: North America and Australia. New Zealand isn't quite a continent, but I ran there too. That's three countries and two states so far. Yeah.

Places run so far.
Beverly Hills, CA
American Fork, UT
Highland, UT
Pleasant Grove, UT
Lehi, UT
Adelaide, Australia
Mt. Maunganui, New Zealand
Hobbiton, Matamata, New Zealand (sort of)

Beverly Hills Run

Snow Canyon Run

Adelaide, Australia run with Christine

Sunrise run/hike up Mt. Maunganui, New Zealand with Christine.

Morning run near my home in Utah.

Running to Frodo's party in the Shire. Hobbiton, Matamata, New Zealand.

Snow Canyon with Christine.

2014 Fitness Goals

2014-01-08T17:56:00.000-08:00

Finally getting around to posting my 2014 fitness goals. I'm excited about them.
2014 Goals

1) Road Ragnar

2) Trail Ragnar

3) Tough Mudder/Dirty Dash or Similar

4) 70.3 Triathlon (half ironman)

5) Run 500 miles

6) Run at each place I travel

7) Climb at least one of the five peaks in the Wasatch Mountain Range

Annual Goal Review

2013-12-24T11:27:00.001-08:00

I created four fitness goals for 2013. The following is my report to myself. While 2013 is not yet complete, I'm done with all of my goals. Wahoo!!

Run 500 miles - Complete!
One triathlon-1st Annual SmellyPapa Triathlon or as Derek suggest we call it, "The Triple D Tri". With all our various activities, this was the first time Danielle and I were able to do a triathlon together, so we created our own. ½ mile swim, 6 mile bike, 5K run on Christmas eve. Derek joined me and Danielle. It was a lot of fun competing with my kids. Derek did awesome on the bike too. He finished ahead of me. Good for him!
Two Road Ragnars and one Trail Ragnar - Done! I ran SoCal, Wasatch Back, and Tahoe Trail. Consistent with prior Ragnars, I ran all of them with friends and family. Family members that joined me included, Danielle (All of them!!!) and Derek (Wasatch Back).
Run at each place I travel. I had a goal of running on two continents, but I actually ran in four!! North America, South America, Asia, Europe. Specifically, I ran in the following places internationally: Asia: Seoul, Korea and Tokyo, Japan. Europe: Brussels, Belgium and Dublin, Ireland. South America: Santiago & Valdivia, Chile and San Jose, Costa Rica. Domestically, I ran in four states: California, Florida, Illinois and Utah.

International Running Map

Domestic Running Map

Here's the detailed list.

Four continents, seven countries, and four US states

Asia

Seoul, Korea

Tokyo, Japan

Europe

Brussels, Belgium

Dublin, Ireland

South America

Santiago, Chile

Valdivia, Chile

San Jose, Costa Rica

North America

Anahiem, CA

Marina del Ray, CA

Moorpark, CA

Pacific Grove, CA

Pebble Beach, CA

Temecula, CA

San Diego, CA

Westlake Village, CA

Venice Beach, CA

Chicago, IL

Winter Haven, FL

Alpine, UT

American Fork, UT

Avon Pass, UT

Cedar Hills, UT

Highland, UT

Jordanelle Reservior, UT

Lehi, UT

Morgan, UT

Pleasant Grove, UT

Being a Bishop

2013-08-25T17:44:00.002-07:00

Today, I’m going to veer from the primary focus of my blog thus far. I initially started this blog to document my path of recovery from major Achilles issues that prevented me from running. However, the focus of this entry is how I feel after being released as a Bishop in the LDS Church. For those not familiar with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we have a lay ministry. Leaders are not paid, but regular members are asked (based on inspiration from the Lord) by their leaders to serve in different capacities from teaching primary kids, Sunday school, or to be Bishop of a ward (congregation).

I have been serving as a Bishop in California of the Monterey 2nd Ward. Our ward covered areas of Monterey, Pacific Grove, and Pebble Beach. Today I was “released” as Bishop and a very good friend was “called” to be the new Bishop. My release was required because my work took me out of state.

It’s a time consuming and difficult responsibility to serve as a Bishop. 1 Timothy verses 2-7 in the New Testament of the Holy Bible outlines the qualifications or expectations of Bishops as follows:

"A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil."

I’m an imperfect man, but I do try to be worthy of the Lord’s blessings and to be the man He would expect me to be. I didn’t seek the calling of a Bishop. In fact, I never wanted the calling of a Bishop. I previously served as a counselor to a few Bishops and felt I knew how hard it would be. I now know it is more difficult than I had thought. However, when the calling was extended, I accepted without hesitation and did my very best to be worthy of the Holy Spirit to direct my life and I sought to serve those over whom I had stewardship. I may not have done everything perfectly, but I certainly tried.

Being a Bishop is hard and lonely. It’s time consuming and often times spiritually and physically draining. It was my responsibility to hear confessions and to allow that burden to be shifted from the sinner to me and then I would place it with the Lord who suffered all. It is a heavy burden to carry, but I always felt the Lord shouldering it with me. Nevertheless it was lonely. Much of my thoughts and the things I had to hear had to stay with me and never be shared.

It was my responsibility also to seek out those who needed spiritual, emotional and physical support. Some are more open about their needs, so I found I had to be open to the promptings of the Spirit to discern people’s needs. I found my mind was constantly filled with names of members of my ward.

