I had hoped to try one more time to run from Provo Canyon to Hobble Creek Canyon today, but after checking the weather reports yesterday I decided there was too much risk of being caught in a snowstorm in the mountains. It looks like I might have gotten away with it if I had tried, but that's neither here nor there. Instead, I went up to Provo Canyon with Catherine. She was running with Allie, MelodyJ and MichelleL, so I ran with them up the River Trail to Nunn's Park. From there, they continued up the trail while I hopped onto the BST and headed back down the canyon. I followed the Squaw 50 course, which I've finally deciphered, up to the overlook above Rock Canyon Pass, then I ran down the canyon and picked up the BST, which I took over to Slate Canyon before running a couple of miles on the road to get home. It wasn't my best run ever. I was pretty trashed on the climb to the overlook, although I think I know why. It turns out that the climb from the BST to Hope Campground is brutally steep. It's pretty obvious when I'm reviewing my GPS report, but not so obvious when I'm actually on the trail. The result is that when I start hurting, I think the problem is me, not the trail, so I push harder and dig myself a deeper hole, and then end up walking more than I need to later on. It's good to figure these things out in training so I don't make the same mistakes while racing. Other than that, there's not too much to report. I saw some people in the woods with guns, which freaked me out and made me grateful for my orange shorts. It makes sense that a hunter might mistake me for a deer because I'm so fast. I also got rained on for the last mile or two, but that felt good. 2:45:47 Also, my Cascadias are now past 600 miles. Can somebody tell me what a dead shoe looks like? The cushioning is gone but I don't mind too much, and otherwise the shoes are holding up pretty well. They even have some tread left. I'd like to get new shoes, but at the same time I just can't bring myself to throw away a pair of shoes that are technically still runnable. If I keep going, will I eventually hit a point where they fall apart and I have to toss them? Or am I stuck with them until I get the nerve to move on?
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