Kerry's Running Blog

Met up with Richard on a clear, beautiful spring morning. It was slightly cool (53) and humid (64%), but just right for a run. Richard was gone all last week on a diving expedition to the caves of Yucatan peninsula. These caves have a unique feature called a halocline which is vertical gradient between the inland fresh water and the ocean. The Maya apparently believed that this gradient or interface was the veil between mortality and the underworld. Richard said that in ten dives that they maybe explored 1 percent of the caves. Some caverns were big enough to fit a 747 while other passages were so small that a diver could barely get through with his tanks. He said the water was so clear that at times it looked like other divers were just floating in the air. It sounded like quite an adventure. We ran and walked together for about three miles and then I took off towards the temple to run a course similar to Saturday's run except I took the turn off to the golf course instead of going all the way to the mouth of American Fork Canyon. Felt a little tired at times, but no aches or pains to speak of.

Kind of a routine run this morning. A little tired and achy starting out, but felt good once I got warmed up. Should increase my mileage this week by about six miles (into the upper forties). I'll probably hold it at 50 or slightly under for the next week and taper slightly for the WBR the following week. 

Rainy morning. Slept in and ended up running on the treadmill during lunch. Learned that laughing and running on a narrow, moving belt are not a good mix.

Worked out at the American Fork Fitness Center with the whole family. Brittany attended her Jiujitsu class, Laureen worked on the elliptical machine and Amelia and I ran on the indoor track and worked on the elliptical machines as well. We then went out for a treat and came home and watched a movie, "Passage to Zarahemla." Just a nice evening with the family.

Ran the American Fork loop this morning. Average pace was 8:31. Dragged a little bit at the end, but felt pretty good on the whole. Conditions were almost perfect (47 degrees, 74% humidity under mostly cloudy skies). 

Warmed up for a couple of miles with Richard and then did the American Fork loop backwards. Felt like I needed to stop for a potty break during mile 7, but when I stopped to look around for facilities I started to feel better. Ended up doing about a mile more than I had planned and ran a bit faster. After warmup miles of 11 and 12 minutes, picked up the pace (the next three 8:02 to 8:59 and the following three 7:36 to 7:53). Overall average 8:45.

Highland Glen loop this morning with the run up the hill on North Cottonwood Drive. I felt great after yesterday's run, but this morning my left heel was a bit sore. It wasn't a problem once I got warmed up, but something to keep an eye on. I think the whole family is planning to get to the rec center tonight so I may get a little extra workout in. Tomorrow I'll have to run at noon as I have a dental hygiene appointment at 8 in Murray. It's a little odd to travel so far to see the dentist since we have so many good ones close by, but I've been going to see Dr. Smith for about thirty years and I'm not about to change now.

 Went to the AF Fitness Center with the family after work. Got in another three miles on the indoor track. Spent 15 minutes on the elliptical as well.
 

Shorter version of my normal Highland Glen loop. As I had an 8:00 a.m. dental hygiene appointment in Murray, I postponed today's run until lunch time. Probably a good thing...when I checked the temperature this morning when I got up, the windchill was 27! I had to check the date to make sure I'd slept through the summer and early fall. Average pace for the run was 8:16.

A bit cool this morning, at least for June. It was 42 when I left the house, but clear and beautiful. Feeling a bit of soreness in my left heel starting out, but it disappears once I get warmed up. Raced the quail this morning along the trail. For some reason they didn't take off flying, they were running along about six feet in front of me. Man, their leg turnover must be 500 steps per minute or more (remind me to count next time). I saw Antonio L. ahead of my on the North Cottonwood hill, so naturally I had to speed up to catch him. He wasn't moving real fast, but he kept up a pretty steady pace. He was wearing his headphones, so I think I startled him a bit as I caught up to him. I said hi and took off and then saw him again after I turned around. I've invited him to join us on Monday mornings, but so far he hasn't made it.

 After work I went to the AF Fitness Center with Laureen and Brittany. I ran 3.16 miles and then stopped to watch a boy's baseball game. It brought back a lot of memories. When we got home we were delighted to find that Amelia had cooked dinner and set the table (as we were all starving). A real nice day all around.
 

Lunch time run of the Kohler's loop. Just a little bit of a breeze out of the south made it very comfortable. Nothing but blue skies and sunshine. Average pace was 8:23.

Met up with Richard for our Monday morning run. I've definitely seen an improvement over the last month or two.  I just ran (and walked occcasionally) with him the whole way as I had to get back and take by youngest daughter to Lindon Elementary. She's going to Clear Creek Camp for the week.

I decided to run in the evening today so that I could start getting better acclimated to the heat. I went to the AF Rec Center with Laureen and Brittany and left from there heading east. Although it was 91, there was a bit of breeze heading out and occasional shade from the trees. I could tell I was gradually heating up and so I stopped at the turnaround, drank some water and rested in the shade for a few minutes. The return trip was hotter as there was no detectable breeze and as I was running facing traffic, I hardly got any shade on the south side of the street. My face was bright red when I got back, but I felt pretty good. Average pace was 8:39.