I had a supportive wife that never complained when I had to leave at moments notice to help someone or when I would be gone far longer than we had initially planned. I couldn’t have done what I did without her help, support and sustainment. Nor could I have done it without the help of the Lord by whom I ultimately was called to serve and represent.

As that burden has been lifted, I feel lighter, but I also feel an emptiness that I cannot describe. It’s sadness and a relief. Sadness that some of the people I was trying to help have not completed their journey and I won’t be able to see the conclusion. Sadness that people that I have come to love in a unique way will no longer be a constant in my life. I feel sadness that I won’t be able to be there as the youth of my Ward mature in life and spiritual things. I love the youth of the church. I love their vitality; I love their freshness and their pure faith.

As I met with our Stake President (Church authority over multiple wards) when he “released” me from my calling as Bishop, he asked me what I learned. I responded with some of what I have written below, but now that I have had more time to think, I think there is more.

I learned that the atonement of Jesus Christ is far more than just about salvation from sin. It’s about salvation from all that prevents us from being happy and having a fullness of joy. He felt our pains in a very real way. Pain of loneliness, sadness, disappointment, etc. Not just the pain from sin.

I learned that there is far more grace to the atonement of Jesus Christ then I ever realized.

I learned the love that comes from having the mantle of the bishop is indescribable to anyone that hasn’t held that calling. Some of the things I have had to listen to and hear about would have disgusted me and caused me to feel disdain outside of the bishop’s office, but instead all I could feel was love.

I learned that people need to feel loved and wanted.

I learned that there is a pathway and recovery from sin, no matter how bad.

I learned that some of the quiet people are often the most impressive.

I learned that ministering was far more important and impactful than administering. I found that I had to constantly remind myself of this. I’m a very organized person and I always wanted to have things organized and tidy, but that wasn’t my mission. My mission was to minister to those who needed to feel the love of Christ.

I had a lot of respect for all Bishops previously, but now my respect has increased many fold.

Now it is my opportunity to serve in a different way and always look for ways to lighten the burden of the Bishop.

I love my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I know that He suffered and died for me. I know that He loves me. I know that it is my opportunity and my responsibility to help others know that for themselves.

I dedicate this post to all of my former Bishops, to my dear wife who makes me a better man and has always been my support, strength and best friend and to my children whom I adore.

James

I just want to run without it feeling like a chore

2013-06-24T20:43:00.002-07:00

It's been a while…I had started a training plan to increase my speed and it was working. I was getting faster. I really pushed myself and I was often exhausted, which felt good. However, after three plus weeks I abruptly stopped. Running became a task and not a joy. I didn't like that. I have too many tasks in my life with work, my calling as a Bishop in the LDS church, and the many other things that seem to fill my days to capacity. Running should not be a chore. At least for me. I run, because I love it and because it makes me feel good. When it started to feel like a chore it wasn't fun anymore. At this point, I like being fast, but I am not willing to risk loosing my love of running. It's just that simple. I don't want a training plan. I don't want to feel like I HAVE to do it. I'll do slow runs, long runs, intervals, etc when I feel like it. That's all I've got to say about that...

2013 Week 1 The Rebuild

2013-03-02T08:55:00.001-08:00

Monday, February 25, 2013
Today, I started on my 12 week journal of rebuilding my speed. I'm using the 10K Training Program found in "Run Less Run Faster" book published by RunnersWorld.
Assignment: 8x400M (400M RI).

The Warm Up
10 min walk, 2 100 Meter strides gradually accelerate for 80 meters until I reach 90% effort. Decelerate for 20 meters. Recover 30 seconds. I never reached 90% effort, because I was still cold and didn't want to pull anything.

Two drills stride improvement drills
20 meter butt kicks, 60 meters gradual acceleration, 20 meter deceleration.
20 meter high knees, 60 meters gradual acceleration, 20 meter deceleration.

The Workout
8x400M (400M rest interval).
I initially targeted a 1:48 pace which is a 7:53 per mile pace, but it was too slow.
1:38 (7:11 pace), 1:30 (6:39 pace), 1:39 (7:15 pace), 1:34 (6:55 pace), 1:35 (6:58 pace), 1:35 (6:58 pace), 1:37 (7:08 pace), 1:34 (6:55 pace).

Result
5.8 miles of total mileage including warm up, workout and cool down.
Feet felt good after the warm and stride improvement drills. Left hamstring felt a little tight and I had difficulty stretching it. During the repeats, I was pushing myself, but not too hard. I wanted a comfortable stride that required some effort.
Garmin Result

Tuesday, February 26, 2013
In keeping with the plan to add additional cardio workouts in between my three runs per week, I went to the gym and worked out very hard on a stationary spin bike. I worked out for 40 minutes and spend a fair amount of time on a foam roller, because my left hamstring is still tender.

Wednesday, February 27, 2013
This morning I woke up at 5am to do my workout. I was supposed to run 3 miles at a 7:15 pace. Yikes. That's scary. I ended up running a 7:20 pace. The last mile at that pace was tough, but I tried to stick to it. Mile 1: 7:14 pace, Mile 2: 7:21 pace, Mile 3 7:26 pace.

Thursday, February 28, 2013
Rest.

Friday, March 1, 2013
Spin class.

