Yesterday we finally moved! With a crew fluctuating between 8 and 10 people (including super-bloggers Cody and Jon), we cranked out the whole move, port-to-port in 2.5 hours. That is definitely a PR, but I've only moved a couple times. In particular, I'd like to extend special kudos to Cody, who has special skills with a moving dolly, and can back up a 26-foot truck blindfolded. And his truck packing is simply art to watch. I told him to quit his day job and go full-time into moving. Jon was also stupendous, and his ultra-running skills really showed when he simply got stronger over time and showed no sign of fatigue. He did stop several times, though, to eat a whole baked potato and drink flat coke. Strange, those ultra-runners.
Anyway, we were done moving by 7:30PM, then we took the truck back, picked up Seth from Marci, and were all home by 8:30PM. Unpacked enough of the bedroom to get by, put the bed together, and were in bed by 10PM. Slept like a rock. Got up at 7AM, puttered around for a little while, got up on the roof to check out the leak in the swamp cooler, and then decided to do my long run. Ran from our new house, down to Mack Park, and then up Canyon Road. Got to Smithfield Canyon Campground, and kept going up the dirt road for another mile. The road is similar to Green Canyon in steepness and in quality. Lot of campers up there, but not many vehicles. Turned around and started back down (got up to 5700') at my 7-mile mark. I was averaging about 7:10/mile at the turnaround, but had gained over 1000'. I saw 4 deer and 2 wild turkeys during the first 10 miles of my run.
I kept it slow on the dirt road coming down due to footing, but hit pavement again after a mile, and then sped up to 6:00/mile for the next 5 miles. Got back to Mack Park, and then headed up Summit Drive by the golf course. That was a climb. Then I eventually found my way onto the canal trail, and headed south on the dirt trail. Ran south past my house, and kept on the trail all the way to Hyde Park. It was very excellent. Very nice views, decent footing, and pretty flat (since it follows a canal). It is like the BST without hills. There were just a few other runners out on the trail, but not many. I kept the pace a little under 7:00/mile for the last few miles. Once I got to 17 miles, I turned around and headed back to my house. (could have kept going south on the trail, never saw the end). 19.75 miles total, averaging 6:49/mile for the entire run. Now it's basically taper-time for TOU. In many ways, I'm running this marathon on a death-wish. My highest mileage week since June has been in the mid-60s, and my highest mileage week for the year was in the low-70s. So it could get ugly the last 6 miles. I didn't start doing any long runs until the last month, but the last 5 weeks I've gotten in runs of 18, 20, 20, 21, and 20 miles, so 5 pretty decent long runs, all averaging under 7:00/mile. In some ways, I'm as ready as I've ever been for any marathon, perhaps similar shape to Ogden 2007, just not as much total volume. So I really don't know what to expect next Saturday. Anyway, today is in the bag. Just one tempo next week, and then some easier mileage and a little bit of a taper.
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