Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow

Beautiful morning. Did 6 miles on the canal trail, 6:38/mile average pace. Felt great.

Had my bi-annual rheumatologist appointment today. It was short and sweet, as there was not much to discuss with the doctor. I've been on Enbrel 6 months now, have very little pain, very little stiffness, and no side effects yet. Basically I am doing well, and doctors generally only help the sick (and only sometimes at that), so he poke and prodded me a little bit and then sent me on my way. Got a blood test on the way out for liver, blood count, and CRP (under my request). I could have told them that based on my marathon time, my liver and blood count are just fine, but I humored them and gave them something to do. I had an ESR (inflammation) test way back in May, 2008, and it was perfectly normal, despite me being in a large amount of pain and stiffness at the time. I asked for CRP (c-reactive protein) today, because it is another way to measure inflammation, and I was merely curious as to what it would say. I asked my doctor if he thought such tests were useful, and he said they were useful for monitoring inflammation...if the person has an elevated count to begin with. However, many patients with active AS test perfectly normal for ESR and CRP (like I did), and so it's not useful for them at all. But for others it can be useful. As quoted by merck.com:

ESR and other acute-phase reactants (eg, C-reactive protein) are inconsistently elevated in patients with active AS. Tests for RF and antinuclear antibodies are negative. The HLA-B27 genetic marker is not of diagnostic value.

Yup, it's that easy. This is one reason why diagnoses can be so hard to get. Some people get sent away with the doctor saying "it's all in your head".

I had Stacy drop me off at the clinic, and I was in my running clothes, so I ran home after the appointment, with a slight detour at the Smithfield City offices to drop off the remainder of my new business license application. 8 miles total, averaging 6:24/mile.

Ran from work and cruised the First Dam Run 10K route at a brisk pace. 6:06/mile average for 7.25 miles. Beautiful day, wore shorts and a t-shirt.

Ran to the west side of town and up the lower canal trail. 6:55/mile average pace for 6.25 miles.

A very easy 5 miles, Summit Dr. loop. 7:45/mile. Unseasonably warm this morning. I put on running pants and long-sleeved shirt out of habit, but probably could have gotten by with shorts, a t-shirt, and gloves.

Today I ran the First Dam Run 5K. This is a local fun run, and I thought it would be...fun. It is a 5K or a 10K, and I elected to do the 5K because it is twice as easy as the 10K, plus I figured since my typical daily run is 6 miles, it wouldn't be wise to race that far.

It's a 10AM race, so I had time to sleep in (6:45AM), eat my typical breakfast (bacon, eggs, yogurt, and a grapefruit), read the paper, and prepare for teaching Sunday School tomorrow. Ah, Saturday, I love it. Then Stacy, Seth, and I headed out early into Logan, and had coffee/tea at Cafe Ibis, which used to be one of our favorite stomping grounds, but we haven't been there since we moved to Smithfield. Already the day was off to a good start.

Around 8:45AM we left the coffee shop and went to the start line. I registered, which was super-fast because there was hardly anyone there yet. Then I warmed up by running the 5K course. This is my favorite tempo workout course, so I know it very well from training on it so much. Warmed up the 5K in about 19:30, which I figured was a good sign. Also, this was a 5-star race, not sure if that was a good sign or not.

The weather was about perfect. Mild/cool and overcast, no wind. Temps about in the upper 40s, maybe low 50s. I wore shorts, a t-shirt, no gloves. My main goal was to run around 15:30, but anything under 16:00 would be acceptable. Obviously I was pretty laid back about this race, but it's a pretty fast course and a nice day, so I wanted to run a decently fast time to take advantage of the conditions. I figured there was a good chance it would just be a solo time trial, barring the presence of any high school super-stars.

They started the 10K race pretty close to on time. And 10 minutes later they started the 5K. I took it out pretty hard because I wanted to distance myself from all the high school runners. High schoolers, bless their hearts, tend to be zealous but inexperienced racers, and I didn't want to be caught up in any bad tangents, bumping, or name-calling. The first mile is all uphill, about 65 feet of very gradual climbing. After the mile marker, the course turns, and you lose that elevation (plus some) even more gradually over the next 1.75 miles, and then it's a slight uphill the last couple blocks to the finish.

After about 400m I was breathing way too hard, and feeling things in my legs I haven't felt for a few years (I haven't run a real 5K since summer of 2007). Oops, maybe out a bit too hard. But at least the high school kids were well behind me. I settled down a little bit and tried to find a rhythm. Went through the first mile in 5:00. Easily worth a 4:50 or 4:45 on flat terrain.

I made the first turn and started the flat/gentle downhill. I snuck a look to my side as I turned and noted that I already had about 100 yards on everyone. So I was definitely on my own to maintain this pace. During the 2nd mile, the course weaves through the Island neighborhood, and drops about 50 ft. I hit the 2nd mile marker at 9:57, so 4:57 for Mile 2. I was very pleased and encouraged by this. I was running hard, but not redlined or anything.

During the 3rd mile, the course drops another 30 feet, until the last turn, and then climbs about 15 ft to the finish (which is the same location as the start; it's a loop). Not much to say, other than I just tried to keep pushing. It's hard to run a good 5K when you haven't ran any for quite some time; it takes practice and repetition to be tenacious through the end. I don't have the flat speed I used to have, but I have much better endurance, so if anything my main problem is getting out hard enough in a 5K. Once I get in the groove, it's hard for me to go any faster or slower, and finishing a race as fast as I started is almost a given, whereas when I was a young buck it was much harder to hold back on the reins at the beginning, but I tended to fade a lot as well.

Anyway, I didn't fade this race. There was no Mile 3 marker, but based on my finish time, it must have been around 4:58 or maybe 4:57 or so. My official finish time was 15:25, and I had 15:24 on my watch, but I probably started it a little late. I had that burning in my chest afterward that I only get for distances 5K and shorter. I often forget that feeling; it's both a good and a bad feeling. I much prefer the feeling of finishing a half marathon, which is much easier on the lungs.

I was quite pleased with this time. I don't think this course is certified, but I've ran it enough to know that it's accurate. It's close enough anyway, and organized by the same people who put on the TOU races. My post-collegiate 5K PR is 15:23 from a competitive Draper Days race in 2007, which was an aided course. I almost beat that on a solo effort on a loop course with minimal training, so that's cool. Since I have to find a PR for everything, I'll call this my "Non-aided Utah 5K PR". And actually, my road PR on a loop course back in Michigan was only 15:22, so this was pretty close to being a road PR for any elevation. Good stuff.

Congrats to the Red Rooster and DaveS for running good races today. It was a great day to be running.

We went to Pounders afterward for lunch, where I ate large quantities of meat. The end.