Saturday, March 2, 2013
Six miles in Moorpark with friends. Dave Greding, Wade Altom, Tom Omer, and Rick Ives.
I'm definitely not used to hills. According to my training plan, I was supposed to run six miles at a 7:45 pace. I ended up running at an 8:05 pace. I couldn't keep up with the pack. Bummer. I had a cramp in my left calf with about 1.5 miles to go. Not cool. This the longest continuous run I have done in four months. It felt good, but it definitely kicked my but. We did the figure eight route. 6.84 miles including warm up.

2013 Week 7 & 8 Rehabilitation

2013-02-23T12:47:00.002-08:00

Monday, February 11, 2013
I woke up early, read my scriptures while I warmed up, then walked for ten minutes. I am following the Runners World 5K Novice Running training program (sort of), because it mirrors advice from my physical therapist. It essentially eases me into running again so that I don't cause damage or harm to my planter facia or achilles. I'm on week 9 of 12. Today was the first week that I'm not running sets of running for a few minutes and walking for much less. Today the guide said to run for ten minutes, run for 1.5 miles and then walk another 10 minutes. I didn't feel any pain or discomfort during my run. It felt good. I especially loved running along the coast. The tide a little bit high so the waves were breaking against the rocks near the shore. It was relaxing and soothing to listen and to watch as I ran. With my walking and running, I added 2.67 miles to my yearly total. So far I am up to 49.13 miles for the year.

Wednesday, February 13, 2013
It was a glorious morning. Saw the sun rise as I was in the middle of my run. I walked for 10 minutes to start. Ran for 1.5 miles, walked for five minutes and then ran another mile. My left planter facia felt stiff when I woke up this morning and my right achilles had some pain during and after the run.

Friday, February 15, 2013
I spent 40 minutes on a stationary bike and did some strength training on my legs at the Four Seasons Hotel in Westlake Village.

Monday, February 18, 2013
Presidents Day was a Daddy/Daughter Day. I spent the whole day with Danielle and we started it off by running together. We ran 2.5 miles and walked on both ends. It felt good. Still feeling a little planter facia pain in the mornings. That is annoying. The rest of the day we helped someone move. We had a late lunch on the coast as we watched the waves crash into the rocks. We drove up 17 mile drive and walked out to the Lone Cypress. We crashed the Pebble Beach Lodge and even walked out to the 18th hole. We ended our night with dinner at Peppers Mexicali Grill and a few episodes of Modern Family. It was nice to spend a whole day together. AnneMarie joined us for a few of the activities. A great day with the daughters!

Friday, February 22, 2013
Work has been crazy busy with two trips to Westlake Village (Dole Headquarters) in the last two weeks. I was so bummed that I forgot my running shorts and shirt when I went the second time. Thus the long delay between runs. I ran 2.5 miles this morning with a walk on both ends. It was nice. Achilles isn't much of an issue. Planter facia still a little painful in the mornings.

Saturday, February 23, 2013
I did the five mile Asilomar loop this morning. I was very windy, but absolutely beautiful. I ran continuously for 3.7 miles. The longest continuous run I have had in a while. I'm officially finished with the silly walk/run thing. I will start following a 10K preparation plan as defined by the Run Less/Run Faster book by RunnersWorld.

2013 Week 6 Rehibilitation

2013-02-09T18:33:00.001-08:00

More travel this week. I flew into LAX on Monday and flew back home Tuesday evening. I had a meeting in Torrance on Monday and on Tuesday I had a meeting in Westlake Village. I stayed with our close friends the Barkers Monday evening and ran Tuesday morning in Moorpark.

I ran on some roads near Moorpark College until I saw a path lead into the fields. I took the path and soon it was like I was transported into a different land. I no longer saw houses. I ran though rolling hills and gentle saddles. I ran more elevation gains and losses since I started running again a few weeks ago. I was hard, but it felt good. I saw cows and heard birds. It was a beautiful run. Absolutely beautiful. In total I ran 4.3 miles. As normal these days, I started with a 10 minute walk, then did the run walk rotation. I intended to run 4 minutes and walk 2 minutes, but in the first set I looked down at my watch and I had already run 5 minutes; therefore, for the rest of the run I followed that structure. Five minute run, two minute walk until I had done four sets. My right achilles felt a little painful throughout.

Thursday morning (Christine's 43rd birthday) we woke up early. She went to the gym with a friend and I went for a run.

I ran for 4.6 miles mostly along the coast on the bike path from Pacific Grove to Monterey. I did take detour by Pete's Auto Body on my way. Pete is the husband of a member of our ward. Pete was 54 years old and died in his sleep quite unexpectedly on Sunday morning. I've been working with the family all week with the funeral details and will be performing the eulogy on Saturday.

At the beginning of my run, my right achilles was hurting slightly, but after a few minutes the pain subsided. I followed the same structure of the run on Tuesday. I ran for five minutes and walked for two. I did five sets. I'm getting my groove back.

Saturday was a long day. It started at 10am at the chapel preparing for Pete's funeral. The funeral started at 11am. It was beautiful. I think we had about 250 people there. The talks were all wonderful. The funeral, luncheon, burial and clean up lasted until about 4:30pm. I was exhausted, but it was a good day and time well spent.