Lunchtime run in the heat (87 degrees) around the Highland Glen pond and back along the trail. Started feeling some bowel discomfort about three quarters of a mile from home, but was able to make it home safely. The sweat just poured off me after stepping into the house, so I headed down to the basement where it was much cooler. I generally feel OK running in the heat, but I know I can't keep the same speed.

A woman from Ragnar Relay called me just before heading out to ask if I had run the relay every year and if I knew of any others that had. I told her I had the picture of our first relay team on my desk (just to make sure I didn't miss anybody) and gave told her that Paul, Verdon and Will had run it every year and I was pretty sure that Darin had as well. Rod was also on the 2004 team, but it seems like he missed a year. 

Took the handoff from Nathan as the light on the horizon was about gone. The temperature had dropped considerably in the last couple of hours which made it almost perfect for running. I started out a bit slow, trailing a young woman by a couple of steps for the first half mile or so, but once I got into my rhythm, I slowly started to pull away. I felt pretty good and passed a couple of other runners and in turn got passed by two runners that were going considerably faster. Without being able to really appreciate the scenery, I pretty much focused on breathing and keeping my turnover steady. I realized after a while that I must have forgotten to start my Garmin as I hadn't heard it beep after the first mile or (what I hoped had been) the second mile. After almost three miles and 900 feet of ascent, it leveled out and then started a fairly steep drop. I could see the lights for the exchange down below. I was able to transition fairly quickly to a downhill pace and finished feeling pretty strong. I was a little disappointed with my time, but felt like I'd run it as hard as I could have.

I started the 23 leg about the time that I normally go out for a run. It was light enough to see well and cold enough that I wore an extra layer on top. I was a bit stiff after yesterday's run and riding around in the van for hours, but I didn't feel too bad. We were a little short on sleep as we'd tried to find the Alternate Hangout Area in Morgan for about half an hour before giving up and driving on to East Canyon where we found that they were temporally out of spaghetti (I ate four pieces of break with a smidgen of jam instead) and that there was really no place to sleep but in the parking lot. We threw out bags out and I may have dozed off for fifteen minutes or so. I really didn't feel that bad all things considered. I was glad that Verdon, Ryan, Bill and Nathan were all running before me. When my turn came I took off a little faster than I normally would just because I was cold and need to warm up a bit. I passed one runner and was passed in turn by two much faster runners. I kind of enjoyed the rolling hills and especially enjoyed the beautiful morning scenery. I was able to pick up the pace as I ran along and managed to finish a little quicker than expected. I was looking forward to being able to shower, eat and sleep a bit at the hotel in Park City.

 By the time Verdon started our final rotation, it was already fairly hot and seemed to be getting hotter by the minute. Everyone in our van put in a great and impressive effort in completing their legs. I felt OK taking the handoff from Nathan after he finished Ragnar, but started off at a fairly conservative pace as it climbed to the top of the pass. I was a bit more winded than I expected (no doubt due to the elevation), but felt I could make up for any lost time on the downhill. I was right and wrong about that one. The drop after the summit was so steep that you either had to let gravity take over and substantially increase your left turnover or really work to hold yourself back. I opted to let gravity take over and really flew down the second mile. I tried a few times to slow down, but that required more energy than I seemed to have. My legs were really starting to feel the effects of the hard pounding and by the third mile they were starting to feel a bit rubbery. When the road turned and I lost the cooling breeze, I realized that I'd overdone it. My head was burning and I felt weak and a bit nauseated. My pace slowed down considerably and I had to walk for a bit on one of the steeper uphill sections to keep from barfing. After a few minutes I felt better and could resume a fairly good pace, but then I'd start feeling overheated again. The last couple of miles were downhill, but at a more gentle descent. I was pretty much wiped out by the time I finished and badly needed some water. I was able to recover fairly quickly, but knew I was going to be sore for a couple of days.
 

Recovery run around the Highland Glen pond with Richard. I was sore, especially at the start, but could run almost without pain after a couple of miles.

Felt much better this morning, but still sore in my calves and quads. Felt better the farther I ran. Was able to even push the pace a bit at the end.

Hiked up to Julie Andews Meadow from the Timpanookee Campground with some of the YW from our stake. The hike was longer, but I thought I'd only count the portion where my HR was above 85 or so (estimated). It was such a beautiful hike that I was really wondering why I don't get up there more often. It was a bit sad to see how out of shape some of the girls are. A couple of them were seriously exhausted after a little more than a mile of moderate ascent. The encouraging part is that they vowed to start working out so that they could do better next year.

Headed out for a longer run this morning, but cut it short after experiencing sharp and persistent groin pain running down a short hill. It felt better as I walked, but was still there when I tried to start up again. I don't think I did any real damage, but it was still sore getting in and out of the car an hour later. If I have a chance tonight, I'll have to try the elliptical machine to get everything stretched out properly. Still have a bit of knot in my left calf.

Highland Glen Loop at noon. It was about 80 degrees, with a slight breeze. Didn't really feel that hot until I stopped.

Highland Glen loop. Tightness in calves almost gone.

Ran the Highland Glen loop and then instead of coming back down North Cottonwood, I ran to the mouth of American Fork Canyon and then along the golf course trail. Legs felt good with no real aches or pains to speak of. Lots of people out this morning, but Richard couldn't make it because of a banged up knee.