Cursed Realm of the Faceless Ghost

I've been slow on the updates lately, so I'd like to apologize to all 3 of my readers :)

I needed more time this week to recover from last week's 10K. My leg hurt pretty bad on Monday, so I took Tuesday off. Wednesday I made it almost 3 miles without pain, and I ran only 2 on Thursday so I could have a pain-free confidence builder. Yesterday I ran my Friday Five with Catherine and Elliott. My leg was fine, although I felt crappy for other reasons. 

Tonight I ran a variation of my 10 mile loop through the golf course. Actually, it was an entirely new last half. I tried to find the bike path that they used for the half marathon last week, but somewhere I got lost. I got to know some new roads in the area, and I made it home eventually. And I even came in a little over 10 miles instead of a little under, as I usually do.

Late night run, and as always I felt bonky and off. But tonight I know why--no breakfast and no dinner. All I had today was a small lunch and a Smart Cookie that Catherine got me. So I guess I should expect a lousy run.

I've got some good news, though. I found a one-day deal online and scored a couple of pairs of MR10s for 40 bucks each. So even though New Balance discontinued my favorite shoe ever after less than one year, I don't have to give it up yet.  In fact, my current shoes have 800 miles and are still going strong, so I could be running in Minimus for quite a while with two new pairs.

No run today-too busy packing.

We were on the road almost all day, but we made it to Pinecrest (in the eastern Sierra) in time for a quick run/hike around the lake to stretch out our legs. My Garmin never got a good signal, so I never got an exact mileage, but I'm just going to call the loop 4.3 miles. 

Another lake lap. I felt like garbage, but it was still a good run. 

Yet another lackluster lake run. But I like being here so much that my fitness doesn't bother me. The trail is super technical and super scenic, and I wouldn't mind running it every day for the rest of my life. 

Not sure about the mileage today, but it was at least what I've posted. Of course, most of that was hiking. We walked down the trail to Strawberry this morning. But since I was carrying Elliott, I count it. Cross training, sure, but miles on my feet are miles on my feet, and the extra weight makes it a legitimate strength workout.

This evening we went out for a trial run with the jog stroller we rented for tomorrow's race. It's a good thing we did, because it turns out that there's a bent axle or something that makes it unusable.  

Catherine and I have come to Pinecrest together three times, but this was the first time we were around for the annual Pinecrest Run. I've been interested in the race since we found out about it because the trail around the lake is ridiculously technical. But it turns out that the course doesn't go around the lake, which was (initially) disappointing. 

The course is basically a figure eight--first we run two miles through the cabins around the lake, then we set out on the lake trail before doubling back up a steep fire road and down the dirt road to the start. I think I settled into 8th place pretty early on during the first half of the race, but I picked off a couple of runners ahead of me and by the time we came back through the start I was sitting in 5th. 

Once we hit the trail, that changed quickly. Apparently, road runners struggle on trails. The trail section was short but it was very technical, and I passed three of the runners ahead of me like they were standing still. (The fourth, a high school cross-country runner, was long gone by then.) 

When we left the trail we started up a short but very steep fire road climb out in the sun. I ended up hiking the last half because it was more efficient (and possibly faster) than running it. At the top there were no course markings so I headed in what seemed like the only way to go. But after half a mile I hadn't seen any more markings, which worried me because up until then there had been a  flour mark every 100 feet or so. At least the runners behind me were on the same route.

At that point we were descending gradually on a dirt road. Eventually two runners behind me caught up, and I was able to confirm we were on route. I had no kick left in my legs, so I figured that they would beat me because they had caught me. But when we got back on the road for the final stretch back to the start/finish, they faded or I surged and I found myself alone and ahead again.

I ended up in 2nd place, about three minutes behind the winner, and I was happy with the result.

Catherine and I love Pinecrest and we loved this race. Hopefully we can do it again next year. 

My usual American Fork loop, abridged edition. 

Wow. It's been a while since I posted, thanks to orientation at the Marriott School and moving and a bunch of other things that have come up. And I really did miss about a week of running in there, unfortunately. But I've been running regularly since Wednesday, and I've updated my mileage accordingly. I also finally got around to writing a race report that I should have done a couple of weeks ago.

Our new place is in Provo, near the 24 Hour Fitness. New homes mean new routes, and right now I'm just trying to get situated. But after three days it looks like there are plenty of options, so I'm happy about that. And it's nice to be closer to some trails.  

I had thought about running Squaw Peak this morning with Jun, but he's sick and I had a late night, so that will have to wait. 

Elliott woke up this morning, so instead of running trails, I went running with her. All of my runs this week have been exploring the Provo River Trail, and this was no different. I thought we would run out to the lake, but we hit a park and I saw that there was still 1.5 miles to go, which means that we would have finished over 10 for the day. Fine for me, but Elliott was ready to go home and eat breakfast, so the lake will have to wait for another day.

I'm actually pretty happy to be so near the bike path. It's less than a mile from our house, and it seems like a great place to run. The farther you go, the prettier it gets. The entire route is nice, but once you make it through the trailer park, it's fantastic. 

I'm in the middle of yet another attempt to get my running back on track. Right matters is the day-to-day consistency. Once I get that, I can worry about distance and speed. Until then, what's the point?

Anyway, I was tired this morning, so I ran a quick out and back on the River Trail to Independence Avenue.  

Provo River Trail loop to Independence Ave. I passed some homeless-looking guys who were out fishing on the river. One of them was wearing combat clothes and pushing a funky tricycle. I wondered if he was going to shoot me or stab me or something. He didn't.

I overslept (by only a little) again. I can't seem to figure out snooze on my phone, so I guess I'll need to start setting a second alarm 15 minutes later. 

Instead of taking the River Trail, I decided to go the opposite direction this morning and run a lap up around the Provo Temple. It turned out to be shorter than I thought--just over four miles where I was expecting closer to five--but it was still a good route. The good news is that it turns out we're probably about two miles from Rock Canyon, which means trails are withing easy running distance once again. 

Same route I ran on Wednesday. Not much else to say about it.