A Balance, Redefined

Today was a special day. I got together with the two people I have run more miles with each than any other 10 combined. Dennis the groom later today and John another friend and teammate from college. On top of it we drove out to Forest Park to do our run. We only had time for one loop but it was a great run. Very strange being there again. I was doing the math and I have done over 1000 loops of that park. I have also run close to 5000 miles with Dennis but I have not done a loop of that park or a run with either of these guys in 6 yr. Such a surreal experience. 

Avg. 7:33

Well reality had to sink back in. The wedding went off without a hitch and had a bunch of fun dancing. Not extremely late because the girls where with us but being part of the bridal party and the party bus after the ceremony made for a very fun evening. Slept in a little and had breakfast with the bridal party and some family and back to Salt Lake. After dinner and unpacking did the same Suicide Loop as I did before leaving for the trip.

Avg. 8:42 HR 128

Well the weekend did catch up to me. I felt tired today. Managed to be fairly productive during the day but my legs were flat tonight. Did the downtown loop up 13th East.

Avg. 8:37 HR 131

Today was my early day for work. But I slept through my alarm. I guess I was more tired than I thought. I still made it in early but about 1hr late so it was a rushed morning. Only time for the commute run.

Avg. 9:13 HR 144

I can definitely tell that the school year has started again. I had one meeting and three seminars to go to. I skipped one of the seminars so that I could have a few hours to get some "real work" done. I think I am in denial that next weekend is the marathon. The half went well a couple weeks ago but since then has just been go-go-go on everything but running. I'm still concerned about this lack of consistent base and any real workouts. Next weekend will be about fun and getting one under the belt to get momentum for a spring marathon is what I think. A&W commute run. 

Avg. 8:51 HR 149

I long night sleep and feeling better. Also, both girls are now in school so I worked from home last night and this morning and did a late AM run with Sandra before getting dropped off at work. It was a nice run and the weather was perfect. SugarHouse loop.

Avg. 8:23 HR 140

Today was all about family. I was still feeling sluggish from the half marathon and then the travel last weekend. Not sure if it is a work stress level thing or what. But I have to admit for one week before a marathon my head is not in it. I hope to take Kory’s advice and just have it as a necessary distraction so that I can go into the marathon rested. Anyway, here is the race report.

We woke up extra early for the girls and all four of us headed to the capital for the final race of the Racing with Passion 5K series. This is a well run race and it is obvious that the race director (Stephanie) cares a lot about doing everything in her power to improve the races and make them each better than the last. As far as that goes, I completely missed the first race and only Sandra ran the second race. It is still a small race series but with the great organization and goodies a must do and I hope it continues to grow.

The plan this morning going into the race was to stay by Sandra’s side and help her improve upon last race’s finish. This was on the same course and in the previous race she finished 2^nd overall and 1^st in the stroller division. This time she wanted to finish first in both. Since there is a certificate prize for both men’s and women’s stroller division I also pushed a girl.

There were a few other strollers at the start and two that looked like they could be trouble for Sandra. I just stayed glued to her side and we enjoyed the run. Both girls behaved for their rides. I spent the first mile talking with them to keep them entertained and giving Sandra encouragement. One of the other strollers stayed right on top of us and I was getting a little concerned. But it was another guy so I told Sandra I would just stay with her unless he tried to take the lead.

The course is a fun one. It starts up/down Gravity Hill then up the far side of Memory Grove to go into a 180 degree turn and then 1.5 mi of downhill.

The first part was all into a pretty strong headwind and when we finally turned to have it on our backs it was to go uphill. The good thing about the turn is that we could see all the other runners coming back down and we found out Sandra was in the lead of the women’s race. Even pushing a stroller!!! We really started to pick it up on the way back down into Memory Grove but the other stroller was still there. As we entered the Grove he started to pull up alongside and I asked Sandra if I could go and she said yes. I knew she had her win and I didn’t want to jeopardize my stroller win J… So at 2.2 mi into the race I let the hammer fall and took off.

To the other guys credit he went with me for about 200 m before falling off. It was great as my daughter said “daddy you are finally running!” I ended up passing a few more runners on this stretch. I wonder what it would have been to run all out from the beginning, but racing was not the plan today, just family fun.

The splits went as follows:

8:09 HR 161 Ascent 121ft Descent 28ft

7:12 HR 166 Ascent 67ft Descent 77ft

5:31 HR 174 Ascent 37ft Descent 204ft

0:36 HR 185 (Pace 4:40)

TOTAL: 21:27 HR 167

I did meet the winner and he seemed like a nice guy. I encouraged him to join the blog so please welcome him, Flo.

After the awards ceremony and some nice goodies we headed to a birthday party, then to the gelato place in the avenues our friends from church just purchased. A must go for great gelato and coffee the place is Dolcetti Avenues. You should all go! Then we ended up going to the Avenues Street Fair and some playing in a sprinkler in the backyard. All and all we were moving from 6:30am to 6:30pm a very full and fun day.