I came home, took off my suit and prepared for the last run of the week. I hadn't had much to eat all day, so Christine made me some peanut butter on toast. It was what I needed. I did the 5 mile Asilomar Loop. I walked for 10 minutes then I ran. It was glorious. I ran for 10 minutes and walked for 2 minutes. I did three sets, then walked home. My last ten minute run was fast. I think my average pace for under 7 minutes. There was a couple that were running about 7:00-7:30 pace and I just had to leave them in my dust. :-) For a little while I think I was running about a 6:30 pace. I haven't done that on any consistent basis for quite a while.

My right achilles didn't feel very good even when I started my ten minute walk. During my first 10 minute run it didn't feel that great either. During the second run it started feeling better. By the third run, I felt no pain. During my post run stretch, I could feel it while I did my eccentric stretches.

It was a good week of running. I'm making some progress.

2013 Week 5 Rehabilitation

2013-02-03T15:05:00.001-08:00

Monday, I ran for 3.6 miles. Sticking the same schedule of a ten minute walk to warm up and cool down. In between, I ran for three minutes, walked for two. I did five sets of that. Felt good. A little stiff on the ankles, but once I was warm all was well. Didn't really feel anything in the achilles this morning.

Wednesday, I ran 3.2 miles in Winter Haven, Florida. I ran around the spring training baseball fields that the Boston Red Sox used to use until just a few years ago. There is a lake right next to the fields and the path that I ran on, so I kept my eyes peeled for alligators. I did a Ten minute walk warm up and cool down. In between, I ran for three minutes, walked for 1 minute. I did five sets. Ankles felt stiff. Right achilles starting to feel some pain. I almost stopped after my fourth set.

Thursday, I spent 40 minutes on a recumbent stationary bike at the hotel in Winter Haven, Florida.

Saturday, I ran 4 miles. Walked ten minutes. Ran three minutes and walked one minutes six times. Then I walked home. I ran up the hill on Congress Avenue then around Asilomar beach to Lighthouse and then home. It was awesome running along the ocean watching the waves crashing into the rocks. I live in a beautiful part of the world. Achilles was a little sore, but better than earlier in the week.

I rolled my legs nearly every day this week. I think that is helping. I did eccentric stretches on my achilles after each run.

2013 Week 4 Rehabilitation

2013-01-26T19:02:00.001-08:00

I ran three times this week. Twice in Chile and once home in Pacific Grove. For the first two runs, I ran for two minutes and walked five.

The first run I ran 2.6 miles in Valdiva, Chile. It was a beautiful run along a river. It was morning and the sea lions were out barking. I ran by some cruise boats and a submarine. As is normal in Latin America, there were several stray dogs around that were interested in what I was doing. One hung out with me for a good part of the run. When I was walking, he would sniff around quite aggressively for food. At one point, he found a wrapper of something. He was determined to lick off every last remnant from that wrapper. During the run, I walked for ten minutes to warm up and ran for two and walked for five four times. I finished with a 10 minute walk back the the hotel.

The second run was 3.7 miles in Santiago, Chile. It was in the evening as the sun was going down. I ran along a park called Circuito Parque Uruguay. It runs along a river through downtown Santiago. Interestingly, they deepened the river, moved it to one side and narrowed it so they could build a tunnel under the city next to it. The tunnel is 5K long. I also ran by the Gran Torre Santiago, which is the tallest skyscraper in Latin America. It will be 64 stories tall. It is sort of a risk to build such a tall building in a city that has had a multitude of earthquakes. I wouldn't be very interested in renting space at the top. Love was in the air. The park was full of couples loving each other. Anyway, I ran 3.7 miles. Ten minute warm up walk followed by six sets of two minutes of running and three minutes of running. Ending with ten minutes of walking again.

My last run was on Saturday soon after flying home from Santiago, Chile. I ran 3.65 miles. Ten minute warm up walk followed by five sets of three minutes or running and two minutes of walking. Ending with about ten more minutes of walking. I'm feeling good. My cardiovascular system isn't used to running so it is disappointed that I feel winded and a little tired after running for just three minutes. A little twinge of pain in my right achilles and my ankles felt a little stiff, especially my left one. Otherwise, I feel good.

2013 Week 3 Rehabilitation

2013-01-18T07:44:00.000-08:00

I ran two times this week and did a P90X AB (AB Ripper X) workout. First run was 3.6 miles. Ran six times between 2-3 minutes per. Walked fast in between. Second run was 3.1 miles. Walked up the hill to the track. Ran five times and walked in between. Four times I did squat jumps for up 30-40 yards per. No plantar facia pain so far. Achilles has a little bit of pain, but tolerable. I iced it after my run today. When I wake in the morning I don't really feel as much foot pain anymore. I need to do more eccentric stretching on my achilles.

Achille's Tendonitis and Tendonosis

2013-01-16T09:25:00.001-08:00

2013 Week 2 Rehabilitation

2013-01-12T16:31:00.001-08:00

This week I ran once and did some plyometrics (Insanity DVD).
The Insanity workout was a good one. I was exhausted at the end and fortunately I only had minimal pain in my achilles. I've been wearing my orthotics this week and have only had a little soreness in my left planter facia. I think my feet are getting used to them again.
Today I walked/ran 3.6 miles. I walked for five minutes and ran for either two minutes or three minutes. I ran six times during the length of the route. I only felt a tinge of pain in my right achilles and no pain at all in my left plantar facia. Progress…maybe.
It's several hours later and my feet and knees are stiff. I'm icing the left plantar facia.

2102 Run Summary

2013-01-12T15:56:00.001-08:00

Places run in 2012

Craig, AK 3.2

Tempe, AZ - 5.5

Agoura Hills, CA - 13.2

Big Sur, CA - 9.5

Carlsbad, CA - 5.5

Fresno, CA - 4.0

Huntington Beach, CA - 4.8

Lake Elsinore, CA - 10.0

Napa, CA - 3.3

Monterey, CA - 32.2

Moorpark, CA - 10.5

Pacific Grove, CA - 143.7

Pebble Beach, CA - 32.8

Petaluma, CA - 6.7

Santa Rosa, CA - 6.5

Sausalito, CA - 5.9

Westlake Village, CA - 3.0

Orlando, FL - 3.3

Miami (Coral Gables), FL 10.0

Winter Haven, FL - 5.0

Wiakoloa, HI - 3.1

New Orleans, LA - 8.0

Provo, UT - 4.0

Zion National Park - 11.6 miles

Colima, Mexico - 3.0

Lima, Peru - 5.0

Annual Total - 350.8

Events

March 24, 2012 - Great Race (Chesebro Half Marathon) 1:48 19th in Age Group

April 20-21 - So Cal Ragnar Relay w/AnneMarie and Danielle

April 28 - Big Sur Marathon (Dole Relay Team) w/AnneMarie

September 9 - Pacific Grove Triathlon w/ Danielle

September 16-17 Ragnar Napa Valley w/Christine and Danielle

October 12-13 Ragnar Trail Experiment w/Derek, AnneMarie and Danielle

November 18 Big Sur Half Marathon-Did not participate-advised by the doctor to let my feet heal.

2013 Week 1 Rehabilitation

2013-01-05T17:06:00.000-08:00

I haven't run for about 2 1/2 months now. I've been struggling with planter faciitis in my left foot and continue to have issues with my right achilles. I pulled out of the Big Sur Half Marathon and my preparation for such to finally listen to my physical therapist. After three years of issues, my physical therapist recommends that I swallow my pride and start using my orthotics again. I've tried very hard to me a minimalist runner, but my foot mechanics are such that it just won't work. My left foot collapses at my ankle pretty dramatically. I've tried to change it for three years to no avail. It seems I need the orthotics to keep that ankle in check. I've changed my running gait, but I cannot seem to change how that ankle collapses.

Over the last few weeks, I have been starting to wear my orthotics a few hours a day. My feet are still getting used to them, but I seem to be having less pain in the mornings. I still have pain, but it seems to be less for now.

Under her instructions, I have started running again. It will be a slow transition and I may have to pull out of some half marathon races I have scheduled if I am not ready. I want to do it right this time. I'm so tired of this continual pain I have endured for far too long. I love running and don't want to have to give it up.

I ran for 30 minutes. Sort of anyway. I walked for five minutes, ran for one and repeated that five times. I only went about 2.3 miles. I had very minimal pain in my right achilles and none in my planter facia.

After, I stretched out my calfs and achilles and rolled my foot. I need to do that more often.

2012 Running Goals Report

2013-01-01T08:36:00.006-08:00

I believe in the return and report concept. When we have goals, we should return to report our progress.

I had a few running goals in 2012. I achieved most of them.
Goal #1 - Run on three separate continents.
Goal #2 - Run in two The Ragnar Relay Series (200 mile team relay).Goal #3 - Compete in one Triathon.

Result: I only ran on two-North and South American Continents. However, I did run in three countries (US, Mexico, and Peru) and seven states (AK, AZ, CA, FL, HI, LA, and UT).

Result: I actually ran three Ragnars-SoCal, Napa Valley, and the Zions Trail Experiment. SoCal I did with two of my daughters (AnneMarie and Danielle). Napa Valley I did with my wife as well as AnneMarie and Danielle. Finally, the Zion Trail Experiment I was able to do that one with Derek, AnneMarie and Danielle. The teams wet completed with very dear friends. So fun to run Ragnars with family and friends.

Result: I did the Pacific Grove Triathlon with my daughter, Danielle. It was her first one and it was a pleasure to be part of it with her.

If my calculations are correct, I ran at least 381 miles totaling about 60 hours. I'm hoping to run at least that much in 2013...

Running the Ragnar Trail Experiment

2012-10-15T14:55:00.001-07:00

Running from Responsibility competed in the Ragnar Trail Experiment on Friday, October 12th - Saturday, October 13th. It was quite the experiment. We had the perfect storm of bad weather. We had rain the day before which made the trails muddy, then about 30 minutes into the race the rain came pouring down. It was cold too. In fact, we did have some snow (nothing that stuck) and little bit of hail. We anticipated it would take us six hours to complete the first of three rounds of running, but it instead took us 9 hours. Ragnar learned a lot during their experiment, but I love the concept and look forward to doing another Ragnar Trail event again.

Sarah Kron, AnneMarie Sloan, James Sloan, Jenedy & Victor Eggleston, Danielle Sloan, Derek Sloan, Cary Jenkins

I (James) was the first runner and the third group to run Jolley's Gulch-Green (officially 3.9 miles, but with the scenic view it is 4.1). I had the fastest recorded time for that trail partly due to my mad running skills (he he) and partly due to the worsening weather. I even took a slight detour off the trail just so I could see the Narrows. A spectacular view that required my full attention for at least a minute or more. It was funny, because I was leading my heat with a guy right on my heels. He took advantage of my detour thinking he would win the heat. From there it was all up hill on the way back, so I dug deep and about a half of a mile later I caught up to him and passed him. I think I demoralized him. I didn't see him again until a few minutes after I finished. Take that Mr!

Representing the team!

Derek competing in his very first Ragnar as he prepares for next month's Las Vegas Ragnar ran right after me. He ran the Pine Knoll trail-Yellow (officially, 3.8 miles, but we are sure it was closer to 4.3 miles). A 500 foot elevation gain over a mile then the trail works it way back down over the remainder of the race. We think this was the hardest trail of the three, because of the combination of the elevation gain and loss and the mud. They closed the trail soon after Jenedy ran it (see below), because it was simply too dangerous.

Derek putting on his game face.

AnneMarie ran the Englestead-Red trail (officially, 7.2, but I clocked it at 7.5, yet the markings were so poor that a lot of people got lost). AnneMarie ran 8.33 miles on this trail. It was an up and down run that was a muddy sloppy mess. At one point, the trail was knee deep with water.

She got the jump down here, she would prefer you not see the team picture below, where her timing was a little off.

Victor ran Jolley's Gulch-Green and fortunately it was just light enough that he was able to take in the detour view of the Narrows. He ran well, only a few minutes behind my time.

Jenedy ran the Pine Knoll-Yellow trail. Again, probably the toughest trail of the race. She is one tough women! You may recall that just two months ago she gave birth to Honor. Both Victor and Jenedy had a cheer squad that included True, Honor and Victor's parents. It was wonderful to see the Egglestons. Right after Jenedy returned from her run, they stopped letting people run that trail. It was too dangerous. Jenedy described that there were a few areas that were so steep and muddy that she and another runner had to help each other up the steep terrain. It was dark by the time she finished her race.

My good friend Cary Jenkins who ran with us at Napa Valley ran the Englestead-Red trail started his run in the dark. Running in the dark on a regular Ragnar is invigorating. On the trails, it is a little nerve-racking. Since it was dark by now, many more people were getting lost. We aren't even sure he ran the full trail, but he did his best. He helped several people navigate their way back and even carried one women the last half mile of the trail to the finish line. When he came back, both he and Jenedy felt that the race should be cancelled. Fruthermore, the Englestead trail was sort of closed. They were still allowing runners to do it, but only at their own risk. At this point in the race, most teams had quit.

Sarah Kron, a family friend from Ohio who is attending BYU and is an avid runner, ran Jolley's Gulch-Green. She ran well. No complaints, except she was disappointed it was too dark to see the beautiful view of the Narrows. While it wasn't what she had hoped for she was ready and did it.

Sarah Kron is Ragnar Strong!

Danielle was the last to run on our first rotation. She had been hearing about the not so pleasant experiences of Jenedy and Cary and started to feel anxious. We had heard about people breaking their feet or ankles, sprained ankles and one girl who had a nervous breakdown on the course, so I pulled her aside and said, "Honey, no judgement. If you don't want to run you don't have to. It really is not safe out there and I'd rather have an alive and healthy daughter, but it is your decision. I'm behind you 100% either way. She said, "Dad I came here to do this and I really want to try!" A proud papa moment! Derek offered to run with her (another proud papa moment), but she wanted to do it herself. We got her all ready and she was off. I was both nervous and proud as my baby girl headed out in the nasty weather to run Jolley's Gulch-Green and I had a prayer in my heart. She was supposed to run the Pine Knoll-Yellow trail, but it was closed. She describes the run as fun and scary. For some of the run she was completely by herself. She said that when she started to really get scared, she belted out at the top of her lungs the primary song, "I am a Child of God." She said that helped. I'm glad she turns to the Lord for strength. Fortunately, she caught up with two other people running together and stuck with them the rest of the way. As she finished under the Ragnar Arch, I heard one of the race organizers say. "We're closing it. It just isn't safe anymore."

Danielle and I walked back to the cabin at midnight, took showers and we all fell fast asleep.

When I went to the 7am feedback meeting, I found out that five of the 43 teams kept going all night. They mostly ran Jolley's Gulch-Green, but some still ventured out to the Englestead-Red trail throughout the night. Not to be deterred, after my feedback meeting I set out to run Englestead-Red with the intent of hoping to also do Pine Knoll after that. 7.5 miles of beauty. The trail was extreemly muddy, but the views were spectacular. I'm glad I did it. When I was done, everyone was anxious to leave and I was exhausted anyway. We finished packing up and headed back to Provo and SLC.

What a fun and challenging experience. I definitely want to do that again, but I'm hopeful this will be the worst weather we have to face.

I'm happy to have run with such fun and tough people.

Here are some pictures.

Englestead Trail

James on Englestead Trail

Englestead Trail Mud

View about halfway through Englestead Trail

A difficult accent on Englestead Trail.
I am sure this fails in comparison to the Pine Knoll trail.
It took me a couple of tries to get up this hill.

Not much room for running on the Englestead Trail

I can see the finish about a mile away from here.

Claiming my "World Record" as Cary called it.

The team after the rains had cleared. AnneMarie in mid jump.

Pacific Grove Triathlon with Danielle

2012-09-22T21:20:00.003-07:00

I like to be active and spend time with family. I especially love being active doing things with my family. My family and my church make me happy. Working out and being active keeps me sane.

I've run two 200 running relay races this year (SoCal Ragnar and Napa Valley Ragnar) and five in the last three years. In each one, I have been able to run with family and friends. Earlier this year, I ran the SoCal Ragnar with my two youngest daughters, AnneMarie and Danielle. It was so much fun.

About two weeks ago, I was able to swim, bike and run side-by-side with my youngest daughter, Danielle as she competed in her first triathlon. We participated in the Pacific Grove Triathlon-the sprint race. One-quarter mile swim in the ocean, 12.4 mile bike ride and a 5K run. My heat entered the water five minutes before hers, so I simply floated in the water until she came in. We swam, transitioned, biked, transitioned again and then ran together the whole race. I can't express how fulfilling it was for me to be with her the whole way. I was her coach, her cheerleader and most of all a very proud father.

Loving the kelp!

Danielle was very nervous about the ocean swim, especially since there was a lot of kelp. She was not a fan of the kelp and Dad (me) totally forgot to bring the goggles, so we swam without them. No big deal. We weren't swimming very fast, but I'm proud to say she beat at least two girls from her heat out of the water. This particular triathlon starts at Lovers Point in Pacific Grove. The kelp is quite plentiful this time of year, so it really isn't much of a swim. It is referred to as the "kelp crawl".

Getting ready to pass someone.

She felt more comfortable on the bike. She kept pace with the group with most people either staying behind, passing a few and only a few passed her. She was feeling good. She was able to keep a decent speed, take in some water/gatorade and some food. We rode along Ocean View Boulevard from Lovers Point to Asilomar and back twice.

The run was a little difficult at first. I remember my first triathlon several years ago. I remember that the transition from biking to running was a very odd feeling. My legs just wouldn't respond very well. It took me at least a half of a mile to get in my groove. It was about the same for Danielle, yet she powered through it. We ran a loop along the trail from Lovers Point to the Aquarium and back twice.

A friend of mine took some pictures of us during the race and at the finish line. I'm grateful for that. We completed the race in 1:42:21. My official time was five minutes slower and she will have the rest of her life to brag about beating me by five minutes in her very first triathlon. I'll let her brag. I'm really proud of her and you can she how proud she was of herself at the finish line. I've always taught my children that they can do hard things. That we often underestimate our abilities, but if we push we will find we can do amazing things. She did on that day. It was our Daddy-Daughter Date for the weekend.

You can see in the picture to the left that I am holding my GoPro HD video camera. I recorded the whole experience with my GoPro HD in my hand.

Garmin Forerunner 910XT Review

2012-05-30T09:53:00.000-07:00

I recently upgraded my running watch. I had the Garmin Forerunner 310XT, which I loved. It was the first Garmin Multi-sport watch. I sold it on Craigslist and on the same day purchased the Garmin Forerunner 910XT at RoadRunner Sports since they had their 20% off sale. All in all, I was able to upgrade for about $180. The new watch retails at $499. Ouch!

The 910XT has significant improvements over the 310XT, especially on the swim metrics. Garmin published two videos to explain some of the benefits of the 910XT. Swim Metrics and Multi-Sport Features.

The Garmin watch has four "Modes" you can use. Run, Bike, Swim and Other. I use the "Other" mode when I am doing an indoor cardio workout or other activity such as hiking, skiing, P90X, etc. Other "Modes" included are Multi-sport mode and Triathlon mode. These allow you to program multiple activities at once and then transition between them simply by hitting the lap button.

Another unique benefit of both the 310XT and the 910XT is the vibration alerts. The default is to vibrate every mile. I really enjoy this feature, because I don't have to look at my watch to see when I have run or biked another mile.

I decided to try some of the features in some of my multi-sport activities.

Swimming

Ready to start my swim.

You can use the watch indoors and outdoors. I haven't used it outdoors yet, but I did try at my local sport center pool. I first had to change the watch to Swim Mode. Once I did, it asked if I was swimming outside or inside. After selecting inside swimming, it asked me the length of the pool (25 meters, 50 meters, etc). A quick query to the life guard confirmed my thoughts. My local pool is a 25 meters in length.

The accelerometer is sensitive and it infers what type of stroke you are doing (i.e., freestyle, backstroke, etc). However, since it is dependent the accelerometer, it relies on the movement of your arms only--a negative when doing kicking drills, because it will assume you are resting. That is exactly what happened to me during my swim. I swam 1,600 meters, but the Garmin only recorded 1,200 meters, because 400 of those meters were spent doing various kicking drills. Another caution: I read one review that said it is always best to wear the watch on your non-leading arm when you turn. Otherwise, it may not always record your turns accurately. I didn't have an issue, but something to keep in mind anyway.

I like that it records each stroke you take and the time it takes to swim each length. Furthermore, it takes those two data points and calculates a SWOLF score which is the total time + strokes taken. Ideally, you want a low SWOLF score (similar to golf), because it measures the efficiency of your swim. The more efficient you are, the less energy you expend.

Swim Charts from Garmin Connect. You can see it captures the type of stroke, the pace, the number of strokes, etc.

Running
Running works exactly the same as all other Garmin watches. The advantage of the larger 310XT and the 910XT is that you can see more more data on the watch at once. I like being able to see up to four data items while I run. My favorite set up is Total Distance, Total Time, Average Pace, and Current Pace. My perception is that the 910XT has smaller numbers than the 310XT. As mentioned earlier, I also like the vibration alerts as well.

Biking
I did a Brick workout yesterday, but didn't take advantage of the Multi-sport mode, but I have used the 310XT in Mulitsport mode and it was great. Once you set up your workout or race all you have to do is push the Lap button to make the change. For instance, for my Brick workout I first did a hill workout, then rode home to do the same hill course as a run. Instead of stopping the Bike activity, changing the mode to "Run", then hitting start, I could have simply hit the "Lap" button. Anyway, here is the Garmin Connect view of the bike portion of my Brick workout. As you can see, I was barely moving up the hill at its steepest parts. At least I didn't fall over due to lack of forward momentum (yep, that has happened before. Embarrassing, especially when I'm too slow to get my foot out of my pedals and I just tip over on my side.) Joel, I know this doesn't come close to your hill climbs, so don't judge. :-)

Biking Charts from Garmin Connect.

Now that we have the basics down and it's been about two year since I've done a triathlon, I decided to consider other multi-sport activities I can use my watch for.

Shopping
Since I absolutely detest shopping, I thought would treat it as a multi-sport activity to see it if would be more enjoyable. NOT!

Just over two minutes to spend $100. That's how I like to shop. In and out.

Standing in line for almost 10 1/2 minutes at Costco. Not so much fun.

Grandson
While fiddling with my new gadget, my grandson, Isaac, toddled out to the back porch and found some dog "stuff". Yuck. We brought him inside to wash his hands. It took him just over 10 seconds to eat the soap on his hands. Double yuck!

Isaac eating soap.

Conclusion
In summary, I would highly recommend the Garmin Forerunner 910XT. I like things simple and I prefer to have less gadgets. While the $499 price tag is high, I like having one gadget to keep track of that can do multiple things and the 910XT does them all very well. Garmin advertises this as the ultimate multi-sport watch and it delivers. The new form factor makes it a little less conspicuous than the 310XT and the additional Swim Metrics are awesome. If you do more than just run, I'd suggest buying this watch.
I think it’s a very good investment for anyone who is serious about their sport, or sports. The 910XT feels solid, is easy to operate and simply does what it says it will do; record your data accurately and with fine detail to help you become better at your sport.

Now it's time to start training for my next triathlon!

Athletes have higher pain tolerance

2012-05-23T07:28:00.000-07:00

This seems completely logical to me, but now there is an attempt to put some science behind the concept.

Athleticism, Mental Distractions Can Up Pain Tolerance

MONDAY, May 21, 2012 — Can regular exercise help you control pain? According to a new study, playing football, running track, and other feats of physical prowess may train athletes to better deal with bumps and bruises — and that has implications for the rest of us.

In an analysis of 15 studies comparing pain perception between athletes and non-athletes, German researchers discovered that athletes have a higher pain tolerance. Activities ranging from competitive rowing to swimming to dance were covered, and both men and women were included.

Several of the studies found that those who played game sports (think football) could tolerate more pain than those involved in other activities, but one report found that cross-country skiers had higher tolerance than those who practiced karate or fenced. Pain threshold — the minimum amount of pain required to make you say "ouch" — didn't seem to differ between athletes and ordinary people.

What does this mean for the less physically gifted among us? If you're a weekend warrior or worse, a couch potato, getting and staying more active may help you cope with chronic pain better. And because the results suggest that different sports may have varying effects on pain tolerance, they "might foster the development of effective types of exercise for relief in pain patients,” said lead author Jonas Tesarz, MD, in a press release. The findings are in the latest issue of the journal Pain.

In Pain? Focus on Something Else

Not an athlete? Distractions can also help keep a lid on pain, according to another German study published in Current Biology. In this report, 20 men were asked to complete an easy or a difficult memory task while painful levels of heat were applied to their arms (ouch). During the harder task, the subjects reported less pain compared with the easier one. The results were backed up by functional MRI scans showing less activity in the spinal cord (in other words, less pain) during the more difficult task.

"There's been a revolution in the way pain is viewed," says Frank Keefe, PhD, professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University. "The brain doesn't just sit back — it's very actively processing from moment to moment what's going on in the body. With imaging studies, it became apparent that many different areas send signals down toward the spinal cord that can facilitate the pain experience or inhibit it."

The researchers also performed the same experiment with a different group of men, half of whom were given naloxone, a drug that blocks the release of natural pain-relieving compounds. The subjects who took naloxone experienced much less pain relief when distracted.

"There are people who notice that their pain changes when they relax, or meditate, or get really involved in a show on television," says Dr. Keefe. "What this [study] says is that it's not just in your head. If you're engaged in a very cognitively distracting task, that reduction in pain you experience is probably biologically based."

Keefe says studies like these are good evidence that mind-body techniques really work to ease pain. Previous research has shown that mindfulness meditation and similar disciplines calm the parts of the brain that register painful sensations and help patients living with chronic pain conditions like fibromyalgia and arthritis.

"People who have had pain for a long time get really worn down and discouraged," says Keefe. "When they notice pain relief with some of the techniques they try on their own, particularly if they're distracting, there's a reason for that. They're doing something that's actually helping them."